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Show An Almost Crimeless Manila. The Filipinos may pot know much--it has been the policy of American officials to represent them as an ignorant, semi-barbarous, dissolute pee'ple but at least they might teach the citizens of the United States several much-needed lessons in regard to the observance of law. According to William E. Curtis, Cur-tis, who is not disposed to give the inhabitants of our eastern archipelago move credit than they deserve, de-serve, there is less crime and immorality in the city of Manila than in any city of corresponding population popu-lation in the United States or Europe. About 10,000 Filipinos were arrested and tried before the courts during the last fiscal year, but the greater number of these, as Mr. Curtis testifies, were for violations of city ordinances, and regulations. At least 20 per cent of them occurred at the several market houses, where the police arc trying to regulate the sales of vegetables and other food products and keep the streets clear for traffic. Similar petty offenses, such as fast driving, riding bicycles on sidewalks, carrying weapons and begging, which can hardly be classed Js crimes, 'furnished nearly 5,000 of the cases coming up before the police courts. The superintendent of police in Manila is J. E. , Harding, a Chicago man. He is at present in the United States on a vacation and the acting superintendent super-intendent is his assistant, E. SLuthi, a native of Cleveland. Such crime as there may be in Manila, according to Mr. Luthi's statements in an interview inter-view with Mr. Curtis, has been considerably increased in-creased since the American reign" of enlightenment and benevolence was inaugurated. ''The number of saloons in Manila betore American Ameri-can occupation is not known," he said. "However, it is certain that there were not more than three or four first class bars in cafes. The native tienda, at which place native vinos are sold, has always -flourished and the number has increased somewhat since American occupation. The principal liquors sold before American occupation were beer of local brew and native wines; very little whisky was used. Upon the Americans entering Manila, several large wholesale houses were established and the liquor traffic started off with a boom. Th2 provost marshal general granted authority to open first class bars at a nominal fee of four or five pesos, Mexican, and the number of saloons increased rapidly. The local brewery, which had been closed during the insurrection, insur-rection, re-opened, and the demand for that liquor was so great that only a small part of this could be supplied. Every discharged soldier who had sufficient suf-ficient money opened up one or more. At the same time a small number of professional saloon keepers came to the islands and opened up. The city at this time was under martial law, and the saloons were controlled by the provost marshal general until the civil government took charge. "Drunkenness is not common, and the arrests made by the police department during the past six months have not averaged over three or four per day, a very low percentage considering the fact that there are no amusements in. Manila and that the poorer class of Americans here have no place in which to gather, no diversion and only a limited amount of society. This' is an abnormal condition, and naturally tends to increase the liquor traffic. "From all statistics, obtainable, the amount of drunkenness in Manila is much less than in other cities of the same size in the United States. This also applies to crime tind disorder, the number of arrosts per day being considerably below the average aver-age in large cities in the United States. "The natives drink very little, and urunkenness among them is exceptional." : a- |