Having escaped the perils of the deep, and the much graver perils of
the dinner table, during our southern trip, we returned to Manila,
wearier, wiser and sadder men than when we started, for we had learned
much of the superstitions, the ignorance and the obsessions which
prevailed among the Filipinos, and we knew that many of the men who
from love of country had accepted office under us had done so at the
peril of their lives. We had all had an excellent opportunity to come
to know the Filipinos. Their dignity of bearing, their courtesy,
their friendly hospitality, their love of imposing functions, and
of _fiestas_ and display, their childishness and irresponsibility
in many matters, their passion for gambling, for litigation and for
political intrigue, even the loves and the hatreds of some of them,
had been spread before us like an open book. It is a fact that except
for the inhabitants of Cebu, Bohol and Batangas, the people wanted
what we had to give them and were grateful for it. Never before had
they had their day in court, and they appreciated it.
The establishment of civil government throughout so large a proportion
of the provinces in the islands would have been impossible at this
time had it not been for the helpful activities of the Federal
Party organized on December 23, 1900, by many of the best and most
influential Filipinos in the archipelago for the purpose of aiding
in the establishment of peace and order.
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