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The National Geographic Magazine 



of military occupation, the laws and 

 usages of civilized warfare, international 

 law, interpretation of the Constitution 

 of the United States, interpretation of 

 treaties respecting the territories subject 

 to military occupation, the status of the 

 territories and inhabitants acquired dur- 

 ing the war with Spain, the laws of 

 Spain rendered ineffective or remaining 

 in force in said islands, the effect of the 

 transfer upon the obligations of the pre- 

 vious sovereignty, the rights of individ- 

 uals and communities affected by the 

 action of the military government, the 

 administration of military government 

 by civilian officials, an .1 the law respect- 

 ing claims against the United States 

 based on military operations, encamp- 

 ment of troops, conduct of soldiers in 

 territory affected by the war. 



Some of the many questions thus 

 generally summarized could not be dis- 

 posed of by adherence to rules already 

 established by judicial decisions, for 

 questions arose which had not been judi- 

 cially determined. It was therefore 

 necessary to extend the investigation 

 into the field of history, and see if the 

 same or similar questions had arisen in 

 the several instances of previous acqui- 

 sition of foreign territory by the United 

 States, and to learn how the question 

 had been dealt with by the legislative 

 and administrative branches of the gov- 

 ernment of the United States. To ascer- 

 tain the treatment accorded by the legis- 

 lative branch of our government to the 

 territory and inhabitants of the North- 

 west Territory, Louisiana, East and West 

 Florida, Texas, New Mexico, and Upper 

 California, Oregon and Alaska, Samoa, 

 the Guano Islands, and the Hawaiian 

 Islands required a review of congres- 

 sional debate and legislation extending 

 over more than one hundred years, 

 while the treatment afforded by the ad- 

 ministrative branch required a review 

 of the reports of the several departments 

 of that branch, embodied in many an- 

 nual and special reports to Congress and 



now buried in that terra incognita known 

 as congressional documents. 



The reports on the subjects above 

 outlined have been compiled and pub- 

 lished in book form, making a volume 

 of over eight hundred pages. The work 

 has received universal commendation 

 from the press and public without regard 

 to party affiliations or personal views on 

 the course pursued by the War Depart- 

 ment in matters pertaining to insular 

 affairs. The Review of Reviews said of 

 the work : 



' ' Nothing could illustrate better than 

 this volume the vast number of intricate 

 questions that have arisen in the course 

 of our conduct of affairs in the islands 

 formerly belonging to Spain, nor could 

 anything throw more light upon the care 

 with which the War Department has 

 studied all the principles and precedents 

 of constitutional and international law 

 in its treatment of every issue that has 

 arisen." 



The work of the law officer during the 

 past year evidences that the government 

 of the Philippine Islands has entered 

 the second stage of its development. 

 Prior to this year the principal questions 

 pressing for consideration arose from the 

 relations sustained by the territory and 

 inhabitants of the Philippine Islands to 

 the federal government of the United 

 States under the laws of war and of na- 

 tions, the treaty of peace and cession, 

 the principles on which our govern- 

 ment is founded, and the theories of 

 governmental administration prevailing 

 in the United States. During the cur- 

 rent year the questions presented have 

 been largely questions involving the re- 

 lations sustained by the existing civil 

 government of the islands to the pre- 

 ceding military government and to the 

 federal government as created or regu- 

 lated by congressional enactments. 



The transfer of the powers of civil 

 government from the military authori- 

 ties to civilian officials, and the substi- 

 tution of a government under a code 



