islands, or the currency or coinage laws of the islands, shall not become law until approved by the President of the United States.

Section 11 confers upon the Philippine Legislature the power to assess taxes upon property and to impose internal-revenue taxes. It also increases the limitation of $12,000,000 now placed upon the public indebtedness of the islands to $17,000,000, and declares that no Province or municipality, except several specified cities, shall incur an indebtedness in a sum in excess of 5 per cent of the aggregate tax valuation of its property at any one time. It also provides the terms upon which the Philippine Government may make loans to Provinces and municipalities.

Section 12 provides that in case of the issue of bonds by any Province or municipality, the government may make provision to meet the obligation of such bonds by the levy and collection of taxes. Section 13 establishes a Philippine Legislature, to consist of two houses, one the senate and the other the house of representatives, and vests all legislative authority in them except as otherwise specified.

Section 14 provides that the members of the senate shall be elected for terms of four years, and that each senate district shall have the right to elect two senators, and prescribes their qualifications.

Section 15 provides that members of the house of representatives shall be elected for two years, and prescribes their qualifications.

Section 16 provides that at the first election held pursuant to the provisions of the bill the qualified electors shall be those having the qualifications of voters under the present law, and defines the qualifications of those who shall vote at subsequent elections. The educational qualification at present is that voters shall be able to read and write either Spanish or English. This bill provides that they must be able to read and write either Spanish, English, or a native language. By extending the suffrage qualification so as to permit all those who can read and write any native language to vote will necessarily largely increase the number of voters in the islands, since there are many literate Filipinos who are now debarred from voting by reason of their ignorance of Spanish or English.

Section 17 divides the islands into 12 senate districts, and provides that there shall be 90 legislative districts, 81 of which shall be as now defined by law and 3 in the mountain Province, 1 in Nueva Vizcaya and 5 in the department of Mindanao and Sulu. It is provided, however, that the Governor General shall appoint, without the consent of the senate and without restriction as to residence, senators and representatives who will, in his opinion, best represent the senate district and those representative districts which may be included in the territory not now represented in the Philippine Assembly.

Section 18 provides when the terms of elective senators and representatives shall begin and how special elections may be held to fill vacancies.

Section 19 grants the power to the two houses to organize and elect the usual officers. It also fixes the compensation of senators and representatives until otherwise provided by the Philippine Legisla

ture.

Section 20 establishes rules for the enactment of legislation. In case the Governor General shall veto any bill or resolution, the votes of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the legislature

are required to pass the same. Any bill or resolution thus passed over the veto of the Governor General must be submitted to the President of the United States and receive his approval before it can become a law. The Governor General is given the power to veto any particular item or items of an appropriation bill. All laws enacted by the Philippine Legislature must be reported to the Congress of the United States, which reserves power and authority to annul the An important provision of this section is that which provides that if at the termination of any fiscal year the appropriations necessary for the support of the government for the ensuing fiscal year shall not have been made, the several sums appropriated in the last appropriation bills shall be deemed to be reappropriated. This provision so changes the language of existing law upon this subject as to prevent further recurrence of the practice resorted to on three several occasions of applying funds appropriated for specified objects and purposes to other objects and purposes in the sole discretion of the Governor General.

Section 21 provides for the election of two Resident Commissioners to the United States.

Section 22 vests the supreme executive power in a Governor General, to be appointed by the President, who is given general supervision and control of the departments and bureaus of the government. It also defines his powers and duties. All appointments made by the Governor General must receive the approval of the Philippine Senate. He is also required to submit within 10 days of the opening of each regular session of the Philippine Legislature a budget of receipts and expenditures, which shall be the basis of the annual appropriation bill.

Section 23 provides that the Governor General shall be responsible for the faithful execution of the laws of the Philippine Islands, and of the United States operative within the Philippine Islands.

Section 24 provides for the appointment by the President of a vice governor, who shall have all the powers of the Governor General in the case of a vacancy or temporary removal, resignation, or disability of the Governor General, or in case of his temporary absence. The vice governor is to be the head of the executive department known as the department of public instruction.

Section 25 declared that, except as otherwise provided in this bill, the executive departments of the Philippine Government shall continue as now authorized by law until otherwise provided by the Philippine Legislature. It further provides that when the Philippine Legislature shall convene and organize, the Philippine Commission, as such, shall cease to exist and that the members thereof, except the Governor General and heads of executive departments, shall vacate their offices as members of said commission. Authority is conferred upon the Philippine Legislature to increase the number or abolish any of the executive departments except that of the department of public instruction. It may also provide that heads of executive departments shall have seats in either or both houses of the legislature, with the right of debating or voting or both. All executive functions of the government must be directly under the Governor General or within one of the executive departments under the supervision and control of the Governor General. This section also establishes a bureau to be known as the bureau of nonchristian

tribes, which shall have general supervision over the public affairs of the inhabitants of the territory represented in the legislatur by appointive senators and representatives.

Section 26 provides for the appointment by the President of an auditor, and defines the duties of that official. It also provides for the appointment in the same manner of a deputy auditor.

Section 27 provides for appeals to the Governor General from the decisions of the auditor.

Section 28 provides for the appointment by the President of a director of civil service, whose duty it shall be to perform the duties now prescribed by law for the director of civil service of the Philippine Government, and declares that no act amending the civil service laws of the Philippines shall be effective without the approval of the President.

Sections 29 and 30 prescribe the jurisdiction of the supreme court and the courts of first instance, which is practically as is at present. The chief justice and the associate justices of the supreme court are to be appointed by the President, while all other judges are to be appointed by the Governor General, by and with the consent of the Philippine Senate.

Section 31 confers upon the government of the Philippine Islands the right to grant franchises, including the authority to exercise the right of eminent domain. Ample provision is made in this section for protecting the rights of owners of private property and for placing proper limitations upon the issues of corporate securities.

Section 32 fixes the salaries of the officials appointed by the President of the United States and provides for their payment. The salaries of the officials not appointed by the President are to be determined by the Philippine Legislature. The salaries of the officials appointed by the President, as well as those appointed by the Governor General, are to be paid out of the revenues of the Philippines. Section 33 continues in force and effect all laws applicable to the Philippines not in conflict with the provisions of this bill.

THE PROVISION AS TO PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.

The foregoing synopsis, as heretofore indicated, relates only to the governmental provisions of the bill. The thirty-fourth, or last, section of the bill, commonly known as the Clarke amendment, embodies such provisions as relate to the future political status of the Philippine Islands.

Briefly summarized, it authorizes and directs the President to withdraw and surrender the sovereignty of the United States over the Philippine Islands and the inhabitants thereof, and confers upon him full power to take the several steps necessary to institute a free and independent Philippine government, acting by and through the governmental agencies created in the bill. This transfer of sovereignty is to become absolute not less than two nor more than four years from the date of the approval of the act. If, however, the President, prior to the expiration of the said period of four years, shall find that the condition of the internal or external affairs of the Philippines in respect to the stability or efficiency of the proposed government is such as to warrant him in so doing, he is authorized to extend the four-year period to the date of the final adjournment of the session of Congress which shall convene next after the expira

tion of said period. The President is also invested with full power and authority to make such orders and regulations and to enter into such negotiations with the authorities of the said Philippines or others as may be necessary to finally settle and adjust all property rights and other relations as between the United States and the Philippines, and to cause to be acknowledged, respected, and safeguarded all of the personal and property rights of citizens or corporations of the United States and of other countries resident or engaged in business in the islands or having property interests therein. The President is further authorized to reserve such land as in his judgment may be required by the United States for naval bases and coaling stations.

It is to be observed that, in addition to providing for the independence of the Philippine Islands within a specified period, the foregoing section directs (1) that the President shall take the necessary steps to enable the Filipino people to organize a government of their own, to become operative upon the withdrawal of American sovereignty over the islands; (2) that it invests the President with full power to adjust all property rights and other relations between the United States and the Philippines, and to safeguard all of the personal and property rights of citizens or corporations of the United States or of other countries resident or engaged in business in the islands or having property interests therein; and (3) that it authorizes the President to reserve such naval bases and coaling stations as may be required by the United States.

The final section of this bill is therefore not only clear as to purpose, but sufficiently comprehensive in scope to meet all the ends which justice to the Filipino people and a proper regard for American interests could reasonably demand. It does not attempt to prescribe the legislative and other machinery to be employed in the institution of the government which is to take the place of the provisional government created by this bill, nor does it even suggest the form of the government under which the Philippine Islands shall become a free and independent nation. It gives to the Filipinos the definite assurance that they shall not be set adrift without a government of their own, capable of maintaining peace and order throughout the Philippine Archipelago. At the same time it places in the hands of the President of the United States the power and authority to exact from this government every possible assurance and guarantee that the personal and property rights of every citizen of the United States or of any other nationality, resident or nonresident in the islands, shall be respected and safeguarded. The President being thus specifically clothed with the solemn duty of securing protection for every American interest in the Philippines as a condition precedent to their independence no apprehension need be felt by either corporations or individuals who have made investments therein.

But the doctrine "the Philippines for the Filipinos," proclaimed by President McKinley, and reiterated from that time to this by those charged with the administration of Philippine affairs, is now to be repudiated and abandoned if certain selfish interests in the United States are to be heeded. As an argument for retaining possession of the Philippines altruism has given way to sordid selfishness-what is right to what will pay best. The advocates of "indefinite," "remote," or "ultimate" independence have been driven by the rapid march of recent events to abandon the disguises under which they

have hitherto hidden their real designs. Heedless of the assurance that American interest in them was purely altruistic, that the millions annually expended in holding them was solely for the disinterested purpose of preparing them to assume the responsibilities of an independent existence, and utterly indifferent to the solemn promises that at some indefinite period the Philippines would be given independence, certain promoters and representatives of American capital are now openly asserting that having purchased the islands for the sum of $20,000,000 the United States has obtained a fee simple and indefeasible title to them, and therefore should hold them in perpetuity for purposes of exploitation. Abandoning all semblance of consistency there are also those who, heretofore conceding that the Philippines were at some time to be given their independence, now gravely contend that there is no constitutional way by which it is. possible that the alienation of the islands can be accomplished.

Although the commercial value of the Philippines to the United States is considerably greater than it was a few years since, owing to prevailing free trade conditions and the European war, it is, nevertheless, out of all proportion to the financial burdens which their retention imposes upon the American people as a whole. So that even considered from the standpoint of commercial gain, the exploitation of the Philippines is indefensible, since they are clearly a liability rather than an asset.

Whilst trade statistics are available, figures showing the annual disbursements from the United States Treasury on account of the military occupation of the Philippines are more difficult to obtain. Owing to the manner in which appropriations for the maintenance of the Military Establishment of the United States are made, and the methods of bookkeeping employed, it is not possible to state with accuracy just what the Philippines are costing the American people. President Taft stated in an official communication to Congress that this was an "insoluble problem." To segregate payments made out of lump appropriations for military purposes so as to show just what sums were actually expended in connection with the Philippines is a difficult, if not an impossible, undertaking. Admitting its possibility, there would still remain room for discussion as to whether certain items of expenditure should or should not properly be charged to the account of the Philippines. The items concerning which there can be no room for discussion constitute in the aggregate an annual expenditure much larger than the sum paid Spain for the islands.

It must by this time be apparent to all thoughtful people that the determination of the political status of the Philippines can not longer be wisely, if indeed safely, postponed. The war which is spreading death and ruin over Europe and large portions of Asia has brought the United States face to face with the vital question of preparedness against foreign aggression, and Congress is called upon to make adequate provision for the national defense. The popular demand for the strengthening of the military and naval arms of the Government is both loud and insistent, but before it can be wisely determined to what extent the Army shall be increased and the Navy enlarged it is absolutely essential that those charged with responsibility for the country's safety shall know whether the Philippines are to be given independence or be held as a colony to be fortified and defended. If they are to be included in any scheme of national defense which may be adopted the cost to the American people will