Los Angeles herald., 1909-08-02
AMERICA i'm THE PHILIPPINES
TT-MANILA, AN AMERICA
By Frederic j. HaSkin

/, fully innocent of an architectural de-
sign, which takes into account the
essential difference between right foot
and left foot. Shoes will wear out,
and all around the mail boat circle of
the Orient one hears suffering Amer
leans saying: Il had to get these
blamed shoes because my good ones
wore out. But just wait until l get
to Manila, then won't l throw these
things away and get some sure
enough shoes!" OF course, there are
American shoes on sale in other
Oriental cities, but they have been
made for export trade on English lasts,
and no American can wear them with
comfort.
The newspapers have their news on
the first page, have headlines, have
jokes, and look exactly like any other
American newspaper that can't afford
a big telegraph service. 1t costs thir-
ty-six cents a word, press-rate, to
cable from San Francisco to Manila,
so the newspapers worry along with
scanty bulletins. But they are con-
Quoted with characteristic American
energy and one of them has paid two
dividends since Jan l, 1909.
Manila, being a well regulated Amer
lean city, has a carnival each year. 1t
is held in February, when the weather
here is ideal, and this year the people
came from all over the Philippine Is
lands and from Australia and from all
up and down the China coast. Repre-
sentatives of all the English newspa-
pers of the Chinese cities were invited
as guests OF the city. They came and
had a royal time and left character
istic souvenir. They were astounded
that Governor General Smith met them
and treated them as IL they were real
human beings, even though they were
only editors. No British governor geIl-
eral would so far forget himself. SO
when Martin Egan, the editor of the
Manila Times, asked them to edit his
paper one day they accepted, declar-
ing they would write editorials appre-
ciating the great hospitality with which
they had been received.
The Times came out that afternoon
and struck Manila with dismay. Men
threw 1t off the street cars and "cussed'
the newsboys for selling it. 1t didn't
look like a newspaper. The first page.
of course, was all advertisements. The
second started off the same way, but
in the third column came the leader"
followed by a dozen other heavy edi-
torials. Then there was the news. No
miserable reporter was driven to brain
flag by being forced to write Smash
ing new Lead for the tenth day Of the
carnival. Not a bit of it. The head
line was 1.-THE Carnival" Under that
in slightly smaller type was the sec
ond head, THE Programme" The
first subhead was 10 a. m.," and so
on. 1t was the official program of the
carnival and, being official, had to go
just as ii was.
Some of the Americans of Manila who
read through the leader and the heavy
editorials rolled up their sleeves and
wanted to fight. but Martin Egan
promised them 1t would never happen
I Is,sr ~, IaA ,.tf Oh FAI
There wasn't anything offensive in the
editorials. they merely expressed sur
prise that Manila was a civilized city
after ten years of American rule. In
fact the editorials were intended to
be highly mplimentary, but some
how or other failed to reach the
Yankee comprehension of praise.
The American who has not visited
the Philippine islands hardly realizes
the extent of the territory Uncle Sam
acquired eleven years ago by one of
| those accidents that are sometimes in
! evitable, even in the best of regulated
nations. After visiting the islands and
| Cooking them over" and especially
after having visited Manila and OBJ
served the transformation that has re-
suited from American occupation, the
same American feels that his country
might have Jared worse, although 1t
| could hardly have gone further. The
port of Manila is more distant from
! the United States than almost any
other port for which the American
globe trotter sets sail No matter
whether he comes to the islands an ar
dent 'imperiallst" or an immovable
opponent of ACKNOWLEDGEMENT of terri
| tory and entangllng foreign interests"
the pleasing prospects before him cause
him to smile upon a smiling tropic
! land.
Whether it is the Stars and Stripes
over the government office, the soda
fountain in the corner drug store, the
shoes on the feet of the Filipino, the
ice in the glass of drinking water, the
Mississippi gentleman of color cooking
| for the short order restaurant, the
high price of street car transportation,
the baseball uniforms, the newspaper
| headlines, the Irish policeman at the
| corner: whether 1t is the combination
Of these things and more of the same
order, or whether it is simply to be
again among "mine own people," the
traveller seeks his bed at the end of
his first day in Manila with a happy
| little futter in the region of his heart.
He is an American and he Is at home.
the widest of oceans to the contrary
Notwithstanding.
Tomorrow: America in the Philippines;
| III-Everyday Life In Manila.