A Revelation of the Filipinos 189 



velopment and is in a large degree the 

 cause of the numerous small land hold- 

 ings. Another reason is the great pro- 

 ductiveness of the soil and the variety of 

 crops that can be raised on a small piece 

 of land. 



The average size of all farms in the 

 Philippines is only 346.8 ares — equiva- 

 lent to 8.57 acres. In the United States 

 the average size of all farms is shown by 

 the census of 1900 to have been 146.6 

 acres, making a ratio as to size of about 

 17 to 1. 



VAST EXTENT OF UNUSED LAND 



The spaces of land between their vil- 

 lages are as a rule unpopulated, and 

 these intervening tracts, frequently of 

 great extent, are almost wholly unculti- 

 vated and practically unused, except in 

 a limited way for grazing purposes or 

 in the utilization of such wild growths 

 of fruits, vegetables, or fiber plants as 

 they produce. 



MOST OF THE FARMERS OWN THE 

 LAND 



In the archipelago, as a whole, by far 

 the largest proportion of the 815,453 

 Christian farmers own the land they 

 cultivate, while tenants who pay a share 

 of products as rental come next in order 

 numerically ; tenants who pay their rent 

 in cash, while not comparatively numer- 

 ous, exceed the combined numbers of 

 those who are designated as "labor ten- 

 ants " and the occupants of land who 

 pay no rent. 



A comparison of the Philippine statis- 

 tics relating to tenure with those given 

 in the United States census reports for 

 1900 shows that the percentage of own- 

 ers is much larger in the islands than in 

 the United States. 



More than four- fifths (80.8 per cent) 

 of Philippine farms are cultivated by 

 their owners. The great majority of 

 individual holdings, regardless of ten- 

 ure, are of small areas — 88.9 per cent 

 containing less than 5 hectares, 70.4 



per cent less than 2, 49.8 per cent less 

 than 1, and 21.7 per cent less than 0.35 

 of a hectare. 



PAUPERISM UNKNOWN 



Pauperism is almost unknown among 

 the people of the islands, their wants 

 being few and easily supplied. Little 

 clothing is required, and the simple food 

 upon which the masses of the people 

 subsist, consisting mainly of rice, fruit, 

 and fish, can, as a rule, be had with little 

 exertion. The few who, from old age 

 or accident, are unable to provide these 

 necessaries for themselves are usually 

 taken care of by relatives or friends. 



The total number of paupers in the 

 archipelago, exclusive of Manila, on De- 

 cember 31, 1902, was but 478, or less 

 than 1 in each 10,000 of the inhabitants. 

 This may be contrasted with the corre- 

 sponding proportion in theUnited States, 

 viz, 12 per 10,000. 



PROPORTION OF CRIMINALS SMALL 



The number of criminals in confine- 

 ment December 31, 1902, in the Philip- 

 pines was less than 8 in each 10,000 of 

 population. In the United States in 

 1890 there were about 13 in each 10,000 

 of the inhabitants. Considering the un- 

 settled condition of affairs in the island 

 during the six years prior to the census, 

 the showing is not only favorable, but 

 remarkable, and indicates that the Fili- 

 pinos as a race are not especially dis- 

 posed toward crime. 



The most common crimes are ladron- 

 ism, theft, assault, and murder. The 

 causes are traceable to the ravages of 

 the war, to the poverty and unrest which 

 followed, accentuated by the subsequent 

 failure of crops and loss of farm ani- 

 mals. In the majority of the provinces 

 crime is said to be decreasing. 



In most of the provinces reporting, 

 the convicts are employed on public 

 work, such as the building and repair- 

 ing of roads and bridges. In a few of 

 the provinces it has not been found ex- 



