Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1899-07-13


Mia streets. The first Jesuit procession
appearing publicly in Manila for years
was one that paraded after the occu-
pancy Of the city by General Otis. 1t
was actually escorted and protected by
American troops. General Otis is him
self Roman Catholic. American
troops were not unwelcome to the
Jesuits, perhaps.
Long ago the religious order in ques-
ton obtained foothold here. Thousands
Of the natives were brought into the
church. The friars were undoubtedly
the scrubbiest lot of representatives Of
the church that even Spain could mus
ter. The Jesuits came in 1863. They
were educated, accomplished men.
They led correct lives themselves and
inculcated morality among the Tagalos
10th by precept and example. They
also established schools and taught the
natives reading, writing and manual
training. The gifted, lamented General
Jose Rial himself was a favorite pupil
and friend of the Jesuit fathers. It is
recorded, moreover, Of the Jesuts that
they always treated the natives justly.
There came to be enmity between the
Jesuits and friars because of their diff
ferent ideas and methods. | am now
giving a bit of inside history of Manila,
setting down unvarnished facts without
q spark of prejudice one way or the
other in my own mind, as l hope and
believe. From the beginning the friars
devoted themselves to heaPing mp the
material good things of the earth and
accommodating vast quantity of prop
erty, which they took possession of in
the name of the church. The fertility
and boundless richness Of the Philip
pines have not been exaggerated To
the friars the islands proved Klon-
dixie. Their method was to work about
equally on the ignorance and supersti-
tion Of the natives. The confessional
was mighty weapon in their hands.
No doubt they found reasoning which
satisfied their consciences in the course
they took. l have even heard an Amer
lean soldier here in Manila Justify the
conduct Of himself and his comrades in
running up in Tagalo shops bills four
times the amount Of their pay and then
marching off and leaving the same for
ever unliquidated.
The friars told the natives they must
do this and that for the church or they
would lose their souls. By reason Of
their corner on soul saving the friars
took possession Of scores of square miles
of the richest lands surrounding Ma
Mia, They said to the natives, Sur
render to the church these lands or You
roast in purgatory." Next they allotted
to each family as much az the incom-
petent Tagalo hands could cultivate of
the lands that originally all belonged
TO the natives and said, "Now till this
ground and earn your living" other
wise pureatory again.
At harvest time, at the confessional,
were revealed to the friars again all the
material resources Of the poor Tagalo.
''Have You had a good harvest this
Year," was the seemingly proper ques-
tion asked Of the confessing one. If
the reply was:
Eyes father, thank God, we have
done we'll, then
Remember the church, my son.
lou inuht give 10 IL III proportion TO
your prosperity"
If not, then the threat of purgatory
or the lost soul again.
Thus, according to that abominably
tiresome way history has of repeating
itself in similar manner Columbus
and his Spaniards plupdered and cheat
ed the natives in the West Indias the
&hite man in the United States robbed
and rooted ont the Indian, and English
men and Dutchmen in South Africa
laid violent hands on the lands and the
gold of the negro. Worlds over it is
the same. These friars who have been
SO bitterly blamed are neither better
nor worse than the average man when
he has things all his own way-only
land note the difference) in the Philip
pines the despoilers were in many cases
the representatives. of Christian
church, and that church has had to bear
the ignominy of their evil doing, and
wrongly. To hold the Roman church
responsible for the performances of the
friars in Manila would be as unjust as