The Philippines: Past and Present Volume I Part 37

"It is necessary that the civil service should be rigidly maintained and its rules carefully observed. One very distinguished Filipino has recently been appointed to administrative control of one of the most important departments of the Government, equal in rank to any executive position in the Islands with the exception of the Executive head. In the executive branch of the Government, the Filipinization of the service must steadily continue. As vacancies occur Filipinos will be gradually subst.i.tuted for Americans as rapidly as can be done without positive detriment to the service. At the same time, care will be taken to provide a suitable career for honest and capable Americans who have come out here in good faith. They should know that during good behavior and efficient performance of their duty they are secure in their positions, and that when they desire to return to the United States an effort will be made to place them in the civil service at home.

"I want no better men than the present officers and employees of the Government, Americans and Filipinos. They compare favorably with any set of men I have ever seen both as regards ability and fidelity to duty."

Under the operation of the Civil Service Act the proportion of Filipinos employed has increased from 49 per cent, in 1903, to 71 per cent in 1913, as is shown by the following table:--

Comparison of Percentages of Americans and Filipinos in the Service

============================================= | NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES YEAR |----------------------------- | Americans | Filipinos --------------------------------------------- 1903 ......... | 51% | 49% 1904 ......... | 49 | 51 1905 ......... | 45 | 55 1906 [487] ... | - | - 1907 ......... | 40 | 60 1908 ......... | 38 | 62 1909 ......... | 38 | 62 1910 ......... | 36 | 64 1911 ......... | 35 | 65 1912 ......... | 31 | 69 1913 ......... | 29 | 71 =============================================

For the first few years after the establishment of the government large numbers of Americans were appointed, as there were comparatively few Filipino candidates with the necessary educational qualifications. During the last two years, 89 per cent of the persons appointed in the islands have been Filipinos.

There has been a great increase in the number of Filipinos entering the civil service examinations in English. Ten years ago 97 per cent of those examined took their examinations in Spanish, while during last year 89 per cent of those examined took examinations in English, the total number so examined being 7755. Almost all appointees for ordinary clerical work are now Filipinos, but the supply of bookkeepers, stenographers, civil engineers, physicians, veterinarians, surveyors, chemists, bacteriologists, agriculturists, horticulturists, constabulary officers, nurses, electricians, mechanical engineers, and other scientific employees is still insufficient to meet the demands of the service. Only one Filipino has pa.s.sed the stenographer examination in English since the organization of the government, and it is necessary each year to bring many American stenographers from the United States. A few Filipinos pa.s.s each year the junior stenographer examination [488] and are able to fill some of the positions which would formerly have required the appointment of Americans.

The salaries paid to executive officials, chiefs of bureaus and offices, chief clerks, and chiefs of divisions equal in many instances those paid to officials occupying similar positions in the service of the United States government.

In the legislative branch the speaker receives $8000 per annum. Members of the Philippine Commission without portfolios receive $7500 per annum. Members of the Philippine a.s.sembly receive $15 a day for each day in which the a.s.sembly is in session.

In the executive branch secretaries of departments receive $15,500 per annum each, including $5000 received by them as members of the Philippine Commission. The executive secretary receives $9000 per annum. The salaries of other bureau chiefs range from $2500 per annum to $7500.

The justices of the Philippine Supreme Court receive $10,000 per annum. Judges of courts of first instance receive from $4500 to $5500.

The following extracts from an article by the chairman of the Philippine Civil Service Board give information with respect to salaries in the Philippine Islands, as compared with salaries paid in surrounding British and Dutch colonies:--

"The salaries paid officials in all branches of the service of the Straits Settlements are generally lower than those paid in the Philippine civil service. In this connection, however, it is only just to state that the population and extent of the territory under British control, and the expenses of living, are less than in the Philippines, while the difficulty of the problems to be solved is not so great. The salaries paid to natives who fill the lower grade positions in the civil service of the Philippine Islands are three and four times as great as the salaries paid to natives in similar cla.s.ses of work in the civil service of the British Malay colonies.

"A study of the colonial civil service of the Dutch in the islands of Java and Madura gives us somewhat different results....

"The matter of salaries is peculiarly interesting. The comparison made above of the compensations received by the high officials in the civil service of the English colonies and by those in the Philippines does not hold good when applied to the Dutch in Java. In fact, the salary of the Governor-General of Java is somewhat remarkable in contrast with that of the Civil Governor of the Philippines. As is well known, the latter receives $20,000, while the salary of the Governor-General of Java amounts to 132,000 gulden or something over $53,000. The American official is given, in addition, free transportation on all official investigations and free use of the governor's palace, but not the cost of maintenance. On the other hand, the Dutch governor is granted 51,000 gulden (about $21,500) as personal and household expenses and travel pay.

"The general secretary of the government receives 24,000 gulden ($9648), as compared with the executive secretary of the Philippine government, whose salary is $7500. [489]

The seven heads of departments in the Javanese service each receive a like compensation of 24000 gulden. The Raad, or Council, of the Dutch colonial government is composed of a vice-president and four members--the former receiving about $14,500, the latter slightly over $11,500 each. In the Philippine government the executive functions of heads of departments are exercised by four members of the legislative body, each of whom receives $10,500 for his executive services and $5000 for his legislative duties. Without going further into detail, the conclusion is evident that all officials of high rank are much better paid in the Dutch service. When a comparison is made between the chief clerks and other office employees of middle grades--not natives--the salaries are seen to be about the same in the two countries.

"All natives in positions of lower grades, however, in the Philippine Islands fare better than their Malay brethren, either in the Straits Settlements or in the East Indies."--(Second Annual Report of the Philippine Civil Service Board, pp. 60, 61.)

"Difference in salaries for subordinate positions in the British and Dutch colonial services and the Philippine service are distinctly in favour of subordinate employees in the Philippine service; only the higher officials, after long experience, in the British colonial service receive larger salaries than corresponding officials in the Philippine service; the leave of absence and other privileges for the Philippine service are not less liberal than for other colonial services."--(Report of the Philippine Commission for 1905, p. 74.)

The entrance salaries of Americans brought to the islands are considerably in excess of the entrance salaries received on appointment to the civil service in the United States.

The following table shows the minimum entrance salaries given to Americans appointed in the United States to the United States civil service, as shown by the manual of examinations of the United States Civil Service Commission for the fall of 1913, and to Americans appointed in the United States to the Philippine Civil Service:--

==================================================================== | Philippines | United States -------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Aid (Surveyor) | $1400 | $ 900 Civil Engineer | 1400 | 1200 Forester, a.s.sistant | 1400 | 1200 Scientific a.s.sistant, | | (Agricultural Inspector) | 1400 | 600 Physician | 1600 | 1320 Printer | 2000 | .50 per hour Stenographer | 1200 | 700 Trained Nurse | 600 Board, | 600 and laundry | quarters and laundry | Teacher | 1000 | 540 Veterinarian | 1600 | 1200 | | ====================================================================

The following cases taken from the official rosters show some promotions to the higher positions in the service of employees who entered the lower ranks of the cla.s.sified service:--

A clerk who entered the service in 1899 at $1800 per annum was appointed in 1903 an a.s.sistant chief of bureau at $3000 per annum and in 1908 executive secretary at $9000 per annum. A teacher appointed in 1899 at $720 per annum was appointed a chief of an office at $4000 per annum and in 1912 a judge at $4500 per annum. A teacher who entered the service in 1901 at $1200 per annum was in 1909 appointed a chief of a bureau at $6000 per annum. A teacher who entered the service in 1904 at $1000 per annum was appointed in 1911 an a.s.sistant chief of a bureau at $6000 per annum. A clerk who entered the service in 1901 at $1200 per annum was appointed in 1909 an a.s.sistant chief of the executive bureau at $3750 per annum and in 1912 a chief of a bureau at $6000 per annum. A stenographer who entered the service in 1902 at $1400 per annum was in 1908 appointed an a.s.sistant chief of a bureau at $5000 per annum. A transitman who entered the service in 1905 at $1400 per annum was in 1913 appointed an a.s.sistant chief of a bureau at $4500 per annum. An accountant who entered the service in 1901 at $1800 per annum was in 1907 appointed an a.s.sistant chief of a bureau at $3750 per annum and in 1909 a chief of a bureau at $6000 per annum. A law clerk who entered the service in 1904 at $1800 per annum was in 1913 appointed judge at $4500 per annum. In no service anywhere has promotion depended more directly on demonstrated ability, and in many instances it has been rapid.

Young men living two in a room may obtain room and board in boarding houses in Manila at a rate as low as $35 per month each. In the Young Men's Christian a.s.sociation building, a large reenforced concrete structure with reading room, gymnasium, and a good restaurant, the charge for two in a room is $10.25 each. Board costs $27.50, a total of $37.75. The expenses for clothing in Manila are less than in the United States, as white clothing is worn the whole year and white duck suits may be obtained for about $3 each. The expenses for laundry amount to about $5 a month. The necessity of employing a _muchacho_ [490] is _nil_, in the case of an unmarried employee who boards. Servants are far cheaper and better in the Philippines than in the United States.

In a discussion of the salaries paid in the Philippine civil service the question of the leave allowed should be considered. Cla.s.sified employees who receive an annual salary of $1000 or more per annum may be granted twenty-eight days' leave per annum to cover absences from duty due to illness or other causes. If not taken during the calendar year in which it is earned or in January or February of the succeeding year, it is forfeited. Employees taking vacation leave during the months of December, January, February and March may take fifty-six days, corresponding to two years of service, at one time, and may thus get time to visit Australia, j.a.pan, China, and neighbouring countries.

In addition to vacation leave an employee whose salary is $1000 or more but less than $1800 per annum is ent.i.tled to thirty days' accrued leave per annum, and an employee whose salary is $1800 per annum or more is ent.i.tled to thirty-five days' accrued leave per annum. Accrued leave may acc.u.mulate for not more than five years of service.

All cla.s.sified employees are ent.i.tled to visit the United States or foreign countries once in every three years, receiving in addition to their accrued leave, one year's vacation leave, allowance of actual travel time at half pay not to exceed sixty days, and return travel expenses from place of residence in the United States, or from port of embarkation in a foreign country to Manila, on the completion of two years of service after date of return. An employee ent.i.tled to thirty-five days' accrued leave per annum who visits the United States after having rendered three years of service receives a total of two hundred thirteen days' accrued leave, vacation leave, and half-pay travel time. If he postpones his visit till he has completed five years of service, he receives a total of two hundred ninety-one days'

accrued leave, vacation leave and travel time. An employee ent.i.tled to thirty days' accrued leave per annum who visits the United States after three years of service receives a total of one hundred ninety-four days' leave and half-pay travel time, and if he postpones his visit until he has rendered five years of service, he receives a total of two hundred fifty-nine days' leave and travel time.

It will be seen that these are very liberal allowances. An employee receiving $1200 at the end of two years of service may spend eight weeks of vacation leave visiting j.a.pan or other surrounding countries, and at the end of an additional year's service he may visit his home in the United States with six and a third months' absence on full and half pay and with his expenses from his home to Manila payable two years after his return, and during every three years of his service he may have the same privileges.

The law also provides that if an employee is wounded or injured in the performance of duty, he may have a total of six months' leave on full pay in addition to any accrued leave to his credit.

Employees who have rendered satisfactory service and resign after three or more years receive in a lump sum all accrued leave due and thirty days' half salary. For example, an employee who has received $1800 per annum and has served five years without taking any leave in excess of the four weeks' vacation leave allowable annually would draw $1025 were he to resign.

The school sessions amount to forty weeks per annum and the school vacations to twelve weeks per annum. [491] Teachers receive an annual salary and draw full pay during vacations as well as during school sessions. Every third year they are allowed to visit the United States or foreign countries with an allowance of sixty days' half-pay travel time in addition to the ten weeks' long vacation, and on completing two years of service after return to the islands they are ent.i.tled to their travelling expenses from place of residence in the United States to Manila or from port of embarkation in a foreign country to Manila.

It is interesting to compare these provisions with the regulations governing leave of absence in the British colonial service:--

(1) There is no distinction between sick leave and ordinary leave, the leave of absence on account of sickness being charged against the ordinary leave allowable.

(2) There are two cla.s.ses of leave: vacation leave on full pay and half-pay leave.

(3) The vacation leave amounts to three months every two years, and must be taken during the two years, as it does not acc.u.mulate.

(4) The half-pay leave amounts to two months for each year of service, but cannot be taken until after a period of six years' resident service in the Colony, except in cases of serious indisposition supported by medical certificate, or of "urgent private affairs," the nature of which must be stated to the governor. In either case, the governor and council must be satisfied that the indulgence is indispensable.

Half pay in African and Asiatic colonies may acc.u.mulate for twelve years' service--_i.e._ twenty-four months' half-pay leave.

(5) After the exhaustion of all vacation leave and half-pay leave, an advance of six months' half-pay leave may be made on special grounds ("urgent private affairs" or illness supported by a medical certificate), the advance being charged against leave accruing subsequently.

(6) For the purpose of visiting home, an officer may be granted the vacation leave due him (which is never more than three months) on full pay, and his acc.u.mulated half-pay leave, to commence at the expiration of his vacation leave.

(7) Judicial and education officers do not receive the vacation leave described in paragraph 3 above, the vacation of courts and schools being considered equal to this, but they do receive the half-pay leave described in paragraph 4, and may, when visiting home on half-pay leave, receive full pay during any ordinary vacation of the court or school.

It will be noted that although officers in the British colonial service are allowed much longer periods of absence, the greater part of their absence is on half pay and the total money value of the leave allowable in the British colonial service and in the Philippine civil service is about the same. As officers naturally prefer to be on full pay instead of half pay while on leave, the provision of the Philippine law is in their interest; it is also in the interest of the service, as the periods of the absence from duty are not so prolonged.

The Philippine Civil Service Law is now about to be put to its first really severe test as a result of the change in the national administration. Heretofore those whose duty and privilege it has been to enforce it have been in the most full and hearty sympathy with its purposes. President McKinley was from the outset definitely committed to the widest application of the merit system to appointments in the Philippines. Mr. Roosevelt and Mr. Taft firmly supported that system, as has each succeeding governor-general up to, but not including, Mr. Harrison, who is as yet an unknown quant.i.ty.

It is interesting, however, to note that on the day following his arrival there was a demand for the instant resignation of Mr. Thomas Cary Welch, a faithful and efficient employee of the government, who had been for nearly ten years in the service, whose position was desired for, and immediately given to, Mr. Stephen Bonsal. That gentleman had been appointed at Was.h.i.+ngton a member of the Munic.i.p.al Board of Manila immediately after Mr. Harrison's confirmation as governor-general. It is not recorded that Mr. Bonsal rendered any valuable service to the city on the voyage, or during the twenty-four hours of his occupancy of his munic.i.p.al post subsequent to his arrival! Nor does it appear that he pa.s.sed any examination before his early promotion.

Following closely upon the removal of Mr. Welch came a demand for the resignation of Captain Charles H. Sleeper, Director of Lands, who was unquestionably one of the ablest and most efficient of the bureau chiefs.

He had earned the ill-will of the _politicos_ by insisting that persons authorized to make public land surveys, or other surveys on which claims of t.i.tle as against the government were to be based, should know enough about surveying to make one correct survey when given an opportunity practically to demonstrate their abilities under very favourable conditions. He had also incurred the dislike of influential _caciques_ by defending the occupants of small holdings on friar estates from the rapacity of their rich neighbours, and by protecting free-patent applicants and homesteaders when large landowners opposed their applications in order to prevent their securing land, so that they might the more easily be held as peon labourers.

He had started in his bureau a practical school for Filipino surveyors which was training really well-qualified candidates for positions desired by the politicians for themselves or their incompetent friends.

Last, but not least, he had helped to upset the plans of the men primarily responsible for the so-called "friar lands investigation"

conducted by the House Committee on Insular Affairs, which cost the United States government a very large sum, and resulted in demonstrating his uprightness and the efficiency of his administration.