--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Hewlett, Frank J. collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 13 number: 2 published: 1909-12 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'Frank J. Hewlett, "People and Places in the Orient—VI. Under the Stars and Stripes," *Improvement Era* 13, no. 2 (December 1909): 153–163.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera1302unse transcription: Transcribed from the Internet Archive scan of each issue (the item for each issue is named in the issue's own source); unnumbered advertising leaves are omitted, printed page numbers are kept as page markers. identifier: improvementera1302unse start_page: 153 end_page: 163 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1909-12) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera1302unse publication_year: 1909 note: The Internet Archive item metadata carries a blanket "© Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc." notice. The library owner judged it inapplicable because this issue was published in 1909, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # People and Places in the Orient—VI. Under the Stars and Stripes Peoples and Places in the Orient. BY FRANK .1. HEWLETT, DIRECTOR OF Till: UTAH STATE FAIR \\l» PRESIDENT OF HEWLETT BROS. COMPANY. VI.— Under the Stars and Stripes. The S. S. Siberia having come to the Asiatic end of her voy- age, we sailed from Hongkong to Manila in the Zafiro, a boat of twenty-five hundred tons, quite an unsatisfactory change from tin- palatial steamer of eighteen thousand tuns. The China and Manila Steamship Company has two boats, the Zafiro and Rvbi, which ply weekly between Hongkong and .Manila. Most of the United States transports now take a much shorter route, via Nagasaki, Japan. An old sailor informed me that the China Sea was the ish Batteries on Manila Walls. - 154 IMPROVEMENT ERA. roughest body of water in the world, with the exception of the English Channel. I have now tried both, and do not doubt his ve- racity. was put in cold storage for thirty hour's in crossing it! I The world is not so wide but one may hear in most places a gentle reminder of friends and home. Seated next to me at the dining table were Milton Jackson and his wife; he is a prominent shelf-hardware manufacturer of Philadelphia. Mrs. Jackson asked in regard to Amanda Mousley, afterwards Mrs. Angus M. Cannon. The lady stated that they went to school togehter, as near as she could recoLect, about fifty years ago. She remembers bidding her good-bye at Centerville, Delaware, and thought, as her team started, of the hardships her schoolmate would have to pass through somewhere in the great wild West. We followed the route that Dewey took before that memor- able May Day, in 1898, and in sixty-four hours arrived at Manila Bay, once more under the Stars and Stripes. Steadily we sail past the island of Corregidse, standing like a sentinel to guard the narrow entrance; and after steaming several miles through the blue waters of the Bay, we anchor behind the newly built break- waters in front of the Luneta. The harbor has been extensively improved since American occupation. An inner basin has been constructed in which the S. S. Minnesota, the largest ship that flies the American flag, is anchored in safety. A number of wharfs are being built at which vessels may come alongside to receive and discharge cargo. When the port works are completed, Manila will have one of the finest and safest harbors in the Far East. Because of her geographical position, she will be at the very doorway of Asia, midway between the rich, newly opening territories of North China, and the thickly populated possessions of England in India — in fact, one of the most important seaports in the Orient. A few words about Manila, the capital of our Philippine archipelago. Situated on the western side of the island of Luzon, at the mouth of the river Pasig, the city was founded in 1571. Several real business-like earthquakes have contributed their best to wipe it out of existence, but like San Francisco, it refused to be dislodged. The city is practically divided into two parts, the official, or walled city, built on the left bank of the Pasig river, and the commercial city, situated on the island of Bin- PEOPLES AND PLACES IN THE ORIENT. 155 ondo, which forms the right bank of the same river. It is a city of contrasts. It is of the East, yet the young and vigorous West seems to have discovered it a country inwhich to work great changes. The Americans found conditions of "Long years ago in old Madrid," and the dreaminess and the quietness of the old town set the Yankee nerves on edge. The Spanish occupation has left its earmarks on churches, build- ings, nomenclature, native dress and customs, and now both the city and its inhabitants present a curious Old World aspect, tempered by hustling Americans and tropical surroundings, An American trolley-car goes whizzing along the narrow Spanish streets, through the old historic walls, with openings made in them as a sac- rifice to modern invention. The street cars have efficient Filipino motormen and conductors dressed in Khaki uni- form. They speak some English, and Magellan Monument, Manila are courteous to the traveling public. During the heat of the day, business is light, but towards evening the rush commences. The cars are loaded to the steps with Eng- lish, Spanish and iVmerican business men, United States soldiers, jolly Jack tars, American summer girls, also Filipino and Spanish senoritas. See it swing around the corner of the Plaza McKinley, — once upon a day the Plaza DePalasio, — with its statue of King Carlos IV of Spain, and its rare old cathedral. Watch it disap- pear under the waving palms, through the avenue of red fir trees, burrow through a breach in the old city wall, rumble over the Santa Cruz Bridge, and go clanging down the Escolta which for centuries has been traversed by no swifter traffic than the slow, ambling carabo. or the sturdy Filipino pony. The Chinese made several attempts to introduce their popular mode of con- veyance, the jinrikisha, in the Philippines, but the effort proved a Bridge of Spain, Manila, P. I. dire failure. The Filipinos ran into them with their clumsy carts drawn by the carabo, or "water buffalo," and demolished scores of them. They also went so far as to deliberately stone the jin- rikisha drawers; in fact, for some reason, they had an in- tense hatred of the pull-man system that is used so exten- sively in China and Japan. An old friend of mine, Mr. R. C. Galland, of the United States Treasury, kindly offered to escort us to the places of interest, which offer was accepted with thanks. Next morning, snug- Photo by F. J. Hewlett. ly ensconced in a cozy victoria Street Scene, Manila. drawn by a pair of sturdy Water Buffalo Pulling a Load of Baled Hay. ponies, we were ready for a strenuous day of sightseeing. The first place visited was the oldest church in the city, which stands at the corner of Calla Palasio and Calla Real. Here the PEOPLES AND PLACES IN THE ORIENT. 157 order of San Augustin dedicated its first building in Spain's new possessions, on the 24th of June, 1571. Some two years later, this building was completely destroyed by fire, and the present building arose from the ruins. This huge work was undertaken in 1599, and the structure was reared under the direction of Juan Marcias, and the famous lay brother, Antonio Herera, a son of the Spanish architect of the Escurial. The strength of its mass- ive walls is attested by the fact that they have withstood all great earthquake shocks, which have proved the ruin of so many fine buildings in times past. Within the church lie the remains of the celebrated discoverers, Salceda and Legaspi, whose daring genius and indomitable wills wrought much of Spain's early history in these Vaults, Paco Cemetery, Manila. islands. While externally not so imposing as many of its com- panions, the church of San Ignatius, on Calla Arzobispo, presents much that is beautiful. An exterior strikingly modern in design and execution, and destitute of architectural comeliness, is more than atoned for by the interior work of decoration, which is most graceful and cannot fail to charm the beholders. The scheme is wrought in carved molave, and the design and finish of the work 158 IMPROVEMENT ERA. are of the highest artistic merit. The ceiling, the huge pillars, and the beautiful, carved pulpit, are all native handiwork. We gazed in wonder, and were impressed with the religious atmos- phere, —that mystic something which seems to hover about the saintly edifice. It contains many choice treasures, and the mellow tinge of time lends a halo to the whole structure. The convents of Manila, which are attached to the churches, are treasure-houses of the relics of centuries, for whose possession the antiquarians would pay fabulous prices. Old volumes of the middle ages are there, and paintings almost obliterated by time decorate the wall s of these monasteries, and in looking upon them one seems to be transported back into the misty past, of which they are silent witnesses. The next place of interest was Paco Cemetery. Owing to the flat, marshy character of the country surrounding Manila, the custom of placing the dead in graves dug in the earth has not been generally adopted as a final disposition of the city's dead. From these conditions arose the system of rearing thick walls of stone, enclosing an area of greater or less extent, and in these walls building niches in which the bodies were placed. The Paco burial place was built many years ago by the city of Manila, under plans executed in Spain. The walls, which vary from seven to eight feet thick, are circular in form, and built to stand for ages. One of the peculiarities is the recent dates exhibited on the slabs of the different vaults in the wall. Although the cemetery is about a century and a half old, none of these inscriptions shows an age greater than five or ten years. A few moments later this mystery was explained. By a narrow stone stairway we ascended to the top of the wall, and, looking down, we saw an enormous pile of human bones and skulls. About a dozen nearly naked Filipinos were standing in the midst of them, with narrow hoes and shovels in their hands. They had dug a trench in the bone pile, four by five feet, and about ten feet long, and had put the human hones into large sacks which were standing in rows ready to be carted off to the crematory. As I approached, one of the natives said a few words in Spanish, and held out a skull for me to take. My friend informed me they wanted me to take the ghastly thing home as a souvenir. He PEOPLES AND PLACES IN THE ORIENT. 159 explained to me that when bodies are placed in the vault, the rela- tives or friends of the deceased pay a rental of thirty-five dollars for the first five years, and five dollars annually thereafter. For this fee the remains lie undisturbed, but upon failure to pay the amount each year, the bones are unceremoniously thrown into the bone heap. "Alas, poor Yorick!" I thought of the mimic scene in Hamlet, and it paled in contrast with the one on the real stage before me now. As the chimes of the vesper bells from the near- by convent were wafted out upon the still air, I thought, as I stared in wonder, whether in such bone-heaps some great member of the Spanish Inquisition ever found his last repose. It seems impossible, yet it is true, that in this gruesome pile lie the bones of many who are immortalized in history, whose deeds of valor live in fame, and to whose memory the world pays just and merited tribute. The English cemetery is located in San Pedso Macati. At Fort William McKinley, America's soldier dead find a resting place among the flowers and sunshine of the Eastern tropics. Bilibid prison covers an area of about nineteen acres on which there are fifty odd buildings. It is the largest prison under the control American government, and is said to be the of the largest in the world. The total average number of prisoners sen- tenced to Bilibid is about five thousand a year. However, the daily prison population varies from three to live thousand, accord- ing to the number of prisoners employed on public works on the various parts of the islands. Bilibid prison differs from the usual penal institutions in several respects: in the reformatory meth- ods employed, in the endeavor to prepare the inmates for good citizenship, and to gain for them an honorable position in the community on their release. They have a fine brass band, all na- tives, which plays every evening while the prisoners are on parade. The day and night schools are very important features, both of which are conducted by the prisoners themselves, Various trades are taught to the prisoners by the most competent instructors available. The trades taught are blacksmithing, machine iron- working, carriage and wagon-making in all its branches, wicker- ware-furniture manufacturing, tailoring, carpentering, cabinet- making, machine wood-working, painting, furniture finishing and 100 . IMPROVEMENT ERA. polishing, timber testing, shoemaking, tinsmithing, soap-making, cooking, baking, making buttons, in fact, work in nearly all branches of trade. Prisoners who have received their training at Bilibid prison, and who, on being released, have been employed at the various vocations for which they are best fitted, have been highly commended for the faithful and excellent performance of their work. The prison management seeks to assist the prisoners on their discharge, to secure employment and to make them feel that they can ask for advice and guidance at any and all times. There are 1,230,000 children of school age, between nine and fifteen years, in the islands. Visitors are extremely welcome to the schools as the teachers are proud of the good work of education. We notice at once that there are no vacant seats, the children are clean and neat, absorbed in their work, and those of a grade seem nearly of the same age. School opens with prayer. Then, for about half an hour, they are trained in singing some familiar American songs, "The Star Spangled Banner," "My Country, 'Tis of Thee," "Home, Sweet Home," with some Filipino songs set to our music, and calculated to bring home to the children a love and an appreciation of the islands as a whole. One is imbued with an en- thusiasm not untouched by pathos, at the sympathetic yet vigorous rendition of national and religious songs by the native children under the Stars and Stripes in our distant islands. Filipino children are seriously inclined, and become intensely interested in school work. They are taught the geography of the United States and of the world, but particularly that of the Philippines — the peoples, harbors, mountains, various agricultural districts, and especially the relation of their islands to the rest of the Orient. While the Philippines have contributed to bring the United States into prominence in the eastern world, for that is what American occupation really means, on the other hand, it tends to bring the Filipinos out of the isolation they were in, to a great degree, under Spanish rule. The average attendance in the public schools, according to the last census, is seventy-three pupils to the teacher. As early as 1902, forty-one per cent of the school children in Manila could use English, and throughout the archipelago at that time the difference in favor of Spanish over English was only six per cent. PEOPLES AND PLACES TN THE ORIEXT. 16] We next drive to Luneta, where nearly all Manila goes these warm May evenings, to enjoy ths sea breezes and listen to the music discoursed by the Constabulary band, one of the finest mus- ical organizations in the world. Luneta is rapidly being converted into a beautiful park, and the oval drive, enclosing two band stands sur- rounded by lawns, is thronged with conveyances of all descriptions, while the park is sprinkled with people of all ages and garbs, a purely cosmopolitan crowd. There appears to be no country nor race in the world, especially the oriental world, without their rep- resentatives. As the tropical sun declines, the glorious tints and the perfect cloud effect are most beautiful. The Luneta is a hal- lowed spot to the Filipinos, for here their patriot Rizel was exe- cuted on the morning of December 30, 1896, and each year his compatriots gather on that day and place to do honor to his mem- ory. Soon the place will be marked by an imposing monument to his memory. The next day we traveled over the entire electric car line The Luneta, Manila. system. There are a number of charming residences on the bank of the Pasig river. We pass the Botanical Gardens, the new post and other public buildings. On the San Juantine, we observe office, the Santa Cruz church, the Steel church, (so named because it was all shipped from the United States in sections) the Rotunda, and 162 IMPROVEMENT ERA. then we ride on to Santa Mesa. The Santa Mesa heights, are a favorite residence spot for many of the American and foreign resi- dents. At the end of the car line is the San Juan Bridge, the scene of the opening of the Philippine insurrection. The trip to Pasig takes one through Intravenroe, past the Luneta, and through the dis- tricts of Emuta and Malate. We see the Filipinos in their native environments. Here are their little thatched homes built on stilts, the framework being entirely made of bam- boo, and tied with rattan, a vine as strong as rope. The peasants and poorer classes Photo by F. J. Hewlett. have no windows in their homes. They generally go A Filipino House, Paray,P. I. to rest at nightfall. The floors are made from split bamboo, and one can see through the cracks to the ground beneath, where the chickens, the nearest to the Filipino next to his family, have their headquarters. Little stores are numerous and consist merely of a shaded counter en- closed in a dwelling along the highway. Their stock is fully dis- played to the passer-by. It is mostly soda pop, ginger ale, colored candies, preserved milk, fruits, betel nuts, and always cigars and cigarettes. To see the men washing clothes in the Pasig river, was a new and engaging sight. They soaked them in the river, rubbed soap over them, then severely beat them on flat stones. It was rough on the dirt, but evidently much more so on the clothes. While at work they laugh and enjoy themselves like so many chil- dren. The Filipinos may sometimes be petulant and rebellious — but they are also hospitable to all, gentle, peaceable, gay and fond of amusement, religiously inclined, and, for a tropical race, remarkably industrious. By steamer we crossed the bay, going ten miles from the capital to the old naval town of Cavite, picturesque, but small. It has playei an important part in the history of the East, but now, excepting the busy scenes to be found about the navy yard, PEOPLES AND PLACES IN THE ORIENT. 163 seems to have dropped back to the fifteenth century. Its churches and walls are moss grown and crumbling. The clang of modern machinery, and the din of the naval shops vie with mediaeval streets and structures to waken the interest of the traveler. In the bay fronting Cavite, are the waters over which thundered the guns of Admiral Dewey on that fateful May 1, 1898, when her fleet was sunk and Spain's supremacy in the Orient was destroyed! The sunken Spanish vessels, which for years showed their upper works above the blue waters, have now been removed from the path of peaceful navigation. Returning by train, we passed through some twenty miles of charming bits of scenery surrounding Manila. The total commerce of the Philippines amounts to more than sixty-three million dollars a year. The imports are more than thirty million dollars, and exports about thirty-five million dollars. Ten million dollars worth of goods are imported from Europe annually, and as the amount is found to be increasing, it is a prize meriting con- sideration by our American exporters. If the Philippine trade could be secured it would give prestige to the country that could secure it, and besides would be a wedge to pry open the lid of commerce in other parts of the Orient. The wonderful progress made here since the Stars and Stripes were unfurled is a story too long to tell. It seems little short of marvelous when one views the progress of the public schools, alone, to say nothing of the improved sanitation, the electric and steam railroads, harbor improvements and the almost perfect fire depart- ment organized under the supervision of Hugh Bonner, the veteran fire-chief of New York. Despite the fact that the islands have belonged to the United States now for something like ten years, only a very small proportion of the American people have taken the trouble to inform themselves as to the actual conditions and pres- ent needs. A great many disapprove of colonial possessions, but it is too late now to talk anti-imperialism. The Fates have ruled that we are to take up our share of the white man's burden, and^to col- onize at least a small slice of the big world. Manila, P. I.