A Typical Filipino Town.
This photograph shows a part of Laoag, the capital of Ilocos Norte.
There were individual instances in which Insurgents and Insurgent sympathizers were treated with severity, and even with cruelty, by officers and soldiers of the army of the United States, but it is nevertheless undoubtedly true that never before have the officers and men of any civilized nation conducted so humanely a war carried on under conditions similar to those which prevailed in the Philippines.
Hostilities were deliberately provoked by the Insurgents, who had previously prepared an elaborate plan for a simultaneous attack on the American lines around Manila from within and without, and for the killing of all Americans, Europeans and American sympathizers among the Filipinos.
The war ended with a prolonged period of guerilla warfare, deliberately inaugurated by the Insurgents, which bred crime and struck at the very roots of good government.
At the earliest possible moment the Filipinos were given a share in the control of their own affairs when municipal governments were established, under military rule, by army officers. Many Filipinos who accepted municipal offices under the Americans paid for their courage with their lives, and a very large number saved their lives only by serving two masters. Because of the special conditions which prevailed, such persons were very leniently dealt with when their double dealing was discovered, and in the effort to afford adequate protection to those who had put their confidence in the United States, our armed forces were divided to an extent probably previously unprecedented in history, and more than five hundred separate garrisons were established.
The first Philippine Commission was appointed in the hope of bringing about a friendly understanding between Insurgent officers and the representatives of the United States, and for the purpose of gathering reliable information relative to people and conditions which might serve as a basis for future legislation for the benefit of all the inhabitants of the islands. As the result of the breaking out of hostilities before the commission reached its destination, its work was necessarily limited to the gathering of information and to efforts to promote the earliest possible establishment of relations of friendliness and usefulness between the two peoples.
The second Philippine Commission was endowed with far-reaching powers. Shortly after its arrival in the islands it became the legislative body, and proceeded gradually to establish civil government as rapidly as practicable in a country under military rule, many parts of which were in active rebellion.
This difficult undertaking was carried out with a minimum of friction between civil and military authorities. The latter were invariably consulted by the former before civil government was established in any given region, and their wishes in the premises were respected. The commanding general stated that the establishment of civil governments was a help to him in his work, and in accordance with his desires and recommendations they were established prematurely in three provinces, with the result that the temporary restoration of military government became necessary.