17 - Spell of the Hawaiian Islands and the Philippines by Isabel Anderson

Join Isabel Anderson on a captivating journey through Hawaii and the Philippines, as she shares a fascinating travelogue that doubles as a rich history lesson. This book is a treasure trove for anyone intrigued by the South Pacific, offering a compelling glimpse into the transformations that have taken place since Mrs. Andersons travels. Prepare to be enthralled by her vivid storytelling and insightful observations.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Section sixteen of the Spell of the Hawaiian Islands and
the Philippines by Isabel Anderson. This LibriVox recording is in
the public domain recording by William Tomco The Spell of
the Hawaiian Islands and the Philippines by Isabel Anderson, Section sixteen,
chapter eight, inspecting with the Secretary of War Part one.

(00:27):
August thirteenth is a holiday in the Philippine Islands, for
it is Occupation Day, the anniversary of the fall of
Manila and its occupation by the American Army. The special
event is a camp fire in the evening at the
theater when the Philippine war veterans gather together and have
addresses and refreshments after a dinner with Tom Anderson at

(00:49):
the Army and Navy Club with its picturesque quarters in
an old palace Intramuros. We attended this performance sitting in
the Governor's box and listening to the happy self laudation
of the veterans, who all wore the blue shirt and
khaki of war times. It was toward midnight when we
finally left and went out to our vessel, for we

(01:10):
were off for a trip among the Southern Islands on
the cable steamer Rizol. We sailed by the light of
a full moon and for a while had a merry
bobbery of it outside. After passing corrigidor soon though, we
turned to point and had the monsoon following. In the morning,
we woke to find ourselves steaming past the fine scenery

(01:32):
of southern Luzan, with the volcano of Taal in the distance.
Several times during the Spanish occupation, this volcano dealt death
and destruction, and as late as nineteen eleven it claimed
many victims. Our first landing place was at Kota on Luzan,
where we started ashore in a small launch. It was

(01:53):
a beautiful river of palms, but our boat got stuck
in the mud and we were delayed. We finally reached
the shore and were put into automobiles. Then it was
that I began to feel as if I had joined
a circus parade, escorted by bands and soldiers. Our motors
moved slowly along the streets. Everywhere people lined the way,

(02:14):
while the windows of the houses fairly dripped with heads.
We passed many little villages that looked prosperous, and processions
of carts showing that the people were active and busy.
The road ran over picturesque bridges for part of it
was an old Spanish trail rejuvenated, and all the villages

(02:34):
they had made preparations to receive the secretary. Bands were out.
The children stood by the roadside and waved, and the
women stood in rows to greet us. The municipal buildings
were decorated, the piazzas hung with festoons and lanterns. They
all wanted to give us comida and let off speeches,
but it was impossible to live through such hospitalities, so

(02:57):
we only halted at each place a few minutes to
show hands. The stop for the night was Lucenna, the
home of mister Quizon, Philippine Commissioner to the United States Congress.
He traveled with us and we found him very attractive.
The general opinion was that Quizon, Legarda and Osmena were
playing to the gallery for political capital, but at the

(03:20):
same time they were supporting our administration. It is a
good deal, like some of our friends in Congress, who
make speeches along lines that they know are absolutely untenable.
After climbing into a bandstand where we stood surrounded by
people peering up at us, flowery speeches began demanding independence.

(03:40):
They were the first of the kind we had heard.
The Filipinos are good speakers and keen politicians. Among other remarks,
and Orator said, many things occurred to my mind, each
of which is important. But among them there is one
which constitutes a fundamental question for the Filipinos and the Americans.

(04:00):
It is a question that interests equally the people of
the United States and the people of the Philippine Islands.
It is a question of life or death for our people,
and it is a question also of justice for the
people of the United States. The fundamental question is, evidently, gentlemen,
the question of a political finality of my country. We

(04:23):
are very grateful for your visit, mister Secretary, and we
hope that the joy that we felt on your arrival
may not be clouded, that it may not be tempered,
but rather that it shall be heightened by seeing in
you a true interpretation of the desires of the Philippine people.
Hoping that on your return to the United States after

(04:44):
your visit to the Philippine Islands, you will tell the
truth as regards the aspirations of the Philippine people. In answering,
the Secretary talked about the different subjects of interest, such
as the agricultural bank, land titles, et cetera. He continued,
it is very gratifying to me, coming from America and

(05:04):
representing the government in the position in which I stand,
to hear such testimonials as you have given in regard
to the men that America has set to assist you
in advancing your interests. America has been careful to send
men in whom confidence can be reposed according to their
previous character. And I want to say to you further

(05:25):
that America has given you here just as good government
as she has given to her people at home in
all established governments. Fair and just criticism is welcome, and
I shall not therefore bear any spirit that would be
resentful of any just criticism. I shall be very glad
while I am here to meet those who have the
real welfare of the islands at heart and the development

(05:48):
of this country. I have many things to do, and
the time is comparatively short. But I shall endeavor so
to conduct affairs as to be able to give audience
to all law abiding people who may desire to make
any representations to me. I shall be at convenient periods
here where I shall be accessible, and any communications which

(06:09):
are addressed to me personally will receive proper consideration. Now
that states in a general way the object of my
visit and the disposition that I propose to make of
my time while here, General Edwards, who is with me,
as you know, is the chief of the Insular Bureau. Certainly, he,
more than any other man in America, understands conditions in

(06:32):
the Philippines, and his whole time, thought and mind are
concentrated upon the problems connected with your welfare, and he
is working all the time to advance your interests. His
familiarity with conditions from the time of America's occupation, the
establishment of civil government, the settling of the various commercial
questions that have arisen from time to time, make him

(06:54):
the most effective champion for the Philippine interests in America.
And he has not hesitated in Congress whenever your interests
are at stake, to stand up and contend for your
interests with vehemence that ought to make him eligible to
all option. As a Philippine citizen, you have there a
brilliant representative, Mister Quison, who is capable of presenting your

(07:17):
views and aspirations, and of enforcing your wishes with the
most cogent arguments, of which your cause is susceptible. Now,
as to immediate independence, we Americans understand by immediate right
away to day. Do you want us to get up
and leave you now? To depart from your country? You
would find yourself surrounded by graver problems than have hitherto

(07:40):
confronted you if we should do so. I don't positively assert,
but I suggest that you yourselves pause and think whether
you might not be reaching forth and grasping a fruit, which,
like the dead sea fruit, would turn to ashes upon
your lips. It was at Lucenna that my husband and
I went to Captain and Missus S's house for the night.

(08:02):
We sat on the piazza by moonlight, among beautiful orchids,
listening to the band playing in the distance, and gossiping.
I was interested in the servant problem, and Missus S
had much to tell me that was new. Our native
servants would much rather have a pleasant thank you than
a tip, she said. If a tip is offered, the

(08:23):
chances are then it will be refused, for the boys
feel that they would do wrong to accept it. They
are very keen though about their aguinaldos presents at Christmas.
Every Native who has done a hand's turn for me
during the year will turn up Christmas Day to wish
me a filees pascoas, and I am expected to give

(08:43):
him a present. My whole day is for my servants
and their children, who seem to multiply at that time.
When I asked my cochero Lucillo, how many nignos have you,
he answered, eleven Signora. But how many under fourteen? Lucillo,
eleven Signora. He wanted all the presents that he could get.

(09:05):
She laughed. But if they don't take tips, do they
get good wages? I asked, not. According to American ideas,
a Filipino boy will work for small pay and stay
a long time in a cheerful home atmosphere. They are
good servants too, she continued, if you take the trouble
to train them. I trained a green boy to be

(09:25):
a good cook by taking an American cook book and
translating it into Spanish. They have a great reverence for books,
and that boy thought he was very scientific. I've had
him many years. We loaned him money to build his
hut near us. He was a year paying it off,
but he paid off every cent. Now he has four

(09:46):
children for Christmas gifts. When I went away on a visit,
he asked me to bring him a gold watch from America.
So many years with us gave him that privilege. As
we were gone some time, I think he feared we
might not return, so he wrote us a letter. Seeing
my interest, she got the letter and read it to me.

(10:06):
My dear Sir Captain, in a company, the great respect
to you would express at the bottom. It is a
long time since our separation, and I'm hardly to forget
you because I have had recognized you as a best
master of mine. So I remit best regard to you
and Missus and how you were getting along both. And

(10:28):
if you wish to known my condition, why I'm well
as ever, Sir Captain. If you will need me to
cook for Missus, why I'll be with you as soon
as I can find some money. Please, Sir Captain, will
you answer this letter for me very respectfully? Yours Pedro,

(10:49):
I'm returning from the United States. I took Pedro back.
Missus s went on, but I found I needed extra houseboys.
The first who presented himself was Antonio. Aged said seventeen.
He was a very serious, hard working boy whose only
other service had been a year on an inter island
merchant ship. I took him at once, for servants from

(11:10):
boats are usually well trained. He turned out well, and
in a few months asked if he could send for
his little brother to be second boy to help him.
I said he could so in due time. Crispin smilingly
presented himself. No questions passed as to salary or work.
He was installed on any terms that suited me. A

(11:31):
few weeks later, Antonio asked if he could bring his
cousin in just to learn the work, so that he
could find a place. I consented, and in time came Sacarius,
gentle and self effacing and apparently intent on learning, and
always handy and useful. Again a favor was asked, this

(11:51):
time that the father of Antonio might come as a
visitor for a three weeks stay. He was very old,
would not eat in my house, only in the servants room.
So again I consented. Father must have already been on
his way, permission taken for granted, for his arrival was
almost simultaneous. I found him sitting in my kitchen, in

(12:13):
very new and very clean white clothes, the saintliest old towel,
with no teeth, white hair, and a perpetual smile. He
rose and bowed low to me, But he couldn't speak
Spanish or English, so called his son to him to
salute me for him. Formerly, I returned it and made
him welcome to my house. He bade them tell me

(12:36):
he had journeyed far to tell me of his gratitude
for my goodness to his family, and that he had
such confienza in me that he had instructed his sons
never to leave me. The old fellow enjoyed himself thoroughly,
and spent so much of his son's money that Antonio
shipped him home in a week. Are they spoiled by
living with Americans? Yes? But it shows most in their clothes.

(13:01):
Antonio dresses almost as well as his master, laughed missus s,
but he does not attempt to work in his best clothes,
wearing the regulation Muchacho costume without objection, even though some
of the army officers Muchacho's are allowed to dress like
fashioned plates and clatter around the polys floors and their
russet shoes. Muchacho will spend his whole month's pay for

(13:23):
a single pair of American Russet shoes. They love Russet,
and the shoe stores flourish in consequence. How about their amusements,
I inquired. Whenever they can get off, they go to
baseball games and the movies. The little girls wear American
made store dresses now, and great bunches of ribbon in

(13:44):
their hair, white shoes and silk stockings. Some families, who
in the early days had hardly a rag on their backs,
now own motors. I don't believe you could force independence
on them. The senoritas trip home from normal school with
their high heeled American pumps and paint enough on their
faces to qualify for Broadway. The poor children have to

(14:06):
swelter in knitted socks, knitted hoods, and knitted sweaters just
because they come from America. Filipino children are wonderful, though
they never cry unless they are ill. They are allowed
absurd liberty, but they don't seem to get spoiled. The
Filipina women love white children intensely. The fair skins seemed

(14:26):
to charm them, and they really can't resist kissing a
blond child. We certainly enjoyed our stay at Lucenna. Missus
S's house was so clean and homelike, with its pretty
dining room and its broad veranda and the big shower bath,
which felt so refreshing. We went to sleep that night,
watching the palm leaves waving in the moonlight. In the

(14:48):
early morning, we all got into automobiles again and ran
over fine roads built since the American occupation. We left
the China Sea and crossed the island to the Pacific,
climbing a wonderful t tropical mountain, where by the way
we nearly backed off a precipice because our brakes refused
to work, and we frightened a horse as we whizzed

(15:08):
on to Antimonon. The churches here had towers something like
Chinese pagodas, and the big lamps inside were covered with
Mexican silver. All these island towns of a presidente and
a board of governors called conseillales, and each province has
a governor. Manila hemp is one of the principal products

(15:29):
of this prosperous province, and it is chiefly used to
make rope. The plant from which this hemp is made
looks very much like a banana plant. The stalk is
stripped and only the tough fibers are used. They employ
the cocoanut a good deal to make oil, which is
obtained from the dried meat called copra. They had a
procession of their products here at Antemonan, which was very interesting.

(15:53):
The hemp and cigar importations were first carried on by
Salem captains in the fifties. The great American shipping firm
in those days was Russell Sturgis, Oliphant and Company. The
Philippines were out of the line of travel, however, and
few people went there except for trade. In fact, as
far as I know, only one book was written by

(16:13):
an American about the islands before the American occupation on
the Risol. Next morning, when I looked out of my
porthole at dawn, it seemed to me as if I
were gazing at an exquisite turner painting. Mount Maeon was
standing there, majestically superb in its cloak of silver mist,
which changed to fiery read it is the most beautiful

(16:36):
mountain in the world, more perfect in outline than Fuji.
Missus Dickinson was so inspired by its beauty that she
wrote a poem, a stanza of which I give Mount
Maeon is lonely grandeur rises from a sea of flame,
type of bold, aggressive manhood, lifting high a famous name

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above the conflict of endeavor, ranging round its earthly base,
where heartache and failure ever stand, hand clasped face to face.
Our landing at Tobacco was made in the most novel way.
As the water was shallow and the result could not
get into the dock. Three caraboughs hitched to a wagon

(17:18):
waited out till only their noses could be seen. We
stepped on to the two wheeled cart and sat in
state on chairs while we wiggle waggled through the water
to the shore. There we went to the town hall
and had a banquet with many brown men and a
few little brown women. The governor of the province spoke,
and General Banholtz responded in Spanish for the Secretary, who

(17:41):
had gone ahead to close a government coal mine that
was not proving successful. After the banquet, we had an
enchanting automobile ride through quaint villages at the foot of
the great Mountain to Albay, where a review of the
scouts was held by the Secretary in the setting sun.
When our party dispersed for dinner, L and I were

(18:01):
farmed out to the Superintendent of Schools, mister Calkins. The
houses built for Americans were all of wood, with broad piazzas,
much like summer cottages at home, with the hall in
which we dined in the center, and the bedrooms leading
off it. End of section sixteen, recording by William tom

(18:22):
Coe