Smoking Lantakas: Moros mad in Lanao

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Part of The American Chamber of Commerce Journal

Title: Smoking Lantakas: Moros mad in Lanao
Language: English
Source: The American Chamber of Commerce Journal Volume 6 (Issue No.6) June 1926
Year: 1926
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Fulltext: June, 192G THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL 17 Smoking Lantakas: Moros Mad in Lanao «« ** V* Economic Aspects of Tangled Problem lie works have been established, that in these things themselves lie very largely the solu tion of the problem of government. Even the Malanao desires the aid of capital and of Americans, but a policy determined in Manila, not in Dansalan, deprives him of these aids to advancement. No college has Current news from Lanao turns back the pages of twenty-five years’ American administration in the Philippines and leave ; America in her relation with the Moro in habitants of the Philippines, not where she was when Captain John J. Pershing march ed north from Malabang and reduced Bacolcd cotta, thereafter making terms with the Moros of Lanao and inducing the sur render of their arms, but where she was before the work of Wallace and Davis and Bates and Pershing was begun at all. It seems pretty clear that most of what the Army accomplished in the Rio Grande valley has been somewhat thoroughly un done by subsequent events. Sultan sa Raya, when he issued his defiance to the govern ment two years, had but a small following; and now he has a large one and a battery of cottas—all with means of defense and escape well planned. The constabulary under Major Orville M. fchnson, provincial governor of Lanao, and Colonel L. E. Stevens of Zamboanga, have reduced certain of these cottas and slain tome Moros—which seems like the sowing of dragons’ teeth. For it seems that some >f the cottas have already been reoccupied )y sa Raya men, and that punitive expedi tion has proved not altogether successful — oerhaps a failure, with the cost a goodly ;um from the treasury and a score or so of soldiers—seven dead, and the others •vounded. Even several officers were wounded. The country is jungle. The Ylalanaos" know it well and the soldiers ■ ittle. Getting sa Raya, sa Boisan, Dattu llio and Amai Kalungan is a job. The consables have their work cut out for them. It is of course the economic features of i problem of this sort that concern the general public of the Philippines, and should concern the public of the United States. Sa Raya defies the government because he believes that two years ag>.—he has been out that long—customary law was violated by a decision rendered in the court of first instance. Such incidents will recur from time to time because the pledges made to the Moro have not been carried out, and in his own domain he is all but exclud ed frem participation in governmen tal procedure. Deliberate steps have been taken to extend the Christian hegemony over him. The law creating the bureau of non-Christian tribes (over which, of course, a Christian presides) stipulates that the bureau must always have in view “the aim of rendering permanent the mutual intelligence between and complete fusion of all Christian and non-Christian elements populating’the provinces of i.hc archipelago.’’ This .can only mean obliteration of Moros —as Mores. At least the Moro fears it does. j Then we have Section 3 of Act 2520: 1 “Judges of the Court of First Instance and justices of the peace deciding civil cases in which the parties are Mohammedans or pagans, when such action is deemed wise, hiay modify the application of the law of the Philippine Islands, except laws of the United States applicable to the Philippine Islands, taking into account Hocal laws and customs: Provided that such modification shall not be in conflict with the basic prin ciples of the laws of the United States of America.” The italics are ours. It may be seen where government ol' Moros is tending, and (.Sketch by Henry Sanaa'- Lan,lor in G. of the Has) -American Troops Encamped in 1901 Before Bacolod Cotta, Lanao. Captain John J. Perahinq in Foreqround; Kioto Lautaka (Inset) how helpless executive officials are to mo dify its tendency to any material extent. It has been seen, however, in other Moro provinces where more development of na tural resources has occurred and more pubfr Sfi ft T (Sliitta Sauliiuy durporatton fHauila, JJ. 3. over been established for Moros; the teach ing of Arabic was early abandoned; the native teachers of the Koran, employed in private schools, are not as qualified as they should be to discharge their duties well. IXSURANCE FIRE, MARINE, MOTOR CAR. F. E. ZUELLIG, INC. Cebu Manila Iloilo Just Arrived CHENEY, Foulard & Crepe F. in Hand Ties. „ Bat Wings Ties KEISER F. in Hands. HANDSOME DESIGNS LARGEST ASSORTMENT IN TOWN M. PELLICER , Escolta 40-42-44 IN RESPONDING TO ADVERTISEMENTS PLEASE MENTION THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL 18 THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL June, 1926 All this seems self-evident. It affects profoundly the Moros of Lanao, who have always adhered to their own civilization. Essentially they are peasant farmers. They have high traditions. If these were modified by economic processes, the change would not be violent and would be everywhere accep table. The political process is violent; that is to say, it does violence to Moro institu tions. America has the question to decide, is this violent process necessary? Roughly calculated, the area of Lanao is 2500 square miles and the population 100,451, or about four to the square mile. Among these 100,451 people, 96,224 are non-Christian, chiefly Moros, and 14,227 are Christians. Figuring the area in hectares, it is 631,701, of which 31,170 hectares are culti vated. The land has been classified as fol lows: commercial forest, 412,890 hectares; non-commercial forest, 25,970 hectares; unexplored, 124,000 hectares, leaving -37,671 hectares variously classified, the total, with the 31,170 hectares under cultivation, round ing out the full area of 631,701 hectares. Iligan is the port on the north boundary, Malabang the port on the south boundary, near the Cottabato line. Dansalan, at Camp Keithley, on the lake (the word Lanao sig nifying lake), is the provincial capital. There is but one road in the entire province, that from Iligan to Dansalan, 30.5 kilome ters. There is no wharf at Iligan, none at Malabang. The country is a paradise for the tribesman, and while left in that condition he can hardly become more than a tribes man. The bureau of agriculture crop reports originate with municipal officials and are not fully reliable, but such as they are, they are here, for the year ending December 31. Crop Palay (rough rice) Corn Abaca Sugar Cane Tobacco Coconuts Total Hectarag': 20,990 4,930 1,460 500 340 2,950 31,170 Yiela 616,600 106,440 17,680 18,330 2,630 6,802,900 cavans eavans piculs piculs quintals nuts Value Pl,861,110 412,420 307,280 187,720 45,070 356,430 Total P3,170,030 According to these figures the cultivated lands of Lanao yielded last year crops valued at Pl,000 or $500 per hectare, or P400 or $200 per acre; and it is very pro bable that the valuations are too high, although the land is fertile. On the basis of population the production was P31.70 per capita, and a family of five had about P155 on which to subsist and pay taxes. This is even accepting the stated valuations. Wealth is not rapidly accumulating in Lanao. The principal towns are Iligan and Dan salan. The settlements are rural and isolat ed, comprised in municipal districts. The province had a revenue of 1’302,162.34 last year, from sources as follows: Taxes and penalties................. P71,776.85 Loans & Advances, repaid........ 12,265.68 Other receipts ........................... 6,265.99 Operations ................................. 63.99 Mid Aid from mun. gvts................. 4,163.48 Insular Aid . . . .-....................... 143,696.77 The municipalities and municipal districts had revenue as follows: Taxes and penalties................. P35.369.33 Operations ................................. 1,366.11 Voluntary Contributions......... 90,566.40 Insular Aid ............................... 12,639.56 Total .......................................... P139,941.40 In addition, the insular government col lected some 1’67,000 in internal revenue and cedula taxes, which deducts from the aid, P146.336.33, leaving 1’79,336.33 as the ap proximate net aid front the insular treasury to the province and towns. All taxes com bined, including voluntary contributions, seem to have been about two pesos per ca pita. (On the people who worked the 31,170 hectares of land that were cultivated, taxes were far above this average rate). The enrollment in the schools in Decem ber last year was 4,716 pupils, of whom it may be assumed some 2,000 or more are Christians. The sum spent on the schools during the year was P137.045.72. This is a heavy school budget for an un developed province. In contrast, practically nothing was spent upon public improve ments aside from maintenance of the road from Iligan to Dansalan. The year however was.not different from previous ones, subse quent to the military administration of Mindanao, which left a good wagon road from Iligan to Malabang, and thence to Pa rang-Parang, and other first rate means of communication to other points, all of which has been permitted to lapse. The bureau of public works wishes to do more. It has as signed to Lanao a district engineer, Ale jandro Rivera, and will make certain recom mendations to the Legislature for appro priations for the province. It will ask P50.000 for a wharf at Iligan, 1’10,000 for the one at Butuan, to serve Agusan. It will also ask for funds to open a cart road to Malabang, over the eld military highway. In Lanao it seems to be the familiar case FUJI SILK THE COMEBACK Our FUJI SILK Exhibit won the GOLD MEDAL at the 1926 PHILIPPINE CARNIVAL. This finest silk in the Philip pine Islands you can buy from us in a great variety of designs at reasonable prices. DUTY into the Philippines is 15$ less than the American duty—which you save by buying from us. For the use of Ladies and Gentlemen OSAKA BAZAR “The Japanese Department Store” 332-346 Echague Phone 216 The comeback must be the right comeback. Your printed product must be the no come back kind —when the work is done and deli vered there is no comeback except another job and a boost from you. The right comeback is the comeback we try to get from you—the comeback of a customer thoroughly satisfied, of good opinion, of more orders. The job that has no comeback but a come back customer is the kind that builds our business. Hammering away every minute to get the right comeback puts the quality in our work, puts the promptness in our service. It takes work and pep but it’s worth it - it wins your good opinion, and that’s the comeback we want. THE TIMES PRESS Cosmopolitan Building, Menila, P. 1. /.V RESPONDING TO ADVERTISEMENTS PLEASE MENTION THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL June, 192G THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL 19 of the cart-before-the-horse. As they are run, the Moros don’t like the schools. They think the schools tend to wean their children both from their ancient customs and faith and from the fields. They would appreciate public works and the privilege cf not being forced to accept a civilization that has borrowed greatly from their own and given it nothing in return—having nothing to give that they would take, except under compulsion. I MAY SUGAR RF.VIEW [ By George H. Fairchild A E IF Y 0 R K MARKET: The su gar market for the month was unsettled and irregular. At the beginning of the 'month the market was dull and at a standstill owing to strikes in the United Kingdom. Towards the end of the first week, however, the market became more had been more severe than in Negros and Panay. Local capitalists have been active in push ing through their sugar projects, and two new sugar companies have recently been organized: The Central Luzon Milling Co., which will erect a central at Bamban, Tarlac, and the Nueva Ecija Sugar Mill, which will establish a mill at Cabiao, Nueva Ecija. The Bamban Central will have a daily ca pacity of 250 tons cane and will commence grinding by next January; the Cabiao Cen tral in Nueva Ecija will have a daily capa city of 120 tons cane and expects to be milling cane by December 1 this year. Shipments of Philippine sugars to various countries from January 1, 1926, to May 25, 1926, are as follows: _ Kinds of Sugar U.S. Pacific Centrifugals............................... 45,554 Muscovados........................... — Refined . ■................................... 823 MISCELLANEOUS-. According to latest estimates given out by prominent New York firms, the world's increase in production for the 1925-26 crop over the previous year was placed at from 690,000 tons to 710,000 tons as against the previous estimate of over a million tons. It was reported that the plant ings of the European beet crop will be less than original estimates. The Java market was firm and steady. Latest quotations for superiors, f.o.b., per picul were as follows: Spot, Gs. 14 (P12.02; June Gs. 10-7/8 (1’9.38) ; Julv/August Gs. 10-1/4 (1’8.86); Sept/Oct. Gs. 10-3/8 (1’8.93). Advices from Java stated that ex cessive rainfall had occurred there, which may further retard the already late grinding season and adversely affect the crop. China & Japan Total — 238,970 41,982 41,982 — 823 U.S. Atlantic 193,416 Totals 46,377 193,416 41,982 281,775 INSURANCE active and firmer with an advancing ten dency. Spot sales of Cubas were made on the basis of 2-7,MG? and 2-1/2?. Prices de clined to 2-3/8? the latter part of the se cond week, depressing the market. This de pression continued throughout the third week, at the close of which the market steadied for a few days and then declined again towards the end of the month. The weakness of the market throughout the month of May was due to the uncertain ty as to the production of Cuba, and the apparently heavy stocks on hand. While some authorities placed the Cuban crop at 4,900,000 tons, others estimated it at figures ranging from 5,000,000 to 5,375,000 tons. Stocks in the U.S., U.K , Cuba and the five principal continental countries at the end of the month were 4,275,000 tons as comAtlas Assurance Co., Ltd. London Fire and Marine Insurance The Continental Insurance Co. New York The Employer’s Liability Assurance Corporation, Ltd. London Fire, Plate Glass, Automo bile and Accident Insurance Orient Insurance Company of Hartford Fire Insurance pared with 3,340,000 tons at the same period in 1925, and 2,275,000 tons in 1924. How ever, the increasing consumption of sugar in the U.S. and the U.K. is encouraging, and, should this continue, higher prices are expected in the near future. The market for futures followed the trend of the spot market. Quotations follow: Fire and Marine Insurance E. E. ELSER Suite 400 to 407 Kneedler Building P. O. Box 598 Cable Address—"EDMIL,” Manila Phones 129 & 22429 July . . . September . December. . 2.70 2.81 , Latest 2.46 2.59 2.71 Sales of Philippine centrifugals afloat and for future shipments were made at prices ranging from 4.08? to 4.40? landed terms. Despite the unseasonably cold weather experienced during the month, there has been further improvement in the market for refined, quotations ranging from 5.40? to 5.60?. LOCAD MARKET-. The local market for centrifugals ruled quiet for the month. Small transactions were made at prices ranging from 1’10.375 to 1’10.625. Only two centrals, namely the Victorias and Manapla mills, both in Occidental Ne gros, are still grinding. Latest production reports confirm the latest estimate of ap proximately 375,000 metric tons for the 1925-26 crop published in our last month’s review, as compared with 499,291 metric tons for the 1921-25 crop, 316,181 metric tons for 1923-21, and 226,298 metric tons for 1922-23. The first rains tlrit fell during the last week of Ma.v have given much relief to the young cane which already showed the ef fects of the long drouth. This is especially true in the Luzon districts where the drouth Accuracy Counts— And no where more than in connection with the eyes. If the vision is not normal neither are the impressions accurate which are transmitted to the brain through the eyes. Warped vision means warped impressions and warped ideas. Accuracy knows no compromise. Is your vision normal? Our Optometrists can tell you. jHuiays the best in quality but never higher in price. MANILA 90-94 LSCOLTA Pt. MASQfliC TEMPLE IN RESPONDING TO ADVERTISEMENTS PLEASE MENTION THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL
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