Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-04-07

tended. For example 1 observed hundreds
hooking at an early hour in the morning
to mass at the church in Calasiao. The
Roman Catholic Church Will in its own
interest do well to consider how far it is
wise to ALLEVIATE a Catholic population by
attempting to force upon the people as its
representatives men who are feared and
detested. OF course, generaIizations about
the friars as body will fail to fit the
cases of some individual priests. who as
good men may be personally acceptable to
their parishes. But on the broad ouestion
OF making the cause of the friars its own
the decision of the Roman Church is eager
~ awaited. both by the Filipino people and
oy the Protestant denominations of the
world which are ready to take advantage
OF any olunder In policy which may be
committed.
Anti-Amerfcan influence of the Friar.
mere is no reason why American Catho-
lies should side with the friars These mon
are Spanlards with more than the natural
national grudge against U.S. They are the
essence OF Spanish misgovernment in the
ihiiippines, which We have overthrow:
1hey hate US and spit upon our flag. In
MOST cases II returned to the villages they
VIII become centers of ant-Amerfcan senti-
'hent ana influence. If Luzon is to be
GRADUALLY Americanized this task will be
aided, SO far as the influence of the Roman
Shurch extends, only through English
speaking priests.
IN Panay, as in Luzon, the monastic
orders claim ownership Of the most vaiu-
able lands in the island. and have been
driven out by the people. Speaking to me
on this subject at 1loilo Gen. Hughes said
mat IN his opinion the Catholic Church
should put in every parish a sensible En-
gilsh-speaking priest, to dispel gradually
the prejudice against the Spanish friars and
10 counteract the influence of the native
priests, who are almost all insurrectos, and
IN many cases ignorant and corrupt.
Every one who undergoes the experiences
oi the railroad trip to Dagupan becomes
unfailinsly the enthusiastic advocate of the
policy of discriminating as soon as possible
between the scattered Filipino bands still
IN arms and the insurgent army. Treat the
war against the latter organizatio as over
declare amnesty, maintain no grudge or
luminosity against former hostiles submit
ting IN good faith, and by prompt fulfill
ment In specific shape of general promises
OF good government and redress of old
Spanish grievances make such submission
easy and permanent. On the other hand
the wandering bands who kill and rob Fill
pfnos as well as Americans, who ATTEMPT
to wreck and pillage even native trains and
who brutally murder their American pris-
oners when closely pursued should be treat
ed when captured not as prisoners of
war, but as bandits, to be pursued and ex-
terminated like train wreckers and similar
murderous robbers in our western states
This policy is in the interest and for the
protection Of the Filipinos as well as of the
Americans.
The Conditions of Genuine Peace.
While declaring that the Filipino war is
over, let us remember that 1t is not over
permanently or in truth unless we take ad-
vantage of the opportunity to remove as
far as possible the causes of war. BY dis
persing the insurgent army we have gained
the chance, hitherto lacking to demon
strate to the people of the Philippines the
good faith Of our assurances and the benef-
cence of our control. Certain Filipino lead
ers have endeavored to seize arbitrary
power in the islands for themselves, rails
ing the delusive cry of independence. War
has determined that their ambitions are
not to be gratifed. But there is nothing in
the results of the war which alters the at
utude of the United States toward the Fill
pino people. The republic is still bound to
correct as far as possible the evils of Span
ish misrule and to satisfy the reasonable
aspirations of the Filipinos for better and
freer government.
AS the first step which counts, let US
settle the question of excluding the friars
as far possible in accordance with the
wishes of the people. The agreement of
Biac-na-Bato represented the minimum of
redress of grievances which would concili- |
ate the Filpinos. What Spain promised let
fulfil! To acpomn1fSh t,yifb
minimum of infringement upon the abstract |
rights Of the friars is a problem for our
craftsmanship. It ought to be effected
through the Roman Catholic Church itself; |
but in one way another 1t should be &C |
complished without fail. |
The evil of the holding by monastic or
ders of title to boundless tracts, including |
whole provinces, Of the most valuable lands |
in Luzon endangers the future of the ISL |
and The soil cannot remain indefinitely the |
property of alien landlords, whether eccle- |
siastical or lay. Luzon is not to become an |
other Ireland, with the evil conditions of |
that unhappy island magnified a hundred |
fold. The people who inhabit the land, who |
cultivate it and develop it, must have an |
interest in 1t. 1t Is said that the orders |
have not valid record title to much of the
confiscated land of which they have taken |
possession by virtue OF their relations with
the Spanish government AS has been sug-
gested, some sort Of a tribunal should ex-
anime into the whole question of these til
ties. If no other effective method is dis
covered these extensive alien land holdings
may be broken up by the imposition of
very heavy ground tax. Land is almost
neglected as source of revenue under the
Spanish tax system which we are enforcing.
Our Philippines experiment would seem to
be threatened in advance with complete
failure If we undertake to keep the peace
and to bring prosperity and happiness to
an island in which the hated friars own the
land and the disconnected insurrectos live
upon it. Under this arrangement Spain
would retain through the monastic orders
the ownership Of the Philippines, and would
have ceded to us merely the duty of pro-
tecting her in that ownership, and Of gov.
erning and subduing with our army in her
interest the landless, desperate. and con-
stantly revolving Fflipinos, whom she was
unable by her own efforts to overcome
A Choice of POIfcfe.