I did not feel that the assembly ought to be allowed to make a joke of the provision of the Act of Congress of July 1, 1902, that “Neither slavery, nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist in said islands,” and inserted a frank statement of the case in my annual report. During my absence it was cut out by the governor-general acting on the cabled suggestion of General, then Colonel, McIntyre, speaking for the secretary of war. The Secretary, it is understood, based his decision on the statement of alleged facts and the argument in the above-mentioned memorandum prepared by General McIntyre, and signed by General Edwards, then chief of the bureau of insular affairs. Various of these statements of alleged facts were incorrect, and much of the argument was fallacious, but the toute ensemble was plausible, and likely to mislead any one not thoroughly familiar with local conditions in the Philippines. I did not see this communication until three years later, and so had no opportunity seasonably to discuss it, or to present my side of the case.
On learning that all reference to slavery had been cut out of my report, I sent the following memorandum to the governor-general:—
“Baguio, February 28, 1909.
“Memorandum for the Honourable the Governor-General.
“Practices in the matter of purchasing and practically enslaving the children of wild people, and holding wild people in the state of peonage, closely approaching slavery, are more grave and more common than is ordinarily understood here; and, in my opinion, as stated in my report, ought to be brought to the attention of the Congress of the United States if the situation is not dealt with effectively by the Philippine Legislature at its next regular session.
“I do not object to the omission from my report of the matter treating on this subject, with the understanding that a strong effort will be made here to secure legislation which will, at least, penalize the sale for cash or other valuable consideration of human beings.
“As things stand at present, we should be placed in a somewhat embarrassing situation if any one thoroughly acquainted with the facts were to ask us what we had done to make effective the provisions of the Act of Congress prohibiting slavery.
“Dean C. Worcester,
“Secretary of the Interior.”
The following year I introduced in the commission the bill which the assembly had rejected. Action upon it was postponed, pending the receipt of information which was requested from the assembly as to the reason for the failure of that body to pass it the preceding year. Shortly after this was obtained in the form of the above-quoted extract from the minutes of that body I was called to the United States and no further action was taken in the matter at that time, although the Governor-General in his message to the Legislature had included the following recommendation:—
“There is no express provision of law prohibiting slavery or involuntary servitude in the Philippine Islands. While the law provides certain methods of punishing the practice of slavery, as for example, the law for illegal detention, yet it does not seem right that an enlightened and modern country should have no way of punishing the purchase or sale of human flesh. It is recommended that this be remedied by appropriate legislation at the coming session.”