Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1916-02-22
THE PROBLEM OF THE PHI JPPINES

WASHINGTON. II. c.. February I'll
AINocatcs of Philippine independence
hold that the Christian tribcs arc
~" more Of Il problem than ar" tho
Indians in the United States Their
opponent, say that The parallel would
be NOR accurate If there were ~
10000" Indians in this country, II they
had recently come OF the warpatn, and
wcr" anxious TO 20 back 30 II. Tho
truth Hes somewhere between these
extremes ot opinion, but at best tho
non Christian tribes are a problem.
and at worst they can 10 n SERIOUS
In"nac"
Nobody knows exactly how many OF
the Christian people there are.
II - certain that there arc enough Of
them 10 form IA important element i'm
the total population. some F,lplnos
h:t.e set iLcir number as low as 500,
COO. plI"" estimates. including that
OF the census, put them nearer the
thr""-0unrtcr million mark. Mr.. -. =
Worcester, for thirteen years - n.j!-
her OF 'hc Philippine Commission anG
Secretary Of tho Interior for the is
iards, rcckons them IN great detail, ia-
land by ISLAND, To total we'll over
l,o0c"o0. Mr. Worcester is probably
better acquainted with ,his particular
question than any other American.
The total population OF Ia" archi.
rclaup i about 100000 Thus : 200. :
90" filipinos viii nave from 500 900
to l,rpG,"no non Christians. whose ter
;itDrN embraces about half the land
area Of the islands To police educate,
Sani'aiG. administer and govern.
avid" Tribes Not Quite Wild.
III" question: is somewhat simpliHcd
bS the fact that these wild tribes are
in some WAYS no; e"actly wild. they
ar" savage. ana in the very recent past
wagcd savage warfare, hut they are
Intelligent and quick TO progress. There
to cd F-,
that lived in the trce-tons nv" years
ago. To-day that tribe lives In q VII
lapc. uses !atc"modcl disc plows and
trims the public plaza with a lawn
mover
Such. tribes have been won 70 law
ana ordc. by the American civil and
military officers who had charge OF
them. The task called for utter fear
lcssucss. iniimii" patience and man
who could set Tor each crime an nle-
gGatc Punishment and see that IL '"Ns
carried out, Thcs" American officers
riSkcd their lives dozen times Il
day They travelled unar;ncd through
remote and hostile regions, whore every
man boastcd a lance ana q strong de-
Sire 10 increase his hcad-scorc. They
decorated their quarters Win the
spears thrown at them. They arbi-
tratcd fcuds between Villages when
only the presence OF the other tribe
prevented each warning party from
gathering in tho arbtcr
The American in charge OF some hid
don inland district represented tho
whole machinery of administration i'm
his ono quirine-iillcd person. I'c was
the Legislative. the judicial, and the
executive branches of government com
bincd. lie WAS the health department
ana the bureau of public works. We
tween the tribes Ia" was Hague
tribunal and between individuals
court OF last appeal. At the head o: 4
few rcd-capp"d native constablcs he
ranged through the jungle in The
name OF the new law
Courage and Justice Prevail.
The hill people regarded war as a
part Of life, yet in some ways they
proved a likablc race to deal with
They recognized the justice Of punish
mcnt. and bore no malice after ii was
over. ON their side. they expected
that punishment should wipe the slate
clean. that the offender who had paid
his penalty should get back his old
status in every way They were not
Il race to appreciate mildncss, but they
admired courage III an enemy with
ready generosity. Ey courage the
Americans ruled them, occasionally
falling back on the national resource
OF bluff.
y good example OF what the pioneers
OF our administration had 10 deal with.
and the way they dealt with it, is FUR
NiShed by an incident that happened
on one OF the smaller islands \ Young
governor act out with two native con-
stables to compel q band OF outlaws
to disarm They found the whole tribe
III arms, and showing an ugly mood.
IT, was apparent that they were work
ing themselves up to tho point Of at
tack. and as the tribe numbered over
100 the governor and his two followers
were In n ticklish situation. SO the
American forced the issue. Selling on
q preteNt for a quarrel with the chief
he ordered his conStables to hold the
man while he gave him Il cut with n
stick. The natives were aghast at such
tcmcrty; II convinced them that the
governor had hidden force In re-
serve. They mcekly gave up their
weapons
Friendly Relations EstubIishcd
Once the new government was cs-
tablishcd, friendly relations between
tho officers of administration and their
districts grew rapidly. Tho wild
tribes are quick 10 appreciate courage
and square deal. They ohcycd the
law, and regarded the local lawmakcr
as sort Of dcmi- god: for tho ruling OF
such people Is largely personal mat
ter: they cannot grasp principles Of
government. Give them a man who
deals fairly with them, Furnishes them
when necessary. without lnalicc. hut
without favor. respects thrir customs
Us far rs possible. aud works for the
general good. aud they will admire
that man and the government lie stands
for.
All those phases OF the American
regime must DO spoken Of in the mast