The Jasper news. [volume] (Jasper, Missouri) 1898-1924, 1909-05-13


the pests, they build fires under their
houses and sleep away the hot tropical
night In the sitting smoke. While the
upper classes are abstemious the low
er orders drink much of the native
"vino," which is made from the sap
OF the coeoanutt and nipa trees, and
the men are often brutal to their wom-
en- and children. Now all this is not
written about the savage or uncivilized
tribes in the islands, but about those.
people more properly known as "Eipi-
pinos." who loudly claim an advanced
stage of civilization and cry vocifer-
ously for ''independencia.'' And think
the most hopeful person must admit
that 1t is recitation Of real and not
fancied evils. The Filipino laborer is
still far below even the lowest steps
of the relative degree of prosperity,
and happiness. Yet in spite of all his
Ills he is happy, but this is because he
has not yet developed far enough to
achieve either self-pity or self-analysis.
He bears his pain, when 1t comes, as a
dumb animal does; and forgets 1t as
quickly when 1t goes. When the hour
Of death descends he meets 1t stoical-
ly, partly because physical pain dulls
his senses, and partly because the In.
stinct of fatalism is in him, in spite
of his Catholicism.
OF course this poverty-stricken con-
dition is largely his own fault! He has
apparently an ineradicable repugnance
to continued labor. He does not look
forward to the future. Fathers and
mothers will sit the whole day playing
the guitar and singing, or talking after
the fashion Of the country, when here
is not bite of food in the house.
When their own desires begin to rein
force the clamors of their children
they will start out at the eleventh
| hour to try to earn the days where
with to live. The more intelligent of
the laboring element attach them
selves as clientele to the rich land.
holding families. They are by no
means slaves in law, but they are in
fact, and they like it. The men are
agricultural laborers, the women
seamstresses, house servants, wet
nurses and general servants, and when
their children grow up they are scat
| tered out among the different branches
of the ruling family as maids and
Wallets. In a well-todo Filipino family
of ten or twelve children there will
be a child servant for every child in
the house-ill-fed little creatures,
since the Filipino Is merciless in what
he exacts and thrifty in what he gives
trained at seven or eight years OF
age to look after the clothing, the
room, and to be at the beck and call
of another child ofttimes younger than
themselves. They go to school with
their little masters and mistresses,
carry their books, play with them and
perform any menial task that needs to
be done. For this they receive the
scantiest dole of food on which they
can live, few cast-off garments and q
stipend Of 25 cents Omitted States
currency per annum, which their pa
rents carefully collect and spend. Pa
rents and children are satisfied, be
cause little as they get 1t is sure
Parents especially are satisfied, be
cause thus do they evade the duties
and responsibilities of parenthood Il
there ever was a land where legisla
tion was needed on the subject oil
child labor, it is here. Children are
overworked from infancy. They dc
all the work of the islands, and the
last drop of energy and vitality is gone
out of them before they reach man
hood or womanhood. Indeed, the frs
privilege of manhood or womanhooC
to them Is to quit work. The result o.
American occupation has been a raise
in the price Of agricultural labor, ant
in the city of Manila of all labor. Blu
in the provinces the needlewoman ant
the house servant still work for incon
ceiyably small prices. When / ar
rived in the islands, in 1901, seams
tress worked nine hours day for q
cents gold and her dinner. Now, Ii
Manila, seamstress working for al
American woman receives from so Il
rs cents a day and her keep. Span
iards, Filipinos and Chinese pay less
because they know how. A provincial
Filipino pays his coachman two dol
lars per month and cook $15O. Al
American for the same labor pays fou
dollars to eight dollars for the cool
and from four dollars to six dollar
for the coachman. AS before stated
the subordinate servants in Filipin,
family get next to nothing, because O
the utilization of child labor. Amer
cans will not allow children to work
A provincial Filipino can support quit
an establishment on about $40
month, whereas 1t costs an America
from two to four times as much I