Beautiful Philippines: A Handbook of General Information

BEAUTIFUL PHILIPPINES

A Handbook of General Information

MANILA
BUREAU of PRINTING
1923

Prepared by the
Philippine Commission of Independence
Manila, P.I.

Contents

List of Illustrations

ILLUSTRATED MAPS

Map of the Philippine Islands

“And the earth possesses no scenes more beautiful than those to be found in this verdant and blooming archipelago * * * this magnificent rosary of glowing islands, that Nature has hung above the heaving bosom of the warm Pacific * * * with the vast variety of attractive scenery, mountain and plain, lake and stream, everywhere rich with glossy leafage, clustered growths of bamboo and palm, fields of yellow cane and verdant coffee-groves.”

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“Views of lands and sea and sky, beautiful, gorgeous, awe-inspiring; of historic spots and buildings, monuments, ruins * * * of peoples familiar and strange; of industries modern to the minute, or old, as old as the Pharaohs, the patient work of potter and weaver, of craftsman, artisan, woodman, fisherman, husbandman; of peoples primitive and cultured—races and nations, distinct, assimilated and assimilating foreigners—foreigners whose descendants a few generations later will be Filipinos—the Filipino Nation that is to be, in that wonderland, the Philippines.”

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“Lived ever a man or a people on an island, however insignificant and bleak and bare, without feeling for it pride and love? Call to mind poem and song, picture and tale; the history of island races.

“Behold, then, the Philippines: thousands of islands, great and small beautiful, bountiful beneath a benignant sky. Seek to know how Truth paints them, and understand and sympathize with their people’s fervid desire to call them their very own.”

FOREWORD

It is vital for the Filipinos that foreigners visiting the Philippines acquire accurate information about the Islands and their people. The Philippines are not generally known abroad, much less are the Filipinos as a people, their degree of civilization and culture, their form of government, their institutions. Hence, the need for a publication such as this setting forth reliable items of information about the islands.

This booklet is a compendium of facts, not fancies—facts pertaining to the country known as the Philippines and to the people known as the Filipino people. They are facts that can be verified from authentic sources.

The booklet is primarily intended for tourists, but to all other foreigners seeking information on things Philippine, the booklet will also be of invaluable help. It not only indicates the places of interest throughout the archipelago but also gives a description of the islands in general, of their people, history and government. Tangible evidences of the readiness of the Filipinos for nationality are described. The history of the whole nationalistic movement is given.

The Filipinos to-day are in control of their own government. They have had practical autonomy since 1916. The only remaining link between Washington and the Philippines is the Governor-General who is an American appointed by the President of the United States representing his country in the islands, and is the chief executive thereof.

The islands produce great quantities of sugar, hemp, copra, rice, corn and tobacco. They are capable of producing besides, and are actually beginning to produce, rubber, coffee, various food and medicinal products, and a multitude of raw materials for every purpose. There are also many hardwoods appropriate for elegant furniture in a variety of natural colors not yet seen in any market. There are mines of gold, copper and coal in operation. There are said to be creditable iron and oil deposits.

There are plenty of wonderful harbors for ships of heavy tonnage. The country is peaceful, the most peaceful perhaps in the world. A courteous and hospitable people greet the foreigner wherever he goes.

I. Historical Background

Discovery The Philippines were discovered by Magellan in 1521. That discovery occasioned the first circumnavigation of the globe. Long before the discovery, however, the Islands were already known in the Orient, for they had commercial relations with China as early as the 13th century and with Japan, Siam, the Malay Peninsula, Java, Sumatra, Borneo, and the Moluccas.

It is erroneous to suppose that the culture of the Filipinos dated only from the time of the arrival of the Spaniards. Long before that time they had already acquired a fair degree of culture. They had systems of writing similar to the Phœnician alphabetical arrangement. They had calendars and a system of weights and measures. They tilled their lands and maintained village governments. They had laws based on traditions and customs handed down from generation to generation, and as early as 1433, or 88 years previous to the arrival of Magellan, there existed a Penal Code known as the Code of Calantiao.

The Spanish Rule—A Tale of Wars and Uprisings The history of the Islands from the beginning of Spanish rule to the middle of the 19th century was a long tale of wars and uprisings. The Portuguese disputed Spain’s right to the Islands, and between 1566 and 1570 made three attempts to dislodge the Spaniards. The Dutch during the first half of the 17th century repeatedly appeared in Philippine waters and made attacks on the Spaniards. The British unexpectedly swooped down on Manila in 1762, and the Archbishop who was acting as governor speedily capitulated, the City of Manila falling into British hands until the treaty of Paris in 1763 when it was again restored to Spain. The Chinese residents added to all these difficulties by revolting from time to time.

But the most persistent trouble-makers were the Filipinos themselves who repeatedly revolted because of alleged injustices committed upon them. Between the years 1645 and 1665 alone there occurred five uprisings against the Spanish Government. Other revolts, no less serious, took place in the 18th and 19th centuries. The rebellion of Dagohoy, for example, took place at this time, spreading throughout practically the whole Island of Bohol and continuing for a period of eighty years.

BIRD’S EYE VIEW OF THE WALLED CITY AND IMMEDIATE ENVIRONS

PANORAMIC VIEW OF CAMP KEITHLEY, LANAO, MINDANAO

There were in all about a hundred uprisings, big and small, during the Spanish régime. That of 1872 was especially noted for its magnitude and the determination shown by the revolutionists. It was put down with the execution of three secular priests—Burgos, Gomez, and Zamora—ever since reckoned among the popular heroes of the country. From that time plotting against the corrupt civil government and the autocratic religious corporations never really ceased; and in 1892 Andres Bonifacio organized a secret society known as the Katipunan, which preached hatred against Spain because of the abuses of the friars and of the authorities, and demanded freedom from foreign yoke.

Reforms in the 19th century The dawn of the 19th century, however, was marked by significant changes for the better. During the periods of 1810 and 1813, 1820 to 1823, and 1830 to 1837, as a result of the nationalistic and liberal struggles Spain was experiencing, the Cortes was revived and representatives from different parts of the monarchy—the colonies included—were given seats therein. This ushered in a period of constitutional and representative government for the Filipinos. Moreover, by 1830, Spain’s commercial policy of trade exclusiveness for the colonies was abandoned. A few years later, Manila was thrown open to foreign trade and a freer and more liberal economic system adopted. In this way, the foundation for subsequent political and economic progress was laid.

From the beginning of Spanish domination, there existed scores of schools and colleges which were mostly conducted by the religious orders. These schools and colleges offered various courses and graduated numerous priests, lawyers, physicians, pharmacists, and teachers. Increase in the number of professional graduates made possible the rise of an intellectual class in the seventies and eighties. To this group of men, Burgos and Paterno, leaders of the liberal movement of 1870; Dr. Rizal, the Filipino hero; M. H. del Pilar, a prominent propagandist; and Mabini, the brain of the Revolution, belonged—men who, in attainment and culture, can adorn the halls of any nation. Many of the prominent leaders of today also had their training in those schools—Manuel L. Quezon, Sergio Osmeña, T. Pardo de Tavera, Victorino Mapa, Florentino Torres, Teodoro M. Kalaw, Juan Sumulong, Rafael Palma, and many others who have held high positions in the government during the first years of American sovereignty.

Last Decades of Spanish Rule—The Coming of the Americans The last decades of Spanish rule were marked by several reforms, but these reforms were altogether too conservative and came too late. Consequently there was much discontent and the Filipinos, in August, 1896, following the teachings of the Katipunan, rose in revolt and sought to declare themselves independent of Spain. The revolution extended throughout the archipelago. It was halted by the Pact of Biac-na-Bato in December, 1897, only to be resumed early in the year following, under the very eyes and later with the help of the Americans, who appeared on the scene on May 1, 1898. The Filipinos succeeded in wresting from Spain every foot of Philippine territory except Manila which was surrendered to the Americans on August 13, after simultaneous attacks by American and Filipino forces.

Soon afterwards the first republic in the Far East based on a constitutional and representative government was established by the Filipinos. It had received the commendation of several foreigners among whom were the late Senator Hoar and John Barrett, ex-Director of the Pan-American Union.

Filipino-American War The downfall of the republic came as a result of the Filipino-American war which broke out through a misunderstanding between America and the Philippines and which lasted for three years. With the superior forces of the United States it was naturally a one-sided struggle, but it nevertheless showed once more the determination of the Filipino people to have an independent national existence. They wanted no less than an untrammeled republic free from any foreign control. They asked that of the United States. But no definite assurance was given that they would ultimately be freed. Had such assurances been given them the Filipino-American war would have been avoided.

The Establishment of civil government American civil government was established in the Islands in 1901 and 1902. Under this government the Philippines made remarkably rapid strides along the road of progress. But the most significant stride is perhaps the development of Philippine home rule, For it should be known that today, with few exceptions, notably those of the American Chief Executive and the American Vice-Governor, who is also Secretary of Public Instruction, the Philippine government is run by the Filipinos themselves.

Plaza Benavides, with the statue of Benavides in the center. The University of Santo Tomas is on the left. The Dominican Church in the background

II. The Material Spain Found

Power of Propaganda to Misrepresent Conditions So powerful is propaganda in misrepresenting actual conditions that the Philippines used to mean, and often still means, a mere fringe of civilization, or something similar to it, where the Spaniards had planted and the Americans had watered, but within all was still savagery and primeval ways.

San Sebastian Church, Manila

An exhibition of an Igorot village at the St. Louis World’s Fair of 1904 probably spread in America more of the notion of the Philippines as an untamed wilderness than tons of statistics could correct. These, then, were the people America had undertaken to govern—wild, naked creatures, beside whom the North American Indian was a gentleman and a scholar! Indeed, a long time must elapse before you can reduce these to suspenders and beefsteaks. A long time? Why, centuries and centuries!

Non-Christian population Again, to the assiduous readers of press dispatches, the typical Filipino has come to mean the fierce Mohammedan Moro; although, there are in the Islands less than 400,000 Mohammedans of all kinds, whether fierce or urbane. Still others have concluded that the wild-eyed nomad of the mountains, the man with the bow and arrow, with no religion at all, must be the determining factor of the situation because there are so many of his kind; and yet the census reveals the total number of persons in all the Islands that do not profess either Christianity, Mohammedanism, or Buddhism as only 102,000.

Literacy So, too, the ignorance of the Filipinos has always been believed to be appalling and a bulwark of darkness not to be overcome in generations, if ever; and yet the census reveals the percentage of literacy in the entire Islands at 49.2 per cent. The percentage compares favorably with the literacy of many of the small independent nations of the world at present.

The facts are these, as regards the Filipinos even in Pre-Spanish days:

Facts of Filipino Attainments in Pre-Spanish Days The Spaniards found that the inhabitants of the Islands built and lived in planned houses, had a machinery of government of their own, maintained a system of jurisprudence, in many cases dwelt in ordered cities and towns and practised the arts familiar to the most advanced peoples of their times.

Gunpowder they knew and used before 1300, when it had not yet been introduced in Europe; and they made firearms that astonished the Spaniards. At the siege of Manila, 1570, the natives defended their city with cannon, and the conquerors found within the walls the factory where these guns had been forged, as well equipped and ordered as any abroad.

The Islanders were expert in other metal-working, skilful ship-builders, able carpenters. Copper they had worked; but bronze, of which their great guns were made, they imported from China. Some of their art in silver-work excites admiration even now, for their beautiful design and fine workmanship.

They wove cloths of cotton, hemp, and other fibers. They were, in fact, inheritors of two great cultural infiltrations upon what original culture the Malays had two thousand years before: on one side, was the influence of the Hindus and on the other the civilization of the Chinese, and to these had been added, years before the Spaniards came, stray gleams of information transmitted roundabout from Europe.

Religion, alphabet, and books All this is inconsistent with the fanciful theory of the head-hunter and the wild man of the woods, but is nevertheless the incontestable record. Heathen they were called, but they had a religion, and a code of morals, not at all contemptible. They were natural musicians, possessed a variety of musical instruments, and had native orchestras. They were fond of poetry and and honored their poets. They had also a written alphabet and they wrote books. Every settled town had a temple and most temples had collections of books. They were written in the native characters on palm leaves and bamboo, and stored with the native priests. The subjects were historical and legendary, folk-lore tales, statutes, deeds of heroism and poems. The Spanish enthusiasts burned these books as anti-Christian and thereby destroyed documents priceless to succeeding ages, the few that escaped the flames testifying poignantly to the great loss. A small collection of them was recently discovered in a cave in the Island of Negros and ethnologists have hopes of others that may have escaped the sharp eyes of the destructors. Professor Beyer, whose investigations of early Filipino life and history have been so extensive, has come upon other evidence of early Filipino letters, including an epic poem of considerable length; but this exists now only in the memories of the reciters. The four-thousand-odd lines of it that Professor Beyer has translated show a rare gift of versification and imagery.

Of the written alphabets in use before the coming of the Spaniards, fourteen were of Malay origin, one was Arabic, and one Hebrew. Of the Malayan alphabets many were structurally alike, so that a learned Visayan must have been able to make out Tagalog words and a Pampangan to spell Ilocano. We are not to imagine that every Filipino could read the written speech; there were in the Islands at that time, as in India, Spain, England, and elsewhere, the educated and the uneducated. But it seems likely that the percentage of literacy in the Philippines, about the year 1500, let us say, was as large as in Spain, larger than in India and compared favorably with the percentage in other places.

Traders and artisans The inhabitants were able traders as well as skilful artisans. Manila was one of the great commercial centers of the East and long had been so; it was not a mere collection of fishermen’s huts. When the inhabitants of England were wearing skins, painting their bodies, and gashing their flesh in religious frenzies, the Filipinos were already conducting commercial marts in which were offered silks, brocades, cotton and other cloths, household furniture, precious stones, gold and gold dust, jewelry, wheat from Japan, weapons, works of art and of utility in many metals, cultivated fruits, domesticated animals, earthenware, and a variety of agricultural products from their rich volcanic soil.

Able Agriculturists The people understood how to make agricultural implements which, if crude by present standards, were nevertheless serviceable. They knew how to make machines, to hull and separate rice, to express oil from coconuts, and to weave their cloths. They worked out their own problems of irrigation and in their own way. The huge rice terraces in some parts of Luzon were and still are the wonder of all beholders. “I know of no more impressive examples of primitive engineering,” says Dean C. Worcester, “than the terraced mountain-sides of Nueva Vizcaya beside which the terraced hills of Japan sink into insignificance.”

WRITTEN AND UNWRITTEN LAWS.—The people had both written and unwritten laws. They were made and promulgated by the chiefs after consultation with the elders, and were “observed with so great exactness that it was not considered possible to break them in any circumstance.”

The laws covered many of the subjects which are common in modern times. A few of the most striking points were: Respect of parents and elders, carried to so great a degree that not even the name of one’s father could pass the lips, in the same way as the Hebrews regarded the name of God. Even after reaching manhood and even after marriage, the son was under a strict obligation to obey his father and mother. Marriage had reached the stage of mutual consent. Marriage ceremonies approaching the religious were elaborate, according to rank. Husband and wife were equal socially and in the control of their property. Property was acquired principally by occupation, but also by gift, purchase, and succession. Wills were sometimes made. Contracts were strictly fulfilled. The Chinese writer, Wang Ta-yuan; in a book of 1349 says: “The natives and the traders having agreed on prices, they let the former carry off the goods and later on they bring the amount of native products agreed upon. The traders trust them, for they never fail to keep their bargains.” In fact, non-performance of a contract was severely punished. Partnerships were formed and the respective obligations of the partners enforced.

The Code of Calantiao.—The penal law was the most extensive. Penalties were severe, altho compared with present laws, they appear cruel and illogical. However, they compared favorably with Greek and Roman laws as well as with the contemporary Spanish and English criminal laws.

Calantiao, the third chief of Panay, had, in 1433, promulgated a penal code. It ran as follows:

“Ye shall not kill; neither shall ye steal; neither shall ye do harm to the aged; lest ye incur the danger of death. All those who infringe this order shall be condemned to death by being drowned with stones in the river, or in boiling water.

“Ye shall obey. Let all your debts with the headmen (principales) be met punctually. He who does not obey shall receive for the first offense one hundred lashes. If the debt is large, he shall be condemned to thrust his hand thrice into boiling water. For the second offense, he shall be condemned to be beaten to death.

“Observe and obey ye: let no one disturb the quiet of graves. When passing by the caves and trees where they are, give respect to them.

“Ye shall obey: he who makes exchange for food, let it be always done in accordance with his word. He who does not comply, shall be beaten for one hour, he who repeats the offense shall be exposed for one day among ants.

“They shall be burned: Those who by their strength or cunning have mocked at and escaped punishment; or who have killed young boys; or try to steal away the women of agorangs (rich men).

“Those shall be killed who profane sites where idols are kept, and sites where are buried the sacred things of their diuatas (spirits) and headmen.”

Testimonies of Occidental Writers All which bespeak a culture of no mean order, and occidental writers themselves have given it the credit that it deserves, as shown by the following testimonies:

“They had already reached a considerable degree of civilization at the time of the Spanish conquest.”—Professor Ferdinand Blumentritt.

“The inhabitants of these Islands were by no means savages, entirely unreclaimed from barbarism, before the Spanish advent in the sixteenth century. They had a culture of their own.”—John Foreman.

“The inhabitants of the Philippines possessed a culture of their own prior to the coming of the Spaniards to the Islands. Those along the coasts were the most advanced in civilization. Their material wealth was considerable. The chief occupations were agriculture, fishing, weaving, some manufacturing, and trade both inter-island and with the mainland, generally in the form of barter. They were expert navigators. They used standard weights and measures. The year was divided into twelve lunar months. They had a peculiar phonetic alphabet, wrote upon leaves, and had a primitive literature. The majority of the people are said to have been able to read and write.”—Justice George A. Malcolm.

“The inhabitants practise various kinds of industry; they weave matting of extraordinary fineness and of the brightest colors, straw hats, cigar-cases and baskets; they manufacture cloth and tissues of every sort from leaves of the aguana, make cambric of a texture much finer than that of France; and they also manufacture coarse strong cloth for sails, etc.; and ropes and cables of all dimensions; they tan and dress leather and skins to perfection; they manufacture coarse earthenware and forge and polish arms of various kinds; they build ships of heavy tonnage and also light and neat boats, and at Manila they frame and finish off beautiful carriages; they are also very clever workers in gold and silver and copper; and the Indian (Filipino) women are especially expert in needlework and in all kinds of embroidery.” (Twenty years in the Philippines, pp. 304, 307.)

PROGRESS DURING SPANISH RULE.—The Spanish rule in the Philippines lasted 350 years. The Spanish Crown meant well, but the way her policies were translated into deeds was all but desirable. The best men could not be induced to go to Manila. The Church wielded tremendous power, and at times was more powerful than the government itself. Each village was under the rule of a priest. Character was stifled; progress was deliberately discouraged; independence of thought stamped out.

It would be doing Spain a great injustice, however, if no credit whatever is given her rule in the Philippine Islands. She introduced Christianity into the Islands and unequivocably converted the inhabitants to the creed, thus setting up the only Christian country in this part of the globe with a Christian outlook on life; in the women, particularly, the tenets of Christianity instilled dignity and it freed them from Hindu and Mohammedan degradations.

Schools and Colleges Efforts were also taken to teach the people the rudiments of education. Access was thus given to the splendid tongue of Castile, and, thru that, to all the glories and traditions of Latin civilization. As early as 1866, for a population of 4,000,000 people, there were 841 schools for boys and 833 for girls. In 1892, six years before the coming of the Americans, there were 2,137 schools. There were also colleges and universities where professional training was given. The colleges were: University of Santo Tomas, Manila, established in 1611 (twenty-five years older than Harvard); San Juan de Letran, Municipal Athenaeum, Normal School, College of San Jose, the Nautical School, the School of Commercial Accounting, the Academy of Painting and Drawing, and many other private schools, fourteen of which were in Manila. There were also seminaries in Manila, Nueva Segovia, Cebu, Jaro, and Nueva Caceres, where all branches of secondary instruction were taught in addition to those prescribed for the priesthood.

Many of the prominent Filipinos in Philippine history, as stated above, including the national hero, Jose Rizal, had their first instructions in these schools established by Spain.

Filipino Record Abroad A number of the ambitious students were sent by their parents to complete their education in Spain, France, England, Belgium, and Germany. Groups of these young men took part in the various liberal movements of nineteenth century Europe. They wrote and spoke in behalf of liberal institutions for the Islands, in terms that would have cost them their lives in the Philippines; in fact, Rizal was put to death upon his return to his native land. Several of these young Filipinos even rose to eminence in the public service, a right which was denied them at home except in a few cases in the minor judiciary. In the eighties and nineties, a group of them of which Rizal, Juan Luna, Resurrección Hidalgo, M. H. del Pilar, Lopez Jaena, Pedro A. Paterno, and Dr. Pardo de Tavera were the leading spirits—made a deep impression in the literary and artistic circles of Madrid, Paris, and Berlin. A newspaper was founded by them in Madrid to further their political views. Although proscribed in the Philippines, their books and articles were circulated secretly in the Islands and helped to arouse the people and to consolidate the growing unrest.

Opinions of Foreign Authors.—On Spain’s achievements in the Philippines, foreign authors have been considerate. The famous French explorer of the Pacific, for example, La Perouse, who was in Manila in 1787, wrote:

“Three million people inhabit these different islands, and that of Luzon contains nearly a third of them. These people seem to me no way inferior to those of Europe; they cultivate the soil with intelligence, they are carpenters, cabinet-makers, smiths, jewelers, weavers masons, etc. I have gone through their villages and I have found them kind, hospitable, and affable.” (“Voyage de la Perouse autour du Monde,” Paris, 1787, II, p. 347.)

“Almost every other country of the (Malay or Indian) Archipelago is, at this day, in point of wealth, power, and civilization, in a worse state than when Europeans connected themselves with them three centuries back. The Philippines alone have improved in civilization, wealth, and populousness. (“History of the Indian Archipelago,” by John Crawford, F. R. S. Edinburgh, 1820, Vol. ii, pp. 447, 488.)

The Austrian professor, Ferdinand Blumentritt, wrote in La Solidaridad of October 15, 1899, to this effect:

“If the general condition of the civilization of the Tagalos, Pampangos, Bicols, Bisayans, Ilocanos, Cagayanes, and Sambales is compared to the European constitutional countries of Servia, Roumania, Bulgaria, and Greece, the Spanish-Filipino civilization of the said Indian districts is greater and of larger extent than of those countries.”

And the foremost American scholar on the Philippines, gives the following résumé of the results of the Spanish administration:

“The Spaniards did influence the Filipinos profoundly, and on the whole for the better. There were ways, indeed, in which their record as a colonizing power in the Philippines stands today unique in all the world for its benevolent achievement and its substantial accomplishment of net progress. We do not need to gloss over the defects of Spain; we do not need to condone the backward and halting policy which at last turned the Filipinos against Spanish rule, nor to regret the final outcome of events, in order to do Spain justice. But we must do full justice to her actual achievements, if not as ruler, at any rate as teacher and missionary, in order to put the Filipinos of today in their proper category.” (Le Roy: “Philippine Life in Town and Country,” 1905, pp. 6, 7.)

The Background on Which America Had Built It was on all that cultural background—the native and the Spaniard—that America had built. Without belittling what she, alone, has done for the Filipinos since 1898 it hardly can be disputed that the rapid progress towards modern democracy in the Islands has been due mainly to the materials she found there. This fact has made her task a great deal easier, and is the reason why even the early military governors thought best to preserve the old municipal institutions with very slight changes.

III. The First Philippine Republic

The earlier revolutions against Spain were actuated by well-defined causes. They have been summarized as follows:

Causes of Earlier Revolutions (1) Denial of freedom of speech and press; (2) desire for Filipino representation; (3) proceedings by which a man was condemned without being heard; (4) violation of domicile and correspondence on mere secret denunciations; (5) agitation for the secularization of parishes; (6) political and civil equality for Filipinos and Spaniards; (7) desire for promulgation of the Spanish Constitution in the Philippines; and (7) the martyrdom of Burgos, Gomez, and Zamora, and later of Rizal.

The Revolution of 1896 The revolution of 1896, however, had an additional cause which was dominant in the minds of the leaders. It was “Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity.” In the words of General Aguinaldo in a manifesto, “We aspire to the glory of obtaining the Liberty, Independence, and Honor of the Country.”

The Pact of Biac-na-Bato This revolution was halted in 1897 by the Pact of Biac-na-Bato, which was signed between the Revolutionists and the Spanish authorities. There were three outstanding stipulations in the pact:

First, that the Filipino leaders should leave the country for the time being.

Second, that liberal and sweeping reforms would be introduced without delay.

Third, that the sum of $800,000 would be paid the Filipinos in two instalments, as evidence of good faith.

The Filipinos complied with their part of the agreement; Aguinaldo and his followers went to Hongkong. But the Spaniards did not comply with theirs; only $400,000 was paid to the revolutionists and no reforms were introduced.

The Republic Accordingly, Aguinaldo and his companions returned to the Islands and renewed the struggle. On June 12, 1898 at Kawit, Cavite, they proclaimed the Independence of the Philippines from Spain. Soon afterwards a Philippine Republic was ratified, with General Aguinaldo as President. The capital was established at Malolos about 30 miles from Manila. There an elective Congress sat regularly, passed laws, levied taxes, administered revenues, kept in motion the machinery of justice, directed a military organization, carried on efficient war and constantly appealed to the patriotism of the people.

Governmental Machinery Set Up A complete governmental machinery was set up. The government was declared to be “popular, representative, and responsible.” Church and state were made separate, and, profiting by the experience of the past, freedom of religious worship was expressly recognized in the Constitution. The powers of government were made to reside in three distinct entities—the legislative, the executive, and the judicial, to be entirely separate. It was declared that no two of these powers should be vested in a single person or corporation, nor can the legislative power be conferred on a single individual alone. The government was recognized throughout the islands and had the wholehearted support of the entire population.

At the time America insisted in imposing her sovereignty and authority not only were the Filipinos in military control of the country; they were administering its political affairs as well. This they did from the establishment of the Republic until the autumn of 1899. “Up to that time,” writes Albert G. Robinson, of the New York Evening Post, “the territory occupied by the forces of the United States in the Island of Luzon was confined to a very limited area in the vicinity of Manila, with a filamentary extension northward for some fifty or sixty miles along the Manila-Dagupan railway. Very much the same condition obtained on the other islands. One thing is certain: although greatly disturbed by the conditions of war, this territory was under some form of governmental administration.”

THE MALOLOS CONSTITUTION.—The fundamental law that had been prepared and adopted by the independent government has since then been known as the “Malolos Constitution.” This Philippine Magna Carta embodied the advanced thought of the times and was replete with sound principles. It had all the requisites of a “fundamental law of the land”—an enumeration of individual rights, the organization of the state and of the government, provisions pertaining to the public welfare (such as education, appropriation, the militia, local government, impeachment, etc.) and provisions for constitutional revisions.

Salient Features The Parliamentary System of government was adopted as best suited to the needs of the archipelago. Sovereignty was to reside in the people through their duly elected representatives. The aim throughout was to adopt a government and a social order essentially democratic, without those privileges of caste or classes which were the determinant causes of the revolution. The popular assembly was to be the directing power.

The following progressive principles were enunciated:

(1) That no one should be tried in courts created by private laws or by special tribunals; (2) that throughout the republic there should not be more than one kind of court for all citizens both in civil, criminal, and military actions; (3) that no person or corporation should be given emoluments that were not as compensation for public service fixed by law; (4) there shall be no primogeniture nor should decorations and titles of nobility be accepted; (5) that every Filipino citizen shall enjoy the right of meeting, association, petition, and liberty of the press; (6) freedom of religious worship throughout the land and inviolability of domicile, correspondence, and property; (7) the right of habeas corpus; (8) gratuitous and compulsory public instruction; (9) taxes to be in proportion to the income of the taxpayers.

The legislative power was vested in an unicameral assembly. The representatives elected by the people were to be representatives of the entire nation and could not bind themselves to specific mandates from their constituents.

The President of the republic and the Assembly were to initiate laws.

Impeachment of high officials of the government was unhesitatingly made a part of the fundamental law. Even the President of the republic could be impeached in cases of high treason.

A permanent commission was created to take the place of the assembly during recess, the motive behind its creation being that legislative bodies should be permanent because the popular will works continually and consequently should be continually represented in the governmental machinery.

The permanent commission was to be composed of seven members elected by the assembly from among its members. Its powers were:

(1) To declare if a certain official of the government should be impeached; (2) to convene the assembly to an extraordinary session in cases in which it should constitute itself into a tribunal of justice to consider impeachments; (3) to resolve all pending questions with a view to bringing them before the assembly for consideration; (4) to convoke the assembly to special sessions whenever these are necessary; (5) to substitute the assembly in its power regarding the. constitution with the exception that the permanent commission can not pass laws.

The executive power was vested in the President of the Republic who exercised it through his secretaries.

The President of the Republic was elected by the constituent assembly by an absolute majority of votes. His term of office was four years but might be reëlected. The powers of the President were expressly enumerated. The secretaries of departments constituted the Cabinet, presided over by the President. There were seven departments—foreign relations; interior; finance; war and navy; public instruction; communications and public works; agriculture, industry, and commerce.

Ministerial responsibility was established so that whenever a cabinet had lost the confidence of the majority of the assembly its members were morally bound to resign.

The judicial power was vested in a supreme court and in such other tribunals as might be created by law. The judiciary was made absolutely independent of the legislative and executive departments. The chief justice and the attorney-general were appointed by the Assembly with the concurrence of the President and of the cabinet.

Provinces and municipalities were given administrative autonomy. The central government intervened in their acts only when they over-stepped their powers to the prejudice of general or individual interests.

A Constituent Assembly was to be convened in case of an election of the President of the Republic and whenever there were proposed changes in the constitution. In either of these two cases the regular assembly was dissolved by the President and the Constituent Assembly convoked. The constituent assembly was to be composed of the same members of the regular assembly plus special representatives.

Such was the framework of the governmental machinery created by the first republican constitution ever promulgated in the East. In the words of General Aguinaldo, the Constitution was “the most glorious note in the noble aspirations of the Philippine revolution and is an irrefutable proof before the civilized world of the culture and capacity of the Filipino people to govern themselves.”

Comments of Foreigners.—The comments of unbiased foreigners on this ill-fated attempt of the Filipino people to live an independent existence all point to the fact that the Republic together with the constitution the independent government had established was a great work of an unquestionably able people.

John Barrett, ex-director of the Pan-American Union, saw the Philippine Republic in operation, and described it as follows:

“It is a government which has practically been administering the affairs of that great island, ‘Luzon’ since the American possession of Manila, and is certainly better than the former administration. It had a properly formed Cabinet and Congress, the members of which, in appearance and manners, would compare favorably with the Japanese statesmen.”

Admiral Dewey, after studying Philippine conditions, during the Spanish-American War, spoke of the Filipinos as follows:

“In my opinion, these people are far more superior in intelligence and more capable of self-government than the natives of Cuba. I am familiar with both races.”

General Merrit, on his arrival in Paris in October, 1898, was reported as saying:

“The Filipinos impressed me very favorably. I think great injustice has been done to the native population.… They are more capable of self-government than, I think, the Cubans are. They are considered to be good Catholics. They have lawyers, doctors, the men of kindred professions, who stand well in the community, and bear favorable comparison to those of other countries. They are dignified, courteous, and reserved.”

Leonard Sargent, a naval cadet, and W. B. Wilcox, paymaster of the Navy, after travelling over the Island of Luzon, at that time wrote a report of their trip, which was referred by Admiral Dewey to the Navy Department with the indorsement that it was “the most complete information obtainable.” Mr. Sargent remarked:

“Although this government has never been recognized, and in all probability will go out of existence without recognition, yet, it cannot be denied that, in a region occupied by many millions of inhabitants, for nearly six months, it stood alone between anarchy and order.

“As a tribute to the efficiency of Aguinaldo’s government and to the law-abiding character of his subjects, I offer the fact that Mr. Wilcox and I pursued our journey throughout in perfect security, and returned to Manila with only the most pleasing recollections of the quiet and orderly life which we found the natives to be leading under the new régime.”

IV. Population of the Philippine Islands

A Homogeneous People The Filipinos are a homogeneous people. An American, Dr. Merton Miller, former chief ethnologist of the Philippine Bureau of Science is the foremost authority for the claim that:

“From the extreme northern end of the Archipelago to its southernmost limits, with the exception of the few scattered Negritos, the people of the Philippines, pagan, Moro and Christian are one racially. There is some reason for believing that they migrated into the islands at two different times. But in all probability they came from the same general region and have a common ancestry.

“There are many different languages or dialects in the Philippines but all are closely related one to another, the pronunciation and mode of speech vary but little from one section of the Philippines to another and the majority of the words are common to two or more of the Philippine languages. These languages, whether spoken by pagan, Moro or Christian, belong to the great Malayo-Polynesian family, branches of which are found in Sumatra, the Hawaiian Islands, Madagascar and on many islands between.”

Ex-President Taft has the following to say about Filipino homogeneity:

“The word ‘tribe’ gives an erroneous impression. There is no tribal relation among the Filipinos. There is a racial solidarity among them undoubtedly. They are homogeneous. I can not tell the difference between an Ilocano and a Tagalog or a Visayan.… To me all the Filipinos were alike.”

While Governor General Harrison, before a joint committee of Congress, expressed himself thus:

“To my way of thinking, they are very remarkably homogeneous, quite as much so as any nation in the world to-day with which I have any acquaintance. From one end of the Philippine Islands to the other the people look very much alike; their manners are very much the same; their style of living is about the same; and they are being generally educated along the same lines by the government and by the private schools, which are coöperating with the government. So that I think they already have one of the prime requisites to a nationality, namely, a general and universal feeling that they belong to the same race of people.”

Total Population The total population of the Philippine Islands according to the Census of 1918 is 10,350,640. Of this number 9,495,272 are Christians, while 855,368 are non-Christian so-called. The non-Christian element, therefore, represents 8.2 per cent of the total population. In this number are included the Mohammedans of the South and the Igorots and other mountaineers, who have been so widely advertised abroad and often represented as typical Filipinos.

FOREIGN POPULATION OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS

COMPARATIVE POPULATION

V. Geographical Items of Interest

The Philippine Archipelago is entirely in the Tropics. They lie north of the Dutch and British Island of Borneo and the Dutch Island of Celebes; South of the Japanese Island of Formosa; East of French Indo-China, and Southeast of Hongkong and the Southern provinces of China.

Number of Islands There are 7,083 islands in all extending 1,152 statute miles from north to south and 688 statute miles from east to west. Two thousand four hundred and forty-one of the Islands have names, while 4,642 are unnamed. The northernmost Island known as Y’Ami Island is 65 miles from Formosa while the southernmost, called Salwag, 4° 40′ from the Equator, is only 30 miles east of Borneo.

Total Land Area The total land area of the entire archipelago is approximately 115,000 square miles. This is in excess of the combined areas of the States of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware; only about 7,000 square miles less than the total area of the British Isles; about 5,000 square miles more than the total area of Italy; and about two-thirds the size of Spain. Luzon Island alone which is the largest is as large as Denmark, Belgium, and Holland combined. It contains 46,969 square miles. Mindanao, the second largest, is about equal in area to Portugal. Ten islands contain more than 10,000 square miles each or 6,400,000 acres; while 20 of the islands have between 100 and 1,000 square miles each. About seven-eighths of the total number of islands composing the Archipelago contain less than 1 square mile each.

Bays and Straits There are twenty-one fine harbors and eight land-locked straits. Manila Bay with an area of 770 square miles and a circumference of 120 miles is reputed to be the finest in the Far East. It is said that it can accommodate the entire fleet of the world. It is a roadstead, in all parts of which vessels can anchor. Manila, Cebu, Iloilo, Zamboanga, and Jolo are at present the ports of entry.

The interisland waters are shallow, averaging between seventy-five and five hundred fathoms.

Mountains There are at least seven principal mountain ranges and twenty more or less active volcanoes. Mount Apo in Mindanao is the highest being 9,610 feet. Canlaon in Negros is second with 7,995 feet; Mayon in Albay third, with 7,943 feet.

Rivers Nearly all the principal islands have important river systems. In Luzon are the Rio Grande de Cagayan, 220 miles long, which drains 16,000 square miles of territory, the Rio Grande de Pampanga, emptying into Manila Bay through a dozen mouths, the Agno, the Abra, Bued, and the more familiar Pasig. The Rio Grande de Mindanao, 330 miles long, is the largest in the Islands, and the Agusan, also in Mindanao, is the third in size. Mindoro has 60 rivers and Samar, 26. In Panay, are the Jalaud and Panay and in Negros the Danao and the Lanao. Inter-island steamers berth in the Pasig as far as the Jones Bridge. The larger rivers, in addition to being navigable for steamers and launches of light draft for distances of from 20 to 200 miles, could furnish abundant water power for manufacturing purposes.

Lakes Mindanao, especially the basin of the Agusan, has a vast number of lakes, among them the famous lakes Lanao, Mainit, and Lagusan. Laguna de Bay, near Manila, Lake Naujan in Mindoro, Taal, and Bombon lakes in Batangas, and Lake Bito in Leyte are also noted for size and beauty.

Falls The Falls of Pagsanjan and the Botocan at Majayjay, in Laguna Province; the Maria Cristina, the Pigduktan, and Kalilokan, in Mindanao, are the largest and most beautiful.

Mineral Springs Some 170 or more medico-mineral springs, hot and cold, are known in the Islands, many rivaling the most famous of Europe and America. Near Manila are those of Los Baños, Sibul, Lemery, Tivi, and Marilao.

Climate Father Algué, the world famous Director of the Weather Bureau, divides the climate into three types, the classification being based on distance above sea level and exposure to ocean breezes.

November, December, January, and February are the temperate months. The mean average temperature at this season is about 77° to 79° Fahrenheit. In April, May, and June, the hot months, the mean average is between 83° and 84°. In other months it is about 80°. The nights are seldom unpleasantly hot even in the hot season, and a temperature of 100° is a rarity in Manila. The mountain regions of the north are cool as September in the temperate zone. The mean average maximum for Baguio is 80° and the minimum 53°. Far south, nearer the equator, in some localities it is hotter; but Zamboanga and the Provinces of Bukidnon and Lanao boast a most agreeable and healthful climate.

The climate is thus mildly tropical. Sunstrokes are unknown. The recorded death rate per 1,000 whites in Manila for 1917 was 8.8, as compared with 16.5 for New York, 15 for San Francisco, 14 for Chicago, 18 for Glasgow, and 22 for Belfast.

DIFFERENCES IN TIME

COMPARATIVE AREAS

RAINFALL

Maximum days of rain in July, August, September.

Minimum days of rain in February and March.

Dry Season: November to May, inclusive.

Wet Season: June to October, inclusive.

Typhoons: Frequent in July, August, September, and October.

The lowest average rainfall for the last twelve years for the whole Archipelago was 60.73 inches in the driest region, the highest, 125.68, in the wettest. Manila’s average was 75.46.

VI. The City of Manila

Entrance to Manila Bay You enter Manila Bay thru a narrow passage in the middle of which is the famous Island of Corregidor, the “Rock,” the “Gibraltar of the Far East,” the “Home of the Big Guns,” that guards the harbor. It is also a hydroplane station of the United States. The island is a stalwart sentinel, as it were, at the harbor’s mouth. Nearby are two other “watch dogs” of Uncle Sam, known as “El Fraile” and “El Carabao,” two other well fortified islands holding many a surprise for any invading fleet.

Down the bay your steamer glides amid the shipping of many nations and the launches of the customs and quarantine soon appear to “look the stranger over.”

MANILA.—After the quarantine and customs inspection you get off your steamer and you are in Manila, the capital of the Philippine Archipelago. Your first impressions are of the tourist sort. Your interest is immediately arrested by the dress and habits of the Filipinos, of the Chinese, and of the various residents from every quarter of the globe. The water buffalo or the carabao, the one horse carriage, or the carromata, and the slippers, or “chinelas,” worn in the streets by the poor will startle you to the realization that you are in a world other than your own. The every-day clothes worn by the people give you an ensemble of all the colors imaginable, more so when there is a procession, parade or similar festivities—royal purple, plum, heliotrope, magenta, psolferino, scarlet, geranium, salmon, pinks, greens, vivid and tender, all the blues, yellow, orange, champaca, in short every hue, shade, and tint that art has borrowed from nature or has invented.

You stroll around the City and one of the first things you notice is the various means of transportation. There is the automobile, from the popular Ford Lizzie to the Packard Limousine; there is the one-horse carriage, in shape and looks unique in the world; and there is the street car propelled by the familiar electricity.

Aglipayan Church, Azcarraga Street, Manila

The Walled City.—Near the pier you see a cluster of buildings enclosed by solid stone walls about twenty feet high. This is the famous Walled City or Intramuros, a remnant of Spanish days. It is something less than a mile long and half a mile wide. The walls used to be fortresses with which the Spaniards used to repel the many attacks and invasions. To go into this Walled City is to remind you of Madrid, Spain, with all its narrow streets and typical Spanish buildings. The walls had been begun prior to the end of the sixteenth century; before the next was far advanced, the place boasted of a cathedral, hospitals, and a university; walled Manila had grown into quite a city.

The Walled City is the original Manila, of which every other part of the modern city is, historically speaking, a suburb. Its battlemented wall is a little over 2½ miles in circuit, and is still for the most part in an excellent state of preservation. The age of the walls is hard to state; its oldest existing portions were undoubtedly built before the end of the sixteenth century, but it has been continuously patched and added to, almost up to the present generation. Parts of it are from twenty to thirty feet in height and thickness. Considering everything, it makes this district one of the best examples of a mediæval walled town in existence.

Fort Santiago While in this Walled City, do not fail to visit Fort Santiago, the oldest part of Spanish Manila, long the citadel of the city, and now the headquarters of the United States Army in the Philippines. It probably stands very nearly on the site of the native fort which the Spanish reconnoitering expedition carried by assault in 1570. It has undergone comparatively little external change in three centuries. There are plenty of traditions connected with the old place—stories of cells below the river level for the “unintentional” execution of inconvenient persons, and of chambers found filled with dislocated skeletons. Though none of these places are now identifiable, it is a historical fact that one cell, either in the fort or in the wall to the east of it (since removed), was the scene, as late as the night of the 31st of August, 1896, of a tragedy much resembling that of the Black Hole of Calcutta. Fifty-six out of sixty Filipinos who had been crowded into it, on being arrested on suspicion of complicity in the insurrection then raging, were the victims of the poisoned atmosphere or of the desperate struggle that took place within.

Pursuing your travels around Manila you see an admixture of the quaintly native, of the mediæval, and of the strictly modern. In architecture, you see splendid examples of Grecian, Moorish, Spanish, Renaissance, Gothic, and Byzantine. Likewise you see many native nipa houses, small yet cool and cozy, and exceedingly appropriate for the needs of the climate.

The new Trade School, Manila

Three Manilas For in reality there are three Manilas, which are still noticeable. First, there is the Manila of the original Malay, which, with its nipa shacks, its carabaos, and its quaint fishing boats, exists much as it did in the days of Raja Lacandola. Secondly, there is the Manila of the sixteenth and seventeenth century Spaniard—adventurer, merchant, and crusader in equal parts—who, in the churches and convents, the walls and gates, and the half-Moorish domestic architecture, has left ineffaceable memorials of the fact that this, the oldest of the European settlements in the East, was in its day among the chief glories of the “once imperial race.” Finally, there is the Americanized Manila of to-day, the town of electricity, motor cars, macadamized roads and sewers and steel bridges, well on its way to become one of the beautiful cities of the world.

Costumes The costumes of the women are admittedly unique and attractive. Old Spain gave the peasant’s neckerchief that has evolved into the pañuelo; the court train of her damas gave the saya; her priests gave the tapis; the ground plan is Malayan, the sleeves swelled to suit the climate. This, which has changed but little in over three centuries, is the predominating model; but America, Paris, half Asia, and the South Pacific contribute also to the revue des modes: georgette crèpe and coconut fiber rain cape and skirt, white duck and rengue, all in the same rain shower on the same block.

The Shops Modern shops with plate-glass fronts, office buildings with their elevators, elbow in between the open-fronted Chino shops of the Rosario. And the carabao snails by, and the “little gray hawk” that “hangs aloft in the air,” happens to be an aëroplane.

The Pasig Down by the entrance to the Pasig River modern steamers are warped to the river wall, and farther up dumpy river launches shuffle about their work of conveying to the big household of Manila chickens, pigs, fruits, and vegetables; a string of bamboo-roofed cascoes lie in wait by the market; sturdy bargemen with thirty-foot bamboo poles shove the unwieldy lorchas about, and the tiny bancas now toddle bravely along, now reel and wobble from the cuffs of their elders. The river is navigable for miles, and a trip upstream reveals successive combinations of meadows, high banks fringed with feathery bamboo, and here and there a village with its nipa houses and its gray stone church embowered in groves of coconuts and mangoes.

The Cathedral, Walled City, Manila

OTHER PLACES OF INTEREST

Churches You will find them at every turn. To see her churches alone, in detail—St. Augustine’s, built in 1599, with its ceiling of solid stone nearly four feet thick, and the illustrious dead beneath its hardwood floor; St. Sebastian’s of solid steel made in Belgium and brought out in sections and assembled; St. Ignatius’ and others with exquisitely carved woodwork, the work of Filipinos; their altars, statues and paintings—to appreciate their architecture and the engineering skill that erected them would require not days or weeks, but months.

The Cathedral Special mention should be made of the Cathedral, the historic edifice which has witnessed so many rare and brilliant ceremonies. It is a most ornate and yet harmonious structure. The massive dome can be seen from far out at sea. The nave of the cathedral is of most majestic proportions and its pillars and clusters, with their gilded capitals, are handsome. The cupola rises to an immense height and has an inside balcony. Its four corners are frescoed, and the subjects are the “Four Evangelists.” A beautiful sky, with angel heads, upon which stands the statue of the Immaculate Concepcion, is just above the high altar and around it, in sort of a frieze, are the heads of the apostles, while in the transepts, are the heads of the prophets, kings, and patriarchs. The architecture of the cathedral is of Roman Byzantine Style.

The Ayuntamiento On the right hand side of the cathedral, the traveler sees the Ayuntamiento, a two-story building, the original seat of the Spanish government, now the headquarters of the House of Representatives and of the six departments of the Philippine government. The cornerstone of this building was laid in 1735. On the main landing of its imposing staircase is a statue, a replica of that in the “Biblioteca Nacional” at Madrid, of Juan Sebastian Elcano, the navigator who, after the death of Magellan, brought to a safe conclusion the first voyage around the world. The doors in either side of the statue lead to the Marble Hall, named from its marble floor, where the house of representatives sits and where official receptions and state entertainments are often held.

Philippine University Cadets in formation in front of the Ayuntamiento, the central government building

University of Santo Tomas In the rear of the Ayuntamiento, and occupying the other half of the same block, stands the building of the University of Santo Tomas, founded in 1619, the oldest educational institution of collegiate rank under American sovereignty. It is under the direction of the Dominican Order and has departments for the education of students in all the principal professions. It keeps a valuable and extensive collection of zoölogical, ethnological, and other scientific specimens which is open to male visitors only (the university being by origin a monastic institution) on Sunday mornings from 9 to 11. In the little plaza on which the building fronts is a statue of Miguel Benavides, the second Archbishop of Manila, and founder of the University.

The Dominican Church At the end of this plaza stands the great Gothic Dominican Church, one of the very few examples of that style in the city. It has very fine doors and a beautifully decorated altar and pulpit. Connected with it, as with all the old churches of the friar orders, is an enormous convent, very plain outside, but containing much of interest within—ancient libraries and some very quaint courtyards, cloisters, refection halls, and a series of religious pictures.

Bureau of Printing Building

Just back of this church is the gap in the wall, thru which the car line from the commercial center of the city enters. Hard by is the Intendencia Building, in which is located the Insular Treasury and the offices and session hall of the Philippine Senate. Behind this, on the river front, is a modest monument to Magellan, the one memorial of the great discoverer in the capital of the land he brought in contact with Latin civilization.

Avenues The Walled City, except for a short space where the battlements of Fort Santiago are washed by the river, is completely surrounded by fine avenues, all bordered on the inside by the stretch of green which has replaced the former moat. The Magallanes Drive runs for a short distance between the walls and the Pasig river to the northeast. To the west is the Bonifacio Drive, with an avenue of palms. This is now bounded on its farther side by the new Port District, but in old days was the seaside promenade of Manila. The circuit of the wall is completed by the Bagumbayan Drive (now Burgos Drive), which sweeps in a beautiful acacia-bordered quadrant around the east, southeast, and south.

A section of Manila’s commercial district

This avenue will, in a few years, be completely lined with Government buildings and grounds. It begins at the river, near the end of the Jones Bridge. Continuing down it toward the bay the traveler passes first the Mehan Gardens, really a public park, of moderate size, finely kept. It was the result of the work of a Spanish botanist and forester, Sebastian Vidal y Soler, of whom a statue stands in its midst. The garden was completely neglected and used as a camping ground during the insurrection, but was restored by the present Government. Beyond the garden in succession, are the buildings of the Bureau of Printing and the present temporary City Hall. The street branching off to the left between these is Calle Concepcion, on the right hand side of which, immediately back of the City Hall, are the buildings of the Young Men’s Christian Association.

Turning to the left from the riverside of the Botanical Garden and crossing the Pasig River on the Santa Cruz Bridge, then turning to the right, the traveler comes across another important and imposing avenue, called the Rizal Avenue. This avenue begins from the heart of the commercial district of the city, and leads to the northern suburb of Manila, which is destined to be one of the best residential sections.

The Luneta Hotel, Manila

The principal attractions on this avenue, are the Grand Opera House where periodical performances are held by foreign opera companies, the Stadium where prize fighting is held between Filipino boxers as well as between Filipino and foreign boxers, the Central Methodist Church, and the San Lazaro Hospital.

Bilibid Prison This avenue is intersected by an equally broad thoroughfare formed by Azcarraga Street, on which are numerous small shops, several theaters of various grades, and several residential homes. On the sea-side of this thoroughfare is situated the Cathedral of the Independent Filipino Church, an institution headed by Archbishop Aglipay, and having about 3,000,000 members. Other places of interest are the Zorrilla Theater, the Centro Escolar de Señoritas, a private school for girls, being the biggest institution of the kind in Manila, and Bilibid Prison, the great central penitentiary of the Philippines and one of the largest and best-managed institutions of the kind in the world.

Central Railroad Station, Manila Railroad Company

The average number of inmates of Bilibid Prison is between 2,500 and 3,000. The main part of the prison, which altogether covers twenty acres, consists of well-ventilated wards radiating from a central tower; cells are little used. There is a fine hospital, a school, and a highly developed system of industries. Visitors are admitted everyday for the ceremony of retreat, which occurs at about 4:30 in the afternoon. The salesroom, where the products of the prison shops may be seen and purchased, are open to the public during the regular office hours. Perhaps the best work is to be found in the furniture of native hardwood; but the wicker furniture, the desk sets, and other small articles of hardwood, the silverware, and the local curios are well worth inspection.

Taft Avenue Another wide and picturesque avenue branches off from Burgos Drive, a short distance from the City Hall. This is called the Taft Avenue, after the first civil governor of the Philippines, Honorable William H. Taft, now Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. Along this avenue are several modern concrete buildings, the most important of which are the Philippine Normal School, the Normal Hall, a dormitory for ladies, the Santa Rita’s Hall, the Central School for American and European children, the Nurses’ Home, and the Philippine General Hospital.

Turning to the right, on Padre Faura Street, the traveler comes across a number of the buildings of the Philippine University, all of which are of reinforced concrete and modern in every respect. The large vacant space behind these buildings is the University Campus where athletic exercises and military drills are held almost every afternoon.

The Paco Railroad Depot, Manila

Central Observatory Further on to the left on this same street, is the Central Observatory of the Philippine Weather Bureau. This intensely interesting institution is open to the public on Tuesdays from half past 2 to half past 4 in the afternoon and on Saturdays from half past 8 to half past 11 in the morning. It is one of the oldest and best of its kind in the East, having been founded in 1865 by the Jesuits and operated continuously since then, even in 1898, while hostile armies were contending for the possession of the city. The founder and director for many years was Fr. Frederic Faura, after whom the street on which the building stands is named. The present head is Fr. Jose Algué, who has made for himself a world-wide reputation as a meteorologist. It is still directed by specially trained Jesuit priests and supported financially by an arrangement with the Philippine Government. Its great renown has been gained through its work in the field of earthquakes and typhoons.

A Modern Thoroughfare, Taft Avenue, Manila

The Luneta At the extreme end of Burgos Drive, the traveler comes out on the broad expanse of a park, of partly natural and partly made land, on the inland side of which is the most famous recreation place of Manila—the Luneta. This is an oval stretch of lawn where, nearly every evening, the music of the fine band of the Philippine Constabulary or that of some military organization combines with the sea breeze and the gorgeous sunsets behind the top of Mount Mariveles to bring together a crowd so varied and brilliant as to make this gathering one of the most distinctively picturesque sights of the city. Hundreds of carriages and motor cars draw up along the curb or make the circuit of the driveway, while thousands of pedestrians throng the walks and lawns. It is a gay and cosmopolitan gathering—Government officials, wealthy Chinese merchants, Spaniards, officers of the Army and Navy, American women in the light and dainty gowns of the Tropics, and Filipino women of every class in the picturesque national dress of gorgeous semi-transparent native cloth, that has caused one observer to describe them as “jet-crowned butterflies.”

The Jones Bridge, named after the author of the Jones Law giving the Filipinos practical autonomy in local affairs. A section of the historic Bridge of Spain, built by the Spaniards, is seen nearby

On the green of the Luneta facing Manila Bay is the monument to the national hero of the Philippines—the physician, novelist, and patriot—Dr. Jose Rizal. It was designed by the Swiss sculptor Richard Kissling, whose work was selected out of many in a contest for a substantial prize. The monument consists of a granite obelisk, about fifty feet high, serving as a background for a bronze statue of heroic size.

The Manila Hotel To the north of the Luneta is the well-known Manila Hotel, reputed to be the finest in the Orient. Immediately opposite the hotel site, on the green at the corner of the former moat, is the monument to Miguel Lopez de Legaspi and Andres Urdaneta, the civil and ecclesiastical founders of Manila. This, as a work of art, is far superior to anything else of the sort now actually standing in the city. The pedestal supports idealized figures of the mailed warrior and the priest, holding aloft the banner of Castile and the Cross. These were cast in Spain and sent out prior to the change of sovereignty, but was never put up. They were found by the American conquerors in a warehouse, and it is to them that the monument owes its erection in its present excellent location. On the side of the green opposite the hotel and the Legaspi monument are the new buildings of the Elks and the Army and Navy Clubs.

The principal buildings of the Philippine University

The Museum To the north of the Manila Hotel is the Philippine Museum, housed in a modern building. Those interested in the fauna and flora of this part of the globe, and in archeological collections will find in this museum an hour well spent.

The Carnival Grounds To the East of the present Luneta, immediately across the road, is the large tract of land known as Wallace (formerly Bagumbayan) Field. It is the site of athletic grounds and of the annual Carnival. It boasts a gruesome past and a distinguished future. Under the old régime it was a public execution ground for political prisoners, and here on the 30th of December, 1896, in the shadow of the old Luneta outwork, since removed, Dr. Jose Rizal met his death before the Spanish firing squad. In a few years more, under the name of “Government Center,” it will be the site of the new Capitol, and of other Government buildings.

The Normal Hall—A dormitory for girls, Manila

For the present this tract is the scene, for a week or more every February, of the great Philippine Carnival, which has become one of the established institutions in the Islands and one of the greatest attractions of Manila. While it lasts most of the town puts on festal garb and takes a series of half holidays, and dominoes become familiar sights on the public streets. Within the grounds are the usual amusement features—the merry-go-round, the whip, shooting galleries, a hippodrome with spectacular performances, and extensive and interesting exhibits of the products of the Islands, sent by the provincial governments, the schools, and private concerns. Elaborate parades—military, industrial, and carnival—and great balls in an immense auditorium, both exclusive and popular, complete the program. The industrial and commercial exhibits are under the supervision of the Government.

The Polo Grounds

Dewey Boulevard Capping the ensemble of all these attractions around the Luneta is a beautiful boulevard, comparable with the best anywhere, which leads from where the buildings of the Elks and the Army and Navy Clubs are situated and extends until the city limits, near Pasay, a suburb on the Manila South Road. This boulevard is a favorite driveway in the evening. The chain of lights that illuminate its entire length makes it attractive beyond comparison. To the right will be heard the splash of the waters of Manila Bay dashing against the rocks that fringe the Boulevard. To the left are some of the most imposing residences of the City. The steamers anchored in the bay present a lovely sight, especially in the stillness of the night. It is from this boulevard that the Philippine sunset, so entrancingly beautiful, can be seen without obstruction, while in the distance, to the left, is the City of Cavite, to which the Boulevard will in time lead, and hence has been originally named “Cavite Boulevard.” It was only recently that its name was changed to “Dewey Boulevard” in memory of Admiral Dewey who, a short distance out into the bay, by defeating the Spanish Squadron, sealed the fate of colonial Spain in this part of the globe.

Philippine Carnival Auditorium, 1922, where sumptuous balls are held every evening during the Carnival week

Clubs and Societies All of the great fraternal orders have their branches in Manila—The Masonic Order, The Knights of Columbus, The I. O. O. F., The Elks, and The Knights Templars. Religious, charitable, social, musical, literary, athletic, and other associations, also abound. There is a National Federation of Women’s Clubs, having about 400 branches in all parts of the Archipelago and also a Catholic Federation of Women. All the foreigners also have their respective clubs and societies.

Cemeteries The Cementerio del Norte is the municipal cemetery. It is the only modern garden cemetery in Manila. It covers a very large area (133 acres), only a small part of which has been developed. There are sections for Americans, Filipinos, and Chinese, each showing the distinctive emblems with which the several races mark the resting places of their dead. There are beautiful monuments and well-kept lawns.

Adjoining the municipal cemetery is the Catholic cemetery and the chapel of La Loma. The Chinese also have an exclusive cemetery nearby. All the ground in this vicinity is historical, for much of the fighting of the early days of the insurrection centered about the district; there was a block-house which formerly stood back of the La Loma Chapel. Paco cemetery on San Marcelino is closed now, but once a year, on All Saints Day, it is opened and in the evening, brilliantly illuminated.

Monuments Among the most notable monuments are the Rizal monument in the Luneta; the Legaspi and Urdaneta monument near the Manila Hotel; the Anda monument at the foot of the Malecon Drive; the Magallanes monument near the Treasury building; the Statue of Elcano in the Ayuntamiento; the Statue of Benavides at Plaza of Sto. Tomas; and that of Charles IV at Plaza McKinley, and Queen Isabela II in Malate. The finest of the recent ones, are the monument of Balintawak, a short distance out, to commemorate the first cry of the revolution, and the monument to the Katipunan and the Liga Filipina at Raxa Matanda, Tondo.

The Legaspi and Urdaneta Monument facing the Luneta, Manila

LIFE IN MANILA.—In Manila is felt the pulse of the world’s activity—the currents of political, commercial, and intellectual thought of the world—more keenly than in New York or London. The reason is simple. Each man here is an individual machine; in the larger cities he is a cog. The elements of absolute economic dependence being absent, the inhabitants are forced into contact with many nations, together with all the social and economic relations which that contact entails. In the press Manila is not overwhelmed with a mass of unimportant news. The immensity of non-essential topics of no general interest is spared the residents. Only the essential and all the essential reaches them. Their horizon is not bounded by 42nd Street nor by neighbor Peet’s farm. One of the many reasons for the happier life in Manila than in other cities of the world, so far at least as foreigners are concerned, is the natural selection of the fit and strong, which is invariably taking place. There are no crippled and weak, no poor nor invalid people in Manila to pester you. They do not come—they seldom dare. Only those looking for adventure, those fitted to care for themselves, those determined to survive that come to make this part of the world his temporary or permanent abode.

The Rizal Monument, at the Luneta, Manila

No Vexing Conventionalities The conventionalities and prescribed forms of daily living are absent. There is no Madam Gruncy to hector, there are no rules of the elite class or the would-be Four Hundred. You come and go unquestioned. You have absolute sovereignty over your own affairs. There are no neighbors to tell the foreigner what to think or how to vote. Neither a Democrat nor a Republican is disgraced for being so. A society of men and women from all corners of the globe accord respect to your judgment. Not living in San Francisco you are not disturbed by its claims of superiority to Seattle or New York.

There is less attention paid to inconsequential details and boresome routine than in the complex centers of the Old and the New World. It is of less importance to know what Lady Jane wore at the ball than to know how she will run her embroidery establishment. More thought is given to one’s failure and success and struggles with new conditions than of a man’s politics. The interrelationship of races, the development of a virgin country, the wide latitude for one’s activities accustom you to thinking in the large. Men talk little in the Tropics, but what they say has meaning.

There is less violence in the Philippines than in any other land. The people are gentle and courteous. In provincial towns, in lonely districts, an American or European woman can remain alone for days without fear of molestation. One can take long trips through the wildest mountain in perfect safety. Firearms for self defense need not even be thought of.

The Carnival grounds, Manila

Competition Less Severe Competition in Manila is not as severe as in other cities. Success is attained with greater ease. The routine of life is pleasant, and days pass quickly. In occidental cities one generally rushes through breakfast and rushes to his office. Also he rushes all the morning until 12 o’clock. Not so in the Philippines. He dictates in a few minutes his day’s correspondence which will probably leave port a week later, depending on the schedule of boats. Then he has new schemes to think over and conferences to hold with confrères. After this there is usually considerable time for ice cream and further conferences outside. He probably visits his bank and the cable office, and does some more thinking. If he is a salesman, he has to talk with prospective customers. At all events he is a very busy man, with a dozen plans for expansion working in his brain; but there is time, aeons of time. There is so much to be done and so little danger that the field will be overworked before he gets to it that he fears nothing. At 12 o’clock or thereabouts he goes back to his room for lunch. Afterwards he sleeps for two hours and drops back to his office. At 4 o’clock he goes out for tea, and at 5 o’clock, if the day has been a hard one, he knocks off for golf or tennis or a swim, or goes back to his siesta chair for rest. After supper at 8 o’clock, if he is socially inclined, he organizes a party for a cabaret and spends a pleasant evening. Otherwise he plays cards or billiards at his club. The next day repeats, and so on. He is never hurried, never tired, never worried.

The Luneta, during a Carnival parade

VII. The Environs of Manila

On the outskirts of the City of Manila, lies one of the most beautiful scenic routes in the tropics—the expanse of country extending from the city itself to what is known as the Montalban Water Works, in Rizal Province, from which the city derives its water supply. At the head of a picturesque gorge, the Mariquina River is impounded by a dam, and the water is brought to the City of Manila, 39 kilometers distant, through aqueducts of cast iron.

A view of Pier 5, Manila

The ride to the gorge through the heart of the Mariquina valley, one of the most fertile regions of the Island of Luzon, is a veritable scenic fairyland. Lowland, mountain, hill, stream, field, bridge, road, village, and town combine to form a landscape that invariably fascinates the visitor. The scene is restful and pleasing to the eye at almost every vista that presents itself.

Exterior view of Malacañang Palace, Manila

The Executive Offices, Malacañang Palace, Manila

Crossing the Ayala Bridge and passing through General Solano Street, the visitor proceeds on his way to the famous valley. On both sides of General Solano stand old Spanish residences practically as they were in the days of the Spaniards. This was then the fashionable residential section of the city and its glories as such have not as yet entirely departed.

A public market, Manila

The Malacañang Palace Soon, the Governor-General’s palatial home known as the “Malacañang Palace,” is reached on the right, immediately after the only brewery in the City of Manila. The palace is beyond doubt the finest residence in the islands. The gardens are particularly well-kept, Governor-General Harrison having improved the residence and the grounds making it a sumptuous and fitting place for the first executive of the land.

The Aquarium, Manila, exterior view

Immediately next to the Governor’s palace is the executive building housing the offices of the Governor-General’s staff and cabinet. It is an elaborate structure decorated with hardwood carvings.

After a detour to drive thru the grounds of the palace, the visitor proceeds on his way towards Santa Mesa. The next place of interest is known as the “Rotonda”—a circular Plaza at which two important thoroughfares and some of lesser importance intersect. In the center of the Rotonda stands the Carriedo Fountain built in memory of Francisco Carriedo, the Spanish engineer who installed the first gravity water system in Manila sometime in the 19th century.

A typical country scene

Santa Mesa Soon the visitor arrives at another residential section known as Santa Mesa. This section is on top of a hilly district overlooking the city. Fine bungalows and villas surrounded by beautiful lawns adjoin one another. Americans, Europeans, and Filipinos live here side by side. Mingled with the sumptuous abodes found in this section are several patches of nipa huts, furnishing a startling contrast—the almost primitive native residence common throughout the archipelago, especially in the barrios, as compared with the architecturally highly developed occidental type of residence. In the midst of this ensemble of residences are rice fields cultivated in typical native fashion with terraces, ditches, carabaos, etc.

San Juan Bridge and Heights The visitor now comes across a country that is more open, and cultivated patches of land become a more frequent sight. In a few minutes, he reaches the famous “San Juan Bridge,” a historical landmark. It was here, on February 4th, 1899, that the first shot of the Filipino-American war was fired. Two days later, the treaty of Paris ceding the Philippines to the United States was ratified, and the Filipinos continued to revolt.

After crossing the bridge, the visitor reaches San Juan Heights, a suburban development project in the municipality of San Juan del Monte. Less than two years ago, an enterprising American formed a company and divided this property up into lots and started selling the parcels on the instalment plan. The project was a success and now a good sized community has settled on this district. Other parcels of land in the vicinity have been similarly divided into lots, and Manila suburban property is now rapidly undergoing development in the familiar American manner. Among these other parcels are the San Juan Heights Addition, the Rosario Heights, and the Magdalena Estate, the latter being an immense tract of land extending for several miles into the country.

The Mariquina Valley

The Reservoir Nearby is located the distributing reservoir of the Manila Water Supply system, called “El Depósito.” It was constructed in Spanish days, but has now grown to be entirely too small for the ever-growing needs of the city.

Along the side of the reservoir is the “Boys’ Reformatory School,” where wayward and recalcitrant youngsters are won back to good behaviour and useful life at the expense of the city and the Insular government.

Turning back to the main roadway, the visitor sees the palatial residence of the Ex-Mayor of Manila, now Senator Hon. Ramon Fernandez.

The Mariquina Valley From this point on, there is an entirely rural scenery, an immense plain bounded by mountains in the north and east. This is the Mariquina Valley. Somewhere on this valley just outside the municipality of San Mateo, was the spot where General Lawton was shot by the Filipino insurgents. This whole region was intensely fought over by the contending forces, the Filipino insurgents retreating to the mountains to the north and east.

Salt beds, Pangasinan

The Town of Mariquina Soon afterwards, the town of Mariquina is reached. It is a typical Filipino community. Proximity to the Philippine metropolis does not seem to have altered its appearance in the least. It has a rural air and atmosphere and the people evidently belong to the hard-plodding farmer-class.

An excellent road makes driving a pleasure through the Mariquina Valley. The combination of colors and light, tropical vegetation and houses, the undulating mountain divides, the brilliant green of the palms and bamboo, contrasted with the intense verdure of the rice fields, present a vista that can be expressed adequately only by painting.

The Payatas Estate After Mariquina comes the town of San Mateo, centrally situated in the Mariquina Valley. It was here that tenants of the vast Payatas Estate in the vicinity combined and bought the property from the Japanese owners three years ago. The enterprise was the first cooperative agricultural Filipino effort on a large scale and has proved to be a success. The purchase price was $775,000, and all of this amount but $100,000 has been paid up.

Exterior view of the Lingayen Provincial Building, Pangasinan

At the Dam Then the dam is reached. It is in the town of Montalban, 35 kilometers from Manila. The road winds in and out along the banks of the river, the banks of the river themselves become steeper and steeper, and soon the towering white limestone sides of the Mariquina gorge loom up several hundred feet, and the reservoir inclosure is reached.