The Washington times., 1904-03-01
TAFT SEES HOPE
FOR THE FILIPINOS
Believes Natives Should Be
Made Good Catholics.
so TELLS PRESBYTERIANS
First Step in Elevation to Plane of
Useful Citizenship Lies in
Good Example.

Good Example.
PHILADELPHIA. March For the
great mass Of Filipinos our present hope
OF making them good and useful citi-
Gems is, first make them good Catholics
This sentence. taken from the body of
the address delivered by William II.
Taft, Secretary of War, before the Pres
byterian Social Union of Philadelphia,
at Its fifteenth annual dinner last even
ing, expresses the most important part
OF his talk.
How can your Presbyterian and other
Protestant missions help7'' he asked "in
the work of regeneration? BY founding
schools, hospitals. asyiums; by sending
your ministers and your teachers. who.
by their upright and simple lives, will
give object lessons of the Christian
character, Little. firmly believe, is to
be gained for many. many years in at
tempts to proselytize. Not competition,
but Christian emulation. is the method
to be employed"
Reports Carefully Hidden.
Secretary Taft was introduced by Gen.
Louis Wagner in one of the gen
erals Enthusiastically happy little
speeches. Among other things, Mr..
Taft said:
I'm the course Of the past four years
] have sent numerous and voluminous
reports upon conditions in the Philip
pines. If I had desired to make them
confidential. could not have adopted a
better plan than to put them in the
form OF official reports.
''It is not surprising that the general
public did not read them. but I have
found that members Of Congress and
my intimate friends in the departments
have no knowledge of the things I have
set down with painstaking and in such
wealth of detail Not until an evangel
has been preached in this country will
there be anything like adequate knowl-
edge of problems that press upon us IN
our new possessions.
The religious problem has been ap-
preached by the people Of the United
States in a tolerant. catholic, reasonable
spirit that has made easy its solution.
The subject OF the church in the Phil
ippines covers the entire history Of these
islands Going back TO the beginning
Of Spanish occupation we find the
heroes OF Christianity, the Spanish
priests and friars. leading the way Be
fore and with and after the soldiers
came these valiant men Of God carry
ing only the Cross.
Friars Strove to Win Souls.
When Spain found that no gold was
70 be had in the islands and that the
rich spices that had come from other
possessions were not there. II wanted 10
leave the islands and their peoples. To
this course the friars objected The
said: Here is our field Of souls! here
our harvest for God. 1t is not right
that we should so and take from these
poor souls the light they have just
family seen"
so Spain yielded The friars made
parishes. taught the catechisrn, taught
useful things Thus IL is that we found
ready 10 our hand more than 100000 Of
Malays who are Christians and who are
receptive to our civilization.
No one who knows Of conditions as
they have been viii charge me with
Partially to the friars. Still. I Will tcs-
tify 10 the work and the usefulness OF
these men Of God. The Dominscans cs-
tahlished the University Of St. Thomas
IN 1910. long before the establishment Of
Harvard. Yale. or any other American
university.
Drawn Into Politics.
The trouble with these friars arises
from the fact that in the last fifty years
they have been drawn into politics as
tins agents and detectives Of the crown
az Spain. They opposed the revolution
and thus earned the hatred Of the mass
of the people. Through their work
many OF the revolutionists came 70
death. In retaliation forty friars were
shot. 800 Imprisoned. and many more
hundreds halished by the successful
revolutionlsts.
1T was charged that the friars oh
tanned their lands unjusuy. ] did not
ind that there was truth in this allegs-
ton. That they were oppressive land
lords was also charged. I could not
md evidence 90 sustain this delegation.
But they were landlords and repre-
sentatives OF the crown, and as such
were hated. In view Of this general on
position. / deemed Il best that they
should not return to their parishes.
Sale of FriaTs' Lands.
The Secretary told Of the negotiations
which resulted in the sale Of the friars'
lands 10 the United States. and the ar
rangements that have been made bv
Congress FOR their sale to the people on
easy terms. He also gave a descrip-
ton q the schism known as the Fiji
pino Catholic Church. Continuing. he
said
This schism has not been an unmixed
eNi.. - &c inOile-ratcS go ,44- D., o..-- t-I...
freedom Of religion has been introduced
into the islands The bitterness of the
controversy showed that everyone IS
free 20 worship as ne pleases and that
back Of that right stands the might
sof a free government"
Closing his address. he made an appeal
that money be sent for education IN all
lines.
Money for Education.
Fully 90 per cent OF the population. f."
ne said. ARE densely ignorant There
is an appalling death rate. particularly
among infants. due 20 ignorance Of even
rudimentary hygienic knowledge. Send
your nurses and your teachers and your
ministers. that they may get close TO
the people and teach Them that we