Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1906-02-02
PEACE IN THE PHILIPPINES
Slight Troubles in Only Three Provinces
During the Past Year.
CAUSES or COMPLAINT INVESTIGATED
Change of OmciaIs Remove. Cause of
Outbreak in Ssmar During the
Earlier Months of the
Year.


port of the Philippine commission for
lSJ4-5. toge ther with the separate reports
to the commission Of the governor gem
eral Of the Islands and of the heads of the
four executive departments has just been
published by the War department.
The governor-seneral,i in his report 10 the
Philippine commission. states:
With the exception of the provinces OF
CaYite, Batangas, and Samar, peace and
the ISLANDS. Except in these provinces
the instances, oI idwiessness have been
few and insignificant. cattle steanng,
which was common two or three years
since, has almost entirely ceased, and TINS.
tCgether with the sense OF security wnIcn
mas come to the people from vigorous
pursuit OF these evil uoers. mas principally
contributed to the increased cultivation
me nuuned above. The provinces of CavIty.
baJansas. ana Samar nave Oeen much
aHncted during the year by organized
laOrUnr bands, which Tor A considerable
time past nave terrOrizeu ana pIundered
The people al intervals. Inc enect OF thcU
expectations resulted in the abandonment b.
% any Inhabitants OF their richest and best
agricultural lanus, and the moving into
Towns OF the farming class, where 10 some
extent at least ponce protection was al
torued them.
The wild and semi barbarous hillmen of
Samar, tred by the fanatical teachings of
an old Filipino who called himself Pope"
Bulan, VINO supplied the soldiers with
charms called ''dnting -anting," which they
were told rendered them invulnerable TO
bullets, banded together under the direction
OF several shrewd and INSCRIPTIONS lead
ers, some of whom had been outlaws IRON
Spanish times, and began a series of at
tdcks upon the isolated detachmenIs OF
constabulary and the peaceful and inoffen-
sve people who did not want to join them,
in which they committed many cruelties
ana barbarities.
The governor general and two members
of the Philippine commission held a num-
Der of hearings, from which it appeared
that the discomfort of the people was
largely. If not wholly, caused Dy the fact
that the local officials of the coast towns
were acting as the agents of the large ex-
port houses in Manila for the purchase Of
hemp, the principal product Of the island,
and that in many cases they had not dealt
fairly with the poor, ignorant people who
inhabited the more remote Darr.os and the
hill country, as they took their hemp at
merely nominal valuation and very much
below the market value ana turned it In
to the export houses at the market price,
and when the producer protested against
this imposition ne was arrested on some
trumpeu-up charge and thus ootn despoied
and punished. With the sense of injustice
and wrong ranking in the breasts of these
ignorant and credulous people their feeung
of discomfort was reaaIIy famed into a
flame by a few asitators, who told the in
ha bitants OF the interior that the govern
nent was planning to.-tax them %, pesos
apiece as poll tax and 30 pesos for n lana
tax. The leaders took on religious rather
tuan political names, and the disturbance
had no political significance whatever.
1t seemed both pOIItlc and Just that the
causes which led to the outbreak should be
| eradicated, which necessarily involved a
total change OF administration, both pro-
vincial and municipal. In order 10 prevent a
| recrudescence of these outbreaks IL was
/ necessary to get more closely in touch with
/ these remote hill people, many Of whom had
never before seen a white man, and in
/ order to accomplish this the new governor,
| who speaks the native dialect has been in
: dustriously occupied IN visiting and re-
| organizing various municipalities, establish
/ ing schools, and getting in touch with the
people, ana the good work done by him is
already very apparent, as many Of the
''pul&hanes' have voluntarily surrendered,
/ bringing in their guns, = few of which were
! captured by sudden attacks on outlying
detachments Of the constabulary at the
beginning OF the disturbance, and it now
looks as If the worst is over in Samar.
! 1t is rot doubted that when schools are
! established among them and they become
! more enlightened and are made to appre-
! ciate the benefits and blessings Of decent
and orderly living, they will become law
abiding and prosperous.