The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1901-07-31
SLAVERY IN PHILIPPINES.
The Institution Said to Exist
There.


utoin of slavery in the Philippines
Islands has been willfully Suppressed is
q matter of official record.
For what reasons such suppressions
of actual conditions has been made is
perhaps best indicated by a paragraph
in communication sent by Mai. j. n.
Morrison, judge advocate, United
States army to Washington, during the
late presidential campaign. Maj. Nor
gison is one of the highest legal au-
thorities in the army organization.
The paragraph follows:
IT do not intend to write about it
1.-THE conditions which form the sub
ject matter of this article) to any one
in the United States until it is too
late for any one there to mention it
before the election, but cannot afford
TO let certain letters go unanswered
longer than that. Of course, I am
not vain enough to suppose that it
would be mentioned as political
matter or anything of that sort, but
I can imagine how it might work it's
way into publicity in the heat of
political campaign, such as you are
probably having in the United States
this year.
have fool friends as well as every
body else.
And the same feeling of delicacy
prompted Brigadier-General William
A. Kobbe, commanding the Depart
ment of Mindanao and Jolo to publish
to the world, in his official report,
purporting to give the facts regarding
slavery, this information:
Slavery, as the term is usually un-
derstood, does not exist among them
tine people of this territory. They
undoubtedly hold what, for the want
of better term, may be called slaves,
but is difficult or impossible to distin-
guish these from their dress, manner
of living or association from other
Moros. This is less true of the Jolo
archipelago than of Mindanao, but in
both places male slaves may be said to
be the retainers or followers of him
who claims to own them. who render
him service in war and, with this pos
-sible exception, receive greater bene-
fits from him than be from them.
This report was made by General
Kobbe after he had received lengthy,
yoluminous and accurate report from
Major Morrison coveringg the real
slavery conditions. This report was
exactly contrary to the published
statement Of the general for months
Major Morrison had worked on this
situation. He had taken the pains to
get his facts first hand, from the peo-
pie themselves and after concluding
his research, the major carefully com
mitted the results to writing and
handed his report to the adjutant-
general of the Department of Minda-
mao and Jolo
Upon this report the generals state
ment in his official report was supposed
TO have been founded.
Whether or not it was so based may
best be ascertained from the report it.
self. Major Morrision said:
And, in addition to that, is the
question of actual, Individual slavery.
Slavery exists among all of the peo-
pies OF this island, and is recognized
where they do not it is the rule among
some of the people for the offspring
to belong to the owner Of the father,
while with others they belong to the
owner Of the mother. In the MAORI
ty, if not in all OF the slaves states Of
the United States the offspring of
slaves belonged to The owner of the
mother.
Among the Christian Visayans on
this island, slaves over 21 years old
VINO become Christians are liberated
10y direction of the Catholic priests
after they shall have been baptized by
them.
AS was also the case in the former
slave states of the United States,
owners do not have the right to kill
slaves because they belong to them.
am not quite sure that this is the
case eEerywhere here, but the. opinion
4 have formed from what I have learn,
ed is that it is. Moros enslaye Moros-
as well as pagans, and pagans enslave
.other pagans But I do not think
that there are any pagans who enslave
people of their own tribe, except in
cases where bad men steal the children
.of others, and run them off and sell
them to Moros or Christians or to
pagSGs of other tribes. Among the
people newly enslaved the boys and
girls sell for more than men and wo-
men do, unless the women have chill
dren that are enslaved, and which
they will not run away from and
leave in slavery. The men are very
apt to escape, and therefore sell for
very little.
twenty-five dollars Mexican is about
the average price for a good boy or
giTa, according to my information.
Men are of so little value that am
told that those who fall into the hands
of slave takers along with woman and
children are apt to be killed rather
than taken. If they are taken along
with the women and children they are
apt to give trouble by trying to get the
latter back again.
It will be noted that there is the
widest possible discrepancy between
the official report made by General
Kobbe and the careful official report
upon which his slavery information
must have been, of necessity. based.
If there is any Of the old abolition
institution among all of them, includ-
ing the Christian Visayans, but ex-
cepting the Zamboangenians. And
yet there are a few Zamboangenians