The Hawaiian gazette., 1908-08-28
HON0LULAN
IN MANILA
BY E. Cook.

with no elevation of ground whatever.
Estuaries, navigable for "bancos, - cut
the city into sections or "barrios. -
The streets takenew names whenever
they cross an estuary One contin.
nous street, perhaps mile long, may
have half a dozen names. This is
rather confusing to strangers, and even
residents of the city seldom become
very familiar with street nomenclature.
While the name "Manilav is very
generally applied to the whole city, il
really belongs to the "walled city''
or "Intramuros. The other sections
are named much like the different parts
of Honolulu, "Tondo,' - est. Nicolas, -
" Binondo,'' "Sta Cruz" "Iuiopo,n
"Tanduay, "Ermita,' "Malate, -
etc. In times of high water most of the
city is inundated, and in the ordinary
rainy season all vacant lots are covered
with water.
The streets have been raised under
American rule and are now very pass
able; in fact, they are better than the
streets of Honolulu as i remember
them.
The city is scattered over a large
area with many vacant lots, and before
the street car was inaugurated car
rage of some sort was indispensable
to every household. Now the street
ears are very efficient and one can get
to any part of the city readily. These
cars are operated bv natives, and they
are fairly satisfactory. They lack the
domineering manner of the class in
J America, but / presume it will come in
due time and then we will "feel at
home.n
The city is now engaged in sewer
construction on a large scale, and finds
it necessary to extend the pipes long
distance into the bay for an outlet
. When this work is completed no city
in the East will compare with Manila
in this respect.
The new wharfs are nearing compile
4 ton, and soon any ship can land pas
sengers and freight without the aid of
5 lighters. This Will save much time and
expense to shippers. The new water.
F., works are well under way and soon the
city will have plenty of good water
Health conditions here are steadily i'm.
proving, but even the eoucated natives
4 fight everv step in advancement and
n lament the "good old times" of chol
era and smallpox, just as many Ha.
4 waiians long for the "good old days
when a chief could lop off the head of
! a subject with impunity.
!. The climate of these islands is much
/ maligned, for the reason that most
= Americans here do not know how to
live in the tropics. Those who have
. lived in Honolulu do not complain
: much although the habit is catching
3 The nights are cooler here than in Ho
= | NJ MI hut dc a
" storms here unknown in your islands
s The rains are violent and arise NOR,
e suddenly than there also. On the whole
o | think the climate of Hawaii the best
e by far.
IS The houses here are better adapted
@ to a tropical climate than the homes
in Honolulu. Rents here have faller
nearly fifty per cent within the past
two years. The cause of this is that
II many Americans are building homes OF
r, their own in the American quarter OF
n the city-viz., Ermita Malate ani
Pace, on the south side of the river
e and the demand for the older houses
t is less. The Americans build after the
d American plan of cottages; one story
- and near the ground, hence they are
unhealthy, and the Americans are Ger.
u tainly good patrons of the hospitals
|, but the Spaniards and other foreigners
b. appear to be healthy enough,
q A better class of meat than can be
had in Honolulu costs about half as
much as it does there; good butter is
? 40 cents per pound, chickens can be
It bought for from 10 cents up to so cents
:. but milk is practically unknown eX
cept in cans.
Common white clothing costs about
e the same as with you.
IS "Ohoha" coffee costs 80 cents pei
9 pound, and it is much better than tn,
. native product; Chinaman in ''Kona ,
sends it here, and his agent grinds i
d and puts it on the market. A stable
Il "curromatop costs so cents an hour
\ while street Orig costs 90 cents TO
' the first hour and Is cents for any ad
g. ditional hour. Some of the stree
"rigs' are very good and some ar,
poor indeed, the ponies being lame anC
the "curromatos' old and shabby.
The city has been governed by
council and "Ealcade," all being APP
: pointed by the commissions; but the re
j cent legislature determined to have two
members elected by the city. How i
will work is the question. There arr
}. many rumors of "graft,' but as tn,
BNo
pie, you can see how little chance Their,
was to correct Irregularities if any ex
p listed. There has also existed an ad
e, visory board, which could advise, bu
"a had no actual power. OF course, the,
found fault with everything done an'
. made themselves ridiculous generally
l. To illustrate: At recent fire thu
d chief of the fire department accepte'
applied to the city council for author
Ia the aid of the military. This was mad
- use of by the "advisory board" to i'm
q peach the chief because he had not frs
d ity The fact that the houses nigh
Ie have burned while the council was act
>, ing on the application does not seem t.
have occurred to them. And this boar'
'e is from among the most intelligen
a. Filipinosl
TT On the street YOU can buy NOR
0. candy for ten copper "centavos thai
4, for ten-cent piece. 1t looks like NOR
= money, you see. A native was sawini