May I, 1902.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER \VORLD 



259 



GUTTA TRADING CONDITIONS IN THE PHILIPPINES.* 



rHERE is a feudal system of government among the 

 Moros, who profess to be Mahomedans, and their 

 chief, who is called a '•datto," rules each his own par- 

 ticular following; they inhabit the low lands and river 

 flats and hence occupy all the waterways that lead to markets 

 and the coast towns, while the mountains, where the Gutta 

 and Rubber grow, are inhabited by an entirely different people, 

 who, like the Moros, are in separate tribes. They are the Tiru- 

 mays, Monobos, Dalangano, Tugabillis, Bilans, Bagobas, Mon- 

 teeses, Mandayans, and others, and it is from these mountain 

 people that the Moros, who control the waterways, steal or buy 

 all the Gutta and Rubber and Balata that comes to market. 

 This robbery and making slaves of the mountain people and 

 gathering the products with forced labor, was carried on ex- 

 tensively after the Spaniards evacuated this place, and before 

 the Americans came here, and a half bred Chinaman, who is 

 known as Datto Piang, got a great number of the firearms left 

 here by the Spaniards, and started in to rob and kill all the 

 dattos who opposed him, and make slaves of their men. Hav- 

 ing superior arms, this was easy. The Chinese trader helped 

 him, both by carrying a gun for him and supplying him with 

 ammunition ; in a little while he was the strongest datto in the 

 Rio Grande valley, and all the dattos he subdued and their 

 men were made to gather Gutta and Rubber and bring to 

 market, where the Chinese handled it by shipping it to Singa- 

 pore. The destruction of trees was probably between 200,000 

 and 300,000 in a few months. 



This was the system in vogue when the Americans came here 

 two years ago, and it continues today, except just around the 

 town, where the opposing dattos are immediately under Amer- 

 ican protection. After Piang's conquest of the other dattos, 

 and when some of these who took flight were combining to op- 

 pose him, he sent for the Americans on the advice of the Chi- 

 nese, and now the Americans will not allow any dattos to fight. 

 The result of Piang sending for the Americans was that the 

 news was spread by the Chinese and Piang, that they were 

 here by his permission, and were acting as police for him, and 

 that is believed to-day by all the dattos, whom Piang has 

 robbed ; and no wonder, for he has pulled the wool over the 

 eyes of the Americans, and has been able to get them to do as 

 he liked. This impression once created is hard to eradicate, 

 especially as the Americans always make much of him, while 

 the other dattos get very little consideration. To show 

 you how simple the Americans were at colonizing, they had 

 Piang's slaves for policemen in the town here, drawing Amer- 

 ican pay, with a relation of Piang for captain of police, until 

 about three months ago, and they were only discharged after a 

 letter appeared in a Manila paper drawing attention to the fact. 

 The result under that system was that Piang's captain of slave 

 police was present at all interviews when the interpreter was 

 employed between Piang's enemies and the commanding offi- 

 cer, and naturally he was a spy for Piang and the Chinese, so 

 that the government heard nothing except what Piang wanted 

 them to hear. This will give you an idea what a pull the Chi- 

 nese had in the Gutta trade, and when I wanted to buy, Piang 

 issued an order that all Gutta and Rubber and Balata was to 

 be brought to him and sold for $2, gold, a picul. (A picul is 



* The article which appears above is made up of extracts from a letter addressed 

 by an American trader at Cottobatlo, island of Mindanao, to Messrs. George A. 

 Alden & Co. (Boston), and used by the courtesy of that firm. 



137 pounds.) And then he would send it down here and ask 

 from $25 to $50, gold, a picul. He had his men posted on all 

 the waterways with knife, spear, and guns, and anyone who 

 tried to come down here with their product, was made a pris- 

 oner, and his products, whether it was Gutta, Rubber, Balata, 

 rice, or cacao, were stolen and the owner beaten or made a 

 slave. 1 have known a sultan, with 600 population who were 

 dying for the chance to come here and trade. He lives only 

 about 30 miles from here, but he could not because Piang had 

 twenty men, with weapons, stationed near him, and they cor- 

 ralled all his products. Is it any wonder that they think the 

 Americans are police for Piang? If one did anything that 

 Piang did not like (because there were some who resisted him) 

 he threatened to have the Americans, his police, lock them up. 

 He and the Chinese run this country, and are running the 

 greater part of it to-day. I have heard Piang say to the com- 

 manding officer here that he would kill a certain man, and in- 

 stead of throwing him in jail and punishing him, he simply 

 swallowed it. Why? Because he said he thought Piang was 

 a civilizing influence. I suppose he also thinks the opium con- 

 cession and the gambling concession which he sells every three 

 months, is a civilizing factor. Both of these, which are entirely 

 American introductions here, have sapped the Moros mentally, 

 physically, and morally, and the result is to-day we have a pack 

 of thieves, gamblers, opiu m fiends, and liars that are not capable 

 of a day's labor, except by compulsion, and all this is for the 

 benefit of the Chinese and Piang — the civilizing factor that 

 has murdered more men than all the other dattos combined, 

 and for nothing but gain. 



The Forestry laws that prohibit the cutting down of Gutta 

 and Rubber trees are entirely ignored by the authorities, and 

 the destruction of these is going on at the rate of 10,000 a 

 month. The Forestry bureau has issued orders to stop cutting 

 trees, but the thing goes on just the same — not a pound of 

 Gutta, Rubber, or Balata that has gone out of this island has 

 been obtained by tapping trees. I have just returned from a 

 trip into the Gutta and Rubber regions in the Interior, and all 

 the mountain tribes are willing to stop cutting the trees and 

 tap them, as they make very little anyhow, and would probably 

 make more money by tapping and selling the product to an 

 American, but the Moros are kept at the man hunting and rub- 

 ber hunting by Piang. The Chinese advice and the Chinese 

 blood in him keeps him in pursuit of gain at the expense of the 

 Forestry bureau and civilization. 



You will naturally ask if this is all true, why do I remain 

 here. Well, I have been over here more than three years, and 

 have my family, and while I believe with Carlyle, that every 

 people has the government that it deserves to have, he did 

 not mean military rule, and I have an abiding faith in what is 

 right and just coming in the end. If a thing is wrong it can- 

 not last, and sooner or later the American people will do what 

 is right, and then the country will be taken out of the hands 

 of Chinese and murdering dattos, and will be exploited by 

 American brains and energy and capital. 



I mention all these things to show you how hard it is for an 

 American trader. But difficulties are only made to be sur- 

 mounted. I have now made arrangements with several dat- 

 tos, as well as some mountain tribes, to handle all their Gutta 

 and Rubber, and have told them if any of Piang's men ever 



