ate practicable the provinces in your department that
may be considered ready for the establishment of civil governments
therein and in this connection directs me to say that it should not
be considered as necessary that complete pacification has been brought
about in a province before reporting it as ready for such government;
that the provincial civil governments to be established will doubtless
prove useful agents in the further work of pacification."

On February 27, that officer reported that in his opinion Iloilo,
Capiz, Oriental Negros and Occidental Negros were ready; that Antique
might be in a few days, and that Cebu, Bohol and Leyte were not. These
facts were reported to Governor Taft by General MacArthur on March 4,
and on the same day Lieutenant-Colonel Crowder wrote to the commanding
general of the Visayas:--

"The Military Governor directs me to say that he regards the initiation
of provincial civil government as an aid in the work of pacification,
in which view it is not necessary that a province should be completely
pacified as a condition to the initiation of such government. He has
expressed to the Commission the opinion that you may be able, upon
their arrival at Iloilo, to submit a supplementary list of provinces
in which it would be advisable to establish at once these governments."

Meanwhile General MacArthur wrote on February 13, to Governor Taft:--

"In partial reply to your letter of the 5th instant I have the honor
to inform you that the Commanding General, Department of Southern
Luzon, reports but one province, Tayabas, as ready at the present
time for civil government. I add the provinces of Laguna, Batangas
and Cavite, believing that the institution of civil government in all
these provinces will be in assistance of the military authorities in
the work of pacification."

General MacArthur's communications seem to me to show something more
than "a mere soldierly acquiescence in the will of Mr. McKinley,"
especially as the President had no knowledge of these provinces, and
never made any recommendation whatsoever relative to the establishment
of civil government there.

Similarly, in establishing civil government in Cebu and Bohol, the
commission acted on the specific recommendation of the military, and
rather against its own judgment. There seemed no very good reason for
refusing to try civil government, if the commanding general wanted
it tried, and when it failed, as it promptly did,