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Looking at America's
colonial experiment with the benefit of hindsight is always an easy
exercise. Muddling through hesitantly and feeling one's way through
colonial experience is a painfully slow process.
America was late
in the "colonial game." The Spanish, Portuguese, French,British
and Dutch were way ahead. So it is expected that American policies would
be different from the earlier colonials. One also has to remind oneself
that assuming "The White Man's burden," is fraught with dangers
and inconsistencies because it is trail blazing and pioneering into
an unknown region.
Now comes this book. A collection of sixteen stories which first appeared
in the CHICAGO RECORD from 8 July to 18 October 1899 at the height of
the Filipino American Insurrection (Filipinos call it a War). The stories
have never been published outside the newspaper.
George Ade was a staff reporter for the CHICAGO RECORD in the 1890s.
He had earlier established a reputation as a homorist and satirist,
writing a regular, witty column entitled "Stories of the Streets
and Town."
John T, McCutcheon, an artist with the same paper, sailed with Admiral
George
Dewey to Manila on 1 May 1898. He stayed in the Philippines and covered
the
the American takeover, and eventually the Insurrection. He kept sending
dis-
patches to his newspaper, from which George Ade fleshed out his stories.
Ade
visited the islands after 1900, a year after the stories appeared.
Since the stories first came out in the weekly column, they can be read
as separate sketches. Collectively, they describe the efforts of Washington
Conner, the "travelling representative" of the U S A and an
advocate of 'benevolent assimilation" a euphemism for annexing
the islands. At that time General Emilio Aguinaldo was fighting a revolution
to set up the Malolos Republic. George Ade was one of the opponents
of the "assimiation program" and attacked it with fiction
and humor.
Take for instance, his description of the missionary, Conner, the "con-er"
from Washington, which is interesting and highly amusing. Conner vainly
attempts to transform the entire Kakyak family ---Bulolo Kakyak, his
wife Luneta, their
sons Patricio and Francisco, and their only daughter, eighteen-year-old
Eulalie
into civilized citizens under U S protection. He engages them in the
endlesss discussions with Mr. Bulolo over the American constitution
and the rights and obligations of citizens, forces Mrs. Kakyak to wear
tight-fitting corsets and American headdress. In spite of all his efforts
the Kakyaks refused to become Americans and in turn, it is Conner who
finds himself assimilated. He sheds his woolen coat, smoked tobacco
frequently, and enjoyed the slow-paced life of the people in the tropics.
Finally he sends a progress report to the War Department in Washington,
DC, which said: :it may require a century or so to transform the Tagalog
(Filipinos) into good Amerivcans," but obediently decides to continue
his mission. He discovers that the entire family has been in contact
with Josefo, a Filipino "insurgent," and that the two male
children were about to join the rebel forces. He returns to the United
States convinced that the "Tagalos" are indeed incapable of
self government and that assimilation be better carried out by the U
S army.
To appreciate the wit, humor, and satirical tone, the stories have to
be read carefully. Ade, as a writer, portrays the Kakyaks as "plain-speaking
agrarian democrats with common-sense," which seems to reflect his
Midwestern background. It is therefore one American's perception of
events in distant Philippine Islands.
Indeed the Filipino characters are difficult to believe. Rural Filipinos
do not question "authority," i.e., he is trained to be deferential
to elders and authority figures. One must realize that Ade was making
a commentary, limited by his personal background and inadequate sources.
It does not detract from the value of his work. A popular writer, Ade
makes an
interesting study of American thought and imperialism at the turn of
the century ---especially if one were looking at insights into social
psychology.
The CHICAGO RECORD enjoyed the support of the Anti Imperialist League.
By studying Ade's writings, one can perceive that American imperialism
was both varied and diverse. His work is a reminder that at the turn
of the century, few took the beginning American's "Day of Empire"
too seriously. For Filipinos on the other side of the ocean, those lives
were shattered in bloody confrontation , the stories have nothing to
laugh about.
Nevertheless, the stories are recommended reading for presenting a highly
simplistic
view of an East-West confrontation, the effects of which people on both
sides are still trying to explain.
Max
Fabella of Orange Park, Florida, USA obtained his bachelors
and masters degree (in history) from the University of the Philippines.
Before he left the Philippines many, many years ago, he taught at the
University of the East. He was a book reviewer for AMERASIA journal
of UCLA, and other newspapers. He is editor of PORTABLE RIZAL READER
: Selected Essays and Poems. He has a website: http://rizalreader.tripod.com.
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