The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1913-06-08
Philippine Constabulary Life Is Described

| Hgious procession on one OF the many
| saints days, and the Spanish friar.
| backed by the still loyal Catholics Of the
| town. attempts to parade the dusty
| streets-then there is a riot, and hurry
| up call the ConstaSulary, which Is the
| only force outside Of the control Of local
| politics. Some knotty points Of munich
| pal. constitutional. and ecclesiastical law
| are involved; but IL he knows his bus
! ness Lieut.. Smith will adjust matters
| himself, or at least carry II no further
than his senior Inspector at the provin-
| cial capital.
In the wealthy town of Cigarro. where
I the hemp merchants have houses as fine
| as those in Manila. and where a monte
/ game Is openly run in the house Of the
| deputy to the Philippine Assembly from
| that district, there are two political fac
/ tons as hostile as the Montagues and
| Capulets. The municipal government, Of
| course, suffers. The streets are not re-
paired. A fine provincial road runs to
| the town limits; but an almost inpassa-
] BILE quagmire shows where provincial
| Jurisdiction ends and municipal begins.
| CThe provincial road is accounted for
\ by the fact that there Is an American
treasurer on the province board) The
municipal police force Is poorly clad and
quite uninstructed-except in the art OF
| extracting backsheesh from the ever
patient Chinese storekeeper.
Council Equally Divided.
| The roof of the Municipal Building Is
| falling in while the members of the town
| council quarrel beneath. The council Is
| about equally divided between the two
! factions. The broad plaza Is overgrown
with rank weeds and bush and 10 the
| happy hunting ground for the village
\ pigs, carabao, and goats. In the center
the handsome monument erected in ITO
| to the memory Of Don Carlos Villanueya,
| first Spanish governor of the province,
is falling down. Its dissolution Is helped
| by the removal of the larger stones
| which citizens have taken to bridge deep
mudholes in the main street of the town.
| As Don Carlos once delivered the town
/ from the assaults OF a band Of maraud-
| ing Moros pirates IL would seem ordi-
nary gratitude might inspire the preser-
walton of his monument. But the town
| is rotten TO the core. Finally a series Of
incendiary fires burst forth and the Fill
Pine provincial governor, who belongs to
| the same political party as the presi-
| dente of Cigarro. makes tardy request
on the Constabulary for the preservation
| OF law and order.
| Lieut.. Smith proceeds to Cisarro with
/ two or three men. The incendiaries stop
| their work even before he arrives, but
to arrest and prosecute them means
| weeks OF weary work, weary because Of
| the frightful tangle of perjury and du-
plicity which must be unraveIed Smith
| has long ago learned that black can be
| made white and white black by a Fill
/ plno politician, who can command the
| sworn statements of dozens of his adj
herents for any purpose that he desires.
An afndavit is worth about half a peso
in Cisarro and will not be worth more
until the public schools. under American
| teachers, have raised up a new genera
ton OF Filipinos with higher ideals than
| at present obtain. But Smith must pa
| uently strive for the truth, and mean
| while his advent makes changes in the
| town.
The municipal police force is dismissed
entire. They were only creatures and
former house-servants of the Presidente.
| The three Constabulary soldiers ade-
quately police the town in place of
the fifteen policemen who so inadequately
fulfilled their office In some mysterious
way not provided for In the laws of the
/ civil government nor in Constabulary
orders and regulations, the plaza is
Cleaned up, Don Carlos Villanueva's
monument repaired. the streets are
graded and ditched and the wandering
animals impounded. When il is all done
and Cigarro is a comparatively safe,
clean. and sanitary town. the municipal
authorities will indite a long screed TO
the Governor General of the Philippine
Islands setting forth how Lieut. Smith
has interfered with their sacred right
to misgovern themselves
i The Brighter Side.
But there are compensations for the
thankless work among an alien people
Not all municipalities are like Cisarro
nj mi.
There is old Don Pedro de Leon whose
lsusar-hacienda is as famous for its hos
p1taIty as for its fat acres It's good
| place to ride up to on a hot day. to find
an ever welcome table groaning with
arroz la valencians," "cocido." and
l know not what OF Spanish and Filipino
dishes. A good place to siesta away
hot afternoon of well-earned rest. Then
Don Pedrn's two pretty daughters who
have recently graduated from the Manila
| High School are glad to practice their
English and that night there will be a
dance, when our lieutenant will trip the
light fantastic with the best of them,
and even take conchita de Leon out for
the difficult "rigodon" or 'fncoy-incoy"
In fact the Constabulary officer must
know how to dance. 1t is the one whole
some evening amusement of the Filipinos
Throughout the Islands. and in such
social intercourse the officer will learn
mucn OF the conditions which confront
him. In a room adjacent to the dance
there will be spread refreshments, solid
| and liquid. Here the older men and
women will gather and many a hint can
our lieutenant pick up when tongues are
| loosened by "tanduay" or "anisado."
He may learn where to look for the band
of ladrones which had been lifting cara
bao and horses from the haciendas
around: or a chance word may give him
| an insight into the inner politics Of the
province.
Treachery of Opponents.
One captain OF Constabulary was shot
i in bed while he slept. A treacherous
Moro sentry placed to guard the officers
house did the deed. As soon as possible
after the captains death a lieutenant
\ came to, the post-it was on a little is
i land in the Sulu Sea-and took charge Of
the mutinous men. And, just to show
his men that he feared them not he
1 slept in the same bed on which the cap
tain had been killed a few days before,
first patching the rent torn by the bullet
| after II had pierced the body of the
/ sleeping officer. The company was seeth-
ing with sedition, several men had de-
serted with the man who killed the cap
/ tain and they amused themselves by
! shooting into the officers quarters every
night there was no other officer-no other
/ white man-nearer than Jolo, forty miles
away over the sea. yet that young officer
slept in the blood-stained bed and dared
! to hi hitf