BoletiÌn mercantil de Puerto Rico. (San Juan, P.R.) 18??-1918, 1902-02-27
The Teachers In The Philippines.
Not Suffering Serious Hardship, as
Has Been Reported-Their Posi-
ton in the Community -Opportu-
nifty Much Wider than the School
room.

Few pioneer movements of recent years
have been mere interesting than that of the
eight hundred school teachers who have
gone to the Philippine Islands. Perhaps
because of it's picturesque character, the en-
t. rpriss has suffered greatly at the hands
of inaccura narrators, and in not few par.
ticulars has the publ Gre dullty been impos.
ed upon. For example, the story that twenty
couples were married at Hawaii on the way
out, among the newly found scqualntances
on shipboard sounded well, bur was without
bas OF fact. There was not even one such
marriage. And so with many of the ac
counts which have appeared in American
newspapers of the conditions aohich the
teachers found there in the Philippines /;
true, it was no small matter to arrange all
the details tor SO extensive q movement in
a new country, and some hardships were
necessarily encountered, bat things were not
SO bad by any means as they have been
pictured.
When the transport Thomas came to
anchor in Manila it was boarded, and cards
were distributed among the teachers, ask
experience. The answers formed the basis
on which the General Superintendent
planned to make his assignments. But While
the teachers were answering these questions
and, in fact, for weeks before, the problem
OF what to do with the teachers themselves
was giving the Government the greatest
concern. The first plan was to have all
remain on board The T"0mas till arrange
ments could be made to send them to the
different points Of assignment. There were
objetOns to this proposal. The transport
had been overcrowded, the comforts of home
generally lacking, and at the time Of its
arrival the rainy seaRon was at its height.
For the teachers, after thirty days on the
ocean, to be still held crowded together on
shlpt oard and only few miles from shore,
would have besn lnt0lerable. Evey teacher
would have had to 90 back and forth from
the vessel many times to make arrange,
men.s with the Department, to receive
household goods and clothing. So while
this plan would have been the easiest and
most economical for the Government, 1t
was abandoned.
Tue second plan was to provide for the
teachers accommodations aJ Tie different
ho;els and boardlrg-houses of the city. The
difficulties in the way OF this threw consider
able light upon condltlons in Manila. The
Hotel Oriente managers, representing two
hotels and one restaurant, offered to provide
room and board at $1U in Mexican silver q
day, or about $5 IN our money. In no Case
would the teachers have been given separ.
ate rooms, and many would have been
obliged to occapy cots in the Railways and
corridors.
The Delmonico Hotel offered to furnish !
the beds, charging, If three or more oc-
cupied the same room, $5 day; if only two
occupied the same room, 90, and If only one
room, 81 per day. This was for
rooms alone. Board alone at the Delmonico
Hotel is $3.50 a day, and only thirty per-
sons could be accommodated. The Hotel de
France offer to furnish rosm and board
'or ten persqI8 at g. day. Board without
looms for not more than Que hundred per-
sons would have been 81 90 day. The
,hief objection to all these prop sals was the
expenses. Tne teachers would moreover
save beq1 scattered about the city in differ
,nt pl/ /6es, entaillng considerable loss Of
The third plan, finally adopted was to
M use of the buildings at tue Exposition
grounds as quarters for the teachers. To
10 this it was necessary TO repair one for
lse as dining loom, to furnish 1t with
ables, chairs, dishes, ETC., aud to provide +;
kitchen, storeroom, and shed for the
ightiug plant Under this arrangement che
Department. of Public Instruction, by Fred |
Y, Atkinson Ito General superintendent,