Evening star., 1901-01-26

| Continuing, the commission declares that
1t adheres to its Views as to the general
condition OF the islands as set out In its
| cable or August q last, in answer to the
| departments inquiry. One error made in
| that statement was the assertion that more
sugar was In cultivation than ever before
| In Negros. This was owing to a mistake
| made by Father McKinnon and the fact Is
| that while this Is the best year for many
| years, the sugar acreage is considerably
| less than formerly, owing to scarce capi-
| tai and excessive interest charges.
| Treating of the condition in the prov
| inces separately, the commission says that
| these were unsettled Ilocos, supposed to be
| free from insurgents, became unsettled be-
| tween August and November last owing to
the activity of Tino, the missionary work
| OF certain Tagalogs and the impetus fur
nlsned by the report of the American pres
| idential campaign. A considerable gather
| Ing of insurgents caused furry of excite
ment and fear among the natives, and the
| railroad was slightly damaged. This dam
| age was found to have been due to the peo-
pie of a single barrio. who were forced by
| an insurgent leader nder~threats to COM
/ init II. The disturbances considerably af-
fect business between Manila and the coun-
| try. The unfortunate reverses of the Unit
ed states troops at sir oloan and Marin
duque served to render ,he insurgent lead
ers more defiant and boastful, and, says
| the commission, possibly to postpone the
| collapse of the insurrecton predicted in
our dispatch as likely to occur within sixty
days after the election, for a somewhat
| longer period.
| Great Majority for Peace.
From all the information We can get It
| seems clear that great majority of the
people long for peace and are entirely will
ing to accept the establishment of govern
ment under the supremacy Of the United
States. They are, however, restrained by
| fear from taking any action to assist the
| suppression of the insurrectIon which has
1or lts indispensable support a conspiracy
| OF murder. Without this armed resist
| ahce to the United States authority would
| have long ago ceased. Any one suspected
| of giving information to the Americans con-
cernlng the insurgents Is Immediately
marked FOR assassination. The ramfica-
| tions OF the conspiracy are 80 wide that 1t
mas erected the terrorism of entire peo-
pie 1t Is malta on a very large scale.
The difficulty the people have In commu-
nicating with the Americans, because Of Il
want of knowledge of their language char
| acter and customs, would have a tendency
| to make them silent In any event. and
when this is accompanied by the very pres
ent prospect Of being abducted. boloed or
tortured II any disclosure is mada ii Ia NOT
| remarkable that the insurgents are able to
| assume the role of amigos when pressed
and hide them:elves in barrios of the towns
| II drfven out of the mountains where they
nave their headquarters
DOuble-Faced Magistrates,
Not infrequently the municipal officers
Y,
| cans and one to the insurgents, though this
| is not generally true except In those prov
| inces near to which an active insurgent
headquarters is situated. Nor does his dou-
| bic part indicate that the sympathy of the
municipal officer Is with the insurgent bat
| orly that punishment for failure to render
| service to the insurgents will be much more
| bloody and severe than for infidelity 10 The
americans and the violation of the oath of
allegiance. We have already made provi-
| sion out of the public civil fund for the
WIDOWS and children of two municipal Off
| GERS assassinated by order Of the insur-
| gents for loyal civil service to the United
states, ana there are others with similar
| claims likely to seek the same relief. We
90 not intend to establish a system of Den-
| slons. but we think that in such cases
when clear. 1t is a wise public policy to
give all who are riskihg their lives for the
Chised states and the best interests of their
country 10 know that in the unfortunate
case or their murder their families will be
| taken care OF by a grateful government.
Where Conditions Are Better.
In southern Luzon the conditions have
improved in the provinces of Cavite, Ba-
tangas and Laguna during the last month
The province of Tayabas is peaceful The
towns are full Of people, a sure indication
of freedom from disturbance, and houses
are difficult to secure. In the Camarines
ana Albay the conditions are not so salts
Factory, but they are growing better In
the Visayans and Mindanao the conditions
are much the same as reported in our dis
| patch of August p. except that in Lcyte
much Improvement has been made.
Effect of American Election.
Any statement of the conditions prevail
ing In these islands during the last six
months which ignores the effect Of the
American election as a controlling element
in the situation is necessarily Inadequate.
been great decrease in insurgent activity.
The lntensest interest was felt by the in
surgents before the election in the issue.
and the intensest disappointment since,
which will certainly effect the colIapse of
the insurrection In the near future. Capital
and all business interests hung upon the
predictions Of success of the one party or
the other. No one breathed more freely
ana look more enjoyment in the result as
announced than the conservative Filipino
people who had anything to lose from
the anarchy which it was sure would follow
the abandonment Of these islands under the
policy of the defeated party In the late
election, as that policy was understood here
by the lnsurrectos and other Filpinos. From
now on, conditions in these islands will
grow steadily better. and however formid-
able the difficulties really are. the possibili-
ties that present themselves of improving
the condition OF the people, in education.
wealth, comfort and in the knowledge OF
how to govern themselves cannot but
awaken the deepest enthusiasm on the part
OF every friend or civilization familiar with
the actual conditions
Work of the COmmissfOn
The commission began its executive duties
September 1, having up to that time de-
voted itself to investigation. The report
tells how everything was done openly in
legislation to instruct the people and secure
their confidence. Forty-seven laws were
passed, including complete municipal code,
which has been submitted for the approval
of the War Department. A tariff bill was
also prepared, which is to be discussed by
the business interests of Manila, and must
be approved by the War Department before
going into effect. In concluding this chap
ter of the report the commission says that
the new provincial government bill is nearl
ly completed; that an internal revenue law
must be adopted, and that land tax must
be established, although the latter is open
to discussion.
Liquor Traffic In Manila.
One of the chapters of the report deals
entirely with the subject of liquor traffic
in Manila. 1t is stated that there were
no less than 1900 retail liquor shops, wine
shops, in Manila before the American oc- |
cupation, and all the drug stores and |
vxyin md 4