EXHIBIT A.

FOURTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE SECRETARY TO THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL.

MANILA, October 1, 1905.

I have the honor to submit the following report of the work of the executive bureau for the year ending September 30, 1905:

There have been but few changes of a minor character in the scope of the work of the bureau, which will be referred to under the various subheads of this report, as they have not made any material difference in the organization of the bureau or method of accomplishing its work.

BUREAU PERSONNEL.

In my last annual report I referred to the feverishly unsettled condition of the Philippine civil service, so far as this bureau was concerned. Conditions, as shown by the memorandum of changes below, have not improved to any great extent, and the bureau is still having considerable difficulty in securing a class of Americans who will not only remain in the service, but will improve it. It is a regrettable fact that I am compelled to report that the grade of men coming from the United States now to accept positions here, particularly stenographers and typewriters, so far as I am able to judge from personal experience, is considerably below the average of the clerical assistants sent here several years ago.

It has been the rule in this bureau to pay American stenographers and typewriters for ordinary stenographic work not more than $1,400 per annum. Comparing salaries paid by the Federal Government, cost of living in the United States and in the Philippine Islands, and the advantages incident to the insular service in the way of longer leave privileges, etc., I consider the salary mentioned as ample for this class of work. It is admitted that court work, or of a class requiring extraordinary ability and accuracy as a stenographer and typewriter, should be compensated according to the ability required in each position. It would be futile to expect high-grade stenographers and typewriters to come to the islands at salaries not exceeding $1,400 per annum when this class of work is more highly remunerated in the United States. It has been the practice of this bureau whenever an ordinary stenographer and typewriter has reached the point where his stenographic work is only an adjunct to original action work to pay him a salary commensurate with the requirements of the position occupied by him and with his ability.

In order to carry out the plan of retrenchment inaugurated by the Philippine Commission at the beginning of the last fiscal year, to which reference was made in my annual report for 1904, in the estimates for the records division of the bureau for the present fiscal year, there have been abolished two $1,400 positions and three $1,200 positions, creating in lieu thereof clerkships at salaries ranging from $540 to $900 per annum. The economy thus resulting was made possible principally by the aptitude for record work displayed by the Filipino clerks employed in that division. In the other divisions of the bureau, Filipinos are being substituted gradually for Americans in all positions save those occupied by stenographers and typewriters. While the knowledge of English is becoming rapidly more general, it is impossible at the present time to secure Filipinos with a competent knowledge of both stenography and English. It is gratifying to note, however, that as typewriters they have made very rapid strides, and that a large percentage of the Filipino clerks employed in the minor positions are studying stenography after office hours, and it is fair to assume that in the course of the next two years Filipino stenographers will be more numerous than at present.

The bureau force at present consists of 2 officials, 1 chief clerk, 1 recorder, 1 law clerk, 6 chiefs of division, 8 private secretaries to the governor-general and the Commissioners, 104 clerks and messengers, and 14 laborers, a total of 137, divided into 45 Americans and 92 Filipinos, as against a total for the previous year of 128-52 Americans and 76 Filipinos. These figures show a gradual decrease in the number of Americans and an increase in the number of Filipinos, but do not indicate advances made by the latter in mastering the details of not only routinary clerical work but also that requiring more than average ability.

During the year there have been the following changes:

Among the permanent appointments of Americans mentioned above, 5 were original appointments to this service from civil service eligibles, with no experience whatever in government work. Naturally chiefs of division and the older assistants in the office have been compelled, as they were the previous year, to devote a very considerable portion of their time to instruction rather than supervision. Moreover, a number of the clerks who have been serving the government in this bureau for the past two or three years had been granted well-earned leaves of absence, thus depriving the bureau of the benefit of their services for periods ranging from five to eight months. This condition will be no doubt one which will cause embarrassment for several years and until such time as the Filipinos have become well equipped as stenographers and typewriters and able to occupy the higher grade positions, experience having demonstrated that few Americans care to remain in this climate for more than three years, and it is not deemed advisable nor considered economical to expect more than three years' service without at least a vacation in a cooler atmosphere.

During the heated term, and in order that the clerks might enjoy the benefit of shorter office hours-it having been demonstrated in the past to my satisfaction that what is known as the "one long term" of office hours, from 7 or 8 in the morning until 12 noon or 1 post meridian, could not be maintained by this bureau with any degree of satisfaction-they were fixed at from 8.30 to 12 and from 3 to 4.30, thus relieving the clerks from duty during the hottest portion of the day. This scheme was found to give satisfaction in all the divisions of the bureau except one-the records division. This division had been called on at various periods during the year to render assistance to almost all of the other divisions, with the result that the labor incident to transferring the index cards to volumes-a plan which has been followed in that division since its organization in order to avoid the accumulation of an unwieldy number of cards-had been neglected to such an extent that on the 1st of May it had not begun on the index for 1904. This necessitated the fixing of the office hours for that division at seven hours per day, with the result that before the 1st of September that portion of the index devoted to names-consisting of 2,353 pages-was completed and ready for binding. The portion covering the departments and bureaus is now in the hands of the printer for binding, leaving only the provincial and subject portions to be edited and prepared for binding.

In order to convey an adequate idea as to the increase in the volume of work accomplished by this bureau, it may be stated that on January 1, 1902, there were employed in the bureau 38 clerks-31 Americans and 7 Filipinos-exclusive of two officials, and private secretaries. At the present time, as previously stated, the office force is 137-45 Americans and 92 Filipinos. Notwithstanding this increase of 99 in three and one-half years, the clerks during the past year have performed voluntarily 31,979 hours of overtime, or 4,920 working days of 64 hours each, an average of 410 days per month, without extra compensation, in order that the public business might not be delayed.

During the year the system inaugurated at the beginning thereof, of so administering the various divisions of the bureau that no work which may be accomplished by a clerk in one of the lower grades be performed by one in a higher grade, that no work be done by a clerk that could be done by a messenger, has been continued. To accomplish this end constant supervision of a more than ordinary character is required of all chiefs of division.

This subject brings me to one where, in my opinion, a considerable amount of the paper work of this government might be saved, with its resultant economy. I refer to the introduction of a

GOVERNMENT DESK TELEPHONE SYSTEM.

The proposed new telephone system soon to be established in this city has suggested the idea of the introduction of a general government telephone system, with exchanges in each of the large government buildings and connection through these with each office, interchangeable connections between the varous divisions of an office or bureau and other offices or bureaus in the same building, and connection with the local "central." Such a system would do away with the necessity for writing "chits" or long official communications and the labor incident to their delivery and acknowledgment. With desk telephones provided for each bureau, and also for each division thereof, the necessity of an official leaving his desk to answer a telephone in some remote portion of the building, with the accompanying loss of time, would be obviated. The suggestion is not a novel one, for its economy and effectiveness have been demonstrated in the Government departments at Washington, and in innumerable private establishments in the United States.

CORRESPONDENCE METHODS.

With the end in view of economizing in time and labor and eliminating as far as possible a portion of the paper work in the various offices incident to the correspondence system of the government then in vogue, in the latter part of February a plan was discussed in this bureau of furnishing a duplicate (carbon copy) of each original letter sent to the bureaus and offices located in the city of Manila, thus providing the bureau receiving the same with an exact copy thereof and eliminating the necessity of making a record copy should it be necessary to send the original letter or communication to another office by indorsement. As an amplification of this plan, a suggestion was made that where a communication bearing one or more indorsements was received for the first time by an office and forwarded with an indorsement to another office, it be accompanied by a carbon copy of the record made and retained by the forwarding office. Doubt arose at the time as to the practicability of this plan, but in view of the creation shortly afterwards of the reorganization committee it was decided to submit the matter to it, with the request that it give other chiefs of bureau an opportunity to consider the proposed plan and secure their views as to the advisability of inaugurating it.

In order to give the plan a trial, it was tentatively put into effect with one or two offices and found to work satisfactorily. It was not, however, until May 23 that authority was given to put the plan into general operation. With this end in view the following circular letter, addressed to all bureaus and offices in the city of Manila, was issued by the executive secretary on the date named:

THE GOVERNMEnt of the Philippine IslandS,

EXECUTIVE BUREAU,
Manila, May 23, 1905.

Circular.

SIR: On and after the first proximo, each original communication emanating from this bureau, addressed to any one of the government offices in Manila, will be accompanied by a duplicate or carbon copy for file in the records of the bureau or office to which the original is sent.

All communications received in this bureau, bearing one or more indorsements, which are referred to any one of the government offices in Manila, when such communications have not previously passed through either this bureau or the office to which forwarded, will be accompanied by a carbon copy of the record thereof kept in this bureau, thus obviating the necessity of making a record copy in the offices to which such communications are last addressed, and minimizing the present duplication of labor.

It is requested that the plan outlined above, if agreeable to you, be followed in future by your office, in order that this bureau may also derive some benefit therefrom.

Very respectfully,

A. W. FERGUSSON,
Executive Secretary.

As will be seen readily from the second paragraph of this letter, the greatest saving results in the copying of documents containing several indorsements, as only every

alternate office receiving the papers is required to make a complete record copy, the other offices copy nothing but their own indorsements, adding them to the record received and sending the papers forward. The plan has been in operation for several months and the resultant economy is known to be considerable, although it is impracticable to estimate it exactly in dollars and cents.

The paper work in this bureau had been increasing year by year at an average rate of over 25 per cent, and the inauguration of some system like the above became necessary. The result has been that paper work has greatly decreased, not only because of the introduction of the above plan, but by inaugurating from time to time methods of handling papers which tended to minimize the labor connected therewith. It is expected that if the vacancies at present existing in the bureau are filled prior to the first of next year, as is hoped, the bureau with its full quota of clerks will be enabled to answer all demands made upon it.

One general record system has been in use for the office of the governor-general, the four executive departments, and the executive bureau, but with minor exceptions official communication between the departments or between any of the departments and this bureau is carried on as though they were separate and distinct offices. For instance: If a communication is received from some source addressed through the executive secretary to the secretary of the interior, this bureau indorses it officially to the latter, the paper being sent through and recorded in the common records division. When the secretary of the interior has finished his investigation his reply would, as a rule, be returned through the original channels, thereby necessitating another indorsement by this bureau and another more or less useless record. An attempt has been made to inaugurate a simpler method of handling communications which properly belong to the various departments, that is, informally by messenger, as is done between the divisions of the bureau. It is thought that during the next two or three months this system will be perfected and result in much saving of time and labor. Where a communication is misdirected, or should go properly to one of the departments, this bureau will acknowledge the receipt of the communication and advise the writer of its disposition. For all subsequent action the original communication and copy of the letter of acknowledgment will be forwarded informally to the secretary of the department for which it is intended. Should the executive secretary desire, or should he be requested to express his views upon the subjectmatter of the communication, he could do so by means of a written memorandum, as is now done with papers sent in to the governor-general.

FIREARM PERMITS.

During the year ending October 1, 1904, there were coursed through this bureau a total of 2,766 firearm permits, and as these permits must be renewed yearly it was readily apparent at the end of the year that there would be even more during the period covered by this report. Practically one-half of the entire time of a $1,200 native clerk was taken up in checking, indorsing, and preparing these for approval, besides the time spent by the executive secretary in approving them under the authority of the governor-general. It was believed that a system might be devised by which a considerable portion of the labor incident to the handling of these permits and the applications therefor might be dispensed with without any material effect upon the efficiency of the checking, and that a part of the duplication of labor incident to the checking and signing of the applications in this office and subsequent recording thereof, and the recording and forwarding from the office of the chief of constabulary could be avoided. On May 22, 1905, an arrangement was made, satisfactory to all concerned, by which the chief of constabulary approves and transmits permits to the interested parties where no objection is had on the part of his office to the granting of the same. At the end of each month he forwards to this bureau, en bloc, a list of the permits authorized by him, for the approval of the executive secretary, acting for the governor-general. Where disapproval is recommended by the chief of the constabulary, the applications for permits are sent to this office and a decision made, after investigation, as to whether permits should issue. During the last year there were 3,795 permits issued, 266 of which were renewals. Two hundred and thirty-eight permits were canceled.

TRANSPORTATION OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.

In December of last year the Bureau of Insular Affairs, at Washington, took up with the steamship lines operating out of San Francisco and Seattle and their allied railway lines the question of the renewal of the contract for the transportation of insular employees for the present year. The terms of the contract finally entered

into were practically the same as those of 1904, with a few minor changes placing limitations upon certain clauses which existed in the contract for last year. The principal change involved the construction of the phrase "members of families." The new contract provides that the government rate shall be only applicable to the following: Government employees and members of their families-the term "family" to be construed only as parents, children, and servants, constituting the immediate members of one household. The rate is to apply as heretofore to fiancées coming to Manila to marry government employees and to students traveling at government expense. The rates secured are very favorable, and the bureau is called upon with less frequency to request transportation by army transport. This is believed to be due primarily to the fact that the liners stop at several ports in China and on the eastern coast of Japan, thus affording an opportunity for a pleasant, though limited, stay in each of the countries named.

There has been turned over to the commercial lines on transportation orders issued by the bureau during the last year the sum of $57,024.29, of which $8,105 was official and at the expense of the government; the balance, $48,919.29, was for transportation orders purchased at the government rate by employees either resigning from the service or returning to the United States on leave of absence. The total number of persons furnished transportation was 449-421 adults, 8 children at half rate, 12 children at quarter rate, and 8 children free. Comparison between this and last year's figures shows that the total amount paid over to the steamship lines was $3,744.41 less for the period covered by this report, but the amount paid for transportation orders by employees was $5,531.79 greater, and for official transportation $9,401.20 less, although there was just 8 more persons furnished with transportation orders than last year. Singularly enough, the number of adults traveling at the government rate was exactly the same in both years, 421.

In this connection it may be stated that under the present regulation regarding the granting of return transportation to employees of the government on leave in the United States an employee who has had more than three years' service in the islands to his credit prior to taking leave may have his transportation advanced by the government, reimbursement to be made by him in not more than twelve monthly installments from his salary after his return to the islands. An employee who has had more than two but less than three years' service may also have his transportation advanced under the same conditions as to payment; provided, however, that he furnish a bond in advance for the cost of the same, either prior to leaving the islands or to the Bureau of Insular Affairs at Washington. This, together with the commutation or payment in a lump sum to the employee of the salary for the leave of absence earned by him prior to his departure from the islands, enables him to use in the United States all of the salary due him during his leave, should he so desire. It is believed that regulations of this kind create a better feeling among the employees and tend to increase the percentage of clerks who return to the islands after a leave of absence in preference to resigning and remaining in the United States.

TRANSPORTATION OF VAGRANTS AND DESTITUTE AMERICANS.

Reference was made in my last annual report to the lamentable increase in the undesirable American colony here and the means adopted to get these men away from the islands. The procedure of the pardoning of those sentenced for vagrancy, conditioned upon their leaving the islands, when they were not sentenced under the provisions of Act No. 899, and furnishing them transportation to the United States without cost to themselves, has been continued. The cost to the Government of such transportation has been reduced from $50 on commercial vessels to $8.50, through the courtesy of the War Department in its desire to aid this government in ridding the islands of this pernicious element. They are now sent home on army transports. The number of vagrants conditionally pardoned, together with those furnished transportation under the provisions of Act No. 899, during the period covered by this report was 59. During the early part of the year, and with a like object in view, any destitute American who called at the office was furnished transportation upon an army transport at the expense of the Government. The number of applicants of this character presenting themselves finally assumed such proportions as to seriously interfere with the other work of the office. The bureau became the Mecca of every unfortunate's pilgrimage. The abuse became so great, in fact, that in a single day there were as many as 7 applicants seeking authority for transportation. Accordingly, on January 6, 1905, it was decided that thenceforth no transportation would be furnished except where an investigation of each individual case should bring to light circumstances warranting especial consideration. A total of 56 worthy persons of the destitute class were furnished with free transportation to