The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1903-07-09
4 PHILIPPINE PROBL EN-.


have been brought face to face with q
difficulty which is an old one with
the English. and, to certain degree
with the French. but new one for
Uncle Sans people. 1t relates to men
who voluntarily abandon civilized life
and cast their loo in with savage or
semi civilized native tribes and
States. Sometimes this desertiop from
civilization is for the purpose of
avoiding the penalty of n crime some
times it is due to the craving for
wild, free life, untrammelled by the
conventionalities of civilization.
"There is something in the blood of
every man which at times makes him
long to get away from the restraints
of cities and civilization and live the
free life of the woods Normally de-
veloped, this feeling is natural and
healthy, and it is good thing for the
man to give way to it, for time, at
least. But, like some diseases, it
seems to assume malignant form
under the tropical sun, thousands of
miles away from what the soldiers call
Gods own country. People in the
States often wonder at the number of
assertions in the army in the Philip
pines. They are surprised that any
the other side of the globe, where
there can be no hope Of return to
home and kindred. 1t is this feeling
of loneliness and isolation, combined
with the feverish desire for a life free
from every restraint, that leads our
men to desert.
''It sometimes happens that soldier
will be smitten with the charms of
some Filipino damsel. The steady
discipline, and the daily routine be-
gin to pail on the man, especially if
he has no very strong home ties The
free and easy life of the tropics APP
peals to him more and more. And
some day when the roll is called
private is missing. The worst of it is
that when man takes step of this
kind he has practically settled his tate.
forever. Desertion, especially in the
time of war, isn't thing which can
easily be overlooked The deserter
knows this. So do the ladrones or in
surgents whom he joins. They well
come him and give him a responsible
position, for they appreciate the val
ne of his military training and knowl-
edge of the civilized world. Such a
man becomes the most dangerous ele-
ments with which the civil and mil
itary authorities in the East have to
deal.
"The tropics always have tend
ency to weaken the moral fibre of
white men accustomed to temperate
zones. This, combined with the feel
ing that he has burned his bridges be-
hind him and is at war with his own
race, tends to make the deserter more
cruel and bloodUhirsty, as we'll as more
OFF IF
view, than his brown companions. 1t
is only another illustration of the
truth of the old saying that the apos-
tate is most bitter against those of his
own creed and race. Army deserters
make up only small percentage of
the apostates from civilization. In
every tropical country can be found
the white pariahs, as they are called.
In civilized countries men who
from vice or weakness cannot keep up
with the pace drift into the tramp or
criminal class. OF course, many of
these are found i'll the great cities in
tropical chimes; but there is a temp
tation to men of that stamp to cast off
the race allegiance entirely and throw
in their lot with the natives. Their
case, though, is different from that of
the army men who take to the jungle.
The deserters, for all their faults, are
men of energy and able to accomplish
something. They take a commanding
position among the natives with whom
they associate. The white pariahs
found in India and in the native quar-
ters of Hong Kong and some of the
Chinese cities are not in correspond
ing condition. The very natives with
whom they associate look down on
them and despise them The white
praiahs, too, are almost always men
siven over to vices of every sort.
They combine the opium smoking of
the Chinese with the excessive use of
liquor. And when a white man runs
against combination of that sort,
especially if he is living under or near
the equator, the end is near at hand.
1.-THE American authorities have
not had to deal with the white pariah
to any great extent yet, although as
the Philippines get more and more
settled and the drift of derelicts in
that direction increases, it is one
which will have to be faced. But in
India it is a source of perpetual annoy
ance to the English. As far as the
white pariahs themselves are con-
cerned, they might drink or dope
themselves to death without its worry
ing other white men very much. But
the effects on the natives of that coun-
try is bad One of the great secrets
of the English control of midas hun
dreds of millions of inhabitants is the
fact that the natives look upon the
English as superior race. Whenever
one of this superior race drops from
his high position and associates with
the lowest castles there is decided
tendency to weaken the feeling of
English superiority.
mot only England and America,
| but France has had trouble with white
deserters from civilization. The rivers
of Cochin China and Tonquin swarm
with pirates, and in number of
cases white men have have been cap
tured among them. Such men are
almost invariably more cruel and
relentless than their yellow associates,
and that is saying good deal, for Il
Chinese pirate can give an Apache
points ON cruelty and general devil
| try. In the contest in which the
French were engaged few years ago
with the Black Flags, it was found
that mahy of the native troops were
| IA l. l..