El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-06-28
FiIipinOs are Americanized
Arc Rapidly Learning English and
Taking Places Of Americans
in Official Positions.
-B 81 Frederic J. HaaIzin
WASHINGTON. d. G.. June

Z
ments to Filipinos and TO Americans
who had seen military service, in the
I order named This was in obedience to
I the instructions OF president Mckinley
l to governor Taft, telling him always
/ 70 remember that the islands were the
natural II not the legal possession Of
/ the FIIpinOs and that the government
which the Americans should set up
should be government of FilipinOs in
/ so far as was practicable. In the 13
years of its operation the Philippine
civil service certainly has eNempIified
the Mckinley spirit and the transfer
/ of positions from Americans to Fill
plnOS mas gone on so steadily that the
complete Fllipinizing Of the service viii
/ be accomplished perhaps even before
I that unknown date in the future when
OF their own.
English Spreads in Islands.
In passing the civil service act the
Philippine commission established and
provided for the maintenance of an
efficient and honest civil service in the
Philippine Islands. At first the act ap-
piled to only part of the government,
out II has steadily extended to all bu-
reaus of the government. the pro-
vincial service, the teaching service and
later to the municipal treasurers. Tx
] English and Spanish but now the
! Spanish examinations are being re-
dUced to a minimum because English
/ is spreading all over the islands with
]
I rcau was created by this act and il
/ conducts and judges all examinations,
keeps the record of the entire service,
uuClaSSlf1ed s well as classified, pub
! fishes the official rosters and com
putes the amount of leave due to each
5 Official or emplOye-
: The recommendation Of the director
Z OF the civil service IS required on all
proposed removals. reductions, suspsn-
| siOns and fines The bureau has alb
/ SOlute control Of the enforcement Of
/ the civil service act and very little
I tamperlng on the part Of bureau chiefs
J Is permitted. In these respects IL is
! more powerful than most civil service
I commissions, not even excepting the
/ United States civil service commission.
I Ia the uniform enforcement of the
7 civil service law. regardless Of politics,
! II can give the United States civil serv-
! ice valuable lessons, and il is doubtful
] If any municipal or state civil service
{ In this county can show any cOmpart-
/ son to it.
Filling Vacancies.
! An important ature in the Philip
pine civil service is the method Of fill
1 ing vacancies in the positions OF di-
rectOrs, assistant directors. chief clerks.
/ chiefs Of divisions and other important
positions by the promotion of cOmpe-
/ tent employees in the service. Most civil
service acts in all countries. particular
( " in the United States, make the high
/ er positions the plums of politics but
this unjust and uneCOnOmic method Of
/ blocking promotions in the classified
/ service is not in good OdOr in the
/ Philippines.
/ Liberal vacations and leaves Of alb
! sence are provided Classified en-
plOyes from ordinary clerks to direc-
{ tors are allowed from IS to 80 days
NacauOn leave every year The en-
trance salary for clerks and stcnO-
graphers IS $500 and promotion is
/ rapid up to $4,000.
! When the Philippine civil service
/ was organized and for some years af-
! ter, Americans were in the majority
Not only all of the responsible posi-
! lions but all of the classified clerk
/ were appointed by passing first and
I second grade English examinations
/ while the unimpOrtant posts ranging
/ from $3.50 to $500 a year or thereab bout
! were awarded to FiliDin0s as they
/ proved their fitness TO hold them by
/ passing the first and second grade
I Spanish examinations
I BY 1903 the percentage Of Americans
! began to decrease and that Of FilipinoS
! To increase so that Americans held 81
: percent Of the positions and the Fill
3 pinOs 40 percent There was 2777
I Americans and 2697 FilipinOS. The eN-
/ penditures for salaries tOtalCd s3.6IS-
I 500 for Americans and Sl.094.6SS for
/ ElipinoS. The average annual salary
I was 1892 for Americans and S405 for
/ FllipinOs. Within the next 70 months
/ the proportion had shifted to 81 per-
/ cent for Flllpinos and 40 percent for
I Americans Ever since that time the
! Filipino percentage has ascended with
: a Corresponding decline in Americans
and with an increase of the average
/ annual compensation for both races.
Americans Better Paid.
The highest number of Americans
/ ever employed in the classified civil
. service was i'm 1905 when there were
! there were 1923 FliDinOs and they
! held 80 percent of the positions. The
I average monthly salary had increased
{ by $50 for Americans and Sc for Fill
n n n 1r Too
ords showed 26SO Americans and 6O33
: FilininOs. giving the latter 90 percent
: of the positions. The Americans drew
I S4.623,562 while that allotted to Fill
[ pinos was S2.7&4.0SI The average
] American salary vas S1125 year.
: while the ratio for FilipiuOs was
500 rms shows that while the
/ percentage of Americans has great
/ " decreased. the average com
] penSatiOn per annum has gone up S423.
( while the FilipinOs are averaging SIS
/ per person more than in 1903. This
/ increase in the American average has
Z been due to the substantial promotions
! necessary TO Keep competent and we'll
I trained Americans I'm the service and
Z to the employment in recent years Of
Z engineering and scientific experts at
I salaries high enough to induce men TO
I leave lucrative positions in the United
D states. At the same time the average
/ salary for both Americans and Flipi-
. nos was SSt4 in 1912 whereas in 1908 it
Z AlAIialtiN ADVANCE
/ At first a Filipino who took even
I the second grade English examination
: was rarity but now it is quite COM
! mon The number of FilipinoS exam
, ined in ENGLISH in 1912 was 5T36 and
! this showed an increase of Il percent
/ over the previous year. In fact s. per
/ cent of all the Fnipin0s @Namr1ed
] took the English examination OF these
/ % percent passed whereas the year
! before but % percent passed and in
/ previous years the percentage of Fill
I pinOs aspiring to the English lists who
/ passed was lamentab bly, small The
/ great bulk of the Filipinos examined
] last year took second and third grade
/ English. junior teacher and junior in
/ dEStrial teacher examinations
Although 1896 Filipinos took the
/ English examination only 9SS were eN-
J amined in Spanish. This is the first
/ time in the history of American oc-
/ cCpatiOn that the number of FuipinOs
/ examined in Spanish has fallen below
! a thousand i'm any year. In several Of
! the provinces not a single person
! passed the examination in Spanish and
/ in Manila only 80. Last year 10 per-
/ cent of the American employees severed
/ their connection with the service in
/ order either to return TO the United
( States Of to enter business life i'm the
/ islands. The tendency is to fill all the
/ routine grades. including many inn