Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1913-01-03

/ cellent paDulum Tor injection, the problem
seemed almost hopeless, especially as racial
and political prejudices ran high and little
confidence was felt in the motives of the
Americans, many Of whom were believed
to be agents of the Evil One.
A certain class of Spanish physicians
and friars even went so far as to deny the
existence of cholera on account of the
small number of cases which occurred in
Manila as result of the prompt sanitary
measures enforced by the Board of Health.
Rather than have their houses quarantined
and subjected to fumigation after disposal
of the cases, they drove infected members
of the family into the streets, and secretly
buried their dead under heaps Of old
lumber, in the rice paddles or threw them
into the Pasig River. Should my memo
ries of the Philippines fade one by one,
of that great cholera epidemic, which
scourged the islands in 1902.
Many radical changes have occurred
among the Filipino people along sanitary,
educational and sociological lines since
1898. Local boards of health have been
established throughout the towns and viii
lagos of the islands, and campaign of
sanitary education introduced which has
revolutionized the customs and habits of
the people. Artesian wells have in many
communities supplanted the surface wells
which were the cause of widespread
amebic dysentery among the natives, and
the c0nservancy pail system obsolete and
insanitary closet arrangements.
Through the beneficence of a public
school system the light of American civil
lization has filtered into the darkest cor
ners of the archipelago, even into the be-
nighted regions of the Igorot and dreaded
Headhunter. Where one heard the jargon
of fifty dialects ten years ago, choice Eng
lish Is now spoken by the rising genera
ton. llliteracy, which claimed 80 per
cent. of the population in 1898, has been
reduced to less than so per cent. among
the young people. Athletic sports have
been encouraged among both sexes with
marked improvement in their physical
condition. Tennis and baseball have been
accepted as the national games, not only
in the Philippines but also in Japan and
China, and no one can tell how soon the
day may arrive when the pennant will be
wrested from the victorious Red Sox by an
Oriental team.
Manila, with its modern sewer system,
splendid water supply, electric street cars,
commOdious wharves and harbor, large
public buildings. new hospitals, magnif-
cent hotels, beautiful parks and clean
streets, has become the pride of oriental
cities and leads them all In its low death
rate. Medical Inspector George A. Lung.
u. S. Navy, who passed many years of
service In the Far East, claims Manila as
one of the healthiest and cleanest cities in
the world.
The Capital of the Archipelago now pos
sesses great university with colleges Of
medicine, pharmacy, veterinary medicine,
law, engineering, agriculture, forestry and
the liberal arts. A bureau Of science has
also been established, with well-equipped
chemical and biological laboratories for
the study of diseases affecting both man
and animals. as well as for general medi-
cal and scientific research. Besides this
the government has constructed modern
concrete hospital of 800 beds, which affords
ample hospital facilities for employees and
families of the civil service. as well as for
the general public.
Baeuio, on the plains Of Benguet, at an
altitude of 5000 feet above the sea, has
become the summer capital Of the archi-
pelago, the Simla Of the Philippines. There
in the cool and refreshing breeZes of tenn
perate zone, and under the shade Of stately
pines, the Executive and Civil Commission
conduct their sessions during the hot and
sultry season of the year
CommodiOus sanitaria for our troops. as
well as for civil officials and employees,
have been established in Benguet. and
with the commission buildings. army post,
hotels, schools. residences. macadam roads
and fine parks, BagulO presents an entirely
different appearance when compared with
the scattered lgorot village Of less than
ten years ago. Telegraph lines, railroads,
and well-constructed highways have taken
the place of blazed trails and bind in one
common brotherhood distant tribes whose
very existence was unknown to each other
decade ago.
The acquisition Of the Philippine Islands
will always be associated with the name
of our martyred President VIM Mckinley,
and the organization Of their model gov
eminent with that Of President William
Howard Taft, their first civil governor,
whose legal and constructive mind is re-
sponsible for their splendid laws.
Much has been said and written by OPP
posing parties about the great financial
cost and loss Of life entailed In the acqu-
sition Of the Philippines. the grave strategic
and economic mistakes in their retention
anu tilc lIluuStflal DOnudRt vi tlc TllplHO
people in spite Of their helpless and uni
versal protest.
The Philippine Islands came into our
possession as an incident Of the recent
war with Spain. and II became our sacred
duty TO retain them until they become self
supporting and their peoples qualified to
administer the affairs Of the new republic.
whose star is slowly but surely rising in
the Far East. How well we have acquitted
ourselves Of this national obligation must
be left TO the unbiased judgment Of sue
ceedlng generations
II has been impossible within this brief
summary to give more than an outline Of
the wonderful work achieved In the Philip
pines during the past ten years through
American brains and Drawn. No colossal
waterway has been constructed over there
connecting the two great continents Of the
world. but a model government has been
planted and a new race born, whose pro-
gressive and civilizing influences are des-
tined TO permeate the darkest corners Of
the Orient, and make the name Of America
blessed for centuries to come.