Part 5

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 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.

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.

[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.

[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."

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 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.

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.

[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.

[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.

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.

[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.

[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.

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.

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.

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.

[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.

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.

[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 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.

[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.

[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.