Semi-weekly herald., 1913-06-23

their return they had two Fridays.
1t is an established custom on board
large ships, while crossing the date
line to hold King Neptune's court and
initiate all new employees into the mys-
teries of the order. The participants
are the old employees and the tortures
they inflict upon their new fellow
workmen is hazing in the severest
stage.
The journey was without marked
incident. The first brief stop was
made in Japan and then the ladies
left for the Philippines for four
days stay. Mrs. Herr thinks that a
visit to Manila would convince the
most skeptical of the ability of our
government to improve the social, po-
litical and economic conditions of a
tropical people. Since the advent of
| the Americans in the Hawaiian islands
the agricultural production has trip
pled In the Philippines the improv-
ed conditions are nothing short of the
marvellous, the new Manila outside
the old walled city, especially attests
to this. The hot weather was at its
height during their sojourn there but
the sanitary conditions were excellent
and breeze from the sea tempered
the otherwise warm weather to
condition that was not very unpleas-
ant. From IL to 2 all business is
suspended, but the ladies were sight
seeing and did not observe the hours
for the siesta. There is good street
car system and three classes of car
riages on the streets at all hours so
the pedestrians are few in number.
As recompense for their isolation
the government employees live like
princes, but their expenses are borne
by the residents of the island In
fact in this day the Philippines are
entirely self-supporting. During the
warm months the government is NOV
ed to point in the mountains sixty
miles north of the city where there
is less danger of agitating the mer-
curry. AS whole they found Manila
a fascinating garden with the char
acteristic skill and progressiveness of
Americans very much in evidence.
Hong Kong was one of the inter
esting points included in their trav-
els. 1t will be remembered that this
city was cedede to England by the
treaty of Nanking nearly seventy-fve
years ago, but the native population
exceeds the English speaking people
about 100000, if one can arrive at
anything like the correct number of
inhabitants difficulty thing among
the Chinese who fail to appreciate the
white mans curiosity in that respect.
The city is quite modern in equip
ment except for TRANSPORTATION which,
isS difficult on account Of tie precipi-
tous site. There is cable line from
the low lands to the high but for the
most part people are conveyed from
terrace to terrace in chairs carried by
coolies. Women as well as men are
employed in this work, but neither
sex live many years in the employ
ment. The average length of life is
said not to exceed the early thirties.
Loads that women carry hundreds of
feet up the high mountain side are
so heavy that the average man could
not lift them. But making human
beings the beasts of burden and ma
chinery is characteristic of both ia
pan and China. In fact, no machinery
or modern labor saving devices exist
and the value of human life is placed
at naught.
AT Shanghai two days were spent
viewing the attractions. This is one
of the chief emporiums for European
commerce. The Chinese city proper is
enclosed within wall twenty-four
feet in height. Conditions here were
very good and very bad. The ladies
quite agreed with the man who said
that as far as sanitary conditions
were concerned between the odor Of
the Chinese empire and the Chinese
republic there was as yet little dis
tinction.
At Hong Kong the architectural de-
signs they found particularly impress
sive. Here the street terraces are
beautiful.
A short stay at Canton they found
quite sufficient. A high brick wall
with 100 gates subdivides the old town
and the new. The city with its mil
lions of human souls seemed more like
an immense sewer than anything else.
Here everything in the line of filth
flows freely through the streets and
nowhere IRE very desirable condition.
to be found. In this city hundreds of
thousands of people live on the water
on sampans, sort of a boat which
is in reality frame of bamboo COW
cred with mating. On these people
are born, grow up, live to old age and
die utterly ignorant of the existence
of any other portion of the world.
The heat is intense, their clothing is
scant and they have the most mar
velous way of slowing themselves and
L