The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1898-04-23
The Philippine Islands.

Bio and little. they number six hundred,
varying in size from Lu&on, with Its 40,
600 square miles, to Tiny islets hardly
worthy of the name. The islands are in
most instances of volcanic origin, and sew
eral fine volcanic peaks may still be seen
in Luzon. Negros and Mindanao. De
structive eruptions have occurred within
recent times. while earthquakes are fire.
ouent and often of great violence
The climate is intensely hot, and III
MANY of the islands very unhealthy for
Europeans. The severest cold which l
ever experienced at sea level during three
wears and half was go Fahrenheit.
There are four months OF rain, four OF
sun. with intense heat. and two months OF
variable weather at each change OF the
monsoons. Revolving storms of great
magnitude and frightful violence occur at
certain seasons. and frequently cause enor-
nous damage to property, attended with
heavy loss Of life.
The tropical scenery i'll the forests OF
this archipelago is Of unsurpassed splen-
dor. the heat and moisture combining to
produce vegetation Of Il magnlhcence,
which beggars description. Gigantic trees,
lowering to a height of 200 on 300 feet,
are festooned with graceful rattans. beau-
tiful ferns. and exquisite orchids, while
underneath splendid tree ferns rear their
lovely heads thirty or forty feet into air.
So dense is the vegetation III some OF these
forests that the fierce tropical sun hardly
penetrates to the ground beneath them.
and the dense underground perpetually
drips with moisture.
The population of the islands is estimated
ut from eight to ten millions. Excluding
foreigners for the moment. we find the
natives divided into something like two
hundred tribes, each with its peculiar dia-
lect and customs With the single eX
ception of the Negritos these tribes
are of Malay extraction. The Negnt"s
are race Of dwarfsh blacks, con
fined at present to few of the loftiest
mountain ranges They are characterized
not alone by their color. but by closely
curling hair. which serves at once to dis
tinguish them from the straig haired
Malay races. They are commonly be-
ieved to be the aborigineS Of the islands.
They are IA puny sickly race. and areIap-
idly becoming extinct.
The tribes Of Malay origin vary III their
development from IA state Of absolute say
agerv to civilization. The interiors Of sev
cral of the larger islands are populated by
nearly naked tribes many Of whose mem
bers have never seen white man. Hay
inc nothing to excite the cupidity of the
Spanish, they are, and seem likely to re-
main, completely independent.
Extreme poverty is the rule among the
civilized natives and its cause is found IN
the heavy burden of taxation imposed upon
them by their Spanish masters. Every
person over eighteen years Of age Is re
CURED to procure annually Il creduala per
sonal, or document Of Identification the
charge for which varies from Sl.30 to
S25. according to the means OF the appll
cant. Should these sums seem nslgnlti-
cant it must be remembered that the aver
age native has little or no opportunity to
work for hire: that if he does succeed III
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 eX-
change them for other commodities. In
addition to this personal tax there Is tax
on cocoanut trees, tax on beasts OF bur
den. Il tax on killing animals for food il
tax for keeping shop, tax on mills or
oil presses, a tax on weights and measures,
tax on cock fighting, and 50 ON to the
end of the chapter. At every turn the
poor native finds himself face to face with
the dire necessity Of paying tribute; and
he frequently spends his life in an mef-
fectual. 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 bench or post and beat them
numerically. have seen women sub
iected to this treatment. If this does not
suffice Imprisonment follows. while press
IRE is brought to bear on relatives and
friends Should none of these methods
prove effective deportation follows. with
contscation of property and the leaving Of
women and children to shift for themselves.
once saw forty-fom men deported
from Siquiior because they owed taxes
varying in amount from two to forty dol
lars. | 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 six cents per day.
Board was to be furnished them at a cost
Of five cents per day, and they were to
clothe and shelter themselves In other
words their sentence amounted to deporta-
ton for life.
Should a native manage to get abroad
and secure some little education he is
likely to be invited on board gunboat
some evening and not heard from there
after, the reason for his disappearance be-
ing that he knew too much.
Brigandase is tolerated. if not enceur-
aged, by the authorities charged with the
enforcement of the laws. The civil guards
go to much trouble in experimenting crimi-
mails of the worst type, only to have them
set at liberty again without trial, or mys-
teriOusly escape from prison. If there
were no criminals at large the fees of the
judges would fall off
The Governor General is surrounded by
a numerous corps Of officials to aid him in
the performance of his duties, while the
islands are divided into provinces, over
each of which preside Governor and a
horde of minor officials. The whole adj
ADMINISTRATION is rotten from skin to core.
With few exceptions, these officials have
come from Spain with the deliberate and
frankly expressed intention of improvin.
their pecuniary status, and the means en-
ployed in doing it would require for their
enumeration more space than is allotted to
A g. L., L