It is not the purpose of this paper to summarize the accomplishments of the past decade in the Philippines or to institute a comparison with conditions under Spanish rule. An adequate summary and comparison of this sort would run far beyond the time allotted here. And apart from the fact that the period has not come for essaying historical judgments in this case, it is more pertinent to the purposes of such a gathering as this to consider our experience primarily with reference to our course of action in the future. Looking at our Philippine experience to date only in its main aspects—therefore of necessity slurring over details—what does it seem to teach as to the success of our general policy and as to desirable modifications in our methods?

For various reasons, undue emphasis has, since American occupation of the Philippines, been put upon the purely political questions connected therewith. The first consideration was the insurrection, the demands of its leaders and the exigencies it created being primarily political in character. Let us reverse the emphasis here, taking up first fiscal and economic problems. For one thing, these matters are more vital to the welfare of the Philippine people as a whole than are the pending political questions. Moreover, when a rich, industrially well-developed and highly individualistic country like ours assumed control of affairs in a backward, semi-communistic country in the tropics, it was inevitable that there should be some shock in the readjustment, even if it had not been accentuated by warfare and pestilence.