The Athena press. [volume] (Athena, Umatilla County, Or.) 18??-1942, 1908-11-06
INFLUENCE IS BAD
Americans Do Not Mix Well in Flo
pino Affairs, So States For
mer Athena Teacher.

County Superintendent Welles is in
receipt of an interesting letter from j.
n. e. Scott, who left this city last
fall for the Philippines. where he &C.
cepted a government position as
teacher. Before leaving here. MIR.
Scott was assistant principal of the
Athena high school and Press readers
will be interested to learn of his sue
cess in the Islands. Mr.. Scott says:
109 Gale Palacia, Intramuros,
Manila, 2. /.
Dear Mr.. Welles:
Was very glad to hear from you.
You speak about the weather being
warm there this summer. Well. most
of these that have been reaching
Manila or other parts of the Philip
pines, say they have felt much warmer
weath her in the far away United States
of America. can say for myself that
one does not have so very hot weather
here If one is able to take the ther-
mometer as the judge of the matter.
1t has not reached "a degrees since /
came here during the last part of the
hot season. 1t is said that the ther-
mometer never gets any higher than
SO degrees Sere in Manila, but SO de-
grees here is more conducive to dis
comfort than think 100 degrees is in
the Oregon country. Heat causes one
to perspire very freely here. One does
SO when the thermometer does not
reach more than 83 degrees.
We dress veiy thinly here. in white
nearly altogether; everything G is white
including shoes. hats and all. Some
few dress in khaki, but many avoid
doing so on account of tEsaheat.
Now for school work. We, in the
cities of Importance in the Philippines,
begin work at 7:S0 in the morning and
continue to teach until 1890 in the
afternoon. We however, have two
recesses of Is minutes each during
this period.
In the Philippine school of commerce
whore am at preient assigned, we
have six periods of 45 minutes eacii.
We have one of these periods in which
to give our children individual instruo-
ton.
My students range in age from IA to
so, at present.
The students are very industrious as
a rule. Our hardest work is to get
them to think. have given my
youngsters notice that they must do
their own thinking and not use the old
method under which teachers did all
the thinking and commanded the
pupils what to think.
1t is said that the Tagalogs, the tribe
of natives we have in this part of the
Philippines are the hardest to deal
with Oh account of their love for op.
posing the authorities in power. This
might be true. but have found the
students all right. There is this how
ever, about the Filipino people in gen
eral whom have met, both in school
and in the commercial world here in
Manila. you can not rely upon them
for the truth. 1t is also true that they
steal all they can get their hands on,
but this fault is now being eradicated
as the laws here at present punish
stealing very severely.
The influence of the majority of the
Americans here in Manila is hardly
for the bsst. mean their influence
on the natives here. I do not know
that ought to criticise the Amer leans
here but it is fact that the greater
part of the Americans are here because
they like life of adventure. A life
of adventure to many means lite
that is anything but moral.
About $50 or 200 Americans have
found their way to Bilibid, the ma
tional Philippine prison. That is if one
is to believe those who ought to know.
The highest entrance salary thai
anyone can get in any department o.
| the civil service in the Philippines il
$1,000 per annum. Macy do not ge
| that. One gets an increase after on'
| has beep in tba teaching seryiee YEA