The daily sentinel., 1913-08-13
HENRY NICHOLS
WRITES Of THE
PHILIPPINES
In Letter TO Brother Odd Fellows
Here Former Local Man
Tells Of Impressions


The local Odd Fellows lodge has
received a very interesting letter
from Henry Nichols now in the Phil
ippine Islands. The letter was read
TO the lodge members and proved so
interesting that it is published by re-
quest in The Sentinel. The letter
follows:
Cadiz, Negros Occidental. p. l.
June II, 1913.
Officers and Members, Mesa Lodge
No. 5S. l. o. o. +.
Grand Junction. Colo
Dear Brothers: After year and
n half here, | find no great reason to
change any views ! may have express
ed. ! think / may feel little more
sympathy for the working class with
whom | am in daily contact, and a
considerable more contempt fer the
politicians who endeayor to ape the
dignity OF the illustrates" of the
old Spanish regime.
n is as impossible to make any
hard and fast assertions as to the
characteristics of the Filipino peo-
pie as IL is to do so for the Amer
leans. Each class requires a special
analysis. Some characteristics may
be common to ALL as that OF chasing
the almighty dollar Is to Americans
The degrees OF civilization vary from
the naked savage to the exquisite fop
and financial positions from the mil
lionaire to the slave
The term slavery" has gained
such wide definition in the past
twenty-five years that many assume
that man who draws down less than
5000 per year is a slave. If any
cases of slavery such as once existed
in the United States are here, | do
not know of them. 1t Is probable,
however, that there are such. But
there are cases Of contract service
which come SO close 10 slavery that
one could hardly distinguish the diff
ference in the dark. may be slave
holder myself / board my servant
and pay him $3.50 per month. The
first one | had has graduated from
my service to office work where he
gets $1,000 per month and "eats
himself"
The nurse girls in the house get
from 25 cents to dollar per month,
their food and clothes which latter
may amount to fifty cents per month
Nurse girls are invariably in debt for
dressup clothes and jewelry for any
Filipino, man, woman or child VIII
buy anything he or she may think de
sirable II Il can be had on ''jawbone'
They are under the impression that
they cannot quit service while in debt
Ca aprovision of the old Spanish law)
and the only thing they have TO LOOK
forward to Is for some fellow to pay
their debt and marry them; not .es-
sentfally church or official cere-
many either. The children of such
common law marriage have no legal
claim upon the male parent unless he
has acknowledged them before Wit
nCsses or by instrument OF writing.
However, a subsequent ceremony of
record either OF the church or state
establishes the descent and heirship
of the children.
Among the sugar planters there are
probably none who have not at least
half n dozen families of laborers who
are In his debt and they are happy In
their condition. They calculate that
II they can only keep in debt to their
land owning employer they are sure
of their job, sure of their food and
enough in addition for such little
clothing as they may require. The
fact is. one couldn't chase them off
the ranch with an axe.
"A bushel of rice will last family
of five about a week and will cost
S1.75. Many men work for a wage
of so cents per day, though they are
the lowest paid class. You can figure
it out for yourselves.
The justice of the peace courts are
farce. They are administered
wholly by the Filipinos. The merits
of the case seldom enter into the con-
sideration, but the number of wit
nesses In one case. where the judge
inquired why the delay" the clerk
informed him that prosecution had
been counting noses and found that
the defendant had one the most wit
nesses so he had sent out to hire an
other. They see nothing incongru-
GUS in this. OF course, all but the
most trivial cases 80 to the court
OF first instance" administered gem
orally by an American judge. He, If
he be wise places little crcdence in
the testimony of the witnesses, but
from his knowledge of the Filipino
bases his conclusion on the "proba-
hility' and nine times in ten reaches
just decision
independence for the Filipino at
This time or for the next four or five
generations would be calamity from
which they would never recover. as
well rs one TO the foreign interests
which are now directing all progress
that Is being made. ! do not know
what the per cent of natives with u
little learning, but II is very small.
Those who are puffed up with lit
tie learning from the seventh garde to
the high school graduate are swollen
with an egotism that is appalling.
They seem TO think that all there is