The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1902-09-24
IN THE PHILIPPIN ES.

Subjoined are interesting extrac is
from a private letter, by a Vermonter
high in official station in the civil
government of the Philippines De-
scribing the situation in its various
aspects, as seen by an observer Of the
highest competency to judge and dis
criminate, the letter is one of excep-
tional interest and Importance The
writer says:
4 The condition of the Islands as to
peace is very greatly improved since
Iswrote you last. There is no war
existing in any part of the archipel-
ago, aside from the fact that in the
Moro country conditions are not salts
factory; however, it is hoped that
we may be able to get along with the
Moros without further bloodshed The
Moro country is not fit for civil
government, and will not be for
some time 1t is inhabited by q set
of people who have never been subor-
dinate to any law, except their own
law administered by their own people
under the Koran, and our policy has
been for the present not to disturb
them, except to prevent them from
making incursions upon civilized
people or interfering with the action
of civil or military officials in the rest
of the territory near which they re.
side. They are as peaceful now as
they have ever been, and probably
can be kept peaceful if we do not in
terfere with their institutions too
seriously, and such interference ought
to come slowly, cautiously and gradu-
ally. Polygamy has always existed
rho Af,,apiDap indiana with
out interference ON the part of our
government and there is no reason
why we should Interfere with that
domestic institution among the Nor
os. The slavery question is differ
eht one and the policy has been,
since the Americans came here, that
any slave who escapes from the Moros
and comes to the Americans is made
free. The abolition of slavery among
the Moros could all be accomplished
by purchase, but one great difficulty
in purchase would he that every Moro
would appear as somebody else's
slave, and be paid for, and would
probably appear over and over again,
and after the whole population had
been paid for, in duplicate or tripli
cate, the same old institution would
probably continue right along.
There is no place for the slave to
60 if they are severed from their
masters. Most of them are held in
bondage for the payment of debt, but
some of them have been made slaves
by process of capture. Those held in
bondage for debt have the privilege of
redeeming themselves by paying the
debt, but they seldom do. In all the
rest of the provinces civil govern
ment has been inaugurated and no in
surrection exists but Immediately at
ter the close of five years warfare,
in a country where bands of rob-
beers have always existed, ladronism
continues to considerable extent.
The poor have, many of them, being
rendered desperate by their poverty
and hardships, taken to the noun
tains. Criminal classes naturally re-
sort to that method of getting a liv-
ing; they organize in bands, kill and
swoop down upon towns, and carry
off cattle, horses, carraboa, and other
property. Their victims are almost al
ways their own people. They are being
hunted by the Insular Constabulary
which consists entirely of Filipinos
with American officers to lead them.
The Constabulary have been remark
ably effective in hunting down, kill
mig, capturing and procuring the sur
render of the ladrUnes, and the evil,
while it will exist for long time,
will undoubtedly grow less and less.
1t is said by old residents that the
conditions in that respect are already
better than they ever were under the
Spanish regime.
The cholera has been a formidable
enemy here for several months. We
are getting in Manila from 10 to 90
cases per day; the largest number
we have had in any one day, was SO.
When the cholera prevailed here be.
fore, in 1888, there were a thousand
deaths per day in this city, and many
natives now insist that it is not the
real Asiatic cholera that is prevailing
now because we do not have thou
sand deaths per day but if we had
the Spanish methods for dealing with
the pestilence, the thousand deaths
per day would have been long ago
surpassed in the present epidemic.
We have expended from Insular funds
more than $500, 600 in combating
the cholera, aside from the funds that
have been expended all over the prov
iuces out of provincial treasures. 1t
is expected that when the heavy ty
phoons and rains come the germs will
be washed away and the whole coun-
try cleaned up so that the disease
will become within control and pass
away. l gave a dinner one evening,
about two weeks ago, and two of my
guests when they went home found
one of the members of their family
sick with the cholera and were shut up
in their house-the house being quar-
antined-for a week The patient
recovered and they are all out again.
Business goes on, dinners, lunches, and
balls are given, and the general cur
rent of things is very much as though
there were no pestilence at hand
but we are very cautious Indeed about
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