The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1904-10-24
MANILA HAS HER IWlLEI


HONGKONG. August %. l9Oi.-A rec
sidence in Manila IS not calculated to
render Americans representative with
regard to social conditions in any rcs-
pect. Least of all does such stay
tend to sharpen the acuteness with
which breaches of the traditional code
Of morality are felt by the average man
The system Of legalized, inspected and
taxed prostitution which has been in
augurated and maintained by the Phi
lippine commission, and the loose re-
lations between foreigners and native
women which are sanctioned both by
law, custom and public opinion in the
Philippines, effectually destroy any
namby-pamby or squeamish notions on
such subjects that observers or resi-
dents may have brought from home
with them. But, however freely one
may think on questions of morality of
this special kind, a very brief residence
in Hong Kong is quite enough Co raise
many doubhts i'm the most hardened,
and to put an entirely new face on
some subjects very lightly regarded in
Manila.
Here is the plain, ugly fact of the So
cial situation in the East today: Amer
leans are utterly discredited and in
some places almost universally ostra-
cised i'm consequence of the flood Of
American women of disreputable char
acter who have rushed to the Philip
pnes during the past five years, and
have spread thence to the mainland of
China to Japan and to practically every
international port of Asia. The con-
ditions in Hong Kong are perhaps
worse than i'm most other places, be-
cause the place is larger the number
Of travellers passing through greater,
and the scale of all outlay higher. But
what is true here is true elsewhere. and
Hong Kong may be taken as represent
tative of the general conditions i'm the
East of this SUBJECT. Throughout Hong
Kong there are scattered numerous
houses of resort, each inhabited by from
two to half a dozen white women. In
practically every case these women
claim American citizenship, and are
protected by the American consul You
might look indefinitely without finding
a single white woman of other than
American parentage Except perhaps a
Russian here and there) engaged in this
nefarious traffic. This in itself would
be a singular fact, if unexplained, but
it can be understood when / state that
practically no other country except the
United States tolerates the residence
of prostitutes claiming it's nationality
in any of the ports of the East. An
English woman of doubtful character
who arrives in Hong Kong with the
idea of engaging in her profession"
there, is promptly and urgently invited
by the authorities to return home. The
same policy is observed by the consular
| and diplomatic representatives of other
countries. and so far has this become
the case that, as already stated. scarce
ly any demi-mOndaines save those of
American origin can be found in any
oriental ports. This policy on the part
of practically. all countries except our
own is not founded upon considerations
of moralit as such 1t is based upon
the fact that the presence of prostitutes
of given nationality diminishes i'm
very marked and striking degree the
| respect accorded by orientals to the
members of that nationality. one may
safely say that the policy pursued by
the foreign repres entatives of western
nations rests solely upon the desire to
| avoid loss of prestige in the eyes of
| orientals. We can understand. there
| fore, that the United States must lose
such prestige at an artiIcially accele-
rated rate when it alone not merely
refuses to prevent the migration of this