CHAPTER III
An American ship was boarded at Hongkong for Manila, P. I., but the vessel had been built in Glasgow, Scotland. The distance from Hongkong to Manila is 630 miles, and 60 hours' time is required to sail between the two points. The fare, first-class, was $25—four cents a mile for sea travel. One has little choice anent "class" on these boats, as second-class is very inferior. First-class accommodation, however, was good. After two days of rough sailing land was sighted, and next morning the ship passed through the right channel of Corregidor Island into Manila harbor. Thirty miles from the entrance is Manila. After leaving the ship, it was the first time I had been on American territory for nearly three years.
What a marked difference in the appearance of streets in Manila to other cities of the Far East. Instead of Chinese or natives moving merchandise and other wares on split bamboo sticks or by ox carts, or donkeys drawing two-wheeled vehicles, large, fat mules and horses were hitched to big, four-wheeled trucks loaded with heavy wares, together with big motor trucks taking part in the healthy business scene. Besides, flitting about the streets were light, neat-appearing, two-wheeled vehicles drawn by smart-moving ponies. The two-wheeled trap, called a calesa, is the chief conveyance. The men driving these were certainly a strange class of "cabbies," for they did not seem to care whether they secured a fare or not. The calesas, numbering 3,000, are both a handy and a cheap conveyance, the charge being 20 cents for the first and 15 cents for each additional hour.
The principal business street is known as the Escolta, and little can be said in its favor. Most of the business houses are conducted by Chinese, Indians and Arabs; and a great many of the buildings are owned by these merchants, who would be satisfied to do business in a pig pen so long as money came over the stye. The street is well paved, well policed, and a good street-car line has been laid in the center. But it is the lop-sided appearance of the thoroughfare that grates on one. The sidewalk at the head of the street is eight feet wide, and gets narrower and narrower until the walking space has been reduced to eight inches. The Escolta being the Broadway of Manila, it is well crowded with Filipinos, Chinamen and Americans. A better street might be substituted for the Escolta, but that thoroughfare is owned by Chinese.
The only way to make a modern town out of Manila would be to destroy the relics of Spanish "art" and rebuild on scientific lines. The best way to accomplish this would be to have fires started in sections of the city when a tornado is blowing a gale of 60 miles an hour, the firemen devoting their energies to protecting people, but not putting a hand to a hose to combat the ravages of the flames.
A good street-car system courses the city and outlying districts, but the fare, like the steamship charge, is too high. There are first-class and second-class cars, and the fare for first-class is six cents and second-class five cents. The United States and her colonies are the only territories we have traveled in where a receipt is not given a passenger for his street car fare.
Manila has few good buildings, in which respect the Philippine capital differs from cities in British colonies, but after Manila has been under American control from 50 to 100 years there will no doubt be a better showing in this respect.
We had reached another place where potatoes do not grow, where one gets only condensed milk for his coffee, where meat and flour are imported from Australia, and cabbage, onions, celery and cauliflower come from other countries; where vaccination is the first precaution suggested for the preservation of life; where one is apt to become sick if he drinks water that has not been boiled; where one dare not, if life should be dear to him, eat a piece of raw carrot or other vegetable, or even fruit, that grows near the earth; where every one sleeps under netting at night to keep the mosquito from injecting into his system malaria fever germs, and where one must not forget to keep a weather-eye out for the bubonic flea. Everything unerringly suggests that the tropics have been reached.
Doctors say it is not necessary to drink whisky in the Philippines to ward off disease, but as cooks are liable to forget to boil the water, few of the old "tropicalians," while in sympathy with medical oracles, seem to place faith in the mindfulness of island cooks. Convulsions and consumption are, in order, the causes from which most people die in Manila. The death rate per 1,000 of the total population is 39.61.
New Year's eve was celebrated in the usual American style, with floats on motor-cars and wagons moving about the streets. On one motor-car was a large barrel, which looked like a street sprinkler. A white canvas covered the sides and there was printed on the cloth in large black letters, "Keep off the water wagon!"
The hours of work are too long in that climate. In most hot countries the working time does not exceed eight hours a day, and in other tropical climes seven hours is the rule. But Americans work nine and ten hours a day.
On the Luneta, an inviting stretch of green sward, located along the shore of the bay and between the walls of the old city and a residential section, concerts are given by a good band six evenings during the week. The entertainments continue for an hour, from 6 to 7 o'clock, and, judging by the crowds in attendance, are much appreciated. At these concerts the Filipino appears at his best, so far as clothes go. He is vain as a negro in show of clothes, and if European clothes meant advancement for native races the Filipino would claim first place. He often appears much neater than the European.
As with most colored races, the Filipinos are ingrates. They were neglected under Spanish rule, it is safe to presume, and now, when a stable system of government has been fixed, and schools, sound money, sewerage, better water, better wages, better treatment, and a brighter future have been provided, they still ask, "What is the United States going to do for us?" All the governors of the provinces are natives, but the treasurers of provinces are mostly Americans. This may be changed in the future, but a return to the former custom—a white man to handle the money—would soon follow, for very good reasons.
The worst railroad trains ever ridden on were those running from Manila. I traveled as far as San Fernando, 38 miles from the capital, and the time required to cover that distance was 3 hours and 48 minutes. Another trip was made from Cavite to Manila, 25 miles separating the two points, and two and a half hours was the time it took to cover that distance. In both instances the track was level. The ten-ton engine drawing a train over a two-foot gauge up the Himalaya mountains made as good time. Third-class fare is too high for poor natives; two cents a mile is too much. Steamship fare for coastwise ships is exorbitant. If the owners of railroad lines and coastwise ship owners do not make money in the Philippines, it will not be because they do not charge enough.
Native women walking about smoking big, black cigars do not look very edifying. They may be seen any time in the streets, puffing rings of smoke from cigars or cigarettes.
Unlike other countries visited, few of the natives in Manila were in their bare feet—even the children wore neat-looking sandals.
A starched, springy cloth is worn about the neck of the women, shaped like a horse-collar. The "collar" is tied in front with a knot, and rests on the shoulders and neck. In size and design it is larger than a horse-collar, and the women are constantly touching it, first on one side and next on the other, to keep it straight or in right position. The "collars" are sometimes of silk and of varied colors.
Windows without panes of glass are seen here, formed by upright panels, an inch wide, nailed to a crosspiece three inches wide, each having four such crosspieces. Intersecting the spaces made by the panels and crosspieces are smaller pieces of lath, which form three-inch squares in the window. In these three-inch squares flat pieces of light-colored seashell are placed, which admit light, but through which the hot sun cannot penetrate. The windows do not raise or swing, but slide from side to side, when closing or opening. Panes of glass are seen occasionally, but these are often painted a dark color to keep out the sun. Sunshine seldom reaches a room, as windows are closed on the sunny sides during the day.
The natives' homes put one in mind of a squirrel's nest in a tree. Often they are hid with banana bushes and other growths from every side. The huts are built on poles from three to ten feet from the ground. The frame is composed of round and split bamboo, and the covering is generally of what is commonly known as nipa palm. They all have a few chickens and a pig. Their food is mostly fish and rice.
The presence of chickens about natives' homes is accounted for by their weakness for cock fights. Cockpits are no longer allowed within the city limits, but, as Manila does not cover a large area, from 15 minutes to half an hour's ride in a calesa will find one at a pit where the native sport is taking place. Gambling is the incentive for that sport, and so long as a Filipino can gamble he will not work.
Prize fights are not permitted in the Philippines, and it is a criminal offense for a newspaper to publish a challenge for bouts. Americans of sporting ilk find Manila an uncomfortable place to live in. Every once in a while groups of free-and-easy characters are rounded up by the authorities, taken to a ship sailing for the United States, when they unwillingly bid good-by to Manila's shores.
The climate of Manila differs from that of other countries the same distance from the equator. A majority of Europeans wear the same kind of hats as are worn in the States. Neither were white clothes much worn. In other sections close to the equator one would fall from sunstroke did he not wear a helmet or some other heavy head-covering.
The city and country around Manila is flat and swampy. When a season of heavy rain occurs the suburbs are partly under water, many of the streets being in a deplorable condition. Both the sewerage and water systems are modern, however, but some of the business streets are poorly paved.
Several daily newspapers are printed in the capital, but, aside from a white man being in charge, the printers are mostly natives. The same applies to the island printing office located in Manila. Wages paid the native printers are from $18 to $25 a month. Laborers receive from 50 to 75 cents a day. American mechanics receive about the same wages as those paid in the States.
Soldiers, in khaki uniforms, are always to be seen about the streets of Manila, a fort being located just outside the city. A similar uniform is worn by the British troops in some of their colonies, but the uniform worn by the American soldier looks neater, for the reason that the American uniform is starched, while the Britisher's is ironed. Both police and soldiers are gentlemanly fellows.
Evicting the dead sounds strange, but this takes place in Paco Cemetery, in Manila. The dead are placed in niches built in a wall, from six to seven feet thick, which encloses an area of three acres of land. The wall is perhaps eight feet high, and three niches, or burial places, are built one under the other, with a wall partition between. Rent must be paid for these niches, and when friends fail to meet the bills the remains are taken out and placed in a heap with others formerly evicted. One may pay rent for these burial vaults as long as he wishes, but from five to ten years seemed to be the length of time relatives retained regard for the departed. The graveyard is over a hundred years old, but the dates appearing on the slabs of the vaults bear record only of deaths within five to ten years. All the burial places are not like Paco, however, as in a number of cemeteries the dead are placed underground. The total number of vaults in Paco Cemetery will accommodate 1,782 bodies.
Hotel accommodation can be had for $2 a day. Boarding houses charge from $40 to $60 a month. Similar articles cost considerably more in Manila than they do in the States. No duty is levied on American imports when brought to the islands in American ships.
Manila is divided by the Pasig River, and a busy shipping place it is. North of the Pasig is the business center of the city, and, save for some shipping, there is little business on the other side of the dividing water. The old walled city, however, is located south of the Pasig. The wall itself is the oldest on American soil. Compared with that at Canton, it is limited, as the Manila wall contains an area of less than a mile. Its construction was started in 1591, but was not completed until 1872. The Spaniards did not seem to be in much of a hurry to finish the work. However, it served as a protection from assaults by Chinese and by the Moros; but in 1762 the English led a successful attack on this defense. Built in the walls are numerous chambers which had been used as cells for prisoners, and in some of these, after American occupation, were found instruments of torture, and even human bones. The churches and convents still stand behind the strong walls, and bear witness to the suffering, bravery and endurance in the early history of the Philippines. Some of the buildings in Intramuros are used as government offices. Originally seven gates led to the enclosure, but the Americans decided these were not enough, and two more openings were made. The fort and enclosure were built to command a wide view of Manila Bay, allowing a good stretch of land to intervene between the historic wall and the shore.
Manila has a splendid fire department, good schools, numerous churches, museums and libraries, theaters, sports grounds, hospitals, charities organizations, a very good municipal ice manufacturing plant, and club buildings. One will find in that far-off possession most of the advantages to be had in the cities of the United States.
Baseball games are played here the year round, and the Filipino clubs make a good showing.
Good steamship accommodation could formerly be had for $125 on intermediate ships from Manila to San Francisco, but recently the rate has advanced $50. On the larger ships, first-class, the fare is $250. The sailing time between the two points is about a month, the distance being 8,000 miles. Much cheaper rates can be had on Japanese ships, second-class, but if one can afford the difference in price the $175 rate is worth the increased sum in accommodation. The increase of $50 on the intermediate vessels has diverted considerable travel from American to Japanese ships, because many people cannot afford to pay the higher sum.