Modern Manila
Commanding the entrance to Manila Bay there is the Island of Corregidor, situated 27 miles south-west of the city, towards which the traveller glances in vain, expecting to descry something of a modern fortress, bristling with artillery of the latest type which, if there, might hold the only channels leading to the capital against a hostile fleet. The anchorage for steamers is still half a mile to a mile and a half away from the Pasig River, but the new artificial port, commenced by the Spaniards, is being actively brought to completion by the Americans, so that the day may come when the ocean traveller will be able to walk from the steamer down a gangway to a quay and land on the south, or Walled City, side of the capital.
In the city and beautiful suburbs of Manila many changes and some improvements have been effected since 1898. After cleansing the city to a certain extent, embellishment was commenced, and lastly, works of general public utility were undertaken. Public spaces were laid out as lawns with walks around them; the old botanical-gardens enclosure was removed and the site converted into a delightful promenade; the Luneta Esplanade,—the joy of the Manila élite who seek the sea-breezes on foot or driving—was reformed, the field of Bagumbayan, which recalls so many sad historical reminiscences since 1872, was drained; breaches were made in the city walls to facilitate the entry of American vehicles; new thoroughfares were opened; an iron bridge, commenced by the Spaniards, was completed; a new Town Hall, a splendidly-equipped Government Laboratory, a Government Civil Hospital, and a Government Printing Office were built; an immense ice-factory was erected on the south side of the river to meet the American demand for that luxury[1]; also a large refrigerated-meat store, chiefly for army supply, was constructed, meat, poultry, vegetables, and other foodstuffs having to be imported on account of the dearth of beef and tilth cattle due to rinderpest. Fresh meat for private consumption (i.e., exclusive of army and navy) is imported into Manila to the value of about $700,000 gold per annum. Reforms of more urgent public necessity were then introduced. Existing market-places were improved, new ones were opened in Tondo and the Walled City; an excellent slaughter-house was established; the Bridge of Spain was widened; a splendidly-equipped fire-engine and brigade service, with 150 fire-alarm boxes about the city and suburbs, was organized and is doing admirable work; roads in the distant suburbs were put in good condition, and the reform which all Manila was looking forward to, namely, the repair of the roads and pavements in the Escolta, the Rosario, and other principal thoroughfares in the heart of the business quarter of Binondo, was postponed for six years. Up to the middle of 1904 they were in a deplorable condition. The sensation, whilst in a gig, of rattling over the uneven stone blocks was as if the whole vehicle might at any moment be shattered into a hundred fragments. The improvement has come at last, and these streets are now almost of a billiard-table smoothness. The General Post Office has been removed from the congested thoroughfare of the Escolta to a more commodious site. Electric tramcars, in supersession of horse-traction, run through the city and suburbs since April 10, 1905. Electric lighting, initiated in Spanish times, is now in general use, and electric fans—a poor substitute for the punkah—work horizontally from the ceilings of many shops, offices, hotels, and private houses. In the residential environs of the city many acres of ground have been covered with new houses; the once respectable quarter of Sampaloc[2] has lost its good name since it became the favourite haunt of Asiatic and white prostitutes who were not tolerated in Spanish times. On the other hand, the suburbs of Ermita and Malate, which are practically a continuation of Manila along the seashore from the Luneta Esplanade, are becoming more and more the fashionable residential centre. About Sampaloc there is a little colony of Japanese shopkeepers, and another group of Japanese fishermen inhabits Tondo. The Japanese have their Consulate in Manila since the American advent, their suburban Buddhist temple was inaugurated in San Roque on April 22, 1905, and in the same year there was a small Japanese banking-house in the suburb of Santa Cruz.
The Bilíbid Jail has been reformed almost beyond recognition as the old Spanish prison. A great wall runs through the centre, dividing the long-term from the short-term prisoners. In the centre is the sentry-box, and from this and all along the top of the wall every movement of the prisoners can be watched by the soldier on guard. Nevertheless, a batch of convicts occasionally breaks jail, and those who are not shot down escape. Gangs of them are drafted off for road-making in the provinces, where, on rare occasions, a few have been able to escape and rejoin the brigands. In March, 1905, a squad of 42 convicts working in Albay Province made a dash for freedom, and 40 of them got away.
With the liberty accorded them under the new dominion the Filipinos have their freemason lodges and numerous casinos.[3] There are American clubs for all classes of society—the “Army and Navy,” the “University,” the “United States,” a dozen other smaller social meeting-houses, and societies with quaint denominations such as “Knights of Pythias,” “Haymakers,” “Red Cloud Tribe,” “Knights of the Golden Eagle,” etc. Other nationalities have their clubs too; the Cercle Français is now located in Calle Alcalá; the English Club, which was formerly at Nagtájan on the river-bank, has been removed to Ermita on the seashore, and under the new régime the Chinese have their club-house, opened in 1904, in Calle Dasmariñas, where a reception was given to the Gov.-General and the élite of Manila society. The entertainment was very sumptuous, the chief attractions being the fantastic decorations, the gorgeous “joss house” to a dead hero, and the chapel in honour of the Virgin del Pilar.
Several new theatres have been opened, the leading one being the National, now called the “Grand Opera House”; comedy is played at the Paz; the Zorrilla (of former times) is fairly well-built, but its acoustic properties are extremely defective, and the other playhouses are, more properly speaking, large booths, such as the Libertad, the Taft, the Variedades, and the Rizal. In the last two very amusing Tagálog plays are performed in dialect. There is one large music-hall, and a number of cinematograph shows combined with variety entertainments.
There are numerous second- and third-rate hotels in the city and suburbs. The old “Fonda Lala,” which existed for many years in the Plaza del Conde, Binondo, as the leading hotel in Spanish days, is now converted into a large bazaar, called the “Siglo XX.,” and its successor, the “Hotel de Oriente,” was purchased by the Insular Government for use as public offices. The old days of comfortable hackney-carriages in hundreds about the Manila streets, at 50 cents Mex. an hour, are gone for ever. One may now search hours for one, and, if found, have to pay four or five times the old tariff. Besides the fact that everything costs more, the scarcity is due to Surra (vide p. [336]), which has enormously reduced the pony stock. There are occasionally sales of American horses, and it is now one of the novelties to see them driven in carriages, and American ladies riding straddle-legged on tall hacks. In Spanish days no European gentleman or lady could be seen in a carromata[4] (gig) about Manila; now this vehicle is in general use for both sexes of all classes. Bicycles were known in the Islands ten years ago, but soon fell into disuse on account of the bad roads; however, this means of locomotion is fast reviving.
A Manila Suburban Parish Church—Santa Cruz.
The Press is represented by a large number of American, Spanish and dialect newspapers. These last were not permitted in Spanish times.