Evening star., 1901-12-21

ing us the details of thessystem as it ex-
lists, and their statements Were confirmed
by military officers in eommand of garri-
sons at the several points tssffsfted. -
I'VE learned that slavery isfwidespread
among the Moros, but ae1he present time
exists in an extremely niHd form. The old
slave-hunting expeditions have nearly
ceased The Moro datoss claim that they
no longer occur at all. butit Is known that
this statement is not strictly true, as the
Moros of Mindanao stiiifoecasionally cap
ture members of wild fribes.rin the in
terror of that island. ThetFilipiIlos former
ly held as slaves have practically all been
liberated by our troops, although 1t Is pos
sible that few may still remain in bond
age in the Lake Lanao region. Slaves
who desire their freedom and who seek pro-
lection at any military garrison receive it.
Sold Themselves for Debt.
1.-THE large majority of slaves held today
have sold themselves for debt or are the
children of those who have SO sold them
selves, the obligations Of parents being in
herited by their offspring. A slave may
secure his liberty by paying to his owner
an amount equal to the price paid for him.
but should he sell himself for certain sum
and should his master afterWard De aole
to sell him for larger sum he must repay
this latter amount. In the majority of
cases slaves are treated kindly, and they
are frequently allowed time and opportun-
ity to earn money, so that 1T is possible Tor
to do So The casual observer finds it i'm
possible 20 distinguish them from members
of the family to which they belong. Mill
tary officers everywhere expressed the op1n-
ion that Moro slaves were, on the whole, so
we'll satisfied with their. lot that II they
were all set free the majority of them would
promptly return to their old masters and
voluntarily take up their old life again.
This statement is not advanced as a de-
Tense of the system OF slavery which pre-
walls among the Moros, but rather as an
Illustration of the difficulties to be encoun-
tered in abolishing it.
IAN attempt at the present time to use
force in securing the liberty of Moro slaves
would inevitably provoke fierce connict
with a brave and warllke people, and, so
far as the slaves themselves are concerned,
would meet with little appreciation. IT, on
the other hand, the refusal on the part OF
the government to recognize slavery Is
persist ed in and the taking or acquiring OF
new slaves is prevented, the question Will
settle itself in generation without blood
shed or the bitterness necessarily engender-
ed by an armed strife. s-
Violent Measures Not Favored.
"It should be understood that slavery in
the Philippines Is by no means confined to
the Moros. 1t is common among the wild
Indonesian tribes in the interior of Min
danao and among the wild Malayan tribes
of northern Luzon. If the evidence Of
credible witnesses may be believed, some of
the wild tribes of Mindanao sacrifice their
slaves to propitiate their heather diVin-
ities Repulsive as these facts are, 1t Is
idle to enact laws or issue orders until they
can be made effective. The commission be-
lieves that the slavery question can be set
tied without resort to violent measures. A
practical result of the intercourse between
Moros and Americans has already beer
seen in the proclamation of Dato Mand1j
abolishing slavery among his people in the
district of Zamboanga. 1t is hoped that
other datos may be induced to follow
Mandij's example, and that eventually the
wild mountain tribes may be reached by
the same methods which have been so hap
PLY employed in his case. '-
Public Health.
Regarding the healthfulness2 of the Phil
ippines the report, says:
IF any further demonstration of the fact
that the climate Of the Philippine Islands
is unusually healthful for tropical coun-
try was needed, it has been afforded by
the remarkably low sick rate during the
past year among troops scattered in hum
dreds of municipalities throughout the
archipelago. . ,at-n
.'It has been stated that large numbers
of soldiers have become insane here, and in
some quarters this fact has been attrlbut-
ed to the climate. The truth is that the
large majority of cases OF insanity. among
the soldiers have been produced by drink
ing so-called vino which has been shown
by chemical analysis to contain in some in
stances as high as II per cent OF fusll Oil,
and is therefore deadly poison.
although the climate must, on the whole,
be considered good, the presence of bubon1c
plague in the city of Manila and Its ap-
pearance in several adjacent towns; the
fact that smallpox still prevails in many
Of the provinces, and will continue to do
so until d general system Of public Vacci-
nation has been inaugurated; the occur
renee of scattered groups of lepers, many
of whom are now living without medical
a assistance and without control: the neceS-
sity Of combating malarial and other fevers
and the several varieties of dySentery
which occur here, together with rinderpest
among the cattle, and last but not least
the absolute ignorance of or disregard for
the most automatic hygienic laws which
prevails in most Of the municipalities, COM
bine to cause abundant need of an inSuiar
board to have general charge Of the health
interests of the archipelago.
'Such a board was created by act No.
1o7 1t consists of a commissioner of pub
lie health, sanitary engineer (who Is also
the city engineer of Manila). chief health
inspector, a secretary of the board, and,
ex-officio, the superintendent OF govern
ment aboratories The chief surgeon Of
Islands, the chief officer Of the United
States marine hospital service in the Phil
ippine Islands and the president and vice
president of the Association of Physicians
and Pharmacists of the Philippine Islands
are honorary members of this board. 1t
has been given wide powers. which are be-
lieVed to be adequate for the proper safe
guarding Of the public health, and has been
directed to prepare and submit to the COM
mission necessary sanitary legislation and
legislation providing for the extension of
the public health service into the several
provinces and municipalities.
Manila's Sanitary Condition.
1.-THE sanitary condition of Manila Is such
as to make an efficient local health board
most necessary. The city stands on very low
and rather fiat ground; it has never had
a sewer system, and as result the soil
has become infltrated with impurities. The
tidal streams or 'esteros' which branch out
through the city from the Pasig river, are
practically open sewers and form con-
slant menace to the public health. Many
of the buildings are improperly construct
ed and badly overcrowded In order to in
sure efficiency and render impossible any
clash of authority which might result
harmfully for the public interest, the board
Of health tor the Philippines has been
made also the local board for the city of
Manila, and has been doing efficient work.
1T was not found practicable to fill the
office of chief health inspector until the 1st
of August. Since then the board has been
actively engaged in improving the health
conditions Of the city of Manila and in