CHAPTER XXXIII TRUSTWORTHY MEN NEEDED High Moral Tone Needed-Violations of Financial THE greatest need of the Philippine Islands is men who will serve the Government in times of peace with something of that loyalty which soldiers manifest in times of war. This does not mean that the moral tone of men in the Philippines is lower than that of men in similar Government positions at home; but it does mean that the need is more manifest in the Philippines. Nor does it mean that many of the Civil Government employees, and those who are serving in the Army and in the Constabulary, are not as noble and as self-sacrificing as any other Americans-but it does mean that the temptations here to secure wealth and honors are so great that some of the men who can be secured at the salaries offered are unable to stand the pressure, and consequently fall. Gross violations of financial confidence by Americans in civil, military and business life, resulting in newspaper exposures and terms of imprisonment; and indulgence in social customs which offend the Filipinos and fill the columns of the newspapers, bring contempt upon the term American. A trusted employee arrested for embezzlement, a soldier leaving his Filipino wife, or mistress, when his regiment sails for home, or a Sunday house party with a cock-fight as an attraction, lead the Filipinos to wonder whether their islands have gained in morality by an exchange of owners and armies. As in other lands, it is the individual, and not the mass, who gives color to the impression made. The friars never let slip an opportunity of creating or deepening the impression that Spaniards and not Americans are the real friends of the Filipinos. It dampens one's enthusiasm for the Nation to which he belongs to read in the Manila papers of the downfall of this and that supply officer, of this and that disbursing officer, and of other men holding positions of trust and responsibility. If it be added that despatches from Washington read at the same time contain reports of public scandals in high offices in the Homeland, it does not lessen, but rather deepens the feeling of depression. Governor Taft and other representatives of the Civil Government were broken-hearted over the reported defalcations. Two or three interviews obtained by the writer will explain some of the recent defalcations, and emphasize the importance of having good men in humble as well as prominent positions. "Our greatest need to-day," said an officer of the Constabulary, "is young men of wealth and culture who are willing to make a sacrifice for the sake of their country and come here and accept positions of trust at the salaries which the present resources of the Philippines will allow, giving a few of the best years of their life with the devotion with which they would enter the Army. PROSPERITY A PITFALL 343 "A man receives $900 a year for his work as a supply officer. If he qualifies to handle the money and the commissary supplies needed by the company, he receives $200 additional. From this he must pay $15, a fourth of the premium on a bond of $6,000, the Government paying the other three-fourths. A man capable of taking that position and assuming the responsibility, could easily get a Civil Service position in Manila at a salary of $1,200, have no work after office hours, and be entirely free from such responsibility as goes with the handling of funds and commissary stores. While many supply officers are as trustworthy as any bank cashier, the strain upon others, who are willing to take this small salary, with its risks, is too great, and they go to the wall. We should not be obliged to take a lower grade of men than the position calls for, and the Government suffers from it. The man is disgraced, and our influence here is lessened." "The trouble with the average American," said a young man at the head of an important English house in one of the provinces, "is this: He wants to get rich too fast. He thinks that he is in the Philippines for a short time, and he sees possibilities of which he had never dreamed at home. Perhaps he is a discharged soldier who was a clerk before the War, receiving ten or twelve dollars a week. After his discharge, he secures a position that gives him one hundred dollars a month. His rapid rise is the beginning of his downfall. He lives at a club or a fashionable hotel, buys a carromata, and, as his salary is increased, a Victoria and span, invites his friends to expensive dinners, takes his young lady friends to the opera or theater, and before he knows it his month's salary is gone. He then sets about to supply his needs and does what many another high-liver has done disgraces himself and the country which he represents. "It is different with the English youth. He is willing to live at a more modest pace. He does not plan to go home in two years, but expects to grow up with the firm which he represents and to receive the promotion that goes with faithful work, looking to the time when he will be called back to London to take a position of trust with the firm, and by and by to become a member of it. Many times in my experience here, which dates back to Spanish times, I have seen men of fine parts begin the career which can have only one ending-disgrace, if not imprisonment." "The ships which sail from San Francisco seem to make no provision for carrying a man's piety," said a worker among young men. "If he has a Bible, he figuratively tears out the part which contains the Decalogue. If he were an active church member at home, he is ashamed of that fact when he gets here. He may have been a leader in Christian Endeavor work or in Christian Association work, but he seems determined that no one shall find it out. If he is not ashamed of his religion, his conduct warrants that impression. Influences which bound him at home being gone, he drifts, and then remains stranded. Church-going may not be played out here, but people who are depended upon in New York and San Francisco to support the churches are either unable or unwilling to do so here. Sometimes a man will begin to attend church regularly and then stop. When this occurs I am tempted to ask him |