f and his associate which he sought to submit to
me for criticism or modification, saying that I knew much more about
the case than they did! He was nonplussed at my refusal to read the
document, and left saying "_acqui tiene V. nuevo servidor_." [498]
Had I redrafted the opinion, as I might have done, my "new servant"
would have called later for a _quid pro quo_.

Some of the Filipino judges of first instance have proved weak in
matters affecting the integrity of public domain and the protection
of the public forests, but on the whole these officers have done
rather surprisingly well. It must be remembered that the best men
in the islands have now been appointed, and that another generation
must come on before there will be available any considerable number
of new candidates who are up to the standard of the present appointees.

CHAPTER XVI

Health Conditions

I had abundant opportunity to observe health conditions in the
Philippines during the Spanish regime and they were shocking in the
extreme. There were no provisions for the sanitary disposal of human
waste even in Manila. If one had occasion to be out on foot at night,
it was wise to keep in the middle of the street and still wiser to
carry a raised umbrella.

Immediately after the American occupation some five hundred barrels
of caked excrement were taken from a single tower in one of the old
Manila monasteries. The moat around the city wall, and the _esteros_,
or tidal creeks, reeked with filth, and the smells which assailed
one's nostrils, especially, at night, were disgusting.

Distilled water was not to be had for drinking purposes. The
city water supply came from the Mariquina River, and some fifteen
thousand Filipinos lived on or near the banks of that stream above the
intake. The water was often so thick with sediment that one could not
see through a glass of it, and it was out of the question to attempt
to get it boiled unless one had facilities of one's own.

Conditions in the provinces were proportionately worse. As a rule,
there was no evidence of any effort to put provincial towns into
decent sanitary conditions. I must, however, note one striking
exception. Brigadier General Juan Arolas, long the governor of Jolo,
had a thorough knowledge of modern sanitary methods and a keen
appreciation of the benefits derivable from their application. When
he was sent to Jolo, practically in banishment, the town was a plague
spot to which were assign