The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-01-07
(copyrlght 1sgg by a. R. KeIIarl

Santa Rita, Philippine Islands, No
vembeT, 1881 have now seen much
Of the country and the people in that
part of LuzOn for about fifty miles
north Of Manila. in every town there
IS a magnificent stone church and
convent or monastery. The insurgents
nave a great antipathy TO the priest
hood or fTiaTs, and they have dis
mantled many of the churches. The
value of the church and monastery OF
a town seems to be equal in many
cases 20 the value of all the other
buildings in the town.
The sugar stOrehOuses are also ex-
pensively constructed buildings They
have very thick stone walls and either
tile or metal roofs and cover consider
able space of ground. some Of them
have dimensions of about sixty or sew
enty feet by 100 feet:
The church here at Santa Rita is the
only one have seen outside of Manila
where services are regularly held.
The more / talk to people the more
am convinced that the insurgents are
actuated in a measure by a spirit CT
communism, and in their talks, their
most serious objection to the church
seems to be the fact that the ecclesias-
teal organizations own so much of the
property and one of AguinaldO's most
arrest demands is that the church
property be cOnfscated.
There is a general impression that
the insurgent army is made up very
largely of people without property, and
that people who have property desire
the Americans to control so that they
can have protection and feel that their
property is secured to them, but I ind
that there is also . fear or apprehen-
sion among some Of the wealthy that
If the Americans control and give uni
VersGl suffrage, the power of the
wealthy people would be taken away
and their hold on property very much
impaired ! think that if the wealthy
people could be assured that they would
be protected in their property rights
by the United States it would have a
very good effect.
Priests and Friars
The friars and priests are charged
with all sorts of expressions and mis-
demeanOrs. but il must be remembered
that friarS and priests are very nu-
meTOUS, and in so large a body there
viii be found every possible phase OF
character and disposition. Some Of
them are no doubt OppressOrs of the
people, eXacting in the collections Of
rentals from the land, indulge them
selves in many ways. and lead lives
very UliLCl tit from what SuOul0 CudL-
acterize the life Of a priest. But there
are very many good men among them.
Many of them have received good edu-
cations in their youth and being with
out families and having ample time
they have pursued scientific and other
studies and have done "a great deal
towards the education Of the people.
The religious orders are very rich.
They have been acquiring property for
nearly three centuries. It was the
custom of organizations and individu-
ais to acquire property by settlement
and occupation, and title thus acquired
is recognized as valid even with no
paper title whatever. The religious
orders have acquired vast properties
in this way, and while it is supposed
that the proceeds and the income is TO
be used for religious and charitable
purposes, there is no doubt that much
has been used for their personal COM
fort and benefit
The statement I have seen that 20
per cent of the people of LuZOn can
read and write is a great mistake. II
may be true of Manila, but it is not