natives are citizens; its government approximates to that of a territory of the continent, and—who knows if it may not one day be a State of the Union.

Turning now to Cuba, Mr. Root said, in the same report: "The control which we are exercising in trust for the people of Cuba❞— which by the resolution of Congress declaring war against Spain was to be erected into a free, sovereign and independent Republic"should not be, and of course will not be, continued any longer than is necessary to enable that people to establish a suitable government to which the control shall be transferred, which shall really represent the people of Cuba and be able to maintain order and discharge international obligations." That is the general principle. "Our present duty," he continued, "is limited to giving every assistance in our power to the establishment of such a government, and to maintaining order and promoting the welfare of the people of Cuba during the period necessarily required for that process."

As a preliminary, it was necessary to ascertain who were Cubans, and what residents of Cuba wished to retain their Spanish nationality. A census was to be had within a year; . . . . "the results of the census having been computed and tabulated, we shall be ready," Mr. Root said, "to provide for municipal elections, which will place all the local governments of the island in the hands of representatives elected by the people, and that when these local governments, thus elected, are established they will be ready to proceed to the formation of a representative convention to frame a constitution and provide for a general government of the island, to which the United States will surrender the reins of government." In the meantime, Cuba was as a ward of the Big Brother, to act for herself when she should be declared of age. When the constitution is formed and a government established in accordance with its terms, "the relations which exist between it and the United States will be," Mr. Root finely and wisely said, "matter for free and uncontrolled discussion between the two parties."

It was Mr. Root's duty, as Secretary of War, to work out the relations between the two Republics. This was done by the so-called Platt Amendment, devised by Mr. Root, passed by the Congress of the United States as an amendment to the Army Appropriation Bill 8 Military and Colonial Policy, p. 171.

Ibid., p. 172.

of February 2, 1901, ratified by the Constitutional Convention of Cuba, and included in an annex to the Constitution of Cuba. It is the sole subject-matter of the treaty of May 22, 1903. It is, therefore, a law of the United States, a law of Cuba, and a law between the two countries. Its purpose was to secure to Cuba independence within, through a government adequate to the protection of life, liberty and property, and independence from attack from without, by non-American nations, and even against the United States, in that the purposes for which the United States could intervene are limited in the municipal law of the United States, the municipal law of Cuba, and the law common to both by virtue of a treaty between them.

On May 20, 1902, the world saw the unwonted spectacle of a country living up to its solemn promise and turning over a coveted possession to the inhabitants thereof in pursuance of a solemnly declared purpose, the hauling down of the American flag, the symbol of sovereignty during the occupation, and the unenforced, voluntary evacuation of Cuba Libre by the American troops.

In Mr. Root's report for 1901 are to be found the instructions signed by William McKinley, then President, but drafted by Elihu Root, then Secretary of War. They were addressed to the Philippine Commission, of which the Honorable William Howard Taft was chairman. They embody the principles, tested by experience, which should be applied to communities unfamiliar with political rights, in order to train them for the responsibilities of self-government. The Philippines were not yet peaceful. Hostilities existed in different parts of the islands, and yet Mr. Root ventured to suggest that military government should be replaced by civil government, with law to the fore and force in the background, as is the case in the most highly civilized community.

Mr. Root showed himself in the performance of his task to be a biologist as well as a statesman. He proceeded from the cell, in order to constitute the body politic; from the municipality to the province, and from the province to the insular government. The commissioners were therefore instructed to devote their attention in first instance, "to the establishment of municipal governments, in which the natives of the islands, both in the cities and in the rural communities, shall be afforded the opportunity to manage their own local affairs to the fullest extent of which they are capable, and

subject to the least degree of supervision and control which a careful study of their capacities and observation of the workings of native control show to be consistent with the maintenance of law, order, and loyalty."10

This was the cell. Now as to its development. "The next subject in order of importance should be," he continued, "the organization of government in the larger administrative divisions, corresponding to countries, departments, or provinces, in which the common interests of many or several municipalities falling within the same tribal lines, or the same natural geographical limits, may best be subserved by a common administration."

This was not a counsel of perfection; the natives were not to be kept out of the water until they had learned to swim. They were to be thrown overboard and to swim to the shore.

On the first of September, 1900, the legislative power in the islands was to be transferred from the military to the civil establishment. In this scheme, Mr. Root followed, with the necessary variations, in the footsteps of the Fathers of the Republic. The municipality was to look after the affairs of the municipality; the departmental government to have charge of the affairs of the department; the central government was, as in the case of the States and the United States, to have "no direct administration except of matters of purely general concern," and was only to exercise supervision and control over local governments to the extent necessary "to secure and enforce faithful and efficient administration by local officers." As in the case of Porto Rico, the Filipinos were to be preferred wherever qualified: "in all cases the municipal officers, who administer the local affairs of the people, are to be selected by the people, and that wherever officers of more extended jurisdiction are to be selected in any way, natives of the islands are to be preferred, and if they can be found competent and willing to perform the duties, they are to receive the offices in preference to any others.""

Mr. Root is himself a great believer in the New England town system applied to New England and to the American Continent, but it is alien to the Philippines. The commission should bear in mind, he directed, "that the government which they are establishing is designed, not for our satisfaction or for the expression of our theoreti10 Military and Colonial Policy, p. 288.

11 Ibid., pp. 290–291.

cal views, but for the happiness, peace, and prosperity of the people of the Philippine Islands, and the measures adopted should be made to conform to their customs, their habits, and even their prejudices, to the fullest extent consistent with the accomplishment of the indispensable requisites of just and effective government."'12

The instructions betray a mind open to theory and versed in practical affairs. "There are certain great principles of government," Mr. Root says, "which have been made the basis of our governmental system which we deem essential to the rule of law and the maintenance of individual freedom, and of which they have, unfortunately, been denied the experience possessed by us"; there are, on the other hand, he is careful to point out in this very connection, "certain practical rules of government which we have found to be essential to the preservation of these great principles of liberty and law." These principles and these practices were to be introduced and enforced, even although in conflict with the systems or laws of procedure with which the Philippines were familiar. In their interest, they were to be imposed, if need be. They are thus stated:

That no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law; that private property shall not be taken for public use without just compensation; that in all criminal prosecutions the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation, to be confronted with the witnesses against him, to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense; that excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishment inflicted; that no person shall be put twice in jeopardy for the same offense, or be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself; that the right to be secure against unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated; that neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall exist except as a punishment for crime; that no bill of attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed; that no law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech or of the press, or the rights of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for a redress of grievances; that no law shall be made respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, and that the free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship without discrimination or preference shall forever be allowed.13

Military and Colonial Policy, p. 291.

Ibid., pp. 291–292.

They have a very familiar sound to American ears. With the single exception that of the abolition of slavery-they are a restatement of the first ten Amendments to the Constitution. They are in the nature of a Bill of Rights to that instrument, whose lack caused George Mason to withhold his signature from our great national charter. Through his insistence, however, they are a Bill of Rights annexed, instead of prefixed, to the Constitution. It was no less a person than President Wilson, who said in an annual address to the two houses of Congress, that, "Every American who has drunk at the true fountains of principle and tradition must subscribe without reservation to the high doctrine of the Virginia Bill of Rights, which in the days in which our government was set up was everywhere amongst us accepted as the creed of free men." The Bill of Rights to the Constitution of Virginia was drafted by George Mason; and Mr. Root has put his hand to George Mason's Bill of Rights to the Constitution of the United States.

If I have seemed to dwell upon the instructions to the Philippine Commission and the Platt Amendment at greater length than would ordinarily be permissible in an introduction, my warrant for so doing is Mr. Root's statement that he has often received credit for things which he did not do, and that he has not received credit for two things which he did do, and which, in his opinion, were the great achievements of his life. They were none other than our friends, the Instructions, and the Platt Amendment.

But Mr. Root has other achievements, and to many they constitute equal claims to remembrance. Let us however take up and dispose of the high points in his career, to which the Secretary of the Nobel Committee calls attention.

The first of these is his notable journey to South America, during which he visited the Third Pan American Conference at Rio de Janeiro. He did more than visit the conference; he delivered an opening address as its Honorary President, which is as a Declaration of Rights to the Latin American Republics. Standing before their representatives, and in his person representing these United States of America, he confessed his faith in their equality-using that term without restriction, and declaring it, as he used it, to be the policy of his country toward the sister Republics of America:

We wish for no victories but those of peace; for no territory except our own; for no sovereignty except sovereignty over