The progressive farmer., 1901-08-13
FARMING AND OTHER MATTERS ON THE
OTHER SIDE OF EARTH

again, ana 6n1nK1ng OF Times pdS6 III
cline me to write you few lines to-
night. Many strange sights for
North Carolina farmer have seen
in the Orient. But nowhere could l
stop and find out the reason for
many things as / would have liked,
and as would make a letter interest
ing for Progressive Farmer readers.
This was because first, my tongue
and those of the farmers whom
needed to talk with at first hand TO
really learn any facts were foreign
to each other, and, second, my time
was nearly all demanded tor the
work in hand.
Human labor is held in light
esteem in the Orient. It is cheap.
This may be taken in double sense
It costs but little for given time.
It is hedged about with superstition
and ancestor worship and does things
in time-hOnored ways and accom-
plishes little at sacrifice of much
strength. So to look at things from
an American standpoint labor is
really dear at almost any price and
machines cannot yet be used to sup
lement it because of prejudice and by
reason of the fact that machinery
brings changes from the established
order of things.
Did I not write you once about
Japan and the small terraced plats-
one cannot call them fields-On the
steep hillsides? Ny stay in China
was at seaport towns with less time
and further from any chance to see
the farmers than was afforded in
Japan. Indeed, China is very large
country and to be able to say much
about it's agriculture would mean to
have spent some years travelling in
it's different provinces, if one we're
to give information derived at first
hand
There was an attempt just before
the Boxer uprising to establish an
agricultural college and experiment
station in China something after the
lead of Japan. A young American
scientist contracted for a five-year
term and put plant in operation to
do agricultural work by machinery.
There was little accomplished and
the matter was dropped.
At Manila, where my longest stay
was made, am free to confess my
impressions were not the most favor
able for the natives or the citizens
who have adopted the place for
business. One can depend on his
own efforts to accomplish anything
there, but it is not the usual way,
and what we would expect to &C
complish at home in q day may drag
over a week easily. AS an example
of altruism we can get off we'll by
turning the islands free to self-gov-
ernment at the earliest moment
when they can be safely trusted un-
der prOtectOrate.
! The city of Manila needs American
banks and a few Americans of large
interests to take over some of the
business now being done by Euro
peans who are enriching themselves
on American lavish expenditures.
One thing Americans who contem-
plate going to the Philippines need
to know. That is that when they
are not sure about the water, it
should be boiled, (and under their
OaOn eyes, tOO,) and that aOhen boiled
even the reputed bad water is thou
sand times safer and better in that
hot trying climate than the strong
alcoholic drinks our citizens are try
ing to exhaust faster than they can
be replenished by ships. There
probably is about the same amount
of liquors consumed as under Span
ish rule, but approximately two
thirds Of the lighter kinds seem to
have given place to very much
stronger sorts.
The civilian government which
went into effect July 4th was hailed
with delight by the press, which felt
as though it had been living under
it's breath and that American license
of speech had been very much cur
tailed by the Military Government.
The school teacher has Teen getting
abroad in the land down there and
already the Filipino prodigy in ac-
quiring a fair working knowledge of
English is being taken around to