I was compelled by severe illness to return to the United States.  There remained three American and three Filipino members of the commission.  One of the former was Mr. W. Morgan Shuster, then secretary of public instruction.  Prior to the time when he became a candidate for a secretaryship he had been bitter in his criticism of the Filipinos.  Coincidently with the development of this ambition he became almost more pro-Filipino than some of the Filipino politicians themselves.  For a time he seemed to control the Filipino vote on the commission and largely as a result of his activities every important matter which I left pending, including that of the establishment of the great general hospital so vitally needed by the people of the islands, was laid on the table.  I was informed that Mr. Shuster had announced that we could have $125,000 for the hospital and no more!  We needed $400,000.

Beginning on the day after my return the following April these several projects, including that for the Baguio Hospital and that for the Philippine General Hospital. were taken from the table and passed.

Construction work goes slowly in the tropics.  One ward pavilion of the Philippine General Hospital was occupied on September 1, 1910.  Soon afterward the four others came into use.

On June 10, 1907, a medical college was opened.  It was called “The Philippine Medical School.”  Its creation at this time was made possible by the existence of the Bureaus of Science and Health.  Its staff was at the outset recruited very largely from these two bureaus.  The director of the Bureau of Science was made its dean and continued to hold this position until his death.  To his unselfish efforts and to those of the director of health is due the well-organized modern college which we have to-day.  In lieu of better quarters the first classes were held in an old Spanish government building which was altered and added to until it answered the purpose reasonably well.

The preparation of the act which provided for the establishment of this college was intrusted to me.  I called for the assistance of a committee of technical experts and asked that they submit a draft for my consideration, which they did.  It contained a provision to the effect that the college should be under the administrative control of the secretary of the interior.  I struck out the words “secretary of the interior” and inserted in lieu thereof the words “secretary of public instruction” for two reasons.  First, the school theoretically belongs under that official, in spite of its necessarily close relationship with the Bureau of Science and the Bureau of Health.  Second, I wanted the support of the secretary of public instruction for the measure, as it involved considerable expenditure and I was not sure how the bill might fare in the commission.  It happened that the incumbent of that position was very much inclined to take a liberal view of bills which extended his jurisdiction.  Mr. Taft, when