The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-08-26
PROGRESS IN MANILA.
Much Has Been Accomplished by the
Americans in the Philippines.

Manila Letter in Boston Transcript
Our first year In the Philippines has
just closed. and the natural query Is:
Has anything been done?' rs the OUT
some OF 1t well done. The outlook Y Is
brighter for education than for peace or
trade. Education is wanted eagerly de-
sired, but as for living at peace with all
tile resistance against the Governmept--
this has Just begun to dawn In the Fill
Pine mind. and IL will be more than one
generation before he realizes that Gov
eminent may be another name for good
win.
About 2,eoo American teachers have been
distributed among the islands. and there
is call for. many more. All have had
experiences. disagreeable many times. but
many of them enjoyable The teachers
In the provinces have suffered for the
accessories Of life in many cases. One
man, wrote back that he hoped there
would be a special corner in hades for.
rice. They had been his diet three times
a day for six weeks. II was not only
the men who endured these prfvations,
but women also. They all agree that y
was not the enduring OF things they had'
endure the things they did not have to
endure was distressing. 1t was little COM
| fort to two sisters who did not know
where their next meal was to come from
| that the civil supply department was
arranging for 'depots of distribution and
In few months supplies would be issued
to, all the provinciai teachers. On the
other hand, many teachers had homes
with wealthy Filipino or Spanish families
| or in places where food was cheap. album
dant and excellent The teachers in Ma
Mia have found their salaries entirely in
adequate for the high rate OF living. espe-
4 ciaIly as they have had to furnish many
| things which they were given to under
stand would be supplied
All departments have been hampered
senseless friction between different
branchs of the Government and between
officials. There seem to ber very. few
| gooa bushes men In Enlargement with
ina new settlement. and with 80 many
positions filled by young men, many OF
/ them fine fellows, too, from the volun-
/ teer regiments. But the Government
ought to send out men large enough 70
handle large interests in a large way,
Plans seems to be made. on such Fh9rt
lines and there is no correla tiQns OF sfsfchs,
One Of the most annoying, efs the srsany
costly mistakes made is the appointment
| OF an insulaf purchasing agent. The
| theory was that he was to buy ell sup
plies for all the departments and save
| his salary several times over. In fact,
it has worked Just the other way. Not
memorandum block or paper Of pins for
any department can be bought save
| through this one man. He is an honest
man and able, doubtless, used to buying
mules and baled hay perhaps for the
army; but when 1t comes to buoys for
coast survey. or kindergarten outfits, or
| laboratory supplies. or schoolbooks, he
does not know what the articles are and
leaves the list on his desk for months.
Despite all the annoyanees and hin
ORANGES which seem to irritate one en-
tirely out Of proportion to their slight i'm
/ portance-the effect of the climate we
think-we all can look back and see that
great good has been wrought. Manila Is
today cleaner city than most cities In
the United States thanks to the valiant
efforts of the Board of Health II has
nearly stamped out the bubonic plague.
| and has grappled resoluteiy With the
| cholera. The streets are clean, weil-wa-
| tered; the Chinese and natives compelled
to clear away the refuse sometimes the
accumulation Of years, and vaccination
for smallpox and incubation for plague
has been compulsory. The people are re-
markedly clean in their persons. but they
still eat with their fingers from a COM
mon dish carry meat home from market
uncovered, still set basket OF cakes on
the ground for dust and insects to cover;
still eat poor meat and vegetables II they
are not watched; still sleep a whole
family in one room; still keep hens ana
horses underneath their dwellings; but In
| many, many ways they are wiser than
when the Americans came. But so many
large things are still to be done. The old
| wall, with It's dungeons and skeletons,
| keeps a free circulation of air from the
| moat; there is an Insufficient supply of
| water; there Is no real system OF drain
4 age and there IL much. htagnant water;
the waterways are receptacles Tor mousse
hold filth. There must be large outlay
for permanent improvements before the
United States can say she has done her
duty by Manila and begin to talk re-
trenchment.
| up abandoned stretches into parks max
| ing new parks and wide avenues. with
| spreading palm trees on each Aide-ciiEew
| markets, carefully inspected, have ken
| the place OF the old horrors. The Cow
| eminent has an ice plant and one for
| distilled water, furnished at a very low
rate. The one great permanent improve
| ment so far made by the Americans Is
| the Santa Cruz bridge, over the Pasig
| River. This was begun by the Spanlards
but they only laid the Foundations The
| American engineers have placed on this
| a broad steel structure, with two broad
| roadways and safe ways-for foot passen-
| gers. Its opening was made the occasion
| Of a great celebration by military and
civil, by native and Spaniard alike. All
are very proud Of it, The toy fire de-
partment, as American as the chief could
| make 1t, with the means at command:
| the American Chamber OF Commerce, the
| soldiers, the American police, the finest
| marching organization I ever saw; the ma
| tive police and constabulary. all took
| part In the parade. not to mention the
| ubiquitous small boy. 1t shows how lit
| tie they understand our attitude OF kind
were greatly surprised that the Ameri-
! cans cheered them so heartily. Thanks
| to these brave fellows. the city Is as safe
| for women as any of our home cities.
We go out driving In the evening as un-
concernedly as II in any New England