Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-05-23
BUSINESS IN MANILA
Shipping District North Of
the River Pasig.
THE STREETS NARROW
STRIKING CONTRAST BETWEEN
THE CHINESE AND FILIPINoS.
Small Arms Of the River Interlace the
City and Are Used rs Canals-Pro-
posed to Wall Them Up.
THE STREETS NARROW
BY WILLIAM E. CURTIS.
Special Correspondence of The Evening Star and
- Chicago Record Herald.

Special Correspondence of The Evening Star and
- Chicago Record-Herald.
MANILA, April 81 1904.
On the right or north bank Of the River
Pasig. stretching for a mile or more. are
the custom house, warehouses, docks and
shipping Offices. which can be reached by
junks and steam vessels of light draught
Everything that draws more than thirteen
feet of water has to stay outside in the bay
and stand off a considerable distance. for
that. too. is very. shallow The harbor is
inadequate and crowded. but work has be-.
gun on new one. to cost S2ooo,Oo0. which
viii be great advantage to the city.
For sixteen years the Spanish authorities
imposed special extra duty of per cent
on all exports and imports. and an extra
tonnage tax on all ships and fishing craft,
to pay for new harbor and raised several
millions Of dollars In that way, but never
did much toward the improvement. There
Is no record Of the disbursement Of the
money, but public funds had wings in Span
ish times, and often flew away.
Behind the docks is BinandO, island
formed by one of the many narrow and
shallow estuaries of the river. which is the
principal business section of the city. Here
are the banks the wholesale and retail
stores, the. Offices of professional men and
the popular resorts.
The PRINCIPAL street La Escolta the
Broadway of Manila, Is an ugly, narrow,
crooked thoroughfare, badly paved, with
sidewalks scarcely wide enough for two
people to pass. 1t is always crowded with
teams and carriages. The municipal au-
thoritieS propose to widen and repave 1t,
and the proposition Is universally approved,
but thus far they have done nothing but
talk. There are other shopping streets or
lesser Importance, but they are all narrow
and crowded and not half wide enough for
the business that is done in them There
Is no architecture in the business section;
nothing but cheaply built wooden struc-
lures for people contend that 1t doesn't
pay to put up good ones on account Of the
earthquakes.
Chinese and Filipinos.
The Chinese quarter Is busy place, and
the Chinese population offer a striking con-
trast to the Filipinos, and set them a good
example, which. unfortunately. is not fol-
lowed. They are always busy, while the
Filpinos are always leaning against some
thing or asleep. They are not troubled with
insomnia. You can see shopkeepers fast
asleep at their doors, mechanics asleep over
their benches and laborers on the street
sleeping with their shovels in their hands
The bellboys at the hotels are always Sleep
ing. Whenever you leave your carriage to
make a call or purchase the coacnman
instantly drops Off into doze, and you
have to shake him to wake him up II
seems to be racial popularity me only
place where you cannot md t1llplnCS
asleep is at q cock fight.
The Chinese are always doing something
or going somewhere, hauling heavy loads CT
merchandise through the streets ike norses'
carrying heivy. packages OF ofreieht sus-
pended from bamboo poles resting upon
their shoulders, working in their doorwayS
at all sorts Of trades. Although 1t Is dirty
and full of foul odors the Chinese quarter
is the liyeliest place in town. and Its IN
habitants have profted by their industry.
Notwithstanding the persecution they have
suffered for centuries and the biackmaH
they have been compelled to pay TO the
Spanish officials, they have been the most
PROSPEROUS part Of the community. They
made money and saved 1t, and the richest
men in Manila today are Chinese. They
prefer their owE society ana mino cleiI own
business The Chinese Club Is quite as
we'll fitted I'D as any OF the American or
European clubs, and serves similar pur-
pose.
one Of the secretaries of the Chinese lega-
tion at Washington for eight or ten years,
is now the consul general at Manila ana IS
making himself as popular mere as ne was
in America
Poor Filipino Quarter.
Revond Binando Island are the homes of
the lower classes Of Filfpinos, VINO are
hacked together in huts constructed OF bam-
boo and the leaves Of the nipa palm This
part of the city is so subject to frequent
f1res that 1t is entirely burned over about
every three or four years 1t Is the iavor ,
Ire abiding place Of all kinds OF germs ana
microbes and epidemics used to rage our
ing Spanish domination. for there were no
sewers or sanitary arrangements anu the
people lived like rats. Ihe Americans nav
aplenned nm the place, introduced sanitary
rag,,iaftons and the health OF the natives
has been immensely improved Deatn useo
to claim neacly 10 per cent OF the pop l,aar
tion of this portion of the city every year,
hut bv cleaning up and by introducing
system of buckets for garbage ana reIuse
nntil sewers can be laid the death rate mas
been reduced in mos. VI re eIaa Is ehiefiy in
babited by natives, and is notable because
II has the hospital of st. Lazarus, Mhi vi,
was established as long ago as 1910 w
E,ra nciscan monks in order to take care VI
a shipload of lepers sent down to Mania
h, an emperor of Japan, who seems To
have had grim sense OF humor. neI nc
ordered the Franciscans out OF ms ~,
where they had been preaching ana meaning
from an early date. they begged leave 10
stay to take care of the lepers VINO, untii
their arrival, had been kicked about WITH
out aid or shelter trenches ana a., Iora1 ,es.
ty. who shipped the friars of on one vessei
to Manila, and, gathering up all the Iepers
he could flnd sent them on another with
message to the monks that they could take
care Of them in their own country as well
as in his The friars accepted the respon-
siblity. and the hospital of st. Lazarus
was built to take care OF tnem
There are several other wards In what Is
usually called the native city. Each has a
large market place. and long, narrow
streets lined with small shops and fac
tories.
The Esteros or Greeks.
Manila is interlaced with what are called
esteros, small creeks or arms of the river,
which are used as canals and are navigated
by sampans and flatboats and carry on
some of the sewage of the town. The rise
and fall of the tide, which is considerable,
assists in this benevolent purpose. but when
the water runs out into the bay the de-
posits of filth at the bottom are exposed
and tester In the sun. 1t is proposed to
dredge out these esteros and wall them up.
for they are very valuable for transporta-
ton purposes. and can be made beautiful as
well as useful by the expenditure of good
deal of money. Plans have already been
prepared by landscape architects for such
improvements. which contemplate canal
izfng" all of these waterways, as has been
done In many of the cities of Germany and
France.
They are crossed by narrow bridges at
nearly every street, and four large bridges
span the river. The Americans have built
one, but more are needed, for they. are al
xyayS crowded in, he hll1y M ri of the fou