abdicated, and his son, Sultan Ahmed Mirza [a young child] has
been proclaimed Shah by the Nationalist Committee under the
regency of Azad-ul-Mulk, head of the Kajar tribe, pending the
convocation of Parliament. The commanders of the Fedai and
Bakhtiari, as temporary chiefs of the Persian Government, have
accepted the services of the Persian Cossack brigade under
their Russian officers, on condition that the latter are
completely under the orders of the Minister of War. This
arrangement was ratified at a meeting between the commanders
and Colonel Liakhoff. Teheran is quiet, and the Persian
Cossacks are already fraternizing with the Fedai. The Sipahdar
has been appointed Minister of War, and the Sirdar Assad
Minister of the Interior." Being asked if he would represent
to the Russian Government the undesirability of advancing
Russian troops to Teheran, Sir Edward added: "In view of the
declarations already made by the Russian Government as to the
circumstances under which alone Russian troops would be sent
to Teheran and in view of the fact that no troops have been
sent to Teheran during the recent troubles, in spite of the
fact that at one time some apprehension, which happily proved
to be unfounded, was expressed for the safety of Russian
subjects, such representations would be most uncalled for."
On the 17th the Provisional Government gave notice to the
Anglo-Russian legations of the selection of the new Shah, and
asked that he should be delivered to their keeping; whereupon,
wrote the _Times_ correspondent, "M. Sablin announced the
request to the Shah, who replied that he thought his mother
would not consent. The Shah then took M. Sablin to his mother
and an affecting scene ensued. Both the mother and father
broke down at the thought of parting with their favourite son
and offered their second son in his place. M. Sablin replied
that the selection had been made by the people and that he had
no voice in the matter. The boy wept bitterly in sympathy with
his parents and declined to leave his mother. Finally their
Majesties were persuaded to agree. On receiving the Shah’s
assent, the necessary proclamation was immediately promulgated
and it was arranged that the Regent and a Nationalist
deputation would receive the little Shah.
"An interested crowd witnessed his departure this morning from
the custody of his natural guardians. During the morning
Sultan Ahmed wept bitterly at the prospect of becoming a King,
and it required a stern message to the effect that crying was
not allowed in the Russian Legation before he dried his eyes.
Then the little man came out bravely, entered a large
carriage, and drove off alone, escorted by Cossacks, Sowars,
and Persian Cossacks and followed by a long string of
carriages. At Sultanatabad he was met by the Regent and the
deputation and ceremoniously notified of his high position and
of the hope entertained by the nation that he would prove to
be a good ruler.
‘Inshallah, I will,’ replied the lad. Arrangements for the
Coronation will be made hereafter. In the meanwhile the little
Shah, who is guarded by a Bakhtiari, remains with his tutors
at Sultanatabad, where his mother is free to visit him."
At Teheran, affairs settled quickly into quiet, but disorders
were prolonged in various parts of the provinces, being
especially serious at Shiraz. The deposed Shah remained for
weeks at the Russian Legation, while negotiations with him for
a pension or allowance in return for his surrender of jewels
and money to the State went on, and the unhappy child who
occupied his palace had more sorrow than he.
Early in August Colonel Liakhoff returned to Russia and was
appointed to a regimental command. On the 1st of September a
general amnesty, with a few exceptions, was proclaimed by the
new government at Teheran. On the 9th of September the deposed
Shah left the shelter of the Russian Legation and journeyed,
with his queen, four younger children and several friends,
under Russian escort, to a residence in Russia, at Odessa,
which was his choice. Persia was still waiting for the able
and much trusted constitutionalist statesman, Nasr-ul-Mulk, to
return from his exile at Paris and accept the offered
premiership in the government; but on the 21st of September
the report went out that he had definitely declined the post.
He returned to Persia, however, in October. On the 11th of
October the Russian Government made known that it had decided
to withdraw the greater part of the troops it had been keeping
at Tabriz. A new Mejliss, for which the Regent had ordered
elections, was assembled on the 15th of November. On the 7th
of December the Mejliss unanimously approved the proposals of
the Government with regard to borrowing abroad and the
employment of Europeans in executive capacities for the
reorganization of the Finance Department. This, no doubt, will
improve the situation very greatly.
PERSIA: A. D. 1909 (January).
Destructive Earthquake in Luristan.
See (in this Volume)
EARTHQUAKES: PERSIA.
----------PERSIA: End--------
----------PERU: Start--------
PERU: A. D. 1899-1908.
Outline of History.
The leading events of Peruvian history are recorded in Volume
VI. of this work down to the election of President Eduardo de
Romaña, in 1899. "Romaña was a member of a prominent family of
Arequipa, and had been educated in England, at Stonyhurst. He
further had studied for, and taken a degree as, an engineer at
King’s College, London; and whilst he had not acquired much
experience in politics, he nevertheless successfully filled
the Presidential Chair throughout his term. He was alive to
the necessity for the development of the resources of the
country, and, fortunately, his administration was not
embarrassed by disturbances other than some small political
intrigues such as inevitably take place in a country which, as
Peru, was evolving a _régime_ of civil government.
{491}
During this term there was some influx of North American
capitalists, who acquired important interests, in the copper
mines of Cerro de Pasco, and who commenced the construction of
a railway line thereto. … The presidency of Señor Romaña
uneventfully expired at its natural time; elections were held,
and Señor Manuel Candamo, who had already provisionally been
head of the State, was chosen as president in May, 1903.
Candamo had been successful in quieting political animosities
after the revolt against Caceres and in consolidating the
political situation. Peru now showed real evidences of
advancement. The old turbulent element was passing away; those
leaders who had placed purely personal ambition before the
true interests of their country had given place to the natural
talent and ability of the best citizens, whom the times were
calling to the front. Candamo’s rule promised well for the
country. He was surrounded by able men, among whom, as chief
cabinet minister, was Dr. Domingo Almenard, an upright lawyer.
The fiscal revenue was increased by taxes, against which there
were murmurings, but which the country was able to bear, and
the tax on tobacco was set apart for the construction of new
railways. Unfortunately, this able administrator, Señor
Candamo, continued but a short time in office, for he was
overtaken by illness, and died at Arequipa in May, 1904. This
event left the country under the temporary leadership of the
second vice-president, Señor Calderon, for the first
vice-president had died also. An election was at once called
according to law, the two candidates which were put forward
being Dr. Jose Pardo, son of the former president of the same
name, and Señor Nicolas Piérola, who had already been at the
head of the Government on two occasions. Rivalry between the
partisans of these two candidates became acute, and although
it was feared for a moment that some disturbance might occur,
good sense prevailed, and the elections proceeded without
interruption. Both contestants were good men—Piérola
representing the party known as the _Democratas_, whilst
Pardo headed the _Civilistas_. There were not very
radical differences of principle underlying these distinctions
of name; both were for civil government and for national
progress. Piérola had done good work during his former term,
whilst Pardo had the prestige of the good name and
administration of his father, the former president of
1872-1876, and was also held in esteem personally among the
best element of the country. The result of the election—held,
probably, more fairly than ever in Peru before—fell to Dr.
Pardo, who took the presidential scarf and office in
September, 1904, and who still guides the affairs of his
country in a manner which has won the esteem of the nation, in
a general sense.
Dr. Pardo’s Cabinet was formed of some of the most capable men
in the country, prominent among whom was the minister of
Finance, Señor Leguia, to whose work is largely due the
improved financial situation. At the present time—1908—the
best elements of Peru are in the ascendant."
_G. Reginald Enock,
Peru: Its Former, and Present Civilization,
History and Existing Conditions,
chapter 9 (Scribner’s Sons, New York)._
PERU: A. D. 1901.
Broad Treaty of Arbitration with Bolivia.
See (in this Volume)
ARBITRATION, INTERNATIONAL: A. D. 1901 (NOVEMBER).
PERU: A. D. 1901-1906.
Participation in Second and Third International Conferences
of American Republics.
See (in this Volume)
AMERICAN REPUBLICS.
PERU: A. D. 1903-1909.
Boundary disputes in the Acre region with Bolivia and Brazil.
See (in this Volume)
ACRE DISPUTES.
PERU: A. D. 1905.
Arbitration Treaties with Colombia and Ecuador.
In a message to the Peruvian Congress, July 28, 1906,
President Pardo communicated treaties of arbitration with
Colombia, one general in its nature, the other special for the
settlement of existing boundary questions. Of the latter the
message said:
"As in former treaties of the same character which have been
heretofore concluded with that Republic, the controversy is
submitted to the decision, to be based upon considerations of
equity, of His Holiness Pope Pius X. But as our question with
Colombia is connected with the one with Ecuador, it has been
agreed that the arbitration with Colombia shall only take
place after the termination of the one in which we are now
proceeding with Ecuador, upon the adjudication by the royal
Spanish arbitrator to Peru of territories which are likewise
claimed by Colombia."
PERU: A. D. 1906.
Decree for the Encouragement of Immigration.
See (in this Volume)
IMMIGRATION AND EMIGRATION: PERU.
PERU: A. D. 1907.
Diplomatic Relations with Chile reëstablished.
The Tacna and Arica questions remaining open.
See (in this Volume)
CHILE: A. D. 1907.
PERU: A. D. 1908-1909.
Seating of President Leguia.
Attempted Revolutions defeated.
On the 27th of May, 1908, Augusto B. Leguia became President,
succeeding Dr. Pardo. Señor Leguia had previously been Premier
and Minister of Finance and Commerce; prior to which he had
been managing director of a great English sugar company in
Peru. A revolutionary movement had been attempted a few weeks
before, in which Dr. Augusto Durand and Isaias Piérola were
engaged, and which suffered defeat.
A year later, on May 29, a similar attempt was announced from
Lima, and ascribed to the same "agitators," who, said the
despatch, "made an assault upon the palace and seized
President Leguia. The army, however, remained loyal and came
to his support. The revolutionists were obliged to liberate
the President, who immediately took measures to put down the
movement. Within an hour, although firing was still heard in
the streets, President Leguia seemed to be master of the
situation. Many shots were exchanged between the troops and
the revolutionists and it is believed that the casualties will
be heavy."
This was contradicted a week later, so far as concerned Dr.
Durand. "It has been proved," said the later statement, "that
the revolutionary outbreak of last week was engineered
entirely by the followers of the Piérola brothers. A committee
of the Liberal party to-day visited President Leguia, and,
declaring that neither Dr. Durand nor José Oliva had taken
part in the movement, requested that these men be set at
liberty. The country is quiet."
----------PERU: End--------
PETER I., King of Servia: His Election.
See (in this Volume)
BALKAN AND DANUBIAN STATES: SERVIA.
{492}
PETIT, Archbishop Fulbert.
See (in this Volume)
FRANCE: A. D. 1905-1906.
PETROLEUM:
The Supply and the Waste in the United States.
See (in this Volume)
Conservation of Natural Resources.
PETROPALOVSK, SINKING OF THE.
See (in this Volume)
JAPAN: A. D. 1904 (February-August).
PHAGOCYTES: THEIR DEPENDENCE ON OPSONINS.
See (in this Volume)
SCIENCE AND INVENTION, RECENT: OPSONINS.
PHILADELPHIA: A. D. 1905.
A Spasm of Municipal Reform.
See (in this Volume)
MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT.
PHILADELPHIA: A. D. 1909.
Defeat of Reform.
See (in this Volume)
MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT.
----------PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: Start--------
PHILIPPINE ISLANDS:
Gains to Spain from their Loss.
See (in this Volume)
SPAIN: A. D. 1898-1908.
PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: A. D. 1900-1902.
The Stamping Out of the Bubonic Plague.
See (in this Volume)
PUBLIC HEALTH.
PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: A. D. 1901.
Second Report of the Second Philippine Commission.
Collapse of the Insurrection.
Peace in all but five Provinces.
Organization of Provincial Governments.
Native Appointments.
Central Civil Government.
Appointment of Governor Taft.
Filipino Members added to Commission.
Down to the capture of Aguinaldo, leader of the Filipino
insurgents, on the 23d of March, 1901, and his submission to
"the sovereignty of the United States throughout the
Philippine Archipelago," as announced in an address to his
countrymen on the 19th of April, the history of American rule
in those islands is recorded in Volume VI. of this work. The
Second Philippine Commission, with the Honorable William H.
Taft at its head, had entered on the performance of its
extensive legislative duties on the 1st of the previous
September, while the Military Governor continued to exercise
administrative powers. The Commission had begun the
organization of provincial and municipal governments, and the
establishing of a system of public schools, as related in the
Volume referred to. From its second report, covering ten
months and a half, ending on the 15th of October, 1901, the
following statements are drawn, to continue the outline of
principal events and most important affairs down to that date:
"The collapse of the insurrection came in May, after many
important surrenders and captures, including that of
Aguinaldo. Cailles, in Laguna, surrendered in June, and
Belarmino, in Albay, on July 4.
"There are four important provinces in which the insurrection
still continues, Batangas, Samar, Cebu, and Bohol. Parts of
Laguna and Tayabas adjoining Batangas in the mountain region
are affected by the disturbances in Batangas. In Mindoro also,
a thinly settled and almost unexplored island, there are
insurrectos. … Outside of the five provinces named there is
peace in the remainder of the archipelago. …
"The work of the commission since it began to legislate in
September, 1900, has been constant. … We have passed since our
last report, in addition to numerous appropriation bills, a
municipal code, a provincial law, a school law, a law
prescribing an accounting system, acts organizing the various
bureaus of the central government, acts organizing the courts,
an act to incorporate the city of Manila, a code of civil
procedure for the islands, and a new tariff act. …
"The general provincial law provides for a provincial
government of five officers—the governor, the treasurer, the
supervisor, the secretary, and the fiscal, or prosecuting
attorney. The governing board is called the provincial board,
and includes as members the governor, the treasurer, and the
supervisor. The prosecuting attorney is the legal adviser of
the board and the secretary of the province is its secretary.
The first function of the provincial government is to collect,
through the provincial treasurer, all the taxes, with few
exceptions, belonging to the towns or the province. Its second
and most important function is the construction of highways
and bridges and public buildings. Its third function is the
supervision, through the governor and the provincial
treasurer, of the municipal officers in the discharge of their
duties. Within certain limitations, the provincial board fixes
the rate of levy for provincial taxation.
"The governor has the power to suspend any municipal officer
found failing in his duty, and is obliged to visit the towns
of the province twice in a year, and hear complaints against
the municipal officers. … Under the act the offices are all to
be filled at first by appointment of the commission. The
governor holds his office until February, 1902, when his
successor is to be elected in a mass convention of the
municipal councilors of the towns of the province. The
secretary, treasurer, and supervisor after February next are
brought under the civil-service act, and all vacancies
thereafter arising are to be filled in accordance with the
terms of that act. The fiscal is appointed for an
indeterminate period, and is not subject to the civil-service
law. …
"The commission reached the conclusion that it would aid in
the pacification of the country; would make the members of
that body very much better acquainted with the country, with
the people, and with the local conditions, and would help to
educate the people in American methods, if the commission went
to the capital of each province and there passed the special
act necessary to create the provincial government and made the
appointments at that time. Accordingly, the commission visited
thirty-three provinces. …
{493}
"The policy of the commission in its provincial appointments
has been, where possible, to appoint Filipinos as governors
and Americans as treasurers and supervisors. The provincial
secretary and the provincial fiscal appointed have uniformly
been Filipinos. It will be observed that this makes a majority
of the provincial board American. The commission has, in
several instances, appointed to provincial offices former
insurgent generals who have been of especial aid in bringing
about peace, and in so doing it has generally acted on the
earnest recommendation of the commanding officer of the
district or province. We believe the appointments made have
had a good effect and the appointees have been anxious to do
their duty. …
"The central government of the islands established in
September, 1900, under the instructions of the President, with
a military governor as chief executive and the commission as
the legislative body with certain executive functions in
addition, continued until the 4th of July, 1901. At that time
Major General Adna R. Chaffee relieved Major-General MacArthur
as commanding general of this division and military governor.
By the order of June 21, previous, in all organized provinces
the civil executive authority theretofore reposed in the
military governor and in the commission was transferred on
July 4 to a civil governor. The president of the commission
was designated as civil governor. …
"By an order taking effect September 1, the purport of which
was announced the 4th day of July, there were added to the
commission, as a legislative body, three Filipinos, Dr. T. H.
Pardo de Tavera, Señor Benito Legarda, and Senor José
Luzuriaga. These gentlemen, the first two of them residents of
Manila and the last a resident of the island of Negros, had
been most earnest and efficient in bringing about peace in the
islands. Dr. Tavera was the first president of the Federal
party, had accompanied the commission in its trips to the
southern provinces, and was most useful in the effective
speeches which he delivered in favor of peace and good order
at every provincial meeting. Señor Legarda had been valuable
in the extreme to General Otis and to all the American
authorities by the wisdom of his suggestions, and the courage
and earnestness with which he upheld the American cause as the
cause most beneficial to his country. Señor José Luzuriaga was
a member of the first government of the island of Negros,
organized while there was insurrection rife throughout the
islands, as an independent government under the supervision of
a military governor, and was most active in preventing the
insurrection from gaining any foothold in that important
island. …
"The theory upon which the commission is proceeding is that
the only possible method of instructing the Filipino people in
methods of free institutions and self-government is to make a
government partly of Americans and partly of Filipinos, giving
the Americans the ultimate control for some time to come. In
our last report we pointed out that the great body of the
people were ignorant, superstitious, and at present incapable
of understanding any government but that of absolutism. The
intelligence and education of the people may be largely
measured by knowledge of the Spanish language. Less than 10
per cent of the people speak Spanish. With Spaniards in
control of these islands for four hundred years and with
Spanish spoken in all official avenues, nothing could be more
significant of the lack of real intelligence among the people
than this statement. The common people are not a warlike
people, but are submissive and easily—indeed much too
easily—controlled by the educated among them, and the power of
an educated Filipino politically ambitious, willing to plot
and use all the arts of a demagogue in rousing the people, is
quite dangerous. The educated people themselves, though full
of phrases concerning liberty, have but a faint conception of
what real civil liberty is and the mutual self-restraint which
is involved in its maintenance. They find it hard to
understand the division of powers in a government, and the
limitations that are operative upon all officers, no matter
how high. In the municipalities, in the Spanish days, what the
friar did not control the presidente did, and the people knew
and expected no limit to his exercise of authority. This is
the difficulty we now encounter in the organization of the
municipality. The presidente fails to observe the limitations
upon his power, and the people are too submissive to press
them. In this condition of affairs we have thought that we
ought first to reduce the electorate to those who could be
considered intelligent, and so the qualifications for voting
fixed in the municipal code are that the voter shall either
speak, read, and write English or Spanish, or that he shall
have been formerly a municipal officer, or that he should pay
a tax equal to $15 a year or own property of the value of
$250."
_Report of the U. S. Philippine Commission,
from December 1, 1900, to October 15, 1901,
part 1, pages 7-20._
PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: A. D. 1901-1902.
Report of Governor Taft.
Civil Government established in
all Christian Filipino Territory.
The Moros.
Destruction of the Carabao.
Cholera.
Ladrones.
The Native Constabulary.
"When our last report was submitted there was insurrection in
the province of Batangas, where the insurgent forces were
commanded by General Malvar, and in the adjacent provinces of
Tayabas and Laguna; in the province of Samar, where the
insurgent forces were commanded by General Lukban; in Cebu,
where the insurgent forces were under the insurgent leaders
Climaco and Maxilom; in Bohol, where the insurgent forces were
commanded by the insurgent leader Samson; and in the island of
Mindoro. Vigorous campaigns were begun in November and
December by General Bell, in Batangas, Laguna, Tayabas, and
Mindoro, by General Smith in Samar, and by General Hughes in
Cebu and Bohol. In November and December the insurgents in
Cebu and Bohol surrendered, and conditions of peace were so
completely established that the Commission soon after received
the province of Cebu from the military authorities, and by act
numbered 322, passed December 20, 1901, restored the civil
government in that province to take effect January 1, 1902; in
Bohol the province was delivered over to the Commission early
in 1902, and the commission, by act of March 3, 1902, restored
civil government there to take effect April 1, 1902. General
Lukban, in Samar, was captured in February, 1902, and the
entire force of insurgents in that island under General
Guevara surrendered in April following.
{494}
"By an act passed June 17, 1902, Number 419, the Commission
organized the province of Samar, and established civil
government there. In April of 1902, General Malvar surrendered
with all his forces in Batangas, and by act passed June 23,
1902, the Commission restored civil government to that
province to take effect July 4, 1902. By act Number 424,
enacted July 1, 1902, the province of Laguna was organized
into a civil government. This completed the organization of
all the provinces in which insurrection had been rife during
the latter part of 1901, except Mindoro. There were, in
addition, certain tracts of territory occupied by Christian
Filipinos that had not received civil government, either
because of the remoteness of the territory or the scarcity of
population." The report then details the measures by which
civil government was given to these tracts of territory, and
proceeds:
"The question what shall be done with respect to Mindanao is
one which has not been definitely decided, first, because so
much has had to be done with respect to the northern and
Filipino provinces, and, second, because at present there is
an unsettled condition in the Lake Lanao country. The
hostility to the Americans does not reach beyond the Lake
Lanao Moros. The Moros of the Jolo group, of Zamboanga, and of
the Rio Grande de Mindanao Valley are all quiet, and all
entirely willing to submit to American supervision. It is very
possible that an arrangement can be brought about by which the
Sultan of Jolo can be induced to part with such rights as he
claims to have in the Jolo Archipelago, and in this way
questions which now present very perplexing difficulties with
respect to ownership of privileges, rights, and lands may be
obviated. … I think it wiser on the part of the Commission to
postpone the consideration of the Moro question until we have
passed legislation to meet needs that are more pressing
throughout the northern part of these possessions of the
United States. For a great many years to come there will be no
question of popular government in the Moro country; the Moros
do not understand popular government, do not desire it, and
are entirely content with the control by their dattos.
Possibly far in the future the control by dattos will cease.
There is room for material and industrial development among
the Moros, and with their material improvement may come a
change in their political views. For the present, however, it
is necessary only to provide a paternal, strong, but
sympathetic government for these followers of Mohammed.
"The civil government has assumed responsibility for the
preservation of order and the maintenance of law throughout
the Christian Filipino territory of this archipelago at a time
when the material conditions are most discouraging and present
every conceivable obstacle to the successful administration of
the affairs of 6,000,000 or 7,000,000 people. The war of six
years since 1896 has greatly interfered with the regular
pursuit of agriculture, which is almost the only source of
wealth in the islands. Many years ago there was sufficient
rice raised in the islands not only to feed the people but to
export it to other countries. For a number of years before the
American occupancy rice had been imported. The area of
cultivation of the rice has been much lessened during the war
and many fields which were formerly tilled are grown now with
the cogon grass because of neglect.
"The greatest blow to agriculture has been the loss of the
carabao or water buffalo, upon which the cultivation of rice,
according to the mode pursued in these islands, is wholly
dependent. The war in some degree, and the rinderpest in a
much larger degree, have destroyed about 90 per cent of the
carabaos; and the natives—never very active in helping
themselves—have simply neglected the rice culture, so that
now the islands are compelled to spend about $15,000,000 gold
to buy food upon which to live. The carabao is not so
necessary in the cultivation of the sugar crop or in the
cultivation of hemp. …
"The cholera has swept over these islands with fatal effect,
so that the total loss will probably reach 100,000 deaths.
Whole villages have been depopulated and the necessary
sanitary restrictions to avoid its spread have interfered with
agriculture, with intercommunication, and with all business.
The ravages of war have left many destitute, and a guerrilla
life has taken away from many all habits of industry. With no
means of carrying on agriculture, which is the only occupation
of these islands, the temptation to the less responsible of
the former insurgents after surrender to prey upon their
neighbors and live by robbery and rapine has been very great.
The bane of Philippine civilization in the past was ladronism,
and the present conditions are most favorable for its growth
and maintenance. … Many who were proscribed for political
offences in the Spanish times had no refuge but the mountains,
and being in the mountains conducted a free robber life, and
about them gathered legions not unlike those of the Robin Hood
days of England, so that they attracted frequently the
sympathy of the common people. In the Spanish days it was
common for the large estate owners, including the friars, to
pay tribute to neighboring ladrones. Every Tagalog province
had its band of ladrones, and frequently each town had its
recognized ladrone whom it protected and through whom it
negotiated for immunity. …
"The insurrection is over. It is true that the ladrones,
though they live on nothing but cattle and rice stealing, and
never attack American soldiers, and prey only upon their own
people, do masquerade as insurrectos; but they recognize no
authority and have no characteristics other than those of
banditti. They have stirred up in some of the provinces the
organization of so-called secret societies for the purpose of
securing agencies with which successfully to conduct their
robbery and to sell the fruits of it. … The picture that I
have given of the depressed condition of agriculture, and the
tendency to ladronize in the Tagalog provinces and in some of
the Visayan provinces, does not apply to those provinces in
which hemp is the chief product. They are wealthy and
prosperous."
_Report of Governor W. H. Taft
(Report of the Philippine Commission, 1902, part 1)._
{495}
PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: A. D. 1902.
Padre Aglipay’s Secession from the Roman Catholic Church.
Organization of the Independent Filipino Catholic Church.
"Gregorio Aglipay is an Ilocano, and was an ordained priest of
the Roman Catholic Church in these islands before the
insurrection. During the insurrection he continued his
priestly functions at Mabolos and took such action as to bring
him into conflict with the hierarchy of the Church. What the
merits of this controversy were I do not know. Subsequently he
assumed the leadership of the insurrecto forces in Ilocos
Norte and carried on a very active campaign in the mountains
of that province. He was one of the last of the leaders to
surrender with his forces in North Luzon. Since his surrender
he has been quite active in spreading propaganda among the
native priests against the so-called Friar domination of the
church in these islands. The definite refusal of the Vatican
to withdraw the Spanish friars from the islands was made the
occasion for the formation of the Independent Filipino
Catholic Church. Actively engaged with Aglipay in this
movement was Isabelo de los Reyes, the former editor of an
insurrecto paper, published in Madrid, called Filipinas ante
Europa, and an agitator of irresponsible and irrepressible
character. … Padre Aglipay has secured the active and open
cooperation of a number of native priests, 15 of whom he has
appointed bishops, himself having the title of archbishop. He
has held mass in many different places in and about Manila;
his services have attracted large gatherings of people. …
"In order to prevent constant recurrence of disturbances of
the peace I have had to take a firm stand with the leaders of
the movement by impressing upon them that forcible
dispossession of a priest of the Roman Catholic Church, for
years in peaceable possession of the church and the rector’s
house, is contrary to law, and would be prevented by the whole
police power. The leaders of the movement assure me that they
have no desire to violate the law and wish to keep within it,
but that their followers at times are hard to control. I have
said to them that if they claim title to the churches they may
assert it through the courts, and if successful will secure
not only the confirmation of their title but actual
possession. …
"I have taken occasion to say, whenever an opportunity
occurred, that the insular government desired to take no part
whatever in the religious controversies thus arising; that it
would protect Father Aglipay and his followers in worshiping
God as they chose just as it would protect the Roman Catholic
Church and its ministers and followers in the same rights. But
that, if the law was violated by either party, it would become
the duty of the government to step in and restrain such
lawlessness."
_Governor Wm. H. Taft,
Report, 1902, pages 39-40._
PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: A. D. 1902-1903.
Governmental Purchase of the Friars’ Lands.
"As early as 1898, the Peace Commission, which negotiated the
treaty of Paris, became convinced that one of the most
important steps in tranquilizing the islands and in
reconciling the Filipinos to the American Government would be
the governmental purchase of the so-called friars’
agricultural lands in the Philippines, and the sale of these
lands to the tenants upon long, easy payments. … The Secretary
of War and the President concurred in the recommendations of
the Commission. Accordingly in May, 1902, the writer, as civil
governor of the Philippine Islands, was directed by the
Secretary of War to visit Rome and to confer with the Pope or
such agents as he might designate in respect to the question
of buying the friars’ agricultural lands and other questions
of a similar character which were pending between the Roman
Catholic Church and the Government. The negotiations which
were had on this subject in Rome were set forth in the
correspondence published by the Secretary of War in his report
to Congress for last year. In a word, the Pope approved the
purchase of the agricultural lands of the three great
religious orders that owned agricultural lands in the islands
and appointed an apostolic delegate with as full powers as he
could be invested with to bring about this result. …
"In order to determine the value of the estates, the
representatives of the various companies and other interests
were invited to attend a hearing, when various witnesses were
called to testify. The apostolic delegate was also present. …
"In accordance with the agreement reached in Rome, I sent to
the apostolic delegate a request for a statement of the exact
interests retained by the religious orders in the Philippines
in the lands which were the subject of negotiation. No formal
answer to this letter was ever received, but informally it was
stated to me by the delegate that the authorities in the
Philippines had informed him that they had so disposed of
their interests that they were unable to make a statement of
what their interests were, if any. The value of the lands, as
estimated according to the statements of the agents of the
companies, aggregated a sum between thirteen and fourteen
millions of dollars gold. The estimate of Villegas, the
surveyor employed by the Commission, showed the valuation of
the lands to be $6,043,000 gold, if his value in Mexican
should be reduced to gold at the rate of two to one, which was
the gold rate about the time of his survey and classification,
though the Mexican dollar fell considerably after that.
Considering the bad conditions which prevailed in agriculture,
the loss of cattle, the dispute concerning title, and the
agrarian question that must always remain in the management of
these estates and embarrass the owner, I considered—and I
believe the Commission generally agreed with me—that
$6,043,000 gold was a full price for the lands. The sum,
however, was scouted by the persons representing the owners,
and there appeared to be very little prospect of reaching an
agreement. …
"Not discouraged, however, by circumstances that seemed most
discouraging, the apostolic delegate bent his energies to
bringing the parties to a settlement. After some negotiation
the delegate first stated that he thought he could arrange a
sale for $10,500,000 gold. I told him there was no hope of
bringing about a purchase at that figure. … Then followed a
long and protracted discussion between the parties who were to
be the venders as to how this sum should be divided, and there
was much difficulty in arriving at a solution—so great a
difficulty, indeed, that I was informed that unless $7,770,000
was paid there was no hope of reaching an agreement. With the
approval of the Secretary of War and the Commission, I replied
that $7,543,000 was our ultimatum, and that we would not give
more than that, and this was ultimately the basis upon which
the price was fixed."
_Report of the Civil Governor of the Philippine Islands,
William H. Taft
(Fourth Report of the Philippine Commission)._
{496}
PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: A. D. 1905.
Report of Committee on Methods of Dealing with the Sale and
Use of Opium.
See (in this Volume)
OPIUM PROBLEM.
PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: A. D. 1906-1907.
Resignation of Governor Ide.
Appointment and Inauguration of Governor Smith.
Complete Tranquility in the Islands.
Change in the Constitution of Provincial Boards.
"On September 20, 1906, the resignation of the Honorable Henry
Clay Ide as governor-general became effective, and on that
date the Honorable James F. Smith was inaugurated as
governor-general of the Philippine Islands. … Since April of
this year complete tranquility has prevailed in every part of
the archipelago, inclusive of the Moro province. In 21 of the
provinces peace has reigned supreme during the entire year. In
Bataan and Batangas there was some disturbance of the public
order, caused in the case of the first-named province by the
escape of some provincial prisoners, and in the second by the
operations of six or seven brigands near the boundary line of
the provinces of La Laguna and Tayabas. All of the escaped
prisoners and all of the bandits with the exception of two in
each party have been captured. …
"The convention of provincial governors held in Manila in
October, 1906, recommended that the then existing law
providing that provincial boards shall be composed of a
provincial governor elected by the municipal councilors and
vice-presidents of the various municipalities of the province
and a provincial treasurer and a third member appointed by the
executive be so amended as to permit of the election of the
provincial governor and third member by direct vote of the
people. This recommendation was submitted to the Secretary of
War, and on receiving his approval thereof the provincial
government act was amended accordingly. This innovation in the
constitution and selection of provincial boards has been an
advantage both to the insular and to the local government. On
the one hand it has removed all cause for friction between the
provincial governor elected by the people and the two members
of the board named by the executive. On the other it has
imposed upon the provincial governor and the third member the
responsibility for the well-being of the province and has
removed from the insular government much of the responsibility
for conditions purely of local concern."
_Report of the Philippine Commission,
December 31, 1907
(Abridgment, Message and Documents, 1907, pages 799-807)._
PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: A. D. 1907.
The Philippine Election Law.
Election of a Popular Assembly.
Political Parties participating in it.
The first meeting of the Assembly.
Presence of Secretary Taft.
His account of the Assembly and of the Parties
represented in it.
"In January, 1907, the Philippine Commission passed the
Philippine election law. In framing this law the election
codes of Massachusetts, New York, the District of Columbia,
and California were consulted and features adopted from each,
modified in such a way as to meet insular conditions and to
avoid the mistakes and abuses that have arisen in some
provincial and municipal elections in the islands. The aim has
been to provide a law sufficiently explicit and not too
complicated for easy comprehension. Every effort has been made
to afford the necessary safeguards and machinery to insure
purity, secrecy, certainty, and expedition, without causing
too great a drain upon the resources of municipal and
provincial governments. The prominent features of this law as
amended are the division of those provinces not inhabited by
Moros or other non-Christian tribes into 78 assembly
districts, each province to constitute at least one district
and the more populous being divided into more districts, in
the ratio of 1 to every 90,000 of population and major
fraction thereof remaining. In accordance with this
apportionment there will be 80 delegates, two of whom will
represent the city of Manila, which is considered as a
province, within the meaning of the act of Congress, and
divided into two districts."
_Report of the Chief of the Bureau of Insular Affairs,
October 31, 1907
(Abridgment, Message and Documents, 1907, page 781)._
"On the 28th of March, 1907, the Commission by resolution,
unanimously adopted, certified to the President that for two
years following the publication of the census of the islands a
condition of general and complete peace had prevailed and then
existed in the territory of the islands not inhabited by Moros
or other non-Christian tribes. … By virtue of this certificate
and in accordance with the provisions of the act of Congress of
July 1, 1902, the President on March 28, issued a proclamation
directing the Philippine Commission to call a general election
for the choice of delegates to a popular assembly. Accordingly
on the 30th of March, 1907, the Commission passed a resolution
ordering that an election be held for delegates on July 30 and
directing the governor-general to issue a proclamation
announcing the election for that date. The proclamation was
issued on April 1. By a strange coincidence the day of the
month fixed for holding the election was the same as that on
which the first legislative body in America, the house of
burgesses, met in the year 1619. Under the general election
law the delegates to the assembly elected at the elections
held on July 30th, 1907, and seated by the Philippine
assembly, will serve until January 1, 1910. Subsequent
elections for delegates will be held on the first Tuesday
after the first Monday in November, 1909, and on the first
Tuesday after the first Monday in November in each
odd-numbered year thereafter, delegates to take office on the
1st day of January next following their election and to hold
office for two years, or until their successors are elected
and qualified.
"The basis of representation in the Philippine assembly is one
delegate for every 90,000 of population and one additional
delegate for a major fraction thereof: Provided, however, that
each Christian province shall be entitled to at least one
delegate and that the total number of delegates shall at no
time exceed 100. Provinces entitled to more than one delegate
are divided into districts. The law declares Manila to be a
province within the meaning of the act of Congress authorizing
the assembly, and, it is allowed the same representation as
other provinces. Thirty-four provinces are represented in the
Philippine assembly, which is composed of 80 members.
{497}
"The act of Congress requires that delegates to the assembly
shall be qualified electors of the election district in which
they may be chosen, 25 years of age, and owing allegiance to
the United States. The act of Congress prescribes that the
qualifications of electors shall be the same as those
prescribed for electors in municipal elections under laws in
force at the time of the passage of the Congressional
enactment. As the municipal election laws in force at the time
of the passage of the act of Congress have undergone some
change in regard to the qualifications of electors, the
strange anomaly is presented of having certain
qualifications exacted from municipal and provincial officials
which are not required for delegates to the assembly. One of
the results is that felons, victims of the opium habit, and
persons convicted in the court of first instance for crimes
involving moral turpitude, but whose cases are pending on
appeal, are not eligible for election to any provincial or
municipal office, but may become delegates to the assembly.
"As announced by provincial governors the elections for
assemblymen held on the 30th of July, 1907, resulted in the
election of 32 Nacionalistas, 4 Independistas, 7
Inmediatistas, 16 Progresistas, 20 Independents, and 1 Centro
Catolico. The total number of voters registered for the
assembly elections was 104,966. The number of voters
registered for the provincial and municipal elections will be
very much larger than that for the assembly elections. The
difference in registration and votes cast at the two elections
seems to show with considerable certainty that there was far
more interest in the elections for provincial and municipal
officials than there was in the election for assemblymen. …
"The delegates to the Philippine assembly, in accordance with
the call of the governor-general as prescribed by the act of
Congress, met at the Grand Opera House in the city of Manila
on the 16th day of October at 9 o’clock A. M."
_Report of the Philippine Commission,
December 31, 1907
(Abridgment, Message and Documents, 1907, pages 810-811)._
The Honorable William H. Taft, United States Secretary of War,
former Governor-General of the Philippine Islands, made the
long journey to the Islands on this occasion for the purpose
of opening the meeting of the Assembly and personally
inspecting the state of affairs. After returning, in the
following December, he made an extended report to the
President, in which he discussed the character of the Assembly
and of the parties represented in it at considerable length.
Recurring to the formation of the first political party that
arose in the Islands after they came under the control of the
United States, he said of it:
"It is a mistake to suppose that the war by the Filipinos
against the Americans had the sympathy of all the Filipinos.
On the contrary, there were many intelligent and conservative
men who favored American control and who did not believe in
the capacity of their people immediately to organize a
government which would be stable and satisfactory, but in the
face of a possible independence of the Islands, they were
still. Upon Mr. McKinley’s second election many of these
persons reached the conclusion that it was time for them to
act. Accordingly, they formed the Federal Party, the chief
platform of which was peace under American sovereignty and the
acceptance of the American promises to govern the Islands for
the benefit of the Filipinos and gradually to extend popular
self-government to the people. The Federal Party received
accessions by thousands in all parts of the Islands and in
every province, so that the Commission was enabled during the
year 1901, and under the auspices, and with the aid of, the
Federal Party, to organize civil government in some 32 or 33
provinces, or in substantially all of them. … The main purpose
and principle of the party was peace under the sovereignty of
the United States. In drafting a platform its leaders had
formulated a plank favoring the organization of the Islands
into a Territory of the United States, with a view to its
possibly becoming a State. From this plank it took its name.
In the first two or three years after its successful effort to
bring on peace, many prominent Filipinos having political
ambition became members, and in the gubernatorial elections
the great majority of governors elected were Federals. And so
substantially all who filled prominent offices in the
government by appointment, including the judges, were of that
party. Then dissension arose among prominent leaders and some
withdrew from the party. The natural opposition to a
government party led to the organization of other parties,
especially among those known as Intransigentes
[Irreconcilables]. The Federal Party had founded an organ, the
Democracia, early in its existence. The opponents of the
government looking to immediate independence founded a paper
called the Renacimiento. The latter was edited with especial
ability and with a partisan spirit against the American
Government.
"For two years before the election of the Assembly the
Filipinos who sympathized with the _Renacimiento_ were
perfecting their organization to secure a majority in the
assembly. Many groups were formed, but they all were known as
the Partido Nacionalista. There was some difference as to
whether to this title should be added the word ‘inmediatista,’
but the great majority favored it. The party is generally
known as the Nacionalista Party. During much of these same two
years, the Federal Party was dormant. …
"Some six months before the elections, there sprung from the
ashes of the Federal Party a party which, rejecting the
statehood idea, declared itself in favor of making the
Philippines an independent nation by gradual and progressive
acquisition of governmental control until the people should
become fitted by education and practice under American
sovereignty to enjoy and maintain their complete independence.
It was called the Partido Nacionalista Progresista. It is
generally known as the Progresista Party. …
{498}
"The campaign in the last two or three months was carried on
with great vigor. The Nacionalistas had the advantage of being
understood to be against the government. This, with a people
like the Filipino people, who had been taught to regard the
government as an entity separate from the people, taxing them
and prosecuting them, was in itself a strong reason for
popular sympathy and support. The Progresistas were denounced
as a party of office-holders. The government was denounced as
extravagant and burdensome to the people. In many districts
the Nacionalista candidates promised that if they were
returned immediate independence would follow. There were quite
a number of candidates in country and remote districts where
the controversy was not heated who did not declare themselves
on the main question, and maintained an independence of any
party. They were known as Independientes. Then, there were
other Independientes who declared themselves independent of
party, but in favor of immediate independence.
"The total vote registered and cast did not exceed 104,000,
although in previous gubernatorial elections the total vote
had reached nearly 150,000. The high vote at the latter
elections may be partly explained by the fact that at the same
elections town officers were elected, and the personal
interest of many candidates drew out a larger number of
electors. But the falling off was also in part due, doubtless,
to the timidity of conservative voters, who, because of the
heat of the campaign, preferred to avoid taking sides. This is
not a permanent condition, however, and I doubt not that the
meeting of the assembly and the evident importance of its
functions when actually performed will develop a much greater
popular interest in it, and the total vote will be largely
increased at the next election.
"I opened the assembly in your name. The roll of the members
returned on the face of the record was called. An appropriate
oath was administered to all the members and the assembly
organized by selecting Señor Sergio Osmeña as its speaker or
presiding officer. Señor Osmeña has been one of the most
efficient fiscals, or prosecuting attorneys, in the Islands,
having conducted the government prosecutions in the largest
province of the Islands, the province and Island of Cebu. He
was subsequently elected governor, and by his own activity in
going into every part of the island, he succeeded in enlisting
the assistance of all the people in suppressing ladronism,
which had been rife in the mountains of Cebu for thirty or
forty years, so that to-day there is absolute peace and
tranquillity throughout the island. He is a young man, not 30,
but of great ability, shrewdness, high ideals, and yet very
practical in his methods of dealing with men and things. The
assembly could have done nothing which indicated its good
sense so strongly as the selection of Senor Osmeña as its
presiding officer. …
"As a shibboleth—as a party cry—immediate independence has
much force, because it excites the natural pride of the
people; but few of their number have ever worked out its
consequences, and when they have done so they have been
willing to postpone that question until some of the immediate
needs of the people have been met. I may be wrong, but my
judgment is that the transfer of real power, by giving to the
people part of the legislative control of the Christian
provinces, sobers their leaders with the sense of
responsibility and teaches them some of the practical
difficulties of government I do not for a moment guarantee
that there will not at times be radical action by the
Assembly, which cannot meet the approval of those who
understand the legislative needs of the Islands, but all I
wish to say is that the organization and beginning of the life
of the Assembly have disappointed its would-be critics and
have given great encouragement to those who were responsible
for its extension of political power."
_Special Report of William H. Taft, Secretary of War,
to the President on the Philippines, January 23, 1908
(60th Cong. 1st Session, Senate Doc. No. 200)._
PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: A. D. 1909.
Change in the Governor-General’s Office.
General James F. Smith was succeeded as Governor-General
by the Vice-Governor-General, Mr. W. Cameron Forbes, in
November, 1909.
PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: A. D. 1909.
Philippine Tariff Act.
A special Message, transmitting a Philippine Tariff Bill
recommended by the Secretary of War, was sent to Congress,
April 14, by President Taft. "This measure," wrote the
President, "revises the present Philippine tariff, simplifies
it and makes it conform as nearly as possible to the
regulations of the customs laws of the United States,
especially with respect to packing and packages. The present
Philippine regulations have been cumbersome and difficult for
American merchants and exporters to comply with. Its purpose
is to meet the new conditions that will arise under the
section of the pending United States tariff bill which
provides, with certain limitations, for free trade between the
United States and the islands. It is drawn with a view to
preserving to the islands as much customs revenue as possible
and to protect in a reasonable measure those industries which
now exist in the islands.
"The bill now transmitted has been drawn by a board of tariff
experts, of which the insular collector of customs, Colonel
George R. Colton, was the president. The board held a great
many open meetings in Manila, and conferred fully with
representatives of all business interests in the Philippine
Islands. It is of great importance to the welfare of the
islands that the bill should be passed at the same time with
the pending Payne bill, with special reference to the
provisions of which it was prepared."
The Bill was passed, but certain tobacco interests secured an
important amendment in their favor.
PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: A. D. 1909 (November).
Success of the Nationalists in the Election.
"Practically complete returns from the recent election
indicate that the Assembly will be composed of sixty
Nationalists, fifteen Progressists, and five Independents. The
Nationalists also gained four provincial Governors over the
number elected by that party at the last election. Similar
gains in other offices have been made by the Nationalists.
Some of the returns are still missing, but they are not likely
to make any material change in the figures given."
_Press Report from Manila,
November 5, 1909._
----------PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: End--------
PICKETING:
The Labor Strikers’ Right.
Its limit.
See (in this Volume)
LABOR ORGANIZATION: ENGLAND: A. D. 1906 (MARCH).
PICQUART, GENERAL.
See (in this Volume)
FRANCE: A. D. 1906.
PIEROLA, NICOLAS.
See (in this Volume)
PERU.
PINCHOT, GIFFORD:
Chief of the United States Forest Service.
See (in this Volume)
CONSERVATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES.
PINCHOT, GIFFORD:
On Threatened Water Power Trust.
See (in this Volume)
COMBINATIONS, INDUSTRIAL, &c.: UNITED STATES: A. D. 1909.
{499}
PIOUS FUND QUESTION.
Its Decision by the Hague Tribunal.
See (in this Volume)
MEXICO: A. D. 1902 (MAY).
PITTSBURG: A. D. 1906-1908.
Under a Reforming Mayor.
See (in this Volume)
MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT.
PITTSBURG: A. D. 1907.
Enlargement and Rededication of the Carnegie Institute.
See (in this Volume)
EDUCATION: UNITED STATES: A. D. 1907.
PITTSBURG: A. D. 1907-1908.
The Pittsburg Survey.
A remarkable Investigation of Living Conditions.
See (in this Volume)
SOCIAL BETTERMENT: UNITED STATES.
PIUS X., POPE.
See (in this Volume)
PAPACY.
PLAGUE, Bubonic.
See (in this Volume)
PUBLIC HEALTH.
"PLAN OF CAMPAIGN," THE.
See (in this Volume)
IRELAND: A. D. 1907.
PLATT AMENDMENT.
See (in this Volume)
CUBA: A. D. 1901-1902.
PLAYGROUND MOVEMENT, THE.
The first convention of the Playground Association of America,
held at Chicago in June, 1907, was a very notable gathering,
in the character of the men and women assembled,—in the
quality of the discussion they gave to the subject of
child-development by wholesome play,—in the spirit imparted to
it by the wonderful exhibit that Chicago could make of
achievement in this new civic undertaking, and in the great
impetus it gave to the playground movement throughout the
country. The proceedings and incidents of the convention were
reported very fully in the August number of Charities and
Corrections that year.
"From one article, ‘How They Played at Chicago,’ by Mr. Graham
Romeyn Taylor, we learn that in connection with the convention
there was held a festival of sport and play, in which from
first to last ‘the play spirit was ascendant.’ More than 5000
persons participated, and among them were President Gulick, of
the national association, and Dr. Sargent, of Harvard. The
play spirit, says he, captivated every one. ‘Play, according
to students of it, means not only a good time, but from the
child’s point of view it is serious business: moreover, it has
vital significance in educational development.’ This meeting,
he claims, marks the transition of playground activity from a
more or less sporadic and disconnected series of efforts in
our larger cities to a firmly established and well organized
national movement. A better understanding of the playground
issue means better citizenship and community-life.
"President Roosevelt, honorary president, had requested that
delegations be sent to this convention from many cities, ‘to
gain inspiration from this meeting, and to see the magnificent
system that Chicago has erected in its South Park section,—one
of the most notable civic achievements of any American city.’
They came, and returned to their home cities with photographs
of the playgrounds and recreation centers in Chicago. On these
the city of Chicago has expended during the last four years
$6,500,000, and has recently appropriated $3,000,000
additional. Moreover, it has authorized $1,500,000 for similar
facilities for children on the north and west sides as well.
Each center costs about $30,000 annually. These centers
recognize that human needs transcend all other things, and
tend to develop a social spirit that one day must permeate our
commingled races."
_American Review of Reviews,
September, 1907._
"According to the new Year Book [for 1910] of the Playground
Association of America, 336 municipalities in the United
States are maintaining supervised playgrounds. The actual
number of playgrounds operated in 267 of these cities last
year was 1,535. About 56 per cent. are in the area of greatest
density of population, in the North Atlantic States. The
number of cities in those States maintaining playgrounds is
149, and the number of playgrounds established in 123 of them
is 873. Massachusetts has led in the movement.
"In about 49 per cent. of the cities operating public
playgrounds, the managing authority, wholly or in part, is the
city itself, which is working through its board of education,
its park department, or other municipal bureau—or by
combining the activities of two or more departments. In
fifteen cities the Mayors have appointed special commissions,
organized, as city departments for the administration of
playgrounds, which are no longer left to the philanthropist.
"In fifty-five of the larger cities, local playground
associations have been established, and many of the smaller
towns have organized committees that will be converted into
permanent organizations. Churches, women’s clubs, Young Men’s
Christian Associations, Associated Charities, and
public-spirited men and women have contributed their help.
"An index of the interest in the movement is afforded by a
survey of figures representing the yearly expenditures for
sites, equipment, and the maintenance of playgrounds. In many
cases specific information on this point is not available, but
184 cities have sent reports stating definitely what it costs
them to operate their grounds. The total amount expended in
the year by these 184 cities is $1,353,114. In 18 per cent, of
the cities the amount of money set apart for playgrounds was
appropriated entirely by the municipality, while in 23 per
cent. the cities combined with private organizations."
_New York Evening Post,
January 5, 1910._
In England, or in London, at least, the movement has been set
on foot by an "Evening Play Centres Committee," of which Mrs.
Humphry Ward is Chairman. The object of the Committee, as
stated by Mrs. Ward, is "to open the school buildings in
winter for play, exercise, and handwork, as an alternative to
the streets, to children after school hours; and in summer to
organize the playgrounds, as is now so largely done in America
and Canada"; but thus far its success appears to have been
mostly in the opening of indoor play centres for evening
entertainment.
PLAZA, GENERAL LEONIDAS:
President of Ecuador.
See (in this Volume)
ECUADOR.
PLEHVE, M. V. de:
Defence of Russian Measures in Finland.
See (in this Volume)
FINLAND: A. D. 1901.
PLEHVE, M. V. de:
Russian Minister of the Interior.
His atrocious administration.
His assassination.
See (in this Volume)
RUSSIA: A. D. 1901-1904.
PLURAL VOTING, BELGIAN.
See (in this Volume)
BELGIUM: A. D. 1902 and 1904.
See in Volume VI.,
BELGIUM: A. D. 1894-1895.
See in Volume I.,
CONSTITUTION OF BELGIUM.
{500}
POBIEDONOSTZEFF, CONSTANTINE:
On Russian Discontent.
See (in this Volume)
RUSSIA: A. D. 1902.
POBIEDONOSTZEFF, CONSTANTINE:
Resignation.
See (in this Volume)
Russia: A. D. 1904-1905.
POBIEDONOSTZEFF, CONSTANTINE:
Death, March 23, 1907.
POGROMS: Massacres.
See (in this Volume)
RUSSIA: A. D. 1906.
POLAR EXPLORATION: Arctic: A. D. 1901-1910.
Three Expeditions of Commander Peary.
His Final Triumph.
The astounding Imposture of Dr. Cook, Pretender to an
attainment of the Pole a Year in Advance of Peary.
Other Arctic Explorations of the Decade.
When the record of Polar Exploration was closed in Volume VI.
of this work, on its going to press in the spring of 1901,
Commander Robert E. Peary had been working within the Arctic
Circle for three years, with no respite, and the Peary Arctic
Club was sending a vessel, the _Erik_, to make inquiries
about him. He was found to have proved that Greenland is
surrounded by water at the north, and to have further
undertakings in hand. He remained another year, in the course
of which he made the nearest approach to the Pole that had yet
been accomplished, going directly north from Cape Hecla and
reaching latitude 84° 17'. Returning to the coast, he was met
and brought home, after an absence of four years. In July,
1905, he sailed northward again, equipped with a vessel, the
_Roosevelt_, built expressly for his use. After
wintering on the north coast of Grant Land, he started once
more with sledges and dogs toward the Pole, and this time
pressed his way to 87° 6' of latitude, or within a little more
than 200 miles of the Arctic hub. Then he was forced to turn
back, with scant supplies, killing his dogs for food. Once
more, in July, 1908, Commander Peary set his face Arcticward,
on the staunch _Roosevelt_, with two scientific
companions, and equipped himself at Etah with Eskimos and dogs
for another journey across the ice-fields, from some point on
the Grant Land coast.
Two expeditions were fitted out in 1901 and 1903, by Mr.
Ziegler, of New York, the former under Evelyn B. Baldwin, the
latter under Anthony Fiala. The latter reached latitude 82°
13', remaining in the Arctic regions until the summer of 1905.
In June, 1903, Captain Roald Amundsen, of Norway, sailed from
Christiania in the small sloop Gjoa, beginning a voyage which
carried him entirely through the Northwest Passage from Baffin
Bay to Bering Strait and which occupied three years. Much of
that time, however, was devoted to studies and searches of
great value in determining the location of the Magnetic Pole.
In 1905 the ranks of the Arctic explorers were joined by the
Duke of Orleans, who sailed from Christiania in May, in the
Belgica, commanded by Lieutenant de Gerlache. In 1907, Mr.
John R. Bradley, of New York, supplied Dr. Frederick A. Cook
with equipments for an attempt to reach the North Pole, and
accompanied him in a schooner yacht to Annatok, a little north
of Etah, in North Greenland, where the Doctor, with one white
man, Rudolph Francke, were landed, with their supplies, to
begin the undertaking. Several attempts were made in
successive years by Mr. Walter Wellman to make the journey to
the Pole from Spitzbergen by a dirigible airship. Each of
them, down to 1909, was frustrated by misfortunes of
circumstance or weather. A tragically ended survey of the
northeast coast of Greenland was accomplished in 1906-1907 by Dr.
Mylius Erichsen and Lieutenant Hagen-Hagen, who perished while
groping their way southward in the growing darkness of the
approaching winter. These fill out the important items of the
record of Arctic exploration, since April, 1901, down to the
1st of September, 1909.
On that day the whole world was startled and excited by a
message, flashed first to Lerwick, in the Shetland Islands,
from a passing Danish steamer, the Hans Egede, and thence to
all corners of the earth, saying:
"We have on board the American traveller, Dr. Cook, who
reached the North Pole April 21, 1908. Dr. Cook arrived at
Upernivik (the northernmost Danish settlement in Greenland, on
an island off the west coast) in May of 1909 from Cape York
(in the northwest part of Greenland, on Baffin Bay). The
Eskimos of Cape York confirm Dr. Cook’s story of his journey."
The next day brought a cabled announcement from Dr. Cook
himself, to the New York _Herald_, briefly telling of his
triumph, "after a prolonged fight against famine and frost,"
and describing the emotions with which he had found himself at
the goal which so many had striven vainly to attain. "What a
cheerless spot," he moralized, "to have aroused the ambition
of man for so many ages! An endless field of purple snows. No
life. No land. No spot to relieve the monotony of frost. We
were the only pulsating creatures in a dead world of ice."
Two days later the hero was landed at Copenhagen, and all the
excited world devoured graphic descriptions of his reception
by the enthusiastic Danes: by the Crown Prince, who hastened
to welcome him before he had stepped from the ship; by the
crowds who cheered him; by the King, who dined him; by the
University of Copenhagen which awarded him an honorary degree,
and whose faculty he made happy and proud by the promise that
it should be the first to examine the record of his
observations and the proofs in general that he had reached the
Pole.
Two more days passed, and then the climax of this world-spread
excitement and astonishment was marked by another
radio-electric flash of news out of the Arctic North,—this
time from the American North,—proclaiming another conquest of
the icy fortress of the Pole. It spoke "to the Associated
Press, New York," from "Indian Harbor, via Cape Ray, Nova
Scotia," saying: "Stars and Stripes nailed to North Pole.
Peary." It reached New York a little after noon of September
6th, and before night, everywhere, people in all languages
were asking each other: "Is it possible that two men have
suddenly done what none have been able to do before?"
{501}
Other messages from Commander Peary which soon followed the
first one fixed the date of his attainment of the Pole as
having been April 6, 1909,—being fifteen days less than a year
after Dr. Cook claimed to have planted the American flag at
the same spot. They brought angry denunciations, too, of
Cook’s pretension, which Peary had learned of from the
Esquimaux in the North. "Cook’s story," he said in one
despatch, "should not be taken too seriously. The two
Esquimaux who accompanied him say he went no distance north
and not outside of land. Other members of the tribe confirm
their story." In another he declared: "Cook has sold the
public a gold brick." Dr. Cook, meantime, gave out expressions
as to Peary’s achievement very different in temper and tone.
He had no doubt that Commander Peary had reached the Pole; but
he, Cook, had been fortunately the first to enjoy the
favorable conditions which gave success to them both. His
magnanimity, his coolness, his easy self-confidence, in
contrast with Peary’s words and bearing, won public admiration
and sympathy, and the majority in most communities inclined
strongly, for a time, to the judgment that both explorers had
done what they said they did, but that Cook, in character, was
the more estimable man. When he arrived in New York, on the
21st of September, that city gave him almost as wild a hero
worship as Copenhagen had done. Commander Peary was then just
landing at Sydney, Nova Scotia, and it was some weeks before
he would proceed to New York, or put himself at all in the way
of receiving any public demonstrations of honor.
But grounds of skepticism as to Dr. Cook were acquiring a
rapid multiplication. When he published his story in detail,
or told it in lectures, it started questions which people
having critical knowledge insisted that he must answer if he
could; but he made no attempt. He was in no haste to produce
the records which he had insisted would prove his claims
beyond a doubt. He required weeks of time to prepare them for
examination, and they must go to the University of Copenhagen
before any other tribunal of science could see them.
Meanwhile, he was harvesting large gains from lectures and
newspaper publications, and seemed more interested in that
pursuit than in the vindication of his questioned honor.
Hence, suspicion of him grew, until it made itself heard and
felt at last with a force which drove the Doctor to put his
professed proofs in shape and send them by the hand of his
secretary, Mr. Lonsdale, to Copenhagen. Before they reached
their destination he, himself, disappeared mysteriously from
public view, nervously shattered, it was said, and seeking
some hidden place of refuge abroad. Reports of him from
various places in both Europe and South America have not been
verified, and his whereabouts are still (March, 1910) a
mystery.
On the 21st of December the report of the scientific committee
of Copenhagen University, to which the records forwarded by
Dr. Cook were submitted, was made public by the University
Council. "The report, which was sent in by the committee on
December 18, states that the following papers were submitted
to it for investigation:—
"1. A type-written report by Mr. Lonsdale on Dr. Cook’s Arctic
voyage, consisting of 61 folios.
"2. A type written copy of 16 folios, made by Mr. Lonsdale,
comprising the note-books brought back by Dr. Cook from his
journey and covering the period from March 18 to June 13,
1908, stated to have been written on the way from Svartevaag
to the Pole and back until a place west of Heibergsland was
reached. …
"The committee points out as a result of its investigations
that the aforementioned report of the journey is essentially
identical with that published some time ago in the _New York
Herald_, and that the copy of the note-books did not
contain astronomical records, but only results. In fact, the
committee remarks that there are no elucidatory statements
which might have rendered it probable that astronomical
observations were really taken. Neither is the practical side
—namely, the sledge journey—illuminated by details in such a
way as to enable the committee to form an opinion. The
committee therefore considers that from the material submitted
no proof can be adduced that Dr. Cook reached the North Pole.
"The council of the University accordingly declares as a
result of the committee’s report that the documents submitted
to Copenhagen University contain no observations or
explanations to prove that Dr. Cook on his last Polar journey
reached the North Pole."
That Commander Peary had accomplished at last the object of
his indomitable striving was never in doubt. His own testimony
to the fact had sufficed from the beginning, and the decision
rendered on the 3d of November by a committee of the National
Geographic Society, which examined the records of his march to
the Pole, added nothing to the public belief. But his laurels
had been lamentably blighted by the atmosphere of scandal,
wrangle, and disgust with which Cook’s monstrous imposture had
vulgarized the whole feeling that attended the exploit.
The incidents of the final Peary expedition, from start to
finish, were summarized by the Commander in a message from
Battle Harbor to the London _Times_, September 8, as
follows:
"The _Roosevelt_ left New York on July 6, 1908. She left
Sydney on July 17th; arrived at Cape York, Greenland, on
August 1st; left Etah, Greenland, on August 8th; arrived at
Cape Sheridan, Grant Land, on September 1st, and wintered at
Cape Sheridan. The sledge expedition left the _Roosevelt_
on February 15th, 1909, and started north of Cape Columbia on
March 1st. It passed the British record on March 2d; was
delayed by open water on March 2d and 3d; was held up by open
water from March 4th to March 11th; crossed the 84th parallel
on March 11th and encountered an open lead on March 15th;
crossed the 85th parallel on March 18th; crossed the 86th
parallel on March 22d and encountered an open lead on March
33d [23d?]; passed the Norwegian record on March 23d; passed
the Italian record on March 24th and encountered an open lead
on March 26th; crossed the 87th parallel on March 27th; passed
the American record on March 28th and encountered a lead on
March 28th; held up by open water on March 29th; crossed the
88th parallel on April 2d; crossed the 89th parallel on April
4th, and reached the North Pole on April 6th.
"On returning we left the pole on April 7th; reached Camp
Columbia on April 23d, arriving on board the _Roosevelt_
on April 27th. The _Roosevelt_ left Cape Sheridan on July
18th, passed Cape Sabine on August 8th, left Cape York on
August 26th and arrived at Indian Harbor.
"All the members of the expedition are returning in good
health except Professor Ross G. Martin, who unfortunately
drowned on April 10th, 45 miles north of Cape Columbia, while
returning from 86 degrees north latitude in command of a
supporting party."
{502}
POLAR EXPLORATION: Antarctic:
English, German, Swedish, and Scottish Expeditions.
The Successes of Lieutenant Shackleton.
When the account of Polar Exploration in Volume VI. of this
work was closed, in April, 1901, several expeditions to the
Antarctic region were reported as being under preparation, in
England, Germany, and Sweden. The English expedition, for
which the ship _Discovery_ was being fitted out, sailed
on the 6th of August, 1901, under the command of Captain
Robert F. Scott, with Lieutenant Ernest H. Shackleton of the
British Navy as second in command. Its object was a further
exploration of the great mountainous region named Victoria
Land, which Captain James Ross had discovered half a century
before. This coast the _Discovery_ reached in January,
1902, and followed it southward, to and beyond the Erebus
volcano, skirting the Great Ice Barrier which stretches far
eastward, seeming to forbid a penetration of the frozen
territory it hems in. In this survey the British explorers
reached an unvisited section, which they named King Edward
Land. They wintered that year near Mount Erebus, pushing
sledge expeditions southward over the snow fields, finding a
more upheaved and broken surface of land, less ice-capped,
than is the common feature of the Arctic polar zone. In the
longest of these sledge-trips the latitude of 82° 17' S. was
attained,—far beyond any previous approach to the southern
pole, but still more than 500 miles from that goal. Through a
second winter the _Discovery_ was held fast in the ice,
with considerable sickness among officers and men,
notwithstanding which important additions to their survey of
the region were made. In January, 1904, they were reached by
two relief ships, and escaped from the ice in the following
month, arriving at New Zealand not long after.
The German expedition commanded by Dr. Drygalski, left Kiel
August 11, 1901, borne by the steamer _Gauss_, built
specially for battling with ice. In January, 1902, it took on
stores at Kerguelen Island, and proceeded thence to a point in
the Antarctic Circle far eastward of that chosen by the British
explorers, being within the region of the discoveries made by
Captain Wilkes, about sixty years before, and indefinitely
named Wilkes Land. It was the purpose of Dr. Drygalski to
establish a station on the section of this unexplored
territory known as Termination Land and from thence make
thorough surveys. He failed, however, to find the supposed
land in its expected place, and was unfortunately frozen in
for a year, with sledge expeditions baffled by the violence of
winter storms. In geographical exploration the _Gauss_
party seem to have accomplished little, but they made rich
collections of scientific data. As soon as they were freed
from the ice they received orders from Berlin to return home.
The Swedish expedition, under Dr. Otto Nordenskjöld, left
Europe in October, 1901, in the ship _Antarctic_,
destined for Graham Land, south of the South American
continent. There, on the east coast of that land, in Admiralty
Inlet, Dr. Nordenskjöld established winter quarters in
February, 1902, and the _Antarctic_ was sent to South
America, to return thence some months later.
A Scottish expedition, under Dr. W. S. Bruce, in the steamer
_Scotia_, was sent out in October, 1903, for special
oceanographic investigations in Weddell Sea,—south of the
Atlantic Ocean.
All previous Antarctic explorations were eclipsed, in 1908-1909,
by that of Lieutenant Shackleton, commanding the barkentine
Nimrod, a converted whaling vessel, much smaller than the
_Discovery_, on which Lieutenant Shackleton had
accompanied Captain Scott to the same region some years
before. The Nimrod sailed from England in July, 1907, and from
New Zealand on New Year Day, 1908, going to the same section
of the Arctic Circle that the _Discovery_ had sought.
Winter quarters were established at a point about twenty miles
north of the spot where Scott and Shackleton had wintered in
1902-1903. One of the first achievements of the party was the
ascent of Mount Erebus by six of the scientists of the
expedition, who began their difficult climb on the 5th of
March. Caught in a blizzard on the second day of their
undertaking, they had to lie in their sleeping bags for thirty
hours; but they made their way to the summit and looked down
into the live fire of the crater. The party making this ascent
were Lieutenant Adams, R. N. R. (geologist). Sir Philip
Brocklehurst (surveyor and map maker), Professor David, of
Sydney University, Mr. A. Forbes Mackay, assistant surgeon,
Mr. Eric Marshall, surgeon and cartographer, and Mr. Marson a
scientist of Adelaide. Early in the spring the sledging
journeys were begun.
Speaking at a reception given to him by the Royal Geographical
Society, on his return to England in June, 1909, Lieutenant
Shackleton gave a brief account of the most important of these
journeys, led by himself, with Lieutenant Adams, geologist,
Surgeon Eric Marshall, and a third companion named Wild. The
march of the party was directly toward the Pole:
"On December 3 they climbed a mountain 4,000 feet high, and
from its summit saw what they believed to be a royal road to
the Pole—an enormous glacier stretching southwards. There was
only one pony left at this time, and, taking this animal with
them, they started the ascent of the glacier, which proved to
be seamed with crevasses. Progress became very slow, for
disaster threatened at every step. On December 7 the remaining
pony was lost down a crevasse, very nearly taking Wild and a
sledge with it. Finally the party gained the inland plateau,
at an altitude of over 10,000 feet, and started across the
great white snow plain towards the Pole.
"They were short of food, and had cut down their rations to an
absolute _minimum_; the temperature at the high altitude
was extremely low, and all their spare clothing had been
deposited lower down the glacier in order to save weight. On
January 6, [1909], they reached latitude 88' 8" south [88°
8'?], after having taken the risk of leaving a depot of stores
on the plateau, out of sight of all land. Then a blizzard
swept down upon them, and for two days they were unable to
leave their tent, while, owing to their weakened condition and
the intense cold, they suffered from frostbite even in their
sleeping bags. When the blizzard moderated on January 9 they
felt that they had reached their limit of endurance, for their
strength was greatly reduced and the food was almost done.
They therefore left the camp standing, and pushing on for five
hours, planted Queen Alexandra’s flag in 88' 23" south [88°
23'?], took possession of the plateau for the King, and turned
their faces north again.
{503}
"Mr. Shackleton described the difficulties of the journey back
to the coast, when the men were desperately short of food and
nearly worn out, and attacks of dysentery added to their
troubles. … One day on the Barrier they were unable to march
at all, being prostrated with dysentery, and they reached each
depot with their food finished. On February 23, however, they
reached a depot prepared for them by a party from the ship,
and on March 1 Mr. Shackleton and Wild reached the
_Nimrod_. Mr. Shackleton at once led a relief party back
to get Adams and Marshall, the latter having been unable to
continue the march owing to dysentery, and on March 4 all the
men were safe on board."
"Lieutenant Shackleton has essentially solved the problem of
the position of the South Pole," said the London _Times_
in comments on the expedition; "he may be said, indeed, to
have been actually within sight of it on a dreary plateau some
10,000 ft. above sea level. He has been as successful in
solving the problem of the South Pole as Nansen was in solving
that of the character of the ocean which surrounds the North
Pole."
An expedition to complete what Lieutenant Shackleton came so
near to accomplishing is being prepared in Great Britain, with
intention to sail in July, 1910. It will be commanded by
Captain Scott, of the expedition of 1901. The British
Government contributes $100,000 to the cost. American and
German expeditions are also being prepared.
POLES, THE: Germany: A. D. 1902-1908.
Measures for Germanizing the Polish Provinces of Prussia.
See (in this Volume)
GERMANY: A. D. 1902 (MARCH-MAY), 1906-1907, and 1908.
POLES, THE: Russia: A. D. 1904-1905.
Revolutionary Disturbances in.
See (in this Volume)
RUSSIA: A. D. 1904-1905.
POLES, THE: A. D. 1906.
Their Present Condition.
"The Polish question … resolves itself into a struggle between
the local Russian Government, the Patriot, and the Socialists.
The local Government though harassed and worried by the
Socialists, is secure from any great disaster until the latter
have won over all the troops, or the Russian soldier forgets
his hatred for the Pole. The Socialists, well organised and
energetic, are carrying out their programme with a tenacity
which would be astonishing were it not for the fact that the
Jewish element predominates in their ranks.
"The Polish Patriot seems to be in the worst case of all; for
his hopes are centred on the programme of a party which is
without efficient leaders and without the slightest chance of
obtaining its demands from the existing Russian Government.
The one ray of light on his political horizon is the fact that
liberal Russia has expressed sympathy for his wrongs, and
promised to redress them as soon as circumstances will allow,
but even the most sanguine Patriot admits that his new ally
has many battles to win before this promise can be fulfilled.
Meanwhile, he is engaged in an unequal struggle with the
Socialists and their allies, the anarchists."
_B. C. Baskerville,
The Present Condition of Poland
(Fortnightly Review, October, 1906)._
POLK, Van Leer:
Delegate to Third International Conference of
American Republics.
See (in this Volume)
AMERICAN REPUBLICS.
POLLARD PLAN, OF JUDICIAL DEALING WITH DRUNKARDS.
See (in this Volume)
ALCOHOL PROBLEM: INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS.
POLTAVA PROVINCE, Peasant Doings in.
See (in this Volume)
RUSSIA: A. D. 1901-1904, and 1902.
POOLING, OF RAILWAY RATES.
See (in this Volume)
RAILWAYS: UNITED STATES: A. D. 1890-1902.
POOR LAWS, WORKING OF THE ENGLISH.
See (in this Volume)
POVERTY.
POPES.
See (in this Volume and Volume IV.)
PAPACY.
PORT ARTHUR: A. D. 1904-1905.
Siege and Capture in the Russo-Japanese War.
See(in this Volume)
JAPAN: A. D. 1904 (February-July) and (February-August);
also A. D. 1904-1905 (May-January).
PORTER, HORACE:
Commissioner Plenipotentiary to the Second Peace Conference.
See (in this Volume)
WAR, THE REVOLT AGAINST: A. D. 1907.
PORTER, HORACE:
Search for and Recovery, at Paris, of the Remains
of John Paul Jones.
See (in this Volume)
UNITED STATES: A. D. 1905 (FEBRUARY-JUNE).
PORTLAND, OREGON: A. D. 1905.
The Lewis and Clark Exposition.
"The Lewis and Clark Centennial and American Pacific
Exposition and Oriental Fair" (to give its full of fecial
title), conducted at Portland from the beginning of June until
the middle of October, 1905, in commemoration of the first
exploration of the American Continent from the Mississippi to
the Pacific, was one of the most interesting and attractive of
the undertakings of its kind in the last decade. Specially as
an exhibit of the wonderful natural resources of the great
Northwest, and of the more wonderful rapidity of their
exploitation, it seemed wholly satisfying to all who visited
it. The reclamation work of the United States Government,
shown elaborately by models and otherwise in the Irrigation
Building of the extensive national exhibit, afforded a feature
of uncommon attractiveness. The associated Forestry Building,
with its walls of mighty logs and its grand pillars of firs
and cedars, six and seven feet in diameter, was a piece of
unique architecture that drew all eyes. "The Oregon
Cathedral," it came to be called. In metals, minerals, fruits
and grains, the wealth of the Northwest was astonishingly
displayed; and the Japanese from the farther side of the
Pacific made the most of the opportunity to spread their
artistic wares before American buyers.
The scenic setting of the Exposition grounds, on the border of
a lake and with a background of hill rising from Willamette
River, was a theme of praise in all reports of it.
{504}
PORTO RICO: A. D. 1901-1905.
Change of Qualifications for the Elective Franchise.
The fundamental provisions of the Act of Congress, approved
April 12, 1900, under which the government of Porto Rico as a
dependency of the United States was organized, will be found
in Volume VI of this work.
See
PORTO RICO: A. D. 1900 (APRIL).
The Act has received amendment since, making one important
organic change. The Executive Council which it created was
authorized to fix the qualifications of voters for the first
election of a Legislative Assembly. The suffrage in that
election, held in 1900, was conferred by the Council on every
male citizen of twenty-one years, resident in the island for
one year and for six months in his municipal district, "who is
able to read and write, or who, on September 1, 1900, owned
real estate in his own right and name, or who on said date was
a member of a firm or corporation or partnership, or who on
September 1, 1900, owned personal property in his own right or
name not less in value than twenty-five dollars." The results
of the election held under that rule, and a brief summary of
the doings of the Legislative Assembly at its first session,
which opened on the 3d of December, 1900, and closed on the
31st of January, 1901, are given in Volume VI.
"At its second session, in 1902, the Legislative Assembly
availed itself of the power given to it by the organic act and
passed a law for the government of future elections. This act
followed closely the provisions of the orders that had been
issued by the executive council. The system created is similar
to that in the American States which have adopted the
Australian ballot. As regards the franchise, the only change
made was that the provision which gave the right to vote to
persons owning personal property to the value of twenty-five
dollars was dropped and in its place was substituted the
provision conferring the franchise upon those persons meeting
the conditions as regards age and residence who on the day of
registration are able to produce to the board of registry tax
receipts showing the payment of any kind of taxes for the last
six months of the year in which the election is held. The law
also provided that all persons who were registered during the
year 1900 would not be required to register anew or have to
meet the new requirements of the law. This was the law under
which the second election in 1902 was held. In 1904 the law
underwent a very important alteration as regards the
qualifications for the enjoyment of the electoral franchise.
By this new law the three conditions—ability to read and
write, ownership of real estate, or payment of taxes—any one
of which qualified a male citizen of Porto Rico who had
resided in the island one year and in the district in which he
offered to register for six months immediately preceding, to
vote, were until July 1, 1906, wiped out, leaving only the
conditions regarding sex, age and residence to be met in order
to qualify a voter. After that date the additional
qualification of being able to read and write must be met. The
result of this amendment to the law is to provide for
universal manhood suffrage until July 1, 1906, after which no
new name can be added to the registration list unless its
owner is able to read and write. Those persons, however, who
are properly registered before that date are not required to
offer themselves for registration, but continue to enjoy the
full rights of the franchise."
_W. F. Willoughby,
Territories and Dependencies of the United States.
page 95 (Century Company, New York, 1905)._
PORTO RICO: A. D. 1905.
Extension of Local Government asked for.
A convention of municipal delegates, chosen by the elective
municipal councils of the island, assembled at San Juan in
July, 1905, formulated a request to the Government of the
United States for a broadening of the fundamental law of 1900,
which "would largely transfer the control of the local
government to their own people. The Governor would remain a
Presidential appointee, but the appointments by the Governor
would be subject in many cases to revision by a locally
elected Senate, except the courts, which would remain as now,
for the most part, under our direct control. In other words,
the legislative, and largely the administrative functions,
subject to the limitations of the Organic Act, would be
exercised by the Porto Ricans. The courts, of our own
choosing, would construe limitations on these powers, and the
Governor, with his police and militia, would be solely
responsible for order and the lawful execution of lawful
mandates."
PORTO RICO: A. D. 1906.
Visited by President Roosevelt.
His account of it.
"On November twenty-first I visited the island of Porto Rico,
landing at Ponce, crossing by the old Spanish road by Cayey to
San Juan, and returning next morning over the new American
road from Arecibo to Ponce; the scenery was wonderfully
beautiful, especially among the mountains of the interior,
which constitute a veritable tropic Switzerland. I could not
embark at San Juan because the harbor has not been dredged out
and cannot receive an American battle ship. I do not think
this fact creditable to us as a nation, and I earnestly hope
that immediate provision will be made for dredging San Juan
Harbor.
"I doubt whether our people as a whole realize the beauty and
fertility of Porto Rico and the progress that has been made
under its admirable government. …
"I stopped at a dozen towns all told, and one of the notable
features in every town was the gathering of the school
children. The work that has been done in Porto Rico for
education has been noteworthy. The main emphasis, as is
eminently wise and proper, has been put upon primary
education; but in addition to this there is a normal school,
an agricultural school, three industrial and three high
schools. Every effort is being made to secure not only the
benefits of elementary education to all the Porto Ricans of
the next generation, but also as far as means will permit to
train them so that the industrial, agricultural and commercial
opportunities of the island can be utilized to the best
possible advantage. It was evident, at a glance, that the
teachers, both Americans and native Porto Ricans, were devoted
to their work, took the greatest pride in it, and were
endeavoring to train their pupils not only in mind, but in
what counts for far more than mind in citizenship—that is, in
character.
"I was very much struck by the excellent character both of the
insular police and of the Porto Rican regiment. They are both
of them bodies that reflect credit upon the American
administration of the island. The insular police are under the
local Porto Rican government. The Porto Rican regiment of
troops must be appropriated for by the Congress. I earnestly
hope that this body will be kept permanent. There should
certainly be troops in the island, and it is wise that these
troops should be themselves native Porto Ricans. It would be
from every standpoint a mistake not to perpetuate this
regiment. …
{505}
"There is a matter to which I wish to call your special
attention, and that is the desirability of conferring full
American citizenship upon the people of Porto Rico. I most
earnestly hope that this will be done. I cannot see how any
harm can possibly result from it, and it seems to me a matter
of right and justice to the people of Porto Rico. They are
loyal, they are glad to be under our flag, they are making
rapid progress along the path of orderly liberty. Surely we
should now show our appreciation of them, our pride in what
they have done, and our pleasure in extending recognition for
what has thus been done by granting them full American
citizenship. …
"The Porto Ricans have complete and absolute autonomy in all
their municipal governments, the only power over them
possessed by the insular government being that of removing
corrupt or incompetent municipal officials. This power has
never been exercised save on the clearest proof of corruption
or of incompetence such as to jeopardize the interests of the
people of the island; and under such circumstances it has been
fearlessly used to the immense benefit of the people. It is
not a power with which it would be safe, for the sake of the
island itself, to dispense at present. The lower house is
absolutely elective, while the upper house is appointive. This
scheme is working well; no injustice of any kind results from
it, and great benefit to the island, and it should certainly
not be changed at this time. The machinery of the elections is
administered entirely by the Porto Rican people themselves,
the governor and council keeping only such supervision as is
necessary in order to secure an orderly election. Any protest
as to electoral frauds is settled in the courts."
_Theodore Roosevelt,
Message to Congress
(Congressional Record, December 11, 1906)._
PORTO RICO: A. D. 1908.
Ten Years of Progress.
"Ten years ago exports from Porto Rico to the United States
were valued at $2,414,356, while in the fiscal year ending
June 30, 1908, they were $25,891,261. The new figures show a
probable further increase for 1909. In 1898, less than
$3,000,000 worth of sugar was exported, and to-day shipments
are more than $14,000,000. In coffee, once the leading staple,
increase is also marked, although sugar now holds first place.
"Four hundred and thirty-five miles of macadamized roads, in
good repair, now make communication easy between San Juan and
Ponce and cities on the west coast. Two-thirds of the roads
have been built since the occupation. The railroad around the
island, projected by the Spanish, but delayed year by year, is
now built, and harbor improvements have been made in San Juan
and Ponce. More than a thousand public schools are educating
the Porto Rican children—and sometimes their parents. The net
public debt is now less than $3,000,000 or less than 21 per
cent. of the assessed valuation, and the bulk of this money
has been spent in public improvements."
_Porto Rico Correspondent New York Evening Post,
March 27, 1909._
PORTO RICO: A. D. 1909.
Modification of the Fundamental Act.
In a special Message to Congress, May 10, 1909, President Taft
called attention to the failure of the Legislative Assembly of
Porto Rico to pass the usual appropriation bills, leaving the
government of the island without support after the 30th of the
next June. In his opinion, the situation indicated that the
United States had proceeded too fast in extending political
power to the Porto Ricans, and that the full control of
appropriations should be withdrawn from those "who have shown
themselves too irresponsible to enjoy it." He suggested,
therefore, an amendment of the fundamental act, known as the
Foraker Act, to provide that when the legislative assembly
shall adjourn without making the appropriation necessary to
carry on the government, sums equal to the appropriations made
in the previous year for the respective purposes shall be
available from the current revenues, and shall be drawn by the
warrant of the auditor on the treasurer and countersigned by
the Governor. Such a provision applies to the Legislatures of
the Philippines and Hawaii and "it has prevented in those two
countries any misuse of the power of appropriation." An
amendatory Act was passed in accordance with the President’s
suggestion.
PORTO RICO: A. D. 1909.
Change in the Governorship.
In September, 1909, Governor Regis H. Post resigned his
office, and was succeeded by Mr. George R. Colton, who had had
previous experience, both civil and military, in the
Philippines and in Santo Domingo. The Secretary of the island
underwent a change, also, Mr. Willoughby being called to
Washington to take the duties of Assistant Director of the
Census, and his place in Porto Rico being filled by Mr. George
Cabot Ward.