And State Papers 679 



Of our insular possessions, the Philippines and 

 Porto Rico, it is gratifying to say that their steady 

 progress has been such as to make it unnecessary to 

 spend much time in discussing them. Yet the Con- 

 gress should ever keep in mind that a peculiar ob- 

 ligation rests upon us to further in every way the 

 welfare of these communities. The Philippines 

 should be knit closer to us by tariff arrangements. 

 It would, of course, be impossible suddenly to raise 

 the people of the islands to the high pitch of indus- 

 trial prosperity and of governmental efficiency to 

 which they will in the end by degrees attain ; and the 

 caution and moderation shown in developing them 

 have been among the main reasons why this develop- 

 ment has hitherto gone on so smoothly. 



Scrupulous care has been taken in the choice 

 of governmental agents, and the entire elimina- 

 tion of partisan politics from the public service. 

 The condition of the islanders is in material things 

 far better than ever before, while their govern- 

 mental, intellectual, and moral advance has kept 

 pace with their material advance. No one people 

 ever benefited another people more than we have 

 benefited the Filipinos by taking possession of the 

 islands. 



The cash receipts of the General Land Office for 

 the last fiscal year were $11,024,743.65, an increase 

 of $4,762,816.47 over the preceding year. Of this 

 sum, approximately, $8,461,493 will go to the 

 credit of the fund for the reclamation of arid land, 



