The Philippines: Past and Present (Volume 1 of 2)Worcester, Dean C. (Dean Conant)
History
The Philippines: Past and Present (Volume 1 of 2)
Worcester, Dean C. (Dean Conant)
Philippines; Philippines -- History -- 1898-1946
The American ration costs The constabulary cash ration is
24.3 cents United States currency 10.5 cents United States currency.
(exclusive of cost of (No freight or handling charges.)
transportation and handling). The constabulary soldier knows not
Fresh meat requiring ice to keep ice. His food grows in the islands.
it is a principal part of the He buys it on the ground and needs
American ration. To supply it no transportation to bring it to him.
requires a regular system of
transport from the United States
to Manila and from thence to local
ports, and wagon transportation
from ports to inland stations.
The American soldier is at no The idea of enlisting the sympathy
pains to enlist the sympathy and and coöperation of the local
coöperation of the people; and population is the strongest tenet
his methods of discipline habits in the constabulary creed.
of life, etc., make it practically
impossible for him to gain them.
Before preparing the foregoing statement relative to the reasons for
using Philippine constabulary soldiers instead of soldiers of the
United States army for police work during the period in question, I
asked Colonel J. G. Harbord, assistant director of the constabulary,
who has served with that body nine years, has been its acting director
and is an officer of the United States army, to give me a memorandum
on the subject. It is only fair to him to say that I have not only
followed very closely the line of argument embodied in the memorandum
which he was good enough to prepare for me, but have in many instances
used his very words. The parallel columns are his.
The constabulary soldier, thoroughly familiar with the topography
of the country in which he operates; speaking the local dialect and
acquainted with the persons most likely to be able and willing to
furnish accurate information; familiar with the characteristics of
his own people; able to live off the country and keep well, is under
all ordinary circumstances a more efficient and vastly less expensive
police officer than the American soldier, no matter how brave and
energetic the latter may be. Furthermore, his activities are much
less likely to arouse animosity.
Incidentally, the army is pretty consistently unwilling to take the
field unless the constitutional guarantees are temporarily suspended,
and it particularly objects to writs of habeas corpus. The suspension
of such guarantees is obviously undesirable unless really very
necessary.
Let us now consider some of the specific instances of alleged
inefficiency of the constabulary in suppressing public disorder,
cited by Blount.
On page 403 of his book he says, speaking of Governor Taft and disorder
in the province of Albay which arose in 1902-1903:--
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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