Albuquerque daily citizen. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1895-1903, 1902-05-31
THE CITY OF MANILA.
Description of the Place by a Paper
Published There.

oSSSIfPttOn VI Lux FidCG ny q FopGF
Published There.
The city of Manila is the capital Of
the Philippine islands and is situated
on the island of Luzon, on Manila bay,
and has a population of some 800, 900
people. divided as follows: Natives,
225. Chinese, $4,000, and others.
principally Americans, 10000.
1t is a quaint, old fashioned city.
built upon the northeastern shore of
the bay, which Is nearly round. and
about t~wenty-four miles across
The houses are principally built Of
manufactured stone. and are one, two
and three story structures. The walls
are from two to four feet thick, and
built to withstand the earthquakes,
and do-i.se., the less severe ones.
The streets are generally tolerably
straight and from thirty to sixty fee
wide, with the majority of them about
thirty-ive feet.
The city is lit very poorly with cleo
trio lights. There Is a street car line,
the cars being drawn by small ponies.
The telephone system is poor. Manila
has a very good water works system,
presented to the municipality by a
Filipino who has departed this life.
The condition of the gift was that the
poor people should always have water
free, and public MIGRANTS are accord
ingly we'll distributed about the city.
The Pasig river flows through the
| city from the northeast to the south
west. Below the first bridge above the
mouth of the river, the famous Bridge
of Spain" the river Is wide and deep.
and is constantly crowded with COM
mercial boats of all descriptions. II Is
a sight worth a long journey to see.
The churches and cathedrals are a
marked feature of Manila. Their
grandeur, n in many instances ele-
gance, is a wonder n surprise to the
stranger. And the bells, the "beauti-
full bells" the devotion Of the people
their music foretells. Those who do
not like them think they are ONE
thing awful" to contemplate. On
feast days-and there are many-busi-
ness in the immediate vicinity has at
times to be suspended during their
ringing land that is many times dur
ing the day., and 1t is not unusual for
them to be heard at midnight and
they always mingle with the voices OF
a myriad of cocks Growing all over the
city at 5 or 6 O'Clock in the morning.
The people rise early and go to bed
early. The first thing we hear in the
morning is the sweeping of the streets
or the running of the hydrant, after
the cock Growing and h ringing OF
the bells. Fires are lit by the poorer
class at an early hourly many be-
fore it is fairly Highland the women
preparel breakfast so the men can go
about the livelong day, in many in
stances doing nothing. And an easy
time they have. The women, too, for
that matter. 1t is safe TO say that
there are no poor people on earth who
are more content aid suffer less for
the necessities of life than do the Fill
Pine people. 1t is not because 'ignor-
ance is bliss" either. They simply OBJ
tain without much eXertion h com
forts of life.
The Chinese are the bone and siney
of Manila, and the only people here
who take kindly to manual labor. The
Americans here are no fonder Of work
than the Fflipinos.
The walled city" contains probably
two-ffths Of the population of Manila,
though but a little portion of the
Wholesale and retail business. The
courts, the government buildings, both
civil and military, and the principal
schools are in the walled city.
The climate-we may be prejudfced,
because our health during the year we
have resided in Manila has been SPLEEN
did-to our liking is perfect; W hot
like il is in the states when it is no.
there. During the rainy season there IL
a cleanliness and a freshness that are
always invigorating and the dry season
is a change, but not so healhy.-Manl
la Justicia.