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FROM   THE LIBRARY OF
JOSEPH RALSTON HAYDEN
1887-1945
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
A.M., 1911       PH.D., 1915
Member of the Department of
Political Science 1912-45
Professor, 1924-45;
Chairman, 1937-45
Vice-Governor and Secretary of
Public Instruction,
Philippine Islands, 1933-35
Professor at the University of the
Philippines, 1922-23, 1930-31




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THE ODYSSEY OF
THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION




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Copyright, Vaughan & Keith
THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION
Wright                       Moses
Worcester                      1


Ide


raft




The Odyssey


Of the


Philippine


Commission


BY
DANIEL R. WILLIAMS
Pri'vate Secretary to Gommimsioner Moses; Secretary Philippine
Commission; Associate Judge Philippine Court
of Land Registration, Manila.
ILLUSTRATED


CHICAGO
A. C. McCLURG & CO.
1913




Copyright
A. C. McClurg & Co.
1913
Published September, 1913
W. F. HALL PRINTING COMPANY, CHICAG.



TO
MY COMPANIONS ON THE TRANSPORT
" HANCOCK,"
AND TO
ALL THE MEN AND WOMEN WHO HAVE BORNE
A PART IN WORKING OUT OUR
PHILIPPINE PROBLEM




I




PREFATORY NOTE


WITH       the exception of the final chapter, the
story here told of the trip of the Philippine
Commission to Manila, and the fragmentary
account of its early work in the islands, are taken
almost literally from letters written home at the
time. For this reason some of the conclusions
reached are doubtless subject to correction when
judged by events. It is hoped, however, that this
fault will be more than offset by the fact that such
letters seek to portray a situation in the making,
with something of the spontaneity which ever comes
from a passing judgment. That the letters are
now presented in this form is due largely to the
partial criticism of friends, who profess to see in
them something of interest and information to the
general public. If further excuse be necessary, it
is found in the circumstance that no book has yet
appeared describing the establishment of civil
government in the Philippines, nor conveying an
adequate idea of the difficulties encountered and
overcome by the Commission in its work. Our
country was fortunate in having such statesmanlike men sent to meet and solve such big problems,
and any contribution which will help our people to
further realize and appreciate this fact, and at the
same time deepen their interest in the welfare of
our Filipino-wards, cannot come amiss.




~1)




CONTENTS
CHAPTER                            PAGE
I SAN FRANCISCO TO YOKOHAMA.     I
II YOKOHAMA TO HONG KONG...      I8
III HONG KONG TO MANILA...       38
IV  MANILA AND FIRST IMPRESSIONS.48
V  EARLY INCIDENTS AND PROBLEMS.59
VI LAW-MAKING AND SUNDRY EXCURSIONS.....87
VII THE TURNING OF THE TIDE... Io8
VIII PROVINCIAL, MUNICIPAL, AND
SCHOOL LAWS..            132
IX  PROVINCIAL ORGANIZATION... 145
X  THE SOUTHERN TRIP...       165
XI THE SOUTHERN TRIP (Continued). I90
XII THE SOUTHERN TRIP (Continued). 215
XIII IGOROTE LAND......        251
XIV  THE PASSING OF THE "EMPIRE"   278
XV     THE NORTHERN TRIP..... 290
XVI THE MACHINERY IN MOTION.      315
XVII TWELVE YEARS LATER..       327








ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
The Philippine Commission.......  Frontispiece
President Taft at Oahu plantation........  2
Mr. Dominguez.............. 12
Ship-board  diversions............ 24
The  Nikko  quartette............ 24
The author and his daughter..     50
Provincial transportation, carabao sled......  58
Gate, Walled  City.........  58
Government offices, Manila.......  70
The water carrier.............86
River scene.............oo00
On  the  Pasig  river............. oo
A  country lane with bamboo.......... II6
A country home.........          6
Negritos in  the forest............  I30
Negritos at home.............30
A  woman of the people............ 38
Adult Negrito woman, showing relative size.... 38
A tropical river.............      44
A  river scene, Pagsanjan, Laguna........144
Native boats welcoming Commission, Bataan.....  162
Native prao, off Bacolod, Negros........162
Filipino  girl.............   78
Typical Filipino women of the better class...... 78




ILLUSTRATIONS


President Taft and the Sultan of Sulu.
Group of Bataks, Paragua...
Moro sports, Cotabato, Mindanao...
Moro dancing girls, Cotabato, Mindanao
A Moro family.........
Bagobos, Davao, Mindanao.....
The doctor..........
Fast express..........
Arch of welcome, Tacloban, Leyte
Scene on the Benguet road
Tropical vegetation, Benguet......
Group of Igorotes, Benguet..
Public session with Igorotes at Cervantes
Balsa used on the trip to Bangued, Abra
The "Merry Widow"
A bath al-fresco......
River scene showing dense forest growth
Igorote climbing a tree fern
Igorote woman.........
One of the people...


I..90
I..90...94..... 194.    200.. 220..    256.....  256.....  258.....  258......  262..... 268.... 274..... 296.....  300...... 300....  314....314.....  326.....  326




THE ODYSSEY OF
THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION








The Odyssey of the Philippine
Commission
I
SAN FRANCISCO TO YOKOHAMA
U. S. TRANSPORT Hancock,
PACIFIC OCEAN, April I7, 1900.
W\    ELL, the die is cast, and it is Ho! for the setting sun, and all the mysteries that lie
shrouded away yonder beyond the dip of many
horizons. The Commission and party sailed at
noon today, and with the Cliff House and Farrallones a memory, I can testify to some of the feelings
of that old adventurer, Cristofer Colombo. The
past two weeks have been such a scramble as to
leave little time to think upon the nature of this
journey or the experiences opening before us. We
are beginning to take stock of them now, however,
and of each other. Any one who has traveled on
ocean liners will recall the interest, not without
thrills, with which he turned to examine his fellow
passengers when friends and shore line had finally
disappeared. It is as if all the call of the big, outside world had become centered upon the miniature
[I]




THE ODYSSEY OF


world about you. With our party this usual interest is stimulated by the fact that we are to be not
only fellow voyagers for a month and half, but
fellow workers as well in that somewhat hazy
Orient toward which we are headed.
With the exception of the members of the Commission who met and organized in Washington,
few of our number ever saw each other before
boarding the transport. Even here, however, the
old saying about the world being small, finds illustration. After leaving port I found that James A.
LeRoy, Private Secretary to Commissioner Worcester, is none other than "Jack" LeRoy, trackman
and athlete, whom I had known in the old college
days at Ann Arbor. It was a pleasant discovery,
and established a community of interest between
us without any preliminary skirmishing.
That this expedition is "fraught with peculiar
importance," and is certain to hold strange incident
and happening for all of us, is more easily said at
this time than altogether appreciated. As we
steamed down the bay this afternoon, and saw the
fluttering flags and heard the crash of music from
the different warships, it seemed more as though we
were bound for a short pleasure cruise than beginning a journey of eight thousand miles to end itwe knew not where. It was and is difficult to realize
that the mission upon which the Commission is going
is unique to our people, and marks, in all likelihood,
the turning of a new page in our history.
As nearly as I understand it, our country is now
[2]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


undertaking something entirely unforeseen and
unplanned for at the outbreak of war with Spain.
It certainly formed no part of our plan at that time
to take unto ourselves a distant and an alien race,
and train it in the way they should go. In fact
there were mighty few of us who could have told
then just where the Philippines were, or what manner
of people inhabited them. When Dewey sank the
Spanish fleet on that May morning in I898, you
could almost hear the rustle of geographies and
encyclopedias throughout the land. There has
been fierce argument since as to what our next move
should have been. Some contend Dewey should
have sailed away as soon as his particular task was
done; others that he did the only proper thing by
remaining. The fact is he stayed, and we sent over
some soldiers to help capture Manila and loosen
Spain's hold on shore as well as on sea. While we
were doing this, the Filipinos improved the occasion
by setting up a bouffe government of their own at
Malolos. Here again, some maintain, a chance was
offered us to quit the islands and rid ourselves of
further responsibility. Those on the ground, however, vehemently insist that the continued presence
of our soldiers alone saved Manila from being
looted, and the islands at large from anarchy and
revolution. Whatever the right of it, the doubt
was once more resolved by remaining, and the question of what we "ought to have done" has now
become purely academic.
Our primary purpose in staying was doubtless to
[3]




THE ODYSSEY OF


preserve law and order. Beyond this our plans do
not seem to have been very well defined either to
ourselves or to the Filipinos. We assured the latter of our desire to better their condition, and
promised them as big a share in running things as
was consistent with the public good. Nobody
seemed able to say, however, just how we were to
go about it. Pending a discussion of ways and
means our troops remained in Manila, while the
Filipinos camped outside and continued to operate
their improvised government at Malolos. Aguinaldo, it appears, told his people that Dewey, or
some other person in authority, had promised him
the islands should be independent. This was denied
by the accused, and by our government, which was
convinced, apparently, that the natives lacked both
the training and experience to stand alone. After
numerous conferences, which accomplished nothing,
the Filipinos concluded to end the argument by
driving us out of the islands. That this was a case
of bad judgment on their part hardly admits of
question. It left us no alternative but to suppress
the uprising and restore order. We had driven the
Spaniard from the islands, and upon us devolved the
obligation of replacing the government destroyed
with one which would insure protection to native
and foreigner alike. To withdraw in the face of
attack would be to invite chaos.
Though there can be but one outcome to the insurrection, its occurrence is most deplorable.  Not
only has it already resulted in much destruction of
[4]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


lif e and property, but, more unfortunate still, it has
sown and is sowing hatreds and antagonisms which
threaten to render abortive all our purposes toward
the islanders. If our occupation 'is to benefit them,
their belief in our good intentions is imperative.
To hold a sullen people by the strong hand will
neither profit them nor satisfy us. Their confidence
and cooperation are absolutely necessary if our
plans for their betterment are to be realized. The
difficulty is that they have been deluded by promises
so long that nothing but the tangible fact will bring
conviction. To convince them of our sincerity it is
necessary to take some actual steps toward making
good our promises and pledges, and for this something more than the existing military rule is imperative. Not only is such a government necessarily
harsh and arbitrary, and unfitted by its very nature
to win the confidence of a people, but 'in this instance
it is rendered doubly so by reason of the inevitable
friction and bitterness caused by the pending
struggle.
It is to meet this condition of Affairs that the
present Commission was 'appointed.    President
McKinley has chosen five men from out our country
to go to the Philippines, and there, upon the heels
of war, convince an embittered, suspicious and
beaten race that we are sincere in our desire to help
them, and have no purpose in our hearts save their
highest good. He has instructed them to 'inaugurate governments essentially popular in form as fast
as territory is held and controlled by our troops,
[5]I




THE ODYSSEY OF


and, in so doing, to remember that the purpose
sought is not our satisfaction or the expression of
our theoretical views, but the happiness, peace and
prosperity of the people of the Philippine Islands.
Not an easy task is it, particularly when you remember that insurrection is still waging, and that seventy
thousand American troops are seeking by force of
arms to establish our sovereignty in the islands?
Can you wonder, therefore, considering all this,
that our journey takes on a strange interest for me,
or that its possible future happenings are a matter
of more or less vivid conjecture? I am glad to be
in the game.
PACIFIC OCEAN, April 19, I9oo.
Our party has spent most of the past two days in
getting acquainted. There has been a process of
"sizing up" which would doubtless surprise or
appall were we mind readers. It is very fascinating, however, for in each new acquaintance there is
much of the excitement of a lottery. You may
draw a congenial spirit and companion, who will add
to the joy of all your after days, or it may beotherwise. I have gotten far enough to at least
know the names of the chosen, with something of
their previous condition of servitude.
The Commission, as you doubtless know, consists of the Hon. William H. Taft of Ohio, Prof.
Dean C. Worcester of Michigan, General Luke E.
Wright of Tennessee, Judge Henry C. Ide of Ver[6]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


mont, and Prof. Bernard Moses of California.
Judge Taft is President of the Commission.
As to the attaches of the Commission-those
lesser lights whom fate or fortune has called to
share in this work-their roster is as follows:
Secretary.................... Not yet named
Assistant Secretary.......... Rutherford Corbin
Spanish Secretary......... Arthur W. Fergusson
Assistant Spanish Secretary.....Frank Dominguez
Disbursing Officer........... Frank A. Branagan
Recorder.................Leon W. Pepperman
Private Secretary to Judge Taft.....Mr. Coffman
Private Secretary to Com'r Worcester,
James A. LeRoy
Private Secretary to Com'r Wright.. Fred Heiskell
Private Secretary to Com'r Ide.......Paul Carter
Private Secretary to Com'r Moses,
Daniel R. Williams
We of the staff, no less than the Commissioners,
come from widely separated places and callings.
Mr. Fergusson has been connected with the Bureau
of American Republics in Washington, and was
interpreter and translator for the Paris Peace Commission. Mr. Corbin was Assistant Secretary to
the Schurman Commission, and was connected in
some capacity with the Paris Peace Commission.
Mr. Dominguez is an attorney from Los Angeles.
Mr. Branagan was disbursing officer for the Department of Justice at Washington, and acted in like
[7]




THE ODYSSEY OF


capacity for the Paris Peace Commission. Mr.
Coffman is just from Matanzas, Cuba, where he
was Secretary to General Wilson. Mr. LeRoy and
Mr. Heiskell are newspaper men, the former being
from Detroit and the latter from Memphis. Mr.
Carter was a court reporter at St. Johnsbury, Vermont. Mr. Pepperman, the Recorder of the Commission, who was connected with the Civil Service
Board in Washington, is not aboard, having failed
to reach San Francisco before we sailed. Another
attache is Mr. Brussard, who went to Cuba as captain in an immune regiment from Louisiana. I do
not know his duties.
In addition to the above, whose connection with
the Commission is on a salary basis, our party
includes the following: Mrs. Taft and three children, and her sister, Miss Herron; Mrs. Worcester
and two children; Mrs. Wright and daughter; Mrs.
Moses and sister, Miss Briggs; the Misses Ide;
Mrs. Fergusson and boy; Mrs. Branagan and boy;
Mrs. LeRoy; Major W. L. Kneedler, Medical Officer assigned to the Commission, and Mrs. Kneedler
and two children; Dr. Frank Bourns (who was
associated with Commissioner Worcester on certain
scientific expeditions to the Philippines before the
Spanish war) and his sister, Miss Bourns; Mrs.
Thomas, whose husband is a volunteer army surgeon in the islands; Miss Boruck and Miss McCord,
army nurses enroute to Manila, and Major Batson
of the Macabebee Scouts.
Of our entire number, only four, i. e., Commis[8]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


sioner Worcester, Dr. Bourns, Mr. Corbin and
Major Batson, have ever been in the Philippines.
To the rest of us the Orient, with all the mystery
it enfolds, will come with all the charm of novelty.
The Hancock is said to be one of the best
appointed of our transports. It was formerly the
S. S. Arizona with an Atlantic record. The Quartermaster in charge is Captain Bradley of the I4th
Infantry, who has as civilian assistants, Messrs.
Sewell and Tripler. Captain H. K. Struve is Sailing Master, and Dr. McVean is Ship's Surgeon.
The cabin boys and waiters are Chinese, and the
service could not be better were we guests on a
private yacht.
PACIFIC OCEAN, April 23, 1900.
We have ridden rough seas for the past two days,
causing an eclipse of some of the party. It is now
" fair weather," however, and everyone has come
to the front with a smile. The air is warm and
delicious-possibly the sugar coat of the tropics.
Awnings have been stretched over the promenade
deck, and white clothes are in the ascendant. The
only serious occupation aboard appears to be the
study of Spanish, nearly everyone you meet having
a libro Espanol of some kind. I fear that neither
the atmosphere nor the environment is conducive
to producing great linguists. Thus far the only
service required of the Secretaries has been copying
the President's Instructions to the Commission[9]




THE ODYSSEY OF


an interesting rather than a strenuous task. We are
due at Honolulu tomorrow, and speculation is rife
whether we will be permitted to land. The port
has been quarantined for some weeks on account of
bubonic plague, and our going ashore depends, it
seems, upon our being able to get a clean bill of
health for Yokohama from the Japanese Consul.
HONOLULU, April 24, 90oo.
We anchored off Honolulu at I2-30 P. M., just
one week out from San Francisco. The view from
the transport is one to make our desire to go ashore
clamorous. The city lies along a circling bay, with
a background of mountains. Pretty valleys stretch
back between the ranges of hills, green with the
vivid coloring of warm skies and tropic rainfalls.
Clouds and occasional showers sweep over the
mountains, while the city and bay remain flooded
in bright sunlight. Our fate hung in the balance
for some hours, there being much running to and
fro and consultations galore. Finally, about 4-30
P. M., the scales happily tipped our way, it being
definitely decided we might land. As the good news
spread over the ship, smiles lighted the erstwhile
gloom, and paeans of joy resounded on every hand.
PACIFIC OCEAN, April 28, 9o00.
The old saying that "realization seldom equals
expectation," does not hold good of Honolulu.
[IO]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


There the measure of hope overflows, and one's
thoughts run only in superlatives. The place is, in
truth, "A summer isle of Eden in dark purple
spheres of sea." For three days and a half we
revelled in its beauty and its charm. From the late
afternoon we landed, until we were sped over the
waters last midnight by the Alohas of a gracious
people, there was a constant succession of delightful
experiences. We fell in love with the smiling, softvoiced Kanakas, the men with their hat bands of
leis, and the women in their flowing holakous.
Markets, filled with strange fruits and with fish as
multi-colored as the rainbow, were a never-ending
delight, and the variety of vegetation was a revelation. Everywhere you saw giant palms marking
the sky line, while lesser trees and plants flourished
in tropical luxuriance.
The first morning we were taken on a drive to
the far-famed Pali. The road leads back through
the city and up a green valley hedged by high mountains. The view at all times is superb. As we
gradually ascended we had behind us a panorama
of the city and the bay, while about us were towering cloud-capped peaks. After winding steadily
upward for some two hours we came to a narrow,
wind-swept gorge that seemed to end in space. We
stood at the crest of the Island and saw yawning
before us a sheer declivity of over two thousand
feet. Far below, and spreading out like a fan, lay
a fertile plain which stretched away to meet the
ocean beyond. In the valley every shade and tint
[II]




THE ODYSSEY OF


of green blended into one harmonious carpet of
beautiful colors. The sea, shimmering in the bright
sunlight, was a deep, deep blue except where it
broke into foam upon some coral reef or fell back
lazily from the curving shore. It was a scene such
as the mighty workshop of nature occasionally
strikes off to gladden and awe the souls of men. We
were told that in the old days Kamehameha I pursued his routed enemies up the valley and then piled
their bodies in thousands over the precipice.  It
looked quite feasible, though the place needed no
such grim history to quicken its interest or charm.
The following day we were given an excursion
over the Oahu Railway, a line which runs partly
around the island. On one side of us lay always
the sea, and to the other rose the mountains, with
the green of rice and cane fields between. We visited the Oahu sugar plantation and saw the various
stages of sugar making from the cutting of the cane
to where the dark brown sugar was sewed in bags
by native women. From there we proceeded to
Waialua, a week's end resort for Honolulu people.
The hotel is called "Haleiwa," which means the
beautiful home. It would be difficult to choose a
more appropriate name, as the site and surround.
ings of the place are ideal. The proprietor and
his daughter sang some native songs for us, and
never have I heard softer or sweeter music than
these Hawaiian airs. They have a certain plaintive
sadness about them  that carries an irresistible
appeal. Each of the party was decorated with a
[12]:5  f




President Taft at Oahu Plantation


Mr. Dominguez








THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


lei-a chaplet of flowers worn about the neck and
usually given to people who are being entertained
or starting on a journey. It is a pretty custom, and
has the effect, somehow, of leveling distinctions and
bringing people into intimate touch without any
agonizing intermediate stage.
Our last day was devoted to various diversions.
In the morning most of us visited the Bishop
Museum, a wonderful collection of everything pertaining to native life in the Hawaiian and South Sea
Islands. It was intensely interesting and left with
us a number of decidedly new impressions concerning the customs and costumes of primitive peoples.
For the afternoon we were invited to Waikiki
Beach as the guests of Mrs. Carter. Waikiki lies
on the outskirts of the city and is famous for its
summer homes and its bathing and surf riding.
Most of the gathering donned bathing suits, and all
but a few indulged in surf riding-without doubt
one of the most exhilarating sports in the world.
The natives, who are experts, ride the breakers on
long flat boards, as pictured in our old geographies.
For amateurs, however, a surf boat is provided,
being a long narrow canoe fitted with an outrigger
and holding from five to eight persons. In charge
of a native, you work your way out through the surf
until some four hundred yards from shore, where
the boat is turned and a lookout kept for a nice, big
breaker. Then, as the native sees one to his liking,
he makes a deft turn of his paddle, and the breaker,
instead of passing over or under, catches and holds
[ 3]




THE ODYSSEY OF


your craft in the curve of the waters and shoots you
forward with a rush like the wind. The stern of
the boat is high up near the crest of the wave, while
the bow is ploughing through the water at its base
and enveloping you in spray. Glancing over your
shoulder you see the white comb of the breaker
rising above you, while about you is the swish and
swirl of the embracing water as you and it race
madly toward the shore.
While the sport is reasonably safe, your boat is
likely to capsize if allowed to swing "side on" to a
big breaker. This occurred two or three times, but
in each instance the victim could swim, and clung
to the overturned canoe until it drifted within depth.
Judge Ide was one of the unfortunates, and in the
mixup was evidently struck by the outrigger. As
succeeding waves dashed over him, and broke his
hold, he became quite exhausted and kept afloat with
difficulty.  Major Kneedler, passing in another
boat, saw his dilemma and did the rescue act by
taking the Judge's place in the water.
General Wright also had an exciting experience.
When some distance from shore he jumped from his
boat to join the bathers, all of whom appeared to
be within depth. Instead of landing in the regular
surf he went over his head into a deep and unlooked
for channel. Though able to swim, the unexpected
nature of the plunge caused him to swallow considerable sea water, something not prescribed as a first
aid to swimmers. After rather strenuous efforts he
reached a small raft anchored out in the water.
[I4]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


From there he tried to attract some of the boats,
but his distress signals were treated as mere ebullitions of joy. He finally struck out alone, bub
again landed in that unfortunate channel. It was
only after a desperate struggle, and when utterly
exhausted, that he finally reached shore. He
stated later that he could not have held out another
fifty yards.
Mrs. Carter's lawn runs down to the shore, and
as we gathered there in the late afternoon the scene
was one of the most peaceful and restful I have ever
known. The air was soft and fragrant, and the
setting sun painted sea and sky with a glory of color
new to northern eyes. It was a perfect experience.
The world has many beautiful playgrounds, but
one might go far to find a prettier than Honolulu.
PACIFIC OCEAN, May 8, i9oo.
We are now ten days out from Honolulu, and
within two of Yokohama. During the first days
after leaving Honolulu everyone was more or less
comatose, giving tired nature a chance to repair the
ravages of that season of dissipation. There is
something about an ocean trip that conduces to laziness anyway. The old and accustomed task has
been set aside, and there is no demand or inspiration to supply its place with anything new. The
daily newspaper is absent; there are no office hours,
telephones, nor time-tables; you eat and sleep without a hurry call; you lie down when you feel like
[ 15]




THE ODYSSEY OF


it, and walk or talk as the spirit moves you. It is
a condition of things for which most people imagine
they are striving, but which they seldom realize
except when they can't help it.
The days have brought closer acquaintanceship
among our party, the wide diversity in character
making for mutual interests. Our community of
purpose has also served to unify us into one large
family, something impossible had we been simply
fellow passengers. There has been much of the
abandon usual on shipboard. We have had costume
parties where trunks were ransacked for startling
effect, and when everyone temporarily lost his dignity if not his sanity. There have been impromptu
concerts, in which all participated, the repertoire
ranging from grand opera to ragtime. The favorite air appears to be "Whistling Rufus, the One
Man Band." I feel sure that whenever we hear
that song again it will have power to carry us back
to the old social hall of the Hancock, where camaraderie and good cheer were king. A not unusual
ending to our songfests is for all to join hands,
Commissioners included, and dance around the room
like children.
There have been two or three days of storm with
some casualties. The survivors have been of good
cheer, however, and have even mocked the fallen.
Immunity from seasickness and heartlessness seem
strangely united in the same person. Mr. Dominguez, the Assistant Spanish Secretary, has been so
persistently and actively ill as to excite interest if
[ i6]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


not sympathy. It is a record for which no one
aspires.
YOKOHAMA, May i O, r900.
We cast anchor in Yeddo Bay off Yokohama at
nine-thirty tonight. We are now at the gates of the
Orient, and are thrilled with the thought of what
the morrow and succeeding days will bring. Our
approach to this wonderland could not have been
more lovely or picturesque. We entered the bay
just before sunset, and saw the sun go down a great
red ball of fire beside the mountain peak of Fujiyama, whose perfect cone shone white and clear in
the distance. To the east rose a full moon which
lighted us upon our twilight ride up the bay. The
harbor itself appears like a scene from fairyland,
the many ships in the bay being brilliantly illuminated in honor of the marriage of the Crown Prince,
which occurred yesterday. It is a perfect night in
a perfect setting.
We are ready to go ashore in the morning, the
plan being to remain here a week. To a healthy
human being the situation and prospect leave little
to be desired.


[I7]




II


YOKOHAMA TO HONG KONG
EN ROUTE YOKOHAMA TO KOBE,
May I7, 900oo.
HORTLY       after three o'clock the Hancock
weighed anchor and headed down the bay. The
afternoon was bright and clear, and we saw once
again the sweep of that beautiful harbor with its
shipping and crowded life, and, over against it, the
city where we gained our first impressions of Japan.
It may be our good fortune to visit here again, but
never with the keen zest which came to us in the
days just gone. So much of life has been crowded
into their brief space that it seems a month rather
than a short week since that night we saw the sun
sink in splendor beside old Fujiyama, and waited for
the coming dawn. How we spent our time can best
be told by order of days.
YOKOHAMA, May ii, 90oo.
Needless to say our first day was one of vivid
surprises. It was without formal program, the
idiosyncracies of the party being given full sway.
As we landed we were immediately surrounded by
[I8]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


a swarm of rickshawmen, vociferous in their
demands for patronage and in voluble assurances
that they could "speakee Inglis."  Rickshaws constitute the carriage of Japan, and there are thousands of them. To see grown people getting into
these carts, and then being whisked off by the brownlegged runners, impresses one at first as rather a
sport for children. When our crowd of seven
started, all in line, it reminded me of a lot of
ostriches trotting off. Everyone had a broad grin
for his neighbor, and when we passed others from
the ship they were hailed wildly. We found the
streets narrow and the houses low, and constantly
wondered when we would come to the wide "business" section.
Most of the crowd took lunch at the Grand Hotel,
which is situated on the bund, or bay shore, and
commands a beautiful view of the harbor. The
latter was full of all sorts of water craft, ranging
from the sampan, or native gondola, up through
junks, yachts, merchantmen, liners and transports,
to the warships of all nations.
In the afternoon some of us took rickshaws and
made a wide tour of the city. It was a kaleidoscope of changing scenes and impressions. The
little houses with their rice paper windows and cool,
mat floors; the picturesque costumes of the people;
the women with their babies strapped upon their
backs; the girls with their rosy cheeks; the troops
of children; the odd little shops, and the various
street signs and scenes —all were enchanting. At
[ I9]




THE ODYSSEY OF


one point we encountered a wonderful garden, with
beds of peonies, the most luxuriant imaginable. At
another we stopped to take tea, and the gaily
dressed little ladies who waited upon us, and who
pattered about on the soft mats, were very, very
gracious.
That night a dance was given at the Grand Hotel,
the Hancock contingent being well represented.
Yokohama is a tourist center, and the crowd had
foregathered from all far places. The assortment
was a varied one, and it was interesting to try and
catalogue the specimens. You gained the impression that everybody was out for a good time, and
cared little what others might think or say. The
last launch left for the ship at midnight. Many of
our crowd went aboard in sampans, however.
May 12, I900.
Today several of us went to Tokio, an hour's
ride by rail from Yokohama. En route we caught
a glimpse of the country life of the people, and it
was no less fascinating than the city. Their fields
are platted into little squares, every one farmed like
a garden. The effect produced by these multi-colored
patches is a strikingly pretty one. At the various
stopping places there was always a tremendous hubbub and clatter. The people wear wooden clogs,
and as they raced up and down the platform it
sounded for all the world like runaway colts.
Tokio, the capital city, is a place one could
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THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


scarcely begin to explore in a week, much less in a
day or two. We did little more than drift about,
being entirely satisfied to take what fate brought our
way. When everything is novel there is little need
to pick and choose. As a matter of fact, "fate"
was represented for us by our rickshaw coolies. They
had their own notion of what we should see, derived
doubtless from a composite of the demands of bygone tourists. Very likely we could not have improved upon their ideas had we cared to make the
effort. Their first objective was Shiba Park, and
we praised their choice in glowing terms. There,
amid a wilderness of gigantic trees, is situated a
famous group of Shinto temples. They were our
first realization of those oriental, pagoda-like structures, full of color and strange forms, which typify
more than anything else the "East" of our dreams.
Upon entering the temples we were requested to
remove our shoes, this more as a protection for the
delicate matting than from any religious sentiment.
Wandering about in your stocking feet, particularly
when not prepared for it, does not inspire a solemn
or devotional spirit. Scattered about the grounds
were groups of pilgrims, giving a picturesque touch
to the scene and further reminding us that we were
a long way from home. The worshipers, before
making their prayers, would clap their hands or
strike a gong, the evident purpose being to arouse
the deity to their presence.
Most of the government buildings are of modern
architecture, and with broad surrounding avenues,
[2 1]




THE ODYSSEY OF


mark well the advent of a New Japan. The people
are naturally proud of these structures as evidencing
their progress, but the visitor finds his greatest interest elsewhere.  One does not appreciate how
unattractive are mere piles of brick and stone, built
for utility only, until he sees them cheek by jowl
with those other creations of a people naturally
artistic. There is a delicacy and a finish about everything purely Japanese which cannot fail to impress
the more practical westerner.
We stopped at the Imperial Hotel, which, like
many other public utilities in Japan, is subsidized
by the government. When it is considered that a
very large class of tourists make it thumbs up or
thumbs down for a place according to how they are
fed and lodged, the scheme of insuring them a good
hotel has much to commend it. A proper menu
and a comfortable bed cover a multitude of lesser
ills.
In the evening we attended a native theater.
There were eight of us, and our rickshaws made
quite a procession as we bowled along in single file.
The street crowds, the lighted shops, the sense of
rapid motion, and the entire novelty of our surroundings produced a sensation difficult to describe.
There are no chairs in a Japanese theater-or in a
Japanese home for that matter. Everybody squats
on mats on the floor. As our legs refused to properly double to meet this requirement, we were supplied with chairs. Their play was some historical
drama, with more dialogue than action. LThey had
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THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


a revolving stage, and when one scene ended the
machinery turned and brought into view another
section. It was much simpler than a drop curtain.
May 13, 1900.
Today a quartette of us-i.e., Mrs. Thomas,
Miss Briggs, Miss Bourns, and myself-decided
to go to Nikko, the famed temple city of Japan,
concerning which there is a saying that you must
not say the word "beautiful" until you have seen
it. We left the hotel shortly after noon in a driving
rain, being penned in our rickshaws by waterproofs.
We reached the railroad station in half an hour and
were glad to exchange our human steeds for one of
steel and steam. The afternoon was cold and damp,
and none of us were warmly clad. Finally, to keep
from congealing, we played the old game of "peas
porridge hot, peas porridge cold," etc. It served
the purpose, but the impression produced by the
performance upon our Japanese audience will likely
never be told.
Judge Taft and Commissioners Wright and Ide,
who were en route to Nikko and Yokohama, joined
our train at Akabane. We changed cars at Utsunomiya, from which point the scenery became more
mountainous and picturesque.  Extending from
Utsunomiya to Nikko, a distance of over twentyfive miles, is a wonderful avenue lined with giant
cryptomeria trees. It is a beautiful road leading
to a beautiful shrine, and millions of devout pilgrims
[23]




THE ODYSSEY OF


have traveled its shaded course. They still travel
it, but its prestige has waned with the coming of
the railway.
We reached Nikko just at dusk. The road from
the station to the hotel is uphill, requiring two men
to each rickshaw. It is to be said that a rickshaw
coolie has an unerring eye for weight, and invariably
makes his first dash at the smallest members of a
party. For this reason Judge Taft was not as immediately popular with this fraternity as some of us.
The difficulty was overcome, however, by assigning
an extra detail of runners to his rickshaw, and it was
with much merriment, and with every encouragement from the interested spectators, that the hill
was finally achieved. We found the hotel everything the most exacting tourist could require. Smiling Japanese little girls acted as servants, and
they were as nimble and silent as mice. "Chio,"
our waitress, was one of the prettiest and most captivating creatures imaginable, and we all succumbed
to her charms.
May I4, 1900.
We woke this morning to find the sun shining,
and to breathe an atmosphere intoxicating in its
fragrance and freshness. As our stay in Nikko was
limited, we started early on our visit to the temples.
Our walk led us first across a brawling mountain
stream, with vistas in the distance of great, verdureclad peaks, canopied with fleecy clouds.  Directly
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Ship-board Diversions


The Nikko Quartette








THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


upstream from where we crossed we saw the sacred,
world-famous, red lacquer bridge, which none but
the Emperor may pass. Our. pathway then wound
upward through the silent forest and a vision of
beauty gradually unfolded which words are feeble
to describe. The sight of those marvelous temples
on that tree-crowded mountain side was all that
fancy dared to paint or wildest hope conceive. The
impression created was one of age; of some old,
old time away back in the past- a time filled with
dreams and strange fantastic legends. You fronted
long avenues of towering trees, through which the
sunlight sifted and glinted in dancing shadows. Far
down the vista you saw wonderful gateways, and
still beyond, gleaming through the living archway
of green, were pagoda and temple, resplendent with
ornament and rich in all that a beauty-loving people
could inspire. In the foreground were strangely
garbed pilgrims, some kneeling, all serious and devout. Lacquer, bronze, and gold; masterful carvings in wood and stone; paintings rare and beautiful; rich ripe color everywhere, and yet all sense of
garishness softened by the green of tree and hillside. It was a combination that satisfied every soul
longing and left the feeling that never had you seen
or dreamed a thing so exquisite. Calm and quiet
dwelt in the shaded, sacred groves, and one longed
that he might stay on and on and become saturated
with the peace and harmony of it all.
Before leaving we climbed a long flight of mossgrown steps to where, in a simple enclosure, is a
[25]




THE ODYSSEY OF


bronze urn containing the ashes of the men to whose
memory all this wonderful series of temples was
reared. While erected originally as emblems of the
Buddhist faith, and as a sacred gathering place for
Buddha's worshipers, they were also designed as
memorials to the great Shoguns, Iyeyasu and his
grandson Lyemitsu, military rulers of Japan long
before the coming of Perry or the restoration of
the empire. What their particular claim to greatness was I know not, nor does it much matter.
Whatever it may have been, it can truly be said
they did not live in vain. This legacy of beauty
which they inspired, and which now marks their
tomb, has proven and will prove a source of joy
and gladness to untold generations of men. Such a
creation must work for goodness and for higher
ideals of life and conduct, whoever or whatever the
deity that sits enthroned therein.
We left for Yokohama at one o'clock and were
aboard the Hancock shortly after eight, having been
absent three days. Our outing had proved a perfect one, and we were inclined to commiserate with
others of the party who lacked the enterprise to
make the trip.
May 15, 900oo.
Today we shopped and further explored Yokohama. In the afternoon most of our party attended
the opening of the Summer Race Meet. These
races occur once every four months, and are, it
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THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


seems, the smart event of Yokohama society.
Whether the peope in this part of the world enjoy
sport more than the average citizen elsewhere, or
whether it results from paucity of diversions, there
seems to be far greater interest in racing and kindred sports in the East than at home. The afternoon was a perfect one, and the crowd cosmopolitan
to a degree. One saw Germans, Englishmen, Americans, and representatives of practically every European nation, as also every type of Oriental, each
with his or her own peculiar bearing and dress. The
track is on a high plateau on the outskirts of the
city, and offers, among other beautiful views, a
splendid outlook on the snow-capped peak of
Fujiyama.
That night a number of us made a tour of Theater
Street, one of the most picturesque of all the thoroughfares of Yokohama.    It is full of shops,
bazaars, and shows of various kinds, and gives one
a sight of native life unalloyed. At one point we
left our rickshaws and started to walk, but soon
found ourselves almost suffocated by the crowd that
gathered about us. We proved as great attractions
to them, evidently, as they to us. Before returning
we climbed the old Shinto temple on the hill of
Nogiyama, where a festival of some kind was in
progress. Everything looked weird and strange as
seen by the fitful light of lamp and torch. The
city and bay, however, were flooded in a glorious
moonlight, and as we looked out upon the scene we
felt what the Germans call die Freude des Lebens.
[27]




THE ODYSSEY OF


May i6, i900.
The members of the Commission and wives went
to Tokio today to be presented to the Emperor and
Empress- a ceremony reported as full of reciprocal
expressions of kindliness and good will. The shopping fever occupied the rest of us most of the day.
Compared with prices in the States, everything seems
remarkably cheap, while the art of making their
wares attractive has been reduced to a science by
these people. The temptation to buy and buy, and
that very often what you neither need nor want, is
certainly very great. The fact also that there is a
sliding scale of prices makes your buying something
of a lottery. Their usual procedure is to ask a
certain figure, followed, when you start away, by
the query, "How much you give?" Often, simply
to rid yourself of an importunate vendor, you mention a price so small as to seem ridiculous, only to
find your offer accepted and yourself saddled with
something you had no idea whatever of getting.
Our ship during evenings was usually transformed
into a sort of fair for the exhibition of purchases
and a comparison of prices, the widely different cost
of like articles often proving a revelation. In this
regard those of our crowd who hailed from New
England showed to advantage.
May I7, I900.
Last day in Yokohama. A small party of us
decided to go to Kamakura, a little town about an
[28]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


hour's ride by train from Yokohama. It is here
they have a great bronze Buddha, said to be the
largest bronze figure in the world. The village was
once famous for its magnificent temples, but in 1495
the buildings were swept away by a tidal wave and
never restored. Only the great Buddha and the
stone foundations of the temples are left. We saw
the Buddha and were not disappointed. It is about
fifty feet high, only the upper half of the figure being represented. The expression given the work is
remarkable considering its proportions. A writer
speaking of it says: " No other work gives such an
impression of majesty or so truly symbolizes the
central idea of Buddhism-the intellectual calm
which comes of perfected knowledge and the subjugation of all passion." It is referred to as the DaiButsu. It is situated in a little grove and stands
where Nature seems to have intended-in the open
air and sunlight, with the green of tree and hill about
it, and the wide, open sea in the foreground. I do
not know whether it was because we were a bit tired,
or whether there was some witchery in the soft air
and faintly stirring leaves of the trees, but all felt
as though we would like to stretch out and sleep in
the shadow of the great Buddha. Perhaps some of
the calm and quiet of that wonderful face, which 'has
looked down unchanged on so very many of earth's
children, has finally given of its peace and restfulness to the place, and all who come within its
shadow feel the charm. It is pleasant to believe
so, and feel the restfulness.
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THE ODYSSEY OF


We were back in Yokohama at one o'clock, the
transport being scheduled to sail at three. Some of
us had planned to go from Yokohama to Kobe by
rail, meeting the transport at the latter port. There
was some sort of plague scare, however, which
threatened complications, and the scheme was
abandoned.
KOBE, May i8, i900.
We were within sight of land most of the day, the
sea being like glass. There was very little stir
aboard, everyone being quite ready for a spell of
quiet. We passed into Osaka Bay early in the evening and anchored off Kobe at nine o'clock. Shortly
afterward the quarantine officers came aboard, six
of them, and a disagreeable lot of little men they
were. It took over an hour to satisfy them that the
transport was not a hospital for infectious diseases.
As it was only a trifle over twenty-four hours since
we cleared from one of their own ports, their zeal
seemed somewhat misplaced. Nobody went ashore
this evening. We are to be in Kobe but one day,
and some of the crowd figure on rising early for a
visit to Kyoto, the ancient capital of the empire, two
hours distant by rail.
KOBE, May ig, 90o0.
A number of us caught the six-thirty train for
Kyoto. The ride, with its further glimpse of the
country life of the people, was delightful.  It is
[30]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


difficult for one in the States, where land is farmed
on such an extensive scale, to picture a landscape
where every particle of ground is utilized. It gives
the country a neat and finished appearance as though
dressed for a holiday.
Next to Nikko, Kyoto has the most famous temples in Japan, and is quite a site for purely native
industries. Being inland, and away from the mixed
life of the ports, it has remained typically Japanese.
We visited the Chionin and Higashi-Hongwangi
temples, and they were truly marvels of workmanship in precious woods, lacquer, and bronze. To
describe them would be to repeat much of what was
said of the temples of Nikko. One place, however,
the so-called "Temple of a Thousand Statues"
disappointed us. At this place a thousand figures
are arranged in rows, one above the other, like advertising mediums, with nothing to relieve their
crowded monotony. Each figure has sixteen pairs
of small hands protruding from either side, while
the whole is crowned by thirty-two small heads.
This, according to their count, makes 33,000 figures.
The result is not impressive and it is difficult to
conceive how an artistic people like the Japanese
could either perpetrate or perpetuate such a nightmare as that collection of monstrosities.
Some of us took luncheon at a native restaurant.
There were no chairs, nor were there any knives,
forks, or spoons. We were expected to squat on
our feet and eat with chop sticks. We found it about
as easy to do the one as the other. The experience
[31]




THE ODYSSEY OF


was more amusing than satisfying, though we managed to land some part of the food where intended.
We later visited different shops where cloissonne and
satsuma ware was being made. This is not done in
large factories, but in obscure little places with few
workmen. The manufacture is by hand and represents an infinity of toil and patience.
We returned to Kobe at four-thirty and did some
running about before dark, it being after eight when
we boarded the transport. It has been a long day
and a hard one. We sail at ten-thirty tonight and
will be in the Inland Sea tomorrow.
May 20, I900.
Most people have heard of the Inland Sea of
Japan, reputed to be one of the most picturesque
bodies of water in the world. We have spent the
entire day sailing its island-checkered course, and are
prepared to say that its beauties have not been exaggerated. It is one maze of islands, some large
and some mere dots, all a beautiful green and cultivated to their very summits. This is done by ter.
racing the hillsides, which, with their different crops,
grading in color from early green to yellow harvest,
make a scene of surpassing charm. Cosy looking
little fishing villages nestled in the sheltered coves,
while the sea was alive with water craft of various
kinds. As the transport ploughed its way through
the winding channels one view followed another so
[32]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


rapidly that our supply of superlatives was soon
exhausted. Just before sunset we passed through
the straits of Shimonoseki into the open sea. There
were not many of us, I imagine, but felt that another
red-letter day had been added to the few such treasured in life's calendar. Tomorrow morning we
reach Nagasaki.
NAGASAKI, May 21, 90oo.
The harbor of Nagasaki is a gem. It is practically land locked, and though in reality quite large,
the hills surrounding it make it seem small. The
town lies strung along the shore and on the lower
ranges of the hills. As our transport anchored we
could see three or four large liners almost within
call, while several warships, among them the Oregon, were but a short distance away. A salute was
fired by the latter in honor of the Commission.
Every visitor to Nagasaki is supposed to go to
Mogi, and most of us did. Those who did not were
unfortunate. Mogi is a little fishing village about
two hours' ride by rickshaw from Nagasaki. It lies
across the divide, and the winding road not only
furnishes a bird's-eye view of the city and its bay
*.but brings you, after many pleasant surprises, to a
turquoise sea on the other side. I have already
enthused so much about Japanese landscape that an
account of this particular trip may well be omitted.
When I say, however, that it was one of the most
delightful rides we have taken in Japan you will
[33]




THE ODYSSEY OF


understand it was worth while. We were a jolly
crowd and the day was perfect.
In many respects a rickshaw is not a sociable contrivance. You occupy it alone, and the practice of
stringing out in single file makes conversation difficult. All you see of the person ahead is his back,
and you cannot see the person behind without twisting your neck almost out of joint. It is a condition,
however, which sometimes saves undue embarrassment. In this happy land, and particularly in the
country precincts, clothing is evidently worn more
for utility than to satisfy modern conventions. As
it is the "good old summer time" many of the people dispense with most of their clothes-more, in
fact, than orthodox practice or police surveillance
at home would permit. The result was a series of
living pictures somewhat startling to persons whose
education had been along different, even if less
logical, lines.
We returned to the transport in the late afternoon and found it surrounded by a swarm of men,
women, and children loading coal. Their method of
handling the coal is unique. It is brought alongside
in large barges, which also bring the aforesaid swarm
of people. Platforms are swung down the sides of
the vessel, upon which a line of men and women
range themselves one above the other. The coal is
shoveled into baskets and then tossed from hand to
hand up this line of people until finally dumped into
the bunkers.  The baskets are not large, but as
there is a constant stream of them going up from
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THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


each barge the aggregate loaded in an hour must
be large. Notwithstanding the work is hard and the
pay small, everyone seemed happy and good-natured.
It was an interesting performance, the constant
movement fascinating you like the break of waves on
a shore.
This evening there was a wonderful sunset. The
sky lit up as with flame and the waters of the bay
took on a strange purple hue. The sight recalled
those lines of old Omar where he speaks of "The
seas that mourn in flowing purple, of their Lord
forlorn."  It made a reality of what had before
seemed a poet's fancy.
NAGASAKI, May 22, 1900.
This day, our last in Nagasaki and Japan, was full
of comings and goings. The old temples on the
hilltop, the tortoise shell shops, and the tea houses,
all had their devotees. For the evening a " Geisha "
dance had been arranged, which quite a number attended. The place was prettily located far up the
hillside and gave us a fine view of the city and harbor as they appear at night. On entering we removed our shoes, spending the rest of the evening
in our stocking feet. We were ushered into a large,
beautifully decorated room, spread with the softest
of mattings. There were no chairs, simply cushions
on the floor. A true " Geisha " dance is really not a
dance at all but a dinner, the different courses being
interspersed with music and dancing by the Geisha
[35]




THE ODYSSEY OF


girls. As ours was a typical performance, we were
served with a regular Japanese dinner, consisting of
twelve or more courses. A taste of the different
dishes sufficed for most of us, but as we were limited
to chopsticks there was little danger of overeating.
The Geisha girls are specially trained for their vocation from earliest childhood. Their dancing, or
whatever it might be termed, consists of a swaying
of the body, with a weaving of the hands and arms,
all of which represents to them a portrayal of different feelings and emotions. This posturing is accompanied by music upon stringed instruments, and a
form of singing or chanting which sometimes rises to
a weird wail —all intended to describe the development of the plot. The little girls who performed
for us were dressed in the brightest and daintiest of
kimonas, and looked like tropical flowers or sprites
from fairyland. In the intervals of the dance they
would sit in front of us and smile and look happy.
The scene and experience constituted a fitting farewell to Japan, for it left us with a picture that was
bright and full of life, typical of this people. It is a
strange and picturesque land, and that traveler must
be blase indeed who cannot find here much to stir
his interest and imagination. What our experiences
have been I have tried in brief fashion to set down.
The various side lights, however —the many amusing incidents bound to happen amid such novel surroundings -are impossible to detail. They go to
make up the "unwritten history" of every such trip,
and are the heritage of those only who share them.
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THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


HONG KONG, May 26, igoo900.
We reached Hong Kong late tonight, but will not
land until morning.  The four days' run from
Nagasaki has been a delightful one. In this we
were fortunate, as this stretch of China sea is usually rough. After nearly two weeks of rush and
scattered interests in Japan, it seemed good to be
together again and resume the pleasant routine of
ship life. As we sailed south the weather grew
warmer and white clothes again predominated. The
sunsets have been beautiful, that of last evening
being a mass of deep red which streamed outward
from the horizon, filling the whole western sky with
wonderful cloud pictures. One of these took the
form of a blood-red lake dotted with tiny islands,
which kept its formation for nearly half an hour.
We are now within touch of Asia, that ancient
land which typifies all that is old and mysterious in
human history. It is rather odd to feel that rivers,
towns, and peoples we have associated so long with
geographies and picture books have now become
something real and palpable. Tonight we look
across the harbor and see the lights of Hong Kong
gleaming tier on tier far up against the skyline. It is
a charming spectacle, and, as on that other night in
Yeddo Bay, we wonder what the morrow will bring.


[37]




III


HONG KONG TO MANILA
HONG KONG, May 27, I900.
HONG KONG is a monument to the energy and
enterprise of Englishmen.  In little over a
half century what was a barren, inhospitable island,
inhabited by a few ignorant fisher folk, has become
a magnificent city-the trade and tourist center of
the Far East. Through its harbor there passes annually a tonnage of ships second only to that of
Liverpool. Its rugged and precipitous hillsides have
been parked and terraced and are now the site of
great business houses and beautiful homes. Splendid
macadam roads and thoroughfares wind over and
about the island, a tribute to the skill of English
engineers. Along its busy streets there constantly
passes an array of humanity as motley and picturesque as the world offers, for this far outpost of
England is the crossroads of the nations. The town
as seen from the harbor, or the harbor as seen from
the town, make equally striking pictures. The fact
that so many of the streets run up and down introduced to us a new mode of transportation -i. e., the
sedan chair, which somehow impresses as being a
very luxurious mode of travel. The highest point
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THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


of the island is known as "The Peak," and is some
2,000 feet above the bay. It is reached by a cable
tramway, which runs at what seems an almost impossible angle. You have the feeling when riding
it that your car is likely at any time to drop off into
space. In seeking this tramway we told our chair
coolies to take us to the station. Whether acting
on past experiences, or simply through natural
cussedness, they took us to the police station instead.
Without arguing that we might not land there eventually, we did persuade them it was not our immediate destination. Ascending to the Peak, we had
another of those views which seem to appeal to me
as a bit better than anything previously seen. It
was a bright, clear day, and the island, the city, the
bay and its shipping, and the mainland of China
beyond, were spread before us like a vivid chiseled
etching. If there are finer outlooks they can easily
be numbered.
We took tiffin at the Peak Hotel and were served
a number of new dishes. Among the fruits was
the mangosteen, described by one writer as being
the last and most perfect effort of the Creator in the
fruit kingdom. They certainly were delicious. Most
of the people about us were English, and we regarded them with some interest as evidencing the
effects of a tropical climate. They all had a certain
white, washed-out look different from the usual
ruddy English complexion. We saw in them replicas
of what we would likely be in a couple of years.
In the late afternoon we took rickshaws and rode
[39]




THE ODYSSEY OF


out to "Happy Valley," where the race course and
the cemetery adjoin.  Afterward we visited the
purely Chinese section of the city, where we could
well imagine ourselves separated by infinite distance
from civilization as we had lived it. We returned to
the Hancock in a native sampan. These boats are
used not only for transportation but for family life
as well. Many families, it seems, know no other
home. Babies sprawl about the deck or dangle in
most uncomfortable attitudes upon their mother's
back as she wields an oar. It is not the cleanest way
to travel, and when seven of us got into one of them
it was more of an experience than a joy.
May 28, i900.
The weather is warm, the hottest we have yet
experienced. The Chinese, who constitute the bulk
of the population, go scantily clad, most of them
wearing nothing above the waist. Many of our
party have put in their time shopping, Hong Kong
being a free port and prices comparatively low. This
is particularly true of clothing and furniture, of
which quite a supply is being secured.
A few of us are organizing a trip to Canton,
ninety miles up the river. The plan is to leave on
the six o'clock boat this evening.
May 30, I900.
The trip to Canton was made as scheduled and
proved the most truly oriental of anything thus far
[40]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


seen. We were there able to realize just what is
meant by the expression, "the teeming millions of
the Orient." The ride up the river from Hong
Kong was delightful. Our boat was commodious,
and the captain, who has sailed these eastern waters
for seventeen years, regaled us with many strange
yarns.
We reached Canton at six in the morning. Of
its population of two and a half millions, it is estimated that two hundred and fifty thousand live on
the river-that is, are born, live, and die on boats.
The water was full of various craft, and it was a
sight indescribable.  As our boat anchored they
flocked about us like a lot of beetles, and there,was the noise and confusion of many tongues.
Through the courtesy of the American Consul, who
came down to meet Mr. and Mrs. Branagan, we all
took breakfast at the Consulate. The foreign residents of Canton live in a district called Shameen,
separate from the native city, and well they need to.
There are no vehicles in Canton proper except the
sedan chair, the streets being too narrow to admit
of even rickshaws. From ten in the morning until
after four in the afternoon we saw and smelled
Canton. For guide we had Ah Cum, well versed in
English and the devious paths of that devil city.
It is hard to do justice to the scenes and sensations which came to us on that tour. Before making
the trip I had read Kipling's account of his visit,
appearing in From Sea to Sea. I thought he must
have exaggerated conditions, but now I know they
[4I ]




THE ODYSSEY OF


are true. Think what it means to compress two and
a half millions of people within the radius of what
would be a small-sized city in the States! The people simply congest-they swarm. There are no
parks, no wide thoroughfares. The buildings almost
overarch the alley-like passageways, which are still
further darkened by a plethora of multi-colored advertising signs.  Through these obscure channels
pours a constant stream of humanity. The day was
hot and the odors that went up from those narrow
lanes and from that sweltering mob were something
oppressive and appalling. Most of the people wear
a minimum of clothing, and all we could see before
us was a gleaming vista of human flesh and devil
faces. They stared at us insolently, and whenever
we stopped would crowd about us until our nerve
was almost gone. In describing the effect created
upon him by this scene Kipling said: " Do you know
those horrible sponges full of worms that grow in
warm seas? You break off a piece of it and the
worms break, too. Canton is that sponge." At
places the streets would be so narrow that two chairs
could not pass and there would be a blockade. Our
coolies, of whom there were three to each chair,
kept yelling like fiends in an effort to clear the way.
It was a situation where anything might have happened without causing surprise. We visited a number of temples, rich in fine carvings, as also shops,
where work was being done in ivory, jade, and
precious woods so delicate that it seemed inconceivable the human hand or human eye could be so
[42]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


trained. At noontime we ate lunch (brought from
the ship) on the summit of a pagoda built on the old
city wall. To one side spread the city, simply a sea
of housetops, without a sign of street or tree; to the
other lay the country, apparently one vast cemetery.
The religion of China inculcates a worship or veneration of ancestors, with the result that all their dead
must be buried rather than cremated. In a country
where population presses hard upon subsistence, and
where a small tract of ground means life to thousands, immense areas are given over to graveyards.
Not only is the land unproductive, but works of
public utility are often blocked because of the desecration which would result to these cities of the
dead.
Many other strange things we saw in that most
crowded and noisome of cities-the old water clock,
the mortuary, the beheading ground, the prison, etc.
It all seemed like some horrid dream, full of terrifying images. That human beings can pass from
childhood to age knowing nothing and seeing nothing but that place of gloom and awful smells seemed
almost beyond belief. One felt that in all the wide
world there was nothing cheaper than human life.
It was a relief to board the boat and have fresh air
about us again. We started down the river at fourthirty, and the green landscape spreading to either
side seemed veritable Elysian fields after the inferno
we had left.
Early this morning we were back in Hong Kong.
Our trip had taken just thirty-six hours, but measur[43]




THE ODYSSEY OF


ing time by experience our raven locks might well
have turned gray in the interim. We talked "Canton" and its unique interest so much that those who
had neglected to make the visit soon fled our approach.
In the afternoon an excursion was tendered the
Commission and staff by Mr. Gillis, a wealthy Englishman of Hong Kong. We made a tour of the
bay and ran out beyond the heads. The afternoon
was pleasant and the crowd congenial. The Queen,
the President, the Commission, the Anglo-Saxon
alliance, our respective navies, etc., were all toasted
with appropriate beverages and speeches. Everyone
had a good time.
HONG KONG, May 3, 900oo.
This is our last day in Hong Kong. The warm
weather has reduced the pace of the party somewhat, though the manifold charms of street and shop
are hard to resist. In all the exploring, however,
no one seems to have been either concerned or
deterred by the fact that from sixty to seventy deaths
from bubonic plague are being registered daily.
Whether we have absorbed some of the fatalism of
the East, or simply regard the situation as natural
to our new life, I do not know. We have moved a
long way though from the wild terror spread in San
Francisco recently by the unverified report of a single case of plague. I remember how a rope and a
cordon of police were thrown about Chinatown at
[44]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


four o'clock in the morning, shutting in most of the
cooks and house boys of the city. When it comes
to choosing between hysteria.and plague there is
some question as to which can work the most harm.
Tomorrow at daybreak we enter upon the last
stage of our journey, Manila being two days' sail
to the southward. It is to be hoped the weather
will not grow correspondingly hotter. White clothes
and pith helmets are now the regulation costume of
our party, the Hong Kong tailors having been well
patronized. Mr. Ferguson had an experience at one
of the shops which illustrates how literally a Chinaman follows instructions. Having a somewhat large
waist measurement, and finding that his trousers
made in Japan had shrunk uncomfortably, he told
the Chinese tailor to "make them  high" —dramatically striking his chest in the neighborhood of
the armpits as being about what he wanted. The
garment was made accordingly, and is now the joy
of everybody on board-except the owner.
CHINA SEA, June 2, I900.
We are due at Manila tomorrow. The weather
is still warm and everyone is dressed as lightly as
possible. We have now gotten down to the strictly
essential, as neither style nor temperate zone conventions find much encouragement in this latitude. Personal appearance has given way largely to personal
comfort. The China Sea, which is usually turbulent, is as smooth as the proverbial millpond. Even
[45]




THE ODYSSEY OF


Mr. Dominguez is visible, undeniable proof that
the sea is absolutely calm.  The fact of greatest
interest now, however, is that within a few miles of
us lie the Philippine Islands. This means not only
new scenes and new experiences, but it means also a
new home with new and untried tasks and responsibilities. All that has transpired thus far has been
simply a delightful prologue to the real performance, which begins tomorrow. As the lines for which
we are cast are new, the stage untried, and the temper of the audience reported hostile, there is naturally some anxiety as to how things are going to
turn out.
The islands are now under military government,
Major General Arthur McArthur being the Commanding General and Military Governor. The Commission, which is to be the legislative body, with authority to replace military rule as fast as conditions
warrant, does not take over its duties until September i. In the interim it will study the situation and
determine how best to meet it. What the outcome of
the experiment will be to our country, and to the
members of our little group, is for the prophet or
the historian to answer. Certainly the established
order of things has changed for both, and conditions
can never be quite the same again with it or with us.
We have been warned against all possible sorts of
ills. The natives have been pictured as treacherous,
the climate as pestilential, and earth and sky as teeming with animal life, ready, willing, and anxious to
destroy us. The last message delivered to most of
[46]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


us upon leaving home was: "Now, if the climate
or conditions don't agree with you, be sure and come
right back." We will soon know the best or the
worst, though no one appears to have any idea how
long we are to serve. "Two or three years" is the
usual conjecture, which has gradually crystallized
into the belief that we will be in the Islands at least
two years. Well, whatever happens, or however
long or short our stay, we have had a most glorious
time getting here. The thought may have obtruded
that there has been more of pleasure about our trip
than of concern for the problems we were sent to
solve. As to all but the immediate members of the
Commission this is doubtless true. For them the
different stops have afforded opportunities to learn
of general conditions in the East and to consult and
advise with many persons concerning the work which
awaits at the end of the journey. The rest have
been free to enjoy their time to the full, and the
days have been crowded with everything calculated
to make the experience unique and memorable. With
a fine ship, congenial companions, and a constant
recurrence of novel and interesting sights, there has
been little left to desire. As Stevenson says, in
describing certain happy incidents on his Inland Voyage: " We have gained just so much upon the wholesale filcher, Death."


[47]




IV


MANILA AND FIRST IMPRESSIONS
MANILA June 4, igoo900.
W    E PASSED the island of Corregidor, which
marks the entrance to Manila Bay, shortly
after daylight yesterday. Everyone was on the qui
vive to get a first glimpse of the place and the people with whose fortunes we are soon to be so
strangely united. It is thirty miles from Corregidor
to Manila, which gives you an idea of the size of the
bay. On our left as we entered were the mountains
of Mariveles, and further on to the right was Cavite,
where Dewey sank the Spanish fleet. We could see
the hulks and projecting masts of a number of the
wrecks as we passed. Manila has no docks, and the
Hancock was compelled to anchor about a mile from
shore.  Viewed from   that distance the city lay
almost at the water level, with a range of rather hazy
mountains in the far background. With the exception of the domes and spires of numerous churches,
and a line of white houses along the shore, very
little could be seen from the ship.
After satisfying the quarantine officials that we
were in good health and spirits the yellow flag came
down and visitors began to arrive. These included
[48]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


various delegations of Filipinos, military officers and
newspaper men. The Filipinos wore frock coats
and silk hats and made quite a distinguished showing. Among them were members of the Supreme
Court and various men of prominence who have
allied themselves with the American cause. Greetings and expressions of good will were duly exchanged, Mr. Ferguson acting as interpreter. His
fluent and sonorous Spanish, interspersed with welltimed shrugs and gestures, doubtless convinced his
hearers that "we were armed and well prepared."
Our native visitors created a decidedly favorable
impression both in appearance and in their ease of
manner and expression.
Later in the day the Commission went ashore to
return the call of the Military Governor and locate
houses for themselves and families. As there are
no good hotels here, most of the party has remained
on the Hancock pending some arrangement for quarters elsewhere. This question of a place to live is
now the prevailing topic. As the supply of really
desirable houses in Manila never seems to have been
plentiful, the advent of our army and its following
has pretty well exhausted everything in sight. It
appears also that the best accommodations offered
have many unexpected features-such as having the
stable under the house, medieval plumbing, and like
novelties. When to these drawbacks are added some
dirt and some dilapidation you have a combination
to drive the average American housewife to tears.
I am fortunately saved the worry of an individual
[49]




THE ODYSSEY OF


search, having been invited to make my home with
Commissioner and Mrs. Moses. As for the rest,
well, "time and the hour run through the longest
day."
Before closing I would add that it has been and
still is hot. Everybody looks wilted. If the past two
days are a fair sample of what we are to expect there
will be little left of us in two years. Last night
there was a general exodus from the cabins onto the
deck, which early resembled a huge dormitory. We
have been somewhat heartened, however, by the assurance that this is the culmination of the "hot season," and that the climate is generally quite pleasant. It is so usual, however, to picture things of
this nature as exceptional that we are by no means
convinced.
MANILA, June 12, I900.
Everybody is now ashore and located, though not
altogether settled. We have already learned that
things don't "settle" very quickly here, but require
time and abundant patience. Very little has been
done thus far beyond getting some first hand impressions of Manila and of the life into which we have
been plunged. There is certainly plenty of novelty
and strangeness about it. To most of us, as to people in the States generally, army life and all that
pertains to it have been a sealed book. Here, however, it is an ever-present reality, the city being a
huge military camp swarming with khaki-clad sol[5o




The Author and His Daughter








THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


diers. They patrol the streets, guard the public
buildings, and perform all the functions of government. We go to bed to the sound of taps, and wake
to hear the bugles sounding reveille. Military authority is supreme- omnipotent. To be on the
streets after ten at night is presumptive evidence of
treason, anyone found abroad after that hour without a pass being hustled to the guardhouse. The
talk you hear is of "insurrectos," and of fighting
here and fighting there. Manila itself, while perfectly quiet, is disturbed by constant rumors of contemplated attacks. It was currently reported and
believed that a demonstration against the city was
to follow the arrival of the Commission-just a
little something to show how welcome we were.
Thus far, however, nothing has happened. We find
the army view of the situation decidedly pessimistic.
They think it will take years to crush the insurrection
and restore public order. This would mean the
indefinite continuance of military rule-a prospect
apparently much more alluring to many of our officers than the advent of civil government.
Manila has an estimated population of over two
hundred and fifty thousand, scattered over quite an
extensive area. The city is bisected by the River
Pasig, which is alive with launches, coasting vessels,
and native cascoes and bancas. On the south bank
of the river is the old Walled City, known as " Intramuros" (within walls), while to the north is the
general shopping district. There are very few stores
in the walled city, which is given over largely to
[SI]




THE ODYSSEY OF


churches, convents, schools, government offices, and
scattered private dwellings. The walls, which are
massive and well preserved, are surrounded by a
deep moat and penetrated by a number of picturesque gates, protected by drawbridges. These latter are still in working order, the place having afforded a refuge to the public in times of trouble up
to that August day when our troops scaled its walls.
The buildings crowded within this enclosure are
time-worn and discolored, and as you walk its narrow streets, and catch glimpses of the hidden, mysterious life behind the ponderous doors and grated
balconies, you can well imagine the centuries have
been arrested and you are back in the days of
Charlemagne or Charles the Bold. The city outside
the walls, however, has no such reposeful air, its
streets being thronged with people and vehicles of
all kinds. The natives, though not particularly prepossessing, have an alert carriage, with something
of the Spaniard's suavity and grace of manner. The
men of the lower class dress in white cotton trousers
and a more or less transparent shirt, usually worn
outside the trousers. The costume of the women
consists of a sort of waist with wide sleeves and a
rather narrow skirt-bright colors predominating.
Shoes and stockings seem to be almost unknown;
the nearest approach to the former being a sort of
slipper without heels called chinelas.  Small children either wear no clothes, or what they do flourish
is so abbreviated and transparent as to excite wonder why they wear anything at all. The upper
[52]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


classes dress much as we do, except that the native
women and those of mixed blood, known as
Mestizas, wear a waist with stiff, billowy sleeves,
and a skirt tailed something like a beaver. As most
of the Spaniards in the islands were connected either
with the army or the civil administration, and left
soon after the Treaty of Paris, the Spanish element
is small. There are quite a number of Chinese and
a marked sprinkling of other nationalities. There
are also racial blends whose ancestral trees ramify
to every quarter of the globe.
The transportation facilities are decidedly poor.
There is a horse car line, but the cars are so few
and small and the service so irregular that even in
this land of manana it is a byword. There are no
rickshaws. The public vehicles for hire consist of
small, two-wheeled rattletraps known as carromatas,
with an occasional broken down Victoria. These
are drawn by diminutive horses, driven by a set
of indolent cocheros, who seem utterly indifferent
whether they secure a fare or not. At noontime
most of them absolutely refuse a passenger, protesting they must go and chow. As the distances are
great, and walking uncomfortable, everyone who
can afford it keeps a vehicle of some sort. There
are in evidence also large army wagons, drawn by
towering American mules-which usually crowd
everything else to the curb -intermixed with a trailing procession of carabao carts. The carabao is a
large, meek, ungainly animal, with wide branching
horns-the beast of burden of the islands. His
[53]




THE ODYSSEY OF


gait is that of the proverbial snail, and it is said he
sets the pace for the people. As a result of all this
traffic, the streets, none too wide, are in a state of
constant turmoil and congestion.
There are few buildings in the city more than two
stories high, due partly to the fact that ground is
plentiful and also to fear of earthquakes.  The
various public buildings and churches, which abound,
are well constructed, some of the latter being quite
imposing. Most of the dwelling houses are built
flush with the sidewalk and their exterior is not attractive. Small, flat shells are used for window
panes and serve the purpose admirably, shutting
out as they do much of the heat and glare. The
better class houses, being mostly windows, can be
thrown open to almost any extent desired. Ordinary native houses are built of bamboo with a roof
of nipa palm, and have every appearance of comfort
at small cost. The frame houses of the wealthy and
the nipa shacks of the lowly adjoin, there being,
apparently, no well defined residence section. There
is a noticeable lack of parks and gardens, nor is there
that luxuriant vegetation one associates with the
tropics and which we saw in such abundance in Honolulu. Few of the streets are shaded, something inexcusable in a warm climate, where very little effort
would accomplish so much. Possibly the disturbed
condition of the country during recent years is partly
responsible for this.
Different from Mexico and other countries ruled
by Spain, Spanish has not become the prevailing
[54]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


language of the people. It is estimated that less
than five per cent of the population speak and read
Spanish, the rest being limited to their local dialects.
In and about Manila the people are Tagalogs, who,
having come into somewhat close contact with Spanish influence, are said to be more ambitious and restless than the other tribes. Many different important
dialects are spoken throughout the islands, a fact
which renders any real union of the people at this
time extremely difficult, if not impossible.
Shopping is quite a problem. Most of the retail
business is done by Chinese, Spaniards, and East Indians, Filipinos being in a decided minority. In but
few stores do they speak English, while in none do
they seem to have what you want or be able to direct
you where to get it. There are two or three American commercial houses, but their trade is confined
largely to liquors and canned goods. The army
people get most of their supplies from the commissary and quartermaster departments-a privilege
extended to the Commission and staff for the present. The large import and export houses of the
islands are mostly German, English, and Swiss, with
one Spanish concern known as the "Compania
Tabacalera."  I imagine these foreigners do not
relish our occupation very much, as it has seriously
hampered their business. For over a year now most
of the island ports have been closed to commerce in
an effort to shut out insurgent supplies-offering a
strong incentive for contraband.
Health conditions are fairly good, certainly when
[55]




THE ODYSSEY OF


compared with what they are reported to have been
when we took Manila. There is some bubonic
plague, and more or less smallpox-the latter being
endemic. The prevailing trouble, however, is dysentery, of which there seems to be a great deal. It is
said that if you are careful what you eat and drink,
and live a regular life, you can be as well here as
anywhere. The only trouble about this is that you
cannot always be sure just what you are eating and
drinking.
About the only diversion we have is driving on
the Luneta and Malecon. The Luneta is a large
oval on the bay shore, where the band plays in the
evening. The Malecon is a palm-bordered driveway about a mile long, extending along the bay
from the Luneta to the river. Between six and
seven-thirty there is a constant procession of carriages moving to and fro, or anchored at some spot
convenient to the music. At that hour the land
breeze cools the air, and the sun, sinking behind
the mountains of Mariveles, paints wonderful pictures in sea and sky. Everyone you know is in evidence, and informal visits from carriage to carriage
are en regle. Among Americans the military element
predominates. There are more Captains, Majors,
and Colonels here than we had any idea existed before our coming. They make a fine appearance in
their white dress uniforms, the few scattered civilians
in plain duck being quite inconspicuous in comparison. The ladies-of whom there are already quite
a number —all dress in white, and most of them
[56]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


very sensibly dispense with hats. Altogether it is an
animated scene and one of the most delightful features of Manila life. The program closes each evening with the "Star-Spangled Banner," when everyone uncovers and stands at attention. It takes some
such environment as this —a strange land with an
atmosphere of war-to make one properly appreciate just what our country and our flag really mean
to us. He would certainly be a poor American who
did not thrill as he heard the strains of that final triumphant melody swell out upon the tropic night, and
thought of all the heroism and sacrifice its music
spells. The feeling stirred has something of consecration about it, and leaves you a better American,
and more jealous of your country's welfare and
honor than you were before. There is one song
though which we have not heard and which the band
never plays —i.e., "Home, Sweet Home." Homesickness is too present and real a thing among our
people here to either require or stand any artificial
stimulant. As to theaters and similar attractions,
the ten o'clock curfew law effectually eliminates them
for the present.
Commissioner and Mrs. Moses have secured a
house on the bay shore just beyond the Luneta. We
are now in the throes of painting, plumbing, etc., the
different workmen being imbued with the idea evidently that it is to be a life job. With the exception of mosquitoes we have not found the insect life
either numerous or voracious. Mosquito netting,
however, is indispensable for the beds. The first
[57]




THE ODYSSEY OF


few nights we were without it, and the experience
was trying upon our disposition and our religion.
The regulation Filipino bed is of split bamboo on
which you spread a fiber mat and a sheet. Some
pretend to like them and claim they would use none
other. For a beginner, however, it is like sleeping
on a board, which is not agreeable for a thin person
with exposed angles.
The hot season is still " culminating," and it would
require great optimism to pronounce it comfortable.


[s8]




Provincial Transportation, Carabao Sled


Gate, Walled City








V


EARLY INCIDENTS AND PROBLEMS
MANILA, July I, 1900.
THE Commission is now installed in the Ayuntamiento —the old "Palacio" or government
building in the Walled City. It is also the military
headquarters and furnishes a scene of activity such
as was never witnessed by the old Spanish Dons,
whose portraits still adorn its walls. From all accounts, administrative affairs ran a very leisurely
and sleepy course under the old regime. For nearly
three hundred years Spain ruled the Islands with
little or no protest from the natives, and with but
two or three slight differences with outsiders. At
the time of our occupation, however, the islands were
and had been for some years in a state of insurrection, the scattered uprisings of the people having
finally merged into the more or less general revolution of 1896. The events following our occupation
are familiar history. The people, already in arms,
and misled as to our purposes by both church and
secular bodies, were persuaded to rise against our
authority. Hostilities opened with the outbreak of
February 4, I899, and gradually extended throughout most of the Christian provinces of the Archi[59]




THE ODYSSEY OF


pelago.  Our forces were steadily increased until
there are now between sixty and seventy thousand
American troops in the islands, divided into five hundred or more detachments. Following the capture
of the insurgent capital at Malolos, and the going of
Aguinaldo into hiding, all organized resistance
ended, the fighting thereafter degenerating into that
most trying of all struggles, guerrilla warfare.
When it is remembered that almost every native
is or was actively or passively arrayed against us;
that the climate is a tropical one, where heat, and
storm, and disease wait upon the path of our soldiers; that they are fighting upon unfamiliar ground,
most of which is mountainous or rank with jungle
growth; that they are ignorant of the language of the
people and are compelled to rely for information
upon the uncertain testimony of native guides and
interpreters, some conception may be had not only
of the difficulties encountered but of the fortitude
and courage displayed in meeting them. The greatest trouble has been not in routing scattered insurgent bands, 'but in protecting those natives who.
sincerely or otherwise, profess adherence to our
cause. Such natives are truly between the devil and
the deep sea. Unless they take the oath of allegiance
they are considered and treated as "insurrectos,"
while if they do take such oath they are treated as
"Americanistas" by the insurgent element and subjected to all sorts of barbarous treatment. In Manila there are many natives who realize not only
that armed resistance is useless, but who are con[ 6o ]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


vinced of our good intentions toward them. Such
also exist outside Manila, but hesitate to publicly
proclaim their belief for fear.of violence. The
immediate problem is to create a situation where
those in favor of peace can safely say so, and can
argue with their brethren in the field not only that
our intentions arc good but, by pointing to accomplished facts, show the advantage of accepting our
authority. It is very doubtful if the mass of the
people have any interest in or desire to continue the
insurrection. They know little, and probably care
less, about "independence," "equality," and "popular government." They know not what the terms
mean. The struggle is largely inspired and prolonged by an influential few, some of whom are
doubtless sincere, but the majority of whom hope to
ride into place and power upon the heels of our
withdrawal. To convince these leaders, therefore,
not only of the futility of their efforts, but that they
will have an opportunity to participate in a government organized by us will go far toward ending
hostilities.
The Commission, shortly after its arrival, issued
an announcement outlining generally the scope of its
powers and the policy it would pursue.  It was
stated that the members of the Commission were
men of peace and that their work would be confined
to regions in which armed resistance had ceased. To
such of the people as laid down their arms assurance
was given that they would have a full hearing as to
contemplated reforms, and could rely upon the jus[61]




THE ODYSSEY OF


tice, generosity, and clemency of the United States
in its dealings with them. Suggestions were invited
from Filipinos, and from others, as to needed
changes in legislation and in the organization of the
various departments of government. In the interim
until September the various subjects calling for
investigation were assigned to the different Commissioners as follows:
Taft-The civil service, the friars, and public
lands.
Worcester- Municipal corporations, forestry,
agriculture, mining, and public health.
Wright - Internal  improvements,  franchises,
militia, police and criminal code.
Ide —Code civil procedure, courts, banks and
currency, and registration laws.
Moses- Schools and taxation.
Taft, Wright, and Ide- Civil code.
The Commission- Central, departmental, and
provincial governments.
It will be seen that the undertaking before the
Commission involves not only winning the confidence
of an alien and a resentful people, but the building
of a government from   its very foundations-a
task seriously complicated by the unfortunate material conditions of the country, and hindered and embarrassed by the tirades of party politicians and mistaken theorists at home. Even here the Commission
is apparently destined to be without cordial support
from those upon whom it should be able to rely. It
was natural that the natives should not receive us
[62]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


with open arms, but there was every reason to believe
our army brethren would welcome the cooperation
of the Commission in restoring orderly government,
and would work in harmony with it. Instead, we
have found the atmosphere at the military end of
the corridor decidedly chilly, our welcome being
severely restricted to what the "regulations" prescribe. Whether it is because they are jealous of
dividing their power, or because they consider the
appointment of the Commission a reflection upon
their ability to handle the situation (a statement
attributed to the Military Governor), the fact remains that we are regarded by most army officers as
interlopers. They seem to have marked the place
for their own indefinitely.
MANILA, July I5, I900.
We are now enjoying some of the delightful
weather promised us on arrival. The rains are here,
cooling the air and washing the sky into a deep blue,
unlike anything seen in northern climes. We have
had two typhoons, but aside from a torrential downpour of rain they proved harmless. Despite the
lower temperature there is no call for anything but
the lightest clothes. The other day the Commissioners made some formal call dressed in frock coats
and silk hats, and returned to the Ayuntamiento
heated throughout and dripping with perspiration.
When they went into session, Judge Taft, as chairman, called for a resolution to the effect that there[63]




THE ODYSSEY OF


after, no matter what the occasion, frock coats and
silk hats be neither worn nor required. With some
slight protest from Commissioner Ide, whose residence in "Samoa" has won him the position of
censor in matters of official etiquette, the resolution
was adopted. If adhered to it will prove quite a
departure from the pomp and splendor with which
officialdom arrayed itself in the old days.
The month and a half in Manila has already
begun to work changes in the Commission household. The position of Secretary, which was vacant,
has been given to our Spanish Secretary, Mr. Fergusson, who will fill both places. Mr. A. R. Cotton
of San Francisco, now of Manila, has been added
to the translating department, while Mr. Beekman
Winthrop of Boston, en route around the world, has
temporarily joined forces with us. Dr. F. W. Atkinson of Massachusetts has been appointed Superintendent of Public Instruction, and is now on the
ground. Mr. Coffman, Judge Taft's private secretary, left for the States on the last transport. As
there is no " secretary" material in Manila, I recommended Mr. Fred Carpenter of San Francisco for
the place, and he was cabled for accordingly. There
is some fitness in all this, for it was Carpenter who
first suggested that I apply for a position with the
Commission.
There is much excitement now over the Boxer
outbreak in China and the fate of the legations at
Pekin. Two regiments of troops have gone forward
from Manila and will be among the first in the field.
[64]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


This is one advantage at least of having soldiers in
this part of the world.
The Fourth of July was celebrated in Manila, the
Declaration of Independence being read in both
English and Spanish. While "expansion" may be
all right, and while our attitude toward this people
is doubtless the result of inevitable necessity and for
their ultimate good, it nevertheless seems like rubbing it in a bit to spring the Declaration of Independence on them at this time. They may appreciate eventually that it is our purpose to give them
all the rights for which that document stands, and
in far greater measure than they could themselves
achieve, but until that time comes it would seem good
taste not to shout so loudly about what our ancestors
did in I776. The Commissioners took this view of
the case, and were roundly criticised therefor by the
American press of Manila. They were told that
"lost opportunities never return," meaning, doubtless, that they would be taboo from now on.
MANILA, August I, 1900.
Sometime in June the Military Governor, acting
under instructions from Washington, issued an Amnesty Proclamation whereby all natives in arms were
granted ninety days within which to present themselves and take oath of allegiance to the United
States. To those who took such oath full pardon
was promised for past offenses and a fresh start
guaranteed. A number of prominent natives have
[65]




THE ODYSSEY OF


availed themselves of the opportunity, among them
one Pedro A. Paterno, who was President of the
Filipino Congress at Malolos. He has the reputation of being an able man, but decidedly unreliable.
In a burst of apparent gratitude over the granting
of the Amnesty, he announced that he would give a
" Fiesta " to celebrate the event, such fiesta to consist
of a parade, illuminations, arches, and a banquet in
honor of the Military Governor. This celebration
went into history two days since, and it will likely
be a long time before the echoes die away. It will
be recalled that the Amnesty was based upon the
unconditional acknowledgment of our sovereignty
in the islands. Upon two or three of the arches,
however, the pictures of Aguinaldo and McKinley
were placed side by side, while most of the other
arches bore inscriptions signifying "Independence
under an American Protectorate." The military
authorities removed the pictures of Aguinaldo, but
permitted the inscriptions to remain. The parade
did not prove a great success, most of the people
evidently considering such a public expression of
their allegiance premature-whatever they may
have confessed privately. Invitations to the banquet
were extended the Military Governor and the Commission. The Military Governor declined, but the
Commission accepted as guests after being assured
by the Military Governor that the speeches to be
delivered had been censored. It chanced, however,
that late in the afternoon of the day set for the
banquet the Commission learned that most of the
[66]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


proposed speeches advocated the granting of Philippine independence.  A letter was thereupon dispatched to Seiior Paterno stating that no American
with authority to speak had ever by a single word
held out the idea that we would grant independence
to the islands; that it was impossible for the Commissioners to be present at a banquet where such
a thing was suggested and by their presence lend
countenance to it. That if they did come they would
be compelled to rise and denounce any such scheme,
and rather than do this on an occasion where people
should be convivial, they must withdraw their acceptance. In the meantime it appears the Provost Marshal had issued orders that there should be no
speeches, while the Military Governor had instructed
that no banquet at all be given unless some member
of the Commission was present. Having declined to
be present himself, it is still unexplained why he
should attempt to saddle the burden of a possible
fiasco upon the Commission.    This ultimatum
reached Paterno late in the eveninf.  His guests
had assembled, the banquet was spread, and he held
in his hand the notice of the Commissioners withdrawing their acceptance. In this dilemma he posted
to Judge Taft's house-where Commissioner
Wright is also stopping-and implored them with
tears to come and save the affair from utter failure.
This they finally did, reaching the banquet room
about 9:30, the guests having been waiting over two
hours. The affair, under the circumstances, was not
particularly hilarious. The skeleton had obtruded
[67]




THE ODYSSEY OF


and could not be exorcised. Copies of the proposed
speeches were later secured, and it would seem all
of them must have been written by one person.
Without exception they advocated Philippine independence in some form, a refusal of which nearly
two years ago precipitated the present struggle. One
of the proposed speeches, which will serve as a
sample of the rest, is as follows:
The solution of great problems, gentlemen, are
celebrated with great banquets, because it must be
conceded, however much it may deride the human
race, that satisfaction is full and complete only when
the soul and body experience it simultaneously. And
for a better reason my joy verges upon delirium in
these awe-inspiring moments, inasmuch as I hope,
with the great faith of well-founded optimism, that
the splendor of joyousness may form itself into a
beautiful rainbow of approaching happiness and
peace. Yes, gentlemen, I seem to see the carrier
dove with the branches in its beak, coming toward
us across the deluge of tears, inundating the fatherland.
But in proportion as my satisfaction increases at
this moment, my soul turns to our desolated mountains, endeavoring to gather as holy relics the longing sighs of so many unknown martyrs there suffering untold sorrows; my soul longs to garner the
echoes of those mountains, and here in this joyous
banquet to interpret them. But, for what purpose?
Why these yearnings we feel? One ideal, one sole
ideal, unites and enkindles the consciences of the
good Filipinos.
But I must gather those sighs and translate those
echoes, that both the sighs and echoes may reach
[68]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


the supreme authorities of the North American
nation, in order that they may be impressed upon
the spirit of that great people.
Magnanimous people I Thou who didst raise the
formerly unhappy Liberia to the rank of a free and
independent state; thou who has shed thy blood to
redeem thousands and thousands of men from
slavery; thou who enlightenest the world with the
torch of liberty; thou nation, great and powerful
nation, be the protector of the Filipino people; let
them be protected by the ideals of liberty and independence and hear the fervent voice of eternal gratitude; forever wilt thou hear in the Malayan ambient, in the mountains, and in the forest, these soul
cries: "Long live North America, protector of the
incipient Philippine nationality."
Just what Paterno's purpose was in all this is
not clear. Whether he and the other promoters of
the affair did not understand the oath they had
taken, or whether they hoped to place the Commission at a disadvantage, remains a question. Likely
the latter.
Another recent occurrence also illustrates what
vague notions the brightest of these people have of
what self-government involves. Among the most
influential of the natives now imprisoned in Manila,
and who refuse to take the oath of allegiance, is
Apolinario Mabini. He is a paralytic, something of
a student, and is credited with having been the brains
of the insurrection. A few days ago he expressed
a desire for an interview with the Commission.
Thinking possibly he was paving the way to accept
[69]




THE ODYSSEY OF


the changed order of things, a meeting was arranged. He is a thin, pale, ascetic-looking man, and
as he was wheeled into the presence of the Commission his appearance inspired sympathy, as also a
belief that his attitude was sincere. When asked his
purpose in seeking an interview, he entered into a
long dissertation concerning the principles of freedom, liberty, equality, and the inherent right of individuals and races to shape their own destiny. The
picture drawn by him was a beautiful one from the
standpoint of a student philosopher dealing with
abstract and purely theoretical problems.  Every'
effort, however, to get him to discuss the question
as applied to concrete conditions in the islands
proved futile. He seemed obsessed with the idea
that because all peoples are endowed with certain
primary and admitted rights, any attempt to regulate the exercise of those rights by others was unjustifiable. Finally Judge Taft said to him: "But
suppose, Seior Mabini, the Americans should withdraw and this freedom of which you speak be
granted you, what then? Your country is composed
of many scattered islands, some of them inhabited
by savages and all of them by people speaking different dialects and without any cohesion of ideas
or experience in government. You occupy an exposed and coveted position in the path of world
commerce, and would doubtless be called upon very
soon to defend your nationality. You have many
foreigners living here, for whose lives and property
you would be held accountable not only from outside
r[70o




Government Offices, Manila




i




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


interference, but from the ambitions and jealousies
of your own people. To protect your country from
these dangers you would need an-army of considerable strength and at least the nucleus of a navy. All
these things, together with the necessary expenses
of government, would cost a great deal of money.
Your country and people are poor and your industries paralyzed. Waiving, therefore, all question
of your ability to govern yourselves, I would ask
how you propose to raise the revenues necessary to
preserve and administer such a government?" To
this inquiry Mabini simply shrugged his shoulders
and replied: "The question of revenue is a mere
detail." With this the interview ended. The lesson
is one which our so-called " anti-imperialists " residing in Boston and elsewhere might study to advantage. They, like Mabini, reason altogether from
the theoretical standpoint, shutting their eyes to conditions as they actually exist and must be met. For
Mabini there is the excuse of ignorance and inexperience; for them there is no excuse, as their attitude is the result either of political expediency or of
a narrow provincialism which judges everything by
the standards of a particular environment.
MANILA, August *4, 1900.
Commissioners Worcester and Wright have just
returned from Baguio, Province of Benguet, where
they have been investigating the possibility of establishing a "summer resort" for people living in the
17'I




THE ODYSSEY OF


lowlands. They are enthusiastic about the place,
and their report is fraught with vital interest to
every American whom circumstance may call to pass
his life on this our far-flung frontier. If statistics
are to be accepted, the constant high temperature of
the tropics gradually saps the energy and vitality of
the white races, leaving them broken in health or
ready victims for the numerous germs and microbes
with which air and water abound. It has been stated
also that a warm climate loosens the moral fiber, and
causes a rapid degeneracy in the ordinary standards
of conduct. It was President Jordan of Stanford
University-who opposes our expansion policywho said that if a Methodist missionary and a New
England schoolmarm should marry and live in the
tropics, the third generation would ride bareback on
a burro to see a cock fight on Sunday. However
this may be, there is no question but that a tropical
climate is enervating, and that an occasional change
is imperative if health and strength are to be preserved. This ordinarily means a long and costly
journey, the separation of families, and all sorts of
inconvenience. Baguio, which has an elevation of
over five thousand feet, and is set in the heart of
pine forests, is reported to have a climate as cool and
bracing as that of our northern states. At present
it can be reached only by a circuitous route over
rough mountain trails. It lies, however, but fifty
miles from Dagupan, the terminus of a railway line
running from Manila. By constructing a wagon or
rail line from this point Baguio will be made easily
[72




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


accessible, and we shall have this "Simla" of the
Philippines at out very doors. The Commission,
realizing the importance of the project, plans to
commence construction work as early as practicable.
Another difficult and somewhat embarrassing
problem facing the Commission is that of the Friar
Orders in their relation to these people. While at
first glance this might seem a purely religious matter, with which the government has no concern, the
situation here makes it a political question of the
gravest character. As a matter of fact, the different
uprisings of the people during the late regime were
directed not so much against Spanish sovereignty
as against what they considered the intolerable
abuses of the government as represented by the
Friars. During the uprising of I895 some forty
Friars were killed, and at the time of our occupation
more than four hundred were held prisoners by the
Filipinos. One of the first acts of the Philippine
Congress at Malolos was to confiscate the large land
holdings of the religious orders. Now that we have
assumed control, the question of protecting these
orders in their legal rights, and at the same time
satisfying the people that we are not siding with
those whom they consider enemies, becomes a most
delicate one. President McKinley, in dealing with
the matter in his Instructions to the Commission,
said:
It will be the duty of the Commission to make a
thorough investigation into the titles to the large
tracts of land held or claimed by individuals or by
[73]




THE ODYSSEY OF


religious orders; into the justice of the claims and
complaints made against such landholders by the
people of the islands, or any part of the people, and
to seek by wise and peaceable measures a just settlement of the controversies, and redress of the
wrongs, which have caused strife and bloodshed in
the past. In the performance of this duty the Commission is enjoined to see that no injustice is done;
to have regard for substantial right and equity, disregarding technicalities so far as substantial right
permits.
During the past three weeks Judge Taft has had
interviews with the heads of the various religious
orders, and with prominent Filipinos, in an effort to
reach an understanding of the powers exercised and
claimed by the Friars, and the ground of resentment
against them. Much interesting testimony has been
secured. It is somewhat difficult for people at home,
accustomed to consider religion a matter of purely
personal concern, to adjust their mental vision to the
true situation in these islands. The history of Spanish conquest in the Far East, no less than in the New
World, is inextricably mingled with that of the
Church of Rome. The soldier and the priest
marched together and the crucifix held what the
sword had gained. It has been Spain's evil fortune,
however, to find in her powerful ally of conquest,
and in the force which cemented the triumph of her
arms, one of the most potent factors of her own
downfall. The support of her wonderful years of
expansion became in time a rigid frame which remorselessly shut out all power of change or further
[74]1




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


progress, and in the upheaval which time inevitably
brought her colonies were lost and the fabric of the
church shaken to its foundations..
Upon the advent of Spain to the Philippines the
church found a virgin field for her efforts. The
religious beliefs of the people were few and simple,
lacking altogether the rigidity which characterizes
the systems prevalent in India, China, and other
Oriental countries. The people accepted readily the
forms and ceremonies of the new faith and became
converted en masse. Churches and convents sprang
up throughout the islands, and much was done
toward the moral and intellectual development of
the people. With time, however, the missionary
zeal which characterized and inspired the early
churchmen gave way in large measure to more
earthly considerations and to a mistaken system of
government policy. The Monastic Orders which
had early appeared in the field, and into whose
hands fell the church government, soon devoted
themselves more to extending their own power and
influence, and to exploiting the people and country
to add to their own wealth and prestige, than to any
high considerations looking to the spiritual development of their parishioners. The ranks of such orders were recruited too often from among the lower
classes in Spain, to whom a distant field and isolated
parishes meant simply an opportunity to tyrannize
over a simple people and to gratify their own desires
and passions unchecked.
The full scope of the power and influence wielded
[75]




THE ODYSSEY OF


by the Friar priest in the interior pueblos of the
islands can hardly be realized by one unfamiliar with
Filipino character and Filipino history. To a naturally docile disposition the mass of the Filipinos added
the passivity which comes from credulous ignorance,
rank superstition, and awe of those in authority — a
condition which the church and government systems
did little to ameliorate. The native dialects, which
possess little or no literature, were taught almost
exclusively in the parishes, instruction being limited
in most cases to the catechism and church dogma.
Only the small percentage of persons able to attend
the Manila schools ever acquired a knowledge of
Spanish or of a world outside the confines of their
particular towns. This system was based, it is said,
upon the theory that by confining the people to their
own dialects, and shutting to them the pages of history, the possibility of concerted action upon their
part against either church or state authorities was
minimized.
Given the above condition of affairs, coupled with
the natural actions of men of ordinary human passions when invested with practically unlimited power,
and the result is not difficult to imagine. The priest
controlled and dominated the people not only by the
power which comes from superior race and superior
education, but he held in his hands as a scourge for
those who questioned his words or his deeds the
threat and fear of imprisonment or banishment
here and the terrible tortures and torments of the
damned in the hereafter. Neither Spain's army in
[76]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


the islands nor her civil official roll was ever very
large. For this reason, and because the church was
a state institution, churchmen played a large part
in governmental affairs. The priests were subsidized by the state, practically all of them receiving
a regular allowance from the government treasury.
In a vast number of towns the priest was the only
representative of Spanish sovereignty, being not only
the intermediary between the government and the
people, but performing as well the duties of an official. The strong arm of the state, with its mysterious power to banish, imprison, and kill, was always
back of him, making his authority a menace and a
dread. So strong, in fact, did the religious corporations finally become, and so powerful was their influence throughout the islands, that the civil authorities became subordinate, and the tenure of that governor or officer who dared oppose their will was
short. It is not altogether strange that this tremendous influence given into their hands was too often
abused.
Concubinage on the part of priests with the
women of their parishes was of frequent occurrence,
and many prominent Filipinos today trace their
Spanish blood to this source and speak openly of the
fact. In referring to this phase of the subject in an
interview with Judge Taft, Don Felipe Calderon,
a leading attorney of Manila, said:
With respect to their morality in general, it was
such a common thing to see children of Friars that
[77]




THE ODYSSEY OF


no one ever paid any attention to it or thought of it,
and so depraved had the people become in this
regard that the women who were mistresses of
Friars really felt great pride in it and had no
compunction in speaking of it.
He gave a list of Filipinos who were children or
descendants of Friars, heading the list with his own
name, stating that his mother was the daughter of a
Franciscan Friar. He coupled this admission with
the somewhat naive remark that he did not dishonor
himself by so stating, as his family began with
himself.
While the despotic methods pursued by many of
the Friars in what pertained to their religious work
doubtless created antagonism, the chief ground of
hostility seems to have been a political one. The
Friar represented to the people all that was vicious
and bad in Spanish governmental methods. He was
to them the visible embodiment of grinding and oppressive taxes, of conscription, of cruel and unusual
punishments, and of every arbitrary and unreasonable demand made upon them by officials to whom
the good of the governed was too often a secondary
consideration. The Friars, being the exposed part
of the government machine, were the point of attack.
The particular orders against which the greatest animosity exists are the Dominicans, Augustinians,
Recolletos, and Franciscans, these having been the
most active in securing property interests and assuming the role of landlords to the people. Three of
these orders, i. e., the Dominicans, Augustinians,
[78]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


and Recolletos, own over four hundred thousand
acres of the choicest agricultural lands of the Archipelago, besides large holdings in-the city of Manila
and other towns of the islands. The people living
upon these large properties claim that the land was
acquired from them and their fathers through
duress, fraud, and other questionable methods, and
that they should not be compelled to pay rent therefor.
As a military measure, the orders are prohibited
at present from attempting to collect rents, as disturbances would inevitably result. With the establishment of civil government, however, and the organization of civil courts the right of the orders to
enforce their demands against their so-called tenants
cannot, as a legal proposition, be disputed. To an
ignorant people such a result would be conclusive
evidence that our government had become a partisan
of the orders and stood in the shoes of its predecessor. In the meantime, the Commission is being
flooded with petitions from all parts of the islands
protesting against the Friars and asking that their
return to the parishes be forbidden. The people
cannot see or be made to understand that the question of the return of the Friars is purely a matter of
church policy, and that their property rights are to
be determined by the courts and not by the arbitrary
action of individuals. The only solution that seems
possible is for the government to buy these large
holdings and then sell or rent the land to the people
upon easy terms.
[79]




THE ODYSSEY OF


In treating this question there is one point upon
which Americans are apt to be misled, and that is
in thinking that any attack or reflection upon the
religious orders in these islands, or any action looking to their withdrawal, is an attack upon the Catholic Church. Nothing could be more erroneous. It
is not the Catholic Church, but these corporations
within the church, which are the cause of trouble. A
condition now exists where the Catholics of the islands
-the natives-are irreconcilably arrayed against
the church as represented by the religious orders.
If the governing church authorities, under these
circumstances, try to force the Friars down the
throats of the people, it will simply result in extending their antagonism to the church itself, with disastrous results to its influence and prestige. Realizing
the true condition of affairs, the Pope commissioned
Archbishop Chapelle of New Orleans as Apostolic
Delegate to the Philippines, with instructions to examine into the affairs of the church in the islands
and to harmonize the discordant elements therein if
possible. It is not unfair to state that, measured by
results, his mission bids fair to be an utter failure.
Whether from conviction or other motive, Archbishop Chapelle has closely identified himself with
the Friar interests and thus destroyed whatever influence he might else have had in bringing about better
relations between the church and the great mass of
native Catholics. The people are even now mourning the death of Dr. Jose Rizal, perhaps the greatest native the islands have produced, who was pub[80]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


licly shot upon the Luneta as late as December 30,
I896. The charge against him was conspiracy to
overthrow the government, but the opinion is quite
universal that he met his death through the influence
of the religious orders because of accusations made
against them in his book, Noli me Tangere, and other
writings.
The intimate relations existing between church
and state under Spanish rule is evidenced by a question now being debated before the Commission.
Under the Treaty of Paris the United States became
vested with all property in the islands belonging to
Spain. Various properties, undoubtedly under the
control of Spanish civil authorities, are claimed by
the church, the contention being that the state simply
acted as agent of the church in administering them.
Among such disputed holdings is the College of San
Jose, in Manila, worth probably half a million dollars, the title to which is now being considered. The
question is one which will likely have to be determined eventually by the courts.
In any criticism of Spanish rule in the islands, or
of a church policy which finally roused a pacific
people to bitter antagonism, sight should not be altogether lost of the great civilizing influence actually
exerted over the natives by their Spanish masters.
Compared with their original condition, or with
the status of other Malayan people, the Filipinos
have much to their credit. With the exception of
the Mohammedan Moros, and certain of the hill
tribes, the people profess Christianity and practice
[8 ]




THE ODYSSEY OF


many of its enlightened precepts. While their morals may be lax in some respects, they are reported
to be a great improvement over those of most tropical races. They have acquired many of the social
graces of the Spaniard and are universally courteous
and polite. As a people they are hospitable, and a
stranger among them is seldom refused food or
shelter.  Their knowledge of current affairs, although superficial in many respects, has in it sufficient
of the modern to justify a belief that under proper
guidance further development will be rapid. The
position of women among them is far in advance
of that of her sisters in other Oriental countries.
She is an equal partner in the household, and in very
many instances a better executive and in closer touch
with business affairs than her husband.  Children
are treated affectionately, and filial obedience and
respect are ingrained. There are few, if any, almshouses, the old and indigent being cared for by their
relatives. All these things represent an evolution
of character accomplished only through generations
of contact with a superior race, and without which
our scheme of granting the people a participation
in the government would be visionary. Even so, the
most serious obstacle we will likely encounter results
from that feature of Spanish rule which restricted
wealth and education to the few and kept the masses
poor and ignorant. That great middle class existing in our country, from which free government derives its inspiration and its support, is altogether
lacking in these islands. The average Filipino ac[82]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


cepts as gospel any doctrine laid down to him by
the select few, and has learned through long travail
to invest official position not only with the right,
but the power to dictate his course of life and conduct. They have found it safer to submit to the
arbitrary actions of their superiors than to complain, and are easily influenced by these so-called
leaders to take up any scheme, however absurd or
chimerical. It will be slow work to eradicate this
tendency, and to convince the masses that the law
is intended for their benefit no less than for those
privileged ones from whom they have so long
accepted orders.
MANILA, August 30, 9o00.
In a couple of days the Commission enters upon
its legislative work, which includes the handling of
the insular funds. Much work has already been done
upon a tariff law, and upon an act regulating the civil
service. Upon our occupation of the islands the old
system of taxes and import duties collected by Spain
was continued. Here, however, as in other Spanish
colonies, the laws were made by the landed proprietors and people of wealth, and they saw to it
that few of the burdens of government fell to them.
They taxed, instead, commerce and industry, with a
consequent stifling of enterprise. It was difficult for
a poor man to turn his hand without being compelled
to contribute something to the revenue. There was
[83]




THE ODYSSEY OF


and is today no tax upon land, while luxuries of
every kind are admitted at a nominal duty. Everything consumed and used by the masses pays a maximum rate. Dr. Carl C. Plehn of the University of
California, an authority upon economic subjects, has
been called to assist in framing a more equitable
tariff law and is now at work upon it. At the same
time Mr. Kiggins, an examiner of the Civil Service
Board at Washington, was brought to the islands to
prepare a comprehensive civil service measure.
Something of the kind is quite necessary, not only
to fix a standard for admission to government employ, but to relieve the pressure upon the Commission by those with a "political pull" desiring appointment in the islands. Plans are forming for a
rapid extension of school work. Dr. David P. Barrows of California has been appointed Superintendent of Manila Schools, and a number of American
teachers are en route. The Filipinos seem anxious
to educate their children; so much so that schools
established by the military in still hostile territory,
and taught by soldiers, have been and are well
attended.
Driving on the Luneta and Malecon of evenings
still constitutes our chief diversion. In addition to
this, we attend dinners and watch for the bi-monthly
transport with mail. When letters come half-way
round the world they mean something, and your
grievance is very great if your share is less than
anticipated.  Dinners, however, furnish the great
relief. The maxim here is, " When in doubt what
[84]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


to do, give a dinner." Many prominent Filipinos
have entertained the Commissioners and families,
and vice versa, establishing an entente cordiale which
mere official intercourse could not accomplish. Our
acquaintance with army officers gained over the
festal board has also been most delightful. Whatever may be their feelings as a class concerning the
Commission and its work, taken as individuals they
could not well be more agreeable. There is one
feature of these functions, however, which has
proven somewhat novel to most of our party, i. e.,
the importance attached in military circles to the
question of rank. If by chance you should seat a
captain nearer the head of the table than a major,
or even seat a junior captain above his senior of the
same rank, your blunder would be unpardonable.
Not only this, but Mrs. Senior Captain and Mrs.
Junior Captain must be placed with the same precision as her husband-if not more so. To a civilian host and hostess, who have not studied the Army
Register with the prayerful diligence of most army
officers and their wives, the problem of properly
seating their guests is often a very perplexing one.
I believe the members of the Commission first
learned that some of them "ranked" the others
when they were received by the Japanese Emperor.
To most of them the idea had not occurred that they
had a right to precede each other in the order of
their appointment by President McKinley, being altogether content to file in as circumstances made convenient. One of the Commissioners, with some pre[85]




THE ODYSSEY OF


vious experience in mind, insisted that he should rank
those who had been named subsequent to himself.
The incident was later recounted by the other Commissioners with considerable glee.


[ 86 ]




The Water Carrier








VI
LAW-MAKING AND SUNDRY EXCURSIONS
MANILA, September 20, I900.
IT has been usual to associate the tropics with
siestas, neglige, easy chairs, and cooling drinks;
a place where all that is strenuous is put aside, and
life takes on a dolce far niente coloring like unto
that lotus land where "it is always afternoon."
Whatever truth the picture holds generally, it has
no application to present conditions here. The task
of organizing a system of government which will
appeal to these people, and at the same time square
with our ideas of what is right and best, leaves little
time for dreaming. What with the preparation and
consideration of proposed laws, the granting of
interviews, the discussion of plans and projects, and
the hearing of petitions as numerous and varied
as human tribulations, the Commission is simply
swamped with work. Old residents predict that the
pace set is the pace that kills.
On taking over its duties, September first, the
Commission determined to give the fullest opportunity possible for public consideration of proposed
legislation and reforms. Agreeable to this plan,
Wednesdays and Fridays of each week have been
[87]
3:'




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set apart for public sessions, at which times any person is privileged to make suggestions or offer criticisms as to matters in hand. By this arrangement
it is hoped not only to get the Filipino viewpoint,
and satisfy their innate desire for public speaking,
but to demonstrate our purpose of giving them a
voice in public affairs. While some of the natives
have availed themselves of the opportunity, it is but
fair to say that most of those of influence have thus
far held aloof from the sessions. This attitude was
at first somewhat surprising, no less than disappointing, to the Commission. We knew that the principal leaders of the people realized there was no
longer any organized resistance to our authority, and
that all chance of achieving independence through
insurrection was hopeless. Many of them appreciate also that our desire to help them is sincere, and
that the welfare of their people demands that they
cooperate with us in establishing law and order.
While conceding all this in private, they seek, nevertheless, to appear in public as neutral or as favoring
independence. The reason for this anomalous position was soon disclosed. It has its root in the fear
and the conviction that if Bryan is elected in November the American forces will be immediately withdrawn from the islands and the government turned
over to the natives. Believing this as gospel, they
hesitate to become known at this time as "Americanistas," something which, should their fears be realized, would cut them off from the spoils of an independent regime and single them out for persecution
[88]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


by those who had more consistently championed
"the rights" of the people.
The Democratic platform, as you know, seeks to
make the Philippine question the "paramount issue "
of the campaign. It condemns and denounces the
policy of the present administration in the islands,
and speaks of it as dictated by a "greedy commercialism;" it refers to our efforts to terminate the
insurrection as " a war of criminal aggression," and
advocates the immediate declaration of our purpose
to give the Filipinos a state government, to be followed by independence and protection from outside
interference; it pretends, also, to see in our occupation of the Archipelago something which involves
the existence of the Republic and of free institutions,
while it pronounces as un-American the application
of military force to crush "the efforts of our former
allies to achieve liberty and self-government." This
decided stand of one of our great parties, coupled
with the ill-considered preachings of its leader and a
coterie of Boston enthusiasts, have been industriously brought to the attention of the natives by the
insurgent juntas of Hong Kong and Madrid. Copies of this party declaration, and of the writings and
speeches denouncing our presence here as a crime,
have been found in the possession of captured insurgents, together with instructions urging renewed
hostilities pending the election.
As part of this campaign program we are promised an early uprising in Manila, and are in receipt
of daily reports of ambushes and murders in differ[89]




THE ODYSSEY OF


ent parts of the Archipelago. While these people
are possibly in error as to just what would be the
outcome of a Democratic victory, it cannot be said,
under the circumstances, that their attiude is unreasonable. Whether reasonable or unreasonable, however, there can be no question but that the present
resistance to our authority and the reluctance of
prominent Filipinos to cooperate with us derive their
principal vitality and support from the United States
and not from any encouragement furnished by conditions in the islands. There is every reason to believe
that if McKinley be reelected the whole insurrecto
movement will crumble, and the toll of human lives
now being offered up for purely partisan purposes
will come to an end. It need hardly be said we
anxiously await the result.
The first law passed by the Commission was an
appropriation of $2,000,000, Mexican currency, for
the construction and repair of highways and bridges,
the money to be expended under the direction of the
Military Governor. By this law employment will
be furnished a large number of persons rendered idle
by the war and a beginning made in a comprehensive system of road-building for the islands. The
need for improved means of communication is a crying one. In her over three centuries of occupation
Spain did very little in this regard. There are but
one hundred and twenty miles of railroad in the
archipelago, while the public roads-or what are
termed such-are practically impassable during six
months of the year. The great interior of the coun.
90]




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try finds access to a market difficult if not impossible
when not adjacent to the few scattered waterways.
When it is realized how closely the industrial development of a country is dependent upon this transportation, this first step of the Commission is certainly
in the right direction.
The second act appropriated five thousand dollars
for the purpose of determining the best route for a
railroad into the mountains of Benguet. This is in
line with the plan previously referred to of establishing a sanitarium or health resort in Baguio, where
relief can be had from the enervating climate of the
tropical lowlands. As the first consideration of everyone taking employment in the islands is that of
health, the project is intimately connected with the
possibility of building up a permanent and contented
personnel for this service.
With the like object of placing employees here on
a right basis the Commission has just enacted a civil
service law which is sweeping in its provisions. With
the exception of bureau chiefs, practically every government position is placed under civil service rules.
Even as to heads of bureaus it is provided that within eighteen months after the Board shall certify that
it has a sufficient eligible list, such positions are to be
filled from a class composed of the first, second and
third assistants in the various offices. Entrance to
the service is by competitive examination, and is limited to citizens of the United States, natives of the
islands, and persons who, under the Treaty of Paris,
acquired the political rights of natives. Appointing
[91]




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officers are required, where other qualifications are
equal, to prefer for positions, first, natives of the
Philippines, and, second, all honorably discharged
soldiers, sailors, and marines of the United States.
It is the purpose of the Commission to eliminate all
politics and favoritism, and to hold out a wellfounded hope of reward to those who serve the government faithfully. The law will doubtless prove
a sad blow to that numerous class of persons with
"influential backing" who desire to sacrifice themselves for their country's welfare. It will also prove
a great saving of time and worry to the Commission,
as it can now refer all such aspirants to the Civil
Service Board " for information."
Another matter pressing upon the Commission is
the reorganization of our courts and the reform of
the present judicial procedure. While the courts in
Manila and other pacified centers were reopened
shortly after American occupation, they are still
largely governed in their organization and conduct
by the old Spanish codes based upon the Roman civil
law. Whatever merit this body of law may possess
in its application to peoples of Latin origin, that
portion of it having to do with court procedure certainly seems designed to prevent rather than promote
justice. In the matter of criminal actions our authorities early found the old system so cumbersome
and so opposed to modern conceptions of justice that
a new set of regulations governing criminal procedure was promulgated by military order. As to civil
actions, the law as it now stands involves litigants
[92]




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in a hopeless tangle of delays and uncertainties. It
permits, for instance, an appeal to the Supreme
Court from any interlocutory order of the trial
court, thus postponing a final decision indefinitelywhile other provisions are in keeping. Under such
a scheme the person with the longest purse usually
wins. It appears also that in the old days the various court officials received little or no salary, being
dependent for their reward upon "gratuities" bestowed by the parties interested. A matter just presented to the Commission illustrates another strange
feature of the law; i.e., a provision which permits
successful litigants to tax their attorney's fees as
part of the court costs. In a recent suit involving
some $579, judgment went against the plaintiff upon
what to us would be a demurrer, there being some
technical defect in the power under which the action
was filed. There was but one hearing, and this not
upon the merits of the case. The attorney for the
defendant (an American) fixed his fee at $624, while
the other costs brought the total up to $739, or
nearly $200 more than the amount sued fpr. Upon
objection by plaintiff to such a charge the question
was referred under their practice to two attorneys
for an opinion. This committee reported the fee a
just one, and charged another $50 for their services.
The judge (a Filipino) allowed the claim, although
vested with discretion to modify or deny it. There
being no appeal from his order, the matter was
brought before the Commission. The Commission
decided it had no authority to review the decision,
[93]




THE ODYSSEY OF


but as it did have power to appoint and remove
judges, this particular judge was invited to appear
and explain his mental processes. He was a queer
little specimen of humanity, and a very uncomfortable half hour he had of it. At first he protested
that he was without discretion in the matter. Being
shown the provision of law giving him such discretion, he was finally driven to stating that he
thought the fee a reasonable one. He urged, however, that the attorney for defendant had told him
the fee was in accordance with the practice "in the
rich and powerful North American Republic, where
the services of lawyers are paid for in a splendid
manner as befits persons truly great." He also spoke
seriously of the lawyer representing the defendant
as "one of the most prominent legal representatives
of that great country." There being nothing to indicate that the court and attorney were to share the
fee, and the practice being recognized as one which
a vicious custom had apparently sanctioned, the
judge escaped with simply a bit of advice as to his
future conduct. To remedy such conditions, however, Commissioner Ide is working on a Judiciary
Act and a Code of Civil Procedure, while Commissioner Wright is drafting a Criminal Code and a set
of regulations governing criminal actions.
MANILA, October 25, 1900.
The political situation remains much the same, no
important change in conditions being expected until
after election. The Commission is grinding away
[94]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


with its sessions, and, through interviews and otherwise, seeking to bring home to these people the fact
that their true interests lie in joining with us in
terminating the insurrection and implanting civil authority. In the meantime the work of reorganization goes steadily forward. A Bureau of Statistics
has been organized to compile reliable data concerning the population and industries of the islands. A
Bureau of Forestry and a Bureau of Mining have
been established to investigate and conserve these
two sources of latent wealth of the archipelago. One
million dollars has been appropriated for improving the port of Manila, a work begun under Spain
but interrupted by the war. At present all vessels
except those of very light draft which enter the
Pasig River are compelled to anchor far out in the
bay and lighter their cargo and passengers. During the southwest monsoon, or where typhoons are
blowing, it frequently happens that all traffic between
ships and shore is suspended for days at a time. By
the construction of breakwaters and docks it is proposed to establish a protected, deep water harbor,
which will make Manila not only one of the best
ports in the Far East but a great distributing center
as well.
The new Civil Service Board has been organized,
Mr. Peppermann, Recorder of the Commission, being one of the appointees. Owing to the scarcity of
reporters, I have assumed his duties as recorder in
addition to my work as private secretary to Commissioner Moses. At this time, when plans and politics
195]




THE ODYSSEY OF


are shaping which involve the future of a country
and a people, it is worth while being where you can
see and hear the wheels go round. There is a flavor
about this situation and work which reminds one of
Kipling's tales of India. It is a place where men do
things and where life is more than a routine. There
is a joy, moreover, in watching the Commission in
action. In the pressure of its work it forgets all
about meal hours and family obligations; it seems to
find in the heat of noontime and the "Luneta hour,"
a favorite season for renewed exertions, while difficulties seem only to whet its energy and impart a
new zest to life. And finally, when rising temperature, military antagonism, and native procrastination
have charged the atmosphere to the explosion point,
and things look hopelessly blue, a hearty laugh by
Judge Taft or a droll story by General Wright relieves the tension and saves the situation. If ever
circumstances existed where a large optimism,
coupled with a " Divine sense of humor," were necessary for success, that condition exists here and now.
Not until the true history of this epoch is written
will our people know how fortunate they have been
in having men on this work who can sink individual
feelings in their sense of responsibility to their country, and who can tide over all sorts of trouble with
a laugh.
MANILA, October 30, I900.
While matters political have largely occupied my
letters thus far, it must not be thought that life here
[96]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


holds no other interests. This old city, with its
hybrid and restless population, is a constant and
fascinating study. It is a kaleidoscope of changing
scenes, each with its own peculiar color and charm.
To a newcomer one of the things which possibly
strikes most forcibly at first is the stress laid upon
the spectacular in the religious life of this people.
Manila is a city of churches, splendid in architecture
and rich in interior finish and decoration, while no
village, however poor or squalid, is without its imposing iglesia and convento. In addition to regular services, which are quite elaborate, frequent celebrations are held during which the numerous statues
of virgins and saints, which adorn every church, are
mounted upon litters and taken in solemn procession
through the streets. They are robed in their richest
vestments and jewels, and the floats which carry them
are studded with ornaments and lights. In front and
at intervals of this line march the priests, resplendent
in gold and brocade, chanting the services of their
faith. Two or more bands of music usually attend,
while hundreds of devout natives, dressed in black
and carrying candles, add impressiveness to the
scene. As the parade winds in and out through the
narrow streets, a vivid stream of light against the
night shadows, it makes a weird and fanciful picture,
well calculated to inspire religious fervor among a
rude and simple people. It is difficult for the colder
natures of the north, trained to act through reason
rather than through emotion or sentiment, to realize
the blind veneration with which those who dwell
[97]




THE ODYSSEY OF


where skies are warmer can be brought to invest
certain objects. To them the visible sign-the outward show-is the thing which appeals, rather
than the hidden fact which it is supposed to
symbolize.
The other evening a number of us visited the
Augustinian Church, where the final services of a
"Novenario" were being celebrated.     All the
chandeliers were lit, gorgeous tapestries swung from
the vaulted dome, and altar, alcove, and shrine
blazed with candles. Worshipers filled seat and
aisle, while far down the vista could be seen the
richly dressed priests revolving in the ceremonial
figures of the mass. The air was full of incense,
which rose like a smoke. About one were dark,
intent faces that never swerved, while above, and
mixed with the chanting of the priests, was the roll
of organ music and the peal of human voices. In
some respects the scene was barbaric, reminding of
some ancient and legendary rite, but the question
remains after all whether it is not an easier and
a better way to reach and influence pagan souls than
preaching an abstract God from a bare pulpit fronted
by wooden benches.
Among the excursions further afield than Manila
have been a visit to Cavite, a launch ride up the
Pasig, and a trip on the railroad as far north as
Apalit. Cavite, which lies just across an arm of the
bay from Manila, is reached in an hour by ferry.
Its principal attraction is the navy yard and arsenala legacy bequeathed us by Spain. The place holds an
[98]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


added interest just now because of the battle of
Manila Bay, and the wrecks of the Spanish fleet still
lying where sunk by Dewey's cannon. Sentiment
here concerning that May day fight does not reach
the fever pitch it did in the States. In talking the
other day with a young fellow who was on the Concord during the battle, he said the Spanish fleet
offered little real resistance; that with the exception
of one or two vessels none of them had up steam,
while all but one were anchored fore and aft. As
to the story about quitting for breakfast, he said
they withdrew because the smoke was so thick they
couldn't see anything, and simply breakfasted while
waiting for it to clear away.
Cavite itself is a sleepy old town, though the
province of which it is the capital has been the seat
of most of the uprisings against Spain, and is now a
hotbed of insurrection. On the Sunday of our visit
most of the natives appeared to be at the cockpit,
their gallera being crowded with men, women, and
children. Cock fighting is the national sport of the
Filipino masses, their feathered champions forming
an intimate part of the family circle and receiving an
affectionate care scarcely second to that given children of the household. We visited the Cavite cockpit for a short time, and the sight of that circle of
tense, absorbed faces hanging upon every movement
of the combat made a subject ripe for a painter's
brush. Most of the natives gamble recklessly on
their favorites, and poverty and crime wait upon
the result of each sanguinary struggle. Filipinos of
[99 I




THE ODYSSEY OF


education admit the sport to be vicious and brutalizing, and a serious menace to the moral and material
progress of their people. As man does not live by
bread alone, however, the problem of uprooting the
evil is intimately linked with the other question of
furnishing the people some more legitimate pastime
in its stead.
The Pasig River is about fifteen miles long and
connects the Laguna de Bay with Manila Bay. It
winds in and out through a broad fertile plain, its
banks lined with little nipa villages and rich with
all the luxuriant growth of the tropics. It is the
great highway of commerce for the lake country, and
as your launch ascends its course there glide by a
succession of native craft laden with fruit, pottery,
palay, and other products bound for the Manila
markets. Upon either side there pass in review a
series of pictures Arcadian in their simplicity and
charm. The Filipinos are a cleanly people both in
person and dress, a fact which makes of every river
and stream a site for promiscuous laundry work and
bathing. While the mothers of the household thresh
and beat the family linen upon the stones, their
numerous progeny, clothed only in sunlight, swim
and splash about beside them. It may also be that
a drove of carabaos share the water with the
lavenderas and bathers, but this is a detail best forgotten.
Beautiful and interesting, however, as is the daylight ride up the river, it is the ride down, when
bright moonlight floods the land and marks your
[ oo]




River Scene


On the Pasig River








THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


path with beaten silver, that furnishes inspiration
for poetry and romance. As our launch turned and
headed from the lake into the river the glory of the
setting sun was before us, painting the sky with red
and gold and flushing the waters with deep crimson
shadows. As the colors faded, and the short tropical twilight deepened into night, a perfect moon
rode out of the East and lit up field and river with
a wealth of radiance unknown in lands of cold and
snow.   Groups of majestic palms, broad-leafed
banana groves, and clumps of feathery bamboo stood
out in silhouette against the sky, their graceful outlines reflected in the placid waters like some dream
vision. When to the witchery of such a night and
such a scene are added congenial companions, attentive muchachos, and a well-stocked ice box, you forgot for a time that in the dim hills on the horizon
men were struggling in fierce hate, and that your
enjoyment was but a breathing spell in the rush of
events making history about you.
Our railroad trip to Apalit, some forty miles north
of Manila, took us over ground where much of the
severe fighting occurred following the insurrection.
A few guerrilla bands yet lurk in the mountains,
but most of the territory to the north is pacified and
the natives again engaged in their usual work. The
railroad, however, is still operated by the military.
It is owned by English capital, but the insurgent
sympathies of the old management, and the necessity for prompt and efficient service, led our authorities to assume and retain control. The train crews
[ II]




THE ODYSSEY OF


are made up of American soldiers, our campaign
having shown that no matter what emergencies may
arise experts are forthcoming from the ranks to
meet them. The cars used in the service are like
unto the dinky little boxes seen on English railways.
A number of army officers shared our cubby with us,
among them Brigadier General Frederick Grant,
who is stationed at Angeles. He very much resembles his distinguished father, and proved a most delightful companion. Our immediate party consisted
of Commissioner and Mrs. Moses, Miss Briggs and
myself, the occasion of our trip being a visit to Dr.
and Mrs. Thomas, stationed at Apalit. Our journey, which occupied some two hours, proved remark:
ably pleasant. The road runs over a flat plain, the
Zambales coast range rising sharply to the west,
while the Cordillera Central could be seen far to the
east. Rice paddies, cane fields, and an ever-present
array of palms, bamboo, and banana trees filled the
landscape. We passed through Malolos, seat of the
short-lived Filipino Republic, and were pointed to
various places where important events had transpired. We saw a great many insurgent trenches, and
at one stop there was a group of sixty insurgent prisoners under guard for Manila. Soldiers were stationed at the different towns en route, and all the
bridges were guarded. The "panoply of war" was
decidedly in evidence.
We were met at our destination by Dr. and Mrs.
Thomas, and drove to Apalit, about three miles distant, in an army ambulance. The road follows the
[ 02]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


windings of the Rio Grande de Pampanga, and furnished another series of moving pictures the light
and color of which cannot be transcribed to paper.
Both sides of the road were hedged by an almost
continuous row of nipa houses, which, with their
wilderness of surrounding vegetation and their
quota of brown humanity resembled so many stage
settings. All the natives turned out to see us, the
youngsters airing their knowledge of English by
yelling "Hello" at the top of their lungs. Many
of them were dressed in the " altogether," their dark
skins shining in the brilliant sunlight like polished
bronze.
We found our hosts installed in one of the village
nipas, and soon appreciated how well suited such
houses are to this climate. There is not a nail or
bit of iron in the whole structure. The frame, floors,
and walls are of bamboo, and the roof of nipa palm,
all fastened together with bejuco and wooden pegs.
There are no windows, their place being taken by a
sort of shade projected outward with a pole. The
rooms run right up to the ridge, and while there is
some effort at partitions, they are little more than
imaginary, at least so far as sound is concerned. The
ventilation is that of all out-doors, the open work
floors and sides furnishing plenty of ozone. While
the Thomas' nipa boasted bamboo beds, it is probable that ninety-five per cent of the natives sleep on
mats spread on the floor. As the "feel" is about
the same whether you sleep on a bamboo floor or a
bamboo bed, there is some reason besides economy
[ I03]




THE ODYSSEY OF


for eliminating a bulky bedstead from these little
huts.
Our arrival was the signal for an early visit from
the village presidente and other "leading citizens,"
all of whom were dressed in conventional black and
were profuse in their expressions of welcome. There
was also a procession of native women bearing gifts
of fruit, dulces, and various eatables, such having
been the costumbre del pais in the old days when
Spanish officials shed the light of their countenance
upon the provinces. Captain Butler, in command
of the post, took tiffin with us, and it was a right
jolly spread. We ate to the accompaniment of a
native band, which persisted in serenading us during
the entire meal. Late in the afternoon the Buencamino family sent carriages for us and we all
repaired to their home.
In Apalit, as in other pueblos of the islands, one
or two families usually own most of the property
and dominate the social and economic life of the
place. This position of influence is held here by the
Buencamino and Arnedo families, who are related by
marriage. The hospitality of the Buencamino home
was extended us by the four daughters-the father,
Don Felipe Buencamino, being absent in Manila,
where he takes a prominent part among the Filipinos
who have openly espoused the American cause. He
was Secretary of State in Aguinaldo's cabinet, and
though accused of shifting his politics to suit each
favoring breeze, is undoubtedly a man of ability,
with more initiative than usual among this race. His
[ 104]




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home in Apalit is a large, roomy dwelling, typical
of the better class houses in the islands. The entresuelo, or ground floor, is given over to horses,
carriages, servants, and other miscellaneous uses, the
family occupying the upper floor. Here the rooms
are spacious and airy, with high ceilings and with
floors of native hardwood polished until they shine
like glass. Connected with all such households is a
body of servants or retainers who identify themselves
with the interests of the establishment, and who
receive in turn maintenance for themselves and families somewhat after the patriarchial style of Bible
times. It is a system which breeds a motley array
of attendants, who give you the impression of being
constantly in the way.
Our reception was a royal one, the ritual of hospitality among these people being reduced to a fine
art. There was music and dancing and a recounting
of vivid personal experiences during the troublous
days just passed. It seems that upon the approach
of our troops-who had been painted to the people
as devils incarnate -everybody fled into the forests
and mountains, where men, women, and children
herded together like hunted animals and suffered all
manner of privations. When they learned, however,
that our soldiers did not burn their houses nor destroy their property, and did not make war upon
women and children, they flocked back to their homes
and are still voicing their surprise and gratitude. It
is a strange fact, but most of the waste and destruction of property in the islands since the American
[I Os ]




THE ODYSSEY OF


occupation has been by the natives themselves. Upon
retreating from a village it was their frequent practice to burn it to the ground-a piece of folly explained on the theory of mock-heroics or because
they ignorantly believed that by such action our
troops would be plunged into all the misery which
befell Napoleon before a burning Moscow.
Dinner was served at eight, and it was indeed a
feast to remember. A great mahogany table glittered with the finest china and linen, its entire length
being set off by massive bouquets, pyramids of fruit,
wonderfully ornamented cakes, and stands of most
elaborately carved toothpicks.  The number and
variety of courses were amazing, creating a sense of
wonder as to where and how they were all produced.
There were wines of all kinds and color, the effect
of which doubtless added to the conviviality of the
occasion. Among the guests were the Arnedo boys,
Macario and Eugenio-the young uncles of our
hostesses-who assumed the burden of our entertainment. Nowhere have I met more perfect and
gracious hosts. All of our party understood Spanish, and most of them spoke it passably, which added
greatly to the pleasure of the occasion. After dinner there was more music and dancing, followed by a
drive homeward through the tranquil peace of a
tropic night. I lodged at the cuartel, where Captain
Butler is stationed with a company of soldiers. They
occupy the convento, or priest's residence, attached
to the village church. There has been some criticism
of the use of these buildings by our troops, but in
[ o6]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


truth there are no other structures in the towns large
enough to accommodate a company of soldiers. This
may furnish some idea of the palatial quarters occupied by the church dignitaries of the old days, who
were wont to assemble on occasion to enjoy material
as well as spiritual communion.
The next morning we stood at the window of the
convento and watched the people gather for service.
They were dressed in their bravest and best, and
their costumes were picturesque and becoming. Some
of the women were very pretty, many of them having a poise of head and beauty of neck and shoulders
that would be the envy of women in the States.
Later we went into the gallery of the church and
looked down the long nave, where hundreds were
kneeling to the solemn chant of the mass. It was an
interesting and impressive sight.
We returned to Manila in the late afternoon tired
but content. A light rain had fallen, clearing the
atmosphere and sharply defining the distant mountains beyond the green-flecked fields of rice, and cane,
and feathery bamboo. Our outing had proven a rare
treat, and we felt at its end that seldom do thirty-six
hours in any life hold more of vivid experience than
we had just garnered.


[I0o7




VII


THE TURNING OF THE TIDE
MANILA, November 28, I900.
SINCE my last letter was written the vox populi
of our country has decreed, and Bryan and his
"Paramount Issue" have gone down in defeat. It
has relieved the situation here immensely, and the
Commission and army now feel free to go ahead and
work out this problem along the lines heretofore set
by the administration. There has already been a
perceptible warming toward the authorities by those
leaders wise enough to read the handwriting on the
wall. It should be plain to all of them, and is plain
to most, that further resistance will only invite disaster to the people they profess to serve and involve
their own personal fortunes and ambitions in possible eclipse or ruin. Whatever ideas they yet retain
as to the abstract right of their country to independence, or the wisdom of it, true patriotism would
certainly counsel that they take some method other
than force of arms to achieve it. Given conditions
as they now exist, our authorities are justified in
treating those who still persist in fomenting disorder
as enemies not only to our government but equally
so to the wishes and best interests of the great mass
[ io8 ]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


of their own countrymen. As a matter of fact, most
of the present "insurrecto " operations have degenerated into barbarous attacks upon those of their
own people who show a desire to cooperate with us.
A quite recent case was the murder of Eduardo
Kintero, Chief of Police of Tacloban, Leyte, who
had administered his office faithfully and fearlessly.
To evidence our appreciation of his loyalty, and to
encourage others who are jeopardizing, or may
jeopardize, their lives and property in our service,
the Commission has just appropriated seven hundred
and fifty dollars to the widow and family of the
deceased, left destitute by his death.
A noticeable effect of the election has been an increased attendance upon the public sessions of the
Commission. The fact of being permitted to freely
express their views concerning proposed legislation
is something new to these people, and they approach
it with diffidence. They are slow to realize that the
Commission is sincere in its efforts to obtain their
opinion and counsel. On several occasions when,
after profuse apologies, some criticism was made of
a pending measure and the speaker invited to make
suggestions he would simply spread his hands and
remark that he "could not presume to give advice
to so learned a body as the Commission." Among
others who have seen the light and favored the Commission with their ideas and presence is Pedro A.
Paterno- he of "Amnesty Banquet" fame. I mention him, not because his suggestions have in any
way lightened the burdens of the Commission, but
[ 109]




THE ODYSSEY OF


as indicating how rapidly and completely the tide of
popular favor is turning our way. When a Filipino
of Paterno's shrewdness, whose every move is governed by self-interest, casts his lot with us, its significance is far reaching among a people whose politics
are largely personal.
The Commission has just submitted a report to
the Secretary of War dealing with the present situation and future needs of the islands. If there is a
single problem in government building which is not
presented for solution here, then this report fails to
disclose it. Had Spain purposely created a condition
to embarrass us she could not have done it more
completely. Not only did we inherit an insurrection,
and a church problem upon which her own government was wrecked, but the whole administrative machinery is so antiquated and disorganized as not to
admit of patching or repair. Questions of municipal
and provincial law, of revenue and currency, of
courts, sanitation and police, of education and transportation, of land titles, forestry and mining-of
everything in fact essential to organized societyare clamoring for attention and must needs be solved
with few, if any, precedents to guide. Into this miscellany of problems has now entered another element
still more uncertain; i.e., the United States Congress. Thus far the Commission has acted entirely
under the war power of the President, but with the
establishment of civil government many necessary
reforms can be accomplished only under express Congressional authority or sanction. To be compelled,
[ Io]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


when needs are pressing, to wait upon the will of a
body ten thousand miles away, which knows little
and possibly cares less about the Philippines, does
not make for the happiest results in government.
A striking example of such embarrassment now confronts the Commission in its dealings with the currency problem. When we acquired the islands they
were on a silver basis, the money in use being Mexican dollars and a special Spanish-Filipino peso, the
exchange value of which fluctuates with the market
price of silver. Sometime prior to 1898 Spain prohibited the further importation of Mexican dollars,
while the coinage of Spanish pesos naturally ceased
upon our coming. With the supply of silver currency
thus shut off, came our army of occupation with a
flood of American gold and an ever-increasing demand for local currency in exchange. To meet this
demand the banks asked authority to import Mexican
dollars free of duty, agreeing to maintain an exchange rate of not less than two Mexican dollars
for one of gold up to their importations. This permission was granted, and something over twelve million Mexican pesos have been imported, the banks
profiting both in their purchase of the silver and in
its subsequent exchange in the islands. For some time
the value of silver permitted a higher rate than two
for one, but the demand for silver, consequent upon
the war in China, having raised the price, the banks,
in violation of their guarantee, dropped the rate to
1.98 Mexican for one of gold. As the business of
the country is done in terms of silver, the immediate
[III]




THE ODYSSEY OF


effect of this was to discredit American money among
the trading classes, who, fearful of still further reductions, refused to accept it except at ruinous discounts. The first effort of the Commission to bolster
the purchasing price of our money was to authorize
the payment of customs dues and internal revenue
taxes in gold at two to one. This having proved inadequate, an arrangement was entered into whereby
the banks holding government deposits agreed to
freely purchase gold from the public at two to one,
protecting themselves by transferring each week an
equivalent amount at the same rate from the government silver account to its gold account. While the
effect of this was to protect holders of American
money by fixing a definite rate, it was made possible
only because of the large silver deposits to the credit
of the government. Should this reserve become exhausted, the arrangement would necessarily fail
unless the government replenished its silver supply
by the purchase of additional Mexican, an operation
likely to prove expensive. Between August I8 and
November 17 its silver deposit with the Hong Kong
& Shanghai Bank decreased from $2,440,910 to
$290,420, and that with the Chartered Bank something over a million pesos. To minimize the demand
for silver provision was made for the payment of
all salaries in United States currency, and that appropriations be made in gold whenever possible. In
the meantime, however, both the banks and private
individuals were exporting Mexican dollars to Hong
Kong, where they were worth more than their pur[112]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


chase price in Manila. To prevent this misuse of its
guarantee the Commission took the somewhat extraordinary step of fixing a ten per cent duty on all
exportations of Mexican silver. Before that law
was passed, however, a single Manila bank exported
nearly a million and a half Mexican, and other banks
and individuals probably as much more. Another
prolific source of profit to the banks was a requirement that all deposits should be made and all checks
drawn in Mexican currency, the result of which was
that everyone receiving United States money had to
convert it into Mexican for his bank account, and
then change it back into gold should he purchase
foreign exchange. It also worked havoc with the
silver reserve of the government, which was called
upon to maintain the ratio. To close this particular
gap the Commission has just enacted a law compelling banks to receive deposits both in United States
money and in local currency, and honor checks or
repay deposits in kind. Just when or how the next
break will occur remains to be seen, as there is nothing final in what has been done. Certainly our experience thus far furnishes little argument for free
silver. The only remedy is to adopt a Philippine
coinage based upon gold values. This, however, is
something the Commission is powerless to do, being
driven to all manner of expedients to save the situation until Congress can or will act. It has recommended that a silver Filipino peso be minted receivable in business as equivalent to fifty cents United
States currency, the intrinsic value of such peso being
[I I3]




THE ODYSSEY OF


made sufficiently low to prevent exportation. With
the convertibility of this peso into gold at fifty cents
guaranteed, the islands will be furnished a perfectly
stable and elastic currency without disturbing the
denominations and values to which the people are
accustomed. To at once adopt United States currency, when wages and prices are fixed in terms of
silver, would produce business chaos. Let us see
how soon Congress will appreciate our predicament
and furnish relief.
Manila was stirred somewhat last week by the
return of the Fourteenth Infantry from the China
campaign. Whatever else this life here may hold,
its different scenes and events have power to make
very real to us many things which were rather vague
at home. The story of what England has done and
is doing in India, the work of the Dutch in Java, and
of the French in Indo-China, the awakening of
Japan, the march of Russia to the Pacific, the future
of China-all this takes on new meaning here, and
you feel yourself a part somehow of the great drama
now unfolding in the Orient.
Our returning soldiers have much to tell of what
happened during the China expedition, and, newspapers to the contrary, are exhibiting large quantities
of valuable " loot" to point their stories. Rich as is
their spoil, however, it would seem to be a mere
bagatelle compared to that annexed by their more
enterprising allies. The tales told of that march
upon Pekin, and of the subsequent conduct of the
troops and foreign populace, are almost incredible in
[ I4]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


their enormity. The amount of goods ana property
deliberately looted or wantonly destroyed is beyond
estimate, and this, too, from non-combatants, whose
only part in the Boxer movement was being situated
in the path of the relief columns. Whole villages
were given over to pillage, rapine and slaughter,
while Pekin itself became a vast treasure house to be
plundered at will by soldiers and civilians. Those
who were wronged had no spokesmen, and the
damnable things done to them, and the misery and
injustice suffered, will likely never be heralded to the
world.
The spectacle offered by the so-called Christian
nations in China has not been one to make us proud.
We have held the American Indian up to execration
because he visited his vengeance upon the unoffending, but he was a savage, while we who have done
this thing pretend to much. Even as to the Boxers,
was their movement so very unreasonable or unnatural? They were simply trying to preserve their
own customs and religion, and to prevent the unwelcome interference of foreigners with the resting
places of their dead and with traditions grown sacred
through the practice of untold ages. Other peoples
have been applauded for such a stand as theirs. I
appreciate there is involved in all this the mooted
question of our religious missions in China, and of
our obligation to save what are termed "heathen
souls." It is a matter upon which opinions differ,
and upon which few persons have more than theoretical notions. To many who have studied the situ["Is]




THE ODYSSEY OF


ation on the ground the whole thing appears to be an
expenditure of effort and of treasure which could be
directed to far better advantage at home. These
people have a religion. It satisfies their ideas, and
is a product of their environment, and of a civilization far more ancient and less mutable than our own.
Why should we seek to supplant their beliefs with
one we have inherited, which, while perhaps better
for us, may be entirely unsuited to them. The manner of their lives and the bent of their thoughts
cannot be changed by dogma. Religion is just as
much a matter of evolution as are other modes of
thought and feeling, and is fitted to a people much
as is the costume they wear or the food they eat.
Before you can permanently transform their faith
you must transform their view of life, their mode of
living, and their conception of existence. This is
not done by preaching, but by bringing to them those
material and mental conditions which have fitted us
for our particular belief.  Privileges of various
kinds in favor of foreign missions, forced upon
China by the powers, have been a source of frequent
friction and disorder, with their consequent excuse
for intervention on the part of the country whose
citizens were molested. How far we are justified
in forcing our commerce and our educational ideas
upon the Chinese is for the nations to decide, but
only when such is done will they come to our conception of life and our view of man's duty to man and
his obligation to the Creator. Until then orthodox
Christianity, with its doctrines of the Trinity and of
[Ii6]




A Country Lane with Bamboo


A Country Home








THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


vicarious atonement, and with its different and rival
sects each claiming to point the true road to heaven,
will be a difficult thing for the Oriental mind to
either apprehend or adopt.    Good work has
undoubtedly been done, and is doing, by our missions in China, but the wider question suggests
whether the results achieved justify the large expenditure of life and treasure involved, and whether
the same energy and the same money would not yield
a bigger and a better harvest if expended among our
own people, free from all political upheavals and
unrest.
MANILA, December 15, I9oo.
The Commission has been wrestling for some time
with a liquor license law for Manila. The peculiar
conditions existing here seem to make for a greater
use and abuse of intoxicants than at home. The fact
of climate and of being "East of Suez" doubtless
have much to do with creating a thirst, but the lack
of home and social restraints and of legitimate diversions also figure largely in the equation. The saloon,
the beer hall, and hotel and club bars have become
the natural gathering places for those with time
upon their hands. As regards the saoons, a very
large number of them front flush on the Escolta, the
principal thoroughfare and shopping center of the
city. As most of the thirsty ones have some sort of
vehicle in waiting, the narrow streets and scant sidewalks are frequently so jammed as to be almost imr
[ I7]




THE ODYSSEY OF


passable. Owing to our large army of occupation,
American soldiers naturally predominate in these
places, and as they usually imbibe with the same zest
that they fight the spectacle afforded passersby is
often anything but edifying. This is particularly
true in view of the fact that few Filipinos ever become intoxicated. The native police are powerless
to quiet or quell the frequent disorders which arise,
while our soldier police are inclined to be lenient
with their comrades. While all of our soldiers are
not drinkers, the impression one gets is that the
exception is small.
As finally passed by the Commission, the law not
only raises the liquor license tax but prohibits all
saloons on the Escolta, Calle Rosario, and other important streets and plazas. It also forbids the sale
of any native wines such as "vino," "anisado,"
"tuba," etc., to American soldiers. While these
concoctions are not particularly deadly if taken in
moderation, they are very much so when consumed
with the ambition peculiar to many of our soldiers.
The purpose of the law is to reduce the number of
saloons and to drive them from the principal streets
to less conspicuous places. While it will not altogether remedy the evil, it will relieve the public of
the worst exhibitions of it. One speaker before the
Commission, with a naivete that was refreshing,
asked if the law would interfere with his business
of manufacturing liqueurs. Inquiry developed that
he was producing from drugs and chemicals in an
Escolta storeroom various high-priced liqueurs, such
[1I8]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


as benedictine, etc., which were being consumed by
our epicures as fancy products of French and Spanish vintage.,The law was naturally opposed by the
saloonkeepers and by American commercial houses,
the latter of which derive their largest profit from the
sale of intoxicants.
Another important matter before the Commission,
and which has given rise to lengthy public discussion, is the proposed tariff governing imports into
the islands. As the new system will be a radical
departure from the old Spanish rates in force, the
different importers are much concerned. The act is
now being gone over item by item preparatory to
sending to Washington. It will there be published in
various trade journals, and an opportunity given our
exporters to be heard upon it. As soon as returned
it will be enacted into law and the present unequal
and unsatisfactory schedules will be relegated to
history.
It has fallen to the Igorotes of Benguet to be the
first of the island people to receive civil government.
Although not partial to clothes, and with a reputation
for dog eating which has somewhat sullied their
fame, these men of the hills are said to be sturdy
and self-reliant, with little yearning for independencia.  Spain concerned herself very little with
them, her efforts at government being limited to one
or two military posts, with a sprinkling of coast Filipinos occupying minor positions in the villages. Now
that their mountain retreat promises to become the
summer capital of the islands, with an influx of
[Il9]




THE ODYSSEY OF


people in search of health and treasure, some form
of government is essential.
Two acts have been passed, one extending a form
of civil government to the townships and the other
to the province. In the former, authority is conferred upon the Igorotes to elect their own president
and council, upon whom certain simple duties and
obligations are imposed. They are to fix the salaries
of duly authorized officers and employes, to care for
the construction and repair of trails and bridges, to
preserve public order, to manage the property of the
township, to fix certain license taxes, to make appropriations for lawful expenditures, to erect needful
government buildings, to enforce sanitary regulations, and do various other things of purely local
concern. All ordinances and rules passed by them,
however, are subject to approval by the provincial
governor before becoming effective.  Provision is
made for a meeting of all the presidents twice a
year to confer with the provincial governor. They
are also authorized to elect a popular representative,
whose duty it is to report to the chief executive any
grievance for which the people cannot obtain redress
from the provincial authorities. The underlying idea
is to awaken an interest in the people by giving them
active participation in local affairs and at the same
time retain sufficient control to prevent injustice to
individuals.
The officers of the province are a governor, secretary, and inspector. They are entrusted with large
powers of supervision over the towns, and are to act
[ I20]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


as guides, counselors, and friends of the people in
every emergency. Should any municipal council fail
to perform its duties, the governor is authorized to
issue suitable orders for securing action, which orders
have the force of law. His general duty is outlined
as follows:
The constant aim of the governor shall be to aid
the people of the several townships of the province
to acquire the knowledge and experience necessary
for successful local popular government, and his
supervision and control shall be confined within the
narrowest limits consistent with the requirement
that the powers of government in the townships
shall be honestly and effectively exercised, and that
law and order and individual freedom shall be maintained.
The Commission was greatly assisted in the
preparation of these acts by Mr. Otto Sheerer, a
German of education, who has lived among the Igorotes for a number of years, and who not only speaks
their language but seems to have identified himself
largely with their life and interests. He was appointed  Provincial Secretary, while H. Phelps
Whitmarsh, a journalist and writer, with a wide
experience of people and places, has been appointed
Provincial Governor.
It is hoped to have a wagon road into Baguio
within a comparatively short time. Capt. C. W.
Mead, U.S.V., the engineer in charge of survey,
reports that such a road can be completed within
six months at a cost of $75,000. An act has accord[121]




THE ODYSSEY OF


ingly been drafted appropriating this amount and
directing that the work be pushed to completion by
July I, I90I.
MANILA, January 5, I901.
Much has happened since my previous letter, both
politically and otherwise.  Possibly the event of
greatest importance, and one which has most heartened the Commission in its work, was the creation
during December of what is known as the Federal
Party. Through this party, organized by the most
influential and representative Filipinos of the islands,
there has been crystallized into definite form the
desire of the great body of the people to end hostilities. It has for its platform peace under American
sovereignty, with eventual statehood under our flag.
Dr. T. H. Pardo de Tavera, a Filipino of brilliant
attainments and of European training and culture,
is president of the party, while among its directors
and members are men who ranked high in the councils of the insurgent government at Malolos, and who
are recognized as leaders among their people.
Branches are being established throughout the
islands, and the movement is bound to have a tremendous influence for good. The evident sincerity
of the Commission, and the spirit of justice which
has animated its work, have convinced thinking and
earnest Filipinos that they can safely trust their
destiny to our keeping. Many Filipinos in the provinces, however, who know nothing but the rigors of
[122]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


military rule, can hardly be expected to appreciate
our benevolent intentions. To such of these as are
sincere in their struggle it is the purpose of this new
party to send agents to explain what the Commission
has done, and proposes doing, and urge their surrender. More than anything else, however, the party
will furnish a rallying point for all those willing to
accept our sovereignty, but who, through want of
organization, have thus far been terrified into
silence. As the sub-committees in the various towns
are composed largely of those to whom the people
look for guidance, it will give the latter courage to
resist the impositions of guerrilla and ladrone bands
that now levy contributions upon them under the
guise of "military orders."
At present our army is principally occupied in protecting and policing the provincial towns, and in
heart-breaking "hikes" after these guerrilla bands.
The task of wiping them out is almost hopeless, however, unless the people themselves cooperate by
denouncing the offenders and refusing them information and supplies. Much of the country is rough and
broken, and the enemy when hard pressed have a
habit of hiding their guns and becoming all at once
most innocent looking amigos. If exasperated soldiers occasionally apply the "water cure" as an aid
to memory, there is some provocation if not justification for their act. It is with toil and travail, and with
blood and money, that we are getting back those
rifles distributed by Dewey to Aguinaldo's army.
Another move which will likely have a salutary
[I23]




THE ODYSSEY OF


effect is an order just issued for the deportation to
Guam of certain prominent agitators now confined in
Manila. This will not only eliminate them from the
scene but will convince others that the day for
temporizing has passed and that further resistance
to our authority cannot go unpunished. To coddle
this class of persons longer would be unfair to all
those Filipinos who desire peace and who are
cooperating with us in securing it.
McKinley's election, and the more stringent policy
now being pursued, have resulted in a rapid improvement of conditions. In the Island of Panay alone
over 35,000 persons have taken the oath of
allegiance since November. The few scattered
insurgents still out are showing little aggressiveness,
and many of them are negotiating surrender. As
for Aguinaldo, he is believed to be hiding somewhere among the mountains of Northern Luzon.
Except for the sentimental influence exerted by his
still being at large, he has ceased to be a factor in the
situation.
We have celebrated our first Christmas and New
Year in the Philippines, but there was little to identify
the time except the calendar. The heat of tropic
skies and the foliage of a perpetual summer do not
harmonize with our conception of the holiday season. Memory persisted in calling up visions of snow
and ice, of cool, crisp air, of gorgeous shop windows,
of kindred and friends, and all the glad cheer to
which we are exile. One felt that he was being cheated;
that Providence or the weather man had some[ I24]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


how gotten things mixed. It was a time of homesickness, with a burden of longing for the things that
were which refused to be satisfied. The "staring
Eastern days " came and went with nothing to mark
them except the ceaseless ringing of church bells.
These latter pounded and clamored for nine days,
beginning at the unholy hour of five in the morning.
I have not yet solved, nor have I had explained, just
what connection there is between the sleep-destroying
practice and anything either Christmas or Christian.
It was my good fortune to escape from Manila
over Christmas, having been invited to spend the day
with Dr. and Mrs. Thomas at Apalit. While a
greater contrast between their surroundings and anything to be found in the States could hardly be
imagined, there was the compensation of novelty and
good comradeship.   Christmas eve witnessed an
elaborate church procession, the native padre and
image of the Virgin in the lead, followed by a concourse of villagers with gayly lighted " floats," tissue
lanterns, and a band. Mass was celebrated at midnight, which we heard from the choir loft. Report
had it that later some of the prominent citizens,
including the padre, played monte until daybreak, but
there may be a mistake as to the hour.
Christmas day held a variety of diversions. The
Thomas "nipa" fronts directly on the main thoroughfare, and furnished a coign of vantage to observe the restless flow of village life. Just at their
gate is a native tienda, whose presiding goddess,
being quite comely, is popular with our soldiers.
[125]




THE ODYSSEY OF


Early Christmas morning I overheard two of the
latter discussing the weighty problem of church going. Finally one of them, who had evidently been
celebrating well if not wisely, remarked to his comrade: "I have been to church every Christmas in
my life, and I am going today if I die the next minute." Let us hope his resolution carried no such
disastrous consequence. In the afternoon Captain
Butler drove by in an army ambulance and short
calls were made on the Arnedos, Buencaminos,
Espiritus, and others. We were received at each
place with good cheer and a hospitality truly
genuine.
We took dinner that evening at the cuartel with
Captain Butler and Lieutenant Pond, the other
guests being Macario and Eugenio Arnedo, of
Apalit, and Tomas G. del Rosario and Ramon
Genato, of Manila. A village turkey had been sacrificed and the army commissary drawn upon for such
dainties as it afforded. The dinner was purely American. Dishes were few and the cutlery such as army
life affords. The table was set in the long hall running the length of the convent building, our light
being two kerosene lamps, which acted as beacons
for all manner of winged creatures. Grasshoppers
and crickets held high festival on the board, and it
frequently became necessary to carefully fish them
from our glasses. Such things, however, were a
mere detail to what proved a most interesting and
delightful spread. Our Filipino friends, who are
highly educated and traveled, were fully alive to the
[ 126]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


issues of the day and threw many sidelights on conditions in the islands both preceding and immediately
following American occupation.  Sefior Rosario,
who is now one of the leaders of the new Federal
party, was one of Spain's deportados, having spent
some time in one of her north African penal colonies.
The character they gave the former regime was naturally anything but flattering. It chanced that on
my return to Manila next day I shared a compartment with a Spaniard who has spent most of his life
in the Philippines and who held high position under
his government. He gave me the Spanish side of the
story, and it was in vivid contrast to the one heard
the previous evening. He said there were but three
honest Filipinos in the islands, naming them, and
that the others were utterly untrustworthy. His talk
breathed all of the medieval Spanish spirit, there
being a profusion of recommendations to shoot, kill,
and destroy, our plan of granting the people a participation in the government being scouted as altogether Utopian. With us in the compartment, and
inclined to agree with the Spanish Colonel, was an
Englishman, now secretary to General Bates. He is
of the adventurous type and has been a wanderer
most of his days. From his story he was through the
rebellion in Brazil which overthrew the monarchy
of Don Pedro; was five years in South Africa, where
he took part in the Matabele campaign, and participated in the survey of the Cape to Cairo telegraph
line, having been alone near Victoria Falls fourteen
months without seeing a white face; he served also
[127]




THE ODYSSEY OF


for a time on the staff of the Viceroy of India, hunting tigers in far interior Indian provinces. There is
scarcely a country he has not visited. This far edge
of the world holds many such strange characters,
and while some of them are adventurers, and some
are outside the pale, it is to be said that few of them
are fools. The foolish and the dull do not, as a rule,
stray very far from home or the beaten paths of
life.
On New Year's eve occurred the monthly dance
of the Army & Navy Assembly at the Provost Marshal Building. The departure of the old year and the
old century, and the advent of the new, were impressively marked. Just before twelve o'clock two
buglers stepped out and the mellow call of "taps"
sounded through the hall. Then, as the midnight
gun boomed over the city, the buglers again advanced and there rang out clear and sweet the call
of "reveille," the awakening of a new year and of
the new century. As the echo, with all its mighty
suggestion, died away, the band crashed into the
strains of the " Star Spangled Banner," which always
causes one's blood to riot. Never, however, has its
message come to me with more thrilling power than
in that hour when, standing on the verge of the
twentieth century, one's mind leaped forward to all
that could or might happen to our country and to
mankind before another such epoch dawned upon
the world. In this far off land, where strife and
turmoil exist, and where the passions of men are
stirred over real or fancied wrongs, one's patriotism
[ 28]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


is reborn, and all question of our country's high purpose or destiny is fiercely challenged. Whatever may
be the feelings of this people toward us today, there
rests with me the belief and the conviction that a
hundred years from now their descendants will bless
the chance that brought our flag to their shores and
taught them the message for which it has ever stood
-Liberty, Progress, and Equality.
On New Year's afternoon eight of us, upon invitation of General Frederick Grant, took the train for
Angeles, some four hours north of Manila, where he
has his headquarters. In the party were Commissioners Moses and Worcester, Miss Briggs, Mr.
and Mrs. LeRoy, Mr. Winthrop, Mr. Emery (Associated Press correspondent), and myself. We had a
special car set apart for us and the railroad trip was
made in comparative comfort.   Upon reaching
Angeles we were lodged at headquarters, and found
General Grant a genial and capital host. After dinner-which destroyed any illusions we may have
had as to the privations of provincial life-we
strolled about the village in the soft moonlight, which
lit up with gorgeous splendor the palms and tropical
foliage of the nipa-lined streets.
One of the objects of our visit was to see some
"Negritos," the aboriginal race of the islands, quite
a number of whom still inhabit the Zambales Mountains. They have nothing of the Malay about them,
and are classed by ethnologists among the lowest
order of human beings now extant. The rendezvous
was to be a little village among the foothills, about
[ 29]




THE ODYSSEY OF


nine miles distant. The start was made at eightthirty next morning in army ambulances, the road
proving of the roughest. As we were now in the
"enemy's country," we were accompanied by a
mounted escort of one hundred men. The effect was
quite warlike, particularly when we came to a large
clearing, or crossed a flowing stream, where the
troops were all visible. On reaching our destination
we found that our expected host, who had arranged
to secure the Negritos, was in jail. After inviting
the General and party to visit him, and making preparations for the feast, correspondence was discovered showing him to be the insurgent president
of Bacolor, a large adjoining town. He sent word
from jail, however, to repair to his house, where
the Negritos would be waiting for us. His wife and
son received us quite hospitably and seemed little
concerned about the fate of the head of the house.
The wife remarked that if he was guilty it served
him right to be in jail. The incident illustrates how
abnormal is the situation here, and how impossible
it is to know the real thoughts of these people from
anything they profess.
Only five Negritos had been secured, three men
and two women, as they are very timid. They are
small of stature, and though their hair is kinky, they
have none of the features of the African negro. They
are inoffensive and have given our soldiers no
trouble. They performed a weird sort of dance to
the music of a bamboo band, and also gave some
rather remarkable exhibitions with a bow and arrow,
[ I30]




Negritos in the Forest


Negritos at Home








THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


their only weapon. Altogether it was a strange
gathering, grading up through every class of humanity from the little black men, with their primitive
intelligence, to the highest types of American manhood and womanhood. The setting was an ideal
one, the outlook being over a broad sweep of hill,
mountain, and valley, reminding one much of
Switzerland. Our drive back to Angeles in the late
afternoon was picturesque and refreshing.  After
dinner we sat on the broad veranda chatting and
listening to a band concert. The air was pleasantly
cool, while the bright moonlight on the palms and
the white-garbed figures about us served to make a
strangely foreign picture. General Grant told of his
work in the province and recited many interesting
stories connected with the people. He is very democratic and has been quite successful in his work of
pacification. We returned to Manila the following
afternoon, feeling that we had added another
valuable experience to our fast increasing store.


[ I 3 I




VIII


PROVINCIAL, MUNICIPAL, AND SCHOOL
LAWS
MANILA, January 15, i90o.
ONE of the most hopeful signs for the future of
this people is their eagerness for an education.
The demand for schools has been so insistent that
the Commission is giving the matter preferred attention. During Spanish rule education was controlled
largely by the clergy, with the result that religion
and religious subjects composed most of the curriculum. Scarcely any effort was made to teach Spanish
to the masses, and possibly ninety-five per cent of the
children of school age today speak only their local
dialect. None of these dialects possess any literature of consequence, and to give instruction in any
of them would simply perpetuate the provincialism
of the people. While Spanish is spoken by most of
the gente fina, or influential class, their number is
small compared with the whole population. What
the people require, if any scheme of ultimate independence is to be realized, is the unifying influence
of a common language, with a literature telling
something of governments whose people have
learned to submit to the will of a majority. We
[132]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


have promised to train them along this path, and
consequently propose to do at once what Spain never
did in all her sovereignty; i.e., teach the people one
language- English- throughout the entire archipelago. Although this policy may create a single
tongue to criticise us and to demand our withdrawal,
we are big enough to take this risk and to meet it
when it comes.
The question upon which there is most argument
is whether religious instruction shall be permitted
in the schools. Ordinarily it would make little difference, but with the fierce hatred existing here
against the Friars, any action seeming to favor them
is construed as a surrender to their influence. We
are told by the speakers that church and state are
entirely separate in America, and are asked why the
same principle should not apply here. Many good
Catholics, on the other hand, cannot understand a
system of education wherein the religious element is
lacking, placing the training of their children in
church doctrine far above mere worldly knowledge.
Much eloquence has been spent on the subject, it
being the first important question upon which the
Commission has divided. Judge Taft and Commissioners Wright and Worcester feel some account
should be taken of the fact that for generations
religious instruction has been a matter for State
intervention. Commissioners Ide and Moses believe
the public schools and questions of dogma and doctrine should be altogether divorced. The act as
finally drawn makes certain concessions to the church,
[I33]




THE ODYSSEY OF


but with such restrictions as to disarm serious objection. Regular teachers are forbidden to teach or
criticise the doctrines of any church, or attempt to
influence their pupils for or against any religious
sect. The priest or minister of any church is permitted, however, to use the school building for half
an hour three times a week for religious instruction;
this for pupils whose parents wish it and express a
desire therefor in writing filed with the principal
teacher of the school. Any religious teacher who
uses this privilege to rouse disloyalty to the United
States, or to discourage the attendance of pupils at
the public schools, will be denied further entrance to
the school building. The substance of the concession
is that government property may be used under certain limitations for religious purposes.  As there
are more churches than schools in the islands, and
the use of the latter by the church authorities will
likely be misconstrued by the ignorant and prejudiced, the necessity or wisdom of the concession is
open to question. How it will work out remains to
be seen.
January 2I, I901.
For some weeks a Municipal Code and a Provincial Government Act have been under preparation by the Commission. As these acts will define
the participation to be given the people in their local
affairs, there has been considerable concern in shaping their provisions. Under Spain the archipelago
[ I34]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


was divided into forty-seven provinces or districts,
which were subdivided into some nine hundred
municipalities. It is the purpose of the Commission
to retain these old divisions so far as economical
administration will permit, the people placing great
store upon their particular towns and provinces.
The proposed Municipal Code is now undergoing
public dissection, and, like the brook, the talk
threatens to go on forever. Any lack of interest
originally shown in these meetings is now being
amply compensated, the session hall being crowded.
As recorder it is my duty to make a verbatim report
of the various speeches and then condense them for
the Commission records. Very often this simmering
process fails to disclose a single idea or suggestion
on the subject in hand. The speakers usually spend
several minutes eulogizing the commission and
descanting upon their own unfitness to offer suggestions; they then start with the creation of the world
and follow the course of history through all its
devious windings down to the present; at some stage
they usually refer to the particular law under discussion as " transcendental," and then, without ever
coming to the point, dramatically finish with the
exclamation, he dicho -I have spoken. On a few
occasions the speakers have gotten so involved they
have asked permission of the Commission to stop
talking. Of course, valuable suggestions are often
received, and the above characterization does not
apply to all. When it is remembered that everything
said, whether by Commissioners or by persons
['35]




THE ODYSSEY OF


addressing them, must be interpreted from English
into Spanish, and vice versa, and that the climate
is tropical and decidedly soporific, the patience of
the Commission in sitting hour after hour listening to
these verbal pyrotechnics is something to marvel at.
What with almost continuous public sessions, and
with executive sessions whenever they can be
snatched, there is precious little time for the "simmering process" referred to above. From every
side is heard a wail for more stenographers. None
are to be had here, while the machinery of the United
States Civil Service, which has been invoked, grinds
very, very slowly.
General conditions throughout the islands continue to improve rapidly. The spread of the new
Federal Party has been phenomenal. It has swept
over the islands like wildfire and now numbers its
adherents by tens of thousands. It has received the
cooperation and best wishes of the Commission in
its propaganda, something which cannot be said unreservedly of our army friends. It has seemed that
certain of the latter fear that some of the glory of
"suppressing the insurrection" may rest with this
party rather than with them.
Another vital factor in bringing about a better
understanding has been the laws enacted by the Commission. Promises made to the people, and concerning which they were naturally skeptical, are now
being put into concrete form, and, wonder of wonders, they find themselves accorded greater privileges than they had asked, or than they could have
[136]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


hoped to enjoy under any government of their own.
They are beginning to realize vaguely that the Commission is legislating for them; that it is establishing
schools and teaching their children one language;
that it is building roads and harbors, and attempting in every way to bring to them those things which
have made us great and powerful; that we are not
here to oppress them, but to give them every liberty
and privilege which they can grasp and hold, and
that there is promised them finally, when they shall
have grown to man's stature, either a place as citizens under our flag or an opportunity to govern
themselves.  This is the gospel that is being
preached the people by the Commission and by the
leaders of the Federal Party, and it is the gospel
that is destined to work the regeneration of this
people so far as race, climate, and previous environment will permit.
This missionary work, combined with the increased activity of the army and the deportation of
certain irreconcilables to Guam, has created a condition justifying the early extension of civil government to the towns and provinces. The Commission
hopes to enter upon this work early next month, the
plan being to visit all the provinces and personally
explain to the people the scheme of government provided. While pride, or a mistaken zeal, still causes
a number of "Generals," "Colonels," and other
paper officials to refuse all overtures of peace, it is
believed an act recently passed carried an argument
for surrender which will appeal to most of them.
[ 37]




THE ODYSSEY OF


This act provides that all persons who on the first
of April, I9oI, shall be in arms against the authority
and sovereignty of the United States in the islands,
and all persons aiding or abetting them after that
date, will be disqualified to hold any office of honor,
trust or profit in the Philippine Islands. To this
people official position of some kind is the sine qua
non of existence. To hold office in the old days
meant not only social prestige and comparative ease,
but usually an opportunity to exploit their less fortunate brethren.  It meant influence, power, and
that adulation and homage which is the breath of
life to a society given largely to the worship of externals. To be indefinitely deprived of an opportunity
to hold office, therefore, will be a punishment whose
dire consequences will likely outweigh the transitory
glory now attending high rank in a scattered army
or a non-existent republic.
In the greater interest of matters political, I have
neglected all reference to that perennial subjectthe climate. As it is a feature of this life which
looms large to people contemplating living in the
islands, and is a source of almost constant worry to
them after they get here, the topic should not be
lightly sidetracked. It is customary, of course, to
regard all tropical countries as hot and pestilential,
and returning soldiers and others have not spared
pains to paint the Philippines as the "jumping-off
place " —whatever that may be. In this matter, as
in most others, much depends upon the point of view
and a great deal upon one's digestion. In truth, the
[ 38]




A Woman of the People


Adult Negrito Woman, Showing Relative Size




I




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


climate of Manila is far from disagreeable, and not
a single member of the Commission or staff has
missed a day's work through illness. The thermometer seldom rises above ninety, while the nights are
almost invariably cool enough for restful sleep. We
have none of that sweltering, moist heat peculiar to
summer months in the States, nor does any particular day stand out as uncomfortable. The evil lies
not in any extreme heat, but in the uniform absence
of any crispness in the air; a lack of tone and brace
which, it is said, eventually saps the vitality, develops nerves, sours the temper, and leaves one nonresistent when disease does come. Thus far there
has been no apparent diminution of steam power
on the part of the Commission, though a collapse
is predicted when the reserve energy brought from
home is exhausted.
February 6, 90o1.
The Municipal Code and Provincial Government
Act have, after exhaustive discussion, been finally
enacted into law. The task has proven somewhat
strenuous, involving, as it does, the granting of a
large measure of popular control to a people who,
while endowed with a sublime self-confidence, have
had no experience in the responsibilities of self-government. Just how difficult it has been to devise a
scheme to fit such conditions can hardly be appreciated by persons whose ancestors have been trained
since the days of Alfred to express their will through
town meetings and elective assemblies.
[I39]




THE ODYSSEY OF


The Municipal Code makes the government of
the towns practically autonomous. While it was the
aim to keep the law simple, it was found necessary
to specify in considerable detail the powers and
limitations of the different municipal officers. Under
Spanish administration a public official may have
been responsible to those above, but seldom or never
to those beneath him. Saturated as the people are,
therefore, with the idea that any demand made by a
person in authority must be obeyed, the present law
lays stress upon the fact that the government now
sought to be implanted is one of limited and prescribed powers, and that public officials have no
rights beyond those expressly conferred upon them.
When the people thoroughly appreciate this fact
they will have learned their first great lesson in true
self-government.
The act vests municipal authority in a President,
Vice-President, and Council, all elected by the
people. The number of councillors varies according
to population, each councillor being charged with
the welfare of a particular barrio, or ward. The
treasurer and secretary are appointed by the town
president with the consent of the council. Only the
president, secretary, and treasurer draw salary. The
right of suffrage is limited to males twenty-three
years of age who have-(a) held some municipal
office in Spanish times; (b) who own real property
of the value of five hundred pesos or pay an annual
tax of thirty pesos; or (c) those who speak, read,
and write English or Spanish. The act is explicit
[ I40]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


in prescribing the manner of holding elections, and
incorporates all necessary forms. The sources of
public revenue and the duties of the various officials
are minutely defined. Provision is made for a real
estate tax, something new to these islands. This
feature met with considerable opposition when the
law was discussed, the persons addressing the Commission being of the class most affected by such a
provision.  They found it difficult, however, to
answer the argument that everyone should be taxed
according to his means. The purpose of this tax is
not only to work justice in the matter of contributions, but to compel landed proprietors to either
cultivate their holdings or subdivide and sell them.
In view of the ravages of war and other recent disasters, the land tax is small, the maximum allowed in
the towns being one-half of one per cent. Of this
at least one-fourth of one per cent must be devoted
exclusively to the support of free primary schools
and the erection of school buildings. Ample provision is made for the assessment and collection of
the tax, for delinquent sales, etc., leaving as little
margin as possible for injustice and inequality.
The provincial government act is largely supplementary to the Municipal Code, the provincial
officers being charged with a wide degree of supervision over the towns. The officers consist of a
governor, treasurer, supervisor, secretary, and fiscal
-the latter corresponding to our prosecuting attorney. The supervisor must be a civil engineer and
has special charge of roads, bridges, and buildings.
[ 4I]




THE ODYSSEY OF


The governor, treasurer, and supervisor constitute
a provincial board, being the governing body of the
province. The treasurer collects, in addition to the
provincial taxes, all funds pertaining to the municipalities except fines, market fees, and ferry tolls.
The money so collected by him is turned over to the
municipal treasurers, who furnish regular statements
of their expenditures, thus enabling an absolute
check to be kept of their accounts. The provincial
tax on real estate is limited to three-eighths of one
per cent, of which at least one-eighth of one per cent
must be destined to the construction and repair of
roads and bridges. The assessment of lands, both
in the provinces and towns, is under the supervision
of the provincial treasurer, special deputies acting
with the municipal president and secretary in determining values. All revenues collected, whether in
the towns or provinces, are applied locally, none of
the moneys being remitted to the central treasury.
This differs radically from  the Spanish method,
where all contributions centered in the treasury at
Manila, little of the money finding its way back to
benefit the contributors. The provincial governor
is required to visit all the towns in his province at
least twice a year, and to receive and hear complaints from the people concerning the conduct of
their officers. The position of governor is elective,
while those of the other officers are appointive. All
except the fiscal are brought under the classified civil
service after March, 1902. The governor is chosen
for a term of two years, being elected by a majority
[142]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


vote of all the municipal councillors. This naturally
means that the provincial governors will be Filipinos. The plan is to extend the general provincial
law to the provinces by special act, which will prescribe the salaries to be paid and certain such other
terms as local conditions require. The first election
for governors will be held in February, I902. Until
then they will be appointed by the Commission.
There can be no question but that these acts go
far toward delegating control in local affairs to the
people themselves, and should convince the most
skeptical that we are not here to despoil or oppress
them.
Another act worked in during odd intervals is one
regulating the hours of labor, leaves of absence, etc.,
of appointees under the Philippine Civil Service. By
this act not less than six hours of labor each day
is required of all employes, while more can be exacted without extra compensation; annual leave
ranging from fifteen to thirty-five days is provided,
based upon salary. This leave may be accumulated
for three years for a visit to the States, in which
event the time required in going to and from San
Francisco is added at half salary. Sick leave not
exceeding sixty days each year may be granted by
heads of departments.   Persons residing in the
States appointed to the service are allowed their
traveling expenses, San Francisco to Manila, with
half salary en route. A person employed in the
service for three years will, upon retirement, be
furnished transportation, Manila to San Francisco,
[ 43]




THE ODYSSEY OF


with half salary for thirty days in addition to accrued leave. While these provisions are apparently
liberal, it is felt they are none too much so to secure
and keep good men in the service.


[ I44]




A Tropical River


A River Scene, Pagsanjan, Laguna








IX


PROVINCIAL ORGANIZATION
MANILA, February g9, 90oi.
T   HE Commission has made a beginning in its
work of provincial organization. We returned
yesterday from a pilgrimage of seven days to the
north of Manila, during which civil government was
extended to the provinces of Pampanga, Pangasinan,
and Tarlac. It was a week of vivid incident, and if
our experiences during these days are a measure of
what awaits us in the thirty and odd provinces yet
to be organized, then fate has reserved for us a
series of sensations more varied and unique than
often fall to the lot of men.
We left Manila on the morning of the twelfth,
the party occupying special coaches on the regular
Manila-Dagupan train. Our cast of characters was
as follows: Taft, Worcester, Wright, and Moses,
Commissioners; Fergusson, General Secretary;
Branagan, Disbursing Officer; Williams, Recorder;
LeRoy, Heiskell, Carpenter, and Swindell, Secretaries; Arellano, Chief Justice; Tavera, Flores, and
Herrera of the Federal Party; Emery of the Associated Press; McDonnell of the New York Sun, and
Juan de Juan, Loyzaga, and Gonzalez of the Span[145]




THE ODYSSEY OF


ish-Filipino Press. General Grant, in whose district
Pampanga is situated, was stage manager for the
initial performance. Our railroad destination was
San Fernando, fifty miles distant. Notice of the
coming of the Commission had been given the
municipal officers of the different pueblos, with
request that they meet us in convention at the
capitals of their respective provinces.
Our progress along the railroad was a continuous
ovation. The first stop was at Bocaue, where a
throng of people and two bands-both playing at
once-heralded our arrival. A number of leading
citizens, dressed in customary official black, said
they were glad to see us-to which Judge Taft
responded nosotros tambien. General Flores then
made a short talk in Tagalog, the purport of which
was that if the people behaved themselves things
would come their way. The crowd in the meantime
gazed at us in petrified silence, broken only when
the train started by "Jivas" for "La Comision
Civil," for "America," and various other entities.
At Guiguinto we had more music and more speeches,
Dr. Tavera getting into the game here with some
good advice to the populace. It is to be said, however, that this oratorical part of the program was
held under difficulties, as these diminutive cars do
not lend themselves to platform speaking. When a
goodly sized man doubles himself out of one of
these small windows the sight is more amusing than
inspiring to all but the devout.
The above proceeding was repeated with varia[ I46]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


tions as to speakers at Malolos and Calumpit. There
was the same sea of brown, upturned faces, the same
eager, absorbed expressions, and the same variety
of costume and "Vivas." En route there spread
ever about us all the picturesque panorama of a
tropical land, of which one never grows tired. We
saw old Arayat looming purple th'rough the haze;
saw the rice paddies and the carabaos; saw the dark
green fringe of bamboo along the fields, and the
little nipas peering from the deep-leafed shade of
the banana groves. The spirits of the party bubbled
over at the novelty and freshness of it all.
At San Fernando, where we left the train, the
military added their pageantry to that of the natives,
the place being decked in holiday attire. Carriages
were in waiting, and we were conducted in state
through a succession of streets spanned by triumphal
arches of palm and bamboo. The schools had been
dismissed and the children, each with a tiny American flag stuck stiffly in front, were lined up to greet
us. A short stop was made at Colonel Page's head.
quarters, where something was taken to clear the
dust from our throats. We then started for Bacolor, a mile and a half distant, where the convention
was to be held. Reaching the environs of the town,
we found all the houses, not excepting the little
nipas, gaily decorated for the occasion. Some of
these efforts were rather pathetic, but the spirit was
all right. There were queer-painted little flags of
paper and cloth, the number of stars and stripes
being often hopelessly mixed. Again you would see
[I47]




THE ODYSSEY OF


a white cloth hung in a window, a patch of red
perhaps appearing in the center, the whole set off by
paper lanterns of various fantastic designs. Here,
as in San Fernando, numerous arches of elaborate
construction spanned the various streets, a testimony
to the skill of native craftsmen.
Our first stop was at the house of Judge Macapinlac, where greetings were duly exchanged. Later
we repaired to the home of Sefior Santos, where
tiffin was served, which, however, was more than a
tiffin- it was a dissipation. There were six meat
courses, and others in proportion, with all sorts of
wines, dulces, fruits, and other puzzles to digestion. It seems meat is something of a luxury, and
the more of it served during a meal, the better the
latter is supposed to be.
After luncheon the Commissioners disappeared
for a much-needed siesta, they being guests of Santos.
We attaches sat around, drowsy with the heat and
much eating, waiting to be assigned quarters. Presently a messenger reported he had found the desired
haven, whereupon Branagan, Carpenter, LeRoy,
Swindell, and I packed our grips into a carromata
and descended upon one Felix Rodriguez, our designated victim. He looked somewhat dazed at the
onslaught, but came to the center smiling. We were
invited to sit down, and the usual cigars and cigarettes made the round. Judge Arellano was present,
while we could see General Flores in the offing. Conversation developed that there were but three beds
in the house, two of which were already bespoken
[ I48]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


by Arellano and Flores, not to mention the needs
of our host and family. He courteously offered us
the third bed, but as we numbered five, the idea did
not appeal, and we sorrowfully took up our trek.
After various experiences, too sad to chronicle, we
finally learned that we were to lodge at Guagua,
headquarters of Major Wholly, three miles distant.
In the meantime we succeeded in washing up a bit
and finding a nook in the Santos house to dress for
dinner.
Shortly before seven the entire party repaired to
the provincial building, where a banquet was spread.
The patio was agleam with lanterns, while a profusion of flags, palms, and greenstuff made the hall
a scene of splendor. Sixty-two people sat down to
table. It was a great feast under any circumstances,
but in a small provincial town whose buildings were
in ruin and whose people were impoverished by war,
it was remarkable. In praising the dinner, Judge
Taft well said that no town of like size in the States
could equal it. There was such an overflowing
abundance it sort of appalled one. The people and
the occasion, however, were greater than the setting, worthy as it was. It marked the beginning of
popular government in the Philippines under American sovereignty, and no man could tell the end.
About the table were grouped the representatives
of peace and war and the best the Filipinos could
produce from among their own sons. Following
the dinner, speeches were made by Judge Taft, by
Seiior Joven of Bacolor, by General Grant, Commis[ 49]




THE ODYSSEY OF


sioner Worcester, Judge Arellano, Dr. Tavera,
General Flores, and Colonel Page. The speeches
were splendid, and all of them breathed a spirit of
kindliness, of confidence, and of good will which
could not but impress favorably all who heard them.
At 9:30 the next morning the Commission met in
public session with the presidents, councillors, and
leading citizens of the twenty-five pueblos of the
province. The roll of the towns was called and the
delegates arose in turn and responded. They were
serious and attentive and made a very favorable
impression. Judge Taft then spoke to them, setting
out in simple language the purposes of the Commission in their behalf, and explaining in detail the provisions and scope of the new provincial law. The
public was then invited to make suggestions, and
quite a number responded. While the suggestions
were generally directed to some point already
threshed out by the Commission in executive session,
the proposed amendments were favorably considered whenever possible. At twelve the meeting adjourned for another so-called tiffin, but which proved,
like that of the previous day, to be a sumptuous dinner. Our host at tiffin-Sefior Rodriguez-did
not sit at table with us, but assisted in serving, which
seems to be a custom of the country.
In the afternoon session the special act applying
the provincial law to Pampanga was passed and the
provincial officers named. Sefor Joven, president
of Bacolor, was appointed governor, and thus was
accomplished the first real step toward granting the
[1So]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


Filipino people a participation in their own government. The occasion was an impressive one. As
the early evening shadows lengthened through the
hall and threw into deeper shade that sea of dark,
upturned faces, you felt the hour charged by fate
with tremendous possibilities.  You  wondered
whether the people would rise to their opportunity,
and in the new way opened for them realize the
high destiny painted by the speakers of the afternoon, or would their impatience, their desire to
grasp too soon the reins of power, blind them to
the gifts which were freely offered, and change their
words of praise to words of hate?
The next province on the list was Pangasinan, the
convention to be held at Dagupan, the terminus of
the railroad. We left San Fernando early next
morning and reached Dagupan in the afternoon.
The train ride was an interesting one, the ground
covered being new to most of us. The press representatives, together with most of the attaches, occupied one car, and a bohemian crowd it was. We had
a basket lunch, supplemented by bananas and cocoanuts secured en route. The day was warm, and
through the windows floated the necessary dust and
cinders to give our meal its regulation picnic flavor.
The scenes of the early part of our journey were
repeated at the different stations, all the people
being anxious to catch a glimpse of "La Comision
Civil." There were always two or three bands in
attendance, no village being too small, apparently,
to support one. These people seem to be natural
[  I ]




THE ODYSSEY OF


musicians. They are also natural orators-or at
least have the gift of words. As we neared Dagupan we passed through large nipa swamps and immense groves of cocoanut palms-the latter filling
one's ideal of the beautiful in tropical vegetation.
On reaching Dagupan we found things somewhat
mixed, no word having been received as to the size
of our party. We were finally distributed, the whole
thing reminding me of a church convention in the
States where the visiting preachers are parceled out
among the members of the congregation. It fell to
my lot, in company with Commissioner Moses, to
be entertained by Captain Winn, a former military
instructor in the University of California. It was
good to get back to simple army fare after our
recent orgy.
Our first afternoon and evening were spent
quietly, most of us being thankful for it. The convention met next morning in the villlage theater, the
thirty-one towns of the province being represented
by three hundred and fifty delegates; these, with the
general public, soon made the " standing-room"
sign necessary. As the roll was called each delegation came forward and passed in review before the
stage. The morning was given over to this and to
an explanation of the provincial law by Judge Taft,
the afternoon being devoted to a public discussion
of the special act. The people were somewhat slow
to respond, but by judicious questioning they finally
got started, and then the trouble was to stop them.
Our audience comprised most of the educated and




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


influential Filipinos of the province. As the masses
receive their ideas through these few, this face-toface presentation of facts to their leaders virtually
meant talking to all the people. That the Commission had sufficient interest in their welfare to make
a special visit to the province established a bond of
union and sympathy such as nothing else could have
done.
That evening we were banqueted at the house of
one Villareal, the dinner being given by the Federal
Party of Dagupan. The spread was like unto others
described, being superabundant. There were the
usual speeches, without which a dinner here would
be considered altogether tame and commonplace.
Judge Taft, in referring to the Federal Party, characterized all those who, for personal reasons or
otherwise, sought to hinder its work as enemies to
the best interests of their country. Some of this
was meant for the local military, who, while quite
courteous, do not seem to enjoy the object of our
visit among them. The establishment of civil government ends their absolute sway, and they naturally
dislike to give up the power which is theirs. It comes
hard to be relegated from monarchs to mere peace
officers. One captain, in describing his administration of an adjoining town, said that he was king,
King with a big " K," and that when the natives did
not respond promptly to his demands he stuck them
in the guardhouse. This no doubt proved effective, but it hardly works for benevolent assimilation.
Commissioner Wright made quite a long speech and
[I53]




THE ODYSSEY OF


a good one. He is naturally witty and can drive
home plain truths with a smiling face. He told the
people exactly how we happened to come to the
islands, and explained that our remaining here afterwards was something we could not in justice have
avoided, even had we wished. He said it was not
necessary for us to oppress them, and that we had
no idea whatever of doing so; that our purpose was
to help them, and we could do this only as they
cooperated with us. Professor Moses followed and
pointed out wherein the methods we were pursuing
differed from those followed by Spain, which country, amid all the blessings which time had showered
upon her, had never enjoyed good government.
Next morning the special act was passed, and
Perfecto Sison of Lingayen named provincial governor. Judge Taft then called for speeches from
Chief Justice Arellano, Dr. Tavera, and General
Flores, who roused the crowd to a dramatic finish.
I think Arellano's talk one of the best I have ever
heard. He is without doubt the greatest Filipino
in the islands today, though one of the most modest.
He has always stood for peace, and yet is universally liked by these people. When he rose to speak
the audience rose involuntarily. He talked to them
sincerely and earnestly as a father would talk to his
children. He told them he was not given to appearing in public; that for twelve years he had lived in
practical retirement, and that if he now came forth
it was because he felt the crisis to be a vital one to
his people. He said he was growing old and might
[ I54' e




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


not live to see the great future which spread before
his country, but he spoke for them and for their
sons who would live to see it. A deep note of conviction rang through every word, and the effect upon
his emotional audience was striking. It was a great
speech and one which it is good to have heard.
The Commission decided to remain in Dagupan
until Monday, giving us a day and a half for diversion. In the afternoon I visited the public schools,
in charge of Max McCullough, a California boy
whom I knew. That day he was teaching in the
girls' school, a nipa structure with bamboo floors
and bamboo seats, entirely too small to seat the children; they were sitting around on the floor and filling every available nook. He was drilling them in
relays, using a pictured English chart. He remarked
that after going over that chart fifty times a day, and
following it up for months, the subject-matter
became strangely familiar.
On Sunday the entire party drove to Lingayen,
the provincial capital, eight miles distant. The road
seemed a continuous street, being lined throughout
by little nipas, the windows of which framed many
striking pictures. We made a halt at Binmaley,
midway to Lingayen, to see their old church, one
of the finest in the islands. We were met by the
priest and leading citizens and escorted up to the
altar to organ music. The priest here was more
successful than most, for he succeeded in saving the
treasures of his church from Americans and insurrectos alike. After visiting the church we went
[I55]




THE ODYSSEY OF


through the convento, or priest's residence, where
refreshments were served.
On reaching Lingayen a reception was tendered
in the municipal building, with the usual accompaniment of speeches and eatables. We took luncheon
with Major Brush, which compelled us to forego
the spread prepared by the town people. We understood when too late that quite elaborate preparations had been made to entertain us. After luncheon
LeRoy and I climbed the tower of their old church,
which commands a magnificent view. The shimmering bay of Lingayen, deep blue under that southern sky, lay to the west of us, while on every side
stretched reach on reach of nipa, palm, and cocoanut groves, through which the thread-like Agno
wound down to the sea. Below us lay the town,
with its queer nipa houses and wealth of life.
Later our party visited the provincial prison,
where we saw the man and woman who have been
personating the Christ and the Virgin Mary. They
were ordinary looking creatures, but had exerted
wonderful power over certain of the superstitious
natives. We also saw Seior Valles, Aguinaldo's
" Director of Communications," who was captured
last week. He appeared to be a shrewd man. Returning to Dagupan we stopped at the Binmaley cockpit, where practically the entire town was assembled.
The next morning at 8:30, to the music of a military and two native bands, we started south for
Tarlac, our next stop. Here we were met by the
military and most of the populace. Owing to infor[156]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


mation received at Dagupan, the Commission had
decided not to organize Tarlac at this time, the plan
being simply to make a short stop and tell the people
we would call again when they had improved a bit
in their behavior. The town lies about a mile from
the railroad, and we made the ride in a varied assortment of vehicles and in a bewildering cloud of dust.
The people had gathered from all parts to meet us,
the town being as elaborately decorated as any we
had visited. When the Commission learned that
delegates had gathered from most of the towns and
were without notice that their province was not to
be organized, it was decided to go through with it
that afternoon rather than disappoint them. Accordingly, between 2:30 and 5:30 the provincial
bill was explained, discussion had, amendments
offered, the bill passed, and officials appointed.
Owing to the somewhat uncertain temper of the
people, and to various factions among them, an
American governor was appointed, who will hold
office until an election is held in February. One incident of the afternoon was rather pathetic. On the
roll call one of the towns failed to respond and was
marked absent. Later we learned the delegates had
come and were below stairs, but, being barefooted,
were ashamed to come into the presence of the
Commission. After the session a band concert was
given in the village plaza, and later a banquet
was served by the Federal Party at the house of
the town padre. There were the usual number of
courses and the same array of people. We had but
[I57]




THE ODYSSEY OF


two speeches, one by Judge Taft and one by Chief
Justice Arellano. The people were somewhat less
demonstrative than elsewhere; possibly they were
disappointed over the failure of the Commission to
appoint a native governor.
We left Tarlac at six the next morning, reaching
Manila at noon. Most of the party were able to
answer "Present" at the finish, there being but two
or three whose digestive machinery had failed to
respond to the strain put upon it. It is hard to
estimate the good the trip will bring in its train. It
brought home to the people as nothing else could
just what is proposed to be done for them. They
are tired of military rule, and relief from it is the
reward offered when they prove themselves worthy.
MANILA, March 3, I90I.
Two more provinces have been organized- Bulacan and Bataan. The trip to Bulacan differed only
in detail from our previous one. This time the
ladies accompanied us, i. e., Mrs. Taft, Mrs.
Worcester, Miss Herron, Mrs. Fergusson, Mrs.
LeRoy, Miss Briggs, and the Misses Ide. Bulacan
is within an hour's ride of Manila by train, the town
being two and a half miles from the railroad. There
was the same outpouring of natives to witness our
advent and the same cordial reception. While not
as gorgeously decorated as some of the other towns,
they had two or three indefatigable bands whose
lung power was a wonder.
r [158]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


The convention was set for 2 P. M., being held
in a small chapel, the large town church being used
as barracks by our soldiers. Most of the important
buildings in the town were destroyed during the
insurrections against Spain and our authority, and
we saw little but ruins. The chapel where we met
was small and the ventilation poor. It was crowded
to suffocation and we gasped and perspired in the
sweltering, overcharged atmosphere. Following an
exposition of the provincial act by Judge Taft, considerable interest was roused over a movement to
remove the capital from Bulacan to Malolos, which
is on the railroad. The discussion waxed warm and
it was finally suggested by the Commission that the
question be left to a vote of the towns-the vote to
be taken next morning. One of the speakers made
the somewhat novel proposition that an engineer
survey the province and find its central spot, and
that the capital be located there. Another speaker
branched off on the evils of gambling, which, he said,
was the curse of Bulacan. He asked that the governor be empowered to punish gambling as an executive function. He was told that in countries where
civil liberty prevails punishment can only be had
through the courts, but that the Commission would
try and appoint officials in sympathy with his ideals.
A banquet was given in the evening by the Federal Party in the Convento building. There were
speeches by Judge Taft, General Grant, and Sefores
Calderon and Flores. After the dinner a baile was
held upstairs.
[ 59]




THE ODYSSEY OF


The meeting next morning was one of the most
interesting yet held. The question of the capital
was submitted to vote, possibly the first time in the
history of the islands where the people were permitted to settle a thing of that kind themselves.
Malolos won by a majority of three. Judge Taft
told the people it was our purpose to let them have
their way in all things so long as it was consistent
with public order and the rights of individuals, citing
the matter of the capital as an example. It appealed
to them, and after Calderon had stirred them with
a speech in Tagalog, and Dr. Tavera had flattered
them, had appealed to the memory of their great
men, and had led and forced them along with him
on the current of his wit and eloquence, the occasion
developed into a regular love feast. One speaker
went so far as to ask that the land tax be applied at
once, and not postponed for a year, as contemplated. He said Bulacan was the first to go to war
and the last to come in; that it took a man of Bulacan a long time to get an idea into his head, but, once
in, it stuck. They were now for peace and American
sovereignty. For the time, at least, I believe them
sincere.
Seior Serapio was appointed provincial governor.
The people are split into factions and Serapio was
persona non grata to many of them. He has been
an active American sympathizer from the beginning,
and was instrumental in causing the capture of many
insurrectos. His life has been marked many times,
and though the people now profess peace, they can[ 60o]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


not overlook the past. We left for the train at 2:30.
A heavy rain set in and we were a dripping, bedraggled lot when we reached the station.The next day was spent in Manila, and the day
following we started for Bataan, which lies just
across the bay from Manila. The trip was made
by launch, the ladies again accompanying us. Before
starting we had heard something of the reception
awaiting us, it being reported that over twenty thousand flags had been secured to decorate their water
craft and buildings. What we imagined-what we
possibly could have imagined-was dwarfed by the
reality, however. While yet a considerable distance
from shore, fifteen or twenty large bancas bore down
upon us, each manned by from twenty to thirty rowers and filled with people. The rowers were naked
to the waist, and as their bronze bodies swayed backward and forward with each broad sweep of the oars,
it made a picture of savage grandeur that thrilled
one. Round and round they went, rising in their
seats at intervals to utter strange and unknown cries.
All the bancas were decorated with flags and bunting, a number of them having bands of music aboard.
One barge, larger than the rest, had a large pagoda
top and reminded one dimly of those triumphal
floats in which Egypt's queen was wont to make her
pilgrimages on the Nile. This was brought alongside the launch and boarded by our party. There
were a number of women aboard with musical instruments, who played and sang improvised songs of
welcome. We were taken in tow by two other
[I6I]




THE ODYSSEY OF


barges, which spread their sails and sped on, followed by the entire fleet. As these scattered over
the water they looked, with their square, colored
sails, like a flock of great birds.
As we neared the landing for Balanga, the capital, another fleet appeared, adding to the excitement. The coast is quite low here and the boats
grounded some distance out, our landing being made
in army ambulances. About five hundred school
children had a banner reading, "Welcome to the
Civil Commission. Give us schools and English
teachers and we will do the rest." We all agreed
that our reception on sea and land had been the
most spectacular of our lives. We took lunch at
military headquarters, and an informal reception
was held later in the provincial building.
At 3:30 a public session was held of the usual
character. Here, however, as the mass of those
present spoke only Tagalog, the speeches were interpreted into that language by Seiior Calderon. The
banquet that evening was one of the largest we have
attended, there being a greater representation of
women present than usual. A few speeches were
made, after which we adjourned to the town hall,
where a baile was in progress. It was a lively scene,
everyone seeming to enter into the spirit of the occasion. Mr. LeRoy and I had been assigned to a
Filipino family, where we showed up shortly after
midnight. One of the native bands was also quartered there, its members, together with the family,
being stretched out on the floor. We had to pass
[ 62]




Native Boats Welcoming Commission, Bataan


Native Prao, Off Bacolod, Negros








THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


over their bodies to reach our room. Perhaps some
people, reading the States papers, would have considered it reckless for two unarmed Americans to
sleep alone under such circumstances. We slept
well, however, despite the hard beds and harder
pillows. These native pillows seem stuffed with
sawdust or something equally hard. Our breakfast
was served in the room next morning, the band
playing meanwhile in the adjoining room.
The closing session was held this morning, and
we had another splendid talk by Chief Justice Arellano, who is a native of the province. Another
tiffin- really a dinner —was eaten, with more
speeches. We were then escorted to the bay shore
by most of the populace and by the military, and
then to our launch and onward by the fleet of bancas.
Next week we are scheduled to start on our trip
to the southern islands, which will be made in the
transport Sumner and will occupy about two months.
In the meantime the Commission is in almost continuous session, trying to clear up a mass of accumulated matters. My dual position of private secretary and recorder has simply swamped me with
work, and it is a scramble to keep from being
smothered.
Word has come of the passage by Congress of
the so-called "Spooner Bill," relating to Philippine
affairs, and it is a great disappointment. While it
authorizes the President to establish temporary civil
government in the islands, it prohibits absolutely the
sale, lease, or other disposition of public lands or
[ 63]




THE ODYSSEY OF


timber, or the granting of any mining rights. It
authorizes the granting of franchises, but renders
the grant nugatory by providing that all such franchises shall terminate within one year after the
establishment of civil government. The law effectually ties the hands of the Commission so far as
developing the resources of the islands is concerned,
without which development no general prosperity
can be expected. The whole thing illustrates how
foolish our representatives can be when dealing with
something which does not affect their chances of
reelection, and concerning which they have no knowledge, nor the ambition to acquire it. No action
whatever was taken to relieve us of our unfortunate
currency muddle. The sensible thing would be for
Congress to follow the advice and suggestion of
those on the ground, commissioned to study the situation, but our Solons evidently argue that to do this
would be to admit that their intuitive judgment is
not better than the mature study and reflection of
others.


[ 164]




x


THE SOUTHERN TRIP
U. S. TRANSPORT Sumner,
March 14, 190I.
O   UR long-planned "Southern Trip" is now a
reality, and it promises to dwarf all that has
preceded. Although out but a few days, incident
has followed incident with a rush that leaves us
somewhat bewildered as we think of all that yet
remains to be unraveled. It has come to us that
we are participating in an extraordinary journey, the
events of which will not only be unique to our little
party, but will be written large in the future annals
of these islands.
The expedition is being made in the U. S. transport Sumner, placed at the disposal of the Commission for the occasion. While not as large as the
Hancock, it is a fine ship, complete in every detail.
We have electric fans, an ice plant, Chinese cabin
and table boys, and other important accessories for
comfort in the tropics. Naturally, there were many
who were willing to forsake their happy homes to
join us. For this reason the line was drawn fast
and invitations limited to those associated in some
way with the Commission and its work. The roster
[ 65]




THE ODYSSEY OF


of the privileged includes most of the old Hancock
crowd, with a sprinkling of newspaper correspondents and members of the Partido Federal. The
assortment is sufficiently variegated to insure that
no one need suffer from ennui.
We left Manila on Sunday last, the center of a
vociferous crowd and innumerable bands. When
the "shouting and the tumult" died, and our launch
steamed slowly down the Pasig, you could almost
hear the sigh of relief that went up from the Commission and staff. The past few weeks have been
pretty strenuous, and we were tired enough to grasp
eagerly at the prospect of change and rest offered
by our proposed cruise. It is in truth a trip whose
contemplation should make anyone happy. To voyage for two months in a splendid boat amid beautiful
tropical islands; to visit them all, and know that in
the more than twenty-five scheduled stopping-places
a reception awaited from a people unrivaled in hospitality; to share this experience with tried companions, grown intimate through months of work and
pleasant association, and to realize further that we
are pioneers in a movement pointing our country
along new and momentous paths of destiny and
power-all this gave cause to feel that fortune had
indeed been kind in counting us among those called
for such a journey and such a work. Not only are
we to replace military by civil rule throughout a
great Archipelago, but we are commissioned as well
to plant in virgin soil those principles of government
which lead to the progress and enlightenment of
[ 66]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


races. Not that the Filipinos appreciate all this as
yet, or see in the Commission instruments of fate
shaping their future destiny; all they' see is a body
of men vested with power to relieve them of the
rigors of military rule, and give substance to their
aspirations for local government.  They rejoice
accordingly, and the Commissioners are everywhere
hailed as the Messiahs of peace and prosperity.
The first province on our repertoire was Tayabas,
the convention being billed for Lucena. Our journey thither led us down the quiet reaches of the
Straits of Mindoro, skirting the shores of Luzon.
We anchored late in the afternoon in front of the
peak of Banahao, which sweeps directly from the
sea to an elevation of over seven thousand feet.
With a bank of clouds wreathing its summit, it towered the commanding monarch of a beautiful countryside. We did not land until morning, when two
of the ship's cutters were taken in tow by our little
launch and headed up a small river to the Lucena
landing. Immense cocoanut groves stretched as far
as eye could see, and a wilderness of nipa palm and
jungle growth ran riot to the water's edge. A huge
crocodile basking upon a heap of debris by the river
side gave a finishing touch to the picture and completed our enthusiasm.
We drove into Lucena to the music of various
energetic bands, the clamor of bells, and the
" Fivas" of the entire population. The Commission
repaired at once to the school building, where a
public session was held and the provincial act ex[1 67]




THE ODYSSEY OF


plained by Judge Taft. Luncheon was served at
the home of the Alcalde. This repast-a forerunner of many such in store -consisted of innumerable meat courses, with a paralyzing assortment
of wines, dulces, fruits, etc. How we were expected
to transact business in a sun-stricken audience hall
after eating that meal remains a question. Before
the afternoon session some of us visited the town
church, where we happened on a christening ceremony.
Provincial organization was completed at the
afternoon session, keen interest being developed
over the question whether the capital should be
removed from Tayabas to Lucena. It was finally
submitted to a vote, Lucena winning by a small margin. The delegates took an active and intelligent
part in the discussion, and were very much alive to
the problems presented.
The original arrangement was to remain in
Lucena over-night, drive to Tayabas next morning,
and return aboard ship the same evening. When
this plan was announced the delegation from Tayabas was ready to weep. They said their people had
arranged an elaborate banquet and ball for the following night, and there would be woe and bitter
disappointment should we fail them. Their tearful
entreaties prevailed, and we returned to the boat to
fortify ourselves for what we knew was coming
to us.
The following morning dawned with an overcast
sky and occasional burst of rain. The prospect of
[ 68]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


a ride through a choppy sea, to be followed by nine
miles in an ambulance over bumpy roads, did not
appeal to some of the party.  Only five ladies
responded to the call, i. e., Mrs. Taft, Miss Herron,
Miss Briggs, Mrs. LeRoy, and Miss Bourns. We
were a goodly company, nevertheless, and the fine
drizzle that beat upon us may have dampened our
clothes, but not our ardor. The drive to Tayabas,
though not a rest physically, was a treat in every
other respect. There were four ambulances, each
drawn by a four-mule team, while as escort we had
a troop of American soldiers, some native police,
and a concourse of the citizens of Tayabas. This
guard was more a matter of honor than protection,
as the province is thoroughly pacified. The road
wound its way for the entire distance through an
immense cocoanut grove. Looking backward or forward, you saw a vista of these beautiful trees with
their chiseled stems and tufted tops, and from every
elevation they spread a sea of waving plumes to the
horizon. Tayabas is noted for its cocoanut industry, the number of trees being estimated at over ten
million. Each tree is said to yield a net profit of over
a peso per year. On reaching Tayabas we were taken
direct to the church and convento, the latter having
been prepared for our accommodation. During the
insurrrection against Spain the garrison from adjoining towns made their last stand in this church,
where they were besieged for fifty-six days before
surrendering.  The walls are pitted with bullet
marks, as are most of the houses in the town.
[ 69]




THE ODYSSEY OF


Our coming was heraldea with the usual bands
and outpouring of people, the latter crowding after
us into the convento until it was jammed. In the
center of the hall stood a large table stocked with
all sorts of drinkables and the ever-present cigars
and cigarettes. The speech of welcome delivered us
remains an unforgettable one.  Scarcely had we
assembled when a Filipino dashed into a clear spot
near the Commission and in a shrill voice which
broke on the high notes, and with wildly gesticulating arms, told his tale of joy at our coming. The
matter of his speech was passable, but his manner of
delivery was something appalling. When he came
to his " Fivas" he started at the top of his voice and
finished with a doleful squeak. It was a time to
laugh, and our desire so to do struggled hard with
our obligation to preserve a respectful countenance.
Later we learned the speaker was a bit loco, and his
appearance formed no part of the reception program. Judge Taft started to respond, but before
he was well under way our crazy friend cried, " iva
la Comision!" and the crowd, thinking the speech
was ended, closed in and choked off further oratory.
Meantime the ladies were being offered copious
draughts of whiskey, it being assumed that Americans drink liquor as other people do water.
We took tiffin at the home of the Vice-President,
our long drive enabling us to do better justice to it
than usual. Quite a number of women were present,
though the role they play at these functions is a
minor one. They usually sit in a row on one side
[I70]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


of the room, segregated from the men, and seldom
utter a word unless addressed. With their flowered
camisas and paiuelos and their beaver-tailed brocaded skirts spread carefully before them, they seem
a collection of lay figures set up to delight the eye.
In the evening the promised baile and banquet
took place, and to describe them would be simply
to expand on the admirable qualities of the Filipino
as host. There was the usual crowd of men in official black, bowing and smiling, with a background
of dainty femininity bedecked in jewels and fine raiment. It was a scene full of color, with no hint of
that grim figure, scarcely out of sight, which had so
lately traced his course in blood and flame across
the lives of the people. The situation seemed a bit
unreal. It was hard to understand why the passionate hatreds of war had left no apparent bitterness
in their wake. As the music rose and fell, and white
and brown mingled freely together in the dance, I
talked with one of their old men and sought to
fathom the riddle. What he told me explained
much, and I saw where the answer lay. I had been
trying, as so many others are doing, to judge the
state of feeling of these people by Anglo-Saxon traditions, rather than taking their own history as a
standard. My informant spoke of their life under
the Spaniards, when they were treated as inferior
beings and given no participation in public affairs;
of their exploitation by a rapacious clergy, and how
their aspirations for learning and advancement were
frowned upon or ruthlessly suppressed as a menace
[I7I]




THE ODYSSEY OF


to the state; of the final uprising against intolerable
abuses, and the cruel reprisals inflicted upon them
when they fell into the enemy's hands. He referred
to the coming of the Americans, and the unfortunate
insurrection waged against us at the behest of ambitious leaders who misrepresented our character and
purposes; of their discovery later that our soldiers
and officers were not ogres, but men who treated
them with cordiality and were willing to be friends
if given the opportunity; that almost before the
smoke of battle had cleared schools were started
for their children and soldiers detailed to teach
them; that municipalities were organized, and the
people given a voice in the election of their officers;
that no attempt was made to coerce them in religion
or religious matters; that a provincial government
had just been organized wherein the Filipinos would
elect their own government; that the Commission
had honored them by a visit, and had given personal
assurances not only that we held no animosity toward
them, but would help them to realize every legitimate aspiration. All this was in such contrast to
what would have been meted them under the former
regime that their gratitude was sincere, and they
desired their welcome to assure us of the fact. Just
now we are Moses leading them into a promised
land. Let us hope as time passes they will not forget
their bricks without straw and begin to cry for their
imaginary flesh pots again.
That night we all lodged in the convento, the
women occupying one large room and the men an[ I72]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


other. There were thirteen beds in our ward, contributed by various leading citizens of the town. I
rested well, though my pillow seemed stuffed with
bricks, and some of my companions had the unfortunate habit of audible sleep.
Before seven next day we were off for Lucena
and the sea, our return drive through the fresh,
rain-scented morning proving delicious. The next
point on our itinerary was Boac, Island of Marinduque, three hours to the southward. During Spanish rule Marinduque was a sub-province of Mindoro,
but as most of its trade is with Tayabas, the Commission wished to discuss with its people the project
of annexation to the latter province.
We anchored quite near shore, which, with its
coral beach, its fringe of palms, and its up-springing,
verdure-clad hills, realized our ideal of tropical luxuriousness and beauty. Shortly after three o'clock
the men folks went ashore and made the drive to
Boac, two and a half miles inland. Our old friend,
the army ambulance, was lacking there, its place
being taken by native carromatas. These vehicles
were built for people of smaller girth than most of
our party, and furnished not only a tight squeeze,
but had a tendency to tip over backward and swing
the little ponies off their feet. Despite this they
shot off as if tearing to a fire, their haste being as
startling as unusual.
We drove to military Headquarters, located in an
old church or citadel overlooking the city and river.
The place is really a fort enclosing the church, and
[ I73 ]




THE ODYSSEY OF


was built some two centuries ago as a protection
against Moro pirates. The view from the tower
commanded a panorama of hills and glens and lowlying clouds reminding much of the Scottish highlands. After a visit with the officers, and announcement of a meeting for the morrow, we started for
the boat. It rained, and the heavy roads exhausted
the little ponies, many of whom finally refused to
go at all except by jerks, first one being in the lead
and then another, giving rise to alternate jeers and
cheers. Mr. Fergusson, our Secretary, who weighs
two hundred and sixty pounds, had quite a handicap.
He stated later that no power on earth-not even a
squad of soldiers —could compel him to get into
one of those carts again. In the evening the military
band from the post treated us to a serenade and
the hours sped joyfully.
March 15, I90I.
At the session this morning strong opposition
developed to annexation with Tayabas or any other
place, the people insisting upon a district all their
own. This attitude is dictated by local pride, with a
sublime ignorance of the expense and responsibility
involved. About ten o'clock the ladies from the
Sumner appeared on the scene, being the first American women to set foot on Marinduque. Needless
to say, they created something of a sensation. The
children of the town swarmed after them in droves,
and we could hear the tumult from afar. There is
[ I74]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


no question but that the presence of the ladies is
assisting the Commission materially in its work.
They not only interest the populace, and help put
life into social functions, but they furnish an evidence of our confidence in the good faith of the
people. Another feature which undoubtedly lends
force to our mission, and aids greatly in impressing
the public, is the size and avoirdupois of the Commissioners. The aggregate weight of the five Commissioners and their Secretary is thirteen hundred
and sixty-two pounds, or an average of two hundred
and twenty-seven pounds per. When all are lined
up behind a table they come near filling the space
allotted them, not only in fact but in the imagination
of the people. To a race small of stature, with a
childlike reverence for those in power, the dominating influence of this mere physical bigness is an
important item.
The sentiment for a separate organization was
so strong that the Commission finally agreed to it,
with the proviso that when we returned from the
south the island be entirely pacified. Marinduque,
though small, has been quite actively insurgent. It
was here that Captain Shields and some thirty men
were taken prisoners last fall and carried into the
hills. A fight occurred two weeks ago, when four
soldiers were wounded, and an American was shot
on the road between Boac and the beach a few days
since. About two hundred and fifty insurgents are
still in the hills, although it is evident most of the
people honestly desire peace.
[175]




THE ODYSSEY OF


At the close of the meeting Chief Justice Arellano
gave a short talk, the memory of which is of the
sort that lives. Arellano is small of build, with
nothing remarkable in his appearance, but his words
today seemed touched with living fire. The convincing earnestness of his delivery and the absolute
sureness with which he put into a few pregnant
sentences his message to the people were marvelous.
He painted their struggles and aspirations, their
sufferings and sorrows, and then pointed out the
futility of all these longings without a teacher to
guide them-someone to direct them along the
path for which their feet were all untried; this
teacher was the great American people, a nation
whose foundations were laid deep in the liberty of
the individual and the preservation of human rights.
He referred to the Commission, and called his audience to witness that its members came among them,
not as lords and masters, but as men willing and
anxious to learn the will of the people and follow it;
today, before their very eyes, they had received an
evidence of this purpose to respect their wishes, when
the question of local government was submitted to
them. When had this ever been done before? When
could they ever hope for it except under the protection of a nation strong enough and great enough to
be just and generous? He told them, as they had
faith in him (and there is no Filipino more loved
and honored), that he guaranteed all these blessings,
and urged them to prove worthy of the trust.
We took tiffin with the people, our bill of fare
[176]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


being limited to local products, as the ports of the
island have been closed for over six months. Truth
to tell, our main interest in these affairs now centers
largely on the crowd. Life is too sweet to hazard
it too recklessly on the great array of eatables
usually pressed upon us. Miss Briggs and I drove
back to the beach in one of their little carromatas,
and waved our hands and glued our faces into a perpetual smile for the benefit of our little brown
brothers along the road.
March i6, 1901.
After a run of three hours, we dropped anchor
this morning in the beautiful little harbor of Romblon. The town lies between two jutting headlands,
with high hills rising behind it. The inhabitants are
Visayans, who are reputed a milder race than the
Tagalogs. As a number of the delegates did not
speak Spanish, Judge Taft's remarks were interpreted into Visayan. The people appeared a bit
more reticent here than elsewhere, due perhaps to
the fact that few of them are wealthy, a condition
which alone seems to justify pretensions of any kind
in the Philippines. They felt very badly at not being
able to tender us a great spread. We were not sorry
and returned to the boat for dinner.
In the meantime a friend and I mounted to an old
fort above the town, used in former days to repel
Moro pirates. It is now weather-beaten and crumbling, its gray sides and uneven wall3 showing
[177]




THE ODYSSEY OF


scarred and broken beneath its mantle of tropical
green. The sun was just setting over one of the
tiny islands, lighting up the water with a purple
glow; below us nestled the little village, its narrow
streets appearing threadlike amid the sea of nipa;
the old church, with its ruined bell tower, dominated
the scene, and in the mellow glow of evening seemed
to shed rest and benediction upon all the place; far
up the mountain paths we could see natives in brighthued costumes winding along in single file until lost
in the twilight shadows; out in the bay rode the
Sumner, and along the shore, lying deep in the
gathering dusk, were little coasting vessels, their
masts tipped with light; on the hills the tall cocoanut
palms stood out against the sky like sentinels guarding the valley. It was good just to live and feel
the inspiration of it all.
That evening a baile was given at the home of
Sefior Francisco Sanz, a wealthy Mestizo. One of
the most interesting features was a native dance.
following which came refreshments, principally
sweets, of which there was a wondrous variety.
March I7, I90I.
We steamed into Palanoc, Island of Masbate, at
noon today after an eight hours' run. Later the
Commission and a small party went ashore and met
the captain of the garrison and some of the prominent citizens. Masbate has had a pretty hard row
to hoe. Its people are Visayans, whose pacific na[ I78]




Typical Filipino Women of the Better Class


Filipino Girl








THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


ture has made them a prey to ladrones and pirates
from  adjoining islands.  During the insurrection
their towns were burned to the ground, and recently
their chief industry, cattle raising, has been destroyed
by rinderpest, a disease which has swept through the
herds of the island, leaving scarce a living beast.
One of the surest signs of their poverty was the
absence of music, for poor indeed is a Filipino village that does not sport a band. After a short reception, and having arranged for a meeting in the morning, we returned to the ship.


March i8, I90I.
The Province of Masbate includes not only the
island of that name but various neighboring islands,
all but two of whose fifteen towns were represented
at the session. Judge Taft made the usual explanation of the provincial law and of the special act
applying it to the province. His talk this morning
impressed me as a master one. It was in detail, yet
succinct and clear, fitted to the comprehension of the
people.  The different presidents were invited to
express their views concerning salaries, etc., and to
describe conditions in their respective towns. The
situation revealed was one to excite pity. There
seems to be no regular trade or industry among them.
They plant a few sweet potatoes, some corn, a little
hemp and cocoa, cut firewood and timber from the
public forests, and do some fishing. Since the loss
of their cattle they have nothing for export. The
[ I79]1




THE ODYSSEY OF


daily wage of laborers is twenty-five cents Mexican,
with ten cents for food.
In appointing provincial officers the duties of governor and secretary were combined, and the Fiscal
of Romblon assigned to Masbate, greatly reducing
expenses. Bonifacio Serrano was appointed Governor, and a Corporal of the Second Infantry, Supervisor. It was dark before the meeting closed and the
oath of office administered to the appointees. This
was done by Chief Justice Arellano to the feeble
flicker of kerosene lamps, and presented a striking
spectacle. Back in the shadows stood the delegates,
the Commission looming gigantic in the foreground.
The Corporal was coatless, and as he stood, tall and
lank, and with uplifted hand swore to support ever
the flag of his country, and perform well and faithfully the duties devolving upon him, he typified the
democracy of our nation and the spirit of a race
which has marked the world with its frontiers.
Later there was a dance at headquarters, which
most of our party attended. The sefioritas wore
beautiful costumes and were more attractive than
the average of these people; they also danced the
two-step, something quite new in the islands. We
have discovered that no diplomacy need be used in
paying compliments to these little ladies. To tell
them they are beautiful, or that your heart is torn
asunder at the thought of parting, creates no apparent distrust of your sincerity.  They respond
with a smile, and a mil gracias senor, which inspires
to further courtesy.
[ 80]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


March 19, I901.
Today was passed at sea. We left Masbate at
midnight and are due in Iloilo early tomorrow. We
have been within sight of land all day, and this
morning nearly ran aground. The Spanish chart
showed twenty fathoms of water, but when the ship
stopped we were touching bottom. It is a joy to
have a day of quiet. While our trip thus far has
afforded plenty of " change," it has contained mighty
little "rest." In our first week we have organized
three provinces, besides meeting in public session
the people of Marinduque.
March 20, I901.
Iloilo, the second city of the islands, does not present an imposing appearance. It lies almost level
with the Panay coast, the mountains being too distant to relieve the general flatness. Most of the
town was burned by the insurgents upon the coming
of American troops, and is but partially rebuilt. The
people are Visayans, and such little fighting as occurred in the island was fomented by Tagalogs from
Luzon. We anchored before eight, and received an
early visit from the major portion of the "'Partido
Federel." They were attired in full black, one of
the visitors being in evening dress with white gloves
and opera hat. The collection of "derbys" helped
to solve the problem of what becomes of our antiquated styles. General Hughes and staff also came
aboard, and quite a levee was held, We landed at
[I8I]




THE ODYSSEY OF


ten-thirty and found the whole population, including
numerous bands, at the wharf to greet us.  The
party scattered until noon, when we met at the home
of Seior de la Rama for tiffin. A friend and I put
in the interim driving about in one of their primitive
conveyances, and doubtless proved a puzzle to our
cochero, who could not fathom why anyone in his
senses should want to drive hither and thither without an objective point.
It is not proposed to establish a government here
until our return in April. A meeting was held, however, and speeches made by Judge Taft, Chief Justice Arellano, Dr. Tavera, Commissioner Worcester, Judge Llorente, General Flores, and Sefior
Villanueva, of Iloilo. I do not recall a series of
talks on our entire trip which more fully set out the
plans and purposes of the Commission, or indicated
a clearer grasp by the people of the situation. Judge
Taft presided with that cordial, good-natured expression which is one of his greatest charms, and
which cannot but inspire confidence and good-will. In
listening to the speakers, and watching the eager,
intelligent attitude of the audience, I wished those of
our countrymen who are decrying and hindering this
work could have been present. They might then
understand that we are not only offering these people complete local autonomy, but are guaranteeing
them by our presence two priceless blessings they
have never known; i. e., honesty in the administration
of justice and a free public school education. As a
people they have everything to gain by loyalty and
[182]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


everything to lose by disloyalty. The masses will
never want to rebel, and the few who might be
active in stirring trouble cannot fail to realize the
futility and foolishness of such a step. I predict
there will never be a new insurrection.
Tomorrow we go to Bacolod, Island of Negros,
lying just across the straits from Iloilo. As the
passage is somewhat dangerous and the Sumner
needs coaling, the journey is to be made in the Churruca, a small coasting vessel.
March 2I, 190I.
We left the Sumner at nine-thirty this morning
prepared for an absence of three days. The run to
Bacolod took over three hours and was anything
but a pleasure trip. Our boat pitched and tossed
outrageously, and faces usually sunny took on a serious and anixous look, with a tendency "to seek the
seclusion the cabin grants." Dr. Tavera, whom
the slightest motion upsets, looked the picture of
woe. Judge Taft, whose spirits seemed to rise as
others fell, rallied the Doctor upon his failing, saying that as a medical man of international repute he
should know a cure for seasickness. To this the
Doctor replied that he knew a perfect remedy; i. e.,
to take a walk in a garden.
In a former letter I described a reception given
the Commission off the coast of Bataan, where we
were hailed by a great fleet of decorated bancas. I
thought then it was a sight that would never be dupli[183]




THE ODYSSEY OF


cated, but it has been rivaled today. As our boat
neared the Negros coast there swept out from the
gray horizon numberless proas-deep, narrow
craft with wide spreading sails and outriggers. The
wind was strong and the sea rough, and as the wildly
surging boats careened from side to side the occupants shifted from one outrigger to the other as
ballast, the sea constantly ducking them. Under full
sail and with banners flying they cut through the
water at a tremendous rate, veering, turning, and
circling about us like winged things, the crew
apparently risking their lives at every turn.
Like most of the island towns, Bacolod has no
harbor, merely an open roadstead. To reach shore
two transfers were necessary, first into a steam
launch and then into a magnificent, canopied banca.
The tide was high, else we would have had to make
another change into carabao carts. The population
of Bacolod lined the shore by thousands. The place
was gay with flags and arches, and the air pulsated
with music. While we are growing somewhat used
to this sort of thing, it still retains its element of
strangeness.
Ample preparations had been made for our
reception and lodgment. Twelve of us are domiciled in one house, the family having vacated. It is
a sort of bachelor's dormitory with kitchen attachment, our meals being served in the house. They
consist of purely Filipino products, and though we
appreciate the evident zeal of our hosts, the prospect
of three days of it makes the crowd look solemn.
[ i84]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


That evening a reception was tendered the Commission at the Government house, the military and numerous native dignitaries being present. The rooms
were large, with beautiful hardwood floors polished
to a state of transparent brilliancy.
March 22, i90o.
Negros occupies a somewhat unique position, as it
already enjoys a form of civil government. The
people accepted American sovereignty without insurrection, and a scheme of government was devised
by the military. The system has proved somewhat
cumbersome and expensive, and opposition has developed to it and to the personnel of the present
officers. Those in power naturally seek to perpetuate
themselves, but there is a strong faction demanding
that regular provincial government be applied. The
residents of the east coast also ask that they be
erected into a separate province, claiming that Bacolod is not only inaccessible but that they do not get
a fair share of the revenues. It was a battle royal
into which the Commission plunged when it met the
people this morning.
At twelve we adjourned until manana, our entire
coterie having been invited for the afternoon to a
banquet at the hacienda "Rosario," a large sugar
plantation seven miles distant, owned by Sefior Lacson. The Philippines are noted for their sugar
lands; of the various islands Negros stands first, and
of all the plantations that of "Rosario" is the best.
[ 85]




THE ODYSSEY OF


The drive was made in a variety of vehicles, grading
from army ambulances to a species of two-wheeled
box drawn by humped cows. These latter trot along
just like horses and make very excellent time. En
route, as one of these box affairs was crossing a
small river, the shafts became unloosened and the
contrivance tipped over backwards. Mr. Branagan
and Rupert Fergusson, who chanced to be the victims, stood on their backs with their feet waving
wildly in the air until help arrived. They suffered
no damage save a wetting, with a possible hurt to
their feelings on account of the boisterous and inconsiderate mirth of those who witnessed their plight.
Our reception and banquet at the hacienda realized
every conception we had formed of life on these
great country estates. The house, which is immense,
is itself the center of a small village where live the
employees of the plantation, estimated at over a
thousand. Sefior Lacson has his own police, his own
band, and all the accessories of a small principality.
A little to one side stands the mill where the cane is
ground and sugar made. A half mile to the west lay
the sea; to the east, almost as far as we could see,
stretched the rich cane and rice lands, interspersed
with feathery bamboo and tall cocoanut palms. Here
and there over the fields could be seen carabaos
drawing carts loaded with cane to the mills. Beyond
all rose the mountains, part of the chain which divides the island. We sat down to table before three,
and it was after five when we arose. The function
was perfect in its arrangements, and the Commission
[ 86]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


and party relaxed for a time from all thought of
politics and problems. Toasts were proposed by
Judge Taft, by Judge Yusay of the island courts, and
by Dr. Tavera. During his speech Sefior Yusay paid
one of the most glowing tributes to American women
I have ever heard. Spanish lends itself to beautiful
phrasing and to sentiments which in our more practical English might sound a little romantic. He
spoke of her beauty and intelligence, of her courage
and devotion, and of those high qualities which led
her to cross wide seas and brave the perils of unknown lands to cheer the husband and brother in the
great tasks appointed them.
To those of us who are aware of the fact that
more women are waiting in San Francisco to come
to the islands than can be accommodated, and that
there is scarcely a woman in Manila but would have
been glad of this experience, the force of his remarks
was somewhat discounted. He was sincere, however, for it is to be remembered that the part played
by Anglo-Saxon women in the home and in public
affairs is very different from that allotted to those
of Latin race and training.
March28, I90I.
At the meeting this morning much feeling was
manifested by some of the speakers in referring to
the present government.  The sentiment seemed
quite general that it should be changed and the regular provincial act applied. The tide was too strong
[i87]




THE ODYSSEY OF


for the present officers to stem, and they finally
begged only for time. A month's leeway was accordingly granted, the change to occur not later than
May I. The Commission apparently pleased all
factions and effected a satisfactory solution of what
threatened to be a serious problem. Here, as everywhere, we find an insistent demand for schools. One
of the speakers in asking for American teachers incidentally raised the question of religious instruction,
saying the people hated the Friars worse than they
did locusts. As the locusts have seriously damaged
their crops for years, this was emphatic.  Later
we had tiffin with the Governor, lasting two hours,
followed by bicycle races under the auspices of the
Federal Party. At the close of the meet Dr. Tavera
made a characteristic speech, in which he said that
for three centuries and a half Spain had been teaching the Filipinos the way to heaven and little else;
that now the Americans would try to teach them as
well how best to live on earth; that Filipinos in material affairs, as in the construction of their houses, began at the top, putting the roof on first.
The Governor gave a ball in the evening, a
crowded and brilliant affair. These entertainments
usually last until about four in the morning, and
while we do not usually stay until that hour, we are
coming to believe that service with this Commission
means not only a test of mental capacity but of physical endurance as well. The original plan was to
leave for Iloilo early next morning, but as some of
the party considered this a bit strenuous, the hour
[ 88]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


was changed to four in the afternoon. Commissioners Wright, Ide, and Moses arranged to leave
on a quartermaster launch at six a. m., and I was
invited to join them. This appealed to me more
than an extra day in Bacolod, with the chance of
further ruining my digestion.
March 24, 90or.
Our quartette was on board the Sumner shortly
after ten A. M., the others not arriving until eleven at
night. Tomorrow afternoon we start for the domains of the Sultan of Sulu, which will be our longest run thus far-about thirty hours.


[189]




XI


THE SOUTHERN TRIP, CONTINUED
U. S. TRANSPORT Sumner,
March 26, i90o.
T   HE run today has been a pleasant, restful one,
the charm of which lay in the very fact of its
being uneventful. The air was cool and fragrant,
the sea calm, and the party good-natured and inclined to be lazy. All day we sailed close beside
pretty little islands, clean-washed and smiling in their
coat of green; they seemed to beckon us to come
and play with them, and we were sorry we could
not. The day died with a flare of purple and gold,
over which a great white moon gradually drew a
mantle of shimmering silver as soft and filmy as the
fiber of a dream. Through this white radiance our
boat glided with scarce a ripple, bearing us on to
lands of newness and mystery like unto those sung
in olden story. As we gazed out over the sea, and
saw the shadow of strange headlands blur the
horizon, there tugged at memory all those ancient
tales of Argonaut and Odyssey, whose heroes sailed
a younger earth and found therein such great adventure.
At ten o'clock the Sumner anchored off the little
[I90]




President Taft and Sultan of Sulu
S.IRWNMMN~WIF     '-    N.       U


Group of Bataks, Paragua








THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


town of Jolo, the chief port of the Sulu Archipelago.
We are now in Moroland, the habitat of genuine
pirates and bolomen. It is but a few years since
their long proas swept all these southern seas, a
menace to shipping and a terror to their Filipino
neighbors, whom they periodically looted of treasure
and slaves. They represent the latest wave of Malay
invasion of the Philippines, and are still practically
untouched by moderh civilization. Through all her
occupation Spain struggled in vain to conquer the
Moro and subject him to her civil and religious rule.
Mohammedan he was and is; a fighter, a slave
holder, and a polygamist, governed by his own
Sultans' and Dattos and amenable to no other authority.  The greater portion of Mindanao, the
Island of Basilan, and the whole of the Sulu group,
constitute a problem entirely separate and distinct
from the so-called "Christian Provinces" of the
archipelago.  There is no question here of a
Municipal Code or Provincial Government Act; the
Moro has still a long climb before he can remotely
understand their meaning. The proposition fronting us with these followers of Mohamet is to preserve law and order, while interfering as little as
possible with their religion, tribal customs, and local
laws. The Sulu Islands are now administered by the
military under a treaty entered into between General
Bates and the Sultan, whereby certain money payments are made the latter and his authority variously recognized. Thus far there has been no friction, though this furnishes no guarantee for the
[I9I]




THE ODYSSEY OF


future.  The question which most perplexes our
authorities is the attitude to be taken regarding
slavery. Naturally we cannot recognize or protect
it, yet any attempt to abolish or arbitrarily suppress
the practice would undoubtedly precipitate a conflict
with a somewhat fierce antagonist.
JOLO, March 27, I90I.
The breakfast gong this morning found all the
laggards on deck, the atmosphere being surcharged
with anticipation over the day's events. There was
that prevailing restlessness which always marks the
coming into new ports, rendered acute here by the
distant sight of shore boats thronged with our
piratical fellow-citizens. Shortly before ten the procession started, forming into three long columns,
each headed by a triumphal barge canopied in bright
scarlet. We could hear the beat of tom-toms and
other strange instruments, mingled with the cheers
of the rowers, as the regatta moved onward. There
were sixty-five craft in line, rigged out in barbaric
splendor. As they approached the transport they
converged and swept around us a dazzling mass of
color. The noise, the brilliant costumes, the movement, was exhilarating, and we tore from one end
of the ship to the other, whooping and yelling in
concert with our more savage brothers.
The Sultan, who lives at Mauban, twelve miles
across the hills, came to Jolo to meet the Commission, the ship's launch being sent to bring him
[I92]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


aboard. He appeared about eleven, accompanied
by his "Prime Minister" and a retinue of fearfully
and wonderfully costumed bolomen, and was greeted
with a salute of seventeen guns. The Sultan was
dressed in an European military uniform, resplendent
with gold braid. He was met at the gangway by the
Commissioners, and then ran the gauntlet of an
interested line of spectators. A conference was held
later through an interpreter, and assurances given of
our good intentions, and of our purpose to respect
the religion and social customs of his people. Before leaving he was introduced to the ladies, whom
he invited to visit his village and meet the women
of his household. The Sultan is a rather weak looking specimen, and it is said he is as weak as he looks.
The fact that he is the lawful representative of
Mohammedanism in the islands is the only thing
which enables him to retain any sort of hold over
his people and the more energetic Dattos.
We all went ashore in the afternoon and found
Jolo one of the cleanest, prettiest, best-shaded little
spots we have seen in the islands. It is surrounded
by a wall, needed in former times, and possibly now,
as a defense against the Moros. None of the latter
are allowed to live within the walls, and those entering are required to deposit their bolos at the gates.
There are about seven hundred soldiers in Jolo, with
their quota of officers. Today was a holiday for the
people, and they gathered from far and near, forming a medley of humanity which baffles description.
An area had been roped off on one of the main thor[I93]




THE ODYSSEY OF


oughfares, where a program of native dances and
mimic combats was staged. With their large shields
and long spears the fighters presented a formidable
appearance, their gestures and expressions in the different numbers being strikingly realistic. Neither
the men nor women are prepossessing, their habit of
chewing betel-nut blackening the teeth and mouth,
making their smile and laugh something hideous. In
the evening we were tendered a reception by the
ladies and officers of the post. The night was perfect, the bright moonlight throwing into relief the
tall trees and causing the mountains- which bulked
dark behind the town-to appear startlingly near
and distinct.
JOLO, March 29, I901.
The Commission held interviews today with
Dattos, military officers, and others concerning the
Moro situation. The social end of our aggregation
explored the native villages beyond the walls and
bought bolos, sarongs, old brass, mats, etc., the
strong demand sending prices skyward. Later in the
day our army friends dined with us on the transport,
music being furnished by the garrison band. After
dinner, as we sat about the deck, Judge Taft was
handed a cablegram announcing Aguinaldo's capture,
and that he was a prisoner in Manila. As the
information flashed round the circle one could feel
the thrill of it. The long-wished for had happened
and to all came the thought: "The end is here,
[I941




Moro Sports, Cotabato, Mindanao


Moro Dancing Girls, Cotabato, Mindanao








THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION
peace is at hand." The band struck up " The Star
Spangled Banner," and everyone was on his feet.
It was one of those rare moments which one instinctively felt marked the crisis of great events. At
midnight we left for Isabela, Island of Basilan.
April 3, I901.
Today was spent at sea en route Cotabato to
Davao. In the interim since leaving Jolo we have
visited Isabela de Basilan, have spent two days in
Zamboanga, and taken part in a jamboree of exciting
incidents at Cotabato.
Basilan was formerly a Spanish naval station and
is now garrisoned by a detachment of our marines.
We stopped there but a few hours, the Commission
interviewing the officer in charge and some of the
leading citizens, the latter asking for a municipal
government. Their petition was denied, the place
being too small and poor to stand the strain.
We found Zamboanga a charming place. It is
the military headquarters of Mindanao, General
Kobbe being in command. Aside from the Moro
population there is quite a large Filipino element,
whom we met in public session. It was soon evident
they are not now able to support a regular provincial
government. Disease among their live stock has left
but thirty carabao in the province, most of the land
having remained untilled for two years. It was suggested that the present province be erected into a
municipality, which would prove less costly and still
give the people a voice in public affairs, The scheme
[1951




THE ODYSSEY OF


was taken under advisement by the Commission.
Interviews were had with General Kobbe and other
officers of the post; also with Datto Mandi, who
controls the Moro contingent. Quite a mass of
information was gathered concerning conditions
throughout Mindanao bearing on the tribal customs,
laws, and religion of the inhabitants.
On the last afternoon of our stay Dr. Atkinson,
Superintendent of Schools, and a small company of
us made a trip by launch to San Ramon, twelve miles
up the coast, where they have what is termed a
" Model Farm." It was formerly used as a penal
colony and is now in charge of an army major. During the whole of our run we were scarcely a hundred
yards from shore and were furnished a kaleidoscopic
panorama of the beautiful in tropical landscape. We
spent some time on the farm, seeing hemp, cocoanuts, pineapples, cane, etc., in their native state. We
started back just before dusk, and the two hours'
ride through the twilight and the moonlight was
enchanting.
We anchored off the river leading to Cotabato
early the afternoon of the first. Major McMahon,
in command, came aboard in the evening, accompanied by Dattos Piang and All, and their attendants.
Piang is a Chinese Mestizo, said to be the most
powerful Datto in all Mindanao, having won his
place through superior intelligence and cunning. The
Chinese are the great middlemen and merchants of
the Philippines, and we find them everywhere. They
have a genius for trade and are disliked by the Fili[ 96]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


pinos accordingly. The Dattos were shown about
the ship and were as interested as children in the
electric lights and fans, the ice plant, shower baths,
machinery, etc. When given a piece of ice to hold
-the first they had ever felt-their expressions
were a study. As we watched them it was rather
difficult to imagine they held undisputed sway over
many villages and were the arbiters of life and death
to thousands of followers.
Cotabato is situated seven miles up the Rio Grande
de Mindanao, one of the largest streams of the
archipelago. We journeyed up the river in the early
morning and were given a glimpse of Nature
primeval. The banks were lined with rank jungle
growth, amid which troops of wild monkeys swung
and screamed as our launch disturbed their solitude.
At the Cotabato landing we were greeted by as
heterogeneous a crowd as imagination can conceive.
Three companies of soldiers were in line, as also the
"Moro guard," and a company of native police
decked out in all the panoply of pagan pride. Advised of the coming of the Commission, all the upriver Dattos and their following had donned their
bravest and come to town. Never before in all likelihood has there been such a gathering of Dattos at
one point.
It being the present policy of our authorities to
occupy merely the role of counselors and arbitrators
in Moro affairs, no effort was made to establish local
government. The Moros, although primitive in
many ways, seem to work out substantial justice
[I97]




THE ODYSSEY OF


among themselves. Their Dattos, notwithstanding
their almost absolute power, live very near the people
and there prevails much of the democracy of a
patriarchal government.  If a Datto abuses his
powers his followers are apt to transfer their
allegiance to some other leader.  Of course, the
value placed upon human life is less than we give it,
but not less than our forebears gave it not so very
long ago. Their religion permits a plurality of
wives, but the practice seems confined largely to
those who can afford the luxury. Slavery as it exists
among them has none of the inequalities of station
which rendered it obnoxious in our country. Slaves
and master live together on terms of familiarity if
not equality, and there is little doubt but that if
liberated tomorrow most of them would not change
their present status.
Most of the day was spent in receiving and hearing delegations of various kinds-Chinamen, Filipinos, Spaniards, and Moros. The interviews were
reported verbatim, we of the pencil working in
relays, thus giving each an opportunity to browse
about and enter the lists as purchasers of Moro
weapons, sarongs, and other curios. The Sumner
is gradually being transformed into an arsenal or an
Oriental bazaar. I reported the Chinese interview,
then having a respite until after tiffin, when I had a
collection of Dattos. They were a choice assortment.
It has fallen to my lot to do reporting from Vera
Cruz to Montreal, and from New York to Manila,
some of it spectacular enough, but the experience to[198]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


day surpassed them all. Sitting in a semi-circle about
the Commission were at least a dozen Dattos, all
dressed in rich, multi-colored garments, most of them
wearing decorations and medals presented by former
governors to win their favor. All were barefooted,
for it seems a peculiarity of primitive people to dress
from the top downward, a straw hat frequently constituting a full costume. Each Datto had his personal attendants, who acted as bodyguard, and who
also carried the brass betel-nut box, which seems an
indispensable part of each outfit. Some of them also
carried large, colored umbrellas to shield their lord
and master from the rays of the sun. Without
exception they were armed with the Moro kris, a
long, wavy, murderous weapon, something after the
pattern of a bread knife. Many of these knives
were quite ornamental, with handles of gold, silver,
and finely carved ivory and ebony. The Dattos were
questioned concerning their government and whether
they had any complaints to make against our authorities. Two interpreters were used, one putting Moro
into Spanish and the other Spanish into English.
There were no complaints, all the Dattos stating that
since American occupation there has been a condition
of peace never known before. As we have made no
effort to implant our religious views among themwhich was Spain's great source of trouble-they
labor under the impression that we have no belief,
and are favorably disposed in consequence. It seems,
though, that in the interim between the departure
of the Spaniards and our coming, things ran a lively
I I99]




THE ODYSSEY OF


course. One old Datto, Bakki by name, complained
of Dattos Piang and All, declaring they had stolen
seventy-three of his carabaos, had devastated his
fields, and taken his palay, had killed his nephew and
cousin, and had carried off one hundred and eightythree of his people. As old Bakki's much interpreted
tale of wrong and outrage ran its dramatic course I
wished again that our humane and highly ethical
"anti-imperialists" in the States could have been
with us. They would have appreciated better then
perhaps the distance which separates these people
from Bunker Hill, and have realized that our presence alone prevents constant turmoil with its toll of
human life and suffering. The Commission assured
old Bakki that the matter would be investigated and
restitution made him if possible.
Following our indoor meet we were treated to a
series of dances and native sports beneath the great
trees which shadowed the plaza square. The first
number was by two little girls-princesses it was
said-who went through a series of motions with
arms and body to some weird native music, their
faces remaining perfectly expressionless. We then
had a combat with shield and bolo between Moros
dressed in queer chain armor, reminding of some
ancient gladitorial show. After them five women of
a tribe known as Tirurays gave us a dance to the
music of a bamboo band. They wore brass bracelets
reaching the elbow and brass rings on their legs
reaching to the knee. One wondered how they could
move so freely, weighted as they were. There was
[ 200]




A,


A Moro Family








THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


also a mimic battle with fifteen natives to a side, one
faction armed with shields and long knives known
as campilans, the other with shields and spears.
They hurled defiance at each other in set speeches,
brandishing their arms and uttering strange war
cries, finally clashing in combat. Here, as in Jolo,
the setting of the program was possibly more interesting than the games themselves. The color, the
life, the strange costumes and faces made us wonder
if it was all real. I dbubt if any drop curtain ever
shut off a more fanciful and picturesque scene than
that which fronted us at the landing as our launch
drew away on its return trip to the Sumner. It was
the spectacular run riot and beyond all the skill of
the cleverest stage manager.
April 4, I901.
We. passed yesterday at sea, our course taking us
around the southeastern peninsula of Mindanao and
within five degrees of the equator. Today we visited
Davao, one of the most isolated of our army posts.
The place has no cable and mail reaches there but
once a month. The population is mostly pagan,
known as Bagobos, a quiet, timid looking people,
easily imposed upon by their more virile neighbors.
Their costumes are particularly attractive, being of
bright colored cloth covered with fine bead work.
To the curio hunter Davao offered the richest field
yet encountered, and scarcely was our first reception
over when the orderly scene became transformed
into a struggling exchange. At the suggestion of
[ 20 ]




THE ODYSSEY OF


Commissioner Dean C. Worcester, who is taking a
series of photographs, and who feared the natives
would be despoiled of their fine gear before he got
into action, Judge Taft asked that the buying cease
until afternoon. There was some murmuring at this,
but the bargaining appreciably slackened. Here, as
elsewhere, interviews were held with the representatives of the people and further data added to our
fast increasing and miscellaneous store. In the afternoon we were furnished another program of native
sports, photographs were duly taken, and the interrupted marketing resumed. Before we returned to
the boat those natives looked like a lot of plucked
birds, many of them selling the clothes off their
backs. As the demand ran up the price, no injustice
was done.
April 6, 9go1.
This morning we anchored in the beautiful Bay of
Surigao, on the northern point of Mindanao. We
have bid adieu to our Moro and pagan brothers and
are again in the land of iglesias and conventos, with
their somewhat diluted Christianity. Once more we
take up the tale of the Municipal Code and Provincial Government Act, and "by open speech and
simple, an hundred times made plain, seek out another's profit and work another's gain." Yesterday
our boat left the island seas and caught for a time
the long swell of the Pacific, whose blue surges, far
to the eastward, beat upon the distant shores of
home. At night a brilliant moon paled by its splendor
[202]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


the glow of the southern cross, which here rides high
above the horizon.
Through some "crossing of the wires" the commanding officer at Surigao was without advice of our
coming, his only notice being an item in a Manila
paper. Based on this he gathered together a few
municipal officers, though five presidents are in jail
charged with furnishing supplies to the insurgents.
The morning was showery and it was eleven before
we went ashore. We found the transportation limited to four quiles and one carromata, which were
placed at the disposal of the ladies. The rest of us
walked, the place of meeting being over half a mile
distant. A short session was held, which developed
that the province had sufficient population and resources to warrant a provincial government. The
rain came down in torrents as we started for the
landing, and the procession that filed down "Bates
Avenue" was doubtless a novel spectacle to the occupants of the nipa mansions en route. Tonight we
reveled in more moonlight and more islands.
MISAMIS, April 7, 1901.
Today we did our duty by the Province of
Misamis, and a most exciting time we have had of
it. The capital, Cagayan, is two and a half miles
inland, reached by road and river. The Commission
and a few of us drove over in the morning in army
ambulances, the others coming up the river by launch
in the afternoon. At military headquarters I ran
[203]




THE ODYSSEY OF


across an old acquaintance, Dave Dodge, now a lieutenant in the Fortieth Infantry. Ten years ago we
were fellow clerks in the general offices of the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway at Sedalia, Missouri,
and now met by chance in this far corner of the
globe. Among the "leading citizens" gathered to
meet the Commission was General Nicholas Capistrano, an insurgent leader who surrendered some
two weeks ago. He took quite a prominent part in
the meeting and seemed satisfied that more could be
accomplished for his people through peace than war.
Sessions were held both morning and afternoon and
a provincial government promised the people. The
Filipino banquet served at noon was excellent, there
being less oil and garlic than usual.
Our return was to be by river, the ship's launch
and a cutter having come for us. Just before six,
the hour for starting, it began raining. There is
little objection to getting wet here, but as the laundry
facilities on board are limited, this getting wet two
days in succession was a calamity.  Most of us
reached the launch on time, somewhat damp and
none too good-natured. There we sat nearly an
hour waiting for the Commissioners. The rain continued; night was falling, and the navigation of the
river uncertain. The Commission, it seems, was
detained by a conference with some officers, but in
the meantime many evil things were said of them,
and the fair ones of their households threatened dire
reprisals. It was seven when we started, the women
in the launch and the men in the cutter. We had
[204]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


gone but a short distance when, bumpety-bump, the
launch struck on a sunken pier, breaking a propeller
blade. Further on we ran onto ax sandbar, and
sawed backward and forward looking for the channel. Finally some of the ladies were transferred to
the already overcrowded cutter, and the launch thus
lightened worked slowly down the river. It was
now dark and the launch was without lights; some
of the children were crying, and the steam and the
heat and the various delays and accidents began getting on our nerves. Reaching the mouth of the river,
the officer in charge refused to cross the bar until the
moon rose or a light was brought from the ship. We
lay to, therefore, firing distress signals and blowing the whistle.  The rain continued, streams
trickled down our backs and we sat in pools of it.
Some of the party took off their shoes, ready for the
worst. Tales were told also of crocodiles who made
a specialty of night attacks. After fooling away
an hour in this fashion the passage of the bar was
attempted and negotiated safely. Later we met two
cutters, fully manned, coming to our rescue. Those
on board, seeing our distress signals, imagined we
were all being drowned. It was after nine when
we sat down to dinner.
April 8, 90o1.
When we came on deck this morning we were
lying off Dapitan, our last stop in Mindanao. The
place has a special interest in that Jose Rizal, the
Filipino patriot, lived here for some three years when
[ 205 ]




THE ODYSSEY OF


exiled from Manila. Of all the men the islands have
produced Rizal is probably the greatest, and his
memory is now revered by the people. He was born
to an environment, however, where intellectual
attainments and progressive ideas marked a man for
destruction, and this though he lived in the closing
days of the nineteenth century. Rizal, author, scientist, great of heart and liberal of mind, was publicly shot on the fashionable driveway of Manilathe Luneta-on December 30, I896. Whatever
reason may then have been assigned for his execution, history will record that he died because in his
life and in his writings he antagonized the religious
orders of the Church of Rome.
We found the province or district of Dapitan too
small to support an independent government. The
people upon being given a choice of annexation to
Misamis or forming part of the Department of
Mindanao, chose the latter. At one-thirty, ahead
of schedule, we left for Dumaguete, Island of
Negros, which we reached late this evening. Cablegrams were received here announcing the capture of
the insurgent leader Geronimo, and the surrender
of most of the insurgent troops in Luzon. The prediction of the Commission last August that the election of McKinley would speedily end the insurrection
is being amply verified.
April 9, I90I.
The reception at Dumaguete compared favorably
with any yet given. Negros is one of the richest
[206]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


islands in the archipelago and, not having joined the
insurrection, has escaped much of the devastation
wrought elsewhere. We landed upon a large covered bamboo raft, and were welcomed by an immense crowd of people. There were seven bands,
each endeavoring to outplay the other. Two or
three triumphal arches graced the landing, and the
entire distance from the wharf to the session hall,
nearly a quarter of a mile, was shaded by a canopy
of cloth strung upon a frame of bamboo. This is
the most ambitious effort yet encountered to do homage to the Commission. Here, as in Western
Negros, the people requested that their present form
of government be changed and the regular provincial act applied. An elaborate spread followed
the morning session, when the ladies returned to the
boat. In the afternoon a resolution was adopted
by the Commission promising to apply the provincial
act and devising a scheme for dividing the money
on hand. We planned to sail at seven, but a banquet
and ball having been arranged we remained on condition we could leave not later than eleven. Only
five of the ladies appeared in the evening, the others
having given out. Within the past four days we
have visited Surigao, Cagayan, Dapitan, and
Dumaguete, and are due in Iloilo tomorrow. It is a
pretty stiff pace to hold. While my letters dwell
largely on the lighter side of our trip, there are also
long weary hours spent in small, poorly-ventilated
rooms, crowded to suffocation, threshing over and
over the provincial law and the various problems
[207]




THE ODYSSEY OF


now agitating this people. Neither is there rest on
shipboard; mail and telegrams pour in, and the Commission is in executive session most of the time. It
is all enormously interesting, but not restful.
The evening's entertainment was delightful, and
it was with difficulty we got away in time to sail at
midnight.
ILOILO, April o1, 9goi.
As we are to remain in port but two days, the
question of laundry took precedence over questions
of government. Fred Carpenter and I went ashore
on the first craft available-about three o'clockand our approach to the dock was heralded by bands
and a many-voiced multitude. We excused ourselves
as best we could and told the people that "the big
show in the main tent" would open at four. We
then spent an hour hunting to earth a lone Chinese
laundryman. The cocheros here speak little Spanish, and the rest of the population live in a state of
blissful ignorance concerning the industries of their
town.
The Commission met with the presidents and
representatives of the people in the theater building.
Judge Taft explained the proposed provincial law to
them, dwelling particularly on the land tax feature,
the scope and wisdom of which do not appeal to the
landed class, whose property has thus far been
largely exempt from assessment. After the meeting
questions of government gave way to questions of
[208]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


banquets and bailes. Adjacent to Iloilo are the rival
towns of Molo and Jaro, each striving to outdo the
other in entertaining the Commission. The proposed
program involved a dinner and baile at Iloilo the
first night, and a luncheon with the "Union Club"
next day; a banquet and ball at Molo in the evening,
with Jaro announced for the third and last night.
The only weak spot in the plan was that it overestimated the staying qualities of the Commission.
Judge Taft told the people that while we had no
fear now of Filipino bullets or bolos, we did feel
our lives endangered by Filipino hospitality. It was
finally agreed to attend the banquet and ball that
evening and the luncheon next day; to decline the
banquet at Molo, but drive out later to the baile; to
cut the banquet and ball altogether at Jaro and take
luncheon with them instead. The Jaro people objected to this, but the Commission stood firm. To
attend three successive banquets and bailes after
working and perspiring all day was to invite disaster.
The city council of Iloilo were hosts the first evening. Carriages awaited us at the landing and we
drove to the ball in procession. A peculiar custom
at these functions is for a number of cavaliers to
stand at the street door and when a lady appears
offer an arm and escort her to the reception room.
The fact that she already has an escort makes no
difference, the latter being allowed to hustle for
himself. Once having brought their charge inside
the hall, these voluntary escorts abandon her and
rush back to capture the next prize. I have seen a
[ 209]




THE ODYSSEY OF


lady escorted in this fashion into a large club dance,
and, when effectually separated from everyone she
knew, left entirely alone.
The banquet hall that evening was beautifully
decorated, the luxuriance of tropical vegetation lending itself to fine decorative effects.  Dinner was
much as others described. The ball opened, as do
all these dances, with the Rigodon, a native square
dance, resembling our lancers, but more stately in
its movements. Any number can dance at one time.
Judge Taft, who is an excellent dancer, generally
leads with the hostess and Mrs. Taft with the host,
forming opposite couples. The large rooms and
polished floors of these houses lend themselves admirably to this dance. When the set is complete
and the little maidens with their bright, multi-colored
skirts are gliding about in orderly confusion, it
makes a picture to delight the eye.  It was one
o'clock when we started for the ship, the ride over
the water through the night air being a treat.
ILOILO, April II, 90oI.
This has been a busy day. Public sessions were
held both morning and afternoon, the provincial law
adopted, and appointments made. During a discussion as to the classification of the towns, one speaker
suggested that this be based upon the culture of the
inhabitants. A great many original ideas of this
kind are furnished by the different speakers. The
Commission appointed as Provincial Governor, Gen[210]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


eral Martin Delgado, late leader of the insurgent
forces of Panay. The American press of Manila is
indulging in rather hysterical criticism of the Commission for appointing ex-insurgents to office. In
the present case, however, as in many others, such
appointment has secured an efficient officer and at the
same time evidenced to the people that the Commission holds no rancor towards those who fought
against us provided they now join in restoring
orderly government. Possibly no other one thing
better illustrates the difference between our policy
and that of the old regime; then such offenders would
have been shot or banished; now they are invited to
cooperate with us not only as government officials
but also in training their people for the very thing
they were fighting for; i. e., self-government.
Whether their present gratitude for this altruism
upon our part will continue, or whether amid the
wilderness of party strife and petty politics lying
before them they will forget their old servitude,
remains to be seen.
We took luncheon at the club as arranged, but
there is nothing in a name. Whether it be called
lunch or dinner, the array of dishes and variety of
wines are the same-though some of us have
learned by experience to pass warm champagne at
midday.
But eight of the party responded for the drive to
Molo in the evening, the others being down and out.
Judge and Mrs. Taft, being the "Hamlet" of these
occasions, had no alternative, while of the other
[2II ]




THE ODYSSEY OF


Commissioners, Worcester and Moses came to the
scratch. Mrs. Moses, Miss Herron, and Miss
Briggs showed up, and I also joined the endurance
test. As we drove beneath the brilliantly illuminated
arches of Molo, and saw the facades of the houses
all agleam with lights, we regretted the smallness
of our number. It seemed such a poor recompense
for all the labor and expense incurred on our account. Certainly the wealth and beauty of Molo
had gathered to meet us, and it is the home of many
of the rich sugar planters of Negros and Panay.
There were sehoritas banked up and down the rooms
like masses of bright-hued flowers. Diamonds and
pearls gleamed in profusion, the surplus savings of
the community being apparently invested in precious
stones. Our ladies are frequently asked where are
their diamonds-it being taken for granted they
must possess an abundance. I believe the usual reply
is that they were left in Manila for safe-keepingthough it would take more than a search warrant to
find them. The embroidery display about the room
rivaled in richness the finest loot brought from the
Pekin campaign. The fashions in dress here never
change, thus permitting these wonderful costumes to
be handed down from mother to daughter without
any necessity for alteration.
Despite the understanding that we were not to
dine with them, a spread had been prepared and they
were awaiting us. As our mission is to please at all
hazards, it was determined to attempt a second dinner. History records many acts of heroism, but
[212]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


when the list is closed this eating of a Filipino dinner
when you are already full should hold high place. It
was midnight when we started for the boat. All
agreed that had the people of Jaro prevailed on us
to banquet and baile with them the third night not a
soul would have shown up.
April I2, I90I.
We took lunch at Jaro today per schedule and
were given a royal reception. All these places suffered severely during the war. The insurgents themselves burned Iloilo to the ground, and Jaro was
depopulated upon the approach of the Americans.
Women of wealth and refinement and tender children lived for a year and more in rude shelters in
the mountains, a prey to their fear of the Americans,
and a prey too often to the ruthless among their own
forces. When they returned many of them found
their homes burned or denuded of furniture. As I
talked with them of these things -and they are not
given to complaint- I wondered how they could
regard us as favorably as they do. I sincerely believe
satisfactory conditions could never be evolved here
by the military alone, and in this I do not necessarily
criticise the men in charge as much as the system.
You cannot inspire confidence or affection with a
club. Under military rule the Filipinos would never
get a just impression of American institutions or of
our purposes toward them.
The sending of the Civil Commission to the
[2I3]




THE ODYSSEY OF


islands will, when the proper perspective is attained,
be chronicled as one of the greatest acts of McKinley's administration. In the face of native antagonism, and a hostile American press, and handicapped by a Military Governor who stated that he
felt " deeply humiliated " by their presence, the Commission has steadily prosecuted its work, ignoring
many things which might well have exasperated
them into counter-attacks which would have disgraced our country. Gradually, as the nature of the
men and their work became known, and the laws
enacted by them filtered among the people, the temper of the masses has changed; they are learning that
our institutions are founded in justice, in humanity,
and the right of the individual to the fullest measure
of liberty consistent with the good of all; they are
learning to believe that a nation, founded as ours,
cannot enslave any people, but must work to secure
for them the same privileges and advantages that are
enjoyed by everyone under its flag. I believe a fair
future lies before these islands provided Congress
does not clog the plans of the administration by
unwise and foolish action, and provided the people
themselves are not misled by selfish agitators into
demanding more power than they are fitted to
exercise.
Tonight we leave for San Jose, Island of Panay.


[214]




XII


THE SOUTHERN TRIP, CONTINUED
U. S. TRANSPORT Sumner,
April 13, 1901.
T   ODAY was spent at San Jose de Buenavista,
Province of Antique. We had heard little of
the place, and it loomed ahead of us simply as a
point on the map. To find it, therefore, one of the
most scenic little spots yet visited, and to receive a
reception as warm and spectacular as any encountered on our trip, was a genuine surprise. The town
lies in the curve of a wide bay, its coral beach fringed
with cocoanut palms and backed by high hills. As
seen from the ship in the fresh glow of morning it
reminded of some village pictured by poets when
they dream of Arcadia.
We were met at the pier by the delegates of the
different pueblos and by the entire local output. It
is a sight I never tire of seeing-that crowd of
mixed peoples, with their alert, brown faces, intent
upon missing no part of the show. They dearly love
excitement, and while our contribution to the program seems small, we are the excuse for the performance and they are happy. A broad road leads
from the beach to the town; this we traversed afoot,
[2I5]




THE ODYSSEY OF


forming a sort of "conquering hero" procession.
As the Commissioners neared the first of a series of
elaborate arches, some Filipino maidens, hidden in
the superstructure, scattered a profusion of flowers
upon them, while a silver-tongued orator voiced a
tropical welcome. Judge Taft responded in happy
vein, and the little maidens unloosed a number of
beribboned doves which fluttered above the crowd
to its unrestrained delight.
In addition to their triumphal arches, the people
had constructed a Statue of Liberty, patterned after
a picture of the one on Bedloe Island. It was a
curious thing, bearing a family likeness to their
numerous church saints. It had a halo of tin spikes
about its head, and a rigid arm held aloft something
more resembling a bolo than a torch. It was really
a very creditable effort, however, and furnished a
happy text later when the "transcendental" nature
of our visit was being dwelt upon.
As we are behind schedule, the Commission concluded its business at one session, which lasted from
nine till twelve-thirty. General Fullon, who operated
in this province, and who surrendered two weeks
ago, came up with us on the Sumner from Iloilo and
was at the meeting. He is a boyish looking fellow,
more like a student than a military leader.  An
elaborate tiffin was served, but we were obliged to
forego the banquet and baile arranged for the evening. We returned to the transport at five, accompanied by all the able-bodied inhabitants of the town.
It was sunset when we sailed, and the rich glow
[ 2 I 6 ]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


which painted the waters and the hills left with us a
memory of San Jose de Buenavista which did not
belie its name.
April i6, 90o1.
Today we have been sailing the straits between
Cebu and Leyte, giving us another of those "breathing spells," for which we are beginning to thank our
patron saint.
The fourteenth and fifteenth were spent a.t Capiz,
on the east coast of Panay. We anchored off shore
early on the morning of the fourteenth, and, as mail
was expected, Mr. Fergusson and I were commissioned to find it. The town lies three miles up a
river, and as our launch neared the landing we
found the banks black with people-our approach
being mistaken for that of the Commission. After
interviewing the president and arranging a public
meeting for the afternoon we made our escape. Most
of the party came over after tiffin, some by river and
others by road. Arrangements had been made to
lodge and care for eighty people, four houses having
been emptied to make room for the ladies, the men
being provided for in the convento. We were compelled to decline their hospitality, however, tired
Nature clamoring for the accustomed comforts
aboard ship.
The public session was held in the theater building and was particularly interesting. At its close a
Filipino boy of ten delivered a speech in English.
He had been trained by one of the soldiers, and in
[217]




THE ODYSSEY OF


both accent and delivery did splendidly. Judge Taft
responded, complimenting him highly. It was dark
when we embarked for the ship, and we were treated
to a wonderful display of phosphorescence, the
waves as they broke being tipped with fire.
We were ashore by nine next morning, and had a
busy day.  Some fifteen of the northern towns
wanted a separate organization, their cause being
championed in lively fashion by a Sefior Mobo. His
petition was vehemently contested, the different
speakers being given free rein for their eloquence.
As a matter of fact, the request for separation was
premature, the province having suffered heavily
through war, rinderpest, and locusts. As we came
up the river we saw the latter flying in clouds that
darkened the sun.
At tiffin nearly a hundred people sat at the table,
the affair passing off with great, good humor. The
Commission finished its labors before six, appointing
Jugo Vidal, Governor, and the versatile Mr. Mobo,
Secretary. We had planned returning to the boat to
dress for the evening, but time did not permit. The
day and evening were hot and sultry, and everybody
was sticky and uncomfortable. We ate and danced,
however, and had a good time.   Once a dance
started the musicians stopped only when the floor
was deserted. Squatted on the floor, they played
on and on with a persistence and endurance truly
marvelous. It was midnight when we reached the
boat, and you can appreciate how we hailed with
delight the prospect of a whole day at sea.
[2I8]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


April I7, I901.
One year ago today the Hancock sailed out from
San Francisco- harbor with the Commission and
party aboard. It has been a pretty full three hundred and sixty-five days for all of us; days good to
have lived and good to remember. We anticipated
much that time a year ago, but I doubt if there was
imaged to any of us the variety and interest of what
has actually transpired. And the end is not yet.
We anchored last evening off Cebu, which disputes
with Iloilo the distinction of being the second city
of the archipelago. We did not go ashore, thus giving us a full holiday. A number of small vintas
(boats) came out to the transport, and as they
circled about us the women sang native songs to a
peculiar swaying of the body-their reward being
the somewhat doubtful privilege of diving for pennies. When the occupants of four or five vintasmen, women, and children-made a simultaneous
dive there was a jumble of arms, legs, and bodies
decidedly bewildering.
We found conditions in Cebu more unsatisfactory
than in any place visited. It is estimated there are
about two hundred insurgents in the field, and these
are allowed to terrorize an island of half a million,
practically all of whom desire peace. In his talk to
the delegates Judge Taft told them it was absurd
for an island of that size to permit a mere handful of
men to continue a state of disorder which brought
nothing but evil in its train; that when the people
themselves decided that such a condition should cease
[219]




THE ODYSSEY OF


it would; that they came before the Commission asking a provincial government and the right to govern
themselves, and yet permitted an insignificant
minority to overrun them and jeopardize their best
interests. He said it would be a source of regret to
the Commission not to grant them a civil government; that we could, if necessary, put a force of men
on the island and sweep it from end to end, but such
a step would be deplored. He stated, in effect, that
it was up to them.
That evening a banquet and ball were given at the
"Filipino Club." There are a number of gunboats
in the harbor, the officers of which attended the dinner; these, with the usual army officers, English and
Chinese Consuls, the Commission and staff, and the
Filipino gente fina, made quite a cosmopolitan showing. The banquet was one of the most pretentious
affairs we have been up against. To give you an
idea of it I copy the menu, which was in words and
figures following, to-wit:
BILL OF FARE
i Oyster soup          i i Beefsteak
2 Roast turkey         I 2 Pork chop
3 Roast beef           I3 Veal cutlet
4 Roast pork           I4 Fried chicken
5 Boiled tongue        Is Roast chicken
6 Chicken, French style  i6 Chipped ham
7 Oyster pie           I 7 Fried pigeons
8 Baked fish           i 8 Cream pie
9 Boiled ham, in jelly  i9 Apple pie
-IO Veal pot pie        20 Peach pie
[ 220 ]




Bagobos, Davao, Mindanao








THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


21 Pineapple pie        28 Shoe string potatoes
22 Chocolate cake       29 Sweet corn
23 Raisin cake         30 Stewed beans
24 Jelly roll cake      3I Asparagus
25 Apple pudding        32 Raw tomatoes
26 Minced potato        33 Green onions
27 Fried potato        34 Radishes.
They started at number one, with the intention,
apparently, of going down the line. This proved
too strenuous, however, so along about the middle
they began hurdling, and we finally finished without
calling an ambulance. There were two long tables,
seating, possibly, one hundred guests, with a separate
table at the end, where Judge and Mrs. Taft and
the wife of the president were seated. Their chairs
were at least five feet apart, making conversation
impossible. They simply sat there in solitary state,
contemplating that terrible bill of fare. To continue
smiling under such circumstances must be work. We
left at twelve, being accompanied to the wharf by a
mounted escort, there being some rumor of a hostile
demonstration.
April 18, 1901.
This has been another of those days which go to
make history. From morning until night the Commission threshed over with the people of Cebu the
question of their preparedness for civil government.
Finally-though with many misgivings-the wish
of the people was gratified and a government organ[221]




THE ODYSSEY OF


ized. Don Julio Llorente, one of the Supreme Court
Judges at Manila, but a native of Cebu, was appointed Governor, which pleased the people greatly.
Chief Justice Arellano, who had returned to Manila
from Iloilo, rejoined us here. He came to submit
to the Commission the draft of a proposed proclamation prepared by Aguinaldo. To Arellano belongs
largely the credit of influencing Aguinaldo to take
the oath of allegiance, his return to Manila being
almost coincident with Aguinaldo's capture. The
latter had been so long in the bosque that he was
completely out of touch with events. His first inquiry
upon reaching Manila was for Mabini- who is now
in Guam-and his next for Arellano. Arellano
spent several days with him, explaining the real situation and telling of the plans of our government on
behalf of the Filipino people. One by one he went
over the laws enacted by the Commission since its
coming, and particularly the Municipal and Provincial laws and the school bill. When the full
import of these dawned upon Aguinaldo, and he
became convinced not only that our purposes were
altruistic, but that the great majority of his people
wanted peace, he succumbed, and the oath was
administered him by Arellano. He then drafted his
proclamation, a copy of which I enclose herewith:
To the Filipino people:
I believe that I am not in error in presuming that
the unhappy fate to which my adverse fortune has
led me is not a surprise to those who have been
familiar day by day with the progress of the war.
[222]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


The lessons thus taught, the full meaning of which
has but recently come to my knowledge, suggest to
me with irresistible force that the complete termination of hostilities and a lasting peace are not only
desirable, but absolutely essential to the welfare of
the Philippines.
The Filipinos have never been dismayed by their
weakness, nor have they faltered in following the
path pointed out by their fortitude and courage.
The time has come, however, in which they find
their advance along this path impeded by an irresistible force-a force which, while it restrains
them, yet enlightens the mind and opens another
course by presenting to them the cause of peace.
This cause has been joyfully embraced by a majority
of our fellow countrymen, who are already united
around the glorious and sovereign banner of the
United States. In this banner they repose their
trust, in the belief that under its protection our
people will attain all the promised liberties which
they are even now beginning to enjoy.
The country has declared unmistakably in favor
of peace: so be it. Enough of blood; enough of
tears and desolation. This wish cannot be ignored
by the men still in arms if they are animated by no
other desire than to serve this noble people which
has thus clearly manifested its will. So also do I
respect this will, now that it is known to me, and
after mature deliberation resolutely proclaim to the
world that I cannot refuse to heed the voice of a
people longing for peace, nor the lamentations of
thousands of families yearning to see their dear ones
in the enjoyment of the liberty promised by the
generosity of the great American nation.
By acknowledging and accepting the sovereignty
of the United States throughout the entire Archipel[223]




THE ODYSSEY OF


ago, as I now do without any reservation whatsoever, I believe that I am serving thee, my beloved
country. May happiness be thine I
EMILIO AGUINALDO.
It strikes me that when this proclamation is published some of these Filipino "Juntas" now living
on the fat of the land in Hongkong, Madrid, Paris,
and other places, draining good money from a deluded and impoverished people, will have to go out
of business. It should likewise put a quietus on some
of our long-range critics at home, who pretend to
speak with authority on a matter entirely outside
their knowledge.
At the close of the meeting Arellano gave a talk
to the people. Our sessions with them thus far had
awakened little enthusiasm; they needed stirring up,
and there is no man in the islands better fitted to do
this than Arellano. I have already referred to his
speeches, and the fire he is able to put into them.
This was an occasion of a lifetime and he rose to it.
He spoke of the fact that it was on the island of
Cebu the great Magellan first landed, and where
religious instruction was first given the people; he
asked them if their island, the first in arts and industry, was to be the last to accept the blessings of peace
and prosperity held out by the great American
nation; he referred to his talks with Aguinaldo,
their leader, and his action when the light came to
him. He played upon them with all the skill of a
natural orator and all the fervor that comes from
earnestness and a conviction of the truth of his mes[224]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


sage. It was growing dark throughout the theater,
and when he finished, and, with arms uplifted, implored them in the name of their unhappy country
to unite for peace, many men in the audience were
weeping. He had reached the people.
We were urged to remain over for another dinner,
but we felt our duty accomplished and returned to
the boat. Our reception at Cebu was a sort of continuous performance. The Commission did not take
a step in its streets but they were preceded and followed by a squad of native police, with an everpresent band in attendance.  I have referred so
often, however, to this matter of arches and bands,
banquets and bailes, processions and receptions, that
I have no doubt they are becoming monotonous to
you. To us, however, they are but the frame of the
picture.
April 20, I901.
Tagbilaran, Island of Bohol, was the next number
on our repertoire. We found conditions here even
more unsettled than in Cebu, though the people were
equally insistent that they be granted provincial government. Thirty-one out of the thirty-four towns of
the island were represented, and they argued that
if civil rule was inaugurated the few hundred people
now in the hills could be induced to come in. It was
evident, however, that they stood in fear of Pedro
Sanson, the insurgent leader, who, because of his
acts, had been declared an outlaw. They wished
[ 225]




THE ODYSSEY OF


the Commission to promise him a pardon should he
surrender, but this they declined to do.
It is a case again where a few hundred men with
rifles and bolos are able to terrorize the great mass
of the people and thus retard the restoration of
peace and industry, so necessary to the welfare of
all. These so-called "insurgents," responsible for
such a condition, display their patriotism by robbing
and maltreating their own people and thus intimidating them into furnishing food and supplies. Their
"campaigning" is reduced entirely to escaping capture by our troops and to taking an occasional shot
from ambush when the chances are all their way. It
is no longer a revolution based upon any conception
of liberty or public service, but rather the dominating
influence of a few leaders able to impress their will
upon an ignorant and lawless following. After going into the situation quite thoroughly, the Commission decided to try the experiment of extending civil
government to the island, making the proviso, however, that if lawlessness continued, military rule
would be restored with all its rigor.
We found Tagbilaran itself a charming place. It
lies some two miles up a picturesque strait which
separates Bohol from the small island of Palacao.
Our meeting were held in a room of the convento,
which, like most of these old church buildings, has
a beautiful site. This one commands a full sweep
of the strait, with green, wooded hills to either side
and the blue ocean beyond. As I looked out over
the scene the thought came to me again of the life
226]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


those old Friars must have led when they were
lords and masters of all this fair domain, for never
has king or czar ruled with more absolute or despotic
power than theirs.
We partook of the usual banquet, but returned to
the transport for the night. The trip was made
by boat down the strait, the officers fearing a possible ambush should we return by road. Our craft
was pretty well crowded and moved something like
a carabao, but it was not unpleasant. Our experience next morning, however, was different. It began
raining immediately after we started and the awnings of the cutter were soon leaking like a sieve. We
were packed together like unto the proverbial sardines, and all got gloriously wet. Quite a sea was
running in the bay and our little boat took on considerable motion.  Boarding the ship, where we
caught the wash of the waves, was a precarious
business, and was watched with anxiety by those on
board. It was a case of stepping from the launch
to the gangway at the precise psychological moment
when the two were on a level. Fortunately, all of
us negotiated it safely, and shortly afterward were
under way for Tacloban, Island of Leyte, which we
reach early tomorrow.
April 2I, 1901.
Today is Sunday, though there is very little to
distinguish one day from another on this trip. In
[227]




THE ODYSSEY OF


fact, we seldom know anything but the day of the
month. There is no observable difference in the
attitude of the people, they being as ready to hold
meetings, or to have banquets and bailes, on Sunday
as any other day.
The Island of Leyte, while one of the last to join
the insurrection, has possibly put our troops to more
trouble than any of the other islands. It immediately adjoins the Island of Samar, scarcely a rifle
shot separating the two for a distance of over
twenty-five miles. This enables the worst characters of each, when hard pushed, to find refuge on
the other, making it difficult to hunt them down. At
present Leyte is fairly pacified-Samar less so.
Our sailing master, Captain Lynam, is a cautious
old tar, and despite assurances of a good channel
practically up to Tacloban, persisted in anchoring
some five miles out and around a point. As we are
a bit ahead of schedule, Mr. Fergusson and I were
given the launch to do some scouting. When near
the town we met General Hughes, together with
Colonel Murray and Major Allen of the post, coming out to meet us. We took them aboard and
returned to the transport, sending word that the
Commission would be ashore at 2:30.
Notwithstanding Leyte has suffered much from
the twin evils, war and plague, neither time nor
expense have been spared in the preparations for our
reception. The landing pier-over one hundred
yards long-was festooned and arched with palms
and bunting and a great throng of people followed
[228,1




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


the carriages to the tribunal. We found the town
scrupulously clean, our troops having given the
people their first lesson in good roads and sanitation. Our afternoon session was livened by an address of welcome by the president of Polo, whose
flowery Spanish put him into a class apart. He spent
half his time apologizing for his unfitness for the
task appointed him, and the other half eulogizing
the Commission and telling of the honor conferred
upon the island by our presence. He had the galleries packed on his " Fivas," and they went off with
a bang. As a freak he came next to the wild-eyed
orator of Tayabas.
We had expected to return aboard after the meeting, but ran foul of the eat-and-dance proposition as
usual. Our party was small, and the ladies had on
their "rainy-day" clothes, but as the Commission
was to leave the next afternoon, it was decided to
stay over. After dinner, which consisted of the
usual fifty-seven varieties, we danced the Rigodon,
had a native dance, a waltz and a two-step, and then
broke away.
The ride to the transport was made in the launch
and cutter and we had scarcely left the pier when it
began raining. The awnings were not up, and we
had no other protection.  Getting wet cuts little
figure in this climate, however, and that five-mile
ride through the night in the low easy cutter, the
warm rain falling and the water beneath so near you
could trail your hand in the phosphorescent glow,
was a delightful one.
[229]




THE ODYSSEY OF


April 22, I901.
Our schedule contemplated going by transport
from Tacloban to Catbalogan, the capital of Samar,
the route leading through the narrow strait separating the two islands. Captain Lynam, however, refused to risk the Sumner on such a cruise, and it
was arranged to make the round trip on the Churruca, a small coasting vessel chartered by the army.
There was considerable discussion as to whether the
ladies should come along. Absolutely nothing was
known of the accommodations at Catbalogan, our
latest information being that the place was being
shot into daily by the insurgents. There was little
sleeping room on the Churruca, and we expected to
be out two days. The vote, therefore, was against
the ladies. Their hopes died hard, but they were
somewhat appeased by the promise of Colonel Murray to take them up the first twenty miles and back
on the morrow.
A provisional government was organized for
Leyte at the morning session, and at two o'clock the
Commissioners, the various secretaries, and four
newspapermen boarded the Churruca for the ride
up the strait to Catbalogan. It was a memorable
ride. The scenery is a blend of the Thousand
Islands of the St. Lawrence and the never-to-beforgotten wonder of the Inland Sea of Japan. For
a time we would sail almost within touch of either
bank, the hills rising abruptly from the water's edge,
faced with deepest green; then the strait would widen
and small, green islands would dot its surface, with
[230]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


here and there low-lying little coves with nipa houses
and minute patches of cultivated ground; then there
would be vistas between the islands - other land
rising far in the distance, capped by gray rain clouds
or blotted almost completely by showers. Occasionally we would pass islands crowned by old, ruined
forts, about whose tops luxuriant vegetation flourished like great umbrellas.
As we clustered about the after deck of our little
steamer the scene was one which made real to me
all I had dreamed or seen pictured of life amid far
tropic seas. Our party was dressed in white or
khaki, some with helmets and others with the light
straw hats of the country; from the cane chairs and
white awnings to the last article of clothing the one
idea of coolness had been considered. Some smoked,
some read old magazines and papers, others talked
or slept, while near to hand hung great bunches of
delicious fruit tempting in their ripeness. It was
five hours in which to be lazy and forget; in which
to live in the beauty of the scene about us, and to
imagine that its peace and quiet enveloped the whole
wide world; to believe that back of those hills there
were no men who sought our lives, or over whose
future destiny questions were presenting which taxed
the minds of our greatest statesmen. We passed
out of the strait in time to see the sky light up with
the rich glow of evening, and to see the blue water
and the long stretch of palm-clad coast reflect back
its glory.
On reaching Catbalogan we found the place had
[23 1]




THE ODYSSEY OF


been fired into early in the day, and that conditions
were very unsettled. Thus far no active steps have
been taken to crush this disorderly element. There
are but seven companies of soldiers on the island,
which is the third largest of the group. These soldiers seldom leave the garrisoned towns. Under
such conditions it avails little that a majority of the
people want peace, standing, as they do, in mortal
terror of their own countrymen. The fear in which
they hold everything resembling a gun passes belief.
It is said as a truth that a whole village can be terrorized and its people robbed and despoiled by one
man with a gun; it is even said that it is done without
a gun, the man simply shooting firecrackers from
what resembles a gun and then throwing rocks
against the houses. It is doubtful if peace will come
here until the place is swept from end to end. We
slept on board the boat, cots and mattresses being
spread on deck.
April 23, I90I.
But seven towns were represented at the public
session this morning. Some of the speakers thought
the organization of a provincial government might
help pacification; others'felt the time was not ripe.
It was the wish of all that more troops might be
sent, and this was promised. They desire peace, but
the men in the hills, using the war as a pretext, prevent it. One of the speakers, himself an ex-colonel
of insurgents, stated that those now out were worth[232]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


less characters-men who have never earned an
honest living and had nothing to gain by coming in;
that those of the people who wanted peace could not
deal with them, as their staying out had nothing to
do with Filipino liberty and independence. He said
that if this element was once destroyed, and the
people of the village trusted with guns, they would
take care of themselves thereafter. I believe the
time will shortly come when this can be done.
Judge Taft in his talk stated that the insurrection
had collapsed, and gave a review of existing conditions in the islands. As his summary shows clearly
what progress we are making, I quote from my notes
as follows:
General Trias, the insurgent general second in
command, has surrendered and is now occupied in
sending his subordinates to secure the surrender of
other officers in Luzon and other islands. General Geronimo, General Pablo Tecson, and General
Simon Tescon, the commanders in Zambales and
Batan, have all surrendered. The leader of the
insurrection, General Aguinaldo, has been captured
and has taken the oath of allegiance and issued a
proclamation advising the Filipinos that their only
chance of happiness is peace under American sovereignty. The people of the Archipelago have
begun to enjoy the blessings of peace. General Fullon, in command of the forces in Antique, surrendered, together with 200 rifles, some three weeks
ago. General Diocno, commanding in Capiz, was
wounded and captured and his forces dispersed. He
is now urging his subordinates to surrender. General Capistrano, commanding the forces in Min[233]




THE ODYSSEY OF


danao, has surrendered, together with 80 rifles and
80 shotguns. Nobody now remains out but a few
ladrones. General Delgado has been appointed by
the Commission civil governor of Iloilo, and now,
instead of being an insurrecto general, is a civil governor under the authority of the United States. General Fullon met the Commission at Iloilo and went
with it to San Jose, where the government of Antique was organized. Other generals and colonels
have surrendered in Luzon whose names are too
numerous to mention. Two thousand five hundred
rifles were captured or surrendered during the months
of January and February of this year, more than
half of which were surrendered. Between the Ist.of March and the Ist of April 4,000 rifles have been
surrendered or captured, the great majority of which
were surrendered. Having said this much, it would
seem entirely reasonable to repeat the remark with
which I began-that the insurrection has collapsed.
It is not too much to say that the great majority of
the Filipino people are deeply rejoiced at the fact.
Three years of war have taught them that peace is
absolutely necessary to their prosperity, and their
experience with the efforts of the United States to
bring about civil government and prosperity, short
as it has been, has satisfied them that that is the best
solution of the problem.
From the number of "Generals" in the above list
it might be imagined several army corps had surrendered. It should be said, however, that as most of
these generals were self-styled, and lacked the
formality of a commission, the list is very elastic.
It was decided, in view of the situation disclosed,
not to establish a civil government in Samar at this
[234]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


time. We had planned remaining until tomorrow,
but as our work was finished, we started down the
strait for Tacloban after two, seeing again that wonderful panorama of island, water, and shore. The
current was with us and we reached the Sumner in
time for a late dinner.
April 25, 1901.
We left Tacloban early yesterday morning,
headed for Albay, in southern Luzon. We had a
full twenty-four hours at sea, and though the ground
swell of the Pacific claimed its victims, the day
proved one of pure enjoyment to most. When we
came on deck this morning we were steaming slowly
down the blue reaches of the Bay of Albay. To
right and left were precipitous headlands, covered
with dense forest growth, while in the far fore.
ground, gleaming white amid its groves of bamboo
and palm, lay the old town of Legaspi. Above all
these, however-sweeping upward from the sea
in lines said to form the most perfect mountain cone
in the world-towered the great volcanic peak of
Mayon. It is an inspiring and beautiful sight, with
little in its present aspect to remind of the grim
record of devastation and death which marks its
history. As late as 1894 it buried a dozen villages
beneath its lava, and the drift of its ashes reached
Manila. In 1897 it burst forth again, the lava flow
reaching the sea and working widespread havoc to
[235]




THE ODYSSEY OF


life and property. Today, with the exception of
here and there a brown streak marking the path of
some molten river, it is clothed in a mantle of green,
its top lost amid a white bank of floating clouds.
Occasionally, as these drifted aside, we could see a
broad cap of smoke rolling lazily from the crater,
telling of hidden and imprisoned fires within.
The people of Albay are Bicols, speaking a distinct dialect. Like most of the provinces to the
south, the insurrection here was fanned and led by
Tagalogs. The people are apparently tired of it
and them, however, and ask that every Tagalog in
the province be expelled. The town of Albay, the
former capital, was burned to the ground by the
insurgents-the fate of most of the towns hereabouts. In our sessions with the people we found
that war and rinderpest had left them sorely
stricken, though they seem to have a streak of
optimism in their nature which buoys them up under
the most trying circumstances.
April 26, I901.
A session at nine today and a lunch at one completed our labors in Legaspi. While the message
we are delivering the people is growing somewhat
familiar to us, we find sufficient variety in local questions and local character to keep up interest. As
a general thing our sessions wind up with a speech
or speeches by some of the Filipinos accompanying
[236]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


us. These are always worth while, particularly
those of Dr. Tavera, President of the Federal Party.
Scarcely a day passes but that he is called upon to
give a talk, and he invariably says the right thing
in the right way. In speaking to the people today,
he said the Partido Federal was continuing the insurrection, but by legal rather than by forcible means;
that they were contending for the same rights as
those set out by the Malolos Congress- the liberty
of the individual; he pointed out to them that independence did not mean liberty; that with independence the Filipinos would simply change the despotism of Spain for a domestic tyranny as bad or worse;
that they could but follow the system with which
they were familiar, and, being untrained, their mistakes would be greater; that the great American
nation would save them from themselves, and prevent their furnishing to the world the spectacle of
the Central and South American republics, which,
though independent, labored under a slavery worse
than that of their former masters; he said they had
lost nothing; that the sun pictured upon the Filipino
flag was replaced by the sun of liberty which now
shone over the islands; that the colors of their banner found a counterpart in those of America, and
they could look forward to the day when another
star, the star of the Philippines, would be added to
those many on that azure field which represented
States "free but not independent." It is hard to
estimate the good Dr. Tavera has done on this trip.
His speeches have interpreted in terms of local
[237]




THE ODYSSEY OF


understanding the purposes of the Commission, and
his closer intimacy with the people has rendered
the information he has been able to gather of tremendous value in the appointment of officers and
the handling of local questions.
The Commission has also been fortunate in another particular, and this not only on its present
trip, but in all its dealings with these people, and
that is in its Spanish Secretary and interpreter, Mr.
A. W. Fergusson. It is doubtful if he has an equal
in this regard in the world. As interpreter and
translator for the American members of the Paris,
Peace Commission his work was of such high character that he was officially designated by the Spanish
members of the Commission to act for them as well.
Large of stature, and with a perfect command of.
Spanish, he has the gift of vivid facial and bodily
expression peculiar to races of Latin origin and
training, combined with a truly marvelous faculty
for moulding the thought of a speaker into forms to
please and enlighten. It is a common expression
among us that Fergusson can take the rudimentary
ideas of some halting orator and dress them out in
such happy guise that their own parent stands astonished at the offspring of his brain. This means much
in dealing with a people to whom the manner of
expression oftimes means much more than what
is actually said. When the record of this trip is
written the great work done by Fergusson and
Tavera should have its due meed of well-deserved
praise.
[238]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


AT SEA, April 29, I901.
We are beginning to feel now that we are destined
to organize provincial governments the rest of our
days. There never seems to have been a time when
we were not catching launches, listening to native
bands, talking and eating in over-crowded halls, and
dancing Rigodons. Everyone moves into his appointed place with a click, and the wheels go round
rhythmically. In truth, though, the strain is beginning to tell a bit. Today little less than a cry of
"Fire" or "Man overboard" could get action out
of anyone aboard. We have possibly earned this
right to be unsociable, however,.as it was three
o'clock this morning when we returned to the transport, after a strenuous absence of two days.
After quitting Albay, the next point billed was
Nueva Caceres, Province of Ambos Camarines,
which lies twenty-four miles inland on the Bicol
River. We anchored some ten miles off shore, our
old captain being in a fever of anxiety lest he run
aground. He remarked that if he got out of the
next two places safely, he would then have only
"the ordinary perils of the sea" to contend with.
We had telegraphed for a boat to take us up the
river and found the Serranto, a double-decked
launch, awaiting us. We left the Sumner shortly
after midday and reached Nueva Caceres about
five, the river ride proving a treat. Work had
apparently stopped in the province, as most of the
inhabitants were at the landing to meet us.
Among the banners displayed was one —" iva
[239]




THE ODYSSEY OF


la Comision-fuera los Frailes."  We have found
this antagonism to the Friars quite general, and the
Commission is frequently asked whether they are
to be returned to the parishes. The answer is that
the matter rests entirely with the people; that the
Frailes would not return unless requested and would
receive no state support; that they would have no
voice in the government, and would stand on exactly
the same footing as other citizens.
As we are behind schedule, we drove directly to
headquarters, where a meeting was held, it being
after seven when we adjourned. We were distributed about town wherever lodgment could be had,
Mr. Carpenter and I falling to one Captain Capps,
who, with a Portuguese hemp-buyer, runs a mess in
a small nipa house. A Filipino banquet had been
arranged for the evening, but we preferred the
simple fare provided by our hosts. There was a
baile later, which we attended. For one of the twosteps I drew a Mestiza maiden who danced divinely,
and when I told her (the usual thing) that the memory of that dance would linger with me through life,
it was not altogether a lie.
The next day was a long one. We had planned
starting for the Sumner immediately after the morning session, but discovered when too late that to
cross the bar before two o'clock A. M. we should
have left at noon. It is doubtful, however, if this
could have been done, as the Commission found the
situation here considerably involved. I have had
occasion to refer several times to the failure of many
[ 240]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


of the " military" to appreciate that their work, no
less than ours, has for its object the winning the
good will of the Filipinos and restoring civil rule.
During this trip the contrast between competent and
incompetent commanders has been brought home to
us most forcibly. In those provinces fortunate in
having commanding officers broad enough to realize
that martial law is not the normal condition of society substantial progress has been made in securing
native confidence and cooperation. On the other
hand, where such officers have made no attempt to
get into sympathetic touch with the people, and have
treated them as so much cattle to be herded for a
month or a year, we have found conditions most discouraging. Ambos Camarines is one of the unfortunate provinces. The natives, being Bicols, are
naturally pacific, and with proper treatment much
could be made of them. Instead, they have been
antagonized at every turn; promises have been made
and never kept; their houses have been taken at the
whim of officers so desiring, and our soldiery turned
loose upon the community with little restraint or
discipline. It is a situation aggravated by the presence of several companies of colored troops, the
sending of which to these islands is a mistake. The
abuses they commit among a people taught to suffer
at the hands of those in authority had best not be
described. The Filipino is peculiarly sensitive to
the ordinary courtesies and amenities of life, and
resents this subjection to the negro, whom he regards
as an inferior.
[241]




THE ODYSSEY OF


It developed that certain officers had an ambition
to be appointed to provincial office under the new
law, with the result that factions among the natives
had been fanned to the point where it was impolitic
for the Commission to decide between them. As its
appointee for Governor was only provisional, it took
what was considered the least objectionable course
and appointed an American.
We had arranged to leave the river landing at
nine o'clock, but it was nearly ten when we got under
way for the long ride to the transport. It had been
a hot, hard day, and few of us had slept much the
night before. This doubtless prevented our appreciating as we should the river trip, though a perfect
moon, lighting up a shifting panorama of tropical
landscape, did what it could to awaken enthusiasm.
We reached the mouth of the river at midnight,
where we anchored nearly two hours before attempting the bar. By this time even the most cheerful
had succumbed. The night had turned quite chilly,
which added to our discomfort in trying to get a
little sleep. We boarded the transport at three, a
tired, used-up crowd.
SORSOGON, April 30, I901.
Today was spent in Sorsogon. We are two days
behind schedule, and the elaborate preparations prepared by the townspeople had suffered from rain and
storm. They felt quite badly about it, as also that
many who had come to meet us were unable to
[ 242 ]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


remain. We found the temper of the people very
different from that encountered in Nueva Caceres.
Here there is a splendid set of officers, who have
the respect and confidence of the entire community.
The province is completely pacified, and it is said
an American can pass unmolested through any part
of it. Our reception was enthusiastic, the only drawback being the place of meeting, which was close and
hot. This has been one of our great difficultiesfinding audience rooms sufficiently large and wellventilated to meet our needs. In many places the
public buildings have been burned, and we have
held our sessions in private houses, as was done
here. Today the heat and the pace we are going
proved too much for me, and I collapsed in the
midst of my reporting. LeRoy took a shift at it
until I was fanned back to normal again.
As our good captain was anxious to get away by
daylight, we were compelled to forego the festivities
prepared for the evening, much to the disappointment of the people. While waiting for our launch a
triumphal car, bearing aloft a Filipino maiden typifying peace, was borne along the shore. The maid,
with her flowing hair and rich robes, holding proudly
on high the flag of our common country, made quite
an impression.
BOAC, MARINDUQUE, May i, 1901.
Three years ago today the guns of Dewey's fleet
tolled the requiem of Spanish power in the Philip[243]




THE ODYSSEY OF


pines. It was a day, as Judge Taft stated this morning, pregnant with fate both for the Filipino people
and for the United States. In that day the people
of these islands leaped from the eighteenth century
to the twentieth, exchanging the sovereignty of
Spain, with its medieval institutions, for that of the
most modern of the nations - entering upon a career
measured only by their capacity to absorb our civilization. For us it opened the door to international
politics; it gave us a broader part in the play of
nations -the drama whose stage is the world. That
this will be better for us, will more widely develop
both the material and mental resources of our people
than the provincialism which would have us mill
forever in the same old groove, I sincerely believe.
This is our second visit to Marinduque. In
March we promised the people a separate government provided we found the island free from insurrection on our return. On going ashore today we
found they had met their contract. General Abad,
the last of the insurgent leaders, surrendered two
weeks ago and was present at the meeting. I have
already told what a charming spot Boac is, and it
was almost like going home to see it again.
At the close of our session a farewell address was
delivered by Sr. Nepomuceno, the newly appointed Provincial Secretary, who thanked the Commission for establishing civil government in Marinduque and for its work in looking to the political
and material regeneration of the islands. He spoke
of the struggle of the Filipino people to achieve
[244]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


their political rights, and rejoiced that their destinies were now linked with a government founded
upon the equal rights of all. Judge Taft's reply
states so well our aim here, and the conditions which
will measure our success, that I quote therefrom as
follows:
Allusion was made by the gentleman who has so
eloquently addressed the Commission to the great
Filipino patriot, Rizal, and his love of liberty. We
believe, and, I hope, believe justly, that under the
sovereignty of the United States the Filipino people
can acquire all those liberties which Rizal prized.
I am reminded by one of my colleagues, and I desire
to remind you, that today three years ago was fought
the battle of Manila Bay. How pregnant with fate
was that victory, both for the Filipino people and
the United States. Civil liberty a government can
offer to a people, but whether such liberty results in
bringing happiness and prosperity must depend upon
the people themselves. The government can offer
public schools and education to the people, but the
people must turn that education to the betterment
and improvement of their own condition. You must
watch your officers, you must have in mind the public
weal, you must insist that your officials serve only
the public good and not their personal gain. Without making invidious comparisons, the truth of history must be stated, that in the three hundred years
of civilized rule in these islands the standard of public honesty has not been maintained as it should have
been. I do not claim for the Americans absolute
honesty. That we have dishonest men among us
and dishonest public officials goes without saying,
but I do say that the standard of official honesty
which we hope to introduce here is high, na4 that
[245]




THE ODYSSEY OF


being introduced here it means the beginning of a
prosperous and happy government. When you find
a public official, whether he be an American or a
Filipino, who is false to his trust and is lining his
pockets with the money of the people, know that he
is a worse criminal than the man who steals your
cattle and enters your house and steals your goods.
Pursue him as you would a criminal and put him
behind the prison bars, where he belongs. Let no
good nature growing out of the traditions of a former government prevent you from regarding this
crime as it should be regarded. If you find dishonesty in an American official, know that the Americans who are responsible for this government would
rather put a dishonest American in prison than a
Filipino or a man of any other race.
Shortly after seven we weighed anchor for Batangas, our last stop.
May 2, I901.
Batangas, the final number on our repertoire,
proved a hard finish. We landed on an open beach,
and then drove a mile and a half through a swirling
cloud of dust-the Commissioners perched in an
open wagon like unto those used for delivering groceries in the States. Everything en route was parched
and burned, and we found Batangas itself in ruins.
The province is not completely pacified, and we saw
everywhere evidences of the destruction wrought by
war.
Our meeting was held in a wide corridor temporarily roofed with green stuff, giving it an appearance
[246




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


of coolness altogether belied by the thermometer.
Judge Taft, whose energy continues unabated, explained once more the scope of the provincial and
municipal acts, and succeeded in imparting some of
his enthusiasm to a rather undemonstrative audience. An amusing feature of most of our meetings
with these people is their slowness to appreciate a
joke-particularly when sprung at a public gathering. A meeting with the Commission is to them a
very solemn affair, and their effort to apply literally
some of Judge Taft's lighter sallies has been great.
One of the speakers today, discussing the age limit
for tax purposes, said he thought it should be fiftyfive years, as a man was old at that age and should
rest. As three of the Commissioners are beyond
this limit, Judge Taft remarked, with his usual genial
smile, that this question of age was a rather sensitive
one to certain members of the Commission. The
speaker looked grieved, and said his statement did
not apply to those who had " lived well," whereupon
Judge Taft surveyed himself and his heavy-weight
associates and replied that it was evident some of
them had lived well. At this the poor man collapsed
utterly.
Somewhat of a surprise was sprung on us by the
appointment of Sr. Felix M. Roxas as Governor.
Sefior Roxas is a member of our party and my seatmate at table, having made the entire trip as correspondent of La Democracia, the organ of the Partido Federal. He is liked by everyone, and a better
choice could not have been made. His job will prove
[247]




THE ODYSSEY OF


no sinecure, however, as there are numerous factions
in the province, and its unsettled condition makes the
wisdom of civil organization at this time doubtful.
We returned to the boat to dress for the regulation evening banquet and baile. After the hot day
and dusty ride, many of the crowd shied at another
trip ashore. Others nerved themselves to it by the
thought that it was the last call, and because they
felt it was due our companion, Sr. Roxas. The
banquet was served by a Manila caterer and proved
exceptionally good. A slight hitch occurred at the
ball. It is usual to open such functions with the
"Rigodon," but some of the younger officers, smitten by the charms of certain of our number, started
with a waltz. Word was passed by Dr. Tavera
that the next would be the " Rigodon" and partners
were engaged. When some of these were on the
floor one of the officers directed the musicians to
play a two-step; they started to do so, but were
again stopped and told to proceed with the Rigodon.
This was again countermanded by the officer, and
the two-step proceeded.
MANILA, May 3, I90I.
The " Southern Trip" is ended. At 10:30 A. M.
we took our last launch ride, making a landing this
time at the office of the Captain of the Port, Manila.
The crowd and the bands were there, but they had
no voice in prescribing our movements or preparing
[248]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


our meals. We scattered like a lot of homing
pigeons, glad to have shared in such a journey and
yet glad to take up our Manila life again.
Our experiences and impressions are still too new
to be properly appraised. That such another tour
will ever be made is doubtful; certainly not of this
magnitude, or of a character to awaken the same
response from the people. To us and to them it
marks a crisis in our occupation of the islands, giving, as it does, permanent form to our policy and
setting a measure upon the political future of the
islands. How far the spirit of the laws enacted by
us are appreciated, or the scope of our purposes realized, remains a question. Our visit, if it has done
anything, should have brought home to the people
the democratic nature of our institutions and the
perfect frankness, fairness, and freedom from cant
of those entrusted with authority in Philippine
affairs. That they exaggerate the immediate benefits of civil government and the effect of granting
them a participation therein is doubtless true. They
are too inclined to look to public officials and to
legislative enactments for panaceas for every ill
than to depend upon their own industry and initiative. Their present enthusiasm at release from military exactions is apt to suffer a reaction when they
find that the problem of gaining a successful livelihood, and of adjusting themselves to the loss suffered through years of warfare, still remain to be
solved. They are a volatile people, easily led, easily
swayed by passing emotions and influences, and lack[249]




THE ODYSSEY OF


ing that true stability of character which lies at the
base of popular government. It is but natural to
expect there will be more or less trouble before the
machinery gets to running smoothly. As is the case
with most oppressed peoples, there is danger that the
new liberties suddenly thrust upon them will be
abused rather than appreciated at their true value.
They have a great desire to learn, however; they
want schools and English teachers, and will prove
apt pupils, so far, at least, as outward forms are
concerned. Taken along broad lines, the impressions gained from our intimate association with them
during the past months have been favorable, and
the prospects for the future are encouraging.


[250]




XIII


IGOROTE LAND
MANILA, May i6, 190o.
T   HE days since our return have been busy ones.
A central civil government is to be installed
July first, and there is much legislation to be gotten
through in the meantime. It is hoped also to organize the remaining provinces of Luzon before that
date, though I don't see how it is to be done. The
Commission is in almost constant public or executive
session, with the task of preparing proposed laws
and attending to a flood of detail matters when it
can. The early apathy of the public has altogether
disappeared, and everybody is now disposed to offer
multitudinous suggestions as to how the government
should be organized and run. As it is the policy of
the Commission to give every budding statesman a
try-out, the result is much loss of time, with a quite
unsatisfactory harvest, though occasionally some
valuable hint is gleaned.
The weather is hot again, reminding of those first
days when we sweltered and doubted. If our pace
has told in flagging energy and lessened vitality,
there have been no distress signals. Our restless
activity is a source of constant wonder to the natives.
[251]




THE ODYSSEY OF


It is reported that two of them who made the southern trip with us simply threw up their hands and
said the Filipinos couldn't fight a people who worked
as we did. It may be we have "office hours," hut
I have forgotten what they are.
MANILA, June 2, 1901.
Our already overcharged atmosphere is now being fanned into a state of torrid heat by a discussion
of the proposed Judiciary Act and appointment of
judges. Believing the judiciary a critical point in
our administration, the Commission proposed making a somewhat clean sweep of the present personnel and naming men of tried standing from the
States. This has driven the native press into paroxysms. They say the Filipino judges stood by the
American Government during its time of trial, and
they are now to be ousted without any proof of guilt
or incompetency; that if they have done wrong, then
let charges be brought against them. Our American
press, while violent enough in its opposition to appointing Filipinos, is pro-military, and condemns the
Commission for overlooking the judicial merits of
various volunteer army officers whose commissions
expire shortly. The American bar of Manila is also
up in arms, and is literally pawing the air because
the Commission has provided that Spanish shall continue the official language of the courts until i906,
They want English substituted at once, even though
it would result in eliminating practically every Fili[252]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


pino from the practice. Their attitude has the support of the American papers, and is condemned
utterly by the Spanish-Filipino press. In the discussion of the Judiciary Act and Code of Procedure,
Sefor Calderon, President of the College of Advocates, together with all the members of that body,
remained away from the public sessions, claiming
they had not been allowed sufficient time to study
the bills. For eight months and more they have
been invited to assist in framing these acts (something they have repeatedly promised, but failed to
do), and they now refuse to play simply because
the Commission declines to further postpone discussion of the bills; this, too, when other important
legislation is crowding, and the whole judicial machinery is paralyzed pending the passage of these
laws.
From the provinces come reports of friction between the military and the newly appointed civil
authorities. Now that their supreme power is curtailed, some of our army brethren have a tendency
to either lie back and do nothing, or else create
active difficulties through refusing to recognize or
cooperate with the regular government officials.
Many of them consider the organization of civil
government premature, and evidently harbor the
idea that in its discomfiture or failure there is something of credit to themselves. In Tayabas, where
the Governor (an American) was building a road
and lacked transportation, a quartermaster making
the trip was asked to take up some shovels. This
[253]




THE ODYSSEY OF


patriot told him to run his own government; that
he wasn't hauling tools for any damned civilian. In
Nueva Caceres, which is staff headquarters for three
regiments, not a move has been made against the
insurgents since the province was organized. In
Bataan the arrogance of the military commander
became such that the civil governor tendered his
resignation, but was persuaded to withdraw it.
It is hoped that with the establishment of a central
civil government, and the advent of a new military
head, conditions will be changed. The work is hard
enough, goodness knows, with all our people pulling
together. The Filipinos are naturally suspicious of
us, and are hunting out every sign of weakness in
our administration. Talk, talk, talk-they seem
made of words. There are a dozen newspapers
here, and it seems every Filipino feels it his duty to
enlighten the islands with his views. The latest
complaint is that they are not treated fairly in the
distribution of civil service positions, and that Americans are paid higher salaries than they. No account
is taken of the fact that the cost of living for Americans is excesssive; that they are cutting themselves
off from a settled career at home, and are likely
stocking their systems with an assortment of germs
which will work havoc with them by and by. The
serenity with which Judge Taft meets these accumulating annoyances is a wonder. He simply smiles
and drives on, his personality radiating good will
and over-riding all obstacles.
Commissioners Worcester and Moses start this
[254]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


week on a trip through the mountains of Northern
Luzon, and LeRoy and I go with them. The purpose is to examine progress on the new Benguet
road, and to study the form of government best
suited to the so-called non-Christian Tribes. The
other Commissioners plan leaving Manila about the
same time to organize the coast provinces of Luzon.
I was given my choice of the two expeditions and
naturally chose the mountain one. There will be no
"sessions" to report, and no banquetes or bailes.
It will be the sun and the wind-earth, sky, and
mountain, and a people who live close to the soil.
We go by train to Dagupan, where we take horses
for the remainder of the journey.
MANILA, June 28, I90I.
My last was written on the eve of a pilgrimage
with Commissioners Worcester and Moses into the
high hills where dwell the head-hunting Igorotes.
We are back now, thanks to a watchful Providence,
and I fain would tell you something of our experiences. They were varied enough, though the grip
of it all lies so much in the actual encounter that I
fear my scant notes will prove a poor substitute.
DAGUPAN, June 6, I901.
Our train for Dagupan left at six this morning.
Why it should start so early, simply to wind itself
up in mid-afternoon, is one of the puzzles of Philip[255]




THE ODYSSEY OF


pine railroad administration. We are a party of
five, Dr. Barrows, Superintendent of Manila
Schools, having joined us at the last moment. He
and the two Commissioners took dinner and spent
the night with General "Jakey" Smith, LeRoy and
I being cared for by his aide, Lieutenant Bushfield.
During dinner a captain, who had taken more than
his allowance of scotch and soda, enlivened us with
reflections upon the Philippine situation. His views
were quite entertaining, though his ultimate conclusion must have been his own, as it involved eliminating every Filipino in the islands. We bunked on
army cots and caught mosquitoes most of the night.
June 7, I901.
We got away shortly after seven this morning,
having added Dr. Keller, of the Dagupan hospital,
to our number, who comes to patch us up in case
of illness or accident. We have a sergeant and four
men as escort, besides a Hospital Corps man and a
cook. Our supply train consists of nine mules in
charge of three packers. We are all mounted on
large American horses-a somewhat dubious vehicle for mountain trails. Our start was made in
the rain, giving color to the stories told of hard
travel in the interior at this season. As we filed
out, enveloped in our ponchos, we needed only
masks to be taken for a delegation of Ku Klux
Klan. What with the mud and water, and the black
grease off our saddles, we soon lost that sense of
[256]




The Doctor


Fast Express




7777."




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


respectability which attaches to cleanliness. Our ride
led through a fertile, level country, interspersed with
numerous villages, the population of which was at
the windows.
The first stop was at Pozorubio, eighteen miles
out, in charge of a young lieutenant. He invited us
to his quarters, where lunch was prepared. We had
expected to push forward to Mead's camp on the
new road, but finally decided to lay over until morning. The failure of our pack train to show up was
the reason assigned, but the truth is none of us are
cowboys, and a little relief from those saddles was
welcome.  Our host, with refreshing naivete, deplored the establishment of civil government, as it
prevented his commandeering supplies from the natives for our entertainment.
June 8, I90I.
We reached Mead's camp, twelve miles out, before eleven, the last eight miles being over the new
road and in the foothills of the mountains. The
road follows the Bued River, and, as we ascended,
the valley closed in until finally the river came tumbling down through a narrow gorge. Here the
course of the road is being blasted out of the solid
rock, causing delay. About seven hundred men are
employed on the work, labor being difficult to secure
and of mighty poor quality.
After tiffin, with Captain Mead and his assistants,
we struck for Santo Tomas, a coast point further
to the north, our road being a mere trail through
[257]




THE ODYSSEY OF


the forest. The usual afternoon rain fell in torrents, and we were soon thoroughly soaked.  For
a certain kind of rain, and for a certain time, an
army poncho (rain cape) keeps you dry, but neither
in kind nor time was this rain one of them. The
bridges en route were simply bamboo poles spread
on stringers, never intended for heavy American
horses. They gave us much trouble, Dr. Barrows
narrowly escaping accident, while one of the mules
fell through. We reached Santo Tomas at six o'clock,
wet, tired, and silent, having ridden about twentyseven miles.  There are twenty soldiers here in
charge of a sergeant, who turned his nipa house over
to us and did what he could to help out. Our pack,
being delayed by the bridges, did not arrive until
late. In the meantime the president of the town
and the barrio chiefs came to pay their respects.
This began to look a bit like old times, though it
must have taken considerable faith on their part,
accustomed to pomp and ceremony in government
officials, to recognize as a part of the august
"Comision Civil" the two khaki-clad, soaked and
bewhiskered representatives of that body present.
The head of the Partido Federal asked us to dinner,
which we gladly accepted. After dinner the daughter of the house, who had gotten into her starched
clothes, played the harp while some of her friends
sang for us. The old music master was also requisitioned, and he was certainly a wonder. His shirt was
outside his trousers, and he smoked a big cigar, but
his work was that of an artist.
[258]




L.-, AI M


Arch of Welcome, Tacloban, Leyte


Scene on the Benguet Road








THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


We received word tonight that the northern trip
of the Commission has been postponed until July,
which may give us a chance to get in on it. We
slept on the floor of the nipa, our blankets for a
bed. We were too tired to be critical, however.
June 9, 1901.
We breakfasted from the pack today on coffee,
bacon, and bread, using our tin-plate outfit. While
saddling for the start our sergeant's horse wheeled
and kicked him in the side, laying him out. He was
carried indoors and treated to some stimulant, which
soon brought him around.
Our ride today was along the coast road to
Baoang, eighteen miles, which we reached at one
o'clock.  It was Sunday, and in all the villages
and along the highroad the people were out in force,
adding much to the interest. We crossed several
little rivers, which seemed largely given over to
laundry purposes. From appearances many of the
people had no change of raiment.
As some of our horses had cast their shoes, we
decided to lay over at Baoang until morning. Nearly
every town in the Philippines has what is known as a
"Tribunal," which corresponds to our city hall. Besides its official use, it serves also to lodge passing
strangers, and was placed at our disposal. Most of
the people were at the cockpit, but upon call of the
president they adjourned in a body to hear about
[259]




THE ODYSSEY OF


the blessings of free government. Mr. Worcester
gave them a talk and they went back to their cockpit utterly unconscious of the humor of adjourning
a Sunday cock fight to listen to a dissertation on selfgovernment. Dr. Keller, LeRoy, and I reciprocated by joining the throng at the cockpit, being
given reserved seats in the form of a bench immediately adjoining the ring.
That night we spread our blankets on the floor
of the tribunal, which was made of the " hardwood"
for which the Philippines are famous.
June o0, I90I.
We left civilization today and headed for the
mountains. A short stop was made at Naguilian,
just at the foothills, where our real work began.
The trail is a rough one, and, as we advanced, the
sun grew hotter and hotter and the going harder
and harder. In many places we were obliged to
walk, and men and horses were used up when we
struck camp at one-thirty. Our stop was at a point
called Sablan, the accommodations being two vacant
nipa shacks used indiscriminately by passersby. It
was here Aguinaldo proposed establishing a gun
foundry. He despoiled a number of coast churches
of their bells and had them carried up this fearful
trail by Igorotes. He also had an old boiler and
lathe lugged up; how I do not know. It was his idea
to make of the Benguet mountains a sort of Thermopylae, where a final stand would be made. The


[260]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


plan was not a bad one, as the two or three trails entering the province could be easily defended. The
scheme was beyond him, however, and the bells still
litter the ground at Sablan. We spent the afternoon
and night there, one of the nipas being taken by us
and the other by some Igorotes. These latter are the
" freighters" of the mountains, carrying from seventy-five to one hundred and twenty-five pounds on
their backs with ease. They are well formed and
muscular, the men usually wearing nothing but a geestring. Most of those we saw today had a dog or
two tied to a stick, destined to be eaten later on.
It was three in the afternoon when our pack got
in, and as we had eaten nothing since six A. M., we
had a powerful hunger. There were no doors or
windows to our hut and we had to shift frequently
during the night to escape the rain. We slept on
the floor, which is likely to be our portion henceforward.
BAGUIO, June II, I90I.
Today we finished our climb into Baguio, and the
mental pictures gathered crowded thick one upon
the other. During the first few hours our trail led
through a dense tropical growth, giant creepers and
great tree ferns vieing for supremacy. Frequently
our path wound close beside some deep gorge, dropping hundreds of feet below, and again we crept
along some narrow hog's back with sheer precipices
to either side. Then, as we rounded some jutting
[ 26 ]




THE ODYSSEY OF


peak, there would spring into view the whole expanse of country sweeping down to the China Sea.
Ocean and sky met and blended on the far horizon,
while through the deep green of wooded hills and
valleys meandered the silver thread of the Naguilian
River. As we ascended the undergrowth gradually
thinned, and we saw an occasional fir or pine tree;
thEn they came in groups, and finally the country
took on the aspect of a great park, reminding of our
northern forests at home.
As yet there is really no town of Baguio. There
are a few Igorote huts scattered about, with some
activity at this time because of work on the new
road. There is a small detachment of soldiers, a
weather man, an American teacher, and the provincial officials.
The rain started earlier today than usual, and it
was not the warm rain of the lowlands but a thorough-going downpour that made us shiver-the elevation here being over five thousand feet. Long
before we reached our destination we were wet, cold,
and hungry, a condition said to test the sweetest disposition. While no one was heard to say he really
enjoyed it, there was no complaining. Some of the
escort, however, who thought they were going on a
pleasure trip with the Commissioners, were heard
to remark that had they known what was coming
they would have been on sick report. From all accounts the worst is yet to come.
We were met by Otto Scherer, the Provincial
Secretary, whose house, though somewhat rude, is
[262]




Tropical Vegetation, Benguet








THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


quite commodious for this region. A warm meal
awaited us, headed by an immense dish of rice and
fish called "valenciana." It saved our lives. Later
we were able to get into dry clothes, and my legs,
which were perfectly numb, gradually came to life
again. We are all quite willing to make affidavit
concerning the "cool and bracing air" of Baguio.
It rained all afternoon, and the doctor and I migrated
to the kitchen, where we sat about an open fire
among the Igorotes. The weather man reports a
falling barometer, with prospects of a protracted
storm. Tonight we slept on the floor again, bundled
up like Esquimaux, having on nearly all our clothes.
It is quite a sensation to be thoroughly cold once
more.
BAGUIO, June 12, 90o1.
"Baguio" is Spanish for typhoon, and our experience here would justify the name. Despite the
storm, however, we were out most of the day. A
school was opened here about two weeks ago, and
about twenty little Igorotes have already been gathered from the bushes and started on the royal road.
They are scant of clothes and very dirty, and the hut
where they are housed is primitive in its bareness.
The scene impressed one as being the very beginning
of things-a sowing of seed whose reaping in its
fullness lay with far distant generations.
In the afternoon we visited the new road, seven
miles of which are constructed. It runs the entire
[2631




THE ODYSSEY OF


distance through a great pine forest, skirting deep
ravines and canions and affording some of the most
magnificent prospects I have ever seen. Some day
this place will be as famous for its scenery as for
its climate. Many of the views reminded me of
Switzerland, and I cannot imagine a more beautiful
drive than this will be when finished. With such a
spot practically at the doors of Manila, life in the
islands should prove both healthful and attractive.
There are about three hundred Igorotes on the
work, and as they burrowed half-naked in the hillsides they resembled so many great beetles.
On preparing to retire tonight Commissioner
Worcester and Dr. Keller each missed a blanket.
Inquiry developed that some of the escort had used
them for saddle blankets, giving rise to language
which perceptibly raised the temperature.  Mr.
Worcester was able to replace his, but the doctor
shivered and muttered the night through.
BAGUIO, June 13, I90I.
We are getting the tail of a typhoon raging in the
China Sea, and were confined in the house most of
the day. We start tomorrow, however, rain or
shine. From point of weather our stay has been
inhospitable, but nothing has been lacking in the hospitality of Mr. Scherer and family. His daughter,
a girl of seventeen, presides in his home, and while
she has never attended a "finishing school," she has
all the grace of manner natural to women of these
islands.
[264]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


June 14, I90I.
We added Mr. Scherer and some Igorote carriers
to our outfit today, but lost Dr. Barrows, whose work
called him back to Manila. The day promised fair,
but failed to make good. We had barely started
when it began raining, making a bad trail worse.
It was fierce. At noontime there was no sign of our
pack, and no one had brought any "chow." Our
only recourse was the rice of our carriers, which
they gladly bartered for a couple of " dhobie" dollars. The drop to primitive man is altogether swift
when hunger comes, and we shocked every canon of
organized society as we sat down in the rain and
scooped that rice in with our fingers. Then followed
six hours of the hardest kind of work. The rain
came down in sheets, while that trail climbed up and
up as though to reach the top of the world. As we
ascended the rain slackened, the clouds stretching in
great streamers across the distant ranges. Far below in the gorges we could see the mist swirl up as
from some great cauldron until it enveloped us; then
it would scatter and lie low in the deep ravines, or
chase in white puffs across the dark flanks of the
hills. Occasionally the crest only of some high peak
would arise above the turmoil, creating the effect of
immeasurable distance. After reaching the top we
started down, and went down farther and faster
than we came up. If it was hard work getting to
the top, it was a muscle-wrenching, nerve-wracking
job getting to the bottom. The descent was so sharp
and the trail so slippery we could ride little of it;
[265]




THE ODYSSEY OF


we skated and slid along, our horses tumbling at our
heels, threatening each moment to fall upon us.
Late in the afternoon the sky cleared, and as we
made our final plunge into the valley of the Agno at
Ambuclao all the different ranges stood clear cut
against the sky. When Baguio becomes a second
Simla, merry outing parties will make this trip and
exhaust all their adjectives describing the ride. We
exhausted ours, but they were of the hyphenated
kind and applied mostly to the trail.
Ambuclao consists of some dozen Igorote huts,
and as we trailed in just at dusk we were a sorry
looking crowd. Mr. Scherer drew on the populace
for some chickens and rice, and, much to our surprise, the pack train followed closely.
It was a night to remember. We simply moved
in with the Igorotes. Two small houses were vacated for the soldiers, who were joined by LeRoy
and the Doctor. In the house occupied by the two
Commissioners, Mr. Scherer, and myself, the family
remained. It was a simple room, some thirteen by
sixteen feet. To the family chattels we added our
baggage and saddles. In one corner was a firebox,
the smoke going out where it could. There were
two openings, used as doors, and we spread our
blankets as near these as possible. The family, consisting of a man, his wife, and several children, slept
near the fire. We outraged their ideas of health by
keeping the doors open, it being their custom, as it
is of most Filipinos, to tightly close their houses at
night.  These people have few clothes and no
[266]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


blankets, so they kept the fire going all night, stirring it into flame at intervals. We also ate dinner
in this hut, our table being a poncho spread on the
floor, lit by a couple of sputtering candles. We
grouped about this in such attitudes as the vicissitudes
of our ride made comfortable, some of the party
being in pajamas. All the Igorotes of the townmen, women, and children-gathered about the
house to see the unwonted sight. They were halfclothed and altogether unkempt, the children wearing nothing but a string of beads. Considering
our early breakfast, our long ride, and scanty lunch,
the appetite with which we ate that dinner was to be
envied.
June 15, 1901.
This morning we took a plunge in the river, and
it was cold. This possibly explains why the Igorotes
look as if they never bathed; they hate the shock of
cold water. We did not get away until eleven, our
trail leading up the Agno for some distance and then
over a high range to Daklan, which we reached at
three-thirty. It is quite a large settlement, but as
their tribunal was burned some two weeks ago we
had to lodge once more in an Igorote hut. The
Commissioners called a meeting of the headmen and
explained our plans and purposes toward them, Mr.
Scherer acting as interpreter. He is earnest in this
thing, and as he stalked in front of the people,
throwing out his arms and shooting his words at
[267]




THE ODYSSEY OF


them in quick, short sentences, it was a sight worth
seeing.
We had thought our accommodations last night
the limit, but they were palatial compared with those
of tonight. Here we occupied an Igorote house
of one room, possibly fourteen by eighteen feet, into
which was crowded our party of five, our Igorote
carriers, the family, some chickens, and a couple
of dogs. Mr. Moses spread his blankets on a small
raised platform to one side, while Mr. Worcester
occupied a tiny projection under the eaves.  Mr.
Scherer, used as he is to such experiences, fled the
scene, saying he would find some other house or sleep
in the coffee bushes. We would have followed suit,
but it was raining and we did not know the place or
people. While we were retiring, and for some time
thereafter, our host, his wife, her friends, and his
friends, were having a private dinner party at our
feet.  It was a situation to conjure with.  Mr.
Moses, from his platform, hummed an old couplet,
which ranHow little did my mother think,
That time she cradled me;
What lands I was to travel in,
What sights I was to see.
I kicked one of the dogs, while the Doctor complained that the people were sitting on his feet.
After many false starts the visitors finally left, and
we were alone with the home product. Comparative
quiet reigned until the rooster woke up, and I have
[268]




Group of Igorotes, Benguet








THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


never heard a bird which could crow louder or longer
than he could. It was an experience with which one
remains satisfied with once enduring.
June 16, I901.
Today we made Kabayan, some twenty miles. It
has been a series of ascents and descents, hard on
men and horses. We crossed two ranges, walking a
good part of the way. This morning my saddle
slipped, the girth getting under the horse's withers,
causing a pyrotechnic display of heels, unpleasant on
a narrow trail. The scenery continues something
superb. At one point today we followed the crest
of a divide overlooking two valleys shut in by high
mountains. Below us were winding streams and
rice fields turning golden for the harvest. With a
clear sky above we could see the dark clouds and
hear the thunder roll amid the peaks to left and
right; then the storm swooped down upon us, and
we took our daily baptism of rain. Shortly before
reaching Kabayan we saw what might have been a
bit of old Japan.  Before us stretched a narrow
valley, terraced far up the sides with rice fields shading in color from the tenderest green to the yellow
of the ripened grain. Higher up was a belt of deep
green coffee trees, among which were the greenroofed huts of an Igorote village. From the head
of the valley flowed a small mountain stream, which
was ingeniously directed into a far-reaching scheme
of irrigating canals. Untutored though they are,
[269]




THE ODYSSEY OF


these mountain people have developed an irrigation
system which would be considered splendid engineering in any country. Not only does it represent a high order of skill but it bespeaks habits of
industry which their Christian brethren of the lowlands might well emulate.
Kabayan, our destination for the day, is one of
the largest and richest villages in Benguet. It is on
the Agno, which is here almost a caion. The situation is a beautiful one and compares favorably with
many a Swiss valley where tourists pour their millions annually. In the late afternoon the headmen
of the district gathered about the Commissioners and
received some lessons in government. The people
of these islands have a peculiar squat; they simply
double up at the knees like a chicken, and as our
audience ranged itself in this posture along the top
of a stone wall they looked like so many big birds.
We lodged in the tribunal, which, after our experience of last night, proved a veritable WaldorfAstoria. We have decided to stop here a day and
rest men and horses.
June I7, I901.
This has been a perfect day. To do nothing after
hard work, and to do it on good, wholesome food,
and in a place as beautiful and interesting as
Kabayan, represents almost the ideal. We went
bathing in the river, Mr. Worcester took some
photographs, the Doctor made some sick calls, and
[270]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


we jointly enthused over the picturesqueness of our
environment. We go to bed early these days, generally before eight o'clock. Our bed.was the floor
of the tribunal.
June i8, 1901.
We were off today at six o'clock and it was the
worst yet. For the most part our trails are simply
rude cuts along the mountain side, often only a few
feet wide and frequently overlooking gorges that
reach down indefinitely. Our horses, for some reason, seem to prefer the outer edge of the path, and
it has been a gamble which would go over first.
My horse won out. In rounding a sharp turn this
morning, with water running in the path, he made
a jump to walk on the grass alongside. The " grass "
proved to be simply rank growth on the edge of the
trail, and over he went. Fortunately I was leading
him at the time. I swung his head by the reins and
he tried valiantly to recover, but there was nothing
doing. He hung a moment and then went over
backwards, disappearing with a crash amid the grass
and bamboo which shut out the depths below. I
couldn't tell whether he had fallen fifteen feet or
fifty, and I had visions of walking the rest of the
trip. Some of the escort clambered down the declivity, while I made a detour and worked in through
the tangle from below, assisted by some Igorotes
with bolos. We found the horse bundled up on some
rocks about twenty-five feet below the trail. The
[271]




THE ODYSSEY OF


jungle growth had broken his fall, and, with the
exception of some scratches, he is apparently uninjured.
Late in the afternoon we reached Loa, the most
northern village of Benguet. There may be steeper
trails and rougher country than we have traveled
for the past five days, but none of our party have
seen them. It is possible also that there is level
ground in the province, but from Naguilian to Loa
we have n't seen a level patch of over forty acres
outside the Trinidad Valley. The country is simply
perpendicular and without sequence, the ranges criscrossing in every direction. The trails are little more
than Igorote footpaths, and when an Igorote wants
to get to the top of a hill or mountain he goes straight
for it; the thought of finding a grade never occurs
to him. It began raining at two - a cold, heavy
downpour. When you dismount, your saddle gets
wet, and in remounting you wrap your wet poncho
about your legs, sit on it, and do a lot of other
uncomfortable things. We finally struck the Loa
Valley, and it was better going. Here, however,
we had to ford the Agno River eight times, and as
we sloshed through the water, wet to the skin, we
appreciated Stevenson's description where he speaks
of being so thoroughly miserable he began to enjoy it.
We had been expecting for the past two days to
meet General Bell and party. In company with
Mrs. Taft, her sister, Miss Herron, and Miss Bubb
he left Vigan on the seventh headed this way. They
have been traveling through Lepanto and Bontoc,
[ 272 ]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


and go south over our trail to Baguio. We ran into
them this afternoon at Loa.
Loa is an insignificant place, with the usual limited
accommodations. The best we could do for our
combined parties was one nipa house, the ladies
screening off one corner with blankets. There were
eleven of us in the room. The floor was of bamboo,
being more comfortable to lie on than boards. We
are now becoming connoisseurs as to floors. We all
took dinner together and passed a delightful evening. The encounter in such a place was decidedly
novel, and we were quite willing to celebrate it by
postponing our usual retiring hour.
June 19, 1901.
Today we made Cervantes, the capital of Lepanto,
being in the saddle for seven hours. We broke the
ride for an interval at the ranch of Don Jose Mills,
a Spaniard who has lived in these mountains over
twenty years. He has made considerable money
out of coffee and mining, and welcomed us with true
Spanish hospitality. We were served with some good
cold beer and a fine lunch, whereupon, on suggestion
of the Doctor, we pronounced our host to be " a gentleman and a scholar."
As we neared Cervantes the mountains took on
more of a horizontal aspect, and we had comparatively easy going. The pine forests which have
lined the trail since leaving Baguio also began to
disappear, being replaced by the more vivid foliage
[273]




THE ODYSSEY OF


of the tropics. Early in the afternoon we struck the
valley of the Abra, which we followed downward to
Cervantes. There is a small detachment of soldiers
here, with a lieutenant in charge. He has his wife
with him, while Major Rice, in command of the district, was also at the post. We ate dinner with them
at a regular table and slept upon cots. We felt quite
luxurious. A public meeting is scheduled for tomorrow, and then we are off for Bontoc.
June 20, I901.
About two hundred Igorotes and some fifty
"Cristianos" (converted Filipinos) attended the
session today. The meeting was held in the public
street under some large trees, reminding somewhat
of our interviews with Moro Dattos in Mindanao.
Those of the Igorotes who pretended to definite
clothing were dressed in curious fragments; one
would have a khaki coat, another a blue shirt, another the rim of an old derby hat, etc. The speech
went from English into Spanish, then into Ilocano,
and some of it into Igorote. It would be interesting
to know just what idea the ultimate individual
formed of what was said.
June 21, I90I.
We went to bed last night expecting to start for
Bontoc early today, having been told great tales of
the preparations made to receive us. Late in the
[274]




E::::
A::::
IE::.: s 1 r:"       ^::
i -a:


Public Session with Igorotes at Cervatnes








THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


night, however, a message came through from Manila advising important news from Washington, and
suggesting the return of the Commissioners.  Instead of heading further inland, therefore, we struck
out on a record ride for Manila. We made Angaqui,
fifteen miles to the westward, before eleven o'clock.
Here some of the horses went lame, and we could
see a thunderstorm rolling through the Tilat Pass,
where we are to cross the mountains. This decided
us to remain in Angaqui over night. By making an
early start we hope to reach the coast in one day.
June 22, 1901.
We rode today from Angaqui to the sea, twentyeight miles. Our horses were in bad shape, making
the ride a hard one. Our early start brought us to
the top of the Tilat Pass shortly after seven, and we
had at different stages that most beautiful of all
sights, sunlight effects upon fog. The valley below
us was a rolling cloud bank, and as the sun rose over
the eastern range we looked down upon a sea of
tumbling silver. From the summit of the pass we
saw the sea once more, the country being spread before us like a relief map. Through the clear air the
coast seemed but a step away, but it was four in the
afternoon when, hot, tired, and sore, we urged our
jaded horses into the plaza at Santa Cruz. The latter part of the ride was particularly trying. We
forded the Santa Cruz River, which is filled with
loose stones, no less than fourteen times. In some
[275]




THE ODYSSEY OF


places the current was quite swift and deep, and our
horses found it difficult to keep their footing. The
final stretch of twelve miles over the flat coast plain
was made in the sultry heat of the afternoon. We
looked like tramps, but were hospitably received by
Captain Wallace, in charge. After a shave, a bath,
and some clean clothes, we took on again the appearance of civilized beings. Our horses and pack train
remain here for a few days to recuperate. We are
off tomorrow for San Fernando de la Union, fortyfive miles, by relays of wagons; thence to Dagupan
by launch tomorrow night, and Manila next day by
train. I slept on a pillow tonight, the first since
leaving Manila.
June 23, 1901.
Our entire ride today was along the coast, being
within sight of the sea always, and often right along
the shore. We made it in three relays, reaching San
Fernando at six in the evening. The first two relays
were made in open escort wagons drawn by four
mules. The heat, and dust, and the hammering of
the wagons over the road left little margin for personal comfort. It was an interesting ride nevertheless. It was Sunday, a day dedicated by these people
to marketing, cock-fighting, and church-going. Various of the presidents had received word of our coming, and were out to meet us, accompanied by the
village band. Our stops, however, were short. We
crossed a number of rivers, using what they call
[276]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


"balsas," being a raft made of bamboo. A long
rope is attached to the raft and then carried across
the stream and made fast. The raft is then pushed
into the current and drifts down the stream until
brought up short by the rope, when it is gradually
pulled out of the current. It is a' primitive and exciting method of transfer. We boarded the launch
immediately on reaching San Fernando and got under way without delay. We had a pick-up dinner and
slept on deck, the cool sea air being most refreshing.
June 24, I90o.
While we were but a few hours making the run to
Dagupan, we could not cross the bar until after five
this morning, so missed the early train for Manila,
which left at five o'clock. Why it should leave so
early is another of the mysteries. We bid good-by
here to Dr. Keller. He had proven a pleasant and
congenial companion, and we parted with regret,
each to take up again his separate way of life.
It was eight that evening when we reached Manila
after a somewhat tedious ride. We had come from
Cervantes in less than four days, something of a
record. While it is a bit disappointing that our trip
was curtailed, yet to be in Manila at this time, and to
witness and take part in the transfer from military to
civil rule, is compensation. I will reserve politics,
however, for another letter.


[ 77




XIV


THE PASSING OF THE " EMPIRE"
MANILA, July 2, 1901.
JUST across the plaza square from where I write
workmen are erecting the stand where, on July
4, Judge Taft will take oath as Civil Governor of the
Philippine Islands. It is a somewhat momentous
change from that time a year ago, when soldiers
patrolled all of Manila's streets, and it was unsafe to
venture outside the city limits; when civilians were
few and barely tolerated, and when all classes regarded each other with distrust and suspicion. Today peace reigns throughout most of the archipelago
and the people are returning to their homes and
fields. They are coming to have faith in our promises and in our ability to protect them.
By the present change in government Judge Taft
becomes the chief executive, while the Commission
remains the legislative body. The members of the
Commission are also to be heads of departments,
with executive functions. Another innovation is the
appointment of three Filipinos on the Commission, a
step in line with our expressed policy and conforme
to popular clamor. Those selected for the place are
Dr. T. H. Pardo de Tavera, Don Benito Legarda,
[278]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


and Don Jose Luzuriaga, all men of broad intelligence and superior to most of their countrymen in
appreciation of the crisis through which their country is passing. Their nomination is to be announced
during the inaugural ceremonies on July 4, though
they do not enter upon their duties until September I.
General MacArthur departs the scene on July 5.
He will be succeeded by General Adna R. Chaffee,
whom it is hoped will be imbued with a clearer conception of the fact that the purpose of our army in
the Philippines is to restore civil rule than was his
predecessor.
On July I all the army officers holding volunteer
commissions were mustered out. Many of them
have been performing quasi-civil duties under detail
of the Military Governor, and will be continued in
such positions, the only difference being that they
will now discard their uniforms and report to the
new executive. The rapid extension of civil government has entailed quite a call for efficient men for
the different posts, and while there has been no lack
of candidates it has not always been easy to find the
right material. Given our distance from the base of
supply, it is felt the Commission has been quite
fortunate in its selections. A number of Filipinos
have been appointed judges and to other positions,
silencing for a time the recent clamor over judicial
appointments.
As can be imagined, there has been no let-up in the
work. The fact is, our machine is undermanned,
though there seems no present way to avoid it.
[279]




THE ODYSSEY OF


MANILA, July 14, I90I.
The "Days of the Empire," as our military
regime has been dubbed, are no more. On July 4
Judge Taft was inaugurated Civil Governor of the
Philippine Islands, marking another step in the somewhat kaleidoscopic march of events framed here
since May, I898. The inaugural ceremonies were
simple and impressive. They were held in the open,
fronting the old plaza square in the Walled City,
where so much of history has been written. The
morning was a perfect one, and the crowd which
packed every available space was a mixture of every
race, creed, and caste.
Judge Taft filled full the place allotted him, and
when, with uplifted hand, he respondedto the oath
administered by Chief Justice Arellano, I doubt if
there was one in all that vast throng but felt that
the strongest of them all had been called to leadership. Once again, as oft before, I wished it might
have been possible for that coterie of long-range
knockers, known as the "Anti-Imperialist League,"
to be present. Perhaps in watching that scene and
breathing that atmosphere they would have appreciated something of the work done and doing to bring
to these people those blessings which are our heritage and boast.
What the task involves, and the genuinely altruistic
spirit and high purpose with which it is undertaken,
may be sensed from the closing paragraphs of Judge
Taft's address, wherein he referred to his appointment and to our collective obligation as follows:
[280]




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The burden of the responsibility which, by taking
the oath this day administered to me, I assume, I
shall not dwell upon, except to say that no one realizes it more keenly than I do. While I am profoundly grateful to the President of the United
States for the personal trust thus expressed in appointing me to this high office, it is with no exultant
spirit of confidence that I take up the new duties
and new task assigned me. I must rely, as I do,
upon the cooperation, energy, ability, and fidelity
to their trust of those with whom I am to share the
responsibility now presented, and upon the sympathetic and patriotic patience of those educated Filipino people who have already rendered me such tremendous aid, and upon the consciousness that earnest
effort and honest purpose, with a saving of common
sense, have in the past solved problems as new, as
threatening, and as difficult as the one before me.
The high and sacred obligation to give protection
to property and life, civil and religious freedom,
and wise and unselfish guidance in the paths of peace
and prosperity to all the people of the Philippine
Islands, is charged upon us, his representatives, by
the President of the United States. May we not be
recreant to this charge, which he truly says concerns
the honor and the conscience of our country. He
expresses the firm hope that through our "labors all
the inhabitants of the Philippine Islands may come
to look back with gratitude to the day when God
gave victory to American arms at Manila and set
their land under the sovereignty and protection of
the people of the United States." God grant that
in spite of all the trials and perplexities, the disappointments and difficulties with which we are sure
to be confronted, we may live to see this fervent
hope made a living fact in the hearts of a patriotic
[281]




THE ODYSSEY OF


people, linked within the indissoluble ties of affection to our common country.
Judge Taft now occupies the dual role of Civil
Governor and President of the Commission. The
taking over of the executive work of the government has required building up a new organization,
with a corresponding increase of labor. From all
sides letters, petitions, and recommendations have
poured, are pouring, and will doubtless continue to
pour, while there has been no surcease in legislative
matters crowding for action. In the shifting of
personnel Judge Taft asked that Mr. Fergusson,
Secretary of the Commission, be assigned to him as
Executive Secretary, which was done. This left the
position of Secretary to the Commission vacant, and
I was asked to take it. The work is arduous but of
absorbing interest.
MANILA, August 4, 19o0.
The Commission is now in almost constant public
session, and we are surfeited with oratory. The
tongue of Castile is so smooth flowing that, like the
brook, it threatens to go on forever. Despite all,
however, July has to its credit quite a number of
important measures-among them an Act creating
a Board of Health for the islands and establishing a
Bureau of Government Laboratories; an Act providing for an Insular Constabulary; the regular appropriation bill; an Act incorporating the City of
[282]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


Manila; an Act reorganizing the Forestry Bureau,
and an Act relating to the Postal Service. The total
number of Acts for the month is twenty-eight, besides which the proposed Code of Civil Procedure
has been dragging its weary way through the sessions, having been under consideration since last
May. It has over eight hundred sections, which
have been gone over in detail. This is now finished
and it comes up for final passage Wednesday.
The Insular Constabulary Act provides for the
enlistment of a body of natives into a semi-military
organization, who will constitute a general police
force for the archipelago. They will be officeredcby
Americans, who are intended to operate throughout
the provinces in addition to the local police. They
will supplement the army, which it is expected to
reduce materially within the year.
The Manila Charter, just adopted, naturally
created considerable interest, and the public sessions
were crowded. The city will be governed something
after the plan of Washington, the Municipal Board
being composed of three members with general
supervision of affairs, the Commission acting as a
court of last resort. One feature of the law which
caused considerable consternation among Filipinos
and Spaniards was the levying of a two per cent tax
on real estate. Land has never been taxed in the
islands heretofore, and though values have doubled
and rents trebled in Manila since American occupation, the tax was fought from start to finish. It was
a case of let the other fellow pay-usually the one
[283]




THE ODYSSEY OF


who could bear it least. The provision went in with
but slight modification. Truth to tell, the suggestions
daily offered the Commission in the way of government building would make a weird structure if utilized, and furnish a fair test of what might be expected should we withdraw and let the people go it
alone.
At the meeting yesterday, which was held in the
old Spanish Sessions Hall, Don Pedro A. Paterno -
whom I have mentioned before —was the star performer. The bill upon which he rose to speak was
one providing for municipal officials in Manila and
fixing their salaries. After some preliminary flourishes, wherein he lauded the Commission and its
work, and ran in a reference or two to Washington
and the Constitution of the United States, he stated
that he felt divinely predestined to appear before the
Commission on this occasion; that the session hall
where we sat seemed built to witness his personal
triumph and the triumph of his ideas; that the last
time he had appeared there he had championed Filipino autonomy under the Spanish regime, while he
was now a champion of the masses, who were getting
disheartened, he alone remaining full of faith, full
of hope, and full of optimism. With this flying start
we were prepared to hear a stirring appeal concerning the "rights of man," wherein all the changes
would be rung on liberty, equality, individual freedom, etc. Instead, the only thing the speaker wanted
was that members of the Municipal Board should
receive $I,ooo a month instead of $4,500 a year, as
[284]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


provided, based on the theory that they would be so
beset by churchmen and landowners generally that
they should have big pay. He also thought the members of the Advisory Board created by the Act, who
receive no salary other than $5 for each meeting
attended, should be compensated. His suggestion
was that each of such members be paid $Ioo for
every "memorial" presented to the Municipal
Board. As these people do little but write petitions
and memorials, his suggestion brought forth a shout
of derision from the audience. He also thought
decorations and orders of nobility would be a good
thing. Thus is our work relieved of its tedium.
Paterno, however, was Vice-President of the Malolos
Congress, is an educated man, and considered one of
the leaders of these people.
MANILA, August II, 1901.
If such a thing be possible, this is the busiest time
the Commission has experienced in a busy year. Getting the machinery of civil government moving has
been a big job. The wheels began turning inManila
last Wednesday, the various city officials being sworn
in and entering at once upon their duties. I have
learned a great deal about municipal government in
the past month or two. It was not until all these
questions came before the Commission that I appreciated how complicated is the mechanism of our modern municipalities and how little most people know
about it.
[285]




THE ODYSSEY OF


Filipinos have been given quite a large representation in the city government, although it is realized
they have neither the training nor experience to fit
them for the best work. The situation seems to
demand it, however, efficiency being sacrificed in certain instances in order to effect our plan of training
the people in the ways of self-government.  The
problem grows as we face the practical application of
our theories and pledges. The Commission has been
subjected to much criticism by the American and
foreign community of Manila because of its policy of
favoring the natives in legislation and in appointments to office. We are told that the United States
acquired the islands from Spain both by conquest and
purchase; that the Filipinos never had a distinct nationality, and that we are under no obligations to
them; that because persons happen to be native to a
particular territory does not, ipso facto, give them a
right to it above all others; that we came to the
islands bringing in our train those things which make
in the end for morality, for progress, and for the
highest development of the individual; that we found
here a people incapable, in many respects, of appreciating the order of things we represent, or of developing the islands and causing them to yield to the world
those products of which the world stands in need;
that we should not delay this result and this process
simply because of some fancied duty growing out of
the fact that the present inhabitants were born on
Philippine soil; that while the people of earth are
divided into various nationalities, in fact they consti[286]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


tute one great body —the human race —and that
the energy of men should be directed to advancing
the world, the general good, rather than to coddling
and temporizing with a fraction which proves itself
unwilling to keep pace with the march of events.
The question is, How far are we justified in forcing our ideas and ideals upon these people, and how
far should we sacrifice and delay what we believe is
best in order to meet the viewpoint, traditions, desires, and prejudices of the local output? Our government has deliberately chosen the harder task; it
has elected to become a guide rather than a master,
to teach and train the people rather than attempt arbitrarily to force them to our ways. Variously, however, do we find our utilitarian efforts appreciated
and appraised. So far as can be judged, the mass of
the Filipinos are satisfied at this time with what we
are doing for them, though there is a growing
tendency to clamor for more privileges and
perquisites than the most liberal policy justifies. Our
course is roundly criticised by the American press of
the islands, and by most of the resident foreigners,
as being altogether visionary and dangerous, while
we are castigated at home by various highly-sensitive
individuals of Boston and thereabouts for " oppressing a patriotic people."
Referring to the American papers of Manila, they
have been anything but a help to us thus far. From
the very beginning they have antagonized and obstructed the work of the civil authorities. The confidence expressed by the Commission in the people
[287]




THE ODYSSEY OF


has been ridiculed, and its appointment of natives
to office denounced and condemned.  They have
attacked everything Filipino, calling the natives
treacherous, untrustworthy, etc., their whole attitude
tending to destroy or render impossible that sympathy between the authorities and the people so essential to the success of our work. The Filipino is
morbidly sensitive to criticism, and he has not learned
to distinguish sufficiently between Americans to
know that the attacks of a few disgruntled American
papers do not express American sentiment. To a
considerable extent this also reflects the attitude of
American commercial interests, whose grievance
appears to arise from the fact that the Commission
has been more concerned in legislating for what it
believes to be the good of the Filipinos than for the
particular interests of outsiders.
As to the papers, their circulation is largely an
army one, their revenue being derived in great part
from that source and from the advertisements of
companies whose trade depends upon supplying canteens and army commissaries. The larger the army
of occupation, and the longer it remains, the greater
their profits; hence their advocacy of military government.
The same coloring has also been clearly apparent
in the Associated and other press dispatches sent to
the States. The picture painted has usually been
from the army standpoint, due possibly to the fact
that most of the correspondents mess with army officers and get their point of view. In but very few
[288]




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instances has the real work accomplished by the civil
authorities received just mention or credit.
Day after tomorrow   we start on our trip to
organize the North Luzon provinces, and will be
gone at least two weeks. Our boat this time will be
a small one, and as it is the typhoon season some
interesting experiences are expected. No ladies are
to be taken, much to their regret.


[289]




XV


THE NORTHERN TRIP
MANILA, August 30, I901.
THE last " Provincial Tour" has ended, and that
you may have the story complete I send you
my diary of its experiences.
August 13, I901.
Today our northern trip entered upon its first
stages. Once more we packed our grips, gathered
together copies of the provincial and municipal laws,
and sailed away to spread the gospel of free government among a stranger people. This is the trip
planned for June, but not until now has the situation
in Manila been such that the Commission could
leave. As it is, Commissioners Wright and Moses
remain behind-Commissioner Wright to work
upon a proposed Criminal Code and Code of Criminal Procedure, and Commissioner Moses to assist in
caring for the six hundred teachers expected next
week on the Thomas.
We are to visit the provinces of Zambales, La
Union, Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Norte, Abra, Cagayan,
and Isabela. It is the typhoon season and our ves[290]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


sel this time is not the Sumner, but the Aldecoa, a
small coasting vessel of the " Compafiia Maritima."
Our schedule is a hard one, involving simply one
night stands. No one has the temerity to speak of it
as a pleasure trip.
We were to have left at four o'clock, but it was
four-thirty before we got away from the Ayuntamiento, work piling up until the last minute. Four
laws were passed today. We reached the ship
shortly after five, and at five-thirty were steaming
toward Corregidor.
The upper deck of the Aldecoa is roofed over, and
dinner was served in the open. It was well, for the
lower regions of these boats have a musty taste and
smell about them anything but appetizing. As we
sat at the table it was good to see so many of the
old guard present-these who had been on hand
from the first speech at Bacolor through all the
vicissitudes of subsequent trips and encounters. Of
the Commission, we have Governor Taft and Commissioners Worcester and Ide, and of the staff, Fergusson, interpreter extraordinary, and LeRoy, Carpenter, and myself, Secretaries. McDonnel of the
Sun, Juan de Juan of El Progreso, Pellicena of the
Noticiero, and Gonzalez of El Comercia are also
with us, seasoned veterans all of them of innumerable banquets and bailes. Among the new faces we
have Dr. Kruger, German Consul; Don Benito Legarda, one of the newly-appointed Commissioners;
Tomas G. del Rosario, Director of the Partido Federal; Dr. Ejercito and Felix Dancel, who have done
[29I




THE ODYSSEY OF


much to bring in insurrecto leaders; Padre Aglipay,
Aguinaldo's Chaplain General, one of the hardest
men with whom our troops had to deal; Father McKinnon, late Chaplain of the First California; Dr.
Stafford, physician for civil employes; McCormick,
of the Chicago Tribune; Adamson, of Leslie's
Weekly, and Dave Morris, acting for the Associated
Press.  From the office we have Schlodfeldt and
Calvin.
The Aldecoa is chartered everything furnished,
and our dinner far eclipsed anything served on the
Sumner. The wines were of the finest, and the
cigars of a brand calculated to woo forgetfulness of
all earthly tribulations. It was a scene of peace and
perfect content, but its moments were fleeting. Lying
in wait for us just beyond Corregidor was the treacherous China Sea, ever turbulent and restless. No
sooner had our little vessel poked her nose outside
the bay than she was caught and tossed about in
most reckless fashion. Smiles faded, mirth and
jollity died away, and faces became lined and solemn
as with deep inward reflection. Anon there were
hurried trips to the rail and a scattering for cabins,
and the night witnessed many generous though woeful partings from that much-applauded dinner.
CHINA SEA, August 14, 1901.
We were billed for Iba, Zambales Province, this
morning, but the heavy sea breaking on the open
roadway made landing impossible. There was noth[292]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


ing for it but to steam on, hoping for better luck on
the return.  After rounding Cape Bolinao, off
Lingayen Gulf, the sea smoothed down a bit and our
sick began to perk up. The ship scored heavily
though on the "everything furnished" proposition.
We reached San Fernando de la Union at fourthirty, but being ahead of schedule remained aboard
for the night that the people might finish their preparations for our reception.
SAN FERNANDO, August 15, I90I.
Today has been a page out of the "Southern
Trip." After a hurried breakfast we were borne
ashore in a gayly decorated barge and landed on a
crowded beach to the mingled music of many bands;
we passed up streets lined with people and spanned
by many arches; we met the delegates in session and
explained the provisions of the provincial and municipal acts; we ate a lunch which was a dinner and
gazed with awe upon their wonderfully carved toothpicks, and admired again their abundant and generous hospitality; in the afternoon we had more
meeting and made the appointments to office; we
were then escorted in procession, accompanied by the
bands (the omnipresent bands), to where our triumphal barge awaited to carry us aboard. A banquet and baile in the evening drew the resolute and
energetic ashore once more, though our ranks were
sadly shattered. Such was the day.
Our meeting of the morning had its own peculiar
[ 293]




THE ODYSSEY OF


side lights. The people here look upon the Commission, and particularly its President, with something
of the reverence and blind faith with which the
devout of Bible times regarded the Apostles who
brought healing and pardon. They came today
with their petitions, as those of old came with their
maladies, expecting a like sudden relief. There are
few of them but have a husband, or brother, or some
relative in jail because of the insurrection. This
morning during a recess of the Commission there
was a regular influx of women, many of them carrying or leading children, seeking the liberation of
their respective parientes. As Secretary, the flow of
petitions was diverted my way. As this is an Ilocano
province, and few of the distressed spoke Spanish,
my explanation that the Commission could not consider their petitions instanter fell upon deaf ears.
They expected me to disburse pardons as one might
hand out meal tickets. Some of them were crying
and others knelt upon the floor. It was an affecting
and trying situation. They were finally rounded up,
and Governor Taft explained that neither as President of the Commission nor as Civil Governor could
he grant pardon to those convicted of military offenses; that their petitions should be directed to the
Commanding General, who would give them proper
attention; that as to the petitions handed the Commission, they would be transmitted to the military
authorities with recommendation of favorable action,
given the pacific state of the province and the evident
desire of the people for peace and order.
[294]




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VIGAN, August i6, 1901.
Today we were advertised for Vigan, Ilocos Sur,
a place of considerable importance, but without a
port. In choosing sites for their towns the Spaniards
seem to have made no effort to locate them with
reference to harbors. Eighteen miles beyond Vigan
is a little place called Salomague, with a decent port.
During half the year steamers load and unload at
this point, the goods being hauled thence overland to
Vigan. Owing to the season we had expected to do
likewise, but last evening General Bell wired from
Vigan telling us to anchor off the mouth of the
Abra River and he would try to get us ashore on his
launch. This we did, and were routed out before
seven this morning with advice that we had fifteen
minutes to dress, eat breakfast, and get baggage
together for four days. The launch was some three
hundred yards from the ship, and the transfer, which
was made in rowboats, was exciting. We crossed the
bar safely, though the channel is a tortuous one and
a heavy sea was running. La'ter we shifted to some
native praos, and after various meanderings landed
at the little village of Cunayan. Here we were met
by General Bell with transportation, a salute of
seventeen guns being fired in honor of the Governor.
It was a half hour's ride to Vigan over muddy roads,
with rain at intervals.
Vigan is an old town, said to have been founded
in I572. Both it and the Ilocos provinces suffered
sorely from the war. We were driven directly to the
place of meeting, where we found awaiting us repre[295]




THE ODYSSEY OF


sentatives from the twenty-four towns of the province. Considering the condition of the roads, this
was remarkable. The meeting differed little from
others. There was some question as to choice for
Provincial Secretary, so the matter was left to a vote
of the Presidents; Sefior Ferrer, Municipal Secretary of Vigan, being chosen.
Vigan is the military headquarters for the Second
District, Northern Luzon, in command of General
Bell. Every possible arrangement had been made
by him for our entertainment, and there was not a
single hitch in the program. A cavalry captain at
the beginning of the Spanish war, General Bell has
won his present rank of Brigadier General, United
States Army, through sheer force of ability and character. To intrepid courage and untiring energy he
has been fortunate in possessing that other quality
or virtue lacking in so many of our officers here;
i. e., a genuine interest in these people and in the
problems facing our country in connection with them.
He has learned their language and their customs; he
has mixed with them and studied their wants, and
needs, and limitations.  Their relentless pursuer
when in the field, he has been their friend and helper
when they laid down their arms. He has put in
three years of strenuous life in these islands, and has
fairly earned his remarkable promotion. He is a
man of fine appearance and pleasant address, and it
is a pleasure to have known him.
We were given a reception in the evening by one
of the rich Filipinos of Vigan. It was of the usual
[296]




Balsa Used on Trip to Bangued, Abra








THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


order, except that the dresses of the little senoritas
appeared even more iridescent than usual.
August 17, 190I.
I had thought our trips by sea and land had left us
little to experience in the way of transportation. We
have now added another, however, perhaps the most
interesting of all. Today we made the up-river trip
from Vigan to Bangued, capital of Abra Province,
on bamboo rafts, the journey occupying from eight
A. M. until six of the afternoon. These rafts, or
balsas, are made of bamboo poles lashed together,
with a small raised platform in the middle, covered
by a sort of prairie schooner canopy. They are
from twenty-five to thirty feet long, with the highest
part of the body only a few inches above the water.
Each raft carries from four to six people besides
the natives who manipulate it. Altogether we had a
flotilla of twelve rafts. This is the only means of
communication with Abra Province, and is the same
today as it was a hundred and fifty years ago. All
our soldiers with their supplies have gone in this
way. Though but twenty-four miles distant it is an
all day ride, the current making it a constant fight.
The motive power is the native; sometimes they pull
and sometimes push; then they tow from the bank,
and again when crossing the river in deep water they
row with broad paddles. The river cuts the mountain range and furnishes magnificent scenery, while
the actions of our men and the sights along the shore
kept our interest from flagging.
[297]




THE ODYSSEY OF


Bangued is an interesting old place, and at one
time was quite a center. The population is a mixed
one, consisting of Ilocanos, Tinguianes, and Igorotes.
We were quartered with the military, there being
eight companies here. Six of us-LeRoy, Carpenter, Morris, Dr. Kruger, Mr. Calvin, and I-are
with Dr. McKay and Lieutenant Knight, and it is
a lively crowd.
August I8, 1901.
Bangued is on the ragged edge of things civilized,
and revived memories of the Benguet trip. Their
market square this morning was thronged with a
heterogeneous mass of humanity, and the crowd that
gathered later to hear the gospel of free government was but little less mixed. There appeared to
be an unanimous desire for civil government, though
it is doubtful if many of those present knew just
what it meant. The president of one town said
he had paid the school teacher from his personal
funds and wanted to know how he could get his
money back, as there were but two pesos in the treasury. It was in this province that Lieutenant Gillmore and his companions were held prisoners so
long. Colonel Villamer, former insurrecto leader,
took part in the meeting and was appointed Provincial Secretary. Major Bowen, commanding the
detachment, was made Governor. The people are
such a medley, and the province so poor, that the
establishment of a regular government is something
[298]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


of an experiment. It will give them something to
think about, however, and it gratifies their pride.
There was a band concert in the evening, as also
some vocal selections by local celebrities. Later
there was a gathering at our quarters and we had
music of our own.
5August 19, 90o1.
Today we descended the Abra, took ship once
more, and are now well on our way to Laoag, capital
of Ilocos Norte. We were up before six, not altogether rested, and at seven-thirty were at the river
landing. We made the descent in less than four
hours, the current sweeping our little rafts along at
a great pace. In a number of places the rapids were
quite swift, the water covering all but the center of
our craft. We did not stop at Vigan, but continued
to the river's mouth, where we took launch to the
ship. The passage was a rough one, those of the
party given to avoirdupois finding the transfer from
the launch to a small boat and from thence to the
ship anything but a picnic. McDonnell missed his
footing and fell between the boats, but fortunately
grabbed the side in falling and was pulled out in
time. The possibility of mishap remained strong,
however, until the last man was aboard. The sea
has a nasty roll and many of the crowd are sick.
We are dubious about the landing at Laoag tomorrow, which has no semblance of a port.
[299]




THE ODYSSEY OF


LAOAG, August 20, I90I.
We anchored early about a mile off the mouth of
the Pagsan River. The day was clear, and we could
see the great breakers, crested with foam, tumbling
across the bar. Our captain said no boat could live
through them, but he said the same thing at Vigan,
and yet we made the landing. General Bell accompanied us, bringing one of his large quartermaster
launches. This latter ventured as near the breakers
as possible and then whistled for about five minutes.
Presently there came creeping over the waters a long
native prao, or barangay, thin and snake-like,
manned by twenty rowers, who slowly fought their
way over the mounting waves into the comparative
calm near the ship. After some debate it was decided
to make a try for it, and the three Commissioners,
General Bell, Sefior Legarda, Mr. Fergusson, McDonnell, McCormick, Adamson, and myself were
elected for the first venture. The Commissioners
sat in the stern, while the rest of us with the baggage
were in the body of the craft, the oarsmen being
lined up on either side of the bow. We were soon
among the breakers and the fun began. First the
stern would tip up and then the bow, the rowers
working furiously as the boat settled. As each succeeding wave towered behind it was a gamble
whether it would break as it reached us or pass
underneath. Three, four, five times we rode the
solid crest safely; only to fall a victim to the sixth.
This broke as it reached the stern, and a compact
mass of green water shot forward, completely delug[300]




The "Merry Widow "


A Bath Al-fresco




Is




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


ing the three Commissioners and wetting all of us.
This was the beginning of our troubles. The rowers,
for some reason, lost their stroke, and the boat,
instead of being held head on, began to swing into
the trough of the waves. General Bell rushed forward and yelled at the men to "sigue, sigue";
Adamson climbed on some baggage and beat time
with his arms, trying to give them the stroke; in the
meantime the helmsman was also singing his orders
and cursing the men. After some fumbling they settled to their work heroically and gradually swung
the thing back into line, not, however, until two or
three waves struck us, setting the baggage afloat
and soaking us to the skin. Had that boat not been
righted before it caught the full force of those
breakers side on, the chances are there would have
been big headlines in the States papers in the morning, with obituary notices of varying length. With
that surf running we would have swamped dead sure,
and I doubt if any swimmer could have lived in such
sea and undertow.
We made the landing finally, a dilapidated bunch,
and were met by a variety of conveyances for the
four-mile drive to Laoag. Our clothes dried fairly
well en route, and we proceeded direct to the session
hall. We were delayed half an hour, however, waiting for Judge Ide to dry his shirt. Shortly afterward the second installment of our party got in,
having fortunately made the landing without accident.
Our original schedule called for leaving today,
[30I]




THE ODYSSEY OF


but as the surf is usually higher in the afternoon, it
was decided to remain in Laoag overnight. At noon,
however, a wire was received telling of a typhoon
brewing off the northeast coast of Luzon. As this,
possibly, meant our being cooped in Laoag for a
week or more unless we got away at once, it was
decided to return to the ship before nightfall. The
Commission had some trouble in deciding upon its
appointees, and, instead of getting away at four, as
expected, it was five-thirty before the meeting adjourned and a start was made for the landing. It
was the evil luck of some of us- Carpenter, LeRoy,
Schlotfeldt, Calvin, Morris, and I-to get a driver
who knew nothing of the road and little about driving. We had a four-mule team, and the first move
of our driver was to go half a mile beyond the river
crossing. It developed finally that he didn't know
where the ford was, and considerable delay resulted
in getting information. After we did cross, he took
the long way round, adding a couple of unnecessary
miles. He showed no disposition to hurry, and,
having no whip, the mules also took their own time.
We were still over a mile out at sunset, with a dark
bank of clouds working up from the south. A bit
further on we met the vehicles which had carried
the rest of the party. General Bell was quite surprised when he saw us, and told us to hurry. He
detailed an officer to return with us, who succeeded
in infusing a little life into our driver-and the
other mules.  Reaching the river, we found the
others already gone and only a small barangay with
[302]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


some eight rowers at the pier. Night had now
fallen, a pale moon and a few stars shining along
the edge of the rising storm clouds. We started
down the river at once, urging the rowers to their
best, but they were too few to make rapid headway.
Reaching the mouth of the river, where the swell
began and the boom of the breakers grew louder,
our oarsmen turned about and flatly refused to go
further, saying they were too few to ride the surf.
As none of them understood either Spanish or English, it made the situation quite exasperating. Just
at this time, when the outlook was most discouraging, the praos which had carried the others loomed
darkly on the waves, returning from the ship. We
hailed them, and with considerable difficulty prevailed on one of them to take us aboard. They
didn't want to return, and it is doubtful if they
would have done so had not a soldier happened
aboard, who simply pushed those overboard who
showed reluctance, replacing them with others. Four
new men were drafted, and we started with twenty
rowers. To cheer us on our way the soldier (who
did not return) said that the others came near
drowning, and that everybody had gotten wet. Out
we went, however, the tops of the waves looming
white through the gathering darkness and the roar
of the surf filling our ears. This time, however,
there was no wavering on the part of crew or captain. Whether nerved by the night and danger, or
profiting by their previous trips, we rode the giant
waves swiftly and safely, only one splash of water
[303]




THE ODYSSEY OF


coming aboard. We fared better than the others.
They made the trip in two sections, one of the praos
being nearly swamped, while the other had a hole
stove in the bottom and was only kept from sinking
by McCormick taking off his clothes and stopping
the leak with them. Altogether they had a serious
and almost tragic time of it. We were not missed
until noses were counted aboard, and then our delay
was unaccountable. They doubted we would venture out after nightfall, and their surprise was great
when we showed up. Owing to the threatened
typhoon it was imperative that the ship get away,
and had we been delayed another half hour, they
would have sailed without us. Thus are provincial
governments organized in the Philippines.
August 2I, I90I.
The scheduled storm did not break, and we
anchored off Aparri early this morning beneath a
cloudless sky. Aparri is at the extreme north of
Luzon, at the mouth of the Cayagan River, one of
the largest streams of the Archipelago. More than
half the large tobacco crop of the islands is grown
in the Cayagan Valley, which is noted for its fertility and richness. The Compafiia Tabacalera has
big interests here, and maintains a line of boats on
the river, one of which is to take us on our two
days' journey inland. Aparri itself is on a jutting
sand point reaching out into the ocean, and does not
impress one as a very desirable place to live.
[304]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


Shortly after eight we transferred to the river
steamer and started up the Cagayan. All day long
we steamed up that magnificent waterway, the green,
luxuriant valley to either side, flanked by the dark
hills beyond. The air was fresh, the chairs comfortable, the lunch good-a perfect day and a perfect scene, furnishing a restful change from the
stress of the days just gone. We saw considerable
native life, both in passing boats and in the little
villages along the banks. Most of the people were
gathered on the shore as we passed, the local band
being always in attendance.
We reached the Tuguegarao landing shortly after
sunset, followed by a four-mile drive to the town.
Some delay was experienced in assigning the party,
as the commanding officer had not been advised of
our number. The German Consul, Mr. Calvin,
Morris, and I found a home with the head of the
Alhambra Tobacco Company, who entertained us
royally.
August 22, I901.
Tuguegarao, capital of the Cagayan province,
took a holiday today. Our session was an interesting one, with plenty of local color. The people were
rather a superior lot, and followed the proceedings
closely. There has been little real trouble in the
province. A large banquet and baile were had in
the evening, giving the feminine portion of the town
a chance to shine. Some thirty of them were out,
arrayed in all the gorgeousness of Filipino finery.
305 ]




THE ODYSSEY OF


August 23, I90I.
We were up at five today, but, despite the early
hour, the river bank was crowded when we made our
start for Ilagan, capital of Isabela. We took breakfast on the boat and it would be hard to imagine a
more delightful environment. The broad river, the
green valley, and the white, drifting clouds against
the background of the mountains furnished an ideal
setting. There is a grandeur about this river that
inspires one. Today, as yesterday, the little villages
en route had built arches and were down in force to
watch us go by. They had expended considerable
time and money on their decorations, and our contribution seemed very inadequate.
As we sailed along we saw great stretches of
country entirely without sign of cultivation. This
wonderful valley, richer in its potentialities of wealth
than the delta of the Nile or the fertile plains of the
Ganges, is practically uninhabited. Its few towns
and villages are peopled largely by importations
from the Ilocos and other provinces, brought in
originally to work upon the scattered tobacco estates,
formerly a government monopoly. The conception
held by many that the Philippines have the congested
population usual in Oriental countries is altogether
erroneous. The approximate population of the Philippines is about sixty-six to the square mile, as compared to three hundred and fifty in Java, two hundred and ninety in Japan, and two hundred in India.
Less than thirty-five per cent of the land in the
islands is even claimed in private ownership, it being
[306]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


estimated that there still remain under state control
over seventy million acres of virgin land. It is an
empire of unlimited possibilities, awaiting only the
magic touch of capital and enterprise to yield untold
treasure.
We reached Ilagan shortly after two, the plan
being to drive to the hacienda of the Tabacalera
Company (some eight miles out), spend the night
there, and return to Ilagan in the morning. We were
advised, however, that many of the delegates had
been in town over three days, and had made preparations to entertain us that evening. Our program
was changed accordingly, and, khaki-clad and travelstained, as we were, we drove direct to the place of
meeting.
The afternoon was hot-indeed, one of the hottest we have experienced on any of our trips. The
session was held in the home of the president,
where the people packed in suffocating numbers. As
Governor Taft and associates ascended the steps
flowers were scattered upon them, and two or three
enterprising senoritas opened some bottles of perfume and deluged them with the contents. Taken
in small doses, it may have been good perfume, but
in quantities it was a vile stuff and made the recipients smell for the afternoon like a wrecked drug
store. The session lasted some three hours, and
hot is no name for it. The principal topic was
whether Nueva Vizcaya should be united with Isabela. It was later decided not to unite the provinces, as the mixed character of the peoples of Nueva
[307]




THE ODYSSEY OF


Vizcaya made a special form of government necessary.
The entertainment of our party was taken in hand
by the natives. One family had arranged to entertain the three Commissioners, Mr. Fergusson, and
myself. Two rooms had been set aside, one with
three beds and the other with two. Commissioners
Worcester and Ide shied at the proposition. Governor Taft accepted, however, and Mr. Fergusson,
Mr. Carpenter, and I filled in. The beds were
gorgeous affairs, almost too fine to sleep in. There
was the usual banquet and baile, though the night
was too warm for the best results in dancing.
August 24, I901.
Today has been hot and strenuous, but interesting. The morning session lasted but an hour, there
being nothing to do but make the appointments to
office. We started immediately afterward for the
hacienda "San Antonio," property of the Tabacalera Company. Some of the crowd drove in ambulances, the rest going on horseback. The road was
a rough one, and the sun beat down mercilessly.
Our mounts were regular farm horses and galloped
like cows. The detachment here is one of mounted
infantry, and the men know absolutely nothing about
horses. I have ridden many brands of caballos, but
never one whose gait was so fearfully up and down
as the one I rode today.
The hacienda contains about seventeen thousand
acres, being the largest of the estates owned by the
[308]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


company in this valley. The manager's house is a
two-story structure with a wide veranda and overlooks miles of plain and bottom land. All the employees (and the estate supports a veritable colony)
had gathered to witness our coming, there being the
customary arches, bands, flags, etc. All the local
managers from up and down the valley were present,
making quite a gathering. Tiffin was served on the
veranda, and there was nothing lacking in the way
of food and drink. Naturally there was nothing
lacking in the smoking line. It was a cosmopolitan
crowd, many of those present having spent the better
part of their lives in the Far East, with a knowledge
of Oriental problems and peoples gained at first
hand. Later we visited the tobacco warehouses and
had many new things explained to us. Truth to tell,
however, our party was pretty well tired out. Lack
of sleep, banquets and bailes, new people and places,
rapid changes, the heat, etc., had begun to tell. Some
of the crowd started back in the ambulances before
dinner, among them a few of our ambitious horsemen of earlier in the day. It had been arranged
for the Commissioners and a few other heavyweights to go down the river by moonlight, after
dinner. Five of us decided to see the thing through
on horseback, even if we had to stand to eat our
meals for a week. We had a big spread in the evening, but did not tackle it with the avidity of the midday meal. Among the dishes was some "alligator
steak," the said alligator having been killed during
the afternoon. Most of us approached it with diffi[309]




THE ODYSSEY OF


dence, but nearly everyone tried it. When ready
to leave we found that our escort had been entertained not wisely but too well and were all drunk.
Morris, Schlodtfeldt, Carpenter, LeRoy, and I
started off alone. I succeeded in purloining a new
horse, but he was little better than the old one.
LeRoy also made a change, but fared worse. We
started out at a gallop and beat over the road without slackening speed, making the ride in little over
an hour. The night was a splendid moonlight one,
but the conditions did not permit our observing its
beauties closely. Considering the nature of the road,
we were fortunate in getting through without accident. We reached town tired, dusty, and covered
with perspiration.
On leaving the meeting that morning I had turned
over to the vice-president a small valise containing
various important papers-among them the record
of all the provinces organized on this journey - telling him to have it sent down to the house. When
we got in - about eleven P. M. - the valise was not
there. As we were scheduled to rise at 5:30 in the
morning and leave at six, the situation was not a
happy one. I did not relish the idea of preparing
the record of all those meetings from memory, which
is about what I would have had to do if the grip
was lost. Mr. Carpenter was for scouring the town
for It at that hour. As everybody in the place was
abed and asleep, I felt unequal to the excitement his
project involved. I thought it better to get a little
sleep and take a chance at it in the morning.
[ 3101]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


August 25, I901.
I got up this morning feeling as sore as Don
Quixote after his encounter with the windmills. My
first concern was for the missing valise. After stirring up a number of people, and getting them properly excited, the valise was discovered at the house
occupied by the other Commissioners. It was unearthed just as we were starting for the landing.
Having the current with us, we made the descent
to Aparri in one day, reaching there at six in the
evening. The ride was particularly pleasant, as we
were all tired enough to loaf and thoroughly enjoy
it. We saw today several carabao rafts. They consist of four or five bamboo poles lashed together, to
which the carabao is hitched. The family gets on
the raft, stack their goods and chattels on their
heads, and the carabao is started across the river,
little more than his nose being above water. The
people sit in the water up to their arms, their weight
sinking the raft below the surface.
Too high praise cannot be given Mr. Weber,
manager of the Tobacco Company, for the manner
in which he has arranged this river trip. The service has been perfect, and everything moved smoothly.
We took dinner on the Aldecoa. There was some
talk of an entertainment ashore, but it was unanimously vetoed.
APARRI, August 26, I901.
As Governor Taft had promised the people of
Aparri to stop with them on the return trip, we all
[3II]




THE ODYSSEY OF


went ashore this morning. Most elaborate preparations had been made to receive us, and our reception
was enthusiastic. Colonel Hood, who is in command, seems to have inspired the confidence of the
people and to have done good work among them.
We went in procession from the landing through
the town, finally stopping at Colonel Hood's quarters, where there was handshaking and speeches,
followed later by a banquet and dancing. There
was woe and disappointment, particularly among the
ladies, when it was learned that we expected to leave
at three o'clock. A bevy of them surrounded Judge
Taft and begged and pleaded with him to stay until
twelve that night. This was a rather unusual proceeding for Filipino women, and made us think we
were back home. They would all talk at once, and
when Mr. Fergusson started to interpret, they would
break in on him before he was half through and
simply overwhelm him with words. As to stay
longer meant the loss of a day in our itinerary, their
pleading was in vain. We went aboard at three and
sailed at four. Father Aglipay came near being left,
the boat having to be stopped for him after it was
under way. We do not reach Iba until tomorrow
night, which gives us a chance to pull together, after
our five days' hike up the river.
August 28, I901.
Yesterday was spent at sea, the weather proving
a decided improvement over the up-trip. Today we
[312]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


succeeded in making a landing at Iba and organized
a government for Zambales. The place is small,
the province occupying a narrow strip between the
coast range and the sea and being almost inaccessible. It has but one good port, Subic, and its roads
are miserable. Though within twelve hours of
Manila by sea, the officers and men have not received any mail for a month. Few vessels have any
occasion to stop at Iba, and, if they do, can seldom
effect a landing.
Our meeting today was the usual one, being held
in the village church, furnishing a large, cool hall,
better than most places we have visited. The people
had planned a banquet for the evening, but we were
compelled to go aboard early, before the sea became
boisterous. A dinner was given at 2:30, and at
4:30 we were safely aboard and bound for Manila.
This will end our "Provincial Tours." Including
Benguet, we have organized thirty-four provinces,
and in our journeyings have visited and held sessions with the people of forty-three different places.
Whatever may be the result of the work done, and
however it may be viewed by different persons, it
has been done with true motives and with an earnest
and sincere desire to serve and help these people.
MANILA, August 29, I901.
We awoke today in Manila Bay, and it was good
to see again the green frontage of the Malecon, the
wide expanse of the Luneta, and the white and red
[313]




THE ODYSSEY OF


of the old Convento buildings in the Walled City.
It is a picture that grows on one the more he becomes saturated with the life of this country. At
eight we had scattered to our different homes, unanimous in saying we had had a great journey, but
with no regrets that it was over. While the most
interesting we have taken, it has also been the
hardest.


[314]




River Scene Showing Dense Forest Growth


Igorote Climbing a Tree Fern




-:        ~          -    =   c   -,. ---:-  I."I   1   I   I   -   - -  1-1 I   --   I-,,,-   -1 -   11 -   -I,,-   1-1 -;:I.  11   I  I  —.,   I -   "I   - -.   - I..  I- I   I  11-1-1.   -   I -   1.-   -,   I I   I 11-1- 11,   - -   1 1- -   ----— '',   -   - - -,   l -




XVI


THE MACHINERY IN MOTION
MANILA, September II, 1901.
W     E HAVE settled back once more to grinding
out laws, and to considering the multitudinous
petitions and suggestions of a people more prolific
in precept than in practice. Some of these petitions
are literary curiosities, particularly those written in
English. The method evidently employed is to first
draft them in Spanish and then write above each
word the dictionary equivalent in English, no account
being taken of the different construction of the two
languages. This literal rendering of the Spanish
is then copied and submitted for our enlightenment.
One ardent writer, seeking to say that he was " sighing" for liberty, picked the wrong equivalent for the
Spanish word suspirar (to sigh) and said he was
gaping for liberty.
The tariff bill prepared by the Commission, and
sent to Washington for suggestion, has been returned with some few changes. It has been considered in executive session for the past two days, and
public discussion commences this morning; this will
likely last three or four days. Mr. W. Morgan
[3I5]




THE ODYSSEY OF


Shuster, the new Collector of Customs, brought the
bill from Washington and is assisting in the discussion. With him came Mr. Charles A. Conant, an
expert on coinage and banking, who is to prepare a
report on the currency situation of the islands. Certainly something is necessary to relieve us of the
present chaotic condition of our money. After this
comes the Criminal Code and Code of Criminal Procedure, prepared by Commissioner Wright, which
it will likely take some time to whip into popular
shape. In addition to this current work, the Commission is supposed to have its Annual Report ready
to forward on October fifteenth, so that it may reach
Washington in time for reference to Congress December first. This report is to include not only a
resume of what has been done during the year, but
also recommendations covering future Congressional action. This latter feature may have farreaching consequences, and cannot be done between
two days.
Interest during the past two weeks has centered
somewhat on the six hundred teachers who arrived
on the Thomas. They are quartered in some nipa
buildings on the Exposition grounds, and are getting
their first taste of pioneering. They are being distributed to the provinces as rapidly as possible, and
there has been some weeping over the assignments.
Well, they are not in for any further picnic. Thus
far they have had a good time, for it is no small
experience to most of them-that trip across the
States, the stop in San Francisco, the ride across the
[3I6]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


Pacific, and the new and strange life of Manila.
The chances are they will find existence in the small
interior pueblos, where there will be few if any
Americans besides themselves, and where they will
have none of the comforts and social diversions to
which they are used, altogether different from what
they pictured. The life is apt to grow deadly monotonous, and it will take something of the missionary
and of the Spartan to enable them to stick it out.
Their opportunities for doing good work are great,
however. The cry has gone up all over the land
for schools and school teachers, and, if they exercise
tact and intelligence, their influences in moulding the
thought of the people will be extraordinary. I have
no doubt many of them will rise to their opportunities, and the future will mark their greatness.
The addition of Messrs. Tavera, Legarda, and
Luzuriaga to the Commission on September first
has undoubtedly created a good impression among
the people. Tavera and Legarda speak English
fairly well, but Sr. Luzuriaga does not. This renders our sessions (executive) rather tedious, as
everything said must be interpreted. I believe the
move to be a good one, however.
There has been considerable agitation among the
Filipinos recently over the organization of new
political parties. They are never so happy as when
mixing in politics, and as they all want to be at the
head of something, it requires numerous parties to
satisfy them. The Federal Party, the first organized, has the advantage of being early in the field
[3I7]




THE ODYSSEY OF


and of representing the sane and sober element of
the community. As opposed to this there sprang
up the "Conservative" Party, whose exact political
creed I have never been able to fathom. A Seiior
Poblete has now launched what is known as the
"National Party," which has, though rather veiled,
the ultimate design of securing the independence of
the islands under a protectorate. The whole business appears somewhat ridiculous-this organizing
of parties before there is a government, and before
they really know what the designs of the United
States toward them are.
In his speech upon swearing in the new Commissioners, Governor Taft spoke rather plainly to these
professional party organizers. He said the American Government was not opposed to political parties, for it recognized that it was through them the
various sentiments of the people found expression.
He did think, however, that the time was not ripe
here to indulge in "theories of government." He
said the Commission was laboring day and night trying to bring order out of chaos; that these party
organizers, engaged in developing beautiful ideals,
had better put their shoulders to the wheel and help
place the present system on a firm basis. If they
found fault with the laws which were being passed
by the Commission, let them offer amendments and
changes, or suggest other legislation which they
thought would assist in accomplishing the result at
which the Commission was aiming; then, after a
stable government was organized, and after peace
[3I8]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


and order and tranquillity had been achieved, they
might develop their theories as to what an ideal government should be. Now the question was a practical one and not one for dreaming. It was a good
talk and came with a jolt to some of these would-be
statesmen.
What they all want is office, and their personal
feelings and interests are always paramount. While
their professions are of the best-and frequently
their intentions at the time-they are easily swayed
in their opinions, and it is impossible to tell at
what unexpected place they will break out next.
They lose sight of practical things in chasing rainbows and shadows, and without a strong hand to
guide them and direct their energies would be apt to
fly off at a tangent. Our hardest task here will be
to save these people from themselves. Their tendency is to want things too soon. If much is given
them, they cry for more, with the chance that they
will get it and by misuse give room to say that they
are incapable of any measure of self-government.
The danger is not that we will give the Filipinos too
little, but that we will give them too much at this
stage of their development.
The last few days brought us news of the attempted assassination of President McKinley. It
came with a terrible shock here, as it must everywhere. Our latest news is encouraging and holds
out the prospect of recovery. We trust it may be
so, and that his assassin, and all like him, may be
exterminated.
[319]




THE ODYSSEY OF


MANILA, October I, I90I.
The same pace is still being set in our work, with
October sixteenth, when the Annual Report of the
Commission is to be forwarded, as a temporary goal.
The account of the provincial organization is to be
included, and I have no alternative but to dig it out
of my notes. I have ten or twelve provinces left,
and it seems impossible to find time to condense them
for the record. We are still waiting for stenographers, and have gone into the byways and hedges
trying to borrow or steal them. Governor Taft is
ill, and is doing most of his work in bed. I have a
slight attack of malaria, and my voice has a habit
of running down to a whisper early in the afternoon.
The work has been hard and continuous now for
over a year, the Commission having taken active
charge September first, I900. It is difficult to estimate what has been done in that time and is now
doing. In legislative work alone some two hundred
and forty-eight laws have been passed, most of them
having to be shaped to meet new and untried conditions. A new government is being created from the
ground up, piece being added to piece as the days and
weeks go by. It is an interesting phenomenon, this
thing of building a modern commonwealth on a
foundation of medievalism —the giving to this
country at one fell swoop all the innovations and
discoveries which have marked centuries of AngloSaxon push and energy. I doubt if in the world's
history anything similar has been attempted; that
is, the transplanting so rapidly of the ideas and
[320]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


improvements of one civilization upon another. The
whole fabric is being made over; scarcely anything is
left as it was. Having started to mend the machinery, we have found that all the parts must be replaced in order to make the thing move. No doubt
the pace is a little warm for these people, but, having
entered the course, there is nothing left now but to
run the race.
The trials and tribulations involved can hardly be
appreciated by those not on the ground. Aside from
the material upon which we have to work-"half
devil and half child"-there is the other heartbreaking condition-lack of proper tools.  To
spring a full-blown system of government on so
large a population as this requires many men to
operate the different parts, and the hardest thing to
encounter today, as in the days of Diogenes, is a
perfectly capable and honest man. Provinces are
started on their way, the people eager and anxious
for the blessings they imagine are to flow from
civil government; some incompetent person, either
through lack of tact or principle, brings the whole
scheme into discredit, and the people become sullen
and reactionary.
The best men found available anywhere have been
used for official positions, and most have proven
conscientious and capable-but some have not. We
are on trial before these people, if not before the
world, and it comes hard to see the work hampered
and delayed through the selfishness and incompetency of individuals.  Giving due credit to our
[321]




THE ODYSSEY OF


friends the military for suppressing the insurrection,
they have assisted little in that wider work undertaken by our government of winning these people
to a sympathetic cooperation in bringing orderly government out of the chaos resulting from years of
war and disrupted industry. They hang on to their
dictatorial powers as though that was the end of
government. The Commission has maintained no
press agent, either here or at home, and the criticisms of its work and policy have remained largely
unanswered. The American public, so far as it has
concerned itself at all with the problem here, has
apparently taken the attitude that we are unduly
restricting the liberties and privileges of a struggling
people.
Such persons know little or nothing about the
actual situation, and, while capable of being immensely practical where their personal or private
interests are concerned, they can be the most foolishly sentimental and impractical when treating of
the interests of others.
Despite all obstacles, however, a tremendous
change has been worked in the sentiment of these
people toward our sovereignty during the past year.
I sincerely believe that the great majority of them
are now convinced that we are not here to exploit
them, and are earnest in our desire to advance their
interests, both politically and materially. In any estimate of this remarkable transformation of opinion,
too much stress cannot be placed upon the personality of the Commission, and particularly upon that of
[322]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


Governor Taft, its President. With a people accustomed to relying little upon what is told them, but
a great deal upon the manner of the telling, the
influence of his genial smile and hearty laugh, his
patience, his sincerity, his tact, and his evident interest in their welfare, has counted more in winning
their cooperation and good will than all the proclamations which could have been issued. They have
learned to know that what he says is true, and that
from first to last he has labored and is laboring for
them, placing their interests and their wishes, so far
as possible, above all else. To few has it been given
to conquer in so short a time the hostility and antagonism of practically a whole race, and to transform
into affectionate regard the distrust of a beaten
people. Our country can never be sufficiently tharfkful that he was appointed to lead the destinies of
these islands during this transition period. He has
impressed his personality upon the situation, and
given a trend to the current of affairs which can
never be altogether changed, and which will redound
to the benefit of the Filipino people and to the credit
of our country through all time.
Since my last was written the news of President
McKinley's death came to us. It has been felt here
keenly, both by Americans and natives, for I believe
the Filipinos had come to feel that their interests
were near to the heart of the President. While I
do not think our general policy here will be affected,
the possibility of it just at this time of nation building is unfortunate.
[323]




THE ODYSSEY OF


U. S. TRANSPORT Sheridan,
EN ROUTE MANILA TO NAGASAKI,
October 20, 90oI.
When you receive this letter I will be close behind
it. That this is so cannot be more of a surprise to
you than it is to me. It has all come about through
the Annual Report of the Commission. Work as the
Commission would upon it, the sailing date of the
transport drew nigh with much yet to be done. It
was imperative, however, that it be in the hands of
the Secretary of War before the meeting of Congress on December second. As I had about reached
the stage where a vacation of some kind was necessary, Governor Taft asked me if I would take
charge of getting the report back to Washington,
using the time en route to put the thing in order.
The War Department had also instructed that a
secretary be furnished Mr. Charles A. Conant, the
financial expert, as far as San Francisco, to assist in
preparing his report on coinage and banking for the
islands. Needless to say, I needed no urging to act
as messenger for that report or as aide to Mr.
Conant. I had a day and a half's notice, but half a
day would have been ample.
Our transport sailed at noon on the sixteenth. It
was eleven o'clock that morning, however, before
the Commissioners finally signed their report and
the manuscript, with its mass of exhibits, was turned
over to me. It was truly the " eleventh hour."
I am supposed to be back in Manila within ninety
[324]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


days. I have spent most of the first three of them
sleeping, but am confident the next eighty-seven will
furnish their share of interest and excitement. It is
good to be headed for the "Golden Gate" again,
with its vision of old friends, theaters, restaurants,
and all those sights and sounds which time and distance have a tendency to halo with a light "never
seen on sea or land."
We have aboard the transport a number of the
"Congressional Party" which has been visiting the
islands-among them, DeArmand of Missouri,
Caines of Tennessee, Weeks of Michigan, and Mercer of Nebraska. They have been out to "learn
the truth on the ground." They took a trip about
the islands on a government transport, and presumably saw and talked to much the same people.
Before leaving Manila two of them, representing
different political beliefs, became so surcharged with
ideas that they were able to spare a few pearls for
those of us condemned to remain. Witness, however, the strange transmutation of truth as they had
gained it in company. One of them said the Filipino
people were " nothing but savages with a thin veneer
of civilization." This was rather unkind of him,
considering his exalted station. They had a champion, however, in the Congressman with the Methodist handle to his name, who took his brother
representative to task and expressed it as his belief
that the country was simply "swarming with latent
Fred Douglasses awaiting the beneficent rays of
Democracy to burst into bloom." The controversy
[325]




THE ODYSSEY OF


was later carried into the newspapers, much to the
edification of the old inhabitants. It was of a visiting statesman called " Pagett, M. P.," who had come
to India to settle in a few months its century-old
problems, that Kipling wrote:
"And I laughed as I drove from the station, but the mirth
died out on my lips,
As I thought of the fools like Pagett who write of their
' Eastern Trips;'
And the sneers of the travelled idiots who duly misgovern
the land,
And I prayed the Lord to deliver another one into my hand."


i:


[326]




Igorote Woman


One of the People




I   -                     __ I I   -  I   __  ___ I   _q_ __ -   _ _X1_ -   -  -1_ __




XVII


TWELVE YEARS LATER
MANILA, April, 1913.
A DECADE and more has passed since the
events described in the preceding chronicle. It
is a long time in the life of an individual, but a short
time in the life of a people. Death and far places
have called most of the little group who then shared
our "Philippine problem," but the problem itself
remains, to all intents, unchanged. Now, as then,
one of our great parties is seeking to make an
" Issue " of the Philippines, and Filipino radicals are
crying for independence with the same cheerful disregard of consequences that marked Mabini's appeal
in 900o. Americans who have given of their life
and thought to this work decry any change in our
present policy; anti-imperialists and political traders in the States, whose experience is bounded by
parlor cars and hotel lobbies, declaim about "the
consent of the governed" and then spank their children for applying the principle in the home. It
would all be a matter for mirth were it not that a
helpless people, and the honor and good faith of a
great nation, are the pawns being played for personal and partisan ends.
[327]




THE ODYSSEY OF


This chapter is supposed to set down in orderly
fashion some record of what has transpired here
during the past twelve years. All that can be hoped
is that it will encourage an impartial inquiry by those
desirous of knowing the truth. The writer claims
no authority other than that which comes from long
residence in the islands and a more or less active
participation in Philippine affairs. He is no longer
in government employ, and holds no brief for any
person or party-his sole purpose being to give
form to what he feels to be common knowledge to
those who have shared his experiences.
In any discussion of the problem here fronting
the United States, it is well to emphasize certain
facts which some of our countrymen have apparently
forgotten. The first of these is that our being in the
Philippines is not the act of any class or party, but
represents the will of the American people. Our
war with Spain was not a partisan affair, but resulted
from the pressure of an almost unanimous public
sentiment. The taking of Manila, which was a logical outcome of that war, roused our people to the
highest enthusiasm. The sending of American troops
to the islands, both to prosecute the war against
Spain and to preserve public order thereafter, met
scarcely a dissenting voice. The outbreak of the
Philippine insurrection-being a protest of at least
certain elements of the people against our occupation-occurred February 4, 1899, before our Senate, by a non-party vote, approved the Treaty of
Paris, thus confirming our title to the islands and
[328]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


ratifying the action theretofore taken by President
McKinley under his war power. Record hath it
that Mr. Bryan, the apostle of 'Democracy, was
quite active in bringing about this result.
Another popular error is that the Philippines have
cost, and are costing, the United States, "untold millions " of dollars, for which some person or policy is
to blame. As the destruction of Spanish sovereignty
in the islands was a natural outcome of our war with
that country, so, too, the restoration of orderly government thereafter was a duty owing not only to the
mass of the Filipinos, but to the world at large. The
money thus spent constitutes a legitimate debit
against our war with Spain, and should not be entered as a charge for which the islands, or some
particular policy concerning them, are responsible.
Normal conditions having been restored, the only
direct outlay since incurred by the home government
has been the slightly increased expense of maintaining some fifteen to twenty thousand troops in the
islands to what it would cost in the States. This is
more than compensated, however, by the greater
efficiency of our soldiers, and of the army generally,
acquired through the experiences of this semi-foreign
service.
To the above item some would possibly add money
spent in enlarging our navy, and in building island
defenses. Eliminating the Philippines, however, we
still have the Hawaiian Islands, Alaska, Guam, an
extended Pacific coast line, and the Panama Canal,
quite an argument in themselves for our naval pro[ 329 ]




THE ODYSSEY OF


gram. Money spent in fortifying naval bases and
coaling stations can scarcely be termed wasteful, as
these would be retained whatever action we take.
As to the internal administration of the islands,
all expenditures for such account are met now, and
have been met since the beginning, from insular revenues. The truth is that whatever money was spent
in restoring a stable government here could not in
decency have been avoided, while the burden to the
United States thereafter has been and is trivial. All
this is so easily verified as to cause surprise at the
prevailing ignorance of the fact.
Others of our people say the Philippines "do not
pay." That our self-respect as a nation is involved,
or that we have deliberately assumed obligations
before the world, mean nothing to these persons.
Their horizon is bounded by dollars and cents, and
because these are not immediately forthcoming they
would scuttle like rats from a sinking ship. Of
much the same type are those alarmists who pretend
to see in our occupation of the islands some sort of
menace to the government builded by the fathers. It
is the same old cry which has gone up since the
boundaries of the original Thirteen States were first
pushed westward. The purchase of Florida and
Louisiana, the annexation of Texas, the gradual
extension of our frontier to the Pacific, and then on
to Alaska and the Hawaiian Islands, all gave rise
to these prophets of gloom, who reveled in pictures
of national disaster following each addition to our
domain. That all now laugh at the folly of these
[330]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


"little Americans" deters not a whit this new crop
of pessimists, who launch as new gospel all the timeworn arguments of their discredited predecessors.
Our occupation of the Philippines was undertaken
in altruism, and, critics to the contrary, all our work
since has been directed to the regeneration of the
islands and their people. For those who would
measure the value of our new possessions from a
purely selfish standpoint, however, it might be said
our country could not well have been more fortunate.
Students of affairs are unanimous that the center of
world interest, political and commercial, has shifted,
or is shifting, to the Pacific and to the countries
which rib its shores. There dwell the bulk of earth's
inhabitants, the vast majority of whom are but now
awakening to the call of progress. The needs and
wants and future destiny of these millions of people
are agitating the chancelleries of the world, all of
whom are striving for advantage in the present
world-wide struggle for trade supremacy. Without
our seeking, fate has thrust upon us this wonderful
group of islands, rich in every natural resource and
lying at the very doors of all that vast population
sweeping in almost unbroken chain from Vladivostok
on the north to Australia on the south. Coupled
with the Panama Canal, the Hawaiian Islands, and
Guam, the Philippines furnish a line of communication and of trade opportunity whose strategic importance in this new war of the future is unrivaled.
Time was when orators could harp on the " splendid isolation" of our country and get a ready re[33I ]




THE ODYSSEY OF


sponse. With the growing need for world products
and world markets, however, and the gradual development of a national spirit which refuses to accept
the narrow provincialism of the past as a measure
either of our obligations or opportunities, that time
has gone forever. We have a part to play in international politics and policies which we could not
escape if we would, and which none but fossils can
regret or seek to stay.
We acquired the Philippines through conquest and
purchase. They were ours to do with as we pleased,
and every historical precedent would have sanctioned
their exploitation as a national asset. Instead, we
voluntarily pledged the Filipino people that our administration of the country would be for their benefit and protection, and not for our own financial
aggrandizement.
We promised to give them -so far and as fast as
possible-all those things which minister to the
material, mental, and moral uplift of a people, together with a constantly increasing participation in
government as they developed capacity therefor.
More than this could not reasonably have been demanded by them, nor insisted upon by the most sentimental or partisan of our people. Since then the
years have set their seal upon our work, and we
should be praised or blamed according as they tell
of faith kept or broken. What the United States
have done in the Philippines is an open book which
all who will may read. I state unhesitatingly that
we have kept the faith, and that neither here nor at
[332]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


home is there just ground for complaint or criticism
at the record which stands revealed.
Upon the material side of the problem- the shaping of conditions which make for progress, enlightenment and well-being-the following summary of
things done will give an idea how we have met the
call upon us:
Courts with a simplified procedure have been
established, where justice is neither bought nor sold,
and where rich and poor fare alike.
Brigandage and lawlessness have been suppressed,
and life and property are protected and respected as
never before in the history of the Archipelago.
The wild tribes of the islands, who took heads
and slaughtered each other without let or hindrance
in the old days, have, under the wise supervision and
guidance of Hon. Dean C. Worcester and his corps
of heroic assistants, entered upon ways of peace,
industry, and public order. It is a work the magnitude of which is only beginning to be appreciated
even in the Philippines.
An educational system has been perfected which
offers to every Filipino child a free public school
education. Nearly seven hundred thousand children
are now enrolled, and English, with its store of literary treasure, is rapidly becoming the common language of the people. High schools and normal institutes, housed in modern buildings, are within the
reach of all, and a Philippine University, with full
literary and professional courses, has recently been
organized. Manual training schools, which teach
[333]




THE ODYSSEY OF


not only useful trades, but also the dignity of labor,
are being opened in constantly increasing numbers.
Hundreds of Filipino students have been sent to the
States at public expense, where they have received,
and are receiving, the best technical training of our
colleges.
Health and quarantine services have been organized whose work in forestalling epidemics, in freeing
the islands from plague, smallpox, and other endemic
diseases, and in teaching and enforcing sanitation
and sanitary living among all classes, would alone
justify our occupation. Manila has to her credit a
new and complete sewerage system, an extended
water service, an up-to-date General Hospital, and
a Bureau of Government Laboratories whose investigations into the cause and cure of tropical diseases
have given it front rank among the scientific!institutions of the world. The lepers of the islands, formerly scattered throughout the community, have
been segregated, and are now well cared for on the
Island of Culion. A determined fight, with every
chance of success, is being waged against tuberculosis and infant mortality, the dread scourges of
these people. The importation and smoking of
opium have been prohibited, and a vice which threatened to fasten itself upon the islands is being effectually eradicated. Modern markets, where cleanliness is the watchword, have replaced the unwholesome and death-dealing plazas where food and drink
were formerly sold, while artesian wells, furnishing
that indispensable requisite for health in the tropics,
[334]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


pure water, are now to be found in almost every
municipality.
Transportation facilities have been revolutionized. The one hundred and twenty miles of railroad
existing in 1898 have been increased to over seven
hundred, with some six hundred miles in project and
under construction. Nearly two thousand miles of
macadam roads have been built, opening up the
great interior of the country and making it possible
for the people to market their products at a profit.
The island waters have been sounded, charted, and
studded with lighthouses, making navigation something more than a lottery. Great port works have
been completed in Manila, Cebu, Iloilo, and other
places, furnishing safe anchorage and docking facilities for ocean-going vessels. Inter-island shipping
has been fostered and encouraged, mail routes have
been extended and cheapened, and the Archipelago
laced with cable and telegraph lines.
A comprehensive irrigation system, financed by
the Government under an arrangement for eventual
reimbursement, is being extended to various parts
of the islands, with the certainty of enormously
increasing the agricultural output.
A well-patronized Postal Savings Bank is in operation, encouraging habits of industry and thrift
among a people noted for their improvidence. A
Government agricultural bank is also gradually
relieving the lack of capital on the part of landowners.
Taxation has been equalized, and revenue is now
[335]




THE ODYSSEY OF


collected according to the means of the individual
rather than according to class, as in former times.
Despite the wide scope of Government activities, the
per capita contribution is but two dollars and odd
cents, being less than that of any civilized country
in the world.
A stable currency, based on gold, has replaced the
mongrel and fluctuating medium which, upon our
coming, made all business operations a gamble.
The large Friar estates, which were a center of
disturbance and discontent, have been purchased by
the Government and are now being sold and leased
to the occupants on easy terms.
A Registration Act has been adopted (Torrens)
which enables every owner of real property to secure
a guaranteed title to his holdings in place of the
questionable ownership heretofore applicable to
most privately claimed lands.
Forest regulations have been adopted which protect this great source of island wealth from undue
waste and destruction, and yet encourage capital in
its exploitation.
A Public Land Act has been enacted which enables
every Filipino to acquire a free homestead, and
they are encouraged to do so.
Church and state have been divorced, and the
people relieved of one of their greatest grievances
under Spain. Freedom of worship, of speech, and
of the press have been guaranteed- privileges which
many Filipinos, in their sudden release from old
restraints, are inclined to abuse.
[336]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


Bilibid, the great island prison, has been transformed from a veritable death trap into an institution which would serve as a model in any country.
Criminals are taught useful trades, and, as a reward
for meritorious conduct, are transferred to the selfgoverning and self-supporting penal colony of
Iwahig, where every opportunity is given them to
become useful citizens.
Philippine imports have increased from $I6,285,044 in Spanish times to $61,667,901 in I912, and
exports from $20,457,279 to $54,784,738. Free
trade applies upon all States' products coming to
the Philippines, and upon all island products entering the States except sugar and tobacco, tupon which
a complaisant Congress placed a limitation at the
behest of the sugar and tobacco trusts.
There has been a general increase in salaries and
wages, and the people are better fed, better housed,
and better clothed than ever before.
Baseball and tennis are becoming the national
games of the country, and the rising generation not
only bids fair to abandon the cock-pit as ia means of
recreation, but to represent a type of physical development heretofore unknown among a Malay people.
The list is a prosaic one-" the tale of common
things "-but it will be found upon scrutiny to
include most of the things for which our fathers
struggled through the centuries, and little if anything
which the Filipinos could or would have achieved
unaided.
In the matter of granting the people a participa[337]




THE ODYSSEY OF


tion in government as rapidly as they could be
entrusted therewith, the following appears:
Of the nine members of the Philippine lCommission, constituting the upper branch of the Philippine
Legislature, four are Filipinos, one of whom is
Secretary of Finance and Justice.
The lower house, composed of eighty members
and known as the "Assembly," is altogether Filipino, the delegates being elected by popular vote.
All legislation except that relating to the Moro
province and the wild tribes must now,receive the
sanction of this body.
Of the seven members of the Supreme Court,
three are Filipinos, one of whom is Chief Justice.
The Attorney General of the islands is a Filipino,
as are also a number of his assistants:
Of the twenty-four Judges of the Courts of First
Instance, twelve are Filipinos.
Three of the five Judges of the Court of Land
Registration are Filipinos.
The Director of Labor and his assistant are Filipinos.
The Judge of the Municipal Court of Manila is
a Filipino.
The Registrars of Deeds are all Filipinos.
All the Justices of the Peace throughout the
islands are Filipinos.
The Governors of all the Christianized provinces,
as also the third member of the Provincial Board,
the governing body in the provinces, are Filipinos,
elected by the people.
[338]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


In Manila three of the six members of the Municipal Board are Filipinos, one of whom is President
of the board.
The government of the various municipalities
throughout the islands is purely autonomous, their
officials being chosen by the community.
Of the eight thousand three hundred and sixty
teachers in the Bureau of Education, seven thousand
six hundred and ninety-six are Filipinos, of whom
six thousand six hundred and thirty-two are paid
from municipal funds and one thousand and sixtyfour from insular funds..
Of the eight thousand nine hundred and eighty-six
employes in the classified Civil Service, six thousand
three hundred and sixty-three, or seventy-one ber
cent, are Filipinos.
The islands also have two delegates in the United
States Congress, both Filipinos, who are free to,
agitate for independence or otherwise, as their personal convictions or political fortune may render
expedient.
Can anyone who dispassionately considers the
foregoing say that we have not given full measure
of performance in all that was promised these
people? It is easy to criticise and complain, but only
the self-seeking or the prejudiced can refuse to recognize in this record of twelve years' work something unprecedented in colonial administration, of
which our country may well be proud.
The task has not been an easy one. To new and
untried problems, an impoverished country, and
[339]




THE ODYSSEY OF


scant working material there was added a bitter war,
with its heritage of antagonism, of lawlessness, of
devastated fields, and the inertia incident to enforced
idleness and the breaking up of accustomed pursuits.
During the early years of our occupation an epidemic
of rinderpest swept over the provinces, destroying
the herds of carabao and cattle, leaving the people
destitute of work animals.  Agriculture, the true
source of wealth of the islands, was largely paralyzed, and outside capital, which might have relieved
the situation, was deterred from coming through the
persistent agitation of theorists and politicians looking to our early surrender of the islands.
The cooperation counted upon from the natives,
once they had proof of our desire to help them, did
not altogether materialize. Left to themselves, there
is little question but that the vast majority would be
perfectly content with the new opportunities offered,
and the securities to life and property guaranteed by
our rule. Unfortunately, however, they have not
been left to themselves. From the very beginning a
certain element among the people- from whom the
masses receive their ideas —has systematically criticised and condemned everything American, and has
apparently found nothing deserving of either praise
or gratitude in all that has been done for the betterment of their race. Either deliberately or through
ignorance, they have shut their eyes to the wider
aspects of the tremendous transformation worked in
their condition, and have magnified every mistake or
shortcoming of the government, and every pecca[340]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


dillo of some subordinate official, into a mountain of
injustice, over-shadowing every concession, privilege,
or positive good accorded them through our occupation. They have enthroned their so-called " political
ideal" above the economic welfare of the bulk of
their countrymen, whose interests they would willingly sacrifice for the ignis fatuus of a questionable
and uncertain independence. Such an attitude does
not stimulate altruism, nor does it encourage in the
belief that those giving expression thereto are deserving of still greater privileges. If such critics
would conscientiously contrast present-day conditions
with their situation shortly before our coming, they
might hesitate in their clamor for our precipitate
withdrawal. What that former condition was has
been graphically portrayed by their national hero,
Rizal, in his great work, Noli me Tangere, and it is
not one to be envied. With the gradual enlightenment of the masses the hold of these self-constituted
spokesmen is diminishing, and will soon become a
negligible quantity so far as obstructing the material
development of these fast developing islands is
concerned.
Our troubles have not all been local, however.
The Philippine Commission, in much of its work
here, has been dependent upon Congressional action,
to which body it was instructed to make( needful recommendations. Congress, however, saturated with
the expert knowledge of the Philippines acquired
amid the environs of Pennsylvania Avenue, has
chosen in many instances to either altogether ignore
[34 ]




THE ODYSSEY OF


these recommendations or to suppress and mutilate
them at the behest of private interests.
An earlier chapter details the sore straits of the
Commission in attempting to relieve from the debased currency formely in use. In I900 a plan
designed to remedy the evil was recommended 'to
Congress. That body did nothing. It was repeated
in 19o, supported by the report of a financial expert.
Congress simply haggled over it. In I902 it was
again urged, with the result that in 1903, after years
of business chaos, the scheme as originally recommended in I900 was adopted.
For eleven years now the Commission has vainly
pled with Congress to amend the mining code extended by it to the islands, whereby individuals and
corporations are limited to one claim on a vein or
lode. The restriction is without precedent in mining
law, and effectually blocks mining enterprise except
through subterfuge and evasion. Another provision
of the Philippines Bill, so absurd as to excite derision, is that which prohibits any person interested
in an agricultural corporation from holding stock in
a mining corporation, or vice versa. Such bill also
provides that no corporation shall engage in buying
and selling real estate, or hold over twenty-five hundred acres of land, however acquired. It also limits
the purchase of public lands to forty acres for an
individual and twenty-five hundred acres for a corporation. With a sparse population, scarcity of
labor, and over sixty million acres of absolutely unproductive state lands, these restrictions furnish a
[ 342




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


fair sample of the "intrenched ignorance" of our
legislators when dealing with Philippine affairs.
Theoretically, they seek to protect the Filipinos from
undue "exploitation;" practically, they hinder, delay, and stifle the economic development of the
islands, upon which all Filipino progress, whether
political or material, must be predicated.
Perhaps the most flagrant neglect of duty, however, was the delay of Congress in opening our markets to Philippine products. By virtue of the Treaty
of Paris the islands became domestic territory of the
United States, differing in no respect from Hawaii
and Porto Rico, against whose trade no restrictions
ever applied. Our responsibility toward the Filipinos is a national one, deliberately assumed, and yet
for nine years special interests in Congress were able
to block legislation intended simply to place them on
an equality with all others under our flag. When,
after years of struggle and argument, the House
agreed to remove the tariff barriers, the bill was
not even reported from the Senate committee. The
persuasive arguments of the sugar and tobacco trusts
proved stronger with that august body than its sense
of obligation to a stricken people whom we had
taken as wards. Finally, in I909, through the pejrsistent efforts of President Taft, without whose insistence it would never have been accomplished, free
trade was established between the United States and
the Philippines except as to sugar and tobacco. Upon
these products the sugar and tobacco interests were
still sufficiently represented to exact a limitation upon
[343 1




THE ODYSSEY OF


the amount which could be imported free of duty.
The whole thing is so palpable, so selfish, and so
opposed to decency and fair dealing as to bring
shame to every self-respecting American. Whether
our occupation, of the Philippines was wise or unwise
is immaterial; so long as we are here, we should
play the game honestly and squarely.
Another thing which complicates our work here is
the tendency of various ambitious Congressmen to
occupy their spare time in offering resolutions looking to the "Neutralization" or "Independence" of
the Philippines. The theme is a tempting one, lending itself, as it does, to oratory and newspaper headlines, without prejudice to their local fences. Reading the violent denunciations of these embryo statesmen, it might be imagined all our officials here were
tyrants "crushing beneath their despotic heels the
rights, liberties, and privileges of a long-suffering
people." While such speakers know (or could know,
if they cared) that they are lying, their xwo'rds become the text of native politicians and serve to complicate and embarrass the work of earnest men who
are striving in this far country to uphold the honor
and good name of our nation. The power for evil
of these intemperate notoriety seekers cannot be
exaggerated.
In much the same category as the above are the
Anti-Imperialists of Boston and thereabouts, who
grow red in the face telling of the terrible things we
have done and are doing to the Filipinos. That few,
if any, of these excitable persons have ever taken
[344]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


the trouble to come to the islands, or had or have
any practical knowledge of the situation, does not
disqualify them in the least from passing final judgment in the matter. While they would not be expected to buy a horse, or make a business investment,
without carefully examining the facts, such requirement becomes a " mere detail " when disposing of the
future destiny of eight millions of people, with all
their allied interests.
Usually, when a person desires information on
something outside his experience, he either investigates it himself or consults those who have made a
practical and disinterested study of it. There is no
reason why this mooted question of our Philippine
policy should offer any exception to this rule for
those honestly seeking the truth. The facts of the
situation have been stated again and again by those
qualified to speak, whose ability and sincerity are
beyond cavil.
In October, I907, Mr. Taft, then Secretary of
War, inaugurated the " Philippine Assembly," which
body had been created largely through his personal
efforts and recommendations. Speaking to as intellectual an audience of Filipinos as could be gathered
in the islands, and with every incentive to paint their
future as brightly as possible, he defined our purposes
toward them as follows:
The avowed policy of the National Administration under these two Presidents (McKinley and
Roosevelt) has been, and is, to govern the islands,
having regard to the interest and welfare of the
[ 345 ]




THE ODYSSEY OF


Filipino people, and by the spread of general primary and industrial education and by practice in partial political control to fit the people themselves to
maintain a stable and well-ordered government
affording equality of right and opportunity to all
citizens.
As this policy of extending control continues, it
must logically reduce and finally end the sovereignty
of the United States in these islands, unless it shall
seem wise to the American and the Filipino people,
on account of mutually beneficial trade relations and
possible advantage to the islands in their foreign
relations, that the bond shall not be completely
severed.
How long this process of political preparation of
the Filipino people is likely to be, is a question
which no one can certainly answer. When I was in
the islands last, I ventured the opinion that it would
take considerably longer than a generation. I have
not changed my view upon this point. However this
may be, I believe that the policy of the Administration, as outlined above, is as definite as the policy of
any government in a matter of this kind can safely
be made. We are engaged in working out a great
experiment. No other nation has attempted it, and
for us to fix a certain number of years in which the
experiment must become a success and be completely
realized would be, in my judgment, unwise.
In an earlier speech he stated:
I believe, as do most Americans who have had
great familiarity with the facts, that it is absolutely
impossible to hope that the lessons which it is the
duty of the United States to teach the whole Filipino
people, can be learned by them, as a body, in less
than a generation; and the probability is that it will
[346]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


take a longer period in which to render them capable
of establishing and maintaining a stable, independent
government.
In his special report as Secretary of War to President Roosevelt, made in January, I908, Mr. 'Taft
said:
What should be emphasized in the statement of
our national policy is that we wish to prepare the
Filipinos for popular self-government. This is plain
from Mr. McKinley's letter of instructions and all
of his utterances. It was not at all within his purpose, or that of the Congress which made his letter a
part of the law of the land, that we were merely to
await the organization of a Philippine oligarchy or
aristocracy competent to administer government and
then turn the islands over to it. On the contrary,
it is plain, from all of Mr. McKinley's utterances
and your own, in interpretation of our national purpose, that we are the trustees and guardians of the
whole Filipino people, and peculiarly of the ignorant
masses, and that our trust is not discharged until
those masses are given education sufficient to know
their civil rights and maintain them against a more
powerful class and safely to exercise the political
franchise.... The standard set, of course, is not
that of perfection, or such a government capacity as
that of an Anglo-Saxon people, but it certainly ought
to be one of such popular political capacity that complete independence in its exercise will result in progress rather than retrogression to chaos or tyranny.
Mr. Taft knows the Filipino people and their limitations as well or better, perhaps, than any other
American. He has labored with and for them as
[347]




THE ODYSSEY OF


Governor-General of the islands, as Secretary of
War charged with Philippine affairs, and as President of the United States, zealous to protect and
defend their interests. His work in the islands, and
the legislation enacted under his direction, are better
evidence of his sincere and disinterested desire to
help this people, and to deny them no just privilege,
than are the sounding words of cozy-corner politicians in the States.
In I9IO, the Hon. J. M. Dickinson, a Democrat,
then Secretary of War, visited the Philippines' and
made an exhaustive study of conditions. He journeyed from one end of the Archipelago to the other
and gave audience, both public and private, to everyone desiring to discuss the situation with him. In his
special report to the President, dated November 23,
I9 o, Mr. Dickinson says:
There are very many highly educated Filipinos,
many men of talent, ability, and brilliancy, but the
percentage in comparison with those who are wholly
untrained in an understanding of, and the exercise
of, political rights under a republican form of government is so small, and under the best and most
rapid development possible under existing conditions
will for a long period continue so small, that it is a
delusion, if the present policy of control of the
islands by the American people shall continue, to
encourage the Filipino people in the hope that the
administration of the islands will be turned over to
them within the time of the present generation. The
only inhabitants of the islands that are making any
marked progress in preparation for self-government
are the Filipinos proper, and, as stated, but a small
[348]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


percentage of these are sufficiently educated to understand and administer republican institutions. The
masses of them have no knowledge of general administration, and are under the control of leaders
whose will is practically their law.
Further in his report, and referring to an apparently concerted effort during his visit to work up a
demonstration in favor of independence, he deprecates such movement as follows:
The significant and questionable feature was that
stirring up the people to such demonstrations was
calculated to engender expectations as to immediate
independence which would certainly be disappointed,
and thereby result in discontent with the present
administration of affairs, and operate as an encouragement to those who are sowing the seeds of discord between the American Government and the
Filipino people, all of which tends to retard the
development for which we are striving.
The truth of the above observation applies equally
to those of our own people who, by their irresponsible utterances upon the question of Philippine independence, are hurting rather than helping those
whom they pretend to serve.
The Right Reverend Charles H. Brent, now and
for eleven years past Episcopal Bishop for the Philippines, and one of the ablest men in the islands, expressed his conviction that our Government was, if
anything, proceeding too rapidly with its policy of
extending political control to the natives. During a
recent speech he quoted with approval the following
[349]




THE ODYSSEY OF


passage from the farewell address of the Earl of
Cromer, who, as England's great Pro-Consul in
Egypt for nearly thirty years, dealt with problems
analogous to those confronting our government in
the Philippines:
I am not likely in future to take a very active part
in politics, but I shall continue, as far as my health
and strength allow, to take an interest in Egyptian
affairs. Whatever influence I can exert will be exercised in the direction of steady progress on the lines
already laid down.  I shall deprecate any brisk
change, any violent new departure; more especially,
if necessary, I shall urge that this wholly spurious
manufactured movement in favor of the rapid development of parliamentary institutions be treated for
what it is worth. And, let me add, it is worth very
little. It does not really represent the voice of the
intelligent dwellers in Eypt, European or Egyptian.
When all nonsense and exaggeration are swept away,
it will, I think, be found that the differences of opinion between my opponents, especially those in England, and myself are really not so much one of principle as of degree. They wish to gallop. I consider a steady jog-trot is the pace best suited to
advance the interests of this country. It is a pace
which has done us good service in the past, and I
say it should be continued, never relaxing to a walk
or breaking into a gallop. My strong conviction is
that if the pace is greatly mended a serious risk will
be incurred that the horse will come down and break
his knees.
I wish to tell you why I entertain and why I now
state these opinions. It is not because I hold any
political advantage will accrue to my own country
from their adoption. It is not even because I believe
[350]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


them to be shared by all the most intelligent classes,
European and Egyptian, in this country. No; it is
mainly because I hope that what I am now saying
will eventually be translated into the vernacular language, and will thus reach the ears of some, at all
events, of the voiceless millions of blue-shirted fellaheen, on whose labor the prosperity of the country
really depends. I, who claim always to have been
their true friend, warn them against allowing themselves to be duped and misled by their pseudo-representatives, who, without a shadow of real authority,
credit them with ideas which they neither entertain
nor fully comprehend, and who advocate a political
program, the immediate adoption of which, while
detrimental to all other interests, would, I am firmly
convinced, be specially hurtful to those of the poorest classes of the community. If, instead of being
the defender of a regime which has now lasted
nearly a quarter of a century, I were to turn my
hand to criticising it, I should be disposed to dwell
on the point that progress, instead of being too slow,
has been so fast that the reforms effected have not
as yet been thoroughly assimilated by the mass of
the population.
The above quotations, which state our problem in
the Philippines and its answer, might be multiplied
indefinitely. The Philippine Commission has iterated
and reiterated the same conclusions in its annual
reports during the past twelve years -conclusions
concurred in by practically every impartial investigator. These men are not conspirators, engaged in
a scheme to deceive the American public and rob the
Filipinos of their birthright, but are the representatives of our government, speaking with an authority
[35I ]




THE ODYSSEY OF


gained through months and years of actual contact
with this situation.
The Filipinos have today a degree of liberty and
freedom unknown among any oriental people, and,
under our protection and tutelage, are making rapid
strides along the road our forefathers builded with
blood and with tears. To now jeopardize all that
has been done, and all that is yet promised, by the
premature establishment of self-government, would
be an act of folly, as unjust to the great masses of
this people as it would be recreant and criminal of
us. Nowhere have the principles underlying this
matter of granting self-government to the Filipinos
been more clearly and forcibly expressed than by
our now President, Mr. Wilson, who, in his lecture
on " Constitutional Government in the United
States," delivered at Columbia University, in I907,
said:
Self-government is not a mere form of institu.
tions, to be had when desired, if only proper pains
be taken. It is a form of character. It follows upon
the long discipline which gives a people self-possession, self-mastery, the habit of order and peace and
common counsel, and a reverence for law which will
not fail when they themselves become the makers
of law: the steadiness and self-control of political
maturity. And these things cannot be had without
long discipline.
The distinction is of vital concern to us in respect
of practical choices of policy which we must make,
and make very soon. We have dependencies to deal
with and must deal with them in the true spirit of
our own institutions. We can give the Filipinos con[352]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


stitutional government, a government which they
may count upon to be just, a government based upon
some clear and equitable understanding, intended for
their good and not for our aggrandizement; but we
must ourselves for the present supply that government. It would, it is true, be an unprecedented
operation, reversing the process of Runnymede, but
America has before this shown the world enlightened processes of politics that were without precedent. It would have been within the choice of John
to summon his barons to Runnymede and of his own
initiative enter into a constitutional understanding
with them; and it is within our choice to do a similar
thing, at once wise and generous, in the government
of the Philippine Islands. But we cannot give them
self-government.  Self-government is not a thing
that can be "given" to any people, because it is a
form of character and not a form of constitution.
No people can be "given" the self-control of maturity. Only a long apprenticeship of obedience can
secure them the precious possession, a thing no more
to be bought than given. They cannot be presented
with the character of a community, but it may confidently be hoped that they will become a community
under the wholesome and salutary influences of just
laws and a sympathetic administration; that they will
after a while understand and master themselves, if
in the meantime they are understood and served in
good conscience by those set over them in authority.
We, of all people in the world, should know these
fundamental things and should act upon them, if
only to illustrate the mastery in politics which belongs to us of hereditary right. To ignore them
would be not only to fail and fail miserably, but to
fail ridiculously and belie ourselves. Having ourselves gained self-government by a definite process
[353]




THE ODYSSEY OF


which can have no substitute, let us put the people
dependent upon us in the right way to gain it also.
The mistake made by many of our people is in
accepting the insistent demands of a certain class of
natives, who largely control the sources of public
expression, as representing the desires and capacity
of the whole Filipino race. This is not the fact.
The population is split into innumerable and scattered divisions, many of them semi-savage, speaking
various dialects, and without any cohesion of interests or ideas. In the general elections held in June,
19I2, only 235,792 people voted, or.034 per cent
of the Christian population of the islands, and this
under a most liberal franchise. Our obligation is
not so much to the few, who possibly have the
capacity they claim, as it is to that vast majority
whose need and cry is not for independence, but
rather for that equality of right and opportunity
which is found only in just laws efficiently and honestly administered. Neither is this demand for immediate independence general to Filipinos of education and fortune. Investigation would disclose that
most of those who clamor loudest in this regard have
but small material interests at stake, while the conservative business element-the men of means and
property who are the backbone of the islandswould consider our early withdrawal nothing short
of a calamity.
Secretary of War Dickinson, in his report above
quoted, said:
[354]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


There is no doubt that, so far as publicly expressed, the general desire of the Filipinos is for
what they denominate "immediate independence."... While these, as stated, are the only views publicly expressed, I became convinced from reliable
evidence that many of the most substantial men,
while not openly opposing the demands publicly
voiced, would regard such a consummation with con-+
sternation. They realize that the government would
fall into the hands of a few who would dominate
the masses; that the administration, even without
outside interference, could not be successfully carried on; that there would be internal dissensions
and probably civil war, and that if the United States
did not interfere they would fall an easy prey to
some foreign power.
As implied in the foregoing, it is not in our power
to grant the Filipinos " Independence." It is within
our power to withdraw from the islands, but it is
not within our right to tell other countries, whose
interests may be affected, to stand off. Our overworked and somewhat wobbly Monroe Doctrine
does not extend to the Philippine Islands. To relinquish sovereignty, and still remain responsible for
the preservation of law and order, would render our
last condition worse than the first. The situation
prevailing in Mexico, our sister republic, whose inhabitants are far more homogeneous and far more
experienced in government than are the Filipinos,
should give pause to those who advocate the early
turning adrift of these islands to the perils both of
internecine strife and of foreign intervention.
As to "Neutralization"-the granting of inde[355]




THE ODYSSEY OF


pendence under an international protectorate-the
scheme is wholly chimerical and impossible.  It
would require, for success, the unanimous consent of
the world powers, for which consent there is neither
motive nor moving necessity.  Moreover, to be
" neutralized," a country must be thoroughly capable
of maintaining internal order and of protecting the
nationals of other countries within its borders. Until
it can do this any such plan would simply mean
sharing our present responsibility with other powers,
with the chances strong that some of them would
early find a pretext for overturning the arrangement.
It chanced that the Philippines were acquired, and
our policy with reference thereto was defined, under
a Republican administration. While two of our
Governors-General have been Democrats, and the
question of party allegiance has never entered into
the island government in anyway, the temptation to
use the situation for political purposes could not be
resisted in the States. Since 900o the Democratic
party has sought to make an "Issue" of the Philippines, the mere fact of the dominant party having
adopted a certain policy being ample ground for
denouncing it and demanding a change. Party success has been pinnacled above truth and honest dealing, and the effect of platform pledges upon the ballot box has meant more than the welfare of a dependent people given into our keeping. The ignorance and partisan prejudices of the masses are
invoked to destroy the work and falsify the testimony of men of character who have unselfishly
[356]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


builded in these islands a monument to the justice
and high sense of duty of the American people. It
is certainly a sad commentary upon our so-called
"leaders," when an obligation, national in its scope,
and requiring the highest statesmanship in its solution, is debased into material with which to catch the
votes of an indifferent or uninformed public.
Now that the Democratic party has triumphed at
the polls, it remains to be seen whether those charged
with the responsibility of government thereunder are
broad-gauged enough to appreciate that this problem
here is not one which concerns our people as Democrats or Republicans, but as American citizens. To
divide on our Philippine policy according to party
lines, simply because the islands have been used as
make-weight for political purposes, would be to give
the lie to our boasted independence of thought and
action in dealing with public questions.
No one would pretend that mistakes have not
been made in the Philippines, or that the present
situation leaves nothing to be desired. When the
ideas and institutions of one people, however good
or advantageous they may be, are superimposed upon
a race whose habits of thought, customs, and language are altogether different, opposition and friction are bound to result. Having acquired the
islands, however, and assumed responsibility therefor, it is submitted that the policy thereafter adopted
was not only creditable to our people but offered the
Filipinos every right and privilege which their then
condition made feasible or possible; that, with minor
[357]




THE ODYSSEY OF


Congressional lapses, our work since has been unremittingly directed to promoting the peace and prosperity of the whole people; that our pledge to grant
them a constantly increasing participation in the government has been consistently adhered to, and that
any agitation looking to a present or early change
in this policy hampers and delays the material progress of the country, injects an element of discord
into our relations with the people, and postpones the
time when our control can be safely relinquished.
In so far as the actual administration of affairs is
concerned, history will record that at no time and in
no place under our flag has any department of our
government been administered more faithfully and
honestly by those charged therewith than have the
Philippines.  Despite the minute scrutiny and
malevolent ingenuity of those anxious to establish
the fact, the one effort to discredit our authorities
here proved a complete fiasco. During I9Io a Congressman from one of the beet sugar States denounced in perfervid language the sale to American
sugar interests of one of the unoccupied Friar
estates, and charged various of our officials with
having used their positions to obtain advantageous
contracts as to such lands. The attack was widely
advertised by the Anti-Imperialist League, and by
those interested in discrediting sugar production in
the Philippines, who saw to it that the "Friar land.scandal" was duly featured in the American press.
A resolution was adopted authorizing and directing
the House Committee on Insular Affairs to thor.
[358]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


oughly investigate the charges made and report
thereon. This was done, numerous witnesses from
the Philippines and elsewhere being cited and examined, and an exhaustive study made of all records
bearing on the subject. The Anti-Imperialist League,
which apparently supplied most of the ammunition
to the sugar Congressman, was represented at the
hearing by a private attorney, who left nothing undone to prove his fellow-countrymen here malefactors, and to bring discredit upon our country and
flag. The result of this patriotic endeavor must
have proven bitterly disappointing, however. The
majority report of the Committee, signed by thirteen
members, sustained the action of the Philippine authorities throughout, and as to the personal charges
stated:
We find that the administration of lands in the
Philippine Islands has been fairly and honestly conducted, and that the charges and insinuations to the
contrary which have been made against the officials
charged with the execution of the laws in relation
thereto, whether officers of the Philippine Government or of the United States, are unwarranted and
unjust. W. Cameron Forbes, Governor-General;
Dean C. Worcester, Secretary of the Interior;
Charles H. Sleeper, Director of Lands, and Frank
W. Carpenter, Executive Secretary, are able, earnest, patriotic men, honestly performing their duties
under more or less trying circumstances.
The five other members of the Committee, while
disagreeing with the majority upon certain points of
[359]




THE ODYSSEY OF


law, found with them upon the charge of personal
wrong-doing, their report reading:
Nothing that has been developed in this investigation goes to show that those charged with the responsibility of administering the land laws of the
Philippine Islands have been guilty of any wrongdoing. Having, too, obtained and acted upon the
advice of the highest law officers of the Philippine
Government, they cannot be justly blamed for any
mistakes of law upon their part, if mistakes there
were.
Another favorite subject of criticism by those seeking flaws in the island administration is the construction of the Benguet road-the highway leading to
the summer capital of Baguio. As stated in a previous chapter, this road was surveyed by a military
engineer, who estimated it could be built in six
months at a cost of seventy-five thousand dollars.
Acting upon this report, the amount specified was
appropriated (Act 6i, Philippine Commission), with
provision that the work should be completed by July
I, I 901. As actual construction proceeded, the original
estimate was found defective, and further sums were
requested from time to time, resulting in an ultimate
outlay much greater than first planned. Those who
have visited Baguio, however, whether American,
foreigner, or Filipino, are practically unanimous in
saying that it is worth all and more than it cost. Its
wonderful mountains, its pine forests that remind of
our own northland, and its cool, bracing climate
[360]




THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION


make it an ideal resort and sanitarium for the pale
residents of the lowlands, whom fortune denies a
journey further afield. It is also the site of a military hospital and reservation, of valuable gold mines,
and a distributing point for all the mountain country
to the north. There is little question but that it will
eventually become a new Simla for the inhabitants
of the Asiatic seaboard, supplying as it does a needed
change in temperature and a wealth of natural
scenery scarcely surpassed in the world. So long as
the United States is called upon to send of its sons
and daughters to administer these tropical islands,
just so long should those who sit by their firesides
at home, or those for whose benefit our trust is assumed, cease to rail at Baguio. It now occupies a
necessary place in the economy of our government
service, and will, as time passes, be appreciated and
utilized more and more by the public generally.
If our people at home would relieve this Philippine question of its political and sentimental trimmings, they would find the issue comparatively simple. No self-respecting American would sanction the
sale of the islands, nor would he permit their being
taken from us by force. When we relinquish them,
if at all, it must be in favor of the Filipino people,
and this means in favor of all the people and not a
privileged few. No argument should be necessary
to convince that the question of when this can safely
and honorably be done is a practical one, and not a
matter to be disposed of by popular vote or popular
clamor.
[361]




THE ODYSSEY OF


For the present the true interests of this people
can be best served by assisting in the material development of the country, and in bringing to them that
economic independence so absolutely prerequisite to
their political autonomy. The islands are rich in
every natural resource, and offer a field for safe and
profitable investment perhaps unrivalled in the
world. The realization of this latent wealth of the
archipelago would mean increased opportunity for
the masses, and a hastening of the time when they
can intelligently administer a government of their
own based upon the equal rights of all. When this
fact is realized by our people, and the situation relieved of personal prejudice and the baneful influence of party politics, we may reasonably hope that
our undertaking here will prove a source of pride to
us and of satisfaction to the people whose welfare
we have taken into our keeping.
THE END


362 ]




INDEX


Administration of the Philippines,
what has been done, 332-340;
cost, 329, 330
Aguinaldo, in hiding, 124; capture of, 194; takes oath of allegiance, 222; address to the
people, 222-224; his gun foundry, 260
Amusements, 337
Anti-imperialists, 344, 345
Army in the islands, 51, 56; importance of precedence at functions, 85; the American soldier,
102; police work, 123
Baguio, 261-264
Benguet, as a summer resort, 71,
73; trip to, 255-275, 360, 361
Brent, Bishop C. H., views of
Philippine conditions, 350, 351
Bryan, W. J., 88, 108, 329
Canton, 40-43
Church and state, 336
Climate, 138, 139
Commission,   the    Philippine,
reason for its appointment, 5;
its members, 6, 7; legislative
body, 46; introduction to Manila, 49-51; scope and policy,
61; organization and assignments, 62; assistants, 64; its
methods of work 87; acts regarding labor and salaries, 143,
144; provincial organizations
in the north, 145-164; in the
south, 165-189; visits the Sulu
group, 191-202; further provincial  organizations,  203-214;
antagonism to, 214; further
organization work, 218, 220,
221, 225, 230, 232, 239, 244,
247; judiciary act, 252; Filipinos appointed members, 278;
Board of Health act, 282; constabulary  act, 283; favoring
Filipinos, 286-288; work misrepresented, 288; northern trip,
290-314;   tariff  bill,  315;
amount of work, 320, 321;
character of, 322, 323
Congress  and  the  Philippines,
mining  laws, 342; currency,
342; tariff wrongs, 343
Congressional party and ideas,
325


Cost of administration, 329, 330
Courts, reorganization of, 92;
evils of local, 93, 94; new codes
for, 94; improvement in, 333
Democratic party and Philippines,
89, 90, 356, 357
Dewey, Admiral, and his battle,
3, 4, 48, 99, 243, 244
Dickinson, J. M., report on the
Philippines, 348, 349, 354, 355
Dinners and balls, 84, 213, 220,
221
Education, 132-134; arrival of
teachers, 316; what has been
accomplished, 333
Federal  party  created,  122;
spread of, 136
Filipinos, character and life, 82,
100; education, 84; cockfighting, 99; reception to American
Commission  and   hospitality,
145-164, 209, 215, 216, 307;
adjustment to new conditions,
249, 250; represented in government, 286; political parties,
317, 318; radicals, 327; office
holders, 338, 339; opposition to
American help, 340, 341; their
liberty today, 352; arguments
a ainst  their  independence,
354, 355; best help for, 362;
summary of work for, 332-340
Finances, currency problem, 111 -114; improvement in, 336
Forestry regulations, 336
Friars, their rule in the islands,
73, 75-77; and life, 77, 78;
lands, 73, 74, 79; treatment of
the natives, 171; estates, 336
Grant, General Frederick, 129
Health service, 334
Hong Kong, 37-40, 44, 45
Honolulu, 10-15
Igorotes, receive civil government,
119, 120 267, 274
Imports 337
Independence of the islands, 4;
urged by natives, 68, 69; vague
ideas, concerning, 70, 71; how
far it can be favored, 287


[363]




INDEX


Insurrection and insurrectos, the,
4, 5, 59-61; 109, 226, 228, 232;
address of Judge Taft on, 233,
234
Irrigation, 335
Japan, 18-36
Judiciary act, 252
Kyoto, 30-32
Liquor and saloons, 117, 119
McKinley, President William, 90;
election, 124; effect of in Philippines, 206; assassination of,
319; and islands, 329
Manila, description of and life in,
48-58; improvement of port,
95; churches and services, 97,
98
Military government, 46, 50, 51,
56, 65; in the Sulu group, 191;
varieties of and the Commission, 214; varieties of, 241,
243; and provincial government. 253; change in, 279; in
Northern Luzon, 296
Moros, 193, 197
Municipal code, 139-141
Nagasaki, 33-36
Negritos, described, 130
Nikko, 23-26
Philippine Islands, government,
46; change    in  government,
280; what the United States
has done for, 327-362; cost,
329, 330; reason for occupation, 328, 331, 332; solving the
problem, 332
Postal savings bank, 335
Provincial organization work by
the Commission, among the
Igorotes, 119, 120; extension
of, 137; provincial government
act, 139, 141-143; methods and
experiences on northern trip,


145-164; on southern trip, 165 -189, 203-214, 218, 220, 221,
225, 230, 232, 239, 244, 247;
central civil government, 251,
254; northern provinces, 299,
313
Rizal, Dr. Jose, 80, 81, 205, 206,
341
Roads and road building, 90, 91;
to Benguet, 257, 263, 360, 361
"Star Spangled   Banner, The,"
effect of the music, 57, 128,
195
Sultan of Sulu, the, 192, 193
Sulu group visited, 191-202
Schools, American, 84; need of in
the islands, 132; religion in,
133, 134; arrival of teachers,
316; what the United States
has done for, 333
Spanish rule, 81, 82, 83, 90, 110;
feeling towards natives, 127;
as to education, 132
Taft, W. H. chairman of commission, d3; department of
work, 62; address to people in
the insurrection, 233, 234; address on civil liberty, 245; appointed civil governor, 278;
inauguration, 280; address at
inauguration, 281; address on
the policy of the United States,
345-347
Tokio, 20-23
Transportation, 335
United States and Philippine
islands reason for occupation,
328, 331, 332; what has been
done, 332-339, 358
Wilson, President Woodrow, on
self-government, 352, 353
Yokohama, 18-20, 26-30


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