The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1911-04-20
The UNITED STATES
IN THE PHILIPPINES
: Briton's Review of Our Great
Problem In the
Orient.
Perry Robinson. in the London Times.

Perry Robinson, In the London Times.
One will often hear 1t said in the
east that the United States is max ins
failure in the Philippines. It would
oe more just to say that she has moi
Iucceeded, out Of hand, in accomplish.
.ng the impossible. The American
people, In its innocence. went light.
leartedly to work to achieve all al
once task which could only be the
labor of long years. and experience has
taught them truths to which at the
outset they would not listen from the
lips Of others.
1t was at the time Of the acquisition
OF the Philippine islands that Rud-
yard Kipling wrote his poem, "1he
white Mans Burden" and the storm
Of indignation which the lines aroused
In the United States will be remem-
bered. Today the American official in
the Philippines finds In The White
Mans Burden" text for almost every
emergency and one hears 1t quoted
daily throughout the islands.
Even more significant, perhaps, is
the present mental attitude of Ameri-
cans in Manila towards Great Brita ms
work In India, and, especially in Egypt.
II may be questioned II even in Egypt
itself so large proportion Of the Eng
lish speaking population has read
Cromers Modern Egypt" as has read
L
seen on the shelves, both in the offices
and homes. Of leading officials, and the
| chances are, X one takes volume
down to look at It, 1t will be found to
awe passages marked and annotated.
| At the end Of July the speeches Of Mr..
| Balfour and Sir Edward Grey in the
| Egyptian debate In the house of COM
mons were reported almost in full in
| the Manila papers and formed, for the
| next day or two, ,ne of the chief topics
| Of conversation q. the clubs. The tenor
| Of the debate, and especially those
| sentences wherein Sir Edward Grey
| declared that a continuance Of agita-
| ton against British occupation could
only result in the stronger assertion of
our authority, was generally quoted
as Immediately applicable to the pres
ent situation Of America In the Philip
pines.
When 1t is remembered with what
contemptuousness Of all precedent, par
ticularly Of all British precedent, the
United States embarked on her civil
ization Of the Philippines. and with
what confidence that her colonial pol
Icy was to mark a new era in the
treatment Of subject peoples, one
recognizes how profoundly experience
has modified the national point Of
view. 1t liz at least an argueable mat
ter among Americans in Manila land
one not infrequently argued) whether
England has not. under more difficult
conditions, been more successful In
Egypt than the United States has so
far been In the Philippines. Yet no
one will be slower than the English
man who has seen something Of Brit
ish colonies elsewhere to consent to the
statement that the United States Is
making failure here.
The Condition Before Occupation.
At the time of American occupation
the population of the Philippines was
about 100000, the people being. with
two minor exceptions Qn the presume
ably aboriginal Negritos of some Of the
mountain districts and certain reputed
Indonesians In the interior OF the island
origin. With the lapse of time, how
ever, they had become divided into
some 80 different tribes. each curiously
tenacious to it's own locality, speaking
over 90 dialects. Among some Of the
wilder TRIBES cannibalism and head
hunting were still pravelent; nor
Is 1t certain that either Is entirely ex-
tinct today. Though seven eighths Of
the entire population were protested
ly Roman Catholic Christians, the
actual contact between the Spaniards
of the governing class and the mass
Of the people had been slight, and little
had been done either to teach the ma
tives Spanish, in which the various
tribes would have found common me-
them. as other than a subject and in
ferior race.
only the lack Of acquaintance OF the
American people with the east and
with oriental peoples made 1t think
able that such a population could be
suddenly awakened to an appreciation
of the spirit Of western political insti-
buttons and become fit for self-govern-
ment on western lines. americans in
the Philippines now possess a better
understanding of the problem with
which they have to deal, and they
regret good many things which were
done in the early days.
Criticism Of tho Present.
Meanwhile there are two sources
from which criticism of the present
conditions chiefly amanates. The COM
mercial community, aas especially that
portion Of 1t which was there before
the Americans came, sees chiefly that
the standard of wages. whether for
domestic servants or clerical assist
ants, has been raised to three, four and
even 10 times it's height In Spanish
days, and the general cost Of living and
Of doing business-to say nothing OF
keener commercial co,npetition-has in
creased. Others, again, whether resi-
dents or visitors, are depressed by the
futility Of the new generation of Fill
pinos as represented by the high-col-
Jared youths Of the cities who have
been already mentioned. But much
more has been accomplished than the
mere raising Of the cost of living and
the conversion into incompetent clerks
of q few thousand youths who might
have grown into useful laborers.
Ameriea's Achievements.
1t Is not easy to measure the signifl-
canoe of those 5000 Filipino girls who
are now acting as school teachers or
Of the smaller number who are certifi-
Gated hospital nurses. They must rep
resent many others besides themselves.
The sanitary work which has been
done, with its evidence in the dimin-
ishing death rate; the material bene-
fits in road making. and the erection
throughout the provinces Of well-built
healthy public buildings; the addition
to the available agricultural area of
the tracts formerly segregated In the
friars estates: the suppression Of la
dronism, or brigandage, and the gen
eral establishment Of order throughout
the islands; the direct training in sys-
tematic work which is being given to
the 1000 native employees in the vari-
GUS government departments; above
oil, the fact that there is being forced
upon the natives of all classes some
sort of conception, however slowly
grasped, OF a government which is
something more than mere system
devised for the enrichment Of individ-
L.. ali lv,