Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1898-05-21
THE PHILIPPINES. .

| merce. all foreign ships and merchants.
| Only four ports of which Manila, the
| capital. Is the chief, are open to for
| cign shipping. and the restrictions
thrown AROUND trade 10y the selfish
policy are extremely onerous and mar
! RAISING.
Spanish stupidity has, however. over
| reached Itself, for, in spite of the re-
strlctlons upon foreign merchants.
less than one-fourth of the business OF
the Islands is done by Spaniards, con-
siderably over oue-halt Is In the hands
of English merchants and the remuind-
| er Is divided between the United States,
the Netherlands. France and Germany.
| The city of Manila Is n typical east
| ern metropolis. II is ON the east side
| of n wide bay. which furnishes q toll
| cradle anchorage, but not osecure place
of refuge FOR shipping. The city itself
Is, as In most eastern ccnters Of trade,
| divided into a new and old town, the
| medieval style, and containing ware
houses, storshouses, offices and an cnor-
| nous native population, while the new
| town much better built. With ednCes
| more modern in style and cunstruc-
| ton, lies without the walls, \ small
| stream which, during the rainy sea-
| son, becomes a might torrent, runs
| through the heart of the town and di-
| vldes the two sections The old town
has narrow streets, badly paved, rea-
sonably filthy, as well provided win
| varieties of udors as Colcridgc found
the city of Cologne, teeming with East
| Indians of every age. color ana pre-
| yious condition of dirtiuess whose
| principal occupation seems to be Keep
| ing out of the sun, smoking cigucttes
| and chewing betel nut. Why they
| should smoke under the blazing sun
| with steamy heat rising from every
square foot of the ground on when
/ they tread, is a mystery. but, probably,
on the idea that they are already ms
hot as they can become, they pun in
| ccssnntly at their cigarettes ana take
life as easily az the climate VIII per
nit. In the intervals of smoking they
| load and unload the vessels, most OF
the native population finding its en-
| poyment about the shipping, Whllc
those not thus engaged have oil the
occupation they want at their MONIES
| in the manufacture of the coarse BnuuS
| known as MANILA bapging or sacking
and in the making of cigars. of which
many millions are annually exported W
China and India.
OF course, they have amusements.
Man under every sky must have some
fun, and the Malays are no exception ~
the rule The principal amusement
from one end to the other of the Phlllp-
pine islands ~ gambling. Everybody
CANDLES, and everybody deNotes to
gambling nearly all tho time that ne
can spare from his meals and smoking.
|
| where in progress. Wherever two or
three Malays are gathered together, the
dice are produced, and expressions SIM
liar to the wcll-wurn come seven,
come eleven floating out upon the
heavy atmosphere from behind the nuts
and the conccalmcnt Of alleys, give no
tioe to the passing stranger that the
East Indian crap game Is in progress
In the pursuit Of his favorite amuse-
ment the East Indian Is absolutely in
. | ,f Co.. Ion. &c
ono native resort in Manila there Is an
Everlasting club" whore the Malay
craps have been going ON for the last
! 100 years without cessation day or
night When n player becomes SO ia
2 tigted as to he compelled to withdraw,
} another takes his place, and thus the
] ivory shooting goes on unintermltting-
ly. Men may come and men may go,
but the dice-throwing and the gambl-
ing slang go on forever. Two or three
| times every month, however, the crap
, shooting Is momentarily forgotten in
the excitement Of cock fight. Cockins
; mains are common In Manila and the
: 4 other towns, and every great feast day
of the church owes part of Its attrac-
E | ton in the popular mind to the fact that
$ after the religious services of the day
4 / are over. the cock fighting begins and
is kept up as long as there are any
cocks to continue the fight The en-
/ thusiasm over the cock fighting Is OF
| u more nplSltlbuH flNldN IMAM ina
i, displayed Mt crap shooting, and the
visitor at Manila on n church feast day
= has no difficulty in locating the build
ing In which a cock fight is going on by
I the shrieks and yells of the audience,
: | who are encouraging their favorite
4, bird. A Malay win bet his last copper
on a cock hGht,an instances have been
known of men who pawned every item
: Of personal property in their possession
and lost 1t when betting on cotlS that
e | they felt sure would win.
The vices OF the seaport have pene-
trated the interior and demoruli2ed the
natives Of the island towns, so that tho
e Malay whether he lives on the coast OF
In the interior, is essentially the same.
The villages consist of collections Of
huts made of wattles and reeds thatch-
Y ed with grass; exceedingly primitive in
! character. they are suited TO the cli-
Z mate and quite good enough for the
people who inhabit them. for why
should Malay take the time from
: | crap-shooting and cock fighting 10
build a house. when n double armful
: Of reeds will make the walls and a load
I | Of grass the roof: so he lives In his
T. grass hut, through which the breezes
. | can blow. and when he lg obliged Ia
! venture forth during the rainy season
l | Keeps himself dry by onVel1pinE his
| bodyin n matched covering. made OF
/, the same materials which compose his
u roof, and places over his head an UNI
brella- shaped hat, also Of grass, which
= | perfectly sheds the rain and keeps his
:, | cigarette from being distinguished by
!, the falling drops.
), OF what use. he says. are houses o!
= stone, brick. or even Of wood, for the
earthquake and typhoon are incidents
=, of weekly occurrence I'm his life, His
1 grass hut can stand the heaviest earth
: quake shock. and the tremors which
!; bring down n stone building IN ruins do
u not affect his slender structure. When
> mn earthquake occurs. as II does In
y some portions OF the islands two to
y seven times n week, he Is amused 10
'. sec the Europeans jump IN and run
u en- dlshhbilc ont of their houses fol
I. fear the walls win fan upon them
y | sits under his grass roof and enjoys
! the sensation. for even II his house
= docs fall he crawlr out from under his
load Of hay, and with the assistance of
T., his wife and neighbors sets up tho
. | poles and rccommcnces housekeeping
2 as though nothing had happened.
!, The government OF the Indians by
$ the Spanlards Is simple. but arbitrary
[ All the native provinces are divided
: into small districts, each with n petty
magistrate, or alcalde, TO whom tn,
| - 81 Ffta-