New-York tribune., 1922-04-09

Woods attitude toward
the filirino question. No one realizes
better thsD hs the man-sizod Job of
strai gir.eNi'.k out the tangled affairs of
the Philippine Islands aud few could
have accomplished similar results in
so brief time
IN many respects the Job of Presi-
dent Of the United States is much
simpler. since Bur Chief Executive has
the benefit t'f consulting frequently
with & cabinet Of his own race and
blood, whorc habits of thought and
reactions are similar TO his own. In
the Philippines, the cabinet, or to be
more exact. tTs Council of State. is
composed enYirs;y of tilipinos whose
heritage of the ages may be charac-
the nth degree
Furthermore the actions of the Gov
ernor General arr closely circumscrb-
cd by the Jones Law, the organic act
of self-g government passed by hilari-
Gus Democratic Congress in 1916, os-
tensibly TO teach the Filipinos TO gov
ern themselves. Governor Wood may
make frequent appointments to public
office, but without the ratification of
both houses of the Philippine Legisla-
turc the appointments are null and
void. On several occasions no less
than five candidates have been sub
mittcd for r single office until the
right man WAS found. An analogous
situation exists with regard to many
bills and other pieces OF legislation
proposed by the Governor General. In
spite OF all the attendant obstacles,
or perhaps because Of them, since Gov
crnor Wood is ;hevc all else a
"Fichtin' General" he is getting CON
crete and definite results.
1t might he easily inferred. from the
above that General Wood has ridden
roughshod over existing Laws and
practices IN order to attain the de
sired ends. however, quite the con-
trary Is the case since many of his
bitterest enemies have been trans
formed into enthusiastic supporters of
mis- policies; the "doubting Thomases"
among The pcss mistic American bust
ness interests who vowed that "it
couldn't be done without another
bloody scrap" have collectively ard in
dividually turned thcir shoulders to
the economic wheel and by their COM
bined efforts are pushing it over the
tiIl Of business depression. Tact. di-
p]o1nacy resourcefulness IN emorgen-
cics, frm and unfaltetng Judgment
once a decision has been made coupled
~'ith- an abiding faith in human nature
are winning the Governor Generals
battles.
Governor General Faces
Great Multitude of Duties
What does our Governor General do :?
Anything and everything that he hon
esty believes will benefit the people
dwelling within the scattered islands
comprising the Philippine archipelago
1t sounds like big order-and it is
Anything from requesting the appoint
ment Of board of moving picture
censors in Manila (since many Of the
foreign films imported from Europe
contained objcctionspIe and even re-
voting scencs) to advising with the
aged "Consej ejales" of the non Christian
lgorotes as to suitable substitute for
dog meat in their "canao's" or religious
fiestas. He has manifested an intense
interest in tho work being done by the
American Guardian Association, which
IS helping American mestizas (half-
castes): he has reorganized in large
measure the work being conducted for
the large lepcr colony on the distant
Island of Culion sending a detitian
OF the Rockefeller Foundation from
Manila to make survey of food condi-
tions and submitting a report anent
the betterment of the conditions
OF those who have passed under
the portal whose legend reads "Aban-
don all hope all We who enter here"
\ 1t was difficult at the time to appro-
Fpriate additional funds from the gov
ernment budget to carry out the
needed improvements so General Wood
instituted tag day. campaign} in
their behalf
OF course the above mentioned ac-
tjvltles are merely sidelights on his
real work. Governor W God has worked
out an economic policy that shows con-
crete results. His achievements under
this policy during his five months in
cumbency may be briefly stated as
eollows:
Economic yetrenchment in the gov
crnment by scaling down overhead
expenses and making them com
n1ensuYate with the revenues.
Retirement of the government as
far as possible from business activi-
ties that may offer competition with,
or discourage private initiative and
enterprise.
More liberal inducements 10 for
ejgu investments in the islands.
To support every Treasury GER
tificate in circulation or available
for circulation with 100 per cent.
"sarmarked" silver reserve
The maintenance of substantial
yoid standavd fund in Irnited Sto+ec