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About The news-herald. (Plattsmouth, Neb.) 1909-1911 | View Entire Issue (April 12, 1909)
CURB FILIPINO BOY MARY H. FEE TELLS PECULIAR MANNERISMS. School Children Are Afraid of Being Laughed At. But They Never Con sider Themselves Ludicrous. BY MARY HELEN FEE. (American Ttartior In Philippine) Filipino children are far easier to discipline tlmn American, so lont; ns they llml firmness and just ice in the teacher. At the first sign of weakness In his personality, or In the govern ment which is behind him, they are Infinitely more unruly nnd arrogant than the children of our own race. There is, even In the most truculent American child, a sense of the eternal fitness of things, which the Filipino lacks. It Is something which Is not altogether explicable by the hack neyed allegation as to the Filipino's Inadequate conception of what consti tutes liberty. If anything, It would seem to nte to be based upon the American's fear of making a fool of .himself. It is at that point exactly that the great divergence between the characters of the American nnd the Fjllplno begins. Filipinos are dread fully afraid of being laughed at. but I have jet to meet the one, child or adult, who entertained tho faintest suspicion that he might, of his own volition, make a fool of himself. He Is more Kusplclous of others and be lieves that peoplo may laugh at him from sheer wantonness, but ho cannot Imagine that he may put himself In a position where tho laughter would bo Justllled. Tho following anecdote may serve to illustrate this characteristic: A certain American tencher was training a Filipino boy In an oratorical recita tion. The boy had adopted a plan of lift lug one band in nn impassioned gesture, holding It a moment, then let ting It drop only to repeat tho per formance with the other hand. After ho had prolonged this until he began to look like a fragment of the ballet of "La I'oupce," the teacher lost pa tience. "Domingo," she Bald, "don't saw tho air with those pointless gestures. They aro Inappropriate and artificial and they make you look foolish." Domingo paused nnd contemplated her for a moment with the large sym pathy which Filipinos so often display for our artistic Inapproclatlveness. "Madame," ho replied, "you surprise and pain me. Those gestures aro not foolishness. They are talent. I thought they would please you." When a single American child goes Into conflict with the constituted au thorities lie must havo a great deal of the best of the question In order to enlist active partisanship on the part of his fellow pupils. If they do go with him It. Is usually for one of two reasons. Flther the teacher Is weak personally, and the children perceive It, and despise the arrogance which seeks a leader's position without hav ing a leader's courage; or recognizing tho Impregnable strength, of their united efforts they set out In cold blooded good humor to make life a burden to that teacher, and give him to understand that he rules by the ' consent of the governed and must not mistake their complaisance for his own power. Filipino children follow no such lines of reason. They do not reason at all ns a matter of fact, hut they act on certain subconscious Im pulses which are hnrder to meet with reason than the most able logic thnt ever sprang from any brain. They have not, for Instance, the tradition of natural enmity between pupil and teacher which Is almost a national in heritance with us. On the whole their attitude toward their teachers is a very kindly one. nut there is, in every one of them, male or female, a desire to assert himself personally; to have the center of the stage, as It were, and speak the leading role. As Mr. Kip ling would put It, there is too much ego In their cosmos. The secret con sciousness of power is not enough for them. They must flash It every sec ond Ih your eyes, In order that you may not forget to yield the ndulatlon which Is due to power. This Is a femi nine quality and perhaps the shortest way to put It would be to say that tho national temperament Is a feminine one, Into which statement I hope my readers will not project the moaning effeminate. Filipino men are not lack ing In manly qualities. They have the physical courage, the relatively strong er will nnd stronger passions as com pared with women, but In both bcxcs of the Filipino race there are em phasized certain mental and moral pe culiarities which we are accustomed to consider as feminine. In political, as well ns'Bodal matters, for instance, they are ruled more by personal emo tion and private ambition than by any general moral or social code. They re proud, but their pride Is in their personal Influence or powers of at traction, not Ih what they hnve ac complished. They rely upon Intuition to guide them, more than upon an alysis. In enlisting your co-operation, even In public matters they appeal to your friendship for themselves, In stead of demonstrating the abstract superiority of their cause. A demand refused, they aro not too proud to convert It Into a petition, and to beg where they onco commanded. They are adept at playing upon the weak nesses and petty vanity of others. Like vomen they deal gently with the strong nnd boldly with the wwuk. And, they have In Its high est development, tho feminine capacity for making a volte face with grace and equanimity- No explanations need be made. The observer may look, hear and form conclusions, and, If he be so stupid, find the eituation awk ward. It Is not so to the Filipino, who goes serenely on, protected lu either his Inconsistency, or his du plicity, by tho silence which he alone, according to all decent usage, may break. He may be one thing todaj nnd another to-morrow, but It Is suf ficient to him that he has changed. You may have your private opinion about It, but good breeding demands that you do not approach him In the matter and he Is going to take ad vantage of everything which such "good breeding" affords him. It Is this last quality which espe cially contributed to the socalled "do cility" of Filipino children. If In a moment of excitement they tako too high a stand, they can bnck down so much more easily than American children. They will, under slight pres sure, completely reverse a position, or, failing that, accept any pretext, how ever puerile, which will. In the lan guage of the Asiatic Coast, "save your face." "Savin? your face" means yielding a point without seeming to yield It. American children have this same de sire to "save their faces," but the con sciousness of the baldness of their po sition is usually too much for them. If, In a heated moment, an American boy becomes defiant, his teacher has two things to deal with tho original cause of the defiance, and his fear of being thought a coward If he yields an Inch. You may hold out a bait "Per haps you misunderstand me, James,11 but James knows that you are making It easy for him to retreat and that If ho seizes the pretext his mates will know him for a sham, bo the self Im molated victim blurts out, "No, I didn't, I understand you all right," and prepares to face the consequences. Here lu the Philippines all Is smooth. Give James that much of a lead and he will amiably accept It. He did mis understand you and you may rely upon him to be equal to tho occasion, and Invent a misunderstanding then and there which perfectly Justifies his po sition. The trouble vanishes presto! nor does a slnglo drooping eyelash, or lurking smile Indicate that tho audi ence sees through the whole farce. And If that Isn't feminine, what Is It? (Copyright. 19'iS. hy Joseph H. Bowles.) "TILL THE DAY OF JUDGMENT." Gen. Grant's Order a Compliment to Confederate Opponents. Gen. Grant has been fitly spoken of ns "an unaffected great soldier." It may have been the blending of this large-minded nepg and lack of affecta tion that Invariably made him so cour teously kind to any one who asked his assistance, so generous In his praise of an opponent, even when that opponent was fighting him to tho death. The following little story, hitherto untold, emphasizes all these qualities: After the fall of Fort Donclson, to prevent the needless violation of property by either the army or by camp followers, protections were Issued by the United States government. To Miss C, whose six brothers were fighting In the con federate army, such a protection was granted. It had been signed by all the commanders of the post In turn; by Tiuell, Rosecrans, Schofleld, Sheri dan, Grainger and many others, and the list was long and Impressive. At last It becamo necessary for Gen. Grant's signature to be added. "When I entered the oftlce," says Miss C, "the general was smoking, his feet higher than his head. Hut ho seemed Instantly to stand upright be fore me, and his cigar was thrown away In a moment. "I handed him my protection. '"You have rather a form-ldablo list of namcB,' he said, as he took It from me. " 'And I hope you will add yours tc It, and make It even more formidable,' I replied. "For answer he sat down again, ready to put his signature at the end of the parchment, when he suddenly stopped and looked at me. " 'For how long do you wish this protection for your estato, Miss C.?' he asked. "Tut II the day of judgment, gen eral,' I answered, boldly. "Then he smiled that sweet, quizzi cal smile of his that made so many people, even when they were his ene mies, love him, and said: " 'My dear young lady, you have great confidence in your armies! But with such courage and with such a lender as Gen. Lee, I cannot wonder.' Then, with a great flourish, he nddod the words, 'Till the day of Judgment, Ulysses S. Grant,' and hnndod It back to me." Youth's Companion. Mfldto's Halt: Prospective Immigration. In 1907 wo got 1,285,000 Immigrants; in 1908. 782.ST0 ; and tlieso figures were offset by a strong human cur rent running from our ports back to Europe. Out of last year's total, Austria-Hungary sent 168,000; Italy, In cluding Sicily, 128,000; the Russian empire and Finland, 156,000; over three-fifths of the total number thus coming from southern and southeast ern Furopo. Thero Is a prospect of a Russian emigration of a higher qual ity than we have had heretofore, from the reformer and high-grade revolu tionist class; discouraged patriots, such somewhat as came here from Germany Carl Schurz among them after the troubles of 181 S. Harper's Weekly. Declares Against Examinations. Trof. John Coulter of tho University of Chicago, In an article In the School Review, takes Issue with those who favor tho holding of examinations for entrance Into higher Institutions, Je clarlng vhat such methods are 'the relics of barbarism and entirely out ot data." pi mk & mm ill f The inverted bowl shape predominates among children's fashions for early spring. The Faster bonnet of Ih youngest member of the family is quite u mag nificent structure, but fortunately it. is easily made at home anil father need not groan when the bill conies in. The Inverted bowl hat is not quite like tho cloche, for the brim is the same width all around, and the big bowl also Is round ami slopes down comfortably Into the brim. Usually these bills are trimmed with a band of satin or silk I'bhon with a large chou at the side. The ciiou can be repl.iced by a bunch of (lowers, but the trimming must bo simple, as the hut Is sullidcntly taking to make over elaboration unnecessary, Howl shaped hats with a border of very tiny roses, interspersed with forget-me-nots, are always attractive, framing the baby lace. One of the Illustrations on this nago shows a hat of lace straw in ecru, trimmed with a large bow of white ribbon and lined inside with white chiffon. The small hat Is of white straw with choux of pale blue tat In. The third hat is of satin straw Interlaced with silk ribbons, and trimmed with large mar guerttes. OF STRAW AND METAL. Smart Thing in Hats Will Be Found Trying to Many. The smart thing In hats Is an Im mense Romney cap with high, full crown and short brim that tllto down nil around. One sees n good many of the Romney styles among exclusive women, as they really belong with the epoch of dress which is being copied. This hat is Intended for young and pretty faces. Unfortunately, most of tho styles this year are Intended for these. This hat Is not eccentric, and as It fits well over the bead and has not enough brim to make it compete with nn airship, it Is just the thing for windy days. Tho crown is made of a fascinating weave of straw braid, which is held In at tho base by a wide band of metallic ribbon, either tarnished gold, silver or copper. This is flexible and does not give the look or feeling of weight to the head. It Is arranged Into a large, soft bow in front. The original one Is made in natural straw with a tarnished gold band, the whole being so neutral that it can be worn with any gown. It will be copied, however, In many colors, as straw Is now being dyed in all the tones that have prevailed in cloths. There seems a widespread ten dency to go back to hats of one color with the gown. They are always In a different tone from that color and trimmed with something directly in contrast, but it is always evident that this hat was made for this gown. To Match the Suit. With shoes and stockings and gloves to match the gown Is it any wonder thnt tho same requirement should be made for the bat ? Not only is the same color being used, but the same materials us well. With one, two and three-piece gowns of rajah silk we have hats of the same stuff. When buying the material for the gown get from two to three yards more, depend ing on how the hat Is to he. made. Often, instead of making it all of one tone, the under side of I he brim Is made of a slightly lighter or darker shade, or even of a contrasting color. For trimming bands of the material may be used, or flowers, the latter be ing newer. The (lowers should be of the two tones used for the hat if possi ble. Where only one tone Is used they may give the contrasting note. For Breaking Nails. Tho constant use of hard water is fatal on the good appearance of the finger nails. This Is one of the draw backs to a filter plant; the alum used is hard on the skin and makes nails brittle. As, however, pure water Is the first consideration, women must, seek means of overcoming minor ills. Nails that break easily must be giv en a course of olive oil. It should be rubbed Into the linger tips each night. Massage well and occasionally give the lingers a bath in hot olive oil. If It is not convenient to use the oil, vaseline is a good substitute. When ever doing rough work the lingers should be protected with gloves. If It Is not comfortable to wear them over tho whole hand, lingers 'can be cut from old gloves. THE NEW v REDINGOTE COSTUME. Made Up in Light Colors, the Effect lb Altogether Charming. There is much undoubted style in the new afternoon costume, .consisting of a long skirt worn with a long redin goto in two shades of the same medi um color not In violent contrasts, but having just enough difference to make it tiotiei able. The redingote is made up in the lighter shade usually, lu grays, taupe ;:nd browns in wood tones, the effect is charming. These reilinui.ti's outline the (inure, but not eXUggeiatediv. The sleeves are long, very plain and close-lilting anil have lace rullies at the wrists. The neck is low enough to show the .lingerie stock and chemisette with its jabot of luce In front, for the V opening has two broad, fiat, unt rimmed rovers that touch the sleeves and lie across the bust softly. Large satin buttons to match trim and fasten the fronts in groups of three. About the knee height this button fastening ends, but the but tons continue in threes to the very bot tom on one side. One may ( boose light spring wool ens, the lovely crepons, the heavier cheviots, or the silk and wool cloths, as many women have done, and are weailng Um ir costumes in Florida and up the coast. Those made of satin cloths, and even of lighter satin-finish materials, have folds and cord pipings as their finishings instead of the plain, unt rimmed flatness d 'scribed for tho cloths and tho hemmed skirts. Vogue. WALKING COSTUME Lace and Silk Mull. At the places where Irish lace is sold thero conies a tiny scalloped edge, and this can be used with good results on a small bit of Inexpensive silk mull. The two combined make a dainty and cost ly looking Jabot for a turnover collar at a small price. The silk mull is plain or dotted, and sells for about 2! cents a yard. If this Is made Into six fine plaits, about four Inches long, with a tab and a buttonhole at top, then edged with tho Irish scallop, It. can be worn kith tine's smartest blouse or sent as a gift to n critical friend. Hats Have Big Crowns. The new hats, almost without excep tion, show exaggerated crowns, and the rough braids of the bird's nest variety are much In evidence, though many of tho prettiest models have their crowns covered completely with small flowers. Eton Collars for Spring, lllg rcuud F.lun collars will probably hold their own all through the sprit's. They may be made of plain linen or decorated with iquares of l.iee set In II JJ Navy-blue serge Is used fur this sim ple costume; the skirt is quite plain, and trimmed at the foot of front by black silk braid. The coat Is edged with br.ild. which Is taken up the slits at sides ami backs; navy-blue velvet Is used for the collar and cuffs. Two black silk ribbons hang from tho collar In center front. Hat of stretched silk J rimmed w ith a white feather. Materials required: Seven yards serge IS Inches' wide, nine yards braid, one-hall' yard velvet, four yards lining. A Gift for a Mm. The question of a really attractive gilt for a man Is solved to some ex tent by a novel! v in tie- wav of a pen knife. The new Idea is a silver knife of finest quality, with nn emblem worked on' lu colored French enamels in- seiled ill the Cloo. T!' insignia of hi.i (ollcgi! soclel'j or Ills ( lest Is Utttaelively wrought In (oior, making tin- little keepsake sonic ' thin,; i ilte out of the usual rm. rz nn T 77 Jl r 1 v-i SOUTH-AMERICA l!l WIRE TWCfMTt WE MID o ? A rt .?. U !. ..? ?: e 1 ' c V -i i urwnni tcnmri or a cahf yapp .m i i ink rnr WCRDS "BUREAU OF fMER!CAN REPU5LICS"S TRMMITTLD(W") AM rWSAflfMKPS AS RCIVD (&uow) No invention of modern times has awakened such world-wide and merit ed interest as the electric telegraph, ind Its subsequent application to the submarine cable has done more to bring the civilized countries in ciuser relation thany any other medium. Since (he laying of the first cable the system has rapidly extended until now practically all lands and conti nents are joined together. In 18S0 (here were about 51,1)00 miles of rubles in operation in various parts of the world. To-day there are over 2.10,(100 nautical miles of cable laid and wink ing. Practically all the Important South American business centers are telegraphically connected, nnd numer ous additional extensions are being contemplated, Tho east coast of South America is reached at I'ernambuco by the Fast em Company's cables as far us Azores tons. The cable's weight In salt wa ter was I.oOj pounds per nautical mile When the trouble with the cable was discovered tests from Valparaiso and Iquique placed the break about L! miles from the latter place. On Au gust 16, 1!K), the repair ship Faraday left Iquique for the position of tho break and commenced grappling in :1I2 fathoms, with 500 fathoms of rope out. The (able was hove up, cut, and tested to Iquique. The end was buoyed and tho ship grappling farther out picked up the cable, which came in badly twisted and with increasing strain. A large whale was brought to the surface completely entangled in the cable. The ship made soundings in Hie vicinity, which showed a depth of IK fathoms (2.410 feet, nearly one hair mile). The logical conclusion Is that It be came entangled (luring the laying of UN 1 TD '" STATES ft . . i.lav L v r MkZZCI I J v I Vxi y MUirruA s ev?f 5!' Ec f " BRAZIL J VTf . BOLIVIA J I lilt , "" ' M ! si y Cable Lines cf the South American Republics. or Lisbon, and from thence by the Western Company via St. Vincent. The French government has laid a ca ble to Senegal, which Is met there by the lines of the South American Cable Company. A (iennaii company (subsi dized by government), also has a route to Hra.il via Teneriffe. The cnble of the Central and South American Telegraph Company was opened for traffic, in August. l!t()7, and lias been the means of bringing Latin American countiies in direct commu nication with the United Stales. This cable extends from New York via Cuantanatuo to Colon and connects with a lino across the Isthmus of Pan ama nnd thence to the South American Const System. No part of the cable touches on foreign territory, and the United States government is particu larly Interested in Its operation, us tho landing ends can be secured lu -jjll emergency, precedence liven, If necessary, to government business business and in ease of war the cable absolutely controlled. The Valpnralso-lqulque cable was laid on January 2T, Iftot;. o .V t j ix n w 1 II, l!Hli. service between Iqulquo ami Valparaiso, Chile, was suspended, and uH)u Investigation It was discovered (hat a whale had become cntaiiiioil i In the cable. The April. lOnii. liulle. (In of the New York Zoological soclec stated that the cable in which the whale was entangled weighed in nlr, hlle wet, LTlii pounds per nautical mile, and had a breaking strain of (J OG the cable, eight months before, when there was considerable length of It ir, suspension. The twisted condition ot the stiff and heavy cable about the ani mal shows that the energy expended In the vain effort to free Itself must have been enormous. UI'SSKU, HASTINGS MIU.WAKP. Burning Sugar In Sick Rooms The burning of sugar in the i room has long been practiced, thougl many of our physicians smile when Is done, regaiiess of scientific which have proved its efficacy. The tests made by Prof. Trilliert the Pasteur institute in Paris that burning sugar develops acetylene hydrogen, a most, powerfu antiseptic gas. Five grains of were burned under a glass bell iug ten quarts. When the vapor had cooled of typhus, tuberculosis. choWu, pox. etc.. were placed in open tuiies. and within half an hour microbes wore dead. Is It a that our grandmothers found plication of sugar smoke to cuts wounds a marvelous curative a sick II tests 01 prove forniii verfu' sugai hold bacilli small glass all the wondei the an and enl? One Objection. "Ho you think the first of May would be u good day for tho Inauguration ceremonies'.'" i ertalnlv not, H would give those Idiotic parodists a chance ring the changes on the dismal and cali tue early,' theme." ciev l'lani Peuler. all to Wuko 'nnd
