The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-06-23

archy, which would. excuse, if not necessitate the intervention of foreign nations, and the eventual division of the islands among them. Only through American occupation there fore, is the idea of a free, self-gov- erning, united Philippine common wealth at all conceivable.
 The next month, a second conmis- sion under William H. Taft was sent. This group of men also decided that the Philippines were unfit for self government. The unanimity of Judgment of the two commissions was accepted as conclusive by the preSi- dent.
 Manila was chosen as the seat of government, and public order having been established to a sufficient de- gree, MT. Taft was inaugurated first civil-governor of the Philippines, July 4, 1901, and two months he creat- ed departments of the interior, of commerce, of police, of justice and finance and of public instruction, which offices were held by F1Iipinos and Americans. In the provincial and municipal governments, where the Knowledge of English was not essen Itial, the Filipinos had little difficulty in filling practically every position
 General Otis opened schools eigh- teen days after our occupation and a thorough modern system of schooling throughout every. corner of the arch i1e1age was established under the su- pervision of Fred w. Atkinson, one of the most renowned educational ex- perts in the United States. .
 Besides the regular course, the girls were taught cooking, sewing, and household duties ;the boys, man uaI training. Night schools were opened and their immediate crowding suggested that here was an important way of reaching the people who could not attend the regular day ses- sfons. In three months they had dred pupils gathered from every kind of wage earner in the city.
 The introduction of athletics prov ed an important factor in the physi- cal development of the natives. Let noNAmerican suppose that the game of baseball has lost by it's long jour , ney. The entire population has de- veIoped into fans and rooters and the language of the bIeachers in New l York and Manila is quite the same, for the Filipino was given no epithets | in his native tongue and the first words he learned from us were ejacu- i 1ations of that character which he employs with astonishing fluency and | unction.
 As to the sanitation of the islands, l Hercules cleaning the Augean stables was a slight undertaking compared i attempt at sanitation existed and the plague, cholera, and small pox claim ed a large percentage of the popuIa- 1 ton annually.
 The unsanitary conditions were eliminated by installing a reliable water system, by building public sew CTS, and by rigid rules respecting the care of foods and the disposition of all refuse. The canals, choked with the pollution of centuries, were dredg- ed out, stagnant pools drained, the moat around the ancient wall was fill i ed in and the natives dwellings were 1 visited by inspectors who enforced the regulations; and to-day, Manila is as healthy a city as any of it's size in the warmer parts of America. The problem of drinking water was solved by artesian wells So by these strin- gent methods, the, Americans have
 made conditions sanitary throughout 1 the islands
 I When we took possession sof the l Philippines, there were no reliable 1 roads; not even so much as mile of l permanent road-bed in the islands. I At first, our efforts to insure good roads met with failure, because when completed. the provincial officials took no care of them and the rainy season l did the rest.
 l Finally, W. Cameron Forbes fof Boston, who had achieved great suc-
 cess in large financial operations, was
 given charge, and under his ski1lful management, many good roads were I opened for permanenG traffic.
 | From an economic point of view, the effect of isolation through lack of roads was very marked. No mat
 ter how rich the land of the native might be, it was of no use to him or
 to anyone else, if it's products could
 not be sent to a market.
 Il Good roads facilitate transporta- ton and communication and it is
 acknowledged that they are the great
 est and sures civilizing agency in the making of man. Napoleon and Caesar left their most inperishable monuments in good roads.
 1 A modern system of electrical com I raunication was installed, railroad mileage increased, banks opened, hos
 pitals provided, newspapers and jour Ina1s published and @ postal service
 instituted throughout the islands Ten
 million dollars were expended in
 making good harbors-
 Unquestionably, we have done more I for the mass of the Filipinos than
 any country ever did ror a colony. We
 have performed veritable prodigies of
 altruisn and yet, we have hardly
 made a beginning, so vast is the task
 Our duty compeIs us to give them,
 as nearly as possible the some ad-
 yantages we, ourselves, enjoy; and we may take as our goal toward WAIcl1 = we are striving, the happiness, peace and prosperity of the Filipinos. In
 so far as the people of to-day are
 happy, peaceful, and prosperous, we
 have succeeded; in so far as they do !; not enjoy these blessings, we have not
 yet achieved success, and so our duty
 is still before us.
 A speech, by Osmena, presiding of- , ficer of the Assembly, states that the
 FiIipinos desire national independence
 and believe themselves capable o1
 ruling their own destinies. These ideas express the views of the ''gente Illustrate" the ten per cent who want to acquire the government of the
 ninety per cent, who would then be completely at their mercy. It still re- mains to educate and prepare this ninety per cent for self government The ..s,elate iIlustrado,, have no bet.