The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1898-09-10
MERRlrr.s HARD TASK.
What Lies Before the Governor Of she
Philippines.


american has ever been honored with a |
mission like that assigned to Gen, Mer-
fitt and none has ever entered upon q |
more difficult task 1t is hard enough !
70 deal with homogeneous race of civ
lil2ed men, but the 1900 ,000 people
awaiting the advent Of Gen. Merritt are
as badly mixed as any equally large
body of people on earth. The native
slement predominates, though, like the
Spaniards, the Chinese have acquired
very substantial foothold, and the two
widely varying races have largely in
termingled their blood with that of the
native inhabitants. The mestizos, or
mixed races, greatly outnumber the
Spaniards and exert decided influence
IN the islands. The great majority of
the merchants and landed proprietors
are the descendants of Spanish fathers
and native mothers. Although quite
exclusive, the best Spanish society adj
mits mestizo women in large numbers
TO Its circles. Most of the subordinate
officers of the government belong to
this class. AS a rule the male natives
are a good-natured superstitious and
lazy set, but the women manifest much
industry and are said to be as virtuous
as any set of women on earth. The
descendants of Chinese and native
women are much more industrious and
enterprising than the natives Of the
pure blood When he has conquered
the Philippines Gen. Merritt will find
himself in a difficult position and much
knowledge and great tact will be re-
CURED to manage the heterogeneous
mass Of people, varying from Malay
pirates to accomplished English bust
ness men. A radically new system of
government will have to be introduced,
that at present in vogue being at least
a century behind the times. Spain sent
the sword to the West Indies and held
the natives in subsection by brute force.
She adopted a different course with the
! Philippines. In lieu of soldiers she
sent priests and in place of forts erect
ed churches. Her priests converted
| thousands of the natives to Christianity
1 and have in the past controlled them
/ better than a large standing army
could have done. Often has Spain, when
j in sad financial straits, appealed to her
/ eastern possessions for extra money,
! and never in vain, the devoted priests
/ always managing to raise and forward
/ the sums demanded 1t is a veritable
empire that Gen. Merritt goes to take
! possession of in the name of the Ameri-
! can people. The islands number about
, 1,4OO and contain about 100000 square
miles, territory equal to nearly three
fourths of the entire German empire
| To conquer and establish authority in
such vast, widely scattered territory
is in itself no trifling task, particularly
when it is remembered that some Of
the islands have never been fully eX-
plored, much less civilized. The coun,
try must be classed as hilly and noun
famous, one peak rising to a height Of
10000 feet, while five are over 5000
feet above the sea level. The entire
country, from sea to sea, including hills
and mountains, is covered with dense
semitropical vegetation, the Philip
pines occupying about the same lati
tude as Cuba. There are three distinc
seasons-cold from November t.
March, hot from March to June and we
from July to October. Terrific thun
derstorms occur in May and June. Goa
abounds in immense deposits, thu
veins, many of them on the coast, run
ming from ten to twenty feet in thick
ness. Iron ore, the equal of that .tounC
In Sweden, exists in great abundance
as also do deposits of copper. None o
these have ever been developed to an!
considerable extent. Gold exists in al
the islands and experts declare tina
millions could easily be taken out. Ami
NAL life is very generally diffused; ev
erything on earth that walks, runs, file
or swims inhabiting these islands. TIL
flora is remarkable, there being 4,47
distinct species of flowers. The prod
ucts include almost every kind of frui
and grain, coffee, sugar, tea, rice, pota
toes, European vegetables, a hundred
kinds of bamboo and the famous Ma
Mia hemp that has become such a ne
cessity in American manufactures.
difficult task has been laid out for Gen
Merritt, but a rich empire awaits hi
subsection. No one doubts that he will
prove equal to the task, though he will
encounter great difficulties and suffe
serious disappointments. He is a thor
ough American and has been a farmer
lawyer, soldier and practically a mill
tary governor on our American from
tier, where he has come in contact will
Indians, more fierce and unruly rae
than he is likely to encounter in tn
Philippines. In the meantime no on
will dispute that these islands are vel