The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1908-10-26
MODEL TOWN OF oANsALAN.
New Filipino Village Organized and
Run In Yankee Fashion. .t.,,

Run In Yankee Fashion. .a.,,
Within earshot OF the bugies OF
Uncle Sam and on the opposite side
of the Agus River from the military
post of Camp Keithley, district of
I.anao, Moro Province, p. l., has
sprung up the town of Dansalan.
which Gen. Tasker II. Bliss, u. s.
A.. in his annual report says is prob
ably "the first and only instance In
the Philippine Islands of yhe estab-
lishment of an orderly and we'll regu-
lated community after the manner
followed by the Angio-Saxon settlers
of the United States" His descrip-
| tion of its beginning throws an in
structive sidelight upon the strange
land laws" of the country, and
shows how things often have to be
done there outside the pale OF the
law to obtain. results that are de-
manded by the needs of the people.
The new town grew out of the ne
cessity Of removing the settlement
of squatters at Marahui on the mill
;ary reservation of Camp Keithley.
After much deliberation they decid-
ed to transfer themselves from the
| northern 10 the eastern shore of
Lake Lanao. They then raised by
voluntary subscription the sum Of
5000 pesos, which they placed in
the hands of a committee of three
Americans of their number, who ne
gotiated with the Moros for an elig-
ible site near enough to the military
reservation to be assured OF some
protection, and purchased IL. The
site was then carefully laid out and
in. accordance with previous agree
ment lots were sold at public auction
to an amount sufficient to reimburse
the subscribers of the original pur-
chase price of the site. The remain
ing lots were then decided to the
town to be sold to new settlers.
This we'll considered, orderly and
sensible procedure is, strange to say,
in its entirety without sanction of
law" the report admits. Neither
the datto, with whom the settlers
negotiated nor any of his followers
had proved nor could prove title un-
der existing laws. Neither the in
dividual settlers nor the town could
acquire title through the datto. But
the datto and all his followers be-
lieved that the land belonged to him
under Moro law or customs and that
he could dispose of II as he did. II
the settlers had not recognized these
believed rights of his, If they had
camped upon the Site as being waste,
unoccupied, uncultivated public land
and should have proceeded to ac-
quire title under the provisions of the
land law whentVer the latter should
be made to apply, without compen-
sation to the Miros, they would have
brought on a war. There can be no
doubt that their recognition of the
fact that the Moro was there with
his gun and his spear and that his
gun and spear (in the absence of
greater number of opposition guns)
gave him valid title for which they
had to negotiate, was the only SEN
sible, civilized and just thing for
them to do. No doubt the rights
they have thus acquired will in due
time be confirmed"
A narrow minded stickler for equity
might in this instance, rs probably
in many others, have brought on
hostilities which the tact of an army
officer was able to avoid. A novel
feature in this case is that the mass
of the settlers are not Anglo-Saxon
with a long inheritance of the Drin-
ciples of independent and self-eovern-
ing village life, but are Chinese, Jap
ancse, Filipinos and Moros who with
out hesitation submitted themselves
to the domination and guidance of
few Americans. 1T is an illustration
of what would happen could suffi-
cient number Of nerican Ee.tlors of
the old sturdy stock just such as
those who are already nere-7be in
duccd to settle in the province"
In the country. occupied by the
Tirurayes south of Cotabato, Gen.
Bliss finds a territory especially in
wiling to the investor. The people
are teachable and with kind and just
treatment would become reliable la
borers, No white man. however,
should invest either his own labor
or his capital without assurance of
this native labor. The people are
kindly disposed toward the white
man, which cannot be said of the
Moros, who. paradoxically, like the
white mans government, which is
just and firm but have no liking for
the white man himself. ARMY and