The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1898-08-21
the REAL PHILIPPINES
IMPRESSIONS OF AN AMERICAN
WHO SPENT Q YEARS THERE
Recovery Of One Of the Worlds Side
Tracked Capitals-Manila Great
City-Never Heard Of Spain

The worlds attention Is conferred on the
Philippine Islands Just now. AS Joseph
Earle Stevens, In his new book, Yesterday
In the Philippines" Charles Scribner's
Sons, New York;, put IT, 'by the victory of
our fleet at Manila Bay one more of the
worlds side-tracked capitals has been
pulled from obscurity into main lines of
prominence" 1.-THE Philippines have been
discovered" he says, land the daily Jour-
nails, with their cheap maps, have at last
located Spain's Havana in the far east"
He thinks that 1t is curious that a city Of
a third of million people-capital Of
group of islands as large as New England,
New York. Delaware, Maryland and New
Jersey, which have supplied the world with
Its entire supply Of Manila hemp, which
have exported some 160, 900 tons of sugar in
a single year, and which today produce as
excellent tobacco as that coming from the
West Indies-he thinks 1t curious that such
a city SHOULD have gone so long unno-
ticed and misspet. But the people are
making amends for past Indifference, and
are eager for knowledge Of that neglected
corner of the world.
Mr.. Stevens went to Manila at the close
Of 1893 as the representative Of a Boston
Arm engaged in the hemp business. That
was the only American house doing bust
ness in the Philippines at that time, and
Mr.. Stevens and his companion, Mr.. A. n.
Rand, constituted Just half of the Ameri-
can colony there. They remained two
years, when the firm found 1t advantageous
to withdraw from the islands. because of.
the strained relations between Spain and
1.-THE United States. Mr. Stevens book is
made up OF letters written home during his
residence In Manila. The letters AFFORD an
institutions. They are entertaining and
quite readable, although sometimes lack
ing In that dignity which one looks for In
literature. Nor Is the book a sustained
narrative-it could not be from the nature
of Its composition-Dut 1t abounds in in
forming paragraphs. often full Of humor
THE first thing noticed" says Mr..
Stevens, was that cloth instead of plas-
ter formed the walls and ceilings and
seemed far less likely than the mixture of
lime and water to fall into baby's crib Or
on to the dining table during those ter
restial or celestial exhibitions for which
Manila is famous. For the Philippines are
said to be the cradle of earthquake and ty-
phoon, and in buildings everywhere, con-
struction seems to conform to the require
ments Of these much respected movers
Tiles on roofs, they say. are forbidden.
since the passers by below are not willing
to wear brass helmets or carry steel UNI
brellas to ward off a shower OF these mis-
siles started by heavy shake. Galvanized
iron Is used instead. and. while detractng
from the picturesque, has added to the
Of xxyhn m ho
rudely awakened from their slumbers by
the extra weight Of tile bedspreads. :.
Save for carriages and dogs, the lower
serted, and on account Of fevers that hang
| about in the mists Of the low ground, ev-
cry one take@ to living In the upper story.
Balconies which are so elaborate that they
carry the whole upper part Of the house
out over the sidewalk are a conspicuous
feature In all the buildings Of the Older
hang afford opportunities for leaning out
to talk with passers-by below, or a con-
venient vantage ground from which to
throw waste water from the wash basins"
He says that the city squats around its
old friend the river Paslg, and shakes
hands with Itself in the several bridges
right bank Of the river lies the old walled
town of Manila proper. whose weedy
moats, ponderous drawbridges and heavy
gates suggest a troubled past. The Span
| ish rejoice to huddle together In the gloomy
houses Of the old town: but the rich ma
tlves, half castles and foreigners all prefer
the newer villas outside the narrow streets
and musty walls. The old town is in the
l1k,
each a mile In extent. Mr.. Stevens notes
that "the walls do as much In keeping out
the wind as they do in keeping in the vari-
Gus unsavory odors that come from people
who like garlic and don't take baths. Here
Is the cathedral-n fine old church that cost
million Of money and was widowed Of
its steeple In the earthquake Of the '8Os-
and besides a lot of smaller churches are
convent schools, the city hall. army bar
racks and a raft of private residences"
Opposite Old Manila. on the other bank
of the river, lies the business and foreign
residence sections. In Old Manila the
church seems to rule, but on the other side
Of the Pasig the state makes itself felt
AS to population. Mr.. Stevens says that
manila, in the largest sense, may hold
$50 900 souls. besides a few dogs. OF the
lot call $4,000 Chinese. 5000 Spaniards, $50
German. 30 English and American. The
rest are natives or half castles Of the Malay
type whose blood runs in all mixtures Of
Chinese, Spanish and what-not proper
tons, and whose Chinese eyes, fiat noses
and high cheek bones are queer accompani-
ments to their Spanish accents. Thus the
majority of the souls in Manila-like the
dogs-are mongrels, or mestizos. as the
word is, and the saying goes that happy is
the man who knows his own father"
Manila is far from being barbarous
community. The Inhabitants are passion
ately fond of music, and their taste is ca
tered to by splendid military bands which
give concerts every afternoon on the Lu-
meta, the far-famed seaside promenade,
where society takes its airing after the
heat of the day is over The Luneta is an
elliptical plaza about 1000 feet long. sit
uated just above the low beach which Dor
ders the bay and looking over toward the
China Sea. Running around It's edge is a
broad roadway, bounded on one side by the
sea wall and on the other by the green fields
and bamboo trees of the parade grounds.
Mr.. Stevens thus describes the evening
scene: ITO take a chair. watch the people
walking to and fro and see the endless
stream Of smart turnouts passing In slow
procession; to hear band of fifty pieces
render popular and classic music with the
spirit of Sousa or a Reeves IL to doubt