Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1910-05-19
RELIGIOUS WORK
IN PHILIPPINES
Episcopal Deaconess Gives In
teresting Facts Before
Auxiliary Convention.
BOYS EASIEST TO CONVERT
Bishop, in Review of Diocese, Is Es-
peciaIly Complimentary to
Rock Island Parish.

The 23d diocesan convention of
the woman's auxiliary to the board
of missions of the Episcopal church
closed at Christ church, Moline, with
an address by DR.. H. A. Percival of
St. PauPs church, Peoria. An ex-
PLANTATION of the work of the church
IN the Philippines was given by
Deaconess Routledge. who has been
on a furlough in the United States
after five years work there, and has
been telling the home churches
something of the work in the Phil
in the diocese and the needs of the
diocese by Bishop Fawcett.
Deaconess Routledge showed some
beautiful pictures of the islands and
told Interestingly of the mission
work there. The pictures shown COW
cred in good part of eight of the is
lands and two of the Episcopal mis-
sion fields at Bontac and Manila.
There are about 1000 islands in the
archipelago, $40 of them named, -
of them more or less important, Luz
xon being the largest one, contain
ing one-half the population of the
islands. The Malays In the interior,
who were driven there from the
coast by incoming civilization, are
still savages. Pictures of these peo-
pie were shown, also those of the
Negritos and Igorotes, both those in
the savage state and those who have
been Christianized.
Boys Better Than Girls.
The boys are more amenabIe to re-
ligious teaching than the girls, for
at Bontoc only five or six girls were
baptised as compared with hundreds
f~boys. Hemp, sugar cane. cocoa
nuts, rice and coffee are the chief
products of the islands. All work
is done by hand, except that in to-
bacco factories. At Manila is a chap
ell, settlement house. nurses
home. hospital and rectory When
the work was first started there was
much speculation as to whether the
timid, superstitious Filipino women
would ever make nurses, but they
have proved very apt and the nurses
in training are proving a blessing to
their people. At ST. Luke's dispen-
sary at Manila there are between $50
and 200 patients who receive free
treatment and medicines. The hos
tai, the money for it having been
given by five universities, Princeton.
Yale, Harvard, Columbia and Penn
sylvania. The upper floor is reserv-
ed for American patients and the
two lower wards for free patients
The nurses course covers four years
and it is hoped that the last training
year of each nurse may be spent in
some hospital in the United States
Mrs. Whitelaw Reid has promised to
have three of the nurses brought to
America for their final year. There
is a mission church at Sagada at
which 500 people were baptised in
the six years of its existence. There
is also hospital at this place
The deaconess told of the indus
trial classes and of the rapidity with
which the girls learn 6ne needle
work. Women who formerly begged,
have been taken in and taught to
sew, given use of sewing machines
and are now largely self supporting.
Tourists are eager to buy the handi-
work and the girls can sell all that
is made. The deaconess followed
her talk by display of the work
spoken of, and orders were taken for
some of the fine weaving and en-
broidery which is done In the school.
Bishop Speaks.
The bishop told of the work in the
diocese, pictures Of the various par