Show America in the Philippines I UPLIFTING THE FILIPINO By Frederic J Haskin Manila It is ill I only a little more than eleven years yean since Admiral Dewey fought the Battle of Manila Day Bay Ba It Is not quite quit eleven years since the occupation of Ma Manila Manila Manila nila by the American troops slid and It is 18 only eight years nars ars since the tM American civil SOT gov government was wu established e in the islands Wanda The achievements of American rule in that short abort time Urne have revolutionized the lit of oC the islands from the topmost elF cir circles eke cles of society in Manila to the every ery everyday day life Ufe itt of the headhunting savages savage of the mountains More has h been done in a decade than Spain accomplished in over three centuries America found a subject people which had absolutely ab no part in the govern government government ment mont and which for years yea had been in ina ina ina a constant state of insurrection against the authorities Ami rica brought about abouL peace by making snaking war effective and put putdown putdown putdown down the bandits and thieves tta lill well as all the political insurgents Today the Phil Philippines Philippines enjoy a tranquillity never before dreamed of in the islands inlands The Filipinos have been granted almost complete au autonomy autonom autonomy in municipal affairs and have been granted a large larce share in the legis legislative executive and judicial government of the islands America found a people which had hd never enjoyed free speech or a free press pre a Men len who spoke for the liberty of their th lr coun coon countrymen countrymen were wen executed without trial Per Persons PerSons sons who complained of the th corruption of too the government were east cast In noisome n me prisons All Ail that hits has been changed The press pr Is la free the right of free speech Is Ia guaranteed the right of petition is ill assured and men may talk of Independence ence as much as they please unless they advocate riot and rebellion America found the church and state so IJO combined that there was wa great difficulty difficult In the province of one from front the other in government Complete sep separation separation station has bas been accomplished the right of oC every man to worship as he sees BeeS fit It Itis is guaranteed the lands Inda of the re glou orders were purchased and held for set lIlt settlement by free holders holden And all of this has been bean accomplished peacefully America found a fluctuating money in UM use and replaced It with a fixed and staple currency upon the gold Bold standard so 80 that in every part of or o the Island the money is la the same ll me and nd its Ita value known America found the highways of o the country In bad repair and few bridges worthy of the name iwine Many farmers had no road reads a whatever over which to reach the market Wide rivers r er were able ble in hi the rail season and there them was no method of o crossing cro them The Amer Atner kens kall have constructed hundreds of or miles of Jf highways and are unceasingly push pushIng Ing the work of ot new construction They have built huilt bridges and culverts culvert of steel and concrete and have hav connected wide widely ly I separated communities by easy eallY trans transportation America found one short railway anti antiquated In equipment and management teaching leaching a very small number of people Up to this time more than O G flO miles of good railway has been built hullt and as aa much more J ore is in course of construction so that within a few years the principal Islands lalands will be adequately provided pr with good rail tall transportation America found 80 P per cent of the peo people people pie in absolute Ignorance and a school system which offered off red no hope of better betterIng Ing lug their condition An American pub public lie lic school system now reaches a half mil mu million lion pupils out of the total population of or orIMe seven IMe million The percentage per nta e of o flit illiteracy illiteracy is Sa still large but the next genera generation generation tion Uon will see It greatly reduced The English language has haa already become common lOmmon in many parts of the Islands and it Is spoken by a greater number of na tea natives tives than is i Spanish America found a pitifully Inadequate postal system This has baa been extended and Improved until now every town and village Is supplied by a regular r mail utah city delivery is I established in the larger cities and in some sections even rural delivery has been inaugurated The telegraph system a stem Is a part of ot the postal service o one e feature Inherited from the Spanish and it has hall been extended widely The cable service under American n rule reaches every Important commercial point In the archipelago America found Manila unpaved filthy and reeking with disease a condition worthy of the fifteenth century Today It is the finest city in the Orient The streets are paved the swamps have been turned into beautiful parks parka sewers have been constructed an ample supply of oC good goodwater goodwater goodwater water has hs been provided harbor and Mud river improvements have been made mad sanitary laws la and regulations have been enforced and now Manila Is modern and clean clen America found a country coup try In which the simplest sanitary precautions were a country flUid filled nu with cholera bu bubonic 1 beak bonic plague smallpox and cI other diseases of f like character The plague pique has bu been eliminated the endemic cholera is now quickly stamped out when whenever whenever whenever ever it appears and benben Is almost a athing athine athing thing thine of or the past The bureau of health works constantly co ata to prevent epidemic die dis diseases eases e and is Ia educating the people to take precautions The bureau of ot science is la studying tropical diseases dl and nd has haa not only worked wonders in Improving the animal and vegetable health of the is Ii islands J lands but has bas brought the medical l feNion of the world to a better under understanding understanding standing of the problems of tropical die dis diseases eases e I America found the prisons conducted like the prisons of the middle ages agu heart hn heartless heartless less leu being inflicted upon the un unfortunates fortunate who were cast cut into Jail jn re regardless r lanne of the nature of their crime or orthe orthe orthe the hope of reformation The prisons have been converted into reformatory in institutions institutions and every prisoner is III given the opportunity to fit himself h for rejoining r society as an honest man A penal col coi colony co coony ony on an island paradise is I governed by bythe bythe bythe the prisoners nera themselves elves them under republic republican an forms America found the mountains inhabited by wild tribes who knew H nothing of civil civilisation and who were wore constantly at t dead deadly ly war with each other seeking heads of the enemy as trophies The Americans have han reached out among these people have persuaded them to cease CeaN their war warlike warlike warlike like habits habit have stopped the practice of c headhunting and are bringing IMin the world tribes Into touch with the civilization civilisation of their Christian brothers of the lowlands America found a civil service system which was entirely controlled by favorit favoritism favoritism ism and In which offices were almost openly bought and anel told sold Id Officers of th the thO civil government were expected to add to their meagre agre salaries alan by graft ft and the expectation was always realized realised Graft was universal and ani The Thet great t majority m of the people had bad no eon con conception of the possibility of honest ione t ad administration administration admInistration ministration The Ie Americans put graft grafters ers era and end defaulters defaulter into jail and dir of or wonders to the Filipinos the American grafter wert to prison Just as quickly as the defaulter America round found a 11 judiciary system sadly Iy in need of reform Litigation was pro protracted pr tra ted expensive and uncertain A man wan accused of crime need not be confronted by the witness against him and a he be had no compulsory right to subpoena wit witnesses nesses In his hili own behalf He Ho was w rail railroaded railroaded roade i to prison without anything as ap P preaching the American understanding of ofa a Ii fair air trial The Americans Americana have established established tab a new nOw judicial system from the justice of the peace to the supreme court although they have maintained In force the tile Spanish or Roman system of o law Iw The trial courts are presided over by byAm American Am and Filipino judges Jud and Dd all aU are of 0 the th highest Integrity Appeals App to the th higher h her courts are a matter of right ht and a a athe the old summary injustice is II a thing of o the past pat America Amera found foulI a taxation system aylm which wl laid all the burden upon the lai burn very ve poor p Persons Persona of oC property or wealth were re required r required to contribute little or nothing to the support pt of the government noll and all aU taxes were wee wrung Wun from f the poverty stricken by b rust cruel t rul methods metho The Amer Americans Ame leans Ins established a system of taxation which secured the th necessary nery revenues reve by bya a levy vy upon the people pPe In proportion to their ther ability ably to nay ny The taxes are almost almot as all high as during the th Spanish regime but the burden burn is more equitably distributed distributed and the expenditures ex of revenue are ar of vastly vasty more benefit to the people at large lale America found a people which natural UI divided divide itself l l into two classes the aristo aristocrats arso crate ct who looked upon work as degrading ing and nd the th masses mass who worked only on I enough to supply themselves with the th most mOt meagre The Americans have been endeavoring to teach tech the Fill Fili Filipinos pines pinos pi nO of or high and an low Jow degree deg that hon honest hont est cat t labor Is not To sonic some ex extent x tent fOnt tnt this effort has hall been successful The Americans have taught the te people to toan want an more things and they must workmore work workmore more m to 1 have them But ten years earl is too short a I tune time to make over the habits of ofa J Ja 1 a race which has ha run ran in the same groove gove for fo ages ag America found the th Philippines eleen eleven eleene years e ago ao The accomplishments of that brief period are wonderful yet the march of progress Pr there the is considered as a hardly well wen under way Nothing in the whole wholE history of the United States S is I more J ore sig significant si i than tn what it I has b done for the Philippines and the Filipinos Tomorrow America In the Philippines te II Manila an al American City |