The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1904-11-04

space. 1 Will lake some OF them seTIa-
tim:
mo. /. The officials of the govern
ment are dishonest, corrupt and despotic.
The islands seem to have succeeded al
getting the very drees Of our people
n 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 al insult to the families and
friends who remain III 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 III the world.
mo. .. Alphabetically the country
is for the time ruined. Land is going
out Of cultivation, the population is ill
fec, and al some places Unable to get
work.
Prosperity Now Reians.
Two years ago there was a terrible
drought all over the Philippines and the
farmers lost their crops. Famine was
averted by an appropriation from Con
| gIess hic was expended for rice and
other foods and distributed where it was
needed among the people. But is it
honest for Judge Parker to hold the gov
responsible for an act of Provi-
dence? 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. 1t 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.
Nc 3. The country is overburdened
with taxation; disease is prevalent and
the farm animals are dead
"The rate of taxation will average 80
per cent. lower than under Spanish
domination, but under American rule
taxes are collected from everybody i'm
partially. Formerly those who had a
pull or were disposed to bribe the col
~lectors evaded payment, while others
were compelled to pay the last penny.
II IuCICloIC. III three dU
four times as large as they ever were.
Since the enforcement e sanitary laws
and regulations, the con faction Of sew
ers and the publication of the water
supply the death rate has been decreased
30 per cent. 1t is true that more thar
half the farm animals in the Philippines
died from the plague during the great
drought of 1902, but is it honest for
Judge Parker to charge that calamity to
the administration?
mo. 4. Whole districts are in the
hands OF ladrones.'
Ladrones DIFFERENTIATED.
"Ladrones are highwaymen, freeboot-
ers. who live in gangs in the woods. raid
the settlements and blackmail the plant
ers. In Spanish times they used to
flourish, but the vigorous and v%igilant
operations OF the native co%nstabulary
have practically ~exterminated them. and
the Philippine Islands are now as safe
as any part of the United States.
mo. s. The price OF products is
poor and unremunerative.'
ANY person interested in the details
on this point can obtain the quotations
on Philippine staples. such as hemp.
obacco sugar, copra and rice, from any
commission-house, where Judge Parker
could have secured accurate information
it 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.
mo. 6. Public opinion has no free
expression: newspapers are bought up
or are brow be into silence
1.-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 NE officials with
an energy that is ~uneQulled in any other
editorial room in the world. Before
Judge Parker made such a prepOsterous
assertion he should have examined a file
Of the Manila Times or the Sunday Sun.
The editors Of those papers have good
ground for a Libel suit against him.
Rare Case Of Inconsistency.
1.-THE criticisms of the administration
which appear daily in the Manila papers,
Olten DlCLer anu VloleHt, are almost with
out exception based upon its hberality
toward the natives; for doing exactly
what Judge Parker says it has not done:
for giving the Filipinos too much self
government; for promising them indie
pendence and for appointing so many
natives to Office. Every governor of
every province, every mayor Of every
town except Manila, and almost every
PROVINCIAL and municipal official 10 Z