The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1903-04-09
PHILIPPINE HEALTH PROBLEM


of the Philippines which has already
added much to the seriousness of the
problem is the inability of men and
women bred in temperate zone to
thrive in the tropics, and particular
ly in tropics of the eastern world.
The government finds it exceedingly
difficult to maintain an efficient civil
service staff there and has been driven
to offer greater inducements and insist
on longer term of service from its
civil employees. In the future APP
pointees must sign contract to serve
at least two years in order to secure
free transportation one way and they
must serve still another year before
free ride home is given to them.
From past experiences it appears
that two years is about as long as one
can remain there and retain his
health and three years is apparently
the extreme limit for an average
American. 1t is not necessary to look
far for illustrations Judge Ide
made brave attempt to stick to his
post and even sought the more tenn
perate climate of Japan for time in
the hope that he might regain his
health sufficiently to make life at
Manila a possibility, but it availed
little and he was compelled to come
home. Mason S. Stone too is said to
have broken down and will seek his
native heath later in the year, and at
last reports Governor Taft was admin
istering the affairs of government from
a sick bed and his physician; are
doubtful of his ability to remain in
the tropics.
A Manila CORE spondent OF the
Medical Record has recently contrib
uted valuable article on this subject
He says that the experiences of Amer
lean women and children there are
even harder than the men are COM
PEELED to undergo. This, says the
correspondent, is particularly true in
the rainy season when the depressing
influences of the climate in a few
months converts a rosy, vivacious
young woman into pallid creature,
lacking spirits and energy. 1t seems
that many of them drift into ner-
vous, irritable condition, and are es
pecially liable to be affected with a
partial loss of memory, condition sc
common among the whites, both male
and female, as TO hive its existence
fully recognized under the name OF
'Philippinitis, by the American
colony.
1t is said that the men, on the
whole, stand the climate better thar
the women, perhaps tin ough the fact
that duties call the former out OF
doors and force them to take GER
tain amount of exercise, while the
women usually stay in the house,
except for brief period about sunset
when the daily drive is in order.
1t is no wonder " says the writer,
that they soon look as pale and
bleached as vegetation grown in the
absence of sunlight. So far as th
men are concerned the writer makes q
Broad statement which, so far as it il
from various sources. To this how.
ever can hardly be ascribed the
troubles of the Vermonter afore men
toned Says the writer: The men,
on their part. drink too much. ant
the bad effects of too much alcoho
are sooner manifested here than IL
more temperate climates. There il
but little to amuse after business
hours and there is an ever present
desire for the long, cold and wet drinl
of some kind or another-and, un
fortunately, only few limit themsel
YES to lemonade or carbonated waters
So far as the men are concerned
drinking seems to produce more baC
results than the climate itself" Ac
cording to the same authority, child
rem up to six or seven years of age d.
we'll under proper conditions, but afte
that child should be SEM away un
til it reaches the age of fourteen.
With the troops in the Philippine
the conditions seems to be better, du
in all probability to out door life and
certain amount of exercise. But tn,
army has di scovered that the Ameri
can soldier is not equipped with
constitution sufficient to stand up un
der manual labor in the islands
Quite recently battalion of troops j
Mindanoa, operating against tn
Moros, was completely disabled as til
result of heavy labor in building
military road. On the whole it is re
ported that the effects OF contagiou
and infectious di ;eases have bee
greatly lessened by improved sanitar
conditions and a cabled report froI
Gen. Davis last week shows that ther
is a steady improvement in the healt
of the troops and that cholera has a
most disappeared. Thus it appear
hat the tropical climate and M