The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-04-08

sion upon the Catholic population. and as there Is no accurate church census 5t IS impossible to say in what propor- tion tho Catholic membership Is divided between these two church organiza- tlons.
 
 As to the honesty of the average Filipino. different opinions are to be heard from Americans, but we were told that less care was taken to lock the doors than in America, which would indicate less fear of burglary. Tne Philippine court records would em- parrass us if we became too harsh in our reflections upon the integrity of the Fflipinos, for during the years IsO2-S-4-5 thirty office holding Ameri- cans were found guilty of shortages and defalcations, the total amount em- bezzfed exceedings $70,000 gold. Bili- Did prison at Manila is the peniten- tiary for the northern islands and most q think alb. who receive more than Jaii sentence are confined here. There are now about 4,600 prisoners in Bfli. pio, nearly HOO serving terms for orlgandage. insurrection, rebellion and sedition. the remaider for other crimes IT the convicts average a years sen. tence each. the number of natives sent to the penitentiary during four years
 
 the native population a criminal class equal to the proportion which the thir- ty convicted Americans bear to the en- tire American population in the is- lands. and it must be remembered that the defalcations have been among Americans selected because of their supposed character and capacity. There have been many defalcations among the fiscal officers appointed among the natives, but not knowing the total num- Der of the FiIipinos occupying fiduciary positions and the number of Americans occupying similar positions. I cannot make a comparison. Our chief conso- 1ation is to be found in the fact that Americans guilty of dishonesty have been promptly punished by the Ameri- can officials, but this does not entirely remove the stain which their conduct has brought upon our nations good name.
 I cannot conclude this article with out expressing my. appreciation of the courtesy shown me by Acting Governor Ide, Secretary Ferguson, the members of the Philippine commission and the other officials, civil and military. They were all willing to furnish information. records and statistics regarding the things done under American authority. While mistakes have been made, some of them expensive; while there have been outrages by the constabulary (which is merely a native army off, cered by Americans and serving un- der another name), and while there have been instances of seeming par tiality to Americans where a conflict has occurred between them and na- tives, believe that the serious evils to be complained of are not personal but are inherent in a colonial system, and cannot be eradicated so long as such system is maintained.
 The greatest need that I noted in these islands is an increase in what we call the middle class, but this need is noticeable in the other Spanish colonies which I have visited and will be corrected as education increases among the masses. With more educa- tion among the farmers there will be improved methods Of agriculture, and with more education among the arti- sans will come diversification of in- dustry. This middle class will be a balance wheel. as it were, to regulate the machinery of society, and 1t will furnish a public opinion which will control official representatives.