ANNUAL REPORT OF THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION

TO THE SECRETARY OF WAR.

MANILA, P. I., November 1, 1904.

SIR: The Philippine Commission has the honor to submit its fifth annual report, accompanying which will be found the reports of the civil governor, the secretary of the interior, the secretary of finance and justice, the secretary of public instruction, and the secretary of commerce and police. This report is intended to cover the period from December 22, 1903, the date of our last annual report, to November 1, 1904.

CONDITIONS AS TO PEACE AND ORDER.

In our last annual report we stated that "the conditions of the islands as to tranquillity are quite equal, so far as peace and good order are concerned, to what they were at any time during the Spanish régime." While we believe this to have been a true and conservative statement, it was also true that at that time there were still a considerable number of small ladrone bands operating in some of the provinces of the archipelago. These bands seem always to have existed to some extent among the Filipinos; usually, though not always, they were recruited from inhabitants of the mountain regions. and were accustomed, when opportunity offered, to steal cattle and plunder remote villages in the lowlands, retreating as a rule in safety with their booty. The great mass of the people, however, were domestic and peaceable.

The insurrection against Spain, which began in 1896 and was afterwards continued against the United States, finally developing into a guerrilla warfare, caused widespread demoralization among the mass of the people, and as a result ladronism greatly increased. After the collapse of the insurrection and after all organized opposition to our authority had ceased the great mass of the people resumed their ordinary and peaceful vocations, but they continued to suffer from the depredations of numerous bands of ladrones, who not infrequently were commanded by some veteran outlaw whose career ex

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tended back to Spanish times. It was obviously necessary that these bands should be exterminated before it would be possible for the people to live in safety in their homes or to till their fields; hence, at an early day after the establishment of civil government, the Philippines Constabulary, composed of natives commanded as a rule by American officers, was organized and began operations against them with most satisfactory results. These predatory bands as a rule contented themselves with preying upon their own people, often killing or mutilating those who refused them assistance or were supposed to be unfriendly to them. Sometimes, as a measure of protection, the unfortunate people who were exposed to their depredations would compound with them by furnishing them food and information, which would enable them to elude the constabulary, but as a general rule the people lived in deadly fear of them, and with good reason. As the people came to understand that the government had both the will and the ability to protect them they began to cooperate cordially with the constabulary and other peace officers by giving information against these cutthroats, so that it became possible to kill or capture them. As a result of the persistent efforts of the constabulary thus aided by the people there is to-day in the great island of Luzon not a single organized band of ladrones to be found. Nearly all of the leaders save five or six have been killed or captured, and those still at large are in hiding and practically without followers. What has been said as to Luzon is also applicable to the Visayan Islands, with the single exception of Samar.

There is no reason to suppose that the orderly and peaceful conditions which at present exist will be otherwise than permanent.

However, in order to get a true picture of the situation as it actually is, it is proper to remark that the Philippine Islands are all of volcanic origin, that their centers are mountainous and covered with a heavy growth of timber and other vegetation, and are generally difficult of access. The great bulk of the civilized Filipinos live on or not remote from the coast line, but there are scattered communities living in the mountains who come little in touch with civilizing influences, who are densely ignorant and superstitious, and who, indeed, in many instances are little removed from savagery. It frequently happens that some enterprising man among them who has the elements of leadership, by exciting their cupidity or playing upon their superstitions, will obtain a considerable following and will perpetrate all sorts of outrages upon the peaceful and inoffensive inhabitants within his reach. It is hardly fair to presume that the inclinations and habits of semibarbarous marauders of this description can at once be changed. They must first be reached through their fear of consequences and made to understand that their traditional manner of life is neither safe nor profitable, and thereafter

they may gradually be brought into a decent and orderly manner of living. It may therefore be inferred that for several years to come there will be irruptions from this source and that they will make raids upon the civilized Filipinos living in the lowlands as heretofore, so long as a tempting field for their incursions is offered them. The Commission, so far as its finances permit, is engaged in building roads to open up these remote sections of the interior and to make them accessible.

A striking instance of the tendencies of these mountaineers is furnished by recent occurrences in the island of Samar, which is the third in point of size in the archipelago. Two months since several hundred of these hillmen who lived about the headwaters of the Gandara River, under the leadership of one of their number who styles himself Papa (Pope) Bulan and who, as is usually the case, claims to be divinely inspired and to have the miraculous power of conferring invulnerability upon his followers, suddenly descended upon the native towns along the coast line, plundered and burned the outlying barrios, and began killing men, women, and children indiscriminately. The constabulary of the province promptly took the field against them and were rapidly reinforced by constabulary and scouts from other provinces. As a result of the operations against these "pulahanes," as they are termed by the natives, they were soon broken up into small bands and are being pursued and killed or captured. Careful inquiry has been made to ascertain, if possible, whether there was any special motive for this outbreak. Some of the captured members of the band, upon being questioned, state that the immediate cause was that certain of their countrymen, who were prominent in the insurrection and who have been employed by mercantile houses as agents for the purchase of hemp, had oppressed them by paying them only a nominal price for their hemp, thereafter turning it in to their principals at a much larger price. There is no special significance in this incident except in so far as it illustrates the low intelligence and semibarbarous condition of many of the inhabitants of the mountains of Samar and of some of the other islands of the archipelago. The Spaniards impressed themselves less, perhaps, upon the people of Samar than upon the inhabitants of the other islands, and except Mindanao, the home of the Moros, there is therefore more combustible material there than in the other islands. Doubtless many of the inhabitants of these mountain regions who are completely isolated from the outside world have never seen a white man. It may be well also to mention that the civilized Filipinos are in great terror of them and eagerly cooperate, so far as their fears will permit, with the constabulary and scouts in their elimination.

The relations between Americans and Filipinos, we are glad to be

able to say, are generally cordial, and there continues a steady growth of confidence and good feeling between them. This has been contributed to by the best elements of both races. The bitterness and distrust, which were the natural outgrowth of the insurrection and its events, have largely disappeared. With but few exceptions, the Filipinos of education, intelligence, and property have heartily cooperated with the authorities; and this remark applies both to those who have been in official relations with the government and to those in private life. Here and there is found a Filipino of more or less importance who is still irreconcilable and hostile to American authority, and occasionally an American who dislikes and distrusts all Filipinos, but the number of such men is comparatively few and their influence is small and steadily waning. All those who are justly entitled to be called leaders of public opinion among the Filipinos have definitely cast their lot with the Americans and have expressed themselves as content to leave their fortune and their future to the American people.

It is true that what is known as the "Hongkong junta," composed of a few Filipinos, some of whom in the past have been men of considerable local prominence, from time to time during the year has given feeble evidences of life and antagonism. They have endeavored, from the safe distance of Hongkong, by correspondence and through emissaries, to stir up trouble and to keep alive the dying embers of insurrection. One of their number, Artemio Ricarte by name, who styled himself "The Viper," came from Hongkong to Manila some time in December last for the purpose of organizing another insurrection. He was one of the irreconcilables who was deported to Guam and later brought back to Manila with other prisoners from that island, but upon refusing to take the oath of allegiance was not permitted to land and went to Hongkong. After reaching Hongkong he became one of the leaders of the junta, and under his inspiration they began preparations looking to an outbreak in the islands. To that. end he opened up a correspondence with a large number of persons who had been more or less prominent in the former insurrection. Many of those who recei letters promptly turned them over to the authorities an owed any connection with him. Ricarte came clandestinely to anila, having with him a trunk full of blank commissions, proclamations, and other revolutionary literature. He at once began operations in cooperation with a crack-brained playwright by the name of Tolentino, who had written a number of seditious plays. Ricarte dubbed himself "generalissimo of the forces in the field" and Tolentino "dictator," and the two began busily filling in commissions and distributing them to a number of irresponsible young men about Manila. These commissions, together with their holders, were soon picked up by the police force, and, so

far as ascertained, no commission was issued to anyone below the rank of general. Ricarte thereafter made a secret tour through several of the provinces of northern Luzon, but found, to his astonishment, that he was unable to make any headway in recruiting his forces, as the people were deaf to his appeals. He did, however, succeed in corrupting a corporal of constabulary, who had formerly served under him during the insurrection, and the members of his detachment, which was temporarily stationed in the province of Pampanga, although it belonged to the constabulary of the province of Ilocos Sur. Shortly after having seen Ricarte, this corporal with his detachment returned to Vigan, the capital of Ilocos Sur, and while on guard at the constabulary barracks seized them and '.ereby secured a number of guns. He liberated the prisoners in the jail, armed them, and left the town with his detachment. He was at once pursued by the constabulary and scouts, upon whose approach his party dispersed, but were picked up one by one until all were finally captured without resistance. In the meantime Ricarte returned to the neighborhood of Manila, and for several months made every effort to secure recruits to his cause, but without success, and was captured finally at Mariveles, in the province of Bataan, by a constabulary officer, upon information furnished by the municipal president of Mariveles and the clerk of the court of that province. It was believed at the time that he was endeavoring to escape to Hongkong. Tolentino was soon picked up also. The entire episode was ridiculous and was of no importance save that it demonstrated that Ricarte had no sympathizers or followers either among the prominent Filipinos or among the people and was a reassuring bit of evidence of their loyalty and good sense.

THE MORO PROVINCE.

In dealing with existing conditions as to peace and order it is proper to give separate consideration to the Moro Province, which includes all of the great island of Mindanao except the two Christian Filipino provinces of Misamis & Surigao, on the north coast, and also includes the Sulu Archipelag. the exception of some 66,000 Filipinos, generally the descendant 'convicts deported by the Spaniards from the northern islands, the great area of territory embraced in the Moro Province is inhabited by Moros, who profess the Mohammedan religion, and by a number of other non-Christian tribes. There has never been any accurate census taken of the nonChristian population, but from the best sources of information available it is estimated at somewhat less than half a million souls, of which the Moros number about 150,000. Although the Moros were always nominally under the sovereignty of the Spaniards, the latter,