from the home land. Every clerk, no matter what his ideals or aspirations, realizes after coming here that he must at some time in the future return to the United States and begin all over again. After spending a year or more in the islands the realization that the sooner this change is made the better becomes very acute. This condition causes, doubtless, the class of men who are not adventurous or fond of visiting strange climes to think twice before accepting an appointment for service in these islands, and generally to remain away, and a great majority of those who do come here to leave the service again after a very short period of duty. It can be overcome by making a Philippine appointment a permanent means of earning a livelihood by providing an effective system of transfer to the Federal service after a reasonable period of service here. I say "effective system," because the present one grants only a privilege and not a right. Under the present regulations influence must be brought to bear at Washington in order that requisition may be made by the chief of some bureau there for the services of a clerk desiring to transfer. Apparently it is not incumbent either on the United States Civil Service Commission nor on the Philippine civil service board to assist a clerk in securing a transfer or to do more than certify that he is eligible. It is not even believed that there is a list of eligible transferees from this service in Washington. It is known that there is none in Manila.

It is believed that if the conditions in respect of transfers are arranged as suggested above and proper circulation of this fact made by advertisement or otherwise there will be no difficulty in securing Americans well qualified to perform more than ordinary clerical duties and to occupy the high-grade positions in any of the bureaus of this service, no matter what the technical or professional requirements may be, and this without the erection by the government of barracks or houses with the consequent expense, as has been suggested at various times. It is believed to be useless to try to influence men to come out here unless there is something permanent offered to them at the expiration of a reasonable term of service.

The civil service of these islands has been compared at times with that existing in the East Indies, the Straits Settlements, India, Hongkong, and other tropical colonies of European nations. But the conditions existing in such colonial civil service organizations have been brought about by years of experience, and their success is due principally to the fact that the temperament, habits, customs, etc., of the average European differ very materially from those of the average American. Europeans in the colonial service have been trained with the idea of entering it, their education being planned with that end in view. The average European is content to live and die east of Suez;" the average American is not, although under improved conditions and inducements he might be prevailed upon to do so.

As I am firmly convinced that a permanent service under present conditions is entirely out of the question, it is suggested that to secure the services of competent men for a limited period at least that each American employee be given the right to transfer (at a reduced salary, the percentage of reduction to be determined by competent authority) to the Federal civil service upon application by him, accompanied by a certificate to the effect that he is eligible for transfer, the United States Civil Service Commission and the Philippine civil service board cooperating and procuring a transfer for him; or to place the American clerks of this government upon the same footing as clerks of the classified service of the War Department serving in the military offices of these islands-send them out here for temporary service only and retransfer them to the United States after a reasonable period.

A system of transfers such as that proposed in the preceding paragraph, or a general plan for taking care of the American civil-service employees of this government, by providing an effective transfer system, as suggested, would undoubtedly benefit the Federal service by providing it with men whose minds had been broadened by their voyage to these islands, their familiarity with conditions existing in countries other than the United States, the opportunity for personal observation and close study of economic, social, political, industrial, and commercial conditions in the islands, as well as the scheme of Government control of affairs abroad.

Measures such as those authorized by the provisions of act No. 1225, by which, upon authority of the governor-general or proper head of a department, an employee may have the accrued leave of absence to which he is entitled commuted (or paid to him in a lump sum) prior to his departure from the islands and the advancement of transportation to employees on leave in the United States, to which I have referred elsewhere in this report, are of incalculable benefit to the service and to the employees. Regulations of this character tend to the establishment of a permanent service in the islands, and if the clerical employees were given positive assurance of transfer to the Federal service at the expiration of a reasonable period of service in the islands, it is thought that a greater portion of the difficulties incident to the securing of the right class of Americans for this service would be eradicated for all time to come.

CONCLUSION.

In conclusion, I desire to express to the subordinate officials, chiefs of division, and office force of the bureau my deep appreciation of their unvarying courtesy, unswerving loyalty, and exceptional industry at all times. This is eloquently attested by the many hours of overtime which they have uncomplainingly devoted to furthering the interests of the Government and the bureau. No right-minded chief of a bureau could fail to feel a personal pride in supervising such a force and a personal interest in each of its members.

Of the 11 officials and chiefs of divisions, including the chief clerk, all but one speak English and Spanish with considerable fluency, all but two having learned the latter since they came to the islands. Every Filipino clerk speaks both the languages with more or less fluency, and many of them have the added accomplishment of speaking one or more of the native languages and dialects. The Filipinos have shown marked capacity in many respects and a devotion to duty and a desire to increase their store of knowledge, and have demonstrated that under the proper auspices they can perform original work of a highly commendable character which is deserving of more praise than is usually allotted to them.

I thank one and all of the bureau force for having lightened my burdens and made my way smoother as time advances. A. W. FERGUSSON, Executive Secretary.

The GOVERNOR-GENERAL.

APPENDIX A.

ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE DIVISION.

MANILA, September 30, 1905.

SIR: I have the honor to submit the following report for the administration and finance division for the year ended September 30, 1905:

Of the period covered by this report, Mr. Emil E. Weise, the then chief of division, acted as chief clerk from October 1, 1904, until March 3, 1905, during which time Mr. Harry L. Beckjord acted as chief of division; on April 22, 1905, Mr. Weise left the islands, having tendered his resignation effective at the expiration of his accrued leave, and Mr. Beckjord continued as acting chief of division until June 30, 1905, when he too left the islands for the United States on leave of absence. From this statement it will be seen that the undersigned has acted as chief of division only since July 1, 1905, and this report is based upon his observations since transferred to the bureau, October 12, 1904, and his experience in his present position since July 1, 1905.

As is indicated by its name, the division is divided into two sections, administration and finance.

Act No. 1225 authorized a total of 44 positions for the division, including messengers, but at the present time, owing to resignations and transfers, only a total of 39 names are carried on the rolls of the division, including 25 clerks and 14 messengers. Of this force 16 clerks are assigned to duty in the offices of the secretaries of departments and in various other divisions of the bureau, and 2 are on leave of absence in the United States, leaving a total of 3 American and 4 Filipino clerks actually on duty in the division proper; and it has therefore not been possible at all times to observe strict lines of separation of the two sections, it having been necessary to utilize the services of the available clerks as the exigencies demanded, the one redeeming feature of the situation being that the tendency has been to familiarize all clerks with every line of work passing through the division.

The work handled by the administration section consists as follows: Drafting of executive orders and proclamations and making special distribution of same; petitions for pardon; firearm permits from residents of the city of Manila, and preparing indorsements on applications for permits from the provinces when recommended for disapproval by the chief of the Philippines Constabulary; reports re deceased officials and employees, and Americans resident in the islands not employees; arrangements for the shipment to the United States of the remains of such deceased persons when requested by the relatives; correspondence with consuls of foreign countries; resolutions of provincial boards and municipal councils; arrangements for the transportation of officials and employees and their families to and from the United States on commercial liners at Government contract rate and on army transports and between interisland ports, also the sending to the United States of indigent American

citizens, vagrants, and conditionally pardoned American prisoners, and to their respective home countries of conditionally pardoned foreign prisoners; arranging preliminary details of the executions of persons condemned to death by the court of first instance, after confirmation of sentence by the supreme court, and transportation of prisoners, official executioner, and scaffold to proper province; cablegrams to foreign governments and officials and United States officials abroad, and codification and translation of cablegrams between the Bureau of Insular Affairs and executive bureau and the preparation of excerpts of same for interested bureaus, offices, and persons; telegrams to and from provincial officials; action on requests for commutation of accrued leave of absence; typewritten copying work, such as the annual reports of the Philippine Commission, the governor-general, the executive secretary, and Englishspeaking provincial governors, making copies of records for persons interested or who desire same; action on requests for leave of absence of provincial fiscals, presidents of provincial boards of health, and registers of deeds; miscellaneous action work on papers of every description not properly in the province of any other division of the bureau; and the preparation of letters to the judge of the court of land registration for signature of the governor-general in connection with lands desired by the military and naval authorities under the provisions of Acts Nos. 627 and 648, Philippine Commission.

In the finance section are prepared all accountable warrants withdrawing funds from the insular treasury for disbursement by the disbursing officers of the various bureaus and offices, as well as settlement warrants in favor of officials and employees, covering commutation of accrued leave, reimbursement of traveling expenses under the provisions of Act No. 1040, and to firms and merchants, covering refunds of customs duties; a letter is written in the section transmitting each one of these warrants to its proper recipient. The appointments of inspectors and inspection committees to act on damaged and lost insular government property, checking and preparation for approval of such reports, and the appointment of special committees to supervise the printing of internal-revenue stamps at the government printing plant, and for other purposes, are handled by the finance section. Requisitions on the insular purchasing agent from provinces, municipalities, and bureaus and offices under the jurisdiction of the govornor-general are checked and prepared for approval. Purchases, contracts, leases and plans of all kinds, requiring approval of the governorgeneral, executive secretary, or assistant executive secretary, are checked and prepared for signature, and all property and financial matters generally are handled in this section. In addition to the above the clerk in charge of the finance section has, upon proper appointment, from time to time, acted as inspector on lost and damaged property belonging to various insular government bureaus in the city of Manila, relieving the permanent inspector whose duties, in connection with the supervision of the inventory of the insular purchasing agent's stock and the checking of the property accounts of Bilibid Prison, have prevented his carrying on the inspection as usual. While the aforementioned reason was the primary motive in having this work done by the clerk mentioned, his detail for such work was also made in order that he might become familiar with the conditions under which an inspection is conducted and thereby be able to take more correct action on reports of other inspectors passing through this section.

The division also furnishes occasional stenographic assistance to the offices of the governor-general, the executive secretary and assistant executive secretary, and the chief clerk, and on several occasions Filipino clerks of the division have been detailed as acting private secretaries in the offices of the Filipino members of the Commission. Considerable extra work was performed by the division during the past year in connection with the distribution of the diplomas and medals awarded officials and citizens in the islands by the Philippine exposition board. In April of the present year 133 gold plated, 38 silver plated, and 623 bronze medals and diplomas were received from the Bureau of Insular Affairs, and it was necessary to segregate these and distribute them to the persons for whom intended. These medals and diplomas have all been distributed, with the exception of a small number which it was necessary to return to the Bureau of Insular Affairs, as the persons interested had left the islands and receipt of the greater number acknowledged.

In October of last year the clerk who had been detailed as stenographer and private secretary to the executive secretary, and who also had charge of the issuance of passports and transportation requests, resigned to accept a position with the United States legation at Peking, and the position formerly occupied by him was not filled and will be abolished. That portion of his work relating to requests for transportation on army and interisland transports, and arrangements for transportation via trans-Pacific liners, was transferred to this division. As above stated, the division

now furnishes stenographic assistance to the executive secretary, when required, either English or Spanish. Requests for transportation on coast-guard boats are now handled informally by sending them without comment to the secretary of commerce and police, whose office is in this building.

In this connection I desire to invite attention to the following remarkable condition: Not one of the American clerks of the force now on duty in the division proper, including the undersigned, was employed in the executive bureau at the date of the rendition of the last annual report. The division has been somewhat handicapped by this unavoidable change of personnel, and in some cases slight delays have necessarily resulted in the dispatch of the large volume of work passing daily through the division; but an effort has been made at all times to avoid delaying the more important correspondence, and it is believed this effort has in the main been successful. Another fact which may be worthy of citation is that the annual reports covering the work of the division for the past three years have been rendered by an acting chief. The great need of the division is not so much a stenographic force (although such force is desirable) as it is a permanent trained force capable of taking intelligent action upon the ordinary work and large enough to meet extraordinary demands for assistance from the offices of the Commissioners and other divisions without handicapping its own work; but, as indicated above, it is more or less difficult to maintain such a force.

During the past year a change in the method of handling provincial firearm permits has heen inaugurated which has resulted in considerable diminution of former unnecessary and useless work. The chief of constabulary now conducts all preliminary correspondence regarding applications for permits to purchase and possess firearms by residents of the provinces and submits a list of all those in which favorable action is recommended to the governor-general monthly for approval. Only such individual cases are now handled by the division in which the chief of constabulary recommends disapproval, which cases under the new plan are individually submitted to the governor-general for decision after obtaining the comment of both the chief of constabulary and the provincial governor.

A general change has been suggested in the present system of appointing inspectors and inspection committees, as under the present plan much unnecessary correspondence is necessitated, due in many instances to the lack of knowledge of the persons of necessity appointed inspectors in the provinces, of accounting methods, and the really important points which should be brought out in the ideal inspection report. It has been suggested that the services of the traveling examiners be utilized in making these inspections, and that all correspondence relative to the same be conducted by the office of the auditor, the final report to be submitted to this office for approval when ready for such action; but no official action has as yet been taken. A constant effort is being made to educate the Filipino clerks in the division to think for themselves and take original action on all classes of correspondence. One of these clerks now handles almost exclusively all firearm permits and petitions for pardon. Another handles practically all requisitions on the insular purchasing agent, besides being of valuable assistance through his knowledge of stenography. This report was dictated to the latter. Still another of the lower grade Filipino clerks has demonstrated his ambition by acquiring a knowledge of shorthand after office hours, and so far as the present value of time will permit, due to the decimated and untrained force, his services are utilized in this capacity in order to not only improve his knowledge of spoken and written English and shorthand, but to encourage him in his commendable efforts toward self-improvement.

When the positions authorized for the division are filled by the return to duty of two clerks now on leave of absence and the arrival from the United States of several new clerks for whom requisition has been made, the work of the division will be completed without delay, and it is hoped to make each day take care of its own work. A tabulated statement of some of the work handled by the division during the period covered by this report is attached.

Very respectfully,

The EXECUTIVE SECRETARY.

CLIFFORD C. MITCHELL,

Acting Chief.

Statement of some of the work performed by the administration and finance division during the period October 1, 1904, to September 30, 1905.

Official excerpts furnished

Reports regarding deceased employees and their estates.

Requests from persons in United States inquiring as to health or addres of relatives or friends in the Philippine Islands...

Warrants:

FINANCE SECTION.

Requisitions for accountable warrants handled..

Certificates for settlement warrants handled

Accountable warrants drawn.

Settlement warrants drawn...

Letters of transmittal of warrants prepared, about

Inspections:

Inspection committees on damaged and lost public civil property appointed...

Inspectors on damaged and lost public civil property appointed.

Inspection reports prepared for approval and transmission

Special inspection committees appointed .

39

6

1,758

380

109

913

356

163

2,065

948

782

238

266

318

326

3,472

136

362

1,396

1,586

1,396

1,586

2,882

10

218

21

229

APPENDIX B.

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF THE LEGISLATIVE DIVISION.

MANILA, September 30, 1905. SIR: I have the honor to submit the following report upon the work of the legislative division covering the period from October 1, 1904, to September 30, 1905.

The compilation of the annual edition of the public laws, annotated, is still carried on by this division. Since the last report Volume III, in English and Spanish, has been completed and published. Volume III of the public laws contains all the acts passed by the Philippine Commission during the legislative year, extending from September 1, 1903, to and including August 31, 1904, and the acts of Congress approved during the same period and relating directly to the Philippine Islands, together with other general matter of a legislative character.

Specifically, the volume contains: Acts Nos. 863 to 1225 inclusive; the act of Congress approved April 15, 1904, relating to shipping and known as "the Frye bill "; the neutrality proclamation and order by the President of the United States with reference to the war between Russia and Japan; the executive order of the governorgeneral No. 32, series of 1904, establishing the procedure for the issue of passports in lieu of Act No. 1171, repealed; the proclamation declaring the public-land act, No. 926, in effect; the executive bureau circular of July 1, 1904, with reference to transportation over commercial lines between Manila and ports in the United States; the