The Daily Missoulian., 1913-06-13
The Philippines
.-HOW THE PHILIPPINES ARE
GOVERNED.
BY Frederic J. Haskin.

ocratic administration intends to
tackle the problem of our national re-
latons with the Philippine islands, and
may possibly make radical change, it
cannot but prove profitable for intelli-
gent and disinterested readers to know
exactly how the Philippines are gov
crned, and how much Of the admins
tration is in the hands Of the Filipinos
themselves.
Civil government in the Philippines
began July 4, 1901, With the Inaugural
tion of William H. Taft as governor
general. Prior to this two civil COM
missions We're sent out by President
Mckinley. This first, in 1S99190o, was
headed by Jacob Gould Schurmann,
president of the Cornell university
now minister to Greece. one of his
associates was Colonel Charles Denby
who had just finished 13 years service
as American minister to China. The
Schurmann commission reported
against holding the islands, DR.. Schur-
mann saying; The worst government
by the Filipinos would be better than
the best government by the Ameri-
cans
The second commission under the
leadership of William II. Taft, reached
the islands in September, 1900. The
revolt against the United States had
| not been stamped out and General
Macarthur was military governor
Martial law still prevailed in the city
of Manila, and chaos held sway
throughout the provinces. The early
sessions of the second commission
We're held in the midst of these turbu-
lent conditions. Nevertheless, after a
few months the civil commissioners
advised President Mckinley that the
situation warranted the establishment
of a civil government. This was bit
terlN denounced by the army, which
regarded its work of pacification as
unfinished. Indeed, trouble was not
all over. AS late as 1905 the writ OF
habeas corpus had to be withdrawn in
the provinces Of Batangas and ,Cavite
which are right at Manila's doors, and
| troops were sent in to subdue the ban
dit bands led by F'elizardo and Sakay
| Similar fiends, who robbed and tor
tured their own people, defied the
American and Filipino troops In the
| provinces of Samar and Leyte several
| years later than that. In fact the last
| robber band in Samar. led BY Otoy, a
guerrilla chief and fake pope was not
broken up for good until 1911 But ii
is said on the other hand that Ameri- =
can misgovernment was largely re-
sponsible for the outbreak of 1905
| When civil government was installed
on July A. 1901, Governor Taft and his
colleagues of the Philippine commits
| sion constituted the sole governing
body of the archipelago. The vice
governor was Luke e. Wright a Ten
nessee democrat and a confederate vet
eran of the civil war. The others were
| Henry Clay lde, secretary of finance
and justice, now minister to Spain;
Dean c, Worcester. IA professor from
/! the University of Michigan, secretary
of the interior; Bernard Moses, who
| left the faculty of the University OF
, California to which he later returned
secretary of public instruction. The
portfolio of commerce and police was
held by Vice Governor Wright In aa.
dition there We're three commissioners
ships without portfolios, which were
held by F'ilipinns-Dr t. H. Pardo dc
Tavera, Benito Legarda snd Jose I.u.
zarriaga. The only ones still on the
commission are Worcester and Lunar.
rlaga. Salaries of tbs body were
: fixed as follows: Governor general
$2o5oo; commissioners with portfolios
$lo,aoo; commissioners without port
1ollos, $4,000. The latter were latel
! raised to $500. The governor genera
! also is given the use of Malacanans
palace, a beautiful cd mansion on tn,
lpanks' of the Pasig river, where tn,