The Philippine Islands and Anseriron biter tits no the Ear East—The occupation of the Philippine Islands by the United States was but an incident in the beginnings of the overseas expansion of this most powerful of American republics. Mr. Bryan and others were greatly stirred in 1898 by what they regarded as a new and doubtful venture in American policy, but in reality the conquest of the Philippines was a new policy only in the matter of geographic location and not from the standpoint of a social or political process. If by imperialism is meant the occupation and exploitation of virgin soil previously possessed by a more primitive people. no nation has been more persistently imperial istic than the United States. Like Russia, the United States was long able to expand through the seizure of contiguous territory, and the his tory of the United States since 1789 can only be properly comprehended when interpreted as a process of continuous westward expansion. The 19th centur% witnessed the occupation of the central is mon of the American continent from ocean lotit the passing of the frontier in 1890 produced the necessity uf dis covering a field for expansion and investment elsewhere than within the boundaries of the United States. The dispute with Spain cier Cuba proved but a welcome pretext and a moral issue which allowed the formal and systematic initiation of a process which had been long in preparation. While the West Indies and the region of Central America and Mexico have been far more important in the commercial phases of the imperialism of the United States than the Philippine Islands, the latter constitute the best example of a systematic attempt at colonial administration by the United States.
The original population of the Philippines was probably a primitive pygmy negro stock. to which were added by migration Malayans. Chi nese and Arabs. The Philippines were first discovered by Europeans in 1521 when Ma gellan's fleet reached this region. The actual conquest by the Spanish was carried on from 1565 to 1571 under the leadership of Miguel Lopez de Legazpi. The conquest was most superficial, Luzon being the only island which was subjected to any considerable degree. From this time until 1898 the Philippines were con trolled by Spain, save only for the period of 1762-63,when Manila was occupied by the Bnt ish. They were governed as a subdivision of the larger administrative unit of Mexico. The con dition of the Philippines under Spanish rule was one of almost unrelieved stagnation and corruption. The political administration was generally corrupt and extravagant and the occasional honest and competent administrator met a fatal opposition from the •vested inter ests' The economic and commercial life of the islands was paralyzed under the restrictions im posed by the severe mercantilistic policy of the mother country. Finally, the Catholic friars secured control of much of the best land. es pecially in Luzon, intimidated the civil govern ment, and secured much immunity from the civil law. So onerous did the clerical domina tion become that several reform movements de veloped, the last of which had proved successful on the eve of the American occupation.. The military events connected with the American conquest of the Philippines are well known. Dewey crushed the Spanish opposition on the sea by his brilliant victory of 1 May 1898, and the land forces of the Spanish were soon oser powered by General Merritt. By the treaty Gf 10 Dec. 1898, Spain agreed to cede the Philippine Islands to the United States in lieu of a pay ment of 1120,000.000 and the guaranty of free entry of Spanish ships into Philippine ports f.r a period of 10 years. In spite of violent oppo sition from the °anti-imperialists' the United States government decided to accept the re sponsibility for 'civilizing' the inhabitants of tl e new island possessions. A preliminary Philippine Commission, headed by President Schurman of Cornell University, went to the Philippines in 1899 and gathered informs:kit c-sential to the establishment of a civil gm ernment. A more permanent administratne commission with Judge W. H. Taft at its
head was sent to the Philippines in 1900 Be fore his retirement three years later Mr Taft lad by his constructive administrative v, on that admiration by President Roi.,seseh which later secured for him the president" of the United States. A civil government •,.* c•ablished in July 1901, with the commissioners at its head. Native Filipino members were later to the commission. The notable Philip pine Act of 1 July 1902, made the civil govern ment permanent and provided the governmental arrangement which, with some modifications, prevailed down to the Jones Act of 1916. Pur suant to the policy of the act of 1902 a census was completed in 1905, and an election held for a native assembly in 1907. From 1907 to 1916 the commission acted as the upper house of the legislature. though after 1913 more Filipinos sere added to the commission. In August 1916, the Jones Act which provides the present constitutional basis of the Philippine govern ment. ordered the establishment of a native senate as well as a native house of representa tives. The chief executive remains the gov ernor-general appointed by the President of the United States. The judiciary was estab lished in 1901, and has from the beginning been made up of a majority of Filipinos. The Democratic administration has been especi ally favorable to an early acquiescence in grant ing the Filipino request for complete inde pendence, but even a Democratic Congress could not be induced in 1916 to commit itself to any definite date at which independence might be expected. It is extremely doubtful if com plete autonomy will begranted as long as there is urgent need for checkmating Japanese aggression in the Orient, for the United States could not afford to retire from so advan tageous a position or risk the possibility of being_ superseded by Japan as the possessor of the Philippines. \A hile there is a warm senti ment for independence in the native popula tion, there can be no doubt that the American administration has in 20 years accomplished great results in the way of improving the ma terial culture of the Filipinos, in fact here rivaling the achievements of the British in Egypt. The oppression and corruption were speedily wiped out; sanitary conditions have 'een greatly improved; the currency has been standardized; great public works have been completed; means of communication and trans portation have been improved and widely ex tended, railroads having been introduced; the educational work with the natives has been one of the most creditable of the administrative achievements, school facilities having been ex tended to over half of the population; industry and commerce have been fostered and greatly increased; and, finally, the juridical and penal institutions have been revolutionized, the Bili bid prison at Manila and the lwahig penal colony on the island of Palawan constituting probably the most advanced and successful penal system now in existence anywhere. The products of the Philippines are principally agricultural, being in order of importance, corn, rue. manila hemp, cocoanuts, sugar and to bacco. The rice and corn are, however, raised almost entirely for home consumption. Little manufacturing industry exists, though there has been a considerable development of saw mills and cocoanut-oil factories. At the pres ent time the commerce of the islands is con trolled by the United States which ships to the Philippines more goods than all other coun tries combined and buys from the Philippines about twice as much as all other coun tries. While this domination has been ab normally increased by war conditions, it seems that the United States has arrived at a state of effective preponderance in Philippine com mercial relations and that in this case, at least, •trade has followed the flag.* It is further probable that there is nothing subtle in the assertion that this state of affairs is not at all conducive to the hastening of the relaxation of the political grip of the United States on the Philippines. See PHILIPPINE 1st-mins.