Los Angeles herald., 1909-08-16
AMERICA i'm THE PHILIPPINES
XVI-Guaranties of Civil Rights
By Frederic j. HaSkin

prohibition against melting to riot, the
same limitations in effect imposed by
the several states in the Union. To
grant the right Of keeping and bearing
arms at this stage of the development
of the Filipinos would be merely to
license ladrones and bandits. The peo-
pie are not yet educated up to the
standard Of fitness for a compulsory
jury system. The community regards
the government as q thing apart, an
entity which is usually an enemy and
in which the community has no inter-
est. Therefore. jury would always
sympathize with an accused person
and release him merely because the
government was prosecuting him. I'm
til the people learn that the govern
ment is their government, ~and is act
ing in their behalf. most jury system
experiments in the Philippines prob
ably will fail.
1t must be remembered that the bill
of rights was not in the original con-
stitution of the United States. and had
it been there is grave doubt il the
Union would have been formed. The
recital of rights added in the first ten
amendments to the constitution was
the salvation of the Union, but II was
not placed there without opposition.
To the Filipinos the grant of practical
ly ali of these guarantees comes not as
fructifying through centuries of par
tial self-government and political eX-
perience, but as the sudden and un-
sought gift from a conquering nation.
Many Of the Filipinos who prate most
loudly Of independence" place no
value whatever on that kind of indie
pendence thus guaranteed. The Fill
ipino Judiciary approves the reforms
enthusiastically but the people do not
understand them.
It is altogether question of educa-
ton. The Filipino is the only Chris
tian in the Far East. The Spanish
friars converted him to the religion of
Christ, aided him to stem the tide of
Islam, and endowed him with set of
ideals altogether different from those
of other Orientals He does not look
down upon the Westerner with the
contempt of the Chinese or the Hindu.
He looks to Rome to Madrid, to Paris,
for his ideals and inspirations. He is
beginning to look to Runnymede and
Washington for his political notions
1t will require many. years, perhaps
several generations. to adjust the Fill
ipino mind to the Anelo-American con-
ception of law and political rights and
duties, but it is not nearly so difficult
an undertaking as it might be. The
Filipino is a Christian. and that is
more than half the battle.
The liberty of speech and the press,
giving opportunity to discuss and crit
icise the government, is in itself a
great blessing to the people of the
| Philippines. There are many Ameri-
cans and not a few Filipinos in the
islands who, for divers reasons, would
deny this statement. The person or
party coming in for hostile criticism
from a caustic newspaper is rarely en-
thusiastic about the freedom Of the
press. If the person so criticised is
absolutely convinced of his own recti-
tude, the desire to stthe the press is
even more pronounced. But in the long
run the freedom of the press accom-
| plishes sufficient good to offset the
| license it enjoys.
1t is only through this medium that
! a backward people, like the Filipinos
will be educated in political affairs and
! made competent to exercise their po-
! itical rights. For a time the Fhiltpinos
| will wonder WHY the government does
not imprison' editors and speakers will
misconstrue this leniency, and will be
| tempted to imagine vain things. But
| in the end. such is the conviction of
the American administrators in the
Philippines, it will be productive of
great good.
The service Of the Americans at the
head of affairs in the Philippines is of
|
home people do not appreciate them
! because they know little and care less
about the Philippines. The Filipinos
do not appreciate them because they
dc not understand that altruism and
| government can be associated, and
| they have no historical memory by
which to Judge of the value of the gifts
the Americans have brought them
These Americans who have established
the government of the Filipinos, who
| have administered that government so
we'll and who are now training up
! their Filipino successors in office, must
wait for the historian of another gen.
Grafton to properly appreciate their
| labors and sacrifices.
| In the meantime. the work in hand
is to educate the Filipino in the knowl-
edge of his new rights, his new duties
and his new responsibilities, until he
| is able to manage his own government
and until in the language of Mr.. Taft
1--WE can have whole community who
know their rights, and knowing, dares
maintain them"
| TomOrrOw-America in the Philippines
XVII-An American Gibraltar.