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The National Geographic Magazine 



natives of the Philippine Islands shall, 

 by their services and character, show fit- 

 ness for command, the President is au- 

 thorized to make provisional appoint- 

 ments to the grades of second and first 

 lieutenants from such natives, who, when 

 so appointed, shall have the pay and 

 allowances to be fixed by the Secretary 

 of War, not exceeding those of corre- 

 sponding grades of the regular army." 



As it is thought that better results will 

 be obtained if a few young Filipinos, 

 especially selected, be appointed to the 

 United States Military Academy with a 

 view to their being commissioned officers 

 of scouts upon graduation, I strongly 

 recommend that Congress, by appropri- 

 ate legislation, authorize the appointment 

 of seven young Filipinos, or one for about 

 every million of inhabitants of those 

 islands, as cadets at the Military Acad- 

 emy at West Point. This action on the 

 part of Congress would, in my judgment, 

 tend to further increase the zeal and effi- 

 ciency of a body of troops which has 

 always rendered faithful and satisfactory 

 services. 



THE DEATH RATE OF AMERICANS IN THE 

 PHILIPPINES NO GREATER THAN IN OUR 

 SOUTHERN CITIES 



There is always present in every pic- 

 ture of Philippine progress as painted by 

 those who have not carefully investigated 

 the facts a somber background of a bane- 

 ful climate, making it impossible for the 

 American or European to live in health 

 and strength in the islands for any length 

 of time. It is true that the islands are 

 in the tropics, and that the variations in 

 temperature are only about a third as 

 much in extent as in the temperate zone ; 

 but, for a tropical climate, that of the 

 Philippines is exceptionally comfortable 

 and healthful. The monsoons blow six 

 months from southwest across the islands 

 and six months from the northeast, so 

 that they are constantly windswept. This 

 makes a radical difference between the 

 climate of the islands and that of the low- 

 lands of India, for instance. The last two 

 decades, especially the latter, have taught 

 us much in respect to tropical diseases, 



their causes, their proper treatment, and 

 the best method of avoiding them. This 

 was one of the most valuable results of 

 the Spanish war. 



In his address as president of the Phil- 

 ippine Medical Association, in March. 

 1905, Dr John R. McDill, who came first 

 to the islands as a leading army surgeon 

 and who left the army to carry on a most 

 successful practice in Manila, said: 



"We have come to esteem to the utmost 

 the climate which so effectually guards 

 many of you against the too strenuous 

 life and which is almost ideal eight 

 months in the year, even in Manila. 

 Our professional experience has proven 

 that, excepting some intestinal disorders 

 which we are rapidly preventing and cur- 

 ing and a limited amount of epidemic 

 infectious diseases, there is nothing un- 

 usual about the kind or amount of disease 

 encountered here, or its successful treat- 

 ment when hospital care is available. The 

 surgeon's work has fully demonstrated 

 that ideal wound healing and convales- 

 cence after operation is as much the rule 

 here as anywhere in the world. We 

 physicians also know that and appreci- 

 ate that the dread diseases of childhood 

 so prevalent at home are rare here, and 

 that of all the ills, particularly among 

 women, from real bodily ailments to a 

 poor complexion, for which the climate is 

 usually blamed, the great majority are 

 hereditary or acquired, were brought 

 here by the patient, and often aggravated 

 by careless and unhygienic living. For 

 old people and children the climate is an. 

 earthly Elysium. . . . With the im- 

 proved and constantly improving condi- 

 tions of living, we believe that almost all 

 will agree that by observing the normal 

 and moral life healthy Americans can 

 live about as long here and enjoy as good 

 health and do as much good and hard 

 work, more than three-fourths of the 

 year, as we could in the home land." 



The death rate among American sol- 

 diers in the Philippines for the last year 

 was 8.5 per thousand, and the previous 

 year 8.65. General Wood reports that 

 the size of the sick report cannot be prop- 

 erly charged to the climate ; that, taken 



