Throughout the preparation of these pages I have been very fortunate in securing the cheerful cooperation and generous as; sistance of many of my friends and former colleagues in the Philippine government, as well as of others who are familiar with the subject treated. To acknowledge my indebtedness in detail would consume far more space than is available. It is possible to mention only a few of those who, with counsel and labor, have rendered me invaluable aid during the years which the writing has consumed.
I am indebted to Honorable Elihu Root for many courtesies and particularly for the prefatory note.
Admiral of the Navy George Dewey was kind enough to supply me with certain valuable information which I could have obtained from no other source.
Brigadier-General Frank McIntyre, U. S. A., Chief of the Bureau of Insular Affairs at the War Department, and his assistants have invariably responded with unfailing kindness to my many calls upon them for information.
To my son, Lieutenant Charles Winslow Elliott, Thirty-Sixth United States Infantry, I owe much of the material embodied in the chapter on the Moros. The proofs of that chapter were very kindly read by Lieutenant-Colonel John P. Finley, Fourth United States Infantry, who was for many years Governor of the District of Zamboanga in the Moro Province. A recognized authority on Moro life and customs, he made many valuable suggestions and important corrections.
To my wife, without whose constant encouragement and active assistance the work would never have been completed, I acknowledge my deepest obligations.