Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1899-09-14
THE PHILIPPINES.
PRESIDENT sCHUHMAN ON OtR
NEW POSSESSIONS.
Our Responsibility with Respect to
Its Inhabitants, and the Capacity
Of Those People for Advancement
in Civilization.

| dent Schurman returned to-day to his Of
fee in Cornell University. BE gave out
the following statement TO the Associated
Press on Philippine affairs:
1T Is very important that the public
should know the actual facts OF the sit
uation. Things are what they are, and
the American public should understand
them, whether they agree with or run
counter to the pubhc's wishes.
81 1t requires some effort to realize the
vastness Of the archipelago, which ex-
TENDS in triangular form from Formosa
to Borneo and Celebes, through 10 degrees
of latitude. Never going out into the Pa
cifc Ocean on the east. nor the China
Sea on the west. | made a circuit OF 1000
miles, all south OF Manila. This gives
some idea of the difficulty of making an
effective blockade, as the Coast line OF all
the islands embraced in the archipelago
is many more thousands of miles.
"2 The multiplicity and heterogeneous
nature of the tribes is something aston
ishing. over sixty different languages
are spoken in the archipelago, and though
the majority of the tribes are small,
there are at least half a dozen having
quarter Of a million members. The lam
guage of these people are as distinct
from one another as French and Spanish
or Italian, SO that the speech Of any one
tribe is uninteliigible TO its neighbors.
These tribes are all civilized. and
Christianized. but small tribes among the
Igorotes, which seem best known in
America, inhabit the mountains in Luzon.
and form large part of the population
of the mountain land. There is also
Mohammedan population. which is indie
pendent of the Mohammedans in the
Sulu archipelago.
''3. The Tagalos inhabit some of the
provinces about Manila which are resist
ing the authority of the United States.
Other civilized Filipinos are neutral. eX-
cept where they are coerced by armed
bands of Tagalos, who seized upon their
governments during the making and the
ratification of our peace treaty with
Spain. 1t would be incorrect to assume
however, that these tribes are allies of
ours. They are not Indeed, they are
not without suspicion of the white race,
of which they have had experience only
through Spain. But there are men of in
telligence and property and the masses,
when not stirred up by the Tagalos. re-
cognize the advantage TO them of Ameri-
ca sovereignty, and so remain neutral.
although rowing bands from time to time
descend from the mountains TO plumber
and burn the estates of the peaceful in
habitants on the plains.
a. The Instruction, though serious
enough, as experience has proved is not
national uprising. Indeed, there Is no
Philippine nation. AS l have already
said there is a multifarious collection of
tribes. having only this in common, that
they belong TO The Malay race. The in
habitants of the archipelago no more con-
stitute nation than the inhabitants OF
the Continent of Europe do.
OUR RESPONSIBILITY"
IS. The United States, having assumed
by treaty sof peace with Spain, soVe-
reignty over the archipelago, became re-
sponsible for the maintenance OF peace
and order the administration OF justice
the security of life and property among
all the tribes of the archipelago. This is
an obligation which Intelligent Filipinos.
not less than foreign nations, expect US
to fulfil. Nor will the national honor per
nit us to turn back. In taking the Phli-
ippine islands we annexed great response
bility. The fact that the responsibility
is heavier than most people supposed II
would be, is no excuse for failure 10 DIS
charge it, / repeat, that the Philippine
question is essentially a question OF ma
tional honor and obligation"
In reply to an inquiry whether any
thing was now left but TO fight 1t out,
President Schurman said:
done by a declaration on the part OF
Congress of the form of government TO
be established in the Islands; or, better
still. let Congress establish government
for the Philippine Islands and have 1t put
I'm force in all parts and among all tribes
hostile to the United States. rms would
serve several purposes. Ii would distln-
guish between our friends and enemies,
and treat the former according TO their
deserts.
1T would also give to our enemies
demonstration of free government on the
American plan a very important point,
when IT. is remembered that the Tagalos
claim to be fighting for their liberty. And
L had better call attention to the fact
that the government which is well adapt
ed to one tribe may need considerable
modification TO be available for another
Asked about the capacity OF the Filipino
peoples to govern themselves, President
Schurman replied that they had had no
experience in self-goVernment, except In
municipal affairs, and even these were
subject 10 the control of the Spanish au-
thorities He thought, however, that each
tribe might, subject to the supervision OF
a wise General Government, manage their
own municipal and provincial affairs. SUI
pervision from Manila would vary with
the position which the different tribes
occupied in the scale of civilization.
President Schurman seemed firm in the
conviction that some form of home rule
for each of the tribes, and under the
Ndtcntul SUPERVISOR OF general gov
eminent at Manila, was the solution of
the problem.
CONFIDENCE IN FILIPINOS
II have great confidence In the people
of the Philippine Islands" he added,
land much sympathy for their aspira-
tons. A race should be judged by its
best product, and an educated Filipino.
of whatever tribe, and each city has It's
educated men, will bear comparison with
an educated man of any other race.
Among the masses one often finds con-
seriousness of ignorance and a strong de-
sire for education. The archipelago will
not be revolutioniZed In a generation, as
japan has been in some respects, bat
then Japan had thousands of years OF
national civilization behind her recent
transformation. Nevertheless, consider
ing the marked intellectual capacity of
the Fiiipinos, and their admirable do
nestle and personal virtues, imagination
cannot easily set limits to their pro-
gressve achievements, under the inspi-
ration OF American civilization, and while
American sovereignty means this bless
ing TO the Filipinos, IL is beyond all doubt
the one thing which can save the archi-
pelago from division and appropriation
by the great nations of Europe. The
United States will hold ii together, and
with American democratic ideas, train