Idaho Springs siftings., 1904-11-05

space. l will take some of them seria-
tim:
NO. /. The officials OF the govern
ment are dishonest. corrupt and despotic.
The islands seem to have succeeded in
getting the very dregs Of our people
No government in the world has a
more intelligent, honest or industrious
corps OF employees than is serving under
the Philippine commission. and the as
sertion is an insult to the families and
friends who remain in the United States.
The records of the Philippine govern
ment to date will show a degree OF eff
cheney. honesty and fidelity equal to the
executive and judicial branches of any
government in the world.
mo. 2. 'Agriculturally the country
IL for the time ruined. Land is going
out of cultivation. the population Is ILL.,
fed. and in some places unable to get
work.
Prosperity Now ReIens.
Two years ago there was a terrible
drought all over the Philippines and the
farmers lost their crops. Famine was
ayerted by an appropriation from Con-
gress which was expended for rice and
other foods and distributed where it was
needed among the people. But is IL
honest for Judge Parker to hold the gov
ernment responsible for an act of Provi-
dereef Last year. however, prosperity
was restored and at the present date
there Is no spot on earth where the agri-
cultural population is in better condi-
ton than in the Philippine Islands. The
only difficulty is the lack of labor Il is
impossible for farmers or other employ
ers to obtain the help needed, although
wages are three, and in some cases four
times as high as they were before Amer
lean occupation. The people are clam
oring for Chinese coolies, who are pro-
hibited from seeking employment in the
Philippine Islands under the same ex-
clusion laws that prevail in the United
States.
mo. 3. The country is overburdened
with taxation; disease Is prevalent and
the farm animals are dead
..rhe rate of taxation will average 35
per cent. lower than under Spanish
domination, but under American rule
taxes are collected from everybody i'm
partially. Formerly those who had
pull or were disposed to bribe the cob
lcctors evaded payment. while others
we're compelled TO pay the last penny.
The revenues. therefore. are three and
four times as large as they ever were.
Since the enforcement OF sanitary laws
and regulations. the construction Of sew
ers and the purlhcation OF the water
supply the death rate has been decreased
80 per cent. 1t Is true that more than
half the farm animals in the Philippines
died from the plague during the great
drought of 1902, but is IL honest for
Judge Parker to charge that calamity to
the administration?
mo. 4. Whole districts are In the
hands of ladrones'
Ladrones Fxtermin ated,
"Ladrones are highwaymen. freeboot-
ers. who live in gangs in the woods. raid
the settlements and blackmaii the plant
ers- In Spanish times they used to
flourish, but the vigorous and vigilant
operations of the native eonstabulary
have practically exterminafed them, and
the Philippine Islands are now as safe
as any part of the United States.
No. 3. The price of products is
poor and unremunerative'
ANY person Interested in the details
OIL this point can obtain the quotations
on Philippine staples. such as hemp.
tobacco. sugar. copra and rice, from any
commission-house. where Judge Parker
could have secured accurate information
IL he had placed any value upon his
word. He ought to know that prices of
agricultural products are not fixed in
Manila, but in the great markets of the
world.
"No. 9. Public opinion has no free
expression: newspapers are bought up
or are browbeaten into silence
The editors of the Manila American.
the Cable News, the Times, the Sunday
Sun and others newspapers published
in Manila will smile when they read that.
They differ in opinion as to the merits
of the men and the wisdom Of the policy
OF the administration. Some OF the
papers support it and some oppose it,
and the latter lambaste the oficials with
az energy that Is unequaled in any other
editorial room in the world. Before
Judge Parker made such a preposterous
assertion he should have examined file
Of the Manila Times or the Sunday Sun.
The editors Of those papers have good
ground for libel suit against him.
Rare Cass Of Incousi teucy,
The criticisms of the administration
which appear daily in the Manila papers.
often bitter and violent, are almost with
out exception based upon its liberaIity
toward the natives; for doing exactly
what Judge Parker says it has not done:
for giving the Fifpinos too much self
government; for promising them inde-
pendeuce and for appointing 20 many
natives to once. Every governor Of
every province, every mayor Of every
town except Manila. and almost every ,
peovincinal and municipal oaacial y Z |