The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1906-04-10

az ~
William Jennings Bryan.
had il. the Spanish market. while they
were shut out Of the United states by
a tariff wall. And To make matters
worse, they now bear the brunt Of the
Chinese boycott aimed at American
goods. Every speaker who has at
tempted to voice the sentiments OF
the people during our stay IN the IS
lands has laid especial emphasis upon
the injustice done to the stands by our
tariff laws. This subject was also
brought To the attention of Secretary
Taft and his party, and all OF the
American officials here urge the i'm
portance of relief in this direction.
The w~ell-to-dO Filipinos live in
houses modelled after those built by
the Spaniards, but the great majority
OF the people live in What are called
nip huts-light structures made with
bamboo frames and with sides and
roofs of nipa palm leaves. The houses
are several feet above the ground and
are reached by a ladder or steps. As
the temperature at midday does not
change much the year round, the main
objects in buildings are to secure pro-
lection from rain and an abundance
of air. and the nipa hut meets these re-
~quirements. The Filipino house is not
only light and airy. but it is ineNpen-
siVe; we saw a schoolhouse at santa
Barbara quilt for 500 pupils at an eN-
Ipense of 500 pesos. CIR $3.50 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
1.-THE educated men it is identical. The
men of the middle class wear q shirt
Of gauzy material outside the trousers.
The WOmen wear a dress skirt with q
long, narrow train n q lOW-necked,
Wide-sleeved waist, made Of just (Oro-
nOunCed hOoSe) or pima (penTa)
cloth. \ kerchief of the salne mate
rial folded about the neck completes
the toilet. All the thin fabrics worn
by the women are manufactured on
hand looms kept in the homes.
Iliolio is the enter of the just
cloth manufacture, of which we saw
many beautiful samples during Il
tour of the stands. The pima cloth is
made from the fibre of a leaf resem-
bling that of the pineapple. In the
province of Balacan a fine quality of
silk is made on hand looms-the
weaving of fabrics being an accom-
plishment in which the women take
pride. There is a coarser cloth made
of hemp which is used for ordinary
wear, n this is also produced in the
home and sold on market days.
* s
Such conflicting reports have
reached the United States regarding
the Filipino people that I was anxious
to study them for myself, and 1 feel
that | am prepared to form an intelli-
gent opinion upon the subject. | nave
seen representatives of all occupations
in all parts of the islands, in the cities
and in the country. l have ~cOnversed
with students and professional men,
visited the markets where the rank
and file meet and exchange their pro-
ducts, watched the farmers at work in
the fields and the labOrers in the city
and made inquiries of both Americans
and natives. The FilipinoS are a
branch of the Malay race, but there is
such q strong resemblance between
some OF the individual Filipinos and
the Japanese as to suggest the posi-
bility of a mixing of bloods, if rot
a common origin. At Hongkong | visit
ed q Filipino of prominence and the
young lady Who admitted me so re-
Sembled the Japanese that | was sur
prised to learn that she was The daugll-
ter of my host. A few hours later l
noticed q young man attending to
some business in q shipping office and
supposed him to be a Japanese, but
found that he also was a full-blooded
Filipino. The Filipinos are a little
darker than the Japanese, and may
average a little taller, but I have on
stantly been reminded of the land of
the Rising Sun during my stay here.
1t is frequently said in d~iSparage-
mcnt of the Filipinos that they will
not work, but this is answered c~onclus-
lively by q patent and eVer-preSent fact,
viz. that they produce their own food,
make their own clothes, build their
own homes, and in other way supply
tieir 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 n 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 cooper
atiVe effort when under efficient guild
lance. One of the commission informed
me that the street car system lately
inaugurated in Manila was put in at
4 labor cost 40 per cent. below the es-
innate, the work being done by Fill
|pinO labOrerS under an American con-
tractor. This is certainly an excellent
showing. The operating force is COM
posed of Filipinos and the cars are
I~un very successfully.
The superintendent of the railroad
from Manila to Dagupan. an English
man, speaks very highly of the Fill
pinOS employed on the road. He says
that he uses natives entirely for the
train service and that he has not had
an accident on the road during the Is
years of its operation.
A large company of men We're un-
loading stone and gravel from barges
near our hotel. and they were as in
fdustrious and as cheerful a lot Of
workmen as one could wish to sec.
They carried the material i'm baskets
and accomplished more, as far as I
fcould judge, h the coolies whom /