-JDS 659 J .E47 Copy 1 OUR EASTERN POSSESSIONS -7N 400 Views Price, 50c. « Published by Gbe iPbilippine publishing Company BOSTON, MASS. Copyrighted, 1905, by Herhknt E. Ellsworth 4 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS ILLUSTRATED BY HERBERT E. ELLSWORTH 400 VIEWS FROM ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPHS BOSTON PHILIPPINE PUBLISHING CO x 9°5 LIBRARY of CONGRESS Two Copies ftsceivea JAN 9 1905 NlLASS CL XXc, No; COPY B. 4-1 Copyrighted, l'J04, By Herbert E. Ellsworth. PHILIPPINE ISLANDS ILLUSTRATE]) America in the Philippines By Hon. A. W. FERGUSSON, Executive Secretary to Hon. William H. Taft, Ex-Governor of the Philippines, now Secretary of War. THE SUBJECT upon. which I have been asked to write covers so large a field, has been treated by such able pens, and so many changes have been rung upon it, that it seems scarcely possible to add to its literature, and I shall confine myself, therefore, to what America has really accomplished in the Philippines rather than to consider the theme in its broadest aspect. And in the few pages allotted me I shall limit myself more especially to what the civil authorities have done in a quiet and unobtrusive way, since the work of the army needs no praise here. It has become history. Its work has been performed in the way the American army has ever done its part — thoroughly and well. It is not the province of any army to come on a friendly visit to a foreign shore; armies are set in motion when all friendly overtures have failed. Their task is to bring about peace through the arbitrament of the sword, and the hoarse accents of the cannon. America came to the Philippines because the Archi- pelago was considered a vulnerable point in an erstwhile enemy's territory. She had none but the kindliest feelings towards the natives of the Islands, and there might never have been the slightest ruction in the amicable relations at first existing had •not her intentions been misconstrued; but in the controversies and uncertainties which followed Dewey's entrance into the harbor of Manila, extending over a period of several months, misunderstandings arose, heads became heated, and reason fled from them on the heels of calmness. So the war followed. But even in war the Filipino learned the difference between modern and fifteenth century methods of doing things. He learned that an enlightened nation uses its weapons of warfare to enforce a principle, and that neither personal nor national hatred or vindictiveness is the power behind the guns. Perhaps it is not too much to say that even at this early date the more advanced and enlightened Filipinos saw that even the acquisition of terri- tory was a minor consideration with the republic beyond the seas, and that having acquired sovereignty — through no desire America in the Philippines of her own, but from an overwhelming force of circumstances — over eight million people, it became her duty to teach them those ideals and conceptions of liberty that have made America great and that stand for the best that is known of civilization throughout the broad world. However this may be, the Filipinos, as a people, learned that though assault was met with counter-assault, yet friendly advan- ces were met with advances more friendly still ; they saw that though the American soldier used his weapon aggressively to enforce the recognition of his country's duly acquired sover- eignty, yet he had no desire either to reduce them to an abject state or to impose burdens upon them too heavy to be borne. These were the lessons of the hour, but, notwithstanding this, it was not to be expected that a people who for four centuries had suffered and groaned under a monarchical and military depotism that has hardly had a parallel in history could be content under a martial government, however humane and considerate. They could not be expected to appreciate the sentiment crystalized in the lines — " Underneath the starry flag, Civilize them with a Krag," and so though thousands returned from the field and once more assumed the avocations of peace and made friends of the American officer and soldier in the towns, yet there was en- couragement and assistance given to the man in the field and the spirit of rebellion was still rampart in many breasts. It was at this juncture, two years ago, when the so-called Filipino army had been scattered in all directions that the patriotic and diplomatic McKinley met the situation with a flank movement that is unprecedented in history. The Islands were in a state of insurrection, and he sends to insurrecto leaders and people — not peace messengers, as is customary, who meet for formal talk and lay propositions before a contending body which they may or may not accept, men who are here to- day and gone to-morrow; but he sends into the midst of these people, supposed to be bitter of spirit and evil of intent — five Americans of stalwart brains and kindly hearts to live among them and to say to them, " We are here to tell you what peace really means ; we are here to show you the blessings of liberty as it is known among enlightened nations ; we are here America in the Philippines to admit you to brotherhood with the Americans; to find out how much you really know of what self-government is, and so soon as you shall show yourselves capable of it, to bestow that blessing upon you. Your plea that you are capable of self- government has come before our President; your cry for liberty has been heard; your claim that you have been kept in subjection and your capabilities perverted and your best efforts stultified has been given every consideration, and we are here to tell you that America is ready to grant you every privilege and all the liberty, as you are ready for it, that the greatest of American citizens may have, except that she cannot yield to you the sovereign power. She dares not leave you a prey to your own internal dissensions and she cannot give you over to other nations." No sooner had the ship that bore the Commission hither anchored in the beautiful bay of Manila than they were visited by a large body of prominent natives, three at least of whom had been ministers and advisers of Aguinaldo — men who had always favored peace and who had parted with him when he determined to follow the advice of the hot-heads and break with the Americans. These natives were anxious to learn the intentions of the American government, and when they be- came possessed of them, and their confidence had been won, they enlisted in the cause of bringing their erring and mis- guided brothers to their senses. But a few weeks sufficed to convince the Commission that the encouragement they had been met with at the outset was not built upon sand ; day after day they were visited by seekers after the intentions of the government; by doubters who had been so long fed upon unfulfilled promises that there was no longer any faith in them. But when the time for converting words into deeds arrived ; when on the first of September, 1900, the Commission entered upon its legislative functions and it was discovered that its first enactment was an appropria- tion of $1,000,000 gold for roads, and its fifth a law establish- ing a civil service in the Islands, based upon a merit qualifica- tion, followed in quick succession by a municipal code providing for local self-government, a provincial code, and many other acts drawn on broad, liberal, American lines, — all of which were put into execution as soon as the pacified conditions in the provinces would permit and which served as object lessons to 6 America in the Philippines the doubters, — their conversion came like that of Saul of Tarsus, and like him they preached among their own people the gospel of peace. Emissaries from unpacified provinces and even from insur- gent leaders in the field came to hear the glad tidings first- hand, and some of the latter expressed the willingness of their commanders to surrender to the civil authorities, which, of course, was out of the question, as they could not be negotiated with while offering armed resistance to American sovereignty. When through the military arm of the government several of the provinces had become pacified and the Commission visited them for the purpose of establishing civil government, the evidences of rejoicing on the part of the people were far less perfunctory when they found that they were called to- gether and consulted as to the best methods to pursue to meet local requirements before the law putting them under civil regime was enacted. This was something new and strange to them. The gentlemen in Congress who have asserted that the natives were muzzled at these meetings and not given free rein in the discussions, entertain an impression which has never been borne in upon the writer, who was present at all of them and acted as interpreter. On the first of September, 1902, there were 40 provinces under civil rule in the Archipelago. Of these, 30 (or 75 per cent.) had Filipino governors and 10 (or 25 per cent.) had American governors. The provincial officials in these provinces were 229 in number, 165 (or 67 per cent.) of which were Filipinos and 82 (or 33 per cent.) Americans. As an evidence of the deep interest shown by the natives in the workings of a new electoral system, it will not be amiss to refer to the case of the gubernatorial election in the Province of Cebu. The Provincial Government Act provides for the holding of an electoral convention on the first Monday of Feb- ruary last (the third), and 435 electors (being the vice-presidents and councillors of the 57 organized municipalities in the prov- ince) out of a possible 570 answered the roll-call of the conven- tion. On the last ballot for governor 434 votes were cast, of which the present incumbent, Juan Climaco, received 249 and his predecessor 122 votes, the rest being scattered. The count- ing of the last ballot was completed at 2 A.M. February 5, after the convention had been ir^ continuous session from the America in the Philippines morning of February 3, short recesses only being taken; and the outcome of this, their first lesson in American methods of conducting elections, may be summed up in the concluding words of the official report of the treasurer and supervisor of the Province of Cebu, the former an officer of the United States army and the latter an experienced engineer: " The election was absolutely fair and impartial, and the result is the evident choice of the people as expressed by their electors and seems to give satisfaction to the native population." The files of the Executive Bureau contain many other re- ports regarding these elections, all of which demonstrate the fact that ocular proofs of the intentions of the American gov- ernment and people to make good citizens out of the natives of the Islands are not barren of results. It will be seen from what precedes and follows that the civil authorities have " hewn straight to the line " in following the instructions of the President of the United States, when he says : " That in all cases the municipal officers who administer the local affairs of the people are to be selected by the people, and that wherever officers of more extended jurisdiction are to be selected in any way, natives of the Islands are to be preferred, and if they can be found competent and willing to perform the duties they are to receive the offices in preference to any others." To the average reader figures are a bore, but they are far more potent than words, and I shall introduce a few to show what the civil authorities have done in the Philippines along some lines in the last twenty-four months, to be set against the sad lists of military casualities which burdened the American heart as they were flashed to the homeland for so long a time. During the period from Sept. 1, 1900, to Sept. I, 1902, the United States Philippine Commission has held 224 public sessions and 411 executive sessions, the record of the former filling 1,460 typewritten pages and of the latter 1,174, a total in two years of 635 sessions and 2,634 pages. This shows that there were only 85 days in the 730 elapsing between the dates named upon which no session was held ; but, as a matter of fact, so far as the executive sessions are concerned, when two were held on the same day, they have been considered as one in this computation. During the same period 450 laws were enacted by the Commission, or at the rate of over four a week. A record this which speaks for itself. America in the Philippines The civil service of the Islands was composed on June I, 1902, of 2,491 English-speaking employees, and 9,986 natives, includ- ing 5,596 enlisted men in the Philippines Constabulary, and ex- cluding native school teachers receiving compensation from municipalities. The total yearly pay-roll of the 13,257 employ- ees is $5,392,680. The number of pupils enrolled in the day public schools of the Archipelago this year was 200,000 ; in the night schools 25,000. The number of secondary schools already established is 8, with a strong probability that as many more will be estab- lished during the year. There is now one agricultural school in the Islands. The present number of teachers employed is 4,192, of which 792 are teachers of English and 3,400 natives. The average daily attendance during the past year is estimated at over 80 per cent., which is higher than in the United States, where it is 66f per cent. Since the establishment of a central civil government in Manila on July 4, 1901, to which all the provincial governments report, the work that has fallen upon the Civil Governor and the Executive Office can only be imagined by those who are acquainted with the methods prevailing in Spanish times, when paternalism in its most radical form prevailed, and who consider the fact that the system now obtaining is new to every native official. Matters of the most important and trivial nature are submitted to the Executive Office for decision through porten- tious-looking documents of voluminous proportions, and couched in the flowery and pompous Castillian style that has survived the centuries. But it must be said that the Filipino office-holder is as quick to learn as his children, and a number of the offi- cials have adopted the short, concise, official style of America in their correspondence. In every way the civil government has endeavored to carry out the educational features of the President's instructions. It has established an Agricultural Bureau which is conducted by able and experienced persons and provided with the most modern appliances and apparatus that will work havoc with all the relics of a by-gone age now in use here, that only serve to recall husbandry as it was on the banks of the Nile when the Pharaohs reigned. A Health Department, with ramifications throughout the Archipelago, has likewise been]created, and during the present America in the Philippines 9 cholera epidemic it has done more to instruct the native in latter-day methods and to eradicate old ideas and superstitions than almost any other innovation. The average native by na- ture and Spanish teaching has always believed that he was in the hands of the Almighty, and was not trammeled by any duties or obligations. Dios ang baliala (God will provide) was his motto, and come better or come worse it was all the same to him. When the epidemic came and the Health Department met it heroically, he soon learned that those of his fellows who followed the rules laid down for preventing a spread of the disease were often saved, while others who supinely waited on Providence were taken hence, and he profited by the lesson. He also discovered during this time that the authorities were his friends and not his enemies, as he had always considered them in former times. Another great work of the civil authorities was the creation of the Philippines Constabulary in August of last year, a body which by its loyal work has justified its creation and now forms the bulwarks of the civil regime. Composed of 5,596 natives officered by 230 Americans, the large majority of whom have seen hard service in the field, it is gradually taking the place ot the army, as the latter is reduced and sent home. On Dec. 11, 1901, the army occupied 459 posts in the Islands; on the 15th of September, 1902, it occupied 177, the stations aban- doned in that time being 282. The number of army posts occupied by the Constabulary and military is 39, The total number of Constabulary posts in the Archipelago at this time is 225. The following figures relating to the Philippines Con- stabulary will also be of interest: The arms on hand on Sept. 15, 1902, were 2,405 shotguns, 2,502 revolvers, 3,472 rifles, and 1,423 carbines. The number of ponies on hand was 750, of which 552 were fit for service. The arms captured and sur- rendered since the organization of the Constabulary have been 1,316 rifles and carbines, 381 revolvers, 186 shotguns, 14 can- non, 6 muskets, 174 native-made guns, 6 iron and 6 wooden guns ; fire-arms of all kinds captured and surrendered since the organization of the Constabulary, 2,089; rounds of ammunition captured, 11,691 ; rounds assorted, 155 cannon balls, 6 cases ot one-pound rapid fire shells, \% cans gunpowder ; casualties to inspectors and enlisted men since the organization of the body, killed, 2 inspectors and 20 enlisted men, wounded, 42 enlisted 10 America in the Philippines men, expeditions made since organization, 2,736 ; miles covered, 110,466; stolen animals recovered since the organization, 738 carabaos, 162 horses, 40 oxen, and 19 head of neat cattle. The police force of the City of Manila is remarked upon by every visitor to the capital. It is on a par with any similar body of men anywhere. All this has been the work of two years, and much of it has been accomplished in the face of great obstacles, not the least of which has been the securing of good material to fill the offices where the field is naturally limited, and the difficulty of retaining it. The experience of one of the large departments of the civil government will convey an idea of this. It em- ploys 475 men, and has discharged 190 of these in the last six months, 180 of whom resigned, in greater part to accept better positions in private life or in other offices. It will be readily seen that if the same ratio of discharges continues for the next six months that 82 per cent, of the force will have to be re- newed in the period of one year. A problem this which cries aloud for solution. Space forbids a more detailed statement of what America has done in the Philippines, but one thing is certain : These Islands have passed from the sovereignity of a nation that revels in retrospection to that of a young and stalwart nation that rejoices in anticipation. One is looking backward, the other forward. America is in the Philippines to protect the weak and unedu- cated majority from the encroachments and despotism of the educated and wealthy minority. She is hereto enlighten, up- lift, and dignify the native races and furnish them justification for their pride of race ; to do away with forced labor among them ; to teach them disinterested patriotism, and bring them to a realization of the fact that they best serve the public who forget themselves. America has been already long enough in the Philippines to show the inhabitants of these fair Islands that the men from the Occident came to the Orient in no repellant guise, but as friends who would share with them the blessings of liberty. The natives, as a fact, have known two Americas. The America they knew through the armed forces of the United States, they respected ; the America they came to know through the civil agents of the United States, they admire, and in the process of time — let us hope — will revere. 0) S «a a a m pq w 3 H-l CO O (C 3 •a s g 4- PQ O ~ ° 8 pa pq 3 Ph ~ pi a bo C o It ,44 +J C! Ph C3 Bj o OS g 3 a Sm O ^ P^ Ph 2 co JZ5 < s ° o 5 ^ F^ go ^ 2h z s 1: .5 s P*i i Ph as be -fi C ad -1 3 _ — H H as ea N N +3 ^ a si 0) a *H 3 F, s IS U > ^ Pn a) 9 ci u 03 Bi Ch ci o o £ CO g P pq o o a &C pi O w. a ft 6c 3 .S & B S >_: , -S s » • Pi — 2 ^ fi • '5 T3 Pi C l- OS 2H>0 ft p=* a I! 5 s : t> o p w u S PI N 3 £S Copyrighted by Herbert E. Ellsworth 4 1 Zamboanga U. S. Parade Grounds 4 Igorrotes as Constabulary Men 2 General Sumner and Staff 5 Ninety-foot Cocoanut Tree 3 An American's Cosy Room Copyrighted by IlerbeitE. Ellsworth 1 On the Trail to Vicars, Mindanao 2 Old Spanish Fort 3 Moro Ontpost 4 Moro Savage 5 An American's Home \ G Moro Savage Copyrighted by Herbert E. Ellsworth Body Guard for the Sultan of Jolo Moro Woman Igorrote Belle Negrito Boy Copyrighted by Herbert E. Ellsworth 1 Ilocano Woman Weaving Silk 2 Entrance to Zamboanga, P. I. 3 Spanish Fort in Mindanao 4 The Famous Sultan of Jolo (Zulu) and Col. Wallace, U. S. Army Copyrighted by Herbert E. Ellsworth 1 The Niagara of Mindanao 2 Moro Woman 3 Moro Making Fish Net 4 Blowing up Fort Pawlns 5 Moro Savage 6 U. S. Troops on Parade Copyrighted by Herbert E. Ellsworth 1 U. S. Troops Building Bridges 2 U. S. Troops taking it easy 3 Filipino Belles 4 Filipino Church Bell 5 Filipino Fish Boats 6 Filipino Country Store 7 Moro Savages 3 3 O O o o S CO CJ *1 V O .£ .9 3 Copyrighted by Herbert E. Ellsworth Seventeen Thirty-one Filipinos Seventy-one Three Society Belles Copyrighted by Herbert E. Ellsworth Waterfall at Benguet Gathering " Tuba " \ Gorge at Pagsanjan, P. I. On the Pagsanjan River Copyrighted by Herbert E. Ellsworth A Filipino Child Ilocano Woman A Manila Girl Visayan Woman Copyrighted by Herbert E. Ellsworth 1 U. S. Troops Building Bridges 2 Church at Iloilo, P. I. 3 U. S. Army Camp, Mindanao, P. I. 4 Natives Treed by a Carabao 5 War Dance of the Savages 6 Gathering Cocoanuts 7 Entrance to Iloilo, P. I. » 8 Moro Kids 9 Street Scenes, Zamboanga, P. I. u W O a = CO ££ -5 -C i— i ^ QUJJ be Oj t-, — eS xi Ph .2 ^ ho C a> ^~] ja CD O H a •3 H O ^Ph aj Q H ps, Copyrighted by Herbert E. Ellsworth 1 Moro Chiefs and Slaves 2 Fishing Stream 3 Moro Carpenter 4 Moro Savages 5 General Sumner and Moro Chiefs 6 Rice Field 7 Filipino Fresidente's Home 8 Filipino Funeral 9 Camp Wallace, Manila Copyrighted by llerbert E. Ellsworth 1 Moro Fishermen 2 Moro Woman and Kid 3 Soldiers Returning from Battle 4 Moros carrying sick Soldier 5 Scene at Malabang, P. I. 6 Mule Train 7 Soldiers and Filipino skulls x 8 Scene at Malabang 9 U. S. Troops at Jolo, P. I. « O Sfc! q Ci O H 5 P O • o h3 CO S 5 2 t-i > 6 ft o *?P a pq ei (-H 7 :-n T) 3 pq B Ph a -s 03 a> s pq " a 2.SS O «H .3 co Pm co ~ *> o & (S s 00 *c Copyrighted by Herbert E. Ellsworth 1 Moros Bathing 7 U. S. Soldiers, Tree Choppers 2 Filipino Pugilists 8 Moros Carrying Wounded IT. S. Soldiers 3 Filipino Home 9 IT. S. Wagon Train 4 IT. S. Soldier Held Up (30c.) 10 Moro Chief and Followers 5 IT. S. Soldiers, Tree Choppers 11 Moro Kid 6 Moro Women Fruit Venders 12 Moro Chief Visiting IT. S. Troops 1 < 1 1 *', y m flf A l. v l\ in Hi l IB 5 a •5 cs a S a Bj at NJ - 03 o c» o O* u 0J Ph £ -5 r O> jsj » 2 3 o as t3 O be C ft „d & o 03 00 ^ CO o :3 a Pn * 1 W CO [3 2 *%. ^<-ZmMkk *i >' ^'' £'-- fa ~ Pn a K H bu p ? X O P=4 H P ° "o "o go m CO lO 3 H " t3 Copyrighted by Herbert E. Ellsworth ■■-( ■'.""" ,' ; ; >vv.'>- "° . j --"■> . 'JSRHbI • 'V'' JB E5 ^ ifT i T Ilocano Savages Cocoanut Avenue Filipino Tomb Old Spanish Fort Copyrighted by Herbert E. Ellsworth 1 Moro Market 2 TL S Troops at Jolo, P. T. 3 General Miles Visiting Mindanao 4 A Happy Soldier and Carabao £ 25-foot Snake 6 Burial of U. S. Soldier ~, '-I be H II o o Ol o 3 u Pm j§ sc § > .id **• c (H rrt ~ u g u a; (V d H W < a) .4 &D pd hn 3= e 3C ►» Copyrighted by Herbert E. Ellsworth COPVPtlGNT I'JOf h.e. Ellsworth A pretty spot Matalang, Falls, Mindanao Ilocano Head Hunters Moro Soldier and Shield Copyrighted by Herbert E. Ellsworth U. S. Troops at Work Filipino Divers Filipino Musicians Filipino Water Sports U. S. Soldier Gettinar the Blanket a 83 at •-. 0) H O d fe S T* S-C bo c -«! 0) u ■— ,s* 02 o l=H t> fan S 13 o M •3 c B S £ o S H .5 O 2 Ph Ph co LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 028 309 513 7