The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-12-08

tie more than their agents. That this has
not generally occurred is due to the women,
who take the management Of affairs sternly
In hand when they become desperate. and
disregarding impulses toward leniency'
forcgo the accustomed tributes of jewelry
and fine raiment and apply themselves with
al their might 90 save the property.
II may be said that they usually succeed
when they have al fair chance. and that the
evidences Of land abandonment, which may
be seen in some Of the provinces. are due TO
Insurrection. and do not at all reflect upon
the native female ability 10 save anything
not utterly lost S:nce foreclosures have not
50 far been permitted, it may be assumed
that many such estates will be taken in
hand by those holding title TO them, and
reclaimed. u is aeedless to say here upon
which branch OF the family this task Will
devolve. War has left a pitiful showing in
mansions abandoned and falling into de-
cay. IN charred walls over which vines are
weaving shrouds: and in fields gone 10
Jungle or split UP among squatters, in dis
tricts among the. most hourishing in other
years. The new rfe upon which the islands
are entering can compensate for the dis
tresses leading ny 70 it, only if the nourish-
ment administered TO it should make it
speedily VIGOROUS Woman $ part III DAO-
noting this growth viii be of prime i'm
Dcrtance.
IL FOy BIG RETURNS.
From what is said above it will not be
wondered that much OF the valuable prop
sTty in the islands stands in the names
Of women. That is particularly true in this
CITY. In the majority Of instances a house
seeker will find himself dealing with a
$500 - h. ~--- 10 ovo0rr+o % Too-a II
may surprise him also to observe that she
IS usually OF such plain appearance and
dress that she might easily be mistaken
for a person whose circumstances were
straitened. Her looks are an index to her
methods-plain. STRAIGHTFORWARD practical
and quite free from nonsense. She knows
precisely what she wants. and argument
81 behalf Of anything else is wasted. Con-
WINGED that Americans are willing TO pay
s&travagant rents, she has no hesitancy
n demanding 500 per month for quarters
which she formerly gladly let at SEQ, and
rather than accept an offer OF $50 she Will
permit the house 10 become vacant. The
scarcity OF varant houses justifes her
course by proving It TO have been sue
CessfuL.
Native men 90 not lack assurance in
Tiling on prices for Americans, but they
are not in the same class with the women.
One difference between them is that men
feel some sense of shame when they en-
gage in "a gougdng operation and women
none. There is "a chance of talking a man
out of an outrageous proposition, but a
woman is as blank as a wall. She is blind
aud deaf TO everything except results.
which her practical business sense has
rightly OWNED. She is willing TO go with
out unless she can have compliance with
her demands, and in house rents in Manila
at any rate she gets what she seeks.
Americans who have been farsighted and
employed native. women to rent business or
dwelling property for them have found a
good fee for that purpose well spent. The
women appear 10 execute their commits
sions with fidelity. doing for a client as well
as they could do for themselves. They seem
TO get to the bottom when they buy as
easily as to the Top when they sell. Women
driven in from the provinces by insurrection
DO not spend their time in idle repinings
for what they have left behind and in long
ings to return 10 f.. Some of them. indeed.
have improved their condition by coming.
One woman from Pampanga, for instance,
reached here about eighteen months ago.
She had a few hundred dollars Of capital
and started herself in a box of a shop in a
1-~E ~ q
street where women sell juse and other
native cloths. She kept an eve out for
chances TO employ her profits and in a few
months thought she saw such a chance in
rice. When she had bought all she could
with the money in hand she used that stock
as security, upon which she got credit for
more. As the price advanced she made
sales, taking the proceeds for further pur-
Chases and fof the enlargement of her
credits. BY the time she thought she had
carried the deal far enough she began TO
send the rice out TO the provinces. particu-
larry TO Pampanga, cleared herself OF debt
and put $1,000 in gold in the bank. That
Gum is drawing 4 per cent. interest for her
and she has no notion OF disturbing it. Her
unsOld rice. against which there is no
charge except storage, is worth at resent
quotations nea.ly 5000 gold. fer which
price she is holding it. She owns thee juse
shops and she occupies a fine residence in
che TOndo district. in which. after reserv-
Ing for herself the best rooms. she receives
from dodgers enough money to pay the rent.
Her fortune has improved by at least 10000
gold dollar in the last year. She does not
seem especially exalted by it. but SAYS sim
ply that she watched her opportunity.
thought out what she could do and did It.
neIher she VIII remain here or not will
depend upon what offers. Now that Pam
panga is quiet her property there. which
suffered materially from disuse, Will be put
In repair and managed from here.
MAJ HANDY But DISPENSABLE.
This case is not a common one. but typi-
EaL- A Filipino woman never fears being
left TO her Owl resources to make a living.
She can set on unaided as we'll as a man
can, and succeed fully as well. The reason
she marries is. because she is fond OF do
mestic life and particularly devoted to
children. When a woman has her babies
about her, it never bOthers her if her man
goes away. Size might prefer to have him
about, but she. can be happy without him.
and divorce, breach OF promise and similar
5~civilized inventions make not the slightest
appeal TO her. If the man tried TO inter
fere with the, children, there would be
ianOther story to tell. but so long as they
may be left with her. she will take care of
them and OF tersels too, as cheerfulIy as
II the new arrangement were quite agree
able to her.
The philosophical spirit with which de-
i%sertion is borne does not betoken moral
ca~relessness. On the contrary, the Fill
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