New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-03-01
PRESIDENT TAFT'S
FILIPINO WARNING

$685. schools Of varying grades. win
a daily average attendance of 329O'3
pupils. OF the teachers $50 were
Americans and the others were Eli
pinos who have learned to speak ava
| To teach English. English in the course
of two generations will become the
, common language Of all the Filipmo
| people.
! Because the ISLANDS have been admin
! stered for che Filipino people they en-
/ JOY to-day greater measure OF pros
! perity and greater degree Of happi-
ness. not only than ever before in 'helr
history. but than exists in any other
Oriental colony in the world. Under
/ the twelve years Of American rule the
! foreign commerce of the islands has
! increased from SIO.WUOOO TO SlOO.Gh-
OUo. and the commerce with the United
States has increased from Si,WOUD TO
$40, 100000
! Old roads have been improved and
new roads constructed throughout .he
| islands. and to-day there are completed
1000 kilometres of high class roads.
with the necessary bridges and over
1000 kilometres of the second and th.r
! grades.
! over Zoo Kilometres of railway haVs
been constructed. and nearly as muth
more has been authorized and is in
process of construction.
Giant strides in sanitation have been
made. and although smallpox, cholerI.
beriberi. leprosy and intestinal diseases
have presented grave obstacles n Il
/ country where the people knew moth
] ing Of sanitation and prevention, the
death rate has steadily decreased, cpl
denies have been checked and almost
900 lepers have been segregated. The
death rate among the 6,J'l Filipino
employees Of the government last year
was only 4.Ii. Pecause of the uncer-
tainty OF the mortality statistics among
the wild tribes il is difficult TO general
| iZe for the entire archipelago.
Given a Share in Government.
Bearing always in mind that the ulti
mate purpose of our administration 81
the Philippines is the training of the
= people in the art OF government.
they have been intrusted with a stead
| lily increasing share in the management
of their political affairs. Step 10y step
the Filipinos have been given an IN
creasing treasure of authority In thor
municipal. provincial and national gov
eminent. The electorate was granted
I TO all who spoke and wrote either Span
| sh or English or who paid 81 - "A year
taxes or whose capacity had been rec
| ognized in Spanish times by their ap-
! pointment as municipal officials. But
with this limitation the electorate
amounts TO only L. or IL per cent OF
the adult male population. although L
is steadily increasing. The percentage
of Filipinos in the provincial service Is
now 81. In the regularly organized
provinces the governors and third
members are elected. OF the provincial
| treasurers / are Filipinos and 30 are
Americans In the entire civil service
of the islands the proportion OF Fill
pinos * 90 per cent. As rapidly as
proper material could be found among
the Filipnos they have been appointed
10 the judiciary. Half the judges in
, the courts of first instance and three
, of the seven judges Of the Supreme
| Court are natives.
The elimination of the machinery by
which ii is expected to educate the
| Filipinos in the art Of self-government
is found in the Philippine Assembly.
consisting Of eighty-two members
elected by popular vote. and which.
broadly speaking corresponds 10 our
! House Of Representatives the Philip
pine Commission corresponding To our
I Senate
Cost to the United States.
| \ complicated and delicate situation
growing out of the union Of church