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Presented by The Rev. Robert Howard
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CAPTAIN CANO.
THE MAN WHO TOOK THE ONE REMAINING SHIP OF MAGELLAN'S
FLEET BACK TO SPAIN IN 1 523.
THE MAN WHO DID WHAT COLUMBUS FAILED TO DO.
(Statue stands in the Official Palace in Manila.)
THE PHILIPPINES
^ AND thf:
FAR EAST
HOMER C. STUNTZ
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CINCINNATI NEW YORK
J E N N I N Cx S AND P Y E EATON AND M A I N S
COPYRIGHT, 1904, BY JENNINGS AND PYE
PREFACE.
It has beer, laid upon me to write this book. After eight years' experience among similar social conditions in British India, and more than two years' residence in the Philippines, it came to me as a duty to set down in order the things which American voters and American Christians ought to know for their guidance in helping shape the policies of our nation, and furnishing the sup- port for our Missionary Societies in the work God has ap- pointed each to do among these people.
Such readers as but dimly comprehend the essential divineness of "the powers that be" will be puzzled to know why so much space has been given to matters which they would denominate purely political. This will cause no confusion, however, to those who believe that God works through nations as well as through His Church for the establishment of the kingdom of righteousness. Because I firmly believe that our army and navy, our governor, the Commission, the judges, the constabulary, and the schoolteachers, and all who toil with them have a divinely-allotted part in Christ's program for the Fili- pino people. I have tried to set forth some of the work which they are trying to do. Here are nearly eight mil- lion people emerging from the twilight of a belated civil- ization into the high noon of modern life. If the purposes of God for them in the Philippines, and through them among the seven hundred million Asiatics, by whom they
5
6 The Philippines and the Far East.
are surrounded, are accomplished, there must not only be evangelization, but legislation. Iniquitous laws must be repealed. Righteous statutes must be enacted. The ris- ing generation must be taught. Equitable taxation, hon- estly collected and wisely administered, is as certainly a part of the program of Jesus Christ for the Filiphio people as the translation and distribution of the Scrip- tures, or the establishment of the Christian Church.
Through the courtesy of Governor Taft I have had access to all official sources of information, so that if inaccuracies have crept in, it has been in spite of the best opportunities to secure accurate information.
It would have been easy to incorporate serious crit- icisms of some policies adopted by the Philippine Gov- ernment. Looked at broadly, however, the tendency of this Government is in the right direction, and I have not felt that detailed criticism of what may be but temporary policies deserves place in a permanent record.
The book has been written in the midst of very heavy duties as pastor and presiding elder of this rapidly-grow- ing work. The time necessary for patient revision could not be secured. Literary finish was out of the question. The controlling motive has been to arrange and present as much information about the Philippines as was pos- sible within the limits imposed. I pray that the book may be accepted of Him in whose name it has been written.
Homer C. Stuntz.
Manila, Philippine Islands, January, 1904.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER PAGE
I. The Philippine Archipelago, - 15
II. Who are the Filipinos? - - 51
III. Social Order and General Char-
acteristics, - - - - 42
IV. Historical Summary, - - - 60 V. The Friars, 79
VI. Why the Friars are Hated, - 91 VII. Why the Friars are Hated — Con- tinued, ------ 104
VIII. The Insurrection of 1896, - 119
IX. The American Occupation, - - 135
X. Framing a Policy, - - - 155
XI. Some Constructive Legislation, - 169
XII. Educating a Nation, - - - 185
XIII. Further Improvements, - - 216
XIV. Resources, 244
XV. The Chinese in the Philippines, 265
XVI. The Friar Lands, - - - - 284
XVII. The Friar Lands — Continued, - 302
XVIII. Philippine Finance, - - - 322 XIX. The Government and Religious
Conditions, - - - - 341
8 Contents.
CHAPTER PAGE
XX. Why is Protestantism in the Phii,-
IPPINES? ----- 358
XXI. The Rei^igious Situation — A Gen- eral View, . - . . 378 XXII. The Bible Societies, - - - 394
XXIII. Missionary Beginnings, - - 409
XXIV. Methodist Episcopal Church Be-
ginnings, 420
XXV. Methodist Episcopal Church Be- ginnings— Continued, - - 434 XXVI. Presbyterians and Baptists, - 456 XXVII. Episcopal and Other Churches, 464 XXVIII. Some Difficulties Confronting
Mission Work, - - - 476
XIX. The Aglipay Movement, - - 488
XXX. The Philippines and the Far East, 497
ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
Statue of Captain Cano, - - - Frontispiece.
Map of the Philippine Islands,
Plan of the City of Manila, 12
Banyan-tree, Manila, 14
Typical River Scene in Luzon, ----- 18
Mayon Volcano, from Legaspi, ----- 21
Country Road in Luzon, near Balinag, - - - 23
A Tree FERN, --------- 25
BoAC, Capital of Marinduoue Province, - - - 28
On the Dinalupihan River, Bataan Province, - - 30
On Manila Bay, - - 41
Tree-house of the Gaddanes, near Ilagan, - - 43
igorrotes, .--.---.- 45
Manila Botanical Gardens, 59
A Filipino Belle, -------- 61
Monument to Legaspi and Urdaneta, Manila, - - 63
Cathedral, Manila, ------- 69
Fortified Gate and City Wall, Manila, - - - 75
San Sebastian (Steel) Church, Manila, - - - 83
Ruin of Catholic Building, - . - - - - 90
Two Friars in Augustinian Church Garden, Manila, 95
Catholic Church at Orani, Bataan, - - - - 103
Eleven Graves in Wall, ------- 108
Place of Execution in Manila, 1 14
Binondo Church, Manila, 117
Old Spanish Guns on Wall, Manila, - - - - 123
9
io Illustrations.
An Insurrecto Colonel, - -129
MoRO Houses, Jolo, 134
Temporary Hospital and Barracks, Santa Mesa, Ma- nila, - 139
McKiNLEY Memorial Parade, Luneta, Manila, Sep- tember 19, 1901, 147
Provincial Government Building, Tarlac, - - - 154
Old Wall and Moat, --.-.-.. 163
Bamboo Raft, Abra River, .-..-- 167
Two-mile Limit Post, near Manila, - - - - 178
Ship that Brought the Teachers, August, 1901, - 187
Typical Schoolroom, ------- igi
School Group, Pagsanjau, Luzon, 195
Girls' Public School, 199
Manila Trade School, - - 203
Manila Trade School — Plumbing, ... - 207
New Slaughter-house, Manila, - - - - - 211
Compulsory Education, - - - - - - 215
New Santa Cruz Bridge, July 4, 1903, . - - - 221
Our Only Railway, ------- 227
Embarrassment at a Ferry, - - - - - - 231
A Philippine Foot-bridge, 235
Among the Pines in Benguet, ----- 241
A Carabao Vehicle, - - 243
All Aboard! in a Sugar-field, 247
Gutta-percha Tree, Java, ------ 251
A Native Sawmill, -------- 255
Plowing for Rice with Carabao, - - - - 259
A Benguet Rice-field, 263
Manila Vessel on the Bay, - . - - . 264
Chinaman Grinding Herbs, ------ 269
Market Scene in Manila, - 283
Evening, .-.- 291
Illustrations. 1 1
PAGE
Guadalupe Ruins, NEAR Manila, - - - - 321
Early Morning in a Manila Street, - - - - 331
The Dray ok the Philippines, ----- 336
Girls' School, Villa Nueva, 340
The Filipino's Point of View, 34'^
Mountain Pines near Raguio, ----- 357
Methodist Chapel. Melauon, ----- 361
Church Interior, with Worshipers, - - - - 367
First Training-school for Filipino Women, - - 373
An Anting-anting Shirt, 381
Religious Procession in Manila, - - . - 386
Interior of Catholic Church, Manila, - - - 393
The Benguet Road, ------- 40S
Ordinary Coasting-boat, - - - - - - - 412
Ox-carts in the Bay, Awaiting Passengers, - - 413
A City Gate, --------- 419
Rev. Nicholas Zamora, 422
Paulino Zamor.\, -------- 423
Bishop H. W. Warren and Methodist Mission Staff, 425
Methodist Chapel, Atlag, M.\lolos, - - - - 430
Rev. Felipe Marouez and Sons, - - - - - 431
A NiPA House, -------- 433
Methodist Mission Press, Manila, - - - - 437
Mission Homes, Manila, ------ 443
A Protest.ant Group in Bataan, 448
Tree-fern Branches, - - 455
Manila Botanical Gardens (Second View), - - - 463
A Mountain Waterfall, ------ 469
Bishop James M. Thoburn, ------ 487
Carved Church Door, Manila, ----- 496
A Group of Nations, ------- 505
A Summer Scene — "The End," 509
MANILA
THE CITY OF MANILA.
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CHAPTER I. The Philippine Archipelago.
The Philippine Archipelago lies between 4° 41' and 21° N. latitude, almost exactly south of the heart of China, and north of a line running- through the center of .Aus- tralia. Its latitude is the same as Southern India, Somali- land, Venezuela, and Costa Rica, and it lies 12° and more south of Cuba.
The Archipelago comprises over one thousand islands, only eleven of which possess real geographical impor- tance. The largest of these eleven is Luzon at the extreme north ; next is Mindanao in the south ; then Panay, Ne- gros, Mindoro, Samar, Leyte, Cebu, Masbate, Bojol, and Paragua n:ake up the list of larger islands. Of these, both Mindoro and Paragua are thinly populated, and have comparatively little available land for agricultural pur- poses, though heavy forests abound on both islands.
The area of the entire group is one hundred and twelve thousand square miles. This gives the Philippines a land surface about equal to all New England, plus New York ; or Illinois, Indiana, and two-thirds of Ohio. Compared with European States, the Philippines contain as many square miles of land surface as Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Greece ; or a little less than Great Britain and Ireland, and a little more than Italv. The Islands lack but twenty-eight thousand square miles of being as large as Japan. On the score of size they may well be expected to assume a separate station among the
»5
i6 Thu PniijppiNivs AND the; Far East.
governments of the world, and can easily bear a popula- tion of twenty millions, or enough to be equal to national demands.
The Archipelago is distinctly volcanic in its char- acter, and evidences of volcanic activity are by no means all a matter of historical record. There are many active volcanoes in different parts of the group. The most beau- tiful is Mayon, in Southern Luzon. It is a perfect cone, rising to a height of 8,900 feet, and is in a state of con- stant activity. Its last severe eruption took place in 1888. At that time red-hot stones fell several miles away, lava streams destroyed the villages about its base, and ashes lay so thick on roofs ten miles away as to break them in by their weight. The fierce glare lit up the country for fifty miles. Alount Apo, in Mindanao, is the loftiest of these active volcanoes, reaching an elevation of 10,312 feet.
The Taal volcano, less than two days' travel south from Manila in Luzon, has been the most destructive in recent years. The first eruption of sufficient importance to be recorded by the historians of those times was in 1641. Again in 1706, 1709, 1716, 1731, 1749, and 1754, this volcano burst forth with more or less violence, deal- ing death and destruction upon all sides. Manila is but thirty-six miles from this volcano as the bird flies, and during the eight days of its eruption in August. 1749, people in the capital ate their midday meal by the light of candles, so thick was the cloud of ashes that filled all the sky ; and on all sides priests and friars were besieged night and day by penitents, alarmed and seeking confes- sion. The smell of fire and smoke, added to the stench from the dead fish cast upon the shores of the lake, in the center of which Taal volcano is located, caused a malig- nant fever which carried off half the inhabitants of the
Thh; Philippinic Akchip£;i,ago. 17
province. The city of Taal, the capital of the province, was utterly consumed, and the site is crusted over with lava to this day. This remarkable volcano is much vis- ited from Manila. Looking into the crater, which is about 4,500 feet wide, one sees three distinct lakes of boiling- liquids, the colors of which are constantly undergoing change. — green, vellow, and chocolate hues being clearly discernible. No one can guess when it will again pour out its floods of fire and ashes.
Earthquakes are of rather frequent occurrence in all parts of the group except in the long, rocky island of Paragua. For some unknown reason that thinly-popu- lated strip of rock and forest seems wholly free froiii seismic disturbance. Serious shocks took place in 1610, November, 1645; August. 1C58; in 1675, 1699, 1796, and 1852. In the shock of 1645 all but one monastery and two churches then standing in Manila were shaken down, all the public buildings destroyed, and the governor-gen- eral was with much difficulty extricated from the ruins of his palace. In 1863 occurred an earthquake which did terrible damage, though it lasted only half a minute. In Manila alone four hundred were killed outright, two thou- sand were wounded, many dying of their injuries, and a total property loss of $4,000,000 (gold) was experienced. Official returns give forty-six public buildings thrown down, and twenty-eight more practically destroyed ; five hundred and seventy private buildings were wrecked, and five hundred and twenty-eight more racked so severely as to require rebuilding. Ruins of this latest severe earth- quake can be seen in several places about Manila yet. The heavy tile roofs which had been in almost universal use until that terrible experience have been displaced by cor- rugated iron since that time.
Slight earthquake shocks are of very frequent occur-
i8 The Philippines and the Far East.
rence ; and so accustomed have the people become to them that they are scarce!}' a matter for comment. The new- comer naturally feels slightly nervous when his pictures take to clattering on the walls, books fall from their shelves, and the framework of the house creaks and groans like a ship laboring in a heavy sea. Nothing but
A TYPICAL KIVER SCENE IN LUZON.
a repetition of the sudden devastations of 1863 will con- vince old-timers that a Philippine earthquake is to be taken seriously.
The Archipelago owes its existence to the forces which still fly their banners from volcano tops, and shiver the thin crust of rock and soil on its surface. In the Tertiary period the Philippines, together with Borneo, Java, Su-
Till-: i'liiLii'i'iM'; Akciiii'i:i,.\cU). 19
matra, and the Celebes, were thrown up from the ocean bed, or severed from the mahiland of Asia ; probably the latter. ]\Ir. Wallace, in his "Malay Archipelago," argues for the unity of the entire ]\Ialayan group. His theory is, that they were separated from the Continent of Asia in a comparatively recent geological period, and that for purposes of commerce and government they should be treated as one group. He says :
"For reasons which depend mainly upon the distribu- tion of animal life, I consider the Malay Archipelago to include the Malay Peninsula as far as Tennasserim and the Nicobar Islands on the west, the Philippine Islands on the north, and the Solomon Islands, beyond New Guinea, on the east. All the great islands included within these limits are connected together by innumerable smaller ones, so that no one of them seems to be distinctly sep- arated from the rest. With but few exceptions, all enjoy a uniform and very similar climate, and are covered with a luxuriant forest vegetation. Whether we study their form and distribution on maps or actually travel from island to island, our first impression will be that they form a connected whole, all the parts of which are intimately related to each other. The Malay Archipelago extends more than four thousand miles in length from east to west, and is about thirteen hundred from north to south. It would stretch over all Europe from its extreme western limits, far into Central Asia, or would cover the widest part of South America, and extend far beyond the land into the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. It includes three islands larger than Great Britain, and in one of these — Borneo — the whole of the British Isles might be set down, and it would then be surrounded by a sea of unbroken for- ests. New Guinea, though less compact in shape, is prob- ably larger than Borneo. Sumatra is about equal in size to Great Britain ; Java, Luzon, and the Celebes are about the size of Ireland."
The Philippine Archipelago can not be conceived of
20 The Philippines and the Far East.
and treated as apart from this Malayan empire, insular and peninsular, of which it is but a fraction. It is bound up with these other islands by ties of soil, climate, race, language," and commerce, and whatever is done for the Philippines will inevitably affect the destinies of millions who, like the Filipinos, are Malayan in blood and speech.
The climate of the Philippines is very greatly misun- derstood in America. It is a tropical climate, modified greatly by the proximity of the sea and by the presence of ranges of mountains in all the larger islands. Though so near the equator, the temperature rarely reaches ioo° (Fahrenheit) in the shade, and has never been known to fall below 60° in Manila. The mean monthly temper- atures in Manila are as follows : January, "j"] ; February, 78; March, 81 ; April, 83; May, 84; June, 82; July, 81 ; August, 81; September, 81; October, 80; November, 79; and December, yy. This gives a mean temperature for the year of 80°. These temperatures, however, do not tell the whole story. The excessive humidity makes the heat doubly trying. In the months from April to July it is a moist, steamy heat that has an enervating influence upon Europeans and Americans, especially if they must be exposed to the sun in the hotter portions of the day. The nights are nearly always comfortable, thus making restful sleep a possibility even in the hottest months of the year. I have now spent two years in the Islands, and have only suffered two hot nights. In each of these cases my discomfort was as much due to poorly-ventilated rooms as to climatic conditions.
So far as mere physical comfort is concerned, the cli- mate of the sea-level in the Philippine Islands surpasses that of any State in America, unless it be Southern Cali- fornia. It is never so hot as to make the punkah, that bane of life in India, a necessity. It is never so cool as
Tiiiv Piiii.iri'ixK Archipi-xago.
21
to make a fire necessary. Overcoats are never needed. The same weight of garments can be worn the twelve months round with no feeUng of inconvenience ; and one never sufifers from the gusty, raw weather which is so trying in nearl\' all our own States. During the months from November to .Vpril the climate is as near perfection as can be found in the world. Days of glorious sunshine,
MA VON VOLCANO, FROM LFLGASPI.
not too hot if one can avoid the rays of the sun from about eleven to four o'clock, are followed by nights of starlight and moonlight of such brilliance as can only be found near the equator. When Americans learn the perfection of the Philippine climate from November to March, mul- titudes will divide their time in the East between Japan and our own possessions.
Professor Dean C. Worcester has this to say of the climate here :
22 The Philippines and the F^ar Hast.
"I have never yet experienced at sea-level a day when a white man could endure severe physical exertion withouE suffering from the heat. If one is permanently situated in a good locality where he can. secure suitable food and good drinking water ; if he is scrupulously careful as to his diet, avoids excesses of all kinds, keeps out of the sun in the middle of the day, and refrains from severe and long-continued physical exertion, he is likely to remain well, always supposing that he is fortunate enough to es- cape malarial infection. I knew an old Spaniard who, at the end of a residence of thirty-nine years in the Phil- ippines, was able to boast that he had not been ill a day. He had always been so situated that he could take care of himself, and he had done it. But how is it with the explorer, the engineer, the man who would fell tim- ber, cultivate new ground, or in some other way develop the latent resources of the country? Any one really ex- posed to the climate under such circumstances will find it severe. He can not humor his digestive apparatus ; for his bill of fare will be limited to what he can carry and what the country affords, and he will be fortunate in- deed if, sooner or later, he does not suffer severely from bowel trouble. He will be more than fortunate if he escapes malaria, which is especially prevalent where forest land is being cleared or new ground broken. The cli- mate is especially severe on white women and children. Malaria and digestive troubles aside, the health of the colony is fairly good, and the danger from epidemic dis- ease comparatively slight. Smallpox is always present; but it seldom spreads rapidly, as a large percentage of the natives have it during childhood, so that there is hardly material for an epidemic. Cholera is infrequent, but when it once starts it can not be controlled. The natives believe that a black dog runs down the streets and the disease breaks out behind him. They declare that it is the will of God, and refuse to take the simplest precaution."
This was written before the terrible cholera epidemic of 1902. It was shown conclusively in that scourge that modern sanitary methods are effective in staying cholera
The Philippine Archipelago.
23
in the degree to which they can be apphed ; and during- this year (1903) such has been the vigilance of the health authorities in Manila, cholera has been held in check in the face of what would have been insuperable difficulties under Spanish rule.
As a practical proof of the comparative heathfulness of the Philippine Islands, the experience of the American a r m y i s conclusive. Though exposed to the full effects of the cli- mate, the health of the troops has averaged but little less satisfac- torily than while in bar- racks m Kansas or Texas or Dakota.
The monsoon, or wet season, is commonly reported to be the most trving for Americans. It usually begins about the middle of July, and continues with more or less severity for three months. During these m o n t h s the normal
rainfall in central Luzon is one hundred inches, or eight feet on the level. Rivers are flooded, roads become bottomless, bridges are washed out, and all the earth is soaked. As a matter of fact, this season is one of the most enjoyable in the whole year. With the exception of two or three storms, either amounting to typhoons, or. at the least, to furious wind and rain lasting from one to ten days each, this much dreaded season is one of alternate
A COUNTRY ROAD IN LUZON, NEAR BALINAG.
24 The Philippinks and the Far East.
showers and sunshine, much Uke a wet summer in one of our home States. The excessive and continued moist- ure causes clothing to mildew, and boots, shoes, and all leather goods not in constant use, to mold. But brisk rubbing and a few hours of sunshine restores them to a condition almost or quite as good as before they were dis- colored. This season of moisture is the time for sowing rice, and getting it safely on toward harvest. If the rain- fall is scanty, crops are also scanty, prices rise, and all sufifer. The whole economic situation year by year de- pends upon this unpopular monsoon season, and perma- nent residents learn to endure the moisture, and even the mold and mildew, with light hearts, knowing that plenty of rain means plenty of food and prosperous times.
The much dreaded typhoon does its deadly work in this season. As a matter of fact the typhoon is not nearly so deadly as its American cousin, the cyclone. The cy- clone is a whirling, electric storm, sweeping everything from its path of destruction. The typhoon is, in the main, a furious but straight-ahead wind-storm, piling the sea up in mountain-like waves, overturning small houses, and sending insecure roofs sailing away from the houses they had covered. But the mischief wrought by a dozen ty- phoons will not equal that done by one cyclone. I have passed through two typhoons in Manila, and they are com- paratively mild affairs.
The soil of the Archipelago is of a high average fer- tility. It produces astonishingly heavy crops of sugar- cane, hemp, rice, and tobacco year after year, with not only no artificial enrichment, but with the very idea that ariy soil needs such enrichment undreamed of by the native owner and cultivator. I crossed the Pacific in 1902 with an expert in the sugar industry. He had been sent by a syndicate in Buenos Ayres to make tests of Philippine soils
A TREE-FERN.
Tiirc PiiiijppiNK Arciiii'Klaco. 27
with reference to their adaptabiHty to growing sugar-cane. His official report proved the soil of Negros and parts of Luzon superior to any soils in South America, Hawaii, Java, or Cuba for such purposes. Lack of transportation facilities and distance from large markets, as well as diffi- culties comiected with labor, led him to report unfavorably as to the immediate investment of capital in the sugar business here.
Minerals abound. The best coal yet found is in Ba- taan, a peninsula on the west coast of Luzon. In ]\Iindoro and Cebu are coal deposits, and in the small adjacent isle of Semarara. Like Mexico, the entire surface of the Archipelago seems impregnated with gold to a greater or less extent. It is for the most part detrital, and is found in paying quantities in and along water courses, as in placer deposits elsewhere. The natives work in the placers with cocoanut pans. Mindanao has some elevated auriferous gravel-beds, well situated for hydraulic mining. Quartz gold is found in abundance in the province of Camarines and on the island of Panaon. Quartz veins in granite are found at Paracale. Northern Luzon and Min- danao have extensive copper beds ; also the provinces of Lepanto-Bontoc ; and Cebu has extensive lead deposits. There is an abundance of iron ore on half of a dozen islands. The Sulu archipelago has pearls. Leyte has coal and oil; Biliran, sulphur; Samar. coal and gold; Romblon, marble ; Masbate, coal and copper ; Marinduque, lead and silver; and Catanduanes, Sibuyan Bohol, and Panaoan, gold. In the province of Benghet, Luzon, gold mines showing assays as rich as $27.50 to the ton, and many showing from $6 to $12 to the ton, are now located by American mining experts. It is more than probable that the Philippines will yet rival Alaska in the production of gold. Iron ore of excellent quality, yielding up to 85 per
28
The; Philippines and the Far East.
cent of pure metal, exists in Luzon, and other excellent iron districts are found elsewhere in the islands. In the last century, iron mines were worked with great success in Morong, but were finally closed by the government on the ground that the workmen, who were Chinese, were not Christians. The luckless owner was obliged to send all these workmen to China at his own expense, and the
BOAC, THE CAPITAL OF THE PROVINCE OF MARINDUQUE.
governr-ient refused to pay him for the iron he had al- ready delivered, on the ground that he had insulted the Chvirch in employing pagans. The iron mines at Angat, in Bulacan, are richer and purer than the best Spanish ore, which is so popular in the iron foundries of England. In different parts of the Archipelago, large deposits of sulphur and arsenic are found, in the volcanic regions sometimes of the utmost purity, and sometimes mixed with copper and iron. Explorers report valuable dis-
The Piiiiji'i'ixi'; Akciiipklago. 29
coveries of slate, borax, plumbai^o, granite, coral rocks, sandstone, and limestone. There are deposits of gyp- sum on a small island opposite the village of Culasi in Western Panay, and also IMindoro. Large beds of good marble are found both in Luzon and Romblon. Mines of natural paint, probably red lead, are found in A'lindoro. Petroleum occurs in several islands, one of the best districts being in Western Cebu, near Toledo, v/here free-flowing wells have been opened.
Once American industry and enterprise obtain a foot- hold in the Philippines, and enough discoveries are made to stimulate more active search, it seems reasonably cer- tain that valuable mineral wealth will be found in com- mercial quantities.
No view of the Archipelago would be complete which failed to emphasize the great beauty of the scenery. A trip in the interior, or a voyage among the islands reminds one of Tennyson's description of the spot on which Enoch Arden spent the long years of his banishment. Here one sees, —
"The mountains wooded to the peak; the lawns And winding glades, high up like wa3's to heaven ; The slender coco's drooping crown of plumes ; The lightning flash of insect and of bird ; The luster of the long convolvuluses, That coiled around the stately stems, and ran Even to the limit of the land ; the glows And glories of the broad belt of the world, — All these he saw ; he heard The myriad shriek of wheeling ocean-fowl. The league-long roller thundering on the reef
The sunrise broken into scarlet shafts Among the palms and ferns and precipices; The blaze upon the waters to the east ;
30
Thu PuiLipriNiis AND the; Far East.
The blaze upon his island overhead ;
The blaze upon the waters to the west ;
Then the great stars that globed themselves in heaven,
The hollower-bellowing ocean, and again
The scarlet shafts of sunrise."
ON THE niNALlTIHAN RIVER, BA'IAAN PROVINCE.
CHAPTER II.
Who ARii Tiiii Filipinos?
It is a fundamental mistake to think of the inhabitants of {he Philippine Islands as one people. They are as far from being one people as the inhabitants of Europe, India, or South America. Nearly all the blunders of our critics, and many of the failures of our legislators, arise from this misunderstanding. We must know who are meant by "the people of the Philippines," if either legislator, administrator, or missionary is to proceed with wisdom.
Two main divisions emerge at the very outset of our investigations. These are the non-Christian tribes on the one hand and the Christianized Filipino on the other. With some modification, these two chief divisions of the Filipino total might be called Aboriginal and Invader, though ncitlier term would wholly stand off from the other. But, with some exception, it is true that the non- Christian peoples were here first, and the Christianized inhabitants are descendants of invaders, who have driven the aborigines into the mountains and forests.
Both of these classes again subdivide on ethnological and linguistic lines of cleavage, until, instead of a homo- geneous people speaking one tongue, as in Japan, we have heterogeneity raised to its highest power, — sixty-nine sorts of people, speaking thirty-four languages, and nearly a dozen dialects in addition. And the ethnologist assures us that his science has not spoken her last word as to how many fractions of the whole people may yet be found,
31
32 The Philippines and the Far East.
While it is true that the term "FiUpinos" usually sig- nifies the so-called Christianized descendants of early Malay invaders, and that it is with these people that the government and the missionary are chiefly concerned, yet the lesser fractions of the whole population are full of interest.
Proceeding in chronological, rather than numerical order, the first of these non-Christian bodies that demand attention is the dwarf Negro, called in Spanish, Negrito, (Neg-ree-to). There are about thirty thousand of these little people in the Islands. They are scattered quite widely, being most numerous on the island of Luzon.
The Negrito has the crispy hair, wide nose, thick lips, and long heel of the African Negro, but never attains a stature of five feet. His head differs markedly from that of the pure Negro, being almost exactly round. He is a savage pure and simple. He builds no house. If his .sleeping place by the root of some huge tree or on the lee side of a log is approached by any human being, he scurries away like a rabbit. It is seldom that the most Vvary traveler can find a group of families together. They plant a little mountain rice here and there, but depend mostly on such game as they can get with their bows and arrows, with which they are quite skillful. They are particularly fond of monkey-meat, and the poor simian who is surrounded by a half dozen Negritos with their wicked little bows and lithe a'rrows, has small chance of escape.
Here and there traces of Negrito blood can be found among regular Filipinos — kinky hair and a width of nose never found among the Malay natives ; but in the main the tiny black man of the deep forests has kept to himself and to his kind.
Ethnological investigation carried on here for three
Who ark the Fhjpixos? 33
years by the bureau of which Dr. David P. Barrows has been superintendent, identifies the Negrito as the true aboriginal inhabitant. He is probably related to the pure Negro of Melanesia, being dwarfed by long centuries of forest life, with its exposure and poor fare. A timid tribe of savages they have so far successfully resisted such rude attempts to civilize or Christianize them as Spain and her friar agents knew how to make. It is to be feared that they will perish from aiuong the inhabitants of the Philippines in obedience to the law which exacts obedi- ence and labor from all who would continue to live on the face of the eart'i.
The Igorrotes (Ig-6r-r5tes) are a more formidable race of savages. They are as decidedly a mountain people as the Negritos are forest dwellers. The Igorrote is found in the lofty Cordillera that runs northward through the body of Luzon. There are several tribes, each having its own habits, customs, and dialect. They are of medium stature, with strong marks of Malay blood in their forms and features. Ethnologists are inclined to regard them as aboriginal Malays, strongly mixed with Chinese blood. Later chapters will show that Spain drove many Chinese to take refuge in the mountains of Northern Luzon, and it is known that they lived among the Igorrotes. The Igorrote is sturdily independent. Three Spanish gov- ernor-generals tried to add to their military laurels by conquering them, and defeat attended each attempt. Friars have exhausted every effort to reach the Igorrote, but entirely in vain. He still lives and hunts, and takes the heads of his enemies in the tribal race-feuds, exactly as he did when Spanish occupation began.
He is usually a peaceable savage so far as outsiders are concerned. Only when they mix in his quarrels do the Igorrotes trouble other races. He is trusted entirely 3
34 The; Philippines and the Far East.
by those who know him best. I saw an American officer of police hand over five thousand dollars in silver coins to a half-dozen Igorrote carriers, telling them plainly what was in the boxes, take their rude scrawl of a receipt, and let them start off with that specie on their backs for a three-days' march into the mountains, and later heard that every package came through safe. As laborers they are quite satisfactory 7vliilc fJicy care to zvork ; but with a few coins over and above present needs, they quit, and enjoy their gains. On their own' lands, nearly all of which they rescue from steep hillsides by a laborious method of terracing with stone walls, they work with patient and really skillful hands. Dr. Barrows says, "The Igorrote is the only scientific agriculturist which we have discovered in the Philippines." They carry water for irrigating these pitiful little patches, in ditches of their own devising, around mountain sides, and across valleys even, by means of pipes or stone sluices carried on pillars of rock. Two or three crops a year are wrung from these bits of hillside terraces, and carried hundreds of feet up or down to the huts of the tribe.
There is no political organization beyond that of the village. Union of village with village is unknown. An American official told me of having spent the night in an Igorrote town from which five other clusters of huts could be seen on near-by mountain sides. Every one of these villages was at feud with all the others, and no one ventured five miles from his own home without imminent risk of losing his head. It is estimated that at least sixty Christianized Filipinos have lost their heads at the hands of these savages within the past twelve months ; while the number slain in village feuds and in payment of "the debt of life" between tribes is many times greater. Some hundreds of Igorrote children are now in the public
Who akic thiv Fh.h'inos? 35
schools. What the influence of education may be on these stoHd, filthy, industrious savages it is difficult to predict. Many who know them (juite intimately are very sanguine. It is a long leap from savagery, with its in- herited instincts, to high schools and normal training. The children of the Igorrote may take it in safety; but our experience with the black man and the red man is not such as to make it entirely certain that the sudden change will bring about unmixed good.
The Tinguianes are a queer people in Northern Luzon. They are an agricultural people, and have many curious customs. The head man, assuming his duties takes the following oath : "May a pernicious wind touch me, may a flash of lightning kill me, and may the alligator catch me asleep, if I fail to fulfill my duties!" By their laws, says Mr. Foreman, "the crime of adultery is punished by a fine of thirty dollars value and by divorce ; but if the adultery was mutual, the divorce is pronounced abso- lute, without the payment of a fine." They are pure pagans. They have no temples. Their idols are hidden away from public gaze in remote caves and ravines.
W^here an epidemic is raging, certain small idols, called Anitos, are carried about and exhorted to stay its dread effects. When a child is to be named, the infant is carried into a dense forest, and the priest pronounces a name, at the same time raising a heavy knife over the child's head. On lowering the knife he strikes it deeply into a tree. If sap flows freely from the knife-wound, the name first pronounced is fixed upon. If not, the ceremony is repeated until the will of their Anitos is discovered in a prompt gush of sap. These people are strict monogamists, the bride being bought by the father of the bridegroom before she has attained maturity. They live in small huts, built high up among the branches of
36 The Philippines and tpie Far East.
large trees to be above their enemies. From their custom of tattooing themselves and blacking their teeth, it is supposed that they are descendants of shipwrecked Japanese or of the members of a stray Japanese colony. Catholic friars abandoned all attempts to gain any relig- ious hold upon either the Tinguianes or Igorrotes many years ago.
It was a strange fate that met the Spaniards in these Eastern seas. In their own land they had long fought with the Moor, or Moro, as they called him. That they should find the followers of Mohammed in these far- distant islands must have filled them with dismay. But the Moro was here. When Legaspi came to complete the conquest and organization of lands discovered by Magellan, he found Mohammedan Malays from Borneo rapidly gaining ascendency in the Archipelago. Much of the southern part was already overrun. Mindoro was wholly Mohammedan, and Manila was under the control of an insolent and fiery Moslem datto, or petty sultan. Though driven out of Manila and oiT both Mindoro and Luzon, the Moros still hold all the Jolo group of islands, and practically all of the large and fertile island of Min- danao. The Moro is a Malay, with little admixture of blood. His religion is a degraded Mohammedanism. He writes and prints his books in the Arabic character, though his speech is a strange mixture of pure Malay, Visayan, and Arabic. He is a warlike man, having held the officials in terror during nearly the entire period of Spanish occupation. With his own weapons he is prac- tically irresistible. Like "Fuzzy-Wuzzy,"
" 'E rushes at the smoke when we let drive, An' 'fore we know 'e 's 'ackin' at our 'ead ; 'E 's all 'ot sand an' ginger when alive,
An' gen'r'lly a-shamniin' when *e 's dead."
Who ark tiik Fiijpixos? 37
Like all Mohammedan warriors, they are taught to believe that special rewards await him who dies figliting "the infidel." Warriors who are lusting for an oppor- tunity to die are desperate fighters.
"All males above sixteen years of age go armed, un- less prevented from doing so by law. The JMoros make their own steel weapons, which are often beautifully fin- ished, and are always admirably adapted to the purposes for which they are intended. In close combat they usually trust to the barong — a weapon fashioned somewhat on the plan of a butcher's cleaver, with thick back and thin razor edge. It is capable of inflicting fearful injury. To lop ofif a head, arm, or leg with a barong is merely child's play. The strong and skillful warrior prides himself on being able to halve an opponent if he can catch him fairly across the small of the back. . . .
. "The straight kris (pronounced kreese) is a narrow- bladed, doubled-edged sword, used for cutting and thrust- ing. The serpent kris, with its wavy, double-edged blade, is used for thrusting, and inflicts a horrible wound. The caiiipilaii is a straight-edged, two-handed sword, with a blade wide at the tip, and steadily narrowing toward the hilt. It is used for cutting only, and is tremendously ef- fective. Under all circumstances a Moro carries a barong, kris, or campilan thrust into his sash. If he expects serious trouble, he has, in addition, a shield of light wood, and a lance with a broad, keen head. The Moro is crazy to get hold of firearms.
"The men are very skillful boatmen and sailors. Their praiis, which are carved out of logs with great skill, are frail-looking affairs, but bamboo outriggers prevent their sinking, even when filled with water."*
Among the Moros the custom of "running amuck," or "juramentado," still prevails. When a Moro wishes to end his life in a blaze of religious glory, and make
■'■Worcester, pp. 154-158.
38 The Philippines and the F'ar East.
sure of a high seat in the Mohammedan paradise, he be- comes a self-appointed slayer of infidels. He presents himself before a priest, or pandifa, and takes a solemn oath to die killing unbelievers. After this he bathes in sacred water, shaves off his eyebrows, secretes his mur- derous harong or "the cursed Malayan kris" about his person, and sallies forth. Once in the presence of Chris- tians, be they men, women, or children, he falls upon them, killing and wounding all he can reach until he himself is struck down. He asks no quarter. It is glory to die fighting. So blind are these men in their mad fury of religious bigotry that they have been known "to seize the barrel of a rifle on being bayoneted, and drive the steel into themselves farther in order to bring the soldier at the other end of the piece within striking distance and cut him down." One of these wretches killed twenty- three men, women, and children in Mindanao during 1903, before he could be stopped in his furious career by death or mortal wounds. He received twelve bullet wounds, and was finally clubbed to death. His relatives take great pride in his devotion, and recite the list of his victims with much satisfaction. They believe that he may be seen just between twilight and dark of the day of his death riding his white charger in the abode of the blessed.
During 1902-3 they tried to drive our troops out of Mindanao, and met the surprise of their lives. Captain J. J. Pershing led troops against them, smashed their "forts," swept their "first-class fighting men" away at every charge, and so humbled their pride that they are likely to settle down into tolerably good citizens. Special legislation adapted to their needs has been provided. General Leonard Wood is their governor. In an up- rising in Jolo in November, 1903, General Wood broke
Who are the; Filipinos? 39
their military strength beyond remedy. The ]\Ioro is in process of civiHzation. He has been compelled to give up slavery by legislation put into force since General Wood took charge.
There are seven main racial and linguistic subdivi- sions of the typical Filipinos, between each of which there is more or less of suspicion, if not actual distrust and dislike. This, added to language barriers, makes it impossible to speak of "the Filipino people" as one hav- ing common aspirations or common sympathies. There are many lesser divisions with which the limits of this work will not permit me to deal. Nearly all of the latter will disappear with the introduction of a common speech (English) and that breaking down of provincial barriers which will come with better postal facilities and railways. These seven main fractions of the total population will lose their identity very slowly, if at all.
Beginning at the south, these seven divisions of the Christianized Filipinos are Visayans, Bicols, Tagalogs, Pampangans, Pangasinans, Ilocanos, and Cagayaiios. A rough count of advance sheets from the new census gives the Visayans the lead in numbers, with an approximate total of 3,225,000; Tagalogs come next, with 1,500,000; Ilocanos and Bicols follow, with about 500,000 each ; while the Pampangan and Pangasinan peoples number about 335,000 each. Visayans of varying speech, and wide differences of feature and stature as well as mental and moral status, till all the so-called "Southern Islands" except the portions of Mindanao and Jolo, which are entirely occupied by jMoros. Bicols are only found in the very south of Luzon. Tagalogs are great wanderers, but their own peculiar territory is Southern and Central Luzon. Pampangans and Pangasinans are chicHy found in provinces of the same names in Luzon ; and Ilocanos
4© The Philippines and the F'ar East.
are at home in the Northwest Coast provinces of the same island, though, Uke the Tagalogs, they are a venturesome, commercial people, and are found in all provinces of Northern Luzon and in all parts of the Archipelago. Cagayaiios live in the valley of the Cagayan River, in Northeastern Luzon.
The languages of these seven races all spring from the original Malay. But they have become as completely differentiated as Spanish and Italian, or Portuguese and French. Each has its own grammar and vocabulary. None of the races named can understand each other, the nearest approach to an exception being in the case of the comparatively small body of Pampangans, whose speech is sufficiently akin to Tagalog to enable them to follow a conversation in a loose general way, after a little practice.
There are other marked differences among these peo- ples which lie deeper than languages. The Tagalogs are the most enterprising, the most quarrelsome, the most restless race in the Islands. Partly because of their shar- ing more largely in European culture through living in Manila and the immediately adjoining provinces, but chiefly because of strong racial tendencies, they have come to be recognized as the leaders in all movements looking toward progress. The chief insurrections of the past have been Tagalog insurrections. The insurrection of 1896-7 and opposition to the American regime were both begun and officered almost wholly by Tagalogs. Aguinaldo is a Tagalog. The Partido Federal, or Fed- eral party, and the Nationalist party, are officered and made up of members of the same race. The Tagalog is everywhere. He is fond of change. He is a trader and a traveler. Many Tagalogs have studied and traveled in Europe after having taken courses of study in Manila
Who ark tihc I^iijpixos? 41
institutions. Few of the other races have been far from their island homes.
Next in alertness and progressiveness come the Ilo- canos. They, too, are migratory. They "swarm off" from home hives, and settle in far provinces. Pangasinan province has at least a population one-third Ilocano. The rich Cagayan Valley, in the extreme north of Luzon, has a high percentage of the same race. Among the Igorrotes of various tribes in the mountain provinces of Luzon, business is almost wholly in Ilocano hands. Offi- cers of our army who have had wide experience with the various races, are practically unanimous in their good opinion of the Ilocano people. They give them credit for more industry, enterprise, and trustworthiness than any of the other races with which they have been in contact.
The Visayans are, as a whole, a less progressive, more quiet, peace-loving people. The insurrection of 1896-7 took but feeble hold on them. Only in Samar and parts of Cebu did our army have serious trouble with the na- tives, and even there the hand of the restless Tagalog was ever present.
ON MANILA BAY.
CHAPTER III. Social Order and General ChaRx\cteristics.
The Philippine social order is much the same in its broad outlines as it was when the Spanish discovered the Archipelago. At that time the majority of the people were living in independent communities under the rule of chiefs called dattos, and their lieutenants, who com- posed the nobility of the village and formed a hereditary caste. Below these were the plebeians, or working, trading peasantry ; and below these still were the slaves. These latter were chiefly captives taken in the almost incessant forays which were carried on against neigh- boring communities.
The Spanish avithorities, civil and religious, broke down the hereditary authority of the dattos and their assistants by drawing several villages into one govern- ment, called a piicblo, leaving each unit of fifty families as a "barangay," or village, and appointing over each of these villages, or "barrios " a "cabeza," or head, whose immediate accountability was to the head or "presidente" of the pueblo. This amalgamation was accomplished slowly, and in spite of much open and secret opposition. Several insurrections have left their bloody trail across the earlier attempts to destroy hereditary chieftainship over each village. And all the efforts of the Spanish authority — civil, military, and religious — have failed to abolish the caste spirit which seems to be inherent in all
42
Social Ordi:u and Gi;xi;rai. Ciiauacti:ristics. 43
the Far East. There are still three classes in the social order — the priiicipalcs, or class of superior wealth, fam- ily, or position ; the working people; and the dependientes,
TREE-HOUSE OF THE GADDANES, NEAR ILAGAN, ISAUELLA PROVINCE, LUZON.
or dependents of men of "light and leading." These classes are not hedged about with any such inviolable caste restrictions as prevail in India ; but they are sharply marked throughout the Islands, and persist in the same
44 The Philippines and the Far East.
families with almost as much certainty as where actual caste bonds are thrice riveted. This puts almost un- limited power into the hands of a few at the top of the social pyramid. The dcpcndientes, at the bottom of the scale, have good native capacity. But as tenants-at-will, or occasional laborers on the large hemp, tobacco, or sugar estates, they are, in fact as well as in name, de- pendent upon the caprice of some particular great man, who is a kind of visible providence to them. They must vote as he wishes. They must live where he wishes. Their domestic matters even are not free from the sway of this member of the superior class. Their thriftless- ness makes it all the more easy for the wealthy and in- fluential to keep them well under control, as it is easy for them to fall into debt to the chief man. The book- keeping is done by the powerful creditor. In some parts of the Islands the principalcs hold hundreds of people in practical serfdom through the operation of this cus- tom. Many large planters keep their hold upon laborers for their fields and factories by holding the lash of a perpetual indebtedness over scores of families, many of whom have worked out all their obligations twice and thrice over, but, unfortunately, can furnish no tangible proofs of such freedom. In Spanish times, judges, if mcorruptible — as was seldom the case — looked upon such means as justifiable, as they afforded the only prac- ticable way of securing labor needed to carry on the business of the country, and hence refused to lift the unjust load. What American courts will do when those who sit on the bench become familiar with the condition of tens of thousands of laboring and servant classes, remains to be seen. It is to be hoped that they will see that justice is done, even if some cane-fields stand uncut. This centralization of social, religious, and political
I
Social Order and Genkrai, Characteristics. 45
influence in a practically hereditary class is one of the chief evils of the Filipino social condition. It makes it possible for demagogues and professional agitators to capture thousands by gaining ascendency over a very few leaders. It leaves the masses helpless, ready to be stampeded into movements the animus of which they no more comprehend than they understand the causes of their practical enslavement. Human nature being what it is, it is not to be expected that so much power in the hands of a few will be exercised with that disinterested- ness which alone could free it from pernicious conse- quences. Here and there the power will be us^d for un- selfish ends. But not so as a matter of general averages. The "tao," or common man, must be made to feel his essential dignity, and that there is for him and for his children a door of opportimity kept open whereby he may better his condition, before the social order can be even measurably free from blemishes.
Until 1863 no public school opened its doors to the children of the "tao." How poorly this system has been worked since that time may be seen in Chapter XII. The mechanic, the servant, the farmhand saw the chil- dren of their hereditary masters sent to private schools, the fees of which he could not begin to pay. Thus the relative position of parents and children has been main- tained generation after generation, exceptions occurring with sufficient frequency to prove the rule, and at the same time demonstrate the innate capacity of the common people. Already the public schools, with all their ad- vantages free to rich and poor, are beginning that very disturbing, but wholesome, process which was once called "turning the world upside down," and is needed from time to time when social conditions become inverted. Of the thousands who have been most prompt to avail
46 The Philippines and the Far East.
themselves of the advantages offered by the schools, the children of this large class of poor and middle-class peo- ple, form a very large majority, and it is with no little misgiving that the hereditary class of priiicipalcs see laborers' sons distancing their own boys in learning Eng- lish, and getting a general grasp of that knowledge which even they know "is power." On more than one occa- sion I h.ave heard Governor Taft express the fear that the people of these Islands will be the easy prey of selfish agitators as long as the social order remains substan- tially unchanged. And, indeed, proofs are to be had for the asking. At the present time one Dominador Gomez de Jesus is on trial for sedition in Manila. He organized the "Union Obrera," or Labor Union, and used it appar- ently as a cover for spreading seditious doctrines among the masses. The evidence shows that, through a few leaders, he swept thousands into the movement, pocketed their fees, and used them as a means of gaining his ulti- mate end, — that of reviving the hopes of the people in the "lost cause" of insurrection. The crowds were led like sheep. So they have been led in all the dreary past. So they will be led until this order of things is broken up, and it is recognized that, —
" A mail 's a man for a" that, For a' that and a' that!
Among the unfavorable characteristics of the Filipino people, their critics name untrustworthiness, indolence, ingratitude, and cruelty. In a greater or less degree these charges have, unfortunately, too much foundation in the admitted facts of daily life to allow even their warmest admirers to enter a general denial. Admission gf some truth in these hard accusations, and such ex-
Social Okukr and Genkkal Characteristics. 47
planations and qualifications as the case will permit, is the only frank and honorable course. And of all people under the sun, descendants of the Anglo-Saxon race should remember that stone-throwing is a dangerous pastime for those whose houses have much glass in their construction.
Untrustworthiness, let us remember, is a fault met with among all nations. If Filipinos have a larger share of this unlovely trait than other peoples, let it be remem- bered that comparative savagery is but three centuries off, and that such has been the reign of injustice and blind force under which they have lived, that deception was their only defense against merciless oppression. Let it be remembered, also, that even the teaching of their spiritual guides puts no severe ban upon deceit. In the Jesuitical scheme deceit is good or bad according to the cause in which it is employed. Candor and blunt truth- fulness have never been prominent characteristics of the Spanish nation as a whole. Few characters in European public life have left such indubitable proofs of a uniform policy of deceit and treachery as Philip the Second hiiTi- self. The experience of the Filipino people could not have been better adapted to encourage untruthfulness on a wide scale. Forced labor ; excessive and uncertain taxation ; courts which sold justice to the highest bidder; police fleecing the prosperous and protecting the ladrone for a percentage of his stealings ; greedy Church officials charging for all services rendered, and spending their gains either in unseemly living or in the aggrandizement of their orders. — all these causes, combined with the fact that those among whom they were in operation were a subject people, unarmed and helpless, conspired to blur the image of pure truth, and make a resort to lying ap- pear almost excusable,
48 The Philippines and the P'ar East.
Indolence is a fact of Filipino life that especially grates upon Americans. With our almost terrific ac- tivity, the seemingly untroubled idleness of the average Filipino is exasperating beyond measure. There can be no evasion of the fact. Drive through any provincial city street midforenoon, and see the idle men and women leaning from the openings which pass for windows in their homes, and idly smoking, if proof is needed. Con- tractors and civil engineers in charge of road-building in the provinces meet one almost insuperable difficulty, — the unwillingness of the native people to labor. Capital- ists visit the Philippines, see opportunities for invest- ment, but after looking into the labor question abandon their plans and invest no money. Profitable tillage of the soil ; profitable working of the excellent- mineral de- posits ; the construction and operation of railways to open up the rich interior of the larger islands, — all these enterprises, so urgently needed if the Filipinos are ever to see the fulfillment of their own desires for their coun- try, depend upon labor.
Qualifications and explanations of these wholesale statements can readily be found, but not of sufficient number or weight entirely to break their force. Many Filipinos are models of industry. I know servants who are on duty twelve to fourteen hours of every day, and who do their work as thoroughly as Chinese or European servants. Captain Butt, of the Quartermaster's Depart- ment in Manila, displaced many of his American drivers and wagon-men, and filled their places with Filipinos. He declared that they were more faithful to their duties than the Americans had been. The Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf Company, now engaged in building the new $3,500,000 docks in Manila, say that, out of more than one thousand Filipinos who have now been in their em-
Social Okdick axd General Ciiaractkristics. 49
ploy more than one year, the great majority liavc given good satisfaction. But this great firm of contractors has built a village for their employees, furnishing a cockpit and band for their amusement, and exhausted their in- genuity iu other directions to keep their native laborers contented. Not all employers of labor can go to such
w
IGORROTTES.
expense. In a recent tract Aguinaldo says : "All, and every one must awake and arise out of our lethargy, and work. Arise ! Give your attention to work and thus bring your country and its poor, suffering inhabitants out of their great misery. Without manual labor we can expect nothing."
If one is openminded he will find several more or 4
50 The Philippines and the Far East.
less satisfactory explanations of this habit of taking life easy, which has so firm a grip on literal millions of the Filipino people. The climate is unfavorable to sustained exertion. It is warm. It is continually warm. There are no long, cold winters against which both food and fuel and warm shelter must be provided. Conditions make life easy. The ever-present bamboo and neepa palm furnish material for the frail house that shelters the household from sun and rain. For from ten to fifty dollars he can build anything from a rude cottage to a six-room house. The waters are alive with edible crea- tures. Fish, crabs, prawns, shrimps, and other food products of sea and river can be had at a minimum of effort, and at any time, day or night, during every year. Rice is usually plentiful and inexpensive. A few days' v.'ork each month will either give sufficient care to the crops to secure all the rice the family can use, or earn money to buy it. To the man so situated there is scarcely any way to make severe and sustained industry attractive. He sees no call for it. His needs are few. Why he should toil in the heat he does not understand. He prefers a few days of leisurely labor, and more days to pet his favorite fighting-cock, or frequent the cock- pit and bet his money on the bloody battles of the gallera, or to sleep quietly in his own house.
This climatic effect upon habits of industry has been powerfully re-enforced by governmental and social condi- tions. Taxes under the Spanish regime were put up to auction, and that was the least evil of the system. Col- lections were made the occasion of a highly-organized system of "squeeze." Each gohernadorciUo, or petty governor, was furnished with a list of taxes paid under his predecessor. These lists were seldom revised. He must turn in as much money as had been received from
SociAi. Order and Gknkrai, Ciiaractickistics. 51
that villai^e or group of villages in previous years, or make good the deficit out of his own estate. The favor of high Manila authorities was shown freely to such olificials as made the largest gains in tax receipts. What these gains meant to the people was a kind and degree of oppression such as we can but dimly understand.
And when to these extortionate methods of tax- gathering were added the petty exactions of the old police, or Guardia Civil, demanding fowls, eggs, milk and goats from poor villagers, and sneering at any sug- gestion of remuneration, it begins to be apparent that he was happiest who had the least of this world's goods. And when to all this burden were added the depredations of thieves, or "ladrones," with whom the police were openly confederate, and ceaseless demands for money from friar and priest for baptism, marriages, funerals, masses, and shrivmgs, it is quite clear that the Filipino had little prospect of enjoying the fruit of his toil, and may have easily come to the conclusion that he would toil just enough to sustain life and keep a shelter over his head. With fixed taxes of a reasonable amount, collected once only ; with police protection against ladrones, and priests shorn of power to monopolize all churchly functions ; with good roads, railways, and bet- ter methods of tilling the soil. — there is good reason to believe that this admitted defect in the average Filipino character will gradually pass away.
As to other indictments — ingratitude, cruelty and the like — they are not so serious, nor so readily proven. In- difference to the infliction of pain does appear to be a charge that can be truthfully lodged against nearly all inhabitants of the East. It is true of the native of India, and in a degree is true also of the Chinese. But a cam- paign of education has never been carried on against
52 ThK PlIILli'PlNIiS AND THli FaK EaST.
cruelty to dumb animals. The people have never been allowed to have the Bible, with its lessons of love and tenderness toward all creatures that God has made. The people who were their examples were the people who founded and maintained the Inquisition with all its bloody and fiendish cruelties visited upon men and women, and that in the name of the compassionate Christ !
The passion for gambling is a serious fault in the Filipino character. After two years in the Islands I am convinced that gambling is the worst vice of the country. The natives do not drink to excess. But as a people they are victims to this baleful habit. I have known men to pay two hundred per cent interest for money with which to back a favorite game-cock. They will stake their last bit of property, and even wager their children or their wives, so mad is their infatuation. Our cook does not own a single garment that he is wearing. He has wagered his very garments on cock-fights, while his family suffers for food. The habit bears the worst possible economic fruit. Hoping for the easy gains of the card game or the cock-pit, idleness loses its blame- worthiness. Debts piled high by reverses in the gallera or with the fascination of panginga or inonte cards, bring the gambler into a bondage from which he sees no escape except by again wooing the fickle fates of games of chance. Aguinaldo shut every cock-pit, and as nearly as possible stopped all gambling, while he was at the head of the Insurrection government, and he is now issuing pamphlets to his people begging them to abandon the evil practice. The former captain-general of the Insurrection says :
"Again I must caution you against gambling of all kinds. Happy will be the day when our provincial gov- ernors and municipal presidentes take steps to stamp out
SociAi. ()i;i)i;k and GiiNF.RAi, Characticristics. 53
this evil, even though it does contribute considerable to the different treasuries. Nobody denies that the cock-pit as well as the pack of cards is one of the greatest evils menacing these islands. How many gamblers and others subject to this evil suffer ruin ! They do not hesitate to do anything when the fever controls them. They mortgage their property ; then even sell their children, and some- times their wives, and commit other acts of greater dis- honor as a result of their greed of gain waged on the green board. As a result they become ladrones. Many have to flee from justice, and become worse than common criminals, and stoop so low as to murder helpless coun- trymen for the sake of a few pesos with which to gam- ble. In a word, the cards and the cock-pit are our ruin. More dealh penalties can be traced to this curse than any other soi'rce. Shall we abandon this weakness and enjoy prosperity, or ccMitinue and forever lie in misery?"
Favorable characteristics are many. The Filipino people are polite. It is innate. Not Persians nor Japanese have more instinctive graciousness. Some one has said,
" Politeness is to do and say, The kindest thing in the kindest way;"
and by this definition the population of these Islands rank high among the people of the earth. This charm of manner, this suave self-effacement in public places, is in marked contrast with the self-assertiveness seen among our own people. After a year or so in the Phil- ippines, the manners, or lack of them, on our street cars and in places of pul)lic resort strike one as rude and boorish in the extreme.
Hospitality is a strong point in the native character. There is not a hotel in tlie PhUip[^i)ies that eaters to tlie Filipino trade. Manila, with well toward three hundred thousand people, has no such a hostelry. It is not
54 The Philippines and the Far East.
needed. Every one who comes to tlie city stops with "parientes" or relatives ; with "amigos," or friends. Nothing else is thought of as a possibility. In all my trips into the provinces I have shared in a hospitality which spared nothing from basket or store or garden or house accommodations in the effort to make me feel perfectly welcome to all that the homes afforded.
Loyalty to family ties is another praiseworthy char- acteristic of the Filipino that is well-nigh universal. There are no poorhoiises in these Islands. None are needed. Every poor person is a relative of some one. Somewhere in the circle of relationship every dependent person is made welcome to a share of such provision as can be supplied, and to a corner in the house, no matter how crowded, and in all this there is no making of wry faces as though it were a hardship. It is recognized as a duty that prosperous relatives owe to their own kin who have not succeeded so well in the battle for home and bread, and even to drones in the family hive.
Capacity for culture is abundantly proven to belong to all branches of the population. While their gifts show to better advantage in studies in which memory and imitation are called into play, yet proofs are not vvanting that in the sciences and professions they can take high rank. The Civil Commission has this to say of the educated classes :
"The educated Filipinos, though constituting a minor- ity, are far more numerous than is generally supposed, and are scattered all over the Archipelago ; and the Com- mission desire to bear the strongest testimony to the high range of their intelligence, and not only to their intellectual training, but also to their social refinement, as well as the grace and charm of their personal charac- ter. These educated Filipinos, in a word, are the equals
Social Ordkr and Gknkral Characteristics. 55
of the men one meets in similar vocations — law, medicine, business, etc. — in Europe or America."
Graduates of the university have naturally betaken themselves to the only careers open to them under the political conditions in which they were to live ; viz., law, medicine, and the Church. Among- the lawyers, Pro- fessor Semper remarked thirty years ago, were to be found advocates worthy to be compared with the best in Spain. But on account of the anti-modern spirit which prevailed at the university up to a recent period, and the repression of free intellectual activity in the Islands, there was neither opportunity nor inducement for ambition to undertake studies in the scientific, social, and political subjects which have been fashionable in Europe, but which might have had dangerous conse- quences in the Philippines. Nevertheless the influence of literary and professional Filipinos who had been edu- cated at Manila and in Europe was very marked in recent political history of the Islands.
All competent observers have remarked that the Fili- pinos have a natural aptitude for instruction, the chil- dren being mentally quick. Many Tagalogs can speak several languages, and the English used by representa- tive Filipinos in the United States is noticeable for its idiomatic excellence. Their capacity for one branch of elementary culture is shown by the fact that they knew how to read and write, with alphabets of their own, when they were first discovered by Europeans.
"Filipinos have filled chairs of chemistry, botany, med- icine, and pharmacy at the university. The draftsmanship of the atlas of the Philippines, recently published by the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey, was the work of Filipino draftsmen under the direction of P. Jose
56 The Philippines and the Far Hast.
Algue, S. J., the director of the observatory. Although the geological and other scientific works are not available for examination, it is easy to judge by their titles what they doubtless are. All such works are pretty much the same everywhere. They are mostly mechanical repetitions of observations and discussions in imitation of models set at the European centers of study. From testimony be- fore the United States Philippine Commission, given by the Jesuit fathers, we infer that the Filipinos take kindly to scientific studies. In ethnology, Filipinos have pub- lished articles and works upon the history, religion, and customs of the Filipinos, and early alphabets, besides essays on the modern political situation and Spanish leg- islation. Pardo Paterno, who was prominent in the in- surrection of 1896, wrote a history of the pre-Spanish civilization of the Filipinos, and another work upon the social influence of Christianity. Of Filipino literary men, the best known was the unfortunate Dr. Rizal, whose reputation as a physician and man of science has been eclipsed by his literary renown, and still more by his tragic fate. His writings, and especially his novel, 'Noli me Tangere,' which was first published in Germany (with a motto from Schiller), rendered him obnoxious to the authorities, and he was the most illustrious of the hun- dreds of victims who were executed at Manila for com- plicity in the insurrection of 1896."*
The result of three years' work in the newly-estab- lished American schools demonstrate the capacity of the Filipino mind for receiving culture. With liberty of speech and research, and the utmost encouragement which any government can give the youth of a country, there is a bright prospect before the people of this group of Eastern Islands.
Filipinos are very fond of music. Nearly every home has some instrument, and some member of the family can play it. Harps, horns, violins, and pianos
* Report of the Commissioner of Education, 1899-1900.
Social Ordicr and Gknkral Cii.\racti:uistics. 57
are the most common. Several large firms in Manila handle all kinds of musical instruments, selling almost exclusively to Filipino customers. Piano and harp are always taught in girls' schools carried on hy the sisters. Every city has its hand. Some of the performances of Filipino orchestras and bands are equal to anything one hears in America or Europe. The famous Constabulary Band of Manila, made up exclusively of Filipinos, and led by an American Negro, goes to the World's Fair at St. Louis in 1904. It will be a treat for even crit- ical Americans to hear them render the best music that has ever been written. Performers do wonders, repro- ducing melodies heard but once or twice. At one of our services an orchestra ofifered their help with the music. Unfortunately our hymn-book contained words only. The minister in charge played the air on a cornet before each hymn was sung, and the entire orchestra imme- diately reproduced them, with time and harmony so nearly perfect as to leave us fairly bewildered at the apparent ease with which it was done.
They are also devoted to such amusements as are provided by the theater. Plays with the most inter- minable plots, and requiring several days for their pro- duction, are staged in remote provincial cities, and mul- titudes sit spell-bound by the hour as they follow the movements of gaudily-dressed warriors doing heroic battle with pasteboard dragons to rescue fair heroines from disaster. M. Montano, a French investigator, tells of a play which he witnessed on the east coast of Luzon in 1880. It required a month of hard training to pre- pare the village young people who took part in it. It was rendered on the occasion of the election of a gobcr- nadorcillo, or petty governor. A beautiful princess was lost in a desert. She was in sore peril from wild beasts
58 The Philippines and the Far East.
(of pasteboard) and a magician shepherd who pressed his love upon her. After songs, endless dialogues and marvellous feats of arms, the finale was as follows :
The princess had resisted the magician shepherd in spite of his threats, and had subdued the monsters to her will. Now appeared on the scene the valiant Prince of Tuscany, who alone of all the searchers had been able to find the missing princess in the desert, with whom he is desperately in love. The prince, however, has one capital fault which would forever prevent his marriage with the princess. He is a Moro — that is to say, an infidel — while the princess is a fervent Catholic, and feels in duty bound to conceal from him the sentiments with which his splendid appearance and valor has in- spired her. The prince presses his suit, and falls upon his knees before the princess, who is half won, but still restrains herself sufficiently to say that perhaps she might have listened to the seductive words of her wooer were it not for his wicked religion, which he must renounce if he expects to receive any kindness from her. At this ])oint, says M. IMontano. the audience, completely rapt by the play, held its breath in order not to lose a syllable of the dialogue, and manifested its enthusiasm by following the words of the actors with low-cadenced whistles. The Bicol author knew, that for his audience, non-Catholic and enemy are synonymous terms, and hence the intensity of feeling at the wooing of a Chris- tian by an infidel. The play ended by the conversion of the Prince of Tuscany and his marriage to the princess.
While the characters in this play are European, the ideas of princes, embassies, magic, Christian, and infidel seemed to be familiar or congenial to the native customs and temperament.
With all their limitations, Filipinos are two centuries
Social Ordi-r and General Characteristics. 59
nearer the goal of human progress than any of their Malay cousins, and when the new forces of education, religion, and a government of fairness and freedom have all done their work, we may expect the many to attain to those levels now occupied by the few, and their own achievements in the arts, in literature, in the professions, and in political leadership will stop the mouths of their critics.
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MANILA BOTANICAL GARDENS.
CHAPTER IV.
Historical Summary,
The Philippines were discovered by Magellan, the man who did what Columbus failed to accomplish. Columbus set out to find a passage-way to the East Indies by sailing westward. He discovered the Western Con- tinent, and with its discovery earned a title to lasting fame. Nevertheless he failed to find the East by sailing West, which was what he set out to do.
His discovery stirred the world of navigation pro- foundly. A Portuguese nobleman by the name of Fer- nando Magalhaens, who had achieved distinction as a soldier and navigator, but had foresworn his native country because of ill-treatment received in a military expedition in Africa and because his own king would not aid him in his ambitious plans for discovery, ofifered his services to King Charles the Fifth of Spain. The king "entered into an agreement to furnish Magalhaens (Magellan) with five ships of from sixty to one hundred and thirty tons each, fit them out with supplies, arms, and a crew of two hundred and thirty-four men. Ma- gellan was to spend ten years, if necessary, in finding spice islands in the south of that ocean seen first by Balboa at Panama. He was so sure of success that he vowed that if he failed King Charles might strike ofif his head. If he succeeded, his male heirs and their heirs after them were to govern such islands as he annexed to Spain, under the authority of the crown of Castile.
60
Historical Summary,
6i
He was to give the king one thousand ducats as ro\al dues if he discovered and annexed six or more islands, and one-fifth of all profits if less than six islands were added to the territory of Spain.
A FILIPINO BELLE.
August lo, 1 5 19, the little fleet sailed from Seville. After mutmies and delays by storms and bv the rigors of a Patagonian winter, the little fleet entered the straits which have borne the name of the intrepid Magellan
62 The Philippines and the Far East.
from that day, on the 28th of October, 1520, emerging into the vast Pacific, November 26th. After this, even the jealous captains recognized the greatness of their leader, and were enthusiastic in their support. The Philippine Islands were sighted in April, 1521, and named San Lazaro Islands by Magellan. Soon after this, Magellan was killed in a petty war in which he had engaged to aid the king of Cebu. His death at that time was doubly unfortunate. It deprived the expedi- tion of its one masterful mind, and thus prevented that full exploration and occupation of the various islands of the Archipelago which King Charles and Magellan had provided for. Only one of the ships returned to Spain. The little Victoria, commanded by one of the bravest and most intelligent of Magellan's captains, Se- bastian del Cano, entered the harbor from which they sailed, on September 8, 1522 — the first ship that ever sailed around the world !
No serious attempt was made to conquer and colonize the Islands until 1564. King Philip had come to the throne of Spain in 1555, and he immediately set about their conquest. His motives were chiefl\' religious.
He chose Don Miguel Lopez de Legaspi as captain- general of the expedition, and a friar of the Order of St. Augustine, Andres de Urdaneta, as spiritual direc- tor. With the latter were six friars of the same order, the first to enter the Philippine Islands. Legaspi and L"^rdaneta had both lived in Mexico for some time and were close friends. Both were men of integrity and ability and the Philippines feel the impress of their work to this day.
It should be remembered that the first expedition for the occupation of the Philippines sailed from North America. It sailed away from Natividad, Mexico, No-
MONUiMKNT TO LK(;ASri AND URDANETA, MANILA. SEA ]N BACKGROUND.
i
IIlSToKlCAI, Sl'MMAkV. 65
vembor 21, 1564. The four hundred men who went with Legaspi and Urdaneta had no other purpose than to spend their Hves in the Phihppines in the interest of the crown of Spain or of the Church.
Legaspi conquered Cebu, and, by firmness tempered with great kindness, convinced the islanders that he could rule, and that he meant to rule justly. Portugal now gave him much trouble. Pope Alexander VI had made an absurd attempt to divide the earth between the rival powers, Spain and Portugal, by fixing upon the meridian on which the Cape Verde Islands are situated as the boundary-line. All non-Christian lands east of that meridian should be exploited commercially and religiously by Portugal, and all similar countries west of that meridian were to be ruled and exploited by Spain. By this division the Philippines fell into Portuguese territory. But Spain had discovered them, and Legaspi had no intention of permitting this right of discovery and prior occupation to be set aside by any papal order. He fought ofif the fleet sent by Portugal to attack him in Cebu, and did it with such vigor that the attempt was abandoned.
Legaspi wisely left native chiefs in power, letting them continue to rule in the name of the King of Spain. In 1571 he removed the capital of the new government to "Maynila," a city on the island of Luzon, which his nephew, Juan Salcedo, had captured from its Moham- medan ruler.*
■From an ancient document the following account of the capture of Manila has been taken :
" In the island, called by the natives ' Luzon the Greater,' in a town and river of the same called Manila, on the sixth of June in the year 1570, the Hon. Martin de Goiti, His Majesty's Master of Camp in these Western Islands, declared before me, Hernando
5
66 The Philippines and the Far East,
This city was made the seat of an archbishopric, and Friar Salazar named as the first archbishop. On August 20, 1572, Legaspi died from overwork and the effects of the cHmate. He was buried in the St. Augustine Chapel of San Fausto, in Manila. At the time of his death, it might be said that the work he came to do had been accomplished. The Philippine Islands were con- quered, and its principal native rulers were carrying on their simple governments in the name of the King of Spain. It was not the purpose of Legaspi to interfere in the political, commercial, or industrial conditions of the conquered territory. His idea was that of the average Spanish colonizer — to secure the largest possible terri-
Riquel, Chief Gov't. Notary, and in the presence of the under- signed witnesses, that inasmuch as a thing well and generally known, His Excellency being in this river of Manila with the men and ships accompanying him, and having made peace and drawn his blood with two chiefs styling themselves kings of said town (by name Soliman and Raxa respectivelj-), and without giving them cause or treating them in a manner that would make the said na- tives change their attitude, the above chiefs began war treacher- ously and unexpectedly without advising him beforehand, and wounded and seized certain Indians accompanying us. After that they discharged the artillery in their fort, two balls from which struck the ship San DFignel, on board of which was the said Master of Camp. He, in order to guard himself from the injury which the said Moros were doing in starting the war, and to prevent their artillery from harming his men, attacked the said fort of the Mo- ros, and captured it by force of arms, and is now in possession of it. And, inasmuch as the said fort and town of Manila have been won in lawful and just war, and since, according to the said na- tives, Manila is the capital of all the towns of this said Island : therefore, in His Majesty's name, he was occupying and did occupy, was taking and did take royal ownership and possession, actual and quasi, of this said Island of Luzon and of all the other ports, towns, and territories adjoining and belonging to this said island." (Follow formalities of the Notary.)
HisTORiCAi, Summary,. 67
torial possessions for his royal master — leaving' their political conditions and their industries to take care of themselves.
The infant colony was soon confronted with peril from the north. A Chinese buccaneer named Lee-ma- hong, being hard pressed by imperial ships, conceived the idea of capturing the Philippines and building up a government there. He was a man of great native ability, a born ruler of wild and lawless men. By extraordinary exertions he got together a fleet of sixty-two armed junks, having two thousand sailors and a number of mechanics to build the cities he expected to found. He sailed into Manila Bay November 29, 1574, and imme- diately gave battle. The Spanish soldiery finally triumphed, driving Lee-ma-hong from the bay, but it was at fearful cost. That pirate captain and his chief helper, Sioco, cut down hundreds of the best troops the small colony could muster. Some hundreds of the Chinese were deserted by the ships, and took refuge in the mountains. It is commonly believed that the race of Igorrotes still show the admixture of blood from this defeated and abandoned contingent of Lee-ma-hong's army of invasion.
Friars made all possible capital for the Church out of the victory over the Chinese. They boldly declared that St. Andrew appeared on the field of battle and gave them victory. "This saint was declared thenceforth to be the patron saint of Manila, and in his honor high mass is celebrated in the cathedral at 8 A. M. on the 30th of each November." It was a public holiday and gala- day until the end of Spanish supremacy, and all the high officials, military and civil, as well as religious, attended the ceremonies, though it is doubtful if one in twenty could have told what event the day was supposed to
68 The Phii^ii'pines and the Far East.
commemorate. It was the custom on that day, after hearing mass, for the religious authorities to show their superiority over both miHtary and civil power by spread- ing the flag of Spain on the floor of the cathedral, and having the metropolitan archbishop walk over it in the presence of all officials of the State.
Many years are filled in with petty squabbles between the authorities of the State and those of the Church, while the welfare of the poor people was completely lost sight of, unless a restless eagerness to see them all ac- cept baptism should be considered to manifest an inter- est in their welfare. A Supreme Court was set up in Manila having authority to govern the colony in case the governor-general died, or during his absence. This court was modeled on the one provided for Mexico, but was not as well adapted to conditions in the Philippines as it should have been, and its members were engaged nearly all the time in disputes more or less serious about prerogatives, the parties to each quarrel including the heads of the Church, whoever else was left out. Spain had a "Philippine Question" then. Priests passed back and forth from Manila to Spain to pour their grievances into the ears of royalty, and secure papal support for their plans. One friar, named Sanchez, was notably successful, and secured from King Philip and the pope many needed reforms in the government, as well as some substantial rewards for himself. Among these reforms were a royal order (i) to set all slaves at liberty; (2) to cease selling the offices of secretary and notary to the highest bidder, but to demand education and good char- acter in these important offices; (3) to forbid governors granting lands to relations, servants, or friends without three years bona fide residence on the lands, and proofs of actual cultivation ; (4) to cease dilatory methods of
J
Historical Summary. 71
administerino- justice; (5) to fortify Manila; (6) to set aside 12,000 ducats for l)uilding and adorning the cathedral. Sanchez returned from Rome to Spain laden with ecclesiastical spoil for his Philippine cathedral. Among these precious gifts of the pope were the hody of St. Polycarp, relics of St. Potenciana and of one hun- dred and fifty-seven different saints and martyrs ; among these were more or less complete skeletons of twenty- seven popes, all these for transmission to the cathedral of Manila for the instruction of the heathen ! Sanchez died before the ship sailed which w^as to have brought him back to the Philippines.
Philip abolished the Supreme Court at this time; but it was re-established in 1598, and remained until Amer- ican supremacy brought its work to an abrupt end. Eight times during the period of Spanish occupation this court had to take the responsibility of government. In the main, its great power was used with restraint and for the promotion of the ends of justice and good gov- ernment.
Japan came into conflict with the colony a little later on because of the bad faith of friars, who went there in the guise of ambassadors from the Philippine gov- ernment, and persisted in violating their promises and the emperor's orders by remaining to carry on their propaganda among the Japanese. The emperor bore with it for some years ; but at last, believing that the friars were but spies and advance agents of the Spanish government, he ordered them all to leave the country. They refused to go. This convinced him that his theory was the true one — that they w^ere merely waiting for their government to come and rescue them and attempt to capture the country in punishment for oppressing their agents — and he ordered a general massacre of friars and
72 IThe Philippines and the F^ar HasT.
converts. Twenty-six were taken, and, after trial for violation of the express orders of the emperor, had their noses and ears cut off, and were publicly displayed in a rude cart from town to town, the trip ending at Na- gasaki. Each carried a breast-board containing a state- ment of his offense, and the reasons why the death sen- tence had been imposed.
"On high ground near the city and the port, in front of the Jesuits' church, these twenty-six were crucified and stabbed to death with lances in expiation of political offenses. It was a sad fate for men who conscientiously believed that they were justified in violating the laws of nations for the propagation of their particular views. But can one complain ? Would Buddhist missionaries in Spain have met with milder treatment at the hands of the Inquisitors?"*
Even this did not dampen the enthusiasm of those who were bent on Christianizing Japan. A.11 kinds of deceptions were resorted to by friars to enter Japan. But the effort. was at length abandoned.
The Dutch found nnmense profits in trading and colonizing in the Far East. They drove the Spaniards from the Moluccas, and pressed them hard in the Phil- ippines in the early part of the seventeenth century, but vSpanish fury in battle was too much for the more slow- moving Dutch, and the latter were usually beaten off. The Dutch did not give up the struggle until 1763, and many of the intervening years they made it very hard for the inhabitants of the islands. They would inter- cept and capture the yearly Spanish galleons from Mexico, richly laden with treasure to pay merchants and officials in the Philippines. Sometimes they would cap-
Foreman, pp. 69, 70.
Historical Summary, 73
ture every galleon for several years in snccession. Then the hardships of the Filipinos and Spaniards residing- in the islands were almost nnbearable. Strangely enough, Spain did not seem to learn to send her treasure in any other way, or by any other route. When peace was made between Holland and Spain about the middle of the eighteenth century these depredations ceased.
Late in 1761 war was declared between Spain and England, and a British fleet, under Admiral Cornish, carrying a land force under General Draper, in all 6,380 men, captured Manila, after a brief but bloody defense. The city was officially given over to indiscriminate pil- lage by the English and native Indian troops. The robber)', rapine, and violence of those two awful days can hardly be imagined. After two days of general looting, the Spanish were compelled to pay $4,000,000 (silver) as an indemnity. It was impossible to raise it all in Manila ; so, after taking all the silver they could secure from the churches, the British accepted orders on the Spanish treasury for the remaining $2,000,000. These orders were never pressed upon the Spanish gov- ernment, as it was believed in England that the officers in charge at Manila had secured all the indemnity that it was right to demand. The British held Manila until peace was declared between the two nations, and then sailed away.
Four times Spanish officials sought to exterminate the Chinese. The first time was about 1603. In that year two richly-dressed ambassadors from the Emperor of China arrived in Manila. They stated that their master had heard that there was a mountain of solid gold near Cavite on the island of Luzon, and they had been sent to see if this report were true, and if so, on what terms the emperor could secure a share in this massed
74 The Philippinks and the F'ar East.
wealth. The Spanish governor-general treated the ambassadors with profound respect, proved to them that the report was pure fiction, and sent them away with rich presents. But he and his advisers were thoroughly frightened. They believed that the story about a moun- tain of gold was a polite invention, and that the real purpose of these ambassadors was to find out the best way to subdue the islands. The officials believed that the Chinese in Manila were leagued with their country- men to the north, and would all help the imaginary Chinese army of invasion when it arrived in the bay. Consequently, all Chinese were watched. Some were arrested on empty suspicions. The Chinese community felt that mischief was intended against them, and secured arms for defense. Relations became so far strained that, late in the year, actual fighting broke out on the north side of the Pasig River in Manila, and in three days of horrible carnage at least twenty-five thousand Chinese were either killed or taken prisoners. Again in 1639, in 1660, and 1820, general massacres of Chinese took place in Manila and throughout the Islands. In all these affrays the Celestial gave a bloody account of himself, and all survivors not only staid on, but sent to China for relatives to take the places made vacant by butchery.
Insurrections against Spanish rule have been fre- quent. At no time could they succeed. At no time were they an effort for independence. They were always a blind, striking out against glaring injustice and pitiless inhumanity on the part of their political or religious masters. When the United Colonies of America re- volted successfully and became a separate nation, lead- ing Filipinos felt the blow "struck for freedom." In 1809 the Supreme Council in Spain convened the famous
Historical Summary. 77
Cortes de Cadiz, in which were assenihled delegates from Cuba, Venezuela, and the Philippines. Later, the Act of Constitution of 1812 was passed. Under the provisions of this act each of the colonies was given the right to send one or more representatives to the Cortes. In Manila the Act was suspended very soon afterwards. In 1822-23, however, the Cortes revived the Act, and under its provisions se^■enteen representatives from the Philippines took part in parliamentary debates in the Spanish Cortes. Until 1837 Filipino delegates sat as members of the Cortes, with but one or two interrup- tions. It was then voted to exclude them. But the deed had been done. For a quarter of a century Filipino delegates had been recognized as members of the chief lawmaking body of Spain. They were now back among their own people, and they and those whom they could influence would never again tamely submit to the cruel injustice and grinding oppression of the government in the Philippines. They would agitate, and even fight, not for independence, but for justice. In 1868, after Queen Isabella II was deposed, and during the con- tinuance of the revolutionary government with its foun- dation of republican principles, an Assembly was voted for Filipinos in Manila. Its members were to be those born in the colony. They had the power of suggesting reforms for consideration by the home government. But when monarchy again came to its own, the Assembly came to an end.
In 1872, W'hat is known as the Cavite insurrection took place. It arose in a dispute over the right of Spanish friars to occupy positions as parish priests. By the provisions of the Treaty of Trent, friars were for- bidden to act in this capacity. This provision was de- liberately trampled under foot by the all powerful friars.
78 The Philippines and tpie Far East.
vv'ith the result that the native clergy were kept in a state of constant subordination to the friar. The rising which followed this agitation was planned, as the people believe, by the friars. Only a few of their agents com- mitted acts of violence, and they were all cleared. With a deliberate cruelty, as pitiless as it was needless, the government not only executed the ringleaders in the insurrection, but publicly put to death three of the purest and most learned of the native clergy for having dared to insist on the observance of the provisions of the Treaty of Trent. These native priests, who were shot in order to dismay all future critics of friar usurpations, were Fathers Burgos, Gomez, and Zamora.
These executions made the natives desperate. They saw no hope but in slavish submission. Since the open- ing of the Suez Canal and the laying of the submarine cable had made all the world their neighbors, this was no longer tolerable. It was better to die fighting than to be treated worse than dumb beasts. Rising followed rising until Admiral Dewey sunk the Spanish fleet in 1898, and that chapter of Philippine history began to be written in which, as Americans, we are so profoundly interested because so immediately responsible.
CHAPTER V.
The Friars.
No REAL progress can be made toward a true under- standing of the relation of the friars to the inhabitants and institutions of the PhiUppines until we get clearly before us the character of the work Spain essayed to do, and the nature of the men with whom she sought to accomplish that work.
As in all her colonies, so here, the real work Spain sought to do was that of Christianizing the natives. Her officials might rob them and ill-treat them, and mer- chants and miners entering the colony to exploit its possibilities might be guilty of gross immorality and cruelty ; but so far as the intentions of early Spanish kings and lawmakers were concerned, it was upon re- ligion that stress was to be placed in all colonial admin- istration. We shall fail completely to grasp the sig- nificance of all the most important facts of Philippine history if this is lost sight of.
"In examining the political administration of the Phil ippines, then, we must be prepared to find it a kind of outer garment, under which the living body is eccle- siastical. Against this subjection to the influence and interests of the Church, energetic governors rebelled, and the history of Spanish dominion is checkered with strug- gles between the civil and religious powers, which repro- duced on a small scale the mediaeval contests of popes and emperors,"*
•■■Blair and .Robertson, Preface, pp. 48, 49. 79
8o The Philippines and the Far East.
In casting about for suitable instruments for this task of Christianizing the pagan and heathen popula- tions of his new possessions in the Far East, the pope was at one with His Most Catholic Majesty, King Philip the Second, in believing that friars would be the best agents to employ in that work, on account of economy, as well as for the simplification of administrative diffi- culties sure to arise even in affairs of the Church when its problems had to be faced and solved so many miles away and over inhospitable seas. King Philip was espe- cially moved by the argument of economy. He was ever parsimonious. He starved his armies, stinted his table, and pinched his family, all with the ferret-like keenness that characterized his narrow, mechanical mind. These men were, of course, under the vow of celibacy. That went without saying. But they were also under a vow of poverty so binding that the very clothes they wore were to be owned by their order, that they might literally own nothing. All property belonging to them at the time of their entrance went to the order. When they had taken its final vows, they disappeared as legal entities, and in their name thenceforward the order into which their being had been merged received any inheritance which might fall to them. They would be no charge to the royal treas- uries. They would be under the immediate direction in all their work of the provincials of their respective organ- izations, and thus have a practically complete organization on the field.
The mecnanical ideas of what constituted Christian- izing heathen peoples were the only ideas known to either pope, king, or friar, so that in no way were they open to the charge of inconsistency, much less hypocrisy, in plan- ning to baptize whole communities, peaceably if possible, but by force if need be. The virtue of the act of baptism
Thi-: Friars. 8i
did not inhere in the faith and penitence of the cantlidate, but in the fact that the administrator was a priest, and had power to "bind and loose," derived directly, in an un- broken "finger-tip succession," from Peter. The otificial act of such a priest worked salvation automatically, ac- cording to their theory. In 1565 an order was sent to New Spain, "(i) priests, and (2) a goodly number of soldiers and muskets, so that if the natives will not be converted otherwise they may be compelled to it by force of arms."
In the mind of the friar, salvation consisted in making safe provision against the consequences of sin in the next world, and not in securing pardon from God himself and that spiritual purification which enables the penitent and forgiven sinner to triumph against the devil, the world, and the flesh. If a babe snatched from the arms of a mother could be hastily baptized and have the sign of the cross made over it, the work was done. If a whole village would kneel and receive baptism the}^ were Chris- tianized, and "saved." The idea that salvation means the rescue of souls from the guilt and power of sin in this life, in order that they may live as the children of God in this world, was foreign to the early Philippine friar, and, like Xavier in India and Japan, they hurried thousands into baptism by coaxing, by threats, or by the use, sometimes, of armed force, and reported them Christianized.
Augustinian friars were the first to be chosen to under- take the task of carrying out Spain's most dearly-cherished purposes for the inhabitants of the Philippines. One Andres de Urdaneta, a prior of the Augustinian order, was chosen as the real head of the enterprise. Legaspi, a lawyer, soldier, and man of afifairs, was named as the representative of the crown, and surprised the king and Urdaneta himself, who had known Legaspi for many 6
82 The; Philippines and the; Far East.
years, by developing really statesman-like qualities, and doing a work for the permanent organization of the Philippines that is felt even to the present day.
The letter of instructions given to Urdaneta and the friars who accompanied him is dated in Culhuacan, Mexico, February 5, 1564. The opening passages are as follows :
"Very Beloved Sons : — You are aware how Felipe, by the grace of God, King of the Spains and the Indies, and our lord, has been greatly pleased with the news that some brethren of our order are to go with the expe- dition now being equipped by his very illustrious vice- roy and captain-general, Don Luis de Velasco, in this Nueva Espano (Mexico), which is to sail through the Western Sea of this kingdom toward the continent and certain of the islands that lie between the equator and the Arctic and Antarctic poles, and below the region of the torrid zone itself, — to the end that, according to right reason and the benign counsels of Christian piety, both at home and abroad as will best seem consonant with the purpose of His Royal Majesty, you may control the fleet and troops of the Spanish army. Especially, too, that the most brilliant light of faith may beam upon the populous races that dwell in that region of the world. Through the benignity of God most holy and supreme, and your preaching, there is hope that these benighted barbarians may cast aside the errors and more than Cim- merian darkness of idolatry for the splendor of the gos- pel, and that they who, so long unacquainted with gos- pel truth, have been groping in the gloom of Satanic bondage, may now at last, through the grace of Christ, the common Savior of all men, gaze at the full light of truth in their knowledge of His name.
"Therefore, after long mediation and mature coun- sel, sure as we are of your piety, deep learning, charity, and merits, we have chosen you for this apostolic charge, the task (with the help of the Lord to whom we commend you) of leading peoples to embrace the faith. ., , ,
SAX SF.IiAS'lIAX CHURCH, MANH.A. , '^•'
(Coinnionly lallcd " The Sled (liurcli." Is l)uilt of steel ihroughout. Made in Kngland, and shipped to Manila in sectiuus,)
TiiK Friars. 85
Moreover, we earnestly exhort your charity in the Lord, as far as hes in our power, to announce the all-holy gos- pel of Christ to all races, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; training them in the holy Catholic faith, on the same lines on which the faithful are trained by our cherished mother, the Church of Rome; shunning utterly, therein all novelty of doctrine, which we desire shall in all thmgs conform to the holy and ecumenical councils and doc- tors acknowledged by the same Church ; teaching them especially that oliedicnce which all Christians owe to the supreme ]:)ontifif and the Church of Rome, . . . which in truth is always the leader, head, and mistress of all other Churches in the world, . . . then to their law- ful rulers and masters ; teaching them at the same time to live under the yoke and discipline of Faith, Hope, and Charity, and to forget, moreover, their old-time super- stitions and errors of the devil." . . .
(Then follow grants of power to establish hospitals, monasteries, and such other institutions as they deem necessary for the work they were sent to do.)
From this time on until the verv end of Spanish domi- nation it was the friar who really held the reins of power in the Philippines. By his fiat the governors ruled, and by his will they were deposed. As late as October, 1896, the following cablegram was sent by friars in Manila to the head of the Dominican Order in Madrid :
"Situation grave. Rebellion spreading. Apathv of Blanco inexplicable. To save the situation, urgentlv necessary appointment new governor-general."
That it should have been sent is no marvel, when the power of the religious orders is understood. Within forty-eight hours the appointment of General Polavieja as the successor of the man whom the friars deemed in- capable was made public. When General Merritt and
86 The Philippines and the Far East.
Admiral Dewey took the city of Manila they found friar hands at the wheel. Orders were given by ecclesiastical officials, and they were obeyed.
The friar staid. Governors came and went. In their brief periods of service it was impossible for them to come into close contact with the people, and to feel the real needs of those whom they were sent to rule. One of the many consequences of this condition of things was that the friar was the man who knew all the ins and outs of the country, and was able to outwit the wisest govern- ors, who were always raw to the country.
It is unfair and untrue to think of the friars merely as oppressors of the Filipinos. They did oppress them. They were servants of a Church which oppresses all those over whom it possesses absolute power, and also servants of a State which demanded of them a degree of partici- pation in its administration wholly inconsistent with a proper performance of their duties as religious leaders. But they did some things for the people which only a hopeless bigot would refuse to see and acknowledge.
With all their errors in doctrine, they brought to this people the great fundamental truths of the unity of God, His redemptive purpose for the race, carried out on their behalf by His Son "manifest in the flesh," the eternal felicity of those who rightly relate theniselves to this Redeemer, and the unending misery of such as persist in courses of rebellion against God to the end of their earthly career. All these truths, and many more, are in Christianity. It is only necessary to say that they taught the people Christ and His religion as they understood it. They failed, as Catholicism fails everywhere and always, in their teachings as to the way the Redeemer and the sinner get together, interposing the Virgin, saints, and sacraments between the sinner and his Lord ; but he who
TiiK Friars. 87
shows irritation that the}- thus taught should remember that we are all very largely the product of our instruction, and these friars were taught these things as the truths of God from their earliest lispings.
Now a little of Christ is better than all of an\' other system of religion the world ever knew. All of Buddha's teachings, taking them in their purity as they fell from his lips, give less light on the problems of life and death than do these broken fragments of truth taught by Rome. The light that shines from the veiled face of a Catholic Christ was vastly more bright than that which their own heathen teachings and superstitions gave. Only those who have lived among naked heathenism can fully appre- ciate the full truth of these statements. The idols of the heathen are associated in the minds of their worshipers with all kinds of unmentionable uncleannesses. The God of the Romanist, as well as the God of the Protestant, is HOi.Y ! And in all religions the crucial test is what kind of a Being is worshiped. If this Being is holy, there is a germ of truth in the system, and it will grow up in godliness in the hearts of those who bow before this sin- hating object of adoration. We find the Filipino to-day full of superstitions taught him by Rome; but he is a monotheist, and that in philosophy as well as in theology. He has no pantheistic conception of the universe lying back of his conceptions about God. For this scourging out of polytheism the religion which the friar taught must have the credit. In so far as they taught it truly, they share in that credit, and no Protestant should be afraid or ashamed to acknowledge it. Rather should he say like the apostle, "Nevertheless, in every way, whether in pre- tense or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, }ea, and will rejoice."
The friars rendered a great service to the people of the
88 Thf, Piiiijppines and thk Far East.
islands by Romanizing their vernacular alphabets. Every missionary in the East will instantly appreciate this serv- ice. The native letters were mere scrawls, and each scrawl was different from all the others. In place of these, scholarly friars worked out equivalents in Roman letters, with certain marks under or over the letters to indicate peculiar sounds. This makes the learning of any one of the vernaculars a comparatively easy matter.
An even greater service has been rendered by the intro- duction and maintenance of schools. Here the friar has been at his best. In the year that our Pilgrim Fathers landed in New England the Dominican Order of friars set up the College of Santo Tomas (St. Thomas) in Ma- Tiila. It has been continued until this day. It has regis- tered more pupils than Harvard, and literal thousands of graduates and undergraduates are to be found in all parts of the islands. In 1644 it was raised to the rank of a uni- versity, and given the right to call itself "Royal and Pon- tifical," by special Papal Pull. The intermediate or pre- paratory school of San Juan de Lateran was opened in 1640 to provide a means of suitably fitting lads for en- trance upon regular collegiate work. High schools and colleges of less pretensions were opened in various prov- inces, all of them taught by friars and assistants whom they had trained. Schools for girls were opened as early ^s 1759, and some very creditable work has been done for the girls and women of the Islands through these insti- tutions. They have given a taste of modern culture to thousands of Filipino women, making them in n'lany cases, to all appearances at least, the peers of women of their rank and station in life in Europe or America. In the provinces, too, the friar was the educator. If he willed it so, there was a school in the city where he officiated. If he were a man of energy and good character, the school
Tin: Friars. 89
left a deep and favorable impress upon the youns:^ life of that place. If he were an indolent profligate man — as. alas ! was too often the case — his school was rather worse than a failure. Lentil the year 1863 there was not in all the Islands so much as one school that was not carried on by friars. Since that time they have been compelled to sufifer rivals in what was once a field exclusively held by themselves.
The courses of study in these institutions was super- ficial, old, and inelastic; and over them all lay the inter- dict of Rome as to anything like original thinking. For the independent thinker Rome has never had place. All she has ever afforded him was a dungeon, a rack, or the flames. With a meager and archaic course of study, and within the narrow limits of accepted doctrine, tradition, and the decisions of councils, the friar has done a real work for education. It has been necessarily a poor work, for he had poor tools. He was lame in science. He feared the light of the modern world, and clung with al- most pitiful tenacity to theories and conclusions which had been discarded b}' scholars for at least a hundred years. But such as that service has been, the credit be- longs to the friar orders who maintained the only educa- tional work on university lines in all Malaysia for three centuries.
It will be my duty to say things less favorable to the work of the friars than are contained in some of the state- ments of this chapter, and I can not go forward to do that unpleasant but necessary duty without calling attention to the fact that, when all has been said that can be, truth- fully, as to the blemishes upon the escutcheon of the friars in the Philippines, it remains true that here, in these Islands, the native population has been raised to a con- dition of practical civilization. The Filipinos, when con-
90
The; Philippines and the Far East.
trasted with the best of the Teutonic and Anglo-Saxon peoples, seem very far below them ; but when placed in comparison with their own Malay cousins in Borneo and the Peninsula, as well as in Java and Sumatra, they show that influences have been at work here that have been lacking there.
This difference can only be attributed to the leaven of the Christian religion, weakened as it has been in its power by errors of a vital sort in the way it has been taught, and still further hindered in its transforming power by vicious policies and evil courses in later teachers of its principles.
RUIN OF CATHOLIC BUILDING.
CHAPTER VI. Why the Friars are Hated.
No PROOF should be required that the friars are hated by the majority of FiHpinos. It is true that educated and wealthy Filipinos were able, either by wit or influence, to protect themselves against the wiles of the friars, and are, in some cases, friendly to them. But as a matter of totals the case is closed.
It may be wise, however, to set forth briefly some of the mass of evidence which it would be easy to furnish in order that denials of this hostility made in the United States can be met and answered.
Both the insurrections known as the "Cavite Uprising of 1872," and the larger insurrection of 1896. were purely anti-friar risings. The first clause in the list of demands and declaration of purposes put forth bv the insurrectos reads as follows :
"Expulsion of the friars, and restitution to the town- ships of the lands which the friars have appropriated, dividing the incumbencies held by them, as well as the episcopal sees, equally between peninsular and insular secular priests."
The first rising proposed the massacre of every friar in and near Manila, and their burial "in Bagumbayan Field," the place where hundreds of Filipinos had been shot at friar instigation. Rizal was shot there, as were
91
92 Thf, Philippines and thr Far East.
also the three Filipino priests at the close of the Cavite uprising of 1872. In the first report of the Civil Com- mission, discussing this question of hostility to the friars, Governor Taft and the Commission say :
"Regarding the return of the friars, the deep-seated hatred of the people must he reckoned with."
And further on in the same section the report says :
"It is enough to say that the political question will be eliminated if the friars are sent back."
One of many instances that might be cited in proof of this hatred occurred at Naic, in the province of Cavite, August 29, 1901. The Manila Times, reporting the oc- currence, says :
"Evidence of the hatred and contempt which exists among the natives towards the friars was clearly dem- onstrated at Naic, Cavite province, on the 29th ult. The people rose cii masse to show their disapproval of the presence in their town of the friars, who came there from Manila to collect rentals on buildings and farms owned by the religious corporations in that vicinity. Thou- sands of men, women, and children formed in procession, parading the streets, carrying banners with the inscrip- tion, 'Long live Naic under the flag of the United States of America !' and shouting, 'Hurrah for the Americans and the Filipinos !' 'Out with the friars !' and other remarks deprecatory to the friar agents who were alluded to as vampires."
I have eleven such newspaper notices of protests against the return of friars to their estates and schools among my clippings from local papers. Less than a month ago four hundred citizens of Dagupan, province of Pangasinan, petitioned Governor Taft against the return of Dominican friars to that city to reopen a school which
1
Why Till'; Friars aki", HATia). 93
they had foniieiiy conducted at that place. They de- clared that they "had reason to believe, and did believe," that such return of the friars would so anger the people that local authorities would be powerless to prevent vio- lence and perhaps loss of life. In the summer of 1900 Governor Taft and the Civil Commission examined a large number of witnesses — bishops, priests, friars, offi- cials of monastic orders, doctors, lawyers, business men, and teachers, all residents of the Philippines — on Church and school questions. The report of that examination saw the light as Senate Document No. 190. In this docu- ment is the testimony of many prominent professional and business men on this point of the attitude of the Filipinos toward the friars. On page 151 of that document I find the following testimony of a lawyer by the name of Con- stantino, fifty-eight years old, and having been in active practice of his profession for many years in Manila and his own province of Bulacan :
"Question. I want to ask you whether the hostility against the friars is confined to the educated and better element among the people?"
"Answer. It permeates all classes of society, and prin- cipally the lower, for they can do nothing ; the upper classes, by reason of their education, can stand them off better than the lower classes, and this is the reason that the friars do n't want the public to become educated.
"O. Do the friars still retain any influence over the women of the lower orders?
"A. Over some very fanatical women, yes.
"Q. But you think that feeling is not general among them?
"A. The hatred is general. The Commission may find the proof of this by sending a trustworthy man to every pueblo in the archipelago to ask of the inhabitants if they want a friar curate, and all of them will answer. No.
94 TiiK Philippines and the Far East.
"Q. Does the feeling exist against all the orders?
"A. Yes, against all the orders ; but, of course, prin- cipally against all the orders who have acted as curates. Of course, it is true there can be had an opportunity to commit the acts."
Pages could be filled with such citations from this jmblication, and there is no variation in the testimony of laymen.
To what, then, is this hatred due? Why have they become obnoxious to the people for whom they have so long acted as spiritual guides? The five reasons which I shall give for this antagonism will be stated in the order in which they have operated, beginning with that which has had the least influence, and ending with the cause which has been, and now is, most powerful.
I. Because the friars secured and held such large tracts of the most valuable land, and used these tracts as a means of enriching their orders.
Friars own no swamp-lands. Locate one of their corner lots in Manila, or one of their estates in the prov- inces, and you will see that they have been selected with the eye of the trained investor. They own large tracts. The Augustinian Order owns one tract twenty-eight miles long by fourteen miles wide. Thousands of poor people live on the estate. Cities are built on it. Not a foot of it was ever sold. For every little thatch-house built on it a good rental had to be paid annually. Tenants had to pay high rents, and often tithes besides. The land was given to the order outright by Governor-General More- nias in 1878. The order was directed to return it to government by Governor Primo de Rivera, but, through influence in Madrid and Manila, he was worried into per- mitting them to hold it. Much of this land cost them
TW(J VKIAKS IN AUGUiJTlNlAX CHUKCH (iARpEN, MANILA,
Why thk Friars akic PIatkd. 97
little or notliint;'. Ignorant men would sell it for a song, or when they were in tlii^eulties would accept a loan on their land. The friar figured the interest. In the end the land went for the deht. Some of it was secured in return for masses said for dead relatives. Some of it was wTung from the dying with threats and promises of rewards if the soul in his last hours would remember "Mother Church" with a generous benefaction. All of it came cheap. All of it yielded good incomes to its ])riestly owners. None of it paid any taxes ; for the friars, being the largest single landholders and controlling the government, easily diverted taxation to other objects. The burden was bound across the shoulders of the artisan and the agriculturist, and they went scot free. Natu- rally the business relations into which the ownership of so much land brought the friars made friction inevitable. l^)Ut when their rates for rentals were higher than others, their rental contracts were iron-clad, their methods of collection as pitiless as the money-lender in the market, and their exemption from the heavy burdens of taxation worked to the constantly-increasing disadvantage of the poor tenant, it was too much to expect that he would con- tinue to bear his burdens without chafing. As a matter of fact he did chafe, and at present nothing maddens a poor Filipino laboring man in the neighborhood of one of these large friar estates any more quickly than to start him talking about his grievances against friar landlords who get all the profits without any of the risks or burdens borne by other employers of labor. Now that friar estates have been purchased by the government this grievance will no longer exist.
2. Because they stifled all liberty of thought or freedom of speech in matters religious and political. 7
98 The Philippines and the Far East.
Section 226 of the Spanish Penal Code, now formally repealed by the Civil Commission, reads as follows :
"Those who shall publicly perform acts of propaganda, preaching, or other ceremonies which are not those of the religion of the State shall incur the penalty of prision correctional in its minimum degree."
This penalty called for both fine and imprisonment. The Treaty of Paris "killed" this section ; but until a new penal code was enacted this law stood there in the statute- books, a swift witness to the typical Spanish Catholic intolerance which drenched the Netherlands in blood be- cause they did not accept Catholic teachings as the last word of truth, and which established a reign of terror among the best element of the Filipino people.
If a pupil in one of the friar institutions dared to broach an opinion in the least out of harmony with the obsolete science which had received the approval of Church authorities, he was promptly suppressed ; and if he continued in his folly and wickedness, he was not only expelled, but put under a system of espionage which had all the resources of the confessional to supplement other detective agencies. If he ventured upon any freedom of speech, no matter how remote his pueblo, it was reported to the religious authorities, and he was either imprisoned or deported. (In passing it may be remarked that state- ments that Filipinos are capable only of imitation in thought come with poor grace from these same friars, when nothing else than imitation of thought was ever tolerated.)
It is said with wearisome iteration before American readers and hearers that the Filipinos are all loyal Cath- olics. Until within five years it was banishment or death to be anything else. Not even in your bedchamber were
Wiiv Till'; Fkiaks akp; li.\ri:i). 99
vou secure from llie espionage of the priest, who had your friend or your child or your wife in his confessional next day, and heard all you said, knew all the books you read, and had all your inmost thoughts laid bare before his intolerant eyes. This yoke of mental bondage galled the intelligent classes intolerably during the last quarter of a century, and not a little of the irreconcilable antagonism to the friar orders is due to this overbearing, unscrupu- lous enforcement of civil and religious laws against any- thing like liberty of conscience or freedom of speech.
The most public case of friar activity in compassing the death of those who held opinions at variance with those of the Church, is that of Dr. Jose Rizal. Rizal dis- tinguished himself as a student in the Jesuits' school in Manila when a lad. His thirst for knowledge was not quenched at this slender spring. He finally went to Eu- rope, taking degrees both in medicine and philosophy at Madrid University. After completing his studies there, he took post-graduate work in Paris, and at several places of learning in Germany, remaining abroad several vears. During this time he made conditions of national life in Southern Europe the subject of close study, with a view of arriving at a solution of the difficulties which beset his own- people. One thing emerged clearly in his mind, and that was the necessity for the expulsion of the friars if there was to be either peace or progress. To the accom- plishment of this end he set himself with zeal and courage. He first wrote a novel entitled "Noli me Tangere," which pictured more vividly than anything that has yet been written the conduct of the friars and the sufferings of the people. Following that, and while yet in Europe, he wrote another book named "El Filibusterismo." This was also political in its drift, and was far from complimentary to
loo The Philippines and the Far East.
the friars of the land of his birth. On his return to the Philippines a year or so after the publication of his last book he led in a protest against the validity of the title of a large estate claimed by the Dominican Order in his native community. So fierce was the eDullition of clerical hatred that he deemed it prudent to go again to Europe. During this second absence no form of ecclesiastical annoyance was omitted from the treatment accorded to members of Dr. Rizal's family. In vain they protested their entire submission to the Church and their loyalty to the friar orders. They were driven from their lands, and Spanish favorites took them. In 1893, Rizal arrived again in Hong Kong on his way to the land he loved, and for which he sought to perform some worthy service. He was assured, in correspondence with the governor-general and the Spanish consul, that he was at perfect liberty to return to the Philippines. He took ship and arrived in Manila, but was immediately put under arrest, charged with having seditious papers secreted in his personal bag- gage. The papers were produced — openly seditious and anti-friar. He denied having had such papers in his boxes, and, in fact, it was practically proven that they were placed among his personal eiTects by bribed agents of those who sought his destruction. He was not such a dolt as to have incriminating documents about him when he had reason to fear that any such matter found in his efifects would debar him from entering the countr\', and perhaps end his life. The friar party demanded his blood. The verdict was not clear. He should have been ac- quitted, but a compromise was effected by which he was banished to a little town on the north shore of Mindanao Island. There he lived in practical imprisonment for four years. His fame as an oculist brought him many
Wiiv Till': Friars auic IIati:d. ioi
patients, even to that distant corner of the Archipelago. He performed cures which seemed miracles to the Fili- pinos, and gradually began to take on among all classes of the oppressed the character of deliverer of the Filipino people from the burdens that crushed them to the very earth. When war broke out in Cuba he ottered his serv- ices as a military physician, and was permitted to leave the Philippines for Cuba 7'ia Spain. But before he had arrived in the peninsula the cable had carried certain accusations to Madrid, and once more he was thrown into prison. Returned to ^ianila as a prisoner, he was tried and convicted of sedition and rebellion. His condemna- tion had been determined before the trial began, and sen- tence of death followed as a matter of course. True, the insurrection was then being waged. But what part could this man have had in it ? He had been a prisoner of state for four years, closely confined in a distant island. He left the Philippines at the very outbreak of the insurrec- tion in August, i8c;6. He had no opportunity even to correspond with its leaders, as he was arrested on his arrival in Spain, and returned under the heaviest of mili- tary guards. No ; his offense was that he dared to think ! This was a crime too heinous for forgiveness. So on the morning of the 30th of December, 1896, Dr. Jose Rizal, the brightest intellectual light that has shone thus far in the Philippines, was publicly blindfolded and shot in the back on the execution grounds facing the bay in Manila. .\bout two thousand troops formed on three sides of a square about him. Hundreds of friars were present wit- nessing the deed of blood with ill-concealed joy. ]\Iany of them, as an eye-witness told me, smoked cigars all the time their victim was being prepared for death, and their faces told of their relief that this troubler of their Israel
I02 The Philippines and the Far HasT.
was silenced ! But no one act of the friars so hastened their overthrow. Thousands who had held aloof from the insurrection, hoping for wiser counsels to prevail, saw in his death the doom of their hopes, and took up arms resolving to die fighting, if die they must, that their chil- dren might enjoy a liherty of thought and action which they never had. The brother of Dr. Rizal, Sr. Ponciano Rizal, took the field against Spanish authority immedi- ately. He gathered a large force, and with them, and with troops who flocked to his standard as he fought his way into the interior, he drove all Spaniards out of the province of Laguna de Bay, which was a stronghold of the orders, and captured an entire Spanish garrison with arms and accouterments, besides lake gunboats and other materials most helpful to the insurrecto cause.
Senor Paulino Zamora, of Manila, was sent into ban- ishment for several years for the crime of owning and reading a copy of the Bible. The friars infuriated the people through a stubborn and irritating enforcement of Church laws against freedom of thought and speech until the loyalty they bear the Catholic Church has suffered a severe strain, and in many cases has entirely given way, and friar and Church are together hated and shunned. No name is so popular in the Philippines to-day as that of Jose Rizal. His picture is on the walls of tens of thousands of homes, from the best houses of Filipino principalcs in Manila and the large provincial cities, to the humblest nccpa bahay (or house) of the tao (or la- borer) in remote villages. He is regarded on all hands as a martyr to their common cause against the intolerance of the friars. The three native priests, Burgos, Gomez, and Zamora, who were ignominiously killed for presum- ing to say that friars should keep the laws relating to the
Why Tin: Friars are Hated.
103
occupation of parish curacies, are venerated as marlvrs also. The doing" to death of these four good citizens is only a small part of the indictment which might be brought against the friars in prooi of their merciless in- tolerance. Time and space would forbid a recital of secret poisonings, assassinations, of numberless arrests, impris- onments, and deportations, of countless open and secret intimidations, which left the people in a state of constant fear, and finally begot within them a hatred which noth- ing can ever allay.
CATHOLIC CHURCH AT ORANI, BATAAN.
CHAPTER VII. Why the Friars are; Hated — Continued.
Continuing the statement of the chief causes which have produced the deep hatred which FiUpinos cherish toward the friars, the next in order of importance is, —
3. Their insatiable greed for money.
Between the four great orders represented in the PhiHppine Mission a constant rivalry has existed from the earHest times. Every member of the orders was made to feel the heavy hand of his superiors if he failed to make his masses and marriages and handling of properties of the order yield the last centavo of income for the central treasury. Corresponding praise and promotion was for the friar who showed the most zeal for the enhancement of the revenues of his order. If one order secured a plum in the way of a well-located estate, the others sought to keep the accounts balanced by securing a better and larger one.
While there is little direct proof that individual friars violated their vows of poverty by appropriating moneys collected for ecclesiastical services to their own use, it is clear that the demand for money, and always for money, goaded the people into hatred of the members of the re- ligious orders. We are not without proofs that friars did make a gain of their positions. I know a lawyer in Ma- nila who is the guardian for the children of a prominent priest, and he has made handsome provision for them in the form of landed properties near Manila. How he could gain and hold them and keep his vow of poverty is not
104
Why the Friars are Hated. 105
clear to the non-friar mind. Probably he felt that, having trampled on his vow of chastity, it was a light thing to break the lesser vow of poverty. In any case such are the facts.
I shall quote from Foreman, and from Senate Docu- ment No. 190, referred to in the last chapter, for proof of the contention that the friars have estranged the people through their insatiable greed for money. And to all that these witnesses state I can add my own conviction of the entire accuracy of their statements — a conviction growing out of months of contact with native life, during which innumerable proofs of this greed for their orders have come to my own attention.
Foreman says (page 226) :
"The clergy also (in addition to the income from their estates) derived a very large portion of their incomes from commissions on the sale of cedillas (poll-tax cer- tificates), sales of Papal Bulls, masses, pictures, books, chaplets and indulgencies, marriage, burial, and baptis- mal fees, benedictions, donations touted for after the crops were raised, legacies to be paid for in masses, re- mains of wax candles left in the church by the faithful, fees for getting souls out of purgatory, alms, etc. The surplus over and above parochial requirements were sup- posed to auginent the common Church funds in Manila. The 'corporations were consequently immensely wealthy, and their power and influence were in consonance with that wealth. . . . The Church as a body politic dis- pensed no charity, but received all. It was always beg- ging. It claimed immunity [from taxation], proclaimed poverty, and inculcated in others charity to itself."
On page 221, Foreman tells in detail of, —
"A money-grubbling parish priest — a friar — who pub- licly announced raffles from the pulpit of the church from which he preached morality and devotion. On one occa- sion a $200 watch was put up for $500, and at another
io6 The Philippines and the Far East.
time he raffled dresses for women. . . . He Had the audacity to dictate to a friciid of mine, a planter, Don
Ivcandro L , the value of the gifts he was to make
him, and when the planter was at length wearied with his importunities, he conspired with a Spaniard to de- prive my friend of his estate, alleging that he was not the real owner. Failing in this, he stirred up the petty governor and head men against him. In the end. after much litigation, the friar was only partially successful."
The lengths to which friars went in getting money from the people almost pass belief. Marriage could only be had of the friar. Civil marriage was not possible, of course, where Rome had absolute sway, and Protestantism with its ministry was utterly unknown. There was a scale of fees for all religious rites, including marriages, and that scale was tolerably fair and just; but in assessing marriage and other fees it was openly disregarded and the price fixed according to the means of the parties. If a couple desired marriage, the friar would demand what he considered was possible, and calmly refuse to perform the ceremony for less than that price. As he was the only functionary in that parish who could unite the parties in wedlock, there was no recourse but to pay the price or assume the relation of husband and wife without mar- riage. Poor people practically abandoned all idea of marriage. At least fifty per cent of the children were born of parents who lived together as husl:)and and wife accord- ing to the terms of a contract of marriage mutually en- tered into between them. This had a most demoralizing efifect on morality and family life ; for the contracts were as easily broken as made, and the idea of chastity, for which the Tagalog, Pampangan, and Ilocano people espe- cially are noted, was seriously impaired. So prevalent is this state of things that our missionaries (Methodist Epis- copal) in IVIanila alone have married over two thousand
Why the F^riars ark Hated. 107
couples within the past three years, more than lialf of whom were Hving together as husband and wife when they learned that honorable marriage was possible without the excessive fees which the friars had always demanded. I married a man and woman of sixty or more years of age two years ago, who had lived together under a contract of marriage for over thirty years. They had their seven children at the wedding in my rooms, and when witnesses to the ceremony were needed the old man offered his oldest son and daughter without the faintest notion of either the pathos or the humor which the ofTer contained ! He told me, with some of the heat of the old injury yet aflame in his eyes, that when he was a young man and wanted to marry this woman the friar to whom he went demanded six months of his salary as. his fee. He could not and would not pay it, and the only alternatives were to give up the idea of having a home, or enter into the customary contract of marriage. He chose the latter, and told me with no little heat that he believed that if there w^as any sin in the case, God would adjudge the major part to the friar who demanded the excessive fee. I was not prepared to argue the friar's side of the case. Deaths and funerals are sources of large income to the friars. They charge for the dying consolations of religion according to the robes worn, and the length and kind of prayers ofifered. Every stroke of the church bell announcing the death costs from ten cents to a dollar. The funeral itself can be ordinary, solemn, or most sol- emn, with proportionate fees. Burial charges are extra. If the friar goes all the way to the grave, it is twice as expensive as if he goes only half way. If death and funeral fees are not forthcoming, there can be no bells rung, no service held, and the body may not be permitted to rest in "holy" ground. I was told of a case in one of
io8
The; Philippines and the Far East.
the provinces in which the friar absolutely refused to inter a body until thirty pesos ($15) were paid as fees. The relatives put together their pitiful little store, and it amounted to but $8. They begged him to accept that. He sent them away, telling them roughly that they only wasted their time and his to come to him again with less
ELEVEN (;RAVES IN WALL.
(Each opening contains a body. Rents for eighteen dollars for five years. Body thrown out if rent is not paid. )
than the amount demanded. At last, by borrowing from their friends, the indigent relatives scraped the entire sum together, and the remains were buried with ceremonies in the name of the compassionate Nazarene ! In the testi- mony of Seiior Maximo Viola, given before the Civil Commission, he says :
"If the dying person is a pauper, with no one to pay fees, the Spanish friar does not go to confess hiin, but
I
Wiiv THK Friars arr Hati:i). 109
sends the Filipino i)ricsl ; ami wlion lie tlics without fu- neral fees, his corpse is often allowed to rot, and there have been cases where the sacristans of the Church have been ordered by the friar to bans;- the corpse publicly, so that the relatives may be thus compelled to seek tlie fees somewhere, sufficient to bury the corpse."
It is needless to multiply proofs. No ingenuity of Jesuitical polemics can evade the force of facts so widely known. The friars stand before the bar of Filipino judg-- menl and conscience convicted of an insatiable greed for money.
4. Because of the i in morality of flic majority of friars iclio scri'cd as parisli priests.
This is the most unpleasant of all the things I must write of in this book. It would be acceptable to me, and I doubt not to all the readers of the book, if it might be omitted. But it is "material to the case," and must be con- sidered if any one would estimate this anti-friar hatred at its full value. I can not but be grateful that the facts that I shall recount in proof of this grave charge have not been discovered and made public b}' partial witnesses. Protestant workers have not had anything to do with either gathering the facts or giving them their first pub- licity. That has been done by travelers, Filipino business men. the Philippine Civil Commission, and other careful students of Philippine conditions. The same class of friars have similar records also in Mexico and South America, and in all lands where they have lived away from journalistic criticism, which, with all its faults, does cause open vice to cease where it has free rein.
In Senate Document Xo. 190 is the testimony of Don Felipe Calderon, a prominent lawyer in Manila:
"O. Now, as to the morality of the friars, have you had much opportunity to observe this?
no The Philippinks and the; Far East.
''A. Considerable, from my earliest youth. With re- spect to their morality in f^eneral, it was such a common thing to see children of friars that no one ever paid any attention to it or thought of it, and so depraved had the people become in this regard that the women who were the mistresses of friars felt great pride in it, and had no compunction in speaking of it. So general had this thing become that it may be said that, even now, the rule is for a friar to have a mistress and children, and he who has not is the rare exception, and if it is desired that I give names, I could cite right now one hundred children of friars.
"Q. In Manila, or in the provinces?
"A. In Manila and in the provinces. Everywhere. Many of my sweethearts have been daughters of friars.
"Q. Are the friars living in the islands still who have had those children ?
"A. Yes ; and I can give their names, if necessary, and I can give the names of the children, too. Beginning with myself, my mother is the daughter of a Franciscan friar. I do not dishonor myself by saying this, for my family begins with myself.
"Q. I will be obliged for a list.
"A. I can give it to you right now: In Pandacan (a suburb of Manila), Isidro Mendoza, son of the Bishop Pedro Payo, when he was the parish curate of the pueblo of Samah ; in Imus the wife of Cayetano Topazio, daugh- ter of a Recoleto friar of Mindoro; in Zambales, Louise Lasaca, now in Zambales, and several sisters and broth- ers, were children of friar Benito Tutor, a Recoleto friar in Bulacan ; in Quingua, I can not remember the last name, the first name is Manuela, a godchild of my mother, is the daughter of an Augustinian friar named Alvaro; in Cavite, a certain Patrocinia Berjes is a daughter of friar Rivas, a Dominican friar ; Colonel Auguillar, who is on the Spanish Board of Liquidation, is the son of Father Ferrer, an Augustinian monk.
"O. How do you know these things ?
"A. In some cases, through family relations ; others, because they were godchildren of my father; and others,
Win I'lii'; Kkiaks aric Hati:i). hi
I became possessed of the facts tliroupi'li bein_q' attorney. I myself have acted as godfather for three children of friars. I am now manasi^ing- an estate of $40,000 that came from a friar for his three children. A family lives with me who are all the children of friars. . . . And woe be unto him who should ever murmur anything against the friars ; and even the young Filipino women had their senses perverted because, when attending school, they had often and often seen the friar come in to speak to their openly-avowed daughters, who were often their own playmates."
The testimony of another witness is given on pages 150 and 151 of the same document:
"O. Did not the people become so accustomed to the relations which the friars had with the women that it really paid [played?! very little part in their hostility to the friars, assuming that the hostility does exist?
''A. That contributed somewhat to the hostility of the people, and they carried things in this regard with a very high hand ; for if they should desire the wife or daughter of a man, and the husband and father opposed such advances, they would endeavor to have the man de- ported by bringing up false charges of being a filibuster or a Mason, and, after succeeding in getting rid of the husband, they would, by foul means or fair, accomplish their purpose. I will cite a case that actually happened to us. It was the case of a first cousin of mine, Dona So- ponce, who married a girl from Baliuag, and went to live in Hagonoy, and there the local friar curate, who was pur- suing his wife, got him the position as registrar of the Church in order to have him occupied in order that he might continue his advances with the wife. He was for- tunate in this undertaking, and succeeded in getting the wife away from the husband, and afterward had the hus- band deported to Puerta Princessa, near Jolo, where he was shot as an insurgent, and the friar continued to live with the widow, and she bore him children. The friar's name is Jose Martin, an Augustinian friar.
"O. Is he still in the islands?
112 Thf, Philippines and the Far East.
"A. He was an old man, and he has gone over to Spain. That was in 1891, 1892, or 1893. . . . My first cousin went to Archbishop Nozaleda with letters which had passed between the friar and his wife. The let- ters were written in cipher understood only by the wo- man and the friar, and with locks of his hr.ir and his pho- tograph, which has been sent to his wife. My cousin wanted him to discipline this man and prevent him from encroachmg upon his household. Archbishop Nozaleda said that the case was under the jurisdiction of the vicar of the province, residing at Baliuag, and that was the end of the case. Nothing was ever done by the archbishop or the vicar, except, as I have said before, the husband was deported to Puerto Princessa."
Still another witness, a physician with four years of study and residence in Europe, said in answer to the ques- tion of the Commission :
"Q. What was the morality of the parish priests ?
"A. There was no morality. I do not know a single one of all those [friars] 1 have known in the province of Bulacan who has not violated his vow of celibacy. . . . Immorality in its train brings despotism, intimidation, and force to carry out their desires and designs. . . I don't deny there may be exceptions, but I have not seen them The large majority have violated their vows of celibacy and chastity. For this reason I believe that Protestantism will have a very good field here; for one reason only, and that is that the Protestant ministers marry, and that will eradicate all fear of attacks upon Filipino families on their part." (Id. pp. 156, 157.)
Mr. John Foreman's book was written ten years ago, long before there was the most remote thought of Amer- ican intervention and occupation. Mr. Foreman is a Roman Catholic. Here is his testimony (second edition, page 218) :
"There was Father Juan T , of Malolos, whose
son, my friend, was a prominent lawyer. Father S ,
Wiiv TiiH Friars ark Hated. 113
of Bugason, had a whole taniil\- hvinj;^ in his parish.
Archbishop P had a dauij^htcr, frcquentl}- seen on the
Paseo de Santa Lucia. The late parish priest of Lipa,
Father B , whom I knew, had a son, whom I saw in
1893. The late parish priest of Santa Cruz, Father
M L , got his spiritual flock to petition against his
being made prior of his order in Manila, so that he should not have to leave his women. I was intimately acquainted, and resided more than once with a very mixed-up family in the south of Negros Island. \ly host was the son of a secular clergyman ; his wife and sister-in-law were the daughters of a friar; this sister-in-law was the mistress of a friar ; my host had a son who was married to an- other friar's daughter, and a daughter who was the wife of a foreigner. In short, the bastard children of friars are to be found everywhere in the islands. Regarding this merely as the natural outcome of the celibate rule, I wish thereby to show that the pretended sanctity of the clergy in the Philippines was an aburdity. . . .''
Again I call a halt in testimony, not because of lack of material, but because the reader wdio will not believe this testimony would not be persuaded with any kind or quantity that might be cited. All that these men say is a matter of common knowledge. And so well have the native priests learned the lesson, that there are but few of them who live pure lives to-day. They are now the parish priests. In all parts of the provinces where my work calls me I find the native Filipino priest living immorally. I could give names of towns and priests, but it is not necessary. Catholics will shudder at the disclosures of this chapter ; but it is as much to their interest to know these 'things as it can be to that of any other persons. They certainl}- can not desire that the good name of their Church shall be always dragged in the mire. They are surely concerned to see such a state of things brought to an end. It may be severe medicine, but the patient is
114 The Philippines and the Far East.
more dear to them than to us even, and desperate diseases call for remedies that will stay their course.
5. Because of despotism exercised oz'cr all classes of people.
How despotic this friar rule was it is difficult for those of us who have always lived under a free government to
PLACE IN MANILA WHERE SUSPECTS OF SPANISH GOVERNMENT WERE SHOT.
(Victims faced farther wall, and were shot in the back. There was rarely any trial held. Scores of innocent people perished. )
understand. All civil as well as all religious power in the pueblo, or city, was in the hands of the parish priests. They intermeddled in all the public and private concerns of the place. They were ex-officio members of all mu- nicipal committees, and by reason of the fact that they were foreigners and usually the best educated men in the
Why Tiiic l-'uiAKS auic Hati;i). 115
place, tlicy were able to overawe the native people, and get their own way in everything. Not a man could be a candidate for municipal or provincial position without the approval of the friar. Not an election, duly carried on by electors qualified under the law, was final until the friar had approved the candidate receiving the requisite number of votes. Not a road could be built without the O. K. of the friar. Burials, baptism, funerals, removals from one parish to another, promotion, degradation, school work, fiestas, — everything was in the hands of the friar. If the authorities in Manila wanted a man's private record looked up, the friar carried on secret inquiries, not shrink- ing from using the confessional to help out w^hen other means of investigation failed. Sefior Pedro Surano Lak- taw, a teacher with several years' study in Spain and other European countries, in his testimony before the Commis- sion, said :
"One of the most terrible arms that the friar wielded in the provinces was the secret investigation and report upon the private life and conduct of a person. For in- stance, if some one had made accusations against a resi- dent of a pueblo and laid them before the governor-gen- eral, he would have private instructions sent to the cu- rate of the town to investigate and report upon the private life of that resident, stating that he had been charged with conspiring against Spanish sovereignty. This res- ident was having his private life investigated without any notice to him whatever, and in a secret way. This is •the secret of their great political influence."
Senor Ambrosio Flores says that the hatred of tlie friars is due, in part,
"To the haughty, overbearing, despotic manner of the friars. Then there was the fact of the fear which beset every man, even those who through fear were nearest to the friars, that if his eyes should light upon his wife
ii6 The Philippines and the Far East.
or his daughter in an envious way, that if he did not give them up he was lost."
Mr. H. Phelps Whitmarsh, who was sent to the Philip- pines as the correspondent of The Outlook, a journalist, and one who was afterward chosen as the first governor of the Hill province of Benguet, where he now resides, was asked by the Commission :
"O. What grounds did they [the people of the prov- inces visited by Mr. W.] give for their hostility?
"A. Mainly tha: the priests held them under, op- pressed them, robbed them, and that they used their women and daughters just as they pleased.
"O. Did you hear of instances of deportation through the agency of the priest?
"A. Yes ; I have heard that nobody was allowed in certain sections to go away from the town without the permit of the friars, and that the friar often sent him away, and that they were under the thumb of the friar."
"Every abuse of the many which finally led to the two revolutions of 1896 and i8cj8 was charged by the people to the friars. Whether they were in fact to blame is per- haps aside from our purpose ; but it can not admit of contradiction that the autocratic power which each curate exercised over the people and civil officials of his parish gave them a most plausible ground for belief that noth- ing of injustice, of cruelty, of oppression, of narrowing restraint of liberty, was imposed on them for which the friar was not entirely responsible. His- sacerdotal func- tions were not, in their eyes, the important ones except as they enabled him to clinch and make more complete his civil and political control. The revolutions against Spain's sovereignty began as movements against the friars. Such was the tenor of Rizal's chief work, 'Noli Me Tangere.' The treaty of Biacnabato, which ended the first revolu- tion, is said to have contained the condition that the friars should be expelled. In the second revolution, as already said, at least forty friars were killed, and over four hun- dred were imprisoned. Having in view these circum-
Why THE Friars are Hated.
117
stances, the statement of the bishop and friars that tlie mass of tlie pco[)le in these islands, except only a few of the leadinj^- men of each town and the native clergy, are friendly to them, can not be accepted as accurate. All the evidence derived from every source, but the friars themselves, shows clearly that the feeling of hatred for the friars is well-nigh universal, and permeates all classes."*
BINONDO CHURCH, MANILA.
Chapters could be filled with evidence of this char- acter, and all of it is corroborated by the large facts of recent social and political, upheavals which have taken place. But there is no need. There is undying hostility in the Philippines against the friar. The causes recited above are those which have chiefly contributed to create this hostility. Onlv in the degree to which leaders in the
■•■Report of the Civil Commission by Governor Taft to the President. Part II, p. 29.
ii8 The PnirjppiNivS and the Far East.
Catholic Church frankly recognize 'the abuses which led to his bitterness, and address themselves to their removal, will they win the approval of thoughtful men.
With what perfect fitness the ancient reproof of Ezekiel comes to these men who have done good, who have pioneered civilization, and have cleansed heathenism out of the Islands, but who have lost their first love, and wandered from their first paths of humility and service :
"Thus saith the Lord God unto the shepherds : Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves ! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks? Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed : but ye feed not the flock. The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost ; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them. And they were scattered because there is no shepherd : and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered." (Ezek. xxxiv, 2-5.)
CHAPTER VIII. The Insurrection of 1896.
The insurrection of 1896 was only the culmination of a long series of efforts on the part of the Filipino people to throw off the hated yoke of mediaeval despotism im- posed upon them by the Spanish government, and made unendurable by the oppressive administration of friars. As far back as 1622 the tyranny of the Church and fright- ful cruelties inflicted upon the "Indios" by Spanish offi- cials to compel them to perform labor without pay, drove the natives into a revolt that was only put down by the ut- most efforts of the government. In 1660 the natives of the province of Pampanga revolted because they were compelled to perform service without remuneration in erecting churches, convents, and government arsenals. The greatest cruelties were committed upon them. If they refused to work they were tortured horribly. The whole population was reduced to a condition of serfdom, and they rose as one man, and wrung from the government some slight mitigation of their miseries.
In 1744 a Jesuit priest in the island of Bohol caused an uprising by his long-continued despotism and cru- elties. He used force to herd the people to church to hear mass. If they were absent for any cause, he had the civil authorities put them under arrest, and they w^ere fined, imprisoned, or publicly flogged. A man who had been particularly hard for the friar to manage in the mat- ter of attendance at church died. The friar refused him
119
120 Tut; Philippines and the Far East.
burial, and when his friends would have interred their father and brother in unconsecrated ground, the friar compelled them to leave the body unburied, to rot in the sun. A brother of the dead man led in an uprising in which the offending friar was paid in his own coin — flogged, imprisoned, killed, and his body left to rot in the sun. So successful were the leaders of this revolt that they maintained an independent government in that en- tire island for thirty-five years, and only yielded their independence when they were satisfied that no Jesuit priest or other friar could again enter the island to live. Other insurrections there have been, in 1823, 1827, 1844, and the one already mentioned, that in Cavite in 1872, which was put down with such ferocity that it ir.ade certain another and more widespread movement for liberation from such bloodthirsty rule as soon as native leaders could ])re])are the way. Such as survived the mas- sacre that followed that rising, and had any means, fled to Spain. There they started the first systematic agita- tion against friar rule in their native islands. A news- paper named La Solidaridad was started, having for its object the enlightenment of the thoughtful classes ot Filipinos on afl^airs of government. This paper circu- lated extensively in the Philippines, although it was for- bidden entrance. Some wise utterances were contained in it, but much that was crude and passionate abuse of a personal nature. However, it stirred the natives to thought. It showed them that other peoples were not so bound down by priestly tyranny. It exploded the false- hoods of the friar leaders. It suggested reforms, and did a little something toward unifying public feeling in and about Manila against continual submission to the injustice of the friars.
Tiiiv Insukki:cti()N of 1896. 121
Frcc'iiiasonry plawd a part in the atiitation which went before the insurrection. ( )nly in circles, every indi- vidual of which was under a bindins^ oath of secrecy, was it possible to discuss questions of reform. If dis- cussions were carried on elsewhere, the friars would cer- tainly worm out the facts as to what was said and what was planned, throui^h the confessional, or through tor- ture. In Manila it was possible for some of the more wealthy Filipinos, or those of the best families, to secure membership in the regular Masonic lodge. There they mingled with Spaniards on equal footing. There they saw the advantage which an oath-bound society would give them in the agitation which they had determined in their hearts to carry on until the time was ripe for strik- ing a blow for the betterment of their conditions. For they had not the most remote idea of attempting to throw off the Spanish sovereignty ; and the idea of political inde- pendence was not only not discussed, it was not thought of. Out of this conviction as to the advantage of an oath-bound societ\- the members of which would not di- vulge its plans to priest or official on pain of death at the hands of other members, the Katipunan was formed. The word sini])ly means "league." The signifi- cant step in becoming a member, aside from taking its oath, was to sign its constitution in blood drawn from the arm or leg of the signer. Fmm this the societv has been sometimes called the Blood v League. The growth of this society was phenomenal. Membership lists were made up, and lodges organized in nearlv everv city in central Luzon, and in some places farther north.
Entire secrecy was impossible. Add the confessional to all other means of ferreting out hidden social forces and factors, and you have an almost irresistible enginery
122 The Phiijppines and the F'ar East,
of investigation. Rumors of something wrong were in the air. Stern orders went from the archbishop in Manila to all parish priests to get information as to these "Free Masons." Denunciations and deportations by the hun- dred quickly followed. Parish priests, knowing that this presented a chance to settle old scores and get in line for promotion at the same time, sent in lists of names, which were acted upon, and banishments became common. In Malolos, Father Moises Santos secured the banishment of the entire list of municipal officials to African colonies. Trials were not even mentioned. Let a parish priest send in a list of alleged "Free Masons," and they were promptly deported. Hundreds of families were deprived of father and husband and brother without warning, with- out even the semblance of judicial process. Excitement and burning resentment were felt everywhere.
An acquaintance of mine living in the province of Tarlac was one of the thousands who were tortured with the hope of getting evidence as to the plans of the "Free Masons" in his pueblo. He was a member of the Kati- punan, and one of its leading officers, being a man of much native ability and unusual force of character. He was invited to the convcnto, or parsonage, of the friar for a friendly visit. While seated in an upper room await- ing the friar's entrance from his room adjoining, a posse of armed men rushed in and compelled him to submit to be searched. The friar came at the exact moment that the soldiers entered, and personally conducted the search of his person for incriminating papers. Nothing was found. He was then told that he must tell all he knew of the society, or be so punished that his life would not be worth a centavo's purchase. He refused, and was tied by the soldiers to a heavy hardwood bench, and the friar ordered him flogged on the bare back. He was so beaten
i
The InsurrIcctiox of 1896, 125
until be fainted through pain and loss of blood. After he recovered be was given another opportunity to tell what he knew, with the same result. The friar then ordered him hung to the rafters by his thumbs, his toes barely touching the tloor. He was left in this position for more than an hour, and let down to tell what he knew. All night one form or another of torture was used on this poor wretch— one of the leading men of the place — and only in the early dawn did he escape by feigning death so long as to put his tormentors off their guard. With a lacerated back, with one rib broken, and hands and arms horribly cut and swollen, he leaped from a second story window and effected his escape to thick underbrush near at hand, and thence to a village in the mountains, where he was concealed until the insurrection had flamed out into open war. In that war he became one of the coolest and most relentless fighters to be found among Filipino officers. He showed me the scars of his torture. The wonder is that he survived.
Finall}' the confessional triumphed over the oaths of the Katipunan. The parish priest of Tondo. Manila, a friar, gave the government its first clear word as to the nature and extent of the movement. His name was iMariano Gil. The first move was to have been made on the 20th of August, 1896, but a member of the Katipunan, or League, told all he knew on condition of receiving full pardon, just in the nick of time. A woman with whom he was living opened the way for his confession.
"Within an liour the Civil Guard was in motion, on the track of the alleged prime movers. Three hundred supposed disaffected persons were seized in Manila and the provinces of Pampanga and Bulacan within a few days, and, a large number being brought in daily, the prisons were soon crowded to excess, . . . Among
126 The PiiiLiri'iNJis and thi; Far East.
the first to be seized were many of the richest and most prominent men in the colony, and the cream of Manila society. There was intense excitement in the capital as their names gradually leaked out. No one who possessed wealth was safe."
General Blanco, the governor, had but fifteen hundred regular Spanish troops in the Philippines, and these could not all be brought to Manila, or even to the vicinity of Manila. The native troops could not be relied upon to fight against their own countrymen in a rising of that nature, and the wise old strategist endured the storm of friar wrath at his inactivity, and cabled for troops and guns and ammunition with which to carry on effective operations. But the friars were dissatisfied. Blanco was too humane. He would not apply torture as the arch- bishop, Nozaleda, deemed necessary. Therefore the cable- gram mentioned in an earlier chapter, stating that his "inactivity is inexplicable." General Polaviaja, the idol of friardom, was appointed immediately, and on his ar- rival the carnage began in dead earnest. By that time Spain had ten thousand troops at his command, and am- munition in vast quantities.
Meantime the insurrection had made great headway. All the center of Luzon was overrun. The first bloodshed was in San Juan del Monte, a Manila suburb. It took place about 4 A. M., Sunday, August 30, 1896. The in- surgents sought to secure possession of a powder maga- zine at that place. They had poor leadership, and were beaten off with severe loss, and their leader, Valenzuela, was shot with four others on the Luneta, Manila, on the 4th of September. More than five hundred military pris- oners were shot on that same ground, immediately back of the house in which this book is written, and less than a half mile away, during the opening months of the in-
Thk Insukkkction VI' 1896. 127
iurrection. The Luneta is the only bit of park in Manila fronting the bay. These men, and all others so executed, were made to kneel on the bay side of a square, three sides of which were made up of Spanish and native troops. They were blindfolded, and had their arms pinioned. They knelt on the open side of the square of troops, facing the ba}-, with their backs to the firing squad. The officer in command always used the following formula, proclaiming it in a loud voice at each corner of the square :
"In the name of the king! Whosoever shall raise his voice to crave clemency for the condemned shall suffer death."
The sixteen members of the firing partv divided into fours, and took their places about fifteen feet behind the prisoners. When the quick lowering of the officer's sword gave signal to fire, the simultaneous crack of rifles would ring out over the quiet bay ; the bullets, having passed clean through the bodies of the condemned, would kick up tufts of grass in front, and the bodies slowly settle in the abandon of death.
Crowds of natives swarmed into the city of Manila as the safest place in the storm that was rapidly rising. The province of Cavite proved the center of the typhoon of insurrection. Aguinaldo, at that time a schoolteacher in Silan, now conies into notice. On the 31st of August his first proclamation saw the light. It was of little impor- tance, being mostly a heated bit of denunciation, and quite destitute of plan or suggestions of a practical nature. Imus, a friar center, where one of their haciendas is located, was chosen as the center for the insurrecto forces. They barricaded the place. They captured thirteen friars. One of these was slowly cut up piecemeal in public amid tremendous applause from thousands whose personal property or family rights had been trampled upon by
128 The Philippines and the Far East.
friars. Another was saturated with kerosene oil and set on fire, and a third was bathed in oil and roasted over a slow fire on a bamboo pole run through the length of his body. I do not mention these instances of atrocities com- mitted against friars because I approve or even condone them. They are facts, and they tell beyond all hope of successful refutation of the terrible hatred borne the friars by Filipino people as a whole. What was done to these friars would have been done to all if they could have been seized in the early days of the insurrection. There seems to be no sufficient reason for thinking that Aguinaldo ordered these murders, or sympathized with them. He treated such friars and women as fell into the hands of troops under his immediate control with a degree of humanity.
On November loth, Blanco attempted to dislodge the insurgents at Novaleta, and was repulsed with great slaughter. At Imus also, later, the insurgents defeated a large force sent to drive them from their intrenchments. In provinces north of Manila the Spanish troops had more success, and kept the slender insurrection forces on the move. In Manila the torture, imprisonment, banishment, and shooting went on at a rate awful to contemplate. On October ist three hundred men were sent into banishment to African penal stations, most of whom never came back. Prisoners were sent to Manila bound hand and foot, and hoisted out of shipholds by chains as so much freight. Extortion was practiced by the court martial established to examine suspected persons. Foreman tells of persons tortured until they were maimed for life, and then set at liberty on payment of large sums of money. More than seventy prisoners, all mere suspects, were confined in a small, filthy dungeon under the city wall of Fort Santiago. The dungeon communicated with the river by a narrow
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AX JN.SUKKIX'K) COLON KL,
Till'; Insukricction of i8y6- 131
graliiii;, and was filled when the tide rose. These seventy prisoners, men and \\(Miien, were paeked into this damp, loathsome hole, and drowned like rats in a trap. It was the"]'.lack Hole" of Manila.
A common torture at that time was to tie the hands behind the victim and hang- him by his hands, thus twist- ing the shoulders into a position that caused the most horriljle agony. They would then be cut down, falling suddenly, and often dying- where they fell from exhaus- tion, pain, and the sudden drop upon a floor of stone. Another common punishment for those from whom they wished to wring testimony was to compel them to stand barefooted over a brazier of hot coals until the flesh was cooked on the soles of their feet. In the terrible beatings administered to suspects to extract evidence a broken rib or an eye put out, or even a broken arm, was too insignifi- cant to be worthy of mention.
In the field the royal troops took no prisoners. They killed even the wounded that lay groaning on the field after victory had been won. Near Polo a large number of non-combatants, men and women, came out to assure the troops of their submission, and they were massacred as they knelt. Mercy and justice were forgotten, and an ap])arently insatiable thirst for blood had taken possession of the defenders of Spanish sovereignt}'. Not a syllable of protest against any of this ferocity was heard from friars. They were sponsors of a policy of severity.
General Polavieja arrived in Manila in December, 1896. He had all the dry season ahead of him. He im- mediately put the troops in motion, and the history of the insurrection from this point on until its close is a sicken- ing monotony of guerrilla warfare, blood, executions, deportations, and all the time the sky is aflame with burn- ing cities in all directions. The advantage is now with
152 The Philippinus and thl; Far East.
this party, and now with that. There were no really great battles, but the superior training and arms of Spanish regulars told in the long run, and the cause of the insur- rection lost slowly, as the months drac'ged along.
In the early part of 1897 General Primo de Rivera relieved Palovieja as governor. In July he issued an order giving ten days for all persons not rebels to report to military commanders and receive a special cedilla per- sonal, or paper of the nature of a passport, or they would all be treated as rebels. This reacted in favor of the in- surrectos. Crowds who had not taken up arms before flocked to the insurrecto camps. The rebels responded with a proclamation, the demands of which are of suffi- cient importance to be given in full. It shows their aim at that time. It tells how far they had succeeded in se- curing it. It should be carefully studied by such good people as have been led to believe that the Filipino people were fighting for political independence :
"to the brave sons of the phieippines:
"We ardently desire, — , . .
"i. Expulsion of the friars and restitution to the town- ships of the lands which the friars have appropriated, dividing the incumbencies held by them as well as the episcopal sees equally between peninsular and insular secular priests. [By secular priests they mean priests who are not members of monastic orders.]
"2. Spain must concede to us, as she has done to Cuba, Parliamentary representation, freedom of the press, tol- eration of all religious sects, laws common with hers, and administrative and economic autonomy. .
"3. Equality in treatment and pay between peninsular and insular civil servants.
"4. Restitution of all lands appropriated by the friars to the townships or to the original owners, or, in default of finding such owners, the State is to put them up
I
The ixsuRRRCTiox oi- 1896. 135
to public action, in small lots of a value within the reach of all, and payable within four years, the same as the present State lands.
"5. Abolition of the government authorities' power to banish citizens, as well as all unjust measures against Filipinos ; legal equality of all persons, whether peninsular or insular, under the civil as well as under the penal code.
"The war must be prolonged to give the greatest signs of vitality possible, so that Spain may be compelled to grant om- demands ; otherwise she will consider us an efifete race and curtail rather than extend our rights.
(Signed) "AIai.abar."
Rivera was anxious to close the war, and he called into his service a lawyer in Manila, Senor Pedro A. Paterno. Paterno played with both parties. He found the rebels in small numbers fairly well intrenched north of Manila, but in great straits for ammunition, and even food. The Spanish army was little better ofif. He represented to the rebels that Rivera was expecting, -Spain to send him twenty thousand more troops, with full sup- plies of cannon, ammunition, and supplies of all kinds, and that for a money consideration he was certain the war could be ended. To Governor Rivera he represented that Aguinaldo's force numbered nearly one hundred thousand men, well furnished with ammunition and sup- plies, and fortified beyond hope of successful attack. At last, on condition of many reforms being granted, and on the agreement of Rivera to pay $800,000 (Mexican) in installments, the insurgent leaders agreed to give up the war, and leave the islands. The treaty was nego- tiated by Senor Paterno, and is known as the Treaty of Biac-na-Bato, from the cave in the hills near Angat, Bulacan, where it was signed. Emilio Aguinaldo signed for the insurrectos, and Paterno for the governor, from whom he carried authority. Governor Rivera acceded
134
TlIK PlIIIJPPINKS AND TIIK FaR EaST.
to the demand of Aguinaldo that a Spanish officer of high rank should accompany the insurgent leaders to Hong-Kong as a guarantee of good faith. He also sent a personal representative to meet the exiled leaders, and at a banquet Aguinaldo gave Spain hearty cheers. They sailed from Sual, Pangasinan province, for Hong-Kong, where the payments of money were made, and the in- surrection was at an end.
MORO HOUSES, JOLO.
i
CHAPTER IX.
Ti[i; American Occupation.
An extended account of tlie successive campai^s^ns leading" to control of tiie Philippines by the United States is not within the scope of this work. That may be safely left to other writers. Only with that portion of American occupation which partisan and ignorant writers have so mischievously misrepresented to the prejudice of public sympathy with the work our nation is doing here, shall I concern myself. With the record of some men in the American army in the Philippines I could find many flaws. Possibly flaws which even furious critics in America have never heard of could be pointed out. Put with the record of the American army as an organization, and with its achievements on behalf of this downtrodden and helpless people I nuist speak with en- thusiastic praise. When "the ^■(^ungest critic" has said his last and his worst, it still remains true that the net result of American valor in the T'hilippines is the freeing of seven millions of people from a hopeless tyrannv. to become a nation ! All that the governor, the commis- sion, the schoolmaster, the civil judge, and the mission- ary are attempting would have been impossible without the work of the soldier. wSome cruelties there were. Nearly all that were proven to have taken place were committed in defiance of orders, in remote ])laces, and under provocation such as only pens dipped in blood could describe. But these were eddies in the current.
135
136 The Philippines and the Far East.
The main stream of military administration in the Phil- ippines has been humane. Some minds forever miss currents, and get caught in eddies. From that class of mind every great cause in our history, and all of our great leaders, have had to endure opposition and abuse. l!ut the calm verdict of history has set things straight, as it will do in the case of our military record in these Inlands.
War was practically declared on April 21, 1898. On the 24th of April the following order was flashed from Washington to our Asiatic squadron :
"Dewey, Hong-Kong :
"War has commenced between the United States and Spain. Proceed at once to the Philippine Islands. Com- mence operations at once, particularly against the Spanish fleet. You must capture vessels or destroy. Use utmost endeavors. Long.''
On May ist Commodore Dewey sank the entire Spanish fleet in Manila Bay, without the loss of a man or serious injury to a single one of his ships. So singu- larly complete and overwhelming was the victory that devout students of the bloody history of Spain in this colony can not refrain from believing that the God of nations helped mightil}'. The words of Psalm ii, 9. come forcibly to mind: "Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron ; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel." This was literally done in that marvelous sea- fight. History furnishes no parallel. The "rod of iron" did its awful work, and so easily was it done that no scar was left, and the hand that wielded it was unin- jured.
The report of the battle is made with the modesty which real greatness always shows in the hour of triumph :
The American Occupation. 137
"The squadron arrived at Manila at daybreak this morning. Immediately engaged the enemy and destroyed the following Spanish vessels: Rciiia Christina, Caslilla, Don .Intonio de Ulloa, Don Juan de Austria, Isla dc Luzon, Isla dc Cuba, General Lezo, Marquis del Ducro, El Curreo, Velasco, one transport, Isla de Mindajiao, wa- ter battery at Cavite. I shall destroy Cavite arsenal dis- pensatory. The squadron is uninjured. Few men were slightly wounded. I request the department will send immediately from San Francisco fast steamer with ammu- nition. The only means of telegraphing is to the Amer- ican consul at Hong-Kong. Drwey."
vSincc the raising of the ships that went to the bottom that May morning, certain criticisius have been made to the effect that the Spanish commanders had poor vessels and poorer guns, and that they sunk the vessels themselves bv opening the sea-cocks. What are the facts? The Spanish fleet had the steel cruiser Reina Christina, the steel protected cruisers Isla dc Luzoji and Isla de Cuba, and the iron cruiser Doji Juan de Austria. all built within a year of the time the Baltimore, Con- cord, and Petrel were constructed. Their crews num- bered 1,875 against 1,709 of our fleet. This takes no account of the gunners in the five shore batteries, which joined with the fleet in firing upon the attacking squad- ron. They had on their ships fourteen modern six-inch guns and twenty-two five-inch guns, and yet at a range narrowing down from 3,500 to 2.000 yards not a vessel of our fleet was materially injured.
Admiral Montojo silences all such criticism by his official account of the fight in so far as it affected his flagship, the Reina Christina. A part of that report is as follows :
"The enemy shortened the distance between us. and, rectifying his aim, covered us with a rain of rapid-fire
138 Thk Philippinks and THt; Far East.
projectiles. At 7.30 one shell completely destroyed the steering-gear. I ordered to steer by hand while the rud- der was out of action. In the meanwhile another shell exploded on the poop and put out of action nine men. Another destroyed the mizzen-masthead, bringing down the flag and my ensign, which were replaced immediately. A further shell exploded in the officers' cabin, covering the hospital with blood, and destroying the wounded who were being treated there. Another exploded in the am- munition-room astern, filling the quarters with smoke and preventing the working of the hand steering-gear. As it was impossible to control the fire, I had to flood the magazine when the cartridges were beginning to explode. Immediately amidships several shells of smaller caliber went through the smokestack, and one of the large ones penetrated the fireroom, putting out of action one master gunner and twelve men serving the guns. Another rendered useless the starboard bow gun ; while the fire astern increased, fire was started forward by another shell, which went through the hull, and exploded on deck. The broadside guns being undamaged, continued firing until there were only one gunner and one seaman remain- ing unhurt for firing them."
The position in which Admiral Dewey found him- self was one calling for great wisdom. Before him lay Manila, helpless. From our consul, Oscar F. Williams, whose knowledge of the bay and its defenses had been of such value in the beginning, he learned the facts set forth in our last chapter. From him he learned also that the purchased peace had been of brief duration. The insurrection which a Spanish governor had bought off for $800,000, had flamed up again, as promises made in the treaty of Biac-na-Bato were not kept, and half the sympathizers with the insurrection felt that they had been betrayed by their leaders. Without funds, with few experienced leaders, and with but faint hopes of success, these ragged, desperate men had once more
. ' V -
The American OccurATioN. 141
taken the field, detennined to secure the reforms for which the people clamored, and which were necessary as the condition of decent existence. The naval com- mander there in Manila Bay knew of the awful condi- tions prevailing- in the Islands. He knew that a perfect rcii^n of terror had existed in the Archipelago for years. PJe knew that all the reasons which drove us to inter- fere in the case of Cuba were in operation here. He had heard from our consul, and others, of the inhuman- ities, the martyrdoms, the deportations, the anarchy and ruin that prevailed on shore. Knowing all this, he felt that his government would probably feel compelled to follow up his annihilation of the Spanish fleet by the capture of the Archipelago.
Aguinaldo was at Singapore. He begged to be al- lowed to come to Manila. Our consul there, Mr. E. Spencer Pratt, believed that his exact knowledge of the topography about Manila, of means of trans])orta- tion, and all matters relating to military movements, should they be ordered, would be of great service to the American forces. Aguinaldo came to Manila via Hong-Kong with Dewey's permission. He gave Con- sul Rounseville Wildman in Hong-Kong two pledges, — (i) that he would "obey unquestioningly the com- mander of the United States forces in the Philippine Islands;" and (2) that he would "carry on his military movements on civilized lines."
Aguinaldo was not "recognized" as the head of an insurgent force, and permitted to return to the Islands as such. As a private person in possession of informa- tion likely to be valuable in further military operations, should they be deemed necessary, he was permitted to come to Manila, and then only on the conditions already set forth. He was permitted to land, and provided
142 The Philippines AiND the Far East.
with some guns and aninuinition. Ke was an enemy of our enemy. He was under pledge of unquestioning obedience. No thought entered the mind of any one concerned that we would have trouble with the Fili- pinos. They and we were at one in an attempt to over- throw Spanish supremacy.
But no sooner had Aguinaldo seen some of his old comrades in arms, and discovered the vitality that ex- isted in the Filipino movement against Spain, than his ambition burned up with such heat that his pledges were consumed. Almost immediately he proclaimed "inde- pendence" in such towns as he had overrun, with arms furnished him, and still owned by "the commander of the United States forces in the Philippines." No baser case of ingratitude and bad faith was even seen in all our long Indian wars in the West. And this was but the beginning. From that time until his capture by Colonel Funston his record was in complete accord with these first steps. Pages of evidence taken by the Schur- man Commission, and printed in Volume II of their report (p. 381, et scq.), are fairly summarized in the following four points :
(i) That Aguinaldo was helped to arms on the un- derstanding that he was to use them entirely under American direction in weakening Spanish power. (2) That no sooner had he gathered a force about him than he broke out into inexcusable insubordination against the man and the forces to whose presence and gift of arms he was entirely indebted for his ability to return to the Philippines, and to take up a warlike attitude toward his former enemy. (3) That hostility to the Americans was settled upon in his own mind long be- fore they had had time or opportunity to formulate or declare any policy for the Philippines. (4) That per-
TiiK American Occii'atkjn. 143
sonal ambition was the ruliiii;- motive with him in that early stage of the embroilment.
Much of this testimony is given by Senor Benito Le- garda, for a few months one of Aguinaldo's officials, and now one of the members of the Civil Commission.
Meantime the question of what to do with the Phil- ippines was the one which perplexed our authorities in Washington. President McKinley faced it, and sought advice from all parties. Perhaps the fullest unofficial statement he ever made of the way his own conclusion to hold the Islands was reached is contained in his ad- dress to a committee of clergymen, as reported in the Christian Advocate by General James F. Rusling. Gen- eral Rusling was a member of a committee from a re- ligious gathering in Washington to present resolutions of thanks to President McKinley for courtesies shown its members, and, with Bishop Thomas Bowman, Bishop John F. Hurst, and Drs. Upham and Buckley, met the President by appointment in his private office in the White House for that purpose, November 21, 1899. After a pleasant interview the members of the committee rose to take their leave. The President detained them to give the following statement :
"Before you go I would like to say just a word about the Philippine business. I have been criticised a good deal about the Philippines, but do n't deserve it. The truth is, I did n't want the Philippines, and when they came to us, as a gift from the gods, I did not know what to do with them. When the Spanish War broke out, Dewey was at Hong-Kong, and I ordered him to go to Manila, and he had to ; because, if defeated, he had no place to refit on that side of the globe, and if the Dons were victorious they would likely cross the Pacific and ravage our Oregon and California coasts. And so he had to destroy the Spanish fleet, and did it ! But that was as far as I thought then.
144 The Philippines and the Far East.
"When next I realized that the PhiHppines had dropped into our lap, I confess I did not know what to do with them. I sought counsel from all sides — Democrats as well as Republicans — but got little help. I thought first we would take only Manila ; then Luzon ; then other islands, per- haps, also. I walked the floor of the White House night after night until midnight ; and I am not ashamed to tell you, gentlemen, that I went down on my knees and prayed Almighty God for light and guid- ance more than one night. And one night late it came to me this way — I do n't know how it was, but it came : (i) That we could not give them back to Spain — that would be cowardly and dishonorable; (2) That we could not turn them over to France or Germany — our commer- cial rivals in the Orient — that would be bad business and discreditable; (3) That we could not leave them to themselves — they were unfit for self-government — and they would soon have anarchy and misrule over there worse than Spain's was; and (4) That there was nothing left for us to do but to take them all, and to educate the Filipinos, and uplift and civilize and Christianize them, and, by God's grace, do the very best we could by them, as our fellow-men for whom Christ also died. And then I went to bed, and went to sleep, and slept soundly, and the next morning I sent for the chief engineer of the War Department (our map-maker), and told him to put the Philippines on the map of the United States [pointing to a large map on the wall of his office] ; and there they are, and there they will stay while I am President !"
The American occupation of the Philippines was un- dertaken with motives as humane and disinterested as those which drove us to war with Spain at first. The fact is, that the hour of destiny had struck. The for- bearance of a just God was exhausted. Spain must be dispossessed of territories which she had ruled with force and cruelty. A new order must begin.
Meantime troops had been rushed forward from San
Thk American Occupation. 145
Francisco. ^Manila was taken by a combined assault of land and naval forces under General Merritt and Admiral Dewey on August 13, 1898. A Spanish force, twice as large as that under General Merritt, strongly intrenched in a walled city with two moats and with drawbridges at all gates, was captured with the follow- ing losses to our army : Three officers wounded ; five enlisted men killed, and forty-three wounded.
Our trophies were 13,000 prisoners, 22,000 stands of modern arms, 10,000 rounds of ammunition, and $900,- 000. No looting was allowed. All streets were pa- trolled by troops detailed for that purpose. Life and property were more safe than they had been under Span- ish rule. The conduct of our troops was such as to make every American rejoice. \\'ithin two days the post-office opened under the Stars and Stripes. Within a week the custom-house was fully organized and had taken in $100,000 in duties, and the city had resumed its normal activity. Military records during those first weeks do not disclose a single act of violence or usurpa- tion on the part of any American soldier. Manila was von.
But what of Aguinaldo and the insurgent forces? General Merritt had sent word to Aguinaldo the night of the 1 2th of August that he and his forces were not to take part in the assault on the 13th, nor to enter the city after it had been captured. That was because it was well known that the insurgent leader and his fol- lowers planned a terrible vengeance and a general loot- ing of the city. I quote from the testimony of Senor Benito Legarda, given in the report above referred to (page 383) :
"O. Did Aguinaldo expect to enter Manila with his troops with the Americans? 10
146 The Philippines and the Far East.
"A. Yes, sir.
"Q. Was there any disappointment among the troops of Aguinaldo that they were not permitted to plunder the city ? Was there any plan to plunder the city ?
"A, Yes, sir ; there had been such a plan.
"Q. Tell us about that plan.
"A. They wished, of course, to come into Manila after having robbed it, for there was a plan to rob the whole city. Aguinaldo himself, while in Bacoor, pointed out crowds of people to me, passing, carrying sacks, who, he said, were on their way to Manila to sack the city when they were able. His plan was to come in with the Americans from the inside after the city had been occu- pied, if the Americans did not give the independence of the Philippines."
During the assault of August 13th it became neces- sary by force of arms to stop insurgents from entering the city. They have never forgiven the American troops for thus cheating them of the vengeance they meant to wreak on Spanish officials and friars for their wrongs, and preventing that wholesale plundering of banks, stores, churches, and private houses from which they expected to get funds for personal enrichment and for carrying on their struggle.
Friction continued between our forces and those of the insurgents. The months from September to Janu- ary dragged heavily. Aguinaldo removed his capital to Malolos, about thirty miles north of Manila. Here he set up the revolutionary government, having himself "elected" President by "delegates" whom he had named for that purpose. He was inaugurated with due form, and issued manifestoes, proclamations, and laws with a lavish hand. His position was not without its diffi- culties. He pretended to be at the head of a govern- ment. He made no secret of his hatred of the Amer- icans, nor of his purpose to resist any program they
TiiK American Occitpation, 149
might decide upon, unless it recognized as a real gov- ernment for the entire Archipelago this self-constituted bodv of otificials from one of its seven great tribes or races. His army was eager to fight. IJecause f)f their patient endurance of scoffs and jibes, our troops were believed by the Filipino soldiers to be cowards. They Ijlnndered houses along the edges of the city. They cast up trenches facing our troops. A cordon of their troops, reaching from the bay south of the city of Manila to the bay again at the north, shut our forces into the city. Twice they were peremptorily ordered to retire, and did so sullenly. There was trouble in the air. Unless the Treaty of Peace brought relief, war with the people in whose interests we were in the Archipelago was almost certain.
Meantime there was no word from Paris. The Fili- l)inos refused to believe in our, desire to carry out an unselfish program. Pending the signing and ratifying of the treaty, no word of authority could be spoken. At last came the news that the treaty had been signed. By article three sovereignty over the Philippines passed from Spain to the United States by the fortunes of war, and by purchase. The clause reads as follows :
"Article 3. Spain cedes to the United States the arch- ipelago known as the Philippine Islands, which coiu- prises all those islands situated between the lines begin- ning and ending as follows; viz. [then follows descrip- tion]. The United States will pay to Spain the sum of $20,000,000 within three months after the ratified treaty is exchanged."
It became the duty, therefore, of the United States to enforce sovereignty to which it had succeeded, and bring about a condition of public order. It was imme- diately the duty of all citizens of the Philippine Islands
15© The Philippines and the Far East.
to submit to the new rule. Not one of its inhabitants had any just ground of complaint against the United States. We had not oppressed them. We had broken the power of their oppressors. We came to them with many guarantees of good faith. We should have been given an opportunity to prove the justice and beneficence of our sway over the people before hostilities were be- gun. Had it not been for fierce personal ambitions in a few Filipino leaders, and false and foolish representa- tions made to them by American politicians, there would have been no bloodshed.
News of the treaty was not followed by any lessen- ing of friction between the troops. Official records prove that, late in January, one of Aguinaldo's men at- tempted to assassinate an American picket. 'He failed, and lost his life. One of General Otis's pickets was fired on later, but the Filipino missed fire. The first of Feb- ruary a surveying party, well within our own lines, was seized by insurgent troops, and hurried away to Ma- lolos.
"On the night of February 2d a strong detail of Fil- ipino soldiers defiantly confronted one of our remote pickets, well within the limits of our acknowledged juris- diction, and there remained during the entire night, openly taunting our imperturbaljle men in an attempt to draw their fire. And, finally, on the night of February 4th, growing bolder and more persistent in their efiforts to bring on a conflict, a strong detail of Filipino soldiers again appeared at one of our outposts on the east of the city, and at the west end of the Santa Mesa bridge. The detachment was led by one of Aguinaldo's officers, who attempted to pass and push back our picket, then a hundred yards or more within our lines. Private Gray- son, Company D, First Nebraska Volunteers, challenged the Filipino and his detachment, and, after giving his third warning, fired, killing the lieutenant while he Still
The A.MicKicAx Occupatiux. 151
persisted in his attempt to force our picket-line. Innne- diately the insurgents opened fire upon our troops from their entire Hue of works surrounding the city, and many miles in length."*
From the testimony taken l)y the Schurman Com- mission in 1900. I quote again (pages 385 ct scq.) :
"O. We understand that, with the close proximity of the two lines there was a great deal of trouble between the soldiers of the opposing forces, and we would like to know the facts.
"A. Hostile acts and demonstrations were the regular order of the day between the two lines, and there were disputes and other troubles continually, which did not come to blows by sheer good fortune.
"O. What did the Filipino soldiers do here and on the lines?
"A. The Filipino "soldiers were always committing robberies here [in Manila]. One of the reasons for the outbreak of hostilities was the conviction of the Filipino soldiers that the American soldier was a coward ; . . . and what gave them reason to think this was that the Americans avoided trouble, and endeavored to prevent the outbreak here.
"O. Do you know anything as to whether any day had been fixed for the commencement of hostilities by Aguinaldo ?
"A. I think not.
"O. Was it not understood that in a few days they would make an attack ?
"A. It was understood — yes, sir — that [they would do so] in the near future.
"Q. Aguinaldo had been preparing for it. had fie not ? "^
"A. He was preparing for it.
"O. Then it was understood long before February 4th that there would be war ?
'Alger: The Spanish-American War, 356, 357.
152 The PniurpiNES and thk Far East.
"Yes, sir, that hostilities would be opened in the near future.
"Q. Everybody expected that the Filipinos would at- tack the Americans?
"A. Yes, sir, both within the city and without. . . .
"Q. When this shot was fired, firing commenced along the entire line?
"A. Yes, sir.
"O. What was the length of that line?
"A. It was very long — fifteen or twenty miles.
"O. Just as soon as that gun was fired the fighting- commenced along the whole line?
"A. I saw near La Loma the Filipinos were sending up red rockets, which was the signal agreed upon for the outbreak of hostilities.
"Q. Do you know that this signal was agreed upon ?
"A. Yes, sir.
"Q. Then, there could not be any question but what this attack was preconcerted ?
"A. Certamly; but I can not say that it w^as abso- lutely agreed upon for the 4th of February. But it was I to be] in the near future.
"O. What cfifect did the fighting of the first few days have on the insurgent leaders?
"A. It caused complete demoralization. Soldiers went to the woods, threw away their ammunition, and did not want to fight any more on any condition."
The character of the alleged government under which all this trouble was concocted may fairly well be understood from the following testimony from the same official source. To understand it fully would demand thorough familiarit}- with Filipino character, and the re- lation the Tagalog people bear to the other six-sevenths of the Christianized inhabitants of the Archipelago (pages 386. 387) :
"Q. How was his [Aguinaldo's] Congress got to- gether ; was it elected or appointed ? and if appointed, by whom was it appointed?
The American Occupation. 153
"A. This Congress was made up by .Vguinaldo. All the members may be said to have been appointed. There were a very few members who were elected by the peo- ple, but the great majority were appointed by Aguinaldo, and naturally the decisions of the Congress had to be as Aguinaldo desired.
"Q. Did Aguinaldo have the power to remove mem- bers who did not vote to suit his wishes?
"A. Yes, sir.
"O. Was the Congress fairly representative of the various provinces in the Philippine Archipelago, or chiefly made up of [the island of] Luzon?
"A. Luzon exclusively.
"O. In the island of Luzon, were the various prov- inces represented, or mostly Tagalogs?
"A. All Tagalogs.
"O. You say you were Vice-President of ,the Con- gress; did you ever preside?
"A. I only attended Congress twice, for the position did not suit me. I hardly stopped there. J did not like it, and I did not swear to support the Constitution.
"O. What importance did the Congress actually have ? Were its decrees put into effect, or were they overruled by Aguinaldo and his cabinet when they were not pleas- ing to them?
"A. Whatever Aguinaldo wished.
"O. I wish to know whether the Congress was dom- inated by Aguinaldo and his cabinet or not.
"A. Completely.
"O. Was it not true that the Congress passed a meas- ure to the effect that the protection of the United States should be requested for the Philippines ?
"A. Yes, sir.
"O. And what was the reason that that resolution was not carried out?
"A. Because Aguinaldo disapproved of it."
From February 4, 1899, to Jnly 4, 1901, war con- tinued. At the latter date it was "officially" declared at an end, and civil rule began ; though there was desul-
154 The Philippines and the F'ar East.
tory fighting here and there for months afterward, and war with the belligerent Moros at the south will occur from time to time as it has done with tribes of Indians on our Western frontier. But American occupation of the Philippines has been accomplished, and our beneficent program is being worked out with a directness and rapidity most gratifying to all who love the flag.
PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT BUILDING, TARLAC.
CHAPTER X.
Framing a Policy.
It should provoke no surprise that the effort to frame a wise, just, and beneficent policy for our government of the Filipino people called out such differences of opinion and so much bitterness. To frame a policy under which a Republic could govern seven million brown men in the Far East was a most difficult task. It w^as the most momentous question which our nation had faced since the Civil War had settled the relation which individual States hold to the Union. History bears swift witness to the perils encountered wdien a free people begin to rule over subject populations. Should the Filipinos be held to be a "subject population?" Should our nation treat them as the Dutch treat the in- habitants of Java, and as the English treat the natives of India or the Federated Malay States? The experi- ence of European colonization — Spanish, English, Dutch and French' — was before us. The larger questions grow- ing out of the influence of white races in the tropics were all brought up by this demand for a consistent and successful policy for our newly-acquired island posses- sions in Asia. Our statesmen could not be blind to the steady invasion of the tropics by the rule of Northern and Western nations. They could not but see that, within a little more than a century, one-half of all trop- ical countries had come under the control of European powers. In this vast, silent, irrepressible movement
155
156 The Philippines and the Far East.
toward tropical control, what part should the United States play? The Philippines were ours by the fortunes of war. They were ours by payment of a fair purchase price to their former owner, after the arbitrament of a war for humanity had left them in our keeping. Naked imperialism or the cool calculations of commerce had fur- nished motive for nearly all previous European occu- pation of the tropics. No serious attempt had ever been made, at least none at all commensurate with the vast- ness of the interests at stake, to lay down those principles which should control in future relations between power- ful Western nations and the primitive savag'ery or par- tially-civilized inhabitants of the tropical regions. Con- structive statesmanship was needed. Never had it been more urgently needed since the birth-hour of the Republic. If our nation committed itself to a selfish policy, we would sin against the spirit of our own free institutions, and the sin would come home to curse us. We had done but our duty in enforcing our sovereignty. Now we nuist show to the Filipinos, and to the nations of the earth, that our humanitarian claims were some- thing more than empty words ; for we had entered the Philippines with large claims of disinterested humani- tarianism. One of the members of the first Philippine Commission says :
"I take as my starting-point the motives and objects with which we went into the Philippines. They were impressively voiced by President jMcKinley, and I have already told you how he set them forth to me three years ago. Our purpose was not selfish ; it was humanitarian ; it was not the vanity of self-aggrandizement ; it was not the greed of power and dominion. No, no, not these, but altruism, caring for the happiness of others ; philanthropy relieving the Filipinos of oppression and conferring on them the blessings of liberty. This was the supreme con-
i
Fka.mixg a Policy. 157
sideration of President McKinley. It was this that touched the vein of sentiment in the American hearts that so overvvhehningly supported him. It docs not mat- ter what judgment you may, in the cooler atmosphere oi 1902 pass upon that popular sentiment of the summer of i8y8. You may consider it extravagant, irrational, im- practical. I thought at the time that it went too far; and I publicly pointed out that while, under the Monroe Doctrine, it might become our duty to relieve American peoples from European oppression, we had no call to go into the business of rectifying the tyrannies of Asia. But the popular heart was stirred too deeply to be stilled, and Admiral Dewey's .great victory in Manila Bay had brought the Filipinos within the range of American solicitude and sympathy.
"This is the first fact in the history of our relations with the Philippines. The political emancipation of the Filipinos was the controlling object with the President and people of the United States. I am, of course, aware that other and less worthy aims appealed to individual Americans and to groups of Americans. It would be strange if it were otherwise, considering how diversified human motives are apt to be. The jingo saw in the annex- ation of the Philippines another avenue for spread-eagle- ism ; to Americans in the Orient it meant an accession of American influence in Asia ; to the Protestant Churchman it ofifered a new field for missionary enterprise ; the exploit- ing capitalist was fascinated by the riches of Philippine forests, lands, and mines, which showed like 'the w^ealth of Ormus or of Ind ;' and the sensational press, still delirious from the fever of war and surfeited with the staleness of piping peace, discerned in the Philippines material for new sensations, which promised to be as stir- ring as the excitant was remote, unknown, and danger- ously explosive. All these influences, and others, were un- doubtedly at work. Yet it was not these forces singly or in combination that carried the day ; it was the humani- tarian object of liberating the Filipinos from Spanish tyranny, and bestowing upon them the boon of freedom, that decided the President and the people of the United
158 The Philippines and the Far East.
States to compel Spain to cede to us here sovereignty over the Philippine Islands-!"*
Should those Islands be made an integral part of the United States ? Should we bring in the waif thrown thus on our hands, and declare him one of the family? This was seriously urged by men who should have seen its utter impossibility. Distance forbade it. Racial lines forbade it. The puzzling psychology of the Orien- tal makes such a political "merger" unthinkable. Kip- ling, who, whatever be his faults, understands the East, makes Lord Dufferin say to Lord Lansdowne in his "One Viceroy Resigns :"
" You '11 never plumb the Oriental mind, And if you did, it is n't worth the toil. Think of a sleek French priest in Canada ; Divide by twenty half-breeds. Multiply By twice the Sphinx's silence. There 's your East. And you 're as wise as ever. So am I."
Plainly, we could not admit such incongruous ele- ments to organic union with the nation. Nor could we govern despotically. Despotic rule for India began be- fore her monarchical government had been so profoundly affected by the democratic spirit and method of later years. If it were to be done now, England could not carry her people with her in providing for India such a government as India now has. Queen Wilhelmina, from her throne in Amsterdam, can enforce despotic rule in Java, and by compulsory labor make that island a gar- den; but she is a queen, and our nation can not hope to follow her example should we desire to do so.
Should we declare that the Philippines are to be a colony? Colonial administration is difficult and dan-
"*Schurtnan. " Philippine Affairs, a Retrospect and Outlook,"
Framixc. a rcH.icv. 159
g'erous, even in i^ovcrnments nnich more hi<^hly cen- tralized than our own. How would a colonial g'overn- nient meet our promises and the leg^itimate hopes of the Filipinos? What our promises were in a general way may be seen in the closing paragraph of President Mc- Kinley's Proclamation of December 21, 1898, imme- diately following the signing of the Treaty of Peace at Paris :
"Finally, it should be the earnest and paramount aim of the military administration to win the confidence, respect, and affection of the inhabitants of the Philip- pines by assuring them in every possible way that full measure of individual rights and liberty which is the heritage of free people, and by proving to them that the mission of the United States is of benevolent assim- ilation, substituting the mild szvay of justice and right for arbitrary rule. In the fulfillment of this high mis- sion, supporting the temperate administration of affairs for the greatest good of the governed, there must be sedu- lously maintained the strong arm of authority to repress disturbance and to overcome all obstacles to the bestowal of the blessings of good and stable government upon the people of the Philippine Islands under the free flag of the United States. William McKinley.'^
In attempting to frame an enlightened policy, Presi- dent IMcKinley appointed a Commission, with Dr. J. G. Schurman, President of Cornell University, as chair- man, to visit the Islands, acquaint themselves with all the facts of the situation, and submit recommendations. Before this Commission reached Manila, hostilities had broken out, and, instead of finding a gradual extension of United States sovereignty over a people eager to wel- come us with our policy of "benevolent assimilation," the Commission found "red ruin, and the breaking out of war" on all sides. With tireless energy they sum-
i6o The Philippines and the Far East.
moned witnesses, pored over old documents, and inves- tigated conditions. What our government owes to this Commission will never be known. Their report is a convincing proof of intelligent toil to ascertain the facts and know the very inner spirit of Filipino life.
One of the wisest things they did was to draw up a proclamation to the Filipino people, setting forth the benevolent intentions of the American Government, an.d calling upon those who were in arms to return to the vocations of peace. From that proclamation I take some of the "regulative principles" which the Commission assured the Filipino people would be "of cardinal im- portance" in the relation of the United- States to the Philippines and their inhabitants :
"i. The supremacy of the United States must and will be enforced throughout every part of the Archipel- ago, and those who resist it can accomplish no end other than their own ruin.
"2. Tlie 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 compat- ible with the sovereign and international rights and obliga- tion 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. Honor, justice, and friendship forbid the use of the Philippine people or Islands as an object or means of exploitation. The purpose of the American Govern- ment is the welfare and advancement of the Philippine people. . . .
"11. Reforms in all departments of the government, in all branches of the public service, and in all corpora- tions closely touching the common life of the people, must be undertaken without delay, and effected conformably
Framing a Policy. i6i
to rii;ht and justice in a way that will satisfy the well- founded demands and the hiijhest sentiments and aspira- tions of the Philippine people."'''
Here were the germs of the policy for which Presi- dent AIcKinley and our best political leaders were seek- ing. .American sovereignty, such participation in the government of their own Lslands as the Filipino {)eople proved able to bear, prompt reform in all branches of the government, religious liberty, an honorable and just settlement of the vexed friar question, schools for the common people, etc. The efifect of the proclamation was immediate and dramatic. It split the insurgent gov- ernment in twain. On May 1st their Congress voted for the cessation of war, and the adoption of measures look- ing to peace on the basis of the proclamation. A new Cabinet was formed and a committee instructed "to con- fer with the American authorities to agree upon terms of honorable surrender."! Luna, the commanding gen- eral of insurgent forces, was furious. He arrested the delegates so appointed, and sentenced some to imprison- ment and some to death on the charge of treason !
But the Philippine Republic died in giving birth to this peace measure. It never pretended to live after that 1st of May, 1899. But the Peace Party, or Federal Party, grew apace. The wisest men in Aguinaldo's lines saw that, under such a policy as the proclamation outlined, they would enjoy a larger measure of liberty than they had ever dreamed of gaining under the plan for independence.
All this is recited to show that sober-minded ImH- pinos were satisfied with even the general outlines of a
^ Report of the Philippine Commission, 1900, Vol. I, pp. 3-5. t Report of War Department, 1901, Part II, p. 118. II
i62 The Philippines and the Far East.
national policy set forth in the proclamation of April 4, 1899. They saw that the evils from which they sought relief were impossible under such a government as our nation proposed to set up.
All later discussion served only to make increasingly clear that a strong government under American officials, aided by Filipinos as their character and capacity was proved, and all so framed as to lead the way to a gov- ernment of the Islands by the Filipinos themselves after an indefinite period of tutelage, was the policy best cal- culated to meet all the demands of the situation. Such a policy would satisfy the American conscience. It would redeem all our national pledges of disinterested helpfulness. It would disarm critics of other nations.
In the Philippines it would recognize and encourage the faint beginnings of a national spirit. In 1899 Presi- dent Schurman wrote :
"The Philippine Islands, even the most patriotic de- clare, can not, at the present time, stand alone. They need the tutelage and protection of the United States. But they need it in order that, in due time, they may, in their opinion, become self-governing and independent. For it would be a misrepresentation of facts not to report that ultimate independence — independence after an undefined period of American training — is the aspiration and goal of the intelligent Filipinos who to-day so streuously op- pose the suggestion of independence at the present time.""'
Nothing is more irrepressible than this spirit of na- tionality. It will not down. It breaks bounds. It shakes ofif all the twisted withes of oppressive legisla- tion with which a superior power may try to hold it cap- tive. This national spirit in the Philippines is feeble now. But it is there, and a policy which ignored its
■••• Report, 1900, Vol. I, pp. 82, 83.
Framing a Policy. 165
existence would be both foolish and wicked as well as out of alignment with our own past.
This policy, then, is neither despotism, federalism, nor pure colonialism. It is colonialism of a new brand. It is colonialism avowedly on the way to nationalism. And the avowal is made, not as is customary in history, by the cfilonists. The frank avowal of a purpose to see nationalism triumphant is made by the colonizing- power, and that in the hour when her arms have beaten down all who disputed her sovereignty.
It is a cautious policy, though its critics declare it rash and reckless. It refuses to fix any time when na- tionalism shall be recognized as sufficiently developed and chastened to discharge its obligations to the natives of these Islands, and meet its sovereign responsibilities as an independent State in the concert of nations. And in the intervening period the colonizing power proposes to prepare its new subjects for this exalted destiny by a system of free popular education, by admitting natives to as large a share in the government of the country as is shown to be compatible with the welfare of the people, and by carrying on before their eyes an adminis- tration which will furnish them a pattern from which to work out their own national salvation.
"The destiny of the Philippine Islands is not to be a State or Territory in the United States of America, but a daughter republic of ours — a new birth of liberty on the other side of the Pacific, which shall animate and energize those lovely islands of the tropical seas, and, rearing its head aloft, stand as a monument of progress and a beacon of hope to all the oppressed and benighted millions of the Asiatic continent."
The onlv criticism which can be passed upon this policy is, that it is impracticable ; that it assumes an
i66 Thk Philippines and the Far East,
ability in the Filipino which he does not possess — the moral stability, the sober judgment which are indispen- sable in a republican form of government. Our British cousins in Malaysia and Borneo scofif at the idea that any Malay people can ever become self-governing. They point to the bombast, the vanity, the cruelty, the de- ceitfulness, and chronic laziness of the typical Malay in proof of their contention. Our Dutch friends in Java declare that all their experience proves our program a hopeless one. Many Americans, chiefly of the military forces, treat the entire policy with dpen scorn.
What of these objections? Is the Filipino fitted for self-government? No; not at present. Has he racial deficiencies which leave him permanently disqualified for this role? It is not easy to answer. It is always hard to prove a negative. General statements are al- ways dangerous. Certainly the outlook is not as hope- ful as we could wish. The Malay race has produced less political results than the North American Indian. The latter did organize and maintain intertribal com- binations, and that between alien races, fenced ofif from one another by distance and by language barriers. This the Malay races have never yet accomplished. They are an imitative race, rather than a people with vigorous initiative. Catholic teachers speak discouragingly of their capacity for oiginal thought and independent ac- tion. It appears incontrovertible that public office is regarded by the many Filipinos in common with Asiatics generally as a means of private enrichment or the set- tlement of personal grudges. The executive secretary of the Civil Commission is overwhelmed with complaints as to the extortion, tyranny, and intrigue of Filipino provincial and municipal officials. In my own travels in the provinces I see painful evidences of the utter mis-
Framing a Policy.
167
apprehension of the real nature of official power. To eradicate these ideas, and put correct notions in their place, will require much patience and years of teaching by precept and example. It is fortunate for us that there are Filipino officials and leaders of public opinion who are above reproach in these matters, and whose
RAMHOO RAFT OX WHRH THF, COMNUSSIOX ASCENDED THE AREA RIVER.
(Raits of this sort carry one thousand pounds, and draw but three or four inches of water.
example and teaching will powerfully affect the mass of their own countrymen.
It must be remembered that the Filipino has never had a chance to show what he could do. He has been under the harrow of an unpitying, unseeing despotism, both political and ecclesiastical. It is a marvel that he has come so far on the way toward political manhood. The Church has steadily forbidden him to think. If he persisted, she has made his life a burden. When
i68 The Philippines and the Far East.
schools have done their work for a generation ; when the tug and sweat of actual participation in the work of governing their own people has been endured for a term of years ; and, above all, when the new religious forces already astir among the masses have lifted up new moral and ethical standards Ix'fore them. — then it will be time to ask whether the Filipino people are ca- pable of self-government.*
•'■The United States is the last people in the world to argue any other people into political subjection. And against a whole nation aspiring and struggling to be independent, it is as impos- sible to-day to draw up an indictment as it was when Burke re- pudiated the task in connection with the people of the thirteen American Colonies.
If the Filipinos desire independence, they should have it, when they are qualified to exercise it. The reports of General Chaffee and Governor Taft demon.strate (whatever their own personal views) that the difficulties in the way of independence are grad- ually disappearing. Let a Philippine popular assembly or house of representatives say whether the Filipinos want independence or not, and if so, at what date they think the grant should be con- ferred, and we shall then have before us all the conditions neces- sary for the final solution of the Philippine problem. If it appears probable, as recent experience seems to indicate, that the Christian Filipinos of Luzon and the Visayas might, at no distant day, govern themselves as well as the average Central or South American Re- public, then, in the name of American liberty and democracy, in the name of the political aspirations and ideals of the Filipinos, and in the name of justice and humanity, let the Philippine Re- public be established. As President McKinley said to me three years ago, we went into the Philippines solely with the humanita- rian object of conferring the blessings of liberty on the Filipinos. In its highest potency, liberty and independence are one and insep- arable.
And to repeat, what ought not need repetition anywhere within the limits of our free Republic, any decent kind of government of Filipinos by Filipinos is better than the best possible government of Filipinos by Americans. — (Schurman.)
CHAPTER XL
Some CoxsTRucrivii Luc.islation,
Starting with the surprisingly varied and uniformly excellent provisions made by the army for new courts, the collecting and disbursement of public funds, the es- tablishment of sanitary conditions, the opening of a system of free schools, and a list of other needed pro- visions too long to be enumerated here, the Civil Com- mission has drafted and put into force over one thou- sand laws. They have followed the Anglo-Saxon rather than the Frencli method of providing government and legislative machinery for new conditions, conserving and using existing legislative and governmental provi- sions which were worthy, and creating new laws and new provisions onl}- when such were demanded by new conditions. And while some of this legislation has proved a misfit, because too theoretical, and perhaps Utopian, it has all been of a more practical character be- cause it was framed in view of what seemed pressing necessities. So urgent has been the demand for new laws, and the drastic amendment of those in force for generations, that the Commission has been forced to adopt the maxim of that son of Erin who declared that he "never did to-day what could be put off until to-morrow." They have been literally forced to hold over everything that could wait, while all their thought and time wdiich could be spared from executive duties were given to
169
170 The Philippines and the Far East,
drafting and passing laws touching phases of PhiHppine Ufe which demanded instant ameHoration.
Out of this bewildering mass of legislation I can name and outline but a few Acts of many which are worthy of designation as "constructive legislation." I shall reserve the School Act for a special chapter.
Governor Taft jotted down for me the following partial list of Acts of the Civil Commission which he regarded fundamental to the creation of right conditions of government and society in the Philippines :
The Municipal Code, the Provincial Act. the School Act, the Organization of Courts, the Act Creating the Civil Service Board, the Civil Procedure Act, the Phil- ippine Constabulary Act, the Land Act, the Land Regis- tration Act, the Penal Code, and various Acts as to Public Health.
Some of these are very intricate acts. All have called for legislative ability of a high order. In a sense the Commission had an open field. The slate was clean. They were to judge what to conserve, and how and what to build anew. It was a great opportunity, and, on the whole, has been worthily met. Certain it is that no body of men laboring for the welfare of those over whom the flag of our Republic waves have put in longer hours, or given themselves more unsparingly to their high duties than this body, of whom Governor Taft was not only governor, but the commanding spirit and legisla- tive genius. They have "toiled terribly." I know whereof I speak, for I have been a constant and inter- ested witness. I knew that these men were making history — history w'hich would not only be read with un- failing interest as a contribution to the literature of colo- nial administration, but which, as it was made, and after- wards, would tell tremendously in awakening the leth-
SOMD CoNSTRUCTIVr: LkCISLATIOI^. 17 1
arpc and immobile East, and hastening the day when the vast populations of insular and Continental Asia should come to their own.
The Municipal Code was enacted into law January 31, 1901, It was one of the first, as it was one of the most fundamental, of the constructive acts of the Com- mission. It called in being municipalities practically autonomous, with a limited electorate, having their operations subject to the scrutiny and criticism of a provincial government in which the controlling element must be American, and directly responsible to the in- sular government. In this way it was hoped by the Commission that a nucleus of patriotic Filipinos might be brought into such practical familiarity with the work- ings of government as to secure correct views of the duties belonging to public officers. For the Commission well says :
"It is necessary by practical lessons and actual expe- rience to eliminate from the minds of the more intelli- gent part of the community who form the electorate those ideas of absolutism in government, and to impress the conception of a limitation upon power, which it is now so difficult for them to understand. In addition to the defect spoken of, there is another. There is an absolute lack of any sense of responsibility on the part of a public officer to the public at large. Office has always been re- garded as a source of private profit, and as a means 01 gratifying private desires, cither hate or friendship."*
Some of the salient features of the Municipal Code — the germ of the government to be established in these Islands — are given in the somewhat extensive quota- tions below. They will speak for themselves :
"Section i. (a) The pueblos of the Philippine Islands shall be recognized as municipal corporations, with the
■Report, Vol. I, p. 20.
172 The Philippines and the Far East.
same boundaries ars now existing dc jure or dc facto, upon organization under the provisions of this Act.
"(b) This Act shall not apply to the city of Manila, for which special legislation shall be enacted.
"(c) This Act shall not apply to the settlements of non-Christian tribes, for which special legislation shall be enacted.
"Sec. 2. (a) Pueblos incorporated under this Act shall be designated as municipalities (muiiicipios) , and shall be known respectively by the names heretofore adopted. Under such names they may sue and be sued, contract and be contracted with, acquire and hold real and per- sonal property for the general interests of the municipal- ity, and exercise all the powers hereinafter conferred upon them,
"(b) All property and property rights vested in any pueblo under its former organization shall continue to be vested in the same municipality after its corporation under this Act.
"Sec. 3. The government of each municipality estab- lished under this Act is hereby vested in a president, a vice-president, and a Municipal Council. The president and the councilors, together with the vice-president, shall be chosen at large by the qualified electors of the munic- ipality, and their term of office shall be for two years from and after the first Monday in January next after their election and until their successors are duly chosen and qualified ; Provided, that the president and vice-president elected in 1901 shall hold office until the first Monday in January, 1903, or until their successors are duly cho- sen and qualified, and that the councilors elected in 1901 shall divide themselves by lot into two classes ; the seats of those of the first class shall be vacated on the first Mon- day of January, 1902, and those of the second class one year thereafter, or when their successors are duly chosen and qualified, so that one-half of the Municipal Council shall be chosen annually.
"Sec. 4. (a) Incorporated municipalities shall be of four classes according to the number of inhabitants. Mu- nicipalities of the first class shall be those which contain
SOMK CONSTKUCTIVK LkCISLATION, 1 73
not less than 25,000 inhabitants, and shall have eighteen councilors ; of the second class, those containing 18,000 and less than 25,000 inhabitants, and shall have fourteen councilors ; of the third class, those containing 10,000 and less than 18.000 inhabitants, and shall have ten coun- cilors ; of the fourtli class, those containing less than 10,- 000 inhabitants, and shall have eight councilors.
"ChapTkr II. "qualifications of KI.FXTORS — KLFXTIONS.
"Sec. 6. (a) The electors charged with the duty of choosing elective municipal officers shall be male per- sons, twenty-three }cars of age or over, who have had a legal residence in the municipality in which they exer- cise the suffrage for a period of six months immediately preceding the election, and who are citizens or subjects of the following three classes :
"(b) Those who, prior to the 13th of August 1898, held the office of municipal captain, gobernadorcillo, alcalde, lieutenant, caboza de barangay, or member of any Ayuntamiento.
"(c) Those who own real property to the value of 500 pesos, or who annually pay thirty pesos or more of the established taxes.
"(d) Those who speak, read, and write English or Spanish."
Persons so qualified take oath to be loyal to the gov- ernment of the United States, and proceed on designated dates to choose their municipal officials "by secret bal- lot." The election must be held in the public municipal office, and is presided over by a Board of Election judges, consisting of three qualified electors who are not candidates at the election being held. Votes cast for a member of this Board are declared void. The hours of voting are fixed fom 8 A, M. to 4 P. M. Ample
174 The Philippines and the Far East.
provisions are made for detecting and punishing elec- tion frauds. The persons declared elected take the usual oath, and assume their respective duties.
Chapter III, Section 15, is important, in view of the relation of the friar to municipal matters in all the past :
"In no case shall there be elected or appointed to a municipal office ecclesiastics, soldiers in active service, per- sons receiving salaries from provincial, departmental, or governmental funds, or contractors for public works of the municipality."
From the report of the Commission I take the fol- lowing portions of a summary of the relations which friars sustained to the municipality under Spanish rule. (Volume II, page 25.) It was given by the provincial of the Franciscan Order:
"He [the friar curate] was inspector of primary schools ; president of the Health Board and Board of Charities ; president of the Board of Urban Taxation ; in- spector of taxation. He certified to the correctness of the cedillas, seeing that they conformed to the entries in the parish books. He was president of the Board of Sta- tistics. He was president of the census-taking of the town. Every year they drew lots for those who were to serve in the army, every fifth man drawn being taken. They disliked the service, and many of them would take to the woods, and the civil guard would have to go after them, and bring them back. There were many desertions. He was censor of the municipal budgets. He was presi- dent of the Prison Board, and inspector of the food pro- vided for the prisoners. He was also a member of the Board for partitioning Crown Lands. He was also coun- selor for the Municipal Council. The parish priest was also the supervisor of the election of the police force. He was the examiner of the scholars attending the first and second grades in the public schools."
Some Constructive Legislation. 175
By one word inserted in this brief section the baleful power of the friar over the whole life and destiny of the people is forever broken.
Taxes are to l)e raised from land and certain other specified sources, and from those only. They are never to be "farmed" or sold to the highest bidder for col- lection, but are to be collected under the direction of the provincial treasurer, who must audit all municipal accounts.
"Sec. 62. There shall be exempt from taxation burying-grounds, churches and their adjacent parsonages or conventos, and lands and buildings used exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, or educational purposes, and not for private profit ; but such exemption shall not ex- tend to lands or buildings held for investment, though the income therefrom be devoted to religious, charitable, sci- entific, or educational purposes."
Prcsidciitcs, or mayors, are to receive from $300 to $600 (United States currency), according to the popu- lation of the municipality. As a concession to the Fili- pino love of signs of authority, it is specifically provided that the prcsidcntc "is authorized to use, as a symbol of ofiice, a black cylindrical cane, with gold head, silver ferrule, and silver cord and tassels."
The Council is ordered to do certain things, and empowered to do others. It is interesting and encour- aging to note that they "shall . . . provide for closing opium-joints, and prohibit and . punish the keeping or visiting of any place where opium is smoked or sold for the purpose of smoking." (Section 39, v.) It must "establish and maintain schools." It "may . . . license, tax, or prohibit cock-fighting, and the keeping or train- ing of fighting-cocks, and license, tax, or close cock- pits." (Section 40.)
176 The Philippines and the Far East.
On the whole, the jMunicipal Code is a(hiiirably ad- justed to the pecuharities of PhiHppine conditions. It has been in more or less successful operation in over seven hundred municipalities since 1901. New elec- tions took place early in the year 1902, with far less of friction and fraud than was to be anticipated.
The Provincial Act w'as passed exactly one week later — February 6, 1901. Within a few months its provisions had been extended to practically all those provinces which had been pacified, the Commission passing in a kind of triumphal journey from one pro- vincial capital to another, being received everywhere with such tumultuous welcome as a highly emotional people delight to give their rulers. As the area of peace has steadily widened, the Act has been put in force in all parts of the Archipelago inhabited by Christianized Filipinos.
The elective element is very much less in the plan for provincial government than in that for municipali- ties. Only the governor is chosen by ballot. But he is the chief executive ofificer of the province, and his power is very considerable.
Section 4 prescribes the method to be pursued in choosing a governor.
"The provincial governor shall be selected in the fol- lowing manner: On the first Monday of February, 1902, and of each second year thereafter, the councilors of every duly-organized municipality in the province shall meet in joint convention at the capital of the province, and there, after selecting a presiding officer and secretary, shall by secret ballot, choose a person to be the provin- cial governor. A majority of those present and entitled to vote shall be necessary to elect. The action of the Con- vention shall be forwarded to the Commission by the sec-
Some Coxstructivk Legislation. 177
retary of the Convention, after being duly certified by the presiding officer of the Convention and by the secretary. The Commission shall then confirm the selection of the person named, unless it shall find that he was unfairly elected, that he is ineligible, or that there is reasonable ground to suspect his loyalty. If the Commission shall decline to confirm the person named, the Convention shall be reconvened at a time fixed by the Commission, and a second election had. If the appointment at the second election is not confirmed, then the Commission shall ap- point the governor. The term of the governor thus elected or appointed shall begin on the first ^vlonday in March, and continue for two years thereafter, and until his suc- cessor shall have been duly elected and qualified.
"Sec. 5. The provincial secretary, the provincial treas- urer, the provincial supervisor, and the provincial fiscal (or prosecuting attorney) shall be appointed by the Com- mission to hold office during its pleasure. With the ex- ception of the provincial fiscal, they shall, after ?\larch 1st (1902) be selected under the provisions and restric- tions of the Civil Service Act. The provincial secretary shall be able to speak and write the Spanish language, and after January i. 1906, the English language also. The provincial supervisor shall be a competent civil engineer and surveyor."
A Provincial Board, made up of the governor, treas- urer, and supervisor, is constituted by the Act, and this Board becomes a kind of Executive Committee dealing with taxation, improvements, police, and all other mat- ters coming up in the province. This Board is re- quired to hold regular weekly meetings, and keep an exact record of all its decisions. Land tax shall not exceed three-eighths of one per cent on the basis of assessments elsewhere provided for. All financial mat- ters are safely guarded, and the rights and powers of each provincial officer carefully set forth. Taxation
178 The Philippines and the Far East.
must be just, uniform, and honestly collected. Vagrancy, lawlessness, and all forms of disloyalty are to be watched and rigorously suppressed. Any provincial officer who is dishonorable, disloyal, or inefficient may be removed
TWO-^nLE LIMIT POST, NEAR MANILA. (No liquor can be sold within two miles of the fort beyond.)
by the Commission according to a method of procedure fully set forth in section 19. Though much more brief than the Municipal Code, the Provincial Act seems to cover the entire field of legislation needed thus far. Through the officials who have been selected and placed in charge of municipalities and provinces under these
SOiMI-; CoiXSTRUCTIX'Iv LiCC.lSLATION. 1 79
two specimens of constructive les^islation the fhilippine Islands are beini;- governed to-day. \\y this I mean that government, as it touches the lives of the great mul- titudes of the Archipelago, is made up of the operations of these two Acts. Under these Acts taxes are col- lected and applied. Under these Acts bridges are built, roads are built, schools financed, and all the executive work of government among the masses carried forward. Governor Wright and the Commission are unknown to the fao in his remote provincial towns. But he knows the prcsidcntc and municipal councilors, and the provin- cial governor and other officials touch his life almost every month of the year.
The results thus far are highly encouraging. Of course it is hard for municipal and provincial officials _ to understand that absolutism is gone, never to return, that Church and State are absolutely separate, and that public office is a public trust to be administered for the public weal. In one municipality the Council passed an ordinance regulating the fees to be charged by the Filipino priest for marriage, burials, baptisms, and mass ! The priest fled to Manila, laid his grievance before Gov- ernor Taft, who addressed an open letter to the then governor of that province, and through him to the Coun- cils of the various municipalities. The letter was a plain, clear statement of the complete separation be- tween civil and religious authority, and it has done much to clear befogged clerical and lay minds on that vital to])ic. In "a municipality visited less than a month ago the prcsidcntc obliges the priest by putting orders to collect contributions for masses to be sung in the name of the patron village saint at the foot of orders about the cleaning of streets, removing rubbish, and other matters
i8o The Philippines and the Far East.
falling rightfully within his jurisdiction. He will prob- ably be summarily dismissed from office as both a just punishment and a needed warning.
The Constabulary Act, passed July i8, 1901, pro- vides a civil police or constabulary force for the entire Archipelago, "for the purpose of better maintaining peace, law, and order in the various provinces of the Philippine Islands."
The chief of this force and the first of his four as- sistant chiefs remain at headquarters in Manila, which is made one of the four divisions of the Islands for police purposes. At the chief city of each of the other three divisions another assistant chief is stationed, to have immediate command of the forces in his division. "Not less than fifteen privates, one sergeant, and one corporal, and not more than one hundred and fifty privates, four sergeants, and eight corporals may be maintained in each province." Terms of enlistment are for two years. The chief is appointed by the governor, by and with the con- sent of the Commission. The expense of maintaining this uniformed body of civil police, or constabulary, is borne by the gener, or "insular" treasury, and the en- tire force, with that of about six-thousand Filipino troops, called "scouts," are responsive to orders from headquarters.
There has been more severe criticism of this branch of the public service than of any other. Some of the trouble arose from suddenly placing Filipinos in places of authority for which experience and self-restraint had not fitted them. Much of the friction has been caused by the entire newness of the plan and by the chaotic condition in which afifairs were left after five years of unbroken guerrilla warfare. A heritage of hatred, sus-
Some Constructivr Lkgislation.
I8l
picion, and general lawlessness was certain to be left after such conditions had prevailed over so many years. Men on the constabulary force had relatives and ac- quaintances among the lawless element, and it was not always easy to keep sheep and goats separated. The constabulary has done an immense amount of solid work. Few natives comparatively, have been "untrue to their salt." Gangs of cutthroats have been arrested, whole provinces rid of pestiferous cattle-thieves and conspirators, and a general cleaning up accomplished. The efficiency of this arm of service, under General Al- len and Colonel Scott, will steadily increase, until it has done for the Philippines what the civil police in Burma have accomplished under like conditions.
Brigandage is chronic in the Philippines. It has been so for more than a century. No possible provision could have been made for its immediate eradication. Industrial and commercial prosperity will greatly ease the burdens borne now by the constabular\- and the courts. War. plague, cholera, locusts, and rinderpest sweeping off in one year seventy per cent of the cara- bao — the farm animals of this agricultural country — these evils, added to the aftermath of a long and wast- ing war, and social and economic maladjustments af- fecting the daily lives of millions of people always on the edge of need, have pushed many over the line into lawlessness. The constabulary has hard tasks and must use poor tools. But the creation of a policing force for seven millions of peoples, and the attainment of some degree of success in less than three years' time in the face of the terrible conditions which confronted the Commission, is an achievement of no small magnitude. Municipal and provincial government would to-day col-
i82 The Philippines and the Far East.
lapse if the strong' arm of the constabulary were with- drawn, and it' would become necessary "to summon the military force which was their first deliverer and pro- tector.
On June ii, 1901. the Act authorizing the new judi- cial system was passed. When one reflects upon the unique relation of the administration of justice to the welfare and safety of a nation, the fundamental im- portance of such legislation will be apparent. It was found that the Spanish system could not be so amended as to meet the needs of the case. Their courts were too often courts of injustice. A new system w'as de- manded. The Act provides for three kinds of courts, — a Supreme Court of seven members, Courts of First Instance, and Justice Courts. The Supreme Court is made up of seven members, the chief justice receiving $7,500 (United .States currency) annuall\. and the as- sociate justices $7,000 each. It has the work commonly falling to such bodies in our States. It has original jurisdiction to issue writs of mandamus, certiorari, pro- hibition, habeas corpus, and quo zvarraiito, as prescribed in the new Code of Civil Procedure, another great piece of constructive legislation, the mere index of it filling six pages folio !
Courts of First Instance are established for groups of provinces. There are fourteen Judicial Districts, and that number of judges hold court in each province in regular succession. Courts of First Instance, also, have appellate as well as original jurisdiction. They dispose of the more important civil and criminal cases. Courts of Justices of the Peace were established by military orders before the Commission took up its duties. All these are "recognized and continued" by this Act, and
Some Coxstructivu Legislation. 183
the justices of such courts ordered to contiuue in office "during the pleasure of the Commission."
Each municipaHty has its justice of the peace. In the entire Archipela.e:© there are now more than seven hundred such judicial officers, at work under this truly great Act.
Four memhcrs of the Supreiue Court are Amer- icans ; three are Filipinos. The chief justice is a Fili- pino— Don Cayetano Arallano — a man of probity and unquestioned legal ability. Nine Americans and five Filipinos make up the list of judges of the Courts of First Instance. Their salaries range from $5,500 for the two who hold court in Manila, to $4,000 for those whose work is less, both in amount and difficulty, and who live in less expensive centers. The Act provides for an attorney-general, who performs the duties usual in such an office. His salary is fixed at $5,500.
The operation of these courts has dried up bribery in all cases above justice courts. It has taught the poorest and the richest that cases are decided by the v.-eight of evidence, and not by fear, afifection, envy, nor interests of a more practical character. Each occupant of a judicial position from chief justice to the justice of the peace has to take a solemn oath of loyalty to the United States, and swear saying, "I will administer justice without respect of persons, and do equal right to the poor and to the rich." And this is a new thing in these Islands. It is the beginning of the reign of Him who "shall not fail nor be discouraged till He have set judgment in the earth ; and the isles shall wait for His law."
These and the Health Acts, by which we are' sani- tizing all the cities, the new Land Act, under which the
184 The Philippines and the Far East.
poorest may take a forty-acre homestead and have it free for five years' occupation and use, the Civil Service Act, the Penal Code, and Land Registration Act, the Civil Marriage Law, and a score more, all fill the heart of a lover of righteousness with confidence for the suc- cess of our work in the Philippines.*
•'■ List of twent}'-five more Acts of far-reaching benefit to the Philippines :
1. Act creating Bureau of Agriculture.
2. Prevention of Cruelt}- to Animals.
3. Act preventing wanton destruction of timber on public lands.
4. Act defining and prohibiting libel, and printing, selling, or exhibiting obscene books, pictures, etc.
5. Act providing for examination of banks. (No. 52.)
6. Code of Civil Procedure. (No. 190.) Index alone fills six folio pages.
7. Act Abolishing Slavery among Moros.
8. Act creating Bureau of Coast Guard and Transportation. (No. 226.)
9. Customs Administrative Act. (No. 355.) Index alone fills forty-four folio pages.
10. Act creating Forestry Bureau.
11. Mining Bureau Act.
12. Act regulating the Practice of Medicine and Surgery.
13. Charter of Manila.
14. Currency Act (establishing gold basis).
15. Act creating Bureau of Non-Christian Tribes (now Bureau of Ethnolog}-).
16. Act establishing Government Laboratories.
17. Act establishing Provincial Health Boards. (No. 307.)
18. Act providing for control and management of jails. (No. 413.)
19. Act creating Bureau of Public Lands. (No. 218.)
20. Act authorizing all Protestant denominations to hold land for Church purposes. (No. 271.)
21. Act establishing Weather Bureau. (No. 131.)
22. Act making vaccination compulsory. (No. 309.)
23. Act establishing the Summer Capital at Bagnio, Benguet.
24. Act providing for Municipal Cemeteries.
25. Penal Code.
CHAPTER XII.
Educating a Nation.
From the very beginning of American occupation all classes of Americans have recognized the fundamental necessity of establishing and maintaining free public schools for the Filipino people. Such a step was in line with their most dearly-cherished ambitions. Their struggle with the Spanish government had made their leaders painfully conscious of the defects of the educa- tional system under which they had been trained, and keenly alive to the importance of schools carried on in the modern spirit and with the help of modern apparatus. In i860, when O'Connell was Spanish minister for the colonies, a public school law for the Philippines was enacted. It ordered a public school established in every pueblo, and made instruction in the Spanish languages of primary importance. The Bill was weak in that it made the Archbishop of the Philippines an cx-officio member of the Board having control of the system, and the friar curate in the several pueblos inspectors. Span- ish Liberals urged the practical realization of this scheme of popular education with great vigor ; but the Philip- pines were far away, and, worst of all, the Roman Cath- olic Church authorities in the Islands were either luke- warm or openly hostile. As a consequence they did as little as possible to put the plan in force. At the be- ginning of the American occupation, such schools were
185
i86 The Philippines and the Far East.
in operation ; but they did not reach the masses, and were weak in every way. If any reader deem my opinion on this subject warped and unfair, let him hear what the general superintendent of public instruction, Dr. David P. Barrows, says in his Annual Report for 1902-03 :
"In the second place, the Spanish school system, though founded and supported by the government, was never secular in character. The Spanish friar, who was the pueblo curate, was always the local inspector of the school, and not only directed its conduct, but determined the subjects which should be taught. In the brief and imperfect course of primary instruction which was given in these little schools. Church catechism. Church doctrine, and sacred history were emphasized almost to the exclu- sion of the other subjects which were necessary to fit the Filipino child for his position in life, whether it be humble or forUmate. This, however, was not the sole unfortunate effect of this arrangement. Whatever may be said in praise of the work of religious orders in these islands, it can not be denied that their attitude during the last fifty, and par- ticularly the final thirty, years of their influence here, was excessively hostile toward the enlightenment of the Fili- pino. They actively sought to debar the Filipino from any sort of modern knowledge, from gaining a position of independence and self-respect, and from entrance into any kind of leadership of his own race. It was, in fact, this obstructive and reactionary policy on the part of the class that most immediately affected their lives that pro- voked the Filipinos into open hostility and rebellion."
The first Philippine Commission in one of its earliest Reports says :
"He [the Filipino] is at all events, keenly alive to the drawbacks under which he has thus far labored, and strongly desirous of securing better educational advan- tages. In the opinion of the Commission, the govern- ment established in the Islands should promptly provide
Educating a Nation. 189
for the fulfillment of this reasonable and most praise- worthy desire by the establishment of an adequate sys- tem of secularized and free public schools."
The School .Vet (No. 74) was passed by the Commis- sion, January 21, 1901, before the Municipal Code or the Provincial Act. It was one of the "first thinj^s," and was, therefore, done "first." It is entitled "An Act Es- tablishing a Department of Public Instruction in the Philippine Islands." Some of its most important pro- visions are given in full :
"Section i. A Department of Public Instruction for the Philippine Islands is hereby established, the central office of which shall be in the city of Manila. All pri- mary instruction in the schools established or maintained under this Act shall be free.
"Sec. 2. All schools heretofore established in the Phil- ippine Islands under the auspices of the military gov- ernment, are hereby declared to be in the Department of Public Instruction established by Section i, and are made subject to the control of the officers of this de- partment.
"Sec. 3. The chief officer of this department who shall be denominated the General Superintendent of Public In- struction shall be appointed by the Commission. His annual salary shall be six thousand dollars. . . .
"Sec. 4. There shall be a superior Advisory Board of Education composed of the general superintendent and four members to be appointed by the Commission. . . . It shall be the duty of the Board to assist the general superintendent by advice and information concerning the educational needs and conditions of the Islands ; to make such investigations as the general superintendent may desire, and to make recommendations to the Commission from time to time as to needed amendments to the law."
In sections 4-13 provision is made for a city super-
I90 TiiK Philippines and the Far East,
intendent in Manila at a salary of three thousand dol- lars, for division superintendents, not to exceed ten in number, at salaries varying from two thousand to twen- ty-five hundred dollars, and for local School Boards, of four or six members, one-half of whom shall be elected by the Municipal Council, and one-half appointed by the division superintendent, to hold office during his pleasure.
"Sec. 14. The English language shall, as soon as prac- ticable, be made the basis of all public-school instruc- tion, and soldiers may be detailed as instructors until such time as they may be replaced by trained teachers.
"Sec. 15. Authority is hereby given to the general superintendent of public instruction to obtain from the United States one thousand trained teachers, at monthly salaries of not less than seventy-five dollars, and not more than one hundred and twenty-five dollars, the exact sal- ary of each teacher to be fixed by the general superin- tendent. . . .
"Sec. 16. No teacher or other person shall teach or criticise the doctrines of any Church, religious sect, or de- nomination, or shall attempt to influence pupils for or against any Church or religious sect in any public school established under this Act. If any teacher shall inten- tionally violate this section, he or she shall, after due hearing be dismissed from the public service: Provided, hoivcvcr, that it shall be lawful for the priest or minister of any Church established in the pueblo where a public school is situated, either in person or by a designated teacher of religion, to teach religion for one-half an hour three times a week in the school building to those public- school pupils whose parents or guardians desire it, and express their desire therefor in writing filed with the prin- cipal teacher of the school, to be forwarded to the division superintendent, who shall fix the hours and rooms for such teaching. But no public-school teacher shall either conduct exercises or teach religion, or act as a designated religious teacher in the school building under the forego- ing authority, and no pupil shall be required by any public-
Educating a Nation. 193
school teacher to attend and receive the reU,s;ious histruc- tion herein permitted. Should the opportunity thus sj^iven to teach relii^ion be used by the priest, minister, or re- ligious teacher for the purpose of arousing disloyalty to the United States, or discouraging the attendance of pupils at such public schools, of creating a disturbance of public order, or of interfering with the discipline of the school, the division superintendent, subject to the approval of the general superintendent of public instruction, may, after due investigation and hearing, forbid such offending priest, minister, or religious teacher."
Sections 17-19 provide for normal, trade, and agri- cultural schools, and the concluding sections of the Act relate to plans for buildings and details of finance and general administration.
August 23, 1901, the United States army transport 'Jlwiiias landed five hundred and forty-two trained American teachers in Manila. All were graduates of university, college, or normal school, and nearly all men and women of experience. It was my privilege to be at the wharf to render such aid as was possible in wel- coming this new army of invasion. History was made that day. The United States had begun the education of a nation. This gay, laughing, light-hearted crowd of teachers were to begin in all seriousness that work which would alone make it possible for the petty races and tribal divisions of these Islands to be one people. Some of us, who had long lived in the East, could assess in some general way the significance of that 23d of August, not only, let us hope, for the Filipino people, but for the hundreds of millions who sit about the shores of the Pacific in the Far East. History had no parallel to that event. So poor and, too often, so vicious, had been the teaching and example of those who were their edu- cational leaders, that the poorest and weakest specimen
194 The Philippinrs and the Far East.
of an American teacher in this shipload of pedagogues would be immeasurably better as a civilizing and up- lifting agency among the people.
Within a few weeks this large body of teachers had been stationed and were face-to-face with the possibili- ties and discouragements of their tasks. The difficul- ties were almost unthinkable to the untraveled. War, or "that sort of passive bushwhacking which the Fili- pino calls war," had kept commercial and social condi- tions unsettled for years. Antagonisms born of guer- rilla warfare left families and neighborhoods embittered against one another. A people who had been con- quered were hardly prepared to kiss the rod that smote them. Whole areas were still so unsafe that military forces were in possession, and no officer or man left tent or barracks without arms. All living arrangements were strange, and lamentably insufficient for health, to say nothing of comfort. A\'ith no knowledge of Spanish or the local vernaculars, and with absolutely no way of making their wants known to local officials who voted supplies, and otherwise helped or hindered their work, — with all these, and many difficulties and drawbacks not to be recited, — the American teachers began their work of teaching the English language to Filipino children. That so many have braved it out and kept on at their work, and that during these three years they have been compacted into a united, alert, and well-adjusted body of teachers, is a tribute to the American gift of adaptation, and to the real courage *and staying power of these pedagogical pioneers, that the great body of their coun- trymen should appreciate. They have staid. They are welded into one body. They do clearly see their tasks. The "ship has found herself." From close and somewhat wide acquaintance with these workers to-
Educating a Nation. 197
getlier for the g^ood of this people, I am sure that the force wielded by the American teacher to-day is easily the most potent sing-le factor in disarmintj hostility to American rule, and securing" those beneficent ends for which, and for which alone, we hold these Islands.
Opposition to the public school has come from two classes, — the friar, and the prosperous classes. How- ever skillful in "hidino^ the hand," it is very clear who have "thrown the stones."
The Commission were gravely admonished that no system of schools which did not provide for religious education — meaning Catholic ediication — could have even a chance of success. Dr. Barrows well'says in his Report, "There has been no case of greater misrepre- sentation."
So thoroughly had the Church people captured the Commission with their news that they put the Faribault proviso at the close of section 16 of the Act. as quoted in this chapter. If the members of the Commission had known the hostility of that Church to any system of free public schools, they would have seen the utter futil- ity of such a feeble concession. With very inconsid- erable exceptions, that well-meant proviso has been in a condition of "innocuous desuetude" from the day of its enactment. What the Catholic leaders want is Church teaching at public expense. May the day be far distant when they, or the authorities of any other denomination, get it !
The opposition of the Church has taken three chief forms :
(i) A systematic effort to keep pupils from attend- ing the schools. Parents were threatened with ecclesias- tical disabilities in this world, and eternal fire afterward, if they permitted their children to enter them. Word
198 The Philippines and the Far East.
went from Manila to Filipino incumbents of the parishes where the Spanish friar formerly ruled like a nabob, and they did, and still do, their poor best to keep the faithful in line. A friar wrote as follows to an American priest early in 1901 :
"Concerning- the data that you ask me on the present educational situation, all I can say is, that a vigorous cam- paign was made against the forced invasion of the Amer- ican teachers. During a few months not a newspaper was published (La Dciuocracia excepted, of course) without containing strong protests, not only from the teachers, male or female, but also from the fathers of families. It was a touching tribute of faith in these people to fear sending their children to non-Catholic schools. These fears, as you will see, were not without foundation."
This form of opposition succeeded in part at first. But, speaking broadly, the fact remains that it has failed, and failed finally. The schools are filled to overflowing, and the parents are more than satisfied with the results.
(2) 77?r cstablisliincnt of rival schools, directly or indirectly controlled by the Chnrch. On this point I quote again from the friar witness mentioned above, and could fill pages with equalh- good proofs of this form of hostility :
"Scarcely was the coming of the new teachers an-- nounced, when the Filipino Catholics, knowing that many of the beautiful home schools which had been built under the Spanish government would be handed over to these strangers, raised a fund to build schools, where, at the same time, both science and religion could be taught to their children. The results were most satisfactory. In a few months many Catholic schools were opened, and a great number of pupils of both sexes chose these in pref- erence to the others.
"Here in Manila, and still more in the provinces, the schools supervised by non-Catholics were clay after day
Educatinc a Nation. 201
deserted, so much so that a few of these teachers, ashamed of receiving a good salary without earning it, or, what is more probable, carried away by the spirit of opposition, took the liberty more than once of entering by force the Catholic schools and obliging the children to come to theirs. These crimes were repeated in many cities. Im- partial newspapers protested, asking where is the much- vaunted freedom of education ? llut these teachers often succeeded by unfair means in intimidating the fathers of Catholic children."
Some of these rival schools are fairly good in certain branches. But as a whole they are weak in staff, and still more painfully behind the age in their courses of study. They have no apparatus. Often the school meets in a house where domestic labors go forward, while a dozen children monotonously sing the catechism and prayers of the Church. I saw such a school recently in a house where a woman was running a noisy sewing- machine, two men were gambling with much loud talk, and two others were repairing the floor with saw and hammer ! But it was a school. It taught doctrine. It kept the children from the contamination of the "secu- lar" public school.
In Manila twenty-nine Catholic schools were opened between May and December of 1901. The reports of division superintendents for 1902-3 will show that the antagonism of the Church takes this form yet, and is measurably successful in certain localities. From one of the better class of these Catholic schools in a provin- cial town not far from Manila I secured the advertised course of study. I give it with the letter of the friend who sent it to me.
"Dkar Dr. Stuntz, — In the school that I spoke to you about, three books are used ; namely, 'Catecismo de la Doctrina Cristiana/ by Caspar Astete ; 'The Manual de la
202 The Philippines and the Par East.
Infancia,' got up by the Jesuits, and for sale in Manila; and 'Paginas de la Infancia,' a Spanish reading-book com- posed of short stories with morals.
"The first book is nothing but an ordinary catechism, small and very simple. The second book, 'Manual of Infancy,' is a general text-book of octavo size and 416 pages. Its chapters, translated from the Spanish, are the following: 'Sacred History;' or, a short digest of the im- portant events of the Old and New Testament ; 'Religion,' which deals largely with the doctrine of the Catholic Church; 'Morality,' or Morals in Spanish, which is some- thing like our 'Ethics,' but with a strong leaning towards the Catholic doctrine; 'Politeness,' or Courtesy, rules for social life ; English Grammar ; Spanish Grammar ; Arith- metic ; Geometry, Geography ; and History of the Phil- ippines.' All these subjects are included in one book of 416 pages, and the greatest space is given to the treat- ment of Sacred History. Religion, and Morality and Cour- tesy. You can imagine the value of a course in English and Spanish Grammar, History, Geography, Arithmetic, and Geometry that is comprised in less than 200 pages.
"The children study six hours, and all subjects men- tioned, except English Grammar, are taken up. Latin will soon be added, the professor tells me.
"This school corresponds to one of our high schools or preparatory schools in the States. The schools in the town that correspond to our primary or grammar schools teach nothing but a Catholic Church catechism, written in Tagalog. Hoping this will be of use to you, and as- suring you that I shall be only too glad to ascertain any other facts about the school that you may wish."
By their fruits the Filipino must judge these rival schools. Their finished product will be seeking posi- tions soon in competition with the product of the public schools. The surpassing efficiency of the latter will then be apparent, and there can be but one result. The rival school, with its mediaeval course of study and its utter lack of discipline, will be forced to shut its doors.
Educating a Nation. 205
(3) A carefully planned attempt to gain control of the department. Their first move was a master-stroke. A Catholic was made Commissioner, and thus became secretary of pubHc instruction, as the successor of the outgoing commissioner-secretary. The next move was to get a Cathohc city superintendent in Manila. Fruits of the new policy are ripening before us. Catholics are promoted. A high percentage of new teachers coming from the States are Catholics. Every few days some- thing transpires to keep us fully aware that "Change- less Rome" is tireless as well. Rome proposes to con- trol the public school which she can not destroy. With her Jesuitical methods and her tremendous political lev- erage in America, she can do us vast harm. Every move must be watched by all who want to see the State do the work of the State, and the Church and home do the work that is theirs by Divine sanction.
Rome hates the public school with an inextinguish- able hatred. The pope could not even carry on a cor- respondence with Governor Taft as to the purchase of friar lands without injecting a little of this hatred of a public-school system into his first communication. After giving a wily answer to the frank proposals of Governor Taft to buy all friar holdings at a fair price, Leo XIII wrote : •
"Finally, the Holy See can not abstain from asking the American authorities suitable provisions for religious teaching in the public schools, especially the primary ; and that the choice of teachers be made according to equitable principles, such as do not wound the rights and feelings of a people entirely Catholic."
In his reply Governor Taft said : "My instructions do not permit me to discuss the subject, but I may prop- erly refer your eminence to section 16 of the General School Law of the Philippines."
2o6 The Philippines and the Far East.
. Cardinal Gibbons has deliberately opened a new war on the public school in the United States. Bishop Mul- doon, at the head of the Federation of Catholic Socie- ties, demands from the government "a pro rata for the education of these children of ours, among the other rights that belong to us." The fight against the Phil- ippine public schools will be largely carried on in the United States. It is there that Commissioners are ap- pointed. It is from there that teachers come. It was stated by a member of a recent partv of teachers, a large percentage of whom were Catholics, that he and others in the party had entertained no thought of coming to the Philippines until his priest told him. that Bishop
had been asked by friends in the Philippines
to secure and send out Catholic teachers in large num- bers. It is in the United States that the exigencies of politics tend to force party leaders to make such com- promises as will "hold the Catholic vote in line." It is there that we need help.
There are now 723 American teachers in the service, with fifty more about to arrive. These are aided by 3,000 Filipino teachers. There are 190,000 native children in regular attendance upon 2,000 primary schools. The Manila normal school has an enrollment of nearly 400 selected native teachers, and is doing surprisingly good work. It is enough to make a patriotic American feel a deeper and truer pride in his citizenship in the Mother of Republics to visit this institution with its eager, alert, and well-behaved students working under Mr. Beatty, and ten assistants, all of whom are specialists. Each of the thirty-five divisions has its vacation normal school, in which 5,596 teachers and aspirantcs, or those who as- pire to be teachers, were under instruction from one month to seven weeks in the vacation of 1902. The
Educating a Nation, 209
effect of these vacalion normals was surprisiiii; and i; ratifying'. The brightest minds are there. Keen com- petition in class work, the inspiration of numbers, the widened horizons, and, above all, the new spirit they absorb from their chief teachers, has sent them back to their pueblos with higher ideals, and an inspiration to achieve them.
There are thirty-eight secondary schools. These have been opened in advance of any real need for them in the shape of graduates from the primary schools. The system appeared a poor one to the Filipino. It lacked completeness. Because he felt thus, he was not satisfied to keep his child in the lower grades, and sent him to the various colc'^ios, or schools in Manila. The sec- ondary schools met with instant approval. Although but one year in operation, they enroll (^^,^4 ])upils. The drain of the most promising" pupils to Manila has about stopped. The system seems to the Filipino to have a head, and he is content. But the opening and organiz- ing of these secondary schools has taken hard work. Some of the principals should have medals struck in their honor. Lethargy, laziness, tardiness, lack of sup- plies, shortage of competent help, heat, and the puzzling psychology of the Oriental, always with him ! But they have won, and they will receive their reward. In the years to come some of these secondary schools will be colleges. The present laborers are but trail-blazers for the oncoming generations. Again I say that of all workers that I have known in eleven years of tropical residence, the American teachers have come most nearly to success in what Kipling calls "hustling the East."
Already in every town where an American teacher has been at work more people understand English than speak or understand Spanish. Within ten years Eng- 14
210 The PfiiLippiNES and the Far East.
lish will be the language for intercourse between the various races. The first step in adding fractions is to find a common denominator. The sixty or seventy fractions of the Filipino people will never be added into one total for social or political ends until a common lan- guage denominator is found in the English speech.
"English is the lingua franca of the Far East. It is spoken in the ports from Hakodate to Australia. It is the common language of business intercourse between the different nations from America westward to the Levant. It is, without rival, the most useful language which a man can know. . . . To the Filipino the possession of English is the gateway into that busy and fervid life of commerce, of modern science, of diplomacy and politics, in which he aspires to shine."
Academic critics in American sanctums, manufactur- ing their facts by aid of strong imaginations, pour out scorn upon the attempt to ignore "their native language, their literature, the thousand-fold stimuli of their en- vironment." The bold fact is, that the Filipinos have no literature — none ! Their environment has been full of "stimuli," but it worked the wrong way. Such criti- cisms amuse those who know the hard facts of this un- fortunate people, or would amuse us, if we were sure that their heated rhetoric and extemporized facts would not deceive good men and women, and alienate their sym- pathy from a work so sane and so profoundly necessary as that of the public-school work in these Islands.
The hope of the future is the Filipino teacher. If he can be trained to become an intelligent, resourceful educator, with courage and wit to lead his people, the uttermost hopes of those who have this work now on their hands will be attained. Division Superintendent S. C. Newsom, of Pangasinan province, states the facts
Educating a Nation. 213
as to the Filipino teachers about as those who are best informed understand them. In his report to the g^eneral superintendent for the current year he says :
"The native teacher in the province is a representative of the better class of Filipinos. He is invariably well- dressed, courteous, and accommodating, and has the re- spect of the people. From the American point of view, he is not, however, competent to regulate a school, nor well qualified by nature to be genuinely educated. He lacks energy, and can not successfully maintain a daily routine of work. He is inclined to be slack in matters of punctuality, and sees no special reason for exerting himself to be on time in the morning at the opening of the daily school session, nor of maintaining of strict super- vision of the pupils' work when once he has taken his place in the schoolroom. To do the same thing every day, and to try hard to do it better each successive day, is something that the Filipino teacher has not yet learned to appreciate. He is not ambitious to succeed ; that is, a very small success seems sufficient to satisfy him, and he is unwilling to put himself to serious inconvenience in order to improve his education and make his services valuable.
"The above statement will, as a rule, hold good ; but there are notable exceptions, and the number of these has been steadily increasing during the three years of Amer- ican schools. The example set by a good American teacher in controlling and teaching a school has taught the Filipino more than his daily lesson in English and arithmetic. The object-lesson thus furnished is being learned slowly, but without doubt surely. The native teacher has gained something of perspective, and. in a de- gree, has succeeded in being able to think more than one thing at a time. This part of his education, which has come seemingly without volition and unconsciously, is the most valualDle thing the American schools have given him. There was a time when he thought it not inappro- priate to take his seat during the entire session, to ignore pupils not reciting, to smoke cigarettes before the class
214 The Philippines and the Far East.
during school hours, to pay no attention whatever tc the roll-call, and, finally, to pass unnoticed the entire su5- ject of schoolroom decorum and discipline.
"From the purely academic point of view, it will be some years before the provincial teacher can achieve much. The Filipino who has during the last three years reached the age of twenty-five, passed the formative period of his life during a time of turmoil. He has not had a fair chance, and it is perhaps true that he will never readjust himself completely to the new regime. There are native teachers in this division to whom this does not apply — teachers who have fallen quickly and easily into the rou- tine of the present system of schools, and who are reliable, energetic, and intelligent, but their number is small. An extended period of education is yet necessary, if the native teaching force is ever to be brought to that stage of effi- ciency which will enable them to take the place of the American teachers. This is true from every point of view, whether we consider scholarship, power to assume respon- sibility, practical knowledge of schoolroom discipline, courage to face opposition, or ability to take the initiative in matters connected with the improvement of the schools."
Act No. 854 provitlcs for sending a number of stu- dents to America each year for a four years' course of studv in some American institution. The Bill carries an appropriation of $72,000. The first party was sent in October, and is now in the United States. "Ap- pointees must be natives of the Philippine Islands, not less than sixteen nor more than twenty-one years of age." After severe physical examinations, the student must take the oath of allegiance to the government of the United States, and sign an agreement to attend to such institution as may be designated by the civil gov- ernor for four years, obeying its rules and faithfully pur- suing its course of study, unless formally released by the civil governor. He further promises to return to
Educating a Nation.
215
the Philippines, take the civil service examination, and serve the State at a nominal wage as many years as the State supported him.
In this way it is hoped to secure a nucleus of young men who thoroughly understand English, and who have come to feel the spirit of the modern world. I am not sanguine of good results. It is part of a forcing-house method. If it works well, it will be a delightful sur- prise to many. The danger is, that these young men v^ill return so far removed from their own people in their ways of thinking as to be aliens. It is an effort made with the purest of motives. If it grows a crop of agita- tors, they will be ingrates.
We Americans are an impatient people. But in this undertaking of educating a nation we must count time by decades and generations, rather than by years. Its very vastness should give us courage to be patient.
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COMPULSORY EDUCATION.
CHAPTER XIII. Further Improvements.
Spain worked the plantation theory of colonial gov- ernment. That theory left little scope for programs of improvement. P'or three centnries she had her own un- hindered way in an Archipelago of unusual beauty and almost unequaled fertility ; and at the end of that period an inadequate school system, and that poorly and ineffi- ciently worked, waterworks in the capital city (where Spaniards chiefly lived), and one short railway of less than one hundred and fifty miles, constituted the sum total of all that might by any kind of courtesy be called large improvements of a public character.
Aside from the essentially vicious theory of colonial government which hampered all attempts to benefit the colony, the almost universal official corruption which reigned in all departments was the most powerful cause contributing to the policy of neglect. Public funds went to enrich greedy public officials, rather than to improve harbors, build schoolhouses, make roads, and improve the sanitation of pest-ridden cities. A governor-general who did not "clean up" at least a quarter of a million dollars in a three or five year incumbency of the post was con- sidered honest and public-spirited. A few, like General Despujol, were incorruptible. But Despujol incurred friar hatred for his unbending uprightness, and was dis- missed by the influence of friar officials after eighteen
216
FURTHKR I.Ml'RoVKMlCNTS. 2l7
years of the most honest and sympathetic government the Filipinos had known for two centuries.
Corruption, which managed to flourish in Manila with increasing (Hfficulty. fattened unhindered in remote prov- inces. Taxes could he paid in crops. Officials were per- mitted to trade openly until 1844. They would take rice or other crops at their own price, and sell it at current rates, pocketing often from fifty to five hundred per cent on the transaction. The rice was covered into the treasury at the scandalously low rate which the oppressed culti- vator was ])ullied into accepting on pain of false arrest or deportation on charges concocted by the official who was also the judge. Since the Royal Decree of 1844 for- bidding trading on the part of provincial officials, it has gone on less openly, and some of its w'orst features have been eliminated ; but it has always been possible to set up a dummy man to act for the official, and attain much the same ends through more circuitous channels. If Manila officials became troublesome and threatened exposure, the alcalde well knew the one means of satisfying the "lid- less watcher of the public weal." A small percentage of his ill-gotten gains would make his way smooth again until another inspection came due. Meantime he would give the screws another twist, and be ready. Funds raised for road-building, for education, for construction of bridges over streams which kept the products of fertile provinces from markets, and for needed sanitation in cen- ters of population ravaged from time to time by awful epidemics of cholera or smallpox, were stolen under one pretext or another, until ladronism or highway robbery as a profession grew up among the people as their only defense against official exactions and spoliation. All im- provements were delayed, and people trailed on foot from town to town over mud-tracks called roads, and wretched
2i8 The Philippines and the Far East,
bamboo ferries poled by hand across swift streams took the place of bridges for which the people had paid taxes twice and thrice over, while the education of their chil- dren was neglected. In Batangas province $300,000 were gathered in direct taxes for "urgent local necessities." When it was wanted in the terrible cholera scourge of 1887 it had been swallowed up, and not a stiver of it could be had to pay doctors, or purchase medicines or disin- fectants, or establish the expensive quarantine barriers demanded if the scourge was to be stayed. People who saw their loved ones die, helpless to lift a finger in their aid, were not kindly disposed to a government which per- mitted such wholesale speculations at the price of blood. Correction has begun. What are some of the projected, or partially completed, proposals of the government in the direction of further bettering conditions for the Philip- pine people?
These plans, running away into the millions of dollars in their total expense, can be roughly classed under three main heads, — Educational, Agricultural, and Engineer- ing. This classification misses some of the plans entirely. But that is inevitable within the limits set for the theme. The various departments overlap somewhat, but that also is unavoidable. Educationally there are still to be firmly established or developed more fully a university at Manila, normal and trade schools.
In the nature of the case the normal school is to re- ceive the most careful attention. To that source the gov- ernment must look for its teachers in the future. The American teacher must decrease wdiile the Filipino must increase. There are manifold difficulties in the way of making an efifective teaching staff from material which has never known the value of time, and never had even the rudiments of a sound education until within three
F'URTHKR ImPROX'KMKNTS. ^19
years. The normal weeds out the incorrigibly lazy and the hopelessly inefficient before their salary begins. It seizes upon the alert and promisin^q", and inspires them to be not only effective as instructors, but centers of in- spiration in the pueblos and barrios where they must live and work. I have never let a pessimist as to the outlook for American rule in these Islands get out of my hands until he had seen the Manila normal school. A sight of these bright faces, and a careful inspection of the work that is being done for them, and that will be done for those that come after them, by graduates in pedagogy from our best universities, has done more to chase away despond- ency than any amount of argument. There are the trade schools, also, teaching carpentry, plumbing, telegraphy, mechanical drawing, and all sorts of useful trades, — all these are in the line of unfulfilled improvements being car- ried on by the government, the result of which can not but be helpful in developing the people, which is the first and fundamental need in improving the conditions of any country.
Such normals are to be established at several ceiiters, and fully equipped for doing the best possible work. In- deed, the only fear that some of us have is that criticism by Dickens of Dr. Blimber's school may apply here; they may overdo the application of highly-developed systems of instruction anrl highly-elaborated courses of study to the unformed minds of a people who have lived in the educational atmosphere of the Middle Ages until within three years. Dickens declared that it was the aim of the impetuous Dr. Blimber to "produce intellectual green peas and asparagus at Christmas," and that in the case of an unfortunate dullard, named by the boys Toots, they over- did this forcing-house method ; "for when poor Toots began having whiskers he left ofif having brains." It is
220 The Phiijppines and the Far East.
possibly a mistake to work the machinery of education at such high speed at the very first.
Next will come the establishment of a university. Naturally it was the last part of the educational machine that needed to be set up. All school work is done in Eng- lish. Letters constantly reach me asking how long it takes to learn enough Spanish to begin teaching in the public schools of the Philippines. It seems incredible that any one with sufficient intelligence to aspire to such a position does not yet know that all text-books, all teach- ing, and all conversation permitted in the school premises in the Philippines are in English, the conquering tongue of the world. All students were compelled to begin at the alphabet and work toward higher things. The schools have been opened but three years. It will be three or four years yet before any considerable number of these stu- dents are prepared for English courses in a university. By that time it is the intention of the government to have such an institution established. The funds for its estab- lishment have not yet been allotted ; but it is understood that a good portion of the $3,000,000 granted by Congress to relieve conditions in the Archipelago will be available for such a purpose, when the loans to provinces in which the carabao died of the rinderpest, or where locusts ate every green thing after war had left farms and villages desolate, have been repaid. In any case, ample provision Vv'ill be made, and the university of Manila will be grind- ing out degrees within a decade at the latest.
It is hoped that the lavish policy of the government with regard to primary education will not be followed in its university program. It may be all very well to provide the primary schools with free text-books, free pencils, paper, slates, sponges, erasers, pointers, and all of the best quality that money can buy, but a university education is
Furtiii:r Lmpkox'KmivNTs. 223
another thing'. . Unless the government desires to raise np a swarm of agitators ready to Hft the hand against the government whieh lias earried them up to the point of preparedness for government service at high salaries, un- less that service with its attendant salary is immediately forthcoming, it will do well to hedge the entrance to its highest temple of knowledge with restrictions of kinds that will not shut out the worthy student of limited means, but will shut out the mere idler. The experience of free university education in British India is to the point.
Improvements which naturally fall within the province of the civil engineer are of three kinds, — harbor, transpor- tation, and sanitation.
Spain had adopted a good plan of harbor improvement for Manila. She had made a few feeble preparations to begin to accomplish the improvement. But again pecu- lations and delays, and more peculations and more delays, so that, beyond the partial construction of one or two heavy breakwaters needed and the manufacture of a large number of immense cubes of artificial stone, nothing had been done. The harbor at Manila is one that demands artificial docks and protected anchorage. Manila Bay is more than thirty miles long and twenty-two miles wide. It is shallow. Near the long, curving, sandy beach upon v^'hich Manila is built it becomes so shallow that vessels drawing fifteen feet of water can not pass the bar and enter the Pasig River, while vessels of deeper draught are compelled to anchor in the open, exposed to great peril during typhoons. Indeed, the anchorage anywhere on the Manila side of the bay is little, if any, better than at any point along the coast outside the bay.
This puts shipping to a double inconvenience. It com- pels anchorage in an unprotected place. It also compels the use of lighters for loading and unloading all shipments,
224 The Philippines and the Far East.
and of launches for taking on and discharging all pas- sengers. Added to the great increase of expense entailed by this compulsory rehandling of the freight, all of which must come out of the purchaser in the long run, is the added breakage risk, and, almost as bad as all else, the vexatious delays, while wages, port dues, and other charges eat great holes in the profits of ship-owners. If IManila is ever to become the port which its geographical situation makes it possible for her to become, these hin- drances must be removed. There must be safe anchorage. There must be the possibility of landing freight and pas- sengers directly upon solid wharves in easy communication with hotels and warehouses. Until this is done, Manila will be shunned by shippers, or buyers and consumers of all kinds will be taxed as much for the expense of landing the machinery or foodstuffs or clothing which they need as is needed to pay the long ocean haul from America or Europe, while the exporter will be under a prohibitive handicap in competition with exporters of hemp and sugar and other commodities who can put their bales of mer- chandise from dock to hold at one handling.
The first large engineering improvement undertaken by the Commission, and now in process of construction, is the Manila harbor improvements. These consist of building three breakwaters, one of them being the pro- jection of that one which Spain began. It is more than a mile long, and runs out into water ten fathoms deep. That is the outside breakwater, almost parallel to the shore- line, and it is raised to a sufficient height effectually to break the force of waves hurled shoreward by the sixty- mile-an-hour typhoons which sweep the bay three or four times each season. Nearly a mile back of that, at the farthest point, is the inner breakwater — or pier, rather — while at practically right angles with the latter, and start-
FuRTIIKR I.MI'ROVKMENTS. 225
ills' from the shore, runs a projecting wall of stone, mounted on wide, submarine foundation of bowlders dropped into place from huge scows. At the mouth of this harbor there will be an entrance a hundred yards or more across, thoroughly protected from even the swell of a heavy storm by the angle at which it opens to the bay. Between these long lines of breakwater the contract calls for dredging to a uniform depth of thirty feel. By hy- draulic pressure the sludge and sand so raised is forced over behind the inner wall, or what will be the outer line of solid earth and cement, when the whole vast scheme is completed. Between this long wall and the shore and the transverse breakwater at the south end, one hundred and fifty acres of sea is to be filled and used for piers, ware- houses, tracks on which freight can be whirled away to the city, or carried from the city to the ship's side. Al- ready this great work has so far progressed that nearly all the work of reclaiming the land inshore has been accom- plished. Where waves rolled ten feet high, and broke in foam and spra\ over the beautiful sea-drive known in Manila as The JMalecon, during any breezy day a couple of years ago, there is now a sea of black ooze and sand, and soon there will be all the furnishings of a large and well-furnished modern dock, at the stone sides of which great ships can tie up, while passengers walk down gang- planks to terra iirma, instead of down swaying ship-lad- ders to bouncing launches below ; and freight can be swung from their cavernous holds by giant traveling cranes, and laid on the stone docks as easily as a mother lifts her little one from its crib.
This really immense project will cost $4,500,000, and
four years are required for its completion. The Atlantic,
Gulf and Pacific Company has the contract, and, from all
evidence procurable by personal inspection and from offi-
15
226 The Philippines and the Far East.
cials, they are performing their obUgations to the letter. They bought their own quarries, built their own ships and barges for the work, and have at work one of the huge modern marvels in the way of a dredger. It growls away at its dirty task night and day, manufacturing its own electricity for light, and altogether complete in itself to dig up the bottom of old ocean and toss it whither its directors will. Not San Francisco nor Vancouver will be better equipped for all the work of a large shipping port than Manila when these docks are completed. The resultant lessening of charges, and lowering of prices to consumers in the Islands will bring into the coffers of the custom-house alone such an increase from increased traffic as will more than repay all the expense incurred. A mod- ern electric street-car system with, seventy miles of track is now being installed in Manila. The franchise is owned by an American company. It is to be in operation within a year. It is to have thirty-six miles of track, and will carry passengers at six cents for first-class, and five cents for second-class accommodations.
Next in importance from an engineering standpoint is the problem of transportation within the Islands them- selves. Spain made no adequate provision to meet this need. The mere building of roads upon which all good governments spend millions of money without hesitation was almost entirely neglected. Outside of Manila I have found two bits of ordinary roads, which were built before the American occupation, which could be called passable in good weather. One of those was built by the Insurrecto government, and the other, and a far poorer road, was built by Spain for transporting her troops. There are, as a rule, no roads outside of the towns. At the municipal limits it is the rule to have the streets come abruptly to an end, and paths over ridges between ricefields offer the
FuRTIIIvR ImPROVICMKNTS. 229
only means of proceeding- farther into the conntry. Rail- roads are a necessity, but common wagon-roads are a more urgent need. Without them it is practically impos- sible to suppress the ladronism or highway robbery that persists in remote localities. Until it is easily possible to reach the interior of the provinces quickly over good roads, it will be impossible to restore a settled condition of public order. Until roads provided over which crops raised in the fertile interior districts can be hauled to market, those districts will always be benighted and thrift- less.
There are no roads at all on the island of Samar, a section capable of producing many million dollars' worth of hemp, if it could be transported to market other than on the heads of native packers. All available labor in the Islands could not carry the hemp to market in this way which Samar alone is capable of producing. This is the foolish way in which three-fourths of the labor of the Philippines is being employed to-day. When rice can be laid down at a railway station after a few hours easy haul from the door of the farmer, prices will come down, and the standards of comfortable living will go up. The man who now buys little will not only be able to buy more largely, but will want more of almost everything that civilization has to offer him from foodstuffs and clothing to pianos and periodicals. There can not be that whole- some ferment of public thinking which results in that mysterious and imperious thing we call public opinion until all parts of the Islands are put into communication with the outside world.
Hitherto the Filipino has had barriers built about him of all conceivable sorts. Language differences have shut him away from his fellow of the next barrio. Differences of education have shut the too away from the aristocrat
:^3o Thk Pmilippinks and the I^ar East,
of blood or money. And, worst of all, it has been impos- sible to mix with people of a few miles away to get that widening of mental horizons without which a people soon become petty and mentally impoverished. Good roads from everywhere to everywhere else will bring this state of isolation to an end and make it possible to use the luii^ua franco which the schools are giving the rising gen- eration in spreading common knowledge of matters in which all who love their fatherland are interested. Com- merce, good government, education, and religion itself, await the provincial supervisor with his roads and bridges. When he had done his work, the dark places will be lighted up and a new era for the whole Archipelago be opened. The government has undertaken to meet this need as rapidly as the revenues of the provinces would permit. The prostration of industry following a condition of war; the death of scvent} per cent of work cattle with the rin- derpest ; plagues of locusts, leaving a wake of desolation behind them in jjrovince after province ; a scourge of cholera, which has swept thousands of people and kept other thousands from productive industries ; and a paraly- sis of business due to the change from a silver to a gold basis, — these causes, combined with a natural lack of in- dustry which is characteristic of all tropical lands, have kept down the natural revenues of the provincial govern- ments, leaving but small amounts available for diking, draining, and bridging public roads. But the plans al- ready outlined by the consulting engineer to the Civil Commission, call for several hundred miles of most urgently-needed "trunk" roads, and all these will soon be in process of construction, while some of them are now built. It is almost impossible to secure necessary labor. The Filipino agriculturist will not labor on public works for wages. In a sullen fashion he may comply with the
Fur'i'iii:r I:\[PROVF,Mr!:NTs. 231
orders of his prcsidcnic or other superior officer, and put in time for a few days. But he hfts his pick as few tunes an hour as possible. He sits down and Ughts his cigarette every few minutes. He keeps a wary eye on the boss, and avails himself of every possible excuse to stay away
EMBARRASSMENT AT A FERRY.
altogether. The mortality among his relatives becomes something awful to contemplate ! It even goes so far that he sometimes loses the same relative twice or three times within a comparatively brief period. Altogether the Fili- pino as a dav laborer is a failure. His unsympathetic critics say he will not work. Certain it is that his poky
232 The Phiuppines and the F'ar East.
way of working is in sharp contrast with the ahnost ter- rific activity of the most energetic nation that has yet been bred. But he will work. On his own patch of rice-land, or in his own fishing business, he works as much as many farmers in the United States in the course of twelve months. He works in the cool of the early morning, and late evening. He sleeps in the middle of the day in a way to make a nervous American irritable ; but his two or three yearly crops are put in with much care, culti- vated in a fairly creditable fashion, and harvested and threshed by hand. The government has passed the Land Act. This is, in fact, a Homestead Law, and it makes the one provision which all agricultural Filipinos most de- sire,— the provision whereby each family can have its own forty acres, and cultivate it as they please and when they please. But it is the consensus of opinion among those most familiar with all the conditions that it will be neces- sary to import the day labor required for carrying on these large engineering schemes. No one can doubt this who is sufficiently familiar with the real Filipino to give his opin- ion any weight.
With the building of these roads will come instruction in the use of a better class of tools for agricultural labor than those with which the people have been familiar. That will act and react. It will enable them to cultivate more soil with the same labor, and do it better, and will make it possible for them, out of the increased profits of cultivation, to get more tools and more supplies. It will be a kind of trade school carried on before the eyes of the man most in need of the tuition. Very much is hoped for from this indirect benefit.
Railroads are sorely needed. Though the largest islands are comparatively small, they are* thickly popu- lated in parts, and the crops that are raised are nearly all
FuRTIIKR iMl'ROVlCMENTS. 233
such as require heavy hauHng". Further, the people love to travel, and spend their money freely for this form of diversion where it has become possible for them to do so. The increased acreage of land under profitable tillage along the line of the only railway yet built has been more than one hundred ])er cent. It would have been easily twice that amount if there had been good roads from the interior to this railwav over which the native cultivator could have brought his crop to market. Careful surveys have been made of at least two routes in Luzon which are needed at once. One of these would run north to the ex- tremity of the island, one branch following the coast line, the other tapping the rich valley of the Cagayan River with its productive fields of tobacco and rice. This line would open up the populous Ilocano provinces along the west coast. It would involve few engineering difficulties other than that involved in the frequent bridging required. The plain is a coastal one, and is traversed by many streams making down to the sea from the cordillera run- ning north through the heart of the islands. In general it is quite level, and the line would certainly pay from tine month it was thrown open to traffic. The coast is devoid of good harbors, and for weeks together many of the large cities are completely shut off from communication with the outside world by the heavy seas wdiich make it impos- sible for coasting vessels to land with mail and supplies. A railway with daily trains would be a civilizing agency of the first importance, as well as a guarantee of the im- mediate development of agricultural and mineral possi- bilities.
Another line would run south from Alanila, and con- nect with some of the larger cities and more populous dis- tricts of the fertile provinces of Laguna, Batangas, Cavite, and the Camarines, and perhaps Albay and Sorsogon.
234 'I^HE Philippines and the; P'ar East.
Greater engineering difficulties would be found in build- ing this line, but nothing at all insuperable, and it would be a paying investment almost from the start. In Negros and Panay it is also certain that railways would be profit- able, and that they will probably come in a few years' time. From the best information obtainable, some thirty- five million dollars gold would be required to build a trunk-line of railway and feeders through the island of Luzon.
It is not clear to the officials whether or how far they should build and operate these lines of railway. It is the judgment of those who have had the best opportunities to judge, however, that the government would better leave railway building to private companies. Temptations to peculation of public funds are always strong ; but here, so many thousands of miles from the homeland, and often so remote from the possibilities of close inspection, those temp- tations are doubly strong, and government would better let private companies carry on that form of business. The government is now engaged in building one public road — the one leading from the terminus of the present railway to Bagnio, the newly-chosen summer capital in the moun- tains of Benguet — and its experience in sinking money in useless experiments there, and some swindles that have come to light or should do so soon, tend to convince many that it will be best to have railway building and operating in the Philippines come under the control of companies who have their profits sufficiently at stake to exercise rigid supervision over expenses of construction and operation.
In the way of sanitation, the plans of the government are comprehensive. They include the installation of a complete modern sewer system in Manila at the earliest possible hour. Plans are already chosen, and work will commence within a few months. It will cost in the neigh-
A PHILIPPINE FOOr-l!KIDGE.
FlTKl'inCK T.M1'R()\F,.MKNTS. 237
borhood of $5,000,000, and rcciuirc iiol less llian four years for its completion, and more likely five. When it is in working- order, the death-rate of Manila will be lower than that of New York or Chicago, and Manila will be- come the most popular health resort in Asia, as it has a climate equal to anything known in the world during the months from November to iVpril. Already the sanitary results attained are most gratifying.
"The death rate in Manila has been cut in two since the Americans first occupied the city, and almost in two again. In every tropical community of that kind there is danger of recurrent epidemics of cholera and bubonic plague ; but these diseases, when they have occurred, have been kept down wonderfully well. Last year during the cholera epidemic, the death rate from cholera in Ma- nila was no larger than the death rate from tuberculosis and endemic disease in all cities. The Health Board suc- ceeded in keeping cholera well confined, and prevented its afTecting the water supply of the city. Had it reached the water supply, one-third of the inhabitants would probably have been stricken, and that would have meant the death of one hundred thousand persons."'''
• The sanitation of provincial cities by means of water systems and sewers, where possible, is also definitely pro- vided for. A school for presidents of Provincial Health Boards is held in Manila, and no man can hold one of those positions who does not qualify in this school. All matters of sanitation are taken up and thoroughly studied in the light of methods in use in Manila. These men, so (juali- fied, are to be held to strict account for quarantine wor]< and all other assistance needed in the provinces in times of epidemic.
But the Philippines are emphaticall}- agricultural, and it is here that the government is spending its money, or
■•■Commissioner Worcester,
238 The; PniLippiNiis and the Far East.
the money of the FiHpino people, most Hhcrally, and with what seems to me the largest possibilities of direct returns next to the expenditure under the head of transportation and sanitation.
The improvements slated for the field of agriculture are manifold. First comes the establishment of a Bureau, with a trained staff of experts chosen by the most prac- tical and statesman-like Secretary of Agriculture the Wash- ington government has ever had — Hon. James F. Wilson. This Bureau has provided for and established four large experiment farms in the various islands, besides the stock farm on the island of Culion, and the rice-farm at Murcia, Luzon. At these experiment farms they are at work on all lines of possible improvement of forage and food- plants, of fibers and herbs, yielding a wide variety of tropical products. The study of the best minds that can be secured is given to how to grow rice to the best advan- tage. On a large plantation in the center of Luzon dry cultivation is carried on before the eyes of wondering natives, who have wallowed in mud as deep as their buf- faloes' bodies all these }'ears to put in this particular crop. To see the land plowed dry and the rice put in with a com- mon drill, and then the crop flooded as often as liecessary during growth, then the water drained off so as to make it possible for self-binding harvesters to cut their wide swathes, and leave the bundles in heaps behind its onward march, — all this is a marvelous revolution of all their notions of the way to cultivate rice. It is proven before their eyes that all their toilsome methods of plowing in almost bottomless mud, planting the green slioots by hand while wading in mud half w^ay to the waist, and then reap- ing with a sickle and binding by hand, do not secure so large a yield on the same ground as methods which make
Fl'rtiii;k Imi'Rux'iuMf.nts. 239
possible the tillage of fifty times the area that they have thought it possible to cultivate.
This Bureau is experimenting with coffee, india- rubber, gutta-percha, and other tropical products which will grow here — which do grow here — and for which the United States affords such a lucrative market. They are importing stallions and bulls of the best breeds to cross with native animals, with the idea of improving size, speed, draft powers, and the yield of milk. With even a lavish expenditure of money the department is building great laboratories for the exact scientific study of the pests and diseases which destroy human, animal, and plant life in the Archipelago.* Already the experts in these labora-
•■ This building, upon which work has already begun, will pro- vide adequate space for the Chemical and Biological Laboratories, the Serum Institute, and for a library of thirty thousand volumes. It is intended primarily as an institution for practical investigation rather than for instruction, and large rooms are therefore unnec- essary. Each class of work will have separate space allotted to it, so that it will not interfere with other work which is being carried on simultaneously. The Chemical Laboratory will afford space and thoroughly adequate facilities for the analysis of minerals, mineral products, and rocks, water, soils, food products, paints, oils, beverages, and other materials, and for investigations with reference to the natural resources of the Islands, the means of improving present products, and the possibility of developing new industries. Rooms will be provided for distillation, for ex- amination of plant products, and for work in pharmacology, with special reference to the value of our numerous medicinal plants.
A part of the ground floor of the Chemical Laboratorv will be set aside for a Physical Laboratory, which will be equipped for gravimetric, volumetric, thermometric, and photometric work, and the electrical measurements, and will provide suitable facilities for standardizing weights and measures.
The Biological Laboratory will have suitable space and proper equipment for the making of diagnostic analyses, bacteriologically and otherwise, and for the investigation of tropical diseases of man and of the plants and animals useful to man.
240 The Philippines and the Far East.
tories, under the leadership of Dr. Strong, have discovered and appHed a serum that will immunize cattle against the rinderpest. That one achievement is worth a score of times the cost of the entire department up to date, and will repay itself over and over again in the years to come.
No better coffee can be grown in the world than in the Philippines. Formerly it was extensively grown and ex- ported, but an insect working in the stems of the coffee- bush began its deadly work in 1892-93, and the oldest plantations were almost annihilated. In 1883 nearly seven thousand five hundred tons of coffee were exported, while in 1896 exports had fallen to the ridiculously low figure of ninety tons ! The experts are at work, and the ravages of this insect will yet be checked and plantations of coffee, with their lovely foliage and snow-white blos- soms, will again wave on the rich soil of Batangas.
Two other schemes for bettering conditions refuse to come into the classification with which this chapter began. These are the establishment of a leper colony, and the opening of a summer capital at Baguio, in the mountain province of Benguet, Luzon, with ample provisions for a sanitarium.
The number of lepers in the Philippines was estimated at thirty thousand at the time of the establishment of civil government in 1901. This number has been found to be at least three times too high. There can not be more than one-third that number, but even for these unfortunates adequate provision must be made. Several small islands have been considered with reference to their fitness as places for the leper colony, but one after another aban- doned because of insufficient water-supply, poverty of nat- ural resources, or lack of harbor accommodation along their coasts for the landing of patients, officials, and sup- plies. It is the fixed determination of the government
i
Further Tmpronkmknts.
241
to isolate the lepers, se.^regate the sexes, give a(le<iuate medical treatment, furnish them with separate cottages as far as possihle, allow all possihle outdoor life, and while easing, so far as may he, the sufferings of the victims, effectually prevent the spread of the loathsome disease. This is being undertaken at no little expense, and is. per- haps, the largest single effort of tlie government to relieve incurable suft'ering, and protect the ])ublic against the
AMONO THK PINES IN BENGUET.
possibility of contracting a disease which has been a shud- dering horror to humanity since Moses wrote his Codes for Israelites. Within a year or two. at latest, this \vork of national beneficence will l)e in full working order.
This is a fine tropical climate. But it is still tropical. The white man finds his burden heavy to bear where tem- perature never falls below sixty, and averages eighty de- grees in the shade. He loses his vigor. In a few years it becomes necessary either to leave for a colder climate or spend a few weeks oi each year at an altitude at which 16
242 The Phii,ippines and the Far East.
the same degree of cold can be experienced. The Com- mission is casting about for such an ahitude, where water, soil, and timber made it possible to build a city to which ofificials and non-officials could resort for recuperation, lighted upon the town of Baguio in the province of Ben- guet, and has chosen it as its sanitarium for employees, and its summer capital, whither it will repair and sit dur- ing the heated months, as the Yiceory of India and his Council sit in Simla, and the various provincial govern- ments of India go to Hill Stations within their respective limits. Baguio is about one hundred and seventy-five miles north of Manila. The climate is about perfect. Nearly all patients who go up from Manila or from any part of the coastal plains revive and regain strength, weight, and normal vigor. The establishment of this sanitarium station and summer capital will largely solve the question of retaining the services of government offi- cers having families. Cottages will be erected and a summer colony established where breezes are cool and blankets and fires a luxury, even in June ! The follow- ing is an extract from the official report as to tempera- ture, humidity, and cloudiness :
TABLE OF MEAN TEMPERATURE AT MANILA AND BAGUIO.
|
Jan. |
Feb. |
Mar. |
April |
May |
June |
July |
Aug. |
Sept. |
Oct. |
Nov. |
Dec. |
|
|
77.0 63.5 13-5 |
77-7 62.1 15-6 |
80.4 66.9 ■3-5 |
82.9 70.5 12.4 |
83-3 68.3 15.0 |
82.0 67.2 14.8 |
80.8 66.5 '4-3 |
80.8 64.6 16.2 |
80.4 67.0 13-4 |
80.8 67.6 13-2 |
79.0 66.0 13.0 |
77-4 64-3 13-1 |
|
"The maximum temperature for the year, 82.8'', oc- curred on April 19th. This is slightly higher than the maximum temperature with which Baguio has been cred- ited. The minimum for the year, 42,1°, \yas recorded f'ebruary i8th,
i
Fuktiii;k Imtkovkments.
243
"The relative humidity was slightly greater at Bagnio than at Manila, excej)t during the months of October and November, when it was less. By months it was as fol- lows : January, 76 ; February, 79 ; March, 76 ; xApril, 74 ; May. 86 ; June, 90 ; July, 89 ; August, 93 ; September, 90 ; October, 83 ; November, 82 ; December, 84.
"Except during the months of July, August, and Sep- tember, the mornings were almost uniformly free from fog. It is an interesting fact that for every month of the year there is less cloudiness at Baguio than at Manila. The rainfall by months in inches, was as follows : Janu- ary, 0.06; February, 0.57; March, 1.46; April, 0.32; May, 4.02; June, 12.55; July, 15.43; August, 37.03; September. 11.90; October, 4.95; November, 2.52; December, 5.47; total, 96.28. It will be noted that January, February, March, and April are very dry, the greatest dryness oc- curring at the time of greatest heat, in April. June, July, August, and September are wet. and moderate rains occur during October, November, December, and May."
CHAPTER XIV. Resourcks.
The principal resources of the Philippines are in her rich soil. Minerals there are, and these will be men- tioned in this chapter ; but it is by her agriculture that she has flourished in the past, and it will be by the de- velopment of her agricultural possibilities that she will come to the front as a prosperous country in the future.
Let it be remembered that the world is increasingly dependent upon the tropics for its food supply, and for the thousand articles of manufacture and commerce without which the wheels of modern business enterprise would stand still. ' Then let it be remembered that no- where in the tropics is there a better climate, or a more fertile soil, or more abundant forests, and the resources of these Islands will take on a new meaning. Kidd, in his "Control of the Tropics," says : -
"If present indications are not entirely misleading, we are about to witness an international rivalry for the control of the trade of the tropics on a far vaster scale than any which has hitherto been imagined. It is remark- able that, in the midst of other matters which hold the public mind, but the importance of which is trivial in com- parison, the large issues which are involved under this head should have as yet occupied so little attention.
"If we turn at the present time to the import lists of the world and regard them carefully, it will soon become apparent to what a large extent our civilization already draws its supplies from the tropics. Of recent years we
244
Rrcsoi'RCivS. 245
have been largely occupied in discussing questions afifect- ing the conditions of our own industrial production. Yet it is curious to reflect to what a large extent our complex, highly-organized modern life rests on the work and pro- duction of a region of the world to which our relations arc either indefinite or entirel}- casual — a region which has, it must be remembered, hitherto produced no example of native government successful in the European sense, but towards which, nevertheless, no political party and no school of thought have so far set forth any scheme or policy either consistent in itself or possessing the merit even of being generally accepted in principle. . . We have heard from time to time, recently, a great dis- cussion concerning the trade of the United Kingdom with the British colonies and dependencies. The total of this trade (exports and imports) for the year 1896 amounted, if we include Egypt, to some $953,480,000. It is somewhat startling, when we come to analyze the figures, to find that some $498,680,000 of it was trade between the United Kingdom and the British regions of the tropical belt. . . . But it may be said that Great Britain is exceptionally situated as regards the currents of trade, and the nature of its imports and exports. If, however, we turn to the United States of America, it is only to find the same lesson more strongly emphasized. Looking down the import list for 1895, and taking the fifteen heads under which the largest values have been imported, we find they include some two-thirds of the total import of the United States. A glance at the prin- cipal comodities to show to what an enormous extent the produce of the tropics is represented, — here the two items which stand at the top of the list are cofifee and sugar, of which the imports are valued, respectively, at $96,000,000 and $76,000,000. The value of imports of these two arti- cles alone does not fall very far short of one-fourth of the total value of the imports of the United States for the year in question. If we add to it the values of three other heatls — viz., (i) india-rubber, (2) tobacco, and (3) tea — we have a total of some $220,000,000. If we endeavor to deal with the whole import list on the prin-
246 The Philippines and the Far East.
ciplc followed in the case of Great Britain, and seek to distinguish what proportion of the total imports of the United States comes from the region embraced between latitude 30° north and 30° south of the equator, we get a total value of approximately $250,000,000 from tropical regions. This is over one-third of the entire imports of the United States, the total for that year from all sources being $731,000,000."
The chief farm crops of the Philippines are hemp, rice, sugar, tobacco, copra, and, in the past, as explained in the previous chapter, coffee. The peculiar crop is hemp. Manila hemp holds the world's market in this article, and will likely continue to hold it against all comers. Singularly enough, it is not grown in or very near Manila, though it bears the name of the city from which it is chiefly exported.
Hemp (iMiisa tc.vtilis) — referred to by some writers as M. Troglydyarnm — is a wild species of the plantain. It greatly resembles the M. paradasaica, which bears the edible banana. Experts only can tell the difference be- tween the hemp-tree and the banana-tree. The notable thing that marks them from one another is the color and size of the leaf. It grows best on well-drained slopes, and flourishes where soil is shallow, even where evidences of volcanic action are abundant. It demands plenty of shade, like the rubber-tree. The tree averages ten feet in height. It is an endogenous plant, the stem of it being inclosed in layers of half-round petioles. The fiber of commerce is extracted from these petioles. When the trees are cut down, they are cut into strips from five to six inches wide and drawn under a knife attached at one end to a block of wood by a hinge, while the other end is hung from the end of a flexible stick. This bend- ing stick raises the knife, and, by a simple treadle at-
Rksourc'k.s. 249
tachment, the pressure of the operator's foot can bring the knife to work on the petiole with whatever force is required. The bast, or crude fiber, is drawn under the edge of the knife, and the pulpy mass that forms such a large percentage of the petiole in its succulent state is left on the other side. It is wholly useless so far as hemp growers yet know. The fiber often measures six feet six inches in length, and is very strong. After this stripping process, the fiber is spread in the sun to be thoroughly dried, and then tightly baled for shipment. A machine to draw fiber is the great desideratum of the hemp business. A nian by the name of Smith claims to have perfected such a machine within a few months. If he has succeeded he will prove the Eli Whitney of the hemp-trade. A workable machine that will not discolor the delicate fiber as it is being separated from the pulp, and that will leave it of even size and strength when drawn, will revolutionize this important industry.
It is an easy crop to grow. It must be planted in the shade of larger trees, so the land should not be wholly cleared. It requires a minimum of cultivation. Within three years of planting, the young tree's fiber may be extracted, and after that, for a number of years, the grower has only the ordinary dangers of drought or bad markets to fear. Locusts do not eat the plant. Fire will not spread among its sappy leaves. There is no special cropping season, but fiber may be extracted at any time in the year, and thus a constant income is derived from a plantation which requires but little labor after that which started it into bearing. The islands of Samar and Leyte grow the finest quality of hemp, having the prov- inces of Albay and Sorsogon as close seconds, both in acreage and quality of the product. Shipments have leaped from 41.535 tons in 1881 to 112,755 tons in 1897.
250 Thk Philippinks and the Far East.
It fell somewhat during the war, but has gone up again by leaps and bounds since peace has been restored. In fact the increase in hemp exports furnishes a good indi- cation that peace has indeed come ; for the hemp-pro- ducing portions of the Archipelago have been longest in submitting to the new order of things.
There is no industry in the Philippines to-day which can compare with this one ; and the production of this valuable fiber is capable of being enormously enlarged. Were capital available, in ten years' time these Islands, instead of exporting $20,000,000 worth of raw hemp, would be exporting $200,000,000 worth of finished products manufactured from Manila hemp, to say noth- ing of the raw material.
Rice is more universally grown than any other crop ; but, strange as it mav seem, is not grown in sufficient quantities to feed the people. Rice is imported from Saigon in large Cjuantities to make up the deficiency. This is an abnormal state of things, and all are confident that the Philippines will soon be an exporter rather than an importer of this basal foodstuff of her people. Much of the land raises excellent rice. A yield of one-hun- dred-fold has been realized in parts of Bulacan province. Yields of sixty and seventy fold are not uncommon and fifty and below reward even the poorest tiller of the soil. When conditions are again normal, and when im- provements in agricultural methods have been really adopted by small cultivators, rice will figure as one of the chief exports, ranking with sugar and copra. A laborer in a rice-field in the Philippines produces fifteen hundred pounds of poddy, or unhusked rice. The same amount of human labor in America, with modern methods and appliances, produces one hundred and sixty thou- sand pounds.
Rksourcics. 251
Tobacco was made a government monopoly from 1 78 1 to 1882. No one was permitted to grow any other crop in certain Luzon provinces, except on certified per- mission fr<Mii the jiroper official that he had signed a contract for the delivery of four thousand tobacco-plants,
FRESHLY-TAPPED GUTTA-PERCHA TREE OF THE BEST VARIETY
(DICHOPSIS GUTTA), TJIPITIS plantations, JAVA.
(After a few hours the flow will have ceased and the gutta-percha
have become hard. )
duly cured and of specified fineness and weight. The monopoly worked terrilile hardship on the cultivators and land-owners. It was a long chapter of oppression and injustice. The profit to the Spanish government was about $2,500,000, annually, but general agricultural in- terests sufifered.
252 The Phiuppines and the; Far East.
"From sunrise to sunset the native grower was sub- jected to domiciliary search for concealed tobacco. His trunks, furniture, and every nook and corner of his dwell- ing was ransacked. He and all his family — wife and daughters included — were personally examined ; and often an irate husband, father, or brother, goaded to madness by the indecent humiliation of his kinswoman, would lay liands on his bowie-knife and bring matters to a bloody crisis with his wanton persecutors. . . . The leaves were carefully selected, and only such as came under classi- fication were paid for to the grower. The rejected bundles were not returned to him, but burnt. . . . The village official had, under penalty of arrest and imprisonment, at hard labor, to see that the families fulfilled their oner- ous contract. Corporal punishment, imprisonment, and fines resulted, culminating in riots such as those of Ilocos in 1807 and 1814, when many Spaniards fell victims to the natives' resentment of their oppression."
This iniquity was abolished in 1882, and now the entire business is in the hands of commercial companies of which the Compania General de Tobacos de filipinas, with a capital of $13,500,000, is by far the largest. It owns immense tobacco plantations, and has a large fac- tory in Manila. This company holds the contract for furnishing several nations of Europe with this weed. Its shipments are very large. To those of us who wish that the whole business of the growth, manufacture, and use of this noxious plant were done away with, both in the interest of health and decency, it is discouraging to find such a lusty trade in it. Its use is well-nigh uni- versal. Children smoke. I saw a little girl, a few days ago, carrying a small brother astride her hip, and lead- ing a little four or five year old sister by the hand. The older sister was not more than eight years of age, but all three had cigarettes in their mouths ! In the prov- mces they make what some Americans facetiously name
Resources. 253
"the family cigar." It is rolled out of the pure leaf, and often measures ten inches in length. It is smoked first by one, and then by another member of the family, and lasts for hours.
Sugar finds as good a soil in parts of the Philippines as can be found in the world. Its growth and care follow methods used elsewhere in the tropics. It is a very profitable crop in a good year, even with the crude crush- ing machines which extract but fifty per cent of the cane- juice. Improved methods of handling it will make it of first-rate importance as one of the resources of the Islands.
Copra is dried cocoanut, from which oil is extracted. It is prepared in increasing quantities, and stands fourth in the list of- exports. Cocoanut-groves grow with little care anywhere that the breath of salt air can fan them. Along the sandy shores of the Islands, even on soils that will not raise other crops, the graceful cocoanut, with its cluster of fruit tightly held about it like a crown, flourishes in all seasons. The water from the nut is always cool, and slakes thirst and reduces perspiration better than ordinary boiled water. I have spent days in the provinces when no other liquid was used. Commer- cially, cocoanut has just begun to be appreciated. Its oil will command a large place in the world market as its virtues become known.
There are very large areas of the 63,000,000 acres of unappropriated government lands admirably adapted to the cultivation of cocoanuts. Cocoanut-trees come to bearing in from five to seven years, reaching the bear- ing stage more slowly as the altitude increases. The trees can be grown readily and with comparatively little danger of loss. Under existing conditions, the minimum annual profit from a fairly good bearing tree is one dol-
254 The; Philippines and the; Far East.
lar, Mexican, and frequently two or three times this amount is reaHzed. The ground under the tree is now either allowed to grow up with brush or kept clear by hand. The growth of underbrush injures the soil, and leads to the loss of falling nuts, while clearing by hand is quite expensive. The use of mowing machines would result in great saving in the cost of labor necessary to keep the ground clear and gather the nuts. Other crops, such as Indian corn and alfalfa, can be grown between the rows of cocoanut-trees while the latter are matur- ing, and used to fatten hogs, which always bring a good price in the Philippine market. The demand for copra in these Islands is greatly in excess of the supply, and is steadily increasing, while cocoanut oil now sells readily in Manila at $1.25, Mexican, per gallon.
Coffee grown in the Philippines once took top prices on the London market. It was known as "Leepa Coffee." In 1892 to 1893 a borer appeared which practically anni- hilated the plantations. In 1883 exports of coffee reached a total of 7,451 tons. In 1896 it had fallen to ninety tons! The plant requires shade, and gives marketable coffee the fourth year after planting. About seventeen hundred plants can be grown on one acre. Government is experi- menting with coffee again, hoping successfully to fight off the borer, and also a leaf disease equally harmful, and secure such growth of the berry as will again place it in the list of exports.
Besides these crops, which either are now exported in large quantities or will soon begin to figure in that column, there are many articles of food which are only available locally, which any enumeration of resources should include. These are maize, canwtcs, or a coarse kind of sweet potatoes, potatoes, and cacao. These ar- ticles supply a large portion of the food of tens of thou-
Rrsources.
255
sands of the common people. With fish and rice, tliey feed more than all other sorts of food together. Maize is cultivated exactly like corn in Kansas or Iowa. It looks wonderfully like a hit of home to see a field of this familiar plant, with its silky banners and its steel-gray
A NATIVE SAWMILL-LIMrrED!
tassels. Three crops a year from the same land is com- mon, and the yield runs from twenty-five to forty bushels to the acre, according to soil, rainfall, and cultivation. It is ground in handmills. and eaten in the form of hoe- cake.
The cacao-tree is an attractive-looking bush, with a gfreenish yellow foliage, It.s cultivation is a risky busi-
256 The; Phii^ippines and the Far East.
ness as at present carried on. A high wind at the right time will rnin the yield by throwing all the gherkin-like frnitpods to the ground. Rats destroy plantations of it. When a crop can be gathered, it is extremely profitable. Almost every householder in the provinces has a tree or more in his }'ard, and the women of the house roast the beans, mash them with wet sugar, and make a chocolate paste which is most palatable. Its use is almost univer- sal among the middle classes in supplying the place taken by tea or cofifee among Americans. Mr. ^l^yon, the ex- pert tropical agriculturist of the Agricultural Bureau, states that in no other country has he seen climate and soil so favorable to cacao-growing as in Mindanao. The cacao now produced in that island is of superior quality, and is nearly all bought up for shipment to Spain, where it brings an especially high price. There are numerous other regions in the Islands where cacao can be raised to great advantage, but it is hardly too much to say that there is not to-day a cacao plantation in the Archipelago, the Filipinos having almost invariably contented them- selves with planting a few scattering bushes, which are left practically without care, to be swamped by brush and preyed upon by insects. Proper harvesting and cur- ing methods are not employed. The fruits are torn from the bushes, injuring the bark and leaving the way open for the attacks of injurious insect pests. With the urgent demand for this product both in Europe and America, as well as in the Philij^pines, the cultivation of the cacao should be very profitable.
Potatoes can be grown in Cebu and Benguet. They are rarely larger than walnuts, but of excellent quality.
Castor-oil. buyo or betel-nut, and areca-nuts are also in common use among the mass of the people. (Betel-
Resources. 257
nut is chewed like tobacco. It is lull} as tilthy a habit, staining Hps and teeth blood-red.)
Fruits are abundant. In this respect the Philippines, while not satisfying- the European or American, does furnish as fine a variety as any portion of the tropics. First and foremost is the banana. It grows everywhere, and is always ready to cat. Trees continue bearing from the same root for from ten to fifteen years. Next comes the mango. This is the king of tropical fruits for its delicious flavor and royal color. It is not so serviceable a fruit as the banana, because it ripens in March and April of each year, and is gone by September, while bananas are always blooming, always ripening, and al- ways ready for use. The mango is oblong, oval-shaped, from three to five inches long, and has a large pit or stone in the middle. It is so juicy that eating it in public is a feat difficult of accomplishment. But its yellow flesh, flavored like a combination of the peach, straw- berry, plum, and russet apple, is one of the most luscious that human palates find. The tree is an ornament to any grounds, with its domelike shape, and its rich, gloss}' leaves. Oranges of the loose-skinned sort are plentiful at the proper seasons, and of an excellent quality. Cus- tard apples, chicos, citrons, lanzones, jack-fruit, bread- fruit, guavas, mangosteens (in Mindanao), pine-apples, and tamarinds are also to be had in season. With the exception of the mango, the fruits of this region have been practically wholly neglected. Such tropical fruits as bananas and pineapples, and the extra-tropical citrus fruits, which, together, practically make up the world's supply of commercial tropical fruit products, are totally undeveloped in these Islands. The conditions of the soil and climate here are so generally adapted to the 17
258 The Philippines and the Far East,
growth of oranges and other citrus fruits, that the rapid development and large production of these most valua- ble crops are matters fairly beyond the experimental stage, requiring nothing more than the importation of selected varieties in sufificient quantities for their rapid propagation and wide dissemination.
Forest products deserve an entire book, not to say a portion of one chapter. These are not surpassed in any part of the tropics. Bamboo, with its almost endless uses in building, fencing, rafting, shipping, and in every branch of trade, holds the position among forest products that the banana holds among fruits. It serves more useful purposes, and is really worth more to the Filipino, than any other growth of the forest kind. Bcjuco, or native rattan, is also eminently useful. It takes the place of rope, and nails, and screws, and bolts. All na- tive houses are held together by bcjuco. Rafts are lashed together with it. Hemp bales go to their destinations in the ends of the earth clasped firmly by this native rattan.
In the line of hard woods, the Islands are remark- ably rich. Altogether more than seventy kinds are well known, which give an excellent polish, and more than a dozen which rank with the best mahogany. Several of the finest woods have been discovered since the Amer- ican occupation. A list of these trees would fill pages. Among the timbers most in demand for export is narra, or a kind of mahogany, either white or deep blood-red. It can be had in logs squared to twenty-six inches and up to thirty-five feet in length. It polishes well, and is extensively used for inside finishings in the best class of houses, for furniture, and for ornamental work of any kind. It can be had in very great .diameters. Tables will be exhibited at the St. Louis Exposition, the tops
I
Resources.
259
of which are made of one piece of this wood nine feet in diameter. Tahles of one piece six and eight feet in diameter are common.
Another very vahiable hard wood is called uiolavc. It is very hard. It is impervious to white ants because of a ix'culiar acid in the sap. It is also immune to the seaworm, and resists climatic action better than any other
PLOWING FOR RICE WITH CARAKAO IN IHK MID.
kind of native wood. For railway sleepers it outlasts iron or steel ; for they rust in this moist climate, while iiioloz'c seems beyond the reach of rot, or worm, or in- sect. It is practically everlasting, and is w^ell named by the natives "Queen of the Woods." Molave is used for floors in expensive houses. Planks of alternating light and dark colors, sawed from two to three feet in width, planed and rubbed to a perfect polish, and then polished
26o The Philippines and the Far East.
daily with the juicy stems of fresh banana-leaves rubbed liard over the surface, — these make as attractive a floor as can be found in the world. Nothing in the salons of Europe equals the finish of some floors of molavc that can be seen in Manila. Some time its merits will be known in the United States, and then, instead of com- manding a price of $140 per thousand as at present, it will take rank with its more aristocratic neighbor, ma- hogany, and command $500 per thousand.
Siipa, Tindalo and other varieties are exported to America for finishing woods in sleeping and parlor cars, and in the homes of the rich. Several large steam-mills, with full outfits of handsaws and planes, have been set up in Manila to work these woods, and place them upon the markets of the world. Up to the present the hopes of the investors have not been fully realized. The woods are in the forest. But there are three difficulties in the way of getting them to the mills. First, the difficulty of securing labor — a difficulty that confronts every form of industry in the Philippines. Second, transportation is hard to manage. Where trees grow within easy reach of shore-lines, boats can approach and load, by means of cranes or booms of long arms, that have been rolled into the sea or river. But when the tree is away in the interior, there it must remain. Roads do not exist. Third, the Forestry Bureau, excellent as is its work in preserving and caring for the millions of acres of government forests, has hedged the cutting of timber about with restrictions, and established rates of taxes, that make the lot of the timber merchant a hard one. Only a certain number of licenses to cut can be issued in a given province. Whether that license is for one or twenty men seems to make no difference. Stumpage is reckoned by the cubic foot of the squared log, and
Resources.
261
runs as hig^h as twenty-two cents per cubic foot. If the loi^ is measured in Manila, the money for the (le])art- ment must be remitted to the provincial treasurer of the portion of the country from which the logs come. Boundaries of provinces are not always perfectly clear to woodcutters, and the delay and confusion and red tape disgust many merchants who have excellent prospects
A BENGUET RICE FIELD, WITH VILLAGE.
of working a profitable timber business with China, japan, and the United States, if only these exasperating (lifificulties could be gotten out of the way. If they could import gangs of Chinese laborers on an agreement to return them to China within a specified time, it would be a boon to the poor, half-starved Chinaman, and enable these companies to carry on a 1)usiness which would put thousands of dollars into circulation in the Islands. But
262 The Philippines and the Far East.
the theorists and politicians in xAmerica know all about conditions they never saw. and they decide against such a proposal in the supposed interest of an eager Filipino laborer who has no existence outside of their imagina- tions. The forest products of the Philippines will be one of her richest resources; but American legislation and the regulations of the P>ureau in the Philippines must be altered so as to make their development a possibilitv.
India-rubber of a low grade is extracted from trees that grow wild in Mindanao. Cultivated rubber needs a more evenly-distributed rainfall than is enjoyed in parts of Luzon and the other larger islands. The govern- ment is spending money freely to grow the Central American rubber known as Casfilao clasfica. It is be- lieved that it will be wholly impossible to succeed in growing standard or Para rubber (Hcvia B)'a::iliciisis) on account of lack of proper soil and moisture. Flour- ishing young plants of the Central American variety can be seen at the Singalon experiment farm, but seven years are needed before a yield of rubber can be expected. If the tree should find Philippine conditions congenial, there are imtold millions to be made in its cultivation.
Coal, gold, iron, copper,- — these are the four minerals known to exist in the Philippines.
The coal so far discovered is not of a good quality. But recent investigations in a province but a few miles from Manila — Bataan — show better qualities at lower levels. The Mining Bureau has issued a report on "The Coal Measures of the Philippines," which is replete with information as to the petty efiforts made under Spanish rule to develop this industry, and as to the possibilities of making coal-mining a practical matter here. The outlook is not as encouraging as we might wish. Cebu has coal. Luzon has coal. But it is "young," and does
Resources. 263
not work well in furnaces where it has been tried. The Bataan reports of the past few weeks are more encour- aginj^.
"Gold probably exists in all the largest islands of the Archipelago, but in a dispersed form. For the fact is, that after centuries of search, large pockets of it have never been traced to defined localities, and, so far as discoveries up to the present moment demonstrate, this colony can not be considered rich in auriferous deposits."
Miners and men with no mining experience are camped in the mountain provinces of North Luzon hold- ing claims which, it is feared by the best informed, will never be of value except by the use of machinery too expensive for installation. Fuel can not be had to run such machinery, unless unexpected success should at- tend the present investigations of coal-fields, and even then this fuel would have to be hauled away into the mountains, or the ore and shale and quartz hauled to the plains for smelting. It is feared that many men are doomed to disappointment. I'ut prophecy in matters of mining is dangerous. Philippine gold-mines may yet rival those of Alaska.
In Bulacan province there are mountains mainly com- posed of iron, assaying up to 63.31 per cent by rigid tests in our own government laboratories. Spanish as- says show 85 per cent metallic iron. Natives declare that the mountain at Angat is all iron ! Immense blocks of hematite lie scattered about at the base of the out- cropping of the eighteen-foot vein, and so far the "min- ing operations" have consisted in cracking up these blocks of ore and smelting them. What depth the vein has farther into the mountain has not been determined. But that iron oi an excellent quality is there, and that it is there m large quantities, can scarcely be doubted. If
264 The; Philippines and The; Far Hast.
coal can be found near at hand, the future of the iron industry in the PhiHppines may be regarded assured.
Copper deposits are large, but remote, and not until there are railways into the mountains where it is found will it be possible to place the ore on the market.
With the magnificent grazing lands of Luzon and Mindanao, with abundant fine grasses and clear moun- tain streams, the sixty-five million acres of arable land held by the government, and now open for entry by means of homestead rights or purchase ; the undreamed- of extension of sugar, hemp, copra, indigo, cacao, and cocoanut cultivation ; the fruits, the fisheries, the forest products, and the resources of pearl fisheries and mines of coal and iron, of gold and copper, and the best tropical climate vet discovered, — tlie Philippine Islands have am- ple resources for the maintenance of from twenty to twenty-five million people in comfort.
CHAPTER XV.
The CiiiNivSi') IN Till'; Piiii^ippines.
Naturally the Philippines have attracted the Chinese. The climate is such as all Southern China en- joys, with a few degrees of heat added. The soil is fer- tile, and industrial and commercial opportunities are to he had for the taking. China is less than three days" sail from Northern Luzon by good native junks. Her peo- ple stand so thickly on her soil that it is with difficulty that they dig a scanty living from between their feet. It would be a marvel if the Chinaman had not entered so wide a door of opportunity as the Philippines have held before him from the earliest era of reliable history.
As early as the seventh century we have sure testi- mony of his presence. From then imtil the earlier in- vasions, Chinese invaders and traders held large parts of Luzon in subjection, and, coming over from Formosa and Amoy in their pirate junks to harry the coast cities, they would cast in their lot with the people of the Islands, marry Filipino women, and become permanent residents.
When Legaspi took the helm of Philippine affairs in 1565 he saw that it was the part of good statesmanship to protect the Chinamen whom he found in various lines of industry and commerce, and he drew up regulations looking to that end, which, for farseeing wisdom and sense of adaptation of legislation to conditions other than those of his own nation, might furnish matter to be conned with profit by some modern legislators. In
265
266 The Philippine;s and the Far East.
1580 the Spanish government erected a building for Chinese traders in a quarter of Manila convenient to the river and sea front. It was called the Alcayccria. It was a square of shops, with a large storeroom at the rear, and one living room over each little shop. This was soon crowded, and the overflow of Chinese traders was accommodated farther in from the bay. Later a large Chinese market was erected for them, and no Chi- nese traders were permitted to open shops for the sale of any goods outside of that one market. Not until i860 was this attempt to curb the irrepressible commer- cial instinct of the Celestial invaders given over as im- practicable. In the face of laws the most unequivocal, and in spite of penalties the most terrifying, as w^ell as that subtle but powerful opposition born of race hatred, the Chinese spread, not only into all parts of Manila, but took up their packs and small stocks and went to large provincial cities, where their fixed prices, frugality, and power of sustained industry soon gave them the long end of the commercial lever among a class of merchants who exacted all that was possible for their inferior goods, and slept more than half the time behind closed doors. At the close of the sixteenth century. Dr. Antonio Morga testifies that it would be impossible to do without this factor in the life of the country. He says, "They are workers in all trades and business, and are very indus- trious."
The Chinese have been the chief instructors of the Filipinos in those practical matters of agriculture and trade which to-day form the basis of the prosperity of the Archipelago. Long before the Spaniard came to the islands they had taught the growth of sugar-cane, and had put into use rude machinery for expressing the juice and making crude sugar on a large scale. The entire
The Chinese in the Phiijppines. 267
hemp industry, whether it is viewed on the side of pro- duction or placing in the markets of the world, owes its introduction to the notice of the Filipino people to the enterprise and industry of the despised Chinaman. The making of cocoanut oil, and the entire copra industry would have come to nothing commercially without Chinese capital and Chinese labor in the beginning.
Foreman practically lived in the Philippines for fif- teen years, and his testimony is as follows :
"Again, but for the Chinese coolie competition, con- stant labor from the native would be almost unprocu- rable. The native day-laborer would work two or three days, and then suddenly disappear. The active China- man goes day after day to his task (excepting only at the time of the Chinese New- Year, in January or Febru- ary), and can be depended upon. Thus the native is pushed by alien competition to bestir himself. . . Only a small minority of the laboring class will put their hands to work without an advance on their wages, and men who earn $8 per month will often demand as much as $25 to $40 advance without any guarantee what- soever. . . . The Chinese very rarely expect pay- ment until they have given value for it. Only the direst necessity will make an unskilled native laborer continue several weeks at work for a wage- which is only paid when due."
Nevertheless they have always been an unwelcome race. After Legaspi had passed away, and rulers of a narrower outlook came to power, restriction began to be invented and applied to the coming of the Chinese, and to their free entry into industrial and commercial lines. This opposition at one time reached to the promulgation of a peremptory order for their total expulsion. The authorities knew^ that to carry that decree out in all liter- alness would call for an army such as Spain never dreamed of sending, and that its enforcement would stop
268 The Philippines and the F'ar HasT.
the wheels of business, and throw the colony into bank- ruptcy. Hence a way was found to evade the execution of so foolish an order. It was gravely announced that the archbishop believed such action would "prejudice public interests." In a former chapter some details of the massacres of Chinese were given. But it was not stated that the Chinese cjuarters in Manila were always commanded by batteries in order that at any time the hated alien, with his terrible industry, might be can- nonaded into subjection, and so that he would at all times feel the precarious character of his hold upon his home and goods. To this day this hatred exists. Fili- pino drivers of public conveyances will go out of their way to run down Chinese coolies carrying their baskets in the streets. I have seen the most wanton cases of this form of petty persecution. Hardworking and un- ofifending men are crippled, and sometimes killed out- right, by the fury of Filipinos who will not work, and who arc mad out of measure with the Chinaman because he will work.
Massacres of Chinese have occurred at intervals since early in the seventeenth century when twenty-four thou- sand were put to death .within a week ! Again, in 1639, in Laguna province, the intolerable exaction of the gov- ernor and a favorite doctor drove the Chinese into rebel- lion, and thousands were put to death. An edict was published calling upon "all good Catholics" to put an end to the last Chinaman in the province, but happily this was not entirely possible. The year 1660 saw an- other bloody but futile attempt to drive this alien toiler away.
During nearly all these years of persecution and strife the Chinese kept gaining power in the business world. They adopted all kinds of expedients to curry favor with
A CHINAMAN GRINDING HERBS FOR A CHINKSF. DOCTOR, MANILA.
ThK ChINESF, in TllK rilll.lI'I'INES. 27I
the Spaniards, even going- to the length of building and keeping open houses for their entertainment when they visited the provinces where they were crushing cane, stripping hemp, opening iron-mines, or carrying on their petty shops. But all to no avail. Si)anish policy had decreed that they should suffer, and heavy license fees, excessive and vexatious taxes were leveled at them as a community, by officials who accepted their hospitality ; and a freezing opposition to their residence in the Islands was met with on all hands. In 1829, Chinese and Brit- ish alike were included in a massacre that swept a red circle around the bay from Manila to Cavite. It w^as brought on by charges that the cholera which had rav- aged the city that year was due to the Chinese — to for- eigners generally. There may have been some truth in the charge so far as the Chinese were concerned, inas- much as their trade is chiefly with ports in Southern China where cholera is never wholly stamped out, and where filth and .overcrowding give it easy foothold.
Bribes from rich Chinese merchants kept many offi- cials in ease. Governor-generals more than one have fattened on the income derived from this class. The governor-general would issue high-sounding orders about enforcing some severe rule or other against the Chinese, and immediately a small horde of Celestials would make advances to him to ascertain how much would be re- quired to hold the execution of the oppressive law in abey- ance. He would assume an attitude of great sternness, and indignantly repel the suggestion that he was open to corrupt methods having for their object the evasion of law ! The wily alien well knew that this was done with an eye to a higher price for conforming to his wishes, and calmly waited for this simulated wrath to assume comprehensible commercial form, and was im-
272 The; Philippines and the Far East.
mediately ready with the fat purse for which the greedy official lusted. From governor to street policeman the Chinaman has been a target for the spoilsman and cor- ruptionist in his office. If there were any way of getting at the total spent by the Chinese in the Philippines for that immunity from persecution which any humane gov- ernment should have accorded him as a mere matter of course, its magnitude would amaze us.
The number of Chinese in the Archipelago can not be known at this writing. The new census will give the number with practical accuracy, but that is not to sec the light for some months. Estimates based upon tax re- ceipts, former census returns, immigration statistics, and provincial and school statistics show that it will not fall far under one hundred and twenty thousand. These are scattered very wddely. Nearly half of them reside per- manently in Manila. The remainder are shopkeepers, hemp-buyers, sugar-shippers, brokers, and petty dealers in all parts of the Islands. Few Chinese laborers are to be found outside Manila and other shipping points, like Iloilo or Cebu. No Chinese engage in agriculture, or so very few as to reckon the race as such completely outside the limits of tillers of the soil. They have never dared to live away from centers where protection might be had from the wrath of an envious people. To till the soil would demand isolation from the crowd of humanity, and a bowie-knife or bolo would speedily leave him a weltering corpse beside his plow. As conditions settle down under American rule, and the inevitable weakness and inefficiency of our police system in its earlier stages of development are eliminated, it will be possible for the Chinaman to till the soil, as well as carry on the garden- ing for which he is already famous.
It is in the role of laborer and merchant or speculator
TllIC ClllNKSK IN TlUC i'lIIlJi'PlNKS. 273
that the Chinese figure more largely in the Islands. It has been estimated that less than five per cent of the present body of merchants were originally merchants. In some form or other they toiled for their daily rice. When industry joined to painful frugality had permitted the acquisition of savings sufficient to warrant the ven- ture, the toiler has stepped into the ranks of the trader. In order to make the necessary savings to accomplish this end, almost incredible toil and privation are under- gone without a murmur. Stolidly and without complaint he endures a severity of labor in this tropical heat which almost passes belief. His crowded quarters would be condemned as unfit for a pig-sty in Europe. His food is of the coarsest and most scanty ; l)ut daily his little hoard grows, until at last the sum he had settled upon as sufficient to start him in the career of a trader or money-changer has been gathered. And the sum is not necessarily a large one. He is quite content to begin in a small way, as a rule. The man who comes up from the masses usually begins by buying junk from door to door, or stocking up with Canton linen, socks, ribbons, but- tons, thread, handkerchiefs, and other small articles of small value, but of constant demand, and carrying his wares from door to door, calling from the street or from the opened doors, ''Want han'cheef?" "Want socks?" "Want buy Canton lin'?" If dismissed, he goes with a grin and a "goo"by" that disarm irritation at the disturb- ance of one's work. If permitted to open his stock, he can be voluble in four to six languages, and no peddler is more wily or tireless in pricing and showing what he has for sale. He usually asks twice or three times the price that he will accept rather than miss a sale. This is chiefly due to the incoming of the Americans, who have upset all prices wherever they have gone by their 18
274 The; Philippines and the Far East.
reckless payment of whatever merchants might ask. They love the risks of business. With the instincts of the gambler in their very blood — instincts which are more manifest in their people than in any other of the modern world — they find the uncertainties of business a constant and welcome stimulant.
In Manila business circles Chinese figure largely. Nearly fifty per cent of the goods that pass through the custom-house go to Chinese merchants. Some of the more intelligent, those whose education has been pursued in Hong-Kong or Singapore, import directly from Europe or America, and do a handsome business. They have their own Chamber of Commerce, and the annual total of transactions under their leadership runs up into mil- lions of dollars. Several Chinese are millionaires, and hundreds of merchants dress as richly, and ride in as beautiful carriages, drawn by as fine horses, as the most wealthy Spaniards or Filipinos.
The Chinese are a law-abiding people. They do not want trouble. They want profits. In all the troubles of the past seven years "the Chinos," as Chinese are all called, have been strictly neutral. They have made good money by selling goods to whichever government was in power. Our armies have had no cause of complaint against this class. In fact, it is owing to the fact that the Chinaman washed their clothes and cooked their ra- tions and had his little stock of goods where it could be of use, that the soldiers were able to get along in the Philippines as well as they did. The United States has nothing to fear from the Chinaman if he is treated with anything approaching fairness. He will keep the laws. He will use his influence at all times to see that his em- ployees and relatives keep the laws.
A surprising- thing- about this large and influential
Tlllv ClIlNKSK IN TlUv PlIILII'PlNES. 275
class of the residents of these islands is, that at least one-half of them are professedly Christian. They have adopted Christianity with a view to its being in their favor in a business way. Otherwise Catholic trade passed them entirely by. At least twenty-five thousand Chinese in Manila are nominally Catholics. The majority of these never go to church. Thousands of them have never had the slightest instruction in the significance of their new faith. It is not really a faith with them at all. It is a business scheme. As one of them told me when I asked him why he desired baptism, "Negotio no mas;'* business, nothing more. No Buddhism, nor Taoism, nor Confucianism can be found among the tens of thousands of Chinese in Manila and the provinces. They are either nominally Christians, or so long away from the teach- ings of their ancestral faiths that they have but a shadowy memory of what they were. These Christian Chinamen have furnished the friar rich spoil. For baptism, a fee of from $5 to $100 was required, according to the friars' estimate of ability to pay on the part of the candidate. As it was purely a business proposition with the China- man he put up no opposition, but paid the price and took his certificate, which he prized above negotiable paper, and kept it in his secret drawer or strong box. Mar- riages of Chinese enriched friar cofifers still more. Here the limit to the fees paid, if we may trust what is common talk among the people best situated to know, was the caprice of the officiating friar, and besides the fee a goodly provision of choice liquors was expected. Seven kinds of liquors were ofifered me at one Chinese home, and when I declined, teetotaler that I am. to take any of them, mine host straightway concluded that T was either offended at the small supply, or unable to find the kind I wanted! He had not been accustomed, evidently,
276 The Philippines and the Far East.
to a sort of ministry that eschewed strong drink. He was not a drinking man, but supposed that all Christian ministers were !
Those whom we have baptized, after careful sifting of motives and pledging to prayer and public worship, show an almost pathetic eagerness for religious instruc- tion, and read any book we put in their way, buy any books we recommend, and attend upon Divine worship with a regularity most gratifying. It is hard for them to see the need of that Sabbath observance which is con- sidered a sine qua non of orthodox piety in older lands, and in certain other particulars they would give the con- ventional Christian worker of settled Christian lands a shock now and then ; but it is not because they mean to be wicked, as I firmly believe, but partly because they have not been instructed, and partly because the old Tal- mudic tendency to "fence" the law is always at work in our settled churches, binding burdens too grievous to be borne upon necks for which Christ said "My yoke is easy."
This community has its own hospital, and carries it on by contributions with a liberality that shames the Americans in Manila, where a public hospital is a press- ing necessity, but where it has so far proved impracticable even to supplement the gifts of Mrs. Whitelaw Reid and other benevolent people in the States to an extent suffi- cient to cover the deficiency between fees and expenses. They also see that no poor Chinese coolie lacks a decent burial. They maintain a trained corps of men to aid the Health Board in enforcing sanitary regulations, as well as to protect small merchants from the endless tyran- nies and exactions of Filipino police and health inspect- ors. When the bill proposing to sell a monopoly of the right "to import and sell opium to Chinese persons of
The Ciiinksic in the Piiii.iitixrs. 277
the full blood over the age of twenty-one" in the Phil- ippines was drafted by the Civil Commission during the early part of 1903, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce engaged a lawyer, and set about it to defeat the Hill. A few of the members added to their other reasons for desiring its defeat that of protecting them in their im- portations of opium. This was a total of five men out of more than two hundred members. Practically all of them believed that such a monopoly would result in largely-increased sales, which would mean largely-in- creased consumption, and this, again, could only mean the degradation of the Chinese community. The Evan- gelical P'nion had spoken out clearly against the Bill, and the members of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce stood by us in the entire fight, helping by their sympathy, and in part bv their money, and iu every way contributing to the defeat of a Bill fraught with mischief to all the inhabitants of the Philippines. Government officials, even Governor Taft himself, could not believe that any good could come out of that Israel. They persisted in believing that every Chinaman who opposed that Pill did so for a selfish reason. But it was a joy to me to find on moving incognito among the merchants of the city for several days before we consented to let them share our fight (for we had begun it before they scented danger), such a storm of honest protest against letting a monopolist loose upon the Chinese community to wreck- it for gain ! That we were successful in laying the monopoly Bill on the table was in no small part due to the public spirit of the Chinese, and their solicitude for the welfare of their community. They prepared and circulated a petition asking that the proposed Bill be withdrawn. It was signed by seven thousand in Manila, and was only in circulation a few days. Governor Taft
278 The Philippines and the Far East.
attempted to discredit the petition by alleging that an expert had discovered that one of the names on the peti- tion was that of a famous Chinese general who had been dead three hundred years. The governor should have reflected that no small number of George Washingtons and U. S. Grants can be found in almost any ward or township in our own country. It was really unworthy of so able a man, and one who is so fair in ordinary ar- gument as Governor Taft, to avail himself of such a poor weapon. Another charge he brought was, that the petition contained the name of a monkey-god of China. But why not? Is he not familiar with the custom of placing infants under the protection of idols by giving them the name of the idol ? The petition was said to contain the same name several times. Again, why not ? Are our own people quite free from duplicate names in the Smith and Jones and Brown families? Would it be possible to secure a petition anywhere signed by seven thousand that did not contain duplicates? But in a community of Chinese it is easier still because of their system of giving proper names. The fact is that the sturdy good sense of the mass of Manila Chinese saw in the Bill the most serious menace to the morals and efficiency of their countrymen, and rose to make what was perhaps the first protest that was ever listened to from them in all the centuries of nominal Christian rule. The spectacle of thousands of Chinese petitioning the United States government in the Philippines against the enactment of opium monopoly law is one which might well drive its defendants to desperate shifts for answer. It is earnestly hoped that such a spectacle may never again be necessary.
The Chinese have grave faults. They are inveterate gamblers. While many individuals do not gamble, it
TiTK Chinese in the Piiii.irrixES. 279
is true of the mass that the fascination of shames of chance, with the excitement of winning or losing as an incentive, is irresistible. This habit in the many pro- duces a few professional gamblers, who are a curse to any city in which they reside. In spite of rigid laws against gambling in Manila, Chinese games go on at all hours, and with such secrecy that detectives can with difficulty get the scent. These resorts attract many who lose their all in a few nights of hazard.
The community as such runs to secret societies. The ramifications of these organizations run into all parts of the Chinese community. There is no way that the Occi- dental mind can unravel so tangled a skein as that which Chinese fraternal or secret orders present to his mind. The idea of all of these societies is that of mutual as- sistance and protection. It is carried so far that they protect one another right or wrong. The chief opera- tions of these organizations are found in the business world. By their means every merchant is related to and sustained by the brotherhood, and it is almost impossible to reach him by any kind of pressure. It must be said that, as a rule, the word of a Chinese merchant is as good as the bond of other traders ; but this wholesale working of secret orders has effects of a baleful sort on the com- munity within which it flourishes. It is at its root re- sponsible for that stubborn aloofness with which the Chinese race stands ofif by itself, instead of merging in the life of the people.
Hoarding for its own sake is common, and makes the merchant who does it a menace rather than a stimulus to the place in which he trades. It withdraws capital from useful channels. This hoarding is usually carried on with a view to retirement to China after years of saving, and living at ease.
28o The pHirjPPlNKS AND THE FaR EaST.
Chinese are the chief offenders in the adulteration of articles of export. The Philippine indigo-trade has been ruined by their persistent adulteration of that product. Almost every article of export has suffered in this way, being- marked down in the London market so as to per- mit purchasers to pay for the elimination of foreign matter and still realize a profit.
It is of the first importance that our government should arrive at something like a broad and far-seeing policy with regard to the admission of Chinese into the Philippines. The application of the Chinese Exclusion Act to the Philippines cii bloc was a grave blunder. The conditions of the two countries are radically dififerent. In the United States it might be urged that Chinese labor came into disastrous competition with American labor. Even there the Act would never have been forced through had it not been for the exigencies of party poli- tics, and its passage and enforcement has hampered nearly every form of industry in California and adjacent States by cutting ofif the only supply of labor upon which dependence can be placed for the agricultural, mining, and fruit-raising industries of that rich coast. But the application of that Act to a country where there is no supply of unskilled labor to suffer by the alleged compe- tition is an example of the folly of intrusting delicate matters of Asiatic administration to inexperienced lead- ers. It works needless hardship upon the entire Archi- pelago, upon Chinese laborers, seeking honest employ- ment, and upon those who seek to develop the vast re- sources of the country. It defeats, or indefinitely delays, the establishment of railways, the building of roads and bridges, and the general opening up of the country.
The Filipino is not a laborer. By that I do not mean to say that he is always lazy and unwilling to perform
Tlllv ClIINKSK IN TIIK rillLIPPINlvS. 281
any kind of labor. He is not a day laborer. He will never be r, success as "a gang-man." All his instincts are against it. The idea of toiling day after day at the same round of tasks for money is repellent and unmean- ing to him. Conditions of life are so easy that he sees no need of money in any considerable amount. A few pesos satisfy his immediate wants. All his past bears witness to the impossibility of his keeping more than a few pesos. If he had it. the tax monopolist knew it, and he was straightway "marked down" for exploitation. If he invested it in surplus goods, land, or cattle, or in any other form, he was certain to be a mark for the envy of some oflficial or some ladrone. He has learned his lesson written in iron by centuries of oppression. It has prac- tically killed out the instincts of acquisition which have grown in races enjoying protection in the use and enjoy- ment of the fruits of their labors. To become one of a gang of sweating men, and dig or lift or saw or hammer day after day in the hot sun, controlled in his hours and all the details of his labor by a "boss," and he not always gentle and considerate, but sometimes violent and pro- fane,— this is to the Filipino slavery, and he will have none of it. Give him his little plot of land, or his fish- ing rights, and with his carabao or two, his pet game- cock, his chickens, and his family about him, and he is content. It is useless to fight against nature. Here is where the Filipino is as near an economic factor as he is at present capable of becoming — I mean that class of the Filipino people who live by their toil. And curiously enough it is exactly at this point that the most urgent economic need of the country is found. Given a host of small cultivators, each developing to a good degree the possibilities of a small tract of huid, and you have the conditions which will make the Philippine Islands a
282 The Philippines and the Far East.
garden, enrich her people and fill her treasuries to burst- ing with profits on the exportation of those tropical pro- ductions for which the modern world is calling with ever-increasing urgency. To attempt to drive this in- stinctive cultivator from his little piece of land, and make a sullen and inef~ficient laborer of him, will not only be utterly futile, it will be an economic crime. It will put him, in so far as it succeeds, into the class from which come the principal disturbers of the peace of F.urope and the United States, and at the same time withdraw him from an occupation every tendency of which is to make him a contented member of the social and political body.
It should be possible to provide for the importation of Chinese laborers under time contracts, at the expiration of which they must be returned to China. The entire number so admitted could be easily regulated by a sys- tem of registration compulsory upon corporations or in- dividuals making such contracts. Government could keep its own identification office for such coolies as it imported for public works. The tendency of this system would be to exalt agriculture and horticulture to the place of importance which they deserve, r.nd to develop by example such labor possibilities as the Filipino pos- sesses.
It would be disastrous to permit unrestricted immi- gration. The population of China is so terribly over- crowded, and opportunities for gaining a bare livelihood are so scanty, that hordes of unskilled laborers and pros- pective merchants would come down upon the Philip- pines. But immigration under suitable restrictions is a necessity to the development of the Islands. Every added month of residence makes this more clear to any one with good opportunities for personal observation. Such relief should be granted in time to make it of use in the
Till-: CiiixKsi-: ix Tin-: riiii.iiM'FXKs.
283
era of construclifni now opening', lie will furnish Ijrawn for railway, road, and bridqe work, and the i)ay he .y^ets will enable him to s;o home independent for the remainder of his life. He will toil on the erection of mills, the openini^s of mines, and the furtherance of all industrial and commercial interests. The resultant prosperity will be shared in bv the Filipino on his land, and thus indi- rectly the coming- of this ])atient human machine will help the very man who is supposed to be crushed by his comin".
MARKET SCEXE IX MAXILA.
CHAPTER XVI. Thk Friar Lands.
In all reference to the friars it should he remembered that the monastic orders are meant, and not individual members of those orders. By friar lands is meant lands owned by monastic corporations, such as the Augustinian, Dominican, or Recolleto Orders. As has been already pointed out, it is impossible for a friar to hold property. His legal identity becomes merged into his order when he takes its irrevocable vows of poverty. Cases in which this vow has been violated are known, but are not fre- quent ; and for the purposes of this chapter are not con- sidered.
That much of the lands of these corporations has been secured lawfully can not be questioned. That practically all of it can now be held against any and all claimants, however it was originally secured, can not be reasonably doubted. In some cases, as in that of the hacienda of Imus, in the province of Cavite, it seems tolerably clear that friar ownership was gradually asserted over a large and immensely fertile tract of land by an abuse of power in connection with the use of water from a dam constructed on friar land, and sold to farmers of near-by tracts. The story of this dispossession of Filipinos from their right- ful ownership is told in full with great circumstantiality in Senate Document No. 190, pages 269-280, by Don P'elipe Calderon, one of the leading lawyers of Manila. It is a sad story of oppression and tyranny. But sup- posing it capable of confirmation in every detail, undis-
284
Tiiiv Fkiak Lands. 285
piitcd possession of this land has been enjoyed for more than thirty years. That gives prescriptive title. Not that there have been no complaints in the sense of burn- ing denunciations of the wrongs which tenants feel have been done to them and to their predecessors ; but no legal action of any formal character has been taken to dis- possess the friar owners during more than a generation. A few out of many of hacienda titles to the validity of which there can be no possible legal questions, are given herewith :
"A part of the estates of the Augustinian Order rep- resented by 'Sociedad Agricola de Ultramar,' are as follows :
"Piedad Hacienda — Poor Farm, purchased January 29, 1833, from Dona Josef a Madrigal, for 25,000 pesos.
"San Francisco de JMalabon. This estate was bought in several parcels from dififerent owners between August 26, 1877, to December 31, 1877. at a total cost of 108,000 pesos, cash, and in exchange for two other estates, May- sabang and Rlarcavan, property of the Augustin Order.
"Malinta. Also puchased at different times from dif- ferent persons. Possession was given on May 26, I725> and- confirmed by a Royal Resolution of the 'Audiencia,' dated February 13, 1734.
"Dampol Alatamo and San Marcos. This estate was
purchased 15, 1834, at public auction for 26,000
pesos, and possession thereof given on the 27th day of the same month and year.
"Monting-Lupa. The greatest part w^as acquired by purchase by Don Antonio Ouijano Bustamante, repre- senting the order, from different natives in 1665. The parts of this hacienda called 'Mamancat' and 'Butin,' were bought by the Convent of Guadalupe at public auc- tion in 1632. Tala was acquired during 1725, 1726, and
1753-
"Talamban, in Cebu. A gift made by the conqueror
of the Philippines, Don IMiguel Lopez de Legaspi, to the
barefooted Augustin friars on May 28, 1571.
286 The Philippines and the Far East.
"Talisay. Adjudged to be property of the Order by a royal decision rendered in its favor by the 'Audiencia' in 1734; as was also Minglanilla, of Mandaloyang."
In anticipation of what would possibly follow if armed opposition to Spain should break out, the friars took steps some years before the American occupation to protect themselves by placing their estates in the hands of commercial companies, of whom the directors were good Catholics, while they still held control of the estates in the form of shares in these companies. Governor Taft says in his Report to the President on Friar Lands :
"Nearly all the immense agricultural holdings have been transferred by the three orders, — by the Domin- icans to a gentleman named Andrews ; by the Recolletos to an English corporation ; and by the Augustinians to another corporation ; but these transfers do not seem to have been out-and-out sales, but only a means for man- aging the estates without direct intervention from the friars or for selling the same when a proper price can be secured. The friars seem to remain the real owners."
This was so palpable an attempt to stand from under the hatred and criticism of the natives, and make it possi- ble to go on securing rentals which angry tenants refused to pay directly to the avowed agents of the friar, that it has little bearing on the issue of selling those lands to the government.
The Dominicans are doubtless the richest order in the Islands.
"Their Santa Rosa and Binang estates consist of 21,- 148 acres, the annual rental of which is $75,888. This estate includes the towns of Santa Rosa. Cabuyao, Bi- nang, and Tunisan, and is occupied by 69,983 inhabitants. The order has owned it for fifty-five years, and it cost the friars $2,700 Mexican currency. Its present value is $825,840.
Tiiic 1m<iak Kaxds. 287
"The estate of Loloiiihoy and I'andi has been the prop- erty of the order for two hundred and fifty-eight years, having- been purchased in 1642 for 414 Spanish (gold) dollars. Its present value is estimated at $1,256,280. It includes the towns of Lolomboy, Santa Maria, Bocaue, and Alarilao. It consists of 36.954 acres, and its in- habitants number over forty thousand. The annual ren- tal is $45,038.
"The estate of Naic is situated in Cavite Province. It consists of 20,206 acres, the annual rent of which is $26,332. The large and populous towns of Naic, Marig- ondong, Ternate, and San Juan are located within its borders. It is inhabited by 39,560 persons. It was pur- chased by the order in 183 1 for $25,000, and is now val- ued at $975,990.
"The estate of Santa Cruz de Alalabon is probably the largest owned by an monastic order in the Islands, but very little of it is under cultivation. Forty-two thousand six hundred and twenty-six acres are included within its borders, as are also the towns of Santa Cruz de Malabon and Santol. It pays an annual rental of $26,980, and has been owned by the order for one hundred and thirty-eight years. It was purchased for $70,000. and is now estimated to be worth $750,760.
"The estate of Oriong, in Bataan province, is the smallest owned by the Dominicans. It consists of 5,275 acres, and its annual rents aggregate $13,800. It includes the towns of Oriong and Bibbago. Ten thousand natives find homes within its borders. The order has owned it for two hundred and seventy-seven years, and its present value is $90,000."
From Governor Taft's Report to the President I quote as follows :
"Of the four great orders, one, the Franciscan, is not permitted to own property except convents and schools. This is not true of the other three. They own some val- uable business property in Manila, and have large amounts of money to lend. But the chief property of these orders is in agricultural lands. The total amount owned by the
288 The Philippines and the Far East.
three orders in the Philippines is approximately 403,000 acres. Of this 121,000 acres is in the province of Cavite alone. The whole is distributed as follows:
LUZON : Province of — Acres. Province of^ Acres.
Cavite, 121,747 Bataan, 1,000
Laguna, 62,152 Cagayan, 49,400
Manila, 50,145 Island of Cebu, . . 16,413
Bulacan 39,441 Island Mindoro, . 58,455
Morong 4,940
Total, .... 403,713
"The Atigtistinians were granted by the Spanish gov- ernment a large estate in the sparsely-settled province of Cagayan, in Northern Ltizon, in 1880, with the hope that they would invest capital there, and improve the country. The Recolletos acquired in the same manner and for the same purpose even a larger estate in the wild and unsettled island of Alindoro in 1894. With these exceptions, the lands held by the friars have been theirs for more than a generation, and they have owned most of the valuable estates for one or two centuries. In few instances, it is believed, can their ownership be sticcessftilly attacked in law, for prescription has supplied any defect which might have been in their original titles. This is the concession of Don Felipe Calderon, one of the brightest of the Filipino lawyers and most prominent in his opposi- tion to the friars, though he suggests that the friars had such power to defeat claims against them under the Span- ish regime as to furnish a just reason for suspending the operation of prescription.
"The suggestion is, however, not believed to be a tenable one. Moreover, no adverse claimants to agri- cultural lands held by the friars have appeared before the Commission or the courts, except certain tenants of an estate lying near Calamba in the province of Laguna, and the issue made by them can be readily settled in the ordinary tribunals. In the older provinces of Cavite, La- guna, Alanila, and Bulacan, the haciendas of the friars were very well cultivated before the war, and were quite valuable. On some of the estates large amounts of money were invested by the orders in furnishing proper irri-
Till: Friar Lands. 289
gation and other improveniciits. Of the total number of acres of all the land held, the Dominicans have 101,953; the Augustinians, 151.742; and the Recolletos, 93,035. The annual income of the Dominicans from their lands before the war was $211,356 (Mexican). The land was rented on shares in small holdings. Leases were given for three years, and no assignment was permitted without the consent of the order. Tenancy usually continued in the same family, and the tenant right seems, sometimes, to have been considered valuable. It is understood for the last two years (now four) the friars have not at- tempted to collect rents from persons occupying their lands. On the other hand, agents of the insurgents, claiming title to the land by virtue of confiscation acts of the so-called Malolos government, have from time to time made collections from the tenants."*
The first Philippine Commission, of which Dr. Schur- man was president, recommended the purchase of these large agricultural holdings from the present friar owners and their subsequent sale in small parcels to individuals, preference being given to the tenants already on the land, and long time being given on the purchase at low inter- est.* This was believed by that Commission to be a necessity to the establishment and maintenance for any considerable period of a condition of public order. Friar owners were so hated that payment of taxes was resisted, communities always being in an uproar when the rent collectors of the orders appeared.
In the same report the Civil Commission puts the stamp of its a])proval on this suggestion :
"It would avoid some very troublesome agrarian dis- aurbances between the friars and their quondam tenants if the insular government could buy these large hacien- das of the friars and sell them out in small holdings to the present tenants, who, forgiven the rent during the
•■•Report, Part II, p. 27. '\ Ibid., Vol. I, p. 131.
19
29© The Philippines and the Far East.
years of war, would recognize the title of the govern- ment without demur, and gladly accept an opportunity, by payment of the price in small installments, to become absolute owners of that which they and their ancestors have so long cultivated. With the many other calls upon the insular treasury, a large financial operation like this could probably not be conducted to a successful issue without the aid of the United States Government, either by a direct loan or by a guarantee of bonds to be issued for the purpose. The bonds or loan could be met grad- ually from the revenues of the Islands, while the pro- ceeds of the land, which would sell readily, could be used to constitute a school fund. This object, if de- clared, would make the plan most popular, because the desire for education by the Filipinos of all tribes is very strong, and gives encouraging promise of the future men- tal development of a now uneducated and ignorant people. The provincials of the orders were understood, in their evidence before the Commission to intimate a willingness on the part of the orders to sell their agricultural hold- ings if a satisfactory price should be paid. What such a price would be we are unable, without further investiga- tion to state. If an agreement could not be reached, it is probable, though upon this we wish to express no defi- nite opinion, that there would be ground in the circum- stances for a resort to condemnation proceedings."
Politicians are not as familiar with the methods of Rome as those who have studied her from a churchly standpoint, and hence it was that, in their eagerness to come to a speedy and just solution of this complicated question, our political leaders, including President Roose- velt and Governor Taft, conceived the idea of treating directly with the Pope. If they had read Church His- tory carefully, it would have been apparent how hope- less such an undertaking must be. If they had even read 'Xa Roma," by Zola, the futility of the plan would have been plain before them. The ramifications of "Black Pope" and "White Pope" factions in the eccle-
TiiK FuiAK Lands 293
siastical capital seem to have been outside of their ken. The powerful lobbies, or cliques, of the orders in Rome were not reckoned with. Papal consent to the sale on s^^rounds urged by our g-overnment would seal all anti- friar charges with the seal of the Vatican. How could he do that with a luuidrcd angry and ])owerful ecclesias- tics ready to block every other move he desired to make if he consented? Could he give his approval to the with- drawal of the friars? Never. He might dally with the proposal as a way of knitting up some slender connec- tion of a diplomatic sort between the capital of the Rom- ish Church and the capital of the lusty young Republic of the West. Consent to it he simply dared not. No one at all familiar with Romish policy dreamed that he either would, or, morally speaking could.
Governor Taft returned to the Philippines by way of Rome, armed with introductions to Leo XIII from Pres- ident Roosevelt and Secretary John Hay, through his cardinal secretary, Rampolla, and full instructions from Secretary of War Root.
Through the courtesy of Governor Taft, I am able to place before the readers of this work so much of the correspondence as passed between him and Leo XIII as may seem relevant to the friar-land question. I am not aware that this correspondence has been made public on any wide scale up to this time. In no other way can the whole case be so well seen from the standpoint held by each party as by freely quoting from that correspond- ence. I do so with the single explanation that portions starred as having been omitted are not material to the one point with which this chapter deals, but relates to titles of churches, or discussions of Church policies, or to the control of certain institutions of learning about the ownership of which there is room for difference of opin-
294 The Philippines and the Far East.
ion in untangling the condition of affairs which existed when Church and State were either one, or so intertwined as to seem one to the uninitiated. First comes the letter of introduction from Secretary Hay :
"Department of State,
"Washington, May lo, 1902.
"Most Eminent Sir, — I take pleasure in presenting to Your Highness the Hon. William H. Taft, one of our most distinguished citizens, who is at present, and has been for several years, the civil governor of the Philippine Islands, which important office he has filled with great intelligence and success. He is now returning to the Islands after a brief stay in this country. On his way he will visit Rome for the purpose of reaching, if possi- ble, a basis for the just settlement of the many pending questions to property held in the Philippine Islands for religious and charitable uses. I beg to commend him to your confidence and kind consideration, with sincere hopes for the attainment of results which shall promote both the civil and religious welfare of the people of the Islands.
"I profit by the occasion, Most Eminent Sir, to tender you the assurances of my profound esteem and highest consideration. Your obedient servant,
"(Sgd) John Hay. "To His Eminence Cardinal M. Rampolla del Tindaro.
"Secretary of State to His Holiness, etc."
address: taft to EEO XIII.
"Rome, Italy, June 5, 1902, "Your Holiness, — On my departure from Washing- ton, President Roosevelt committed to my hands an auto- graph note of personal greeting and eight bound volumes of his literary works, to be delivered to Your Holiness. I now have the honor of complying with his direction.
"I desire next to express my sense of the personal honor of this audience. I am not a member of the Roman Catholic Church ; but one who has marked the enlight- ened statesmanship and limpid purity of character and
The Friar Lands. 295
the earnest seeking for the uphfting of all humanity that have been the personal characteristics of the head of the Roman Church during the quarter century of the present pontificate, can not fail, whatever his Church or creed, to entertain the most profound respect for Your Holiness. "The transfer of sovereignty and all governmental property rights and interests from the Crown of Spain to the United States in the Philippine Islands contained in the Treaty of Paris was a transfer from a government between which and the Church of Rome there had been in those Islands the closest association in property, re- ligion, and politics, to a government which by the law of its being is absolutely prevented from having such associations with any Church. To make the transfer effectual, and at the same time just, it is obvious that the proper line of division must be drawn between what were really civil property interests of the Crown of Spain and what were religious trusts of the Catholic Church, and that all union of civil and clerical agencies for per- formance of political functions must end. It is said that many churches and conventos are on United States land. It is said that rental is due from the United States for occupation of churches and conventos. Of the very nice questions thus arising, some might be settled, perhaps, after years of litigation in the ordinary courts of jus- tice, though others could not be disposed of in this way. Especially is this true of certain questions which I shall now briefly state : The transfer of sovereignty from Spain to the United States had been preceded by two revolutions among the Filipino people against Spain. Pop- ular hostility was chiefly manifested against the members of four religious orders, who had, in addition to their clerical duties as parish priests, been charged by the Span- ish government with the performance of a burden of local, political, and police duties, and in the performance had been held responsible by the people for the oppres- sion of which it was said that Spain was guilty. Three of these orders were owners of large tracts of valuable agricultural lands, and in each revolution the hostility toward the Uiembers of the religious orders w^as, in prov-
296 The Philippines and the F*ar East.
inces where land lay, agrarian as well as political. The justice or injustice of this hostility is, as I conceive, aside from the issue. It exists, and is the result of years of peace and war. It can not be ignored. The members of these orders have not yet returned to their parishes, which are being administered by the native clergy, and they have not yet resumed possession of their lands. An at- tempt by them to assume the rights of landlords or to become parish priests again will, it is confidently believed, seriously disturb the peace and order of the Islands.
"On behalf of the Philippine government, it is pro- posed to buy the lands of the religious orders with the hope that the funds thus furnislied may lead to their with- drawal from the Islands, and, if necessary, a substitution therefor as parish priests, or other priests whose pres- ence would not be dangerous to public order. It is further hoped that Church titles, rentals, and prices may all be fixed either by arbitration or in a general compromise. Authority to purchase the agricultural lands of religious orders must ultimately come from the Congress of the United States, but a bill granting such authority has been favorably reported to both Houses of Congress, and there is every prospect of its passage before the close of the session, which will probably end in July. The bill leaves the method of purchase to the Philippine government, so that the negotiations concerning such a purchase are not now premature.
"We now have in the Philippine Islands a Christian people of six million souls, substantially all Roman Cath- olics, just awaiting the dawn of a new political and busi- ness life. What a burden upon them, what a burden upon their Church to which they are devoted, that deep-seated political and agrarian hostilities growing out of the troubles of a previous regime should be permitted now to cast their shadow upon their religious and political welfare ! Should such questions be left open to a con- tinued discussion, with all the unfortunate heat likely to be engendered ? Is it not wise that in a straightforward business method a basis for a general settlement and compromise should be reached in an amicable confer-
The Friar Lands. 297
ence between the representatives of the head of the Ro- man Catholic Church and agents or officials of the Phil- ippine and United States governments ? In such a con- ference concessions and compromises may be expected if they do not involve a violation of principle, and the supreme benefit, both to the State and Church, of an amicable settlement will make each side bend to reach it.
"I do not need to assure Your Holiness that the atti- tude of the United States and the Philippine government is not one of unfriendliness toward the Roman Catholic Church. The policy of separating Church from State, as required in the Constitution of the United States, does not indicate hostility to religion or to the maintenance of any Church. On the contrary, the founders of our gov- ernment were profoundly convinced that religion must be upheld for the benefit of the State, and that it will be found that in the United States the rights of all Churches, both as to property, administration, and practice of religion, are observed and protected with even more scrupulous care than in some countries where Church and State are said to be united. I venture to point out the prosperity of the Roman Catholic Church in America as indication that it has nothing to fear from the extension of the same rule over the Philippine Islands. The govermuent of the United States treats all Churches and creeds alike. It protects them all. but favors no one against another. It is not engaged in proselyting for one Church or creed, and any officer using his office for such a purpose, directly or indirectly, ought to forfeit his office.
"I do not intend to further w^eary Your Holiness with a detailed statement of the questions likely to arise in the conference now at hand. When Your Holiness shall refer us to dignitaries of the Church authorized to enter upon the negotiation, the question will then be stated at length as set forth in instructions given to them by my immediate superior, the Secretary of War.
''Under my instructions, I am authorized to call others to my assistance as my advisers and counselors in the nego- tiations. I have asked the Right Rev. Thomas O'Gorman, Bishop of Sioux Falls, the Hon. James F. Smith, Asso-
298 The Philippines and the Far East.
ciate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines, and ]Maj. John Biddle Porter, Judge-Advocate Depart- ment, United States Army, to assist me in this way, and with Your Holiness's permission I now present them. "(Signed) Wm. H. Taft."
Secretary Root handed Governor Taft full instruction as to the nature of the questions to be resolved, if possi- ble, in h.is conference with such Church authorities as might be proved to have power to contract with gov- ernment for the desired purchase of the lands. I give these instructions in full though all do not bear directly upon the matter in hand.
"War Department, "Washington, May 9, 1902. "Sir, — It is now apparent that Congress will not have acted upon the Philippine Commission's recommendations regarding the purchase of friar lands before the time of your deoarture for Manila, which can not be longer delayed. You can not, therefore, as we had hoped, now receive definite instructions and proceed to take such steps, in the execution of specific authority from Congress, as should properly be taken before you return to Manila. The committees of both Houses have, however, reported favorably upon the Commission's recommendations, and it appears probable that Congress will confirm their ac- tions. In view, therefore, of the critical situation of this subject in the Philippines, and of the apparent impossi- bility of dis])osing of the matter there by negotiation with the friars themselves, the President does not feel at liberty to lose the opportunity for effective action afforded by your presence in the West. He wishes you to take the subject up tentatively with the ecclesiastical superiors who must ultimately determine the friars' course of conduct, and endeavor to reach at least a basis of negotiations along lines which will be satisfactory to them and to the Philip- pine government, accompanied by a full understanding on both sides of the facts and the views and purposes of the parties to the negotiations ; so that when Congress
The Friar Lands. 299
shall have acted the business may proceed to a conclusion without delay. You are accordingly authorized, in the course of your return journey to Manila, to visit Rome, and there ascertain what Church authorities have the power to negotiate for and determine u])()n a sale of the lands of the religious orders in the rhili])pine Islands, and if you find, as we are informed, that the officers of the Church at Rome have such power and authority, you will endeavor to attain the results above indicated. Any ne- gotiations which you may enter upon are always subject to granting of power bv Congress to follow the negoti- ations by binding action. In any conferences and nego- tiations, you will bear in mind the following propositions, which are deemed fundamental, and which should be fully and frankly stated to the other side in the negotiations :
"(i) One of the controlling principles of our govern- nient is the complete separation of Church and State, with entire freedom of each from any control or interference by the other. This principle is imperative wherever Amer- ican jurisdiction extends, and no modification or shading thereof can be subject of discussion.
"(2) It is necessary now to deal with the results of establishing a government controlled by this principle in the Philippine Islands, which have for centuries been gov- erned under an entirely different system, with Church and State closely united, and having functions of the one exer- cised by agents of the other ; where the Church has long controlled and acted virtually as the agent of the State in the field of public instruction and public charities, and has from time to time acquired large properties held by it, or by its subordinate corporations or officers, for these public uses. A novel situation has been created, mider which the adjustment of means to ends appropriate to the former system entirely fails to produce the intended result under the new system, and the separation of Church and State requires to be followed by a readjustment and re- arrangement in the interests both of Church and of State, and for the attainment of the great ends of civil govern- ment, of education, of charity, and of religion.
"(3) ^y reason of the separation, the religious orders,
300 The Philippines and the Far East.
Dominicans, Aiigustinians, RccoUctos, and Franciscans, can no longer perform in behalf of the State the duties in relation to public instruction and public charities for- merly resting upon them, and the power which they for- merly exercised, through their relations to the civil gov- ernment, being now withdrawn, they find themselves the objects of such hostility on the part of their tenantry against them as landlords, and on the part of the people of the parishes against them as representatives of the former government, that they are no longer capable of serving any useful purpose for the Church. No rents can be collected from the populous communities occupying their lands unless it be by the intervention of the civil government with armed force. Speaking generally, sev- eral years past the friars of these four orders, formerly installed over the parishes, have been unable to remain at their posts, and are collected in Manila with the vain hope of returning. They will not voluntarily be accepted again by the people, and can not be restored to their positions except l3y forcible intervention on the part of the civil government, which the principles of our government forbid.
"It is manifest that, under these conditions, it is for the interest of the Church, as well as of the State, that the landed proprietorship of the religious orders in the Philip- pine Islands should cease, and that if the Church wishes, as of course it does wish, to continue its ministration among the people of the Islands, and to conduct in its own behalf a system of instruction in the parishes, with which we have no desire to interfere, it should seek other agents therefor.
"(4) It is the wish of our government, in case Con- gress shall grant authority, that the titles of the religious orders to the large tracts of agricultural lands which they now hold shall be extinguished, but that full and fair compensation shall be made therefor.
"(5) It is not, however, deemed to be for the interests of the people of the Philippine Islands that, in thus trans- forming wholly unproductive tracts of land into money capable of productive investment, a fund should thereby
Tim P'riar Lands. 301
be created to be used for the attempted restoration of the friars to the parishes from which they are now separated.
"(6) The titles to the s^reat amount of Church lands and building's in the Islands, other than those of the rc- licjious orders, and now apparently owned by the State, should be settled fairly.
"(7) Provision should be made for ascertainiui^ what rentals, if any, ought to be paid for conventos and other church buildings which have been occupied by United States troops during the insurrection, this being, of course, subject to further specific action by Congress.
"(8) The rights and obligations remaining under the various specific trusts for education and charitv, which are now in doubt and controversy, ought to be settled by agreement, if possible, rather than by the slow and fre- ouently disastrous processes of litigation, so that the beneficent purposes of these foundations may not fail.
"(9) Your errand will not be in any sense or degree diplomatic in its nature, but will be purely a business matter of negotiation by you as governor of the Phil- ippines for the purchase of property from the owners thereof, and the settlement of land titles, in such a manner as to contribute to the best interests of the people of the Islands.
"Any assistance which you may desire, whether on the part of officers of the civil government or of military officers, to enable you to perform the duties above de- scribed in a manner satisfactory to yourself will be af- forded ; but the business is left entirely in your hands, subject to such action as may be taken pursuant to law upon your report. Verv Respectfully,
"(Signed) Elihu Root,
"Secretary of War. "Hon. William H. Taft,
"Civil Governor of the Philippine Islands, "Washington, D. C."
CHAPTER XVIL
The Friar Lands. (Continued.)
The Address of Governor Taft and the Instructions of Secretary Root were pondered deeply before a reply was made to their straightforward statements of fact and declarations of purpose. In the experience of the Vatican it is not likely that documents so plain — even to the point of brusqucness — had been submitted for con- sideration. In this correspondence there was no dis- courtesy, but a coming directly to the matter in hand characteristic of the American mind. It must have been something of a shock to the pope to be plainly told that the friars could no longer serve either the Church or the State because of their unacceptability with the people. The open disavowal of any diplomatic character in the errand of Governor Taft, and its reduction to the level of a proposed real estate transaction between alleged owners and a possible buyer, must have sorely hurt the papal hopes. The proposal that other agents than the friars should be furnished for the Philippine curacies must have roused discussions whose heat strikes up through the otherwise cold document. An altogether dispassionate student of the steps our government had taken up to this point in the negotiations could hardly say that our agents had handled Rome with gloves. Gov- ernor Taft's opening remarks were complimentary to the personal record of the pope. That was to be expected. When contrasted with the dark impurities and everi
302
The Friar Lands. 303
bloodshed caused by some popes, Leo XIII lived an ex- emplary life. But there was no "shading" of the vital principle of the complete separation of Church and State. There was no toning down of ugly facts as to the rela- tion the friar is known to hold in the Philippines. There was no room for any man, be he Catholic or Protestant, to say that the effort of Governor Taft to buy the lands of the friars was the entering wedge for future diplo- matic relations with the papacy. Such Protestants as think this, I must believe to be unaware of the Instruc- tions of Secretary Root, and the undeviating straiglit- forwardness of Governor Taft.
It is well to contrast this open and candid disclosure of plans and reasons with the essentially serpentine methods disclosed in the papal answer which follows. The answer commits the pope to nothing except delay and evasion. It is an elaborate attempt to hide one or two sound kernels of meaning in a bushel of compli- mentary chaff. Here it is, or so much of it as is essential to our purposes :
"Excellency — After mature consideration of the in- structions which Your Excellency received from Mr.
the American Secretary of War concerning the religious questions in the Philippine Islands, the Holy Father has commanded me to address Your Excellency the accom- panying document, in which are expressed the apprecia- tions of the Holy See on that subject.
"With feelings of particular regard, I have the pleasure to subscribe myself, with the most distinguished con- sideration, Your Excellency's most obedient servant,
"M. Card. Ram poll a."
"H. E. Mr. W. H. Taft, Civil Governor of the Philippine
Islands.
"The decision of the government of the United States of America to send to Rome a Commission for the pur-
304 The Philippines and the Far East.
pose of treating with the supreme authority of the Cath- olic Church concerning various questions of common in- terest about the Philippine Islands and of settling them by means of amicable accord has been welcomed by the Holy See with especial pleasure. For if the government of the United States has, by a wise and approved prin- ciple, judged this manner of direct understanding to be preferable in order to regulate the situation created for a population of several millions exclusively Catholic that has entered on the sphere of its political dominion, like- wise the Holy See on its part deems that this method of direct understanding answers best of all others the recip- rocal interest of both parties ; and that, as at present, so also in the future, it will be of aid to the good government of those people. The Holy See, animated by a friendly disposition toward the American government, has has- tened to examine with benevolent deference the views and wishes of said government as set forth in the instruc- tions of the Secretary of War, to the Civil Governor of the Philippine Islands, and does not hesitate to declare that, saving the religious interests of those people to the protection of which she can never be wanting, it is dis- posed to second them in just measure; and it confides. . . . " Regarding the religious orders, of which mention is made in the instructions of the Secretary of War, the Holy See can not give its adhesion to all the views con- tained therein ; nor does it consider it opportune to enter into a discussion on that point. Placing itself entirely on the practical ground of the provisions required by the new situation, the Hol}^ See admits, first of all, that the system obtaining under the Spanish domination and the mixing up of the religious in the civil administration might have created for them in a portion of the people a certain ill-will. How to eliminate this antipathy the Holy See has already devised means, gradually, by opportune measures to recall the regulars to the life proper to their institutes, to devote themselves exclusively to spiritual ministry, to abstain from any kind of interference in things appertaining to the civil authority, to consolidate mutual peace of life between the people and clergy of the
The Friar Lands. 305
Islanfls, to uphold the principle of authorit}', to imbue the masses with morality, and to make themselves the instruments of civilization and social order. . . . The Holy See likewise recog;nizes that, in order to reconcile more fully the feeling's of the Filipinos to the religious ])ossessing landed estates, the sale of the same is con- ducive thereto. Therefore it adheres in principle to the request made by the American government saving the right of property of the legitimate possessor and an esti- mate of the value of the lands conformable with the- prin- ciples of justice and equity. Considering, however, that this is a complicated question, requiring special study of the facts of the case, and can not be solved with precipi- tation, the Holv See declares it is disposed to furnish the new^ Apostolic Delegate who is to be sent to the Phil- ippine Islands with necessary and opportune instructions in order to treat amicably this affair in understanding with the American government and the parties inter- ested, and so to arrive at fixing a satisfactory accord whether on the value of the lands or the conditions of sale.
"Finall}-. the Holy See can not abstain from asking the American authorities suitable provisions for relig- ious teaching in the public schools, especiall\ the pri- mary; and that the choice of teachers be made according to eauitable principles, and principles such as do not wound the rights and feelings of a people entirel_\- Cath- olic."
Reply by Governor Taft.
"Rome, July 3, 1902. "Your Eminence — I beg to acknowledge receipt of your favor of the 21st of June, No. 70,963, inclosing a communication of the views of the Holy See upon the questions arising between the Roman Catholic Church and the Philippine Government, and discussed by the Secretarv of War of the United States in his instruc- tions to' me, submitted through your eminence to His Holiness. It is a source of much gratification to note that the Holv See welcomes with especial pleasure and approves the coming of a representative of the President 20
3o6 The Philippines, and the Far East.
of the United States to Rome for the purpose of securing a direct understanding upon the questions mooted ; and that in general the views of the Holy See are in accord with those expressed by the Secretary of War, though ill one important particular, to-wit, that of the religious orders, there seems to be a difference as to the method to be adopted to meet a recognized difficulty. It is further observed in the communication of the Holy See that many questions are proposed to be referred to a new Apostolic ""Delegate to be sent to Manila. It is respect- fully suggested that in this manner much of the benefit of the direct understanding between the Church and the Philippine government, which is properly valued by both parties, will be lost. The only efficient method of secur- ing such a direct understanding would seem to be the making and signing of a definite contract between the parties or their representatives, which should leave as little as possible to uncertainty and future negotiation, and which should determine the main lines along which harmony and co-operation between the State and the Church may be secured. The main purpose of the pres- ent communication is to formulate such a contract.
''An analysis of the instructions of the Secretary of War will show that the purpose of the President of the United States and of the Philippine government is to make an agreement with the supreme head of the Church under which the former shall perform four separate stipu- lations in consideration of the compliance with certain conditions by certain religious orders and their members, over whom the Holy See, it is expected, can exercise control, and for whose conduct in respect to such condi- tions it can contract. . . .
"I accompany this letter with a form of agreement proposed for signature. The Philippine Government Bill, which authorizes the purchase of the land of the religious orders, has passed both Houses of Congress, and has received the approval of the President, and is now the law.
"In closing this communication I desire to refer to the last clause of the communication of the Holy See with respect to religious instruction in the public schools.
TuH Friar Lands. 307
My instructioiis do not pcrniil nic to discuss the subject. but I may properly refer your eminence to Section 16 of the General School Law of the Philippine Islands, a copy of which I inclose. [For Sec. 16, see chapter entitled "Educating a Nation."]
"It is not improper for me to say that I have sub- mitted by cable the full text of the views of the Holy See, as communicated by Your Eminence to me, and also the form of contract which accompanies this letter, and that I have been directed to submit the proposed contract as that which the President of the United States and the Philippine Government desire in the premises.
"I avail myself of this opportunity to assure Your Eminence of my most distinguished consideration, and to subscribe myself,
"Your Eminence's most obedient servant,
"Wm. H. Taft. ''His Eminence Cardinal ]\L Rampolla del Tindaro,
"Secretary of State of His Holiness."
FORM OF AGREEMENT.
"This agreement between Cardinal Rampolla, Cardi- nal Secretary of State to His Holiness Leo XHI, rep- resenting His Holiness, and William Howard Taft, Civil Governor of the Philippine Islands, representing the President of the United States and the Philippine Gov- ernment, witnesseth that :
"First. The Philippine Government agrees to buy all agricultural lands, buildings, irrigation plants, and other improvements thereon, situate in the Philippine Archipelago, of the Dominican, Augustinian, and Recol- leto Orders, and to pay therefor a reasonable and fair price, to be fixed in Mexican dollars by a tribunal of ar- bitration to be composed of five members, two to be ap- pointed by His Holiness the Pope, two by the Philippine Government, and the fifth to be appointed by the Gov- ernor-General of India. The tribunal of arbitration shall begin its sessions in Manila on the ist day of January, 1903, shall receive evidence on the question of value to be adduced by the two parties to the controversy, shall
3o8 The Philippines and the Far East.
view such of the lands as the tribunal shall deem neces- sary and convenient, and shall make and certify an award of the value of such lands to the Civil Governor of the Philippine Islands, and to the Archbishop of Manila or the Apostolic Deleg^ate of His Holiness. A majority^ of the tribunal may make the award. The lands to be ap- praised and purchased shall include all the ap^ricultural lands owned by the three orders named, on the ist day of May, 1898, in which said orders or other associations, subject to the control of the head of the Catholic Church, still retain a majority interest by virtue of ownership of stock in the company or companies now holding title to the same, or by contract with the individuals in whom is now the legal title. The expense of the tribunal of arbitration, including reasonable compensation to each member, shall be paid by the Philippine Government. The price shall be paid in three installments — one-third cash within thirty days after the certifying of the award to the Civil Governor of the Philippines and a tender of the necessary deeds of the land to him ; one-third in nine months after the date of the first payment ; and the re- maining one-third in eighteen months after the date of the first payment, the deferred payments to bear 4^ per cent interest from the date of the first payment. The purchase money shall be paid to the representative of the Roman Catholic Church to be designated by the pope, and the receipt of such representative shall be a full ac- quittance to the extent of the amount paid by the Phil- ippine Government.
"Second. The Philippine Government agrees to re- lease by legislative act to the representatives of the Roman Catholic Church designated by His Holiness the Pope all lands or inclosures upon which Roman Catholic Churches or conventos now stand, which were never by deed or formal grant conveyed by Spain to the Roman Catholic Church, the same to be held by such representa- tives for the use of the Roman Catholics of the parishes in which such churches and conventos respectively stand : without prejudice, however, to the title, if any, of the
TiiK, Fkiak Lands. 309
nuinicipalily in which such church or couvcnto may stand to such land, to be asserted in ordinary courts of law. . . .
"The fore.c:oin£^ stipulations are made on the following conditions :
"(a) That titles of the three orders to the agricul- tural lands mentioned in paragraph i, and of any subse- quent grantees thereof, shall be duly conveyed by deeds of usual and proper form to the Philippine government, and no part of the purchase price shall be jiaid until this provision is complied with.
"(b) That all members of the four religious orders of Dominicans, Augustinians, Recolletos, and Francis- cans now in the Philippines shall withdraw, one-half within nine months after the date of the first payment, and one-half within eighteen months thereafter, and meantime they shall not teach, preach, do parish work, or work of inspection in the parishes of the Archipelago ; except that for a period of two years after the first pay- ment a sufficient number of such members may remain to conduct the schools, university, and conventual Churches now conducted by them, withdrawing, how^- ever, from the Islands at the close of such period ; and except, further, that any such member who shall have continuously discharged his duty as parish priest in any parish outside of Manila, from August, i8g8, to the date liereof may continue as such and not withdraw from the Islands ; and that no Spanish members of said four orders shall hereafter be sent to the Islands.
"(c) Except as provided in (b) and in missionary parishes now conducted by Jesuits, only secular priests or non-Spanish members of religious orders whose pres- ence in the parishes will not disturb the peace or order thereof, shall be appointed as parish priests. The term 'secular priests" as used in this paragraph shall not in- clude secularized Spanish members of religious orders.
"His Holiness on his part hereby agrees to the stipu- lations and conditions hereinbefore set forth, and con- tracts that the four religious orders herein named, and their members, shall comply with the stipulations and conditions on their part to be performed."
3IO The Philippines and the Far East,
RAMPOEEA TO TAFT.
"Rome, July 9, 1902.
"Mr. the Governor-Generae, — I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of the letter which you were kind enough to address to me on the third of this month with a scheme of agreement which the American gov- ernment would desire to arrange with the Holy See, to regulate, in the Philippine Archipelago, the situation on certain points which touch the Catholic Church. I hasten to thank you for the two documents, and in my turn I permit myself to transmit to you inclosed a counter project which expresses the intentions and point of view of the Holy See on these same points, and in adding to it in this letter certain explanations.-
"By the simple reading of the counter project you may, Mr. Governor-General, observe that on the econom- ical points of view the Holy See accords almost entirely with those of the American and Philippine governments. The modifications which have been introduced, and which you will observe, only complete and make more precise, it seems to me, the text of the convention. If, in your opinion, any point may be made still more clear I should be happy to consider your views. The principal difference between the two projects is in relation to the religious of Spanish nationality in the Archipelago. The Holy See finds it impossible to admit that which is pro- posed under the letters (b) and (c) at the end of the project. To begin with, the Holy See can not admit that there is a connection between the stipulations of the first articles of the convention and the measures which it (the Holy See) proposes to take in order to co-operate in the pacification of the Archipelago. In reality these measures are part of the mission of the Church in the world, and are independent of the solution of economic questions. This solution must be inspired solely by the principles of natural justice.
"If we now pass to an examination of the difficulty itself, it is very easy to prove that the Holy See can not accept the proposition of the Philippine government to recall from the Archipelago in a fixed time all the relig-
The Fkiak Lands. 311
ious of Spanish nationality, Dominicans, Franciscans, Augustinians, Recolletos, and to prevent their return in the future. In effect such a measure, not justified by a reason of force majeure, would be contrary to the posi- tive right guaranteed by the Treaty of Paris, and would consequently put the Holy See in conflict with Spain, who would have every reason to protest. Much more, such a measure would be in the eyes of the Filipinos and of the entire Catholic world, the explicit confirmation of all the accusations brought against the said religious by their enemies, accusations of which the falsity, or at least the evident exaggerations, can not be disputed. Finally, if the American government, respecting as it does indi- vidual rights, does not dare interdict the Philippine soil to the Spanish religious of the four orders above men- tioned, how could the pope do it — he, the common father of all. the support and born defender of the re- ligious? On the other hand, without having recourse to this violent and extremely odious measure, the means which the Holy See counts upon taking are sufficient to set aside any fear or any preoccupation. The number of the Spanish religious remaining in the Archipelago has been much diminished, and. as I had the honor to say to you, Mr. Governor-General, in my memorial of the 2 1 St of June, the Holy See will try to introduce therein religious of other nationalities, and particularly, as much as possible, of the United States of America, and to con- fide to them the parochial ministry as soon as they shall be sufficiently instructed in the language of the country. Besides the representative of the Holy See will carefully see that all the religious, of no matter what nationality, order, or congregation, consecrate themselves exclusively to their spiritual work, without inserting themselves in any way in political questions, and in abstaining from any opposition to the established power. This result will be all the more easy to attain since the resources of the religious will remain under the control of the supreme authority, to be devoted also to the spiritual needs of the Church in the Archipelago; besides which the represen- tative of the Holy See, in accord with the diocesan au-
312 The Phiuppines and the Far East.
thorities, will not permit the return of the Spanish relig- ious of the above-named orders in the parishes where their presence would provoke troubles or disorders ; that if, in such and such parishes, the totality or the great majority of the population desiring the return of the religious, certain disturbers should seek to create obsta- cles and difficulties, the Holy See again expresses its confidence that the American authorities will know how, by the ordinary means of justice, to protect the rights of the religious and the will of the population. Finally, not to retard the execution of this convention, the Holy Father consents that the school question in the Philip- pines be not insisted upon for the moment, but His Holi- ness hopes that his representative in the Archipelago may have an understanding with you, Mr. the Governor-Gen- eral, on this point of an importance so capital in a coun- try almost exclusively Catholic. Please accept, Mr. the Governor-General, the assurance of my high considera- tion, with which I am of your excellency, the very de- voted servant. M. Card. Rampolla."
The Counter Proposal offered by Rampolla for the pope follows that of Governor Taft, except as to the re- tirement and permanent exclusion of Spanish friars. Some clauses are given a more unequivocal meaning, but in the main it is the same agreement, with the essential modifications named.
The text of the cardinal's letter and Counter Proposal was cabled to Washington, and the Secretary of War cabled a reply which was forwarded to the pope on the 15th of July. From this reply I take but little, as it is in the main a restatement of matters at issue.
". . . Such voluntary withdrawal [of the friars] can not be considered a violation of any rights under the Treaty of Paris, or otherwise, or any reflection either upon the nation or upon the orders to which the persons withdrawing happen to belong. The reasons making such a withdrawal desirable are not religious or racial,
Tiiiv Kkiau Laxd?^. 513
but arise from the political and social relations which existed under the former government, and which have created i)ersonal antipathies menacing to the peace and order of the comnuuiity. Such a voluntary withdrawal would not involve any confirmation of anv accusations against the persons withdrawing or the orders to which they belong ; it is to be observed that we have made no accusations. It would simply recognize the existence of the conditions which for several years past have been, and now are, preventing these particular agents from serving the Chiu'ch in the stations to which thev were assigned, and which would make their re-employment injurious to the comnumity. In this matter the United States representatives in the Philippines are merely en- deavoring to meet the wishes, as well as the needs, of the Philippine people. It is not the United States gov- ernment which objects to the presence of the friars ; it is the Catholic population of the Philippine Islands. The lay Catholic population and the parish priests of native and non-Spanish blood are practically a unit in desiring both to expel the friars and to coniiscate their lands out of hand. . . . It is the desire to accomplish the re- moval of this cause of disturbance and discord that has led me to approve that clause of your proposal which would involve the government of the Philippines in a large and undefined obligation for the purchase of lands in advance of a specific ascertainment of their values and of the estimated prices which we can reasonably expect to receive from them, when we in turn offer them for sale."
Then follows a lengthy statement of how negotiations which had come to a practical standstill in Rome were to be reopened in Manila between Governor Taft and the Apostolic Delegate whose appointment was intimated in the first papal communication. Lists of properties to be sold were to be carefully made up, and measurements, titles of churches and conventos not formally deeded to the Catholic Church, were to be made ready for legisla- tive action, prices agreed upon, and in general all possible
314 The; Philippines and the Far East.
preparation made for the adjustment which the Secre- tary of War still hoped might be made.
In the letter transmitting this communication from his immediate superior, Governor Taft says :
"I much regret that we can not now reach a more precise agreement under which less should be left to future adjustment ; but I venture to concur in the ex- pression of satisfaction by the Secretary that we have reached a general basis for solution of so many of the questions awaiting settlement in the Philippines between the Church and State."
In his reply, which was his final communication, Car- dinal Rampolla says that "the declarations of the Secre- tary of War do honor to the deep political wisdom of the government of the United States, which knows how to appreciate the happy influence of the Holy See for the religious and civil elevation of peoples, especially Cath- olic peoples." Where he gleaned this hopeful crumb is not clear even on a careful re-reading of every line of Secretary Root's carefully-worded message. He prom- ises that the pope will soon dispatch the promised Apos- tolic Delegate, and closes with the following honeyed phrases :
"The Holy See does not doubt that the mutual con- fidence and the combined action of the representatives of the Holy See and the American government will easily produce a happy solution of the pending questions and inaugurate for that noble country a new era of peace and progress. It is to me, Mr. the Governor-General, an agreeable duty to be able, in ending this letter, to render homage to the very great courtesy and high capacity with which you have filled the delicate mission that the gov- ernment and the President of the United States has con- fided to you, and willingly do I add that the favorable result of the negotiations must be attributed in very large
The Friar Lands. 315
part to your high personal qualities. While flattering myself with the hope that this first success will be a guar- antee for the happy issue of the ulterior negotiations in Manila, I have the honor to renew the homage of the high consideration with which I am of Your Excellency, the most devoted servant, IN I. Card. Rampoij.a."
Governor Taft then asks permission to take his formal farewell, the audience of conge is held and the theater of this real estate conflict shifts to Manila.
According to the agreement made by the pope, an Apostolic Delegate with full power to carry on the busi- ness was soon appointed and on his way to Manila. The lot fell on Mgr. Guidi, an Italian priest of long experi- ence in matters of weight in Romish circles. On his arrival the work of compiling lists of agricultural hold- ings to be sold, securing exact measurements of the same, and fixing prices, was immediately begun. After long delays the first proposition of the delegate was ready, and came before Governor Taft. The result confirmed persistent rumors which had gone before its completion. The price asked by the friars was impossible. Instead of coming approximately near the $5,000,000 which was first considered by the Commission as ample compensa- tion for these unproductive properties, the delegate de- manded over $12,000,000! The Philippine government refused to consider any such a proposition and requested that the estates be more justly valued. After some months the price had been whittled down to nearly $11,- 000,000. But that was still completely out of range of possibilities, and further cutting was asked for.
Governor Taft consulted with the War Department, and finally came up to a final offer of $7,000,000 on con- dition of securing good titles to all the agricultural hold- ings, and without insisting on the removal of the friars
3i6 l^HE Philippines and the F^ar East.
still in the Archipelago. This was met by an offer of $9,000,000.
Opposition to the purchase developed meanwhile. In both official and unofficial circles it was said that even the last offer of government was too high. That made a straight price of about $18 per acre for unproductive farm properties, thousands of acres of which were in the heart of IMindoro where fever and lack of communi- cation with markets made values low. During two in- surrections and the stormy period which has intervened since 1898 great damage has been done to machinery and improvements. Buildings have been burned. Irrigation works have been either wantonly wrecked, or allowed to become choked with earth and wild grasses. Fields have grown up to weeds and depreciation of values has gone on in nearly all directions. And while some of the land, taken with all its deterioration, will bring $100 per acre, it is extremely doubtful if an average of $18 can be real- ized for the entire 403,000 acres.
When the expense of administration by a Government Bureau is added to this cost price, business men think it is still more questionable if so large a figure as $7,000,000 is justifiable. The lands must be accurately surveyed. Plats must be made. Sales on long time at low interest involve a multiplication of deeds, and other legal papers that v/ill call for a large executive and clerical addition to the present Land Bureau. This expense will go on during the life of the contracts of purchase, and, with the dilatory methods prevailing "east of Suez," it will be a long term of years before this expense can be cut off.
If the friars are not to be canceled out of the equation set for the Commission to resolve, manv ask where is the government to come in ? It was one of the conditions of the purchase originally, and one which was deemed of
Thk Friar Lands. 317
the utmost importance, that these Iroublers of the rehi^- ious and poHtical welfare of tlie iMlipnio people should be withdrawn from the scene of their tyrannies. Objectors urged the practical failure of any possible agreement to I)urchase their lands if they remained. Two dit^ficulties were feared, — first, that they would invest this large sum of money in enterprises likely to cause equal irritation ; and, second, that their presence in large numbers would do all those things which these negotiations were begun to prevent — keep the people stirred up to revolt in those provinces in which their parishes lie.
But suddenly, after hope of a successful termination of the slow negotiations had been abandoned in many quarters, the sale was actually made. On the 19th of De- cember, less than a week before the departure of Governor Taft, the following cablegram was received in Manila:
"Washington, December 18, 1903. "The War Department, with the approval of the President, has accepted, on behalf of the United States Government, the agreement entered into between the Philippine Government and the Vatican, through Mon- signor Guidi. Apostolic Delegate, to purchase the friar lands for $7,237,000!"
Great excitement prevailed in Manila. Papers came out with extended accounts of the aiifair. Officials ap- peared relieved as from a long strain. Catholics looked happy. Filipinos rejoiced openly and hilariously that the immense landed estates of their oppressors were in the hands of a government in the benevolence of whose pur- poses their leaders implicitly trust. Even the objectors felt that there was much to say in favor of the very pur- chase against which they could see some valid reasons. It demonstrated again that, as a people, we have a wa\- of doing what we set out to do. It assured Filipinos that
3i8 The Phii^ippines and the Far East.
we were honest in our purpose to rid them of their ancient enemies. It made possible the transformation of a large class of discontented and irritable tenants into a class of contented proprietors. It canceled the friar out as a dis- turbing factor in the economic future of the country.
The chief objections to the consummation of the deal which are still to be urged are the amount of money paid, and the failure of government to secure the removal of the friars. What of these reasons? Should they have prevented the purchase?
In my opinion, they should not. The United States is not bound to clear any money on this transaction. It was not begun as one that gave promise of being a good investment of money. If a million or more of money is lost in this transformation of discontented tenants into small proprietors, with all possible reasons to be happy and law-abiding people, the country can well afford to contemplate the money side of the transaction with entire complacence. The end to be attained is not profit, but tranquillity. Tranquillity is ultimately worth money, and is worth more than money. But to many the matter of the failure to rid the land of the friars is a more serious mat- ter. That seems to them a fly in the ointment, whose presence entirely destroys its value. They want the friars withdrawn. What of this objection? First, as has been said, it was an impossible thing to hope for from the first, that the pope would recall them, and equally impracticable that a government like ours, with a Catholic vote to be considered, should insist upon their deportation. Politics, whether ecclesiastical or party, are solid facts of this world, and as the pope is so hedged up by the lines which contending factions throw about him that he can not do what he might in theory be able to do, so administrations are not wont to commit political suicide with open eyes.
The Friar Lands. 319
He who expected either the \ atican or Washington au- thorities to take the bull by the horns in this matter was unfamiliar with political currents — the sweep and power of them, whether in Church or State.
This point was insisted upon until it became apparent to Governor Taft that the removal of the Spanish friars was largely accomplished, and in process of entire accom- plishment. When the American fleet sunk the ships of Spain in Manila Bay there were 1,108 Spanish friars or monks in the Philippine Islands. By death, and by the retirement of many of them to Spain and other Catholic countries, there were but 456 left in the entire Archipelago when Governor Taft sailed for the United States in De- cember of 1 90 1. On the first of December of 1903, in the official figures prepared for Governor Taft by the heads of the various orders at the command of the Apostolic Delegate, this total had been cut down to 246, of whom eighty members of the Dominican Order', and formerly parish priests, have renounced their intention of returning to their parishes, and will therefore retire in the near fu- ture as having no further place here, and thirty-two are old and decrepit men who can not return to Spain in safety for reasons of bodily weakness. This cuts the total left in the Philippines, when these 112 are taken from the en- tire number now here, 134 friars, most of whom are teach- ing in schools, either in Manila or in one or two large seminaries like Vigan. And the steady process of with- drawal goes on by every ship that proceeds to Spain. The last friar-bishop left on the same steamer that bore Bishop Henry W. Warren on his leaving the Philippines, and with him were a number of friars who had no further employ- ment to hold them here.
All Catholic bishops, including the archbishop, are now Americans. Americans and Spanish do not work
320 The Philippines and the Far East.
smootlily together. When American bishops want parish priests they will send to America for them, and not to Spain. In fact, it was only when the Administration se- cured its own ends by other than direct means that con- sent was given to waive this original condition of the proposition to purchase the lands. As a practical matter the friars have been removed from the Philippines more rapidly within the past eighteen months than the con- ditions imposed in the form of contract submitted by Governor Taft to the Vatican authorities demanded. There seems to be no reason to suppose that there will be fifty friars in the Archipelago within ten years. It seems clear that it is better to accomplish their removal in this way than to do it b}- force.
It is now less than a week since the lands were bought. Already the papers are drawn at the dictation of Governor Taft, and signed by the four paties who now stand as legally invested with title. These are :
"(i) The Philippine Sugar Estates Development Company, owning and representing the Dominican lands ;
"(2) The Sociedad Agricola de Ultramar, owning and representing the Augustinian lands ;
"(3) The British-Manila Estates Company, Limited, rei)resenting the Imus Estate, of eighteen thousand hec- tares, in Cavite province ;
"(4) The Recolleto Order, owning twenty-three thou- sand and nine hectares of land, in an estate in Mindoro.
"The organizations selling the property are bound to furnish satisfactory evidence of their titles, but if there are others who have any lawful titles to the property their claims will not be extinguished by the bargain between the government and the friars.
"In case litigation should arise, however, the gov- ernment will be at liberty to choose its forum, which may be a Court of First Instance, or the Court of Eand Reg- istration,
Till': Fkiar Lands.
321
"In no case will any claimant be able to get his case into any United States Court, as the United States Fed- eral Government is not a party to the transaction.
"The sale can not be consummated until the g'ovcrn- ment has received the proceeds of its bonds, which must be engraved, advertised, sold and the proceeds trans- ferred to Manila."
The lands so bought will be sold by the government in small parcels, tenants now on the land being given the first right of purchase. Within five, or at most ten, years these tenants vrill become proprietors.
GUADALUPE RUINS, NEAR MANILA. (Was a magnificent retreat for friars, liurned in 1899.)
CHAPTER XVIII. Philippine Finance.
In no one way could the facts of pacification and the estabUshment of civil government be so fully and convinc- ingly set forth as by a brief statement of the financial situation. The collection of taxes, the systematic audit of accounts of every sort in all the provinces, and the steady extension of agricultural operations as proved by the rapid increase in exports of hemp, sugar, and copra, all combine to make it abundantly clear that American rule is to-day more nearly universal in the Philippines than Spanish rule ever became.
All the facts set forth in the statistics which follow are taken from the latest reports of the insular auditor and collector of customs, while the government currency expert, Mr. E. W. Kemmerer, has furnished me with a brief statement of the present status of the currency sit- uation.
"treasury statement.
"Comparative Treasury Statement, Fiscal Years i8pp,
ipoo, 1901, 1902, and ipoj.
"The following is a comparative statement of de- posits and withdrawals at the insular treasury by fiscal years since the date of American occupation in August, 1898, to June 30, 1903. The treasurer's account for the fiscal year 1903, elsewhere stated in the currencies ac- tually involved, is here for purposes of comparison con- verted at the ratio of $2.45 to $1, the official ratio at the close of the fiscal year, which also may be considered a fair average ratio for the year. From this statement has
322
PHiuri'iNii Finance;.
323
been excluded the sum of $455,093.49, the estimated United States currency vahie of seized funds in the treas- ury, treated in former statements as a part of the treas- urer's balance until June 30, 1901, at which time the funds were taken over to a special account :
o » -I sa ft ^
n o O O^
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n w en ifl W2t:"T3wn»5'S
o jr-^rt ° =-0 S'^ 2.= o = £-0 ~-Q, ^<«r--Sn2^-: a IB SLa^ETJ 2 " S
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3 3
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o 2
324 The Phii^ippines and the Far East.
RECAPITULATION FOR YEAR 1902-03.
Character of Item.
Uniied States Currency.
Mexican Carrcncy.
DEBIT.
Balance due Government July i, 1902
Deposits on account of —
Customs revenues
Postal revenues
Internal revenues
Miscellaneous revenues
E. E. A. and C. Tel. Co.. Visayan concession
Seized funds turned into General Treasury
Sale of gunboats to United States Government
Repayments to appropriations
Sales of rice, emergency lund
Sales of rice, Insular Purchasing Agent
Sales of supplies
Refundable export duties
Philippine pesos coined from bullion purchase.
Sale of bonds and premium thereon
Relief fund voted by Congress
Surplus, customs auction sales (sec. 283, Act
No. .^55)
Outstanding liabilities
Invalid money-orders
Province of Rizal (sec. 5 ig), Act No. 436)
City of Manila
Currency received in exchange for equivalent in
other currency
Balance due Treasurer June 30, 1903
$1,256,85090
Total debit.
Withdrawals by accountable warrants
Withdrawals by settlement warrants
Withdrawals by postal covering-in warrants
Currency given in exchange for the equivalent in
other currency
Balance due Government on June 30, 1903
Total credit..
5.428, 103
29
433.
5.
14, 208, 130.
42,
10, 223
243. 1,600,
3.075 3,000,
357 3' 35846 750 48 54451 58638 269 78 819 67 735 65 271 12 661 85 956 89 834 14 000 00 390 00 000 00
$10,755,613 15 9,185,104 12
448,547 49
511,96577 71,876 98
673.497 46
3,614,18765
848,507 31
1,219,922 04
3.243.9I5 40
681,07b 23
4.IS4 49
1500
5.537 76
304 47
634,778 II
136,938 91
5.673 04 23399
1,56891 2,309,464 04
2.832,955 70 539,269 39
$16,589.115 ;
$.^6,943.378 67
i4.273.348 27 217,628 06 103.3.58 46
1,140,978 00 10.853,803 09
$32,882,330 66 3,705.977 26
355.070 75
■■$16.589, 1151
$36,943,378 67
It will be seen, from the above summary of receipts and expenditures, that the custom-house furnishes about two-thirds of the actual income. Internal revenues sup- ply a very small percentage of the total receipts, as in- dustries are but slowly recovering from the utter pros- tration caused by war, rinderpest, cholera, locusts, and scant rainfall. It should also be borne in mind that under the Provincial and Municipal Codes, revenues de- rived from all taxes of an internal character are ceded
* To convert into United States currency and find complete totals, di- vide all Mexican currency by 2.45, tlie average rate of exchange for 1902-03, and add the quotient to the total as expressed in United States currency.
PiTiLipriNK Finance.
325
to the province within whicli they are i)ai(L I'nder tlie head of niiscellaneons revenues come notarial and judi- cial fees, the income of the Government Cold Storage and Ice-plant in Manila, the new Court of Land Regis- tration, and the Forestry Bureau, with many other lesser items.
All the expenses of the government are fully met, and the following tahle shows the monthly condition of tile treasury from the end of July, 1902, to June 30, 1903 :
BALANCE OF FUNDS IN THE INSULAR TREASURY AVAILABLE FOR AFPROPRIATION AT THE CLOSE OF EACH MONTH.
(Amounts expressed in United States currency.]
Excess of funds availa- ble over amount ap- propriated.
Excess of funds appro- priated over amount
available.
July 31
August 31
September 30.
October 31
November 30 . December 31...,
$2,136,518 42 3,261,678 67 4,172,49709 2,120,312 72 1,894,456 29 2,676,758 28
January 31
February 28..
March 31
April 30
May 31
June 30
356,507 -I 4,476,312 46 6,849,321 28
$2,909,269 51 2,39^,477 43 3.595.253 78
Every province is required to keep its accounts as exactly as a bank. Auditors from Manila are supposed to check the accounts of provincial treasurers at regular intervals, and only fail to do so because the Department of Finance can not yet secure a sufficient stafif of compe- tent and reliable men to overtake the work. A sample provincial balance sheet, taken at random from forty- one of an exactly similar character, between pages 115 and 155 of the Auditor's Report, will show the sources of provincial and municipal revenues, and how they are expended :
326 The PniLipriNES and the Far East.
Philippine Finance.
327
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328 The Philippines and the F^ar E!ast.
From the Second Special Report of the Collector of Customs, covering- the period from September i, 1902, to October 8, 1903, I take the following:
SUMMARY OF IMPORTS INTO THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS BY
PORTS, FOR THE FIVE FISCAL YEARS ENDING
JUNE 30, 1903.
lvalues represented in United States currency, gold and silver coin included.]
IMPORTS.
|
Ports. |
Twelve Months Ending June, |
||||
|
1S99. |
1 1900. 1901. |
1902. |
1903- |
||
|
. |
$12,914,818 420,418 302,181 |
$20,839,174 1,235,445 850,988 84,429 14,326 19.494 |
$28,586,988 2,336,91s 1,430.363 326,295 80,597 57,250 |
$36,603,898 1,931,800 2,093.625 249,693 155. 19S 38,524 |
$29,097,688 |
|
Iloilo |
2,582,890 |
||||
|
Cebu Jolo |
2,895,092 274,801 |
||||
|
Total |
$13,637,417 |
$23,043,856 |
$32,818,411 |
$41,072,738 |
$35,099,842 |
EXPORTS.
|
Ports. |
Twelve Months Ending June, |
||||
|
1899. |
1900. |
1901. |
1902. |
1903- |
|
|
$13,692,592 1.732.632 616,078 |
$17,180,846 2.075,244 2,377,506 99,995 4,041 28,808 |
$21,522,444 1,512,046 3,093,714 230,872 25,090 47,096 |
$20,462,688 2,517,814 3,913.297 128,832 103,320 31.136 |
$29,570,375 |
|
|
Iloilo |
4,108,028 |
||||
|
Cebu |
5,614,24s |
||||
|
Jolo |
209,223 |
||||
|
Total |
$16,041,302 |
$21,766,440 |
$26,431,262 |
$27,157,087 |
$39,674,328 |
Note.— Government free entries not included.
This does not warrant as encouraging- a condition of agricultural trade as at first would appear. A later table will show that rice has furnished a large portion of this total import value. That a rice-producing country like the Philippines should import rice by the hundred million pounds is an indication of great agricultural de- pression :
PiiiLipnxE F^rxAxcK.
329
COMPARATIVE SUMMARY OF SOME OF THE LEADING ARTICLES
IMPORTED
Into and Exported from the Philippine Islands During the Four Fiscal
Years Ending June 30, 1903.
[Values represented in United States Currency.]
IMPORTS.
|
Articles. |
1900. |
1901. |
1902. |
1903. |
|
Rice |
$3,113,423 476,244 399,4o.s 829,344 638,416 |
$5,490,958 619.338 501,198 451.349 1,030,698 265,056 18,404 164,969 |
$6,57'^.48i 819.625 685,962 497.639 501,918 318,955 128,041 203,421 |
$10,061,323 721,551 683,360 652.557 452.292 399.499 144.966 198,044 |
|
Flour |
||||
|
52.311 160,482 |
||||
|
Total |
$2,869,628 |
$8,541,970 |
$9,734,042 |
S13.313.592 |
EXPORTS
Hemp
Copra
Sugar, raw
Tobacco
Cigars
Cigarettes
Ylang-Ylang oil..
Total $18,244,111
$11,598,948
1,690,897
2,867,211
896 996
1,188,161
1,898
fi4,453,iio
2,648,304
2,293,063
953.520
1,250,175
11,092
41.975
{15,841, 316
1,001,656
2.761,432
784.523
1,166,722
9,995
70,553
1,651,239 $22,136,197 $32,104,674
$21,701,575
4.472 679
3.955,828
902,610
947,144 20,699
104.139
VALUE OF COTTON GOODS FOR FISCAL YEAR 1903, Showing Countries from which Imported.
Countries.
United Kingdom
Spain
Germany
United States of America
British East Indies
Switzerland
China
Japan
France
Italy
Netherlands
Belgium
Hong-Kong
Austria ,
Dutch East Indies
French China
British China
Egypt
Canary Islands
British Australia
Russia
All other Asia
Total
$3.
124,51^
861. 800
576.058
391,080
328,411
288,414
143.414
131.890
1 18,630
89.512
78,736
77,865
60.557
10,813
957 849
305 223 147 140 42 9
5,284,370
330 The Philippines and the Far East.
Opium shows a slight decrease, chiefly attributable to the fact that a very material increase in the duty on oi)ium was made during- the fiscal year 1902. previous knowledge of which fact caused importers to lay in an unusually large stock under the old rate, thus materially affecting the im- ports for the first few months of the fiscal year 1903.
It is a fact worthy of special note that for the entire four years opium has stood ahead of wheat-flour as an article of import and consumption in the Philippine Islands.
Illuminating oil comes next, with beer in bottles second in importance.
Flour comes exclusively from the United States, as does a large portion of the illuminating oil and beer in bottles. There has been a considerable decline in the im- portation of beer, apparently attributable to the reduction of the number of United States soldiers in these Islands, and to the application of the "Two-Mile Limit Law," which prohibits the establishment of saloons within two miles of any permanent military post. The liquor busi- ness is very large in Manila yet, but no larger in propor- tion than in any city of its size in America, and the Sun- day Closing Law is strictly enforced. Thus imports of beer are cut down.
Hemp is easily the first article of export. It shows an increase of nearly ICXD per cent since 1900. There seems no limit to its production.
It is very interesting to note the countries which absorb Philippine exports, and those which furnish the imports.
^''
J^
PlIll.ll'IMNMv FiNANCF,.
333
COMPARATIVE SUMMARY
of Imports into the Philippine Islands, by countries, during the Two Fiscal Years Ending June 30, 1903.
[Duties and Values Represented in United States Currency.
1902.
1903.
Values.
Values.
Duties.
United States
England
Hong-Kong
East Indies, British
East Indies, French
Chinese Empire
Spain
Germany
French China
France
Japan
Switzerland
Scotland
All other Asia — ^iam....
British Australasia
Belgium
Russia
British China
Italy
Netherlands
Austria
Dutch East Indies
British Columbia
Mexico
Quebec, Ontario, etc
Ireland
Denmark
West Indies — British ....
Sweden and Norway
Korea .
Egypt
Portugal
Guam
Gibraltar
Turkey in Europe ...
All other Asia — Arabia.
Cuba
1-rench Oceania
French West Indies
Brazil
Canary Islands
Total .
Of above free of duty $11,235,894
Dutiable 29.869 140
-S77.9'i
,833.748
.721.597
.244.329
.680,934
,396,61
.356.548
.599.705
.524,638
922,269
882,651
645.490
527.645
526,054
243.224
231,611
201,537
186,116
158,684
126,076
77,765
29,576
25,000
22,535
8,447
5.145
3.736
3.426
937
3.242
729
656
783
257
150
23
5
$9'2,525
1,303.702
146,407
654.231
573.071
737,841
703,386
515.542
305,982
256,998
272,927
198,018
140.585
79.918
48,986
57,310
144.139
14,962
60,366
S6.922
30.990
20,500
5.558
13.625
2,084
749
1,191
275
71
1,740
351
203
227
361
186
3
3
$41.105,034
$7.291.916
$4,108,944
4,903,270
1,574,463
2,237,382
5.629,093
4.717,617
2,621,196
1,998,922
1.505.558
1,182,901
701.347
480,612
259. 8S5
632,993
618,140
218,985
286,856
4,019
149.512
163.405
105,089
83.105
7,717
875.245
7.421
8,577
6,734
29
5,133 276
3.761 295
105
$35.099,842
$3,765,843 31.333.999
$842,568
1,340.742
206,779
563.731 902,402 1,001.478 729,471 556,706 219.965 334.440 241.571 122,149 61,503 86,628 40,795 54,i8t 133,888 954 50,490 117,801
32,764 23.038 3.763
4.453 2.336 766 32 757 42 1,904 180
148
$7,678.948
It is shown that the value of imports for the fiscal year 1903 falls |6 005 192 short of the value shown for 1902. This shrinkage is more than accounted for by the difl'erence in the quantity of silver imported, the importation of silver for 1902 being $8,632 64S, as against $1,933,435 lor the year 1903, the falling off of silver being $6,719,213, or $714,021 greater than the shrinkage in total values for the year 1903. Import duties for 1903 show an increase of $387,032 over the amount collected during the year 1902.
(iovernment free entries and government stores arriving on transports not included in foregoing statement.
The abnormal import values shown for Hong-Kong in 1902 are explained by the fact that nearly all silver coin came from that port.
334
The Philippines and thk Far East.
The United States and England are the two chief countries of import. Both show substantial gains for the year 1903, occupying substantially the same relative position held last year. It should be noticed, however, that government free entries have greatly increased and that a very large per cent of the merchandise entered free of duty by the Insular and United States govern- ment comes from the United States ; also all supplies brought on United States transports of which no account is taken in customs records.
While no exact figures as to the actual value of such merchandise are obtainable, it is safe to state that if the value of such imports were added, the total value of the merchandise coming from the United States, would be shown to be more than three times the value of mer- chandise coming from England, as that country is not represented in this class of imports.
COMPARATIVE SUMMARY
Of Exports from the Philippine Islands, by Countries, d..ring the Two Fiscal Years Ending June 30, 1903.
[Duties and Values represented in United States Currency.]
|
1902. |
1903. |
||
|
Values. ' |
Duties. |
Values. |
Duties. |
|
$7.S7i.7i3 |
$286,916 |
$13,863,059 |
$619,418 |
|
8,280,478 |
3.39,053 |
8.799.329 |
449.273 |
|
S69,87.s |
97,212 |
7.57,500 |
&9807 |
|
5.799. '23 |
83.442 |
7,303.234 |
76688 |
|
1.346 .SI 7 |
27.032 |
] 059 366 |
55.597 |
|
9.S5.8^8 |
23.788 |
3,684,116 |
120 6go |
|
672,614 |
13.169 |
994,400 |
16,867 |
|
436,5.^0 |
12,953 |
336.251 |
15.133 |
|
295.322 |
6,965 |
649 502 |
10,344 |
|
122,073 |
4.410 |
12,092 |
297 |
|
120,180 |
3.372 |
93,353 |
2,797 |
|
88,787 |
20,587 |
162,197 |
21,233 |
|
75.626 |
I 881 |
306,664 |
8,676 |
|
55 191 |
894 |
394 258 |
294 |
|
46 S29 |
2.565 |
137.103 |
8,373 |
|
27,442 |
807 |
25. 198 |
1,029 |
|
20,212 |
1.203 |
44.061 |
4.199 |
|
17.830 |
324 |
13.177 |
196 |
|
7-697 |
108 |
6,157 |
118 |
United States
England
Spain
Hon-Kgong
Japan
France
British East Indies.. British Australasia..
Chinese Empire
British Africa
French China
Austria- Hungary
Germany
Briti.sh China
Belgium
East Indies, Dutch .
Netherlands
Italy
Quebec, Ontario, etc
PuiLipriNE Finance.
335
COMPARATIVESUMMARY— Continued.
|
1902. 1903. |
||||
|
Countries. |
Values. |
Duties. |
Values. |
Duties. |
|
Gibraltar |
6.812 12,128 3721 3.6S7 3648 3003 2.481 1.934 1.57S 1,400 1. 310 1,246 i,ooS 905 889 411 321 167 150 140 119 95 48 7 |
224 319 59 63 66 42 14 1 29 22 24 234 17 12 16 8 18 2 20 I 4 1 1 |
9.499 28417 2.787 5,910 2.030 128.332 |
284 |
|
811 |
||||
|
40 135 41 |
||||
|
All other Asia — Siam |
109 |
|||
|
East Indies French |
109.317 710 130 2.700 457 578 1.952 |
172 |
||
|
12 |
||||
|
Auklaiid Islands |
2 570 10 |
|||
|
9 |
||||
|
Turkey in Africa— Egypt |
6S |
|||
|
Canary Islands |
4,128 |
356 |
||
|
Argentine Republic |
•599 ■718 |
79 10 |
||
|
2,970 |
93 |
|||
|
•4,684 ■480 163 900 30 24,775 ',035 |
275 |
|||
|
115 |
||||
|
I |
||||
|
Spanish Africa |
49 |
|||
|
1,597 |
||||
|
24 |
||||
|
Total |
127,157,087 |
$927,978 |
139.674,328 |
fi.SOS.Sgi |
Thus the United States and England receive more than half of all the exports from the Philippines. Nearly all the hemp goes there because of a rebate paid to ship- pers whose cargoes are consigned to United States pur- chasers.
How great has been the labor necessary to take up the tangled skein of Philippine accounts in the midst of the hurly-burly of early 1901, patiently untangle every set of books, militarv and civil, fearlessly demand an honest settlement of all accounts, no matter who was hurt, and then inaugurate and put into smooth running order a complete system of accounting and audit for
336
The PhilippinivS and the Far East.
every department of the government, is impossible for ordinary minds to comprehend. This has been done by Mr. A. L. Lawshe, who was appointed by Secretary Root for that purpose, and given full power to audit all accounts, and by his instructions and by Rule 72 of Act 90 of the Civil Commission "to apply the checks and
THE DRAY OF THE PHILIPPINES.
safeguards to the expenditures of the nioneys of the Philippine government that are thrown about the moneys of the United States."
With a small force of trained men from Washington, and such other help as could be had — much of it inex- perienced, and some of it lacking in financial honor — he has brought this vast task to completion. He has made enemies. What strict auditor does not? But sev-
riiii.ii'rixK Finance. 337
ciitccii (Icfaultiiii^ officials, fourteen being- Americans, have been Ijrought to trial, and sentences of from eight to twenty-tive years imposed by the courts, mainly on the basis of balance sheets from the auditor's office. Mr. Lawshe has served the cause of righteousness and clean government by his ability and integrity, and, with many another good public servant, deserves the gratitude of the nation.
The new Currency Act, of March 3, 1903, provides for the coinage of a Philippine peso, which shall be worth just one-half of a dollar in United States currency. The auditor says in his report (page 20) :
"To November ist a total of 14,547,166 pesos of the new currency, including subsidiary coinage, had been received and taken into the treasurer's account. . . .
"The new currency was put into circulation promptly after its receipt, and the very large balance of United States currenc} in the insular treasury at the close of the fiscal year enabled the insular government to resume pay- ment July I. 1903, in a gold-standard currency without a ripple of disturbance.
"All appropriations were made withdrawable after June 3d in Philippine currency or United States cur- rency at the option of the treasurer, and disbursements were ordered paid in the same currencies, except in cases especially otherwise authorized, according to the nature of the contract.
"In order that the new Philippine currency might be substituted for local or Mexican currency as rapidly as possible, each and every disbursing officer of the insular government was directed by executive order to deposit in, the insular treasury any local or Mexican currency in his hands, which was not required for disbursement be- fore June 30, 1903, and close his Mexican-currency ac- counts as of thai date.
"In order to promote and expedite the circulation of the new money in the provinces the treasurer, by Execu- tive Order No, 6, was authorized and directed to ex- 22
338 The Philippines and the Far East.
change, in his discretion, with any provinc'ial treasurer, pursuant to a resolution of the Provincial Board, Philip- pine curency for Mexican and Spanish-Filipino currency at the authorized ratio at the time which provincial funds were received at the insular treasury for such exchange. Likewise all officers of the government were directed to make all contracts payable in the Philippine or United States currency, at the option of the government, and all existing contracts otherwise payable were directed to be adjusted to the new basis as soon as practicable. The accounts for the fiscal year 1904 will be rendered and settled as far as practicable in Philippine currency, with the previous approval of the civil governor and Secretary of War. ...
"The most encouraging feature in the accounting work is the early adoption in full of a stable currency. That the government will be able to eliminate Mexican and Spanish Filipino currency from official circulation after December 31st next is a foregone conclusion, and that this will be done without injury to any interests is apparent, due largely, however, to the very great volume of United States currency injected into the circulating medium of the Islands since American occupation."
As to the working of the new Currency Law after December 31, 1903, I quote from Mr. Kemmerer:
"The only forms of money made legal tender by the Act of Congress, approved March 2, 1903, for contracts made after December 31, 1903 (undess otherwise ex- pressly provided by contract), are: (i) 'Gold coins of the United States at the rate of one dollar for two pesos,' legal tender to any amount; (2) 'Philippine silver pesos,' legal tender to any amount; (3) 'Philippine subsidiary silver pesos,' legal tender to any amount ; (4) 'Philip- pine subsidiary silver coins,' legal tender to the 'amount of ten dollars.' "
Philippine silver certificates, while not a legal tender, are 'receivable for customs, taxes, and for all public ^ues in the Philippines," can be counted as part of a
l'iiii,ii'pix\iv Imnaxck. 339
bank's lawful reserve, aiul are redeemable un deiiiaiul by the Pbilippine i^ovcrnnient in IMiilippine silver pesos, wliich are a full legal tender. Pliilippine subsidiary silver coins, while only lei;al tender to the amount of ten dol- lars, are, like Philippine minor coins of nickel and cop- per, exchanQ;eable on demand at the insular treasury or at any provincial treasury, when offered in sums of ten pesos or any multiple thereof, for Philippine silver pesos of full legal tender.
The question of the receivability of currency for pub- lic dues is entirely distinct from the question of legal tender. The Supreme Court of the United States (Lane County I's. Oregon), as well as the Supreme Courts of several states (see, for example, N. J. Supreme Court decisions — City of Camden I'S. Allen. 1857), has taken the position that a tax is not a debt in the sense of that word contemplated by legal-tender laws. Section 7 of the Act of Congress, appoved March 2, 1903, provides ''that the Mexican silver dollar now in use in the Phil- ippine Islands, and the silver coins heretofore issued by the Spanish government for use in said Islands, shall be receivable for public dues at a rate to be fixed from time to time by proclamation of the civil governor of said Islands until such date, not earlier than the first day of January, nineteen hundred and four, as may be fixed by public proclamation of said civil governor, when such coins shall cease to be so receivable." In accordance with this provision the civil governor issued a proclama- tion on October 23d, providing that "Mexican silver dollars shall be receivable for public dues at a rate to be fixed from time to time by proclamation of the civil governor, until the first day of January, nineteen hun- dred and four, and that on and after that date such coins rhall cease to be so receivable."
340
The Philippines and the Far East.
The legal tender quality has nothing to do with cur- rent transactions. There is nothing to prevent a person from making purchases and sales in Mexican currency after December 31st, if he wishes to do so. The fact, however, that the value of Mexican money is extremely unstable, that it is rapidly being given up and discredited by most of the countries v/hich have heretofore used it, that the government will not receive it after December 31st in payment of obligations due itself, and that it will not be a legal tender for debts contracted after that date, will altogether make it an undesirable form of coin to use, and self interest on the part of the trading com- munity should tend rapidly to banish it from the Islands.
CHAPTER XIX. The Government and Ri;rjr.ious Conditions.
The path that PhiUppine officials have been called to tread has been far from easy. Conditions were new. Problems familiar in some aspects in our own national past took on features wholly unfamiliar, and called for expedients never before used by rulers of American blood. N^early all the members of the Civil Commission were inexperienced in Oriental life, or had acquired little more than ordinary familiarity with conditions prcvailint^ among Asiatic peoples in the tropics.
In the religious aspects of their duties there were the most vexatious and delicate complications. Here was a people who had no acquaintance with a government that rigidly separated things that dififer so widely as the func- tions of the Church and State. Spanish leaders had no k-nowledge of the possibility of governmental neutrality in religious matters. These were yet under the leader- ship, in Manila, at least, of priests equally blind and warped. If officials did not accede to all petitions for civil interference in religious squabbles they were de- nounced as Protestant sympathizers. If they insisted that no Catholic should teach religion in the public schools, the conclusion was instantly drawn that they ])roposed to make these schools Protestant. Stories were set afloat to the effect that Protestant ministers and mis- sionaries were largely represented in the body of public- school teachers, and that their faith was threatened.
341
342 The Phiijppines and the Far HasT.
When Protestant missionaries appeared on the scene the situation was still more complicated. Friars could not comprehend that toleration did not mean support. Doubtless many of these medirevalists yet believe that the officials are secretly supporting the Protestant move- ment with public funds, and giving us official aid and comfort in other ways, and all this for the simple reason that they try to be fair and maintain inviolate separation between the Church and State, which has been our policy from the dawn of the Republic.
With the advent of the Independent Catholic Church movement, better known as the Aglipay movement, from the name of the priest who stands forth as the leader, confusion became more than ever confounded for the Catholic of conventional ideas as to the oneness of things civil and religious.
One case will illustrate what is meant. In the sum- mer of 1901 the Filipino priest of Tarlac, province of Tarlac, Father Eusebio Natividad, complained to Gov- ernor Taft that the Municipal Council of that city had attempted, by ordinance or resolution, to regulate the fees which he was charging for religious functions per- formed by him as priest. Governor Taft at once ad- dressed a letter to the civil governor of the province, Captain Wallis O. Clark. The letter was intended to meet all similar cases, and was therefore ordered put into a number of native languages and given the widest pos- sible publicity. It was the plainest possible statement of our historic position as to the relegation of Churchly affairs to Churches, and the management of civil affairs by officials of the State. It is too long to reproduce here, but was what would have been considered even platitu- dinous in anv American circles, so simply did it put the familiar truths and some of the chief reasons for our
Government and Religious Conditions. 343
national adhesion to them. Tlie application of the law to the case in hand was in the concluding- portion of the letter. It was as follows :
"What fees or compensation shall be charged by a minister of relig;ion for religious services performed by him is a matter wholly within the control of the Church authorities, and is one in which the civil government, whether municipal, provincial, or insular, can have no voice whatever. No one is obliged by civil law to partake of the sacraments of the Roman Catholic Church ; no one is required by law to solicit from the priest the burial ceremony, or the marriage ceremony of the Catholic Church. If he does so, under the government as it now exists in these islands, he does it voluntarily. If, how- ever, his religious conscience requires of him that he should secure the performance of any such ceremony by a priest of the Catholic Church, and deems the fee ex- acted excessive, he can have no recourse to civil govern- ment, but must apply for relief to the Superior ecclesias- tical authority in the Catholic Church."
The governor took the necessary executive action to protect the aggrieved priest, and had reason to suppose that Catholics, of all men, would applaud the fairness of his action. But not so. Within a few days there appeared an attack on him and his administration, which, better than any one utterance of the friar party that has come to my attention, illustrates their psychological state. It was published by an organization of laymen and friars called "Centro Catholico," at their headquar- ters. No. 49 Calle Cariedo, Manila. The heading and portions of it are given. They are excellent samples of pages and pages of stuff that has appeared in tracts and periodicals in criticism of official actions equally fair :
"to the conflict, Filipino catholics! "Not many days since a miserable paper, rabidly im-
544 The Philippines and the Far East,
pious, saw light in this capital, a monstrous abortion of perversity, a banneret of enrollment in the interests of apostasy, in which freely and unmasked the cry is raised, 'War against God !'
"To arms, then, warriors of Jesus Christ! The chal- lenge is thrown down ! To the strife. Catholic soldiers ! Not with resort to worldly arms, but to the powers of prayer, of faith, of a union of all true Catholics, of public manifestation of our religious sentiments, to defend them by all the means that are in our power.
"Yes ! War against God ! This is the motto of this infernal proclamation. They say, 'that they can not, nor do they desire, to intervene in religious questions,' then, lying with hateful cxnicism, they excite the people to make in all parts manifestations of distrust against the Catholic priests. War against God ! they have said ; and ir. truth what is intended by this procedure except the overthrow of the apostolic ministry, preaching, the ad- ministration of the sacraments in due time as ministers of the Church ; and in overthrowing these, is it not re- sisting the Church itself, the bishops, the Holy Father, God Himself, in a word ? And all under the guise of a pernicious liberty ! Buffoons ! Pusillanimous and false politicians ! You see the poor Filipino, despised and re- jected, and now you allure us with the fatal error of impiety and irreligion. You desire to eclipse the sun of the moral world, which is the Catholic faith. We shall walk in darkness ; the scene of Sennar will be repeated ; the Philippines will be as Babylon. . . . Will you con- sent to have your faith torn from you by violence? Will you consent that it disappear from the Philippines, because it so pleases four rickety brawlers [meaning, no doubt, the members of the Commission] — the religion in which you have been educated? . . . The Catholic Center protests in your name against the nasty, miserable paper, and its reprobate propositions. . . . We despise these talkative pigmies. . . . Away with cowardice ! Com- plete unity ; close alliance, and Forward ! What if the tempest increases and hell roars? Here are our ada-
Govi;k\^[Knt and Rkligious Conditions. 345
niantine breasts in order to receive the first blow ; ani- mated by the splendid shade of Risis and Garcias More- nos, and all the heroes who have wisely sacrificed them- selves for God and the Holy Mother Church. . . . To-day impiety reigns, and it is a time of ruin, of fury, and of indignation. Therefore be zealous to-day for the law. and give your lives in defense of the will of your parents. Be resolved by the valor of your ancestors, and you shall acquire imperishable fame and eternal renown."
Now-, what possible way is there to deal with such a state of mind as is disclosed in this official answer to an innocent declaration of religious neutrality? How can sane Catholics believe that men who indulge in such mock heroics as otTering their "adamantine breasts" to some undefined "blows," and otherwise making them- selves a laughing-stock for serious men, can profitably continue in the Philippines under a kind of rule which they perfectly fail to comprehend? Of what possible use can they be as a religious agency, or what can they accomplish as a social force working for the good of this or an\- other people?
The official records of the cases of a purely or par- tially religious character wdiich have been referred to the Executive Bureau of the Philippine government have been placed at my disposal, and the evidence they fur- nish of the thorny questions submitted for adjudication or action would make anv self-respecting American Catholic ashamed of his Philippine representatives. He would be ashamed of their lack of common intelligence. They appear in this official correspondence as ecclesias- tical Rip van Winkles, just awakened after three cen- turies of modern life had slipped over their somnolent heads. They are still in the Dark Ages. They talk the language of a dead past. They are out of joint with the times.
346 The Philippines and the Far East.
It is far from true that only the friars who have al- ways lived in the dim liiiht of the Philippines are thus in the dark as to what are the limitations of the civil power; M_2:r. Guidi, the Apostolic Delegate, fresh from Rome, stumhles equally upon this unfamiliar path of religious toleration.
In March of 1903 a Filipino priest near Iloilo was persuaded to cast in his lot with the Aglipay movement. He tells his own story of pitiable vacillation and Jesuit- ical decision to join them, and afterward declares that he was threatened with violence in case the movement did not win, and he felt it was wise to make his peace with Rome again. It is the letter of a weak, hysterical old man. It does not allege threats of violence, but plainly says, "I signed, for I knew^ not what was passing with me, and I did these things so that they would leave me alone."
This letter he forwards to his immediate superior, vdio, in turn, sends it on to the Apostolic Delegate, who submits it to Governor Taft, with a comiuunication from which I quote :
". ... Its contents will serve to show what peaceful and hncfiil means Aglipay makes use of for the furtherance of schism. The poor priest in question yielded to sheer force, as you will see, but on the follow- ing day wrote the inclosed document reaffirming his fidel- ity to the Catholic Church. ... In view of the pernicious effects which these methods of procedure have both in the Islands and abroad, I would entreat Your Excellency to issue such orders as will efifectually put a stop to this disgraceful state of things. ... I have the honor to remain, Respectfully yours,
"(Sgd.) John Baptist Guidi,
"Archbishop of Stauropoli, "Apostolic Delegate."
Government and Religious Conditions. 347
In his reply Governor Taft says, in part:
". . . . I am obliged to sa}-, after reading the same [the letter of the priest], that, while the method of proselytizing as described in that letter pursued by Sr. Aglipay and others may be subject to severe criticism on the ground of taste and morality, there is no statement in the letter of the priest of an}- fact which would justify the belief that he was threatened with personal violence or suffering. He does not state any specific threat, but says that he was nervous and was overcome b\- their un- due pressure. This does not present a case for criminal prosecution, but is an instance of a nervous, weak old man, yielding to importunate and undue influence. The expressions of contrition by the priest, the statement that he first sought Aglipay, and called on him, the further statement that the prominent people of his town were all in favor of Aglipay, and that they claimed the Church, indicate the character of the pressure that was brought to bear on him to influence him to consent in words which he did do, though he says that he intended to protest the next day. I confess that I can not see that the circum- stances present a case for the interference of the Execu- tive. . . . It is a case of weakness on the part of the priest, and not a case of crime on the part of those who induced him to take the course which he took. "Very respectfully,
''(Sgd.) Wm. H. Taft,
"Civil Governor."
Archbishop Martin Algocer attacked the governor one day in his oflfice with bitter charges of unfairness in a certain matter of considerable local importance. The governor turned to his private secretary and asked for the letters in which he had been attacked for the action which he had taken in the case, and the secretary imme- diately asked, "Which letters, the Catholic or the Protes- tant ? I have as many of one as of the other." Both sides criticise, and I am forced to believe that many of those who are the most violent in their criticism have the least
348
The; Philippines and the Far East,
actual knowledge of the difficulties of the situation in general, and the smallest stocks of exact information upon the particular cases of which they complain.
In one case, among many others, the government has shown its entire readiness to be fair, whatever friar op- ponents might think, or however they might bare their
THK FILIPINO S POINT OF VIEW.
'adamantine breasts" to "blows" of religious neutrality. In early October, 1901, the officers of the Methodist Episcopal Church for American people selected a good corner lot on a principal thoroughfare, and took steps to purchase it with a view to erecting thereupon a house of worship. When it came to making out the deed it was discovered that all non-Catholic religious activity
Go\r-;KN^ri:xT .\\n Ri:i,ir.i()us Conditions. 349
was torljiddcn in tlie most definite and undoubted fashion in the Penal Code. We were unwilling to go on without legislative relief, and feared that time would be lost be- fore this could be provided. I laid the case before Gov- ernor Taft late one Friday afternoon, stating all material facts briefly, and asking the enactment of a law making it possible for all Protestant Churches to purchase, hold. and convey real estate as they do in other countries. After a few minutes conversation he called his stenog- rapher, dictated a law which follows the ordinary "Re- ligious Society" acts in the several States, and asked that ir be put into shape for presentation to the first legisla- tive session of the Civil Commission. Before noon the next day it had been enacted, and the efifects of three centuries of religious bigotry, as applied to this one point, were rolled away !
The police and judiciary of the Philippines, in so far as they are American in their personnel, comprehend the idea of religious neutrality, and enforce the laws in an admirable spirit of fair play. Some of the Filipino police and judicial force also merit high praise for im- partiality ; but in many cases subordinate police and judi- cial officials are yet governed by partisan ideas, and pro- tect Catholics W'hile the Protestants are left to the ston- ing of mobs, the hooting of the rabble, and the hate of persecuting padres.
Our members have been imprisoned in almost every place in which work has been opened. The charges have always proven false, and orders for immediate release have been given in all cases. The police who arrested them did so at the instance of friars or their immediate sympathizers. In Hagonoy, r)ulacan, the municij^al secretary, Senor Cruz, threatened that services should
350 The Philippines and the Far East.
never be held in the Methodist chapel which was being built opposite his house. On July 26, 1903, the little place was dedicated. All the hours of service a band of cheap musicians were performing in or near his house, with evident intention of breaking up the service ; but we said nothing. A month later a crowd was gathered, and, with tin cans, paddles, drums, horns, and a general uproar, the mob in the street in front of the chapel pre- vented the preaching from being heard. Our missionary, Rev. W. A. Goodell, sent for a policeman, who said that the disturbance was in the street, and he could do nothing to prevent streeet merriment ! Mr. Goodell then took the names of at least thirty of the chief participants, and, on formal complaint, the attorney-general's office investi- gated the case, and directed the prosecuting attorney for the province to bring the offenders to trial. He is a Filipino, and the case was tried before a Filipino justice ; but fifteen of the party were found guilty and fined $10 each and costs. The attitude of the government in this case has had a profound influence over all that part of the country. It is a matter of amazement to the people to find that principal men can be fined like common taos for disturbing a Protestant service. In Bataan a native priest. Primitive Baltasar, snatched a Testament from the hand of Senora Maria Apolonario, a poor woman who was reading it to her husband as he lay in the last stages of cholera. This padre tore the Bible leaf from leaf, throwing each torn scrap into the fire, and declaring that such an evil book would send her soul to hell, that the soul of her dying husband was already lost from hearing it, and that he had sickened of the cholera as a just punishment from God for reading it. The woman had him arrested, and now Rev. Primitivo Baltasar is out of jail by virtue of a bond for $1,000 to answer in
Go\i;unmi;nt and Rklicious Conditions. 351
the Superior Court. If found guilt\ , the tine will be at least $125, and may be $625.
The government has been severely criticised for its allegetl hostility to religious matters in the public schools. There is more ground for such criticism than for many others. Still it should be remembered what almost in- superable difficulties hedged their way in establishing any such a system. It was dinned into their ears on all sides that the entire population of the Philippines was a unit in its passionate adhesion to the Catholic Church, and that the parents would on no account permit their children to attend schools which did not teach the Cath- olic religion. This we all know^ now was a complete misstatement of fact. As will be shown hereafter, the Filipino people are very far from being united in loyalty to the Catholic Church. The government was also as- sured by many that if teachers attended Protestant churches on Sundays, or in any way showed that their personal sympathies were non-Catholic, the schools would be immediately deserted by all the children of the faithful. It was felt by officials that the schools would do indirect good to a degree almost inconceivable if they could only hold the pupils for a few years. Hence they were not in sympathy with religious work on the part of their teachers. A prominent educational official left a train lest he be supposed to be in company with a Protestant bishop and a missionary. Circulars might be quoted in cxtcnso to show the attitude of the department, but one or two cases will show what is meant.
One of the most prominent teachers in Manila, him- self a devout Christian gentleman, and one long accus- tomed to take active part in Church work, was asked to address the men at the Young Men's Christian Associa- tion, Mr. Moses, who was at that time the commissioner
352 The Philippines and the Far East.
having immediate secretarial charge of schools, conveyed the information to this gentleman that the address as announced in the local dailies would better not be de- livered, as it would complicate matters in the department ! He was obeyed, but the incident caused much feeling. Here was a case the most marked, perhaps, that has oc- curred in which an official clearly "stood so straight that he leaned over." He exceeded his rights, and the inci- dent should have had a very different ending. But this was the act of one man, and not of the Commission as a whole. However, it is true that the impression was prac- tically universal among the entire teaching body that the government put a premium upon the men and women who were non-religious, to put it mildly. The results of this policy have been sad. In more than a score of cases personally known to me it has caused the religious ship- wreck of good young people. They understood in a general way that they were not so well liked and not so sure of their posts if they were active in the practice of their usual habits of church-going and Scripture study, and by little and little they lost their hold upon a Chris- tian life.
This attitude of the Educational Department has not aided in keeping the moral tone of the teaching body up to normal grade. While, as a rule, the teachers have held a high ideal before them, it is a matter for regret that there is so much Sabbath desecration, so much drink- ing, and so much compliance with questionable customs of the Filipino people. One teacher, a man who had been professor in a Church college in the States, and an active worker in the Young Men's Christian Association in every city and town in which he had lived, takes beer with his Filipino hosts, and keeps it in the house for his guests, and has been led to do this, he tells me, by his
Gu\'krnmi:nt and Ria.ic.iors Conditions. 353
desire to meet the wishes of the department that he make himself one with the people. I am quite sure that he misunderstands the point the department tried to make ; Init it is clear to nearly all the earnest Christian people in the Philippines that, while this attitude of extra-re- ligious neutality has not attracted students to the schools, its general effect on the morals of the teaching force has been unfortunate. Over and over again, as pastor of a Church for American people, my invitations to teachers to attend divine services has been met with the answer, "O, you know the department does not want us to be religious." It is to be profoundly regretted that this im- pression was made. It has helped nothing that the gov- ernment desired should be helped, and has hindered the exertion of much indirect influence for the best ends on the part of teachers.
It is to be deplored that so many of the prominent officials of the Philippine government, from the governor down, have given the impression almost from the first that attendance upon the public worship of God was not a part of the duty of Christian men and women. I am not prepared to allege that there was any ulterior mo- tive in remaining away from religious services — such as a desire to appear liberal in matters of religion, or not to alarm a Catholic constituency by too prominent proofs of Protestant tendencies — but, from whatever cause or motive, the fact remains that the great majority of the leading Philippine officials have not given public support by their example to the sanctity of the Day of Rest, nor to the valvie of the public worship of God as a social and moral force in the world. I prefer to believe that this state of things arose from the regrettable fact that tlie same men were not habitual attendants upon the services of the Christian Church before coming to the Philippines. 23
354 The Philippines and the Far East.
I would find it difiicult to express my opinion of an offi- cial of a government such as this one who would delib- erately suppress his conscientious convictions for the sake of currying favor with any party or any interest. Neither in moral fiber, nor ability to take a long, clear look into the ultimate significance of such a course, would such a person be fitted for a task, so solemn as that which devolves upon every man associated in the work of giving to this oppressed people a purer national life. Possibly part of the blame lies at the door of the Churches in America for not sending always their ablest men to preach and labor among them, and probably if those of us who were here had been more faithful to the religious needs of the men we criticised for their failure to throw their infiuence into the balance in favor of piety and sobriety, had gone to them in kindliness and plain- ness, they would have been won to our views. Certain it is that they did not give clerks and all kinds of subor- dinate officials to understand that it was a wholesome thing to seek the restraints and inspirations of the Chris- tian life to keep them up to the levels of home ideals amid the terrible downward pull of tropical residence on white men and women.
All day Sunday, and that week after week, the Com- mission would be in session, grinding out business either in Manila or in its provincial trips. On Sunday, April 21, 1901, to instance one case, the Commission met in public session in Tacloban, Island of Leyte, and discussed the preliminaries leading to the organization of a provin- cial government all day — who should be the officials, rates of taxation, school matters, and such other topics as were necessary. All this was un-American, and calcu- lated to give a wrong impression of the bast type of our
GuVlvKNMICNT AND RlCLlGIOUS CoXUlTlONS. 355
national life. It has hurt the Commission. It has hurt the government. It gave the impression to lesser men that it was not needful to comport themselves in the Philippines as would be required in Ohio or Connecticut, and defalcations due to fast living have been alarmingly frequent. An American President could never hope for re-election if he were so openly to trample on the sanc- tity of the Sabbath as it has been the custom of officials in the Philippines to do from the very first.
There has been a marked change for the better within the past year. The wind now sits in another quarter. It is now considered quite the correct thing to attend divine service on Sunday. The governor himself sometimes attends. On all hands there is a different atmosphere. The governor gave a public dinner to all the members of the Evangelical L'^nion in Manila in Januar}' last, to meet Dr. Pentecost. On the occasion of my return to the Philippines in December, the governor and two of the American commissioners, and many prominent offi- cials, were present at our reception, and I could discern a great change in the attitude of officials generally. In the latter part of 1902 the complications growing out of the then rapidly-spreading Aglipay movement called out a letter from Governor Taft. In this letter he said :
"The policy of complete separation of Church and State is enjoined upon those who serve under the Amer- ican sovereignty. This does not mean that officers of the State as individuals may not attend church and take part in religious controversies, and may not aid the Churches of which they are members ; but it does mean that no officer of the government has the right to use his official position or the authority which he exercises as an official to further the interests of the Church of wdiich he is a member as against the rights and claims of
356 The PiiiLippiNiis AND THE Far East.
other Churches to which he may be opposed in reUgious views."
Major EHjah W. Halford, in an address before the Evangelical Union, January 19, 1903, said with reference to this most generous official utterance that had yet been made in the Philippines :
"We are to be congratulated that finally 'the open door' has swung onward even to include within its in- vitation Protestantism in the Philippine Islands. A man may now be a Protestant Christian man, letting the fact be known and properly emphasized, without fear of the gibbet or ostracism, official or unofficial. It is furthest from the desire to call up from the past any unpleasant remembrances, but it is matter for sincere congratulation that the day has passed wdien one, more or less directly related to the government, can not ride upon the same railway train with a Protestant bishop and clergyman, and continue persona grata with the powers that be. The day is passed, and passed forever, when a inan in any wise related to the government will not be permitted to speak before a respectable, reputable Protestant assem- blage, upon even a non-religious topic. Who knows — we may not be too sanguine — but it may be permitted to a lowly servant of the government in an humble ca- pacity to give a cup of cold water, or extend the hospi- tality of a night's lodging, even to a Protestant mission- ary, without violating the unwritten law. I thank God, and congratulate you, my fellow men and women in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ upon the changed conditions."
Religion is the mightiest agent for controlling the pas- sions of men. True religion is better dependence for public order than the bayonets of an army. No more profound mistake could be made by any official of any government than that of ignoring or opposing the estab- lishment and maintenance of this matchless force in every country. Upon a profound sense of religious obligation
I
GOVKRNMKNT AND RkIJOIOITS CONDITIONS. 357
depend individual intcs^rity and national honor. No rea- sonable Protestant would demand that all offieials should attend any particular Church ; but that those who are set in high places of power should acknowledge God, is not an inn'easonable expectation. Unless they do so it will be in \'ain that they look for probity and trustworthiness in those who will follow their powerful example.
MOUNTAIN P1NF,S, NKAR I;A(;UI0, THE NEW SUMMER CAPITAL.
CHAPTER XX. Why is Protestantism in the Philippines?
Within three months from that memorable Sunday in May, 1898, on which Commodore Dewey daslied the Spanish fleet in pieces "with a rod of iron," representa- tives of several missionary societies of the United States were consulting as to the wisest and most effective means of establishing Protestantism in the newly-opened Phil- ippine Islands. They were seers in a literal sense. They saw the United States must take and carry the role of liberator and deliverer among the Filipino people whose sovereign power had passed into her hands, and laid their course accordingly. Pursuant to plans entered into at that conference, anrl those which have been framed later, Protestantism is in the Philippines. It is preach- ing, teaching, and building, with every indication of a purpose to remain and become a permanent factor in the future of the Filipino people.
From many sources questions are asked as to why this has been done. It is to be expected that Rome is not pleased that it should be so. It is not wholly a surprise that some irreligious people who, like Gallio, care for none of these things, should question the wisdom or the charity of such a course ; but questions come from offi- cials and from those wdiom one might have reason to re- gard as enlightened and earnest Christians, in some good degree abreast of the religious life and thought of the
358
Why is Protestantism in Philippines? 359
modern world. To all these it will be well to make a serious answer to the question which forms the caption of this chapter — "Why is Protestantism in the Philip- pines?"
Protestantism is not in the Philippines to avenge the wrongs wreaked upon those who espoused her principles before her advent. By statutes framed to accomplish that precise end, all teaching of Protestant doctrine was made a crime under the Spanish regime. Sections 219- 228 of the Codigo Penal, or Penal Code, enacted by Spain for the Archipelago, makes preaching, teaching, or propagating, in any public or private manner, of any doctrine other than that established by the State, a crime to be punished by heavy fines, or imprisonment at hard labor, or both. Under that law, with all the resources of the civil arm at their command, the ecclesiastical au- thorities made life a burden to all men who longed to know for themselves the truths of the Word of God, or to express in their own way their love and adoration to the Father of their spirits. Deportations, imprisonments, and martyrdom itself, was meted out with no sparing hand. But those dark chapters- are written. The\- are history. None of our eiiorts can change a line or letter of the verdict passed upon them. Protestantism has no desire to usurp the throne of judgment, but leaves that to Him who will judge all men according to the deeds done in the body, accordmg to what they have done, whether they be good or evil.
Protestantism is not in the Philippines to gloat over the faults which may be proven to have existed in the lives and methods of those who have been religious leaders of the Filipino people. Its leaders solemnly de- clare that such faults existed, and adduce proofs when partisans of the friars say that they had no sin. That
36o The Philippines and the Far East.
must be done. The world has a right to know, and must know, what has been the record of these men who now claim that they are deeply wronged, and that they have been good under-shepherds of the flock of Christ. It must be made plain that this is not the case, but that "with force and cruelty they have ruled them." But this need not be done often, an^l need not and will not be a pron.i- inent part of the program of Protestantism in the Phil- ippines. Such faults and sins as may be proved grieve us as fellow-men and fellow-workers for the moral and social well-being of our common humanity. Only so far as the interests of truthful history are concerned will Protestantism speak out on these matters. Such speak- ing is no part of her work as a whole.
Nor are the leaders of Protestantism ignorant of the good that there is in Roman Catholic literature, hymnol- ogy, and doctrine and history. Together Catholic and Protestant sing the soaring hymns of religious praise and adoration written by Bernard of Cluny, and Faber, and Newman. In literature of the devotional life we would be poor indeed without a Kempis, and Rodriguez, and Fenelon.
"Through the Dark Ages of semi-paganism in Europe the Roman Catholic Church, in spite of its awful corrup- tion, kept alive the belief in God, in the Christian re- demption, in the future life. Abominations have crept in. hideous superstitions have become part of its life, much important truth has become corrupted ; but there is no body of Christians in the world that holds the great fundamental truths of Christianity regarding the Divine Personality, the Supreme Divinity of Christ, the opera- tion of the Holy Spirit, and the supernatural life, more firmly that Roman Catholicism. Whatever there is of mystery, of height, and of inspiring power in the Prot- estant doctrine of the Incarnation or of the Trinity, is found in Romanism as well ; whatever of solemn motive
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Why is Protestantism in Piiilii'pinl;s? 363
and warniiif^ is found in the doctrine of the Fall, and of human depravity, and of the jud^qment for which we wait, is cdmmon alike to Romanism and Protestantism."*
It was a Catholic who wrote,
" There 's a wideness in God's mercy Like the wideness of the sea ; There 's a kinchiess in His justice That is niore^than liberty.
For the love of God is broader
Than the measure of man's mind ;
And the heart of the Eternal Is most wonderfully kind.
If our love were but more simple, We should take Him at His word,
And our lives would be all sunshine In. the sweetness of our Lord."
Nor is Protestantism concerned simply to wa.^e a war of denunciation against the errors in doctrine which so grievouslv distort the message of Christ. Mere nega- tion accomi)lishes nothing. It may destroy, but build- ing is the sore need of the hour. Like our Lord, these new religious forces "come not to destroy, but to fulfill."
In |)rosccuting this positive program of intellectual, spiritual, moral, and social fulfillment. Protestantism is not concerned chiefly to carry on a war of mere prosely- tism. True, the Churches organized under the new movement receive, and will continue to receive, members on profession of faith. But that is not their first aim, nor in success in this direction do they place their main hope of a broad and enduring success. If error and darkness can be put away from the old Church which has so long held this field, and if those who are wdthin her fold can be quickened by a godly emulation to live lives more in keeping with the teachings of Jesus, the leaders
■•'■Editorial in Indian Witness, August 6, 1903.
364 This Philippinks and thr Far East,
of Protestantism will rejoice with even a deeper glad- ness than over the mere swelling of their own lists of members. If the Church of Rome would only puiify herself of those gross errors which hide the face of Christ from the souls for whom He died, that result would be hailed by Protestants with a joy that could not be measured.
Protestantism is in the Philippines for the same reason that she is in all countries of Europe and South America — because her testimony is needed to counteract those errors of Roman Catholic teaching which put in peril the salvation of the individual sinner, and thus jeopard the whole program of Christ for this world as well as the next.
Protestantism is in the Philippines to exalt the Word of God. The most deadly, because the most fundamental, error of Catholicism is her relentless antagonism to the Bible and to its unhindered use by all people. All the people heard Christ. Each individual formed his own conclusions as to what was meant by those words of life that He spake. He inspired holy men to write down such of these words as were needed for our learning, and said to us that His Word was spirit and was life ; yet this professedly Christian Church will not permit the people — the common people who heard Christ gladly when He was in the world — read His words, now that He is no longer here to speak to them. Worse than this : Rome reverses the Divine order. Instead of making the Word of God the source of authority and rule of guid- ance for the Church, she ordains that the Church shall be the fountain and origin of authority to decide what portions of the Word of God shall be made known to the Church, and when and by whom. Protestantism says that the Church was born from the loins of the in-
Why is Pr{)I'i:si'.\xtism i.\ I'iiimi'I'inics? 365
spired W'ortl, ami owes all its existence and insi)iration to that Word; that in the day that Rome reverses that order she chokes the springs of Divine truth, and the solitary places are not made like a watered garden. Protestantism teaches the Scriptures to all the people, and tells them that in those words of their Heavenly Father they will tind how to worship Him who seeketh those who worship in truth and in spirit. Rome teaches the people that the Bible is a book full of deadly danger to untaught souls, and only such portions are helpful as a human priesthood approves, thus setting the decisions of a priest against the words of the living God. Such an error goes to the very roots of faith. It nmst be an- tagonized wherever it is found. Ultimately civilization itself becomes impossible if the fountain of all light and truth and salvation is to be fenced away from the people for whom Christ opened its healing streams. Protestant- ism may be criticised for establishing herself where such fundamental errors are commonly taught ; but she must persist. The welfare of her critics, even, demands that she continue to bear her testimony at all cost and in all places, until all the people shall have it in their power to read God's Word in their own tongue. In the work carried on by the leaders of this host of v^orkers very little will be said in antagonism of the position of Rome on this point. But by all possible means, and with fer- vent prayer following the work, they will meet the cry- ing need of the people for the Scriptures. They will "fulfill" the plan of God, and not "destroy" by labored argument the error of Rome. Such fulfillment is the surest and swiftest means of destruction. Its method is regnant in all realms of both nature and grace.
Testimony to the vital error of Roman Catholic teach- ing as to the sacrificial work of Christ is an absolute
366 The Philippines and the Far East.
necessity to the interests of truth. With all possible finality the Scriptures tell us that Christ died for our sins, and in that death "bore our sins in his own body on the tree." Paul says "Christ was once offered." In an- other place he says, "But now once in the end of the world hath He [Christ] appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself;" and in yet another passage, "But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God." In the plainest conflict with this is the teaching and practice of Roman Catholicism. She teaches that the sacrifice of Christ is offered in all its fullness — the sacrifice of the literal body and blood of the Son of God — every time a priest performs the ceremony called mass. A man of like passions with ourselves, according to this amazing doctrine, makes the Incarnate Lord of Glory from a simple wafer, and ofifers his sacrifice of redemption for a world's sin every time he says mass ! The blasphemy of it is not more apparent than its utter lack of conformity to Scripture and sound reason. The practical conse- quence of the doctrine is, that the salvation of individuals is put into the hands of a priesthood, and that priesthood thereby lifted to a height of power over mind and con- science which only God himself can rightly hold. It puts a man between the sinner and his Lord. It lays the foundation upon which the entire edifice of sacerdotalism is reared. Protestantism can not rest while such mon- strous perversions of the redeeming work of the Son of God are set before people as Divine truth. Its people can not but speak the simple yet glorious truth to all men that no priest or angel or saint or ceremony can shut one poor sinner away from the Redeemer; that Christ died once for all. and that, by penitence and faith in this finished work of atonement ofit'ered without spot
Wiiv IS Protkstan'i ISM IN' Piiiijppixics? 369
unto God. the}- may each Ix' dircctl}' fori;iven and as- sured of their adoption into the spiritual family of God. In logical harmony with this assertion of priestly power to give or withhold salvation to men to whom it is "the gift of God," is the doctrine of Rome regarding the Church of Christ :
"The Roman Catholic Church is a close corporation consisting of the ])ope (the so-called Head of the Church), the cardinals, archbishops, bishops, and priests. These, and these only, constitute the Church. The so-called laity, or common people not in the priesthood, are the mere subjects and beneficiaries of the Church, entirely dependent upon the priesthood for any and all spiritual benefit. This priesthood holds the keys of salvation in its hands. No soul may or can have access to God, or receive any grace from God, except through this priest- hood (clothed, as they claim, with supernatural power), which becomes the only mediating agency between God and man. Now, this whole theory and claim Protestants utterly deny and repudiate, holding that the Church is composed of all believers without distinction. That One is our Master, even Christ ; and that all believers are brethren. They utterly deny the sacerdotal character of the priesthood, and teach that access to God is open to all men through Jesus Christ, who is the only Mediator between God and man ; that ministers of religion, whether preachers or administrators, are but brethren set apart on account of peculiar gifts which better qualify them to do the work of the ministry. They are not 'lords over God's heritage,' but the servants of God and their breth- ren."*
Rome postulates mental incompetence in the race, and then works upward from that basic level. Her dogmas say, in eiYect, that men left to their own unaided judg- ments run into all kinds of error ; therefore, God has founded one institution in the world in wdiich religious
*Dr. George F. Pentecost. 24
370 The Philippines and the Far East.
certitude can always be found. The Roman Catholic Church, unchangeable and infallible, offers a haven for the storm-stressed sons of men. Drop anchor within this haven, says the Romanist, and you are safe. But you must surrender mind, will, judgment, conscience — all. Intellect can not be made a judge or an arbiter of your course. To ask so much is to dig up the base of the edifice. Catholicism ofifers to be a director of conscience and an arbiter of truth. What it asks of those who enter is not faith, but the abjurement of faith in the New Tes- tament sense, and the acceptance of the decisions of the Church as the end of the law on all things. Such a course kills individuality. When Spain had killed the Reformation in her own borders, she had killed indi- vidual initiative in the highest realms of thought, and the blight has been on her fields and mines, factories, and her offices of state from that day. Rome kills individ- ualism. She reduces all men who accept her teaching to abject and unreasoning obedience to her dictates. Her scientists must not think contrary to Catholic dogma. Her authors must not write contrary to dogma. Her priests must have no mind and know nothing except the infallible decrees of the man who happens for the time being to fill the papacy. Proofs could be quoted bv the chapter, but one case will illustrate my meaning. It is a letter taken from the Chicago Tribune. It is written by a member of the Catholic Church, and evidently under pressure :
"Chicago, April 21. 1903. "Editor of The Tribune :
"On Sunday, May 4, 1902, I acted as the chairman of a meeting to protest against the legitimate removal of the Rev. J. J. O'Meara from St. Agatha's Parish to Free- port, 111., and in order to make public reparation for my
Why is Protkstaxtis.m ix Philipi'Ini^s? 371
unwarranted action as a Catholic, T kindly beg you to afford me space for the following apology:
"Knowing as I now do that my action was ill-advised, and at the time I uttered words which, after retiection, 1 find were unwarranted, I desire to state that I did not know at that time, nor do I at the present, of anything which would reflect aught but credit upon those who were in authority, nor did I know the reason for such removal.
"I. therefore, wish that it be thoroughly understood that I know naught against any one in authority, and stand ready at all times, as a devoted adherent of 'Mother Church' to make amends for any and all evil effects which my action may have caused ; and promise that whenever the constituted authorities deem fit to issue a command that I will bow in humble obedience, with the firm belief that whatever may be done is done for the best interests of the Church and to the advantage of her members. Edward A. Kennedy."
Can any sane man believe that a system which can I)roduce such blind and abject submission of intelligent men to ecclesiastical authority can be productive of good social or political results? One blushes for the manhood of Edward A. Kennedy, and all other men who allow their divinely given reasons to be thus bound and dragged captive at the wheels of a human organization. No wonder that Dr. Horton says :
"Men will increasingly, year by year, without heat or passion, but with a will that turns not back, reject the system which is not Christianity, but a growth, a para- sitic growth, which has intertwined itself with that im- perishable plant that is yet to overshadow all nations."
If the fond hopes of our martyred President, and those of the leaders of our nation to-dav are ever realized lor the Filipino people, and the day comes when they shall assume among the nations of the earth that sep- arate and equal station to which some of their best nicn
372 The Philippines and the Far East.
believe the\- will some day be entitled and able to main- tain, their leaders will be men who "without heat or passion, but with a will that turns not back," have stepped outside the pale of an ori:::;anization which crushes individuality, and puts iron clamps upon the minds of its members. Romanism can not furnish such men. Her method makes it impossible. Roman Catholicism has not produced a great invention, nor a great author, nor one commanding statesman within three centuries. No Re- public ever stood firm except those whose voters had learned and practiced intellectual liberty in matters of religion. Mexico is yet only semi-Republican. Protes- tantism will render a fundamental service to the Phil- ippine State that is to be in two ways : it insists upon a high morality in its membership, bidding them to have done with the vices which enfeeble and debase men, and so contributes a purer type of citizen for that State ; and second, it admits laity to an equal share of the govern- ment of ecclesiastical affairs, and in the offices given them by the franchises of their brethren, or the appoint- ment of their brother, the pastor, they learn how to carry on the larger concerns of the State. In short, the method of Protestantism is to exalt the individual ; to teach him that it was for him that Christ died and rose again, and that he may find salvation without the aid of priest or sacrament, and then help him to realize his own complete manhood in the unfettered pursuit of all knowledge and in the service of God and his fellow-men. It was men so taught and so led out into independence of thought and action who subdued a tyrannical king under Cromwell, successfully resisted colonial oppression in the days of the infancy of our Republic, and settled the relation of States to the Union, and the holding of slaves under our Hag in the Civil War. It is sheer madness to suppose
FIRST TRAIXIXG-SCHOOL FOR FILIPINO WOMKN.
Miss Spaulding in foreground, Miss Parkes above and beliind len girls. Opened June, 1903.
Why is ProtivSTantism ix Phiijppines? 375
that such citizensliip can be secured from the narrow molds into which Rome runs all her ecclesiastical mate- rial. All history bears witness against its possibility. The experience of Europe and South American States are l)ut foot-notes to the pages of European history. Protestantism has an errand in the Philippines. She must lift the individual to his feet, and bid him take his place as a son of God and a partner in God's work for his world. She must do this for His sake, and for the sake of society and the State.
Protestantism is in the Philippines because it is not good for Churches to be alone. Competition in religion may seem a shocking thing to some minds, but it has served the ends of greater purity of teaching and life from the days of Pharisees and Sadducees to the times of Catholic and Protestant. One of the Philippine Civil Commissioners said in a session of that body, when a petition from the IMethodists of Manila for a long lease on certain government property formerly administered by friars was before them for consideration : "I shall vote to grant the petition. I am a Catholic, but I believe in competition in religion." It is not good for man to be alone. That is true of him as an individual, and equally true of him in his organizations for social or religious ends. Monopolies become bigoted. Catholicism has had its own way in the Philippines for three centuries, and she is not so healthfull}' prosperous here as she is in lands where other faiths have lived by her side, and ex- erted the pull of their example upon her doctrine and spirit. It will be a tonic for Catholicism to have the Protestant Churches by her side. She will purge out some of the bad doctrinal leaven that has been spoiling her measures of Filipino meal. She will scrape some barna- cles from her hull in the shape of questionable and im-
376 Till; Phiijppinks and thic Far East.
moral courses among her priesthood. All this will be painful, and her members and leaders will cry out against the process. Surgery is always painful. Yet we can not do without surgery.
Is Protestantism disturbing the religious peace of the Philippines? On the alleged ground of such disturb- ance, some earnest people are distressed that the move- ment has begun. But do they know where there is any religious peace in the Philippines? The fact is, that the Protestant leader who goes wisely and constructively about his work finds hundreds and thousands of earnest souls who have not now, and who never did have, re- ligious peace. They hunger for it. They welcome, as a very angel of God, the Protestant with his Scriptures, and his simple message of attainable, conscious salvation in this world for all who repent and believe on the Christ. Who does not know that the claim that the Filipino people are "entirely Catholic," as the pope solemnly assured Governor Taft in his correspondence about the friar lands, is a misstatement of the facts ? It is said with much emphasis that the disloyalty of the Filipino Catholic is against the friar, but not against the Church. But when the recent history of the Philippines is dispassionately sifted, and when the attitude of the population that would kill forty friars, all of them serving under the orders of the Church to which their murderers are said to be un- swervingly loyal ; when they imprison four hundred more, and chafe like tigers in a net to think that it was im- possible to kill all the latter as they had killed the former, it will appear how loyal they are to the organization send- ing and supporting these offending priests ! When it is considered that the Filipino people have been buying Bibles at the rate of more than five thousand a month for every month since the beginning of 1902, in spite of the
W'liN' IS Pkoticstaxtism i\ 1^11 11,11'i'i .\i;s? 377
burniiii;" (Icniiiicialion of all who dare to l:)uy ihcni, ut- tered by priests and bishops and Church periodicals, al- most daily, threatening' tlieir souls with the torments of hell after death, and intiniatin<;- that the full weii^ht of ecclesiastical disabilities, plus cholera and smallpox and the death of their cattle — all sorts of heathen curses on basket and store — would li.^ht on them in this world if they persisted in their course, it can be seen that this plea of a solid Catholic population is without foundation. The Protestant does not need to proselyte. He finds an easier constituency waitins^" him. Thousands of natives, men and women, are receiving Protestant Christianity eagerly, joyously. They sing its soul-stirring hymns ; they are reading its vernacular Scriptures ; they are meeting day after day in little companies for mutual inspiration and help. They come miles to services, on foot across rice- paddies, and in rain and darkness. They entertain Protestant ministers in their homes, an.d feed them with the best that the neighborhood affords. They are not loyal to the Church as a people. Protestantism comes not to disturb a condition of religious peace, but to quiet a condition of religious unrest. Protestantism comes to bring true peace by bringing that "righteousness" which St. Paul declares must ahvays precede both "peace and joy in the Hol\- Ghost." (Rom. xiv, 17.)
There will be turmoil at the first, and the appearance of unseemly strife ; but it is the inevitable clash of opinion, and out of it will come the larger purpose of the good God of us all for people who have had but three centuries' lift from practical barbarism, but who show, by their rapid strides under conditions far froni favorable, what may be expected when they find Jesus Christ in the full- ness of His power to save, and enter into all the fullness of life which He came to give.
CHAPTER XXI. The Religious Situation — A General View.
Fundamental religious conceptions undergo change very slowly. In some triumphant future of Pentecostal power such as has not yet rested upon the Church of Christ, it will probably be true that a nation will be born in a day, and that this birth will be into a life so utterly different from that out of which the converts have come, that they will leave their old conceptions "by life's un- resting sea," never to resume them again. But the his- tory of religious thought bears many testimonies to the conclusion that evolutionary processes more or less rapid have controlled in the development of the religious con- sciousness of peoples. The postulates of Platonic thought persisted in Christian theology long after New Testament times. The fiery evangelism which swept the Goths and Vandals into a professedly Christian faith left them in possession of much of their gloomy and severe concep- tions of Deitv and of human relationships. Druidism left its dark trail across centuries of teaching in Christian England.
While it is true that six millions of the Filipino people are counted as Roman Catholics, it is yet true that, to a far greater degree than is commonly known, they yet retain the fundamental notions of God and the controlling ideals of their idolatrous faith. In proof of this we have but to know a little of their religious past, and to come into close contact with them in their religious worship,
378
Tm: Rivi.iGious Situation. 379
their ordinary ways of thinkinf^ and speaking of God, duty, immortality, and eschatological subjects in general.
From the meager stocks of knowledge which we pos- sess of that earlier faith we can glean but little. The Malays who were here when Legaspi, the ruler, and Urdaneta. the friar and evangelist, came to establish the authority of Spain and found the Christian faith, had never reduced their religious ideas to writing. There- fore it is impossible to study them as Buddhism, Hindu- ism, and Mohammedanism are studied. The friars who came to displace the old faiths were iconoclasts. Every- thing not of Rome was of the evil one. Rome has not yet produced one sympathetic student of Comparative Religions, or, if any studies by such a writer have seen the light of the printed page, that light has been quenched by papal order as was the book on New Rome in Zola's "La Roma." In any case, no records are left us of pains- taking effort on the part of the friar missionaries really to understand what the poor people for whom they la- bored did believe, and what were the hopes which those beliefs kindled in their bosoms.
From what little we know of the religious belief of the Malay invaders of the Philippines, we are led to con- clude that it was an idolatrous form of demon-worship. It postulated malevolence as the chief characteristic of Deity, and its worship was a series of fear-born attempts to propitiate the wrath which they conceived burned against them unceasingly. This vmseen and malevolent Being was believed to exist in many forms. Their idols were numerous, as idolatry can never be exactly certain that it has secured a correct representation of the Unseen, and with pathetic eagerness to be right continues the weary unavailing search for God if haply they may find Him who is near to everv one of us.
380 The Philippines and the; Far East.
These idols were of the rudest and most inartistic forms. They show indisputable marks of both Hindu and Buddhistic thought, and are not wholly unlike idols found in Java and in parts of Borneo at this time. Several images of Buddha in the sitting posture, with folded hands resting on his knees, palms upward, have been dug up by excavators for foundations, and in plowing the fields of the central and southern islands. Idols similar to that of Krishna and Ganesh are to be seen here and there in old buildings and in out-of-the-way corners of the provinces.
It was the custom of the Malay invaders to secrete their idols, or Aiiitos, in remote caverns and wooded dells. They were supposed to possess miraculous power, and yet this power could not be conceived of as being exerted otherwise than in punishment for faults.
It was firmly believed that it was well pleasing in the sight of these gods to seek vengeance for wrongs sufifered at the hands of another worshiper. The wor- shiper who failed to exact an eye for an eye was sup- posed to be out of favor with his Anito, and could not see his face in peace while his injury went unavenged.
Such, in briefest possible outline, are the main points which may be considered well established in the religious belief of those whom Spain found in tlie Philippines at the time of conquest.
The conversion of these idolaters to Catholicism was rapidly accomplished. The king of Cebu accepted bap- tism almost at once. Crowds knelt and were baptized in rows. Where reluctance to accept the new faith was apparent, a large and influential party of the missionary friars were ready to employ force. In fact, one of the burning questions of early friar evangelism was whether it was right to use force in securing conversions to the
AN ANTING-ANTING SHIRT. ^'^
(Letters are supposed to be mystic symh )ls. Wearer believed to be impervious tt) bullets or bolos. )
The Religious Situation. 383
Christian faith. A delegation finally went to Rome to secure papal lis^ht on so abstruse a question as that (jf compelling- men at the point of the sword or the mouth of a cannon to renounce their old beliefs and accept those of Him whose gospel is love and compassion. Within fifty years after Urdaneta and his helpers began the work of evangelizing the Malays, the work was practically completed. The aboriginal Negritos, and Igorrotes, as well as the bloodthirsty Moros, were practically unaf- fected by all that friar persuasion could do for them in all the centuries of efifort.
It must be said, also, that this work of conversion was most superficially accomplished. Little positive in- struction was given to converts. Rome never relies upon that in her attempts to break ground in solidly heathen countries. It is a line of work for which her limitations on liberty of thought fetters her. The so-called conver- sion of the Filipinos was accomplished by a substitution of images, while their fundamental conceptions of the Deity behind those images remained, not wholly un- touched, but in a modified form. It is little wonder that such methods met with instant success. The Malay loves beautiful things with all the passion of his soul. His own idols were rough and unattractive. Here were images of the Christ, the \'irgin, and many saints dressed in rich colors, with gems and tinsel and brocade work, and all this beauty set aglow by the light of scores of can- dles. Here were priests in rich robes, chanting their service in rolling music that set every fiber of this natur- ally musical man thrilling, while clouds of incense alter- nately veiled and disclosed those forms of supernal beauty before the altar, and over all the solemn bells called at- tention to God and his worship. Here were Anitos that were attractive. By this worship Deity must be more
3^4 TiiR Religious Situation.
readily propitiated. These saints who had power to ward oil ilhiess. avert plagues, still the yelling tempests that swept their shores and wrecked houses with crops, and in general turn away the wrath of an angry God were surel)' the right objects of worshiji, and henceforth were to be accepted as divine, and the mandates of their min- istry obeyed. Thus these poor people reasoned, and with no more alteration of underlying conceptions of the char- acter of God and those resultant ideas of the duties men and women owe to Him and to one another, they became Christians.
This use of images in the work of evangelism is not in contiict with the beliefs and practices of Rome. She has cut the Second Commandment out of her Bible and her catechisms, and divided the Ninth Commandment into two to keep the total number correct. No thunderous "thou shalt not" from Bible or catechism startles Roman- ists as they bow down to images and likenesses of people and scenes both in heaven and in earth, and in the waters under the earth. Nothing took place, therefore, in the conversion of the Malays of the Philippines which was calculated to eradicate their false notions of the character of God nor of the duties which men and women owe to Him and to one another.
Therefore we find that the Filipino Catholic still con- ceives of- God as a Being burning with wrath against the work of his hands, and seeking to devour them and thwart them, and exact vengeance for their shortcomings. For this diversion of the wrath of God he attends mass, has his little ones baptized, counts his beads, and attends to all the mint and anise and cummin of the Catholic law. For this he pays his money lavishly for masses to have the souls of his departed loved ones taken from purgatory to the heaven that is promised to all them that
Thi-: Ri'i.iciors v^itiatiox. 385
love his appcarins;' and kingdom "without money and without price." There is scarcely an act of worship that he performs which is not caused by this hauntin<^ fear which has followed him from his old faith. The dead hand of that idolatry lies across his entire tliDUght of God. The baleful shadow of this slanderous thoui^ht of a God who so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth on Him might not perish but have everlasting life, so darkens his life that his religion is not one bringing joy and exulting confi- dence, but fear rather, and at best a sense that the per- formance of all the rites prescribed has purchased im- munity for another period, and until that is ended it is as well to breathe easily, and take what comfort in life one can find. That God is a Being full of love, and that He has provided a salvation that' rescues men from sin in this life, and gives them dominion over sin here and now, and that heaven is merely the destination of a people who walk with this loving Father in paths of humble service to the end of life's journey, — all this is far from their thoughts, and Rome has done but little to bring it rear.
Vengeance for individual wrongs is deemed a duty by the majority of Filipinos It is an unimpaired sur- vival of that old belief that he who suiYered one who wronged him to go unpunished was displeasing in the sight of his Anito. Not until the teachings of Christ dis- place those which have persisted from a dim past will this cause of so much bitterness and feud be removed. It is rooted in the belief of the people. A generation or more will pass before it can be cast out.
A careful study of the religious situation discloses great lack of intelligent loyalty to the Catholic Church. The teaching which she gives her members is hardly 25
386
The Ri-xigious Situation.
"sincere milk." It certainly never becomes "strong- meat." The catechisms in use in so-called religious schools for Filipinos are wishy-washy things. A little Scripture history, a few pages of dogma, half of it ut- terly unsupported by so much as attempts at proof, and pages of miracle-studded saint-lore, with the forms of
A RELIGIOUS PROCESSION IN MANILA.
(Friar in gown and white cuffs of lace in the rear at left. Cathedral in background.)
prayer and the usual responses used in worship, make up this book. This is all to be learned by all candidates for confirmation. It is committed to memory blindly, with no attempt to make meanings clear to the children who rock back and forth on the floors by the hour, singing over meaningless words to themselves in a high monot- onous key until they can rattle them off glibly when the
I
Tiiiv Ri'i.icious Situation. 387
priest comes to catechise them. Often the whole book is in an unknown tony,ue to the pupik That has no effect whatever on the method of in-struction. Repetition is perfection. Thought is not required. The only possible result follows, and that is that intelligent loyalty — the loyalty that is true and can give a reason for that ad- liesion to his chosen Church — is hard to find. Arch- bishop Chapelle and Archbishop Guidi have both been convinced that Filipino is loyal to the Catholic Church. Sentiment and powerful social reasons hold thousands in line, and give the impression to those in authority that loyalty is well-nigh universal ; but this is not that in- telligent loyalty to doctrine which holds men and women steady when other teachings come to their attention.
Superficially converted at the first, superficially taught until the present hour, this people have been alienated from the Church through the conduct of a majority of the friars whose predecessors first offered them a better faith. It is idle to deny this charge. Previous chapters furnish proof that no fair-minded man can refuse to ac- cept as final that the loyalty of Catholics has been sub- jected to a fearful strain by the greed, the cruelties, and the immoralities of those foreign members of monastic orders who served as parish priests. Under this strain the faith of hundreds of thousands has given way. At least one-third of the Filipino people have no sympathy with the Roman Catholic Church. In their own person, or in the case of loved ones, or of friends, or perhaps in their property rights, they have felt the merciless hand of the friar-curate, and their allegiance to the Church which sent him and stood sponsor for his acts is at an end. \\'hile Rome was in power and could re-enforce the might of ecclesiastical processes with those of the civil, and, if necessary, the military power, these men and
388 The; Philippines and the Far East.
women were outwardly observant of customary forms. But now that it becomes increasingly apparent that the padre with his robe and cross must keep within the limits of ecclesiastical power in enforcing discipline upon re- fractory members of his flock, these men and women are lifting up their voices, and clamoring for a faith that satisfies their souls. Let no one suppose that this restless turning away from the old to something better is always an intelligent revolt. It is often densely ignorant, and rather in the nature of a pathetic feeling in the darkness for light than well-instructed search for truth. These masses are on the move. They are like a herd of thirsty cattle. They know their thirst. They know that waters to slake it can not be found in the old grazing grounds, and they are on the move for possible satisfaction. They move rapidly. They move eagerly. They are liable to be stampeded. They fall victims to pretended popes and false Messiahs, and heresies wilder than Dowie teaches secure ready hearing". Some Americans, and more Cath- olics, pour ridicule upon the success of the Protestant movement in securing converts from these people. They say that the people are ignorant, and do not know what they are doing. Admitting that they are ignorant, though many of them are far from being so, is it not a sight to melt the heart of any follower of Christ to see such spiritual thirst, and to witness such eagerness to try any cup that offers to satisfy that thirst? These masses are on the move. It is not a question of whether one-half or more of the entire body will remain within the Church of Rome. In no true sense are they within that Church now. They will go somewhere. Some form of unbelief or misbelief will receive them.
Thousands of the leaders of public thought have given up all pretense of religion. Sickened with the shams
TiiK Rkmgious Sittation. 389
they have seen, thcv are hi open revolt. Many of these are men who have stuched in European universities, and ob«>erved the behcfs of other nations. Is infidehty to cl"^ini all these, the natural leaders of Filipino thought ? Rome will never hold them. She has lost that hold. For form's sake and for social reasons, they may not utterly and openly break with her unless they find satisfaction for their thirsty spirits ; but members they are not, and never will be, in any true sense of that term. Either Protestantism must win them with a reasonable presenta- tion of the claims and promises of Christ, or they will not only be lost, but will drag others down with them.
Hundreds of thousands will run into superstitions yet deeper than those which hold them now, if that is possible, unless help is given soon. As a class, supersti- tion rules the larger portion of this great horde of rest- less souls. Will they plunge yet deeper into this abyss?
"Many of these superstitions are survivals of former idolatrous beliefs. One of the most prominent of the latter su])erstitions is that of 'anting-anting.' The most ignorant classes firmly believe that certain persons are possessed of a diabolical influence called anfiiig-antiiig, which preserves them from all harm. They believe that the body of a man so affected is even refractory to the effects of bullet or steel. Brigands are often captured wearing medallions of the Virgin Mary or the saints as a device of the anfing-aiifing. . . . Some highway- men, too, have a curious notion that they can escape pun- ishment for a crime committed in Easter week, because the thief on the cross was pardoned his sins."*
Certain images like that of the Holy Child of Rangi, the Santo Nino de Cebu, St. Francis de Assisi, Our Lady of Caysaysay, and the Virgin of Antipolo, are believed to have miraculous powers, and to exert them on behalf
^ Foreman.
390 The Philippines and the Far Kast.
of penitents on occasion. The fact that there seems to be a direct connection between the size of the fee paid and the readiness of the image to respond, would cause suspicion in the mind of one who had ever been encour- aged to use his mind in connection with his religious worship. St. Francis of Assisi is only an image of wood, but it sheds tears sufificient on occasion lo moisten a number of cloths. The Virgin of Antipolo has five times crossed the seas between Mexico and the Philip- pines, and on each voyage saved the royal galleon from being ingulfed in the roaring waves by miraculously stilling the tempest. Thrice the building in which she is kept has been burned to ashes, and each time this gaudily- be-tinscled image has been found amid the ashes with not so much as a curl of her false hair singed, and with- out the smell of fire on her garments. The village of Antipolo is her shrine All that gives it life is the pil- grim trade called thither by the sale of handkerchiefs and prints of saints and rosaries blessed with the blessing of this wonder-working image. In spite of this fact, Anti- polo is a center of brigandage, even as Kali-Ghat was the focus of Thuggism in India.
All-Saints' Day, November ist. Catholics are taught that one lighted candle placed at the foot of a shrine, and a prayer repeated, will deliver souls from purgatory. Sorrowing relatives throng these places of worship. The crush is often unbearable. xA father, a mother, a loved husband, or beloved child may be gotten out of purga- torial fires for a candle and a prayer ! Who that so be- lieved would not undergo discomfort? Sacristans make them move on after two or three minutes ; their candles, which must be left burning at the shrine, are promptly extinguished, and coolies can often be seen carrying them away to the priests' storeroom to be resold to dealers.
The Religious Situation. 391
In 1887, one church is said to have gathered forty hun- dred weight of candles worth $37 each on that one day of superstitious worship.
Sweating" images are most popular with the devout. Standing in dark corners, with wax spread over their surface, they are only to be approached with large can- dles. Prayers to be effective must be of some length. By the time they are concluded, the wax is melting, and the drops trickling down the image is the promised per- spiration, and proof that the prayer has been heard. Other images are jointed, and for a sufficient consider- ation will bow or move their arms in token that the prayer of the penitent before them has been heard. But now and then the string breaks, or the joints stick, and the prayer is said to be devoid of faith. Great profit is made from dressing up doll-like images of saints and martyrs and carrying them from door to door, that they may bless the houses of those who pay the right fee, and permit these holy personages to tarry in their homes. The fee is regulated according to the length of the domiciliary visit. The friars formerly hired a man for a few pesos a month to carry the image from home to home, and all receipts over and above the wages of the custodian were net profit for holy funds !
P'ictures of almost all sorts are sold to the native wor- shiper, with stories of miraculous power they can exer- cise. The pitiable credulity of ignorant worshipers is apparent in almost every hut. Dean Worcester tells of a family who secured a cartoon of President Cleveland in the garb of a friar, with a tin halo about his head, from an old copy of Judge which he happened to leave out of his baggage, and when he next visited that family he found them all on their knees before this wretched cartoon, en- gaged in their evening devotions! He says, "So far as
392 The Philippines and the F'ar East.
I know, Mr. Cleveland is the first American President to have been canonized"
To whom will this multitude go if they are left to them- selves ? Can any one question that their future is a dark one, and that, this being the case, the future for which the best class of the Filipinos ardently hope will never be realized ? Thousands have gone off after a self-styled pope in Southern Luzon within the past two years. He has been convicted of imposture, murder, and other seri- ous crimes, and e:=cecuted, and yet many of his followers cling to the belief that he was to be their deliverer, and could have set them free if he had been let to escape the gallov/s.
When the Aglipay movement began in October of 1902, it spread like wildfire. Within eight months its leaders claimed three million followers, and had actually taken pos- session of all the Romish Churches over entire provinces, priests, members, and all coming into the movement. All that Aglipay promised them was freedom from Rome, and a Church of the Filipinos, by the Filipinos, and for the Filipinos. Doctrinally he took Romish ground with the exception of belief in the papacy. While his claims were probably based upon the hopes and expectations of his fol- lowers rather more than upon statistics gathered and sifted with the care that should accompany such work, it still re- mains that more than a million of this eager, restless peo- ple have followed Aglipay out of the Roman Catholic Church, and more are joining the movement every day. While I have no hard words to sav of this independent Filipino Church movement, I must say that it will not give the people a true idea of Christ and His power to save, and that it will leave all the more for a pure form of Protestantism to do, as it fails to edify and lead those whom it seems satisfied to detach from Rome.
YhR PlIII.iri'lXKS AND TIIK FaR TtAST,
393
The religious situation is one that must appeal to every lover of the Lord Jesus Christ. Here is a nation ready to he led to the Christ. Sick of the impotence of their old faith, they wait to he helped into the pool of true spiritual healing. Will the Protestant Churches of America rise to the novel and urgent demands of the situation? Or will they 1)e content to apply their usual rules to this tin- usual condition, and go so tardily and so pinchingly about the work of saving a whole people that the door of oppor- tunity will swing shut in the faces of those who seek most eagerly to enter with the message of a salvation that saves?
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CHAPTER XXII.
The Bible Societies.
It was a Hindu who said, 'If I were a missionary I would not argue ; I would print the New Testament, and would say to all the people, 'Read that!' " The first v/ork of the missionary in reaching- his field of work is to see that all the people have the Scriptures in their own tongue in which every man was born. He believes that the leaves of the Word of God are for the healing of the nations. He is assured that what man says may fall into the soil of his field and perish, while the words of God are vital with the life of Him who spoke them, and are certain to bring forth some sixty and some an hundred fold. He knows, too, that the Scripture is able to reach waiting thousands with their silent appeal long before the living messenger can possibly come to them, and that its testi- monies to the love of God and the redemptive work of Christ will be given with undiminished force after the messenger has gone to other cities also. To attempt the evangelization of a people without giving them the Word of God would be to write in the sand of their history. Successive waves of time would wash out every mark of evangelism which had reared no mighty corner-stone of inspired truth upon which to found its building. Carey in India, Morrison in China, Mofifatt in Africa, Judson in Eurmah, — these all were led of the Spirit, who wrote the Word to put first things first in their various fields, and immediately put the Sacred Book into the language of those among whom they had come to labor.
394
The Bible Societies. 395
Two Bible Societies saw the need in these Islands, and took steps to meet that need long before the clouds of war had risen. The American IHble Society in New York- ordered its agent for China, Dr. John R. Hvkes, to visit Manila, examine into conditions, and report to the society as to the advisability of establishing an agency at Manila. He reached Manila in September of 1898, looked into con- ditions, and made a report. This report was favorable to such action, and in 1899 Rev. Jay C. Goodrich, a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church from the Newark Con- ference, was appointed, and, with his wife, took his place at Manila, arriving in November of that year.
The British and Foreign Bible Society had meantime sent the Rev. H. F. Miller from Singapore on an errand similar to that of Dr. Hykes. Later, Mr. Miller was him- self appointed agent, and had arrived at his post some time before the arrival of Mr. Goodrich. Both these soci- eties have been steadily at work during the past four years.
It was not the first attempt of the British and Foreign Societ} to open work in the Philippines. Through its agency in Singapore, to which city so many Fipilinos resorted when friar antagonism became too pronounced, and through its larger body of workers in Spain itself, that organization had come into close association with many of those Filipinos who waited most anxiously for a new spiritual condition to prevail in their native land. With the help of some of these men, translations of por- tions of the Gospel, more or less accurate, were made into I'angasinan and Tagalog. In 1888 a converted friar named Lallave, who had spent twelve years in the prov- ince of Pangasinan — a Dominican — with a companion named Seiior F. de P. Castells, sought and received from the British and Foreign Bible Society permission to under- take the distribution of the Word of God in the Philippine
396 The Philippines and the Far East.
Islands. With a stock of Spanish Scriptures and the four Gospels in the Pangasinan language, which had been translated by Sr. Lallave while in Spain, these two men took their lives in their hands and entered Manila. They at once began to encounter difficulties. Their books were held up in the custom-house, and their work of distributing the Scriptures was brought to a sudden end by order of the officials. While seeking to unravel the complications which had arisen so that it would be possible for them to carry on their work, and within a week of their arrival in the city, Sr. Lallave, the elder of the two, died of poison in his room at the Oriente Hotel, where they were stop- ping. He was buried in the Protestant cemetery at San Pedro Macati. His companion was also taken violently ill with similar symptoms, but did not die. It is not capable of exact proof such as would be demanded in a court of law, but on all hands it is believed that the death of Sr. Lallave was due to friar intrigue. They hated him on two separate grounds : he had become a Protestant, and was now engaged in an attempt to put the Bible into the hands of the common people. Foreman says that mur- ders by friars were not uncommon :
"The mysterious deaths of General Solano (in August, i860), and of Zamora, the bishop-elect of Ccbu (in 1873), occurred so opportunely for Philippine monastic ambi- tion, that little doubt existed in the public mind as to who were the real criminals. When I first arrived in Manila, nearly twenty years ago, a fearful crime was still being commented on. Father Picrnaviaja, formerly parish priest of San Miguel de Mayumo, had recently committed a second murder. His first victim was a na- tive youth. His second a native woman cncicnte. The public voice there could not be raised very loudly against the priests, but the scandal was so great that the criminal friar was sent to another province — Cavite — where he still celebrated the holy sacrifice of the Eucharist. Nearly
TiiK Brr.i,K, SocricTiKS. 397
two decades afterward — in January, 1897 — this rascal met with a terrible death at the hands of the rebels. He was in captivity, and having' been appointed 'bishop' in a rebel diocese, to save his life he accepted the mock dignity ; but imfortunately for himself he betrayed the confidence of his captors, and collected information con- cerning their movements, ]ilans, and strongholds, for re- mittance to his community. In expiation of his treason he was bound to a post under the tropical sun and left there to die. See how the public in Spain are gulled ! In a Malaga newspaper this individual was referred to as 'a venerable figure worthy of being placed high up on an altar, before which all Spaniards should prostrate themselves and adore him. As a rcligiciix he was a most worthy minister of the Lord ; as a patriot he was a hero.' "
The companion of Lallave was first imprisoned, and then banished from the Islands. But the society "felt that its first effort, attended as it had been with the death of one agent and banishment of another, bound it to the Philippines, and made it incumbent upon its officers to avail themselves of the first opening to enter the Islaiuls and carry forward the work to which Lallave gave "the last full measure of devotion !"
Nothing further was attempted by this society mitil 1898, when Mr. Randle arrived with translations of the first three Gospels and Acts in Tagalog, St. Luke in Bicol, and St. Luke and the Acts in Ilokano, all of which trans- lations had been done by our agent in vSpain. with the help of exiled Filipinos, — exiled chietiy through having in- curred the displeasure of the friars. Air. Randle was suc- ceeded by Air. Miller.
The first work of Mr. Miller was to translate the New Testament into Tagalog. It was found that the trans- lation which had been made in Spain was too faultv to send out in anything approaching permanent form, and such portions as had been put into this vernacular were
398 Tnii Philippines and the Far East.
all gone over as carefully as though it had been new work. The undertaking was one calling for really immense toil. Mr. Miller did not know the Tagalog. His familiarity with Spanish had to be largely acquired after he came to Manila. No Filipinos could be found whose English was sufficiently perfected to enable them to translate directly from English into the vernacular. The Spanish text was necessarily made the basis for general work, and native translators under vigilant supervision put the Spanish Testament into idiomatic Tagalog. Then the work was carefully copied, and submitted to good judges of both tongues. Then, after their corrections had been made, the final test was made. That consisted in having the trans- lator or some other person familiar with Tagalog read the vernacular translation back into Spanish, while the agent and his assistants noted carefully every shade of meaning expressed to see that the full sweep of the original thought was secured. It was a toilsome method, and one which was sure to leave more or less of inaccuracy in the finer shades of thought ; but it was the only method that could be employed at that time, and was therefore used, in de- fault of more perfect but wholly unattainable methods. It required practically two years to complete this task, and two years of as severe labors as any man should attempt to perform in this climate. The work was completed in February, 1901. but a revision was found to be imperative to correct certain grave defects. This was completed dur- ing 1902, and the "Bagon Tipan/' or New Testament in Tagalog. was ready for the mission for which it had been prepared.
In 1901 this agency reported 36,859 Gospels and Acts printed in Tagalog, and 9,000 Pangasinan Gospels, Of these books, 21,000 were printed for the American P)ible Society, which, in turn, printed 6,000 Ilokano Gospels
The Bii'.i.i': Sociktiks. 399
for them. The circulation of Scriptures for 1901 was 26,825 Gospel portions in IMiilippine vernaculars, 3.671 Spanish Testaments and portions ; 3,528 Chinese Testa- ments; English. 132; all other languages, 102; total. 34,258 copies of the Word of God or of some portion thereof. Besides the work of three English colporteurs, the society employed two Bible women, who did incalcti- lable good in reading the Scrij^tures to women from hotise to house, and in selling such copies as were asked for in their visits. This work went to the verv citadel of Rome — the blind allegiance of the women to all the superstitions and errors by which they have suffered so much.
Besides the totals given above during 1901, this society used a novel kind of agency for wide distribution — polit- ical prisoners — to whom 1.380 Scripture portions were given at the time of their discharge. The Gospels were thus carried to many remote places in the more distant provinces, and doubtless penetrated to many a village where no regular agent or colporteur of the society will ever be able to go. One of the workers records this inci- dent of her work among the people :
"At one house I had a splendid gathering of nine or ten women sitting on the floor all around me, waiting to listen to whatever I had to say. I read and sang to them, and tried to talk to them about Jesus, the only Way of salvation, looking up the various texts in Tagalog as best I could. . . . .\t a little shop there was quite a gathering of men and women and children. On hear- ing the hymn, 'The Light of the world is Jesus,' one man undertook to explain it to his neighbors : making a straight motion upwards with his arm, he said, 'The hymn says you can go straight away to Jesus, but the friars say no — round by this.' making a circle around his back, and looking knowingly at his companions."
The report for 1902 shows a total circulation of 64,477
400 Thk Philippines and thk Far East.
copies, or an increase of 28,839 over the circulation of 1901. Many of these copies are sold to Roman Catholics who are curious to see the entire Scriptures, of which they have only been able to hear detached bits of history and teaching. Rev. H. F. Miller resigned the agency on account of illness in his family, and, though serving as a rector of a parish in Australia, is carrying forward the translation of the Old Testament into Tagalog, with the help of the man who aided most effectively in the trans- lation of the New Testament. It is hoped that this society will be able to bring out the entire Bible in Tagalog within a year. There will be a large sale for it now, and that demand will increase rapidly, as the new Aglipay move- ment has openly indorsed the study of the Scriptures. The new agent of the British and Foreign Bible Society is Mr. Percy Graham. The same staff of colporteurs re- mains, but the services of the Bible women have been dis- continued.
The American Bible Society has also undertaken trans- lation work. Its first heavy work was to put the New Testament into the most virile of all the languages of Northern Luzon — the Ilokano — using as a basis the trans- lations of St. Luke and Acts which had been prepared in Spain. This language is spoken by more than a million of the most alert and progressive people to be found north of the Tagalog limits in Bulacan. Though their home is in the narrow coastal plain at the foot of the Cordil- leras north of Pangasinan, they have overflowed into all the surrounding provinces, and the lingua franca of fertile provinces bearing dense populations is the Ilokano. This people are the natural leaders of all that portion of the island of Luzon, and it is a matter for much gratitude that the American Bible Society was guided early in its history in the Islands to see that fact, and to undertake to put the
Till'; Tlir.i.i-; Societies. 401
words of Christ into its conquering forms of speech. Mr. Goodrich spent several months in Japan during' 1902-3, with the help of Sr. Isabelo de los Reyes, putting the final touches to this important work. The work is completed, and the sales of the entire New Testament in this tongue have already been large.
Simultaneously work was carried forward on the trans- kition of the Gospels into Pampanga. This is a language or dialect spoken by more than three hundred thousand people immediately north of the Tagalog province of Bulacan in Luzon. The people are among the most intel- ligent and trustworthy of the Filipino people. The entire New Testament is now in manuscript, awaiting final re- vision. The manifold tluties of the agent, and the diffi- culties of securing and retaining efficient assistants for the book-keeping, the correspondence, and management of shipping details, makes translation, or other work de- manding careful and consecutive thinking, move very slowly. Added to this is the fact that no vernacular in the Philippines has ever been taught in the schools. Very few of the best-trained Filipinos have ever made a gram- matical study of their own language. While they have spoken it from their infancy, and have no difficulty what- ever in expressing their own thoughts in its terms, it is not easy for them to determine what precise verbal forms will best convey the thoughts and words of Scripture. The decisions necessary to be made in the abstract as to the right case, the proper mood, the correct tense, and the precise content of terms never used for conveying relig- ious ideas until the present, are such as puzzle and delay the best vernacular assistant that can be secured. It is probable that revision of all translations made at present will need to be made when men who know English thor- oughly, and who also know their own vernaculars in a 26
402 The Philippines and the Far East.
scientific way, have been raised up through the present pubUc schools, and in the private pursuit of Unguistic research certain to follow the introduction of a new spirit of inquiry.
The American Bible Society has also undertaken to translate, or aid others in translating, into two dialects of the \'isayan, Iloilo, and Cebuyan. These versions get on slowly, but will be ready some time during 1904.
In the distribution of its printed product the American Society has been handicapped by that fact that it is not the policy of the secretaries to send colporteurs from the United vStates, and the agent in Manila has been compelled to secure his help on the field. It was not possible at first to secure Filipinos who could do the work.. He has had some noble men ; but the best of them were not perma- nently given to the work, and their very brevity of service crippled them for the most effective work. Only one man has been brought from America for the general work of the Society, in addition to Mr. Goodrich — Mr. Paul Barn- hart. He served two years, and was compelled to return to the States in 1903 after a dangerous fever. Despite these hindrances the work of circulation has gone steadily on, increasing with each month.
The trials of American or European colporteurs in their travels into interior provinces are as hard as would be experienced in Africa or the heat of China. There are no roads. The food of the Filipinos is such as will not long satisfy an American or English stomach, with its everlasting rice and fish, its garlic and interminable gravies seasoned so as to suit the native tastes, but impossible to Americans. Night after night they must sleep on the split bamboo floors of native houses, with noises of all uncanny sorts to interrupt the rest so sorely needed after et day of tramping and talking in a strange tongue. The
I
TlIIv BlIiLE SOCIKTIES. 403
remuneration is barely sufficient to meet living expenses, if one lives on food that nourishes his powers for the best service, and the supply of young men willing- to do the kind of work demanded of a colporteur, and at the same time having a real spiritual interest in the welfare of the people, is not always abundant, and is always hard to re- tain. The British and Foreign Society has the advantage of having English colporteurs on long-time agreements. These men are secured and appointed from among hosts of earnest Christian men in home Churches. This is the better plan. It relieves the agent on the field of a wear- ing responsibility, and insures the exertion of the proper kind of personal influence by the field men.
Several sad things have occurred. Mr. Carroll R. Bear contracted cholera while in the service of the society, and died of that disease on the 15th of July, 1902. Mr. Bear was a Christian soldier lad, and was one of the best men the society has had in its employ. Mr. Barnhart was with him when the illness came on, and remained with him until the end, like a good soldier of his Lord.
"Mr. W. T. Gugin began work for the society in June (1902), taking the im])ortant field resigned by Mr. Kelso. IMr. Gugin makes warm friends, and succeeds in convincing people of the truth of the Gospel he is dis- tributing. In one village \n Tarlac province he so faith- fully presented the truth that the principal men in the town insisted upon his remaining and becoming their pastor ; instead, he assisted them in organizing a con- gregation, and they have since built a church and have regular services. In October, Mr. Gugin took up the new field of Leyte, Samar, and adjacent islands, where he has had his usual success. At the instigation of the priest he was mobbed in a barrio of Tacloban shortly after his arrival, but escaped uninjured, and succeeded in winning the people with weapons of love, so that they have since begged his forgiveness. Unusual courtesies
404 The Philippines and the Far East.
have been extended to Mr. Guijin by the officers of the army and civiHan authorities wherever he has gone."
Mr. Gugin met his death at the hands of unknown enemies while selhng the Scriptures in the island of Leyte early in 1903. No trace of his murderers can be found.
Mr. J. G. Milloy is a most effective salesman. He has learned the Tagalog, and speaks it fluently. He goes into the midst of crowded fiestas and into the throngs which gather at the doors of cockpits, and sells thousands of copies of the Scripture portions with which he is sup- plied. The circulation of Scriptures during the years 1901-2 were as follows: In 1900, 10,873 copies of Bibles, Testaments, and portions; in 1901. 52,793;, and in 1902, 91,260, — making a total of 154,926 volumes in the three years. The statistics for 1903 are not yet complete, as at the time of writing it lacks some weeks of the end of the year; but Mr. Goodrich assures me that the circulation of the present year (1903) will not fall under 125,000 copies. The factors which have conspired to increase the sales this year are, first, the possession for the first time of the New Testament in Ilokano ; and, second, the strange fact that a Catholic Church has gone into the business of buying and selling Bibles. Through the influence of Mr. A. W. Prautch, more than that of any other person. Archbishop Aglipay, of the Independent Filipino Catholic Church, has taken an open stand in favor of the reading of the Scrip- tures. In a letter on file in the office of Mr. Goodrich, Aglipay says :
"Es mi opinion que de la lectura de la Biblia resul- talla illustracion del individuo y el progresso de la ria- cion."
"It is my opinion that the reading of the Bible will result in the edification of the individual and the progress of the nation."
TiiK BiBLF, Societies. 405
Opposition has been hot and persistent. An,c^ry priests snatehins;- Bibles from the hands of the people, and burn- ing' them before their eyes, have been found in many places. A voung woman converted in one of the many services in Manila received a Testament as a g'\it from the missionary who married lier. Within a week the priest who had formerly ministered to the family had secured the Bible and destroyed it. A few weeks ago a woman by the name of Maria Apolonario had serious trouble over a copy of the Scriptures sold her from the American depos- itory in Manila. Her husband lay dying' of cholera. The local priest, a Filipino named Primitive Baltasar, came to the home to confess the dying man and administer the sacrament of extreme unction. He was informed that they did not need his services, as they prayed to Christ Himself for what they desired. He espied a copy of the Tagalog New Testainent near the head of the dying man, and, seiz- ing it, began to tear out the leaves, saying to the woman that her husband had taken the cholera as a Divine pun- ishment for the awful crime of reading a book full of all mischief and the power of the evil one. He told her, with loud and threatening tones, that he would surely lose his soul, that she and the children would follow him into hell, and that, to prevent her spreading the terrible influence any farther in the community, he would have her and her family removed to another town in a distant province. After her husband was buried, this poor fish- woman had the Rev. Primitivo Baltasar arrested for his offense. In retaliation he had her put in jail ten days for violating sanitary laws. He pleaded not guilty, but on the preliminary hearing he was found guilty, and bound over to the Court of First Instance under bonds of $1,000. It is the first case in the Philippines in which we have really caught a priest redhanded in the act of de-
4o6 The Philippines and the Far East.
stroying a Bible, and have made the law as effective in his case as though he were not a padre. It has caused im- mense delight among the little band of Protestants in the city of Orion, Bataan, where it occurred, and the news of it has gone far and wide among our native Christians. Formerly the person of a priest was immune to all pro- cesses of the civil law. It comes as a great shock to these men who have ruled like despots in every community to find that under the American flag that kind of thing has its limits, and that they must answer before the judges of our courts for offenses committed precisely as any one else who has broken the law.
The following quotations from the travel diaries of some of the colporteurs will show what the difficulties and rewards of their work are :
"From Dagupan to Sto. Tomas is a distance of thirty miles, and we were obliged to do it on foot by the side of an ox-cart which conveyed our books. It was a long and hard day's march. We left Dagupan at half-past seven in the morning, and reached our destination just as taps sounded at nine o'clock. We reported to the ser- geant in charge, had our books unloaded and cared for, and were shown places to lie down. A little supper would have tasted good about that time, for all we had had to eat on that long tramp was a small slice of bread and some bananas ; but there was no help for it, and we retired to our plank bed to dream of the supper we should have had.
"In the morning we had an interview with the presi- dent about our work ; at first he hesitated because the books were not Catholic. We explained that they were Christian. He read passages; his counselors read, and at last bought eagerly."
Mr. Leon C. Hills, of the Presbyterian Mission, writes from Iloilo :
"The distribution of the Bible is meaning much to
Tiiii Bible Societies. 407
the Msayan people. One not interested would scarce be- lieve, should he hear, the extent of distribution the liible has had in these parts. The sale of Bibles in Spanish and of portions in X'isayan has been confined quite largely to the common people. This is well, for they constitute the most fertile soil for efifective propaganda. The idea of having a religion in which they can read and think for themselves is marvelous to their eyes. And they are capable of thinking sj^ritual thoughts, such as are often hidden to the wise and prudent."
"In regard to the distribution of the precious Bible in the territory of Northern Luzon, it may safely be stated that such work is the very preparing of the way for ef- fectual work by the gospel preacher. People who have any knowledge of God at all wish to know all that is to be known of Him, and when they know that God has revealed His Word and will in such a form as that it may indeed be read and studied, may be grasped by all through the medium of language or dialect, it must mean that there will grow a hungering and thirsting for it. They have now tasted of the good Word of God, and they find it is the Word of life."
Mr. Goodrich says in his report for 1902:
"Some months ago we received a letter from an aged presidente in the interior asking for a New Testament. We sent him two Spanish-English in parallel columns. In reply he writes the following :
" T have received with greatest satisfaction your let- ter and the two copies of the New Testament, which I have read with great care, and in which I have at last found the experience of a good Christian.'
" 'It is true that the religion taught by the Roman Catholic Church is the only one known in the Philippines during the period of three centuries, during which time the Filipinos have had the misfortune of living with the friars, who have taught nothing else than the doctrines made by them, and other religious books than their own were absolutely prohibited. I do not desire to attack the authors of these doctrines, for, in my humble opinion,
4o8
The; Philippines and the Far East.
they did not make them to force them upon the people, but for those who wished to receive them.
" 'But as the weather changes, so has changed the fate of the FiHpinos. Perhaps God has so ordained, and we have now the opportunity to read and learn the truth concerning the soul, especially the New Testament which has been lying in the dark alDvss of the ignorance of the people because the Spanish government intrusted to the friars the religious education of the inhabitants of these Islands, and the friars had refused to publish the truth for fear the Filipinos would discover their false doctrines and erroneous beliefs, declaring that they represented the apostles of Jesus Christ.
" 'For the advancement of Christianity, please tell us how we are to aid you financially in the circulation of the Word of God.' "
This translation and distribution of the Word of God carried on by these two societies makes mission work pos- sible. Without the Scriptures we would be powerless. Wherever our men go they find the ground already broken by these plowshares of truth.
THE BENGUET ROAD.
CHAPTKR XXTIT. Missionary Bkc.inninos.
The Holy Sjiirit never throws a land open to evan- gelistic effort until the burden of its salvation has been placed upon the hearts of His children. One of the most convincing proofs that anv one can have of the intention of the Almighty Lover of souls to open a closed land is the presence of this holy burden upon the hearts of those whose position and consecration make them likely instru- ments in effecting" that entrance when the hour of God shall strike.
Man}- hearts were burdened for the salvation of the people in the Philippine Islands long before the barred doors which shut out all evangelical truth were blown to shivers by the iron hail of Dewey's conquering fleet. Chief among those who felt this burden, and wdio took active steps to make possible the entrance in God's good time, was Dr. James Mills Thoburn, Missionary Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Southern Asia. His field embraced India, Burmah, "the Malay Peninsula and all adjacent islands inhabited by the Malay race." Though this precise definition of that field was not inserted in the Discipline of the Church until 1896, it was inserted for the reason that this had been his own mental definition of it from the beginning. In the early eighties the city of Singapore and its salvation was placed upon his mind and heart in a way that he could neither explain nor shake oft'. It seemed to him the key to all the vast island world
409
4IO The Philippinks and the Far East.
of the East Pacific. He was buried in work in Calcutta. It seemed impracticable to undertake the founding of a Church at go remote a place. But the impression deep- ened into a conviction of duty, and he mentally prepared to be obedient to what had come to be clearly "a heavenly vision." When Bishop Hurst arrived in India in 1884 to hold the Conferences, the first thing he said to Dr. Thoburn was, "Have you had any thought of occupying Singapore?" Coming as it did after these spiritual and mental struggles, this question was accepted by Dr. Tho- burn as the final word of the Lord in the case. At the Conference that followed the name of Rev. W. F. Oldham was "read out" for Singapore. As soon as possible after Conference, arrangements were made to go to that far- away city. Friends made up a fund sufficient to pay the way of Dr. Thoburn and wife and the Oldhams to Singa- pore, and they trusted the Lord to enable such as needed to do so to return. They were warmly welcomed by peo- ple of God who had in a strange way been led to expect such help, and within a few weeks had seen the salvation of at least three scores of souls — chiefly among the English and Eurasian population — the purchase of a desirable lot for a church, and the installation of a pastor where there had been neither church nor congregation until their ar- rival. Thus was occupied and fortified the city which was to prove the starting-point for the on-march of the Church to the heart of the Philippines.
It is instructive to note the dates of these respective steps in the Divine approaches to the spiritual conquest of the Malay Archipelago. It was in 1883 that the burden first began to rest upon Dr. Thoburn. It was in 1884 that Bishop Hurst and Rev. W. F. Oldham were led of the self- same Spirit to feel its weight. It was early in 1885 that the first parallel was advanced against the enemy's po-
Missionary Beginnings. 411
sition, in the occnjiation of Sing'apore. It was in 1887 that Senor Lallave first felt impelled to return to the islands where he had served as a Catholic friar, and give the peo- ple the pure Word of God, and to that end translated and had printed hy the British and Foreign Bible Society por- tions of that Word in one of the languages of the popula- tion. It was in 1889 that Senors Lallave and Castells entered Manila as the accredited agents of that pioneering society, and the ex-monk gave up his life as a sacrifice to the bigotry of the Spanish friars. It was then a long wait until 1898 when the causes which had been so long in operation ])roduced the outbreak which ultimately over- threw Spain both in Cuba and the Philippines. But a day with the Lord is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. He waits, but He forgets not. In His own good time, and through the employment of agencies which men would not think of using, he opens "the two-leaved gates" which shut His children away from their largest liberty.
Bishop Thoburn was in London in May, 1898, on his way to the United States. He was awakened on the morn- ing of May 2d by a newsboy crying the paper under the window of his hotel. Above the general indistinctness of the monotonous call rose the words, "Manila Bay!" The bishop rose, purchased a paper, and read the wonder- ful Jericho-like victory of Commodore Dewey in Manila Bay. His spirit was strangely stirred. He saw the ful- fillment of the hopes and prayers of years. God had spoken. The Philippines were open to the gospel. He had wondered whether it would be Japan or Russia or England, or perhaps Germany, in search of new Asiatic leverage, that would drive the Spaniard from the posses- sions which he had wasted and robbed, and throw them open to the gospel and to the vitalizing currents of the
412
The Philippines and the Far East.
modern world. America as such an agent had never been dreamed of as a possibiHty. But here it was before his eyes. The flag of his own land had been raised over Manila Bay, and it had been raised as an incident of a war of humanity and compassion. It would stay. It would guarantee liberty and the possession of the gospel
^ — .. — . ^. ^^, by the millions who
. were groping in the ;• mists of Romanism. He immediately wrote and sent to the Christian Advocate an ordered account of llie steps which had led to this interven- tion, foretold perma- .; nent American occu- ■i pation, and exhorted i the Churches of Prot- ' estantism to enter in the name of the Lord and give the people ORDINARY COASTING BOAT. of thc Philippines a
(Carries fish, chickens, pigs, and passengers, pure gOSpel. However Taken near Bataan Province, Orani.) others might have
been stunned by the news from Manila that May morning, it came as a long-expected message to this watcher. With as clear a vision as though the events of the past five years had unrolled before his eyes, he foretold what would happen, and what should be the policy of both State and Church in the premises. The article made a profound im- pression upon some readers of the Advocate. Others made light of it, and said it was visionary. But this world has
]\IISSI()^■.\K^■ Bkcinnings.
413
always needed the man who could see visions, and the race will be poor indeed when those to whom the definite prom- ise of seeing visions was made let their spiritual eyesij^ht become clouded. It was visionary in a high and holy sense. It was the vision of the man who waits at the posts of God's doors, and hears when he calls, "Whom shall we
send, and who will go , — .,^^- — ,_
for us?" From Paul ' '" at Troas to Thoburn in IvOndon may seem a far cry to some, but who will say that it was not by the same Spirit that both were led to see the vision of needed help in na- tions yet vmblesscd with the pure Word of redemption?
Bishop Thoburn, after a few days, re- turned to the United States, and, with oth- ers like-minded, did all in his power to stir the Church to a sense of her duty to give the gospel to the Filipino people. Two other persons now come into view in the commitment of large sections of the Protestant community in the United States to a missionar)- beginning in the Philippines. These are, in the order of time. Dr. Arthur J. Brown, Foreign Secretary of the Presbyterian Missionary So- ciety, and Dr. George F. Pentecost. Dr. Brown stirred up the society of which he was secretary to take action.
OX-CARTS IN THK I.A\ , iWAlllNc, SENGERS FOR THE SHORE.
414 The Philippines and the Far East.
On the 6th of June, 1898, that society took preliminary steps toward " the opening of mission work in the Phil- ippine Islands." On the 20th of June the Executive Council, to which the matter had been referred, reported that
"The Christian people of America should immediately and prayerfully consider the duty of entering the door which God in His providence is thus opening. This ap- pears to be, so far as we can judge, the feeling of the Presbyterian Church. It is significant that already let- ters have come to the Board from persons in five different States urging the importance of taking up this work, and making offers of co-operation in men and money. . . . However, it is only fair to presume that this senti- ment is not peculiar to Presbyterians. Indeed, there are rumors that the Foreign Ivlissions Boards of other Churches are disposed to consider the relation of their Boards to these opening fields. We feel that it would be quite unfortunate if several Boards should enter any one of these fields at the same time, thus unnecessarily dupli- cating expenses, and perhaps introducing elements of rivalry. . . . We believe that the new situation thus providentially forced upon us affords us excellent op- portunity not only for beginning this work, but for be- ginning it right from the view-point of Christian fel- lowship and the economical use of men and money. To this end we recommend that the Executive Council be directed to hold an early conference with the represen- tatives of the American Board, the Baptist Missionary Union, the Missionary Society of the Methodist Episco- pal Church, the Board of Foreign and Domestic Mis- sions of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and the Board of Foreign Missions of the Reformed Church in America, with a view to a frank and mutual understanding as to the responsibilities of American Christians for the people of Cuba, Porto Rico, and the Philippine Islands, and an agreement as to the most effective distribution of the work among the several Boards, if it shall be found ex- pedient and practicable to undertake it."
Missionary Beginnings. 415
On July 13th this Conference was held. As a result, a perfectly amicable understanding; was arrived at with regard to all the new possessions. In July, Dr. George F. Pentecost spoke before a Bible Conference at Winona Lake, Indiana, on the situation created for the nation and for Protestantism in the Philippines, and with great power urged the occupation of the Philippines by forces of evan- gelical Christianity. God spoke that day by the mouth of His servant.
A greater degree of co-operation was never seen in be- ginning a work of national evangelism than in the plans for the occupation of the Philippines. The Spirit removed every obstacle to the best and most effective prosecution of that work for which He had prepared the way.
Chaplain George C. Stull, of the First Montana X'olun- teers, a member of the Montana Conference, Methodist Episcopal Church, held the first Protestant service on shore in the Philippines. Here is the entry he made in his journal :
"Sunday, August 28, 1898. — What a wonderful day this has been ! Arose early from my bed in the MortuarV Chapel and looked about for a place to hold services. The most acceptable place was one of the old Spanish dun- geons facing the bay. Dark and gloomy. But the sun was shining, and the men came, and the natives sat about on the outside and near the door and barred windows. How we sang; how the place was transformed ; how the people wondered at our service ! My text was, 'The power of God.' How He showed Himself to us. Eight responded to the invitation at the close of the service to identify themselves with God's people: not to start a Methodist Church, but to band together to honor God. This was the first distinctive Protestant religious service, so the people tell me ; for to hold any but the State service here- tofore meant death. That the power of God will use this dav to make a good Catholic better, anv weak American
4i6 The Phiuppines and the Far East.
stronger, any backslider ashamed, and the gloomy old dungeon the beginning- of wonderful things in these Islands, is my prayer."
Meantime the Spirit was also at w'ork in the Philip- pines raising up those who would come to the aid of the first workers, and by whose familiarity with local con- ditions, the native languages, and the needs of the multi- tudes, the planting of the new Churches was to be facili- tated. Three names emerge from the goodly number of these early instruments of the work of God in the work of opening the Philippines to the gospel. These are Arthur W. Prautch, Paulino Zamora, and Nicholas Za- mora. The first named is an American who labored for some twelve years in connection with the Bombay Con- ference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, but who came to Manila to carry on business and at the same tmie help found the work of the Church early in 1898, as it was possible for him to get passage from San Francisco. The second named is one of the thousands who had sufit'ered at the hands of the friars ; and the last is his son, a man now less than thirty years of age. Senor Paulino Za- mora had many ties to bind him to the Catholic Church. His uncle was a prominent Filipino priest. His brother was also a priest. His son Nicholas was as good as named for the priesthood when he should have completed his course in the College of Santo Tomas and secured the necessary training in theology. But one act of black injustice opened his eyes to the hollowness of Roman- istic pretensions of piety, and to the pitiless cruelty of her accredited ministers when their plans were interfered with by Filipinos.
The uncle of Sefior Zamora was one of many Filipino priests who firmly believed that friars were legally dis- qualified to hold parish curacies, and stood ready to cit?
i
Missionary Beginnings. 417
chapter and section of Church law to clinch their claim. But everywhere that the livings of the curate were re- munerative friars were in charge. They claimed that Filipino priests were incompetent, and that it was in- cumbent upon them thus to fill the positions of importance until a Filipino priesthood having the necessary qual- ifications of character and learning could be raised up. Meantime they did little but decry the possibility of mak- ing priests of the natives of the country, and made but feeble attempts to give to even the most promising that thorough preparation which could alone qualify them for the work. This party of opposition to the program of the friars waxed more and more strong and became more outspoken from year to year. Finally, in 1872, as is firmly believed by those informed, the friars stirred up an insurrection in which no one but their own tools and dummies performed any acts that would lay them open to the charge of being violaters of the law. These they protected by their powerful influence in official quarters. As soon as the first moves had been checked, and the so-called "insurrection" put down, they took oc- casion, however, to bring the leaders of this movement against friar curacies under suspicion as the instigators of the insurrection. By means of questionable evidence they proved some of them guilty of having fomented the uprising, and they were sentenced to death by the score !
Reference has already been made to this bloody chap- ter of friar history (Chapter VIII). Among the victims that were shot on the Luneta as guilty of treason was this relative. Paulino Zamora knew he was innocent. Forbidden all his life to allow his own judgment to de- cide any question upon which the Church had pronounced, or to criticise any action taken by her officials, he now saw 27
41 8 The Philippines and the; Far East.
that he must abandon all use of his reason if he accepted this deed of perfidy and blood as right in the sight of God. His disaffection led him to procure a copy of the Scriptures in Spanish. This he studied in secret, hiding it away from the notice of any one likely to bring its possession to the notice of the friars. In reading the words of Christ the scales fell from his eyes, and he saw that the system of the priesthood is a human invention. During the long years that followed he became a marked man — a Bible reader ! When the insurrection of 1896 broke out he was caught in the dragnet let down into Manila depths by orders of a government acting under the direction of the friars. He was banished to the island of Chafarina, in the Mediterranean, north of Africa. Nearly three hundred others, also under friar condemna- tion, accompanied him in the prison-ship, many of whom died from the rigors of their treatment on the way. He was there until the signing of the Treaty of Paris, and was one of the many prisoners for conscience' sake set at liberty under its provisions. He immediately went to Spain, where he sought out religious services of the Protestants, of whom he had until that time only read and heard. He found his spirit refreshed as he com- muned with them, and, loaded with Bibles and Testa- ments, and filled with a desire to carry to his countrymen the Gospel of Christ in its simplicity, he returned to his home in which, at last, it was safe to worship God ac- cording to the dictates of his own conscience.
In his absence his son had completed his course in the College of Santo Tomas, and had received his Mas- ter's degree. Already imbued with his father's ideas of true religion from long secret study of the Scriptures, he was ready to avow his faith in Christ as a personal Savior when his exiled father again ventured back wdiere
Missionary Bicginnings.
419
he had heard that the Stars and Stripes protected him. Soon they were both in attendance upon, and aiding in, services estabhshed for their countrymen. God owned their labors, and, after nearly five years, they are both standing firmly and boldly for the truth that Christ is the Savior of the individual, and that all who call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Many worked with them ; but these are fairly representative names to be remembered by those who would keep in mind the won- derful story of how God the Spirit prepared the human agents who were to open the doors of life to the Filipino people.
CHAPTER XXIV. The Methodist Episcopal Churcpi : Beginnings.
The Methodist Episcopal Church was the first to send a regularly accredited representative of its Mis- sionary Society to found its work in the Philippine Islands. That representative was Bishop James M. Thoburn, D. D., in episcopal charge of Southern Asia. His instructions came to him by cable from Bishop An- drews and Dr. Adna B. Leonard, secretary of the Mis- sionary Society of that Church, in February, 1899, while he was holding the annual session of the Malaysia Mis- sion Conference in the city of Singapore, to which he had been strangely led from Calcutta in 1885.
It was good news to the bishop. His heart had longed for such orders for more than a decade of investigation and prayer for open doors to the Filipino people. Now the doors were open. The orders had come. It was a period of storm and stress in the Philippines. On the 4th of February had occurred the outbreak of hostilities between the Filipinos and American troops, and rebel- lion was aflame on all hands. But it was with keen de- light that the bishop set out on this trip, which he well knew was to make history.
On March 2, 1899, he preached his first sermon in Manila. Mr. A. W. Prautch, to whom reference was made in the preceding chapter, secured the Filipino theater in Calle Echague, and about one hundred per- sons gathered to hear. It was a service held under diffi-
420
MirniODisT EpiscorAL Church. 421
culties. Firing was going on so near the city that the shots could be plainly heard. All the city was under strict military guard. Permission to hold the service had to be secured from the commanding officer of the city. Nearly all the Americans in INianila were soldiers, and ]iractically all of these were either on duty or in momen- tary expectation of a call to duty. Filipinos had not yet learned much of their privileges in the matter of attend- ance upon any form of non-Catholic services, and a serv- ice of a religious character held in a theater was not inviting to them. There were few of the customary aids to worship ; but the Spirit of prophecy rested upon the speaker. He traced the history of God's kingdom in Asia, showed the providential character of American oc- cupation, and spoke freely of the evident purpose of God to make possible to the entire Filipino people a career of peace and righteousness. With great power the bishop enforced the text, "He shall not fail nor be discouraged till he have set judgment in the earth ; and the isles shall wait for his law." In the afternoon of the same day he spoke in one of the military hospitals. During his stay of two weeks several steps were taken looking toward a permanent occupation of Manila and the Philippines. A Church was organized. Arrangements were made to carry forward regular preaching services in both English and Tagalog. Mr. Prautch received license as a local preacher, and the aid of Chaplain George C. Stull, of Montana, and other workers who had a mind to help, was enlisted in maintaining these services until the ar- rival of regularly-appointed workers from the United States.
A Soldiers' Institute was opened under the care of Mr. and Mrs. Prautch. It had a great field among the crowds of soldiers, mostlv volunteers, manv of whom
422 The Philippines and the Par East.
had never been away from their homes until they came to this distant part of the world. There was much home- sickness. Much of the drinking which disgraced us as a nation from Yokohama to Adelaide was due to the fact that the army furnished its men beer in the can- teen ; but no recreation- rooms w^ere furnished, and no facilities with which to while away the hours that hung so heav- ily. The military gov- ernment also permitted greedy brew^ers to import unlimited amounts o f American liquors and keep it on sale in the most public thoroughfares. The yearly license fee for a saloon in Manila was fixed at onlj^ $4. Among these soldier lads, only God will ever know how much of lasting good was done by those who kept open this place of refuge and hope. Captain Plum- mer, a business man in Manila, gave lavishly of his money and time to make this Soldiers' Home a success. His sudden death in the latter part of 1899 was the first serious blow that was suffered by the infant Church. The help rendered by Chaplain Stull and Mr. and Mrs. Prautch was invalu- able. Without their labors in preaching and in carrying
REV. NICHOLAS ZAMORA.
Methodist Episcopal Church.
423
forward the work, it would have been impossible to make the beginning.
Mr. Prautch soon opened regular services for Fili- pinos, speaking as best he could in the Spanish which he had picked up in Manila, or using the services of two interpreters. The attend- ance at these meetings in the Soldiers' Institute grew. Timid souls who had worshiped God in secret for many years, but who had never dared open!}- to own a Bible, came one by one into these services, and went awa}^ to invite others. By little and little it became clear to the native people that under the flag of the United States they were really at liberty to wor- ship as they chose. It was a boon so precious that they hardh* dared to accept it. The hated friars were still in the cit}-. It was long before they could
be made to see, and to this day the poor people in the prov- inces do not see, that the day of friar rule is over, and that no more will men be flogged at the church doors, or fed on pounded glass by hired assassins, or sent into foreign penal colonies, or shot by firing squads, for presuming to worship God after the dictates of their own hearts.
MK. I^AI'LINU ZAMOKA.
424 'The Philippines and the F*ar E!asT.
The disturbed conditions made it a marvel that rehgious services could be held at all. The most intense excite- ment prevailed on all hands. Battles were the order of tiie day. There was scarcely a family in Manila that did not have some personal interest at stake in the con- flict vyhich had been brought on by the headlong personal amhition of Aguinaldo and a few who were associated witli him. But in the storm of war the infant Church was being securely rooted in Philippine soil.
Among those who came to worship was Senor Paulino Zamora and his son Sehor Nicholas Zamora. More than ony others who came at that time, these men were famil- iar with the Scriptures and with the tenets of Protestants generally. The elder had suffered sorely for his faith, and was full of zeal for the salvation of his own people. The younger was warm in his attachment to the new faith, but had not yet rendered any service to the cause. Mr. Prautch was much troubled to find interpreters and speakers for his meetings. Only those who have stood before audiences speaking other tongues can appreciate how helpless a man is who has a message, but has no power to utter it, and is unable to find those who can put his thoughts into verbal forms familiar to those to whom he would address himself. In one of his times of quandary he pressed the elder Zamora to speak. He declined, saying that it was not possible for him to be a public speaker, as he had neither the gift nor the prepara- tion for such a work. Mr. Prautch then pressed Senor Nicholas to tell the people what God had done for him. and how he had opened his eyes, and immediately the spokesman needed for the hour stood forth ! Brother Zamora arose, and began to speak to the people in their own tongue in which they were born. After the first sentences he spoke freely, and as he warmed to his story
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Mkthodist Episcopal Church. 427
he spoke with ease and power. For absolutely the first lime in the history of the Filipino race they heard from one of their own number the Word of God as it was wrillen. From that time this new Filipino preacher was kept to his newly-discovered work. Mr. Prautch opened services in other places as opportunity offered, and kept him at work telling the good news to his country- men. His father aided in all ways in his power, and crowds filled any building in which Nicholas was an- nounced to speak. Meantime he was coming into deeper spiritual experiences, led and taught of God as from day to day he pored over the Word, and studied the Spanish books which his father had brought from Spain, and such others as could be secured from Spanish countries. During all of 1899 this work went on, and until March of 1900, before there was any new direction given to it. Then occurred the second visit of Bishop Tho- burn, this time having as a traveling companion Dr. Frank W. Warne, of Calcutta, who was elected Mis- sionary Bishop in May of the same year. Bishop Tho- burn was in very frail health. His heavy burdens of labor, the long and serious illness of his wife, coming immediately after the death of his only son. were too much for his strength to bear. But his mind was as clear as ever. He immediately saw in Nicholas a man whom God had raised up and thrust out into this field for special service. After examining him and listening to his preaching, he resolved to ordain Nicholas Zamora to the Christian ministry. According to the law of the Methodist Episcopal Church, no man can be ordained to the ministry until he has been elected to meiubership in an Annual Conference on trial, and then, on a separate and specific motion, elected by his brethren to receive ordination. It was necessary, therefore, that Brother
428 The Philippines and the Far East.
Zamora be received into an Annual Conference and so elected. But the Conference within the bounds of which the Philippines would be embraced had already adjourned. No other Conference in Asia was then in session. By reference to his schedule of Conferences in the United States he saw that the South Kansas Conference was then in session in Chanute, Kansas, under the presidency of Bishop Vincent. He sent a cablegram to Bishop Vin- cent through Dr. Leonard, secretary of the Missionary Society, asking that Nicholas Zamora be received into the South Kansas Conference, elected to deacon's orders "under the Missionary Rule," and transferred to the Malaysia Conference for ordination, and that an immedi- ate reply be sent to him at Manila when such action harl been taken. It was a bold move. Probably no Annual Conference had ever been asked to receive a man on trial who had not been recoiumended in due form by the regu- lar authorities, and examined by its ov^^n committees. But the South Kansas Conference rose to the occasion. Dr. Henry J. Coker moved that the request of Bishop Thoburn be granted, and said that for him no recom- mendation by a Conference Committee could have greater weight than this silent request which came throbbing under the seas from Bishop James M. Thoburn, away on the firing-line of the Church in the Far East. The mo- tion was put by Bishop Vincent, and carried with great enthusiasm. The South Kansas brethren are thus linked with the work in the Philippines in a peculiarly sacred way. It was" by their franchises that our first Filipino minister was permitted to receive ordination.
As soon as the cable had come from Dr. Leonard saying that all things had been done as he had requested, the bishop proceeded to ordain Brother Nicholas Zamora as deacon in the Methodist Episcopal Church. It was
Methodist Episcopal Church. 429
a solemn occasion, and all care was taken to make it full of holy meaning to this Philippine Timothy. The ordi- nation service was a quiet one. The kingdom of God Cometh not with observation. Spiritual forces are seldom attended with pomp and circumstance. The voice of God was not in the wdiirlwind nor in the earthquake, but in the still small voice that followed both. Results have shown that the work of that day was sealed with the blessing of that Spirit who said to the Church in Antioch, "Separate unto me Barnabas and Saul for the work where- unto I have called them." Nicholas has been preaching practically every day from the hour of his ordination, and he has seen many others of his own countrymen de- veloped who have for more than three years now borne with him, and with the Americans who have been se'it, the burden of telling the people what Christ can do for all who call upon him.
During the latter part of 1900 four ladies came to the rhilijipines at the instance of the Woman's Foreign Mis- sionary Society to carry forward school w'ork and work for the soldiers. These were Miss Julia E. Wisner. for- merly of the Girls' School, Rangoon, Burmah ; Miss Margaret Cody, a trained kindergartner ; Mrs. Annie Norton, M. D., a medical missionary; and Mrs. Moots, who came to nurse her son who lay ill in a hospital in Manila. Mrs. Moots had arranged with the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society authorities to undertake such work as she found possible among the soldiers after her arrival, and after the death of her son she was regu- larly maintained by that society while she was in the Philippines. Miss Wisner and Miss Cody were sent out to establish a boarding-school for Filipino girls. From glowing reports sent to the United States as to the eager- ness of the Filipino people to study English it was made
430
The Philippines and the Far East.
to appear that such a school would be filled witli pupils from the day it opened its doors. The ladies lost no time in providing workers and sending them on. Two things militated against their success : First, sufficient time had not elapsed to give the Filipino people confi- dence that Protestant schools were fit places to send their daughters. They had always heard Protestants reviled
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METHODIST CHAPEL ATLAG, MALOLOS.
as "dogs," or "the spawn of hell," and had most mistaken ideas of our character and mission. Second, the govern- ment opened up its educational program at the time when these ladies had opened their school, and free education in all the branches which they would pursue in the board- ing-school could be had at the day-school, and the pupils be with their parents. The latter fact would have been sufficient to defeat the project. In any case it was found impracticable at that time to carry forward the kind of
]\lKTnonisi" Ki'iscoi'Ai. CiuRcri.
431
work for which thcv had come, and later in the year of 1900 it was discontinncd, and Miss Wisner and Miss Cody sent to schools in India and Singapore, respectively. Mrs. Moots carried on her work with great zeal and success until the last of the volunteer regiments liad been returned to the States, and then her health demanded a change, and she returned early in 1902.
REV. FELIPE MARQUEZ AND SONS.
Mrs. Annie Norton found so little response to her efforts as a medical missionary that it was deemed wisest to use her medical skill in lands where such aid is needed, not only for its own sake, but as a means of opening doors of opportunity for the entrance of the truth.
Our chief opportunity was evangelistic. The people wanted the gospel. They were ready to hear it by the thousand. We did not need medical missions to open the doors. Therefore it was deemed wisest to permit
432 The Philippines and the Far East.
Mrs. Norton to- use her medical knowledge in a field where there was more demand for it than in the Philip- pines, while women should be sent to the Philippines to enter vernacular work, learn the languages, and begin the education and training of women and girls for the part they must play in the salvation of their people. J\Irs. Norton sailed for India late in 1902.
In his report to the General Conference of 1900 Bishop Thoburn says :
"But our most noted advance [during the quadren- nium then closed] has been in the new American posses- sions in the Far East. By the action of the last Gen- eral Conference these rich and beautiful Islands had been included in the Malaysia Conference, and accordingly, as soon as they had been formally ceded to the United States, Bishop Andrews and Dr. Leonard, acting in be- half of the Missionary Society, cabled to me a request to proceed to Manila and carefully examine the situation. For more than a dozen years God had been turning my thoughts in that direction, and it was with a thankful heart that I set out upon that voyage. My stay in Ma- nila was brief ; but I secured a theater and began preach- ing, and before leaving made arrangements for perma- nent religious services. I also took steps to open a place both for religious meetings and for public resort for our soldiers. During the vear this provisional arrangement, although attended with many difficulties, received God's blessing, and when I returned two months ago, I found not only a good work among the soldiers, but over eighty Filipino probationers in our Church, with four or five well-attended preaching-places among the natives of the city and suburbs. Owing to ill-health I had brought Dr. F. W. Warne with me from^ Calcutta, not only to do the preaching, but to take my place in everything ex- cept my purely official duties. God blessed this good brother's labors, a revival began, and. although a dele- gate to the General Conference, he cheerfully remained behind to carrv on the work for a few weeks, while I
IMrtiiodist Ei'iscoPAL Church. 433
proceeded on my way. A recent letter from Brother Warne states wc have now an American Church in Ma- nila with fifty members, a Filipino Church with two hun- dred members, and weekly services attended by about six hundred Filipino adherents. Four ladies rei)resent the Woman's Foreii^n Missionary Society, and active work has been commenced among- the Filipino women. \\'e have also a small but hopeful band of Chinese Christians, and in the earl}- future liope to have a vigorous Chinese work among- the large Chinese populations of Manila. A few hours before leaving Manila I had the pleasure of ordaining the first Protestant Filipino preacher ever ad- mitted to the Christian ministry. In order to provide for this extraordinary emergency I cabled to P.ishop \'in- cent, through Dr. Leonard, to have the brother admitted on trial by the South Kansas Conference, elected to dea- con's orders under the Alissionary Rule, and transferred to the Malaysia Mission Conference. A prompt response enabled me to place an intelligent pastor over the Filipino converts, and thereby greatly strengthen the brave com- pany of those who had come out from the house of priestly bondage. In that hour of need I felt devoutly thankful that I served a Church which had a t^exible cconomv."
28 A NTPA HOUSE,
CHAPTER XXV. The; Methodist Episcopal Church. — Continued.
It was more than a year after Bishop Thoburn founded the mission and set its different agencies to work before the arrival of a regular missionary. The first man appointed was Rev. Thomas H. Martin, who arrived in Manila March 26, 1900. He was followed on the 9th of May by the Rev. Jesse L. McLaughlin and wife, and in November, Rev. W. G. Fritz came to join these first arrivals.
The work in the Philippines was made a Presiding Elder's District of the Malaysia Conference, and Mr. McLaughlin was made presiding elder, with the addi- tional burden of caring for the work in Manila, both Filipino and American.
In July, Bishop Warne reached the Philippines on his way back to his field in India and Malaysia. He held the first District Conference in August. During the session of this body, no one matter was more plain to the minds of all concerned than the need of experienced leadership in the pastorate of the American Church and in the work of the mission in general. It was felt by the men who came at first that their lack of years and missionary experience was certain to tell against their largest effectiveness, and they, as well as others, felt that something should be done to provide this kind of help.
On the 24th of August the members of the District 434
Mm'iiODisT Episcopai. Ciukcii. 435
Conference, after much prayer for t^^uidance. and with the approval of IHshop Warne, united in a written peti- tion askini;- that I leave the pastorate at Mount Vernon, Iowa, and assume the pastorate of the Church for "the unchurched Americans in Manila and the Philippines." Believing that my eight years in India would be of great value to me here, as soon as suitable arrangements could be made for that important college pastorate, I came, doubting not that I followed the Voice.
I left my family in Iowa, as conditions were still un- settled, rents high, and the cost of living excessive. Rev. Willard A. Goodell accompanied me, and makes one of our effective vernacular missionaries at the present time. We reached Manila April 19. 1901, and were heartily welcomed, and I entered immediately on my new duties as pastor of the American Church and presiding elder of the Philippines District. One year has since been spent in the Open Door Emergency campaign in the United States ; but, aside from that, I have been in the field to which God so clearly led me.
The first week after my arrival all the missions then represented in the Philippines united in forming what is known as the Evangelical Union of the Philippine Islands, under which we agreed to co-operate for the most speedy and thorough evangelization of the entire population.
This union is one of the most marked of all the larger movements of recent times toward Church federation or unity, and deserves a word of special mention. It was formed in response to the conviction on the part of the men on the field that it would be a pity to inaugurate the w^asteful missionary program in the Philippines which has come into play in older fields. The action of the Boards occupying the field had made it easv for their representatives to get together in such plans as would
436 The Philippines and the Far East.
render possible the most rapid and effective covering of the territory. One of the essential features of this organ- ization was the division or allotment of the Archipelago among the various missions then at work, so that each mission became responsible for the evangelization of a well-defined area, thus enabling a small force to cover a wide field without overlapping or friction. In this ten- tative division, which was to be observed for three years, Methodism was assigned all the island of Luzon between Manila and Dagupan from sea to sea, with a free hand in Manila itself. Later action extended that field by mak- ing it cover all the Cagayan Valley, and according the mission equal opportunities for work in the Hill province of Benguet with all other Boards. The Presbyterians were given all Southern Luzon by the same agreement, and they and the Baptists were to divide the work in Panay and Negros between themselves as might seem to them mutually desirable. The United Brethren were allotted the coast provinces of Northwest Luzon — all Ilokano territory, and one of the most ripe for imme- diate evangelism, as well as one of the most progressive and prosperous portions of the entire Islands. Other islands were left free for occupation at such time and in such manner as should prove best adapted for the prosecution of the whole work.
The Presbyterians had begun a fine work in Bulacan and Pampanga provinces, having one Church organized at Hagonoy, and a following gathered in San Fernando, Pampanga. We gave them our work in Cavite, and they put us in charge of their congregations in the places named, and the work of permanent occupation of our respective portions of the Philippines immediately began.
It was immediately seen that the occupation of pro- vincial capitals was a necessity in so far as possible.
Methodist Episcopal Church. 439
American missionaries for these places were asked for from the Board, and as rapidly as possible placed in those centers in which (i) there was the greatest strate- gic significance, and (2) the most urgent invitation and the greatest apparent ripeness for evangelization. On this principle, Malolos and San Fernando, Pampanga, were almost immediately taken possession of, and plans laid for the permanent occupation and development of Dagupan, at the northern extremity of the only railway in Luzon — in the Philippines, in fact.
It was speedily found that the Spanish language was of no value as a means of directly reaching and influenc- ing the native population. It was commonly reported to me in the United States that a Spanish-speaking mis- sionary would be perfectly at home here from the first day, and able to command a hearing from the multitudes. That impression was shown to be totally erroneous. Ac- cording to the most careful estimates made by men of wide familiarity with the people, not more than eight per cent of the entire Philippine population can under- stand even colloquial Spanish. The other ninety-two per cent must be reached by means of their own vernacu- lars. These vernaculars are hard to acquire. It was with great reluctance that we abandoned hope of using the Spanish in our work. Only as we could readily find men in every community who could translate our preach- ing from Spanish into the birth-speech of the people was that language of real evangelistic use to us. Hence it became necessary at the very outset to set all our men and women to the mastery of these Malayan dialects ; for that is all that they can be called. They are sepa- rate languages only by long separation of the peoples who originally came to the Philippines speaking one common Malayan speech. This difficulty nearly dismayed us. It
440 The Philippines and the Far East.
reached ver}^ far. It meant that not only our speech and our preaching must be in these comparatively barren tongues, but that in them, also, all our periodical litera- ture must be printed, and some of that which was funda- mentally necessary to the development of a native min- istry.
Not a few of our American sympathizers were im- patient with us for attempting to learn and use the local vernaculars. Their arguments were that English is to be the official language of the Philippines in 1906. All the public schools are teaching English. All business soon will be done in English, and to learn and use the vernaculars was in their eyes worse than a waste of time. It was an indirect way of defeating the effort of the schools to teach the English speech to the whole people. They insisted that within a few years it would be pos- sible to reach all of the people through the medium of English, and until that time we would far better employ interpreters. All such argument could only be advanced by men and women who had never come into close daily contact with the mass of tlte native population, and who, at the same time, were quite unfamiliar with the efforts of other nations to change the common speech of a whole people. Upon no one point can progress be made so slowly as that of language. People will adopt political ideas, social improvements, and much of the best of our science and culture in general ; but to throw away the language learned at the mother's knee is the one thing that will not be done, or, if done at all, done so tardily and grudgingly that it seems destined never to succeed.
It was plain to those of us who were charged with the responsibility of deciding upon a policy in the case that our only way to reach the generation now living was by means of their own speech. The schools teach
Methodist Episcopal Ctu'Rch. 441
English. They teach it well. The pupils go from the school, however, to speak their own language all the time they are not in the schoolroom. A few hours a day learning a theoretical notion of a foreign tongue enable the student to make but slow and imperfect headway, when he spends twice that number of hours in speaking and hearing his mother tongue. We came to believe that at least one generation must pass off the stage, and more likely two or three, before evangelistic work, and the work of building up a Church in the knowledge of God, could be done in the English tongue in the Philippines.
In October, 1901, the Official Board of the Central Church (for Americans) bought an excellent corner lot for the church which is needed for that work. It was the first real estate bought in the Philippines for the purposes of Protestantism. One other property had been contracted for by the Episcopalians ; but this was the first that was actually purchased and the deed placed upon record. The Board had no money. The entire $3,250 was borrowed from our friends for six months without interest. Within four weeks it had all been raised here in Manila, less than one hundred dollars com- ing from good friends in the United States and the provinces. Major E. W. Halford was a tower of strength to us in this first real-estate campaign, as he was in all the work of the Church and of the Evangelical Union. At once the heroic little congregation erected a temporary chapel seating one hundred and fifty, and this was dedi- cated free from debt Sunday, December 22, 1901 — the first chapel built for work among our own countrymen in this city of churches.
On January i. 1902, the publication of the Philippine Chrtstmn Advocate was begun. It was published by the Mission Press, and printed in English, Spanish, and
442 The Philippines and the Far East.
Tagalog. This has grown into an arm of power in the work whose reach and strength are growing daily. It will be entirely self-supporting within a year. Mr. Mc- Laughlin is the editor.
Almost at once upon this occupation of the field a great and blessed work began to grow up under our very eyes. At Malibay, a few miles south of Manila, Brother Zamora began to preach in the early part of 1900, and by midsummer of 1901 there had been compacted there a total of members and probationers such as exceeded the total visible missionary results that were secured in China for fifteen years. In Malibay there was a Roman Catholic chapel, built by the pueblo for their services. It was built well. It had heavy stone walls and a corru- gated iron roof, and though it had been badly battered by insurgents and United States troops, it was still a shelter, and in a fair condition for use. No friar dared put his foot in the place for fear of the vmmeasured hatred of the people, and our little congregation used it for their services. Practically the entire population came into the Church. They bought Bibles and portions of the New Testament as they were translated and printed, and, like the Bereans, daily studied the Word of God. When I arrived there were nearly two hundred members. By midsummer it was three hundred, and on Christmas-day, 1901, I received more than three hundred from probation into full connection in the weather-beaten old chapel. It was a great day in Zion. After receiving eight times over as many people as could stand in a double row in front of the altar, we had the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. It was the first time many of these poor people had ever received the cup. The wafer was all that had ever touched their tongues. There was perfect rever- ence, and deep spiritual interest. Many eyes were wet
X E £.
Methodist Episcopal Ciiuucii. 445
with tears of holy gladness. One old man who had been a captain in the forces of the insurG;ents took the sacra- ment saying, "I ani unworthy, I am unworthy." His hands shook so that he could scarcely hold the cup when, for the first time, the symbol of the shed blood of his Lord touched his lips. It moved me to tears. Here were over four hundred partakers of the Holy Supper, nearly all of whom were in the possession of as clear and definite a knowledge of the forgiveness of their sins and their acceptance in Christ as any whom I had *ever min- istered to in settled pastorates in the twenty years of my ministry. It was a great day. It spoke eloquently of the possibilities of the work all over the Islands when similarly hungry souls in other places heard and heeded and were saved from sin by coming directly to a personal Christ of love and tenderness.
That church at Malibay is now over four hundred strong, and has never cost the missionary appropriations from the Board one cent. It carries on services in sev- eral barrios, and will soon have another Church formed from the results of the voluntary labor of its member- ship in a neighboring place.
At Alalolos, the provincial capital of Bulacan, we prayed and waited for an opening for several months be- fore it came. It was the capital of the Aguinaldo gov- ernment, and was supposed to be full of those who hated the Americans, and who would therefore discount a gospel preached by the hated race. At least that is what the military authorities led us to believe. Mr. Goodell went there to investigate several times. When he in- quired, on his second or third visit, if there were any "Protestantcs" in the place, he was directed to the house of an elderly woman who had the name of being inter- ested in Protestantism. Senora Narcissa welcomed them
446 The Philippines and the Far East.
"as the angels of God." Her joy knew no bounds. Here were the men for whose coming she had prayed so de- voutly three times each day, as she afterward told me, from the time she had heard the good word in Manila until the day that Mr. Goodell knocked at her door. Im- mediately services were arranged for. This was in May of 1902. In August a membership of one hundred and eighty-five had been gathered, and, with $50 from funds of the Church Extension Society, they had found it pos- sible to erect one of the neatest of all our bamboo and thatch chapels, seating one hundred and fifty people, and very neatly arranged within and without. Aside from the fact that the missionary received a salary from the society, not a dollar of the annual grant from New York was spent in founding this Church. The local preachers and exhorters do the preaching when the missionary can not be there. They raise by collections and subscriptions all funds needed to seat, clean, and light the place, and are entirely independent of foreign support as they have been from the first day.
Within a few days of the opening at Malolos another equally good opportunity was presented in Calumpit, a town a few miles away. Soon a Church equally numerous and spiritual was raised up there, and a chapel built. This year (1903) this latter Church has "swarmed ofif," and the new colony has built a church twice as large as the original building. A revival was enjoyed all along during the summer in the regular services, and now the membership at that point is above two hundred, and con- stantly growing. Here again there has been no expense to the Missionary Society aside from the fact that the missionary who led in the work is supported from that fund.
In Manila, Mr. McLaughlin has seen the work grow
Methodist Episcopal Church, 447
from about two hundred when he arrived, to more than two thousand, and from one chapel, dedicated in August of 1900, to eleven chapels within and near the city, all built by the people themselves, and, besides this local membership, literal scores converted, who return to their homes in various parts of the provinces and form centers of interest and excellent advertisers of our work. In nearly all the cities in which work has been opened in the provinces men and women have started the work whose eyes had been opened of the Lord in the services of our own or of the Presbyterian Church in Manila. When Bishop Warren visited the Philippines in October of 1903 a typical Methodist class-meeting was held in the Rizal Theater, Manila. Admission was to Method- ists only, and that by free tickets. This was done in order to make it possible to show the bishop to the hun- dreds of our people who wanted to see him, and to permit him to see the kind of work and the measure of blessing that had attended the labors of the missionaries here in this insular metropolis. Over eighteen hundred adults were crowded into the building, and the meeting was gotten up so hurriedly that many did not receive notice in time to secure tickets. It was a deeply spiritual meet- ing, and proved that this work is of the kind that Asbury and Lee saw grow up under their preaching and admin- istration in the latter part of the eighteenth century in the United States. The testimonies rang with certainty. The faces of men and women shone with the joy that comes only from the consciousness of forgiven sins.
In Malabon, just north of Manila, the owner of a large cockpit, by the name of Simeon Bias, became in- terested two years ago. He is a man of considerable wealth, but had a reputation as a gambler. He invited our missionaries to preach in his part of the town. Later
448
The Philippines and the Far East.
he built a chapel at his own expense, and gave reverent attention to the Word. At this time he sold his cockpit, as a matter of business purely, and was soon afterwards received into the Church and given license to exhort. The
A PROTESTANT GROUP IN BATAAN.
(Mr. Goodell, myself, native preacher, and friends. About to take boat for Manila after a long, hard trip in the province. )
first thing- Mr. McLaughlin knew, this man had bought another cockpit, and was putting in at least one-half of his Sundays attending to it. When he was not preach- ing the gospel in Methodist services he was holding the stakes of betters on the fights in his gallcra or taking gate-money ! Some of our people counseled severity.
Methodist Ei'iscoi-ai^ Church. 449
They arG;uc(l that his inlliiencc would corrupt the infant Church. We saw the harm, but determined to save the man and the cause as well. When Mr. Rader and wife came from Denver in May of 1903, they were sent to Malabon to learn the language, and to save the day. With the help of the Lord and of one of the missionaries who speaks the vernacular fluently, this brother has re- nounced the business, gotten completely out of all rela- tions with gambling and Sabbath desecration, and has been preaching with power — real spiritual power that moves and burns — ever since his public confession and renunciation of the business. The last Quarterly Con- ference recommended Simeon Bias for ordination as a local deacon. A happier man or one more utterly devoted to the work of preaching Christ was never seen in early Methodism in America. In that circuit of Malabon the gain in membership this year has been nearly five hun- dred, and three chapels have been built and paid for from local resources.
In Panpanga, Mr. Fritz saw a glorious w^ork begun. But his health broke, and he is our first man forced from the active ranks by illness. This was partly due to a malarial inheritance, from five years' South American residence. At last Conference Air. and Mrs. W. A. Brown were given charge of this great work. Pam- panga has a population of nearly three hundred thousand people. In the two cities of San Fernando and Mexico we now have nearly one thousand members and proba- tioners, and a wealthy family who owned a large and well-built theater have given their hearts to the Lord and their theater to the Church ! One of them is an exhorter, and preaches with much power and acceptance every Sun- day in what was built for a Sunday theater. I have spoken there to one thousand people. The Cunanan 29
450 The Philippines and the Far East.
Brothers, as they are known, gave Bishop Warren a twelve-course dinner when he was on his ofificial visit, which for elegance of service was not surpassed, the bishop averred, by a banquet given by President McKin- ley in the White House. I participated, and certainly I never saw finer appointments in decorations, silver, spot- less linen, or noiseless service. These brothers are happy in the Lord. When they recover from the terrible losses of the war and the rinderpest, they will be in a position to help our work substantially.
As an indication of the ripeness of that field. Brother Brown opened services in the city of Guagua recently, and in less than a month he has more than two hundred members on probation, and that will easily be doubled within a few weeks. It would be easy to receive thou- sands ; but when tests as to gambling, drinking, and other evils are applied, they flinch, and draw back. But in every community a remnant push on and are saved.
In Eastern Bulacan Mr. A. E. Chenoweth and wife have a truly wonderful work. Beginning at Baliuag, a city of fifteen thousand people, less than two years ago, they now have over six hundred members and proba- tioners, six chapels, and work in all directions coming at them more rapidly than they can care for it. It would take a whole chapter to tell of the openings just now pressing for attention in that field.
Rev. Ernest S. Lyons and wife were transferred from Singapore in March of 1903 and appointed to Dagupan. He has now eight organized Churches, all gathered within seven months, with a membership of over eight hundred. He has invitations from over twenty cities in which he has not yet been able to open. If he had the time and strength it would be easily possible for him to open as many more Churches with as many converts before Con-
Methodist Episcopal Church. 451
ference in the coming March. The province of Panga- sinan is one of the most bigoted of any that we have yet entered, and this is the more reason for gratitude that he has seen the pleasure of the Lord thus prosper in his hands.
Brother Thomas H. Martin gathered several hundred converts in Tarlac province, and built a chapel at Gerona. He acquired both the Spanish and Ilokano languages, but illness caused by bad food, and exposure in living constantly among the Filipino people broke his health. He is now in Manila working at the creation of sorely needed booklets on the History of Protestantism, Prayer, Aids to Bible Study, and works of a nature calculated to meet our most urgent needs in the way of Christian literature.
Rev. F. A. McCarl has pushed the Mission Press hard as his part of the work, and also done efifective work in as much of the Filipino and American Churches as his time and strength permitted. He is the treasurer of the mission in addition to his other work. Time and space fail to tell of the faithful work done by the consecrated women. God only knows how well they have toiled and how rich will be their harvest.
In May of 1903 Miss Winifred Spaulding arrived from Kansas City, Mo., and opened a training-school for women under the auspices of the Woman's Foreign Mis- sionary Society. The effort has been crowned with suc- cess from the first day. Ten young women are enrolled. If we had had room, instead of these ten there would be one hundred in training ! The cost of supporting each i? not more than $50 per year of nine school months. A deaconess teacher costs $850 to support — allowance, board, carriage hire, and other expenses, all reckoned in. It is my deep conviction that in no part of our work are
452 The Philippines and the Far East.
we more fundamentally affecting the lives of the mem- bers of to-day and to-morrow than in raising up a body of trained women to work for Christ in their local Churches, and in such special lines of labor as the Spirit will throw open to them. I hope to see the day when this arm of the service turns out fifty graduates of a stiff course of theoretical and practical deaconess training each year. Miss Spaulding has for an aid in the work Miss Parkes, an English lady who served her mission- ary apprenticeship in the Philippines as a Bible woman in the employ of the British and Foreign Bible Society. She visits and carries on the house-to-house spiritual clinics so necessary for the girls in training. God has given her special gifts as a winner of souls in personal con- tact. She was sent us by a kind Providence, and will exercise a lasting influence for good upon all these women whose lives are touched by her own.
As will be seen, our work is almost wholly evangel- istic. This is the crying need of the hour. The press is an engine of great power. It turned out nearly 4,000,- 000 pages of literature in 1902, and is doing a good work this year also. It is expensive, but it pays big spiritual dividends. We need at least $1,200 annually to feed it with white paper and ink, and to meet the expense of power and help. That must be given by friends in the States.
The feature of self-support is one to which we give the closest attention. From the beginning it has been on the minds and hearts of the members of the mission staff to profit by the lessons learned in other and older fields, and to insist upon as large a measure of self-sup- port from the very first as possible. To that end all our native workers are divided into two classes — pastors and
Methodist Episcopal Church. 453
evangelists. We support as many evangelists as the special gifts that come to us will permit, always with the understanding that such support is temporary, and may fail at any time. These men are kept on the move from point to point opening up new cities, and caring for the converts made at places not quite so new for two weeks or a month at a time. When a Church asks for a pastor, they must be willing to unite with others in a circuit, so that his support may come wholly from them. Against almost inconceivable pressure coming from many quar- ters, God has helped us to keep from spending one penny of the regular appropriations from New York for the support, traveling expenses, or rent of any native preacher, or for the erection of any building for the use of the native people. Special gifts have been used in that way as need demanded. Marriage fees from the something like 2,475 weddings that our staff has con- ducted, nearly all in Manila, have been used in this form of work, and in printing as need arose ; but self-support is absolutely the rule as to pastoral service. We do not claim to have solved the question, but we are determined to continue the attempt, and avoid, if possible, mistakes that cost us dearly in fields in which our workers were forced to the use of methods which we do not need to employ. It costs from $200 to $300 annually to support a good Filipino evangelist. We shall need the services of these men for many years to come. Their lot is a hard one. They live on the circuit. They are in very truth "traveling preachers." But their work breaks new ground, and pioneers the way for Churches which spring up in their tracks wherever they go.
Our growth has been phenomenal. The statistics which will appear in the Missionary Report for 1903-4 are as follows :
454 The Philippines and the Far East.
Foreign missionaries *g
Assistant missionaries 7
Woman's Foreign Missionary Society, missionaries 2
Native ordained preachers 3
Native unordained preachers 67
Other helpers 30
Members 3.091
Probationers 3.751
Adherents,. 4,180
Average attendance on Sunday 6,540
Conversions during year 2.663
Adults baptized ^ 1.094
Children baptized .'. ., 302
Number day schools . . 2
Number day scholars . 28
Collected for church building and repairing $2,823
Number Sabbath-schools 15
Number Sabbath school scholars ... 797
Number churches and chapels 35
Estimated value of churches and chapels $24,410
Number halls and other rented places of worship 7
Value of parsonages or homes $21,000
Collected for missionary society. $210
Collected for other benevolent societies $86
Collected for self support $3,220
Collected for other local purposes $',477
This gives us 6,842 members and probationers, with 4,180 adherents, all of whom consider themselves as fully admitted to our membership. Comparing this total of members and probationers with the totals of last year in other mission fields solely for iJic purpose of empha- sising the ripeness of this Held, and shozving how urgent is the need that zvise counsels shall prevail in conserving and extending the zvork to the utmost possible extent we find the followine:
|
Members |
|
|
and Proba- |
Year. |
|
tioners. |
|
|
6,842 |
1903 |
|
6,561 |
1902 |
|
5,855 |
1902 |
|
5.592 |
1902 |
|
5,863 |
1902 |
|
3.632 |
1902 |
Woik Begun
Philippine Islands
Japan
Korea
Mexico
All South America All Africa
1900
1873 1885
1873 1S36
1833
■One missionary, Rev. R. V. B. Dunlap, with his wife and child, have arrived since these statistics were sent forward.
Methodist Episcopal Church.
455
Truly the Spirit has flung open a wide door of op- portunity before the Methodist Episcopal Church in the Philippine Islands. We should have at once twenty-five of the best men the Church contains to man centers of importance, and to put on sound foundations a training- school for native ministers and a college for our own young people. We must plan according to the magni- tude of our opportunity, or be guilty of treason to the purposes of God.
CHAPTER XXVI.
Presbyterians and Baptists.
No ONE of the six Churches now at work in the Phil- ippines showed greater foresight than the Presbyterian. In the promptness and wisdom of its action it set an ex- ample to all the Boards. Rev. James B. Rodgers was transferred from their work in Brazil after years of suc- cessful experience, and was enabled to enter upon his work with the Spanish language at his command, and with a thorough familiarity with the difficulties and weaknesses of work in Catholic countries. He arrived in Manila, April 21, 1899, with Mrs. Rodgers and their family. It is interesting to note the coincidence of his arrival with the first anniversary of the declaration of war against Spain. While Bishop Thoburn, of the Methodist Episcopal Church, was the first regularly-au- thorized appointee of a Missionary Society to visit the Islands and open work, the unique honor of being the first regularly-appointed, permanent missionary belongs to Mr. Rodgers. Within one month these workers were joined by Rev. David S. Hibbard and wife. At the end of their first year they reported one Church organized, and services held semi-weekly in four places in Manila, with English-speaking services among soldiers and such others as cared to attend.
The Board had already decided that Iloilo would be one of the cities occupied, and Dumaguete, on the island of Negros, was chosen as anotlier point in the southern
456
Presbyterians and Baptists. 457
islands durin.c; the summer of 1899. In December the PhiHppine ^lission of the Presbyterian Church was for- mally constituted. In January, Dr. J. Andrew Hall ar- rived to take up medical and evanp^elistic work in Iloilo. Rev. Leonard P. Davidson came in February to give him- self to evangelistic work.
By the tentative allotment of "spheres of influence" to the several missions which was one part of the ex- cellent work of the Evangelical Union, the Presbyterians were given a free hand with all other missions in Manila, and all Southern Luzon, with the work in Negros and Panay divided between them and the Baptists, as those two missions might agree. This gave the Presbyterians a compact territory in Luzon with but two languages, and one of those — the Bicol — spoken by but a small frac- tion of the whole population in their Luzon field. It also gave them portions of the fertile islands of Negros and Panay, with centers at the two largest cities in each island. By later action Cebu was added, and work in the entire X'isayan group was tentatively assigned to the Baptists and Presbyterians. This gave them a popula- tion in Cebu alone of six hundred and fifty thousand, all homogeneous people, speaking one dialect of Visayan, and in Leyte and Samar which they have occupied since, an added population of about two hundred and fifty thousand, whose dialect is sufficiently like that prevailing in Cebu to enable the workers from the former island to be fairly well understood from the first in the latter large islands.
The fighting line of the Presbyterian Church is thus flung out over four hundred miles in length, and holds positions on eight islands. Its work is in three main lan- guages, though the Visayan of Panay and Occidental Negros differs almost as sharply from the Visayan of
458 Tnii Philippines and the; Far East.
Cebu and Leyte as Pampanga differs from Tagalog, or Italian differs from French.
No one person did so much to bring about the organ- ization of the EvangeUcal Union as Mr. Rodgers. He was ready to make any reasonable sacrifice of the inter- ests of their mission in order to secure greater unity of action, and thus diminish the friction and overlapping which he had seen and regretted in his work in South America. He was ready to go so far as to unite with other Churches in some loose federation in which de- nominational names would drop out of sight, and what would amount to a new organization would be perfected. Many felt that missionaries on the field had no power to do this, if it were desirable. His efforts, with those of Mr. McLaughlin, of the Methodist Episcopal Church, bore fruit in the formation of the Union.
The Presbyterian Church carries on evangelistic, med- ical, and educational work. In the nature of the case its chief energies are devoted to the evangelistic, as that is the chief opportunity confronting all the missions. In Manila several congregations have been gathered, and one fine church building has been erected. This is on an American model, and seats about seven hundred people. They have a membership of more than two hundred. A rented building in another part of the city is the center for more work of an evangelistic character. In Cavite, just across the bay from Manila, there is a strong Church, and beginnings have been made at other places in Cavite province and the province of Laguna de Bay.
In Iloilo a good evangelistic beginning has been made, and such work being done as the force will permit. In Cebu much opposition has been met. It is a very bigoted island. Friar influence is stronger than in any other part
PRKSr.VTlvRIANS AND RapTISTS. 459
of the Philippines. Mr. and Mrs. Jansen opened work there in 1892. They were able to make but slight headway for six months. Meetings were stoned. Converts were terrorized. Threats were freely made that the lives of the missionaries would be taken, and that of their converts. No hall could be rented. The missionary could scarcely find a house to live in. But finally the ice began to break up, and a freshet of blessing- has followed. Converts are now coming into the Church in the city of Cebu almost every week, and calls for Protestant services reach the workers from interior cities and from those on the oppo- site coast. Cebu is the head of one of the Catholic sees, and the American bishop there will do all in his power to stem the tide of Protestant sympathy.
In the latter part of 1903 work was opened in the island of Leyte, and from the apparent ripeness of the field and the results already attained, there is reason to hope for a rapid spread of the work. This will also command the island of Samar, which lies across a narrow strait, and can be reached with the same \ isayan dialect.
The mission has inaugurated medical work at Iloilo and Dumaguete. Dr. J. Andrew Hall finds much of his time occupied at the former place in ministering to the bodies of the hundreds who seek his aid. He finds the medical work leads to the evangelistic, even though Cath- olic opponents insist that he gives poisons for medicines, and one poor patient was stopped while carrying home medicine for a wife burning with malarial fever, and com- pelled to drink the entire prescription. His superstitious persecutors insisted that he was securing the medicine to poison the wells. Dr. Langheim, at Dumaguete, has done royal service as president of the Provincial Board of Health in staying the ravages of cholera and smallpox,
460 The Philippines and the Far Ii^ast.
and his work has challenged the attention and secured the friendship of all the influential Filipinos of Oriental Negros.
People come miles to hear the gospel and receive treat- ment. Dr. Arthur J. Brown, in his recent book, "The New Era in the Philippines/' says :
"One of the most notable sights of the Philippines is to be seen in Iloilo Saturday evenings. My room, on the second story of Dr. Hall's house, opened into a wide Spanish hall, with a broad flight of stairs to the story below. About five o'clock I was startled to find the hall, landing, and stairs packed with Filipinos, sitting quietly on the floor and steps. They had walked in, men, women, and children, from the outlying villages, some of them four hours' distant, in order to attend the Sunday serv- ice. So many regularly do this, coming Saturday and remaining till Monday, that the missionaries have been obliged to rent a large room in which the men can spend the nights, the women occupying the chapel. The people are quiet and well-behaved. They bring their own food, or buy it in Iloilo, and they contentedly sleep on the floor.
"I wish that those critics who insist that the Filipinos are all Roman Catholics, and that they do not want Prot- estantism, but only relief from the friars, could look into that great room in Iloilo any Saturday night, and see that dense throng of people who have patientlv trudged past stately Roman Catholic Churches to a plain chapel, where there are no altar lights, or gorgeous vestments, or fragrant incense, but only the preaching of the Gospel of Divine Love. When men and women would rather walk fifteen miles under a hot sun, and sleep two nights on a board floor to attend a Protestant service, than go to a pompous stone church in their own village, there is certainly something more than curiosity in their hearts."
In Dumaguete the work is largely educational. Early in the history of the mission. Dr. Horace B. Silliman, of New York, gave $10,000 for the establishment of an insti-
PresbvtivRians and Bai'Tisps. 461
tution similar to that at Tuskcgec. Alabama. Emphasis was to be laid on agricultural and manual-training. A roomy building was erected, and the institution opened its doors. Success in securing pupils and in carrying for- ward the work of an ordinary school has been the lot of this institution from the first day. But to secure pupils who were willing to learn to work in the dirt, or push the plane or wield the hammer, has been difficult. Whether such pupils will be found in sufficient numbers to make the institution fully answer the ends for which Dr. Silliman gave the money, is not yet apparent. Filipinos of the better classes have a truly Spanish idea of the menial character of manual labor. In fact, it is more Moorish than Spanish, and, like so many features of Spanish archi- tecture, language, and national spirit, is Spanish because of the long contact of the Spaniard with the Moor. Dr. Silliman was right in his estimate of the need of the Fili- pino people. They need to be taught the true dignit}- of all honest toil ; but the tuition is not welcome, and the in- stitution will have much difficulty in securing pupils to take such courses as contemplate a life of toil. The school will exert a good influence as a school, and is worth main- taining even if its manual-training features do not succeed at once. The difficulty with its maintenance, as that diffi- culty is felt by the mission, is that it absorbs the time and energies of so large a proportion of the staff, while urgent calls for evangelistic work come from all parts of the sur- rounding country.
Rev. Leonard P. Davidson died of appendicitis in Au- gust of 1901, after a brief illness. He was the first of the missionary stafif of any Church, and so far the only one, to lay down his life in the work. He was one of the most devoted men I ever knew. His love for the Filipino people was deep and constant. His was a rare nature, and his
462 Thu Philippines and the Far East.
death was a severe blov/ to the mission of which he was a member.
The present staff of the Presbyterian Mission is. Revs. James B. Rodgers, J. Andrew Hall, Walter O. Mclntyre, H. W. Langheim, J. E. Snook, Lewis B. Hillis, A. A. Peters, Paul Doltz, F. J. Pursell, George W. Wright, Charles E. Rath, Roy H. Brown, Fred Jansen, and Dr. Stealy B. Rossiter. Mr. Hillis is serving as pastor of the English-speaking Church in Manila, and will probably work with Dr. Rossiter when the latter arrives to assume that pastorate. The total membership of the Presbyterian Church is about one thousand.
The first Baptist missionary was Rev. Eric Lund. He arrived at Jaro, on the island of Panay, with Mr. Braulio Manikin, a native Filipino, who had been educated for the priesthood at the Roman Catholic school at that place, on May 2, 1900. Mr. Lund came from Spain to the Philip- pines. Mr. Manikin had worked with him in Spain, and together they had made considerable progress in trans- lating the New Testament and preparing tract literature in the Msayan language. Five tracts of editions of five thousand each were soon run off from a small handpress which they set up in Jaro, and when they were distributed produced a deep impression. A small newspaper, called the Herald of Truth, was soon put out, and met with a hearty welcome. Mr. Lund was soon j-oined by Rev. C. W. Briggs, and since that time their evangelistic work- has gone forward with great rapidity.
Their field was deliberately chosen, and is adhered to without thought of spreading to other islands. They work in the Visayan language only, and in the two islands of Panay and Negros. The chief cities occupied so far are Jaro, Capiz, and Bacolod, the capital of Occidental (West- ern) Negros. Practically a million people are within their
Presbyterians and Baptists.
463
field, and with their somewhat hmitcd staff they feel that this number is all that they dare undertake to evangelize. The latest statistics of this Church are as follows: Central Stations, 3; Out Stations, 13; JMembers, 564; Dispensary, 1, Missionaries (counting wives and single ladies), 14; Churches organized, 5; Medical Mission Station, i.
The staff of the Baptist Mission is Rev. C. W. Briggs, Rev. George E. Finlay, Dr. Peter Lerrigo, Rev. J. C. Robbins, and Rev. A. A. Forshe.
MANILA. botanical GARDENS.
CHAPTER XXVII.
Episcopalian and Other Churchks.
The Protestant Episcopal Church has occupied the Phihppine Islands in strength. The work of this Church began through the efforts of army chaplains who were Episcopalians. Chaplains Charles C. Pierce, David L. Fleming, Walter Marvine, and Henry Swift, in the early days of 1898 and 1899, and Chaplain Walkely at a later stage, did all in their power to establish the Episcopal Church among both Filipinos and Americans. Chaplains Pierce and Walkely served as regular pastors in Manila while on duty with their regiments, and performed as much labor in the pulpit and in pastoral visitation as the average pastor of any Church finds time to do.
However, it is scarcely correct to say that the history of a Church in the Philippines can be dated from the gra- tuitous services of men who were not sent to do that spe- cific work, but who were sent and supported to do another and a wholly unsectarian work. It is only right and fair in summing up the beginnings of Church life in the Archi- pelago to date the formal inauguration of the several Churches from the arrival of regularly accredited agents of the various Mission Boards of such Churches. This does not minify in any degree the excellent work of armv chaplains. But it does make clear the definite beginnings of those Church activities which were avowedly directed and supported by the home organization. In fact, it may as well be said that it will always be a question how far
Episcopalian and Other Churches. 465
the avowed denominational activities of army chaplains can be allowed to go in strict justice while they are sup- ported from public funds, and have assigned to them tasks, which, if properly done, will not leave time for assuming pastorates of Churches and directing the formation of Church policies in such fields as the army may occupy.
Rev. James L. Smiley was sent to the Philippines by the Brotherhood of St. Andrew in i8gg, and afterward accepted appointment as the first representative of the Domestic and Foreign Missionary vSociety of the Epis- copal Church. Ill-health subsequently demanded his re- turn to the United States. In November, 1901, Rev. Walter C. Clapp and Rev. John A. Staunton, Jr., arrived in Manila, and took charge of the work of the Church on behalf of the Board of Missions. On October 5, 1901, the General Convention of the Church, sitting in San Fran- cisco, erected the Philippine Islands into a Missionary District (contradistinguished from a Diocese), and on the 14th of the same month elected the Rev. Charles Henry Brent, D. D., rector of the St. Stephen's Church, Boston, as the first bishop. Dr. Brent was consecrated in Em- manuel Church, Boston, December 19, 1901, and until the middle of the following May devoted himself to the task of securing funds, in addition to the appropriations from the Board of Managers, for the prosecution of the work committed to him. He succeeded in raising about $150,000. One gift of $100,000 was for a cathedral to be erected in Manila. Another, for $25,000, was for a parish house. The bishop arrived in Manila August 24, 1902. Within the next few weeks he was joined by the Rev. Irving Spencer and wife. Miss Harriet B. Osgood, kinder- gartner, and Miss Margaret P. Waterman, parish visitor. Other additions to the staff to date include Miss Beatrice Oakes, Miss Clara Thacher, and Miss Jane S. Jackson, 30
466 The Philippines and the Far East.
missionary nurses; Miss Emily M. Elvvyn, deaconess; Dr. C. Radcliffe Johnson, missionary-physician, and wife ; Rev. Mercer G. Johnston and wife; and Mr. Hobart E. Studley and Mr. Santos Javier.
In Manila, work is going forward in four distinct directions. First and foremost is that among the Amer- ican and English community. St. Stephen's Church, now v/orshiping in a temporary chapel in Ermita, is served by Rev. Mercer G. Johnston as rector. A parish house is soon to be built at a cost of $25,000, for which the money is in hand. The plans for the parish house include a gymnasium, a billiard-room, a library, and an assembly- room, and is to be furnished by the students of Harvard, Yale, Columbia, and Pennsylvania Universities. It is in- tended to serve as a respectable rendezvous for the young men of the city, and a valuable adjunct to the pastoral work of the cathedral. This is to be called the Cathedral of St. Mary and St. John.
Next is the Settlement Work, two miles away from the proposed location for the cathedral, and among the Fili- pino population. This work is carried forward on lines similar to those followed in such work in London or Bos- ton. A kindergartner and a parish visitor give their entire time to the work which their designation suggests. Besides this, there are classes in sewing and writing, and clubs for boys and girls. There are no religious services for Filipinos held in the Settlement House. Bishop Brent has not yet seen his way to beginning definite religious work in that part of the city.
Next comes the medical work carried forward by Dr. Johnson. This is maintained in connection with the Settle- ment House. Dispensary patients average one hundred and fifty per week. The response of the Filipino to Amer- ican medical treatment, even when wholly free, is not ini-
Episcopalian and Otihir Cihrches. 467
mediate in Manila, whatever it may be in other places less plentifully supi)lie{l with native medicos and practicantcs. A number of American physicians practicing in the city g^ive their time several hours each week to make this med- ical work a success.
Chinese work has been be^^un also. Rev. Hobart E. Studley, a regular missionary of the Reformed Church in Amoy for six years, has opened services for Chinese. He is to be ordained (or reordained) at a later date.
Outside of Manila the Church has undertaken work in Iloilo, where Rev. Irving Spencer ministers to the Amer- ican population, occasionally visiting Zamboanga, in Min- danao, and holding a service among civilian Americans resident there.
In Baguio, the newly chosen summer capital of the Philippines, "in the pine belt," Rev. John A. Staunton, Jr., serves as rector, and ministers, "by request," to Catholic Filipinos at Trinidad, a few miles away, from time to time. It is hoped that when the American summer popu- lation in Baguio reaches into the hundreds that this Church will exert a strong influence. Baguio is to be the recuper- ating station for the Episcopalians as well as for other missions.
Farther north in Luzon. Rev. Walter C. Clapp, assisted by a trained nurse and deaconess, are at work among the Igorrotes in the mountain regions of Lepanto, Bontoc. Another clergyman and a medical man are to be sent there soon to strengthen the force. Mr. Clapp also ministers to a Catholic community which has been deserted by its priest.
Bishop Brent finds himself imable to take the view of other Protestant missionaries as to directly attempting to influence the thought of the Catholics in the Philip- pines. He does not commit himself as vet to the statement
468 The Philippines and the Far East.
that he will not open work among the so-called Christian- ized Filipinos ; but up to this time he has not seen his way to do so. I quote from his First Annual Report to the Presiding Bishop enough to show his point of view, only stating that Bishop Brent and all his staff, so far as I am mformed, take the position of High Churchmen, with all that this implies. With the sacerdotal theory of Church and ministry which this involves, his position is more easily understood.
The bishop says as to the general policy of the mis- sion :
"From every point of view, the most important sec- tion of our work at present, and it will be for some time to come, is among Americans and other English-speaking people. . . . The question of native work is an ex- tremely difficult and perplexing one. I can not feel it to be the duty of the Church which I represent to build up a constituency by deliberately drawing upon the Roman Church. It is here that I find myself differing from the Protestant Churches at work in the Islands, and for this reason, if for no other, I am unable to enter into any formal relationship with them. The Evangelical Union have extended us a cordial invitation to membership in their body, but we are unanimous in feeling that we can not subscribe to some of the principles implied or set forth explicitly. This, however, will in no wise prevent friendly relations with our Protestant neighbors, or the observance of Christian considerateness where a division of territory is concerned. Though I can not say that I shall never place missionaries at points where mission- aries of other communions have preceded, I shall do so only in cases where my conception of duty leaves me no choice. . . . The greatest satisfaction I could have would be to see the Roman Church purify her skirts. But when there has been and is such an absence of verac- ity, such a suppression or denial of facts — facts which, until I came out here, I could not believe, but which are painfully and palpably true — how can there be any deep
MOUNTAIN WATERFALL.
Episcopalian and Other Churches. 471
reformation? In the coast regions the people are ahnost sohdly Roman Cathohc, in name at least. I except the country of the Moros, of course. Among the better edu- cated there is more or less breaking away from the old faith, shown rather by indiiTercnce than by active opposi- tion, though there is not a little of the latter "in some quarters. While the Churches in most places are well attended, here as elsewhere largely by women, there is a vast population whose Christianity is so purely nominal that it would offer no indignity to the Roman Church were an earnest effort made to win them to religion. How to reach them is a problem yet to be solved."
Bishop Brent and his clergy still hope for the refor- mation of the Catholic Church from within. Their opinion is entitled to respectful consideration ; but the martyr roll of Catholicism is so long, and her dungeons and scaffolds are so eloquent, that one can not but wonder that any one conversant with her history should venture so daring a hope as that her faults of doctrine and life would be purged except as outside pressure compels such purging. The Churches in the Evangelical Union are a unit in believing that the Catholic Church in the Philippines will never lead the Filipino people out of sin into lives of righteousness.
The effort to reach the Igorrotes and other uncivilized tribes in the interior is thus set forth by the bishop in the same report :
"When we turn from the coast to the interior of Luzon a new situation greets us. In the northern and eastern sections there are multitudes of non-Christians, variously denominated as Alzados, Igorrotes, and Calingas. No work of any sort is being attempted among them. For- merly the friars had a few uiissions in the interior prov- inces of Lepanto and Bontoc, but they reached only the Ilokanos, who were in the employ of the Spanish gov- ernment, and accompanied officials to their various sta- tions. The great heathen population was almost un- touched. For several years past there have been no min-
472 i*HE; Philippines and the F^ar East.
istrations whatever, even where considerable communi- ties of Christians are estabUshed ; as, e. g., in the Ilokano town of Cervantes, though a request for a priest has earnestly been made. This condition of afifairs is due partly to the insufficient supply of native priests, and to the fact that the friars dare not return thither, and partly because they are poor communities, where the tempo- ralities of the Church are of small value and temporal ad- vantage wholly wanting. A fair field is offered for the work of our Church among these unshepherded Chris- tians and the non-Christian tribes among whom their lot is cast. But with our inadequate force of clergy we can accomplish but little. The tribes of the highlands are numerous (the Negritos excepted), domestic, industrious, and naturally religious ; they are primitive people of con- siderable promise, the superiors of their lowland neigh- bors in physique and energy, and seemingly their peers in intelligence."
The Christlike work of lifting up the ignorant and barbarous races of the interior of Luzon is one that will be watched with the kindliest interest and most earnest prayer by those missions which have felt bound to do all in their power immediately to iniluence that mass of the real Fili- pino people in whose hands are the levers which move the future.
It is a matter of deep regret to all the other missions at work in the Philippines that the Episcopalians will not enter the Evangelical Union. It was in the interest of practical unity and fraternity that the Union was organ- ized. Major E. W. Halford, its first president, prophesied a glowing future for the work in the Philippines when all the forces which make for the salvation of these Islands should be really united. That the Church which so strongly emphasizes the necessity of Church unity will not unite with all others for such ends can not but dis- appoint our hopes. But nothing could exceed the beau-
Episcopalian and Other Churchks. 473
tiful spirit of brotherliness which characterizes Bishop Brent and his force of workers. It may be that we are mistaken in our notions of the best way to secure unity, and that these our brothers in the EpiscopaHan Church are risjht. In any case we be brethren, and will work together for the uplifting of a people scattered and peeled by cen- turies of misrule and oppression.
The United Brethren were first represented here by Rev. E. S. Eby and Rev. Sanford B. Kurtz, who arrived April I, 1 90 1. Rev. L. O. Burtner arrived later as super- intendent of the mission. Owing" to differences of judg- ment as to the occupation of the territory assigned them by the Evangelical Union, and to the determination of Mr. Burtner to reside and labor in Manila, both Mr. Eby and Mr. Kurtz accepted work with the Army and Navy Branch of the Young Men's Christian Association, with which organization ihey are yet engaged. Mr, Burtner came to Manila, where he has been living for more than two years. No mission work has been begun as yet either in INIanila or the assigned field. Mr. Burtner will retire from the field early in 1904. No portion of the entire Archipelago was more ripe for evangelistic effort than the Ilokos prov- inces, which were given to the United Brethren in the tentative allotment of territory arrived at by the Union. Now practically the entire population has gone over to the x^glipay movement. In Ilokos Norte the Catholic Church holds but three churches and priests in the entire province. Thousands of souls might have been gathered in if the mission had entered vigorously upon the evangel- ization of the people to whom their representatives were first sent. At present the mission is represented by Rev. H. W. Widdoes, who intends opening work in Manila.
The Disciple Church is represented by Rev. Hermon P. Williams and Rev. W. H. Hanna. They came to the
474 ^HE Phiuppines and the F'ar East.
field in August and December of 1901, Mr. Williams hav- ing formerly served in the Islands as chaplain of a volun- teer regiment. Mr. Hanna undertook English work in Manila ; but at the end of a little more than a year this work was closed, and both workers went to occupy Loag, the capital of Ilokos Norte, in Luzon. They have now been joined by Dr. J. H. Pickett, who comes to undertake medical work.
The Congregational Church is at present represented by but one missionary — Rev. Robert F. Black. He has selected the island of Mindanao as his field of labor, and occupied the city of Davao, on the southern coast. He intends to devote his efiforts chiefly to the pagan tribes. In that part of the island there are Atas, Bogobos, Bilanes, Caliganes, Guigangas, Mandayans, Manobos, Tagacoalos, Samales, and Tanguils, aggregating more than fifty thou- sand people, all wholly uncivilized, having no written lan- guage, and, of course, only the crudest ideas of things spiritual. Mr. Black finds an eager welcome for the Scrip- tures among the Christianized Visayans settled in the Islands. The vast majority of the population of Mindanao is Mohammedan. Among these, mission work will pro- ceed very slowly. They are a bloody and treacherous peo- ple, and give little promise of yielding to the efforts of the government either to control them or improve their con- ditions. It is expected that the American Board of Com- missioners for Foreign Missions will soon re-enforce this important work.
The Army and Navy Branch of the Young Men's Christian Association limits its activities to the work among soldiers and sailors. Among these classes its work is most profitable. The delay in starting work among the young civilians in Manila is inexplicable. The present op-
Episcopaijan and Otiikr Ciiurciiks. 475
portunity for Cliristian usefulness among- these thousands is many-fold greater than among soldiers or sailors.
There seems to be no way for arriving at an arrange- ment by which Churches which can not undertake work on anything like a large scale shall be induced to confine their efforts to other fields. If this could be arrived at, and this Philippine field be left to four or five of the strong Churches, it would minister to the most rapid and satis- factory accomplishment of that end for which all devoutly pray — the moral and spiritual redemption of the Philip- pine Islands.
There have been but few instances of a lack of fra- ternity thus far. In one case a local preacher, who had refused to accept the work given him, and was pouting in his tent, was taken by the representative of another mis- sion, immersed, and later given work. This kind of thing is fatal to missionary fraternity. In the degree in which it is allowed to go on, it defeats all those high ends for v.diich the Evangelical Union stands. It is to be hoped that such a flagrant breach of missionary comity will never occur again, and that in all parts of the field the same spirit of brotherl}' consideration and unselfishness will pre- vail which has been the rule from the beginning to the present. "By this shall all men know" that we are Christ's disciples, if we have love and consideration one for an- other. The missionary who is here in the Philippines primarily to build up a denomination should be immedi- ately recalled. We are here to build up the Kingdom of Righteousness, and only so far as our native Churches hasten this end arc they of any real use to Him in whose name we labor.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
SoMij Difficulties Confronting Mission Work.
In all lands the chief hindrance to the rapid advance of the kingdom of God is the hardness and impenitence of the human heart. Men will not be saved because they love darkness rather than light.
Particular hindrances which afifect us here may be limited to three. These are the almost invincible tendency to religious formalism on the part of the people, the vicious example of worldly and godless Americans, and the lan- guage barriers which rise between us and those to whom v/e would minister.
Form and ceremony have been the whole of religion to the Christianized Filipinos so long that it is with the utmost difficulty that the essentially spiritual character of true religion is grasped by the Filipino mind. When he had confessed and knelt at the mass the Filipino Christian had been religious ! When the women have said the cor- rect number of paternosters, and crossed themselves at the right times, and counted their beads correctly, and otherwise "gone through" the daily religious program, there was no more consciousness of obligation. The fact that the heart was seething with hatred, or that the lips spoke blasphemies or poured forth torrents of abuse or falsehoods, weighed as the small dust of the balance against the other fact that all the regulations of worship had been strictly complied with. That God demands in-
476
Difficulties Confronting Mission Work. 477
terior purity, and that He will have none of our cere- monies if sin is intrenched in tlie life, is a notion so foreign to the mind of the Filipino people as a whole, that one of the main difficulties that looms on all our horizons is that of removing this deep-seated notion and supplanting it with the opposite belief. The people are ready to be bap- tized, to read their Bibles, to unite with our Churches, and to comply with our outward requirements ; but in too many cases they are not clearly converted as we understand that term, and their spiritual regeneration must come be- fore their eyes are open to spiritual things. Here is the peril of the rapidly-growing Protestant Churches. If their founders can walk so closely with God, and have so large a measure of the Holy Spirit's presence that the work of conviction for sin can go on among those who are dis- cipled unto Christ, then the work will run with swiftness to all parts of the Islands, and will abide as a permanent regenerating force. Christ gave the condition upon which alone this connection with the Spirit of conviction could be enjoyed by His workers when He said, "And He, when He is come [unto you] will convince the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment." Only as the Spirit comes unto and abides in us who labor in His name will He be a Spirit of conviction in the hearts of the spiritually dead.
Those Churches which are receiving members most rapidly are face to face with this difficulty in a grave form. But it can not but be mightily encouraging to know that the real spiritual life of the native Churches of our own planting, at least (for I can only speak with authority of them ) , is steadily deepening. Through special services, in camp-meetings, in class-meetings, in personal inter- course, we v/ho labor in the Philippines must confront
478 The Philippines and the Far East.
this peril of formalism, and spare no effort to break its force in the Churches which are founded.
It is. sad but true that one of the most powerful hin- drances to our work of evangelization of the native popu- lation of the Philippines is due to the worldliness and open godlessncss of many Americans. The worldliness that smites the most of Americans who come to the Philip- pines is chiefly seen in the neglect, if not open and sneer- ing contempt, for all forms of religious worship. Out of eight thousand Americans in Manila, not more than five hundred different persons can be found in the three Amer- ican congregations which minister to the American popu- lation on any Sunday. These Churches have as good preaching as will be found in similar Churches in the United States. Their choirs furnish excellent music. The buildings are well located. All publicity possible is given to the services in newspapers and through other means of public announcement. But the people do not go to church in any considerable numbers. A partial explanation may be found in the lack of adequate means of communication in the city. But this does not hinder crowds from going to any other place which they wish to attend. The fact is that a spirit of extreme worldliness prevails in Manila. Men and women who always went to church at home never go here. Men and women who were scrupulous about the right observance of the Sabbath here are found at the Sunday races, Sunday ball-games, or going for Sunday excursions on the bay or river. Government offi- cials have set the example, as was shown in another chap- ter. It was considered the right thing to comport one's self as an official so as to allay any possible fear that the government was to use its influence in favor of Prot- estantism, and clerks and heads of departments took the
Difficulties Confronting Mission Work. 479
cue quickly. This has chang^ed somewhat, but there is large room for improvement.
The society life of Manila seems given over to bridge whist, dancing", Sunday games and fetes, and other occu- pations which do not tend toward religious living. Many of the American women have little to do. Their Chinese cooks prepare the meals. Filipino house-boys do the house- keeping. A native nurse looks after the children. A steamstress keeps the sewing-machine whirring, and the wife and mother can spend her time in going from one function to another with not much concern for domestic affairs. All this tends away from spirituality, and affects the tone of social life unfavorabh'.
The largest items in the indictment are drink, lust, and gambling. It will forever remain a mystery to the thoughtful why the military government admitted ship- loads of liquor in the beginning, and permitted private greed for gain to supplement the evil of the regimental canteen in ruining our soldiers and setting an evil example to the natives of the Islands. One word from the military authorities would have made it impossible for liquor to land. But it was not spoken. The annual license was fixed at the utterly ridiculous figure of $4 ! Saloons sprang up on every hand. Soldiers lay sodden drunk on the public roads. Our national honor was dragged in the very dirt of the streets.
It is vastly to the credit of the civil government that as soon as it came into power all saloons were banished from the Escolta, and from all the principal business streets of Manila. Also, that in framing a charter for Manila, they included a set of laws on the liquor question which were superior to those prevailing in man_\' of our home cities. Saloons have to pay from $600 to $800 per
480 The Philippines and the Far East.
year for their licenses, and must close at eleven o'clock at night and remain closed Sundays. A pane of glass must be set in all doors leading to the streets from which a view of the bar can be had, and offenders are promptly and severely punished. While the whole number of native wine-shops in Manila has been reduced from over 4.000 at the time of American occupation to 1,168 on the last day of June, 1903, yet there has been the introduction of the American saloon with all its attractiveness as a totally new factor in the life of the city. On June 30, 1903, there were 157 places licensed in the city of Manila in which liquor could be bought and consumed on the premises. Of these, 61 were what we understand in America by saloons, called here "first-class bars ;" 63 were second- class bars, or bars at which liquors were kept in a semi- private way ; 48 were restaurants, and five were hotels. Restaurant licenses require the taking of a bona fide meal with every sale of liquor. Hotel licenses do not. Of the 63 second-class bars, 57 are in the houses of prostitution in Sampaloc. An earnest efi^ort is being made to compel the authorities to banish liquor from these brothels. There were 61 wholesale liquor licenses in force on the date men- tioned above. Three or four large "commercial com- panies" in Manila sell little else than liquor, though seek- ing to be known as respectable merchants. There are seven licensed distilleries in Manila, one brewery doing an immense business, and 86 licensed groceries handling liquors. Taking saloons as that term is understood in America, there were 129 in operation at the close of the last fiscal year, June 30, 1903. As compared with Amer- ican cities, that is not a bad showing. The following table is the most recent procurable in Manila. I take it from Dr. Brown's book :
DlFFlCULTIKS CONM-ROXTINC, IMlSSIOX W'oKK. 481
Popula- tion.
Saloons.
Washington .,
Cleveland
Cincinnati. . New Orleans . Milwaukee .... San Francisco
St Louis
Baltimore
Boston ..
Philadelphia .
Chicago ..
New York
278,718
381,768
325.902
287,104
2S5.310
342.782
575.238
508 957
560.892
1,293.697
1.698,575
3,437,202
513 1,888
1.727 1.370 1.747 3.007 2,000 1,988 799 1.709 6,400 10,832
But it must be remembered that the American and for- eign population of Manila to which these saloons furnish liquor, and to them almost cvcliisii'dy, is not more than ten thousand, so that the consumption per capita is appal- lingly large, with correspondingly evil effects on our work for the uplifting of the Filipino people. They arc nearly all users of intoxicants of their own making. They drink biiio, a deadly white liquor distilled from the nipa palm, and tuba, an intoxicant made from the juice of the cocoa- nut-tree ; but they are not an intemperate people. They are seldom seen drunk. The habit of drinking to intoxi- cation is an American habit here. And such a habit, with its concomitant vices, does not lend itself to efforts which are being put forth to better the moral condition of the native population.
Concubinage is a terribly common sin among Amer- icans. The system of contract marriages which grew up under the excessive demands of the friars for marriage fees has lent itself to this evil. Conditions in this respect are better than they were two years ago ; but they are yet sufficiently shameful to cause us to blush for the influence exerted by scores of Americans who have been reared to know better than to live in open sin. 3^
482 The Philippines and the Far East.
Gambling is in the very atmosphere of the East. Our countrymen fall victims to it with fatal facility. The balmy air, the easy conditions of life, the thousand oppor- tunities which the white man has of recouping himself when the fickle goddess of the game is unfriendly. — all these make gaming more fascinating here than in lands where conditions are more rigorous.
The American influence is not all bad. It is not true, as some say, that we are imparting all our vices and none of our virtues to the Filipinos ; but there is enough truth in the statement to sadden every one who loves righteous- ness. There are hundreds of our countrymen who are living purely and unselfishly in the midst of this people, and to these we give our hands, and with these we join our forces in the firm belief that "grace is stronger than sin."
The difficulty of acquiring the local vernaculars so that every man may hear in his own tongue the wonderful works of God is one that confronts us in every part of the Islands. At my request, Rev. Willard A. Goodell of the Methodist mission, who has probably acquired the Tagalog language more perfectly than any other American in the Philippines, has prepared the following Notes on the Tagalog Language :
"I. Tagalog is essentially a spoken language and full of idiom. The people themselves know very little about its why's and wherefore's, even those who have some education in Spanish and Latin. They merely know it as they have learned it, without a question as to its make-up. But it is not without system. The Spanish friars wrote fairly good grammars of the language in Spanish, and Constantino Lendoyro has written a very good one in English.
"Aside from the devotional books of the Catholic Church and the grammatical works of the friars in Span-
Diri'icui,Tii;s Conm-ronting Mission Work. 483
ish-Tas^aloq-, there is practically no literature in the lan- i;uaii"e prior to the work of the Protestants.
"II. The pronunciation of Tagalog is very simple, and there are no sounds to which the American vocal org-ans are not accustomed. The letter most difficult to get is 'ng,' which has exactly the sound which it has in the middle of the word 'ringing ;' but which becomes dif- ficult when at the beginning of a word, as in the word 'nguni. t,' — one of the words translating the conjunction 'but.' and which often comes at the beginning of a sen- tence.
"But although so simple in word pronunciation, Taga- log is extremely difficult in utterance, for one reason be- cause of the great number of very long words it contains, and for another and more important still, because of the rhythmic movement of the language, — a quality that can not be described, and a characteristic for which no rules whatever can be given, but which is entirely as much a part of the Tagalog language as are its words them- selves.
"III. In grammatical construction, with the excep- tion of the verb, the language is verv simple. The nouns are not declined, the cases being indicated by the article, which is declined in singular forms only. All plurals are formed by prefixing the article 'manga' to the word or expression to be pluralized.
"There is no gender in Tagalog. With the exception of the words for 'father.' 'mother,' 'uncle,' 'aunt,' 'brother- in-law,' 'sister-in-law,' 'young-man,' 'young-woman.' there are practically no nouns which could be said to have gender forms. It is expressed by the use of the adjectives 'male' and 'female :' even such common words as 'man,' 'woman,' 'son,' 'daughter.' 'brother,' 'sister,' etc., are used as 'male person,' 'male child,' etc.
"The pronouns are declined almost exactly as Eng- lish pronouns and are used in the same way. There are, however, a few pronouns in the first person plural that are not found in English : one excluding the person ad- dressed, 'we, but not you ;' one including the person ad- dressed, 'we all ;' and one meaning 'we two only.'
484 The Philippines and the Far East.
"IV. It is in the use of the verb that Tagalog baffles the student and makes its mastery a matter of years. In the actual matter of conjugation, the commonly-used forms of any verb are simple enough. There are really only three tenses, and only one mood. There is but one form in each tense for all three persons. There is a pluralizing particle which may be used or not, which, in fact, is not commonly used in the spoken language. The verb in the sentence must have a subject, either noun or pronoun, very much as in English.
"But simple as is the conjugation of the verb at its root, in actual use it grows into a system of ramifications and variations and inexplicable and indescribable differ- entiations, which fairly overawes the student accustomed to perhaps five conjugations and a few hundred irregular verbs. For the conjugating in Tagalog is not by endings, but by particles prefixed, inserted, or suffixed, often all three in the same form. And as there are seventeen com- plete sets of these particles, active and passive, with vari- ations uncountable according to euphony or sense; and as these seventeen sets of verbalizing particles when ap- plied to one root may produce entirely different effects in signification from what thev do when applied to another root ; and as, in addition, the passive voice is much more used than the active, and in places where English would always use the active, and as all this is done without law or order or any possible explanation, but merely intuitively by the natives who have had their language handed down from generation to generation, it is easily seen what an intricate and interminable task is set the student of the language.
"In Tagalog much confusion comes from the similar- ity of ideas, which in English are quite distinct. For in- stance, the same root differently conjugated means 'to buy' and 'to sell ;' in the same way one root means 'to borrow,' 'to lend,' 'to be debtor,' and 'to be creditor;' and one root is conjugated to mean 'to study,' 'to learn,' and 'to preach.' Some examples of the last cited root, taken from Lendoyro's 'The Tagalog Language,' may serve to illustrate the complexities of this system of conjugation.
DiFFicui<Tir:s Confronting Mission Work. 4S5
"The root is 'aral.' Used alone it means 'a doctrine or teaching.'
nmaral to teach.
magaral to learn, to study.
mangaral to preach.
macaaral to be able to teach.
magpapagaral to order or bid one to study.
macjuipangaral to join with one in preaching.
papangaral to ask for or wish preaching.
magpacapangaral ... .to try to preach one's very best.
ang pagaral the lesson taught.
ang pagaaral the lesson studied.
ang pagaaralan the book from which one studies.
ang ypinangaral the sermon preached.
ang pinangangaralan.the audience to which one preaches, ang mangangaral. . . .the preacher.
ang ungmaaral the teacher.
ang nagaaral the student.
"Although most of the roots in the Tagalog language are short, yet by reason of the multitudinous particles used in conjugating, it becomes a language of long words, and these often of strange alphabetical make-up. A root of four letters may be conjugated into a word of five times that number of letters, thus : 'olol,' crazy, becomes 'nan- gasisipagololololan,' meaning 'they feign madness ;' and 'usap,' to converse, becomes 'nangagsisipagusapusap,' to mean 'they gossip.'
"V. The system of conjugation in Tagalog begets many peculiarities. Nearly all words, whatever part of speech the root may be, may be converted into other parts of speech by the proper particles prefixed, suffixed, or in- serted. For instance, there are no verbs 'come' and 'go' in Tagalog. Instead the adverbs 'here' and 'there.' Thus one 'heres' and 'theres,' not 'comes' and 'goes.' Pronouns thus conjugated make odd examples. I 'mine' a thing, or 'yours'- it or 'his' it, that is, I impute it to be mine, or yours, or his.
"Nouns are also thus used : 'binabalang ang palay' lit-
486 The Philippines and the Far East.
erally says 'is being locusted the rice; meaning 'the locusts are destroying the growing rice ;' likewise 'was ratted the cheese' for 'the rats nibbled the cheese.'
"Vl. There are many idioms in Tagalog. although it is not a language rich in allusions and folk-lore. Instead of saying 'the sun sets.' it is 'the sun drowns.' The verb 'walk' is used for almost any kind of movement. 'The clock is dead ; it is not walking.' 'The present month' is 'the month now walking.' 'The telegraph is not walking on account of the storm.'
"On being asked why a certain lamp was not lighted, the servant replied, 'The oil does not like to walk up the vs^ick,' meaning 'the wick was bad.' 'Time walks,' for 'time passes.'
"VII. In Tagalog the adverbs 'already' and 'still' are very distinct, and are used strictly and constantly. This accuracy is quite difficult for the English student to ac- quire. Added to this difficulty is the fact that in Tagalog the negatives of the verbs 'to be,' 'to have,' and 'to want' are themselves positive verbs. 'May,' to have, and 'ay,' to be, have for their negatives the active verb 'uala,' to be w^ithout. or not to be ; and 'ibig,' to want, has for its nega- tive 'ayao,' not to want, to dislike. Thus, 'Ibig mo pa tubig?' — Do you want more water? (literally. Do you still want water? — has to correspond w'ith its negative answer in English the positive answer in Tagalog, 'Ayao CO na,' I do-not-want already ; literally, 'already I have gotten to the point where I do not want.'
"VIII. But by far the most striking peculiarity of Tagalog is found in the use of the passive, — a veritable backing into a statement ! Nearly all simple commands are in the passive : 'be washed by you the dishes,' 'be writ- ten by you the letter.' The plain active sentence in Eng- lish, 'He wants you to bring him a net because the mos- quitoes are biting him,' when stated in the simplest Taga- log reads literally, 'Is wanted by him to be brought by you a net because he is being mosquitoed ;' and 'Tell him to call a doctor for this fever patient' would become, 'Be told by you to him that is wanted by me to be called by him a doctor for this person which is being fevered.' "
Dii'i*ici'i;rii:s CoNin^oNTiNC Mission Work. 487
Rev. A. E. Chenoweth, of the same mission, says:
"The followinc,- will illustrate both the use of the pas- sive voice and the genitive case:
" 'And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say from heaven ; he will say, Why theni' did ye not believe him?' (Mark xi. 31.) The Tagalog reads, 'At camilang pinagbubulay-bulay sa camilang sarili na sina- sabi ; Cung sabihin nating mula sa langit, ay sasabihin Baquit, nga hindi ninyo siya pinanampalatayahan ?' The literal translation of this is, 'And of them was reasoned with themselves and was said. If to be said of us, from heaven, will be said (of him), Why, then not of you he was believed ?' "
BISHOP JAMES M. THOBURN.
CHAPTER XXIX.
The Agupay Movement.
Catholicism in the Philippines is no longer of one kind only. A schism has taken place. Under the leader- ship of Gregorio Aglipay at least one million and a half of the Filipinos have left the Holy and Apostolic Roman Catholic Church, and set up the Independent Catholic Church of the Philippines. Whatever may be the future of the movement, it has rent the old Church in twain from top to bottom, and now holds the attention of Catholic leaders to a far greater degree than Protestantism, for the reason that it is just now more to be feared by Cath- olic leaders than Protestantism.
Archbishop Aglipay is an ex-communicated Catholic priest. He is about forty years of age. He is an Ilocano by birth. He was carefully educated for the priesthood in a Catholic seminary, and was ordained in Manila about 1890. His advancement was unusually rapid. He was trusted by his friar superiors, and given charge of im- portant and delicate interests. But in the stormy days of the insurrection and beginnings of American occupation he fell into ill-favor with the Church authorities over some irregularity in Church order, and was excommunicated. The action was glaringly unjust and entirely irregular. But he was a Filipino. He was far away from the pope. By no means at his disposal could he secure a removal of the illegal and unjust sentence. Hence he cast his lot in with the Insurrecto government, and Aguinaldo made
488
'The Agi.ipay Movement. 489
Jiim X'icar-Gencral — an empty honor. Once or twice he led troops in action in exigencies of the guerrilla warfare which the scattered troops of the insurgent army were able to maintain. Very soon after the proclamation which the Schurman Commission issued on the 4th of April, 1899, he saw the futility of further resistance to Amer- ican arms, and the probability that under American sover- eignty all those ends for which the Filipinos were fighting could be secured more certainly than by the triumph of Insurrecto arms. Hence he "came in," and took the oath of allegiance.
In August of 1901 he sought a private conference with several Protestant ministers to discuss the religious situ- ation in the Philippines, outline his own plans, and seek some form of co-operation if union of efifort proved im- practicable. He took the initiative. It was his first con- tact with Protestants, whom he had always denounced as the offscourings of the earth. The fact that he sought us out was an indication of his intellectual hospitality.
The conference was held in the ofifice of the American Bible Society in the Walled City, Manila. Those present were : Rev. Jay C. Goodrich, agent of the Bible Society ; Rev. James B. Rodgers, senior missionary of the Presby- terian Church ; Rev. J. L. McLaughlin and myself, of the Methodist Episcopal Church ; and Sefior Isabelo de los Reyes, a Filipino gentleman of good education, and an inveterate fondness for agitation. We spent several hours in hearing the first disclosure of a plan to rend the Roman Church in the Philippines in twain. Senor Aglipay. with great clearness, set forth the situation as he saw it. He pictured the popular hatred of the friars as we had seen it. He pointed out the systematic ill-treatment of the native clergy by the foreign friar, and the unrest which this caused among the entire native community. He
490 The Phiijpi'ines and the Far East.
showed us proofs of the passionate fervor of all Filipinos for their own Islands. He then told us that he proposed to lead in the establishment of an independent Catholic Church in the Philippines, and that he wished us to make common cause with him. The first item on his program was separation from the papacy and complete autonomy in the Philippines. His next step was to declare for and stand "for Catholic doctrine in its purity." Other details were of less importance.
We pointed out to him the impossibility of any attempt to unite with a movement which did not make the Scrip- tures the rule and guide in doctrine and life, and urged him to study the situation more carefully and throw his strength into the Protestant movement. If he could not do that, we all represented the certainty of failure, if only a program of negation and protest were entered upon, and secured a promise that he would carefully consider the question of the indorsement of the Word of God, mar- riage of the clergy, and the abolition of Mariolatry.
Little more was known of Aglipay until October of 1902, when he called together the priests and laymen who had consented to join his movement, and with their aid framed and adopted a constitution for the new movement, named it the Independent Catholic Church of the Philip- pines, and was, by the votes of these sympathizers, elected "Archbishop." Several priests were elected bishops at the same time. The following Sunday the new archbishop, in full regalia, celebrated mass in Tondo, Manila, in the open air, before several thousand people. The sensation produced was tremendous. Sympathizers multiplied. A native priest at Pandacan, Manila, made some insulting references to Aglipav and his followers, and when he came out of the church a mob of women assaulted him, tore his
Till-: Agijpay AI()VF,.mf,nt, 491
cassock to shreds, rolled him in the dirt, and so hustled him that he was glad to escape without a hroken head. Members of that congregation sent for the new arch- bishop to come and say mass in Pandacan Church. He came and said mass before a vast crowd, while over two hundretl irate women took their bedding and cooking utensils and slept in the churchyard to prevent the regular priest from again entering the building. Other Churches invited Algipay to use their buildings, and the city was in a furore.
Aglipay and his advisers demanded confirmation of their possession of the Pandacan Church. Roman Cath- olic authorities demanded his ejection as a trespasser and a blasphemer. Governor Taft's office was besieged by be-gowned ecclesiastics. He was in shoal seas, with breakers on all sides. A mistaken decision, and a civil war was far from an impossibility. With perfect justice and consummate adroitness he issued a proclamation known in the Philippines as The Proclamation of Peace- able Possession. The gist of this order is that the party which is in peaceable possession of anv house of worship shall be deemed to be the rightful occupant, and the con- trary must be proven in the courts before ejection can take place. Under this order the court restored the Panda- can Church to the Roman Catholic authorities, as they were only driven from their peaceable possession by a mob. The evident justice of this order quieted public clamor, and trouble was averted.
The movement spread with a rapidity surpassing be- lief. Whole provinces with every pueblo, every priest, every church with its attached convcnto, or priest's house, went over to Aglipay solidly. In North Ilokos province but three Churches and priests remain loyal to Rome. At
492 I^he: Philippines and the Far East.
least 1,500,000 people and Church property worth hun- dreds of thousands of dollars went into the control of "Arzohispo" Aglipay as rapidly as he could pass in a kind of triumphal procession from town to town. Under Governor Taft's proclamation his forces were "in peace- able possession." They still remain in possession. Whether the hierarchy will bring suit for the recovery of every church and convento can only be a matter for con- jecture. It is probable that such action will be taken. It is not likely that there will be a tame submission to the loss of all of this valuable property. The legal battle that will open when this question is formally taken up will be one well worth watching. Aglipay will base his claim to the permanent retention of the property upon the alleged fact that churches were erected for all pueblos or cities from public funds supplemented by local contributions, in exactly the same manner in which the government pro- vides public offices, jails, and schoolhouses, and that by the law all such buildings became the property of the pueblo for the use of its inhabitants.
He will be met with citations from canonical law, and from the practice of the Roman Catholic Church accord- ing to which all titles of houses of worship pass auto- matically to the archbishop of the diocese in trust for the Church by the act of dedication. Equity appears to be on the side of Aglipay and his followers. It is to be feared, however, that a strict interpretation of the law will not give them the hundreds of churches in which they are now worshiping. The courts must decide.
The strength of the Aglipay movement lies in its ap- peal to a growing feeling of nationality, its recognition of the Word of God, its partial satisfaction of the large class whose hands have long waited for an available club
The Agijpay Movement. 493
with which to smite the friars, and to its easy prog'rani of rehgious reformation.
It is a FiHpino movement. It throws ofif the yoke of the pope, and cuts all other ties of a foreiijn character. Its entire ministry, from the "Arzohispo" to the humblest padre, is Filipino. It is altogether of the soil, and there- fore he who does not support it is not a good iMlipino. He does not love his Fatherland unless he joins the Inde- pendent Filipino Catholic Church. This form of pressure is very efifective. It brings thousands into the ranks of "Aglipayanos" who have precious little concern about merely religious matters. They habitually stand up for anything that exalts the Philippines, hence they put down their names and accept places on the committees which Aglipay leaves in charge of his interests in every place where a Church is established.
The success of Aglipay cuts the Catholic Church to the quick. Therefore friar haters welcome the move- ment. Any weapon that will give promise of humbling the haughty, tyrannical friar is welcomed and used most lustily. The same motive leads hundreds to welcome Protestantism, as they suppose that our first business is to fight Rome. When they find out the spiritual and moral demands which Protestantism makes, they flinch. It was not for this that they desired "a new religion." To a very great degree the immediate visible success of the movement is due to this cause.
Aglipay recommends the reading of the Bible by his priests and people. Over twenty-five thousand Scripture portions have been purchased outright by Aglipa\ leaders within the last six months, and sold to their people. All that is permanently good in the movement comes from this attitude toward the inspired Word.
494 The Phii^ippines and the Far East.
Its easy program of religious reformations attracts thousands. It promises a better order of things, but makes no spiritual or moral demands. Priests may come into the movement, and keep their mistresses and continue their gambling. Aglipay himself has never been accused of immorality or gaming, but he sets up no standard of purity in his priesthood or among his people. The cock- pit, games of cards and dice, the bino habit and all other national vices come into the new Church without direct rebuke. This, its real weakness, gives it apparent strength. Because of this it is enabled to count its mem- bers by the million within less than two years from its birth.
Indirectly the Aglipay movement is of great help to Protestantism. It breaks the solid front of Romish oppo- sition. When we are told that the Catholics are against us we can ask, "Which Catholics?" It attracts the chief enmity of the hierarchy. Since this schism began Rome has shot fewer arrows toward our lines. Her fury against the assumptions of an ex-communicated member of her own body has burned day and night since October. 1902. and the Protestant has come off with but a few curses, and a tract or two. This will continue so long as the numerical strength of the Aglipay schism is being aug- mented.
The Aglipay movement helps us by detaching tens of thousands of members from a nominal connection with the Church of Rome, and leaving them without positive instruction in a more excellent way. Our preachers get a hearing with them, and hundreds of them accept the Word and are saved. These people would never have left the Roman Catholic Church to become Protestants, feeble as was the hold of the old Church upon them ; but once out-
Till-; ACLll'AV MOVKMKNT. 495
side and Imngry for spiritual food, ihcy hear and are saved. Aglipay loosens this fruit from the tree, and we gather it. God is thus overruling the shortcomings of the leaders of this revolt against the Romish Church to the spiritual good of many souls.
I am not without hope that Aglipay will yet take more advanced spiritual and moral ground. His own personal belief is far from being in accord with some errors at which he feels it necessary to wink lest he lose his follow- ing. He hopes to be able to lead them to greener pastures later on.
The new American Catholic bishops have helped .Agli- pay by illegal attempts to seize the churches now held by the schismatics. Bishop Rooker had been less than a week in his diocese in Iloilo before he deliberately took possession of a former Romish Church, now for nearly a year "in the peaceable possession" of Agiipayaiios, when he chanced to find it open and empty between services. He sent for the presidente, or mayor, and demanded the keys. The presidente properly disclaimed any authority in the case, and declined to act. Bishop Rooker then sent for locks, and locked all doors and carried off the keys. It was an open violation of the Taft proclamation, and he was called to account.
In Northern Luzon Bishop Dougherty tried the same high-handed methods, going- to church after church, plac- ing his hands upon the door-sill and saying in Latin, "In the name of the pope of Rome I take possession of this church." Several times he was assaulted by the custo- dians of the buildings, and was forced to travel under a heavy escort of constabulary on his return to his head- quarters at Vigan. Governor Wright has not made public his orders in these cases yet, as they are of recent occur-
496
The Philippines and the Far East.
rence. It would seem that they are in plain contravention of the order directing all disputes as to rightful occupancy to be determined by the courts.
The Independent Filipino Catholic Church has come to stay. Just how strong a hold it will be able to keep over the multitudes which have flocked to its standard of revolt against the pope can not be foretold. But it may be reckoned with as a permanent factor in the religious future of the Philippines.
CARVED CHURCH DOOR, MANILA.
CHAPTER XXX. TiiK Philippines and the Far East.
Reduced to its lowest terms, the Eastern Question is the question whether or not Russia shall dominate Asia. Other elements enter the problem. Other Powers have interests, and Japan's very existence is at stake ; but it is the iron determination of Russia to control all of Asia which makes the Eastern Question.
Russia wants the Far East for at least three reasons. She wants it because there she can get access to salt water. No nation can be truly great without open ports on the blue highw^ay of the nations. History shows that every nation which has built up its commerce until that com- merce furnished solid foundations upon which national life could be established has had sea-room. When the na- tions which have left the largest contributions to the laws and literatures and institutions of all after time were in the height of their power, it was to the Mediterranean that they were indebted for that power. It was the sea which carried their corn and their silks and their armies. Rome and Greece, Egypt and Phenicia were sea-powers. Their continental hinterland would have had little mean- ing, no matter how fertile, had it not been possible to send its products swiftly to markets where it could be bartered for other products for which the trade of the country called. When the maritime activities of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries had discovered another continent richer 32 497
498 The Philippines and the Far East.
than any yet exploited, at the farther edge of the Atlantic. tlie center of the world-life and world-trade shifted to this larger highway, with its watery roads leading to all ports of the Americas and Europe. Without the Mediter- ranean, there could have been no Egypt, and Rome would have been a puny nation. Without the open paths of the v.ide Atlantic, England's greatness would have never come.
But Russia can not reach the Atlantic at open ports. Her land is nearly all hinterland. Nowhere does she face salt water. All her efiforts to reach it toward the south have been defeated by the jealousy of England. Defeated at the south, she has turned to the East, determined to find on the Pacific what she has been denied on the Mediter- ranean. How deeply rooted is this conviction that open ports on the sea are necessary to her existence and devel- opment can be seen in the vast expenditure of not less than $500,000,000 for that most daring railway project of all that have ever been attempted, the Trans-Siberian. If further proof of her settled policy is needed, it may be found in her audacity in wresting from Japan the fruits of the latter's victory over China at the close of the China-Japan War, and holding Port Arthur and Man- churia. Russia now has reached the sea. At Port Arthur, at Vladivostock, and now at Dalny, the Russian city of the future in the Far East, she has attained her end. Those who imagine that she intends to retire from Manchuria must be wholly ignorant of the policy which has held her steadily to the stupendous task of creating the railway.
The second reason why Russia lusts for the domina- tion of Asia lies in her desire to find outlets for her im- mense trade. Asia is filled with millions of earth's popu- lation. At least seven hundred million people are within
The PiiiLirpiNES and Tiit; Far East. 499
the territories which Russia has determined to control with a more or less direct hand. These people are buyers of the things which Russia can grow and manufacture. At present England and Germany have the larger share of this immense market. Neither England nor Germany has a tithe of the natural resources which Russia pos- sesses. In her continuous continental territory of more than eight million square miles she has mines of all kinds of ores, with enough of each to supply a world. In her millions of ^cres of forest she has lumber to build for the nations. In her far-reaching acres of rich soil she has resources only equaled by the United States, and nearly all undeveloped. For all these she craves markets. With the sea for a highway, and the Far East for her customers, she can carry and sell, and buy and carry home those rich spoils of field and mine out of which national wealth and greatness is to be had. All the prizes for which Rome played her game of power are petty compared with the colossal schemes which the diplomats of the White Father have matured. He plans to control one continent that he may ultimately control another nearer home.
The third reason why Russia has settled it that all Asia must come under her swa\- is, that by this means it will be possible for her to fall heir to the riches of China. China will ultimately fall and be seized by some other Power or Powers. Russia proposes to be that Power. For this, in part, the railway and the construc- tion of coterminous land frontiers of thousands of miles. For this, in part, the seizure of Manchuria, and the pres- ent readiness to fight Japan, if necessary, to hold both Manchuria and get a better grip on Korea. As the vul- ture wheels in the upper air above the doomed and stag- gering horse about to die in the open, so Russia stands
500 The; Philippines and the Far East.
b}' the bedside of a decadent China, waiting but ready to strike when the gasping patient gives final indications of national dissolution. Russian money supported the Boxer movement, Li Hung Chang w^as in the pay of Russia to his last breath. More than one high official of China to-day is being enriched from the coffers of the Bear, and in return gives information and helps on treaties and concessions and franchises otherwise unobtainable. An elaborate system of espionage leaves no move in the great game unknown to the astute diplomats of the Czar. It is a waiting game, but it is a mighty game. When the old Chinese junk goes to pieces on rocks that lie not far ahead, there will be one wrecking crew ready with all the tackle to secure both cargo and passengers. A nation of four hundred million people, with all the unthinkable wealth of forest and field and mine, is to be gained in some such way as England has gained India. Advan- tages of trade, national prestige, uncounted wealth, — these, and the control of other nations and peoples to whom China is the key, are the immense stakes for which Russia plays her game.
Can she accomplish these vast purposes? Has she the financial soundness, the military strength, and the national resources with which designs so titanic may be realized? On this point there is widespread misappre- hension, which it has been a part of Russian policy to create and maintain. The impression prevails that Russia is a reckless spendthrift, and has borrowed in all direc- tions and with desperate eagerness. It is commonly be- lieved that Russia is on the verge of bankruptcy, with imperiled credit and exhausted resources. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The national debt of Russia is less than that of France or England. It stands now at $3,331,000,000. The annual interest is $132,500,000. Yet
The Philii'pinks and thf. Far East. 501
this interest is being' met, and the main (MA has been re- duced $150,000,000 within ten years. vSince 1887 Russia has borrowed $447,000,000, but not one dollar of this sum except for one of two purposes, either to convert loans from a higher to a lower rate of interest, which is good financial policy always, or to construct productive improvements such as irrigation works, the Central Asia Railway, and such other lines as are either immediately profitable or will be so in the near future. Russia receives enormous revenues from sources which are unproductive in other nations. She has 200,000,000 acres of real forest lands as yet untouched ! She has 38,250 kilometers of State railways worked at a profit. Her net revenues from all these sources amount to 640.000.000 of francs out of the 650,000,000 of interest on her public debt. The bal- ance to the good on her budget for 1898-99, after allowing for a bad harvest and for $47,000,000 extra naval ex- penditure, was $26,000,000. The Trans-Siberian Railway is already yielding profits far in advance of the most san- guine estimates of M. De Witte, the finance minister of Russia. It is impossible for sufficient cars to be provided to move the wheat which lies rotting in the open at Cen- tral Asia stations. Russia is rich. Russia is rich beyond the estimation of mere arithmetic. She is just beginning to acquire wealth, and is destined to have one rival for national wealth, and that is our own nation.
Her vast populations of the most stalwart and rugged people possessed by any country furnish her soldiers by the hundred thousand. Russia is an autocracw The Czar can say to this one. "Go," and he goeth, whether to war or to the settlement of the fertile prairies of Siberia. I am deeply indebted to Mr. Henry Norman for data re- garding Russia. His "All the Russias" should be in the hands of every man who has his eves on the future. In
502 The Philippines and the Far East.
this book Mr. Norman relates a conversation with a Russian officer, in which the latter said that the weakness of other European nations from a military standpoint lies in their inability to get soldiers. With a wave of the hand toward a drill-ground, where a large body of troops was being put through its evolutions, this officer said, "Russia can spare one hundred thousand such men any day, and not know it." This is brutal, but it is true. In this fact lies one of the immense resources of Russia when her military possibilities are under consideration. What forces are arrayed against Russia? What are the prob- abilities that these imperial plans will be defeated by any nation or by any coalition of nations?
Japan is the nation which just now ventures to oppose this huge giant of the North as he shoulders his way to the Eastern Sea, and proposes to enrich himself with the spoil of her millions. Japan has made wonderful strides toward greatness in recent years. Her development is the modern national miracle. But look at her territory. Look at her people, not one in five hundred of whom has been touched by the civilization which she boasts she has adopted. No nation is enduringly great whose people are at once few in number and low in the scale of intelligence. It is a hard thing to say, but the people of Japan — the men who till the petty fields, dig in the mines, and live in the doll-houses of her toy land — are, on the average, very much what they were when Commodore Perry blew off the doors of the Empire and let in the outer world. Edu- cation has reached the classes. The masses are unleav- ened. The people are but few. Only forty millions as against the untold millions of Russia with all her Euro- pean and Asiatic dependencies. Her resources are small in comparison with those of the Titan against whom she is so eager to throw herself. She has a navy that is re-
TlIK rillMI'l'lNKS AND TIIR F*AR EaST. 503
puted to be powerful. Allow that it is so, and that the men behind the guns are as good in their places as the guns are for the grim work for which they were cast, and allow that in a sea-fight she could blow the Russian fleet out of the water, — what then? The bulk of Russia's fighting force is on the mainland of Manchuria. There is but one way to reach them, and that is to capture the only road. That road is the Trans-Siberian Railroad. With hundreds of thousands of men at her call and within a few days' ride from the edge of the continent, and with every point of advantage in her hands, how is it thinkable that Japan can land armies and force Russia to give up her land position ? Russia can afiford to let Japan whip her on the sea, and never swerve for one moment from her course. Japan fighting Russia is the game little ter- rier flinging himself daringly into the red jaws of the Bear. He will inflict some wounds, but will neither kill his enemy nor turn him from his mexorable purpose.
"But England will join Jaj^an," says some one. Per- haps ; that is not certain. England will join Japan for certain ends. But England is now exhausted with a wasteful war, and in no mood to help another nation pull its chestnuts from the coals. Only when English inter- ests are touched to the blood will she unlimber a gun for Japan's defense against Russian encroachments. And suppose she does help Japan, — what then? I maintain that the position of Russia backed away up into the heart of a continent, and fed by a good railway from her own base of supplies in Europe, is impregnable. There is no way that either England or Japan, or both together, can strike Russia at any vulnerable point in the Far East.
France, too, will come into the play as soon as real war reddens the horizon. France will help Russia. Other Powers will be dragged into the fray. Germany has
504 The PhiIvIppines and the Far East.
great designs in Asia, and will yield them only after a supreme effort. Her present emperor has never lacked courage to do whatever seemed for the interests of Ger- many, whatever the political hazard. Only by following Napoleon's method can Russia be struck where she will feel the blow. Invasion of Russian territory by a com- bined force might succeed where the audacious French leader failed so conspicuously. But this we scarcely ex- pect Japan to attempt or England to support if so foolish a campaign were begun.
What if Russia wins? What if all Continental and Insular Asia come under the rule of this White Giant of the North? This: the indefinite postponement of all the unfinished business of niissiojiary and philanthropist, as tvell as that of enlightened statesmen zvho have labored for the welfare of the Far East. Russia has a State Church. It is a cold and empty formalism, with a dreary round of stately services. Her religion is barren of mercy, compassion, and that love which is the heart of the Gospel. Russia has no room for programs of national welfare except as welfare is spelled in terms of material prosperity. Russia will stimulate the trade of so much of Asia as she may dominate ; but her intolerance and her bigotry will freeze the very fountains of Christian civil- ization which have been unsealed in China and Japan and Korea, as well as in other portions of the Far East, by the labors of the Christian missionary in the last hun- dred years. No calamity now impending in any quarter of the world can be compared in its baleful significance for the Kingdom of Righteousness with the Russian menace. It affects more souls for whom Christ died, and affects them more immediately and profoundly, than any other national situation which can be discerned on any world-horizon. Let this mighty national glacier push
The Philippines axd the Far East.
505
its frozon bulk over these dense populations, and it will be winter indeed, with frosts that kill those growths from the fruitage of which these numberless millions would eat and live.
Here it is that we can see the relation, or at least the beginnings of the relation, of the American occupation of
the Philippines to the Eastern Question. Just when Russia wrested Manchuria from China and Japan, and defiantly occupied Port Arthur, and was congratulating herself that the progress of a century toward the realiza- tion of her plans had been made in a few months, a new force appeared in the East. As a mere incident in a war arising primarily from causes the diameter of the earth away from these seas, the Philippines passed under the sovereignty of the United States of America, the only
5o6 Ttie Philippines and the F*ar East*.
nation which may hope to measure strength with Russia in the long future that lies before nations. Almost im- mediately came the alteration of Russia's tone toward Japan. Almost immediately aggression on her part ceased. Within a few months England, emboldened by the near presence of her kinsman, entered into alliance with the doughty little Island Kingdom to resist farther Russian advance, and to insist upon the fulfillment of such pledges as had been made. After the policy of op- portunism followed by Lord Salisbury for so many years, this was one bold stroke for which many thanked God and took courage. One more hurdle would have to be cleared before Russia reached her goal.
Our forces had been in the Philippines but a few months when the Boxer movement ilamed up in China. Our minister was shut into Peking a prisoner. Hundreds of our citizens, missionaries and others, were in imminent peril with him. The German ambassador was murdered in daylight, and the extermination of the foreigner deter- mined upon. Orders from Washington put General Chafifee and a force of men into China as fast as steam could speed tliem. Rains had made roads almost impass- able. The only railway from Tientsin was in the hands of the enemy. Supplies 'were scanty. Transportation was almost wholly lacking; but while the English force waited for one condition to be altered, and the German and Japanese troops for another condition to improve. General Chaffee said: "I have my orders from Washing- ton. I march on Peking at once !" The march, the rescue, and all that splendid story are known to an ad- miring world. But the incident reads large in its ultimate significance. Imperiled American interests have com- pelled our nation to invade China with one armed force, and shotted our cannon against the inner sanctuaries of
The PlIII.Il'l'lXKS AND TIIK FaR IlAST. 507
her holy city. IVJiat has been done once will be done again ichen similar conditions make similar demands. And Russia knozcs it. Captain IMahan has studied these matters as profoundly as Lord Curzon, or M. Leroy Boileau, or Mr. Henry Norman, M. P., and Captain Mahan utters words of truth and soberness when he says:
"Americans nuist accept and familiarize their minds with the fact, that, with their irrevocable entry into the world's polity, first, by the assertion of the Monroe Doc- trine, and since by their insular acquisitions — above all, the Philippines — and by the interests at stake in China, they can not divest themselves of concern, practical as well as speculative, in such a question as the balance of power in the Levant, or at the entrance of the Persian Gulf.
"As contrasted with the political unity of Russia and her .geographical continuity, the influences that can pos- sibly be opposed to her are diverse and scattered. They find, however, a certain unifving' motive in a common in- terest of unfettered commerce and of transit in the regions in question. It is upon the realization of this interest, and upon the accurate appreciation of their power to protect it, and not upon artificial combinations, that correct policy or successful concert in the future must rest."*
Russia is no friend of the United States. When it has cost her nothing she has smiled on us, on the principle that it is as well to have as few enemies as possible when large interests are at stake. But let any Russian interest antagonize this alleged friendship, and the heat evoked by the contact will burn this so-called friendship like tow in a furnace.
There is no force making for the stay of Russian progress in the Far East which is comparable with that of American influence. There is no single reason which so powerfully operates to continue a condition of actual
■■■■ The Problem of Asia, pp. 68 and 57.
5o8 The Philippines and the Far East,
peace in the midst of inflamed conditions as the fact that Russia is aware that there is a new force in the Orient, and knows that it will not be wise to take any steps which will draw the United States into China, whose territory she is determined to possess. She relies upon diplomatic victories rather than the triumph of her fleets and armies to get her men into the king row in North China. If it had not been for this new force in the Far East, the duel between Japan and Russia would have been over a year ago. Uncertainty as to just what this mighty nation with the terrible navy will do makes certain the delay of hostilities. It can not but be that an Almighty Ruler of events placed this nation here fronting the greatest peril to his little ones in order that He might use us, as He has always used nations, to advance the long parallels of His purposes against foes which would injure His kingdom. It is, of course, impossible for uninspired man to see the future ; but unless God means to use America mightily in the resolution of the Eastern Question, all those signs fail from which men destitute of inspiration must spell out the significance of events as they unroll and impend before their eyes. How this use will be made of us is still in the womb of the future. It may be by the same means which He used in unhinging the barred gates of these Islands — cannon and shell and all the horrid din of war. It may be that it will be by silently wafting the bloom of our civilization over the vast populations of the Orient, pollenizing them with ideals destined to bear fruit where despotism and ignorauce and vice yield their apples of Sodom. He has made America for a mighty destiny. He has set her in these seas not for her own aggrandizement, but that she may work out His sovereign will of righteousness among these nations. Our rule must be righteous. Our missionary labors must be ener-
The Piiii.ippinks and thk Far East.
509
gized of the Spirit of the Hvinj;" Ood. Every man who would enter into the plans of the Father of us all must do whatever work is given to him to do as though the whole burden of our duty rested upon his own shoulders. When we who now toil among these belated populations have been gathered to our fathers, the American occu- pation' of the Philippines will have become historw and if it is history creditable to Washington and Jefferson and Lincoln and McKinley, it will be because the Presi- dent, Congress, Philippine officials, and missionaries sub- mit themselves to Him who worketh all things according to the counsel of His own will.
*'THE end'
INDEX.
Acts of the Civil Commis- sion 170
Acts, List of, 184
Aglipay, Archbishop Grego-
rio, . 48S
His Schism, 490
Success of his movement, 493 Recommends reading the
Bible 493
Independent Catholic
Church 496
Agriculture, 238
Aguinaldo, 141
Alienation of the Filipinos
from the Church, .... 387 American Influence in the
East, 507
American Occupation, . . . 135 Area of Philippine Islands, . 15 Arsenic, 28
BiBi^E Societies, 595
Distribution, 396
Translations, 397
Colporteurs 403
Blanco, General, the Gover- nor, 126
Brigandage, 181
Cacao •• ... 255
Capture of Manila by Amer- icans, 145
Caste, 42
Catechisms used, 386
Centralization of influence, . 45 Cession of Philippine Isl- ands, 149
Characteristics of the Fili- pinos, 46, 53
51
PACK
Character of the Archipel- ago 16
China and the Boxer move- ment, 506
Chinese in the Philippines, . 265
Number, 272
Laborer, merchant, or spec- ulator, ... 272
Comnmnity interests, . . 276 Question of exclusion, . . 28.)
Christianity taught 86
Christianized I'^ilipinos, . . 39 Cliurcl! and State separation, 355
Church schools, 198
Civil Commission Report, . 92 Civilizing Influences, ... 88
Climate, 20
Coal, 262
Coff'ee-growing, .... 240, 254 Condition of Affairs at Ma- nila 138
Congregational Church, . . 474 Conquest of the Philippine
Islands, 62
Copra (dried cocoanut), . . 253
Constabulary Act, 180
Conversion of the natives to
Catholicism 380
Course of Instruction in
Church schools, .... 201 Currency Act, 337
Day laborers, Filipino, . . 231 Death-rate in Manila, . . . 237 Department of Public In- struction, 189
Dependientes 43
Despotism of the Friars, . 114
Dewey at Manila Bay, ... 136 I
512
Index.
PAGE
Difficulties in Mission work, 476
Saloons, 479
Concubinage, 481
Gambling, 482
Strange Languages to be
learned, 482
Disciple Church, 473
Division of Mission work, . 436 Dutch traders, 72
Early religion of the Phil- ippine Malays, 379
Earthquakes, 17
Eastern Question, The, . . 497 Ecclesiastical domination il- lustrated, 370
Educating a Nation, .... 185 Education and Scholarship, 54 English Language in the East, 210
Farm Crops, 246
Filipino Catholic's concep- tion of God, 384
Filipinos; who are they ? . 31 Finance, Phillippine, . . . 322
Food and Shelter, 50
Forest products, 258
Framing a policy, 155
Freemasonry, 121
Friar Lands, 284
Correspondence between Pope Leo XIII and Gov- ernor Taft 293, 303
Secretary Root's Instruc- tions, 298
Purchase of, by U. S. Gov- ernment 317
The owners of the titles, . 320 Disposition of the lands, . 321 Friars ; their missionary
zeal, 67, 79, 85
Fritz, W. G., 434
Funeral fees, 107
Future Improvements, . . . 216
Gambling, 52
Goodell, Willard A., . . . . 435
PAGE
Government and Religious
Conditions, 341
Gypsum, 29
Halford, Major E. W., 356, 441 Harbor Improvements, . . 223
Hard woods, 258
Hatred of the Friars, ... 91
Causes of, 94
Healthfulness of Islands, . 22
Hemp, 246
Historical Summary, ... 60 Hostility of government to religion, 351
Idolatry of the Malays, . 380
Igorrotes, 33
Ilocanos, 41
Images used in Catholic wor- ship. 383
Immorality of the Friars, . 109 Imports and Exports, Value
of, 329
Summary of, by Coun- tries, 333, 334
Independence and Self-Gov-
ernment, 168
Independent Catholic Church movement, .... 342, 392
India-rubber 262
Insurgents, 146
Insurrections, 74
Insurrection of 1896, . . 119
Japan; its progress, .... 502 Judicial system, 182
LEE-Ma-Hong, Chinese pi- rate, repulsed, 67
Legaspi, Don Miguel I^opez, Captain-General, .... 62
Lepers, 240
Malay Invaders, 42
Malay Peninsula, 19
Manila Fleet Destroyed by
Dewey, 137
Marble 29
Marriage fees, 106
Index.
513
PAGE
Martin, Thos. H 434
McKinley, President, Views
of, . • 143. 159
McLaughlin, Jesse L., • • • 434 Medical work, Presbj-terian
mission, 459
Metals, gold, iron, copper, • 262 Methodist Episcopal Church:
Beginnings, 420
Woman's Foreign Mission- ary Society, Teachers, . 429 Methodist Missionaries ap- pointed, 434
Methodist missionaries
sent, ... 4^,4, 449. 450, 451
Statistics 454
Minerals, 27
Missionary Beginnings, . . 409 First Protestant service, . 415
Molave-wood 259
Monsoon or wet season, . . 23
Montojo, Admiral, 137
Moros, and their customs, . 36
Municipal Code, 171
Music, 56
National spirit in the Phil- ippines 162
Native Teachers, 213
Negrito Population, .... 32
Normal and Industrial
Schools 219
Number of Teachers and schools, 206
Official corruption, Span- ish 217
Opposition of the Church to schools 197
Paterno, Senor Pedro A., . 133
Petroleum, 29
Philippine Archipelago, . . 15 Philippine Christian Advo- cate begun 441
Polavieja, General 131
Prantch, Arthur W., . . 416, 420 Presbyterian mission, . . . 436
. 33
PAGE
Presbyterians and Baptists, . 456
Principales 43
Protestant Episcopal Church, 464 Bishop C. II. Brent, . . . 465 High-Church principles, . 468 Refusal to co-operate with
other Churches, 472
Protes^^antism in the Philip- pines 359
Protestant missionaries, . . 358 Provincial Act 176
Raci.al and Linguistic sub- divisions, 39
Railroads projected 233
Regulative Principles, . . . 160 Religious Instruction in
Schools 190, 205
Religious Liberty, 349
Religious neutrality, .... 343
Religious practices 390
Religious situation 378
Resources of the Philippines, 244
Rial, Dr. Jose, 99
Rice, 250
Rivera, General Primo, . . 132
Roads 230
Running amuck 37
Russia's lust for dominion, . 498 Influence in Asia 499
ScENERV 29
Scholars in the Public
Schools, 209
Schools among the Filipinos, 186 Seasons, Character of, . . . 243 Sewerage System and Sani- tation, 234
Social order : pueblo, baran-
gay, etc 42
Struggles for possession of
the islands, 72
Stuntz, Homer C, appointed
missionary, 435
Sugar 253
Sulphur 28
Superintendent of Public In- struction 189
Superstitions, 389
514
Index.
PAGE
Taal Volcano i6
Tagalog Language, Notes on, 482
Tagalogs, 40
Tao, or common man, ... 45 Taxes under the Spanish re- gime, • • • 50
Teachers sent to Manila, . . 193
Temperature 242
Theatrical Amusements, . • 57
Tinguianes, 35
Tobacco 251
Transportation, Means of, . 226 Treasury Statement, .... 322 Treaty with Spain, .... 149 Typhoon, 24
PAGE
United Brethren, . . 436, 473 Urdaneta, Andreo, Augustin-
ian friar, 62
Instructions given to him, 82
VisCAYANS, 41
Why the Friars are Hated, 94-1 18
Young Men's Christian As- sociation, Army and Navy branch, 474
Zamora, Nicholas, .... 418 Zamora, Paulino, . . . 102,417
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