The Forrest City times., 1909-05-07
IN FILIPINO SOCIETY
,,ca AND POOR FORM THE ONLY
 GLASSES.
Affairs ir the Island Are Simple in Extreme - No Commercial
 Division.
BY MARY H, FEE.
v ''FN'' ''' - American Teacher in the Philippines. !

h. dencies a few years in the Philippines ,resent not only an interesting study of their life, but novel consciousness of our own Affairs here are SO sim nle where ours are complex; so con- plex where ours are simple. that ones angle If view is considerably enlarged.
 The general construction of society is medieval and aristocrartc The aristocracy. with the exception of few wealthy brewers and cigar manu- lecturers in Manila, is a land-holding one There is practically no bour- geoisie-no comm ereial class between the rich and the poor. In Manila. and all the large coast towns, trade is largely in the hands of foreigners. chiefly Chinese, some few of whom have been converted to the Catholic faith and have established themselves permanently in the country; all of whom have found Filipino helpmates either with or without the sanction of the church and added their contingent of halfbreeds-or mestizos-to the pop- ulation.
 The land owning aristocracv. though it must have been in posses sion of it's advantages for several gen erations, seems deficient in jealous ex- eusiyeness on the score of birth. do not remember to have once heard the expression of good family" as we hear il in America. but l have heard he is rich man" so used as to indi. e. h with il unquestionabIe social preroga- tive Yet there must be some clan nishness based upon birth, for your true Filipino never repudiates his poor relations. nor does he apologize for them At every social function there is crowd of them in all stages of modest tor immodest apparel and manners born of social obscurity.
 Money talks in the Philippines iust as blGtantly as it does in the Uni. led States. In addition to the social halo imparted by it's possession there k condition, grown out of ii. known as aeaeiqne-ism." aGacique-isms is the soeial and political prestige exercised by I local man or family. IL has it's l-tAAaIA If' III AlHttlCd, where every town and village has it's loading eiti- zgH and the influence of that leading citlzen.s s wife The power Of the Amer jean "eacique, however. is usually vested in his capacity for deceiVing his fel50Wmen and in the Americans natural love for what he regards as an eminent personality The Filipino eaeiqua is quite different being. He a'ye5 his prestige to material fear of the cons q4eHces which his wealth and poWer can bring down upon those who cross him IIe does not have to riay a hypoeritieal role He need neither be nor assume to be a saint in his private or public life He must simply be in control of enough re- sources to attach to himself a large body of relatives and friends whose financial interests are tied up with his. JadeHtA Spanisll regime he had 70 stand in by bribery with the local governor. but under he American regime. with it's illusions of demOc- r3cE. he simply points 10 his clientele and puts forward the plea that he is ne natural voice ot the people. The American government. always eager to listen 10 the peoples voice, will more han likely take him a his word Fortified hy government backing he s-arls in 10 run his province indepen- dent of law or justice and he usually succeeds in doing SO. There is no real knowledge among the people of what ronular right consists in and no real tsal with which 10 combat usurpa- 5iaHs The men whom he squeezes howl, but not over the principle
 The pooe people among the Filipi= Aos live in poverty. misery and a happiness iuconceiyable to our people who have not seen it Their poverty 1T zeal, not relative Their houses are barely covering from rain or sun. A single rude bamboo bedstead and stool or two constitute their furniture Ilele is an earthen water jar, another satthen pot for cooking rice, a bolo for Eattins, one or two wooden spoons and a cup made from cocoanut she'll he stove consists of three stones Lad under the house, or back of it. Where rice pot may be balanced eEer he fire laid between. There are H2 tables no linen, no dishes. no tow "is The family eat with their fingers while sitting about on the ground with some broken banana leaves for plates aifee tea and chocolate are unknown iaE1ries to them Fish and rice with lamps of salt and sometimes a bit of tEait constitute their only diet In The babies a mass of undigested, half '7oked rice remains in the abdomen and produces what is popularly called A!ee-helIy. In adults il brings on haH-beli from which they die quickly They suffer from boils and impure blood and many skin diseases. Con