Annual Reports of the War Department

That the transfer of the government of the Moro Province, now known as the Department of Mindanao and Sulu, from military to civil control, as outlined in the last report, was justified seems to bə proven by the excellent conditions as to peace and order that have prevailed during the year. There have been no serious disorders or disturbances, and conditions generally throughout the department were never better.

In order to accomplish the complete unification of the people of the Moro Province with other inhabitants of the archipelago, the policy has been adopted of extending to the department the general laws of the islands and the general forms and procedure of government followed in other Provinces, subject to such limitations for the time being as are necessitated by special local conditions.

LEGISLATION.

In the last annual report there was a reference to the bill providing a new organic law for the Philippine Islands which had been introduced by Mr. Jones, of Virginia, the chairman of the Committee on Insular Affairs, in the House of Representatives, on July 11, 1914. Thereafter this bill received the consideration of the Committee on Insular Affairs. It was, in a slightly modified form, introduced by

Mr. Jones on August 20, 1914, as H. R. 18459, Sixty-third Congress, second session, and under date of August 26, 1914, it was reported to the House. The minority report was submitted on August 31, 1914. On October 14, 1914, the bill, after debate and with several amendments, passed the House of Representatives.

As the Senate Committee on the Philippines contemplated extended hearings on the bill, it was not taken up by that committee during that session of Congress, but on the day of the opening of the next session of Congress Senator Hitchcock, chairman of the Committee on the Philippines, submitted a Senate resolution authorizing his committee to subpoena witnesses and to take the other steps necessary to hearings on this bill. The hearings were quite exhaustive and on February 2, 1915, the bill was reported to the Senate, but did not reach a vote prior to the end of the Sixty-third Congress on March 4, 1915.

The Philippine Government was earnestly desirous of the passage by Congress of several bills of local interest, but insomuch as the proposed organic act, had it passed, would have given to the Philippine Government full power to legislate on these subjects, their passage was not urged at the last session of Congress.

During the last session of the Philippine Legislature it became evident that it would be necessary to provide additional sources of revenue, and the legislature passed an act amending the internalrevenue act in force in the Philippine Islands. While the internalrevenue act itself was an act of the Philippine Legislature and was subject to amendment by that legislature, certain of the objects on which the tax authorized was assessed were imported articles, and the tariff in force in the Philippine Islands being a congressional act, the question arose as to whether by imposing an internal-revenue tax on such articles the Philippine Legislature did not encroach on the field occupied by the customs tariff.

To avoid this difficulty, Congress included in the general deficiency bill a provision legalizing, ratifying, and confirming the act of the Philippine Legislature. Whether this was necessary or not, it had the effect of preventing extended litigation.

Other important laws passed by the Philippine Legislature during the year are an act revising the insurance laws and regulating insurance business in the islands, an act reorganizing the health service, an act amending the law regulating the practice of medicine and surgery in the islands and providing for the examination and registration of nurses, an act regulating the creation and operation of ruralagricultural cooperative associations, an act reorganizing the courts of first instance and transferring thereto the jurisdiction of the court of land registration, and an act promoting the establishment of sugar centrals.

AUTHORITY OF THE INSULAR COLLECTOR OF CUSTOMS AS TO

SHIPPING.

Under the act of Congress of August 18, 1914, providing American registry for foreign-built vessels, and the act of March 4, 1915, for the issuance abroad of provisional certificates of registry for vessels purchased by citizens of the United States, the insular collector of customs was authorized by the President to perform the consular functions incident to such transfers.

DRAWBACK OF INTERNAL REVENUE TAX.

Under the provisions of the tariff act of October 3, 1913 (pars. C and D), merchandise shipped from the United States to the Philippine Islands and Porto Rico was exempt from the payment of internal-revenue tax. The Treasury Department decided that these provisions applied only to articles upon which the tax had not been paid and did not permit a drawback on tax-paid articles. By an act of Congress approved March 4, 1915, such drawback was allowed.

COURTS OF FIRST INSTANCE.

An important change was made in the organization of the courts of first instance, effective July 1, 1914. The islands were redistricted and the number of judicial districts increased to 26. Coincident with this reorganization the court of land registration was discontinued and jurisdiction in cases for the registration of land titles was transferred to the courts of first instance. A central office, known as the general land registration office, was created which handles the administrative work in connection with the registration of land titles.

HEALTH.

During the year the principal activities of the bureau of health were its campaigns against soil pollution, for pure-water supplies for towns and villages, and against a threatened epidemic of cholera. Cholera appeared at Manila in July, and shortly thereafter at widely separated points in Luzon. By the close of the year it had been almost completely stamped out. At the same time the antiplague work continued unremittingly and with apparent success, as the last known case of either rat or human plague was on September 12, 1914.

The health authorities have continued to encourage the construction of modern market buildings and the drilling of artesian wells by municipalities throughout the islands, as experience has shown that such measures are prime factors in improving the public health. In addition to the General Hospital in Manila, the bureau of health maintains 3 first-class and 4 smaller hospitals in provincial towns; also 3 hospitals and 47 dispensaries in the Department of Mindanao and Sulu. Vaccination and municipal sanitation are being carried forward rapidly in that department.

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Annual Reports of the War Department, Volum 3