The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1898-06-24
WORSE THAI IT IS IN CUBA
PILLAGE OF THE NATIVES
OPEN AIM OF SPAIN.
Millions for Spanish Courts and
Private Fortunes Of Brutal Men
Wrung from Slaves by the Most
Shameless Torture.

scarcely affords so remarkable a picture
of Spanish oppression, miscalled gov
eminent, as may be seer in the Philip
pines. 1t is only the remoteness and
isolation Of these unhappy islands that
has prevented the atrocities there per-
petrated from arousing the indigna-
ton of the whole world. The purpose
Of this article, however, is not to detail
the shocking barbarities practiced in
times Of disorder; facts of this sort
are already too familiar. I wish rather
to show the utter incapacity of the
Spanish for the exercise of civilized
government over a dependent province
even in times of so-called peace; and
this has a much more vital connection
with the ultimate Cuban problem than
their d when incensed by revolt.
The Philippines are extremely inter-
esting in themselves, but are seldom
visited by tourists, partly in conse-
quence of their lying out of the ordi-
nary lines of travel and partly because
of the policy of Chinese seclusion Gull
tiVated by the government. The climate,
too, is unhealthy beyond what is usual
in the tropics, n the unsettled state
of the country, swarming with exas-
perated saVages and bandit of the
worst description, makes excursions be-
yond the limits Of the principal cities
very perilous. About 600 stands are in
cluded in the group, and the total area
is considerable-some $50, 900 quare
miles, three or four line that of Cuba.
Exact data, however, are difficult to
obtain. There are a multitude of insig-
nificant is.ets hardly known except upon
the charts OF naVigators; but Luzon al
most equals Cuba in extent, and its
chief city, Mnaila, has a population es-
tinated at 800, N0-greater than Ha-
vana. Altogether, the islands probably
contain not less han 5000, 600 souls; so
that Spanish cruelty finds plenty of raw
material to work upon.
And most of it is raw to the last de-
gree-a medley of diverse and hostile
races ranging from the puny and dying
remnant of the Negritos, who live like
wild beasts in the highlands, Subsist-
ing upon the roots which they claw out
of the ground, to the fierce and unsub-
dued Mohammedan tribes that still keep
up the bloody war of creeds which
ragged in Spain for so many centuries.
These latter are chiefly Of Malay ORR
gin, and many of them are professional
head hunters, we'll qualified to retort
Spanish outrages in kind. There are
also Chinese in large numbers, and half
castles of all varieties. The proportion
of Europeans is small, even in the
cities. The resident Spaniards are all
soldiers or officials Of some sort, and
are there simply for what they can
make by extortion and corrupt prac-
tees.
But, indeed, pillage of the wretched
natives is the almost open aim Of the
government-the sole end for which it
is organized and maintained; so why
should petty officials be scrupulous? 1t
Is the old Roman provincial system, de-
nounced by Cicero 1000 years ago, but
in Spain unforgotten and unimproved.
What other use has she for depend
encies, except as a source of revenue
wrung by torture from the misery of
slaves, and incidentally as a fattening
ground for her savage war dogs? Here
the detestable Weyler is said to have
accumulated a fortune Of several mil
lion dollars in three years-more than
twenty times the whole amoun of his
salary.
The methods employed in this legal
lied system of robbery are mideval in
character, but often highly ingenious.
One of them is the "cedula personal"
a sort Of passport. Every person in
and accessible to the authorities, is re-
quired to take out one Of these docu-
ments; even the women are not ex-
empt. The cedula must be renewed
annually, and the cost is from $3.50 to
$25 according to circumstances-the
chief circumstance being the victims
ability to pay. This in a country where
wages sometimes fall as low as 5 cents
a day! And any n who HOLDS a ced-
ula costing less than SO is further re-
quired to render the government fifteen
days of u~nremunerated labor.
But the cedula is only one device out
of many for extracting gold from the
refractory ore of poverty. A hungry
native cannot kill his own hog or buf-
falo for meat without a special permit
which, Of course, must be paid for.
He is not allowed to press out a pint
of a oil from the fruit of his
own orchard until he has obtained a
license, and this also has its price. The
orchard itself is taxed; everything is
taxed in the Philippines.
The resident Chinese are further sub
jected to q special tax-whether for ex-
listing or for not being something else
is not stated. They are not popular,
and are treated with the most shameless
injustice. This the following incident
will illustrate:
Fires are very frequent in Manila and
very destructive, most of the houses
being Of wood, while the poorer dis
tricts are a mere tumble of bamboo
huts, thousands of which are some
times consumed in a day without excit-
ing much comment. A fire in the bust
terest; it affords opportunities that are
not to be neglected. On one such occa-
sion, where the scene of the conflagra-
ton was a quarter chiefly occupied by
Chinese shops, the street was soon
thronged with an age mob. The poor
Cinnamon, acting much like crazed cat
tie, had fled into their upper chambers
and locked the doors, apparently pre-
ferring death by fire to the treatment
they were likely to receive outside. But
there was no escape. The "rescuers,"-
Spanish soldiers-Quickly broke in with
axes and after emptying the money
boxes hurled the wretched Mongolians
and all their goods into the street to