The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-11-19

Of the white with the brown races.
That they were treated as human be-
ings, their wounds dressed, their wants
attended to, their lives granted them,
was a mercy beyond their conception.
That white man should settle the
debts of war with any other coin than
the bullet was too much for their
imagination to take in.
Do Not Know Each Other.
I may fifty pause here in my arraign-
ment of the Spaniards to say some
thing of the conception entertained of
the Americans by the rank and file OF
the Filipino army. Many people in
this country are apt to credit these
ignorant natives with a knowledge OF
the condition of affairs in foreign lands
which even most Of the intelligent and
cultivated people in the Philippine ISL
ands do not possess. If any one such
feel surprised at this statement let
him stop for moment and think how
little the Americans, with all their
culture, know of these islands and
their inhabitants. But little more than
a year ago many of the most intelli-
gent people in this country were in
state of blank ignorance concerning
the! Philippines, and even to-day, in
spite Of the fact that hundreds of
newspap ers and magazines and num-
bers of books are actively telling us
country, yet knowledge concerning
them Is far from widespread.
| The information given us Is not cor
| fined to writer's in this country, but
comes from travellers who have inves-
tigated the islands, from educated Fill
pinos now residing abroad, and from
| some of the ablest representatives OF
| American journals, who ara located at
| Manila and other points throughout
the archipelago, and who are constant
| ly sending home matters Of interest
| concerning the Philippines. Yet with
| all this one needs only to converse
with people in general to develop a
plentaful crop of ignorance concerning
| 1t.
| If such Is the result of efforts to
| instruct the Americans about their
| new possessions, what can we expect
the Filipinos to know of us? Their
| opportunities of studying the Ameri-
cans have been immensely less. What
newspapers they possess are inferior
! in character, and such information as
F., they give, us is far from impartial. In
| any case. most of the natives under
arms could not read them. and would
| have little opportunity to do so If they
| could, under present conditions. Their
papers have no correspondents in this
country, and what little they have to
say about America and the Americans
misleading in character.
Why They Distrust Us.
With this prevailing ignorance con-
| corning the people and government OF
the United States, and with the false
conception of the Americans and their
purposes given them in the proclama-
lions of Aguinaldo and other leaders
the Filipino people could scarcely be
expected to welcome the newcomers
with open arms. Even the leaders
| themselves have formed wrong con-
illusions, through a lack of correct
knowledge OF the American character
and institutions. Were it not for this
the war now waging would be irnpos--
sible. We cannot justly be surprised
| that the Filipinos oppose American
control of their land. Their past ex-
| perience of government from with
out has not been reassuring. They have
the best of reasons for doubling and
| hating the Spaniards, and have no
means of knowing that the United
| States would treat them any better
| than Spain has done. In short, they
| look upon all the white races as alike.
and have had such bitter experience
]! with one nation of whites that they