Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1901-10-25
TO RULE THE SELVES
RIGHT AND ABILITY OF FlLlPlNOS SET
FORTH BY CONGRESSMAN.

FORTH BY CONGRESSMAN.
Representative Shafroth of Colorado
Writes from Manila of His Personal OBJ
observation-disclosures Out Inconsistency Of
American Rule at Long Range.
MANILA, p. If the Intelligence OF
the Americans is to be taken as the
standard by which the capacity for self
government is to be determined, then 1t
is very doubtful whether any other peo-
pie are capable of establishing and main
tanning republican form of government.
Every country has peoples of high and
low order of intelligence, and il we are
to assume that the men of lowest order
of civilization are to rule, we might ex-
clude from self-government every nation
on earth. 1t is the experience of man
kind, however, that the Intelligent classes
In all the countries rule. That being
true, there are very few peoples who are
not capable of self government. 1t was
Henry Clay who said that it was impos-
sible for him to conceive of people who
were incapable of sef-government.
OF the republics of Central and South
America, it is safe to say that, although
they may not be as perfect in administra-
tion of affairs as the United States, yet
they have given to the people govern
ments fer better and freer from acts of
tyranny and oppression than the govern
ments which preceded them.
The general impression exists among
many Americans that the Philippine
people are savages. A visit to the islands
will certainly dispel any such delusion.
The members of the unciviized tribes Of
the archipelago are few in number, COM
pared to the total population; they are
fewer in proportion than were the tribes
of Indians in America at the time Of the
establishment of our Republic. They
rove in bands and are as hostile to the
Filipinos as were the red men to our
forefathers.
When | find behind the prescription
desks of the numerous drug stores of the
islands, even when kept by Americans
and Englishmen, Filipinos compromising
medicines taken from bottles labeled in
Latin; when | see behind the counter OF
banks having large capital, natives act
ing as bookkeepers and as receiving and
paying tellers when | find them as mer-
chants and clerks in almost all lines of
business, as telegraph operators and
ticket agents, conductors and engineers
upon railroads and as musicians render
ing upon almost all instruments high
class music; when | am told that they
alone make the observations and intri-
cate calculations at the Manila observa-
tory and that prior to the instruction
there were POO schools in the Islands
and 5000 students in attendance at the
Manila university; when | find the bet
ter class living in good, substantial and
sometimes elegant houses, and many OF
them pursuing professional occupations,
| cannot but conclude that 1t is a vile
SANDER to compare these people to the
Apaches or the American Indians. Even
the civilizing test of Christianity is in
their favor, as a greater proportion are
members of the church than among our
own people. OF the 100000 of inhablt-
ants, Mr.. Sawyer, in his work on the
Philippine Islands, asserts that $500, 900
are Christian natives.
But even as to the Indians, as I'M
civilized as they may be, our govern
ment recognizes that 1t produces bet
ter condition of things to let them gov
ern themselves, and thereby we even
recognize in them capacity for self GOV
eminent. We do not rule them-we
make treaties with them as we do with
nations. We do not appoint q governor
or commission to govern them, nor
Judges to administer laws among them,
nor police force to maintain order. We
let them select their own chiefs, punish
their own criminals, and in every way
govern themselves so long as they stay
on their own reservations.
The instinct of self-government i'm
planted in man makes him ordinarily
better agent in managing his own
family and affairs than would be one of
greater ability or higher education with
out that interest. And as with man, SO
with nations, that same principal of self
betterment ordinarily makes each nation
most capable of managing its affairs to
the advancement of its own people.
No better illustration of this can be
found than in the action of the members
of the civil commission of the Philippine
islands in fixing official salaries to be
paid out of funds collected from the
people of poor and alien race. They
voted to the governor, who is member
of the commission, salary of $1,000
per annum and SIS day for subsistence
making in the aggregate salary of $40,
375 year. The governor is also fur
nished fine house in which to reside
To each of the commission they voted {
compensation, including subsistence, o
$4,000 per annum. They voted yearly
salary of $500 to each of the six (al
exceedingly large NUMBER associate
justices of the supreme court, of $500 t.
the chief Justice, of $4,000 to the treas
urer, of $4,000 to the director-general o
posts, ard of $4,000 to the collector o
customs. All of these salaries are pay
able in gold. do not wish to impugl