An Observer in the Philippines

FOREWORD

HE work which Doctor Devins has done as a result

of his visit to the Philippine Islands in writing

this volume, is an exceedingly useful one.

I have examined the manuscript with as much care as I could give it in the very short time which other duties permitted, and it seems to me that he has told the story of the Philippine Islands and of the conditions existing there with as earnest a desire to reach the truth as possible. Of course deductions and inferences made from observations are a matter of opinion and are much affected by one's standpoint. Doctor Devins is a Protestant clergyman and looks at the situation from a possibly somewhat different standpoint than that of a Protestant layman or from that of a Catholic layman or a Catholic clergyman, but yet it seems to me there is very little in the book to which exception could be taken by either a Protestant layman or by a good Catholic, whether priest or parishioner.

The critical issue as to the friars might present some differences of opinion, but generally the picture which is painted in this book is true to nature and to the facts as Doctor Devins saw them. It is of the utmost importance that the people of America should know the truth about the Philippines; should understand so far as they can the atmosphere, political, moral and social, which there is in the Islands, and this book I am sure will tend greatly to promote such knowledge. The defects of the

'American Government in the Islands no one knows better than those who have been responsible for it; probably no one realizes better the difficulties we have to overcome in remedying those defects. Doctor Devins, some people will think, has been quite charitable in his reference to the Government and he might be a severer critic. In that respect I am not altogether unprejudiced, but it is a great pleasure to read a book in which the author is inspired first, to tell the truth, and second, to manifest a sympathy with the motives and policy of those who are laboring under a great burden and responsibility in attempting by an American Government to elevate and make better the lot of eight millions of their fellowbeings.

I sincerely hope that this book of Doctor Devins's will have a wide circulation, for while, as already intimated, I might differ with some of the statements contained in it and might vary or qualify them, on the whole I cannot withhold from it my most cordial approval.

Doctor Devins was more than two months in the Islands and spent all that time in the hard work of investigating conditions. We were all glad to give him as full opportunity as possible to reach the truth, and I do not hesitate to say that the book which he has produced is worthy of the reading of any one interested in the "Gems of the Orient." I am honored to be invited to write this Foreword.

WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT.

WAR DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON, D. C.,
February 1, 1905.

PREFACE

HAT did America secure from Spain in return

WHAT for the twenty million dollars paid for the

Philippine Islands? Was the outlay necessary? Was it'a wise investment? Have the results achieved warranted the expenditure? Is expansion, as it is illustrated by this experiment, a success or a failure? What are the representatives of the American people-military, civil, business, educational and religious-accomplishing in the New Possessions?

These questions and others are among those which are discussed in this volume, after a visit to the Philippines. The study begun in 1898 was diligently prosecuted during the sail of twenty-four days from San Francisco to Manila on an Army transport and continued both in Manila and throughout the Archipelago. American officials in the Army and Navy and Civil Government; Filipinos in public and private life; the editors of newspapers in Manila; American and Filipino school-teachers; business men from America, Europe and Asia; representatives of the Roman Catholic Church and Friars' Orders, Spanish, American and Native; missionaries and secretaries from several religious denominations and societies in the United States-these are among the men and women from whom facts have been gained which have contributed to the study of the problems mentioned. Every report submitted to Congress by Army officers and by the Civil Commissions appointed by President McKin

ley, together with messages and addresses on the Philippines by Mr. McKinley and Mr. Roosevelt-and every valuable volume published relating to the Islands have been read in connection with the experiences enjoyed and interviews obtained while visiting them.

Other pens have narrated the causes which led to the War with Spain, and have described the swift and terrible destruction of the Spanish fleets at Manila and Santiago, and the prolonged campaign with the Filipinos under the leadership of Aguinaldo. The purpose of this book is to consider the problems which face the American people to-day, several years after Dewey's entry into the harbor of Manila, and to tell how these problems are being met and solved. America is in the Philippines; this book shows what has been done for the betterment of mankind in that interesting part of the world since the close of the Spanish War.

The special thanks of the author are extended to President Roosevelt, Secretary Root and Governor Taft for opportunities of visiting places and institutions and meeting leading men who were able to give helpful information; to other officials and to many friends in private life for numerous courtesies extended to his wife and himself during their travels, especially General Allen and Captain Cofren, of the Constabulary, who arranged trips for them in the provinces, and to the Rev. James B. Rodgers and the Rev. Lewis B. Hillis, of Manila, who accompanied them on several of these inter-island journeys.

J. B. D.