successfully inducing the leaders of outlaw bands to surrender with their men and firearms.

United States troops in Mindanao-Sulu have continued during the year as post garrisons without direct participation in the maintenance of public order or otherwise in civil administration. The garrison at Camp Keithley, Lanao, was reduced by one battalion transferred to a station outside Mindanao and Sulu, on the island of Luzon.

The commanding general and post commanders-in fact, the military establishment in general-have extended innumerable courtesies and offers of material assistance to the department government and its subdivisions. The great assistance extended by the Army in the maintenance of the Overton-Keithley Road, which is so essential to civil administration in the interior of the Province of Lanao, merits especial mention and is highly appreciated.

Mindanao-Sulu waters have been at times the scene of patrol operations by belligerent war vessels. During the greater portion of the year one or more United States naval vessels have been stationed in these waters. No incident affecting public order has occurred meriting mention in this report.

S. JUSTICE.

There has been no change in the organization and function of our courts of justice during 1916, with the exception of the modification introduced by the Philippine Commission, as contained in Act No. 2664, authorizing the appointment of municipal district presidents to exercise the powers of justices of the peace in the trial of cases for violation of municipal ordinances. Municipal district presidents have jurisdiction in territory not organized as regular municipalities, and many of these municipal districts are located from two to three days' journey from the provincial capital or from the nearest deputy provincial governor's office.

There is reported a total of 600 cases during the year 1916 as against 527 cases tried by courts of first instance in 1915, showing an increase of 14 per cent in the number of cases tried. There were a total of 667 persons tried in 1916 compared with 486 persons in 1915, or an increase of 36 per cent over 1915. These considerable increases are explained by the fact that during 1916 there were accomplished the complete disarmament and submission of the people to the authority of the government and the extension of government control for the first time throughout all Mohammedan territory.

All saloons or public drinking places and dance halls were ordered closed in June, 1916. Since then there has been a notable decline in the number of crimes against public order and also against public morals within the larger centers of population. The dance halls became more and more centers of vice and perversion, while public drinking places, in addition to causing disturbance of public peace by persons under the influence of liquor, were extremely distasteful to Mohammedans who are not inclined to indulge in this habit and whose religion forbids them the use of intoxicating liquors.

The following table gives a classification of persons accused of different offenses during the years 1915 and 1916:

The largest number of violations of the opium law were registered in Sulu Province on account of the proximity thereof to Sandakan and North Borneo points. Smugglers and violators of immigration law escape detection through the natural difficulties encountered in pursuing sailing vessels between small islands and coral reefs in the Sulu Archipelago. However, possibly the most important opium importer was convicted in the court of first instance of Zamboanga in the person of Miyamoto, a Japanese, who was sentenced to four years' imprisonment and to pay a fine of P4,000 for importing a large amount of opium from Borneo.

During the year covered by this report, there were a number of Mohammedan juvenile offenders who were sent to Lolomboy Reformatory for confinement and reformation. This is the first time. in the history of Mindanao and Sulu when Mohammedan juveniles have been sent to this institution, and the parents of these boys signed a petition requesting the government to have their children confined at Lolomboy for correction.

The consolidation of the offices of department attorney and department secretary was accomplished in June, 1916, preliminary to the eventual discontinuance of the department attorney's office and the inauguration of provincial fiscal service analogous to the system in the regularly organized Provinces. An act is now pending in the Philippine Legislature creating the positions of provincial fiscals under the Administration Code, for the various Provinces comprised within the Department of Mindanao and Sulu. The operation of the attorney's office involves, in addition to legal opinions and disposition of criminal cases, civil suits in behalf of the insular government and also suits for the reopening of land registration cases in which Mohammedans and pagans holding homestead certificates were deprived of their property through ignorance of their rights.

During 1916 there were registered in the office of the register of deeds 1,209 documents, compared with 1,134 reported in 1915; and there were issued 119 certificates of title compared with 36 issued the previous year, with a total collection of P3,489.88. It should be noted here that during 1916 the Provinces of Agusan and Bukidnon had been organized as separate entities in the matter of registration of titles and for this purpose the justices of the peace of the provincial capitals, both practicing attorneys, were appointed as ex officio registers of deeds by the secretary of justice.

9. PUBLIC HEALTH.

Field dispensaries and government hospitals have continued during 1916 to be highly important factors in the establishment of effective government control throughout Mohammedan and pagan territory.

The jurisdiction of the insular bureau of health was extended by act of the Philippine Commission on October 14, 1916, to include all the Provinces in Mindanao-Sulu, and accordingly the authority of the department government over the public health service ceased on that date. As the chief health officer for the department will render his annual report for 1916 to the director of health, statistics and other detailed data will not be included here as in previous annual reports of the department government.

For the year 1916 provincial and municipal governments were required to provide in their budgets special funds for public health service expenditure. These funds were provided by setting aside 5 per cent of the general fund revenue of each organized municipal government, to which were added by the respective provincial governments equal amounts from provincial general fund revenue. This system of providing in the regularly organized Provinces for the apportionment of provincial and municipal funds in support of the public health service has thus been put in operation throughout the Provinces of this department. The estimated aggregate amount of these provincial-municipal health funds for 1916 was 28,322.48. As stated elsewhere in this report there was appropriated by the Philippine Commission from the insular treasury a total of P208,121.96 for the public health service, including support of hospitals in the five Provinces of the department which were comprised in the former Moro Province; the public health service in the Provinces of Agusan and Bukidnon having continued as for many years previously directly under the insular bureau of health and provided for in the general appropriation for that bureau.

The extension of public health activities throughout MindanaoSulu during 1916 has been coordinate with the extension of government control in territory not previously occupied by the constabulary and other government agencies.

There were established during the year 31 dispensaries, making a total of 86 in operation at the close of the year.

There was established and formerly inaugurated on December 30, 1916, a hospital at Dapitan, Province of Zamboanga, the Rizal Memorial Hospital, which provides hospital facilities for the wellpopulated coast district of northwestern Mindanao, including several municipalities of the Province of Misamis, as well as those of the Province of Zamboanga and the considerable pagan population in the interior to the southward of these municipalities.

The work of officers and employees of the health service during the year has been excellent and of inestimable value to the government in the application of its policy of attraction, aside from the great benefit directly received by the people in the form of medical and surgical relief.

There has been a constant remarkable increase in the popular demand especially among Mohammedans and pagans for modern medi

cine and surgery. The facilities of both hospitals and dispensaries have generally been taxed to the utmost of their capacities and increases of present hospital facilities, especially in Lanao, are urgently needed. At both Zamboanga and Davao, where the government maintains no general hospital, the private hospitals maintained by missions or other private philanthropy have rendered great public service and are deservedly popular. The general hospital facilities at Zamboanga have been increased during the year by the establishment of the Hospital del Pilar by the Roman Catholic bishop of Zamboanga.

No dangerous communicable disease has been present in the department during the year to a degree occasioning serious apprehension since the cholera epidemic in Lanao was brought under control early in 1916. A number of cases have occurred subsequently in the Margosatubig and Dapitan districts. These cases appear to have originated in cholera-infected territory outside the department, and prompt action by local health authorities controlled and apparently eradicated the disease. A few cases are still reported by the local health authorities in the Dapitan district. No cholera is known to have existed during 1916 in the Provinces of Cotabato, Davao, and Sulu. A total of 636 deaths from cholera occurred in Lanao and 91 in Zamboanga Province. Smallpox appeared during the year in Sulu, where 347 deaths were due to this cause, and also in Zamboanga where it occasioned 12 deaths. There were no deaths known to have been due to smallpox in the Provinces of Cotabato, Davao, and Lanao. Vaccination against smallpox was actively carried on during the year, 45,170 vaccinations having been made in the Province of Sulu alone. The deaths which occurred from smallpox were almost wholly confined to Mohammedans of the more remote villages and of the fanatic type who opposed vaccination on alleged religious grounds. Through the training and utilization of Mohammedan vaccinators this opposition appears to have been overcome to a great extent. A few cases of typhoid fever occurred in Zamboanga, but were apparently due to infection from some remote outside source, as repeated careful examinations of water and milk supplies failed to reveal any suspicion of either of these being at fault. The government laboratories at provincial capitals and other important centers of population have rendered great service in the diagnosis and combating of water-borne and other diseases.

The improvement of water supplies has been carried on during the year to the fullest extent possible with the limited financial and other resources available. Great improvement has been effected in the water supply of the important villages of Parang, Maimbung, Bual, and Siasi, all in the Province of Sulu. The construction of waterworks for Jolo, the provincial capital, has been undertaken and should be completed early in 1917. The municipal water supply project for the city of Zamboanga was completed to a point permitting the beginning of service from public hydrants and installations. in private homes about the middle of the year, the main pipe line having been connected with the Santa Maria Canal outside the city and practically beyond serious danger of contamination. This temporary source of supply will be substituted by water brought by the pipe line from the river at a point well above probability of contami

nation about April, 1917. Artesian wells have been opened in the upper Cotabato Valley and in the Agusan Valley with noteworthy improvement of health conditions in the communities served. The municipal water supply for Parang, Province of Cotabato, was completed and began operation during the year. The civil population of the village was thus relieved from dependence upon the water-supply service of the adjacent post of Ludlow Barracks which, in addition to being a mutually unsatisfactory arrangement, proved inadequate during periods of drought. Investigations and preliminary work have been concluded or are in progress to provide the provincial capitals of Cotabato, Davao, and Lanao, and also several other organized municipalities and centers of population with potable water. The public health service throughout the territory comprising the former Moro Province has contributed greatly to the extension and establishment of definite government control which has now been concluded throughout Mohammedan territory. The progress made was such that it became opportune that the jurisdiction of the insular bureau of health should be extended as it was in October last. The record of public health service activities here is one of efficient constructive work of which all responsible may with reason feel greatly proud. In order to assure continued progress in the carrying out of the general program of government here, it is important that the necessary aid from the insular treasury be continued for some time to come, and it is hoped that ample provision therefor will be made in the appropriations for the insular bureau of health for 1918 and succeeding years.

The hospital ship mentioned in the annual report for 1915 was not placed in commission during the past year because of delays in securing the necessary marine engines. Delivery of this machinery in the near future seems assured and it is expected the ship may be in commission by July 1.

10. PUBLIC INSTRUCTION.

The most serious and urgent problem of government in MindanaoSulu continues to be the extension of public schools, primary and intermediate agricultural. At least primary school instruction must be provided for the majority of Mohammedan and pagan children if these important elements of population are to be made a strength rather than permitted to continue a weakness and potential danger to the fabric of Philippine government. The inadequacy of local revenues now and for some time to come for the extension of schools and for fully meeting the expenses of maintenance of existing schools in these regions necessitates the adoption of a definite plan of considerable financial aid annually from the insular treasury, not, however, proportionately greater than that heretofore and by the current general appropriation bill provided for schools in the remainder of Philippine territory.

Of the P1,000,000 appropriated by the Philippine Legislature for extension of primary public instruction in Mindanao-Sulu and other specially organized Provinces by Act No. 2531 there was allotted to Mindanao-Sulu the sum of P 800,000, of which P400,000 were to be available for 1916 and the remaining equal amount in 1917. How