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The National Geographic Magazine 



filed in the long established record divis- 

 ion. When several cases had accumu- 

 lated he placed them in an empty file 

 box on his desk. Papers of this nature 

 and allied subjects accumulated so rap- 

 idly that the services of one clerk were 

 granted to record these matters, which 

 force was soon found to be inadequate 

 to even enter them ; therefore a few 

 additional clerks were secured. 



A translation of the Spanish tariff in 

 force in the Island of Cuba was speedily 

 prepared. Certain needed modifications 

 were made in its provisions, and, under 

 the supervision of an American customs 

 expert, placed in operation at Santiago 

 and other provinces as evacuated by the 

 Spanish. A similar course of procedure 

 was followed in Porto Rico after the 

 withdrawal of the Spanish forces, as 

 was also the case in the Philippines, 

 and the large and increasing business' 

 in customs affairs drifted natural^ to 

 the same place. 



The questions which arose in the new 

 customs service during the first few 

 months made evident the need for a 

 new office, and this was emphasized as 

 the time approached for the transfer of 

 the entire Island of Cuba to our con- 

 trol, and our anticipated sovereignty 

 over the Island of Porto Rico, on Jan- 

 uary 1, 1899. O n December 13, 1898, 

 by order of the Acting Secretary of 

 War, there was created in the office of 

 the Secretary of War the ' ' Division of 

 Customs and Insular Affairs. ' ' One dis- 

 tinct class, at that time supreme, was 

 indicated by the word "customs." 

 Other phases of civil affairs were em- 

 braced by the word "insular." To 

 this new division were charged, without 

 other record, all papers relating to the 

 customs of Cuba, Porto Rico, and the 

 Philippine Islands, as well as all civil 

 affairs as distinguished from purely mil- 

 itary matters, for final disposition. At 

 this time there were but four clerks 

 assigned to the records of the division 

 at its creation, with orders to "keep 

 them as you think best." 



Up to February 10, 1900, one of the 

 clerks was in charge, on which date the 

 speaker reported to the Assistant Secre- 

 tary of War and was assigned as chief. 

 From this time the work, which had 

 been steadily growing, increased by- 

 leaps and bounds, embracing many 

 questions which the Secretary of War 

 desired to bring to the attention of the 

 Cabinet, so great was their importance. 

 About May of the same year the division 

 reported directly to the Secretary, and 

 from that date the business of the di- 

 vision has had the personal supervision 

 of that master mind of constructive 

 statesmanship. 



The Bureau of Insular Affairs takes 

 pardonable pride in the first official 

 comment made of its work by the Sec- 

 retary of War in his annual report, 

 dated November 27, 1901. It really is 

 the best summary of the work up to 

 that time accomplished by the office, as 

 well as a statement of the conditions 

 necessitating its creation. I will there- 

 fore take the libertv of quoting it in 

 full. 



' ' General policy of government. — The 

 policy followed by the American Exec- 

 utive in dealing with the government 

 of the Philippines (and also in dealing 

 with the government of the other islands 

 ceded or yielded by Spain which have 

 been under the control of the War De- 

 partment) has been to determine and 

 prescribe the framework of the insular 

 government ; to lay down the rules of 

 policy to be followed upon the great 

 questions of government as they are 

 foreseen or arise ; to obtain the best 

 and ablest men possible for insular 

 officers ; to distribute and define their 

 powers, and then to hold them respon- 

 sible for the conduct of government in 

 the islands with the least possible inter- 

 ference from Washington. 



' ' Notwithstanding a rigid adherence 

 to this policy, and consistently with it, 

 the demands upon the Department for 

 action in the vast and complicated busi- 

 ness in the island governments have 



