| Show PRODDED BY MUSIC HOW MAJ KENNON GOT WORK OUT OP OF THE FIL FILIPIN 08 band aire airs cave impetus t to laborers zeal i in n B building u 1 idl n 9 th the e famous lamous D a n vi a t road 0 a d T through h acu gh luzon mountain mountains maj 1 L W V kernon now corn com mainline manding a battalion ot of the tenth in fantry at fort benjamin harrison in building the famous Ben gruet road through the mountains of northern luzon philippine islands accomplish ed a teat feat called humanly impossible it took music money and i 1 mongrel army of 4 men to do it but den aguet road stands today to day one of the re highways of the world maj Ken Xen xennia nuA army of road builders rested only on an sunday for ten hours ot of each day they forged ahead on sunday they rested in their quarters qu artere housea houses built on polea poles and grass they amused themselves with dances carda cards and games that ap pealed to the different maj kennon introduced music as one of the attract attractions lons along his lonely highway he lie Is known for his re nesi and he does not deny that he used music to get better work out of the pleasure loving filipinos and other orientals they did not like to work and when they did it was with slow sluggish movement one day maj kennon decided to try music as an impetus to zeal he ile assembled his band made up ot of men of all nations and ordered it to move quietly and secretly to a place where several hundred filipinos atre u en in drilling holes in the canyon walla walls the band stole up behind the slow going drillers and suddenly struck up UD a favorite oriental air in scantly the filipinos caught the spirit of the music and began to beat their drills against the rock in rhythm the result was more than a sur prise to the resourceful kennon he lie kept that band busy after that it tol fol lowed the along the way and played wherever they worked from laborer laborers worth about ten cents a day he developed them into musical ma chines that worked to drum beats ma maj kennon insists that hia his band saved the philippine government thou sands of dollars A bet bad had been made between maj kennon and hs foreman oa one eide side and the members of the philippine commission on the other aide side that the road would not be open by january 31 1905 the story of the bet was borne from tongue to tongue along the road maj alaj kennon promised each man a cigar if it they won the bet the effect was good the army ot of bent to their work there thera being a man to every seven feet of the road on the last lap into dagulo baguio on january 29 two day days before the expiration of the wager maj kennon rode into baguio in a carriage there was a great eel cel a ebrat bration lon and every man inan in the kennon army smoked a good cigar marked the kennon special each with a label bearing the majors picture |
