Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-09-26
Apartments & Flats.
erai e Mshr0N 1th and ave; NV: sew
lug neat, elevator and janitor service.
HOT-wATER HEAT: price sss. iarSe eH hrssh9
rooms, perfectly ventilated.
221aI7-19 ST. NV, AND ROOMS EACH,
ATTCs. CELLARS. YARDS: 20 FEFT WfDEt
E RETT ONLY $3.50 AND 1880; NICE L0
B|undon, 0'Brien &
Belt, Inc,
1920 G NV:
PRINTING IN MANILA
UNCLE SAM EMPLOYS NUMBER OF
NATIVE TYPEsETTERs.
Operate Linotype Machines in One of
the Most Modern Offices
in the World.

An interesting statement descriptive OF
the government printing Office at Manila
and of the Filipino typos employed there by
Uncle Sam was made today to a Star re-
porter by Mr.. Arthur F.. Ferl, recent em-
ploye of that PARKWAY institution. but who
Is now setting type in the government
printing office in this city:
THE government printing office at Ma
nila," said Mr.. Ferl, employs nearly 300
people, 90 of whom are Americans the ball
ance being Tagalogs. Visayans, Bicols, Igo-
rotes and Representative IS from various other
tribes from one end of the archipelago to
the other. 1t is no uncommon thing to find
two or three boys working side by side who
can not converse in their native tongue
and these generally resort to Spanish, which
nearly all understand. They are nearly all
students and readily. acquire a knowledge
of the English language. The employees Of
this Office are required to attend night
school, SO that now every native who has
been in the Office any length of time speaks
English.
1T should be borne In mind that the Ma.
lila printing office is one of the most mod.
ern institutions in the world, having all the
latest and most improved machinery for
printing. folding, binding, electrotyping
photo-engraving, etc; many of the ma
chimes would puzzle an American unless he
was up-to-date. and yet the natives are
handling all these machines with such sue
cess that very few of the American EN-.
pioyes are required to do more than over.
sec the work
In the front Office may be seen native
clerks, bookkeepers stenographers and
typewriters and messengers. The work in
Inc proof room is done by Americans with
laoy copyholders and few native readers
ana copyholders, who handle the dialects
and most eff the Spanish. In the COMPOSING
room there is an American foreman, two
er three linotype operators and several
others in such positions as makerup inn
poser, etc. all of whom are Instructors,
while the fifty or more natives in the room
do the work. Here may be seen a native,
operating double-deck Mergenthaler with
Such ease and comfort would make an
antf-machine mans eyes pop out of his
head; and, while the everage native cares
even less than we do for hard work, they
take to the machine as If they were made
for each other.
The Linotype Operators.
"Of the twelve linotype machines in the
Office ten are operated by our little brown
brothers and with very fair success All
job work and blank work is done by ma
tives; the copy must be carefully prepared,
of course, and as everything Is printed in
English and Spanish on the same sheet this
is quite task. About the same proper
ton of printers make good job printers as
is found among Americans.
There is an American Printers Union
In Manila to which the natives do not be-
long but they have a society among them
selves which takes the place of union, as
evidenced by an incident that happened
about a year ago. We were very busy in
the office and did not propose to recognize
a certain church holiday, so a number of
the employees (natives) sent a note to the
public printer, which, while 1t was hardly
English, meant: We understand that We
have to work tomorrow, but as 1t is a
holiday We do not intend to do So And
they didn't
.All F'ilipinos who do no hard work have
three long fingernails-the thumb and fore
finger on the left hand, which the printers
use as tWeeZerS ana the little nnger on the
right hand.
ut looks quite picturesque to see two or
three hundred natives coming to work in
the morning, all dressed in white; but go
through the building fifteen minutes after
the whistle blows. and what do we see?
The white suits have all disappeared and
we behold a motley collection of skinny,
brown arms and bony legs clad in scanty
suit of underwear.
while the Office hours in the Manila Of
flee are from to IL am. and to 3 pm,
which would seem easy enough for any
one, it is hard to keep the native at work.
He must take a rest OF two or three days
every few weeks, and on this account 1t Is
almost impossible to put native in a posi-
ton where there is any responsibility or
where he has charge of a number of men.
When they want to stay away from office
they are required to furnish an excuse and
seven children. his mother and father and
several brothers and sisters in one year.
They are all like lot of children and
have to be treated as SUCH"