The Opelousas courier., 1899-11-25
NEW USE FOR FILIPlNOS,
MAKE IDEAL SERVANTS AND MAY
SOLVE AN AMERICAN PROBLEM.

III II country.
The following article was written tc
the Criterion from Manila by Fl. Irv.
ing Hancock:
Eusebio has set me thinking. He is
a Filipino, and the Filipinos have sci
a good many people to thinking.
Eusebio is q mulchacho, who has
just about reached to years of man.
hood. He is my body-servant, aud it
IS our agreement that he shall prompt.
ly and cheerfully fulfill all the duties
incident to that position. He lives
up to the contract, too, and would
exceed it if he were asked.
When [ awake in the morning he is
at my door. As soon as / have dressed
he steps into the room, spreads the
bed on the balcony railing for an air.
ing and folds up the mosquito net.
ting. Next he brings in the broom
and carefully sweeps the bare wooded
floor. This done, he mops the floor,
then rubs il dry until it shines. The
floor is about 20 by 80 feet in size.
Next he hunts up the boots and cleans
and polishes them. Now that the
rainy season is Oh, one is sure to have
two Or three pairs of dirty boots ly-
ing around.
Next in order, Eusebio peeps into
the soiied clothes bag. When enc
perspires freely, and in a city where
white linen suits are in vogue, the
soiled clothes bag is sure to be com
fortably full. In the field cores
pondents generally wear the kahki
uniform of the army. Very frequently
Eusebio finds i'll a bag a couple of
mud-splashel kalki uniforms. Some
times, too, this boy OF mine finds
clothes of a size that lie knows do not
tit me. They we're placed there by
some army visitor in from the front.
All that he gets. however, he takes
out into the court yard, where. in a
very few minutes, you will hear him
pounding away at the clothes under
the running stream of the hydrant.
He is a rainstaking washer, pound
ing, rubbing, rinsiug and applying
soap until not a vestige of a spot re-
mains on the garment in his hands.
Whensthe garment is Immediately
clean it is spread out on a line and
there left to dry. On a clear day the
tropical u does its work in all hour
or two. In the meantime Eusebio
has kindled a small fire of charcoal.
These glowing bits of carbon he trans
fers to the inside of a great hollow
1at-iron. Some fresh charcoal is adj
ded, and the top Of the iron clamped
on. There are draft holes which keep
the fire going. The iron remains hot
for two or three hours and does not
scorch. With infinite painstaking
Eusebio does the clean clothes up.
These Filipinos are a race of excellent
launderers.
In between times Eusebio does any
thing that comes to his hand. 1t is
safe to stalk into the room, fresh from
a trip aield, toss ~saddle-hags into n
corner, blanket roll into another and
strew clothing around the o with
bachelor recklessness. Eusebio pa
tiently picks them up, putting each
into its accustomed place. He has
gone so far as to inform me that he
al increase his sphere of action by
cooking my meals and taking care of
my horse. Fortunately for Eusebio's
chances of leisure, I eat at one of the
army messes when in Manila, and q
soldier has had a little arrangement
for looking after my horse for so long
that I do not like to disturb it. Yet
my placid Filipino boy would cheer
fully take these extra burdens upon
himself. Probably a half-dozen err
rands a day falls to his lot.
What does he receive for all this
travail and good temper? Ten pesos
q month-no more. Now, at the
present rate of exchange in the two
English banks which dominate Man
lila finances, ten pesos are worth ex-
actly five dollars in American gold.
Besides, Eusebio 'tsleeps home"
and provides his own food. Lest that
seems to the American reader to be
pitifully poor wages, let me assure
you that under Spanish rule Eusebio
toiled for four pesos a month, OF ex-
actly the same arrangement as to
domicile and "chow." He considers
himself a highly paid mental, and of
late there has been a certain spruce
ness about his attire; and / suspect
that he now feels prosperous enough
to fall in love.
Honestly, this little brown boy is
an excellent servant, faithful and in
There are scores of thou
ands more like him in and around
Manila. These Filipinos are born
servants. They would prove a god
send to tired housekeepers in the
United States, where it is yearly be-
coming more difficult to find young
who are willing to go cut to
service. Filipino men see
no degradation in doing Homework.
In the restaurants here they prove
more efficient than the average of our
walters in New York. As club SER
wants they are ideal, gliding about so
noiselessly that their presence is not
suspected unless seen; nor do they
the English name of a bever-
age or food after it has once been told
to them. Then, they are Christians.
When balmy peace comes to these
fair isles, and the problem arises as
to what to do with the natives, it
prove no bad scheme to trans
port to the United States all who are
to go. At no distant day we
may read over American employment
Offices this sign:
"FILIpINo HELP A SPEc1ALTI.