he continued to devote himself largely to political matters, got
numberless deserving Filipinos out of trouble, and rapidly increased
his already wide circle of Filipino friends. Through his letters I
was kept quite closely in touch with the situation.

Meanwhile I decided that the Philippines were not for me, asked for
and obtained leave for study in Europe, and in December 1898 set
out for New York to engage passage for myself and my family. I went
by way of Washington in order to communicate to President McKinley
certain facts relative to the Philippine situation which it seemed
to me ought to be brought to his attention.

I believed that there was serious danger of an outbreak of hostilities
between Filipinos and Americans, and that such a catastrophe, resulting
from mutual misunderstanding, might be avoided if seasonable action
were taken. I have since learned how wrong was this latter belief. My
previous experience had been almost exclusively with the Visayans and
the wild tribes, and the revolution against the United States was at
the outset a strictly Tagálog affair, and hence beyond my ken.

President McKinley very kindly gave me all the time I wanted, displayed
a most earnest desire to learn the truth, and showed the deepest and
most friendly interest in the Filipinos. Let no man believe that then
or later he had the slightest idea of bringing about the exploitation
of their country. On the contrary, he evinced a most earnest desire
to learn what was best for them and then to do it if it lay within
his power.

To my amazement, at the end of our interview he asked me whether I
would be willing to go to the islands as his personal representative.