Show WHAT ISLANDS NEED Stable Government the First Thing Desirable GOV TAFT CONTINUES STORY c Great Evil of the Present Time in Connection With the Archipelago Ho Says Is tho Current Discussion of Their Future So Long Before That Can Be Fixed Governor Is the Consti Opposed to Extending theConst tution There His View Democratic Substitute for Tariff 11 Washington Feb 15 The hearing hear-ing of1 Gov Taft on the Philippines by the Senate Committee on Philippines began today with a series of question by Senator Patterson in regard to the fitness of the Filipinos for Jury duty Mr Patterson asked whether the native na-tive population on which the voting JpJJon franchise Is bestowed could not be trusted to do Jury duty The Governor replied In the negative saying they are so used to corruption In tho adminis Ue tration of Justice that they could not be trusted They need t6 be lrn Ineche said ulo have examples they are not ready for jury dutyJ1 I CODB OP PROCEDURE Referring to the ode of procedure in the Islands Gov Taft said In reply to 3 question by Senator Culbcison that it Is American code rather than a Spanish nII Under the Spanish regime said Gov Taft tho courts were not only sluggish but notoriously corrupt and the first Gen Otis were court established by n Ots no better Under Spanish rule there was n substantial denial of justice PETITION FEDERAL PARTY Referring the petition of the Federal Fed-eral party Got Taft said all the cases of Imprisonment referred to were for military and not civil offenses Practically Prac-tically there are no civil prosecutions for political offenses at this lime Is not tho commission responsible for the formation of the Federal party asked Senator DuboIs COMMISSION NOT RESPONSIBLE No It Is not Gov Taft responded He gave the namcsof several prominent Filipinos who had assisted In the organization or-ganization They had he said consulted the members of the commission and the tJ mcfb rt ot Jailer had encouraged the formation as far as possible because the party was for peace The promise of Statehood had been no prominent part In the mission work of the leaderS WHAT MEMORIALISTS MEAN Senators Paterson Carmack and Cul berson asked numerous questions based upon the memorial from the Federal party calculated to bring out Got TaftB idea us to what if any promise had been made to the Filipinos in the way of government for the future Replying Re-plying to an Inquiry from Mr Patterson Patter-son as to the denunciation In the memorial me-morial of n colonial form of government govern-ment Gov Taft said these memorialists mean just what they say that they favor ultimate Statehood I CON TJTUTJON AND ISLES Replying to Mr Carmack as to the wisdom of making the Philippines an integral part of the United States the witness said the condition in the Philippines Philip-pines today Is such that restrictions of the Constitution of the United States cannot be safely extended to those Islands GREAT EVIL OF PRESENT Gov Taft advocated the establishment I establish-ment of a stable government for the present with the understanding that some time in the future the Americans and the Filipinos could reach an agreement agree-ment as to what should be done In the way government or In maintaining relations but he said whether the islands should have their Independence whether they should be given 0 quasi independence or whether they should be made a State of the Union is so far In the future that I have reached no conclusions con-clusions Thc great evil of the present time with reference to the Philippine Isfands 1 the current discussion of their future so long before that can be fixed lxed POSSIBLE STATEHOOD Replying 16 a question by Senator Carmack he said that he hrd not considered con-sidered the problem of possible State hood fifty years hence He would not favor a promise even ora form of government such as IB guven the Territories Terri-tories 9f the United States He also said l Jie was opposed to extending the oppose extendng Constitution to those islands ANARCHY WOULD RESULT In reply to a number of questions by Senator McComas baaed upon the Democratic substitute for the Philippine tariff bill Gov Tuft said PIillplno the government of the archipelago over to the Filipinos as therein proposed would in his opinion result In anarchy and In the disturbance of vested rights to such an extent as to render it necessary neces-sary for the United States to resume Its control with all the work to do over again th thad been done In the last two years Ho had no doubt however hat the Filipinos could form a government govern-ment as they had dqne under Aguinaldo gOor GEM OF THE ORIENT Would the condition be such asked Senator Loduens to lead to tho acquisition ac-quisition of the Islands by foreign powers1 forels That Is i 1 matter of opinion re sponded the Governor The Philippines PJllljjplnes are called by the foreigners the gem of tho Orlcnt The records will show that Interest that Japan has taken in the Is lands and the Investments made by citizens of other countries indicate what is thought of them Both the Germans and the English have considerable capital invested there |