The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1920-07-31
NATIONAL SOCIETY
FOR INFORMATION
Geographic Organization Issues Buile-
tins Telling What Countries in
the Orient and Islands Of
the Sea to Visit.
MANILA COMES FIRST
Its Bay Has Circumference Of 100
Miles and Could Surround the
Navies Of the Worid-cip
Wonderful. Too.
MANILA COMES FIRST

SlOnal inspection tour to HAWAII, the
| philippines and the orient the Ma
ltional Geographic society has issued
a series of bulletins concerning the
points to be visited, of which, accord
ing to the Washington Evening Star,
the following, dealing with Manila, Is
the first:
AS the transport wends inward
! from the China sea the visitors will
pass the island of Corregidor, beyond
which stretches Manila bay, whose
100 mile circumference could sur
round the navies of the world. Its
rival will not be found in the rar
east On the right Of its entrance
stands Cavite, where Dewey sank the
Spanish fleet.
! From the bay the city of Manila
seems to lie almost at water level.
with hazy mountains for a back
ground. Before the United States
came to the islands Manila was a
sleepy town, sprawled lazily beyond
the bay and the wharves of the river
Pasig, which bisects it. It's streets
were quiet and almost deserted at
times, it's suburbs shady and pretty,
and general air of "manana" per-
vaded its atmosphere.
/ Today its estimated population
equals that of Jersey City, Indian
apolis or Kansas City, Mo, the river
is alive with launches and vessels of
every description, including the
households Of literally floating
population of $4,000; and through its
ports it sends yearly to other coun-
tries nearly s1OO,0o0,0Oo worth Of
hemp, sugar, copra, tobacco and
= other commodities.
! The natives are alert and have
something of the Spaniard's suave
manner. Many have adopted the
American fashion of dress, but some
of the native men of the lower class
still wear the white cotton Trousers
and transparent shirt that hangs
on the outside. The women adhere
to the wide sleeved, narrow skirteA
native costume in bright colors. The
vaulting price OF shoes has in nowise
ruffled poorer classes in Manila. They
have solved the problem simply; they
don't wear any. And the children!
The Creator and the sun have given
them lovely brown tint.
There is much of interest to be
seen in this town that is vying with
Hongsong for the commercial suprem-
iacy of the east. The traveller will
! find local color on the south side of
the river in the walled city. Intra.
tmuros, one of the finest examples OF
fortified city of the seventeenth
century, with it's narrow and Spanish
looking streets, the houses with
barred windows, the quaint corners
and the vistas through open court
yards There are to be found nipa
bungalows of the natives, the quaint
old residential palace Of the COVER
nor, now used for an Office building.
and the happy, idle people them
selves. In this section the churches
include the imposing relatively new
cathedral, the Gothic Santa Domingo,
the Jesuit church with its museum
and the old Augustinian church COM
pleted in 1905, which has withstood
the storms and earthquakes Of the
centuries.
A unique sight in Manila is the
Pace cemetery, which at present has
fallen into disuse. 1t is composed Of
two concentric walls about six feet
thick, honey-combed with holes just
large enough for coffin. In the olden
of five years.
At the end of that time, if no one
was sufficiently interested in the re-
mains of an inmate to pay his rent
for another five years, his bones
were thrown on a heap at the back
of the, cemetery. Imagine the "shim-
my" the flesh on an ancestor worship
ing Chinaman's backbone would per-
form should he behold the queue Of
one of his progenitors protruding from
this GOlgothai