Hongkong, Aug. 20, 1912

I succeeded in effecting a "Society  for the Advancement of Women" with eight officers, half American  and half Filipino. As this is the first society where the two  races have united in work, and as the officers are collectively  and separately the best the Island afford, I should feel truly  happy over it, if there was a strong motive to hold them together.  They will study the question; I can only hope that  their study will develop a little backbone. The president,  Mrs. Lobenger of Omaha, is the wife of a Judge of the Court of  First Instance, and is excellent.  

One of the last days we went to see a cigar factory. Some  were on strike. We saw the best, most sanitary, highest conditions  in this one - 1500 people employed, fully half appeared to be women although the Director said about one third were women.  

There were four floors. Between 7 and 8 millions of cigarettes are turned out daily and nearly all are consumed in the  Islands. Most are made by machinery which comes from  Barcelona (Spain). Paper tubes are first made by the machine.  Another fills and cuts the paper off. Women do not do machine work, but do all the other processes. Packages of 25 completed cigarettes  are wrapped in paper previously printed and a girl is expected  to put up about 3,000 in a day. They are all paid by piece  work. The highest pay for men is 25 pesos or $12.50, for  women 8 pesos or $4.00. Men do the best paid kinds of work.  Choice handmade cigars, shipped in tinfoil or glass test tubes,  are made by them. We did not believe the girls get anything  like $4. per week, but we could not find out what they did get.  One girl, wrapping packages, who looked about 14, was so quick  as to be marvelous. These factories, of which there are 16 in  Manila, all employ child labor, and work their people 14 hours.  This particular factory had excellent ventilation, and as it  was a fairly cool day, the air did not seem bad. At the entrance  was a women with two little children. She was a searcher.  Whenever a woman left her place of work to go out, this woman  examined her clothing to see that she carried away no tobacco. Men searchers examined the men. At the door women with little  restaurants sold roasted corn and native food to whoever came for  it. The food was not nutritious not digestible. All my old  hatred for tobacco came back when I saw the slavery of the hundreds  of young workers, with every possibility of nervous force  stimulated to the utmost, in order to bring dividends to the proprietors,  who in turn are supplying poison to the multitude.  Every man, woman, boy and girl of the middle and lower classes  smokes cigarettes. Every man of all classes smokes, and this  they do continuously. They do not know how to live unless a  cigarette is in the mouth or between the fingers.  

Our last day was a busy one, as our steamer left a day before due. I found by accident two Filipino ladies sitting in  the lobby waiting for me. They came to take me to a Filipino  private boarding school where I had promised to go, but had sent  word I could not. However, we jumped into a motor and sped far  away. The distances in Manila rival those of New York. There I  found 400 girl students, representing 19 Provinces, assembled to  meet me, under the guidance of the dearest little Filipino woman,  Senorita Evalino. They showed me their embroidery, and sang for  me. The uniform is pink. The little girls wore pink European  dresses. The older ones had pink skirts with the usual long  impractical trains, and their camisas and kerchiefs were all  the shades of pink from nearly white to a deep rose. It was an  audacious color for a uniform, but becoming to the brown  beauties.  

When I returned to the hotel, I found Mrs. Quinan and  Mrs. Peacock and Mr. Linnell had been in to say good-bye. It had  been the intention for all to go out on the "Columbia" a launch  of the company, to see us off, but the steamer decided not to go  until - 9 p.m. I was sorry to miss them. Mrs. Quinan brought  the Review of Reviews and a box of candy from the two boys; Mrs.  Peacock a book. Mr. Linnell, who was dining out, came in later.  I had bought a doll for little Gladys and asked him to bring her  around after it, but he was too busy. I planned to take it to  the office, and after having kept it a week I opened the box. Its  red stockings were green with mold, and splotches of it were  everywhere, In fact, all Manila turns green during the rainy  season and everything smells mouldy. Mr. Quinan and Howard  came after us in their motor and took us out to our ship on the  "Columbia." It was a pleasant experience. The Company paid our livery bill, which must have been big. It was most generous,  but I felt rather like a yellow dog to take it.  

Our ship was "Prince Sigesmund" of the German Lloyd, on  its way from Australia to Hongkong. The meals were horrid after  the Manila Hotel. The beds were good, the air hot, the sea  smooth. There were no decent chairs on the deck, and no cool  place. The trip was tolerable, not enjoyable. Thus we left  Manila behind, and I have not recorded a tenth of daily doings.  I was busy going, seeing people, shopping and reading about  things there in order to try to understand the situation. The Filipinos want independence - some now, some willing to wait.  Meanwhile, the U.S. is drilling 40,000 armed natives. A mutiny  someday will be interesting. On the other hand, the children  are being civilized by English, industry and a little education.  The unstability of affairs makes some Capitalists afraid to  invest. Others have invested and bank upon the certainty of the  U.S. defending their property. That is the way its done.  Some people begin to make money in a foreign country; then there  is trouble; then the country to which the money belongs threshes  those who rebel and takes a chunk of their territory as a punishment  for not setting tight. Then when they are properly subdued,  the overlord says, these people do not want independence, they  are lazy and satisfied! 

I have ordered 89 or 90 slides of the Philippines. In addition  I have photos 1 - 57. A young Spaniard who went with us  to Pagsanyan brought us four photos he had taken - "58 and 59" are  the young people in the canoes. 60 gives a good picture of Mr.  Del Pan standing by Dr. Jacobs. 61 reveals Dr. J's smiling countenance,  with the rest of us forming a modest background. 

Transcribed and reviewed by volunteers participating in the By The People project at crowd.loc.gov.