Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1913-01-03
Sanitary And EcOnomicaI Improve.
tnent In The Philippines Since
American Intervention.

An address delivered by Colonel L. NJ
Maus, U. S. A., before the New York Com
mandery of the Naval and Military Order
OF the Spanish-American War, at the Ma
chlnery Club, New York City, November
23rd. 1912.
Inc military conquest of Cuba, Porto Rico
and the Philippines by the United States
IN 1893 cannot be measured by our brilliant
trlumphs on land and sea, nor by increased
national prestige and wealth, but by the
priceless victories over tropical diseases and
conditions, which for centuries had how
cred over those favored isles of the south
ern seas and converted them into char
nel-house both for native and foreign born.
When the stars and stripes first fioated
over Moro Castle, Havana, and Santiago,
Manila, the sanitary conditions of those
famous tropical capitals resembled that of
European cities during the medieval ACES
Presidential diseases stalked without pity
through the fair Pearls of the Antilles
and the Orient" sacrificing hundreds of
thousands of valuable lives and running
up death rate appalling in its excess over
that of other portions of the world.
Besides ignorance, poverty and squalor
existed on every hand and the beniehted
population saw no ray of hope or light
until America interviewed and installed a
modern government which infused new
life and vouchsafed political, educational
and religious liberty.
The splendid triumphs of the Yellow
Fever Board in Cuba, which have encir-
cled the globe. has brought more prestige
to our national government than our sue
cesses in war since the creation Of our great
Republic. Through the scientific and palms.
taking work of Read Carroll, Lazear and
Agramonte, yellow fever has been prac-
tically banished from the Western CONT
nent, thousands of valuable lives have
been saved annually, and untold millions
added to the wealth of the world.
The watchword of American activity in
Cuba and the Philippines was "Cleanli-
ness" and in our fight against diseases
and unsanitary conditions all rancor of war
and strife was lost. Indeed. such an i'm
preston was created in the minds of the
simple minded natives over "Limpieza,"
the Spanish word for cleanliness, that they
regarded it as new tutelary god added to
the long list of saints. before whom they
had bowed for centuries
Advanced sanitary and educational
methods were also introduced into Porto
Rico, the Panama Zone and Hawaii, with
corresponding improvement in their health
and general prosperity. Through the splen-
did work of Ashford, hookworm infection,
that underlying cause Of anemia, has been
practically eradicated from Porto Rico,
and the construction of the Panama Canal
rendered possible through the anti-malarial
work of Gorgas and his colaborers in the
Canal Zone.
Before discussing the sanitary work &C.
complished in the Philippine Islands, let
no idoliJ ONGl pil1olCdi,
and sociological conditions and natural re-
sources of our new possessions in the Far
East.
The Philippines consist of about 5000
islands, with total area of 1877 900 square
miles. Twelve of these islands range from
1880 to $4,000 square miles each. Three
hundred and fifty from to 100 square
miles each, and the remainder less than
one square mile. Luzon, the largest island,
is the size of New York Mindanao of
Ohio, and Samar of Connecticut. The
entire area of the archipelago is as large
as that of Great Britain.
Volcanic in origin, all Of the islands are
mountainous or billy. with valleys and
plains. The land is rich and fertile, and
where not under cultivation, is covered
with heavy forests or dense tropical vege-
tatiOn.
AS the islands lie within the tropics, the
climate is entirely tropical, the thermome-
ter rarely going below so degrees or above
SO Fahrenheit on the low lands, at any
season of the year. The temperature in
the mountain regions, and especially on
the plains of Benguet, is cool and bracing,
both in winter and summer, although il
never reaches the freezing point.
The seasons are divided into the wet,
cool and temperate. and the dry and hot
The wet season lasts from June to Deem
Der, cool and temperate until the middle
of March. and the hot and dry until the
beginning of the rainy season. The first
two seasons are comfortable and healthy,
while the hot and dry season is very dis
agreeable and trying to the unacclimatized
the native population belong to the Ma
layan race or the oceanic Mongols. and
number about 100000. Besides the
Neeritos and pure natives there are $780,
900 mestizos or mixed breeds, $4,000
Chinese and japanese, and 10000 for
eigners. including the army and navy on
duty in the archipelago. Among the ma
tives are 100000 classed among the wild
tribes. 100000 Of whom are Moros. The
Neeritos. who are regarded as the alb
orignes of the islands. number at present
about $4,000.
The natives, both civilized and wild, are
divided into various tribes speaking in
many instances an entirely different Ian
guage or dialect. There are about 81 such
tribes, the principal ones being the Taga-
logs. Visayans Bikols and llocanos, while
the principal wild tribes are the Moros.
Ieorots, Headhunters, Bogobos and Tagba-
nuas
The Malay population OF the Philippine
Islands are believed to have come from
the various southern islands, comprising
the ereat insular continent of Malaysia.
The early emigrants found the primitive
people. the Negritos, located along the
coastal plains, and naturally drove them
back into the mountain regions. where they
dwell at present
Il