The Washington herald., 1913-11-09
fierce TRIBES MAY PREVENT
INDEPENDENCE OF FILIPINOS

nave SHOWN from the nrSt a strong re-
sentiment Of our disposition to interiors
In behalf Of the Wild people. They can
not understand the interest we take In
them. and they have not the slightest
sympathy with the humane motives by
which We are actuated From their point
OF view. the aborigines OF Luzon possess
no rights that anybody Is bound to re-
spect The mere fact that they are not
Christians places them outside the pale.
To rob, maltreat. or even XIII them 10 no
crime.
For them there were no schools I'D
to the time when the Americans came.
II they were sick, no hospital was open
TO receive them Nothing Of any kind
was done to promote their welfare What
the Americans have done for them has
been disapproved by the Tagals from
start to finish; and. IL they get a chance.
they will undo every bit OF IT. They
look upon our attitude toward the nom
Christian tribes as expressive OF q crazy
senttmentalism-- One should remember,
In accounting for this feeling of theirs,
that the Tagal is not a white man with
a brown skin. He Is a Malay, and his
whole moral makeup is different from
that Of the Caucasian.
without Legal Redress.
Some Of the on-Christian tribes have
enjoyed for centuries what might be
called a standardization. For example.
there are the people OF the subprovince
OF Bukidnon. They are industrious and
agricultural But until recently they
were frightfuily maltreated by the
Tagals, who robbed them of their cof-
fee. cacao, hemp and gutta percha. or
else compelled them to sell such prod
ucts for next to nothing. There was
no check on the rapacity OF those who
plundered them In the Filipino courts
they were helpless Unscrupulous Of
ncials took advantage OF their ignorance
and timidity to compel them to pay
taxes which they did not owe They
were cheated out of their cultivated
lands, and large numbers OF them were
Obliged TO seek refuge from persecution
in the hills.
The Americans put a stop to all this
sort OF thing. Today the people Of
Bukdnon enjoy happiness and prosper
ity. Their villages, which were filthy
and insanitary. have been made clean
and healthful. They are governing their
own settlements, and are doing II well.
Their houses are neat and well kept;
planted with useful crops. Their streets
and plazas are well drained. They get
good prices for what they have to sell.
Excellent trails connect the more i'm
portant towns. and they have local and
telephonesI
How long will 1t take the TagaIs, once
they have a free hand, to do away with
all this? And We shall be helpless to
interfere. Woe to the heathen In the
Philippines who have no protection
against their Christian" neighbors!
Naturally. Prof. worcester's recent re-
port on the subject Of slavery in the
Philippines has ELECTED Indignant de-
malls and contradictions. II might be
said that Prof. Worcester. who has been
Secretary of the Interior in the archi-
pelago for a number Of years, and who
has done more than any other living
man to promote the welfare of the Wild
tribes. ought to know what he Is talk
ing about. But fortunately, II il possi-
mite facts of which there can be no
which are furnished by
the Tagals themselves
The Filipino Legislature has control
over all the island OF Luson with the ex-
ception Of the Mountain Province (em-
bracing seven subprovinces) and the
provinces Of Nueva vizcaya and Agusan-
For years past the Philippines Commits
sion. representing the United States
government, has tried in vain to per-
suade this assembly to make q law for
=
chase Of human beings. The assembly
has shown that It Is definitely and end
phatically opposed to any such measuf
In fact this Is not surprising. maSmW
as many Of its members are themseM
though more or less surreptitiously,
ers OF slaves. ~
Dehinition of PeonaEe.
The Philippine Commission recently
penalty of one to twenty years impris-
onment and $50 to 800 fine for the Of
tense Of holding any person In slavery,
DR. delivering a person to be held in in
voluntary servitude. Furthermore, any
person who is compelled against his will
% labor for the payment of a debt Is
considered to be victim Of ''peonage,"
md the individual responsible for such
,ompulsion is liable to Imprisonment for
'ix months to five years, and to q fine Of
so to $500. One-hak Of any 9ne collected
Inder this regulation goes to the person
held in slavery or sold as n slave
This, Of course, Is very drastic. But.
lnhappily, the commission has authority
n such matters only over the Mountain
Province and the provinces Of Nueva
Yizcaya and Agusan- Elsewhere II has
10 force, unless indorsed by the action
II the Filipino Legislature. AS already
stated. the Legislature has declined TO
,ass any such act, and consequently
layery is still an accepted institution
n the Philippines.
Upon this question, then, the fight now
bout to begin in Congress will to a con-
iderable extent be made. There win be
assertions. denials, and counter-deniais.
But among those who possess q real ac-
luaintance with affairs in the Philippines
here Is no dispute whatever. The Ia
Ials have small regard for free institu-
ions as We know them, and for the
lights and welfare of the wild people
hey have shown that they care less
han nothing. II allowed, they would do
much worse to the non-Christian tribes
han merely enslave them. They would
10 again what they were accustomed TO
10 before the arrival Of the Americans
Viewed merely as a business PROPOSE
ion, the Philippines may or may not be
worth while for US. But the real ques-
ion involved is not this. nor any senti-
mental feeling Of obligation to give lib
rty to the Tagals. It Is whether We
ave a right to abandon to their tender
nercies the helpless non-Christian tribes
The wild people can look only to the
americans for help and protection. Their
uture Is wholly In our hands. We have
ccepted them as wards OF this nation.
nd have begun to uplift them. They
ook upon US with gratitude and anec-
ion. Shall We now show them how
aseless Is their confidence In US by
ropping them again into the abyss?
RENE BAcHE-
C..-k- - Ho-.o nF..As