The Atlanta constitution., 1901-12-16

ing how magnificently the British nave
worked the problems of municipal man
agement everywhere. AS compared WIN
these other points. Manila is crude and
altogether disappointing. This Is, now
ever in no sense a criticism of the AmeSi
can administration of affairs We have
been in control of things here but few
short months whereas Great Britain
has been for years and years engaged
in the solution of problems which are en-
tirely new to us. Add TO this the hahdI-
cap of four hundred yeiYs OF Spanish
mismanagement and there Is no wonder
that Manila suffers dreadfully in COM
parison with those other places. II may
not be entirely fair to make such COM
parisons. but of course they are lheFita-
BILE.
We have made mistakes, some of which
/ fear we will never be able to entirely
undo. For one thing. we have succeed
ed i'm making Manila one OF the most
expensive cities To live in that can be
found on the face of the earth-ceTtaihiy
the most expensive that can be fouhu IN
the Far East. Instead of holding down
prices to the level they We're before we
came. instead of sticking to the Mex
dollar basis which has prevailed 1or
hundreds of years here and under which
the Fflipinos were perfectly happy. we
idea A service which the Filipino would
have been glad to render under the old
order for one dollar Mex. he now in
sists on getting just twice that or one
dollar gold. for. 1t is much worse than
that Fifty cents Mex. was good pay
for him. and he was happy under it, but
our people came along with their gran
eloquent ideas of wasting money. an"
now he is not contentcd unless he gets
about four times that sum. 1t Is Just as
bad i'm the shops. If not worse. Ameri-
can extravaganza has got in Its work
with a vengeance.
American Army Officers Fine
one or the things which impressed me
on my first ride through the town was
that IL was good to find place where the
faces of tn. army officers one met were
those of America. The Individual Brit
ish soldier is often "A very nice fellow
but YOU get a bit tired of him after too
frequent contact. | mean. you get ured
Of him i'm the aggregate, just as you get
tired OF seeing the British flag every
where. 1t may be just as pretty as our
own. but ! don't think II, and while the
British officer may be just as good
fellow as the American officer. for one
am pledged to the latter
The American officer in his khaki or
his white dress uniform. bright-eyed and
vigorous and alert. breathing the spirit of
the vigorous young land he represents. is
an individual worth noting i'm the passing
throng made up. for the most part, OF
little brown men. who are anything but
picturesque and of little brown women
whose especial points of beauty are their
coal-black hair and their fine brown
shoulders.
Like most other cities. Manila is not
h., inns
about the steamboat landings. The gov
ernment launches land at the office of
the captain OF the port on the Pasig
about a mile from its mouth. The drive
from here to the Oriente hotel or the
Escolta or 10 the Bridge Of Spain. which
leads across To the Walled City, is along
a winding street. or several of them,
lined for the most of the way by small
and dinEy Chinese shops. The Chlna-
man is very much in evidence here. lie
Is working necessarily iu his shops ana
about the warehouses. for he is in a sense
the burdcn-bcarcr g the Orient, and
wherever there is work To do he will be
found--if he can get there. TO one who
has seen the Chinaman OF Singapore that
celestial heaven at the toe OF the Malay
peninsula. these Manila Cinnamon seem
ON first acquaintance scruby lot | sup
pose because of the better conditions pre-
vailing there. Singapore is the pick of
the Chinese who get away from home.
Here i'm Manila neither his conditions nor
his opportunities are anywhere near like
those in Singapore. and as the distance
IS about the same the wise Chnaman who
can do 50 goes where he no only has
the better opportunity for improving his
material condition but where he enjoys
the novelty of real citizenship. The
Filipino hates the Chinaman as bitterly
as he was ever hated by Dennis kearney
and his disciples in California. ana the
Chno's lot here i'm Manila is like that OF
the policeman in one of the Gilbert and
.SulliNnn nnerAs. mot a hannN OHe.'