Our first trip was to the northward along the line of the Manila-Dagupan railway, and in the course of it we organized the provinces of Bulaean, Pampanga, Tarlac and Pangasinan.

On the 2d of March we crossed Manila Bay to Bataan and established a civil provincial government there.

The first provincial officers were necessarily appointed, not elected.  I well remember the consternation which Mr. Taft created on this trip, when in announcing the appointment of a man of strong character who was much disliked by some of the people present, he said that if the appointee did not behave well his official head would be promptly removed.  Surprise showed on almost every face in the audience.  They had become sufficiently accustomed to the idea of being beheaded or otherwise sent out of the world by their own people, but had been led to believe that the Americans were a humane nation, and it took Mr. Taft at least five minutes to explain his joke.

During the second week in March the commission transferred its officers bodily to the United States Army Transport Sumner and started on a long journey in the course of which it visited and established provincial governments in eighteen provinces, [462] returning to Manila on the 3d of May.

This trip was most interesting but dreadfully wearing.  Everywhere we were overwhelmed by the hospitality of our Filipino friends.  We arrived at some new place nearly every morning, and the programme in each was much the same.  After an early breakfast we hurried ashore, drove or walked about for a short time to see what the town was like, and then attended a popular meeting in its largest building, where we held long and frank converse with the people on local conditions, giving them every opportunity to air their views, with the result that the local orators, of whom there were usually more than a sufficiency, had an opportunity to bring their heavy guns into action.  Then followed a recess in the course of which we partook of a very elaborate lunch, and when possible conferred privately with influential men, often learning things which they did not care to tell us in public.  Then came another open meeting at which the actual organization of the province was effected and the officials were appointed and sworn in.  After this there was a long formal dinner, with the endless courses which characterize such functions in the Philippines, and then came a ball which lasted till the wee small hours.  When at last we got on board, tired out, our steamer sailed, and often brought us to some new place by sunrise.

In several instances we did not pass the act organizing a given province at the time of our visit, but for one reason or another postponed action until a later date.  We visited a number of places like Jolo, Basilan, Zamboanga, Cotabato, Davao and Samar, where we had no intention of establishing civil government, in order to observe local conditions.