The American ration costs The constabulary cash ration is 24.3 cents United States currency 10.5 cents United States currency. (exclusive of cost of (No freight or handling charges.) transportation and handling).  The constabulary soldier knows not Fresh meat requiring ice to keep ice.  His food grows in the islands. it is a principal part of the He buys it on the ground and needs American ration.  To supply it no transportation to bring it to him. requires a regular system of transport from the United States to Manila and from thence to local ports, and wagon transportation from ports to inland stations.

The American soldier is at no The idea of enlisting the sympathy pains to enlist the sympathy and and cooeperation of the local cooeperation of the people; and population is the strongest tenet his methods of discipline habits in the constabulary creed. of life, etc., make it practically impossible for him to gain them.

Before preparing the foregoing statement relative to the reasons for using Philippine constabulary soldiers instead of soldiers of the United States army for police work during the period in question, I asked Colonel J. G. Harbord, assistant director of the constabulary, who has served with that body nine years, has been its acting director and is an officer of the United States army, to give me a memorandum on the subject.  It is only fair to him to say that I have not only followed very closely the line of argument embodied in the memorandum which he was good enough to prepare for me, but have in many instances used his very words.  The parallel columns are his.

The constabulary soldier, thoroughly familiar with the topography of the country in which he operates; speaking the local dialect and acquainted with the persons most likely to be able and willing to furnish accurate information; familiar with the characteristics of his own people; able to live off the country and keep well, is under all ordinary circumstances a more efficient and vastly less expensive police officer than the American soldier, no matter how brave and energetic the latter may be.  Furthermore, his activities are much less likely to arouse animosity.

Incidentally, the army is pretty consistently unwilling to take the field unless the constitutional guarantees are temporarily suspended, and it particularly objects to writs of habeas corpus.  The suspension of such guarantees is obviously undesirable unless really very necessary.

Let us now consider some of the specific instances of alleged inefficiency of the constabulary in suppressing public disorder, cited by Blount.

On page 403 of his book he says, speaking of Governor Taft and disorder in the province of Albay which arose in 1902-1903:—­

“He did not want to order out the military again if he could help it, and this relegated him to his native municipal police and constabulary, experimental outfits of doubtful loyalty, and, at best, wholly inadequate, as it afterwards turned out, for the maintenance of public order and for affording to the peaceably inclined people that sort of security for life and property, and that protection against semi-political as well as unmitigated brigandage, which would comport with the dignity of this nation.”