end of his administration grossly and absurdly
false charges were made against him on the floor of the House by
Representative William A. Jones. As their falsity has been conclusively
and finally shown, [480] I will not here lend importance to them
by repeating them. No official has ever given any country a cleaner
administration than Governor-General Forbes gave the Philippines.

It was his fortune to be in office at the time of the change in the
national administration of the United States. After continuing to serve
for months with no sign from Washington as to whether his resignation
was desired, he was advised by the Chief of the bureau of insular
affairs that the appointment of Mr. Francis Burton Harrison, who is a
Tammany Hall democrat, as his successor had been sent to the Senate,
[481] and three days after its confirmation received a curt request
for his resignation to be effected in a week and a day. He was also
requested to employ servants for Mr. Harrison. Spaniards who read
on the public streets newspapers which printed this message were
seen to tear them up and stamp on the pieces! Our Spanish friends
are accustomed to expect courtesy in connection with the removal of
faithful and efficient public servants.

All other governors-general had taken the oath of office at
Manila. Mr. Harrison took it at Washington on September 2, 1913. He
is the first American governor of the islands who has entered upon his
high duties without previous experience in the country which he is to
govern, and he has as yet displayed little inclination to profit by
the experience of either Filipino or American administrative insular
officials of high rank. It is too soon to discuss any feature of his
administration other than his attitude toward the civil service,
which I take up elsewhere, [482] and I can only express the hope
that when he has gained that knowledge which can come only through
personal observation on the ground, he will grow to be a wise, strong,
conservative official.

The establishment of civil government in the Philippine Islands under
American rule was a gradual evolution up to the time of the assumption
of control by Governor-General Harrison.

I will not attempt to follow in detail all of its successive stages,
but in closing this chapter will endeavour briefly to summarize the
results obtained up to that time.

The Philippines now have two delegates to the Congress of the United
States appointed by the l