The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1906-02-11


people depend utterly for cultivation o
lands.
The Philippine Commission had Il
come TO the relief Of the people, Wher
the rice crops failed, American mcr
chants, true TO the American way. Or
ganised syndicate and eornered al
available rice and began to rob thu
people systematicaly. They ccrncrc'
absolutely all the China product anC
even also the sugar market. The Phil
ippine Commission was compelled TO Y
to Calcutts, almost 1000 miles from
Manila, to get rice; they imported slo'
000.000 worth Of rice to feed the staie
ing people This was sold TO the natives
aud on account OF the poor quality OF
the Calcutta rice, and its destruction
by weavei, the Commission lost Ssis,oOt
on the transaction. But the corner was
broken Instead Of giving the rice Il
the people. the Commission gave So
much rice TO any man, woman or child
for every bushel Of captured locusts
Sil ,450 was invested In galvanized sheet
iron, which was set up as fences, con
verging 10 narrow openings through
which the natives would drive the
loeusts into trenches beyond; $1,000 was
spent for locust nets. In almost all
the provinces the locusts were so mum
erous as to utterly destroy every grow
ing thing.
To supply caribou TO the natives the
Commission made contIaet with q
Chinese firm for 10000 caribou from
China; and the Chinese government
discovering so many of these useful
animals were being deported, limited
the contract to 1900, The price Of a
caribou in Mnnila is now SIS in gold.
Another thing. our papers have not
informed Us upon, is the epidemic OF
cholera. Last year 100000 people died
from this plague.
On the 22nd OF last December the
Friar lands, consisting OF 100000 acres,
mostly rich. cultivated lands, were
bought by the government for $3.50,
600, so that by this event Of last year,
we may see the day coming soon when
the lands OF the islands shall be owned
by the people. The great curse upon
the Filipinos has been the system Of
land ownership and manifold taxation
by the church; tax was collected for
everything; to kill hog was taxed to
marry, to be born, to die; 50 that the
people were hopelessly poverty striek'
en-. In 1898 there were 1913 Friar
prisests; today only 246 Not one
Spanish FIiar bishop remains. Ameri-
can bishops are being sent, and the
Roman Catholic church there will be
American and not Spanish in character
There are from 1000 to $4,000 leper.
in the Philippine Islands. BY this report
Of last year much has been done ia
gather these lepers into hospitals and
reservations.
White America has blessed the Philip
,..fe Islands in many ways, It still Is
cause for our humiliation that We have
cursed the islands with drunkenness.
When Manila was captured by the
American forces August 10, 1898. \
steamer load Of American beer was an.
ehoed in the harbor, and the next day
was brought into port This was the
beginning of a spectacle of which this
nation ought to be ashamed
| IN the Manila papers Uncle Sam and
the American people, instead Of being
characterized, as we see them in ouI
papers, were always eartooned as a
hog dressed in stars and stripes; drunk
enncss was practically unknown in tb'
Philippine Islands before our occupa
tiOn.
/ quote from page 81, Of the report
"One Of the great obstacles that thi'
government has 10 contend with, i the
presence in the large majority OF th'
towns Of the archip lago Of dissolute
drunken, and lawless Americans. VIII
are willing 10 associate with low Fill
pino women, and live upon the proceeds
OF their labor; they are truculent and
dishonest they borrow, beg and stea
from the native; thsir conduct and mo,l'
Of life are not calculated TO impres'
the native with the advantage Of Amer
lean civilization
Quoting from page 30 Of the report
"The smoking of opium is spreading
among the native Filipinos. Under th'
Spanish regime, Filipinos were undel
penalty Of fine or imprisonment fol
smoking opium. Under the tariff acl
now in force the tariff on opium wal
somewhat reduced The result is that
except for the tariff there Is no restric
tion at all on the sale OF opium a
present"
A special comittee on opium was ap