The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-04-08

the nipa hut meets these requirements. The Filipino house Is not only light
 and airy. but it is inexpensive: we saw schooihouse at Santa Barbara built for 500 pupils at an expense of 800 pesos, or, $250 in gold. At some of the military camps which we visited the Filipino style of building has been adopted.
 The Filipino dress is quite like that worn in Europe and America; among the educated men it Is identical The men of the middle class wear a shirt of gauxy material outside the trous- CTS The women wear dress skirt with a long, narrow train and low necked. wide-sleeved waist. just tpro- nounced hoose), or pima. tpenva) cloth. A kerchief of the same material fold ed about the neck completes the toilet. All the thin fabrics worn by the wo- men are manufactured on hand looms kept in the homes.
 flioIic is the center of the jusi cloth manufacture, of which we saw many beautiful samples during our tour Of the islands The pima cloth is made from the fibre of a leaf resembling tha.. of the pineapple. In the province of Balacan a fine quality of silk is made on hand looms--the weaving of fabrics being an accomplishment in which the women take pride. There is
 coarser cloth made of hemp which is used for ordinary wear. and this is also
 produced in the home and sold on mar
 ket days.
 Such conflicting reports have reached the United States regarding the Filipi- no people that was anxious to study them for myself, and feel that I am prepared to form an intelligent opinion upon the subject. have seen repre- sentatives of all occupations in all parts of the islands, in the cities and in the country. have conversed with students and professional men, visited the markets where the rank and file meet and exchange their products. watched. the farmers at work in the fields and-the laborers In the city and made inuuiries of both Americans and natives. The Filipinos are a branch of the Malay race, but there is such strong resemblance between some of the individual Filipinos and the Japa- nese as to suggest the possibility of a mixing of bloods. if not common origin. At Hougkong T visited Filipino of prominence and the young lady who admitted me so resemoled the Japanese that I was surprised to learn that she was the daughter of my host A few hours later I noticed a young man. attending to some busi- ness in a shipping office and supposed him to be Japanese, but found that he also was fuu-blooded Filipino. The Fiiipinos arc a little darker than the Japanese. and may average ht- tie taller, but I have constantly been reminded of the land of the Rising Sun during my stay here.
 It is frequently said in disparagement of the FiIipinos that they will not work, but this Is answered conclusive ly by a patent and ever present fact. viz that they produce their own food, make their own clothes. build their own homes, and in other ways supply their needs. They have not the physi- cal strength of the average American, nor have they the experience in ma chine labor or in the organization of work, but they will do more physical labor than a white man can perform | in this climate. and they have shown themselves capable of doing the finer kinds of work when instructed. They are also capable of successful ce-op- erative effort when under efficient guidance. One of the commission in- | formed me that the street car system
 | lately inaugurated in Manila was put | in at a labor cost forty per cent be-
 | low the estimate. the work being done | by Filipino laporers under an Ameri-
 can contractor. This is certainly an
 excellent showing. The operating force
 l Is composed of Filipinos and the cars
 are run very successfully.