Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1900-01-10
OPPRESSED BY FRlARS
Wealthy People Are Afraid American
Control Will Beat Them Gut Of
Some of Their Rights-lt Is a Most
Fertile Country.

VIII difu IAC PCOplC AA SAoU PoA@ ~
Luzon fer about fifty miles north of Ma
Mia. In every town there is a magnif-
cent stone church and a convent or mon
astery. The insurgents have a great an
tipathy to the priesthood or friars, and
they have dismantled many of the
churches. The value of the church and
monastery of a town seems to be equal !
In many cases to the value of all the other
buildings in the town.
The sugar storehouses are also expens.
lively constructed buildings. They have
very thick stone walls and either tile or
metal roofs and cover considerable space
of ground some Of them having dimen- ;
sions CT about GO or 70 feet by 100 feet.
The church here at Santa Rita Is the
only one 1 rave seen outside OF Manila
where services are regularly held.
The more l talk to people the more I am
convinced that the Insurgents are actu- ,
ated in a measure by a spirit of
ism, n in their talks, their most serious
objection to the church seems to be the
fact that the ecclesiastical organizations
own SO much of the property and one OF
Aguinaldo's most earnest demands is that
the church property be confiscAted.
There is a general impression that the
insurgent army is made up very largely
of people without property, and that peo-
pie who have property desire the AM
orleans to control SO that they can nave
protection and feel that their property IL
secured to them, but I find that there IL
also a fear or apprehension among some
of the wealthy that If the Americans con-
troll and give universal suffrage, the power
of the wealthy people would be taken
away and their hold ON property very
much impaired. I think that If the
wealthy people could be assured that they
would be protected in their property
rights by the United States it would ave
a very good effect.
The friars and priests are charged with
all sorts of expressions and misdemean-
ors, but it must be remembered that
friars and priests are very numerous, and
in so large a body there will be found
every possible phase Of character and dis
position. Some of them are no doubt
oppressors of the people, exactlng IN the
collection Of rentals from the land, In
dulge themselves in many ways, and lead
lives very different from what should
characterize the life of a priest. But
there are very many good men among
them. Many of them have received
good educations in their youth, and being
without families and having ample time,
they have pursued scientific and other
studies and V done a great deal to-
ward the education of the people.
The religious orders are very rich. They
have been acquiring property for nearly
three centuries. 1t was the custom of
organizations and individuals to acquire
property by settlement and occupation,
and title thus acquired is recognized as
valid even with no paper title whatever.
The religious orders a acquired vast
properties IN this way, and while it is sup
posed 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 comfort
and benefit.
The statement 1 nave seen that 70 per
cent Of IT, people of Luzon can read n
write is a great mistake. It may be true
of Manila, but it is not true of the rural
districts, and the percentage Of illiteracy
in the other islands Is much greater than
in Luzon. The appearance, mode Of life
and method Of performing work is to-day
very much like that described in the Bible
of the beginning of the Christian era.
The people dress very much as they did
1900 years ago. the means of ~transporta-
ton by carts drawn by carabaos is about
the same, and their methods Of Smelling
and cleaning rice are as primitive as pos
sible and no better than they were 1900
years ago. During the last few years
sugar mills and rice mills have bean erect
ed in some Of the large cities, and this
has especially been the case since the
building of the Manila and Dagupan
railroad, but in the smaller cities n
is winnowed by throwing 1t up and thus
separating the chaff just as in the ear
Hest lines
Nearly everything can be grown but
oranges and bananas are not as good as
in other localities. the reason no doubt
being that they seem to give them no cul-
~tivation whatever. If they were cult.
waited 1 believe they would be as fine as
the products of any other country.
Tobacco is grown in the valley Of Caga-
which Is said to be equal to any tobacco
in the world. The coffee grown is aid to
be superior to Mocha.
Rice is the principal product, and q
failure of that crop will cause a terrible
famine. as the people depend almost en-
tirely upon it for. food. Sugar is the
principal crop for export. The greatest
amount exported in n one year was
2e1 ,6s1 tons. which was in 1893.
Corn grows very rapidly n the ears
reach their full growth about sixty days
from the time OF planting. The provinces
which are especially spoken of az pro-
ductive of corn or maize are Viscaya. Isa-
bella, South Camarines, Pampanga. Pan
eastman. Nueva Ecija. Bulacan. Batan'
gas. Albay and ARRAY. Wheat is grown
in Eatangas and San Isidro. Isabel and
Ilocos Sur.
There is a great abundance Of very val
liable timber in these islands and many
varieties of beautiful hard woods under
walnut and ebony. Gold, copper, coal
iron. sulphur, lead. building stone, petro'
leum and guano are found.
There are many different tribes living
in these islands. the only ones in native
rebel ion being h Tagalos. h tribs