Mexico weekly ledger., 1901-03-14

tenti0naliy abSentS himself rom
church II must be some grave cause
that neceSSitates his remaining away,
and they consider that a continuance
iof the neglect Of their religious duties
will cause a los Of luck in their busi-
ness affairs They consider that every
pursuit which the people follow will
yeild beyond expectation should they
attend church: this belief they
carry out with reveTential devotion.
They 20 to church at dawn Of day TO
take part in the devotional exercises
that are held every morning. The
clean fashionable dresses worm by the
women would compare favOrably with
the court dresses 81 European
princeSses, at least - far as the length
Of the sweeping train, low cut bodice
and lOdse sleeves. The bare neck and
shoulders are partly concealed in the
p~anUelos tneckechiefl
The reports that these people are
not civilized is an injustice. What
greater accomplishment do social
women pOSSeSs at home or in any 9TH
er country that boasts Of top notch
civilization. Except in few cases the
moral character OF the Filipino wo
men is pure, she may be poor but then
her mind is free from the corrupt in
iuences Of which wealth and luxury
is the mother. They do not seek
through the courts Of law annulmen
Of their marriage VOWS, as a result
there are few lawyers.
The women have a fOndneSS for
cigars and cigarettes, a habit which
they are used to from infancy; for
while on the mothers knee the child
is nursed amidst rings Of smoke. 1t is
customary with the people to smoke
on the public streets.
They have an idea that to offer a
soldier a cigarette is a treat, especially
when he is patroling the streets with
a rife on his shoulder, when if he is
lcaught smoking he would be tried for
breach Of military discipline. They
considerit a rebuke when you do not
accept their offer.
The natives are quick to learn and
we lind them in every known trade.
The trades most followed are black
smithing, clerking, printing, painting
and carpentry. They use few tools in
any branch Of the several trades. A
carpenters set Of tools consists Of
saw. hammer, Ratchet and a jack
knife, and also a jack plane, and he
may have one or two augers, the brace
and bit are seldom used except in the
possession OF the gang boss. The
wOrkmen rarely exert themselves by
working hard. They shirk their
work at every turn Of their employers
back. Their wages are small but
ganged with an American workman
they do not earn what they get.
Many are engaged to do inferior
work and in many cases fewer would
do II they would only do a fair amount
Of work. FOrce Of habit seems to be
more Of a drawback than inability,
for IL must be a first and prevailing
idea Of theirs to do as little work as
possible.
The following will give you a gener-
al idea Of what a carpenter will do,
but not what he is able 10 do, In a
week. have watched patiently the
making Of a pannel six by two feet for
a door. 1t took the man half day to
measure and prepare the casing in
which the panel was % be placed.
Having done this much he c~ontented
himself by smoking cigarettes. Then
after great elaboration he went 70
work on a rough slab board about
two and One-half inches thick in the
center and slOping to about one inch
at the edges; the wood was hard and
his strokes with the adze were al
most Intellectual only removing a
small shaving at a time which indica-
ted that he was working, but what he
had done By five O'Clock was unnotice-
able. Three days were taken up in
this way before the board was ready
for the plane, which he used with less
exertion than a child does with a
shovel at the sea shore.
Not having or caring for a bench
to work on be placed the board on the
gravel walk which led from the street
to the house where he was engaged.
Sitting On his launches the weight Of
his body prevented the board from
being forced forward by the plane,
After working for two days at this
style Of carpentry he had it ready tC
= put it in a frame. Another day wa;
2 occupied by sand paper!ng, besides the
painter or dauber earned one days
wages on it. Eight days labor wa.
consumed in this little job which
! cost the property owner for labor
S alone eight dollars Mexican "a gold.
Here under conditions which in any
e other country would have caused
famine and death, also, misery, few
suffer utter want. The country wa
E recently in a state Of utter rebellion.
p The chief trading ports we're closed
10 commerce. The city OF Manila
E with its large population, had no re
sources 10 fall back upon TO tide then
over the war.
The enforcement Of martial Law
lclogged the hinges on business door
e as well as on vehicles. The stores in
Manila had to be closed at half pass
e eight O'Clock in the evening which il
, itself vas discOuragihg 10 business
{ The provost guard we're instructed q
D inforce their orders while performing
r the duties Of civil policemen, and II
r any n Of them we're caught neglect.
, ing their duty be would be punished
( for IL. No person was allowed on the
S streets after the curfew hour unless he
e had a pass There was n class that
suffered from the curfew, the pool
cochero tcoachman.l A cOchero with
his quilez would be engaged fol
S twenty cents an hour to take a party
= % their quarters, five or six miles
E from the city, they would make de,
lays at one place and another, so long
D as they got OF the streets what differ,
{ ence did IL make to them IL the
cochero did get arrested and fined
three dnIlars 10 h1nf This was con.