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diff --git a/41918-0.txt b/41918-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c88676e --- /dev/null +++ b/41918-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,19241 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 41918 *** + + THE PHILIPPINES PAST AND PRESENT + + By + + DEAN C. WORCESTER + + Secretary of the Interior of the Philippine Islands 1901-1913; + Member of the Philippine Commission, 1900-1913 + + Author of "The Philippine Islands and Their People" + + + In Two Volumes -- With 128 Plates + + Volume II + New York + The Macmillan Company + 1914 + + + + + + +CONTENTS + +VOL. II + + + CHAPTER PAGE + + XIX. Education 501 + XX. The Exploration of Non-Christian Territory 532 + XXI. The Government of Non-Christian Tribes 559 + XXII. The Government of Non-Christian Tribes (Continued) 591 + XXIII. Corrigenda 637 + XXIV. Non-Christian Tribe Problems 660 + XXV. Slavery and Peonage 676 + XXVI. Murder as a Governmental Agency 730 + XXVII. The Philippine Legislature 768 + XXVIII. The Picturesque Philippines 792 + XXIX. Rod, Shotgun and Rifle 806 + XXX. Philippine Lands 829 + XXXI. Philippine Forests 846 + XXXII. Improved Means of Communication 861 + XXXIII. Commercial Possibilities of the Philippines 884 + XXXIV. Peace and Prosperity 911 + XXXV. Some Results of American Rule 921 + XXXVI. Is Philippine Independence now Possible? 933 + XXXVII. What Then? 961 + + APPENDIX + + Instructions to the First Philippine Commission 975 + Proclamation of the First Philippine Commission 977 + Instructions to the Second Philippine Commission 980 + Past and Present Organization of the Courts of the Philippine + Islands 988 + Present accepted Estimate of the Non-Christian Population of + the Philippines 999 + + INDEX 1005 + + + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + +VOL. II + + + The Metamorphosis of a Bontoc Igorot Frontispiece + Facing Page + Head-hunters' Weapons 508 + The Three Leading Men in the Funeral Procession of an Ifugao + who has lost his Head to the Enemy 516 + The Sacred Tree of the Ifugaos 524 + Entrance to the Quiangan Schoolhouse 534 + An Ifugao School 540 + The Sub-provincial Building at Quiangan 546 + Ifugao Constabulary Soldiers 554 + Bontoc Igorot Head-hunters 562 + Bontoc Igorot Women in Banana-leaf Costume 570 + A Bontoc Igorot Tug-of-war 578 + Bontoc Igorot Boys learning to make Furniture 586 + A Conference with Ifugao Chiefs 594 + Finished Trail built by Ifugaos 602 + Difficult Bit of Rock Work on the Mountain Trail in Benguet 610 + A Flying Ferry in Operation 618 + A Wild Tingian of Apayao 626 + Tingian Girls threshing Rice 634 + Typical Manobos 640 + An Old Bukidnon Chief 650 + Typical Street in a Filipino Town 656 + A Typical Bukidnon Village Street 656 + A Typical Improved Bukidnon House 664 + A Typical Neglected Filipino House 664 + Making Friends with the Mandayas 670 + A Mandayan Boy 678 + A Group of Bagobos 686 + Moro Boats coming out to meet the Philippine Commission at + Jolo 692 + Among the Moros 700 + A Moro Chief with his Wives and Daughter 706 + Lieutenant-Governor Manuel Fortich of Bukidnon 708 + Governor Frederick Johnson of Agusan 714 + A Typical Peon 722 + The Penalty for Loyalty to the United States 728 + The Philippine Assembly in Session 738 + Señor Sergio Osmeña, Speaker of the Philippine Assembly 742 + The Manila Hotel 750 + Mayon Volcano 756 + The Crater of Taal Volcano 764 + A Bit of the Pagsanjan Gorge 772 + A Giant Tree Fern 780 + Scene on a Bird Island 788 + A Day's Catch 796 + After the Hunt 804 + Typical Scene at the Edge of a Hardwood Forest 812 + A Typical Forest Scene 820 + Old-style Road across Lowlands 826 + New-style Road across Lowlands 826 + Typical Old-style Country Road 836 + Typical New-style Country Road 836 + A Canga, or Carabao Sledge 844 + A New-style Cart, with Broad-tired Wheels, which does not + injure the Roads 844 + Road Destroyers at Work 852 + An Old-style Culvert 858 + The Old Way of Crossing a River 868 + The New Way of Crossing a River 868 + A Typical Old-style Bridge 878 + A Typical Reënforced Concrete Bridge 878 + A Collapsible Bridge 886 + Map: Manila, the Future Distributing Centre for the Far East 888 + Preparing Rice Land for Planting 892 + Planting Rice 892 + A Three-year-old Coffee Bush 902 + A Ceara Rubber Tree 906 + A Typical Cocoanut Grove 918 + A Typical Filipino Town 922 + A Typical Group of Filipinos 930 + A Typical Spanish Mestiza 938 + A Strange Couple 946 + A Member of the Cabaruan Trinity 946 + A Typical Old-style Provincial Government Building 962 + A Modern Provincial Government Building 962 + A Refuge from the Moros 968 + A Possible Office-holder 972 + + + + + + +THE PHILIPPINES PAST AND PRESENT + +CHAPTER XIX + +EDUCATION + + +No work accomplished since the American occupation is of more +fundamental and far-reaching importance than that of the Bureau of +Education. In order to appreciate it one must gain some familiarity +with the conditions which prevailed in Spanish times. + +The first evidence of the Spanish governmental attitude toward +education in the Philippines is found in a royal edict of March 21, +1634, [1] in which Felipe IV orders all archbishops and bishops to +take steps for the education of the Filipinos in the Spanish language +and in Christian doctrine. + +That this decree was more honoured in the breach than in the +observance is evident from another royal decree of June 20, 1686, +[2] in which the king reminds civil and religious authorities that +the non-observance of the decree of 1634 will be charged against them. + +Neither of these documents provided for financing the scheme of +education ordained, but a decree of December 22, 1792, [3] did make +financial provision for the establishment of Spanish schools for +natives. The salaries of teachers were to be paid from the royal +treasury, and deficits were to be made up from the communal properties +and treasuries. + +Although this was the first practical attempt to introduce general +native education, there are evidences that individual opportunities +were offered to, and embraced by, Filipinos. It is probable, too, +that in certain localities the most generous of the Spaniards opened +private schools. + +The College of San José was founded in 1601, the University of Santo +Tomás in 1619. Neither made provision for educating natives. They were +established for the children of Spaniards only, although both later +admitted Filipinos. But in the rules for the short-lived college of San +Felipe (1641-1645), [4] Corcuera lays down the following: "The college +servants shall be of influential Pampango families, and they shall be +taught to read and write in the Spanish language, and shall be given +clerkships if they show aptitude therefor." We learn that when the +charity school of San Juan de Letran passed under the control of the +Dominicans in 1640, native boys were admitted, on payment of fees, +to share the advantages offered charitably to Spanish orphans. [5] + +Primary education for Filipinos secured no real foothold until +1863. [6] In that year, by royal decree, a school system originally +planned for Cuba was extended to the Philippines. It made provision +for the beginnings of primary instruction in all municipalities of the +islands. A summary [7] called forth by a circular of March 1, 1866, +gives information with regard to the progress actually made. This +summary fixes the number of towns at nine hundred, the number of +children attending school at one hundred thirty-five thousand boys +and twelve thousand two hundred sixty girls, and the number of schools +at sixteen hundred seventy-four, but it gives the number of buildings +actually in use for schools as only six hundred forty-one. Instruction +in Spanish was not always, or even generally, given. + +In 1863 provision was also made for the establishment of a normal +school at Manila. In 1893, [8] forty years later, the actual +appropriation for the Normal School was $5525. Fourteen years after +the American occupation, the appropriation for the Normal School +was $56,476.42, in addition to $224,500 spent for new buildings and +furniture. [9] + +In 1892 there were two thousand one hundred seventy-three schools. The +attendance of these schools was small and irregular. In 1896, at the +outbreak of the insurrection, the Spanish had in operation a public +school system which could call upon the Normal School for teachers +and also upon such graduates of private schools as cared to undertake +the work. Naturally the latter were few. Between 1863 and 1893, +the Normal School had enrolled two thousand and one students. + +This may be contrasted with the number of schools which, under the +present régime, prepare the pupils for teaching, as well as for other +occupations. Including the students of the Philippine Normal School, +the Philippine School of Arts and Trades, the Provincial High and +Intermediate Schools, nearly thirty-seven thousand pupils are now +following studies which fit them more or less to undertake the work +of giving instruction to others. + +In addition to the Normal School, the Spanish established a +Nautical School in 1820, a School of Commercial Accounting and of +the French and English Languages in 1839, and an Academy of Drawing +and Painting. Their final system of public instruction was not badly +planned, but it was never actually put into full operation. + +From the beginning of the insurrection against Spain in 1896 until +the beginning of the insurrection against the United States in 1899, +most of the public schools were closed. The schoolhouses were used +for barracks, prisons, or hospitals. No attempt was made to keep them +in repair, and what scanty equipment they had once possessed was for +the most part destroyed or stolen. + +Between 1899 and 1901, many of these buildings were repaired in towns +which were occupied by American soldiers, and the beginnings of a +public school system were made by our victorious army. Wherever our +flag was raised a public school was soon established, soldiers often +serving as teachers, and the moral effect of this upon the Filipinos +was very great. + +The city of Manila was naturally the first place to receive +attention. Three weeks after our army entered it on August 13, +1898, seven schools were opened under the supervision of Father +W. D. McKinnon, chaplain of the first California Regiment. In June, +1899, Lieutenant George P. Anderson was detailed as city superintendent +of schools for Manila, and during the following school year he +had an average of forty-five hundred pupils enrolled in the primary +schools. Captain Albert Todd was detailed to act as superintendent of +schools for the islands, but on May 5, 1900, in anticipation of the +transfer of the islands from military to civil government, he gave +way to Dr. Fred W. Atkinson, who had been chosen by the Philippine +Commission as superintendent of public instruction. This title was +changed later to that of director of education. + +On January 21, 1901, the commission passed Act 74, the basis of +the present school law. It provided for the appointment of one +thousand American teachers to begin the work of establishing a school +system carried on in English. Appointments were made as rapidly as +possible. By the end of the year, seven hundred sixty-five American +teachers were at work. + +When provision was made for the appointment of this large number of +Americans, it was with the idea that they should act as teachers of +English in schools over which there should be Filipino principals, +but there was, at that time, no body of Filipino teachers properly +prepared to carry on school work, and by force of circumstances, +this plan was soon altered. + +Ten school divisions were established, covering the archipelago. Each +was presided over by a division superintendent of schools. The teachers +were theoretically subject to his control, but the divisions were +so large that it was impossible for him to exercise control very +effectively. It is perhaps well that many of the teachers were left +free to employ their own ingenuity in meeting local conditions. + +The school system finally established represents a composite of the +recommendations of hundreds of teachers scattered throughout the +archipelago, and these recommendations were based on hard-earned +experience. + +One of the first duties of teachers was to begin the training of +Filipino assistants. This took form in the organization of so-called +aspirante classes, into which the best of the Filipino youth who were +old enough to teach, and who had already received some education, were +gathered. These aspirante classes were often held side by side with +classes in the primary schools first established by American teachers, +and by the beginning of the year 1902 some of the brightest pupils were +able to assist in primary school work. These classes made possible +the establishment of organized primary schools under the control of +American teachers with Filipino teachers in the lower grades. Their +graduates formed the nuclei of the first secondary schools, which +were established in 1903. + +The difficulties which teachers had to overcome at the outset were +numerous. In some of the older and richer towns there were stone or +brick schoolhouses more or less fit for occupation. In such cases a +small number of old wooden benches and a few square feet of blackboard +were usually available. Sometimes there were books provided by the +army: Baldwin's readers in English or in rudely translated vernacular; +Frye's geographies translated into Spanish; and possibly Spanish +editions of the history of the United States. This stock was greatly +improved during the latter half of 1902, and teachers were furnished +books and supplies as rapidly as transportation facilities permitted. + +In 1901 the number of school divisions was increased to eighteen, and +in 1902 to thirty-six, making the school divisions identical with the +thirty-six then existing political subdivisions of the islands. The +organization of the public school system gradually crystallized and +assumed something of the form which it has to-day. Barrio [10] schools +were opened, and the work of American teachers who were detailed to +supervise them was thus greatly increased. + +The school system took permanent shape in 1903 and 1904. As it +now stands it is controlled by the director of education, who +is responsible for its conduct. Serving with him, and subject +to his control, are an assistant director and a second assistant +director. The directors have immediate charge of the general office, +which has the following divisions: records, accounting, buildings, +property, academic, industrial and publications. Each has a chief +who is directly responsible for its work. + +The islands are now divided into thirty-four school divisions, +corresponding, except in two cases, to provinces. Each has its +superintendent of schools. + +The divisions are subdivided into districts, over each of which +there is a supervising teacher who is responsible for the conduct of +its work. Certain of the intermediate schools are under supervising +teachers, while others are directly under division superintendents. + +The school system to-day extends to the remotest barrios. It is +organized and equipped for effective work, and ready to carry out +promptly and effectively the policies determined upon by the central +office. + +In each province there is a central provincial school offering +intermediate and secondary courses. Only twelve of them now give a +full four-year course. Others offer three years, two years or one +year of secondary work. There is also a manual training department +attached to the provincial school, or a trade school. So much for +the provincial school system. + +At Manila we have the Philippine Normal School, with an attendance of +six hundred sixty-nine, and the Philippine School of Arts and Trades, +with an attendance of six hundred forty-one. Also, there are the School +of Commerce and the School for the Deaf and Blind, both supported +directly from insular funds. The School of Household Industries +has recently been established for the training of adult women in +embroidery, lace-making and similar arts, so that they may return +to their provinces to establish little centres for the production of +articles of this nature. This is most important work. The Filipinos +are endowed with great patience, and with extraordinary delicacy of +touch and manual dexterity. If productive household industries based +on these valuable characteristics are generalized, the prosperity of +the common people will be very greatly increased. + +Of the school system in general it can be said that Filipino teachers +have been gradually employed for the lower grades, and Americans have +thus been freed to take charge of the higher instruction. Primary +instruction is now in the hands of Filipinos, and intermediate +instruction is rapidly being turned over to them. In July, 1913, there +were about eighty-five hundred Filipino teachers, with an estimated +total enrolment of five hundred thirty thousand pupils. The total +enrolment in primary schools was approximately four hundred ninety +thousand, in intermediate schools thirty thousand nine hundred, and in +secondary schools six thousand. When we compare these figures with the +hundred and seventy-seven thousand reported by the Spanish government +in 1897, and when we consider the fact that attendance at that time +was extremely irregular, it is evident that noteworthy progress +has been made. Mere figures, however, come far short of telling the +whole story. There has been very great improvement in the quality of +the instruction given. In the old days children "studied out loud," +and the resulting uproar was audible at quite a distance. + +On their arrival in these islands, Americans found that the educated +Filipinos as a rule held honest manual labor in contempt, while many +of those who had managed to secure professional educations did not +practise their professions, but preferred to live a life of ease. There +were doctors who made no pretence of treating the sick, and lawyers +who had studied simply for the standing which the title would give +them. The Bureau of Education has brought about a profound change in +public sentiment; a change of basic importance to the country. It +was apparent at the outset that any educational system adhering +closely to academic studies would simply serve to perpetuate this +condition of affairs. Fortunately, those in charge of the situation +were untrammelled by tradition, and were free to build up a system +that would meet actual existing needs. The objection to manual labor +offered much difficulty, but it has been largely overcome. There was, +furthermore, a feeling against industrial work on the part of the +people in many regions, based on the idea that teachers meant to +supplement their salaries by the sale of the industrial products +of the schools. This prejudice, which seemed formidable at first, +disappeared when the bureau took up in earnest the introduction of +industrial education and vocational training. + +Just as the academic organization grew out of local conditions, so did +industrial education accommodate itself to existing circumstances. In +the Spanish colegios, girls had been taught to do exquisite embroidery +and to make pillow lace. In various parts of the islands, hat weaving +was carried on by families or groups of families. The making of +petates, [11] of rough but durable market baskets and of sugar bags +constituted widespread local industries. American teachers were quick +to see how these vagrant arts could be organized and commercialized. An +intense rivalry sprang up between supervising teachers, and as a +result the arts of pillow lace-making, embroidery, Irish crochet, +hat weaving, basketry and macramé work have been introduced and +standardized throughout the primary and intermediate schools. The +excellence of the output is truly astonishing. + +Courses in housekeeping and household arts also received early +attention. The social and economic conditions in the Philippines are +such that the so-called "domestic science" course of American schools +is quite inadequate to meet the needs of Filipina girls. Specialized +instruction in hygiene, in the care of the sick, in household +sanitation and in the feeding and care of infants is included in this +course of housekeeping and household arts, which was taken by fifteen +thousand two hundred twenty-seven girls during 1912-1913. + +School gardening was introduced at an early date. This course now +includes the school garden, in which each pupil has his own individual +three and a fourth by thirteen foot plot, and home gardens which +are not less than four times the size of the school plot. By this +arrangement eighty per cent of the garden work is carried on at the +homes of the pupils or on vacant lots under the direct supervision +of teachers. + +In the beginning much of the school agricultural work was not very +practical. Teachers who themselves knew nothing about agriculture +were wedded to the small "individual plot" idea, which I regret +to say still continues to prevail in some of the schools. On a bit +of ground about three feet by six the pupil might plant one tomato +plant, one camote vine, one grain of rice, two or three eggplants and +a flowering plant or two. This gave him helpful open-air exercise, +but taught him nothing about agriculture. Weeks after the school year +had opened I once visited a number of school gardens in Mindoro and +found that several of them consisted of rectangular plots marked off +on solid sod with shells picked up on the beach! On my return I told +the director of education that three active hens would have done far +more toward preparing soil for cultivating than had all the children +in these towns. + +These conditions have changed rapidly since the adoption, three +years ago, of a definite policy of agricultural education consisting +of standard school and home gardens and farm schools for Filipinos; +and large communal tracts of land cultivated at the Settlement Farm +Schools for non-Christians. + +Lieutenant-Governor Frederick Lewis of Bukidnon was as deeply disgusted +with the former play agriculture as was I. Exercising, I fear, rather +arbitrary authority over the local Filipino teachers, but with my +connivance, he persuaded them to turn their active, strong schoolboys +loose on large tracts of the beautiful prairie land found near almost +every school in the sub-province, and raise crops. As a result of this +experiment, first carried out at Tankulan, each boy took home a bushel +or two of unhulled rice. Parents were enthusiastic, and so were the +boys. From this small beginning came the so-called farm-settlement +schools, of which there are thirty-eight among the non-Christian +tribes. On large, well-fenced, carefully cultivated tracts of ground +the schoolboys grow camotes, upland rice, corn, bananas, cowpeas, +beans, pineapples, eggplants, arrowroot, and in some cases, cacao +and coffee. Instead of learning what individual plants will do when +grown quite by themselves under abnormal conditions, they learn to +produce real crops. They become interested in the introduction of +American sweet potatoes in place of the less nutritious camotes, +in the selection of seed corn, in the generalization of the better +varieties of bananas, and in other practical matters. Incidentally +they largely furnish the school food supply. + +It is of course true that in many of the Filipino towns sufficiently +extensive tracts of land cannot be had near the schools to make such +a system possible, but, wherever it can be done, school children +should be taught how to raise crops on a commercial scale, instead +of spending their time on small individual plots of ground. Even the +latter procedure has good results. It teaches them not to be ashamed +to work. It also makes possible the introduction of home gardens, +and through this means brings the practical production of vegetables +into the home life of the people, with the result that unused yards +and vacant lots are put under cultivation. + +The system of establishing home gardens is one which meets with my +unqualified approval. In 1911-1912 there were no less than twenty-two +thousand nine hundred fifty-eight of these. It is said to be true +that a large percentage of them soon pass into family care, and thus +not only help to educate parents, but become a permanent additional +source of food supply. + +The schools have proved a useful medium through which to bring +about the introduction of new and valuable plants. There are many +school nurseries in which grow thousands of seedlings, and these are +distributed at opportune times. + +Woodworking is one of the industrial branches which received first +attention. As previously stated, every one of the thirty-eight +provinces has either a trade school with first-class equipment, or a +manual training department attached to the provincial school. Eighteen +schools have already been established as regularly equipped trade +schools. The Philippine Normal School and the Philippine School of +Commerce offer special advantages to those studying for the profession +of teaching, or for a business career. + +Previous to 1909, industrial instruction was only partially +organized. Experience had shown, by that time, that it was expedient +to introduce a degree of specialization into the courses of study +at an early stage of the child's development. Special intermediate +courses were therefore organized to meet this need. After finishing +the four-year primary course, the child may choose between a course in +teaching, a course in farming, a trade course, a course in housekeeping +and household arts and a general intermediate course. Relatively few +children are at present able to take up secondary courses, and it is +therefore necessary to provide in the lower grades for instruction +which will prepare them for some vocation. So important has become +this line of instruction that it has been found necessary to maintain, +in the general office, an industrial information department, under +a division chief, which employs a botanist, a designer, four native +craftsmen and a force of travelling supervisors who inspect trade +schools, machinery, school gardens, building sites and the general +industrial work done throughout the public school system. This +system of industrial instruction receives the fullest support from +the Filipino people. + +The following quotation from the twelfth annual report of the director +of education serves to give some idea of the extent to which industrial +instruction has been developed in the Philippines:-- + + + "As is at once evident, with requirements so definitely fixed for + industrial work in the schools, the great majority of the pupils + who are enrolled must be engaged in some branch of this work. An + examination of the figures included among the statistical tables + of this report will show that of the total enrolment of 235,740 + boys and 138,842 girls during the month of February, 1912 (an + average month), 216,290 boys and 125,203 girls--91 per cent of + the entire monthly enrolment--were doing some form of industrial + work. More specifically, it will be found that 21,420 boys were + taking manual training and trade work; 96,167 boys were engaged + in school gardening and farming; 15,463 girls were also engaged in + garden work; and 68,194 girls were taking up various lines which go + under the general caption of minor industries.... Further in this + connection it will be found that in the subject of lace-making + alone 16,439 girls were receiving instruction; in embroidery, + 12,339; and in cooking 4768. There were 22,965 boys and 7709 girls + making hats in the industrial classes, 40,264 pupils making mats, + and 104,424 studying the art of basketry. + + "... 1309 pupils were enrolled in the regular trade school + classes; 924 in regular trade courses in other schools; and 7360 + in the shops operated in connection with provincial and other + intermediate schools. In 401 school shops having an enrolment of + 19,949 boys, articles to the value of P142,189.74 were fabricated + and from this product, sales to the amount of P131,418.13 were + made during the school year 1911-12. In addition to the above, + 10,356 pupils were doing work in 236 primary woodworking shops + conducted in connection with municipal primary schools in all + parts of the Islands. The figures for trade and manual training + are taken from the March report." + + +This most important result is due in very large measure to the +determination of the Honourable Newton W. Gilbert, while secretary +of public instruction, to give a practical turn to the activities +of the Bureau of Education. I must confess that at first I was +profoundly dissatisfied with the work which this bureau was doing, +for the reason that, in my opinion, it tended to produce a horde of +graduates fitted to be clerks, in which event they would naturally +desire to feed at the public crib, or be likely to become abogadillos, +[12] who would be constantly stirring up trouble in their own towns, +in order to make business for themselves. + +Much of the industrial work originally provided for was at the outset +carried out in a haphazard and half-hearted way. Under Mr. Gilbert's +administration it has been hammered into shape, and we now see in +prospect, and in actual realization, practical results of vital +importance to the country. + +Personally, I feel especially indebted to Mr. Gilbert for his attitude +relative to school work among the non-Christian tribes. The children +of the hill people are naturally hard-working. In some places they +were being actually taught idleness in the schools, and in most +the education given them was of little practical value. I found +Igorot children in Lepanto studying geography. I asked a boy what +the world was, and was told that it was a little yellow thing about +the size of his hand! This was a fairly accurate description of +a map, the significance of which had utterly failed to penetrate +his understanding. Filipino teachers who were not considered fit +for appointments in the lowlands were being foisted off on to the +unfortunate hill people, as they were willing to accept very small +salaries in lieu of none at all. Prior to Mr. Gilbert's assumption of +office, my frequent complaints had produced no practical result. He +was kind enough to say to me at the outset that he would give very +serious consideration to my opinions in the matter of educational +work among the people of the non-Christian tribes. To-day industrial +work has taken its proper place in schools established for them, and +considerable numbers of them are being fitted for lives of usefulness, +although it is still true that school facilities among them are, +as a rule, grossly inadequate. In Ifugao, for instance, with at +least a hundred and twenty-five thousand inhabitants, there are but +two schools. In Kalinga, with some seventy-six thousand inhabitants, +the first school has just been opened. However, this condition will +doubtless be remedied in time. + +The former tendency of Filipinos to prepare themselves for trades or +professions and then not follow them has been largely overcome. Most +of the students graduating from the Philippine Normal School take +up the profession of teaching, and practically all of the graduates +of the Philippine School of Arts and Trades are following the lines +of work which they have studied. And now I come to what I deem to be +one of the most important accomplishments of the Bureau of Education. + +Before the American occupation of the Philippines the Filipinos +had not learned to play. There were no athletics worthy of the +name. Athletic sports had their beginnings in the games played +between soldiers. Gradually Filipinos became interested enough +to attend contests of this nature. Later, through the influence +of American teachers, they began to take part in them. As soon as +athletic sports reached a point where competition between towns and +provinces was possible, they aroused the greatest enthusiasm among +the people. To-day, the athletic policy of the Bureau of Education is +heartily approved by all classes. At first, highly specialized sports +were introduced, but the necessity for developing some form of group +athletics in which a large percentage of the pupils would take part +was soon made manifest. For the past few years this programme has +been pushed. Eighty per cent of the pupils now participate in some +form of athletics, and the number steadily increases. + +The results are justifying the hope of the original promoters of this +athletic programme. The physical development of the participants +has been wonderful. The spirit of fair play and sportsmanship, +hitherto lacking, has sprung into being in every section of the +islands. Baseball not only strengthens the muscles of the players, it +sharpens their wits. Furthermore it empties the cock-pits to such an +extent that their beneficiaries have attempted to secure legislation +restricting the time during which it may be played. It has done more +toward abolishing cockfighting than have the laws of the commission and +the efforts of the Moral Progress League [13] combined. It is indeed +a startling sight to see two opposing teams of youthful savages in +Bukidnon or Bontoc "playing the game" with obvious full knowledge of +its refinements, while their ordinarily silent and reserved parents +"root" with unbridled enthusiasm! + +Annual meets between athletic teams from various groups of provinces, +and a general interscholastic meet held each year at the Philippine +Carnival, offer advantages of travel to boys who have seldom if ever +left their homes, and promote a general understanding between the +various Filipino peoples. In the "Far Eastern Olympiad" held at Manila +in 1913, in which China, Japan and the Philippines participated, the +victorious teams representing the Philippines were largely composed +of schoolboys. + +When the American school system was organized, it was found that +adequate accommodations for school children were almost entirely +lacking. In some of the towns there were long, low stone or brick +buildings, small and poorly lighted. They were usually located in the +larger centres of population, and had no grounds that could be used +for play or garden purposes. In most of the barrios, there were no +schoolhouses at all. + +The American teachers at once set to work to put the old buildings +into decent condition. Some private houses were rented, and +others were donated, for school purposes. In a number of cases the +teachers attempted, as best they could, to construct buildings for +the thousands of pupils who wished to avail themselves of school +privileges. At that time the whole burden of such construction fell +upon the municipalities. The insular government had given them no +aid. Many mistakes were made during these early days, and many of the +buildings then erected have long since fallen into ruin. The experience +gained has demonstrated the folly of spending large sums of money on +anything but strong, permanent construction. It will be necessary, +for a long time, to depend to some extent upon temporary buildings; +and when these can be erected at low cost they are good provisional +expedients, but destructive storms and the ravages of wood-eating +insects quickly reduce them to ruins. + +The demand upon local funds for the maintenance of schools was so +pressing, and these funds were so limited, that it was found impossible +to erect modern buildings without insular aid. When the necessity +for help was brought to the attention of the insular authorities, the +commission responded by enacting a bill which appropriated $175,000 +from the congressional relief fund for the construction of school +buildings. Two years later $150,000 were appropriated and, in August, +1907, an additional $175,000 were voted for this purpose. A total +of $500,000 was thus made available by the Commission before the +Philippine assembly came into existence. This amount was augmented +by provincial and municipal funds and voluntary contributions, and +the erection of twenty-two buildings for provincial high schools, +twenty-six for trade and manual training schools, and fifty-seven +for intermediate schools other than provincial was thus made possible. + +The first act of the Philippine Assembly was to vote for an +appropriation of $500,000, available in four equal annual instalments, +to aid municipalities in constructing school buildings. The bill was +duly approved by the commission and became a law. Under its terms, +municipalities received $2 for every dollar furnished locally, the +maximum insular allotment for one project being $2500. This bill was +later supplemented by an act which appropriated an additional $500,000 +under similar conditions. Three subsequent acts have been passed, +each appropriating the sum of $175,000 for the aid of municipalities in +constructing school buildings under such conditions as the secretary of +public instruction may see fit to prescribe. The funds made available +by the three appropriations last mentioned are being used chiefly for +the erection of large central school buildings at provincial capitals. + +The sums appropriated by the Philippine Legislature since the assembly +was established have made possible the construction of five hundred +twenty-nine school buildings, of which two hundred seventy-three are +finished and three hundred nineteen are being built. + +There have been additional appropriations for the construction of a +Philippine Normal School already completed at a cost of $225,000, a +girls' dormitory now building to cost $147,000 and a building for the +Philippine School of Arts and Trades to cost approximately $250,000. + +The bureau has required that school sites for central schools shall +have a minimum of one hectare [14] of land, and the barrio schools +a minimum of one-half hectare, for playgrounds and gardens. There +have been secured to date three hundred eighty-nine school sites of +ten thousand or more square metres, and six hundred forty-three sites +of at least five thousand square metres. These represent the results +obtained during the past three years. + +The Bureau has formulated a very definite construction policy. Its +programme may be outlined briefly as follows:-- + + + 1. The preparation of a set of standard plans for permanent + buildings which provide for a unit system of construction + whereby additions may be made without injury to the original + structure, and which shall be within the limited means + available. + + 2. The selection of suitable school sites. + + 3. A decent and creditable standard in temporary buildings. + + 4. The proper care and maintenance of schoolhouses and grounds. + + 5. The equipment of every school with the necessary furniture + and appliances of simple but substantial character. + + +From the beginning, other branches of the government have clearly +seen that no agency is so effective as the Bureau of Education in +the dissemination of knowledge among the people. It has therefore +been called upon frequently to spread information, either through +classroom instruction or through the system of civico-educational +lectures established by an act of the Philippine Legislature. The +Bureau of Health has frequently requested it to instruct the people +in the means to be used for the prevention of diseases, particularly +cholera, smallpox and dysentery, and has always met with a ready +response. Great good has doubtless been accomplished in this way, +but with regret I must call attention to the fact that in connection +with a matter of fundamental importance the Bureau of Education has +signally failed to practice what it preached, or at all events what +it was requested to preach. The Philippines are constantly menaced +by epidemic diseases, such as cholera and bacillary dysentery, while +amoebic dysentery occurs in every municipality in the islands and is +a very serious factor in the annual death-rate, hook-worm disease is +common, and typhoid fever is gradually increasing in frequency. The +question of the proper disposition of human feces is therefore one +of fundamental importance. It seems incredible, but is nevertheless +true, that in connection with a large majority of the modern school +buildings which have been erected there are no sanitary facilities +of any sort whatsoever. The condition of the ground in the rear of +many of these buildings can better be imagined than described. This +state of affairs not only sets an evil example to the children, but +exposes them to actual danger of infection with the above-mentioned +diseases. In many of the special provincial government towns where +a great effort has been made to have the people clean up, I have +found school grounds and the private premises of school teachers, +including, I regret to say, those of American school teachers, to be +in a more unsanitary state than were any others in town; and finally, +in despair of securing improvement in any other way, I have fallen +back on the courts and caused teachers responsible for such conditions +to be brought before justices of the peace and fined. + +The Teachers' Camp at Baguio was long maintained in a shockingly +unsanitary condition; and as a result many persons who went there +seeking health and recreation became infected with intestinal +diseases, and were incapacitated for work during more or less prolonged +periods. In dealing with this situation I finally resorted to radical +measures, but got results. + +Such a state of affairs is wholly incomprehensible to +me. School-teachers should be the first to set the people practical +examples in sane living, which means sanitary living, and should +improve the great practical opportunity afforded by the public schools +to bring home to their pupils certain homely but much-needed lessons +in ordinary decency. + +In another important particular the Bureau of Education has, in +my opinion, fallen short of performing its manifest duty. Not only +does beri-beri kill some five thousand Filipinos outright, annually, +and cripple ten times as many, but it is believed to be a determining +factor in the deaths of large numbers of infants through its untoward +influence upon their mothers. As previously stated, the fact that +it is due to a diet made up too largely of polished rice has been +demonstrated beyond a reasonable doubt. Persons who eat unpolished +rice do not contract it. Tiqui-tiqui, the substance removed from rice +in the process of polishing, has proved to be a very effective remedy +for it. The use of polished rice should therefore be discouraged, +yet at the Philippine Normal School, where the brightest and best +youths of the land receive their final education before going out to +teach their fellows, polished rice is furnished the students; and +the director of health, and I myself, have sought in vain to have +the unpolished article substituted for it. + +The secretary of public instruction has stated, with obvious truth, +that it is only when polished rice forms a very large element in the +diet that there is actual danger of its causing beri-beri, and so far +as I am aware no case of beri-beri has occurred at this school; but the +practical result of the present practice will be that the graduates, +while instructing their pupils in the dangers of the use of polished +rice, will themselves continue to use it. There exists at the present +time a foolish prejudice against unpolished rice, which, although far +more nutritious and actually more palatable than the polished article, +does not look so attractive and is commonly considered "poor man's +food." So long as the instructors in the public schools continue to +teach by precept that its use is dangerous, and by example that it is +safe, the undiscriminating and ignorant Filipino public, which does +not draw fine distinctions, will be encouraged to continue to eat it, +will eat it in excess, and will pay the penalty. + +The Bureau of Education has coöperated with the Bureau of Lands +in instructing the people as to the right to acquire homesteads +and free patents. It has also given the Bureau of Public Works +assistance in promoting the campaign for good roads. Its system of +civico-educational lectures has met with fair results. Thousands of +people have secured information relative to the rights and duties +of citizens, the prevention of human and animal diseases, and the +growing of corn, coconuts and other useful crops. A corn-raising +contest in 1912 was participated in by more than thirty thousand boys, +and thousands of people attended the demonstrations which formed a +part of the campaign. This is a most important matter. Corn is a far +better food than rice. + +At first the only books available for use in the schools were those +prepared for American children. These were soon found to be unsuited +to the needs of Filipino children, and teachers were set to work to +prepare more suitable text-books. Book companies in the United States +quickly interested themselves, and as a result there is now in general +use a comprehensive series of text-books particularly adapted to the +needs of Filipinos. + +In the secondary grades American text-books are quite generally used, +although a few special texts dealing with literature, rhetoric, +economic conditions and colonial history have been prepared in the +islands. + +In order to keep the teacher in the field well informed, the Bureau +of Education has issued a large number of bulletins and circulars on +matters of current interest. These bulletins have covered instruction +in domestic science, drawing, manners and right conduct, school +buildings and grounds, embroidery and athletics, and have conveyed +information as to the general and special courses of study followed in +such schools as the School of Arts and Trades, the School of Commerce +and the Normal School. They have received much commendation from +educators in the United States and the Orient. + +When public schools were first opened children crowded into them by +thousands. With them came many adults who believed that they could +learn English in a period of a few weeks, or in a few months at the +most. No doubt they entered the schools in many cases with the idea +of thus conciliating the victorious American nation. It was not long +until they realized that there was no royal road to learning. Then came +a slump in attendance. Largely through the influence of the American +teacher and his Filipino assistants, the attendance was again built +up. This time the people clearly understood that education is not a +matter of a few months or weeks. It is greatly to their credit that +they have now settled down to a realization of what public education +is, and are giving the public school system most loyal support. + +The industrial programme has been accepted with enthusiasm, and +without doubt there are in the islands to-day thousands of people +who believe that it is a Filipino product. + +There is an interest in athletic sports that can hardly be equalled in +any other country. The crowds of enthusiastic spectators that attend +every meet of importance testify to the hold that such sports have +taken upon the people, whose attitude toward all forms of education +is such that it needs only adequate revenue to develop an effective +school system along the broadest lines. + +Manhood suffrage does not exist in the Philippines. The qualifications +for an elector are as follows: he must be a male citizen at least +twenty-three years of age, with a legal residence of six months +previous to election in the municipality where his vote is cast, +and must belong to at least one of the three following classes:-- + + + 1. Those who, previous to August 13, 1898, held the office of + municipal captain, gobernadorcillo, alcalde, lieutenant, + cabeza de barangay, or member of any ayuntamiento. + + 2. Those who hold real property to the value of $250 or annually + pay $15 or more of established taxes. + + 3. Those who speak, read or write English or Spanish. + + +With a population of approximately eight million people, there were, +in 1912, two hundred forty-eight thousand qualified voters. Of these +a large number had obtained the franchise because they belonged to +class 1 or class 2. Death yearly claims its quota from both these +classes, but the public schools more than make up the decrease by +their yearly contribution. Any boy who finishes the primary course +possesses the literary qualifications of an elector, and will become +one on attaining legal age. + +In 1912 there were graduated from the primary schools 11,200 pupils, +of whom approximately 7466 were males; from the intermediate schools +3062 pupils, of whom 2295 were males; and from the secondary schools +221 pupils, of whom 175 were males. In that year alone the schools +therefore contributed 9936 to the contingent of persons qualified +by literary attainments to vote. Of these 175 are perhaps capable +of intelligently holding municipal and provincial offices, and to +this number may probably be added half of the 2295 intermediate male +graduates, making an increase of 1362 in the possible leaders of +the people. + +The public schools, however, do not limit their contributions to +that part of the electoral body having literary qualifications +only. Vocational training, it is true, is limited in the primary +grades to cottage industries; but no pupil is graduated from the +primary schools with only literary qualifications. In some form or +other, he has had a vocational start. His own energy must determine +the use he makes of it. + +The intermediate schools add vocational training to increased academic +training. All their graduates have done three years' work in the +general course, leading to a literary course in the high schools, +the course in farming, the course in teaching, the business course, +the course in housekeeping and household arts or the trade course. + +Of the graduates of secondary schools a small part have highly +specialized vocational training; but the great majority have followed +the literary course and have undoubtedly done this with the idea of +entering political life. Rome was not built in a day, and in spite of +herculean American efforts, it will be a long time before Filipinos +cease to regard a certain kind of literary culture as the proper +basis for statesmanship. It has been said of them that they have +"the fatal gift of oratory"! The future leaders of the Filipino +people, dependent or independent, must be the output of the public +schools. The danger is that the number of would-be leaders will be +disproportionately great in comparison with that of the useful but +relatively inconspicuous rank and file. + +There are in the Philippine Islands fully twelve hundred thousand +children of school age. The present available resources are sufficient +to educate less than one-half of that number. + +The claim has been made that a due proportion of the very limited +revenues of the insular government has not been expended for +educational purposes. It is not justified by the facts. It is certainly +important to keep the Filipinos alive, and if this is not done, they +can hardly be educated. The expenditure to date [15] from insular +funds for health work, including cost of necessary new buildings, +has been approximately $9,630,000; that for educational purposes, +also including buildings, approximately $21,376,000. + +As a simple matter of fact, the Bureau of Education has been +treated not only with liberality but in one regard with very great +leniency. Taking advantage of the friendly attitude of the legislative +body and of the people toward education, one of its earlier directors +incurred expense with utter disregard for appropriations. He repeatedly +made deficits of $150,000 to $250,000 and then in effect calmly +asked us what we were going to do about it. After stating that I, +for one, would never vote to make good another deficit incurred by +him while he was allowed to remain in the service, and at a time +when I was threatening to hold the director of forestry personally +responsible for a deficit of $5000 resulting in his bureau from +unforeseen expenditures by forest officers in remote places, and +therefore more or less excusable, I learned that the usual shortage +in the Bureau of Education had again occurred and was being covered +by the quiet transfer of a sum approximating $200,000. + +The present director of education believes that the total number +of children who would enter the public schools without compulsion, +if adequate facilities were provided, is approximately eight hundred +thousand. Until revenues materially increase not many more than five +hundred thousand of these can be educated, if due regard is had for +other imperative necessities of the government and the people. If the +people of the United States, or any political body composed of them, +really desire to help the Filipinos toward the practical realization +of their ideal of an independent, self-sustaining government, let them +stop talking about the advisability of now conferring upon the present +generation of adults additional rights and privileges, and provide the +hard cash necessary to make intelligent, well-trained citizens out of +the three hundred thousand children who are now annually left without +educational advantages which they earnestly desire, and greatly need. + +Under the Spanish régime private education as distinguished from that +provided for by the government attained considerable importance. At the +time of the American occupation, Santo Tomás, the oldest university +under the American flag, had colleges of medicine and surgery, +theology, law, engineering and philosophy. There were also numerous +private so-called "colleges" for boys and girls and very numerous +smaller private institutions. At first the establishment of public +schools had no apparent effect on those conducted privately other than +to induce them to introduce the study of English, but as years went +by, the organization, modern methods and industrial development of the +public schools forced the private institutions into activity. The law +provides that the secretary of public instruction may give approval +and recognition to such private schools as meet certain requirements, +and in 1910 a division superintendent of schools was detailed to +assist him in carrying out this provision. His report for the period +ending September 1, 1912, is a very interesting document. It compares +the Philippine private schools with those of South America, very much +to the disadvantage of the former. It notes particularly the lack of +manual training in boys' schools and the lack of standardization in +the manual training of girls' schools; and speaks of the allegiance +of the Filipino institution to the classical programme of mediæval +institutions of learning. It is a notable fact, however, that English +is gaining. Thirty-four private schools are giving their entire primary +and intermediate courses in that language; nine are giving primary, +intermediate and high school courses in it, and two are so giving +all courses, including the college course. + +These private institutions are employing public and normal school +graduates as teachers to a constantly increasing extent. They are +bringing their courses of study into conformity and competition with +those of the public schools; are introducing athletics; using standard +patterns and materials in their industrial work, and rapidly improving +their buildings and equipment. During the year 1911-1912 improvements +to the value of $100,000 were made in four of the Manila private +schools: the Jesuits are planning a new college to cost $1,000,000; +the Dominicans an expenditure of $500,000 on a new university, and +the Liceo de Manila looks forward to becoming the most modern and +best equipped school in the islands. + +Twenty-five private schools have already received government +recognition and approval. + +No account of education would be complete without mention of the +University of the Philippines. Higher education is the great conscious +goal of Filipino desire; and to meet the growing need for it, an +act passed June 18, 1908, established this institution. Subsequent +amendments authorized, when practicable, colleges of liberal arts, +law, social and political science, medicine and surgery, pharmacy, +dentistry, veterinary science, engineering, mines, agriculture and +fine arts. At present there are in actual operation the colleges of +liberal arts, veterinary science, engineering, medicine and surgery, +law, agriculture and the school of fine arts. Instruction in pharmacy +is given in the College of Liberal Arts, and instruction in forestry is +given in the College of Agriculture. By special acts of the Philippine +legislature, several scholarships have been provided, but for the most +part the university is open only to those who can afford to live in +Manila during their period of attendance. + +The opening of some of these colleges has served sharply to call +attention to one of the present weaknesses of the Filipino people. It +is but a few years since agriculture was well-nigh prostrated as a +result of the decimation of cattle and horses throughout the islands +by contagious diseases. The need for well-trained veterinarians +was, and is, imperative. Filipinos properly qualified to undertake +veterinary work would be certain of profitable employment. A good +veterinary course was offered in 1909. At the same time the School +of Fine Arts was opened. No one took the veterinary course the +first year. Admissions to the School of Fine Arts were closed when +they reached seven hundred fourteen. At the end of the school year +1912-1913 the students in the Veterinary College numbered twenty-seven +as compared with six hundred ninety-four in the School of Fine +Arts. The grand total enrolment of this latter institution since +its organization is thirty-two hundred twenty-nine, while that of +the Veterinary College during the same period is forty-seven. It is +necessary to restrict attendance at the School of Fine Arts. Until +there is a livelier and more general interest in saving carabaos +than in painting them, the country will not attain to a high degree +of material prosperity through the efforts of its own people. + +I take genuine pleasure and pride in briefly describing the work of +the Philippine Training School for Nurses. I have always believed +that young Filipina women would make excellent trained nurses, and +I earnestly endeavoured to have a certain number of them included +among the first government students sent to the United States for +education soon after the establishment of civil government. In this +effort I rather ignominiously failed. The prejudices of the Filipino +people were then radically opposed to such a course, and my colleagues +of the commission were not convinced that it would lead to useful +practical results. + +To the Bureau of Education must be given credit for inaugurating +the movement which has resulted in the firm establishment of the +profession of nursing in the Philippine Islands as an honourable +avocation for women. At an early date it employed an American trained +nurse to give instruction, and inaugurated a preparatory course at its +Normal School dormitory. The work at the outset could not be made of a +very practical nature, but after a number of bright and well-trained +young women had become interested in it arrangements were perfected +for giving them actual training at the government institution then +known as the Civil Hospital. Here strong racial prejudices of the +Filipinos were gradually overcome, and the student nurses soon showed +themselves to be unexpectedly practical, faithful and efficient. + +Later when the great Philippine General Hospital was established it +became possible for the Bureau of Health to open a school under the +immediate control of the chief nurse, and to take over all the work of +training nurses. Students at this school are supported at government +expense while in training. Its opportunities and advantages are open +to young men, as well as to young women, and may be extended to a +number not exceeding one hundred six of each sex at a given time. + +The training of young women began sooner, and thus far has resulted +more satisfactorily, than has that of young men, although many of +the latter are now making good progress. + +The work is popular, and as there are more candidates than places only +the more promising are admitted. They have shown that they possessed +common-sense by avoiding the traps set for them by Filipino politicians +and newspaper reporters. Their tact and self-respect have brought them +safely through many embarrassing, and a few cruelly trying, situations +forced upon them by the unkindness or brutality of those whom they +have sought to serve. Their gentleness and kindness have endeared +them to their patients, and it is now a common thing for Americans +to request the services of Filipina nurses. Their faithfulness +and efficiency have won the confidence of patients and physicians +alike. Their courage has enabled them to triumph over the prejudices +of their own people, and to perform many hard, disagreeable tasks, +and meet some very real dangers, without faltering. The gratefulness +which they have shown for the opportunity to help their people, no +less than for the interest taken in them by Americans, has won them +many friends. The training of Filipina nurses has passed far beyond +the experimental stage; it is a great success. + +Instruction in the Philippine Nurses' Training School is now largely +given by members of the university faculty and the graduates of this +school must certainly be numbered among the most highly educated +women of the Philippines. More of them are sadly needed, not only in +government institutions, but in private hospitals, and especially +in the provincial towns, where a few of them are already engaging +in district nursing with unqualified success. The country might well +get on for the present with fewer lawyers, and fewer artists, if the +number of nurses could be increased. + +Equally praiseworthy is the work of the students and graduates of +the College of Medicine and Surgery, which is housed in a commodious +and adequate building. Their theoretical instruction is of a very +high character, and they have almost unrivalled facilities for +practical clinical work in the Philippine General Hospital. Entrance +requirements are high and the course of study is severe. A number of +the best students do post-graduate work in the hospital, where they +are employed as internes and assistants. As a result, the college is +turning out graduates admirably qualified for the great work which +awaits them among their own people. + +The other colleges of the university are, for the most part, doing +their work efficiently and well, and as a rule their students are +showing appreciation of the opportunities afforded them, and are +utilizing them to good advantage. + +Important educational work is being carried on by various bureaus +of the government. The Bureau of Lands has an excellent school for +surveyors. The Bureau of Printing is in itself a great industrial +school, and ninety-five per cent of its work is now done by Filipinos +trained within its walls, while many others who have had practical +instruction there have found profitable private employment. + +An excellent school is conducted in Bilibid Prison with convicts as +teachers. A very large proportion of the prisoners receive practical +instruction in manual training and are fitted to earn honest livings +when their sentences expire. Furthermore, they readily secure +employment, as the men discharged from this institution have in many +cases earned well-deserved reputations for honesty and industry. + +All the women confined at Bilibid are taught to make pillow lace. + +At the Bontoc Prison, the non-Christian tribe convicts of the islands +are taught useful industries, and so satisfactory are the results that +I have formed the habit of calling the institution my "university." + +At the Iwahig agricultural penal colony convicts are taught modern +agricultural methods under a system such that they gradually become +owners of houses, land and agricultural implements and may in the +end have their families with them so that they are well settled +for life when their sentences expire, if they take advantage of the +opportunities given them. + +The educational policy which the United States has adopted in +dealing with the Filipinos is without a parallel in history. I am +glad to have assisted in its inauguration, and I am proud of its +results, which will make themselves felt more and more as the years +go by. Even now English is far more widely spoken in the Philippine +Islands than Spanish ever was, and this is a boon the magnitude of +which cannot be appreciated by those who have not had brought home +to them by experience the disadvantages incident to the existence of +very numerous dialects among the inhabitants of one country. + +When it is remembered that in the present instance each of these +dialects is very poor in literature, and that its use is limited to +a million or two of human beings at the most, the enormous value of +instruction in English will be realized, to some extent at least. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +THE EXPLORATION OF NON-CHRISTIAN TERRITORY + + +At the time of their discovery the Philippine Islands were inhabited +by a very large number of distinct tribes the civilization of which +was directly comparable with that of the Negritos, the Igorots and +the Moros as they exist to-day. Do not understand me to imply that +the Negritos, the Igorots and the Moros have attained to the same +stage of civilization. + +The Negritos belong to a distinct race. They are woolly-headed, nearly +black, and of almost dwarfish stature. They seem to be incapable of +any considerable progress and cannot be civilized. Intellectually +they stand close to the bottom of the human series, being about on +a par with the South African bushmen and the Australian blacks. + +The Igorots are of Malayan origin. They are undoubtedly the descendants +of the earlier, if not the earliest, of the Malay invaders of the +Philippines, and up to the time of the American occupation had retained +their primitive characteristics. + +The Moros, or Mohammedan Malays of the southern Philippines, +exemplify what may be considered the highest stage of civilization +to which Malays have ever attained unaided. They are the descendants +of the latest Malay invaders and were, at the time of the discovery +of the islands, rapidly prosecuting an effective campaign for their +mohammedanization. + +At the outset the Spaniards made extraordinary progress in subduing, +with comparatively little bloodshed, many of these different peoples, +but the Moros at first successfully resisted them, were not brought +under anything approaching control until the day of steam gun-boats +and modern firearms, and were still causing serious trouble when +Spanish sovereignty ended. + +As time elapsed the political and military establishments of Spain in +the Philippines seem to have lost much of their virility. At all events +the campaign for the control and advancement of even the non-Mohammedan +wild peoples was never pushed to a successful termination, and there +to-day remains a very extensive territory, amounting to about one-half +of the total land area, which is populated by non-Christian peoples +so far as it is populated at all. Such peoples make up approximately +an eighth of the entire population. + +When civil government was established I was put in general +executive control of matters pertaining to the non-Christian +tribes. Incidentally, a word about that rather unsatisfactory term +"non-Christian." It has been found excessively difficult to find +a single word which would satisfactorily designate the peoples, +other than the civilized and Christianized peoples commonly known +as Filipinos, which inhabit the Philippines. They cannot be called +pagan because some of them are Mohammedan, while others seem to have +no form of religious worship. They cannot be called wild, for some +of them are quite as gentle, and as highly civilized, as are their +Christian neighbours. The one characteristic which they have in common +is their refusal to accept the Christian faith, and their adherence to +their ancient religious beliefs, or their lack of such beliefs as the +case may be. I am therefore forced to employ the term "non-Christian" +in designating them, although I fully recognize its awkwardness. + +While serving with the First Philippine Commission I was charged +with the duty of writing up the non-Christian tribes for its report, +and tried to exhaust all available sources of information. The result +of my investigations was most unsatisfactory to me. I could neither +find out how many wild tribes there were, nor could I learn with any +degree of accuracy the territory which the known tribes occupied, +much less obtain accurate information relative to their physical +characteristics, their customs or their beliefs. + +The most satisfactory source of information was the work of +Blumentritt, an Austrian ethnological writer; but Blumentritt had never +set foot in the Philippines, and I suspected at the outset what later +proved to be the case, that his statements were very inaccurate. He +recognized more than eighty tribes of which thirty-six were said by +him to be found in northern Luzón. + +As it was obviously impossible to draft adequate legislation for +the control and civilization of numerous savage or barbarous peoples +without reliable data on which to base it, and as such data were not +available, I had to get them for myself, and undertook a series of +explorations, carried out during the dry seasons so far as possible, +in order to gather my information on the ground. + +I first visited Benguet in July and August, 1900. + +On my second northern trip I traversed the province of Benguet from +south to north, arrived at Cervantes in Lepanto, and was about to +leave for the territory of the Bontoc head-hunters when I received +a telegraphic summons to return to Manila for the inauguration of +Governor Taft on July 4, 1901. + +The following year such time as could be spared from my duties at +Manila was necessarily devoted to the search for a suitable island +for the site of a proposed leper colony; but in 1903 I was able to +make a somewhat extended exploring trip, traversing the country of +the Tingians in Abra, passing through the mountains which separate +that province from Lepanto, visiting the numerous settlements of the +Lepanto Igorots and continuing my journey to Cayan, Bagnin, Sagada +and Bontoc; and thence through various settlements of the Bontoc +Igorots to Banaue in the territory of the Ifugaos. + +The latter portion of the trip was not unattended with excitement. A +few weeks before a fairly strong constabulary detachment, armed with +carbines, had been driven to the top of a conical hill in the Ifugao +country and besieged there until a runner made his way out at night +and brought assistance. We felt that there was some uncertainty as +to the reception which would be accorded us. The Bontoc Igorots who +accompanied us did not feel that there was any uncertainty whatever as +to what awaited them, but were more than anxious to go along with us, +as they were spoiling for a fight with their ancient enemies. + +We had to use them for carriers to transport our baggage, and each +carrier insisted on having an armed companion to lug his lance and +shield. As a precautionary measure we took with us twenty-five Bontoc +Igorot constabulary soldiers armed with carbines, while each of the +five American members of the party carried a heavy six-shooter. We +also had with us a dog which was supposed to be especially clever at +seasonably discovering ambushes and giving warning. + +We were able to use horses more or less as far as the top of the +Polis range, but the trail down its eastern slopes was impracticable +for horses and dangerous for pedestrians. + +We shivered for a night on a chilly mountain crest, and the next day +continued our journey to Banaue. When still several miles from the +town, we were met by an old Ifugao chief with two companions. They +marched boldly up to us and inquired whether we were planning to visit +Banaue. On receiving an affirmative reply, the chief asked if our visit +was friendly or hostile. I assured him that we were friends who had +come to get acquainted with the Ifugaos. He said he was glad to hear +this, but that after all it did not really matter. If we wished to be +friends, they were willing to be friendly; but if we wanted to fight, +they would be glad to give us a chance. As he and his companions were +facing a column of eighty-seven armed men I rather admired his courage. + +He next presented me with what I now know to be an Ifugao gift of +friendship, to wit, a white rooster and six eggs, after which he +took from one of his companions a bottle filled with bubud, [16] +and having first taken a drink to show me that it was not poisoned, +handed it to me. I did my duty, and we were friends. + +We then proceeded on our way to Banaue, being obliged to plunge down +through the rice terraces to the bottom of a deep cañon and then climb +two almost perpendicular earthen walls before reaching the house of +the chief. + +I was completely exhausted when I began this climb, and did not feel +comfortable clinging like a tree frog to the face of a clay bank +with nothing to support me except rather shallow holes which could be +better negotiated by Ifugaos, possessed of prehensile toes, than by +men wearing shoes. Seeing my predicament, an Ifugao climbed down from +above, pulled my coat-tails up over my head and hung on to them, while +another came up behind me, put his hands on my heels and carefully +placed my toes in the holes prepared for their reception. Thus aided, +I finally reached the top. + +The Ifugaos did not invite us to enter their houses, but allowed us +to camp under them. I was assigned quarters under the house of the +chief. It was tastefully ornamented, at the height of the floor, with +a very striking frieze of alternating human skulls and carabao skulls. + +One of my reasons for coming to Banaue at this time was that I had +heard that the people of seven other towns had recently formed a +confederation and attacked it, losing about a hundred and fifty heads +before they were driven off. I therefore thought that there might +be a favourable opportunity to learn something of head-hunting, and +to secure some photographs illustrating customs which I hoped would +become rare in the near future, as indeed they did. + +Trouble promptly arose between our Bontoc friends and the Ifugaos. The +Bontocs wanted to purchase food. Some baskets of camotes were brought +and thrown down before them and they were told that they were welcome +to camotes, which were suitable food for Bontoc Igorots and pigs, but +that if they wanted rice they would have to come out and get it. As +twenty-five of them were armed with carbines and all the rest had +lances, shields and head-axes, they were more than anxious to go, but +this we could hardly permit! So we put them in a stockade under guard, +and subsisted them ourselves, a thing which necessarily rendered our +stay brief, as provisions soon ran low. + +The Ifugaos of Banaue showed themselves most friendly, but warned +us that a large hostile party was waiting to attack us at Kababuyan, +a short distance down the trail. My mission to the Ifugao country was +to establish kindly relations with the people rather than kill them, +so I did my best to get on good terms with the inhabitants of the +more friendly settlements. + +The day before we left, people came in haste from a neighbouring +village to advise us that one of their men had lost his head to +the Ifugaos of Cambúlo, and begged us to join them in a punitive +expedition, assuring us that there were numerous pigs and chickens +at Cambúlo and that our combined forces would have no difficulty +in whipping the people of that place, after which we could have a +most enjoyable time plundering the town, while they would secure +a goodly toll of heads which might be advantageously employed in +further ornamenting their Banaue homes. They were greatly disgusted +when we declined to join them, and said they would do the job anyhow, +as no doubt they did. + +First, however, they insisted that we come with them to see that the +story they had told us was true. We soon overtook a procession carrying +a very much beheaded man who was being borne out for burial on his +shield, and were readily granted permission to attend his funeral. It +was an interesting and weird affair. After it was over we hastened +back to Banaue, in constant fear of breaking our necks by falling +down the high, nearly perpendicular, walls of the rice terraces, +on the tops of which we had to walk. Most of us discarded our shoes, +in order to minimize the danger of a fall. One member of the party, +who insisted on wearing his, glissaded down a steep wall and had to +be pulled out of the mud and water at the bottom. Fortunately he was +not injured. + +Having succeeded beyond our expectations in establishing friendly +relations with the Ifugaos of Banaue we took our departure, requesting +them to tell their neighbours about us and promising to visit them +again. I returned to Bontoc and made my way to Baguio in Benguet +through the Agno River valley, stopping at numerous settlements of +the Benguet Igorots on the way. + +It was not possible for me to make further explorations in the +territory of the Luzón wild people until 1905. In this year I +set out, accompanied by Mr. Samuel E. Kane, an American who spoke +Ilocano exceptionally well, and Colonel Blas Villamor, a former +Insurgent officer, who was more familiar with the territory which +I desired to visit than any one else of whom I could learn. He had +established friendly relations with some of its inhabitants during +the insurrection. + +We visited several of the wilder settlements of the Tingians in Abra, +then made a hard climb over Mount Pico de Loro and descended its +eastern slopes to the Tingian village of Balbalasan in the Saltan +River valley. Its people, while not really head-hunters, were often +obliged to defend themselves against their Kalinga neighbours, and +were consequently well armed. + +After a brief rest we continued our journey down the Saltan River, +visiting settlements on the high hills in its immediate vicinity. + +At Salecsec we had an extended conference with an old chief named +Atumpa, a very acute man of wide experience and sound judgment, +who exercised great influence in the territory through which we had +just passed. + +Atumpa, satisfied as to our good intentions, consented to accompany us +into the Kalinga country. A Kalinga chief named Saking, whom Villamor +had known during the insurrection, met us here, and told us of a war +trail into his territory which would greatly shorten our proposed +journey, and make it possible for us to reach in one day the first of +the previously unknown Kalinga settlements of the Mabaca River valley. + +Saking, observing that the people in the Saltan valley had cleaned +off their old trails, and in some cases had built new ones for our +convenience, went ahead of us to his own country in order to try to +persuade his people to do some trail work, leaving us to follow him. + +Our route lay over the top of a high peak called "Dead Man's Mountain" +because a good many people who tried to climb it never came down, +the true explanation of their failure to appear being no doubt that +they perished from exposure during violent storms. + +While ascending this mountain I suffered an attack of partial paralysis +of the legs, due, as I now have reason to believe, to heart strain, +but was able to continue the journey after a brief rest and the use +of stimulants. + +A considerable part of our trip down the steep northern slopes of +this mountain was made by utilizing a stream bed in lieu of a trail, +and was in consequence very uncomfortable and somewhat dangerous, +as the chance for broken bones was good. Fortunately, however, no +one was badly hurt. + +At the first Kalinga village we found about a hundred and twenty +fighting men armed with shields and head-axes, but Saking and his +brother Bakidan at once came forward to greet us and we did not +suspect mischief. + +I had brought with me from Manila a great bag of newly coined +pennies. They looked like gold, and we distributed them among the +warriors, who were greatly delighted and promptly proceeded to place +them in the ends of the huge ear plugs which the men of this tribe are +so fond of wearing. Every one seemed friendly enough at the outset, +but soon a rather disturbing incident occurred. + +There were eight chiefs present. I noticed that they suddenly withdrew +a short distance and squatted all together in a circle as if by word +of command. After a brief but very animated discussion they rose +simultaneously, and six of them started down the trail at a run, +while Bakidan and Saking came to us and somewhat anxiously suggested +that it was time to be moving on. + +Our way lay through enormous runo grass which closed in over our +heads, so that we were marching in a rather low tunnel through the +vegetation. Bakidan went ahead of us, Saking brought up the rear, +and both were evidently on the alert. Bakidan suggested that we keep +our revolvers handy, which we did. + +A short march brought us to Saking's place. Here a still larger body +of fighting men awaited us, and there were no women in evidence except +Saking's wife, who, at the direction of her husband, came forward, +and under his instructions sought to shake hands with us. This was +a new ceremony to the Kalingas, and she gave us her left hand. + +Standing in a conspicuous place in front of Saking's house were two +baskets filled with flowers which were wet with blood. We surmised, +rightly, as it later proved, that these baskets had contained +human heads just before our arrival, and that we had interrupted a +head-cañao. [17] + +One did not need to be an expert in the moods of wild men to see that +the people of this place were feeling ugly, and after shaking hands +with Saking's wife we promptly marched on. + +It was fortunate for us that we did so. We later learned that the +conference of the eight chiefs which aroused our suspicion had been +held to discuss our fate. Six of them were in favor of killing us +immediately, arguing that we were the first white men to penetrate +their country; that they might have to carry our baggage, which would +be a lot of trouble; and that if they allowed us to pass through others +might follow us, whereas if they killed us they would have no further +trouble with strangers. Saking was severely criticized for having +told us the whereabouts of the war trail over which we had come, +and was appointed a committee of one on extermination, with power +to act. In fact, he was directed to take his people and kill us, but +he declined to obey instructions, and the other chiefs had run down +the trail ahead of us in order to gather a sufficient force to wipe +our party out. Saking's people were somewhat loath to act under the +orders of any one else, and our sojourn among them was so brief that +they did not have time definitely to make up their minds to attack us. + +We now rapidly completed our journey to Bakidan's place, where we +were to spend the night. Here again a crowd of armed fighting men +awaited us. It was momentarily augmented by the arrival of recruits +from the villages through which we had just passed. + +Still unsuspicious of mischief, we turned our revolvers over to +one of our Ilocano companions, a man named Lucio, who had served as +Aguinaldo's mail-carrier during the latter days of the insurrection. We +then walked into the middle of the crowd and sat down on pieces of +our own luggage. + +Bakidan immediately brought me a small wicker basket of very dirty +looking bananas. I was nauseated as a result of severe exertion in +climbing Dead Man's Mountain, and the bananas did not look appetizing, +so I thanked him and put the basket on my lap. Instantly I felt +strong tension rising in the crowd. We had brought along chief Atumpa +and several friendly Kalingas from the Saltan River valley. They +seized their head-axes and stepped in behind us, facing out. Bakidan +instantly withdrew into his own house, and from a point where hardly +any one except myself could see him made emphatic gestures, indicating +that I was to eat. Little suspecting the significance of the act, +but desirous of placating his outraged feelings if he felt that +his hospitality had not been appreciated, I hastily peeled a banana +and took a bite. To my amazement, there was an instant and obvious +relaxation of tension in the crowd. The Kalinga warriors loosened +their grip on their head-axes and began to walk about and talk. My +own old men also assumed an air of indifference. + +Much puzzled, I made up my mind to look into this matter further, +and later learned that when people from one Kalinga settlement visit +those of another if the latter wish to be friendly it is customary +for them to offer the visitors salt if they have it, bananas if salt +is lacking, and water in the event that neither salt nor bananas +are available. If the visitors wish to accept the friendship thus +proffered, they promptly eat or drink, as the case may be; otherwise +it is understood that they have come looking for trouble. + +Bakidan had ceremonially proffered the friendship of himself and his +people, and in my ignorance I had practically declared war on the +whole outfit! When I learned these facts I asked Bakidan why they did +not kill us at once. He said they were afraid. I expressed my surprise +that they should be afraid of three unarmed men, and he explained that +it was very bad etiquette in the Kalinga country for a person with a +head-axe to go behind another, and that we had amazed every one when +we walked into the midst of that gathering of armed men and sat down +with our backs to half of them. They instantly concluded that we had, +concealed about our persons, some new and strange device with which +we could annihilate a crowd, hence they were afraid! + +Here, as at Saking's place, we had interrupted a head-cañao. The head +had been smuggled out of sight just before our arrival. The cañao +was now renewed and continued all night, although the head was not +again put in evidence. It is needless to say that we attended. We +witnessed one of the weirdest sights I have ever seen. + +The following day was spent in distributing presents to the Kalinga +head-men, in taking photographs, and in getting a little much needed +rest. As evening drew near Bakidan suggested that it was about time +we formally made friends with each other. We were beginning to feel +rather far away from home, and wanted all the friends we could get, +so promptly acceded to his suggestion and repaired to his house at +eight o'clock, the hour he had indicated. + +The ceremony proved very simple. His wife fried some boiled rice in +fat--dog fat as we afterward learned, but fortunately we did not know +this at the moment! We all squatted on the floor, Bakidan facing us, +and the dish of fried rice was placed between us. He squeezed a mass +of it into a ball and gave it to me. I ate it, and then rendered +him a similar service. He ate in turn, and we were friends! The same +procedure was followed with each of my companions. + +In the midst of the ceremony there came a very unexpected +interruption. A Kalinga woman was standing near me holding a torch. She +had been silent and had seemed timid. I chanced to stretch out my +right hand palm up. To my surprise she uttered an exclamation which +was almost a shriek, seized my wrist and began to point excitedly to +the lines in my palm. The other Kalingas gathered about, evidently +greatly interested. Several of them showed the lines in the palms of +their own hands, and an animated conversation ensued. I asked what +it all meant, and was informed that I was going to become a man of +great influence! I had already modestly introduced myself as the +ruler of all non-Christians, so found this reply unsatisfactory, +but could get no other. + +It was fortunate indeed for us that we made friends with Bakidan. On +the following day we continued our journey down the valley. Our +baggage was carried by women, children and a few old and more or less +decrepit warriors who obviously felt deeply insulted at being required +to render such a menial service, and were decidedly resentful toward +Bakidan for having ordered them to do it. + +Before we started Bakidan warned us that the Kalingas were queer +people, and in consequence it would be well for us very quietly to go +around certain of their settlements. Others we would visit. Their +inhabitants would be sure to invite us to stay and enjoy their +hospitality. He would second every such invitation. We were to pay +no attention to his words, but were to note whether or not he sat +down. If he did, we might accept the invitation. Otherwise we must +plead an urgent engagement farther down the valley and move on. + +Things came out exactly as he had foretold. In several villages we +heard noises decidedly suggestive of head cañaos, and discreetly +circled these places. We declined all invitations seconded by Bakidan +when he did not seat himself, and rested comfortably for a time in +several villages where he did. + +Toward noon we walked straight into an ambush laid for us in the runo +grass, discovering it only when Bakidan began to deliver a forceful +oration in which he set forth the fact that he had a right to stroll +down his own valley with a party of friends without being annoyed +by having his fellow tribesmen hide beside the trail and prepare to +throw lances. + +Bakidan, who was himself a famous warrior, told these men that +they might kill us if they saw fit to do so, but must kill him +first. Apparently rather ashamed of themselves, they came out on to +the trail and slunk off to their town. Bakidan, greatly disgusted, +suggested that we follow them and lunch in their village just to show +that we were not afraid of them, and we did this. + +After lunch I photographed a number of our late opponents, and we then +continued our journey, escorted by a Kalinga chief named Bogauit from +Took-Took. This man had previously descended to the Cagayan valley, +where he had seen white people, and hearing of our advent in the +Kalinga country, and fearing that we might have trouble in getting +carriers for our baggage, had come with his fighting men to help +us out. + +The people of his village received us in a most friendly spirit, +and after attending a bit of a cañao organized in our honour, and +doing our best to entertain the crowd with a few simple experiments in +physics, and some sleight-of-hand tricks, we retired, as we supposed, +for a peaceful night's rest. + +No such good fortune awaited us. We were aroused in the middle of +the night by a fearful din only to find our hut surrounded by a +great circle of armed men. The people who had attempted to ambush +us earlier in the day had repented of their action in letting us +pass through unharmed, had gathered a strong force of fighting men, +had surrounded our house and were now vociferously demanding to be +allowed to take our heads. + +Old Bakidan was apparently fighting a duel with their chief in the +midst of the circle. The two men were dancing around each other with +cat-like steps, occasionally coming to close quarters and clashing +shields, then leaping apart, swinging their head-axes and obviously +watching for an opportunity to strike home. Had either of them gained +any decided advantage of position he would doubtless have used his +head-axe, and this would have started a fight which could have had +but one ending. + +Owing to a mistake made when the ammunition for our trip was +purchased, we had just twenty-two revolver cartridges amongst us, +and in the darkness they would have been worth about as much as +so many firecrackers. The roof of the house was dry as tinder; a +blazing brand thrown on it would promptly have forced us into the +open. We should have been met by a flight of head-axes and lances, +and this book would not have been written! + +The majority of the crowd were determined to take our heads. The +Took-Took people, greatly outnumbered, were evidently on the fence, +and Bakidan was our only advocate. He still insisted that any one +who wished to kill us must kill him first. His reputation stood +him in good stead, and no one tackled the job. The uproar continued +until nearly morning. Bási, a strong native liquor, was constantly +passed. Indeed, every one but Bakidan had been drunk when we were +first awakened. Finally food was handed around, and when the excited +warriors stopped yelling in order to eat it the liquor had a chance +to work, and most of them went to sleep. + +We might probably have then effected our escape for the time being, +but it was utterly impossible for us to get out of the country without +the assistance of the Kalingas, and we decided to see the thing out +right there. + +In the morning the crowd was uglier than ever. As we crossed the little +plaza they suddenly closed in on us with the obvious intention of +doing for us, and we thought the end had come. At this critical moment +a diversion was created in our favour by the wholly unexpected arrival +of a letter brought in by a Kalinga runner. It had followed us all the +way from Abra, and contained information about two pieces of baggage +which were missing when we started. Its arrival greatly alarmed the +hostiles, who interrogated me as to whether soldiers were coming. They +had heard of soldiers, but had never seen them. I assured them that +the arrival or non-arrival of soldiers would depend on the way they +treated us, and to our utter amazement, they presently faded away. + +The Took-Took people again showed themselves friendly when their +unwelcome visitors had departed, and made us bamboo rafts on which +we descended the river. + +Our voyage was a decidedly adventurous one. Our rafts were repeatedly +smashed by the swift current. As we approached each Kalinga village +we were met by a reception committee carrying a bunch of bananas, +followed at a short interval by a crowd of fighting men fully armed, +and were thus given an opportunity to decide whether there should be +peace or war. Needless to say, we voted for peace every time. I ate +bananas until it was difficult to find room for more! + +We spent the night at the rancheria of a friendly, white-haired old +chief who had been to Tuguegarao, the capital of Cagayan, and knew +a few words of Spanish. The next day we reached the settlement of +Chief Doget, who had a wonderful house of red narra, a wood which +closely resembles mahogany. It was furnished with beds, chairs and +tables obtained from the Spaniards. Here we were able to rest in peace. + +After sleeping the clock twice around, we continued our journey, and +at dusk reached the Filipino town of Tuao, glad enough to get back to +civilization and feeling that the kindly Providence which watches over +fools, drunken men and children had had its eye on us. Without escort, +and armed only with six-shooters rendered almost useless by lack of +ammunition, we had completed the first trip ever made through the +Kalinga country, and had done it without firing a shot and without +losing a man. + +This trip marked for me the beginning of friendly relations with the +Kalingas. They have never since been interrupted, and now, when I ride +a fast American horse rapidly over the splendid trails which cross +their country from south to north and from west to east, or meet at +Lubuagan the fighting men who were once so anxious to take my head +but now make a long journey yearly in order to see me, I realize, as +perhaps no one else does, how very materially conditions in Kalinga +have changed. + +It had been our intention, after spending a brief period in +recuperation at Tuao, to proceed to Malaueg and continue our journey +through the absolutely unknown country of the Apayaos, but we found +it impossible to secure guides. The leading men of Malaueg, who +came to Tuao to meet us, assured us that there were no trails known +to them, which was untrue, and added that they would not under any +circumstances consider trying to enter the territory of the fierce +Apayao head-hunters. + +We accordingly proceeded to Tuguegarao, the capital of Cagayan, +intending to descend the Cagayan River to Aparri, go overland to +Abulúg or Pamplona and there get guides and carriers. + +At Tuguegarao, however, we found assembled the presidentes of all the +Cagayan towns. Those from Abulúg and Pamplona positively assured me +that there were no trails thence into the Apayao country, and that +guides and carriers would be absolutely unobtainable. I insisted that +I would visit their towns and ask them to accompany me, whereupon they +actually wrung their hands and wept, complaining that the people of +Apayao used bows and poisoned arrows. + +In disgust I told them that I would abandon the trip for that year, +but the following year would go to Laoág in North Ilocos, cross the +"Cordillera Central" and come out through the Apayao country, taking +with me Ilocano guides and carriers, as the Ilocanos were real men. + +I then proceeded up the river to Ilagan and went overland through Nueva +Vizcaya, ultimately crossing Ifugao from east to west and thoroughly +exploring the territory from which I had been excluded on my previous +trip; proceeding thence to Bontoc and Cervantes over a route new to me, +and finally returning through Benguet and Pangasinán to the railroad, +where I took train for Manila. + +The following year I carried out my promise, taking with me Colonel +Villamor, who had rendered very valuable and satisfactory assistance on +my previous trip. I also had three white companions, Dr. Paul C. Freer, +superintendent of government laboratories, Major Samuel Crawford and +Lieutenant L. D. Atkins. These officers commanded a detachment of +twenty-five Ilocano constabulary soldiers which I reluctantly took +along, warned by my experience of the previous year and convinced by +the arguments of my Ilocano carriers, who declined to accompany me +unless I took an armed escort. + +Prior to my departure from Manila I had received an urgent telegram +from the governor of North Ilocos informing me that one Abaya, a wild +Tingian from Apayao, had been sentenced to a term of imprisonment in +Bilibid, the insular penitentiary, and urging me to arrange if possible +to have him detained at Laoag until my arrival there, which I did. + +On reaching Laoag, I was amazed to find a large delegation of fully +armed Apayao men waiting for me at the river bank. They followed me to +the house where my quarters were to be, and sat down on the stairway, +with the obvious intention of seeing that I did not leave without +their knowledge. + +On asking the meaning of this occurrence, I was told that they were +friends of Abaya and wished to talk with me. When given an opportunity +to do so, they told me a singular tale, which admirably illustrates +the relations prevailing in that region between the wild men and +their Filipino neighbours. + +Abaya was one of a few men in Apayao who dared to descend to the +lowlands. He came down occasionally, bringing tobacco and wax to +barter for cloth, steel, salt and other necessaries not obtainable +in Apayao. Being unable to speak Ilocano well, he obtained a Filipino +agent known as his "commissioner," who transacted his business for him, +withholding for himself a liberal percentage of the proceeds. + +On the occasion of his last visit to the lowlands, the "commissioner" +had told Abaya that he had a Negrito slave who was planning to escape, +and had directed him to take his head-axe and kill the Negrito, +promising him half of a large pig in payment for this service. + +Abaya, nothing loth, hastened to execute the order, hunting up the +Negrito and aiming a terrific blow at him. Fortunately the Negrito saw +it coming and jumped so that he received it on his shoulder instead +of his neck. It inflicted a horrible wound, but he nevertheless +ran away so fast that Abaya was unable to catch him and finish the +job. He returned and regretfully reported his lack of success to his +"commissioner." To his amazement he was arrested, taken to Laoag +and held for trial. Both he and his friends were convinced that the +reason for this was his failure to kill the Negrito, and the friends +assured me in the most positive terms that Abaya had done his very +best and that it was through no fault of his that the Negrito had +escaped! They demanded his immediate release. + +Meanwhile I had been informed by the governor of the province that +Abaya's people had threatened to come and wipe out the village where +his "commissioner" lived, and also to kill all of the Negritos in that +vicinity in revenge for the arrest and imprisonment of their chief. + +It struck me that the "commissioner" was the man who ought to be in +jail, but I did not care to allow the Apayao people to think that they +could make such threats with impunity, so asked them whether it was +true that they were planning to wipe out the village in question. They +said yes. I then told them that they must not do it. They expressed +a willingness to obey any instructions that I might give to them. I +asked whether their promise to let the village alone was dependent upon +Abaya's being set at liberty, and they answered no. We then took up +the question of killing the Negritos. They were greatly amazed that I +should object to this, urging that they had always fought the Negritos, +and that the latter were bad people who constantly made trouble with +their poisoned arrows; theretofore it had been considered commendable +to kill as many as possible. However, they said that they would let +the Negritos alone if I insisted upon it, irrespective of whether or +not Abaya was released. Having duly impressed them with the fact that +the matter of the release of Abaya must stand on its own merits, +and could not be made to depend on their subsequent good or bad +conduct, and having interviewed the Filipino judge who sentenced +Abaya and learned that he had been puzzled to know what to do and +was heartily in favour of having him pardoned, I telegraphed to the +acting governor-general requesting that this be done, and continued +my journey, leaving word that Abaya should follow me if set at liberty. + +He was promptly pardoned. His people insisted that he join them +and take to the mountains, but he told his friends that since I +had secured his release he would do what I had asked. He overtook +me before I had finished my second day's march, and stayed with me +until I gave him leave to go his way! + +Our climb over the cordillera was by no means a pleasure trip. We +were forced to use beds of streams and Tingian warpaths in lieu of +trails. At one time our way lay over wet limestone rocks which were +slippery as ice. Here our hobnailed shoes were a positive source of +danger. The feet of our carriers were badly torn, and we ourselves +suffered from occasional falls on the sharp rocks. We secured the +help of some additional Tingians whom we met journeying to the coast, +paying them liberally enough so that they were willing to abandon +their proposed trip and accompany us. + +We sent all of our Tingian companions ahead to give notice of our +friendly intentions before reaching the first village in Apayao, +but its inhabitants nevertheless ran away. Thoroughly exhausted, we +decided to spend a night there. In the course of the afternoon our +men were able to bring in some of their fellow tribesmen who lived +in the vicinity, and we made friends with them. + +From this point a half day's march brought us to the head-waters of the +Abulúg River at a point where it was navigable for bamboo rafts. We +delayed at a little village until we could construct rafts enough to +float our large party, and then started downstream, knowing that we +should meet plenty of people, for the Tingians of Apayao are fond of +placing their villages on river banks. + +Our trip was a wild and adventurous one. Fortunately I had purchased +some twenty dollars' worth of beads and with these I made at least +twenty-five hundred presents! The friendship of the women at the first +town which we met was thus secured, and thereafter the "grapevine +telegraph" worked ahead of us and we found waiting delegations of +women and girls on the river bank at almost every village. So long +as they were about, it was reasonably certain that the men would not +make any hostile demonstration. + +The trip proved a great success in every way. Many of the numerous +settlements which we visited were at war with each other. One had +just been attacked, and a number of its people had lost their heads, +literally. We were constantly warned that the residents of the next +town down the river were "bad people" and that "five hundred" of them +were waiting in the river bed to attack us, but only once were we in +any real danger of being molested, and even then diplomacy prevailed. + +We were careful to respect local customs. One town was reported to be +cañao, which is equivalent to "taboo," because of the death of the +wife of the headman, and we religiously kept away from it. Another +was cañao because of a virulent epidemic of smallpox, and we were +more than willing to keep away from that one! + +We bumped down rapids and shot over several low falls. Again and again +our rafts were torn to pieces and we were precipitated into the rushing +stream. At one time a constabulary soldier was under water for some +ten minutes, and we thought him dead when he was first fished out, +but finally succeeded in resuscitating him. + +We had been told that the trip would take eight days and had made +our plans accordingly. It took fifteen. Food ran short. Shoes and +clothing gave out. Some of our soldiers were dressed in clouts before +we reached civilization, and crawfishes on which our men could pounce +along the edges of the river were out of luck! + +I shall long remember the shout of delight which our Filipino +companions set up when we finally passed through the last mountain +gap and came out into the open country, but as a matter of fact the +most disagreeable part of our journey lay before us. Up to that time +our progress had been rapid and exciting. Now the current of the river +grew sluggish, and we were largely dependent on it, as our rafts were +too heavy to paddle and the stream was in many places so deep that +we could not pole them. + +We found ourselves in the country of very wild Negritos. Our Tingian +friends had informed us that these people would certainly sneak up +and shoot arrows into our camps at night, but nothing of the sort +occurred. On the contrary, through the liberal use of scarlet cotton +cloth, we were able to establish very friendly relations with the +Negritos encountered, some of whom gave us in exchange deer meat +enough for a feast, which was highly appreciated by all concerned. + +On arrival at Abulúg we were received with great surprise by the +people, who had heard that we had been attacked and killed. There I +developed malaria and contracted bronchitis. + +We made our way up the Cagayan River to Ilagan and thence proceeded +overland to the Kalinga villages in the vicinity of Sili. At the +latter place we had an amusing experience. Knowing that we were +going to Mayoyao, some Ifugaos from that town had joined our party +for protection. A delegation of Sili Kalingas waited on us during the +lunch hour and politely asked to be allowed to take the heads of these +Ifugaos, saying that they needed some fresh heads, and that it would +save a lot of trouble if they could have these, so providentially +brought to them by their respective owners. I explained to them that +we really needed the Ifugaos, and they politely waived their claim +to them in our favour! + +I had been assured that I could ride a horse to Mayoyao in two and +a half days. The trip took five days. Much of the way horses were +worse than useless. Before we reached our destination my bronchitis +had developed into pneumonia and I was very ill. My white companions +on the Apayao trip had long since left me, but at Ilagan I had been +joined by Señor Claraval, who was later elected governor of Isabela, +and by an American school-teacher. Colonel Villamor had stayed with +me. Now all my companions turned back and I continued my journey +accompanied only by Ifugaos and by a young lieutenant of constabulary +named Gallman, who had then just come to the Ifugao country but was +later destined to play a most remarkable part in bringing its warlike +people under control and starting them on the road toward civilization. + +Our route from Mayoyao to Banaue of necessity followed the Ifugao +war trails, which invariably run along the crests of mountains so as +to command a view in both directions. The country through which we +passed was frightfully broken, and I could hardly stand. + +Wherever it was humanly possible to do so, the Ifugaos carried me in +a blanket slung under a pole. They took me up almost perpendicular +ascents in this way, but in some cases the ascents were quite +perpendicular and the descents the same, so that I had to try to +climb, constantly falling as the result of weakness and exhaustion, +in spite of the efforts of the Ifugaos to keep me on my feet. We +reached Dukligan at dusk and there we spent the night. + +In the morning I found myself unable to rise, so took a stiff dose of +whiskey. As this failed to produce the desired result, I took a second +and finally a third. Under the potent influence of the stimulant I +managed to get up. The willing Ifugaos carried me clear to the rice +terraces near Banaue, making a joke of the hard work involved. There +were always a dozen men on the pole, and whenever one set of carriers +grew weary there was a scramble, closely approaching a fight, to +determine who should be allowed next to take their places. + +These jolly people constantly gave a peculiar shout which was +ridiculously like an American college cheer. Ill as I was, I almost +enjoyed the trip, and conceived a great liking for the splendidly +developed men who were seeing me through in such gallant style. Had +it not been for their kindness, I should certainly have left my bones +somewhere between Mayoyao and Banaue. + +They were determined to lug me through the rice terraces, but as +it took at least four men to carry me, and the weight of the five +of us was sufficient to cause the tops of the high terrace walls to +crumble so that I had several narrow escapes from falling down them, +I climbed out of my extemporized hammock, took one more big drink of +raw whiskey and on the strength of it managed to stagger along to +the river, where I was amazed to find a horse awaiting me. Nothing +ever looked better to me than did that somewhat decrepit animal! + +I was absolutely unfit to travel, but having rested at Banaue for +half a day, and realizing that it was imperatively necessary that I +should get to a doctor at once, I made what was then record time to +Banaue, Bontoc, Cervantes and Baguio, and on arrival at the latter +place proceeded to go to bed and be comfortably ill. + +Tramping over the northern Luzón mountains with my lungs partly +solidified left my pumping machinery in such shape that I have never +since been able to make a hard trip on foot, but that is no longer +necessary. Splendid horse trails now make travel through this region +a pleasure. + +When we crossed Apayao only one other white man had achieved the +feat. This was a good missionary priest who in 1741 traversed the +country between Abulúg and one of the North Ilocos towns. + +Lieutenant Gilmore's [18] Filipino captors took him and his companions +across a corner of Apayao, and instead of murdering them in the forest, +as they had been ordered to do, turned them loose. They made their way +across a portion of the territory traversed by us, and had reached +the Abulúg River and were attempting to build rafts when overtaken +by a rescue party of American soldiers. All hands then descended the +river to the town of Abulúg, and proceeded overland to Aparri. + +Colonel Hood, who was commanding the United States forces there, +declined to let them enter the town until they had been provided with +decent clothing, thinking that the sight of American soldiers clad +in clouts might be too much of a shock to the inhabitants! + +In 1907 I was able to land at various points along the then absolutely +unknown Pacific coast of northeastern Luzón, but failed to get +into touch with the Negritos, who constitute its sole inhabitants, +until near Palanan, the northernmost settlement of Filipinos on the +east coast. + +With this trip my exploration work in northern Luzón ended, although +I have ever since made extended annual trips through the non-Christian +territory of the island. + +During the years covered by this hasty narrative, I also made trips +to the territory of the wild men in Mindoro, Palawan, and Mindanao, +as opportunity offered. In Spanish days I had lived among the +Moros and had visited the mountains of Negros and Panay and seen +something of the wild men living there, so that I finally gained a +fairly comprehensive knowledge of the non-Christian tribes of the +Philippines, having seen representatives of nearly all of them, [19] +and lived for longer or shorter periods among all except some of the +more unimportant peoples in the interior of Mindanao. + +As a result of these personal investigations I was able to reduce to +twenty-seven the eighty-two non-Christian tribes said by Blumentritt +to inhabit the Philippines; to determine with reasonable accuracy +the territory occupied by each, and not only to become familiar with +the manners and customs of the people of each important tribe, but +to establish relations of personal friendship with many chiefs and +headmen which have proved invaluable to me in my subsequent work for +the betterment of the non-Christian peoples which has so irritated +certain Filipino politicians who have wished to continue to oppress +and exploit them, or, like Judge Blount, have sought to minimize +their importance. + +The latter individual seems to regard my past efforts to portray +actual conditions among the wild men as a personal grievance, and +has devoted an entire chapter to the shortcomings of "Non-Christian +Worcester." In it he says of me that I impressed him as "an +overbearing bully of the beggar-on-horseback type"; that I am "the +P. T. Barnum of the 'non-Christian tribe' industry"; that "in the +early nineties he [Non-Christian Worcester] had made a trip to the +Philippines, confining himself then mostly to creeping things and +quadrupeds--lizards, alligators, pythons, unusual wild beasts, and +other forms of animal life of the kind much coveted as specimens by +museums and universities," and goes on to tell how it was that "the +reptile-finder ultimately became a statesman." The Honourable Judge +summarizes his views concerning me by stating that he "considers +Professor Worcester the direst calamity that has befallen the +Filipinos since the American occupation, neither war, pestilence, +famine, reconcentration nor tariff-wrought poverty excepted." He +describes the experience on which he bases these statements as follows: +"During all my stay in the Philippines I never did have any official +relations of any sort with the Professor, and only met him, casually, +once, in 1901." + +This latter statement is correct to the best of my recollection. "A man +is known by the company he keeps." I feel that I have been fortunate +in my friends and singularly blessed in my enemies! If I do not in +turn attack the Philippine career of Judge Blount, it is not for lack +of abundant ammunition, but for the reason that I believe that the +American public will be more interested in the truth or falsity of the +allegations concerning more important matters which we respectively +make than in our opinions of each other. + +The Judge seems to have overlooked the fact that invective is not +argument. I leave to him the use of needlessly abusive and insulting +language. He has also apparently overlooked the further fact that +disregard of the truth is apt, sooner or later, to bring its own +peculiar reward. Later I call attention to certain of his misstatements +concerning the wild peoples of the Philippines, and correct them. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +THE GOVERNMENT OF THE NON-CHRISTIAN TRIBES + + +When I visited Benguet in July and August of 1900, I found conditions +there such that the early establishment of civil government seemed +practicable and desirable. The people had taken no part in the +insurrection and nowhere in the province was there any resistance +to American authority. An act providing for the government of the +province and its settlements was accordingly passed on November 23, +1900, Benguet being thus the first province to pass from the control +of the military. + +In drafting this act I was fortunate in having the coöperation of +Mr. Otto Scheerer, a German citizen who had lived for a number of +years among the Benguet Igorots, understood them fully and was most +kindly disposed toward them. + +The Benguet law, in considerably amplified form, was applied to Nueva +Vizcaya when that province was organized on January 28, 1902, and on +April 7, 1902, a carefully considered act entitled "An Act providing +for the Establishment of Local Civil Governments in the Townships +and Settlements of Nueva Vizcaya" was passed by the commission. + +On May 28, 1902, the province of Lepanto-Bontoc was established. It +had three sub-provinces, Amburayan, Lepanto and Bontoc. The two Nueva +Vizcaya acts above mentioned were made applicable to it, and to its +towns, respectively. + +On June 23, 1902, an act was passed organizing the province of Palawan +(Paragua) and extending to it, and to its towns, the more essential +provisions of the two Nueva Vizcaya acts. + +On the same day Mindoro was incorporated with the province of +Marinduque under the regular Provincial Government Act, which was +then being made applicable to all provinces populated chiefly by +Filipinos. As might have been anticipated, it did not prove feasible +properly to administer the affairs of Mindoro under this act, and on +November 10, 1902, a province of Mindoro, including the main island +and numerous neighbouring small islands, was established under a law +embodying the essential provisions of the Nueva Vizcaya Act. Certain +provisions of the Nueva Vizcaya township and settlement act were made +applicable to its municipalities, while on December 4, 1902, other +provisions of the same act were made applicable to the settlements +of the wild Mangyans, who occupy the whole interior of this great +island so far as it is occupied at all. + +The desirability of uniform legislation for the government of the +non-Christian tribes, except those of the Moro Province, soon became +evident, and after much experience in the practical working of the +several acts above mentioned under the conditions presented in the +five provinces, Benguet, Nueva Vizcaya, Lepanto-Bontoc, Palawan and +Mindoro, I drafted the so-called "Special Provincial Government Act," +and "The Township Government Act." The former was made applicable to +the five provinces above mentioned, and the latter to all settlements +of non-Christian tribes throughout the Philippines except those of +the Moro Province. + +On August 20, 1907, an act was passed carving the province of Agusan +out of territory which had previously belonged to Surigao and Misamis, +and organizing it under the Special Provincial Government Act. + +Finally, on August 18, 1908, the Mountain Province was established +in northern Luzón. + +At the same time that the Ifugao territory was separated from +Nueva Vizcaya there was added to the latter province the Ilongot +territory previously divided between Isabela, Tayabas, Nueva Ecija +and Pangasinán. + +Before considering the details of the work accomplished in the +several special government provinces and sub-provinces, I will state +the general principles which have been found useful in bringing the +non-Christian peoples under control and in establishing friendly +relations with them, and will explain how these principles have been +applied in actual practice. + +I have always considered the opening up of adequate lines of +communication an indispensable prerequisite to the control and +development of any country, and this is especially true of the +territory of the wild man. No matter how unruly he may be, he is apt +to become good when one can call on him at 2.30 A.M., since that is +the hour when devils, anítos and asuáng are abroad, and he therefore +wants to stay peaceably in his own house! Again and again we have +built a trail to an ugly, fighting, head-hunting settlement whose +people have at first thrown spears at our road labourers, but later, +when they found that the trail was really going to arrive, have ended +by building one out to meet it. Constabulary garrisons which we have +expected to be forced to establish have often proved unnecessary when +communication was opened up. + +We have had scanty funds for public works in these regions. At the +outset I had to get along with four or five thousand dollars a year +in the territory now included in the Mountain Province and the task +which confronted me seemed utterly hopeless. Nevertheless, I made +a beginning and did the best I could. Now the Mountain Province has +annual receipts of about $85,000, of which some $65,000 are expended +for public works and permanent improvements. This is made possible by +the fact that the salaries and wages of the provincial officers, and +certain contingent expenses as well, are met by direct appropriation +of insular funds. + +Another principle to which I have steadfastly adhered is never to +impose taxes on a wild man until he can be made to realize that direct +good to him will result from their collection. One of several reasons +why the Spaniards never could dominate the hill people of Luzón was +that they insisted at the very outset upon exacting "tribute" from +them. The hill people regarded the money thus contributed as a present +to the man who collected it, and rebelled against making presents to +people who did not treat them well and whom they did not like. + +The most important tax in the special government provinces is the +so-called "public improvement tax." + +The law imposing it does not become operative on the non-Christians +of any given territory without the prior approval of the secretary +of the interior. + +It provides for the collection from every able-bodied adult male +between the ages of 18 and 55 of an annual contribution of two +pesos. [20] The taxpayer is allowed to render ten days of service +upon public works in lieu of cash payment if he prefers, and most +non-Christians do prefer to settle the obligation in this way. All +money derived from this source is expended on public works, going to +pay for supervision, dynamite, powder, caps, fuse, steel, road tools +and the like, as it is seldom necessary to hire labourers. + +We paid for all labour on the first trails constructed, and it was +only when the people themselves learned to comprehend the usefulness +to them of improved means of communication that I made the public +improvement tax applicable to them. + +Except under very special circumstances, I did not allow the +construction of a trail with a grade higher than six per cent. There +are two reasons for this rule. First, the torrential rain-storms of +the tropics rapidly destroy high-grade trails in spite of all efforts +to provide adequate drainage; second, if trails are constructed on +low grades, every shovelful of earth which is thrown is just so much +accomplished toward the eventual opening up of cart roads, carriage +roads or automobile roads, the whole subsequent question involved +being one of widening and surfacing. + +In constructing a trail we first carefully stake what seems the best +possible line between the two points to be connected; then build on +this line a path which is cut into the hill [21] four feet, the dirt +being thrown outward. No special effort is made to give the bank +a proper slope; the Almighty does this in the course of the first +rainy season, when the earth sloughs off on to the trail in those +places where it stands too steeply. It is then promptly thrown off +the road-bed while still loose, and much hard pick and shovel work and +many "pop shots" are thus saved. Only the most necessary drainage is +provided before the first rainy season, for the reason that experience +has shown that what seem dry beds of streams and look as if they would +be converted into raging torrents during the rainy season sometimes +then hardly carry water enough to wash one's face in; while, on the +other hand, destructive torrents come charging down the crests of +hogbacks in places where one would least expect them, and cut out +the trail completely where they strike it. With the first rain the +maintenance gangs get to work, noting where drainage is especially +needed and providing it, throwing off loose earth and stones when +slides occur, and widening the trail or cutting off sharp corners +when not otherwise engaged. + +American and Filipino road foremen were at first used for trail +construction, but the Igorots, Ifugaos and Kalingas, all of whom +are very intelligent people, soon learned to serve as foremen. I had +Ifugaos who ran about clad in clouts only, but were nevertheless quite +capable of carrying a road or trail across the face of a precipice, +doing all of the powder work. + +The wild men soon learn to take great pride in their trails, and +usually keep them in an excellent state of repair. It is a remarkable +fact that on the thousand miles of road and trail which have been +constructed since the American occupation in the Mountain Province +and Nueva Vizcaya no one has as yet been murdered. In the wildest +regions there has been an understanding from the outset that people +travelling over government roads were to be let alone! + +The establishment of government, and of a decent state of public +order, have gone hand in hand with the opening up of lines of +communication. Wherever practicable it is highly desirable to police +the wild man's country with wild men, and this has proved far easier +than was anticipated. The Bontoc Igorots make good, and the Ifugaos +most excellent, constabulary soldiers. They are faithful, efficient, +absolutely loyal and implicitly obedient. The Ifugaos are born +riflemen, and their carbine practice is little short of marvellous when +one considers their very limited experience. Natural fighters as they +are, the people of these two tribes make the best of soldiers. They are +absolutely fearless, and fight much as do the Ghurkas of India. Benguet +Igorots and Kalingas are now being enlisted as constabulary soldiers, +and from the very outset the people of many of the non-Christian tribes +of the islands have been used as policemen in their own territory. + +The annual inspection trip which the secretary of the interior is +required by law to make to every province organized under the special +provincial government act has become very important in the control +and advancement of the non-Christian tribes. + +It is now customary to hold fiestas, or as they are locally designated, +cañaos, at central points, to which are invited great numbers of +the wild people from the neighbouring country. At the outset these +gatherings served to bring together men who had hardly seen each other +except over the tops of their shields when lances were flying. They +were all friendly with me, but they were by no means friendly with +each other, and trouble threatened on various occasions. Within the +space of thirty seconds I have seen a couple of thousand men draw +their war knives and snatch up their lances, and have feared that a +record killing was about to occur, but in the end the excited warriors +always quieted down. + +We took advantage of these great gatherings to bring about the +settlement of old difficulties between hostile towns and they have +thus proved an important factor in the establishment of peace and +order throughout the wild man's territory. Furthermore, they afford +excellent opportunity to discuss past events and future plans under the +most favourable conditions. I well remember the occasion on which the +Ifugao headman of Quiangan requested that the public improvement tax +be imposed upon them and their fellow tribesmen. There was at that +time but one decent trail in this sub-province. It had been built +by paid labour. Some of the headmen who had gone to Bontoc with me +had seen excellent trails there and had asked why Ifugao could not +have some just as good. I had replied that the Bontoc Igorots were +more civilized than the Ifugaos and had come so to appreciate the +benefit of trails that they were willing to build them without being +paid for their labour. Vehement exception was taken to my contention +that the Bontoc Igorots were further advanced than the Ifugaos. The +latter insisted that they were much better men than the Igorots, and +could and would build better trails. I explained to them in detail +the practical working of the public improvement tax, and asked if +they would be willing to have this contribution imposed on them. They +insisted that they wanted it, and I finally gave it to them, although +I doubted their ability to bring their people into line. On the +following day there was a precisely similar occurrence at Banaue. I +soon found that I had underrated the influence of the headmen. That +year twenty thousand Ifugaos worked out their road tax. The following +year twenty-four thousand men rendered the prescribed ten days' +service; and the number has steadily increased year by year ever since, +with the result that the sub-province is crisscrossed with trails, +many of which are already wide enough for considerable distances to +permit the passage of automobiles if they could be brought there, +while the main line of communication with Bontoc on the one hand and +the capital of Nueva Vizcaya on the other is open for cart travel +from the western to the eastern boundary of the sub-province. + +At many of the cañaos we have athletic contests, which the wild +men, with their splendid physical development, greatly enjoy. It +is much better for two hostile towns to settle their differences +by a tug-of-war, or a wrestling match, than by fighting over them, +and they are now often quite willing to adopt these more pacific +means provided the audience is sufficiently large and enthusiastic, +for the average wild man has a very human love of playing to the +gallery. He takes to the athletic contests of the American like a +duck to the water, and soon learns to excel in them. No sooner is a +cañao over than those who have taken part in it begin to look forward +to the next one, and the small expense involved is repaid a thousand +fold in the good feeling produced. + +In the course of a year the people of each of the non-Christian tribes +do many things for us simply because we want them to, and it seems +only fair that we should give them at least one opportunity during +the same period to have a good time in their own way. + +The personal equation is of vital importance in dealing with wild +men. They know nothing of laws or policies, but they understand +individuals uncommonly well. + +The men in immediate control of them must be absolutely fearless, +must make good every promise or threat, must never punish except in +case of deliberate wrong-doing committed in spite of warning duly +given, and must, when punishment is thus made necessary, inflict it +sternly but not in anger. The wild man thus dealt with is likely to +call quits when he has had enough, and if he promises to behave must +be treated like a man of his word, which he usually is. + +As a result of such just, firm and kindly treatment governors and +lieutenant-governors soon find themselves endowed by their people +with powers far in excess of those conferred on them by law. They are +ex officio justices of the peace, but are just as apt to be asked to +settle a head-hunting feud between towns, which has caused a dozen +bloody murders, as a quarrel growing out of the joint ownership of +a pig. They are the law and the prophets, and no appeals are taken +from any just decisions which they may make, nor is their authority +questioned. On the contrary, their people usually object when sent +to the courts, as is of course often necessary. + +These officers are always on the watch for opportunities to get the +people of hostile towns to swap head-axes, or dance together, and so +become friends. + +When one town has been in the very act of raiding another the timely +appearance of an unarmed Apo [22] has sufficed to shame the culprits +into laying down their arms and going home without them. + +No one who has not seen for himself can appreciate the courage, +tact and patience of the handful of Americans who have not only +brought under control the wildest tribes of the Philippines, but have +established the most friendly relations with them. + +Having now outlined in a general way the principles which have been +followed in the work for the non-Christian tribes of the special +government provinces, I will set forth some of the more important +results which have been obtained. + +In Benguet, which under the Spanish régime was organized +as a comandancia, [23] there dwell a kindly, industrious, +self-respecting, silent tribe of agriculturists known as the Benguet +Igorots. Governmental control was established over them by the +Spaniards. They have never indulged in head-hunting nor caused any +serious disturbance of public order, but have persistently refused +to give up their ancient religious beliefs, and for this reason were +not allowed by the Spaniards to obtain education, so that, with rare +individual exceptions, they were completely illiterate. When I first +visited their country I found the men clad in clouts, supplemented in +the case of the more wealthy by cotton blankets. The women usually +wore both skirts and upper garments, and bound towels around their +heads for turbans. + +The Benguet Igorots were formerly compelled to trade for the +necessaries of life in the lowlands of the neighbouring province of +Union, where they were shamelessly exploited by the Filipinos. They +had been obliged by the Spaniards to pay taxes for which they received +no adequate return. They had furthermore been roughly treated by the +Insurgents during the war, and were extremely fearful and timid. Men +ran away at my approach. Women overtaken unexpectedly on the trail +leaped down the steep mountain sides, squatting where they first +struck the ground and covering their faces with their hands. + +It proved a simple matter to establish friendly and helpful relations +with these simple and gentle people. Fortunately for them Mr. Otto +Scheerer, who had lived among them for years, helped organize their +settlements. Some of them were still so wild that they ran away at +his approach, sitting up on the high mountain sides and watching him +from a distance, but declining to come down. Patience, perseverance +and kindness soon overcame their fears, and local governments were +established in the several settlements. + +Travel through Benguet was then dangerous and difficult because of the +condition of the trails, which were mere footpaths. None of the streams +were bridged. Work was promptly begun upon a trail system, and now +one can ride a large horse rapidly to every settlement of importance. + +At first the people had nothing to sell, and no money with which to +buy what they needed. From time to time they packed coffee and Irish +potatoes down to the lowlands and traded them for salt, cloth and +steel, which they needed, and for vino, which was poison to them. + +We have protected them in their property rights and encouraged them +to increase their agricultural holdings. As they were too ignorant to +understand and exercise their right to obtain free patent to small +tracts of land which they had long occupied and cultivated, I sent +out a special survey party to help them make out their applications +in due form. + +The gradual development of Baguio, first as a health resort and later +as the summer capital, afforded them an ever increasing market for +their products; while trail construction, the opening of the Benguet +Road and the erection of buildings at Baguio made it possible for every +one desiring it to secure remunerative employment. In the old Spanish +days they had been forced to build trails without compensation, and +to feed themselves while doing it. When they realized that the new +régime had come to stay, their gratitude knew no bounds. + +For a time they could not be persuaded to try the white man's +medicines, but ultimately the wife of the most important chief +in the province, who was dying of dysentery, was persuaded to let +Dr. J. B. Thomas, a very competent American government physician, treat +her case. She recovered, and the news spread far and wide. After that +Igorots came in constantly increasing numbers to the hospital which +had meanwhile been established, and to-day their sick and injured +are often carried to it from a distance of fifty miles or more. + +Schools were soon established in several important settlements. The +boys proved apt pupils. At the outset parents would not allow their +girls to attend. Gradually the prejudice against sending them to +school was overcome, and at three different places girls are now +given instruction in English and in practical industrial work. + +The children learn English readily and the old folks pick it +up from them. Mrs. Alice M. Kelly, who started the first Igorot +school, taught her boys respectfully to salute her in the morning, +and shortly thereafter American travellers over the Benguet trails +were addressed by Igorots with the cheerful greeting, "Good morning, +Mrs. Kelly." Their feelings were doubtless identical with those of the +traveller in Japan to whom a beginning student of book English said, +"Good morning, Sir, or Madam, as the case may be!" + +The Benguet Igorots have responded quickly to the opportunities +afforded them, and several serious dangers which have threatened +their progress have been met and overcome. + +The Filipino peoples will never become victims of alcoholism. They +drink in moderation, but seldom become intoxicated. The non-Christian +peoples, on the contrary, never lose an opportunity to get +boiling drunk. All of them make fermented alcoholic drinks of their +own. Fortunately most of these beverages are comparatively mild and +harmless; but if a hill man can get hold of bad vino or worse whiskey +he will get so drunk that he thinks he has to hang on to the grass +in order to lie on the ground. + +The Filipinos had long taken advantage of this weakness of the +Benguet-Lepanto Igorots to debauch them with vino and cheat them +while they were intoxicated. I regret to say that since the American +occupation some white men who wanted them as labourers have used liquor +as a bait. Because of these conditions, and of more or less similar +ones throughout the rest of the wild man's territory, I drafted +and secured the passage of an act making it a criminal offence to +sell or give white man's liquor to a wild man, or for such a man to +drink such liquor or have it in his possession. This law has been very +successfully enforced. Although Benguet-Lepanto Igorots have sometimes +succeeded in purchasing liquor at Baguio or Cervantes, their use of +strong alcoholic stimulants has steadily decreased, and throughout much +of the wild man's territory strong drink is absolutely unobtainable. + +The Benguet Igorots have an abiding love for gambling, and some of +them learned new tricks, which did them no good, through contact with +Filipinos when working on the Benguet Road. Strict enforcement of the +law against gambling has, however, prevented any considerable spread +of this evil. + +One of the most interesting results thus far obtained is the arousing +of a strong commercial instinct among them. It was literally true +at the outset that one could not buy from them an egg, a chicken or +a basket of camotes, much less a pig or a cow. Now special market +buildings have been erected for them at Baguio, and they are thronged +on Sundays. The Igorots have money and spend it wisely. They also +have farm products to sell, know what they are worth, and insist on +getting full value for them. Among other things there may be mentioned +sleek cattle, the best fat hogs grown in the Philippines, chickens, +eggs, cabbages, Irish potatoes, peas, beans, tomatoes, squashes, +camotes and strawberries. + +There have been some interesting episodes in connection with the +work for the Benguet Igorots. At one time it became necessary for the +provincial governor, Wm. F. Pack, to undergo a severe and dangerous +surgical operation. Word spread through Benguet that the doctors +were going to cut him to pieces. Palasi, an old Igorot chief of Atok, +gathered his cohorts and came in hot haste to Baguio to stop it. He +was assured by Governor Pack himself that the cutting was to be done +with his consent, but still entertained some doubts about the matter +and asked to be allowed to be present. His request was granted. There +was then no operating room in Baguio, so one was extemporized in the +governor's house. He walked out to the operating table, and Palasi, +who was standing by, once more asked him if he was to be cut up with +his own consent, offering to stop the performance even then if the +governor so wished! + +On March 30, 1913, I sat at a luncheon given at Trinidad, Benguet, +in honour of former Lieutenant-Governor E. A. Eckman, who had just +been promoted to the governorship of the Mountain Province. At the +long tables were seated a representative gathering of decently clad +Benguet Igorot head-men, the hosts of the occasion. They understood +the use of knives, forks and spoons. At the close of the luncheon they +presented Governor Eckman with a beautiful silver cup. The presentation +speech was made by an Igorot named Juan Cariño, who had been shot and +badly wounded by American soldiers from whom he foolishly endeavoured +to escape in 1900! + +Fortunately old Juan was not killed. Like every other Igorot in Benguet +he is to-day a good friend of the Americans. The people of his tribe +are now sober, industrious, cheerful, contented and prosperous. As +time passes they keep cleaner, wear more and better clothes and build +better houses. In this case, at least, a primitive people has come +in close contact with the white man and has profited by it. + +Lepanto, like Benguet, was a comandancia in the Spanish days. Its +Igorot inhabitants are fellow-tribesmen of their Benguet neighbours, +and like them are, and have long been, peaceful agriculturists, +raising camotes, rice, coffee and cattle. They also mine gold and +copper. In the extreme southeastern and the extreme northern parts +of Lepanto the people are wilder and less law-abiding than those of +Benguet, and some of them are prone to indulge in cattle stealing. + +This subprovince has one Ilocano town, Cervantes, which was made the +capital of the province of Lepanto-Bontoc. At the outset communication +with the coast was maintained over a very bad horse-trail crossing the +coast range at Tilad Pass. It zigzagged up one slope of the mountains +and down the other on a grade such as to make travel over it very +difficult. Furthermore, after reaching the lowlands on the west side +of the range, it crossed a river some fourteen times. During the rainy +season there were weeks at a time during which this stream could not +be forded. In the early days of the American occupation a good wagon +road was built from the coast to the point where the trail began, +and the trail itself was put in the best possible condition. It was +subsequently well maintained, but after the establishment of a Filipino +provincial government in South Ilocos the wagon road was allowed +to fall into such a state of neglect that travel over it, even for +persons on horseback, became impossible during wet weather. Mr. Kane, +the supervisor of the Mountain Province, was nearly drowned in mud +when trying to ride over it, being thrown from his horse into soft +ooze so deep that his hands did not reach bottom, and had it not +been for a timely rescue by Filipinos who chanced to be passing, +he would certainly have lost his life. + +Although forty or fifty thousand pesos' worth of supplies were annually +sent into the mountain country by the people of South Ilocos over this +trail, that province refused to spend a peso in keeping the connecting +road up. The constantly growing trade of the mountain country made it, +in my opinion, necessary that it should have a good outlet to the +coast, and a route for a road was surveyed from Cervantes directly +west over the Malaya range, traversing the subprovince of Amburayan +from east to west and coming out at the municipality of Tagudin. In +order to prevent the occurrence of a state of affairs such as had +rendered the Tilad Pass trail practically useless during much of +the rainy season, this Ilocano town was annexed to Lepanto-Bontoc, +thus giving the province a route to the coast within the limits of +its own territory. + +The people of Tagudin were at first inclined to protest against +annexation to the country of the non-Christians, but soon discovered +that the change was greatly to their advantage. Their town had long +been threatened with destruction by the encroachment of the Amburayan +River, and they had appealed in vain to South Ilocos for help. The +Mountain Province gave them assistance in the construction of a +protecting wall which held the river within bounds and adequately +safeguarded the town. Their business rapidly increased when Tagudin +became the western terminus of an important trade route. They soon +began to take an active interest in improving local conditions, and +their municipality was gradually changed from a dirty, down-at-the-heel +place to a neat, clean, sanitary town in which its people could take +justifiable pride. An old feud which had long separated the leading +men into two parties so bitterly hostile to each other that the mere +fact of advocacy of a given measure by one of them was sufficient to +cause determined opposition to it by the other, died out, and Tagudin +is to-day quite a model place in comparison with the general run of +Filipino towns. + +The opening up of transportation lines has placed the people of +Lepanto within much easier reach of a market for their rice, coffee +and cattle. The successful combating of cattle disease by the Bureau +of Agriculture has been a great boon to them, as has the suppression of +the liquor traffic. Schools have been established in a number of their +settlements. Last, but by no means least, their lives are no longer +endangered by the head-hunting Bontoc Igorots. They are now a peaceful, +prosperous people, and are progressing steadily in civilization. + +In Spanish days there was a comandancia known as Amburayan wedged in +between the provinces of La Union and Ilocos Sur. After the American +occupation this territory was at first organized as a part of Ilocos +Sur, but it soon became necessary to make of it a separate subprovince +and add it to Lepanto-Bontoc, to the end that its people might be +adequately protected. In contact on two sides with Christian Filipinos, +they were shamefully maltreated and oppressed, and they appealed to +me for help. + +Filipinos were graciously permitting them to cut firewood and lumber +in the public forests, and taking the lion's share of the products +in return for their consent! They were debauching the Igorots with +vino. I remember particularly the case of one unfortunate individual +who owned five carabaos, two of which got to fighting. As usually +happens with these animals, the one that was whipped ran away, and +the victor blindly pursued it. Both charged over a precipice and broke +their legs. The owner killed them, dressed them, and divided the meat +among his family and friends. He was arrested, given a mock trial for +killing carabaos without a license, and fined three carabaos--all he +had left--which of course went to his persecutors! + +Instances of this sort of thing could be indefinitely multiplied. + +Amburayan was freed from the vino traffic soon after it became a +subprovince of Lepanto-Bontoc. This alone was a great boon to its +Igorot inhabitants, who little by little were helped to assert +their rights as they gained greater confidence in their American +lieutenant-governor and learned to go to him freely with their +troubles. They had so long been helpless and hopeless that it was some +time before they could be convinced that a new day had dawned for them. + +And now let us betake ourselves to the country of the real wild man, +and consider briefly past and present conditions in the subprovince +of Ifugao. + +The people of the tribe known as Ifugaos are a remarkable lot. Their +country is almost entirely made up of exceptionally steep mountain +sides with hardly a naturally level piece of ground in it. On almost +precipitous slopes they have built wonderful series of irrigated rice +terraces held in position by stone retaining walls which have been laid +without mortar or cementing material of any kind, and are so skilfully +constructed that they withstand even the terrific rains which sometimes +occur during typhoons. Accurate rainfall statistics for Ifugao are not +obtainable, but, as we have seen, in the neighbouring subprovince of +Benguet, there is of record a period of twenty-four hours during which +forty-nine and nine tenths inches of rain fell! Under such conditions +as this, exceptionally good work is necessary to prevent structures of +any sort built on mountain sides from sliding into the valleys below. + +Up to the time of the American occupation the Ifugaos had always +been inveterate head-hunters. Unlike the Bontoc Igorots, who depend +on large numbers of fighting men for protection, they live in small +villages usually placed in inaccessible spots which can be reached +only by ascending the almost perpendicular rice-terrace walls. + +Not only were the people of this tribe then constantly fighting among +themselves, but they from time to time raided the Bontoc country or +that of the Kalingas, and they persistently victimized the people of +Nueva Vizcaya, making travel so unsafe on the main road between Nueva +Vizcaya and Isabela that the Spaniards found it necessary to maintain +several garrisons along it, and forbade private persons to pass over +it without a military escort. Even so, parties of travellers were cut +down from time to time, the savages making their attacks at the noon +hour when Spanish soldiers had a way of going to sleep beside the road. + +I have already narrated my earliest experiences in this subprovince, +which occurred in 1903, and have called attention to the fact that +when I returned in 1905 I was able to traverse it from east to west +without the slightest danger. This condition of affairs was due to the +efforts of Governor Louis G. Knight, supplemented by those of Captain +L. E. Case of the Philippine constabulary, who had established his +headquarters at Banaue and had exercised a strong influence over his +unruly constituents. + +Perhaps I ought to change my statement and say that order was +established by Captain Case, assisted by Governor Knight. Captain Case +was very fortunate in his dealings with the Ifugaos. He was a kindly +man, who won their friendship at the outset. He resorted to stern +measures only when such measures were so imperatively necessary that +the Ifugaos themselves fully recognized the justice of employing them. + +On my trip through the Ifugao country in 1906 I was accompanied from +Mayoyao to Banaue by Lieutenant Jeff D. Gallman, who had come to the +former place to meet me. This young man had been especially selected +by Colonel Rivers, of the Philippine constabulary, to be trained for +work among the Ifugaos. Never was a selection more fortunate. When +Captain Case injured himself by over-exertion in climbing a steep, +terraced mountain side in the hot sun, and had to return to the United +States for recuperation, Gallman took up his work and devoted himself +most effectively to the task of bringing the Ifugaos under control, +protecting them, and improving their conditions. He was a dead shot +with revolver and carbine; was absolutely fearless; was of a kindly, +cheerful disposition, and soon not only won their respect but gained +their love. + +As the years went by, the Ifugaos came to regard him as but little +less than a god. He had extraordinary success in training them +for service as constabulary soldiers. On the occasion of the first +general rifle competition between all the constabulary organizations +in northern Luzón ten Ifugao soldiers were sent to the lowlands to +participate. Gallman, who had trained them, was travelling with me at +the time, so they were taken down by a comparatively inexperienced +officer who, instead of selecting the best ten men from among the +ninety possible candidates, took ten from the twenty who happened to +be stationed at Mayoyao. + +The hot climate of the lowlands troubled them. The Filipino +constabulary soldiers made fun of them because they wore no trousers, +and bedevilled them in various ways. The best shot among them lost his +nerve in consequence. Nevertheless, when the competition was over they +ranked Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10, respectively, an Ilocano +soldier from the lowlands being tied with the last man for tenth place! + +Ifugao soldiers are submissive to discipline, obey orders implicitly, +and are loyal and brave to a fault. When on duty they attend strictly +to business. No prisoner ever yet escaped from one of them. This is +more than can be said of the Bontoc Igorots. It is of record that on +one occasion when a prisoner guarded by a raw recruit of the latter +tribe made a break for liberty, the recruit followed him, firing +as he ran. After missing the fleeing man five times, he threw his +carbine at him, lance-fashion, and speared him with the bayonet! So +long as an Ifugao has a cartridge in his magazine he does not indulge +in bayonet practice. + +The same general policy was pursued in Ifugao which had been found +so effective elsewhere. Lines of communication were opened up; +after a short time criminals were for the most part apprehended and +turned in by the head-men themselves; whenever possible, hostile +towns were left to sulk until they had learned from the experience +of their neighbours that there was nothing to be afraid of or to +complain about, and voluntarily came into the fold; head-hunting was +suppressed with a heavy hand, but only after due warning as to what +the fate of transgressors would be. It is now some six years since a +head has been taken in this region. Travel not only in Nueva Vizcaya +but in Ifugao itself is at present absolutely safe, and general +conditions as to law and order are better than those which prevail +in many American communities. The people have been assisted in the +construction of irrigation ditches, and little by little are being +persuaded to come down from their steep and overpopulated mountain +sides to the neighbouring fertile, level vacant plains. They are loyal +and friendly to a marked degree, and I experience no greater pleasure +than that which I derive from travelling through their country. + +Credit for this happy result is chiefly due to the efforts of Jeff +D. Gallman, who speedily rose to be a captain in the constabulary and +at an early date was made lieutenant-governor of Ifugao. He has done +a monumental work for civilization in the Philippines. + +The Kalinga country was at the outset administered as a +part of Bontoc. This made that subprovince so large that one +lieutenant-governor could not hope satisfactorily to cover it, +especially as there were no good lines of communication. Although a +constabulary garrison was early stationed at the town of Lubuagan, +comparatively little progress was made in bringing the Kalingas under +effective control until their territory was made a separate subprovince +of the Mountain Province and Lieutenant-Governor Walter F. Hale, +of Amburayan, was transferred to it as its lieutenant-governor. + +Lieutenant-Governor Hale has now been in the special government +service longer than any other man who remains in it, and has an +admirable record for quiet efficiency. Like Gallman, he is a man with +chilled-steel nerve, and he needed it in the early days in Kalinga +where the people, who had been allowed to run wild too long, did not +take as kindly to the establishment of governmental control as had +the Bontoc Igorots and the Ifugaos. The Kalingas are a fine lot of +head-hunting savages, physically magnificently developed, mentally +acute, but naturally very wild. Hale soon made friends with many of +the local chiefs, and thereafter when he received invitations from +outlying rancherias to come over and have his head taken would quietly +accept to the extent of setting out accompanied by a few soldiers, +or none at all, and talking the matter over with the people who had +made the threat! In the end they always decided that he was too good +a man to kill. + +Here, as in Ifugao, we felt our way, avoiding trouble with hostile +settlements as long as it was possible to do so. And here, as in +Bontoc and Ifugao, head-hunting was abolished and law and order +were established practically without killing. In a few instances +settlements which absolutely refused to come into the fold, and +persisted in raiding and killing in the territory of people who +had already become friendly, were given severe lessons, which they +invariably took in good part. + +One of the pleasant things about dealing with people like the Kalingas +and the Ifugaos is their manliness when they fight. They let one know, +so plainly that there can be no mistake about it, whether they are +friendly or hostile, and even if thoroughly whipped they bear no ill +will provided they know that they deserve a whipping, but come calmly +walking into camp to tell you that they have had enough and are going +to be good. And they keep their promises. + +In Kalinga, as elsewhere throughout the Mountain Province outside of +Apayao, an admirable trail system has now been opened up and travel +is not only safe but comfortable. The people are most friendly and +loyal, and while head-hunting has not completely disappeared, cases +of it are extremely rare and occur only in the most remote parts of +the subprovince. + +Apayao has proved a hard nut to crack. As previously stated, I made +a trip across this subprovince from west to east in 1906, without +encountering any hostility whatsoever. Unfortunately, the officer +who commanded my escort saw fit to go blundering back there with a +constabulary command a few weeks later. He managed to get into a fight +and was whipped and chased out of the country. A so-called punitive +expedition was then sent in, which came near meeting a similar fate, +but finally withdrew in fairly good order after having inflicted +slight damage on the town of Guennéd, the people of which made the +original attack. + +Apayao was at first organized as a subprovince of Cagayan, and +Colonel Blas Villamor, who had accompanied me on my two longest +exploration trips through northern Luzón, was appointed its +lieutenant-governor. The attitude of the provincial officials of +Cagayan toward the difficult task which confronted them in Apayao was +most unsatisfactory. Indeed, the governor of that province informed me +that in his opinion the best way to settle the Apayao problem was to +kill all of the inhabitants. As Colonel Villamor reported that there +were some fifty-three thousand of them [24] this procedure would have +presented practical, as well as moral, difficulties! I myself was of +the opinion that the Apayao people, who proved to be wild Tingians, +were altogether too good to kill. + +Colonel Villamor was a native of Abra, where approximately half the +population is made up of Tingians who have attained to a high degree +of civilization. He was already quite familiar with the dialect +spoken by these people, and speedily learned the language of their +wild brethren in Apayao, many of whom understood Ilocano, which was +his native tongue. + +At the outset he made excellent progress in bringing his people +under control. The task was undoubtedly more difficult than that +in any other subprovince of the Mountain Province, both because the +Spaniards had failed to penetrate into this region, leaving the people +untouched by civilization up to the time of the American occupation, +and for the further reason that their head-hunting is connected with +religious beliefs. They think that when a man dies his prospect for a +good time in the future world is bad unless the members of his family +take a head within six months, and this idea has a tendency to keep +society in a somewhat disturbed condition. + +For reasons which I have never been able fully to fathom, Villamor's +progress in establishing governmental control grew steadily slower as +time went by, and ultimately came to a standstill. During my absence +from the islands it was deemed best to accept his resignation, for +reasons not immediately connected with his administration of the +affairs of his subprovince. Before surrendering his post he caused +word to be spread among the Tingians that the kindly policy which +had thus far been pursued in dealing with them was to be superseded +by one of severity, greatly alarming them, and seriously retarding +work which he had quite auspiciously begun. There was absolutely no +justification for his statements, as no one thought for a moment of +dealing with the Apayao Tingians in a fashion differing at all from +that invariably followed in our relations with non-Christians in the +special government provinces. + +Mr. Norman G. Connor was appointed to succeed Señor +Villamor. Mr. Connor had been acting governor of Nueva Vizcaya and +had rendered very satisfactory service. He has made material progress +in establishing control over the people of Apayao, where the work +of trail construction has now begun. At the outset communication +was maintained by boats on the Abulúg River and its branches, near +which most of the wild Tingian villages are situated, but it is a +dangerous stream to navigate, especially when in flood, and lines of +land communication must therefore be opened up. + +We found the subprovince of Bontoc peopled by a tribe of wild, warlike, +head-hunting Igorots over whom the Spaniards had never been able to +establish effective control. At the time of the American occupation +their numerous settlements were constantly at war with each other, +and with the Kalingas and the Ifugaos as well. + +The Bontoc Igorots build large towns and depend on the numbers of their +hardy fighting men for protection. Each town formerly kept a profit and +loss account of heads with every town of its enemies. Physically these +people are splendid men, and we soon found that they were usually both +brave and fair in their fighting, formally making and breaking peace, +and serving due notice on their enemies before attacking. + +If a small town felt itself aggrieved by a big one, it would send +a messenger to say, "You have more fighting men than we have, but +they are no good! Pick fifteen of the best from your thousand and +send them to a certain place at a certain time to meet fifteen real +fighting men selected from among our five hundred." At the appointed +time the thirty warriors would meet in deadly combat, while their +fellow-townsmen looked on. + +The Bontoc Igorots are naturally truthful and honest, and they soon +became most friendly, gladly bringing many of their troubles to their +lieutenant-governor for settlement. Fortunately, head-accounts between +different towns can be adjusted by proper payments made by those who +hold the highest scores. We took advantage of this fact to establish +peace between the towns, and when once established it was, as a rule, +religiously kept. + +Trail construction was promptly inaugurated and has been steadily +pushed. Most of the towns have thus been made readily accessible. + +When friendly relations had been established, and we were in a position +to back orders with force if necessary, settlement after settlement +was warned that head-hunting must cease and was further informed as to +what would happen if the mandate was disobeyed. Certain dare-devils +promptly broke over, partly, I fancy, to see what would happen, +and partly, no doubt, because they found the influence of tribal +customs too strong to resist. We made our warnings come true. One +settlement required three bitter lessons. For others a single mild +one sufficed. The majority of the towns were content to get their +experience vicariously. We were amazed at our own success in stopping +this horrible practice. At the outset we burned towns if their people +engaged in head-hunting. [25] The Igorots recognized the justice of +this action because the whole town was invariably cognizant of, and +party to, every head-hunting raid made by any of its people. Later, +when head-hunting became comparatively rare, we began to deal with +the individuals concerned. They were arrested, brought before the +courts, and tried like any other criminals. To-day head-hunting in +Bontoc is almost unknown. When it does occur the people themselves +usually capture and turn over the culprits. + +The respect of the Bontoc Igorots for the law is extraordinary. In +1910 a Constabulary soldier shot the presidente of Tinglayan without +just cause. The people of the place rushed to arms, meaning to kill +the soldier. Chief Agpad, assisted by the son of the murdered man, +took station before the door of the house in which the assailant had +sought refuge, and the two stood off their fellow-townsmen, saying +that the government had promised to kill evil-doers and that this +man must be turned over to the government to be killed! When I passed +through their town a few weeks later, with Governor-General Forbes, +they begged to have him killed promptly. + +In the early days I myself had a rather stormy clash with some of the +Bontoc Igorots. During Aguinaldo's long flight he had passed through +half a dozen of their towns, as had the American soldiers who pursued +him. The Igorots did not like this, so tore out the trail to Ifugao, +between Bontoc and Samoqui, and built high-walled rice paddies where +it had been, with the result that persons making the journey had to +use the river bed for several miles. This was all very well if the +river was low, but was no joke if it chanced to be in flood. + +I ordered that the trail be rebuilt, the Igorots to be paid for their +work, and for the resulting damage to their rice fields, and this +was done. + +The lieutenant-governor was a weak man, and the Igorots, after getting +their money, tore the trail out again and rebuilt their stone terrace +walls across the place where it had been, just to see what he would +do about it. He did nothing. I found things in this condition when +I arrived, and was obliged to come down the river bed at dusk, with +the result that my horse and I took several impromptu baths. + +The Samoqui warriors came dancing out to meet me, playing their gansas +[26] and making a grand hullabaloo. Summoning my sternest expression, +I refused to shake hands with them, telling them to go home and to +report at Bontoc at nine the following morning. + +The fighting men of the town of Bontoc met me on the other side of +the river, and I served them the same way. The official under whose +nose they had destroyed the trail was greatly alarmed, and assured me +that if I ordered it rebuilt, as I told him I would do, there would +be a fight, and the Igorots would cut the heads off all the Americans +in town, including the ladies. He added, "Think how the ladies would +look without any heads!" While this was a disquieting reflection, +I remained obdurate. + +At the appointed hour the Samoqui and Bontoc men appeared, armed with +head-axes and lances. I asked them if they would rebuild that trail, +and they said no! I told them that if they did not I would cut their +main irrigating ditch and put a constabulary guard on it to see that +it was not repaired until they changed their minds. This might have +meant the loss of their rice crop. They knew me quite as well as +they did their lieutenant-governor, and promptly rebuilt the trail +for nothing, as I told them they must. + +When the Mountain Province was established, the town of Bontoc +was made the capital, as Cervantes, which had been the capital of +Lepanto-Bontoc, was hot, had proved unhealthful, and was not centrally +situated. Bontoc has a cool, delightful climate, is near the geographic +center of the province, and from it radiates a road and trail system +of constantly increasing importance. Things have moved rapidly there +since the status of the place was changed. + +To-day the town has modern public buildings of brick and stone. The +bricks have been made, burned and laid by Igorots. Much of the stone +has been cut and laid by Igorots. The mortar used has been mixed +by Igorots with lime burned by Igorots. Some of the carpenter work +has been done by Igorots. There is a modern hospital to which the +Igorots flock. There are schools in which Igorot boys and girls +learn the English language, and become adept in the practice of +useful industries. + +Perhaps the most unique of the Bontoc institutions is the provincial +jail. Years ago I discovered to my horror that a two-year sentence +to Bilibid, the insular penitentiary, was a death sentence for a +hill-man! Not all who were sent there died, but the average term +of life of men from the hills was two years only, while those who +served out their sentences and returned to their mountain homes had +invariably become adepts in crime as the result of prolonged contact +with vicious Filipinos. I promptly drafted an act providing for +the establishment at Bontoc of a penitentiary where all prisoners +from the highlands should be confined, and the commission passed +it. The prison has been made a real educational institution. Most +of its inmates have been guilty of crimes of violence, committed in +accordance with tribal customs, and are not vicious at heart. The +jail building is perfectly sanitary. Its occupants are required to +keep their persons clean and their quarters both clean and in perfect +order. They live amid healthful surroundings and receive abundant and +nourishing food. They are taught useful trades and are compelled to +work hard, which they do not in the least mind, as industry is the +rule in the mountain country. They usually leave the jail better men +than when they entered it, and thereafter, instead of being a menace +to law and order, assist in their enforcement and maintenance. + +We do odd things with some of these prisoners. Last year we paroled +a man from Ifugao who had a score of heads to his credit. Learning +that his people believed him to be dead and were greatly troubled, +we told him to go home, show himself to them, tell them how he was +treated in jail, and come back. He did it! + +Proof of the kindliness of the relations which have existed with the +Bontoc Igorots is found in the fact that no member of this tribe has +ever yet turned his hand against an American. On the contrary, there +are not a few Americans who owe their lives to Igorots. Agpad, of +Tinglayan, has twice dived into rivers swollen by typhoons and rescued +Americans who had sunk for the last time beneath the rushing, muddy +waters, while their fellow-countrymen stood by paralyzed with fear. + +Last year there occurred an event of profound significance. In +the past, American officials have often worked hard for days to get +representatives of two hostile towns to dance together, for this would +make friends of them. On the occasion in question there had gathered +at Bontoc to meet me representatives from every settlement in the +subprovince. Each town had brought its gansas and its dancers. On +the second day of my visit the people of one of the towns started +a dance on the plaza. They were promptly joined by representatives +from another town which had long been hostile to them. People from +yet other towns followed suit, until finally the plaza swarmed with a +great crowd of dancers in which every settlement in the subprovince +was represented. Even at that late day I should not have dared to +attempt to bring about such a thing. It happened of itself, and to +the initiated told an eloquent tale of the results of our years of +patient work! + +The first time I climbed Polis Mountain, on my way from the Bontoc +country to the land of the Ifugaos, four Igorots went ahead of me, +armed with head-axes and lances, carrying their shields in position. At +each turn in the steep, worn-out trail, they drew back their lances +ready to throw. I had eighty-six armed men with me, and knew that I +might need them. To-day I travel through the length and breadth of +the Mountain Province unescorted and unarmed. Furthermore, I usually +take my wife with me. + +Prior to 1903, if an Ifugao showed himself on the north side of the +Polis range he lost his head. Now people of this tribe stroll into +the town of Bontoc almost daily. They travel north through the Bontoc +Igorot country to Lubuagan, in Kalinga, and west to Cervantes, in +Lepanto, or even to Tagudin on the coast, crossing three subprovinces +on the latter trip. They also go south to Baguio. + +All freight was formerly packed in from the coast on men's backs a +distance of eighty odd miles over steep, narrow, stony trails which +were really foot-paths. Now it comes in carts over a good road which +has a maximum grade of six per cent. + +The people of the settlement had to get their water from the river. Now +it is piped into town. + +There was not a shop in the place, and every one had to go to the +coast to make the smallest purchases. There are at present half a +dozen good stores, beside the provincial exchange, a store where the +government sells the Igorots what they want at reasonable prices, +thus preventing shopkeepers from overcharging them. + +Commodious quarters for visiting Igorots and Ifugaos have been +provided, and there is a fine market where they may display and sell +their products. This market is a busy place. + +The population is rapidly increasing, now that head-hunting has +practically ceased. The area of cultivated lands steadily grows larger, +for the men are freed from the necessity of being constantly under +arms, and we are helping them to get more irrigation water, so that +they can extend their rice fields. + +There are a thousand or so Bontoc Igorots in Benguet to-day, +contracting for railroad excavation work. Times have changed. + +When Nueva Vizcaya was first organized, its non-Christian inhabitants +greatly outnumbered its Filipino population, as there were at least +one hundred fifteen thousand Ifugaos in addition to several thousand +Ilongots and a few Benguet Igorots, locally known as Isinayes, +who had strayed over the boundary line. With the transfer of the +Ifugao territory to the Mountain Province, the Filipinos were left +in the decided majority. Later all of the Ilongot territory which +had previously belonged to the provinces of Isabela, Tayabas, Nueva +Ecija and Pangasinán was added to Nueva Vizcaya, in order that the +members of this wild and primitive tribe might be brought under one +provincial administration. + +The Ilongots are a strictly forest-inhabiting people. Many of them +have a considerable admixture of Negrito blood and live a semi-nomadic +life. Their settlements, which are small and more or less transient, +are usually situated in remote and inaccessible places surrounded by +the densest jungle. It is at present impracticable to open up horse +trails through their country, for the number of inhabitants is so +small, in comparison with the area occupied, that such trails could +not be built with Ilongot labour, nor indeed could they be maintained +even if built. One main trail is, however, being constructed, and it +is planned to build foot trails from this to the more important of +the settlements which it does not reach. + +A special assistant to the Provincial Governor of Nueva Vizcaya for +work among the Ilongots has been appointed and assigned to duty at +Baler, on the Pacific coast of Luzón, from which place he can more +conveniently reach the Ilongots east of the coast range. These people +were very wild at the outset, and it proved difficult to establish +friendly relations with them, but this has now been successfully +accomplished, and their fear of the white man is largely a thing of +the past. + +There is a school for Ilongot children at Campoté. They prove to be +bright, capable pupils. + +At the same place there has been established a government exchange, +where the Ilongots can sell such articles of their own manufacture as +they wish to market, and can purchase what they need at moderate cost. + +They still fight more or less with each other, but depredations by +them upon Filipinos have ceased. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XXII + +THE GOVERNMENT OF THE NON-CHRISTIAN TRIBES (continued) + + +The province of Mindoro includes numerous small islands, all peopled +by Tagálogs, and the main island of Mindoro, which has a narrow broken +fringe of Tagálog settlements along its coast. Its whole interior +is populated, so far as it is inhabited at all, by the Mangyans, +a primitive semi-nomadic tribe which is of Malayan origin but has +considerable Negrito blood. No one knows even approximately how many +of them there are, for although the island has been crossed in several +different places, much of it is still quite unexplored. In most of +the interior regions thus far visited the population is very sparse, +but one quite thickly settled district has been found. It is believed +that the Mangyans number something like 15,000. + +The Filipino settlements were so disorderly, filthy, and unhealthy +that the energies of the first governor, Captain R. G. Offley, and +those of his successor, Captain Louis G. Van Schaick, were to a large +extent expended in efforts for the betterment of the Tagálogs. It +is a pleasure to record the fact that these efforts met with a very +large degree of success. + +The condition of most of the Tagálog towns is now good. Mangarin +is the chief exception to this statement. Its surroundings are such +as to make it impossible successfully to combat malaria, from which +every one of its inhabitants suffers. We are still endeavouring to +persuade its unfortunate people to move to a healthy site! + +Governor Offley did some work for the Mangyans. They have advanced +but slightly beyond the Negritos in civilization. Many of them live +under shelters not worthy of the name of huts, and in the vicinity +of Mt. Halcon even the women are clad only in clouts. Houses are +placed singly in the dense forests, or at the most are gathered in +very small groups. It proved a most difficult undertaking to persuade +any considerable number of Mangyans to gather together and construct +decent dwellings. It had been their custom to abandon their forest +homes whenever a death occurred, leaving behind all their belongings, +and perhaps even changing their names on the theory that their old +names were unlucky and new ones might prove advantageous. + +With admirable patience Governor Offley organized a little village +called Lalauigan on the south coast of Mindoro. Lalauigan has +prospered. It is very clean; the houses of its Mangyan residents are +quite presentable. The neighbouring fields are planted with corn and +rice. It has a school, and the children prove to be apt pupils. + +Another Mangyan village, organized near the west coast, was +short-lived. The Tagálog Filipinos look with great disfavour on +the gathering of the Mangyans into settlements where they can be +protected, as this renders it difficult to hold them in a state of +peonage. Whenever Governor Offley got a little group together, they +did their best to scatter it. In this instance they passed the word +that smallpox had broken out in a neighbouring Tagálog village. All +Mangyans are deathly afraid of this disease, and this particular set +built a great fire, jumped through the flames to purify themselves +from contagion, took to the hills, and have not been seen since! + +While in hearty sympathy with the admirable work which was being +done among the Tagálogs, I was dissatisfied with the failure to push +explorations in the interior more actively and to get more closely +in touch with the wild inhabitants. When the Tagálog settlements +had at last been put in really good condition, I gave Governor Van +Schaick, who had succeeded Governor Offley, positive instructions +that more attention must be paid to the Mangyans. He then began +active explorations, and pushed them with considerable success up +to the time when he was compelled to tender his resignation by the +terms of the Army Appropriation Bill for 1913, which necessitated +his return to his regiment. Prior to his departure he succeeded in +establishing a new Mangyan village which has continued to prosper up +to the present time. His successor, Governor R. E. Walters, was kept +from actively pushing exploration work during the past "dry" season, +by unprecedented rains. + +Road and trail construction began several years ago and is going +forward as rapidly as limited funds will permit. + +The great trouble with the Tagálogs of Mindoro is that nature has +been too kind to them. They have only to plough a bit of ground +at the beginning of the rainy season, scatter a little rice on it, +and harvest the crop when ripe, to be able to live idly the rest of +the year, and too many of them adopt this course. However, some good +towns, like Pinamalayan, are waking up as the result of immigration +from Marinduque. + +Two great services have been rendered to the more orderly of the +inhabitants of Mindoro, which was, in Spanish days, a rendezvous +for evil-doers from Luzón. Indeed, it was the most disorderly +province north of Mindanao. An excellent state of public order has +been established, and there has not been an armed ladrone [27] in +the province for years. It was famous for its "bad climate." We have +shown that its climate is good, making its towns really healthful by +merely cleaning them up. + +The establishment of a great modern sugar estate on the southwest +coast has doubled the daily wage, and given profitable employment +to all who wanted to work, and the people are beginning to bestir +themselves. The public schools, of which every town has one, are +materially assisting the awakening now in progress. + +Palawan, like Mindoro, is made up of one large island, which bears +the name of the province, and a number of smaller ones. Indeed, it +includes more small islands than does any other province, with the +possible exception of Moro. + +The bulk of its Christian population are found on the smaller islands, +several of which are very thickly settled. + +The non-Christian inhabitants are divided between three tribes,--the +Moros, Tagbanuas and Bataks. The latter are Negritos of very pure +blood. Their number is quite limited. They extend across the island +from the east coast to the west in the region north of Bahia Honda. + +Until within a short time there have been Moro settlements scattered +along both east and west coasts of the southern third of the main +island. The Moro population of Palawan is largely composed of renegades +who have been driven out of Joló, Tawi Tawi, Cagayan de Joló, British +North Borneo and Banguey by their own people because of infractions of +the laws of their tribe. When the province was organized, they were +not cultivating a hectare of land amongst them. They lived in part +by fishing, but chiefly on what they stole, or on the products of the +labour of the hill people in the interior, many of whom they enslaved +or held in a state of peonage, taking their rice and other agricultural +products with or without giving compensation, as seemed to them good. + +The hill people, who occupy the higher mountains in the interior of +southern Palawan, and who in the central and northern portions of the +island extend down to the very coast, are known as Paluanes in the +south and as Tagbanuas elsewhere. Tagbanuas are also found on Dumarán +and Linapácan, and quite generally throughout the Calamianes Islands, +especially on Culion and Busuanga. I have failed to discover any real +tribal differences between the Paluanes and the Tagbanuas and believe +that they should be classed as one people, although the Paluanes are +more inclined to stand up for their rights than are the Tagbanuas, and +by using blow guns and poisoned arrows have succeeded in keeping the +Moros out of the interior highlands. They were, however, long forced +to trade with the Moros in order to obtain cloth, steel, salt and other +things not produced in their own country, and so were at their mercy. + +The Tagbanuas are a rather timid and docile people, giving evidence +of a considerable amount of Negrito blood. They are at times quite +industrious, and raise considerable quantities of rice and camotes, +but live, in part, on fish, game and forest products. + +Communication in this province was very difficult. The main island +of Palawan, which is some two hundred fifty miles in length and very +narrow, extends in a northeasterly and southwesterly direction, and as +a result both of its coasts are swept by each monsoon so that there +are only about two months of the year when travel by sea in small +boats is comfortable and safe. At the outset there was not a mile of +trail on the island. This latter condition is being rapidly remedied. + +The first governor appointed for the newly established province of +Palawan was Lieutenant E. Y. Miller, U. S. A., a man of splendid +physique, tireless energy, and indomitable courage. + +Governor Miller set to work very actively to better the condition of +the Filipinos and to establish friendly and helpful relations with +the non-Christians. + +The bulk of the Christians are unusually poor and ignorant and +many of them were held in a miserable state of peonage by a few +caciques. Vigorous efforts extending through a long term of years +have weakened the grip of the caciques, but have by no means broken it. + +At an early date the new governor won the admiration of the Moros, who +like courage, by a series of very brave acts. A number of constabulary +soldiers who were coasting along the west shore of Palawan in a +sail-boat went ashore, leaving their rifles on board guarded by two +or three of their comrades. They also left several Moros on the boat, +and the latter, watching their opportunity, killed the guards and +got away with the rifles, taking them to Dato Tumay, their chief, +who armed his people with them. + +Governor Miller, with Captain Louden, of the constabulary company +concerned, promptly attacked Tumay's place and drove him into the +hills. Tumay took refuge in a Tagbanua village, never dreaming that +he would be pursued into the mountain fastnesses. Miller and his +companions succeeded in getting into the place before Tumay knew +they were in the vicinity, and there followed a fight to the death +at close quarters. Two soldiers, standing one to the right and one to +the left of Governor Miller, were shot dead, but he was not scratched. + +On a number of other occasions he displayed a bravery approaching +recklessness. Hearing that a fleet of some fifty Moro boats had put +to sea on a piratical expedition, he embarked in a twenty-foot launch +accompanied only by a captain of constabulary, and the two of them +ran down and disarmed the pirates and sent them home. They nearly sank +their tiny launch with the dead weight of the weapons which they took +on board. The thing seems preposterous, and only Miller's extraordinary +moral influence over these unruly people made it humanly possible. + +When I visited Palawan on my regular inspection trip in the year 1909, +I found Mrs. Miller much worried about her husband, who was absent from +the capital, having gone to arrest some Moro murderers at Lara. As +usual, he had taken with him only a constabulary captain and three +or four soldiers, and Mrs. Miller feared that he might be killed. + +I hastened down the coast of the island at the full speed of my +steamer, keeping a close watch for his boat, and finally located +it at Bonabóna, where he had succeeded in arresting several of the +criminals. On his way down he had stopped at Lara and had learned +that a brother of the local chief, Dato Pula, was responsible for the +murder, having ordered it and paid the assassins who committed it, +one of whom was lurking in the vicinity, while others had gone to +Bonabóna. Governor Miller called upon Dato Pula to deliver both his +brother and the murderer, who was then at Lara, and stated that he +would be back on a certain day to receive them. As he insisted on +returning at the appointed time and attempting to arrest these men, +I took him on my steamer, together with his American companion and +one constabulary soldier. The other soldiers remained on his boat to +guard the prisoners he had already taken. + +We returned to Lara, but were unable to land in front of the +town as a heavy surf was thundering on the beach. A mile to the +north we found a sheltered spot where we could safely disembark +and our little party, consisting of Governor Miller armed with a +six-shooter, a constabulary captain armed with a Winchester shotgun +and a six-shooter, a constabulary soldier armed with a carbine, +ex-Insurgent Colonel Pablo Tecson armed with my double-barrelled +shotgun, Governor Pack of the Mountain Province, my brother George +S. Worcester, and my stenographer, all of whom were without weapons, +and myself carrying an automatic Winchester rifle, marched on the +town. Governor Miller sent the soldier ahead to warn the Moros that +they must meet us unarmed. A small reception committee did so. + +On the very outskirts of Lara we waded a creek nearly up to our necks +in water, then marched up the street and entered Pula's house. Just as +we did so I saw twenty or thirty fully armed Moros come in on the run +and hastily conceal themselves in one of the numerous neighbouring +houses. I further promptly discovered that two rooms partitioned +off in the corners of the great living room of Pula's house were +crowded full of men armed to the teeth, and that a second-story +room, immediately under the roof and over our heads, was similarly +occupied. I asked Governor Pack quietly to ascertain how many of +the houses in the village were occupied by fully equipped fighting +men, and he soon informed me that every one of them was packed. We +estimated that there were several hundred warriors in town, which +meant that Pula had raked the coast of the island north and south +for miles and brought in every male Moro big enough to wield a weapon. + +We seated ourselves on a table, back to back and facing out, with +our own weapons very handy, and had a talk with Pula which lasted +until late in the afternoon. Standing within striking distance of us +most of the day, were two stalwart Moros, each of whom had a kriss +dagger firmly gripped in his right hand and concealed between his +folded arms. When one remembers that the average Moro fighter does +not seem to know when he is dead, but keeps on doing damage after he +ought to be busily occupied in passing to the other world, it will +be seen that our situation left much to be desired. + +Under the pretext of sending for a phonograph with which to entertain +the crowd while our negotiations continued, I communicated with +the captain of our steamer, advising him of the facts. He got out +ammunition for his two one-pounder rapid-fire guns and took up a +position immediately in front of the town. We did not ask him for +reënforcements, believing that any attempt on his part to send them +would precipitate an attack on us. + +Never did I pass a more peculiar, or a more unpleasant, day. Miller +steadfastly insisted that Pula's brother and the hired assassin be +given up. Pula produced two thoroughly cowed Tagbanuas whom he had +induced by threats to declare that they had committed the murders, +and most emphatically declined to turn over either his brother or +the true murderer. Our discussions were punctuated by tunes played +on the phonograph which created great excitement among the Moros, +some of whom got up and danced to the music! + +Finally, late in the afternoon, Pula gave in, turned the murderer +over to us, and promised to turn over his brother, but said that +the latter must first be allowed to go home to get some clothes, +and that he would then send him on board our ship. + +We improved this our first opportunity to beat a retreat without +losing face. Our Moro "friends" bid us good-by on the beach, then +armed themselves and followed us at a short distance as we marched +back to the landing place where our launch was pounding in the surf, +awaiting our return. Three strong fighting parties came out of the +dense vegetation which bordered the beach immediately after we had +passed the places where they were concealed. They had obviously been +waiting there to cut off our retreat if trouble started, and could +most certainly have done it. In fact, they could have shot us down +from the brush without showing themselves. + +It required all the self-control which I could muster to keep my +back toward the strong and constantly growing group of armed men who +followed us, and to look unconcerned, yet I knew, as did every other +member of the party, that our seeing the light of another day probably +depended on our ability to do both things. The slightest evidence of +alarm would have precipitated a fight which could have had but one +outcome for us. + +When opposite the launch, we turned and faced the Moros and then the +several members of the party went aboard, one at a time. Never did a +widening strip of water look better to me than did that which finally +began to separate us from the shore. + +To our great amazement Dato Pula kept his word and sent his brother +on board! + +No man ever laboured more diligently for the good of alien peoples +than did Governor Miller. He evolved a wise plan for improving the +condition of the Tagbanuas living in the vicinity of Puerto Princesa, +many of whom, as is so often the case with the uncivilized peoples of +the Philippines, were reduced to a state of peonage by their Filipino +neighbours. A large reservation was set aside for their exclusive use, +and they were persuaded to retire to it. At the cost of infinite labour +and pains Governor Miller built there a fine set of school buildings, +and the Bureau of Education started a school which gives instruction +in English, arithmetic and manual training to Tagbanua boys and girls. + +Governor Miller's keen interest in this project led him to stop to +inspect the progress of the work when returning from a long trip around +the island. In the face of a coming storm he ascended the Aborlan River +to the school site, where he remained until after dark, oblivious +of the fact that a tremendous downpour of rain in the neighbouring +mountains had produced a sudden flood in the river. Returning to +his launch, he jumped on board and cast off before the engine was +started. The current swept the launch away like a straw, carried it in +close to the bank, and an overhanging branch, which ordinarily would +have been high above the water, struck the governor a stunning blow +on the head, knocking him overboard. He never came to the surface, +and twenty-four hours elapsed before his body was recovered. + +Mr. John H. Evans, then serving as lieutenant-governor of Bontoc, +in the Mountain Province, was appointed in his place, and I took +him around the Palawan group of islands to introduce him to his +unruly subjects. On arrival at Puerto Princesa we were told that the +occupants of a fleet of Moro boats were already raiding and killing +along the southern coast of the island, and we accordingly took on +board Captain Moynihan of the Philippine Scouts, with thirty of his +soldiers. The report proved unfounded, but nevertheless the soldiers +came in very handily. + +I landed at Culasián Bay on the west coast, meaning to ascend a river +to the settlement of Dato Tumay, the man whose people had on a former +occasion fought Governor Miller with captured constabulary rifles and +been soundly whipped. Finding no one on the beach, we walked up the +river bank for a short distance to a group of half a dozen tightly +closed houses which looked as if they might belong to fishermen. Here +we were met by a splendidly dressed glad-hand delegation, who greeted +us rather too effusively. My suspicion was further aroused by the fact +that only three of them carried weapons, in sight at least. The weapons +of a Moro chief are just as much a part of his full dress as are the +garments he wears. I had a few moments' friendly conversation with +these people, during which I noticed that several of them displayed +a marked inclination to get behind me. This I did not like, so took +up a position with my back to the river. Presently I suggested that +we had come to call on Dato Tumay. The following conversation ensued:-- + +"You cannot go to see him." + +"Why not? Are the trails in bad condition?" + +"There are no trails." + +"Are you not Dato Tumay's people?" + +"Yes." + +"How did you come down if there are no trails?" + +"We came down the river." + +"Very well, we will go up the river." + +"You cannot do that." + +"Why not?" + +"There are no boats to carry you." + +"How did you come down?" + +"In those boats. [Pointing out two tiny dugouts barely able to carry +two men each.] You and one of your friends can go up in them if you +like. Two of our men will paddle you." + +This proposition did not seem attractive to me, so I suggested that I +would take a little walk up the river. I had been positively assured +that there was no other boat in the vicinity, but at the very first +turn discovered a suspicious looking trail running up into the bushes +and following it found a fully rigged war-canoe over which freshly +cut brush had been hastily thrown. I suggested to the Moros that this +looked very much like a boat. They replied that it leaked. I asked them +to put it into the water, stating that I liked to see boats leak. Not +a Moro stirred. We had brought twenty-five soldiers ashore with us, +as Tumay's reputation was by no means of the best, and I now called to +some of them to come and put the boat into the river. In passing back +of the group of Moros, one of these men stubbed his toe on the shaft +of a lance which was hidden in the grass, and fell on his nose. He +raised the lance as he recovered his feet, then stooped and picked +up a second one, trailed them behind him until he reached a position +in front of me and dropped them on the ground. Both had the sheaths +removed from their long steel heads. Another soldier kicked around +in the grass a bit and produced a serpent kriss which had been drawn +from its scabbard. Still another fished up a baróng. [28] + +I asked the ranking Moro present what was the meaning of these weapons, +concealed at our very feet. He said that they were afraid that we +would steal them and had therefore hidden them. I asked him whether +any white man had ever stolen anything from them, and also why they +had hidden them there, where we were likely to cut our feet on them, +instead of in the forest which was not fifty yards away. Obviously +there was no satisfactory answer to these questions and he had no time +to attempt any, for one of the soldiers stooped down and pulled out of +the grass from beside his very hand a forty-five caliber single-action +revolver, cocked and with all six cylinders loaded. Fearing to be taken +at a disadvantage, I said to the soldiers, "Make these men sit down, +and search the place for arms." + +The soldiers repeatedly ordered the Moros to sit down and the order was +translated to them in their own language by my interpreter. Not a man +obeyed. On the contrary, one of them turned his back and started off +at a quick pace, disregarding repeated orders to halt. Theoretically +he should have been shot. + +Practically, I had ordered the soldiers not to fire under any +circumstances unless some Moro drew a weapon. Mr. Olney Bondurant, +assistant to the provincial governor for work among the Moros, had +been taking a hasty look back of the houses and was returning to +tell me that they were full of armed men. The Moro above mentioned, +just before meeting Bondurant, reached into a bush and drew out two +of the cruel fighting knives known as baróngs. They were in their flat +sheaths, and lay one on top of the other. Snatching the upper one from +its scabbard, he struck a wicked blow at Bondurant as the latter passed +him on the trail. Bondurant, who was quick as a cat, dodged the blow, +then whirled and shot his assailant. Instantly armed men with drawn +weapons began to boil out of the houses on the side farthest from us, +and those soldiers who were in a position to see them promptly opened +fire. Other Moros also began to pop up at the edge of the forest, +and we had a bit of a scrimmage, lively enough while it lasted. I +took no part in it, but with three soldiers helping me compelled +eleven men of the group with whom we had been talking to sit down, +and kept them sitting until the unpleasantness was over, as I wanted +to talk with them. I then told the head man to stand up. + +He was very reluctant to do this, obviously expecting to be shot, +but no such fate was in store for him. On the contrary, I gave him a +lecture, told him where certain wounded and certain dead Moros were +to be found, and instructed him and his people first to care for the +wounded; second, to bury the dead; third, to go to Tumay's place and +tell him that although I had come to make a friendly call on him, +my party had been attacked by his people, but that the only men who +had been hurt were those who had endeavoured to use their weapons on +us. I furthermore directed him to tell Tumay that he must come across +the island to the place where Mr. Bondurant lived, and explain this +extraordinary occurrence. We then took our departure, marching down +the beach a mile to our launch, and expecting every moment to be +fired on from the dense forest close at hand. + +We learned from a wounded Moro that our party had been mistaken at +a distance for that of Governor Miller. On his last trip around the +island he had been threatened by Tumay, who surrounded him with +a strong body of armed men and talked to him in a very insulting +manner. Miller, who had but a single companion, knew himself to +be at Tumay's mercy, and believing that he was in grave danger of +being killed and that only a bluff could save him, slapped Tumay's +face vigorously and then gave him a strong piece of his mind. Tumay, +overawed at such temerity, allowed him to depart in safety. Before +leaving, Governor Miller exercised his lawful authority to order Tumay +to take his people and move to the east coast of the island. [29] +Tumay begged that his people be allowed to harvest some rice which he +said they had planted, and Governor Miller, not knowing whether or not +the statement was true, and not being in a position to investigate it, +allowed him two weeks to be spent in this way. + +I was about Governor Miller's size. When I landed Tumay's people +mistook me for him, and thought that he was returning with soldiers +to punish them for having disobeyed him, or to enforce his order that +they move to a more accessible place. Hence the plan for the attack, +which was rather clever. While the reception committee entertained +us, the men concealed in the woods were to open on us. As we turned +to deal with them the ones hidden in the houses were to attack us +from the rear, and the reception committee were then to join in. When +they found themselves mistaken as to the make-up of the party, which +was larger than they had expected, there was delay and confusion, +and the attack fizzled. + +A few days later Tumay actually started across the island in obedience +to my instructions, but on the way he met two recalcitrant Moro chiefs +who encouraged him to stand out, saying that they and their people +would help him fight the Americans, and he turned back. I accordingly +asked that a hundred scouts be sent after him, and this was done, fifty +of them marching over the mountains to cut off his retreat and fifty +coming on a coast-guard boat which was intended to serve as a base of +operations and afford a place to which injured men might be brought +for treatment. Strict instructions had been given that there was to be +no firing, except in self-defence, when women or children were liable +to be hit. These orders were strictly adhered to, and Tumay was twice +allowed to escape when he could have been shot down if it had not been +for the danger of killing Moro women and children. Ultimately, after +the non-combatants had surrendered, his armed band was overtaken early +in the morning, and fired from ambush into the approaching scouts. The +return fire killed or wounded most of them, but Tumay got away. It +was stated by some of his followers that he was badly wounded, but +this proved to be untrue. A little later he voluntarily surrendered, +as he had been deserted by his people and was reduced to dire straits. + +The misconduct of Tumay and his men gave me a reason for moving +the Moros from the west coast of Palawan, where they were living in +mangrove or nipa swamps. It was hard to approach their settlements +under any circumstances, and very dangerous to do so if they were +disposed to be hostile. The west coast of Palawan was a no-man's land, +difficult of access on account of weather conditions and numberless +uncharted reefs. It had long been a safe haven for evil-doers who +fled from other portions of the Moro country to escape the vengeance +of their fellows, and there was no possibility of compelling them +to abandon their evil practices unless they were transferred to more +accessible regions. + +Governor Evans, with my approval, now issued the necessary +instructions to them, and they were all moved to the other side +of the island, together with their household goods and chattels of +every description. Once there they were assisted in procuring building +materials, and were fed until such time as they were able to take care +of themselves. Only the old, the infirm, and women and children who +could not support themselves by working were given food gratis. Trail +construction was inaugurated, and all able-bodied persons were given +an opportunity to engage in this or in other honest labor for a good +wage payable either in money or in rice. + +At the end of a year I visited these Moros at their new homes near +Bonabóna, going ashore without a weapon of any sort, and finding them +more friendly than could reasonably have been anticipated. I sent for +old Tumay and had a very frank talk with him about past differences, +in the course of which I asked him if he had had enough. He assured me +that he had, and I then suggested that we forget the troubles which +were behind us and try to get on better in future. He promised to do +his part, and has faithfully kept his word. + +In August, 1912, I again visited the Moros of this region and to +my great surprise was greeted as if I were a member of their royal +family. They carried me ashore through the surf in a chair covered +with a fine piece of purple brocade. Two men equipped respectively +with a five-foot blue and a five-foot yellow umbrella, struggled with +each other to see who should protect my delicate complexion from the +sun. Wonder of wonders, the wives of the ranking chiefs were present in +a dancing pavilion which had been erected for our benefit, this being +the first time that these women had ever shown themselves in public. I +learned that Hadji Mohammed [30] had explained to them that the women +of other nations were getting progressive, and had argued that they +ought to follow suit. The poor things were dreadfully frightened, +and sat with their backs toward us, covering their faces with gayly +colored cloths if we so much as glanced toward them, but they were +there, anyhow! + +At noon the Moros sat down with us to a fine luncheon of their own +providing. This is the first time in my eighteen years of residence +in the Philippines that I have known a Moro to sit at meat with a +white man, or for that matter with any person not a Mohammedan. + +After the meal several chiefs insisted on my visiting them +individually, and I found that entertainment had been provided at each +of their houses. Old Dato Tumay, with only one woman to help him, +had built the best house in town, and was cultivating with his own +hands the largest piece of land farmed by any Moro in Palawan. He +was greatly pleased when I complimented him on the good example he +was setting. Later I referred to it in my annual report, and the +assistant to the governor for work among the Moros read to him what I +had said. The old man was delighted. He immediately called the local +chiefs together and delivered a long lecture on the advisability of +settling down and tilling the soil. The principal request that the +Moros made, on the occasion of this visit, was that they be furnished +agricultural implements and seeds. + +Tumay was very ill with dysentery. From the ship I sent him medicine +and a case of milk. He recovered in due time. + +Moros are uncertain people to deal with, but I believe that we are +now on the right road so far as concerns those inhabiting Palawan, +and that with a continuance of the present policy there will be no +further serious trouble with them. + +The Tagbanua reservation and the school established in connection +with it have proved a great success. A large number of Tagbanuas have +settled on the reserve and are farming industriously, while their +boys and girls are making rapid progress in school, where they obtain +practical instruction that will make them better and more useful men +and women. + +In Southern Palawan the wild people of the highlands, who have never +yet allowed any one to enter their country, are being persuaded to +come down to the coast by the establishment of little government +trading posts where they can sell their few products at good prices, +and can purchase what they need at a reasonable figure. + +All in all, things are moving forward steadily in Palawan, +although many of the Filipino settlements are still filthy and +unsanitary. Encouraged by the results obtained in Mindoro, I have +inaugurated an active campaign to compel these people to clean up, +and anticipate success. One thing which renders it difficult to deal +with some of the Filipinos of this province is that in its more remote +districts they are showing a marked tendency to scatter out into the +forests where they make caiñgins, or forest clearings, and live in tiny +huts. Little by little they are gravitating back to the barbarism from +which they originally emerged, and under existing laws they are free +to do this if they like. I regret that this tendency is by no means +confined to the province of Palawan. The Spaniards dealt with it in no +gentle manner, but we are powerless to do more than argue against it. + +The cost of the work in Palawan in valuable human lives has been +dear. No one can at the outset fill the place of a man like Governor +Miller, who had become invaluable not only as a result of his personal +characteristics, but because of his years of experience and of the +regard in which he was held by his people. Unfortunately his life +is not the only one which has been sacrificed for the good of the +inhabitants of this province. Mr. W. B. Dawson, who organized the +work of the Tagbanua Industrial School and was in a fair way to +make a success of it, died of malignant malarial fever contracted at +his post of duty. Mr. William M. Wooden, who succeeded him, in his +anxiety to return more quickly to his post after a brief absence, +leaped overboard from a launch and was drowned while trying to swim +ashore. Mr. Olney Bondurant, assistant to the provincial governor, +who did admirable work among the Moros and the Tagbanuas in Southern +Palawan, and though suffering from dangerous illness never gave up, +but rendered service in the field on the very day of his death, +also fell a victim to pernicious malaria. + +If the results obtained by these splendid men, who amid lonely +surroundings and in the face of manifold discouragements, bravely +and effectively carried on their country's work, are to be permanent +results, then I hold that the price has not been too dear, but if +they are to be destroyed by the premature withdrawal of American +control these sacrifices are pathetic indeed. + +All of the territory in Northern Mindanao east of Dapitan and north +of the eighth parallel of latitude was at the outset divided between +the provinces of Surigao and Misamis. It is generally conceded that +these provinces had been worse governed under American rule by their +Filipino officials than have any others, and it was to be anticipated +that, under such circumstances, their very numerous non-Christian +inhabitants would prove to have been very badly mistreated. Sinister +rumours reached me from time to time as to what was occurring, but +I had no competent persons whom I could send to make investigations +on the ground, and intended to defer action until I could go myself. + +Matters were finally brought to a crisis by reports from Catholic +priests, school-teachers and other reliable persons setting forth +a condition of affairs which seemed to demand immediate remedial +action. The commission had previously made a liberal sum available for +work among the Bukidnon people of Misamis, and I had endeavoured to +bring about the prosecution of this work by the Filipino provincial +officials, but my efforts had been fruitless. Not one centavo of the +funds appropriated had ever been expended. No Filipino provincial +official had so much as visited the main Bukidnon country, the +borders of which were distant less than three hours' ride from the +provincial capital. + +The Bukidnon people are industrious. They raise a large part of the +coffee, hemp and cacao exported from Cagayan, the capital and the +principal port of Misamis. They were being robbed when they sold their +produce. A common procedure was to instruct them that they must sell +to certain individuals at absurdly low prices, and if they did not +promptly obey, to bring charges of sedition against them and throw +them into jail. As a matter of fact, they hardly knew the meaning of +the word sedition. + +Depredations upon them were by no means confined to the town of +Cagayan de Misamis. Filipinos from the coast invaded their territory, +debauching them with vino and purchasing their property when they were +drunk; getting them into crooked gambling games and cheating them, +or swaggering around armed with revolvers and so terrorizing them that +they surrendered their belongings. It was common for a Filipino to go +into the Bukidnon country with nothing but the clothes on his back, +and soon to return with three or four carabaos heavily laden with hemp, +coffee, cacao, or gutta percha. + +Although the provincial governor had appointed, in some instances, men +whom he had never seen as presidentes of settlements, the settlements +were in reality without government, and their discouraged and disgusted +people were betaking themselves to the mountains whence they had been +brought years before by Jesuit missionary priests. The wilder members +of the Bukidnon tribe, and the Manobos in the southern part of the +province, who had never abandoned their mountain homes, were preying +upon their neighbours, and committing crimes of violence undisturbed. + +In the Agusan River valley conditions were nearly as bad. The +people along the main stream were for the most part broken-spirited +Manobos. Their settlements had been parcelled out among the members +of the municipal council of Butuan to be plundered. The activities +of these "Christian" gentlemen had been such that a number of Manobo +villages were already completely abandoned, while the people of +others were gradually betaking themselves to secure hiding-places in +the trackless forests which stretch east and west from the banks of +the Agusan. + +Both in the Bukidnon and in the Manobo country the trade in bad vino +was being actively pushed. The principal business on the Agusan River +at that time was shipping it up-stream. Opium was being imported in +considerable quantities from Cebu. The use of this drug was already +established among the people of Butuan, and was gradually spreading +up the river. The wilder Manobos, who lived some distance back from +the stream, and the Mandayas along its upper waters, were killing +and plundering without let or hindrance. + +These statements, coming as they did from absolutely reliable +witnesses, convinced me that I had allowed work for non-Christians in +other parts of the archipelago to interfere unduly with investigations +which I should have made in this region. As the legislation under +which we were working for the betterment of the wild people had now +taken final form, all that was necessary in order to begin active +operations looking to the correction of these untoward conditions +was to cut off a province from Surigao and Misamis and organize it +under the Special Provincial Government Act. In view of the relative +unimportance of the Filipino population in Misamis and Surigao, and +of the lamentable conditions which had arisen there under Filipino +provincial officials elected in accordance with the provisions of +the Provincial Government Act, I suggested that both provinces be +reorganized under the Special Provincial Government Act. This would +have had the effect of making their officials appointive. American +governors who would have protected the non-Christian inhabitants +could have been put in office. Unfortunately, the first session of +the Philippine Legislature was about to be held, the assemblymen +having already been elected. Every member of the commission present, +American and Filipino, agreed with me that the course which I suggested +would be in the interest of the inhabitants of these two provinces, +but they all shied off when it came to taking the needed action +because of the political hullabaloo which would most certainly have +resulted. I was forced to accept the best compromise I could get, +and a law was passed providing for the establishment of the province +of Agusan with two sub-provinces to be known respectively as Butuan +and Bukidnon. Butuan took in the whole Agusan River valley as far +south as the eighth parallel of latitude, and east and west to the +crests of the two watersheds. It also included some territory on the +west coast of the northern peninsula of Mindanao. Bukidnon included +all of the territory inhabited by the people of the same name, and +that of some wild Manobos in central Mindanao. + +Armed with the law creating the new province, I proceeded to +investigate conditions on the ground, and actually to establish the +provincial government. At the town of Butuan, situated about five +miles up the Agusan River, and accessible to good-sized steamers, I +was met by Frederick Johnson, a captain in the Philippine constabulary +who had had wide experience in dealing with the non-Christian tribes +of the Moro Province and had been very successful in this work. At +my request he had been appointed governor of the Province of Agusan, +of which the town of Butuan was the capital. + +We hired a launch, driven by a one-cylinder engine, from a man named +Wantz, and in it proceeded up the river, taking the owner along to +run the boat. It was paid for by the day, and I was warned before I +started that Wantz had his own ways of lengthening journeys. I soon +discovered that this was true. Before starting I had indicated the +settlement which must be reached before dark, but the engine soon began +to wheeze and thump dolefully. It happened that I knew something about +gasoline engines, and this one sounded to me as if it were running with +the spark advanced too far, but I could not discover the adjusting +mechanism, so exercised diplomacy, involving Wantz in a discussion +of the intricacies of modern gasoline engines, and stating that I +had an automobile with a very convenient attachment for advancing and +retarding the spark. He promptly and proudly showed me the device on +his engine for the same purpose. It was hidden away where I could not +have found it. After he had instructed me in its operation I quietly +retarded the spark, and the engine began to work in a most cheering +manner. In order to punish Wantz, I insisted that we keep on until we +reached our prescribed destination, in spite of the time we had lost. + +We had a prophet of evil on board who predicted that Wantz would +certainly have the engine thoroughly stacked by the next morning, +and he did. We had planned to start at daylight, but, when we +climbed down to the boat in the gray dawn, found him puttering +over its machinery. He said that the cylinder was "froze up." As the +temperature did not seem to warrant such a result, I got him to explain +to me what was wrong, and after watching him put on and take off +the cylinder-head several times, discovered that he had an ingenious +contrivance so arranged that by giving a single push he could put the +make-and-break spark connection out of commission from the inside of +the cylinder. I myself adjusted it properly, compelled him to put on +the cylinder-head without touching his disarranging mechanism, and +we went on our way. For some time I watched him closely, and while +I continued to do so, the engine ran beautifully, but ultimately I +had to go ashore to inspect a rotting Manobo settlement, and while +I was gone he queered it again in such a manner that I could not +find the cause of the mischief. We had speedy revenge, however, for +while we were negotiating a swift rapid the engine died, with the +result that the launch nearly turned turtle and narrowly escaped +being wrecked. This frightened Wantz, and after a few mysterious +manipulations on his part the engine began to "put, put, put" again +most cheerfully, and we ascended the rapid without difficulty. + +On the evening of the third day we reached a Filipino settlement +called Talacógon, seventy miles up the river. Wantz began to complain +that he was sick, and as Talacógon would have been a very comfortable +place to lie over, I opined that his ailment would become acute before +morning. At four o'clock I sneaked down to the river bank by a back +street to see what was going on. He was whistling cheerfully. I beat +a careful retreat, then came ostentatiously down the main road to the +pier. Sepulchral groans were now issuing from the launch, and Wantz was +not visible. I found him writhing on its bottom in assumed agony. By +this time I had become convinced that a native banca with a few good +oarsmen would be better than a launch with such an engineer, so told +him I was sorry he was ill, gave him permission to return to Butuan, +and offered to pay what I owed him on the spot. When he found that +it was not my intention to pay for the time consumed by the return +trip his symptoms became less alarming, and he expressed hope of +ultimate recovery. Interrogated as to the probable date when he would +be prepared to continue the journey, he put it three days ahead. I +told him that I could not wait so long. Gradually he reduced to half +a day the time which the reëstablishment of his health would require, +but I told him that I could not wait, and that his recovery must be +immediate if he was to continue with us. This was too much of a jolt +to his pride, and when we were ready to embark he was still too ill +to start! We accordingly loaded our belongings into two bancas each +some sixty feet long, lay down on our backs in their little cabins, +and continued on our way upstream. + +The trip up the Agusan River is a most wonderful one. Nothing +could surpass the magnificence of the tropical vegetation along its +banks. The sportsman finds himself constantly diverted. Great fruit +pigeons and huge hornbills frequently fly over one's boat, or perch +in trees where they can be shot from the river. Monkeys abound. Huge +crocodiles may occasionally be observed sleeping on the banks. Wild +hogs are plentiful, but usually keep out of sight. The trees are hung +with a marvellous drapery of vines, orchids and ferns, and, as the +stream is so broad and deep as to render its navigation easy, one can +lean back and enjoy to the full the beauties of nature displayed in +prodigal abundance on every side. + +We found the human inhabitants of this wonderful region a highly +unsatisfactory lot. The Manobo families were living either singly, +scattered along the river, or grouped in little villages composed of +a dozen or two rotting huts and surrounded by the accumulated filth +of years. As was to be anticipated under the circumstances, most of +the people were full of malaria, and many suffered from repulsive skin +diseases. They had little cultivated ground. The growing and cleaning +of hemp was their only resource, and they had become so accustomed to +having the products of their labour taken from them by the people of +Butuan that they had almost given up working. They listened with dull, +uncomprehending hopelessness to our story of better days to come, +and it soon became evident that nothing but practical experience +would convince these helpless people that times were going to change. + +The Filipinos of Talacógon were an especially lazy, vicious lot, +who did no work themselves, but sponged or stole a living from their +non-Christian neighbours. Forest trees were springing up on the plaza +of this town. Its streets were deep in mud, and its sanitary condition +beggared description. I was really afraid to stay overnight. I ordered +the people to clean up, and they laughed at me. I ultimately made +them clean up, but they successfully resisted my efforts to do so +longer than the people of any other town ever did, and several years +passed before I was at all satisfied with results. + +Our progress up the river was unimpeded until we reached what is shown +on the maps of Mindanao as a series of extensive lakes, but is in +reality a huge and trackless swamp. Some years before a very severe +earthquake had caused the subsidence of a vast forested area along +the banks of this portion of the Agusan River, with the result that +the old river-bed was completely broken up, and the river below this +point reversed its flow for some time until the depressed region had +been filled up by the water which entered it from all sides. There +were no well-established channels through this submerged forest, +and navigation in it was dangerous unless one had experienced guides. + +In order that such guides might be always available, the Spaniards +had compelled a number of them to live on the outskirts of the swamp +at a place called Clavijo. The ground on which their houses stood +was under water most of the year. They were a miserable, sickly +lot. Most of them were suffering acutely from malaria, and all were +very anxious to abandon the ill-fated site of their village,--a thing +which, it is needless to say, they were promptly permitted by us to +do. Having secured the services of several of them, we continued our +journey toward Bunauan, but found the stream which we ascended after +extricating ourselves from the swamp so choked with rubbish that it +was frequently necessary either to clear channels or to haul our heavy +boats over masses of dead tree trunks, branches, bamboo, etc. From +Bunauan we returned to Butuan and sailed for Cagayan de Misamis. + +While passing along one of the main streets of the latter town on my +way to the provincial building, I discovered Bukidnon people buying +vino by the demijohn. The law prohibiting the sale of alcoholic liquors +to members of non-Christian tribes was then in effect throughout the +archipelago. One of the first questions which I put to the Filipino +governor was whether he had taken the necessary measures to see that +this law was enforced. He replied in the affirmative. I asked him what +he had done. He said that he had sent letters to the several Bukidnon +settlements telling the people that they must not buy vino. I asked him +if he had warned the dealers in his own town that they must not sell to +the Bukidnons, and he replied, "It has not occurred to me to do that!" + +Having explained to the governor the terms of the law establishing +the province of Agusan, and the reason for its adoption, I proceeded +across the bay to a barrio which then was, and still is, the point +of departure for the interior, planning to start at daylight the +following morning. I had with me my private secretary Mr. Zinn, +and Mr. Frederick Lewis, who had just accepted appointment as +lieutenant-governor of the sub-province. + +Lewis had taken a number of Zamboanga Moros to the St. Louis +Exposition and had also assumed charge of the Lake Lanao Moros there +when their manager misbehaved and it became necessary to dispense with +his services. He had looked after his people so carefully and so well +that some of the hardened old sinners from Lake Lanao actually wept +when they parted company with him on the beach after their return from +the United States! He was a tireless rider, and the country which he +was to govern was a horseman's country par excellence. + +Our transportation for the trip was in charge of a Filipino lieutenant +of constabulary, named Manual Fortich, and I was not greatly pleased +with this arrangement, as we had a hard journey ahead of us which +might be rendered difficult or even dangerous by lack of efficiency +on the part of the man who looked after our saddle animals and our +carriers. I soon learned, however, that no better man could have been +selected for this task. + +We marched at daylight, as is my custom when travelling overland in +the provinces. At midnight a mounted Filipino messenger, sent by the +caciques of Cagayan, had started ahead of us to frighten the people +of the towns which we proposed to visit so that they would take +to the hills. In this he was partially successful. When we reached +the small settlement of Tancuran late in the afternoon, after a hard +day's work, the only inhabitants left were a few old cripples who had +been too sick or too feeble to run away. However, many of those who +had fled were hiding in the underbrush near by. Lieutenant Fortich, +who had already made himself invaluable to us, soon rounded up quite +a number of them, and they were in turn despatched for their friends. + +This little village was in a deplorable state of abandonment. Only +a few of its houses were habitable. It had been well laid out by +some good Jesuit missionary priest, but its streets and plaza were +choked with a jungle of tropical vegetation through which ran trails +resembling deer paths! There was absolutely nothing growing in the +vicinity which could furnish food for a human being. + +Lieutenant Fortich ultimately got together quite an audience for +me. We squatted around a cheerful camp-fire and discussed the past +and the future until late at night. I was delighted to find that my +auditors took a keen interest in my statements. They soon gained +courage to tell me freely of the abuses which they had suffered, +and while obviously not optimistic over my promises of better things, +were evidently willing to be shown. + +Just before we turned in Lieutenant Fortich asked me at what time I +would like to start in the morning. I said "five o'clock." He replied, +"Very well." While his remarks were gratifyingly in accord with the +biblical injunction to "let your conversation be yea, yea; nay, nay," +I feared that he did not fully comprehend the difficulties involved in +an early start, so decided to take a hand myself when the time came. I +accordingly arose at three-thirty A.M., and nearly fainted when I +found that the horses were already munching their grain and, wonder +of wonders, that the carriers were eating their breakfast. The usual +thing is to be informed, when you are about an hour on your way, that +the carriers have had no breakfast, and to be forced to sit down and +wait while they cook and eat their morning meal. I went back to bed, +convinced that I had discovered a new kind of Filipino constabulary +officer. I got up again at four o'clock, dressed, and went to the +table at four-thirty, finding a piping hot meal ready. When at five +o'clock I descended the stairs of the house where I had spent the +night, my horse was saddled and waiting at the gate. All I had to do +was to climb aboard. Meanwhile I had not heard an order given, or a +word spoken in a tone above that of ordinary conversation. Throughout +the trip Lieutenant Fortich continued to display quiet efficiency. I +jotted his name down in my mental notebook as that of a man to be +used later. He is to-day the lieutenant-governor of Bukidnon, and a +most faithful, competent and efficient public officer. + +During my first day's ride I had had a decidedly startling +experience. On leaving the sea beach one climbs rather abruptly for +some nine hundred feet and then comes out on a wonderful plain. After +riding over this beautiful stretch of level country for some time I +could not longer resist the temptation to attempt to take a panoramic +series of views showing it, so dismounted, set up my camera and made +three exposures, rotating the instrument so as to get a panoramic +effect. I worked with my back toward my companions, and became so +absorbed in my task that I failed to notice that they were moving +on. When I finally turned around I discovered to my utter amazement +that I was alone, save for the carrier who packed my camera and +plates. In every direction an apparently unbroken plain stretched for +miles, and there was not another human being in sight. My companions +had disappeared from off the face of the earth. I actually began +to fear that I had taken leave of my senses. Nothing which has +ever befallen me has given me such a curious sensation. However, +one tangible thing remained; to wit, a well-marked trail through +the grass. I followed it, and before I had gone three hundred yards +came to the brink of a precipitous cañon down the wall of which my +companions were zigzagging. From the point where I had taken my +photographs it was absolutely impossible to detect the existence +of this narrow crack in the earth. We soon learned, to our sorrow, +that this first cañon was only one of many. + +At its bottom was a raging torrent which we forded with difficulty. My +fool horse got frightened and turned down-stream where the current was +swiftest, and I narrowly escaped taking an impromptu trip down rapids +which would have hammered me into insensibility against the rocks. + +Until we reached Malaybalay the conditions encountered in the several +villages through which we passed were similar to those which we had +found at Tanculan: houses abandoned for the most part, and always in +a lamentable state of neglect; sanitary conditions very bad; streets +and plazas overgrown; an abundance of coffee bushes in some of the +villages, but no visible source of food supply anywhere, except for +a few scraggly banana plants. + +At the outset we had found all the villages deserted, but in each +case had managed to get some of the people back and hold a friendly +interview with them. The "grapevine telegraph" got to working, and soon +they began to await our arrival. At Malaybalay they gave us quite an +ovation. This town was comparatively clean; the grass on the plaza +was neatly cut. All in all, conditions were so encouraging that I +decided that it should be the capital of the subprovince. + +The following day we continued our journey to Linabo, where I heard +of a Filipino engaged, as usual, in terrorizing the inhabitants and +taking their products from them. I twice sent him courteous requests +to come to see me, and then had him unceremoniously brought into my +presence. He was carrying an ugly looking, heavy-calibre six-shooter. I +demanded the document which justified his possession of this weapon, +and as he could produce nothing more satisfactory than a note from the +governor of Misamis authorizing him to use it in that province, I took +his gun away from him. He assumed a threatening attitude and warned me +that he was a friend of the provincial governor, but I told him that +he was not a friend of mine, and started him on his way to the coast. + +This occurrence was known throughout Bukidnon within three days, +and as the man in question was influential the fact that his claws +had been at least temporarily trimmed greatly encouraged the people. + +From Linabo we returned by a different route, visiting the old +settlement of Sumilao, the site of the original Jesuit mission in +Bukidnon, and spending a day in endeavouring to reach a constantly +disappearing village named Nanca. We had gathered from the written +report of a lieutenant of the United States army that Nanca was +distant from Sumilao about two hours' ride. We reached it after dark, +having travelled steadily throughout the day except for some thirty +minutes taken for lunch, and having, I firmly believe, broken the +world's record for the number of cañons encountered in the course of +a fourteen-hour ride. + +Nanca proved to be a very interesting Bukidnon village, as its +people retained their picturesque tribal dress and most of their +primitive customs. I became much interested in finding out about +its organization, and the part that each family took in its affairs, +and asked the persons present what each man did. I finally came to a +particularly fine-looking white-haired individual, and when I inquired +about him my informant replied: "Oh, he does not do anything. He is +a philosopher!" Then the crowd shouted with laughter. We decided that +the Bukidnons were not without a sense of humor. + +A hard half day's ride brought us back to Cagayan de Misamis, and +I sailed at once for Manila, leaving Lieutenant-Governor Lewis +to face his difficult task alone. As I had anticipated, trouble +promptly began. The wealthiest people of Cagayan had always lived +off the unfortunate Bukidnons, and had no intention of relaxing +their grip. I have deeply regretted that I did not myself visit the +remaining villages in the valley of the Cagayan River and explain to +their inhabitants the change in their fortunes. Agents of the Cagayan +caciques had been busy there while I was occupied on the other side +of the subprovince, and shortly after my arrival at Manila a telegram +was received from the provincial governor, saying that the Bukidnons +were asking for a brown governor, instead of a white one, and were +reported to be preparing ropes and poison with which to commit suicide. + +Now these simple people of the hills had no intention of committing +suicide, nor did they want "a brown governor." Their petitions were +prepared by Cagayan caciques and they were forced to sign them. + +In the part of the subprovince which I had visited the conspirators +against the new government made little headway. Nevertheless their +vicious activities continued, and later, on several occasions, +they succeeded in frightening the people of one or another of the +then rapidly growing towns so badly that they took to the hills, and +Mr. Lewis had to hunt them up and persuade them to come back again, +which he always succeeded in doing. + +When I returned to inspect Bukidnon a year later, I found that a +marvellous change had already been brought about. Model villages had +taken the place of the ramshackle affairs which I had found on my first +visit. The houses were grouped around spacious plazas on which the +grass had been so carefully cut that they had already begun to look +like lawns. Streets were kept so clean that one could literally pick +up a dropped pin without the slightest difficulty. Where the streets +reached the open prairie, bars were provided to keep stray animals +out of town. Every yard was neatly fenced. All domestic animals were +properly confined if not out at pasture. Every village was perfectly +drained, the slope of the land being such that all drainage promptly +ran off onto the prairie. Yards were immaculately clean and were +planted with useful food-producing crops. Little cultivated fields +were already beginning to appear near the outskirts of the towns. This +latter change greatly delighted me. These poor, ignorant people had +always believed that the prairie soil was worthless for agricultural +purposes, and that in order to grow crops it was necessary for +them to go to the distant mountains, clear forest land and plant +it. Furthermore, they had been quite unable to break the prairie +sod and bring the underlying soil under cultivation with such simple +agricultural implements as they possessed. + +At the request of Lieutenant-Governor Lewis, I had furnished two disk +plows with the necessary animals to pull them, in order that the land +might be plowed the first time for those who were willing to cultivate +it. Thereafter they were left to care for it themselves. This plan +had aroused great enthusiasm. As I approached Sumilao I saw a crowd +of men busily engaged in some task, and when I drew near was amazed +and delighted to find that, although the disk plow intended for use +at that place had arrived before the animals which were to pull it, +fifteen men had harnessed themselves to it and were vigorously breaking +the sod. I decided on the spot that the Bukidnon people had a future, +and have never changed my mind. The progress which they have since +made is almost unbelievable. + +Efforts to destroy the government which we had established in +Bukidnon, and to reëstablish the system of peonage under which +its peaceful, industrious inhabitants had so long groaned, were +persistently continued. During my third annual inspection trip, +I found that there was a plan on foot to trump up criminal charges +against Lieutenant-Governor Lewis and Señor Manuel Fortich, whose +services I had meanwhile secured as an assistant to Mr. Lewis upon +his severing his connection with the constabulary. The efforts of +the mischief-makers had become so persistent and so vicious that I +decided to declare war on them. Accordingly, I ran over to Cagayan +and summoned the provincial officers and several other prominent +citizens, with whom I went straight to the point, telling them that I +had not anticipated that they would readily adapt themselves to the +changed conditions which resulted from the separation of Bukidnon +as a distinct subprovince, and had patiently waited three years for +them to accept the inevitable, but that I had grown weary of their +constant efforts to nullify the work which we were doing, and that I +was aware of the plan to destroy the usefulness of Lewis and Fortich; +adding that they must let the Bukidnon officials alone, and that in +the event of future failure to do so I would temporarily transfer my +office to Cagayan de Misamis and devote my time and attention to making +things interesting for certain of them. I named no names, and it was +not necessary to do so. The individuals referred to knew whom I meant. + +Conditions now rapidly improved for a time, but in November I +was called to Washington to be investigated by the Committee on +Insular Affairs with reference to my administration of public and +friar lands, and the enemies of the Bukidnon government promptly +became active. Governor Lewis was arrested and tried on two criminal +charges, while his assistant, Señor Fortich, was charged with murder, +no less. If the charges of estafa and falsification of public documents +brought against Lewis failed, it was proposed to prosecute him for +adultery, the minimum penalty for which in the Philippine Islands is +imprisonment for two years, four months and one day. + +Fortunately, it took but a short time to show that the cases against +those two young men were spite cases pure and simple, and they +collapsed miserably. Other charges were promptly brought. + +There had been a sad mix up, resulting from an ill-defined boundary +line between Bukidnon and the Moro Province, for which I myself +was directly responsible, as the papers concerning it were on my +desk awaiting action when I was called home, and in the rush of +a hurried departure I had overlooked them. Lewis and Fortich had +been unjustly blamed for the result. I now took a hand in the game +myself, and the whole matter was satisfactorily cleared up. Lewis was +promoted to the governorship of the province of Agusan, and Fortich +was made lieutenant-governor of Bukidnon, a position which he has +filled ever since with great credit to himself and advantage to the +Bukidnon people. + +The progress which has been made in Bukidnon is really wonderful. At +the outset there was not a decent trail in the subprovince. Now +one can go nineteen miles inland to the Mañgima River cañon in an +automobile, and it will be soon possible so to continue the journey +ten miles further to Maluco. Excellent low-grade horse trails, +many miles of which are already wide enough to serve as automobile +roads as soon as the line to the coast is completed, connect the +principal settlements of Bukidnon proper, which also have telephonic +communication, the people having gladly undertaken to cut and erect +the necessary poles and build and maintain the lines, if furnished +instruments, wire, insulators and tools. They have kept their bargain, +and there are constant demands for an extension of the system, under +similar conditions, to the more remote mountain villages. + +There was not a bridge or a culvert in the subprovince. Pack animals +were constantly being swept away by the rushing currents of the +larger rivers, or perishing miserably in mud when attempting to cross +soft-bottomed creeks. Now one may ride from the sea-coast to Malaybalay +without wetting the feet of one's horse, and in so doing one will +cross more than a hundred substantial bridges and culverts built by the +Bukidnons themselves. As a rule, even the largest bridges have cost the +government no more than the price of their iron bolts and braces. The +people have voluntarily and cheerfully done the work, in order to get +the benefits which would result. In some cases heavy hardwood timbers +have been dragged for fifteen miles or more by teams of hundreds of +men. All bridges are roofed, and they afford fine camping places for +travellers and their pack animals. Incidentally the load which pack +animals can comfortably carry has been more than doubled. + +Old villages have increased greatly in size, and numerous new ones +have been established. All have spacious plazas and streets which +are beautifully kept. The mountains are almost depopulated. The +hardy old fighters who used to frequent them have become peaceful +agriculturists. Houses are neat and clean. Yards are fenced, planted +with useful crops, and well cultivated. Each house has its own sanitary +arrangements. No domestic animals are allowed to run at large in towns. + +Rich, cultivated fields surround the villages and each year stretch +farther and farther out over the neighbouring prairies. Coffee +production is increasing by leaps and bounds, and blight is +disappearing from the plantations as the result of intensive +cultivation. The people are well fed and prosperous. Their condition +steadily improves. They have been taught the value of their products, +and encouraged to insist on receiving it. + +Practically every village has its schoolhouse and its schoolmaster's +house, voluntarily built free of charge by the inhabitants. Children +are sent to school by their parents and learn rapidly. On my second +visit I found the boys trying to play baseball, using joints of bamboo +for bats, and big, thick-skinned oranges for balls. I sent to each +of the more important towns a complete baseball outfit, and now the +boys certainly know, and can play, the game. + +These results have been accomplished practically without bloodshed +or rough treatment of any sort. Only in the rarest instances, and in +dealing with the very worst of the hill men, who were professional +murderers, has a shot been fired. + +When the subprovince was invaded by bands of savages from the mountains +of Butuan and from the neighbouring Moro Province, the people requested +firearms so that they might protect themselves. Some twenty-five old +carbines were furnished them, and they organized an effective force +which pursued the evil-doers and policed them up very effectively. + +Marámag, one of the most recently established villages, is in the very +heart of Mindanao. Two years ago a good many of its leading citizens +were living in tree-houses. During August, 1912, I found them cutting +the grass on their plaza with a lawn-mower! + +Another thing which has made me rub my eyes and wonder if I were +awake was the discovery that the people of this subprovince were +clothing themselves and their children in garments purchased from +Montgomery, Ward & Co., of Chicago, Illinois, U. S. A.! The explanation +is simple. The Cagayan shopkeepers persist in cheating them at every +opportunity, and the house of Montgomery, Ward & Co. does not. Although +Chicago is far away, the mail service is nevertheless good! + +Death has just summoned Leoncio, one of the most remarkable men who +has yet arisen among the Bukidnon people. We found him an absolutely +illiterate heathen. With no other instruction than that given him +by lieutenant-governors Lewis and Fortich, he learned to lay out and +build roads and trails on any desired grade, to construct bridges which +will be standing twenty years hence, and to erect public buildings +which would be a credit to any man compelled to use such materials +as those available in Bukidnon. + +At the time of his death he was just finishing a bridge three hundred +feet long across the rushing Culaman River. This structure has a +galvanized iron roof, contributed by the enthusiastic residents +of Sumilao. + +The healthful rivalry between towns is one of the delightful things +about Bukidnon. Each desires to have better buildings, better streets, +better bridges, better roads and better schools than its neighbours. + +I experience no keener pleasure than that which I enjoy on my annual +trips through Bukidnon. There is always something new to see. The +people are most grateful for the help which has been given them. Their +friendliness and their loyalty cannot fail to touch the hearts of +all who know them. They are now well housed, and well fed. Their +children are being given in liberal measure the education which had +previously been denied to them. The Bukidnons are to-day a prosperous, +progressive people, happy and contented. I have an abiding faith in +their future if they are given a chance. + +When they meet their old Filipino oppressors on trips to the coast, +the latter grit their teeth and remark under their breath: "Oh, very +well. This is your inning now, but ours will come! The Americans +are going soon, and then we will square our little account with +you. You will pay dearly for your 'insubordination'!" Having set +the feet of these people on the road which leads onward and upward, +shall we leave them to their fate? + +Conditions in Butuan have improved far more slowly than in +Bukidnon. The climate is less favourable. Bukidnon is a highland +country with a white man's climate. The Agusan River valley is +usually hot, and always damp. The town of Butuan was considered the +worst misgoverned municipality in the Philippines on the date of its +separation from Surigao, and it was certainly one of the filthiest. I +have sunk to my knees in the mud of its streets. It is to-day a +beautifully kept and sanitary place, and is certainly not misgoverned. + +As I have already said, the Manobo inhabitants of the wretched +villages along the banks of the main Agusan River were a sickly, +filthy, broken-spirited lot, besotted with vino and in danger +of becoming victims of the opium habit. It is almost a physical +impossibility completely to suppress the opium traffic because of +the ease with which the drug is smuggled, but the vino traffic has +been suppressed. The chief business on the Agusan River was formerly +the transportation of vino up-stream. It is now the transportation +down-stream of Manila hemp raised by the people of the valley. + +The villages have been greatly improved and rendered reasonably +sanitary. The best of them compare not unfavourably with some of the +Bukidnon towns. The people improve, but radical improvement will not +be in evidence until the next generation comes on. + +Transportation facilities have been greatly increased by freeing +several of the more important branches of the Agusan River from snags, +and so opening them for launch navigation. Two good canals have been +cut through the swamps, and communication by launch has thus been +opened with the upper Agusan valley. + +There is an industrial school for Manobo boys, and a number of the +villages have primary schools. + +Doubtless the most important single factor in improving the condition +of the Manobos has been the establishment of a series of government +shops at which they can sell their products for a fair price, and +buy what they need so cheaply that it almost seems to them as if they +were receiving presents. + +Governor Frederick Johnston, who is largely responsible for these +improved conditions, laboured ceaselessly to bring them about. At the +outset he had no launch transportation and lived for weeks at a time +in native canoes or bancas. He was fearless and tireless. When the +time came for him to take long overdue leave I had no competent person +to put in his place, and in deference to my wishes he continued at +his post for nearly two years. At the end of that time it was found +that one of his legs, which had been injured on an early exploring +expedition, had become cancerous, and that immediate amputation was +necessary. This made it impossible for him to continue his work, +and crippled him for life. He had borne his trouble uncomplainingly, +and I had not even known of its existence. Although a man of mature +years, he bravely entered upon the study of medicine, hoping to +prepare himself for a useful life, but the operation had come too +late. Cancer reappeared, and for a year he was dying by inches. In +a way I am responsible for it. Do you think he laid it up against +me? You shall judge for yourselves. + +He used to write a copy-book hand. Just before leaving Manila I +received from him an almost illegible letter in which he economized +words as if composing a cablegram. It brought the tears to my eyes. He +said:-- + + + "I thank you for your slavery book just received. If strength is + left me to read it, I shall read it though I do nothing else in + this life. + + "I have had letter in preparation to you since last June but + I haven't strength to sit at the machine. I expect now to die + before New Year. + + "I have offered surgeons to take all chances, but they decline + to operate, stating that they would consider operation deliberate + murder. + + "This is first letter I write since last September. If I do not get + strength to finish typewritten letter I have given instructions it + be sent when I am dead. I cannot write with pen; I have tried it. + + "If you hear no more, please remember I never forgot you. Sorry + you leave the Secretariat--so sorry I can't tell you. + + "I am ready to die. I know that I have lived unselfishly for + what I thought was right and good, and death is nothing. If this + should be the last, then accept from the man that was always your + man and will be your man until he dies, a last Good-by." + + +A few days later he went to his reward. + +The loyalty of such a man is a precious possession. + +The lot of the non-Christian tribes inhabiting the regularly organized +provinces is not a happy one. The township government act is applicable +to their settlements, and the provincial officers have the same +powers and duties with reference to them as have the corresponding +officers in the special government provinces. In both cases these +powers are exercised subject to the approval of the secretary of the +interior, but in providing for the government of non-Christians in +Christian provinces, we overlooked one very essential detail. Neither +the secretary of the interior nor any one else has authority to +compel the governors or provincial boards of these provinces to +act. They have discovered that efforts to improve the condition of +the ignorant and primitive peoples intrusted to their charge can be +very effectively nullified if they merely sit still and do nothing, +and almost with one accord they have adopted this policy. Exception +should be made in favour of North Ilocos, South Ilocos, Pangasinán, +Ambos Camarines, Iloilo and Zambales. No other provinces have made any +real effort to help their non-Christian population, and the funds set +aside by law to be expended for this end simply go on accumulating +in their respective treasuries, as I have managed to convince them +that efforts to divert such funds to purposes not authorized by law +will not prosper. The law should be so amended as to provide that if +provincial boards fail to act, the secretary of the interior may do so. + +The organization of the Moro Province was provided for by an act +passed on June 1, 1903. It is the largest single province in the +Philippine Islands, including within its limits more than half of +the great island of Mindanao with various small islands adjacent +thereto, and Basilan, Joló, Siassi, Tawi Tawi, Sibutu, Cagayan de +Joló and the very numerous other small islands stretching between +Mindanao and North Borneo. It is divided into five districts, each +with a district governor. The province has a governor, a secretary, +a treasurer, an attorney, an engineer and a superintendent of schools. + +The four officials first named constitute a legislative council the +acts of which are subject to the approval of the Philippine Commission. + +The province is allowed to expend the moneys accruing from the +customs dues paid at Joló and Zamboanga, which are ports of entry, +but is not fully self-supporting. The insular government pays for +the Philippine constabulary serving there. Until within a very short +time the provincial officials have been almost exclusively officers +of the army of the United States. In my opinion this arrangement has +been a bad one, not because of the character of the men who have done +the work, many of whom were of exceptional ability and were admirably +fitted for the performance of the duties which fell to their lot, but +because no one of them has retained a given office long enough to carry +a policy through to its logical conclusion and get the results which +might thus have been obtained. Indeed, the lack of a fixed policy, +combined with some unnecessary and unjustifiable killing, explain, +in my opinion, the fact that the results accomplished have come far +short of what might have been expected when one considers the splendid +body of men from which the provincial officials have been drawn. + +Noteworthy public improvements have been made in places like Zamboanga +and Joló, but the country of the hill people, which ought to have +been crisscrossed with trails long ere this, is still not opened +up. Tribes like the Mandayas would, if given the opportunity, advance +as rapidly as have the Bukidnons, but such opportunity has not been +given to them to any considerable extent. + +Having heard much of the Mandaya villages near Mati, I improved +the opportunity to visit them in August, 1912, only to find to my +amazement that the local constabulary officer, who ought to have been +in the closest possible touch with these people, did not even know +the way to their settlements. At another place where some 1400 hill +people had been compelled to come down from their native mountains and +settle in a village which could have been made a model of cleanliness, +and should have been surrounded by rich cultivated fields, not half +enough ground had been cleared to furnish food for the inhabitants, +even under the most favourable circumstances. The houses were falling +down; the streets were deep in mud; the garden patches were overgrown +with weeds; more than half of the people had taken to the hills again +in a search for food, and small blame to them! I found here as fine +appearing a young constabulary officer as one could hope to meet, +eating his heart out because he had nothing to do! Neither he nor any +of his soldiers spoke the local dialect. He was supposed to be running +a store, among other things, for the benefit of the hill people. I +asked to see it, and it took him half an hour to find the key! In sixty +minutes I could have set him work enough to keep him busy for three +months. All that he needed was some one to direct him, but there was +no one to do it. With the best intentions in the world he was using +his soldiers to chase a lot of poor hill people back into a village +where they ought never to have been asked to live. In other words, +the Moro Province, having brought these people down and ordered them +to settle on a site selected for them, had signally failed to back its +own game. I myself would not think of trying to compel members of a +wild tribe to live in any given place, unless it were necessary to do +so in the interest of public order. Life in villages can, and should, +be made so attractive to them that they will be glad to adopt it. + +The Moros, with their fanatical religious beliefs and prejudices, +present a very grave problem. Conditions have undoubtedly greatly +improved in Davao, Cotabato and Zamboanga. I am not sufficiently +familiar with affairs in the Lanao district to express an intelligent +opinion concerning them. So far as concerns Joló, it is my opinion +that things have come to a bad pass there; that life and property +are not as safe to-day as they were during the early days of the +American occupation, and that we have progressed backward for some +time. However, Joló pirates have at least been pretty effectively +kept off the sea, and that in itself is a very important result. + +It is idle to suppose that the Moros can be subdued and made into +decent citizens by throwing kisses at them. It was certain from the +start that they would transgress. In my opinion, if we are to cure them +of their evil tendencies, we must first warn them that they will be +punished if they misbehave, and then make the warning come true. This +has been done, but to another very important part of the programme +which I deem essential to success, comparatively little attention seems +to have been given. When people who have been punished for misbehavior +have had enough they should be afforded a chance to quit, and indeed +should be encouraged and helped to do so. No grudge should be borne +for past misdeeds after the account has once been settled. Occasions +have not been lacking in the Moro Province on which men have been +treated with severity when they should have been treated with kindness. + +In the Moro, native racial characteristics have been profoundly +modified by religious beliefs. Men endowed with such magnificent +courage as the Moro warriors often display certainly have their +redeeming qualities. The same old policy that has won with the Ifugaos, +Bontoc Igorots and Kalingas, and is winning with the wild Tingians +and Ilongots, has been tried in dealing with the renegade Moros of +Palawan with a considerable degree of success. It is my firm belief +that it will work with the Moros of Mindanao, Basilan, Joló and Tawi +Tawi, but substantial and permanent progress cannot now be anticipated +for many years. The Moros must be given more than a square deal, or +results will not differ essentially from those which have attended +the efforts of Japan to subdue the hill people of Northern Formosa, +or those of the Dutch to subdue the Achinese. + +Recently nearly all of the army officers holding positions in the Moro +Province have been replaced by civilians. This is a move in the right +direction; not, I repeat, because the men thus displaced are incapable +of achieving success if given the opportunity, but because continuity +of policy is absolutely essential to success and is impracticable if +the men charged with carrying out that policy are to be constantly +changed. The next governor of the Moro Province should be a civilian +and should be selected with the greatest care. He should be able, +energetic, fearless, tireless and young. He should be kept in office +for twenty years if he will stay so long. The task which awaits him +is real man's work. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII + +CORRIGENDA + + +I trust that the foregoing incomplete outline of what has been +accomplished toward bettering the condition of the non-Christian +tribes of the Philippines has at least sufficed to convey some +idea of the nature of the task which has confronted us and of the +spirit in which it has been approached. Before considering further +the difficulties which have been successfully met and the problems +which still remain unsettled, I will correct some of the numerous +misstatements which have been made relative to the unimportance +of the non-Christian tribes, the nature of the work done for them, +and the motives of some of those who have engaged in it. + +I once heard it said that the trouble with Blount's book was that +it contained five thousand lies, that the correction of each would +require, on the average, two pages of printed matter, and that no +one would read the resulting series of volumes! + +I have not counted the misstatements of this author. They are +sufficiently numerous to make it impracticable to answer them all in +detail. It is hard to know just what to do in such a case, as one must +run the risk of giving undue importance to them by noticing them, or of +creating the impression that they cannot be answered by ignoring them. + +Under all the circumstances it has seemed to me well to reply somewhat +fully to his more important allegations relative to non-Christian tribe +matters, for the reason, among others, that many of his statements +embody the more important claims of the Filipino politicians relative +thereto; and to add that it would be equally easy to riddle his +contentions relative to most other matters which he discusses. He +says:-- + + + "Professor Worcester of the Philippine Commission has for the last + twelve years been the grand official digger-up of non-Christian + tribes. He takes as much delight at the discovery of a new + non-Christian tribe in some remote, newly penetrated mountain + fastness, as the butterfly catcher with the proverbial blue + goggles does in the capture of a new kind of butterfly." [31] + + +I have never had the good fortune to discover even one new tribe, +the net result of my explorations and studies having been to reduce +the number of such tribes claimed to inhabit the Philippines from +eighty-two to twenty-seven, and to throw serious doubt on the validity +of several of those which I still provisionally recognize. Blount +adds:-- + + + "Professor Worcester's greatest value to President Taft, and also + the thing out of which has grown, most unfortunately, what seems + to be a very cordial mutual hatred between him and the Filipinos, + is his activities in the matter of discovering, getting acquainted + with, classifying, tabulating, enumerating, and otherwise preparing + for salvation, the various non-Christian tribes." [32] + + +It is quite true that the Filipino politicians have bitterly resented +my making known the facts relative to the existence of numerous +uncivilized peoples in the islands, but to the charge that I hate +the Filipinos I must enter an emphatic denial. + +Fifteen years ago I expressed my opinion of them in the following +words:-- + + + "The civilized native is self-respecting and self-restrained to a + remarkable degree. He is patient under misfortune, and forbearing + under provocation. While it is stretching the truth to say that + he never reveals anger, he certainly succeeds much better in + controlling himself than does the average European. When he does + give way to passion, however, he is as likely as not to become + for the moment a maniac, and to do some one a fatal injury. + + "He is a kind father and a dutiful son. His aged relatives are + never left in want, but are brought to his home, and are welcome + to share the best that it affords to the end of their days. + + "Among his fellows, he is genial and sociable. He loves to sing, + dance, and make merry. He is a born musician, and considering the + sort of instruments at his disposal, and especially the limited + advantages which he has for perfecting himself in their use, + his performances on them are often very remarkable. + + "He is naturally fearless, and admires nothing so much as bravery + in others. Under good officers he makes an excellent soldier, + and he is ready to fight to the death for his honour or his home. + + + + "With all their amiable qualities it is not to be denied + that at present the civilized natives are utterly unfit for + self-government. Their universal lack of education is in itself + a difficulty that cannot be speedily overcome, and there is much + truth in the statement of a priest who said of them that 'in many + things they are big children who must be treated like little ones.' + + "Not having the gift of prophecy, I cannot say how far or how + fast they might advance, under more favourable circumstances than + those which have thus far surrounded them. They are naturally + law-abiding and peace-loving, and would, I believe, appreciate + and profit by just treatment. + + "In the four months which separate May 1, 1898, from the day + when the manuscript for this volume leaves my hands, important + events have crowded on each other's heels as never before in the + history of the Archipelago. Whatever may be the immediate outcome, + it is safe to say that, having learned something of his power, the + civilized native will now be likely to take a hand in shaping his + own future. I trust that opportunities which he has never enjoyed + may be given to him. If not, may he win them for himself." [33] + + +This opinion, which I trust will not be considered unkindly, has +not been modified in its essentials as a result of many additional +years of life in the Philippines. I have unexpectedly had a hand in +giving to the Filipinos opportunities which they had never before +enjoyed. I drafted the act under which the municipalities of these +islands to-day govern themselves; the act creating the College of +Medicine and Surgery where young Filipino men and women may receive +the best of theoretical and practical instruction; the act creating +in the Bureau of Lands a school of surveying as a result of which +the present dearth of Filipino surveyors will soon end; the provision +of law creating and providing for the Philippine Training School for +Nurses, which is preparing hundreds of young Filipino men and women to +practise a useful and noble profession. I drafted the legislation which +created a forest school, where many bright Filipino lads are now being +trained for the government service. I drafted the provision of law +which gives to all Filipinos the right to make personal use of timber +from the government forests without paying a cent therefor, and the act +which makes it possible for municipalities to have communal forests, +reserved for the special and exclusive benefit of their citizens. + +I fought for eight years to get the money for the Philippine General +Hospital, where nearly ninety thousand patients, the vast majority +of whom are Filipinos, are treated annually either in beds or at the +several clinics; I have approved, and indeed compelled, the appointment +of a staff for that institution largely made up of Filipinos, and +I have steadily supported the Filipino members of that staff when +insulted or unjustly accused, as I regret to say they sometimes have +been, as a result of race prejudice with which I have no sympathy. + +I am the official ultimately responsible for the establishment and +maintenance of a health system which indisputably saves the lives of +hundreds of thousands of Filipinos every year, and has practically +rid their country of smallpox, plague and cholera. + +All of the employees of the Weather Bureau, which comes under my +executive control, are Filipinos. + +I could name a score of other important measures, having for their +sole object the betterment of the condition of the Filipinos, and +extension to them of increased opportunity to demonstrate their +capacity, which I have originated. I have never knowingly opposed a +measure which would produce this result. + +I frankly admit that I have declined to approve the appointment of +a Filipino to any position under my control simply because he was +a Filipino. I have insisted that appointees have higher and better +reasons to claim consideration, among which may be mentioned decent +character and ability to do the work of the positions to be filled. No +living man entertains more genuinely kindly feelings toward the peoples +of these islands, Christian and non-Christian, than do I. An allegation +that I hate the Filipinos comes with especially bad taste from a man +who himself never ceased to criticize them, and to denounce them as +utterly incompetent and worthless throughout his Philippine career, +but who finally experienced an eleventh-hour conversion on the eve of +a presidential election which was likely to bring into power another +political party. + +Blount has worked out a theory, peculiarly his own, to the effect +that the non-Christian peoples have been set aside as a field for +purely Protestant missionary activities, and that I am a party to +this scheme. In this connection he says:-- + + + "It seems that the Catholic and Protestant ecclesiastical + authorities in the Islands get along harmoniously, a kind of + modus vivendi having been arranged between them, by which the + Protestants are not to do any proselyting among the seven millions + of Catholic Christians. So this field of endeavour is the one + Professor Worcester has been industriously preparing during the + last twelve years. [34] + + "Obviously, every time Professor Worcester digs up a new + non-Christian tribe he increases the prospective harvest of the + Protestants, thus corralling more missionary votes at home for + permanent retention of the Philippines. [35] + + + "But neither Bishop Brent nor any one else can persuade him [36] + that it is wise to abandon the principle that Church and State + should be separate, in order that our government may go into + the missionary business. Since it has become apparent that the + Philippines will not pay, the Administration has relied solely + on missionary sentiments.... + + "The foregoing reflections are not intended to raise an issue + as to the wisdom of foreign missions. They are simply intended + to illustrate how it is possible and natural for President Taft + to consider Professor Worcester 'the most valuable man we have + on the Philippine Commission.' The Professor's menagerie is a + vote-getter." [37] + + +The first passage quoted has the merit of being ingenious, and embodies +a half truth. Bishop Brent deems it inadvisable to try to proselytize +Catholic Christians, and outside of Manila his co-workers confine +their efforts to the conversion of persons other than Filipinos. They +conduct missions for non-Christians at Sagada and Bontoc in Bontoc, +at Baguio in Benguet, and at Zamboanga in the Moro Province. + +In Manila they conduct a mission for Filipinos in connection with +a hospital which does most valuable work, but they mean to leave +Catholic Filipinos alone. + +The Catholics recognize no corresponding limitations. They conduct +missions for the Benguet-Lepanto Igorots at Baguio, Itogon, Kabayan, +Cervantes and elsewhere; for the Bontoc Igorots at Bauco and Bontoc +and for the Ifugaos at Quiangan. + +The other Protestant denominations having missions in the Philippines +work chiefly among the Catholics. + +I have absolutely no connection with any such enterprises except that +I have helped to make them possible in the wild man's territory by +the establishment of law and order there, and have sometimes made both +Catholic and Protestant missionaries my agents for administering simple +remedies to sick persons who might otherwise have perished miserably. + +To this extent, and to this extent only, has our government gone into +the missionary business. + +I am proud to count Bishop Brent and Archbishop Harty among my personal +friends. I am in complete sympathy with the purposes which actuate +both of them in prosecuting Christian missions. I have sometimes +disapproved, personally, of methods employed by their subordinates +in this work, and have felt free to tell them so! + +Blount complains bitterly over the exhibition of members of +non-Christian tribes at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. For a wonder +he admits that Tagálog and Visayan Filipinos were also exhibited. He +fails to record the fact that a commission of highly educated and +cultured Filipino men and women were sent to the exposition and +travelled quite widely in the United States, so that they were seen, +and heard of, by great numbers of people who never visited St. Louis +at all. Of the exhibition of wild men, he says:-- + + + "I think no deeper wound was ever inflicted upon the pride of + the real Filipino people than that caused by this exhibition, + the knowledge of which seems to have spread throughout the + islands." [38] + + +And he rather ingeniously gives it to be understood that I was +responsible for this exhibition, although he carefully avoids stating +that this was the case. + +I am quite as strongly opposed to the exhibition of members of the +Philippine non-Christian tribes as is Blount himself, but for very +different reasons hereinafter set forth. As such peoples constitute an +eighth of the population of the Islands, I also object to the attempt +of certain Filipino politicians to conceal the fact of their existence, +and to the efforts of certain misguided Americans to minimize the +importance of the problems which their existence presents. Let us +look the facts in the face. The Moros are as "real" as the Tagálogs. + +The average Filipino does not object in the least to the exhibition of +wild people. On the contrary, he is just as much interested in them as +is the average American, and goes to see them whenever the opportunity +offers. It is only the Filipino politician who pretends to see any +actual immodesty in scanty costumes worn with the innocence with +which Adam and Eve were endowed before the fall. The truth is that +the politician himself does not really object to this semi-nudity, +to which he is already sufficiently accustomed among his own people +in his own native town, but he plays it up for political effect. + +The pedigree of the average Filipino politician very frequently runs +back to white or Chinese ancestors on the father's side. In his heart +of hearts he resents his Malay blood, and he particularly objects to +anything which reminds him of the truth as to the stage of civilization +which had been attained by his Malay ancestors a few centuries ago. + +If he be a member of the Philippine Assembly, he further and bitterly +resents his lack of authority to legislate for the Moros and other +non-Christian tribes, and is ever ready to support his frequently +reiterated demand for such authority by arguing the unimportance +of these peoples, and that of the problems which their existence +presents. Up to the time when the assembly was established and was +denied the power to legislate for the non-Christians, my occasional +illustrated lectures on the wild peoples, given at Manila, were very +liberally attended by Filipinos, not a few of whom I am glad to say +still continue to patronize them when occasion offers. + +My own attitude toward the exhibition of non-Christians, and my reasons +therefor, are set forth in the following official correspondence, +with which I will this phase of the subject:-- + + + (Telegram.) + + "Pack [39] Bontoc, Manila, Dec. 4, 1909. + + + "Schneiderwind is back with his Igorots some of whom have as + much as two thousand pesos due them. Am trying to arrange to + have this money put in postal savings bank to protect them from + themselves. Schneiderwind is after another party of wild people + to take to Europe. Has asked about Ifugaos and Apayaos. Have told + him strongly opposed to taking these people to other countries + for exhibition purposes and will place all possible obstacles in + his way if he attempts to do so. If after this warning he enters + Mountain province to secure people for exhibition purposes give him + no assistance but use every legitimate means to prevent his getting + them. Give proper and seasonable instructions to your subordinates. + + "Worcester." + + +On April 22, 1910, in returning to the Governor-General a petition +dealing with the exhibition of wild people I placed upon it this +indorsement:-- + + + "Respectfully returned to the Honourable, the Governor-General. + + "The undersigned is strongly opposed to the sending of members of + wild tribes to the United States or to other civilized countries + for exhibition purposes. Apart from all other considerations + experience shows that the men and women thus taken away from their + natural surroundings are apt to be pretty thoroughly spoiled and + to be trouble makers after their return. + + "The undersigned has recently informed Mr. R. Schneiderwind that + he would, if necessary, do everything in his power to prevent the + latter gentleman from taking another set of Igorots away from the + Philippines for exhibition purposes. This, too, in spite of the + fact that Mr. Schneiderwind has apparently been very considerate + in his treatment of the Igorots whom he has taken to the United + States for exhibition purposes. + + +"The undersigned would assume the same attitude toward any other +person endeavouring to obtain Igorots for exhibition purposes." + +The advocates of the "united people" theory for these islands are +forced to insist on the unimportance of the non-Christian tribes and +it is needless to say that Blount does this. His contentions on the +subject are rather concisely stated in the following passage:-- + + + "You see our Census of 1903 gave the population of the + Philippines at about 7,600,000 of which 7,000,000 are put down + as civilized Christians; and of the remaining 600,000 about half + are the savage, or semi-civilized, crudely Mohammedan Moros, + in Mindanao, and the adjacent islets down near Borneo. The other + 300,000 or so uncivilized people scattered throughout the rest + of the archipelago, the 'non-Christian tribes,' which dwell in + the mountain fastnesses, remote from 'the madding crowd,' cut + little more figure, if any, in the general political equation, + than the American Indian does with us to-day." [40] + + +If there were ten million American Indians who were in undisputed +occupation of half the territory of the United States, this statement +might in a way approximate the truth. Blount's ten-year-old population +figures are a trifle out of date, but before demonstrating this I +wish to show certain peculiarities in his method of manipulating +them. He says:-- + + + "That the existence of these wild tribes--the dog-eating + Igorrotes and other savages you saw exhibited at the St. Louis + Exposition of 1903-4--constitutes infinitely less reason for + withholding independence from the Filipinos than the American + Indian constituted in 1776 for withholding independence from us, + will be sufficiently apparent from a glance at the following table, + taken from the American Census of the Islands of 1903 (vol. ii., + p. 123):-- + + + Island Civilized Wild Total + + Luzón 3,575,001 223,506 3,798,507 + Panay 728,713 14,933 743,646 + Cebu 592,247 592,247 + Bohol 243,148 243,148 + Negros 439,559 21,217 460,776 + Leyte 357,641 357,641 + Samar 222,002 688 222,690 + Mindanao 246,694 252,940 499,634 + + + "I think the above table makes clear the enormity of the injustice + I am now trying to crucify. Without stopping to use your pencil, + you can see that Mindanao, the island where the 'intractable + Moros' Governor Forbes speaks of live, contains about a half + million people. Half of these are civilized Christians, and the + other half are the wild, crudely Mohammedan Moro tribes. Above + Mindanao on the above list, you behold what practically is the + Philippine archipelago (except Mindanao), viz. Luzón and the six + main Visayan Islands. If you will turn back to pages 225 et seq., + especially to page 228, where the student of world politics was + furnished with all he needs or will ever care to know about the + geography of the Philippine Islands you will there find all the + rocks sticking out of the water and all the little daubs you see + on the map eliminated from the equation as wholly unessential to a + clear understanding of the problem of governing the Islands. That + process of elimination left us Luzón and the six main Visayan + Islands above as constituting, for all practical governmental + purposes all the Philippine archipelago except the Moro country + Mindanao (i.e. parts of it), and its adjacent islets. Luzón and + the Visayan Islands contain nearly 7,000,000 of people, and of + these the wild tribes, as you can see by a glance at the above + table constitute less than 300,000, sprinkled in the pockets of + their various mountain regions. Nearly all these 300,000 are quite + tame, peaceable and tractable, except, as Governor Forbes suggests, + they 'might possibly mistake the object of a visit.'" [41] + + +This is all very well unless you take the Judge at his word and turn +to the page of the census report referred to, but if you do this +a rude shock awaits you, for instead of the table above quoted the +following is the table which you will find:-- + + + Table 1.--Total Population, Classified as Civilized and Wild, by + Provinces and Comandancias. + + Province or Comandancia Total Population Civilized Wild + Philippine Islands 7,635,426 6,987,686 647,740 + Abra 51,860 37,823 14,037 + Albay 240,326 239,434 892 + Ambos Camarines 239,405 233,472 5,933 + Antique 134,166 131,245 2,921 + Basilan 30,179 1,331 28,848 + Bataán 46,787 45,166 1,621 + Batangas 257,715 257,715 ---- + Benguet 22,745 917 21,828 + Bohol 269,223 269,223 ---- + Bulacán 223,742 223,327 415 + Cagayán 156,239 142,825 13,414 + Cápiz 230,721 225,092 5,629 + Cavite 134,779 134,779 ---- + Cebú 653,727 653,727 ---- + Cotabato 125,875 2,313 123,562 + Dapitan 23,577 17,154 6,423 + Dávao 65,496 20,224 45,272 + Ilocos Norte 178,995 176,785 2,210 + Ilocos Sur 187,411 173,800 13,611 + Iloílo 410,315 403,932 6,383 + Isabela 76,431 68,793 7,638 + Joló 51,389 1,270 50,119 + La Laguna 148,606 148,606 ---- + La Union 137,839 127,789 10,050 + Lepanto-Bontoc 72,750 2,467 70,283 + Leyte 388,922 388,922 ---- + Manila City 219,928 219,928 ---- + Marinduque [42] 51,674 51,674 ---- + Masbate 43,675 43,675 ---- + Mindoro 39,582 32,318 7,264 + Misamis 175,683 135,473 40,210 + Negros Occidental 308,272 303,660 4,612 + Negros Oriental 201,494 184,889 16,605 + Nueva Ecija 134,147 132,999 1,148 + Nueva Vizcaya 62,541 16,026 46,515 + Pampanga 223,754 222,656 1,098 + Pangasinán 397,902 394,516 3,386 + Paragua 29,351 27,493 1,858 + Paragua Sur 6,345 1,359 4,986 + Rizal 150,923 148,502 2,421 + Romblón 52,848 52,848 ---- + Sámar 266,237 265,549 688 + Siassi 24,562 297 24,265 + Sorsogón 120,495 120,454 41 + Surigao 115,112 99,298 15,814 + Tarlac 135,107 133,513 1,594 + Tawi Tawi 14,638 93 14,545 + Tayabas [43] 153,065 150,262 2,803 + Zambales 104,549 101,381 3,168 + Zamboanga 44,322 20,692 23,630 + + +From this it will be apparent to the reader that the Judge takes some +rather unusual liberties even with such information as was available +nine years before he finished his book. I have quoted the actual +table in full, as it is useful for reference. + +In the middle of the page referred to by Blount there begins another +table showing "Total Population, Classified as Civilized and Wild, +by Islands." This table occupies four and one-half solid pages, and +therefore does not closely resemble the one foisted on the public +by him. + +It includes 323 islands, from which the Judge has selected eight which +happened to suit his purpose, giving it to be clearly understood +that the islands which he has not included are "rocks sticking out +of the water" and "little daubs you see on the map" "eliminated from +the equation as wholly unessential to a clear understanding of the +problem of governing the Islands." + +Among the "rocks" and "little daubs" thus eliminated are Mindoro with +an area of thirty-eight hundred fifty-one square miles, and Palawan +with an area of four thousand twenty-seven square miles. Of the +islands included, Leyte has twenty-seven hundred twenty-two square +miles; Cebu, seventeen hundred sixty-two square miles; and Bohol, +fourteen hundred eleven square miles. Incidentally, neither Leyte, +Cebu nor Bohol have any non-Christian inhabitants at all, while all +of Mindoro and Palawan, with the exception of narrow broken strips +along the coast are populated by wild people, hence it is convenient +for him to ignore them. + +In spite of his suggestion that it is not necessary to use the pencil +in connection with his table, I ventured to do so, in connection +with his statement that "Luzón and the Visayan Islands contain nearly +7,000,000 of people." On his own showing they contain 6,158,311. + +And now for the real facts. At the time the census enumeration was +made Apayao had been crossed by a white man only once and that +more than a hundred years ago. Extensive portions of Ifugao and +Bontoc, and the greater part of Kalinga, were unexplored, as were +the interior of Mindoro and most of the interior of Palawan, to say +nothing of immense regions in Mindanao. As a matter of fact, we do +not to-day know with any accuracy the number of Mangyans in Mindoro, +nor the number of Tagbanuas in Palawan, but it has been conclusively +demonstrated that the latter were greatly underestimated by the census +enumerators. There will be found in the appendix [44] a table giving +in detail the present accepted estimate of the non-Christian population +of the islands, which numbers at least a million seventy thousand. + +It is reasonably certain that the necessary corrections in the figures +for several provinces for which the present estimates are admittedly +too low will raise the total slightly. + +Blount has made a further statement relative to the non-Christian +population of Luzón which is indeed extraordinary. He says:-- + + + "Of the 7,600,000 people of the Philippines almost exactly + one-half, i.e. 3,800,000, live on Luzón, and these are practically + all civilized." [45] + + +The table on the opposite page, giving the census estimate of the +non-Christian population of Luzón and the present accepted estimate, +shows how erroneous is this statement. + +It will be seen that the census estimate of non-Christian inhabitants +in the province of Luzón was 224,106 and the present accepted estimate +is 440,926. + +In explanation of his extraordinary statement that practically all of +the people of Luzón are civilized Blount has inserted the following +foot-note:-- + + + "223,506 is the total of the uncivilized tribes still extant in + Luzón, Philippine Census, vol. ii., p. 125, but they live in the + mountains, and you might live in the Philippines a long lifetime + without ever seeing a sample of them, unless you happen to be an + energetic ethnologist fond of mountain climbing." [46] + + + Province or Census Present Accepted + Subprovince Estimate Estimate + + Abra 14,037 14,037 + Albay 892 892 + Amburayan -- 10,191 + Ambos Camarines 5,933 5,933 + Apayao -- 23,000 + Bataan 1,621 1,621 + Batangas 000 000 + Benguet 21,828 28,449 + Bontoc -- 62,000 + Bulacan 415 415 + Cagayan 13,414 15,000 + Cavite 000 000 + Ilocos Norte 2,210 2,210 + Ilocos Sur 13,611 13,611 + Ifugao -- 125,000 + Isabela 7,638 (?) + Kalinga -- 76,000 + La Laguna 000 (?) + La Union 10,050 000 + Lepanto -- 31,194 + Lepanto-Bontoc 70,283 000 + Nueva Ecija 1,148 862 + Nueva Vizcaya 46,515 6,000 + Pampanga 1,098 1,098 + Pangasinán 3,386 3,386 + Rizal 2,421 2,421 + Sorsogon 41 41 + Tarlac 1,594 1,594 + Tayabas 2,803 2,803 + Zambales 3,168 3,168 + Total 224,106 440,926 + + +Also you might live in the Philippines a long lifetime and never +see anything but wild people. The question of where they live is not +intimately connected with that of their number, which is the point +under discussion. + +Blount devotes considerable space to alleged newspaper accounts +of "a speech" said by him to have been delivered by me in the +Y. M. C. A. auditorium at Manila. I delivered two illustrated +lectures there, entitled respectively "The Non-Christian Tribes of +the Philippines," and "What has been done for the Non-Christian Tribes +under American Rule." + +In the course of the latter discourse I made the point that Filipinos +who claim that conquest confers no right of sovereignty are hoist +with their own petard, for the simple but sufficient reason that +the Negritos were the aborigines of the Philippines and were later +conquered and driven out of the lowland country into inaccessible, +forested mountain regions by the Malay invaders who were the ancestors +of the present Filipino claimants not only to the territory thus +conquered, but to territory which was held up to the time of the +American occupation by wild tribes whom they now propose to conquer +and rule if given the opportunity! + +My shaft struck home and called forth a howl of rage from the +politicians, which was the louder because I further expressed with +entire frankness my firm belief that the Filipinos were unfit to +govern the non-Christian tribes, whether or not they were fit to +govern themselves. + +In the course of further reference to the above-mentioned lecture, +Blount says:-- + + + "Another of the Manila papers gives an account of the speech, from + which it appears that the burly Professor succeeded in amusing + himself at least, if not his audience, by suggestions as to the + superior fighting qualities of the Moros over the Filipinos, + which suggestions were on the idea that the Moros would lick + the Filipinos if we should leave the country. (The Moros number + 300,000, the Filipinos nearly 7,000,000.) The Professor's remarks + in this regard, according to the paper, were a distinct reflection + upon the courage of the Filipinos generally as a people." [47] + + +Here, as is so often the case, he finds newspaper statements more +suited to his purpose than cold facts. I yield to no one in my +admiration for the courage of Filipinos, and have expressed it on a +score of occasions. In my first book on the Philippines I made the +following reference to it:-- + + + "I once saw a man in Culion who was seamed and gashed with horrible + scars from head to foot. How any one could possibly survive such + injuries as he had received I do not know. It seemed that his + wife and children had been butchered by four Moros while he was + absent. He returned just as the murderers were taking to their + boat. Snatching a machete, he plunged into the water after them, + clambered into their prau, and killed them all. When one remembers + the sort of weapons that Moros carry, the thing seems incredible, + but a whole village full of people vouched for the truth of the + story." [48] + + +This was not the only tribute which I paid to the courage of the +Filipinos [49] and I have never made a statement intended to reflect +on it in the slightest degree. It is true that their fighting ability +is on the average far below that of the Moros, and I may add that +the same thing holds for Americans on the average. + +It is really funny to see how Blount sometimes tells the truth in spite +of himself. He takes me to task for amusing myself "by suggestions as +to the superior fighting qualities of the Moros over the Filipinos," +and here is what he says on the same subject:-- + + + "Again, because the Filipinos have no moral right to control + the Moros, and could not if they would, the latter being fierce + fighters and bitterly opposed to the thought of possible ultimate + domination by the Filipinos, the most uncompromising advocate of + the consent-of-the-governed principle has not a leg to stand on + with regard to Mohammedan Mindanao." [50] + + +"Consistency, thy name is not Blount!" + +The Moros are religious fanatics. I have known one when bayoneted to +seize the barrel of the gun and push the bayonet through himself in +order to bring the man at the other end within striking distance, +cut him down, unclasp the bayonet and, leaving it in the wound to +prevent hemorrhage, go on fighting. I have known two Moros armed +with bamboo lances to attack a column of two thousand soldiers armed +with rifles. It is an historic fact that Moro juramentados [51] once +attempted to rush the walls of Joló and kept up the fruitless effort +until they blocked with their dead bodies the rifle slits, so that it +became necessary for the Spanish soldiers to take positions on top +of the walls in order to fire. I have known a Moro, shot repeatedly +through the body and with both legs broken, to take his kriss in his +teeth and pull himself forward with his hands in the hope of getting +near enough to strike one more blow for the Prophet. + +The Filipinos are afraid of the Moros and they have the best of reasons +to be. The relative numerical insignificance of this little Mohammedan +tribe of desperate fighters has little to do with the question under +consideration. Their number has for centuries borne substantially +the same proportion to the total population of the Philippines which +it now bears, yet no one can deny that it is but a short time since +they harried the archipelago from south to north and from east to +west. The shores of Northern Luzón and the neighbouring islands are +to-day dotted with the forts which were built for defence against +them. The town of Polillo, on the northernmost island off the east +coast of Luzón, is still surrounded by a high wall built to protect +its inhabitants from the Moros. The churches at Cuyo, Agutaya, Culion, +Linapacan and Taytay stand inside of strong stone fortresses in which +the people took refuge when the Moros descended on their towns. Back +of Bacuit a cave high up in a cliff was kept provisioned that it +might serve a similar purpose. Not only were the Filipinos unable to +protect themselves against these bloodthirsty pirates of the south, +but the Spaniards were for nearly two and a half centuries unable to +afford them adequate protection. When I was in Tawi Tawi in 1891 the +Moros of that island were still actively engaged in taking Filipino +slaves and selling them in Borneo. + +With all of our resources we have not as yet been able to establish a +decent state of public order in the little island of Jolo. No serious +minded person, familiar with the facts, with whom I have ever talked, +believes for a moment that the Filipinos could establish an effective +government over the Moros, or could keep them at home. They are +wonderful boatmen and when once at sea in the little crafts of their +own building are liable to strike the coast of the Philippine Islands +at any point. When it is remembered that this coast is longer than +that of the continental United States, the impossibility of adequately +protecting the whole of it becomes immediately manifest. It would +be always possible, under Filipino rule, for the Moros to strike +defenceless towns, and where they struck the only resource of the +inhabitants, whether Filipinos, Europeans or Americans, would be in +speedy flight. It should be borne in mind that one Mohammedan who +is earnestly desirous of being killed while fighting Christians can +chase a good many unarmed citizens into the tall timber, brave though +they may be! + +I venture here once more to express the deliberate opinion that if +American control were withdrawn from these islands and some other +civilized nation did not interfere to restore a decent state of public +order, the Moros would resume the conquest of the Philippines which +they were so actively and effectively pushing when the Spaniards +compelled them to abandon it, and would slowly but none the less +surely carry it through to a successful termination. + +The inaccuracy of Blount's statements regarding matters covered by +absolutely conclusive documentary evidence is well typified by the +following:-- + + + "The Philippine Assembly, representing the whole Filipino people, + and desiring to express the unanimous feeling of those people + with regard to the Worcester speech, unanimously passed, soon + after the speech was delivered, a set of resolutions whereof the + following is a translation." [52] + + +The resolution which he quotes was never passed by the Assembly +which on February 3, 1911, four months after my Y. M. C. A. lecture, +[53] and while I was absent in the United States, passed another and +quite different one criticizing language "ascribed" to me, without +ever making any effort to ascertain from me what was really said. I +might quote the two in parallel columns, but I grow weary of showing +the details of Blount's false or mistaken statements, and refer those +interested to the official records which he perhaps did not take the +precaution to consult. + +I gave the Assembly and every one else interested in the matter +a chance to attack me by incorporating in my annual report for 1910 +every important statement made at the lecture in question and by adding +various new ones for good measure, but there was no response! It is +a time-honoured procedure, but one of somewhat doubtful real value, +to build up a man of straw in order to have the pleasure of tearing +it to pieces. I must decline to assume responsibility for statements +which I did not make. + +Blount says he thinks that Nueva Vizcaya is my + + + "'brag' province, in the matter of non-Christian anthropological + specimens, both regarding their number and their variety." [54] + + +With regret I must call attention to the fact that he thinks +wrong. In Nueva Vizcaya as originally constituted there were +representatives of three non-Christian tribes, to wit, the Ifugaos, +numbering approximately a hundred and fifteen thousand; the Ilongots +numbering perhaps five thousand; and the Isinayes, who were numerically +unimportant. + +Years before Blount wrote his book the number of wild tribes was +reduced to two and that of their individuals to approximately seven +thousand by changes in the provincial boundary. As we have seen, +there are slightly more than one million non-Christian inhabitants in +the archipelago. These facts are of interest chiefly for the reason +that they show how grossly unreliable are his statements. + +Finally he seeks to convey the impression that the hill people are +a rather harmless and lamb-like lot. He says:-- + + + "... while I was there, [55] though we knew those people were up in + the hills, and that there were a good many of them the civilized + people all told us that the hill tribes never bothered them. And + on their advice I have ridden in safety, unarmed, at night, + accompanied only by the court stenographer, over the main high-road + running through the central plateau that constitutes the bulk of + Nueva Vizcaya province, said plateau being surrounded by a great + amphitheatre of hills, the habitat of the Worcester pets." [56] + + +Had Blount taken this ride before the time when the American government +established control over the Silipan Ifugaos there might have been +a different story to tell needing some one else to tell it, for the +Ifugaos were not by any means the gentle and harmless people that one +would infer them to have been from reading the above-quoted statement. + +At Payauan, a strongly held point within the plateau referred to, +they annihilated a Spanish garrison. At Aua, further back in the +hills, they did the same thing. The Spaniards never established +control over the Ifugao country, into extensive portions of which they +never even temporarily penetrated. On the main trail which connected +the town of Bagabag, in Nueva Vizcaya with the nearest town in the +province of Isabela, over which Blount rode, the Spaniards found +it necessary to maintain two garrisons. There were also garrisons +at the terminal towns on this trail and it was prohibited to travel +it without military escort. Even so, parties were repeatedly cut up +by the Silipan Ifugaos, and the very soldiers who constituted their +guard were again and again caught sleeping and butchered. + +It is only very recently that the murderous raids of wild men on the +Filipinos of Isabela have been finally checked. + +Many a time have the Filipinos of Bagabag, in Nueva Vizcaya, +thanked me for making their lives and property safe by quieting the +Ifugaos. Ilongots killed Filipinos in the outskirts of Bayombong, +the capital of Nueva Vizcaya, long after Blount left the province, +and during a period shortly preceding his arrival conditions were +very bad throughout the Cagayan valley. + +On August 29, 1899, the Insurgent governor of Nueva Vizcaya reported +[57] that he had only a few rifles, that the "Igorrotes" were preparing +to attack the towns, and that he had been forced to kill and wound a +number of them. On September 6, General Tirona in Cagayan asked that +General Tinio be ordered to give him some of his rifles to protect +the people, as the "Igorrotes" were cutting off heads and the towns +were in danger. Tirona said that he had nine hundred rifles; Tinio +thought that he himself had some two thousand and could spare two +hundred as the conditions along the coast were not as serious as the +conditions inland with the savages preparing to attack. [58] + +In July, 1899, the governor of Benguet asked that orders should be +given prohibiting "Igorrotes" from leaving their own towns as they +were growing restless and would probably soon become dangerous. The +Benguet people are the most pacific of all the hill men. + +In October, 1899, the Ilocanos of Lepanto petitioned Aguinaldo to send +them arms with which to defend themselves against the people of the +hills, who objected to being forced into paying what the governor of +Benguet Province called "voluntary contributions" for the support of +the war. When an attempt was made to collect, they abandoned their +towns and took refuge in the hills. Next to the Benguet Igorots, +those of Lepanto have the best reputation for quiet and orderliness. + +From Simeon Villa's diary, heretofore referred to, we learn that +Aguinaldo's armed escort was attacked again and again by Ifugaos, +Kalingas and Bontoc Igorots when he passed through their country. + +The people of these three tribes, and the Ilongots, and the wild +Tingians of Apayao, were fierce, war-like, unsubdued head-hunting +savages at the time of the American occupation. + +Friendly as is our present relationship with the former head-hunters +of Luzón, and excellent as is now the condition of public order in +their territory, we still often have the fact brought home to us that +the blood-lust of these sturdy and brave fighters is only dormant. A +steady hand must be held on them for many a year to come. + +The problems which the primitive peoples of the Philippines present +are neither few nor simple. We shall not get far by ignoring them or +misrepresenting them. Let us look them squarely in the face. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV + +NON-CHRISTIAN TRIBE PROBLEMS + + +And now let us try to gain a clear appreciation of some of the problems +actually presented by the existence of the non-Christian peoples of +the Philippines. + +They belong to twenty-seven tribes at the most. Probably this number +will ultimately be somewhat further reduced. The number of dialects +spoken is greatly in excess of the number of tribes, as the people +of a single tribe sometimes speak three or four well-marked dialects. + +The tribes are divided between two wholly distinct races, to wit, +Negritos and Malays. + +The Negritos are of very low mentality and are incapable of any +considerable degree of civilization. Many of them are kept in a +state of abject peonage, and not a few are held in actual slavery, by +their Christian Filipino neighbours. In revenge for the abuses which +they suffer they are prone to commit criminal acts, and the problem +which they present resolves itself into protecting them from their +neighbours and their neighbours from them. The latter thing would be +easy enough if the former were practicable, but unfortunately their +neighbours cannot be persuaded to let them alone, and never do it +except under compulsion. + +The people of all the Malay non-Christian tribes, with the exception +of certain Negrito mestizos, are undoubtedly capable of attaining to +a fairly high degree of civilization. Physically and, in my opinion, +mentally the people of several of the hill tribes are decidedly +superior to their lowland Filipino neighbours, who have degenerated +to some extent as a result of less favourable climatic conditions +and other causes. + +In social development these Malay tribes vary from the semi-nomadic +Mangyans of Mindoro to the highly civilized Tingians of Abra, who +are in many ways superior to the Ilocanos with whom they live in +close contact. Some of these tribes, like the Benguet-Lepanto Igorots +and the Tingians, are peaceful agriculturists; others, like the wild +Tingians of Apayao, the Kalingas, the Bontoc Igorots, the Ifugaos, the +Ilongots, the Manobos and the Mandayas, are, or recently have been, +fierce fighters prone to indulge in such customs as the taking of +human heads for war trophies, or even the making of human sacrifices +to appease their heathen divinities. + +The Moros, who are numerically stronger than are the people of +any other one tribe, stand in a class by themselves on account of +their strong adherence to the Mohammedan faith and their inclination +to propagate it by the sword. Who would hold them in check if the +Americans were to go? Certainly not the Filipinos. They have never +been able to do it in the past, and they cannot do it now. + +All the non-Christian tribes have two things in common, their +unwillingness to accept the Christian faith and their hatred of +the several Filipino peoples who profess it. Their animosity is +readily understood when it is remembered that their ancestors +and they themselves have suffered grievous wrongs at the hands +of the Filipinos. In spite of all protestations to the contrary, +the Filipinos are absolutely without sympathy for the non-Christian +peoples, and have never voluntarily done anything for them, but on +the contrary have shamelessly exploited them whenever opportunity has +offered. They have never of themselves originated one single important +measure for the benefit of their non-Christian neighbours, and their +attitude toward the measures which have been originated by Americans +has always been one of active or passive opposition. Their real belief +as to what should be done with the wild people is that they should be +used if they can be made useful, but should be exterminated if they +become troublesome. Governor Pablo Guzman, of Cagayan, actually said +to me that the best thing to do with the wild people of Apayao, then +supposed to number fifty-three thousand, might be to kill them all. + +Americans have adopted a firm but kindly policy in dealing with +the non-Christian tribes and have met with extraordinary success in +winning their good-will and weaning them from the worst of their evil +customs. Even with those of the Moros who live outside of the island +of Joló considerable progress has been made. Head-hunting has been +abolished among the Ifugaos, Igorots and Kalingas with an ease which +was wholly unanticipated. + +In all work for the wild people the attitude of governors and +lieutenant-governors has proved to be a matter of fundamental +importance. The problem in each province or subprovince has been a +one-man problem. He who would succeed in handling wild men must be +absolutely fearless, for if he is not, they are quick to discover +the fact and to take advantage of it. He must protect his people +from injustice and oppression, or they will lose faith in him. He +must have a genuinely friendly feeling toward them, and must bear +them no ill will even when they misbehave. They will not object to +severe punishment when they know that it is deserved, but after being +punished feel that the slate has been wiped clean, and that they are +making a fresh start. They believe in letting by-gones be by-gones, +and their officials should meet them half way in this. + +The following occurrence illustrates my point. Before all +the settlements of Ifugao had been brought under control, +Lieutenant-Governor Gallman had a headman acting as a policeman, who +rendered invaluable service and was allowed to carry a gun. No one +dreamed that he would ever be molested. When on a trip to Lingay he +became overheated, and stopped to bathe in a stream, leaving his gun +on the bank. Some young men improved the opportunity thus afforded +to attack him. One of them threw a lance into him, and then they +all started to run away. Such was his reputation and influence that +he succeeded in compelling them to return and pull the lance out, +but he was fatally hurt and soon died. + +After his death they took his head and his gun, and immediately +thereafter the Lingay people sent to Gallman a challenge to come and +fight them. He promptly accepted their invitation, taking a few Ifugao +soldiers with him. He found the country deserted. Women, children, +pigs and chickens had been sent into the forested mountains. Roofs +and board sides of houses had been removed so that there remained +only the bare frameworks which could not readily be burned. + +For some time Gallman encountered no opposition. He at last grew +careless and walked into an ambush. He was met with a volley +of stones and a volley of lances. Fortunately for him the stones +arrived first and one of them, striking him in the face, knocked him +senseless. Another injured his right hand and knocked his revolver +from his grasp. The lances passed over him as he fell. He slid for +some distance down the almost precipitous mountain side, and his +soldiers thought him dead. When he recovered consciousness, he heard +them talking close to him. They agreed that they must do two things: +first, prevent his head from being taken; and, second, punish his +assailants. Before he could call to them they charged the latter +and scattered them right and left. Gallman staggered to his feet, +hunted around until he found his revolver, and rejoined his men. It +was known that their opponents had had ten guns before killing the +policeman and taking his. There followed a marked unpleasantness, +at the end of which Gallman had the eleven guns, and most of those +who had been using them had been gathered to their fathers. He then +returned to his station at Banaue. + +Three days later the headmen of Lingay came walking in, shook hands +and announced that they had had enough. Gallman asked them why they +had been so foolish. They replied that as they already had ten +guns, when they got one more the young men became overconfident, +thought that they could whip the constabulary, get their guns also +and dominate all that part of Ifugao. The old men said that they had +warned the young fellows that their plan would result in disaster, +but as they were not to be dissuaded, and as they were their young +men, had finally joined in. They said, however, that they were glad +things had come out as they had, for the young men would now behave +themselves, and it is worthy of note that they have done so ever since. + +Six weeks later, when I visited Banaue, the one survivor of the +eleven gunmen came in and danced with the other Ifugaos on the plaza, +apparently as happy as any of them. + +How many Filipinos are there who have the courage, the kindliness, +the knowledge of primitive human nature and the sympathy with it which +would enable them to treat the really wild barbarians as Gallman and +Hale have treated them? Thus far I have found one, and one only. + +In a previous chapter [59] I have told the story of a Kalinga with +whom I had just made friends according to the formula of his tribe who +put his life in deadly peril twice within the space of twenty-four +hours in order to save mine when it was gravely endangered by his +fellow-tribesmen. Is such real friendship possible between Filipinos +and non-Christians? Not at present. A lot of ancient history must +first be lived down. + +In the Philippines it has invariably been true that the wild man has +in the past been more or less completely despoiled of the fruits of +his labour by his so-called "Christian" neighbours whenever compelled +to do business with them in order to obtain some of the necessaries +of life. He is accustomed to receive a mere pittance for his products, +and to pay enormous prices when he makes purchases. The opening of the +so-called "government exchanges," which are stores where the products +of the surrounding country are purchased and where the things required +by the hill people are sold at a small margin of profit, has proved +very useful in the establishment of friendly and helpful relations +with them. In some places they have been persuaded to grow new and +more profitable crops. Some of the Benguet Igorots, for instance, +now raise strawberries for sale at Baguio, although a few years ago +they had never seen them. + +If in control, would the Filipinos reverse the policy they have +heretofore always followed in commercial dealings with the wild +men? Most assuredly not. + +The Igorots, Ifugaos and Kalingas are adepts in the use of irrigation +water, and know how to terrace the steepest mountain sides so as to +employ it advantageously wherever it is available. The giving of help +in running main irrigation ditches through rock has been especially +appreciated by them. The money which we expend for this purpose +goes for the establishment of proper grade lines, the providing of +necessary supervision and the purchase of explosives and tools for +rock work. The people concerned are more than glad to contribute all +necessary labour free of charge. + +Would the Filipinos continue to make funds available for such +improvements in the wild man's country? A thousand times no! Before +any one disputes me, let him show one instance where they have done +any such thing in any one of the very numerous provinces where the +expenditure of funds for non-Christians is under their control. + +In dealing with tribes which have been accustomed to live by families, +or small groups of families, and to select very inaccessible places +for their homes, it is of course necessary to persuade them to live in +larger groups and in reasonably accessible places before much progress +can be made toward improving their condition. This is usually not a +very difficult task if one goes about it in the right way. + +In Bukidnon, for instance, where we are still bringing people down +from the tree-tops, in which they and some of their ancestors have +lived for centuries, and settling them in well-ordered and beautifully +kept villages, when new arrivals come in to inspect the towns and +interrogate me as to the conditions under which they may take up +residence there, I often have conversations like this:-- + +"What about this life in town?" + +"Look around and see for yourself. Talk with the people and hear what +they have to say about it. They will tell you whether they like it +or not, and why." + +"But what do I have to do if I wish to live in town?" + +"A piece of ground will be assigned to you and on it you must build a +decent house like those you see. This house is for you and your family, +not for me. I come here only once or twice a year and at the most stay +over one night, so I do not need your house. The lieutenant-governor +does not need it. When he comes he stays at the presidencia. He will +not let any one take it away from you." + +"Very well. What else?" + +"You will have to build a good, tight fence around the lot given you +and keep your domestic animals inside it. You must also clean it up +thoroughly, removing all vegetation and filling all the low places +so that water cannot stand in them. Then you must keep it clean." + +"What is the use of that?" + +"The búsaos [60] who cause sickness do not like clean places and stay +away from them." + +"I never heard of that." + +"Ask the people who have tried keeping their yards clean, and they +will tell you that it is true." + +"Well, what else?" + +"As long as you have to keep your yard clean you might as well plant +something useful in it, so that you will get a good return for your +labour." + +"That is a good idea. Is there anything more?" + +"Yes. You must take up a piece of the beautiful prairie land near +town, build a fence around it to keep out the wild hogs and deer, +and plant it with rice, camotes or something else that will give +your family plenty of food and if possible leave a surplus to sell, +so that you can buy better clothes with the money you make." + +"But I cannot break this thick prairie sod." + +"The ground will be ploughed for you the first time. After that you +must look after it yourself." + +"Is that all?" + +"No. There is one additional very important thing. I am getting old +and fat, [61] and I can no longer scramble around over these hills as +I used to do. I want to come and see you every year, and find out how +you are getting on. You will have to help build good trails for my big +horse, working ten days every year, or paying two pesos, so that some +one else can be hired to work in your place. Everything else that I +have told you must be done, if you come to town, is for your benefit, +not for mine, and even the trails are only partly for my benefit. You +will find it easy and safe to travel over them, and when you want to +go to market, your carabao will be able to pack three or four times +as much as he can now carry over bad paths." + +"Will I gain any other advantages by living in town?" + +"Yes, two very important ones. You and your family will be safe from +attack, and you will have a chance to send your children to school." + +"Must I come and live in town if I do not want to?" + +"By no means. If you prefer to live up a tree in the mountains, no +one will interfere with you so long as you behave yourself. There +are plenty of mountains and plenty of trees." + +As a result of the simple arguments above outlined and of the +protection and help given them, nearly all of the Bukidnon people have +left the mountain fastnesses through which they have until recently +been scattered, and are voluntarily taking up their residences in +towns which in their way are models. + +Could the Filipinos keep them in the towns where we have settled +them? No; and they would not if they could. They would chase them +back into the forests as they were doing when we made them stop +it. Furthermore, they could not if they would. In September, 1912, +I heard the people of eastern Bukidnon tell Governor Reyes of Misamis +that if their territory were put back into his province, they would +take to the hills and live with the Manobos. + +One of the most important factors in winning and retaining the good +will of the non-Christian peoples has been the extension to them of +protection from the impositions of their Filipino neighbours. The +following is a fair sample of the sort of thing to which they have +in the past been subjected. + +During my last trip through Bukidnon I learned that a long-haired +mountaineer who had been encouraged to plant coffee and Manila hemp +had acted on the suggestion, working very hard and establishing an +excellent plantation which had prospered. When he had products ready +for market he had taken them to the coast town of Balingasák. He did +not speak the language of the Visayan Filipino inhabitants of that +place, so fell into the hands of one of them who knew his dialect. This +rascal helped him to sell his produce, but took a heavy commission +for this service. The hillman was nevertheless delighted with the +result, whereupon his "commissioner" suggested that what he really +needed was a partner in town to sell his crops, so that he could +spend his whole time in cultivating his fields and not have to go to +market. This struck the hillman as a good idea. The Filipino made out +what purported to be articles of partnership and the hillman signed +them with his mark, in the presence of witnesses. + +A few months later he sent a valuable shipment of coffee and hemp +to his "partner." When weeks had passed without his hearing from +it, he went to Balingasák to find out what was wrong, whereupon his +"partner" stated that he was greatly obliged to him for his trouble +in cultivating and harvesting the products of the farm. The hillman +demanded his share of the returns and the "partner" calmly assured +him that he had no share, having sold his farm at the time of his +last visit. Investigation proved that this ignorant man had signed +a bill of sale for his place. + +Lieutenant-Governor Fortich interested himself in the case and caused +suit to be brought against the rascally "partner" for stealing the +hillman's produce. The fiscal, or public prosecuting, officer was +a bright young Filipino who had recently graduated from an American +university. Nevertheless, he had the suit thrown out of court because +the "partner" of the hillman claimed that the farm was his, and a +question of property ownership could not be conveniently determined +in connection with a criminal suit. + +At this stage of events I took a hand and brought the matter to the +attention of the Honourable Gregorio Araneta, secretary of finance +and justice. The fiscal had suggested that the wild man could bring a +civil suit for damages against his "partner." How could this helpless +barbarian have gone to Cagayan, hired a lawyer and lived there while +his case was pending? He was absolutely helpless. Naturally, I was +not. Another suit was brought and the "partner" was sentenced to pay +a fine and was given a term in jail. + +This is no isolated case. The wild men are constantly deprived of +their crops or their lands; cheated in the sale of their products +and in their purchases; arrested and fined on trumped-up charges; +compelled to work for others without compensation; charged by private +individuals for the privilege of using government forests or taking +up public lands; and badgered and imposed upon in a thousand and one +other ways. + +If the Filipinos were put in control, would there rise up among +them unselfish men who would check the rapacity of their fellows, +and extend to the helpless peoples the protection they now enjoy? + +At all events, those who have made it their business to protect the +people of the non-Christian tribes have not been popular among the +Filipinos. As a precautionary measure, I warned every man appointed +governor of, or lieutenant-governor in, a special government province +that he must expect sooner or later to be accused of many of the +crimes recognized by existing laws. Every such man who does his duty +eventually has false, and usually foul, charges brought against him. A +common, and indeed the favourite, complaint is that he has been guilty +of improper relations with women. The Filipino is an expert in framing +up cases of this sort, and seems to take special delight in it, partly +no doubt because such charges are so excessively difficult to disprove. + +Cruel abuse of the wild men, or their families; falsification of public +documents; misappropriation of public funds; adultery; rape,--these +are all common charges, while more than one of my subordinates has +been accused of murder, and one has actually been brought into court +on such a charge. It is certainly no sinecure to be an officer of a +special government province. + +A potent means of winning the undying regard of the wild man is to cure +him when he is sick, or heal him when he is injured. Hospitals have +already been established in two of the special government provinces +and are doing untold good. Practically every officer of these provinces +carries a set of simple remedies with him when he travels, and treats +the sick without compensation as opportunity offers, but this work +is as yet in its infancy. + +The Filipinos have not doctors enough to heal their own sick. Would +they remember to heal the wild men? Hardly. + +Several of the wild tribes have progressed much more rapidly during +the brief period since the American occupation than have any of +the Filipino peoples, and if given adequate protection and friendly +assistance they will continue to progress. Their splendid physiques +and high intelligence, no less than their truthfulness, honesty and +morality, certainly make them well worth saving. + +Under Filipino rule the more helpless of these tribes would speedily +come under the control of their former oppressors, but people like +the Ifugaos, Bontoc Igorots, Kalingas and wild Tingians would fight +to the death before submitting to them, and there would result a +guerrilla warfare as endless and disastrous as that which has lasted +so long between the Dutch and the Achinese. There is every theoretical +reason to believe that the Filipinos would adopt toward such hostile +primitive peoples the policy of extermination which the Japanese have +been so vigorously carrying out in dealing with the hill people of +northern Formosa, who do not differ in any important respect from the +hill people of northern Luzón, with whom such helpful and friendly +relations have now been established. + +We have encouraged the primitive Philippine peoples to stand up for +their rights. We have promised them our protection and help if they +would do it, and thus far we have kept our promise. To break it now, +and turn them over to the tender mercies of the Filipinos, who have +never ceased to make threats as to what they will do when they get +the chance, would in my opinion be a crime against civilization. + +The Moros openly boast that if the Americans go they will raid the +Christian towns, and this is no idle threat. They will most assuredly +do it. + +Were American control to be withdrawn before the civilization of the +wild tribes had been effected, their future would be dark indeed. Under +continued American control they can be won over to civilized ways, +and will in the end become mentally and morally, as they now are +physically, superior to the lowlanders. + +No man has been blessed with better subordinates than I have had +to assist me in the work carried on under my direction for the +non-Christian tribes of the Philippines. I wish it clearly understood +that it is to the loyalty and efficiency of these men that the +results which have been obtained are due. Fearlessly, tirelessly, +uncomplainingly, they have borne their heavy shares of the white man's +burden, finding their greatest reward in the respect, gratitude, and +in many cases the affection, of those whom they have so faithfully +and effectively served. + +Think of Pack, weakened by illnesses which twice brought him within a +hair's breadth of death, wearing himself out riding over the Mountain +Province trails, many of which he himself had laboriously built, +in order to keep the little handful of men who control its 400,000 +non-Christian inhabitants up to the high-water mark of efficiency, +when he could have gone home any day and spent his remaining years +in leisurely comfort; of Bryant, wandering for weeks on end through +the trackless forests of Nueva Vizcaya in order to get in touch with +Ilongot savages who were a good deal more than "half devil" with +the balance not "half child" but peculiarly treacherous, vicious +and savage man; of Offley, packing the bare necessities of life on +his own back while he struggled out to the coast from the centre of +Mindoro, where his frightened carriers had deserted him; of Kane, +burning in the heat of the lowlands or soaked and shivering on chilly +mountain crests, while building new roads and keeping old ones open +for traffic; of Lewis, trying to cover a territory large enough to tax +the energies of three men, and in his efforts to do so riding until +so weary that at night he fell from his horse unable to dismount; +of Fortich, a Filipino lieutenant-governor, faithfully carrying out +the white man's policy and protecting the Bukidnons from his own +people who charged him with murder because he drove them from their +prey; of Gallman, risking his life a thousand times in a successful +individual effort to bring 125,000 head-hunting savages under effective +control and to establish relations of genuine friendship with them; +of Hale, turning tattooed Kalinga devils into effective officers for +the maintenance of law and order, or making a bundle of the lances +thrown at him and sending them back to the people who threw them with +a mild suggestion that it was impolite to treat a would-be friend in +such an unceremonious way; of Johnson, tramping through the reeking +filth of the Butuan swamps with a cancer eating away the bone of his +leg, and referring to it as "a little swelling" when asked what made +him lame; of Bondurant, spending the last afternoon of his life in +pursuing Moro outlaws through that worst of all tropical infernos, +a mangrove swamp, when burning with pernicious malarial fever and +fighting for the very breath of life; of Miller, faithful unto death! + +We are wont to quote with feeling the familiar words, "Greater love +hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friend," +but what shall we say of the love of duty of men like Miller and +Bondurant, who in doing their country's work cheerfully laid down +their lives for an alien people? + +While in the United States in 1910 I read Rudyard Kipling's "If" +and thereafter did not rest until I had sent a copy of it to each +governor and lieutenant-governor employed in the special provincial +government service of the Philippine Islands. Kipling wrote for these +men of mine up in the hills without knowing it. They understand him +and he would understand them. + +There is not one of them who has not learned to + + + "... fill the unforgiving minute + With sixty seconds' worth of distance run"; + + +not one whose personal experience has left him deaf to the appeal of +the lines:-- + + + "If you can keep your head when all about you + Are losing theirs and blaming it on you; + If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, + But make allowance for their doubting too; + If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, + Or being lied about don't deal in lies, + Or being hated don't give way to hating, + And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise." + + +Furthermore, each of them has again and again finished on his +nerve. Did not the words,-- + + + "If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew + To serve your turn long after they are gone, + And so hold on when there is nothing in you + Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'" + + +run through Bondurant's mind that last afternoon when he was following +Moro outlaws through a foul mangrove swamp, while his senses reeled +with the fever which was so soon to end his life? + +In his wonderful quadruplet of stanzas Kipling has fixed one criterion +of manhood which it is hard indeed to meet:-- + + + "If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken + Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, + Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken, + And stoop and build them up with worn-out tools." + + +I beg my fellow-countrymen to remember that the non-Christians of +the Philippines constitute an eighth of the population; that the +work undertaken for their physical, mental and moral advancement has +succeeded far beyond the hopes of those who initiated it; that its +results would go down like a house of cards if American control were +prematurely withdrawn. Shall the men who have devoted their lives to +these things be forced to watch them broken, and then be denied the +poor privilege of building them up again? If the splendid results of +so much efficient, faithful, self-sacrificing and successful effort +were to be lost, would not the dead who gave their lives for them +turn in their graves? + +The greatest of the non-Christian tribe problems in the Philippines +at present is, "Shall the work go on?" + +There is one satisfaction which no man can take from those of us +who have worked for the advancement of these backward and hitherto +neglected peoples. We have shown what can be done! + + + + + + +CHAPTER XXV + +SLAVERY AND PEONAGE + + +Chattel slavery existed in the Philippine Islands when Magellan +discovered them in 1521. It exists there to-day. + +Morga, who was in the Philippines from 1595 to about 1608, and is +admittedly the most reliable chronicler of the events of those early +days, has given the following interesting account of the conditions +then existing: [62]-- + + + "There are three classes of persons among the natives of these + Islands, by which the commonwealth is divided: principales, of + whom I have spoken before; timawa which is the same as plebeians, + and slaves, of principales as well as of timawa. These slaves were + of various classes: some are in entire servitude and slavery, like + those which we have, and these are called sagigilir; they served + in the interior of the houses and so also the children descended + from them; others, who have their own dwellings, which they inhabit + with their family, away from the house of their master, and these + come in at times to help the latter in their fields and crops, as + also aboard the vessel when they embark, and in the construction + of their houses whenever they erect such, and they also serve in + their houses whenever there is a guest of some distinction, and + they are under obligation, whenever the master has them called, + to come to his house and to serve him in this ministry without pay + or other stipend; these are called namamahai, and their children + and descendents are slaves of the same condition. Of these slaves + sagigilir and namamahai there are some who are slaves entirely, + and others who are only half slaves, and others who are slaves + only for a fourth part. This originates thus: if either the father + or the mother was free and they had a single child, the latter + was half free and half slave. If they had more than one child, + the children were distributed in this way: the first followed the + condition of the father, be he free or a slave, and the second + that of the mother; and if the number was uneven, the last child + was half free and half slave; and those descended from such child, + if they had a free father or a free mother, remained slave only + for a fourth part, because they were children of a free father, + or mother, and of a half slave. These half or quarter slaves, + namamahai or sagigilir, serve their masters only every second + month, respectively, in proportion to their condition as slave. + + "Among the natives the ordinary price of a slave sagigilir used + to be, if much, ten taes of good gold, worth 80 pesos, and if he + is a namamahai half of that, and thus in proportion the others, + taking into account the personality and age. + + "It cannot be established as a principle from where these classes + of servitude among the natives arose, for they are all of the + islands and not foreigners; it is understood that they made + them in their wars and differences; and the most certain is + that those who were most powerful made and took as slaves the + others for slight causes and occasions, and most often through + loans and usurious contracts current amongst them, the payment, + risk and debt increasing with the lapse of time until they became + slaves; and thus all these forms of servitude have their violent + and unjust origin, and it is about them that there arise the + greater part of the lawsuits that exist among the natives and + with which they keep busy the judges in the forum of the court, + and the confessors in that of the conscience." + + +To the last of the preceding paragraphs Rizal makes the following +annotation, which, mutatis mutandis, should give leading Filipinos +of to-day matter for reflection:-- + + + "This class of slaves exists even now in many parts, and before + all in the province of Batangas, but it must be confessed that + their condition is very different from that of a slave in Greece, + or Rome, from that of the negro, and even of those made in later + times by Spaniards.... + + "Filipinas, in spite of so many centuries of christianization, + in spite of the efforts of some few noble minds, priests as + well as civilians, continues still, and is desired to continue, + almost in the same state as formerly, for those who direct the + country look more to the present than to the future, and because + they are guided not by confidence, but by fear. The efforts of + the religious corporations to improve this state of things have + never been as efficacious, nor as strenuous, as might have been + expected from them." + + +Morga continues: [63]-- + + + "These slaves are the greatest wealth and capital which the + natives of these islands possess, because they are to them very + useful and necessary for their labors and farms; and among them + they are sold, exchanged, and made objects of contract, like any + other merchandise, from one pueblo to the other, from one province + to the other, and likewise from one island to the other. For which + reason, and in order to avoid so many lawsuits that would arise, + if the question of these servitudes, their origin and beginning, + were taken up, they [the slaves, Tr.] are retained and kept as + they were kept formerly." + + +Rizal comments on this passage as follows:-- + + + "Thus catholicism not only did not liberate the poor class from the + tyranny of the oppressive, but with its advent in the Philippines + increased the number of tyrants. Time alone, and instruction, + which with it brings suaver customs, will ultimately redeem the + Pariahs of the Philippines, for we see that the apostles of the + peace did not find in themselves sufficient valour to battle + with the oppressors, and this in times of great faith; on the + contrary, they rather contributed indirectly to their misery, + as we see from the foregoing." + + +The most frequent cause, already mentioned above, from which these +conditions of servitude arose, is again pointed out by Morga in the +following passage: [64]-- + + + "Loans with interest were in very common practice, excessively + high rates of interest being current, so that the debt doubled + and multiplied all the time during which the payment was deferred, + until there was taken from the debtor what he possessed as capital, + and, when ultimately nothing more was left, his person and his + children." + + +Of these statements Rizal says:-- + + + "This is the sad truth, and so much the truth that it subsists + until now. In many provinces, and in many towns, there is taking + place, word for word, what Morga says, it being to be lamented that + at present not only Indios [Filipinos, Tr.] continue this usury, + but also the mestizos, the Spaniards, and even various priests. And + it has come to this that the Government itself not only permits + it, but in its turn exacts the capital and the person in payment + of the debt of others, as occurs with the cabeza de barangay." + + +It would be easy to compile passages similar to the preceding from +other authors, but those given are explicit and authoritative enough +to make it clear, first, that slavery existed in the Philippines at +the time of the conquest as a general tribal institution of social +and economical character and in minutely regulated form; and, second, +that although it lost, with the advent of the Spaniards, the character +of an institution, and indeed was formally abolished by early edicts +from Spain, it continued to exist as an unauthorized practice, so +that Rizal, writing at the close of the nineteenth century could say +that slaves still existed in many parts of the country. + +In a statement recently published in the New York Evening Post, Señor +Quezon, Resident Delegate from the Philippines to Congress, has said:-- + + + "Since there is not, and there never was, slavery in the territory + inhabited by the Christian Filipinos, which is the part of the + Islands subject to the legislative control of the Assembly, this + House has refused to concur in the anti-slavery bill passed by + the Philippine Commission." + + +Whom will the American public believe, Morga, the historian, and Rizal, +the Filipino patriot, or Quezon, the Filipino politician? + +While I entertain no doubt as to the answer, I shall nevertheless +discuss at length the more recent history and present status of slavery +and peonage in the Philippines, because of the vital importance of +full knowledge of the facts to intelligent consideration of the claim +that the Filipinos have arrived at a stage of civilization comparable +with that of the more advanced nations of the world, and are capable +of establishing and maintaining a just and humane government. + +The Spanish Penal Code did not prohibit or penalize slavery, or the +purchase or sale of human beings. It did contain provisions against +forcible detention of individuals and the abduction of minors, but +in the Philippines at least they were more honoured in the breach +than in the observance during the Spanish régime. + +The Moros raided the towns of the peaceful Filipino inhabitants of +the Visayan Islands and of Luzón until within quite recent times. An +unhappy fate awaited the prisoners whom they took. Men were frequently +compelled to harvest for their captors the crops which they themselves +had planted, and were then mercilessly butchered. Women, girls and +boys were carried away into slavery, the former to serve as household +drudges or as concubines, and the latter to be brought up as slaves +pure and simple. Some men met a similar fate. The only reason that +more were not enslaved was that it was usually considered too much +trouble to make full-grown individuals work. Slaves were held as +chattels if it suited the convenience of their masters to retain them, +and otherwise were sold, bartered or given away. Zamboanga was at +the outset largely populated by escaped Moro slaves who had sought +the protection of the Spanish garrison there. Coming originally from +widely separated parts of the archipelago, these unfortunates had no +common native dialect, hence there arose among them a Spanish patois +now known as Zamboangueño. + +The American occupation brought many and brusque changes in political +conditions. The attitude of Americans toward slavery and peonage was +very different from that of the easy-going Spaniards, who had never +sanctioned it but had never made any determined effort to break it up. + +From the effective establishment of United States sovereignty in +1899 until July 4, 1901, the Philippines were under military rule, +which has one great advantage: its methods usually bring quick results. + +Doubtless the majority of the slaves then held in the islands were too +timid, and too suspicious of the character and purposes of Americans, +to appeal to them for protection; but there were not a few whose lives +had become so unbearable that they were prepared to take almost any +risk on the chance of securing release. People of this class ran away +from their masters and sought the protection of army officers. I +am glad to say that in every such instance which has come to my +knowledge it was promptly given. Not only were they advised that they +could not be held in bondage, and were free to go where they pleased, +but when practicable their masters were warned against attempting to +regain control over them. It is probable that the large majority of +such cases were never officially reported. Most of the army officers +concerned were in some doubt as to their legal status in the premises, +but they knew that the constitution of the United States prohibits +slavery; their sympathies went out to the wretched human beings who +appealed to them for aid, and they decided to be a law unto themselves. + +After the establishment of civil government some army officers +continued to exercise arbitrary powers in dealing with such cases of +slavery as came to their attention, while others contented themselves +with reporting them to the civil authorities. + +The conditions which prevailed in the Moro Province in 1902 are +concisely described by its military governor, General George W. Davis, +in a report written on August 25 of that year. He said:-- + + + "With a people who have no conception of government that is not + arbitrary and absolute; who hold human life as no more sacred + than the life of an animal; who have become accustomed to acts of + violence; who are constrained by fear from continuing the practice + of piracy; who still carry on slave trade; who habitually raid the + homes of mountain natives and enslave them; who habitually make + slaves of their captives in war--even when of their own race; + who not uncommonly make delivery of their own kindred as slaves + in satisfaction of a debt for liquidation of which they have not + the ready money; who habitually observe the precepts of the Koran, + which declares that female slaves must submit to their masters,--it + is useless to discuss a plan of government that is not based on + physical force, might, and power." + + +Señor Quezon, in describing conditions in the Moro country, has said: +[65]-- + + + "American authorities made treaties with the Sultan of Joló whereby + slavery was legalized and recognized among the non-Christian + Moros and received the protection of the United States army and + civil authorities. This state of things continued for a long time + under official recognition and even after the treaties in question + were abandoned it was allowed to go on despite the protests of + Filipino and American students of the question." + + +It is true that General Bates attempted to negotiate a treaty with +the Sultan of Joló, in which he felt himself compelled to recognize +slavery as an existing Moro custom. This action was unauthorized and +was disapproved by his superiors. It did not legalize slavery. Neither +Moro nor any other kind of slavery was ever protected by the civil +authorities. + +The act providing for the organization of the Moro Province was passed +on June 1, 1903, and hardly had the civil officers therein provided for +been appointed when, on September 24, 1903, the legislative council +passed an act entitled "An Act defining the crimes of slaveholding +and slavehunting and prescribing the punishment therefor," [66] +which was promptly approved by the Philippine Commission and thus +came to have the force and effect of law. Under it active measures +were adopted to break up slavery in the Moro Province. They have +resulted very successfully, and persons who have captured others to +be held or sold as slaves, as well as persons who have actually sold, +bought or kept slaves, have been convicted and punished. + +Señor Quezon's statement relative to the attitude of the civil +authorities in this matter is therefore recklessly false. + +The existence of slavery in the Moro Province was well known from +the outset, hence the immediate enactment of legislation to meet the +special conditions which prevailed there. + +Little by little the commission learned that slavery was by no means +confined to Moro territory, and that peonage was general throughout +the islands. + +Before going further, I wish to make clear the sense in which I use +these terms. + +I define slavery as the condition of a human being held as a chattel +and compelled to render service for which he is not compensated. As +food and clothing are necessarily furnished by the slave owner, +they are not considered to constitute compensation. + +Peonage I define as the condition of a debtor held by his creditor +in a form of qualified servitude to work out a debt. + +On April 28, 1903, the senior inspector of constabulary in Isabela +wired the first district chief of constabulary, Manila, as follows:-- + + + "In this province a common practice to own slaves. These are + bought by proprietarios [property owners.--D. C. W.] from + Igorrotes and Calingas who steal same in distant places from + other tribes. Young boys and girls are bought at about 100 + pesos, men 30 years old and old women cheaper. When bought, + are generally christened and put to work on ranch or in house, + and I think generally well-treated. In this town a number sold + within last few months, and as reported to me, Governor has bought + three. Shall I investigate further? Instructions desired. + + (Signed) "Sorenson." + + +Senior Inspector Sorenson was instructed to make a thorough +investigation of, and a detailed report on, the slave question. + +On May 2 he complied with these instructions, [67] describing the +conditions under which slaves were taken by the neighbouring Kalingas +and Ifugaos, whom he wrongly calls "Igorrotes," the methods employed +in selling them, and the treatment subsequently given them by their +purchasers. + +He also furnished a list of "Igorrotes" sold in the province during +the past year, with names of the purchasers and prices paid. The ages +of these unhappy individuals varied from eight to twenty-seven years, +the prices paid for them, from one hundred and ten to two hundred +and fifty Mexican dollars. + +This report led Governor Taft to write to Governor Dichoso of Isabela, +who was charged with owning a slave, asking him for a frank statement +of the facts as to the prevalence of slavery in his province. + +Governor Dichoso's reply, dated September 9, 1903, will make +interesting reading for those who claim that slavery does not exist, +and has never existed, among the Filipinos. I give it practically in +full, omitting only the titles of the governor:-- + + + "Having noted the contents of the official letter of the Honourable + the Civil Governor in the Philippine Islands, Mr. W. H. Taft, + dated the 8th of August, last, and of the copy of the report + annexed thereto, which were received yesterday, I have the honour + to respectfully reply that during the 21 years, more or less, + that I have resided in this provincial capital (Ilagan), I have + never thought of buying a member or a child of the race mentioned + in the report, or of any other tribe, to serve as a slave in my + household, not for the reason that this is prohibited and punished + by section 484 and the following sections of the Spanish Code + now in force, relative to the crime of kidnapping, but because + it goes against my nature to treat in this manner a person who, + like all human beings alive, is a likeness of the Highest. This + I prove by means of the documents annexed hereto. + + "I could easily have done so in time of the late Spanish + Government, because I had good opportunities for doing so, and + could have afforded to do so on account of my social position from + that time on up to date, during which period I held successively + the following public offices:-- + + + + "This having been my status, and considering the power and the + opportunity which I had for obtaining slaves, I might not have + had only one, but enough to harvest the tobacco on my plantation, + and the other crops which I had planted. + + "Under the past Government there existed slaves in this province, + but only a small number, for only wealthy families could afford + to keep them. The same was the case in the neighbouring Provinces + of Nueva Vizcaya and Cagayan; in the former they also used to + have slaves of the Ifugao tribe, and in the latter Negritos, + but very few of these. + + "Since the glorious Star-Spangled Banner has been unfolded + over the Province of Isabela, the slaves existing in the same, + which had been purchased in that time and recently, are very + well treated and seem to be members of the family, because the + military authorities prohibited their masters from ill-treating + them as they were wont to do. Since then many of the slaves + have run away from their owners and have sought new masters + who treat them well, as it happened in the case of an Igorrote + woman of the Ifugao tribe, who was about 40 years of age, and + who had been in the service of a lady in the pueblo of Echague + for many years. When, in the year 1900, the military enforced + the prohibition of ill-treatment of slaves in the said pueblo, + this Igorrote woman ran away and presented herself at my house, + I being at this time justice of the peace of this provincial + capital, and asked me to employ her as servant. My principle not + to have slaves preventing me from complying with her wishes, + I directed her to apply to Mr. Andres Claraval and his wife, + Filomena Salinas. They accepted her, and a short time afterwards + they had her baptized and christened Magdalena Claraval. She is + being treated like an adopted daughter by them. + + "The gentlemen who are mentioned in the report as having purchased + slaves really acquired Igorrotes by purchase and keep them in their + house, some of them having died since. Some of these transactions + were made in the Spanish times, as in the case of the late + Mr. Policarpo Gangan, who bought 6 or 7 Ifugaos, whom on his death + he left to his children, Mr. Pedro Gangan, Mrs. Susana Gangan, + Miss Maria Gangan, and Mrs. Rufina Gangan, and others were made + recently and secretly, while I was absent from town on official + business in the pueblos of this province. Mr. Thomas Gollayan, + the late provincial secretary, bought two Igorrotes while I was in + Manila in December and January, last. They were well aware of the + fact that I prosecuted kidnapping with tenacity, my object being + to put a stop, if possible, to this abominable practice, which + has since some time prevailed in the pueblos of this province.... + + "In order to prove that I endeavoured to make the proper + investigation for the purpose of proving whether slavery really + existed in this province, I have the honour to annex an affidavit + by Agapito Telan, a resident of Ilagan, in which it appears that + he sold Igorrotes of the Ifugao tribe to several residents of this + town. I was unable to ascertain the numbers of Igorrotes of the + same tribe sold by Modesto Sibal, Lorenzo Montevirgen, Lorenzo + Montalvo, Andres Castro, and Cosme Ferrer, who are engaged in the + same business as Agapito Telan, as it appears from the deposition + of the latter, for the reason that these persons did not appear + before me, although in 1902 I had on several occasions verbally + requested the late municipal president, Mr. Pascual Paguirigan, to + cause them to appear in an unofficial manner. I was not surprised + that they did not appear before me, as Paguirigan was involved in + the investigation, as it happened in the case of the aforesaid + Agapito Telan, who appeared before me when I asked the acting + municipal president to have him do so. + + "I was afraid to direct those persons to appear before me by means + of written orders, because I had not document or complaint whereon + to base them, as required by the procedure now in force, and feared + that on account of the unlawful nature of the summons they might + proceed against me for coaccion, and sue me besides for damages. + + "According to my personal observation and to what I have seen in + the other pueblos of this Province of Isabela, but principally in + the provincial capital, the Igorrotes who are said to be slaves + cannot be considered as such since the times of the military + government, as they are considered and treated as members of + the family of the chief of the household. Nevertheless, I am and + shall continue to be inexorable in the prosecution of slavery, + as it is a crime and should be prosecuted as such, in order to + prevent at least that the persons engaged in this business commit + this crime again. + + "It is my humble opinion that an act should be passed to the end + of eradicating this practice which has become general throughout + the Cagayan Valley. [68] Otherwise, as I have seen in my continual + efforts, the provincial authorities cannot do anything to check + the evil, however they may try. It is necessary that some one + should be made to feel the rigour of the act suggested and suffer + the punishment designated by it. + + "As a rule the inhabitants of this province already understand + personal liberty and know that a person is entitled to go wherever + he pleases, which liberty has given birth to the humane treatment + of the fellow-men which now prevails. + + "Caciquism is still existing in parts of this province, but I + am confident that with the coöperation of sensible persons in my + continuous efforts it will be completely eradicated, and personal + liberty will reign supreme, as in every republic where the laws + assure complete and real liberty, the liberty from slavery." + + +As supporting evidence Governor Dichoso forwarded with his letter a +number of statements from persons resident in the capital of Isabela +to the effect that during the twenty-one years that he had lived +there he had never purchased, intended to purchase, or kept in his +house any Igorrote of the Ifugao or any other tribe. + +In addition he forwarded a somewhat unique document in the form of +a sworn statement by a slave dealer which is of such interest that +I give it in its entirety:-- + + + "I, Agapito Telan, a resident of this provincial capital + (Ilagan), certify: On the 19th of June, 1903, I was summoned + by the provincial governor, Mr. Francisco Dichoso y Reyes, and + when I was with him in the office of the provincial government, + he and the secretary took my sworn deposition, as follows:-- + + "Upon being asked to state the number of children of the infidel + tribe of the Ifugaos sold by me to several residents of this + provincial capital, the approximate age of these children, the + names of the persons to whom they were sold, the number of children + bought by these persons, the value of each of the said children, + their sex, and the year, month, and day on which the said sales + were made, deponent replied that in the year 1902, in the month of + September, and on a day which he cannot remember, he sold to the + late Policarpo Gangan two Ifugao boys, of the ages of 8 and 9, + respectively, for the sum of 360 Mexican dollars, another boy, + 9 years of age, he sold to Juan Dauag for the sum of 180 Mexican + dollars, and another boy, 8 years of age, he sold to Seferino + Malana for the sum of 160 Mexican dollars, the latter two being + sold on the same month and year aforementioned, and in Ilagan also. + + "In the year of 1903 the deponent sold a boy and a girl of the + Ifugao tribe, who, judging by their physical development, were + about 6 and 8 years old; the boy, six years of age, he sold to + Pascual Paguirigan, late municipal president, and the girl to Doña + Rufina Gangan, for the sum of 180 Mexican dollars each. This was + in January, but deponent does not remember the day. + + "In February he sold a boy and a girl of the same tribe, 8 years + of age, the former to Cirilo Gantinao and the latter to Salvador + Aggabao, for 180 Mexican dollars each. The purchasers are residents + of this town. + + "Upon being asked who are the other persons who, like deponent, + are engaged in taking Ifugao children from the settlements of + the infidels and then selling the same to whomever wants them, + and that he state where they reside, deponent replied that the + persons who are engaged in the same business as he, are Modesto + Sibal, Lorenzo Monte-Virgen, and Lorenzo Montalvo, residents of + the pueblo of Gamú, and Andres Castro and Cosme Ferrer, residents + of this provincial capital. + + "Upon being asked whether he knew if these persons are like + him engaged in the purchase of minors and what was the number of + children taken by each during the year of 1902 and 1903, and if so, + to state to whom they were sold, and at what price the deponent + replied that he is completely ignorant of the matter in regard + to which information is requested, but that it was possible that + they had taken more children, as they are living nearer to the + settlements from which they are taken, and as they are able to + make the trip three times to the defendant's once. + + "Asked what methods they employ for the purpose of getting children + from that tribe, deponent says that all they do is to enter into + a contract with those whom they consider their dattos or chiefs, + and who come down from the mountains with the children, which + are purchased from them by the persons engaged in this trade. + + "Asked to state the price of the children bought at the accustomed + places for these transactions for the purpose of reselling them, + the deponent states that the children are sold at the same price + at which they are purchased at that place. + + "He having thus stated, the foregoing was read to him, and he + agreed to it, signing it after the Provincial Governor, which I, + the secretary appointed for this act, attest. + + + "Francisco Dichoso, + "Provincial Governor. + "Agapito Telan, + "Fernando Domingo. + "Secretary appointed. + (Sgd.) "Agapito Telan. + + + "Subscribed and sworn to before me this 10th day of September, + 1903. + + (Sgd.) "Francisco Tauad, + "Clerk of the Court, Ilagan." + + +The existence of slavery in Misamis, a regularly organized province, +had been disclosed at a still earlier date. + +In May, 1902, its Filipino governor, Sr. Manuel Corrales, was asked +to report, and did report, on slavery in that province, under the +following circumstances:-- + +On May 2, 1902, General George W. Davis telegraphed the +Adjutant-General, Manila:-- + + + "Following telegram respectfully repeated: 'Zamboanga, May 1, 1902, + via Malabang, to Wade. Commanding Officer, Misamis, reports April + 30, that Presidente notified him that he was going to send armed + party to capture two Moro slaves which have escaped from their + Filipino master whose names were not given. Says there are many + Filipinos who own slaves. Presidente was told that the troops had + nothing to do with civilian affairs. I have no doubt but that the + Filipinos on the north coast here have many slaves. At Butuan I + saw one in November that had been recently purchased.'" + + +Governor-General Wright referred a copy of this telegram to Governor +Corrales with an indorsement-- + + + "calling his attention to the within communication. Information is + desired as to whether or not the within facts are true as stated, + and also whether there are any persons held in involuntary + servitude other than convicts within the province, and if so, + that full particulars be given." + + +Governor Corrales himself has none too good a record in connection +with the treatment accorded the non-Christians of his province, and +would certainly not paint a darker picture than was called for by the +facts, yet in his reply [69] he gives the names of six towns in which +"one still finds a few slave servants, most of them acquired many +years ago." He adds:-- + + + "At the present time, there are but few sales of slaves proceeding + from the mountain tribes, which are now relatively civilized. In + Iligan and Misamis, I have heard that such sales were more + frequent, for two reasons: (1) the Moro race is more despotic + and more numerous; (2) the weekly market in Iligan gives them + an opportunity to carry on that sort of business, although they + have to do it by stealth, on account of the watchfulness of + the authorities. + + "I will call your attention to the fact that the slaves proceeding + from the Moro district constitute, in the Moro villages, an + inferior social class, the slave family, whose origin is due to the + prisoners taken by the Dattos on their expeditions; when they are + transferred to the Christians in Iligan or Misamis, because their + masters wish to make money, or are hard pressed by the famines + which are so frequent in the region of the Lanao, their condition + is considerably improved by the good treatment and the better + and more abundant food which they obtain in their new situation, + by the mere fact that they live with a more civilized people. + + "Those who come from the mountain tribes are not born slaves; + with few exceptions, the chiefs and principal men of these + tribes do not own slaves which they use for their service or for + agricultural work, as the Moros do. Slaves are generally obtained + in the following way:-- + + "It happens that a chief with bellicose and sanguinary instincts, + who leads a nomad life and does not belong to the peaceful class + which is given to farm life, organizes a gang of men of his sort, + makes incursions in the wildest parts of the woods and raids + the lone huts inhabited by savage and nomad families; he kills + by treachery the grown-up people and carries off the children, + which he can easily master; he then sells them to the peaceful farm + dwellers, who sell them in their turn to the Christian pueblos. + + "As I have already said, such cases are happily rare. In Iligan + and Misamis, which are far from the capital of the province, + and therefore from the Court and the provincial authorities, the + slaves have had less opportunity to claim their rights, and it is + not astonishing that neither the slaves nor their masters have + a true notion of what is meant by individual liberty, although + the former are at least sure of their lives since they left the + jurisdiction of the Moros, at whose absolute mercy they were, + and are much better treated among the Christians. + + "I intend taking all necessary measures within my jurisdiction + in order to put an end to such a hateful trade, and wait for any + further instructions which you may deem it convenient to give me." + + +Unfortunately neither the measures taken by Governor Corrales nor +those adopted by his successors have sufficed to end this "hateful +trade" in the province of Misamis. + +In July of the present year, [70] a man accused of holding two Bukidnon +children in slavery did not deny the charge, but set up the defence +that he was a resident of Misamis, where there was no law against this +crime. He had been proceeded against under an anti-slavery law passed +by the commission for the provinces under its exclusive jurisdiction, +on the theory that he resided in Agusan. He won his case, proving +that his house was about a hundred yards over the line. + +The revelations contained in the reports above mentioned naturally +called for action. Inspector Sorenson's report was referred to the +commission with the following indorsement:-- + + + "Office of the Civil Governor, + "Manila, August 13, 1903. + + "The Senior Inspector of Constabulary in the Province of + Isabela reports that there is quite a slave trade in the Cagayan + Valley. The report of Sorenson, the Inspector, is submitted to + the Commission and I suggest a reference to Commissioner Wright + in order that he may include in the Criminal Code some clauses + which will enable us to reach this abuse. + + (Signed) "Wm. H. Taft, + "Civil Governor." + + +The report was, by direction of the commission, referred to +Commissioner Wright as suggested by Governor Taft for consideration in +connection with a proposed new Criminal Code which was being prepared, +under his general supervision, for enactment. An immense amount +of work was necessary on this code, and it was never completed and +enacted. Various matters needing attention have since been reached +through the medium of special laws, and it is obvious that it was +intended to pursue this course in this instance, as is shown by the +fact that Governor Dichoso's reply was forwarded to General Wright +on October 19, 1903, with the following indorsement:-- + + + [First Indorsement] + + "Executive Bureau, + "Manila, October 19, 1903. + + "Respectfully referred to the Secretary of Commerce and Police, + for his information and consideration in connection with the + proposed Act denouncing slavery and kidnapping and kindred offences + as crimes. + + (Signed) "Wm. H. Taft, + "Civil Governor." + + +Why such an act was not drafted and passed I do not know. I was +then absent on leave, and did not even learn of the existence of +any of the above-quoted documents until years afterward. My personal +attention was forcibly drawn to the existence of slavery outside of +the Moro territory when I first inspected Nueva Vizcaya in 1905. The +territory occupied by the Ifugaos, since separated as a sub-province +of the Mountain Province, was then a part of Nueva Vizcaya, which had +been organized as a province under a special act and was, in a way, +subject to my executive control. + +Its governor, Louis G. Knight, called my attention to the fact +that Ifugao children were frequently enslaved by Filipinos of Nueva +Vizcaya and Isabela. I asked him to get specific data so that we might +prosecute the offenders. He soon sent to the Executive Secretary a +report [71] which gave full details of a number of recent cases of +the buying and selling of Ifugaos as slaves, contained a statement +that Governor Knight, who was himself a lawyer, could "find nothing +whatever in the penal code defining or punishing as a crime the +buying or selling of human beings," and recommended that "this crime +be defined and punished in the proposed new penal code." + +The report was referred to me by the executive secretary on September +20, 1905, and on September 22 was by me forwarded to the Honourable +Luke E. Wright, governor-general, with an indorsement-- + + + "inviting attention to the inclosed statements from the Governor + of Nueva Vizcaya, relative to the traffic in Igorrote children + in his province. + + "The undersigned has reason to believe that Negrito children and + children of other non-Christian tribes are occasionally bought and + sold by civilized natives, and is strongly of the opinion that + in case the Penal Code does not provide adequate punishment for + such offences, it should be so amended as to make it possible to + inflict severe penalties upon those who buy and sell human beings + in this Archipelago. + + (Signed) "Dean C. Worcester, + "Secretary of the Interior." + + +The papers were referred by Governor-General Wright to the +Attorney-General-- + + + "for an opinion as to whether there is not some provision in the + present Penal Code which will provide adequate punishment for + such offences as are related herein." + + +The opinion of the Attorney-General rendered in response to this +request [72] encouraged me to believe that something could be done +under existing law. + +I returned the papers, together with the opinion, to the governor +of Nueva Vizcaya and three test suits were brought as promptly as +possible. + +One of them has become historic. It was brought against Tomás Cabanag, +a well-known slave dealer who made a business of buying and selling +Ifugao children. He was charged with illegal detention in connection +with the admitted sale, by him, of an Ifugao girl named Gamaya. [73] + +He was convicted in the Court of First Instance. I quote the following +extract from the decision of the court: + + + "The Congress of the United States has declared that human slavery + shall not exist in these islands and while no law, so far as I can + discover, has yet been passed either defining slavery in these + islands or affixing a punishment for those who engage in this + inhuman practice as dealers, buyers, sellers, or derivers, the + facts established in this case show conclusively that the child + Jimaya was by the defendant forcibly and by fraud, deceit and + threats unlawfully deprived of her liberty and that his object + and purpose was an unlawful and illegal one, to wit, the sale + of the child for money into human slavery. This constitutes the + crime of Detencion ilegal defined and penalized by Article 481 + of the Penal Code and this Court finds the defendant guilty as + charged in the information." + + +The case was promptly appealed to the Supreme Court and was there +lost on March 16, 1907. + +Gamaya, a thirteen-year-old Ifugao girl, had been purchased from her +mother for pigs, hens, rice and a cloak, under the absurd pretext that +the object of the purchase was to keep her at home, where she would, of +course, naturally have remained in any event. She was allowed to stay +with her mother during a period of some three years. In this manner +the purchaser was saved the cost of boarding her while she was growing +up. Having now reached what the Igorots consider a marriageable age, +she was sold to a man who was engaged in the business of buying in +Nueva Vizcaya children to sell in the lowlands of Isabela; in other +words, to a slave dealer. He sold her to an inhabitant of the town of +Caoayan, in Isabela, who had instructed him to buy a girl. Caoayan is +distant many days of hard overland travel from this girl's home. When +taken there she was among an alien people of another tribe and another +religion, and although, as stated by the Supreme Court, she was not +kept under lock and key and although that court held that:-- + + + "... There can be no unlawful detention under article 481 of the + Penal Code without confinement or restraint of person, such as + did not exist in the present case." + + +and held further that:-- + + + "Under the complaint for this crime it is possible to convict for + coacción under proof of the requisites of that offence ... but + among those requisites is that of violence through force or + intimidation, even under the liberal rule of our jurisprudence + ...; consequently the charge of coacción against the accused + cannot be sustained upon the evidence." + + +it is nevertheless true that this child, who had been thrice sold, +was detained just as effectively in Caoayan as if chained to a post +in the house of the man who bought her, and was required by him to +perform menial labour without compensation. It would have been utterly +impossible for her to escape and to make her way back through Isabela +and Nueva Vizcaya to her own people, no matter how strenuously she +might have endeavoured to do so. + +It is extremely difficult to prove forcible detention in connection +with most cases of slavery in these islands. Negrito slaves are +usually purchased when mere babes and later have no recollection +of their parents or of their former wild life in the hills. Babes +or very young children bring a better price than do older children, +for the reason that they are less likely to run away. + +Adult Negritos, and adult members of other tribes held in slavery, +have, as a rule, been made to feel the heavy hand of the oppressor +and are so afraid of their lives that they will not testify. Only +under very exceptional circumstances will they admit that they are +being held against their will, although they are quick to make their +escape when a favourable opportunity presents itself. + +The difficulty involved in protecting these simple people is +illustrated by the following case which came to my personal +attention:-- + +An eleven-year-old Bukidnon girl was carried away from northern +Mindanao to Bohol by a Filipino school-teacher who had been discharged +from the insular service. Her parents gave every indication of bitter +grief and begged to have their daughter restored to them. This +was finally accomplished, to their great joy, as a result of my +efforts. The kidnapper was ultimately brought into court, but before +the case came up for trial the parents had been subjected to such +"influence" that when called to the witness-stand they swore that +the kidnapper had taken their daughter with their full knowledge +and consent. + +In order to be reasonably effective, laws in these islands must be +so framed as to make it possible to protect people too ignorant, +or too timid, to protect themselves. + +Returning now to the Supreme Court decision, the court also held +that:-- + + + "... the defendant appears to have engaged in the business + of buying in Nueva Vizcaya children to sell in the lowlands + of Isabela." + + +But it further held that:-- + + + "Not even the abhorrent species of traffic apparently carried on + by the accused justifies a sentence not authorized by law." + + +More important still, the court held that:-- + + + "The judge below quotes the Bill of Rights of the Philippines + contained in the Act of Congress of July 1, 1902, declaring that + 'neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment + for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, + shall exist in said Islands.' This constitutional provision is + self-acting whenever the nature of a case permits and any law + or contract providing for the servitude of a person against his + will is forbidden and is void. For two obvious reasons, however, + it fails to reach the facts before us:-- + + "First. The employment or custody of a minor with the consent + or sufferance of the parents or guardian, although against the + child's own will, cannot be considered involuntary servitude. + + "Second. We are dealing not with a civil remedy but with a criminal + charge, in relation to which the Bill of Rights defines no crime + and provides no punishment. Its effects cannot be carried into + the realm of criminal law without an act of the legislature," + + +and also that:-- + + + "To sum up this case, there is no proof of slavery or even of + involuntary servitude, inasmuch as it has not been clearly shown + that the child has been disposed of against the will of her + grandmother or has been taken altogether out of her control. If + the facts in this respect be interpreted otherwise, there is + no law applicable here, either of the United States or of the + Archipelago, punishing slavery as a crime." + + +In view of the facts above cited the necessity for legislation +seemed obvious. + +The commission in its capacity as sole legislative body for the +territory inhabited by Moros or other non-Christian tribes might have +passed an act prohibiting and penalizing slavery, involuntary servitude +and peonage in that territory; but such an act unless supplemented +by a similar one applicable to the neighbouring Filipino territory +where most of the slaves are actually held would obviously have been +ineffective, while the desirability of having uniform legislation +throughout the Philippines was evident. + +The Philippine Assembly was about to meet for the first time. The work +of drafting a proper bill was duly provided for and I am sure that no +member of the commission for a moment entertained the belief that there +would be any difficulty in securing the concurrence of the assembly in +the passage of a reasonable act prohibiting and penalizing slavery, +involuntary servitude, peonage and the sale and purchase of human +beings. The gentleman charged with drafting the bill encountered +difficulty in so framing it that it would accomplish the desired +end without unduly interfering with the rights of parents over their +children. Long delay ensued. + +I myself finally drafted a bill entitled: "An Act prohibiting slavery, +involuntary servitude, peonage, or the sale of human beings in the +Philippine Islands," and introduced it in the commission. + +It was passed, in slightly amended form, on April 29, 1909, and sent +to the Philippine assembly, where it was introduced on May 6, 1909. On +May 7 it was referred to the Committee on Revision of Laws, and on +May 17 it was returned by that committee with the following report:-- + + + "May 17, 1909. + + "Mr. Speaker: The committee concurs with the Commission in the + approval of Bill No. 100 with the following amendments: + + "(a) That the word 'slavery' be stricken out of the title of the + Act, because it does not exist in the Philippines. + + "(b) That from section 1, page 1, lines 7 and 8, the following + words be stricken out: 'take the fruits of his labours, compel + him to deliver to another the fruits of his labours,' since the + acts contained therein constitute other crimes that may be robo, + hurto, or estafa. + + "(c) From line 11 in the same section the words: 'less than six + months nor;' and from line 12 the words: 'less than one hundred + pesos and not;' because the acts penalized in section 1 may be of + such slight importance that they should not deserve a punishment + of imprisonment for six months or a fine of one hundred pesos. + + "(d) From line 22 (p. 2), the word: 'peso,' substituting for it: + 'two pesos and a half.' + + "With these enactments Commission Bill No. 100 is drawn up, + according to the one attached hereto. + + "For these reasons the committee submits for the consideration of + the Assembly Commission Bill No. 100 and recommends its approval + with the amendments introduced. + + "Respectfully submitted. + + (Signed) "Aguedo Velarde, "Chairman, Committee on Revision of Laws. + + "To the Honourable, + "The Speaker of the Philippine Assembly." + + +This report, if adopted, would have emasculated the bill by striking +out the minimum penalties, but it was not adopted. On May 19 the +assembly laid the bill on the table without discussion. + +So began a long struggle to secure the coöperation of the assembly +in the enactment of legislation on this important subject. + +I did not feel that the assembly ought to be allowed to make a joke of +the provision of the Act of Congress of July 1, 1902, that "Neither +slavery, nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime +whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist in said +islands," and inserted a frank statement of the case in my annual +report. During my absence it was cut out by the governor-general +acting on the cabled suggestion of General, then Colonel, McIntyre, +speaking for the secretary of war. The Secretary, it is understood, +based his decision on the statement of alleged facts and the argument +in the above-mentioned memorandum prepared by General McIntyre, +and signed by General Edwards, then chief of the bureau of insular +affairs. Various of these statements of alleged facts were incorrect, +and much of the argument was fallacious, but the toute ensemble was +plausible, and likely to mislead any one not thoroughly familiar with +local conditions in the Philippines. I did not see this communication +until three years later, and so had no opportunity seasonably to +discuss it, or to present my side of the case. + +On learning that all reference to slavery had been cut out of my +report, I sent the following memorandum to the governor-general:-- + + + "Baguio, February 28, 1909. + + "Memorandum for the Honourable the Governor-General. + + "Practices in the matter of purchasing and practically enslaving + the children of wild people, and holding wild people in the state + of peonage, closely approaching slavery, are more grave and more + common than is ordinarily understood here; and, in my opinion, + as stated in my report, ought to be brought to the attention + of the Congress of the United States if the situation is not + dealt with effectively by the Philippine Legislature at its next + regular session. + + "I do not object to the omission from my report of the matter + treating on this subject, with the understanding that a strong + effort will be made here to secure legislation which will, at + least, penalize the sale for cash or other valuable consideration + of human beings. + + "As things stand at present, we should be placed in a somewhat + embarrassing situation if any one thoroughly acquainted with + the facts were to ask us what we had done to make effective the + provisions of the Act of Congress prohibiting slavery. + + "Dean C. Worcester, + "Secretary of the Interior." + + +The following year I introduced in the commission the bill which +the assembly had rejected. Action upon it was postponed, pending +the receipt of information which was requested from the assembly as +to the reason for the failure of that body to pass it the preceding +year. Shortly after this was obtained in the form of the above-quoted +extract from the minutes of that body I was called to the United +States and no further action was taken in the matter at that time, +although the Governor-General in his message to the Legislature had +included the following recommendation:-- + + + "There is no express provision of law prohibiting slavery or + involuntary servitude in the Philippine Islands. While the law + provides certain methods of punishing the practice of slavery, + as for example, the law for illegal detention, yet it does not + seem right that an enlightened and modern country should have + no way of punishing the purchase or sale of human flesh. It is + recommended that this be remedied by appropriate legislation at + the coming session." + + +I had also again attempted to discuss this important matter in my +annual report. + +I myself reached Washington at about the time this document arrived +there, but that part of it dealing with slavery and peonage was cut +out without either consulting me or giving me a hearing. I was advised +by General McIntyre that the secretary had disapproved it. + +In writing to me under date of January 11, 1913, Mr. Dickinson said:-- + + + "I have read with much interest the copy of your communication of + October 28, 1912, with the Acting Governor-General in regard to + the law prohibiting slavery. The whole matter interests me very + much and is very enlightening to me. + + "I note what you say in regard to the matter coming up during + my administration and the memorandum made by General Edwards. My + memory may be badly at fault, but I really cannot recall that this + matter ever came to my personal attention. I may have forgotten + it among the many hundreds of things that came before me, but I + certainly have no recollection in regard to it." + + +I am quite prepared to believe that the matter was never allowed to +come to his personal attention! + +On January 31, 1911, I again introduced this bill in the commission. It +was amended in minor details and passed on that date and was duly +forwarded to the assembly. There it was introduced on February 2 and on +February 3 was laid on the table. I here give the full record. It is +significant as showing the lack of interest displayed by the assembly +in this important subject. + + + "An Act prohibiting Slavery + + "The Speaker. Commission Bill No. 88 is submitted to the House + for consideration. Read the bill. + + "The Secretary. [reading].... + + "Señor Sotto. The Committee on Revision of Laws proposes that + this bill be laid on the table. + + "The Speaker. Is there any objection? + + "The House. None. + + "The Speaker. On the table." + + +In my report as secretary of the interior for the fiscal year ended +June 30, 1911, I again took up this subject. After this report had been +submitted to the commission I myself cut out all mention of slavery +at the request of Governor-General Forbes, who urged that we make a +last effort to get the assembly to act before appealing to Congress. + +In spite of the desirability of having uniform legislation on such +a matter as this in adjacent provinces, the commission felt that it +could no longer with propriety delay action for the territory under +its exclusive jurisdiction, and on August 7, 1911, passed the bill +for Agusan, Nueva Vizcaya and the Mountain Province. + +The same act was again passed by the commission for the territory under +the jurisdiction of the legislature, when that body reconvened. The +assembly referred it to committee on October 27, 1911, and tabled it +without discussion on February 1, 1912. + +In my annual report for 1912 I included the following recommendation:-- + + + "That for the adequate protection of the non-Christian tribes a + final and earnest effort be made to secure the concurrence of the + Philippine Assembly in the passage for the territory under the + jurisdiction of the Philippine Legislature of an Act identical + with, or similar to, Act No. 2071, entitled 'An Act prohibiting + slavery, involuntary servitude, peonage, and the sale or purchase + of human beings in the Mountain Province and the Provinces of + Nueva Vizcaya and Agusan, and providing punishment therefor,' and + that in the event of failure, the attention of Congress be called + to this important matter to the end that it may pass adequate + legislation if it deems such a course in the public interest." + + +This time I sent the copy for the report to the printer without +awaiting further possible requests or orders to remain silent, for +I was thoroughly convinced that it was useless to expect action from +the assembly and that nothing remained but to appeal to congress to +pass suppletory legislation making effective the provision of the +Act of July 1, 1902, prohibiting slavery and involuntary servitude +in the Philippine Islands. + +At the next session of the legislature the commission again passed +the bill. The assembly referred it to committee on October 26, and +tabled it without discussion on January 8, 1913. + +From the above record it will be plain that, beginning in 1909, +the commission passed laws prohibiting and penalizing slavery and +peonage annually during four successive years, and that the assembly +tabled each of the four measures without deigning to give any of +them one moment's discussion. Much less have they ever asked for any +information as to the necessity for such legislation. + +While no member of the assembly had ever made any official statement +on the subject, the Filipino press had on various occasions denounced +me as a liar or an ignoramus, and an enemy of "the Filipino people," +for saying that slavery existed. + +In preparation for what I deemed to be a probable request from +Congress for a detailed statement of facts, I now proceeded to get +together the information on file in government offices and courts, +called upon various officers of the government for data in their +possession which had never been made of record, and initiated new +investigations, using for this purpose the police of Manila, the +Philippine constabulary and various other agencies. Drawing on the +abundant material thus obtained, I began the preparation of a report +to the commission, recommending that the necessity for legislation +be called to the attention of Congress, and supplying abundant data +relative to the existence of slavery and peonage in the Philippines. + +Before this report was completed there occurred a most unexpected +event. + +Dr. W. O. Stillman, President of the American Humane Association, +had written me months before asking about the power of the Philippine +Legislature to enact humane legislation, and further inquiring what +laws of this sort, if any, had been enacted. In my reply I had called +his attention to the act of the commission prohibiting slavery and +peonage in certain provinces, and to the fact that the attitude +of the assembly had prevented the enactment of similar prohibitive +legislation for the remaining territory. My letter, which furnished +no supporting data, was eventually published by this gentleman and +was read in the United States Senate by Senator Borah. On May 1, +1913, the senate passed the following resolution:-- + + + "Resolved, That the Secretary of War be, and he is hereby, + directed to send to the Senate any and all facts bearing directly + or indirectly upon the truth of the charge publicly made that + human slavery exists at this time in the Philippine Islands and + that human beings are bought and sold in such Islands as chattels." + + +The reply addressed by the secretary of war to the president of the +Senate on May 6, 1913, contains the following statement:-- + + + "There is not in this Department, to the knowledge of the Secretary + thereof or of the head of the Bureau having charge of insular + affairs, a record of any facts bearing directly or indirectly upon + the truth of the charge, publicly made, that human slavery exists + at this time in the Philippine Islands and that human beings are + bought and sold in such Islands as chattels." + + +This was a most peculiar statement. The passage cut out of my 1909 +report was certainly on file there, and it explicitly stated that +slavery existed in the Islands. + +The similar passage from my 1910 report should have been on file there, +and last but not least, when finally, after the lapse of years, +I saw the so-called "Edwards" memorandum, in reality written by +General McIntyre, on which the Secretary of War had based his action +in ordering all reference to slavery cut out of my 1910 report, I had +made a full reply to it, containing a specific statement that slavery +and the sale of human beings were common in certain parts of the +islands and citing certain specific cases. I had specially requested +that this communication be filed in the bureau of insular affairs, +and General McIntyre, the chief of that bureau, who acknowledged its +receipt, could hardly have forgotten its existence. + +The war department reported on this matter without seeking any +information from Manila. I can only conclude that Secretary Garrison +was deceived by some irresponsible subordinate. + +As promptly as practicable I completed my report and sent it to the +commission, which read and considered it on May 17, 1913, immediately +passing the following resolution:-- + + + "Whereas the Act of Congress passed July 1, 1902, 'temporarily + providing for civil government of the Philippine Islands and for + other purposes' provides that 'neither slavery nor involuntary + servitude except as a punishment for crime whereof the parties + have been duly convicted shall exist in said Islands,' and + + "Whereas the Supreme Court of the Philippine Islands in the + case of the U. S. vs. Cabanag (Vol. VIII, p. 64, Phil. Repts.), + decided on March 16, 1907, decided that 'there is no law applicable + here either of the United States or of the Archipelago punishing + slavery as a crime;' and + + "Whereas, in order to remedy this condition in accordance with + the above-mentioned provisions of the said Act of Congress, the + Philippine Commission in its exclusive legislative jurisdiction + over all that part of the Philippine Islands inhabited by Moros or + other non-Christian tribes passed Act No. 2071, and as a branch of + the Philippine Legislature has in four successive sessions passed + an act prohibiting and penalizing slavery, involuntary servitude, + peonage, or the sale of human beings, and + + "Whereas during each of said sessions the Assembly has failed to + concur in the passage of such Act; now, therefore, be it + + "Resolved, That the Honourable the Governor-General be requested to + send to the Honourable the Secretary of War a copy of the proposed + law entitled 'An Act prohibiting slavery, involuntary servitude, + peonage, or the sale of human beings in the Philippine Islands' + as passed by the Commission in the last session of the last + Legislature, but which failed of passage in the Assembly, with + the recommendation that a copy of the law be sent to Congress + with the request that the necessary legislation be enacted to + render fully effective the above-mentioned provisions of the Act + of Congress of July 1, 1902." + + +I was subsequently requested by the governor-general to address +the report to him rather than to the commission, to the end that +the Filipino members of that body might be spared the embarrassment +which would otherwise result from the necessity of voting either for +its acceptance or for its rejection, and I very willingly made the +requested change. + +The printing of the report was delayed until July 19, 1913, and I +brought it up to that date, as evidence continued to pour in. + +In this document I gave specific cases of chattel slavery in the +provinces of Nueva Vizcaya, Isabela, Tarlac, Zambales, Pampanga, +Batangas, Palawan, Agusan, Ambos Camarines, the Moro province, +the Mountain province and Manila itself, describing quite fully +the conditions under which Ilongots, Ifugaos, Negritos, Tagbanuas, +Manobos, Mandayas, Moros and Filipinos are bought, sold and held as +chattel slaves. + +I will here only briefly summarize them. + +The Negritos are savages of low mentality, and most of them lead a +nomadic or semi-nomadic life. They constantly get the worst of it in +the struggle for existence and to-day are found only on the islands of +Mindanao, Palawan, Tablas, Negros, Panay and Luzón, where for the most +part they inhabit very remote and inaccessible mountain regions. Owing +to their stupidity and their extreme timidity it is comparatively easy +to hold them in slavery, and they are probably thus victimized more +than are the people of any other tribe. They are constantly warring +with each other in the more remote of the mountain regions which they +inhabit. It would be going too far to say that their moral sense has +been blunted. It is probably nearer the truth to say that they never +had any. It is therefore a simple matter for Filipino slave dealers to +arrange with Negritos for the purchase of their fellow-tribesmen. The +latter then proceed to obtain captives by raiding some hostile group +of their own people, killing ruthlessly if occasion arises. + +They are more ready than are the people of any other Philippine +tribe to sell their children or other dependent relatives, and do +this not infrequently when pressed by hunger, a condition apt to +arise because of their utter improvidence. Unfortunately, the matter +does not end here. It is by no means unknown for Filipinos to join +in their slave-hunting raids, or even to organize raids of their own, +killing Negrito parents in order to get possession of their children. I +submit the following case to illustrate this latter procedure:-- + + + "Camp Stotsenburg, Pampanga, P. I., + "September 26, 1910. + + "The Adjutant, + "Camp Stotsenburg, Pampanga, P. I. + + "Sir: I have the honour to inform you that a report has this + day been made to me that a party of hostile Filipinos, about + 15 in number, armed with 1 rifle, 1 revolver and the remainder + with bolos, presumably ladrones, entered a small Negrito barrio + situated about one and one half miles directly southeast from + the Post during the forenoon of Tuesday, September 20, 1910, + and killed three men and carried away two small children. I have + visited the barrio and the body of one man showing frightful + mutilation, both head, feet and hands completely severed from the + body, was found. This settlement is situated in a dense jungle + and the other bodies were presumably carried away or hidden, + so that they could not be found. + + "But one person can be found who witnessed the affair, an aged + Negrito woman, who can scarcely walk from the treatment she + received at the hands of these outlaws. She states that she + would be able to recognize and identify some of the party. I am + informed by Negritos living in the vicinity that this party of + outlaws has a rendezvous a short distance east of Solbac where + they might be apprehended. + + "The killing took place without the reservation, but the matter + is of sufficient importance, since all the Negritos living in + the vicinity of the post are greatly excited and disturbed, + to warrant the recommendation that it be referred to the Senior + Inspector of Constabulary, San Fernando, Pampanga, P. I., for + such action as he may desire to take. + + "Very respectfully, + + (Signed) "Kyle Rucker, + "1st Lieut. and Squadron Adjutant, 14th Cav. Intelligence Officer." + + +The subsequent fate of these Negrito children is made plain by the +following letter:-- + + + "Philippine Constabulary, + "San Fernando, Pampanga, P. I., + + "October 4, 1910. + + "My Dear Holmes: We have a case up here of murder committed near + the town of Angeles in which several Negritos are mixed up. + + "We managed to locate two Negrito children who had been sold by + the man who killed their father. They were in the possession of + a man named Ambrocio David who says he paid sixty pesos for them + and says they are his property. + + "I think that we can convict the murderer of the children's father, + if we can catch him, but this sale of Negritos has gone such a + pace that almost every family in Pampanga has at least one as a + 'Companion' of their children, they say, but really as a slave. + + "The Fiscal says there is no law against the sale or purchase of + Negritos and I cannot find it, although I seem to remember a law, + but whether it alludes to Negritos or only Moros I am unable + to say. + + "If there is a law, what number is it, and if not, can you get + me an opinion of the Attorney-General or some ruling so as to + show us how to act in this and future cases of this kind. + + "Yrs. + "W. S. North, + "S. I." + + +In this case one of the kidnappers was convicted of murder, but +nothing could be done to him for selling the Negrito children nor could +anything be done to Señor Ambrocio David for buying the children or +for claiming that they were his property. + +Like many primitive peoples, the Negritos are inordinately fond +of strong alcoholic drinks. It is strictly against the law to give +or sell any of the white man's liquors to them, but this naturally +does not restrain slave hunters, who frequently get adults deeply +intoxicated and then trade with them for their children or kidnap +the drunken persons themselves and drag them away. Negritos are held +to-day in bondage, in considerable numbers, in provinces like Zambales, +Pampanga, Tarlac, Pangasinan and Cagayan. While they are not displayed +for sale in any market in Pampanga, they can be readily negotiated +for in several different public markets of that province; and if +none happen to be available at the moment, the would-be purchaser is +assured that the supply in the mountains is inexhaustible and that +his needs can soon be met. + +The publication of my report has caused consternation among slave +owners in many provinces. Some slaves have since escaped and little +effort has been made to recapture them. Others have been voluntarily +set free by their masters, but in Pampanga the trade still goes +merrily on. Until recently Negritos have been peddled around the +country adjacent to Manila like carabaos or horses, and it is but a +short time since their purchasers have in some instances refused to +give them up, stoutly asseverating that they were their property. Now, +however, warned by experience, owners make no such claim, but advance +various more or less ingenious explanations of the fact that they +have Negritos in their possession and deny that they are slaves. Some +of them insist that it is a Negrito custom to kill orphan children, +and that they have taken orphans out of kindness in order to save +their lives. Patient investigation has failed to show the existence +of any such custom among the Negritos. + +Perhaps the commonest procedure of all is to claim that Negrito slaves +are "adopted children" or "members of the family." The presumption +against a Filipino's taking into his family one of these little +woolly-headed, black, dwarf savages is strong. In no single case have +I been able to obtain evidence of real, legal adoption. The following +document illustrates the procedure which seems invariably to have +been followed:-- + + + "On the 25th of December, 1912, I, the authorized curate of this + district, Lubao, Province of Pampanga, baptized solemnly, and put + on the blessed Oleos in this church in my charge on one Negrita + ten and eight years of age (18), and have given the name of Juana, + daughter of a father poor and unknown. The foster mother, Doña + Pia Vitug, married in this town received the charge as a parent + to care for the spiritual welfare and other obligations. + + "I for the truth sign, + + "Friar Pedro Diez." + + +(Girl given the name of Juana de Jesus Vitug.) + +A document of this sort imposes no legal obligation whatever on the +owner of a slave, and makes no change in the status of the slave, +but merely serves as a basis for the claim that he or she "is treated +as a member of the family." + +This is a cheap and easy method of securing a slave, and the child +thus "adopted" may be compelled to labour for a lifetime without +compensation, or turned over for a consideration to be similarly +"adopted" by some one else. + +Other Filipinos who do not claim that their Negrito slaves are members +of their families find complete justification for purchasing them +in the allegation that they have taken them to Christianize, thus +preventing their going to hell! + +In the provinces of Agusan and Surigao the slave-taking raids of the +Mandayas and Manobos are historic. In the more remote parts of these +provinces they continue from time to time up to the present day. While +one of them lies within the territory for which the commission has +been able to legislate, what shall we say of those who contend that +slavery does not exist in the Philippine Islands in the face of such +occurrences as have taken place there? The same query holds for +the sub-province of Ifugao in the Mountain Province and for Nueva +Vizcaya. The Ifugaos have been especially victimized. The following +kinds of servitude are recognized by them:-- + +Jim-bút. This is the name applied to real slaves. The Jim-bút becomes +an article of commerce and often changes owners several times before +reaching the country of the Ba-li-uon (Christians). + +Nij-cóp. This is the name applied to children who have been really +adopted under a formal contract made with their parents or nearest +relatives in case the parents are dead. The Nij-cóp acquire certain +property rights from their new parents-by-adoption. + +Baj-ál. This is the name given to orphan children who have been +formally taken in charge by some well-to-do Ifugao and who are unable +to support themselves. The Baj-ál is a tentative Nij-cóp, for if he +turns out to be bright and industrious, he may become a member of +the family and acquire property rights. + +Ta-gá-la. This is the name applied to servants who receive regular +compensation. + +It is a matter of common knowledge throughout the sub-province that +there are living to-day in Isabela hundreds of Ifugaos who have been +sold to Filipinos as slaves. + +In Nueva Vizcaya it has been possible to deal with the more flagrant +cases since the passage by the commission of the law above referred +to, but the commission is powerless to pass a law effective in Isabela. + +The holders of slaves now seek to evade the law by nominally hiring +them at a monthly salary which is not paid. The promulgation of Act +No. 2071 prohibiting and penalizing slavery enabled Lieutenant-Governor +Jeff D. Gallman of Ifugao to liberate some forty boys and girls held +by Filipinos in Nueva Vizcaya. In no single case, however, could it +be proved that the child had been sold. The persons who held them +testified in each instance that they were "hired servants." + +When they learned of the provisions of the above-mentioned act they +were easily prevailed upon to pay "salaries" long overdue to their +"servants" and the latter were allowed to return to their homes. + +It was found that some of the persons originally sold into slavery in +Nueva Vizcaya had run away from their masters and become vagabonds. Few +really wanted to return to their parents, whose language in many +cases they had almost forgotten. + +I wish this were the worst, but the worst is yet to come. Not only +do the Filipinos buy, sell and hold the wild people as slaves, but +Filipino children have been kidnapped, or enticed from their homes, by +other Filipinos, and sold as slaves to their own kind. Young girls have +been sold outright to Chinese who purchased and kept them for immoral +purposes. They have been sold to panderers and keepers of houses of +prostitution and compelled to enter upon lives of shame. Filipino +children and young women have been sold to Chinese who have taken them +to China. God only knows what fate may have befallen them there. In +such cases the victims disappear from these islands, never to return. + +Some slaves are well treated. Others are half starved, brutally beaten, +injured or even killed. The Manobos and Manadayas of Agusan and +Surigao, and the Bagobos of the Moro Province, have been accustomed +to sacrifice slaves to appease their heathen deities. The Manobos +on occasion even have their boys take lances and try the effect of +different thrusts on slaves tied to trees or posts. + +Those who desire long lists of specific cases of slavery will find +them in my report. I think that I have here abundantly demonstrated +the fact that genuine slavery exists in the Philippine Islands. It +can never be successfully checked until there is a law of general +application throughout the archipelago penalizing the sale, barter, +or purchase of human beings. What reason has the Philippine Assembly +for refusing to pass the necessary act? + +Without hesitation I assert that, apart from false and foolish pride +which makes the persons concerned unwilling to admit the fact of the +existence of slavery, their chief reason for objecting to this law +is that it would not only prohibit and penalize slavery, but would +prohibit and penalize peonage, which is so common and widespread that +it may properly be called general. Indeed, I have no hesitation in +asserting that it prevails in every municipality in the Philippine +Islands. + +Slavery is a serious matter, but peonage is far more serious because +of the very much larger number of persons involved. It lies at the +root of the industrial system of the Philippines. + +Much has been said relative to the probable attitude of large American +landowners toward Filipino labourers. Thus far their attitude, and +that of all other classes of Americans, has been infinitely better +than has that of the wealthy Filipinos themselves. The truth is that +peonage is repugnant to the average American. One of the complaints +persistently made against us by the Filipinos is that we have raised +the daily wage throughout the islands, and this is true. When I was +there in the Spanish days, it was possible, in many regions, to obtain +abundant labour at five cents per day with food, and ten cents with +food was the general rule. Now the same class of labour costs at least +twenty-five cents per day with food, and in some provinces it costs +fifty cents or more. It must be frankly admitted that Americans are +responsible for this sad condition of affairs! American landowners who +desire to pay their employees regularly a living daily wage encounter +difficulty in doing so, for the reason that the labourers have become +accustomed to the old system, the evils of which they know, and are +afraid of a new one, fearing that it may involve worse evils of which +they know nothing. + +Incidentally, Americans have learned that their labourers are worth +more if well fed, and this is another grievance held against us in +certain quarters. + +With many of the Filipinos it is a different story. + +The rich and powerful man, commonly known as a cacique, encourages +the poor man to borrow money from him under such conditions that the +debt can never be repaid, and holds the debtor, and frequently the +members of his family as well, in debt servitude for life. One might +fill a score of volumes with records of cases and I can here do no +more than to select a few typical illustrations of the workings of +this vicious system. + +The Filipinos are born gamblers. Gambling is their besetting sin. The +poor are usually glad to get the opportunity to borrow money, and will +do this on almost any terms, if necessary, in order to continue to +indulge in their pet vice. They are thoughtless about their ability +to repay loans, and thus readily fall into the power of the cacique +money-lenders, who thereafter use them as house servants or labourers, +under conditions such as to render their escape from debt-servitude +practically impossible. + +Indeed, if they seek to escape, the caciques often threaten them with +the law, or actually invoke it against them, while if they endeavour +to homestead public land and thus better their condition, the caciques +only too often cause opposition to be made to their claims and keep +it up until they become discouraged. + +The following facts have been furnished me by Hon. James A. Ostrand, +judge of the court of land registration. + + + "In 1907 a woman, whose surname, I think, is Quintos, asked me to + lend her twenty-five pesos with which to 'redeem' her daughter who + had been mortgaged for that amount to a Chinese merchant, whose + name at present I do not recall, but who had his establishment + on the ground floor of the house of Ubaldo Diaz in Lingayen. The + woman stated that the Chinaman was corrupting the morals of the + girl, and that this was the reason why she wanted to make the + redemption. I told her that under the circumstances no redemption + was necessary, but that I would see that the girl was allowed to + leave the Chinaman, who, on proper representations, was induced to + let the girl go home. She stayed with her mother for a couple of + weeks but, by adding P75 to the mortgage debt, the Chinaman got her + back and shortly before I left Lingayen I learned that the girl, + though scarcely fifteen years old, had given birth to a child." + + "In 1907 a woman from the town of Balincaguin in Pangasinán + came to my office and stated that she, about six years before had + 'mortgaged' [the terms 'salda' in Ilocano and 'sanla' in Pangasinán + are usually translated mortgage, but also imply pledge, as the + creditor generally takes possession of the mortgaged property] her + twelve-year old son for some twenty pesos to Don Cirilio Braganza, + the member of the second Philippine legislature for the district + in which I was then living; that her son had been working for + Braganza ever since, and that, according to her reckoning, the + debt had already been paid, but that Braganza had unjustly charged + the loss of a carabao to her son's account, thus adding P120, + if I remember correctly, to the debt. She further stated that + she had asked Braganza to release the boy, but that he refused + to do so. I informed her of the provisions of the Philippine Bill + in regard to involuntary servitude, and advised her that her son + was free to leave Mr. Braganza's services if he so desired. She + said that if the boy should leave, she was afraid something might + happen to him as Braganza was very influential in that locality. I + then gave her a note for Braganza requesting him to let the boy + go. Shortly afterwards Braganza came to me and gave me his version + of the case, stating that he had always treated the boy well, + and that the loss of the carabao was entirely due to the boy's + negligence, and that he, Braganza, would not consent to the boy's + leaving him before the carabao was paid for. At last reports the + boy was still with Braganza and may be there yet. I may add that + I believe Braganza told the truth, and that the boy was guilty + of negligence in connection with the loss of the carabao." + + +The net result in this case was that a boy was "mortgaged" for a +P20 debt and after six years the debt had very largely increased, +probably in part as a result of the carelessness of the boy. + +In a letter to Judge Ostrand I had defined peonage as "the condition +of a debtor held by his creditor in a form of qualified servitude to +work out a debt." Of its prevalence the judge says:-- + + + "While practising law in the Province of Pangasinán, during + the years 1905 to 1909, hardly a week passed but what cases of + involuntary servitude, as defined in the within communication, + came under my observation." + + +He also calls attention to the fact that interference with the system +does not increase one's popularity:-- + + + "Interference by third parties in cases of involuntary servitude + is not looked upon with favour, and is generally considered highly + reprehensible. I remember, for instance, a case where Mr. Pedro + Sison [not the member of the Legislature], then a prominent + resident of Lingayen, was, as he himself regarded it, made the + victim of unwarranted interference. A woman bought a small parcel + of land from Mr. Sison, agreeing to work out the purchase price, + forty pesos. She worked with Mr. Sison for six years, at the + end of which period the debt had increased to over sixty pesos, + according to Mr. Sison's accounts. In the meantime the woman became + a Protestant, and Rev. E. S. Lyons, the Methodist missionary + in Pangasinán, advised her to leave Mr. Sison's service. Upon + her doing so Mr. Sison became very indignant not only at her, + but also at Mr. Lyons, and for some time thought seriously of + having the latter criminally prosecuted. He appeared to be very + much surprised when he found that there was no penal provision + covering Mr. Lyons's action. Mr. Sison was otherwise a very + estimable and good-natured man, but he never until his dying day, + which occurred a couple of years afterwards, got over his bitter + resentment toward Mr. Lyons." + + +Judge Ostrand summarizes the results of his observations as follows:-- + + + "Nearly all the involuntary servitude cases of which I have any + knowledge have arisen from the practice of mortgaging half-grown + children. The sum advanced is usually some twenty or thirty + pesos. As the money seldom draws interest at a lower rate than + ten per cent a month, and the creditor furnishes the child food + and such clothing as it may need, its services are ordinarily + not considered worth more than the amount of the interest, and + the debt instead of being reduced usually increases as the years + pass. I venture to say that among the Filipinos in some sections + of the Islands the majority of house servants are obtained and + employed in this manner." + + +It would indeed seem that with interest at the rate of 120 per cent +per year and the creditor in a position to fix his own price for food, +clothing and other necessaries furnished his debtors while they were +trying to work out their debts, they would not be likely to succeed +in doing so! + +In this connection I call attention to the fact that in the course +of the discussion recently caused by requests for the resignation +of certain public officials who had been loaning money at usurious +rates of interests, several of the native papers took the attitude +that 18 per cent per year was a very moderate rate of interest. + +If the unfortunate peon finally rebels, the rich cacique often +invokes the law against him by having him prosecuted on some false +criminal charge. + +In this connection the following letter is of interest:-- + + + "Philippine Constabulary, + "Office of the Senior Inspector, + "Pampanga, San Fernando, September 26, 1912. + + "The Superintendent, Information Division, P. C., + "Manila, P. I. + + "(Thru' Adjutant, District of Central Luzón.) + + "Sir: Reference to the prosecution of Maria Guzman before the + Justice of the Peace of Apalit for 'Infraction of Law 2098' + (your file No. 8634-75) I have the honour to attach copy of + decision in the case, and remarks:-- + + "About three (3) years ago Simeon de los Reyes, by and with the + consent of his wife Maria Guzman, borrowed and signed receipt + for fifty pesos (P50) to Maria Santos of Apalit, contracting that + his wife work out the debt moulding earthen jars--that for every + hundred jars made Maria Guzman received P1, 25 centavos of which + was to go on the debt. The woman states she could make about fifty + jars per week, so that her actual wages were 50 centavos per week, + or $.005 per jar. This without board, as the woman states that + any money she got for food was charged on original debt. + + "By the first part of this year the debt had 'decreased' to P70, + when another receipt for that amount was signed by the husband, + de los Reyes, and the old receipt for P50 destroyed. In the month + of August ultimo the Santos woman refused to advance Maria Guzman + more money, so Maria Guzman left and joined her husband, who was + working in Manila. The debt at time of trial amounted to P79 and + a fraction. + + "Warrants of this nature are being continually sent from Pampanga, + either by messenger or mail, direct to the Superintendent + Information Division, without passing through my hands. The reason + is evident. + + "It is respectfully requested that in the future all warrants + reaching your office in this way be referred back to me before + execution. + + "Very respectfully, + + (Signed) "L. T. Rohrer, + "Senior Inspector." + + +This woman, if she succeeded in making fifty earthen jars per week, +received wages amounting to twenty-five cents against which her +creditor charged her food and doubtless also her clothing. In other +words, she was in effect charged for the privilege of making fifty +jars per week for her master. The interest on her debt was meanwhile +piling up while the principal steadily increased, and when she grew +weary of her hopeless task and ran away, her taskmaster prosecuted her. + +The following letter presents a typical case of peonage: + + + "Rosales, + "March 26, 1912. + + "Chief of the Secret Service Dept., Manila: + + "Dear Sir: On behalf of Garegorio Almario a young girl residing + at my house I write to ask you if you cannot have this matter + attended to. + + "Six years ago a man named Tomas Almario, living at present + in Rosales, borrowed some money (twenty pesos only). This + man was unable to repay this money so he sold this girl named + Inocencia Almario to a Mr. Galban. I think he is the President of + Bautista. Her sister has been to Bautista to take this girl away + but she has been rebuked by these people in my presence. They state + she owes P60 the extra P40 being interest on the P20 borrowed 6 + years ago. They have got this girl and another girl working as + slaves and to-day I heard that the girl escaped in a carromatta + but they sent an automobile after her and took her into Bautista + beating her all the way. In the interest of justice I hope you + will have this girl released and hand her over to her sister in + my house here out of the hands of those wretches. I also found + out that this girl is being sent from place to place amongst + men who take girls to cover debts. If you send a man here to + Rosales I have the proof and will show you where this girl is + and will get the evidence against these people. I understand that + the President of Bautista is the man who is at the bottom of the + whole affair. I hope you will put a stop to this slavery. I have + the man here who owes the money and sold the two girls to this + man. I have the sister here; also the other relatives to prove + that this girl has worked as a slave for 6 years to cover a debt + of twenty pesos and now they want 60 before they will release + her. Please release my sister and oblige + + "Yours truly, + + "+ Garegorio Almario. + Witness: (Signed) "W. A. Cole. + + "Address Garegorio Almario, + "c/o W. A. Cole, Rosales, Pang." + + +I have not made the slightest effort to get the peonage records of +Philippine assemblymen, but have taken cases as they came, yet three +of the limited number here discussed concern members or ex-members +of the assembly. Is it any wonder that that body refuses to consider +a law prohibiting and penalizing peonage? + +My investigation of this matter has developed some interesting phases +of human nature. Knowing the certain unpopularity which would result +from telling the truth, not a few persons who might have given +valuable testimony refused to tell what they knew, or even denied +that they knew anything. Others made written statements which I was +unable to use, as they insisted that their names be withheld, and +I wanted testimony only from witnesses who had the courage of their +convictions. Fortunately there was no lack of people unafraid to tell +the truth. Among witnesses to the existence of chattel slavery were +army officers, constabulary officers, the Manila chief of police and +many men of the police force of that city, judges, Catholic priests, +the mother superior of a convent, the insular auditor and a number +of his deputies, provincial governors, both Filipino and American, +provincial treasurers, the director of education, school teachers, +an ethnologist, newspaper men, business men and women both English and +American. I accepted only written and signed statements. The long list +of cases in my official report was a sample list, not an exhaustive +one. I stand ready to furnish specific instances of chattel slavery, +ad nauseam, giving names of slaves, their vendors and purchasers, +prices paid and dates of transactions. I hold more than a thousand +typewritten pages of evidence, and it continued to come in up to the +day of my departure from Manila. + +The attitude of the Filipino politicians toward this great mass +of data and the witnesses who furnished it is a most interesting +study, from which may be deduced logical conclusions of far-reaching +importance. Let us examine it. + +In the issue of the Boston Herald for June 24, 1912, Sr. Quezon, +resident delegate from the Philippines to Congress, published an +article entitled "The Filipinos as Legislators," [74] attacking +Governor-General Forbes for referring in a public speech to the +attitude of the assembly on the slavery question. I will quote and +comment on its essential statements:-- + + + "The fact that the Assembly has refused to approve of the bill + referred to by Governor Forbes, bespeaks the legislative ability + of our Assemblymen, while, on the other hand, the passage by the + Commission of said bill indicates either the incompetency or the + negligence of the Commissioners. Do we have slavery and compulsory + service in the Philippines or not? If we do not, the bill to + abolish it is unnecessary. If we do, it is also unnecessary, + because the Act passed by Congress, creating the present Philippine + Government, which serves as our constitution, already prohibits + slavery and compulsory service, and, therefore, no act of the + Philippine Legislature is needed to declare it illegal." + + +This is a puerile quibble. The act referred to prohibits slavery, +but does not penalize it. + + + "If there is slavery and compulsory service in the Philippines, + the Governor-General as the Chief Executive, and the members of + the Philippine Commission, who, with the Governor-General, compose + the executive department of the Islands, are all of them guilty in + not enforcing and executing the constitution of the Archipelago." + + +False. The Supreme Court of the Philippines has held that the +"constitution" here referred to is non-enforceable without exactly +such suppletory legislation as the commission passed and the assembly +tabled. + + + "If there is anything in the Philippines akin to slavery or + compulsory service, it can not be found in the provinces to which + the legislative jurisdiction of the Assembly extends." + + +Utterly false. + + + "Should there be such a thing in the territories inhabited by + the few non-Christian Filipinos, which are under the exclusive + control of the Philippine Commission, I am sure the slaveholders + can only be the Government officials, who are appointed by the + Secretary of the Interior, the Honourable Dean C. Worcester, the + head of the executive department in charge of said territories." + + +False and absurd. The larger majority of existing slaves are held by +Christian Filipinos. Not a single official in the territory in question +was subject to appointment or removal by me. Not one has ever owned a +slave, to my knowledge. This statement illustrates Quezon's disregard +for the truth. + + + "It will not be out of place to indicate here the reason wherefor + the Philippine Commission has passed the bill alluded to by + Governor Forbes. The members of the Philippine Commission are + sternly opposed to Philippine independence. Moreover, they are + opposed to allowing the Filipino people to have a legislature + wholly constituted of natives for reasons too apparent to be + mentioned. One of their everyday arguments is 'that the premature + withdrawal of the United States would result in the establishment + of an oligarchy composed of small and favoured ruling classes + who would oppress the masses.' + + "The passage by the Philippine Commission of the anti-slavery + bill placed the Philippine Assembly in a very awkward position + (as it was perhaps intended to do); to concur in the passage of + the bill was to admit that there is such a thing as slavery and + compulsory service in the Philippines, which is not a fact. To + reject the bill would be construed as indicating that the members + of the Assembly were advocates of slavery. The moral courage of + our Assemblymen was shown when they took the former course, that + of truth. The members of the Commission denounce the attitude of + their colegislators as proof of lack of sympathy for the masses + of the people." + + +False, interesting, and important. There were four Filipino members of +the commission at this time, all of whom were in favour of ultimate +independence, and one of whom was a leading advocate of immediate +independence. All voted for the anti-slavery laws which the assembly +refused to pass. + +The Filipinos were not wholly to blame for the existence of slavery at +the time of the American occupation, but the politicians are unable to +grasp the fact that the way to deal with a cancer is to cut it out, +not to deny its existence, and by their refusal to legislate have +now made themselves fully responsible for the continued existence +of slavery and peonage in the regularly organized provinces of the +Philippines. The Filipino newspapers have even gone so far as to +claim that there could be no slavery until a law defined it, hence +to enact such a law would create slavery. + +Resident Commissioners Earnshaw and Quezon were prompt and emphatic in +their denials of the existence of slavery when Senator Borah read in +the Senate Chamber my letter to Dr. Stillman. Sr. Earnshaw did not know +any better. Sr. Quezon claims to know the facts. He himself has said:-- + + + "As a Filipino familiar with the facts in the case, I do not + hesitate to qualify the letter of Secretary Worcester as being + at once false and slanderous. It is false, because there does not + exist slavery in the Philippines, or, at least, in that part of the + country subject to the authority of the Philippine Assembly. It + is slanderous because it presents the Philippine Assembly, by + innuendo, if not openly, as a body which countenances slavery." + + +He was unquestionably familiar with the facts, or many of them. Did he +know of the report of the Filipino Governor Dichoso, describing slavery +in Isabela; of that of the Filipino Governor Corrales, describing +slavery in Misamis; of that of the Filipino Governor Pimentel, +describing the sale of Filipino children into slavery to Chinese; +[75] of that of the American Governor George Curry, describing slavery +in Isabela; [76] of that of the American Governor Knight, describing +slavery in Nueva Vizcaya; [77] of that of the Filipino Governor Sanz, +[78] describing the enticing from their homes of numerous Filipino +children of Romblón and the disposal of them as peons or slaves; of the +reports of army, constabulary and police officers; and of the records +of courts on slavery and peonage? Under the circumstances explanation +or retraction would seem to be in order, but we have had from him only +two more puerile quibbles. In a published statement he has said that +slavery does not exist as an institution in the Philippines. Who ever +said it did? It exists there as a demonstrated fact, and it ought to +be made a crime. In another published statement, [79] Quezon says:-- + + + "The allegation is a most serious one and we think it desirable + to meet the charge directly without hesitation by asserting that + it is unqualifiedly false and that the accusations made in the + report are not only not sustained, but cannot be sustained by + any evidence tending to show that such a 'system' exists." + + +The placing in quotation marks of a word not used by me fairly +illustrates one of the typical methods of the Filipino politician, +and for this reason alone I refer to it and to the following statements +from the same editorial, which will serve a similar purpose:-- + + + "There is a very serious aspect of this report of Commissioner + Worcester's. If the system he speaks of exists and is known to + him--indeed has been known to him for a long time--why did he + never correct it? He says that the Philippine Assembly has blocked + action. The truth is that he and his fellows had absolute power + long before the Philippine Assembly ever came into existence. + + "... Mr. Worcester now practically admits that he knew of similar + conditions elsewhere than among the Moros, but that he never had + anything to say about them and allowed them to go on until, it + would seem, he thought that he could make some political capital + out of a controversy with the Philippine Assembly regarding + anti-slavery legislation." + + +It did not lie in my power to correct it. On the Philippine +Commission rests the full responsibility for failure to enact +anti-slavery legislation from the time when it first learned of +the existence of this crime among the Filipinos until it passed its +first act prohibiting and penalizing it on April 29, 1909. As I have +already shown, the matter was dealt with, in 1903, by directing the +inclusion of proper legislation in a proposed new Penal Code never +completed. Valuable years were then lost in testing the adequacy of +existing law, and when it proved inadequate further time was, in my +opinion, needlessly wasted in drafting the necessary act. To this +extent, and to this extent only, the commission shares responsibility +for existing conditions. Since April 29, 1909, that responsibility +has rested on the assembly alone. + +I have given two of the reasons for its refusal to act. There is +another, but I should have hesitated to give it, as it would have +been hard to prove, had not Speaker Osmeña furnished the necessary +evidence. He is commonly considered to be the leading Filipino +statesman of the day, so special importance attaches to his utterances +and he, if any one, can speak with authority concerning the attitude +of the assembly. The ominous rumble from the United States which +reached these distant shores led him to give out a newspaper interview +explaining the inactivity of that body. He said:-- + + + "Never has Mr. Worcester attempted to furnish us with the facts + which he has placed before Congress. The bill itself was sent to + the Assembly for action but on account of the unfriendliness of the + members for the secretary of the interior and the lack of sympathy + between the Assembly and him, it was not given the consideration + that it would have received if Mr. Worcester had at the same time + sent us the facts which he has sent on to the United States. + + "Mr. Worcester as the secretary of the interior, and not as + commissioner was in duty bound to furnish the Assembly with the + facts that he claims to have found. It is the duty of all of + the administrative officers of the government to enlighten the + legislature and to furnish it with information gained officially + by them. As a matter of fact, Mr. Worcester showed that he was + not anxious for the Assembly to consider the matter by never once + even mentioning the subject to me, as is customary with other + matters for legislation which the secretaries have wished taken + up by the Assembly." + + +If this were not so pathetic it would be very, very funny. The assembly +is now made up of 81 Filipino delegates representing 34 provinces. An +unfeeling American secretary of the interior, residing at Manila, +is charged with having failed to inform them of what was going on +under their very noses. All information deemed by the commission +necessary to justify legislation was transmitted by me to that body +when we lost our slavery case in the Supreme Court. + +Never during all the years that this matter has been pending has there +been the slightest suggestion that the assembly desired to receive +information concerning it. If its members were to tell the half of +what they themselves know about slavery and peonage the facts which +I have been able to gather would fade into insignificance, but this +is not the important thing in this interview. + +The important thing is that dislike of the person who happened to +introduce in the commission a bill prohibiting slavery and peonage +in the Philippines is considered a valid reason for the refusal of +the assembly to consider it during four successive years. + +Shall thousands of suffering human beings be allowed to go on sweating +blood for such a reason? + +It is my earnest hope that as a result of the publicity which has +now been given this matter there will be speedy action, either by +the Philippine Legislature or by the Congress of the United States. + +I hope that every right-minded person who reads these lines will insist +that we have done with concealment of the truth and suppression of +the facts; have done with boggling over hurting the feelings of the +Filipino people; and will demand that those who have power to end the +disgraceful conditions which now exist in the islands shall promptly +and effectively exercise it. + +The native press has naturally bitterly opposed any investigation of +the truth or falsity of my statements. The following extract from a +recent editorial is typical of its attitude:-- + + + "Slavery is not slavery unless it has the characteristics + of frequency and notoriousness. Is there here, or has there + ever been, at least since Christian civilization has reigned, + anything that resembles it? Where is, or who has seen previous to + now, such characteristic slavery? Mr. Worcester? Let him point + it out, let him give a detailed account of it, let him define + it. What will you bet that he will not do so? How is he going + to do it if it does not exist! It was enough for him to say: + "There is slavery in the Philippines" for men, press, government + officials and every stripe of public elements in America to admit + the possibility of the affirmation and even an investigation of + its likelihood to be ordered. + + "That is simply absurd. The mere investigation is an offense. The + proof must come solely from, and must be demanded solely of, him + who imputes the charge. If he does not demonstrate it, if he does + not make it patent, further investigation is not needed. All that + there was to investigate is investigated: it is that he has lied." + + +Nevertheless aroused public sentiment in the United States has forced +action here. Governor-General Harrison called the matter to the +attention of the assembly in his first speech, and that body is now +[80] investigating it. Unfortunately there is grave reason to doubt +its good faith. + +It allowed me to leave Manila without the faintest suggestion that +it desired to hear me, and then had the governor-general cable me an +invitation to testify and to assist in the investigation when I was +halfway home and could not possibly return. + +Assemblyman Sandoval, defending in the public press a friend charged +with buying a Tagbanua slave who had been thrice sold, says that +the several purchasers did not buy the unfortunate man but bought +his debt. A debt is not ordinarily purchased for itself and it is +admitted that in this instance the man went with it. + +The Filipino politicians have hardly approached this matter in a +judicial spirit, and the timid and the politic, who refused to give +me the information they might have furnished, had some reason for +their fears. + +The removal of Judge Ostrand and Director of Education Crone, who gave +valuable testimony, was loudly demanded on the ground that they were +"traducers of the Filipino people." + +The people were urged to "get together" and disprove my statements. + +I have been denounced as an enemy of "the Filipino people." + +It has been claimed:-- + +That my charges were false, and without foundation. + +That, if they were true, I myself was to blame for the continued +existence of slavery. + +That I published my report when I did in order to hold my position. + +That I published it when I did in anger because I had lost my position. + +That I had been removed because I published it. + +In just one instance, so far as I know, has a Filipino considered +the possibility that the motive which actuated me was a desire to +help many thousands of unfortunate human beings. + +Good old Arcadio del Rosario, at one time insurgent governor of +Benguet, who has a kindly feeling for the wild-men and was glad to +note certain immediate results which followed the publication of +my report, has said: "Would that Sr. Osmeña [81] might have had the +glory of doing what Sr. Worcester has done." + +What is needed to end slavery and peonage is congressional legislation +enforced by Americans. + +Without hesitation I assert that their existence in the Philippine +Islands is the greatest single problem which there confronts +the government of the United States, in its effort to build up a +respectable and responsible electorate and establish representative +government. + +Is it reasonable to suppose that the hand which to-day crushes down the +Filipino servant, the Filipino labourer, and the wild-man of the hills, +will to-morrow raise them up and point them on the way to freedom? + + + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI + +MURDER AS A GOVERNMENTAL AGENCY + + +In discussing the prevalence of slavery in the Philippine Islands, +Sr. Manuel Quezon has stated that it has never existed there as an +institution. This is true, to the extent at least that it has never +been recognized as a legal institution, nor directed nor authorized by +order of any competent governmental authority. The same statements +cannot be truthfully made with reference to murder, as I shall +conclusively show by the records of the Insurgent government. + +I wish at the outset to draw a sharp line between acts of barbarity or +ferocity, committed without authority by ignorant and irresponsible +Insurgent officers or soldiers during the heat of battle or as +the result of passions aroused by armed strife, and those which I +now discuss. The former must be regarded as breaches of military +discipline. Aguinaldo sought to protect his government from their +consequences by issuing endless orders in Spanish strictly forbidding +them. + +His troops were ordered again and again to respect American prisoners +and treat them with humanity. + +So far as concerns his own people, however, he displayed a very +different spirit from the outset. + +As we have already noted there exists among the Insurgent records +a document written in Tagálog by him, and therefore obviously +not intended for the information of Americans, which contains the +following:-- + + + "Any person who fights for his country has absolute power to kill + any one not friendly to our cause." [82] + + +Aguinaldo armed not only ignorant and irresponsible people, but +thieves, outlaws and murderers, and turned them loose on the common +people with blanket authority to kill whomsoever they would, and they +promptly proceeded to exercise it. "Dukut" [83] stretched out its +bloody hand even in Manila, under the very eye of American officers, +and as often as not struck down wholly innocent victims. + +Aguinaldo was not alone in his views on the subject of murder. Felipe +Agoncillo, long secretary of the Hongkong junta, and official +representative of the Insurgent government in Europe and the United +States, wrote him on August 1, 1898, from Hongkong, suggesting that +he kill the Spanish prisoners "if the country requires" that this be +done, and adding, "if you deem it wise you should secretly issue an +order to kill the friars that they may capture." [84] + +Obviously Aguinaldo did not deem it wise to order the murder of the +Spanish prisoners as a whole, nor that of the friars as a whole. + +The following letter, marked "confidential," addressed to his cousin +Baldomero Aguinaldo, for a time the Insurgent secretary of war, +tells a significant tale of the course finally decided upon:-- + + + "Filipino Republic, + "Office of the Military Governor, + "Malolos, February 17, 1899. + + "Señor Secretary of War:-- + + "Referring to your note in regard to an unhealthy town or place + in the province of Nueva Ecija fit for the concentration there of + the friars; beside the town of Bongabong there is no good place + except the town of La Paz in the province of Tarlac, because, + according to my observation, even the persons born there are + attacked by malarial fever and ague and if they are strangers + very few will escape death. + + + "Your always faithful subordinate, + + (Signed) "Isidoro Torres. + + "17th February, 1899." [85] + + +Evidently General Torres' recommendation was favourably acted upon, +for among the papers of the Insurgent government is a memorandum, +[86] apparently in Aguinaldo's handwriting, stating that-- + + + "there were 297 Spanish friars held prisoners in Luzón, and that + on February 17, 1899, those in Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, and Pampanga, + 111 in all, had been ordered by him to be concentrated in La Paz"! + + +In many instances other prisoners were murdered outright. This hard +fate befell three Spaniards, of whom one was a friar, and two were +shipwrecked Englishmen, who were butchered in Zambales in December, +1899, upon the approach of the American troops, apparently by the +order of the governor, Vicente Camara. [87] + +On February 15, 1900, an expedition under the immediate command of +Brigadier-General J. M. Bell sailed from Manila under the personal +supervision of Major-General Bates. This was composed of troops +detailed to take possession of North and South Camarines and Albay, +to which provinces Insurgent troops, having many Spanish prisoners +in their possession, had been forced to retire as a result of the +operations in Tayabas Province. In compliance with these instructions +the town of Daet was occupied after some resistance and the Insurgents +in that quarter were driven to the northeast, taking with them a number +of Spanish prisoners. A large proportion of these were murdered by +command of the officer in charge of the guerilla band guarding them, +probably because he was not able to force them to move as rapidly as +his own men. + +On November 15, 1900, Simeon Villa, of evil fame, issued a +circular letter [88] to chiefs of guerillas in the Cagayan valley, +recommending that they all "learn the verb 'Dukutar' [89] so as to +put it into immediate effect," and adding "it is the most efficacious +specific against every kind of evil-doer, and most salutary for our +country." This, too, under the "Filipino Republic" before the outbreak +of war with the United States, and at a time when we are assured that +"profound peace and tranquillity" prevailed in this region. + +This villanous order was approved and made general in its application +by Aguinaldo himself, on November 15, 1900. [90] + +Aguinaldo's orders were not always couched in such general terms +as the one above quoted. Among the most interesting of the captured +Insurgent documents is the following:-- + + + "Our Honourable President: We, the signers, who subscribe the + declaration appended; by these presents protest against the + American proclamation; we recognize no authority but that of + God and the Revolutionary Government, and we offer our lives and + property for the independence of our country. + + "Manila, San Miguel, January 12, 1899. + + "Feliciano Cruz + "Severino Quitiongco." + + (25 signatures follow.) + + (On the back is written in the handwriting of E. Aguinaldo): + + "Leberino Kitionko: + "Feliciano de la Cruz: Commissioned to kill General Otis." [91] + + +The difference in the spelling of the name Severino Quitiongco is +doubtless due to the fact that Aguinaldo wrote it down as it sounded +to him. + +When the Insurgent government began to be pinched for funds, failure +to pay taxes became, in many cases, sufficient ground for murdering +the delinquent. + +The method of procedure is set forth in the testimony of a tax +collector, published in General Orders, No. 259, 1901, Division of +the Philippines:-- + + + "I carried a letter of authorization to act as special agent, + which means authority to commit murder. Each time a murder was + ordered a letter was sent to one of four men (named above) by one + of the chiefs (naming them). Afterward the letter was taken up and + burned. If a man did not pay his contributions to the insurgent + collector he was ordered to be killed." + + +The chief cause for murder was friendliness toward the Americans. As +time passed and the common people had an opportunity to contrast the +brutality of their own soldiers with the kindly treatment usually +accorded them by the American troops, they welcomed the latter. Weary +of danger to life and property, the better men in the towns became +very desirous to see the reëstablishment of local governments, and +ready to assist in the work. The answer of the Insurgent leaders took +the form of wholesale orders for the murder or assassination of all +persons friendly to the Americans. I shall cite enough such orders +to show that this policy was duly provided for throughout the length +and breadth of the Insurgent territory. + +Many of the Visayans were friendly toward the Americans from the +outset. On March 24, 1900, "General in Chief" Maxilom, of Cebú, issued +an order providing for the execution, after a most summary trial, +of the presidentes of all towns which subscribed to and recognized +American sovereignty. This rule was to apply to Filipino citizens, +including even the wealthy, a most unusual arrangement! Failure to +be "subject to the will of the Honourable President Señor Emilio +Aguinaldo" spelled death. [92] + +Outside the Cebú towns occupied by the Americans the guerillas +commanded by Maxilom were able to collect tribute by the employment of +such methods as were provided for on June 22, 1900, by Maxilom's order +fixing the duties of the magdudukuts, or secret avengers, who were +empowered to "execute without remorse all notorious traitors." [93] +This was, in practice, a general warrant to commit murder. + +Pursuant to these instructions Pablo Mejia, a Filipino of high +character and conspicuous ability, was assassinated in a street of +Cebú in August, 1899. The Visayans had reason to be proud of him and +to execrate his assassins. + +On January 31, 1900, Pio Claveria, delegate to the Military Government +of Iloílo province, Panay Island, wrote the presidente of Tigbauan, +that if it was true that he and various other residents of that +town had taken an oath recognizing American sovereignty and did not +retract it the town would be razed to the ground, and they would be +"deserving of the terrible penalties prescribed by the laws of the +revolution!" [94] + +On April 3, 1900, General Leandro Fullón, who signed himself +"Political and Military Governor" of Antique, and was one of +Aguinaldo's emissaries, wrote a circular letter, to be sent "by +the fastest carriers from one town to the other," imposing sentence +of death and confiscation of property on people who had taken out +certificates of citizenship issued by the Americans, together with +annihilation of their towns. [95] + +On July 11, 1900, Fullón issued a more sweeping order, containing +the following provisions:-- + + + "1. Any meeting or assembly of a popular character, held at the + instance of the Officers of the United States, for the purpose + of recognizing the liberty and independence of the towns of this + province, is absolutely forbidden. + + "2. The person arranging such meeting shall be shot at once + without trial or court martial, unless forced to do so by majeure. + + "3. Any Filipino filling any office in the name of the United + States shall be considered a traitor to his country, and in + addition to the penalties imposed by the Penal Code of Spain, + provisionally in force, all his property shall be confiscated, + and if this should not be possible, the authorities of the + Philippine Republic shall endeavour to ..." (remainder of sentence + unintelligible). [96] + + +In Samar General Vicente Lucban ordered, on February 1, 1901, that +persons who collected food for the enemy be killed, as well as those +who "finding themselves in our camp pass to the enemy without previous +permission from this government." [97] + +In Leyte, Honesto Ruiz warned all his "soldiers and bolo-men that +whenever a real Americanista, like the police and volunteers, is caught +he will be killed." On August 11, 1900, he reported to General Moxica +that "the result is that every day they are killing traitors to our +country." [98] + +The following is a sample order for the assassination of an obnoxious +individual:-- + + + "October 4, 1900. + + "Confidential. + + "To the Local Chiefs of Sogod, Kabalián, Anajauan, Hinundayan, + and Hinunangan (Leyte): + + "Immediately upon the appearance in the town under your + jurisdiction of the traitor to the Mother Country, Severino + Komandao, you will secure his person and send him to these + headquarters under the proper guard; or if that person should + come into the town followed by an American force, you shall + try to have him killed by treachery (traidoramente), by 'Dukut' + (assassination), for this is what a Filipino deserves who does + not know how to respect his own land and proceeds to injure the + beautiful ideal that we have in view. + + "Return the present communication, treating it as + confidential. Health and fraternity. + + "Maninging, October 4, 1900. + + "M. Pacheco, + "Military Commander." + + + + "The Military Commander: + + "The undersigned, Local Chief, notes the orders contained in the + present circular and will strictly comply therewith. + + "Kabalián, October 6, 1900. + + "B. Veloso, + "Local Chief." [99] + + +In Negros, the Tagálogs long failed to effect a lodgement. Ultimately, +however, they managed to stir up trouble, and to secure the help +of "Pope" Isio, a noted outlaw. On May 19, 1900, he suggested the +advisability of punishing "by decapitation all those who go with +the Americans" and ordered that "if it should appear that they are +real spies of the enemy they must be beheaded immediately without +any pretext whatsoever against it." To be considered a "real spy," +it was necessary only to be seen talking to Americans. + +The letter from which I quote was addressed to Señor Rufo Oyos, +General of Operations. [100] + +Evidently he obeyed orders, for he was still alive in November, 1901, +at which time "Papa" Isio wrote him again, directing that there be +an uprising of all the towns on December 20. + +Towns which did not rise on the appointed day were to be "reduced to +ashes and all their inhabitants killed, men, women, children and old +people." Any presidente who had not collected the taxes of his town +before the arrival of Isio was to be "hung without any hesitation +whatever." [101] + +Obviously Isio's order was not without effect, for we learn that +sometime during August, 1900, a man had just left the camp "with the +head of the infamous Juan Carballo to hang it in a public place with +a label saying 'Juan Carballo, a man pernicious to the revolution. May +he rest in peace.'" [102] + +Isio's agents collected blackmail according to a regular tariff, +based roughly on the value of estates, threatening that those who +did not pay up would be regarded as spies of the heretics. [103] + +And now let us briefly review conditions in Luzón. Here many of +the common people were at first hostile to the Americans, but flesh +and blood could not endue what they had to suffer at the hands of +vicious Insurgent officers and ignorant soldiers, and ultimately, +having learned by experience that Americans were not the incarnate +fiends which they had been led to expect to find them, they began to +turn to them for help. And the answer of the Insurgent leaders was +everywhere the same,--death. On March 20, 1900, Tinio ordered the +killing of all officials who did not report to the nearest guerilla +commander the movements and plans of the American troops. [104] + +It has been claimed that there was no opposition to the Katipúnan +Society, and that the Filipinos everywhere joined it gladly. This +was not the case. At different times there were a number of similar +organizations opposed to it, and most important of these was the +"Guards of Honour." [105] Its members were ruthlessly murdered. On +April 18, 1900, a guerilla chief in Union Province found it necessary +to order that all towns in which members of the "Guards of Honour" +lived should be burned with the property of the members of that +association; that their fathers, mothers, wives and sons should be +beheaded, while the men themselves should receive that punishment +or be shot. All grown men in every town, and the Sandatahan, were +to proceed immediately to aid in the attack upon the Americans and +Guards of Honour under pain of being shot or beheaded. [106] + +In July, 1900, General J. Alejandrino ordered:-- + + + "1st. That the Commanders of Columns proclaim as traitors all those + in their respective Zones who in obedience to personal interests or + from weakness under pressure of the enemy, accept civil positions + and they shall be treated as such when they fall into our hands. + + "2nd. The commanding officers of columns will concentrate their + forces so as to fall upon the towns where exist individuals who + favour the formation of such unpopular and despotic Governments + and will use every means to arrest the said traitors." [107] + + +Nowhere is the policy which was being carried out set forth with more +brutal frankness than in the following letter:-- + + + "August 3, 1900. + + "This letter is folded in envelope shape and addressed: Sr. Teodoro + Sandico, Colonel, 1st Military Chief of Staff in Santo Domingo. + + + + "My Respected Chief and Dear Brother: I have received your + respected order, regarding the organization of the Committee in + the towns of Zaragosa, Aliaga, and Licab; (Nueva Ecija) from the + movements and actions of these towns, I don't believe it possible + to organize immediately. Before we can, it will be necessary + that four or five lives be taken in each town. I believe that + what ought to be done to those towns is to make a new conquest of + them, especially the town of San Juan de Guimba; it is difficult + there to set straight the Tagálogs and Ilocanos of importance, + as they are badly inclined and they care to do nothing but pervert + our soldiers. + + "This is what I am able to inform you, in fulfilment of the + respected order of the Chief. + + "God guard you many years. + + "San Cristobal, August 3, 1900. + (Signed) "C. Gonzales." [108] + + +The organization of municipal governments by the Philippine Commission, +in towns north of Manila, especially aroused the ire of Insurgent +leaders, one of whom issued an order declaring traitors all persons +who accepted municipal office under the Americans. [109] + +In October, 1900, we find General Vito Belarmino ordering that +Filipinos in Ambos Camarines who accept office under Americans "be +treated as traitors," and that "commanders of columns and detachments +will cause their forces to fall on those pueblos in which there are +individuals who are in favour of the organization of such unpopular +and therefore despotic governments." [110] One Tuason, an American +adherent, is notified that he and two other persons, who are named, +will be shot and their bodies hung on the cathedral tower as a lesson +to the inhabitants. [111] + +In La Laguna province Cailles, who was now in command there, found +himself compelled not only to fight the Americans in the field, +but to combat their growing popularity in the towns, and he promptly +inaugurated a reign of terror, ordering the death of any person whom +he considered an undesirable. His victims were shot, bayoneted or +boloed. If they took refuge within the American lines, they were +followed and assassinated. In his book of letters sent, [112] there +appear the names of thirty-one men whom he ordered killed between +August 20, 1900, and April, 1901. Some of these men were described as +highwaymen or assassins, and probably deserved their fate, but others +were classed as "spies" or "traitors," and certainly did not, unless in +this country where it is claimed that Aguinaldo had his people a unit +at his back it was an offence worthy of death to prefer peace and order +under American rule to conditions such as Insurgent rule fostered. + +Cailles did not hesitate to report the results of his orders for the +assassination of individuals, giving full and grewsome details. The +following is a sample circular letter on this subject, sent out +by him:-- + + + "To the local Chiefs and Commanders of Columns, of the province:-- + + "On this date I have received a communication from the Presidente + of Santa Cruz which is as follows:-- + + "Sr. General: ... I am pleased, much pleased my General, to inform + you with much satisfaction of the end in this world of the villain, + of the great traitor, Salvador Reyes, in the following manner:-- + + "This morning at 8 o'clock, according to the reports of Srs. Lázaro + Alfonzo and Modesto de los Reyes, who would gladly give their lives + for our honour and glory, your coachman told them that the traitor + was proceeding to the northern part of the town. They followed + him and upon coming to the front of the house and shop of Cabezang + Jacinto Talcon, the aforementioned Sr. Modesto attacked him with + a bolo like a tiger, with all the strength of his body and soul, + hitting by chance his left jaw, when the other, that is to say, + Sr. Lázaro Alfonso, followed the first, catching the traitor by + the throat with his right hand and with the other fired three + pistol shots at him, one of which missed and the other two took + effect in the traitor's shoulder, from the effects of which he + fell like a stone upon his face. + + "Lastly, Sr. Modesto stabbed him with a bolo, and upon seeing that + he was dead, took away his revolver, and carrying the traitor by + his belt to Calle de Maria Christina, threw the body down. This was + done in plain daylight and in plain view of everybody...." [113] + + "On January 6, 1901, 'the lieutenant-general of the Philippine + Islands' ordered that all persons who disobeyed the orders of + the Katipúnan were to be tried and sentenced. A member of the + organization who found that any person was contemplating taking + action opposed to the purposes of that venerable society was + authorized to kidnap him, and when the Katipúnan laid hold upon + a man he was henceforth seen no more among the living." [114] + + +The organization of the Federal Party caused an outburst of fury among +the Insurgent leaders beside which that aroused by the organization +of municipal governments was mild. + +Throughout the islands the murdering of officers, members and agents +of this party was ordered, and even those who sympathized with its +ends were to be shot. + +The following is a sample of the orders sentencing to death the +adherents of this truly patriotic organization:-- + + + "March 22, 1901. + + "Señor Emilio Zurbano y Kajigal, + + "Lieutenant Colonel and Military Governor of the Province of + Tayabas. + + "2nd. In view of the preceding section, the Local Presidentes + and Commanders of the columns of this province, will carefully + watch their respective jurisdictions in order that not one agent + of the enemy nor of the Federal Party, may be secretly able to + obtain any signatures of the residents, they shall seize any one + who may do it and send him to me with all the possible safeguards + for the execution of what is ordered in the foregoing section. + + "3rd. All persons who may show themselves to be inclined to the + Federal Party, will also be captured and shot on being arrested + prior to the proceedings and legal formalities, because being + inclined towards this party, is the same as declaring oneself a + traitor to the country. + + "4th. The commander of a column or local presidente who shall + tolerate the existence of the Committees of the Federal Party + in his jurisdiction, being able to avoid it, will be tried and + in case he is found guilty, will be discharged from his duty and + will also be shot, as a traitor to his country. + + "5th. The presidentes of the popular committees, will furnish + detailed information to the local presidentes and commanders of + columns of persons within the towns occupied by the enemies who + are engaged in the propagation of the Federal Party or in getting + adhesions in any way, either directly or indirectly, to the said + party, and the presidente of the popular committee who may fail + to accomplish so sacred a duty, will also be punished with the + penalty of death. + + "6th. When any of the representatives of the federal party, or + any of its adherents cannot be captured on account of remaining + constantly with the enemy or being protected by him, the local + presidentes and commanders of the columns will procure by all + means the execution of the said representative or adherent within + the line of the enemy through persons of known decision and of + patriotism worthy of all commendation. + + "7th. All the citizens living in the province of Tayabas who + may be representatives or adherents to the Federal Party, aside + from the criminal liability which he incurs personally, will be + deprived of the benefits of his property, which will be seized + by the Government, who will take charge of the profits of the same. + + "8th & last. The Local Presidente of the pueblo in which exists any + Committee of the Federal Party and the Commander of the column to + whose protection the pueblo is entrusted on pain of incurring the + punishment detailed in section third of the present proclamation, + will proceed to the total destruction of the pueblo in which + there is a federalist committee, if, after having been ordered + to disband it, at the expiration of seven days the same continues + in its traitorous and criminal functions. + + "Issued at the Military Government, March 22nd, 1901. + + "Emilio Zurbano, + "Lieutenant Colonel, Military Governor." [115] + + +On March 3, 1899, Antonio Luna, general in chief of operations +about Manila, directed that all persons who either directly or +indirectly refused to aid the execution of his military plans were +to be immediately shot without trial. Nothing could have been more +sweeping than was his order, and the commanders of detachments of +insurgents found in it an authoritative statement that the lives and +property of the inhabitants of the Philippines were theirs to do with +as they chose. [116] + +Mabini made this vicious and cruel order the subject of bitter protest, +writing to Aguinaldo, on March 6, 1899, a letter in which he says that +Luna has grossly exceeded his powers, and making the very pertinent +inquiry "if an educated man [117] can hardly understand his duties, +how will the uneducated one understand his?" He suggests that it +would be better to remove Luna. [118] It does not appear that this +order was ever modified. + +I might furnish many similar data, but enough of orders. Any one +who is not convinced by these extracts from the official Insurgent +records that murder was a duly authorized governmental agency under +the Philippine "Republic" is not amenable to reason or influenced by +incontrovertible facts. + +But were these brutal instructions carried out? They were, +indeed, with a ferocity and a cold-blooded barbarity which make one +shudder. Fortunate indeed was the man who was really shot, like the +presidente of Nagcarlan, [119] and it made no difference if innocent +bystanders were wounded or killed as well. + +One of the common methods of procedure with victims of "dukut" was +to bury them alive. A number of individuals suffered this fate at +Taytay, near Manila. They were taken out at night, made to kneel +beside graves already dug, hit over the head with an iron bar and +knocked into their last resting places and the earth was shovelled +in on to them. They were confessed by a native priest, and people of +the town were required to stand by and see them meet their end. + +An American lawyer who afterward defended some of their murderers +when the latter were apprehended and brought to trial, told me that +among other grewsome details furnished by his clients, who shamelessly +admitted to him their guilt, were the following:-- + +A victim who watched the murder of others, while awaiting his turn, +did not want to be struck on the head and begged that as a special +favor the blow from the iron bar be omitted in his case. His request +was granted, whereupon he climbed into his grave, lay down, covered his +face with his handkerchief, and directed his murderers to proceed. I +could cite numerous specific cases in which persons were buried alive, +and will do so if my word is called in question. [120] If not, enough +of this! + +Burning alive was occasionally resorted to. [121] More frequently, +the victims had their eyes put out, their tongues cut out, and were +then turned loose to shift for themselves. Justice Johnson, [122] of +the Philippine Supreme Court, has described to me a case in which four +policemen of a town which had received him in a friendly manner, were +served in this way, and the procedure was a comparatively common one. + +Taylor gives the following account of certain incidents which occurred +in Ilocos Sur:-- + + + "On page 154 is a record of part of the murders of a body of men + in the town of Caoayan, Ilocos Sur Province, who, in July, 1900, + calling themselves 'Sandatahan,' appointed a chief executioner, + assistant executioners and a requisite number of grave-diggers, + and then, with set purpose, proceeded to assassinate all persons + who manifested reluctance to join them or to contribute to their + support or to the support of the insurgents in the hills whom + their leader claimed they were serving. They operated secretly at + night, the leaders usually selecting their victims one at a time; + and when they were secured they were conducted to a lonely beach + covered with tall grass where the grave-digger had already dug + the requisite number of graves and where the executioners were + already assembled. There in the presence of the assembled band, + men and women, bound and helpless, were placed upon the brinks of + their opened graves, their bodies were run through with swords and + bolos and then buried. The band then dispersed, each man going to + his own home. These operations were continued with industrious + persistency through two months or more until the lengthening + row of graves reached, in the language of one of the witnesses, + 'about thirty, more or less.'" [123] + + +The Insurgent leaders themselves reported in a most businesslike manner +their orders for assassination and the results of their activities +in this direction. + +The following are sample communications of this sort: + + + "Headquarters Camp No. 6. + "Tierra Libre (Free Soil), Saluyan (Laguna Province) + "November 18th, 1900. + + "General Juan Cailles, + "Military Governor of La Laguna: + + + "In Nagcarlang it appears that there will be soon a spy, one Juan, + a native of Biñang, for he has already commenced to disobey the + committee, and so I with much prudence have ordered his eternal + rest. The inhabitants have left the town and no one will serve + either as barber or laundry-man to the Americans. + + + (Signed) "Julio Infante." [124] + + + + "Proclamation of Lieutenant Colonel Emilio Zurbano, + "Military Governor of Tayabas, To His Fellow-citizens. + "Headquarters and Military Government, + "Tayabas, April 23, 1901. + + + "Fellow-citizens: The holiness, purity and elevation of purpose of + us who fight for our independence has caused the execution of five + of our fellow-citizens on the 18th instant at five o'clock in the + afternoon. They were shot on the plaza of the town of Sampaloc.... + + "Vivencio Villarosa, for assassination of eleven foreigners and + for disloyalty; Pedro Cordero, for disloyalty and spying; Remigío + Aviosa, for improper exercise of authority, for many assaults + and robbery in a band; Segundo Granada, for many assaults and + stealing many animals, and Rufino Sabala for being addicted to and + a disseminator of the doctrines of the Federal Party have fallen + on the plaza of Sampaloc at the very moment when the twilight of + the happy triumph of our ideal began to advance over the horizon + of our country until now hidden in clouds of blood. May they rest + in peace. + + + (Signed) "Emilio Zurbano." [125] + + +After reporting to his subordinates that the local chief of Bay had, +under his orders, arrested Honorato Quisumbing, an Americanista who +had never served as a spy, and that his captor had killed him when +he called to American troops who were near to help him, Cailles adds: +"His companion was likewise duly executed as a spy and guide for the +enemy. Let us offer up a prayer for their eternal rest." [126] + +Blount has made the following statement:-- + + + "I have heard, so far as I now recollect, of comparatively + few barbarities perpetrated by Filipinos on captured American + soldiers. Barbarities on their side seemed to have been reserved + for those of their own race whom they found disloyal to the cause + of their country." [127] + + +One may well doubt whether he himself wrote the book which goes +under his name, for in it he is made constantly to contradict +himself. Relative to this matter he has also said:-- + + + "He [128] can never forget the magnificent dash back into the + wide, ugly, swollen stream, made by Captain Edward L. King of + General Lawton's staff, as he spurred his horse in, followed + by several troopers who had responded to his call for mounted + volunteers to accompany him in an effort to save the lives of the + men who went down. Their generous work proved futile. But it was + inspired partly by common dread of what they knew would happen to + any half-drowned soldier who might be washed ashore far away from + the column and captured. If an army was ever 'in enemy's country,' + it was then and there." [129] + + +As a matter of fact, not only did the Insurgents repeatedly torture +and murder American prisoners, but they poisoned soldiers. Lucban and +others directed that this should be done, described the procedure to +be followed, and furnished the poison. [130] + + +Directions for poisoning soldiers were included in a letter written on +August 21, 1900, to the Brigadier General Superior Military Commander +of the Province of Leyte as follows:-- + + + "It would also be well, in my humble opinion, for you to find out + from the old men and quack doctors the kind of poison that can + be mixed in alcoholic drinks and in cocoanut wine (tuba), as our + enemies now drink these liquors; and after this poison has been + known and tried, let it be used in such a way as to undermine the + constitution of the man, until some day death occurs; for which + purpose you ought to have persons, wherever there are Americans, + to poison them. These things are now being done in Luzón, Cebu + and Panay. + + "There is a tree here in the province whose leaves inflame the + body of a man considerably, once applied; for I have seen about + Manila the leaves converted into powder, rolled in pellets of + paper and shot in the faces of Americans. This causes the parts + to swell and become completely useless; and I believe it would be + well to do this within the towns, and especially to the drunkards + asleep along the roads and to the fellows making love." [131] + + +Various other orders for the poisoning of soldiers or the use of +poisoned arrows or spears were issued. [132] Furthermore, they were +faithfully carried out, [133] and the results were duly reported. + +The murder of sentries and of soldiers who straggled was often ordered, +practised and reported. [134] + +As damnable as any of these horrible documents was the order of +General Antonio Luna for the massacre of all Americans, foreigners and +"disloyal" Filipinos in Manila. + +Blount has alleged that Taylor "obtained no evidence convincing to +him," relative to the authorship of this order [135] and that "a like +investigation by General MacArthur in 1901 had a like result." Whether +he is ignorant of the facts as to the authentication of the authorship +of this very important document, or chooses to ignore them, I do +not know. Taylor in the end conclusively settled the matter, and +so reported. Luna's order, [136] which was issued on February 7, +1899, provided for the massacre of all Americans and foreigners +in Manila. The lives of Filipinos only were to be respected. All +others, of whatsoever race, were to be given no quarter, but were to +be exterminated, "thus proving to foreign countries that America is +not capable of maintaining order or defending any of the interests +which she has undertaken to defend." + + This effort to massacre all white persons in the city fell through, + partly because the plan leaked out, and partly because Cavite + Insurgent soldiers did not obey orders. + + I consider it important that the authenticity of this + much-discussed order should be placed beyond reasonable doubt, + and so give Taylor's findings in full. He says:-- + + + "A synopsis of this order was telegraphed to Washington by General + Otis on February 21st, 1899, as having been 'issued by an important + officer of the insurgent government at Malolos, February 15th, + 1899, for execution during the evening and night in this city' + of Manila. Page 157, Senate Document 208, Fifty-sixth Congress, + First Session. On March 2, 1901, a Senate resolution called for all + information in the possession of the Secretary of War 'relating to, + or tending to show, the authenticity and genuineness of the alleged + order for the massacre of the foreign residents of Manila, P. I., + on the evening and night of February 15, 1899;' and, further, + whether the original of that order was or ever had been in the + possession of the War Department, and whether it had ever been + seen by such a person. This order required a search in Manila, + which was made. As a result of this it was ascertained that + the synopsis which was telegraphed by General Otis was brought + to Maj. F. C. Bourns, [137] an officer of the provost marshal + general's office, by a rather prominent Filipino [138] who had + given a good deal of information which on the whole had proved + to be correct. He stated that the paper which he handed him was + a copy of the original which had just been sent to officers of + the bolo organization, the sandatahan, of Manila, but that he + had not time to copy the whole of it; yet as far as it went the + paper was an exact copy of the original order, which was signed + by Sandico. Major Bourns said that at the time the paper was + received there was no reason to doubt 'the man's statement that + it was an exact copy of the original order, for we knew that some + such order was under consideration, that this bolo organization + existed, and it was under the orders of Sandico, who, in turn, + was entirely under the influence of Luna. Since my return to the + Philippines, however, several little things have occurred which + have caused me to question whether or not the paper was an exact + copy of the original order. That in the main it was correct, + I do not doubt; but I am just a little inclined to think the man + may have "stretched" things a little.' + + "The search was continued, and finally one of the original orders, + a translation of which immediately precedes this note, was produced + by Dr. Manuel Xeres y Burgos who was then a surgeon employed in + the Bilibid prison in Manila and who had been an officer in the + territorial militia of that city. Doctor Burgos wrote in July, + 1901, to Colonel Crowder, military secretary to the Military + governor of the Philippines, that if he gave him all the details + in regard to the means he had employed in obtaining the document, + it would require many sheets of paper, and the story would seem + like a novel to those who only superficially knew the customs of + the Philippines. He said that 'a few days after the beginning + of hostilities we were given to read an order of a mysterious + character; we were not allowed to take a copy thereof or to keep it + in our possession, probably from fear of some treachery. However + the bearer told me that several copies had been made which were + to be sent to all the districts in which the "Filipino militia" + had been distributed. The chief of the latter were the men called + upon to execute said order. You know that, thank God, it was not + executed, not only through lack of arms, but also because most of + the chiefs who were in Manila felt a repugnance to execute such a + barbarous and foolish order, which, had it been attempted, would + have been the cause of the extermination of all the Filipinos + who were within the American lines as a just reprisal for such + an atrocious order. + + "'Luckily, not only the savage measure prescribed was never carried + into execution, but it was impossible to attack the American army, + the men who had been detailed to do it in Manila having only a few + hundred bolos as arms, and the chiefs of the militia understood + that with such arms they could not think of resisting the rifles + and cannon of the Americans. + + "'Up to the middle of April, 1899, several Filipinos who came + from the lines declared that General Luna had sentenced us to + death for having disobeyed that terrible order. We were 14 who + were considered as traitors to our country, and we were precisely + those who had worked for the release of the prisoners in whom we + had the greatest confidence, answering for them to the authorities + and exposing ourselves to get into trouble if they had broken + their word. + + "'We had decided to collect all papers which referred to certain + facts, in order to show some day who were those who had lent + real services to the country, and we resolved to try and find + the document which was the principal cause of the danger which + had threatened us at that time. + + "'We would have had the paper in our possession since August last + if it had not been for the terror inspired by the secret police + with its unjustified arrests, and our emissaries fled from Manila + and did not come back until after the end of the persecution. + + "'On the 25th of February, 1901, our friend Benito Albey, who had + been lieutenant of the militia and had distinguished himself in + the war against Spain, began, on our advice, a new investigation, + which was crowned with success. + + "'The document was found among the baggage left by Colonel Leyba + to Teodoro de los Santos at Malolos, and which the latter had + remitted to a certain Tolo Quesada at Alava, Pangasinán. + + "'I am sincerely happy that said document, which is the clear + proof of General Luna's iniquitous methods, should have been + found so that it may serve as a voucher to the thoroughness of + General Otis' investigations; although I would have liked to keep + it among my papers, I have more satisfaction to be useful to the + American General, who has obtained the sympathy of the Filipinos + by his kind treatment. + + "'And I hope, General Crowder, that you will say as much to + General Otis, as I wish him to know that there are Filipinos who + have kept a grateful recollection of him, and that all Filipinos + are not ungrateful. + + + "'Very respectfully, + "'Manuel Xeres Burgos. + + "'General Crowder.' + + + "On June 30, 1901, the original of this order, signed by Luna and + produced by Burgos, was shown to Aguinaldo, who, after examining + it, stated that the signature was that of General Antonio Luna, + with which he was well acquainted. He furthermore stated that + he had no personal knowledge of such an order, and had hitherto + been unaware of its existence. He was then asked whether General + Luna's authority, as Director of War, was of sufficient scope to + authorize him to issue such an order without express authority + from the insurgent government. He declined to answer this question. + + "A photographic reproduction of the original of the order of Luna, + dated February 7, 1899, a printed copy in Spanish, the translation + which preceded this note, and the correspondence upon which the + foregoing statement is based, is given beginning on page 1903, + Senate Document No. 331, part 2, Fifty-seventh Congress, First + Session, 'Hearings before the Committee on the Philippines of + the United States Senate.' + + "There does not seem to me to be the slightest reason for doubting + the authenticity of this order. It was an atrocious one, but that + argument is not sufficient to prove that the order delivered up + by Dr. Burgos was a forgery in whole or in part. + + "The facts of the case seem to me to be the following: In + January, 1899, Doctor Burgos was employed in Bilibid prison by the + Americans, and as an officer of Sandatahan was deep in the plotting + for a general massacre of the foreigners in Manila. Sometime that + month he wrote to Aguinaldo that the uprising in Manila should + begin in Bilibid prison, and that the Sandatahan should be posted + on San Pedro street and the adjacent thoroughfares in preparation + for an attack upon the Zorilla theatre, where the Pennsylvania + regiment was quartered across the way from the prison (Exhibit + 349). His suggestion was adopted as part of the plan for the + uprising. Burgos, like the majority of the Filipinos in Manila, + believed that Aguinaldo would win, and was doing what he could + to aid his cause, but without giving up his position under the + American government. The plan embodied in Luna's order was to be + carried out as part of the attack upon Manila; but that attack + was delivered prematurely, and it was found impossible to carry + out the uprising in Manila which was to have preceded the attack + upon the American lines. After February 5, 1899, the majority + of the Filipinos in Manila ceased to believe that Aguinaldo was + going to beat the Americans, and Burgos, who was known to have + taken part in the movement in Manila headed by Sandico, found it + expedient to ward off any investigation of his conduct by giving + information. He wanted to stay out of prison, and he wanted to + remain surgeon of Bilibid prison. He was well aware that Sandico + was known by the Americans to have organized bodies of sandatahan + in Manila, and he therefore delivered to the provost marshal + general a partial copy of Luna's order which, if it was not then + in his possession, he had seen; and he saw no reason for telling + more than seemed expedient for the attainment of his immediate + purpose, he said that it had been issued by Sandico, who he well + knew the Americans would believe was the man most likely to have + issued it. He naturally desired to avoid having to make too many + explanations. In 1901, Luna being dead, and Burgos being safe + from his vengeance, he found no great difficulty in delivering + up the original document, which was probably, as he said, in the + papers of Colonel Leyba, or Leiva, a native of Manila whose family + lived there and whose house had probably been a centre of insurgent + intrigue. In 1899 or 1900 Colonel Leyba, a trusted and confidential + aid of Aguinaldo, had been murdered by 'The Guards of Honour' + in Pangasinán Province, and Burgos seems to have had access to + his papers. This, at least to me, seems a plausible explanation + of the incomplete form in which this first order appeared, and + why it appeared at all. It is true that I have found no record of + it among the record-books kept at Malolos; but this order was not + of a character to be written out in full in any letter-sent book; + and, furthermore, the record-books of the government at Malolos + show that almost no records were kept there for a week after the + outbreak of hostilities. The clerks and officials were probably + busy in preparing to defend the place against an advance of the + Americans, whom they had hitherto looked upon with contempt. + + + "John R. Taylor." [139] + + +In reality there was nothing novel about the issuing of such an order +in the Philippines. + +Alfonso Ocampo, who was to have led the attack in an attempt to +massacre all Spaniards in Cavite at the outbreak of the revolt of 1896, +testified as follows concerning the proposed movement:-- + + + "It was to be carried out in conjunction with the towns of Imus + and others of the province; the people were to enter by the Porta + Vaga (the main gate of Cavite) and uniting into groups, were + to assault, kill and rob all the Spaniards. The deponent was in + charge of this affair. The jailer of the prison was to distribute + daggers among the prisoners and then release them. When the plot + was discovered, some of these arms had been distributed. The + object of the rebellion was to assassinate all the Spaniards, + then to rape the women, and cut their throats, as well as those + of their children, even the smallest." [140] + + +On June 26, 1896, there was issued an order for an uprising in Manila, +which contained the following provisions, among others:-- + + + "Fourth. While the attack is being made on the Captain-General + and other Spanish authorities, the men who are loyal will attack + the convents and behead their infamous inhabitants. As for the + riches contained in said convents, they will be taken over by + the commissioners appointed by this G. R. Log. for the purpose, + and, none of our brothers will be permitted to take possession of + that which justly belongs to the treasury of the G. N. F. [Grand + Philippine Nation?--Tr.]. + + "Fifth. Those who violate the provisions of the preceding paragraph + will be considered malefactors, and will be subjected to exemplary + punishment by this G. R. Log. [Grand Regional Lodge?]. + + "Sixth. On the following day the brothers designated will bury the + bodies of all the hateful oppressors, in the field of Bagumbayan, + as well as those of their wives and children. Later a monument + commemorating the independence of the G. N. F. (Grand Philippine + Nation?) will be erected on that site. + + "Seventh. The bodies of the friars will not be buried, but will + be burned in just payment for the crimes which during their lives + they committed against the noble Filipinos, for three centuries + of hateful domination." [141] + + +As much is said, in the very numerous orders for assassinations, +of trials by courts of most summary procedure, especial importance +attaches to Taylor's statement that there is an almost complete absence +of records of trials or legal proceedings among the two hundred and +fifty thousand documents on which his work was based. He says that +"there are probably less than twenty-five records of trials among +these papers, and not above one or two records of military courts of +summary procedure. Law was the will of the official who would force +obedience to his desire. If he wanted to kill he killed." [142] + +General MacArthur is credited by Blount with the following statement:-- + + + "The cohesion of Filipino society in behalf of insurgent + interests is most emphatically illustrated by the fact that + assassination, which was extensively employed, was generally + accepted as a legitimate expression of insurgent governmental + authority. The individuals marked for death would not appeal to + American protection, although condemned exclusively on account + of supposed pro-Americanism." [143] + + +As a matter of fact, plenty of people appealed to the Americans +for protection and got it. I have seen document after document each +recommending some individual to American officers everywhere as worthy +of protection, and as needing it on account of services rendered to +Americans. Relative to this matter, Taylor says:-- + + + "Among the papers of the insurgents there are a few letters + to American officers asking for protection against the + insurgents. They represent a protest against conditions which + were rapidly becoming unbearable; but most of them must have + been sent without copies, for in case they fell into the hands + of the guerillas they would have served as death warrants for + the men who signed them. From early in 1900, they were much + more frequent all over the archipelago than the number which + have survived, either in the official records of the American + army in the Philippines, or among the papers of the insurgents, + would lead the investigator to believe. Those which were sent to + the commanders of American detachments were not kept as a rule, + for a small detachment has few records. As early as March, 1900, + the head of the town of Passi, Panay, asked American protection + against robbers and insurgents." [144] + + +General MacArthur had a fixed idea that all Filipinos were against us, +but he was wrong. [145] + +In very many cases our efforts to furnish protection were necessarily +futile. It is easy enough to protect a town from an open attack. It +is often excessively difficult to protect an individual against an +assassin who proffers him one hand in assumed friendship and stabs +him with the other. + +We shall never know how many men were murdered in accordance with +the orders which I have cited, and other similar ones. + +On February 10, 1900, General P. García wrote to General Isidoro +Torres advising him to inform the inhabitants of Bulacan, among +whom it was understood that the Americans were about to establish +municipal governments, "of what occurred in the Island of Negros +where two hundred men have been shot and forty more have been cast +into the water for having accepted the American sovereignty, and +because they were suspected of not being adherents of the cause of +the independence of our country." [146] + +In reviewing the sentence of the Taytay murderers, General Adna +R. Chaffee, who, as the ranking military officer in the Philippines, +was closely in touch with the situation, made the following +statement:-- + + + "The number of peaceful men who have been murdered in these + islands at the instigation of the chiefs, while impracticable of + exact determination, is yet known to be so great that to recount + them would constitute one of the most horrible chapters in human + history. With respect to these chiefs, the commanding general + has, therefore, no other recourse than to invoke the unrelenting + execution of the law upon them and to appeal to the intelligent + and educated among the Filipino people to aid him by renewed + efforts to end a reign of terror of which their own people are + the helpless victims." [147] + + +Taylor has made the following summary of the facts:-- + + + "The justice of the United States was slow in its course; + witnesses had to be examined, and before a notorious criminal + could be punished it had to be proved that he had committed some + particular crime. Unless the crime was proved to the satisfaction + of a military commission by witnesses, the greater part of whose + testimony had to be translated into English from some native + language by an interpreter, who was almost never an American, + the man whom a whole village knew to be an assassin would escape + punishment and would return to avenge himself upon those who + had denounced him. The justice of Aguinaldo was a different + matter. The Americans might hang for murder, but he would bury + alive for serving them. The Americans might send a man to prison + for burning a town, only to release him when an error was found in + the proceedings. There were no errors in the proceedings of the + guerillas. There was usually no summoning of witnesses, no slow + taking of testimony and no careful search for laches which would + invalidate the finding of the court and inure to the benefit of + the accused. It was sufficient for some native to be denounced + as in the employment of the Americans, or as an agent, or as a + civil officer under the United States, for a summons to be issued + for his appearance before a court of summary procedure, which + was a court in name only; or for a mandate to be sent ordering + that 'the serviceable method of dukut was to be employed in his + case.' That meant that he was kidnapped and murdered, usually + after a priest had received his confession; or that he was sent + back to the town hamstrung and with his tongue out, as a warning + to the people that the justice of Aguinaldo was sharp and that + his arm was long." [148] + + +The blood of these men cries out against those who would deceive the +American people into believing that the Filipinos were ever united in +loyalty toward the Filipino Republic or the leaders who made murder +a governmental agency in the Philippine Islands. + +Most of the men who wrote the orders and perpetrated the acts which +I have cited are alive and active to-day. Were independence granted, +they would rule again the country that they ruled before. Is there any +reason for believing that their warped intelligences have straightened, +or their hard hearts softened? Would the United States care to assume +responsibility for any government which they could set up or would +maintain? + + + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII + +THE PHILIPPINE LEGISLATURE + + +From September 1, 1900, to October 16, 1907, the Philippine Commission +was the sole legislative body. The Act of Congress of July 1, +1902, temporarily providing for the administration of the affairs +of civil government in the Philippine Islands, had provided for the +taking of a census after the insurrection should have ceased and a +condition of general and complete peace should have been certified to +by the commission. It had provided further that two years after the +publication of the census, if such condition of peace had continued in +the territory not inhabited by Moros or other non-Christian tribes, +and was certified to the President by the commission, the President +should direct the commission to call, and the commission should call, +a general election for the choice of delegates to a popular assembly +to be known as the Philippine Assembly, and that after said assembly +should convene and organize all the legislative power theretofore +conferred on the commission in all that part of the islands not +inhabited by Moros or other non-Christian tribes should be vested +in a legislature consisting of two houses, the Philippine Commission +and the Philippine Assembly. + +The first of the certificates required of the commission was issued +on September 8, 1902. President Roosevelt on September 23, 1902, +issued an order for the taking of the census. + +On March 28, 1905, Governor-General Wright proclaimed the publication +of the census. On March 28, 1907, the commission issued the second +of the certificates required of it. [149] + +The following day a cablegram was received from the President directing +the commission to call a general election for the choice of delegates, +and on March 30, 1907, the commission adopted the necessary resolution +calling such election to be held on July 30, 1907, in accordance with +an election law previously passed on January 9 of the same year. This +law provided for eighty-one delegates proportioned among thirty-five +provinces according to population, except that each province entitled +to representation was allotted at least one delegate, no matter how +few people it might have. Cebú, the most populous of all, was given +seven. The Mountain Province, the Moro Province, Nueva Vizcaya and +Agusan were left without representation because of the predominance of +Moros or other non-Christians among their people. On April 1, 1907, +the governor-general issued a proclamation embodying the resolution +of the commission. + +The election was duly held, and on October 16, 1907, the first session +of the Philippine Legislature was opened, under authority of the +President, by Mr. Taft, then secretary of war, who had returned to +the Islands for this and other purposes. + +The action of the commission in issuing its second certificate has +been criticized on account of conditions which arose subsequent to +the publication of the census, in Cavite, La Laguna and Samar. These +conditions were referred to in the commission resolution. There was no +desire to conceal or misrepresent them. As we have already seen, the +trouble in Samar was stirred up by abuses among the hill people. It +has been claimed that they were not members of any non-Christian +tribe. There are a limited number of genuine wild people in Samar, +but the great majority of the so-called pulájanes were in reality +remontados [150] or the descendants of remontados. + +In La Laguna and Cavite disorder caused by wandering ladrone bands +at one time had become so serious that it was deemed advisable +temporarily to suspend the writ of habeaus corpus and to authorize the +reconcentration of the law-abiding inhabitants of certain regions to +the end that they might be adequately protected and to make it easier +to distinguish between good citizens, and thieves and murderers. + +Whether these occurrences were or were not to be considered as of such +a nature as to render it impossible to certify that a condition of +"general and complete peace, with recognition of the authority of the +United States" had continued to exist in the Philippine territory not +occupied by Moros or other non-Christians, was a matter of judgment, +and the commission exercised the best judgment it possessed. + +During the Spanish days ladronism had always been rampant, affecting +every province in the islands and being especially bad in the +immediate vicinity of Manila. When we issued our certificate we had +little hope of promptly ridding the archipelago of ladrones, as has +since been done. On the contrary we expected that a certain amount +of ladronism would continue for many years. We did not think that it +should be considered public disorder within the meaning of the act of +Congress. Furthermore, we were all anxious to encourage the Filipinos +and to give them a chance to show what they could do. I for one hoped +that by this act of liberality we might win the good-will, and secure +the real coöperation, of many of the Filipino politicians. It is always +easy to look back and see one's mistakes. I now know that nothing could +have been more futile than the hope of gaining the good-will of the +men with whom we were dealing by any concessions whatsoever, yet the +attempt was worth making. It is the wild men in the hills and the good +old taos [151] in the lowland plains who appreciate and are grateful +for fair treatment when they realize that they are receiving it. + +The politicians of the present day are a hungry lot. The more they +are fed, the more their appetites grow, and the wider their voracious +maws open. Most of them are without gratitude or appreciation, and +regard concessions as evidences of weakness on the part of those who +grant them. Philippine officials and lawmakers might as well make +up their minds to do what is right because it is right, and let it +go at that. By the same token they should refrain from doing what is +questionable in the hope that the good-will resulting will more than +counterbalance the possible evil effect of doubtful measures. + +It cannot be denied that the issuance by the commission of its +certificate of March 30, 1907, was a somewhat doubtful measure, +involving a rather strained construction of the words "general and +complete peace, with recognition of the authority of the United States" +in the Act of Congress of July 1, 1902. I am now firmly of the opinion +that in thus giving the Filipinos the benefit of the doubt we erred, +with the result that the Philippine Assembly came at least ten years +too soon. Its creation in 1907 has resulted in imposing a heavy +financial burden on the country for which there has been no adequate +compensating return. + +In the Philippine Legislature neither house enjoys any special +privileges, and either may originate any bill which the legislature is +authorized to pass. The assembly has been characterized as "a harmless +little debating society" and the government of the Philippines has been +called "a toy government" because it was claimed that no real powers +were given to the lower house. The commission has exclusive power to +legislate for certain non-Christian territory. In all other legislative +matters the assembly and the commission have equal power. The passage +of legislation requires affirmative action by both houses, a condition +which is certainly sufficiently common in legislative bodies composed +of two houses, and one that does not ordinarily evoke criticism. + +Of late the assembly has claimed for itself the exclusive right to +initiate appropriation bills, but there is not a vestige of legal +authority for such a claim, and even the so-called "Jones Bill" does +not confer such right on the lower house. It shares, with the upper +house, one power of deadly effectiveness. It can prevent legislation +on any subject whatsoever. It has not hesitated to employ this power, +when occasion arose, to obstruct the passage of many important and +desirable measures, either in the hope of being able in the end +to make a trade and thus securing the passage of acts of more than +doubtful utility, or because of a purpose to prevent the enactment +of laws dealing with the matters in question. + +The most striking instance of the blocking of important legislation +by the assembly is afforded by its action in tabling four anti-slavery +acts passed by the commission at successive legislative sessions. This +matter has already been fully discussed. [152] + +The history of the Cadastral Survey Act affords an example of the +holding up by the assembly of a measure of undoubted and undenied +utility in order to attempt to force the passage of positively +vicious acts. + +The case of the would-be landowner who has occupied land for years +under such conditions that he could have completed an unperfected +title to it, and who finally desires for one reason or another to do +so, has been a rather hard one, as the cost of the necessary survey +is chargeable to him and when a survey party has to be sent a long +distance to measure a little tract of land the ratio of such cost +to the value of the land is often very high. Cost of surveys can be +materially reduced if all the privately owned land parcels in a given +area are surveyed consecutively, and this procedure has the further +great advantage of effectively delimitating the public domain in the +area in question. + +In the interest of small property owners, advantage has been taken +of provisions of the Public Land Act which make it possible to +compel the survey of private lands under certain conditions in +cases of doubt as to ownership. As soon as the people concerned +could be made to understand our object in doing this they became +enthusiastic about it, but the legal procedure authorized was by +no means adequate or satisfactory, and there was great need of +the passage of a carefully drafted Cadastral Survey Act providing +the necessary legal machinery for accomplishing the desired end +with the least possible delay and at the lowest possible expense, +and providing further for the distribution of such expense between +the insular, provincial and municipal governments and the property +owners. All are interested parties, the insular government because +it learns what land in a given region belongs to the public domain; +the provincial and municipal governments because the collection of +taxes is facilitated, and accurate maps of towns and barrios are made. + +Such an act was passed by the commission. It was clearly and +indisputably designed expressly for the benefit of poor Filipinos. No +legitimate objection could be made to it. The treatment accorded it by +the Philippine Assembly conclusively demonstrates the irresponsibility +of that body, and its unfitness to deal with great questions which +vitally affect the common people. Realizing that the commission, and +especially the governor-general, were earnestly desirous of securing +its passage, the assembly refused to pass it. It was duly reintroduced +at the next session of the legislature. + +I was a member of the commission conference committee appointed +to meet a similar committee from the assembly and discuss it. The +assembly committee informed us at the outset that a sine qua non +for the discussion of the bill was that we should agree to an +amendment which would admit, without examination, to the work of +making public land surveys Filipino so-called surveyors, known to +be utterly incompetent, who could not make correct surveys under the +most favourable circumstances. But this was not all. It was generally +understood that an additional requirement was to be an amendment to +the Judiciary Act providing for a number of new judges. The commission +committee believed that they were unnecessary, and were asked for with +a view to making places for political appointees. Needless to say, the +Cadastral Survey Act failed in conference. In the session of 1912-1913 +it finally passed, with practically all of these objectionable +features eliminated, but it is at present much less useful than it +might be for the reason that an act amending the Judiciary Act so as +to provide more judges in the Court of Land Registration, where they +are badly needed, instead of for courts of first instance, where no +such necessity exists, was killed in the assembly. + +As it will take the Court of Land Registration something like three +years to finish hearing the cases already in hand, the preparation +of a large additional number for it, as a result of the application +of the Cadastral Act, will not materially help the present situation +unless the number of its judges is increased. There is reason to +fear that future attempts to bring this about will be met by demands +that there be more judges of first instance, and that they be given +jurisdiction in land cases, which should be decided by specially +trained and qualified men. + +One who examined only the laws actually passed by the legislature +might gain the impression that the assembly had done good work. It +should be remembered that 312 acts passed by that body have been +disapproved by the commission. Had they become laws there would have +been a very different story to tell. One hundred and seven acts +passed by the commission have been disapproved by the assembly. A +careful study of these two groups of acts will be found worth while, +but in order to make the picture complete it should be supplemented +by detailed consideration of the amendments to assembly bills made +by the commission before they have been passed, which have sometimes +involved the striking out of everything after title, and the insertion +of practically new provisions. It should further be remembered +that many really good measures, which have apparently originated +as assembly bills, have been drafted by members of the commission, +or under their direction, and then first presented in the assembly +in order to facilitate their passage. + +Had some one of the several gentlemen who have made brief visits to +the Philippines and then expressed their views as to the fitness of +the Filipinos for early independence devoted himself to the line of +study above outlined, he would have gained valuable information on +their present fitness to legislate, and we should perhaps now be +profiting by the practical results of an experiment already made, +instead of embarking on a new and dangerous one. + +I cannot here do more than briefly call attention to the nature +of a few of the bills killed by the commission and the assembly +respectively. For convenience of reference, I refer to these bills +by session and number. + + +FIRST LEGISLATURE + +Inaugural Session + +Assembly Bill 117 was "An Act to extend the period within which +provincial boards organized under the Provincial Government Act may +remit the collection of the land tax in their respective provinces." + +This was the first of a very long series of assembly measures designed +to abolish or reduce existing taxes, or indefinitely to postpone the +time for their collection. Provincial boards, with a majority of their +members elective, were very amenable to influence in the matter of +"postponing" the collection of the land tax. + +The per capita rate of taxation is lower in the Philippines than in +any other civilized country. Money is badly needed for education, +health work and the improvement of means of communication, and all +of these measures were ill-advised. + + +First Session and Special Session of 1908 + +Assembly Bill 23 provided for the appointment of jurors in courts +of first instance and justice of the peace courts. Under it the +provincial boards were to select the eligibles from a list of names +submitted by the municipal councils of the provincial capitals. This +would in effect have put the administration of justice in the hands +of the political party in power. + +Assembly Bill 104 was entitled "An Act amending Act numbered fifteen +hundred and thirty-seven of the Philippine Commission on horse-races +in the Philippine Islands." + +Gambling is the besetting sin of the Filipinos, and in the city +of Manila gambling in connection with horse racing had grown to be +such a scandal that the commission had been compelled to take action +limiting the days on which it was permitted to legal holidays and +one Sunday per month. The evil had reached large dimensions. Several +race-tracks were maintained in one small city, and the money that +went through the totalizer, or gambling machine, had reached the +enormous sum of $3,500,000 per year. Even poorly paid clerks were +leaving their work to bet on the races, and then stealing in order to +recoup themselves for their losses. The morals of the community were +being rapidly undermined. The act passed by the commission interfered +with the business of conducting daily crooked races. It certainly +left plenty of opportunity to indulge in horse-racing as a legitimate +sport. The amendment proposed by the assembly permitted horse-racing +on all Sundays, on three days prior to Lent and on all legal holidays +except Memorial Day, Rizal Day and Thursday and Friday of Holy Week. If +passed it would have protected certain vicious interests and opened +the way to a prompt extension of the gambling business. + +Assembly Bill 134 reduced the tax on distilled intoxicating liquors +one-fourth. The tax was already low. The rate proposed by the assembly +was a concession to the demand of powerful interests and its attitude +was worthy of severe condemnation. + +Assembly Bill 136 abolished provincial boards of health, substituted +therefor district health officers and took important powers away from +the director of health and gave them to provincial boards. Substantial +progress had been made in improving provincial sanitary conditions +through provincial boards of health, under the control of the director +of health. As was to be anticipated in a country like the Philippines, +many necessary health measures were unpopular. This bill, vitally +affecting one of the most imperative needs of the islands, would if +concurred in by the commission have resulted in widespread disaster. + +Assembly Bill 148 provided for the teaching of the local native +dialects in the public schools. This would have had the effect of doing +away with the teaching of English, or preventing its inauguration, +in many places; would have emphasized and perpetuated the different +native dialects; would have helped to keep the people speaking these +several dialects apart, and would thus seriously have hampered progress +toward national unity. One of the most important and useful things +that the American government is doing is to generalize the knowledge +of the English language, which not only gives the several peoples +of the archipelago a common means of communication, but opens up new +fields of knowledge to them and makes it easy for them to travel. Even +during the days of the Filipino "republic" Mabini advocated making +English the official language. [153] + +Assembly Bill 197 abolished the Bureau of Civil Service and organized +in its stead a division attached to the Bureau of Audits. This bill, +ostensibly an economy measure, was designed to minimize the usefulness +of one of the most important bureaus of the government. In the early +days of the American régime Filipinos who had served the government +were often deeply offended that appointments were not given to members +of their families or to their near relatives, absolutely irrespective +of their fitness for office. Naturally they disapproved of the civil +service law when they found that it prevented such appointments. + + +Second Session + +Assembly Bill 201 prohibited the employment of foreigners as engineers +or as assistant engineers on vessels in the Philippine Islands. There +were at this time an extremely limited number of Filipinos capable of +filling such positions, which were largely held by Spaniards and other +Europeans who had married native women and had lived in the islands +for years. This measure would have crippled shipping companies and +would have been a grave injustice to the men above referred to. + +Assembly Bill 278, which heavily reduced taxes on distilled spirits and +cigarettes, was another attempt to make concessions to certain large +tobacco and liquor interests, which could perfectly well afford to +pay at the rates then prescribed. It would have decreased the annual +insular revenues about $1,000,000 at a time when it was anticipated +that free trade with the United States, resulting from the passage +of the Payne Bill, would greatly reduce customs duties. Such a loss +would seriously have crippled the administration of the islands. + +Assembly Bill 352 exempted all uncultivated land, except land +in Manila, from the payment of the land tax for a period of five +years. The excuse given for its passage was the alleged lack of +draft animals. Its real purpose was to exempt valuable property +from taxation. It would have encouraged the continued holding of +great tracts of uncultivated land and was in the interest of large +landowners whose land taxes were likely to be burdensome if they did +not come to a reasonable agreement with their tenants and bring their +holdings under cultivation. + +Assembly Bill 360, "specifying the responsibility in a publication +and amending certain sections of the existing libel law," would have +rendered that law abortive by making it possible for a newspaper to +employ as a "libel editor" some irresponsible person who would be +glad to go to jail upon occasion for a consideration. + +The Philippines has a fairly good libel law and it was imperatively +needed, for in oriental countries especially, the tendency of a public +press which has been subjected to the strictest censorship is to run +to license when complete liberty suddenly comes. + +Assembly Bill 370, creating the new province of Zamboanga, embodied +an attempt on the part of that body to legislate for territory +inhabited by Moros and other non-Christian tribes, over which it had +no jurisdiction. If passed, it would have led to bloodshed between +Moros and Filipinos. + +Assembly Bill 433 was an act prohibiting the use of lumber imported +from foreign countries in the construction of public buildings. It +was not then possible to get enough native lumber to erect the public +buildings authorized and needed. The passage of this act under the +circumstances showed lack of business sense. + +Assembly Bill 487 provided for compulsory school attendance. It was +so worded as to make it largely inoperative, and if operative it +would have been impracticable, as there were something like 1,200,000 +children of school age in the islands and there were neither teachers +enough to instruct them, schoolhouses enough to hold them, nor +funds available with which to pay for new buildings and additional +teachers. Its passage showed lack of business sense. + +Assembly Bill 547 amended the so-called "bandolerismo [154] act." Up to +the time of the American occupation brigandage had been a crying evil +throughout the islands. The amendment proposed would not only have +greatly weakened the act under which it had been very successfully +suppressed, but would have turned loose 1156 criminals, many of whom +were desperate and hardened, seriously disturbing the tranquillity of +the country and necessitating the early hunting down of many of them. + +Assembly Bill 567 was "An Act empowering the Secretary of Commerce +and Police to make contracts with silk producers, insuring them the +purchase of their silk at a price not to exceed $9 per pound." The +Bureau of Science had conclusively demonstrated the possibility of +establishing a silk industry in the Philippines. This extraordinary +measure would have made it possible for an executive officer to provide +for the expenditure of all the revenues of the government in case of +a great development of the silk industry. Its passage showed lack of +business sense. + +Assembly Bill 558 was "An Act to provide for a permanent annual +appropriation of $15,000 to reward the inventor of a steam plough or +any mechanical engineer who shall perfect a ploughing machine." It was +a foolish measure, as there were various successful steam ploughs and +other motor-drawn ploughs then in use, and there was no good reason for +offering a reward for the invention of a thing which already existed. + +Assembly Bill 395 was a most extraordinary and dangerous measure. The +Spanish law fixed the age of consent of women at twenty-three, which +is about ten years after the time when young girls in the Philippines +begin to turn their thoughts toward marriage. Whenever a man had +sexual relations with a woman under twenty-three he was liable to +go to jail for rape unless pardoned by the parents, grandparents or +guardian. This provision of law was continually taken advantage of in +blackmailing persons. Suit would be brought and the necessary proof +provided. Pardon would be offered for a consideration. The crime +was known as a private crime, not a crime against the public. The +commission had amended the Penal Code, making it a public crime so +that once complaint was made no pardon on the part of the interested +persons could stop the proceedings. There had been a consequent +noticeable falling off in the number of cases brought for the purpose +of extorting money. Assembly Bill 395 was designed to change this state +of affairs and restore the old conditions. It was a vicious measure. + + +Special Session 1910 + +Assembly Bill 396 authorized the use of certain kinds of sledges on +improved roads, although it had been abundantly demonstrated that +they were veritable road destroyers. The commission had passed a law +prohibiting their use and the natives had been compelled to substitute +for them carts with wide-tired wheels that turned freely on their +axles, and improved the roads instead of ruining them. This bill was +an effort to authorize a return to the road-wrecking practices which +had previously prevailed. + +Assembly Bill 481, "An Act prohibiting the admittance of women and of +minors under eighteen years of age into cock-pits established in the +Philippine Islands," was a measure encouraging vice, masquerading in +the guise of a reform. By inference it permitted the entrance of women +and minors more than 18 years of age to cock-pits for the purpose of +gambling, and it provided that women and minors could go as sightseers! + +Assembly Bill 491 authorized certain classes of people to have firearms +irrespective of their individual characteristics. The presence of +firearms in the hands of irresponsible people had been a source of +great trouble and the granting of gun licenses was then restricted to +persons in whom the government had entire confidence. This had been +an important factor in suppressing brigandage and highway robbery, +and the proposed change in the law was highly undesirable. + + +Second Session + +Assembly Bill 141, "An Act repealing the last paragraph of Act +Numbered 1979," took away from the governor-general authority to +approve suspension of the additional cedula tax for road purposes, +and gave it to provincial boards. The need of improved highways +was very great as the inadequate system which had existed under the +Spanish régime had gone to pieces during the war. A comprehensive +plan of highways for the islands had been worked out and was being +put into effect as rapidly as possible. This act would have allowed +provincial boards to determine whether funds should be collected for +road construction and maintenance, thus bringing this fundamentally +important question into the domain of local politics. + +Assembly Bill 168 provided that "the Spanish language shall continue +to be the official language of the courts until such time as the +Philippine Legislature shall provide otherwise." + +The reasons why the generalization of English was desirable in the +Philippines have already been stated. Under then-existing provisions +of law it was to become the official language of the courts in +1913. Assembly Bill 168 would have had the effect of leaving Spanish +the official court language for an indefinite time, thus discouraging +the use of English and discriminating against young lawyers who had +made every effort to obtain a good knowledge of it because of its +supposed certainty of usefulness to them. + +A novel and objectionable feature of Assembly Bill 947, which +appropriated $375,000 for the construction of roads and bridges, +was that it made executive action of the secretary of commerce and +police subject to the approval of a committee of the legislature. + + +First and Special Sessions of 1913 + +Assembly Bill 91 was "An Act prohibiting the exhibition of inhabitants +of the non-Christian tribes, and establishing penalties for its +violation." + +This act grew out of the desire of the assembly to conceal the fact +of the existence of wild peoples in the Philippines. It prohibited +the publication of indecent photographs of non-Christians, and the +appearance at any fair or carnival of a member of a non-Christian +tribe clothed in such a manner as to offend against public morals. The +commission committee which had this Act under advisement stated, +as a part of their report on it, that:-- + + + "It is obvious that no indecent or immoral picture should be + published, irrespective of whether the person or persons depicted + are Christian or non-Christian. It is equally evident that no + person should be allowed to appear at any exposition, fair or + carnival in a costume which offends against morality, whatever + may be his religious beliefs or his tribal relationships. Your + committee is of the opinion that there now exists on the statute + books adequate legislation properly penalizing the one offense + and the other." + + +This act also attempted to limit the right of non-Christians to enter +into contracts. + +Assembly Bill 130, "An Act declaring invalid the confession or +declaration of a defendant against himself, when made under certain +circumstances," provided that courts should not give any value to a +confession or declaration, oral or written, of any defendant against +himself made before the agents of the constabulary, municipal police, +judicial or executive officers, or before any other person not vested +with authority, during his preventive detention, or while in their +custody, unless ratified by the defendant himself in proper style +before a competent court. + +Only persons familiar with the extreme timidity of many Filipino +witnesses, and with the frequency with which they deny in court true +statements previously made by them, can appreciate the dangerous +character of this measure. + +Assembly Bill 170, "An Act obliging manufacturing, industrial, +agricultural, and commercial enterprises in the Philippine Islands +to provide themselves with a duly qualified physician and a medicine +chest for urgent cases of accident and disease among their laborers, +and for other purposes," would have had the effect of forcing the +employment of a large number of incompetent Filipino physicians for +the reason that no one else would have been available to fill many +of the positions in question. + +Assembly Bill 172, "An Act protecting the plantation of the cocoanut +tree," prohibited the damaging, destroying, uprooting or killing of +any cocoanut plant or plants without the owner's consent. There was +then going on a large amount of highway construction and widening. This +bill would have strengthened the position of certain persons disposed +to ask exorbitant prices for land needed for rights of way. At about +this time the Manila Railroad Company was compelled to pay a large +sum for orange trees on a piece of land through which its road was +to pass. On investigation the orange trees proved to be cuttings +from branches, or young seedlings, recently stuck into the ground, +many of them being already dead. + +Assembly Bill 250 would if passed have had the effect of depriving +agents of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals of the power +to make arrests, and of compelling the payment of all fines imposed +and collected through the efforts of the society into the insular +treasury, so that the society would have been dependent upon direct +appropriations for funds with which to prosecute its work. For three +successive years there had been no appropriation bill. The Filipinos +have little sympathy with the work of this society, and this was a +scheme to kill it. Under the existing law one-half of the fines in +question go to it for use in promoting its objects. + +Assembly Bill 251, "An Act to create rural guards in all the +municipalities organized under Act No. 82, and for other purposes," +would seriously have interfered with the maintenance of a proper +state of public order. The duties which it proposed to vest in rural +guards are now performed most satisfactorily by the Philippine +Constabulary. The effect of the bill would have been to restrict +the administrative authority of the director of constabulary over +the movements of his force, and to interfere with the administrative +authority of municipal presidents to utilize their police as in their +judgment the public interests require. + +Assembly Bill 262 contained the following:-- + + + "Provided: That the Director of Agriculture or his agents shall not + adopt quarantine measures in provinces organized under Act No. 83 + without previous agreement with the Provincial Boards concerned." + + +For many years no more serious problem has faced the insular +government than that of stamping out the contagious diseases which +were decimating the horses and cattle of the islands and threatening to +render agriculture almost impossible. The director of agriculture was +necessarily given wide authority in the matter of establishing proper +quarantines. This act would have taken necessary powers from him and +vested them in provincial boards. Quarantining was very unpopular with +the very people who were benefited most by it, hence the passage of +this act. + +Assembly Bill 282 was designed to do away with the public improvement +tax in the provinces of Palawan, Mindoro and Batanes, and to substitute +therefor the so-called double cedula tax. This would have resulted +in decreasing by one-half the amount of money available for the +construction of public works in those provinces and increasing in +the same amount that available for paying salaries of officials +and employees. + +Assembly Bill 312, amending "The Philippine Road Law" "so as to +punish the violent occupation of land on both sides of any public +highway, bridge, wharf, or trail at present occupied by other persons, +since prior to the passage of such Act," would have prevented the +recovery by the government of highway rights of way where they had +been encroached upon by abutting owners during the long period of +neglect of road maintenance attendant upon war. + +Assembly Bill 319, entitled "An Act to prohibit, and punish judges +for the issuance of orders of arrest at hours of the night or on days +other than working days," was a most extraordinary measure, the object +and effect of which are apparent from merely reading its title. There +are 365 nights and 63 legal holidays in the year, so that the time +during which judges could issue orders of arrest without exposing +themselves to punishment would have been somewhat restricted. + +Assembly Bill 324, entitled "An Act amending certain articles of +the Penal Code of the Philippine Islands," had for its object the +reduction of the age of consent of women to the crimes of abduction +and seduction. + +Assembly Bill 348 provided for the formation of a "poor list," and +regulated "gratuitous medical attendance at public dispensaries and +hospitals in the city of Manila and the municipalities, or public +hospitals in the provinces." + +One of the great things which the American government has done for +the Philippines is to bring medical and surgical service of a high +order within the reach of a very large number of poor persons. By +the proposed bill free service to Filipinos was limited to those +who declared themselves to be paupers. Many of the deserving poor +would have preferred to perish miserably rather than make such a +declaration. Most of the self-respecting poor of the islands are +not paupers. Free service could be rendered to foreigners only on +presentation of certificates of poverty from their consuls, usually +residing in Manila, which would have worked great hardship on such +persons living in remote parts of the islands and in need of immediate +attention. Charitable free service furnished by the government was +objected to by certain Filipino physicians, who hoped to get paid +for attending the persons thus relieved. The practical result of the +bill would have been to force the poor to depend on these people, +and to pay their charges, which are frequently very exorbitant. + + +COMMISSION BILLS DISAPPROVED BY THE ASSEMBLY + +SECOND LEGISLATURE + +Commission Bill 55, amending "The Philippine Administrative Act +by including vessels within the provisions of Sections 322 and +323 of said Act," was designed to make vessels responsible for the +transportation of contraband cargo, or for smuggling merchandise, +in the same degree that attached to vehicles for land transportation, +the attorney-general having held that the word "vehicle" used in the +existing law could not be construed to include vessels. This measure +was important in connection with the suppression of opium smuggling. + +Commission Bill 59 amended an act providing for the punishment of +perjury "by changing the punishment for perjury and by punishing +persons who endeavour to procure or incite other persons to commit +perjury." Its object was to remedy a defect in existing law under +which there is no punishment provided for subornation of perjury in +official investigations. + +Commission Bill 60, "An Act defining habitual criminals and providing +additional punishment for the same," had for its object the breaking +up of petty thieving, the records of the Bureau of Prisons showing +that one hundred twenty-nine persons had been convicted twice, +twenty a third time and one as high as thirty-two times. It would +unquestionably have been a very useful measure. + +The Supreme Court of the United States had found that certain +punishments of the Spanish Penal Code, particularly with reference +to the falsification of public and private documents, were cruel +and unusual, and under its decisions a number of criminals, who +should have served moderate sentences, were turned loose because the +sentences actually imposed were admittedly too severe. The Penal Code +fixed the penalties in such cases and gave no option to the judge to +impose lesser ones. This decision of the Supreme Court of the United +States had the practical effect of making it impossible to penalize +certain crimes at all. Commission Bill 61 remedied this situation by +providing moderate penalties. The bill was asked for by the secretary +of finance and justice, who is a Filipino, and by the president of +the code committee, but the assembly would not pass it. + + +THIRD LEGISLATURE + +First Session and Special Session + +Commission Bill 59 provided "more severe punishment for illegal +importers and dealers in opium." + +Great difficulty has been experienced in endeavouring to check the +use of opium in the islands. + +Commission Bill 70 provided for gradually restricting cock-fighting +by decreasing from year to year the number of days on which it was +allowed. It imposed annual license fees of $5 on each fighting cock or +cock in training, prohibited persons under 18 years of age and women, +except tourists, from entering cock-pits, and forbade all games of +chance of any kind on the premises of a cock-pit. + +This very cursory review of some of the acts which have failed of +passage will serve to show, in a general way, the attitudes of the +two houses toward a number of important questions. + +Had the commission not prevented the passage of much dangerous and +vicious legislation approved by the assembly the public service would +have suffered seriously, and public order would have been endangered. + +Heretofore the commission has prevented the enactment of really vicious +legislation. By giving the Filipinos a majority in this body a very +important safeguard has been removed. + +Another serious result will follow. It was undoubtedly the will of +Congress, when its Act of July 1, 1902, was passed, that Americans +should control legislation for the Moros and other non-Christians; +hence the power to legislate for the territory which they inhabit was +reserved by Congress for the commission. Under the new arrangement +Filipinos will control in this matter also, and so the will of +Congress will be defeated, although the letter of the law is not +violated. The outlook for the backward peoples of the islands, under +these circumstances, cannot fail to arouse grave apprehension among +all who are genuinely interested in them. + +The elections for delegates to the assembly have caused endless +trouble in many of the provinces. Neither the people at large nor +the candidates themselves have as yet learned cheerfully to accept +the will of the majority, and the number of protested election cases +is out of all proportion to the number of delegates. + +In many towns, like Cuyo, these elections have given rise to serious +feuds which have brought their previously rapid social and material +progress to a standstill, divided families against each other, +and in general have produced very disastrous results. Many of the +best people of Cuyo are now begging to have the right to elect an +assemblyman taken from their province, on the ground that otherwise +there is no hope for the restoration of normal conditions. + +The assembly is the judge of the qualifications of its members. It +has seen fit to admit a number of very disreputable characters. In +my opinion neither the character of its members nor that of the +legislation passed by it has justified its establishment, much less +the "Filipinization" of the commission. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII + +THE PICTURESQUE PHILIPPINES + + +Having now devoted a good deal of time to the consideration of +political conditions in the Philippines, let us turn our attention to +the islands themselves and consider their physical characteristics, +their climate and their commercial possibilities. + +There has been much discussion as to the number of islands in the +archipelago. The United States Coast and Geodetic Survey has counted +them. Big and little they number thirty-one hundred forty-one, of which +ten hundred ninety-five are large and fertile enough to be inhabited. + +The total land area is a hundred fifteen thousand twenty-six square +miles. The Philippines lie between 5° and 22° North Latitude and 117° +and 127° East Longitude. It follows that the lowlands throughout the +archipelago have a tropical climate, and in the past those two words +have been very generally considered to spell danger for people of +the white race. In this connection it should be said, first, that the +Philippines have one of the most healthful tropical climates in the +world, and second, that the results of sanitary work both there and +within the limits of the Panama Canal zone have largely eliminated +the tropical climate bugaboo. There is plenty of malaria in some +portions of the archipelago, but that is a matter of mosquitoes, not +of climate, and there is no difficulty in freeing any given region +from this disease if drainage is practicable. + +The two great drawbacks to life in the tropics are admittedly heat and +humidity. Curiously enough the heat in most parts of the Philippines is +never extreme. We do not have in Manila anything approaching the high +temperatures sometimes experienced in New York or Boston. Humidity +in the atmosphere makes heat trying, and is responsible for what +we call "sultry" days. The dry-bulb thermometer shows how hot one +is, but it takes an instrument with a wet bulb to show how hot one +feels. Fortunately, the periods of greatest heat and greatest humidity +do not coincide in the islands. April and May are the hottest months, +while August and September have the highest humidity. + +It must be remembered, however, that very extreme heat for a few +days, followed by cool weather, is not so debilitating as is a lower +temperature which is nevertheless continuously high. There are often +many days in succession during May when the thermometer stands in +the nineties, but there is usually a cool northeasterly breeze at +that season, and throughout the Philippines, except in the Cagayan +valley and in one or two other inland regions of the larger islands, +hot nights are almost unknown. Indeed, it is doubtless due to the fact +that the land area is broken into myriad islands, and is therefore +swept by the cooling sea breezes, that it has such an exceptionally +healthful climate. The heat is never trying when the monsoons blow, +and they blow much of the time. + +Speaking of the islands in general one may say that they have a wet +season from July to October and a dry season from December to May, +the weather during June and November being variable. On the Pacific +coast, however, these seasons are reversed, and in the southern +Philippines they are not well defined, the rainfall being quite +uniformly distributed throughout the year. During the months of +November, December, January and February weather conditions are usually +ideal, with bright, clear days and cool and decidedly invigorating +nights. Comfort throughout the year is largely dependent on occupying +well-ventilated houses from which the winds are not shut off. + +The following table shows for each month the highest temperature, +the lowest temperature and the average temperature recorded at Manila +from 1885 until 1912:-- + + + Month Highest ° F. Lowest ° F. Average ° F. + + January 93.0 59.0 76.8 + February 96.1 60.3 77.5 + March 97.2 61.2 79.9 + April 99.9 64.4 82.8 + May 100.9 68.7 83.3 + June 99.7 70.9 82.2 + July 95.4 70.0 80.8 + August 95.4 69.1 80.8 + September 95.5 69.6 80.4 + October 95.2 67.3 80.2 + November 93.0 62.2 78.6 + December 92.3 60.3 77.4 + + +The highest temperature ever recorded at Manila is 103.5° Fahrenheit, +in May, 1878; the next highest, 101.9° in May, 1912. + +It should be remembered that there are no abrupt changes either +between day and night or from season to season, and that one can +therefore wear light, cool clothing throughout the year. + +Far from being oppressive, the tropical nights are, as a rule, +delightful. I know of nothing more satisfying in its way than a stroll +in the moonlight on a hard beach of snow-white coral sand bordered +by graceful cocoanut palms on the one hand and by rolling surf on +the other. + +The vegetation in the provinces is a constant delight. Unfortunately, +in the immediate vicinity of Manila it is less attractive than in most +other parts of the archipelago, but by crossing the bay to the Lanao +forest on the slopes of Mariveles Mountain, or by taking an automobile +ride to Atimonan, one may see it in all its magnificence. No word +painter, however skilled, can convey any adequate idea of it. + +Everywhere, both on land and at sea, one sees matchless greens and +blues,--greens in the vegetation and in the water, blues in the water +and in the sky. The cloud effects are often marvellously fine. I had +begun to think that perhaps my prolonged residence in the Philippines +had made me forget what was to be seen in other countries, but in +1913 I took the distinguished English vulcanologist, Dr. Tempest +Anderson, on a trip with me, and his enthusiasm over the cloud views +knew no bounds. + +Philippine sunsets are unsurpassed and unsurpassable. I have repeatedly +noted one remarkable effect which I have never seen elsewhere, namely +the complete reflection in the east of the western evening sky. On +the occasion when I first witnessed one of these extraordinary sights +I could hardly believe my senses. I was at sea, and had taken a late +afternoon siesta. When I awoke familiar landmarks showed me that I was +looking due east, and yet I saw a magnificent sunset with wonderful +beams of rays radiating from a dark cloud behind which it seemed +that the sun must be hidden. A glance to the westward furnished the +explanation of the mystery, for the view was duplicated there. I have +seen similar wonderful sights several times. + +A typhoon, or tropical cyclone, is often dreadfully destructive +but is a most imposing thing to watch from a safe viewpoint, and +the weather service in the Philippines is so excellent that if one +observes such a storm from an unsafe viewpoint it is usually one's +own fault. The rush of the mighty waves at sea and their thunder on +the shore, where they may dash up the cliffs for hundreds of feet, +are awe inspiring. The resistless sweep of the wind, which sometimes +attains a velocity of a hundred twenty miles an hour, or even more, +makes one feel one's insignificance. If one chances to be in the region +over which the centre of the storm passes, there comes a sudden lull +in the terrific gale, followed by a dead calm. Often the sun shines +for a brief interval, and then, without warning, the wind renews its +relentless assault, coming from a direction diametrically opposed to +that from which it was blowing before the lull. The rainfall is often +enormous. At such times rivulets are converted into roaring rivers, +valleys into lakes. + +If one is near buildings with galvanized roofs which may fly through +the air in pieces, or trees which may blow down, it is best to keep +under cover, but after the storm there are always to be seen curious +and interesting freaks of wind and water. When the northern district of +Manila is flooded, as not infrequently happens during severe typhoons, +the people turn out for a regular water fiesta as soon as the wind +moderates, and go paddling about the streets in dugout canoes, wooden +tubs, or on rafts extemporized from old barrels, pieces of bamboo, +or the stems of bananas which have been blown down. + +Due warning of the approach of a typhoon is given by the Weather +Bureau at least twenty-four hours in advance, so that the damage +done may be reduced to a minimum. Houses of light materials are apt +to suffer severely, but serious damage to strongly built houses is +comparatively rare, as they are constructed with a view to meeting +just such conditions. + +Waterspouts are among the most imposing and picturesque of nature's +phenomena in the Philippines. I have repeatedly had the good fortune +to watch them form, and start on their stately march across the sea, +but to my everlasting regret have never had a camera available on +such occasions. They sometimes produce a rain of fishes. + +The scenery is never monotonous. At sea one views a constantly changing +panorama of islands, many of which are picturesque in the extreme. On +land one may travel over long stretches of level, fertile plains, +but there are always fine mountains in the background, and once among +them what pleasures await one! Some are grass-covered to their very +peaks; others are buried from base to summit in the rankest tropical +growth. On yet others, pine forests begin to cover the slopes at four +thousand feet, and are in turn replaced by oak forests at five or +six thousand feet. The numerous rushing streams and waterfalls are +a joy in themselves. In one short day one may go from the tropics to +the temperate zone, and come back again. + +Active and extinct volcanoes form a striking feature of many Philippine +landscapes. Of the former, Mayon, in the province of Albay, is the +delight of the vulcanologist and of the layman alike on account of its +exquisite form, which is that of the theoretically perfect volcano. It +rises to a height of seventy-nine hundred sixteen feet from an almost +level plain, and the extreme outer periphery of its base measures +approximately a hundred twenty miles. An excellent automobile road +extends completely around it, well within the peripheral line above +mentioned, and the trip, which has no equal in its way, may readily +be made in half a day. + +Mayon is a storehouse of titanic energy which has frequently broken +forth in the past with destructive violence. During the last eruption, +which occurred in 1900, lava flowed into the sea at a distance of some +fourteen kilometres [155] from the crater. During previous eruptions +whole towns have been destroyed by lava flows or by falling volcanic +ejecta. Mayon is quiet at present and has been repeatedly climbed of +late. The trip is dangerous because of the steepness of the slopes and +the unstable nature of the material composing them. It takes two days. + +Taal Volcano, situated on an island in Bombon Lake, and distant but +thirty-nine miles from Manila, is of special interest on account +of its destructive eruption on January 30, 1911, which killed some +fourteen hundred people within the space of a few moments. It is very +easily climbed, the elevation of the lowest point of the crater rim +above the lake being only 369 feet, and the ascent gentle. + +Other important active volcanoes are Apo, in Mindanao; Catarman, on +the island of Camiguin; Canlaon, sometimes also called Malaspina, on +Negros; Caua, in northeastern Luzón; and Claro Babuyan, on the island +of the same name. A considerable number of the volcanic peaks of the +Philippines, including the one last named, have never been ascended. + +It goes without saying that in a country where there are so many +active, dormant and extinct volcanoes hot and mineral springs are of +common occurrence. On the slopes of Canlaon there are three of the +former, known respectively as "the chicken killer," "the hog killer" +and "the carabao killer," on account of the supposed destructive +powers of their waters. The Tiwi Spring, near the base of Mayon +Volcano, is famous. The water of Sibul Spring, in Bulacan Province, +has medicinal properties of undoubted value, as do the waters of +various other mineral springs, including those at Itogon and Daklán in +Benguet. The scenic surroundings of some of them are most attractive, +and doubtless important watering places will be established in their +vicinity in the course of time. + +Gigantic limestone cliffs are among the most striking features of many +of the more mountainous regions, and in some parts of the islands, +especially along the coast of Palawan, rise directly out of the +sea. They take on wonderfully beautiful, and sometimes very weird, +forms and are often full of caves in which may be found the famous +edible birds' nests, so highly prized by the Chinese. + +A range of limestone mountains ends at St. Paul's Bay on the west +coast of Palawan. The bay takes its name from a majestic peak, with +a wonderful limestone dome, which looks like a cathedral. Near it +is another remarkable mountain called Liberty Cap, on account of +its peculiar form. Beneath this range lies the scenic wonder of the +Philippines, the famous Underground River, up which a ship's launch +can run for more than three miles to what is called the "stone pile," +caused by the falling of a great section of the roof. One may climb +this obstruction, and utilizing native boats dragged over it by my +party in August, 1912, may continue for a distance of half a mile, +to a point where the roof of the cave drops to the level of the +surface of the water, and further progress becomes impossible. + +A trip up this river is an experience never to be forgotten. There +is no danger of getting lost, as the three short side passages which +run off from the main cavern all end blindly. The channel has been +mapped by the Coast and Geodetic Survey and is plainly marked at all +critical points. + +One's launch should be provided with very powerful acetylene lights so +arranged as to give a general illumination. Stalactites and stalagmites +occur in every conceivable form. There are vaulted chambers which are +full of them, and there are long straight passages which lack them and +have roofs and walls resembling those of a New York subway. In places +the cavern is full of edible-nest-building swifts and of bats. The +air in the main passage is fresh. During the rainy season water runs +from the roof in many places, and one must expect an occasional shower +bath, but this is the only discomfort attendant upon the trip. + +Unfortunately, the mouth of this river is quite fully exposed to +the heavy seas stirred up by the southwest monsoon, which heap up +sand, forming a bar on which the surf breaks heavily; but during the +northeast monsoon the current often opens up a wide and deep channel +through this bar. + +There are several other underground rivers in the Philippines. An +adventurous soldier embarked in a banca on one in Samar, and passed +completely under a large mountain. Judging from his description of +his experiences, this trip would be remarkably well worth taking. + +In the limestone caves we may some day find remains which will throw +light on the history of the early inhabitants of the Philippines, +as many of them have been used for burial purposes in bygone times. + +Pleasurable river navigation is by no means confined to underground +streams. In Mindanao there are two rivers which offer strong +attractions to tourists. One may ascend the Rio Grande de Cotabato +through fertile plains, to a remarkable series of lakes swarming with +great tame crocodiles and with a wonderful variety of waterfowl. On +this trip one will see the Moros at home. The Agusan River, which +rises near Davao Gulf and empties on the north coast of Mindanao, +is the largest navigable stream in the islands. During ordinary +weather it is strictly confined between well-marked banks. The dense +forests which cover them have been cleared in a few places to make +room for Manobo villages. Exquisite orchids and beautiful ferns +abound. After ascending the river for one hundred twenty miles one +comes to a remarkable submerged forest in a region which subsided a +few years ago during a great seismic disturbance. Formerly it was +very unsafe to enter it without taking an experienced guide, as +the original river bed was completely destroyed and the many small +streams flowing through the sunken area formed a very complicated +maze. Now, however, two clearly defined canals have been opened up, +both terminating in the immediate vicinity of the town of Veruela, +and a trip through either of them will not soon be forgotten, for +here tropical vegetation is seen at its very best. + +During a portion of the year one may ascend the Rio Grande de Cagayan, +the great river of northern Luzón, in a good-sized stern-wheel steamer +for a distance of one hundred twenty miles, passing through a sparsely +settled but potentially very rich agricultural district which now +produces the best tobacco grown in the islands. + +It is a common thing for temporary residents in the Philippines +to quote the foolish saying that the flowers are without odour +and the birds without song. There is no more delicious fragrance +than that given off in the evening by the shrub known as dama de +noche. [156] The perfume made from ilang-ilang flowers goes all over +the world. That extracted from the blossoms of the champaca brings +fabulous prices. Jasmine is produced in abundance. If one wishes a +heavier odour, tuberoses furnish it, while many species of trees make +the whole forest fragrant when in flower. + +Some of the birds are sweet singers, while others brighten the +landscape with their vivid colours. A row of snowy egrets, perched +on the back of a carabao, presents a striking picture. One constantly +hears by day the plaint of the limócon, a wood pigeon which exercises +a most extraordinary influence over the lives of many of the wild +people, for they believe that the direction and the nature of its notes +augur good or ill for the enterprises which they have in hand. The +crescendo shriek of a great black cuckoo, called by the natives bahów, +commonly heard at night, is likely to cause alarm to one not cognizant +of its origin, and has led many a sentry on a wild goose chase into +a mangrove swamp in the belief that he was hastening to the rescue +of some human being undergoing dreadful torment. + +One of the most interesting of the feathered denizens of Philippine +fields and forests is the inconspicuous tailor bird, which carefully +unwinds the silk from cocoons, and using it for thread, stitches +together the edges of living leaves and then builds its nest in the +green pocket thus formed. + +The insects are as varied and interesting as are the birds. There +are very numerous species of ants, and the manifestations of their +extraordinary intelligence are well worth careful observation. The work +of the huge flocks of locusts which sometimes devastate the fields +is worth seeing, although the sight is not a cheering one. There are +butterflies and moths of great size and of the most brilliant and +varied hues. Some of the very gaudily coloured species disappear as if +by magic when they alight, because the under surfaces of their wings, +exposed when they close them, perfectly resemble dead leaves. Other +protectively coloured insects look marvellously like green leaves or +dead twigs. + +After all is said and done, the most interesting study of mankind is +man, and man in most varied form is to be found in the Philippines, +beginning with Manila itself, where the mixture of Chinese, Japanese, +Spanish, English, German and American blood with that of the original +Malay invaders has produced a wonderfully varied series of types. + +Many of the women are bravely decked out in the gayest of colours, +which harmonize well with their raven black hair and brown or yellow +skins. + +Manila is a very interesting city. North of the Pasig River are several +native residence districts which have changed comparatively little in +a century. Old Manila, lying just south of the river, is one of the +best remaining examples of a walled town, and it has many buildings +which have withstood typhoons and earthquakes for centuries. Its +churches are of especial interest. The acoustic properties of the +cathedral are excellent, and if an opportunity to hear fine music +there presents itself it should not be missed. + +At the University of Santo Tomás and at the Jesuit convento there are +good museums. The insular government has a museum on Calle Anloague, +where may be seen very interesting ethnological collections and an +important and striking exhibit of the products of the Philippine +forests. + +In the botanical and zoölogical collections of the Bureau of Science +specialists will find a wealth of material. + +The Philippine General Hospital richly repays a visit. It is the +largest and most complete institution of its kind in the Far East, +and within its walls American and Filipino physicians, surgeons and +nurses work side by side for the relief of suffering humanity. + +I have only hinted at a few of the interesting sights which may be seen +without leaving the city limits. The open country and the provincial +towns are made readily accessible by splendid automobile roads. To +the north one finds great mango trees with their solid hemispheres +of beautiful foliage, and endless rice-fields in the cultivation of +which the people still employ the methods of bygone centuries. The +good sanitary condition in many of the towns shows that American and +Filipino health officers have not been idle. + +To the south the automobile road runs straight away to Atimonan +on the Pacific coast, distant one hundred twelve miles. It passes +near Banájao, one of the most beautiful extinct volcanoes of the +Philippines; is bordered for long distances by cocoanut groves, +and extends for many miles through a most beautiful forest. + +No visit to the Philippines is complete without a trip to Baguio, +the summer capital. It is reached by train and automobile in less +than a day. Here one is just at the edge of the wild man's country +and may go to villages of the Benguet Igorots in an automobile. + +Starting at Baguio, one may take one of the most wonderful horseback +journeys in the world over the "Mountain Trail" to Cervantes in the +neighbouring sub-province of Lepanto and thence to Bontoc, the capital +of the Mountain Province. Here dwell the Bontoc Igorots, who were +famous head-hunters until brought under American control. Four or five +days more will suffice to make a trip north to Lubuagan, the capital +of the sub-province of Kalinga, inhabited by another most picturesque +tribe of head-hunters. They are physically a wonderfully developed +people, and their personal cleanliness, brightly coloured clothes, +and striking feather ornaments make them especially attractive. + +On the way one is sure to see women clad in skirts extemporized from +banana leaves, camote tops, or ferns, of a type popularly but wrongly +supposed not to have been in style since the days of mother Eve. + +From Bontoc one rides to the eastward over the Mount Polis range and +descends along the wonderful terraced mountain sides of the Ifugaos, +finding everywhere abundant evidences of the extraordinary industry +displayed by the people of this head-hunting tribe. At Quiangan the +traveller will be amazed to see beautiful buildings of cut stone, +and when informed that they have been erected by Ifugao schoolboys +under an American foreman will doubt the possibility of such a thing +unless he is fortunate enough to see the boys at work. + +From this point one may return to Baguio by way of Sapao, and the +Agno River valley, or may continue his journey to the eastward, coming +out on the fertile plains of Nueva Vizcaya. Before the return to the +lowlands of Pangasinán from this province one may make a short side +trip of half a day into the country of the Ilongots, but I do not +recommend such an expedition to persons not familiar with the ways +of savages who are sometimes inclined to be a bit treacherous. The +Ilongots have harmed only one white man, but they still occasionally +murder each other, and it is hard always to know what they will +do next. + +There are comfortable rest houses at frequent intervals along the +excellent horse trails over which one rides in making this trip, so +that all one really requires is a good horse and saddle and necessary +clothing. Baggage is transported by Igorot carriers or pack ponies. It +is always well to take one's own blankets. Good thick ones will be +needed, for the Mountain Trail reaches an elevation of seventy-five +hundred feet, and at this height the nights are cold. + +Until within a short time it has been impossible for tourists to +travel with comfort in the Philippines. There was no good hotel +even at Manila. This latter difficulty has now fortunately been +remedied. The old carriage and cart roads were impassable during much +of the year. Their place has been taken, in many provinces, by heavily +surfaced automobile roads serviceable at all times. Accommodations +on the inter-island boats were atrocious. They are still far from +first-class, but are rapidly improving, and on a number of the +steamers are now very fair. There is good prospect that a number of +new and up-to-date steamers will be put on inter-island routes in +the near future. + +Meanwhile it can safely be said that the world does not afford +more attractive ground for yachting than that to be found in the +Philippines. The scenery among the Calamianes Islands and in Bacuit +Bay and Malampaya Sound is beautiful beyond description. That of the +famous Inland Sea of Japan does not compare with it. Safe, quiet +anchorages are to be found at frequent intervals, and the weather +during the winter months usually leaves nothing to be desired. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX + +ROD, SHOTGUN AND RIFLE + + +The Philippines offer strong attractions to the devotees of the +shotgun and the rifle, and they are a fisherman's paradise. + +Having in my earlier days spent some four years in collecting natural +history specimens in the islands I did not need to be enlightened as +to the pleasure which might be had in hunting ducks, snipe, shore +birds, jungle fowl, and wild pigeons; nor as to those afforded to +the hunter of large game by bringing down wild carabaos, hogs, and +deer, bagging an occasional man-eating crocodile, or trying to outwit +the wily tamarau of Mindoro, which is one of the most difficult of +all forest-inhabiting ruminants to track down and kill, and has an +uncomfortable habit of hunting the hunter when molested; but now, +in view of my neglected early opportunities, I must confess with +shame and confusion of face that it remained for Governor-General +Forbes to show me, after I had resided in the islands for sixteen +years that I had been missing a sport fit for kings by not sooner +taking up fishing in the sea. + +To one who has been even temporarily attached to a hundred-pound +barracuda through the medium of a split bamboo rod, a tarpon reel, +three hundred yards of line, and a good strong spoon hook, or has +fought a sixty-pound tanguingui, or even a thirty-pound pampano, to a +finish, it seems strange that any one should ever have characterized +fishing as a "gentle art." + +If good old Sir Izaak Walton had struggled with a big tuna until his +fingers and thumbs were blistered or skinned, and every muscle in his +body was tired and sore, only to see a huge shark bite his finny prey +off back of the gills when it was almost ready to gaff, it is possible +that his language in discussing fishing would have been less mild, +and his general attitude toward the subject less gently philosophic. + +Verily, Sir Izaak missed much by not having been born after modern +fishing tackle had been invented and employed in taking the denizens of +deep tropical seas. Let no one be unduly dismayed over the diminution +of big game fish in the vicinity of Catalina Island, or off the Florida +coast, for among the myriad islands of the Philippine Archipelago one +may fish to one's heart's content, visiting grounds already well known, +or seeking new ones for himself, in the assurance that the supply of +marine game fishes will not be perceptibly diminished for many a long +year to come. + +Soon after his arrival, Governor-General Forbes began to inquire +about the opportunities for sea fishing. He received little reliable +information and less encouragement, but undeterred, proceeded to find +out for himself when and where to fish and what tackle to use in order +to obtain the best results. At the outset his efforts netted him few +fish or none, but he kept at it as opportunity offered, and, thanks to +his perseverance, the sport is now firmly established on a sound basis. + +One must have rod, reel, line and gaff suitable for tarpon fishing, and +an abundant supply of good spoon hooks, wire leaders and swivels. Live +bait and cut bait are as useful here as elsewhere, but game fish are +so abundant, and spoon hooks have proved so successful in taking them, +that comparatively little use has as yet been made of other lures. One +should fish from a power boat which can be slowed down to four miles +an hour without stopping, and will safely ride a moderately heavy sea. + +When thus equipped, if the fisherman hies him to the edge of a coral +reef where the bottom slopes steeply downward, runs the boat so +that he sees green water on one side and black water on the other, +and pays out fifty to a hundred yards of line, he will not have long +to wait before his reel sings the merry tune so dear to the heart of +his kind, and he finds himself vainly striving, with both thumbs on +the brake, to lower the pitch of that insistent high note by slowing +down the speed of the barracuda which has grabbed the spoon, hooked +itself securely, and started for the coast of China with the obvious +intention of getting there before dark. + +A big barracuda may take fifty yards of line in his first rush and he +may take two hundred, but one can be certain that when he is finally +stopped he will jump clear of the water, and then will jump again just +to show that he means it. After that, as he is reeled in, he will +jump some more to keep up the interest. Ultimately, having acquired +the habit of coming toward the boat, he will continue to practise +it until he sees that craft, whereupon he is likely to start off at +a rate which makes his first rush seem slow and deliberate. Now and +then he will run down on the line for variety's sake, and then is +the time for the boatmen to get into action, for if he gets slack +line nothing remains but to bid him good-by as cheerfully as possible. + +The largest specimen yet taken in the Philippines and actually +weighed was a hundred ten pound monster caught on a trolling line +trailed behind the coast guard cutter Polillo, on which I was making +an inspection trip along the west coast of southern Palawan. + +The largest specimen yet taken with rod and reel weighed fifty-two +and eight-tenths pounds. It was brought to gaff in Biobican Bay by +Governor Leo J. Grove of Nueva Vizcaya. + +Very numerous individuals weighing between twenty and forty-five +pounds have been captured, and the only reason why numbers of much +larger specimens have not been taken is that tackle was not strong +enough, or the skill of the fishermen was not sufficiently great. Big +barracudas have teeth that would do credit to small sharks, and have +sawed through or broken many a wire leader. + +In the Philippines, as in other civilized countries, there are not +lacking narrators of good "fish stories." From Filipino residents +of San Juan, Siquijor, I recently heard a tale of a barracuda which +towed a native dugout boat all day, jumping frequently, and was +finally cut loose after dark by its disgusted would-be captors who +found themselves unable to tire it out! + +Of tanguingui, or sail fish, there are at least two species. The +smaller commonly attains a weight of twenty to forty pounds. In the +open sea off the coast of Leyte I took a specimen which measured +sixty-four inches in length and weighed sixty-five pounds. It proved +to be of a species new to science. This magnificent fish, when fresh +from the sea, was a sight calculated to cheer a graven image. + +Tanguingui fight much as do barracuda, except that they seldom jump +out of the water after being hooked unless pursued by sharks. This +seems strange, as under normal conditions they leap for the pure joy +of the thing, attaining heights which I hesitate to specify lest I +be held to have qualified for the Ananias club. I know of nothing +more startling in its way than the shock one gets when his eye has +missed the upward leap of a big tanguingui but catches the fish as +it is dropping back toward the sea, apparently from the clouds. + +While barracuda and tanguingui may be taken throughout the year, +there seems to be a time when the fish of the latter species "run." At +all events they are found in great numbers during April and May in +the vicinity of Fortune Island, a short distance south of Manila Bay, +but are very scarce, or entirely absent, there during the remainder of +the year. I once visited the famous fishing grounds around Tanguingui +Island, north of Cebú, in August, only to be assured by a light-keeper +that I would find no fish at that season. He said that the barracuda +would return in November and the tanguingui in February. His prediction +as to the fishing in August promptly came true. + +Pampano rank high among the game fish of the Philippines. What +will California coast fishermen, accustomed to taking little fellows +weighing a pound or two, say to fifty-pound individuals? I can imagine +what they would say if not confronted by hard facts, but the truth is +that a number of such pampanos have already been taken with rod and +reel in the Philippines, and that there are plenty more waiting to be +caught. During a trip to Palawan in December, 1911, Captain Tornroth of +the coast guard cutter Polillo took a forty-nine-pound specimen. The +same evening Dr. Victor G. Heiser, Director of Health, took an +individual weighing thirty-two pounds. The following August the record +was raised first to fifty-three pounds and then to sixty-three and +a half pounds, the latter fish being caught by Mr. Frank W. Sweitzer. + +The pampano takes the hook with a rush and seldom misses his +strike. He never leaps while being played, but helps himself to line +very liberally at the outset and runs deep at once. A large specimen +is never satisfied until almost directly under the boat with several +hundred feet of line out, and will get bottom, snag the line on a sharp +point of rock or a branch of coral, and break away, if such a thing +is materially possible. A pampano never quits fighting until he is +in the boat, and is an adept at turning up his broad side after being +hooked and swimming in a circle, resisting to the utmost all efforts +to raise him. Under reasonably favourable circumstances it usually +takes from twenty minutes to half an hour to land a twenty-five-pound +individual. Pampano run in schools and when they once begin to bite +the fun is fast and furious. + +The sergeant fish is one of the gamest fighters for his weight to +be met with in Philippine waters. He keeps up his determined rushes +until brought to the side of the boat and leaps frequently while +being played, at the same time making vigorous efforts to shake the +hook. None of the specimens so far taken have exceeded twenty pounds +in weight. + +Ocean bonito are often met with in great schools and present a +wonderful sight when one drives one's boat among them and sees them +leaping high into the air, close at hand, on every side. The largest +specimen yet caught with rod and reel is a sixty-pounder taken by +Governor Forbes. I have seen numerous individuals which must certainly +have weighed a hundred pounds or more. + +Red snappers weighing five to twenty pounds also occur in great +schools. They are usually caught with bait by sinking in deep water, +but at times take the spoon freely. The larger individuals make a +game fight. Annually during November and December these fish run in +very large numbers from Naujan Lake in Mindoro to the sea. Whether +or not they can be captured with rod and line while in fresh water +remains to be determined. + +The lapu-lapu, or "groupers," of which there are twenty-four known +species in the Philippines, do not attain very great size, but are much +prized on account of the delicious flavour of their especially tender +flesh. Dr. Heiser has taken one weighing twenty-two pounds and I have +seen the dried flesh of one which must have weighed approximately forty +pounds. The colouring of a number of the species is extraordinarily +beautiful. Some are light gray with round blue spots; others carmine +red with blue spots over the body and blue lines and bars about the +head; others are dark blue with carmine spots. There seems no end to +the variety and beauty of the colour patterns, and each new one appears +for the moment more wonderful than those which one has seen before. + +Lapu-lapu have a special fondness for crevices in the rocks, and +for holes in coral reefs, and in consequence are responsible for the +loss of much good tackle. One must fight them from the moment they +strike and give them no slack. The penalty for any carelessness in +this regard is a broken line. + +Leather jacks, commonly called dorados in the Philippines on account +of their beautifully coloured yellow bellies, are extraordinarily +abundant at certain seasons of the year when they run into the shallow +waters at the heads of bays and sounds, apparently to spawn. When +encountered at all they afford good sport for their size, fighting +well and frequently making splendid leaps out of the water even after +they are brought close to the boat and are apparently tired out. They +commonly run from five to fifteen pounds in weight, but occasionally +reach eighteen or twenty pounds. + +The Philippine giant sea-bass, or jewfish, belongs to the same family +as does the California species. While I was on shore at Mæander Reef in +August, 1911, numerous hand lines with which sailors were fishing from +the Polillo were carried away by jewfish. With the permission of the +captain, the ship's log line was then pressed into service. I returned +to the steamer just in time to assist in landing a hundred-and-thirty +pound specimen. A steam trawler, which operated for a short time in +the Philippines, took a specimen seven feet three inches in length, +which weighed three hundred thirty-four and a fourth pounds. + +In Coron Passage during July, 1911, I fought a very large fish, +probably a jewfish, for an hour and twenty minutes, at the end of which +time his dead weight broke my line when Governor Forbes, who was with +me, attempted to lift him by it after he had indulged in a prolonged +sulk in deep water. Although I had fought him steadily, I could not +see that I had tired him in the least. In the course of the fracas +the butt of my rod had made a two by three inch black and blue spot +on my right leg and had worn the skin off over a similar area on my +left leg, while my abdomen lacked a good deal of epidermis and I was +tempted to believe that it lacked some dermis as well. My companions +who witnessed the fruitless fight christened this particular fish the +"sea carabao." [157] + +Belt and socket should, of course, be used in fighting fish of such +size. Heavy cots for the thumb and first finger of the left hand and +the thumb of the right hand are very essential. I once got a badly +burned thumb because I thought that I was not likely to hook a fish +which would make a quarter-inch-thick leather brake heat through. A +big ocean bonito promptly undeceived me. + +Very exciting sport may be had by harpooning the huge rays which +come to the surface in great numbers at certain seasons of the +year. Specimens thirty feet across have been taken in the vicinity of +the island of Siquijor. When one of these great fishes is harpooned, +Filipino fishermen make two or three large boats fast to it as soon as +possible for the reason that a single boat might be dragged under. Even +so the taking of giant rays is not unattended with danger, for they +make most extraordinary leaps into the air, and were one of them to +fall on a boat the result would be disastrous. + +We have knowledge of the existence of other very large game fishes +which we have not as yet so much as seen. One species is taken by the +natives of Siquijor, who use a three-quarter inch Manila rope and fish +in water of considerable depth. A number of boats work close together +and as soon as a fish is hooked all flock to the assistance of the +lucky fisherman. A tremendous struggle then ensues and we are assured +that if the fish is landed, it makes a meal for a whole village. What +this species may be we do not know. + +One of the charms of fishing in the Philippines lies in the fact +that one can never tell what one is going to strike next. At Mæander +Reef I took the first yellowtail ever caught in the islands with +rod and line. Doubtless there are plenty more where that one came +from. Indeed, yellowtails are common in the market at Zamboanga at +certain seasons. Off the coast of Mindoro I took the first dolphin +known to have been captured in these waters. On a recent trip I took +a large porgy of a species new to the Philippines and likely to prove +new to science. As yet we have hardly begun to explore the fishing +grounds. What shall we find among the swift currents of the Batanes +Islands, and what along the barrier reef of the unexplored east coast +of northern Luzón? No one knows! + +Although some 1400 species of fish have already been reported from +the Philippines, new ones are constantly being added to the list, and +it is rather a rare event when a returning party of fishermen fails to +present the ichthyologist with one or more puzzles. On my first trip to +Apo Reef, Dr. Heiser hooked a tremendous fish which leisurely went its +way regardless of his efforts to control its movement. At one time it +deigned to come under the bottom of the launch and within forty feet of +the surface, where it could be seen with perfect distinctness. It was a +long, slender, gamy-looking creature weighing perhaps one hundred fifty +pounds, and it had vertical yellow bars on its sides. No such fish is +known from these waters. Having viewed the boat to its satisfaction, +it proceeded to go back to the reef and to take refuge under its +overhanging edge. Vigorous efforts to dislodge it, lasting for half +an hour, resulted only in sawing off a heavy wire leader. + +One may tire for the moment of catching fish, but with a glass-bottomed +boat at his disposal he will never tire of looking at them as he +floats over the wonderful coral reefs for which the archipelago +is famous. Certainly there are no "sea gardens" anywhere which can +excel those of the Philippines. The powerful tropical sun penetrates +the marvellously clear sea water to a great depth, revealing marine +animal and plant life in endlessly varied and marvellously beautiful +forms which beggar description. Former Secretary of War Dickinson is +a rather serious-minded man, but when he gazed for the first time +through the glass bottom of a boat into one of these wonder houses +of nature, he shouted in his excitement and delight for all the world +like a small and enthusiastic boy. + +In a few moments one may see fish of the most amazing forms +and extraordinarily bizarre colours: huge sharks; enormous rays; +great sea-turtles; clam shells big enough for children's bath-tubs; +sea-urchins; starfish; sea-anemones; jellyfish in endless variety +of form and colour; sea-fans; and many other varied forms of marine +animal and plant life. + +When one grows weary of the water, one may land on snowy coral-sand +beaches, bordered by cocoanut palms, may visit old deserted Spanish +forts rapidly being invaded by rank tropical vegetation; may gather +exquisite orchids; or may for the time being substitute hunting for +fishing. In the Sulu Sea he may visit wonderful bird islands where +the feathered folk refuse to get out of his way and peck viciously +at his legs if he comes too near. + +All these delightful experiences may be had without suffering +any discomfort from the Philippine climate, concerning which such +absurd ideas prevail among the uninformed. From November to March the +temperature is delightful, except during the midday hours of bright +days, when fish do not bite well in any event, and when sensible +people keep off the water. + +Thus far I have referred only to those game fishes which I myself have +taken, or concerning which I happen to have personal knowledge. I +will now briefly summarize what is at present known about the game +fishes of the Philippines. + +The albacore is fairly common, especially during the cooler months. + +Amberjacks, reaching a length of two feet or more, are also common. + +There are barracudas of seven different species, some of which attain +a length of six feet and weigh a hundred pounds or more. + +Bonitos of four different species have been taken. The "ocean bonito" +and the "true bonito" are both abundant and afford fine sport. The +larger individuals sometimes attain a weight of a hundred pounds +or more. + +There are six different species of croakers, also called +roncadores. Some individuals reach a weight of a hundred pounds. + +Groupers, locally known as lapu-lapu, are found in great variety, +no less than twenty-four species having been recorded. + +Hardtails, reaching a length of three feet, are abundant. + +Leather-jacks, commonly called dorados, are also very abundant. They +take the spoon freely and fight well. In weight they commonly run +from five to fifteen pounds. + +There are several small species of mackerel which are excellent table +fish and afford fair sport. + +Pampanos are found in great variety, no less than thirty species +having already been recorded. Individuals weighing as much as fifty +pounds are not uncommon. + +Porgies of twelve different species have been taken, and some of the +individuals have weighed up to thirty pounds. + +Of snappers we have thirty-four known species. The red snapper +not infrequently attains a weight of twelve to fifteen pounds, +and the larger individuals fight well. At times they take the spoon +freely. The gray snapper runs up to forty pounds in weight and makes +a good fight. The rivulated snapper, which takes its name from the +form of its beautiful colour pattern, is a good game fish, and I have +seen specimens which weighed up to twenty pounds. + +Sea-bass of two distinct species are common. Specimens weighing +fifty to seventy-five pounds are frequently seen in the markets. The +largest specimen as yet recorded from the islands weighed three +hundred thirty-four and a fourth pounds. + +Spanish mackerel, or tanguingui, are common throughout the islands at +the proper season. A very intelligent Filipino collector of natural +history specimens in the service of the government, who saw my +sixty-five-pound specimen landed, assured me that he had previously +seen larger ones caught. + +Swordfish, nine feet or more in length, may be taken during the +cooler months. + +Tarpons up to five feet in length may be taken at the proper season, +off the mouths of large streams. The species is distinct from that +found in Atlantic waters, and the young take the fly freely. + +Ten pounders, commonly called bid-bid in the Philippines, are not +uncommon, and in spite of their name often attain a weight of thirty +pounds. + +Tunas. The great, or leaping, tunas are met with in large schools +during the winter months. The natives call them "cachareta." So far +as I am aware, none have yet been taken with rod and line, but their +capture is, of course, only a question of time. + +I believe it certain that the Philippines will become a Mecca for +deep-sea fishermen, and to the end that piscatorial pilgrims may not +come in vain, reliable data are being gathered and compiled by the +Division of Fisheries of the Bureau of Science. The exact locations +where exceptionally good catches are made are being marked on a +comprehensive series of charts which cover the entire archipelago, +and an accurate card record is also kept giving full information as +to the localities where, the seasons when and the weather conditions +under which exceptional catches have been made. Fishermen seeking +fine sport and novel experiences will surely not be disappointed if +they come to the Philippines. + +While it is possible to find sheltered waters at any season, and +to take fish throughout the year, our experience thus far seems to +justify the belief that the months from January to August are on the +whole the most favourable ones. + +Fishermen may establish themselves at some favourable point, such +as one of the many excellent camping grounds on Malampaya Sound, +and work from this as a base, with no other water transportation +than the motor boats from which they fish. Those who wish to have a +good movable base of operations and to explore for themselves may, by +making seasonable application, secure the use of one of the government +coast guard boats at a cost of $115 a day. These convenient little +vessels measure one hundred forty-eight feet over all and draw nine +to eleven feet of water, according to the amount of coal carried and +its distribution. They are safe in all weathers. Most of them have +four good staterooms for passengers, with berths for eight people; +but as they are provided with good double awnings and have abundant +deck room, a much larger number of persons can be made comfortable, if +willing to sleep on deck, using the staterooms for dressing-rooms. As +a matter of fact, people who have been long in the islands seldom +think of sleeping inside. The coast guard boats readily carry four +motor boats on their davits, and two more might be placed on deck +forward. The Negros is especially fitted out, and has stateroom +accommodations for twenty people. All of these vessels have electric +light, refrigerating plants and distilling plants. + +I know of nothing more delightful than to explore the shores and bays +of this wonderful archipelago in such a vessel, fishing and landing +when and where one pleases. With the certainty of fine weather during +the winter months the nights under the deck awnings are a delight, and +nothing will more promptly restore jangling nerves to a normal state, +straighten out impaired digestion and bring back vigorous health, +than will such a salt water fishing trip in the Philippines. + +Ducks and snipe are the stand-bys for the hunters who love the +shotgun. A few years ago magnificent duck shooting was to be had +on the Laguna de Bay, as well as in the province of Bataan just +across the bay from Manila. Unfortunately the ducks on the Laguna +were educated by some stupid fellows who shot at them with a Colt +automatic gun. The ideas which they then developed as to danger zones +seem to have persisted ever since, and it is now difficult to get +within range of the great flocks which still continue to frequent +this the largest fresh-water lake in the Philippines. + +Ducks have been shot in season and out of season around the water-holes +in Bataan and in the Candaba Swamp, as well as in the vicinity of +the fish pens in Bulacan. The shooting has fallen off rapidly here, +and in Nueva Ecija and Tarlac, for the same cause. We are powerless +to remedy this condition. Some years ago a law was passed authorizing +the secretary of the interior to provide regulations governing the +seasons during which game might be shot, but through oversight no +penalty was provided for the infraction of these regulations, and +the assembly has persistently refused to amend the law in this respect. + +On Naujan Lake in Mindoro, and elsewhere in the provinces, magnificent +duck shooting may still be had. The whistling tree-duck and the +Philippine mallard are the two species which afford the best sport, +although pin-tails, bluebills, widgeons, and blue- and green-wing teal +come in on migration as does a tiny goose, smaller than the ordinary +duck. Several other species stray into the southern Philippines from +the Celebes, while at least one Formosan species sometimes visits +the Batanes Islands. + +Jacksnipe come to the islands in enormous numbers from Asia, +usually arriving about the middle of August in northern and central +Luzón and gradually working their way south to Mindanao. The return +migration commonly comes during February. The flight of the Asiatic +jacksnipe is exactly like that of his American brother. In fact only +an ornithologist can distinguish between the two species. A bag of +one hundred birds to the gun is by no means unusual at the height of +the season, and a strong sentiment is developing among Americans in +favour of limiting the bag. + +There are very numerous species of pigeons and doves in the +Philippines. All of them are excellent table birds and several of +them offer good sport. If one can take up his position under a fruit +tree frequented by the great gray and green pigeons, known locally +as baluds, about the middle of the afternoon he will get a wonderful +series of shots at incoming birds flying fifty or more yards up in +the air. They approach very rapidly, so that one must lead them a +long distance, "pulling them out of sight" in order to bring them +down. One may burn many a cartridge before he learns the knack of +stopping these powerful, swift-flying birds. During certain seasons +the larger pigeons roost, in countless thousands, in trees on little +isolated cays remote from the larger islands, where wonderful shooting +may be had during the morning and evening flights. + +Junglefowl, the ancestors of all our domestic breeds of poultry, +are to be found throughout the islands but only in a few places do +they offer much opportunity for the sportsman who likes to kill his +birds on the wing. Prior to the last eruption they were very numerous +on the slopes of Taal Volcano. + +A party which happened to visit Cavilli, a small isolated coral island +in the Sulu Sea, once found it alive with junglefowl. No one else +has ever seen any there. Obviously a great flock flew in and then +flew away again. + +Particularly fine sport may be had on Fuga Island by walking along +the edge of the forest in the late afternoon. The birds which are +then feeding in the open fly straight for cover and present difficult +cross shots. + +The larger hornbills are very good to eat, but as easy to hit on +the wing as a fair-sized door sailing through the air would be, +so do not offer much sport. + +Wild hogs are abundant throughout the archipelago. Deer are found on +nearly all of the islands, but there are several noteworthy exceptions, +such as Palawan and Cebú. The Filipinos are very fond of hunting +deer. Sometimes they run them down with dogs and drive them into +nets where they lance them--a most unsportsman-like proceeding. The +wealthier Filipinos like to take up their stations at good strategic +posts, and then have the country beaten toward them. In this way they +sometimes get fifty or more deer in a single drive. I have never been +able to see anything very exciting about this method of hunting. + +It is very good sport, on occasion, to still-hunt deer. The best deer +shooting I have ever had was at what is called the Cogonal Grande in +the center of the island of Culion. It is a great circular valley +sloping very gradually toward the center. Its higher portions are +overgrown with cógon grass which gives the valley its name. Probably +it was once the bed of a lake. At all events its center is swampy at +the present time and has grown up into a hopeless jungle of pandanus, +bamboo grass, etc., through which runs a maze of deer paths. Numerous +little cañons lead down from the neighbouring hills to this valley +and each of them has forest in it. + +In the month of December, when the cógon is dry, if fired it burns +toward the centre on all sides until the blaze reaches the wet +swampy portion where the vegetation is not dry enough to burn. If +dogs are then put into the little stretches of forest which run down +the ravines toward the open valley, they almost invariably drive out +deer which run straight for the tangle at its centre, necessarily +crossing ground which has been burned bare. + +As a result one gets hard cross shots but has the advantage of seeing +every bullet strike, as the soil is very dry at this season. This +makes interesting shooting. One gets game enough to keep the camp in +meat and not enough so that he feels like a butcher. + +Many hunters go out at night with bull's-eye lanterns, shine the +deer and fire at their eyes. This is not so bad as jacking them +from a boat, because a man who hunts on foot necessarily makes a +good deal of noise, and they are apt to become alarmed and run away, +whereas one can approach in a boat so silently that they do not hear +the noise of the paddles or the rippling of the water. + +Hunting at night in this way in the Philippines is very +interesting. One sees all sorts of nocturnal animals which are never +met with by day, and also gets a good opportunity to pick up owls, +nighthawks and other birds which are not ordinarily taken except +by accident. However, the ordinary hunter is not an ornithologist, +and does not care for such opportunities. + +Wild hogs are hunted much as are deer. They drive readily. On account +of the habit of the old boars of turning and facing dogs when the +latter molest them, it is easy to bring them down. + +The common people kill wild hogs with spears after the dogs have +brought them to bay. This is by no means a safe undertaking, as some +of the old boars attain tremendous size, have very formidable tusks +and are capable of killing a man in short order if able to come to +close quarters with him. + +The wild hogs of the Philippines are very cleanly beasts. They take +daily baths whenever possible, and often build for themselves beds +of clean, fresh brush. They are extremely intelligent animals, and +it is therefore very difficult to still-hunt them. In view of their +huge bulk and ungainly proportions the absolute silence with which +they move through the forests cannot fail to impress one who sees +them stealing quietly along. After being disturbed they make plenty +of noise as they rush away. + +One of the best ways to still-hunt them is to secrete one's self near a +water hole which they frequent for bathing purposes, but their sense +of smell is very keen, and if the wind happens to blow in the wrong +direction they will not approach the place where a hunter is lying +in wait. + +Wild hogs are fruit eaters for the most part, and their flesh is +delicious. They are enormously abundant on the island of Tawi Tawi, +where the durian tree abounds. The Moro inhabitants will not touch +them, and as food is very plentiful during much of the year the island +swarms with them, and they attain the largest size. Moros say that +during the fruit season they become so covered with fat that if pursued +for any length of time they fall, overcome by the heat and the running! + +When I was in Tawi Tawi in 1901 with Dr. Bourns and a Filipino helper, +one of us took a rifle along each morning when we went out to collect +birds and in a few moments, after finishing his bird shooting for +the day, was able to kill hogs enough to keep not only our party but +the local Spanish garrison in meat, while the lard which our servants +tried out lasted us for more than a year thereafter. + +There are two animals in the Philippines which can with propriety +be dignified by the name of "big game." These are the wild carabao, +which is still to be found in various parts of the archipelago, and +the tamarau, a true buffalo of a species which occurs nowhere in the +world except on the island of Mindoro. + +The wild carabao is a formidable antagonist, hard to stop and a +vicious fighter after he is once wounded. Under ordinary circumstances +he is very wary and difficult to approach. It is highly important +in hunting him to use bullets with great stopping power. A number +of men have been killed in the Philippines by wild carabaos which +they had severely wounded. The most recent case which has come to +my knowledge was that of a Mr. Barbour, in Mindoro. He was an old +hand at the game, and had killed fifty-odd specimens. He shot a bull +three times and it dropped apparently dead. Walking close up to it he +dropped the butt of his rifle to the ground between his legs, and held +the barrel with his knees while trying to light a cigarette. Without +the slightest warning the injured bull sprang to its feet and drove +a horn completely through him, killing him instantly. + +There is an interesting and unsettled question as to whether the +wild carabaos of the Philippines are indigenous to the islands or +are merely the descendants of imported animals which have made their +escape from captivity. My own opinion is that both beliefs are true +or, in other words, that we have both a native wild race and other +carabaos just as wild and just as fierce which are the descendants of +tame individuals. The ordinary wild bulls have comparatively short and +thick horns, while the bulls of the species found in Nueva Ecija and +in northern Luzón generally have long, slender, very sharp, strongly +curved horns. I believe that the latter animals belong to the true +native race. + +Wild carabaos are found not only at various points in Luzón, +but abundantly in Mindoro and the Calamianes Islands. They appear +in considerable numbers in Masbate, Negros and elsewhere in the +archipelago. + +To the inexperienced hunters who are inclined to try to bring them +down my advice is "Don't!" + +Few indeed are the men who have killed so much as a single specimen of +the tamarau of Mindoro. It is a small jungle-inhabiting ruminant. Its +color, when adult, is precisely that of the carabao. It is, however, +a much smaller and more active animal. The bulls lose no opportunity +to attack carabaos, both domesticated and wild, and in spite of their +own inferior size kill them with apparent ease. + +The tamarau is extremely muscular and when it charges, which it is +prone to do on very slight provocation, bores a hole through the +jungle vegetation, coming on with the speed and recklessness of a +rhinoceros. Under such conditions it is excessively hard to stop, +and when it pushes its charge home, woe be to the unlucky hunter. With +rare exceptions it attacks when wounded if it so much as catches sight +of a human being. Even when unmolested it not infrequently charges, +without warning, when one gets unduly near. It feeds at night, and +never lolls around in the water as does the carabao. + +At the time I first came to the Philippines to collect natural history +specimens in 1887, this animal was known only from travellers' +tales and from what purported to be a stuffed individual in the +Dominican museum. It was certainly stuffed, being about as shapely as +a kerosene barrel. Its skin looked so exactly like that of a carabao +that uncharitable persons had suggested that it was an artifact. + +At this time the most absurd tales about the tamarau were in +circulation. I was solemnly assured by one group of persons, who +claimed to have seen it, that it had only one horn which grew out of +the top of its head. Others were certain that it had two horns and +but a single eye. + +We did not anticipate the good fortune of discovering either a unicorn +or a cyclops, but thought that there must be something behind all of +these remarkable stories. + +After undergoing many hardships and performing much hard work, our +party succeeded in taking five individuals, the first ever killed +and properly preserved. + +The best way to hunt these wary and dangerous animals is to pick +up a fresh trail early in the morning along some water course where +they come to drink during the night, and follow it as noiselessly as +possible. One is liable to jump the game at any moment. I shall never +forget my astonishment when, on climbing up a steep river bank and +diving into a tunnel through runo grass, I nearly fell over an old +bull. Ordinarily, however, no such luck awaits one. It is frequently +necessary to trail the quarry five or ten miles before one comes up +with it, and then the usual reward, after crawling through underbrush +and wriggling along on the ground, bitten by ants and mosquitoes, +torn by thorns and covered with pestiferous land leeches, is to hear +a terrific crash in the brush and never so much as catch a glimpse +of the animal which makes it. The tamarau sleeps during the day, +almost invariably lying down in the densest of jungle growth, facing +back upon its own trail. Furthermore, it is uncommonly likely to put +a bend in that trail before lying down, so that while one is still a +mile or two from it by the line which it followed, it may in reality +be not more than fifty or a hundred yards away. + +A very skilful tracker is necessary if one is to have much hope of +success, and one should not fire, even after the game is in sight, +unless he can get a brain shot or can be certain of breaking the +spinal column; otherwise, he endangers his own life by shooting, +if the tamarau is at moderately close quarters. + +I believe that no other ruminant is harder to kill outright. Certainly +there is no other approximating the tamarau in size which is so +tough. I refrain from chronicling my own experiences, as I am certain +that my statements would not be believed, and prefer to leave hunters +to find out for themselves how much shooting it takes to put one of +these extraordinary beasts out of commission. + +There is one place in Mindoro called Canturai, where tamarau may be +taken with comparative ease. It was described to me, in Spanish days, +as an extensive open area with a conical hill near its centre, and +I was told that by burning the grass and sleeping on the hill one +could readily get early morning shots at tamarau which came out to +lick up the ashes. + +But various other stories had also been told me, and one and all +had proved false. I had dug pitfalls for the wary beasts in vain. I +had perched in trees, devoured by mosquitoes, and with hard branches +cutting into my flesh, waiting for some pugnacious bull to come out +and fight a tame carabao fastened at a convenient distance from my +hiding place, all to no purpose. Under such conditions a tamarau once +came and bellowed around in the bushes, but did not show himself. I +had heard tales of men who rode tamarau down on horseback and lanced +them, and these yarns I knew to be false. So I never took the trouble +to look up the Canturai story, worse luck, for it proved to be true. + +American soldiers occupied Mindoro for years before one of them +succeeded in killing a tamarau. Finally a party of officers went to +Canturai and the first morning they shot seven! Various other persons +who have since gone there have had extraordinary luck, although several +have narrowly escaped being killed, owing to their folly in following +wounded animals into the cógon grass. + +A tamarau pursued under such circumstances will almost invariably +back off at right angles to its own trail, wait for its pursuers to +come up, and charge them, giving them no time to fire. + +Young calves are as wild as their parents, and I am credibly informed +will often endeavour to attack female carabaos if an attempt is made +to get them to regard these animals in the light of foster mothers. + +It is a curious fact that calves, and in fact young animals up to a +year or more of age, are of a light reddish colour closely resembling +that of some Jersey cattle. Their coats turn dark later on. Their +horns, too, are at first circular in cross-section. Later they become +triangular. + +When pursued, tamarau cows have a curious fashion of passing their +heads under their calves, raising them with the horns pressed down in +such a way as to hold them against their necks, with forelegs hanging +on one side and hindlegs on the other, and running with them. All +in all, they are very interesting beasts, and we still have much to +learn about them. The man who attempts to hunt them with anything +but a heavy and thoroughly reliable rifle is a fool. + +Crocodiles of the largest size frequent many of the streams and most +of the lakes in the Philippines. They are also to be seen occasionally +on sandbars rising out of the sea. Doubtless they will some day be +shot for their hides, but as yet they are left undisturbed, unless +they display special proclivities for eating human beings, valuable +horses or fat cattle. The Filipinos claim that with crocodiles the +liking for human flesh is an acquired taste, and that it is only +in comparatively rare instances that they become man-eaters, as do +tigers. I believe that this is true. Certainly, I have seen a clear +pool full of happy Tagbanua children with a big crocodile lying in +plain sight at the bottom of it. On the other hand, I have known of +individual crocodiles, of evil reputation, each of which have killed +numbers of human beings. In one little pool crossed by a trail which +I have had occasion frequently to use in Cagayan province ten persons +were pulled down and devoured in three years. Most men who use the +rifle sooner or later become interested in putting these vicious +reptiles out of the way whenever opportunity offers. + +Hunters and fishermen, in search of new and exciting experiences, +will not fail to meet with them in the Philippines, and the tourist +will find there much that is picturesque, strange or wonderful. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XXX + +PHILIPPINE LANDS + + +Especial interest attaches to the subject of Philippine lands for +three reasons: first, the very large majority of small landholders +in the islands have no titles; second, there are enormous areas of +unoccupied, unclaimed, uncultivated land which are doing no one +any good at present and ought to be brought under cultivation as +rapidly as possible; third, not only insular government officials, +but Mr. Root and Mr. Taft have been very unjustly attacked for the +land policy pursued in the Philippines. + +As regards ownership, some 31,879 square miles may be considered to be +private land to which owners have obtained titles or could have done +so had they known how to assert their rights. Only about 8937 square +miles of this total amount are estimated to be under cultivation at +the present time. + +Excepting only private lands and a few acres belonging to municipal +or provincial governments or to the insular government as the case +may be, the remaining land constitutes the public domain of the +Philippine Islands which is the property of the government of the +United States, but is administered by the insular government. It is +made up of forest land, mineral land, agricultural land, and foreshore +and land under water. + +Fifty-four thousand square miles are estimated to be forest land. The +rest is now provisionally classified as agricultural land for the +reason that the mineral land and foreshore have never been segregated. + +The condition in which private land titles were found at the time of +the American occupation was very distressing. It had been a difficult +matter to secure title under the Spanish régime and the very large +majority of the common people had accordingly put it off until a +mythical to-morrow which never came. Even those who had succeeded +in obtaining formal documents had in many instances lost them as a +result of the vicissitudes of war. + +The Public Land Act of the Philippine Commission, passed under the +provisions of the Act of Congress of July 1, 1902, became effective +on July 26, 1904. It contained liberal provisions relative to Spanish +grants and unperfected titles. + +Any citizen of the Philippine Islands or of the United States or of +any insular possession thereof over the age of twenty-one years or +the head of a family can obtain a forty-acre homestead by five years +of cultivation, two years of occupancy and the payment of $10. + +The Public Land Act also provided for the issuance of a free patent +to a tract not exceeding forty acres in extent to any native of the +Philippine Islands then an occupant and cultivator of unreserved, +unappropriated, agricultural public land who had continuously occupied +and cultivated such land either by himself or through his ancestors +since August 1, 1898; or who prior to August 1, 1898, continuously +occupied and cultivated such land for three years immediately prior +to such date, and who had been continuously since July 4, 1902, until +the date of the taking effect of the Public Land Act, an occupier +and cultivator of such land. + +Most liberal provision was thus made for the small landowner, or +would-be landowner, but neither Congress nor the commission reckoned +with the ignorance of the common people nor with the opposition to +the acquisition of land by poor Filipinos which developed on the part +of their richer and more intelligent fellow-countrymen. This latter +difficulty has proved to be a quite serious one. The cacique does not +wish his labourers to acquire land in their own right, for he knows +well enough that if they did so they would become self-supporting, +and it would cease to be possible for him to hold them as peons, as is +commonly done at present. Serious obstacles are therefore frequently +thrown in the way of poor people who desire to become owners of +land, and if this does not suffice, active opposition is often made +by municipal officers or other influential Filipinos, who claim as +their own private property land which poor men are trying to get. [158] + +The Bureau of Lands now interests itself actively and directly in +protecting the public lands against such spurious claims, and thus +keeps large areas open to claim by the common people. + +Absolute ignorance of the law was the commonest of all causes +of the failure of the poor to take advantage of its very liberal +provisions. Every known resource was exhausted in endeavouring to +enlighten them. Pamphlets informing them of their rights were published +in all important native dialects, and widely circulated. The schools +coöperated in this good work. Provincial and municipal officials +were instructed to inform the people of their rights, but in very +many cases these instructions were disregarded. + +Because of the complete illiteracy of practically all of the members +of the non-Christian tribes in Benguet and Lepanto, I caused a survey +party to be sent out from the Bureau of Lands to inform them of their +rights and to assist them in making the necessary applications. It +was from this territory that proportionately the largest number of +applications were sent in. + +The period within which applications might be made was extended from +January 1, 1907 to January 1, 1909, yet it is undoubtedly true that +when it finally expired the vast majority of those who might have +profited by the free patent privilege had failed to take advantage +of it because of ignorance that it existed. + +With the rapid spread of the English language such a condition would +not now arise. At its last session the Philippine Legislature passed an +act to renew for a period of ten years the right to secure free patent, +but this act, like the one which it amends, is subject to the approval +of the President and of Congress. It is to be hoped that such approval +will be given. In my opinion every reason which made it advisable to +grant free patents in the first instance is still of full force. + +The total number of homestead applications received since the +Public Land Act took effect is only 19,313, and of these it has +been necessary to reject 4811 because the provisions of law were not +complied with. Forty-eight patents have been issued, and there are +8225 approved applications, while 6219 not yet approved by the bureau +are pending. + +The figures for free patents are as follows: Number of applications, +15,885; free patents issued, 722; cases still pending, 11,871; +rejected for cause, 3292. + +One reason why so many of the free patent cases are still pending +is that there never has been, and is not now, a sufficient force of +surveyors to keep the work of the Bureau of Lands up to date, all +efforts to secure the necessary additions to this force having failed. + +Under the Land Registration Act provision was made for the issuing +of so-called Torrens titles for which the government is virtually +responsible, once they are given out, so all that is now necessary +to make it possible rapidly and effectively to remedy the existing +situation is the appointment of a sufficient number of judges in the +Court of Land Registration. + +Government lands of provinces or municipalities are chiefly those +needed and utilized as sites for public buildings, plazas and the +like. The insular government owns a similar class of lands, and has +certain lands in trust, such as the San Lazaro Estate, which was +set aside long ago as a source of income for the support of lepers, +but the so-called friar lands, which have a history of their own, +are its most important holdings. + +Under the Spanish régime several of the religious orders acquired +large wealth in the form of estates, most of which were brought under +high cultivation, although several of the largest, like the San José +Estate in Mindoro, and the Isabela Estate in the province of the same +name, were nearly or quite uncultivated, and a number of the others +contained large uncultivated areas. + +Field labour was performed exclusively by tenants who were settled +on the estates in large numbers and in a number of instances had +built up large and well-organized towns. For various reasons bitter +hostility arose between them and their landlords. In some parts +of the islands the friars were detested by the populace on general +principles. Furthermore, the Filipino becomes greatly attached to his +home, especially if his fathers have lived there before him. Tenants +on the friar estates could be, and not infrequently were, arbitrarily +dispossessed, and the possibility that this might occur was a thorn +in their flesh. + +During the insurrection the confiscation of the friar estates was +very seriously considered by the so-called Insurgent government, +which nominally took over their administration. As a matter of fact, +there was then no real administration of them, and the occupied lands +passed under the control of the tenants, who remained in undisturbed +possession for years and came to consider themselves the virtual +owners of their holdings. We have already seen how hostility to the +friars reached its climax at this time. Some were killed outright, +and others imprisoned under such conditions as to make death probable, +but the majority of those captured were in effect held for a long +time for ransom, their liberty being offered on condition of a large +cash payment. + +Upon the inauguration of civil government and the reëstablishment +of law and order the friars naturally endeavoured to reassert their +rights. With few exceptions their former tenants absolutely refused +to pay rent. The friars threatened action in the courts, and would +have been abundantly justified in bringing it, but such a course +would unquestionably have led to serious disturbances of public order. + +Agitators and demagogues had succeeded in firmly convincing many +of the tenants that they were the actual owners of their lands, and +those of them who knew better were bright enough to take advantage +of the peculiar situation. + +Hostility between Filipinos and friars had become so general that the +return of the latter to their parishes, accustomed as they had been to +the exercise of a large measure of control over their parishioners, +and with the memory of grave abuses recently suffered fresh in their +minds, was deemed to be undesirable, but their permanent withdrawal +from the provinces was hardly feasible so long as they continued to +hold very large estates there. It was believed to be in the public +interest to encourage the several tenants to buy their individual +holdings so that they might become responsible landowners rather than +remain discontented and ready at any time to become ladrones. It was +believed that without great difficulty they could be persuaded to +attorn to the government, and that if the estates could be purchased +at a reasonable price individual holdings could eventually be sold +to their occupants. Because of the beneficial influence of such a +course on public order and the probable resulting improvement in +social conditions, the purchase of these estates was believed to be +in the public interest. + +Had there been sufficient funds in the treasury the insular government +would have been within its right in making this purchase, but as +the total sum involved was large, and a bond issue was required to +raise it, it became necessary to get the consent of Congress. This +was given in sections 63, 64 and 65 of the Act of July 1, 1902. Under +the authority thus conferred the commission passed the so-called Friar +Lands Act, which provided among other things for the temporary leasing +and ultimate sale of their holdings to tenants as well as for the +determination of values and the fixing of rentals and purchase prices. + +Naturally the first thing to be done was to get tenants to acknowledge +the ownership of the government. Until this could be brought about +little could be accomplished toward assisting them to buy their +holdings. With all possible promptness temporary leases were issued +to them. No effort was made carefully to ascertain the real extent +or value of their holdings, and unless their statements were upon +their face obviously very gravely in error they were accepted as a +basis for the first leases issued. The amount of opposition which +was encountered was, under the circumstances, surprisingly small, +and the progress of the work was unexpectedly rapid. + +Planimeter surveys were made as rapidly as possible, and it was +soon found, as had been anticipated, that tenants in general had +understated both the size and value of their holdings. While the +rate of rentals as compared with values remained unchanged, there +was a resulting general increase in their amounts, and this caused +murmuring, but no really serious trouble resulted. There followed as +rapidly as possible the completion of accurate surveys and the fixing +of final values which necessitated further changes in rentals. The +volume of work was simply enormous. Many of the estates were divided +into an incredible number of small holdings with boundaries of the +utmost irregularity. An effort was made to get the consent of the +tenants to a readjustment of boundaries on a rectangular system, +leaving the size of their holdings unchanged but straightening them +out. It had to be abandoned. A tenant would be unwilling to part with +a given clump of bamboo or a magnificent mango tree planted by his +great-great-grandfather. The fact that these valuable possessions +occupied salient angles in his boundary naturally did not worry him +at all. + +The definite right to purchase their holdings was from the outset +conferred upon lessees so that from the time the first leases were +issued the only possible reasons for the failure of a tenant to +purchase his holdings would be unwillingness to do so or lack of funds. + +In passing the Friar Lands Act, which they did during my absence +on leave, the commission, none of whose members were posted on land +matters, rather thoughtlessly made applicable to the sale of vacant +lands the conditions and limitations of the Public Land Act. + +We had been compelled to purchase some vacant estates and to forego the +purchase of several which were thickly occupied, for the reason that +the friars insisted on selling the one and absolutely refused to sell +the other. We had to take the best bargain we could get. The vacant +lands on certain of the estates could not be sold in small tracts. + +The Friar Lands Act was accordingly amended by the Philippine +Legislature, of which the Philippine Assembly was then the Lower +House, and all restrictions on the areas of those lands which might +be sold were removed, so as to make it possible to get rid of the +vacant friar lands. + +Interest was piling up on the purchase price of the latter, and +obviously it was best for the government, which had to administer +them, and for the people, who had to pay the bill, that they should +be disposed of as soon as possible. + +Ultimately an opportunity presented itself to sell the San José Estate +of some fifty-eight thousand acres in its entirety to an individual, +and it was thus sold after consultation with the attorney-general of +the Philippines and the attorney-general of the United States as to +the rights of the government in the premises, and with the approval +of the secretary of war and of President Taft first had. The buyer +acted as an agent for Messrs. Welch, Havemeyer and Senf, who were all +heavily interested in sugar growing and desired to establish a modern +sugar estate in the Philippines. This fact, when it became known, +was the beginning of trouble. + +Two very distinct classes of men were interested in imposing the +existing legislative restrictions relative to the sale of Philippine +lands. The first were influenced by the most honourable of altruistic +motives. They feared the monopolization of agricultural lands and the +evils of absentee ownership. The other class were the representatives +of certain important sugar interests in the United States who wished to +keep out Philippine sugar at all hazards and had shrewdly figured out +that the simplest way to do this would be to prevent its production +on a commercial scale. They therefore sought to restrict the sale +of public land so as to make it impossible for an individual or an +association to buy enough to establish a modern sugar estate. This +they succeeded in doing. They even went further, and by limiting the +land which a corporation might own and control made it impossible +for a corporation to purchase enough land of any sort for such an +estate. But that is another story with which we are not here concerned. + +They built a fence around Philippine lands which they deemed to be +"pig-tight, horse-high, and bull-strong," but we unwittingly cut a +small hole through it. The limitations on the sales of land did not +apply to land belonging to the insular government which had first +imposed certain restrictions on the size of the areas of vacant friar +land which might be sold and had then removed them, having the same +right to do the one thing that it exercised in doing the other. + +The San José Estate was sold to an individual. By him it was sold +in part to other individuals who had the undoubted right to acquire +as much land as they could get, and in part to a corporation not +authorized to engage in agriculture which acquired only such land as +it needed to conduct its legitimate business and was therefore within +its legal right. The transaction was a perfectly legitimate one from +every view point. It spread consternation among the beet-sugar men, +and Congressman Martin of Colorado, a state which has extensive +beet-sugar interests, made upon the floor of the House a scurrilous +attack upon President Taft, Secretary Root and the insular government +officials concerned in which he accused them of violating the law and +of having formed a gigantic conspiracy with great corporate interests, +more especially with certain sugar interests, not only to deprive +the friar land tenants of their holdings but to prevent Filipinos in +general from acquiring land and to turn the Philippines over to the +trusts. Mr. Martin and his fellows insisted that section sixty-five +of the Act of July 1, 1902, in itself imposed the restrictions of +the Public Land Act on the sale of friar lands; that the commission +in imposing these limitations in the first instance had merely voiced +the will of Congress and that its act in subsequently withdrawing them +was illegal and iniquitous. They apparently lost sight of the fact +that if so, the iniquity was shared by the Philippine Assembly. Later +they endeavoured to explain the action of the assembly by saying that +it did not know what it was doing, and certain members of that body +made a similar claim, for political effect. As a matter of fact, I +myself explained to the members of the assembly friar lands committee +the purpose of the bill with which they were then in full accord. + +I requested an investigation. One was authorized by the House. It was +made by the Committee on Insular Affairs. Its cost to the United States +was very large. The secretary of the interior, the executive secretary, +the attorney-general, the director of lands and other witnesses, were +called to Washington from the Philippines and taken away from their +work at a rather critical time. The result was a complete vindication +of the several persons who had been attacked. Congressman Martin +failed to make good his charges in any particular, and incidentally +members of the committee and such other persons as cared to follow +the proceedings were given a valuable demonstration of the manner in +which the insular government transacts its business. + +There was, however, one unfortunate indirect effect. In view of +the difference of opinion among congressmen as to whether Congress +had or had not intended to make the limitations to the Public Land +Act relative to areas which could be sold applicable to friar lands +the secretary of war issued an executive order providing that their +sale should be subject to such limitations, pending an expression by +Congress of its will in the matter. Congress has never acted. + +There are large tracts of vacant friar lands which cannot be sold for +years to come, if subject to existing restrictions, either because +they are situated in very sparsely inhabited regions where there +is no demand for them on the part of would-be small landowners, +or because the price as fixed by law is materially in excess of +that of equally good, adjacent, unoccupied public lands which can +be had subject to identical conditions as to areas purchasable. As +the Philippines are "land poor," the inadvisability of such a policy +would seem to be sufficiently evident. The argument against large +estates is without force, both because the amount of land concerned +is relatively insignificant, and because there are already in the +islands so many large estates, owned in many instances by Filipinos, +that the addition of a few new ones more or less would not perceptibly +change the existing situation. + +The question might well be raised as to the authority of the secretary +of war to suspend by an executive order the operation of a law duly +enacted by the Philippine legislature pursuant to powers conferred by +Congress, especially as Congress has power, and has had opportunity, +to disapprove it. I think it possible that the director of lands could +be compelled by mandamus to sell vacant friar lands in any quantity +to an individual applicant. + +The facts as regards forest lands are set forth in sufficient detail +in the chapter on the Philippine forests. + +The existing legislation relative to mineral lands is defective, +or objectionable, in several minor particulars, but on the whole is +reasonably satisfactory except for the provision that a person may +locate but one claim on a given vein or lode. Such a provision would +have very greatly hampered the development of the mining industry in +the United States and it greatly hampers it in the Philippines. + +Recommendations that Congress amend the law relative to mining +claims have been persistently made by the commission and have been +persistently ignored, probably for the reason that Congress is too +busy with other matters to give much attention to such requests from +the Philippines. + +We now come to the subject of public agricultural lands. I have +already called attention to the fact that little advantage has been +taken of the liberal provision of the Public Land Act relative +to free patents and homesteads. There has been some agitation in +favour of a homestead of one hundred sixty acres instead of the +forty acres now allowed. Personally I do not attach great importance +to this matter. Five acres is as much as the average Filipino will +cultivate [159] and if he has forty there is abundant room for him so +to distribute his cultivated area as to let much of his land "rest," +which he is very fond of doing. To increase the size of the homestead +would help a very limited number of Americans, but a better way of +accomplishing this would be to allow them to buy what they require, +within reasonable limits. + +No one who has not travelled widely in the Philippines can be +adequately impressed with the insignificance of the areas now under +cultivation as compared with those which would richly repay it. The +country is failing to produce food enough for eight millions of people, +yet if advantage were taken of the opportunities which nature so +bountifully affords it could readily feed eighty millions. + +Under such conditions the present restrictions on the sale of public +lands, which make it impossible for an individual to buy more than +forty acres, or for a corporation or association of individuals to +buy more than twenty-five hundred acres, are simply absurd. What we +want is not the indefinite preservation of our present vast trackless +wastes of the richest public agricultural land, but productive farms. + +Every opportunity should be extended to each native of these islands +who desires to obtain land and cultivate it with his own hands. + +The same statement holds for persons who wish to secure land and to +employ others as labourers. Large estates on which modern machinery +and modern agricultural methods are employed are greatly needed. The +methods employed by Filipino owners of such estates are primitive. The +natives believe what they see, and learn far better by example than in +any other way. Absolutely no harm has resulted from the establishment +of large sugar plantations on the San José Estate in Mindoro and the +Calamba Estate in Luzón. On the contrary, both of these great farms +have supplied abundant labour at increased wages to a very large number +of needy people; have taught labourers much about sanitary living, +and have given them very valuable object lessons in agriculture. Both +are frequently visited by intelligent agriculturists glad of the +opportunity to acquire the practical knowledge which can there be so +easily obtained by observation. + +It may be a revolutionary statement to make, but if I personally +controlled the public lands of the Philippine Islands, I would +without hesitation give them to persons who would cultivate them, +making the amounts conceded dependent strictly upon the ability of +their would-be owners to cultivate, and restoring to the public domain +any lands not promptly and properly utilized. + +The money which the government now derives from the sale of public +lands is a bagatelle compared with the benefit which would result to +the country if cultivated areas were widely extended, and there is +abundant labour here to extend them very rapidly. All that is needed +is the introduction of modern machinery, modern agricultural methods +and capital. + +The existing provisions of the Public Land Act relative to leases are +very liberal, but the average man wants to own land before he spends +much money on it. + +There are several serious omissions in the provisions of the act of +Congress relative to the sale of public lands. No authority exists +for their sale for residence purposes, business purposes, or cemetery +purposes, except within town sites. The need of land for cemetery +purposes became so acute that I deemed it wise to stretch the law a bit +in meeting it. Many of the old cemeteries were situated in the midst +of dense centres of population, or immediately adjacent to sources +of public water supply. Their areas were usually grossly inadequate +properly to accommodate the very large number of bodies requiring to +be buried. Shockingly unsanitary conditions resulted, and it became +necessary for the Bureau of Health to close many of them. Because of +the trouble between the Aglipayan and Catholic churches, it was often +impossible for representatives of the Catholic church to purchase +private lands for cemetery purposes. Their old cemeteries were +closed; yet they could not open new ones, although able and willing +to pay liberally for the necessary land. Under these circumstances I +ruled that public land could be sold to them, and that occupation by +caretakers, and such cultivation as is ordinarily given in beautifying +cemeteries, would be held to constitute occupation and cultivation +within the meaning of the law, so that title could eventually pass. + +In closing let me emphasize the fact that the only method of informing +the common people of the Philippines relative to their rights in the +matter of acquiring public lands thus far found practicable has been +to send special land inspectors from house to house, to convey the +information by word of mouth. A considerable number of such inspectors +are now employed, and more are badly needed. + +The total area of all public lands sold to Americans or foreigners +since the American occupation is seventeen thousand acres; that of +all public lands leased by such persons, seventeen thousand three +hundred ninety acres. This is the answer to those who claim that +there has been exploitation of the public domain. + +The needs of the Philippine Islands in the matter of land legislation +may be briefly summarized as follows:-- + +More judges in the Court of Land Registration so that the cadastral +survey work may be expedited, and the poor man may be able to obtain +title to his holdings promptly and at small expense. + +The employment of more surveyors on public land work. + +A renewal of the privilege of obtaining free patents on the old +conditions during a period of at least ten years. + +The employment of more public land inspectors to inform the poor and +ignorant of their rights, and to assist them in obtaining them. + +More liberal legislation relative to the size of the tracts of public +land which may be purchased, and the number of mining claims on a +given vein or lode which an individual may record. + +Authorization for the sale of public agricultural lands outside of town +sites for residence purposes, business purposes, and for cemeteries. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XXXI + +THE PHILIPPINE FORESTS + + +Would that I had adequate words in which to describe the wonders of +the Philippine forests, through which I wandered almost daily for four +years, and which I love to revisit whenever the opportunity presents +itself! Their majestic stateliness and magic beauty defy description. I +have seen them swept by hurricanes when huge branches crashed down +and mighty trees thundered to earth, imperilling life and limb, and +I have seen them in the still noons of the tropics when not a leaf +stirred. At times they are vocal with songs of birds and ceaseless +din of insects, and again they are as silent as the grave. Who could +do justice to the endless variety and beauty of tree-trunk, leaf +and flower; the exquisite drapery of vines, ferns and orchids which +covers the older forest monarchs; the weird masses of aërial roots +which lead superstitious natives to believe some trees to be haunted, +and small wonder; the ever changing light and shade bringing out new +beauties where one least expects to find them; the endless differences +in the flora due to variations in altitude and in the distribution +of moisture? + +In Mindoro, Palawan and Mindanao we find tropical vegetation in its +absolute perfection; in the highlands of northern Luzón we meet our +old friends, the pine and oak, while beside them grow strawberries, +raspberries, huckleberries, jacks-in-the-pulpit and other friends of +our childhood days. + +Surely the Philippine forests should be preserved, but not for their +beauty alone! In them the people have a permanent source of wealth, +if they can only be made to realize it and to take proper measures +to protect it. Certainly no other country has a greater variety of +beautiful and serviceable woods. Some of them are so close-grained +and hard that they successfully resist the attacks of white ants, +and prove almost indestructible even when buried in the earth. Others +will not stand exposure to the weather, but last indefinitely under +cover and are excellent for inside framing and finishing. We have the +best of cabinet woods, such as ebony, camagon, narra, [160] acle, and +tindalo. From some of our trees come valuable gums, such as almaciga +[161] and gutta percha. Others produce alcohol, tan barks, dyewoods, +valuable vegetable oils or drugs. The so-called "Singapore cane," +so highly prized by makers of wicker furniture, grows abundantly +in Palawan. Great areas are covered with a bamboo which makes an +excellent paper pulp. + +In short, the Philippine forests should be like money in the bank for +the inhabitants of the islands. There are in this world wise people who +under ordinary circumstances spend only the interest on their money; +and there are others who spend the principal while it lasts. To which +class do the Filipinos belong? + +It has been said that the civilization of a people may be measured by +its forest practice, and in a sense this is true, for forestry as we +know it to-day, and as the leading nations of Europe have known it +for a long period, means the limiting of immediate gain in the hope +of future reward, direct and indirect; in fact, it means present-day +sacrifice for the sake of an unborn posterity. A wise national forest +policy therefore involves not only foresight, but statesmanship +and patriotism, which in their most advanced degree are to be found +only among the people of the most enlightened nations. The manner in +which a people regards its forest resources may be taken as fairly +indicative of its outlook in general. What then has been the policy +of the Philippine government and what the attitude of the people, +toward these resources? + +There is little room for doubt that practically the entire land +area of the Philippines from the plains at sea-level to the highest +mountain-tops was originally covered with forest growth. At the time +of the American occupation two-thirds of this wonderful heritage +had ceased to exist. This would be all very well if any considerable +portion of the vast deforested areas were cultivated, or put to any +permanent profitable use, but such is not the case. According to the +best estimates which it has thus far been possible to make, only about +fifteen per cent of the land from which the original forests have +been stripped is to-day under any form of cultivation. The remainder +is covered with commercially worthless second-growth forest, and with +several giant grasses which are collectively known as cógon. + +The cogonáles [162] make up approximately sixty per cent of the +deforested area, or forty per cent of the land area of the entire +archipelago. They are not good for grazing unless fed down very +closely. They are difficult to bring under cultivation because of the +vitality of the grass roots and the acidity which they impart to the +soil. Cogonáles are often the breeding places of swarms of locusts +which devour growing crops in neighbouring fields. They have been +produced by the shiftless form of agriculture known as caiñgin making. + +A large majority of the inhabitants of the Philippines will not fight, +for any length of time, the tropical weeds and grasses which invade +their cultivated fields, and rather than attempt to do so prefer +to clear forest lands, slaughtering the trees indiscriminately +and burning them where they fall. An area so cleared is known as +a caiñgin. It is usually planted with camotes, corn, rice or some +similar quick-growing crop. Cultivation is carried on in a haphazard +way, but is soon abandoned when a jungle growth of grass, weeds and +seedling trees begins to spring up. At the end of the first, the +second or, at latest the third year the caiñgin maker abandons his +clearing and starts a new one. Fires sweep over the abandoned areas, +killing everything except the cógon grass which takes possession and +holds it against all comers. The forest destruction thus wrought in +the past is appalling. Within limits, it still continues, although +unlicensed caiñgin making is now forbidden by law. + +In cutting timber for domestic use and for the market, the Filipinos +have in the past been absolutely indifferent to the matter of +reproduction, making a clean sweep in those places where merchantable +tree species could be readily and cheaply obtained. + +Six weeks after the Philippine Commission became the legislative +body of the islands, it passed an act for the reorganization of the +Forestry Bureau, which had previously been created by military order, +continuing as its chief Major George P. Ahern, who had held this +position under the military régime, and who is to-day in length of +service the ranking bureau chief of the insular government. + +Major Ahern was thus intrusted with the management of some fifty-four +thousand square miles of forest land, and was charged with the +duty of investigating the forest resources of the Philippines, +and of developing and protecting them. These two latter objects are +by no means incompatible. Vastly more timber falls and rots in the +Philippines than is cut and marketed, and the forest wealth of the +islands may be developed in such a way as actually to improve the areas +that are cut over by removing old trees, and thus giving light and +air to younger ones which then rapidly grow up and take their places. + +The stand of hardwood timber in the Philippines is now probably +the finest in the world. The United States and Europe are ready +to purchase every foot of the selected grades of lumber that we +can ship. China offers a practically inexhaustible market for the +cheaper grades. Stumpage charges are moderate. Yet in spite of all +these advantages the islands do not, as yet, produce lumber enough +to supply their own needs. + +This condition is rapidly changing, however, and if adequate measures +are not adopted for the conservation of the forests, we shall sooner +or later be confronted with the danger of their devastation by the +lumberman. + +Under the direction of the Bureau of Forestry the trees which are +to be felled are in many instances marked, and in any event care +is taken to prevent the cutting of any which have not attained to +certain prescribed diameters, while the leaving of enough adequately +to provide for reproduction is obligatory. + +Up to the time of the American occupation forest operations had been +limited to a very small number of well-known species of demonstrated +commercial value. The total number of tree species which had then +been identified was about twelve hundred. The number identified up +to the present time is approximately twenty-five hundred. A large +amount of important work has been done in determining what ones of +the commercially unknown species are valuable, and in what ways they +may best be utilized. + +One of the most important functions of the Bureau of Forestry has +been to investigate unexplored and unknown forests, and ascertain +definitely the stand of commercially valuable trees, at the same time +giving proper consideration to the practicability of getting lumber +from them to the market at reasonable expense. As a result of this +work the bureau has been able to furnish much accurate and valuable +information to persons desiring to engage in the lumber industry. + +Some forests have been found to be very valuable, while others are +practically worthless either on account of the absence of the better +tree species or because of difficulties which render it impossible +or unprofitable to transport lumber from them to a market. + +At the time of the American occupation the methods employed in +felling trees and converting them into lumber were primitive in +the extreme. The small Malay axe, the edge of which is hardly wider +than that of a good-sized chisel, was in common use. Once felled, +trees were necessarily cut into short lengths, as all logs had to be +hauled by carabaos. The logs were ultimately cut into lumber by hand +with whip-saws operated, as a rule, by two men each. There was not a +modern sawmill in the Philippine Islands. The few mills which existed +were of the most antiquated type, and with one or two negligible +exceptions were confined to Manila. + +To-day there are about sixty steam sawmills in operation and orders +have been placed for others, some of which will have a capacity of one +hundred thousand board feet of lumber per day. The actual investment +in logging equipment and sawmills runs into the millions of dollars. + +Logging was formerly closely restricted to the most valuable species, +so situated that they could be rolled into the water or hauled to +the beach by carabaos. Large tracts are now being logged with modern +machinery under conservative forest methods, and the logging railway +and the skidding engine are rapidly coming into use. + +Three forest reserves, similar in purpose to the national forests +of the United States, have been set aside to insure a permanent +timber supply in certain regions and to afford permanent protection +to streams capable of furnishing irrigation water upon which may +depend the prosperity of the inhabitants of neighbouring plains. One +hundred and forty-nine communal forests have been created for as many +municipalities, in order permanently to provide them with timber and +firewood. The interests of the Filipinos themselves have been given +first consideration, and the inhabitants of towns for which communal +forests have not been set aside may freely cut and gather from any +public forest, without license and without payment, all timber of +the second and lower groups which they require for domestic use, +while gratuitous licenses can be had for first-group timber to be +employed in the construction of permanent houses. + +Within recent years the revenue derived from forest products has +steadily increased, in spite of the fact that the government charges +have been materially reduced. + +The public forests of the Philippines are not sold, but are developed +under a license system. Small operators usually work under ordinary +yearly licenses for definite small areas. Exclusive licenses, or +concessions as they are popularly called, are generally in the form +of twenty-year exclusive licenses to cut and remove timber and other +forest products from certain specified tracts. The land itself is in +no way affected by such licenses. Merely the timber and minor forest +products are included. When a lumberman is seriously considering +an investment in the Philippines, he himself, or an experienced +representative, should state to the director of forestry approximately +the extent of the investment he contemplates. He will then be given +information about several tracts which promise to answer his needs, +and arrangements can be made for an experienced forester to accompany +him over the tracts in question so that he may size up conditions for +himself. All maps, estimates and other detailed information which +may have been collected on the tracts will, of course, be placed +at his disposal, and he can count upon the heartiest governmental +coöperation and assistance in making a success of his enterprise. It +should be understood, however, that in no case does the director of +forestry guarantee the correctness of the estimates or other data +which he furnishes. These are given to the applicant for what they +are worth, and in every case he is advised to take such steps as +may be necessary to satisfy himself as to whether or not they are +correct. If the lumberman then decides to apply for a concession, he +makes a formal application in writing to the director of forestry for +an exclusive twenty-year privilege for the tract he has selected. His +application is then forwarded by the director of forestry with +recommendations to the secretary of the interior, who may approve the +issuance of an exclusive license if he decides that such a course is +in the public interest. For an area of more than a thousand hectares +(approximately twenty-five hundred acres) proposals for bids to secure +the desired privilege are published in the Official Gazette and other +papers. At least six weeks intervene between the appearance of the +first advertisement and the opening of the bids, but in order to +give interested parties in the Philippines ample time to correspond +with their principals in Europe or America, this period is usually +extended to about four months. The advertisement also enumerates +certain minimum requirements which principally specify the minimum +amount of capital which must be invested within a certain given time +and the minimum cut during the several succeeding years, together +with certain requirements regarding logging and milling equipment. + +Formal bids are finally submitted, and the license is ordinarily +granted to the bidder who gives the best assurances of developing +the tract most thoroughly and promptly. The right to reject any and +all bids is expressly reserved. + +In fixing the annual production there is taken into consideration, +so far as possible, the amount of over-mature timber on the stand and +the amount of the annual increment, with the object of rendering the +investment a permanent one instead of merely permitting the operator +to strip and abandon the area he holds. In preparing regulations under +which the operator is required to work, first care is given to the +future condition of the area, in order that the land after logging +may be potentially as valuable as before, and no consideration +of immediate profit is allowed to interfere. Nevertheless, the +logger in the Philippines will find that in comparison with similar +conditions elsewhere he will have few restrictions to contend with, +and in practically no cases are these such as seriously to increase +the cost of his operations. It is to permit such permanent use of +the land that concessions are granted over such large areas, often +consisting of a hundred square miles or even more. + +As local residents are given the right to cut what lumber and firewood +they may need for their private use in the territory covered by +exclusive licenses, this system is not open to objection, especially +as there are more than sufficient forest areas to accommodate all +applicants desiring exclusive licenses. The director of forestry +has the right to reduce cutting areas if outputs do not come up +to requirements, so that a dog-in-the-manger policy is rendered +impossible. + +The local market takes about one hundred million feet per year. Only +a few million feet are exported annually at present. A properly +distributed cut of five hundred million feet per year would actually +improve the forests. + +It would seem that the policy which we have followed would meet with +the almost unanimous approval of the Filipinos, but as a matter of +fact it has been far from popular with them. The forest reserves have +been set aside against the protest of the very people who will profit +by the conservation of their resources, and would be the first to +suffer from their destruction. The native press, and the Filipinos +generally, have opposed the opening up of timber tracts by modern +logging methods, despite the fact that such tracts are usually +inaccessible to persons operating with old-fashioned equipment, +and the further fact that the establishment of important lumbering +enterprises means additional employment for well-paid skilled and +unskilled labor, increase in the money in circulation, decrease in +lumber imports and the ultimate development of a lucrative export +trade. Fear of American capital can hardly be cited as an explanation +of this phenomenon. Of three concessions granted last year only one, +which was subsequently abandoned, went to American capitalists. + +Thus far the Filipinos have made no attempt to share in the development +of their forests on any save a very small scale. Of the total amount +of lumber sawed in the islands only about ten per cent is produced +in mills owned or controlled by them. It is useless to argue that +the timber should be saved for future generations, for if not cut at +maturity trees fall and rot. + +So far as concerns conservation, the attitude of the Filipinos is +even less satisfactory. There is abundant evidence on which to base +a prediction as to the policy which they would follow in practice, +if the compelling hand of an enlightened nation were withdrawn. + +There is a singular indifference to the results of wanton forest +destruction, not only on the part of the persons guilty of it but on +that of the municipal, provincial and judicial officials who should +prevent it by enforcing the law. Even when the employees of the +Bureau of Forestry have laboriously gathered conclusive evidence +against caiñgin makers it often proves excessively difficult, or +impossible, to secure conviction. The existing opposition to forest +protection springs from a desire on the part of the Filipinos to +consume their capital as well as their interest, without thought of +the morrow, or of the permanent advantage to their country as a whole +which would result from conservation of its forest wealth. If they +were left to their own devices the forests would once more blaze +with caiñgin fires set by the poor peasant at the command of the +influential cacique. Unfortunately that is now only too often the way +in which caiñgins come to be made. The rich landowners compel ignorant +dependents to make them, furnishing seed for the first agricultural +crop. Under this arrangement the poor labourer runs all the risk of +being prosecuted, does all the work, and often gives half or more of +his crop to the cacique as a return for the seed loaned him. After +the caiñgin is abandoned the cacique claims the land as his own, +and through his influence in provincial politics can often succeed in +delaying, or avoiding, prosecution even if detected in his wrong-doing. + +What the result would be were all restraint withdrawn, and were +the Filipinos permitted to destroy their forest resources at will, +may easily be inferred from what has happened in the past, as well as +from the difficulties encountered in enforcing the present law. Cebú, +the most thickly populated large island in the archipelago, is already +practically deforested, and until recently many other islands have +been rapidly approaching the same unfortunate condition. + +Under conservative forest management the existing annual output of +lumber might be increased fivefold and the unfortunate results from +reckless cutting, which have so frequently occurred in the past and +which not infrequently still occur, might be completely avoided. + +If these very desirable ends are to be attained, the force employed +by the Bureau of Forestry must be materially augmented. It has +been conclusively demonstrated that every increase in the number of +its employees is promptly followed by a sufficient increase in the +insular revenues derived from forest products to more than offset the +expense involved in the payment of the additional salaries and travel +expenses. For every extra peso that the government expends in this way +it takes in about two, and if this can be done, and the enormous forest +resources of the islands developed and conserved at the same time, +there ought to be no trouble in securing the necessary legislation. + +I long endeavoured to bring about the establishment of a fixed +relationship between the amount annually collected on forest +products and the amount allotted for the work of the Bureau of +Forestry. Obviously the working force of the bureau must be increased +as the lumber industry develops, or adequate supervision cannot +be exercised. + +Increasing the working force of the bureau makes possible +investigations which stimulate the development of the lumber industry, +and lead to a largely increased output. + +The collection of revenue on forest products from government lands is +made by the Bureau of Internal Revenue under the general supervision +of the secretary of finance and justice. I have recently learned, +to my amazement, that every large sawmill owner in the islands is +allowed to make the statement of the output of his mill upon which +collections are based; a procedure very like allowing importers to +assess their own customs dues. The inevitable result is that the +government is robbed right and left. Finding that an attempt was made +to justify this procedure on the ground that it was impracticable to +have lumber measured at the mills, as the Bureau of Internal Revenue +has not sufficient employees for this purpose, I endeavoured to remedy +this extraordinary situation. + +Under existing law, timber may be measured in the round, in the square, +or after it has been manufactured into lumber. Measurement in the round +is quick and simple, and it has the further advantage that loss due to +wasteful sawing falls on the lumberman, while if the sawed lumber only +is measured such loss falls on the government. I therefore drafted and +submitted to the commission a law providing that all timber should be +measured in the round, with proper allowance for defects. Had the law +passed, I could have had employees of the Bureau of Forestry measure +the logs brought into each of the several mills which collectively +turn out ninety per cent of the sawn lumber of the islands, and so +could have effectively prevented frauds upon the government. + +A system which practically allows the individuals interested to fix the +amounts which they shall pay the government for its timber naturally +meets with the unqualified approval of the lumbermen. I therefore +expected that they would strenuously object to the proposed change +in law. To my surprise there was no complaint while it was pending +before the commission, which passed it. + +Then, and only then, I learned that certain lumbermen had quietly done +their work where they believed, rightly, that it would be effective, +and that the bill would not pass the assembly. An effective lobby, +headed by a Filipino representative of the largest Filipino lumbering +concern in the islands, had been organized against it, and so a +measure having no other object or effect than to prevent frauds on +the government and increase its revenue, was killed, for the time at +least, consideration of the bill being "deferred," by the assembly, +with the result that a large number of foreign mill owners will be +allowed to continue to make an illegitimate profit, and a very limited +number of Filipino mill owners will do the same. + +The commercial outlook for the Philippine lumber industry is very +encouraging. No more greedy lumber market exists than Manila has +offered during the past few years, this condition being due primarily +to the stimulus given to all lines of industrial development by the +economic policy of the insular administration. + +Prices are high, and the supply is still unequal to the local +demand. Forest products to the value of $696,407 were last year +imported into the Philippines when we should have exported them in +large quantities. A lumber company properly equipped and managed, +and operating on a suitable tract, can place lumber in its Manila +yards at a cost of half or even less than half the price at which +the same lumber readily sells. The export trade, which should be very +profitable, has as yet scarcely been inaugurated. Tan bark, dyewoods, +valuable gums and rattans find a ready sale. It may reasonably be +expected that the world's demand for forest products of all kinds +will increase as the years go by, and that the resources of older +countries will become depleted, or at least inadequate to supply +steadily growing needs. Forest growth in the Philippines is rapid, +and under suitable conservation methods reforestation comes about +quickly. With continued enforcement of existing law, and with adequate +supervision over cutting and reforestation, the cost of which should be +paid by the lumber industry itself, the forests of the islands should +become an important permanent source of revenue and wealth. Filipinos +ought to become holders of forest concessions instead of labourers +on the concessions of others. Whether any considerable number of +them will care to do so remains to be seen, but at all events their +forests should be conserved, so that the opportunity may be ever +before them. At the present time caiñgin makers destroy far more +timber in the course of a year than lumbermen use. + +In the hope of awakening an interest among Filipinos in forest +conservation and development, and of being able to train an adequate +Filipino working force, a forest school has been started at Los +Baños, in the immediate vicinity of one of our forest reserves, where +practical instruction can advantageously be given. It is anticipated +that the graduates of this school will be of great use in bringing +about a radical change in the attitude of the Filipinos toward forest +conservation. + +It is an astonishing fact that the Bontoc and Lepanto Igorots have +been the only ones of the very numerous Philippine peoples to see +for themselves the benefits derivable from forest conservation. + +When I first visited their country I noted that all the trees in +certain pine forests were carefully trimmed of their lower branches, +and on inquiry found that trees might not be felled until they reached +a certain size, although branches might be cut for firewood. The +prevention of fires, which are very destructive in pine forests, and +the care of young trees, were also adequately provided for! The Bureau +of Forestry now employs Igorots as fire wardens in Benguet and Bontoc. + +If the policy were adopted of appropriating annually an amount +equivalent to sixty per cent of the forest revenues for the work of +the Bureau of Forestry, the proper conservation and development of +the great potential source of wealth intrusted to that bureau would +be adequately provided for. The commission has agreed to such an +arrangement; ten per cent of the total forest revenues to be expended +in the provinces under its exclusive legislative control, and fifty per +cent in the other provinces. Appropriations for the territory occupied +by non-Christians are now made on this basis. No appropriation bill +has been passed by the assembly since this policy was agreed to by the +commission. It remains to be seen whether the former body will favour +the expenditures necessary to support the work of forest conservation +and development, with the reasonable certainty that such work will +not only assure to them and to coming generations a permanent source +of wealth, but will more than pay for itself in dollars and cents. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XXXII + +IMPROVED MEANS OF COMMUNICATION + + +The improvement in means of communication which has taken +place in the Philippines since the American occupation is almost +revolutionary. I well remember my tribulations in the Spanish days, +resulting from the inadequacy of the mail system. There were long +delays in receiving letters sent from Manila to the more important +towns in the archipelago, but if, as was usually the case with us, +one was living in a small and more or less isolated provincial town, +he was fortunate to get his letters at all. They would be forwarded +from place to place by irresponsible native carriers, and under the +most favourable circumstances were likely to be greatly delayed in +transmission. There was little respect for the privacy of letters. On +one occasion I arrived at Joló, confidently expecting a large mail, +only to be disappointed. A week later my companion, Dr. Bourns, was +calling upon a German resident of that place. Lying in a waste-basket +he saw a letter written in a hand which he recognized as that of +one of my friends. He thereupon called upon the German to deliver +any other letters he might have for me, and some were produced, but +others had been thrown away! We found that our mail had begun to come +prior to our arrival, and as the Spanish postmaster did not know any +persons named Bourns or Worcester he turned it over to this man to +see whether he could make out whom it was for. The latter opened the +letters, read them, and threw them away. + +But this was not the worst of it. There was a time when for months I +received no letters, and my companion no newspapers or magazines. Then +the arrangement was reversed. I got my letters but no papers or +magazines, while he had papers but no letters. + +Under the Spanish régime letter carriers in Manila received the +munificent salary of $46 per annum, but were authorized to collect a +charge of three-quarters of a cent on every article of mail delivered +by them, except letters from foreign countries and letters passing +between persons living in Manila. + +The Spanish government did not admit general merchandise to the +mails, but accepted only samples and medicine. We admit all classes +of merchandise except certain objectionable things and certain +articles dangerous to the mails or to those handling them. We have +increased the maximum allowable weight of mail packages to eleven +pounds, and on January 1, 1913, established a "collect on delivery" +service under which merchants and others may send goods through the +mails and have the charges thereon collected from the addressee before +delivery. These are important and valuable extensions of the service, +and greatly benefit the Filipinos as well as the merchants by bringing +people throughout the islands into touch with shops from which they +can order the goods they need. + +It is difficult to determine the difference in the amounts of business +done under the Spanish and American systems for the reason that the +Spanish figures are in many cases obviously unreliable. The latest +available statistics, for the fiscal year 1893, show an enormous +discrepancy between the amount of mail matter claimed to have been +transported and the revenue received, which should theoretically +have been about twice as large as seems to have been collected. It +is believed, however, that the following figures are fairly reliable. + +The number of post-offices has increased from four hundred sixty-six +to five hundred ninety. It is anticipated that one hundred fifty +additional post-offices will be established in smaller municipalities +and out-of-the-way places within the present year, and as it is these +places are receiving postal service through the employment of competent +letter-carriers, who are collecting and delivering their mails. + +Only sixty-five of the Spanish post-offices were in charge of officials +employed by the general government. The remaining four hundred one were +looked after in a way by local municipal officials. All postmasters +are now paid by the general government. + +The mails are being carried with much greater frequency than ever +before. During the last year there were 273 contract routes on which +mails were carried a total of 873,957 miles at a cost of $40,440.75. + +So far as can be judged from the figures available the mails despatched +from the islands during the fiscal year 1912 were about five times +those annually despatched during the late years of the Spanish régime. + +In 1893 nine parcel post packages were sent to foreign countries. In +1912, 2640 such parcels went abroad. In 1893 the number of registered +articles transmitted between Philippine post-offices was 29,078. In +1912 it was 535,137. The increased use of newspapers is shown by the +fact that in 1893 the weight of the newspapers mailed for delivery +within the Philippines was 121,070 pounds, while in 1912 it was +687,568 pounds. This difference is no doubt largely due to the severe +restrictions imposed on the press under the Spanish régime as compared +with the freedom which it enjoys to-day. + +The Spanish postal administration paid little attention to complaints +by Filipinos relative to losses of articles transmitted through the +mails. Now the most trivial complaint is painstakingly investigated, +and only in rare cases is there failure to recover the value of +lost or stolen articles from the postal employee responsible. The +sanctity of the mails which now prevails is an important factor in +the increased use which the people make of them. It is claimed that +under the Spanish régime few matters of importance were intrusted +to the mails by Filipinos because their letters were so frequently +opened and inspected by government officials. + +The Spaniards had four subsidized mail routes after 1897. We have +nine subsidized routes, and six others which are maintained wholly +at government expense by the Bureau of Navigation. + +The Spanish government provided no postal money-order service whatever, +and the transmission of money by mail with safety was impossible. We +have 265 money-order post-offices and during 1912 issued 160,524 +money-orders payable in the islands, the total sum of which was +$5,592,205.85. We also issued 68,229 orders amounting to $1,764,608.02 +payable in the United States, and 2607 orders amounting to $68,364.83 +payable in other countries. These amounts were transmitted largely +by Filipinos, who now do a considerable mail order business with +merchants in the United States. + +A further great convenience not furnished by the Spanish government +is the payment of money-orders transmitted by telegraph. During the +last fiscal year there were forwarded 8333 such orders, covering +payments amounting to $1,128,229.79. + +The improvement in the telegraph service has been quite as marked as +that in the mail service. In 1897 there were only 65 telegraph offices +in the islands, 49 of which were on the island of Luzón, 9 on Panay, +4 on Negros and 3 on Cebú. The total length of all telegraph lines was +some 1750 miles. There were no cables or other means of telegraphic +communication between the islands. + +Practically all of the old lines were destroyed during the revolution +which began in 1896, so that the lines now existing must be considered +as having been built since the American occupation. There are 282 +telegraph offices with 4781 miles of land line and in addition 1362 +miles of marine cable and 7 wireless stations in operation. Every +provincial capital, with the exception of Basco in the remote +Batanes Islands, and Butuan in Agusan Province, now has telegraphic +facilities as does almost every other place of commercial importance +in the Philippines. The advantage of prompt telegraphic communication +with such outlying points as Puerto Princesa, Joló, Zamboanga, Davao, +Surigao and the east coast of Samar is enormous, while the extension +of the cable service to Catanduanes has been a great boon to the +hemp growers of that island. The latest available figures relative to +the telegraphic business conducted by the Spaniards are for the year +1889, during the second six months of which there were handled 33,697 +commercial telegrams. During the fiscal year 1912 our business of the +same class reached a total of 496,643 telegrams. This class of business +has been increasing from 25 to 30 per cent yearly for several years. + +The expenditures of the Spanish government for all postal +and telegraphic service for the fiscal year 1895 amounted +to $484,960.50. Those of the Bureau of Posts for 1912 were +$1,072,684.48. No statement of the Spanish revenues can be found. Our +revenues for 1912 were $627,724.70. The personnel of the Spanish +service for 1895 shows only 31 positions paying salaries of more than +$500 per year, most of which were filled by Spaniards. There are +now 96 positions paying salaries of more than $500 per year filled +by Filipinos. Filipino post-office employees receive salaries 50 to +100 per cent larger than those of employees of similar rank during +the Spanish régime. Think how much these figures mean in increased +opportunity for employment of Filipinos, and in increased communication +not only between the people in the islands but between them and the +outside world. + +In a number of instances the telegraph lines which are controlled by +the Bureau of Posts are supplemented by provincial telephone systems, +which are of great value in maintaining quick communication with +towns not reached by telegraph wires. Such lines are especially +useful in the Mountain Province, Mindoro, Palawan, Nueva Vizcaya, +and the sub-province of Bukidnon, where messengers who travel by land +have to go on horseback or on foot. + +The following table shows the growth of the postal and telegraph +business of the Islands:-- + +Post-Office and Telegraph Statistics + + +-----------+-----------------------+----------+------------------------ + | Money Orders Sold | | Telegraph Receipts + +------------+----------+ +-------------+---------- + Fiscal | | Increase | Postage | | Increase + Year | | (+) or | Receipts | | (+) or + | Amount | decrease | | Amount | decrease + | | (-) | | | (-) +-----------+------------+----------+----------+-------------+---------- + | | Per cent | | | +1900 | $1,526,310 | | $117,848 | | +1901 | 1,514,435 | - 1 | 122,833 | | +1902 | 1,854,927 | +22 | 126,375 | | +1903 | 2,842,587 | +53 | 132,445 | | +1904 | 3,102,606 | + 9 | 121,714 | | +1905 | 3,444,053 | +11 | 121,648 | | +1906 | 3,687,127 | + 7 | 198,583 |[163]$56,351 | +1907 | 3,229,446 | -12 | 198,546 | 118,360 | +110 +1908 | 3,645,123 | +13 | 220,306 | 136,138 | + 15 +1909 | 4,008,678 | +10 | 245,482 | 139,208 | + 2 +1910 [164] | 4,890,835 | +22 | 282,317 | 168,402 | + 21 +1911 | 6,132,582 | +25 | 313,549 | 184,555 | + 9 +1912 | 7,425,173 | +21 | 349,407 | 236,679 | + 28 +1913 [165] | 8,272,858 | + 6 | 380,942 | 283,305 | + 4 +-----------+------------+----------+----------+-------------+---------- + + +As I have elsewhere remarked, the Philippines have a coast line longer +than that of the continental United States. A very large percentage +of the municipalities are situated on, or close to, the sea and the +maintenance of adequate marine transportation is therefore a matter +of vital importance to the peace and commercial prosperity of the +archipelago. In the early days of American occupation conditions +were most unsatisfactory. Most of the boats in the coastwise trade +were antiquated, foul and had no decent facilities for transporting +passengers. As the number of vessels was too small to handle the +business of the country, ship-owners occupied a very independent +position. The freight rates on such things as lumber and currency +were practically prohibitive. It was a common thing for vessels to +refuse to receive hemp, sugar and perishable products that had been +brought to the beach for shipment, giving as an excuse the fact that +they were employed in the private business of Messrs. Smith, Bell & +Co., Warner, Barnes & Co., or whoever happened to own them, and could +not transport freight for the public as the volume of their private +business would not permit it. However, if the owners of the freight +were willing to sell it to the ships' officers for a fraction of its +value, they encountered no difficulty in transporting it! + +Furthermore, there existed the danger of Moro raids, the necessity +for checking the operations of smugglers, and that of preventing +the ingress of firearms, which in the hands of irresponsible persons +might cause great damage and expense to the government and the public. + +In view of these facts it was decided to establish a fleet of twenty +coast-guard vessels, which were not only to do police duty and to +assist in the transportation of troops, but were to carry freight and +passengers when opportunity offered. Fifteen such vessels were ordered +from Messrs. Farnham, Boyd & Co., of Shanghai, and five from the Uraga +Dock Company of Japan. The Japanese vessels proved unsatisfactory, +and only two were accepted, making the total fleet seventeen. As +the condition of public order improved the coast-guard boats became +available to a constantly increasing extent for commercial service. + +Prior to July, 1906, there were practically no established +steamship routes over which commercial vessels operated on regular +schedules. With the exception of the service between Manila, Cebú and +Iloílo, vessels traded here and there without regular ports of call +or fixed dates of arrival or departure. The policy which guided their +owners was one of privilege and monopoly, and by agreement between +them competition was rigidly excluded. Trade was discouraged and the +commercial development of the islands seriously retarded. + +In accordance with a plan formulated by Mr. Forbes, then secretary of +commerce and police, the coast-guard vessels were placed on regular +commercial routes and were operated on schedules which gave efficient +service to all important islands of the archipelago. Ten routes were +maintained and many isolated points, and small towns or villages which +offered so little business at the outset as to make them unprofitable, +and therefore unattractive as ports of call for commercial vessels, +were put in close communication with the larger towns and distributing +centres, so that the small planters could market their products with +little trouble. This promptly led to increased production and trade, +and greater prosperity through the islands. + +Business increased to such an extent that in July, 1906, it proved +practicable to withdraw the government vessels and turn these routes +over to commercial firms which entered into a definite contract with +the government to maintain an adequate service. Their vessels were +allowed substantial subsidies, amounting in the aggregate to $100,000 +per year, in order to assure the prompt despatch of mail, adherence +to schedule, and efficient service. The ten old coast-guard routes +were divided into fourteen new commercial routes which gave excellent +service to all parts of the islands. + +Secondary routes were then arranged and coast-guard cutters were placed +on them. A number of these were in turn given over to commercial +vessels after they had developed enough trade to be commercially +profitable. Three such routes are now maintained by the Bureau of +Navigation, and it is planned to establish two more in the near future. + +The importance of the change thus brought about by the government +in transportation facilities can be appreciated only by those who +have had actual experience with the intolerable state of affairs +which previously existed. Meanwhile conditions on the inter-island +steamers have been enormously improved by the enforcement of proper +sanitary regulations, and insistence that staterooms be decent and +food reasonably good. + +Of the original cutters two were for a long time under charter by +the military authorities for use as despatch boats and transports; +two are employed as lighthouse tenders, and two have been assigned to +the Bureau of Coast Surveys for coast and geodetic work; one collects +lepers and takes them to the Leper Colony at Culion. The cable-ship +Rizal, operated by the Bureau of Navigation, has succeeded in repairing +and keeping in repair the marine cables throughout the islands. Such +cables are especially subject to injury in Philippine waters on account +of the strength of the currents between the islands, the frequency +with which stretches of sea bottom are overgrown with sharp coral, +and the common occurrence of earthquakes. When not otherwise engaged +the Rizal carries commercial cargoes if opportunity offers. She has +proved useful for bringing in rice when a shortage of this commodity, +which is the bread of the Filipino people, threatened, and for handling +cargoes of lumber of sizes such that regular inter-island steamers +could not load it. + +In addition to the vessels above mentioned, the Bureau of Navigation +owns and operates a fleet of launches, some of which are seagoing, +and a number of dredges which are employed in improving the harbours +and rivers of the islands as funds permit. The bureau also owns and +operates its own machine shop and marine railway, and repairs its +own vessels. + +A section of the machine shop is set aside for lighthouse work, and +in it lighthouse apparatus of every description is fabricated and +repaired. While lighthouses and buoys are not means of communication +they are aids to it. + +The thousand and ninety-five inhabited islands and approximately two +hundred and fifty ports of varying importance, depending as they do +entirely upon water transportation for communication with each other +and with the outside world, had no wharfage whatever available for +large vessels, and no publicly owned wharfage within ten yards of which +even the larger inter-island steamers could be berthed. Manila had +no protected anchorage, and during the season of southwest monsoons +and typhoons vessels were sometimes compelled to lie in the harbour +for weeks before they could unload, a fact which gave the port a +deservedly bad name. + +The Spaniards had commenced harbour work at Manila in 1892, +twenty-five years after preliminary study began and sixteen years +after prospective plans had been submitted. Their operations were +stopped by the insurrection in 1896, at which time the present west +breakwater had been about half completed, but as the completed portion +was at the shore end and in shallow water it afforded no protection to +ships. There had been constructed twenty-four hundred feet of masonry +wall partly enclosing one of the basins provided for in the Spanish +plans, and fourteen hundred eighty-five feet of wall lining canals +connecting the proposed new harbour with the Pasig River. These also +were temporarily useless, because there had been no dredging in front +of them, or backfilling in their rear. + +Outside of Manila practically nothing had been done to facilitate the +loading and discharge of vessels, or to protect them from the elements. + +We now have at Manila a deep-water harbour dredged to a uniform depth +of thirty feet and enclosed by two breakwaters having a total length +of nearly eleven thousand five hundred feet. Two hundred and sixty-one +acres of land have been reclaimed with the dredged material. Two steel +piers extend from the filled land into the deep-water harbour. One of +these is six hundred fifty feet long and one hundred ten feet wide, +the other six hundred feet long and seventy feet wide. Both are housed +in, the sheds covering them having a total area of ninety-two thousand +square feet. These piers and sheds are practically fireproof, and +the largest ocean-going steamers on the Pacific can lie alongside +them. Additional work planned, which should be undertaken when +funds permit, includes two more piers; and bulkheads to connect the +inner ends of the present piers, so as to give inter-island steamers +opportunity to unload. + +At Cebú the sea-wall has been completed to a length of two thousand +sixty feet and the channel in front of it dredged in part to ten and a +half and in part to twenty-three feet at low water. Some ten and a half +acres of land have been reclaimed with the material removed. Streets +and roadways have been built on the reclaimed area, and a wharf eight +hundred twelve feet in length, designed as an extension to the wall, +is now fifty per cent completed. The harbour at Cebú should ultimately +be dredged so as to give thirty feet of water along the piers. + +At Iloílo the dredging of a fifteen-foot channel up to the custom-house +was completed in March, 1907. Seven hundred and eighty-three feet +of river wall and twelve hundred ninety feet of reënforced concrete +wharf, both to accommodate vessels of eighteen feet draft at low +water, have been built along the south bank of the middle reach of +the river. The lower reach has been dredged to twenty-four feet at +low water, the middle reach to eighteen feet and the upper reach to +fifteen feet, while two hundred ten thousand square metres of land +have been reclaimed and two hundred six thousand improved with the +dredged material. Wharves for ocean-going steamers should ultimately +be constructed at this important port. + +At Paracale, in Ambos Camarines, a reënforced concrete pier four +hundred ninety feet in length has been built. It extends out to a +depth of fifteen feet at low water. + +At Bais, Negros, a timber pier for vessels of sixteen feet draft, +with a stone causeway approach a mile and a half in length, and a +warehouse for the temporary storage of sugar, have been constructed. + +Channels have been blasted through the coral reefs surrounding the +islands Batan, Sabtang and Itbayat in the Batanes group, where the +annual loss of life had previously been great, owing to the occurrence +of sudden storms which often made it impossible for people to return +to their towns through the surf. The port of Pandan, in Ilocos Sur, +has been improved by means of a stone revetment twenty-nine hundred +seventy-five feet in length along the north bank of the Abra River, +thus maintaining the channel in one position and affording vastly +better means of loading and discharging cargo for the important town +of Vigan. A self-propelling combination snag boat, pile driver and +dredge for the improvement of the great Cagayan River has been built, +and is now in operation on that stream. + +Very numerous other works of repair and construction have been carried +out. Some 80 surveys have been made in minor ports to determine +the feasibility of improvements, and in many cases plans have been +prepared for proposed work. + +The Spaniards had devoted much time and study to a project for +coast illumination. At the outbreak of the insurrection in 1896 +they had twenty-eight lights, fourteen of which were flashing and +fourteen fixed minor lights, while four additional stations were +under construction. Then all work was stopped, and when systematic +inspection was made by American lighthouse engineers five years later, +extensive repairs were found to be necessary. The repairs were made as +promptly as possible, and new construction then began. To-day there +are a hundred forty-five lights in operation, and the waters of the +Philippines are among the best lighted in the world. One hundred and +eleven buoys of various classes are being maintained. + +The following table shows the progress made in the construction of +lighthouses:-- + + + Fiscal Year Light-houses + in Operation + + 1902 57 + 1903 66 + 1904 76 + 1905 89 + 1906 105 + 1907 117 + 1908 129 + 1909 139 + 1910 143 + 1911 142 + 1912 145 + 1913 [166] 145 + + +In all nearly $7,000,000 have been expended in the improvement of +ports and harbours, and about $750,000 in the construction of lights. + +At the time of the American occupation, knowledge of the waters of +the archipelago was in a most unsatisfactory state. There was not +even an accurate chart of Manila Bay. Navigating officers followed +certain well-known trade routes which experience had shown to be +safe, but did not dare to leave them. Uncharted dangers were soon +discovered at Iloilo and in other important ports, and the necessity +for a systematic survey of the waters became immediately apparent. + +On September 6, 1901, the Bureau of Coast and Geodetic Surveys was +organized. The work is conducted under a joint agreement such that +it is supervised by the superintendent of coast and geodetic surveys +at Washington, who is represented in the Philippines by an officer +called the director of coast surveys. The latter reports to the head +of the insular government so far as concerns the expenditure of funds +furnished by that government, which has the power of approval over +his assignment to duty. There is a division of expenses between the +two governments. The United States has paid approximately fifty-five +per cent of the total cost, and the insular government has paid +the balance. + +The Bureau is engaged in a systematic survey of the coasts, +harbours and waters of the Philippine Islands and of the topography +of the shore-line. It determines positions astronomically and by +triangulation, investigates reported dangers to navigation, and +observes tides, currents and the magnetic elements. Five steamers +are now engaged in this very important work. It is estimated that +fifty-four per cent of the surveys of the coast and adjacent waters +have already been completed. When one remembers that the coast-line of +the Philippines is longer than that of the continental United States, +one realizes that this is a remarkable achievement. + +The Bureau has published one hundred twenty-four charts covering the +entire boundaries of the islands, and six volumes of sailing directions +which are kept constantly up to date by additions whenever new facts +of importance to mariners are ascertained. The greater part of the +information thus made available represents results obtained by the +Bureau, but these are supplemented by the most reliable data that +can be obtained from other sources. + +The following table shows the number of miles of coast surveyed at +the end of each year, beginning with 1901:-- + +Number of Miles of Coast Surveyed + + + Fiscal Year Miles + + 1901 89 + 1902 576 + 1903 1,208 + 1904 1,921 + 1905 2,415 + 1906 3,041 + 1907 4,536 + 1908 6,109 + 1909 7,126 + 1910 8,763 + 1911 9,992 + 1912 11,308 + 1913 [167] 11,748 + + +Not only have all important waterways through the islands been surveyed +and lighted, but travel and the transportation of merchandise on land +have been enormously facilitated by the construction of additional +railways and of a system of first-, second- and third-class roads +and of trails. + +Prior to 1907 the only railroad line in operation in the Philippines +was the so-called Manila-Dagupan Railway, which was 122 miles long. + +The following table shows the steady increase in mileage since that +time and also the steady increase in railroad earnings:-- + + +Railroad Statistics + +---------+-----------+-------------+----------+----------+---------------------- + | Total | Earnings of | | | Earnings of Manila + Fiscal | Mileage | Philippine | | Calendar | Railway Co. + Year | in | Railway | Increase | Year +-----------+---------- + | Operation | Co., Amount | | | Amount | Increase +---------+-----------+-------------+----------+----------+-----------+---------- +1907[168]| 122 | | | 1907 | $25,823 | +1908 | 221 | | | 1908 | 961,936 | 16 +1909 | 290 | $74,815[169]| | 1909 | 1,023,812 | 6 +1910 | 400 | 118,646 | 59 | 1910 | 1,233,794 | 21 +1911 | 455 | 142,888 | 20 | 1911 | 1,919,244 | 56 +1912 | 599 | 386,970 | 171 | 1912 | 2,304,436 | 20 +1913 | 611[170] | ([171]) | | | | +--------+-----------+--------------+----------+----------+-----------+---------- + + +The north line of the Manila Railroad Company, which is the successor +to the Manila and Dagupan Railway Company, now extends to Bauang in +the province of La Union. It has laterals terminating at Camp One, +on the Benguet Road; Rosales in Pangasinan; Mangaldang in Pangasinan; +Cabanatuan in Nueva Ecija; Camp Stotensburg in Pampanga; Florida +Blanca in Pampanga; Montalban in Rizal, and Antipolo in Rizal. + +The main south line of this road extends from Manila to Lucena in +Tayabas. It has branches to Cavite in the province of the same name; +to Naic in Cavite; to Pagsanján in La Laguna, and to Batangas in the +Province of Batangas. + +The Philippine Railway Company has built and is now operating a +line on Panay which extends from Iloilo to Capiz, and a line on Cebú +which extends north from the city of the same name to Danao and south +to Argao. + +The development of the road system is even more important than that +of railroads. + +The following tables show the mileage of first-, second- and +third-class roads, and the total number of permanent bridges and +culverts, in existence at the end of each year, beginning with 1907:-- + + +Public Works Statistics + +-------------+------------------------------------------------------- + | Total Mileage of Roads in Existence + +-------------+------------+--------------+------------- + Fiscal Year | First-class | | Second-class | Third-class + | Roads | Increase | Roads | Roads +-------------+-------------+------------+--------------+------------- + | | Per Cent | | +1907 | 303[172] | -- | -- | -- +1908 | 423 | 40 | -- | -- +1909 | 609 | 44 | -- | -- +1910 | 764 | 25 | 641[173] | 2,074[173] +1911 | 987 | 29 | 664 | 1,837 +1912 | 1,143 | 16 | 1,342.1[173]| 1,999 +1913[174] | 1,187[175] | -- | 1,305.3 | 1,967 +-------------+-------------+------------+--------------+------------- + + + -------------+----------------------- + | Total of Permanent + | Bridges and Culverts + Fiscal Year | in Existence + +------------+---------- + | Number | Per Cent + -------------+------------+---------- + 1907[176] | 3,280[176] | -- + 1908 | 3,631 | 11 + 1909 | 3,865 | 6 + 1910 | 4,372 | 13 + 1911 | 4,842 | 11 + 1912 | 5,181 | 7 + 1913 | 5,660 | 9 + -------------+----------+------------ + + +The old Spanish road system was quite extensive and very well planned, +but the amount of really good construction was very limited. The +system of maintenance was faulty, and the abandonment of maintenance +during the insurrection against Spain and the war with the United +States resulted in the almost complete destruction of many roads +which were in fairly good condition at the time public order became +seriously disturbed. The total value of Spanish work on existing +roads is estimated at $1,800,000. The total value of all American +work up to June 30, 1911, is estimated at $6,100,000. + +The imperative need of better highways throughout the islands was +brought home by the difficulties encountered by the army during the +insurrection, and the first act of the Philippine Commission, passed +on the twelfth day after the commission became the legislative body +of the islands, appropriated $1,000,000 ($2,000,000 Mexican) for the +construction and repair of highways and bridges. + +Much of this money was very advantageously expended by the +military, who contributed a large amount of transportation free of +cost. Unfortunately, while the necessity for roads was at this time +fully appreciated, there was failure to appreciate the extraordinary +rapidity with which tropical rains and vegetation destroy good roads +in the Philippines. We further failed to appreciate the absolute +indifference of the Filipinos themselves as to whether roads once +built are or are not maintained. + +One of the first large pieces of work undertaken was a road from +Calamba on the Laguna de Bay to Lipa, an important town in the province +of Batangas, and thence to the town of Batangas itself. This road +ran for its entire extent through a rich agricultural district. I +passed over it when the dirt work had all been completed, and when +all but two short stretches were surfaced. I certainly had vigorously +impressed upon me the necessity of surfacing. Over that portion of the +road which had been so treated an automobile could have been driven +at sixty miles an hour. Over the remainder of it, built by the same +engineer, shaped up in the same way, and as good a dirt road as could +be constructed, four mules could not haul the ambulance in which we +were riding without our assistance. We had to get out and literally put +our shoulders to the wheel, or tug at the spokes, in order to enable +the faithful beasts to extricate the ambulance from the morasses into +which the two unsurfaced stretches had been converted. + +Needless to say, the surfacing was completed as soon as possible, and +then came what the Filipinos call a great desengaño. [177] I venture to +say that from the time the road was finished until it was completely +destroyed there was never a shovelful of dirt nor a basketful of +gravel placed upon it. In 1908 I attempted to drive over it in one +of the two-wheeled rigs known as carromatas, which will go almost +anywhere. I was upset twice in as many miles and gave up the attempt. + +For a considerable time the destruction of roads almost kept pace with +their construction, and until 1907 the small amount of provincial funds +available usually resulted in failure to attempt repairs until both +surfacing and foundation had been badly injured or destroyed. The +remnants of old Spanish roads still existing, and the new roads +constructed by Americans, were in danger of being wiped out. It was +then decided that further insular aid for road construction should +not be given until the indifference of provincial officials could be +overcome, and funds provided for proper maintenance. It was further +decided that roads and bridges should be considered as on a basis +similar to that of other government property, and that maintenance +must take precedence over new construction. Regulations providing +for it were outlined and incorporated in a proposed resolution which +was submitted to the several provincial boards with the information +that further insular funds would not be appropriated for any province +until its board passed this resolution, thereby agreeing to provide +road and bridge funds by means of the so-called double cedula tax, and +perpetually to maintain the heavily surfaced roads then in existence +within its limits. + +The cedula tax is an annual personal or poll tax. The amount originally +fixed by the commission was one peso, but legislation was subsequently +enacted empowering provincial boards to increase it to two pesos, +the additional amount to go for road and bridge work. + +Most of the provinces promptly took the suggested action, and the few +which at first stood out were soon compelled by popular opinion to +follow suit. It is not too much to say that real progress in permanent +road and bridge construction in the Philippines dates from 1907 when +the present regulation relative to maintenance was put into effect. + +Provision was made for a yearly provincial maintenance appropriation +of not less than $282 per mile of duly designated road. Stone kilometer +posts were erected beside all improved roads. + +During the rainy season one caminero, or roadman, is stationed on +each kilometer section. During the dry season one caminero cares for +a two-kilometer section. These men are constantly at work cutting the +encroaching vegetation from the lateral banks, keeping drains clear, +and immediately filling depressions in the road-bed as they appear, +using for the purpose material stored in specially constructed bins +placed at regular intervals and kept filled with broken stone and +gravel. Heavy repair work which may be necessary after great typhoons +or floods must be specially provided for. + +The inspection of each kilometer of road is made as follows: daily, +by the sub-foreman; bi-weekly, by the foreman; monthly, by the district +engineer; and tri-monthly by the division engineer. + +Under this system, in spite of unfavourable climatic conditions +the reconstructed or newly constructed Philippine roads are to-day +maintained far better than are most of the roads in the United States, +and one may drive automobiles over them at top speed. Numerous freight +and passenger automobile lines have already been established. + +The average present cost of constructing heavily surfaced roads, +including bridges which are apt to be numerous and expensive, is +$8250 per mile. + +Only first-class bridges, of concrete, masonry or steel, are permitted +on main roads in the lowlands. Arbitrary enforcement of this rule +is the one thing about the present road system which in my opinion +affords grounds for legitimate criticism. + +While no one can dispute the wisdom of constructing bridges of hard +materials whenever this can be done, it is possible to carry too +far the policy of limiting construction to such materials, and in my +opinion it has been carried too far in a number of instances. + +Years ago a good automobile road was constructed from Cagayan +de Misamis to and beyond the barrio of Agusan, which is the +point of departure for the main trail into the sub-province of +Bukidnon. Numerous small streams on this road were bridged with +reënforced concrete, but proper allowance was not made for their +terrific rise during heavy rains in the highlands and almost +without exception the bridges were destroyed during the first +severe typhoon. Funds are not yet available for their reconstruction +with strong materials. Meanwhile nothing has been done. The road is +therefore impassable during heavy rains, as the streams cannot then be +forded. Meanwhile, our "temporary" wooden bridges on the connecting +trail system, constructed before the bridges on the coast road were +built, remain intact, and render it possible always to cross streams +much larger than any of those which intersect the coast road. + +Of course if the hard and fast rule governing bridge construction +in the lowlands is once departed from, its enforcement may become +difficult. Nevertheless, I am of the opinion that existing regulations +should be so modified as to authorize and encourage the construction +of temporary bridges in such cases as that above cited. + +The enormous change which road construction has produced in ease of +travel, and in reduced cost of transporting farm products, cannot be +appreciated by one unfamiliar with conditions in Spanish days. Then +the ordinary country road was a narrow ditch sloping in on both sides +toward the bottom, this condition being brought about by failure to +provide proper drainage so that there was tremendous erosion during the +rainy season, at which time these so-called roads became converted into +deep quagmires by the action of very narrow-tired solid wooden cart +wheels, most of which were fixed upon their axles. It was not unusual +to see carts in mud up to their bodies, seeming to float on it while +being pulled by floundering carabaos. Many of the roads were so bad +that wheeled vehicles could not be used even during the dry season, +and their place was taken by so-called cangas, or bamboo sledges, which +also caused rapid road destruction. When all else failed, the Filipino +mounted his faithful carabao, which could swim the unbridged streams +if the current was not too swift, and could successfully negotiate +deep quagmires, and thus he journeyed from place to place, leaving +the transportation of his products until the coming of the dry season. + +The use on improved roads of cangas, and of carts with narrow-tired +wheels or with wheels fixed on their axles, is now forbidden by +law. The carts permitted to be used have broad tires that help to +smooth the roads instead of cutting them to pieces. + +As already stated, this road system is supplemented in the wilder +parts of the archipelago, so far at least as the special government +provinces are concerned, by a trail system which is rapidly being +extended. The trails, which are at first built only wide enough to +permit the passage of horses, are on grades such that they can be +converted into roads by widening and surfacing, and are gradually +widened in connection with the maintenance work so as to permit the +passage, first of narrow-tired carts, and later of carts of ordinary +width. Indeed one such trail extending from Baguio, in Benguet, to +Naguilian, in the lowlands of the neighbouring province of Union, +has already been sufficiently widened to permit the passage of +automobiles, and the same thing can be done with any of the others +when occasion requires. + +It has been most interesting to note to what an extent the construction +of good roads and trails and the cultivation of the land in their +vicinity have gone hand in hand. The prosperity of the country has +been enormously increased by the carrying out of the present sensible +road policy for which Governor-General W. Cameron Forbes is primarily +responsible. + +The policy of the Forbes administration contemplated the steady +continuance of road and bridge construction and maintenance until a +complete system, which had been carefully worked out for the entire +archipelago, should have been finished. + +What would result if road and bridge work were turned over to a +Filipino government? Judging from their absolute failure to maintain +any roads until the insular government assumed control in 1907, and +from the present neglect of municipalities to care for the sections of +road for which they are responsible, we are justified in saying that +new construction would promptly cease; maintenance would be neglected; +existing roads would be destroyed; bridges would be left up in the +air by the destruction of their approaches, and would ultimately go +to pieces, and the whole system would come to rack and ruin. + +To be sure, the Filipino politicians loudly assert that they are +heartily in sympathy with the present road policy of the government, +but this is largely because the securing of government aid for roads +in their respective provinces increases their popularity with the +people, and the probability that they will be reëlected. If it were +left for them to determine whether money should be expended for this +purpose or for some other which would more immediately inure to their +private benefit, there can be no two opinions as to the result. + +The continuance of American control for the present is absolutely +essential, if proper means of communication and aids to navigation +are to be established and maintained in the Philippine Islands. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIII + +COMMERCIAL POSSIBILITIES OF THE PHILIPPINES + + +If the commercial possibilities of any region are to be attractive to +Europeans or Americans, it must have a just and stable government; +a reasonably healthful climate; fairly good means of communication +and transportation; forest, agricultural, mineral or other wealth, +and labour with which to develop it. Proximity to main lines of travel +and to markets is also an important consideration. + +The present [178] government of the Philippines is highly effective +and the state of public order leaves little to be desired. Doubt has +been expressed as to the stability of the existing régime, but it is +at the very least safe to assume that the United States will never +withdraw from the islands without leaving behind a government which +will assure to the residents of the archipelago, foreign and native, +personal safety, just treatment and security of property rights. + +Health conditions are now excellent, and the death rate among whites +at Manila is lower than that in many European and American cities. If +one will only vary the monotony of the continuous warmth by making +an occasional trip to Baguio, and take reasonable precautions as to +food, drink and exercise, there is no reason why one should not die +of old age. + +Means of communication by land are now fairly good and steadily +improving. The seas are well lighted and the main lines of sea travel +have been carefully surveyed. + +The islands have many beautiful harbors and, as we have seen, at +Manila, Cebú and Iloílo extensive harbour improvements have already +been made. There are no special difficulties attendant upon the +loading or unloading of ships anywhere in the archipelago. The rapid +extension of highways, and the construction of additional railways, +are facilitating and cheapening land transportation. + +The natural resources of the country are unquestionably vast. I +have already devoted a chapter to the discussion of the forests and +their wealth. + +As to the mineral resources, while we have much still to learn we +already know that there are excellent lignite, some coking coal +and extensive deposits of high-grade iron ore and of copper. One +flourishing gold mine is now giving handsome returns, and several +others seem to lack only the capital needed to develop them on a +considerable scale in order to make them pay; dredges are operating +for gold with great success in the vicinity of Paracale in eastern +Luzón, and there are other gold placer fields in the islands which +are worthy of careful investigation. The prospect of obtaining in +quantity a high-grade petroleum with paraffine base rich in low-boiling +constituents is very good. + +Difficulties in the way of the development of the mining industry are +to be found in the disturbances of geological formations which are +inevitably met with in volcanic countries, in the dense tropical +vegetation which in many regions covers everything and renders +prospecting difficult, and in the unevenness of the rainfall which +in some parts of the archipelago results in severe floods at one +season and in the lack of sufficient water to furnish hydraulic power +at another. But we are at least free from the troubles incident to +freezing cold, and in my opinion a prosperous mining industry will +ultimately be built up in the Philippines. + +Agriculture has always been, and will doubtless long continue to be, +the main source of wealth. In the lowlands may be found conditions of +soil and climate favourable to the growing of all important tropical +products. Owing to the position of the islands with reference to the +northeast and southwest monsoons, practically any desired conditions +as regard humidity and the distribution of rainfall can be found. There +are regions which have strongly marked wet and dry seasons, and regions +in which the rainfall is quite uniformly distributed throughout the +year. In some provinces the heaviest rains come in January, while +in others they come in July or August. The Philippine Weather Bureau +has gathered an immense amount of very valuable rainfall statistics +and is constantly adding to its present store of knowledge. Father +José Algué, its distinguished director, can always be depended upon +to furnish any obtainable information. + +But this is not all. We are not confined to tropical products. In the +highlands of Luzón and of Mindanao practically all the vegetables and +many of the grains and fruits of the temperate zone may be produced. + +When well fed, properly directed and paid a reasonable wage, the +Filipino makes a good field labourer. Much of his so-called laziness +is unquestionably due to malnutrition. A diet made up largely of rice, +especially if that rice be polished, does not develop a maximum of +physical energy. + +When threshing machines were first introduced it was impossible to get +Filipinos to handle the straw. The work was too strenuous for them. We +soon discovered that by picking fairly strong men, and feeding them +plenty of meat, we could make them able and willing to do it. + +Some extraordinary misstatements have been made as to Manila's +position with reference to main lines of travel and to markets. In +this connection Blount says that it is an out-of-the-way place so +far as regards the main travelled routes across the Pacific, [179] +and adds that shippers would not take to unloading cargo there before +finally discharging it on the mainland of Asia. + +With singular inconsistency he also says that Manila could never +succeed Hongkong as the gateway to Asia. [180] + +One might almost believe him ignorant of the fact that Hongkong is an +island, separated from the continent of Asia, and that the very thing +which he says would not happen at Manila, to wit the "unloading by +way of rehearsal, before finally discharging on the mainland of Asia," +is the thing which has made Hongkong harbour one of the busiest ports +in the world. + +Manila has numerous very definite advantages over Hongkong. Health +conditions are vastly better, and there is far less danger that +crews of vessels will become infected. Ocean going steamers come +alongside piers and unload directly into great sheds which protect +goods during storms. The pier sheds have direct connection with the +electric railway system of the city, so that freight can be quickly +and cheaply transported under cover. The Manila breakwater affords +excellent protection during typhoons, whereas Hongkong harbour is +periodically swept by storms which cause great damage to shipping +and very serious loss of life. + +Hongkong is a free port, but the construction of bonded warehouses +at Manila for the reception of goods intended for reshipment would +largely make up for the fact that Manila is a port of entry. + +The reply to the claim that Manila is far from markets and established +lines of travel is simple. Look at the map and compare it with +Hongkong! + +Let us now consider more in detail the resources of the Philippines. + +The first thing that impresses one who studies their agriculture +is the extremely primitive state of development to which it has +attained. Rice is the bread of the people and is produced in +large quantities, but as a rule land is prepared for planting it +by ploughing with what is little better than a crooked stick, which +may or may not have an iron point, and by subsequent puddling with a +muck rake, both instruments being drawn by carabaos. As the ground +cannot be worked in this fashion until the rains come on, and the +young plants should be set in the ground very shortly thereafter, +the period during which the soil can be prepared is brief, and the +amount brought under cultivation is correspondingly small. Rice is +usually planted in seed beds and transplanted by hand, the object of +this procedure being to give it a start over the weeds which would +otherwise swamp it. It is a common thing to see a crowd of men, +women and children setting it to the music of a small string band, +with which they keep time. Organizations which have the reputation +of maintaining a rapid rhythm are quite in demand because of the +increased amount of rice set! Ordinarily, in the lowlands at least, +comparatively little attention is paid to subsequent weeding, and +when harvest time comes the crop is usually gathered by cutting off +the heads one at a time. Threshing is frequently performed in the +open air on a floor made of clay and carabao dung. Often the grain is +trodden out under the feet of the owners themselves; sometimes it is +stripped off by drawing the heads between the teeth of an instrument +somewhat resembling an inverted iron rake; again it is beaten off +against stones; a more advanced method is to drive horses, carabaos +or cattle over the straw until the grain has been loosened from the +straw. The palay [181] is usually winnowed in the wind, although crude +fanning mills are sometimes employed for this purpose. The threshing +takes much time, and while it is in progress great loss results from +the depredations of rats and wild hogs, from unseasonable rain-storms, +and from the carrying off of the grain by the threshers. A large part +of the palay employed for local domestic use is husked by pounding it +in wooden mortars and winnowed by tossing it in flat baskets. As a +result of such methods the Philippines, which ought to export rice, +are compelled to import it, the figures for the last 15 years being +as follows:-- + + + Rice Imports + + Fiscal Tons Value + Years (Metric) + + 1899 58,389 $1,939,122 + 1900 109,911 3,113,423 + 1901 178,232 5,490,958 + 1902 216,403 6,578,481 + 1903 307,191 10,061,323 + 1904 329,825 11,548,814 + 1905 255,502 7,456,738 + 1906 138,052 4,375,500 + 1907 112,749 3,662,493 + 1908 162,174 5,861,256 + 1909 137,678 4,250,223 + 1910 184,620 5,321,962 + 1911 203,083 6,560,630 + 1912 260,250 10,569,949 + 1913 179,205 7,940,857 + + +American influence has already made itself strongly felt on the +rice industry and small steel ploughs, of suitable size to be drawn +by single animals, are coming into very general use. A steadily +increasing amount of rice is harvested with sickles instead of with +small bladed knives. Modern threshing machines are rapidly discouraging +the employment of the threshing methods of biblical days, and their +operation in the large rice producing regions is a good business +for persons with limited capital, as the returns are immediate and +the investment is small. The customary toll taken for threshing is +one-eighth of the output. + +While under my direction, the Bureau of Agriculture began the +introduction of modern threshing machines. The amount of grain obtained +from a stack of given size when thoroughly machine-threshed before +there had been time for waste was so much greater than that to which +the Filipinos had been accustomed that they thought that there must +be a deposito of grain hidden away somewhere within the machine, and +insisted on sticking their heads into it in search of this supposed +source of supply! + +Many small, mechanically driven hulling machines are now in use +and the number of regular rice mills, with up-to-date machinery for +hulling and polishing, steadily and quite rapidly increases. + +The rice industry has at present two great needs: the first is +irrigation, the second, careful seed selection. The average Filipino +depends directly on rainfall for irrigation water, and although there +may be a stream close at hand, he does not trouble to turn it on to +his land unless conditions happen to be exceptionally favourable. The +result is that dry years cause a very heavy, and largely avoidable, +loss to the islands. A dependable supply of irrigation water would make +two crops a certainty where one is now more or less of a gamble. The +insular government is spending considerable sums on irrigation work, +and in my opinion it offers a wide field for profitable private +investment. + +There are in the Philippines many different varieties of rice, +each with its peculiar advantages and disadvantages. There is no +possible doubt as to the opportunity which lies before the skilled +plant breeder to increase the crop, and shorten the time required +for its production, by the methods which have been so successfully +applied to wheat and other grains. + +Finally, in the highlands of Bukidnon, in Mindanao, there are +immense areas which can be cultivated and planted with motor-drawn +machinery. After taking off the first crop it would be readily possible +to plough, harrow and seed in one operation, and here, if anywhere, +modern harvesters and threshers can be employed to good advantage. In +short, rice can be grown in Bukidnon as wheat is grown in the United +States, and the company which goes into this business on a large +scale should make money. + +Abacá, commonly called Manila hemp, was for many years the most +important Philippine export. The plants from which it is produced +resemble bananas so closely that the uninitiated cannot distinguish +them. They furnish the longest and strongest cordage fibre in +the world. The Philippines have practically a monopoly on its +production. Abacá culture is carried on in a very primitive way. The +plants require well-drained soil and for this reason the Filipino +often puts them out on steep mountain sides. The forest is felled, +the timber is burned on the ground and the young plants are set +before weeds have time to encroach. The bolo is usually employed for +subsequent "cultivation," which consists in the occasional chopping +down of weeds. Fortunately the shade in an abacá plantation is so deep +that it materially impedes the growth of other plants. The fibre is +obtained from the leaf petioles which make up the stem. At the present +time practically all of it is stripped by hand. This is a slow and +tedious process, involving very severe physical exertion to which the +average Filipino is disinclined, and serious losses often result from +inability to get the crop seasonably stripped. Stripping is greatly +facilitated if the knife under which the fibre bands are drawn has a +serrated edge, but in that case the fibre is not thoroughly cleaned, +soon loses its original beautiful white colour, and diminishes in +strength owing to decay of the cellular matter left attached to it. + +The production of high-grade fibre or of comparatively worthless +stuff is chiefly a matter of good or bad stripping. + +Abacá requires evenly distributed rainfall and constant high humidity +for its best development, and should not be planted in regions +subject to severe drought, which greatly reduces the crop and may +kill the plants outright. Experience has shown that it richly repays +real cultivation. + +The trunks are heavy, and water makes up a large part of their weight, +but they are full of air chambers, float readily and could be rafted or +sluiced to a central cleaning plant wherever conditions are favourable +for so transporting them. The one great desideratum of the industry is +a really good mechanical stripper which will turn out clean, high-grade +fibre in large quantity at small cost. At least one machine has been +brought reasonably near perfection. In my opinion all that is now +necessary is to put a skilled mechanic into the field with it under +service conditions, and keep him there until such minor difficulties +as remain have been successfully overcome. Stripping mills could +readily be established in regions like that along the lower Agusan +River, where climate and soil are ideal and water transportation is +always available. A reasonable number of such plants in successful +operation would go far toward revolutionizing the hemp industry, +the development of which is at present greatly handicapped by the +production of enormous quantities of badly cleaned fibre, which does +not sell readily, whereas first-class abacá is without a rival and +always sells at a high price. + +The table on the opposite page shows the value and amount of hemp +exports during a period of fifteen years. + +Copra, or the dried meat of the coconut, has now become one of the +most important exports of the islands, which lead the world in its +production. The table on the opposite page shows the rapid increase +in copra exports. + + +Hemp Exports + +------------------------------++---------------------------------- + || To United States, including + To All Countries || Hawaii and Porto Rico +-------+---------+------------++------------+--------+------------ + | | Value || Percentage | | Value +Fiscal | Tons | in U. S. || of Total | Tons | in U. S. +Years | | Currency || Exports | | Currency +-------+---------+------------++------------+--------+------------ +1899 | 59,840 | $6,185,293 || 45.1 | 23,066 | $2,436,169 +1900 | 76,709 | 11,393,883 || 52.6 | 25,764 | 3,446,141 +1901 | 112,215 | 14,453,110 || 34.6 | 18,158 | 2,402,867 +1902 | 109,969 | 15,841,316 || 58.3 | 45,527 | 7,261,459 +1903 | 132,242 | 21,701,575 || 54.7 | 71,654 | 12,314,312 +1904 | 131,818 | 21,749,960 || 58.8 | 61,887 | 10,631,591 +1905 | 116,733 | 22,146,241 || 59.6 | 73,351 | 12,954,515 +1906 | 112,165 | 19,446,769 || 59.5 | 62,045 | 11,168,226 +1907 | 114,701 | 21,085,081 || 61.7 | 58,389 | 11,326,864 +1908 | 115,829 | 17,311,808 || 52.7 | 48,814 | 7,684,000 +1909 | 149,992 | 15,833,577 || 51.0 | 79,210 | 8,534,288 +1910 | 170,789 | 17,404,922 || 43.6 | 99,305 | 10,399,397 +1911 | 165,650 | 16,141,340 || 40.5 | 66,545 | 7,410,373 +1912 | 154,047 | 16,283,510 || 32.3 | 69,574 | 7,751,489 +1913 | 144,576 | 23,044,744 || 43.3 | 63,715 | 11,613,943 +-------+---------+------------++------------+--------+------------ + + +Copra Exports + +------------------------------++---------------------------------- + || To United States, including + To All Countries || Hawaii and Porto Rico +-------+---------+------------++------------+--------+------------ + | | Value || Percentage | | Value +Fiscal | Tons | in U. S. || of Total | Tons | in U. S. +Years | | Currency || Exports | | Currency +-------+---------+------------++------------+--------+------------ +1899 | 14,047 | $656,870 || 4.7 | ---- | ---- +1900 | 37,081 | 1,690,897 || 7.8 | ---- | ---- +1901 | 52,530 | 2,648,305 || 10.0 | 103 | 4,450 +1902 | 19,687 | 1,001,656 || 3.6 | ---- | ---- +1903 | 97,630 | 4,472,679 || 11.2 | 61 | 9,173 +1904 | 54,133 | 2,527,019 || 7.0 | 174 | 9,231 +1905 | 37,557 | 2,095,352 || 5.6 | 205 | 14,425 +1906 | 66,158 | 4,043,115 || 12.3 | ---- | ---- +1907 | 49,082 | 4,053,193 || 11.8 | 1,110 | 108,086 +1908 | 76,420 | 5,461,680 || 16.6 | 2,968 | 228,565 +1909 | 105,565 | 6,657,740 || 21.1 | 4,714 | 287,484 +1910 | 115,285 | 9,153,951 || 22.9 | 5,538 | 447,145 +1911 | 115,602 | 9,899,457 || 24.9 | 12,241 | 1,030,481 +1912 | 169,342 | 16,514,749 || 32.8 | 24,160 | 2,339,144 +1913 | 113,055 | 11,647,898 || 21.9 | 7,460 | 720,245 +-------+---------+------------++------------+--------+----------- + + +An extraordinary drought, which seems to have extended throughout the +Far East, is largely responsible for the decrease in exports during the +last fiscal year, its effect having been felt long after it had passed. + +Coconut oil is very extensively used in making high-grade soaps, +and is now also employed in the manufacture of butter and lard +substitutes. Their quality is excellent, they keep well in the +tropics, and being non-animal in their nature are not open to the +æsthetic or religious objections which some people entertain toward +oleomargarine and true lard. Lard made from coconut oil is of course +especially appreciated in Mohammedan countries. There is a steady +demand for the shredded coconut used by confectioners. The press-cake +which remains after the oil has been extracted is a valuable food for +fattening animals. A rich, palatable and nutritious "milk," on which +"cream" rises in a most appetizing manner, is made by wringing out +fresh shredded coconut in water. Whether or not it can be preserved +and utilized as a commercial product remains to be seen, but the +experiment would be worth trying. + +Thus far coconut cultivation has been conducted in a very haphazard +way. In fact, the existing groves are hardly cultivated at all. Nuts +or young trees are put into the ground in whatever fashion seems good +to the individual planter, and are invariably set too closely. There +may be a little initial cultivation, but usually nothing is done +except to cut down weeds and brush with a bolo, and often even this +is neglected. The trees, once established, are left to shift for +themselves, and are soon contending with each other for root space +and air. The owner cuts notches in their bark in order to facilitate +climbing. Water gathers in them and starts decay. + +If under such circumstances coconut growing is so profitable that +to-day plantations can hardly be bought at any price, what will happen +when carefully selected seed nuts are put out at proper intervals and +growing trees are given high cultivation? In considering the profits +resulting from coconut culture, estimates are sometimes based on +twenty nuts to the tree per year, while forty are considered a very +liberal allowance. This number is even now largely exceeded throughout +extensive areas in the Philippines under the unfavourable conditions +above described. The effect of good cultivation can be determined, +in a measure, by the condition of trees which chance to be so situated +that the ground near them is kept clean. The results of fertilization +can be estimated by observing the condition of trees standing near +native houses. I recently endeavoured to have the nuts on a series +of such trees counted from the ground. This proved impossible. In +fact, it was necessary to cut out a bunch of nuts in order to make +it possible for a climber to scramble over the great masses of fruit, +and get among the leaves. I therefore bought the nuts on several trees +and had them thrown down. The trees were in a little Manobo village, +and the ground around them was cultivated. The two which seemed to be +bearing most heavily could not be climbed, as bees had taken possession +of them. The third best tree had three hundred ninety-seven nuts on it; +the fourth only three hundred twenty-three, but its output had been +reduced by tapping a number of its blossom stalks for tuba. All the +nuts were very large. The meat from an average specimen was carefully +dried and we found that one hundred fifty-six such nuts would make +a picul of copra. A common estimate of the average number of nuts +required for a picul is three hundred. + +Of the whole number of nuts on these trees a few would have failed +to develop, owing to lack of room, but it is fair to suppose that +the first would have ripened three hundred fifty nuts and the second +two hundred seventy-five. Actual observation has shown that it takes +nuts two hundred thirty-eight to two hundred fifty-nine days to mature +in Mindanao. + +Coconut trees attain a great age, and a producing plantation in the +Agusan valley would be a mine of wealth. + +The time required for the trees to come into bearing varies from +five to seven years with differing conditions of soil and climate, +and with the altitude above sea-level. I have seen individual trees +heavily loaded with nuts at four and a half years. The owner of a +coconut plantation must wait for his returns, or grow something else +meanwhile. Quick growing catch crops may at first be raised between +the rows if soil conditions are favourable, but it must be remembered +that coconut trees thrive on soil so sandy that it will produce little +else of value. They require abundant water and plantations should be +well open to the breeze. Such conditions are frequently found along +the seashore, which doubtless explains the belief so common among +natives throughout the tropics that the coconut will not grow where +it cannot "hear" or "see" the sea. The trees do equally well on open +inland plains. + +They have few enemies or diseases in the Philippines, the bud rot which +has caused such destruction in other countries being almost unknown +there. They resist wind storms admirably, and even typhoons seldom +uproot them, but violent gales injure the leaves and blow down the +fruits, thus temporarily checking production. While coconut growing +is profitable on suitable soil throughout the islands, it can be +carried on most safely to the south of the typhoon belt. + +At present practically all Philippine copra is either sun-dried or +smoked. The latter process hardens the outer layer of the meat before +it is thoroughly dried within, and also causes the deposit of more or +less creosote. The resulting product moulds and decays readily, and +has given Philippine copra an evil name, but this will not seriously +interfere with the sale of a good article from the islands, as its +quality will be readily determinable. + +Until within a very short time the crudest and most antiquated hand +machinery has been used in the local manufacture of coconut oil. Soon +after the American occupation a modern oil mill was established at +Manila. It prospered until it burned, which it rather promptly did +for the reason that it was constructed of Oregon pine, which speedily +became soaked with coconut oil, and was ready to flash into flame at +the touch of a lighted match or of a cigarette butt. + +A new mill of iron, steel and reënforced concrete has now been +erected. It is equipped with the latest machinery and labour-saving +devices, and is reported to be operating on a wide margin of profit. + +The market for coconut oil seems to grow more rapidly than the +supply increases. There is abundant room for more oil mills in the +Philippines, especially as the machinery used in extracting coconut +oil is equally well suited to the milling of castor beans, peanuts +and sesamum, all of which can be produced in any desired quantity. + +Modern drying apparatus is just beginning to be imported for copra +making. + +Sugar and tobacco are the remaining principal agriculture +products. Both can be very advantageously grown. All that has been said +relative to primitive methods in rice, hemp and coconut production can +be repeated with emphasis in discussing sugar culture. The machinery +and methods employed might almost be called antediluvian, and it is a +wonder that sugar could ever have been produced at a profit under such +conditions as have prevailed. Deep ploughing was unknown. There was +not an irrigated field of cane in the islands. The most modern of the +estates was equipped with a three-roll mill, and with some vacuum pans +which the owner did not know how to use. The soil was never fertilized, +and no sugar grower dreamed of employing a chemist. Forty to sixty +per cent of the sugar in the cane was thrown out in the bagasse, +and that extracted was full of dirt and promptly began to deliquesce. + +Philippine sugar could never have competed successfully in the world's +market under such conditions. + +Fortunately one modern central has already been established, and +several others are in process of construction. Up-to-date mills could +well afford to grind cane for Filipinos, giving them outright as much +sugar as they had previously been able to extract from it and making +a very handsome profit out of the balance. But as yet most Filipinos +have not learned the benefit of coöperation, and are too suspicious +to contract their crops of cane to a mill. It follows that mill +owners must control, in one way or another, land enough to produce +cane sufficient to keep their mills in profitable operation. As we +have seen advantage has been taken of this fact by unscrupulous sugar +men in the United States who have secured legislation limiting the +amount of land which corporations authorized to engage in agriculture +may own, with the deliberate intention of thus crippling the sugar +industry in the Philippine Islands. It is iniquitous so to handicap +an important industry in a colonial dependency, and this legislation +should be stricken from the statute books. + +Fortunately there is no law limiting the right of individuals to +contract their crops, nor is it apparent that such a law could be +enacted. Furthermore, there is no law limiting the amount of land which +an individual may hold, nor is it likely that any will be passed. It +would therefore seem that while vicious legislation may interfere +with the rapid development of the sugar industry in the Philippines, +it cannot destroy it. + +The table on the opposite page shows the amount and value of sugar +exports for the past fifteen years. + +It is said that the tobacco which now produces the famous Sumatra +wrapper originally came from the Philippines, which now have to +import it. This condition of things is mainly due to lack of system +and care in tobacco growing. Seed selection is almost unknown; worms +are not picked; fertilization is not practiced; the system under which +each labourer settles on the land, plants as much or as little as he +pleases, and manages his crop in his own way, is in vogue, and it is +an eloquent testimonial to the merits of soil and climate that the +tobacco so grown is good for anything. + + +Sugar + +------------------------------++----------------------------------- + || To United States, including + To All Countries || Hawaii and Porto Rico +-------+---------+------------++------------+---------+------------ + | | Value || Percentage | | Value +Fiscal | Tons | in U. S. || of Total | Tons | in U. S. +Years | | Currency || Exports | | Currency +-------+---------+------------++------------+---------+------------ +1899 | 57,447 | $2,333,851 || 15.9 | 2,340 | $143,500 +1900 | 78,306 | 3,000,501 || 12.3 | 143 | 21,000 +1901 | 56,582 | 2,293,058 || 8.6 | 2,153 | 93,472 +1902 | 67,795 | 2,761,432 || 10.0 | 5,225 | 293,354 +1903 | 111,647 | 3,955,828 || 9.9 | 34,433 | 1,335,826 +1904 | 75,161 | 2,668,507 || 7.2 | 11,626 | 354,144 +1905 | 113,640 | 4,977,026 || 13.4 | 57,859 | 2,618,487 +1906 | 125,794 | 4,863,865 || 14.8 | 7,302 | 260,104 +1907 | 120,289 | 3,934,460 || 11.5 | 6,610 | 234,074 +1908 | 151,712 | 5,664,666 || 17.2 | 48,476 | 2,036,697 +1909 | 112,380 | 4,373,338 || 14.0 | 21,285 | 881,218 +1910 | 127,717 | 7,040,690 || 17.6 | 94,156 | 5,495,797 +1911 | 149,376 | 8,014,360 || 20.1 | 128,926 | 7,144,755 +1912 | 186,016 | 10,400,575 || 20.6 | 161,783 | 9,142,833 +1913 | 212,540 | 9,491,540 || 17.8 | 83,951 | 3,989,665 +-------+---------+------------++------------+---------+------------ + + +The domestic consumption of tobacco is very large. Practically every +one smokes. Exportations are increasing. The tables on pages nine +hundred and nine hundred one will give an adequate conception of the +recent growth of the tobacco industry. + +Bananas form an important part of the food of the people, yet there +is not such a thing as a real banana plantation in the islands. The +average Filipino has a few plants around his house, but with many of +them even this is too much trouble, and they prefer to buy the fruit +at a comparatively high price in the local markets. Good bananas sell +readily in Manila at half a dollar a bunch, and the best varieties +bring even a higher price. The latter may be bought at ten cents +a bunch in the Agusan River valley, where conditions are ideal for +their successful cultivation. I recently measured a series of trunks +there which ran from forty inches to four feet in circumference. + + +Table showing the Number of Cigars removed from Manufactories for +Domestic Consumption and for Export during the Past Eight Fiscal Years + +--------------+--------------------------------------------+------------- + | Cigars Manufactured and | + Fiscal Year +----------------+-------------+-------------+ +ended June 30 | Consumed in | Exported | Shipped to | Total + | the Philippine | to Foreign | United | + | Islands | Countries | States | +--------------+----------------+-------------+-------------+------------- + | Number | Number | Number | Number +1906 | 74,184,537 | 94,110,336 | 231,206 | 168,526,079 +1907 | 79,476,459 | 117,684,485 | 82,175 | 197,243,119 +1908 | 82,986,278 | 115,738,939 | 29,570 | 198,754,787 +1909 | 86,800,520 | 116,981,434 | 867,947 | 204,649,901 +1910 | 89,272,890 | 109,006,765 | 87,281,673 | 285,561,328 +1911 | 96,115,525 | 104,604,170 | 27,531,596 | 228,251,291 +1912 | 109,924,014 | 104,476,781 | 70,518,050 | 284,918,845 +1913 | 96,193,811 | 106,563,541 | 102,894,077 | 305,651,429 +--------------+----------------+-------------+-------------+------------- + + +Table showing the Number of Cigarettes removed from Manufactories for +Domestic Consumption and for Export during the Past Eight Fiscal Years + +--------------------------+------------------------------+--------------- + | Cigarettes Manufactured and | + +----------------+-------------+ +Fiscal Year ended June 30 | Consumed in | Exported to | Total + | the Philippine | Foreign | + | Islands | Countries | +--------------------------+----------------+-------------+--------------- + | Number | Number | Number +1906 | 3,509,038,750 | 21,062,844 | 3,530,101,594 +1907 | 3,509,999,575 | 158,349,812 | 3,668,349,387 +1908 | 3,774,303,310 | 72,387,396 | 3,846,690,706 +1909 | 4,122,385,209 | 53,250,328 | 4,175,635,537 +1910 | 4,138,647,668 | 34,859,581 | 4,173,507,249 +1911 | 4,058,603,123 | 35,425,865 | 4,094,028,988 +1912 | 4,369,153,048 | 35,776,760 | 4,404,929,808 +1913 | 4,449,340,088 | 51,431,838 | 4,500,771,926 +--------------------------+----------------+-------------+--------------- + + +Table showing the Quantity of Smoking Tobacco Exported during Each +of the Past Five Fiscal Years + +-------------------+----------------------------------------------------- + | Total Exports during the Fiscal Year + Country to +----------+----------+----------+----------+--------- + which Exported | 1909 | 1910 | 1911 | 1912 | 1913 +-------------------+----------+----------+----------+----------+--------- + | Pounds | Pounds | Pounds | Pounds | Pounds +Canary Islands | 33,488 | 18,547 | 21,329 | 28,645 | 59,454 +For consumption on | | | | | + high seas | 14,490 | 17,655 | 22,610 | 24,488 | 29,257 +France | 4,740 | 6,182 | 11,334 | 3,091 | 11,433 +China | 2,233 | 1,586 | 7,938 | 6,077 | 9,569 +All others | 5,082 | 5,174 | 25,791 | 4,151 | 7,417 + +----------+----------+----------+----------+--------- + Total | 60,034 | 49,145 | 89,004 | 66,452 | 117,130 +-------------------+----------+----------+----------+----------+--------- + + +Table showing the Quantity of Leaf Tobacco Exported during the Calendar +Years 1909, 1910, 1911 and 1912 + + +-------------------------+--------------------------------------------------- + | Calendar Year + +------------+------------+------------+------------ + | 1909 | 1910 | 1911 | 1912 +-------------------------+------------+------------+------------+------------ + | Pounds | Pounds | Pounds | Pounds +Exported in the leaf[182]| | | | + To the United States | 13,503 | 12,269 | 4,946 | 93,928 + To other countries | 21,218,588 | 26,469,800 | 28,354,636 | 28,041,374 + +------------+------------+------------+------------ + Total | 21,232,079 | 26,482,069 | 28,359,582 | 28,136,302 +-------------------------+------------+------------+------------+------------ + +Note.--All figures given above are for unstemmed leaf. + + +There are numerous varieties of bananas in the Philippines, and some +of them are of unrivalled excellence, but fruit of uniform quality is +unobtainable, if desired in any considerable quantity. In the course +of a brief morning visit to the Zamboanga market I have seen fifteen +to twenty different varieties of bananas on sale there, of which a +considerable proportion were full of tannin and fit only for cooking. + +A banana plantation gives returns at the end of a year from the time +of planting, and the fruit ought to be grown on plantation scale for +the markets of Cebú, Iloilo, Manila and Hongkong. + +Throughout extensive areas conditions are ideal for rubber production, +and Para, castilloa and ceara trees all thrive. Those of the latter +species reach their most perfect development in Bukidnon, where they +grow at an astonishing rate and produce hemispheres of foliage which +look almost solid. A plantation of these trees should be not only +beautiful to look upon but very profitable. + +Conditions in the highlands of Luzón, in the sub-province of Bukidnon, +and in other portions of Mindanao, are admirably adapted to the +production of coffee. Indeed, one of the few known wild varieties +is indigenous to the Philippines. The coffee at present produced is +grown in violation of every accepted principle of coffee culture, +but is nevertheless excellent in quality, and any surplus not required +for local consumption is eagerly bought up for shipment to Spain. In +Bukidnon the opportunity for growing coffee upon a large scale is +excellent. + +There is little doubt that tea could be advantageously produced in +the Philippine highlands, especially in northern Luzón. + +Throughout extensive regions the soil and climate are ideal for +growing cacao, from which is made the chocolate of commerce. It has +numerous insect enemies, and careful scientific cultivation is needed +to obtain the best results. + +A determined and very successful effort is being made by the Bureau +of Education to interest the Filipinos in raising corn, which is a far +better food than is rice. They are being taught how to grind and cook +it for human food, and its use, which has long been common in islands +like Cebú, Negros, Siquijor and Bohol, is rapidly increasing. It can +be grown to good advantage in the Philippines, and at existing prices +its production upon a commercial scale for human consumption would be +profitable, but there is another good use to which it can be put. The +supply of fresh pork is not equal to the demand, and there would be a +ready market, at a high price, for a largely increased amount. Corn-fed +hogs are practically unknown in the islands. They ought not to be. + +Both corn and camotes flourish in Bukidnon, where the former often +attains a height of from twelve to eighteen feet and produces one to +four ears to the stalk. Here, as elsewhere, careful seed selection +rapidly increases the crop. Camotes, planted after the first ploughing, +kill out all grass and weeds, but rapidly impoverish the soil. Planting +camotes on a large scale and close subsequent pasturing of the land +with hogs would leave the soil enriched and in excellent condition +for planting with other crops. A little corn would put camote-fed +hogs in splendid condition for the market. In this way it would be +possible to raise them inexpensively and on a large scale. + +The Philippines produce citrus fruits in considerable variety. Some of +the native oranges and lemons are excellent. No care has as yet ever +been given to their cultivation. They are never pruned or sprayed, +nor is the ground around them kept clean. The larger Philippine towns +and cities afford a good market for citrus fruits, and any surplus +could be shipped to neighbouring Asiatic cities. Experiments in +budding American varieties on to the native stock are now in progress. + +In many parts of the islands climate and soil are perfectly adapted +to the production of pineapples, which at present usually grow +uncared for. One pineapple plantation has already been established, +and a factory for canning the product is under construction. Others +will follow. + +Roselle, from the fruit of which is made a jelly equal to currant +jelly in colour, and very similar to it in flavour, grows luxuriantly +and produces heavy crops of fruit. An excellent fermented drink may +be made from its leaves and stems. + +Mangos, commonly considered to be the best fruit produced in the +islands, can be successfully canned. + +Guavas grow wild over extensive areas, and a properly located factory +could produce guava jelly in large quantity. + +Briefly, there is every opportunity for the profitable investment of +brains, capital and energy in agricultural pursuits along a score of +different lines. Such investment would be of immense advantage to +the Filipinos themselves. They are neither original nor naturally +progressive, but they are quick to imitate, and would follow the +example set for them. Their country would readily support eighty +million people, and it has eight million, so there is still room for +a few foreigners. + +If rice is the bread of the people, fresh fish is their meat. Twenty +or thirty thousand pounds of fresh fish are sold daily in Manila, +and the supply is inadequate to meet the demand. A similar condition +exists in many of the larger towns throughout the archipelago. Dried +fish is extensively used, and sardines preserved in brine find a +ready sale. They may be taken in immense quantities in the southern +islands at certain seasons. The intelligent application of modern +methods to the taking, preserving and marketing of fish would give +immediate and large returns. + +Rinderpest appeared in the islands in 1888, and from that time until +the establishment of civil government under American rule swept through +the archipelago practically unchecked, causing enormous losses to +agriculture. For a time it was impossible to plough anything like +the normal amount of land, because of the lack of draught animals. + +Promptly upon their establishment, the Bureau of Science and the +Bureau of Agriculture began a determined campaign against this the +most dangerous pest of cattle. The fight has never ceased up to the +present time. While the disease is not completely stamped out, its +ravages have been reduced to insignificant proportions, and the natural +increase of the surviving animals has rehabilitated agriculture. + +Good draught animals still bring abnormally high prices. I well +remember that in Spanish days an ordinary carabao cost $7.50, and an +excellent one could be purchased for $12.50. Similar animals to-day +bring from $50 to $75 each, and in certain districts the best carabaos +sell for $100 each. + +There is still a great shortage of beef cattle. Refrigerated meat is +imported in large quantities, but many of the Filipinos do not like it, +and will not buy it unless compelled to do so by the lack of any other. + +It has been found impracticable to remedy these conditions by importing +Chinese cattle or carabaos for the reason that cattle disease is +prevalent in the regions from which they would necessarily come, +but a way out of the difficulty has now presented itself. Nellore +cattle, one of the humped breeds of India, belonging to a distinct +race known as zebus, are immune to rinderpest, and do not suffer from +tick fever, which is prevalent throughout the islands. They flourish +in the Philippines, and do especially well in Bukidnon. + +They are much larger than the Chinese cattle now in common use, walk +faster, are extremely gentle and make superior draught animals. Their +flesh is excellent. Cattle raising in Mindanao on a large scale is +certainly possible, and offers a most attractive field for investment. + +The establishment of a great silk-growing industry is dependent only +upon the necessary capital and initiative. The Bureau of Science has +laid the foundation for it by conclusively demonstrating that silk +worms, and the mulberry trees on the leaves of which they thrive, +flourish here. Worms have now been grown for six years, and have +never suffered from any disease. Filipina women and girls, with their +deft fingers, would make excellent help for silk culture. Indeed, +the opportunity to engage in it would be a great boon to them in many +parts of the islands where they now lack profitable employment. + +Manufacturing is as yet in its infancy. There are a number of regions +where very cheap power can be had by hydraulic development. That the +Filipinos make good factory labourers has been abundantly demonstrated +in existing tobacco factories, a hat factory, a match factory and a +couple of small factories for the manufacture of tagal braid, [183] +all in successful operation. With plenty of good labour, cheap power +and abundant raw materials, important manufacturing industries should +be developed. + +I will not discuss at length the possibility of engaging profitably +in trade. Such possibility exists wherever commodities are bought and +sold, and here as elsewhere profits or losses largely depend on the +abilities of individuals. But the question of the trade relations, +present and possible, between the Philippines and the United States +is one of very great importance. + +In the next chapter I show the enormous increase in the total trade +of the country since the American occupation, and the rapid growth +of trade with the United States. + +Next to rice, cotton goods form the most important element in the +consuming markets of the islands, and the rapidity with which the +United States is gaining control of this trade is well illustrated +in the following table, showing by years the value of such goods +imported since 1904:-- + + + Importations of Cotton Cloth + + -----------------+------------------+--------------- + | United States | + Year | Hawaii and Porto | All Countries + | Rico | + -----------------+------------------+--------------- + 1904 | $278,106 | $4,919,840 + 1905 | 764,990 | 6,346,962 + 1906 | 278,796 | 6,642,329 + 1907 | 1,056,328 | 8,320,079 + 1908 | 604,742 | 7,909,395 + 1909 | 508,229 | 6,862,135 + 1910 | 2,043,000 | 8,444,453 + 1911 | 4,110,837 | 10,305,017 + 1912 | 4,143,067 | 9,246,595 + 1913 | 6,827,082 | 11,483,638 + +------------------+--------------- + Total | $20,615,177 | $80,480,443 + | +--------------- + Annual average | | $8,048,044 + -----------------+------------------+--------------- + + +From a proportion of slightly over five per cent of the total trade in +manufactures of cotton in 1904, importations of the American product +have increased until they supply fifty-nine per cent of the present +local demand! + +The following table is of especial interest. It shows in the first +column the nature and amount of the total exports from the United +States and in the second the nature and amount of United States +exports to the Philippine Islands. + + +----------------------------------------------+-----------+--------------- + | To All | To Philippine + | Countries | Islands +----------------------------------------------+-----------+--------------- +Foodstuffs in crude condition, and food | | + animals | 7.48 | 2.25 +Foodstuffs partly or wholly manufactured | 13.19 | 14.39 +Crude materials for use in manufacturing | 30.10 | .42 +Manufactures for further use in manufacturing | 16.84 | 7.19 +Manufactures ready for consumption | 32.04 | 75.73 +Miscellaneous | .35 | .02 + +-----------+--------------- + Total | 100.00 | 100.00 +----------------------------------------------+-----------+--------------- + + +The most profitable class of exports is manufactures ready for +consumption. It forms no less than 75.73 per cent of the United +States exports to the Philippines. The least profitable exports are +crude materials for use in manufacturing, which make up but forty-two +hundredths of one per cent of the total exports to the Philippines. + +Tropical and sub-tropical products are constantly increasing in +popularity in the United States, which is able to produce them to +so small an extent that although the classes included in this table +comprise nearly forty per cent of the total United States imports +for the year, there are but two on which duty is levied. + +The following table shows the amount and value of tropical products +imported into the United States during the year ended June 30, 1913:-- + + +------------------------+--------------------+-------------- + Products | Amount | Value +------------------------+--------------------+-------------- + | | +Cocoa | 140,039,172 lb. | $17,389,042 +Coffee | 863,130,757 lb. | 118,963,209 +Fibres | 407,098 T. | 49,075,659 +Manufactures of fibres | ---- | 76,972,416 +Fruits and nuts | ---- | 42,622,653 +Goatskins | 45,729,000 T. | 24,790,417 +Gums of various kinds | ---- | 15,138,895 +Rubber | 214,000,000 lb. | 101,333,158 +Matting | ---- | 1,651,813 +Vegetable oils | ---- | 38,112,883 +Silk, unmanufactured | ---- | 84,914,717 +Spices | 65,225,401 lb. | 6,187,136 +Sugar | 4,740,041,488 lb. | 103,639,823 +Tea | 94,812,800 lb. | 17,433,688 +Leaf tobacco | 67,454,745 lb. | 35,919,079 +Manufactured tobacco | ---- | 6,577,403 +Cabinet woods | ---- | 8,880,000 +Rattans and reeds | ---- | 1,800,000 + | +-------------- + | | $751,401,991 +------------------------+--------------------+-------------- + + +The balance of trade with the more important countries from which we +get these products is heavily against us, as is shown by the following +table in which I have included Switzerland, not because we get tropical +or sub-tropical products from that country, but because it furnishes +us embroideries, etc., which could be very cheaply produced in the +Philippines. The figures are for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1913:-- + + +---------------+--------------------+------------------+----------------- + | | | Balance against + | U. S. Imports from | U. S. Exports to | U. S. +---------------+--------------------+------------------+----------------- +Brazil | $120,155,855 | $42,638,467 | $77,517,388 +Cuba | 126,088,173 | 70,581,154 | 55,507,019 +British E. I. | 116,178,182 | 15,108,956 | 101,069,226 +Japan | 91,633,240 | 57,741,815 | 33,891,425 +China | 39,010,800 | 21,326,834 | 17,683,966 +Switzerland | 23,260,180 | 826,549 | 22,433,631 +Mexico | 77,543,842 | 54,571,584 | 22,972,258 +Colombia | 15,992,321 | 7,397,696 | 8,594,625 +Venezuela | 10,852,331 | 5,737,118 | 5,115,213 +Egypt | 19,907,828 | 1,660,833 | 18,246,995 + +--------------------+------------------+----------------- + | $640,622,752 | $277,591,006 | $363,031,746 +---------------+--------------------+------------------+----------------- + + +There is no such relationship with the Philippines, which during 1912 +imported $20,770,536 worth of merchandise from the United States to +offset the $21,619,686 worth shipped to that country. + +The Philippines could readily produce all of these products in +quantities sufficient to meet the demands of the United States if +there were proper development of the resources of the islands, which +have rich land, good labour and suitable climate, but lack capital +and competent, skilled supervision. + +The situation has been admirably summed up in the following statement +issued some time since by the Manila Merchants' Association:-- + + + "The Philippines will consume of imported commodities what they are + able to pay for. Their purchasing capacity will always be measured + by their production of export commodities. There is nothing that + they produce, or are adapted to produce, that the United States is + not at present under the necessity of buying from foreign countries + whose import trade it does not, and never will, control. Thus it + cannot hope for such advantages in other fields yielding tropical + products as it already possesses in these Islands." + + +The Philippines should furnish the bulk of the tropical products +imported into the United States. The commerce between the two countries +should in the very near future increase to $100,000,000 per year each +way and should go on increasing more and more rapidly thereafter. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIV + +PEACE AND PROSPERITY + + +Unexampled material prosperity has come to the islands, partly as a +result of the establishment of peace, and the improvement in means +of communication; partly from a very different cause. + +Among other dire calamities which he says have befallen the +Philippines Blount includes "tariff-wrought poverty," [184] and he +roundly scores the Congress of the United States for its attitude +toward the suffering Filipino. + +As a simple matter of fact, tariff legislation enacted by Congress has +been the commercial salvation of the islands. The tariff law of 1909, +known as the Payne Bill, was passed August 5, 1909, and went into +effect sixty days thereafter. In order to make the effect of this +act more apparent, the figures from July 1, 1909, in the following +statistical tables are printed in bold-faced type. These tables speak +for themselves, very loudly. + + +Internal-Revenue Statistics + +-----------+--------------+----------++-------------+------------+-------------- + | Total | || | Total | Increase (+) +Fiscal Year| Collections | Increase || Fiscal Year |Collections | or + | | || | | Decrease (-) +-----------+--------------+----------++-------------+------------+-------------- + | | Per Cent || | | Per Cent +1906 [185] | $4,434,364 | -- || 1910 |$7,160,810 | +22 +1907 | 4,729,515 | 7 || 1911 | 7,922,787 | +11 +1908 | 5,542,022 | 17 || 1912 | 8,389,929 | + 6 +1909 | 5,871,267 | 6 || 1913 |9,035,922 | + 8 +-----------+--------------+----------++-------------+------------+-------------- + + +Trade with the United States + +----------------------+------------------+----------------+---------------- + | Imports from the | Exports to the | + Fiscal Year | United States | United States | Total +----------------------+------------------+----------------+---------------- +1899 | $1,150,613 | $3,540,894 | $4,691,507 +1900 | 1,656,469 | 3,635,160 | 5,291,629 +1901 | 2,666,930 | 2,572,021 | 5,238,951 +1902 | 4,035,243 | 7,871,743 | 11,906,986 +1903 | 3,944,082 | 13,863,059 | 17,807,141 +1904 | 4,843,207 | 11,102,860 | 15,946,067 +1905 | 5,839,512 | 15,678,875 | 21,518,387 +1906 | 4,333,917 | 11,580,569 | 15,914,486 +1907 | 5,155,478 | 12,082,364 | 17,237,842 +1908 | 5,079,670 | 10,332,116 | 15,411,786 +1909 | 4,693,831 | 10,154,087 | 14,847,918 +1910 | 10,775,301 | 18,703,083 | 29,478,384 +1911 | 19,483,658 | 16,716,956 | 36,200,614 +1912 | 20,970,536 | 21,619,686 | 42,390,222 +1913 (at the rate of) | 26,264,218 | 23,573,865 | 49,838,083[186] +----------------------+------------------+----------------+---------------- + + +Total Trade, including that with the United States + +Column headings: FY: Fiscal Year; ID: Increase (+) or Decrease (-); PC: Per Cent + +-----+-------------------+--------------------+-------------+------------------ + | | | | Foreign Tonnage + | Imports | Exports | Total | Cleared + FY +-------------+-----+-------------+------+ Customs +-----------+------ + | Value | ID | Value | ID | Collections | Amount | ID +-----+-------------+-----+-------------+------+-------------+-----------+------ + | | PC | | PC | | | PC +1899 | $13,116,567 | -- | $14,640,162 | -- | $3,106,380 | 336,550 | -- +1900 | 20,601,436 | +57 | 19,821,347 | +35 | 5,542,289 | 636,034 | +89 +1901 | 30,276,200 | +47 | 23,222,348 | +17 | 8,982,813 | 987,094 | +55 +1902 | 32,029,357 | + 6 | 24,544,858 | + 6 | 8,528,938 | 1,104,968 | +12 +1903 | 32,978,445 | + 3 | 33,150,120 | +35 | 9,540,706 | 1,542,200 | +40 +1904 | 33,221,251 | + 1 | 30,226,127 | - 9 | 8,493,868 | 1,542,138 | -- +1905 | 30,879,048 | - 7 | 32,355,865 | + 7 | 8,263,444 | 1,417,396 | - 8 +1906 | 25,799,290 | -16 | 31,918,542 | - 1 | 7,553,206 | 1,455,055 | + 3 +1907 | 28,786,063 | +12 | 33,721,767 | + 6 | 8,194,708 | 1,293,266 | -11 +1908 | 30,918,745 | + 7 | 32,829,816 | - 3 | 8,318,020 | 1,464,448 | +13 +1909 | 27,794,482 | -10 | 31,044,458 | - 5 | 8,539,098 | 1,392,333 | - 5 +1910 | 37,067,630 | +33 | 39,717,960 | +28 | 8,286,073 | 1,715,268 | +23 +1911 | 49,833,722 | +34 | 39,778,629 | +0.2 | 8,678,810 | 1,808,308 | +15 +1912 | 54,549,980 | + 9 | 50,319,836 | +26 | 9,363,296 | 1,939,079 | + 7 +1913 | 56,327,533 | +11 | 56,683,326 | +17 | 8,246,026 | 1,868,811 | - 4 +-----+-------------+-----+-------------+------+-------------+-----------+------ + + + ------------+---------------+-------------------+----------------- + | Receipts from | Amounts of | + | Percentage | Business on which | Increase (+) + Fiscal Year | Tax on | Percentage Tax | or Decrease (-) + | Business | is Collected | + ------------+---------------+-------------------+----------------- + | | | Per Cent + 1906 | $666,996 | $200,098,983 | -- + 1907 | 677,847 | 203,354,298 | + 2 + 1908 | 643,707 | 193,112,160 | - 5 + 1909 | 631,877 | 189,563,361 | - 2 + 1910 | 759,718 | 227,915,673 | +20 + 1911 | 885,804 | 265,741,443 | +17 + 1912 | 951,775 | 285,532,500 | + 7 + 1913 | 1,110,000 | 333,000,000 | +17 + ------------+---------------+-------------------+----------------- + + +The Philippine government collects as internal revenue one-third of +one per cent of the gross business done by merchants and manufacturers +in the islands. The fiscal year ending June 30, 1909, was the last +before the opening of free trade with the United States. The figures +for the four subsequent years therefore show the resulting stimulus +to business. + +The gross business on which the percentage tax was collected in +1909 was $190,000,000 (P380,000,000). The increases over that year +have been:-- + + + ------+---------------------------------+------------- + | Increases over 1909 | + +------------------+--------------+ Percentage + Year | United States | Philippine | of Increase + | Currency | Currency | + ------+------------------+--------------+------------- + 1910 | $38,000,000 | P76,000,000 | 20.0 + 1911 | 76,000,000 | 152,000,000 | 40.0 + 1912 | 96,000,000 | 192,000,000 | 50.5 + 1913 | 143,000,000[187]| 286,000,000 | 75.3 + +------------------+--------------+------------- + | $353,000,000[187]| P706,000,000 | + ------+------------------+--------------+------------- + + +The gross business increased by a fifth in one year; by two-fifths +in two years; by more than a half in three years; and by more than +three-quarters in four years. + +In the year 1909 the total exports and imports of the Philippine +Islands amounted to $59,000,000 (P118,000,000). The increases over +that year have been:-- + + + ------+----------------------------------+------------- + | Increases over 1909 | + +-------------------+--------------+ Percentage + Year | United States | Philippine | of Increase + | Currency | Currency | + ------+-------------------+--------------+------------- + 1910 | $18,000,000 | P36,000,000 | 30.5 + 1911 | 31,000,000 | 62,000,000 | 52.5 + 1912 | 46,000,000 | 92,000,000 | 77.9 + 1913 | 61,000,000[188]| 122,000,000 | 103.4 + +-------------------+--------------+------------- + | $156,000,000 | P312,000,000 | + ------+-------------------+--------------+------------- + + +The total trade increased by nearly one-third in one year; by more +than a half in two years; by more than three-quarters in three years; +and more than doubled in four years. + + +---------------------------------------+---------------+---------------- + | United States | Philippine + | Currency | Currency +---------------------------------------+---------------+---------------- +Total increase of business as above | $353,000,000 | P706,000,000 +Total increase of trade as above | 156,000,000 | 312,000,000 + +---------------+---------------- + Total increase of business and trade | $509,000,000 | P1,018,000,000 +---------------------------------------+---------------+---------------- + + +An attempt has been made to make political capital out of one of the +heavy drops in hemp values. [189] + +It is astonishing how fully Providence sometimes squares accounts +with the falsifier. Whatever may be thought of the advisability or +inadvisability of the hemp duty rebate, there is no escape from the +conclusion that it does not determine the price of hemp. While it +is true that there has been a time during the past two years when +the hemp grower received half, or less than half, the price for +his product which he obtained ten years ago, it is also true that +during the latter part of this same period he has received very much +higher prices than either he or any of his ancestors ever before +obtained. This apart from the fact that the price ten years ago was +quite abnormal, due to crop shortage resulting from a bad state of +public order. It is a poor rule that does not work both ways. If the +hemp rebate is responsible for the recent slump in prices, it must +also be responsible for their having later "kicked the beam." + +The facts set forth in the following tables are also significant of +improved conditions:-- + + + Banking + + -------------+--------------+----------------- + | Total | + Fiscal Year | Resources of | Increase (+) + | Commercial | or Decrease (-) + | Banks | + -------------+--------------+----------------- + | | Per Cent + 1906 | $15,351,690 | + 1907 | 17,054,358 | +11 + 1908 | 17,454,214 | + 2 + 1909 | 18,138,425 | + 4 + 1910 | 22,856,455 | +26 + 1911 | 24,557,697 | + 7 + 1912 | 35,885,728 | +46 + 1913 | 31,210,177 | -13 + -------------+--------------+----------------- + + + Postal Savings Bank + + -------------+---------------------+----------------------------- + | Depositors in the | Total Amount Due Depositors + Fiscal Year | Postal Savings Bank | at Close of Year + +--------+------------+--------------+-------------- + | Number | Increase | Amount | Increase + -------------+--------+------------+--------------+-------------- + | | Per Cent | | Per Cent + 1907 [190] | 2,331 | | $254,731 | + 1908 | 5,389 | 131 | 515,997 | 102 + 1909 | 8,782 | 63 | 724,479 | 40 + 1910 | 13,102 | 49 | 839,123 | 16 + 1911 | 28,804 | 120 | 1,049,737 | 25 + 1912 | 35,802 | 24 | 1,194,493 | 14 + 1913 [191] | 38,075 | | 1,252,189 | + -------------+--------+------------+--------------+-------------- + + + Coastwise Tonnage Cleared + + ----------------------+---------------+----------------- + | | Increase (+) + Fiscal Year | Tonnage | or Decrease (-) + ----------------------+---------------+----------------- + | | Per Cent + 1899 | 237,852 | ---- + 1900 | 482,685 | +103 + 1901 | 676,307 | + 40 + 1902 | 773,243 | + 14 + 1903 | 832,438 | + 8 + 1904 | 905,821 | + 9 + 1905 | 840,504 | - 7 + 1906 | 774,032 | - 8 + 1907 | 899,915 | + 16 + 1908 | 978,968 | + 9 + 1909 | 1,045,075 | + 7 + 1910 | 1,053,426 | + 1 + 1911 | 1,303,606 | + 24 + 1912 | 1,362,620 | + 5 + 1913 (at the rate of) | 1,262,136[192]| - 7 + ----------------------+---------------+----------------- + + +Importations of Coal (Equal Consumption Very Nearly) [193] + + ----------------------+----------------- + | Metric Tons + Fiscal Year | (2205 Pounds) + ----------------------+----------------- + 1899 | 30,812 + 1900 | 87,238 + 1901 | 126,732 + 1902 | 236,332 + 1903 | 268,650 + 1904 | 295,716 + 1905 | 269,666 + 1906 | 268,577 + 1907 | 295,684 + 1908 | 322,928 + 1909 | 294,902 + 1910 | 375,518 + 1911 | 413,735 + 1912 | 436,687 + 1913 (at the rate of) | 408,118 [194] + ----------------------+----------------- + + +If possible, let us have more of this same kind of tariff-wrought +poverty and commercial distress! The country needs it. + +This extraordinary story of rapid increase in commercial prosperity, +as well as in the volume of commerce between the Philippines and the +United States, is but a faint indication of what would come about +under a fixed policy which assured future adequate protection to life +and property in these islands. + +Specific assurance that the United States would not surrender +sovereignty over the archipelago until its inhabitants had demonstrated +both ability and inclination to maintain a stable, just and effective +government would be followed by a steady, healthful commercial +development which would bring in its wake a degree of prosperity +hitherto unknown and undreamed of. The Philippines have the best +tropical climate in the world; soil of unsurpassed richness; +great forest wealth; promising mines; and a constantly growing +population willing to work for a reasonable wage. Give assurance +of a stable government, and prosperity will increase by leaps and +bounds. Turn the country over now, or ten years from now, to the +Filipinos to govern, and the reputable business men, mindful of +Aguinaldo's demand for his share of the war booty when Manila was +taken; of the attempted confiscation of the lands of the religious +orders and of Spanish citizens generally, [195] of the proposal to +tax foreigners [196] as such, and of the torturing of friars, other +Spaniards and Filipinos as well, in order to extort money from them; +of the widespread brigandage, the raping, the officially authorized +and directed murdering and burying alive which prevailed during the +period of undisturbed Filipino rule, will fold their tents like the +Arabs and quietly steal away. There will remain that peculiar class +of business men who, as the Filipinos put it, love to fish in troubled +waters. They will not lack good fishing grounds. + +Should we not stimulate the commercial development of the islands +by adopting liberal provisions as to the sale of public lands, +safeguarding the public interest by imposing at the same time severe +conditions as to cultivation? And should not our anti-imperialist +friends cease to rail at those of their countrymen who are willing to +spend the money without which commercial development is impossible? Can +they not grasp the fact that the influx of Americans and American +capital sounds the death knell of slavery and peonage? It was Americans +whose testimony enabled me to prove to the world the existence in +the Philippines of these twin evils, and to bring pressure to bear +which resulted in prohibitive legislation. It is Americans who are +helping the poor Filipinos to become owners of land. It is Americans +who are encouraging them to take contracts for cultivating cane, +so that they have a direct interest in the crop. + +Increasing prosperity means more money for the maintenance of +order, for schools, for hospitals, for sanitary work and for public +improvements. The diminution of exports which would promptly follow +any serious disturbance of the peace of the country would result in +the loss of much of the ground already gained. + +The average business man is not a sentimentalist. So long as he +can safely carry on his work, and can be sure of just treatment, he +does not worry much over the nationality of the government officials +who maintain such conditions, but he will not invest his money in a +country where it is not reasonably certain that such conditions will +continue to prevail. + +The business men of the Philippines know by experience what American +government of the archipelago means. Some of them know, also by +experience, what Filipino rule means. The slump in real estate +values and customs receipts which so promptly followed Mr. Wilson's +expression of hope that the frontiers of the United States might soon +be contracted, conclusively demonstrated their opinion as to the effect +of Philippine independence on the peace and prosperity of the country. + +The number of Filipinos who thus far have demonstrated ability +successfully to manage large commercial enterprises is exceedingly +limited. Must not commercial prosperity coexist with political +independence, if the latter is to be stable? + +During the visit of the congressional delegation which accompanied +Mr. Taft on his return to the Philippines in 1907, public sessions +were held at which the Filipinos were given opportunity to make +complaints. One fervid orator denounced the collection of customs dues, +internal revenue taxes, the land tax and the cedula tax. A congressman +asked him how he expected to get money to run the government after +all taxes were abolished. He replied, "That is a detail which can be +settled later." + +Would it not be well to consider, at this time, one very important +detail, namely, what would be the effect on the insular government +of a marked falling off in the business from the taxes on which +practically all of the insular revenues are at present derived? + + + + + + +CHAPTER XXXV + +SOME RESULTS OF AMERICAN RULE + + +Having set forth at length what seem to me the more essential facts +relative to the American occupation of the Philippines and the results +of American rule, supporting my statements by a rather free use of +documents chiefly drawn from the Insurgent records, I will briefly +summarize some of the more important points which I have endeavoured +to establish, lest my readers should not see the forest for the trees. + +Independence was never promised to Aguinaldo or to any other Filipino +leader by any officer of the United States, nor was there ever any +effort to deceive the Filipinos by arousing false hopes that it was +to be conceded. + +The Insurgent force never coöperated with that of the United +States. The two had a common enemy and that was practically all that +they did have in common. Each proceeded against that enemy in its +own way. Each ignored requests of the other relative to the manner +in which it should proceed. The Insurgent officers planned from +the outset to utilize United States soldiers in bringing about the +termination of Spanish sovereignty in the Philippines, and then to +attack them if practicable and necessary in order to oust the United +States from the islands. If not, they planned to consider asking us +for a protectorate or for annexation. + +The temporary government established by Aguinaldo and his associates +was not, in any sense of the word, a republic, nor was it established +with the consent of the people. It was a military oligarchy pure and +simple, imposed on the people by armed men and maintained, especially +during its latter days, by terrorism and by the very free use of murder +as a governmental agency. The conditions which arose under it were +shocking in the extreme. Property rights were not respected; human +life was cheap indeed; persons aggrieved had no redress, and there +was hardly a semblance of a system for the administration of justice. + +There were individual instances in which Insurgents and Insurgent +sympathizers were treated with severity, and even with cruelty, by +officers and soldiers of the army of the United States, but it is +nevertheless undoubtedly true that never before have the officers and +men of any civilized nation conducted so humanely a war carried on +under conditions similar to those which prevailed in the Philippines. + +Hostilities were deliberately provoked by the Insurgents, who had +previously prepared an elaborate plan for a simultaneous attack on +the American lines around Manila from within and without, and for the +killing of all Americans, Europeans and American sympathizers among +the Filipinos. + +The war ended with a prolonged period of guerilla warfare, deliberately +inaugurated by the Insurgents, which bred crime and struck at the +very roots of good government. + +At the earliest possible moment the Filipinos were given a share +in the control of their own affairs when municipal governments were +established, under military rule, by army officers. Many Filipinos who +accepted municipal offices under the Americans paid for their courage +with their lives, and a very large number saved their lives only by +serving two masters. Because of the special conditions which prevailed, +such persons were very leniently dealt with when their double dealing +was discovered, and in the effort to afford adequate protection to +those who had put their confidence in the United States, our armed +forces were divided to an extent probably previously unprecedented +in history, and more than five hundred separate garrisons were +established. + +The first Philippine Commission was appointed in the hope of +bringing about a friendly understanding between Insurgent officers +and the representatives of the United States, and for the purpose +of gathering reliable information relative to people and conditions +which might serve as a basis for future legislation for the benefit +of all the inhabitants of the islands. As the result of the breaking +out of hostilities before the commission reached its destination, +its work was necessarily limited to the gathering of information and +to efforts to promote the earliest possible establishment of relations +of friendliness and usefulness between the two peoples. + +The second Philippine Commission was endowed with far-reaching +powers. Shortly after its arrival in the islands it became the +legislative body, and proceeded gradually to establish civil government +as rapidly as practicable in a country under military rule, many +parts of which were in active rebellion. + +This difficult undertaking was carried out with a minimum of friction +between civil and military authorities. The latter were invariably +consulted by the former before civil government was established in +any given region, and their wishes in the premises were respected. The +commanding general stated that the establishment of civil governments +was a help to him in his work, and in accordance with his desires and +recommendations they were established prematurely in three provinces, +with the result that the temporary restoration of military government +became necessary. + +Under American rule there has been brought about in the Philippines +an admirable state of public order, and life and property are to-day +safe throughout practically the whole of an archipelago which, at the +close of Spanish sovereignty, was harried by tulisanes, ladrones and +Moros. There were also very extensive areas in undisputed possession +of wild and savage tribes where governmental control had never been +established, where a man was esteemed in proportion to his success +as a warrior, and where property was likely to find its way into the +hands of men brave enough to seize it and strong enough to hold it. + +We have established friendly relations with the very large majority +of the wild people and the numerous changes for the better which we +have brought about in their territory have been effected practically +without bloodshed except in certain portions of the Moro country. By +effective legislation, strictly enforced, we have saved these backward +tribes from the threatened curse of alcoholism. + +Good order was established in Filipino territory through the admirable +work of the United States Army, assisted toward the close of military +rule by the second Philippine Commission, which did much toward +securing the coöperation of the better element among the Filipinos. + +Under civil control Filipinos and wild men have been utilized as +police officers and soldiers in their respective habitats, and have +been an important factor in bringing about present conditions. The +Philippine Constabulary, recruited in part from Filipinos and in part +from Moros and other non-Christian peoples, has not only proved a +most efficient body for the performance of ordinary police work but +has rendered invaluable assistance to other bureaus of the government; +notably to the Bureau of Health and the Bureau of Agriculture for which +it has effectively performed very important quarantine work. It has +furthermore proved to be a reliable and most useful body in meeting +great public calamities like those caused by the recent eruption of +Tall volcano, and the Cebú typhoon. + +Reforms of radical importance in the judicial system have been another +important factor in making life and property safe, and have resulted +in bringing even-handed justice within the reach of many of the poor +and the weak. + +We found Manila and numerous provincial towns pestholes of disease, +while the death-rate of the archipelago as a whole was so high that +its climate had gained an evil reputation. + +We have given Manila a modern sewer system. We have supplied its people +with comparatively pure drinking water from a mountain watershed in +place of the contaminated water of the Mariquina River which they +were formerly forced to use. We have steadily reduced the death-rate +of the city, which is now a safe and healthful place of residence +for all who will observe a few simple precautions. + +In the provinces, some eight hundred and fifty artesian wells have +brought pure water to hundreds of thousands who were previously +compelled to depend on infected wells, springs and streams. By making +many of the previously most unsanitary regions of the archipelago +healthful we have conclusively demonstrated that the lack of necessary +sanitary measures, not the character of the climate, was responsible +for the conditions which formerly prevailed. + +The islands were periodically swept by frightful epidemics of +disease. We have eliminated smallpox, previously rightly considered +an almost inevitable disease of childhood, as an important factor in +the death-rate. We have practically stamped out cholera and bubonic +plague. Years have now passed since there has been a wide-spread +epidemic of disease among the inhabitants. + +The United States Public Health and Marine Hospital Service has +not only thrown its protective line around the archipelago but has +sent its outposts to important neighbouring Asiatic centres for the +dissemination of disease, thus facilitating the exclusion from the +archipelago of dangerous communicable ailments and preventing the +introduction of pneumonic plague, the most fatal of them all. It +would unquestionably have entered the islands had it not been stopped +at quarantine. + +We are giving humane care to a considerable number of insane persons +who were previously chained to floors or posts. + +The lepers of the islands have been isolated and are being well cared +for. A few have apparently been permanently cured. + +The scientific work of the insular government has been coördinated in +such a way as to insure maximum efficiency at minimum cost. Not only +has an immense amount of routine work been economically performed but +there has been a large amount of original investigation, some of which +has resulted in discoveries of far-reaching importance to mankind. + +We have found the cause of beri-beri, have eliminated this disease from +government institutions and from among persons subject to governmental +control, and have shown the Filipinos how they may rid their country of +it, and save money at the same time, by a slight change in their food. + +We have found a specific for that horribly disfiguring disease +"yaws," and have cured large numbers of persons afflicted with it, +thus earning their lasting gratitude. + +We have made pure food and pure drugs purchasable throughout a country +which was formerly a dumping ground for products not allowed to be +sold elsewhere. + +We have not only made long strides in the improvement of sanitary +conditions in the provinces but have brought skilled medical and +surgical service within the reach of very large numbers of persons +who formerly had none at all, successfully overcoming the previous +universal prejudice against hospitals, to such an extent that those +of the government are now thronged with Filipinos seeking treatment. + +In doing these things we have had to combat almost unbelievable +ignorance and superstition, the remedy for which is to be found, +we hope, in the generalization of education which is rapidly taking +place. The hundred and seventy thousand children, who formerly +took advantage of the meagre educational facilities provided under +the previous régime, consisting chiefly of very defective primary +instruction, usually given amidst most unsanitary surroundings, +and without adequate facilities of any sort, have been replaced +by a happy throng numbering no less than five hundred and thirty +thousand, who receive from well-trained teachers excellent primary +and secondary instruction, both academic and practical. Through the +school system we are generalizing the use of the English language +which is to-day, after a decade and a half of American rule, spoken +far more generally than Spanish was after it had been the official +language of the country for three and a half centuries. In this way +we are overcoming the very grave obstacle in the way of welding the +numerous peoples of the Philippines into one which is presented by +their lack of a common medium of communication. + +At the same time we are teaching boys and girls the elements of +good sanitation and right living. Girls are also being taught to +cook, to sew, to embroider and to make lace. Both boys and girls are +receiving instruction in gardening, and boys may learn wood working, +iron working and other useful trades. Opportunities for higher academic +work have been provided in provincial high schools, and at Manila in +the Philippine Normal School and the University of the Philippines, +while the Manila Schools of Commerce and of Arts and Trades afford +ample opportunity for advanced work on industrial and commercial +lines, and the Manila School of Household Industries fits women to +go out into the provinces and start new centres for the manufacture +of laces and embroideries. + +We are educating a constantly and rapidly increasing number of highly +trained nurses, physicians and surgeons. + +The working forces of certain bureaus of the government have been +utilized for purposes of special instruction in surveying, printing +and binding, and forestry, and even the inmates of penal institutions +are not forgotten, but have good schools provided for them. + +Quite as important as the development of the minds of the young is +the development of their bodies through the introduction of athletic +games and sports, which have incidentally promoted intercommunication +and mutual understanding between the several Filipino peoples. In +many regions baseball is emptying the cockpits, and thus aiding the +cause of good order and morality. + +Educational work has not been limited to the Filipinos, but has been +carried on among the children of the wilder tribes, many of whom are +proving to be apt pupils and are making extraordinary progress in +industrial work. + +By educating the masses we are giving to the Filipinos proper, as +distinguished from the mestizo politicians, the first opportunity +they have ever had to show what is in them. + +The means of the government are at present insufficient to educate +all of the eight hundred thousand children who, it is believed, +would attend school voluntarily if given the opportunity. The +insular revenues are derived chiefly from import duties and internal +revenue taxes, so that there is a very direct relationship between +the amount of government receipts and the volume of business of the +country. Careful attention has long been given to stimulating the +development of the vast natural resources of the archipelago in order +to increase the prosperity of the people and that of the government, +which are inseparably united. + +Owing to the breaking up of the land area of the country into a very +large number of small units, water transportation plays an unusually +important part in commercial development. More than two-thirds of the +very long coast line has been surveyed, as have the waters adjacent +thereto. + +The former scarcity of lighthouses has been remedied. An admirable +weather service gives due warning of the approach of dangerous storms, +and travel and the transportation of freight by sea have thus been +rendered safe. + +The previous almost complete lack of good roads has been remedied by +the construction of four thousand four hundred miles of well-built, +admirably maintained highways in the lowlands, supplemented in the +highlands of Luzón and Mindanao and in the lowlands of Mindoro and +Palawan, by some thirteen hundred miles of cart roads and horse +trails. Hundreds of thousands of small farmers, who previously had +no inducement to raise more than their families or their immediate +neighbours could consume, because they were unable to sell their +surplus products, have thus been brought within reach of the market. + +The hundred and twenty-two miles of railway which we found in 1898 +have been increased to six hundred eleven. + +The government has utilized its coast-guard vessels to build up +new trade routes until they became commercially profitable, so that +private companies were willing to take them over. + +Agriculture, the main source of the country's wealth, was conducted +in a most primitive manner, modern methods and modern machinery +being practically unknown. Worse yet, it was threatened with complete +prostration, owing to the prevalence of surra among the horses and of +rinderpest among the horned cattle. At a time when great areas were +lying uncultivated because of lack of draft animals, and when the +horses and cattle of the archipelago seemed doomed to extinction, +a vigorous campaign was inaugurated against animal diseases. It +has been carried out in the face of manifold obstacles up to the +present day, and is resulting in the re-stocking of the islands +through natural reproduction and the safeguarding of the young +animals. Strenuous efforts, made through the medium of the public +schools and through demonstration stations, are bringing about a slow +change in the previously existing antiquated agricultural methods, +and the example set by Americans is leading to the gradual introduction +of a considerable amount of modern farm machinery. + +The placing of the currency of the country on a gold basis has been +a powerful factor in promoting material prosperity, and together with +the other measures previously enumerated, supplemented by favourable +tariff legislation giving the Philippines a market in the United +States, has led to an era of extraordinary commercial development. + +There has been a very rapid increase in the trade between the +Philippines and the United States, the former country purchasing from +us, practically dollar for dollar, as much as it sells to us, and +furnishing us tropical products of a sort which we should otherwise +be obliged to buy from countries with which we have a trade balance +on the wrong side of the ledger. + +The Philippines have a potential source of great wealth in their +fifty-four thousand square miles of forest. We have introduced +a conservation system which, if maintained and developed, will +permanently preserve the more important forests while at the same +time facilitating the establishment of a great lumber industry. The +free use of forest products from government lands for other than +commercial purposes has been granted to the people. + +In the face of quiet but determined opposition from the cacique class, +material progress has been made in assisting the common people to +become owners of agricultural land, while in spite of the restrictions +imposed by unwise legislation, several modern agricultural estates have +been established. They are not only serving as great demonstration +stations, of far more practical value than any agricultural college +could be at the present stage of development of the Filipinos, but +have materially raised the daily wage of agricultural labourers in +the regions where they are situated. + +We have established an efficient civil service in which national +politics have played no part, and appointments and promotion have +depended on merit alone. This rule has been made to apply to Filipinos +as well as to Americans, with the result that the former have for +the most part been compelled to enter the lower grades because of +defective preparation, but with the further consequence that they +have been promoted as rapidly as the result of subsequent careful +training has fitted them for advancement. The proportion of Filipino +employees as compared with Americans has increased from forty-nine +per cent in 1903 to seventy-one per cent in 1913. + +We have given to the country religious liberty. We have also given +it free speech and a free press, both of which have been shamelessly +abused. We have created, prematurely in my opinion, a legislature +with an elective lower house composed exclusively of Filipinos and +having equal powers with the upper house in the matter of initiating +and passing legislation. + +I reserve for the following chapter a statement of the opportunities +which we have given the Filipinos to participate in the executive +control of their towns and provinces, and of the results of these +experiments. + +Never before in the history of the world has a powerful nation assumed +toward a weaker one quite such an attitude as we have adopted toward +the Filipinos. I make this statement without thought of disparaging +the admirable work which Great Britain has done in her colonies, +but on the contrary in the conviction that in some particulars we +ourselves have gone too fast and too far, and as a result are likely +in the end to have forcibly brought home to us the wisdom of making +haste somewhat more slowly, and paying more heed to the experience +of others, when dealing with new problems. + +However, it will do those of us who thought that we were infallible, +if such there be, a world of good to learn that this is not the case; +and it will do our Filipino wards good to discover, one of these days, +that we can, if necessary, take away as well as give. + +Up to the present time our successes certainly over-balance our +mistakes, and in my opinion we have just cause for pride in the +results of our Philippine stewardship. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVI + +IS PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE NOW POSSIBLE? + + +This question is one of great importance to the people of the United +States, for national honour is involved in finding its true answer. + +Both of our great political parties are committed to the policy of +granting independence when the Filipinos are ready for it. Are they +ready now? If so, the promise should be kept. If not, we should be +guilty of an unjust and cowardly act if we withdrew our protection +and control. + +I have already called attention to the fact that the Filipinos [197] +are divided into a number of peoples, sometimes called tribes. The +census of 1903 recognizes the following: Visayans, numbering 3,219,030; +Tagálogs, 1,460,695; Ilocanos, 803,942; Bicols, 566,365; Pangasináns, +343,686; Pampangans, 280,984; Cagayans, 159,648; Zambalans, 48,823. + +The loose use of the word "tribe" in designating these peoples +is liable to lead to very grave misapprehension. Their leaders +vigorously, and very properly, object to the idea that they have at +present anything resembling a tribal organization. The truth is that +they are the descendants of originally distinct tribes or peoples +which have gradually come to resemble each other more and more, +and to have more and more in common. + +The very large majority of them have been brought up in the Catholic +faith. In physical characteristics, dress and customs they resemble +each other quite closely. They are alike in their dignity of bearing, +their sobriety, their genuine hospitality, their kindliness to the +old and the feeble, their love of their children and eagerness to +obtain for them educational advantages which they themselves have +been denied, their fondness for music, their patience in the face +of adversity, and the respect which they show for authority so long +as their passions are not played upon, or their prejudices aroused, +by the unscrupulous. These are admirable characteristics and afford a +good foundation on which to build. Such differences as exist between +these several peoples are steadily diminishing. This is especially +true of the Tagálogs and the numerically comparatively unimportant +peoples lying immediately to the north and west of their territory, +namely, the Pampangans, Pangasináns and Zambalans. The Tagálogs, +Ilocanos, Cagayans, Bicols and Visayans are distinguished by much +more marked differences. + +In general, the Tagálogs tend to become the dominating Filipino people +of the islands, and successfully attempt to assert themselves in their +dealings with all the other Christian peoples except the Ilocanos, who +are quite capable of holding their own. The Ilocanos have a reputation +for orderliness and industry which the Tagálogs lack. The Cagayans +are, as a people, notoriously lazy and stupid, although there are of +course numerous conspicuous individual exceptions to this rule. The +Visayans are comparatively docile and law-abiding. Many of the Bicols +are energetic and capable, and they seem to be possessed of a rather +keen sense of humour, which their neighbours lack. + +Two things tend to keep the several peoples apart. The first is the +present lack of any common medium of communication. There are more +quite sharply distinct dialects than there are peoples. The Visayans, +for instance, speak Cebuano, Ilongo and Cuyuno. The language difficulty +is of least importance among the peoples immediately north of Manila +where the use of Tagálog is generalized to a considerable extent, +but even here it is serious. + +Mr. Justice Johnson of the Philippine Supreme Court tells me that +when he was serving in Zambales as a judge of first instance the +examination of a family of four persons necessitated two interpreters, +one for the father, and another for the mother and two step-children, +while in the trial of seven men charged with a murder it was necessary +to read the complaint in four different dialects. + +Taylor cites the following typical instances of practical difficulty +growing out of the multiplicity of dialects:-- + +"In December, 1898, General Macabulos was the commissioner in Tarlac +Province. At Camiling the orders prescribing how the elections +were to be carried on were read in Spanish and then translated into +Ilocano. General Macabulos next delivered in Tagálog a speech informing +the assemblage of their duties under the new form of government. This +was translated into Ilocano, as the people did not understand Tagálog +any more than they did Spanish. [198] When on July 6, 1898, a junta of +men in favour of the independence of the Philippines met at Gerona, +Tarlac, to elect among themselves the civil officials for the town, +the decrees of Aguinaldo, of June 18 and 20, were read in Ilocano, +in Tagálog, in Pampanga, and Pangasinán, all of which languages were +spoken in the town." [199] + +The head of the town of Antipolo, Morong Province, wrote to the +secretary of the interior on October 21, 1898, that his delay in +executing orders had been caused by the fact that they were written +in Tagálog, which he did not understand. He recommended that Spanish +be always used by the central government. [200] Mabini himself at +one time proposed that English be made the official language. The +constitution of the "Republic," while making Tagálog the official +language, provided for instruction in English. [201] + +There is no literature worth mentioning written in the native dialects, +nor do they open a way to the fields of science, the arts, history, +or philosophy. Their vocabularies are comparatively poor in words, and +they do not afford satisfactory media of communication, especially as +words of generalization are almost entirely lacking. This latter fact +conclusively demonstrates the stage of mental evolution attained by the +peoples which have developed these several languages. Not long since +I heard a keen student of Philippine affairs remark that the trouble +with the Filipinos was that none of them were more than fourteen +years old! There is truth enough in the statement to make it sting. + +The use of Spanish never became common, and knowledge of this language +was limited to the educated few. After fifteen short years English +is far more widely spoken than Spanish ever was. When English comes +into comparatively general use, as it will if the present educational +policy is adhered to, one fundamental difficulty in the way of welding +the Filipinos into "a people" will have been largely done away with. + +The second important barrier between the several Filipino peoples +is built up of dislikes and prejudices, in part handed down from +the days when they were tribally distinct and actively hostile; in +part resulting from the well-marked tendency of the Tagálogs and the +Ilocanos to impose their will upon the others. The actual differences +between a Tagálog and a Visayan are not so great. The important thing, +from the American view point, is that every Tagálog and every Visayan +really considers them very great. + +There would have been no insurrection of any importance in the Visayas +and Mindanao if the Tagálogs had kept their hands off. We have seen +how they worked their will on the people of the Cagayan valley and the +Visayas, and what bitter animosities they provoked. We have also seen +how on various occasions the Ilocanos opposed the Tagálogs as such, +and even planned to kill them, while the Visayans did kill them on +various occasions. However much politicians may declaim about a united +Filipino people, certain uncomfortable but indisputable facts reduce +such claims to idle vapourings. + +At the time when there was great excitement in Manila over the +Jones Bill, and many Filipinos believed that independence was +coming on July 4, 1913, there took place at the house of General +Aguinaldo a very significant gathering of former insurgent generals +and colonels. There was then much interest in the question of who +would be appointed president of the coming Philippine Republic. It +was officially announced that the object of this meeting was to unite +those who attended it in an effort to aid in the maintenance of a good +condition of public order. I learned from a source which I believe to +be thoroughly reliable that one of the conclusions actually reached was +that no Visayan should be allowed to become president of the republic, +and that one of the real objects of the meeting was to crystallize +opposition to the candidacy of Señor Osmeña, the speaker of the +assembly. But the undesirability of giving publicity to such factional +differences at this time was promptly realized and this attitude on +the part of Aguinaldo's supporters was not publicly announced. + +Troubles between Ilocanos and Cagayans continue in Cagayan, Isabela +and Nueva Vizcaya up to the present day. Several years since, when +investigating the cause which lay behind a petition from certain +people of the latter province for an increase in the educational +requirement precedent to the exercise of the franchise, I discovered +that the whole thing resolved itself into an effort to disfranchise the +Ilocanos, who always voted together and already controlled elections +in several townships. + +Without going further into the differences which separate the several +civilized peoples, I will say emphatically that the great mass of +Filipinos do not constitute "a people" in the sense in which that +word is understood in the United States. They are not comparable in +any way with the American people or the English people. They cannot +be reached as a whole, and they do not respond as a whole. In this +they agree with all other Malays. Colquhoun has truly said: [202]-- + + + "No Malay nation has ever emerged from the hordes of that race, + which has spread over the islands of the Pacific. Wherever they + are found they have certain marked characteristics and of these + the most remarkable is their lack of that spirit which goes to + form a homogeneous people, to weld them together. The Malay is + always a provincial; more, he rarely rises outside the interests + of his own town or village." + + +More important than the differences which separate the Tagálogs, +Ilocanos, Cagayans, and Visayans as such, are those which separate the +individuals composing these several groups of the population. Very +few of the present political leaders are of anything approaching +pure Malayan blood. To give details in specific cases would be +to give offence, and to wound the feelings of men who certainly +are not to blame for their origin. Suffice it to say that with +rare exceptions, if one follows their ancestry back a very little +way he finds indubitable evidence of the admixture of Spanish, +other European or Chinese blood. The preëminence of these men is +undoubtedly due in large measure to the fact that through the wealth +and influence of their fathers they had educational advantages, +and in many instances enjoyed broadening opportunities for travel, +which were beyond the reach of their less fortunate countrymen. To +what extent their present demonstrated abilities are due to these +facts, and to what extent they are due to white or Mongolian blood, +will never be known until the children of the common people, who are +now enjoying exceptionally good educational opportunities, arrive at +maturity and show what they can do. [203] + +Meanwhile there is more or less thinly veiled hostility between +the mestizo class and the great dark mass of the people. For a +time we heard much of Filipinos de cara y corazon, [204] and while +because of political expediency there is less of this talk now than +formerly, the feeling which caused it persists, and will continue to +endure. Throughout the Christian provinces the same condition exists +everywhere. The mestizo element is in control. Until the common +people have learned to assert themselves, and have come to take an +important part in the commercial and political development of their +country, anything but an oligarchical form of independent government +is impossible. + +There has been complaint from politicians and others of the mestizo +class that American men are, as a rule, disinclined to increase it +by marrying its women and breeding mestizo children. + +Juan Araneta, a very intelligent Visayan of Negros, put the matter +brutally to me by saying that white blood was the only hope for his +people, and that if he had his way he would put in jail every American +soldier who did not leave at least three children behind him. + +Blount pretends to find an obstacle to American control in the fact +that American women will not marry Filipinos, and in the further fact +that those American men who do marry Filipinas soon find themselves +out of touch with their former associates. He says that this is not as +it should be. [205] He adds that many Filipinos are sons or grandsons +of Spaniards, and therefore have a very warm place in their hearts +for the people of that nation. + +He neglects to mention the fact that the vast majority of the Spanish +mestizo class were born out of wedlock. + +I believe that the attitude of American women on this subject is +eminently proper and that American men, who expect ever again to live +in their own country, as a rule make a grave mistake if they marry +native women. Even when they are to remain permanently in the islands, +such a course is in my opinion usually most undesirable. I have known +a limited number of happy mixed marriages of this sort, but in the +large majority of cases which have come under my observation they +have led to the rapid mental, moral and physical degeneration of the +men concerned. While some of the children born of such marriages are +very fair, there are occasional reversions to the ancestral type of +the mothers, and the lot of dark-skinned children is not a happy one, +as even their own mothers are almost sure to dislike them. + +The mestizo class is now large enough, and the problems which its +existence presents are grave enough, to render undesirable its further +growth. Finally, while the light-skinned mestiza girl almost always +seeks a white husband, the real typical Filipinos, who are brown, +are quite content to mate with each other, and do not dislike whites +for declining to marry their daughters. The people of this class are +friendly toward Americans, if they have actually come in contact with +them and learned how much they are indebted to them, and are hostile +if their ignorance is so great that they can be led, by unscrupulous +politicians, to believe that Americans are responsible for any ills +from which they happen to be suffering, such as cholera, which they +have often been told is due to our poisoning their wells! + +Blount says [206] it is a "verdict of all racial history ... that +wheresoever white men dwell in considerable numbers in the same +country with Asiatics or Africans, the white men will rule." + +Certainly Spanish and other European mestizos dwell in considerable +numbers in the Philippines. Are individuals with three-fourths to +thirty-one thirty-seconds white blood white men or Asiatics? They +certainly would determine what form of government should be established +were independence now granted, and it is interesting to determine +what they consider to be the requisites for the establishment of a +government by them. One of these men in an address made at the time +the congressional party visited the islands, with Mr. Taft, put the +case as follows:-- + + + "If the masses of the people are governable, a part must + necessarily be denominated the directing class, for as in the + march of progress, moral or material, nations do not advance at + the same rate, some going forward whilst others fall behind, so + it is with the inhabitants of a country, as observation will prove. + + "If the Philippine Archipelago has a governable popular mass + called upon to obey and a directing class charged with the duty of + governing, it is in condition to govern itself. These factors, not + counting incidental ones, are the only two by which to determine + the political capacity of a country; an entity that knows how to + govern, the directing class, and an entity that knows how to obey, + the popular masses." + + +The conditions portrayed might make a government possible, but it +would assuredly not be a republic. The advocates of this view are +hardly in harmony with the one so eloquently expressed at Rio Janeiro +by Mr. Root:-- + + + "No student of our times can fail to see that not America alone + but the whole civilized world is swinging away from its old + governmental moorings and intrusting the fate of its civilization + to the capacity of the popular mass to govern. By this pathway + mankind is to travel, whithersoever it leads. Upon the success + of this, our great undertaking, the hope of humanity depends." + + +If what is needed to make a just and stable government possible is +"an entity that knows how to obey, the popular masses" and an entity +that thinks it "knows how to govern, the directing class," then we +might leave the islands at once, if willing to leave the wild tribes +to their fate, but we have work to do before the civilization of the +Filipinos can safely be intrusted to "the capacity of the popular +mass to govern." + +Blount has said:-- + + + "Any country that has plenty of good lawyers and plenty of + good soldiers, backed by plenty of good farmers, is capable of + self-government." [207] + + +Do the Philippines fulfill even these requirements? Filipino lawyers +are ready speakers, but have their peculiarities. When the civil suit +which I brought against certain Filipinos for libel was drawing to its +close, and the prosecution was limited to the submission of evidence +in rebuttal, important new evidence was discovered. To my amazement, +my lawyers put the witness who could give it on the stand. They +asked him his age, his profession and a few equally irrelevant +questions, and then turned him over to the lawyers for the defense, +who promptly extracted from him the very testimony it was desired +to get on record. Their very first question drew a most unjudicial +snort of laughter from the judge, but even this did not stop them. + +I was later informed that Filipino lawyers could usually be depended +upon to do this very thing, and that their American colleagues +habitually took advantage of this fact. The truth is that few of the +Filipino lawyers are good, if judged by American standards. + +I have elsewhere stated my views as to the excellence of the Filipino +soldier, but no military leaders have as yet arisen who were capable +of successfully carrying on other than guerilla operation. + +The farmers of the islands are as a class anything but good. They +are ignorant and superstitious, underfed, and consequently inclined +to indolence, and are a century behind the times in their methods. + +There are certain undesirable characteristics which are common +to a large majority of the people correctly designated as +Filipinos. Ignorance and superstition are still to be met at every +turn. At the time of the census of 1903 the percentage of illiteracy +in the Philippines was estimated to be 79.8. More than half of the +persons counted as literate could read and write only some native +dialect, and often did even that badly. + +More recent, and therefore more interesting, as showing present +day conditions, are the statistics obtained in connection with the +elections of June 4, 1912. Ability to read and write English or Spanish +entitles a male citizen of the Philippines, who is twenty-three or +more years of age, to vote. + +The total number of registered votes was 248,154 only, of whom slightly +less than one-third had the above-mentioned qualifications. In Manila +14 per cent of the voters were illiterate, and in the provinces 70 +per cent. This lack of education opened wide the door to fraud and +was one of the chief reasons why there were 240 protested elections +out of a total of 824, made up as follows: municipal, 709; provincial, +34; for delegate to assembly, 81. + +The proportion of literate electors to total population in the +territory in question was 1.47 per cent. + +One of the easiest kinds of business to start in the Philippines, +and one of the most profitable to conduct, is the establishment of +a new religion. + +We have recently had the "colorum," with headquarters on Mt. San +Cristobal, an extinct volcano. People visited this place and paid large +sums in order to persuade the god to talk to them. A big megaphone, +carefully hidden away, was so trained that the voice of the person +using it would carry across a cañon and strike the trail on the other +side. If payments were satisfactorily large the god talked to those +who had made them in a most impressive manner when they reached this +point in their homeward journey. + +We have also had the Cabaruan fiasco in Pangasinán, in the course +of which a new town with several thousand inhabitants sprang up in +a short time. There was a place of worship where the devout were +at prayer day and night. There was also a full-fledged holy Trinity +made up of local talent. Unfortunately, some of the principal people +connected with this movement became involved in carabao stealing +and other forms of public disorder, and on a trip to Lingayen I saw +the persons who had impersonated God the Son and the Virgin Mary in +the provincial jail. We have had "Pope Isio" in Negros, who was in +reality the leader of a strong ladrone band, and we have had various +other popes elsewhere who occupied themselves in similar ways. + +Hardly a year passes that miraculous healers do not spring into +ephemeral existence in the islands, and the people invariably flock to +them in thousands. Conspicuous among this class of imposters was the +"Queen of Taytay," whose exploits I have already narrated. + +The belief of the common people in asuáng and in the black dog which +causes cholera has also already been mentioned. A very large percentage +of them are firmly convinced of the efficacy of charms, collectively +known as anting-anting, supposed to make the bodies of the wearers +proof against bullets or cutting weapons. Within the past year a +bright young man of Parañaque, a town immediately adjacent to Manila, +insisted that a friend should strike him with a bolo in order that +he might demonstrate the virtues of his anting-anting, and received +an injury from which he promptly died. Again and again the hapless +victims of this particular superstition have gone to certain death, +firm in the conviction that they could not be harmed. + +The worst of it is that even the native press does not dare to +combat such superstitions, if indeed those who control it do not +still themselves hold to them. + +La Vanguardia, commonly considered to be the leading Filipino paper +in the islands, published the following account of the event referred +to above:-- + + + "Basilio Aquino, a native of Parañaque, and Timoteo Kariaga, an + Iloko residing in Manila, made a bet as to which of them had the + better anting-anting, and to settle it Kariaga allowed himself to + be struck twice on the right arm and once on the abdomen, but as + they say,--Miracle of miracles! Although Aquino used all of his + strength and the bolo was extremely sharp, he did not succeed in + making the slightest scratch on Kariaga. In view of that, Aquino + invited his rival to submit him to the same test. Kariaga was + reluctant to do so, for he was sure he would wound Aquino, but the + latter insisted so much that there was nothing to do but please + him, and at the first cut his right arm was almost severed, and + he died from loss of blood two hours later. The wounded man would + not report the occurrence to the authorities, but the relatives + of the victim were compelled to do so in view of his tragic end." + + +From the report of this occurrence in El Ideal, a paper believed to +be controlled by Speaker Osmeña, I quote the following:-- + + + "The trial was made in the presence of a goodly number of + bystanders, all of them townsmen, connections and friends of + the actors. + + "Timoteo Kariaga, that being the name of one of the actors, + an Ilocano resident of Manila, was the first to submit to the + ordeal. His companion and antagonist, named Basilio Aquino, from + Parañaque, bolo in hand, aimed slashes at the former, endeavouring + to wound him in the arms and abdomen, without success, the amulet + of Kariaga offering apparently admirable resistance in the trial, + so that the bolo hardly left a visible mark upon his body." + + +A very interesting and highly instructive book might be written +on Filipino superstitions, but I must here confine myself to a few +typical illustrations:-- + +The following extract from a narrative report of the senior +constabulary inspector of the island of Leyte, dated April 3, 1913, +is not without interest. It deals with a murder which it describes +as follows:-- + + + "Basilio Tarli had given the bolo thrust that killed the deceased, + with a small fighting bolo belonging to Pastor Lumantal, who had + given Basilio the bolo for this purpose. The deceased had the + reputation of being a sort of witch doctor, and Pastor thought + that his wife, Maria Subior, who was pregnant, had a dog or + other animal in her womb instead of a child, placed there by the + deceased. For this reason Pastor arranged with Basilio Tarli and + Cecilio Cuenzona to kill the deceased." + + +Lieutenant George R. F. Cornish, P. C, stationed at Catubig in Samar, +reported on "Pagloon" as follows during August, 1913:-- + + + "Pagloon, a method of overcoming certain weak traits in children, + is practiced by most of the inhabitants of Samar. If, for example, + a father who is not in the military service, shoots a man, + superstition has it that his child will shortly become sick. The + father, to prevent this, uses a method known as 'pagloon,' which, + being interpreted, means 'to vaporize,' 'to make clean.' He places + the stock of the gun that did the shooting, along with a branch of + a cocoanut tree that has been sanctified in incense by the padre of + the Catholic church in a fire. The padre furnishes these incense + leaves only once a year. The hands are dipped in water and then + placed in the smoke. The vaporous healing incense that collects + on the hands, from placing them in the fire, is rubbed on the + child from head to foot. This operation is repeated three nights + in succession and then the child ought to be free from any danger." + + +Serious trouble was made for men investigating the mineral resources +of the island of Cebú by the circulation of a tale to the effect that +they needed the blood of children to pour into cracks in the ground. + +The following is an extract from a narrative report of the senior +constabulary inspector of Pampanga for April, 1913:-- + + + "April 9.--Between 2 and 3 P.M. in the barrio of San Pedro, + Manilan, the two sisters (old women) Maria and Matea Manalili + were cut up with a bolo by Hermogenes Castro of the barrio of + Santa Catalina of the same town, resulting in the instant death + of Matea. Maria, whose right hand was cut off, died on the 21st + instant. Castro gave up and on the 10th instant was remanded to + the Court of First Instance charged with murder. The two sisters + were known in the locality as 'mangcuculan,' or witches, and + were charged by Castro with having cast a spell on him, causing + a stiff neck, which spell the sisters refused to remove." + + +A number of comparatively reputable Filipino physicians, in the city +of Manila itself, have confessed that they have to pretend to depend, +to some extent, on charms and exorcisms, in order to get and keep +practice. + +In this connection I quote the following decision of the Philippine +Supreme Court in the case of the United States vs. Mariano Boston, +rendered November 23, 1908 (10 Philippine Reports, p. 134). + + + "The accused in this case was convicted in the Court of First + Instance of the Province of Pangasinán of the crime of abortion + as defined and penalized in paragraph 3 of article 410 of the + Penal Code. + + "The guilt of appellant is conclusively established by the + evidence of record, the testimony of the witnesses for the + prosecution leaving no room for reasonable doubt, despite the + fact that there are some inconsistencies and discrepancies in + their statements. Counsel for appellant insists that the evidence + does not conclusively establish the fact that he intentionally + caused the abortion, because there is no evidence in the record + disclosing the character and medicinal qualities of the potion + which the accused gave to the mother whose child was aborted. The + evidence clearly discloses that the child was born three months + in advance of the full period of gestation; that the appellant, + either believing or pretending to believe that the child in the + womb of the woman was a sort of a fish-demon (which he called a + balat), gave to her a potion composed of herbs, for the purpose of + relieving her of this alleged fish-demon; that two hours thereafter + she gave premature birth to a child, having been taken with the + pains of childbirth almost immediately after drinking the herb + potion given her by the appellant; that after the birth of the + child the appellant, still believing or pretending to believe that + the child was a fish-demon which had taken upon itself human form, + with the permission and aid of the husband and the brother of the + infant child, destroyed it by fire in order to prevent its doing + the mischief which the appellant believed or affected to believe + it was capable of doing. These facts constitute, in our opinion, + prima facie proof of the intent of the accused in giving the + herb potion to the mother of the child, and also of the further + fact that the herb potion so administered to her was the cause + of its premature birth. The defence wholly failed to rebut this + testimony of the prosecution, and we are of opinion, therefore, + that the trial court properly found the defendant guilty of the + crime with which he was charged beyond a reasonable doubt. + + "The sentence imposed is in strict accord with the penalty provided + by the code, and should be and is hereby affirmed, with the costs + of this instance against the appellant. So ordered." + + +It is claimed that the Filipinos are a unit in demanding their +independence. As a matter of fact, the bulk of the common people +have little idea what the word really means. In this connection +the following extract from the report of Colonel H. H. Bandholtz, +later director of constabulary, of June 30, 1903, on the bandit Rios, +is of interest:-- + + + "Rios represented himself to be an inspired prophet and found + little difficulty in working on the superstitions of the extremely + ignorant and credulous inhabitants of barrios distant from centres + of population. So well did he succeed that he had organized what + he designated as an 'Exterior Municipal Government' (for revenue + only) with an elaborate equipment of officials. He promoted himself + and his followers in rapid succession, until he finally had with + him one captain-general, one lieutenant-general, twenty-five + major-generals and fifty brigadier-generals and a host of officers + of lower grade. In appreciation of his own abilities he appointed + himself 'Generalissimo' and 'Viceroy' and stated his intention of + having himself crowned 'King of the Philippines.' Titles like these + not proving sufficient, he announced himself as 'The Son of God,' + and dispensed 'anting-antings,' which were guaranteed to make the + wearer invulnerable to attack. Of the ladrones killed during this + period, few were discovered who were not wearing one of these + 'anting-antings.' + + "The dense ignorance and credulity of the followers of Rios was + clearly shown by the fanatical paraphernalia captured by Captain + Murphy, P. C, on March 8, near Infanta. Among these was a box, + on the cover of which was painted the word 'Independencia,' + and the followers of Rios profoundly believed that when they + had proven themselves worthy the box would be opened and the + mysterious something called independence for which they had so + long been fighting could be secured, and that when attained there + would be no more labour, no taxes, no jails, and no Constabulary + to disturb their ladrone proclivities. + + "When this mysterious chest was opened it was found to contain + only some old Spanish gazettes and a few hieroglyphics, among + which appeared the names and rank of the distinguished officials + of the organization." + + +The affair is typical of an endless series of similar occurrences. + +The ordinary Filipino dearly loves mystery, and misses no opportunity +to join a secret society. It matters little to him what its supposed +object may be, and that end is, as frequently as anything else, the +organization of an insurrection. All sorts of fees are collected from +the ignorant poor by the leaders of such movements, who are almost +invariably of the educated and intelligent classes. At the opportune +time they get away with the funds, leaving their ignorant followers to +blunder along until caught and lodged in jail. The American government +has dealt very gently with such poor dupes, most of whom have been +released without any punishment. Within the past few days [208] +I have had an interview with an exceptionally intelligent Filipino +justice of the peace who sometimes gives me interesting information, +in the course of which I asked him what was going on at present. He +laughed and told me that the Filipinos in the vicinity of Manila +believed that Mr. Harrison, the new governor-general, was coming to +give them independence, and that a lot of smart rascals, who pretended +to be organizing the army that would be necessary to maintain it, +were selling officers' commissions at a peso each to any one who +would buy them, and were doing a thriving business. + +Until it ceases to be so readily possible to prey on the superstitions, +the credulity and the passions of the common people, efforts on the +part of the Filipinos to establish and maintain unaided a stable +government are not likely to be crowned with very abundant success. + +In general it may be said of the Filipino that he is quick to learn, +but needs a teacher; is quick to follow, but needs a leader. He is +ready to do the things he is taught to do. He accepts discipline, +orders, rules. He has a great respect for constituted authority. He +lacks initiative and sound judgment. + +Let Americans beware of judging the Filipino peoples by the men with +from one-half to thirty-one thirty-seconds of white blood, who so +often have posed as their representatives. + +More important than the interrelations of the several Christian +peoples inter se are those between the several Christian peoples on +the one hand and the non-Christian tribes on the other. This subject +has already been discussed at length, so I will limit myself to a +brief summary statement. + +The Filipinos dislike and despise the non-Christians. They take +advantage of their ignorance and helplessness to rob or cheat them of +the fruits of their labour, and often hold them as slaves or peons. The +non-Christians in turn hate them, and the more warlike wild tribes do +not hesitate to take vengeance on them when opportunity offers. The +Filipinos as a whole are afraid of the Moros, and with good reason. The +Moros frankly assert that if a Filipino government were established, +they would resume their long-abandoned conquest of the archipelago, +and this they would certainly do. Although the non-Christians are +numerically few, as compared with the Christians, they are potentially +important because they have the power to make an amount of trouble +wholly disproportionate to their numbers. The Filipinos could not +rule them successfully, and the probable outcome of any attempt on +their part to control them would be the inauguration of a policy of +extermination similar to that which Japan is following with certain +of the hill men of Formosa. Because of the inaccessible nature of the +country inhabited by many of the Philippine wild tribes, they would +be able to hold their own for many years, and there would result a +condition similar to that which has prevailed for so long in Achin, +while the Moros with their ability to take to the sea and suddenly +strike unprotected places would cause endless suffering and loss +of life. + +Under the Spanish régime the penalty which followed a too liberal use +of "free speech" was very likely to be a sudden and involuntary trip +to the other world. There was no such thing as a free press. A very +strict censorship was constantly exercised over all the newspapers. The +things that are now said and written daily without attracting much +attention would at that time have cost the liberty or the lives of +those who voiced them. + +It is hardly to be wondered at that an Oriental people which had never +had a free press or liberty of speech should have mistaken liberty, +when it finally came, for license, and have gone to extremes which +conclusively demonstrated their initial unfitness properly to utilize +their new privileges. + +Governor-General Smith once told a delegation of leading Filipinos +that it was all very well to have freedom of speech and of the press +in a country ruled by the United States government, which was strong +enough to maintain order in the face of manifold difficulties, but that +if the islands ever secured their independence the first official act +of those in power should be to do away with the one and the other, +for the reason that such a government as they would establish could +not exist if either continued. + +While the curtailing of freedom of speech or of the press under +American civil rule is almost unthinkable, it is nevertheless true +that the attitude of many of the politicians who do the talking, +and who control the native press, has been poisonous. + +A very intelligent student of Philippine affairs has truly said that +nothing more is necessary to demonstrate the present unreadiness of +the country for self-government than a careful study of the attitude +of the native press toward important public questions. From the +beginning until now there has been one long and almost uninterrupted +series of lies, innuendoes, sneers and diabolically ingenious +misrepresentations. Practically every important policy of the +government has been viciously attacked, and the worst of it is +that the people primarily responsible for this are not honest, or +misled. They know perfectly well what they are doing and why they +are doing it. They embitter that portion of the common people who +are reached by newspapers at all, and doubtless many of their dupes +really believe that the established government is a rotten farce, +and that its highest officials are steeped in iniquity. + +Certainly no people are more skilful than are the Filipino politicians +in pretending to write one thing with the certainty that another and +very different one will be read between the lines. In the matter of +libel, they are adepts at skating on thin ice. Rare indeed is the +occurrence of a decent attitude on the part of any native newspaper +toward any important public question. [209] + +The history of the municipal and provincial governments is worthy of +very careful consideration. + +It has been found necessary to exercise close supervision over them +in order to correct a constant tendency on the part of those having +authority to abuse it. + +Practically all the time of three lawyers in the executive bureau +is taken up in examining evidence and reports of administrative +investigations of charges against municipal officials and justices of +the peace, of whom about two hundred are found guilty each year. Half +that number are removed from office. One of the commonest charges +against these officers is "abuse of authority," and one of the most +difficult and endless tasks of the American administrative officers +is to impress on the elective native official a sense of obligation +toward his "inferiors," that is, the plain people who elected him. + +He expects obsequiousness and even servility, and if they are lacking, +endeavours to get square. [210] + +Surely I have given enough illustrations of the ferocious brutality +with which Filipino officials treated the common people in the days +of the "Republic." Such brutality would again be in evidence were +there to be any failure to hold officers strictly accountable. + +The following case, called to my attention by a reliable American +woman, illustrates the fact that provincial governors are sometimes +swayed by other than humanitarian motives:-- + + + "In 1902 when I was living at Capiz, a very pretty little fellow, a + child of 7 or 8, often came begging to my house. Finally he ceased + to come and I saw nothing of him for several months. Then I met + him one morning, stone blind, his eyes in frightful condition. I + made inquiry and learned that the people with whom he lived (his + parents were dead) not finding him a remunerative investment had + decided that he must be made more pitiful looking to bring in good + returns as a beggar. So they filled his eyes with lime and held his + head in a tub of water. I took the child to the Governor (the late + Hugo Vidal) to make complaint. The Governor listened to my story, + and then exclaimed, 'You are mistaken. I have known this child for + years and he has been like this all the time.' The local sanitary + chief agreed with him, and I was forced to give up all hope of + having the inhuman wretches that had tortured the child punished." + + +The attitude of provincial and municipal officials toward very +necessary sanitary measures has often been exceedingly unfortunate. + +In 1910 the officials of the town of Bautista, Pangasinán, voted +to have a fiesta, in spite of the fact that the health authorities +had informed them that this could not be done safely, owing to the +existence of cholera in the neighbouring towns. The town council +preferred the merry-making to the protection of the lives of the +people, and voted to disregard the warnings of the Bureau of Health, +with the result that several of the neighbouring municipalities +were infected with cholera, and many lives were needlessly lost. The +governor of the province, himself a Filipino, was lax in attention to +duty in this instance or the town council would have been suspended +before, instead of after, this action on its part. + +For a long time municipal policemen were commonly utilized as servants +by the town officials, and were nearly useless for actual police +work. To put firearms into their hands was little better than to +present them outright to the ladrones. At present the constabulary +exercise a considerable amount of control over municipal police, +and there has resulted very material improvement in their appearance, +discipline and effectiveness. + +Municipal councils in the majority of cases voted all of the town money +for salaries, leaving nothing for maintenance of public buildings, +roads and public works, with the result that streets in the very +centres of towns became impassable even for foot passengers. They +were often indescribably filthy, cluttered with all sorts of waste +material, and served as a meeting ground for all the horses, cattle, +dogs, pigs, hens and goats of the neighbourhood. + +In many instances, the first use made of their newly acquired powers +by provincial governors and municipal presidents was to persecute +in all sorts of petty ways those who had opposed their election, +while the latter displayed marked disinclination to accept the will +of the majority. + +It is not to be expected that the Filipino should understand modern +democratic government. Where could he have obtained knowledge of +it? Under Spanish rule he saw officials habitually enriching themselves +at the expense of the communities they were supposed to govern. He saw +a government of privilege where the work of the many benefited the +few. How could he have gained experience in modern and enlightened +administration for the benefit of the people rather than for the +benefit of the administrators? Not only must there be knowledge on the +part of officials that this is the proper way to govern, but there must +be a demand on the part of the people for such a government, and until +the people know and understand that such a government is their right +there will be no such demand. There is not yet a sufficient proportion +of the Filipino people literate to make approval or disapproval felt. + +Incidentally it should be remembered that in the Philippine +Islands any provincial or municipal officer may be suspended by the +governor-general, or removed for failure properly to perform his +duties, for disloyalty, or for other causes. The provincial governors +also hold same power over the municipal presidents. Existing conditions +are therefore not comparable with those which would arise without such +control. I would as soon say that an automobile could go without a +driver because it runs fairly well when there is a driver directing +it as that the administration of the municipalities and provinces of +the Philippine Islands would go as well as it now does under a system +which does not provide for strong central control. It is one thing +to administer when you are carefully supervised, and when the power +of removal is held directly over you by a superior officer watching +your every move, and another to administer equally well when the +reins are not firmly held. + +Serious consideration must be given to another group of facts in +considering the fitness of the Filipinos for independence. It is +undeniably true that they have progressed much further in civilization +than has any other group of peoples of Malayan origin. It is just as +indubitable that their development has not been a natural evolution, +but has resulted from steady pressure brought to bear during three and +a half centuries by Spain, and during the last decade and a half by +the United States. What would happen were this pressure removed? One +may judge, within limits, from what has happened where it has been +removed. Take, for instance, Cagayancillo; which is an isolated town on +a small island southwest of Panay. Here the Spanish friar was the sole +representative of governmental authority in bygone days. Cagayancillo +was then a thriving town, with a strong stone fort for defense against +the Moros, a beautiful, large church with splendid wood carvings +ornamenting its interior, and a fine masonry convento of most original +architecture, with long rows of giant clam shells embedded in its outer +walls. There were a good municipal building and a stone schoolhouse, +also excellent for their day. I first visited the place shortly after +Palawan was made a province under civil rule. No priest had been there +for three years. The town and its inhabitants reeked with filth. The +wits of the two or three exceptionally intelligent men of the place +were befogged with opium. The church and convento were falling into +ruin. The fort had already gone to the bad. The presidencia [211] +was a wreck, and so was the schoolhouse. There were no teachers for +the children. The people were rapidly lapsing into barbarism. + +In 1910 I visited the town of Malaueg, situated in the province of +Cagayan. It was one of the first mission stations in northern Luzón. I +found there the walls of an immense church and convento. These walls +were approximately forty inches thick, and were intact, though +roofs and floors had disappeared, in part from decay and in part +from the stealing of the boards. Over the door of the church was a +thick hardwood beam on which were carved in raised letters Spanish +words signifying that the church was rebuilt in 1650. The walls of +Manila were built about 1590. When was this church constructed to +require rebuilding sixty years later? And what must then have been +the size of the town which furnished the necessary hands to erect +such a huge structure? + +The Spanish friar in charge had left during the revolution against +Spain some time subsequent to 1896, and as a result the town had gone +to pieces after so many centuries of life. Nothing remained but a small +collection of grass huts. The men had reverted to the breechclout, +and were again adopting the head-axe. Many of them had already taken +to the mountains. + +The Spaniards compelled Filipinos to live in towns, or at least to +have houses there. Under our form of government we allow them to do +as they please, with the result that in provinces like Palawan our +utmost efforts do not avail to keep them from forsaking settlements +and scattering out through inaccessible mountain regions, where they +are rapidly gravitating back to the state of barbarism from which they +originally emerged. I might multiply instances of this sort of thing. + +In the early days of civil government the commission in many instances +combined municipalities which lay immediately adjacent to each other +and could readily enough be administered from a common governmental +centre. This action was taken in the interest of economy, and in the +belief that the resulting saving in salaries would make possible the +employment of more school-teachers, and the construction of better +school buildings. + +In many, if not most, cases such fusion of municipalities proved +a mistake. The town which happened to become the new seat of +government prospered. There were spent the taxes collected in the +other formerly independent centres of population, which, deprived +of their autoridades, [212] promptly became insanitary, disorderly +and unprogressive. + +I am firmly convinced that the Filipinos are where they are to-day +only because they have been pushed into line, and that if outside +pressure were relaxed they would steadily and rapidly deteriorate. + +It is not necessary that there should be much retrogression to cause +serious trouble. I have discussed the character and attitude of the +present Filipino legislative body. I have shown indubitably what sort +of a government the Filipinos themselves established while they had a +free hand. I agree absolutely with Blount's contention that they would +again establish precisely the same sort of a government if left to +their own devices. There would follow, first aggression against the +property of foreigners, and then attacks upon their persons, which +would not only excuse, but would necessitate, intervention by other +governments to protect their citizens. Some of the more intelligent +Filipino leaders would set their faces against such conduct as firmly +as they did during the rule of the so-called Insurgent government, +but now, as then, would be powerless to restrain either the more +unprincipled among the intelligent, or the great body of the ignorant +rank and file, and nothing more than a fairly plausible excuse would +be needed to start the ball of foreign intervention rolling. + +Many Americans may, in their present deep ignorance of the value +of their most recently acquired possessions, agree with that +distinguished representative who announced on the floor of the House +of Representatives that the Philippines were "a lemon," but agents +and spies of Japan have worked throughout the entire archipelago and +she knows better. England and Germany have had their business men in +the islands for many years, and they know better also. + +The Filipinos are not yet fit to govern themselves, much less to govern +the Moros and other non-Christian tribes, even if let alone, and they +would not be let alone should we turn their country over to them. + +Philippine independence is not a present possibility, nor will it +be possible for at least two generations. Indeed, if by the end of a +century we have welded into a people the descendants of the composite +and complex group of human beings who to-day inhabit the islands, +we shall have no cause to feel ashamed of our success. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVII + +WHAT THEN? + + +It has been urged by one class of our citizens that we abandon the +islands because they are a source of military weakness, and that we +guarantee their independence, which in plain English means that we +hold ourselves ready to fight for them! They insist that with our +Caucasian origin and our years of hard-earned experience, we are not +fit to govern them, but that their Filipino inhabitants, who are the +Malayan savages of the sixteenth century, plus what Spain has taught +them, plus what they have so recently learned from us, are fit to +govern themselves and must be allowed to do so under our protection. + +In other words, having brought up a child who is at present rather +badly spoiled, we are to say to the family of nations: "Here is a +boy who must be allowed to join you. We have found that we are unfit +to control him, but we hope that he will be good. You must not spank +him unless you want to fight us." + +It has been suggested that we get other nations to agree to the +neutralization of the islands. Why should they? Are we prepared +to offer them any tangible inducements, or do we believe that the +millennium has arrived and that they are actuated by purely altruistic +motives in such matters? + +Blount quotes with approval the following statement of Secretary +William Jennings Bryan:-- + + + "There is a wide difference, it is true, between the general + intelligence of the educated Filipino and the labourer on + the street and in the field, but this is not a barrier to + self-government. Intelligence controls in every government, + except where it is suppressed by military force. Nine-tenths of + the Japanese have no part in the law-making. In Mexico, the gap + between the educated classes and the peons is fully as great as, + if not greater than, the gap between the extremes of Filipino + society. Those who question the capacity of the Filipinos for + self-government forget that patriotism raises up persons fitted + for the work that needs to be done." [213] + + +This sounds well, but will it bear analysis? We are now being furnished +a practical demonstration of the results achieved by people like the +Mexicans when they attempt to conduct a so-called republic. Whether +the gap between the extremes of Mexican society is as great as that +between the extremes of Filipino society depends on what one includes +under the latter term. If one limits it to the Christianized natives, +the statement quoted is true. If one includes the non-Christians +which constitute an eighth of the population, it is not true. + +Would the United States care to assume responsibility for conditions +in Mexico without any power to exercise control over the government +of that country? Those who demand that we guarantee the independence +of the Philippines are advocating a thing precisely similar to this, +except that torture and burying alive do not seem to be in vogue in +Mexico, and would be practised in the Philippines again, as they have +been in the recent past. + +Can any one fail to grasp the fact that the following statements of +Bishop Brent embody solid common sense? + + + "Finally it must be recognized that the Philippine problem + cannot be settled without reference to its international + bearing. Neutralization has been proposed. But can American or + any other diplomacy secure the neutrality of the Powers? Would it + mean anything if promises of neutrality were made? Is it not so, + that though no existing military power, East or West, would fight + America in order to secure possession of the Philippines, there are + at least two nations which would seize the first opportunity for + interference if American sovereignty ceased? Can America afford + to protect a government halfway round the world, which she does + not actually and constructively control? + + She has found it difficult enough with one near at hand. It + appears to me that it would be a measure of quixotry beyond the + most altruistic administration, to stand sponsor for the order + of an experimental government of more than doubtful stability + ten thousand miles from our coasts. When the Philippines achieve + independence they must swallow the bitter with the sweet, and + accept the perils as well as the joys of walking alone. There are + national risks involved even in a limited protectorate to which + I trust America will never expose herself." + + +We stoutly asserted in 1899 that the Filipinos were not fit to govern +their own country, and this was certainly then true. If in the short +space of fifteen years, with leaders who have so recently committed +almost incredible barbarities still in the saddle, we had rendered them +fit, we should have performed the most wonderful political miracle +that the world has ever seen. But the age of miracles has long since +passed. While the Filipinos have advanced more in the last fifteen +years than during any previous century of their history, what they +have gained is by no means ingrained in their character, and they +yet have far to go. It is our duty and our privilege to guide and +help them on their way. We should hold steadily onward disregarding +the hostility and the murmurings of selfish politicians, and looking +hopefully to the future for substantial results from the broad and +generous policy which we have thus far followed. + +Many of the politicians want independence under a United States +protectorate, by which they mean that their country shall be turned +over to them to do with as they please, with a fleet of American +warships lying conveniently near to see that they are not interfered +with while thus engaged. It would be the height of folly for us to +enter into any such arrangement. + +We must help the Filipinos to attain for their country commercial +prosperity, so that its revenues may be more adequate for the support +of government. Before commercial prosperity can exist, the people must +learn to employ modern agricultural methods and modern machinery in +bringing considerable portions of the present enormous uncultivated +areas of fertile land to a state of productivity. + +We must set right standards and insist that they be lived up to. The +way to stimulate healthful development of the Filipinos is to let +the apples hang high and make them climb for them, not to tell them +to hold their hats and shake the tree. + +This policy of setting right standards has already been very +successfully pursued in the education of Filipino doctors, Filipino +nurses, Filipino surveyors, Filipino printers and Filipino teachers. + +A Filipino should never be appointed to public office merely +because he is a Filipino, the clamour of politicians to the contrary +notwithstanding. He should be appointed only if, and because, he is +fit. Such a policy, unswervingly followed, will do more to promote +the real interests of the civilized inhabitants than will all the +concessions that could be made in a thousand years. + +And what have we ever gained by concessions to Filipino +politicians? Can any one point out a single instance in which they have +aroused that feeling of gratitude, or even that sense of obligation, +which may fully justify the adoption of measures that would otherwise +be of doubtful utility? No! + +This fact is well illustrated by the attitude of the politicians +toward the Jones Bill providing for the establishment of the Philippine +republic on July 4, 1913 and independence in 1920. + +Hardly were its terms known in Manila when various politicians +announced that the Filipinos did not want to wait until 1920, they +wanted independence right then! + +An editorial in the number of Speaker Osmeña's paper, El Ideal, +for March 19, 1913, contains the following significant sentence:-- + + + "We accept the test to which the Jones Bill subjects us, because + we have full confidence in ourselves. Afterward, we shall do what + is most expedient for us." [214] + + +Gratitude does not enter into the make-up of the average Filipino +politician, and we must learn not to expect it. We must do what ought +to be done because it ought to be done, and not look for appreciation +to a small but very noisy body of men who curse us for standing between +them and their prey, as we have stood from the day when Dewey first +forbade Aguinaldo to steal cattle until now. + +It is just as easy to win the gratitude and the affection of the common +people of the lowlands as it has proved to be in the case of the wild +men of the hills, but if we are to do this there must be a radical +departure from the present policy, and we must deal with them directly. + +In this connection it is instructive to study the career of James +R. Fugate, Lieutenant-Governor, by appointment, of the sub-province of +Siquijor. In spite of wretched health, he has done work of which he and +his country have just cause to be proud. No one can fully appreciate +it who does not know conditions as they were when he went there and +as they are to-day. Siquijor has been converted into a checkerboard by +good roads and trails where formerly there did not exist decent means +of communication. Dysentery and typhoid fever ravaged the island during +each recurring dry season when drinking water was almost unobtainable +in many places, and what could be found was really unfit for human +use. There are now fine public baths in the towns. Beautiful drinking +fountains for men and animals are to be seen, not only in the larger +centres of population, but along many of the principal highways. + +Municipal officials have been taught their duties and perform them +well. A complete telephone system connects the lieutenant-governor's +office with all parts of the island. Siquijor was formerly completely +isolated from the outside world, but now has cable communication. Fine +schools have been established, and swarm with children. The man who has +brought about all this is beloved by the people whom he has helped and +protected. They cannot bear the thought of his leaving them. What is +the explanation of this phenomenon, when the inhabitants of many parts +of the islands seem to remain unmoved by the many advantages which +they now enjoy, and murmur against those to whom they are indebted for +them? The answer is simple. Mr. Fugate speaks Visayan about as well +as he does English, and there have been no intermediaries between him +and his people, who consequently understand that they owe to him the +benefits which they have received. + +Certain evil politicians of Negros Occidental, whom he robbed of +their spoils, attacked him with characteristic persistency and +ingenuity. A young man of clean life, he was accused of adultery +and of seduction of minors. Although he could at any time have had a +better position at higher compensation; although he gave much of his +inadequate salary to the poor and defenceless; although he carried +on public works at a fraction of the cost of similar undertakings in +neighbouring provinces, he was charged with profiting by government +contracts and with the malversation of funds of the sub-province. All +of these attacks failed miserably. His real offence was that he had +stayed the hand of the oppressor, and let the people go free. + +In many, if not in most, of the Christian provinces we have utilized +the services of Filipino politicians who are openly opposed to the +policy which we are endeavouring to carry out, and have thus placed +between ourselves and the people a screen of shrewd and hostile +men who can communicate with them as we cannot, who play upon their +ignorance and their prejudices as we would not if we could, who keep +them firm in the belief that all their troubles are due to the "mucho +malo gobierno Americano," [215] and that all the advantages which +they enjoy have been wrung from the unwilling and unjust Americans +by the courage and political ingenuity of the local politicos. For +this condition of things we have ourselves to thank, and these are +the men who would be governors under "self-government." + +When the Federal Party was formed, a large number of conservative +Filipinos came out into the open and risked their lives to aid in +the termination of war and brigandage, and the establishment of +peace and tranquillity. At the outset we rewarded many of those who +escaped assassination by appointing them to public offices which they +seemed fit to fill. In a few instances we even helped the families +of those who sacrificed their lives to the cause of law and order. A +little later, anxious to show that we were willing to let bygones be +bygones, political offices, so far as they were within the gift of the +government, were distributed practically without regard to the previous +political records of the recipients. In taking this high attitude we +assumed that the generous treatment thus accorded our late enemies +would be appreciated by them and would win us their confidence and +coöperation. We showed our ignorance of the men with whom we were +dealing when we allowed ourselves to expect such a result. They +interpreted our generosity as an evidence of fear, and each new +concession has served only to whet their appetites. For years we gave +profitable government advertising to vicious publications which never +for a moment ceased to attack us. If there is any one lesson which +should have been brought home to us by our experience it is that in the +Philippine Islands this sort of thing does not work as yet. In this, +as in most other countries, there are just two political parties, to +wit, the "ins" and the "outs." Public office is ardently desired by a +large percentage of the educated Filipinos who dearly love to exercise +authority, and will do without scruple what seems necessary to get it. + +We have gone too fast and too far in conferring on the people power +to elect their officers. A larger percentage of the public offices +should have remained appointive, and should have been filled either +with Americans or with Filipinos of recognized ability who were really +in favour of the policy which the government was carrying out. Open +and active opposition to that policy should have been made ground for +prompt removal from office. The men who risked their lives to help +us were entitled to recognition and reward, and to the protection +which the knowledge that such recognition is being accorded gives +in a country like the Philippines. Left out in the cold, they turned +against us when they saw our political enemies filling fat offices, +and why not? Such a course was safer and more popular, and they +thought that we might then be willing to buy their allegiance, +judging by our dealings with others! + +It has been claimed that the intelligent, highly educated class are +a unit for independence. Nothing could be further from the truth, +but it would be uncommonly hard at present to prove this fact. + +Some time since, I sat beside a very distinguished Filipino at a public +banquet. He made a speech in which he expressed the conviction that +independence in the near future would be a most desirable thing. When +he sat down I said to him, "What would you do if you got it?" His +reply was, "Be still! I would take the first steamer for Hongkong!" His +attitude is typical of that of a large group of opportunists. + +There is a considerable body of intelligent, conservative Filipinos +who believe, as do the vast majority of well-informed Americans, +that independence at this time would be an unmitigated curse in that +it would necessarily be temporary, would result in grave disturbances +of public order, would bring foreign intervention and the occupation +of the islands by some nation with purposes far less altruistic than +ours, and would put the possibility of real, permanent independence +off until a time so remote as to be far beyond the range of our +present vision. These men will state their attitude freely in private +conversation with those in whom they have confidence, but hardly one +of them has the courage to go on record. Why should they? We have seen +that in the old days those who opposed the views of Aguinaldo and his +associates were given short shrift and that thousands of them were +murdered in cold blood, while those who actively opposed the American +military and civil governments were without exception freely pardoned +when further opposition became impossible, unless guilty of crimes +of the gravest character. Nay, more. Under the amnesty proclamation +there were turned loose from Bilibid Prison hundreds of murderers, +some of whom had taken the lives of scores of human beings. Little +attention has been paid at any time to the violation, by Filipinos, +of their oaths of allegiance to the United States, and now, when +we discover one of the periodic incipient insurrections frequently +organized by intelligent natives for the sole purpose of wringing +hard-earned pesos from the peasant class, we seldom punish severely +even the vicious leaders. It is idle to suppose that these facts are +lost upon the conservative Filipinos. They know that if independence +does not come no punishment will be meted out to them for remaining +neutral, or even for actively advocating it, but that if it does come, +and they have opposed it, vengeance swift, sure and dire will smite +them. They are afraid, and they have the best of reasons to be afraid, +because we have announced no definite policy. Let it be authoritatively +stated that American sovereignty will be maintained in these islands +for a long period and those who actually believe that there is not +a strong element among the Filipinos who favour such a course will +get a real surprise. + +At present, however, our ears are deafened by the clamour of the +noisy politicians, who claim to represent "the Filipino people." In +this connection Bishop Brent has pertinently observed:-- + + + "If desire implied ability, the clamor for independence on the + part of the Filipinos, which just now is more widespread then at + any time in their history, would be the signal for our withdrawal, + but only their achievements can determine their ability." + + +Before we can safely declare the Filipinos ready to try the great +experiment of self-government we must bring them to the place where +they no longer regard bandit leaders as popular heroes but are able +and determined to maintain a state of public order such that life and +property will be safe. We must wean them from their present hostility +toward legitimate foreign business interests. We must teach them +that agriculture comes before art; that a public office is a public +trust; that the enormous potential wealth of their forests is worth +preserving; that the poor Filipino must be encouraged to own and till +his own land, not held as a slave or peon. We must go on training +physicians, surgeons and sanitarians so that the public health may +be adequately protected and individual suffering relieved. We must +be sure that our wards have developed the understanding and courage +necessary successfully to oppose the great waves of epidemic disease +which constantly threaten their country from without. We must train up +Filipino engineers, to-day almost completely lacking, in sufficient +numbers to make possible the construction of the public works needed +in future and the maintenance of those which already exist. + +There must be chemists and bacteriologists to do the routine work of +the government, to make the investigations necessary to safeguard the +lives of the people, and to facilitate the development of the resources +of the country. Finally, there must be a sufficiency of just judges, of +honourable lawyers, of able administrators, and of legislators unswayed +by the childish motives which so often influence those of to-day. + +Most important of all, we must bring the Filipino people to the place +where they can go on properly teaching their children and their youths. + +The day when all this will have been done of necessity lies far in the +future, and if, when contemplating this fact, we sometimes grow weary, +we should remember that the task, though a mighty and unprecedented +one, is well worthy of the best energies of a great nation. It can +never be accomplished through partisan politics. + +In considering our duty to the Filipinos let us not forget the fate +of him "who putteth his hand to the plough and turneth back." The old, +old rule applies to nations as well as to individuals. + +We are giving the Filipinos a fair chance to develop every latent +ability which they possess. In the very nature of the case, their +future lies, and must lie, wholly with them. There is no royal road +to real independence, much less is there any short cut. Our Filipino +wards must tread the same long, weary path that has been trodden by +every nation that has heretofore attained to good government. + +The case has been admirably stated by that distinguished gentleman +who to-day occupies the highest post within the gift of the American +people. He has said:-- + + + "There is profound truth in Sir Henry Maine's remark that the men + who colonized America and made its governments, to the admiration + of the world, could never have thus masterfully taken charge + of their own affairs and combined stability with liberty in the + process of absolute self-government if they had not sprung of a + race habituated to submit to law and authority, if their fathers + had not been subjects of kings, if the stock of which they came + had not served the long apprenticeship of political childhood + during which law was law without choice of their own. + + "Self-government is not a mere form of institutions, to be + had when desired, if only proper pains be taken. It is a form + of character. It follows upon the long discipline which gives + a people self-possession, self-mastery, the habit of order and + peace and common counsel, and a reverence for law which will not + fail when they themselves become the makers of law; the steadiness + and self-control of political maturity. And these things cannot + be had without long discipline. + + "The distinction is of vital concern to us in respect of + practical choices of policy which we must make, and make very + soon. We have dependencies to deal with and must deal with them + in the true spirit of our own institutions. We can give the + Filipinos constitutional government, a government which they may + count upon to be just, a government based upon some clear and + equitable understanding, intended for their good and not for our + aggrandizement; but we must ourselves for the present supply that + government. It would, it is true, be an unprecedented operation, + reversing the process of Runnymede, but America has before this + shown the world enlightened processes of politics that were + without precedent. It would have been within the choice of John + to summon his barons to Runnymede and of his own initiative enter + into a constitutional understanding with them; and it is within + our choice to do a similar thing, at once wise and generous, + in the government of the Philippine Islands. But we cannot give + them self-government. Self-government is not a thing that can be + 'given' to any people, because it is a form of character and not + a form of constitution. No people can be 'given' the self-control + of maturity. Only a long apprenticeship of obedience can secure + them the precious possession, a thing no more to be bought than + given. They cannot he presented with the character of a community, + but it may confidently be hoped that they will become a community + under the wholesome and salutary influences of just laws and a + sympathetic administration; that they will after a while understand + and master themselves, if in the meantime they are understood + and served in good conscience by those set over them in authority. + + "We of all people in the world should know these fundamental + things and should act upon them, if only to illustrate the + mastery in politics which belongs to us of hereditary right. To + ignore them would be not only to fail and fail miserably, but to + fail ridiculously and belie ourselves. Having ourselves gained + self-government by a definite process which can have no substitute, + let us put the peoples dependent upon us in the right way to gain + it also." [216] + + +These views will be indorsed by every intelligent American who knows +the Filipino, and has some adequate conception of the problems +presented by the presence, in the same country with him, of the +Ifugao, the Igorot, the Manobo, the Bukidnon, and the Moro. They are +the views of Professor Wilson, historian and political philosopher, +at a time when he was unswayed by party prejudices and untrammelled by +party policy. Let us hope that President Wilson, the titular leader +of the Democratic party and the dispenser of political patronage, +has not entirely abandoned them, and that in embarking so boldly, +not to say so rashly, as he has done, on the policy of suddenly +giving to the Filipinos a radical increase in the control which +they are allowed to have over their own affairs, and of leaving them +subsequently to demonstrate their fitness or unfitness to exercise it, +he will at least be bound by the actual results of an experiment which, +as every one familiar with local conditions in the islands well knows, +is fraught with the gravest danger. + +After all is said and done, the real Philippine question is not what +path they shall take. That has been determined, for all nations alike, +by a Divine Providence that is all-seeing, all-wise and inexorable. It +is not whether they shall travel the old, old road a little faster, +or a little more slowly. That will ultimately be settled, for them and +for us, by the unanswerable logic of events, and we need not worry over +it. The real question is, shall they make their long and adventurous +journey, guided, helped and protected by the strong and kindly hand +of the United States of America, or shall they be left to stagger +along alone, blind in their own conceit, under the keen and watchful +eye of another powerful nation, hungrily awaiting their first misstep? + + + + + + +APPENDIX + +INSTRUCTIONS OF THE PRESIDENT TO THE FIRST PHILIPPINE COMMISSION + + +"Department of State, +"Washington, January 21, 1899. + + +"My Dear Sir: I inclose herewith a copy of the instructions which +the President has drawn up for the guidance of yourself and your +associates as commissioners to the Philippines. + +"I am, with great respect, sincerely yours, + + +"John Hay." + + + +"Honourable Jacob G. Schurman, +"The Arlington." + +"Executive Mansion, "Washington, January 20, 1899. + +"The Secretary of State: + + +"My communication to the Secretary of War, dated December 21, +1898, declares the necessity of extending the actual occupation and +administration of the city, harbour, and bay of Manila to the whole +of the territory which by the treaty of Paris, signed on December 10, +1898, passed from the sovereignty of Spain to the sovereignty of the +United States, and the consequent establishment of military government +throughout the entire group of the Philippine Islands. While the treaty +has not yet been ratified, it is believed that it will be by the time +of the arrival at Manila of the commissioners named below. In order +to facilitate the most humane, pacific, and effective extension of +authority throughout these islands, and to secure, with the least +possible delay, the benefits of a wise and generous protection of +life and property to the inhabitants, I have named Jacob G. Schurman, +Rear-Admiral George Dewey, Major-General Elwell S. Otis, Charles +Denby, and Dean C. Worcester to constitute a commission to aid in +the accomplishment of these results. + +"In the performance of this duty, the commissioners are enjoined +to meet at the earliest possible day in the city of Manila and to +announce, by a public proclamation, their presence and the mission +intrusted to them, carefully setting forth that, while the military +government already proclaimed is to be maintained and continued so +long as necessity may require, efforts will be made to alleviate the +burden of taxation, to establish industrial and commercial prosperity, +and to provide for the safety of persons and of property by such +means as may be found conducive to these ends. + +"The commissioners will endeavour, without interference with the +military authorities of the United States now in control of the +Philippines, to ascertain what amelioration in the condition of the +inhabitants and what improvements in public order may be practicable, +and for this purpose they will study attentively the existing social +and political state of the various populations, particularly as regards +the forms of local government, the administration of justice, the +collection of customs and other taxes, the means of transportation, +and the need of public improvements. They will report through the +Department of State, according to the forms customary or hereafter +prescribed for transmitting and preserving such communications, the +results of their observations and reflections, and will recommend such +executive action as may from time to time seem to them wise and useful. + +"The commissioners are hereby authorized to confer authoritatively +with any persons resident in the islands from whom they may believe +themselves able to derive information or suggestions valuable for +the purposes of their commission, or whom they may choose to employ +as agents, as may be necessary for this purpose. + +"The temporary government of the islands is intrusted to the +military authorities, as already provided for by my instructions to +the Secretary of War of December 21, 1898, and will continue until +Congress shall determine otherwise. The commission may render valuable +services by examining with special care the legislative needs of the +various groups of inhabitants, and by reporting, with recommendations, +the measures which should be instituted for the maintenance of order, +peace, and public welfare, either as temporary steps to be taken +immediately for the perfection of present administration, or as +suggestions for future legislation. + +"In so far as immediate personal changes in the civil administration +may seem to be advisable, the commissioners are empowered to recommend +suitable persons for appointment to these offices from among the +inhabitants of the islands who have previously acknowledged their +allegiance to this Government. + +"It is my desire that in all their relations with the inhabitants +of the islands the commissioners exercise due respect for all the +ideals, customs, and institutions of the tribes which compose the +population, emphasizing upon all occasions the just and beneficent +intentions of the Government of the United States. It is also my wish +and expectation that the commissioners may be received in a manner +due to the honoured and authorized representatives of the American +Republic, duly commissioned on account of their knowledge, skill, +and integrity as bearers of the good will, the protection, and the +richest blessings of a liberating rather than a conquering nation. + + +"William McKinley." + + + + +PROCLAMATION OF THE FIRST PHILIPPINE COMMISSION + + +To the people of the Philippine Islands: + + +The treaty of peace between the United States and Spain, ratified +several weeks ago by the former, having on March 20 been ratified +by the latter, the cession to the United States, as stipulated by +the treaty, of the sovereignty which Spain possessed and exercised +over the Philippine Islands has now, in accordance with the laws of +nations, received a complete and indefeasible consummation. + +In order that the high responsibilities and obligations with which the +United States has thus become definitively charged may be fulfilled +in a way calculated to promote the best interests of the inhabitants +of the Philippine Islands, his Excellency the President of the United +States has appointed the undersigned a civil commission on Philippine +affairs, clothing them with all the powers necessary for the exercise +of that office. + +The commission desire to assure the people of the Philippine Islands +of the cordial good will and fraternal feeling which is entertained +for them by his Excellency the President of the United States and by +the American people. The aim and object of the American Government, +apart from the fulfilment of the solemn obligations it has assumed +toward the family of nations by the acceptance of sovereignty over +the Philippine Islands, is the well being, the prosperity, and the +happiness of the Philippine people and their elevation and advancement +to a position among the most civilized peoples of the world. + +His Excellency the President of the United States believes that +this felicity and perfection of the Philippine people is to be +brought about by the assurance of peace and order; by the guaranty of +civil and religious liberty; by the establishment of justice; by the +cultivation of letters, science and the liberal and practical arts; by +the enlargement of intercourse with foreign nations; by the expansion +of industrial pursuits, trade and commerce; by the multiplication and +improvement of the means of internal communication; by the development, +with the aid of modern mechanical inventions, of the great natural +resources of the archipelago; and, in a word, by the uninterrupted +devotion of the people to the pursuit of those useful objects and +the realization of those noble ideals which constitute the higher +civilization of mankind. + +Unfortunately, the pure aims and purposes of the American Government +and people have been misinterpreted to some of the inhabitants of +certain of the islands. As a consequence, the friendly American forces +have, without provocation or cause, been openly attacked. + +And why these hostilities? What do the best Filipinos desire? Can it +be more than the United States is ready to give? They are patriots and +want liberty, it is said. The commission emphatically asserts that +the United States is not only willing, but anxious, to establish in +the Philippine Islands an enlightened system of government under which +the Philippine people may enjoy the largest measure of home rule and +the amplest liberty consonant with the supreme ends of government +and compatible with those obligations which the United States has +assumed toward the civilized nations of the world. + +The United States striving earnestly for the welfare and advancement +of the inhabitants of the Philippine Islands, there can be no real +conflict between American sovereignty and the rights and liberties of +the Philippine people. For, just as the United States stands ready to +furnish armies, navies and all the infinite resources of a great and +powerful nation to maintain and support its rightful supremacy over the +Philippine Islands, so it is even more solicitous to spread peace and +happiness among the Philippine people; to guarantee them a rightful +freedom; to protect them in their just privileges and immunities; to +accustom them to free self-government in an ever-increasing measure; +and to encourage them in those democratic aspirations, sentiments +and ideals which are the promise and potency of a fruitful national +development. + +It is the expectation of the commission to visit the Philippine +peoples in their respective provinces, both for the purpose of +cultivating a more intimate mutual acquaintance and also with a +view to ascertaining from enlightened native opinion what form or +forms of government seem best adapted to the Philippine peoples, +most apt to conduce to their highest welfare, and most conformable +to their customs, traditions, sentiments and cherished ideals. Both +in the establishment and maintenance of government in the Philippine +Islands it will be the policy of the United States to consult the +views and wishes, and to secure the advice, coöperation and aid, +of the Philippine people themselves. + +In the meantime the attention of the Philippine people is invited +to certain regulative principles by which the United States will +be guided in its relations with them. The following are deemed of +cardinal importance:-- + + + 1. The supremacy of the United States must and will be enforced + throughout every part of the archipelago, and those who resist + it can accomplish no end other than their own ruin. + + 2. The most ample liberty of self-government will be granted to + the Philippine people which is reconcilable with the maintenance + of a wise, just, stable, effective and economical administration of + public affairs, and compatible with the sovereign and international + rights and obligations of the United States. + + 3. The civil rights of the Philippine people will be guaranteed + and protected to the fullest extent; religious freedom assured, + and all persons shall have an equal standing before the law. + + 4. Honour, justice and friendship forbid the use of the Philippine + people or islands as an object or means of exploitation. The + purpose of the American Government is the welfare and advancement + of the Philippine people. + + 5. There shall be guaranteed to the Philippine people an honest + and effective civil service, in which, to the fullest extent + practicable, natives shall be employed. + + 6. The collection and application of taxes and revenues will be + put upon a sound, honest and economical basis. Public funds, + raised justly and collected honestly, will be applied only in + defraying the regular and proper expenses incurred by and for the + establishment and maintenance of the Philippine government, and for + such general improvements as public interests may demand. Local + funds, collected for local purposes, shall not be diverted to + other ends. With such a prudent and honest fiscal administration, + it is believed that the needs of the government will in a short + time become compatible with a considerable reduction in taxation. + + 7. A pure, speedy and effective administration of justice will + be established, whereby the evils of delay, corruption and + exploitation will be effectually eradicated. + + 8. The construction of roads, railroads and other means of + communication and transportation, as well as other public works + of manifest advantage to the Philippine people, will be promoted. + + 9. Domestic and foreign trade and commerce, agriculture and other + industrial pursuits, and the general development of the country + in the interest of its inhabitants will be constant objects of + solicitude and fostering care. + + 10. Effective provision will be made for the establishment of + elementary schools in which the children of the people shall + be educated. Appropriate facilities will also be provided for + higher education. + + 11. Reforms in all departments of the government, in all branches + of the public service and in all corporations closely touching + the common life of the people must be undertaken without delay + and effected, conformably to right and justice, in a way that + will satisfy the well-founded demands and the highest sentiments + and aspirations of the Philippine people. + + +Such is the spirit in which the United States comes to the people of +the Philippine Islands. His Excellency, the President, has instructed +the commission to make it publicly known. And in obeying this behest +the commission desire to join with his Excellency, the President, in +expressing their own good will toward the Philippine people, and to +extend to their leading and representative men a cordial invitation +to meet them for personal acquaintance and for the exchange of views +and opinions. + + +Manila, April 4, 1899. + +Jacob Gould Schurman, +President of Commission. + +George Dewey, +Admiral U. S. N. + +Elwell S. Otis, +Major-General U. S. Volunteers. + +Charles Denby. + +Dean C. Worcester. + +John R. MacArthur, +Secretary of Commission. + + + + +INSTRUCTIONS OF THE PRESIDENT TO THE SECOND PHILIPPINE COMMISSION + + +War Department, +Washington, April 7, 1900. + + +Sir: I transmit to you herewith the instructions of the President for +the guidance of yourself and your associates as commissioners to the +Philippine Islands. + + +Very respectfully, + +Elihu Root, +Secretary of War. + +Hon. William H. Taft, + +President Board of Commissioners to the Philippine Islands + +Executive Mansion, April 7, 1900. + +The Secretary of War, +Washington. + + +Sir: In the message transmitted to the Congress on the 5th of +December, 1899, I said, speaking of the Philippine Islands: "As long +as the insurrection continues the military arm must necessarily be +supreme. But there is no reason why steps should not be taken from +time to time to inaugurate governments essentially popular in their +form as fast as territory is held and controlled by our troops. To this +end I am considering the advisability of the return of the commission, +or such of the members thereof as can be secured, to aid the existing +authorities and facilitate this work throughout the islands." + +To give effect to the intention thus expressed I have appointed +Hon. William H. Taft, of Ohio; Prof. Dean C. Worcester, of Michigan; +Hon. Luke E. Wright, of Tennessee; Hon. Henry C. Ide, of Vermont, and +Prof. Bernard Moses, of California, commissioners to the Philippine +Islands to continue and perfect the work of organizing and establishing +civil government already commenced by the military authorities, +subject in all respects to any laws which Congress may hereafter enact. + +The commissioners named will meet and act as a board, and the +Hon. William H. Taft is designated as president of the board. It is +probable that the transfer of authority from military commanders +to civil officers will be gradual and will occupy a considerable +period. Its successful accomplishment and the maintenance of peace +and order in the meantime will require the most perfect coöperation +between the civil and military authorities in the island, and both +should be directed during the transition period by the same Executive +Department. The commission will therefore report to the secretary of +war, and all their action will be subject to your approval and control. + +You will instruct the commission to proceed to the city of Manila, +where they will make their principal office, and to communicate with +the military governor of the Philippine Islands, whom you will at +the same time direct to render to them every assistance within his +power in the performance of their duties. Without hampering them +by too specific instructions, they should in general be enjoined, +after making themselves familiar with the conditions and needs of +the country, to devote their attention in the first instance to the +establishment of municipal governments, in which the natives of the +islands, both in the cities and in the rural communities, shall be +afforded the opportunity to manage their own local affairs to the +fullest extent of which they are capable, and subject to the least +degree of supervision and control which a careful study of their +capacities and observation of the workings of native control show to +be consistent with the maintenance of law, order and loyalty. + +The next subject in order of importance should be the organization +of government in the larger administrative divisions corresponding to +counties, departments or provinces, in which the common interests of +many or several municipalities falling within the same tribal lines, +or the same natural geographical limits, may best be subserved by +a common administration. Whenever the commission is of the opinion +that the condition of affairs in the islands is such that the +central administration may safely be transferred from military to +civil control, they will report that conclusion to you, with their +recommendations as to the form of central government to be established +for the purpose of taking over the control. + +Beginning with the 1st day of September, 1900, the authority to +exercise, subject to my approval, through the secretary of war, +that part of the power of government in the Philippine Islands +which is of a legislative nature is to be transferred from the +military governor of the islands to this commission, to be thereafter +exercised by them in the place and stead of the military governor, +under such rules and regulations as you shall prescribe, until +the establishment of the civil central government for the islands +contemplated in the last foregoing paragraph, or until Congress +shall otherwise provide. Exercise of this legislative authority will +include the making of rules and orders, having the effect of law, +for the raising of revenue by taxes, customs duties and imposts; +the appropriation and expenditure of public funds of the islands; +the establishment of an educational system throughout the islands; +the establishment of a system to secure an efficient civil service; +the organization and establishment of courts; the organization and +establishment of municipal and departmental governments, and all +other matters of a civil nature for which the military governor is +now competent to provide by rules or orders of a legislative character. + +The commission will also have power during the same period to +appoint to office such officers under the judicial, educational +and civil-service systems and in the municipal and departmental +governments as shall be provided for. Until the complete transfer of +control the military governor will remain the chief executive head +of the government of the islands, and will exercise the executive +authority now possessed by him and not herein expressly assigned to +the commission, subject, however, to the rules and orders enacted by +the commission in the exercise of the legislative powers conferred +upon them. In the meantime the municipal and departmental governments +will continue to report to the military governor and be subject to his +administrative supervision and control, under your direction, but that +supervision and control will be confined within the narrowest limits +consistent with the requirement that the powers of government in the +municipalities and departments shall be honestly and effectively +exercised and that law and order and individual freedom shall be +maintained. + +All legislative rules and orders, establishments of government, and +appointments to office by the commission will take effect immediately, +or at such times as they shall designate, subject to your approval +and action upon the coming in of the commission's reports, which are +to be made from time to time as their action is taken. Wherever civil +governments are constituted under the direction of the commission, +such military posts, garrisons and forces will be continued for the +suppression of insurrection and brigandage, and the maintenance of +law and order, as the military commander shall deem requisite, and +the military forces shall be at all times subject under his orders +to the call of the civil authorities for the maintenance of law and +order and the enforcement of their authority. + +In the establishment of municipal governments the commission will take +as the basis of their work the governments established by the military +governor under his order of August 8, 1899, and under the report of +the board constituted by the military governor by his order of January +29, 1900, to formulate and report a plan of municipal government, +of which his honour Cayetano Arellano, president of the audiencia, +was chairman, and they will give to the conclusions of that board the +weight and consideration which the high character and distinguished +abilities of its members justify. + +In the constitution of departmental or provincial governments, they +will give especial attention to the existing government of the island +of Negros, constituted, with the approval of the people of that island, +under the order of the military governor of July 22, 1899, and after +verifying, so far as may be practicable, the reports of the successful +working of that government, they will be guided by the experience thus +acquired, so far as it may be applicable to the condition existing +in other portions of the Philippines. They will avail themselves, +to the fullest degree practicable, of the conclusions reached by the +previous commission to the Philippines. + +In the distribution of powers among the governments organized by the +commission, the presumption is always to be in favour of the smaller +subdivision, so that all the powers which can properly be exercised +by the municipal government shall be vested in that government, and +all the powers of a more general character which can be exercised +by the departmental government shall be vested in that government, +and so that in the governmental system, which is the result of the +process, the central government of the islands, following the example +of the distribution of the powers between the states and the national +government of the United States, shall have no direct administration +except of matters of purely general concern, and shall have only such +supervision and control over local governments as may be necessary +to secure and enforce faithful and efficient administration by local +officers. + +The many different degrees of civilization and varieties of custom +and capacity among the people of the different islands preclude very +definite instruction as to the part which the people shall take in +the selection of their own officers; but these general rules are to +be observed: That in all cases the municipal officers, who administer +the local affairs of the people, are to be selected by the people, +and that wherever officers of more extended jurisdiction are to be +selected in any way, natives of the islands are to be preferred, +and if they can be found competent and willing to perform the duties, +they are to receive the offices in preference to any others. + +It will be necessary to fill some offices for the present with +Americans which after a time may well be filled by natives of the +islands. As soon as practicable a system for ascertaining the merit +and fitness of candidates for civil office should be put in force. An +indispensable qualification for all offices and positions of trust and +authority in the islands must be absolute and unconditional loyalty to +the United States, and absolute and unhampered authority and power to +remove and punish any officer deviating from that standard must at all +times be retained in the hands of the central authority of the islands. + +In all the forms of government and administrative provisions in +which they are authorized to prescribe, the commission should bear +in mind that the government which they are establishing is designed +not for our satisfaction, or for the expression of our theoretical +views, but for the happiness, peace and prosperity of the people of +the Philippine Islands, and the measures adopted should be made to +conform to their customs, their habits and even their prejudices, +to the fullest extent consistent with the accomplishment of the +indispensable requisites of just and effective government. + +At the same time the commission should bear in mind, and the people +of the islands should be made plainly to understand, that there are +certain great principles of government which have been made the basis +of our governmental system which we deem essential to the rule of law +and the maintenance of individual freedom, and of which they have, +unfortunately, been denied the experience possessed by us; that there +are also certain practical rules of government which we have found to +be essential to the preservation of these great principles of liberty +and law, and that these principles and these rules of government +must be established and maintained in their islands for the sake of +their liberty and happiness, however much they may conflict with the +customs or laws of procedure with which they are familiar. + +It is evident that the most enlightened thought of the Philippine +Islands fully appreciates the importance of these principles and +rules, and they will inevitably within a short time command universal +assent. Upon every division and branch of the government of the +Philippines, therefore, must be imposed these inviolable rules: + +That no person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without +due process of law; that private property shall not be taken for public +use without just compensation; that in all criminal prosecutions +the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, +to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation, to be +confronted with the witnesses against him, to have compulsory process +for obtaining witnesses in his favour, and to have the assistance of +counsel for his defence; that excessive bail shall not be required, nor +excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishment inflicted; +that no person shall be put twice in jeopardy for the same offence, or +be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself; that +the right to be secure against unreasonable searches and seizures shall +not be violated; that neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall +exist except as a punishment for crime; that no bill of attainder, +or ex-post-facto law shall be passed; that no law shall be passed +abridging the freedom of speech or of the press, or the rights of +the people to peaceably assemble and petition the Government for +a redress of grievances; that no law shall be made respecting an +establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, +and that the free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and +worship without discrimination or preference shall forever be allowed. + +It will be the duty of the commission to make a thorough investigation +into the titles to the large tracts of land held or claimed by +individuals or by religious orders; into the justice of the claims and +complaints made against such landholders by the people of the island +or any part of the people, and to seek by wise and peaceable measure, +a just settlement of the controversies and redress of wrongs which +have caused strife and bloodshed in the past. In the performance +of this duty the commission is enjoined to see that no injustice is +done; to have regard for substantial rights and equity, disregarding +technicalities so far as substantial right permits, and to observe +the following rules: + +That the provision of the Treaty of Paris, pledging the United States +to the protection of all rights of property in the islands, and as +well the principle of our own Government which prohibits the taking of +private property without due process of law, shall not be violated; +that the welfare of the people of the islands, which should be a +paramount consideration, shall be attained consistently with this rule +of property right; that if it becomes necessary for the public interest +of the people of the islands to dispose of claims to property which +the commission finds to be not lawfully acquired and held disposition +shall be made thereof by due legal procedure, in which there shall be +full opportunity for fair and impartial hearing and judgment; that if +the same public interests require the extinguishment of property rights +lawfully acquired and held due compensation shall be made out of the +public treasury therefor; that no form of religion and no minister of +religion shall be forced upon any community or upon any citizen of +the islands; that upon the other hand no minister of religion shall +be interfered with or molested in following his calling, and that the +separation between state and church shall be real, entire and absolute. + +It will be the duty of the commission to promote and extend, and, +as they find occasion, to improve, the system of education already +inaugurated by the military authorities. In doing this they should +regard as of first importance the extension of a system of primary +education which shall be free to all, and which shall tend to fit the +people for the duties of citizenship and for the ordinary avocations +of a civilized community. This instruction should be given in the first +instance in every part of the islands in the language of the people. In +view of the great number of languages spoken by the different tribes, +it is especially important to the prosperity of the islands that a +common medium of communication may be established, and it is obviously +desirable that this medium should be the English language. Especial +attention should be at once given to affording full opportunity to all +the people of the islands to acquire the use of the English language. + +It may be well that the main changes which should be made in the system +of taxation and in the body of the laws under which the people are +governed, except such changes as have already been made by the military +government, should be relegated to the civil government which is to be +established under the auspices of the commission. It will, however, +be the duty of the commission to inquire diligently as to whether +there are any further changes which ought not be delayed; and if so, +they are authorized to make such changes, subject to your approval. In +doing so they are to bear in mind that taxes which tend to penalize +or repress industry and enterprise are to be avoided; that provisions +for taxation should be simple, so that they may be understood by the +people; that they should affect the fewest practicable subjects of +taxation which will serve for the general distribution of the burden. + +The main body of the laws which regulate the rights and obligations +of the people should be maintained with as little interference as +possible. Changes made should be mainly in procedure, and in the +criminal laws to secure speedy and impartial trials, and at the same +time effective administration and respect for individual rights. + +In dealing with the uncivilized tribes of the islands the commission +should adopt the same course followed by Congress in permitting +the tribes of our North American Indians to maintain their tribal +organization and government, and under which many of those tribes are +now living in peace and contentment, surrounded by a civilization to +which they are unable or unwilling to conform. Such tribal governments +should, however, be subjected to wise and firm regulation; and, +without undue or petty interference, constant and active effort +should be exercised to prevent barbarous practices and introduce +civilized customs. + +Upon all officers and employees of the United States, both civil +and military, should be impressed a sense of the duty to observe not +merely the material but the personal and social rights of the people +of the islands, and to treat them with the same courtesy and respect +for their personal dignity which the people of the United States are +accustomed to require from each other. + +The articles of capitulation of the city of Manila on the 13th of +August, 1898, concluded with these words: + +"This city, its inhabitants, its churches and religious worship, +its educational establishments, and its private property of all +descriptions, are placed under the special safeguard of the faith +and honour of the American army." + +I believe that this pledge has been faithfully kept. As high and sacred +an obligation rests upon the Government of the United States to give +protection for property and life, civil and religious freedom, and +wise, firm and unselfish guidance in the paths of peace and prosperity +to all the people of the Philippine Islands. I charge this commission +to labour for the full performance of this obligation which concerns +the honour and conscience of their country, in the firm hope that +through their labours all the inhabitants of the Philippine Islands +may come to look back with gratitude to the day when God gave victory +to American arms at Manila and set their land under the sovereignty +and the protection of the people of the United States. + + +William McKinley. + + + + +THE PAST AND PRESENT ORGANIZATION OF THE COURTS OF THE PHILIPPINE +ISLANDS [217] + + +During the last years of Spanish sovereignty the courts in the +Philippine Islands consisted of superior courts, which were the +audiencia territorial de Manila, the audiencia de lo criminal de +Cebú, and the audiencia de lo criminal de Vigan; the courts of first +instance, and justice of the peace courts. + +The audiencia territorial de Manila exercised jurisdiction in civil +matters over the entire Philippine archipelago; in criminal matters +it exercised jurisdiction over the central and southern provinces of +Luzón and over the islands of Catanduanes, Mindoro, Burias, Masbate +and Ticao. + +Its legal personnel consisted of a president of the court; two +presidents of branches, one of the civil, and the other of the +criminal; nine justices (magistrados); four associate justices +(magistrados suplentes); one fiscal; one lieutenant-fiscal, and +three fiscal attorneys; five secretaries and four law clerks who were +assistant secretaries. + +The audiencia de lo criminal of Vigan and that of Cebu had only +criminal jurisdiction, the former over the northern part of Luzón +and the Batanes Islands and the latter over the Visayan Islands and +Mindanao. Each of these courts had a president, two justices, two +associate justices, one fiscal, one lieutenant-fiscal, a secretary +and one law clerk who was assistant secretary. + +There was at least one court of first instance in each province. In +some, like Batangas, Ambos Camarines, Samar, Leyte, Cebu and Negros, +there were two. In Iloílo there were three and in Manila four. These +courts were divided into three classes designated as follows: de +entrada; de ascenso; and de termino. + +Subject to the jurisdiction of the audiencia territorial de Manila, +there were eight jusgados de termino; five jusgados de ascenso, and +fourteen jusgados de entrada. Under the criminal jurisdiction of the +audiencia territorial of Vigan there were three jusgados de termino, +one jusgado de ascenso and sixteen jusgados de entrada. Under the +audiencia territorial of Cebu there were two jusgados de termino and +thirty jusgados de ascenso. + +In each court of first instance there was a prosecuting attorney +(promotor fiscal). In each pueblo there was a justice of the peace +subject in his criminal and civil jurisdiction to the judge of first +instance of the province. In criminal matters the justice of the +peace courts as well as the courts of first instance were subject to +the audiencia territorial of Manila. + +At the present time the courts of justice of the islands consist +of a supreme court, courts of first instance and justice of the +peace courts. + +The supreme court, which is composed of one chief justice and six +associate justices, has civil and criminal jurisdiction over all +the islands. + +In each province there is a court of first instance. Several such +courts are usually united to constitute a judicial district, but this +does not hold for the court of first instance of the city of Manila, +which is presided over by three judges, each in his own court room, +nor for the court of first instance of Iloílo, which constitutes +a district by itself. The remaining courts are divided between +seventeen districts. + +The courts of the thirteenth and fourteenth districts have concurrent +jurisdiction over all actions arising within the district of Lanao +of the Moro province, but the court first acquiring jurisdiction in +any cause has exclusive jurisdiction in the same. + +There are four judges at large, without territorial jurisdiction of +their own, any one of whom may be assigned by the secretary of finance +and justice to act in any district. He then has the same jurisdiction +as its judge. The services of judges at large are necessary when +the judge of any district is absent, or has vacated his position, +or when the business of a court requires the aid of an assistant judge. + +There further exists the court of land registration, with one judge +and five auxiliary judges. It has exclusive jurisdiction over all +applications for the registration of title to land or buildings or +an interest therein. It also has jurisdiction to confirm the titles +of persons who under the Spanish régime acquired imperfect titles to +public lands, provided that such persons fulfill the requirements of +law for their perfection. + +There is now a justice of the peace court in each municipality and by +resolution of the Philippine Commission there have been created justice +of the peace courts in townships and other centres of population +which have not been organized either as townships or municipalities. + +In the provinces of Nueva Vizcaya, Mindoro, Palawan, Agusan and in +the Mountain province, all of which are organized under the special +provincial government act, the provincial governor, the provincial +secretary, the provincial treasurer, the provincial supervisor [218] +and the deputy clerk of the court of first instance are justices of +the peace ex officio with jurisdiction throughout their respective +provinces. + +In the Moro province, which is divided into five districts, called +Joló, Zamboanga, Lanao, Cotabato and Davao, there are tribal ward +courts which consider and decide minor civil and criminal actions in +which the parties in interest, or any of them, are Moros or members +of other non-Christian tribes. These tribal ward courts have with +regard to these actions the same jurisdiction as is vested by law in +justice of the peace courts, but the legislative council of the Moro +province may in its discretion vest in such courts jurisdiction in +other actions, civil or criminal but not capital, which is at present +vested in courts of first instance. In each district the governor and +secretary are justices of tribal ward courts and there are as many +auxiliary justices as may be needed. The sentences of the tribal ward +courts, from which no appeal is taken to the court of first instance, +may be modified or remitted by the provincial governor after a review +of the case. + +In addition to these tribal ward courts there exist justice of the +peace courts in each municipality and the governor-general may with +the advice and approval of the commission appoint justices of the peace +for towns or places in the Moro province which have not been organized +into municipalities or which, although included within the limits of an +organized municipality, are distant from or have no convenient means +of access to centres of population. The jurisdiction of the justices +of the peace for the municipalities in which such towns or places are +situated, and of the justices of the peace appointed for such towns or +places, are concurrent over cases arising within the municipality. The +several justices of the peace in any district of the Moro province +exercise concurrent jurisdiction over cases arising within the +district but without the limits of an organized municipality, but +the justice of the peace first acquiring jurisdiction over any case +has exclusive jurisdiction over it. The justices of the peace in the +Moro province have no jurisdiction to try civil and criminal actions +in which original jurisdiction is vested in tribal ward courts. + +Under the present organization there exists a bureau of justice with +the following legal personnel: attorney-general, solicitor-general, +assistant attorney-general, and eleven assistant attorneys. There is +a provincial fiscal in each province with the exception of the Moro +province, in which there are an attorney and an assistant attorney. The +city of Manila has, besides the city attorney and assistant attorney, +a prosecuting attorney with four assistants. + +Under the Spanish legislation, justices of the peace had jurisdiction +to try civil actions where the value of the thing in litigation did not +exceed five hundred pesetas ($50), and actions for unlawful detainer +where the action was based on one of the following grounds. The +completion of the term stipulated in the contract; the expiration of +the time within which notice had to be given for the conclusion of the +contract, in accordance with law; the stipulations made or the general +custom in each pueblo; and the failure to pay the price stipulated, +provided that in neither of these three cases the object of the action +was dispossession of a mercantile or manufacturing establishment, or +of a rural property the annual rental whereof exceeded two thousand +five hundred pesetas ($250). They also had jurisdiction to try faltas, +which are criminal offences penalized with a fine not exceeding five +hundred pesetas ($50) or with aresto menor, which is imprisonment not +exceeding thirty days, and to conduct the preliminary proceedings in +crimes the jurisdiction over which was vested in the courts of first +instance. Judges of first instance had original jurisdiction in all +civil actions except those in which original jurisdiction was vested +in justices of the peace and in actions for crime (delitos). The +sentences of judges of first instance could be carried in appeal to +the audiencia territorial of Manila, and in the majority of cases +the supreme court of Spain could be petitioned for the cassation of +the sentences of the said audiencia territorial. The judges of first +instance also had appellate jurisdiction in cases of appeal against +the decisions rendered by justices of the peace in actions in which +the latter had original jurisdiction. All the sentences of the courts +of first instance in criminal cases, regardless of whether they were +sentences of conviction or of acquittal, had to be submitted for +review to the proper audiencia, the decision of the former not being +final without the approval of the latter. From the decisions of the +audiencia appeal lay in all cases to the supreme court of Spain. + +It naturally followed that legal proceedings were interminable, and one +of the worst things which could befall an individual or a corporation +in the Spanish days was to become involved in a lawsuit. It is an +unpleasant thing to say, but the plain truth is that the character +of the judges in not a few instances left much to be desired. + +Contrast with the endless complications of the above arrangement the +simplicity of that which prevails to-day. Justices of the peace have +exclusive original jurisdiction in all civil actions arising in their +municipalities which are not exclusively cognizable by the courts +of first instance, when the value of the subject-matter or amount +of the demand does not exceed $100, exclusive of interest and costs; +and where such value or demand exceeds $100, but is less than $300, +the justices of the peace have jurisdiction concurrent with the courts +of first instance. They also have original jurisdiction in forcible +entry and detainer proceedings. They have no jurisdiction to adjudicate +questions of title to real estate or any interest therein, or in civil +actions in which the subject of litigation is not capable of pecuniary +estimation, except in forcible entry and detainer cases, or in those +which involve the legality of any tax, impost, or assessment, or in +actions involving admiralty or marine jurisdiction, or in matters of +probate, the appointment of guardians, trustees, or receivers, or in +actions for annulment of marriage. Justices of the peace, except in +the city of Manila, have original jurisdiction to try persons charged +with misdemeanors, offences and infractions of municipal ordinances, +arising within the municipality, in which the penalty provided by law +does not exceed six months imprisonment or a fine of $100, or both such +imprisonment and fine. In the city of Manila the justice of the peace +does not have this jurisdiction; there it is left to a municipal judge, +who has jurisdiction to try all the infractions of ordinances and has +a more ample jurisdiction to try misdemeanors and crimes against the +general laws of the islands. Justices of the peace, except in the city +of Manila, also have jurisdiction to conduct preliminary proceedings +in all crimes and misdemeanors supposed to have been committed within +their municipalities and cognizable by the courts of first instance. + +The jurisdiction of courts of first instance is of two kinds, original +and appellate. Courts of first instance have original jurisdiction: in +all civil actions in which the subject of litigation is not capable +of pecuniary estimation; in all civil actions which involve the +title to or possession of real property, or any interest therein, +or the legality of any tax, impost, or assessment, except actions +of forcible entry into or detainer of lands or buildings; in all +cases in which the demand, exclusive of the interest or the value +of the property in controversy, amounts to $100 or more; in all +actions in admiralty or maritime jurisdiction, irrespective of the +value of the property in controversy and the amount of the demand; +in all matters of probate, both of testate and intestate estates, +appointment of guardians, trustees, and receivers, in all actions for +annulment of marriage, and in all such special cases and proceedings +as are not otherwise provided for; in all criminal cases in which +a penalty of more than six months imprisonment or a fine exceeding +$100 may be imposed; in all crimes and offences committed on the +high seas or beyond the jurisdiction of any country, or within any +of the navigable waters of the Philippine Islands, on board a ship +or water craft of any kind registered or licensed in the Philippine +Islands in accordance with the laws thereof. This jurisdiction may +be exercised by the court of first instance in any province into +which the ship or water craft upon which the crime or offence was +committed may come after the commission thereof, but the court first +lawfully taking cognizance thereof has jurisdiction of the same to +the exclusion of all other courts in the Philippine Islands. Lastly, +courts of first instance have power to issue writs of injunction, +mandamus, certiorari, prohibition, quo warranto, and habeas corpus in +their respective provinces and districts, in the manner provided in +the code of civil procedure. Courts of first instance have appellate +jurisdiction over all causes arising in justices' and other inferior +courts in their respective provinces. + +The supreme court of the Philippine Islands has original jurisdiction +to issue writs of mandamus, certiorari, prohibition, habeas corpus, +and quo warranto in the cases and in the manner prescribed in the +code of civil procedure, and to hear and determine the controversies +thus brought before it, and in other cases provided by law. + +The supreme court of the United States, according to the Philippine +bill, has jurisdiction to review, revise, reverse, modify, or +affirm the final judgments and decrees of the supreme court of the +Philippine Islands in all actions, cases, causes, and proceedings +pending therein in which the constitution or any statute, treaty, +title, right or privilege of the United States is involved, or in +causes in which the value in controversy exceeds $25,000. + +Probably not more than ten Filipinos held judicial or fiscal positions, +except that of justice of the peace, under Spanish rule. To-day, +three of the seven justices of the supreme court, ten of the twenty +judges of districts, two of the four judges at large, and three of +the six judges of the court of land registration are Filipinos. In the +bureau of justice the attorney-general and seven assistant attorneys +are Filipinos. All of the provincial fiscals are Filipinos with the +exception of the fiscal of the Moro province and the prosecuting +attorney and the city attorney of Manila. All of the justices of +the peace except those who serve ex officio are Filipinos, and the +secretary of finance and justice is a Filipino as well. + +Under the Spanish régime justices of the peace did not receive +salaries, nor was there any appropriation for the payment of necessary +clerical assistance, for office supplies, or for rental of their court +rooms. The fees which the law allowed them to charge were their only +compensation. These were fifty cents for each civil case tried and +twenty-five cents when no trial was held on account of failure to +appear on the part of either the plaintiff or defendant or of both. + +In criminal cases the fees were seventy-five cents for each case tried, +but they could be collected only if the defendant was adjudged to +pay the costs and was solvent. + +The compensation of justices of the peace was in practice limited +to the paltry fees in civil cases, which in many municipalities +amounted to almost nothing owing to the small number of such cases +tried. Justices of the peace were burdened with orders from the +courts of first instance for the service of process, and for this no +compensation was given them. + +The only appropriations for office, personnel and supplies of the +courts of first instance were the following: two Chinese interpreters +and sixteen bailiffs, drawing a yearly salary of $48 for the four +courts at Manila; interpreters drawing the following ridiculous +salaries: $48 per annum in some courts, $36 in others and in still +others $24; amanuenses whose salaries in some courts were $48 and in +others $36 per annum, while in yet other courts there was no amount +appropriated for their salaries. No appropriation was made for clerks, +officers, messengers or bailiffs of the courts, for necessary office +supplies or for court-houses. The clerks of courts had to pay all +subordinate employees. They also had to pay for the building of a +court-house out of the money collected as fees from litigants, and +in many instances they were compelled to pay for the dwelling place +of the judge, who ordinarily lived in the court-house. + +The salaries of judicial officers and fiscals were also very +meager. The prosecuting attorney of a court de entrada was paid $750 +per annum; the judge of a court of first instance de entrada, the +prosecuting attorney de ascenso, and the secretaries of the audiencia +de lo criminal, all of whom had the same rank, drew salaries of $937.50 +per annum. The judge of first instance de ascenso, the prosecuting +attorney de termino and the secretaries of the audiencia territorial +de Manila were paid $1125 per annum. The judges of courts of first +instance de termino and the attorneys of the audiencia territorial of +Manila and the assistant attorneys of the audiencias de lo criminal +of Vigan and Cebu drew a salary of $1375 per annum. The assistant +fiscal of the audiencia territorial of Manila and the justices of the +audiencias de lo criminal of Vigan and Cebu, $1750. The justices of +the audiencia territorial of Manila and the presidents and fiscals of +the audiencias de lo criminal of Vigan and Cebu received $2125 per +annum. The president of the audiencia territorial of Manila and the +presidents of the departments of said court and its fiscal received +$25 per annum. The president of the audiencia territorial of Manila had +an additional allowance of $750, and the presidents of the departments +and fiscal of said court had $250 each for entertainment expenses. + +At present, justices of the peace in first, second, third, and fourth +class municipalities receive yearly salaries of $480, $420, $360 +and $300, respectively. The justice of the peace of Manila receives +$1800. The justices of the peace of Iloilo and Cebu receive $1200 each; +those of the provincial capitals of Albay, Ambos Camarines, Batangas, +Bulacan, Ilocos Sur, Occidental Negros, Pampanga, Pangasinán and +Tayabas, $900 each; those of Cagayan, Capiz, Cavite, Ilocos Norte, +Laguna, Rizal, Samar and Sorsogon, $750 each; those of the remaining +provincial capitals and of any municipalities considered as capitals +of provinces organized under the provincial government act, $600 each. + +Every municipality is required to provide the justice of the peace +with an adequate court room and the necessary office furniture, light, +and janitor service. Office supplies, such as stationery, stamps, +printed forms, books, etc., are furnished by the bureau of justice +and paid for from the appropriation for said bureau. + +Clerks and other subordinate employees of the courts of first instance +now have regular salaries prescribed by law, and the salaries of +judges are sufficient to allow them to live comfortably and with the +independence and decorum which befit their official positions. Judges +at large and some district judges receive $4500 per annum; other +district judges, $5000 per annum; judges in the city of Manila, +$5500. The judge of the court of land registration receives $5000 +and the assistant judges are paid $4000 each with promotion to $4500 +after two years of service. The chief justice and associate justices +of the supreme court receive $10,000 each. + + + + +THE NON-CHRISTIAN POPULATION + + +The following table gives the present accepted estimate of the +non-Christian population of the provinces as now organized, together +with the census estimate:-- + + + -------------------+----------+----------- + | | Present + Province or | Census | Accepted + Sub-province | Estimate | Estimate + -------------------+----------+----------- + Abra | 14,037 | 14,037 + Agusan | ---- | 85,000 + Albay | 892 | 892 + Amburayan | ---- | 10,191 + Ambos Camarines | 5,933 | 5,933 + Apayao | ---- | 20,000 + Antique | 2,921 | 2,921 + Bataan | 1,621 | 1,621 + Batanes | ---- | 000 + Batangas | 000 | 000 + Benguet | 21,828 | 28,449 + Bohol | 000 | 000 + Bontoc | ---- | 62,000 + Bulacan | 415 | 415 + Cagayan | 13,414 | 15,000 + Capiz | 5,629 | 5,629 + Catanduanes | ---- | 000 + Cavite | 000 | 000 + Cebu | 000 | 000 + Ilocos Norte | 2,210 | 2,210 + Ilocos Sur | 13,611 | 13,611 + Iloilo | 6,383 | 6,383 + Ifugao | ---- | 125,000 + Isabela | 7,638 | 7,638 + Kalinga | ---- | 76,000 + La Laguna | 000 | (?) + La Union | 10,050 | 000 + Lepanto | ---- | 31,194 + (Lepanto-Bontoc) | 70,283 | ---- + Leyte | 000 | 000 + Marinduque | 000 | 000 + Masbate | 000 | 000 + Mindoro | 7,264 | 15,000 + Misamis | 40,210 | 000 + Moro Province | 316,664 | 486,316 + Negros Occidental | 4,612 | 4,612 + Negros Oriental | 16,605 | 16,605 + Nueva Ecija | 1,148 | 862 + Nueva Vizcaya | 46,515 | 6,000 + Palawan | 6,844 | 20,000 + Pampanga | 1,098 | 1,098 + Pangasinán | 3,386 | 3,386 + Rizal | 2,421 | 2,421 + Romblon | 000 | 50 + Samar | 688 | 1,390 + Siquijor | ---- | 000 + Sorsogon | 41 | 41 + Surigao | 15,814 | (?) + Tarlac | 1,594 | 1,594 + Tayabas | 2,803 | 2,803 + Zambales | 3,168 | 3,168 + +----------+----------- + Total | 647,740 | 1,071,832 + -------------------+----------+----------- + + +Certain of the items in this table require brief explanation. In +it the name of each province or sub-province for which the census +estimate has been departed from is italicized. + +Agusan. This province did not exist when the census was taken. It +has since been carved out of the territory which formerly belonged +to Surigao and Misamis. The figures given, based largely on actual +enumeration, are approximately correct. + +Amburayan. This sub-province formed a part of South Ilocos at the +time of the census enumeration. It does not appear that any account +was taken of its non-Christian population. + +Apayao. The territory of this sub-province was a part of the province +of Cagayan at the time of the census enumeration. The estimate is +that of its present lieutenant-governor. Lieutenant-Governor Villamor +estimated its population at 53,000, but this figure was undoubtedly +too high. + +Antique. The non-Christian population of this province is probably +given too low by the census, but I have allowed the census figures +to stand. + +Batanes. This province did not exist at the time the census was taken. + +Benguet. The present figures are based on an accurate enumeration. + +Bontoc. The territory included within this sub-province has been +greatly changed since the census was taken. The present figures are +based on a recent enumeration. + +Cagayan. The present figures were furnished me by Governor Antonio +Carag on April 16, 1913. They represent only the supposed Negrito +population of the eastern cordillera. There are other non-Christians +in the province, but their number is not known. + +Ilocos Norte. The census estimate is undoubtedly too low, but is +nevertheless adopted, in fault of new and more reliable information. + +Ifugao. No such political subdivision existed when the census was +taken. This territory then formed a part of Nueva Vizcaya. A recent +fairly accurate enumeration has shown the original estimate of the +population of Nueva Vizcaya to be grossly in error. + +Isabela. This province has lost a part of its non-Christian population +to Ifugao and a part to Kalinga. There remain some Kalingas and +numerous Negritos east of the Cagayan River, but I have no reasonably +accurate estimate of their numbers. The figures given are probably +too low. + +Kalinga. This sub-province did not exist at the time of the census +enumeration. The figures given are quite accurate. + +La Union. This province has lost all of its non-Christian population +by transfer to Benguet and Amburayan. + +Lepanto. The figures now given for Lepanto are accurate. + +Lepanto-Bontoc. Carried in the first column, but no entry made in +the second because a direct comparison between the territory which +was included in this province and the corresponding portions of the +existing Mountain Province is not practicable. + +Mindoro. No accurate count of the Mangyans of Mindoro has ever been +made, but since the census enumeration the island has been crossed +in a number of places and the estimate now given is believed to be +reasonably conservative. + +Misamis. This province has lost its non-Christian population to the +sub-province of Bukidnon. + +The Moro Province, as at present constituted, corresponds to the former +districts of Basilan, Cotabato, Dapitan, Davao, Joló, Siasi, Tawi Tawi +and Zamboanga, so that a direct comparison between the census estimate +and the present estimate is possible. The figures given were recently +furnished me by the secretary of the province. They are admittedly +inaccurate, but are believed to be approximately correct. + +Nueva Ecija. This province has lost its Ilongot population to Nueva +Vizcaya. + +Nueva Vizcaya. Nueva Vizcaya has lost its Ifugao population to the +Mountain Province, but has gained those Ilongots formerly credited +to Isabela, Tayabas, Nueva Ecija and Pangasinán, the net result being +a heavy loss in non-Christian population. + +Palawan. The province of Palawan corresponds closely to the territory +included in Paragua Norte and Paragua Sur at the time of the census +enumeration so that a direct comparison is possible. There was no real +attempt to enumerate the non-Christian inhabitants of this province +for the census. Of Moros alone there are some five thousand. There +are said to be approximately ten thousand Tagbanuas in the country +tributary to the region along the banks of the Iwahig River, which +empties into Coral Bay. It is further claimed that there are some +five thousand more back of Bonabóna Point. This does not take into +account the Tagbanua population on the west coast, nor that of the +other Iwahig valley near Puerto Princesa; nor does it include the +Tagbanuas inhabiting the islands of Dumaran, Dinapahan, Bulalacao, +Peñon de Coron, Culion and Busuanga. I here place the non-Christian +population of the province at twenty thousand, but believe this figure +rather low. + +Romblon. There are some fifty non-Christians in this sub-province, +survivors of a much larger number who formerly lived in Tablas and +Sibuyan. + +Samar. The figures here given are those of a recent estimate by the +lieutenant-governor of the hill people of that island. Most of the +hill people are rated as Filipinos. + +Surigao. Surigao has lost most of its non-Christian population to +the sub-province of Butuan, but still has a considerable number of +Manobos and Negritos and the figures given are far too low. + + + + + + +NOTES + + +[1] Blair and Robertson, Vol. 45, p. 184. + +[2] Ibid., Vol. 45, p. 186. + +[3] Ibid., Vol. 45, p. 222. + +[4] Blair and Robertson, Vol. 45, p. 175. + +[5] Ibid., Vol. 45, pp. 213-265. + +[6] Census of the Philippines, Vol. III, pp. 578-590. + +[7] Ibid., Vol. III, p. 591. + +[8] Ibid., Vol. III, pp. 579-580. + +[9] Report of Director of Education, 1911-1912. + +[10] Barrios are small outlying villages. + +[11] Sleeping mats. + +[12] Literally, "little lawyers." This designation is commonly applied +to pettifoggers. + +[13] An organization which long vigorously combated the cock-pits, +but failed to bring about their abolition. + +[14] A hectare is equivalent to two and a half acres. + +[15] End of fiscal year 1913. + +[16] A fermented alcoholic beverage made from rice. + +[17] Cañao is the word commonly used by the northern Luzón wild men +in designating a feast or ceremony. In Ahayao it is also used as an +adjective to designate a place which may not be approached, being +then equivalent to "taboo." + +[18] Lieutenant Gilmore, U.S.N., was captured at Baler in the summer +of 1899, and held a prisoner for many months. + +[19] The only tribes of which I have not seen representatives inhabit +the region of the gulf of Davao in Mindanao. It is doubtful whether +they are really tribally distinct from the Bagobos, Bilanes and other +tribes living near the coast. + +[20] Equivalent to one dollar. + +[21] Nearly all our trails are on steep mountain sides. + +[22] An untranslatable term of respect and affection given by the +fighting men of northern Luzón to rulers whom they like. + +[23] A designation applied to a political division of less importance +than a province, governed by a military officer. + +[24] This statement proved to be untrue. They number about twenty-five +thousand. + +[25] Not so serious a matter as it may seem, when houses are made of +grass and can be speedily rebuilt. + +[26] Bronze timbrels. + +[27] The words ladrones and tulisanes are used indiscriminately in +the Philippines to designate armed robbers and brigands. + +[28] A fighting knife of deadly effectiveness. + +[29] A governor of a province may, with the approval of the Secretary +of the Interior, require members of a non-Christian tribe to take +up their residence on land reserved for such purpose if he deems +such a course to be in the interest of public order. The object of +this provision is to make it possible to compel lawless persons to +live in reasonably accessible places. In only three instances has +it been necessary to exercise this authority. Tumay and his people +were outlaws and were living in a nipa swamp where it would have been +almost impossible to attack them successfully. + +[30] One of the most influential of the Palawan Moro chiefs. + +[31] Blount, p. 543. + +[32] Ibid., p. 573. + +[33] "The Philippine Islands and Their People," by Dean C. Worcester, +p. 480. + +[34] Blount, p. 580. + +[35] Blount, p. 581. + +[36] Blount. + +[37] Ibid., pp. 581-582. + +[38] Blount, p. 576. + +[39] William F. Pack, governor of the Mountain Province. + +[40] Blount, p. 577. + +[41] Blount, pp. 567-568. + +[42] Sub-province of Tayabas. + +[43] Exclusive of sub-province of Marinduque. + +[44] Page 999. + +[45] Blount, pp. 231-232. + +[46] Blount, p. 232. + +[47] Blount, pp. 583-584. + +[48] The Philippine Islands and Their People, by Dean C. Worcester, +p. 481. + +[49] See p. 639. + +[50] Blount, p. 230. + +[51] Men who have taken a solemn oath to die killing Christians. + +[52] Blount, p. 584. + +[53] Delivered October 10, 1910. + +[54] Blount, p. 577. + +[55] In Nueva Vizcaya. + +[56] Blount, p. 577. + +[57] P. I. R., 150. 4. + +[58] Ibid. + +[59] Page 542. + +[60] Evil spirits. + +[61] This is only too true! + +[62] Rizal's 1890 edition of Morga's "Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas," +p. 297, et seq. + +[63] "Sucesos," p. 300. + +[64] Ibid., p. 305. + +[65] "The Filipino People," Vol. 2, No. 1, p. 15, September, 1913. + +[66] On July 15, 1913, I published an official report, as secretary of +the interior, on "Slavery and Peonage in the Philippine Islands." It is +hereinafter referred to in foot-notes under the title of "Slavery and +Peonage." Beginning on p. 84 of this document will be found extracts +from court records showing convictions obtained under this act, +which is quoted in full on p. 83 of the same document. + +[67] For the full text of this interesting and important report see +"Slavery and Peonage," p. 85. + +[68] This valley includes the Provinces of Cagayan and Isabela. + +[69] For the full text of this document see "Slavery and Peonage," +pp. 12-14. + +[70] 1913. + +[71] For the full text of this document see "Slavery and Peonage," +pp. 23-25. + +[72] "Respectfully returned to the Honourable the Governor-General +of the Philippine Islands, with the following opinion: + +"The acts given in the attached letter of the Provincial Governor of +Nueva Vizcaya, dated September 14, 1905, in so far as they refer to the +purchase and sale of human beings, are not provided for or punished +under the existing Penal Code; but such actions are punishable under +that Code when they constitute either the kidnapping of a minor, +illegal detention or serious threats, according to sections 481, +484 and 494 thereof. + +"Therefore, in accordance with the fourth paragraph of the letter of +the said Provincial Governor, I am of the opinion that not only the +Igorrotes who stole the Igorrote boy, but also those who received +and sold him, as well as the woman who bought him for forty pesos, +are guilty of illegal detention. The latter is furthermore guilty +of grave threats, inasmuch as she threatened to kill the purchased +Igorrote if he tried to escape from her service. + +"With reference to paragraphs 5, 6, 7 and 8 of the attached letter, +I believe that those who stole the little Igorrote and also the woman +Antonia, who sold him when knowing him to have been kidnapped, are +guilty of the offence of illegal detention. + +"If the boy who was stolen and sold, referred to in paragraphs 9, 10, +11, 12 and 13 of the enclosed letter, was under seven years of age, +then those who stole him are guilty of the offence of kidnapping +a minor, and the Igorrote woman, Antonia, and the wife of Señor +Arriola, the Clerk of the Court, are accomplices in the crime. But +if the child was over seven years old, then the offence would be +illegal detention. The same may be said of the case recounted in +paragraphs 14 and 15 of this communication. The parties who stole, +sold and bought the little Igorrote are guilty of kidnapping a minor +or of illegal detention according to the age of the victim. + +"The acts committed by Captain Vicente Tomang, referred to in paragraph +16 of this letter, are punishable both as a serious threat and as +illegal detention, because he unlawfully deprived the two Igorrote +women of their liberty when they desired to leave his service, for +which purpose he threatened to kill them. + +"Although not asked for in the indorsement to which this is a reply, +I venture to suggest that the Igorrotes who armed themselves and formed +a band for the purpose of kidnapping persons for subsequent sale, be +punished under Act 1121, which penalizes as bandolerismo the abduction +of persons for any purpose, even though there may be no extortion or +ransom demanded, if the abduction be done by an armed band. + +(Signed) "L. R. Wilfley, +"Attorney-General." + +[73] Also written "Jamaya." + +[74] Republished in "Slavery and Peonage," pp. 37-39. + +[75] "Slavery and Peonage," pp. 14-15. + +[76] Ibid., p. 21. + +[77] Ibid., pp. 23-25. + +[78] Ibid., pp. 17-19. + +[79] "The Filipino People," Vol. II, No. 1, p. 15, September, 1913. + +[80] November 1, 1913. + +[81] Speaker of the Assembly. + +[82] P. I. R., 206. 1. + +[83] Dukut means secret assassination. + +[84] "I was informed that some Spanish prisoners have succeeded in +escaping. It is necessary to redouble vigilance upon them, especially +upon the officers of rank and upon the friars, because said prisoners +might be of great use to us later on. They should, however, be +well treated, but without giving them liberty, and confined within +prison walls. If the country requires that they should be killed, +you should do so. If you deem it wise, you should secretly issue +an order to kill the friars that they may capture. They should be +frightened."--P. I. R., 471. 4. + +[85] Taylor, Ex. 833. Spanish A. L. S. 32-2. + +[86] Taylor, 46 AJ. + +[87] Ibid., 15 HS. + +[88] "To Chiefs of the Philippine Guerillas: + + "The undersigned, Chief of the General Staff in the office of + the Captain General, recommends that all chiefs of guerillas, + provided that, in their judgment, there is no obstacle in the way, + should kindly order their subordinates, down to the lowest, to + learn the verb 'Dukutar,' so as to put it immediately in practice. + + "It is the most efficacious specific against every kind of + evil-doer, and most salutary for our country. + + "Simeon S. Villa. + "Kagayan Valley, November 15, 1900." + + +Extract from letter-sent book in Spanish of E. Aguinaldo, captured +with him.--P. I. R., 368-3. + +[89] Dukutar means to assassinate. + +[90] P. I. R., 1281 and 368. 3. + +[91] P. I. R., 1199-1. + +[92] "1. The presidentes of all towns who subscribe to and recognize +American sovereignty, shall be pursued by all the revolutionists +without mercy and when captured shall be sent to these Headquarters +for a most summary trial and execution as traitors to the country. + +"2. All Filipino citizens, including the wealthy, of the towns, +are subject to the preceding regulation. + +"3. It shall be the duty of the revolutionary armies with regard to the +towns which shall recognize or intend to recognize such sovereignty, +to destroy the town or towns and without any consideration whatsoever +to kill all males, even the poorest, and set fire to all the houses, +without respecting any property excepting that of foreigners. And +in order that hereafter such misfortunes may not occur, as chief of +this province, I warn all the presidentes and wealthy people of each +town to help us as Filipinos as we are your brothers fighting here +in the field to give liberty to our mother country and woe to the +traitor who falls into the hands of this revolutionary government, +which will strictly carry out all the prescriptions above-mentioned. + +"As the government which the invaders are endeavoring to establish is +always provisional, if all the inhabitants of this province are true +Filipinos, they can easily and simply answer that we are subject to +the will of the Honorable President Señor Emilio Aguinaldo, whom we +follow and recognize in this new born Republic as the President of +the Nation." + +[93] Taylor, 80 HS. + +[94] "January, 1900. + +"To the Local Presidente, Tigbauan (Iloílo). + +"It is with profound regret that I have to state to you that in +accordance with reliable information this military delegation has +heard that you and various residents of that town have as electors +already taken an oath recognizing the American sovereignty. If this +news is true, you still have time to retract the oath, as otherwise +we will raze that town to the ground without any hesitation whatever, +and you and your companions who have taken the oath shall be considered +as proscribed, and consequently deserving of the terrible penalties +prescribed by the laws of the revolution. This is not a threat: it +is loyal and sincere advice for your own good and that of the town +in general. + +"May God keep you many years. + +"Pio Claveria, +"Delegate of the Military Government. + +"31st, 1900." --P. I. R., 1054-8. + +[95] "April 3, 1900. + +"To the local chiefs mentioned in the margin. + +"I have heard with great sorrow that some of the towns of the +southern district of this province have taken out the certificates of +citizenship issued by the North American enemy, and have also complied +with all the orders issued by them; this is exactly opposed to the +conduct of the northern district of the province and shows little love +for the country and an implied assent to the Government established +by them, for which reason I see myself obliged to impose the severest +punishment which is a sentence of death and confiscation of property +of all those who shall submit to said Government, from the Chief +and his local Cabinet to the lowest citizen, and annihilating their +towns. For this purpose I have ordered the Commanders of Zones to watch +in their respective districts the towns which may show weakness before +said Government, and to impose the punishment which I have mentioned +above. This circular is to be published three consecutive nights for +general information of all, a report that this has been done being +made to these Headquarters. Send it by the fastest couriers from one +town to the other, the last one returning it with the endorsements +of the preceding ones. + +"Headquarters of Tierra Alta, April 3, 1900. + +"Leandro Fullón, +"General and P. M. Governor." +--P. I. R., 1047. 2. + +[96] P. I. R., 1047. 2. + +[97] Ibid., 824. 1. + +[98] Ibid., 1204. 3. + +[99] P. I. R., 981. 5. + +[100] "You and Captain Antonio must take the field this week without +any pretext whatsoever, and must follow out my instructions very +carefully. We have had patience enough, and now it becomes necessary +for us to assert our authority. + +"It is advisable to punish by decapitation all those who go with the +Americans; but it is necessary first to ascertain the existence of the +crime, and if it should appear that they are real spies of the enemy, +they must be beheaded immediately without any pretext whatsoever +against it (being accepted). + +"You, Captain Antonio and Judge Cornello must perfectly understand what +this order says: when the wealthy are Americanistas, you must seize all +their money, clothing and other property belonging to them, immediately +making an inventory of the property seized, and you may remain in the +place where the seizure is made as long as may be necessary to make +said inventory, even though a great amount is spent for maintenance. + +"Know furthermore that if the soldiers take any of the property +seized, they will speedily be put to death and will surely go to hell; +therefore when it becomes necessary to enter a town to make a seizure, +you must direct the soldiers not to touch the goods seized, even the +most insignificant, in order to avoid consequence of character. + +"I have heard, Rufo, that Judge Cornello is opposed to your +father-in-law, and I want you to know that Judge Cornello is of my +blood; therefore, tell your father-in-law to be very careful because +he will have me to treat with shortly, and will be made to pay for +those threats which he is making against the people without good cause. + +"You will publish this order in the town hall, in order that the +evil-minded may see it. + +"You, Captain Antonio and Judge Cornello, who are the three comrades +who are to take the field, will acquire some happiness if you comply +with this order. + +"Health and Fraternity. + +"Dionisio Papa. + +"Calibon, May 19, 1900." + +--P. I. R., 970. 4. + +[101] "Make it evident in that circular that the towns which do not +rise up in arms on the day fixed, shall be reduced to ashes and all +their inhabitants killed, men and women, children and old people. + +"The circular is to emanate from me, and you will sign it only by +my order. + +"Communicate also to the presidents of Cagayán and other towns that +they collect the taxes of their respective towns, as soon as possible; +and a president who shall not have collected the taxes on my arrival in +the respective town, shall be hung without any hesitation whatsoever. + +"I desire that the Presidents meet there soon and await my arrival." + +--P. I. R., 970. 5. + +[102] P. I. R., 1102. 7. + +[103] Ibid., 970. 11. + +[104] "March 20, 1900. + +"Manuel Tinio y Bubdloc, + +"Brigadier General and Commander in Chief of operations in the region +of Ilocos. + +"Considering that a sufficient time has passed and various means of +having been employed as benignant as humanity counsels, to inculcate in +the minds of many misguided Filipinos the idea of the country and to +check in the beginning those unworthy acts which many of them commit, +and which not only redound to the prejudice of the troops but also +to the cause they defend, and having observed that such action does +not produce any favourable result on this date, in accordance with +the powers vested in me, I have deemed proper to issue the following:-- + + + "PROCLAMATION + + "First and last article. The following shall be tried at a most + summary trial, and be sentenced to death: + + "1. All local presidentes and other civil authorities, of the + towns as well as of the barrios, rancherias and sitios of their + respective districts, who as soon as they find out any plan, + direction of the movement or number of the enemy shall not give + notice thereof to the nearest camp. + + "2. Those who give information to the enemy of the location + of the camp, stopping places, movements and direction of the + revolutionists, whatever be the age or sex of the former. + + "3. Those who voluntarily offer to serve the enemy as guides, + excepting if it be with the purpose of misleading them from the + right road, and + + "4. Those who, of their own free will or otherwise, capture + revolutionary soldiers who are alone, or who should intimidate + them into surrendering to the enemy. + + "Issued at General Headquarters on March 20, 1900. + + (Signed) "Manuel Tinio." + + --P. I. R., 353. 8. + +[105] Guardias de Honor. + +[106] "So then dear brothers, be like those of Bacnotan who have not +allowed their honour to be sullied, for when they saw the Guards +of Honour enter their town they drove them off at once with blows +[of bolos?--Tr.] and cudgels and to the end that you may not have +cause to repent of what without doubt I shall be obliged to do, +comply with this order, listen to the following: + +"First. Whenever the Presidente of the town, Cabezas and Cabezillas +of barrios shall have knowledge of the presence in their barrios +of Guards of Honour, be they many or few, and do not cause their +disappearance or death, they will be immediately shot or beheaded. + +"Second. Every barrio or residence of the Guards of Honour where +they are going about persuading the inhabitants to follow them in +their noxious work--that we may be slaves forever--will be burned +and all their property together with their houses; and their sons, +their fathers, mothers and their wives will be shot or beheaded to +pay for their treason. + +"Third and last. All the grown men in the barrios, territorial +militiamen or those called 'sandatahan' (bolomen), corporals, sergeants +and privates, and everybody who is a Filipino will go immediately +to help in the fight against the Guards of Honour and our enemy, +the Americans; and those who pay no heed to this or hide themselves +will incur the penalty of being shot or beheaded. + +"This proclamation will be read in the barrios and will be passed +from hand to hand so that it may be copied to the end that nobody +may have an excuse when the time comes to put into execution what +has been set forth."--P. I. R., 168. 9. + +[107] Taylor, Exhibit 1083. + +[108] P. I. R., 509. 2. + +[109] "September 11, 1900. + + +"To the local Presidents of Malolos, Bulacan, Guiguinto, Bigaa, +Bocaue, Marilao, Meycauayan, Polo, Obando, Santa Maria, San José, +Angat, Norzagaray, Bustos, San Rafael, Baliuag, Pulilan, Quingua, +Santa Isabel, Barasoain, Paombong, Hagonoy, Calumpit, and the military +commanders Pablo Tecson, Bonifacio Morales, Maximo Angeles and Colonel +Simon Tecson Libuano, Colonel Rosendo Simon, and also Major Dongon. + + + "Circular + + "As the American Civil Commission has taken charge of the + government of the archipelago from the first of the present month + and from that date will proceed to establish municipal government + in the pueblos to take the place of the municipal councils which + at present rule them; in order to duly execute the orders of + the Commanding General of the Centre of Luzon, I give you the + following instructions:-- + + "1st. You will arrest and send to these headquarters with the + proper precautions to prevent escape, all inhabitants of these + pueblos who accept offices in the municipal governments about + to be established by the Americans, as they have been declared + traitors to the country by the order I have referred to as issued + by these headquarters. + + "2d. You will employ the same method of procedure with those + who favour the establishment of municipal government by the + Americans. You will not show them the slightest consideration, even + if they are your brothers. You are responsible under the severest + penalties for the performance of this. God keep you many years. + + "Malolos, September 11, 1900. + + "I. Torres, + General." + + --P. I. R., Books C-3. + +[110] P. I. R., 341. 9. + +[111] "Two weeks ago a court-martial was held at these headquarters +presided over by Colonel Aréjola, on you, Tuason, and other civil +authorities of this capital, the decision being that you will be shot +when we get there, which will be very soon. + +"You as well as Tuason and Santachia, after having been shot, will +be hung on the cathedral tower to be seen by the inhabitants in order +that you may serve as a lesson.... I tell you this only as a companion +and nothing more. Your obedient servant, who kisses your hand. + +"El Montero." + +--P. I. R., 2007. 1. + +[112] P. I. R., 716. 2. + +[113] P. I. R., 716. 5. + +[114] Taylor, 35 HS. + +[115] P. I. R., 650. 8. + +[116] "PROCLAMATIONS + +"March 3, 1899. + +"For general information, since it concerns everybody, we publish the +two important proclamations lately issued by the Chief of Military +Operations of Manila. + +"Antonio Luna y Novicio, General of Division of the Army of the +Philippine Republic and General-in-Chief of Military Operations +about Manila. + +"In order to prevent any act opposed to the military plans of these +headquarters and consequently to the ideals of the Filipino Republic, +I order and command (only one article). From this day any person or +individual whatever who either directly or indirectly refuses to +give aid to these Headquarters in the prosecution of any military +plans, or who in any manner whatever interferes with the execution +of orders dictated for that purpose by the General in Chief, +commanding operations upon Manila will be immediately shot without +trial. Communicate and publish this order. + +"Given at the General Headquarters of Polo on the 3rd of March, 1899. + +"Antonio Luna, +"General-in-Chief of Operations." + +--P. I. R., 214-2. + +[117] That is, Luna. + +[118] "March 6, 1899. + +"Señor Presidente: Many complaints have been received here on account +of the abuses committed by General Luna. It is said that he has +lately published a decree in which he warned the people that those +who disobey his orders shall be shot to death without summary trial, +and he made his decree cover the whole province of Pampanga. + +"To be shot to death without summary trial is a punishment which can +be inflicted on soldiers; but a chief cannot enforce it in a civilized +community, except among savages. Besides, he has only jurisdiction +over Polo, where the General Headquarters is, and over the towns of +the zones of Manila. + +"I am very much surprised that these things are not well understood +by General Luna. He has no executive power over Bulacán and Pampanga; +he must have issued his orders through the military chiefs thereof. + +"During such time as he is the commander-in-chief of operations of +Manila he is not the director of war, and even if he is, he has no +power other than to conduct his office and to take the place of the +secretary in his absence. + +"If an educated man can hardly understand his duties, how will the +uneducated one understand his? + +"Please make him acquainted with all of this in order to prevent +any encroachment. + +"I am at your orders. + +(Signed) "Ap. Mabini. + +"P.S.--It would be better, I think, to remove him from his post. + +"A. M." + +--P. I. R., 512a-2. + +[119] "April 6, 1901. + +"Cailles Brigade. Flying column of Rizal and Nagcarlan. + +"In conjunction with Captain Macario Dorado, I believed it my duty to +attack the town of Nagcarlan, for the principal purpose of killing +the American local presidente, as was done during the procession +last Holy Thursday. The Presidente was killed and one of his sons, +and two residents were wounded, probably by stray bullets, while +taking part in the procession. + +"Which I have the honor to communicate to you for your information +and consequent effects. + +"God preserve you many years. + +"Nagcarlan, April 6, 1901." + +(Illegible signature.) + + +"To the General in Chief and Superior Politico-Military Commander of +This Province."--P. I. R., 1142. 8. + +[120] The Insurgent leaders did not hesitate officially to report +the commission of this ghastly crime. The following is such a report:-- + + +"June 24, 1900. + + +In Margin, stamp: "Headquarters First Column, Laguna. No. 144. + +"I have the honor to transmit to you the enclosed letter from a +resident of the town of Pila who had just returned from Manila, in +which he gives me news of our present political situation, and as +such news are satisfactory to our cause I send you said letter for +your information. + +"It is known from very trustworthy information that General del Pilar +is under arrest in Manila and he has been substituted in the command +of his forces by Colonel Macanca, who was his second in command, +and is at the present time repressing with a firm hand the bandits +who swarm about the outskirts of the zone under his command, as one +of the celebrated bandits named Major Eusebio de Rateros, who had +previously been in Pagsanján was buried alive in the cemetery of +Taguig by Captain Simplicio Tolentino who is at the present time a +member of that brigade. + +"The news is also confirmed of the execution of Major Espada ordered +by General del Pilar. I send you this news for your information. + +"God preserve you many years. + + +"Headquarters, June 24, 1900. + +--P. I. R., 605. 4. + +"Julio Herrera, +"Lieutenant Colonel, Commanding 4th Column. + + +"To the General and Politico-Military Commander and of Operations of +This Province, General Camp."--P. I. R., 605. 4. + +[121] "A commissioner of the Katipúnan society at Ibung, Nueva Vizcaya +Province, compelled the inhabitants to take the oath of allegiance +to that organization, and issued orders that all who should refuse +to follow the dictates of the same should suffer death; and, in +pursuance of such orders, was proved to have had, in February, 1901, +two men beaten to death, one man buried alive, and two women burnt +alive."--Taylor, 38 HS. + +[122] At the time of this event he was a judge of first instance. + +[123] Taylor, 35-36 HS. + +[124] P. I. R., 653. 10. + +[125] P. I. R., 332. 9. + +[126] Ibid., Books A-1. + +[127] Blount, p. 203. + +[128] Ibid. + +[129] Ibid., p. 244. + +[130] "June 5, 1900. + +"Sr. Local Presidente of Katibug: + +"I send you a little of the poison known as 'dita' that you may +put it on the points of the 'balatik' and 'sura' (spears and traps) +admonishing you to take care that none of our people are wounded with +the said poison, and if by misfortune any one is wounded, immediately +apply the stem of the 'Badian' mixed with that of the 'lingaton' in +the wound, as this is the most efficacious means of neutralizing and +removing the effect of said poison. Be active and place many of the +spears, etc., in all the roads and trails where the enemy must pass, +and as soon as you know of his next expedition, inform me immediately +by despatch, both by day and night. + +"It is very necessary that the people detailed to place the poison on +the points carry always the 'badian' and 'lingaton' so that in case +of mishap some one may apply the remedy to neutralize the destructive +ingredients of the poison at once. + +"Headquarters of Matuguinao, 5th of June, 1900. + +(Signed) "Lukban, General. + +(Seal) "Military Headquarters of Samar."--P. I. R., 502. 7. + +[131] P. I. R., 2035. 3. + +[132] The following issued by Col. R. F. Santos in Albay Province is +a sample:-- + + +"October 14, 1900. + + +"In view of the present exceptional state of affairs in our beloved +mother country, the Philippines, considering the straits we are in, +and in compliance with the order of the General of Division and Chief +of Operations for his campaign plans, I trust that upon receipt of the +present communication you will kindly order the captains of territorial +militia of that barrio, Apud, Pantao and Macabugos, to have all the +soldiers of their respective companies provide themselves with at least +fifty arrows apiece and a sufficient quantity of the well-known poison +called dita to apply to the points of the arrows, and to have their +bolos well sharpened. I must remind you that as repeated practice +is essential in order to secure the best results in the use of these +weapons, you will endeavour to have at least twice a week, according +to the convenience of the residents, said exercises take place in +secluded spots, far from all danger of being surprised by the enemy. + +"For the purpose indicated above you will likewise order that all +the residents of your respective barrios have ready in a safe place +a supply of the fruit commonly called Ydioc, putting it in water to +decay, and to also have in readiness a squirt gun, that is to say, +a 'Sumpit,' in order to use it in case of any invasion or attack of +the enemy."--P. I. R., Books B, No. 113. + +[133] The following is a sample report:-- + +"February 4, 1900. + +"Lieutenant-colonel C. Tinio: + +"My Dear and Esteemed Uncle: + + + +"I am now carrying out a scheme here in this town for the purpose of +killing some American sentries, whose bodies will be buried in the +woods near the town, where they cannot be traced and found by their +comrades, in order to avoid any investigation by them. They will +believe that these soldiers have deserted. I have just sent to Gerona +for a supply of wine, which, mixed with a strong, sickening stuff, +will be sold to them; once they drink of it, the effect will soon +tell on them, and then we will seize their rifles. + +"I feel that I should advise you of this matter, in order that you +may know the reason if, perchance, it should happen that we lose +the confidence of the inhabitants of the town on account of this +scheme. However, we will be satisfied if we can seize some rifles +without resorting to violent means or to a scandal. + +"This is the purpose of your devoted nephew, who always prays God +for your health and life, and who sends you his kindest regards. + +"San Juan (Tarlac Province?), February 4, 1900. + +(Signed) "Leoncio Alarilla, +"Captain of Guerillas." +--P. I. R., 480. 5. + +[134] The following is a sample report. It will be noted that its +author was a civilian, not a soldier:-- + + +"January 19, 1900. + +"Sr. Lieut. Col. A. Tecson: + +"With due respect I address you to inform you that yesterday at 10 +A.M., I was in the barrio of Bagonbaulat and I saw one of the enemy's +soldiers who was lagging behind his companions, and what I did was to +order the man in charge of that place and three men to be called whom I +ordered to capture the said soldier, and when a prisoner I ordered him +to be led to the woods and there they killed him and buried the body; +the rifle he carried and ninety cartridges I left with the people and +continued my march to San Isidro; on my return when I was to get the +rifle mentioned I could not find it and they told me they had sent +it to Major Manolo. I inform you of this in compliance with the order. + +"God guard you many years. + +"Entablado, 19th January, 1900. + + +(Signed) "Roman I. Torres, +"Commissioner." +--P. I. R., 573. 2. + +[135] "At page 1890 of the same volume, Captain J. R. M. Taylor, +14th U. S. Infantry, a gallant soldier and an accomplished scholar, +who was in charge in 1901 of the captured insurgent records at Manila, +states that he was 'informed' that the document was originally 'signed +by Sandico, then Secretary of the Interior' of the revolutionary +government. Captain Taylor made an attempt to run the matter down, +but obtained no evidence convincing to him. A like investigation by +General MacArthur in 1901 had a like result."--Blount, p. 200. + +[136] "Luna's Order: + + + "'Malolos, February 7, 1899. + + "'To The Field Officers of the Territorial Militia: + + "'By virtue of the barbarous attack made upon our army on the + fourth day of February without this being preceded by any strained + relations whatever between the two armies, it is necessary for + the Filipinos to show that they know how to avenge themselves of + treachery and deceit of those who, working upon our friendship, + now seek to enslave us. + + "'In order to carry out the complete destruction of that accursed + army of drunkards and thieves, it is indispensable that we all + work in unison, and that orders issued from this war office be + faithfully carried out. + + "'As soon as you receive this circular, measures will be taken + for strict compliance with the following orders: + + "'(1) Such measures will be taken that at 8 o'clock at night the + members of the territorial militia under orders will be ready to + go into the street with their arms and ammunition to occupy San + Pedro street and such cross streets as open into it. + + "'(2) The defenders of the Philippines under your orders will + attack the Zorilla barracks and the Bilibid guard, and liberate + all the prisoners, arming them in the most practical manner in + order that they may aid their brethren and work out our revenge; + to this end the following address shall be made to them: + + "'Brethren: The Americans have insulted us and we must revenge + ourselves upon them by annihilating them. + + "'This is the only means for obtaining justice, for the many + outrages and infamies of which we have been the object. All the + Filipinos in Manila will second us. May the blood of the traitors + run in torrents! Long live the independence of the Philippines! + + "'(3) The servants of the houses occupied by the Americans and + Spaniards shall burn the buildings in which their masters live + in such a manner that the conflagration shall be simultaneous in + all part of the city. + + "'The signals for carrying this into effect--shall be to send + up two red paper balloons and the firing of rockets with lights + and firecrackers. + + "'(4) The lives of the Filipinos only shall be respected, and + they shall not be molested, with the exception of those who have + been pointed out as traitors. + + "'All others of whatsoever race they may be shall be given + no quarter and shall be exterminated, thus proving to foreign + countries that America is not capable of maintaining order or + defending any of the interests which she has undertaken to defend. + + "'(5) The sharpshooters of Tondo and Santa Ana shall be the + first to open fire and those on the outside of the Manila lines + shall second their attack, and thus the American forces will find + themselves between two fires. The militia of Trozo, Binondo, Kyapo + (Quiapo), and Sampalok shall follow up the attack. All must go + into the streets and perform their duties. + + "'The militiamen of Paco, Ermita, Malate, Santa Cruz, and San + Miguel shall attack when firing has become general everywhere, + which will be approximately about 12 o'clock at night; but if they + see that their comrades are in danger before that time they shall + give them the proper assistance and go into the streets whenever + it becomes necessary. + + "'The Spanish militia enlisted as volunteers in our army shall + go out at 3 o'clock in the morning and attack Fort Santiago. + + "'Brethren, the country is in danger and we must rise to save + it. Europe sees that we are feeble, but we will demonstrate that + we know how to do as should be done, shedding our blood for the + salvation of our outraged country. Death to the tyrant! War without + quarter to the false Americans who wish to enslave us! Independence + or death! + + "'A. Luna. + + "'Malolos, February 7, 1899. + + "'Colonel José: By order of General Luna, have several copies of + this made, in order that these instructions may be communicated + to all.'"--Senate Document 331, part 2, p. 1912, Fifty-seventh + Congress, First Session. + +[137] Major F. S. Bourns. + +[138] Dr. Manuel Xerez Burgos. + +[139] This is the "note by compiler on exhibit 816," which is Luna's +order. + +[140] Taylor, 96 FZ. + +[141] Taylor, 99 FZ. + +[142] Ibid., 44 HS. + +[143] Blount, p. 313. + +[144] Taylor, 70 HS. + +[145] "In December, 1900, the people of the town of Santa Cruz, Ilocos +Sur, seized the guerilla commander of the town because he had raped +some women, and then burnt their acts of adhesion to the insurgent +government. They declared themselves adherents of the Americans, +proceeded to give them all possible aid and assistance, and captured +and delivered to them all the guerillas who dared enter the place +(P. I. R., Books C-13)."--Taylor, 45 HS. + +[146] P. I. R., Books A-9, No. 39. + +[147] Taylor, 37 HS. + +[148] Taylor, 28-29 HS. + +[149] The essential part of the resolution reads as follows:-- + +"Whereas since the completion and publication of said census there +have been no serious disturbances of the public order save and except +those caused by the noted outlaws and bandit chieftains Felizardo +and Montalón, and their followers in the Provinces of Cavite and +Batangas, and those caused in the Provinces of Samar and Leyte by +the non-Christian and fanatical pulajanes resident in the mountain +districts of the said provinces and the barrios contiguous thereto; and + +"Whereas the overwhelming majority of the people of the said Provinces +of Cavite, Batangas, Samar, and Leyte have not taken part in said +disturbances and have not aided nor abetted the lawless acts of said +bandits and pulajanes; and + +"Whereas the great mass and body of the Filipino people have, during +said period of two years, continued to be law-abiding, peaceful, +and loyal to the United States, and have continued to recognize and +do now recognize the authority and sovereignty of the United States +in the territory of said Philippine Islands: Now, therefore, be it + +"Resolved by the Philippine Commission in formal session duly +assembled, That it, said Philippine Commission, do certify, and it +does hereby certify, to the President of the United States that for +a period of two years after the completion and publication of the +census a condition of general and complete peace, with recognition of +the authority of the United States, has continued to exist and now +exists in the territory of said Philippine Islands not inhabited by +Moros or other non-Christian tribes; and be it further + +"Resolved by said Philippine Commission, That the President of the +United States be requested, and is hereby requested, to direct said +Philippine Commission to call a general election for the choice of +delegates to a popular assembly of the people of said territory in the +Philippine Islands, which assembly shall be known as the Philippine +Assembly."--Journal of the Commission, Vol. I, pp. 8-9. + +[150] A designation applied by the Spaniards to people who had taken +to the hills to avoid paying taxes or to escape abuses, or punishment +for crimes. + +[151] A Tagálog designation applied to the common people, and +especially to field labourers. + +[152] See p. 699 et seq. + +[153] Mabini's "True Decalogue," published as a part of his +constitutional programme for the Philippine Republic (P. I. R., +40. 10) contains the following among other remarkable provisions:-- + +"Elementary instructions shall comprise reading, speaking and +writing correctly the official language which is Tagálog, and the +rudimentary principles of English and of the exact physical and +natural sciences, together with a slight knowledge of the duties of +man and citizenship."--Taylor, 19 MG. + +Also the following:-- + +"Whenever the English language is sufficiently diffused through +the whole Philippine Archipelago it shall be declared the official +language."--Taylor, 20 MG. + +Of this language matter Taylor says:-- + +"Mabini's plan of having English the language of the state is odd. He +wanted independence and he wanted the recognition of the right and of +the ability of the natives to govern themselves; and yet he wanted them +to adopt a foreign language. By the time this pamphlet was published, +or shortly afterwards, Tagálog had been tried and found wanting. The +people of the non-Tagálog provinces did not know it and showed no +desire to learn it, and indeed protested against its use. Spanish, +and all things Spanish, Mabini was weary of, and would sweep them +all away. Yet, when he wrote this he did not know English." + +[154] Brigandage. + +[155] 8-3/4 miles. + +[156] Lady of the night. + +[157] Carabao is the Filipino name for water buffalo. + +[158] Of the endless cases which might be given I cite the following +as a fair sample:-- + +"Personally appeared before me the undersigned ----, this 24th day +of July, 1913, W. A. Northrop, who first being duly sworn, deposes +and says:-- + +"'1. That he is a duly appointed Public Land Inspector of the Bureau +of Lands of the Government of the Philippine Islands and that acting +in such capacity on the 3d day of June, 1913, he visited the sitio of +Buyon, barrio of Maddelaro, Municipality of Camalaniugan, province of +Cagayan and there investigated the complaint of homestead entrymen +Pascual Valdez and Tomas Valdez whose applications for land in the +said sitio of Buyon under provision of Act No. 926 as amended had +been entered by the Director of Lands under No. 9253 and No. 9254 +respectively, that they were prevented from occupying said homesteads +and deriving the benefits therefrom by certain persons living in the +barrio of Maddelaro: + +"'2. That while so investigating the claim of the said entrymen and +their opponents he was told by Placido Rosal, one of the opponents to +the homestead entrys, that "it was immaterial to him what decision was +made by the Director of Lands concerning the land as, if he (Rosal) +lost the land he and others would burn the houses of the entrymen and +if necessary kill them"; this in the Spanish language with which he +is familiar. + +"'3. That at that time he was accompanied by Mr. Blas Talosig of the +barrio of Buyag, who was acting as his interpreter in speaking in the +Iloco language and that these threats were made in his hearing and that +he, W. A. Northrop, was informed by said interpreter that he not only +heard them but that he heard similar threats made in the Iloco language +by various other persons, henchmen of Placido Rosal and his family. + +"'4. That on the 9th day of June, 1913, said entrymen came to him +in the City of Aparri and reported that on the night on the 7th day +of June the granary of Eduardo Baclig, resident in the said sitio +of Buyon and a son-in-law of Tomas Valdez had been burned and an +attempt made to burn his house and that while the entrymen were not +in position to prove that said Placido Rosal or his henchmen had +started the fires they were sure they were of incendiary origin, as +due to the direction of the wind the fires could not have originated +from sparks from kitchen fires.' + +"Further deponent sayeth not. + +(Signed) "W. A. Northrop. + + +"Subscribed and sworn to before me this 24th day of July, 1913, in +Tuguegarao, Cagayan, Philippine Islands, the affiant first having +exhibited his cedula, No. 1516, issued in Manila, January 3, 1913. + +(Signed) "Primitivo Villanueva + +"Notario Publico, +"Mi nombramiento expira el +"31 de Diciembre de 1913." + + +"Extract from a report of H. O. Bauman, chief of Bureau of Lands +survey party No. 27. Report dated June 30, 1913: + +"In 1905 the applicant (Fernando Asirit) entered an application for +homestead and proceeded to clear the remainder of the land not already +cleared. Sometime during the following year or two, this Catalino +Sagon began to clear a piece of land included in the homestead +application. When Fernando Asirit saw the man cleaning the land, he +told the man that that particular land was included in the homestead +and that the work he was doing was useless. Catalino admitted this to +me personally. However, the applicant to show his good faith, paid +Catalino a sum of ten pesos for the small area that he had cleaned +and took a receipt therefor and Catalino left the land. Now when the +private surveyor came in 1910, this Catalino appears and claims this +land despite the fact that he never cultivated nor occupied the land +and that he received payment in full for the work that he had done +in clearing an acre of the land. When the land was surveyed in 1910, +Catalino at the request of a politician of Ilagan, made a protest +against the land and between the two they frightened the applicant +into letting this Catalino have possession of the land. Since 1910, +Catalino has not cultivated the land but loaned it out to another +person, Frederico Mayer by name. Personally, Catalino did not ever +cultivate or live on the land. The politician who has been stirring +up this trouble is Gabriel Maramag, third member of the Provincial +board. The applicant is an old man seventy years old and this Maramag +had the old man fined P125.80 for refusing to let these two have his +land. They also told him that if he persisted in refusing to let them +have the land, they would fine him P500. As the old man has no such +amount and being thoroughly bulldozed by these cheap politicians, +he had no other course to pursue. The co-partner of the third member +is the Sheriff Joaquin Ortega against whom the people are very bitter +on account of his shady dealings. It might be noted here that these +men are under investigation by the Constabulary now for accepting +money illegally. Furthermore this Maramag has the plans of the land +of a great many men in his house and thus has a hold on them and they +cannot do anything without his consent." + +[159] The best evidence of what the average Filipino cultivates is +found in the free patents. Of the 15,885 free patents applied for +the average area is declared to be 7-3/4 acres; 4,025 Free Patents +have been actually surveyed; their average area is only 5 acres. + +[160] Frequently and wrongly called rosewood. + +[161] Damar. + +[162] An extensive open region covered with cógon is called a cogonál. + +[163] First year for which statistics are available. + +[164] Twice the actual figures for the first half of the year: +$3,942,647; $194,296; $123,339. + +[165] First year after Payne Tariff Bill took effect. + +[166] On March 1, 1913. + +[167] On January 1, 1913; increase of six months only. + +[168] Only railroad line in operation prior to 1907 was 122 miles of +the main line of the Manila Railroad Company. + +[169] First year of operation. + +[170] On February 1, 1913; increase of six months only. + +[171] The Philippine Railway Company has recently changed its +accounting from the basis of the Government fiscal year (beginning +July 1) to a calendar year basis. Figures are not therefore available +for a complete twelve months subsequent to June 30, 1912. The figure +for the first year on the new basis (ending December 31, 1912, and +duplicating part of the last amount given above) is $376,512. + +[172] No accurate statistics before 1907 and 1910, respectively. + +[173] Increase due to change in definition. + +[174] On January 1, 1913. + +[175] Increase of six months only. + +[176] No accurate statistics before 1907. + +[177] Literally "disillusion." + +[178] Oct. 1, 1913. + +[179] "Of course, the writer did not mention that Manila is an +out-of-the-way place, so far as regards the main-travelled routes +across the Pacific Ocean, and also forgot that, as has been suggested +once before, the carrying trade of the world, and the shippers on which +it depends, in the contest of the nations for the markets of Asia, +would never take to the practice of unloading at Manila by way of +rehearsal, before finally discharging cargo on the mainland of Asia, +where the name of the Ultimate Consumer is legion."--Blount, p. 49. + +[180] "... Manila, being quite away from the mainland of Asia, +could never supersede Hongkong as the gateway to the markets of Asia, +since neither shippers nor the carrying trade of the world will ever +see their way to unload cargo at Manila by way of rehearsal before +unloading on the mainland;..."--Blount, p. 44. + +[181] Unhusked rice. + +[182] There were also exported 423,877 pounds of cuttings, clippings +and waste during 1910, and 914,630 pounds of the same materials +during 1912. + +[183] Made of Manila hemp, and used for sewing into hats. + +[184] Blount, p. 571. + +[185] First year for which statistics are available. + +[186] Twelve-sevenths of the actual figures for the first seven months +of the year: $15,320,794; $13,751,421; $29,072,215. + +[187] Estimate based on collections to March, 1913. + +[188] Estimate made pro rata on the basis of the figures for the +first seven months. + +[189] "It is precisely these Americans, and their business associates +in the United States, who have gotten through Congress the legislation +which enables them to give the Filipino just half of what he got ten +years ago for his hemp, and other like legislation, and the Filipinos +know it."--Blount, p. 118. + +Also the following:-- + +"Apparently, Messrs. Roosevelt and Taft thought, in 1907, that +granting the Filipinos a little debating society solemnly called +a legislative body, but wholly without any real power, was ample +compensation for deserted tobacco and cane plantations, and for +the price of hemp being beaten down below the cost of production by +manipulation through an Act of Congress passed for the benefit of +American hemp manufacturers. If we had had a Cleveland in the White +House about that time, he would have written an essay on taxation +without representation, with the hemp infamy of this Philippine Tariff +Act of 1902 as a text, and sent it to Congress as a message demanding +the repeal of the Act. But the good-will of the Hemp Trust is an asset +for the policy of Benevolent Assimilation. The Filipino cannot vote, +and the cordage manufacturer in the United States can. No conceivable +state of economic desolation to which we might reduce the people +of the Philippine Islands being other than a blessing in disguise +compared with permitting them to attend to their own affairs after +their own quaint and mutually considerate fashion, the Hemp Trust's +rope, tied into a slip-knot by the Act of 1902, must not be removed +from their throats. By judicious manipulation of sufficient hemp rope, +you can corral much support for Benevolent Assimilation. Therefore, +to this good hour, the substance of the hemp part of the Philippine +Tariff Act of March 8, 1902, remains upon the statute books of the +United States, to the shame of the nation."--Blount, pp. 614-615. + +[190] First year of operation. + +[191] On December 31, 1912; increase of six months only. + +[192] Twelve-sevenths of the actual figure for the first seven months +of the year: 736,246 tons. + +[193] The figures for coal importations are exclusive of the quantities +imported from the United States by the federal government. These +are excluded because they have been for the most part made in large +quantities in alternate years, and would, therefore, while considerably +increasing the average total amounts imported, give a false idea of +the rate of increase of the more strictly domestic consumption. + +[194] Twice the actual figure for the first half of the year: +204,094 tons. + +[195] There were several different plans for the confiscation of the +friar lands. The following shows the action taken in one instance, +relative to the property of Spanish prisoners:-- + +"On February 2, 1899, the secretary of the treasury informed the +governor of the province of Isabela that the property of all Spanish +prisoners should be confiscated as booty of war."--P. I. R., 1302. 6. + +[196] The following telegram was sent to the cabinet by the director +of diplomacy, Manila:-- + + +"December 21, 1898, P.M. + +"Missed the train on account of government business. Beg of you to +pardon my absence, and bear in mind my suggestion to look up an easy +method of abolishing the law imposing a tax of 100 to 5000 pesos +on foreigners, as not only unjust but impolitic at this time, when +we seek the sympathy of the powers. I represent to the cabinet that +such step is very urgent, because I have ascertained that members of +the chamber of commerce have reported this tax to their respective +governments in order to formulate a protest."--P. I. R., 849. + +[197] This name is properly applicable to the civilized peoples only. + +[198] P. I. R., 1097. 2. + +[199] Ibid., 1157. 8. + +[200] Ibid., 1018. 1. + +[201] Title X.--Of Public Instruction. + +124.... + +Elementary instruction shall comprise reading, speaking and +writing correctly the official language which is Tagálog, and the +rudimentary principles of English and of the exact, physical and +natural sciences, together with a slight knowledge of the duties of +man and citizen.--Taylor, 19 MG. + +[202] "The Mastery of the Pacific," p. 122, A. R. Colquhoun, Macmillan, +1902. + +[203] In this connection Bishop Brent has said, "The recognized +leaders in the Philippines to-day, so far as racial qualifications are +concerned, would have at least equal right to claim citizenship in +Spain, China or England. Thus far, it is the men of mixed blood who +are the politicians. The degree of capacity in the Filipino will not +be revealed until the schoolboys of to-day are in active public life." + +[204] Literally, "Filipinos of face and heart." The expression means +Filipinos in appearance and in sympathies. + +[205] "But there is no doubt that many of the Filipinos after all have +a very warm place in their hearts for the Spanish people. How could it +be otherwise when so many of the Filipinos are sons and grandsons of +Spaniards? Much of like and dislike in life's journey is determined +prenatally. On the other hand, the American women in the Philippines +maintain an attitude toward the natives quite like that of their +British sisters in Hongkong toward the Chinese, and in Calcutta toward +the natives there. The social status of an American woman who marries +a native--I myself have never heard of but one case--is like that +of a Pacific coast girl who marries a Jap.... But look at the other +side of the picture. When an American man marries a native woman, +he thereafter finds himself more in touch with his native 'in-laws' +it is true, but correspondingly, and ever increasingly out of touch +with his former associations. This is not as it should be. But it is a +most unpleasant and inexorable fact of the present situation."--Blount, +pp. 554-555. + +[206] "We should either stop the clamour or stop the American capital +and energy from going to the Islands. After an American goes out to the +Islands, invests his money there, and casts his fortunes there, unless +he is a renegade, he sticks to his own people out there. Then the Taft +policy steps in and bullyrags him into what he calls 'knuckling to +the Filipinos,' every time he shows any contumacious dissent from the +Taft decision reversing the verdict of all racial history--which has +been up to date, that wheresoever white men dwell in any considerable +numbers in the same country with Asiatics or Africans, the white man +will rule."--Blount, pp. 438-439. + +[207] Blount, p. 105. + +[208] Written September 15, 1913. + +[209] The editor of an American newspaper published at Zamboanga has +accurately described the attitude of the native press as follows:-- + +"We have often referred to the great opportunity prevailing for the +native press of the Philippines to aid the material and political +uplift of the inhabitants. Conditions of race and dialect naturally +conduce to facilitate this work for the native journalist. With few +exceptions, however, the native press has persistently obstructed +every effort toward general amelioration of the condition of the +masses. Conspicuous efficiency in good government has furnished a +target for its denunciation. Truth has been garbled, motives maligned, +race hatred kindled, falsehood fabricated and sedition practised, +encouraged and lauded. The public school system, the intrinsic +foundation to free institutions, instituted under the military régime +and constantly expanded under the civil régime, has been interpreted +by the native press as a pernicious effort to oppress the masses by +the enforcement of a foreign language upon them. The efforts to stamp +out cattle disease and for the restoration of draft animals have been +maligned as being oppressive to personal liberty. The sanitary measures +which have so renovated the very atmosphere of the archipelago have +ever been the mark of derision and violent attack. When cholera and +plague have claimed their hundreds daily, efforts at prevention have +persistently met with opposition from the native press. Officials +with the most unselfish motives have been persistently insulted, +slandered and maligned. The American flag, which is the only emblem +giving assurance of safety in the home, peace from abroad, liberty +of opportunity, and equality and justice before the law, has been +constantly smeared with the opprobrium of a malignant, filthy native +press. Progress of the Philippine people as a whole is retarded." + +[210] On March 15, 1913, the Assistant Executive Secretary had occasion +to write the following letter to the Governor of Capiz:-- + +"My Dear Governor Altavás: I have to acknowledge receipt of your +communication of the 28th ultimo, complaining against the Justices +of the Peace of Jamindan and Tapaz for failing 'to salute' you when +visiting said towns, although your visits were frequently announced +in advance, and the Justices of the Peace were in town at the time. + +"The theoretical principles of democracy prevailing under this +government do not require such courtesies as a matter of law. It may +be that, as your letter intimates, the Justice of the Peace should, +as a matter of courtesy, call on you when you are in his town, +but failure to do so in no wise constitutes ground for complaint, +and were we to take your complaint seriously and cause it to be +investigated, we would be indeed in serious danger of receiving a +lecture on democracy from either the Judge of the Court of First +Instance or the Justice of the Peace himself. + +"I believe that, under the circumstances, the best course to be taken +in the matter would be for you to withdraw the complaint, for even +if the Justices concerned admit the charges, no administrative action +against them would be possible. + +"Very sincerely, +(Signed) "Thomas Cary Welch +(Active Executive Secretary)" + +[211] Municipal building. + +[212] Literally "authorities," by which is meant municipal officials. + +[213] Blount, pp. 296-297. + +[214] This is a rather open threat to fight. + +[215] Corrupt Spanish for "very bad American Government." + +[216] "Constitutional Government in the United States," by Woodrow +Wilson, Ph. D., LL. D., pp. 52-53. + +[217] I am indebted to the Honourable Gregorio Araneta, secretary of +finance and justice, for a summary statement of the judicial reforms +effected since the American occupation, on which this statement is +largely based.--D. C. W. + +[218] The engineer officer of the province. + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Philippines Past and Present +(Volume 2 of 2), by Dean Conant Worcester + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 41918 *** |