Evening star., 1945-07-08
Duvuo Now q Relic
Of the Greater Jupon
The Natives There Frown Rather
Than Smile at Americans.
BIZ B. NJ. McKeIfDdu

By Is. M. Mch et1Ddy
An Associated Press story in The Star
few days ago reported that the Fill
pinos in Davao, In Southeastern Minda-
mao, were glum and hostile instead of
friendly as the Japs were cleaned out
and the Americans came in. This was
in contrast with the attitude of the
Fiipinos everywhere else. But 1t was
not surprising contrast. Davao was
more a Japanese than a Filipino or
American colony.
In 1885, when I went to the Philip
pines. Theodore w. Noyes. editor of The
Star. gave me special instructions about
looking into the situation in Davao. He
knew about it from his own extensive
travels and writing about the Philip
pines and he was interested in the Curl
GUS and potentially troublesome condi-
ton there.
began my inquiries in Tokyo. had
letter to Japanese general, the Ga
of the Japanese general staff, and 7
thought I would ask him about Davao
just to see what he would say The gen.
eral must have been pretty important,
because when, in search of directions to
the war office, showed my letter to a
clerk in a Japanese steamship Office he
not only walked out with me to find a
taxicab but insisted that it must be a
pretty taxicab." The general was in
China, but at the war Office two young
majors politely offered to help me. While
I tried three times to steer the conver-
sation around to Davao, one of the ma
iors and then the other would answer
my questions with pointedly irrelevant
but extraordinarily polite observations,
such as: "The Star is published in
Washington? That is beautiful city"
Annapolis Is also beautiful place"
Il have been to Fort Sam Houston. 1t Is
place like very much"
still have my notes on a most un-
productive interview.
Nor was it very easy to get much in
formation about Davao In Manila Most
people there at the time were painting
for independence, the new common
wealth was being inaugurated and Davao
seemed strangely unpopular topic OF
conversation. The American lobbyists
for independence would pat me on the
shoulder and say, Don't worry about
Davao. That will iron itself out" Presi-
dent Quezon, the always astute politi-
clan. gave a politicians answer. He said
he did not know much about the situa-
. tion personally but that the law would
be strictly enforced, with justice to all
concerned. 1t took some digging and a
fight to Davao in an accommodating
Army bomber to find out much about
the place. and the reasons why nobody
seemed to want to talk about 1t.
1t was Japanese city in the Philip
pines. tucked away on the Gulf of Davao
and not only the city but the province,
of the same name, was to all intents and
purposes run by the japanese. The own
ership of the land by japanese nationals
was in violation of Philippine statute,
yet whenever the Filipino officials from
Manila made gesture at enforcing the
law, the Japs barred their teeth with
something less than a smile and the
Filipinos would go scurrying back to
Manila, to talk about pleasanter things
such as complete independence from
the United States. 4
The province and what was later to
be developed as the city Of Davao were
settled to some extent by American
soldiers after the Philippines had been
acquired by the United States in the
war with Spain.
The soldiers were encouraged to take
out homesteads in a wonderfully rich
and promising country, and many
of them settled around the Gulf of
Davao and began carving plantations
out of the wilderness and growing abaca,
from which comes the fiber for. hemp
rope. The price Of hemp went up in the
First World War, and the Japs began
coming to Davao in increasing num-
bers and working on the planta-
tons. Many of them had cash, and
as the land laws prevented their owner
ship of land, the practice of leas-
ing land for long terms from American
and Filipino landlords developed to the
extent that the Japanese soon controlled
most Of the plantations.
Many of them acquired outright own
ership by intermarriage with the Fill
pinos. The laws were further evaded by
setting up corporations, the majority
stock of which was represented as being
Filipino but the majority stockholders
and directors were sometimes found to
be the native peasants who, not knowing
they were capitalists, worked for the
Japanese who ran the plantations The
biggest building In Davao was the Japa-
nese consulate. Japanese immigrants
kept streaming In, there was large vol
ume of trade directly with Japan and
the schools were Japanese schools Good
roads were built with Japanese capital.
One form of livelihood attributed per-
haps unfairly, to some Manila politicos
was to acquire land in Davao and sur
reptitiously dispose of 1t, by dummy lease
or sale, to the industrious Japs.
When was there the Philippine Sec
retary of Commerce and Agriculture
estimated that of 100000 acres of land
under Japanese control, 72,Ooo acres were
held In violation of the Philippine land
laws. A government agent had gone to
Davao few months previously and
issued lease cancellation orders affect