Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-08-11

has wealth and education They can be led
about by the nose. During the disturbed
conditions in the islands when war prevail
ed during the years from 1893 to 1901 the
most atrocious crimes were committed by
taos humble. ignorant. but apparently
peaceable and non-vfcIous persons. simply
because they were told by rich and wealthy
Filipinos or Fflipinos Of official position, that
they must do They proceeded to bury
people alive, to cut their threats, or to
chop them into pieces. with the imperturb-
ability of the oriental, supposing that they
were entirely relieved from responsibility
because of the direction given them by
their superiors in education and wealth OF
their own people. This is what is called
caciaueismo 1t is the subsection of the
ordinary uneducated Filipino to boss or
master who lives in his neighborhood. and
who. by reason of his wealth and education,
is regarded as entitled to control by the
ignorant tao. There is, however. no fixed
feudal relation. The population is mobile.
First one leader, then another, can take
control and lead in any direction, provided
he understands the people. knows how to
appeal to them. and is looked upon by them
educated and wealthy Filipino.
Self-Government.
The power of self-government is pot
government of self alone. but is a govern
ment of other people. Self-government Is
only possible when there is implanted in
the breast of those who partake In 1t some
of responsibility as to the govern
ment of all. With respect to the sys-
tenn of jury trial, that requires on the
part of the people among whom 1t Is to be
introduced a sense of public responsibility
which will enable the jurymen to sit In
judicial frame of mind, weighing the rights
of the individual as against the public IN
terest in a just punishment or crime. Inc
Jury trial has failed in Porto Rico because
1t has not been found possible as yet 10 IN
still in the minds of the people who sit on
the juries any sense of responsibility In re-
gard to the punishment of the Defendant.
The juror impaneled there does not UNDER
stand that the jury is tribunal upon the
just operation of which depends the wei
fare of society, and that If he votes 10 free
every defendant, crime will be rife ana
the vicious will prey upon the community
1t is the failure to indemnity themselves
with the government as part OF II an"
as responsible for its proper adminlstra
ton and as interested in its proper ad-
ministration, that renders the great bodY
of Filipino people at present unnt Ior
complete self-government and the lntIo-
duction of the system of jury trial. ECU
ton by primary schools and secondary
schools. but a training In partial sell
government, such as to teach the lhoi
vidual governmental responsibility ana 10
make him understand that public oInces
should be administered for the benent Oh
the public and not merely as the property
of the individual. lesson whlch: l regre'
to say. he rarely learned under the Span
ish regime as it existed in the philippines.
And this lesson of public responsibility
which a man must have either as citizen
or as q public officer among people Wen
fit for f-government is lesson when
the wealthy and the educated class among
the Filipinos have yet to learn. Ihey are
learning it by actual experience In taxing
part in the government out IL requires d
considerable period.
Lack of Public Opinion.
Now. another thing Is needed in success
that is the existence of a reasonable, In
telligent public opinion. Today in the PINT
ippines this is altogether absent. The 30
per cent of the Filipino people who are
separated from knowledge of the modern
world by ignorance of any civilized IAN
guage and who must learn all tina. they
do learn through the very insumclent com
munication to them in their own dlalect
of what is going on, and of modern IDEAS,
cannot be expected to exercise that IRE
mendous instrument which Is the most
potent factor in self-goVernmeh,, opeIdt
ing as a restraint upon even the most
brazenly dishonest administrator or public
office To have such a public opinion, with
a manifest solidarity that shall give II
force the people must be educated 10
think alike and in a common language to
express the thoughts that they have on the
subject of good government. Ihey mus.
first be taught to know now lmportah,
good government Is to their welfare anu
secondly to express their opinion in the
various ways open to them and in Ian
guage which shall be common to them,
against malyersation and abuses in office
and in the carrying on of the government.
1t seems to me that l have said suificlent
now first. to show that we had In the
phiIinpine Islands when We went there
neople who were tractable, capable or edu-
cation, with proper ideals. free from oD-
structiye caste and unprogresslve condl-
tions who would form good material Tor
the making of them self-respecting, self
governing community, provided that we
furnish to them the education necessary
for their development. You Will observe
that they differ utterly from all the ma
terial which England has had in her tropi-
cal colonies and dependencies. They are
the only orientals who have accepted
Christianity and embraced 1t with real sim
| cerity as a people. They are the only orfen-
| tails that have other ambitions and
ideals than those furnished them by Euro
mean models. They are the only orientaiS
| that aspire to civil liberty, as shown in the
| western world, and the problem of what
we shall do with them is therefore i'm
| mensely easier than it would be If they
| were MohaInmedans or BuddhiSts, and as
separated from us in their ideas as the in
he bitants of India are from the ideas of an
| EngIishman, or the people of Java from the
! ideas of a Dutchman. They. therefore, in
| their government require different treat
Elent.