Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-04-30
MlSRULE
Cause of Much Suffering in the Phil
ippine Islands.
WHERE EXTREME POVERTY PREVAILS
En- Administration That is Rotten
From Skin to Core.
b L RDENS OF TAX TON

Prof. Dean c. Worcester in the Independent
The Philippines lie wholly within the
| tropics. reaching at the south TO within
| four and a half degrees of the equator.
blg and little, they number some six hum
| dred' varying in size from Luzon. with its
lo."p square miles. to tiny isIets hardly
| worthy of the name
Extreme poverty is the rule among the
| civilized natives. and its cause Is found I'm
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 a credula per-
| sohai' or document Of Identification the
| charge Tor which varies from 81 % to ST.
! ACCORDING to the means of the applicant
should these sums seem insignificant it
must be remembered that the average ma
| i've has little or no opportunity to work
| for hire: that If he does succeed in s,cur-
| ing employment his wages are often not
mort thah hNe cents per day. and that he
III usually unable to dispose of his farm
products for cash. being compelled Ia ax
| cnanse them for other commodities In
addltlon to this personal tax there is a
TAX on cocoanut trees, a tax on beasts of
purden, a tax on killing animals for food.
| tax Tor keeping shop d tax on mills or
on presses, a tax on weights and measures
Il tax on cock-ighting and so on to the end
| tive hnds himself face to face with tie
ulre necessity OF paying tribute. and he
frequently spends his life IN an incrfectual
effort to meet the ohlIg,tfors - -
| posed.
Vicious Cruelty
Delinquent taxpayers are treated with the
| utmost severity. The first step IS usually
10 strip them TO the waist. tie them to q
pehch or post and beat them numerically
L nave seen women subjected 10 this treat
nent- If this does not suffice. inprison-
neht follows. while pressure is brouS hi 10
pear on relatives and friends. Daughters
are not nfrequently offered an opportunity
10 secure the liberation of parent az m.
expense OF their own honor Should none
Vi THESE methods prove effective. depOrta-
'loil Iollows. with confsca ton of proD,rty
ana the leaving of women and children ~
shirt for themselves
L once saw fcrty-four men dcpart.d from,
SlquiJor, because they owed taxes varying
IN amount from two to forty dollars /
was INFORMED that they would be allowed
10 return to their families if they could finI
tnem after working out the amount OF
their several debts. The wages allowed
them were To be six cents per day Roard
was to be furnished them at a cost of tye
Gets per day, and they were to clothe ana
sheIter themselves, In other words. their
sentence amo Inted TO deportation for life
Br1sandage is tolerated, il not ,ncourar-
cd, by the authorities charged with The ON
forcemert Of the laws. The civil guard 20
70 nluch trouble In experimenting criminals
OF the worst type, only to have them SCI at
liberty again without trial or ,nysteriol,s-
E escape from prison. If there We're no
criminals at large the fees of the Judges
would fail off.
influence of the Frfars
Inc great power i'm every native VILLAGE
Is the padre. Or village friar. Friars be-
longing TO orders not allowed to hold par
Isles in any other part of the world have
MI a.,
c-uited as they are from the lower classes
IN Spain, their ignorance Is in MANY cases
almos5 beyond belief. once found ,nvself
IN danger OF personal alteration with
one OF them because / insisted that there
were at that time E;ore than thirteen states
IN. the Union! This learned divine. in the
course of his conversation. Informed mo
that Philadelphia was near Mexico. aud
referred feelimgly to the visit of George
Washington to Spaini
n sharp distinction should be drawn be-
tween the friars and the priests Among
the Mohammedan fanatics of thu. SOM ;,.i.n
Islands are TO be found Jesuit priests en-
gagged in genuine missionary work One
cannot but admire their self-sacrincinp AMI
intrepid courage and their devotion 20
duty So far as my observation went their
lives were above reproach: and 1t would be
blessed thing for the Philippines should
the day ever come when the friars were
driven out and their places taken by men
like these.
The governor general is surrounded by q
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
holde of minor officials. The whole admin
isuation is rotten from skin to core. With
few exceptions these officials have come
from Spain with the deliberate and frankly
expressed intention of improving their PEE
curiary status: and the means employed in
doing IL would require for their enumera-
ton more space than is allotted to me. 4
few years ago il used to be said that the
governor of a province who failed to be-
come wealthy in two years 4 fool.
Certain it is that few Philippine governors
grow wealthy out of their salaries.
Hostility toward foreigners is intense.
The extensive expert and import trade Of
the islands is i'm the hands of foreign
houses. to the great disgust OF the Span
ish who never weary in their attempts TO
frame Legislation calculated to result in
the ruin of these moneymaking inter-
lopers.
Their Wretched Lot.
All in all. il can hardly be said that the
lot of the Philippine native is a happy
one. He constantly chafes under his bur-
den, while the half-castes with their great
sers:tiveness and superior Intelligence are
perpetually boiling with more or less we'll
concealed fury. Were arms and ammuni-
ton tc be had, SPANS rule in these islands
the natives, stirred up and led by the half
castles. have repeatedly risen against the
government.
Within the past twelve months they
have been once pa Gifted" and have risen
second time. Little news of happenings
in the Philippines reaches the outside
world; but We know that during the pres
ent revolt barbarities which dwarf those
practioed i'm Cuba have been perpetrated by
both Spaniards and natives.
Naturally the Philippine native is
peaceable. easy-goirg fellow. Under de-
cent form of government he would give lit
tie trouble. No one familiar with existing
conditions can doubt that Spanish rule has
been a curse to these islands, and IL would
be happy day for them should some civ
ilized power take possession of them. Their
largest cities are well-nigh defenseless. and
could be readily captured unless defended
by powerful naval force.
He Took Fort.
From the London Sketch.
In 1851 a man-o'-war's man, Strahan by
name, captured almost singie-handed one
H.. rI~.--