Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1900-08-24
CHINESE IN THE PHILIPPINES.
Massacres Which Wero One of SPANS
Attempts to Solve the Problem.

Massacres Whfch Wero one OF Sphfhb
Attempts to Solve the Problem.
The protests of WI, the Chinese
Minister at Washington, against ex-
tending the provisions of the Chinese
exclusion laws of the United States
to the Philippine Islands are interest
ing when considered In connection
with the current situation in China
and the history Of the Chinese inva-
sion of the archipelago. Soon after
the discovery of the islands the Chi
nese followed the Spanish into the
Philippines In great numbers and be-
gan to crowd the other settlers out of
business. After struggling unsuccess-
fully against industrial destruction
the Spanish colonists obtained royal
decree banishing the Chinese. The
Chinese resisted its enforcement, and
in 1903 about $4,000 of them were
slain.
Undaunted by the slaughter. the
places Of the dead were practically
filed in two years by newcomers, and
In 1905 the Spanish Government de-
creed that Chinese to the number of
6000 might reside in the Philippines,
that each resident should pay special
tax OF So year, and that none should
be allowed to follow any occupation
save that of filling the soil. To these
conditions the Chinese assentsd with
out demur. They went forward in
their opera lions, however. precisely as
If no conditions had been made. In
twenty-five years 10000 new immi-
grants had appeared in the most IA
vored spots in the islands, and In 1899
they were again ordered to leave or
suffer death. About 1000 of them
obeyed the decree, but $4,000 de1ed it
and were slaughtered.
Instead of checking immigration this
massacre seemed to augment the i'm
migration and in twenty years the Chi
nese had become so strong that they
threatened to wipe out the Spanish In
su]ar Government and establish one of
their own in its stead. Again they
were ordered to leave the islands, and
again defying the mandate, many of
them We're slain.
En- 1915 the Spanish Government
sent a special envoy to the Philippines
TO examine the Chinese problem, and
his report Is probably as able as any
thing ever published ON that subject.
He declared that the Chinese were
irreclaimable and utterly refused to
assimilate with other peoples. After
describing them and their methods In
tha islands bn onup1I11a1.
"They impoverish the country,
cleaning everywhere and forwarding
their savings to China. They under
mine and ruin all labor because, they
live on less and hence work for less
than our people, and then follow their
earnings to China, thus making room
for still more hungry swarms, which
settle among u.s."
This report SO aroused the Govern
ment that more energetic measures of
exclusion were enforced, without much
success, and In 1909 the Chinese had
again become SO numerous that an
other massacre took place. Not In
newed immigration from the father
land, and by 1850 had become more
numerous than ever. The Spanish
Government ordered them to leave.
Many thousands returned to China; of
the others many were put to death.
Still this strangely persistent race
began again to oyerrun the islands,
and by 1T15 had become SO numerous
that The viceroy decreed that every
Chinaman found on Philippine soil on
a certain day should be executed, and
this decree was carried out to the let
ter, In 1910, having again become IN
tolerable by their numbers and meth
DDS, once again every Chinese that
could be found in the Philippines was
killed.
Next a system of extremely onerous
and burdensome taxes was devised and
pressed upon the Chinese with relent-
less severity. This, however, proved
to be as Intellectual as wholesale kill
ing, and the Chinese now outnumber-
ing all European inhabitants more
than five to one, practically control the
business and trade OF the Islands,
New York Sun.