The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1904-04-22
TEACHER IN THE oRIEM
RoASTs THE CONVENIENT
Graphically Reeites Abuses = hat Exist
in PhiIippinessounds Like
Lament of Homesieis Youth.

4 Robert J. Mclaughlin, who left his
nome in EFordham, N. Y, last year to
Z become a teacher in the Philippines,
has tired of his job and in his rather
plain spoken letter of resignation tells
a few Of the conditions which discour-
q aged him Among others is the state
ment that the teachers in %Pangas.-
nan province received no pay between
August, 1903, and March Is, 1904. In
his letter to the commissioners Mr..
islands on Misrepresentation and have
been sent out into this abom1paole
and diseased wilderness without the
least conjunction or remorse.
n After describing the discomforts OF
his journey in bull cart to Blnaloan.
over almost impossible roads, the
writer declares that he spent a large
part of his money to assist two other
American teachers to their posts
where they had been ordered without
any advance of expense of necessarles.
He continues:
..The young man who was stationed
here with me. after enduring two
months of hunger and sickness, pack
We had long before spent every cent
we had and eaten the last can OF com
missaries He would not beg, but L
Would, refined gentleman both by
birth and education was reduced
by this deceitful and contemplate
government to the unutterable hum1i-
iation of begging money from suspl-
cious and low-minded l1naves in order
to purchase in the market the few
handfuls of rice to preserve life:
He describes how he lived in a nipa
shack without furniture and having
a dirt floor For a week he raVed
with the fever common in that cline,
and lay in the shack without attend
ance. Later, says Mclaughlin, the su-
Derintendent of schools came around
for his semi-annual visit, remaining
only twenty minutes and taking nc,
steps for the relief of the teachers
Then Mclaughlin wrote to DR.. Bar
rows, the general superintendent Oh
schools for the islands, but says he
received nothing from that othclai
more than a humorous letter ascrlblns
his com pliments to nostalgia.
Further than this, he charged that
the native teacher is in even a worse.
fix than the American. Four teacn,
ers subordinate to himself, during
the year 1903, received only one IN,
5stallment of their pay. Going to Ma
lay to. make complaint of these cond1-
tons at headquarters he says he re-
turned to his post to be the victim
of a Eadrone attack, which he repuls-
ed at the point of a pistol In con
clusion Mr.. Mclaughlin, phraslns ms
utterances after the style OF Zola
famous "J,accuz" letter on the Drey-#
fus case. writes:
81 charge the government with n.y.
pocrisy to the little brown brother
1t is almost impossible to enter the
presidencies of the provinces wl-hout
finding a long line of dirty. bare-les-
sed brown brothers mournfully DOING
out their filthy trash to meet the eX-
orbitant demands of the good samarl-
tans on the commission.
81 charge the government with cor
ruptly neslecting it's bounden duty to
pay the native teachers.
S 81 charge the government with re-
sorting to cowardly Misrepresentation
to secure employees in these Islands,
and with mercilessly RELOCATING them
to remote places to endure all the per
lis of ferocious disease. hardship, $50
lation, neglect and bodily dams ger
81 intend to sue the government 1or
heavy damages fer inveis!ing me into
these islands by printing false state
ments in the civil service manual and
for deliberately and mallciously haZ-
arding my life and sacr1hc1nS my
health, happiness and Eeace OF mind
If any effort is made to seize my IN
eliminating documents, to destroy
them, or to publish any of my papers
before can connect them with VIII
nesses, or if anything whatever Is
done subversive of the ends of justice,
/ will go to Washington and make my
statement before the Congress OF the
United States