A few months later he sent a valuable shipment of coffee and hemp to his “partner.” When weeks had passed without his hearing from it, he went to Balingasák to find out what was wrong, whereupon his “partner” stated that he was greatly obliged to him for his trouble in cultivating and harvesting the products of the farm. The hillman demanded his share of the returns and the “partner” calmly assured him that he had no share, having sold his farm at the time of his last visit. Investigation proved that this ignorant man had signed a bill of sale for his place.
Lieutenant-Governor Fortich interested himself in the case and caused suit to be brought against the rascally “partner” for stealing the hillman’s produce. The fiscal, or public prosecuting, officer was a bright young Filipino who had recently graduated from an American university. Nevertheless, he had the suit thrown out of court because the “partner” of the hillman claimed that the farm was his, and a question of property ownership could not be conveniently determined in connection with a criminal suit.
At this stage of events I took a hand and brought the matter to the attention of the Honourable Gregorio Araneta, secretary of finance and justice. The fiscal had suggested that the wild man could bring a civil suit for damages against his “partner.” How could this helpless barbarian have gone to Cagayan, hired a lawyer and lived there while his case was pending? He was absolutely helpless. Naturally, I was not. Another suit was brought and the “partner” was sentenced to pay a fine and was given a term in jail.
This is no isolated case. The wild men are constantly deprived of their crops or their lands; cheated in the sale of their products and in their purchases; arrested and fined on trumped-up charges; compelled to work for others without compensation; charged by private individuals for the privilege of using government forests or taking up public lands; and badgered and imposed upon in a thousand and one other ways.
Making Friends with the Mandayas.
The people of this tribe are very fond of beads, a teaspoonful of which make a most acceptable gift.
If the Filipinos were put in control, would there rise up among them unselfish men who would check the rapacity of their fellows, and extend to the helpless peoples the protection they now enjoy?
At all events, those who have made it their business to protect the people of the non-Christian tribes have not been popular among the Filipinos. As a precautionary measure, I warned every man appointed governor of, or lieutenant-governor in, a special government province that he must expect sooner or later to be accused of many of the crimes recognized by existing laws. Every such man who does his duty eventually has false, and usually foul, charges brought against him. A common, and indeed the favourite, complaint is that he has been guilty of improper relations with women. The Filipino is an expert in framing up cases of this sort, and seems to take special delight in it, partly no doubt because such charges are so excessively difficult to disprove.
Cruel abuse of the wild men, or their families; falsification of public documents; misappropriation of public funds; adultery; rape,—these are all common charges, while more than one of my subordinates has been accused of murder, and one has actually been brought into court on such a charge. It is certainly no sinecure to be an officer of a special government province.