rs of social
turmoil. Some of them influenced the final issue, others were mere
show-figures, really not more important than the _beau sabreur_ in
comic opera. Yet one and all claimed compensation for laying aside
their weapons, and in changing the play from anarchy to civil life
these actors had to be included in the new cast to keep them from
further mischief.

The moral conquest of the Philippines has hardly commenced. The
benevolent intentions of the Washington Government, and the
irreproachable character and purpose of its eminent members who wield
the destiny of these islanders, are unknown to the untutored masses,
who judge their new masters by the individuals with whom they come into
close contact. The hearts of the people cannot be won without moral
prestige, which is blighted by the presence of that undesirable class
of immigrants to whom Maj.-General Leonard Wood refers so forcibly in
his "First Report of the Moro Province." In this particular region,
which is ruled semi-independently of the Philippine Commission,
the peculiar conditions require a special legislation. But, apart
from this, the common policy of its enlightened Gov.-General would
serve as a pattern of what it might be, with advantage, throughout
the Archipelago.

So much United States money and energy have been already expended
in these Islands, and so far-reaching are the pledges made to their
inhabitants, that American and Philippine interests are indissolubly
associated for many a generation to come. It does not necessarily
follow that the fullest measure of national liberty will create real
personal liberty. Such an idea does not at all appeal to Asiatics,
according to whose instinct every man dominates over, or is dominated
by, another. If America should succeed in establishing a permanently
peaceful independent Asiatic government on democratic principles,
it will be one of the unparalleled achievements of the age.

CHAPTER I

General Description of the Archipelago

The Philippine Islands, with the Sulu Protectorate, extend a little
over 16 degrees of latitude--from 4 deg. 45' to 21 deg. N., and longitude
from 116 deg. 40' to 126 deg. 30' E.--and number some 600 islands, many of
which are mere islets, besides several hundreds of rocks jutting out
of the sea. The 11 islands of primary geographical importance are
Luzon, Mindanao, Samar, Panay, Negros, Palauan (Paragua), Mindoro,
Leyte, Cebu, Masbate, and Bojol. Ancient maps sh