The Irish standard., 1902-09-06
His Informant Prefers the Moslem Moros
to the Christian Tagals of
the Archipelago.
The Latter Will Profess Friendship for
American Invaders and Stab
Them in the Back.

1 have been talking with returned
soldier from the Philippines, fine
young fellow, who kept himself from
drink and worse, and who tried to do
the same by his fellows. He was not
quite clear as to the country being
worth what it is costing us, and was
sure that it would not amount to much
unless American labor and capital
were sent thitler to make something
Of it. At the same time he admitted
that the lack of energy and activity
he charged upon the people was due
as much to the climate as anything
else. He himself had felt it in the
lassitude which it brought upon him,
and he had seen it in the American
soldiers, whom it wears into condi-
ton in which they welcome any sort
of excitement OF stimulant. He
ascribes the insanity of some of them
to their use Of particularly devilish
intoXicant, which the natives distill
out of various herbs, and which an
analysis shows to contain seventeen
per cent. of poison. The native uses
it but sparingly, as knowing what it
will do. The American gets an old
whisky bottle and buys for a few
cents all it will hold of the poison.
Then he goes apart and drinks the
whole Of it in an hour or two, with
the result ordinarily that he is neither
to hold nor bind' for some days to
come, writes Robt. Ellis Thompson in
the Irish World.
This soldier thinks the government
made a terrible mistake in abolishing
the army canteen, under pressure
from the Prohibitionists, as it put an
end to the soldiers getting good beer
and the like on reasonable terms, and
stimulated the consumption of poisons
like this Philippine deviltry, whose
name forget. In that opinion agree
with him. 1t would, of course be
much better if we had an army of
total abstainers like my friend. But
total abstainers are not the class who
generally enlist. The recruits are
young men who have lived all their
lives where liqucr has been bought,
sold and used, and they regard it as
an injustice and a hardship if they
are not allowed to buy and use it.
The government gets their services for
work which is both dangerous and
irksome, on terms much lower than
most Of them could have obtained in
peaceful employments. 1t naturally
wants them to serve out the term for
which it has enlisted them, and it is
aStOnisllled that numbers of them de-
sert and either are lost among the mil
lions Of our own people or step across
the border into Mexico or Canada. If
it wants>to retain them 1t must make
the conditions of their life tolerable
in accordance with their own ideas,
so far as this does not conflict will,
military discipline and good morals.
Many of them are sent to frontier
posts, where there is no chance of
getting anything to drink except
through illicit trade, which always
deals in the worse stuff that is going.
Others are posted in places like Ma
nila, homesick and tormented by the
mOnotony of tropical life, and there.
fore tempted to look for some fools
key to the paradise of forgetfulness.
If the selling of such things as beer
were wrong in itself as is the selling
of woman's chastity, then the gov.
ernment would be right in having
nothing to do with it. But as not even
our Prohibitionists can be got to take
that ground, it is reasonable that the
government should take steps to make
the traffic in drink as little harmful
as possible.
What impressed me in my soldier
friend was his attitude toward the
Filipinos. He had seen both Christian
Tagals and Moslem Moros, and he
much preferred the latter. The Moro,
he said, will pass you by with a scowl,
or with perfect Indifference, if he does
not like you; but the Tagal will pro-