The state herald., 1902-08-22
FILIPINO CHARACTER
DESCRIBED BY AN ARMY OFFICER

Time-stranser Is Safe Under His
Roof-WilI Require Years to Reach
Our Standard of CivIlizatlon-con-
ditions in Luzon Improving.
Denver, Aug. 19.-The Republican
this morning prints an interview with
Lieut.. G. w. Gordon of the Eighteenth
| infantry, who has served three years
with the Sixteenth infantry in the
| Philippine islands, and who arrived in
Denver yesterday. To-day lie will as
sumo his position as first lieutenant of
the company at Fort Logan. He had
many thrilling experiences in the
islands and says he is thankful he was
able to get away from the far East
alive.
Yesterday he came in from San Fran
cisco, where he has been confined in
the hospital for the last month or more.
He left the island OF Luzon about the
middle of June and has been busy
travelling up to the time of his arrival
In San Francisco.
II went TO the Philippine islands in
the spring of 1899 with the Sixteenth
infantry" he said, ''and have been
stationed in the province Of Cagayan,
In the northern part of the island Of
Luzon. We We're to large extent cut
Off from the rest of the island and did
not know much as to what was going
on in any part of the country.
"Thc Filipino, l presume, Is getting
to be better known In the United
States since so many soldiers have re-
turned to tell of him. But do not
t,,t= Inn ttAp
oughly until he has met him in his
native land. | can say one thing about
him, and that is he can be ones friend
and enemy mt the same time and per-
form both functions the most graceful
ly of any individual that 1 ever knew.
There is no question that the Filipinos
are hospitable. and while you are un-
der the shelter of his roof you are per-
fectly safe, but after that 1t is well to
look out.
They are peculiar, and II will take
many years to bring them up to the
standards of civilization that prevail in
this country. At present the Filipinos
do not have an adequate conception of
the rights and privileges of an Ameri-
can citizen. and do not know what it
means to enjoy the liberty that be-
longs to the average citizen of the
United States.
But taking 1t all in all, conditions on
the island are improving. This is espe-
cially so in the matter Of 81; Tisons for
the army. 1t is getting so now that the
barracks are being made so that they
are fairly habitable. When | went
there we had to endure many hardships
which sound all right now in the tell
ing. but ut the time We're anything but
interesting.
"Thc fillpinos speak all sorts of Ian
guages, and they are of all kinds of ORR
gin. l suppose there are nearly 100 Ian
guagcs used in the archipelago. In the
section where / was stationed there
We're at least four. The better class.
OF course. speak Spanish, and most OF
them can understand II. Their own
languages are mixtures. mostly found
ed on the Malay roots and lntermlS.
lures Of Spanish and Chinese. To
communicate with the people Is one OF
the difficulties that have TO he encoun-
tered at first. They once had an alpha
bet or their own. hut those that are
able to read aud write now use the
Spanish alphabet. In fact. there are
very few that can write. much less
read.
1 was stationed seventy miles from
where General Funston captured
Aguinaldo. and the detachment under
my command has made several cxpedl-
tlons after the willy Filipino. ON one
expedition there were -four men
drowned out OF sevcniy.flvc. So II was
II rather rerllous task to 20 after the
man In his own country where he could
easily intrench himself In the woods.
Funston's way was the only way. ! be.
llcvc. that the man could have been
captured. and think lie deserves all
the credit for II.
Three weeks before Agnlnnldo was
captured the detachment under my
command WIS considering making an
expedition To capture him. hut Ter some
retson We did not 20. We We're nj the
time the nearest troops to the scene.
One OF the difficult things that the
authorities in the Philippine Islands
have To contend with Is the cholera
and smallpox. The people hide the vie
ilins of the disease ana II some Of those
afflicted die they are thrown Into the
river or are secretly buried This
makes II mosI diiilculi to fight the dis.
ease. While there never was gnat
amount Of cholera In the Islands. stlll
II was spreading rapidly NJ the time
left Most OF the eases were Isolated
ones.
with the gradual introduction ~
new Ideas. ! believe some day the Flll-
pInos viii he able 10 hold their own
with III" civilized nniloiis Of the earth
At amy rate. they VIII bccome ~ much
civilized rs Oriental people can