the Taft Commission was solely occupied in investigating
conditions. To each commissioner certain subjects were assigned; for
example, Mr. Taft took up the Civil Service, Public Lands, and the
Friar questions. Each commissioner held a kind of Court of Inquiry,
before which voluntary evidence was taken. This testimony, later on,
appeared in print, and its perusal shows how difficult indeed it must
have been for the Commission to have distinguished the true from
the false, the valuable from the trivial. It was the beginning of
the end of military rule in the Islands. "The days of the Empire,"
as the military still designate that period, were numbered, and yet
not without regret by several native communities, as evidenced by the
fact that they sent petitions to the authorities in Manila against
the change to civil government. Many law-abiding natives explained to
me that the feature in military rule which particularly pleased them
was its prompt action--such a contrast to the only civil government
of which they had had any experience. About two years later, in 1903,
Lieut.-Gen. Miles, Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Army, made a tour in
the Islands and drew up a report on the conduct of military operations,
charging military officers with the grossest cruelty to the natives. A
Senate Commission of Inquest was appointed, but it was quite impossible
to prove anything conclusively on unimpeachable evidence; the general
retired from his command without the blessing of his comrades, and
the matter was abated.

The Philippine Commission commenced its functions as the legislative
body, with limitary executive powers in addition, on September 1,
1900, the military governor continuing as the Chief Executive until
July 4, 1901. Up to that date the civil executive authority in the
organized provinces was vested in the military governor. From that
date Maj.-General Adna R. Chaffee relieved Maj.-General McArthur in the
sole capacity of commander-in-chief of the military division, the full
executive civil power having been transferred to the Civil Commission,
and thenceforth the Insular Government became constituted as it is at
present. Governor Taft pursued his investigations until February, 1901,
when he started on a provincial tour, heard opinions, and tendered
the hand of peace. Municipalities united at certain centres to meet
him; the rich vied with each other to regale him royally; the crowd
flocked in from all parts to greet him;