THE COUKIEE
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ft
business basis for the revenue they
would produce.
The Filipino tenants were charged
high rents and made to work or a small
pittance. The greed for amassing
property seemed to grow among the
friars, and there developed a compe
tition among the orders, not as to
if which could do the most for the church,
W but which could become the richer.
and so every effort was directed to
ward filling the friars' treasuries In
order that the priests might live In
better style and the orders have more
Influence with the government
The desire for property was carried
to a BtartHng degree. When a Filipino
was found with a piece of land which
the friars coveted, some false charge
was trumped up against the native,
he was thrown Into prison and his
property confiscated. With the friar
opposed to him It was impossible for
the Filipino to secure justice, for even
the courts we.re. for their own welfare,
subservient to the religious orders.
The orders became more and more
powerful. Line fences on property
were moved frequently, yet the protest
of the Filipino encroached upon was .of
no avail. Although there was a law
that when a person died he could not
will all his property to the church,
the friars often arranged matters so
that they claimed all the land of the
deceased as theirs. And thus has arisen
the trouble over the friars' lands.
The natives Insist that only a portion
of the land by right belongs to the
religious orders, and that a large por
tion of It should be confiscated by the
government The constitution of Agul
naldo's government. Indeed, provided
for the confiscation of the friars' lands
but the United States has attempted
to solve the problem In a fairer way
by offering to buy the lands outright,
so that they can In time revert to thr
Filipinos again.
But it was not alone by seizing prop
erty that the friars gained the ill will
of the Filipinos. In their greed for
money they made their religion a mere
tool for further extortion. Exorbitant
fees were charged for performing fcu-
THREE BOER HEROES COMING HERE
V
DEWET. BOTHA. JJELAREY.
The gallant Boer generals, DeWet, Delarey and Botha, will shortly visit the United States. Elaborate plans
are now being made here for their reception. At present the Boer heroes are In Holland, having recently come
from London, where they were royally entertained by their late enemies.
J
rial rites even when the law said that
these should be performed free of
charge. High prices were demanded
for masses, and sometimes when the
people did not pay for the "repose of
the soul" of their relatives, punishment
or Some form of torture was Inflicted
until the required amount of money
was obtained. And against all this the
native had no recourse, for the friars
controlled the government.
This line of procedure was carried a
step further by some of the friars, who
saw that their strength depended on
the ignorance of the native. Instead
of trying to enlighten the poor fellow,
they discouraged Mm In his desire to
gain any education. This, of course,
was not always the case, for nearly
NEW YORK'S BIG SOCIETY SCANDAL
Nx .
-St !
jA-1 &:
New York society Is shocked by the revelations of the domestic dif
ferences of the Baudolnes, prominent 'among the 400 and Larchmonts
yachting circles. John T. Baudoln Is a famous yachtsman, golfer and
whip. He Is forty years of age. Two years ago he married beautiful
Miss May Chatterton, eighteen years old. Now after their second wed
ding anniversary the couple find they cannot agree.
all the higher schools and colleges in
Manila were under the direction of the
religious orders. But In the provinces,
where the parochial priest held full
sway over the schools, little advance
was made by the pupils, although, as
has been shown under American sov
ereignty, the Filipinos are all naturally
eager to learn.
No organized effort wasmade by the
Filipinos to improve matters until Dr.
Jose Rizal, the greatest Filipino ever
born, had courage enough to write a
novel exposing the oppression of the
friars and the Spanish government.
His work, entitled "Noli Me Tangere."
which has been translated Into English
under the title of "Friars and Fili
pinos" (Lewis Scribner & Co., New
York), fanned to flame the smoldering
embers. A Katlpunan society was or
ganized and, although Rizal advised
against it, plans were laid for an up
rising which culminated in the revo
lution of 1896.
It was during this struggle that the
friars brought about the untimely end
of Dr. Rizal and furnished the world a
glaring example of their tyrannical
methods. His novel. In which he viv
idly portrayed life in the Philippines
and disclosed how the people were per
secuted, won for him the warm hatred
of the friars, and they at once began
to plan to destroy him. He was oblig
ed to leave his native land, but three
years after he wrote "Noli Me Tan
gere" he returned to the Philippines
from Belgium. Such a bold move won
for him 'the admiration of his peoale.
but the plots against him were so thick
that he had again to leave the islands
to escape forcible banishment His
writings were ordered to be burned In
the streets, and it was worth one's life
to be found in possession of a copy.
During this time, through revenge.
Rizal's family was banished from the
island and their property seized. O.cr
come with a desire to see his native
land. Rizal returned to Manila, despite
all the dangers that confronted him.
Members of the order of Augustlns. by
trickery, Introduced incendiary leaflets
into his baggage, and, though his inno
cence was proved, he was thrown into
prison. At the instigation of the friars
he was then banished to Dapitan.
After four years of exile Rizal volun
teered to lend his medical services to
the Spanish government In the flpht
against yellow fever In Cuba. His gen
erous offer was accepted and the young
man embarked for Madrid, whence he
was to go to Cuba. But the friars and
the Spaniards could not allow a man
whom they hated so to escape with his
life. So they brought influence to bear
on the government, and when he land
ed in Spain he was put in chains and
taken back to Manila. A false charge
of encouraging the revolution when, in
truth, he had discouraged it, was
trumped up against him. A court
martial was held, he was given no
chance to defend himself, and. though
Innocent he was condemned to death.
The execution of the martyr and pa
triot was an occasion of much rejoicing
among the friars. It was a gala day
in Manila and thousands gathered to
see the man die. He walked to the
Luneta, laughing and ridiculing his
murderers. Despite his last request,
that he might face the men who were
to shoot him, he was shot through the
back. His life was ended, but the
fruits of his works are more In evi
dence today than ever before. He. per
haps, more than any one man is re
snonsible for the urgent demand for
the removal of the friars.
FRANK ERNEST GANNETT.
SPECIAL SALE
' ' J00 New Oriental Rugs
S - ' ; -
r? Hall Mat, Room Sizes
Jf $5.00 to $160.00 ,
4it On Exhibition Monday a m.
Oriental Drapery in Teakwood
RUDGE & GUENZEL COMPANY 4
The Big House Furnishers
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"ribT-J--3s' . -SL.
