Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1917-06-27

pounds. These baskets cost three
cents apiece, Zone and half cents
in our money!; they soon wear out
and the harbor was floating with
them when they finished. The coal
I is passed from one to another, new
er stopping until it enters the port
tit is placed III position: for to be again
| filed. Each boat is manned by a
| family and relatives and they work
as a family and use every effort to
get their loads unloaded. 1t was
raining all the eighteen hours they
were coaling and a more bedraggled
looking lot one could not ina CINE.
Sweating and filthy the one at the
top would light cigarette, take a
Whit, pass it to the next woman, she
would do the same and so On down
the line and by the time it reached
the bottom Of the line it was con-
sumed. Perhaps one would drop out
for a moment, bolt down a bowl of
rice, no sugar or salt on it, and again
return to the fray. Not word OF
complaint, smiling under these awful
conditions, these women with their
hardened faces met their fate with
out a murmur Including those in
side the ship shovelins the coal back
there were about six hundred at
work and yet their wages were so
small that it is said this ship is coal
ed here cheaper than any other place
in the world.
The coal we loaded is dug under
the sea only a short distance away,
it is very poor quality and costs
about four dollars ton.
Narasak: is located nearly. at the
south end Of Japan and about the 80
degree north. Japan extends
nearly to the fiftieth degree. 1t is
supposed to be warm here and oran-
ges and other citrous and tropical
fruits are raised.
1t is ! 1870 miles from here to Man
lila and in going a portion of the
way we are on the broad Pacific and
the balance in China sea. At twelve
noon, the goth, we weighed anchor
and steamed south. Two days later
we were steamilg along the east side
of what / learned as child to call
Formosa, but since the Japs have
taken from the Chinese, they have
named Taiwan. 1t is from this is
land We used to get our formosa
tea and il ia from this island that
most Of our camphor is secured. This
camphor industry is fast depicting
the great forests of that tree and we
will some day have to substitute 9TH
er drugs to take it's place.
Perhaps it may not be amiss to
mention the manner of their secur-
ing this gum. These camphor trees
are no doubt many of them thous-
Iands of years old; they are chopped
down and all cut into chips, put in
still AID the volatile camphor
steamed out and secured the same
as is whisky or turpentine distilled.
We are all day passing this island
land as we reach the southern
point the temperature becomes very
warm and we resort to summer
CLOTHES. A little later we see at our
left the island of Luzon on which is
the city of Manila, our city of over
300, 900 people. / am up at A. M.
Friday morning the Esd of March
land find our ship at anchor just out
side of Manila Bay, and near Cor
lregidor island the fortified entrance
| to the harbor. 1t was through this
strait that Admiral Dewey steered
his feet during the Spalish-Ameri-
can misunderstanding. This island
had been fortified location for hum
dreds of years to defend the entrance
to the harbor but the rotten govern
ment officials of Spain had stolen and
purloined all appropriations made
flor it's defense and when he sailed in
their old cannon would not throw a
shot out into the, strait. We steamed
through the straits, it is thirty miles
from Corregidor to Manila and as
we steam past Cavite we are shown
the place where our feet met the
rotten old hulks manned by the
brave Admiral Montogo who had
been ordered out with ships so rot
ten that the first shots from our
ships sunk them while their old can
non would not carry shot half way
to our ships.
To our right as we come near our
dock we pass Ia German ships that
were interned at the commencement
|of the war, now covered with bar
nacles and their engines badly des-
ltroyed by the German orders.
We are now about twelve degrees
north of the equator and nearly on
a line south with the Panama Canal.
After passing quarantine we land
land go direct to the Manila hotel,
said to be the finest hosiery in the
Ifar east.
1t surely looked good to me and
Ito hear our own tongue on all sides
gave the pleasant impression that we
were under the protection of that
nation which today stands out like a
lone star as guide to those unnat-
ural, rotten oppressive, monarchles
of the world. In my next, Wall Try
and explain what We have done for
these people and how poorly they
anpreciate it