The Grit-advocate., 1902-08-22
FILIPINO CHARACTER
DESCRIBED BY AN ARMY OFFICER
Both Friend and Enemy at the Same
Time-Stranger Is Safe Under His
Roof-WiII Require Years to Reach
Our Standard Of civiiization-con.
ditions in Luzon Improving.

Denver, Aug. 19.-The Republican
this morning prints an interview with
Lieut.. C. 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 he 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.
81 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 were to a 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.
"rhe Filipino, l presume. is getting
to be better known III the United
States since so many soldiers have re-
turned to tell of him. But l do not
think that one can know him thor
oughly until he has met him in his
native land. I can say one thing about
him, and that is he can be ones friend
and enemy at the same time and per-
form both functions the most graceful
ly of any individual that 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 it is well to
look out.
"They are peculiar, and 1t will take
many years to bring them up to the
standards or CIVILIZATION That prevail in
this country. At present the FilipinOs
do lot 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 it all in ALL conditions on
the island are improving. This is espe-
cially so in the matter OF garrisons for
the army. 1t is getting SO now that the
barracks are being made SO that they
are fairly habitable When l went
there we had to endure many hardships
which sound all right now in the tell
ing, but at the time were anything but
interesting.
1.-The Filipinos speak all sorts of Ian
guages. and they are of all kinds of ori-
gin. suppose there are nearly 100 Ian
guages used in the archipelago. In the
section where I was stationed there
We're at least four. The better class,
of course, speak Spanish, and most of
them can understand 1t. Their own
languages are mixtures, mostly found
ed on the Malay roots and intermix.
lures Of Spanish and Chinese. TO
communicate with the people is one of
the difficulties that have to be encoun-
tered at first. They once had an alpha
bet of their own, but those that are
able to read and write now Use the
Spanish alphabet. In fact, there are
very few that can write, much less
read.
Il was stationed seventy miles from
where General Funston captured
Aguinaldo, and the detachment under
my command has made several expedi-
tions after the willy Filipino. On one
expedition there We're four men
drowned out of seventy-tive. so it was
rather perilous task to go after the
man In his own country where he could
easily intrench himself in the woods.
Funstons way was the only way. i be.
lieve, that the man could have been
captured, and l think he deserves all
the credit for it.
"Three weeks before Aguinaldo was
nanturad tho dafa ohmant ,p5ar NV