Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-06-28
FINEST ARMY POST
Fort William Mckinley, Six
Miles From Manila.
IN THE BEST STYLE
ACCOMMODATION TO BE PRE-
PARED FOR 5000.
Will Be Most Healthful for the Sol
diers-Disease in the Army
Drinking and Vice.
IN THE BEST STYLE

BY VIM. e. CURTIS,
Special Correspondence Of The Evening Star and
| Chicago Record Herald
| MANILA, May q. 1904.
| The government of the United States Is
| spending a million and half of dollars
| In the construction of a new military post
on a plateau about six miles from the city
| of Manila A tract of land five miles
! long by three miles wide has been pur-
| chased. 1t lies along the banks of the
| River Pasig, so that supplies can be
brought to the storehouses by water and
steam launches and barges may be used for
| transportation Of troops.
| Barracks are now being erected for the
accommodation of 5000 troops. Already
| quarters capable of accommodating 1,0o0
| have been completed, and the army Is in
| possession. Everything is arranged upon
| the most modern and approved style. and,
when it is finished, Fort William Mckinney
! will surpass everything in the way of
| military post in the United States and
| every other nation The officers quarters
are commodious and convenient; they are
| surrounded by balconies to protect them
| from the sun. but the roofs are covered
| with corrugated iron, which Is a singular
| blunder, because nothing attracts heat
| more than it's Slvery surface.
| The present buildings were erected by
]
| nese labor. and the chief contractor has
| lost $4,000 on the job: but thus Tar ne mas
| asked no rebate and has made no com,
| plant, which would have been expected
| from an American or European under
| similar circumstances. An American has
received the contract for the next set OF
| buildings and is now bringing in vast piles
| of stone, Oregon lumber and other mate
| rails He is confident that he can make
| fair profit but labor is so scarce and I'M
| certain in this country that no large con-
| tract can be taken by any person without
| great risk.
| The Chinese are the only laborers that
| can lie depended upon. and they are very
| scarce 1t is often impossible to get them.
| Fiilpinos cannot be depended upon. Ihey
| are unreliable in every respect, and the
| two races will not work together. A FIJI
| Pine considers it beneath his dignity to
| work beside a Chinese mechanic.
| Fort William Mckinley is lovely drive
| of about an hour by a good road from the
! city of Manila. And along the way one
can catch a glimpse of the most interest
| ing features of rural life in these islands
| The road is lined with native huts of the
| better class and between them are little
farms which the people are cultivating In
| their primitive way. The reservation Is
| the highest point of land for long dis
| lance: the soil is dry, sandy and well
| drained; there is plenty of good water,
| and if breeze is blowing from any dlrec-
| ton the soldiers will get the benefit OF 1t
| there Another important consideration is
! that the officers will be able to protect
| the soldiers from the temptations to which
| they are constantly exposed in the city and
| the health rate will be immensely improved
| thereby
Illness in the Army.
| Colonel Charles s. Smart. the celebrated
| bacteriologist, who is now in charge of the
| medical department in the Philippines, tells
| me that the health of the army Is quite as
good here and the death rate and sick list
quite as low as in the southern part of
the United States. and both would be much
lower, DR.. Smart says. IF the department
was not continually sending US unaccn-
mated, unseaSoned men, who are not ac-
| customed to tropical life who do not know
| how to take care of themselves and are
| mprudent in exposing themselves to the
sun and other climatic dangers.
Last year out of a total of 24SS0 men,
| and the cholera raging all around US, the
death rate in the army was only 2l.s6 per
| 1000 an increase from 20.06 the previous
year. Excluding the cholera cases the rate
was 1886, and excluding accidents 1t was
| only 1919. The death rate of the British
army in India during the same year QeOS)
was 1855 and It's average for the previous
| ten years was 1904 per 1000.
I'VE had AT cases of cholera In the
| islands and 296 Deaths" continued Colonel
| Smart, land nearly every case could be
| traced to neglect or direct disobedience
| of orders. There were only nine deaths
| last year from tuberculosis. which you will
agree with me Is very low rate for
| body of "A, $50 men exposed to all kinds of
! weather and frequently changing from
! altitude to another. Last year 1892 per
| cent of our sickness was from venereal
| diseases. 11.97 per cent from dysentery, S.S
| malaria and 6.35 diarrhoea, which is an
excellent testimonial to the climate. And
conditions are improving all the time Dur
| ing the month of February, 1904, there
were only ten deaths out of a total of
| more than 21o0o men. and only one of the
ten was due to disease. That was a case
of dysentery. Two men were killed in ac-
ton. one committed suicide was killed
by accident and four were drowned In
January. 1904 We had only seven deaths,
four of them due to disease-two from dys-
EMERY, one from typhoid and one from ma
larial fever.
Suppression of the Canteens.
"If We should deduct the deaths due to
carelessness and disobedience of orders the
rate would be much lower
Il cannot designate exactly the effect of
the suppression of the canteens," said Col.
Smart. 'but it is the universal opinion that
1t has increased the sick rate considerably,
particularly the number of venereal dis
eases and those arising from eating and
drinking impure food. But we cannot COM
pei the men to tell all that we should
know concerning their habits. and are
therefore unable to make accurate esti-
mon than before the canteen was abol-
ished, although the new law prohibiting
saloons within two miles of military post
will lessen 1t considerably. 1t would be a
good thing If the municipal authorities who
have control of such matters would make a
similar order concerning all disreputahle
dives, which here. as everywhere, are con-
stantly springing up around the military
barracks. and are the source of at least 30
per cent of the sickness and deaths among
the enlisted men of the army.
This Is healthful climate-as healthful
as any other place in the tropics and as
free from disease. The temperature is not
so high as In the southern states of our
own country, even In such cities as
Washington, Cincinnati, Louisville and st.
Louis, and we have various zones of alti-
tude throughout the islands which offer IA
| cilities for excellent sanitariums and health
resorts. There Is very little malaria, and
with the sanitary improvements that are
now going on this ought to be one of the
healthiest spots in the world. OF course.
people who are accustomed to a cooler tenn
perature and have never been exposed to
| the direct rays of a tropical sun will feel