ll-work" in the house of the foreign resident, the stevedore
on the dock, the clerk in the forwarding house, the "boss" in the rice
plantation, the handy man in the tobacco factory, and the store-keeper
in the remote Filipino village. Sixteen hours of hard work every day and
Sunday seem to make him grow fat; the rest of the time he just works for
fun--and hard cash.

Long before the Chinese coolie came to the United States the Spanish
raised the cry "The Chinese must go." The Spanish made short work of
them, killing them by thousands and tens of thousands. But in a year or
two John was on hand again, smiling and working sixteen hours a
day--strictly for cash. And he is in the Philippine Islands to stay.

As a rule the Filipinos rarely live isolated as do the American farmers.
Almost always they cluster in villages of one or two hundred people. The
Filipino is not likely to cultivate a big farm. Two or three acres will
supply the family with all the food required, and the Chinese merchant
will buy enough of his produce to provide a few dollars in cash and the
cloth for the family wearing apparel. In the smaller villages there is
an open place that answers for a street, but the houses are apt to be
scattered about without much regularity of arrangement.

The houses, like those of the Pacific islands generally, are built of
bamboo frames--heavy pieces for the framework itself and woven bamboo
splints for the side sheathing. The roof is carefully thatched with the
leaves of the nipa-palm and these are sewn into a thick mat with ratan.
In places where the ground is likely to be overflowed, each house is set
on posts so that the floors are several feet from the ground. In this
case the "pig" does not "live in the parlor"; the pigs and chickens
occupy the "ground floor." All told, the Filipino village mansion may
not be very ornate, but it is extremely comfortable.

The larger villages and cities are built much alike. There is a plaza or
public square. Around the four sides, and facing the plaza, are the
church, government buildings, and stores. The more pretentious
residences are near by. Further away these give place to the Filipino,
or "nipa houses," as they are called. The street surrounding the plaza
is broad and well kept; elsewhere the streets are quagmires in the
rainy, and dust holes in the dry season. Pretty nearly always there is a
Chinese quarter that is crowded and dirty; quite likely, too, the best
stores in t