Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1904-03-11
MORO ROAD BUILDERS.
Warlike Natives Become Peaceful
Laborers Side by Side with
Americans.

In the interior OF Mindanao, in thu
Philippines, live the 800, 900 NOLAN
medans known as Moros. The name
was given to them by the Spaniards
who knew Mohammedans as MoOrs OF
Moros. The Moros call themselves the
People of the Lake. Into their beau
tiful country, 1000 feet above the sea
the United States government has bull
two military roads. Maj. r. L. Bull
lard, one of the American officers il
charge of building one OF the roads, tell!
in the Atlantic Monthly his experiences
with the Moros:
"Let it be understood that our sol
diers who carried the road through the
wilderness were under orders to sub
due and open the country. but without
fighting. This command reflects honor
on the methods of our government, and
that the men obeyed the command un-
der severe temptations and provocations
reflects honor on them. Our soldiers
conquered-so far as conquest has gone
i'm the ways of peace. and in an al
most literal sense supplanted the SWORD
with the plowshare.
CAS- the road advanced the MOrOs al
first stood by with suspicion and won
der at the Americans. Cholera had raw
aged the Moros; the Americans were
unscathed Rains that were due, an6
would have stopped the progress of the
road, did not fall. When Moro brought
the American warning of secret at
tack, the American smiled. and said:
'Good!' Truly. thought the Moros
these people are under a special Provi-
denceA
when they understood that the
American soldier-laborers were not
come to plumber and destroy. but to
build, they slowly grew friends. Then
began the task of putting on them the
first wholesome, God-given yoke Of civ
ilization-labor. Like most savages
the Moros have no tradition of work
their laborers are women, children and
slaves. But money is eloquent, and
with good money, honestly paid and reg.
ularly, the Americans bribed the saw
age to labor.
"The Moros came slowly at first, do
ing half-days' work, and asking full
pay. The dattos, or petty chiefs, who
divide the Moros into many little COM
munities, were jealous of each other.
Each with his little band of followers
must be given as much work and of the
same kind as his neighbor. One datto
who had not received contract to cut
poles went out for mere show, to pre-
serve his standing. and cut poles for
nothing.
"But soon the work showed its second
moral effect; it brought the dattos into
a sort Of unity. Here were two lessons,
honest labor with the hands and unity.
There was third, promptness and reg
ularity.
I'm the Moro tongue now and to-day
are the same word. And the Americans
found that Moro ordered to do some
thing now interpreted the order in
good faith to mean amy time to-day.
Slowly, however, contact with the
Americans was telling, and after three
months the Moros were organized into
gangs under soldiers, and worked, like
soldiers, regularly by bugle-call.
'The Importance of the datto was
waning. He who came not to work for
the Americans lost prestige. Finally
more than 5000 Moros worked side by
side with the Americans. They had be-
come peaceful laborers, and opened the
way to their own civilization"