The daily morning journal and courier., 1900-01-08

| Church Last Night-Some Seldom Disc | cussed Chars cteristics of the People | Their Relation to the eChurch-Physt- | cal and Moral Condition of the Ameri- can Army There. Sergeant John H. Payton formerly member of the Second Regment Volun- | teer Engineers of the United States army, spoke last night at St. Paul's church under the auspices of the Broth erhood of St. Andrew on the result of some of his observations in the Philip pine Islands, where he spent some months. He first traced briefly, in his talk, the progress of civilization in the archipelago since 1t was discovered by Magellan and then speaking of the characteristics of the natives, said that they were unquestionably an inferior
 race both physically and mentally,
 primitive and childish in every way.
 Among their marked physical charac-
 teristics is a fairly well developed fore
 head, but very little development of the
 head back of the ears. In this head
 ueNIGU)IIlellL luG LleUEy OI the pHEeHol-
 ogist is carried out and the people when fairly well educated make good clerks,
 but seem never to have native force.
 They are lacking in force of character,
 will power, and intuitive ability. It is
 commonly conceded that they have no conception of the moral turpitude of
 their life They seem to be absolutely
 unconscious of the fact that it Is wrong
 to tell falsehood. The men, women
 and children gamble almost continually
 except during the time of mass in the
 churches. These two just mentioned
 are about the only two evils found
 among them.
 The people are so hospitable that
 they never think of charging travellers
 for daily sustenance. Sergeant Payton
 said that he never saw one of the na-
 tives intoxicated. All authorities agree
 that they are marvelously temperate in
 the use of intoxicants. As to their
 chastity there is some doubt. Inquiry
 was made of soldiers as to what they
 had seen and heard of this. Some 25O
 were asked by the sergeant and they,
 almost without exception, agreed that
 the evil of impurty, so common in this country, is almost unknown there out side of the few large cities. Sergeant Payton said that he could find no mark 1 ed immoral characteristics, but that he saw some proofs of great honesty.
 The people have been for twelve gen 1 erations under the Roman Catholic | church. but the Spanish government | never, in the opinion of MT. Payton had | any hold on them. They have all been | taught the elements of the Catholic | faith and of the 0000 900 inhabitants of | the islands, if that estimate be correct, l fully S,00O,000 are Catholic and the re- maining two millions are Mohammed- | ans, in the Suu group, and heathens, in few isolated tribes. The Roman Catholic church has done much good | there, but while they were teaching the truth they also taught great deal of falsehood, among other things that there was bishop of the church who was infallible, the Idea of intercession of the saints, and the potency of the Blessed Virgin. He said that while they were teaching these things they downtrod and oppressed outrageously and the property of the people was taken to enrich the church The peo- pie gave practically all they had to the church and did not know that they were being oppressed. They did not know that there was any other Christian l faith. They were dominated by the priesthood.
 He said that the Jesuits led fairly correct lives, but that many of the other priests led impure lives We have then, he thought, great mass of peo- pie dead, total failure, so far as the of humanity Is concerned
 Speaking of the army in the Philip pines, MT. Payton said that it was con- ceded that no nation on earth was ever able to send abroad an army composed of better material than the American army in the islands. They are band of men that we have a right to feel proud of, that we ought to be proud to maintain. Physically they are un- but the moral and religious side is much darker. The speaker thought that there was great opportun- ity for the right kind of religious work by the right kind of men among the soldiers there. He said that during his stay there he organized among the sol diers several branches of the Brother hood of St. Andrew.
 The address was listened to with | much interest by the large congrega- 1 ton present