The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1898-06-14
IS PHILIPPINES.
z ORRUPT RULE A CURSE TO
THESE FERTILE ISLANDS.

| The Philippines lie wholly within
the tropics, reaching at the south to
within four and half degrees OF the
equator, writes Dean c. Worcester, Of
ths University Of Michigan in the New
York Independent. Big and little, they
number some six hundred, varying il
size from Luzon, with its 20, 600 square
! miles, to tiny islets hardly worthy o.
the name. Destructive eruptions have
occurred within recent times, while
earthquakes are frequent md often o
great violence.
The climate is intensely hot, and il
many Of the islands very unhealthy fol
Europeans. There are four months O.
| rain. four of sun: with intense heat
| and two months of variable weather O.
each change OF the nonsoons:
The tropical scenery in the forests O.
this archipelago is of unsurpassed
splendor, the heat and moisture com
bining to produce vegetation Of mag
| hideenoe which beggars description
Gigantic trees, towering to a height o.
200 or 800 feet, are festooned witt!
graceful rattans, beautiful ferns, au6
exquisite orchids, while underneath
splendid tree ferns rear their lovely
hesds thirty or forty feet into air.
The population Of the islands is es'
timated at from eight to ten millions
Excluding foreigners for the moment.
we find tie natives divided into some,
thing like two hundred tribes, each
|. with its peculiar dialect and customs.
With the single exception Of the Ne
gritos, these tribes are of Malay ez.
traction. The Negritos are race ol
dwarish blacks, confined at present tc
few of the loftiest Iiountain ranges.
They are commonly believed to be the
aborigines of the islands. They are
a puny, sickly race, and are rapid
ly becoming extinct.
The tribes Of Malay origin vary in
their Development from state Of ab-
sol,ite savagery to civilization:
Extreme poverty is the rule among
the civilized natives. aud it's cause is
found in the heavy burden of taxation
! imposed upon them by their Spanish
masters: Every person over eighteen
years of age is required to procure
annually credula personal, or docu-
ment of Identification, the charge for
which varies from $50 to S25. ac-
cordin9 to the means Of the applicant
Should these sums seem Insignificant
it must be remembered that the aver
age native has little or.no opportunity
to work for hire; that if he does sue
ceed in securing employment his wages
are often not more than five cents Per
day and that he is usually unable to
dispose of his farm products for cash,
being compelled to exchange them for
ether commodities. In addition to
this personal tax there is q tax oa CO.
coanut trees; d tax on beasts Of bur-
den; q tax on killing animals for food,
a tax for keeping shop, tax on
mills or oil presses; a tax on weights
and measures; a tax on cock fighting,
and sd on to The end of the chapter.
At every turn the poor native finds
himself face to face with the dire ne,
cessity of paying tribute; and he fre-
quently spends his lifeid an inefect-
ual effort to meet the obligations thus
imposed.
Delinquent taxpayers are treated
with the utmost severity. The first
step is usually to strip them to the
waist, tie them to a bench or post, and
beat them numerically. Women are
subjected to this treatment. Should
none Of these methods prove effective
deportation follows, with confscation
of property and the leaving of women
and children to shift for themselves.
I once saw forty-four men deported
from Siquijor becausethey owed taxes
varying in amount from two to forty
dollars. I was informed that they
would be allowed to return, to
their families, if they could find
them, after working out the amount
of their several debts. The wages
allowed them were to be siI cents per
day. Board was to be furnished them
at cost Of five cents per day, and
they were to clothe and shelter them
selves. In other words, their SEN
tence amounted to deportatiog.
life.
Should q nati7e>-< &c
abroad and sess little educa
ton, he -SS5fo be invited OF
, ,l24as boat some evening and not
heard from thereafter, the reason foI
his disappearance being that he knew
too much.
The Governor General is surround.
| ed by q numerous corps of officials to
| aid him in the performance Of his du'
ties, while the islands are divided
into provinces, over each of which
presides Governor and q horde of
minor officials. The whole Admins.
tration is rotten from skin to core.
With few exceptions, these officials
have come from Spain with the delio,
crate and frankly expressed intention
of improving their pecuniary status.
4 few years ago it. used to be said
that the Governor of province who
failed to become wealthy in two years
was fool.
Hostility toward foreigners is in
tense. The extensive export and i'm.
port trade Of the islands is in the
! hands of foreign houses, to the great
disgust Of the Spanish, who never
weary in their attempts to frame leg
islation for the ruin Of these money,
making interlopers. ..-
: All iu all, it can hardly be said that
the lot Of Philippine native is c
happy one. He constantly chafea un,
der his burden. while the haif cas!ax