The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1899-10-24
Reply To Alleged Statement By Gen.
Funston.
Friars Made Natives
What They Are.
Through Their Influence They
Were Civilized.


Chappelle of New Orleans, apostolic dele
gate to Cuba, Porto Rico and the Philip
pines today gave out the following state
meut to the Associated Press:
"In answer to Gen. Funs,on's state
ment made in an address to the students
of Stanford University that If Congress
! would drive out the friars and con1scate
every inch of church property the bottam
would drop out of the Instruction with
in one week, the inhabitants of Luson
are completely under the church. l
deem 1t proper to make the following
public statement;
knowing what l do from most reli-
able authority Gen. Funston's broad
mindedness and sense of fairness, do
not believe that he has been quoted cor
reotly. He may have stated that the in
surgents demand this as condition of
pence, but that he gave them as his own
sentiments i cannot credit. From my
own experience i know how easy IL Is to
be misguoted. All can say is, II Gen.
Funston dad make this st ltsinent, he
manifested a dsnss ignorance Of the work
done by the religious orders in the archi-
pelsgo. On the very face of it, however,
1t shows quite plainly that 1t did not
come from one as well posted as Gen.
Funston should be on affairs in Luzon.
He is quoted as saying: '1he inhabitants
OF Luzon are completely under the
church
NOW l would ask how can this be
possible when every priest with the ex-
ception OF a few natiyes), In the island
Of Luzon, outside of the walled city of
Manila, is prisoner Of the insurgents.
For the past sightean months this state
of affairs has existed and during all this
period moro than $50 friars have been IN
dergoing unheard of torture in insurgsnt
dungeons. This being a fact, 1t is hard
for me to see how the island can BIS 'un-
der the friars.' 1t looks to me as though
just the opposite were the oas,.
GThat the insurI tents have asked as
ons Of their terms Of peace the expulsion
Of the friars and the confisoation Of the
fact well known; but we are told by the
government officials (and know IL to be
q fact from other reliable sourcss), that
the insurgents represent only one trihe
out Of the SIS tribes psopIing the archi-
pelsgo; SO the sentiments voiced by tina
Insurgents about the friars and church
property cannot be taken as the senii-
ments of the GRAFT body of tho natives no
mora than they can be taken ss the SEN
timents of the natives toward our people
and government.
"What the natives are or have they
owe TO the fiisrs. by them they were
lifted out of savagsry and brought I'M
der the blessed and refining influences of
Christianity. By them they wers eduoat
ed, DOT only In the schools, but In the
fields and. workshops. were taught by
them the very industries which are now
the source of the prosperity. Mr.. Peyton.
the agent of the Episcopal foreign mis-
sion association, tells US that the natives
are the most moral and religious people
on the face Of the globe.
"Now the men who taught them to be
SO cannot be such men as some narrow
minded people would try and have US be-
lieve. Rev. DIR. Abesl. n Scosch Profess
tant missionary, also testified that near
ly the whole population of the Philippine
archipelago has been converted to the
Catholic faith by the Spanish monks. and
wonderful improvement In their social
condition has been the result
"He then goes on to show that If any
one doubts this improvement 1t can easi-
ly be made manifest by comparing the
Christian native with his Southern neigh
hfP Of 4 hu HI 10 e.
las to the oonfiscation of the estates,
you might as well talk Of oonflscating
| the estates of the Vandarbilts, the Astoria
and other milliopaires, whose ESTATES
have. In the course OF years grown so
wonderfully. There woulh he just as
much right and justice In one CASE as In
the other. The estates of the religio us
orders have been acquired In the usual
way by purchase and in the course of
nearly four centuries, have naturally
grown large. but If even unbiased Pro-
testant Witnesses are to BIS credited, large
as they are, they are all used for the bet
torment and uplifting of the natives.
"a former British consul Ia Profess
tant) writing on this subject. says: 'It
was by NEE ns Of these estates the friars
introduced agriculture and settled habits
of life. among tribes originally noma-
do, 1t was by means Of these estates
that they got them to live In villages
and introduced amongst them the arts
of civilization. 1t was by means of
these estates that they acquired the power
of inducing them to labor with certain
| amount OF regularity and method-the
great safe guard against relapss again
into their original state of savagery.
The natives, he Aays. are With some rare
exceptions In need of tutelage, without
which they would fall back to the GUS
toms Of their ancestors.a tatelags that no