Semi-weekly herald., 1908-06-15

governors and other officials are the
aristocracy of the island; they own the
land, transact the business and exer
else authority over the descendants of
private soldiers. sailors and other sub |
ordinates Of their proud ancestry.
The area OF the island is so limited,
the population is SO small. the IA
cilities for transportation are SO mea
ger, that few of the inhabitants have
ever left It's shores. Therefore they
have very vague idea of the out
side world and a lofty appreciation OF
their own Importance, While the
masses of the adult population are en-
tirely uneducated. the upper classes
are able TO read and write Spanish and
are beginning to show an equal knowl-
edge of English. The United States
government has established an excel
lent free and compulsory school sys-
TEN which already shows gratifying
results. All children between the ages
of 7 and 13 are required to attend and
are taught the rudimentary branches.
the simple trades, the English lam
guage and American ways and meth
DDS. There are now about 2,20O chill
dren in the schools, and the next gen
GRAFTON will be very different In this
respect from their fathers and moth
ers. As Guam Is purely an agricultural
community. the children are taught
botany, the science of plants and soil.
the use OF implements, and their en-
tire education is intended to help them
cultivate their small farms with more
Intelligence. to introduce greater va
riety of products and to obtain the
largest possible results from their Ia
Dor. A few OF the brighter children
OF the aristocracy have been formed
into classes by themselves and given
more advanced course in order to
obtain sufficient number of compe-
tent native teachers.
The most important branch Of their
education Is hygiene, because no at
tention was ever given to this subject
during Spanish domination, and the
most deplorable condition existed when
| the people passed under tie control
| of the United States. 1t has been as
serted frequently that every adult of
| the entire population is diseased. For
| that reason each child is inspected
| daily by the teachers, and II found
| soiled in person is sent at once to a
| lavatory to be bathed and taught the
reasons therefore. If Its clothes are
soiled the child is sent home and the
| parents are fined. The lepers have
| been separated and segregated in an
| isolated spot, where everything posi-
| BILE has been done to mitigate their
| distress and make them comfortable.
| Every inhabitant has been vaccinated; ;
| the records show that 10.S29 vaccina-
| lions have taken place since American
occupation, and smallpox has been in
that way exterminated.
| Under Spanish rule there were no
| sanitary regulations. and the city of
Agana was one of the filthiest spots
on earth; but since the American oc-
cupation the people have been com
PEELED to keep it clean and to observe
The strictest regulations in their homes
and habits for the preservation of their
health. Notwithstanding all these pre-
cautions, the death rate is. still very
large, owing chiefly to the fact that
the drinking water is drawn from shall
low wells, which receive the drainage
of all the filth ever deposited on the
| surface OF the ground. The govern.
ment is now trying to provide pure
and sufficient water supply, but the
inherited habits of the people, the lack
of drainage and other conditions make
it difficult to prevent or cure the pre-
vailing diseases, some of which are un-
known in this country. The death
rate, however, has been very largely
reduced by the adoption of regulations
and by the medical care of and treat
| ment furnished by the government.
This reform has been attended by a
| great deal of difficulty because of the
absolute ignorance and indifference
to their health by all classes of peo-
The islanders are nominally Roman
| Catholics and, like the Philippines.
Guam was dominated by indolent
| friars, who were expelled from the is
land shortly after the advent of the
Americans. A noble. patriotic and de
voted priest, Padre Jose Paloma, was
| placed in charge of the churches as
acting bishop. He is described as
man of considerable education. of un-
doubted piety, untarnished reputation
and considerable ability, and exercises
a powerful influence for good among
the people. He is assisted by four
Capuchin monks, who do the parish
work. celebrate mass. preach to the
people and lead exemplary and useful
lives. They are commended In un-
qualified terms by the American au-
ihorities for their good work and de-
votion to the moral and physical i'm
provement of the people.
There Is also Protestant church
presided over by Rev. Francis Price.