ASSORTED JOBS IN THE PHILIPPINES
THE Philippines proved to be a prolific field for jobs. It was our plan
to settle in the Islands for several months and add to our exchequers
before going on to India and Europe. Richardson held down three jobs
during our three months' stay and for a few days drew pay from them
all at the same time. I filled one position and declined two others.
The American who couldn't get work in Manila at the time of our visit
deserved to starve to death.
Many of the old Spanish laws are still in force and, before I could
transact any business, I had to comply with the insular regulations and
get a _cedular_ or license. This certificate costs two pesos and must
be held before carrying on any financial negotiations.
I was now ready to look for a job. The first day I had a chance to sign
on as a government teamster caring for and driving a pair of mules at
sixty dollars a month. I did not accept this position, but held it in
reserve in case I couldn't land anything better. The second day, the
city editor of the _Cable-News American_ said that he had an opening
as a reporter at eighty dollars a month. At last I got in touch with
the Bureau of Education which I learned wanted a man in its industrial
department. Four others had been under consideration for several
days for the position when I arrived on the scene. I interviewed the
director, Mr. Frank E. White, a charming man who has since died and, as
I made a favourable impression, he asked me to call again.
My application was considered for a week and I conversed with several
of the authorities of the Bureau. I didn't like the long time employed
in coming to a conclusion on my case, for I expected to remain in
Manila only a few months--a fact which I had to keep a secret to have
any one hire me.
One afternoon during these negotiations I was on the Luneta attending
the daily concert of the Philippine Constabulary Band, when I was
startled by a war-whoop. I looked up to see a sturdy figure dressed in
the white of the tropics bounding towards me. It was Richardson who
had just arrived in Manila from China. It was the first we had seen or
heard of one another for three months. That evening we spent several
hours relating our experiences since we separated.
The next interview with the Bureau of Education was the final one. My
qualifications evidently satisfied the authorities for Mr. White opened
the conversation by saying:
"Well, we have decided to take you on, Mr. Fletcher--on one condition."
"What is that?" I asked.
"That you will remain permanently," responded Mr. White.
After all the days of negotiation the job now hung in the balance, for
I intended to stay only three months at most and I wanted to be free to
leave at any time. I couldn't afford to let this information loose or
all would be lost.
"I can't agree to anything like that, Mr. White. I assume that you
reserve the right to discharge me if my services are not satisfactory
and I want the same privilege to quit if I find that I don't like the
work or can't get along with you or your assistants," I said.
"Of course we take such matters into consideration," replied Mr. White.
"You may go to work at once if you wish."
"There is one little matter which has not been mentioned yet," I added.
"What is that?" enquired the director.
"Compensation," I smiled.
"Two hundred pesos a month," said Mr. White with a laugh. This amount
is equivalent to one hundred dollars.
"That is satisfactory," I concluded and was conducted into the
department where I was to work. Now that I had the job I at once began
to figure out how to get rid of it when the time came. A few minutes
before I had been wondering how I was going to get it.
[Illustration: AN OLD CHURCH IN MANILA]
The Bureau of Education is one of the main divisions of the Insular
Government and employs nearly two thousand men and women, the large
majority of whom are scattered throughout the Islands as teachers. The
head office in Manila has about one hundred and twenty on its staff,
and these are divided among several departments. The Division of
Publications and Industrial Information was the title of the department
in which I was to work and my duties consisted of issuing bulletins,
editing text-books, publishing the _Philippine Craftsman_ (a monthly
magazine of the Bureau) and preparing the annual report. This last
embodied about fifty financial and statistical tables and twenty or
more graphic charts showing the work accomplished by the Bureau during
the year. This annual report turned out to be the main part of my
duties and I was assisted by eight Filipinos who compiled most of the
tables under my supervision. As the Governor-General of the Islands put
in a rush order for this report my assistants and I were compelled to
work until eleven o'clock each evening for about a month.
Immediately on his arrival in Manila Richardson started to look for a
job. The first day, he met a friend from the Hawaiian Islands who was
in the Philippines representing the Honolulu Planters' Association in
obtaining Filipino labourers for the sugar plantations in Hawaii. This
man said he would have a position open in a few weeks. Richardson
informed him that he could not wait and would have to get something at
once. The Hawaiian planter then agreed to take an option on his time
at thirty dollars a week until a vacancy occurred. Richardson accepted
this and remained in Manila to await developments.
The duties of the job for which Richardson was slated consisted of
visiting several of the islands in a small steamer, manned by a Spanish
captain and crew, and gathering labourers who would be taken to Manila
and thence shipped to Honolulu. He was to have a motion picture
apparatus, with an operator and lecturer who would accompany him in his
visits to the small villages and towns and after showing the natives
the wonders and advantages of life in Hawaii sign them on and ship them
out.
During his wait in Manila Richardson was afflicted with the common
tropical malady of dengue and was confined to his bed for ten days.
Dengue is a sort of tropical grippe which is conveyed by mosquitoes
and attacks its victims by means of a fever, rash and sore bones in
every part of the body. Probably its most aggravating features are its
after-effects, for a severe case often leaves the patient in such shape
that it requires several months to recover normal health. Fortunately
Richardson, due to his rugged constitution and to the fact that his
attack was comparatively light, was soon convalescent and recovered
without the usual lingering after effects.
Richardson soon received word from his Honolulu planter friend that he
was to report in Cebu, a town on the island of the same name about five
hundred miles south of Manila. He took an inter-island steamer and in
a few days reached his destination and was ready for duty. He expected
to go to work at once. But the man in charge at Cebu informed him that
he was not needed and instructed him to return to Manila. There was
a hitch some place. After some difficulty about expense money, which
the Cebu man refused to pay and which was adjusted satisfactorily to
Richardson by wiring to the Honolulu representative in Manila, he
returned north, arriving on a Wednesday morning. He was paid off until
the end of the week, which made a total period of one month at thirty
dollars a week with no work and an interesting trip with all expenses
to Cebu and back.
He began, Wednesday afternoon, to look for another job and by evening
he had obtained a position as shipping clerk for a wholesale grocery
house at one hundred dollars a month. He went to work the next
morning--Thursday. That evening, after dinner, he received a letter
from the Bureau of Public Works, to which he had made application the
afternoon before, which stated that he was wanted to go to the island
of Mindanao, a thousand miles south of Manila, and take charge of the
construction of several concrete bridges at a salary of one hundred
and twenty dollars a month and expenses. This offer was especially
tempting, not only for the increase in salary but for the opportunity
it offered him to see more of the Islands--the motive for which he was
travelling. The position called--so the man at the Bureau of Public
Works stated--for a knowledge of structural engineering, cement work
and drafting. Richardson was not an engineer and knew nothing about
such subjects.
"What, do you think of my accepting this job?" asked Richardson of his
travelling companion when he had finished reading his letter aloud.
"Take it," I said.
"But I don't know anything about structural engineering," he replied.
"What difference does that make? All jobs sound harder than they really
are. Suppose you accept it and they find in a couple of weeks that you
are no good and fire you, what do you care? You will be a thousand
miles farther along on the trip at their expense," I said rather
emphatically.
"All right," said Richardson. "To-morrow I will notify the grocery
people that I intend to quit in the evening and I will sail for
Mindanao on Saturday."
Richardson severed his connections with the wholesale grocery house the
following night and began making preparations for his departure south.
It will be remembered that the salary from his first position continued
until the end of the week. He received pay from the grocery store for
Thursday and Friday and his wages from the Bureau of Public Works began
on Friday morning. He therefore drew pay from all three jobs on Friday.
Richardson didn't know a transit from a trombone and he knew no more
about cement than a hair-dresser but, provided with a technical
hand-book, he sailed, certain that he would be a competent engineer by
the time he arrived at Zamboango on the island of Mindanao--in about a
week. I saw him off and interestedly awaited word from him as to how
matters would turn out.
I had rented a large room in the Imperial Hotel, one of the quaint old
adobe Spanish buildings with iron-barred windows and folding doors, in
the Intramuros or walled city. I had been living in this room for a few
weeks when the proprietor, evidently thinking that it was too large for
one person to occupy, placed another man in it without consulting me.
As the new arrival appeared a good fellow, and also because I received
a reduction in my rental, I made no objection. My new roommate was
a man about thirty years of age by the name of Edwards. He had been
a second-class yeoman in the United States Navy and, after serving
several years, had bought his way out. According to his own statement
he had enjoyed the reputation of having been the biggest drunkard in
the Asiatic Squadron and in this contention he was upheld by members
of the navy who knew him. He now, however, had been on the water wagon
for six months and intended to remain there.
It was only a few days after the advent of Edwards that the proprietor,
evidently still considering that the room was too large to be wasted
on two persons, intruded a third. This man's name was Lakebank, and
since (as in the first case) he appeared to be a decent sort of chap
and the proprietor again reduced the rental, we concluded to allow him
to remain. We all, however, agreed that he was to be the last. Lakebank
was a rough, uncouth fellow with one of the finest dispositions in the
universe and a heart as big as the ocean. He was chauffeur for one of
the high officials of the Insular Government. The three of us got along
very well together.
One evening as Edwards and I were eating the eternal chicken dinner of
Manila, Lakebank arrived with a most disturbed look in his face. His
eyes were nearly popping out of his head. I at once saw that something
was wrong and enquired what the trouble was but received only a wink
in reply. I took the hint and put the matter off until after dinner.
Lakebank, who was very nervous and excited, then informed me that he
had seen a man on the street, that afternoon, whom he recognised as
his sister's husband and who, nine years ago in the United States, had
left her on the night of the birth of their little girl. Later it was
discovered that he had gambled away all her savings. He had never been
seen or heard from, and was supposed to be dead, until Lakebank came
face to face with him on a _calle_ of Manila. Lakebank learned that his
brother-in-law was going under the assumed name of Polly.
We discussed the matter for some time and I offered a number of
suggestions as to how to handle the situation. The next day, Lakebank,
acting on our conclusions, went to the office of Mr. Polly, who had a
good position with the Insular Government, and stated that he wished to
speak to him alone.
"Go right ahead. Everything my stenographer hears is confidential,"
said Mr. Polly.
"No, I want her out of the room," insisted Lakebank, "for I have
something of a very serious nature to say to you."
"Don't mind her," repeated the man, "I assure you that everything you
say will be kept a secret."
"All right then," and looking him squarely in the face Lakebank said,
"I am James Lakebank, your brother-in-law. Your name is Ham, not Polly."
"Yes, yes, you are right; no one should be present," muttered Ham
nervously and, as he staggered towards the door, he added, "Come with
me." The two men left the office and wandered out on the street, both
in silence, until they came to a secluded spot in an adjacent lumber
yard where, sheltered from view, they sat speechless.
"What are you going to do about it?" Lakebank finally asked. Ham then
opened his heart and in tears stated that he had never spent such
remorseful years in his life as those which had elapsed since the
night he left his wife. He explained that he went directly to Chicago,
enlisted in the army and was detailed to Manila, where he had been ever
since. He said that if his wife were willing he would join her again
and to show his good faith, would give Lakebank five hundred dollars to
send her so that she could come to San Francisco and meet him there.
If she did not want to see him, she could keep the money for whatever
purpose she wished. He enquired affectionately about the little girl
who was born the night he deserted and whom he had never seen. He
stated that he had saved several thousand dollars and that, if it was
his wife's wish, he would return to America, resume his right name,
join her and begin life all over again.
Lakebank did not know whether his sister would forgive Ham, or not,
but informed him that he would write her of their meeting. The case
interested me and I was eager to know the outcome. It would take
several months for letters to be exchanged between Lakebank and his
sister and the matter would not be settled until nearly a year after
my departure from the Islands. Many months afterwards I heard from
Lakebank. Ham returned to America, met his wife and little girl in San
Francisco, were reunited and were happily situated in the States.
[Illustration: THE HOUSE IN WHICH RICHARDSON LIVED DURING HIS EMPLOY AT
THE PRISON]
One evening I was much surprised to see Richardson come bounding into
my room.
"Where did you drop from?" I enquired, astonished.
"Just blew in from Zamboango," said Richardson. "I have had enough of
these islands. Are you ready to beat it to-morrow?"
"Any old time suits me. To-morrow if you say so."
"All right, to-morrow we go."
Richardson then related his Mindanao experiences. On his way south on
the steamer he did all he could to prime himself full of engineering
knowledge. He discovered among the passengers an engineer whom he
put through a severe cross-examination. After seven days he arrived
in Zamboango and, reporting to headquarters, was instructed to go to
the Insular Penitentiary about twenty miles down the coast. At the
prison his duties were outlined to him. What a drop from structural
engineering they were! His "bridge building" consisted of acting as
foreman in charge of one hundred and twenty convicts who were hauling
wheelbarrow loads of sand and filling in a gulch near the prison
buildings.
The penitentiary was situated on the shore of the island of Mindanao
and was one of the Insular Government prisons. The institution
consisted of several one-story, cement-walled and thatch-roofed houses
which, in addition to containing the cells for the convicts, had rooms
and accommodations for the guards and officers. The prisoners were
largely recruited from the Moro tribe, nominal Mohammedans, with whom
the United States has had much trouble. There were also a few Filipinos
and a number of Chinese.
Richardson was comfortably situated in one of the cottages which
were provided for the officials of the prison. The entire group of
buildings was within a few hundred feet of the ocean and was buried in
a luxuriant jungle of palms and evergreen trees of the tropics.
Each morning at six o'clock the convicts, attired in their striped
uniforms, were conducted by a number of armed guards to a ravine
across which the prison authorities had planned to build a bridge. The
preliminary work of filling and grading was being done and it was to
oversee this work that Richardson was assigned. All day long, under
the tropical sun, he supervised the hauling, filling and levelling.
It was a position a ten-year-old boy could have held. As the work
progressed he, no doubt, would have had to use his knowledge of bridge
construction. Fortunately, for those of posterity who are destined to
use this bridge, he did not remain to complete the work.
Ten days on the job and he was notified that he was to be transferred
to another part of the Islands. He was instructed to report to Manila
for orders. His removal was due to the fact that the Manila office had
sent six men to Mindanao when only four were needed and as he was the
last to arrive he was naturally the first to go. He took a boat and
reached Manila after an absence of one month during which he received
one hundred and twenty dollars and expenses and two thousand miles
travel, visiting many of the island ports _en route_.
As the Bureau of Education authorities had assumed that unless
something extraordinary happened I was a fixture in my position, I
expected to be thrown out when I notified them of my intention to
leave. It also would look as though I were afraid that I could not pass
the civil service examination which was scheduled for the next day
and which I had to take to become a regular employé--for I was only
a temporary man up to this time. The shortness of the notice might
also cause trouble for, as we were to leave the Islands that day, I
could give only a few hours' notice. On second thought I concluded
that the Bureau could not justly object for I had come at a time when
it was badly in need of a man to issue the annual report and I had
finished this volume, having put in much overtime on it without extra
remuneration.
However, everything passed off smoothly and, instead of being forced
to stay or being kicked out, I was treated with the greatest kindness
and consideration by every one from Director White down. I never before
left a position with so much good will on the part of my employers.
Mr. White expressed his regret and stated that he had planned to soon
promote me and give me an increase in salary. He added that if at any
time he could be of service to me I should not hesitate to call on him.
That evening Richardson and I sailed in the hold of a ship for
Hongkong. After travelling through Japan, Korea, China and the
Philippine Islands we left Manila with more coin than we had when we
departed from Honolulu eight months before. We each were now worth
about eight hundred dollars.