The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-03-08
S0lCE NEW BOOKS.
The Philippines.

solution OF the problems beQueathed to
us by the peace which followed the war
with Spain OF sixteen years ago must
necessarily be interested In The Philip
pines Post aud Present. by DEAN &.
WORCESTER ,Macmillans). The author
has fair claim to be regarded as the
first living authority on his subject.
lie knew the islands before the spanish
war. having been attracted To them by
his interest in zoology and having his
interest In the zoology OF the Far East
ared while I've was still an undergrad
uate Of the University Of Michigan by
the stories the professor " that science
at the university had to tell of his own
Eastern explorations. In 1885 MT.
Worcester managed to Join an expedi-
ton. under the guidance Of the same
Prof Steere. which spent nearly year
in the archipelago. much handicapped
by the ignorance OF Spanish OF the ex-
plorers and by their neglect to provide
themselves ~ith proper credentials. In
consequence they were naturally taken
BY the officers OF the spanish inland
sarrisons for suspicious persons. prefer
ably spies. After his return to- his
home in Vermont our author continued
10 "hear the East a-callin'," and to-
gether with DIR. Bourns. who had been
q companion on the first expedition
and who subsequently returned to the
islands during the war as an army sur
geon set to work to raise from the
scientifically and munifcently disposed
O fund OF $4,000 to defray the cost OF
an exploring and collecting tour OF Two
years. The proposal encountered the
1eering scepticlsm Of the acQuaintances
Of the two enthusiasts. especially OF
President ANGEL OF the University OF
Michigan. but the endowment OF re-
search was actually secured In 1900,
and in August Of that year Mr.. Worces-
ter again arrived In Manila. warned
BY experience he had secured from the
Spanish Government through the state
Department. n royal order bespenking
for the naturalists the good offices or the
Spanish officials, civil and military. by
consequence these officials were found
as friendly and helpful on this second
expedition as they had been found hos
tile and obstructive on the hrst. Inc
expedition lasted In fact for two years
and a half 1t resulted In n working
knowledge not only Of Spanish but OF
some OF the native dialects. especially
that Of the Visayans. numerically the
most important VI tii' pN'P'N' ~ N~N'~''
more than twice Communicating the
Tagalogs. who have been politically so
much more active. II is no wonder
that when. toward the end Of 1898. he
called ON President Mckinley To put
his special knowledge at the Presidents
disposal the President should have
hailed him as exactly the man he was
looking for and despatched him to the
islands as the Presidents personal
reprcscntatiye. Similarly his member
ship of the first Philippine Commission
was a forcgone conclusion. lie Ia the
only member Of the first Philippine
Commission who served also on the
second. and he served continuously as
Commissioner from 1900 Ia 1918 and as
Secretary Of the Interior from 1901 TO
1919 when he resigned office. An eN-
perience thus unique should constitute
him the most valuable of counsellors
IN all matters touching the Philippine
policy Of tho United States, provided
the experience be coupled with personal
disintercst edncss. as II appears To DC.
and with equity Of mind, as also ap-
pears to be the case. The tribute PAID
nv Mr.. Taft. himself "A highly expert
witness, to the invaluaOleness OF MT.
Worcester's services ought TO go anu
doubtless will 20 long way with con-
siderate Americans.
The reader who resorts To this book
for information and for guidance mas
frequent cause for regret that the au-
thor has not chosen To make II more
expository and less controversial There
n indeed much and very illuminating
exposition, but there il too mu'h con-
troyersy The controversy. so FAR AS II
concerns issues that can be called Nv
ing, IL mainly with Judge James H.
Blount and the book which he mas
complied ont Of his magazine articles
about the Philippines. where he served
N a Judge. But Judge Blounts opin-
ions are SO nearly peculiar tn himself
among officials, civil or military, who
have any personal knowledge Of the
subject that II seems that they might
have been safely left to supply their
own REPUTATION. 1t il true that Judge
3lount's treatment uf Mr.. Worcester
has not been marked by amenity. has
been in fact highly provocative. The
tomper Of II may be judged by the re-
mark that Judge Blount considers
Prof Worcester the direst calamity
that has befallen the Filipinos since
the American occupation neither war,
pestilence, famine. recommendation nor
tariff wrought poverty excepted" But
still one wishes that Prof. Worcester
had refrained from recrimination, let
ting the good opinion OF those whose
rood opinion Is important to him stand
against the i'll opinion OF Judge Blount.
and had confined himself to tho EXPOSE
ton of the kind and degree of "calam-
tty' which he and his associates have
brought upon the Philippines The fire.
qrient infusion of the poleinical element
II the only thing in the hool; for which
the reader is not obliged to the writer,
the only thing that hnders the accept
aAce these volumes so Well deserve a.
tie most authoritative and the most
trustworthy source Of Information upon
American government in the Philippine
archipelago Even though the intro.
duction ~ this element hc pardonable
~ II doubtless is with reference TO the
structures Of Judge Elount, there are
references. among others those to Pres
ident Schurman and those to Gen
Mcintyre the present chief Of the Blu
reau OF Insular Affairs IN the War De-
partmcnt. which indicate prevaillnYly
bellicose condition of mind The ,nore
" the pity