The Japanese Occupation of the Philippines Volume 1

Citation preview

The Japanese Occupation of the Philippines V o lu m e I

By A. V. H . H a rte n d o rp

"Democracy, while weapons were everywhere aim’d at your breast, I saw you serenely giving birth to immortal children, — saw in dreams your dilating form; Saw you with spreading mantle covering the world." WHITMAN

Published with the assistance of THE WILLIAM J. SHAW FOUNDATION

gooKmarK Manila 1967

Copyright, 1967 A.V.H. Hartendorp All rights reserved

Printed in the Philippines First Edition MDB Printing—Makati, Rizal

"The great sea, the brood of islands, Polynesia, the coast beyond; The coast you henceforth are facing, — you Libertad! from your Western golden shores ---The countries there, with their populations... From Thibet, — from the four winding and far-flowing rivers of China, From the Southern peninsulas, and the demi-continental islands, — from Malaysia; These, and whatever belongs to them, palpable, show forth to me, and are seiz'd by me, And / am seiz’d by them, and friendlily held by them, Till, as here, them all I chant, Libertad! for them and for you." WHITMAN

V

DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT AND MANUEL LUIS QUEZON

"The world victory of Democracy over tyranny and oppression, and prior to that victory, the stubborn and heroic resistance to the enemy in the Philippines, key area in Eastern Asia, are in large measure owing, respectively, to these two great men." — SERGIO OSMENA

Contents Page A u th o r’s F o re w o rd ............................................................................

xiii

P relu d e — In v a sio n o f th e P h ilip p in e s — O ccu p atio n of M anila ..............................................................

1

T he S a n to T om as In te rn m e n t C am p .......................................

8

C h a p te r I — T he O p ening M o n th s .......................................

8

II — E a rly C am p L i f e ................................................ Story 1 — The Destruction of Cavite .......... 2 — The Sinking of the S.S. Corregidor 3 — The Fighting in Northern Luzon . . 4 — The Landing at Legaspi ............. 5 — The People from Baguio ............. 6 — The Manila Bankers .....................

43 62 68 74 78 82 84

III

— E n d o f th e E x ecu tiv e C o m m itteeR ed C ross D i a r c h y ............................................ 88 Story 7 — The Refugees from Bataan ......... 119 8 — Mr. Perkins, Consul-General for Thailand . , ...................................... 125 9 — The Internees from Southern Luzon 127

IV — T he D e m o cratic W ill of th e C a m p .......... Story 10 — The Baguio Internment Camp . . . 11 — The Army Nurses ......................... 12 — Shipping Losses ............................

138 168 174 186

The E n em y R ule o f th e C o u n try (J a n u a ry to A ugust, 1942) C h ap ter I — T he N ew F re e d o m — C o -P ro sp e rity — T he N ew C u ltu re .............................................. Story 13 — Church “Cooperation" with the Japanese ......................................

190 226

T h e S a n to T o m as In te rn m e n t C am p ....................................... V — T he F in a n c e a n d S u p p lie s C o m m itte e . . . Story 14 — The Oil Companies ..................... 15 — The Telephone Company .............. 16 — The Manila Electric Company . . . VI

V II

-

—

—

C o n flict o v e r th e " C o u r t” a n d th e “ T o w n M ee tin g s” .............................................. Story 17 — The First Internees from Mindanao 18 — A Small Town under the Japanese (Muntinlupa) ................................. 19 — The U.S. High Commissioner's Staff ................................................ 20 — The Malacanan Policemen ........ 21 — The Internees from Cebu ........ 22 — The Men of the M.S. Ravnaas . . . . 23 — The Three Internees Captured by a Japanese Warship ......................... T he F ir s t C h ris tm a s .............................. Story 24 — The Sugar Men ............................ 25 — The Tobacco Men ........................ 26 — The Coconut Oil Men ................ 27 — The Manila Hemp Men ................

239 239 249 253 256 258 282 296 304 311 313 323 325 328 347 350 353 356

V III — T he E x ecu tiv e C o m m itte e V o te d D ow n . . 358 Story 28 — The Internee from Palawan ........ 378 29 — The People from Samar and Leyte 386 IX

— K o d a k i G oes to T okyo a n d R e tu rn s — T he T o jo V isit ................................................ Story 30 — The Internees from Negros .......... 31 — The Mining Men from Masbate . . 32 — The British Vice-Consul who halt­ ed his ownExecution .................... 33 — The Y.M.C.A.....................................

391 425 432 436 438

T he E n e m y R u le o f th e C o u n try (A u g u st, 1942, to Ju n e , 1943) I I — E n sla v e m e n t — R e tro g re ss io n — Im p o v e ris h m e n t ................................................. 444

x

The Santo Tomas Internment Camp

X — Struggle over the Transfer to Los Banos. . 522 Story 34 — The Internees from Iloilo ........... 558 XI — Retrogression of the Internee Government 572 The Enemy Rule of the Country (June to October, 1943)

III — “Co-Collapse” — Bogus Independence — The Puppet President—The Pact of Alliance 594

Illustrations The Enemy Triumph ............................................................................ Manila Tribune photograph Aerial View of the Santo Tomas Camp ............................................ U. S. Army photograph. Santo Tomas Main Building, 19421 .................................................... The Food Line, Main Building ............................................................ Waiting at the Package Line ............................................................... Troughs where the Internees washed their Clothes ....................... Adult class in Tagalog ........................................................................... The Loudspeaker Apparatus on the Front Campus ......................... The Education Building, 1942 ........................................................... First Santo Tomas Shanties ............................................................... The Women and Children’s Annex ..................................................... A Meeting of Earl Carroll and A. E. Duggleby with some of the Monitors ............................................................... The Release Committee at Work; C. C. Grinnell, A. E. Holland, and some Others .......................................... A Japanese Inspection Party ............................................................... Laurel and Aquino with Prime Minister Tojo in Tokyo ............. Laurel, Vargas, Aquino, Sanvictores, and Gonzales at the Yasukuni Shrine, Tokyo ..............................................

11 9 11 18 19 26 35 40 46 48 51 140 144 248 639 641

■Note — This and the twelve following illustrations are reproductions of photo­ graphs taken by the Japanese during the latter half of 1942 for propaganda purposes.

End of Volume I

XI

Foreword

Except for the last few chapters, this entire work was written from day to day during the three years of the author’s internment in Santo Tomas and is therefore to be considered as a prison document. Insofar as the history of the Santo Tomas Intern­ ment Camp is concerned, the work may be taken as definitive; insofar as the book covers the enemy rule of the country, it is less so. The work, w rit­ ten at firsthand, has the virtues of contemporaneity and immediacy, and of personal feeling and passion, but also the faults which must result from partial information. Yet Santo Tomas was a vantage point for observation and the gather­ ing of information, — which was one reason why the Japanese made every effort to transfer the Camp and did succeed in sending about a third of the 7,000 internees to Los Banos. The writing of any such record as this was forbidden by the Japanese under strong menace. In the end they destroyed their own records and those of the successive internee executive committees, but the author’s volumi­ nous typescript, carefully hidden away, was never found by them. The author realized that he had a great theme which he would have felt an inner compulsion to set forth, des­ pite the continuous danger, even if Executive Secretary Jorge B. Vargas had not told him, when the author cal­ led on him late in the afternoon of De­ cember 31, 1941, two days before the Japanese forces entered Manila: "Pre­ sident Quezon wants you to keep a re­ cord. Keep the best record you can.” This charge was recognized by the in­ ternee camp officials who clandestine­ ly appointed him camp historian and

extended to him all possible aid and protection. The author found it difficult during the first weeks to get the unprece­ dented life of the Camp into focus, and the first chapters on the early life and organization of the Camp are in rather low key. It also took him several months to realize that he would be able to write a fairly comprehensive account of the enemy rule of the country. For some weeks he broke off the writing of the camp history to write a section on what was going on outside the Camp. Then he put this away, and resumed the camp narra­ tive. This went on alternately during the entire three-year period. But be­ tween these various camp and country chapters, he also wrote what he de­ cided to call "stories", based on in­ terviews with persons entering the Camp from various parts of the coun­ try. These were written from time to time as the informants came in and the information became available. Very little, for example, could be written about Bataan until civilians from there were brought into the Camp after the surrender. The story of the army nurses from Fort Stotsenburg, Bataan, and Corregidor, could, of course, not have been told until the nurses were interned in the Camp after the fall of Corregidor. Nothing much could be written about the in­ famous death march from Bataan or about the horrors of the prisoner-ofwar camps until some of the pri­ soners came into Santo Tomas, which was not until after the liberation. Every story is based on interviews with numerous persons who partici­ pated in the events they talked about. The author regrets that he could not

credit these accounts to the internees who gave him the information because of the danger that the manuscript might fall into the hands of the Jap­ anese in their frequent searches of camp offices, rooms, and shanties. There were so many of these inform­ ants that afterward he was unable to recall all of their names. The first source of information as to conditions and events in various parts of the Philippines,—Baguio, the Bicol, Iloilo, Cebu, Negros, Palawan, Minda­ nao, came from such internee men and women. Information as to Manila it­ self came to the author from internees who were allowed to leave the Camp on pass to buy camp supplies or for other reasons. There also was a secret radio in the Camp; at one time, two of them. Direct observation, particularly resorted to during the last months, was possible from the upper floors of the main and education buildings, not only of the city, but of the entire sur­ rounding country, the horizon around. Very valuable, too, was the Japaneseedited Manila Tribune and a number 1 As the Japanese sought to destroy the Santo Tomas records, they also sought to destroy the damning Tribune record. The Japanese staff left the T-V-T Building on Saturday night, February 3, 1945, about the time the American relief force entered the Santo Tomas Camp, and the fires which broke out in the Quiapo district the next morning spread to the T-V-T Building on F. Torres Street, and explosions followed which indicated that it has been se­ cretly mined. The building and the presses suffered heavy damage and all the files were destroyed. Rare sets of the occupation-period Tribune, preserved by a few private collectors, have changed hands for as much as 1*5,000. At that price, the extensive (and choice) quotations from the Tribune of this time, would by them­ selves make the author's work most valuable! The Tribune, leading paper of the Roces interests, which had been founded in 1925, died, for obvious reasons, with the liberation of Manila, but publication was resumed some months later under the name of the Manila Times. The Times, an American paper founded in 1898, had been acquired by the Roces in­ terests in 1930, but its publication was then ended to leave the field clear for the Tribune. Now, fifteen years later, the Manila Times was resurrected.

of other publications, all sheer propa­ ganda, which the Japanese allowed to come into the Camp during the greater part of the time because they believed this would take the heart out of the internees. But it was possible to read much truth between the lines, — far more than the Japanese thought pos­ sible.1 The author realizes that this work is perhaps unique, and initially pos­ sibly somewhat confusing, as to the sequence of presentation of the va­ rious parts, but this was required by the nature of the writing. The camp and country chapters and the stories are presented chronologically as they were written, the reason for this being that all that had to be written was interrelated. What went on outside the Camp immediately affected the Camp, directly and indirectly, and, some­ times, the converse was true. The dev­ elopments had to be taken up as si­ multaneously as possible. During the twenty or so years which elapsed between the completion of the manuscript and its publication, the au­ thor refrained from altering the ori­ ginal in any way, except, when publi­ cation became possible, to shorten it here and there. He believed that the work should be left at what it is, — a contemporaneous record written under stress; an authentic human as well as historical document. He did, however, add a number of additions and corrections in footnote form. These notes, if not otherwise credited, were based on immediate postwar reports. The various parts of the work are arranged and titled according to a cer­ tain pattern: a short prelude on the invasion of the Philippines and the occupation of Manila; the two themes, camp and country, blending in a third theme, the liberation, with the various stories as variations on these themes; finally, a short fugue, — the defeat of Japan, the organization of the United Nations, and the establishment of the Republic of the Philippines. Is it too much for the author to hope that the work may, for all its

xiv

faults, come to be considered a Philippine-American epic, — a historical symphony, an Eroica? It was not the the author who composed it, but the millions of brave men of our land, sea, and air forces in wide-ranging bat­ tles, in guerrilla skirmishes, in prison and internment camps, in government and civil life, in torture pits and on execution grounds. They wrote the epic in blood and tears. The author merely put it on paper, or tried to. Though all that is recorded in this work happened more than twenty years ago, it is perhaps of greater sig­ nificance now than it would have been had it been published soon after the war. The deep emotional trauma the Philippines suffered, has not yet been entirely healed, and after-effects of the Japanese occupation continue in evidence./It is difficult, indeed, to un­ derstand the Philippine present, with­ out at least some knowledge of what the people went through under the brutal rule of the Japanese militarists and fascists.2 A hatred was aroused which engendered a heightened spirit of nationalism, and a nationalistic ir­ ritability developed in the people’s at­ titude toward aliens, even Americans, — also evident in other enemy-occu­ pied countries, notably France. The author hopes that this work will help to revivify the warm feeling of mutual trust and affection between Americans and Filipinos of the war period. Other after-effects included a degree of readiness on the part of the gov­ ernment to adopt to some extent the authoritarian controls which charac­ terized the totalitarian enemy regime, and, on the part of certain business groups, who exploit the nationalistic spirit, to move toward the monopolis­ tic Japanese zaibatsu type of indus­ trial and trade organization. The au­ thor feels that the work still has re­ levance today. 2 The author, even at his most wrathful, tried to keep in mind that the militarists and fas­ cists in control, were not the Japanese people, who themselves were oppressed and exploited by these groups.

As for the collaboration with the Japanese by numbers of leading Fili­ pinos, the author personally knew most t>f them and never believed that this was anything but forced by the enemy and feigned by the leaders to save the people still greater agony. The quotations from the speeches, etc., put into their mouths were not intended by the author to shame them, but to show the torm ent they were made to undergo. The author is indebted for informa­ tion, assistance, and protection to numberless people, Americans, Bri­ tish, and Dutch in the Camp, and Fili­ pinos and others, high and low, out­ side the Camp. The men who helped him most were Earl Carroll, A.F. Duggleby, and G.M. Bridgeford, all camp internee executives, and Clyde A. DeWitt, Internee Agent. He is in­ debted to the United States Army for permission to remain in the camp un­ til the last shanty was razed and for the supply of many reams of paper given him to enable the retyping of the entire manuscript, which work was done by four typists assigned to him by the American Red Cross; this being in recognition of his assistance in the preparation of evidence for the war-crimes trials in Manila and Tokyo. The author also owes thanks to the McGraw-Hill Book Company of New York for permission to use anything contained in his “The Santo Tomas Story”, a condensed version of the camp section of this work, edited by Dr. Frank H. Golay, and published by the Company late in 1964. Most of all is the author indebted to the William J. Shaw Foundation, Inc. The late William J. Shaw, head of the Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific Com­ pany of Manila, who died before the war in 1939, provided in his will for a fund to be used in promoting un­ derstanding and amity among the va­ rious elements in the population of the Philippines, and the trustees, most of whom were interned in Santo To­ mas, believed that to assist in the pub­ lication of the author’s work would be

xv

in accordance with this aim as it will constitute a permanent record of the deep mutual loyalty demonstrated between the Americans and Filipinos during the terrible years of the Jap-

anese occupation. Today, continued Philippine-American understa n d i n g and cooperation are more necessary than ever before to the preservation of freedom in this part of the world.

A.V.H. Hartendorp. Gracehouse, Quezon City 1967

xvi

Prelude Invasion of the Philippines and Occupation of Manila "And thou, thy Emblem, waving over all! Delicate beauty! a word to thee, (it may be salutary;) In other scenes than these have I observ'd thee, flag; . . . to tatters torn, upon thy splintered staff." WHITMAN "Did we think victory great? So it is, — but now it seems to me, when it can not be help’d, that defeat is great, And that death and dismay are great." WHITMAN

MacArthur's New Year’s Day Com­ munique — Units of the Japanese Army entered Manila quietly during the late afternoon of Friday, January 2, 1942, following that unforgettable first morning of the year when the Manila Daily Bulletin issued the extra edition which carried the USAFFE1 communique, reading —

At 5 o’clock that afternoon, another bulletin had been issued which read briefly and ominously: "The enemy continues to force our lines back with his powerful drive.”

As the sickening import of the New Year's Day communique was sensed, Manilans were still able to realize that General Douglas MacArthur had taken the course which, under the circum­ "In order to prevent the enemy’s infiltration stances, was the most advisable; from the east from separating the forces in that he had carried out a tactical Southern Luzon from those in Northern Luzon, the Southern Luzon force for several days has maneuver which would probably do been moving north and has now successfully much to shorten the war. But at what completed junction with the Northern Luzon cost to the people of Manila! Such forces. This movement will uncover the free criticism as was voiced, however, was city of Manila which, because of the complete not of MacArthur, but of the policy­ evacuation by our forces previously, has no makers and executives in Washington practical military value. The entrance to Ma­ who had been so unwise as to put a nila Bay is completely covered by our forces pistol to the head of a hostile nation, and its use thereby is denied the enemy.” At 11 o’clock in the morning of the that pistol being, if not unloaded, at last day of 1941, USAFFE headquarters least uncocked. Report of the Attack on Honolulu — had announced: Manilans had read in their newspapers "The enemy is driving in great force from and heard over their radios of the both the north and the south. His dive-bombers practically control the roads from the air. sudden attack on the Pearl Harbor, The Japanese are using great numbers of tanks Honolulu, naval base on Sunday, De­ and armored units. Our lines are being pushed cember 7. This was Monday, Decem­ back."i ber 8, in the Philippines, and on that i United States Army Forces in the Far East. same day various points in the Philip­ 1

2

pines were also attacked from the air, — Davao City in Mindanao, Camp John Hay at Baguio, Clark Field in Pampanga, the airfield at Iba, Zambales, and, that night, Nichols Field near Manila. Landings in heavy force followed on the north, east, south, and west shores of Luzon. On the 22nd USAFFE headquarters announced the appearance of no less than 80 Japanese transports in Lingayen Gulf. Beset from all sides by an enemy superior in numbers and in control of the air, for what planes MacArthur had had at his command were apparently des­ troyed in greater part in the first attacks on the airfields, the American and Filipino troops, which were es­ timated to number not much over 100,000, were slowly driven back, though offering heroic resistance. The Destruction of Cavite — As early as the 10th, Manilans had seen an air flotilla of some 80 planes which, headed for Cavite, flew over the city in perfect formation, shining silvery in the noonday sun. It was an im­ pressive and beautiful sight, and people on the Escolta, rushing out of the restaurants and looking up, shouted: "They are our planes!” But then anti-aircraft guns at the bridges and on top of high office buildings began firing and the people knew they were enemy planes. The shells burst far below the air fleet. Without break­ ing formation, it flew on, and, in less than an hour, the Cavite Naval Station, across the waters of the Bay in which Admiral Dewey in 1898 had so easily defeated the Spanish fleet, was a mass of ruins. The deaths were estimated at more than 1,400. Manilans after that lay awake nights in the silent city, straining to detect the first faint drone of enemy war­ planes. And some of them became

PRELUDE

aware of a strange phenomenon,—a distant, hardly audible, continuous tumult over the entire countryside, an intermingling of confused sound, in a dense pattern, that resolved itself, though hardly recognizable as such, into the lowing of cattle and the excited barking of countless dogs. From homestead to homestead, these animals communicated their alarm for hundreds of miles—stretching from the sandy shores where the enemy had landed, through the yellowing ricefields of the rich provinces of Central Luzon, many of which would now never be harvested, to the out­ skirts of the blacked-out metropolis. In this widespread din, though subdued by distance to a murmur, Manilans heard the terror of an invaded land; the earth itself seemed to give voice to its unquiet. Manila Bare to Air Attack — Manila air-raid sirens wailed more and more frequently by day and by night, and as the construction of underground shelters was impracticable in the lowlying city, people sought such refuge as modem concrete office buildings afforded or crouched down in their bathrooms at home in the hope that the tiling would give some protection. Except for its anti-aircraft guns, Manila lay bare to aerial attack. And even this inadequate defense could not be maintained. What anti-aircraft units the armed forces had in the capital were badly needed on the front lines and were removed. On the 26th, Manila was declared an open city. That night the authorities announced over the radio that the blackout was ended and that Manilans, who had been groping about in the dark for weeks, should turn on their lights. Bravely they did so.

* CHRISTMAS, 1941

*

«*

Bui though MacArthur had trans­ ferred his headquarters to Corregidor on the 24 th and all military instal­ lations had been withdrawn, the Japanese refused to recognize Manila as an open city and continued their air attacks, flying low over the de­ fenseless city and bombing at will. It must be said, however that they con­ fined themselves to what might still have been considered military objec­ tives, though bombs probably aimed at the ships in the Pasig River, — their owners having failed to comply with the Malacanan order to move them into the Bay, fell into the adjacent, century-old Walled City. The Dominican Church, shrine of “Our Lady of the Rosary”, patron saint of the Philippines, was destroyed, as were also a number of schools and convents, the plant of the Philippines Herald, and the Treasury Building, which once housed the first Philippine Senate. Christmas Day, 1941 — On Christmas Day the newspapers had published statements from U.S. High Commis­ sioner Francis B. Sayre and President Manuel L. Quezon saying that at the request of General MacArthur and with a view to the safety of the government they were leaving Manila for an unannounced destination, presumed to be Corregidor, the island stronghold at the entrance of Manila Bay. Vice-President Sergio Osmena and members of the Cabinet accom­ panied the President. Dr. Claude A. Buss, Executive Assistant to the High Commissioner, remained in Manila, as did also Presidential Secretary Jorge B. Vargas, who was designated the ranking member of the Cabinet and entrusted with conducting the routine affairs of the Philippine Government. Manilans had observed a sad and anxious Christmas. The fir t r e e s ,

3

annually imported for the season from Washington and Oregon, had not arrived. In place of the cheerful Christmas lights, there was a dreadful illumination, the great conflagration in the Pandacan district, where huge stores of gasoline and oil were jetti­ soned and set ablaze. The fire burned spectacularly for several days, the flames leaping hundreds of feet into the air. A dense cloud of smoke, like that of a great volcanic eruption, hung over the city like a pall. That Christmas day Manilans learned that Hongkong had surrendered to the Japanese. The “American Coordinating Com­ m ittee’’ — Months before the war had broken out, the Americans in Manila had organized the unofficial "American Coordinating Committee” to facilitate concerted action in any possible future emergency. On Christmas morning (Thursday), the head of this organiza­ tion, F. H. Stevens, and a group of around 150 other Americans, met in the High Commissioner’s office to discuss the situation with Dr. Buss. Agreement could not be reached on whether the Americans in the city should remain in their own homes or gather at one point in the event of a Japanese occupation, and the question was referred to the Coordinating Committee. The next morning, the district leaders of the Committee met at the office of E. S. Turner, Honorary National Secretary of the Young Men’s Christian Association, and the majority appearing to favor decentralization, it was decided to call district meetings the following Sunday for the purpose of instructing the American residents to remain in their homes but to have some light bags packed, together with several days’ supply of food, in the event they were to be interned.

4

On Sunday, meetings were held throughout the city, — at the Polo Club, the Boulevard Hotel, the Union Church, and in various private homes, but not all of those who attended agreed that it would be best for American families to remain scattered, and a number of men who had met at the Boulevard Hotel, including Earl Carroll, district leader for South Malate, decided to meet again that afternoon at the Admiral Apartments to consider the m atter further and also to discuss the possibility of chartering a ship to take the American women and children out of Manila. This meeting was held and a letter on the subject of a rescue ship was addressed to the High Commissioner, even though those who signed it believed it to be too late. The High Commissioner’s Office indeed replied saying that it would be impossible to carry such plan into execution.2 A resolution was also adopted at the meeting asking the Coordinating Com­ mittee to reconsider the recommen­ dation regarding decentralization and urging the advisability of assembling in small groups. This resolution was handed to Stevens and Turner, who took it to Dr. Buss the next day, and at still another meeting in the latter’s office, attended by C. A. De Witt, a prominent Manila attorney, P. P. Steintorf, American Trade Commis­ sioner. A. D. Calhoun of the National City Bank, and Turner and Carroll, it was agreed that people who wanted to gather together in the event of a Japanese occupation of the city might 2 On December 31. the Mactan converted into a hospital ship, left Manila for Port Darwin, Australia, with 196 (later reported to have been 224 of whom 3 died) seriously wounded Ameri­ can and Filipino soldiers aboard. The ship was chartered by the Philipmne Red Cross on authority of the American Red Cross, and at the request of General MacArthur.

PRELUDE

do so provided the groups remained small. Buss on this occasion stated that if in such case the Japanese decided on the internment of American residents, he would propose certain places for the purpose to the Japanese authorities, as the Manila Japanese had done only a few weeks before when they had been interned by the Philippine authorities. He said that the University of Santo Tomas was first on his list, and he also mentioned the Polo Club.3 Meanwhile, on December 30, Manilans had read in their newspapers of the brief ceremonies held in con­ nection with the opening of the second terms of office of President Quezon and Vice-President Osmena at an unnamed place, said to be outside of the capital but within earshot of enemy fire.4* The occasion was in sharp contrast to the brilliant inaugu­ ral held in Manila in November, 1935, which high officials, including the Vice-President of the United States and the Speaker of the House of Rep­ resentatives, had come all the way from Washington to attend. Then the Philippine Commonwealth had been 3 C. W. Rosenstock. a Manila businessman who as a reserve officer in the Quartermaster Corps, U.S. Army was in charge of army real estate operations, had arranged for the rental of the Main Building of the University for possible use as a hospital at the nominal rental of P300 a month, and had pointed out to officials in the High Commissioner’s Office and to Stevens of the American Coordinating Committee that the University buildings and campus offered "certain advantages” for in­ ternment purposes. * Corregidor. President Quezon knew what was in store. He knew what the attitude of his people was, and why. He said on this occasion: "No matter what suffering and sacri­ fices this war may impose upon us, we shall stand by America with undaunted spirit, for we know that upon the outcome of this war depends the happiness, liberty, and security not only of this generation but of generations to come.”

THE ENEMY ENTERS MANILA

launched on the ten-year transition pe­ riod to complete independence. Pre­ sident Quezon's first six-year term of office had been a period of construc­ tive achievement, but now the enemy was overrunning the land and destruc­ tion was everywhere. As if marking the inauguration, Manilans had listened to heavy detona­ tions as bridges were blown up at the approaches to the city by the with­ drawing USAFFE forces, and on Wed­ nesday, the 31st, late in the afternoon, the city was shaken by a series of ex­ plosions which effected the final des­ truction of the large Pandacan oil tanks. For hours afterward there were the lighter reports as thousands of gas-filled drums exploded in the heat. Thus was the New Year ushered in. The Looting — On the first day of 1942, stores of supplies were set afire in all parts of the city to prevent their falling into the hands of the enemy and in some cases the authorities opened the warehouses to the people, allowing them to carry off whatever they could, not only foodstuffs, but all kinds of articles. People in auto­ mobiles were seen carrying away from the Port Area electric refrigerators and valuable rugs. One group of men trudged off with a large case which they left in the street after they had forced it open and found that it con­ tained a corpse brought to the Philip­ pines from abroad for burial. Some Chinese grocers urged their custom­ ers to take anything they wanted. All this led to open looting in a number of districts. A number of Red Cross warehouses in Santa Ana and Santa Mesa districts were broken into and 20,000 bags of cracked-wheat and medical and hospi­ tal supplies, valued at P200.000, were either carried away or lost in the fire

5

which burned down the Santa Ana bodega. An adjoining army warehouse was also looted and additional quant­ ities of medical supplies were lost. Probably as much as a third of the population of M a n i l a (normally around 600,000) had been evacuated by the authorities or had voluntarily left the city during the weeks of enemy bombing. The schools had closed du­ ring the first week of the war; thou­ sands of university students had been called to the colors. The streets were practically deserted even in the day­ time, for the Army had requisitioned nearly all buses and taxicabs and even the horse-drawn carromatas has dis­ appeared. The electric streetcar ser­ vice, too, operated only irregularly; the conductors collected no fares. Al­ most from the beginning of the war, people had to walk if they wanted to go anywhere and ordinary business activities were soon at a standstill. Radio Stations Off the Air — The local radio stations had gone off the air on Wednesday evening, the last day of the year, the army authorities having ordered the destruction of the transmitters to prevent their use by the Japanese. Copies of the latest newspapers were hard to get; delivery services of all kinds had broken down. On New Year’s Day, the people of Ma­ nila did not know any more what was going on and felt almost as if they were without eyes and ears. Most Americans and Europeans remained in their houses as they had been advised to do, but they communicated such rumors as reached them to their friends over the telephone, instinctive­ ly speaking in low tones. The Japanese Enter the City — Fri­ day, the 2nd, was dark and chillv. The sun could not break through the heavy, smoky atmosphere, and looked like a

6

pale moon. Pet canaries drooped and died in their cages, gassed. In the af­ ternoon it drizzled a little, unseason­ ably. Hardly a person was to be seen, hardly a sound was to be heard in the streets except in the vicinity of fhe fires that still raged in various parts of the city. The whole aspect of the silent metropolis was tragic and fore­ boding. The Japanese still delayed their en­ try, perhaps hesitant to take over the responsibility for the control of a large population center at this time. About noon, an edition of the Bul­ letin appeared on the streets distri­ buted free from a number of trucks, which contained a statement issued by the High Commissioner’s Office, re­ leased at 10:15. It read in part: "Contact with the occupation forces has been established. While nothing can be gua­ ranteed, it now appears that the occupation forces will be relatively small and that they will not enter the city until this afternoon or early this evening. It is possible that entry will be made only after consultations between the High Commissioner’s Office and the occu­ pation army officers. This indicates that the occupation will be orderly and quiet. At this time, it is our judgment that businessmen should open today, and this will be the most reassuring thing for the public. Excessive movement in the street should be avoided, but the occupation forces should be presented with the fact of a city operating quietly and normal­ ly. However, the matter of opening will be left to the judgment of the individual con­ cerned.”

PRELUDE peaceful pursuits, to behave in an absolutely peaceful manner, to take no part whatever in hostilities, to refrain from all injurious acts toward the troops or in respect to their ope­ rations, and to render strict obedience to the officials of the occupant. I am sure that if the inhabitants of Greater Manila do this, no harm will come to them.”

The Bulletin also published the fol­ lowing "unofficial statement from an official source”, released at 9:30: "It has been indicated that the Japanese will leave but a small force in Manila, the main body moving northward. Indication was also given that the Japanese will not be sta­ tioned in homes in Manila and that the city will be treated 'very well’."

Finally, there was a news article un­ der the heading "NO HARM TO THE PEOPLE.”: "Interviewed by a reporter, the officer com­ manding the Japanese troops in Paranaque (just south of Manila) through an interpreter, said: 'We don’t propose to interfere with civilian activities, much less do to civilians any harm. Individuals who may be found to be causing disorder will be dealt with as individ ual cases. ’ ”

At daylight on the morning of Satur­ day, January 3, Manilans awoke, — those who had been able to sleep, to see the J a p a n e s e flag flying from the tall mast in front of the High Commissioner’s residence on Dewey Boulevard, over Fort Santiago, U. S. Army headquarters at the mouth of the Pasig River, and over Malacanan Palace, the official home of the Pres­ ident of the Philippines, as it had been of the American and many of the Spa­ Secretary Vargas, whom President nish governor-generals of the past. The Quezon had the day before designated Japanese flag, — a red sun on a white also as “Mayor of Greater Manila”,5 field, was also flying over the Army was quoted as having stated: and Navy Club and the adjoining Elks "In accordance with international prac­ Club, the large government-owned Ma­ tice, it is the duty of the inhabitants of nila Hotel, and numerous other public occupied territory to carry on their ordinary and private buildings. Japanese sen­ 5Vargas himself asked President Quezon to tries were posted by twos at all the appoint him as such, as it was believed that as main street intersections and in front a merely municipal official he would be less likely to be placed under arrest than as a high of clubs, hotels, and apartment houses. Japanese officers had already the national official.

VILLAMOR HALL

night before called at many of these and ordered their American and Bri­ tish occupants not to leave them. There was no Bulletin that morning, the Japanese having refused the ma­ nagement permission to print. Few residents of Manila, American or Fil­ ipino or foreign, stirred from their houses that day. Only a few servants dared to venture out to the market or the corner grocery and they came back with the information that these places were closed. "The Sovereignty of the United States has Completely Disappeared” — On Sunday, January 4, the Filipinoowned Tribune came out in reduced four-page form. It contained an an­ nouncement of the Japanese Imperial High Command declaring that the sovereignty of the United States over the Philippines had "completely dis­ appeared” and proclaiming the estab­ lishment of martial law under a Jap­ anese military administration. The Japanese aim, the announcement went on to say, was to emancipate the Phil­ ippines from the "oppressive domina­ tion” of the United States and to es­ tablish the Philippines for the Filipi­ nos as a part of the "Co-Prosperity Sphere in Greater East Asia.” The an­ nouncement warned the populace against "rashness” and stated also that the spreading of "fabulous rum ors” would be severely punished; offenders would be put to death "according to martial law.” The announcement final­ ly declared that third-party foreigners were guaranteed safety of life and pro­ perty, but that those of them who dis­ turbed the public peace and were not

7

careful in word and deed would be put to death. It was not stated what would be done with the nationals of the countries at war with Japan. The Rounding Up of Americans and British — The rounding up of Ameri­ cans and British in the city began as early as Friday evening, and on Sun­ day, the 4th, Japanese officers, ac­ companied by civilian Japanese inter­ preters, most of them local residents, began a methodical canvass of all Ame­ rican homes, apartments, and clubs. In most cases the Americans and Bri­ tish were ordered to accompany them to, or else report at, certain designated places in the city for registration. They were told to take along blankets and three days’ supply of food. People in the Manila Hotel were allowed to take only one suitcase with them. Those who brought some bedding and food were the fortunate ones because most of the people apprehended were held by the Japanese, instead of being re­ quired merely to register their names. Villamor Hall — Nearly a thousand, men, women, and children were jam ­ med for three or four days in Villamor Hall, the Conservatory of Music build­ ing of the University of the Philippines on Taft Avenue. Most of them with­ out bedding, they were forced to sleep on chairs and benches and on the tile floors. Washing and toilet facilities were entirely inadequate. Those who had some food and bedding with them, shared these possessions with those who had not, and friends outside, who soon came to know their trouble, be­ gan to bring in food and other neces­ sities.

The Camp The Santo Tomas Internment Camp "Must I change my triumphant songs? said I to myself; Must I indeed learn to chant the cold dirges of the baffled? And sullen hymns of defeat?." WHITMAN "O powerful, western, fallen star! O shades of night! O moody, tearful night! A great star disappeared! O the black murk that hides the star! O cruel hands that hold me powerless! O helpless soul of me! O harsh surrounding cloud, that will not free my soul.” WHITMAN

Chapter I The Opening Months Sunday, January 4, 1942 — The University of Santo Tomas, a Spanish Dominican institution with several large buildings and spacious grounds some 22 hectares (50 acres) in extent, was selected by the Japanese as a suitable place of internment.1 The first internees to arrive at Santo Tomas, a contingent of some 300 men, women, and children, entered the grounds late Sunday afternoon, January 4, after having been held for only a few hours at the Rizal Memorial Stadium, one of the registration points. They were received by a Japanese officer in command of a small number of soldiers, and were assigned to ten rooms on the second floor of the main building, five rooms for the i

men and five for the women and children. The Japanese insisted on separating the British men from the Americans and two of the rooms were assigned to them. There was much confusion, and that night the officer in command asking whether the people had a "leader”, and Earl Carroll, already mentioned as Coordinating Committee leader for South Malate, being pointed out to him, he said that he wanted Carroll to become the "general chairm an” of an organization Carroll himself was to set up for the camp and that he was immediately to appoint "leaders” for the different rooms and bring them downstairs for a meeting. While Carroll was selecting these people, the officer twice sent up word to him to hurry, and Carroll designated such per­ sons as he knew. The officer then talked with them about the organiza­ tion he wanted established and direc­ ted them to prepare lists of the peo

i The Royal and Pontifical University of Santo Tomas, oldest university under the American flag, was founded in 1611. The main building on the present new site was completed in 1927. It was designed and constructed under the supervision of the Rev. Roqui Ruano, O.P. The University ordinarily had an enrollment of around 6,000 students and a faculty of 300.

8

THE CAMP

9

United States Army aerial photograph, somewhat enlarged, taken of the Santo Tomas In­ ternment Camp on January 7, 1945, approximately a month before the liberation, at an altitude of 20,400 feet. The large structure in the center is the Main Buliding; to the right, the Education Building; to the left the Dominican Seminary which was out of bounds to the internees. The Women’s and Children’s Annex lies behind (above) the Main Building, a little to the left, and to the right is the old Hospital (Engineering Building). Back of the Annex, against the rear wall, is the old Red Cross (later, the Japanese) bodega or warehouse. The Gymnasium is shown to the left, near the wall, with the swimming pool below it which was used for water storage. Santa Catalina Hospital lies to the right, outside of the wall, on a line with the front of the Main Building. The two nipa "pavilions’’, so-called, lie just below the Main Building. The whitish specks in the upper half and the lower right-hand quarter of the picture are the roofs of some 600 shanties. The reticulated area in the lower left-hand quarter of the picture is composed of rows of banana trees planted by the internees in the "Southwest Territory”, or new garden. The beds of the Camp Garden lie in the upper right-hand section. The Main Gate, the Gate House, and the Japanese barracks lie along the lower (front) boundary fence, about the middle. The Package-Shed is shown above them and a little to the right. The camp covered some 50 acres in area. The po­ pulation of the Camp approximated 4,000 men, women, and children.

10

pie in their respective rooms. An hour later he told Carroll that he and his men were leaving for the night but that they would be back the next day. He warned that though the gates were open, none of the people in the camp should leave and he emphasized that he would hold Carroll responsible for their conduct. The internees spent a most uncom­ fortable night, for few of them had bedding or mosquito nets, and the following morning about 9:30, Carroll and the room “monitors,” as it was agreed they should be called, held a meeting in the office of the Dean of the School of Commerce, on the second floor, which office became the first headquarters of the internee organization. Among those present besides the monitors were R. E. Cecil, C. M. Lewis, W. D. MacDonald, R. L. Pearce, and D. M. Raleigh, and it being decided that the most pressing problems facing the community were those of sanitation and health, food, discipline, and keeping the children occupied, an organization was formed with Cecil as assistant general chairman, to look after the sanitation and health of the camp, T. B. Brown to take charge of a "restaurant” he was to open, Raleigh to enforce general discipline, and L .H. Davis to take up the recreational needs. Raleigh had entered upon his discipli­ nary duties the previous night by confiscating a quantity of liquor which had been brought in and which was complicating the situation. Miss Doro­ thy Davis, a civilian nurse from the U. S. Army Sternberg Hospital, had already begun to render first aid to those in need of medical attention, there being as yet no doctor in the camp. Some 400 distraught people arrived during the day, mostly from the

THE CAMP

Malate and Ermita districts and the Manila Hotel. About noon, Lieutenant Hitoshi Tomayasu, who had been appointed Commandant, arrived with a small guard and expressed his approval of the internee organization which had been formed. Internees had by this time spread over the entire second floor, packing the rooms and halls, and a number of them were ill. Happening to catch sight of A. E. Holland, whom he knew, Carroll said to him. "Won’t you go down to the Commandant's office and see whether you can not get some of these sick people released?” Thus informally did Holland become head of what developed into the so-called release committee. About 2 o’clock that night, the 6th, one deranged man, W. G. Weaver, made his way to the roof of the building and jumped. No one saw the body except the Japanese, and the few Americans who had been on the roof were ordered by them not to talk about it to anyone. The difficulties of the situation were increased by the arrival on Tuesday of some 500 more people, most of them the unfortunates who had been detained for several days at Villamor Hall. The Japanese wanted to seize all folding cots and mattresses from those who had them so that more people could be crowded into the second floor rooms, but Luis de Alcuaz, Secretary to the Father Rector of the University, hereupon opened the rooms on the third floor. On Wednesday, additional hundreds arrived, including more people from the Manila Hotel and over 100 from the Manila Club, where many members of the British community had been staying together. The overflow from the main building was now sent to the domestic science building, a one-story structure, which

11

THE CAMP POPULATION

came to be called the annex. The Commandant expressing some concern over the young children in the crowded camp and suggesting that mothers and children be segregated, the annex was thought of for this purpose, but many of the women fearing to live by them­ selves in a separate building without their menfolk, objected. Those already "settled” in the annex also protested against moving out, but the Comman­ dant cut the matter short by ordering the building vacated for the women and children by the next morning. This was January 10, and that same day the large gymnasium building of the University was opened to the internee population which was still growing. Within 10 days, there were over 3,000 people in the camp, some 2,000 of whom were lodged in the main building, 700 in the gymnasium, and 400 in the annex. From 30 to 50 people were jammed in each of the rooms in the main building and annex, and

the average floor space per person was only around 22 square feet; in some rooms it was at one time as low as 16 square feet. Of all these people, some 70% were Americans, 25% were British, and the rest of other nationali­ ties. In February the males numbered over 2,000, the females over 1,200. Married couples numbered some 450. Children under 15 years of age num­ bered over 400. Among the Americans there were some 70 Negroes and 2 Indians, a Cherokee and a Mohawk. There were also a hundred or so of Filipino blood, most of them the wives and children of Americans. The Bri­ tish numbered over 900, the Dutch around 30, and the Poles over 40. There were also internees of the fol­ lowing nationalities,—Spanish, Mexi­ can, Nicaraguan, Cuban, Russian, Bel­ gian, Swedish, Danish, Chinese and Burmese. For all of these people, the world had been turned upside-down. The impossible appeared to have happened.

Santo Tomas Main Building, 1942

12

The protection of the great nation of which the majority formed a part, the nation which they believed the most powerful on earth, had failed them. They were at the mercy of an enemy Oriental power. Many of them had recalled during the preceding week the rape of Nanking and the fate of the orphan girls of the mission at Chengtingfu and of the Belgian priests there. They had seen their flag, Old Glory, hauled down. The Americans in Santo Tomas were the first, in all the proud history of their nation, to be thrown en masse into an enemy concentration camp. They were the first large body of American men and women and children held captive and deprived of the liberties they considered their birthright. They were thrown into the camp stripped of virtually all their posses­ sions, without the commonest neces­ sities and conveniences; many of them without other clothing than they had on, without bedding, without food, without money. Even those among them with money in the banks had been unable to draw out any because of the end-of-the-year holidays, and for a month previously bank withdrawals had been limited by official regulation. Many of them were ill. All of them were worried, ap­ prehensive. Their businesses had been destroyed, their homes looted. Many of them had already lost everything but their lives, and even their lives by no means seemed secure. But indivi­ dual tragedy was lost in the general disaster, and they were thankful to be still alive, to have their loved ones with them, — those who had. That was all that mattered. Pressing problems presented them­ selves, especially because the Japanese assumed no responsibility for the feeding of the camp. They declared

THE CAMP

that the internees were being held in "protective custody" and that they were not prisoners of war. The ques­ tion was, from what and against whom they were being protected. The internee organization established on the first and second days had to be rapidly expanded and when some of the older leaders of Manila’s cos­ mopolitan community entered the camp during the succeeding days, Carroll suggested to them that some one like F. H. Stevens, who had headed the American Coordinating Committee, should take his place.2 Stevens declared that the organization already set up was operating effectively and that the young men who mainly had it in charge should carry on with the work. Another meeting was held on the 7th, attended by A. F. Duggleby of the Benguet Consolidated Mining Com­ pany, A. D. Calhoun of the National City Bank, H. H. Duckworth of the International Harvester Company, A. H. Evans, Malacanan tariff expert, S. 2 There were a number ot members of the staff of the High Commissioner interned in Santo Tomas, but the ranking member, Buss, was interned in the Ynchausti house, a private residence in Manila. Among those in Santo Tomas were C. A. DeWitt, acting legal adviser, F. H. Noble, who had been in charge of export control measures, and C. W. Franks, chief statistician, who was, before the establishment of the Commonwealth Government, executive secretary to six successive American governorgenerals. There were, however, no American civil executive officials in the Philippines, for though the country was under American sovereignty, the Commonwealth Government was an autonomous Philippine government; the High Commissioner represented the President of the United States, but exercised no executive functions. Neither were there any Filipino officials interned in the camp, as the Japanese pretended they were fighting only the Americans and not the Filipinos. There were therefore no American or Filipino executive officials to whom the internees could turn. Dr. Buss might have assumed the place of such an official, but he was not in the camp and was held incommunicado by the Japanese.

THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE

F. Gaches of the Heacock Company and President of the American Cham­ ber of Commerce, H. Gilhouser, Fuel Administrator of the Civilian Emer­ gency Administration, F. H. Noble, of the High Commissioner’s staff, Ste­ vens, already mentioned, E. S. Turner, Honorary National Secretary of the Y.M.C.A., and C. Farnworth of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation. All these men expressed their satisfaction with the organization which had been created and stated that while they were ready to lend their full cooperation, there was no desire to change the set-up in any way. Carroll then suggested that those present form an advisory committee, and that evening, Noble informed him that an advisory committee had been formed with Duggleby as Chairman and that the first advice of the com­ mittee was that he "take a desk,” like any executive would. Noble also told him that the committee advised that in view of his extensive duties, he designate F. N. Berry of the Philippine Manufacturing Company and an oldtimer in the Philippines, as his execu­ tive assistant. A rather complex organization was built up during the ensuing weeks, mostly by accretion, as one committee after another was appointed to deal with the numerous problems which arose. Among those almost imme­ diately drawn into the organization were E. D. Gundelfinger of Libby, McNeill & Libby, who early assumed and long continued to play an important role in food procurement, Dr. C. N. Leach of the Rockefeller Foundation, who organized and directed the camp hospital, and R. L. Pearce, who became registrar. After some weeks it became apparent that a better integrated

13

organization was necessary than that which had developed by "first inten­ tion” and which had come to be called the "Central Committee”. There was really no central committee, unless the three-man group,— Carroll, Dug­ gleby, and Berry, was so considered. The Central Committee was always a rather ambiguous group, composed of these three, the chairmen of various operating committees, the chief moni­ tors, and three men representing the British group, who began daily meet­ ings on January 11. The meetings were generally attended by Carroll, Duggleby, Berry, Cecil, Raleigh, Davis, Holland, and Pearce, by the chief monitors, H. Hertz, T. L. Hall, and Mrs. Edith Chamberlain, and by V. H. Masefield, G. M. Bridgeford, and J. L. Bromfield, representing the British in the camp. E. Stanley,3 an independent British missionary who had lived in Japan for 12 years and had come to Manila in July, served as an interpreter on the release committee and also at times attended the meetings of the Central Committee. There had also been developing a general feeling that the internee gov­ ernment, — for that was what it was, should be a more representative one and should be made elective. Many, however, were convinced that it would be unwise at this time to hold an elec­ tion for the position of general chair­ man. The Commandant might refuse to recognize the results of such an election if another man than Carroll were chosen, and this might not only disrupt the liaison which had been built up but might lead to a curtail­ 3 Note (1945). Ernest Stanley, who served as a translator with the Japanese and who was long looked upon with some suspicion by most of the camp population, was actually a British secret agent.

14

ment of the autonomy allowed by the Japanese. It was decided that elections would be held, but only of the room and floor monitors. Another consideration in this m atter was the difficulty which was being met with in assigning men to do the necessary work in the camp. On January 19, therefore, elections were held in every room for the position of room monitor, with the understanding that the monitors would have the authority to make work assignments. The voting resulted in the election of almost all of the incumbent monitors. A few days later, the room monitors elected 8 floor and building monitors, and these elected Hertz, chief monitor of the main building, to sit with the Central Committee. On the 24th, the Central Committee reorganized itself, and an Executive Committee, of five men was estab­ lished to which four more were soon added. On the Committee, Duggleby and DeWitt represented the older group among the Manila Americans; Cecil, Raleigh, Holland, and Hertz, the younger element; and Masefield and Farnworth, the British in the camp. F. Groves, another Englishman, was appointed secretary but was not counted as a member. Farnworth was later given a temporary medical release and was replaced by Bridgeford. T. J. Wolff, Chairman of the Central Executive Committee of the Philippine Red Cross, was a member of the Advisory Committee and attended meetings of the Executive Committee when matters affecting the Red Cross were under discussion. In matters of supply, the various operating-committee chairmen usually dealt direct with the Red Cross, the second mem­ ber of the diarchy which for a time

THE CAMP

came to constitute the internee government. It was probably an element in Carroll’s success in his difficult and responsible position, that he was, in a sense, a newcomer. Carroll4 had lived in Manila between the years 1930 and 1935, during which time he joined the Insular Life Assurance Company, but he had been away for eight years as manager of the Hawaii branch of that company, returning in 1939 for some 11 months as acting general agent. Then he had again gone back to Honolulu, not returning to Manila until only four days before the outbreak of hostilities on De­ cember 8. The organization he had to create offhand at Santo Tomas was in a sense comparable to the government of an international city and was confronted with problems of great complexity and immediacy. Fortunate­ ly, the community was in many respects a select one, including many of the most prominent persons in the country,—government officials, busi­ ness executives, and professional men. Experts in almost every field of activi­ ty were among the population of Santo Tomas and the general level of intelli­ gence and ability was high. An interesting branch of the internee organization was the suggestion com­ mittee, which was proposed by R. Staight, this resulting in his being appointed the chairman. It represented not only an effort on the part of the Executive Committee and the chairmen of the various operating committees to profit by such suggestions as might be made by the internees generally but an effort to keep in touch with community feeling and to give this a 4 Lemuel Earl Carroll, born at Slocomb, Ala­ bama. in 1905: graduated from Howard College and Vanderbilt University, B.A., M.A.

THE INTERNEWS

means of expression. People were informed that they might make suggestions or express complaints in writing, and from 15 to 20 of such notes came in every day for some weeks. Constructive suggestions were passed on to the chairmen of the operating committees concerned. An organ of the internee government was the Internews, the first issue of which appeared on January 24, a little 1-leaf sheet, mimeographed on both sides, edited by Russell Brines, of the Associated Press, who had suggested to the Central Committee that such a paper would be useful to the camp. Brines had been informally appointed chairman of a public relations com­ mittee; later, a more formal organiza­ tion was considered necessary and E. E. Selph was placed at the head of the committee with Carl Mydans of Life Magazine as publicity director, but Brines remained editor. For the in­ formation of the people of the camp, the first issue was devoted largely to a description of the set-up of the internee government. It contained an announcement which read in part: "This little sheet is intended primarily to supply internees with news of their internal government and to report negotiations between camp officials and Japanese authorities. An­ nouncements published in the Internews will be official. Rules and regulations will be explained when clarification is needed. "Beyond that, this newspaper will attempt to mirror the daily life within the Santo Tomas camp. It is not concerned with external affairs. But the activities of internees, from baseball to church, will be news within the scope of this journalistic effort. We solicit the leaders of organized groups for help in reporting their activities.”

There were three issues the following week, these like the first, of I sheet only, but after that only two issues were published each week, on Tuesdays and Saturdays, in 2-sheet form. Bessie Hackett, society editor of the Manila Daily Bulletin, did the typing of the

15

stencils, and Charles Buhler, Manila agent of the “Gestetner” (the machine used), did the mimeographing. Only some 200 to 225 copies were run off; paper was hard to get. At the masthead of the second issue, the following names appeared below that of the editor: Ray Cronin, head of the Associated Press office, who covered camp sports; James Stuart, a Manila architect, who did the pen-and-ink sketches which en­ livened the paper; and C. Beliel, who was in charge of the circulation. Among the contributors were Carl Mydans, Ford Wilkins, city editor of the Manila Daily Bulletin, and D. T. Boguslav, editor of the Manila Tribune. The paper contained no editorial column, but the editor occasionally used the formula, "officials (or others) pointed out". The inclusion of a "Letter Box” was considered, but it was decided that too free an expres­ sion of camp opinion might lead to difficulties with the Japanese. Carroll read material intended for publication to avoid errors in this respect. The paper was of course not free any more than anyone in the camp was free, but it was not submitted to the Com­ mandant for censoring. Only one story, concerning the Red Cross, in the January 31 issue, was referred to him because it originated outside the camp. Brines, prior to his coming to Manila in March, 1941, had spent two years in the Associated Press office in Tokyo, working under censorship there. It was tacitly understood that no copies were to go outside the camp. After the first few issues, the editor and his associates made a conscious attempt, with the encouragement of the Executive Committee, to produce as lively a sheet as possible with the aim of assisting in keeping up camp morale.

16

The Food Problem and the Red Cross — The camp was an example of the working out of the socialistic principle: "From every man according to his ability; to every man according to his need”, but it was of course, not self-supporting and the problem of feeding the more than 3,000 people was a difficult one; adequate feeding in fact remained an impossibility. The first effort was made by T. B. Brown assisted by L. H. Davis, Brown having obtained permission from both the Commandant and the University authorities to operate the small res­ taurant on the campus which had previously been conducted for the students in the institution by a Chinese concessionaire. Starting out with the serving, gratis, of hot coffee to some 300 people, the restaurant ultimately served two light meals a day to over 1,000 persons who were receiving no food from outside the camp. Brown’s supplies at first came from various private sources,—Libby, McNeill & Libby, the Nestle Company, Kuentzle & Streiff, and Benguet House, Gundelfinger going out on pass every day in search of them and temporarily charging over P20,000 worth to his own company. The food served left much to be desired both in quantity and quality, and a man would have to stand in line for as much as an hour before the slowly moving queue brought him into the small dining room where he gulped down his meal as quickly as he could to make room for those waiting behind him. Breakfast usually consisted of a plate of cracked-wheat porridge, a roll, and a cup of black coffee; supper of a plate of stew, or a sardine, a roll, and a cup of tea, with a banana for dessert; sometimes there was macaroni or noodles, and occasionally

THE CAMP

there was a dessert of rice or bread pudding.5 C. H. Forster, manager of the Philippine Red Cross, and J. W. Cullens, supervising field director of the Army and Navy Welfare Service of the American Red Cross, were interned on January 5, and T. J. Wolff, chairman of the Central Executive Committee of the Philippine Red Cross, F. C. Bailey, treasurer, and C. W. Franks, member, the next day. This was probably the first time in history that Red Cross officials were interned in a concentration camp, and though the Japanese "recognized” Judge Manuel Camus, the Filipino ViceChairman of the Philippine Red Cross, the internment of the American officials was a great handicap to the organiza­ tion. Both Wolff and Forster refused to seek release from the camp on any other basis than as Red Cross officials, and the latter did not accept a medical release, as he finally did, until after he had had a heart-attack and his doctors insisted on his transfer to an outside hospital, which the Japanese authorities permitted. Later he was allowed to go to his own home for a time. A letter dated January 17 pro­ testing against the internment of Red Cross officials and the confiscation of Red Cross supplies as in violation of international conventions, was ignored by the Japanese. On the morning of the 7th, Wolff and Forster discussed the food situation with the members of the internee Central Committee and it was agreed that the Red Cross should take over the feeding of the camp and assume responsibility for the payment for food and for other supplies as well. 5 Note (1945) — Two years later these meals would have been considered Luculian feasts.

THE RED CROSS

Brown being temporarily released on a medical certificate, Cullens volun­ teered his services and took charge of the restaurant on the 15th. Its field-kitchen equipment having been seized by the Japanese, the Red Cross officials considered putting in army-barrack kitchens but the Ja­ panese authorities opposed this on the ground that such kitchens would take up “too much room”. While the question of establishing a central kitchen on the ground floor of the main building of the University was being discussed, the demand on the restaurant was reduced by the opening of a kitchen for women and children in the annex and a kitchen in the hospital on the 10th. On January 25, the Red Cross organized a central pur­ chasing committee, under the chair­ manship of Lee Hobbs, an experienced hotel man and Red Cross volunteer worker, the primary function of which was the procurement of supplies for the camp and several other secondary places of internment.6 A. H. Evans was appointed liaison officer. Mrs. Patricia Intengan, a Filipino Red Cross worker, was made supervisor of market purchases. This committee greatly lightened the work of the regular disaster relief committee of the Red Cross outside the camp which was heavily burdened with the more general problems created by the enemy occupation. The following day, when Carroll spoke to the Commandant about a pass for Evans in connection with the food procurement service, the Com­ mandant. who in the meantime apparently had been approached by 6Holy Ghost College, for women and children: Sulfur Springs, for some British women and children later brought to Santo Tomas; and the Sikh Temple, where a number of British Indians were interned for a time.

17

certain Manila restaurant proprietors interested in obtaining a concession from Japanese military headquarters to feed the camp on a commercial basis, asked him why the Executive Committee did not put the whole matter into the hands of an experienced private caterer. Carroll opposed the suggestion and urged that the Red Cross be entrusted with the responsi­ bility. The Commandant took the telephone, called up first one party, then another, and after a long conversation in Japanese, turned to Carroll and told him that the plans to establish kitchens under the Red Cross management were approved. The Red Cross still had several warehouses full of supplies, enough to last for some months at least, but these had all been sealed by the Japanese military. They instituted a complicated requisitioning system, and over a period of three months less than a third of these supplies was released, and only about one-fourth of that went to Santo Tomas as the bulk of the supplies were being used for Filipino relief outside the camp. By the end of January, the Red Cross was issuing rations to some 80,000 people in Manila. The organization was therefore compelled to buy the great bulk of supplies and equipment in the open market, if such a term can be used in a city in which almost every store and warehouse which had not been burned down or looted was still under Japanese seal. Most of the people in the camp who, in the main goodnaturedly, stood in the long queues that formed for various purposes at all hours of the day, made due allowance for the dif­ ficulties with which the Committee and the Red Cross had to contend. The central kitchen in the main building began functioning on February

THE CAMP

18

1, with Cullens as supervisor of this kitchen as well as of those in the annex and the hospital. The central kitchen regularly fed from 2,500 to 3.000 people two meals a day. Breakfast usually consisted of cracked-wheat porridge, a small roll, and coffee with sugar, but after a few weeks no milk. This crackedwheat, by the way, which was wellliked, had originally been consigned, 48.000 50-pound bags of it, to China by the American Red Cross but as the ship carrying it, the S.S. Fairweather, had been unable to proceed to China, officials in Washington had authorized the Philippine Red Cfoss to take it over together with other Red Cross cargo in the ship for the people of the Philippines. Large quantities of cracked-wheat had been distributed in the earlier Manila evacuation areas, such as Pagsanjan, Luisiana, and other towns around Laguna de Bay. In the looting of the Santa Mesa bodega, some 20,000 bags had been carried away, quantities of it being

later peddled on Manila streets. The Red Cross had succeeded in saving the remainder and had brought 900 bags of it into Santo Tomas. The dinner served at the central kitchen was usually a stew, with a roll, tea, and a banana, but the main course was sometimes beans or pechay or sweet potatoes or noodles or macaroni, or boiled duck eggs, and there was an occasional meat-or-chicken day. Im­ ported foods were after a short time no longer available. For service at the central kitchen, the people formed four long lines which filed past serving counters in the rear hallway of the main building, and ate at long tables set in the grounds. When it rained, people ate where they could. For sanitary reasons, eating inside the buildings, crowded everywhere with bedding, was not permitted. Leading members of Manila society and some of the city’s best known gourmets stood in those lines, week after week, month after month, tin plate in hand. Everybody ate what

The Food Line, Main Building.

19

THE PACKAGE-LINE

Waiting at the Package Line, 1942.

was offered, there being no alternative but hunger. The annex kitchen fed from 500 to 600 women and children and young people in their teens, three light meals a day, also serving for some time those men whose physical condition required a light diet. Later the hospital kitchen took over the feeding of the latter, serving some 200 people a day. The Red Cross not only paid for all the food comsumed in the camp during this first period, but accepted responsibility for the payment of all equipment and supplies used, includ­ ing kitchen, toilet, and bath installa­ tions, as well as hospital and medical supplies. It furnished over 2,000 beds and cots and much clothing to needy internees. Up to February 21, the or­ ganization spent P79.200 for the camp, including food purchases amounting to P61,7C0. but not including the costs of foodstuffs taken from its bodegas and transferred to the camp.

The “Package-Line” — In view of the difficulties which the Red Cross had to overcome at the outset, the camp would have starved, especially at first, had it not been for a remark­ able institution which came to be variously known as “The Gate”, "The Fence”, and "The Package-Line”. From the first day, peddlers congregated along the iron picket-fence fronting the University grounds, selling food and all sorts of articles, but faithful Filipino servants and clerks and neigh­ bors and friends came too, by the hundreds, bringing food and other necessities, especially bedding and clothing. Shouting out the names of their friends or employers, some of them carrying placards at the end of sticks lettered with the names of the persons whose notice they wanted to attract, they pushed baskets of food, vacuum bottles of hot coffee, cocoa, and milk, bags of bananas or native oranges, bundles of clean laundry over

20

the fence, laughing and crying and call­ ing out inquiries. The Japanese were astounded and irked at the loyalty and affection shown by the Filipinos for their “op­ pressors”, and at first attempted to drive the crowds off with blows, but they kept coming back. One afternoon, about the third week, the Commandant had difficulty in getting his car through the crowd at the gate, and an hour later he issued an order forbidding the delivery of food over the fence and prohibiting the use of the front campus to the internees. Carroll, Raleigh, and Holland called on him, and he ex­ plained to them that he hated to see the people in the camp fed through the bars of a fence “as if they were animals” and that with reference to the clearing of the front campus, many Japanese, Germans, and Italians who had passed the University, had com­ plained to military headquarters about the freedom allowed the internees, say­ ing that the place looked like a “picnic ground”. Carroll and the others, aware of the importance of the Package-Line to the camp, had a proposal ready, — that the fence along the campus front­ age be screened with sawali matting to prevent outsiders from observing campus activities, and that persons from the outside having packages to deliver or take away be allowed to come through the gate in an orderly manner at certain hours every day. After some discussion, the Comman­ dant agreed to these proposals and res­ cinded his order. The Package-Line was saved and faithful servants and friends, — they came to be considered identical, continued to come to the camp, some of them every day and even twice a day, not for the first weeks only, but month after month, an average of 900 of them a day.

THE CAMP

At 8:30 in the morning and 3:30 in the afternoon (in March the afternoon line was abolished by the Comman­ dant), they came in through the gate and filed past four tables at which sat sabered Japanese officers, —later Japanese civilians, who inspected the packages for “contraband” such as weapons, flashlights (because they might be used for signaling), liquor, notes, etc. Internees appointed to the work carried the packages to a line farther back on the campus, putting them down on the grass alphabetical­ ly according to the names of the inter­ nees for whom they were intended. The internees stood still farther back, 150 yards or so from the line of outside folk. After the latter had filed out again through the gate, the internees were allowed to come to a line some few yards away from the packages, and when their names were called, they stepped forward to receive them. Out­ going bundles, mostly laundry, were picked up by the outside friends as they walked out. Shouting or talking between the two lines, and even the waving of hands was forbidden, but people learned to greet each other in various inconspicuous and sometimes comical ways, such as bobbing up and down on their toes or scratching the back of their heads and motioning with their elbows. The Package-Line hours be­ came the principal social hours, in­ ternees going to the line not only in the hope of seeing some one they knew among the outsiders, even when they expected no packages for themselves, but to meet and talk with their friends in the camp. Notes were frequently hidden in both incoming and outgoing packages, and for a time the Japanese winked at this, although occasionally some Filipino in the line would be slapped in the face

NOTES

if a note were found by the Japanese inspectors, the note being destroyed. There was not a man in the camp who was not deeply touched by the self-denying generosity, the loyalty, and affection shown by his Filipino friends or members of his household or office staff, and some of the in­ ternees could not speak of this during the first days without tears in their eyes. Though many people had difficulty in recognizing their friends at the dis­ tance set between the lines of internees and outsiders, a striking rapport exist­ ed between the two. The spirit both inside and outside the camp varied very much according to the war events. At reports of Japanese victories or after the sight of many enemy planes in the sky, the spirit on both sides was subdued and the visitors plodded into the camp in a quiet and stolid manner, but whenever good reports had filtered through, they would come in jauntily and smiling, and their good spirits were quickly communicated to the people in the inner line. Some­ times the internees would ask them­ selves, "What makes them so happy today? They must know something we haven’t heard about yet.” Communication with Friends Outside —The Central Committee from the first had given thought to establishing a committee to censor notes so as to secure Japanese approval of an opqn system of delivery. One day. C. E. Van Sickle of the International Har­ vester Export Company, chancing to meet Carroll, said to him that in the matter of censorship, "censoring notes ourselves before they go to the Jap­ anese for censorship, would be the way to do it.” Carroll forthwith asked him to head a censorship committee, which, with the approval of the Com­

21

mandant, began functioning about the beginning of February. Notes were not to exceed 50 words, and only matters of family health, and food, clothing, and money require­ ments could be mentioned. Saluta­ tions or endearing terms, expressions of solicitude, and thanks, and even such words as "Love” or "Regards” were prohibited and struck out by the Japanese censors if the internee cen­ sors allowed them to pass. The Jap­ anese said that such expressions un­ necessarily took up their time. It was a difficult thing for the people in the camp to send their friends bare lists of what they wanted, without being permitted to prefix even a "please” or to state that they had received this or that and were grateful. However, the committee’s men at the PackageLine,— Cronin, A. P. Ames, and J.Yette, explained this seeming rudeness to outsiders. From 150 to 200 notes were passed every day, and paper money was also allowed to be sent in or out. pinned on to a separate slip bearing the names of the sender and the addressee, the latter signing the slip in proof of re­ ceipt. The total amount of money sent in during this period was estimated at around PI 0.000 a month. Through the creation of the internee censorship committee, the Executive Committee solved another problem in a manner which, despite the onerous regulations, was a boon to many peo­ ple in the camp. An incalculable load of worry was daily lifted from the camp by even the briefest notes from relatives and friends outside. There was a service, not organ­ ized by the Committee or by the Red Cross,—the purely voluntary work of a young Russian woman in Manila, Helen Butenko, who. seeing there was a need, resolved to supply

22

it. Many of the women in the camp were from Shanghai and had no friends in Manila; there was no one who brought them anything and they had no "contacts” outside to buy their ne­ cessities for them. Miss Butenko’s father, deceased, had been a distin­ guished financier and had once been awarded a decoration by the Emperor of Japan. Miss Butenko showed it to the Japanese, and on the strength of it she was allowed to come into the camp. She came in every day at first, later twice a week, loaded with packages. She took orders, executed commis­ sions, secured donations, and was help­ ful in countless ways. Commercial Establishments in the Camp — In connection with the feed­ ing of the camp and supplying inter­ nees with other necessities, the Central Committee early made plans for the establishment of a food-exchange and a camp store, the Commandant at first approving both these projects. The Army and Navy Y.M.C.A. in Ma­ nila had canteen supplies valued at some P3,000 and the Commandant gave permission to bring these in. How­ ever, when F. S. Comings, district bus­ iness secretary of the Y.M.C.A. who went out on a pass, arrived at the Y.M.C.A. building, the Japanese officer in charge refused to let him have the supplies and Comings even had a hard time convincing him that he was not a military man who should be placed under arrest. Comings then tried to arrange for the delivery of supplies from the Escolta Drug Company and the Magnolia Milk Plant, both SpanishFilipino concerns, it being planned to confine the business of the camp store to toilet articles, notions, tobacco, and milk. It was also planned to issue food exchange certificates in denominations of PI.00 and 50, 20, and 5 centavos in exchange for food turned over by the

THE CAMP

internees to the center, for which other food could be obtained. A 10% com­ mission was to accrue to a relief fund for indigent persons in the camp. One of the Japanese interpreters, Nakashima, however, seeing the pos­ sibility of business for himself, went to army headquarters and obtained permission to establish a sandwich, coffee, and ice-cream stand on the campus, and the Commandant here­ upon had to inform the Committee that the plan to establish a camp store would have to be given up. The plan to establish a camp foodexchange was in part carried out, how­ ever; at a small stand in the rear of the main building, those internees who had too much of one thing, canned beans, for example, could exchange this for something some one else had too much of. Anyone who had at this time perishable food in excess, such as fruit or bread, donated it to the ex­ change, and the next man who came along might take what he wanted of it. The Japanese sandwich and ice­ cream stand was opened on January 19, and was estimated to do a business of around P180 a day. A little later, another Japanese opened a cigar, cigaret, and candy stand which did a smaller business. These establish­ ments accepted Philippine currency and the Japanese military paper pesos and fractions of a peso, but refused to take dollar currency as "no longer any good”. L. R. Aguinaldo, a Filipino business­ man, was also granted a concession by army headquarters and opened an order-branch in the lobby of the main building on January 26. Here orders for department-store articles were taken and deliveries were made the following day. Ten percent was added to the prices for a fund from which

THE FUNDS PROBLEM

to supply destitute internees with ne­ cessities. This concern did an average business of around P500 a day during the first weeks, which was reduced by half before the end of February. F. H. Noble, as chairman of the committee in charge of indigent relief, handled the distribution of the money which accrued for destitute internees. Purely commercial though these Japanese and Filipino enterprises were, they were convenient sources of ne­ cessities for those who had no contacts with friends outside the camp but who did have some money, though many persons in the camp would have no dealings with them. Government Records for Wrapping Paper — No one could remember just when it began, but after a month or so in the camp people became aware that the things they got from the outside, — bundles of laundry, loaves of bread, and vegetables and fruit, were often contained in makeshift paper bags made from records of the Bureau of Customs, the Bureau of Internal Revenue, the Bureau of Lands, the Bureau of the Census, the Philip­ pine Constabulary, election returns, even records of the Supreme Court! Such of these papers as were gathered by the w riter himself dated from the year 1905 to as late a year as 1940. The prize of the collection, picked up out of the garbage-ditch in the camp, was a series of letters and tele­ grams, year 1912, from the files of the Philippine Constabulary. One letter, dated February 16, 1912, was from the Office of the Governor-General, signed by his private secretary, Edward Bowditch Jr., informing Colonel James G. Harboard, Acting Director of Constabulary, that His Excellency desired to detail Captain William D. Harris, P. C., for work with the Mountain Militia Board of which General J. J. Pershing was to be the chairman.

23 Another letter, signed by Governor-General W. Cameron Forbes, addressed to Captain Harris and dated February 29, appointed him a member of the Board which was "to inves­ tigate and make recommendations as to the establishment of a militia organization and school in the Mountain Province”. The letter instructed the Captain to report to General Pershing. * One of the telegrams ordered Harris to come to Baguio at once, but the reply from Bontoc was: "Harris with Commissioner Worcester party, Mayaoyao”. Another telegram was to Colonel Harboard, Quiangan via Bayombong. It stated: "Pershing and mountain militia board leave Tayug March second arriving Nozo second, Imugan third, Bambang fourth, Bayombong fifth, Payawan sixth, Quiangan seventh, Banaue eighth, Taluban ninth, Bontoc, tenth. See wire Govgen to Secretary Worcester reference Harris joining board as soon as possible. —Craig... Travel was slow in those days. Today, over the mountain road system, this whole journey may be made by automobile in two days. Harboard’s reply was: "Harris leaves tomorrow joins Pershing Payawan sixth”.

The old Constabulary files no doubt contained historical material of greater importance than was contained in this particular dossier found among the garbage,—relating to the labors in the Philippines of such great Americans as Forbes and Pershing and Harboard and Taft and Wood and Stimson. The Japanese evidently were not satisfied with merely destroying the irreplace­ able and priceless historical records which were contained in the archives of the Philippine Government, but sold them to waste-paper buyers or threw them out for the people in the streets to pick up or trample upon. The Problem of Funds — Few people entered the camp with much pocket money and such funds as the internees had in the banks were unavailable. Yet money was needed immediately for various purposes, and the supply­ ing of the camp with food was also in part a financial problem.

24 W. D. McDonald, of the Manila Trading & Supply Company, who was among the first comers on Sunday, January 4, was appointed Treasurer, and started raising some money among the internees the next morning, collecting from 20 centavos up from everybody in the camp who had any money, for the purchase of toiletpaper, brooms, mops, and disinfectants. People were being brought into the camp on such short notice that many lacked even the most personal neces­ sities. Some P700 was raised, and later an additional levy of 20 centavos brought in a few hundred pesos more. Other things purchased from the fund included some athletic equipment, a few garden tools, buckets for the fire-prevention service, stationery for the office, etc. The Red Cross, though it had over P315,000 on deposit in the Philippine National Bank and P257,000 in the National City Bank of New York, was without available funds, and efforts of Camus to obtain the release of an initial P10.000 were unsuccessful. On January 18, however, Red Cross offi­ cials were able to obtain a cash loan of P2,000 from W. Schaffer, an internee, and several days later a second loan of P2.000 from a Swiss firm, F. E. Zuellig, Inc., which, in addition to some cash on hand in the Red Cross office, served the immediate need. Calhoun, chairman of the finance committee of the internee government, suggesting that the Nestle Company might have funds it could make available, Red Cross officials contacted A. C. Smith of that company, and on January 26 a loan of P80.000 was obtained. Subsequently during this period, other loans were secured from individuals amounting to P35,000. These notes were all signed by Wolff, Forster, and Bailey and were made

THE CAMP

payable "60 days after the cessation of hostilities." Late in February, the Japanese authorities granted the Red Cross permission to withdraw a total of P100,000 from its deposits in the Philippine National Bank in amounts not to exceed P25.000 a week. An interesting development occurred following the submission on March 11 of a memorandum to the Commandant (Tsurumi), prepared by Calhoun’s committee, requesting his cooperation in securing a loan of PI0,000 from the Philippine National Bank (to be guaranteed by at least ten reputable men in the camp who had resources in the United States), for the purpose of helping indigent internees, it being planned to assist some 500 persons with P20 each. After studying the memorandum, the Commandant asked Carroll why it had not been proposed to get this money from the Red Cross in Washington, and Carroll answered that the Executive Committee had no facilities for communicating with Washington. The Commandant then offered the facilities of his Office for communicating with Washington by way of Tokyo and through the Inter­ national Red Cross Committee in Geneva; he added that any funds assigned to the camp could be released locally by the military under the proper assurances by Geneva to Tokyo. The Commandant asked for the following information: a statement of the local resources of the camp and the Red Cross, a statement as to how long these would suffice, and a statement of the camp's needs computed on a monthly basis for a period of one year.7 7 This jority would before

seemed ridiculous at the time, the ma­ of internees believing that the Japanese be thrown out of the Philippines long a year had passed.

THE FOOD PROBLEM

That same evening Evans came in with a request from Camus that the Executive Committee prepare the text of a radiogram to be sent to Washing­ ton by way of Tokyo giving the following information: the number of internees classified by nationality, a description of the general condition of the internees, and an estimate of food and other requirements. Evans stated that instructions pertaining to this had come to Camus through Jorge B. Vargas,—whom the Japanese had appointed Chairman of the Filipino Executive Commission established by them, from K. Okazaki, of the Bureau of External Affairs, whose office was in Manila. The Commandant was surprised to learn of this request which came almost simultaneously with his own, and insisted that he nevertheless be furnished with the information he had asked for. When he was informed that the radiograms prepared for Camus called for only $2,000 a day for food, he declared that this would not be enough as not only subsistence costs but medical and sanitation and construction expenses should be in­ cluded. The Executive Committee then submitted a figure of $4,320 a day, or a total for a year of $1,576,800, on the basis of there being 3,260 persons interned with an estimated 2,500 dependents and released aged and sick persons outside the camp who would also have to be cared for. In another discussion, the Com­ mandant inquired of Carroll whether he thought the American Red Cross would be willing to provide this money, and Carroll replied that the Red Cross would provide not onlv money, but food. "Did you say food?” asked the Commandant. Carroll answered in the affirmative and said that the Executive Committee had not yet given up hope

25

of getting a food-ship through. "That is impossible”, said Commandant Tsurumi, repeating the words of his predecessor, Lieutenant Tomayasu, when the same suggestion had been made to him.8 Tsurumi on various occasions showed his concern over the food situation. Once he called the attention of the Executive Committee to the fact that the Philippine Cold Stores was selling out its entire stock and suggested that the camp buy as much as possible of these supplies. When he was informed that the Red Cross could not buy more than 10 days’ supply because of lack of storage space, he promised his help to obtain additional space. But in the end the Red Cross was able to buy only a 3-day supply of Vienna sausage; the Japanese army got every­ thing else. The radiogram the Executive Com­ mittee prepared for Camus read as follows; "MARCH 12, 1942 "AMERICAN RED CROSS "WASHINGTON DC "FOR CHAIRMAN INTERNED IN SANTO TOMAS UNIVERSITY MANILA BY NA­ TIONALITIES ARE AMERICAN TWO THOUSAND TWO HUNDRED SEVEN­ TY FOUR BRITISH NINE HUNDRED TWENTY DUTCH TWENTY EIGHT POLISH THIRTY SIX MEXICAN ONE NICARAGUAN ONE TOTAL THREE THOUSAND TWO HUN DRED SIXTY FIGURES DO NOT INCLUDE ABOUT TWENTY FIVE HUNDRED NONIN TERNED IMMEDIATE RELATIVES OF INTER­ NEES AND RELEASED SICK AND AGED INTERNEES (STOP) IMPOSSIBLE CLASSIFY LATTER GROUP BY NATIONALITIES (STOP) INTERNEES HEALTH GOOD HOSPITAL FACILITIES LIMITED (STOP) INTERNEES NOW OCCUPY THREE FLOORS MAIN BUILDING ALL EDUCATION BUILDING DOMESTIC SCIENCE BUILDING AND SCHOOL OF MINES (STOP) FOOD PROVIDED BY PHILIPPINE RED CROSS (STOP) IM­ PORTED FOODS NO LONGER AVAILABLE 8 The change in commandants is described later.

THE CAMP

26 (STOP) FOR ABOVE MENTIONED INTER­ NEES AND NONINTERNEES PRESENT RED CROSS STOCKS ESTIMATED SUFFICIENT THIRTY TO FORTY FIVE DAYS BY WHICH TIME RELEASED CASH ALSO WILL BE EXHAUSTED (STOP) NECESSARY TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS PER DAY BE PROVIDED BY APRIL FIFTEENTH FOR FOOD FOR ABOVE GROUPS (STOP) PLEASE SECURE PERMISSION FOR US TELEGRAPH NAMES ADDRESSES INTERNEES.”

Philippine Red Cross officials assumed that the British Red Cross would in due time reimburse the local organization for the funds expended in the maintenance of the more than 900 British subjects in the camp. Sanitation and Health — With over 3,000 people, old and young, crowded into three or four buildings intended for classroom use, and with wholly inadequate toilet, bathing, and laun­ dering, as well as cooking and dish­ washing facilities, the sanitation and health problems were little less than overwhelming. The sanitation and health committee, under the energetic leadership of R. E. Cecil, of the West

Coast Life Insurance Company, imme­ diately went to work to build up defenses against the epidemics which, but for the most strenuous effort, were a certainty, and to convert the camp into a habitable place. Fortunately, the camp opened during the cool season, but it was realized that by March the hot season would set in, and by June the rainy season, and that each of these would bring new discomforts, difficulties, and dangers, — if the camp continued in existence that long, which many could not believe. Cecil organized one of the largest forces brought together for any pur­ pose in the camp, — over 600 men. Room and toilet sanitation were the first problems dealt with and simul­ taneously the committee took charge of the installation of many additional toilets and over 50 more shower baths as rapidly as the equipment could be secured, in the meantime constructing a number of pit-privies; long troughs were constructed for washing clothes

Troughs where the internees washed their clothes.

CAMP SANITATION

and dishes. Open sewers were drained into the city’s underground system, and the water pressure was increased by tapping new inlets of Metropolitan Water District mains. Garbage was disposed of in trenches dug in the rear of the grounds; it could not be hauled away because the Japanese refused to allow the entry of outside carts. The garbage was collected in tin receptacles provided with lids and removed and disinfected daily. A ton of it was disposed of every day, trench space being saved by a preliminary crushing of all cans by pounding with a heavy block of wood with upright handles. It took a hole of about 4 feet wide, 4 feet deep, and 6 feet long to hold a day’s accumu­ lation.9 The committee undertook a vigorous campaign against flies, mosquitoes, and rodents, especially necessary because the University campus is situated in a low-lying area, largely filled ground which was overgrown with weeds and furnished not only breeding places for mosquitoes but hiding places for rats and snakes. Under the direction of O. Roehr, a crew of men cleared many hectares of ground of brush and weeds, eradicating the hiding places of all kinds of vermin. Hundreds of rats were trapped and a considerable number of snakes, including cobras, were killed. Bureau of Health officials outside cooperated in the anti-mosquito campaign by undertaking a drive in the area around the camp. Campmanufactured wire fly-traps were placed near every garbage can on the grounds, and in this way, and through the awarding of prizes to the boys who killed the most flies each week, the fly pest was controlled. Mosquitoes ’ Note (1945) — That was then! Later the internees were to eat their garbage!

27

in the rooms were kept down by means of spray-guns with which each room was provided as well as by the measures taken in clearing the grounds, cleaning drains, and filling holes. There was a special crew which dealt with cots and mattresses infested by bedbugs. Some of the more squeemish internees would pretend, when bed­ bugs were found in their beds, that they did not know what they were, or they would say, "These can not be bedbugs! I haven’t noticed them biting me.” The committee also organized a crew of men to sprinkle the campus roads in an effort to control the dryseason dust. This was hard work because no sprinklers other than some 5-gallon tin cans could be ob­ tained, except for one large iron barrel which was pulled around on a machinegun carriage found in the University armory. Envisaging the possibility of the destruction of the city’s water mains, the committee provided for an emer­ gency water supply by utilizing the main-building roof-tanks, which held some 50,000 gallons, and the swimming pool, which had a capacity of 500,000 gallons. The pool was kept closed and the water changed once a month. This emergency supply would have provided 2 gallons of water a day a person for two months. The actual construction work for the sanitation and health committee and other operating committees was done by the construction and main­ tenance committee under the chair­ manship of G. E. Koster, Manila architect and contractor. This com­ mittee carried out many projects, from building a butcher shop, a fumigation room, and a tool shed, to making tables, benches, beds, bulletin boards, and counters and shelves for

28 the kitchens. Eight men were kept busy all the time on miscellaneous maintenance work. Tools and materials were obtained from Koster’s own shops and from the Reynaldo Lumber Company until the Japanese stopped further removals from these places. After that, material was purchased by the Red Cross, part payment being made on delivery with the agreement that the balance would be paid within 60 days after the cessation of hostilities. The total amount spent for tools and materials ran to around P5,000 by the end of February. The committee by lending tools and selling some material to internees, collected some PI,500 during this time which was remitted to the Red Cross and served to cover the down-payments on supplies. The committee in charge of electrical installations and repair was under the chairmanship of T. W. Poole, of the General Electric Company. That fire might break out in the rooms crowded with mosquito-netted cots and mattresses was an everthreatening danger. This was especially true of the gymnasium which was a sea of hundreds of beds and mosquito nets which almost touched each other. A match dropped, or a spark from a cigaret could have started a fire which would have swept over the entire floor within a few minutes. A fire-prevention committee was organized under D. Kneedler, and fire­ squads were appointed for each room. Water buckets were placed at the door of every room. The occupants of some rooms voted to prohibit smoking in the rooms altogether, while in all rooms smoking before or after the daylight hours and all smoking in bed was prohibited. No doubt because of these precautions, there was never a serious fire.

THE CAMP

The Hospital — The ill and ailing among the arrivals in Santo Tomas, especially those who came from the three or four-day ordeal in Villamor Hall, presented a problem that had to be immediately dealt with, and on Monday, January 5, Dr. Charles N. Leach, of the Rockefeller Foundation,10 and Miss Davis, already mentioned, opened a dispensary in a corner of a room on the ground floor of the main building. A few days later, on the 8th, the small, one-story mining school building was made available for hospital pur­ poses by the University authorities, providing space for some 80 beds in 4 wards, as well as for a combined examination room and office, a small laboratory room, a physiotherapy room, and a kitchen. Later a number of circus tents, loaned by E. Tait of the Tait Shows, made it possible to isolate those suffering from acute infectious diseases, venereal diseases, and tuberculosis. Leach started with nothing the first day, sending out and paying for out of his own pocket the needed supplies. Dr. F. E. Whitacre, who had been on his way back to the United States from the Peping Union Medical College, brought in some instruments and medicines. The first beds came from a nearby convent. Tables, chairs, and benches were furnished by the University. During the first days members of the hospital staff can­ vassed the camp for donations of food for the sick. Later the Red Cross furnished all food and medical supplies 10 Dr. Leach, field director, Rockefeller Founda tion, was caught in Manila on his way to Chungking on a public health mission. He had, however, been in the Philippines before, from 1922 to 1925, as adviser on public health to Governor-General Leonard Wood.

THE CAMP HOSPITAL

As there were no facilities for major surgery, the Japanese authorities per­ mitted the transfer of patients requiring this and also those suffering from serious contagious diseases, to hos­ pitals outside the camp. The government-owned Philippine General Hospital furnished the ambulance service and also accommodated a Considerable number of charity cases from the camp, never refusing admission to any patient referred to the institution in spite of its greatly reduced budget. Among the physicians who during this period rendered devoted service at the hospital and in the various camp buildings, were Dr. Hugh Ro­ binson, Director of the Tunjao Hospital near Peping, who had been on his way to the United States for a vacation, Dr. F. B. Baldwin of Shanghai, Dr. L. Z. Fletcher, a pro­ minent Manila practitioner, Dr. E. Witthoff, an American missionary doctor who had been on her way to India, and Dr. L. Krzewinski, a Polish physician and a transient in Manila. Dr. Leach was director of the hospital. Four dentists set un their chairs in the hospital, — Drs. T. D. Doyle, C. A. Fanton, E. S. D. Merchant, and J. Quilling. R. A. Thorson was the optometrist of the camp. R. Levy, who was able to save a microscope and a centrifuge from his laboratory down­ town, was the laboratory technician. Miss M. McMillan was the physiothe­ rapist. Miss Eva Grace Davis, sister of Miss Dorothy Davis, was secretary. The head nurse was Miss Ethel E. Robinson of the Peping Medical College, and another nurse, Miss Mar­ garet R. Wyne, was from the same institution. In addition, to the 35 nurses among the internees who worked in the hospital, Filipino nurses from the Red Cross and from various

29

Manila hospitals were at first allowed to serve there. Early in March, 12 U.S. Navy nurses who had been working at St- Scholastica College, which the Japanese used as an in­ ternment hospital for U.S. Army and Navy sick and wounded who had had to be left behind when Manila was evacuated, were brought into Santo Tomas and joined the camp hospital staff. Among those who served as orderlies were Carl Mydans of the staff of Life Magazine, J. Wightman, a Manila radio commentator, and J. Morehouse, a prominent merchant from Peping, who all carried around pots and pans. During the first four weeks, from January 8 to February 4, a total of 1,185 patients received treatment, or 37% of the men, 33% of the women, 70% of the boys aged 5 or un­ der, 46% of the girls of the same ages, 31% of the boys from 6 to 17, and 32% of the girls of the same ages. During this same 4-week period, 288 persons were released through the hospital, 193 of them being sent to other hospitals in the city and 95 being allowed by the Japanese authorities, on hospital re­ commendation, to return to their homes temporarily. Of the 1,160 persons whose ills were diag­ nosed during the first 4 weeks, 355 suffered from respiratory affections, 197 from gastro­ intestinal troubles, 132 from dermatological afflictions, 26 from acute infectious diseases, 28 from gynecological troubles, 105 from abnormal heart conditions, 9 from diabetes, 26 from hernia, 32 from arthritis, 22 from eye troubles, 14 from ear affections, 5 from malig­ nancies such as cancer, and 54 from venereal diseases. Only 1 case was listed under the the heading, "psychosis", and though this did not include 6 persons sent away from the camp by the Japanese authorities because of their mental' condition, it would seem that the internees were, in spite of everything, a pretty calm lot. Only 1 case of drug addiction was discovered. The dentists performed 46 extrac­ tions, 164 fillings, and 357 miscellaneous opera­ tions. No deaths were registered in the camp, though a number of persons from the camp died in other hospitals.

30

A first-aid station in the main build­ ing was started by Mrs. G. H. Newman with Mrs. D. L. Gardner as assistant; both arrived from Villamor Hall on Tuesday, January 6. Mrs. Newman had organized the first-aid station in the Marsman building, Port Area, which had been designated as one of the public air-raid shelters by the Civilian Emergency Administration at the out­ break of the war, and brought with her from Villamor Hall some of the first-aid supplies which the Red Cross had sent there. Attached to this station for some time were Dr. H. C. Honor, of the staff of the Manila Sanitarium, Dr. E. W itthoff, and the Filipino Red Cross doctors, W. A. Fletcher, A. Tanchanco, D. Borja, and A. Alberto. There was also a Red Cross clinic in the m others’ and children’s annex which looked after minor cases, from 150 to 200 a day. Dr. L. Z. Fletcher was attached to this clinic, as was also his Filipino namesake, Dr. W. A. Fletcher. Dr. J. C. Klasson was the clinic dentist. Three Filipino Red Cross nurses were in attendance there in the daytime, and two at night. Under the auspices of the Bureau of Health, some two-thirds of the internees were given injections against cholera, dysentery, and typhoid, and smallpox vaccination also. In February, there was a compulsory venereal examination of all males, 19 gonorrheal and 3 syphilitic cases being discovered. The Release Committee — It was the function of the release committee, headed by A. E. Holland, to recom­ mend to the Japanese authorities the release, temporary or "permanent," of persons on grounds which they were willing to entertain. Permanent releases, at this time so-con­ sidered, were approved on the basis of con­ ditions which were ranked in the following order of importance: (1) women with babies

THE CAMP less than 1 year old; (2) old men and women who were ill; (3) women expecting the birth of children within a month; (4) persons se­ riously ill; (5) persons suffering from mental troubles (6) seriously disabled persons (crip­ ples); (7) persons whose immediate relatives were ill and needed their care; (8) certain other special conditions. Temporary passes were approved for (1) persons requiring medical treatment obtainable only outside the camp; (2) husbands to visit their wives who were just to have or had just given birth; (3) husbands to visit wives who were seriously ill; (4) parents to visit sick children outside the camp; (5) other persons to visit near relatives who were ill, (6) persons to visit with their families for other important reasons, and (7) persons to obtain clothing or other necessary belongings for use in the camp otherwise not obtainable.

Miss Gertrude Feeley and Miss Eve­ lyn Clark worked as Holland’s assis­ tants, and Stanley, already mentioned, was also associated with the committee during the first days. All three of these internees spoke Japanese. In February, C. C. Grinnell and several others were elected by the various sections of the camp as aides and advisers to Holland. As early as January 11, the Japanese agreed to the establishment of a home for young children (under 7 years of age, later raised to 10) outside the camp at the Red Cross hospital on Herran and Pennsylvania streets. In February, this home was transferred to the Holy Ghost College, a school for girls conducted by German and Belgian Sisters. This home was under the charge of Dr. Fe del Mundo, a trained Filipino baby specialist. The food was provided by the Red Cross. The children were allowed to visit their parents in the camp once a week on Monday afternoons, being conveyed in a Red Cross bus. By the end of January there were some 40 children from the camp in this home, and by the end of February, about 80. In March, permission was obtained for mothers

CAMP LABOR

in the camp to spend one whole day a week with their children in the Holy Ghost College, and fathers were allowed to visit them for an hour or so at the close of the same day. In February, the Japanese consented to allow women convalescing from an illness, pregnant women, and mothers with children of less than a year old to go to the Holy Ghost College, and by the end of the month there were some ten women there. The work of the welfare section, set up by Holland to establish or maintain contact between internees and their families outside, if they had such, and to assist these families if they needed help, became an impor­ tant activity of the committee. With Japanese consent, Mrs. Ruth Fossum and T. Jordan, and sometimes Holland, himself, went out on weekly visits to these relatives, reporting to the inter­ nees concerned when they returned. If necessary, they got Red Cross relief or medical care for these dependents, or obtained their admission to the home in the Holy Ghost College. Up to the end of January, the release committee has secured the so-called permanent release of 791 men and women, and 803 had been granted temporary releases. Over 500 persons had been allowed to make telephone calls to relatives and friends outside, which privilege also fell within the committee’s province to direct with the consent of the Japanese authorities. In February some 40 more elderly people were released. That same month a system of visiting at the gate was worked out, persons who could give acceptable reasons being permitted to speak to their friends in the gate­ house for 10 or 15 minutes during the usual package-line hours. There were usually some 8 or 10 persons thus

31 accommodated twice every day. The small group of persons granted temporary passes were usually taken out of the camp together in the camp bus, accompanied by several Japanese guards. They would be dropped at the various places where they wished to go and an hour or so later would be picked up again, one after the other, returning to the camp in a group, as they had left it. Camp Labor — The work of the camp was at first carried out on a wholly voluntary basis. There were at this time over 2,000 men in the camp and of those some 300 were incapacitated by age or illness. Some 900 men were required for the daily routine work,—150 as guards under the discipline committee, 600 under the sanitation and health committee, and 200 in the kitchens; there were furthermore some 300 on permanent daily assignments and some 600 on alternating daily shifts of a few hours. The first resort was to build up what was called the "Labor Pool" under the management of E. Madsen, of the Pacific Commercial Company, counting upwards of 1,000 men, which could be drawn on by the various operating committees when there were jobs to do. Those who knew something of plumbing and carpentry in time formed virtual guilds under their own fore­ men, which others who could or who liked to work with tools sought to join. Weed-pulling and the leveling of ground necessary for the clearing of space for the hospital tents and, later, for the garden, was very hard and disagreeable, for few implements were available, nor gloves, and the work hurt the men’s hands. One-hour and even half-hour shifts were resorted to. Most labor shifts were for 2 or

32

3 hours and in the kitchens, the shift was 4 hours. Other hard work was that connected with the disposal of garbage, and, later, the garden work. The older men in the camp took charge of the room work, sweeping and cleaning, standing guard, etc., usually 1 or 2 hours a day .The women, also, did their own room work, and some of them worked in the kitchens or in the hospital, or engaged in secretarial work or teaching. Mothers had to take care of their own children, for, of course, there were no amahs. Until the central kitchens were opened, many did what family cooking was done as well as the dish-washing and laundering. There were some lazy people, how­ ever, men as well as women, who would go to some far corner of the campus to keep out of the way of anything that looked like work. And when the labor pool management asked for volunteers for some job, only a part of the number required might show up. The people who did their fair share of the work resented this, and the voluntary system was seen to have its shortcomings. At about this time Madsen resigned as he expected to be released because of age, and a new labor plan was insti­ tuted under what was designated the labor assignment committee, of which DeWitt was made chairman. As al­ ready recounted, elections of room monitors were held with the under­ standing that they would have authority to assign persons in their rooms to various jobs when asked to do so by the labor assignment com­ mittee. and though assignments con­ tinued to be phrased as polite re­ quests, “Could v o u ...? ” or "How would you lik e ... ?” to do this or that, it became clear to all that everybody was expected to make himself useful

THE CAMP

in some way. An effort was always made, however, to assign men to such work as they were fitted for or liked to do, and the work continued to be done on a virtually voluntary basis. There was a strong feeling against compulsion of any kind, in this or any other matter. The chief monitor of the gymnasium, T. L. Hall, of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone and Telegraph Company, one night announced to the 700 assembled men in the building that a young man 18 years of age, had refused to serve as a messenger for a few hours that day, saying that he considered he was on a "vacation”. Hall said that he had offered the young man an opportunity to give his reasons to his comrades in the building but that he had declined this. Hall then asked whether the assembly wanted to know the young man’s name. Many shouted "Yes!” Others "No!” Some said "Take his meal-ticket away from him!” Another said, "Put him in the annex with the women and children!” One man, meaning to be funny, yelled, "Lynch him!” But another big voice shouted, "Why pick on a kid?” The noise was such that the boy’s name could not be heard when Hall tried to give it. The next evening, however, Hall an­ nounced that the young man had expressed his readiness to do anything asked of him. Among the most useful women workers was a busy group which from the first weeks in the camp toiled daily at the sewing machines set in a corner to the left of the big staircase in the main building. Mrs. R. E. Baskerville and Mrs. W. C. Parker started this work. The former had been in charge of the production of the hospital supplies, such as bandages, gowns, etc., which a large group of Manila women had engaged in at the

THE CAMP GARDEN

residence of High Commissioner and Mrs. Sayre for months before the outbreak of the war, and her mind naturally turned to the need of this and other sewing work in the camp. They started with 3 sewing machines furnished by the Red Cross, and as more women joined the group, 6 more machines were given them. They worked from 9 in the morning until 4 in the afternoon, making mosquito nets, mending the men’s clothing, sewing on buttons, all without charge. The cloth was provided by the Red Cross. R.O.T.C. knee breeches on hand in the University were distributed to the men who most needed them, but as they were nearly all too narrow in the waist, the women put V-shaped patches in the backs of some 300 of them. They also altered several hundred R.O.T.C. shirts to fit their wearers. They made hundreds of aprons for the workers in the kitchens, and sheets and pillowcases for the hospital also by the hundreds. Mrs. Baskerville said: "There was nothing else to do. It would be terrible just to sit around here doing nothing.” The group, however, worked only for the men in the camp, thinking that the women ought to do their own sewing; one of the 9 sewing machines was set aside for their use. Another very helpful group was composed of the men who gave their time to repairing the ripped canvas on sleeping cots, free of charge. Still another group kept a large caldron of water boiling. Those who used the water to make their tea paid for it by occasional gifts of cigarets, fruit, or other such commodities. The Garden — During the early part of February, a garden project was undertaken by a committee headed by G. H. Bissinger, who was

33 Director of Agricultural Research and Secretary-Treasurer of the Philippine Sugar Association. Within two months an area of some three hectares was cleared in the northeastern corner of the campus. This was filled ground, — an old dump full of rusty tin cans, broken bottles, and pieces of old iron, including automobile frames, the latter as hard to get out as stumps in a jungle clearing. The rank growth of weeds and tough grass had already been cut down by a gang of workers under the sanitation committee, but the ground had to be spaded and leveled and the metal and glass rubbish removed. This material was piled up along the borders of the area, like the stones on a New England farm. All this rough and backbreaking work, hard on hands and shoes, was done under a tropic sun by men none of whom were accustomed to physical toil. Carabaos could not be used, even if such work animals could have been obtained, for their feet would soon have been cut to pieces. After the seeding and planting, water had to be carried several hundred yards to the field, and while at least 12 5-gallon cans were wanted for this purpose, only two could be obtained! Later, after much trouble, some iron pipe and rubber hose was made avail­ able. But a still greater treasure was unexpectedly found under the ground, — a large iron tank with a capacity of 1,100 gallons. It was dug up and set on top of a mound of earth, and the holes in the bottom were covered up with a thin layer of c o n c r e t e . Still another, smaller tank of about 700-gallon capacity, found behind the University bodega, was also put in service, and after that there was no more trouble about watering the garden.

34

It was a delight to see this unsightly waste area converted into a flourishing garden, even during the dry season, and the transformation greatly pleased the University authorities. Seeds and seedlings were obtained from the Bureau of Agriculture and also gratis, from such stocks as remained to the Philippine Education Company and Parsons’ Hardware Company, which had dealt in seeds. By the end of the second month there were already many large beds of talinum (similar to New Zealand spinach), pechay (another green,) beans, and camotes (yams), and more were ready for planting as soon as they could be watered. When the tanks had been installed in March, the garden was rapidly expanded, Swiss chard, kankong (both greens) and tomatoes were planted, and by the end of March there was a hectare and a half in beds. On April 2, the garden sent the first 10 large baskets of talinum greens to the hospital kitchen. Despite the heavy work involved, all the workers were volunteers. The project was started by three or four men who had to make their own tools, — rakes and trowels, of wood. By the second week some 30 men were working in the garden on permanent detail; there were also always some six or more casual workers. Most of the men worked 3 hours a day; some longer. The gardeners were enthusias­ tic and believed that within a month or two a large part of the green food requirements of the camp would be supplied by the garden, but there was not one of them who did not hope to be out of the camp by that time. They were quite willing to sow without reaping. Educational Activities — There were some 300 children between the ages of 6 and 15 in the camp and those be­

THE CAMP

tween 16 and 20 numbered 300 more. There were also teachers and college professors among the internees. On the 9th of January, within a week after the opening of the camp, Dr. Rene Engel, of the Marsman Company, proposed the organization of classes for the children to Carroll and Duggleby. The recreation committee had been organized a few days before with L. H. Davis as chairman, and it was at first decided to merge education with recreation and form a joint educationrecreation subcommittee. Later the two subcommittees were separated. The Commandant having authorized the organization of classes for children up to the 9th grade, registration started on the 12th, and 112 children, not including those of kindergarten age, enrolled. The classes could not all be started at the same time because of difficulties in securing space and the limited number of benches and desks. The use of the unused fourth-floor roof of the main building was re­ quested, but permission being with­ held, classes were started in the open air behind the education building where it is shady in the morning. The benches and desks used belonged to the University, but it was hard to get them together because they had been seized by the internees and were in use in the various rooms as seats and tables and cupboards; a good many benches had been used for fuel during the first days in the camp. The books came from the Bordner and American schools; a few pupils had books of their own. The kindergarten class opened first, on the 14th, in front of the annex, under the direction of Mrs. L. Z. Fletcher, with Mrs. M. A. Smith and Miss Jean Aaron as assistants; later Miss Pomponette Francisco and Miss Mary E. Magee joined the staff.

35

EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES

Adult Class in Tagalog.

The other classes, from the 1st to the 9th, were opened on the 22nd. Due to lack of books and certain necessary materials, the subjects at first were limited to English, arith­ metic, and elementary science. Classes were held every day except Sunday from 9:30 to 12:00, 45 minutes being the class-period. The kindergarten group soon num­ bered about 50 and those in the grades, 215, and the total average attendance fluctuated between 200 and 250. Some 23 teachers, mostly from the Bordner and American schools, constituted the teaching staff. Parents’ and teachers’ meetings were held from time to time, and the pupils themselves showed such application that it was decided to schedule the courses to run until the end of April, the close of the re­ gular school-year in the Philippines, at which time it was planned to issue to the pupils certificates to be signed by the members of the educational

committee, which it was hoped would be recognized by school authorities elsewhere as attesting to the fact that the holders had completed the equiva­ lent of a year’s school work despite the disruptions of the war. A large number of adults having requested classes in Spanish, French, Tagalog, and even Japanese, authorization to open courses in these languages was requested. The first language course authorized by the Commandant was that in Spanish, and two classes in that language were started on January 23, of around 40 students each; before long there were six sections with an aggregate registration of 250, to which a section for advanced students was added with an enrolment of around 45, and then an intermediate class for high school students with an enrolment of around 50. At about the same time, an art class in free-hand sketching was organized under Mrs. A. Fisher. Study groups in Latin, plane geo­ metry, chemistry, and physics, intended mainly for high school students were also started, with an aggregate enrolment of around 60. Tagalog, with a registration of 110, was added to the language section, followed by classes in French, with a total registration of 130, which

36

THE CAMP

morning. That evening a Vesper service was conducted in the same place by the Rev. E. Ballou, of the Congregational Church, American Board. Some 150 clergymen and missionaries and members of their families were at this time interned in the camp, and a religious committee was organized as early as the 8th, Dr. W. M. Hume being elected secretary.12 Most of the clergymen and religious workers and their families were re­ leased by the Japanese on January 15, but a number of ministers were, at their own request, permitted to remain. On the 15th, a permanent religious com­ mittee13 was organized with Dr. W alter Brooks Foley, minister of the Union Church of Manila, as chairman, Dr. Hume remaining the secretary. The Dominican Fathers of the University of Santo Tomas cooperated in the necessary arrangements for services, and the Seminary chapel was open at first to both Protestants and Catholics for meditation and prayer. They also permitted the use of the Fathers Garden, between the main building and the Seminary, for religious services, meetings, and lectures. The barbed-wire fence erected by order of the Japanese authorities toward the end of February, made further use of the chapel impossible for the internees, but the Fathers Garden remained accessible. After the erection of the fence, Mass was celebrated for Religions Work — The first religious sometime on a temporary altar, a table, services in the camp were held on the second Sunday, January 11, for the 12 Regional Secretary, Young Men’s Christian Association for North India, who had been on Catholics in the Seminary chapel of his way from the United States to Lahore, the University, and for the Protestants n Members: the Rev. O. A. Griffiths, the Rev. in the west patio, main building, where E. L. Nolting (American College, Congregational, Madura, India), G. P. Wishard (Secretary, the Rev. O. A. Griffiths11 began a Holy American European Y.M.C.A., Manila), Miss Communion service at 8 o’clock in the Anna Nixon (Friends missionary under appoint­

ultimately had to be divided ino three sections, — for beginners and the more advanced. Classes in Japanese, under S. Stephens, were started on February 10. Classes for adults in various scientific fields were next offered. To meet the desire of a sizable group, a class in astronomy and applied mathematics in connection with navigation was opened, some 40 students registering for the course. This group was subsequently divided into two sections; in one American methods were given emphasis, in the other British. Seminars in physics, chemistry, and geology were started on February 17, these being in­ tended exclusively for university graduates and others who had done extensive work in these fields. For the benefit of engineers and other men technically trained, review courses were offered in high school and college algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and calculus. On February 24, a class in engineering mechanics, statistics, and strength of materials was started, with about 30 students. In answer to further demand on the part of internees, a number of classes in shorthand and typewriting were organized, but the class in typewriting was handicapped by the almost total lack of typewriters. A small group of men, desirous of preparing for the government examinations for certified public accountant, started working together on advanced problems in accounting and auditing about the end of February. One of the latest classes organized on special request was that in "English for foreigners", started on March 4 with a group of around 15. The classes for adults were held in the afternoon in the same places where the younger people went to school in the morning. The men and women in these groups had obviously not yet lost "their place in the sun", but the sun was pretty hot.

11 A clergyman of the Church of England; Di­ rector of Religious and Social Work, Peking Union Medical College.

ment to India), Mrs. J. Connor (President, Catholic Women's League, Manila), Byron Ford, a Catholic layman, and Morton Netzorg (Secre­ tary, Jewish Refugee Committee, Manila).

CAMP ENTERTAINMENT

placed on the lawn in front of the main building. Foley, Hume, Griffiths, and Nolting maintained daily consultation hours, and personal conferences were likewise conducted by members of the religious committee with internees at the hos­ pital and throughout the camp. The committee also assisted in working out plans for young people’s activities. Karl Kreutz, choir director of the Union Church, organized a choir of 30 voices which participated in the Vesper service for the first time on Jan­ uary 25. A folding organ was secured from the Harris Memorial Training School (Methodist). Kreutz, who, in the days of peace, had been president of the Manila Concert Chorus of the Manila Symphony Society, also organ­ ized a male chorus which rendered a sacred concert on Easter Sunday, April 5. The committee during the week of January 18 accepted the responsibility for providing leadership for the com­ munity singing which the Central Committee favored. C. M. Lewis acted as leader each Tuesday and Friday evening in the west patio. Favorite old melodies as well as more recent popular songs were sung by the people, and the first night’s performance, when conditions were still in a very unsettled state, comforted many hearts. Religious lectures were begun in the Fathers Garden late in February under the general direction of Griffiths. The attendance was generally good. The religious workers in the camp were convinced from the attendance at the services and lectures and through their personal consultations that many people whose behavior appeared normal enough, were nevertheless greatly troubled, not perhaps about their souls so much as about the

37

general problems of life and living, and, more particularly, their own. Entertainment — The entertainment committee, originally organized by Bernard (Bert) Covit and David Harvey MacTurk (Dave Harvey), gave its first vaudeville show near the end of the first month of internment on January 29 in the west patio of the main building. The stage consisted of some planks laid over a few boxes as better construction material had been im­ possible to obtain and it was difficult even to get hold of a hammer and saw. Obtaining the use of a piano had also been a problem,—in a city where there were thousands of them. Rehear­ sals had had to be held in one of the corridors. But there were a number of professional show people in the camp, and they were as alive to their f u n c t i o n a l role as were other professionals. Harvey was the mas­ ter of ceremonies and the program included a number of comic songs and dances, funny patter, several trum pet and accordion solos, and a sword-swallowing act! Simple, crude, as was the performance, it helped to take people out of themselves for a while, forced some laughter, reduced the nervous tension. It was a success and a second show was given a week later. A more ambitious program was undertaken in the staging of Ibsen’s "Hedda Gabler” in condensed form, and plans for a "Latin Revue" were under way. Athletics — As already recounted, Carroll asked L. H. Davis to head a a recreational committee as early as January 6. Later the educational committee was merged with it, but at the time of the reorganization of the Central Committee, they were separated and both made full committees. Miss Anita Kane, a Manila teacher of the dance, and Mrs. K. B. Day were the

38

members; later Dr. F. B. Baldwin, F. V. Chamberlain, and W. S. Parquette joined the committee. During the first days of the camp, several softball bats, a basketball, and a soccer football were provided by Alcuaz, of the University, but equipment to the value of P I25 was soon bought from the internee fund. Two men's softball leagues were organized, with 96 players each, and also 3 boys’ teams and 4 unattached teams. After the first month there were also 6 soccer football teams, 4 basketball teams, and a class in calis­ thenics with an average attendance of some 45 men. The estimated num­ ber of men and boys participating was 700, with a daily average of 500 spectators. The girls and women also, though rather slowly, developed an interest in athletics, — basketball, volleyball, deck-tennis, croquet, rhytmics, calis­ thenics, and supervised play for children, but space restrictions im­ posed many difficulties. Women's athletics were just beginning to gain momentum when the barbed-wire fence was erected and the west playingfield was cut off, making space problems more difficult than ever. New fields were laid out in the eastern part of the campus, but the reduction in available space affected men's athletics also, and it became necessary to reduce the number of games of all kinds to avoid interference with the Package-Line. Such activities for children as could be carried on without much equipment were continued, these including dancing for the girls and boxing for the boys. Mrs. K. B. Day and Mrs. Florence Carlson conducted an early evening story-hour for them with in­ creasing attendance, but for lack of a

THE CAMP

suitable room or other space this activity was suspended. Santo Tomas teams went by such names as the "Cracked-wheaters” and the "Stews”. B. G. Leake and Mrs. Day were asked by Carroll to make a survey of individual and group problems among the young people of 'teen age. Mrs. Day went to work by calling a meeting of the mothers, and following this a committee was formed with Mrs. Day as chairman and Mrs. Foley and Mrs. Ruth Fossum as members, the latter being replaced sometime later by Mrs. Cowie. The Days built a shanty for themselves and Mrs. Day resumed her story-hour for the children there. When she had told stories every day for five weeks, she said she had pretty well told herself out; but then she began to make up continued stories which the children liked. "Little children are not very exacting”, she said, "and I always told my own children stories.” A Santo Tomas "Junior League” was organized of which Teddie Cowie was chairman, Margaret Whittaker, vice-chairman, and Helen Ivory, secretary, which took up a first-aid course under the Red Cross and dramatics under Mrs. Wishard. An attem pt was made to secure a room for study and games at night, but this meeting with no success, the mezzanine floor over the lobby of the main building was set aside for the young people three evenings a week. Older friends gave lessons in bridge and mahjong. Leake organized dances for 'teen-age boys and girls once a week in the lobby, only square-dances being allowed because the Japanese frowned on ordinary ballroom dancing; these evenings were nevertheless popular with the young people. In fact, the young people entertained few worries,

CAMP ACTIVITIES

unlike their elders. They seemed to be enjoying themselves. "All my friends are in here”, one of them said. Individual Activities — A number of internees earned a little spending money by activities as diverse as that of cutting hair and telling fortunes. Some did laundry work; some repaired shoes. Others who had relatives out­ side or servants who still had the use of a kitchen, took orders for or peddled cakes, pies, doughnuts, cookies, and homemade candy. Cakes sold from PI.50 to P4.00, and not many internees could afford them; the treat of one was usually reserved for some wedding or birthday anni­ versary. Others went about quietly selling cigarets,—quietly, because the Japanese concessionaire on the cam­ pus objected to this. One sold an ingenious wire clothes-pin which he manufactured himself. Another made fine chocolate candies, including filled-candies, over a charcoal fire. Many people turned to some form of handicraft to occupy their time. Men built simple pieces of furniture, shelves, and taborets to place beside their cots. Some fashioned toys for the children and others carved sets of chessmen out of thread-spools, others made duffel bags, spending hours in embroidering their names on them; still others sketched. The women knitted or sewed. A great deal of camp time was taken up in serious study and in heavy or light reading. One big businessman was always to be seen with an algebra textbook and worked his way all through it, solving every example in the book. Much of this activity was entirely normal, but some of it, like sleeping to excess, represented various forms of "escape”. Surprisingly enough, time appeared to pass rapidly because, in the main,

39

it passed uneventfully; a great deal of time was spent in standing in line and waiting, — for one's turn in the bath, for one’s breakfast or supper, for a chance to wash one’s dishes or clothes in the public troughs provided for the purpose. Much time was spent in adjusting oneself to the convenience of the majority, for special privilege was frowned upon and practically non-existent at that time. Even the busiest of camp officials stood in the lines with the others. Much time was thus lost which might have been well spent by at least some persons in the camp to the general advantage; valuable time was also lost because it was not possible to employ servants and everybody had to look after his own personal needs. In general, the busiest people were the most content. Some men, like the executives and office workers in the camp, craftsmen like plumbers and carpenters, teachers, artists, office workers, who were able to continue their regular activities almost nor­ mally, were the happiest. For some of them, however, hard work, too, was a form of escape. Music — In February, A. B. Collette brought in a music-broadcasting ap­ paratus, the Webster-Cinaudograph, which he set up first outside the gymnasium and later at the education building, playing his own and other phonograph records at certain evening hours. The music could be heard over the entire campus and did much to cheer the internees during the first few months. There had been some dif­ ficulty about obtaining permission. The Commandant had kept the appa­ ratus in his office for more than a week and had finally agreed to its use only during 2 hours a day and provided the volume of the sound was kept down and no jazz played.

40

THE CAMP

The Loudspeaker Apparatus on the Front Campus In the foreground, Ray Cronin of the Associated Press and the author (with a folding-chair under his arm), taken unaware by a Japanese photographer. Fearing that his possessions in his room might be searched at any time, he carried his current writing about with him hidden in the folds of the canvas of the seat of the chair.

A music committee was set up which, after a number of adjustments, was composed of A. C. Brunner, chair­ man, L. L. Rocke, P. D. Carman, B. H. Silen, and Collette. The program director was Courtland Linder. Follow­ ing a poll taken in March of 1,000 internees, a revised musical schedule was arranged, the vote indicating a desire for more of the light classics. Friction between Collette, as owner of the apparatus, and some of the mem­ bers of the committee, chiefly over the nature of the programs, resulted in the utilization of other public-address equipment, property of C. B. Roque, which had meanwhile been brought in by Earl Hornbostel. An amplifier was obtained from the Philippine Union College. Built-up equipment, brought in by Hornbostel and J. Chapman, was also used. Later a permanent loudspeaker was set up

in a small triangular booth constructed near the main building, and portable loudspeakers were also provided for the lectures in the Fathers Garden and for Harvey's shows. A room in the main building was set aside for a studio. Although the program-selection na­ turally did not meet every taste, the nightly music did much to cheer the general mood. The restriction on jazz was gradually relaxed. Paul Osbon, a music teacher, gave a course in music appreciation, illustrated with phono­ graph records, which was well at­ tended. Geoffrey Morrison and others delivered a number of lectures on musical topics. The Masons in the Camp; Elks, Eagles, Rotarians, Spanish-American War Veterans, American Legion — Masons numbered around 5,500 in the Philippines, with some 500 more not

THE DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS

under local masonic jurisdiction; less than 2,000 of these were Americans or British, and less than half of that number still resided in the Philippines. The majority of masons in the country were Filipinos. Some 1,400 of the masons in the Philippines belonged to the so-called “higher bodies", — 900 to the Scottish, and 500 to the York Rite. Upon their entry into Manila, the Japanese occupied the Scottish Rite Temple on Taft Avenue, but Plaridel Temple, on San Marcelino Street, center of the Grand Lodge of the Philippines and meeting place of many lodges, was not interfered with at that time. In Japan itself, foreign masonic lodges were tolerated but Japanese subjects were not allowed to become members; in 1941, however, all ma­ sonic organizations were suppressed, as was also the Rotary organization. In the areas in China occupied by the Japanese, they closed the lodges and seized the records but did not per­ secute individual masons. There were nearly 300 masons in Santo Tomas, but no lodge funds were available and it was considered inad­ visable to attem pt to carry out any masonic work in the camp. However, in so far as this was possible, mutual help was extended. Beginning in March, needy masons within and outside the camp and a number of widows and children of deceased masons were paid from P20 to P40 a month from masonic funds, F. H. Stevens,—out on temporary re­ lease because of illness, having ob­ tained permission from the Japanese to take P500 from one of the bank accounts of the Scottish Rite. He was also able to cash a check for $2,000 (at a 20% discount) for the same purpose. Later the organization sent P600 to the masons among the war-

41

prisoners at Cabanatuan. The money was taken there by some Filipino women who had been given permission to visit the camp.14 Among the masons interned were Stevens, Deputy for the Supreme Council, A.A.S.R. and Past Grand Master, F. and A. M. (Grand Lodge of the Philippines) J.R. McFie, 1941 Grand Master, F. and A.M., L.M. Hausman, Chairman of the Board of Trustees (A.A.S.R.) John M. Aaron, Secretary, Manila Bodies, F. and A.M., and a number of Past Grand Masters, — C. W. Rosenstock, J. H. Alley, and S. W. O’Brien. There were also many mas­ ters and past masters of lodges. Early during the internment, Aaron was asked by some Japanese officials whether the masonic organizations were religious in nature, the Japanese possibly having in mind to make the same proposal to the masons which they were making to various religious organizations, — that they support the "Co-Prosperity Sphere” propagan­ da. Aaron replied that they were fraternal and not religious organiza­ tions. .In reply to the question whether the masons in Manila had destroyed their records, he said that the records were not of such a nature as to make this advisable. When he was asked who was the "head mason", probably meaning the Grand Master, he said that an election had been scheduled for January 27, and that he had no information as to whether it had been held, since he and other masons in the camp had been interned before that time. It became known subsequently that those of the masons not interned, the Filipinos principally, had decided to postpone all meetings. H By 1945 over P100.000 had been loaned out with the understanding that if a borrower was able to repay his loan, he would do so; other­ wise, not. No interest was charged.

42

Those Elks who lived at the Elks Club, some 40 men (Manila Lodge 761, B.P.O.E.), were taken to Villamor Hall in a body by the Japanese, and were permitted to take some of their mess supplies with them. They were later sent to Santo Tomas, where the most of them settled in room 304 in the main building. They ran their own mess until the central kitchen was opened. The Elks in the Philip­ pines numbered approximately 300, and most of them were interned in the camp. Exalted Ruler E.W. Bayer and S. J. Wilson, Esteemed Leading Knight, however, were not in the camp and were believed to have joined MacArthur’s forces. Among the Elks in the camp were J. B. McPherson, Esteemed Loyal Knight, J. P. Howard, Esteemed Lecturing Knight, Dr. G.B. Obear, Secretary, and S. A. Warner, Treasurer. As in the case of the other fraternal organizations, there were no lodge funds available, and such help as was rendered to members in need was of a private nature. The Eagles in the Philippines num­ bered some 500, a large percentage of them being Army and Navy service­ men. Some 200 Eagles, mostly mem­ bers of Manila Aerie, F.O.E. 500, were interned in the camp, among them T. Walternspiel, Deputy Grand Worthy, F. Braha, and J. Canson, E.M. Cousart, and C. A. Yoder, Past Worthy Presi­ dents, D. Adamson, Worthy President, G. H. Louis, Past Worthy President, and Secretary, S. Deebel, Worthy Chaplain, O. D. Keeney, Worthy Conductor, and M. Schroth, Sr., Trustee. Of the approximately 300 members of the American Legion in the Philip­

THE CAMP

pines, 110 were affiliated with Manila Post No. 1, United Service Post No. 5, and Fort McKinley Post No. 7, all three in or near Manila. Probably one half of these men were on active service with the Army or Navy, the rest were interned in Santo Tomas. Among those in active service were the Com­ mander, Lt-Col. James Carter, ViceCommander H. MacGowan, and 2nd Vice-Commander E. G. Baumgardner. Among those interned were 3rd ViceCommander J. Shurdut, Department Adjutant H. J. Morgan, and the Past Department Commanders Byron Ford, B. J. Ohnick, and R. T. Fitzsimmons. The Rotary Club of Manila number­ ed some 140 members of whom about 60% were Americans and British; men of some 14 different nationalities were represented, including 5 Japanese and 3 or 4 Germans. Hugo Miller, the President, was believed to be with Mac Arthur in Bataan; the Vice-Pre­ sident, C. Balmaceda, was a Filipino and was not interned. About half of the Manila Rotarians were in the camp, including T. H. Hall, Governor of the 81st (Philippine) Rotary District, Byron Ford, Treasurer, and A. H. Hill, Secretary. Little or no contact existed between the Rotarians in the camp and those who remained outside. Many members of the Manila Club (British) arrived in the the camp in a body. They were able to bring some of the club’s supplies with them, which helped. Because of their age, there were few Spanish-American War Veterans interned at this time.*16 *16Later more than 500 were interned in Santo Tomas.

Chapter II The Early Camp Life The General Poverty — Though in­ dividuals carried into the camp much of the prestige of ability, position, and wealth of their former lives, and the well-to-do still had certain advan­ tages, mainly as to the food which they could arrange to have sent in to them, there was in other respects the greatest equality. As many as 70 or 80 women lived in the larger class­ rooms in the main building, and over 700 men, from all walks of life, were quartered in the gymnasium, and no one had more than some 20-odd square feet of floor space, — the average was 24 square feet, for his cot or mattress and all his camp possessions. Those who built "shan­ ties" for themselves in some corner of the campus, as many came gradually to do, had an advantage in this res­ pect, but these could be occupied only in the daytime. By 7:30 everybody had to be off the campus. Additional space in the rooms was not obtainable either by purchase or favor; the rich and the internee offi­ cials were not a whit better off than anybody else. Suitcases and boxes of food and other things a person had were usually kept under his cot or bed. The cluttered rooms were swept twice a day, and once a week every­ thing was moved out and the floors were scrubbed. The toilets were scrubbed and disinfected twice a day; the University premises had never before been so clean despite the crowded, day-and-night occupation. There was an unconscious respect for what may be called "common law” practices. "Squatters’ rights”, for 43

instance, as to cooking places for those who did their own cooking, shanty sites, and even individual resting places on the campus, were scrupulous­ ly observed. The use of electric hot­ plates by the few people who had them was forbidden by the Japanese, — on the grounds of equality (!), and individual or family cooking was done on all sorts of oil, wood, and charcoal stoves, at improvised fire places, and in ovens built of stones picked up on the campus or even of broken pieces of sewer pipe. The University author­ ities had removed almost all wooden equipment, chairs, benches, gun racks (of the R.O.T.C.), but it proved to be impossible at first to prevent the destruction for fuel of what furniture remained; to the internees, the need for fuel to cook their food outweighed property rights. The Venetian blinds in some of the rooms were torn down to make frames for mosquito nets. On the other hand, bitter resentment was felt against snatch-thieves. The internees, even the wealthiest, had but a minimum of possessions in the camp, especially during the first weeks, and many a rich merchant was to be seen guarding an empty milk can which he used as a cup, as if it were made of gold. The loss of such conveniences as a shaving m irror or a soap box, was keenly felt, and thieving took on the propor­ tions of a m ajor crime. As thefts continued to occur, a guard system was established in all the rooms and buildings, designated men or women in a room serving in succession as guards for 1 or 2 hours, day and night.

44

In the main building, a kleptomaniac was caught whose craze was confined to toilet articles; 5 razors, 10 shaving brushes, 3 tooth brushes, 20 cakes of soap, and several towels belonging to other persons were found in his possession. After that when anything of the sort was missed, he was searched and the article was usually recovered; the repeated searching discouraged the man and gradually his thieving ended. Such communally used articles as brooms, mops, and buckets were obtainable only on written receipt. Special guards at the toilets dealt out toilet-paper in measured lengths. The crowded, gregarious life and the total lack of privacy at first irked many a person, but strangely enough, he would find that it was possible to experience a sense of being alone, or at least of being left alone in the press of the camp, just as on a crowded city street. He learned to close his mind to those about him and people generally respected such withdrawal. In the toilets, few of which were provided with doors, and in the baths, people seemed to take pains not to look at each other. There was a sign in one toilet which read: "If you want privacy, close your eyes.” As time went on, the internees were able to equip themselves a little better through friends outside, the Red Cross, and the Japanese and Filipino concessionaires in the camp. After a few weeks, most of the internees had at least folding cots and what clothing they needed. The men wore mostly khaki shorts and sport-shirts; the women short, comfortable dresses or slacks; the wearing of shorts by women and older girls was prohibited. Folding chairs and folding card-tables began to appear in the halls and on the campus.

THE CAMP

The servants of one prominent lady brought in her garden tea table and chairs, metal and white-enameled, the table fitted with a larged striped pa­ rasol. She set a regular table, with white tablecloth and china plates and cups and good silverware. A number of other women in similar ways strove heroically to preserve some of the amenities, but for the most part eating remained a tin-plate and tin-cup affair. Little improvement could be made at best, especially as to storage accommodations, except by those who managed to construct a shack. People crouching over their suitcases or boxes pulled out from under their cots, began to wonder how they would behave if they ever again had a room they could move around in, furnished with tables and chairs and bureaus with drawers. Relations between the Americans and British — The British in the camp numbered over 900, with about an equal number of males and females as compared to the 1,500 American males and 800 American females, this disproportion being explained by the fact that many American women and children had left the Philippines during the months preceding the war, while the number of British women and children in the Philippines had been increased by evacuees from Shanghai and Hongkong. The Japanese ordered that the Americans and British should be se­ gregated, and during the first night in the camp, one of the rooms opened for the men and one of those opened for the women were reserved for the British men and women respectively. When the gymnasium was made avail­ able, the Commandant first directed that only Americans were to go there, then he said that British men might go too, and then, all within two hours,

EARLY CAM P HEALTH

he announced once again that only Americans should occupy the building. Carroll called on him to speak for the British, and the Commandant finally agreed that they might move into the gymnasium provided they formed a section by themselves. The British, consequently, occupied the south­ eastern quarter of the big floor. The Commandant made no mention of any segregation with respect to the mothers and children moved to the annex the same day. When, later, the gymnasium inhabitants were moved en masse to the education building it was agreed that, for the sake of con­ venience, they should move over by sections, and so it happened that the British occupied certain rooms on the second floor of the education building by themselves. This segrega­ tion, therefore, was not a m atter of national "exclusiveness". After the original dispositions, the policy of the Executive Committee was to assign newcomers to the camp to the rooms where there was still some occupiable space, irrespective of race or nationa­ lity. Some Americans were put in the British section; the Dutch, — some 30 males and females, and the Poles, — some 40 men, lived among the other internees in several rooms, and so did the colored Americans, of whom there were over 60, and over 100 Filipinos, some of them American citizens, — the wives and children of white Americans. The relations between these various peoples were wholly harmonious. On one occasion, Commandant Tsurumi asked Carroll whether there was any friction between the Ameri­ cans and the British in the camp, claiming that Dr. Buss, of the High Commissioner's Office, had raised that question, but Carroll felt that the Commandant might be thinking of

45

splitting up the two groups, as the transfer of the camp was at that time under consideration. Carroll told him that there had been no friction what­ soever. The relations between the British and Americans in the camp were of a pattern with group relations general­ ly. Good order, harmony, unity were considered so necessary that people made a conscious effort to achieve such a state, the thought always in mind being that any sign of dissention might furnish a pretext for Japanese interference. Early Improvement in Health — During the first cool months, despite the crowding in the sleeping quarters, the poor food, the sanitation hazards, the health of the internees in general definitely improved after the first week or two. During the first two weeks at least 70% of the camp popu­ lation suffered from coughs and colds and intestinal troubles. As long as the gymnasium was the domicile of 700 men, crowded together on the one large floor and the sur­ rounding mezzanine, it furnished op­ portunity for a study of the nightbehavior of men in the mass. The first weeks, the coughing and racking was almost continuous and there was a great deal of getting up and moving around. Those who could sleep, snored and choked, ground their teeth, and cried and talked in their sleep; one man regularly sang. Every half hour or so, someone would have a night­ mare. One could hear such exclama­ tions as "They will never know that I lied!” "Nope! Don’t agree with that!” "Give the woman a glass of w ater!” "For Christ's sake, put a nickel in the slot!” “Throw those damned dishes out of the window!” were probably the words

46

THE CAMP

of a kitchen-worker. "Cute isn’t she?” was another dreamer’s exclamation. All this was symptomatic of troubled minds, but it would draw laughs from those who were awake. One poor fellow cried and moaned for a long while, and finally, when this stopped, a man asked in a voice, heard all over the gymnasium, "Is it a boy or a girl?” The volume of the laughter which followed showed how many men were still lying awake. One man always got up at 4 o’clock in the morning (really 3 o’clock be­ cause of the daylight-saving time ob­ served, which was also "Tokyo time”), — to shave. In the main building there were a number of women who also got up at 4 o'clock, made themselves a cup of coffee, took a bath to avoid the morning rush, and then went to bed again. After some time, the epidemic of colds subsided and the nights became quieter, but as most people went to bed early they also got up early. There were some, however, who never seemed to sleep enough. After sleeping all night, they would doze in the shade under some campus tree in the morning and take a long siesta in the afternoon. And they would complain if those around them made a little noise and woke them up. This was a common form of escapism.

Work in the camp at this time was generally light, there was leisure for rest and play in the open air, people had to do considerable walking between the various buildings, they went to bed early, especially after the nightly blackout was ordered, and there was no drinking of alcohol. Many people got the idea after a time that it might be possible after all to build up their health while in the camp. There was a fear that if the relief of Manila were delayed, consi­ derably greater hardship might have to be endured and people wanted to make themselves as fit as possible to undergo this. The conditions to be expected during the approaching hot season, followed by the equally un­ toward rainy season, were also looked forward to with apprehension. Good health and strength came to be strongly desired; more and more people elected to do some outside work in the garden or on the grounds, and everywhere one could see them exercising and sun-bathing. Diminution of Sexual Feeling — Des­ pite the apparent initial improvement in health, men spoke among themselves of the diminution of sexual feeling which they experienced, and some even suspected that "saltpeter” was put into the food, said to have been a resort of sea captains of old. This was

The Education Building,

DIMINUTION OF SEXUAL FEELING

not true. It was discovered by the doctors at the hospital that the women also suffered from physiological dis­ turbances such as delayed or sup­ pressed menstruation, or in a few cases, excessive menstruation. The general reduction of the “libido” was due to a number of factors, social as well as physical and psychological. The diet was poor, and little excess energy was accumulated. Psychological­ ly, regardless of how the general spirit might sometimes rise, there was al­ ways the underlying depression and the apprehension natural to captives who could never know what the next day might bring. Socially, the ordinary stimuli were almost entirely lacking. The Japanese authorities refused to permit dancing among the grown-ups. There was no theater, for the occasional “shows” of the entertainment commit­ tee, — mostly slapstick, could not be considered in this category. There never was any "dressing up”. There were no "beauty parlors”. The gymnasium, and later the edu­ cation building, was inhabited exclu­ sively by men; the annex was the dormitory of mothers and young children. Only in the main building were men and women thrown together, but under conditions certainly not conducive to sexual attraction. They lived in separate rooms but met each other in the hallways at all times of the day, including those times when the devastations of time and circums­ tance were the most apparent, — as before the morning toilet. Much of formerly ravishing blondeness slowly disappeared; hair that had been sleek brown or black, became gray. Illusion, optical or mental, was impossible; disillusion inescapable. And while youth still flaunted its charms, there was no try sting place anywhere.

47

Women said bitterly: "Gallantry seems to be a thing of the past!" There were the patios and the hall­ ways and the deep window embrasures, dimly lighted in the night, and some intimacies went on in the semi-privacy of such dark corners. The men of the discipline committee did not con­ sider themselves as taxed with the guardianship of morals but only with the preservation of order, and there­ fore did not interfere except in cases of flagrant disregard of possible observers. There were not more than 10 or 12 couples who were offenders in this respect,—and these were with­ out exception unmarried. The women concerned were those formerly known to be of the lighter kind. In spite of the general reduction of appetite, sexual deprivation seemed in time to show its effects in a growing ner­ vousness and irritability, more espe­ cially among the women. Still later, this passed. The men for the most part looked handsome and virile enough during these earlier months. Many let their beards grow. Beard styles ranged from the untrimmed moujik, Robinson Crusoe, and hill-billy types, through side whiskers, chin-tufts, ringbeards, and Van Dykes, to elaborately trimmed imperials and goatees. While some men permitted the hair on their heads to go uncut, the beards often went, for the sake of economy or some stranger reason, with closely-clipped or even smoothly-shaved skulls. The Men of Military Age — There were some 1,200 men between 18 and 45 years of age in the camp. There were several hundred civilian emplo­ yees, mechanics, etc., from the Cavite Naval Station and Nichols Field; several scores of men connected with the Pacific Naval Station Base Con­ struction Company, the Pan American

THE CAMP

48

Airways Company, and various tele­ graph and radio-communication com­ panies. There were a hundred or so able-bodied British and American seamen. There were also those who were believed to be, and in fact were, regular army and navy men who, engaged in special service work, had been caught in Manila. Most of the men who had been connected with work directly or indirectly of a military nature, were listed in the camp records as "salesmen” or something equally innocuous. The Japanese several times instructed the Central Committee to issue circulars calling upon those who were or had been connected, with armed services, to register as such, and even among the women, those who were the wives of men in the military services were required to state this. Needless to say, those who could, sup­ pressed such facts. Internment was especially irksome to the men of military age and to those who felt they might have been engaged in work of military value, but this

feeling was somewhat tempered by the knowledge that MacArthur did not need men so much as equipment. The airplane mechanics in the camp were dissatisfied because, though they had wanted and expected to be sent to Bataan or Corregidor before the Japanese occupation of Manila, no such orders had come to them. It was believed that hard-pressed though MacArthur’s forces might be, his re­ ceiving adequate reinforcements and equipment was only a m atter of time. MacArthur did not want for man­ power; the USAFFE had disbanded numbers of Philippine reserves because the defensive nature of the operations which had to be resorted to did not call for them. As it was, the younger men in the camp gradually adjusted themselves and became fairly content to devote themselves to the routine camp activities and to sports. Family Life and the Shanties — The presence of women and married cou­ ples in the camp added certain com­ plications, for the Japanese consider

Some of the first Santo Tomas shanties. Later they became very much more sightly.

THE SHANTIES

any physical contact between the sexes taboo in public. The Japanese soldiers stared curiously at men and women walking about quietly, arm-in-arm. Upon the demand of the Commandant, the Central Committee was early compelled to adopt rules under which men and women on the campus were forbidden to as much, — or a little, as hold hands "in public”. As men and women, even married couples, lived in separate rooms, and no one was allowed out of the imme­ diate vicinity of the buildings after dark, husbands and wives were in the main denied anything but the most open relationship. The Commandant, in his Japanese way, suggested that a large tent be erected in a corner of the grounds to which married people might repair during the day, but this was naturally declined. A number of people started building temporary structures, — at first of any material they could find, scraps of lumber and pieces of tin, matting, and blankets, under which families could spend the day together, and though such a shanty to all appear­ ances presented the utmost in squallor, to the people crouching within it was home. Numerous such ramshackle constructions mushroomed all over the grounds, and for a time neither the Commandant nor the Executive Committee took much notice of them. Late in February, however, a number of inspectors from army headquarters visited the camp, and the following morning the Commandant ordered all shanties taken down, giving as his reason that “immoral practices” were carried on in them! The Executive Committee remon­ strated, pointing out that the shanties gave people an opportunity to get away from the crowded rooms and halls during the day, providing relief

49

to both those who had shanties to retire to and those who remained in the buildings. A compromise was reached on the basis that the shanties were to have no sides, — just roofs, so as to be open to inspection. With the weather growing hotter, so many shanties were soon built, — some of them of very good construc­ tion and made from materials brought in from outside the camp, that the building areas had to be restricted or they would before long have covered much of the campus. Though as a general thing, squatters’ rights were respected by the Committee, the pro­ cess of "eminent domain" had some­ times to be resorted to. One man complained that he had had to move and rebuild his shanty several times, and now that he was being evicted again, he was angry. "We were bother­ ing nobody”, he said. "We kept the place clean. We made a nice floor of stones pressed into the ground. We had a little garden with tomatoes already coming u p . . . ” Internee offi­ cials said that the shanty was too near the "dining-room” tent (later appro­ priated by the Japanese), and that the man had previously been warned not to build there; but they were up against the homebuilding instinct. "Gestapo-Chief” Raleigh, more proper­ ly, the chairman of the discipline committee, hearing of this settler’s state of mind, groaned: "What do I get out of this job? I ’ve tried to re­ sign many times. I know I am be­ ing marked down as the biggest s.o.b. in the camp!” By March there were several hun­ dred shanties. People planted hedges and flowers around them and the foot­ paths in between were given the names of proud avenues and boulevards. The people of the various areas, — every foot of available space around

50

the buildings and down the east side of the campus, elected their own "mayors” and “chiefs of police”, the former being responsible to Duggleby, who was deputized by the Executive Committee to supervise the shantyareas, and the latter working under the discipline committee. The daytime life of the shanty owners was so much more retired and comfortable than the life of other peo­ ple that they came to constitute a kind of camp aristocracy. A number of persons who could well have af­ forded to build shanties for themselves, refrained because they felt they should share the lot of the majority, but most others refrained from building shan­ ties either because they thought in­ ternment would be too short to make it worth while, or because they did not have the money. Women and Children — The women without children, or with older chil­ dren, lived in the main building. On the first floor there lived 260 women with only 5 toilets and 4 shower baths at their disposal; on the second floor, 442 women, with 4 toilets and 2 showers; on the third floor, 274 women, with 5 toilets and 4 showers. Even this compared favorably to the facilities which the men had. On the first floor lived 240 men, with 5 toilets and 4 showers available; on the se­ cond floor 410 men, with 3 toilets and 4 showers; on the third floor 520 men with 5 toilets and 4 showers. In addi­ tion to this both the men and the women had 3 or 4 washbasins which could be used in some of the rooms on each floor. Mrs. Grace D. Oxnam, who had been connected with the Bay View Hotel, was appointed main building "House Mother”, a position she held for some three months, after which she was succeeded by Mrs. E. Allison. Mrs.

THE CAMP

Oxnam arrived at the camp with many others who had been staying at the Bay View Hotel on the 5th of January, about 5 o'clock in the afternoon. They had been told by the Japanese to pack their grips and to take two days' supply of food with them, and had sat waiting in the street in front of the hotel the whole afternoon. In Santo Tomas, the soldiers put her and 70 others, — 51 women and 19 babies and young children, into one room. But there was no hysteria, Mrs. Oxnam said. One woman leaned against the wall and sobbed but a little later proved herself one of the most ener­ getic and helpful in the room. "It was astonishing how quickly things smoothed out. Many of the women were a little jittery at first, and some refused to take orders. One woman screamed with rage because she was told not to brush her teeth over a bowl reserved for washing the babies, but this was the only incident of the kind. Each woman during the first week took an hour of room duty and a half hour of bathroom duty, but later those who worked in the kitchen and the hospital or who took part in cleaning vegetables and so on, were relieved of other duties. The rooms were scrubbed and disin­ fected once a week, and it was rare for any woman to rebel at doing her share, although there were a few who sometimes made excuses. The women's morale was high. They accepted the situation in Santo Tomas, the looting of their homes, everything, and said: 'Nothing matters except winning the war’. They washed and cooked, sewed dresses for themselves and their children, knitted, attended classes, did secretarial work for the various com m ittees... There were a few quarrels, but those who quarreled would have done so at home. There were some women who would do nothing but play bridge or mahjong after their room duties were disposed of, but these were relatively few. There were a few isolated cases of im­ morality. On the whole, I think the hardy, pioneer spirit of our forebears was brought out in the women; the United States should be proud of its women in the Philippines”.

Mrs. Edith Chamberlain, the capable chief monitor of the annex at this time,

WOMEN AND CHILDREN

said that after the first few weeks, mothers and children had mentally adapted themselves to the situation, but that while the children appeared to be toughening up, the physical re­ sistance of the mothers, due to hard work and worry, was slowly diminish­ ing. Among ''the children, she said, there was a good deal of nervousness and crying at first, and this was fol­ lowed by an epidemic of coughs and colds and gastro-intestinal troubles due largely to mothers attempting to feed their children what they could between meals, but gradually the children’s health improved. Mrs. Chamberlain said that the majority of the mothers were coopera­ tive enough but showed a disposition to concentrate their attention on the needs of their own children. About a fourth of them, she said, were hard workers for the common good, and at the other extreme, there was about a fourth who were non-cooperators

51

and chronic complainers, the drones always kicking the most. She stressed the hard work involved in a m other’s taking care of seven young children under the conditions existing in the camp, and pointed out that mothers with children to take care of and worried about them were less able than the men to "get away from it all". They could not sleep away long hours, play games, or keep their noses bu­ ried in books. Among the more cultured women in the group, said Mrs. Chamberlain, there was less letdown than among those without this advantage. Speak­ ing of the loss of personal possessions, she said that those women who had the most to lose and who had lost the most, took a more philosophic attitude than did the women who had less and had a hard time acquiring what they had. "Nevertheless, I have heard few squawks. The women who had the most beautiful homes

The Annex for Women and Children.

52 in Manila say: ‘Well, everything I had is gone, —furniture, linen, silver, collections of this or that. Why think of it any longer?' Some say: ‘I never want to own anything of value again. I will want only such things as- 1 can use. Why own so many things?’ I think a good many of us here have learned the foolish­ ness of being tied to material possessions."

Mrs. Chamberlain, small, elderly, competent, sat at her desk in the hall of the annex, a constant stream of women coming to her with requests and complaints. She listened to them quietly. She let them talk and blow off steam. She would scribble a note, or say that she would see to it, or that she would “talk to the other woman." She left her desk for a moment, and one woman standing there, said to another: "I wish I could just once get a straight 'yes’ or 'no' out of her!” Mrs. Chamberlain knew women, and the order and peace she secured in that place where 175 women and 200 children were crowded into 16 small rooms was a miracle. She never said "Yes" or "No”, — or hard­ ly ever. Yet Mrs. Chamberlain had never managed anything but her own home before. She saw there was a job to do and took hold, like so m any other people in the camp. Her hus­ band, F. V. Chamberlain, gave her such help as he could as general utility man. The internment by the Japanese of women and children in the camp (mothers with children under a year old were not required to come in at this time), may be criticized on various grounds, but in judging of this the nature of the camp and conditions in the city should in fairness be taken into consideration. And it is certain that the great majority of the men with families, had they had the power to decide the m atter for themselves, would voluntarily have brought their

THE CAMP

wives and children into the camp. Those men who had their families with them worried much less than those who had families by Filipino wives whom the Japanese, for the greater part, would not intern. The presence of the women and children, although it add£d to the res­ ponsibilities of the camp management and, in fact, of every man, did much to brighten the camp, and the life of the men was certainly much nearer the normal than it would have been without them. It tended also to dis­ courage risky ventures on the part of some of the men, causing them to re­ frain from acts which might have brought punishment upon the whole camp, including the women and chil­ dren. Their presence did much to humanize the situation in one other respect. The Japanese are characteristically fond of children. The Commandant was always easiest approached on m atters affecting their welfare. The guards, too, did their best to make friends with them. While the parents did not look upon this with favor, it un­ questionably promoted an amelioration of relations between the internees as a whole and the Japanese in Santo To­ mas. The children quite lost their fear of the soldiers. On one occasion, a new group suddenly started machine-gun drill on the campus, rushing forward, dropping to the ground, setting up their gun, then jumping up and run­ ning forward again, — perhaps to impress the internees with the "reality of their situation”. But this grim effect was entirely spoiled by a large group of children who rushed across the campus behind the soldiers, shouting and laughing and imitating them. The soldiers soon stopped these exercises.

THE COFFEE HOUR

The Coffee Hour — No picture of the life of the camp at this time would be complete without a reference to the early coffee-hour. N. V. Sinclair and C. C. Chapman and their sectionmates in the gymnasium got up before 5 o’clock every morning to make coffee, which they dispensed to all who presented themselves. They re­ fused money but accepted donations of coffee and milk and sugar. After a few weeks they were serving some 600 cups every morning, and some days before the men in the gymnasium were moved to the education building, the supply ran out, although Sinclair had said that somehow the Lord always provided. After the move to the new building, Sinclair and his friends built themselves a shanty and began once more to serve coffee to a somewhat smaller number of friends. One day, the milk ran out, but unex­ pectedly a man arrived lugging a sack which Sinclair guessed was canned milk, and it was. The m an’s name was Montague Lord. There came a time, however, when what milk there was, was reserved for the children. The savory smell of the coffee that pervaded the chilly morning air those first months and the thought of a hot cup of it, brought many a man out of bed early because the hearten­ ing brew seemed to taste even better while it was still dark. The coffeehour before sun-up and the talk that went with it, will be remembered by all those who shared the experience. Sinclair had a witty way of expressing himself and was known as one of the chief critics of the Central, and later, the Executive Committee and the camp "Gestapo”. Sinclair said he preferred a strictly Japanese regime to that which existed which, he said, was "undemocratic” and "un-Ameri­ can” because it was not wholly elective.

53

The coffee-drinkers liked to listen to his barbed comment, but it probably was his coffee that obtained for him his following. There were several men among the coffee group, including Chapman him­ self, who talked Japanese, and after a time the Japanese guards on duty formed the habit of stopping for a cup of coffee. Early Fraternization with the Ja­ panese — It was inevitable that as time passed and the Japanese officials and soldiers conducted themselves pro­ perly, — as, in the main, they did at this time, that more than bare tolera­ tion should develop between the in­ ternees and the Japanese, especially between the internees who were thrown into direct contact with them. A kind of fraternization sprang up between them and the few Americans who could speak their language and also between the Japanese sentries and the internee guards. They were in contact at the gate and at the PackageLine, and during the long hours of the night a cigaret or a cup of coffee might be offered and accepted. One soldier gave his home address to one of these Americans and invited him to visit his home after the war. While Lieutenant Tomayasu was Commandant, the guards used several of the rooms on the ground floor of the main building as their barracks, and a number of sentries were always at the main door. When Tsurumi succeeded him, the sentries moved to the small building at the campus gate. There were never more than from 12 to 18 of them during this period, and their food was brought in from the outside. The Commandant and some of his assistants ate the food from the central kitchen but asked for a monthly statement, saying that they could not pay at the time

54

but would make a contribution to the Red Cross later. News and Rumor — In spite of the work which had to be done in the camp and the other activities at which people busied themselves, the principal malady of the internees was a com­ plex of boredom and impatient longing for release and freedom. Personal and business worries were temporarily set aside, though many had lost everything and faced the problem of having to begin all over again. But everyone asked, "How much longer?" some with a sigh, others with a curse. There was a fierce desire to see the first American planes in the sky instead of the planes with the red spots at the ends of the wings which passed over the camp in a terrible monotony. One conviction did much to keep up the morale. No one questioned that Japan would be defeated in the end, but estimates as to how long this would take varied from a few months to a year or more, accord­ ing to the man and the information, — or rumors, of the day. The people in the camp, accustomed to a free press, fretted at the lack of dependable news. Copies of the four-page Filipino daily, the Manila Tribune, edited under Japanese direc­ tion, were circulated in the camp in limited number, — one copy for each room or section. While the contents were known to be the crassest propa­ ganda, reading between the lines was possible, especially as the paper would contain attempted refutations of al­ legedly false allied reports which the internees might thus hear about for the first time. Most of the internees were glad to read the paper, depress­ ing though the claims of continued Japanese victories might be. Brief written or typed summaries of radio broadcasts heard in Manila

THE CAMP

were smuggled into camp, and other reports were communicated by visitors or picked up by those out on tem­ porary pass. Most of such reports were claimed to have come over the radio from San Francisco or London, and, when the "Voice of Freedom” station was opened on Corregidor, from there.1 The Japanese did their best to interfere with the news-casts from abroad and prohibited the use of radio antennae, making reception from a distance difficult. But espe­ cially after the first weeks the news received in the camp often appeared to be surprisingly reliable when tested later against confirmatory re­ ports. Other reports were supposed to come from Filipino or Spanish friends in the city who themselves received information from people from the provinces. The Commandant was irked on occasion when he learned that the camp had received items of news before they reached him. The wildest stories, however, sometimes circulated, both good and bad from the point of view of the internees. Once the rum or passed like wildfire that Corregidor had fallen; it was claimed that newsboys outside were shouting the news. One woman in the camp started to scream. Usually, however, the rumors were highly op­ timistic, and if certain good news had to be given up as false later, there was no general let-down because by that time some other cheering story would be going the rounds. The story that the Americans had taken Formosa, circulated during the first week in the camp, was proved false, but it was followed by the story that American Negro regiments had 1 Postwar note: This station was named by President Quezon, See "I Saw the Fall of the Philippines” (1943) republished "Last Man off Bataan” (1956), by then Col. Carlos P. Romulo.

NEWS AND RUMOR

landed in Aparri (northern Luzon) and were already fighting in Nueva Ecija. Marines had landed at Mauban. MacArthur had received 1,600 new planes. Tremendous reenforcements had reached Singapore.. . Reports of Allied reverses which had to be ac­ cepted as facts, such as the fall of Singapore, February 15, were given as rosy a coloring as possible; for instance, — the Allies had withdrawn from Singapore in order to draw the Japanese into a trap. As time passed, people became critical and learned to accept even the seemingly best authenticated re­ ports only tentatively. Some few hardy souls refused entirely to listen to them, saying they would believe nothing until they saw American planes in the sky with their own eyes. Certain wags in the camp employed their minds at inventing supposedly humorous reports such as that hun­ dreds of American planes had been landed at Mariveles from submarines, or that the Japanese had sent an ulti­ matum to MacArthur: "Surrender in 24 hours, — or else we will!" Some people would introduce an item of news with the statement that it came from a "fairly unreliable” source. Some said, when they heard the same story from two different people, that it had been "confirmed". Nevertheless, in almost every group, those who had the most hopeful reports to communicate met with the most favor from every­ one. Rumor-mongering was indeed the chief intram ural activity. Though frowned on by some realists, it in general helped the morale to such an extent that after a time, when some disquieting rum or was circulated, the internees suspected the Japanese of being behind this and efforts would be made to identify the man who

55

first told the story. The Japanese were doing their best outside the camp to break down the Filipino morale based on loyalty to America, and the generally high morale in the camp obviously bothered them. Despite their efforts to isolate the Americans and British as completely as then seemed practicable, there was evidence that they considered the camp a dangerous center of influence, if only because of the radiation throughout the city of the spirit maintained in the camp. The internees did not behave them­ selves as representatives of defeated nations, and this appeared to disturb the self-assurance of many a Japanese official. At the beginning they issued a num­ ber of warnings in the camp against the dissemination of "fabulous" rumors. Notices were tacked on the bulletin boards by the Central Com­ mittee asking the internees to refrain from repeating rumors. On several occasions internees were questioned by the Japanese as to the source of stories they had been heard to repeat and were warned, but as time passed the Japanese appeared to give the m atter up as something they could not con­ trol. These incidents, however, served to deter people from speaking to other internees whom they did not know well. It was generally believed there were informers among them. Conversation and Reading — Among the usually small groups that formed on the campus during all the waking hours, the progress of the war and the chances of the early relief of the Philippines were the all-absorbing topics of conversation. During the first weeks, much of the talk consisted of bitter criticism of the Washington authorities and of the Army and Navy in Hawaii and the Philippines. People asked what had happened to the

56

American air forces in Luzon and how it was that the Japanese had been allowed to gain supremacy in the air so quickly, it being believed that many American planes had been destroyed on the ground, though there had been at least several hours’ warning. They asked what the American submarines had done in connection with the landing of troops from enemy transports in Lingayen Gulf and off the coast of Tayabas. They charged there had been a lack of cooperation between the Army and Navy and that the air com­ manders had been negligent. But no one was in possession of all the facts, and this talk gradually died down and conversation turned to the more general developments of the war in Europe and in the Pacific. There was a distinct tendency to­ ward a more serious trend of thought than ordinary, evident in many con­ versations as well as in the reading and studying done in the camp. The basic causes of war and the state of the world were often the topic of con­ versation, and the question of ca­ pitalism versus socialism or comm­ unism was often discussed. There was one general topic of conversation of less weighty nature which came up more and more fre­ quently as the meals served in the camp became more meagre. That was the topic of food, and the conversation generally took the turn of what one would like to have to eat, what dishes, or sometimes what drinks, one would prepare or order if one could. Re­ ference was made to favorite restau­ rants in every corner of the world and the cooking of the various nations was compared at length. After a skimpy and tasteless meal of boiled yams and noodles, for instance, with­ out a trace of meat, people would talk

THE CAMP

of thick soups and juicy beefsteaks and crisp salads, of cakes and pies and puddings, until their mouths watered. They would go into minute details in connection with the baking of various kinds of bread, the cooking of meat, the sauces and spices to be used, etc. It was tantalizing, and sometimes someone would shout, "Oh, stop it!” but in general people found pleasure in thus dining sumptuously even if only in their imaginations. Those who liked to read commented on the frequent mention of eating and drinking in works of fiction, which, they said, they had not noticed before. Internees attended classes and lec­ tures, and everywhere one could see serious books being read,—books on anthropology, sociology, and econo­ mics, as well as history and biography. The University authorities kept the library closed, as they did many other rooms, supposedly for storage pur­ poses, but G. Wishard, of the Y.M.C.A. was permitted to bring in some 600 books and there were also around 900 books brought in from the American School library, which could be bor­ rowed for one week. The Harvard Classics volumes were read through and through by hundreds of people, accord­ ing to Wishard, but he wasn’t sure that people read them from choice or be­ cause they were among the few books there were to read. Some internees brought in or had books brought in from their homes and lent them to their friends. Games — Gambling did not become a serious problem in the camp at this time, though one of the chief diver­ sions, especially at night, was card­ playing. There was little money, there was no drinking, and the situation was not conducive to recklessness. Ra­ leigh broke up a dice game the first week, though the professional running

THE VARYING MOOD

it said he was only teaching the men something about the throws. There were a number of professional gam­ blers among the internees, but none of them played. One asked: “Why should I make any money off the people in here?” There were from 10 to 15 games of poker going on every night in the halls and patios but there was a 10-cent limit and the combined gains or losses did not come to more than P10 a game. There was some playing on “jaw­ bone”, losses payable after the “dura­ tion”, blit the largest total loss for any one person was said not to exceed P300, losses and gains over a period tending to cancel. The players never­ theless played with great concentration and even the rare and significant sound of distant bombing, which for the moment would stop every other activity in the camp, would not break up a poker game. Bridge was the favorite cardgame. People who ordinarily might play once a week, played every night in the camp. "It get’s a little monotonous," said one player "but it fills in those two hours before lights-out time." From 25 to 40 bridge-fours sat around their folding-tables every night. The playing was purely for points and tournaments were always being or­ ganized. The Varying Mood — Though the morale of the camp was maintained at a fairly high level, the general mood changed from day to day and even during a single day, and this was largely determined by the nature of the current rumors or such seemingly authentic news as seeped through the barriers that surrounded both the camp and Manila itself. At times, of course, actual conditions or occur­ rences in the camp, and such events outside the camp as came to be known,

57

set the tone. Chief among the latter was the rumble or sometimes only the flashes of far-away artillery fire or the blasts of distant bombing. The internees could not know whether these were of American or of enemy origin, but they were welcomed for whatever they were, as indications that there was activity, that there was something doing which might before long result in the ending of their imprisonment. On Monday, January 27, after several days of noticeable depression, the entire camp was electrified, about 9:30 in the evening, by sudden loud explosions in the direction of Camp Nichols,. followed immediately by heavy anti-aircraft fire. Distant bomb­ ing was again heard around 11:30 from the direction of Zablan Field, just outside Manila. The next day the camp was almost jubilant, fo" grape­ vine reports were to the effect that the Nichols and Zablan airfields had indeed been bombed the night before. Everyone envisioned an early deliver­ ance. There was much singing throughout the camp that night and people stayed up until late hoping to hear the sound of bombing again but went to bed disappointed. And the Japanese, angered by the scarcely re­ pressed joy of the internees, retaliated by ordering a 7:30 blackout in the camp, though lights in other parts of the city were left on. This stood for a long time, making reading in the eve­ ning impossible. Though fine moonlit nights followed for more than a week, there was, alas, no repetition of the bombing of objectives so near the city. One of the darkest days in the camp during these early days was February 12, Lincoln’s birthday, when it was announced that the Japanese had entered Singapore and when, also

58

three men who had escaped the night before, were brought back to the camp and were severely beaten within the hearing of many of the internees. Still blacker was the following Sunday, when these men were executed, as will be recounted later. Ball games sche­ duled for that day were postponed and the usual loudspeaker phonograph concert in the late afternoon was can­ celled. The people sat in small groups or walked, trying to suppress their agitation. That night the usual hum of conversation in the patios of the main building and in the gymnasium yard was absent and there was only moody silence. Such a state of mind, however, could not last, and after a few days life in the camp returned to normal. The human animal, no m atter how miser­ able and apprehensive he may be, — even much more so than was the average man or woman in Santo Tomas at this time, has a way of recoiling and up-bounding, probably traceable to the original protoplasm! Whether prompted by illusion or reality, man always returns to hope. The Question of Executive Commit­ tee Authority — Excellent order was on the whole maintained. The people of the camp got along surprisingly well with each other, and despite the nervous tension and irritability that sometimes developed when they were more than ordinarily worried, quarrels were few. There were more squabbles among the women than among the men, though some men who had grievances against each other said they would not forget them but fight them out after they had left the camp. Raleigh and his committee on disci­ pline built up a force of 250 men, dis­ tinguished by red arm bands.2 These men, working in 2-hour shifts, politely

THE CAMP

directed people’s attention to the rules and regulations formulated by the Central, later the Executive Committee, some of them on demand of the Com­ mandant. Except for a few women who helped with the office work, the committee on discipline ceased after a time to employ women on the disci­ plinary force as it was learned that women accepted instructions more readily from men than from other women. Fifty men of the corps, under F. N. Cunningham, were assigned to the gate and to the Package-Line, and, among their duties, had charge of the distribution of incoming and outgoing packages. R. D. Thomas was in charge of the guards who patrolled the grounds and kept people off the cam­ 2 All official arm bands were issued by Ra­ leigh, and the persons entitled to wear them, and only while they were on duty, were listed. At first, any bit of colored rag available was used. Japanese sentries had begun to accept the sight of an arm band as authority for the wearer to pass between buildings after curfew before the Commandant issued a formal order to that effect. The arm bands served in the place of uniforms and were of distinct value for indentification purposes generally. The people in the camp came to recognize the red arm band of the internee guards employed by the discipline committee as akin to a police­ man's badge, and their being so distinguished put an end to the efforts of officious persons at assuming authority they did not possess. Persons employed by the sanitation com­ mittee used green arm bands, and general functionaries, from doctors and nurses down to messengers, wore yellow arm bands. The members of the Executive Committee wore blue arm bands, and when the first Commandant, Lieutenant Tomayasu, left the camp in Feb­ ruary, he presented all the members with new arm bands lettered in Japanese characters by himself. The other arm bands were all blank, but some of the men who wore them had Japanese characters inked on them by Ame­ ricans who could write Japanese; these inscrip­ tions were unofficial. The members of the censorship committee wore khaki arm bands. White arm bands were sometimes worn by other persons, such as room-guards, but these were unofficial.

CAMP ORDER

pus roads. The order to keep the roads clear was issued by the Central Committee after a child had been hurt by a car recklessly driven by a Ja­ panese soldier. J. B. Stapler was in charge of the "General Grounds”. It was his duty to enforce the "morality" regulations insisted on by the Com­ mandant, which extended to prohibit­ ing as much as contact of hands between the sexes, and the regulations as to women’s dress adopted as a pre­ cautionary measure by the Central Committee to avoid incidents with the Japanese in the camp. There was always the danger that the moral suasion upon which the internee government relied, might fail in the case of some thoughtless per­ sons, but as it was generally realized that if things went wrong, the Ja­ panese might take their own measures, every sensible man and woman be­ came an agent for the full enforce­ ment of order, and the social pressure in this respect was considerable. In the case of one woman who had made trouble with her room monitor, the 30 other women in the room signed a petition addressed to the Committee asking that she be transferred to ano­ ther room. The Committee, not wish­ ing to encourage the presentation of petitions of this nature, tabled it, but the woman in question finding herself virtually ostracised, soon mended her ways. In the case of any boisterous­ ness or loud talking at night, any man had only to shout "Quiet!” to be joined by others in the same cry, and this was enough to subdue the offender. The cry of “Quiet!” became a sort of joke in the camp and was fre­ quently heard when some one made some accidental noise, but it remained effective nevertheless. It was proposed by some that a "kangaroo court” be organized, — the

59

name is said to have come from early mining-boom times in Australia, when men were dealt rough justice by their peers as they sat on their haunches around the campfire. It was perhaps characteristic of the Anglo-American dislike for anything in the least arbi­ trary that such a court was not insti­ tuted in the camp.3 Fortunately the discipline committee and the Executive Committee did not have to deal with anything more se­ rious than misdemeanors. There was no "jail” in the camp, or even a de­ tention room; any m atter of discipline that came up was disposed of forth­ with. Many forms of crime would have been practically impossible, — such as most crimes against property other than petty theft. A number of cases of what probably were thefts occurred, but when the articles in question were seen and identified, as usually hap­ pened before long, they were given up to the rightful owners by the "finders” without remonstrance. Crimes of violence would have been possible,— assault, homicide, murder, but while there were a few fights, there was happily never any serious injury done.4 Raleigh stated in one of his reports to the Executive Committee: "We have no authority and all guards are reminded of this at our meetings. Our main task is one of advising the internees of the regulations that have been passed on to us.”

Lawyers in the camp held that the discipline committee and the Executive Committee did have and could exer­ cise delegated authority, but that this was derived from the Japanese. They said that international law was clear on the point that while hostile military occupation, as such, does not trans­ 3 As it was some months later. A jail became necessary too. ♦ Later there was homicide in the camp.

60

fer so ereignty, it does give the in­ vading force the right to exercise control, though it must respect the laws in force in the country as far as possible. The Japanese had ordered Carroll to organize the camp and he had done so. That, said the lawyers, was all there was to it. The lawyers also cited the executive order of the President of the United States to the Secretary of War, of May 19, 1898, during the Spanish-American War, in which the President said: "The first effect of the military occupation of the enemy’s territory is the severance of the former political relations of the inhabitants and the establishment of a new political power. Under this changed condition of things, the inhabitants, so long as they perform their du­ ties, are entitled to security in their persons and property and in all their private rights and relations. It is my desire that the people of the Philippines should be acquainted with the purpose of the United States to discharge to the fullest extent its obligations in this regard. It will therefore, be the duty of the commander of the expedition, immediately upon his arrival in the islands, to publish a proclamation declaring that we come, not to make war upon the people of the Philippines, nor upon any party or faction among them, but to protect them in their homes, in their em­ ployments, and in their personal and religious rights. All persons, who, either by active aid or honest submission, cooperate with the United States in its efforts to give effect to this beneficent purpose, will receive the re­ ward of its support and protection. Our oc­ cupation should be as free from severity as possible.”

This statement perhaps seemed right and honest enough to Americans at the time it was made, and the subse­ quent record of the United States in the Philippines was without blemish; the Filipinos were won over to co­ operation and the date for their final emancipation had been set by mutual accord. But the pronouncements now being made by the Japanese High Command in the Philippines, though under very different circumstances and

THE CAMP

without any sincerity, did nevertheless sound very painfully like an echo of the words of McKinley. McKinley, however, at this time, made no mention of "sovereignty” and there were no ferocious threats. Many of the people in the camp gagged at the idea that the internee government was a "Japanese” govern­ ment. Though they were sensible enough to bow to enemy force which for the moment they could not hope to overcome, the camp government seemed to them a government of Ame­ ricans by Americans5 subject though it might be to limitation, interference, and coercion on the part of the Ja­ panese. This was the first time any consi­ derable number of Americans had been taken captive; the first time ter­ ritory under their flag had been over­ run by a foreign foe. Generally accepted concepts of international law and previous American declarations as to the right of an invader to exercise control, made the Americans in Santo Tomas squirm. One amateur legal phi­ losopher evolved a theory,—a new theory to meet what was, for Ameri­ cans, at least, a new situation. It was a young, tender, pale-green shoot of a theory, but a seductive thing. Because, said this man,6 under the American Constitution, sovereignty lies with the people, Americans carry their sovereignty with them, and whereever they go where there is no govern­ ment they recognize, such as in enemyoccupied territory, and where they are separated from regularly constituted American authority, they can set up their own government and that govern­ ment will be American. Foreign inter­ 5 Stated broadly for the sake of simplicity; 28% of the population of the camp was now British. 6 This man was the author.

CAMP GOVERNMENT AMERICAN

ference with and coercion of that gov­ ernment can not affect its fundamen­ tal nature. Under such circumstances, wherever two or three Americans are gathered together in the name of Ame­ rica there can be an American govern­ ment. He reasoned that while it was true that Carroll was designated by the Japanese to form some sort of organ­ ization for the camp, he had already been chosen as the unofficial American Coordinating Committee leader for the Americans in the South Malate District, and that when the Japanese officer asked who was their leader, he had been pointed out as such by those who first arrived in the camp. The internee government which was formed was the work of the many Americans who voluntarily took part in it, with the acquiescence and support of the en­ tire internee population. While the sanction of free elections was not car­ ried far, there had been general ag­ reement that it would have been un­ wise under the circumstances to at­ tempt to carry it further.7 As the internee designated by the Japanese as responsible for the general 7 In this connection, the following is of interest: About the middle of March, the Executive Com­ mittee got out in mimeographed form a re­ vision of the rules and regulations which had been promulgated from time to time. Par­ agraph 5, under the heading "Room Monitors” read: "Room monitors may be removed at any time upon the vote of 2/3 of the occupants of the room and upon advising the floor monitor accordingly, in which case a succeeding room monitor shall be elected by a majority vote of all the occupants of the room at the time.” There was a similar provision in the next sec­ tion concerning the removal of a floor monitor. When Commandant Tsurumi saw this, he in­ quired of Carroll just how far the elective system went, and Carroll informing him of this and taking the opportunity to question him about carrying elections further, the Com­ mandant declared that he did not desire any change in the appointive method being followed with respect to the various committees.

61

organization of the camp, Carroll might have used his “delegated powers” arbitrarily. Yet he did not at any time act as if he were an agent of the Jap­ anese, but simply as the Chairman of the Executive Committee, conveying and interpreting the orders and mes­ sages of the Commandant to the Com­ mittee and representing the interests of the internees before that official and communicating the views of the Committee to him. The Executive Committee consist­ ently followed a policy of self-depend­ ence with respect to the internal gov­ ernment of the camp and it consulted the Commandant only on questions af­ fected by existing orders, such as the order prohibiting group meetings without permission which affected even the formation of classes in the camp school. The Committee did not submit any decision to the Commandant which it was thought did not require his approval, although it was careful not to take any action which might endanger the autonomy already exercised. The Commandant was not sent copies of the minutes of the Committee. In general, the in­ ternee government functioned as if there were no Japanese in the camp, just as the people for the most part ignored the Japanese soldiers. When the Chief-of-staff of the Jap­ anese Army visited Santo Tomas on one occasion, he asked Carroll and Duggleby whether there were any "trouble-makers” in the camp, return­ ing to this question several times and saying that in a community of this size there must be some such persons. But the two camp officials told him there were no trouble-makers. Turn­ ing any internee over to the Japanese, was something no member of the Com­ mittee could even consider.

STORY

62 Limited though the internee govern­ ment was and subject to outside inter­ ference and coercion, as a government of a predominantly American com­ munity, by a group predominantly American, living up in so far as prac­ ticable to the American traditions of individual equality and freedom and majority rule, it was not, — neither actually any more than in semblance, a Japanese government and did not draw its fundamental sanctions from the Japanese. Governing by the tacit consent of the governed, it had author­ ity in its own right, — so reasoned the theorist. No. one associated with it, from the Chairman down, was pledged to loyalty to the Japanese government or even to obedience. It might at any time, if circumstances warranted, turn on the Japanese. Far from being "Jap­ anese”, it constituted in fact a living shield between the people of the camp and arbitrary Japanese authority. The internee government, therefore, the theorist concluded, would be jus­ tified in taking any measures it might consider necessary so long as they were in the American tradition. And so it could deal with a criminal according to American conceptions of procedure and punishment. In so doing, it would at the same time protect him from out­ landish punishment. However, the lawyers (again) stated cooly that if a crime were committed and came to their notice, the Japanese would probably either administer pun­ ishment themselves or turn the offen­ der over to the Philippine courts out­ side the camp. The question of the internee govern: m ent’s authority was not a merely theoretical one. It entered into many problems that came up for decision before the Executive Committee. The Committee continued to worry along with its moral-suasion policy, chiefly

because it believed that its authority was open to question. This conscien­ tiousness and caution may after all have been wise, for the assumption of an overweening authority would have been challenged, at least by a part of the camp community. There was, for instance, one small group which said that under the circumstances it would take dictation from the Japanese, but not for the Committee so long as it was not wholly elective. Yet as time went on there were many indications that the people would have supported a firmer policy on the part of the inter­ nee government. The Japanese, accustomed to dic­ tatorial government, were frankly sur­ prised at the good order maintained and the efficiency achieved without the least show of force on the part of the internee administration. It puz­ zled them. The policy of moral suasion would probably not have worked as well as it did if the population of the camp had not on the whole been a select one.

1 Story of The Destruction of Cavite There were a number of people in Santo Tomas who had been employed in the Cavite Naval Station. The cen­ turies-old Spanish town of Cavite and the "Yard” are situated on a tiny island, some 50 acres in area, which is connected by a short causeway to the end of a small peninsula which juts out from the shore of Manila Bay, 28 kilometers southwest of Manila by road and some 10 miles by ferry. The fine, modern Canacao naval hospital and the three 600-foot radio-towers stood on another sandspit, called Sangley Point, 3 kilometers by road from the Yard. A small cove, in which the clippers of the Pan American Air-

DESTRUCTION OF CAVITE

ways landed, lay between them. The Yard was headquarters of the Sixteenth Naval District, though the Navy also had offices and warehouses in Manila. Like Manila, Cavite was protected from sea-attack by the fortifications on the island of Corregidor and several other smaller islands at the mouth of the Bay, and also by a number of shore batteries. From the land side, Cavite was supposedly protected by the Army. From the air . . . The Station was chiefly used for re­ fueling and for so-called light repairs, and comprised offices, residences and barracks, the powerhouse, foundries and machine shops, the aircraft repair shop, boat-shops, rigger-lofts, the lum­ ber yard, the ammunition depot, nu­ merous large supply buildings, the com­ missary, the dispensary, the hospital, and the radio station. The garrison at the time consisted of some 800 marines and there were sailors there on duty at the receiving station or on shore-leave from the ships at the piers. The establishment normally employed from 1,500 to 2,000 civilian workers, mostly Filipinos, but some 5,000 were employed there when the war opened. In connection with the increased act­ ivity at Cavite, the Navy also employed in clerical work a number of American civilians, men and women, whose homes were in Manila and who went back and forth daily by ferry. On Monday, December 8, 1941, the day of the outbreak of the war in the Phil­ ippines, the women were sent home at noon, and on Tuesday orders were is­ sued to the effect that they should either take temporary leave or arrange to stay at the Canacao hospital. Many of the buildings were of light, modern construction, and some of the offices and residences, built on top of the old Spanish stone walls, were of wood, offering no protection from aerial bombs. Underground refuge was impossible on the low-lying island. Some shelters, however, had been cons­ tructed by setting up walls of sand­ boxes at sharp angles against the stone walls, providing narrow, triangular

63

spaces which afforded protection from anything but a direct hit. These were to save many lives. Employees were also directed to several old Spanish dungeons within the stone walls which could be used for shelter. One of the things Rear Admiral F. W. Rockwell had done upon his arrival in October was to move much of the explosive mater­ iel, —shells, bombs, mines, torpedoes, out of the ammuniton depot to a sec­ ret location outside the Yard. Officers were careful as to how they talked after the war opened, but it was ev­ ident to the civilian personnel that an air-attack was feared. It came perhaps sooner than expected. On the third day of the war in the Philippines, Wednesday, December 10, 12:35 p.m., (daylight-saving time), the siren at the powerhouse gave the alarm, fortunately before the majority of the workers had returned to the Yard from their midday meal; most of the officers who lived on Sangley Point were also still at home. One American woman, who had stopped at the commissary to buy cigarets, heard the shout, "Out of here! Out of here!” and she and around a hundred others, clerks, marines, and sailors, ran into an arched passage through one of the old Spanish walls, 30 feet thick. Peo­ ple everywhere sought what shelter they could. Fifteen minutes later the enemy planes appeared, 6 bombing squadrons of 9 planes each, flying in formation at some 23,000 feet. Four scouting planes flew below, apparently to draw the fire of the ground-batteries and to test the height of the fire. Some action was seen over Nichols Field, between Cavite and Manila, the Jap­ anese apparently having sent a num­ ber of planes there to prevent interfer­ ence by USAFFE fighters. The Navy had two or three observation planes at Sangley Point, which in the mean­ time took off and got away. One small fighting plane at the aircraft repair shop went up to engage the enemy but was not recognized by the anti­ aircraft battery gunners and was hit,

64

the pilot and gunner bailing out in parachutes. Fourteen PBY planes based at Sangley Point had flown away in the morning. One of these, apparently still over Cavite at the time of the bombing, was shot down in the Bay. The batteries in the station set up a barrage, but the shells rose to an altitude seen to be far below that of the on-coming bombers. According to one source, the Navy had 12 3-inch "fifties” (15,000-feet range) and 8 5inch "twenty-threes” (10,000-feet range) and various machine-gun batteries in addition. The anti-aircraft guns were of the 1919 model, and when a reserve officer, at the time of their installa­ tion, asked why more modern guns were not being installed, the answer was, "We haven't got them. And any­ way, we are counting on the Army to protect the station. . . ” Now an Ame­ rican civilian, who was standing in the open and who saw the shells bursting far below the planes, said to a friend "By God, we're going to be nailed to the mast!” Then he sprinted to the archway for shelter. Ear-splitting detonations merged in­ to a continuous roar. Blasts of air and acrid smoke, dense with sand and pebbles and dust, beat upon the peo­ ple huddled in the archway. The ground shook. The roar seemed end­ less, but after a time it ceased and there was a few minutes’ respite. Per­ haps the planes were circling 'round; would come back. Then again came the whiz of falling bombs and the rending explosions, nearer this time, coming faster than one could count them. A bomb exploded right over the archway. Later it was learned that 7 persons were killed in the frame quart­ ers built on top of it. There was a shower of chunks of stone and mortar. Crumpled sheets of galvanized - iron roofing slid down at both openings of the passage, silently, it seemed, in the universal crash. Fearing the arch might collapse over them, the people cowering beneath it ran out into the open and plunged their way through the smoking piles of deb­

STORY

ris to the shelter of the nearest dun­ geon, a distance of some 500 feet. Bombs were blowing up black geysers at the other end of the Yard, and as they stood in the large, dark chamber they heard, a few minutes later, still another series of explosions. After this it sounded as if the scouting planes were strafing the stricken area. Two men had flung themselves on the ground to the right and left of the man who had cried that Cavite would be "nailed to the m ast”. One had been killed outright, the other was rapidly bleeding to death from a shrapnel wound in his thigh. He him­ self was untouched. Another man, at the supply depot, who had sought shelter under an old Spanish arch there, which also sustained a direct hit, was so peppered with grains of m ortar, driven into the skin of his skull, that it was weeks before he had this all washed out. As he ran outside the building, he saw the ground strewn with dead and wounded. He saw one corpse with the head gone, but the collar and neck-tie not at all dis­ arranged. To observers on Sangley Point, the bombing presented an awful spectacle. The enemy planes, in two squadrons of 27 planes each, these again divided into nines and threes, swept in from the direction of Manila, high in the blue tropical sky, their wings and fusilages glittering in the sun. They circled about over the Bay, then, from an altitude estimated at around 24,000 feet, dropped their bombs in what ap­ peared to be an arc which crossed the north end of the Yard. Circling about again, and descending to 19,000 feet, they dropped hundreds more across the east side. The people on the Point saw the blasts shooting up like mons­ trous black mushrooms, which puffed out into billowing black clouds like thundercaps. Above these, the white puffs of the exploding anti-aircraft shells appeared in great numbers, like vaporous rings and balls which seemed to hang in the air. They seemed hard­ ly to reach halfway to the planes dart-

DESTRUCTION OF CAVITE

ing above them. Many of the bombs fell into the Bay and threw up geysers of water, fringed at the top with mud and smoke. A third traverse of the planes, which came a considerable time after the second, crossed the Cavite-town-end of the yard and was extended over Sangley Point, where, however, little damage was done except to transmission lines. After the second and third bombing, some of the planes swooped down and machine-gunned the area. Three of them were shot down. Though the anti-aircraft fire was in­ effective in warding off the raid, it did keep the enemy planes at a height. Over 300 bombs had fallen in three parallel streaks lengthwise of the con­ fined space of the Yard. The first traverse, on the Bay-side, and the se­ cond traversing the middle, had been the most effective; the third had missed most of the buildings nearest the gate but had resulted in almost complete destruction of the buildings at the seaward end. Fires now spread rapidly, great columns of smoke rising into the sky, and as the powerhouse had been hit there was no w ater to fight the fires with until a fire-engine which pumped sea w ater was gotten into action by a number of firemen who had come all the way from Mani­ la. The enemy overshot the m ark and bombs had fallen on the town of Cavite, which was also afire. The pro­ vincial building had been hit and bombs had dropped around the plaza, over a hundred people having been killed there. It was learned afterward that one American chief petty officer had lost his entire family, — his Fil­ ipino wife and eight children. During the attack the people had rushed screaming through streets, but the panic soon subsided after the raid was over. In a little funeral parlor in the town, around a hundred bodies, uncoffined, were seen piled up on the floor. After the first traverse of the bombers, some wounded had been picked up and had been brought into the sickbay at the dispensary. On the second traverse, the dispensary was

65

hit, killing everybody except the one medical officer in charge. The Admiral and some of his officers stood in a group, the Admiral, as one man put it, “like a king without a country". The Commandancia had not been hit but burned down afterward. The records there had been destroyed, it was said, the day before, but if they had not been, they would have been destroyed now in the fire which swept the Yard. The ammunition depot, fortunately, had not been hit. Service­ men and civilians began to pick up the wounded. Every conveyance still available was pressed into service to take them to the Canacao hospital or to other places where they could re­ ceive attention. Some of the wounded were taken all the way to Manila or were left at various barrios along the road. Others were put in J. H. Marsm an’s private yacht and in launches to be taken across the water to Manila. Many of them died on the way. By 3:30, the fires were so bad that further search for the injured had to be aban­ doned and it was believed that many of them, trapped in the wreckage, were burned to death. At 4 o’clock the cry went around, "The Admiral says clear the Yard! The Admiral says clear the Yard!” The American woman, already men­ tioned, found a truck loaded with Fil­ ipino employees and a few American sailors who were going to Manila, and they made room for her. The road to the city was jammed with refugees from the town of Cavite. She had seen service in the first world war and was reminded of France. She got to Ma­ nila at 5 o'clock and never went back to the Station. Some 30 volunteers worked until 11 o’clock that night fighting the fire in spite of the great danger of explo­ sions and the escape of poisonous gas. Then they were ordered home, for it was hopeless to do anything further. Fires raged all that night and the next day, no one being permitted to enter the Yard. On Friday morning the bury­ ing of the dead began, and in the af-

66

ternoon a number of junior and reserve officers and small crews of workers went to work repairing what trucks and cars they could and removing such material as could be salvaged. Only the public works (naval) garage, the boatshop, the aircraft shop, the marine barracks, and some supply buildings were still standing. The list of known or probable dead ran to 1,600 names, mostly Filipino and some American civilian employees and servicemen, but the total estimate ran to many hundred more. Guns and mines, small arms, submarine parts, some gasoline and oil, lumber, corrugated - iron sheets, and “freon” gas used for the airconditioning of submarines, as well as quantities of provisions were gotten off to Corregidor and Mariveles, but great difficulty was encountered in getting the necessary barges and tugs. It was said on good authority that the Admiral on Thursday received a warning from the Japanese by radio that it was known that aviation gasoline was stored near the Canacao hospital and that they would come back to destroy this. It was true that some 3,000 drums were stored near the hospital and some 3,000 more near the radio station while underground tanks were being constructed. A crew of men removed some of the drums near the hospital. On Friday, the 19th, the Japanese twice bombed Sangley Point, hitting the radio station and one tower, the Pacific Naval Air Base Contractors' office, what remained of the gasoline there, the officers club building, a number of residences, and some hospital outhouses. Around a hundred people were killed. There was one more bombing after that, only two bombs being dropped, but there were air-raid alarms almost every day which interfered with what little salvaging could still be done. There were a number of ships at the piers on the day of the first bombing, One destroyer was sunk and the bridge of another was struck by a bomb, killing all the officers there at the time,

STORY

This destroyer, however, got away later. One submarine was hit in the stern and partly sunk. It was later wrecked by the crew and left there, Two other submarines were damaged, but got away. A submarine tender got away without waiting to lift anchor by cutting through the chain with an acetylene torch. The ferry boat San Felipe also got away in time, The Yard was officially closed on Christmas Day, but a reserve officer continued his salvage work with a small crew of volunteers until the 1st of January, 1942. That morning he was able to turn over 50 machine guns at Sangley Point to a naval ensign. In the afternoon he went to Manila to see about getting a tug. He had been instructed that the Navy would send an officer to the Manila Hotel every day, but he found no naval personnel there, He ran into a newspaperman who told him that the Japanese were at that moment at Paranaque, betv/een Manila and Cavite. He couldn’t believe this at first. He could of course not return to Cavite, and speaking of this in Santo Tomas, was very bitter about it, for if he had been warned in time, he said, he could have set fire to what remained of the ammunition depot, the boat-shop, the various supply buildings, and the lumber yard. What was worse, he said, was that there was a bomber in the repair shop, almost ready to fly, and also no less than 50 cannon, including 6 4-inch guns and 4 3-inch fieldpieces which had fallen into the hands of the enemy, Various stories were told in Santo Tomas about fifth-column activities at Cavite, including the guiding of the enemy bombing squadrons by radiobeams. One fairly well attested story told of the the capture in Bacoor Bay of a fisherman’s boat with radio equipment and with a number of Japanese on board, among whom were several radio-experts; two of them were women. They were turned over to the Constabulary. It was also said that two Japanese had been caught in the town of Cavite signaling with mir-

OLONGAPO

rors during the raid and that they had been shot on the spot. These stories could not be confirmed. It is true that while in Japan not even ordinary tour­ ists were allowed to come within miles of any of the numerous military reserv­ ations, in the Philippines, Japanese fishermen plied the waters about Ca­ vite, Japanese stores and barbershops fronted the main gate of the Navy Yard, and Japanese carpenters were employed in the shops at good wages. Navy men always said, "Oh, they're all right!” The Pan American Airways Station — The Pan American Airways station at Cavite was not bombed, though the Japanese gave the installations of the Company at other places enough of their attention. The Manila office was immediately informed by radio of the air-raid on Hongkong on the morning of the 8th and of the loss at the wharf there of the Hongkong Clipper, a 4motor, 19-passenger plane which plied between Manila and Hongkong. It had left Manila only the day before, carrying, among others, J. H. Marsman, well-known Philippine mining executive. A little later, the Manila office re­ ceived a radiogram from Guam stating that squadrons of Japanese planes were overhead and had just bombed the station, that the hangar was gone, the gasoline-dump on fire, and the hotel smashed. "We are securing”, ended the message, meaning in naval phrase­ ology, preparing to close down. At that very time, the Philippine Clip­ per, bound for Manila, was on the wav between Wake and Guam. Apprised of his danger by wireless, the pilot turned about mid-voyage and flew back to Wake and while he was preparing to evacuate the Pan American force there, Wake also was attacked about noon, but the plane escaped destruction and it did carry the entire personnel to San Francisco, via Midway and Honolulu. Left at Wake were a small defense force and some men of the Pacific Naval Air Base Contractors, who later put up a defense which for its heroism recalled that of the Alamo.

67

The last of the great planes to call at Manila was the China Clipper, which had departed on December 2 and taken Maxim Litvinof to America. The Pan American Company had a wharf, a hangar and machine shop, and a small administration building at Ca­ vite. After the bombing on the 10th, only a skeleton staff was left there. After Christmas Day, all the equipment and supplies were turned over to the Navy and what the Navy did not want was destroyed. Olongapo — The naval station at Olongapo on the west coast of Luzon, in Zambales, on the Bataan border, though twice attacked by Japanese planes during the first week of the war, was destroyed by the American forces themselves on their evacuation on the 29th of December. The station had years before lost its initial importance to Cavite, and was used chiefly as a submarine and navalplane station, though the Dewey dry dock, big enough to accomodate a cruiser or two destroyers or sub­ marines, remained there until shortly before the outbreak of the war. It was towed to Mariveles in October, where it was pumped full of water and submerged. The small Olongapo navy yard employed only around 500 work­ ers, most of them Filipinos. The prin­ cipal activity going on at the time was the construction of quarters for 800 marines who had been brought over from Shanghai. The station lay on the east shore of Subic Bay and was surrounded on all but one side by mountains. Grande Island, at the mouth of the Bay, boast­ ed a battery of anti-aircraft guns; there was nothing of the kind in the station itself. On Wednesday, the 10th, the people at Olongapo saw passing the Japanese air squadrons which destroyed Cavite that day. They counted 54 planes, coming from the north. About an hour and a half later, they saw the Jap­ anese bombers coming back, but there were seven less of them. The one submarine at Olongapo pulled out on the first day of the war.

68 Seven of the 14 big, twin-engined PBY’s based there, each carrying a comple­ ment of 7 men, also flew away and did not return. The remaining 7 went out and returned a number of times. One of them, it was said, had had the luck to sink a Japanese cruiser off Aparri. On Thursday, the 11th, the planes took to the air before dawn, probably for reconnaissance, and returned to refuel around 7 o’clock. About an hour later, 7 enemy pursuit planes suddenly appeared over the mountains and started circling over the station. On the second round, they got too close to Grande Island, and 1 was shot down. It was probably too late for the navy planes on the water to take off, — they would have been attacked when still too low to maneuver, and the of­ ficer in command evidently had decided that his men could give the best ac­ count of themselves from where they were. Scattered over the quiet water of the Bay that early morning, the great sea-planes awaited the enemy, the men at the 8 30-caliber machine guns which were mounted in pairs in each plane. The Japanese planes divided, 4 of them swooping down over the yard, machine-gunning, while 2 attacked the navy planes. The marines on the shore let loose with everything they had, — machine guns, automatic rifles, and carbines. One marine stood in the open at the end of one of the docks, an automatic rifle to his shoulder. The planes on the water also sent up a heavy fire, but 2 of them were hit. The crews saved themselves by diving into the water before the planes ex­ ploded. The Japanese planes swept around again, and now only 5 of them were seen attacking the American planes, still fighting valiantly from the surface of the water. Two more were hit, and an ensign and a chief petty officer on one of them were not seen again; they must have delayed their jump too long and been blown up with the plane. On the last round, the enemy planes dived down once more, to as low as

STORY

200 feet, and got the remaining 3 of the PBY’s, though the men in them all escaped. The Navy had lost all 7 of the planes, but the enemy had lost 4, for only 3 of the Japanese planes were seen flying off in the end. Han­ dicapped as they were, the American airmen had put up a good fight, but according to those in Santo Tomas who had witnessed the engagement, they were “mad as hell’’ because they would rather have been shot down in the air than to have been caught as they were. Except for the two airmen, there were no other casualties that morning. About half of the marines and the airplane ground-crews and the sub­ marine complement left for Mariveles on Friday and Saturday. On Saturday, 9 Japanese bombers appeared around 10 o'clock. Avoiding Grande Island, they dropped some 30 small bombs and some additional incendiary bombs, but the aim was poor and the yard itself was not hit. Most of the bombs fell on a hillside and some fell in the barrio of Asin, where a number of per­ sons were wounded. Most of the po­ pulation of the small town of Olongapo had already moved into the hills. The following week, the buildings and shops in the yard and the two docks were blown up by the personnel, and the remaining forces were evacua­ ted to Mariveles. It was said that the town of Olongapo was destroyed by looters after the forces left.

2 The Story of The Sinking of the S.S. Corregidor Early Wednesday morning of the second week of the war, a little more than an hour after midnight (December 17), there occurred the greatest marine disaster in Philippine history,—the sink­ ing of the S.S. Corregidor.' With some 1,500 people aboard, the 900-ton ship, a former English cross-channel ship, hit a mine just outside of Manila Bay, three hours after leaving the piers, and sank within four or five minutes,

SINKING OF THE S.S. CORREGIDOR

carrying over 1,000 people to their deaths. Among the Santo Tomas internees were four men and two women who were among the survivors in this shocking mishap which, with the des­ truction of Cavite from the air a week before, prefaced the catastrophe which was so soon to overwhelm Manila and all the Philippines. President Quezon was quoted in the Manila press as saying: “I am shocked . . . so many lives lost! My heart goes out to the families of those who pe­ rished in this terrible accident, some of whom were my dear personal friends who rendered signal service to our country and people.” Among those lost were several members of the Le­ gislature12 and many other prominent Filipinos and hundreds of college students who, because all schools had 1 The sinking of the S.S. Corregidor was not only the greatest marine disaster in Philippine history, but one of the greatest in the world, not including losses incurred in military or naval action. The loss of life in the sinking of the Titanic on colliding with an iceberg in the North Atlantic on April 15, 1912, was 1,513; the loss in the sinking of the Empress of Ire­ land in a collision in the St. Lawrence River on May 29, 1914, was 1,024; earlier losses were those of the Sultana, sunk in the Mississippi River following a boiler-explosion on April 27, 1865, 1,450, and of the General Slocum, which burned in New York Harbor on June 15, 1904, 1,021. The loss of life in the sinking of the liner Lusitania, on May 7, 1915, by a German submarine, was 1,198. The Corregidor disaster thus ranks third or fourth. 2 According to the Manila Tribune, of Decem­ ber 18, 1941, among those who lost their lives were Representative Juan M. Reyes, of Capiz, and Representative Atanacio Ampig, of Iloilo. Three other legislators, Representatives Jose E. Romero, of Negros Oriental, Calixto O. Zaldivar, of Antique, and Dominador M. Tan, of Leyte, were saved, but the latter lost his wife, two children, and a sister. Representative Ramon A. Amaldo lost his son Edgar. The American survivors interned a few weeks later in the Santo Tomas Camp told the writer that in general the reports of the disaster published in the Manila newspapers were inaccurate, espe­ cially as to the number of lives lost which, according to them, was very much greater than was reported.

69 been ordered closed, were going to their homes in the South. It was reported that while some 800 people had been sold tickets and there were also 150 Filipino soldiers aboard, many others had crowded into the ship without tickets an hour or so before it sailed. The Corregidor was the first passenger vessel to leave Manila for Cebu and Iloilo after the start of the war3. Besides its human cargo, the ship also carried a large shipment of quarterm aster supplies, including ammunition (stored in the bow), and there was a consignment of empty oil-drum on the lower deck. Officials of the Compania Maritima, the owners, said afterward that they had done all they could to prevent overcrowding, and that they had sold as many tickets as they had only because of the “irresistible pleading” of people who wanted to get away from Manila. All words of warning had been useless and passengers willingly signed statements that they were sailing at their own risk. The Manila Daily Bulletin reported after the accident that the passengers and crew members listed totaled only 326, but one of the survivors in Santo Tomas said that the afternoon before the sailing a Maritima official had told him that some 800 tickets had already been sold. He had also been asked to sign a statement acquiting the Company of responsibility, and had done so. The ship cast off at 10 o’clock in total darkness, as there were no spe­ cial blackout facilities provided. Many of the passengers had boarded the ship in the afternoon, but due to the lack of lights even in the dining saloon, no supper was served. The bar was closed and it was impossible to obtain even drinking water. There were 8 air-conditioned cabins and some 20 other cabins, all taken, and the whole ship, including the three decks, was 3 The S.S. Elcano had sailed for Cebu on the 10th, with army supplies, including gasoline and fuel oil, but had taken no passengers.

70

jammed with people. They made their way about with electric flashlights. There were but a few Americans aboard, Mr. and Mrs. Jack Fee, Mr. and Mrs. T. Ellis, F. Lambert, F. E. Williams, Col. Frank Griffin, a retired army officer, 70 years old, and a co­ lored American, “Dixie”, who was an employee of the Compania Maritima. There were also two American army officers. All but Williams were saved. Mr. Fee was manager of the Cebu office of the Standard Vacuum Oil Company, and had come to Manila to attend a staff meeting. He and his wife had left their one year-old baby behind with friends in Cebu. They did not see the child again until a year later when she was brought to the Santo Tomas with the internees from Cebu. The Ellises also had left a 15year-old daughter in Cebu. The American civilians spent the earlier hours of the night together in the lounge, and seeing people on the deck appropriating life belts from the racks, they also supplied themselves. The fear of an enemy submarine attack was in every mind. There were not enough life belts to go around. About midnight, Mr. and Mrs. Fee retired to their air-conditioned cabin on the port side, it taking them 20 minutes or so to find a cabin boy to unlock the door. They lay down in their beds without undressing. They had left their life belts beside their chairs in the lounge, but found two under their beds. Around 1 o’clock, Fee noticed that the ship’s engines had stopped and got up to look out of the porthole. He saw a signal-light flashing from Corregidor Island, which he judged had been already passed and lay some 5 miles off. He thought the fortress must be communicating with the ship. He went back to bed when the engines started turning again, and then, al­ most immediately, he heard an explo­ sion. The detonation came from the other side of the ship and sounded muffled in the air-conditioned room. The Fees thought it was some kind of

STORY

warning shot, but got up and made their way back to the lounge. As they passed through the corridors they heard a kind of tinkling sound, as of an Eolian harp, which was explained to them afterward as having been caused by water striking the hot boilers. The Ellises had remained in the lounge and were picking themselves up from the floor. "I'll be darned”, said Ellis, "it blew me out of my chair!” He thought the ship had been hit by a torpedo. The windows had been blown in and there was broken glass everywhere. They ran out on the promenade deck, where they saw people crowding to get into the life­ boats. Fee saw that his wife had not brought her handbag and turned to go back to the cabin to get it when he noticed that the ship was already listing to starboard and sinking by the stern. The end was coming too swiftly for any great panic to develop among the passengers. Hundreds were still below-deck and must have been trapped there. "My God, she’s sinking! Get your shoes off!” Fee shouted as he put his foot up on a rung between the shrouds from the mast. His wife later remembered that he had said some­ thing else: “Let's orient ourselves. There are the lights from the island, over there!” The ship was already sliding under, and he gave his wife a strong push upward and outward into the water, but his own foot was caught between the shrouds. He felt himself dragged down as he struggled to extri­ cate his foot. After a long moment of panic, he succeeded, and guiding himself toward the greenish glare in the water, originating from a Corregidor searchlight thrown on the scene of the explosion, swam upward with all his strength. He estimated that he must have been down more than 50 feet, for he was gulping water before he reached the air. He saw nothing but debris and empty oil-drums popping to the surface, which was white and foamy with airbubbles. He saw nothing

SINKING OF THE S.S. CORREGIDOR

of his wife or any other swimmers, al­ though he could hear cries for help. He swam away from the flotsam until he found the splintered gunwhale of a lifeboat, a jagged piece about 10 feet long and 2-1/2 feet wide, to which he clung. It must have been part of a life­ boat blown up in the explosion. After a while he saw two or three Filipino survivors about in the water, support­ ing themselves by pieces of wreckage. The searchlight from Corregidor was still playing over the scene and he de­ cided not to try to swim but to wait for rescuers. He was able to get hold of two other life belts floating in the water, and fastened them under his knees. As he drifted farther seaward, he came upon a Filipino woman and a child with their heads barely out of water. First he saw only the woman’s eyes as the searchlight fell on them, and thought he was looking at some sea monster. Her face was entirely black. He then felt of his own face and realized that it, too, was coated with fuel oil. He helped the woman and the child, who proved to be a little boy about 4 years of age, to lay hold of his own raft. Later he learned that the woman’s husband and the twin of the child had been drowned. After some two hours in the water, they were picked up by a 60-foot mos­ quito-boat from Corregidor,—No. 32. They had seen it at work for some time, but the rescuers first picked up those who were swimming unsup­ ported. Some twenty people had al­ ready been taken into the boat when, first the child, then the woman, and then Fee were pulled in, but he was the first American. Evidently, the officer in command had asked no questions of the others, for he asked Fee what ship it was which had been sunk. When he understood it was the Corregidor and that some 1,500 people had been aboard, he swore and sig­ nalled Corregidor to send additional help, and after a time two more mos­ quito-boats appeared on the scene. Each boat carried a crew of seven or

71

eight men, three in the wheelhouse and one in the engine-room, and as they were therefore somewhat shorthanded, Fee was allowed to help in the rescue work as soon as they found out he was strong enough to do so. Only one lifeboat seemed to have been successfully launched from the Corregidor, and though it had capsized, people still clinging to it were saved. Some ten or twelve life rafts had also floated free and each of them sup­ ported from eight to ten persons. On one of these rafts, the people became so frantic when the rescue-boat neared, that they upset the raft, but all of them were hauled aboard. A man on one raft had a suitcase with him, which he was ordered to throw back into the water. Another one had a cigarbox un­ der his arm which he said contained pencils and drawing instruments. He seemed heartbroken when that was thrown overboard. One of the Ameri­ can army officers was dragged out of the water, and he also helped with the work when he got his strength back. The deck of the mosquito-boat was about three feet above the water and flared outward, and it was hard to draw a man in because his life belt would catch. Covered with fuel oil, bodies were so slippery that it was impossible to lay hold of them except by the hair. As the first boat (No. 32) stayed near the center of the wreckage, it gathered in a number of people who had been badly injured in the explo­ sion. One man’s leg was shattered and was dangling by the flesh. Crew mem­ bers stopped the bleeding and put the leg in splints. Another man was very severely burned and his body was im­ mediately daubed all over with tannic acid. The boat was excellently equipped for first-aid work. Ellis was found after he had been about four hours in the water; he was all in. The second American army officer was the last man taken into the boat. He was swimming with a life belt around him and, to his own sur­ prise, was still wearing his sidearm.

72 Some 150 people had been picked up by No. 32 boat, but two of them died of their injuries before it reached Corregidor a little after daylight. Fee and Ellis had scanned each figure pulled out of the sea in the hope of recognizing their wives, but they had been disappointed every time. Ashore, they met Lambert, who had been picked up by one of the other boats, but they could not find either of the women. The survivors were taken by electric tram to an underground first-aid sta­ tion, and from there the Americans and a number of Filipino army officers were taken to the large hospital on the hill. Here they had a bath,—they had to use scouring-powder to get the oil off, and were provided with pa­ jamas. Breakfast was served to them, but there was hardly one among them who could eat. An hour later, however, Fee and Ellis were made very happy by an army colonel who had been making inquiries and told them that Mrs. Ellis was in an underground emergency hospital on the island and that Mrs. Fee had been picked up and was at Mariveles. Later in the morning, the survivors who had been taken to Mariveles were brought to Corregidor, and in the after­ noon all of them were taken from the island to Manila on a ferry-boat. They arrived in the city about 2 o’clock and were taken to various hospitals. Mrs. Fee who was a good swimmer told the following story: She had felt herself turning over and over in the suction of the sinking ship, but had been guided to the surface by the same greenish glare her husband had seen. The drag was so strong as to strip off the slacks she was wearing, though they had been fastened with a safety pin as well as the usual buttons. When she came to the surface, the ends were still clinging to her feet, and she kicked them off. She screamed for her husband several times, “Jack! Jack!” but fearing she might become hys­ terical, she stopped. She heard cries and prayers from people around her,

STORY

but knowing she could not help them, she swam away lest she lose her own courage. She felt strongly that her husband would be all right and that in any case one of them had to reach the shore for the sake of the baby in Cebu. She noticed that she was swim­ ming against the current and the wind. The sea was rough and the water was cold, though it was beautifully phos­ phorescent, she said. It was very dark, but she saw a few stars. There was no moon. Fish brushed against her and nibbled at her legs, but they did not bite. They appeared to be fairly big fish, about two feet long. That was the worst of her experience, she said, al­ though she got very cold and developed a pain in her side. That she was two months pregnant, caused her anxiety. After three hours in the water, she was picked up by one of the mos­ quito-boats. With about 50 survivors aboard, the boat ran to Mariveles and put them on the S.S. Sinkiang, a French ship which was anchored there for protection against enemy bombers. The mosquito-boat went back to con­ tinue the search. The rescued people were treated with great kindness on the Sinkiang which, some days later, was sunk by Japanese bombs. Old Colonel Griffin had been picked up by one of the mosquito-boats after he had spent some five hours in the water. He had jumped overboard without waiting for the Corregidor to sink, immediately after the explosion, taking his electric flashlight with him. This he had used in attracting the at­ tention of his rescuers. One of the offi­ cers on the mosquito-boat made a joke about his green signal-light. Grif­ fin said that it wasn’t green, but white, but when he looked at it he saw that it was green because of the film of oil over the lens. The Ellises had been washed right off the deck and had been saved by their life belts. In fact, nearly all the people who were saved had life belts. If there only had been enough to go around! The rescuers threw them back into the sea on the chance that they

SINKING OF S.S. CORREGIDOR

might help yet others. Mrs. Ellis had been badly cut on the arm by windowglass at the time of the explosion, but she did not know this until it was called to her attention by her rescuers. Lambert, just before the sinking, had started down the steps to go to his cabin to get a movie-camera he had borrowed and wanted to save. But he was met by a wave of water, swept back into the lounge, and flung into a corner in a tangle of chairs. He kicked himself away from the wall and was carried through the door, past the bridge, and over the side, hitting and cutting his head against a stanchion. The last he saw of the ship was a smokestack and then the propellers in the air. It appeared that while the ship had started to sink by the stem , the weight of the ammunition in the bow had pulled the ship down bowforemost again as the water flooded in. Lambert was a good swimmer and was picked up three hours later. Manila Bay had been mined for some six months before the opening of the war. There were loop, or electrical­ ly-controlled, mines on the Corregidor side, supervised by the Army, and the Navy had laid a field of live mines on the Mariveles side. Throwing on the current, converts loop mines into live mines. A channel for shipping was marked out by buoys, but the channel, too, was laid with loop mines, it there­ fore being safe only when these mines were switched off. A shipmaster in Santo Tomas said that he believed he remembered that a few days before the Corregidor sailed, the newspapers had contained a notification to the ef­ fect that live mines had also been laid on the Corregidor side, but no one in the Camp knew whether the captain of the Corregidor, Apolinar Calvo, had been notified of this. The signalling Fee thought he saw may have been only the usual signals of the lighthouse which exchanges routine signals with every passing ship. Officers at the fortress the next morning said that they threw the switch off immediately after the ex­

73 plosion. The officers said that they had not been notified of the sailing of the Corregidor, and that the ship, after hitting the mine, sank so swiftly that they were unable to obtain in­ formation as to her identity. They said the ship was blown up by the "No. 2 mine in from the buoy", and that it had weighed 200 pounds. They were at first unaware of the scale of the disaster. Captain Calvo went down with his ship, as did most of his officers. (Only some 280 people were saved. A full list of the dead and missing could never be compiled. Despite the fear­ ful loss of life, the sinking of the Cor­ regidor soon seemed little more than an incident in the war. The disaster was almost forgotten in the general catastrophe. The Corregidor was the fastest ship in the Philippine merchant marine. As the H.M.S. Engadine, it had been a scouting-ship during the first world war. carrying the seaplane which reported the emergence of the German fleet pre­ liminary to the Battle of Jutland. Mrs. Fee had her second baby, a girl, while interned in Santo Tomas, several months before she saw her firstborn again. 4 Note (1945 — Williams was a supervisor of the Singer Sewing Machine Company stationed in Iloilo. He had come to Manila for a con­ ference and at the outbreak of the war wanted to get back to his wife and small son as soon as possible. The Corregidor was already fully booked, and although he could not obtain a tic­ ket from the Cia. Maritima, he said he was determined to get on the ship and would pay for his passage once he was aboard. Mrs. Williams and son were interned in Iloilo and were later brought to Santo Tomas. 5 Don Ramon J. Fernandez of the Cia. Maritima, wrote the writer after the war as follows: “The narratives of the persons who were on the Corregidor were very interesting but once again grieved me for my having had a part in the dispatch of the ship . . . Your surviving passengers did not tell you how and where they got their tickets if they had any, and how many of the passengers boarded the ship, and I may therefore complete the story by ad­ ding that those passengers who got their tic­ kets from our Shipping Department (pistol in hand by more than one of them) were advised to board a lighter which would be alongside

74 the wharf in the river where the ship gen­ erally was tied up, and the lighter, on tow, would carry them to the ship which lay at the Army wharf inside the breakwater. This was necessary because Army regulations prohibited people from entering the pier com­ pound, and therefore the approach to the ship by civilians had to be by the lighter which made a turn at the Engineer Island Canal and from there proceeded to the one free side of the ship. However, many of the passengers who were supposed to board the ship that way, we learned, were admitted through the Quarter­ master’s Gate and boarded the ship by way of the military wharf at Pier 1. The same pro­ cedure was followed by many people who had no tickets and who intended to pay their fare aboard the ship. Therefore, quite a few per­ sons boarded the ship without our knowledge, much less our consent. Another point is with regard to the striking of the live mine which, if it had been disconnected, would not have ex­ ploded even if it had been hit by the ship's prow. The statementof some of the Army officers on the Island to the effect that they had received no notice of the Corregidor's pas­ sing would explain why the mine was not cut off, as was done by the other party (the Navy). This might perhaps have been due to the Army not having been advised by the authorities con­ cerned with expediting the passage of ships through the minefield. Of course, this is a mere conjecture . . . Let us add a prayer for the souls of those who perished in one way or another because of the War, which was the real cause of this supposed-to-have been the fourth greatest marine disaster of our times.”

3 Story of The Fighting in Northern Luzon It became possible for the people in Santo Tomas to form a general pic­ ture of the early part of the war in Luzon from the reports of eyewitnes­ ses among themselves.1 The fact came out that several thou­ sand USAFFE troops in northern Lu­ zon had been withdrawn to Umingan, •This story can not be taken as military history. The information came from men in Santo Tomas, some of them servicemen who had been separated from their units, truck drivers, etc., none of whom could be named here because of the danger that the manuscript might fall into the hands of the Japanese camp authorities.

STORY

Pangasinan, on the 6th and 7th of Dec­ ember, two days before the first Jap­ anese attacks. Only some caretakers were left at the various northern bar­ racks. At Aparri there were only 12 USAFFE soldiers and 12 constabularymen left; at Laoag, Ilocos Norte, some­ thing less than 30 USAFFE soldiers and 36 constabulary; at Vigan, Ilocos Sur, some 30 USAFFE soldiers and 56 constabulary. At Bangued, Abra, there were only 6 USAFFE soldiers and some 80 constabulary, but also 150 men un­ der training in the officers’ school there. The Japanese landed at Aparri, it was said, at 3 o’clock in the morning of December 9, meeting with practical­ ly no resistance.2 That same day, at 2Note (1945) — According to a map in a Jap­ anese book on the "conquest” of the Philip­ pines, Japanese forces landed near Port San Vicente, east of Aparri, on December 10, reach­ ing Aparri overland on the same day; Tuguegarrao, up the Cagayan river, on the 12th, and Vigan, also overland, on the 19th. At Vigan they joined the Japanese forces which had landed there earlier, also on the 10th, and elements of which had reached Laoag on the 12th, and San Fernando, La Union, on the 21st. The main Japanese forces landed near Damortis on the 22nd and reached Lingayen overland on the same day and San Fabian on the 24th. In Southern Luzon a landing was made at Legaspi on the 12th, and two other landings were made on the 24th at Mauban and Atimonan. Naga was reached overland on the 14th; Hondagua on the 28th; Batangas and Santa Cruz on the 30th; and San Pablo on the 31st. Meanwhile, in central Luzon, the Japanese reached Cabana tuan on the 29th, Tarlac on the 30th, San Rafael on the 31st, San Fernando,, Pampanga, on the 1st of January, and Cavite and Manila on the 2nd. Olongapo was reached overland on the 10th of January. The USAFFE forces which had withdrawn into the Bataan peninsula, were forced back from Orani to Samal between the 10th and the 24th of January, and Japanese forces from Olongapo, and another force, landed at Morong on the 16th, reached Bagac after fighting which lasted from the 17th to the 27th. This was on the main USAFFE line to which the defenders of the eastern end had also been pushed back on that date. The main line was first penetrated, according to the no­ tations on this map, on the 30th.

FIGHTING IN NORTHERN LUZON

Pasuquin Point north of Laoag, one company of USAFFE field arillery still there fought another Japanese landing until the last man was killed. That same day, too, at Mindoro Point, near Vigan, the Japanese met with a resist­ ance which did not end until nearly all of the USAFFE and constabularymen there had been killed or wounded. The invaders were not able to move as swiftly as it was believed in Manila that they had. On the 14th, a truckdriver who was moving USAFFE troops and supplies along the coast saw 1 enemy aircraft-carrier, 1 heavy cruiser, 2 light cruisers, 4 or 5 destroyers, and 11 transports off Vigan. During the next few days this man saw as many as 30 or 40 warships and transports in one day, cruising offshore from Vigan to Lingayen as if trying to get together to land in force at some point. During this time the USAFFE was blowing up bridges and setting fire to gasoline and oil depots along the coast. The first considerable engagement in the area took place on the 18th about 4 kilometers north of Tagudin, Ilocos Sur. The Japanese troops, some 400 of them, had come in trucks from Vigan and Narvacan and were am­ bushed at this point by 120 USAFFE troops. The Japanese were practically all wiped out. Some 30 of them were reported as having retreated through the village of Candon, where they fired their guns into the houses on both sides of the street. The first real battle, it was said, was staged a few kilometers north of San Juan, La Union, on the 20th, when the advance of 2.000 Japanese was blocked by an equal number of USAF­ FE troops. Some 200 Japanese soldiers mounted on bicycles were followed by the rest in trucks, and were sup­ ported by dive bombers. Such planes had been ranging up and down the coast since the 10th. The fighting started a little after 4 in the morning The forces which landed in Northern Lu­ zon during December, 1941, came from For­ mosa; those which landed at Davao and in Southern Luzon came from Palao.

75 and raged for many hours, when some 500 Japanese who had made their way around the USAFFE forces by making a detour through the mountains, took them in the rear. About 3 in the after­ noon, the defenders had to retreat, leaving many trucks and an anti-tank gun behind. The USAFFE lost around 800 men, dead and wounded, but the Japanese losses were estimated at around 1,400. The USAFFE remnants gathered south of San Juan and with­ drew to Bauang. All this time, in the Damortis area, USAFFE field artillery and anti-tank guns were running up and down the coast trying to get shots at the Ja­ panese transports offshore. These units consisted of 2 batteries of 4 guns each, mounted on "half-track” cater­ pillars, plus ammunition and cargo trucks, and were based on San Fabian and Dagupan. At Linaayen there were two 6-inch coast artillery guns. On the 21st, between 80 and 100 transports, convoyed by 30 or 40 des­ troyers, landed, it was said, 100,000 of the enemy at San Fabian and Mabulao, their barges protected by dive bombers. They also landed numerous tanks and field guns. USAFFE tanks, which had arrived at Dagupan that same morning, started for the landing points and other tanks were rushed up from Damortis, some 40 in all. The defense forces, however, numbered no more than 1,800 men and they had but little artillery and no planes. The officers had been asking for planes and also for submarines to attack the transports, which offered the best of torpedo targets. The answer from headquarters had been that there were American submarines there, but no evidence of them was seen. Only a few USAFFE fighter planes appeared and these swept up and down the coast doing what damage they could. The fighting around San Fabian and Mabulao spread as far south as Da­ mortis and Dagupan and the defense forces were slowly forced back. The USAFFE tanks took a heavy toll of enemy tanks, and Japanese troop

76

losses were very heavy, — estimated at many thousands. The USAFFE losses were unknown but also heavy, though by far not as heavy as the Japanese. After this fighting, there was little more than skirmishing between the USAFFE and the invaders. General Brougher moved his headquarters, which had been situated at Nauag, Pangasinan, to Tarlac on the 20th, and to San Fernando, Pampanga, on the 25th. The morale of the green Filipino troops was very good and they wanted to take the offensive or at least to maintain their positions instead of moving back as they were ordered to do. On the 23rd, 7 USAFFE bombers appeared over the coastal areas of Lingayen Gulf, and the following day 5 of them were seen again; during these two days some 40 Japanese ships were said to have been sunk. If true, that shows what would have happened had the USAFFE had an adequate air arm. At San Fernando, 1 American plane was seen attacking 3 Japanese planes. Two were shot down in flames and the third fled, followed out of sight by the American plane. Internees in Santo Tomas remem­ bered that Nichols Field in Manila had been bombed for the first time at 3 o’clock. Tuesday morning, Decem­ ber 9; Camp John Hay, Baguio, at 9:10 that morning; and Clark Field, near Camp Stotsenburg, at 11:30. B. B. George and W. H. Cole, who were at the Long Beach Rest House, 6 kilo­ meters south of San Fernando, La Union, about 11:30 on the night of the 8th, heard what they estimated to be 3 squadrons of planes overhead (9 planes each), and immediately notified the chief operator of the Telephone Company at San Fernando of this, and she relayed the information to head­ quarters in Manila without loss of time. Some ten minutes later these men heard still another flight of what they believed to be enemy planes which had no doubt steered by the lighthouse at Poro Point and the Pan American Airways radio station there as guide-

STORY

points. They reported this flight also. Manila was therefore warned of enemy planes over Luzon that night. Yet at Nichols Field, some 6 ser­ viceable planes and some 15 or 20 in various stages of repair were destroyed on the ground, and at Clark Field no less than 45 bombing and fighting planes were destroyed on the ground, and also, it was believed, 18 "Flying Fortresses”. According to an eyewit­ ness, Clark Field had been warned again 30 minutes before the actual attack that enemy planes were on the way to bomb the field. The planes were in fact being warmed up, some of the bombers had been loaded, and most of the pilots were in the office of the squadron commander to receive their instructions. He was at the tele­ phone trying to get headquarters in Manila for orders. At that moment the enemy planes were suddenly overhead. A 500-pound bomb dropped through the roof of the squadron commander’s office, and killed most of the men there. Later inspection showed that bombs had hit the field about every 100 square feet. Over 500 men3 many of them pilots, were killed at Clark Field and at Camp Stotsenburg during this attack. Only one lieutenant got off .the field in his plane. He shot down 2 Japanese planes and was last seen trying to escape with 5 Japanese planes after him. USAFFE forces in the Cagayan Valley, with the exception of those at Aparri, were not withdrawn as were the other units in northern Luzon. There were 116 men at Tuguegarao, an equal number at Gamu, and 267 at Ilagan. They were said to be among the best-drilled Filipino soldiers, and when the Japanese came down the Valley road in heavy force, they were reported to have put up valiant resis­ tance. Around Christmas it was re­ ported that they were being hard pressed and were retreating into the mountains, having inflicted losses of at least 10 to 1 on the enemy. At 3 This was not borne out in "The Story of the Army Nurses”, which see.

BOMBING OF CLARK FIELD

Cabanatuan the 31st Infantry (U. S. Army) made a very gallant fight in which one whole company was re­ ported to have been annihilated by vastly superior forces. The 13th In­ fantry of the Philippine Army there also made a very good record. Both outfits retreated in good order and made their way to Bataan. While reports from other parts of Luzon indicated that the Japanese forces committed no serious outrage on the civilian population, reports from the Ilocos area were shocking. At least two truck-loads of young girls were reported to have been taken out of Vigan for the "use” of the Japanese soldiers. One story was told of a boy who was shot on the veranda of his home in attempting to protect his sister. The soldiers then entered the house and when the father and mother tried to defend the girl, they were both shot in front of her eyes. Tales of cruelty to prisoners of war were also told and Filipino soldiers were brought into Manila hospitals with toes of both feet crushed by gunbutts, a trick the Japanese resorted to in order to prevent prisoners from running away. The Bombing of Clark Field — Ano­ ther eyewitness account of the bomb­ ing of Clark Field differed from that already given. According to this man, the forces at Fort Stotsenburg and Clark Field, adjoining, had been on the alert for a week preceding the out­ break of the war. Intelligence of the Pearl Harbor attack reached them very early on the morning of the 8th. Planes were immediately warmed up and at dawn 10 flying fortresses and a number of medium bombers took off and never returned to the field. According to the eyewitness, a warning of the first Japanese raid may have been received, but he was certain that the siren had not sounded when, at 12:30 p.m., he and his companions counted 64 bombing planes which had suddenly appeared from over the

77 nearby mountains to the west. They knew they were not U.S. Army planes and thought they must be planes of the U.S. Navy. Then bombs began dropping in the middle of the field. The larger bombers among the attacking force maintained their altitude; but smaller bombers dived down and bombed the edges of the field, hitting the oil tanks and various buildings, and machine-gun­ ning men and trucks. Two of the enemy planes were shot down. A few USAFFE planes were able to get off and away. Thirty-nine planes, including only 3 flying fortresses were destroyed on the ground. One of the flying fortresses was hit at take-off. Most of the planes destroyed were P-40’s and other fighter and observa­ tion planes. Sixty-four men were killed. Twelve pilots were killed when the messhall was hit. Other pilots were killed trying to save their planes. The attack lasted about one and a half hours. On the I2th, beginning about 10:45 a.m., 18 Japanese planes came over and again bombed the field and sur­ rounding areas. Of one anti-aircraft battery, 7 men were killed and 9 wounded. The next day, the enemy came again, bombing from around 1 o’clock until after 3, aiming chiefly at USAFFE tanks concentrated in the area. They also attacked a train carry­ ing 100 wounded to Manila, but failed to hit it. The man whose story is given here was one of those wounded. 'Note (1946) — According to the published diary (Morrow & Co., 1946) of Lt. Gen L. H. Brereton, who commanded the air force in the Philippines, the entire force consisted of only 35 B-17 heavy bombers, 16 medium bombers, and 100 fighters. The heavy bombers were on the ground being loaded with bombs when the Japanese attacked and 17 were destroyed. With­ out facilities for dispersal, most of the remain­ ing planes were destroyed on the ground during the next few days. Fifty-two divebombers on the way to the Philippines during the first week of December, 1941, were held so long in Hawaii awaiting naval escort that they never arrived.

78

4 Story of The Landing at Legaspi There was a young nurse at the Santo Tomas camp hospital, Mrs. J. H. Sherk, brought to Santo Tomas on January 7 from the Manila Hotel, who had seen the Japanese forces landing at Legaspi on December 12, less than a month before. Her hus­ band, a mining engineer, who had been engaged in stripping the steel off the S.S. Silvercrest, wrecked on a point in Legaspi Bay in 1939, had gone to Manila on business the day before and another one of the ten or so Americans in the town had gone with him to bring back his young son from Manila because he believed Legaspi to be safer from the invader! About 4:30, on the morning of the 12th, Mrs. Sherk, who was living at the Mayon Hotel, was awakened by the drone of airplanes and by people running about in the halls. She hastily slipped on some clothes and ran to the beach. Dumbfounded people from the town were already there in groups, watching. In the gray light she made out a transport, and the enemy was landing in what looked to her like scows equipped with outboard motors. Their rifles were slung over their backs as if they expected no resistance, and those already on the beach were lining up in double rows in companies of 20 or 30. She counted some 400 men, with more of them coming. The Ja­ panese planes were flying overhead, close to the ground, and one of them swooped down toward the water-re­ servoir and loosed a machine-gun burst. Except for this, not a shot was fired. The small USAFFE force in the district, mostly trainees under American officers, had been ordered to Santo Tomas, Batangas, on the 5th. several days before the outbreak of war. Mrs. Sherk learned later that Major Sandiko, in charge of the local Constabulary at Regan barracks, 3 kilo­

STORY

meters from the town, had left a few hours before the Japanese landing at Legaspi to investigate a reported Ja­ panese attack on a Sorsogon town some distance away. The first thing Mrs. Sherk thought of was that the gasoline in a number of large storage tanks should be des­ troyed if there were men there to accomplish this, but quickly making her way to that end of the town she found the place already surrounded by Japanese soldiers. The airfield, nearby was deserted, but large concrete sec­ tions of pipe, standing upright, were set up all over the field to prevent enemy planes from landing. The Ja­ panese troops, however, could now quickly clear it. Her next thought was to get a tele­ gram of warning off to Manila, and knowing that it was too late for this in Legaspi, she decided to make for Daraga, 10 kilometers away. A few minutes later she met a young Filipino who said he was on his way to Regan barracks, and, telling him that that was no place for him now, she sug­ gested he go with her. The young man thought that they were already cut off from Daraga and proposed they go to Naga, 40 kilometers away, by way of Ligao. They decided to avoid the road hut they had to cross it, and in doing so they barely escaped capture by a party of Japanese on the way to the airfield, by jumping into a ditch beside the road half full of muddy water. Though Ligao is 30 kilometers from Legaspi by road, Mrs. Sherk and her companion reached it by way of short­ cuts by 11:30, "pretty well tuckered out”, she said. They had been joined on the way by 8 constabularymen with rifles and a machine gun and number of other officerless men from Regan barracks who, none of them knowing what else they should do, decided to go to Naga, too. On the other side of Ligao, the company which had by that time increased to around 150 consta­ bularymen and Philippine Army trainees, came upon 3 buses loaded

LEGASPI LANDING

with men and women, children, and chickens. Mrs. Sherk told the drivers the "Army” was commandeering the trucks and the people got out without protest. She told them they should take all the rice they could carry and go into the hills. They were a little confused but showed no sign of panic. The buses, loaded with armed men (though they had little ammunition) and Mrs. Sherk, who had stepped into the vacant post of leader, drove on to Naga, but arriving at Iriga, an American connected with the bus com­ pany there advised them to go to Pili, where he said there were USAFFE soldiers. They next came to a little barrio where a Chinese was standing in the doorway of his bodega. When they told him that the Japanese had landed at Legaspi he insisted on giving them one of his trucks which he loaded with gasoline, rice, and cans of baked beans and sardines. He said he would set fire to his bodega as soon as they left. At the Pili barracks they found only 12 constabularymen under a sergeant. There were also, however, on the pa­ rade grounds, several hundred Filipi­ nos who were crying, "Give us guns! We want to fight! Just give us guns!" The sergeant said that the bodega was full of guns but that he had no orders. Mrs. Sherk then broke the lock and the guns were passed out among the crowd, also uniforms for all the vo­ lunteers. Mrs. Sherk took a Browning sub-machine gun for herself, and also put on an army jacket, for the light clothes she had left the hotel in that morning were in tatters. The sergeant lined up all the civilians who had been issued guns in two long lines, facing each other a few yards apart, and walked up and down between them, demonstrating how the guns should be loaded and fired. After that all the men were served a good meal and told to fill their canteens, and were then assigned to defend various bridges in the area, some being instructed to lie in ambush along the road.

79

Before they dispersed, the plucky little sergeant who had taken so much on his shoulders, said to his men: "Don’t be excited. . . We'll have re-enforcement here by 3 o’clock.” Then he turned to Mrs. Sherk and said, "Ma’am, I thought I had better tell them that.” Mrs. Sherk went to Naga in one of the buses, with the boy she had met in the morning her only escort. Naga was but a short distance away and, arrived at the telegraph office, she sent the following telegram to a friend of hers at USAFFE headquarters, address­ ing him by name to make certain that he would receive it personally. She felt she had reason to be proud of her day’s work, Her telegram read: "150 Regan barracks boys 250 volunteers completely equipped ready to make stand at Pili. Please send further instructions. — Micky.”

This was at 1 o’clock in the after­ noon, and she stayed for an answer. It came about an hour later and shat­ tered her dream. It read: "Retreat to Lucena with all men and equip­ ment by any available transportation by train, horse-cart, carabao-cart, or hand-car, and get the hell out of there.”

The ungrateful message was signed only by the officer’s first name. There was a small constabulary de­ tachment in Naga under a m ajor who in the meantime had gone to Pili and had come back again. He also received a telegram from headquarters. It was in code. When he had decoded it he showed it to Mrs. Sherk. It said: "Do not send any more messages in plain language. Send everything in code."

Later that afternoon two American planes flew over Naga and Pili appa­ rently on reconnaissance. Passing over Pili they came down very low and waggled their wings in greeting to the "Sherk forces." These then, including all the volunteers, marched to Naga to entrain for Lucena. As the train was not to leave until 2:30 in the morning, Mrs. Sherk gave her gun to one of the soldiers with instructions to put it in the last car, in which she expected to ride, and went back to

80

Pili with the Provincial Engineer who had been instructed to blow up the bridges. She got back to Naga at 2:30, and the train had gone. She said she “felt like an orphan in somebody's storm ”, and she wasn’t at all sure it was not in part of her own making. She shuddered to think of what the commanding officer at Lucena would say of the hastily re­ cruited volunteers she had saddled him with. She passed the rest of the night in the lobby of the local hotel. The town was blacked out. Every time she heard a truck back-fire, she thought the Ja­ panese had come. It was in fact strange that they did not, for all the way from Legaspi there was nothing to stop them. Between 5 and 6 in the morning, she spoke to a Spanish family eating breakfast. The Spaniard and his son wanted to go to Manila; the rest of the family would stay. When the Spaniard heard that Mrs. Sherk and another American there, Rex Purcell, also wanted to get to Manila, he invited them to accompany him and his son in a beautiful Packard sedan he had. They started for Paracale, but a short distance from Naga they found that the Filipinos had destroyed the ferry at the Bicol river. Coming across in a banca, however, was a Filipino and his family who, it proved, were on their way to a sawmill the man owned. He told them he had had to leave his car on the other side, and though it was only an old Dodge, the Spaniard traded his Packard for it. Purcell at this point decided he wouldn’t go any farther but would go into the hills. The Spaniard and his son and Mrs. Sherk went on to Daet, where they stopped at the Constabulary post and told the officer there what was going on in the south. While they were speaking to him, he received orders from Manila to proceed to Lucena, too, with his men. The officer told them he would make arrangements for a car to take them farther north to where there was a long gap in the road which

STORY

they would have to cross on foot. He advised them to leave at 2 o’clock in the morning and said that he would send some soldiers ahead to meet them at the end of the road and to accompany them over the trail. He also gave Mrs. Sherk a written pass which he said might be useful. They went to the hotel in the town to get something to eat and while there they heard that a ship carrying a large cargo of dynamite which it was discharging at Mambulao had been machine-gunned and set afire by a Japanese plane and that it might blow up any minute. Though the ship lay 10 kilometers away, two Spanish j di­ aled players from Manila who were at the hotel, persuaded the Spaniard and his son that they should leave right away on a bus. Mrs. Sherk gave them the pass the officer had handed to her and she kept the old Dodge. A little later a group of six constabularymen headed by two sergeants arrived, look­ ing for her. They were from Pili and, like herself, had been separated from the rest, and the troop-train had left without them. They had a stationwagon with a machine gun mounted in the back. Harry Campbell, the ma­ nager of the hotel, gave them food and gasoline, and Mrs. Sherk decided to go with them. They left about 7 in the evening, going back toward Daet to get onto the right road. Some 12 buses full of Daet troops were a distance ahead of them and they passed one bus which had broken down. They stopped for the night at the Mayon mine where they told the superintendent, Brooke Cadwallader, about the broken-down army truck and he sent a number of men from the mine to repair it. About 9:30 they heard the explosion of the dynamite ship. Even at that distance the detonation was a terrific one and the skv was lit up with a great red glare. Mrs. Sherk was very tired and went to bed. after telling one of the sergeants, Gonzales, that he should start about 3 or 4 in the morning in the stationwagon, take it to the end

LEGASPI LANDING

of the road and wreck it there, and go on on foot with the machine gun and ammunition. She expected to be able to catch up with them. The following morning Cadwallader took her in his car to the end of the road. About half-way they heard the honk-honk of a car around a curve. They stopped and saw the stationwagon coming back with Sergeant Gonzales at the wheel. Mrs. Sherk stopped him and asked why he had not followed her "orders”. He did not answer and great was her surprise when an American sergeant stepped out of the back of the stationwagon and asked her who in the heck she was. When she told him he said that some USAFFE men had been looking for her for two days. " I’m glad I ’m not married to a dame like you!” he said. He was a member of a USAFFE group which was operating a mobile airplanedetector at Mambulao, and his officer had sent him out to commandeer some weapons and ammunition, as the unit was unarmed. Mrs. Sherk would now have had no escort on the hike, but by good luck, just then Donald Loomis from the San Mauricio mine came along alone in a car, and saying good-bye to Cadwalla­ der she got in with Loomis. They reached the end of the road, rendered the car unusable, and about 8:30 started the hike over the trail to Camp 80. It rained all day and the trail was muddy and slippery and when they came to a river late in the afternoon, where there was a deserted hut, they were so tired that they decided to spend the night there. They dried out their clothing as well as they could and slept on the bamboo floor, co­ vered by Loomis’ raincoat. They managed to get across the river and reached Camp 80 about 11 o’clock. They found Lieutenant Shoup stationed there with a number of sol­ diers. He appeared to have things well in hand, with patrols out and lines of communication established. While the Lieutenant was talking to them he received a message and

81

rushed off. He came back later and said that a Filipino had reported having seen a Japanese warship “with eight smoke-stacks” off the coast, but he had “verified” that they were two American destroyers. Loomis decided to stay with the Lieutenant, and the latter then sent Mrs. Sherk on to Lucena in a truck with a soldier, in ad­ dition to the driver, as an escort. After a fast and very rough ride, they arrived at Lucena, capital of Tayabas, about 7 o’clock in the evening. She saw nothing but the station, sleeping there because she did not want to run the risk of meeting the Colonel, took the first train, and arrived in Manila a little after noon on the 16th. She found that her husband had gone south to hunt for her that morning. Their trains had passed each other on the way. He got back to Manila the following day and tele­ phoned from the railway station. He told her to sit right down by the tele­ phone and stay there so he would know where she was. He told her later that the officer on MacArthur’s staff to whom she had sent her telegram had telephoned and told him, "That crazy wife of yours is at Pili with 400 Fili­ pinos and they are making a stand against the Japanese!” Mr. Sherk himself joined the USAF­ FE a few days later as a first lieute­ nant in the engineers corps and was sent to join the detector-unit at Mam­ bulao, while Mrs. Sherk remained in Manila to do the worrying this time. She read in the papers of the Japanese landings at Atimonan from 40 trans­ ports. On Christmas afternoon Lieute­ nant Sherk came back to Manila. The detector-unit had been attacked and had had to withdraw. Sergeant Gonza­ les and his 7 men had all been killed. Sherk and some of the others had been able to escape in a small boat to Batangas. On New Year’s night Sherk was ordered to Corregidor. He was made a prisoner in Bataan and is at this writing, according to grapevine information, in the prison-camp at Cabanatuan.

82

STORY

5

its bombs there, several of them fall­ ing outside the reservation and causing a number of civilian casualties. Power, telephone, and w ater lines were broken, and work was immediately begun on repairing them. The U.S. Army began rounding up the Japanese and Germans in the area and by December 10 the former were being brought together in Camp John Hay barracks and the latter in a school house. Women and children were held for only one day. Japanese employees at the mines were given time to pack their belongings, which, together with themselves were trans­ ported to Baguio in mine trucks. De­ tailed Japanese topographical maps of Luzon were found in the house of a Japanese mechanic employed at the Balatoc mine. The Japanese later gave this man charge of the mine. After a few days, the administration of the internment camps was taken over by the Philippine Constabulary. Several air-raid shelters had been built in Baguio before the outbreak of war, and this work was continued, and underground wards and operating rooms were constructed at the Notre Dame Hospital. A listening post was established on top of Mount Santo Tomas. An air-raid warden system was organized and a total blackout en­ forced. A civilian defense force was planned and problems of defending the approaches to the city were stu­ died. Several thousand U. S. army rifles were distributed among the men in the mining camps. At the Itogon mine the men started to manufacture hand-grenades out of gaspipe. Various Red Cross units were working night and day. All this effort was purely civilian. The Army had enlisted the aid of the mining companies in con­ structing dugouts at Camp John Hay and in repairing the bomb-damage. On the 10th a meeting of leading citi­ zens was held in the Mayor's office, and E. J. Halsema, form er mayor of the city, was designated as the Baguio representative in maintaining contact with the Army authorities.

Story of The People from Baguio A large number of the internees in Santo Tomas were mining people, — executives, engineers, geologists, and their families, from the premier mining district of the country. It was not dif­ ficult to put together a connected story of the happenings in Baguio, summer capital of the Philippines, some 250 kilometers from Manila, which was the second point in the the Philippines to be attacked by Japanese bombers. The attack on Da­ vao, some 1,100 kilometers to the south, came an hour or two earlier. But Mrs. E. C. Dudley and her oneyear-old son were the first casualties in the Philippines. She was walking on the golf course of the U.S. Army re­ servation at Baguio, Camp John Hay, with her baby in her arms and both were severely wounded; it proved necessary to amputate Mrs. Dudley’s leg. President Quezon had come to Baguio for a Cabinet meeting several days before the attack, and had returned to Manila early on the 8th. Baguio residents were still listening to radio-broadcasts from Manila that Monday morning, describing the Ja­ panese attack on Pearl Harbor, when they went out to look at a formation of 17 planes flying high over the city. Believing them to be American, they cheered, but a little boy who had come from China told his teacher, "Ma’am, those are Japanese planes!” The teacher told him he must not imagine things. But on their second circling overhead, the planes flew to Camp John Hay and started dropping bombs. This was a little after 9 o'clock. The officers’ mess and several officers’ residences on Scout Hill received direct hits, killing 11 men and injuring 22 more. One of the planes went on to the Loacan municipal airport, apparently looking for ground­ ed planes, but finding none, the plane returned to the Camp and dropped

BOMBING OF BAGUIO

On that same day, Camp John Hay was again bombed, this time by 4 planes, the bombs falling into the Igorot Scout barrio but doing little damage. It was estimated that about a fifth of the bombs which the enemy was dropping were duds. One was picked up which bore the inscription (translated): "54 kg. bomb — 1938”. It measured 38 inches long and 7 or 8 inches in diameter. The cadets at the Baguio Military Academy has been called to active ser­ vice, and the Army's call for reserve officers and men resulted in the min­ ing companies losing a considerable number of their employees. Others among the mine workers, normally numbering around 15,000, started for their homes in the lowlands, some with wives and children. They had to travel on foot over the difficult mountain trails and suffered great hardship on the way, only to learn when they reached their destinations that their homes had been destroyed and their families dispersed. The fighting along the Ilocos coast was now threatening the main roads connecting Baguio with Manila, and as early as the 15th it was recognized that Baguio was definitely in danger. The Army called on the mining com­ panies to mine the roads and bridges, and huge quantities of explosives and many of their remaining men were re­ quired for this work. The Naguilian, Kennon, Mountain, and Asin roads were prepared for demolition. Mine emplo­ yees showed themselves willing and loyal. Mining activity necessarily de­ clined, though efforts were made to keep up some activity, no one, appa­ rently, foreseeing that catastrophe was so near. During the next week, as the USAFFE retreat south from Lingayen Gulf had started, the mining companies were called upon for all their remain­ ing explosives for use in the military operations in the lowlands. The Benguet and Balatoc companies alone furnished some 275 tons of dynamite with corresponding quantities of fuse

83 and percussion caps. On the 21st, a crew from Benguet was sent to mine the Klondyke Bridge and the road there, but machine-gun fire from enemy planes broke up the attempt. That same day the mining companies were instructed by the Army to pre­ pare to destroy everything at the mines that was of military value, es­ pecially oil tanks and oil. Only a few of the mining executives saw copies of the telegram, which was from General Wainwright. The others were informed of the order by a telephone operator and were unable to confirm it. It naturally created excitement and alarm. It had been reported that the Japanese were approaching the mouth of the Bued Canyon leading to Baguio, and at 2 o’clock in the morning of the 22nd, Camp John Hay authorities advised mine officials that all bridges were to be cut that day and that wo­ men and children wishing to leave Baguio would have to do so before 7 o’clock that morning. Many of the persons concerned could not be ad­ vised of this in so short a time. At 1:30 in the morning of the 23rd, mine officials were instructed to carry out the destruction of all their supplies of military value, again by telephone. It was also announced that the forces at Camp John Hay, consisting of ap­ proximately 1,000 men under Lt. Col. J. P. Horan, would retire farther back into the mountains before daylight. A com­ pany of troops spent most of that day at the Antamok Goldfields mine, tel­ ling the people there that a "battle” would be fought in the neighborhood and throwing everything in confusion. But the soldiers returned to Camp John Hay that night. On the 24th, the day before Christ­ mas, Camp John Hay was evacuated by the forces there. Part of the troops, riding in trucks and accompanied by a number of tanks and field-pieces, made for the Bobok Sawmill, 40 kilo­ meters northeast of Baguio, and, reach­ ing the end of the road there, turned back and ran their trucks, tanks, and

STORY

84 guns over the side of a steep cliff, ap­ parently not wishing to be encumbered with them. Another force took up the march from Baguio to the Lusod Sawm i 11, 30 kilometers southeast of Baguio, but these men, too, when they reached Twin Rivers, about half­ way, drove their ammunition train over the side into the canyon there, and also dumped a lot of other equip­ ment, including machine guns and ex­ tra rifles, shoes, and blankets. It was reported that some of the of­ ficers told their men that they were “on their own” from then on, and many of the Igorot soldiers were be­ lieved to have gone to their native barrios. The commanding officer was seen at Lusod from the 24th to the 27th as the remnants of his force strag­ gled in, some of them from Bobok. The troops had lost practically every­ thing but their rifles and had to be fed by the people at the lumber camp. Some of the younger officers rallied what, parts of their commands they could and started off by themselves for the Cagayan Valley. It seemed clear that the USAFFE lost some of its best mountain troops in this badly conducted operation. The Japanese did not have to fire a shot for Baguio, and entered the city on the 27th. It was a rich plum indeed. Most of the mining companies in the district had before the war invested heavily in surplus stocks because of the dis­ turbed shipping conditions on the Paci­ fic. The combined bodega inventories of the Benguet and Balatoc mines, for instance, ran to around P7,000,000, this including the explosives commandeered by the USAFFE and the diesel oil or­ dered destroyed. But the bulk repre­ sented mining and milling supplies, all of which passed into the hands of the Japanese. The Itogon mine had close to PI,000,000 worth of supplies in its bodegas. The Japanese haul in the district as a whole must have been worth at least P10,000,000. Loss to the mining companies of course greatly exceeded this figure, since with the cessation of maintenance

work, flooding was to be expected in the lower levels of the mines and the rotting of timbers and collapse of the tunnels in the upper levels. And what the Japanese might do with the milling machinery and the power plants, valued at tens of millions of pesos, no one knew. Mere inactivity for a few weeks, said the Baguio mining men in Santo Tomas, would mean months of rehabilitation work before the mines could again be put into production. In this connection it should be remem­ bered that the mining industry had for some years been the second most im portant industry of the country, se­ cond only to the sugar industry. The output in 1940 was around P84,000,000, and the 1941 production, month by month, had been even greater. On the 22nd, most of the mine gold on hand in Baguio, about P2,000,000 worth, had been sent to Manila in an armored truck according to the mining men.

6 Story of The Manila Bankers Manila bank executives among the internees, unanimously, though with banker's reserve, expressed dissatis­ faction with the manner in which the United States and Commonwealth authorities, had conducted affairs in Manila during the week or so before the Japanese forces entered the city. They said, as did everyone else, that they had received insufficient warning. The three days just prior to the occu­ pation, during which the banks were closed to the public, could have been used by them in preparing for the inevitable, but they were actually given over to little more than the ordinary end-of-the-year business of banks. As for the public, had the banks been open during the last two days of the year and on New Year’s Day, not so many people would have been caught in the most terrible crisis of their lives with little or no ready

THE MANILA BANKERS

money. But December 30 is Rizal Day in the Philippines, a national holiday; December 31, as the last day of the year, is customarily a bank holiday; January 1 is a public holiday. January 2 (Friday) was the day of the enemy occupation, and although the Japanese did not enter the city until around 6 o’clock in the evening, they had been expected from hour to hour during all that day. Great fires were raging at Pandacan, along the river banks, and in the Port Area, looting was going on, the city was in a panic. The night before, the bank managers, in consul­ tations with Buss and Vargas, had decided that the banks should remain closed that day; it was too late to think of opening them then. A brief summary of Philippine bank­ ing history during the six months which preceded the outbreak of the war in the Pacific, is interesting. About the beginning of this time, all the banks were busy on "T.F.R. 300”, a form which had to be made out for the U.S. Treasury showing the assets and liabilities of all foreign nationals in the Philippines; also of those Ame­ ricans in the Philippines whose legal residences were in the countries men­ tioned in the various “freezing” orders of the United States Government. These forms were completed in October and November and turned in to the Office of the U.S. High Commissioner. The freezing of Chinese assets fol­ lowed the freezing of Japanese assets as a measure, taken in collaboration with the Chinese Government, to prevent Japanese manipulation of Chinese finances. The purpose of the freezing orders was not to interfere with the legitimate business of the nationals of the countries to which these orders applied, but rather to control certain exports which were of military value to the aggressor na­ tions. The Japanese and Chinese na­ tionals in the Philippines were still allowed to draw up to PI,000 a month from the banks in which they had deposits, this applying also to Ame­ ricans in the country whose residences were in Japan or China.

85 The two Japanese banks in the Philippines, — the Yokohama Specie Bank and the Bank of Taiwan, were ordered closed on December 8, the day the war broke out, and all Ja­ panese accounts in other banks were frozen. Had Manila not been occupied by the enemy so soon afterward, — within a month, certain concessions would no doubt have been made with respect to individual bank withdrawals by interned Japanese nationals, but things moved too swiftly. The offices of the Japanese banks, though closed, were not interfered with, but a re­ presentative of the High Commis­ sioner’s Office went into each of the banks. Japanese business houses, factories, stores, etc., were simply closed and placarded, "Closed by order of the USAFFE”. There was some dis­ cussion as to this by the authorities and in the end it was decided that the High Commissioner’s Office would take charge of these alien properties, but it was already too late to work out any course with reference to them. Prewar banking hours in Manila were from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. After the outbreak of war, the hours were changed from 9:30 to 12:00, with but one instead of two bank-clearings a day. This was found advisable be­ cause the frequent bombing raids on the city greatly upset bank routine. Regulations were issued by the Bank Commissioner limiting personal cash withdrawals of depositors to P200 a week, a special license being required to withdraw more. Later on this was raised to PI,000 a month. This was for the purpose of protecting the cashon-hand in the banks. There was, how­ ever, no difficulty in drawing cash for pay rolls, and those earning more than P200 and, later, PI,000 a month, had the excess transferred to their ac­ counts. Outstanding bills could be paid in checks negotiable through other banks, as such checks, cleared daily, did not involve the payment of cash over the counter but were met in the aggregate by the clearing-ba­

86 lances which the various banks main­ tained at the Philippine National Bank. There were also restrictions on ex­ change to prevent a run on the banks, and telegraphic transfers were limited to P500 in the case of individuals ex­ cept by special permit from the Bank Commissioner. Company transfers were however permitted within their established regular requirements, and the Bank Commissioner allowed the banks considerable latitude in carrying out this order. On December 10 the order went out that banking institu­ tions for the purpose of fulfilling exchange contracts executed after December 8, 1941, should satisfy them­ selves that such contracts were entered into for the purpose of obtaining foreign exchange with which to pay for the import or export of goods. There was a difference of opinion among bankers in Santo Tomas whether this applied to banking insti­ tutions themselves. Though there were official indica­ tions of what was ultimately to be expected, bank managers in Santo Tomas stated definitely that they had never received any direct warning from any responsible government official that the enemy occupation of the city was as imminent as it proved to be, with the result that many important records, which might other­ wise have been placed in safety, fell into the hands of the invaders. In actual cash and negotiable securities, however, the Japanese probably got very little. The High Commissioner gave the public an opportunity to lodge U.S. currency and government bonds with his Office against receipt, though only for a few days late in the month, De­ cember 22 to 24. F. C. Bailey, assistant manager of the National City Bank of New York in Manila, was deputized to handle this business at the offices of his Bank. Publicity was given to the m atter in the newspapers and many people took advantage of the oppor­ tunity thus offered, though many more were still standing in line to await

STORY

their turn when an armored truck called for the last time at the Bank around 11 o’clock on the morning of December 24 to take this wealth away. On May 26, the Bank Commissioner had issued "Special License No. 12”, authorizing withdrawals from banks — “for the purpose of buying bonds and/or other evidences of indebtedness to the Government of the Philippines or of the United States or any of its instrumentalities authorized to issue such bonds and/or evidences of indebtedness, including bonds issued by Government-owned or controlled corporations and other institutions, public and private, engaged in the military and civil defense of the Philippines. Any bank­ ing institution against which such withdrawals are made shall act as agent of the withdrawing depositor for the purchase of such bonds or shall otherwise satisfy itself that such with­ drawals are being made and will be solely used for the purpose of buying such bonds.”

The Mint as well as the Philippine Treasury, as was also the Auditor’s Office, was housed in the Intendencia Building on the Intram uros side of the Pasig River, and this building was bombed and partly destroyed by the enemy around noon on Saturday, December 27. Two bank men at this writing in the Santo Tomas camp, an American and a Scot, were caught in the first attack. A bomb exploded in front of the entrance, and although others were killed and wounded, the two, who happened to be standing be­ hind the large pillars in the lobby, es­ caped injury. The chauffeur of the Scotsman had not come in to take shelter and was killed in his car, parked just outside the entrance. After the raid, the men got away on foot across the Jones Bridge and had reached their offices,, when in a return-attack the Intendencia received several direct hits. Many in the building were killed. A representative of the Monte de Piedad had a man killed right on top of him; he himself was unhurt. The bombs were probably aimed at the shipping in the river, but some people believed that the building had deliberately been bombed by the enemy perhaps because they believed that bullion was being removed from there.

THE GOLD BULLION

On the 28th, the High Commis­ sioner’s Office announced that private individuals and the banks other than the National City Bank, up to noon of the following day, might deposit their securities with the National City Bank in parcels together with affida­ vits of their contents for later check­ ing; these securities were to be taken to Corregidor for safe-keeping, and if it became necessary to destroy them, the affidavits would serve as a basis for issuing duplicate securities later. On the evening of the same day, Sun­ day, December 28, bank managers were called to Malacanan where they were instructed by one of the U. S. Treasury officials in Manila to turn over all their remaining cash and negotiable securi­ ties to the High Commissioner’s depu­ ties at the Philippine National Bank or the National City Bank the next day. They were, however, given no specific warning as to the imminence of the enemy occupation of the city. The Bank Commissioner, Pedro de Jesus, told one of the bankers present that he couldn't sell any more dollars because the vaults in the Intendencia Building had been jammed by the bombing. Early Tuesday morning, between 1 and 2 o’clock (December 30), an ar­ mored car, accompanied by consta­ bulary guards in a truck, called at the two banks for cash and securities, in­ cluding the clearing balances, all of which was sent to Corregidor. As interisland transportation was disrupted, the branches of the various banks in the southern islands had no means of replenishing their cash. For this and other reasons, the Philippine National Bank branches were author­ ized by President Quezon to print emergency paper currency, much of which was used in paying the USAFFE in the field during the months which followed. Some of the Manila bank executives awaited the Japanese in their offices on Saturday morning, January 3. They were made to turn over the keys and the combinations of the safes and

87

vaults to them and were informed that an official of the Bank of Taiwan had been appointed liquidator. Calhoun of the National City Bank and two of his staff were exhibited downtown for an hour or so in an open truck be­ fore being taken to Villamor Hall. Subsequently, after their internment in Santo Tomas, a number of the bank men were taken out of the camp to their former offices to complete trial balances and give other information. On such occasions they were generally treated with fair courtesy. The Gold Bullion — On the 22nd of December, most of the gold bullion (mine gold) on hand in Baguio, about P2,000,000 worth, was brought to Ma­ nila in an armored truck. It was de­ sired to get this off to Corregidor, and the same armored truck was at the pier on the morning of the 26th. But neither of the two ferry boats which plied between Manila and the island came in all that day, and it was a day of frequent , ir-raid alarms and of several bombings in the Port Area. Every time the siren blew, the heavilyloaded truck (the bullion was about half silver and weighed three tons) was driven off for greater safety to the Luneta. It always took quite a little time for the heavy truck to get up any speed. During the day a lot of army gear accumulated on the pier, intended for Corregidor, and, in time, also a considerable number of wounded sol­ diers. An army captain, hearing about the three tons of bullion, said, "If there are any three tons of cargo to go, it will be corned beef and blankets!” In the end, however, a major commu­ nicated the tip that after dark the S.S. Don Esteban would come to the pier and would sail at midnight for the fortress. The bullion was got aboard and stored in the two de-luxe cabins on the deck. The ship arrived at Cor­ regidor before morning and the gold was unloaded on the wharf. The man in charge went looking for the U.S. High Commissioner and found him at breakfast with President Quezon. Mr. Sayre said there were no regulations

88

THE CAMP

to cover such a situation, but after consulting some of his advisers he con­ ceded that the gold could be placed in the Insular vault on the island. Note (1945) — According to General Wainwright (“General Wainwright’s Story”, edited by R. Considine, Doubleday & Company), gold stock certificates and other securities taken to Corregidor in December, 1941, were taken to Australia by submarine and from there by ship to San Francisco where they were deposited in the Federal Reserve Bank. Paper currency was burned on Corregidor, but a record of ownership was made for subsequent reim­ bursement. Some $17,000,000 in silver coin was boxed and sunk under 100 feet of water. The Japanese were unable to find this treasure and most of it was recovered after the war. Note (1946) — According to the annual re­ port of the U.S. High Commissioner, the paper currency destroyed consisted of $2,741,225 in United States currency and P28,375,420 in Philip­ pine currency. Of these amounts, $2,420,485 be­

longed to the Commonwealth Treasury, P27,374,000 belonged to Manila banks, and the balance to private individuals. The largest single item of paper currency was one of P19,900,000 from the Manila Clearing House Association, which represented the balances of member banks. Mr. E. D. Hester, who was a member of the Committee on Inventory and Destruction of Currency, on Corregidor, told the writer after the war that P2,000,000 worth of mine gold from Baguio and another larger mine-gold shipment from the Marsman mines brought to Corregidor a few days later, together with much other gold and silver (7 tons of gold bars and 13 tons of silver, which included a large part of the country’s silver pesos) were loaded as ballast a month or so later in a U.S. submarine which had delivered a heavy cargo of anti-aircraft ammunition. The sub­ marine transferred the gold and silver to ano­ ther navy ship at Honolulu which brought it to San Francisco, where it was placed in the vaults of the Federal Reserve Bank there.

Chapter III End of the Executive Committee-Red Cross Diarchy The Firsf Executions — On Lin­ coln's Birthday, February 12, which was also the day when it was an­ nounced that the Japanese had entered Singapore, it became known in the camp that three men,—two Englishmen and an Australian, had escaped the night be­ fore, and that after their recapture they had been brought back to the camp about 2 o'clock that afternoon and had been severely beaten by a squad of Japanese soldiers in the barrack room next to the Comman­ dant’s office in the main building, their cries being heard by the people in the corridors. Later, about 5 o’clock, they had been taken out of the camp in a police wagon. Eye witnesses said they had been hardly able to walk.

That night, upon the order of Commandant Tomayasu, the Execu­ tive Committee sent out the following notice, — the general contents had been dictated by the Commandant, which was read aloud to the internees by their room monitors and then posted on the bulletin boards: “Memorandum to all internees, — to be read tonight at roll call by all room monitors: "We regret very much to report that three men escaped from Santo Tomas last night at 8 o’clock. They were apprehended today by Japanese soldiers and returned to Santo Tomas, where they were severely punished. Fortunately for them, they were brought back to the camp instead of being given the supreme penalty of death, the usual punishment for escapes.'1 1 This was not true, but the majority of the internees did not know this at the time.

r

FIRST EXECUTIONS "They will be transferred to some other place. Representatives of the Executive Com­ mittee upon request of the Japanese authorities, visited them before their departure, at which time they asked that this message be sent to the internees: ‘We deeply regret our actions. We know that we made a big mistake and we urge that no one ever attempt it again’. "The Commandant is very angry that his cooperation should have been requited in such a manner and has stated that any recurrence will result in death for the escapees and very stringent restrictions for the internees. It is therefore very important that each person in­ terned here take every possible precaution to prevent another escape. "The Executive Committee, EARL CARROLL "General Chairman"

The general apprehension rose when it was rumored that another man, an American, had been discovered missing at roll call on the night of the 12th.2 On Saturday evening, February 14, the whole camp was shocked to learn that the three men who had already been so severely punished two days before, had been court-martialed and condemned to death, the Commandant having been instructed by the High Command to inform the internees of this. It was explained that the Committee had considered the m atter at length, and concluding that a protest might only hasten the announced fate of the 2 E. G. Goldsborough. The three others had answered roll call and that they had been ab­ sent had not become known to the officials of the camp until the Japanese brought them back. Goldsborough was discovered missing at roll call and a search was made for him every­ where, in all buildings and in all shanties on the campus, as it was supposed that he might have fallen asleep somewhere. At 11 o'clock that night, Carroll reported him missing to the captain of the guard and the guards then went out to search for the man themselves. Goldsborough’s escape was cursorily investi­ gated after the executions of the other three men, but nothing was done in this case as the Japanese probably thought that the punishment of the others had sufficiently impressed the camp.

89

men, had instead addressed a petition for clemency to the High Command, which the Commandant had promised to deliver. It was said that the Com­ mandant himself was shocked; he had hoped that the corporal punishment already inflicted would have satisfied the High Command. The Commandant, in fact, early that evening did leave the camp, supposedly with the Com­ m ittee’s petition. The Executive Committee was not permitted to consult Dr. Buss, of the High Commissioner’s Office, nor the British Consul-General, who were both interned elsewhere in the city. Nor was the Committee permitted to contact Bishop N. W. Binsted of the Episco­ pal Church, nor Archbishop Michael O’Doherty of the Roman Catholic Church, as it was urged to do by a number of friends of the condemned. However, Bishop Binsted was advised of the situation through indirect chan­ nels early Sunday morning and he as soon as possible got into touch with a Japanese colonel, a member of the court-martial whom he had known in Japan during his years of residence there. The officer was impressed by Binsted’s plea and promised to com­ municate with his colleagues. This was early in the afternoon and neither the Bishop nor the Japanese officer knew that the men were at that time already dead. Despite the petition of the Execu­ tive Committee, Thomas Henry Flet­ cher, age 29, Englishman, Blakey Borthwick Laycock, 43, Australian, and Henry Edward Weeks, 28, Englishman3 3 Fletcher and Weeks had been shipmates on the Tantalus, bombed and sunk in Manila Bay, off Orion, Bataan, on December 26. Captain R. O. Morris and some two score men from this ship were among those interned at Santo To­ mas. Both worked in the camp kitchens and Fletcher also taught a class in astronomy.

90

— were executed shortly after noon on Sunday, February 15, in the Chinese Cemetery. Carroll, Stanley, the Rev. Griffiths, and the two monitors of the rooms to which the men had belonged, — C. E. Stewart and G. H. Pedder, were present at the executions by order of the Commandant who himself was charged with carrying them out. Carroll met the press representatives4 in the camp, early the same evening, and in an unfrequented corner of the campus gave them the particulars with the request that they keep his account confidential for the time being as he did not think it wise to further stir up the feeling in the camp. He said that that morning the Com­ mandant told him that all efforts to save the lives of the three men had been fruitless and that they would be put to death that day. The Comman­ dant then asked him and Stanley and the room monitors to accompany him to the execution, and he also asked whether there was a minister in the camp who could come with them. Griffiths, being called, consented to go. The Japanese in the party were, be-------------------------a 4 The representatives of the press interned at Santo Tomas at this time were the following: R. Cronin and R. Brines of the Associated Press; B. Covit of the United Press; R. Y. Robb of the International News" and the Philippines Free Press, — also F. T. Rogers of the same weekly; A. S. Hammond of Reuter’s; R. Gun­ nison and his wife Marjorie Gunnison of Col­ lier's; C. Mydans and his wife, Shelley Smith Mydans, of Life Magazine; D. T. Boguslav of the Manila Tribune; H.F. Wilkins and Bessie Hackett of the Manila Daily Bulletin; and A. V. H. Hartendorp, editor and publisher of the Philip­ pine Magazine. Carl von Wiegand (Hearst pub­ lications) and Lady Drummond Hay were in the camp for some days but were released for rea­ sons of health, as was Marc T. Greene, cor­ respondent of the Provincetown Journal and other publications. R. McCullogh Dick, publisher of the Free Press and R. C. Bennett, editor of the Daily Bulletin, were interned at Villamor Hall, later at Fort Santiago.

THE CAMP

sides the Commandant, the second-incommand, Lieut. M. Takahashi, and four interpreters. They left the camp in two automo­ biles, the Commandant, Carroll, Stan­ ley, and Griffiths in one, and the rest in the other, followed by a bus carry­ ing a number of soldiers from the camp, and drove to the Manila South Police Station on Isaac Peral Street, where the condemned men had spent the past three days. They were brought out, their wrists tied behind them. The Commandant had asked Stanley to bring along three white arm bands, but they had failed to be delivered in time and Stanley had come without them. The Commandant was disturbed when he learned of this and a half hour's delay ensued while one of the interpreters went back in a car to get them. With the condemned men riding in the bus with the soldiers, the party now drove over the Santa Cruz Bridge and down Rizal Avenue to Blumentritt Street and into the grounds of the Chinese Cemetery. Carroll said that the men had not appeared to be aware of what their fate was to be when they had been taken out of the police sta­ tion, but that they probably began to understand what was to happen when they noted the demeanor of Carroll and the others and this must have become a certainty when they realized they were being driven to the cemetery. Carroll said he thought it was certain that they had not personally appeared before the court-martial which con­ demned them to death. He had been given no opportunity to speak to them. The party stopped in an open space in the Chinese Cemetery, which adjoins the great Cementerio del Norte, and there the three men were lined up,

THE EXECUTIONS

about 10 feet from the roadway. The Commandant made a short statement to them which was translated by one of the Japanese interpreters: "You have been tried by a military court and have been sentenced to death in accordance with the laws of the Imperial Japanese Army.” The men, said Carroll, heard the sentence with almost no change in facial expres­ sion. The Commandant then asked Grif­ fiths to say a few words, and he told them in a strained voice that he was a minister of the Church of England and that he wanted to offer them the consolations of religion. He said they should remember that the physical life was not the whole of life and that there was a life beyond the death of the body. He said that their comrades in Santo Tomas were deeply distressed and that the officials of the camp had done everything possible to save their lives. Then he told them that he hoped eventually to get back to England and that he would convey any mes­ sage which Fletcher and Weeks might want to give him for their relatives and friends at home. Weeks thrust his tied hands into a hip-pocket and brought out his wal­ let, which one of the soldiers handed to Griffiths, and also gave him the address of his wife in London. He said brokenly that he had been married only a month before he had left Eng­ land, that he might be a father by now, and asked whether that could not be taken into consideration. Stanley as well as the Japanese interpreters knew this plea to be so futile that they did not translate his words for the benefit of the Commandant. Laycoclc and Fletcher had preserved their silence, looking straight ahead, but now the latter mumbled a few un­

91

intelligible words. Then Laycock spoke up and said that he would like to know why he and his friends had been sentenced to death. This remark was translated, and the Commandant answered that it was for the same reason they had been punished when brought back to the camp,—for trying to escape. The Commandant asking Carroll whether he wanted to say anything. Carroll said to the three men that he had come at the request of the Com­ mandant and that he wanted to con­ vey to them the compassion felt for them by all the people in the camp. He assured them that they would not be forgotten and that he would see to it that a true story of their fate would be told to their relatives and friends. Carroll then asked Stewart and Pedder whether they had anything to say. At first both declined, but then Pedder, fighting for self-control, said about what Carroll had said but with emphasis on the feelings of the men of Room 51. "They send their sym­ pathies and deep regrets, and will never forget this!” Then, interposing his body between the three men and the Japanese, he made the British sign, — thumbs-up. The condemned asked for cigarets, and Carroll put cigarets into their mouths and lighted the cigaret of one of them, a Japanese soldier lighting those of the other two. As they smoked, the Commandant again spoke to Carroll of how he regretted it all, but that there had been nothing he could do about it. He said that the High Command was aware of the good cooperation he as Commandant had received from the internees and how the Command hoped this would con­ tinue. Then he remarked that the Hight Command had again brought up

92 the point of monitor responsibility in the m atter of escapes, and Carroll said, though thinking this was not the time for argument, that the responsi­ bility of the monitors had to end with the calling of the roll at night or not a single monitor would consent to con­ tinue to serve as such. The Comman­ dant said that this m atter should be clarified and suggested that Carroll take this up with his successor (Tsurumi), the following day, for it hap­ pened that Tomayasu was about to be relieved when the escapes had occurred. In the meantime, several of the sol­ diers who had been digging a grave in a little ravine some yards away, made a signal, and the three unfor­ tunates were led off. Carroll, Stanley, Griffiths, and the monitors remained behind, but the Commandant called on Carroll and Stanley to follow, which they did, stopping about 150 feet away. The men were led to the edge of the grave, which was some 10 feet long and 4 feet wide, and, Carroll judged, only 4 feet deep, and were then blind­ folded with the arm bands. Laycock objected, but his protest was disre­ garded. They were made to sit down side-by-side on the mound of earth thrown up, with their feet dangling in the hole. The soldiers helped them to assume this position, none too gently, Laycock in the middle, Weeks to his right, and Fletcher to his left. After a few moments, three of the soldiers, designated by the Comman­ dant, drew their pistols, — 25-calibre automatics, and standing on the other side of the grave facing the blindfolded men at a distance of 15 or 20 feet, each fired a shot, aiming at the heart of his respective man. Fletcher slumped forward against Laycock, and both fell forward into the open hole, but Weeks

THE CAMP

remained seated and was shot once more before he toppled forward. Carroll heard the men groaning as the soldiers walked to the grave to look in. The one detailed to end the life of Weeks shot a third time. Then all three once more fired their pistols in­ to the grave but the groans still con­ tinued and Laycock and Weeks were given another bullet each. The Com­ mandant shook his head and said to Carroll and Stanley that it was too bad his men had not been equipped with rifles. Subdued groans still sounding from the grave, the soldiers returned, one of them laughing, and fired another volley of three shots. Some Filipino cemetery workers now approached to fill the grave but they were ordered back until the soldiers had first thrown in some earth, the groans even then having not entirely subsided. Carroll also started for the grave but a Japanese interpreter called him back and politely gave him a cigaret. The Filipinos were then or­ dered to fill the grave, and under Jap­ anese direction a mound was built up over it and a wooden stake, inscribed with Japanese characters, which had been brought along from Santo Tomas, was driven into the ground Griffiths now came forward, dressed in cassock and stole, and performed the Church of England service for the dead. This took some three or four minutes during which time the Jap­ anese officers and soldiers stood in the position of "carry sabre” in salute. Some of the soldiers added the last touch by placing a few branches of bougainvilia which grew nearby, on the grave. Having completed his account, Carroll told the newsmen that the Com­ mandant appeared to sincerely regret the affair. Usually talkative, he had

CHANGE IN COMMANDANTS

said hardly a word on the way to the police station and to the cemetery and very little coming back. Carroll said that he himself had seen the three men about an hour after their punish­ ment in the barrack room by the sol­ diers, who had apparently used their fists and their gunstraps, but though they were badly bruised they did not appear to have been seriously injured, this being confirmed by Dr. Leach who examined them. Carroll said that the men expressed their regret over their attempted escape exactly as stated in the Committee's memorandum to the monitors, and that they had told him that they had not wanted to join MacArthur but had hoped to make their way back to Australia and England. They had been captured near the Jap­ anese BBB Brewery, just north of the city, on their way to Malabon or Navotas. Though all the facts concerning the executions did not become known to the people of the camp generally, the event did have the effect of bringing many thoughtless people to a realiza­ tion of the realities of their situation. They realized now that whatever the Japanese alleged their status to be, they were prisoners and at their mercy. A Protestant memorial service was held on the campus late Sunday after­ noon, the Reverend Foley officiating, and the following morning a requiem mass was given in the Seminary chapel. Almost the entire camp was there, in spite or perhaps because of the fact that it was said that the Japanese authorities in the camp did not look with favor on this service. The mass was said by an American Dominican, Father Aherne. The Tribune that day, February 16, carried the following official announce­

93

ment, the names of the men being in­ accurately given: NOTICE "Thomas Henry Fletcher, English (nom de plum [sic] "Henry Edward Wynox, English (nom de plum) "Brecky Brushwick Seacock, English (nom de plum) "These three Britishers, together with other enemy nationals, have been interned on Jan­ uary 3rd, 1942. But of late, taking advantage of the generosity and good treatment which they were accorded by the Japanese Army, they have not only disobeyed orders and dis­ rupt the peace of the camp, but they have also tried to communicate with the outside world for the purpose of giving information to the enemy. Lastly, they have tried to escape from the camp on the evening of February 11th, 1942. Therefore, they were court-martialed and shot to death in accordance with military laws. "The Commander-in-Chief For the Defense of the City of Greater Manila."

Change in Commandants — Lieut­ enant Hitoshi Tomayasu, being pro­ moted to the command of the gendar­ merie of Greater Manila, was relieved as Commandant of the camp by R. Tsurumi on February 16. Tomayasu, 55 years old, had had but little contact with foreigners and spoke no English, so that all conferences with him had to be conducted through interpreters. He appeared to think it necessary at first to take a rather stern attitude, but as time passed this somewhat re­ laxed. Shortly before leaving the camp he was quoted in the Internews as having said: "When I first came to this camp I did not know what my feelings were toward the in­ ternees. I knew only that they were enemy nationals. My previous contact with foreigners was in Kobe and Shanghai, and I thought them proud and lacking in understanding of the Japanese. But since I have been here your cooperation and understanding have brought me a feeling of friendship which I had not thought possible under the circumstances... In the discharge of my duties here I have al­ ways had to work under orders from above. I appreciate your understanding of that situa­ tion. If the cooperation which has existed in

94 this camp were possible on an international scale there would be no cause for international dis­ p utes... In past months other nations have misunderstood us and we have misunderstood them. I never expected that the affairs of this camp would go as smoothly as they have..."

A number of high Japanese officials visited the camp during January and February,—among them the Chiefof-staff of the expeditionary forces, and the Tokyo chief of all Ja­ panese internment-camp organizations in the Far East, and the Commandant took pride in showing them around. He would bring the visitors to Carroll and they always expressed themselves as being impressed and pleased; they appreciated the "cooperation” of the camp. On February 7, a week before the execution of the three men, at one of the "shows” given in the patio of the main building by the entertainment committee, Dave Harvey announced that the performance might be taken as in the nature of a despedida for the Commandant, who had just entered the patio. Harvey thereupon introduced Carroll who made a few remarks in tribute, stating that the Commandant had done much to make internment more tolerable than it might have been. Harvey then called for a "hand" for the Japanese officer and quite generous applause followed. The new commandant, Tsurumi, was a civilian official who had seen con­ sular and diplomatic service abroad5 and who spoke good English. He was more flexible in mind; better able than his predecessor to understand the

THE CAMP

internee point of view and more dis­ posed to take it into consideration. He rarely took action without asking for an expression of opinion on the part of the Executive Committee. The Dominican Convent Fenced Off— The camp had for some time been hear­ ing rumors of increasingly strained relations between the Japanese military and the Roman Catholic Church. It was said that Archbishop O'Doherty had refused to instruct parish priests to preach cooperation with the Ja­ panese and that he was being held virtually a prisoner in the episcopal palace. Early during Tsurumi’s incum­ bency, the camp saw evidence of this hostility in the decision to transfer the

confronted a surly-faced officer of the Military Police. The Commandant himself translating, the author was asked whether he was the editor of the Philippine Magazine and he an­ swered in the affirmative. The Police had al­ ready asked several other newspapermen in the camp whether the editor of the Philippine Magazine was in Santo Tomas; they seemed to want to make sure of his identity. (He had en­ tered the camp as "A. Hartendorp, Secretary, Manila Symphony Society.”) The author was now asked whether he could supply the officer with a complete set of the Magazine (bound), and he having concealed the two sets he had before his internment, answered that he could not, but that issues of most of the back copies were on the shelves in the store room and could be obtained there. The officer then asked whether he might take some of them and also asked for the key to the office. The author had already learned, that the Japanese had some time before broken into his office and ransacked it thoroughly. He pretended ig­ norance of this, however, and said that the Army could take whatever issues of the Maga­ zine it wanted. To test the "reaction”, the author added, "I must warn you, however, that the Magazine has published articles that were rather critical of Japan’s policies.” "We know that!” said the Commandant. "We will call you 5 Commandant R. Tsurumi was around 55 years again in a few days”. The brief interview in­ old. He had served for 8 years in Vancouver, creased the author’s apprehensions, but he was and also in India and Burma. He had visited not called to the Commandant’s office again. the Pacific Coast but had never been in the The Philippine Magazine, incidentally, had been eastern part of the United States. banned from Japan by the Japanese postal au­ The Author Called to the Commandant’s Office thorities several years before the outbreak of —Toward the end of February, the author was the war because of its criticism of Japanese called to the Commandant’s office where he foreign policies.

TUBERCULOSIS

700 internees domiciled in the gymna­ sium building, which stands near the Dominican convent, (commonly called the Seminary) to the college of educa­ tion building on the other side of the main building, and to fence off that entire section of the campus. The men moved into the new building on Feb­ ruary 27, the transfer being delayed for some days by the necessity of con­ structing an outside bathhouse. The new barbed-wire fence deprived the in­ ternees of over 4 hectares of the 22 hectares of campus space, particularly of several baseball and football fields. On Sunday, February 22, a Japanese Catholic priest and a Japanese altar boy, attached to the religious section of the Japanese army, celebrated mass in the convent chapel, the Dominican Fathers also holding their regular ser­ vices. The following Sunday the Domi­ nicans and an Irish priest, Father Pat­ rick Kelly of the Malate Church, Manila, assisted by another Japanese altar boy, celebrated masses attended by the Catholics among the internees. That afternoon the last gap in the barbedwire fence was closed and communica­ tion between the Fathers of Santo Tomas, Spanish and American, and the internees virtually ceased. After that it was no longer possible for them to attend services in the chapel. In­ stead, Catholic services were held for some time in the open air with a table as an altar set up in the stretch of lawn in front of the main building. Father Kelly usually officiated. With the arrival in the Philippines of the prominent Japanese Catholic priest, Msgr. Paul Taguchi, Bishop of Osaka, it was reported that the rela­ tions between the military and the Catholic Church improved. Late in March, (the 27th, according to a Domei dispatch published in the Tribune)

95

the Japanese government announced the appointment of K. Harada, acting ambassador to the Vichy government, as its first special minister plenipoten­ tiary to the Vatican. On the 30th a banquet was reportedly given by the Vice-Grand Chancellor of Santo Tomas University in honor of Bishop Taguchi. First Health Warnings— Tuberculosis —In his February report to the Execu­ tive Committee, Holland, chairman of the release committee, stated: "It is with regret that I must tell you that no headway whatsoever has been made on the question of the release of mothers with young' children. It would seem that on all grounds this should not be difficult; however, we are still where we started. We do not in­ tend to drop this question as the crowded con­ ditions in the annex in our opinion, if they continue will have a permanent effect on the health of the children, especially of the young children. This menace to the health of the children is frequently underestimated, and we find that too often parents consider only the sunburned faces of their children and fail to see the spectre of disease which inevitably waits for many of them ... The ill effects of internment upon their health is a progressive phenomenon, with certain conditions such as tuberculosis, rickets, and malnutrition becoming more manifest as time goes on. Therefore, re­ lease now may save the children from perma­ nent in ju ry ...”

Dr. Leach, on March 20, reported the high percentage of children reacting positively to a test for tuberculosis,— 18%: "Owing to the overcrowded conditions and a diet which is inadequate for growing children, it was deemed advisable to make a survey of our child population in order to determine the incidence of tuberculosis among this group. There are approximately 400 children in the camp from 1 year through 15. Of this number 341 were given the Mantoux skin test by mem­ bers of the Philippine Health Service sta ff... Total number of children tested: 341: males 166, females 175. Results of test: positive reac­ tors: 62: males 32, (19.2%) females 30 (17.1%)... It is obvious that unless segregation and im­ provement of diet is instituted, we are going to have a widespread dissemination of the dis­

96 ease not only among the children but through the adult population. It is strongly urged that measures be taken at the earliest possible mo­ ment to avoid spread of the disease.”

The Executive Committe immediately decided to open a children's hospital in the annex; to urge more mothers to send their children to the Holy Ghost College, since the Japanese authorities had already agreed to raise the agelimit from 7 to 10; to press the author­ ities further for the release of mothers with children under 2; to attem pt to secure permission to obtain the Santa Catalina dormitory, across the street from the University campus, for tu­ berculous persons; and to reserve all milk in the camp for the children. Threatened Transfer of the CampEarly in March, rumors that the Ja­ panese intended to transfer the camp to some other place created uneasiness. There was talk that the internees might be taken out of the Philippines alto­ gether, to Formosa or some Pacific island. As rumors multiplied, those in­ ternees who had married in the coun­ try and had families outside the camp, grew fairly desperate. And although Carroll and other members of the Executive Committee were seen to leave the camp with the Commandant, presumably to inspect other proposed camp sites, the Committee remained silent on the question and was bitter­ ly criticized for not communicating the facts to the body of internees. The first official indication of such a proposal came on February 27, when the Commandant called Carroll and informed him that military headquar­ ters wanted the opinion of the Com­ mittee on a possible transfer of the camp to Tagaytay, 60 kilometers from Manila, impressing on him that the m atter must be held strictly confiden­ tial. This was the reason the Commit­ tee could make no public statement.

THE CAMP

On March 1, the Commandant took Carroll, DeWitt, and Wolff to inspect a site there. After the inspection, the Committee informed the Commandant that it considered the available accom­ modations there,—the remains of cer­ tain Philippine Army barracks, entirely inadequate for the large number of peo­ ple in Santo Tomas, and Wolff made the statement that the Red Cross, in view of the lack of transportation faci­ lities, could not accept the responsi­ bility for the feeding of a camp so far from Manila. The Commandant ex­ pressed agreement with these views, and when headquarters finally decided against a move to Tagaytay, the Com­ mittee requested permission to make an announcement to this effect, which was granted. The announcement had some effect in quieting the general alarm, but anxiety was renewed when the Commandant took Carroll, Duggleby, and Wolff to look over another site,—this time Camp Crame, near Camp Murphy, some 12 kilometers from the center of Manila. But the accommodations there, too, were in­ sufficient, as the Commandant again had to agree. In the meantime the Committee learned that the Spanish Consul-Gen­ eral in Manila, had, early in January communicated with Madrid, urging the lodging of a protest with Japan against the use of Santo Tomas Univer­ sity as an internment camp, possibly on the assumption that this might lead to the outright seizure of this and other ecclesiastical property in the country. As time passed, however, the Dominican Fathers, themselves, be­ came increasingly eager that the in­ ternees remain, especially when they learned that it was likely that if the camp was transferred the Japanese

STATUS OF INTERNEES

might use the premises for hospital purposes or the housing of troops. Whether the Japanese had any other reason than the first Spanish protest for desiring to transfer the camp, was not known, but it was to be as­ sumed that they viewed the existence of the camp so near the heart of Manila as undesirable, realizing that it was difficult to isolate the internees com­ pletely, the camp remaining a source of American influence, on the people of Manila especially. Status of the Internees — In a proc­ lamation published in the Tribune on January 10, the High Command had declared that the purpose of concen­ trating enemy aliens was to "protect their lives"; those of them not yet un­ der the "protective custody of the Jap­ anese Expeditionary Force” were urged to "appeal personally” to any office of the Japanese Army; but the warning was appended to this philanthropic an­ nouncement that failure to "appeal” on or before January 15 would be con­ sidered a "hostile act" which would be "severely dealt with". Commandant Tomayasu had said to the Central Committee at Santo Tomas that though Japan and the United States were at war, the Japanese authorities did not consider the people in the camp as enemies; he had ex­ plained that they were neither prison­ ers of war nor "regularly interned” civilians, and that this was the reason why the Japanese assumed no respon­ sibility for feeding them. Commandant Tsurumi, who suc­ ceeded Tomayasu, being asked for the rules and regulations which governed the status of the internees, said that such had not been formulated. It was manifest that the Japanese wanted to avoid committing themselves to any definite declaration.

97 It was known to certain internees, however, that Dr. Buss, who was in­ terned elsewhere in Manila, had been assured by two Japanese officials of high rank who had visited Manila in­ cognito, that Japan would strictly ad­ here to international law in its treat­ ment of civilians. A Domei report pub­ lished in the Tribune of January 11, stated that Major Prince Tsuyenoshi Takeda had returned to Japan from an "im portant front-line duty” and that he had been in Hongkong and Ma­ nila on January 5, immediately after the Japanese occupation of Manila. He therefore may have been one of the high officials referred to by Buss. The principal international agree­ ments affecting the status of enemy civilians were (in so far as some of the internees knew) the following: The Hague Convention of October 18, 1907 The Geneva Convention of July 27, 1929 The Annex to the International Red Cross Convention of Tokyo, October 29, 1934.

It should be observed that the im­ pact of World War 1 on the Hague Convention was such that it is difficult to say how much of it was left. G. G. Wilson states: "The adequacy of the articles of the Hague Convention relating to military occupation was tested by the World War, 1914-1918, and volumes were issued by the belligerents upon the failure of their opponents to observe ac­ cepted rules. Retaliatory measures in disregard of rules were often taken, and these led to further disregard of rules without apparent adequate beneficial military results. Many charges and counter charges of the violation of obligations in occupied areas were brought by the belligerents, as has been common in wars where one belligerent has occupied the territory of the other.”6*

Neither the Hague Convention of 1907 nor the Geneva Convention of 1929 (which deals with the ameliora­ tion of the wounded and sick of ar­ 6 Wilson on International Law, West Publishing Company, St. Paul, Minn., 1927, p. 293.

98

mies in the field)7, says anything about the internment of enemy civilians. Both include provisions for the pro­ tection of captured enemy soldiers,— prisoners of war, but the internment of civilians was apparently not given consideration. The Annex to the Tokyo Convention of 1934, however, does cover the in­ ternment of enemy civilians and pro­ vides at some length for the protection of such people "found upon the terri­ tory of a belligerent". The provisions for the protection of those "brought to the territory of a belligerent” and for the protection of those "who find themselves in territory occupied by a belligerent" are much less definite. The people interned in Santo Tomas fell into the latter category, and it must be admitted that their situation was necessarily different not only from the situation of enemy aliens found in a belligerent country, but from that of enemy aliens native to an occupied country. An invading power could not well intern the entire population of an occupied country, but there are military reasons why the nationals of the sovereign power under attack in an invaded dependency might be in­ terned. But even the limited guarantees in the Annex to the Tokyo Convention did not formally apply to the people in­ terned in Santo Tomas, for although the Tokyo conference was presided over by Prince Iyesato Tokugawa, President of the Red Cross Society of Japan, and one of those appointed to draw up the articles was M. K. Matsudaira, then Foreign Minister, Japan never ratified the Annex.

THE CAMP

The Annex nevertheless, may be taken as providing a norm by which the conduct of a nation toward enemy civilians in its own territory or in ter­ ritory occupied by it can be appraised.

Though it must be accepted that military con­ siderations in the case of the treatment of enemy nationals in a belligerent country and in an occupied territory are necessarily dif­ ferent, the general humanitarian principles which apply to the former apply by analogy to the latter, and in this light, as in the light of the humane considerations which underlie all international law, which is morally binding on any nation whether it formally ratifies any particular international convention or not, the physical punishment and the subsequent exe­ cution of the three men who had tried to es­ cape from the Santo Tomas Internment Camp was an outrage. Even hostages,—the very name implies they are held to bring pressure to bear on the enemy, must always be treated with humanity, must not be submitted to physical chastisement, and must not be put to death under any pretext, according to the Tokyo Convention. The Tokyo agreement declares that the in­ ternment of enemy civilians found within the territory of a belligerent must not be ordered unless this concerns enemy civilians liable to be mobilized, the security of the detaining power, or the safety of the enemy civilians themselves. This provision does not formally apply to enemy civilians found in occupied ter­ ritory and the military considerations are dif­ ferent, but from a broader point of view, what military necessity was there in Manila for the internment of the sick and the disabled as well as women, children, and old men? It is true that many of these were gradually released,8 but not until months had passed; many more were not released at all. The Americans and British in Manila were among friends and re­ quired no "protection", — at least not from anything other than the invaders themselves. The Tokyo agreement declares that where ordinary measures of control are not deemed sufficient, confinement of enemy civilians found in the territory of a belligerent is to be pref­ erred to internment in fenced camps. This again did not formally apply to the situation in 7 This was the only part of the Convention of Manila, yet it may be pointed out that Santo which a copy was available in the camp at that 8 For a time only. time.

INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS Tomas was a fenced camp. The Tokyo ag­ reement also provides that internment camps must not be established in unhealthful regions or where the climate is injurious to the health of the internees. Inapplicable though this pro­ vision was formally, and though Santo Tomas was not situated in an especially unhealthful district, the crowding of thousands of men, women, and children into a few buildings not designed for living purposes, 40 or 50 to a room, in a hot climate, was certainly unhealth­ ful. The Hague Convention, to which Japan is a party, provides that "the government into whose hands prisoners of war have fallen is bound to maintain them”. The Japanese averred that the Santo Tomas internees were not prisoners of war, and on this ground they assumed no responsibility for feeding them, leaving that, at first, as a problem to solve for themselves. At the same time, the recognized relief society, the Philippine Red Cross, which assumed the task of feeding the camp, was greatly ham­ pered in its work not only because of various restrictions imposed, but because its chief of­ ficials were themselves interned, — contrary to the terms of the Geneva Convention which states that "the personnel of volunteer aid societies, duly recognized and authorized by their government... may not be detained after they have fallen into the power of the ad­ versary...” A large part of the Red Cross material, food and medical supplies, was seized and Red Cross warehouses were taken over by the Japanese army without any such apparent "urgent necessity" as is con­ templated in the Geneva Convention. U.S. Army and Navy nurses were interned in Santo Tomas, contrary to the terms of the same Con­ vention. Despite the censored note system, established in Santo Tomas with the consent of the Com­ mandant, the restrictions insisted on made it very difficult for the internees with families outside the camp to send them news or receive news from them, even if they lived in the city of Manila. Those internees given temporary passes for this and certain other purposes, were a very small minority. The Santo Tomas in­ ternees were also unable to communicate with their own government representatives elsewhere interned in the city, or with officials of their own governments in the unoccupied areas of the Philippines or in the United States or Great Britain. Red Cross officials were not enabled

99 to communicate with Red Cross officials in Washington or even Geneva. The internees were virtually held incommunicado. No texts of such conventions as presumably protected the internees were posted in the camp, nor even the Japanese regulations affecting them. The internees were unable to secure any information from the Japanese on these points. Neither were they informed of even the existence of any neutral protecting power. And, while held prisoners in the camp, the internees learned every day of their homes and offices being looted, of their possessions being wantonly destroyed, though the Hague Con­ vention declares categorically: "Private pro­ perty can not be confiscated. Pillage is for­ mally prohibited."

Early in April, after the Santo Tomas camp had been in existence for three months, a group of high officials from Tokyo visited the camp, accom­ panied by a number of German and Italian officers. It was reported later that one of the Japanese officials had voiced sharp criticism of the intern­ ment of women and children and of the crowded conditions existing, and also of the fact that the Japanese authorities had made no effort to feed the interned people, summing it up in declaring that the internment policy followed was a discredit to Japan. Had this official seen the camp during the first few weeks of its existence, be­ fore the internees themselves through their own efforts had made the camp a fairly habitable place, he would no doubt have been even more critical. Following this visit, Commandant Tsurumi told Carroll that the Japanese Army would assume the full cost of the maintenance of the camp and that the Committee's appeal to the Red Cross in Washington, mentioned in an earlier section, would therefore not be forwarded by Tokyo. He also guarded­ ly expressed the opinion that it might be possible to release those of the women and children and older men

100

who would be able to support them­ selves outside the camp and asked Carroll to make a survey to ascertain how many would be able to do so. Tsurumi asked Carroll’s assistance in preparing a report on the camp which he was to hand to the visiting officials. He wanted to stress the degree of self-government allowed, the community feeding, and the health, educational, religious, athletic, and en­ tertainment activities carried on. He also wanted included in the report the arguments which the Committee had used against the proposal to transfer the camp to some other place. The report when completed included the following statement, believed to have been inserted at Japanese military headquarters: "The internment of the people of hostile countries in Santo Tomas has as its main ob­ jects the prevention of acts of espionage and the protection of these people themselves. The camp is administered under the Office of the Military Administration and the guard is a part of the garrison force of Greater Manila. An office in the camp is directly responsible for the management and is under the External Affairs section of the Office of the Military Administration . . . The cost of the main­ tenance of the camp is borne by the Imperial Japanese forces . .

That was a plain untruth. False Report of the Death of Pres­ ident Quezon — On March 19, a num­ ber of prominent men in the camp were called into the office of the Com­ mandant, one after another, and were given to understand by Japanese mili­ tary officers that President Quezon had died. They were asked to give their opinion as to what the effect of an announcement of his death would be on the Filipinos. They made rep­ lies of as noncommittal a nature as possible, as the internees always did when asked to give the Japanese in­

THE CAMP

formation. Some of those questioned refused to believe that the President was dead, but the story got about and shocked and saddened many of the internees. Nothing about the subject appeared in the Tribune the next day or for some days following, but on the 23rd the main headline in the paper was: “QUEZON REPORTED DEAD IN ILOILO”, and the following brief dispatch appeared below it: "From an undisclosed base, March 21 (Domei). A sensational report from Cebu Island, in the Philippines, revealed that Manuel L. Quezon, President of the Philippine Com­ monwealth, died on the night of Tuesday, March 17, somewhere in Iloilo, suffering severe haemoptysis or voluminous expectora­ tion of blood from the lungs."

There was no reference to the news in the editorial column. The following day, grapevine reports had it that the Corregidor “Voice of Freedom” had denied the report, but there was much anxiety among the friends of the President nevertheless. It was known that he had still not en­ tirely recovered from the relapse he had suffered before the w ar broke out, and it was feared that his stay in Corregidor could have worsened his condition. The characteristically im­ patient Quezon was never good at waiting, and it was thought that fret­ ting at the delay in the arrival of re­ enforcements in the Philippines might also have had a bad effect. His death at this time it was felt, would be es­ pecially tragic. Not until nearly a week later, did the following short item appear in the Tribune of March 27: "Chairman Jorge B. Vargas, on being asked about the reported death of President Manuel L. Quezon in Iloilo, made the following state­ ment: "'I have no personal information neither of his whereabouts nor of the state of his health.

THE BATAAN SURRENDER I hope and pray however that his reported death is not true."’

On April 14, there was an oblique reference to the President in a Domei dispatch supposedly from Cebu: "Cebu Island, April 12 (Domei). It was learned that Jose Abad Santos, former secre­ tary of justice of the Philippine Common­ wealth, who fled from Manila in company with President Manuel Quezon, was arrested by Japanese forces which occupied Cebu City. “Mr. Santos escaped from Manila with Pres­ ident Quezon and Vice-President Sergio Osmena to Corregidor, then to the Visayan Islands. He arrived in Cebu after parting company with President Quezon, who escaped to Australia.”

101

name. It was said that it meant "the place of the bata”, the latter word meaning "children”, referring to the original negrito population of the peninsula, remnants of whom still in­ habit the forests. The place of little men had become a place of heroes. The people in the camp had the notion that as long as the forces in Bataan and Corregidor held out, not much greater harm would befall them or the rest of the population as this was bound to exert a strong restrain­ ing influence on the Japanese. The continued resistance in Bataan and Corregidor was to them and to the Fil­ ipinos outside, reassuring proof that total surrender was being averted. When on April 10 the Tribune ap­ peared with the streamer "TROOPS ON EASTERN FRONT OF BATAAN OFFER SURRENDER”, the news was generally scouted, the more so as it had been strongly rumored a few days before that the Japanese had been driven back to San Fernando and had also been cut off from Lingayen Gulf. There had even been stories that Ja­ panese tradesmen in Manila were al­ ready boarding up their stores and preparing to leave Manila. But the Tri­ bune reported:

The Surrender in Bataan — Not a day passed in the camp when reports and rumors of the fighting in Bataan were not avidly discussed, and as the American-Filipino forces held out month after month in the thicklyforested peninsula against heavy at­ tacks by superior forces, the internees began to feel sure that Bataan would never fall and that adequate reenforce­ ments would arrive in time. The Tribune of March 20 reported that General MacArthur had "fled” to Australia and that High Commissioner Sayre had also "escaped”, although a Domei dispatch from Buenos Aires in in the same issue revealed that Mac­ Arthur was to be appointed comman­ "According to information received at the der-in-chief of the Allied forces in propaganda corps of the Japanese Army in the southwestern Pacific and rumors Manila, American and Filipino troops of the eastern front of Bataan offered surrender yes­ had it that Sayre had been recalled to terday afternoon but the bombing is being Washington to report and advise on continued.” the situation. The internees were con­ On the 11th, the headline was: vinced that MacArthur, in leaving his "iMARIVELES TAKEN; MANY CAP­ command in the Philippines, must have TURED." The report read: been certain that Bataan would hold "According to information received by the out. propaganda corps of the Imperial Japanese They heard of radio reports from Forces from the Bataan front yesterday after­ America which said that Bataan had noon, Japanese forces entered Mariveles du­ ring the day without encountering the slightest become a household word, and those resistance. American-Filipino forces, the report in the camp who knew Tagalog were said, were retreating in confusion, unable to asked to explain the derivation of the resist the fierce Japanese attacks.”

102

Another report read: "Lisbon, April 9 (Domei). With the United States-Philippine forces on Bataan peninsula in desperate straits, President Roosevelt has instructed Lt. Gen. Jonathan Wainwright, commander-in-chief, to take any measures deemed necessary, according to a London radio broad­ cast heard here."

Still another: “From a Japanese Base in Bataan, April 9 (Domei). Japanese vanguards continuing their southward drive after taking Limay early this morning (Thursday), drove into Lamao, forcing the enemy to flee in the direction of Mariveles sector. It is understood that unable to with­ stand the furious bombing of the Japanese air force, thousands of enemy troops have al­ ready surrendered to the Japanese in Limay and Lamao regions.” "From the Bataan Front, April 10 (Domei). An overpowering three-dimensional offensive by land, sea and air, bringing into full play all the paraphernalia of modern warfare, was ins­ trumental in steam-rollering the opposition of Gen. Wainwright’s besieged Fil-American forces on Bataan peninsula in 6 days following the start of the full-dress offensive, declared a Jap­ anese staff officer who supervised the Japanese operations in Bataan . .

There were other reports: "Berne, April 10 (Domei). U.S. Secretary of War, Henry L. Stimson, commenting on the breakdown of the American defenses in Bataan peninsula, announced that on April 9, the American defenses collapsed as 'our troops were outnumbered and worn out by successive attacks by fresh troops and exhausted by in­ sufficient rations’, according to a Washington report." "Lisbon, April 9 (Domei). It was reported from Washington that 'it is likely that the American defenses in Bataan peninsula have been overcome by Japanese forces’, according to a British Broadcasting Corporation report intercepted here. The report said that the latest message received from the headquarters of Gen. Wainwright revealed that a majority of the American troops,—36,959 officers and men, have either been killed or captured. Gen. Wainwright reported that Japanese forces suc­ cessfully enveloped the American left flank, ad­ ding that when the counter-attack was ordered to relieve the dire situation there, it failed

THE CAMP due to complete physical exhaustion of the American troops’."

Santo Tomas still refused to believe the reports, but on Sunday afternoon (the 12th) a number of American and British civilians were brought into the camp from Bataan. They told conflic­ ting stories, and one man told totally different stories, so it was said, before and after he had been called into the Commandant's office. One report was that the besieged American-Philippine forces had received no reenforcements whatever since the first of the year. The camp heard all this in bitterness, but still there were many who were unconvinced. Some people went about the camp saying that both the Corregidor and San Francisco radios had made broadcasts emphasizing that the Japanese were carrying on a campaign of unmatched lying and that not a word of it should be believed. The Sunday Tribune besides cir­ cumstantial stories of the surrender of Maj. Gen. E. P, King in Bataan, also carried news of Japanese landings at three points in Cebu, but grapevine reports said that they had suffered heavy losses in ships and men there and that the troops that had effected landings were being wiped out. The sound of heavy explosions in the Paranaque area about 10:30 Sunday morning and reports which drifted in during the day that many Japanese and some German airmen, gathered at the Los Tamaraos Polo Club for a lec­ ture and a banquet, had been killed there, did something to cheer the camp, but the general depression was not greatly lightened. Monday (the 13th) the Tribune con­ tained reproductions of photographs of the surrender of General King, and persons in the camp who knew him personally had to admit that the man

CRITICISM OF WASHINGTON

shown in the photograph as sitting at a table opposite a Japanese officer was King. However, others said that the picture must have been taken during a truce arranged for the pur­ pose of burying the dead. On Wed­ nesday, April 15, the Tribune published another photograph showing American soldiers with their arms up in the air in surrender. But hope died hard, and it was pointed out that the photo­ graph actually showed only a small number of Americans, and there was also talk of faked photographs. Ano­ ther rum or which ran through the camp was that the Japanese had vio­ lated the truce and seized some of the American officers and men by treach­ ery. During the few days following Sun­ day, the sound of occasional heavy bombings in the vicinity of Manila continued and it was rumored that American “flying fortresses” from Aus­ tralia were bombing Japanese concen­ trations and fuel depots with great success, but reports also came into the camp that the San Francisco radio had admitted not only that parts of Bataan had surrendered, but that it had been said that Corregidor was still holding out despite heavy Japanese ar­ tillery fire from the Bataan and Cavite coasts. The camp now began to read a most ominous implication in the word "still”. Bitter criticism of Washington was voiced, for had not President Roosevelt said solemnly and emphatically as far back as December, "Help is on the way”? Was it after all true that the brave Bataan defenders had received no help at all during the past three months and was the American public now being prepared for the eventual fall of Corregidor itself? Was, then, the United States so completely para­

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lyzed?9 Was the failure to relieve Ba­ taan not a virtual betrayal? The Americans in Santo Tomas were not, for the most part, thinking only of themselves. They were thinking of Ame­ rica’s responsibility to the country and to the people. Americans in the past had justified the continuation of Ame­ rican sovereignty over the Philippines by pointing to the fact that the Fili­ pinos would be unable to defend them­ selves against aggression; America was the protector. Now the country lay ex­ posed to all the horrors of enemy fire and sword. What right had the Ameri­ cans to expect continued loyalty from the Filipinos? But the camp heard that the morale of the Filipinos remained high. Filipino workmen who came into the camp on trucks to deliver lumber, held up their fingers in the V-salute. The camp made a tremendous effort to overcome its depression and bitterness. And there were rumors that the Allied forces in Australia had started their northward offensive. Java and New Guinea were being cleared of the enemy! And, it was, said, Bataan had, anyway, lost in importance. It was reported that Cebu was oc­ cupied by the Japanese, then Iloilo and Capiz. It did not matter. All this was only temporary. People began to look facts in the face, as they said, even the possibility that Corregidor might fall. This was a war of the world. 9 Note (1945)—The losses at Pearl Harbor were: 4 battleships, 3 destroyers, 1 mine-layer, 1 target vessel, and 1 large floating dry dock sunk or heavily damaged, with lesser damage to 8 other vessels including 3 battleships and 3 crui­ sers. The dead number 2,342, and the wounded 1,272, with 960 others who were reported lost and never found. The Japanese attack was launched from 3 aircraft carriers, 300 miles away; all but 20 of the Japanese planes re­ turned. The American naval losses were indeed crippling.

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The Philippines was only a small part of it. The people in the camp had never for a moment lost their faith, but now they were conquering their impatience. The Fall of Corregidor—The camp took the news of the surrender of Cor­ regidor,—when it came, surprisingly well. On the evening of May 6, nearly a month after the fall of Bataan, the rumor was all over the camp that Cor­ regidor was in the hands of the Ja­ panese. Again many scouted these sto­ ries and some persons said that it had been "reported” that General Wainwright had said that if there was a Japanese on Corregidor, he would eat him. However, internees had seen more than the usual activity in the air, and many of them went to bed that Wednesday night fearing that there was some truth in the rumor. The next morning, May 7, the Tribune appeared with the headline: "JA­ PANESE LAND IN CORREGIDOR”. The report ran: "The landing of Japanese forces in Corre­ gidor on the night of Tuesday, May 5, was an­ nounced in Japanese press dispatches from the front received at the Propaganda Corps yester­ day afternoon. Following are the dispatches: Firing on Corregidor Island, begun on May 1, was prelude to an all-out attack which began on May 4, and continued until May 5. At 11 p.m. on May 5, the Japanese army effected a landing on the east coast of Corregidor despite the desperate resistance of the PhiL-American forces... Up to 11 o’clock in the morning of Wednesday, May 6, the Japanese advance units had occupied Malinta Hill, which is the highest point in the heart of Corregidor, and fate of the fortress is already in the hands of the Japanese forces.”

All that day the internees still hoped that the story was either not true or that the Japanese units, if they had made a landing, would be wiped out or driven off. But news came in from friends outside that it appeared to be true that Corregidor had fallen, and there were also reports of Presi­

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dent Roosevelt having made a speech over the radio expressing the nation’s appreciation of the heroic resistance offered by the defenders of the fortress for many months, which sounded like a valedictory. The next day’s issue of the Tribune was anxiously awaited and knots of men and women gathered about every copy when the paper was delivered. The news was even worse than had been expected, for not only was there the headline "CORREGIDOR FALLS”, but a sub-heading read: "General Wainwright Orders Entire USAFFE to Sur­ render”. A 3-column illustration showed General Wainwright seated before the microphone of the KZRH station broad­ casting the order, with a Japanese army officer seated impassively in the back­ ground. The Tribune reported that Japanese vanguard units had "cornered the General and his staff” at the foot of Malinta Hill at 11 o’clock on the night10 of May 6, when he offered to surrender. "The commander of the Japanese unit im­ mediately took Gen. Wainwright and his staff as prisoners-of-war, thus making the remaining Phil-American forces in Corregidor leaderless and without any semblance of organization. Gen. Wainwright was accompanied by his chiefof-staff, Brig. Gen. Lewis S. Beebe; Col. John R. Pugh, aide-de-camp; and Majors Thomas Duely and William Lawrence.”

General Wainwright was quoted as having stated in his broadcast that he spoke by virtue of the authority vested in him by the President of the United States and that, first resuming direct command of General Sharp and all the troops under his command, he now ordered him and all other officers in command of American and Philippine forces operating in the Philippines to surrender. He said in explanation: 10 Should be "morning of”

FALL OF CORREGIOOR "To put a stop to the further useless sacri­ fice of human lives, I tendered yesterday, May 6, to Lt. Gen. Homma, commanding general of the Imperial Japanese Forces in the Philippines, surrender of the 4 harbor defense forts. He de­ clined to accept the surrender unless it included the forces under your (General Sharp) com­ mand. I left General Homma without any agree­ ment being reached between us. In the name of humanity I decided to surrender the American and Philippine Forces to the Japanese Imperial Forces. You will of course realize that this de­ cision was forced upon me by circumstances to­ tally beyond my control. Col. Jesse Treywick, you will report the text of this letter to General Sharp. These instructions are applicable to General Sharp, Col. Horan, and Col. Nakar. All troops of the American and Philippine armies operating in the Philippines and the harbor defenses of Manila Bay will immediately and voluntarily disarm and take the following step s...”

Then followed orders directing troops in Northern Luzon to assemble at Bayombong, or Bontoc, the commanding officers to present themselves to the Japanese commanding officer in Ba­ guio; troops in Panay and Negros to assemble at Iloilo and Bacolod, their commanding officers to report at Iloilo City; troops in Bohol to assemble at Loay, their commanding officers to re­ port in Cebu City; troops in Leyte and Samar to assemble in the vicinity of Tacloban and Catbalogan, their com­ manding officers to report at Legaspi; troops in Mindanao to assemble in the vicinity of Iligan and those in the Malaybalay district and the Agusan basin to assemble in the vicinity of Malaybalay or Butuan. "Those at places not mentioned above will assemble at the nearest place. These orders must be executed faithfully within 4 days after receipt. It is prohibited that arms, materials, vessels, or any other equipment be destroyed, burned, or dispersed.. .Defensive installations of all kinds, especially in areas where land or sea mines are laid, will be reported and their positions indicated by sketch... The Japanese Army and Navy will not cease their opera­ tions unless they fully realize the faithful­ ness of the execution of these orders, so they

105 must be carried out faithfully, otherwise the Japanese Forces will not cease their operations."

All this furnished the camp with topics for heated debate. It was pointed out that the report did not hang toge­ ther,—that it was very questionable, in the first place, that General Wainwright came in person to offer to surrender instead of sending some of his officers and that if he had later come to discuss the terms of surrender, he no doubt came under a flag of truce and could not properly have been taken "pri­ soner”. Wainwright himself was re­ ported to have said that agreement had not at first been reached and that he had "left" General Homma, deciding only later, apparently, to surrender "in the name of humanity”. Yet his very next statement was that his decision was "forced” upon him by "circum­ stances totally beyond my control". People asked one another whether Wainwright’s statement that General Homma had "declined to accept” the surrender unless this included the forces under General Sharp’s command, meant that Homma had threatened what amounted to a massacre of the Corregidor troops had he not issued the order he did." Others asked what he meant by the statement that he him­ self "resumed” direct command of General Sharp’s forces. They asked whether General Wainwright as a cap­ tured officer could still issue orders with any authority, especially with res­ pect to troops not under his immediate and direct control.13 They questioned 1 11 Note (1945)—This is what Homma did threaten. In December, 1945, Homma was ar­ raigned in Manila and charged, among other crimes, with having refused to accept the offer of surrender of Wainwright and having "un­ lawfully refused to grant quarter” to the Ame­ rican and Filipino forces on Corregidor and other fortified islands in Manila Bay unless he ordered the surrender of all USAFFE forces in the Philippines.

106

too, whether Wainwright could in such a position still act “by virtue of the authority” vested in him by the Pre­ sident of the United States. People in the camp expressed the hope that the commanders of the USAFFE forces elsewhere in the Philip­ pines would disregard this "order”, or that it would be countermanded by General MacArthur.12* In spite of the bitterness of the news of the surrender, many internees derived some satisfac­ tion from the revelation that USAFFE forces were still operating from one extremity of the archipelago to the other. Yet they were also forced to the realization that the immediate relief of the USAFFE forces in the Philippines could no longer be expected and they had to admit at least the possibility that the order for a general surrender might have been given with the ap­ proval of the highest authority. It was now evident, too, that Japan had been fighting only the forces in the Philippines at the time of the outbreak of war,—which could not have received any substantial reenforce­ ment, and that the Japanese had not yet met the forces that in time would be sent against them. It had taken them nearly 6 months to win the vic­ tory over what were purely local forces. And even if the Philippine de fense effort had thus ended, the Ja­ panese losses in time, men, and ma­ teriel in the Philippines had certainly 12 Note (1946)—According to "General Wainwright's Story” (Doubleday, 1946)), Homma threatened him not only with refusal to accept the Corregidor surrender but threatened him with seeing ten of his officers shot every day until he ordered the surrender of all USAFFE forces. General Sharp, in Mindanao, after re­ ceiving the? Wainwright radio broadcast ordering surrender, radioed General MacArthur in Aus­ tralia for instructions and MacArthur replied in effect, "Use your own judgment” (page 145).

THE CAMP

been of no inconsiderable importance in the general strategy of the Allies. The United States had obviously de­ cided that the aggression of Japan was of secondary importance; that Ger­ many had to be defeated first and that Japan could be taken care of later. There was something contemptuous in this subordination of the urgency of the threat of Japan, which few failed to see. The Filipinos outside the camp saw this, too. They said: "Yes, this Corregidor news is b a d . . . But the news about Germany is very good”. On Saturday, the 9th, General Hom­ ma made a "trium phal entry” into the city of Manila and a number of Ja­ panese war vessels entered Manila Bay. An army spokesman was quoted as saying: "The fall of Corregidor means the total col­ lapse of the Fil-American forces in the Philip­ pines and the end of American oppression and exploitation which the Filipino people have endured for more than 40 years... The fall of Corregidor is a turning-point in the life of the Filipinos as the people can now work in earnest for the establishment of a new Philippines.”

The Philippine Executive Commission ordered the raising of the Japanese flag over all government buildings and Filipinos and third-party foreigners were urged to display the Japanese flag at their homes. Vargas read an address of welcome and Homma made a brief response at his "official resi­ dence”,—which had been that of the U.S. High Commissioner, built only the year before. Banners suspended from captive balloons read "WAR IS OVER”. The Tribune the next day contained a brief paragraph which did much to cheer the Philippines. It was about President Quezon, and read: "Lisbon, May 8 (Domei). Still unaware of the United States scheme to utilize him as a pup­ pet as well as a source of Anglo-American pro­ paganda, Manuel L. Quezon, former president

“GOOD SPIRITS" MAINTAINED of the Philippine Commonwealth, arrived in San Francisco accompanied by members of his family and other officials, reports from San Francisco revealed. Observers here commented that it is a pity that Mr. Quezon has put up a futile pretense of resisting Japan when the Filipinos in the Philippines are now cooperating with the Japanese in the reconstruction of their country.”

In an inconspicuous corner of the Tribune for May 11, there was another news story which indicated the false­ ness of the position of the Japanese in the Philippines. It was about Lieut. Jorge Vargas Jr., eldest son of the Chairman of the Japanese-created Exe­ cutive Commission, having been found by a Domei correspondent in an under­ ground hospital in Corregidor suffer­ ing from malaria contracted while he was with the USAFFE forces in Bataan, whence he had been transferred on January 28. His first question was how his parents, wife, and brothers and sis­ ters were. "In spite of his indisposi­ tion, he was in good spirits.” Despite the fall of Corregidor, it could be said that not only the in­ terned people in Santo Tomas but the people of the Philippines, generally maintained their "good spirits’.' A num­ ber of men from the propaganda sec­ tion of the Japanese Imperial Army came into the camp and called ten in­ ternees to the Commandant’s office. They were asked to express briefly in writing their "reactions” to the fall of Corregidor; it was explained that the statements need not be signed. No doubt the Japanese officers hoped to get some statements that they could use in their propaganda. One internee wrote that he preferred not to com­ ment; others wrote more or less equi­ vocally, but at least one brave soul wrote that he considered the Japanese victory only a local one which he did not think would greatly affect the ul­

107

timate outcome of the war. The Ja­ panese used none of the statements. On May 12, the Tribune reported: "At 9:30 o’clock on the evening of May 10, 1942, Maj. Gen. Sharp, commander-in-chief of the Visayas and Mindanao, swore an uncondi­ tional surrender of all troops under his com­ mand and gave the necessary orders to the troops. Gen. Sharp sent an emissary bearing the flag of truce to the field headquarters of the Japanese forces in Mindanao at IF o’clock in the morning of May 10, in compliance with Gen. Wainwright’s order broadcast over Station KZRH last Thursday. The Japanese commander met Gen. Sharp at 9:30 o’clock last night. May 10, and accepted the latter's surrender offer. Be­ fore the surrender was effected, Col. Treywick, Gen. Wainwright’s personal representative dis­ patched from Manila, went through the defense lines of the Fil-American forces in Mindanao to convey Gen. Wainwright’s surrender order.”

The Tribune for that day revealed the very small quantity of war ma­ terial taken on Corregidor,—"the spoils included 11 big guns, 14 machine guns, 6 searchlights, 3 anti-aircraft guns, 1 rapid-firing gun, and 2 wireless appa­ ratus.” The Japanese, it was stated, also seized a 3,000-ton transport and 4 other vessels,—apparently of small im­ portance, "including gunboats, patrol boats, and speed boats". This gave rise to a hope in the camp that Corregidor had been virtually evacuated before the surrender and all im portant materiel removed or destroyed. While the Tribune for May 8 had stated that "when Corregidor fell, there were approximately 175 officers and 2,100 men of the U. S. Navy and 70 officers and 1,500 men of the Marine Corps”, rumors now ran to the effect that only some 700 men had been found on the island.14 The general spirit of acceptance in the camp was strengthened when, though during the few days past the 14 Note (1946)—According to General Wainwright, the Japanese took around 11,000 Americans and Filipinos on Corregidor.

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Japanese claimed an im portant naval victory in the Coral Sea, northeast of Australia, the radio news seeped into the camp to the effect that it had been an Allied victory. The hews about Ger­ many also remained favorable. The Tribune for May 16 contained the following Domei report, off-setting the paper's report of the 12th:

THE CAMP ernment if it were organized as a purely Phil­ ippine Red Cross independent of any connec­ tion with the American Red Cross. Accordingly, upon the recommendation of the Executive Commission, I have issued an executive order organizing a Philippine Red Cross which, when approved by the Commander-in-chief of the Im­ perial Japanese Forces, would automatically make illegal the presence and activities of any other red cross in the Philippines, except that of the Japanese."

"About 700 USAFFE soldiers were found Attached to this letter was a draft killed, 12,000 were taken prisoner, and large of Executive Order No. 31, "Creating amounts of equipment and supplies were seized by the Japanese forces during the all-out offen­ the Philippine Red Cross." The order sive against Corregidor and the other fortified provided for a public corporation to islands in Manila Bay which started on May be composed of not more than 9 per­ 5, according to an announcement issued by the headquarters of the Japanese Expeditionary sons to act as members of the board forces in the Philippines at 6 o’clock this after­ of directors and to be appointed every noon, May 14. According to the announcement, 3 years by the Chairman of the Execu­ 6 months stock of food supplies were seized tive Committee. which, with the large number of weapons cap­ Camus replied to the Vargas letter tured, indicated that the Fil-American forces on as follows under the date of April 20: the beleaguered islands could have put up pro­ longed resistance but succumbed to the over­ "In reply to your request that we transfer powering and relentless onslaught of the Ja­ all of the assets and liabilities of the Philip­ panese forces. Of the 12,000 troops taken pri­ pine Red Cross to the new organization ref­ soner, more than half were United States sol­ erred to therein, please be advised that in the diers, the announcement disclosed. The equip­ opinion of said committee [Central Executive ment and supplies seized by the Japanese in­ Committee], we are entirely without authority cluded 8 14-inch guns; 43 12-inch guns; 12 10-cm to make any such transfer. Canet guns; 10 15-cm howitzers, 10 15-cm Canet "Any attempt on our part to make such guns; 54 field guns, 4 truck-borne guns; 30 anti­ transfer therefore would not convey legal aircraft guns; 42 anti-aircraft machine guns; 20 title.” automatic cannon; 10 37-mm guns; 3 large-ca­ This letter brought the following liber trench mortars; 330 heavy machine guns; response from Vargas under date of 240 automatic rifles; 4,000 rifles; 1,200 revol­ April 24: vers; 250 automobiles; 8 airplanes, 20 search­ lights, 103,000 rounds of cannon ammunition, "With reference to your letter of the 20th 890,000 rounds of machine-gun ammunition, 22 instant advising this Office, that in the opinion torpedoes, and a 6 months stock of food sup­ of the Central Executive Committee the Phil­ plies.” ippine Red Cross in the Philippines is without Japanese “Reorganization” of the Red authority to transfer all its assets and liabilities Cross—In a letter dated April 16, Var­ to the local Philippine Red Cross which has just been organized with the approval of the gas wrote Judge Manuel Camus, Vice- Commander-in-chief of the Imperial Japanese Chairman and Acting Manager of the Forces in the Philippines, I am inclosing here­ Philippine Red Cross, in part as fol­ with a memorandum submitted by the Com­ missioner of Justice to the Chairman of the lows: Executive Commission on the matter15. I am "My dear Judge Camus: "Under existing conditions, it seems to me 15 The attached memorandum of Commissioner and, as a matter of fact a suggestion has been of Justice, Jose P. Laurel, in part read as fol­ made [sic] that the Red Cross in the Philippines lows: would be more useful and its services would "The present case is of an emergency charac­ be more readily availed of by the present Gov­ ter. It is apparent that the Imperial Japanese

ABOLITION OF THE RED CROSS entirely in accord with the view expressed by the Commissioner of Justice and, pursuant to the concluding paragraph of his memorandum, it is requested that you call another meeting of the Central Executive Committee and act on the suggestion of 'transferring all its con­ sumable stock and materials, and either loan­ ing or transferring its non-fungible properties or equipment of more or less permanent char­ acter, to the new Philippine Red Cross, subject to future arrangement that may be reached later . .. ’ , "In view of the urgency of the situation, it would be appreciated if you could take per­ sonal interest in this matter so that prompt action may be taken along the line indicated.” Forces do not want any help from the American Red Cross and hence it is necessary that we organize an independent Red Cross. It is also self-evident that this new organization should be allowed to make use of the materials and pro­ perties of the American Red Cross in the Phil­ ippines if it is to be placed in a position to afford immediate relief. As the branch of the American Red Cross in the Philippines is author­ ized to give away these materials and proper­ ties as part of its- humanitarian program, I see no reason why the same may not be done through the Philippine organization created for the same purpose. With respect to the materials and properties of non-fungible char­ acter, they may be loaned if they can not be given away. Whether considered as loan or a gift, however, what is important is that these materials and properties be placed at the dis­ posal of the new Philippine Red Cross, so that immediate aid may be given to the needy and the suffering. "I can not subscribe to the idea of having a branch of the American Red Cross operate in the Philippines with its own board of direc­ tors which, when called upon to act, may refuse to do so on the ground that it is with­ out authority because it is dependent on spe­ cific instructions from the Central Committee in the United States. This is particularly true in an emergency such as is involved in the present case. I can not close my eyes to the urgency of the situation, notwithstanding what is provided in the by-laws of the branch of the American Red Cross in the Philippines; nor can I be blind to the consideration that the materials and properties in question were ac­ quired out of funds collected in the Philippines. "This is not the time to raise technical ob­ jections to the step proposed to be taken, but to obviate any legal difficulty it is suggested that the branch of the" American Red Cross here in the Philippines, through its board of

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On April 27, Camus again wrote Var­ gas. He said: “As Executive Order No. 31, which is stated to have been approved by the Commander-inchief of the Imperial Japanese Forces in the Philippines on April 24, 1942, had declared the existence of the Philippine Red Cross (American National Red Cross) an illegal body and un­ able to function in its proper sphere in human­ itarian work,— "This is to inform you that all released funds, supplies, both medical and otherwise, of the Philippine Red Cross are here for you to take over and dispose of for relief purposes, prov­ ided that funds, supplies, and materials that have already been allotted for the maintenance of the different internment camps shall not be diverted from the purpose for which they have been allotted. "The personnel of this Philippine Red Cross, both regular and volunteer members, are pre­ pared to function to the best of their ability in carrying out the purpose of the Red Cross. "The above is in accordance with the action of the Central Executive Committee of the Phil­ ippine Red Cross at its special meeting this morning.”

That same day the Tribune reported that Executive Order No. 31 approved by the Commander-in-chief on April 24, had created a Philippine Red Cross — "an organization independent and separate from the present Red Cross society which is a chapter of the American Red Cross. Chair­ man Vargas.. .explained that, legally speak­ ing the Philippine chapter of the American Red Cross had no legal status in view of the present circumstances and has been operating merely by tolerance of the Japanese military authorities.”

The Tribune published Executive Order No. 31 in full. It differed from the draft which had been sent to Judge Camus a week or so before, as it provdirectors, approve a resolution transferring all its consumable stock and materials, and either loaning or transferring its non-fungible proper­ ties or equipment of more or less permanent character, to the new Philippine Red Cross, subject to future arrangement that may be reached later.”

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ided that the corporation was to be composed of not more than 15 persons (instead of 9), and the Chairman of the Executive Commission was to appoint these persons and designate from among them a chairman, a vice-chair­ man, a treasurer, and a secretary. And another provision had been inserted,— that it was "to perform its functions under the supervision and guidance of the Commander-in-chief of the Im­ perial Japanese Forces.” In the clause originally stating that the organization was to "carry on a system of national and international relief . . .” the words "national and international” were stricken out. The May 5 Tribune reported that Vargas had formed the board of direc­ tors by appointing 8 of the 15 mem­ bers, Alejandro Roces, Sr., chairman; Judge Manuel Camus, vice-chairman; Vicente Madrigal and Dr. Antonio G. Sison, members. He also appointed two advisers: Arsenio Bonifacio (As­ sistant Commissioner of the Interior) and Dr. Hilario Lara (Director of Pub­ lic Welfare). It was further reported that Vargas had "requested” the Mili­ tary Administration to appoint addi­ tional "advisers” to represent the mili­ tary forces and that all advisers would sit with the board in its deliberations. It was stated that of the directors still to be appointed, 3 would be Japanese and 4, Filipinos. On May 9 the paper reported that at a meeting held at Malacanan on the 5th to organize the new Red Cross, the first important resolution adopted was one expressing "profound grat­ itude to the Imperial Japanese Forces for many acts of benevolence shown the Filipino people and for the assist­ ance extended in connection with the creation of the new organization.” A drive for funds would be undertaken

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and the first contributions were P15,000 from Roces, P10,000 from Vargas, P10,000 from Madrigal, and P5,000 from L. R. Aguinaldo. On May 7 Vargas wrote Camus: "I wish to acknowledge receipt of your letter of April 27, 1942, and express my appreciation and that of the members of the Philippine Ex­ ecutive Commission for the decision of the Central Executive Committee of the Philippine Red Cross (American National Red Cross) to allow this office to take over the Red Cross funds and supplies, medical and otherwise, and to dispose of them for relief purposes. I have designated the new Philippine Red Cross as the Agency of this Office for the administra­ tion of the funds, supplies, materials, equip­ ment and other property that is being taken over by this Office from the Philippine Red Cross (American National Red Cross) to which you are hereby authorized to turn over the same. "Please be advised that the board of direc­ tors of the Philippine Red Cross, at its meeting held on May 6, 1942, passed a resolution to the effect that the funds now available of the old Philippine Red Cross (American National Red Cross) should be disbursed as follows: "80% for the American, European, and other internees and “20% for administration expenses and relief work. "In accordance with the third paragraph of your letter of April 27, 1942, please provide us with the necessary information regarding funds, supplies, and materials, other than those already allotted for the maintenance of the different internment camps, that are available for the new Philippine Red Cross. . .”

On the invitation of Roces, three men from the Santo Tomas camp at­ tended the May 6 meeting of the new Red Cross board, — Carroll, Wolff, and Bailey, the two latter, chairman of the Central Executive Committee, and treasurer, respectively, of the old Red Cross. In his report of this meeting to the internee Executive Committee, under date of May 7, Carroll said that the purpose of the meeting was to con-

END OF THE CAMP DIARCHY

111

sider the disposition of the funds in (Eddie) Tait as supervisor of kitchens the Philippine National Bank under and a committee headed by Mrs. Cham­ the name of the former Philippine Red berlain took over the direction of the Cross amounting to approximately annex. The established Philippine Red Cross P93.000. "During the discussion which ensued, Mr. had thus been abolished and the Jap­ Roces stated that it would be the policy of the anese were in effective control of a board of directors of the newly formed Philip­ new organization which had approp­ pine Red Cross to sympathetically consider the riated all its manageable assets. The problems and needs of the Santo Tomas in­ Japanese could simply and legitimately ternment camp and to cooperate to the fullest perhaps have formed a Philippine extent, consistent with the available food and supplies, in meeting those needs. This state­ branch of the Japanese Red Cross ac­ ment of the Chairman was agreed to by the cording to the accepted international other members of the board, both in their state­ procedure, but they chose to form an ments and in their attitude . . . With reference irregular organization through irre­ to the disposition of the approximately P93,000 gular measures. Americans had mentioned above, it was decided that 80% of been completely eliminated but the this amount should be made available to the Santo Tomas internment camp and that the Japanese could not well entirely elimi­ remaining 20% be made available for general nate the Filipinos, and the latter were relief in the city and administration expenses. obviously determined to work with the "It was further agreed that the 80% for San­ Americans in the camp in every pos­ to Tomas should be spent for food and sup­ sible way. plies, upon requisitions originating in the camp, End of the Executive Committeethrough a procedure outlined below, and it was understood that any reasonable requisition Red Cross Diarchy—One of the con­ would be approved. However, the Board in­ sequences within the camp was a sisted that strict economy be observed at all greater centralization of functions un­ times. der the Executive Committee,—the eli­ "After discussion, it was decided that a food mination of the duality within the and supplies committee should be formed as camp between the Committee and the a part of the Santo Tomas internee organization, Red Cross management which had at working under the Executive Committee as one times led to some friction. of the 'operating committees’ of the internees The food, the procurement of which organization. However, upon the suggestion of Mr. Wolff that the Chairman of the Philippine had been the principal responsibility Red Cross appoint a committee, Mr. Roces ap­ of the Red Cross in so far as the camp pointed Mr. Wolff, Mr. Bailey, and myself as was concerned, was becoming more members with authority to receive, approve, and forward to the Philippine Red Cross re­ and more meagre. The serving of one small bread-roll with meals had quisitions for food and supplies. . . ” The developments outside the camp stopped about the middle of April, al­ were necessarily followed by changes though children and young people con­ within the camp. The Japanese author­ tinued to receive small buns for a ities cancelled the passes of American month longer. The cracked-wheat, a Red Cross workers, bringing them plate of which with a cup of milkless back into the camp, and Cullens, as a coffee, had constituted breakfast, be­ Red Cross official from Washington, gan running low in April and cornmeal resigned as supervisor of kitchens and porridge was given several times a director of the women and children’s week instead. The supply of this was annex. He was replaced by Stewart however also running low. Weevils

112

and worms were picked out before cooking by groups of volunteer women workers, but often they still appeared on one’s plate. Some people said they enriched the protein intake. It was months since people had bitten into a piece of real meat, for supper usually consisted of boiled stringbean and other vegetable stews which had only a few particles of beef in them. On Sunday evenings people got a small piece of boiled chicken. Butter, milk, cheese, — these were but memories. Hardboiled duck eggs were served once a week, usually with some vegetable or with boiled yams. After the fall of Corregidor and with Jap­ anese ships in Manila Bay, it was said that what foodstuffs the Japanese Army had not seized were taken by the Japanese Navy. There were few people in the camp who by May had not lost from 20 to 40 or more pounds in bodyweight. Beer-bellies had disappeared long before, but now thighs and shanks and shoulders and arms showed their lean­ ness. Many of the men, — not at all that way inclined, were beginning to look like intellectuals, poets, divines! An unhappy circus strong-man, though he immediately got himself a job in the kitchen, watched his bulging muscles shrinking with acute anxiety. Internally and externally according to medicos in the camp, the loss of fat in the human body occurs in the following order: liver, muscles (includ­ ing the heart), and skin. The fat about the abdomen, being one of the principal reserves, is therefore not the first to go. Loss of fat in the limbs depends on the parts exercised, the exercised losing the more rapidly. There was as time went on a pro­ nounced disposition on the part of the internees to reduce their activity both

THE CAMP

in work and sport. The usual 3- minute round in boxing matches was reduced to 2 minutes. The Hot Weather — The camp was passing through the hot season, — March, April, and May, better than ex­ pected, though it was one of the hot­ test in many years. On Sunday, May 17, the temperature reached 102QF., the highest recorded by the Manila Central Observatory since 1885. Even this record was shattered the next day, when the tem perature r e a c h e d 103.3°F., setting an all-time record for Manila. Sleep in the overcrowded rooms was almost impossible and many people sat up in the halls and patios until 1 or 2 o’clock in the morn­ ing, waiting for the air to become a little less stifling. The men in the education building were more fortu­ nate than the rest as they could sit on the lawn around the building. Late in April at the request of the Executive Committee, curfew (time for the peo­ ple to come in from the campus into the buildings and report to the mon­ itors) was extended by Commandant Tsurumi from 7:30 to 9:00 p.m., cer­ tain limits being set to the parts of the campus which the internees might frequent. The grade school classes in the camp closed for the hot season at the end of April, the high school running on two weeks longer. Out of the 240 pupils in the grade school, 187 were considered to have attended regularly enough and to have done good enough work to receive certificates of studies. Out of the 25 eighth grade pupils, 20 passed. Of the 22 students in the fourth year, 18 were graduated. The Japanese authorities had stipulated that only physical and not political geo­ graphy might be taught, ancient, but not modern history; and only the early

THE JAPANESE CELEBRATIONS

history of the United States. The cer­ tificates issued were in mimeographed form and were signed by Rene Engel, Roscoe Lautzenhiser, and Mrs. Lois Croft. On May 3, four days before the sur­ render of Corregidor, the military authorities, claiming that "the enemy air forces based in the Philippines had been completely annihilated", lifted the blackout order in Manila, and this order was extended to the camp on the 5th. This again made reading possible at night in more than just a few hallways. Japanese Celebrations in the City.— Following the occupation of Cebu and Panay, but before the fall of Corregi­ dor, the birthday of the Emperor of Japan (April 29) had been observed by the Japanese in Manila by festi­ vities in which Filipino officials were required to take part. The people were directed to display the Japanese flag at their homes and to carry the flag on the streets that day Military Ordinance No. 3, dated Apiil 22, had declared: "It is hereby urohibited to hoist the existing rhilippine flag for the time being.” For the first time, Japanese flags, suspended from two crossed sticks, had been displayed over the main gate of the Santo Tomas camp, and at 10 o’clock, at the same time that a similar ceremony was observed on the Luneta, the Japanese guard at the camp and the Japanese civilians employed in the Commandant’s office gathered near the gate, and facing north, executed a salute to the Emperor, accompanied by a long blare on a bugle. The in­ ternees gathered on that section of the campus to receive packages from the outside, were directed by the Jap­ anese officer to stand up, as some of them were seated.

113 On May 9, the Japanese celebrated the fall of Corregidor (May 7) with a "triumphal entry" of General Homma into the city, but they were evidently dissatisfied with the public response, and another celebration was held on Monday, May 18. Filipino government officials and employees in Manila and also the employees in many private firms were compelled to march in the parade. The Tribune the next day con­ tained a 3-column photograph on the front page showing the Commandersin-chief of the the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy seated in highbacked chairs like thrones, the picture being taken from a low angle; very imposing indeed they looked. General Hayasi, Director-General of the Japanese Military Administra­ tion, made a speech in which he said that Prime Minister General Tojo had declared that "Should the Filipinos henceforth comprehend the real in­ tention of the Japanese Empire and cooperate with us as a member of the Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere, Japan would gladly grant them the honor of independence”, but that if they desired to secure this honor they must "willingly submit themselves to the Japanese Military Administration, and, getting rid of all the American influences, revive the original features of the Philippines”. The Tribune also reported that day that certain important streets in Mani­ la had been renamed "at the sugges­ tion” of Vargas and approved by the Commander-in-chief. Dewey Boulevard became "Heiwa” (Peace) Boulevard; Taft Avenue, "Daitoa” (Great East Asia) Avenue; Harrison Boulevard, "Koa” (Rising Asia) Boulevard; Jones Bridge, "Banzai" Bridge; Harrison Park, Rizal Park; Wallace Field and Burnham Green, Plaza Bagong Filipi-

114 nas. The Tribune of the 21st reported that Fort McKinley had been renamed "Sakura-heiei” (cherry); Fort Santiago, "Huzi-heiei” (from Mt. Huzi); Quartel de Espaha, "Yamato-heiei” (Yamato, poetic name for Japan); Zablan Field, "Kita-hikozyo”, and Nielson Airport, "Higasi-hikozyo” (North and East Air­ drome, respectively). Those internees allowed to leave the camp on pass for a few hours or days because of illness in their families or for other reasons, returned with extra­ ordinary stories of Filipino friendliness. Carromata drivers would ask “Are you from Santo Tomas, sir?” and if the answer was in the affirmative, many of them would refuse to accept a fare. One American said that he went to a public market and asked a young Fili­ pino the price of a chicken. It was 95 centavos, and he decided it was more than he could afford. "Are you from Santo Tomas?” asked the young man. And when the internee said "Yes”, he declared "I can not sell you anything; please take this.” And he handed him the chicken. The American remon­ strated, but the Filipino said, "Don't insult me, sir!” and refused to take back the fowl. Some restaurant keepers refused to charge American s~or British temporarily out of the camp for meals ordered by them. When an American would walk into a downtown bar, the barkeeper would say, after he had had his drink, "It has already been paid for, sir,—by that gentleman there.” And there would be a Filipino, nodding at him. Chinese storekeepers and busi­ nessmen were equally friendly to their American and English acquaintances; if they needed money the Chinese would insist on making them loans of considerable sums in some instances, refusing to accept even an I.O.U. The morale in the city was reported to be

THE CAMP

surprising. People would say: "Oh, we know this will only last a few months longer. We have to carry these Ja­ panese flags, but don’t think that means anything.” After the fall of Corregidor, life in Santo Tomas became much more mo­ notonous than it had been. Previous to that, the dullness of camp life had at times been relieved by distant bomb­ ing and cannon fire, by smoke clouds on the horizon and by flashes in the sky at night which had proved to the internees that fighting was going on not far from Manila and that the in­ vaders still did not have everything their own way. The cessation of such evidence of warlike activities had a depressing effect on the camp, although it was rumored that fighting was still going on in other parts of Luzon des­ pite Wainwright's surrender order. The Japanese always showed evidence of curiosity regarding camp opinion and state of mind, and early in April a mimeographed questionnaire was handed to all internees with instruc­ tions to state their "frank opinion”; no signatures were required. The questions were the following: “Which is more responsible for the outbreak of the present war among Japan, America and Britain? America or Britain? “What about your forecast of the war situa­ tion? 1. Will this war be a protracted one? 2. Will this war end in a short time? 3. Will this war end in a decisive victory for one party? 4. Do you think this war will end in an armistice, instead of ending in a decisive victory for one party? 5. Which is the big problem common to the countries concerned after the war? "Which treatment is more humane, the treat­ ment of the local Japanese here received from the American Army, or the one we give to the Americans and Britishers?’’

These questions received only ambi­ guous answers, according to those who

“BY BABYLON'S WAVE

had an opportunity to look them over, and what the Japanese made of them must be left to the imagination. "By Babylon’s Wave”—On May 16, the internee male chorus, a group of some 40 men under the directorship of Karl Kreutz, gave its first concert. It was a very creditable performance and among the numbers on the program was Gounod’s dramatic "By Babylon’s Wave”, after Psalm CXXXVI. Kreutz in introducing the selection stated that the words referred to the Babylonian captivity of the Jewish people and added that they might be taken "as applying to some other situations”. The words were: "Here by Babylon’s wave, Though heathen hands have bound us, Though, a-far from our land. The pains of death surround us; Zion! thy mem’ry still In our heart we are keeping And still we turn to thee. Our eyes all sad with weeping. *

*

*

*

*

"When mad with wine our foe rejoices, When unto their altars they throng, Loud for mirth then they call, A song! A song of Zion sing, lift up your voices! "O Lord, tho’ the victor command our cap­ tivity sad and lowly, How shall we raise thy song so holy, That we sung in our fatherland! O Lord, tho’ the victor command, How shall we raise thy song so holy, far from fatherland?

*****

"Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Jerusalem Let our tongues be silent from that hour, Jerusalem, if we forget thee. "Woe unto thee! Babylon, mighty city, For the day of thy fall is nigh!

***** The Dictated Broadcast—Twice the internees had been given hope that they might be able to communicate with relatives and friends outside the Philippines. About the middle of April it was announced that they might send the message, "Safe and well” to ad­ dressees in America and Europe, these

115

to be sent to Tokyo through the Com­ m andant’s Office and radioed from there. Again in early May the internees were given the opportunity to write short letters which, it was announced, would be given by the Commandant to a Brazilian consular official who was to leave Manila in the near future on a ship which was to convey exchanged diplomatic and consular officials. Some 2,000 people in the camp availed them­ selves of the opportunity, but whether their letters would ever reach their des­ tinations no one in the camp knew. On May 21, the following notice was put up on the bulletin boards in the camp: "By direct order of the Japanese Comman­ dant, three internees will make brief short­ wave radio speeches tonight to the United States and Great Britain over Station KZRH. Copies of these messages describing camp life at Santo Tomas and censored by the Japanese, have been posted on the bulletin boards in the various buildings for any interested persons to read. "Even though the messages are being made by order of the Japanese authorities, they have been submitted to and approved by the floor monitors and the members of the Executive Committee. By designation of the Commandant, a lady, a boy, and the General Chairman of the Executive Committee are to deliver the mes­ sages. The three internees are Mrs. Barbara Agnew, Paul Shaffer, and Earl Carroll.”

The broadcasts were made that night, as announced, and there was some criticism of Carroll and the Executive Committee for "assisting in a Japanese propaganda effort”. The facts were not without a dramatic quality. On April 8, the Commandant had informed Carroll that the Military Ad­ ministration had decided to broadcast a description of the "actual conditions” in the Santo Tomas camp to America and Britain and that six brief state­ ments were wanted,—these to be made by the Chairman of the Executive Com­ mittee, some lady representing the

116

women in the camp, a 10-year old child, the head of the hospital, a nurse in the hospital, and the director of the kitchens. He emphasized that it was important to bring out the "fact” that the internees were being well treated, and, holding out the hope that it might after all be possible to get a relief ship through, the director of the hospital should stress the need for medical and hospital supplies and the director of the kitchens should stress the need in the camp for milk, butter, cheese, eggs, meat products, and flour. Tsurumi said that a relief ship might come by way of South Africa. The Committee discussed the m atter and the following persons besides Carroll and Dr. Leach were selected to write the messages and make the broad­ casts; Evans on the food requirements; Mrs. J. E. Prismall, of the British Con­ sul-General's staff, to represent the women in the camp; Miss Grant to re­ present the nurses. These persons all agreed and drafted their own state­ ments- iviiich were then edited by a group composed of Brines of the As­ sociated Press, Mydans of the Life Ma­ gazine, Evans, and Carroll, with a view to correlating them and eliminating repetitions. Brines wrote the statement which was to be made by the child, 12-year-old Paul Schaffer, a bright lad with a good voice being chosen to read it. The messages were then approved by the Executive Committee and sent to the Commandant but no more was heard of the m atter for almost a month, and the Committee, with some relief, thought that it had been dropped. On May 7, the Commandant informed Carroll that the broadcast would pro­ bably be made on the 15th. He said that the messages of Leach, Evans, and Miss Grant had been eliminated. However, the 15th passed and the Com-

THE CAMP

mittee had almost concluded they would hear no more of the m atter when about noon on the 21st, Fukada, acting second-in-command to Tsurumi, informed Carroll suddenly that the broadcast would be made that evening. Mrs. Prismall who in the meanwhile had qualified for exchange with other British consular people, believing it advisable not to take part in the broad­ cast, had expressed her desire to with­ draw, and Carroll so informed Fukada. Fukada at first insisted that she take part but after some talk agreed to allow Mrs. Agnew, also from the Bri­ tish Consul’s staff, to take her place. Carroll at the same time asked him for the censored copies of the messages which had been prepared, but Fukada said that the messages would be avail­ able at the broadcasting station when he got there. Carroll stated that Com­ mandant Tsurumi had promised him that the censored messages would be returned to the Committee well in ad­ vance of the broadcasts, whereupon Fukada declared that he was sorry, but that, anyway, he would have time to read the messages at the station be­ fore broadcasting them. Not knowing what he and the others might be asked to say, Carroll was worried and called a meeting of the Executive Committee which forthwith adopted a resolution requesting that it be furnished with copies of the cen­ sored messages in accordance with the previous agreement, and stating that those who were to take part in the broadcasts reserved the right to refuse to say anything that would be contrary to what their consciences permitted. This resolution was immediately typed and taken downstairs to the Comman­ dant's office by Carroll, Duggleby, and Cecil. However, it was not delivered, for Fukada had apparently in the mean-

117

THE DICTATED CAMP BROADCASTS

time communicated with Headquarters and had secured the censored messages, for he handed them to Carroll as he rose to receive the committee. The messages, as originally submitted to the Japanese, follow, with the parts eliminated by them given in italics and the substitutions between parentheses: “This is Earl Carroll, General Chairman of of the Executive Committee of the internee’s organization, speaking from the Santo Tomas internment camp in the city of Manila. This broadcast to America and Britain has been ar­ ranged by the Japanese military authorities and I have been asked to describe our life within the confines of the University of Santo Tomas. "Here at historic Santo Tomas, more than 3,000 persons have been interned since early January. We occupy the halls and 114 rooms of four (the) university buildings. During day­ light hours we have access to the grounds out­ side the buildings. "Racially we comprise 2,200 Americans, 877 British, 28 Dutch, 34 Poles, 1 Mexican, 1 Cuban, and I Nicaraguan. Ages range from 2 to 75 (65) years. Interned women and children total 1,350. "When the first internees, numbering about 300, arrived at Santo Tomas (here) on Sunday afternoon, January 4, the Japanese captain of the guard appointed me as chairman of the internees and authorized the formation of an internee government. From that small begin­ ning, a comprehensive internee government has evolved. The Japanese have granted us consi­ derable autonomy within the camp. Now we have a 9-man executive committee which super­ vises and coordinates the activities of 28 ope­ rating committees, each of which is responsible for some phase of community service. Hundreds of internee men and women, all volunteers, are engaged in daily tasks essential to the men­ tal or physical welfare of the community. "Together we have built a community em­ bracing all the activities of an American or British town of 3,000 persons. Our population includes men and women from all stations in life and possessed of many diversified talents. A remarkable degree of solidarity and coopera­ tion in efforts to meet the problems arising from war and internment has been displayed from the first day. On our own intiative, we have established and still maintain essential, medical, sanitation, and policing services; religious groups meet regularly on Sunday and throughout the

week; a newspaper is issued twice weekly; com­ prehensive educational classes meet daily for children and adults; an extensive athletic sche­ dule operates; recorded musical programs are amplified daily throughout the camp; and once weekly the internees present an evening en­ tertainment. Internee guards patrol the buildings and the Japanese guards find it necessary to patrol only the front gate and the outer walls of the campus. "Our sanitation department, employing 500 volunteer workers, cooperating with the Manila health authorities, has been very successful in combating the health hazards of the camp, including flies and mosquitoes. "The picture of our camp, therefore is in double focus. On one side, our internees have worked with characteristic energy and ingenuity to make our camp as comfortable and sanitary as possible. On the other hand, recreational, athletic, educational, and entertainment activi­ ties have been developed as time-consuming di­ versions. However, despite our extensive work and play program, our thoughts are constantly underlined with the realization that we are with­ in the walls of an internment camp. "Our health has been surprisingly good due to the combined efforts of skilled internee physicians and willing sanitation workers. But medical supplies are scarce, and they can not be replaced except from abroad. In the future, each week will bring a greater demand for medicines, as the health dangers mount from the approaching rainy season and resistance is lowered by dietary deficiencies. “We are fed in 3 camp kitchens, staffed by volunteer internee workers, with the cooperation of the Philippine Red Cross, whose trucks enter the camp daily with such fresh foods as can be purchased locally. But we are in need of those foods to which we are accustomed and which are ordinarily imported into the Philip­ pines. For these foods we look to America and Britain. "This is the story of our life at Santo Tomas, —our work and our play. Despite the realiza­ tion of the grim realities and uncertainties of our internment, we are attempting to remain philosophical, cheerful, and patient. But we look to you in America and Britain for help, espe­ cially in supplying food and medical supplies, in the weeks that lie ahead."

*****

"I am Mrs. Barbara Agnew, a British citizen, speaking on behalf of the women internees at Santo Tomas. The great majority of the Ame­ rican, British, Dutch, and Polish women in Ma­

118

THE CAMP

nila, including many refugees from the China coast, and transients, are interned. Some have been released because of age, pregnancy, or ill health. A number of other women with small children are interned in two neighboring con­ vents where they are afforded special treatment. “One thousand two hundred women live in Santo Tomas. The majority with small children are housed in a separate classroom building, and the remainder occupy rooms in the admi­ nistration building. "We women are attempting to fulfill our part of the general camp program. We are, of course, responsible for the cleanliness of our rooms, and much of our time is consumed with the family laundry and sewing. Many, however, work daily on various kitchen chores, including the preparation of vegetables. Those with small children generally have their hands full attend­ ing to juvenile wants. "Games such as bridge and mahjong are popular at night, for those who are not too tired to play. Adult educational classes in such subjects as languages, arts, and music-apprecia­ tion have afforded recreation for more. "It is not a tempting life, to be sure, but the women generally have borne up well. Now, however, there is increasing worry over the shortage of milk, fats, and other foods neces­ sary for children. "We, of course appreciate the treatment ac­ corded us by the Japanese authorities. We are proud of our share in the successful operation of the camp thus far. However, our main con­ cern is for our children and we earnestly hope that means may be found whereby we may soon return with them to America and Britain and the more favorable conditions for their normal development to which their youth enti­ tles them."

*****

"I am speaking from Manila for the American and British boys and girls in Santo Tomas in­ ternment camp. My name is Paul Schaffer and I was born in Trenton, Mo. I am 12 years old. There are 375 of us boys and girls in the camp. Most of us live with our mothers in a building that we call the annex. It looks like a small grammar school in California and we occupy 15 former classrooms (rooms). It is the first time / have slept in a schoolroom without having the teacher get mad. "In fact, the teachers we have for our in­ ternee school are very nice to us. All of us, British and American, go to school together every day in the open air from 9 o’clock in the morning until noon. We study mathematics, English, and general science. We play all after­

noon, except when we have to help our mothers wash the clothes or dishes. Some of the boys earn a little money shining shoes. "So far, it has been very sunny and hot and I have a good coat of tan from playing baseball and basketball. The British boys also play soccer. We have boxing, too, with a real ring. And we have made quite a sport out of swatting flies. The sanitation department gives candy to those who kill the most flies because it helps to protect everybody’s health. Two mosquitoes count for one fly. "A barn dance is held once a week for the boys and girls and we all dance the Virginia Reel. But I get more fun out of the internee floor show, which we have every Saturday night. Our performers are very good and some of them used to be professionals before the war. "The biggest joke around the camp always is the way everyone has to stand in line to take a shower or get a drink of water or get his supper. We used to joke, too, when people opened a can of sardines for dinner. But now the Red Cross has taken over and we are served hot food. We boys and girls have special food and we eat three times a day from the annex kitchen instead of twice because we must have food to grow. We have all learned to like a lot of new things, such as pechay and crackedwheat mush. "It has been very nice to talk to you. I hope I have been able to make you see that the in­ ternee boys and girls are in good spirits. Good­ night."

The speeches were made over the KZRH radio station that night between 10:30 and 11:00. Those who criticized Carroll and the Executive Committee for having com­ plied with the order to take part in the broadcast were of course not fa­ miliar with all the facts, which, at the time, could not be revealed. No un­ truths were spoken though the em­ phasis, after the censoring, was some­ what misleading. But it could be ex­ pected that listeners in the United States and Great Britain would make the correct inferences. Most of the people in the camp were satisfied that the best had been made of an oppor­ tunity to let the outside world know something about their situation and

THE BATAAN REFUGEES

were convinced that the Committee had skillfully handed a delicate matter. Memorial Day—Memorial Day, May 30, was observed in the camp in the Fathers Garden. The audience sang the hymn, "America”, some of the singers breaking down under the stress of their emotion. Byron Ford read Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. The Reverend Foley who was in charge of the observance, declared in a short address that "in America the flags will be at half-mast to-day ..., in honor of men who gave their lives for the ideals of their country. . .We can not see those flags flying in the breeze, but they are in our h e arts. . . ”

7 Story of The Refugees from Bataan. With the arrival in the camp of the refugees from Bataan, it became pos­ sible to put down a number of per­ sonal narratives which corroborated each other and furnished an outline of what had transpired there. One man from the Pampanga Sugar Mills set out for Bataan on the night of the 1st of January with his wife and two other couples, hoping that they might be allowed to take refuge on Corregidor. They knew they could not get to Manila, because of the des­ truction of the bridges. He said that the Army had started building an air­ field 3 or 4 kilometers from Del Car­ men in October and that there was an engineering unit of 180 men there. They were still leveling the field at the outbreak of the war and hangars had not yet been built, although the structural steel for the purpose was on the ground. A week before, when a "state of alert” had been ordered, an air-corps unit of around 80 officers and men had arrived and some 24 or 25 pursuit-planes were based at the

119 field. These were P-35’s, mounted with only light machine guns. On Wednesday, December 10, the planes were in the air most of the morning and had come down for refueling when, at around 1 o’clock in the afternoon, Japanese bombers attacked, destroying most of the planes on the ground. The same morning, the commanding officer of the squadron, Lieutenant Merritt, lost his life in sinking an enemy trans­ port off Vigan. He had swooped down low over the ship and his first ma­ chine-gun burst penetrated to the am­ munition hold, his own plane being caught in the resulting explosion. The officer was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. The loss of their commander and their planes took the heart out of the youtmul pi­ lots and they moved to the sugar cen­ tral to await orders. Among them, Lieutenant Hall was lajer cited for bravery in Bataan, he also receiving the D.F.C. Unhappily, this brave of­ ficer, too, was subsequently listed among the missing. Though the field near Del Carmen continued to be bombed almost daily after December 10, the engineers stayed on the job, trying to keep it in useable condition. Three or four days after the attack on Clark Field on the 9th, the people at Del Carmen saw five flying-fortres­ ses coming from that direction, headed for Manila, confirming the fact that not all of these planes had been des­ troyed by the enemy. The Del Carmen people said that there had been con­ siderable fifth-column activity around the sugar central and the nearby air­ field, especially by way of signalling at night with lights. The central itself was never bombed. The three families left in three auto­ mobiles about 8:30 in the evening of January 1 and arrived at Mariveles about 2:40 in the morning, a journey of around 100 kilometers. They passed through Lubao, Pampanga, where freight-cars and trucks with supplies intended for Bataan had been bombed about noon on the preceding day. There had been no great loss of sup­

120

plies, but many people had been killed or injured at the railway sta­ tion. All the way to Mariveles the three cars had been mixed in with USAFFE convoys moving in an orderly manner in the same direction. The Del Car­ men people had been frequently halted by sentries, but they carried a letter from an army officer stating that they had rendered valuable services to the USAFFE and that it was requested that they be aided to reach Mariveles or Corregidor. They found that Mariveles had also been bombed on the preceding day; a fire had swept it and there was little left standing in the town. They were advised by sentries, to go back on the road for a few kilome.ters and stay there until the next morning, which they did, spending the night in their cars. The next day, however, they were not permitted to re-enter Mariveles and directed to go to General MacBride’s headquarters at Km. 167 (Ma­ riveles is at Km. 178,—from Manila). They showed the General their letter and he said: "Since there is no place else for you to go, you may as well stay here”. His headquarters had been established there just that week, and the officers and soldiers were camped under the trees. The weather was so fine that they had not even pitched their tents. The place was rather hilly country, some kilometers from the Manila Bay coastline, and was thickly wooded. There were no mos­ quitoes in the locality. The Del Car­ men people made their camp under the big trees and for a time subsisted on supplies they had brought with them. There were 10 American civilians camped in the neighborhood. Later on they all received supplies from the quarterm aster who, in time, also fed some 17,000 civilian Filipino refugees who lived in three different camps,— at Cabcaben, at Km. 165 (near Lamao), and at Km. 180 (2 kilometers beyond Mariveles). According to one source, there were ugly reports of the "high-jacking” of supplies by certain army men and provincial officials and even of simi­

STORY

lar interference with supplies destined for the troops at the front. Some said that the drivers of the trucks gave away supplies to unlisted refugees and arrived at their destinations with little of their loads left. As early as the second week in Jan­ uary, army meals were reduced to two a day. Rations for the American and Filipino soldiers were the same ex­ cept that the Filipinos got more rice and fish than the Americans and the Americans got more meat-hash. The lack of ice, however, made it diffi­ cult to transport fresh meat and fish to the lines. Some supplies from the Visayas, rice and canned goods, reached Bataan in February and early March. The 26th Cavalry, a Philippine Scout regiment, ran out of feed for the horses and, in March, the animals were butchered. Every one was glad to have a little horse-stew. For the first six weeks the Del Carmen people listened especially at night, to the heavy front-line artillery fire, which gradually dwindled in vo­ lume and became sporadic early in March. The Japanese attem pted land­ ings behind the USAFFE lines across the peninsula, but were always re­ pulsed with heavy losses. Early in February they almost succeeded at one place only 4 or 5 kilometers from Mariveles, at which time it was dis­ covered that the Japanese had secret stores of supplies there, brought no one knew how long before the out­ break of the war. The Del Carmen people also heard the heavy guns of Corregidor again and again shelling the Cavite coast and other localities along the Bay shore where the Ja­ panese were reportedly constructing barges for the invasion of the island fortress. Corregidor was bombed very heavily bv the enemy during the first week of January, but after that there seemed to be little bombing until to­ ward the end of March. The Japanese bombed the USAFFE front lines on Bataan almost continuously, however, and with increasing ferocity. Reports were that the USAFFE artillery fire was deadly and did great execution,

THE BATAAN R EF U G E E S

but in so far as the air-arm was con­ cerned, the USAFFE appeared to have only three planes left and these were seen only rarely. The Japanese sent over a photographic plane almost every day and this became so familiar that the soldiers called it "Photo-Joe”. The thick woods, however, effectively concealed the army installations in the rear of the lines and there was never much bombing there until March 25 and after. The Del Carmen people never saw General MacArthur, but on several occasions they heard motorcycle si­ rens and were told that he had passed through on inspection. General Wainwright was in command in Bataan and stayed there until he took over the command of all USAFFE forces in the Philippines at the departure of General MacArthur for Australia, after which Wainwright made his head­ quarters on Corregidor. It was estimated that there were some 98,000 USAFFE troops in Ba­ taan, of whom a maximum of 10,000 were Americans.1 The best relations existed between the American and Filipino soldiers. Daily communiques were issued regarding the fighting, and on January 15 MacArthur made the definite statement that "hundreds of planes and thousands of men” were*I. 1 Note (1946)—The forces available in the Philippines at the beginning of the war num­ bered around 19,000 U.S. Army troops, 12,000 Philippine Scouts, and around 100,000 partlytrained Philippine Army troops. There were in addition some 8,000 men in the U.S. Army air forces, equipped with around 250 planes. According to "General Wainwright’s Story,” published in 1946, around 40% of the available armed forces were lost in the withdrawal into Bataan. He said that when he took com­ mand there, he had 25,000 men in his own Corps I, 35,000 men in General Parker’s Corps II. and 10,000 service corps men. On Corre­ gidor there were another 10,000 men, including a regiment of marines. In the north he had two small guerrilla bands, totaling 2,000 men, still reachable by radio. His "navy” consisted of 4 motor torpedo boats, 2 or 3 small mine­ sweepers, and a few miscellaneous craft. His "air force” consisted of one P-40 in bad con­ dition.

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on the way to reenforce the defenders. Up to the end there was the liveliest hope that reenforcements would reach Bataan in time. For a time, the USAFFE used the provincial hospital at Balanga. Hos­ pital No. 1, which had room for some 300 patients, was originally at Limay, and took care of the most badly wounded. Less serious cases were taken farther back from the front lines to Hospital No. 2 near Cabcaben at Km. 162. Later, with a shift in the the fighting lines, Hospital No. 1 was moved to the rear of Hospital No. 2, to a place called "Little Baguio”, at Km. 168. The hospital there had a sheltered operating room. On the 13th or 14th of March, the enemy bombed the village of Cabcaben with incen­ diary bombs made of white phospho­ rus. Some 40 Filipino women and children were brought into the hospi­ tal, it was reported, "with their bo­ dies still smoking”. There were on the morning of April 5, at this Hospital No. 2, then the advance hospital, some 4,000 patients of whom about half were wounded and the other half ill, the latter suffering mostly from dy­ sentery and malaria in about equal proportions. Fifty-six were American officers, 90 were Filipino officers, 356 were American soldiers, and the rest were Filipino soldiers. This was only a few days before the surrender. According to the Del Carmen peo­ ple, there was little sickness until the last, when they heard that beri-beri was becoming bad among the troops. All troops were regularly dosed with quinine which was put in the drinking w ater to conserve the supply. A quan­ tity of quinine was received from the South late in March and a supply of vitamin tablets arrived too. It was estimated that up to the end of March, the USAFFE had suffered a total of around 8,000 casualties as against from 40,000 to 50,000 suffered by the Japanese. Heavy sectional bombing behind the lines began when with the onset of the hot season the trees began shed­ ding their leaves. A number of rice-

STORY

mills having been set up near the place where the Del Carmen people were camped and the locality having been made a food-dump, the Japanese discovered it and started dropping bombs. One fell within 400 yards and the next day another exploded within 200 yards of the big tree under which one family lived. The quarterm aster had by this time moved his dumps some 3 kilometers to the south where there was a better covering of leafage. The people from Del Carmen after mak­ ing another effort through MacBride, to get permission to go to Corregidor, moved to the new location, too. MacBride had said that it might be pos­ sible to make arrangements for the women to be taken to Corregidor, but the women would not hear of leaving their husbands. On the second day at the new camp, an incendiary bomb exploded within 50 feet of the Del Carmen party, and this so frightened everybody that they decided to move to some cave or hole in Mariveles Mountain., An old resi­ dent in the district directed them to a spot just off the road near Km. 174. There was only shrubbery growing there, but shelter was provided by huge boulders on the slopes of the mountain. The three families found dug-outs constructed there by navy men in January, and moved into them. They got their water from a nearby creek. There were mosquitoes in this area, and though they took quinine daily, they later developed malaria due to their stay in the spot, which was relatively short, only from the 1st or 2nd of April to the 9th, the day of the surrender. The surrender took them by sur­ prise, for up to the last there were rumors of the arrival of reenforce­ ments. Officers and soldiers alike had appeared confident,—at least until the 5th, after which the Del Carmen people lost contact with the troops. They never knew just what happened. Some 31st-Infantry men, an all-Ameri­ can regiment, told them later that they could have held out if they had had some food in their stomachs and

a few planes of their own overhead. According to another source, the men at the front had had nothing to eat during the final 36 hours. They were heavily outnumbered, and they were shelled, bombed, and machine-gunned incessantly, the shelling taking the greatest toll. The last fighting was with hand-grenades and knives and even stones. An American officer in command of a front-line unit told his men, “Do what you like from now on. If you can save your life, do so.” An­ other officer, separated from his men, was overtaken by darkness, and lay down in the jungle to get some rest. He had picked up a Japanese helmet during the day and kept that on his head. During the night he heard some one approaching. The unknown stum­ bled over him and the officer pre­ tended that he was asleep. Then he felt a hand passing softly over his body and touching his Japanese helmet. This appeared to satisfy the man and he lay down beside the officer with a grunt of weariness. When the man, who must have been a Japanese sol­ dier, was asleep, the American quietly crept away, doing the Japanese no harm. On the night of the 8th, the Del Carmen people heard the noise of heavy traffic over the road below them, moving to the south and then turning west over the new cut-off to the west coast of the peninsula. After midnight they heard great explosions in the direction of the ordnance and signal corps dumps, as if ammunition and supplies were being blown up. About 8 o’clock on the morning of the 9th, a civilian employee came to them with a message from Colonel McConnel of the quarterm aster corps to the effect that he did not know what to advise them to do except that if the Japanese came in they should do whatever they were told, without argument. One of the Del Carmen men accom­ panied the messenger to the Bay shore several kilometers away, where there was a small pier, and got there just

THE BATAAN REFUGEES

in time to see a launch chugging off with a load of army nurses. All the installations had been blown up and there was nobody left but a few Ame­ rican hospital-corps men and some Filipino employees. Japanese planes were overhead and swept down from time to time to strafe the beach. They also dropped a few bombs over the launch, but did not hit it. The Del Carmen man made his way back to the dug-outs on the mountain, taking advantage of every tree and ditch and crawling through a culvert to cross the road. During the rest of the day the Del Carmen people saw American and Filipino soldiers and Filipino ci­ vilians alone or in small groups com­ ing down the road or crossing the fields below. The soldiers carried their rifles and some of them waved white handkerchiefs. At times they heard machine-gun fire from a nest concealed somewhere on the moutain, but they did not see any of the soldiers drop. Later in the afternoon they saw army cars and trucks rushing up and down the road, flying the Japanese flag. About 4 o’clock, the Del Carmen people decided to join what appeared to be the general movement toward Mariveles, taking two of their cars and leaving one man to guard the other which had a defective battery. Just before they left they were joined by a young man and his Chinese wife and their small baby. The man, who was a civilian employee of the Army, had been connected with a religious organization in Burma. The baby had been bom in Hospital No. 1 in Feb­ ruary and had been named "Victoria Bataan”. Reaching the road, the party came upon two Japanese sentries, the first Japanese they saw close-to since the beginning of the war. One of them spoke a little English and when they told him they were on their way to Mariveles, he said, "All right.” They arrived at Mariveles about 6 o'clock. The town was full of USAFFE soldiers with only a few officers in sight. There were no Japanese in evidence. No one seemed to know what to do. They met

123

an American quarterm aster lieutenant who told them he could give them a battery for their car and they all went back, including the Lieutenant and his wife. When they reached the sen­ tries at the road junction, they were told they must remain there until the following morning, but the Lieutenant asked whether it would not be all right for them to go back and spend the night at his house in Mariveles and report at the junction the next morning at 7 o’clock. The sentry said, "All right”. The next morning they started out but were halted in the center of the town by the Japanese who were stoping all cars and taking out everything in the nature of weapons and tools, including not only bolos, but picks and shovels. The street was full of all sorts of goods which the Japanese had seized from people who were seeking to leave the town either to return to their homes to the north or in the hope of reaching Manila. The Del Carmen people and the Lieute­ nant and his wife were made to get out of their car and told to get into an army reconnaissance car which was being driven by a Filipino civi­ lian who was on his way to Manila. A Japanese officer gave them a written pass which, as it was in Japanese, they could not read. The young Chinese mother and her baby were in another car which was also stopped, and the Del Carmen people did not see them again. For several hours they drove on against the stream of the victorious Japanese army on its wav to Mari­ veles. They were frequently stopped by Japanese soldiers who broke ranks and searched them and their baggage, relieving them of everything that took their fancy. The men in the party were roughly treated on several oc­ casions and everyone was in desperate fear. The pass that had been given them aroused amusement every time they showed it. and it was passed around among the Japanese soldiers so much that soon the writing was almost obliterated. An officer then

124

gave them a new pass, but the word­ ing must have been similar to the first, for it also elicited laughter. After a few hours, the Lieutenant and an American enlisted man whom they had picked up on the way, were or­ dered out of the car and forced to shoulder loads and start back to Mariveles; the Lieutenant was given a heavy box of ammunition to carry. His weeping wife was not permitted to accompany him. Later on, a Ja­ panese ordered one of the Del Car­ men civilians to get out of the car, yanking at his arm, but his wife grabbed his other arm, and after a short tug between them, the soldier gave up. About 1 o'clock in the afternoon, a Japanese colonel told the party that their car was interfering with the traffic and that they would have to walk, but when an under-officer, ap­ parently an aide to the Colonel, saw that one of the American women could walk only with a cane, he took pity on the party and stopped an empty truck being driven north by a Filipino and told them they could ride in that. The truck had a Ja­ panese placard on the windshield. All the way from Mariveles a piti­ ful stream of Filipino men, women, and children was moving northward along the sides of the road. As the USAFFE line across the peninsula had fallen back, these people had fled from their homes, trusting to the defense line between them and the enemy. They had been living in the refugee camps, fed by the Army, but now there was nobody to give them food. They hoped to get back to their homes, but few would find the homes as they had left them. The Del Carmen people saw no signs of any Filipino houses until they had reached Lubao, in Pampanga. The whole Bataan countryside was laid waste. There was room in their truck for some of these weary peo­ ple, and when one of the Del Carmen

STORY

women signalled to a little girl she recognized to climb onto the truck and the child was clambering aboard, shouting to her mother to join her, the driver interfered and said that he was not perm itted to allow any others to ride on the truck. When they arrived at Balanga, where the Japanese had established their headquarters, the Filipino who had driven them part of the way in the reconnaissance car was arrested as a USAFFE deserter and also the driver of the truck was accused of having tried to make off with it; both men were locked up. The party stayed overnight at Balanga and the next day military police took them and another American couple with two children to San Fernando. Arrived there, they were treated to white bread, butter, and cocoa, the first time they had had such delicacies for months, and no­ thing, they said, ever tasted better. In the afternoon they were brought into the Santo Tomas camp, April 11, and, as has been recounted, no one there would believe them at first when they said that Bataan had been surrendered. The Del Carmen people learned from an American who was interned in the camp some time later that the young Chinese woman and her child and the people with her had been detained at Mariveles for two days and that then they had started out for the north on foot. She had been separated from her husband and was anxious and un­ strung. She began to walk much fas­ ter than the two elderly people she was with, and despite their pleas that she remain with them she disappeared with the baby, Victoria Bataant in her arms, around a bend of the road ac­ companied by a young Filipino sol­ dier who had taken it upon himself to look after her. Later it was learned that the husband was in the prisoncamp at Cabanatuan. But where was his young wife and little Victoria Bataan?

THE CONSUL

FOR THAILAND

125

lish. He asked Mr. Perkins sympathe­ tically whether these frequent inspec­ tions did not molest him too much. Perkins answered that they were rather a bother. "I will fix it so you E. A. Perkins, a prominent Ameri­will no longer be bothered,” said the can lawyer in Manila and Consul- Japanese. And then he took a placard General for Thailand, was brought to inscribed with Japanese characters Santo Tomas early in May. On Jan­ and pasted it on the door. Later Per­ uary 5 he had been taken to the Rizal kins’ Chinese cook spelled out that the Stadium, and an hour or so later to placard stated: "This house is the military police headquarters at Villa- property of the Imperial Japanese mor Hall. After several hours there, Navy”. A few days later, the same Japanese he was allowed to return to his home, being told that he and his daughter returned with an officer in uniform would be confined there pending the whom he said was "the Commander determination of his status which ap­ of the navy forces”. He said, "Will peared to puzzle the Japanese. During you cooperate with us by leaving the the 13 months he was confined in his house? It is to be occupied by our home, the house was "inspected” more officers.” Perkins asked how much than 20 times by parties usually con­ time he might have to move out, and sisting of several officers and three was answered: "One hour”. He was or four soldiers, sometimes by par­ also told that he and his daughter ties of arm-banded civilian Japanese. might take along with them only one Though there was a doorbell and also suitcase each of wearing apparel and a metal knocker on the door, their one basket each of foodstuff. After a favorite method in announcing their serious discussion among themselves arrival was to pound on the door whether two small metal folding with the butts of their guns. Upon chairs were "furniture” or not, the opening the door, Perkins would first Japanese permitted them to take be searched for weapons, then he these with them, too. They were in­ would be questioned as to his name, terned then for several months, at the nationality, etc. The following hap­ Ateneo, a Jesuit institution, where the pened on one such occasion and is Japanese confined American Jesuit representative of most of these epi- priests and some other Americans. Some time later, Perkins was taken back to his house and there was or­ "Who are you?” "I am the Consul-General of Thai­ dered by the same officer, the "Com­ m ander”, to open the safe. He did so land." and the officer looked through the "Passport!” "Oh, it says here you are American! contents, which included a postageWhy you lie? You say you are Eyeta- stamp collection worth some P15,000. The officer said he would take the lian, Japanese friend. You are not collection for himself. Then he found Eyetalian; you are American! Why you four one-dollar bills. He said: "Here, lie, heh?” you take this. We good to you, huh?” "I did not say that I am an Italian. Perkins said: "But there is an order I said that I am the Consul-General out against using this money.” of Thailand.” "Never mind. You take. Keep quiet." "Oh, Thailand! Japanese friend. But Perkins then ventured to ask for you are American. And your pass­ some kind of receipt in evidence that port. It does not say 'Thailand'. It say he had turned his house and its con­ 'Siam'. You lie and lie all time.” tents over to the Imperial Japanese One of the last visits was from a Navy. This so infuriated the officer Japanese who spoke very good Eng­ that he slapped the American’s face,

8 The Story of Mr. Perkins, Consul-General for Thailand.

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saying that everything that he had owned belonged to the Japanese Navy and that it didn’t have to give him any receipt. A short time after Perkins had come to Santo Tomas, he was called to the Commandant’s office. A staff officer awaited him there, and he was handed a paper stating that the Army had decided to take his private libra­ ry. Some lines on the lower half of the sheet were to the effect that he "consented” to this, and he was asked to write his signature below. The li­ brary included one of the most va­ luable Filipiniana collections in the country, over 1,600 titles. Perkins said: "I can not turn over the library because I am no longer in possession of it. The Navy has taken over my house and all its contents. I would get into trouble with the Navy if I now signed a document turning the library over to the Army”. Commandant Tsurumi glanced at the staff officer and looked worried. He took Perkins aside and said earnestly: "The Army has decided to take your library. You had better sign.” Perkins signed. The Students from Siam—Perkins as Consul-General of Thailand, was res­ ponsible for some 200 Siamese students in Manila, and had under him a former Bureau of Education official, Q. E. Richardson, who had been appointed superintendent of Siamese students in Manila by the Siamese government at Perkins’ request some years before. There were during some years as many as 300 of these students to look after and as much as P250,000 a year was disbursed for them. These funds were remitted by the Siamese Gov­ ernment in part through a British bank and in part through a Chinese bank, and as all anti-Axis banks were closed by the Japanese, Perkins early during the occupation sought an in­ terview with the Japanese ConsulGeneral to take up the m atter of pro­ viding for the support of the stu­ dents, as there were ample funds in the banks. The Consul-General, how­ ever, refused to receive him, and on the advise of a Japanese army officer,

STORY

Perkins then wrote the Consul-General a letter on the subject which was personally delivered to him by a de­ legation of the students themselves. It was never acknowledged. A request by Perkins that he be allowed to te­ legraph the Thailand Foreign Office that he was no longer able to handle that country’s consular business in Manila, was curtly refused. However, Richardson was given an official pass which enabled him to move about Manila and even to go in his own car to Los Banos, 60 kilometers from Ma­ nila, where there were a number of Siamese students. Richardson ar­ ranged for two separate loans of cash from the Military Administration, and a sum of money was also made available to him through a telegraphic transfer from Bangkok. He was also authorized to draw limited quantities of rice through the National Rice and Corn Corporation (Naric), these pur* chases as well as the loans to be de­ bited against the Thailand funds fro­ zen in the banks. However, the perstudent expenditure perm itted was less than one-third of the regular al­ lowances. The Siamese students on June 22 left Manila in a body on a ship supposely bound for Thailand, and Richard­ son was ordered to report at Santo Tomas to get a "perm anent” pass in recognition of the “good w ork” he had done; so he had been promised. But at Santo Tomas he was given only a 4-day extension, after which, he was told, he would have to come back for permanent internment. About a fortnight later it was reported that the ship carrying the students was back in Manila, the students still aboard with the exception of three of them. The ship had narrowly es­ caped being blown up during a bomb­ ing of a port in Formosa and the captain had been ordered to return to Manila. The three students missing had been drowned when they jumped overboard during the bombing. Thailand had sent a total of aroupd 2,000 students to the Philippines dur­ ing the twelve years prior to the war.

SOUTHERN LUZON

Before the revolution in Siam, the study of the French language had been obligatory in the higher grades in the schools there, with German or Eng­ lish optional. After the revolution, the study of English was made com­ pulsory, and French and German might be taken by those who wanted them. Never more than half of the number of students Thailand sent to the Philippines were sent to study in Japan, and sometimes Siamese stu­ dents in Japan would transfer to the Philippines. The boys studied mainly agriculture, forestry, commerce, and dentistry; the girls, nursing, pharma­ cy, and music. Upon their graduation in the Philippines, examinations were sometimes held in Manila, and the 20 or so students obtaining the highest ratings were allowed to compete for an opportunity to be sent to the United States for a year of post-graduate work. This showed what the Siamese thought of the Philippine educational system, which the Japanese so con­ demned. They recognized that their students would get in the Philippines what they needed,—a modern Western education adjusted to Oriental require­ ments. A Japanese officer while in an expansive mood once said to Richard­ son: "Your Siamese students are all right, but we’ll have to knock this American individualism out of them ”. According to Perkins, the Japanese authorities refused to recognize not only the consuls of the Anti-Axis na­ tions, interning them all, but they also refused to recognize the con­ suls of neutral nations who held execuaturs from Washington.1 The latter were informed that they should apply for new execuaturs through their diplomatic representatives in Tokyo, whereupon they would be recognized by the Japanese Army in the Philip­ pines. The Japanese Consulate-General in Manila was closed in February and an external affairs section was then established under the Military * ■Note (1945)—The only diplomatic official recognized was the Apostolic Delegate, Mon­ signor Guillermo Piani.

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Administration which handled foreign m atters in so far as it could be said that they were handled at all.

9 Story of The Internees from Southern Luzon The People from Paracale — About the middle of June, 20 people,— 5 men, 3 women, and 12 children who had been interned for some five months at Paracale, arrived in Santo Tomas. The Paracale district is a goldmining area only second in importance to the famous Baguio dis­ trict, and the men in the party were all mining men. Other mining people in the district had left as early as the 15th of December before the Japanese got there, going to Manila, and had therefore already been interned in Santo Tomas. It was quite a reunion, although there were some others who were still missing. In March the Jap­ anese had taken 15 adults and one child from Paracale to Naga, and these had been set free when the Filipino guerrillas burned the town on May 1. None of these 16 had been heard of since. It was believed they had taken refuge in the hills and that some had joined the guerrillas. The Japanese entered Mambulao late in December but did not get to Para­ cale until the 9th of January. After the landing of the Japanese at Legaspi on the 12th of December, orders had been received at Paracale from the USAFFE to be prepared to destroy all stocks of fuel oil, lubricants, and ex­ plosives, and also all transportation equipment, and on the 15th a telegram came ordering this destruction to be carried out. During the three days from the 15th to the 17th there were destroyed in the district some P800,000 worth of diesel oil, P400,000 worth of lubricating oil, and P800,000 worth of explosives (not counting the dynamite blown up on the S.S. Manatawny on the 13th). At the San Mauricio mine, when the men were pouring out on

128

the ground a stock of Navy aviation gasoline, in 200 drums, some one lit a cigaret. There was an explosion in which 5 men were injured, two of whom, an American and a Filipino, died in the hospital. Trucks destroyed at the mines were valued at not much more than P50,000. as most of the mine transportation was handled by the Ammen Company, the losses of which totaled probably around P100,000 in the Paracale district alone. The Manatawny was a Madrigal Company ocean-going freighter with a cargo of 80,000 50-pound cases of dynamite and percussion-caps from the United States, part of which cargo was destined for Hongkong. Some 18,000 cases of the dynamite for the mines had been unloaded when around 4:30 in the afternoon, just as the men had quit work and were pulling for shore in the boats, a lone Japanese plane appeared and machine-gunned the ship and the men in the boats, wound­ ing several of them. Incendiary bul­ lets set fire to the ship. She was anchored a kilometer off-shore and about 4 kilometers from Paracale. The smelter, 1-1/2 kilometers from the pier, and a small neighboring workers barrio were cleared of people. The fire raged on for a number of hours and at 9:30 in the evening the ship blew up. Some people distinguished a light, preliminary explosion, probab­ ly of the percussion-caps, and an ins­ tant later came the tremendous deto­ nation of the huge quantity of dyna­ mite. The sea absorbed most of the shock, but all the windows were blown in at the smelter, and at the Larap iron mine, 4 kilometers away across the bay, all windows and doors were blown in. More damage was done at the latter place because the smelter was partly protected by a hill. One man on the pier, who thought he was far enough away, was killed by a piece of flying steel. An American who lived 12 kilometers away said that the rattan armchair in which he was sitting would have been blown out from under him if he had not grasped the arms of the chair.

STORY

When it became evident that the USAFFE would make no stand in the Bicol country, there was panic among the people, which the gigantic column of smoke from the burning oil and the crash of exploding stores of dy­ namite did not help to allay. Looting started on the 14th with the rifling of the stores owned by then still in­ terned Japanese, and soon spread to other stores. The municipal police and the Constabulary seemed to have disap­ peared. Municipal and provincial of­ ficials also vanished with the excep­ tion of the District Engineer, who held to his duties. The employees of the post and telegraph offices also stuck to their posts. Assemblyman Wenceslao Vinzons helped the people to mill the last of their rice. Within a week or so, three-fourths of the population of Paracale and Mambulao, which in­ cluded some 10,000 workers in the mines, had evacuated. Those who remained, behaved very well. Some of them asked R.H. Canon, southern division manager of Marsman Company, whether they should stay with him or run. Canon answer­ ed, "If you feel like running, run now; don’t run after the Japanese get here." Some of his men were with him in the office when a Japanese lieutenant and some 40 or 50 soldiers arrived at 11:30 in the morning of the 9th of January. The Lieutenant found him rationing out food to the Filipino employees who had not run away. He asked where the Americans and others of "enemy nationality” were and Canon informed him that many had gone to Manila and that those who remained had all moved into the staff houses of the Uni­ ted Paracale and Coco-Grove compa­ nies. The officer ordered that they should be told to report to him at Canon’s house at 1 o’clock. While the Lieutenant was engaged with Canon, his men, on the pretext of searching for arms, were looting the houses of the Americans, taking "everything that glittered", jewelry, watches, money, cameras, silverware, and also leather jackets and other ar­ ticles of clothing. Wristwatches were

PARACALE

especially desired, and all those who wore them had to hand them over. In the afternoon, after the inspection, the Lieutenant ordered all but eight of the Americans to go back to their houses and stay there, designated a number of civilian Japanese to take charge, and left with his men, taking the eight Americans with him to Daet, 45 kilometers away, "for investigation”. Nothing happened to them, however, and after some hours they were sent back to Paracale in a truck. Two days later, on the 11th, another lieutenant with some soldiers showed up. He was not pleased to learn that an earlier unit of the Imperial Forces had beaten him to Paracale. He or­ dered the concentration of the enemy aliens in the United Paracale Mining Company’s messhouse. The Company had some 6 months supply of rood, and although both groups of soldiers took what they wanted of these sup­ plies, there was plenty remaining. The Japanese civilian in charge per­ mitted about half the supply to be brought into the mess building. On the 20th, Lieutenant No. 2 re­ turned and auestioned Canon and some of the others about the disposi­ tion not only of the fuel oil and dynamite but of the gold bullion. Then he said that he would take Canon and two others to Daet, and that they needn't take any clothing,—they could come just as they were. After three days, their wives were perm itted to send them a change of clothing and blankets and mosquito nets. The three were kept in Daet on the second floor of an unfinished office building for three weeks, but during all this time Canon was questioned only twice, one of the other men once, and the third man not at all. After the first two days they didn’t even have a guard. At the end of the three weeks they were told: "We have decided that you have told the truth and you may return to Pa­ racale.” The men had clung to the story that the gold bars had all been shipped to Manila. This was borne out by the fact that the Japanese found some P300,000 worth of gold

129

in the Mambulao post office. The Philippine Smelting Company, at Mam­ bulao, under Marsman management, lost some 1,000 tons of concentrate, worth approximately P400 a ton. On March 21, 18 of the Paracale in­ ternees were transfered to Naga, 15 adults, children and a baby. All of the Paracale internees would have been taken there had it not been for the fact that a number were ill in the hospital and they and their families were allowed to stay for a while longer. However, by the time that the sick were able to travel, the Filipi­ no guerrillas had made enemy travel between Paracale and Naga so dan­ gerous that the Japanese decided not to risk an escort to move the internees and to leave them where they were. There were now 20 of them, the ori­ ginal number having been increased by Mr. and Mrs. J.A. Smakman and their children. Smakman, who is a Hollander, had reported with the others, but had to his surprise been allowed to remain in his own house. He found out the reason only later when the Japanese offered him a job in the iron mines at Larap. He said, "I can not work for you because I am a citizen of a nation which is at war with Japan.” "Are you not from Poland?" asked the Japanese. "No, I am from Holland." Said Smakman. The Japanese had had him down as a Pole, and although Poles were in­ terned in Manila, the Japanese army authorities in Paracale evidently thought otherwise of the Poles. How­ ever, when they found out that Smak­ man was a Hollander, he and his fa­ mily were interned with the rest. The internees received considerate treatment under the Japanese civi­ lians,—former fishermen, carpenters, and merchants in the district, who acted under the orders of the military stationed at Mambulao. But about the middle of May, guerrilla operations in the area became so troublesome to the Japanese that around a hundred soldiers were stationed at Paracale

130

under a lieutenant (No. 3) who de­ lighted in making trouble. One of the first things he did was to take away all the internees’ beds. “Try sleeping on the floor,” he said. He also took all the mosquito nets, saying they were unnecessary because the building was screened. Next he took all the cushions in the chairs. Then he took all the books. On the whole, the Japanese treated the interned Americans better than they did the Filipinos in the towns. The Filipinos, too, were robbed, as when the Japanese soldiers stopped Filipino families moving away and de­ manded that they show "receipts” proving their ownership of such pos­ sessions as their sewing machines. Na­ turally they often had left such pa­ pers behind, with the result that the machines were confiscated despite the tearful pleadings of the women. Hun­ dreds of sewing machines were taken by the Japanese to Naga, probably for shipment to Japan on their "treasureships”, but these and other Japanese gleanings were destroyed in the burn­ ing of the town by the guerrillas. The Japanese ruled the country by terror, and as the pretext for it they fixed on looting. People they punished were almost invariably accused of loot­ ing. If any looted articles or supplies were found, these were, however, never restored to the rightful owners. The punishment of alleged looters was often ferocious. People were beaten and tied up against a gatepost, for instance, and every passing Japanese would deal the unfortunate a heavy blow in the face. They might be left thus tied up for several days. Others were exposed to the sun after their heads had been shaved and covered with tar. Once when a Japanese was asked to allow such a man to be given a drink of water, he said, "What is the use? He will be dead soon.” Such tortures were usually the work of civilian Japanese who had been put in position of authority bv the Ja­ panese military, although there were many of them who deplored the ex­ cesses of some of their compatriots.

STORY

One of the bad men at Paracale was ambushed between Paracale and Mambulao by guerrillas and had his head shot off, though another Japanese with him, who was liked, came back unhurt. The body of the dead Ja­ panese was cremated and the ashes were placed in a little wooden box which stood for some days, with two lighted candles in front of it, on a table in the guardhouse at Paracale. There was usually an American in this guardhouse, and Filipinos coming in and making sure there was no Ja­ panese about, would say, "Good mor­ ning, Mr. White,” (real name not used here) and would then bow to the little box and say derisively, "And good morning, Mr. Debuchi” (also not the real name). At 4:30 in the morning of June 11, the 20 internees were awakened and told without any previous warning that they would be transferred to another place and that each of them would be allowed to take a roll of bedding, food for several days, and one other bag,—altogether not more than could be carried for some 5 ki­ lometers. Since there were a number of children who could not walk that distance and would have had to be carried, the people packed only the barest necessities. Actually it proved that they did not have to carry their baggage; it was loaded in a truck. The men, however, did have to walk. When they passed over a stretch of road where the Japanese feared that a guerrilla attack might be made, the squad of soldiers who formed their escort made them walk behind them, obviously to serve as a shield. The blond men took off their hats to make sure that if there were any guerrillas, they would recognize them as Ameri­ cans. Arrived at Mambulao, the party spent the rest of the day in the San Mauricio Company dispensary, and early that evening they were put aboard two fishing launches, 10 to each launch. They slept on the decks that night along with the soldiers and the crews, and the next morning the

131

HIKE OF 74 TO MANILA

launches pul out to sea. The people on one launch were treated kindly enough, but on the other, drinking water was refused even to the children and the parents had to open cans of fruit so they could drink the juice. The launches kept within sight of each other and arrived at Siain, Tayabas, in the afternoon of that day (the 12th). That night they were quartered in an abandoned hut. The next day they were put on two trucks with a squad of soldiers as an escort, and taken to Manila, arriving at Santo Tomas about 4 in the afternoon. During the first part of this overland journey they saw little evidence of war, but from 60 to 70 kilometers from Atimonan on, until they reached Manila, they noted that most of the highway bridges had been destroyed and about half of the railway bridges in so far as they got glimpses of them. Like the people brought from Baguio, they re­ ported hundreds of wrecked automo­ biles and trucks along the sides of the road. In addition to the fuel and lubricat­ ing oil and the dynamite destroyed, the Paracale mining men reported that the damage from the flooding of the mines would be very heavy. Prior to the war, the mining companies had laid in supplies of certain steel products enough to last from 18 months to over two years, but no one knew how much of this would be left. Heavy damage was to be anticipated, too, in the case of the electric gene­ rators in the district, valued at around PI,000,000, and to motors, pumps, and transmission cables valued at another

Santa Rosa Gold Mining Company, Mambu­ (Union Management Company), P125.000. Coco-Grove, Inc., Paracale (Marsman & Com­ pany management), P125,000. This company employed two giant dredges valued at around PI ,000,000 each. Santa Barbara Gold Mining Company, Mambulao (operated under working agreement with the Demonstration Gold Mining Company of Baguio), P60,000. Philippine Iron Mines, Larap (operated by the Atlantic, Gulf & Pacific Company). lao

The 74 who Hiked to Manila—The people who had left Paracale on the 15th of December and who were joined by others from the smelter and from the Paracale-Gumaos and San Mauri­ cio mines, numbered 74, including 30 women and 14 children, 2 of these being only 5 or 6 months old. There were rumors that the Japanese had arrived at Sipocot, 95 kilometers to the south, and the general opinion was that the USAFFE would not make a stand in that area but would at­ tempt to halt the enemy farther north, in the region of Lucena, where Luzon narrows to an isthmus. Both those who remained at Para­ cale and those who decided to leave for Manila acted on their own volition, most of the men with families, how­ ever, feeling that Manila would be a safer place for their women and children. Canon asked J.C. Alexander, acting general superintendent of the United Paracale Mining Company, to head the large party. As the railroad terminus was be­ lieved to be already in Japanese hands and there was a break in the highway to Manila (most of the mine-company people traveled by air in normal times), the party knew that a part of the dis­ P I ,000,000. The important mines in the Paracale tance would have to be made on foot, and they decided to take a minimum district were the following: United Paracale Mining Company, Paracale of baggage. They started out about (Marsman & Company management), with an 9:30 in the evening in three trucks, a average monthly production of P400,000. stationwagon, and a private car and San Mauricio Mining Company, Mambulao drove north over what proved to be (Marsman & Company management), with an a very poor road until around 3 o’clock average monthly production of P380,000. in the morning when they were halted Paracale-Gumaos Gold Mining Company, by a bridge which they had to repair Mambulao (Nielson & Company), P250.000. North Camarines Gold Mining Company, before they could venture to cross it. Paracale (International Engineering Company— They passed the rest of the night in Soriano’s), P125,000. their vehicles and spent the forenoon

132

of the next day getting over this and a number of other wooden bridges which were in a dangerous condition. Early in the afternoon they decided they would have to abandon their ve­ hicles and make the remaining dis­ tance to Camp 80 on foot. From this camp there was a good road to Lucena. They set out after slashing the tires, smashing the headlights, and destroy­ ing the ignition and distributor appa­ ratuses, walking on until around 6 o’clock when they came to some shacks put up by a gang of roadworkers who made them welcome. Children and baggage, mostly food supplies, had to be carried, and al­ though they had made only some 5 or 6 kilometers, everybody was very tired. The party slept in the shacks. Only a few of them had blankets and none had mosquito nets. Early in the morn­ ing some Filipinos arrived who had been sent after them from Paracale by Canon with the message that the Japanese were reported to be at Hondagua, ahead of them, and that if they wanted to return there were trucks awaiting them on the other side of the bridge where their own ve­ hicles had been abandoned. They held a council meeting and decided to go on. They made an early start. The narrow, muddy trail now led through the wildest jungle, covering very rough country, and slipping and sliding and stumbling over roots and stones, the shoes of some members of the party went to pieces and they had to struggle on barefoot. The strength of two of the women gave out and they had to be carried in makeshift hammocks. Bloodthirsty leeches added to everyone’s misery. The drinking water had run out and several of the party began to suffer from diarrhea contracted through drinking impure water along the way. They saw two airplanes overhead, but could not tell whether they were American or Japanese. They also met 6 Filipino soldiers and an American officer who were going to Paracale to join a USAFFE group there which was operating a mobile airplane-detec­

STORY

tor unit. Going in their direction but traveling faster than the American party, were small groups of Filipinos who were also getting out of the area. To their inexpressible relief, the weary, footsore Americans reached the government resthouse at Camp 80 at about 4:30 in the afternoon. There were some 10 or 12 Filipino soldiers stationed there, under an American mestizo lieutenant, who did all they could to help the women and chil­ dren. After a good meal, at 6 o’clock that same night they boarded a num­ ber of buses to take them to Lucena, which they reached about midnight. One member of the party, a young Scotsman, and his family had been met at Camp 80 by a private car, or­ dered to meet them there by wireless telephone from Paracale. This man had suffered severe burns on the arms and legs in the aviation gasoline ex­ plosion at Paracale, but had pluckily decided to make the gruelling overland trip nevertheless. He was taken to the Lucena hospital. Of the rest of the dead-tired men, women, and children, some spent the remainder of the night in the homes of friends and the rest in the hotel and in the railroad sta­ tion. All along the road from Camp 80 into Lucena the bridges were found to be guarded by USAFFE soldiers and in Lucena there appeared to be quite a large number of American and Filipino troops. The American officers questioned the men as to their trip, seeming to know very little of the country, and the mining men noted that they had no military maps. All they had were automobile roadmaps published by some of the oil com­ panies. The party boarded the train for Manila at 6 o’clock on the morning of the 18th, arriving in the city around 1 o'clock in the afternoon. They found Manila at that time very crowded, with hotel accommodations hard to get. A number of them developed dy­ sentery and malaria as a sequel to their few nights in the Tavabas jungle. Most of the original 74 nad been in-

GUERRILLAS TAKE NAGA

terned in Santo Tomas for many months before this was written. The Guerrilla Attack on Naga—The people who had been taken from Paracale to Naga on March 21, had ano­ ther story to tell. The men among the 18 were lodged in the provincial jail, an old Spanish, adobe-stone building, finding some 21 other Americans al­ ready there; the others joined the women and children interned in a large house owned by an aged Ameri­ can lawyer, Manley, who himself was staying with the Catholic Bishop in the town. The men in the jail were all confined in one large room with barred windows and doors, but were given the run of the jail courtyard during the day. They slept on wooden beds made by themselves and had to fur­ nish their own blankets and mosquito nets. They had also to feed themselves, the Filipino cook of one of the interned families doing the marketing. The garrison of some 50 Japanese soldiers and civilians was well disci­ plined and a Japanese civilian told the internees that four Japanese soldiers had been executed and several sen­ tenced to imprisonment for rape. However, they were brutal in their punishment of Filipinos alleged to be guilty of looting or of maintaining connections with the large numbers of guerrillas in the area. During the first three weeks, the internees in the jail were in a cell from which they could see Filipinos being beaten with clubs and kicked in the face, after which they would be thrown into so­ litary confinement for from 24 to 48 hours without food or water. They saw a score of such beatings adminis­ tered, after which the internees were moved to another cell from these acts could no longer be witnessed. About the 9th of April, five Filipinos were beheaded on one day. Early in the morning of May 1, a force of some 1,000 guerrillas attacked the town. Only some 200 of them were armed with rifles and shotguns and home-made paltiks; the rest, who in­ cluded negritos from the mountains, were armed with bows-and-arrows and

133

bolos. The Japanese were besieged in the provincial building which stood close to the jail, and Filipinos known or believed to be cooperating with the Japanese were attacked in their homes. Houses were set afire by shooting flaming arrows into them. Half the town, including the business section, burned down. The fighting continued all day and the next until late in the night, when the remaining Japanese, some 12 of them, and two Filipinos and their families,—Villafuerte, who had been appointed Governor by the Japanese, and Crisini, who had been appointed Mayor of Iriga, taking ad­ vantage of a lull brought about by the sheer weariness of the attackers, made a dash toward Sabang, on the coast, where they tried to get away in launches and bancas. They were pur­ sued and most of them were killed, some being taken prisoner. A few es­ caped and reached Daet. Villafuerte and Crisini were among the dead, and it was reported that their heads, pre­ served in alcohol, were sent around to surrounding towns as a warning to those Filipinos who "cooperated" with the Japanese. Those taken pri­ soner were later taken to Tigaon, guerrilla headquarters, where they were tried by a "court-martial”, which included a number of Filipino lawyers, and sentenced to death. Like the Ja­ panese, the guerrillas usually be­ headed the condemned men. One Ja­ panese civilian was spared. He had lived in the country for 40 years, was married to a Filipino woman and had a son with the USAFFE forces. As the jail was commanded by the Japanese fire from the provincial building, the Americans there could not be released until after the Ja­ panese had fled. They had been locked up in their cell and would have had nothing to eat or drink for two days had it not been for the fact that one el­ derly man among them, a Negro, had always been allowed to sleep outside the common cell in the jail’s provi­ sion room. He was able to serve the imprisoned men some coffee and corned beef.

134

The guerrillas let the Americans out at 3 o’clock on the morning of the 2nd and took them to the house of former Governor Hernandez, which they had made their headquarters. They remained there until daylight, when they were conducted to the Manley house where the women and chil­ dren were, excited but unhurt. It was agreed that they should go to Tigaon, 50 kilometers away, the town nearest to the guerrilla encampments in the hills. Some 25 American men, women, and children had already crossed the river on the way to Goa in a number of trucks, when it was reported that a force of 80 or so Japanese had ar­ rived in the town, and the 30 Ameri­ cans still remaining, cut off from the bridge, set out in the opposite direc­ tion in three other trucks. They camped at Calabanga for the night, and being informed the next morning that the way was clear, they drove on via Naga for Tigaon, where the two parties met. Here they scattered, some as guests at different haciendas and others building themselves small nipa huts in the mountains. Thus they lived unmolested for about a month. The guerrillas held Naga for nearly two weeks. Then the Japanese sent around 8,000 troops into the Naga district who were kept too busy by the guerrillas to bother about chasing the Americans. After the sur­ render at Corregidor, the Japanese sent planes over the country which dropped leaflets quoting General Wainwright’s order for all USAFFE forces to surrender and containing the in­ formation that General Francisco and Colonel Pugh would be sent into the district to contact the guerrillas and arrange for their giving themselves up. The guerrillas were under the com­ mand of a Captain Flor, said to have been a USAFFE sergeant, and were well organized into companies of 100 under the command of lieutenants, but wore no uniforms. They drew their food supplies from the country, chiefly from the wealthier hacienderos who for safety's sake also supplied the Ja­

STORY

panese. Their encampments were hidden in the mountains and also in the vast hemp plantations in which a party was always easily lost and which provided constant opportunities for ambush of Japanese patrols. When the two USAFFE officers, Francisco and Pugh, arrived in the district, they were able after some time to contact Flor. It was reported that they pro­ moted him from his regular rank as a sergeant to captain and then or­ dered him to surrender himself and his forces. The Japanese had let it be known that unless the guerrillas sur­ rendered, all the prisoners taken in Bataan and Corregidor would be tor­ tured, Through intermediaries, the Americans hiding out in the area were told that unless they gave them­ selves up, their haciendero friends would be punished for extending aid to them. Flor surrendered with some 70 of his followers. They were interned in a school building at Naga. A few days later, Flor and a Japanese colonel went out to try to get more of the guerrillas to surrender, but their efforts met with no success, and on the way back to Naga, while the Japanese officer was inspecting some troops at the barrio of Salvacion, 4 kilometers from Ti­ gaon, Flor asked permission to go to the toilet and did not come back. It was believed that seeing that the gen­ eral surrender could not be arranged, he decided to escape. What happened to the 70 or so guerrillas confined in Naga was unknown to the Americans who brought these reports to Santo Tomas. They gave themselves up on the 29th of May and were told that as they had voluntarily surrendered, they might remain where they were until June 4 when they would be brought back to Naga. They were interned in the Manley house and in one other house actually until the 14th of July when they were taken in a truck to Legaspi, where they were joined by several other Americans. They were put aboard a small Japanese steamer bound for Manila. There were no ca-

VINZONS TAKES DAET

bins for them and they had to stay on the deck. The voyage was a rough one and many of them suffered from sea-sickness. They arrived at the San­ to Tomas camp on July 18, stating that they had no complaint to make about the treatm ent the Japanese had given them. There were 8 men, and 20 wo­ men and children in this party. Some 40 or 50 Americans still remained hiding out in the hills around Tigaon, where guerrilla activities continued, centered around Mount Isarog. The Capture of Daet by the Guer­ rillas—Daet, the capital of Camarines Norte, was captured by the guerrillas a little after Naga was taken, by ano­ ther band organized by Wenceslao Vinzons, who had his headquarters on the southeastern flank of Mount Labo near the barrio of Baay. His force consisted of not many more than 100 men, 6 American mining men among them who rated as lieutenants, but this force was generally joined by others when fighting started anywhere. They never counted with more than 50 rifles and they had little ammuni­ tion. Vinzons first organized his force about the middle of January. His earliest conspicuous success was his raid on Tagkawayan, Tayabas, on Ragay Gulf, some 40 kilometers from Mount Labo, on March 29. At 2 o’clock in the morning of that day, a small number of guerrillas led by an Ame­ rican, attacked the garrison of some 150 Japanese, the most of whom were asleep in nipa shacks along the beach. The sentries were overcome with bolos and the others in the huts were attacked with guns and rifles. By 5 o’clock there was not a Japanese left alive there, although many escaped by wading across a small inlet in the Bay. The next day the Japanese sent Filipinos from Aloneros and Guiniangan to pick up the dead. Fifty-one bo­ dies were found in the huts and on the beach and several more in the water. The guerrillas had not suffered a single loss, but two of the towns­ people had been killed by stray bul­ lets. The town was not looted, though

135

the Japanese did not return until May 23, when another garrison of 150 men was sent there. The attack on Daet was reportedly provoked by Japanese brutality in that area, where they shot down men, women, and children just for being on the road or to see them jump, and by the abuses of Japanese-appointed Fili­ pino officials. The attack was carried out by a group of Vinzon’s men and other followers numbering in all .some 250. There were only 40 Japanese sol­ diers there, all of whom were either killed or captured. They were besieged in the provincial building for two or three days and it was told that they were finally driven out of it by a Sy­ rian or Armenian in the town, known as “Turko". Armed with two 45-calibre army automatics, he got in through a window on the ground floor and began shooting at the Japanese, who were in the second story, through the ceiling. The Japanese kicked a hole through the floor and threw hand-gre­ nades down on him, but Turko kept on shooting. Some of the Japanese jum ped out of the second-story win­ dows to escape his fire and were in­ jured in the fall. Two wounded Ja­ panese were taken prisoner but died of their injuries. Six Japanese women and children were released unharmed. Vin­ zons had issued a warning against mistreating prisoners and had threat­ ened to shoot any guerrilla guilty of misconduct toward Japanese women. Two Filipinos were executed by the guerrillas after trial. One of them, an alleged pro-Japanese official, was sen­ tenced to be shot. Before the execu­ tion of the sentence he was allowed to go into the church to pray, but in try­ ing to escape he suffered a bolo-thrust in the stomach and an American put him out of his misery with a pistolshot. The other Filipino, who had headed the local "gestapo”, was cut into small pieces, fingers and toes and ears and other parts being carried off by the people as "souvenirs”. He was "sort of disliked”, said one of the men in Santo Tomas who brought this story.

136

Much loot from the homes of the American mining people in the district had been placed on sale in the Ja­ panese bazaars in the town, and the Americans with the guerrilla band got back some of their former possessions. Daet had suffered a fire about a year before war broke out, and the looters now burned most of the rest of the town. About this same time, the Japanese garrisons in other smaller towns in the district, such as Labo, San Vicente, and Indan, were also attacked and wiped out. Daet was held for only a few days, for the Japanese sent in a heavy ca­ valry force, supported by tanks and planes. Vinzons ordered his men to disband with instructions to reassem­ ble if the Japanese garrisons were re­ duced to proportions which could be dealt with. This was some time before the fall of Corregidor, and had no­ thing to do with the Wainwright sur­ render order. On July 10, Vinzons and his entire family, his wife and five children, his father and mother and a sister, were captured on the southern flank of Mount Labo by a party of Japanese from Daet led by a Filipino guide. The people in Santo Tomas who came from this district could not tell what the Japanese did with him and his family.1 None of the Americans were captured though the Japanese had full descriptions of each one of them and * ■Note (1945)—According to later reports, Vinzons, his father, and three of Vinzon’s chil­ dren were captured on the 8th; his wife and two other of his children were taken by the Japanese two weeks later. In August, the Ja­ panese circulated the report that Vinzons and his father had been shot while attempting to escape from a truck on which they were being taken to Manila. Mrs. Vinzons and the two children were never heard from again, and it is believed that they were murdered. Note (1948)—In the trial of a Japanese war criminal by a military commission in Ma­ nila, in December, 1948, Major N. Tsuneoka tes­ tified that Vinzons had been shot and killed, as stated above, on August 5. The father was wounded, but made good his escape, according to the witness.

STORY

a thorough search was made. It was believed that they might have made their way to the Sierra Madre moun­ tains, east of Manila. A month later, the Tuba mine, about 30 kilometers from Mount Labo, was bombed by the Japanese, but only a few bombs were dropped and no da­ mage was done. Only the American mine-superintendent and two Filipino families remained there, although there were accommodations for 1,500 peo­ ple on the property. Three days later, on June 11, around 100 Japanese ar­ rived. They had suspected the mine to be guerrilla headquarters. The Supe­ rintendent, J. Howard Hell, had a hard time proving that he was not one of the guerrillas, and was closely ques­ tioned for several days. But he told the Japanese the truth, that he had stayed on in an effort to guard the mine and supplies valued at P500,000. The months he spent there had been an­ xious ones, for he had been constantly in danger of being murdered at the instance of certain persons in the dis­ trict, including one or two local Fi­ lipino functionaries, who planned to loot the mine, bur of this he would not speak. Dr. McAnlis—Some Americans from Legaspi who were brought into the camp in July said that the Japanese landed around 5,000 men there from 8 or 10 transports during the two or three days following the initial land­ ing on the 12th of December. They said that it was believed that the Ja­ panese first landed in the Catanduanes Islands, east of Luzon, and established an airbase there. Since the landing at Legaspi came entirely w ithout warn­ ing, fifth-column activity was sus­ pected. They confirmed that there was no resistance. The Constabulary force in the area was hopelessly outnum­ bered. A hundred or so constabularymen were seen to leave Regan bar­ racks with a number of machine guns and trench m ortars, going north. Provincial and municipal officials and most of the people of the twin towns of Daraga and Legaspi fled. A fire at Daraga, started when the peo-

DR McANLIS

pie began looting the stores, burned down most of the town. At Legaspi, the Japanese looted the houses of the Americans, then the abandoned Spa­ nish and Filipino houses. Filipino looters cleaned up what the Japanese did not take. The Japanese punished such Filipi­ nos as they caught looting by brutal clubbing, and scores of them were tied to telegraph poles where they were left for 24 hours or longer. Eight or ten of them were publicly executed in the school grounds by beheading and shooting. Later, trucks full of goods from the surrounding region came to Legaspi, the goods being loaded aboard Japanese ships,—machinery and machine-parts, scrap iron, automobiles, refrigerators, pianos, etc. It was several days before a sem­ blance of order was restored in Le­ gaspi. Such Filipinos as remained in the town were unwilling to enlist in a police force which the Japanese tried to organize, and military police then took charge. After several weeks a Filipino force was brought together, but the Filipino policemen had difficulty in handling the Japanese soldiers off duty. Only one case of rape in the town and one or two cases in the out­ lying barrios were reported. Dr. W. W. McAnlis, an American missionary doctor in charge of the Milwaukee Hospital at Legasrii (sup­ ported bv the Milwaukee Presbyterian churches) was for some days left un­ molested except that the Japanese took all the food and medical supolies he had in his house. The dav after the landing he was questioned mainly as to the ownership of the hospital and as to why he had not run away. His staff, consisting of 7 Filipino nurses, 2 pharmacists, and 5 attendants remained with him for a few days. Then the Japanese Navy took over the hospital and moved him and all the remaining personnel to the smaller Santa Teresita hospital, the

137 personnel of which had vanished, leav­ ing the patients behind. Although the Provincial Hospital had also been va­ cated by doctors, nurses, patients and all, the Japanese did not immediately occupy that, but used the so-called Christian Center buildings (also Pres­ byterian Mission property), just out­ side Legaspi and near the Regan bar­ racks, as a hospital for their soldiers. The Japanese took over all Ame­ rican property and it was reported in Legaspi that they were operating the Liguan coal mine, on a nearby island, and also the Rapu-rapu gold and cop­ per mine. Toward the end of January, when most of the Japanese forces at Legaspi were transferred to Mindanao, Dr. Mc­ Anlis was taken to Naga and interned in the provincial jail. He found 8 American Catholic priests also there, one of them, Father Burns, Rector of the Ateneo College, suffering from a badly bruised eye, the result of a blow he had received from a Japanese soldier when he tried to speak to a Filipino prisoner who was being brought in. The priests and the doctor as a me­ dical missionary, were released early in March through the efforts of the religious section of the Japanese Army. They were not asked to sign any pledge of cooperation. McAnlis joined his wife and children, who had fled to Guinobatan on the day of the arrival of the Japanese, and the family con­ tinued to live there until the Japanese took them in July and brought them to Manila with a group of other Ame­ ricans for internment in Santo Tomas. These newcomers to the camp said that there had not been much guer­ rilla activity in the neighborhood of Legaspi, but that the guerrillas had been very active around Guinobatan and Iriga and in the Partido District of Camarines Sur during the months of April and May.

138

THE CAMP

Chapter IV The Democratic Will of the Camp Leadership in the Camp—This story of Santo Tomas, has been told in a largely impersonal manner. Per­ sons mentioned have been described by little more than their names, and the terms, "some people” and "others”, have frequently been used. This was in part because though in the past tense, the entire manuscript was w rit­ ten during the period of internment and the use of names could in many instances have endangered named persons, but also because people in the camp avoided standing out from the crowd in any way. "Don’t stick your neck out", was the general ad­ vise. Internee officials were often cri­ ticized for one thing or another, but few if any men in the camp population wanted to take their places. Life in Santo Tomas illustrated to some extent the leveling and deaden­ ing effect of the authoritarian prin­ ciple in action. The internees came to constitute a mass, and the former distinction of individuals came gra­ dually to be all but overlooked. They were fellow-prisoners. Nevertheless they stubbornly, if silently, fought for self-government within the limits set by the circumstances, fighting against more than a minimum of interference with the internal affairs of the camp. But if any one had asked, "Who are the outstanding men in Santo To­ m as?”, the answer of most internees would have been that there were no such men or that if there were any, they worked so quietly as to remain practically unknown. There were, of course, the internee officials; most of them were able men who did work

which deserves recognition, apprecia­ tion, gratitude. But they are never like­ ly to receive this. They did not become “personalities”. None of them ever ob­ tained much of a following, which was well enough, for a following would have been dangerous to them. The community, in fact, was no place for a display of admiration or enthusiasm of any kind. Men who went outside on pass said they were struck by the contrast between the faces they saw on the Manila streets and those in the camp. Manila itself was certainly no happy place, but these returning men said there was a greater apathy inside the camp than outside; that the whole camp population presented a kind of "dead-pan” appearance. Meetings of any but the smallest re­ ligious or lecture groups were dis­ couraged by the Japanese, if not spe­ cifically forbidden. They explained that large meetings inside the camp would arouse the curiosity of officials outside. It was not even advisable to call together all the room monitors, who at this time numbered around 150. Nothing in the nature of the old "town meeting" was therefore thought pos­ sible. Discussion could take place only within small groups. There was the small 2-page Internews, published once or twice a week, but argumenta­ tion was impossible in its columns; there was space for only the barest an­ nouncements and explanations. Often the real reasons for an action by the Executive Committee could not even be hinted at because they concerned the continuous contest with the Ja­ panese authority, which yet had to

BOOTLEG BREW

pass for "cooperation” and which could only be carried out by indirec­ tion and in silence. The Committee rep­ resented not only the general adminis­ trative branch of the interior govern­ ment of the camp, but also the "fo­ reign relations” department, the maneuverings of which could not be car­ ried out with publicity. Practically speaking, public defense of the Com­ mittee was impossible, as was also public criticism. But there was much of the latter in private. Even in so far as it was possible to manage the interior affairs of the camp democratically, the democratic princi­ ple was handicapped on many counts. And yet, internally, the camp was sur­ prisingly democratic in spite of the fact that the leadership was neces­ sarily almost surreptitious, public meet­ ings were impossible, there could be no speeches, and there were no real equi­ valents of a press or radio. Not even the most rudimentary party organiza­ tion could be attempted; principles could not be clearly stated; slates of candidates could not be announced; the mildest "campaigning” was imprac­ ticable. Under such circumstances, elections of any kind were risky af­ fairs at best, and yet the fact that the Executive Committee had not been elected, continued to exercise the camp and plague the consciences of the members of the Committee. Toughminded individuals advised the Com­ mittee to consider itself a government de facto if not de jure, and act accor­ dingly, but the Committee still scru­ pled. Shanties and Boot-leg Brews— Com­ munity spirit was affected, and not en­ tirely for the better, by the rapid in­ crease in the number of new shanties built and the rebuilding of many of the older ones as the rainy season set in.

139

After the fall of Bataan and Corregidor, people began to give up hope of early release and wanted to make themselves as comfortable as possible. The de­ mand for shanty-space was soon so great that the Executive Committee decided to divide the space available into plots of 30 feet square. From the middle of February to the end of April, the total costs of the lumber and other construction materials brought in for shanties amounted to some P4,000, but for May alone this amounted to P3,000, and for June the figure rose to P7,000. Prices, of course, were high. The ma­ terial was sold at cost plus 10% which went into a special Red Cross fund, and later, into a special fund admi­ nistered by the Executive Committee. Many of these new shanties were of good construction and were, in fact, small houses, small Filipino nipa houses which looked very attractive. The earlier Japanese rule that the shanties should not have walls was ob­ served more in the breach than in the observance. These shanties, though they could be occupied by their owners only in the daytime, relieved the congestion in the buildings, provided places for retirement and privacy, and improv­ ing and taking care of them gave people something to do and relief from boredom. On the other hand, their existence did affect the spirit of camp solidarity. Some people spent prac­ tically all the hours from 6 in the morning until 7:15 at night in their shanties and took an interest in no­ thing else. A number of shanty owners took advantage of the opportunity secretly to brew and to boot-leg intoxicating mixtures made from various fruit juices and even from cracked-wheat or corn-meal mush.

140

THE CAMP

A meeting of Earl Carroll and A. E. Duggleby (by the door) with some of the monitors; Ernest Stanley in the foreground.

Struggle over the Internee "Court" have found itself in had the judgment —Violations of various rules and a and its execution been challenged.1 number of cases of drunkenness in the At the request of the Committee, De­ camp led to expressions in the May Witt prepared the following resolution: "Whereas recent disputes between internees 6 meeting of the Executive Committee and recent violations of the rules and regula­ noted as follows in the minutes: "The general opinion of the Executive Com­ mittee is that as time goes on there is more and more defiance shown in individual cases and less cooperation. It was agreed that a committee be appointed to study the entire dis­ cipline problem.”

DeWitt of the Executive Committee and Selph, adviser to the discipline committee, both lawyers, and several others, discussed the matter, and at the May 8 meeting of the Executive Com­ mittee DeWitt read the outline of a proposal for the formation of a "board of arbitration” prepared by Selph. The Committee on May 10 ordered the dismantling of the shanty belong­ ing to a man who had been missing all the previous night because he had made himself drunk on homebrew in his shanty, passing the night there. The culprit accepted the punishment w ithout a murmur, but the Committee had in mind the difficulties it might

tions have jeopardized the welfare of the in­ ternees as a whole and so have demonstrated the necessity for the creation of a body exer­ cising powers of a judicial character among the internees of this cam p. . . "Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Chair­ man of the Executive Committee be authorized and directed to appoint a board consisting of 3 internees to be known as the committee on disputes. The persons so appointed shall not be members of the Executive Committee. "Such committee shall have the power to hear and determine all disputes between in­ ternees, except those involving administrative action, and shall have the power to prescribe rules and regulations governing its own pro­ cedure in the hearing and determining of all such disputes. "Such committee shall also have the power to try all cases involving the infraction of the rules and regulations governing this camp as well as all general infractions of the criminal* t In the prisoner-of-war camps, the question of authority to discipline was never so acute, as rank naturally continued to be respec­ ted; the situation was very different in a large civilian camp such as Santo Tomas.

THE PROPOSED “C O U RT” law to the extent practicable under existing conditions and likewise to impose such penal­ ties for such infractions as it may deem ad­ visable under the circumstances. The com­ mittee shall have the power to prescribe rules and regulations governing its own procedure in the conduct of all such trials. "The adjudication of the committee in cases of disputes between internees or in cases in­ volving infractions of the rules and regulations or general infractions of the criminal law shall be enforced by the chairman of the committee on discipline or his subordinates. "An appeal may be taken from any adjudica­ tion by the committee to the Executive Com­ mittee by any party considering himself ag­ grieved thereby, within one day after notice of such adjudication. In case of such appeal there shall be no enforcement of the adjudication until the same has been affirmed. Any mem­ ber of the committee on disputes may be re­ moved by the chairman of this committee or upon the vote of 3/4 of all the floor monitors of this camp registered at a meeting duly called for the purpose, in which case the Chair­ man of the Executive Committee is hereby authorized and directed to appoint a successor to the member so removed."

The resolution was accepted, only Holland dissenting because of the me­ thod of appointment provided for, but it was decided to present the plan be­ fore a meeting of monitors to gain sup­ port for it. On May 11, the room monitors received the following bul­ letin: "Recent cases of intoxication and theft have renewed the request from many internees that some form of court be set up among us for the trials of persistent offenders who by their acts endanger the privileges of all of us. It is thought that a matter of such vital impor­ tance should be referred back to the indivi­ dual internee, and we suggest that each room elect a delegate from the room to represent it at a meeting for the consideration of this im­ portant step. Please, therefore, ask that such delegate be elected before Tuesday night and advise your floor monitor of the individual elected at the time your Tuesday roll call report is handed in.”

The delegates were duly elected and these in turn elected a smaller num­

141

ber to represent them,—Messrs. Alex­ ander, Bridges, Burk, Calhoun, Perkins, and Selph, Mesdames Agnew, Carlson, and Chamberlain, and Miss Mackay. They held their first meeting in the Fathers Garden on May 14, Carroll ex­ plaining to those present that the mat­ ter had been discussed with the Com­ mandant who had authorized the Ex­ ecutive Committee to proceed with the plan but had stipulated that the proposed body should be under the existing internee organization and that he be furnished with copies of its de­ liberations. The general opinion among those pre­ sent was in favor of a more democratic selection of the members of the pro­ posed committee on disputes, but DeWitt pointed out that while he also favored more democratic proces­ ses, Carroll was the one man held responsible by the Japanese for the actions of the camp and that any steps taken independent of him would place responsibility on him without corresponding authority. Under exist­ ing circumstances, he said, the ultimate authority, in so far as the internee or­ ganization was concerned, should rest with Carroll. Carroll himself then said that the Executive Committee was not trying to retain power, but, on the contrary, was seeking to share its work, and that far from seeking to "oppress” the internees, as had been implied by some of the speakers, it had always acted with forbearance and leniency and had attempted to secure the final settlement of all disciplinary cases by voluntary agreement among the per­ sons concerned,—which, he added, was possibly responsible for an increasing disregard of the rules. Subsequent meetings of this floordelegates committee, under the chair­ manship of Selph, however, led to a firm insistence on a democractic selec­

142 tion of the members of the proposed committee, ihe "court”, and there was much talk on the part of some of the delegates of the "separation of powers” and the "independence of the judiciary”, which were fine phrases but somewhat beside the point in a prison camp where the final actual power,—if not "sov­ ereignty”, lay with the Japanese. Con­ siderable feeling was worked up, and Bridgeford and DeWitt prepared a "Memorandum for the information of the floor delegates” which read in part as follows: "It is essential that the following two basic principles be followed and reconciled: (1) The responsibility for the organization and internal administration of the camp has been placed by the Japanese authorities on the General Chairman. (2) The handling of disciplinary cases re­ quires the full cooperation of the internees and any body of men which may render decisions and prescribe penalties must have the confi­ dence of the camp. "While the second principle may be satis­ fied by the election of a body entirely divorced from the present organization, such a proce­ dure is not compatible with the first require­ ment. As long as the General Chairman has the ultimate responsibility, it is obviously not prac­ ticable that an independent body in the crea­ tion and functions of which he has no word, should be in a position in its decisions to overrule his policies and actions. "To reconcile these two requirements it is proposed that, in the creation of the adjudi­ cating body, the Chairman shall nominate the members, who shall not take office unless ap­ proved by 2/3 of the room monitors who are themselves elected representatives of the in­ ternees. There should be no practical difficulty in this plan. In reality it is probable that very much the same names are in the minds of the Chairman and the camp generally,—the aim of all is to obtain the best available men, and the Chairman would welcome any sugges­ tions put forward. By this procedure no one would serve who was not approved by the internees... "It must be recognized, of course, that any plan of this importance in camp administration will have to meet with the approval of the

THE CAMP Japanese authorities before being put into ef­ fect”.

The last paragraph was significant. Had the Executive Committee suc­ ceeded in establishing a committee on order with certain limited judiciary powers in a quiet manner, as many other operating committees had al­ ready been established, the m atter would not have had to be submitted to the Commandant. But elaborate elective procedures could not thus be carried through. In line with the preceding memo­ randum, the Executive Committee suggested the following more specific plan. Abandoning insistence on direct appointment by the General Chairman, it was proposed that he submit the names of 6 male and 4 female internees to the room monitors for approval, and that if any of these failed to meet with approval of at least 2/3 of the monitors, he submit another name in each case. The room monitors having acted, the names would then be sub­ mitted to the floor monitors who would select 3 of the men and 2 of the women to constitute the commit­ tee on order, the women to sit only in cases involving female internees. There were also provisions for the election in this manner of alternates. The members of the committee would remain permanently in office unless removed,—by a vote of at least 3/4 of the room monitors, or until they re­ signed or were released from the camp. Appeal might be taken to the General Chairman who would have the right to affirm, modify, or reverse the de­ cision. Penalties were in no case to be more severe than confinement to quarters or to a special area, but might include deprivation of certain privi­ leges. The committee of floor delegates was adamant, however, and proposed a

THE "RELEASE PETITION”

counterplan calling for nominations by the room monitors,—12 men from the main building, 6 men from the education building, and 8 women, from among whom 2 men from the main building, 1 man from the education building, and 2 women would be elected to the committee on order by the in­ ternees at large; in addition 1 alternate in each category would be thus elect­ ed. Any member of the committee on order would be removable by a 3/4 vote of the room monitors in the building from which he was elected. The term of office would be for 3 months. Judgment would be en­ forced by the committee on discipline. The committee would report to the Executive Committee on the com­ pletion of each case, but it would be entirely independent of the Executive Committee, in its functioning as well as in its creation, except in case of appeal, when the chairman of the committee on order would designate 2 of the alternates and the General Chairman 1 member of the Executive Committee, which 3 persons would then render a majority decision which would be final. The “fight for a supreme court” had lasted a month and the contestants had arrived at an impasse. In an ef­ fort to come to a conclusion in the matter, Carroll appointed a subcom­ mittee of the Executive Committee, composed of Duggleby, Bridgeford, and himself, to conduct further dis­ cussions with the floor delegates, but the subcommittee reported some time later that it seemed impossible to compromise the stand the Executive Committee had taken and the propo­ sals of the floor delegates. At this junc­ ture, DeWitt advanced the idea that as it was not possible to divorce res­ ponsibility from authority, it should be suggested to the floor delegates that

143

they agree to a plan under which the proposed committtee on order would assume the responsibility correspond­ ing to the authority asked for, pro­ vided this was acceptable to the Ja­ panese. The question of responsibility to the Japanese authorities gave the committee of floor delegates pause. There were further consultations and changes in the plan, but at the meeting of the Executive Committee on June 24 Carroll reported that the final negotiations regarding the com­ mittee on order had been concluded and that Selph and he expected to lay the m atter before the Commandant "as soon as possible”. Many people in the camp conver­ sant with the deliberations and their outcome, doubted the wisdom of the division of authority and responsibi­ lity entailed in the plan. Further developments, however, were interrupted by matters of greater importance,—the assumption by the Japanese Army of the responsibility for the maintenance of the camp, the creation by the Commandant of the new internee Committee of Finance and Supplies, and the move by the Executive Committee itself providing, with the consent of the Commandant, for the election of a new Executive Committee, as will be recounted later. The “Release Petition”—During the “battle for the supreme court”, which after all, exercised only the leading minds of the camp, there was one de­ velopment that aroused a wider in­ terest and elicited more outspoken opinion on all sides. That was the "pe­ tition” drafted by several internees and to be addressed to the Comman­ dant, which was circulated for signa­ tures by the room monitors on the evening of June 4. Because it came to them through the monitors, many

people believed that it was official. It was, however, one example of direct "prim ary” action by a group of in­ ternees. "Dear Sir: “We, the undersigned internees, respectfully request your consideration of the following facts and conditions: 1. We have now been interned for a period of 5 months. "2. We were removed from our homes on short notice, deprived of our freedom and normal associations, and restricted to this camp, not for any individual or specific wrong­ doing, but simply because we were civilian citizens of countries now at war with the Em­ pire of Japan. "3. Our behavior during this period in this difficult situation has, we believe, given ample proof of the fact that we are by training and character law-abiding peoples. “4. In view of the inadequate medical and hospital facilities, as well as the crowded con­ ditions, the approaching rainy season with its attendant hardships may well bring untold misery and possible epidemics, particularly to the women and children now confined in this camp. "Therefore, in view of the above facts, we appeal to you for at least partial relief from our present unfortunate condition. Specifically, we appeal for:

"(a) Relaxation of the present restrictions covering passes and releases, and "(b) For those of us who are able to sup­ port ourselves, permission to establish our residences in the City of Greater Manila, subject, of course, to such general rules and restrictions as may be considered neces­ sary by the Japanese Military authorities. "Your favorable action on this petition will be greatly appreciated by every man, woman, and child interned. “Very truly y o u rs...”

Although a good many internees ap­ pended their signatures to this letter in the belief that the proposed peti­ tion was sponsored by the Executive Committee, the document called forth such angry protest on the part of many that Carroll the next day issued the following bulletin: “In response to numerous questions re­ garding the petition presently being circulated among the internees for signature, I wish to say that said petition originated among a small group of internees, none of whom is connected with the Executive Committee. . . "A representative of the group which ori­ ginated the petition did approach Mr. Duggleby and me and asked if such a petition would

THE “ RELEASE PETITION” OPPOSED be received and passed on to the Commandant, to which we readily agreed as we felt that any petition originating among the internees should be received by the Committee and passed on if such a request is made.”

The opposition to the petition was not based so much on any disagree­ ment with the statements made and the relief asked for, as upon the gen­ eral tone of the letter, though there were many who objected to address­ ing any petition to the Japanese, hold­ ing that it would only afford the Ja­ panese the pleasure of turning it down. Others said the letter was just the kind of whine the Japanese had been hoping to hear. Some said it was disgraceful that the internees in Santo Tomas should be complaining about conditions there when the conditions in the prisoner-of-war camps were re­ portedly so much worse. Still others considered the letter as almost an apo­ logy for the nationality of the signa­ tories and for the fact that their na­ tions were at war with the Empire of Japan. However, on June 8, the petition, bearing 825 names, was sent to the Executive Committee with a covering letter signed by S. D. Lenox, R. S. Hendry, and F. N. Berry, expressing the view that though more signatures could have been obtained, they, the sponsors, believed that any further action affording opportunity for the appending of more signatures should come from the Executive Committee. A few days later the Executive Com­ mittee held a special meeting which was attended by the three men named and D. Blanton and F. M. Sturm, for the petition, and E. S. Bush, K. C. Fairchild, L. B. Fairchild, A. Gibbs, and O. A. Griffiths, who were opposed. Holland suggested that the petition be broken down into two separate peti­ tions, one asking for the permanent

145

release of those financially able to accept it, and the other asking for the liberalization of the pass and tem­ porary-release regulations; further that the first petition be presented on behalf of the women and children and then on behalf of the aged and infirm before any attem pt was made to ob­ tain more general releases. A special committee was named, composed of Lenox, Gibbs, Griffiths, Holland, and Mrs. E. J. Stewart to study the m atter further. In its meeting on June 19, the Exe­ cutive Committee accepted the report of this special committee with thanks, and in a letter dated June 22, addressed to Grinnell of the release committee, Carroll asked that he accept the as­ signment mentioned in the special committee’s report. That report signed by Holland, Grif­ fiths, and Lenox, and dated June 18, 1942, follows in part: "...We recommend to the general meeting that Mr. Grinnell be authorized to take up the question of releases informally with Mr. Tsurumi on the basis of the following points: "1. The inadequacy of space. "The present space is inadequate. In the main building there are only 27 square feet per person; in the educational building only 32; in the annex only a little over 40 square feet (especially bad in view of the women and children). The rainy season will accentuate the difficulties, driving people indoors and over-crowding the already crowded halls. There are no facilities for drying clothes and no fa­ cilities for recreation, and feeding will be a problem. "The minimum floor space devised by the U.S. Bureau of Health for schools, military camps or other camps of this nature is 41 square feet per person. Using this as a basis for computation, our camp at the present time is over-crowded to the extent of 870 persons. "2. The inadequacy of the diet. "The diet is both inadequate in quantity and quality. It lacks especially proteins and vitamins. "3. Health. “The camp doctors inform us that the space and diet conditions leave the camp open

146 to epidemics (influenza, dysentery, and chole­ ra). They inform us that there is absolutely no protection against the spread of disease. The diet is causing decreased resistance to disease. Exhaustion and vitamin-deficiency diseases are becoming more and more common. "4. Hospital facilities. "With present hospital facilities we cannot hope to cope with the increase of sickness to be expected during the rainy season. Even today people who are still sick are forced to leave the hospital to make room for more serious cases. There are no facilities for the isolation of tuberculosis cases and other di­ eases which require segregation. 5. Medical supplies. "In the camp we have with the exception of a few drugs almost no medical supplies, no anesthetics, no opiates, only a very small supply of the sulpha-drugs, no medicine for enteritis (a very common ailment), no medi­ cine for dysentery, and not even any cough medicine. *'The effect of the above is especially se­ vere on women and children. In the annex there are about 250 children and 159 mothers. Most of the children are under 8 years of age. Compared with normal figures, the incidence of illness among the children has been very great. The children are underfed and do not receive the type of food they need. This means in the future, rickets, malnutrition, and tuber­ culosis. Children’s diseases such as measles, mumps, and scarlet fever would spread like wildfire through the crowded annex. The mo­ thers are exhausted due to the necessity of constant care under such abnormal conditions. "There are about 200 persons over 60 years of age in the camp. They are naturally af­ fected by the above to a very great degree; by reason of age they are far less able to stand the rigours of internment. Many are medical cases but have been unable to secure releases. "While priority has been given to the wo­ men and children and aged, we are agreed that the above facts apply equally to other members of the camp. "Suggested relief: "1. Release of those women and children who are willing to be released. "2. Release of those over 60 who are willing to be released. "3. As there are many women who are re­ luctant to leave the camp without their hus­ bands, special consideration to be given to the release of wives and husbands together.

THE CAMP "4. Special consideration to be given to the release of those men who have their fa­ milies on the outside, especially where the presence of the husband is vitally important to the welfare of his family. "5. That consideration be given to the re­ lease of those persons not incorporated above who are in a position to provide their own subsistence.. . ”

First Evacuation to Shanghai—In the meantime, on June 16, some 40 men, women, and children whose homes were in Shanghai, including wives of some of the members of the Municipal Council there, left Santo Tomas to board a ship en route to that city. Of the name of the ship and its actual date of departure, their friends in the camp remained ignorant. It was reported that presumably on this same ship some 40 or 50 consular officials in Manila, a group which in­ cluded officials from other parts of the Far East who had been stranded in Manila at the outbreak of the war, left the Philippines for Shanghai, whence they would be sent to Lorenzo Marquez, East Africa, to be repatriated. No American officials from the Philip­ pines were included in this group, it was said, because the United States Government had refused to agree to include them in any exchange agree­ ment as the Philippines was held to be American soil. The group did in­ clude the British and Dutch consular officials and their families, and also some Free French officials. Previous to this, the Consul-General of Great Britain and the Consul-Gen­ eral of the Netherlands had been in­ terned in their own homes. Guards had been stationed at the house of the British Consul-General, but they had been quartered in a house across the street. The American consular officials had been interned in the Baldwin house, near the Polo Club in Pasay. Dr. Buss

THE ARMY TO FINANCE THE CAMP

and other members of the U.S. High Commissioner’s staff were interned by themselves in the Ynchausti house on Dewey Boulevard. Later it was reported that Buss had been taken to Tokyo on the same ship which took the consular officials and the Shanghai people. The reason for this and whether it was done with or without the consent of the American Government, was not known. The Japanese Army Begins Finan­ cing the Camp—After the Japaneseorganized Philippine Red Cross had taken over in May, the remaining asets of the old Red Cross,—the funds concerned amounted to around P93,000, 80% of which was budgeted for the maintenance of American and other internees, the new organization resort­ ed to various expedients to raise addi­ tional money, including a levy of 10% on the salaries of government officials and employees, payable, ac­ cording to the Tribune (June 21) in 10 fortnightly instalments, and a si­ milar levy, running as high as 20% on the salaries of employees of various commercial establishments. By these measures, however, not more than around P100,000 was expected. At the Red Cross meeting on May 6, attended by Carroll, Wolff, and Bailey, Roces, Chairman of the new Red Cross board, said that he did not know where the money for the camp was to come from after the funds available were gone and that the pro­ blem had kept him awake all the pre­ vious night. Carroll told him what the Commandant had said some months previously about the Army taking over the responsibility. Later, at a Red Cross luncheon at the Manila Hotel given for Commandant Tsurumi and his assistant Yamaguchi, this question was discussed and Tsurumi

147

confirmed what Carroll had said. This was the conversation referred to in the following letter of June 25, ad­ dressed to the Commandant by Roces: "With your kind permission, I desire to refer to our conversation regarding the main­ tenance of internees at Santo Tomas and the Holy Ghost (College). "As you may recall, we informed you that the funds turned over to the new Philippine Red Cross on May 11, 1942, and made available to provide food, medicine, and other things to these internees, were limited, considering the fact that the old Philippine .Red Cross (ARC) had incurred certain obligations for sa­ laries and materials which must be settled and can not be allowed to remain as such inde­ finitely. According to our estimates, the new Philippine Red Cross will not be able to con­ tinue furnishing these food supplies, medicines and others, nor maintain its present personnel at Santo Tomas and Holy Ghost, beyond the end of this month, and I would respectfully suggest that some other arrangement be made for the maintenance of the internees beginning July 1, 1942."

This was followed by a letter to the Commandant by the Red Cross ma­ nager, Jose Paez, dated June 27, reading: "With reference to the letter of our chair­ man of the 25th instant, allow me to inform you that our chairman, Don Alejandro Roces, our treasurer, Don Vicente Madrigal, and the undersigned had been called to a conference this afternoon by Dr. Ono, of the Department of the Interior; Japanese Military Administra­ tion, and were advised to the effect that the new Philippine Red Cross should not have ex­ pended any portion of the funds turned over to us by the old Philippine Red Cross (ARC) for the benefit of Americans and other enemy aliens. As a m atter of fact, he explained fur­ ther that even the old Philippine Red Cross (ARC) should not have spent the money for the maintenance of Americans and other enemy aliens inasmuch as their funds belong to the Japanese Government. “Under these circumstances, we feel sure that the suggestion of our Chairman in his letter of June 25, 1942, that some other arrange­ ment be made for the maintenance of the in­ ternees at Santo Tomas and Holy Ghost be­ ginning July 1, 1942, will meet with your kind approval."

148

According to private reports, the Red Cross officials were called to mi­ litary headquarters and were severely berated for their "mistake" in having taken over responsibility for the main­ tenance of the camp when this was really the Army’s responsibility! They should not have spent any part of their funds for this purpose; neither should the former Red Cross,—all of whose funds belonged to the Army! The Commandant sent a copy of the Roces letter to Duggleby, Carroll being in the hospital at the time, and asked for a report on the food re­ serves in the camp, the cash balance, and a statement regarding the mini­ mum monthly cash requirements for the maintenance of the camp. The next day, the 26th, Carroll and Duggle­ by informed him that the supplies still in the bodega were mostly sta­ ples which had to be supplemented from day to day. As to the cash ba­ lance, they referred him to Roces’ letter stating that the funds would be exhausted by July 1. (The Red Cross at the time had some P60,000, but outstanding obligations totalled some P52,000, leaving a balance which would have maintained the camp for only a week or so.) As to the camp re­ quirements, they referred him to the Committee’s estimate, submitted in April, which called for an expenditure of P I.10 a head a day. The Comman­ dant said that the military authorities considered this "ridiculously high”, that he thought that the maximum the camp could hope for was some P40,000 a month, and that he wanted them to prepare another statement asking approximately for that amount. He said the Red Cross had been asked to make an estimate for the camp, and that it had suggested a monthly sum of P70,000 which included provision for the salaries of a number of Red

THE CAMP

Cross workers attached to the camp, but that the army experts considered this too high also. The Executive Com­ mittee accordingly prepared another estimate, asking, however, for P55,000 a month instead of P40,000, which was considered entirely inadequate. Early Sunday morning, the 28th, the Commandant summoned Carroll and Duggleby and told them in great good humor that he had been to Head­ quarters and that instead of present­ ing the Committee’s estimate, he had presented only the Red Cross estimate and had insisted that the amount of P70,000 be appropriated as a minimum. The military authorities had agreed. He also told the internee officials that the Red Cross would have nothing further to do with the camp and that it would be necessary to set up a spe­ cial internee committee of reliable men to receive the funds to be allotted and to administer them, take care of purchasing, etc. It would be necessary, he said, to keep careful account of receipts and expenditures as the pa­ pers no doubt would ultimately go to Washington and reach the "peace ta­ ble”. He suggested that the Executive Committee meet and nominate a com­ mittee of 5 members for this purpose. Carroll and Duggleby expressed their satisfaction and said that they would call a joint meeting that afternoon at 1 o’clock of the Executive Committee, the Advisory Committee, the existing food and supply committee, and the floor monitors for the purpose of creating the im portant new committee. Notices were immediately sent out, but shortly thereafter, about 10:30, the Commandant called Carroll back and told him he had decided to appoint 2 members of the committee himself, namely Leach and Grinnell, both of whom had been in conference with him and were sitting at his desk. The

THE NEW FINANCE AND SUPPLIES COMMITTEE

Commandant suggested that the meet­ ing set for 1 o’clock be held to nomi­ nate 5 more members for a commit­ tee of 7. He then asked Carroll to give him a list of the members of the Exe­ cutive and Advisory committees. Re­ turning half an hour later with these lists, the Commandant took them and with a pencil encircled the names of Duggi’eby, Bridgeford, and Carroll, and added the names of Leach and Grinnell. Then he said he had decided to appoint the whole committee. "What do you think of Mr. Noble?" he asked. When Carroll said that he was a good man, the Commandant circled his name. "We need one more”, he said, and Carroll suggested Cal­ houn. Tsurumi next asked whether the meeting had already been called, and when Carroll answered in the af­ firmative, he said, "Go ahead and hold it and inform them of the appoint­ ments made.” Referring to the inclu­ sion of himself on the committee, Carroll told the Commandant that he already had all the work he could do and that he would prefer not to serve on the new body, but the Commandant answered that he wanted him on the committee and that he could delegate some of his Executive Committee du­ ties to some one else. The Executive Committee Proposes an Election—The scheduled meeting was held at 1 o’clock, and those pre­ sent were informed of what had hap­ pened. There was a general feeling that it would have been better had the Commandant’s original plan been adhered to, and of regret that, appa­ rently, he had been influenced. The Executive Committee held a session by itself beginning at 3 o’clock, and now made an im portant decision. Since 3 of its members had been ap­ pointed to the new Finance and Sup­

149

plies Committee, and since two of the major problems of the camp, namely those of finance and of housing (the gymnasium had been reopened a few days before) had been solved, it was unanimously agreed that this was an opportune time for the Committee to retire in favor of an elective commit­ tee if it was found possible to elect one. It was also agreed not to inform the Commandant of this decision until after an announcement to the effect had been made to the internees at large. This was not only considered good strategy, but the Committee wanted to make its decision of record, regardless of the final action of the Commandant in the matter. Accord­ ingly, the following bulletin was posted on the bulletin boards and read by the room monitors at roll call that night (June 28, 1942): "We are pleased to announce that arrange­ ments have been made by the Commandant for adequate financing of this camp by the Japanese Military Administration starting July 1. Thereafter the Philippine Red Cross, to which we all owe a debt of gratitude, will no longer furnish the food and other supplies required by us but cash will be supplied by the Ja­ panese Army to the internees organization for direct purchase of such supplies. "The Commandant has appointed the fol­ lowing internees as a committee to receive such funds, and to be held responsible for their administration and the organization of a service for the purchase and delivery of supplies for this camp and for the internees at Holy Ghostconvent. G. M. Bridgeford A. F. Duggleby A. D. Calhoun C. C. Grinnell Earl Carroll F. N. Noble Dr. C. N. Leach "It will be noted that 3 of the above are members of the Executive Committee. At a meeting of the Executive Committee held this afternoon it was agreed that it would be very difficult for an individual to serve properly on both Committees and it suggested that one appointment or the other should be dropped and also that there is a danger of divided res­ ponsibility in the present arrangement which

150 is not in the best interests of the camp. It was also agreed that in view of the current opinion of internees that an elected Executive Committee would be entitled to and would obtain the cooperation of the camp, the pre­ sent members of the Executive Committee should retire in favor of elected members, par­ ticularly since the major problems of the camp such as additional housing and more perma­ nent financing arrangement have now been solved. "Finally it was agreed by the Executive Committee upon motion unanimously carried that the Commandant be requested to permit the election of an Executive Committee under which all other committees, including the new­ ly appointed committee for the administration of funds supplied by the Japanese Army, would function as subcommittees. This proposal will be placed before the Commandant tomorrow morning.’’

The next morning the proposal was placed before the Commandant by Carroll and Bridgeford. The Com­ mandant was apparently taken by surprise and said, "You are not re­ signing now, are you?” "No”, they answered. "We are entirely willing to remain in office until you reach a de­ cision on the m atter”. The Comman­ dant said he would take the m atter under consideration. That afternoon, when Carroll was in the Commandant’s office on another m atter, Tsurumi spoke to him. "I have decided”, he said, in a friendly way, "to appoint a new Exe­ cutive Committee and I propose to make Mr. Grinnell the Chairman”. Carroll felt that much depended on what he said at this moment. He said, "Mr. Commandant, you have lived many years in Canada and have visited the United States. You know a good deal about our institutions and about the psychology of our people, and you must also know that the Executive Committee here, not being an elective body, has been greatly handicapped. This is an opportune time to remedy

THE CAMP

that situation. An election of the mem­ bers of the Executive Committee would make for better cooperation and or­ der in the camp.” The Commandant hesitated, then said: "I will agree to the election of a committee of 7, from among whom I will appoint the Chair­ man.” Later in the afternoon, Grinnell said to Carroll that the Commandant was "wavering” on the m atter of the election. On the 30th, Tsurumi called for Carroll and told him that while the appropriation of P70,000 had been agreed to by the army paymaster, as he had informed him previously, higher officials had objected to this amount, and that it had finally been agreed that the allotment would be P.70 a day per capita, which, on the basis of 3,200 internees, would amount to approximately P67,200 a month. He said that army officials had pointed out that the allotment for the Davao internment camp was only P.25 a day and for Baguio P.30. Evincing some embarrassment, the Commandant also said that he had "made a mistake” in appointing the members of the Com­ mittee on Finance and Supplies, and that he would like to have a letter from the Executive Committee ap­ pointing the same persons. He hinted that as the Army wanted the funds handled exclusively by the internees to avoid possible future criticism, the Committee should be an internee com­ mittee and not a committee appointed by himself. At a meeting of the Exe­ cutive Committee following this con­ versation it was decided that the Com­ mittee, as a m atter of principle, could not make it appear that what were actually dictated appointments were its own, but that inasmuch as the Commandant had done so much to get a larger appropriation for the camp

PROPOSED EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE ELECTION

than was at first thought possible and he was now embarrassed, and, inas­ much, furthermore, some of the names of the men appointed had in fact been suggested to him by some individual internees and they were all good men, that a letter might be written advising the Commandant to the effect that "the following (the names of the men appointed) would comprise a satisfac­ tory and capable committee”, and such a letter was written. The Comman­ dant was not entirely satisfied with this and came back to the m atter se­ veral times but finally said nothing more about it. A day or so later, Carroll again went to the Commandant with a written memorandum from the Executive Committee repeating the proposal for an elective Executive Committee working in. cooperation with the new Finance and Supplies Committee, but both directly responsible to the Com­ mandant. As the new Committee was to be entrusted with the funds and the responsibility, it should have sole authority in the sphere of finance and supply. The Commandant said that he wanted to think the m atter over be­ fore making a decision. On July 4 Carroll went to the Commandant again about the election issue but was told that he had been so occupied with other m atters that he had had no time to consider it. Several days more passed, and as people in the camp were wondering what had happened to the plan and also the "court” plan which was still pending, the Executive Com­ mittee issued the following bulletin on the night of July 7. "In view of the fact that some days have elapsed since internees were informed that the Executive Committee is willing to retire in favor of an elected Executive Committee, and that the Commandant would be asked to consent to such an election, we wish to state

151

that the matter was placed before the Com­ mandant at which time he agreed to take the question under consideration. Since that time four follow-up conversations have been held with him, but to date he has not reached a de­ cision. Further discussions will be had with him until a definite decision may be reached, at which time internees will be informed of his action. "Prior to the decision to place before the Commandant the above-mentioned proposal, an agreement had been reached between the floor delegates and the Executive Committee for the adoption of a 'court plan’ involving the election of a 'committee on order'. How­ ever, in view of the subsequent decision to request the Commandant to permit the election of a new Executive Committee, it was agreed with the chairman of the floor delegates that the presentation of the ‘court plan' to the Commandant should be deferred until a de­ cision regarding an elected Executive Commit­ tee was reached by him. It was felt that thpse two proposals should not be submitted to the Commandant at the same time, and that since one proposal involved the election of a new Executive Committee that proposal should be submitted first and that, if approved, the new Committee should have a voice in the formula­ tion and presentation of the 'court plan’."

Selph and some other members of the floor delegates committee insisted the next day that the "court" pro­ posal should be submitted to the Commandant regardless of what his decision might be on the plan to elect a new Executive Committee. At a meet­ ing of the Committee that afternoon, a subcommittee, composed of Carroll, Bridgeford, Holland, and Selph were authorized to call on the Commandant with the understanding that they would ask for his decision on the election plan and that if he rejected this, would present the proposal to elect the committee on order, though some members of the Committee still doubted the wisdom of presenting two m ajor questions to the Commandant at one time. When the subcommittee presented itself and brought up the first ques­

152

tion, the Commandant, addressing Carroll, asked: "Is it your honest opinion that an elective Executive Committee would be a good thing?” Carroll replied that he was convinced of it and that he thought the Comman­ dant should approve the plan. The Commandant then said that he would approve the election of a committee of 7 from among approximately 20 nominees (whom he apparently ex­ pected the existing Executive Com­ mittee to nominate) and that he would appoint the Chairman from among the 7. Selph then laid the "court” plan before the Commandant, but the only response was that the Executive Com­ mittee should go ahead and submit a list of the 20 nominees. Holland and Carroll both made further statements in an effort to arouse the Comman­ dant’s interest, but the latter replied that persons who violated the rules and regulations of the camp should be reported to him and that he would deal with them. The court-plan was dead, for the time being, anyway, but a greater concession had been gained and plans for the election of a new Executive Committee were immediate­ ly under way which would circumvent the requirement that the Committee itself propose the nominees. In the meantime the Finance and Supplies Committee was organized with Carroll as acting Chairman. Spe­ cific responsibilities were assigned to the individual members. Bridgeford assumed the responsibility for the pro­ curement of food. Mrs. Intengan and her two helpers, who so ably served the camp under the Red Cross, were employed to continue their work of purchasing and delivering fresh foods, and Gundelfinger was appointed to supervise the purchase of staple foods.

THE CAMP

Calhoun was made treasurer of the Committee, under him Bailey as dis­ bursing officer, V. Thompson and R. O. Ferguson as auditors, E. L. Carey and J. E. Fairweather as assistant auditors, and R. J. McGinley as chief accountant. Duggleby became acting secretary and also took charge of cons­ truction, sanitation, and miscellaneous supplies, H. E. Bauman and G. Koster being appointed to purchase construc­ tion and sanitation supplies and Gun­ delfinger to make miscellaneous pur­ chases. Dr. Leach assumed the respon­ sibility for the procurement of medical supplies, Grinnell to assist him and to supervise purchases of electrical equip­ ment. Noble was placed in charge of transportation. The Japanese assigned one of the Heacock Company trucks to the Committee. The office of the Committee was set up in the old Red Cross bodega. The doctors and nurses formerly employed by the Red Cross in the camp and at the Holy Ghost Col­ lege were retained. The Committee submitted its bud­ get for July, which the Commandant took up with the army paymaster. When he returned with it, he told Carroll and Calhoun that the paymas­ ter wanted the item for food purchases increased by eliminating the items for water, gas, and sanitation supplies for the kitchen and adding them to the food item, this increasing the ap­ parent daily allowance for food from P. 445 to P.555. During the conversa­ tion, Carroll and Calhoun pointed out that there usually were some 200 in­ ternees in outside hospitals, that the Red Cross had formerly sent the Philippine General Hospital and St. Luke’s Hospital the amount of P750 a month each, and that, as these hospitals were in financial difficulty the Committee would like to include

153

THE MEDICAL REPORT

these outside patients in the daily roll-call totals and turn over their sub­ sistence money to the hospitals. To this the Commandant agreed. Later that day he told them that the pay­ m aster had decided to turn over the entire balance for July to the Com­ mittee instead of releasing it in week­ ly installments of P I5,000, as had pre­ viously been arranged. Hospital Report for the First Six Months—The resignation of Dr. Leach

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Gastro-Intestinal Diabetis Respiratory Arthritis Avitaminosis Psychosis Neurological Acute Infectious Diseases of Childhood 9. Genito-Urinary 10. Dermatological 11. Eye 12. Ear 13. Nose 14. Acute Infectious Diseases 15. Gynecological 16. Cardio-Renal 17. Cardio-Vascular 18. Hernia 19. Poisoning 20. Rheumatism 21. Malignancy 22. Paralysis 23. Ductless Glands 24. Orthopedic 25. Bony. System 26. Surgical Total Sent to outside hospitals Sent home Totals

Jan. 8 Feb. 4 197 9 355 32 32 1 20

An interesting review of the medical work in the camp was contained in Leach’s final report, dated July 6. From January 8 to the end of June, a total of 3,722 diagnoses had been made, and the total number of medical and surgical treatments was 23,326. The total number of laboratory examinations of blood, urine, stools, sputum, etc., was 3,052. A con­ densed table of the diagnoses, month by month, follows: March 1-31 231 1 106 7

April 1-30 106

May 1-31 127

June 1-30 145

113 8 27 2 4

70 5 15

1 8

85 7 10 1 16

11 67 16 13 1 2 15

8 50 9 32

12 70 20 21

9 101 10 30

16 84 12 27

2 9

2 9

8 19

19 2

22

5 7 1 24 4

21 4

15 3

1

1

1

Feb. 8 Feb. 28 169 3 134 9 1 1 6

Total 975 13 863 68 85 6 60

6

26 28 2 105 26 1 4 5 2 1 1 10 118 1,187

2 2

2

71 544

45 524

61 451

52 521

68 495

1 HO3 493 89 127 1 45 87 3 206 39 1 5 5 2 6 5 13 515 3,722

198 94 292

84 5 89

162 13 175

54 13 67

69 9 78

70 5 73

637 137 774

1 54 121 22 14

1

1

Note:—Patients were sent chiefly to the Philippine General Hospital (223), St. Luke’s (256), San Lazaro (31), Red Cross Hospital No. DENTAL CLINIC Extractions 46 65 Fillings 164 191 Miscellaneous 357 425 567 68l Totals 3See N o te n e x t page,

and the appointment of Dr. L. Z. Flet­ cher as head of the hospital was an­ nounced by the Executive Committee on July 23.

2

1 (19), Red Cross Hospital No. 2 (20) and Red Cross Hospital No. 3 (38). 69 221 501 791

47 192 499 738

51 166 413 630

47 153 362 562

325 1,087 2,557 3,969

154

THE CAMP

Psychopathic cases sent to the National Psy­ The tuberculin test already mentioned of 426 chopathic Institute numbered 6, to Sulphur children aged from 1 to 15 years found 18.3% Springs, 5, and to St. Luke’s 1. Of these, 7 were reacting positively. Later Drs. J. B. Avellana men and 5 women (1 of the men and 3 of the and S. Arcega-Florendo, of the Philippine Tuber­ women were British.) Three cases of drug culosis Association, conducted a fluoroscopic addiction were discovered. The case of pois­ examination of practically all the people in the oning mentioned in the table was that of a camp and found 28 male and 15 female cases, woman who had made a half-hearted attempt the "open” cases numbering 7 male and 4 on her life by taking potassium permanganate. female. Births among the internees during the period An appeal for blood donors was answered numbered 12 boys and 19 girls, a total of 31. by 120 men and women, whose blood was Deaths (all outside the camp) numbered 14, — examined and typed as follows by the Philip­ 10 American men and 1 woman, and 3 British pine Institute of Hygiene: Type O, 52; Type men. The ages ranged from 48 to 89.3 A, 42; Type B, 9; Type AB, 5. Four calls were received and answered, 300 cc. being taken in 3 WAR AMENORRHEA—Abstract of a paper by each case. Dr. Frank E. Whitacre of the Peping Union During the first few weeks, Leach obtained Medical College and Dr. Benjamin Barrera of over P2,000 worth of medicines and drugs for the College of Medicine, University of the Phil­ the hospital at his own expense and the ippines: guarantee of the Rockefeller Foundation. There The authors observed that soon after intern­ were also a number of other donations. After ment at Santo Tomas, there was a high in­ cidence of women who had a sudden cessation that the old Philippine Red Cross furnished of their menstrual periods. War conditions around P3,000 worth a month. Later, with the had obviously upset the function of certain organization of the Finance and Supplies Com­ glands of internal secretion. In June, 1942, mittee, the situation improved and around there were 3,134 internees of whom 1,042 were P3.500 a month was spent for medicines, drugs, women of menstrual age, and of the latter and supplies, the buying being done by M. E. group 125 had experienced an absence of the menstrual periods from the time of in­ Vitally, who was appointed business manager ternment. Articles on this subject appeared of the hospital. Vitally was the proprietor of in the medical literature of central Europe fol­ the Associated Drug Company (Federal, U.S.A.) lowing World War I and all authors considered of Shanghai and had been caught in Manila that the disturbance was due to deficiency in by the Japanese occupation. Vitally found various foods. This was apparently not the Manila Chinese dealers in drugs most helpful, case in the group under consideration, for the especially the Farmacia Central and the onset was too sudden for malnutrition or vitamin deficiency to have an effect in the Yucuanseh Drug Company; also Levy & Blum. causation of the distrubance. In 2 selected Inc., and the Botica Santa Cruz. They offered cases the ovarian and pituitary hormones were generously low prices for the supplies needed extracted from the urine every day for 5 by the camp and donated some of them des­ weeks. It was found that the ovarian hormone pite the prevailing scarcity due to the inter­ was totally absent while the pituitary hormone ruption of imports and Japanese army purcha­ was definitely present and apparently some­ ses and confiscations. In so far as known, what increased in amount. The authors con­ the Japanese depended practically entirely on cluded that the cause of this trouble was psychic, in the sense that severe psychic shock, local stocks and brought in only sulfanilamide worry and especially fear, acting through the powder. sympathetic nervous system, caused the com­ Resignation of Dr. Leach—After plete suppression of ovarian function. This work is of scientific interest because it demonstrates many months of able service. Dr. the profound influence of mental factors on Leach’s resignation came about in a the glands of internal secretion. It is of prac­ tical importance because it shows that active very unpleasant manner. All three of treatment, in this particular group of cases, the American doctors at the hospital, should be by the administration of ovarian —Leach, Whitacre, and Robinson, were hormone (estrogen) rather than pituitary hor­ mone. Most of the patients adjusted them­ overworked, and as a result of the selves after several months and little could be friendly relations between Leach and done in active treatment were indicated in a few cases, because hormonal preparations were Tsurumi they received passes in April not available. which enabled them to spend their

RESIGNATION OF DR. LEACH

nights outside the camp in a room at the Philippine General Hospital. They left the camp every afternoon in the hospital ambulance. This privilege was valuable to all three, but especially to Whitacre who was carrying on a piece of research (see footnote 3) which re­ quired frequent visits to the Bureau of Science. This arrangement compli­ cated the situation which subsequently ensued with respect to the sudden in­ crease in amoebic dysentery in the camp in June and July. The cases were traced to food brought in from the outside over the Package-Line, but the fact remained that dysentery carriers were found in the kitchen, and the responsibility for this no one wanted to own,—if there were any one authority responsible, which is at least doubtful. But the question was brought up by the Jap­ anese. The Executive Committee was probably to be held ultimately res­ ponsible for everything that happened in the camp which was not actually determined by the Japanese, but up to the time the Japanese Army began to supply the funds to support the camp and the Finance and Supplies Committee was organized to adminis­ ter these funds, the Philippine Red Cross had furnished funds and sup­ plies, this resulting, as already said, in a kind of diarchy in the camp com­ posed of the Executive Committee on the one hand and the Red Cross on the other. The Committee took the general position that it represented the body of internees in the relation­ ship with the Commandant; it took a similar position with reference to the Red Cross. But as the kitchens were closely connected with the Red Cross function of supply, the superintendents of all three kitchens were Red Cross

155

appointees, and the director of kitchens was J. W. Cullens, of the American Red Cross. While kitchen workers were provided by the work-assignment com­ mittee upon Red Cross request, the question as to whether any of these men might be dysentery carriers was left to the kitchen management and to the medical men. A survey of all food-handlers in the camp, principally in the kitchens, had been made in February. At two of the regular Sunday meetings of the medi­ cal committee in April, the necessity for a re-examination was discussed, Leach agreeing to take the m atter up with the Philippine Bureau of Health as the necessary paraphernalia were lacking in the camp. Some consider­ able time passed, however, with nothing along the lines of a re-exami­ nation being done until Leach, in a re­ port dated July 18, which he sent both to the Commandant and the Executive Committee, declared that "in spite of instructions regarding preliminary ex­ aminations, new employees were taken on (in the central kitchen) without proper tests being made for the carrier state”. Leach said afterward that though he himself had issued these instructions, he was not responsible for enforcing them. Cullens said that the kitchen management had never ob­ jected to such examinations and that he remembered lining the men up several times, but that there was al­ ways a considerable turnover of labor and that he supposed the doctors had not followed the m atter up; he added that in so far as the Bureau of Health was concerned, it had to be taken into consideration that the country was in a state of upset, that the camp doctors, too, had plenty of other work to do, that the situation had not been alarm­

156

THE CAMP

ing because of the progressive decrease in general gastro-intestinal cases, and that, anyway, he understood the ori­ gins of the cases of dysentery had been traced to outside food. Leach’s report went on to show the following inci­ dence of active cases of amoebic dy­ sentery in the camp: January, 2; Feb­ ruary, 1; March, 1; April, 2; May, 3; June, 8; and July (up to the 17th), 16. A recent survey of employees in the kitchens, he said, also disclosed the following as to carriers: Central Kitchen Numbers employed Numbers examined Carriers found:

Hospital Kitchen

Annex Kitchen

164

16

32

155

16

32

Amoebic dysentery

6

Salmonella

50

0 0

Completed

Not

“Instructions” reported Leach, “have been issued to the main kitchen to discharge all employees reported as carriers of E. Histolytica or Salmo­ nella. Unfortunately, the camp hospi­ tal has been unable to obtain any Carbasone, which is the drug of choice for the treatment of the carrier state”. The Executive Committee that same day dismissed all discovered dysentery carriers working in the kitchen, the Red Cross kitchen management having some time previously been eliminated as a result of the Japanese organiza­ tion of a new Red Cross and the out­ lawing of the old organization. Tsurumi sent Dr. Leach’s report to military headquarters and an officer there apparently saw an opportunity to put some of "these American doc­ tors” in their places. The "No. 3” Japanese medical officer at head­ quarters arranged that Leach should meet him in the Commandant’s office the next day at 9 o’clock in the morn­ ing. There was a typhoon raging at

the time, the streets were flooded, and Leach, who had left the camp as usual the previous afternoon and who was dependent on ambulance transporta­ tion, was about an hour late. The officer was furious when he learned from the Commandant that Leach, an internee, was not only not there to meet him, as ordered, but was even out of the camp. The officer, who was an exception­ ally tall and heavily-built man, twirl­ ing his long sword by the tassel, ask­ ed whether Leach considered him what Americans call one of those "inferior Japanese doctors”. Leach made a proper apology for being late and said that he had no such ideas, that he had worked with medical col­ leagues in Japan, and so on, but the officer refused to be mollified. He took up the report and asked him how it was that he, a doctor of the "su­ perior white race” had allowed such a situation to develop in. the camp. He said he wanted to know who was responsible. Leach said that the situation was the result of a combina­ tion of circumstances, but the officer said such an excuse would not do. Leach said that if he wanted to hold some individual responsible, then, he supposed, he was the responsible one. The Japanese said that by the next day he wanted a statement from the doctor as to how he intended to deal with the situation, and then he rudely turned his back on him in dismissal. The next day Leach had the desired statement sent to him, and two days after that Leach was called to the Commandant’s office again. His Jap­ anese colleague was waiting for him. He said that Leach had not given him a program of action, as he should have done, but had tried to give him a lecture on dysentery. He then began an examination of Dr. Leach on the

THE JAPANESE MEDICAL OFFICER

subject. He asked him how many organisms came under the Salmonella group. Leach said he had not read the latest literature on the subject but that he thought there must be some 50 of them. The Japanese said that he was only a graduate of one of those “third-rate” Japanese medical schools, while Leach no doubt came from one of those "super-American institutions”, but that nevertheless he knew there were some 150 organisms included under the classification. He asked how long it would take Leach to control the dysentery in the camp, and Leach said he thought it might be done in a few weeks. "You have a week”, said the officer, "to stop the dysentery and to examine the stools of everyone in the camp”. Leach said that with the facilities at his disposal this would be impossible. "If you can’t do it, I ’ll bring in the doctors of the Imperial Japanese Army; they can do it,” said the officer. "I would need technicians, microscopes, drugs”, said Leach. "The Army will furnish all the equipment necessary”, said the officer. He then summoned Duggleby and Cecil,—Carroll happened to be out of the camp on business. He told them he did not see how it was that "these great American doctors” couldn’t han­ dle such a small problem as the dysen­ tery in the camp and had to run to the Commandant about it. He said that the Japanese army doctors took care of much worse situations among their soldiers in China and Indo-China and Burma and Malaya and thought nothing of it.4 He said that he would hold them personally responsible to see to it that everybody did his duty. 4 At this time thousands of Americans and Filipinos were reported to be dying of dysen­ tery in the prisoner-of-war camps, the Jap­ anese doing nothing about it.

157

The next day, Tsurumi called Carroll, Duggleby, Calhoun, Cecil, and Grinnell into conference and told them that the officer had demanded a comprehensive report on what the internee organization proposed to do about the sanitation and health of the camp. He also told them that Dr. Leach had offered his resignation and that he had accepted it; then asked suggestions as to a new appointment. They recommended Dr. Fletcher for the hospital directorship. As to the report which Headquar­ ters wanted, while the Executive Com­ mittee considered the demand unjus­ tified, it decided to take advantage of it by once again pressing the author­ ities for permission to acquire addi­ tional kitchen equipment and sanitary supplies and medicines, such as Carbasone, which could not be obtained in the market but which the Japanese Army might be able to supply. Since late January, the Committee had been trying to get permission to install water-heating units in the kitchen for washing pots and pans, as well as addi­ tional stoves and a baking-oven, and these request had always been de­ nied. As a result of this new presen­ tation, the purchase or lease of addi­ tional kitchen equipment was author­ ized, and it became possible to expand the kitchen somewhat and to enforce greater cleanliness. At this time, too, the Committee brought internee foodvendors under control by establishing the sales li­ cense board which required these in­ ternees to submit to medical examin­ ation and to provide sanitary wrap­ pings for the food offered for sale. The Committee also solicited and obtained the help of the Philippine Bureau of Health in obtaining and certifying to sanitary conditions in the prepara­

158

tion of food outside the camp offered for sale to internees. Some good, therefore, came from the visits of the Japanese medical of­ ficer with the inferiority-complex. However, no medicine was received from the Japanese Army and no sani­ tary supplies except one barrel of creolin. The demand that the stools of everybody in the camp be examined lapsed and was forgotten, as so often happened in the case of sudden Jap­ anese inspirations. Three microscopes were sent to the camp, on loan from the Bureau of Science, and their sud­ den appearance prompted the resig­ nation of Ruben Levy, the hardwork­ ing laboratory technician of the camp hospital, but when the m atter was ex­ plained to him he withdrew his resig­ nation. The dysentery in the camp was cleared up. Tsurumi had apologized to Dr. Leach for the behavior of the Japanese med­ ical officer, but Leach had decided nevertheless that he should resign. Some days later, the officer came into the camp again and, seeing Leach, who sought to avoid him, followed him and told him he was "sorry if he had made him feel bad”. Leach said after­ ward that he knew that the "No. 1” Japanese medical officer at head­ quarters had been a fellow of the Rockefeller Foundation, although he had never met him; perhaps Tsurumi had reported the behavior of the "No. 3” to him. and he had been instructed to apologize. The New School-Year—The schoolyear opened on June 29, though, be­ cause of the rainy weather, classes of primary grade were not started until about a month later when new class­ room space was made available by the University. The curricula were extended so as to conform with those of accredited grade and high schools

THE CAMP

in the United States. The classwork of some 75 children from Shanghai was adapted to the British school system. Special classes were organ­ ized at the Holy Ghost College for the children there, who numbered around 100. With the population of the camp somewhat reduced due to evacuations and releases, the registration in the grade and high school classes was 260 as against the 328 during the first months. Pupils did their share of the camp work by helping to pick vegeetables in the garden twice a week. A number of boys worked in the car­ penter and other shops and some of the girls helped with the camp sew­ ing. College courses were arranged so that a full lst-year curriculum could be of­ fered to the students who had grad­ uated from high school in May, and more advanced college classes were also organized. The language department was especially strong. In addition to the usual modern language, C.H.A. Reimers offered a course in AngloSaxon, Russian was taught by Mrs. N. S. Merriam, Hindu by Dr. W. W. Hume, Chinese by G. Green, Japanese by G. Stephens, and Tagalog by Dr. R. A. Thorson and Miss C. Carl. Prominent lawyers gave courses in corporation, banking, insurance, mining, and other divisions of law, and various courses and seminars in mathematics, pure science, and engineering were conduct­ ed by engineers and scientists among the internees. Permission from the Uni­ versity authorites to use the chemi­ cal laboratory on the 4th floor of the main building for classrooms did much to make this augmented high school and college teaching possible. In the business school, courses in busi­ ness English and business law were added to the courses given in the pre­ vious session. The total teaching force

PLANNED CAMP ENLARGEMENT

ran to 193, and librarians, office as­ sistants, etc., to 27, a total of 130 Practically all the children in the camp went to school and about a fifth of the adult population attended one or more classes. The University lent furniture and some books and also for a time chalk and paper. Volun­ tary collections falling short of the amount needed for necessary supplies, the Finance and Supplies Committee provided a grant of P30 monthly. Certainly, no school system ever did more, or as much, on less money; but, of course, teachers and students were all supported by the "state” and no one received any salary. Planned Enlargement of the Camp— Meanwhile those appointed to ap­ proach the Commandant on the m at­ ter of liberalizing the pass and per­ manent release regulations were faced with an almost hopeless situation. Carroll himself had been working for the release of some 150 men in the camp who had Filipino wives and fa­ milies outside, but when the Com­ mandant submitted this proposal to the military authorities he was told the proposal was "out of order”. The reported appearance of anti-Japanese hand-bills and posters in many parts of Manila on July 4, together with the continued broadcasts of "Juan de la Cruz” which the internees came to hear about, put the authorities quite out of temper. According to rumors in the camp, these broadcasts, begun from a secret station after the fall of Corregidor, were in the nature of comment on the progress of the war, the broadcaster apparently relying mainly on the Chungking radio for his information, Chungking being more outspoken and optimistic in its claims than either the British Broadcasting Corporation or the San Francisco sta­

159

tions. The broadcaster, according to reports, was a Filipino who had pro­ bably served in the U. S. Navy and had acquired a sailor’s vocabulary which he did not hesitate to use in expressing his opinion of the Japanese. The Japanese were said to be making extraordinary efforts to apprehend him, but he daily taunted them in the raciest language at his command. It was said that the Japanese had set a P2,500 prize on his head and that he had retorted that he himself was offering PI for every "Sakdal” (mem­ bers of a supposedly pro-Japanese organization), P5 for every Filipino official really cooperating with the Japanese, and, for that s.o.b. General Homma, P7.50. On July 11, Tsurumi called Carroll, Duggleby, Holland, and Grinnell to his office and told them that the Com­ mander-in-chief had issued instructions that one-day passes might continue to be issued by the Commandant provided they were limited in number and a Japanese interpreter accompanied every person out on pass: this applied even to the men under the Finance and Supplies Committee who went cut to make purchases but in their case the requirement was not enforced be­ cause of the difficulty of making any purchases under this condition and also upon the assurance of the Com­ mittee that only men of "excellent character” would go out. All condi­ tional releases (releases for more than one day) and any extension of such passes already issued were to be issued only subject to approval of the Commander-in-chief. However, at the re­ quest of the internee officials, the Com­ mandant agreed to a nominal exten­ sion of passes already issued for 4 or 5 days, provided the military authori­ ties approved this. As it was presumed

160

that very few extensions would be made and that most of the persons out on pass would be re-intemed, the Commandant gave instructions that plans be prepared for housing the anticipated increase in the camp population. That afternoon, Carroll and Duggleby accompanied the Com­ mandant on an inspection of certain school buildings and buildings former­ ly used as student dormitories east of the camp, and the following day surveyors were sent out to make a sketchmap of the area included. It was estimated that around 1,000 peo­ ple could be accommodated in the buildings under consideration. The gymnasium had already been re­ opened on May 25, at the request of the Commandant, following informa­ tion to the effect that some 300 civi­ lian employees of the U.S. Army from Bataan and Corregidor would be brought to the camp. However, these had not yet arrived. It was also said that the 500 people interned in Baguio would be brought to Manila, as, too, some 350 interned in various centers in the Visayas and some 150 in Min­ danao. The Dominicans and the Spa­ nish Consul-General had objected to the re-opening of the gymnasium, but this was considered more or less pro­ forma, and when the Commandant declared that he wanted the building, that was all there was to that. The first men to move into the building again were those from a number of rooms in the main building which were cleared to make space for some 60 U. S. Army nurses, women, who were expected to arrive shortly. A gap was cut in the barbed-wire fence to give access to the gymnasium, and S. F. Gaches, who, it happened, was re­ interned the same day, was appointed

THE CAMP

acting m onitor by the chairman of the room-assignment committee. Arrival of the U. S. Army Nurses from Bataan and Corregidor — The nurses arrived at the camp in three trucks about 4 o’clock in the after­ noon of July 2, accompanied by Japa­ nese guards. They had come straight from Corregidor, and though the rooms in the main building were ready for them, the officer in charge, who herded them into the Commandant's office, insisted that they could not be placed with the other internees. He also forbade any conversation bet­ ween them and the people of the camp. However, by asking permission to go to the toilet rooms, some of them were able to communicate with their friends. After a discussion it was de­ cided to house them in two rooms in the nearby Santa Catalina Convent, east of the campus, capable of housing some 300 persons. Arrangements were made to send them food from the Santo Tomas kitchens. There was a large crowd gathered about the main building entrance waiting for the nurses to come out. The Japanese guards had gone away, but two soldiers of the guard at the gate arrived and a little later a truck drove up to take the women to Santa Catalina. Yamaguchi, assistant to the Commandant, however, had the tact to dismiss the soldiers and himself ushered the nurses into the truck, which had to make two trips. The nurses were all in rather crumpled uniforms, and the red crosses had streaked the white of their arm bands. They looked in fairly good health and spirits and smiled and waved a little self-consciously at the people crowd­ ing around as they marched out. Some­ body began to collect cigarets for

ELECTION OF NEW EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

them and Yamaguchi himself handed them over to the girls. About the middle of July, the Com­ m andant informed the members of the Executive Committee that priests and missionaries and their families would not be re-interned, as had at first been supposed, and some other persons, the elderly and mothers with child­ ren under two years of age, numbering in all some 200, would also be allowed to remain at home. The plan to in­ tern the Baguio people in Manila was also given up for the time being. This exemplified the constant changes in Japanese plans. Restrictions were tightened and loosened again, though the general trend was toward a greater tightening. The Election of the New Executive Committee — After Commandant Tsurum i had authorized the election of a new Executive Committee, as recount­ ed in a previous section, the Executive Committee worked out a plan for the election first, of a nominating com­ mittee of 13 members, 8 from the main building, 3 from the education build­ ing, and 1 each from the gymnasium and the annex. The room monitors, floor by floor and building by building, were to nominate three times the number of nominees wanted for their respective units, of whom the inter­ nees of these units were then res­ pectively to elect the 13 persons wanted for the nominating committee. A ra­ tio of 5 to 2 was to be preserved bet­ ween American internees and those of other nationalities. The elections for the nominating committee were held on July 4, all internees of 19 years of age and over being allowed to vote. The following were elected: Calhoun, Day, DeWitt, Mrs. Kitty Fairman, Forrest, Fossum,

161

Gaches, Kephart, Kibbee, Mackay, Pinkerton, Selph, and Tait. The nominating committee first asked the room monitors to canvass the internees in their respective rooms on their preferences as to the make-up of the new Executive Committee, and the names of some 150 persons were suggested. The nominating committee narrowed this number down to 30, to each of whom the committee sent a mimeographed letter stating: "Your name is under consideration by the nominating committee as a prospective candi­ date for nomination in the forthcoming election for the Executive Committee. In view of the importance and responsibilities of the Execu­ tive Committee, the nominating committee feels that you should signify your willingness to stand for election if nominated. Even though this may involve considerable personal sacri­ fice, we believe you will be willing to do your part in promoting the best interests of the camp. May we ask that you deliver your deci­ sion to Mr. A. D. Calhoun, chairman of the nominating committee. Room 53, not later than noon, Wednesday, July 22?"

Ten or so of the persons thus ap­ proached declined nomination, includ­ ing Carroll, Duggleby, and Berry. Carroll replied in part: ". . . I wish to say that I have given this matter very careful consideration and have de­ cided to ask that my name not be considered for nomination. This decision is based on my desire to remain in my present position with the Finance and Supplies Committee, it having been agreed previously that no one person would serve on both committees. I wish to assure you and the other members of the nominating committee of my appreciation for the consideration shown in putting forth my name as a possible candidate for nomination.”

On July 23, the Executive Committee issued a bulletin quoting a letter from Calhoun to Carroll, stating: "On behalf of the nominating committee, I take pleasure in informing you that we have selected by ballot the following candidates for nomination for the election of members of the new Executive Committee.

162

THE CAMP Americans:

A. D. Calhoun E. E. Selph O. G. Steen C. C. Grinnell K. B. Day R. T. Fitzsimmons S. D. Lennox C. C. Chapman "Other Nationalities: J. H. Forrest S. C. Pinkerton W. C. Naismith "A number of other internees, among whom were Mr. Earl Carroll and Mr. A. F. Duggleby, Chairman and Vice-Chairman respectively of the present Executive Committee, were under con­ sideration as prospective nominees, but have not been included in the slate since they informed the committee that they were unavailable. The nominating committee would appreciate this information being passed on to the internees when the list of nominees is published by the Executive Committee. "Inasmuch as the proposed names are sub­ ject to review by the Commandant, all members of the nominating committee have been ins­ tructed that the list should be kept confiden­ tial, pending publication.”

The bulletin went on to say: "This list has been submitted to and approv­ ed by the Commandant, but with the stipula­ tion that the list of elected members of the committee must be submitted to him for ap­ proval before becoming finally effective. “As provided in the rules for the election, the voting will take place Monday afternoon, during the hours of 1 to 5, at the places announced in the memorandum last night.”

It was noted that 9 of the 15 names submitted for nomination were the names of members of the nominating committee itself, but this was not in violation of the rules which had been adopted. The first 5 in the list had all received the same number of votes in the nominating committee. The election was held on the 27th in a somewhat phlegmatic atmosphere with 2,223 votes cast out of a possible 2,851, about 80fX . The 7 receiving the highest number of votes were, accord­ ing to the rules, considered elected. They were: Calhoun (1,760 votes),

L. L. Rocke C. V. Schelke E. E. S. Kephart W. F. McCandlish D. L. Blanton J. L. Kibbee A. P. Ames S. L. Lloyd V. H. Masefield G. W. Mackay

Selph (1,541), Pinkerton (1,352), Day (1,251), Forrest (966), Grinnell (925), and Steen (887). The only member of the existing Executive Committee, Masefield, received 545 votes, and was not among the 7 who received the highest number of votes. Of the 9 members of the nominated committee who ran for office, 4 were elected. Tsurumi Appoints Grinnell Chairman —The next day, the Executive Com­ mittee issued the following bulletin: "For the information of all internees, we wish to quote herewith the following letter which was received at noon today from the Commandant, the original of which is on file in the central office: ‘“Dear Mr. Carroll, ‘‘‘I have carefully scrutinized the result of yesterday's election for members of the new Executive Committee, and I believe that the following men would make a very acceptable committee: A. D. Calhoun C. C. Grinnell E. E. Selph O. G. Steen S. C. Pinkerton J. H. Forrest K. B. Day '"When I agreed to the election, I reserved the right to pick from among the elected candidates the heads of the new Committee. I hereby appoint Mr. C. C. Grinnell as Chair­ man and Mr. A. D. Calhoun as Vice-Chairman. '"I request that Mr. A. D. Calhoun retain his present position on the Finance and Supplies Committee, in addition to being Vice-Chairman of the new Executive Committee. ‘"I understand that you are the pro-tempore Chairman of the Finance and Supplies Commit­ tee. I hereby appoint you as permanent Chair­ man of that committee. '"As the new Executive Committee takes of­ fice, I would like to express my appreciation

THE NEW EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE of the services which you and the old commit­ tee have rendered. "‘Very truly yours, R. Tsurumi Commandant S. S.T. Internment Camp.’" "Despite the voluntary agreement of members of the Finance and Supplies Committee to resign if elected to the Executive Committee, the Commandant insisted that Mr. A. D. Cal­ houn retain positions on both Committees. This action will, no doubt, meet with the full approval of the internee community. "In accordance with prior agreement, Mr. Grinnell as Chairman of the Executive Com­ mittee will be ex-officio member of the Fi­ nance and Supplies Committee and Mr. Carroll as Chairman of the Finance and Supplies Committee will be ex-officio member of the Executive Committee, in order to provide the proper coordination between the two groups. "The Retiring Executive Committee."

The new Executive Committee took over on July 28. The following even­ ing, Carroll and Grinnell were sche­ duled to make brief statements to the internees over the loudspeaker, but heavy rains during this and the next few days prevented this and after that nothing was said. The camp now had an elected Committee, which some peo­ ple had been so insistent upon, but now that they had it no great enthu­ siasm was to be noted and many, fearing the inexperience of the new group, expressed regret that the old Committee had not carried on in spite of the criticism it had at times been subject to. The old Advisory Com­ mittee, which was practically defunct anyway, was dissolved, the Command­ ant having expressed the opinion at the time he approved the election plan that it would not be necessary to maintain this body any longer. Berry, execu­ tive assistant to Carroll, was retained by the new Committee as office man­ ager. The new Committee was able enough in its own right, if short in experience, and this latter handicap

163

did not apply to Grinnell who for many months past had assisted Hol­ land on the release committee. Grin­ nell was general manager for the Far East of the International General Electric Company, and had spent over 20 years in Japan, China, and the Philip­ pines.5 He undestood a little Japanese and was well known to the Command­ ant, this, no doubt, being the reason for his selection as Chairman. Selph was a prominent Manila attorney; Pinkerton was general manager of the Philippine Cold Stores, an Australian firm; Day was general manager of the Philippine Refinery Company; Forrest, British, was shipping manager of Hanson, Orth & Stevenson, a Manila import and export firm; and Steen was Vice-President in charge of the Far East for the American President Lines. The new Committee decided that it was primarily a policy-directing group, and though all the chairmen of the various operating committees tender­ ed their resignations, they were all retained at their posts with the ex­ ception of DeWitt who had been at the same time a member of the old Exe­ cutive Committee and chairman of the work-assignment committee, his place as the latter being taken by N. A. Fittinghoff who had been his chief as­ sistant. Raleigh, who had also been a member of the Executive Committee, had already resigned as chairman of the committee on discipline, having been succeeded, under the designa­ tion of head of patrols, by Hochreiter who was now retained in that posi­ 5 Carroll Calkins Grinnell', born June 13, 1898, in Troy, Pennsylvania; educated at Elmira, New York, and at Union College, Schenectady, B.S., E.E. Grinnell was commercial manager for the Far East of the International General Electric Company with offices in Tokyo, and was caught in Manila at the outbreak of the war.

164 tion. Dr. Leach, too, had resigned some weeks previously as head of the hospital, and had been succeeded by Dr. Fletcher, who remained in this post under the new Committee. While administrative details remain­ ed the responsibility of the chairmen of the operating committees, each member of the Executive Committee was assigned certain specific camp services in connection with which he served as liaison officer between the heads of the services and the Com­ mittee. Grinnell himself assumed ge­ neral supervision over the hospital and medical services, the release com­ mittee, and the conduct of relations with the University authorities. Pinkerton was assigned supervision over the food and sanitary services; Steen over work assignment and camp construction work; Forrest over housing measures and the monitors; Day over the educational and social services, ground planning, and the shanty districts; Calhoun over the camp budgeting and the management of the central office; and Selph over the maintenance of camp order. The Committee on Order, the "Court”, Formed — In connection with the mat­ ter of maintaining order, the new Com­ mittee came to the conclusion, in view of the Commandant’s decision to allow the internee government to administer punishment to violators of the rules and regulations of the camp,—an im­ portant development which will be described in the following section, that it should set up a committee on order which would serve more or less as a court. Appointed to this committee were 3 men who had been nominated for election to the Executive Commit­ tee but who had not been among the 7 who had received the highest num­ ber of votes,—Fitzsimmons, Naismith,

THE CAMP

and Lennox, with McCandlish as an alternate. Room Monitors’ Election—In com­ pliance with a suggestion of the Com­ mandant made to the old Executive Committee a few days after he had agreed to the election plan, one of the first actions of the new Committee was to hold an election of room mo­ nitors. This was held on August 3, each room electing or re-electing its own room monitor; later the elected room monitors elected the floor and assistant floor monitors. The Executive Committee jointly with the floor m onitor’s committee on this occasion issued a rather monitory bulletin which stated in part: "Inasmuch as the monitor system, which in­ volves the cooperation of rooms with monitors selected through free choice, and of room monitors with floor and building monitors by mutual recognition of the equal rights and need of cooperation of all internees, reaches the fundamentals of our camp life, this elec­ tion assumes considerable importance. It is extremely necessary, therefore, that each room shall select the most capable room monitor possible and that any monitor so selected shall, as a duty, serve his or her room and the camp unless very special conditions render this im­ possible. The duty of monitors is not only to attend to roll call, (in which they are res­ ponsible only to the extent of certifying to the presence of internees in their room at the proper time), but also to look after the welfare of individuals in the room with parti­ cular regard to those who are ill, in need, undernourished, or are facing special problems, to maintain discipline, orderliness, and due regard for the rights of others in the room, and to cooperate with other monitors and other camp entities in furthering the welfare and comfort of all internees as a body. Res­ ponsibility and cooperation are two major tenets of our system of self-government and it is expected that all internees will do their share in building up camp government to the greatest extent possible not only by voting without fail but also by giving serious thought to the selection of the best representatives obtainable for each room ...It is the hope of the Executive and floor monitors' committees that this election will provide an opportunity to strengthen our monitor system and to offer

THE MONITORS ELECTION one more proof not only of the rights and responsibilities of internees but also of their ability to use these rights wisely and gene­ rously and in the best interests of all of us here interned.”

165

Fourth and there were a number of cases of drunkenness. After this, suf­ ficient amounts continued to come in to create anxiety and to justify the All persons over 15 years of age formation of a special "liquor control were perm itted to vote in this election. squad” of 12 men under Hochreiter. It was announced that those elected That night, the following notice ap­ would serve for a period not to ex­ peared on the bulletin boards: ceed 6 months subject to the rules al­ "We regret that we must call the attention ready in force regarding changes by of internees to the rapid growth of the liquor during the past month. It has be­ room action. The voting resulted in problem come our greatest menace so far as danger to the re-election of nearly all of the our privileges is concerned and has therefore incumbents; two of the floor monitors become the problem of every internee. Recent­ ly, every night has seen a number of cases failed to be re-elected. of obvious and flagrant intoxication in the Still another election was held on main buildings; liquor peddlers are at work, August 22,—of floor representatives to and sooner or later there is bound to be an incident leading to loss of the Package Line the release committee. Power to Discipline and Punish— and shanty town. The loss of either of these with the consequent hardship and actual suf­ The final im portant achievement of fering entailed by the camp as a whole is a the first Executive Committee, gained terrific price to pay for a party. We have while it was passing out of office, was given this matter careful consideration, realiz­ to obtain the consent of the Comman­ ing the narrow limits of our authority, and have decided that protection of the rights of dant to the infliction of punishment all demands that we take action to stop the on wrongdoers at the order of the use of liquor. To this end we have appointed Committee itself. Previously the Ja­ a ‘liquor control squad’ which will represent this committee in dealjng with those who be­ panese authorities had always insisted come intoxicated or who engage in distribut­ that those who proved intractible ing liquor. The names of the members of this should be turned over to them for squad will be announced tomorrow night and punishment, and the Committee’s they will immediately go into action to re­ the situation which threatens to imperil unwillingness to do this had always medy our internee community. They are entitled to made it questionable whether, in case the full cooperation and support of every in­ of open opposition, the rules and re­ ternee. This is a community problem which gulations of the internee government requires community action and support.” The next night, the bulletin boards and the Committee's decisions could be enforced. carried the following announcement: Although the drinking of intoxicat­ "In accordance with the memorandum of ing liquor was forbidden, small quan­ last night announcing the plan to create a tities were smuggled in through the ‘liquor control squad’, we are pleased to an­ nounce that such a squad was organized today. Package-Line or heaved over the wall The squad is composed of a group of volunteer at night. For some time, also, the sol­ internees, all of whom are men of courage diers at the main gate permitted in­ and conviction, determined to protect the men, women, and children of the camp from pos­ ternees, mostly women, to cross the sible loss of treasured privileges due to the street to make food purchases in shops inconsiderate action of a limited number of near the campus, and in this way, too, individuals who persist in their efforts to bring some native gin got into the camp. liquor into the camp and become intoxicated. . “They deserve, and we believe they will have The amount of incoming liquor the full support and assistance of the internees reached a “high” on the glorious in the fulfillment of their announced intention

166 to put a stop to the traffic in and consumption of liquor in this camp. "For the present, they prefer to remain anonymous and let their actions speak for their sincerity and determination.”

The majority of the people in the camp had not been aware of the se­ riousness of the situation, but when it was thus brought to their attention it was evident that the Committee and the special squad had the full support of the camp. The squad immediately contacted the individuals suspected of bringing liquor in, and warned them that action would be taken against them if they persisted; shanty owners implicated were told their shanties would be torn down. In spite of these efforts, it was re­ ported on the morning of Friday, July 24, that a young man was drunk, but when he was sent for, he could not be found. The m atter became more serious when he did not report for roll call that night. The memory of the three men who had been executed following an attempt to escape was still very vivid in everyone’s mind. Early the following morning it was learned from a friend of his that he might be at a certain house in Ermita, where his “girl friend” lived, and one of the civilian Japanese officials in the camp and this friend went out in a car and found the young man there. He was taken back to the camp and placed in the camp hospital, where it was allegedly found that he still suf­ fered from the effects of a fractured skull which he had sustained in an accident some years before and also from the effects of a bomb which had exploded near him during December! On these grounds he was judged by the Commandant to be mentally de­ ranged, temporarily, and was sent a few days later to the National Psycho­ pathic Hospital as a medical,—not a

THE CAMP

disciplinary case. If it had been a dis­ ciplinary case, it would have had to be reported by the Commandant to the Japanese Military Police and things would have gone differently with the young man. Before this case was disposed of, however, two other men made them­ selves drunk and wandered around and through the main building, sing­ ing and creating a disturbance. The floor monitors the next morning de­ manded that action be taken against them and recommended that they be turned over to the Japanese to be sent to Bilibid Prison. In discussion with the Executive Committee it was agreed that the Commandant would be asked to send one of these men, who had previously been warned, to the Psychopathic Hospital along with the other "mentally deranged” individual who was to leave that day. The Commandant had already talked to this man, and when Carroll called on him and suggested he also be sent to the Psychopathic Hospital, the Commandant said that he could not do that as the man was not inherently bad, but was poor and uneducated, that he had not yet learned how to live in a community like Santo Tomas, and that it was his (the Comman­ dant’s) duty and the duty of the inter­ nee leaders to teach him how to be­ have like a law-abiding citizen. Less naively, he added that if he sent the man out of the camp, he would have to designate it as a disciplinary matter, and as the Military Police believed that the camp was very well run and had shown a great deal of confidence in the set-up within the camp, he hated to spoil that impression. Carroll then suggested that,—in ad­ dition to the lecturing, the two latest violators of the liquor regulations

AUTHORITY TO PUNISH

might be publicly punished by march­ ing them up and down the campus with their hands tied behind them, and the Commandant expressed his approval of the idea. Carroll said that these men could be punished in that way, but that there still remained the general problem. "We must have some definite means of enforcing discipline. What methods of control and what form of punishment would you ap­ prove?” The C o m m a n d a n t , apparently forgetting that he had previously al­ ways insisted that violators of the rules and regulations should be re­ ported to him for punishment by the Japanese, answered: "You may con­ tinue to have violators paraded on the campus with their hands tied behind them ”. Carroll asked, "Could we have some place, a room, where we could have such persons detained for a few days as a form of punishment?” "Yes”, said the Commandant, "You may look around for a suitable room.” Then, relapsing into his naivete, he said: "I myself will go to that place and lecture to the men put there. And I will also send a Catholic priest and a Protestant minister to talk to them. We m ust teach them how to obey. It is our duty to educate such people.” It was all rather casual, even comic, but it was a great victory. The Execu­ tive Committee would now no longer be faced with the painful possibility that some day it might have to "turn over to the Japanese Military Police”, —the organization most feared in Ma­ nila, some foolish recalcitrant among their fellow internees. The two offenders, with their hands tied behind them, were paraded from the main building to the Santa Cata­

167

lina gate and back again. They were to have been made to walk this dis­ tance three times, but they begged so hard to be let off that Hochreiter softened. A placard. "CAMP DRUNK”, which they were to have carried on their backs, had already been dis­ carded by the good-hearted chief of the liquor squad. Most of the people who saw the men on the campus didn’t understand what it was all about, but whatever the shortcomings of the punishment, the culprits thought it was bad enough. They kept saying, “We would prefer to be turned over to the Japanese!” They could hardly have meant it! That afternoon the men apologized to the internee body through the Executive Commit­ tee and the committee of floor moni­ tors, and this was announced over the camp broadcasting system. The fol­ lowing bulletin which appeared on the boards that night, July 22, was also read out and elicited long applause: "In a further step to strengthen the liquor control program of the internees organization, the Commandant today authorized the opening of a special room within the campus for in­ carcerating persons who drink liquor or be­ come intoxicated, such detention to extend over a number of days depending upon the seriousness of the offense. During work-hours, such incarcerated persons may be assigned to grass-cutting details. The Executive Commit­ tee was also authorized to take such further steps as may be necessary to control the si­ tuation."

Up to the time of this writing, the last week of August, no further viola­ tions of the liquor regulations were reported. The Commandant had acted wisely in allowing the internee govern­ ment itself to enforce discipline. The new Executive Committee would enter upon its duties free of the apprehen­ sions that had ridden the first Com­ mittee up to almost its last days.

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1 0 Story of The Baguio Internment Camp Abandoned by the Army, the remain­ ing population of Baguio strove to re­ sign itself to eventual enemy occupa­ tion. It was not long delayed. A sorry Christmas was celebrated, but the next day the radio announcement that Manila "had been declared an open city brought new hope. A meeting of citi­ zens was called to consider making a similar declaration for Baguio and to advise the Japanese that the city was demilitarized and unprotected. Many felt that, the Japanese might merely take over the policing of the city and that otherwise life might go on very much as usual. That afternoon planes dropped leaflets stating that unless Baguio "surrendered”, it would be bombed. On the morning of the 27th, therefore, a committee was sent down the Naguilian Road to meet the Ja­ panese to offer surrender and to escort them into the city. At 11 o’clock that morning, the committee returned with a number of Japanese officers who were conducted to the City Hall. There Japanese flags were placed on the cars and the officers were then driven around to show that no USAFFE soldiers were left. The main body of the Japanese force arrived early in the afternoon. The rounding up of Ame­ ricans and British started immediately. Lacking official instructions of any kind, these people had gathered at the Brent School, the Pines Hotel, the Country Club, and the Seventh Day Adventist Mission compound. At 9 o’clock that evening. Japanese civilians in the employ of the Japanese Army appeared at the Brent School and or­ dered all those who had automobiles to drive to the Japanese School in the city and leave them there. After doing so they walked back to the Brent School, where in the meantime regis­ tration had begun. Americans and Bri­ tish gathered at the other places were also brought in. At 2 o’clock in the morning, Japanese army men came and began an inspection of all bag­

STORY

gage. The people were allowed to re­ main at the School all that day, and on the 29th they were marched to Camp John Hay, escorted by two squads of Japanese soldiers. About the middle of June, seven people (three adults and four children) who had been interned at Baguio, were brought to the Santo Tomas camp for reasons of their health. They reported that while the treatm ent there was much stricter than in the Santo Tomas camp, the morale of the Baguio internees was high. It was from these newcomers that the people in Santo Tomas for the first time learned something about the life of friends and relatives at Baguio, al­ though a list of persons interned there had reached the Santo Tomasites some weeks before,—made available through the Commandant. The Americans and British internees at Baguio numbered 450, of whom around one-third were men, the rest women and children. About one-tenth were British. Some 460 Chinese men and women were interned by them­ selves in a nearby barracks.' The march from the Brent School to Camp John Hay seemed intended to serve as an exhibition, but the distance was not great,—only 3 to 4 kilometers, and though the procession did not take the shortest route, there was no mis­ treatment. It was hot and the marchers were loaded down w ith children-inarms and bundles, but they refused to be humbled and trudged along, talk­ ing and singing, while the people of the town and bewildered Igorot tribes­ men looked on with stiffy controlled faces. They had been allowed to take along only what they could carry, but later in the day some of the men were per­ mitted to go back in trucks to get additional bedding. It was several days before every one was supplied with blankets and mosquito nets and for the first few days there was very little to eat. At first water had to >The prewar Chinese population of Baguio was well over 2,000; the most of them must have fled into the mountains.

BAGUIO INTERNMENT CAMP

be carried to the camp in cans because of a broken pipe. Tne Chinese were assigned to the barracks formerly oc­ cupied by the American soldiers, the American and British men and women to the Igorot Scout barracks. Later the men were shifted to the barracks built for Filipino troops. Toilet facili­ ties were primitive. The buildings were all riddled with holes from Ja­ panese shrapnel bombs. After some months, on the 23rd of April, the internees, including the Chi­ nese, were transferred by trucks to Camp Holmes, a former Philippine Constabulary camp, on the edge of Trinidad Valley about 8 kilometers from Baguio. The barracks at Camp Holmes were a little roomier than at Camp John Hay but the bath and toilet facilities were even poorer and there was no hot w ater for bathing, im portant in a place as cold as Baguio. Beginning on May 13 and during the next few days, all the Chinese were re­ leased, presumably to go back to their business.2 The Chinese men and women had been allowed to live together in the same barracks, but after the first few days, the American and British men and women were not only assigned to separate barracks, but ate in separate dining rooms and were rigorously kept apart even on the exercise grounds by an imaginary line, across which however they were allowed to converse and exchange small articles. Only on Sundays, and then only for one hour, could there be any "com­ ingling”, such as walking together, and that was allowed only between husbands and wives. The Japanese soldiers had to be sa­ luted, and every man had to wear, pinned to his shirt on his left breast, a small piece of white cloth on which his name and a number were written in ink. Every smoker, man or woman, had to carry around a small tin can for the deposit of ashes, whether in or outside the buildings. 2 It was later reported they were not allowed to reopen their stores and shops in Baguio.

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Visits of people from the outside were not permitted but the exchange of notes was tolerated for some months, after which it was ordered that they must go through the hands of Japanese censors. There was no such thing as the Package Line, which was such an important institution in Santo Tomas, but people in Baguio could send packages of food through the Japanese in Baguio. However, ser­ vants had all "taken to the hills" and the internees could not establish what in Santo Tomas were known as "con­ tacts”. Only 40 of such packages en­ tered the camp each day, brought in a truck. They were inspected by the Japanese in Baguio and again at the camp. All laundering had to be done by the internees themselves and often there was little or no soap. The camp was under the command of a Japanese top-sergeant, who was responsible to his superior officers in Baguio, and two different sergeants had served in this capacity up to the time the seven internees left there. The actual management of the camp fell largely on the Japanese interpre­ ter, Nakamura, who had been chief carpenter of the Antamok Gold Fields Mining Company. The camp was run along military lines, with the Japanese much more directly in charge than was the case in Santo Tomas, though a committee, known as the General Committee, was organized by the in­ ternees to manage internal affairs for themselves in so far as this was pos­ sible. The Committee was at first com­ posed of men who had temporarily taken the lead by general consent, but late in January an election was held which resulted in all but two of the incumbents continuing in their places, including the Chairman, Dr. R. H. Walker, a Baguio dentist. J. Woodson was Secretary and the other members were W. T. Graham, L. D. Harrison, O. K. Kaluzhy, Dr. D. W. Nance, W. Neal, L. N. Robinson, and Dr. H. W. Widdoes. These men also served in ro­ tation as officers of the day. E. W. He­ rald, a Baguio lumberman, and W. Moore fell into the jobs of liaison of­

170

ficers and were ex-officio members of the Committee. What were called "operating com­ mittees” in Santo Tomas were also or­ ganized in Baguio, but because the community was so much smaller the general administrative structure was simpler. The main "departm ents” were those which looked after the kitchens, the hospital, camp sanitation, garbage collection, guard duty, and room cleaning. There was also a "mecha­ nical departm ent” which provided the fuel for the kitchen stoves and the hot-water cauldrons. These depart­ ments were headed by the men on the General Committee. As in Manila, every man in the camp was assigned to some job, according to his age and abilities and his own inclinations. For work done for the Japanese in the camp, the Japanese called on the Chi­ nese internees and no American or British internee was ordered to serve them in any menial capacity. However, Dr. Walker personally was compelled to dig the hole for the flagstaff from which the Japanese flag was to fly, and Dr. Nance put up the long bam­ boo pole. The men were also made to dig a number of machine-gun trenches. The women had a committee of their own, appointed by the General Committee. Mrs. Herold, wife of one of the liaison officers, was chairman, and the original members were Dr. Beulah Ream Allen, Mrs. F. E. Delahunty, Mrs. W. A. Garwick, Mrs. R. M. Hicks, Miss C. Job, and Mrs. W. Neal. Dissatisfaction arose in connec­ tion with the non-elective nature of the women’s committee, and it was proposed on a number of occasions that it be made elective. The General Committee however disapproved of this, some said because this would have opened the m atter of the right to office of its own members, it being claimed they had been elected to serve for only one month. The minutes of a special meeting of the General Committee on June 2 con­ tained the following w ith reference to the m atter of elections:

STORY "The Chairman announced that in conver­ sation with the women’s committee he had ad­ vised that two vacancies existed therein and that they had submitted to him the names of two ladies they desired fill these vacancies. Also, that during this conversation he had learned that the women’s committee desired that an election be held for that purpose. The subject was discussed at some length, after which the following motions were re­ gularly moved, seconded, and carried: “A. That since in other business organiza­ tions, corporations, etc., when a vacancy oc­ curs in the board of directors, the remaining members are empowered by the articles of incorporation to appoint a shareholder to fill out the remaining term of office, there is no good reason for the holding of an election in this instance, the General Committee being si­ milar in nature to a board of directors. ”B. That the two vacancies in the women’s committee be filled by appointment hereby of— (1) Mrs. P. H. Trimble, vice Dr. Beulah Ream Allen, departed from the camp; (2) Mrs. Walter Tong, vice Mrs. J.B. Hayes, resigned.”

According to the people from Ba­ guio, feeling was running high there at the time they left. The General Committee was recog­ nized by the Japanese, and Nakamura usually addressed the Chairman, Dr. Walker, on m atters concerning the internees generally. However, not in­ frequently Japanese orders came through Herold. The Japanese were apparently unaware of or indifferent to the dissatisfaction in the camp with respect to both the General Commit­ tee and the women’s committee. In spite of this feeling, the people in the camp were cooperative and well behaved and no serious questions of discipline arose. There were alterca­ tions and some near-fights, but, just as in Santo Tomas, every one realized the importance of doing his or her share of the necessary work and of obeying orders. On one occasion the Japanese asked for the work-sheet which was supposed to show what each woman did. They said that they had seen too much lounging around and that if the women could not find anything to do, they would set them to chopping wood, like the Japanese women did. One man found a piece of meat served him too tough for his

BAGUIO INTERNMENT CAMP

liking and threw it on the floor. On being informed on authority of the Committee that he would get nothing to eat for three days unless he apolo­ gized, he apologized both to the chief cook and the waiter. All the cooks, by the way, were men. The most peculiar performance in the Baguio camp was the men’s roll call. This was held by the officer in command and the interpreter, assisted by Herold, at 7 o’clock every morning, and was a very ceremonious affair. The men lined up in four columns, standing four abreast in the column. Each of the columns was headed by a "group captain”. As the two Japanese arrived, Herold called out. “Kiat-ska!” (attention), and then gave the order, “Rei!” (bow), whereupon all the men bowed in the Japanese manner and said in unison, ‘Ohio, Haitei-san!" (Good morning, Mr. Soldier). The officer saluted and bowed, and He­ rold ordered, "Yosume!” (At ease). The officer and the interpreter then walked to the head of the first column, and the group captain called, “Kiatska!” The interpreter next read the roll in alphabetical order, the men answered, “Ai!" (Present), as their names were called. The first group finished, the group captain ordered, “Yosume!”, and the Japanese passed to the second column, and the third and fourth, the same procedure being repeated. At the end of the roll call, the first step in the ceremony was once more gone through. This routine was introduced by the Japanese step by step and took the men several weeks to m aster gracefully. Dr. Walker himself served as one of the group captains. There were no functionaries in Baguio corresponding to the Santo Tomas room and floor monitors. The women’s roll was called by the Ja­ panese only every week or so at ir­ regular times and without ceremony. The newcomers from Baguio said that the food there and in Santo To­ mas was about on a par, with a "slight edge”, they thought, in favor of Santo Tomas. The people in Baguio got three instead of only two meals a day, and

171

meat every day, about 80 grams, and they also had more vegetables. The lunch, however, consisted only of a cup of thin soup or, at first, a hot bis­ cuit. However, they never got any eggs, while duck eggs were served once a week in Santo Tomas at this time. One other thing the Baguio people never had was the cracked-wheat por­ ridge which was the Santo Tomas breakfast for so many months. In Ba­ guio the people had cooked rice and commeal mush on alternate days. The rice was of very poor quality. Rice was served so much that the rotund "rice-belly" in otherwise thin people became evident among the internees. The meat was also of poor grade and freshness, and there were many cases of diarrhea as a result of this. After the third month, the Baguio folk got only one small bun a week. Bread lasted a little longer in Santo Tomas, where a roll was for some months served daily at breakfast. After the first few weeks in Baguio, milk was reserved for children under three years of age and for patients in the hos­ pital; in Santo Tomas, the older chil­ dren were served a little milk for se­ veral months. On the other hand, the Baguio internees had some delicacies the Santo Tomasites never had, such as stewed rhubarh, dabs of calamancimarmalade, and homemade peanut butter. One of the first things the Japanese did was to take away from the inter­ nees all the money they had with them in excess of P100 for each of the men, and in this way the Japanese got some PI,500. Out of the money remaining to the internees, PI,500 was secretly set aside as a hospital and emergency fund and the rest was pooled for the ourchase of food and other necessities. From P120 to P I50 a day was spent for these purposes, about P2 a week a person. A crew of five male internees was allowed to go to Baguio every day to do the buying, but after a month or two, only one man, V. A. Brussolo, was permitted to go out for this purpose. Early in February, the Japanese took all the money remaining to the inter­

172

nees, except the secret emergency fund, something over P5,000, which they then doled out at about the same rate as before. After the middle of March, when this P5,000 was ex­ hausted, the Japanese furnished the funds but did the buying themselves, cutting down the daily expenditure to from PI 20 to P85, as they had claimed all along that the internees were spend­ ing "too much". After this the meals became much worse, and the meat fur­ nished was often so bad that it could not be used. As in Santo Tomas, the Japanese, who themselves are accustomed to sleeping on mats, objected to the use of beds and cots as taking up too much room. For some time most of the internees had to sleep on the floor, particularly when they were at Camp John Hay, but at Carem Holmes nearly every one was supplied with some sort of bed or cot. Owing to the primitive toilet ar­ rangements, mostly ditch-latrines, and a pest of flies, some 60 persons were taken ill with bacillary dysentery during the first two weeks. Prof. F. G. Haughwout, a dysentery specialist, worked night and day to check the epidemic. As there was as yet no hos­ pital at the camp, the patients were taken to the Notre Dame Hospital in Baguio. About the middle of January, a small hospital was improvised in the camp, headed first by Dr. Ream Allen and later by Nance. Professor Haughwout and Drs. Cunningham and Vincent were also attached to this hos­ pital. Instruments and many necessary drugs were lacking, including even aspirin. There were no disinfectants for the toilets. During the first five months there were three separate se­ rious outbreaks of dysentery.3 3 Note (1960)—Following Dr. Haughwout’s death in Washington. D.C.. on February 6, 1960, aged 82, Mr. James J. Halsema, who was interned at Baguio, wrote the author: "We all remember Haughwout's prescribed diet: Castor oil and 24 hours of absolute fast with only strong hot tea to drink, followed by soft rice (lugao) and later by mashed bananas. No one died of dy­ sentery despite an incidence of over 80% and the lack of drugs."

STORY

Religious services were not allowed at the beginning but later permission was given for services in the open air, and the small Catholic group was al­ lowed to hold services in an inside room. The internees attempted to es­ tablish a school for the 50 or 60 chil­ dren in the camp but a few days after it opened, the Japanese collected all the textbooks which the parents and children had in their possession for “inspection” and they were never re­ turned. One of the Japanese officials in Baguio, a Harvard graduate, said that the American school system was wrong from the first grade up, and so there wouldn’t be any school at the camp. After that lessons were given only during the siesta-hour on the pre­ text that it kept the children quiet. Along recreational lines, the Baguio people were also not as fortunate as the people in Santo Tomas. No con­ certs or lectures were given, and up to June only two "shows" had been staged,—some impromptu impersona­ tions one Sunday afternoon and a minstrel show on another occasion. Baseball was played until the heavy Baguio rains made this impossible. People spent most of their time when not engaged in camp duty in reading, knitting, card playing, and conversa­ tion. The Manila Tribune reached the camp only occasionally when the Ja­ panese wanted the internees to see it, such as the issue containing the ac­ count of the execution of the three Santo Tomas internees and those is­ sues reporting the fall of Bataan and Corregidor. The Japanese soldiers had a radio in the guardhouse, and some­ times allowed internees to come in to listen to the Tokyo broadcasts. When the instrument was out of order and internee technicians were called on for help, they sometimes managed to get a few snatches of the San Fran­ cisco or London newscasts. News also came in from Baguio in an occasional smuggled note. Every one had to be in bed bv 9\J0. The Japanese guards with fixed ba­ yonets often passed throueh the wo­ men’s quarter at night, flashing their electric torches about. The guard was

BAGUIO INTERNMENT CAMP

changed every few weeks. Each new platoon of guards was ill-tempered and on the lookout for opportunities to deal with infractions of the rules, al­ though these were never put in w rit­ ing and it was difficult or impossible to learn ju st what they were. Contact with the internees would gradually moderate the disposition of the guards, but there were a number of slappings. These "slappings” were gen­ erally hard enough to knock a man off his feet. Two men were slapped for smoking without their ash-cans. One woman had her cigaret knocked out of her mouth for smoking without an ash-can, and another one was slapped full in the face for the same reason although she had a receptacle within reach. A 14-year old boy, the son of a missionary, was slapped down twice inside the barracks for no determin­ able reason. One woman had her arms slapped down when she stood with her arms akimbo as an officer passed. A young man was slapped for talking to a high school girl during the "com­ mingling” hour. He was struck so hard on the ear that the eardrum at first was thought to have been ruptured. One weakminded Chinese internee who walked out of the camp on May 5 to visit his Filipino wife who lived in a house nearby, was beaten up in full view of the whole camp until he was senseless, was revived with a bucketful of water, and then beaten again. Two other Chinese who had not been interned but who had wandered too close to the camp, were also mer­ cilessly beaten. Some 200 of the internees in the Ba­ guio camp were missionaries and members of missionary families. They were taken out of the camp in threes for investigation. They would be re­ turned to the camp after a few days or a week or so, obviously warned not to talk. Of the third trio to go out, one, the Rev. R. F. Grey, did not re­ turn. When his friends asked about him, they were told that his where­ abouts were a "military secret”.4 After 4 He was later reported to have died on March 15 from the effects of torture.

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a time, many of the missionaries, as in Manila, were released. Each was given a printed pass on which, after the printed line, "Reason for release”, the following was typed in: "To co­ operate with the Japanese Imperial Army through religion". In the great majority of cases at least, no promise of cooperation had been given. The Baguio internees had a joke among themselves which was sup­ posed to illustrate the usual Japanese response to any request: "The answer is No, but you may now state your case.” The internees followed a policy of asking permission in as few cases as possible and of going ahead with their projects unless or until they were stopped. Then they would say, "Well, there were no orders to the contrary. It was not forbidden.” The seven from Baguio came to Ma­ nila on the regular Japanese mail truck which went to Baguio on Mondays and returned on Wednesdays. It was an 8hour trip, with an hour out on the way for lunch. A sergeant and four sol­ diers accompanied them, and the truck was driven by a Filipino. There were also a number of Filipinos con­ nected with the government set up by the Japanese in Manila. The Kennon Road through the mountains showed no signs of the destructions of war, but much destruction was evident in the lowlands. The important town of Tarlac was razed. San Fernando (Pampanga) and Angeles and Urdaneta had also suffered heavily. Many of the smaller towns appeared to be entirely deserted and in general the whole countryside looked dead. The only active farming seen was from Malolos on to the outskirts of Manila. The first railroad locomotive was seen at San Fernando. The sugar central in the town of San Miguel was apparent­ ly in operation. In Tarlac, a branch of the Agricultural and Industrial Bank of the Philippines was open. One of the Filipino co-passengers said that it had been reported that at Camp O'Donnell, Tarlac, there were 10,000 American and 50,000 Filipino prisoners of war, though the camp was

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built to accommodate only 13,000 men. The party from Baguio saw some of these American prisoners working on the repair of bridges along the road, most of which had been destroyed by the USAFFE. It was said that they worked from 8 to 12 o'clock and from 2 to 6, on only a soft-rice diet. They looked haggard and in low spirits. The people in the truck had been warned not to speak or even to wave at them, so they only exchanged glances and smiled. The men seemed much interested in the passage of the truck carrying American women and chil­ dren. At Camp Olivas, between San Fernando and the Calumpit bridge, a concentration of over 1000 automo­ biles and trucks was seen, with Ame­ rican prisoners at work repairing them. There were many wrecked trucks and automobiles all along the road, stripped of all removable parts. The Baguio party reached Santo Tomas around 6 o’clock in the evening and their main feeling was one of surprise at the freedom that seemed allowed, especially with respect to the mingling of men and women in the buildings and on the grounds. It appeared that the Japanese did not have a standard plan for the or­ ganization and management of intern­ ment camps. What type of organiza­ tion was developed probably depended chiefly on the character and attitude of the officer in command, the situa­ tion and size of the camp, and the strength, efficiency, and diplomacy of whatever internee organization evolved.

1 1 Story of The Army Nurses The 57 army nurses who were brought to Santo Tomas on July 2 com­ prised the larger part of the 88 young women who constituted the U.S. Army Nurse Corps units in the Philippines. Around two-thirds of them had ar­ rived in the country after June, 1941, but others were about to complete their two years’ tour of duty. They had been stationed at the Sternberg

STORY

Hospital in Manila, at Fort McKinley, just outside of Manila, at Fort Stotsenburg, Pampanga, and on Corregidor. Two had been assigned to the hospi­ tal at Camp John Hay, and were pre­ sumably with the other internees at Baguio. They had suffered no casual­ ties, and those of them who were not in Santo Tomas or at Baguio, had been evacuated to Australia from Cor­ regidor before the surrender. Coming as they did from areas where so much had happened during the preceding half year, they could have told much to the people in Santo Tomas. But the Japanese isolated them in the Santa Catalina Convent, and there they stayed for six weeks. Then, when Santa Catalina was taken over for the camp hospital, they were allowed to join the other internees in Santo Tomas and gradually the camp learned something about their ex­ periences. Stotsenburg—One of the nurses who was at Fort Stotsenburg at the out­ break of the war,—Clark Field lay within 2 kilometers of the hospital, had kept a diary. The following para­ graphs were from the entries she made during the first few days of the war: "December 8, 1941. Ward filled with patients who should be sent to duty. Made rounds with Lt. Black and Maj. Bennett. News that Hawaii had been bombed was known by all about 8 a.m. Every one very excited. Maj. Ams, D. C., said he had heard over the radio that Clark Field had been bombed. We laughed. How ridiculous! Measures to secure gas-masks and helmets for all hospital personnel and patients who could not get theirs from their organiza­ tions. Lt. Black was kind enough to suggest we move the nurses’ office into the doctors’ office as it could be blacked-out so much bet­ ter. So we moved with the aid of some of our patients, hung up blankets, and shaded our lanterns. "At 12:45 p.m. I glanced at the clock and realized I must hurry if I intended to finish my report book. To this day, the book is un­ finished. For down came the awful thudboom from the direction of Clark Field! ‘The Japs are bombing Clark Field!’ everyone shouted. In one body, every patient, corpsman, and nurse rushed to the door. One of the nurses with terror-stricken face, grabbed me. We had to get below the building, as we had been instructed earlier in the day. So over the high

STOTSENBURG HOSPITAL AND CLARK FIELD railing to the ground we climbed, a 7-foot drop. One air-corps boy with pneumonia had to be lifted down. Every one helped in doing this and in making a bed of blankets on the ground. Some small Filipino boy with an injured foot came running from Ward 2, so I caught him and held him in my lap as I sat beside my pneumonia patient, trying to keep him covered up and quiet. Now there are the dive-bombers! They’re strafing the Field. That’s anti-aircraft fire from our men! Filipino pa­ tients stood gaping at the planes. It was im­ possible to keep them under the building. Luckily no bombs or shrapnel fell near the hospital, as the building offered little protec­ tion. No one really understood what was going on or the danger we were in. "After a time, my curiosity got the bettei of me and I climbed up on the porch just as the first casualties were being brought in . A call came for doctors and nurses. I went to the first-aid room with a Filipino nurse, and then it dawned on me what had happened at Clark Field. Lined up in fiont of the small first-aid room and inside were both American and Filipino men and women brought in on litters, doors, and planks. A bomb had hit the lavandera shacks in the back of the officers quarters; a direct hit. Women with arms and legs dangling or mangled. One woman with a hole in her head. I remember looking and look­ ing to see where all the blood was coming from. Finally Lt. Smith looked under her long hair, probed with hemostat, down, down, way to the brain. She was given a hypo and sent to the women's ward, but no treatment would ever save her life. Everyone was given a fourth grain of morphine. Burns were smeared with picric acid, and there were many. One of the dental surgeons was helping also. He had been in a house at Clark Field and a bomb hit it. He was bomb-shocked, but worked on and on. Gradually the line of patients was growing shorter, so I decided I’d check on the different wards to see whether they were covered. Fred­ die Armstrong was in the officers’ ward, severely burned, waiting his turn in the 0. R. [operating room]. Some doctor was there with his foot half off. I cut the shoe loose. Speed Hubbard was there, one of the very best air-corps pilots. One doctor who was dying was saved by artificial respiration while someone got the oxygen tent. Col. Kennard came in with a huge gash in his head. His story was that he was shaving. When the bombs began to fall he ran for his pants. Just then a messenger soldier entered the front door with a message for Maj. Johnson. The soldier was killed there by a bomb and the Colonel was knocked clear across his bedroom. Lt. Cohe and I sewed up his head. Kennard is one of the swellest men I know.

175

"Everything was quiet in the officers’ ward, so I went down to Ward 7 and received the shock of my life. The entire 70 bed G. U. [genito-urinary] ward had been cleared of pa­ tients and every bed was filled with emergency patients,—dumped into the beds with all their bloody, dirty clothes, shoes and all. I stood dumfounded by the confusion. With one dress­ ing-cart and scissors we began to cut off clothes and give first-aid, cleaning and dressing the dirty wounds. Capt. Snider with a broken leg; Lt. Cremmins with a head-wound. We waded in. We cut Cremmins’ hair and dressed his wound. Gen. Wainwright came through and made some remark to me. We tried to get the thick dirt from the patients’ faces. One poor boy was trying to get out of bed. I caught one of his legs and put it back on the bed; then the other, but the foot was dangling by the ankle. So we worked on until late afternoon. "The air corps was at lunch when the Japs came. The bachelors’ quarters were hit direct. So were the dummy planes and the quarters along the side of the field. Those pilots who were not eating were sitting in their planes, ready to take off. But not even one plane got off the ground. Men on the field were strafed and killed. The death list came to approxi­ mately 100; casualties, 200. "So darkness fell on blacked-out, bloody, and bewildered Stotsenburg and Clark Field. Shaded lanterns and flash-lights were the only lights, windows were all closed, and heavy, dark blankets hung at the office window and door. Down the long, dark ward went the dif­ ferent doctors and the nurses. There was so much to do, but so little that could be done. All the water-bags available were being used. Chairs were used to elevate the beds for shockposition, and everyone was in shock. Lt. Laeme went around trying to decide which were the worst patients and tagged them for their turn in the O. R. One patient in the far comer was hemorrhaging profusely; his whole mattress was saturated. We finally got Lt. Robinson and he gave him a blood transfusion. Some air-corps captain was lying in a bed soaked with blood, just as he had been put there. We could not even take his clothes off as he had a severe chest-wound and to move him would mean death. Some soldier in the rear of the ward called for the nurse constantly. 'Please, nurse, when will I go to the O. R. Please, I can’t stand it any longer!’ Three of his fingers were dangling. The answer was always, ‘You have to wait your turn. There are so many more, more seriously hurt than you.’ It went on and on until the nurse had had to speak to the poor boy sharply. Every­ where was the call, ‘Nurse!’ ‘Nurse!’ as the flash of our lights was seen or the white of our uniforms. Officers were looking for their men and the men for their buddies. We could give

176 them but little help as we had no lists of our patients. I do not know how many died in that ward before I went off duty. I covered two or three and had their bodies taken out. One boy I gave several hypos to. Finally I covered his face. "At 9:30 p.m. 5 nurses came from Sternberg, along with two doctors and 40 corpsmen. The whole hospital was turned over to this group. Little explanation was given. We were too ex­ hausted and weary to realize they were perfect strangers in our hospital. Operating went on all night. "Cots had been placed under the building, so I crawled onto one in my clothes and shoes and pulled a blanket over myself Some slept on the ground. Wet with perspiration and so tired we could not sleep, we lay on our hard beds and thought back over the long, hor­ rible day. At 2 a.m. we were awakened by planes again. We shivered in the cold. To keep warm I crawled onto the same cot with one of the other girls. We talked in whispers. Everywhere in the darkness people were. stir­ ring. Never was I so frightened. The planes went over and we could hear distant bombing some time later. "December 9. Worked all day. I really had my hands full. Lt. Laeme and Lt. Mussleman made the rounds. I like them very much. Dressings took all day: blood transfusions; hypos; painting 3rd-degree burns; feeding; census. Went to quarters for a bath and a clean uniform. We cleaned the area under the X-ray room and put up 5 cots for some of us. The bathroom was blacked-out for our use. The cemented area under the OT~R. .was also used by the doctors and nurses as sleeping quarters. We ate our chow in the mess hall. So another night under the hos­ pital, sleeping in our clothes. "December 10. After a restless night, went to quarters and ate breakfast and changed. Went on 6-hour shift, — from 6 a. m. to noon and from 6 p. m. to midnight. Had hard­ ly made the rounds when we received word that all patients who could travel would be evacuated to Manila. Practically all the patients went except 20 who were too bad. What a hustle and turmoil getting them onto the litters and into the ambulances! After their departure we moved everyone to the front of the ward and began the awful task of cleaning the filthy ward. Practically every mattress was soaked with blood and smelled terrible. I went around from table to table and collected unidentified belongings, — handfuls of money, bill-folds, pencils, knives, and keys. These were turned over to the Adjutant. The bathroom was filled with shoes, shoes, shoes, shoes, bloody and torn, gas­ masks, helmets, etc. So we worked, scrubbing and cleaning. Doors of the G. U. ward which

STORY were locked to nurses for years, were opened. But we had to watch the Filipino ward-man because he thought the doors just had to be kept locked. "At noon Clark Field was bombed for the second time. An air-raid signal had been ins­ talled. At the sound, every nurse, doctor, and corpsman was to leave the hospital imme­ diately and go to the air-raid shelter. So when the alarm sounded, every one ran as he had never run before. Patients who you would think could never walk, climbed out of bed and ran, too. Those who could not move, were dumped on litters by the frightened corpsmen. I grabbed one of the bum cases who was wandering around, threw a sheet over him, and took him to a shelter. After the bombing was over and the 'all-clear' sounded, we re­ turned to the ward. All the beds were empty. Transfusion apparatuses lay flung down every­ where, one poor boy still had the transfusion needle in his leg. Practically all the beds were bloody and dirty. The rounding up of our patients began. The litter cases were again dumped into their beds. The walking cases had dirt on their dressings and in their wounds. We worked and worked. The shock of the moving, etc., resulted in the death of the aircorps officer. "The casualty list from the bombing this time was only 31. They arrived about the same time our patients were returned to the ward. "Returned to duty at 6 p.m. Everything dark. Up and down the ward we made our round. Few patients were sleeping. Even hypos would not still the restlessness and the fear of another bombing. Earlier in the evening, Lt. Laeme and Lt. Mussleman and the nurses finally decided that no patients would ever again be taken into the dirt below. But then came Capt. McCurdy who told me that in case of any more air-raids the patients would be taken underneath the building again. Twenty corpsmen would be made available. Naturally, I hit the ceiling and said things I never would have dreamed of saying to a doctor if my nerves had not been so on edge. Dear Capt. McCurdy told me I had better get hold of myself etc. Naturally I cried, so someone sent for M—, and she came and took me to bed. "December 11. Duty again. Patients decreasing as those who have not a chance, die. And our dear 'Tex' went with the rest. We are confronted with the problems of uniforms. All the lavanderas have left for the mountains, so no laundry. Lying face down in the dirt has not helped any. My hose are tom and my shoes are all greasy. We were issued size42 G. I. coveralls. What a sight we are! Mine only go around twice, but I don’t care. Went down to the quartermaster and got G. I. shorts, socks, shoes, and handkerchiefs. We are a pic­ ture indeed with our coveralls, helmets, gas-

BATAAN masks. We ate in the mess hall with the pa­ tients. The bombers are coming over so fre­ quently, — 5 or 6 times a day, that it is almost impossible to eat our chow. Mess was moved up an hour, — breakfasts at 7. a.m. etc. “All organizations have moved to the field. The 17th and 20th air-corps are our salvation. Buz Wagner has already made himself famous. There were SO Japanese transports at Lingaven and the 17th was sent out to bomb them. Mel Rozen came by, and we were very glad to see him. The men brought some size-36 coveralls, which pleased us very much. “December 12. The remainder of our patients were evacuated to Manila around noon. I gave out bowls of sloppy soup and then grabbed them out of the patients’ hands and commanded them to get their duds on as they were going. Poor burned ‘Bumps’ begged so hard that the doctors finally agreed to let him go. Only three patients are left. As the last of them were being put in the ambulance, we had an air-raid, and some of the patients had to lie in their litters in the open. "December 14. Duty hours changed. Work every other day or so. Sit around on the hospital porch doing little or nothing. Some of us decided late this afternoon to go and see what was left of Clark Field. All over the field were the ruins of planes. Possibly all were destroyed. The dispensary was riddled with shrapnel and machine-gun bullets, as were also all the barracks. As we were examining the dispensary, a ‘dud’ went off and scared us half to death. Col. Maitland’s house was also hit. Everything was a big mess. Guards were stationed around to keep the house from being looted.”

The Stotsenburg hospital was not ordered abandoned until December 24, but the hospital at Fort McKinley was evacuated on December 13, the 200 or so patients there, most of them medical cases, being taken to Manila; the nurses reported at Sternberg. The next day most of them were assigned to various emergency hospitals in the city, established in the Jai-alai Sta­ dium, Sta. Scholastica College, the Holy Ghost College, and other places. The 12 navy nurses evacuated from Cavite were also sent to these different hospitals. Casualties pored in not only from the field-stations, but from the streets of Manila. Operative cases were taken to Sternberg and the Jai-alai; the less serious cases to the other hospitals.

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On the afternoon of the 23rd, nurses at a number of Manila hospitals were ordered to be ready to leave early the following day, but they were not told where they would be sent. They gathered at the Jai-alai, and there, at 8 in the morning of the day before Christmas, 25 of the American army nurses and 25 Filipino nurses, most of them Red Cross, together with a number of doctors and medical-corps men, were put aboard six big passen­ ger-buses. They were informed then that they were going to Limay, Bataan. Japanese planes were in the air and everybody was nervous; the buses spaced well out along the road. Bataan — They arrived at Limay at 2 p.m. Limay was a small village on the shore of Manila Bay, and near the beach stood 25 or 30 old nipa bar­ racks which had formerly been used by troops on maneuvers. There were some American and Filipino soldiers already there, and all turned out to set up what was to become known as Hospital No. 1, the head of which was Colonel Duckworth, from Fort Mc­ Kinley. Equipment and supplies were on the ground but had still to be unpacked. They prepared 200 beds, each of the barrack buildings, now called wards, affording space for 40 beds. One of the buildings was convert­ ed into an operating room. In the end there were 14 or 15 wards; the other buildings were used as dormi­ tories, mess rooms, store rooms, etc. There was running water and electric light. Cooking was done on woodstoves. Some of the nurses helped the cooks bake biscuits that first night. Patients started coming in on Christ­ mas Day. Most of them were roadaccident cases. The coastal road was jammed with traffic and the air was so thick with dust that one could see only a few feet ahead. It was as much as one's life was worth to cross the unending stream of the buses, trucks, tractors, and tanks. The Japanese were bombing Manila and the ships in Mani­ la Bay. It seemed to the nurses that all the planes flew over Limay and they often ran for the foxholes that had

178 been dug everywhere. However, no bombs were dropped in the vicinity of the hospital, which was marked by a big red cross on a piece of white canvas stretched out on the ground between the rows of buildings. The 14 American army nurses and the 4 Filipino civilian nurses at Stotsenburg were taken to Manila on the day before Christmas. They spent the night and most of Christmas Day at Stern­ berg Hospital and at 6 that evening were ordered to pack their belongings (only two bags were allowed), as all army nurses, it was said, were being evacuated from Manila. They were not told where they were going. The 18 Stotsenburg nurses and one other nurse were lined up, and, after a long wait at the door, were taken in cars to one of the piers. The place was crowd­ ed with people and in spite of the blackout, everyone seemed to be smoking cigarets. The horizon in the direction of Cavite was ablaze with what seemed to be a great oil fire. There were two ships at the pier, and after one of them, the Hyde, had taken on some cargo, a large number of pas­ sengers, including the nurses, were sent aboard. Those who could find them, put on life belts. People lay down on the deck or on the floor of the saloon wherever there was room and tried to sleep. At dawn, they found them­ selves anchored off Corregidor, but they were soon headed across the mine­ field for Bataan. The nurses now saw that Colonel Craig, formerly of Stern­ berg, other medical officers, and a number of corpsmen were also on board. They reached Lamao which was just a group of scattered nipa houses along the beach, before 9 o’clock. The place was full of soldiers, but no one could tell them where Hospital No. 1 was, their supposed destination. Craig went off in a car to look for it. Enemy planes appeared and dropped some bombs, and the Hyde cast off and began to zigzag. The people on the shore took to the bushes. The enemy was still bombing in a desultory way, not hitting anything, when a little before

STORY

noon, Craig returned with a number of buses and cars. He sent the nurses and the doctors and corpsmen to where the 12th medical regiment was camped out at a point known as kilo­ meter 137.5 (from Manila). The Colo­ nel remained behind to supervise the unloading of supplies on the Hyde in between bombings. The nurses and the others spent the night at 137.5 in cots they set up under some mango trees. The next morning, a big Pambusco bus took the party away. They thought they were going to Hospital No. 1 at Limay, but instead they were drap­ ed off near Cabcaban, another small beach-village, at kilometer 172. Hospital and medical supplies had been piled up there on a hill, about 1-1/2 kilome­ ters from the town, and at the bot­ tom of the hill near a little stream, they set up the beds of the first "w ard” of Hospital No. 2. The ground under the trees had first to be cleared of underbrush and a road leading from the highway had to be built. Water came from the stream. A small generator run by a gasoline engine furnished the light for the "operating room”, which was only a big tent with a bamboo floor. Lanterns and electric flashlights had to do for the rest of the open air hospital. At the stream, the half hour between 5 and 5:30 in the afternoon was set aside as bathing time for the nurses, with guards posted to keep peekers away: not very successfully. Only two or three days were allow­ ed for the preliminaries and then pa­ tients began coming in from Hospital No. 1, some 20 kilometers nearer the front, 60 of them arriving the first night, mostly malaria and dysentery cases. "Ward 1” was for these cases. Wards 2 and 3 for surgical cases, and Ward 4 for minor injuries. During the next week or two, 12 of the Ame­ rican nurses at Hospital No. 1 were transferred to No. 2. By the 25th of January, there were some 500 pa­ tients at No. 2, all lying under the trees, except a few of the more serious cases who had "tent -halves" over them.

HOSPITALS NOS. 1 AND 2

What was called the Battle of Abucay was fought during most of the month of January. There was heavy enemy bombing and strafing along the front lines, and the casualties brought into Hospital No. 1 numbered around 100 a day. Work in the operating shed went on the clock around, but most of the wounded were brought in during the daytime. The consequent delay of­ ten resulted in the appearance of gasgangrene among the wounded, but many of these were saved by serum. In contrast to this, the nurses said, they knew of only one case of gas-gangrene on Corregidor, where the wounded could be looked after almost imme­ diately. Operative cases were taken care of at No 1 and were then sent to No. 2 as soon as they could be moved. Those patients who were not seriously wounded and most medical cases were sent direct to No. 2. Soldiers who received only slight injuries did not go to either hospital but were treated at the front in the first-aid field sta­ tions. About two-thirds of the wounded at this time were Filipino soldiers, not only because there were more Fili­ pinos than Americans in the field, but because it was true, as the Ja­ panese later charged in their propa­ ganda, that the young Filipino sol­ diers had been put in the front lines. It was not true, however, that the Ame­ rican troops "skulked” behind. Hospital records showed that many of the Filipino soldiers who reached the hospital had been called up only a few weeks before, some of them after the war had started. Raw and inexperienced, it was necessary that they be backed up in the rear by the more experienced Philippine Scout troops and the American units, which naturally occupied the more import­ ant positions. The nurses had no information as to deaths in the field, but they were said to be small in comparison to . the Japanese losses. Among the killed were many American line officers, easily picked out by enemy sharpshooters who sat up in the trees and were im­

179

possible to see in the leaf-covered nets which they threw over themselves. Also, in the later, last-stand fighting, many American soldiers were killed, the 31st Infantry, Manila’s own his­ toric regiment, being practically wiped out. The Philippine Scout regiments also suffered heavy casualties. After the first week, big guns could be heard at Hospital No. 1 but the nurses did not know whether they were USAFFE or enemy guns. The USAFFE was slowly falling back, and during the third week, the front was so close that the people at the hospi­ tal could see the Japanese planes in their dives over the lines. As early as the 5th of January, Limay village was bombed, causing a considerable number of civilian casualties, but this was not repeated. On the 23rd, orders were received to evacuate the hospi­ tal. It was said that the Japanese had warned that they would bomb it on the 25th. The patients now numbered around 700, and most of these were taken to Hospital No. 2. The move was completed on the morning of the 25th, the operating room functioning until the last moment. That afternoon the Japanese dropped a number of incen­ diary bombs on the vacated buildings. About half of the remaining American nurses and some 20 Filipino nurses were transferred to No. 2, which now became the hospital nearest the front. The rest of the American nurses, 16 of them, and 5 Filipino nurses, went farther south to an old engineeringcorps camp at "Little Baguio”, where they set up another hospital. No.2 now rapidly expanded, and the original 4 "wards” under the trees increased to 19, scattered over many acres. It took almost an hour merely to walk from the first to the last of these wards. When beds ran out, m at­ tresses, and finally only blankets were spread out on the ground. The ope­ rating "room ” was going day and night. In the daytime, one doctor, two nur­ ses, and three corpsmen were on duty in each ward, working all day. At night, one nurse and three corpsmen took care of a number of wards. Am­

180

ong the many difficulties at No. 2 was a plague of flies, due to the inadequate sanitary arrangements which it took weeks to improve. There were never more than two meals a day at any of the hospitals,— corned beef or fish, and always, rice, even for breakfast. The "liquid diet” for dysentery cases consisted only of tea. Especially at No. 2, doctors, nurses, and corpsmen were so over­ taxed that they could pay little at­ tention to any but the most serious cases. Only when a fever ran up to 105° or 106° degrees was a patient given much attention. Patients who were less seriously ill were sent to rejoin their units to make a little more room for the wounded or those very ill. Toward the end, more misery was caused by the shortage of gasoline for the ambulances. The ill would come in on foot, weak to death and looking like corpses. Men died in the wards during the night, unattended, and were found and marked for re­ moval as soon as it was light. In spite of all this, the death rate was not startlingly high among the patients, who numbered, after the 25th of Jan­ uary, at all times 300 to 500 at No. 2. They could be roughly divided into thirds, — wound, dysentery, and malaria cases. The dysentery was mostly bacillary and not amoebic. Deaths from malaria and dysentery outnumbered deaths from wounds. Ce­ rebral malaria was generally fatal. There was some post-operative pneu­ monia, but respiratory cases were few. The Filipinos generally stood shock better than Americans and there were some phenomenal recoveries among the former. One young Igorot, badly wounded in the abdomen by a hand-grenade, which necessitated the removal of sections of his intestine, ran a fever of 108° and recovered. This was at Little Baguio, and some ice was available. The boy became a general favorite; the nurses called him "Sweet-pea”. There was always enough carbasone, emetine, sulfathiazol, bis­ muth, and paregoric, but there was much worry when the hospitals began

STORY

to run short of quinine. However, a supply was brought in by plane from Mindanao late in February. The Cabcaban airfield was only a kilometer or two away, and it was frequently bombed. Anti-aircraft shrap­ nel caused a number of deaths at No. 2. At first the hospital relied on the leafage of the trees for protection, and nothing white, such as sheets or towels, was ever hung out. Later, how­ ever, a large white cloth, marked with a red cross, was laid out on a little grassy field near Ward 1, which was the entrance to the forest hospital. At Little Baguio, about an hour by bus from No. 2, situated on the Mariveles cut-off, a rocky road north of Mariveles, an old garage, which con­ sisted of little more than a galvanizediron roof on posts, was used to start with, for the wounded began coming in immediately. Another old shed was used as an operating room. Patients were sheltered under tarpaper strips. In the end there were 7 of such "w ards”, with around 1,000 patients. The front was now on the PilarBagac line, and the fighting of the young trainee element in the USAFFE had greatly improved. The morale was generally excellent and both of­ ficers and troops were always expect­ ing convoys, planes, re-enforcements, supplies. Considerable excitement was caused by a fight early in February at Agaloma Point, on the China Sea coast. It had been reported that some 50 Japanese snipers had filtered in and were in occupation of a cave there. But it was found that the cave had been fortified and that there were at least 500 of the enemy. It was said that this position had been prepared by the Japanese long before the war, guns, ammunition, and supplies hav­ ing been buried there, — for the Ja­ panese equivalent of Der Tag. The 500 were, wiped out by some Scout units, it was said. From the middle of February to the middle of March, there was not much

LITTLE BAGUIO HOSPITAL

activity either at the front lines or behind them, and all that the people at Little Baguio saw of the enemy was the reconnaissance-plane which the soldiers called "Photo-Joe". Heavy bombing of Corregidor started around the 24th of March. It was said that the Japanese had dropped leaflets stat­ ing they would bomb the island for 15 days and 15 nights, and this they did. Bataan was heavily bombed on the 26th, and on the 31st, around 10 o’clock in the morning, the enemy bombed all around the Little Baguio hospital, hitting the officers' quarters and just missing the operating shed. One big bomb fell near the ward oc­ cupied by 35 wounded Japanese pri­ soners. A corpsman was killed and several other medical-corps men were wounded. A number of Filipino civil­ ians were also killed. The nurses said they had heard that the Japanese apo­ logized over the radio for this bomb­ ing, but they bombed the hospital again later. There was some reason for this bombing as there was an engineers’ camp on one side of the hospital, a quarterm asters’ camp on the other, and an ammunition dump nearby. The trouble was that there was no other place which could have been used for a hospital site. Practi­ cally every establishment on the small part of the peninsula (probably less than 400 square miles) still held by the USAFFE was either in military use or crowded with the thousands of civilian refugees, and there was running water and electric light at Little Baguio. The USAFFE was at this time ra­ tioning out food to over 100,000 sol­ diers and refugee civilians. There were large camps of the latter both near Hospital No. 2 and near Little Baguio Hospital. These civilian camps had their own makeshift hospitals, but operative and other serious cases were taken care of in the army hos­ pitals. At No. 1 a little girl-baby had been born to a Chinese mother, the wife of an American serviceman. She was named Victoria Bataan. Some of the Filipino laborers at the hospital

181

made a little bamboo cradle for her, and the quarterm aster at Corregidor sent over some baby-clothes. Under the almost incessant bomb­ ing and machine-gunning of the roads, it was always difficult and often impossible to get food to the front lines. Food trucks were, moreover, so frequently held up, actually at gun-point, by hungry people, that armed guards had to be sent along with them. The hospitals were better supplied than the troops, but never really well supplied. Fresh meat was so scarce that carabao- and horsemeat, when to be had, was a great treat. There was a central bakery which provided a fair quality of bread. Around all its establishments the USAFFE had to contend with fifthcolumnists who shot up flares at night to guide enemy bombers. Scores of suspects were arrested and put in a concentration camp near Little Ba­ guio. The enemy was continuously throw­ ing in new troops, and the defenders, poorly equiped, poorly fed, many of those even in the front lines weak and ill, had to abandon position after position under the intense enemy airaction. Patients at No. 2 Hospital rose to around 7,000 and at Little Baguio to over 1,000, although the latter was chiefly for operative cases and patients were shifted to No. 2, as fast as pos­ sible. On the 7th of April, the Little Ba­ guio Hospital suffered a direct hit. A 500-pound bomb exploded in the midst of one of the wards, and at least 100 patients were blown to pieces; the ward records were destroy­ ed, so that even their names were lost. Two of the American nurses were wounded and were taken to Corregi­ dor that night. As the Japanese con­ tinued to bomb the area, it was de­ cided to evacuate the hospital and most of the patients were taken to No. 2. At 4 o’clock in the afternoon, a bomb fell near one ward in which there were still many patients, the shrap­

182 nel cutting down most of the "threedecker” bamboo beds used in this ward. One hungry patient had just been given something to eat. The little iron bedside table was twisted by the explosion, his plate and even his spoon also, but he was unhurt. The hospital personnel as well as the patients were confused and dazed by the continuous explosions. No new patients came in that day and at 8 in the evening, the women nurses, 22 American and 5 Filipino, were told that they would be taken to Corregidor and had 5 minutes to get ready. The doctors and corpsmen stayed behind to take care of what patients still remained. The nurses got on a bus which was to take them to Mariveles, not far away, but they were several hours getting there because the road was jammed with vehicles and refugees on foot, some traveling one direction, some the other. The nurses sat on the Mariveles dock until after midnight. Several launches were plying back and forth in the darkness between Mariveles and Corregidor. The remnants of the 31st Infantry regiment and units of t.he Philippine Scout regiments, and aircorps men generally seemed to be receiving preference though no gene­ ral evacuation was attempted. Just as the nurses were at last leaving the shore, the Mariveles tunnels were blown up with a tremendous explo­ sion, which was followed, the nurses were afterward told, by an earth­ quake, but they did not feel this in the boat. The big guns on Corregidor were firing, probably to cover the retreat, and every four or five minutes the shells passing overhead sounded like freight trains in the air. Even then, hope was not gone, for the ru­ mor was going around that the Cor­ regidor fire was a barrage being laid down to cover the landing of a “big convoy”. Arrived on Corregidor, the nurses were taken into a tunnel and given coffee and cigarets, for they had had almost nothing to eat since the bomb­ ing of the hospital the day before.

STORY

As they stood smoking their cigarets at the tunnel-mouth, they saw the ammunition-dump on Bataan blown up. It looked to them as if the whole peninsula was going. At Hospital No. 2, orders for the American and Filipino nurses to eva­ cuate did not come until April 8. As at Little Baguio, doctors and corpsmen remained behind to look after the thousands of patients there. A number of the nurses themselves were ill, and several had temperatures of 105°. They were put into a large garbage-truck and a number of buses, but could make but little headway on the crowded road. At around 1 o ’clock in the morning all traffic was stop­ ped by order. The munition-dump was to be blown up, it was said. After a half hour or so, came the blind­ ing flash and the tremendous detona­ tion which the other nurses saw from Corregidor. It was after 6 in the morning when they reached Mariveles. The boat which was to have taken them, had already gone. The stranded nurses dragged themselves to the mouth of the marine tunnel and sat down in front of it, exhausted and in tears. Some medical officers and a number of nurses got into a banca with the idea of paddling across to Corregi­ dor. Finally a boat was sent for them and they boarded it at around 9 o'­ clock. They had hardly left the shore when enemy planes appeared and began bombing the road and the beach, but they did not bomb the boat carrying the nurses. They reached Corregidor around 11 o’clock. To the nurses from Bataan, the tun­ nels on the island seemed havens of refuge, although they came to feel differently about them later. They were soon at work in the underground hos­ pital. Tn spite of the bombing Corre­ gidor had received, there were only some 200 patients in the hospital at this time Corregidor — To go back to the beginning, on Corregidor the nurses

CORREGIDOR HOSPITAL

said that on the 8th of Decem­ ber they heard bombing around 1 o’­ clock in the afternoon, but did not know where the sound came from. The 50 patients in the Top-side hos­ pital were immediately moved to the basement of one of the supply build­ ings and the next day the entire hos­ pital moved underground, occupying 14 or 15 side-tunnels and back-laterals off the main lateral which opened into the big Malinta tunnel. These smaller tunnels were all about 8 feet wide, with an arched ceiling 10 feet high, —just big enough to accommodate a row of beds set end to end with a passage along-side. The tunnels were cemented and whitewashed, and men were still working on some of them. They were lighted by electricity and supplied with running water. Despite the fan-ventilation, they were stuffy and hot. There was a good operating room, with sterilizers, etc. At first there were only 10 American and 3 Filipino nurses, but more were sent over later from Manila. There were some 500 beds. Besides the hospital, only the va­ rious offices were provided for under­ ground, with quarters also for staff officers. The garrison as a whole remained aboveground and during the bombing took refuge in dugouts and foxholes and in short tunnels near the gun-positions. The nurses estimated that there were from first to last between 10,000 and 15,000 men on the island. High Commissioner Savre and Pres­ ident Quezon, with their respective families and staff-members, arrived on Corregidor Christmas Eve. The Sayres had a house on Kindley Field, but Presi­ dent Quezon preferred a tent, and a large one, very comfortably furnished, was set up for him near the mouth of the Malinta tunnel. Both of them also had accommodations in the hospi­ tal tunnels, which they occupied at night. Aside from the Sayre and Que­ zon parties, there were very few other civilians on the island except quarter­ master employees.

183

Corregidor suffered its first bomb­ ing attack on December 29. It began around noon and lasted four or five hours, some 80 or 90 planes taking part and coming over, wave after wave. They hit Top-side hospital and various other buildings, but compara­ tively little damage was done. The dead numbered 14 and the wounded around 65. One of the water-reservoirs or tanks was hit, and in the repairing, a wrong connection was made as a result of which seawater got into the other tanks and the garrison had to drink salty water for a week. The water supply was never plentiful and water was turned on for use only during certain hours of the day. The High Commissioner and the President, with their entourages, left Corregidor in February, it was said in a submarine. Although there had been rumors that they would leave, the departure was carried out in strict secrecy, and the nurses did not know they had gone until they noticed they were not there in the morning. General MacArthur and his family and staff left in the same way in March; a few days previously the general had issued a statement highly commen­ ding the garrison and expressing pride in his command. Various batteries and the anti-aircraft corps were specially cited.2 2 Note — The nurses were wrong. General MacArthur, his wife and son, and his staff left Corregidor on March 11 on two mosquito boats which MacArthur preferred to a subma­ rine. The Quezon party had left Corregidor in the evening of February 20 for San Jose, Antique, in a submarine, and took a steamer from there to Iloilo and then to Negros, and then took a P. T. boat to Mindanao. High Commissionner Sayre and his party left by submarine three davs later. Carlos P. Romulo, promoted to Lt. Colonel by MacArthur on the day he left, who was executive, and later chief Press Relations Officer in charge of the "Voice of Freedom” > left Corregidor on the night of April 8 and was taken by an old, reconstructed navy patrol plane from Bataan that night to Mindanao in several stages. All these depar­ tures were top-secret. See Romulo’s "I Saw the Fall of the Philippines” (1943) later re­ printed under the title, "Last Man Off Bataan."

184

There were several small radios in the hospital and one of the officers had a big one. The nurses used to listen regularly to the local Corregidor station, "The Voice of Freedom", and they also tuned in on KGEI (San Francisco) whenever they could. Re­ ception was good until April. Once a special broadcast was dedicated to the defenders of Bataan and Corregidor and the garrison was given an opportunity to listen in. The nurses said that the Voice of Freedom broad­ casts were generally noncommittal and very sober, and that they had heard no such extravagant accounts of attempted invasions of Corregidor as were circulated in the Santo Tomas internment camp at this time. A Voice of Freedom broadcast did state on one occasion that some 500 enemy planes had been brought down over Bataan and Corregidor during the first three or four months, and once there was a reference to some Japa­ nese barges at Cavite having been sunk by Corregidor gun-fire, but these were not "invasion" barges, but sup­ ply barges for Bataan. The nurses heard nothing of any invasion at­ tempts. Heavy bombing of Corregidor began on the 24th of March, after which there were air-raids day and night. A few days after the surrender in Ba taan, enemy guns from there also began to pound the island, the shelling alternating with the bombing from the air, almost without let-up. The shell fire was more accurate than the bomb­ ing, destroying a number of the island batteries. The anti-aircraft batteries still kept the attacking planes flying high. Corregidor took a terrific pounding during most of April. The nurses in their underground retreat could not tell the difference between the explo­ sions of enemy shells and bombs and the firing of the guns on Corrigidor itself. Sometimes it seemed that the whole island was shaking. Even 50 feet underground, people were at times thrown off their feet by the concussions.

STORY

On April 26 three tunnel-mouths were hit and 8 soldiers and civilians were killed and some 75 injured. On April 29, two sea-planes took off with 2U of the American nurses and some other women and several officers who were to be evacuated to Australia, via Mindanao. On May 3, 12 more of the American nurses and some other women, and several more high-ranking officers boarded a submarine which was to take them to Australia. These depart­ ures gave rise to considerable specu­ lation. The nurses were of course not in­ formed of the military developments, whatever these may have been, and had no idea of the surrender which was so imminent. After the fall of Ba­ taan, the officers on Corregidor seem­ ed more determined than ever that Cor­ regidor hold out. Corregidor, they said, can hold out and will hold out. When the news of the April 27 bombing of Tokyo came, the nurses said it was as if everybody had had a "shot of adre­ nalin". Yet conditions on Corregidor were nearing the intolerable. An officer had once said in a Voice of Freedom broadcast to America that living on Corregidor was “like living on the bull’s-eye” (of a target), and this was becoming more and more true. Loss of life was comparatively light, and strangely enough, despite the almost incessant bombing and shelling, there had been only five or six bad cases of shell shock. These men were prac­ tically in a state of collapse, but at the sound of bombing would jump out of bed and crawl under it, or start to run away. Some of them be­ haved better when they were taken outside. All those confined below ground probably suffered more in their nerves than those who remained on the surface.They were not allowed to smoke in the tunnels, nor were allowed to go outside for this. The tunnels were crowded, hot, and close. Often clouds of dust and smoke and stinking cor­ dite fumes came in through the ven-

CORREGIDOR SURRENDER

tilating shafts. They could not tell day from night. The electric lights sometimes went out and everything went absolutely dark, like the inside of a grave. The concussions and shak­ ings and tremors were the worst. Everyone lived in dread of cave-ins, though these never occurred. There were only the few cases of real shell shock mentioned, but many people on the island, though they controlled themselves, sometimes felt that they could not stand the bombing for ano­ ther day. Close to midnight on May 5, the nurses were suddenly told that the enemv had effected a landing on Mon­ key Point, the tail-like extension of the eastern and of the island; they were instructed to destroy all records and keep their gas-masks and helmets at hand. Around 11 o’clock the next morning. May 6, a general officer announced over the Voice of Freedom that at a given time, a little later. General Wainwright would speak: he asked that General Homma listen in. At the appointed time the nurses heard ano­ ther voice (not that of General Wainwright, but of General Beebe) say that at 12 noon a white flag would be raised on the highest point on Corregidor and that all firing would cease. An American officer said later that the negotiations for the surrender had been conducted in one of the tun­ nels that day, and that Top-side had been bombed during the ceremonies, the Japanese explaining that some of the officers in Manila were apparently not aware that Corregidor had sur­ rendered. The nurses saw the first Japanese the next day, curious and inquisitive, but they gave the imnression of want­ ing to be friendly. The hospital per­ sonnel was ordered to carry on, but the nurses were not allowed to speak to American officers and soldiers ex­ cept in line of duty. In spite of the terrific punishment Corregidor had received, there were not more than 700 patients in the hos­ pital, and the Japanese could not

185

believe at first that there were so few. Neither could they believe the mortality figures, which they evidently expected to be much higher. They checked the new graves and said that the dead must have been thrown into the sea. The nurses were allowed to go out for fresh air just outside the tunnelmouth. It was a dreadful scene of devastation they saw. Corregidor had been a beautiful place, green and thickly wooded. Now there was not a leaf or blade of grass to be seen. The various buildings were charred ruins; bomb-and shell-craters pitted the ground everywhere; the whole top of Malinta Hill seemed to have been blown off, exposing the bare rock. No wonder, the nurses thought, that the Japanese had expected to learn of thousands of dead and wounded. After a few days, the nurses were allowed to go out for an hour in the evening, between 6 and 7. Except for the medical-corps men, they saw only Japanese; nothing of the thousands of American and Filipino soldiers who had been taken prisoner. They learned later that most of these men had been taken to the mainland around the mid­ dle of May. On June 25, the hospital personnel and the patients, of whom there were around 200 left, were moved to the hospital on Top-side. It was riddled with holes and looked as if it might tumble down any moment. A few American prisoners were repairing the building and the nurses were not for­ bidden to talk with them. The men said they were being better treated than they had expected. On July 1 the nurses were told in the morning that they must be ready, together with their patients, to be moved to Manila bv 4 o’clock. The patients were put aboard a freighter lying off-shore, barges being used to take them to the shin. It was slow work getting them aboard, however, and the nurses spent the night in the hospital, boarding the ship the next morning. They had had no breakfast

186

but had been given a can of salmon each, and on the ship the Japanese gave them tea and biscuits. They reached Manila around noon. The patients and a few doctors and orderlies, and a number of American and Filipino soldier-prisoners were disembarked first, but though the nurses came last, they were the first to leave the pier. The 57 American nurses and 14 other American women were put aboard buses and taken to Santo Tomas The 31 Filipino nurses and 7 other Filipino women, as well as the male prisoners, it was learned later, were taken to Bilibid Prison. The American nurses spoke highly of the Filipino nurses and of their faithful­ ness to duty during the terrible months in Bataan and on Corregidor.

J2 Story of Philippine Shipping Losses According to the captain (civilian)1 of a U.S. harbor boat at Corregidor who was later interned in Santo Tomas, the attack on the island fortress was launched about 11.15 p.m., May 5, from 1The U.S. harbor boat captain referred to in the text was Federico Narruhn, a Spaniard of American citizenship, who was brought in­ to Santo Tomas some time after the fall of Corregidor. To the writer’s asto­ nishment, Captain Narruhn recited the facts given, names, dates, etc., from memory. The latter part of the story, concerning the sink­ ing of the S.S. Hareldswine, is based on the account of the ship's master Edward Bentley, as told to the writer in Santo Tomas. Mention is not made here of the greatest mari­ time disaster in Philippine history, the sinking of the S.S. Corregidor with some 1,500 people aboard, when it struck a mine off the island of Corregidor some time after midnight on De­ cember 17, 1941, ten days after the outbreak of the war. Over a thousand lives were lost. Not mentioned either is the blowing up, following a machine-gunning of the ship by a Japanese plane, of the Madrigal ocean-going freighter, the Manalawny, with 80,000 50-pound cases of dynamite aboard, about 1 kilometer off-shore and about 4 kilometers from Paracale, on Jpnuary 13, 1942. These events are described elsewhere in the book.

STORY

the Bataan coast around Cabcaban, the Japanese using a great many steel and wooden barges. They start­ ed out stealthily, but the approach was discovered by the men at Fort Hughes, on Caballo (one of the three small island forts lying between Corregidor and the Cavite coast), and the fir­ ing started. Though not without the loss of many barges and men, the Japanese effected a landing at Monkey Point at around 4 o'clock in the morn­ ing. At 9 o’clock three Japanese tanks were seen near the mouth of the Malinta tunnel. At 10 o’clock the firing ceased. A Japanese officer told the Captain afterward that the Japanese lost some 5,000 men in the attack while the American and Filipino dead, according to the Japanese officer, numbered around 700. The Japanese continued all that day to bomb various ammunition dumps on Corregidor, possibly in the belief that they had been mined. The following day they brought thousands of Japanese troops from Bataan, it seemed only so that they could take a look around, for during the next few days all or most of them were taken from the island to Manila. All the big guns which had not been destroyed during the months of the Japanese shelling and bombing, had been put out of commission be­ fore the surrender, not only those on Corregidor (Fort Mills) itself, but on Caballo (Fort Hughes), El Fraile (Fort Drum), and Carabao Island (Fort Frank). Caballo is a small island, high and rocky, lying some 2 miles southeast of the nearest wharf on Corregidor. According to the Captain, there were 2 14-inch guns and a num­ ber of m ortar batteries on Caballo. On Carabao Island, smaller and lower than Caballo, and lying about a mile from the Cavite coast, there also were 2 14-inch guns and a number of m ortar batteries. In between these two islands, some 4 miles from Caballo and 2 miles from Carabao Island, lies El Fraile, a mere rock, on which a bat­ tleship-like structure had been built

PHILIPPINE SHIPPING LOSSES

of steel and concrete called Fort Drum, equipped with 4 of the large 14-inch guns. About a month after the sur­ render, the Captain said, a number of American soldiers were brought back to Fort Drum to run the power-plant which the Japanese didn’t know how to operate. The Captain said that the Hyde, of the U. S. Flarbor Boat Service, the Bohol II, an interisland ship, both anchored off the Bataan coast, were sunk on April 9, the day of the Ba­ taan surrender. The Keswick, a Bri­ tish tug, was also shelled that day and was beached off Monkey Point. The Captain of the Keswick, an Ame­ rican naval officer, was killed. The S. S. Suisang (British) was bombed and blown up at Mariveles that same day. On the 11th, the Japanese tried to tow away the cableship Apo, and Corregidor batteries then sank the ship. The S.S. Neptune, an interisland ship used as an auxiliary mine-sweep­ er, was bombed and sunk off Carabao Island a few days later. The tug, Trabajador, was sunk at Corregidor by Japanese shell-fire on the 20th. The interisland ship, M. S. Elcano, was sunk off Caballo Island by enemy shell-fire on the 21st. The S. S. Miley, another U. S. Harbor Boat Service ship, was set afire by bombs, also off Caballo, on the 23rd, burned for two days, and then sank. With the surrender of Corregidor, the Japanese captured a number of ships and launches. An effort had been made to scuttle some of them, but they did not sink fast enough. Among them were the U.S.S. Luzon, gun-boat; the U.S.S. Harrison, rn Army mine-layer; the U.S.S. Quail, a Navy mine-sweeper; the U.S.S. Vaga and the U.S.S. Ranger, both tugs; and the Navy ferry-boat, the U.S.S. San Felipe. They also cap­ tured the Maria Dolores, a yacht be­ longing to J. H. Marsman, which the Navy had taken over, as well as .T. W. Haussermann's yacht, the Jem, which had been taken over by the U. S. Ar­ my, President Quezon’s beautiful

187

yacht, the Casiana, had been sunk off Corregidor on January 6. Among the earlier losses, was the S.S. Don Jose of Madrigal & Company, the biggest freighter under the Ame­ rican and Philippine flags (formerly the Robert Dollar), bombed and burn­ ed off Corregidor on December 29. The ship had arrived in Manila from ,the United States several days before and had unloaded planes and tanks for the Army and had been utilized dur­ ing the night of the 28th-29th to car­ ry a large number of troops to Cor­ regidor with part of its general cargo still aboard. After the ship had been bombed and set afire by the enemy, it was towed to a reef where 2,500 tons of fuel oil were pumped out while the ship was still burning. The Japa­ nese later salvaged the hull and towed it to Hongkong, where, according to reports, it was said to have been bombed and sunk by American planes in China. The S.S. Capillo, an Ameri­ can freighter, was also bombed and set afire off Corregidor, that same day, the 29th, and was towed to the Bataan coast, where it sank. Still ano­ ther victim that day was the S. S. Kaiping; it was towed and beached on the Bataan shore and its cargo of coal was taken off there. The Japanese had during the months preceding the fall of Corregidor cap­ tured a number of ships which were bringing supplies to the fortress, in­ cluding the S. S. Lepus, the S. S. Compahia de Filipinas, the S.S. Princesa, and the M. S. Kolambugan. The M. S. Don Esteban, bombed and set afire, was beached on the Mindoro coast by the captain. The M. S. Legaspi was also run ashore on that island, scuttled and set afire by its captain. The crack S.S. Mayon was bombed and sunk at Butuan, Mindanao; the cantain and 13 others on the ship were killed. Though the Japanese apparently aimed at least some of their bombs at the shipping in the Pasig river on the 27th of December (1941), on which day they hit the Intendencia

188

Building and the Dominican Church, they failed to hit a single ship. The authorities, however, believing that the ships tied up along both sides of the river from the mouth to the Jones Bridge were drawing enemy attack, ordered the owners and masters to move them from there, and as some of the ships had no steam up and others lacked large enough crews, the following ships were scuttled: M.S. Anakan, S.S. Bicol, S.S. Bisayas, S.S. Dos Hcrmanos, S.S. Mauban, S.S. Nuestra Senora de la Paz, and S.S. Nuestra Senora del Rosario. All of these ships were later refloated by the Japanese and put back into com­ mission, as were also the Kaiping and and the Keswick later. In the harbor and Bay, the Japan­ ese were more successful. In the first bombing of shipping in the Bay, on December 11, they sank the S.S.Sagoland. with its cargo of 60,000 sacks of flour; 7 people aboard lost their lives. On the 26th they bombed and set fire to the S.S. Paz- On the 27th and 28th thev sank the following: S.S. Arayat (at Pier 5), S.S. Bohol and S. S. Samal, (both inside the break­ water), S.S. Lanao (anchored off Malabon). S.S. Leyte, and S.S. Magallanes. The S. S. Mindanao was under repair at Canacao, Cavite, and was sunk by enemy bombs there. The S.S. Montahes was bombed on the 30th and sunk bv her own crew. The ship was raised by the Japanese, but was later sunk bv an American submarine, as were also the Dos Hermanos and the Bicol. On taking Manila, the Japanese captured the S.S. Don Juan O, the M.S. Palawan, and a number of smaller ships which had escaped the bombs and were still at anchor in the Bay. The S.S. Canlaon, a lighthouse tender, was scuttled by its captain off Malabon. Besides all the ships destroyed and captured in Luzon waters, many other ships of the Philippine coastwise ser­ vice were lost in various parts of the archipelago. The Philippine merchant marine was wiped out. Forty or fifty

STORY

good-sized ships were gone, some of them, like the Don Esteban and the Don Isidro, practically new ships. The latter was reported to have been bombed and sunk at Port Darwin, Australia. The total losses represent­ ed at least P25,000,000 at prewar va­ luations. A number of British ships were at­ tacked and sunk in Philippine waters during the first weeks of the war. Among the first to be attacked was the S.S. Hareldswine (2,200 tons) which had been ordered from Hong­ kong to Singapore by the British Na­ val Control Office on December 7. The next day, at sea, at 10 o’clock in the morning, the master, Edward Bentley, was informed by radio that Japan had opened hostilities. Early on the morn­ ing of the 9th, a Japanese plane swoop­ ed down and machine-gunned the ship. The wireless operator immediately made contact with Manila, sounded the SOS and reported the ship’s posi­ tion, approximately 140 miles north­ west of Cape Bolinao, Luzon. The plane turned and dropped a bomb, which missed and fell ahead of the the ship. The operator wirelessed: “Japanese plane bombing vessel. Crew taking to boats. Want assist­ ance..” Manila replied and relayed the mes­ sage to the British Navy at Hongkong. In the meantime another enemy plane had appeared which dropped a bomb close to the port side of the Harelds­ wine, the concussion knocking the ope­ rator down and upsetting the furniture in the wireless room. The captain and the wireless operator joined the men in the lifeboats, and as they pulled away from the ship the enemy plane flew off. It did not return and the men in the boats climbed back aboard the ship. The wireless operator again got through to Manila, obtaining the an­ swer, “Wait”. About noon a large Am­ erican plane circled over the ship, and an hour or so later the same or an­ other plane again flew over, but on neither occasion was there a message. The ship was leaking and all the main

PHILIPPINE SHIPPING LOSSES

shaft-bearings were cracked, but no help arriving, the captain decided to raise steam again and just before sun­ down, set a course by dead reckoning, as he had no morning sights to work on and the ship had been drifting in a strong current all day. All hands were kept on duty, the firemen work­ ing as hard as they could and the sail­ ors trimming coal. It was a cloudless, moonlight night. They sighted land at daybreak and at about 7 o'clock, when only some 8 miles from the coast, an enemy plane flying high overhead circled down to a lower altitude and dropped a bomb which hit the wireless room and blew up a good part of superstructure. The men again took to the lifeboats and were pulling away when the plane dropped another bomb which struck amid-ships. The captain threw his cod­ ing and decoding books overboard in a weighted bag. The chief officer’s boat turned over, spilling the men, and when the men in the other boats were helping to right the boat, the plane came down very low and machine-gun­ ned them, ineffectually. During the three or four hours of rowing to land, the men saw the plane again bombing the ship, but the ene­ my aviator paid no more attention to the three boats. The chief engineer’s boat was the first to reach the land, then the captain’s boat, and last the

189

chief engineer's. Happily everyone was accounted for, four British officers and all of the 42 Chinese who made up the crew. A number of the men were hurt, however. The captain had been wounded in the leg; the second mate had both hands injured; the second en­ gineer had a cut on his foot; the wire­ less operator had a damaged hand; a sailor had a head-wound. They learned that they were near the town of Vigan and soon a Filipino doctor came to the beach and attended to the wounded. Then they were taken in an army truck to San Fernando, where the man with the head-injury was placed in a hospital for treatment. The rest, after food and rest, went on to Manila in another army truck. The British offic­ ers were among those interned at Villamor Hall on January 2 and were tak­ en to Santo Tomas the day the camp was opened, January 4.

Other British ships sunk, were the 10,000-ton Tantalus, sunk off the Ba­ taan coast, near Orion, December 26; the Seistan, sunk the next day in the same area; and the Yusane, sunk off Alassin Point, Bataan, about the same time. In the case of the last, 9 lives were lost. Many of the officers and crews of these ships were interned in Santo Tomas.

The Country The Enemy Rule of the Country “The infidel triumphs, — or supposes he triu m ph ... The cause is asleep, — the strongest throats are still, choked with their own blood, The young men droop their eyelashes toward the ground when they m e et..." WHITMAN “—But for all this, liberty had not gone out of the place, Nor the infidel enter'd into full possesion." WHITMAN

Chapter I

,

January to August 1942 I THE NEW FREEDOM The w riter has so far confined him­ self largely to the happenings with­ in the Santo Tomas camp, but the story even of the life in the camp could not be told without reference to what was going on at the same time in Manila and the provinces, for much about all this was known to the inter­ nees and affected them in various wavs.1 In spite of the difficulty of com­ munication with the outside, much was learned through notes smuggled in by friends and relatives and through the brief talks with them sometimes per­ mitted at the Package-Line. Internees who had been out on pass for some hours or days always returned with news. People brought into the camp from the provinces came with their stories. And there was the Tribune, de­ livered daily, a propaganda sheet, but nevertheless a mine of information, if read aright. 1 It was not until later that the writer began to think that he might essay a broader theme, "The Japanese Occupation of the Philippines".

The w riter rather funked the task of putting down on paper some of the facts which came to be well known in the camp because no writing of that kind was safe. One might at any time be caught in the act of writing "anti-Japanese propaganda”, and his few possessions, stored in boxes and bags under his bed, might at any time be searched. Internees generally did not dare to keep diaries or even to make notes. Internees were warned from the be­ ginning to refrain from "gossip” and from repeating "fantastic rum ors” as well as from expressing anti-Japanese sentiments. On July 29, the Executive Committee issued a bulletin which read: "The Commandant has requested that the following be circularized among the internees: "‘Your attention is directed to recent orders of the Imperial Japanese military Army [sic] prohibiting acts of hostility by civilians toward the Imperial Japanese Forces, as expressed in the newspapers of July 21 and subsequent is­ sues. These orders apply equally to those in­ terned and it is my order that they be strict­ ly observed. Specifically, internees must refrain from expressions of sympathy to our enemies and hostility to the Japanese, for example: (1) Rumors and criticisms relative to the Imperial Japanese Forces and their movements; (2) cri­ ticisms of Japan and the Japanese, etc., (3) ru­ mors and criticisms relative to the Government

190

LOOTING of the Philippines; (4) criticisms of the living conditions of the Filipino people; (5) rumors and criticisms relative to the life of intern­ ment camps. "'Such actions have been obsereved in the past and reported to this office. We have made due allowance for certain principles [presumably of free speech] which Americans and British deem to be their right, but at the same time all in­ ternees must recognize that they are in deten­ tion and must govern themselves accordingly out of ordinary courtesy and desire to main­ tain the harmony which I hope will continue to prevail in this camp.”'

This was a direct ban on the w rit­ ing of any such an account as the w rit­ er had undertaken, either of develop­ ments within or outside Santo Tomas. The Commandant’s statement indicat­ ed that there were informers in the camp, and this fact was brought out even more definitely in his remarks to certain members of the Executive Committee at the time he handed them the notice. The Commandant seemed to be motivated by the desire to avoid complications with the Military Police. In August the news about the fight­ ing in the Pacific and in China was so favorable that it seemed that the re­ lief of the Philippines might not be much longer delayed, and the w riter decided to make at least a summary of the developments in the Philippines as a whole in so far as they came to be known inside the camp. The Japanese Looting — Whatever the Japanese claimed their aims were in establishing their hegemony over East Asia, the invasion of the Philip­ pines soon turned into what was in part only a piratical expedition, but plans of local organization and dev­ elopment were also inaugurated which were obviously calculated to reduce the Philippines to the position of a tributary state. The much-sung "CoProsperity Sphere” was a Jap-Prosperity Sphere. The Japanese swarmed all over the Philippines like clouds of ter­ mites. Then they dug in everywhere,

191

in every government and private ins­ titution, undermining everything, tak­ ing it all in their voracious jaws. Sometimes they paid fractional va­ lues with their fiat paper currency, often they paid nothing. Soldiers on the outskirts of Manila regularly stop­ ped carts of produce coming into the city, "buying” the whole load for a peseta (twenty centavos). Soldiers walked into-slores^-asked to be shown watches^ cameras, and other things, made their selections, and walked out with them, sometimes with a mock “thank-you”. The business premises and homes of Americans and British were systematically looted, much pro­ perty being wantonly destroyed.2 Com­ pany records were in many cases flung about and trampled upon, which later gave the military authorities trouble when they wanted information. In the homes, not only were such things as radios, cameras, refrigerators, and tablesilver taken, but beds and chairs and clothing. Libraries were systema­ tically looted, especially law-libraries and Filipiniana collections. Automo­ biles were seized by soldiers who did not know how to drive; wrecks were strewn all over the country, stripped of all removable parts, especially ball­ bearings. Many factories and shops were stripped of machinery and tools of all kinds. A Tokyo Domei dispatch of April 7, published in the Tribune, quoted Col. K. Okada, chief of the war-prepara­ tions section of the War Ministry, as stating: 2 The looting of American and British homes was systematic. First the higher army and navy officers would move into a house and take what they wanted, to be followed later by officers of lower rank, who took what they wanted, and so on until finally an army truck would drive up and carry off the remaining furniture and what-not to furnish the soldiers' barracks or to be wantonly piled up and burned.

192 "Japanese transport vessels which have car­ ried Japanese troops to the Southwest Pacific war fronts are returning home as treasureships, laden with foodstuffs and raw materials for domestic consumption. .

These “treasure-ships” carried much other loot, and rumors of many of them being sunk by American subma­ rines gave the people in Santo Tomas no little satisfaction. The Chinese in the Philippines and especially in Manila brought the Jap­ anese great booty. Many were impri­ soned for being "anti-Japanese” and for having previously extended aid to the Chiang Kai-shek government. Many were executed, including Consul-Gen­ eral Kuangson Young and Consul Mok.3 Early in June the Chinese in Ma­ nila were reported to have formed the Chinese Merchants' Association for the purpose of "cooperating” with Japan in the establishment of the Co-Pros­ perity Sphere. A few days later, the 10th, the Tribune published a Domei dispatch from Manila, dated June 8, which stated: "The Chinese Merchants' Association yester­ day contributed P2,000,000 to the Japanese mili­ tary authorities in the Philippines as an expres­ sion of full support of the Chinese in the con­ struction of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. It will be recalled that the Association recently began a campaign to collect P20.000,000 for donation to the Japanese military."

For months, essential public services in Manila were left unprovided for, and the state of the capital of the Phil­ ippines, once the cleanest city in the Far East, was evident from news items which appeared in the Tribune. On -'NOTE (1945) — The Chinese Consul-General and his staff were arrested on January 8, 1942; they were transferred to Fort Santiago on March 28, and were all executed on April 17. Their remains were exhumed and identified on June 14, 1945. They were: C. Kuangson Young, ConsulGeneral; Kai Yann Mok, Consul; P.K. Chu, Con­ sul; Tek Siu Yao, Deputy Consul: Tong Ming Siao, Deputy Consul; Ching Sio Young, Deputy Consul; Y.H. Loo, Chancellor; and T.W. Wang, Student Consul. All were well-known and were popular in Manila’s cosmopolitan circles.

THE COUNTRY

February 3, for instance, city health officers were reported as urging the adoption of the "pit-system” for the disposal of garbage because of the dis­ continuance of garbage collection and disposal by the city government. On the 9th, a city official suggested that carabao-drawn carts be used for the purpose. On March 26 it was announc­ ed that garbage collection might be un­ dertaken by private persons. There were thousands of people in the city, jobless and hungry, and though the population had already fallen from around 700,000 to 300,000, the City Hall on February 19 was re­ ported urging the unemployed to go to the provinces. On April 17 it was re­ ported that there was a scheme to em­ ploy the jobless in Manila to gather kindling wood on the Metropolitan Water District reservation at Montalban. The Red Cross was reported at one time to be feeding over 100,000 people. On March 2 it was reported that government agencies were stu­ dying various substitutes for milk. On March 6 the Mayor was reported to be alarmed by the number of workcarabaos being slaughtered for meat, and forbade this. On April 18 Vargas issued an executive order to the same effect. At this time, too, the police were warning the people against adulterated foods and medical products. On April 11 it was reported that the City Hall authorities had appointed a commit­ tee to study the cemetary problem, the cemeteries all being "congested”. Mail service in Greater Manila was not re-established until March 16, under censorship. Postage stamps were over­ printed, the words "United States of America” and the words "Common­ wealth of the” in "Commonwealth of the Philippines” being blotted out. The Japanese immediately instituted a system of rice-rationing in Manila

MANILA “ HIGH” LIFE

through the established National Rice and Corn Corporation (Naric). Only those who had secured a new Japan­ ese-issued residence-tax certificate could buy, the certificate costing 50 centavos, later doubled. People had to stand in line for hours to get one ganta of rice, every other day, at 34 centavos a ganta.4 Others were gauged by the profiteers. On April 8 the Tribune reported that the first shipment of Saigon rice, 300,000 sacks, had "recently” been brought in under the auspices of the Army. On May 20 the paper published pictures of rice being "unloaded” from Jap­ anese ships at the piers, but reports reached Santo Tomas that these ships were actually loading Philippine rice to be taken out of the country. At any rate, rice-prices in Manila were still shooting up, and on May 25 the Tri­ bune reported that Commissioner R. R. Alunan was taking action to check the trend. The Tribune, July 9, reported that rice being brought into Manila from the provinces by Naric was being "con­ fiscated” at the outposts by “several members of certain organizations pos­ ing as Naric inspectors” and that Naric "was taking steps”. Late arrivals in the Santo Tomas camp said these “several members of certain organizations” were Japanese soldiers and civilians. An effort to enforce cultivation of the land under the abnormal condi­ tions existing was revealed in the Tri­ bune of May 16, which reported that Vargas, with the "approval” of the mili­ tary, had issued an executive order ins­ tituting a national campaign for the cultivation of idle lands to produce food crops. Municipal mayors were re­ quired to assign, preferably to the un­

193

employed, both uncultivated private and public lands. The crop would be­ long to the cultivators, but 10% of it was to be set aside and sold for the benefit of the government in lieu of the real-estate tax. These and similar efforts and the natural tendency of farmers to farm may have- produced some result, with respect to secondary crops, if not rice, for the Tribune claimed on August 15: "The food situation in the provinces has been improving, as production has been speeded up, resulting in increased supply for local con­ sumption and for shipment to other regions, principally Greater Manila, according to re­ ports. . . . A plentiful harvest of short-season or secondary food crops in central and north­ east regions of Luzon was reported by pro­ vincial field men of the Naric. A boom rice crop is expected for the coming year. . . ”

The Tribune, August 18, reported that the military authorities had estab­ lished a "model farm ” of 4,000 acres and placed it under the management of the Ohta Development Company. "From this model farm at least two crops are expected annually and the production will be used for meeting military requirements in the Philippines. It was disclosed that the rice crop from this model farm is expected to reach 100,000 bushels in 1942 and 750,000 bushels in 1944."

The laws of the Commonwealth not only prohibited aliens acquiring farm lands in the Philippines, but limited the amount of public land which could be acquired by any Philippine corpora­ tion to 1,016 hectares. Cabarets and houses of prostitution sp ra n g up all over Manila. The princi­ pal American residence districts, Ermita and Malate, were crowded with these establishments. And every day the Tribune carried such advertise­ ments as the following:

"Hostesses wanted”, "Wanted, beautiful waitresses”, "Wanted: waitresses, hostesses, dancers; good-looking and up-to-date girls pre­ ferred; good salary and income assured”; "Want­ 4 This was not yet much of an increase. The ed: mestiza waitresses with pleasing personal­ prewar 1940 price was from 23 to 30 centavos, ity”; "Wanted: complaisant hostesses, apply personally” (Tribune, April 2); "Wanted: young depending on the variety and quality.

194 lady as private teacher in English"; "Wanted: female secretary, preferably mestiza, single and beautiful, age between 20 and 28, experience and recommendation not necessary, but with good pay, apply personally” (April 10); "Want­ ed Nice Girls, apply personally, Japanese Navy Club”; "Wanted 50 beautiful waitresses, good income guaranteed, Mr. I Yamamoto”; "Want­ ed: 20 beautiful waitresses, Tokyo Saloon"; "Wanted: waitresses with good personality and trustworthy for night time, apply at Hoshioguka Bar and Restaurant" (May 31); "Wanted: masseur with experience massaging prostate glands, state price per massage, apply byt let­ ter” (June 4); "Wanted: lady barber or massagist; also some assistants in barbershop, must be young and single, see Miss Yosiko Goto” (July 15); "Wanted: attractive waitresses, preferably mestizas, minimum income of P60 guaranteed.”

The Japanese were always stressing in their propaganda that the Filipinos were Orientals and should consider themselves fellow-Orientals with the Japanese; but they did like mestizas. Executions — In contrast to these hints of the delights of the nightlife in Japanese Manila, were stories of slappings and beatings and killings, of men strung up by the arms and legs, cf men beaten and revived and beaten again, of barbed wire "looters’ cages” set up in public places, and there were official announcements of mass execu­ tions in the Tribune. On February 12 it was reported that 4 persons had been executed by the military authorities, 3 of them for "inflicting injuries” on Japanese soldiers, and 1 for arson; 27 others had been severely punished for looting sealed bodegas. On the 16th the paper reported the execution of the 3 British subjects who had tried to escape from Santo Tomas, as al­ ready recounted. The April 14 Tribune reported that 5 communists from Pampanga had been executed and 4 others shot by order of the military on April 11, having been found guilty of "m ur­ der, incendiarism, robbery, and dis­ turbing public peace and order”; of the 4 men who were not communists,

THE COUNTRY

2 had injured a Japanese soldier and the 2 others had "spread false reports against the Japanese forces”. The May 6 paper carried a report concerning 13 men who had been sentenced to death by court-martial for cutting military communication lines near the Culi-Culi railway station (close to Manila); they included some 17-and 18-year-old boys. The announcement stated: "Bad elements should be eliminated. . . . Such malicious act as committed by this group of hoodlums, causing considerable damage to the Military Administration is proof that there is still a group who do not understand the real intention of the Japanese Army. Such people should comprehend the real situation under the new regime.”

On May 24 the paper said that 20 Chinese leaders had "recently” been executed, A court-martial had found them "guilty of anti-Japanism” and they had been executed immediately after they had been sentenced. As to 30 other Chinese, "the death penalty was commuted to long-term imprison­ ment by the special grace of the Com­ mander-in-chief of the Imperial Jap­ anese Forces, as their repentance was judged honest and sincere”. This was a week or so before the organization of the alleged pro-Japanese Chinese Merchants’ Association which was to donate P20,000,000 to the Army. On June 8 the Tribune reported that "44 law violators had been put to death”. They were said to be counter­ feiters and spies. Only some of the persons executed were mentioned by name; two of them were young wo­ men. The Tribune reported, June 25, that 8 more violators of army laws had been put to death and 3 others impri­ soned "for printing or distributing an­ ti-Japanese leaflets on the occasion of the celebration of His Imperial Majes­ ty the Em peror’s birthday on April 28 and 29”. Among those executed were

EXECUTIONS

195

Filipino a renegade and an enemy, con­ victed him of anti-Japanism and liable to nameless abuses and death. Early in the war, in December, the Manila newspapers had printed the story of a school principal in a town in Ilocos Sur who had hanging on the walls in the main room of his house the American and Philippine flags. When the town was occupied by the It must be clearly understood that senti- Japanese, an officer saw the flags ments of sympathy to the enemy, even though through an open window, entered the not manifested outwardly, are clearly an act of hostility against the Imperial Japanese house, and ordered the Filipino to take Forces, taking into account the present war­ the American flag down. When he time situation." shook his head, the officer said, "I am That same issue contained the re­ not ordering you to take your own flag production of a photograph of Gen­ down. Take that American flag down.” eral Homma and Chairman Vargas, of The Filipino said that they were both the Philippine Executive Commission, his flags. The officer then shot him sitting side by side in the Metropolitan dead, in front of his family.5 Theater watching a Japanese revue company recently arrived in Manila 5 NOTE (1945) — Buenaventura A. Bello was not killed, and fortunately recovered from the shot which "glorified the modern Japanese he received, though the Japanese left him for girl”. The paper for July 31 reported dead. Friends removed him to a hiding place as he was not seen anymore for several the execution of 17 persons sentenced and months it was generally assumed that he was by a naval court for "looting an ar­ dead. Since highly colored versions of the in­ cident have appeared, especially in the movingsenal”. picture, "Bataan", the following account is giv­ The Filipinos w erej'on the spot” and en, obtained by the writer from Bello himself werOj-ih fact, in a worse position than in September, 1945. On the morning of December 10, 1941, Bello, the_AmericansTn the country or the then 50 years old, went to his school, a private, nationals of other powers at war with non-sectarian institution, the Northern College J a pan The^^eriC ahs~and^foreigners (with an enrolment of around 500 in vocational, school, and some collegiate courses). The were interned and remained more or high students had all been sent home the previous less unmolested in the camps, but the day, and he was conferring with his secretary, Japanese pretended not to recognize the janitor being also in the room, when a Jap­ officer and a squad of soldiers suddenly that the Filipinos were at war with anese entered. It was still very early in the morning, them and announced they had come around 6 o'clock, and no one in the town knew not to fight their fellow Orientals but that several thousand Japanese had begun a landing about 3 o’clock along the coast from to free them. Thus they denied them Salomague, north, and Narvacan, just south such protection as there might be in of Vigan. The Japanese vessels had been taken American ships and the people did not international law for the native inha­ for recognize the enemy until they began to mach­ bitants of enemy-occupied territory. ine-gun them. In the school, Bello and the oth­ The Japanese pretended that they er two Filipinos stood transfixed with surprise. Japanese officer grunted and motioned to were—m ade-w elcom e— by the Fili- The Bello to pull down an American and a Filipino pinos as "liberators” and that there­ flag which were hanging side by side on the fore they, as friends, could require any­ wall. One had been given to the institution by Governor-General Murphy and the other thing of them, any act of disloyalty and former by then Vice-President Osmena. Bello at first treason. Refusal to acquiesce made a could not speak and shook his head, but when Pedro and Dominador Fajardo, wellknown printers in Manila, and Ramon de Santos, an artist. The July 22 Tribune reported the execution of yet 18 others found guil­ ty of acts against the Imperial Japan­ ese Forces, — 17 Filipinos, including a 17-year-old boy and a "pro-Chungking” Chinese. Headquarters announc­ ed:

196

What was the use of such pitiful acts of loyalty? y h e jilip in o s were loyal to, and hcyi-£atth—in—AmeriGa__JTad not President RoosevelE saich that-help was Oil the way? They believed in Ameri­ ca’s might, in her terrible swift sword, and realized they wnnld only hawp to bear the situation for a time tn wait and to endure^ And this, in the main, they did, obeying when they had to, bowing to the Japanese soldiers with stolid faces. But even after Wainwright's surrender and his order to all the USAFFE troops in the field to sur­ render, guerrillas in all parts of the country kept up an active resistance. According to international law, mili­ tary occupation of a country does not transfer sovereignty, and the occupying power is obliged at least for the time being to recognize the laws of the land and not to disturb the existing govern­ ment organization more than is neces­ sary. The occupying power has no right to demand the help of the people of the occupied areas against their own the Japanese repeated his grunts and gestures, he found his voice and said almost automatical­ ly, "Pull them down yourself", and, clinching his hands and holding them up, without any conscious effort at bravado, he added, "My hands are rather to defend those flags”. The of­ ficer probably did not understand his words, but did the gesture. He lifted his revolver and shot Bello through the groin. Bello dropped un­ conscious. The Japanese soldiers then tore down the flags with their bayonets and trampled on them. Brought to a place of safety by his friends, Bello suffered severely for many weeks, but the bullet had gone clear through him with­ out touching any vital part, and he recovered. Bello’s oldest son, Nazario, a law-student at the Ateneo de Manila, joined the USAFFE on hearing the report of his father's murder and was" killed in Bataan after the surrender and while trying to escape, although he had halted when ordered to do so and had thrown up his hands. Later, "General” Ricarte asked Bello to join the Japanese propaganda corps and to edit an Ilocano newspaper, but he re­ fused. Again, after the establishment of the "Republic”, he was asked to accept the govern­ orship of Ilocas Sur, but he declined this "ho­ nor” also. Bello still has the two flags.

THE COUNTRY

forces in the field or to require from these people any pledge of loyalty. Nevertheless, the Commander-inchief of the Japanese forces, on enter­ ing the open city of Manila immediate­ ly issued a proclamation declaring that American sovereignty in the Philippines was ended. President Quezon, before leaving Ma­ nila at the request of General MacArthur, had designated his Secretary, Jorge B. Vargas, as the ranking mem­ ber of the Cabinet and had commis­ sioned him to represent the Govern­ ment of the Commonwealth of the Philippines in any necessary negotia­ tions with the Japanese. A day or two later, Quezon appointed Vargas Mayor of Greater Manila. However, Order No. 1 of the Japanese Commander-in-chief, published in the Tribune, January 24, brought into being a puppet civil or­ ganization headed by the so-called Philippine Executive Commission, of which Vargas was appointed Chair­ man. Thirty-four (later increased to 35 and then reduced to 24) leading Fili­ pinos formed an "advisory” body called the Council of State, only 12 of whom constituted a quorum. Six government­ al departments and a number of bu­ reaus were also established, but for all the names of appointees published in the newspapers, these existed chief­ ly on paper. During the following week more than 50 Philippine Common­ wealth offices were closed and their officials and employees "retired”. The January 24 Tribune contained a declaration, signed by those who had taken office in the new "government” as members of the Executive Commis­ sion and of the Council of State, ad­ dressed to the Commander-in-chief, which read as follows, in part: "Your Excellency:. . . . In compliance with your advice, and having in mind the great ideals, the freedom, and the happiness of our country, we are ready to obey to the best of

THE NEW “GOVERNMENT” our ability and within the means at our dis­ posal, the orders issued by the Imperial Japa­ nese Forces for the maintenance of peace and order and the promotion of the well-being of our people under the Japanese Military Admi­ nistration.”

This was a forthright and dignified statement, acceding to as much as the Japanese could rightfully ask, granting their occupation of the country gave them certain rights. There was no refer­ ence to any supposed Japanese "sov­ ereignty” in the Philippines or of any "loyalty” to Japan. The signers sim­ ply stated their readiness to obey the military and gave their reasons for this. But that was far from satisfying the Japanese. In the Tribune of February 3, the Commander-in-chief was report­ ed as having declared at a state din­ ner that a "reform of the national life” was called for, which would — "sweep away all the exploitation, outrages, in­ sults, and degeneration caused by the Ameri­ cans for the last 40 years. . . The people of this country have long been taught by the Am­ ericans to put too much importance to the material side and to physical comfort in life . . . Escape from the position of captives of the capitalism and imperialism of the United States. Liquidate the unnatural culture bor­ rowed from a far country. Shake off the eco­ nomic dependence on the United States and re­ form the national life into simplicity and re­ organize your industries which will make co­ operation with your neighbors possible. . . . We believe that a nation which indulges in pretty dresses, nice food, physical enjoyment, and expensive fashions can never succeed in establishing a strong nation . . . ”

197

treated themselves greedily to the best of what the country afforded of the despised American conveniences and luxuries, all forgetful of their Spartan code. Order No. 1 created only executive and judicial organs of government. The national legislative body was suppres­ sed as incompatible with the new re­ gime. A petition of the Manila Muni­ cipal Board that its rights and prero­ gatives as a legislative body be pre­ served, was denied. Order No. 3 of the Commander-in-chief, published in the February 22 Tribune gave the Exe­ cutive Commission limited "legislative powers”, subject to his approval. The Tribune of April 11 reported that at a meeting of provincial gover­ nors and municipal mayors they had been advised that Order No. 5 and In­ structions No. 6 of the Commander-inchief required that the entire govern­ ment personnel "pledge their loyalty to the Japanese Imperial Forces”. This represented a victory for the Commis­ sion, it was said, because the Japanese had at first demanded a pledge of lo­ yalty to Japan. They were also told again that — "the idea of relying on Europe and America, and, in particular, the idolization of the United States, shall be eradicated, and the friendship with Japan, based upon the awakening of the Filipinos as Orientals, shall be fully cultivated.”

Political parties were not recogniz­ ed. The May 20 Tribune reported that As for the Americans ever returning at the victory “celebration” two days to the Philippines, said the Command­ before, Maj. Gen. Y. Hayashi, Directorer-in-chief: General of the Military Administra­ “Rumors of the resurrection of American tion, in addressing another meeting of forces in this country are too absurd to deny governors and mayors had said: and we may laughingly disregard them.” "Under the new situation, it is our policy not It may be said parenthetically that to recognize the presence of any associations the Japanese officers, so scornful of or parties bearing political significance. There­ of physical comfort, cheerfully occu­ fore you should strictly refrain from being pied the finest Manila homes and the affiliated to or be reluctant to give up political parties which have hitherto existed. . . You air-conditioned rooms in the best hotels should maintain at all times a solemn and strict and apartment houses, and, in general, discipline.”

198 The Army issued another stern warning to "politicians”, published July 8, which declared that Filipino of­ ficials must not "stick to their old po­ litical adherence and indulge in poli­ tical bickerings”. The statement re­ recalled that — "at the beginning the Commander-in-chief had issued a strict prohibition on the existence of political parties or groups and the holding of political meetings, but that the authorities had found out that there were still some govern­ ment officials and private persons. . . who do not understand the real aim of the Japanese Military Administration: such will be severely punished in accordance with martial law.”

On August 5 the Tribune reported that a code committee was studying Japanese laws with a view to incor­ porating them into the Philippine codes. The position of Japanese na­ tionals in the country had long before been attended to, of course. On March 16, Military Ordinance No. 2 had been issued lifting the "prohibitions and li­ mitations on the civil rights, benefits, and privileges which Japanese nation­ als are denied by the laws, statutes, and administrative orders”, and de­ claring the term "aliens” in these laws, etc., did not apply to Japanese. On April 4 Vargas ordered the application of the Alien Registration Act to Ameri­ cans but exempted the Japanese from its provisions. On February 4, Vargas, with the ap­ proval of the Commander-in-chief, ap­ pointed the members of a newly con­ stituted Supreme Court and a newly constituted Court of Appeals. The next day he appointed a number of bureau heads. The paper said that the Bureau of Customs and the Bureau of Inter­ nal Revenue had been combined, most of the personnel of the two former bureaus being dismissed. On February 23 Vargas appointed 11 provincial gov­ ernors; on July 11 he appointed 6 more in the Visayas and Mindanao (there

THE COUNTRY

were 48 provinces in the Philippines). On February 24 he appointed a num­ ber of judges to the Manila court of first instance. All election cases before the courts were dismissed. The August 15 Tribune reported that Vargas had issued two executive or­ ders completely transforming the pro­ vincial and municipal governments. Provincial and municipal boards be­ came purely consultative bodies, and the governors and mayors were au­ thorized to promulgate provincial and municipal ordinances, after "consult­ ing” with their boards, which, in the case of the governors were to be sub­ m itted to the Commissioner of the Interior through the Director of Local Governments, to be either approved, modified, or disapproved by him, tak­ ing effect 30 days later if approved with or without modifications; muni­ cipal ordinances were to be similar­ ly submitted to the governor. The governors were also to exercise appointive powers, d e s i g n a t i n g , "with the approval of the Commission­ er, all the subordinate officers and em­ ployees in each provincial office, upon the recommendation of the chief pro­ vincial official concerned, in accord­ ance with the civil service law and regulations”. The mayors were to have similar appointive powers in their mu­ nicipal organizations. The chief offi­ cials in the provinces were the gover­ nors, treasurers, and fiscals; and in the municipalities, the mayors and mu­ nicipal treasurers. Provincial and mu­ nicipal budgets were to be prepared in such form and detail as might be prescribed by the Director of Local Governments. Even before these and other changes were instituted, Commissioner Benigno Aquino, on March 23, was reported as having declared in an officially ren­ dered opinion that the "present gov-

‘‘NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS"

eminent” was not a provisional one, but "regular and permanent.” Prior to the surrender of the American-Philippine forces in Bataan, which the Japanese dated from April 9, Var­ gas had, on February 19, issued an ex­ ecutive order, "with the approval”, etc. abolishing the observance of all legal holidays in the Philippines except Sun­ days. This m atter had come to Japa­ nese attention because of the birthdays of Lincoln and Washington which are observed during this month. Instead, the people would have to observe the Japanese holidays, so on March 19, Var­ gas issued another executive order fix­ ing the new legal holidays to be ob­ served in the country: January 1, New Year's Day; February 11, Kigen-setsu (Emperor or Foundation Day); Holy Thursday and Holy Friday; April 29, Tentyo-setsu (Em peror’s Birthday); November 3, Meiji-setsu (Emperor Meiji’s Birthday); November 30, National Heroes' Day (a Philippine holiday); December 25, Christmas; and Decem­ ber 30, Rizal Day (another Philippine holiday). After the surrender in Bataan, the Commander-in-chief, on April 22 issu­ ed the terse order: "It is hereby pro­ hibited to hoist the existing Philip­ pine flag for the time being.” It was given to Chairman Vargas to explain. He called attention to the wording, saying it was only a tempo­ rary order and that he understood that the reason for it was the fact that the flag was being used ,by the USAFFE forces which led to "misunderstand­ ing”. He also recalled that after the American occupation of the country the flag has been banned and had not been permitted to fly again until after many years and then only together with the American flag. He did not point out that the old revolutionary flag flown by Aguinaldo was not the

199 flag of any internationally recognized national entity, as was the Common­ wealth of the Philippines. The forces on Corregidor surrender­ ed on May 7 (the Japanese date), and shortly thereafter the names of forts and airfields in the neighborhood of Manila were given Japanese names, as were also Dewey Boulevard, Taft Ave­ nue, and other important streets in Ma­ nila. A military ordinance was published on July 25 which declared: "Official languages for public use in the fu­ ture shall be the Japanese and the Tagalog languages. However, for the time being, the use of English will be allowed.”

Again Vargas was called upon to ex­ press his great satisfaction that the "declared national language” of the Philippines, — Tagalog, had been of­ ficially recognized by the Japanese. He added that it would "strengthen the bonds of amity”. Commissioner of Education Claro M. Recto reportedly expressed himself similarly. On August 4 it was reported that the use of Spa­ nish in the courts had been stopped. Lawyers in the Santo Tomas camp said that this would greatly handicap court procedure as many of the older judges and lawyers habitually used Spanish and were unable to express themselves in Tagalog, let alone Jap­ anese. The “Neighborhood” Associations — Perhaps the worst piece of "legisla­ tion” inflicted on the people was Exe­ cutive Order No. 77, issued by Vargas on August 8, no doubt on order of the Military. It provided for the creation of "neighborhood” and "district asso­ ciations” (not to be confused with the Naric neighborhood associations for the distribution of rice), to be organ­ ized by the city and municipal mayors “for the purpose of providing means for self-protection under joint respon­

200

sibility”. Neighborhood associations were to be organized on the basis of around ten families each, the head of one of these families to be designated the "leader” by the mayor. District as­ sociations in turn were to be compos­ ed of a number of these neighborhood associations, in accordance with the territorial jurisdiction of the mayors, they to appoint "presidents” with the consent of the director of the local branch of the Military Administration. Persons so designated were to serve without pay for a term of two years and were not to be allowed to refuse the office. The duties of the heads of families in this organization were to receive directions of the leader of the neighborhood association and of the president of the district association with respect to the "guarding” of the neighborhood. They were required to be "on guard against activities’ of bandits or suspicious characters” and to report the presence of such per­ sons immediately if they were en­ countered, as well as to report such family events as births, deaths, etc. The duties of the leaders in the neigh­ borhood associations and the presi­ dents of the district associations were similar, but they were to organize guards and patrols and had not only to report the presence of suspicious characters and of bandits in their areas, but to assist in their arrest or capture, under the direction of the Constabulary. It was also to be their duty to "rem onstrate to or prevail upon” residents within the areas of their jurisdictions "not to commit illegal or injurious acts”. They were to conduct periodical family surveys "to verify the movements of the mem­ bers of the families at all times”, re­ porting also on the "character and conduct as well as the living condi­

THE COUNTRY

tions” of the families under them. The leaders were to do this every other month, the presidents twice a year, or oftener if ordered. Expenses incurred by this system were to be apportioned among the heads of fa­ milies, as determined by the mayors. Penal provisions called for a fine of not more than P50 for abuse of authority or for "divulging the secrets of the Association”. Furthermore, "any resident.. .who establishes connection with or tries to follow the directions of, or conceals or assists or tries to assist a bandit or bandits, not only...shall be punished in accordance with existing laws or orders, but the leader of the neighborhood association as well as the president of the district associa­ tion concerned shall also be punished by a fine of not more than P10. Provided however, that said fines shall not be imposed in case the leader of the neighborhood association or the president of the district association concerned turns the criminal over to the authorities. In case a resident of the area or areas under the jurisdiction of a neighborhood association turns out to be a felonious criminal, the head of each family shall be punished by a fine of not more than P10 within the neighborhood association. . . ”

There were further penalties of va­ rious sorts, but enough has been quoted to show how the Japanese thus hoped to establish a system of univer­ sal espionage. An internee in Santo Tomas who had lived for many years in Japan said that the same type of organization had been introduced in Japan proper some years before. It was called the Chokai system, cho meaning "block” and kai "association”. It was introduced there with much de­ ceitful palaver about "giving the peo­ ple a part in their own government” , but no greater travesty of democracy was ever conceived. Ancient as it is as a device, the Japanese had adopted it in an effort to make the people the direct agents in their own subjection and degradation. It would turn every man from his Nature-given right

COLLECTION OF ARMS

to the pursuit of happiness, to the pursuit and the persecution of his fel­ lows, bringing terror and misery and soul-blight to them all. Fear of being themselves suspected or accused, would turn every man, the country over, and against all decent human instincts, into an anxious spy upon his neigh­ bor, into an informer and traitor. So, at least, the Japanese military in the Philippines hoped, for the words "sus­ picious character” and "bandit" meant "guerrilla” and any brave man who dared oppose them in word or deed.6* * Edgar Snow in his "The Battle for Asia" (1941) states: "Since the restoration of the pao-chia sys­ tem the villages are organized into groups of 100 families known as pao — which is further subdivided into chia. Each chia consists (no­ minally) of the 10 households and all the mem­ bers are held mutually responsible for each other’s conduct. . . ” Quoting a district official in Western China, whom Snow calls Magistrate Chen,: '"What is the pao-chia system? It is a very good method for the officials to keep the people under control, but what we need is a method for the people to control the officials, Pao-chia originated in the Ch’ in Dynasty, when the empire was being subdued. By the time of the Sung and the T’ang Dynasties the peo­ ple were satisfied under their Chinese rulers and the pao-chia was unnecessary and discon­ tinued. Then the Mongols conquered China and they restored the pao-chia system to hold the people in subjection. Afterward the Chinese recovered, and overthrew the Mongols and the Ming Dynasty was founded; the pao-chia sys­ tem was again abolished. Who restored it? Once more it was a foreign conqueror, — the Manchus. We finally abolished it after the re volution in 1911, as it was considered unfit for a free people. "‘Yet now it appears once more. First the Japanese brought it back again in Manchuria, to terrorize the people. Then even Nanking adopted it, when it was found useful in fight­ ing the Communists. Today we no longer have civil war, yet this system still applies. Is it right that our government should be unable to find any better method for winning public support than the same one the Japanese use in the occupied areas? "‘Actually, pao-chia is against all humanity. How can nine families be held reponsible for a crime committed by a member of the tenth family? How can you punish me for some-

201

Collection of Arms — Immediately on entry in Manila the Japanese Army called on all the inhabitants to surren­ der any firearms they might have in their possession, and, inasmuch as under the Commonwealth Government all such arms were registered with the Constabulary and people feared that the records might have fallen into the enemy’s hands, thousands of peo­ ple surrendered their pistols and re­ volvers. On February 5, the Tribune reported that the Army was offering "substan­ tial awards” to those who would re­ port hidden arms or the names of those hiding weapons of any sort. A few weeks later it was announced that 30 centavos would be paid for infor­ mation regarding concealed firearms and PI for each rifle and pistol turned in. For each "field gun”, P10 would be paid. thing you know I did not do? The head of the pao is nearly always a fellow selected by the gentry. If the gentry want a family ac­ cused, the pao-chang can write out an order against him. If they want a family excused from conscription, after the payment of a bribe, they can also get the head of the paochia to arrange it.’ "So much for pao-chia, and Ningfu [Snow’s 'mythical district’] and the observations of its model magistrate......... "It was restored by the Generalissimo in 1933 on the advice of General Yang Yung-tai, then leader of the Political Science Group, as a means of destroying the Soviet system in Kiangsi.” Something similar to this ten-family "neigh­ borhood association” system was known in England at the time of the Danish invasion as the "tithing”, a small administrative divi­ sion, originally consisting of ten men with their families. Each group was presided over by one member who was called the chiefpledge, thithingman, headborough, borsholder, head, or elder. Each male member of a tithing who was twelve years of age or older was responsible for the good conduct of, and for the damage done by, other members. The system was enforced by a gathering and inspection, called the view of frankpledge, of all the men, held twice a year.

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On March 10 the Military Adminis­ tration extended the period allowed for the voluntary surrender of fire­ arms to March 20, announcing that those who had not done so before need not be afraid of being charged with dis­ obedience. Colonel Ohta was quoted as saying: "Much to my great regret, cases of injury caused by firearms such as pistols have not yet come to an end. Why? Civilized people, I believe, need not use arms between indivi­ duals. Among savages arms are often used to kill or wound one another. However, Fili­ pinos are a civilized people. Therefore the Japanese Expeditionary Forces have asked the Filipinos to surrender their pistols to the Authorities since their entry into Greater Ma­ n ila... I expect the full cooperation of the Fili­ pinos in this matter and will calmly wait for the results until March 20. However, I have made up my mind to arrest any one of you without losing time if I judge that you are not cooperative enough. It is needless to say that any one who keeps pistols and other firearms will be severely punished in accord­ ance with the military law. In short, the au­ thorities are determined to do everything which they believe best for the establishment of a New Philippines. In addition, I wish to say that pistols surrendered will be returned to their owners as occasion demands in the fu­ ture.”

This was in Manila. From the pro­ vinces it was reported that the Ja­ panese were collecting not only all firearms, but all bolos, though the bolo is not so much a weapon as it is an implement of general utility, used as knife and cleaver and hatchet and ax about the house and in field and forest. The Filipino countryman is only half a man without his bolo and nearly always carries it about with him. On July 20 the Tribune reported the simultaneous searching of homes in North Manila early the preceding Sunday morning by Japanese soldiers for the purpose of seizing "contraband articles suspected to be used for fifthcolumn activities”. These included arms, printing machines, typewriters,

THE COUNTRY

and wireless communication appara­ tus,—exclusive of ordinary radio re­ ceivers, "kept in concealment by these unlawful rascals”. "Military authorities announced that fifthcolumn activities will be severely punished without the slightest m ercy.. .There have been some persons who, not realizing the present situation... and beguiled by false American propaganda, have continued fifth-column ac­ tivities in response to promptings of a few small groups of the remnants of the USAFFE. Such conduct is a grave obstacle to the estab­ lishment of the New Philippines. . . ”

Next day’s paper said that the hunt continued. The Army is — "determined to wipe out subversive elements, which still apparently believe in American pro­ mises of reinforcements and spread false ru­ mors. Fifth-column and other criminal ele­ ments will be wiped out to the last man.” (July 21)

II CO-PROSPERITY Wage-Slashes and New Taxes — The so-called "regular and perm anent” government had no money, for all Philippine government funds been re­ moved from Manila before the Ja­ panese entered the city, — government employees had been given three m onths’ pay in advance at the end of December and tax collection had of course come to a full stop. The Japanese forces, however, landed with bales of "Philippine” paper money, army notes, with which they "paid” for what they made a pretense of pay­ ing for and did not simply confiscate. As early as January 12, the use of any money other than Philippine money and the Japanese military notes was forbidden. As always, bad money drove out good money, and Philippine notes and coins quickly disappeared from circulation; the latter were sized by the military when they got hold of any. Small military notes were issued

WAGE REDUCTIONS

in 10-, 5-, and 1-centavo denominations. Manila, though half its population had vanished, and there was practically no business and no employment, was not quite dead, and prices rose rapidly. Numerous "anti-profiteering” warn­ ings and orders were issued, but to little effect. People sold goods looted during the early days of disorder in Manila, on the sidewalks or hawked them about and charged what they could get, — for instance, PI for a can of milk. On February 20 the Tribune reported that the Japanese Army had "advanced P2,000,000 to the government”. A new salary schedule was adopted cutting salaries to less than half; government corporations also slashed salaries from 50 to 70%. The Army authorities ap­ proved a budget to run up to April 30, authorizing an expenditure of P7,800,000, and it was announced that they had granted the Executive Com­ mission a "loan of P5,909,000 to help meet the operating expenses of the central administrative organs and the courts up to the end the period. Var­ gas said that the Army would "charge no interest” and expressed the Filipino gratitude. Though salaries and wages in the government service had thus been drastically cut, a scheme of "forced savings” was imposed. From the sa­ laries of those receiving between P200 and P300 a month, 10% was de­ ducted; from the salaries of those earning between P300 and P500, 40% of the earnings above P300 was de­ ducted in addition to the first deduc­ tion; from the salaries of those earn­ ing more than P500, this entire amount was deducted plus the previous de­ ductions. The Auditor-General and the Director of the Budget were to en­ force this order. The savings were to

203

be deposited in the Postal Savings' Bank or the Philippine National Bank. The August 12 Tribune reported that Vargas by an executive order dated July 18 had ordered the liquida­ tion of the Government Service In­ surance System and created in its place the "Public Employees Life In­ surance” under the Commissioner of Finance. From 3 to 5% was to be deducted monthly from the employees’ salaries, the government to contribute from 1 to 3%. The new insurance was to date from May 1, 1942. The entire order was not published in this or succeeding issues of the paper (up to August 18), and it was not stated what would happen to the interests of the employees of the Common­ wealth Government under the "liqui­ dated” system. Effective April 1 new sales and lux­ ury taxes went into effect. A tax of 35% was placed on the original sales of luxury articles and of 30% on the sales of so-called semi-luxuries, general­ ly considered necessities. A 3-1/2% sales tax was placed on all articles and an additional 20% merchandise tax on the retail sales of certain other classes of articles. The object was said to be "to raise revenues for the government and to discourage the use of luxuries”, — which included leather shoes. A little later the automobile regis­ tration fee was raised from P35 to PI20 for a 5-passenger car; for a 6- to 8passenger car the fee was P240. Nothing more was said in the Tri­ bune about budgets and loans, and it was not known in the Santo Tomas camp whether the shifts adopted pro­ duced the desired results. However, about the middle of June, Vargas is­ sued an order suspending the tax al­ lotments to the provinces, cities, and towns, requiring that all collections

204

accrue to the central administrative organization, the amounts to be ap­ portioned to them to be “determined later”. This order was made retroactive to January 1. On June 24 the paper reported that Vargas had issued an order providing that laid-off government employees who had "reported for duty and made themselves available for service be­ tween January 3 and April 30” would receive a gratuity of from P13 to P54 a month, according to their grade. This must have been to ameliorate the suf­ fering among Manila's large group of former government employees. An idea of the straits to which Manilans were reduced by the extension of the Co-Prosperity Sphere to the Philip­ pines could be gathered from the order late in May that no one would after the date of the order be allowed to buy more than P5 worth of goods in one day without permission from the Military Administration. In case of ar­ ticles costing more than P5, only one unit could be bought. The order was intended it was stated — "to conserve supply, prevent hoarding, and encourage and cultivate thrift among the Fili­ pinos. There is need for radical change in our mode of living and way of thinking, and re­ adjustment to a new scale is made imperative by the political and economic changes that have taken place”.

Early in February the Army ordered the reopening of three Filipino-owned banks in Manila. The branches of the Philippine National Bank in Cabanatuan, Tarlac, and Legaspi were report­ ed opened late in March. Withdrawals of deposits, however, were either prohi­ bited or limited. Daily cash reports and weekly statements of general ledger balances were required to be made di­ rect to the Army. In March, three Filipino insurance companies were reopened, but —

THE COUNTRY "payment of insurance policies on account of the death of the insured persons caused by direct or indirect hostile action of the de­ ceased against the Imperial Japanese Forces is prohibited, irrespective of the nationality of the insured...In cases where the payment of the insured amount to the nationals of hostile countries becomes necessary, the amount is to be deposited with a bank in the name of the insurance company and payment to the beneficiaries will be prohibited.. .Other busi­ ness transactions, such as advances against policies, payment of operating expenses or payment of bonuses or dividends to the di­ rectors of the companies, likewise will need the approval of the Japanese Military Administra­ tion before they can be made.”

Early in April it was reported that the Philippine Agricultural and Indus­ trial Bank was open, but "solely for the purpose of accepting payments for loans”. It was announced in June that with­ drawals from the Philippine Postal Savings Bank, which had in the mean­ time been reopened, were limited to P30 monthly for married depositors and P20 for unmarried, except with special permission from the military. On the last day of July, the Military Administration ordered the liquidaation of seven Manila banks owned by the nationals of hostile powers.1 All*1 i Note (1946) — Administrative Ordinance No. 11 of the Japanese Military Administration. According to the Committee of War Claims, Congress of the Philippines, the Bank of Tai­ wan collected from debtors of these banks (National City Bank of New York, Peoples Bank and Trust Company, Chartered Bank of India, Australia, and China, Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, Nederlandsche Indische Handelsbank, N.V., China Banking Corporation, and Philippine Bank of Com­ munications) amounts aggregating P34,311,330.14 in Japanese military currency, none of these payments being authorized by the banks con­ cerned. Some millions of pesos deposited with the China Banking Corporation were forcibly debited to the Chinese depositors and credited to Chinese associations through which credits on the Bank of Taiwan made forcible levies upon the depositors. Of the total paid to the Bank of Taiwan, only about P6,000,000, or 18%, was paid in by Filipinos. A large proportion of the payments came from a small number of de-

TOTALITARIAN ORGANIZATIONS

loans, advances, and other receivables were declared due and payable, regard­ less of contract terms, debtors being given until September 30 to pay; secur­ ities pledged and properties mortgaged in favor of the banks might be sold at auction if necessary to liquidate in whole or part any such loans or other advances. Nothing was said concerning deposits in these banks. However, internees in Santo Tomas who had deposits in the Philippine Na­ tional Bank, the Bank of the Philip­ pine Islands, the Philippine Bank of Commerce, the Yokohama Specie Bank, and the Bank of Taiwan, were permitted late in March to withdraw P30 monthly if they were taking their meals from the Red Cross and P50 if they were not: those with families out­ side were permitted to draw an extra P200 a month. Totalitarian Organization — As early as January 25 the Commander-in-chief issued a proclamation urging farmers who had abandoned their homes and fields and fled into the mountains, — and virtually all of them in the occu­ pied districts had, to return to their farms, but the people were slow to do so. As late as in May, internees brought into Santo Tomas from the provinces said that one could travel for miles without seeing a cultivated field. Many of the towns were still de­ serted. Often people came into the positors whose “buy and sell” operations en­ abled them to acquire large sums in Japanese military notes which they handed over to the Bank of Taiwan in the hope that such payments would discharge their legitimate ob­ ligations to the foreign banks. Payments by years were as follows: 1942, F5,595,714.36; 1943, P13.467,638.62; 1944, P15,208,696.70; 1945 (!), P39,290.46. The equivalent of the total, accord­ ing to the so-called Ballantyne scale, was 1*16,119,305.78. The 1945 payment of P39,290.14 was made while the liberating forces were prac­ tically at the gates of Manila and when the Japanese notes, by the scale, were worth 120 to 1, or only P327.12.

205

towns in the daytime, but went back into the hills or forests to sleep. Early February the Army authorities urged the owners of shops and factor­ ies to reopen their plants, and issued various orders requiring the workers in various shipyards, machine shops, and cordage works to report for duty. In March there was an Army call for telegraph and radio engineers. Many of the owners and managers of im­ portant Manila manufacturing enter­ prises were in Santo Tomas, and the Japanese took them out for a few hours or days to get things started and the machinery going again. They were usually treated curtly, but on ocassions were given lunch and beer. All enemy-owned property was, of course, taken over by the Army, and enemy plants, if operated, were run under its direct control. The resumption of industry and trade, even on the most limited scale, was greatly handicapped by the con­ tinued regular and guerrilla warfare in the country and by lack of trans­ portation facilities.. On March 1 the Army prohibited the navigation of Ma­ nila Bay at night and on March 9 an order was issued prohibiting it entire­ ly. It was rumored in Santo Tomas that the reason for this order was that a boat-load of American soldiers or marines from Corregidor had caught the Japanese napping and had invaded the Manila Hotel (or the Army and Navy Club, or an important apartment house, — the stories differed) and had seized a high-ranking Japanese officer and several members of his staff and carried them off. The order prohibit­ ing the navigation of the Bay was not lifted until April 13, four days after the surrender in Bataan. The reopening of the railway lines on Luzon was slow business. The USA-

206

FFE before withdrawing into Bataan had destroyed railway and other bridg­ es, — a Bureau of Public Works of­ ficial later estimated that the damage to bridges and roads ran into the PI00,000,000 figure, and on December 30 the Manila Railroad Company had received instructions from MacArthur to demolish all rolling stock and the machinery in the yards and roundhous­ es. The Company had operated some 150 locomotives, 200 passenger coach­ es, and over 2,000 freight cars. Most of this equipment was sabotaged with the exception of some 18 trains which the USAFFE was using. However, on February 15 the Tribune reported that the Manila-San Fernando (Pampanga) line had been reopened and on April 2 that the Manila-Tarlac line was open under the management of the railway corps of the Japanese Army. “Travel permits must be obtain­ ed from the Army; no fare is required for the time being”. For weeks there­ after, there was much blowing of train whistles whenever one of the few trains in operation left or returned to Manila, as if to testify to the "return to normal” which the Japanese were forever talking about in the face of the most obvious evidence to the con­ trary. The Manila-Cabanatuan line was reported "open” on May 14; the line to Damortis and San Fernando (La Union), on July 1; to Batangas, July 2; and to Aloneros, Tayabas, July 5. The Army immediately prohibited the use of automobiles without an army license, and at the beginning no one might travel anywhere without an army pass. This order was not lifted until June 23, a month and a half after the Corregidor surrender. On January 8 it was announced that all persons in possession of any amount of gasoline or lubricating oil were ordered to report

THE COUNTRY

this, and on the 30th they were or­ dered to sell all their stocks to the Army. On March 9 the owners of any diesel oil were ordered to sell their stocks to the Army. On March 2 it was reported in the Tribune that ex­ periments were being carried out in the use of charcoal as fuel for trucks and automobiles. On August 1 the Ma­ nila city government inaugurated a service comprising 14 buses fueled with coconut-shell charcoal. They could hardly negotiate the ramps of the bridges. Interisland communication reverted to the most primitive state, even when once more resumed, because practical­ ly all the steam- and motor-ships in this service had either been taken by the U.S. Army and Navy at the begin­ ning of the w ar and later had either been sunk by enemy bombs, or had been scuttled. Such interisland trans­ portation as did after many months become available was by sailboat. A "Sailboat Shipping Corporation" was organized with Sergio Osmena Jr, as president. It advertised a "regular pas­ senger and freight service to all the Visayas”. But both land and sea trans­ portation remained largely a m atter of special trips. The Tribune for August 15 carried the following advertise­ ments: MERCHANTS! Aug. 20. Biggest Bohol Paraw sails for Capiz, Negros, Iloilo, Cebu, Bohol, Northern Mindanao, emphasizing more on helping busi­ ness man sell their goods with big profits. Freight and passages reasonably low. To Leyte and Samar A big Paraw leaves for Calbayog, Carigara, Barugo, & Tacloban, August 17. Truck fare and food on board free. Passengers and freight accepted. T. CLOMA & CO. (The Pioneers) 2056 Azcarraga (near FEU.) PABITO OVERSEAS TRANS. CO. Batel "Buena Pagasa”, 70 passengers capa­

207

JAPANESE MONOPOLIES city, definitely sailing to Capiz and Iloilo on Sunday, August 16. Moderate rates. Passengers personally at­ tended by Mr. L. Magno all the way during the trip. Place of assembly: 165 Dimasalang, Sampaloc, For reservation, see: Mr. S. Sian. JAPANESE SAILBOAT SAILING TO VISAYAS, ETC. Travel safe with Japanese owner of big sailboat as guide to Iloilo, all points in Negros & Bacolod, Cadiz, Panay, Capiz. Very low rates. Leaving Manila August 16. For reservation see, Mr. K. TAMASHIRO (Owner) 609 Arlegui (near Quezon Bridge) TO ISABELA (Cagayan Only) A dependable INT’L truck leaving TODAY at 10:30 A.M. sharp Barangayan connection for Cagayan Valley is assured. For accommodation apply NOW. PORFIRO BELGICA, Mgr. 717 Evangelista, Facing NARIC

Japanese Monopolies — Totalitarian schemes slowly got under way with Japanese monopolies playing the chief role. The April 10 Tribune reported that 6 Mitsui-affiliated companies, in­ cluding the Mitsui Bussan Company, the Mitsui Mining Company, and the Mitsui Agricultural, Commerce & For­ estry Company, had "recently reopened their offices in Manila”, and quoted a Tokyo report of the 9th stating that the Mitsui firm had dispatched an exe­ cutive to Manila to manage all its in­ terests in the Philippines. On July 11 the creation of the Phil­ ippine Copra Purchasing Union Was reported. It was to buy direct from the producers and was to be conducted un­ der the supervision of the Military Ad­ ministration; headquarters of the "Union” were at the offices of the Daido Boeki Kaisha Company. On July 19 it was reported that the Fishermen’s Association of Manila had been organized the previous day at a meeting held in the swank Manila Ho­ tel. The president of the association was a Japanese.

Military Ordinances 14 and 15, is­ sued on July 23, established army con­ trol of the "import and export busi­ ness”. Steps were simultaneously tak­ en to organize the Philippine Export port Control Association and the Phil­ ippine Prime Commodities Distribution Control Association to carry out the policies laid down in the ordinances. A few days later it was reported that a Filipino, Miguel Unson, had been de­ signated president of the Prime Com­ modities Distribution Control organi­ zation, but N. Mori (manager of the Daido Boeki Kaisha) was the chairman of the board, which was composed of four Japanese, a Filipino, a Spaniard, and a Chinese, and there was further­ more an executive committee which was composed of 2 Japanese and 1 Fi­ lipino. The association was to control the distribution of low-grade cotton fabrics, matches, salt, tobacco pro­ ducts, lard, soap, and paper. The Di­ rector-General of the Military Admi­ nistration made a speech in which he said in part: “The time has come to put an end to the dependence of the Philippines on the American market and to establish a solid economic sys­ tem in order that the country may perform its mission as a member of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere”.

Another Japanese speaker said: “Now Providence has suddenly brought these inevitable changes upon the Filipinos, and you must therefore try to realize the real signific­ ance of these sudden changes wthout losing your heads and without complaining.”

On August 7 the Tribune reported that the Filipino retailers and other Filipino businessmen, members of the Federation of Filipino Retailers Asso­ ciation previously organized, had been "invited to invest part of their idle funds and subscribe to one or more shares” in the Philippine Prime Com­ modities Distribution Control Associa­

208

THE COUNTRY

tion. Though termed an "invitation”, liarize the people with the plan to turn the country into a source of cot­ it was emphasized that — ton for the Japanese mills. The May "the buying of these shares, equivalent to as­ sessment, applies to all members of retailers 22 Tribune reported that the Bureau associations of Manila and the provinces. Under of Plant Industry was encouraging the the new plan only members who paid their assessment will enjoy the right and privileges growing of cotton and rice on tobacco of buying controlled commodities from the fed­ and sugar lands; it was stated that it eration at the lowest possible prices. . . It was was planned to replace the former ma­ also announced that it is the plan of the Jap­ anese Military Administration to turn over to jo r export industries because they de­ the Filipinos the control of the Philippine Prime pended on "artificially created foreign Commodities Distribution Control Association. m arkets”. A week later it was report­ Arrangements to that effect will proceed as ed that the growing of sugarcane next soon as possible.” season would likely be controlled and The Military Administration was re* restricted. On July 28 the Tribune said ported on August 9 to have inaugurat­ that cotton experts were now in Ma­ ed the day before the Foodstuffs Con­ nila, dispatched by leading Japanese trol Association, with a capital of cotton mills, to make a preliminary P600,000 with the City of Manila and survey in connection with the plan to 8 Japanese and 5 Filipino firms as convert the Philippine sugar planta­ members, which was to purchase food­ tions into cotton fields. stuffs in the provinces to supply the The jump was taken in August. The Army "as well as the consuming pub­ Tribune of the 11th reported that lic” in and around Manila. Mayor L. the day before Maj. Gen. T. Wati, G. Guinto was named chairman of the Director-General of the Military Ad­ board of directors. All foodstuffs ministration, had outlined to the Exe­ brought into the city were to be pur­ cutive Commission the "fundamental chased at four purchasing stations es­ policies of the Imperial Japanese Forc­ tablished on the outskirts for the Army es on the readjustm ent of the Philip­ and for the 24 public markets. Manila pine sugar industry and the increased retailers, hotels, restaurants, and oth­ production of cotton.” An official me­ er large consumers were to form sep­ morandum on the sugar industry pub­ arate purchasing associations. Food­ lished in that issue, began as follows: stuff supply associations were to be "The development of the Philippine sugar formed in the surrounding muncipal- industry in the past is not to be attributed ities and barrios in the provinces. "Re­ to more favorable natural conditions and higher tail prices to consumers shall be fix­ technical standards than those of other remark­ able sugar-producing countries of the world, ed”, stated the announcement. "Ulti­ which would have enabled this country to be mately the same control will be ap­ a dominant factor in the world sugar market, plied in all the larger cities in the pro­ but to the policy adopted by the United States encouraging the sugar industry in the Phil­ vinces”. Commissioner Alunan was of ippines for the sole purpose of supplying the quoted as saying: needs of the United States. Upon finding, how­ "The people should feel hapoy over the organization of this Association which will in­ sure an adequate supply of foodstuffs at rea­ sonable cost, and I am happy to express to the Military Administration the grateful apprecia­ tion of the people”.

Forced. Production of Cotton — Propaganda was early begun to fami­

ever, that the Philippine sugar industry was proving to be prejudicial to the interests of American capital, they selfishly manuevered to close the American market, which was the only outlet for the Philippine sugar whose pro­ duction America had once so vigorously en­ couraged, by the ruse of offering independence, and the Philippine sugar industry was thus brought face to face with complete ruination.

FORCED COTTON GROWING

209

And when the Filipinos tried to rationalize the industry or to convert it into other kinds of industry, not only did America give them no support, but also obstructed the execution of the readjustment projects because it would directly affect her cotton and petroleum poli­ cies. Accordingly the Philippine sugar business could neither go forward nor retreat."

"The Greater East Asiatic War has com­ pletely removed the dire influence of this selfseeking American policy of duplicity and has brought the industry that was driven to bank­ ruptcy to the treshold of rehabilitation..."

It must be realized, however, that what was most pernicious was not the unavoidable loss of the American market, but the selfish and crafty policy adopted by the Americans of ob­ structing the rationalization of the sugar in­ dustry or its necessary conversion into other industries.”

"The first step aims at the production of 1,500,000 piculs of ginned cotton by planting on an area of 450,000 hectares for the 5-year period from 1942 to 1946. For 1942 it is plan­ ned to place 12,000 hectares of sugar lands under cultivation to produce an estimated crop of 37,000 piculs of ginned cotton.”

The memorandum then set forth the Japanese "solution”: a 5-year plan un­ der which the sugar industry would There was a semblance of truth in be maintained and encouraged — this. It was the sugar lobby in Wash­ "only to meet the local demand, so far as ington which had assisted in pushing the manufacture of sugar is concerned. But in through Congress the original Hare- view of the necessity of attaining self-sufficien­ Hawes-Cutting Bill and the later modi­ cy in liquid fuel and plant-fibrei in the CoProsperity Sphere, the surplus capacity of the fication of it known as the Tydings- sugar industry must be diverted to the manu­ McDuffie Act which established the facture of high octaned liquid fuel and alcohol Commonwealth Government and pro­ which are products that can be made from su­ gar cane. In this way, considerable numbers vided for the grant of independence of existing factories can be operated and sugar in 1946 under unfavorable trade pro­ cultivation can still be continued to a certain visions. There had been strong opposi­ extent. The balance of the sugar lands not for sugar production can be used for tion to the original bill, however, Pre­ needed the increased production of cotton which will sident Hoover vetoed it on its first be the best crop suited to the soil and the passage, and President Roosevelt ar­ climatic conditions of this country and will find ready market in the Philippines and other ranged for an amelioration of its terms acountries in the Co-Prosperity Sphere. For the in so far as Philippine trade with the re-orientation of the basic industries of the United States was concerned, finally Philippines, Japan is ready to give necessary aid and guidance in order that this country securing passage of an Act extending may perform her mission as a member of the the period of economic adjustment to Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere and 1960. Of this the Japanese memoran­ enjoy a rightful share of profit and prosperity.” Another memorandum, which open­ dum said nothing. The memorandum ed in the same propaganda vein, refer­ went on: "Now the outbreak of the Great East Asia ring to the American "ruse of offering War has suddenly severed the Philippines from independence”, etc., outlined the pro­ America, with the resultant loss of the Ameri­ jects for the increase of cotton pro­ can market, which would have been the inevi­ table destiny of the Philippine sugar industry, duction. With reference to the "pro­ destroying the prewar basis of this industry. duction schedule”, it stated:

This was not true. On the contrary, Under the head of "organization", the United States in 1938 had sent the the plan proposed: MacMurray mission to the Philippines "The Japanese firms in charge of cotton to study the problem and to make growing (hereafter to be known as Cotton recommendations which, finally, led to Growers) are: Kanegafuti Boseki K.K., Dainithe extension of the period allowed for hon Boseki K.K., Toyo Boseki K.K., Daiwa (Kurasaki) Boseki K.K., Kureha Boseki K.K, the economic transition. Continued Toyo Menka Boseki K,K., Toyo Takushoku K.K., the memorandum: and Taiwan Takushoku K.K.

210 The system of organization in charge of cot­ ton growing shall be as follows: "(a) Contract growing between farmers and Cotton Growers; "(b) Individual growing, later to be assign­ ed to contract planting; "(c) Direct cultivation by Cotton Growers. "Guiding and controlling institution; "The Philippine Cotton Growers Association. For the purpose of carrying out experiments and research with regard to cotton; guidance and control of cotton growers; training and education of cotton experts and technicians. The Philippine Cotton Growers Association shall be organized under supervision of the Army in close cooperation with the Nippon Cotton Growers Association. . . The officers shall be composed of the officials of the Office of Mili­ tary Administration, the officials of the Philip­ pine Executive Commission, the Cotton Grow­ ers, and the members of the Nippon Cotton Growers Association. "Purchase of cotton: "(1) To allow the Cotton Growers to pur­ chase not only products of the contract cul­ tivation but also those from the general farm­ ers by dividing them into districts. “(2) The price of cotton shall be fixed at an advantageous rate by taking into conside­ ration of the cost of production and by com­ parison with other farm products. "Regulations in regard to land: (1) For the land required for the experimen­ tal station and seed farm of the Philippine Cotton Growers Association, the public land shall be leased without charge. "(2) The lease or purchase of land neces­ sary for the experimental stations and seed farm of the Philippine Cotton Growers Asso­ ciation and for land directly managed by the Cotton Growers must be based on the prin­ ciple of free contract. However, if such mea­ sures fail to attain their objective, necessary or­ ders shall be promulgated for compulsory adop­ tion. Other installations besides land shall be handled in the same way. "(3) In the event land owners fail to co­ operate by refusing to comply with the re­ quest to improve the cultivation of land, neces­ sary measures shall be adopted so that the Cotton Growers may execute such plans in their place.

Here was more than hint of naked compulsion for the production of a slave-crop and of open dispossesion. An Annex gave a list of the lands and areas the Cotton Growers (all Japanese firms) were to take up as a “temporary measure” for the year

THE COUNTRY

1942. The eight firms were to have to­ tals of 1,500 hectares each in different areas in Bataan, Batangas, Cavite, Cotabato. La Union, Occidental and Oriental Negros, Pampanga, Pangasinan, and Tarlac. Not a single Filipino sugar or other agricultural company was included in the list. The zaibatsu (the Japanese "money cliques”) were in full cry. Sugar Versus Cotton — A Santo To­ mas internee who had long been en­ gaged in the export and import busi­ ness, said, "Raising more cotton is one of the things we should have done be­ fore this. We have no objection to the Japanese making a start!” As a m atter of fact, cotton had been raised on a household scale for hundreds of years and the Commonwealth Government was experimenting in the growing of cotton in Mindanao and elsewhere. However, what the Japanese seemed bent on doing was simply to transfer the economic dependence of the Phil­ ippines from the United States to Ja­ pan. The sale of sugar in the United States market had brought the Philip­ pines great wealth during a period of its development when the government income from this trade was very im­ portant. Even if the trade were to be curtailed in the future, the United States will probably always have to import sugar. And even if the Philip­ pines were ultimately to stand entire­ ly outside the United States tariff wall, — and it was to be noted that in all the United States’ more recent trade treaties there were provisions except­ ing the Philippines, after independ­ ence, from the restrictions of the mostfavored nations agreements, a large trade between the United States and the Philippines could be expected to continue, to the great advantage of both countries, politically, strategical­

THE NEW CULTURE

ly, and culturally, as well as econo­ mically. Merely exchanging the rich American market for the Japanese, was certainly no advantage. Turning the sugar industry into an alcohol industry, was an emergency expedient, and unsound economically. Many of the Philippine sugar enter­ prises did run their tractors and trucks on alcohol manufactured by them­ selves, but due to the lower calorific value, motors so fueled develop only some 60% of their normal power; however, there was some saving in this for them because of the tax on gasoline. In Japan proper, according to oil men in Santo Tomas, the Jap­ anese had for four or five years been mixing alcohol with their gasoline, be­ ginning with 5% and gradually in­ creasing it until it was 20% at the time of the beginning of the Pacific war. High-Grading the Mines — The Jap­ anese immediately took steps to get the copper mines in Lepanto, Moun­ tain province, and Rapu-Rapu, Camarines Norte, into operation, and also the iron mine at Larap in the latter pro­ vince. They paid no immediate atten­ tion to the gold mines, though they did search for any remaining gold bul­ lion. The Japanese were able to seize huge stocks of mining supplies and food, since most of the mining compa­ nies, expecting an interruption of ship­ ping, though no war in the Pacific, had laid in as much as a two-years’ sup­ ply of stocks of every kind, and all of these stocks had not been destroyed. On August 19 the Tribune reported that with the approval of the Military Administration, the Executive Commis­ sion had taken steps for the reopening of coal mines. Operators were to apply for permits and were to submit, of course, to the proper "supervision and control". The next day an advertise­

211

ment appeared of an apparently new­ born company, — Cho Kaito, Ro Shiocho & Company, Coal Mining Operators. Labor For "Sheer Joy" — Early in March a Manila court of first instance judge declared the 8-hour labor law "inoperative as incompatible with pre­ sent circumstances". The legal mini­ mum wage for city workers employed on the streets was PI a day. The Tri­ bune of June 6 reported these workers were receiving only 50 centavos a day. On July 5 it was reported that Vargas had issued an executive order declar­ ing the labor law, which provided both for minimum wages and maximum hours, was now ineffective. The Tribune carried a Domei story headed: "Cavite Navy Yard Rebuilt — Now Bigger and Better". It read in part: "It was a hard task to win over the Filipi­ no workers used to American wages. Japanese engineers and workers did not attempt to force the Filipinos into working the same number of hours they did. Instead they exerted efforts to get the message across to the Filipino work­ ers that they should work for the sheer joy and satisfaction of building things. Their efforts succeeded, and within two months Filipinos were enthusiastically working around the clock, asking no extra pay.” (July 14.)

Ill THE NEW CULTURE Death of the Schools — As early as February 18 the Tribune reported that the Army had laid down that the "new” education must stress: (1) the position of the Philippines as a mem­ ber of the East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, (2) the "true meaning” of the New Order, (3) the diffusion of the Japanese language, terminating the use of English "in due course", and (4) the eradication of the old tendency to

212

rely on the United States. Two days later it was reported that Commis­ sioner of Education Recto had receiv­ ed instructions to the effect that the old school texts might be used tem­ porarily, "improper and unsuitable parts” to be removed; new textbooks would be "compiled” in the near fu­ ture. The February 27 Tribune report­ ed that a committee had been appoint­ ed to examine the school books, with a number of Japanese "experts” as members and "advisers." Among the books entirely prohibited were books on the geography, history, and culture of the United States and Great Britain. The work of this committee result­ ed in the elimination of the following parts from the various texts: From the title pages of all textbooks, the lines “Commonwealth of the Philippines”, “De­ partment of Public Instruction”, and "Bureau of Education"; also the official seal; also any reproductions of the American and Philippine flags. From music books, patriotic and other songs such as the "Philippine Hymn", "Flag Song”, "America”, "Washington’s Birthday”, "Foreign Children”, and "The Star-Spangled Banner". From arithmetics, all lessons concerning Philippine-United States currency and tables of values, standard and solar time, latitude and longitude, steamship fares, pictures of Am­ erican trains, etc. From various readers, pictures of President Quezon taking his oath of office and other pictures of and anecdotes about him and VicePresident Osrnena, references to President Theodore Roosevelt, "Our Great Men”, "Great Men of America”, "The First Thanksgiving”, "The China Clipper Arrives”, "How Agapito Spent Inauguration Day”, "The Story of a Hymn". "The First Steamboat”, "Sir Galahad”, "The Flag Goes By”, "The Little Match Boy”, "St. Oieorge and the Dragon”, 'The Man Who Never Scolded”, "An American Knight”, "The Story of Nahum Prince”, "Chin-Chin Kobakama", "Hail, Philippines”, "America", "The Boyhood of Benjamin West”, "Flag Day”, "Henry Wadsjvorth Longfellow”, "George Dewey”, "Thomas Edison”, "Ballad of Earl Haldan’s Daughter", “The Miller and the Dee”, "The Lady of Shallott", "Vision of Sir Launfal”. From books on character and conduct. "Story of Lady Clare”, "King Arthur and the

THE COUNTRY Round Table”, "The Passing of Arthur”, "The Red Thread of Courage”, "The Courage of Con­ viction”, "The Song of the Camp”, "John May­ nard, Pilot”, "The Flag’’. From a health book, "Leonard Wood”.

In a high school and college history of the Orient, the entire chapter on the coming of the Americans to the Far East was deleted. Recto was reported to have deliver­ ed a speech in which he said: "Heretofore over-emphasis was given to aca­ demic attainments and to proficiency in the so-called learned professions. That will be changed. . . In the ease and freedom of our life, especially among our youth, we have not preserved and developed those fundamental vir­ tues practiced by our forefathers. . . ” (March 15.)i

Early in May it was reported that the Army had authorized the opening of prim ary schools on June 1; later that 100 prim ary and elementary schools would be opened throughout the Philippines, including 27 in Great­ er Manila; there would be only one class in each grade in each school; the old books, with undesirable parts eli­ minated, would be used for the pre­ sent; the Japanese language would be taught. These few schools of the many thousands which had closed their doors in December were reopened on the 1st of July. On the 2nd it was announced that private elementary schools might also reopen provided they first obtained official permission. A week later it was reported that 176 private kindergarten and elementary schools had been given permission to reopen, including 8 vocational schools. In August 117 more public elementary schools reportedly had reopened. No high schools and no colleges and uni­ versities were reopened except the Philippine Women’s University which was permitted to give some courses in domestic science and office work.1 1 All quotations are from the Tribune of the given date, unless otherwise stated.

PRESS AND RADIO

213

What had happened to the country's so-called academic high schools were great school system was revealed in for many years to be considered as the following pathetic statement of vocational schools in the sense that Director of Education, Dr. C. Salvador: they prepared tens of thousands of "In spite of the fact that secondary and young Filipinos for the various branches collegiate vocational schools, such as the agri­ of the civil service as well as for cultural and trade schools are not permitted employment in business organizations. to operate, special vocational schools may be Press and Radio Exclusively Japanese allowed to function in dress-making, beauty culture, and typewriting; these schools, how­ —The Japanese Army immediately ever, must emphasize the technical rather than stopped the publication of all news­ the educational side of the vocations concern­ papers in Manila. The American-owned ed. No textbooks may be used.” (July 11.) Manila Daily Bulletin for January 3 In his speech on May 13, following was ready to go to press, but was not the "celebration” of the victories of allowed to do so. The Filipino-owned Bataan and Corregidor, General Ha- Philippines Herald group of newspa­ yashi had had something to say on pers had already been eliminated by education: the big fire following a Japanese bomb­ "Your past education has attached little im­ ing of Intramuros. The Filipino-owned portance to duty and endurance and sacrifice, with the result that the Filipinos have learned Tribune and La Vanguardia were im­ self-indulgence and physical pleasures through mediately taken over, these papers the encouragement of individual rights. Spoiled thenceforth being edited under or by America's sweet words and flatteries, you have failed to see through to the real aspect directly by members of the Pro­ of America's deceiving policy and to prepare paganda Corps of the Army. The yourself for independence. It is true that the names of the Filipino editors of United States has purchased some of your these papers were kept in the mast­ products at high prices, but you have been forced to accept those expensive American heads, but they did not even see the goods of luxury which were harmful to the originals of the Domei dispatches, elevation of the real strength of the Filipino being given only typewritten copies people. The United States established schools, of them as the Japanese wanted them but purposely neglected to establish vocational schools which were absolutely necessary to the to appear. These papers dropped their cultivation of national strength. . . The United editorial columns, but once every week States policy towards the Philippines has been or two an "editorial” was run, ob­ painted in one unique color, — that of deceit viously "by order”. and misguidance. You ought to have grasped The editor of the Manila Daily Bul­ the glaring fact that the United States made letin and the editor of the Philippines the Philippines a stepping-stone for her Orien­ tal expansion, despite the beautiful pretext of Free Press were held for some months humanity she has made regarding her posses­ at Villamor Hall and were then trans­ sion of this country. . . You should liquidate ferred to Fort Santiago, where they the Anglo-Saxon’s materialism and epicurism, were held incommunicado until this reform your mode of living into simplicity, and writing (August). encourage the love of labor among your­ selves. . .” On February 7 the Army issued a It was of course not true that the proclamation formally prohibiting the establishment of vocational schools in publication and distribution of news­ the Philippines had been neglected by papers, magazines, books, etc., with­ either the Americans or the Filipinos out previous permission and censor­ themselves. The country possessed ship; the issuance and distribution of some of the finest agricultural and m atter already printed was also pro­ trade schools in the world. Even the hibited "for the time being”.

214

On April 9 it was reported that book dealers in Manila would receive per­ mits, the "censoring of books now being over and all prejudicial litera­ ture having been removed”. It was stated that books permitted to be of­ fered for sale would bear the official stamp of the Military Administration. Book dealers, clubs, etc., whose books had not yet been censored were ordered to apply to the Bureau of Publicity of the Military Administration as soon as possible. The censors who went through the libraries and book stores had orders to destroy all books on the Far East copyrighted during the last five years on the ground that no one but a Japanese could properly evaluate the work of Japan in its creation of the Eastern Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. All books critical of Japan, regardless of their date of publication, were also ordered destroyed. Significantly, all literature of the Boy Scout organiza­ tion was included among the printed material that was to be destroyed; the Japanese did not intend to encou­ rage manliness and initiative in the youth of the land. Late in May the Manila police order­ ed the registration of all mimeograph­ ing machines within the next three days; owners were to present them­ selves in person. Many surrendered their machines. The following month the registration of all typewriters was required together with samples of the typewriting. The USAFFE had destroyed all radio broadcasting equipment before with­ drawing from Manila, but within a short time the Japanese military had set up a system of their own, using the studios of KZRH in the Heacock Building and

THE COUNTRY

appropriating those call-letters.2 From this station poured a stream of pro­ paganda, much of it in vilification of the United States. The Japanese did not ban home radio-receiving sets be­ cause they thus wished to use the radio system of communication themselves. However, during the first days of Feb­ ruary they banned the use of radio antennae, perhaps not realizing that most radios used in the Philippines were of a quality able to receive over­ seas broadcasts without the use of ex­ terior antennae: Santo Tomas internees who had for­ merly been connected with the diffe­ rent radio stations were taken out of the camp for questioning, the Japa­ nese wanting to know especially who had "paid for” the "pro-Chungking” and the "pro-Free-France” broadcasts formerly made in Manila. Fortunately enough for the radio and newspaper­ men in the camp, the Japanese were quite ready to believe that the "antiJapanese” broadcasting and newspaper writing of the past was by order of the American authorities. It did not seem to occur to them that individuals could have expressed their own opi­ nions. It was, however, very difficult to convince them that every American or British in the country was not sec­ retly an officer in the American or British armies or navies or of their intelligence and secret service organi­ zations, as, in the corresponding Ja­ panese positions, were so many of their own subjects abroad. In the Philip­ pines, Japanese of apparently all ranks, — barbers, carpenters, fishermen, bu­ sinessmen, showed up as lieutenants, majors, colonels, captains, and com­ manders after the Japanese occupa­ tion. 2 Later they used the letters "PIAM.” This sta­ tion was the only one the Japanese used during the occupation.

PROMISE OF “ INDEPENDENCE”

One thing the Japanese came back to again and again. Was not the "Keep 'em Flying” symbol, which had decorated the pages of Manila news­ papers and magazines, the insignia of a secret organization? And was not holding up two fingers in a “V for Victory” a secret sign of this organi­ zation? The Japanese were obviously worried about this gesture as they often saw it surreptitiously made. After the surrender of Corregidor, when for some months, the daily broadcasts of "Juan de la Cruz” from a secret station created much trouble for the Japanese, some of the radio men in Santo Tomas were again taken out of the camp for investigation under suspicion of having perhaps either some connection with or some know­ ledge of this station and its operators. One of these men came back to the camp a week later with his wrists and arms scarred with what were evidently rope-burns, but he would not speak even to his friends of his experience. It was said that he had come under suspicion because he had made some radio drawings and specifications which were found on him. The Tribune on July 24 reported that the Military Administration had issued an order prohibiting the manufacture of wireless telegraph and telephone apparatus, the order also requiring those in possession of parts of such apparatus to report them for "forcible purchase" by the Army. It was stated that the order was issued "with a view to extirpating illegal wireless commu­ nication and injurious broadcasts”. The next day it was ordered that all radio receiving sets must be re­ gistered and it was announced that listening to any overseas broadcasts other than those of the government stations of the Empire of Japan and

215

to any local broadcasts other than those of station KZRH of the Japanese Forces in the Philippines, was strictly prohibited. Disobedience would be severely punished. It was explained that listening to foreign broadcasts had been forbidden for the sake of the— "healthy development of the new Philippines... The people seemed to have a tendency of being agitated by false propaganda broadcasts of enemy stations.” (July 30)

The Propaganda — Thus was the fair house of democracy and liberty and equality in the Philippines undermined, and thus were the mud-tunnels of mi­ litary domination and economic exploi­ tation fashioned. The termites were at work indefatigably, but none too shrewdly. They were in too much of a hurry. They might much better have gone slower, used a policy of “attrac­ tion” instead of almost naked coercion. But despotism can not so adjust it­ self. The military-fascism of Japan was arrogant and brutal at home; it could not be otherwise in any occupied ter­ ritory. Yet the Japanese military were not content only to rivet their shack­ les about the "conquered” people; they were not to protest or complain; they were to "take it and like it”; they had to be made to understand the "real aims” of Japan, these being alleged to be most self-sacrificing and altruistic; they were not only be shackled, but also doped. That is the fascist formula. The independence program agreed upon between the United States and the Philippines, — over half of the 10- year political transition period to complete independence had already been travers­ ed, the country had its own elected President and legislature, its own ju­ diciary, its own civil service, was, the Japanese said, only a "ruse”. The Ja­ panese were really going to liberate the Filipinos.

216

The COUNTRY

As early as January 22 the Tribune MacArthur "not to exact further sa­ came out with the big headline: JAPAN crifices from the Filipinos”.3 PROMISES P. I. INDEPENDENCE”. Beneath it was a Tokyo dispatch of 3 JAPAN AND THE PHILIPPINE REPUBLIC the 21st quoting Premier Tojo as OF 1898 — Japanese propaganda made much of Japan’s "sympathy” for the Filipinos in the saying: struggle of General Aguinaldo against the Ame­ "Japan will gladly grant the Philippines its independence so long as it cooperates and re­ cognizes Japan’s program of establishing the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. The same conditions apply to Burma”.

The Japanese in Manila continuously stressed the importance of the provi­ sion that the Philippines must “coo­ perate” if this projnise was to be car­ ried out. General Hayashi said threat­ eningly in his speech of May 13 fol­ lowing the "victory celebration” in Manila: "If the Filipinos indulge only in seeking the honor of independence, neglecting the duty they have been charged with, they would be treated as bitter enemies to the establishment of the Co-Prosperity Sphere.”

Japanese made constant use of pro­ minent Filipino officials to read Ja­ panese propaganda material over the radio as their own. How they prevailed on these men to allow themselves to be thus used, may be left to the ima­ gination. It is enough to say that with the exception of perhaps a very few of these Filipinos, not an American in the Santo Tomas camp who was fami­ liar with the country and the people believed that they spoke voluntarily. Filipino Speeches — The day after the Tojo declaration, Vargas and Aqui­ no were reported to have issued statements urging full cooperation with Japan. General Emilio Aguinaldo, aged revolutionary leader, was also quoted as "hailing Tojo's promise of freedom”. On February 2 Aguinaldo was reported to have said over the radio that further resistance was futile and to have asked

rican forces in the Philippines during the years from 1899 to 1901, and the tale of the secret “aid” given at that time was repeated over and over again in the columns of the Tribune. It is true that Mariano Ponce, Aguinaldo’s envoy, did succeed in buying 5,000,000 rounds of ammunition, — no firearms, after months of difficulty resulting from inability of the revolutionaries to negotiate the F500,000 check Aguinaldo had received from General Primo de Rivera after the pact of Biak-na-bato (1896), the amount being a partial payment of the "indemnity” awarded to the former, amounting to P800,000, with the understanding that he was to cease his revolutionary efforts. Aguinaldo, charged with having sold out the revolution, always claimed that he had accepted the mo­ ney only to enable him to resume the fight later. The ammunition was actually purchased from the Japanese government, with the full knowledge of the highest Japanese officials, though it was pretended the purchase was from a private firm. The small (1,440-ton) Nunobiki Maru was bought by a Japanese and a Chinese revolutionary for the purpose of bringing the ammunition to the Philippines, though it was shipped ostensibly to China. The vessel sailed from Nagasaki on July 19, 1899, and, according to Ponce, encountered a storm and foundered that same day, "about 100 miles from Shanghai”. Before the end of the year, Ponce acquired another 2,500,000 rounds of ammunition and chartered another vessel to deliver the shipment, but then "cau­ tious statesmanship” asserted itself in Japan, Ponce found himself hindered, and had to dis­ pose of the ammunition at the best terms he could obtain. When Ponce arrived in Japan, in June, 1898, there already existed a special commission, headed by the Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs, which was "looking into” the Philippine si­ tuation, and the commission had already se­ cretly dispatched two army officers to the Philippines for purpose of observation. After conferring with Aguinaldo in Malolos, they re­ turned to Japan in November to report. Ano­ ther Japanese officer was sent to the Philip­ pines in March, 1899, and after his return, a secret "military mission”, composed of a captain and a number of lieutenants, with cre­ dentials from Ponce, was sent to Aguinaldo in June, the members of the mission serving for some time as "teachers of military tactics”.

FILIPINO LEADERS’ SPEECHES

On one occasion one of these alleged speeches “back-fired”. Aquino was re­ ported in the Tribune of March 4 to have made a speech in Legaspi on Feb­ ruary 28 in which he not only urged cooperation with the Japanese but said that America’s promises of aid were nothing but words, that America had compelled the Filipinos to enter the war, that America was the real enemy, and that the Filipinos still fighting should come over to the side of Japan. He allegedly ended his speech by saying that he prayed for a victory by Japan as this would also be a victory for the Philippines. Although even more treasonable speeches were put into the mouths of Filipinos during the following months, this was going too far at the time, and Aquino in some way got the Tribune to publish the following "correction” in the issue of the 6th: All this was less baldly set forth by Luis Serrano in two successive Sunday issues of the Tribune (March 28 and April 4), the Japanese censor having apparently been caught napping. But while at the close of the last century the Japanese were thus toying with Aguinaldo, the Japanese government had taken quite a dif­ ferent line respecting the Philippines in a com­ munication to the Government of the United States. In a note under date of September 8, 1898, Japan suggested that while it fully recognized that the decision as to the future of the Philippines rested with the United States, if the latter should feel disinclined to undertake alone the administration of the Philippines, Japan "would be willing to join with the United States, whether singly or in conjunction with another power having identical interests, in the endeavor to form, subject to proper con­ ditions, a suitable government for the terri­ tory in question under the joint or tripartite protection of the guaranteeing powers”. This offer was first made public by A.L.P. Dennis in 1929 in his sketch of John Hay in "American Secretaries of State and Their Diplo­ macy". At the time, the Japanese offer was "politely declined, and not made public”, states S. F. Bemis in his "A Diplomatic History of the United States” (1936).

217 "Interviewed in connection with the speech attributed to have been made by Commissioner Aquino in the Bicol region during his recent trip there, the Commissioner said that the speech as published in the Tribune does not truthfully reflect the public statements made by him and that he must have been either misunderstood or misquoted.”

The truth as to the initial successes of the Japanese in the war was start­ ling enough, but their claims about these victories, — easy because there was little to resist them, were fantas­ tically exaggerated. On May 11 the Tribune declared that the Coral Sea Battle gave Japan "naval supremacy”.4 On June 2 a front-page caption read: "Japanese Navy Nears Absolute SeaMastery — Panama Canal Now Exposed to Attacks — Latest Blow Puts U.S. Navy on Defensive”. On June 13 a headline declared: "Navy Controls Pa­ cific — Naval Authority Praises Supe­ rior Strategy of Japan”. The July 4 Tribune was especially declamatory and no doubt misquoted Admiral Yates Ster­ ling as having said that the Japanese Navy was "unassailable”. The Tokyo spokesman was quoted in the same issue as saying: "The Pacific is deep enough for more United States scrap iron”. "Yes”, said an internee in Santo Tomas, “the American scrap iron the Japanese ships are built of.” Though the Tribune often said that American claims were "comical”, with­ out saying just what they were, it also published some alleged American statements in the biggest possible type, such as (February 27): "REIN­ FORCEMENTS TO P.I. HOPELESS SAYS F. D. R.” The departure of Ge­ neral MacArthur from the Philippines has already been referred to in a pre­ vious section, but for weeks the Tri­ bune and La Vanguardia harped on 4 Note (1945)—In the Coral Sea Battle, May 4-6, the Japanese navy was defeated. In the Battle of the Java Sea, February 27, the Japanese had won.

218

THE COUNTRY

"A captured Filipino officer of the medical the "flight” of MacArthur. "The flight appealed to his countrymen to stop fight­ of MacArthur is the most concrete corps ing, stating that Filipino soldiers are put in proof that the United States has front while the Americans stay behind, and they abandoned the Philippines to its fate”, get almost nothing to eat.” (February 8.) "There is rising resentment among the Fili­ (March 21). A May 18 headline said: pinos against the brutal American methods in "U.S. Ships Flee Before Battle”. A forcing them to fight. General MacArthur has Tokyo commentator was quoted on expressed fears of an uprising, according to April 5 as saying: "The U.S. Navy is so a San Francisco radio report heard in Saigon.” 9.) weak that it will not be strong enough (March "Filipinos are reported deserting in Bataan even 10 years hence to fight the Ja­ due to the continuous bombing and the short­ panese Navy”. Another statement was: age of food. MacArthur is frantically attempt­ to withhold information from them re­ "Japan can wage war 100 years if ing garding the capitulation of Singapore and the necessary”. allied setbacks in Java.” (March 8.) The only news about the continental An Army spokesman was quoted on United States which the Tribune ever March 20 as saying, "MacArthur’s contained was of the following type: strategy was based on a limitless sa­ "United States production plans are going crifice of Filipinos”. askew in practically every field on account of An amusing example of the letterlack of transports, unsystematic mobilization of manpower, and lack of essential resources, w riter’s art was contained in the Tri­ the Tokyo Niti Niti learned from its corres­ bune of March 22. It purported to be pondents in Lisbon and Buenos Aires.” an intercepted letter written by an (June 17.) American colonel on Corregidor to his A great height of enthusiasm was wife: reached by the Tokyo Navy spokeman. "It seems the Japanese operations are di­ He was quoted at one time as saying: rected by God himself. Attacks come like “We must be prepared to sweep through hurricane. Food on Corregidor is running out the gates of the enemy’s capital. We and a water-shortage is also looming... Even Filipino soldiers are gradually beginning must cross the broad Pacific to Wash­ the to disobey our orders and daily Filipino and ington.” American soldiers are fighting among them­ Atrocity Charges — "Atrocity” selves in all places... I have thought of desert­ charges included the American sinking ing, but it is useless... I wish peace comes soon so I can see your face again. Please give of a hospital ship. The January 14 Tri­ my regards to father in New York." bune quoted a Tokyo statement declar­ The Tribune for April 12 (three days ing that the “ruthless sinking of the Ja­ after the announced fall of Bataan) panese hospital ship unmasked the bru­ quoted a Japanese staff officer on the tality of the Anglo-American powers "inhumanly brutal” treatm ent of Fili­ who have always hidden themselves pino soldiers by their American com­ behind high-sounding humanitarian rades. More Filipino soldiers died from phrases”. References to this alleged the bullets of the American "surveil­ sinking were kept up for weeks. lance corps” and from starvation, than The Japanese thought they could from Japanese bullets, he said. "Many undermine Filipino loyalty by stories Filipinos were thus shot to death when, such as the following: unable to stem the Japanese onslaught, 5 Note (1945)—In the Battle of Midway, June they retreated.” The next day the paper gave the 3.6, the U.S. Navy routed the enemy forces. On August 7, U.S. marines landed at Guadal­ following word-picture of the aftercanal and Tulagi in the first major allied of­ fensive in the Pacific. On September 25 the the-battle scene in Bataan. The Fili­ Japanese were turned back from Port Moresby. pino troops had been machine-gun­

THE PROPAGANDA

ned by American troops in their rear. The American troops had been allow­ ed to board boats for escaping to Corregidor, but Filipino soldiers who attempted this were "mercilessly killed”. Many Filipino civilians along the roads had been crushed to death by the heavy trucks used by the re­ treating Americans.6 “Japanese soldiers in pushing forward had to cover their eyes in order not to see the mutilations perpetrated on the civilians.. .Fili­ pino soldiers, encouraged by the sympathetic attitude of their Japanese captors, began to bite, kick, and strike an American officer until he was almost unconscious. Unable to stand the sight, the Japanese calmed the soldiers and made them stop .. .Filipino soldiers present a very sad and horrifying sight, while the American soldiers look healthy and vigorous.”

The Propaganda Corps writers were full of pity for the civilian population of Bataan, which, indeed, suffered greatly. But this was not to be charged to the invaders! "Had these proud Americans only desisted from fighting the Japanese, these poor peo­ ple would not have suffered as they are suf­ fering now. Proud as they are, they thought they will always win, but the Japanese troops whose forces are of an unlimited strength, caused them to collapse at the very first at­ tack.” (Tribune, April 16.)

But the Propaganda Corps was to do still better: the story which declared that when a Filipino soldier caught a communicable disease, he was buried alive by the Americans, who would say: "This fellow will surely die soon any­ way". “Great indignation developed among the Filipinos due to this mal­ treatment.” The story went on: “The American troops can not tolerate their desire of strong whisky and women, so they took young women of the nearby villages, des­ pite the women’s unwillingness. These poor women were never taken care of even if they fell ill, and the serious ones were shot to death. Americans put on their masks of hu­ manity, but the time will come when all peo6 Note (1945)—This was a Japanese reference to the horror which later became known as "The Bataan death march”.

219 pie in the world will condemn them...The prisoners of war were very grateful. They ne­ ver dreamed that the Japanese soldiers were 'among the swellest guys we have met’, to use the language of an American officer.” (April 18.)

The Tribune of April 22 contained the following item about a "lean and tall American surgeon-captain, named Kosteko, a sergeant by rank”, who, when captured by the Japanese, was attacked by Filipino soldiers; the lat­ ter were "finally persuaded” by the Japanese soldiers to let him go. When they left him, "he was seen in a cor­ ner, trembling, just like their stars and stripes flag, falling to ruin and des­ truction.” Consul Jitaro Kihara, for many years a resident in Manila, joined in the vilification. He was quoted in the Ap­ ril 25 Tribune as pointing out that the American soldiers in Bataan had been "better fed” than the Filipino soldiers and that they had remained in the rear, hiding in safe places, while the Filipinos were "placed at the battle front”. The Filipnos, of course, would never believe such tales. And the propagan­ dists did not seem to realize that their stories of the Filipino soldiers having to be forced to fight the invader, of their having to be machine-gunned to keep them from flight, and of their "biting" their officers like animals when they had an opportunity, were insulting to the Filipinos themselves. The people knew their sons too well to believe such falsehoods when they read them in the newspapers or heard them over their radios. And in all the occupied areas the people daily felt the invaders’ conceit and arrogance, their impositions, their violence, and their contempt. The Japanese propagandists did not seem to be able to get away from re­ ferring to America’s known huma­ nitarian principles and policies.

220 American's reputation in this respect was mentioned in almost every piece of propaganda, though always in denigration. The Japanese themselves had cause to know America’s humanitarianism, and they knew the Filipinos had, too; hence they had forever to blacken and defame the American re­ cord. And they knew that Japan’s re­ cord was just the opposite; hence they had forever to emphasize the alleged good intentions of Japan. Filipinos Forced to "Celebrate" — The Filipinos were not fooled. They knew that the Co-Prosperity Sphere propaganda was intended to shield a grandiose scheme of conquest and ex­ ploitation. Guerrilla resistance conti­ nued month after month in the pro­ vinces, and in Manila the people said: "We pray every day in our churches for the return of the Americans.” Yet they had to celebrate, or seem to celebrate, the Japanese victories. The Filipinos in Manila were made to join in the Japanese celebration of "Foundation Day”,February 11, in ob­ servance of the "the 2,602nd year of the existence of the Empire of the Rising Sun”,7 which never in its history 7 This, of course, is nonsense. The oldest Ja­ panese records are two chronicles, composed in the 8th century, A. D., mere compilations of myths and legends. The latter portions are more or less historical, though the chronology is undependable. The first date which is con­ firmed by any exterior evidence is 461 A. D., which was about the time the Vandals sacked Rome and by which time Europe had already a great history behind it, not to speak of the histories of empires in Asia Minor, Egypt, In­ dia, and China. The history of Japan, until the most recent times, is a confused record of feudal squables, of strife between fami­ lies and clans, of shoguns who were only the puppets of contending chieftains, of divided sovereignties and shifting capitals, of court intrigues and murders and suicides, of royal lines broken again and again, of long periods, even in late times, of no central government at all. In 1889, only a little over 50 years ago, Japanese leaders, wishing the nation to be-

THE COUNTRY

suffered an enemy invasion, so Japanese speakers declared. On March 10 they were made to join in the celebration of "Army Day”, the anniversary of the Japanese victory over the Russians at Mukden. In April Vargas was called upon to appoint an official committee to arrange for a popular reception of the victorious troops returning from Bataan. A week later it was announced that Vargas had "asked” that all public buildings display the Japanese flag on the birthday of the Emperor, April 29; also that the people "decorate their homes with the Japanese flag”. On that day, General Homma expressed his thanks to the "many eminent Filipinos who, with a true understanding of the aims of our Forces, have devoted them­ selves to the task of establishing the New Philippines”. He expressed re­ gret, however, that "many Filipinos still profess pro-American sympathies”, and declared they would be "annihi­ lated without mercy by the Forces under my command”. Vargas, whose own eldest son was an officer of the USAFFE, was quoted as having said: "On behalf of my colleagues in the Cen­ tral Administrative Organization and on my own, I have the honor and pleasure of con­ gratulating you most heartily for the magnifi­ cent achievement of the Imperial Japanese lieve in the continuity of Japanese history and the antiquity of the imperial lineage, promul­ gated the new constitution of Japan on the invented date of Jimmu Tenno’s accession and made it a public holiday. This date was February 11, 660 B. C., and is purely imaginary. Jimmu Tenno, itself, is not a name, but a title, conceived in the 8th' century. In the compila­ tion of national histories, prevarication is not uncommon, but nowhere as in Japan have na­ tional leaders had the mendacity and the con­ tempt for the intelligence of their people to build up so absurd a fabrication. Now they were impudent enough to try to force ac­ ceptance of their inventions on other peo­ ples. But far from being filled with "awe and trepidation", the Filipinos sniggered.

“RELEASE” OF PRISONERS OF WAR Forces in Bataan. With this great victory of the Imperial Japanese Forces, thousands of Filipino soldiers have been saved from a fu­ tile resistance, for which, I am sure, the Fili­ pino people are very grateful.. .We are happy to welcome you on your triumphal return to Manila.”

Surely, humiliation could not have been imposed more cruelly on any man. What about the people of Manila? What part did they take in the "celebration”? They shut themselves in their homes, but a Tribune writer put it this way: "Practically all economic activities were suspended as the people preferred to stay at home as a fitting observance of the Emperor’s birthday and to pray for peace and thank the Imperial Japanese Army for its effort to bring back the country to normal.”

After the surrender of Corregidor, the people were again called upon to “celebrate” and Vargas was again called upon to mouth welcoming speeches. A Japanese "triumphal arch” was erect­ ed in Echague Street (pictures of which were reproduced in the press) and Japanese civilians in Manila staged a lantern-parade on the eve of the cele­ bration. Philippine 4-centavo postage stamps were overprinted: "Congratu­ lations. Fall of Bataan and Corregidor, 1942". Though the Tribune said that Manila gave the victors a warm recep­ tion, “thousands lining the streets to welcome the Commander-in-chief, con­ queror of Bataan and Corregidor”, the Army was not satisfied, and demanded that the victory should be celebrated all over again several weeks later. This time government personnel and employees of private firms were dra­ gooned to form a parade. A day was set aside for the flying of all flags at half-mast "in tribute to the Japanese soldiers who died in the w ar”. On May 27 the Tribune said: "Navy Day Cele­ brated by Filipinos Today — P.I. Joins for First Time in Observance of Anni­ versary of Admiral Togo’s Victory over Russian Fleet at Port Arthur." With the June 3 victory parade of the Japa­

221 nese troops, the Army took no chances. The public was barred from certain zones, — so it could not be said that people wilfully stayed away, and only certain "invited” guests were allowed to view the parade from a reserved place on the Luneta. The people were warned that they might not look down on the troops from upper windows, which had to be kept closed. “Release" of Filipino Prisoners of War—Alarming stories were being told about conditions in the prison-camps at O'Donnell and Cabanatuan. There was little food and no medicine, and American and Filipino prisoners of war were reported to be dying by the hun­ dreds of dysentery and malaria. Late in June the Army announced that the sick and wounded among the Filipino prisoners would be provisionally re­ leased, "an example of generosity without parallel in the history of mo­ dern warfare”. "They are expected to observe various re­ gulations relating to the provisional release and oath .. .furthermore, are expected to do their utmost in every possible way in serving under the Military Administration of the Im­ perial Japanese Army. If they should not faith­ fully observe various regulations and the oath, and especially if they talk or act in any antiJapanese way, they will not only be condemned by God on moral grounds, but also will be dealt with according to Japanese military law.” (Tribune, June 23.)

In subsequent issues of the paper, it was stated that the provincial gov­ ernors and town mayors would be required to guarantee that the pro­ visionally released prisoners would comply with the oath they would be required to take. This oath was not published.8A statement issued by Head­ 8 A printed copy of the oath which later be­ came available to the writer read: "OATH "To His Excellency, the Commander-in-chief of the Imperial Japanese Forces: "I, the undersigned, hereby solemnly pledge myself that I will strictly comply with the following:

222

THE COUNTRY

quarters and published in the Tribune declared that the Army—

Later it came out that some of these prisoners, especially the younger offi­ "has already released Filipino prisoners of war, cers, had been put through a course sons and members of those Filipino- families of special training as "pioneers” in which have rendered meritorious services to the building of the New Philippines, the Imperial Forces...The Japanese Army in its treatment of prisoners is showing a mag­ and that 400 of them had been incor­ nanimity unparalleled in the history of the porated into the new Constabulary. world. In return it is expected of the Filipino The August 10 Tribune reported people that they will shoulder the great res­ that at "impressive ceremonies” ob­ ponsibility entrusted to them. On how this served in connection with this at Camp responsibility is taken, depends the future course to be adopted by the Imperial Japanese Del Pilar in Pampanga, Colonel KaForces." (June 25.) tuya of the Educational Corps had re­ The newspaper hereafter extensively minded these young men that the publicized the release of -/arious groups "establishment of the course was made of prisoners, usually with reproductions possible through the infinite and illus­ of photographs. On July 27, the Tri­ trious virtue of His Imperial Majesty, bune stated that some 6,000 prisoners the Emperor of Japan”, and that to at Capas, Tarlac, were to be provi­ "educate” war prisoners and to find sionally released during the period employment for them during the from July 30 to August 7, as — course of a war, is an "example of "special favor, to promote the happiness and benevolence unparalleled in the his­ welfare of the Filipino people. Each prisoner tory of the world”. "Former Maj. Gen. thus released will have to sign an oath in which he pledges full cooperation with the Guillermo Francisco, who commanded Military Administration, countersigned by a the Filipino troops in battle in Ba­ member of his family and by the local mayor taan”, representing the graduating of­ or governor who will be responsible for his ficers, was reported to have expressed good conduct.” their gratitude in a most fulsome man­ "1. I shall never in future resort to any ner, but his speech rather oddly con­ hostile action against the Imperial Japanese cluded with the statement; Forces and I will in no way make any utterance or commit any hostile conduct against Japan; ''2. I will submit to the Japanese Military Administration and do my best to serve for the realization of the objective of the said Administration; "3. I will in no way make any utterance or commit any conduct which may benefit Japan’s enemies; "4. I will in no way make any utterance or commit any conduct which may be harmful to the tranquility, peace and order, and economic stability of the country; "5. I will in no way employ or instigate others for the execution of any act which I have pledged myself not to commit in the pre­ ceding paragraphs; "6. I will never fail to present myself at any appointed place when I shall be called up by the Japanese Army. “Applicant "Address ......................................................... "Signature ..................................................... "Guarantor of the above person "Address ......................................................... "Signature .....................................................

"We love Japan and her people from the bottom of our hearts, reciprocating that love of the Japanese people for us Filipinos.. .how­ ever, we express our deepest sentiments that we love our country more.”

There was another, even odder fea­ ture about the "impressive ceremo­ nies” as reported. It was mentioned thus: "Accompanied by the O'Donnell concentra­ tion camp band, the graduates sang three stan­ zas of the 'Aikoku'. The playing of ‘Auld Lang Syne' and the cheering of 'Banzai' to the Em­ peror closed the commencement program.”

The italics, of course, are the w riter’s. Someone slipped something over, the Japanese not being aware of the meaning of "Auld Lang Syne”. It was a signal of reassurance. In the meantime, the Tribune on August 7

THE PEOPLES’ RESISTANCE

had announced in a banner headline: "WILL RELEASE ALL WAR PRISON­ ERS" (Filipino war-prisoners natural­ ly)This coincided with highly favorable rumors in Santo Tomas as to the pro­ gress of the war in the southwestern Pacific and in China. The opinion in the camp was that possibly because of the shortage of food and medicine and the reported numerous deaths in the prison-camps, the Japanese had made a virtue of necessity; but some believed that the Japanese possibly thought it would be safer to break up the concentrations of the Filipino sol­ diers in these prison-camps to elimi­ nate the danger of their being freed by the guerrillas who were reported to be active everywhere. The People’s Resistance — The de­ parture of General Homma from the Philippines was not mentioned in the press until the publication of an ac­ count of his audience with the Empe­ ror, although a speech of his had been reported which many people believed at the time was a farewell speech and although there had been an account also of Vargas and the other Com­ missioners presenting him with a Philippine-made gift. Vargas was said to have referred to Homma’s "brilliant campaign” which "culminated in the freeing of the Phil­ ippines from Anglo-Saxon exploitation”, and as adding that the General had earned the title of "The Great Friend of the Filipino People”. "The forces of the Empire have conquered the Philip­ pines; you personally have conquered the hearts of the Filipino people”. In his address, Homma had said: "So long as you are unable to free your­ selves from the obsession of Americanism which has undermined your life and vitality, you will continue to deteriorate spiritually and will finally be led to the very brink of racial

223 extinction. Arouse yourselves!... Shoulder the responsibilities of the new Philippines!”

The facts as to this prophesied "ra­ cial extinction” are that the popula­ tion of the Philippines increased from under 7,000,000 in 1898 to over 17,000,000 in 1938, and that during this time the average stature and bodily weight of the Filipinos, both men and women, measurably increased. The Tribune of August 15 reported: "Tokyo, Aug. 14 (Domei), His Imperial Ma­ jesty, the Emperor, at 2:30 o’clock this after­ noon received in audience Lt. Gen. M. Homma, former commander-in-chief of the Japanese forces in the Philippines, who returned here at 1:42 o'clock this afternoon. In the presence of Premier General Hideki Tozyo and General Sugiyama, chief of the general staff, Gen. Hom­ ma reported on the war situation to the Throne. Subsequently, H.I.M. the Empress re­ ceived Gen. Homma in audience.”

On the same day it was announced that Lt. Gen. Sizuita Tanaka had been appointed to replace General Homma as Commander-in-chief of the Japanese Forces in the Philippines. The next day the Tribune printed a Tokyo report of a statement General Homma had made: "Filipinos have come to the realization that they can not gain independence without relying on the assistance of Japan, declared Lt. Gen. M. Hom ma...in a press interview at the War Office this afternoon.. .The General said that when the American forces in the Philippines surrendered to the Japanese forces, the Fili­ pinos made a complete about-face in their at­ titude toward Japan, manifesting reliance on Japan for their independence. He said the Fili­ pinos have made a new start as citizens and as members of the Greater East Asia Co-Pros­ perity Sphere.”

The very next issue of the paper, that of August 17, gave this the lie. General Sato, Director of the Manila branch of the Japanese Military Administration, at a conference with governors and ma­ yors under his jurisdiction, was re­ ported to have stated: "...T he present condition is not perfect... Excepting a few places, Southern Luzon en-

224

THE COUNTRY

joys peaceful conditions, but the people are not living at ease yet. In the northern part, con­ ditions are not good; especially in the vicinity of Arayat Mountain and Zambales, conditions are getting worse. In the three island pro­ vinces (Palawan, Marinduque, and Mindoro) peaceful conditions have not yet been estab­ lished.. .Among officers (civil), there are still some who do not realize the new situation. Their faces appear to be loyal, but in reality they are assisting disturbance, use official power for their own benefit, and otherwise commit abuses. Frequent violation of the mili­ tary laws occur, especially I regret that higher officers are involved. I have previously an­ nounced that I am adviser to officers. But, for the vicious officers, I have no consideration. I will take drastic action against them ...Still another important factor to maintain peace and order is the recognition of existing condi­ tions and to wipe out the pro-American atti­ tudes and to cooperate fullheartedly with the military authorities.. .Gentlemen: Work and render services following and obeying the com­ mands of the superiors, forgetting your per­ sonal benefits.. .It is your duty to lead the officers and peoples under you to the path of virtue to pursue their works in a right way.”

The Governor of Davao on this occa­ sion reported (Tribune, August 16): “Peace and order now reign in for sporadic troubles caused by robbers who are not, however, connected with the U.S. armed

Davao except bandits and in any way forces.”

On August 5 the Mayor of Manila prohibited all dancing in Manila ca­ barets as well as restaurants. It was said in Santo Tomas that this order had been issued at the instance of the Army, following the killing of a number of Japanese in Manila night-spots. Noteworthy was the sharp increase in the number of marriages contracted between very young people from the very beginning of the Japanese occupa­ tion of Manila. Internees were informed by their friends in the city that the Japanese authorities apparently were encouraging "marriage” between the soldiers and the young women of the country, and Filipino parents sought to protect their daughters against this by marrying them off to their school sweethearts as fast as possible.

The internees in Santo Tomas fol­ lowed all these developments with deep sympathy for the people. What they saw with their own eyes at the main gate of the Santo Tomas camp was bad enough. Hundreds of people, most of them Filipinos, still came to the Package-Line every day, friends and form er business assistants, clerks, ser­ vants, bringing food and clothing and other necessities. The Japanese guards at the gate had during the later months become very insistent on being duly bowed to by those who passed through the gate, both when they came in and when they went out. If they did not bow deeply enough, or forgot to bow because they were excited at the pros­ pect of seeing their friends, they were peremptorily halted and made to bow three, four, five or more times in suc­ cession. Sometimes they were slapped. One sergeant was an especially brutal bully. One Sunday morning early in August he slapped ten or twelve dif­ ferent individuals among the people who passed through the gate. He slapped one young, tall, well-dressed Filipino on both sides of the face, made him bow, and then struck him in the nape of his neck with his swagger-stick. The young man took the blows with­ out flinching, and turned away, bu t after he had taken a few steps, he was seen to stagger and thrust out his hand against the gate-pillar to keep from falling. This could not have been the direct effect of the blows but must have been caused by the rage that clamped about his heart. The inter­ nees, standing powerless, many yards away, cursed under their breath. By indirection, the internee Execu­ tive Committee had succeeded after a few months to bring about the with­ drawal of the Japanese guard detach­ ment to the gatehouse. No longer did

THE “BINTA” (FACE SLAPPING)

the soldiers stand guard at the doors of the main building, and while they patrolled the campus at night, there was fortunately little need of contact between the internees and these men. Most of them, as a m atter of fact, were goodnatured enough and were not like the sergeant who stood at the gate waiting for people he could find some reason to attack. A Japanese w riter attempted, in the June 21 issue of the Tribune, to ex­ cuse the Japanese slapping: "It has been observed that some Filipinos have developed a groundless fear of our sol­ diers. Perhaps this fear is partly engendered by subtle American propaganda against Japan and the whispering-campaign of fifth-column­ ists. Or could it be the failure of some people to appreciate the very rigid and strict disci­ pline of the Japanese Army, a thing they have not observed in the American soldiery?.. .We can trace to differences in language a good deal of the misunderstandings that arise at present. Take the matter of slapping, for ins­ tance. In the Japanese way, the binta, as the soldiers call slapping, is the slightest disci­ plinary measure administered in case of viola­ tion of military rules. People who understand this take slapping in this spirit. But in the Philippines, a slap in the face is considered one of the gravest injuries inflicted on a man’s soul, an act very deeply resented and rarely forgotten. It is an insult, a humiliation, a great dishonor. This and other cus­ tomary differences make it indeed difficult to do away with all misundertanding overnight but the case is not hopeless and can be re­ medied in tim e..."

The Japanese w riter left it to be supposed that the Filipinos would just have to get used to the binta. President William McKinley, in his instructions to the Second Philippine Commission, April 7, 1900, said: "In all the forms of government and admi­ nistrative provisions which they are authorized to prescribe, the Commission should bear in mind that the government which they are establishing is designed not for our satisfaction or for the expression of our theoretical views, but for the happiness, peace, and prosperity of the people of the Philippine Islands, and

225 the measures adopted should be made to con­ form to their customs, their habits, and even their prejudices, to the fullest extent consistent with the accomplishment of the indispensable requisites of just and effective government..."

The Japanese generals and procon­ suls were the victims of their own drill-system of education, — narrow, ignorant, intolerant, conceited. For all their past spying and reporting, they had no real knowledge of the country’s history or the character of the people. Despite their talk about the Filipinos being their fellow-Orientals, they did not understand them. They knew noth­ ing of the ancient village democracy of the Indonesian and Malayan peo­ ples and their inborn love of freedom. The Japanese recognized neither their impatience with control, their cour­ age, nor their pride; neither their in­ telligence, their skill in concealing their feelings, nor their capacity for biding their time. Every Japanese move in the Philip­ pines was fully understood by the Fi­ lipinos. They knew what Japan was about, what its "real aims" were. And they would forever oppose them, open­ ly when they could, passively always. Every act of personal indignity and humiliation only added to that deter­ mination. It was not an inspiring thing, it is true, for them to see their public men engaged in what the Japanese said was "cooperation”, to hear them speak as they did over the radio, or to read these speeches in the papers. But they knew that these men were being coerc­ ed. And just as Filipino parents cau­ tioned their children when they went out into the streets to bow to the Japanese soldiers, because if they didn’t, they might be hurt, so they be­ lieved that the American and Common­

226

wealth Governments’ had probably authorized Filipino leaders to go to considerable lengths in their submis­ sion to enemy rule. Were Vargas and some of the others going too far? Who was to judge? It was known that Vargas was a prison­ er in Malacanan, that he was surround­ ed by Japanese every minute of the day and night. Anyway, to the Filipi­ nos, it was all, to use a local expres­ sion, tila loco, roughly translatable as "like a fool”, "fooling only", "putting one over”. The "pro-Japanese” speech­ es, etc., were taken for just what they were worth, — nothing. 9 Note (1945)—The following appeared in the Manila Post of June 24, 1945: "ROXAS REVEALS DETAILS OF QUE­ ZON ORDER FOR OFFICIALS TO STAY PUT—The nature of the late President Manuel L. Quezon's last ‘instructions’ to ranking Filipino officials and members of his war cabinet — the crux of the collaborationist problem—was further clarified by Senate President Manuel Roxas in an interview with the Manila Post re­ porter. At a meeting held in Mariquina before Quezon went to Corregidor, Roxas recalled, the late President instructed those who were to remain behind to ‘remain at their posts and do their utmost to protect the people’ while the nation waited for the arrival of the Ame­ rican forces that would redeem the Philippines’ freedom. Among those present at the fateful meeting were General Roxas, Secretary of Jus­ tice Jose Abad Santos, Secretary of National Defense Teofilo Sison, Secretary of Agriculture Rafael Alunan, Secretary of Finance Serafin Marabut, Executive Secretary Jorge B. Vargas, Philippine Army Chief of Staff Basilio Valdes, and Dr. Jose P. Laurel, who was then Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Laurel, who had been originally scheduled to accompany Quezon to America but who was requested by the late President at the last moment to stay, reportedly asked Quezon: 'To what ex­ tent should we cooperate with the Japanese?’ To which Quezon was said to have replied: 'You may cooperate short of taking the oath of allegiance to Japan.’ Laurel then asked: 'Suppose we are forced to?’ For a while Quezon was silent. Before he could answer, Laurel said: 'I shall flee and hide in the mountains'. 'No, not all of you should do that’, the late Presi­ dent said. ‘Evade it as much as you can’.” The Manila Star Reporter of July 5 repro­ duced a telegram from Quezon to Gov. G.R.

THE COUNTRY

And so the political leaders played a part. The Japanese called this "co­ operation”, but they did not much care whether it was genuine or not. They meant to have obedience. The Army maintained its Propaganda Corps and its Religious Corps and its Educational Corps; it bothered about setting up a puppet government; but it actually relied on nothing of that sort. It relied on force, on intimida­ tion and threats, on punishments, executions, assassinations.

1 3 Story of Church “Cooperation” with the Japanese The Japanese from the first made a big play for the "cooperation” of the churches in the Philippines. Jap­ anese priests connected with the "re­ ligious section" of the Imperial Japa­ nese Army, a unit of the Propaganda Corps, officiated at "friendship mass­ es” in Manila on the second Sunday following the occupation. On the 15th of January all the missionaries intern­ ed in Santo Tomas were released, some of them however, requesting and being granted permission to stay. The Japanese worked the "Catholic angle” for all it was worth in the Tribune. Visaya, of Isabela, dated April 18, 1942, from Washington, and coursed through Colonel Nakar. "In reply your telegram re instructions to you in case occupation your province by Ja­ panese you must remain in your post to main­ tain peace and order and protect civilian popu­ lation until Japanese take over government authority. In case you are asked by Japanese to continue performing functions, you should use discretion considering best interests your people, but should be sure no personal or official aid and comfort is extended to enemy especially his military activities. Municipal police should continue maintaining peace and order until re­ lieved by Japanese but Constabulary should im­ mediately join nearest Philippine Army detach­ ment. In case you withdraw to hills or moun­ tains keep in touch with Voice of Freedom or KGEI San Francisco for possible further con­ tact with Commonwealth Government." Gov­ ernor Visaya did not accept any Japanese ap­ pointment and withdrew to the mountains.

CATHOLIC CHURCH “ COOPERATION”

227

"That he was pleased that religion would be Much was made of the appointment of a special envoy to the Vatican (the respected and protected by the Japanese Army; first Japanese official of this kind), that the people and country were accustomed to the separation of church and state and that announced on March 28, under the while the clergy exercised authority in things headline: "Japan Cements Friendship spiritual, it had always been the policy to re­ with the Pope”. frain from taking part in matters purely po­ The Tribune of January 20 reported, litical as enjoined by canon law; that he him­ following a conference at the palace self was a foreigner and that the only reason of Archbishop Michael J. O’Doherty for his presence in the country was the commis­ he had received from the Supreme Pon­ on the 17th, attended by the represen­ sion tiff in Rome to come and attend to the spirit­ tatives of eleven religious orders, that ual needs of the people; that he was govemLt. Col. Naruzawa, chief of the reli­ ning the Archdiocese of Manila according to gious section of the Propaganda Corps this commission and according to canon law; (and a Buddhist) had “explained the that he and his clergy would be glad to take aims of the Japanese Army with regard part in anything which was for the good of people, provided it was not contrary to to the religious activities of the the canon law; that the position of a cleric was Filipinos”, saying that the "funda­ comparable to that of an officer in an army mental principle underlying Ja­ who had received his orders and could not go pan’s actions is the spirit of universal beyond his instructions; that he was open and brotherhood, which is the same as sincere as it was much better there would be a understanding in the beginning rather that of the Catholic Church”, and that clear than to raise hopes of clerical activities which the Archbishop “was reported to have could not materialize; that as far as a meeting expressed the desire to cooperate with of bishops was concerned, there was no con­ the Army in endeavoring to establish nection between the metropolitan provinces of Cebu and Manila and that the reasons for con­ peace throughout the world”. vening bishops are clearly set forth in canon Actually, according to the minutes, law, outside which they are free to come or a copy of which reached the hands not, and that furthermore it would be impos­ of a churchman in the Santo Tomas sible for many of them to reach Manila because camp, there had been a previous meet­ of the disrupted communications and lack of ing between the Archbishop and Colo­ transportation”. nel Naruzawa as early as the 7th. On To a request of the Archbishop that this occasion, the Colonel had made priests and other religious workers be the following points: given passes which would permit them "That the Imperial Japanese Army had come to go about their work, including the to the Philippines to establish peace and pros­ making of sick calls at night, the Colo­ perity for the Filipinos and has only friendly nel had replied he would have to take feelings toward them; that the Army was sorry this up with the military authorities. for the sufferings of the Filipinos and would The conference had been concluded do everything possible to put an end to their sufferings; that Japan was determined to put with the usual polite formalities. The minutes (obtained by the writer an end to the exploitation of the Far East by America and Britain; that he would like to from the same source) for the meet­ meet all the bishops with the Archbishop in ing on January 17, referred to by the council; that the religion of the people would be Tribune, showed that Colonel Naru­ respected and the people be given liberty to zawa began the conference by stat­ practice it; that a special personal passport ing— would be given to the Archbishop; that priests, brothers, and sisters would not be placed in concentration camps; and that so, finally, the Japanese desired and expected the cooperation of all bishops and priests for the realization of the Co-Prosperity Sphere in Greater Asia.”

In reply the Archbishop had thank­ ed the Colonel for his courtesy in coming to him and had said the fol­ lowing:

"that the Imperial Japanese Army intended greater freedom for the Philippines and ulti­ mately a more significant role in the Far East as an independent nation; that Greater Asia should be governed and its destinies controlled by the peoples of Asia; that the principal cause of the war in China was this policy and Jap­ anese enmity to communism; that the right­ eousness of the Japanese cause was to be seen in the order, peace, and progress established in the Chinese territories occupied by the

228 Army; that Japan’s policy against communism was in line with Christian principles; that His Holiness, Pope Pius XII, in 1937 expressed his approval of Japanese policy; that we therefore hope that under your guidance the Filipino people will cooperate fully with Japan in this great work; that we also expect your coopera­ tion in establishing full religious freedom in the country; that it is the purpose of the Army to do everything possible for the benefit of the Catholic Church and its followers.” The Archbishop in reply again emphasized that the work of the clergy was entirely spirit­ ual. He said; "The Holy Father has expressly and strictly forbidden us from engaging in any other pro­ fession or activity but the religious. We are a company apart. We are willing to leave civil and political matters to minds better fitted or at least more interested in the pursuits of the world. We have done this not out of cowardice but because of the deep conviction that every civilization must be based on spirituality. It is for this reason that we have turned our backs on all other professions and devoted ourselves to the building of those spiritual and religious foundations without which no civili­ zation can stand. We ask with all due respect to Colonel Naruzawa to give us the liberty of worship which he has promised. I lay the blame upon no one, but merely state a fact when I say that up to the present, the work of the Catholic Church here has been all but paralyzed. We have no contact with the people. Many of our institutions are closed. Our priests need free passage in order to have contact with the Christian people of the Philippines. If this free passage is given, civil commotion against the de facto authorities of the Imperial Jap­ anese Army is not to be looked for from the clergy. The reason is that we are men of peace. Our charity is extended to the whole world. This is the doctrine that we have been commis­ sioned to teach the people. I repeat that we do not blame, but merely call Colonel Naruzawa’s attention to the case of the Good Shepherd Sisters. They have under their care 200 orphans. After 20 years work they have built an almost self-sufficient house. Practically their only means of maintenance is a printing plant de­ dicated to the cause of religion. The machinery and contents of this printing plant have been destroyed. Another case: I have the report of a parish priest who has had two of the sacred vessels used in the central act of worship of our Holy Religion taken away from him. As a consequence, without these chalices he has not been able to celebrate this central act of worship, the Mass. These vessels are of very little value to the Imperial Japanese Army, but they are of inestimable value to the Ca­ tholic people of the Philippines. I ask Colonel Naruzawa and the representatives of the Mili­ tary Administrator what will be the effect upon

STORY the Catholic people of the Philippines if they see the churches which they have helped to build treated without respect. We therefore ask the representatives of the Imperial Japanese Army for protection for the churches built by the people and the persons who have de­ dicated their lives to the spiritual welfare of the people. My senior suffragan, His Excellency, the Bishop of Lipa, has not been able to come and confer with me because his motor car has been taken away. I ask your consideration in such cases. We are old, we bishops. I myself have spent nearly 30 years in the Philippines and am now almost 70 years old. Yet the exi­ gencies of our office demand that we be in continual contact with our people and for this we must have the means and the facilities for reaching them. I appreciate the special treat­ ment which has been given to us, the sons of the Holy Father in Rome and members of the Mystical Body of Christ. I believe that at the present moment there is no member of the clergy detained in any of the internment camps. For this we are deeply grateful to Colonel Naruzawa and to the Military Administrator of Greater Manila.” The Colonel expressed his appreciation of the attendants at the meeting and asked for an informal round table conference. Before ad­ journing this part of the meeting the Arch­ bishop asked the Colonel to obtain permission for a Catholic chaplain to celebrate mass for the people in Santo Tomas, the Colonel stating he would consult his superiors about the mat­ ter. At the round-table discussion begun after a recess, Captain Shobara, representative of Ma­ jor General Hayashi, Military Administrator of Greater Manila, declared that every one should realize that war conditions still existed and that hence all activities should take place in ac­ cord with military exigencies. "The Imperial Japanese Army”, he said, "especially wishes that the work of the Catholic Church must be such as to promote understanding between Japan and the Philippines, not go against such un­ derstanding”. The Archbishop replied: "I wish to repeat that the work of the Catholic cler­ gy is entirely religious, and hence I can pledge in behalf of the Church and its members that the Imperial Japanese Army has nothing to worry about in this regard”. Colonel Naruzawa then showed the Archbish­ op a sample copy of a "Notice” prepared by the Japanse military police, which was to be posted on all churches and religious houses to safeguard them from molestation, and ask­ ed for a complete list of all religious houses in the Philippines and the approximate number of copies of the notice which would be re­ quired. The Archbishop referred the query to the Very Rev. J. F. Hurley, Superior of the Society of Jesus, who said that thousands would be needed and that the best thing to do would be to take a map of the Philippines

CATHOLIC CHURCH “ COOPERATION” and count every barrio. The Archbishop in­ terposed that he thought 2.000 copies would be enough, eliminating the less important institu­ tions. Naruzawa then asked that the heads of the various religious orders represented pre­ pare lists of these places and, the Archbishop replied that they could make lists only of the houses of their respective congregations as they had no authority over the churches and houses of the secular clergy. Father Hurley suggested that the commanding officers in the various occupied districts contact the bishops. The Co­ lonel replied: "The Army can not do that. The Archbishop must supply the lists”. "The list will be supplied,” said the Archbishop. Father Hurley said that he had a list of churches and religious houses in Greater Manila totalling 158, and asked whether he could have the notices then. Naruzawa answered that they would be given out at the end of the meeting. "There is one more point,” said Naruzawa. "We would like to ask His Grace, the Arch­ bishop, to have copies of this leaflet distribu­ ted by his parish priests to the people." The Archbishop replied: "I am afraid that the nature of our work, which is purely spiritual and has nothing to do with political matters, makes impossible my acceding to your request. My commission from the Holy Father is to teach the Catholic Reli­ gion, and I am expressly forbidden by the Holy Father from interfering in civil matters. Certainly, if the Imperial Japanese Army wish­ es these leaflets to be distributed among the people, they need no permission from me to do so.” Father Hurley said: "It is very simple. Almost every man, wo­ man, and child in the Philippines is a Cath­ olic. All the Imperial Japanese Army need do is to distribute these leaflets at every streetcomer, and they shall get into the hands of the Christian population.” Captain Shobara declared: "The Imperial Japanese Army can not do this due to press of work. It asks your co­ operation in this matter.” The Archbishop: "There is this added consideration. We have had here in the Philippines separation of church and state. The minds of the people are now accustomed to this arrangement. They would therefore be extremely suspicious if I should permit the distribution by the clergy of this leaflet. The Imperial Japanese Army would thereby not obtain the effect intended.” The Colonel: "We should like at any rate to distribute copies of this leaflet to the assembled Fathers." The Archbishop: "We have no objection.” The meeting then adjourned.

229 The leaflet read: "To the Christian People of the Philippines. "It is the firm resolve of the Imperial Jap­ anese Government to create a Co-Prosperity Sphere in Greater East Asia and it is prepared for extreme sacrifices if it were found neces­ sary for the accomplishment of that purpose. "Greater Asia should be governed and its destinies controlled by the people of Asia. It is for us to see that our rights of progress will not be interfered with by outside powers and by such a destructive element of civilization as communism. "In our way, we have seen how Great Britain and America have long dominated Asia, deprived us of our rights in many ways, mak­ ing existence difficult and oppressive. "Unless these destructive forces are elimi­ nated, we shall have no future; the races of greater Asia, the races with thousands of years of glorious history, will be doomed to complete subjugation. "As the leading power of Asia, Japan has taken up the task of dealing with destructive forces and of establishing a peace that will be just and permanent. "The ardour for peace is universal. For the cause of peace and the elimination of com­ munism, His Holiness, Pope XII, once issued a proclamation and it made clear point of recognizing the motives of the Japanese Cam­ paign now going on for more than 4 long years. "It is our belief that all faithful Christians of the Philippines, understanding the spirit of His Holiness, will comprehend the spirit of the great campaign. In a larger sense it becomes reasonable to cooperate in the construction of the new order in Greater East Asia. "It is the desire of the Imperial Japanese Army to foster freedom of religious worship and it seeks to do everything possible for the protection of the Christian churches and there­ fore does not anticipate activities harmful to the progress of its task. The Imperial Jap­ anese Army addresses all Christians and asks the full cooperation of spiritual leaders and laymen worshippers in the establihment of that mutually prosperous sphere in Greater East Asia and of a just peace throughout the civilized world. “Chief of the Religious Section "Japanese Expeditionary Forces "to the Philippines.”

It will be seen from the preceding m atter taken from the minutes, that things had not gone so smoothly as the Tribune report of the 20th indi­ cated. The Archbishop had put up a good fight and was to put up a still better fight during the next few weeks. The churchman in the Santo Tomas camp already referred to, had another typewritten document, dated February

230

STORY

3, entitled, "Memorandum on the state of Manila before the occupation, in which of the relations now existing between speech ‘he denounced the ideology of Nazism’. His Grace is still in 'protective custo­ His Grace, Most Reverend Michael J. dy.’“8. ” O’Doherty, D.D., Archbishop of Mani­ In the meantime the Japanese bu­ la, and the Japanese Military Author­ sied themselves with the leaders of ities." the Protestant denominations. No This read: doubt realizing that they were not so "1. Headed by Lt. Col. Naruzawa, the reli­ gious section of the Japanese Army has been strongly organized as the Catholics, very helpful in alleviating the situation of sev­ they treated them with much less ce­ eral Catholic institutions and groups since the remony. The Tribune of January 30 re­ occupation. Without his intervention the ported that at a conference of Protes­ Church would have suffered much more. tant leaders, "representing all the ma­ "2. Through the good offices of the Colonel, jor denominations in Manila", held at the American Benedictines and the Fathers of the Manila Hotel on the 27th, they had the Society of the Divine Word were released from the Santo Tomas Internment Camp; the signed their names to a pledge declar­ Jesuits, the Maryknoll Fathers and Maryknoll ing: Sisters, the Good Shepherd Sisters, the Mis­ sionaries of the Sacred Heart, and the Sisters of St. Joseph (all of these being American, British, or Dutch citizens) through the good offices of the Colonel, were interned in religious houses. Colonel Naruzawa sent some of his staff to the provinces to give safe conduct to Sisters that were being sent to Manila. He has done his best also, wherever it was possible, to minimize damage done to the buildings, furnishings, etc. of Catholic schools, orphan­ ages. convents, etc. "3. Though His Grace genuinely appreciated these good deeds of the Colonel, he could not accede to the request to give a radio talk of propaganda for the ‘Co-Prosperity Sphere of Influence.’ "4. Because of his unwillingness to lend him­ self to this Japanese propaganda, His Grace was informed that he is now in 'protective cus­ tody’, and must not leave his palace. "5. Although all other citizens of the Irish Flee State had been given ‘passport’ to go about the city freely. His Grace, the Arch­ bishop, enjoys the distinction of being the only Irish Free Stater to whom this privilege has been refused. "6. When the Archbishop wished to go to consult with His Excellency, the Apostolic De­ legate to the Philippines, the Japanese author­ ities offered to conduct him in one of their official cars, but he refused to go under these circumstances. "7. When on February 2, 1942, the private secretary of the Archbishop said to Colonel Naruzawa that the refusal of the ‘passport’ (granted to all other Irish Free State citizens and to many other 'third party foreigners’), must be due to the animosity of the higher au­ thorities, the Colonel admitted that the au­ thorities could not understand why His Grace refused to give a radio address for the ‘CoProsperity Sphere of Influence’ when, as a matter of fact, they had Manila newspaper accounts of a sermon given by the Archbishop

"We, the Protestant missionaries and those who are connected with Christian works, will gladly cooperate with the Japanese Army as it proclaims the military administration in the Philippines, and do hereby pledge ourselves to take the duties of the restoration and main­ tenance of peace by observing the following items; (1) Although we are granted the free­ dom of faith, we will gladly offer our build­ ings and their equipment whenever they are needed and are requested through proper chan­ nel for military strategy; (2) We would never hold meetings primarily for the people of the hostile nations (worship services included), except services in the Santo Tomas internment camp; (3) We would not hold, for the time be­ ing any meetings other than religious services; (4) We would lead and instruct our members of the church, trusting in the Japanese Army, understanding that the great ideal of the Great East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere is on the road to its realization, and believing that the very fulfilment of that great ideal is to attain world peace; (5) We would poss'tively cooperate with the Japanese Army and would not fail its generous considerations toward us.”

Some of those whose names were given in the Tribune as having signed, in actual fact had refused to sign and were later, after resisting strong pres­ sure, reinterned in Santo Tomas. Ac­ cording to them, the Protestant min­ isters, missionaries, and religious workers, after being released from Santo Tomas on January 15, heard nothing from the Japanese for nearly two weeks, but on the 26th were "in­ vited” by telephone to attend the con­ ference at the Manila Hotel. On the 26th they again received telephoned messages stating that their attendance was "required”. As they arrived at the

PROTESTANT DENOMINATIONS

Hotel at 2 o'clock, their names were checked off on a list which the Jap­ anese had. Besides the 12 American religious workers and one British clergyman, there were 26 Filipinos. After they had all arrived, they were asked to go out on the lawn for pic­ ture-taking and were then ushered in­ to the “Walnut Room”, where tables had been arranged in the form of a deep-bodied "D”, the Japanese present seating themselves at the shaft of the "D”. The clergymen and religious workers were seated around the curve of the "D" in alphabetical order, every seat being plainly marked by a large number. When they were all seated, there was a "roll call”. The Rev. Dr. T. Aiura, later head of the Protestant unit of the religious section, was the master of ceremonies, gave greetings, and introduced Naruzawa, indicating that his address was to be the basis of "all discussions”. Speaking through an interpreter, Naruzawa said in part: (mimeographed copies were later made available):

231

tive power which moves and will move the whole world. I am firmly convinced that if you ponder over the real significance of the Axis movement, the mission of the Christians against capitalism and communism is in per­ fect harmony with Japan’s great mission which is being carried on in the present war. It is very necessary for you to understand the humanitarian spirit of the Japanese Army. Ja­ pan has fought within the past 40 years 5 great wars, such as the Sino-Japanese in 1892, the Russo-Japanese in 1902, the First Great War in 1914, the Manchurian Affair in 1930, and the Sino-Japanese Conflict in 1937. All of them had the great mission of leading Asia to the stable condition and were victoriously ended in favor of Japan. Since the founding of the country, Japan has, for centuries, never let any country invade her. Furthermore, in recent years she backed up the complete independence of Manchukuo and the Mongol autonomous government and assisted them to regain their national prestige and liberty. And today, as you know, they are exalting national prestige as nations of the world paradise under the supervision and protection of Japan. Japan re­ turned Tingtao (Shantung) to China, which she captured in the First World War, to establish peace in the East Asia. This shows Japan’s love of justice. And recently she overthrew during the Sino-Japanese Conflict the Chinese communist army and the vicious Chiang re­ "I deeply appreciate your presence today gime and founded New China, based on a new because I know you are busy with your holy order. She is now leading and protecting the tasks. . . The present war is the holy war new Chinese regime, which in turn is showing commissioned upon the Army of Japan, the a remarkable progress in culture and all other leading power of the Greater Asia, to build the departments of life. These facts, I believe, are stability of the Greater Asia, and the peace of worthy of special mention in the history of the world. Its aim is NOT to fight against the the establishment of the New World Order. Filipinos who would cooperate with the Japanese That Japan has lost many lives and spent Army, but rather to bring about the downfall an enormous sum of money for these wars in of the American and British forces which would the past is true. That Japan has never robbed ever uphold the status quo by keeping the these nations of their national rights and li­ anti-Japanese policy and denying, under the berty nor demanded of them any material re­ cloak of the world-peace, the living rights of turns, can be proved by the nations of the the ever-growing races in the East Asia, and world. However, she is willing to sacrifice also to exterminate communism which aims anything in order to fulfill her mission of at the conquest of the world by destroying and creating the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity confusing all cultures, religions, and orders. Sphere and establishing world peace. You may It is the real significance and final aim of rest assured that Japan marches on, on the the present war to deliver from the bondage road of justice and humanism. . . Japan has 17,000,000 Filipinos by creating a new order in gone through so many wars during the past the Greater East Asia and to lay the founda­ several decades and yet she has not exhausted tion of the world peace. All the movements in the strength of the Imperial Forces and the nathe Christian countries are marching the same national economy. On the contrary, she has direction. Therefore, to attain the final aim of this holy war of Great Japan is at the grown in power and strength and will never same time the realization of the hope which yield to any great powers. . . I sincerely hope the Christian countries have long awaited for you will trust in the power and mercy of ages. . . The world’s policy for today and to­ Japan and cooperate with her in establishing morrow will surely develop itself centering the Greater East Asia. . . I would like to men­ about the Axis Powers, whether you like it tion specially that according to the Domei or not. In other words, the Anti-comintem news. Premier Tojo in his address at the Pact of the Axis countries is the new genera­ 79th session of the Imperial Diet, declared,

232 Japan will enable them (the Filipinos) to en­ joy the independence with honor so long as it cooperates and recognizes Japan’s program of establishing the Greater East Asia Co-Pros­ perity Sphere’. However, it must be remember­ ed by all that those who do not understand both power and mercy of the Japanese Army and act with the hostile and despising spirit toward Japan, along with the Communists, shall be severely punished and entirely destroy­ ed. I urge you, therefore, to ponder over what I have just said, and propagate it and bring it home to members of your churches, and lead and instruct them to cooperate spiritually with Japan."

Aiura then asked for questions, which through an interpreter, he re­ ferred to Lieutenant Mihara, at that time head of the Protestant unit. Questions came slowly, the Filipinos taking the lead, and it was soon evi­ dent that the Japanese did not want discussion of any of the issues involv­ ed but would only consent to "clari­ fication” of the points made by Naruzawa. Mihara would snap: "Had you listened carefully to the speech of the colonel, you would not ask that ques­ tion.” Copies of the "pledge” were mean­ while passed around and the various paragraphs were "explained”. The Rev. W.H. Fonger asked what was meant by the "positive cooperation” with the Japanese Army referred to in para­ graph 5. He was told the paragraph was clear. The Rev. Simon Reyes asked whether paragraphs 4 and 5 would not involve the clergy in politics, which the Japanese in a previous conference with Filipino clergymen held in the United Church on Azcarraga Street, had warned them to avoid. He was snapped down, and Aiura invited ques­ tions on the "other paragraphs”. The pledge as originally drafted stated that the "great ideal” of the Japanese was "according to the will of God”, and, instead of objecting to the pledge as a whole, the Rev. H. C. Spackman questioned this phrase and suggested a reference to world peace be substi­ tuted. The Rev. Dr. E. E. Tuck took up the same point and said that he would not allow even his own bishop to interpret for him the will of God. Aiura, seeing his opportunity, after

STORY

consulting Mihara then agreed to the change suggested by Spackman. Fur­ ther change in the pledge appeared impossible. The Japanese took the po­ sition that their policy was manifestly in line with Christian idealism and that Christians therefore could and must "cooperate". They gave the impression there was no other choice. “Now you will be given an oppor­ tunity to sign the pledge”, said Aiura. He had a large sheet of paper on which the pledge was inscribed in Japanese; below it there were little rectangles for all the wanted signatures. He ask­ ed the first three to come forward. Seat No. 1 was occupied by a Japanese who, it was learned afterward, was a Japanese lumber contractor from Ilocos Norte. He went forward, followed by two Filipino clergymen. Seats 4, 5 and 6 were occupied by the Rev. E. C. Bomm, the Rev. H. Bowsman, and the Rev. Dr. F. W. Brush, and when they were invited to come forward they remained in their seats. After a mo­ m ent’s hesitation, Aiura said: "Just anybody come!" Most of the assembly then rose, walked about, hesitating, some going forward to sign. Photo­ graphs were taken of those signing. The press members of the Propagan­ da Corps had left after Naruzawa's speech and had apparently assumed that all present would sign. After a while the conferees re­ turned to their seats and refreshments were served. — coffee, tea, kalamanci juice, sandwiches, cookies, and fruit. Two or three of the missionaries, hav­ ing previously been asked to do so, made brief responses, expressing the appreciation of those present for the courtesies shown by the Japanese of­ ficers and for the liberty granted them to carry on their work. Gradually the tension diminished somewhat, and be­ fore the meeting broke up around 6 o’clock six of the thirteen leading Am­ erican and British clergymen had signed the pledge and all of the Fili­ pinos except the Rev. Dr. Santiago Crispulo. Aiura made appointments to meet later with those who had not signed. Some of those who had signed

COERCION OF PROTESTANT LEADERS

the pledge made light of it, saying that the m atter was of no real im­ portance; others said that their follow­ ers would understand. A few days later, the seven Ameri­ cans and the Filipino who had not signed met Aiura at his request in his office in Intramuros. They spent two hours with him in further discussion, at the end of which he said that he hoped they would see their way clear to sign before Saturday. On Saturday, three of them went over to sign. On Monday, those still holding out were again called to Aiura's office. They told him that the pledge appeared to them to demand that they give up their al­ legiance both to their religion and to their country. Aiura said that the Jap­ anese program was Christian in spirit and that they should rise above na­ tionalism. They said that they couldn’t believe that any one nation could be commissioned by God to carry out His will and that even if the word "Am­ erican Army" were substituted for "Japanese Army”, they would not be able to sign it. Aiura urged them to forget every word in the pledge, but to sign it. "Let me know before 6 o’clock tonight whether you will sign; all I want is a yes or no.” Crispulo signed the next day, having been ad­ vised by the officials of his church (Fellowship Central Baptist Church) to do so. He was told, "We will let you sign this time, but, next time, we advise you not to show so much re­ luctance.” The four Americans still holding out were called to Aiura’s office again the following Friday to meet Naruzawa. In the hall, Aiura whispered to them: "The whole future of Protestantism in /this part of the world may be at stake. You are taking too much on your individual consciences. If you continue to refuse to sign, we will have to turn you over to the military. The Army may decide just to blot out Protestantism. Your Bible society would not be able to function. Your Seminary would be closed.” "W_* do not want to embarrass you or the religious section”, said the Am­

233

erican ministers. "Have we not the right to revert to our previous status? Send us back to Santo Tomas." “You do not have that choice,” said Aiura. "We are powerless. We would have to turn you over to the Army. It knows how to deal with anti-Japan­ ese.” They were then taken in to see Na­ ruzawa and went over the whole ques­ tion with him. They had prepared a substitute statement which they said they were willing to sign. It was trans­ lated to the Colonel. He p id "That leaves out the essential thing, •— co­ operation." He said that this would be the last time they would be asked to sign the pledge already signed by so many others. When they made no move, he said, “The discussion is fin­ ished”, and left the room. On one occasion during this nerveshattering week, Dr. Holter, president of the Union Theological Seminary, said to a Japanese minister by the name of Kasama that he had for many years taught classes in the history of Christianity and had frequently dwell­ ed on the dangers of the forced union of church and state. He said he had never thought that the issue would be brought home to him in this way, but how could he now acquiesce? "What would you do in my place?” The Jap­ anese said: "I don’t know but what I would take the same position you are taking. I hope that we may be able to discuss this question together after this war is over.” Next Sunday morning, automobiles stopped in front of the homes of Dr. Brush, Dr. Holter, and Mr. Fonger, secretary of the American Bible So­ ciety, each containing two Japanese army officers besides the Japanese drivers. They were told to get in. Two other officers in a fourth automobile called for the Rev. Bomm at his church just before the service. The ministers were not told where they would be taken, but to their great re­ lief they were brought to Santo To­ mas. They were treated courteously, and when upon arrival in the camp it was seen that they did not have

234

their bedding with them, they were allowed to go back to their homes in the same automobiles to get this and some other things they needed. This was on February 15, just a month after their release from the camp, and it did not add to their sense of sec­ urity when they learned that on this same Sunday, the three men who had tried to escape were executed in the Chinese cemetery. They told their friends in the camp that the 17 days between January 28 and February 15, were the most terrible they ever ex­ perienced. The four were not invited to the conference held later, July 9, in the Fathers Garden. Bishop N. S. Binsted, of the Epis­ copal Church, was interned with Dr. Buss, of the High Commissioner’s staff, and did not attend the meeting in the Manila Hotel. When asked to sign the pledge, he, too, refused, but offered instead a statement written by himself, which the Japanese accepted. It was published in the Tribune for March 4 and read in part: "I freely acknowledge the authority in all things temporal of the Imperial Japanese Army High Command in the occupied areas of the Philippines. I do hereby promise to conform and urge the members of my Church to con­ form to all commands, orders, and regulations issued by the said constituted authorities. . . The assurances given above are made by me in good faith and in appreciation of the gen­ erous consideration and courteous treatment accorded to the Christian Churches by the Im­ perial Japanese Army High Command in the occupied areas of the Philippines and in the belief that it will make for the spiritual hap­ piness and wellbeing of the people committed to my care.”

STORY

Church and the latter on behalf of the Episcopalians and Anglicans. Three other men, the Rev. E. L. Nolting, Dr. W. Hume, and Mr. G. P. Wishard, re­ mained in the camp as they had no organized work in the Philippines. These five formed the nucleus of the religious committee of the internee government, making itself responsible for services, lectures, and classes of various kinds. The Tribune of March 13 reported n radio address allegedly delivered the previous night by Bishop Santiago Fonacier, head of the schismatic Philip­ pine Independent Church (Aglipayano). He said in part, — or was made to say: "The Japanese Imperial Army has announced that it is here with the solemn object of mak­ ing our people understand the position that belongs to us in the East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, the true significance of the establish­ ment of the New Order, and the part the Philippines should play in the realization of this New Order, through the promotion of close and intimate relations between Japan and the Philippines. We should understand the scope of these objectives, which should help to extirpate our colonial complex, not only politically, but also culturally, economically, financially, socially, and religiously. This was the constant aspiration of that great leader and patriot, the Archbishop Aglipay. No less than the Premier of Japan, — not a mere common politician or wishful writer, has made the solemn promise to give the Philippines its independence with honor. Besides, we have been assured respect for, as well as the free exercise of, our respective religions. It should be against our aspirations as a nation to fail to take advantage of this opportunity, which we had been searching in the past, to bring about a rebirth of our nation, free and inde­ pendent. For this reason, our duty, I believe, should be to lend every assistance to Japan towards the triumph of the just ideals of se­ curing Asia for the Asiatics and the Philip­ pines for the Filipinos. Let us lift our fervent prayers to the Almighty so that those great aims may soon be realized.”

It will be noted that this statement made no reference to cooperation with Japanese plans for the "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere", which was the main point at issue. It was said that Buss had read and approved of Judging by reports in the Tribune, the statement. The Rev. Dr. F. W. Foley and the the difficulties between Archbishop Rev. O. A. Griffiths did not attend the O'Doherty and the Japanese Were conference at the Manila Hotel, they patched up by the middle of March, having requested permission to remain though no one in the Santo Tomas in the camp to minister to the needs camp had any information on the sub­ of the internees, the former on behalf ject. Earlier in the month the Tribune of the congregation of the Union had rhapsodized: "With the advent of

PROTESTANT DENOMINATIONS “ FEDERATED"

Holy Week, Christian Japanese and Fi­ lipinos will be together in the height of religious fervor on this frontier of war. Toleration. . The March 17 Tribune carried a large illustration on the front page showing the Archbishop at table in the Manila Hotel, with Bishop Paul Taguchi of Osaka at his right. The dinner was given by the religious section of the Army Propaganda Corps in the Archbishop’s honor. The speakers were Colonel Naruzawa, Bishop Taguchi, Engracio Fabre, Director of the Bureau of Religious Affairs, recently created under the Jap­ anese-sponsored Philippine Executive Commission, and the Archbishop, in order named. Regarding the remarks of the latter, the Tribune reported: “The Archbishop revealed that in the present emergency he asked all pastors to remain at their posts, but for various reasons his order was not strictly followed. However, he added, when it became known that the Japanese au­ thorities had given instructions to protect churches and religious institutions, the con­ fidence of the pastors and the laity was res­ tored and there is now a complete understand­ ing as to the liberty of religion between the priests and the military authorities. Mgr. O’­ Doherty also acknowledged the privilege given by the Army in issuing passes to churches \ sic], declaring them under the protection of the Imperial Army. As a result of this ar­ rangement, the churches have remained intact, he said. The Archbishop finally expressed his thanks to the Army for allowing priests of hostile countries to live in their homes rather than in the internment camp. He expressed the hope that, little by little, these priests may be given freedom to resume their normal work. Before closing his speech, the Archbish­ op told a story of how two priests and a congregation of 3000 people found themselves without hosts and wine for the celebration of the mass. The army authorities in that section not only expressed their sympathy for this sad plight, but actually came to Manila, procured the necessary supplies, and delivered them to the isolated people, according to Mgr. O’Doherty."

There was another banquet on the night of March 30 at the Santo Tomas University Seminary, given in honor of Bishop Taguchi by the Very Rev. Dr. Fr. Tomas Tascon, O.P., Vice Grand Chancellor, which was attended by the "foremost religious and educa­

235

tional leaders”, according to next day’s Tribune. The story was again reinforc­ ed with a picture of the banquet table. Father Tascon was reported to have said that the coming of the distinguish­ ed Japanese prelate to the Philippines was a “great blessing” and to have ex­ pressed the opinion that the gathering from the educational and cultural point of view "was considered by those present as the harbinger of a more fruitful and lasting relation be­ tween Japan and the Philippines". On April 3, Good Friday was ob­ served in Manila without the custom­ ary church processions, such an im­ portant feature of religion in the Phil­ ippines, though it had previously been announced that the Military Adminis­ tration would permit them. On May 12, Chairman Vargas of the Executive Commission issued an or­ der requiring all religious organiza­ tions to secure oermission before soli­ citing or collecting alms and contribu­ tions, this however, not to apply to coins dropped in boxes in the church­ es or on plates passed among the con­ gregations. The May 21 Tribune came out with the headlines, "Plan Church Federa­ tion — Army Officers and P. I. Minis­ ters Talk at Meet — Naruzawa Hails Formation of Union in Philippines”. It was reported: "Preliminary plans for the founding of a federation of all evangelical churches in the Philippines were discussed last evening at the Manila Hotel at a conference of representatives of Protestant churches and members of the religious section of the Imperial Japanese Army. The conference, which was presided over by the Rev. Dr. T. Aiura, chief of the Protestant unit of the religious section, heard a keynote speech by Lt. Col. Naruzawa, chief of the religious section. . .”

Naruzawa, active as always, stated in part: "In December, 1941, there was bom a Church of Christ in Japan, into which all denomina­ tions were united. It is now entirely indepen­ dent of support from foreign missions and it is a very active organ in developing the spirit­ ual welfare of the country. It is my earnest desire to see the unification into one strong body of the evangelical churches in the Philip­ pines such as was done in Japan. However,

236 for the past several years [sic] each deno­ mination has developed an institution unique of its own which can hardly be altered suddenly. Therefore, as the first stepping stone, it appears to me to be a good idea to create a federation wherein all denominations may practically be unified to overcome obstacles that may stand in the way to the realization of the great final change which should take place.”

The Colonel explained that while he was in Mongolia from 1937 to 1941, he had made his "modest contribution to religious adm inistration” in a simi­ lar manner, “in accordance with the policy of the Mongolian government under the leadership of the Imperial Japanese Army.” The Tribune of June 5 reported that Vargas had issued another order re­ quiring all religious orders to register and record their membership and pro­ perties at the Bureau of Religious Af­ fairs, the fee being P5 for each major registration and P2 for every registra­ tion of property. They had also to sub­ mit brief histories of their fundamen­ tal principles and doctrines. Failure to comply would result in the with­ drawal of recognition and privileges and a fine of PI,000 or a year’s impri­ sonment, or both. On June 14, Vargas issued an order requiring permits from the Bureau of Religious Affairs for the holding of church processions. There were frequent accounts in the Tribune of the good works of the re­ ligious section of the Army. One story (June 10) was headed: "Japanese Mis­ sionaries Highly Impressed with Trip to Mindoro”. "Unaccompanied and without arms, several Japanese members of the religious section of the Imperial Japanese forces, who returned to Manila on Sunday, undertook an extensive missionary trip to Mindoro. The trip lasted two weeks. All this time was dedicated to preach­ ing on the true intentions of Japan in the present war. . . In a meeting at Nag-iba, a Japanese soldier spoke."

Such was their gospel, and so they went “unaccompanied”. On the morning of July 9, internees in Santo Tomas saw several hundred priests, nuns, ministers., and missiona­ ries coming through the main gate to attend a meeting in the Fathers Gar­

STORY

den. A Japanese officer of the religious section stood at the gate, shaking hands. They were not allowed to speak to the people in the camp. Colonel Naruzawa again spoke. He said that order and tranquility had been restored in the Philippines which the churchmen had had their share in bringing about. He said that because of this coopera­ tion he had gone to the army author­ ities and has secured for them a better release-form than had previously been issued to them. The new forms were then distributed. They were printed forms, filled in with a typewriter. After the line, "Reasons for release”, was a typewritten line stating: "To co­ operate with the Japanese Imperial Army through religion.” Very few of those who received these forms had actually promised any such coopera­ tion, but they were human, looked at them, and put them in their pockets. What was the good of making an issue of a m atter the Japanese were willing to take for granted? They would only be interned, perhaps worse might happen to them. Outside they could be of some service. Later it was rumored that there had been a row in the offices of the High Command. It was said the religious section had acted without authority and that most of the 600 priests and missionaries and their families would be re-interned. But apparently the trouble was smoothed over, for the missionaries were not returned to the camp.1 However, the Reverend Spackman (acting-rector of the Protestant Episcopal Cathedral) had a few weeks previously come in to assist the Rev­ erend Griffiths; a Roman Catholic priest, Father Doherty, had joined the internee ranks in June. The appeal to the principle of the separation of church and state had an ironic sequel. According to Philippine law (sections 927 and 928 of the Ad­ ministrative Code), teachers in the public schools were forbidden either to teach or to criticize the doctrines of any church or religious sect, but i i They were re-interned later.

A JAPANESE SERMON

local priests or ministers might teach religion for one-half hour 3 times a week in the school buildings, provided the parents expressed a desire for this in writing, the place and hours for this instruction to be fixed by the superin­ tendents of schools. On August 6, the Tribune published Instruction No. 58 sent to the Chair­ man of the Executive Commission by the Director-General of the Japanese Military Administration. It declared: "The so-called religious education in public schools shall not be allowed. . . The provisions of Sec. 927 and Sec. 928 of the Revised Ad­ ministrative Code concerning religious educa­ tion in public schools, shall be understood to be cancelled."

The next day the Tribune reported that the Army’s order had been "well received” in government and private educational circles. "It was the consensus among those whose opinions have been canvassed that this moot question, which has for decades been a prob­ lem to educational leaders has at last been settled and decided [sic] that religion is not an affair of the state but of the church.. . . It was learned at the Department of Educa­ tion, Health and Public Welfare that applica­ tions have been received from parish priests from several provinces for the right to con­ duct classes in religion in the public schools. In view of the prohibition order of the Mili­ tary Administration, these applications are au­ tomatically cancelled.”

Here, the Japanese militarists, when it suited them, were citing the princi­ ple of the separation of church and state and of the religious and educa­ tional systems! A Japanese Sermon — What the Jap­ anese warlords understood as Chris­ tianity was strikingly set forth by Bishop Paul Taguchi in a sermon en­ titled, "The Blessing that is Born of Suffering”, published in the Tribune for Sunday, August 30. The Bishop began: "I am a Japanese Catholic Bishop from Osaka. It is a great pleasure for me to be given the opportunity to see you men personal­ ly and to address you on this occasion. I wish to speak heart-to-heart with you as a Catholic Bishop, for the large majority of you share the common Catholic Faith with me as fervent Catholic believers. The friend­ ship, firmly based on a common Faith, is no

237 doubt the deepest as well as the strongest one that mankind experiences on this earth."

He then alluded to the past relations between Japan and the Philippines, which, he averred, were, "through their religious profession, historic as well as close". "Many of our forefathers”, he said, "embraced the Catholic Faith through the zealous missionaries sent out by the Philippines as real messen­ gers of the Holy Gospel".2 He omitted references to the repeat­ ed persecutions of the Christians in Japan, including the Nagasaki incident of the mass-crucifixion of 100 Recol­ lect Fathers. "With these happy memories and historic background, let us hope ardently that the mu­ tual friendship between the two nations, through the common Faith, may be deeper and closer hereafter.”

Turning to the practical Christian life, the Bishop now got down to brass tacks. It must be based, he said, "on love and sacrifice”, especially “in hard times such as these”. Mentioning the war at last, he said: "It is a fact that, inseparable with war creating new history and a new order, a large mass of people are called upon to endure a great deal of suffering and hardship which is unavoidable. Birth and rebirth are always ac­ companied by pain and suffering. The Lord’s whole life was a cross and a sacrifice. He himself urged us: 'He that taketh not up his cross and followeth me, is not worthy of me'. (Mat. X: 38)."

He quoted further from the Scrip­ tures, belaboring acceptance. Job: "As it pleased the Lord, so it is done”. The Lord himself, kneeling in Gethsemane: "Father, if it be possible, let Thy cha­ lice pass from me; yet not my will, but Thy will be done". He paraphrased St.. Augustine: "God is so all-mighty as to be able to change evil into good. Sufferings are, however, not real evils. God who loves us ten­ derly has no other object in causing us to suffer but to make us happy”. He quoted Homma in the next breath after St. Augustine: 2 Population of Japan, 1936, 63,000,000; Protes­ tants, 225,000; Catholics, 100,000; Greek Cath­ olics, 50,000 — W.D. Schermerhom, "The Chris­ tian Mission in the Modem World”.

238 " 'The ideal of the Greater East Asia CoProsperity Sphere’, according to Lt. Gen. Homma, 'is to establish, under the spirit of univer­ sal brotherhood, a firm and enduring struc­ ture by consolidating Asia for the Asiatics, and to create a permanent and lasting sphere of happiness and well-being for the people with­ in the great area having geographical affinity’

The Bishop fervently expressed the hope that — "every Filipino will feel confidence and as­ surance in the declaration of the Japanese au­ thorities and do his utmost in cooperating with Japan. . . for the full realization of the afore­ mentioned noble ideal, under the illuminated guidance of the Japanese Military Administra­ tion.”

The Bishop now struggled back to the Faith, but he was sterner: "As you well know, two of the fundamen­ tal moral principles taught by the Catholic Church are respect and obedience to the con­ stituted authorities and piety to parents, both of which are cardinal virtues necessary for the social life. There is no one who does not know the famous words of St. Paul: 'All au­ thority comes from God’. Hence our respect and obedience to the authorities should be sincere and whole-hearted, not merely apparent and opportunist. .

He went on: "If it is necessary, we must be ready to die to observe their orders and commands. Furthermore, we must obey them just as we would Almighty God, for they are legally con­ stituted by God as His representatives. Our Holy Mother the Church expects from you good examples in the practice of these cardinal virtues. The Holy Scripture and the Holy Traditions of the Church repeatedly im­ press on us these golden principles of loyalty to the Authorities and true love of our coun­ try. Christ himself gave us living examples of the practice of these virtues during 33 years of His life on earth, according to many beau­ tiful pages of the Holy Scriptures.”

Having spoken with due unction of the God-ordained Japanese authorities in the Philippines, the Bishop referred briefly to the Home: "According to the teachings of the Church, the home is a privileged center of heavenly blessings. . . It is the home where the dear ones show tenderly to each other their res­ pect and love under the fatherly authority and protection of the head of the family.”

STORY

He cited the Holy Family as an ex­ ample of what he had in mind, for every member of that Family “worked hard from morning till night, without losing a minute for idleness or plea­ sure-seeking”. “We are destined by our adorable Creator to work, and work hard, in order to gain our daily life. Our labor is sacred and the Church has incessantly taught the sanctity of labor and work. . . ”

He perm itted himself a word of cri­ ticism of his dear Filipino people, us­ ing a statement of General Homma to smite them with: "General Homma said: 'The Filipino people learned to follow an easy-going life, consuming more than producing, and were led to hedo­ nism and extravagance, considering only today and oblivious of tomorrow!’ ”

This must end. "All Catholics worthy of the name” must practice the "Cath­ olic virtues”, and in this connection the Bishop quoted the "saintly Pope Pius X” who said: “Ignorance of the Christian doctrine is the greatest en­ emy of the Catholics". Bothering little to conceal the threat, the Bishop point­ ed out that the Japanese Imperial Ar­ my had "from the very start proclaim­ ed the freedom of faith and religious practice” and "up to present time”, the religious section of the Army has "done its best to protect the interests of the Church”. Catholics in the Philip­ pines had better practice the Catholic virtues as the Bishop and those whose tool he was understood them, — or else. The Bishop emphasized once again: "The spirit of mortification and sacrifice is and must be the leading principle of Chris­ tian life."

Alas! Even Sphere!

in

the

Co-Prosperity

"From now on and forever, I will pray God, upon each one of you, upon your noble people and your beloved country, to bestow His choic­ est Blessings, and may He add to my little talk His Blessings through His infinite charity, and make you love Him more, and in that way make you love your country and your leaders the more, for, as I said before, to love God is to love one’s country.

"God bless you."

The Camp The Santo Tomas Internment Camp

Chapter V The Finance and Supplies Committee Improvement in the Food — The Finance and Supplies Committee start­ ed work nearly a month before the new Executive Committee took office. During the first week or two of July there was no noticeable improvement in the food served because the Com­ mittee spent sparingly the P5.000 which the military made available on the 4th and the PI5,000 on the 8th. But when the balance for the month came in on the 16th, P57,642.60 (on the basis of 70 centavos a day for each internee), the Committee started spending not only the amount allotted for the re­ mainder of the month, but the unex­ pended amount which had accumulat­ ed during the earlier part of the month, with the result that there was one delirious week when the camp feasted on Baguio cabbage (the 20th), Baguio potatoes, — 3 small ones each (the 21st), and the following week, ham­ burger and potatoes (the 30th). An al­ most miraculous improvement in vigor and morale was observable, though this was perhaps chiefly only a psy­ chological phenomenon, sex-appeal showed its face again among the star­ veling population as evidenced by young couples walking together, and the camp rang with praise of the Finance and Supplies Committee, es­ pecially of Bridgeford, charged with the marketing.

The extra spending, of course, could not last. Additional ovens and a waterheater were installed, the installation charges and the rental of which had to come out of the appropriation. Furthermore, the rate charged for the electric current used in the camp was increased from 4.3 centavos a kilo­ watt hour to 8 centavos with the ex­ planation that "all military establish­ ments paid this rate”. Later this was reduced to 5 centavos. Aid to Internees’ Families Outside— In September, the Committee had to cope with a decrease in the total ap­ propriation because of the releases of some 100 elderly people and the de­ parture of a second group of 93 in­ ternees for Shanghai; also with ano­ ther deduction from the camp funds for aid to the "non-internable” fami­ lies of some internees and to elderly people who had been released and were unable to support themselves. The Committee had pressed Com­ mandant Tsurumi to secure a special appropriation for the support of inter­ nees' families outside the camp, most­ ly Filipino families, and for the elderly released persons, but the reply from the military was that as the camp was already receiving a "fairly liberal” amount, this should be taken care of by the camp itself. The Committee set aside between p3,000 and p4,000 a

239

240

month for the purpose. The family aid committee was created jointly by the Executive Committee and the Finance and Supplies Committee to look after this work, headed by Duggleby as chairman and Byron Ford as treasu­ rer, with Mrs. B. McDonald, Mrs. F. Gregg. H. B. Brown, W. H. Fonger, and B. H. Smith as members. It was decided to establish the following schedule of monthly payments: P12 for a wife, 1*18 for a wife and 1 child, P23 for a wife and 2 children, P27 for a wife and 3 children, and P30 for a wife and 4 or more children. The relief for elderly released persons was set at P20 a month. It was estimated that there were some 250 persons in the camp who were eligible to draw on this aid for their families but only around 100 of them applied for it.

As its investigations proceeded, the family aid committee discovered that many of the uninterned families were living under distressing conditions. While most of these families were no

THE CAMP

doubt better off during the first few months of the Japanese occupation than the people interned in Santo To­ mas, conditions in the camp had slow­ ly improved while conditions outside worsened. Work was practically impos­ sible to obtain, small savings were spent, household goods were sold, homes abandoned. Many of these fa­ milies were now getting only one meal a day, — usually mongo beans, with­ out even a banana for dessert. A graphic example of what happened was furnished by an elderly American in the camp, a retired member of the Manila Fire Department. Some 10 per­ sons had become dependent on his lit­ tle stake in the world, including his Filipino wife, minor children, and the families of his married children. They had been forced to sell almost every­ thing they had, and this is how it went, as listed by himself: Sold for

Cost American iron-springs bed and 6-inch mattress Echophone, 4-tube radio Corona portable typewriter Rattan furniture set — taboret, settee, 4 chairs Bookcase, 4 shelves, glass doors Wardrobe, 2 doors, hangers Large plate looking-glass, narra frame Phonograph, electric pick-up Silver rings, colored stone settings Table, seat sides, for 6 persons

Kimono, Chinese, black, embroidered in purple, satin-lined (gift to father) Kimono, Chinese, cream-colored silk, embroidered Ingraham wrist-watch Clock, 8-day, pendulum, 1/2 hour strike Bed, iron springs, and mattress 1 O.D. military shirt Singer sewing-machine, 2 drawers Flash-light, electric, 5-battery Carter's ink, large bottle, midnight-blue Envelops, package Books, including Compton's pictorial encyclopedia

P 80.00 75.00 75.00 56.00 36.00 40.00 14 00 22.50 36.00 36.00

P 19.00 14.00 15.00 25.00 10.00 10.00 9.00 9.00 9.00 1.50

P 440.50

P 121.50

T 100.00) 25.00 60.00) 16.00

8.50 4.00 1.62 140.00

6.00 30.00 32.50 2.40 10.00 5.00 4.00 3.25 50.50

FI 191.62

P 289.15

120.00

48.00 6.00 120.00

241

CAMP EXPENDITURES

One can see it all go, — pieces of furniture, one after another, the few prized personal possessions, some trinkets, finally the pictured encyclo­ pedia bought for the children. What such things represent is what life is made of. Supplying the Camp — Seventy cen­ tavos a head, though Japanese author­ ities spoke of it as "liberal’', was only 35 cents in U.S. currency, and not even that small amount was for food alone. Furthermore, the meals served to mothers and children at the an­ nex and to patients at the camp hos­ pital were strengthened at the expense of the meals served to the internees generally from the central kitchen. Ac­ tually, in spite of the improvement ef­ fected by the Finance and Supplies Committee through the new appropria­ tions from the Japanese military, the diet remained a slow-starvation one. Had it not been for the food that

could be privately purchased or which continued to come into the camp from friends and relatives through the Pack­ age-Line, there would have been keen hunger. Hospital figures showed a grow­ ing number of persons suffering from troubles due to vitamin deficiency. It was fortunate that the Finance and Supplies Committee was able to take over the remainder of the Red Cross supplies in the bodega. The m ar­ ket valuation of these supplies was set at P140.988 on July 1; the original valuation was around P100,000. These supplies were drawn on sparingly and stocks were if possible replaced with the idea of maintaining a reserve in case of emergency. Over half the with­ drawals from the bodega in point of value was milk for the hospital and the annex. The following figures show how the Committee allocated the daily 70-cen­ tavo per capita allowance:

1. Foodstuffs 2. Subsistence services, transportation, etc. 3. Family aid 4. Gas, electricity, water 5. Medical supplies and services (hospital and clinics) 6. Maintenance and repairs (construction, plumbing and electrical departments) 7. Sanitation supplies 8. General supplies (camp relief and welfare) 9. Miscellaneous expenditures

These figures did not include the with­ drawals from the bodega. The figures for the total cash purchases and the withdrawals from the bodega were, for July, P61.961.41, and, for August, P60,677.13, but the figures are mislead­ ing as they include bodega withdrawals for storage in the hospital and annex storerooms

Central kitchen Holy Ghost College Annex Hospital

October

July

August

September

P0.487 .011

P0.467 .011

P0.474 .011

.046

.053

.061

P0.455 .019 .019 .059

.066

.069

.052

.055

.026 .027 .019 .018

.050 .012 .018 .020

.049 .014 .016 .014

.043 .027 .016 .007

P0.700

P0.700

P0.700

P0.700

at the bodega valuation. The total actual con­ sumption for these months was around P50.000 a month. The daily per capita figures (cash outlay only, not bodega stocks) for the central kit­ chen, the Holy Ghost College (where some 150 women and children from the carrjp were sent), the annex, and the camp hospital were: July

August

P 0.42 0.51 1.77 3.57

P0.475 0.49 1.23 2.46

242 The consumption at the hospital was con­ sidered too high, proportionately, and the Com­ mittee made efforts to bring it down, though the figures for July were not strictly com­ parable because, for accounting purpose, the foodstuffs in the hospital storeroom were con­ sidered consumed during the month, which was not the case. A source of dissatisfaction was the fact that persons employed at the annex and the hospital were also served these meals, — so much better than the meals serv­ ed at the central kitchen.

The work of the Finance and Sup­ plies Committee was greatly facilitated in September when the military made p30,000 available on the 9th and P40,000 on the 15th, and then, on October 6, P72,664.90, with instructions that this amount should be taken to cover the appropriation for September while the P70.000 granted in September should be considered as a working fund. If the Japanese now kept up their payments with fair regularity, the Committee would have this fund to work with. The money was always paid in Japanese army notes of P10 denomination, bundles of them, still in the original wrappers of the printers. The central kitchen also fed the Jap­ anese officers and their assistants, though not the guards at the gate who maintained their own mess. Com­ mandant Tsurumi had said that he would make a donation to the Red Cross to offset the cost of the meals which were supposed to be the same as those served to the internees, though camp officials saw to it that they were somewhat better. Stealing in the Kitchen — The eat­ ing of extra food by the workers in the kitchen and even open stealing was a perennial cause of trouble. Some 200 men were employed there who ad­ mittedly performed some of the hard­ est and most disagreeable work in the camp; they seemed to think they had a right to reward themselves with ex­ tra food. Kitchen officials tacitly a­

THE CAMP

greed w ith this view. Sometimes the filching was so considerable that there would not be enough of certain food items, such as bananas, or even the meat-portion, for the people in the foodlines. Then there would be much indignation and the camp officials would bestir themselves to moderate the kitchen rake-off- The kitchen crew, which consisted in good part of men off ships, was organized along "laborunion” lines (the head of the kitchen was a former ship's steward), and the Executive Committee seemed not to wish to risk any very firm action be­ cause of the fear that the whole per­ sonnel might go on "strike”. In spite of the self-bestowed extra "rewards", it was difficult to get men to work in the kitchen. The kitchen, in spite of a gradual, if slow, improvement, remained the one camp institution about which there was the most complaint. Very often, especially at first, the food was poorly prepared. It took the personnel many months to learn how to cook rice properly. Beans were always un­ derdone until an ex-marine took charge of baking them, after which beans were the one dish which was always good. Meat stews were generally taste­ less. Vegetable stews were often spoil­ ed by a mixture of vegetables which were never meant to go together. Meat was generally only cooked; rare­ ly ever roasted or fried. All this was in part due to the small size of the kitchen, the lack of necessary kitchen equipment, the lack of spices, etc. The Vegetable Market — For some time late in July and during the begin­ ning of August, a number of Filipino vegetable and fruit vendors profited from the special permission given them by the Commandant to enter the camp and to sell their produce near

RELEASE OF INTERNEE POSSESSIONS

the package-line shed. About the mid­ dle of August four of these vendors were permitted to set up stalls oppo­ site the site occupied by Nakashima, the Japanese concessionaire. It was be­ lieved that this came about through some friction which developed between the Commandant’s Office and Nakashi­ ma, and the latter was visibly surprised and pained by the appearance of this competition. However, after a few days he came to some understanding with the Filipinos and it was believed that they made an arrangement where­ by he received a commission on their sales, for suddenly their prices went up from 10 to 25%. According to price lists kept by the Finance and Supplies Committee, however, these prices were about the same as those current in the smaller Manila markets. In time, these vendors came to sell a great variety of simple articles, — pots and pans, rope, small oil-lamps, tools, etc., and they also took orders for special pur­ chasesAguinaldo’s Closes Down — The spe­ cial-order taking also helped to fill the gap caused by the closing down of the branch of the L. R. Aguinaldo general department store in the main building late in August. According to the Tri­ bune for September 1, the following was the explanation:

243

British and for changing American currency, which was interpreted by the Japanese as showing a suspicious lack of faith in the permanency of their regime in the Philippines. Aguinaldo’s never reopened in the camp, but it had served a useful pur­ pose, especially during the earlier weeks. The internees were now sup­ plied with most necessities, — beds and bedding, mosquito nets, clothes, shoes, folding-tables and folding­ chairs, etc. Many of these articles had been purchased through the Aguinal­ do establishment. Folding-chairs were perhaps the most noticeable conve­ nience in the camp; there must have been at least 2,000 of them. The Release of Baggage from Hotels and Apartment Houses — The situation of some of the internees who had lived in various hotels, apartment houses, and clubs was eased with the release by the Japanese authorities of their baggage and belongings or what was left of them, some seven or eight months after the camp . 'as opened.

The matter was first brought up in a letter of the Executive Committee to the Command­ ant, dated May 13, requesting, on behalf of the people who had lived in the Boulevard Apart­ ments Hotel and the New Syquia Apartments, that they be given possession of the personal effects they had left there. It was pointed out in the letter that nearly all internees had en­ tered the camp under instructions from the "For violating the anti-profiteering law, for Japanese to take along with them food and dealing in confiscated alien goods, and for clothing for only three or four days. Most of selling uncensored books, the L.R. Aguinaldo those in the camp who had private homes had department store, together with its 5 branch been able to obtain additional clothing and other stores in Manila and in the provinces, has been necessities through servants and friends, but ordered closed for two months beginning to­ those who had lived at hotels and apartments day by the Manila branch of the Military Po­ found this difficult if not impossible. Internees lice. . . The closing of the Aguinaldo stores, from the two apartment houses named had it was said, is to serve as a warning to the been among the more pressing of claimants, public in general and to other store owners in and the Committee had decided to advance their requests collectively to test how far the particular not to indulge in profiteering. . ." the Japanese were inclined to go. Rumors in Santo Tomas were that The permit was issued about the middle Aguinaldo and a number of other Fi­ of July, Yamaguchi explaining that the decision the office of the Enemy Property Custodian lipino and Spanish merchants had of had had to be awaited. He told Carroll been incarcerated in Fort Santiago for that the two apartment houses were cashing the checks of Americans and under one management and authorized

244 him to contact the Japanese in charge. This man, a former businessman in the city, told Carroll and W. F. Cadwallader, who accompa­ nied him, that both apartments were occupied by the Imperial Navy and that the permit would have to be validated by the navy au­ thorities, but he himself took them to see a captain who had his office in the American President Lines Building in the Port Area. The Captain did not appear pleased when he looked at the permit, and his first question was why they had applied to the Imperial Army and not direct to the Imperial Navy. Carroll explained that his Committee had not applied to the Army, that the only authority the Com­ mittee could apply to was the Commandant of the internment camp, and that the Com­ mittee had, of course, nothing to do with the steps the Commandant had taken; he also said that perhaps the Commandant did not know which of the Imperial services occupied the buildings. The Captain laughed and said that they could take the baggage the following morning at 9 o’clock. Another navy captain awaited them there that day and gave Carroll a bundle of receipts, in Japanese, for the peo­ ple in the camp who owned the baggage to sign. He said he wanted it impressed on the internees that the Imperial Navy could man­ age its own affairs. The baggage in the Boulevard Apartments Hotel, — trunks, chests, and heavy suitcases, had for some time been kept in one of the rooms of the Hotel and had then been taken to the New Syquia Hotel and stored there. The Filipino hotel boys said that the small handbags and loose clothing in the rooms had been gathered up by the Japanese, loaded on trucks, and taken away. At the Syquia, prac­ tically every apartment had been looted of furniture. The hotel boys had gathered up the smaller articles in the rooms and stuffed them in trunks and suitcases which had been stored in the basement. Here, too. much of the handbaggage and the better articles of clothing ly­ ing about had been loaded on trucks and haul­ ed away. Most of the people who had packed their smaller possessions in boxes and locked them, got the stuff back almost intact. The Captain, assisted by the hotel manager and an interpreter from the camp, insisted on searching the baggage, saying laughingly that he was looking for machine guns. The Japanese took out silverware and brass, binoculars, ca­ meras, and such photographs as interested them. They were also on the lookout for jewelry and Carroll saved many a piece for the owners by saying "Oh, that’s only cheap stuff, — from Woolworth’s!” The Captain said in a disappointed voice: "There is entirely too much Woolworth here!” The Japanese thus got very little jewelry but they did gather in sev­ eral expensive watches.

THE CAMP Four truckloads of baggage resulted, around 40 persons getting back some of their belong­ ings. Much of this came in in such bad condi­ tion, however, that people from other hotels and apartments hesitated about applying for a like permission, thinking it might be better to leave things where they were. However, during the next month or so agree­ ment was reached on getting the baggage out of a number of other places. The first of these was the Bay View Hotel, where also sortie of the baggage from the Leonard Wood Hotel and the Peralta Apartments had been brought, this therefore concerning the possessions of some 100 people in the camp. Loose clothing left in the rooms had been gathered up in sheets and put away. Some nine truckloads of baggage were brought into the camp, and, at the suggestion of Carroll, approved by the Commandant, the baggage was inspected at the camp on arrival. The inspection, carried out by the Commandant’s staff, was perfunc­ tory. Only typewriters, cameras, and film-packs were confiscated, but some of the inspectors had their eyes open for little knickknacks to appropriate. A number of internees with pack­ age-line experience had been assigned to help with the inspection, and these men would draw attention to some showy article of little value to save more important items. Much of the stuff came in loose, and there were quantities of dresses, coats, shoes, and neckties which were taken to the lobby of the main building for identification by the own­ ers. It looked as if a rummage sale was on. After the people from the three hotels had gone through it all and taken what they re­ cognized as their own, there was still a good lot left, and the American army nurses who had come from Corregidor with very little clothing, were invited to take their pick. The remainder was turned over to the internee re­ lief committee. During the period from September 7 to 11, work-details of from 10 to 12 internees under Carroll visited other hotels and clubs in the city for internee baggage, — the Manila Hotel (affecting some 40 internees who had lived there), the Boulevard Alhambra Apartments (some 40 internees), the Luneta Hotel (some 15), the Elks Club (some 50), the University Club Apartments (some 30), and Kane’s board­ ing house (some 10 internees). At the Manila Hotel, the situation was com­ plicated by the demand for the payment of outstanding accounts before the release of any baggage. The assistant manager, Mendoza, ex­ plained this was by order of the finance de­ partment of the Military Administration. A list of outstanding accounts submitted showed that the former guests at the hotel were being charged the full rates they had paid prior to January 2, on which day they had been forced to vacate their rooms and had all been crowd-

MANILA HOTEL BAGGAGE ed together in the rooms and hallways of the first and second floors until the 7th, when they had been taken to Santo Tomas. During those five or six days they had received only the most meagre food and little service. Carroll told Mendoza that the charge was unfair, but kjendoza said that he was only carrying out orders. The Standard Oil Company, the Gen­ eral Electric Company, and other companies offered to guarantee future payment of the accounts of the members of their various staffs, but this was rejected by Mendoza who said that the military would not even accept the guarantees of Japanese companies except under special circumstances. Payment, it was insisted, had to be made in Philippine or Jap­ anese army pesos; not even yen would be ac­ cepted. A compromise was finally reached with the Japanese manager; those who could pay in cash would pay and might have their baggage; those who could not pay might have a part of their baggage, — the most necessary things, Under the eyes of Mendoza and some Japanese, the crew from Santo Tomas went to work and the men got out a good deal more than the man­ agement intended, by teamwork, some engaging the attention of the inspectors while others rushed out full suitcases, leaving empty ones behind for inspection. "Not so fast” the ins­ pectors kept on crying. The Manila Hotel baggage arrived in the camp fairly intact. Some of the trunks, etc., had, however, been opened and Mendoza ex­ plained that on the afternoon of the 2 nd of January, when the Japanese entered the city, commotion had been created in the Hotel by a search for George Colley, head of the Pacific Naval Contractors (a private firm tied up with the so-called "Five Companies” of the Reiser group of California). Japanese officers search­ ed his rooms and even shot their pistols off in the corridors in an attempt to frighten the hotel boys to reveal his hiding place. Colley, however, had gotten away to Corregidor at the last moment. The Japanese were interested, too, in all those who had registered at the Hotel during the last week of December, think­ ing perhaps that these might include persons left behind by the U.S. Army for intelligence work. Except for that at the Manila Hotel, the light baggage, handbags, etc., at nearly every other hotel had disappeared. The heavier bag­ gage fared better at most places. But very little of any of the baggage left at the Univer­ sity Club Apartments and the Elks Club reach­ ed the camp. Whatever had not been stolen outright in these places had been treated with the utmost carelessness. The University Club building was occupied by the Information Board of the Military Administration, and the Elks Club building by other Japanese offices. At the University Club all baggage which had not been carried away had been thrown into

245 the basement and in the garage, both subject to flooding. When the men from Santo Tomas looked into the basement, they saw trunks and chests and boxes floating in several inches of water and marks on the walls showed that the water had been 18 inches deep. Everything was soaked and practically worthless. One man had had 26 trunks and chests, filled with cloth­ es and linen and silver. Only four of these could be found, all the locks broken; three were empty; the other one contained only a mounted photograph of his wedding! At the Elks Club, what baggage was left had been stored in a room on the top floor but the rain had come in through the looselyclosed windows, wetting everything. One man in the Santo Tomas crew which went to the Club had lived there and had, prior to the Japanese occupation, taken out a panel in the wall of his room and hidden his general ledger and a valuable postage stamp collection in the wall, afterwards carefully replacing the panel and the mouldings. No one had seen him do this. While the crew was picking up the loose clothing in the storage room, this man got the ledger but he did not find the stamp collec­ tion. Evidently the Japanese had gone through the building very thoroughly. At Kane’s boarding house, which had been converted into Japanese barracks, the things left there by the former American and British occupants were practically all gone. A permit to get the considerable quantity of baggage left in the Manila Club (British) could not be obtained. Carroll and his men were not even allowed to visit the place. The Commandant said that he understood nothing remained there. The passports of some 50 British eva­ cuees from Shanghai, which had been left at the Club, were, however, sent to the camp. The premises were occupied by officers of the Im­ perial Army. A total of some 300 people in the camp had requested that their baggage be taken out of these various hotels, apartment houses, and clubs. Carroll estimated that the losses in fur­ niture, rugs, paintings, hangings, curios, flat silver, linen, clothing, etc., thus discovered, must have amounted to around PI,000,000. About this same time, Carroll obtained permision to visit the Insular Cold Stores on be­ half of six persons who were scheduled to leave for Shanghai and who had ■left their winter-clothing and other things in storage there. He found that the Japanese had put up a wooden partition sectioning off an un­ refrigerated part of the second floor for "ene­ my property”. He saw damaged trunks and chests, many of them broken into. Costly furs were piled up in corners and scattered on the floor, covered with soot and dust, the labels hardly readable. Heavy overcoats could be pulled apart with the fingers and hair came off the furs by the handfull. He was told that

246 this was because there had been a fire and the refrigeration had been affected by the bursting of an ammonia pipe. Of all the bag­ gage of the six people, he could find only one trunk, the lock broken, empty except for a man’s coat which fell apart when he lifted it. A permit to get out the belongings of some hundreds of other people in the camp who had possessions stored there had not been obtained at this writing (middle of November). Kuroda said it had been reported to him that every­ thing there was in "pretty bad shape". Later, by permission of Kodaki, chief of the section of External Affairs of the Military Ad­ ministration, two truckloads of unclaimed clothing, mostly coats, trousers, and shirts, were sent from the camp to the headquarters of the Japanese prison-camp administration at Normal Hall on Taft Avenue for distribution among the war-prisoners, many of whom, it was rumored, had nothing more than breechcloths to wear. Internee property in Bank Safety-Deposit Vaults — What happened to "enemy property” appeared to have depended largely upon what class of Japanese it had been exposed to. The possessions stored in the various Manila bank safety vaults and deposit boxes were found all in good order. Most of the goods stored in the Peoples Bank and Trust Company vault and the vaults of the Chartered Bank, the Hongkong-Shangh'ai Bank, and the Netherlands-Indies Bank, had been transferred to the vault of the National City Bank under the care of Tai­ wan Bank officials. A few items still remained in the vaults of the Chartered Bank and the Peoples Bank. Some 50 internees had valuables stored in these places. All packages were brought to the camp intact for inspection, a representative of the Taiwan Bank coming along to see to it, he said, that the owners got everything that belonged to them except United States and British currency and secur­ ities which were subject to confiscation. Lists were made of everything taken out and the owners later received memorandum receipts. One man, a bank official, had 17 containers, including 7 or 8 barrels, containing practically everything he owned, clothes, dishes, silverware, etc. He got all of it. Some 34 people in the camp were interested in getting the valuables they had put away in safety-deposit boxes at the National City Bank and the Peoples Bank. In this case, the keys and containers to receive the articles were turned over to Kuroda and he and two of his staff one afternoon went out to open the boxes in the presence of Japanese bank officials. Everything was turned over to the owners except currency and securities, for which re­ ceipts were issued as "held for safekeeping”. The Japanese refused to break into the boxes of people who had lost their keys. Quite a

THE CAMP number of people who had rented boxes decid­ ed to leave their stuff in them. At the Santo Tomas camp space for the storage of much of these various goods was provided in the old Red Cross bodega near the gymnasium.

Dutch Nationals Receive Help from their Government — The 30 Dutch nationals among the internees were the happy recipients late in August of aid from their Government through the Swedish Consul; each man or wo­ man received P80 with an additional P40 for each child up to a maximum of P240 for one family. They received this payment for the month of August, the Consul informing them that Tokyo had agreed to these payments being made for the months of August, Septem­ ber, October, and November, and that an effort would be made to continue them for the "duration”. At the time of the third, or October, payment, Kodaki, chief of the section of External Affairs of the Military Ad­ ministration and then acting Com­ mandant of the camp, raised the ques­ tion as to whether some adjustment should not be made in view of the 70centavo per diem allowed by the mili­ tary to the Santo Tomas internees. In a conference between him, the Swe­ dish Consul, and Grinnell, it was agreed that P21 a month would be de­ ducted from the Dutch government al­ lowance to every Dutch adult and child in the camp, which would be placed in a special relief fund for ill or needy Dutch nationals. The fund was to be administered by a committee of Hol­ landers in the camp. The 10 or so Dutch nationals who for reasons of age or ill health were perm itted to live outside the camp, were to receive the full P80. The aid the Dutch received from their Government was of great help to them, and all the other internees were glad that they got it. They could

RUMORS OF A RED CROSS RELIEF SHIPMENT

247

By the end of November, when these lines were written, nothing had as yet been seen of these relief articles and comfort-bags and Red Cross items by the people in Santo Tomas, — whe­ ther 2,200 tons of them or only 650 tons. Grinnell sent a clipping of the Tribune article to Kodaki, together with a letter. The letter was not an­ swered. Opening of the Santa Catalina Hos­ pital — An improvement was effected late in August in the transfer of the camp hospital to the Santa Catalina Convent across the street, east of the campus. There was room there for some 200 patients, twice the number that could be accommodated in the old hospital. It had been a dormitory for girl students of the University, and some eight or ten nuns with their ser­ vants still lived there. The use of the building by the camp had been under "Shipments of relief articles and comfort items to American war prisoners and internees negotiation for months. Dr. Leach had in Greater East Asia have been received by gone to the Archbishop about it in the first exchange ship and are presently enMarch, and it was understood that the route to Manila and other areas for distribu­ tion, according to competent quarters. These nuns would agree to vacate the build­ quarters added that further shipments of re­ ing and go to live at St. Paul’s Insti­ lief and comfort bags have also been received tution. The military authorities, how­ by the second exchange ship and that actually 2,200 tons of Red Cross items had been trans­ ever opposed the project and in July shipped to the Tatuta Maru at Lourenco Mar­ the American army nurses brought ques for distribution among war prisoners and over from Corregidor were segregated internees. These arrangements were made pos­ there. Later in the month, Tsurumi sible through the permission of Japanese au­ told Carroll that the military had with­ thorities, it was said.” The Tribune, September 13, ran an­ drawn their objection to the use of other Tokyo dispatch which said in the building as an internee hospital but planned to employ the nurses in part: Japanese hospitals. Carroll rem onstrat­ " . . . The Japanese government has never ed against this, stating the camp need­ refused since the outbreak of the war the ac­ ceptance of parcels containing clothing and ed the services of the nurses and Tsu­ food and their delivery to the prisoners which rumi asked him to put this in writing. comes under Article 37 of the Convention [1929 This was done, and Dr- Fletcher also Geneva Convention], nor does it intend in the future to do so. Already 650 tons of relief ar­ submitted a letter stating that the ticles have been received and arrangements nurses were needed in the camp. The have been made for their distribution in Manila next day Tsurumi told Carroll that the and other areas. Meanwhile, several thousand military had approved the project, in­ tons of additional supplies are being trans­ cluding the employment of the nurses ported to Japan."

not understand, however, why it was that the American and British govern­ ments had not made similar arrange­ ments for their nationals- It was in fact rumored that Congress had pass­ ed an appropriation for the relief of American civilian internees in the Phil­ ippines and that internees were to re­ ceive $60 a month. Grinnell questioned Kodaki on the subject. He said that he knew nothing about it but that even if Washington and Tokyo came to some agreement in the matter, ful­ fillment would lie with the local Mili­ tary Administration; the military might or might not carry out such an agree­ ment, depending upon how they felt about it. Rumors of a Red Cross Shipment of "Comfort-Bags" — On September 6, the Tribune carried a Tokyo Domei dis­ patch stating:

248

in the new hospital, and that he might proceed with the transfer. The military had wanted the nuns to vacate the building entirely, but an agreement was finally reached accord­ ing to which they might retain one of the wings as living quarters; they were to have access to the patients as reli­ gious workers and were to take meals with the hospital staff, but were to discharge all their servants, — except three orphans who had lived at the convent since childhood. The rental was to be P350 a month. The Very Rev. Fr. Tomas Tascon, Provincial of the Dominican Order, and Alcuaz, secre­ tary to the Rector of the University, played an im portant part in bringing this agreement about. It was almost wrecked at the end, however, as a result of an unannounced visit to the convent of some of the new Executive Committee officials on Sunday morn­ ing. Listening to their plans for altera­

THE CAMP

tions in the building, the nuns took fright, made demands for the reser­ vation of a much larger part of the building for themselves than had been agreed upon, and were, in fact, on the verge of calling the whole thing off. The nuns said that if the authorities tried to force them, they would appeal to the Spanish Consul-General. Tsurumi, when informed of this, said impa­ tiently that the Japanese paid no at­ tention to the Spanish Consul-General. Carroll intervened and persuaded the nuns that the m atter was one of serv­ ice to a Christian community in need and that their sacrifice would be deep­ ly appreciated. Two high board walls were built across the street between the campus wall and the convent, cutting off the traffic, but this was of little m atter since the traffic was so light that the grass was growing in the street, — as in many other sections of Manila. On

A Japanese inspection party walking past the Education Building; the Santa Catalina Hospital is in the background, extreme right, outside the wall.

THE SANTA CATALINA HOSPITAL

the morning of the 24th of August, some 300 internees, all volunteer work­ ers, carried over the beds and other equipment from the old hospital to the new. The cost of the necessary al­ terations in the building amounting to around P2,500, was paid out of the camp funds — the 70-centavo per ca­ pita per diem.1 The Army nurses, who had been oc­ cupying the convent with the nuns, si­ multaneously moved into the old hos­ pital building. They had been allowed to mingle with the other internees dur­ ing the daytime for a week previous­ ly. Tsurumi, at an inspection, had seen them sitting on the convent porch looking lonely, and had suddenly said that they might go into the campus and he so instructed the guard. These girls now took up the nursing duties in the new hospital and the civilian nurses, who had devotedly served the ill of the camp for many months, were somewhat casually laid off, which caus­ ed some criticism. The 23 U.S. Navy nurses who had come to the camp from the St. Scholastica emergency hos­ pital in March and who had never been segregated as the army nurses had been, joined the hospital staff a little later. The situation as to medicine, how­ ever, was becoming more and more critical. Dr. Leach drafted a message to the Rockefeller Foundation which 1 The old construction committee, headed by G. Koster, worked under the direction of the Red Cross. With the organization of the new Finance and Supplies Committee, the carpentry, plumbing, sheet-metal, electrical, and emergen­ cy-job sections were all merged into the con­ struction department, w'th Duggleby as co­ ordinator and L.W. Lennox as assistant co­ ordinator. Koster became purchasing agent of construction materials but was relieved because of his illness by D. H. Wythe. Expenditures for camp construction materials for July, August, and September amounted to over F8,000, which all had to come out of the camp fund.

249

he submitted to the Commandant late in September in the hope that it would be forwarded by the Japanese author­ ities. Not believing it proper to ask for supplies only for the people in the camp, Leach asked for a year’s supply on the basis of the total population of the country. The draft follows: "Rockefeller Foundation New York City "Ship earliest opportunity via Lourenco Mar­ ques year supply total population Philippines following list prepared in order of urgency in collaboration with local authorities: opiates, ether, sulpha drugs, creolin, Iysol, vitamins, insulin, liver extract, iron, emetine, yatrine, carbasone, iodine, antipyretics, atabrine, plasmochine, adrenalin, adrenalin cortex, estrone extract, thyroid extract, ergotamine, pituitrin, digitalis, salvarsan, cathartics, strychnine, caf­ feine, sutures, adhesive, gauze, rubber sheeting, rubber gloves clinical thermometers, syringes, needles hypo., needles surgical, catheters, novocaine, silver preparations, powdered milk, glucose, diptheria antitoxin. — Leach.”

14 Story of The Oil Companies The whole of Manila lay open to air attack, including the Pandacan oil district with its 20 or 30 oil tanks, all above-ground, a 60-acre area situated in a loop of the Pasig River, less than a kilometer from Malacanan Palace. Surrounded on three sides by the wa­ ters of the river, visible from the air in the darkest night, there was no use in attempting camouflage. In former days, according to oilmen in the camp, oil products, mostly ke­ rosene, brought to the Philippines in sailing-ships, were distributed through jobbers. Later, about 1920, with the coming of the automobile, Pandacan became the storage place of oil pro­ ducts in bulk. The companies with storage plants in the Pandacan area at the outbreak of the w ar were the Standard-Vacuum Oil Company, owned jointly by the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey and the Socony-Vacuum Oil Company; the Asiatic Petroleum

250

Company, P.I., Ltd., a Far East m arket­ ing subsidiary of the Royal Dutch Shell group; Cal-Tex, owned jointly by the Texas Company and the Standard Oil Company of California; and the Tide­ water Associated Oil CompanyThe Standard-Vacuum Company was the contract supplier of aviation gaso­ line to the Army in the Philippines in 1941, as in previous years, being the only oil company with facilities at Ma­ nila for “leading'' aviation gasoline. When, therefore, it was decided that the Standard-Vacuum should handle the expanding requirements of avia­ tion gasoline, the Company having storage available for only 650,000 gal­ lons, work was begun and rushed on a new 1,000,000-gallon tank at Pandacan. It was completed December 1, a week before the outbreak of the war, and cost over P100,000. Other tanks formerly used for diesel oil and for kerosene were also made ready in the meantime for storage of aviation gaso­ line to a total capacity of 5,000,000 gal­ lons. For protection, "sheathing” all the big tanks within concrete walls was decided upon, good for anything ex­ cept a direct bomb-hit. This work was started during the last half of Nov­ ember but was never completed. Army officers, not without misgivings, ex­ pressed the opinion that the situation could be dealt with, in case the worst came to the worst, by the existing faci­ lities, and also counted on being able to disperse the supplies in drums and 5-gallon cans. They anticipated, how­ ever, that in case of war, the Pandacan oil district would be one of the main bombing objectives of the enemy. As it proved, the Japanese did not bomb the area, hoping, no doubt, to capture it intact. The Army was in no better position with respect to safety of oil storage than the commercial companies. The facilities at Nichols Field, Manila, com­ prised 4 or 5 tanks, holding 500 gallons each, near the machine-shop. There were also 50 so-called “dog-houses”, small buildings constructed of wooden slats, each of which held some 200 drums. Nichols had only one tanktruck.

STORY

Clark Field, near Camp Stotsenburg, in Pampanga, had a 20,000-gallon underground tank, but it was on the edge of the field, several miles away from the railroad-spur, and ship­ ments by tank-car had to be trans­ ported by tank-truck from the rail­ road to the field. At the new Iba, Zambales, airfield, there was as yet no gasoline storage tank of any kind. The same was true of the new fields at Lipa, Batangas, Rosales, Pangasinan, and at Zamboan­ ga, work on which was started around October. Neither were there any tankstorage facilities at the Davao and Del Monte fields in Mindanao. On Corregidor there were storage facilities, but because of the topography there was only a small field from which none but small planes could take off. The Navy was largely dependent on the old Shipping Board tanks built during the first World War in the Port Area, Manila, which had been taken over by the War Department and then turned over to the Standard-Vacuum Oil Company as operators some years before. These tanks had a capacity of 175,000 barrels and the Company had an agreement with the Navy under which it kept in stock at all times 100,000 barrels of fuel oil for the use of the latter. The Port Area was as vul­ nerable to air attack as was Pandacan, and was, in fact, repeatedly bombed by the Japanese. The Navy had some storage facilities at the Cavite Naval Station, but the Station was wiped out on the third day of the war. The Army and Navy apparently en­ visaged a possible withdrawal from the Philippines to the south in the event of war, for in October local Army officers were inquiring from ship­ ping agencies how quickly they could get large shipments of aviation gaso­ line to Port Darwin, Port Moresby, and Rabaul; also to Singapore and Ran­ goon. About this same time, General MacArthur himself confidentially told a writer for Colliers’ (in the author's presence):"If war does not break out before April, we shall be ready. If it

THE

OIL COMPANIES

comes sooner than that,” he added with a shrug, "all we will be able to do is to put up a good fight.” It must be remembered in this connection that the Philippine Commonwealth had un­ dertaken a ten year program for the building of the Philippine Army, a pe­ riod which at the outbreak of war had only half run its course. Both the Army and Navy establish­ ments in the Philippines were making efforts to get ready for a possible war, a key to which efforts was furnished by the consumption of aviation gaso­ line. Prior to 1941, the Army Air Corps used only some 30,000 gallons a month. Starting in February and March, 1941, with the new 100-octane aviation fuel, the consumption jumped to 50,000 gal­ lons and increased progressively to a consumption of 200,000 gallons in Sep­ tember. In the United States itself, according to the oil men in the camp, the Army did not swing exclusively to the new fuel much before that time, which meant that prior to that it was flying with obsolete engines. Up to February the Army in the Philippines had been using 87-octane fuel, which the com­ mercial lines in the United States also used. The Japanese still used it. The 100-octane gasoline was purely military and gave a clear margin of power and speed. The 100-octane gasoline, which is produced by adding a certain quantity tetra-ethyl lead to high quality aviation gasoline, can not be safely stored for more than a year because of possible deleterious chemical action, and for this reason the Standard-Vacuum Oil Company had installed an ethylizing plant at Pandacan which permitted the local blending of so-called “base stock” with the tetra-ethyl lead for use as needed. The m atter of wartime supply of other oil products was, however, by no means solved, and bv the middle of December, a week after the start of the war, stocks of ordinary motor gasoline were down to less than a m onth’s supply; the Civilian Emergen­ cy Administration in Manila began a

251

rationing system. The Standard-Va­ cuum Oil Company tanker, the George Henry, had just discharged most of its cargo of diesel oil and fuel oil when the bombing of ships in the Bay start­ ed. The remainder of the cargo was destined for Cebu, but the Navy commandeered the ship and its fate was unknown to the Company's men in Santo Tomas. The U.S. Asiatic Fleet had only two tankers, the Pecos and the Trinity. Nor­ mally, the Navy received its diesel oil and fuel oil and gasoline from the United States, and up to 1941 it only occasionally got oil in the Netherlands Indies for training purposes on maneu­ vers. The Philippines as a whole had also been supplied from the Pacific coast by the three American oil compa­ nies, and the Asiatic Petroleum Com­ pany obtained its supplies both from there and from Borneo, though it later drew exclusively from Borneo. When, however, in May, 1941, the United States turned over 50 American tankers to Great Britain, the other companies in the Philippines had to turn to the Netherlands Indies for their supplies. The quantity and nature of the avia­ tion gasc’.'ne consumption in the Phi­ lippines showed that prior to the adop­ tion of 100-octane aviation fuel, the Air Corps had only training planes here. Later some 30 or 40 P-40 pursuit planes arrived, but it became known that the necessary cooling-liquid for the motors was not sent at the same time and none was available here. In November the Army received some 40 or 50 light­ weight tanks, armed with 75 mm. guns. These required a high-octane motor ga­ soline which was handled only by the Associated Oil Company and which had only small stocks of it. To meet the need, the Standard-Vacuum Oil Com­ pany was hastily called upon to lead motor gasoline for the purpose, which was to be sent to Fort Stotsenburg in drums. Toward the end, both the Army and the Navy began taking all the fuels and oils out of Pandacan as fast as they could to Corregidor and Bataan, working night and day. From the first,

252

the oil companies had placed their whole personnel at the disposal of the military authorities. On the day before Christmas the Army officially requisi­ tioned all stocks, but at 4 o’clock of the preceding day it had started dump­ ing the aviation gasoline left in the tanks by opening the valves and allow­ ing it to run out between the dikes which surround each tank and are built to allow the contents to be run off in case of emergency. The Manila fire and police departments had been notified to be ready in case of mishap. The oil men were scared half to death, ihey said, because the air was thick with gasoline vapor, but by noon of the next day the aviation gasoline would either have soaked into the ground or been evaporated and the dan­ ger would have been over. How­ ever, at 9:30 Christmas morning, a workman on an outside barge moored near the premises of the Asiatic Petro­ leum Company, in lighting a cigaretset fire to the oil floating on the water. A stream of fire ran up the estero to­ ward the tanks, and in a flash it seemed that the whole district was a hell of flame. The oil men, however did not run, and though the fire spread from the aviation gasoline tanks to a diesel-oil tank, they succeeded in lo­ calizing it, and by the 28th it had burned itself out. A number of workers in the district were reported missing and may have perished in the fire. The tremendous conflagration, which from a distance looked like a great volcanic eruption, spread a pall of black smoke over Manila which for several days hid the sun. Army and Navy personnel and oil men continued to remove what lubricating and sub­ marine diesel oil they could, regard­ less of the menace of the seething, flames only a few hundred yards away, smashing in with picks the drums of high-grade lubricants which they had no time to take away. Army men made preparations for blowing up all the tanks by placing charges of dynamite under the main valves. The wiring was temporarily disconnected when fuel or oil was being taken out of a tank.

STORY

In the Port Area, too* the Navy started to discharge the fuel oil in the tanks there on the 26th. The place was flooded with oil and the bombing of the Quartermaster Compound by the Japanese set the whole place on fire. On the last day of 1941, at 5:40 in the afternoon, the Army blew up the tanks at Pandacan. There was a tre­ mendous blast, heard miles away, and again columns of fire and smoke swirled thousands of feet into the air. The first explosion was followed by a cannonade of lesser explosions as thousands of drums and cans of va­ rious oil-products blew up. At the roar of the first explosion, Vice-Consul Kihara was just entering the High Com­ missioner’s residence under guard for a conference. "What was that?” he asked. When told that the Pandacan oil district had been blown up, his face took on a look of mingled disappoint­ ment and anger. But a strange fact was that all the installations had not been blown up. Thirty million pesos worth of tanks and other installations were a tumbled and twisted mass of wreckage which continued to burn for several days, but the three main tanks of one of the com­ panies still stood intact. Some fifthcolumnist or some oil company em­ ployee with the idea of saving pro­ perty may have disconnected the wires leading to the fuses and left the Japa­ nese some tanks which they could use. The Japanese Army sent men in to clean up the place. They sawed the jagged pieces of metal and the twisted pipes (which had all been on top of the ground) into sections and carted them off to the w aterfront for shipment to Japan. They leveled the whole area un­ til it looked like an airfield, except for the three remaining big tanks. A few months later, another unit of the Japanese Army occupied the area and the officers began looking for the un­ derground pipes which they thought must be there. They couldn’t find them and came to Santo Tomas to talk to the oil men there. "Where are the un­ derground pipes? Draw us a map show­ ing where they are." They wouldn't

253

THE TELEPHONE COMPANY

believe, at first, that there never had been any underground pipes. The oil men said: “In our office you will find the plans of the grounds which will show you where the pipes used to be.” The Japanese asked many other ques­ tions. “Where did you get your oil?" "How much?" “How much of this kind of oil and of that kind of fuel did you supply to the United States Army and Navy?" The oil men said they didn't remem­ ber. "Our records are all in our officesYou can see for yourselves", they said. But there were no such records which would have been so valuable to the Japanese. Their own soldiers had want­ only destroyed them. In the StandardVacuum Company’s offices even the electric bookkeeping machines had been tipped over and smashed and valuable records had been thrown out and had gone to scrap-paper dealers. This afterward greatly bothered and pained the Mitsui Company and the Japanese-organized Manila Liquid Fuel Union which it headed. In July the Commandant called L. L. Rocke, general manager of the Stan­ dard-Vacuum Company, to his office and told him the Army wanted two of his men to work at Pandacan to help put the three remaining tanks in order. Rocke pointed out that the Standard-Vacuum Company was an American company and could not co­ operate with the armed forces of a nation at war with the United States. "There is no more Standard-Vacuum Oil Company here”, was the reply. "And the Army orders it. I m ust obey the Army. You must obey the Army”. Rocke tried another tack. "Those tanks are not Standard-Vacuum tanks. Their own men will know more about them than my men ” "The Army wants Stand­ ard Oil Company men," said the Com­ mandant. Rocke made further objec­ tions, to which the Commandant finally answered: "Write a letter of protest, if you like, but if you do so you must present it yourself, not to me but at Army Headquarters.” Rocke consulted his attorney, now a fellow-prisoner. The lawyer advised him to give in. If

he went to Army Headquarters with such a letter he might never be seen again. So two Standard-Vacuum Oil Com­ pany men left the camp for Pandacan. They put in new make-shift valves and pipes, made of anything they could find. They rebuilt the pier. They lived outside the camp but were allowed to visit their families in the camp once a week. After some weeks they came in and told their friends a Japanese tanker was reportedly due. This was the last time they came into the camp for several months, as their families were allowed to join them outside. Probably the Japanese wanted no in­ formation to come into Santo Tomas through them. Later they were all re­ interned.

Story of The Telephone Company 15

Officials of the Philippine Long Distant Telephone and Telegraph Company in Manila were informed of the attack on Pearl Harbor between 3 and 4 o’clock in the mor­ ning of Monday, December 8, and between 7 and 8 o’clock the Company’s exchange in Davao reported that the Japanese were bombing and machinegunning the airfield there. Both the attack on Hawaii and Davao had start­ ed at dawn, but dawn comes some 18 hours earlier to Hawaii, by the ca­ lendar, because the International Date Line lies between them, though actually only some 6 hours earlier. The Telephone Company, which maintained a modern telephone system in the Philippines, comprising an au­ tomatic system in Manila (26,000 tele­ phones), long distance lines connecting It was estimated by the oil men in Santo Tomas that some P5,000,000 worth of gasoline, lubricating oil, diesel oil, and bunker oil was destroyed at Pandacan. According to one oil man, all the aviation gasoline had previously been sent to Corregidor in drums. Besides the supplies destroyed at Pandacan, large stores were set afire at Cavite, Fort McKinley, and elsewhere in the country.

254

all the principal cities in Luzon (to­ gether with a teletype service), and radio-phone connections with the prin­ cipal cities on the other islands, ren­ dered the USAFFE the fullest coope­ ration. Among the immediate objectives of Japanese attack were the bridges and railway lines, and the telephone lines paralleled the railway lines. The Com­ pany's Filipino repairmen, working near the tops of the poles- were espe­ cially exposed to attack and were fre­ quently machine-gunned from the air. Although a number of them were thus killed or wounded not a one of these workers quit. The service to Baguio was main­ tained u d to the time the Japanese entered San Fernando, La Union, on December 22. Miss Aguilar, the opera­ tor at San Fernando, who had been in the Company’s employ for only two years, was on the job 24 hours a day to see to it that the USAFFE orders got through. At the last, when the USAFFE forces were withdrawing from the town, she was told she would have to come along and that the Army in­ tended to destroy the switchboard. She connected the officer who gave her this order with J.E.H. Stevenot, gene­ ral manager of the Company and a lieu­ tenant-colonel of reserves, then on active duty in Manila, and as a result of their conversation it was decided not to destroy the exchange. Miss Aguilar was brought to Dagupan along with the troops, but when it was ne­ cessary the next morning to get orders through to San Fernando and from there to other points, she volunteered to go back with an officer. They were twice machine-gunned on the way and finally had to abandon their aim be­ cause a bridge was out. As the USAFFE withdrew southward, most of the Company’s provincial build­ ings and exchanges were blown up. On Christmas night, a crew of the Compa­ ny’s men were sent from Manila to Ba­ taan ahead of the forces to prepare a line of communication. Through the destruction of a bridge, this line was unfortunately broken and served its

STORY

purpose for only a day or so. The telephone men, cut off from Manila, were incorporated into the USAFFESix of them were killed in action or died of illness. Two Americans among them were later taken prisoner by the Japanese. In the southern islands, the Com­ pany’s Cebu office was dynamited by the USAFFE; the offices in Iloilo, Bacolod, and Davao were left in working order, but were later destroyed by the Japanese. The exchange in Baguio was left as it was, but communication with Manila was broken off, the four lines connecting the two cities probably hav­ ing been stolen. On the 2nd of January, the day the Japanese entered Manila, blazing oil drifting down the Pasig River from the Pandacan district, set fire to the Te­ lephone Company’s bodega the result­ ing loss being a heavy one, — close to PI,000,000 for the building and the equipment and supplies it contained. When Stevenot was called to active duty with the Army, T. L. Hall, assis­ tant general manager, was left in charge. On the day the Japanese entered Manila, he was called to his office at 11 o’clock that night. A Japanese of­ ficer there informed him that the Com­ pany was now the property of the Imperial Japanese Army. The officer sealed the safe and asked just one question: "What is the capitalization of this company?" Hall answered: “Twelve million pesos”. The Japanese then left without giving any instruc­ tions. Leaving the chief operator, Miss Edna Brown, to look after the office, Hall drove home in his car, and al­ though he was twice stopped by sen­ tries he was allowed to proceed. The next morning he called on the Japanese Consul-General, who asked him if the Filipino staff could carry on. Hall answered in the affirmative, and the Consul then advised him to go home and stay off the streets, tel­ ling him to give similar instructions to the Americans in his employ- Hall turned the Company’s affairs over to the Filipino vice-president, Jose S. Gal­ vez, who remained in charge under

THE TELEPHONE COMPANY

Japanese supervision until representa­ tives of the Ministry of Communica­ tions took over, about the beginning of July. In August, the Telephone Com­ pany and the various cable and radio­ communication companies in Manila were incorporated with the Bureau of Posts. Some 25 or 30 "experts” from the Ministry of Communications (with army rank) were sent from Tokyo, but the automatic Manila telephone system appeared to be one vast mystery to most of them and they wisely took the attitude of wanting to learn rather than of wanting to tell the Company’s technicians what to do. The Japanese at first took the tele­ phones out of some of the closed American business offices in Manila, but probably when they found that they could not be used as field-phones, they stopped this. They also, at times, tried to tap the telephones of suspected persons, but not knowing enough about the automatic system, they put the telephones out of order every time they tried this. Perhaps they learned how later. Miss Brown, the chief operator, was brought to Santo Tomas on January 4, but the Filipino girls in the exchange refused to work nights without her and she was taken back to the ex­ change that same evening. She re­ mained at her work until the end of June and was paid a regular, though reduced salary during this time. She was interned in Santo Tomas about the end of July. Hall and the other Americans in the Company not with the armed forces, were brought to the camp on January 8. When the Japanese first came to Hall's house, they set up a machine gun opposite the front door, but he and Mrs. Hall suffered no actual indignity. A day or so later, a civilian Japanese came to the house saying that he was sorry but since the army wanted the house of another nearby American fa­ mily, he would have to quarter them in Hall's house- These, all friends, ar­ rived a little later. One of them. Dr. L.Z. Fletcher, had a hard time per­ suading the Japanese to let him bring

255

his emergency medical-kit with him. When they were all brought to Santo Tomas on the 8th, they had the same experience most other Americans had in being allowed to take along only the barest necessities, being instructed to take food and clothing for two or three days only. Hall was the first monitor of the gymnasium, succeeding in establishing very good order among a heterogeneous group of over 600 men crowded toge­ ther on the main and mezzanine floors. Suffering from a slipped sacro-illiac, he was sent to a city hospital on the last day of February and did not return to the camp until late in July. Part of the intervening time he spent at^ his home, where he was unmolested. "The Japanese seemed to have forgotten me , he said. He expressed pride in the fact that the Telephone Company maintained communications in Manila without in­ terruption in spite of the destruction and terrors of war. "It is a tradition with us that telephone systems exist for the service of the public and that the service must go on. We felt that the continuation of the service was of greater good to the people of Manila than its interruption would have been detrimental to the Japanese.” Certain it is that the telephone was even more useful than ordinarily dur­ ing the weeks when transportation systems had practically broken down in Manila. Especially during the first few days after the Japanese entered the city, when people were huddled close in their homes, fearful of what each passing moment might bring, it was* *Post-war note by Mr. Hall: As time went on after our internment, many telenhone instru­ ments were disconnected, and information re­ ceived after the war indicates that large num­ bers were shipped to Japan, together with quantities of cable and wire. The retreating Japanese Army destroyed the three principal central offices in Manila and attempted to destroy a fourth by gunfire during the battle for Manila. The Telephone Company estimated, when the smoke of battle had finally cleared away, that approximately 90% of the prewar system had been rendered unserviceable.

256

STORY

a tremendous relief to hear the voice in working order so as to insure the of a relative or friend reporting things city’s light and the operation of its were still well, or at least not as bad water and sewage systems. The “gov­ as imagination had pictured’ ernors” of the four remaining turbines were thereupon removed and turned over the USAFFE, these parts, though small, being irreplaceable in Manila 16 Story of because the designs and specifications The Manila Electric Company for them were in the United States. The Japanese later repeatedly question­ Early in August, J. C- Rockwell, pres­ ed the American and Filipino personnel ident of the Manila Electric Company, of the Company as to where the miss­ with some 20 members of his staff, ing parts had b een ’hidden” and even were brought into the camp, having advertised for them in the Tribune, up to that time been employed by the offering a P200 reward. After the sur­ Japanese Military Administration to render of Corregidor, Meralco (former operate what was left of the company's name “Manila Electric Railway and power plant and transportation system. Light Company”) men were sent there They had for seven months been con­ to look for them, but without result. fined to the company premises, where The Company’s Botocan (Laguna) they worked, ate, and slept. hydro-electric plant was also ordered The Manila Electric Company, a sub­ to be put out of commission at the sidiary of the Associated Gas and Elec­ same time, but this order could not tric Company (of New York), was the be carried out because, following an most im portant public utility corpo­ order of four days before to shut ration in Manila. It supplied the capi­ down the plant, the personnel had all tal city and over a hundred towns come to Manila. This plant had been from Dagupan south to Irosin, Sorso- completed in 1930 and developed 16,000 gon, with light and power and main­ kw. when there was enough w ater to tained a transportation system for operate; the Company used this power Manila and its suburbs which involved only at night during peak-load hoursthe operation of over 100 streetcars The Japanese did not pay any atten­ and nearly 200 motor buses. Its em­ tion to Botocan until three or, four ployees numbered some 2,800. weeks after the occupation of Manila, Upon the outbreak of the war, the by which time the damp had gotten USAFFE immediately took over almost into the machinery and it took a week all of the buses with their drivers for to get it into operation again. the transportation of troops and sup­ The Meralco also operated small plies to the various fronts. The drivers isolated diesel plants in some of the demonstrated loyalty and courage, and larger provincial towns, — San Fer­ there were many cases among them of nando (Union), Dagupan, Tarlac, Lipa, conspicuous bravery under enemy fire. Gapan, Naga, and a few others, and On the 31st of December, when the these for the most part were left in­ last remaining USAFFE units were tact, although the Tarlac plant was leaving the city, Rockwell was ordered blown up by the USAFFE and that by the USAFFE authorities to take at Naga burned by the guerrillas. The steps to render approximately two- Japanese took units from San Fernando thirds of the Company’s steam plant and Dagupan to use at the Lepanto inoperable. But as the plant had a copper mine. total capacity of 29,000 kw. of which Rockwell had been given an official the newest power-unit developed letter by the USAFFE authorities which, 12,500 kw. and the remaining units he was told, was to protect him from were all very old, he was allowed any charges of sabotage which the ene­ to keep the new unit and one my might bring against him, However, old unit of 5,000 kw. capacity he decided to destroy the letter rather

THE MANILA ELECTRIC COMPANY

to use it because if the Japanese had seen it they would have assumed from the wording that some of the Meralco men knew what had become of the missing turbine parts. After the Japanese occupation of the city, Meralco soon got the streetcar system back to operating on a regular, though reduced schedule. Bus trans­ portation could not be resumed as most of the buses were gone. The Company would not have been allowed to operate them even if it had had them; in factthe Japanese took away the few the Company had left. During the Japanese bombing of Ma­ nila and just before the enemy occu­ pation, there had been a large exodus from the city. The average power con­ sumption fell from over 500,000 kwh. a day before the war to below 200,000 kwh. Nothing attests more clearly to the slowdown of the once so thriving metropolis, al­ though for those who knew the city the almost total disappearance of the 15,000 to 20,000 automobiles, taxis, buses, and trucks which once filled the busy streets, representing some 2,000,000 horsepower units, was probably the most striking indication of the city's stagnation. Manila did not look like a city at all, more like a straggling country town, deserted and silent. Meralco had on hand some 15,000 tons of coal and 3,000 tons of fuel oil. By August, 1942, the coal supply had dwindled to 150 tons and the oil to 2,000 tons- Some 6,000 tons of co­ conut oil had also been used as fuel, at a cost of P I32 a ton paid to the Mitsui Bussan Kaisha, though raw copra could have been used just as well at about one-sixth the cost. Meralco collections were practically at a standstill because so many people had left their homes, and Japanese army officers moved in and out of so many houses in Manila that it was impossible to keep check. In the case of the latter, the Company men were sometimes told to "bill the Army”, but the men noticed that the civilian Japa­ nese working with them talked about doing this, but never did it; they were

257

all afraid of the Army. It was diffi­ cult to get them to ask the Army only to open some sealed bodega where necessary supplies were stored. Accord­ ing to Rockwell, no current was cut off from any house in Manila during those months for failure to pay the monthly bill. In the m atter of the small provincial plants, the Japanese forces in the localities in some cases took charge of them and in other cases turned them over to the municipal ma­ yors, who, .usually, immediately re­ duced the rates and then made no collections. The American technicians, from Rockwell down, were given a flat food allowance of P145 a month by the Japa­ nese. Reductions in the wages of the Filipino personnel ranged from 10 to 45% at this time, the average being about 15%. Tribune items concerning develop­ ments related to electric power includ­ ed the following: on March 6, the Army urged Manilans to economize in the consumption of electricity; on March 18, it was reported that work on the Commonwealth’s Caliraya hydro-elect­ ric .development in Laguna was being rushed under the direction of Japanese army engineers; on April 27, the Army ordered electric consumption cut in half; the operation of elevators and airconditioning units was prohibited; on May 4, the blackout was lifted “fol­ lowing the complete annihilation of enemy air forces based in the Philip­ pines”; on May 5, the electric power­ saving order was lifted; on July 2, electric public utilities were reported to have been placed under the manage­ ment of the Taiwan Electric Power Company; on August 5, the Caliraya station was reported completed and "inaugurated”. The Tribune published the following concerning this latter event (in part): "Ceremonies on the occasion of the com­ pletion of the Laguna hydro-electric power sta­ tion in Caliraya, which was under construction for three years were held on July 31. The open­ ing of the power project was hailed as an out­ standing event in the reconstruction of the new Philippines, especially Philippine industry. . . The ceremony opened at 11 a.m. with a wor­

258

THE CAMP

ship to His Imperial Majesty, bows to the Em­ peror’s palace, and prayer for the success of the Japanese Forces in the Greater East Asia War. and also with a prayer of appreciation to the dead soldiers. Rites of the Shinto were also performed. .

war, the plant would have been in operation by the 1st of January, 1942. However, there had been some sabot­ age on order of the USAFFE, and it was chiefly only a little necessary re­ The Caliraya development was a pair work on which the Japanese based project of the Commonwealth's Na­ their crowings about this "outstand­ tional Power Company, and compris­ ing achievement." ed three 10,000 kw. units, two of which were to be used at one time. Note (1945) — The retreating Japanese in Meralco had already contracted with January, 1945, dynamited all the Meralco plants the NPC to take up to 80,000,000 kwh. and offices in Manila and also destroyed the a year, and had it not been for the Botocan hydro-electric plant.

Chapter VI Conflict over the “Court” and the “Town Meetings” Retirement of Commandant Tsurumi; Kodaki and Kuroda — Accord­ ing to the minutes of the Executive Committee of the meeting held on August 31, Grinnell presented a letter from Commandant Tsurumi, dated August 29, "announcing his own im­ mediate retirement and the impend­ ing retirement of three of his subordi­ nates, his successor being as yet un­ named”. The Internews for September 1 stated that "pending appointment of the new commandant, camp affairs will be administered by Mr. A. Kodaki of the Department of External AffairsManila”. Tsurumi was said to have been re­ called to Tokyo and left the camp on September 5. Yamaguchi, the se­ cond-in-command, left on September 14 to become manager of the Santa Clara Lumber Company, Manila. Kodaki, as chief of the Department of External Affairs, retained his posi­ tion and came to the camp for only an hour or so three times a week. S. Kuroda, who took Yamaguchi's place, arrived on the 7th. Two younger assistants, S. Ohashi and S. Kataoka, had joined the staff late in August,

taking over the duties of Fukada who had been concerned chiefly with the issuance of releases and passes. Both Kodaki and Kuroda spoke good English. Kodaki, who had had consular experience in France and Eng­ land and who had traveled in Ame­ rica, was not as approachable as Tsurumi had been, was more belligerently Japanese, and was also perhaps somewhat keener. Kuroda had been a Shanghai busi­ nessman engaged in the importation of machinery, and was of the busi­ ness rather than the consular type. He was quite sympathetic in his gen­ eral attitude, but hasty and fidgety and given to snap judgments. The appearance of the new func­ tionaries so shortly after the new Ex­ ecutive Committee assumed office (July 28), complicated the situation for Grinnell who had had Tsurumi’s confidence but who was unknown to the new men. Being younger men than Tsurumi, they were also more jealous of their authority and less disposed to leave m atters to Grinnell and the Committee.

SECOND EVACUATION TO SHANGHAI

The first Commandant, Tomayasu, who had directed the execution of the three British internees in February, died in a Manila hospital on August 18. Tsurumi, in informing Carroll of this fact, said that “he had died of three different diseases”. Second Evacuation to Shanghai—On August 15 the Executive Committee issued a bulletin stating that the Com­ mandant had announced that passage would be available within the next 10 days for 120 persons "who are bo­ na fide residents of Shanghai and other points in North China and who wish to return to their homes”. It was stated that baggage would be re­ stricted to handbaggage carried by them and that they would be allowed to purchase a maximum of 200 yen for the journey. The people con­ cerned discussed the pros and cons in the m atter of leaving the comparative safety of the Santo Tomas camp, and registration for the journey was rather slow. On August 20, the Committee issued another bulletin stating that the Commandant had asked that the following information be posted: "1. The ship now leaving is a large ship with ample accommodation; "2. This probably will be the last opportuunity for such transfer to be made; "3. There is still a colony of. some 6,000 British and Americans in Shanghai, who enjoy freedom of movement about the city and are supposedly permitted to do business and earn a living. Presumably this community would be prepared to care for transferees if other ar­ rangements can not be made. "The Commandant further states that it is his belief that residents of Shanghai will be able to live under much more congenial con­ ditions than here at Santo Tomas. . .”

Apparently, the Commandant wish­ ed to encourage the Shanghailanders. As a m atter of fact, he was embarrass­ ed by the slow response because he had informed the military authorities that at least 120 internees wanted to go. In the end, 93 of them left the

259 camp in buses on Saturday afternoon, September 12, and 20 more people from the "outside" were reported to have joined them aboard the ship. From reports later published in the Tribune it appeared that they arrived in Shanghai safely. This was the second group of peo­ ple to leave Santo Tomas for Shang­ hai. The first group of 40, mostly con­ sular people, had left the camp on June 15. Work of the New Executive Com­ mittee — The new Executive Com­ mittee started out with very apparent self-confidence and displayed a great deal of zeal. As an elected body, the Committee seemed to consider itself justified in asserting authority with a degree of assurance which was never reached by the first, appointive, Com­ mittee. Certain of the members of the new Committee, indeed, bustled around with an air of importance which amused some and irritated oth­ ers of their fellow internees. As already recounted, one of the first acts was to order an election of new room and floor monitors, which, it was announced, had been request­ ed by the Commandant. The bulletin announcing the coming election closed with the following paragraph: "It is the hope of the Executive and Floor Monitors’ Committees that this election will provide an opportunity to strengthen our mo­ nitor system and to offer one more proof not only of the rights and responsibilities of the internees, but also of their ability to use these wisely and generously and in the best interests of all of us here interned.”

This sounded what proved to be the keynote of many of the later state­ ments of the Committee when it ad­ dressed itself to the internees. There was frequently that admonishing, warning tone. Internees felt that the possession of a capacity for self-gov­ ernment was not a thing which Ameri­

260

can and British and Dutch nationals needed to "prove”. About the middle of August, the Commandant had moved his office from the ground floor of the main building to the small, detached one­ time restaurant building east of the main building and the Executive Com­ mittee had moved into the large, va­ cated office, also retaining the old office on the second floor. The re­ moval of the Commandant and his staff to a separate building should have tended to greater freedom for the internee government organizationbut, unfortunately, it did not turn out that way. The Committee launched out upon a general reorganization of the old operating committees. The new or­ ganization chart drawn up showed the growing elaboration of the structure. While some reorganization was no doubt necessary, it was this preoccu­ pation with organization which led to a disregard of what was one of the Committee’s main functions, — to stand between the Japanese and the internees as a shield. August and September were busy months for the Committee members and their typists along the lines of reorganization, and there was a great deal of “codifying”. "Revised Rules and Regulations” and an "Internee Service Code” were adopted, and also an "Electrical Code”, concerning the consumption of elec­ tric current in the camp. "Revised Rules and Regulations Applying to Internee Vendors" were issued. Drawn up, too, were "Rules of Procedure Governing Radio-Broadcasting”, i.e., the nightly broadcasts over the campus loudspeaker. A "Council of Mayors” was organized and "Rules and Regu­ lations for the Government of Shanty

THE CAMP

Villages” were announced. Regarding the latter, the minutes of the Execu­ tive Committee for September 14 stated: "Mr. Day reported a meeting of the Mayors of Shanty Towns was held today at which meeting the organization of the 'Council of Mayors’ and 'Rules and Regulations for the Operation of Shanty Villages’ were approved. The operating committee of the Council of Ma­ yors was duly elected and the system of village administration has now commenced to func­ tion.’’

It all sounded very grand. The rules and regulations governing the shanty "villages" were not without interest. For instance: "The duties of the Council of Mayors (elect­ ed by their respectively recognized tenants, •— one tenant per building site) will be to represent the shanty villages in connection with camp problems and make such rules and regulations as they may deem advisable subject to the ap­ proval of the Executive Committee, to give advice to the Executive Committee, division and department heads as may be appropriate, and in general be responsible for village life in a manner similar to the floor monitor and room monitor plan. . . The tenant must erect a struc­ ture on his allotted site within 14 d ays... A site can not be bartered or sold but if aban­ doned the respective mayor must be notified. Ownership of a shack may be transferred along with the site by advising the respective mayor and subject to obtaining prior approval of the grounds administration division. . . Shacks and sites not used for a reasonable length of time may be declared abandoned by the mayor and disposed of to the next applicant after giving the tenant 7 days' notice in writing. . . The privileges of occupying a shanty site in­ volves responsibility for contribution of work tor the village welfare but does not excuse the tenants from their obligations to perform work assignments and room duties. . . Failure to comply with camp and village rules and regulations may after due warning result in loss of site and dismantling of property. . ."

By the end of November, the shan­ ties on the campus numbered 530, re­ presenting an investment of over P70,000. The first shanties were built by the owners themselves of any ma­ terial that was handy and were poor and unsightly structures. The advent

INTERNEE COURT PROCEDURE

of the rainy season had resulted in the improvement or entire rebuilding of many of them. A number of internees brought in, in preconstructed sections, the small, native nipa houses, built of bamboo and nipa palm leaves, and when these little dwellings were seen to be cool, rainproof, cheap, and at­ tractive in appearance, so many others followed their example that the areas surrounding the large, modern build­ ings of the University, before long be­ gan to take on the appearance of a charming Filipino village. The nipa house is stoutly and neatly built with great ingenuity and skill by Filipino workers, and a number of internees, employing these men, set themselves up as contractors. In time one of these internees, E. J. Grey, succeeded in practically monopolizing this labor. His charge for building a house, in­ cluding the costs of material, was on the basis of PI. 10 a square foot of floor space, with a minimum charge of P100. The structures built ranged in price from this amount up to P300 or P400, with an average of around P150. The "Court” and the DeWitt Pro­ test — Most important, however, were the “Rules of the Procedure of the Committee on Order”, this committee constituting, as has been previously said, a court. Despite the modesty of the reference to this committee in the minutes of the Executive Committee meeting of August 28- the reference indicated that this body had indeed become a supreme court, assuming the right to “uphold” any existing rule and, by implication, to take the con­ trary action. The camp had quietly produced its John Marshall! The paragraph ran:

261 ing rule that such assignments are to be made by the floor monitors and that a room vote as to the acceptability of any internee is not in order.”

It appeared, however, that this dic­ tum of the camp judiciary was not of the force and effect that it might have been, for on August 27, the Executive Committee issued a bulletin which drew upon the authority of the Com­ mandant in the m atter at issue. It read: "Notice to floor and room monitors: The following memorandum, received from the Com­ mandant, is circulated for your reference and guidance: 'In making room assignments, you or a committee authorized by you for that purpose, have full authority to assign new arrivals or persons re-intemed to rooms and such assignments shall be final. The monitors and occupants of the rooms to which such persons are assigned shall accept the assign­ ments’.”

The Committee on Order was moved by the laudable desire to keep its pro­ cedure as simple as possible, but it soon went so far in the direction of super-summariness in dealing with vio­ lators of the rules and regulations of the camp that remonstrance was rais­ ed by many and DeWitt was prompted to address the following letter of pro­ test under date of September 19, to the Executive Committee:

"This letter is written for the purpose of advising you that, after the trial of a case against Mr.----- , held yesterday afternoon be­ fore the committee on order, and, apparently because of a protest made to that committee by Mr. Hochreiter as chief of police because the committee allowed Mr. — to be present during the trial; to be represented by counsel; to cross-examine witnesses for the prosecution; and to introduce witnesses in his own behalf; the chairman of the committee, in the pre­ sence and with the approval of the entire committee, announced to the undersigned, who had acted as counsel for Mr. — that his case was the first and last case in which such procedure would be followed; that henceforth the defendant in any case brought before them would not be permitted to be present during "The Committee noted the decision of the the examination of the witnesses for the pro­ committee on order dated August 19 regarding secution; or to cross-examine any of them; or room assignments, upholding the present exist­ to be represented by counsel; or to introduce

262 witnesses in his own behalf; and that his right would be limited to the making of a state­ ment for himself. "A subsequent case, tried the same after­ noon, was conducted precisely in the manner outlined by the chairman. The witnesses for the prosecution were examined while the de­ fendant was waiting outside; he was afforded no opportunity to hear what they had to say or to cross-examine them; he was called in and asked a few questions; and then was dismissed from the committee room while the proceedings against him continued. "On proceedings such as these, the commit­ tee assumes the right to condemn internees to hard labor, to imprisonment, or to such other penalties as they may see fit to impose. "It is submitted that there is no place for a 'star chamber’, such as the committee pro­ poses to set up, in any American or British community, even though that community be an internment camp. Sentences imposed as the result of such proceedings should be entirely disregarded by the internees. "Since the rules of procedures of the com­ mittee on order are subject to the approval or disapproval of the Executive Committee, it is respectfully requested that your Committee disapprove o f, the rules for the conduct of trials which the committee on order announc­ ed yesterday, as outlined above, and that your Committee require that committee to permit any accused brought before them for trial to be present at all stages of the proceedings against him; to be represented thereat by coun­ sel, if he so desires; to cross-examine all wit­ nesses in his own defense as he may w ish ..."

The minutes of the Executive Com­ mittee meeting following the receipt of this letter referred to the m atter as follows: "The Committee took up a complaint filed by Judge DeWitt against the procedure present­ ly followed by the committee on order for conducting hearings and taking evidence. The Committee requested Mr. Selph to obtain the point of view of the committee on order with regard to this complaint for action at the next meeting.”

THE CAMP “The matter of hearings, witnesses, and coun­ sel in cases of camp rule violations has been thoroughly reviewed with the committee on order and we find that its procedure is as fair and reasonable as may be devised in the pre­ sent extraordinary circumstances. "The committee on order has no thought or desire to set up any 'star chamber'. In the discussions some time ago, it was urged that the committee on order should not be com­ posed of lawyers, but rather of laymen of ability and judgment in order to ensure that the procedure be and remain consistently sum­ mary and informal. "The matter of representation by counsel was considered and it was decided that there was no place for it in the circumstances. The members of the committee are not lawyers,— there is no prosecuting attorney, there are no rules of evidence or other formalities, so that we see no reason for counsel, much less pro­ fessional counsel. In any event, an internee violator may have a friend who is not a lawyer sit with him and advise him if he so desires. He may also present witnesses in his own behalf if he wishes. "In the preliminary investigation the ac­ cused violator would not be present, but if after the arraignment he admits the accusa­ tion, there would be no necessity for a hearing, nor for the witnesses to confront him and be cross-examined, nor for him to introduce wit­ nesses. In case he denies the accusation, wit­ nesses will, of course, be called, and be sub­ mitted to cross-examination in the- internee violator’s presence. In other words, after a violation has been reported and a preliminary investigation conducted, if it is the opinion of the committee that the charge is unwarranted, the committee will proceed no further. But, on the other hand, if the committee is of the opinion that there is reasonable ground for complaint, it will proceed with a fair hearing as outlined above.”

It will be noted that though it was stated in the second paragraph that the Executive Committee found the procedure of the Committee on Order The minutes for September 25 "fair and reasonable” under the cir­ reported: cumstances, the later paragraphs show "Mr. Selph presented a proposed reply to that a quite different procedure would Judge DeWitt... which was approved.” be followed in future. DeWitt’s protest Now signed by Grinnell, this reply had not been without effect. The ra i­ was as follows: ling that an accused rtiight avail him­ "This is in reply to your communication of September 19, concerning the procedure of the self of the advice of a "friend who is not a lawyer”, however, was childish. committee on order.

LOUDSPEAKER PREACHMENTS

Loudspeaker Preachments and the Jail — The man whose trial provoked DeWitt's protest was given a 60-day sentence in the camp jail, —having been convicted of drunkenness and disorderly conduct, and other persons were from time to time sentenced to confinement for periods ranging from a few days to several months. This met with general approval. The Committee however, made a serious mistake in choosing for the camp jail a small concrete outhouse of the restaurant building which the Commandant and his staff now occu­ pied. This put those sentenced to jail for violations of camp rules, — none of these violations were in themselves very serious, right under the noses of the Japanese and forced the m atter of camp discipline upon their attention day after day. The m atter of discipline was fur­ ther emphasized, — for all to hear, including the Japanese, by almost nightly broadcasts over the campus loudspeaker; announcements of the names of the persons sentenced, com­ bined with pleas, warnings, preach­ ments, and general scolding. One would have thought the community was one of the most lawless in the world when in fact the camp was as orderly as a girls’ school. Specimens of such bulletin board and loudspeaker announcements were the following: "Please call the attention of all internees to the importance of prompt attendance at ROLL CALL. Individuals who fail to cooperate are jeopardizing the privileges and liberty in­ ternees are at present enjoying.” (August 10) * * * * "It has been reported that some internees have become careless about vacating shanties not later than 7:45 p.m. Obviously, this rule, promulgated by the Japanese authorities, must be scrupulously observed, and internees are urged to govern themselves accordingly.” (September 9)

263

Such public announcements, which were enlarged upon in the broadcasts, might seem harmless enough, but they were not harmless in a Japanese in­ ternment camp, as events proved. Trouble about the Package-Line — During the past months there had been some relaxation of the early Jap­ anese severity at the Package-Line. Sabered officers no longer inspected the packages as during the first few months, and the one or two civilian Japanese now present left this work to internee inspectors. Internees had also been allowed to come somewhat nearer to the line of outside people who came in to bring packages, and after the building of the package-shed at the beginning of the rainy sea­ son, internees, when it rained, would take shelter under the eaves of the shed. This brought them within a few yards of the outside people filing past, and nods, smiles and oc­ casional spoken greetings were ex­ changed. The Japanese civilian guards on Sunday mornings sometimes per­ mitted a limited number of internees to retire behind the shed to speak for a few minutes to their relatives or friends. All this was conducted in an orderly manner, but with the impend­ ing change in the Commandant’s Of­ fice, the outgoing officers tried to re­ establish a somewhat more formal ap­ pearance and on September 1 the in­ ternees, by order of the Commandant, were pushed back to a line some 100 yards from the package-shed. At the same time a reorganization of the in­ ternee crew working in the packageshed was reportedly demanded. The minutes of the Executive Com­ mittee meeting for September 11 stat­ ed: "A committee appointed by the staff of the Package-Line appeared at their own request before the Committee to discuss orders re­

264 cently received from the Japanese authorities designed to achieve a drastic reorganization of the Package-Line personnel. The commit­ tee wished to ascertain if the Executive Com­ mittee had anything to do with the new re­ gulations and if not, what steps had been taken to counteract the injustice and inconvenience which they feel will be caused thereby; also what future steps might properly be taken lu minimize the consequences. A round-table dis­ cussion followed in which the entire sequence of events was explained by Mr. Selph and the Chairman, who, on behalf of the Executive Committee, denied any instigation or inter­ vention in the matter. A letter was received from Mr. Ohashi on September 9 giving orders that the package-detail, with the exception of the captain and the assistant captain, should be changed and replaced by older men, and that certain other modifications be made in the gate-detail, no charges being made by Mr. Ohashi. It was obvious that an immediate and complete change would be prejudicial to the service and to the interests of the internees. This factor has been explained to Mr. Ohashi by Mr. Selph, and a plan of gradual reorganiza­ tion with a view to evolving a workable sys­ tem is to be made up by the committee from the Package-Line and referred to Mr. Selph.”

The minutes for September 14 said: "Relative to the reorganization of the PackageLine, Mr. Selph reported that a plan, evolved by the committee from the Package-Line in conjunction with Mr. Carpenter and himself, has been presented and approved by the Ja­ panese authorities by which the present Pack­ age-Line personnel will be allowed to operate on an alternate week basis. . .. Mr. Chittick joined the Committee at its invitation to dis­ cuss his resignaion submitted on September 9. Mr. Chittick was insistent that in view of his long service at the Gate he be given an opportunity to rest and take up other camp activities, and suggested the Committee accept his resignation to become effective at the convenience of the Committee and after new personnel has been trained. Mr. Chittick’s re­ signation was therefore accepted with regret... The Committee wishes to go on record as parti­ cularly appreciative of Mr. Chittick s services."

While the reorganization of the Pack­ age-Line personnel was being carried out, there was a further development, best told in the language of the min­ utes for September 28: "The Chairman reported on a conversation with Mr. Kodaki in which he was advised that as a result of an inspection by the Military

THE CAMP Police this morning, evidence of drinking in camp was discovered, the Police demanding an immediate answer as to how liquor was coming into the camp. Mr. Kodaki further stated he has noticed a certain laxness in the observance of rules by internees and his position in con­ nection with the Military is becoming increas­ ingly difficult both for this reason and be­ cause of seemingly authentic reports from Ja­ panese repatriated from the United States and elsewhere, some of whom are now in Manila, with regard to unfortunate experiences they allege to have undergone in their various in­ ternment camps."

There had been cases of drunken­ ness in the camp from time to time and the Committee on Order had im­ posed sentences on the individuals found guilty. Some months before, a special "liquor squad" has been organ­ ized the members of which searched incoming packages for bottles of li­ quor, and when it was discovered that what little liquor came in did not come in through the Package-Line but was thrown over the fence at night, the internee guards posted along the walls were increased in number. All this, too, had received "publicity”, —• much more than was w arranted or wise, especially in view of the fact that no more than twelve or so people were involved in this indiscretion. The minutes suggested, however, that the Japanese charges were in the nature of reprisal for "unfortunate experi­ ences” allegedly suffered by Japanese interned in the United States. Another factor may have been the Japanese los­ ses in the fighting in the Solomon Is­ lands, rumors of which were at this time reaching the camp. The preceding day, Sunday, the 27th, the Japanese had found new cause for displeasure. The family aid committee had during the week hand­ ed out to some of the internees with needy families outside, notices that they should come to the Line that day for the money-aid allotted to them.

TROUBLE OVER THE PACKAGE-LINE

The internees concerned sent these notices to their families in their laun­ dry bags. The notices should have gone through the censor’s office but the internees no doubt thought that by sending them in the laundry they would be more certain to reach the right parties and that, as they were of­ ficial, there could be no objection to that. When the Japanese, Sunday morning, saw all those women and children, and found out how they had been notified, they were very "angry” and it was some time before they would permit the committee re­ presentatives to make the payments. On Tuesday, the 29th, internee in­ spectors at the Package-Line, upon or­ der of the Japanese, searched all out­ going and incoming packages, — and discovered notes which had been sliped into the packages instead of having been sent through the censor's office. This was in violation of the camp rules, yet was not in itself a great crime. The censors imposed so many restrictions on the length of notes and on what might be said that it was natural that internees should seek to circumvent them. The notes were per­ sonal in nature, such as one wrote to wife and children or friend, and not any were of the slightest military or political significance. The Japanese as well as the internee inspectors knew that such notes were being sent out and received and had blinked at the "violation”. But now this was made an issue. A bulletin was posted that night which stated that "to impress all in­ ternees with the necessity of conform­ ing strictly to the rules and regula­ tions of this camp, the Commandant has issued the following special in­ structions, which shall become effec­ tive immediately”. The instructions were that for the next day incoming

265 packages would be restricted to food­ stuffs only and outgoing packages to empty food-containers, and that after that day the Line would be discon­ tinued unless efforts to obtain favor­ able reconsideration were successful; also that gate passes would be dis­ continued until further notice, also temporary day passes except for camp services and for cases of extreme ur­ gency, and conditional releases except for those to outside hospitals in grave cases. The Executive Committee minutes for September 30 read: "The entire meeting was taken up with a discussion of questions brought up by the dis­ covery of numerous notes in the outgoing packages of internees on Tuesday morning, and of the restrictive measures by order of the Commandant as a result thereof, including the indefinite suspension of the Package-Line. The Chairman reported the status of the negotia­ tions under way between him and the Com­ mandant and asked the Committee’s advice. At the same time he indicated that the diffi­ culty is more widespread than merely the question of illicit notes, and that the Com­ mandant is disturbed over other reported in­ fractions of rules by internees both within and outside the camp, which may result in a se­ rious situation if corrective measures are not taken."

That same day a bulletin was posted stating: '•Supplementing our notice of last evening, by order of the Commandant, the PackageLine will be discontinued until further notice pending the outcome of negotiations now in progress.”

Thus came the heaviest loss the camp had up to that time suffered. The Blow of the “Kodaki Letter” — On the 3rd of October, the follow­ ing notice was posted, which, though lengthy, is reproduced in full because of its importance: "In the course of negotiations during the past week, the Commandant has very definitely indicated the dissatisfaction of the Military Authorities with the manner in which the rules and regulations governing the conduct of in­

266

THE CAMP

ternees have been observed. He has questioned buildings and the space under the dining sheds. whether all of us fully realize our position as The roadways between buildings will be avail­ internees in the circumstances of war. able for access to the various buildings until "The Package-Line incident is but one of 9 p.m. except that the boardwalk to the gym­ the criticisms. Others concern the indiscreet be­ nasium will be limited after 7:15 p.m. to haviour of certain internees both inside and men only. ‘"6 . Each internee shall report in person to outside the camp. While he realizes that the large majority of internees are complying with his room monitor at 9 p.m. unless he has pre­ the requirements, he is finding it constantly viously so reported and is in his bed or actual­ more difficult to overlook and explain the re­ ly engaged in camp duty at such hour. Between current series of infractions by the small mi­ 9 p.m. and 6:50 a.m. no internee not properly authorized shall leave his respective building nority. area except in case of emergency, in which "In order that internees may clearly un­ event he shall be accompanied by a member derstand what is expected of them, we quote of the patrol. All except emergency lights in the the following communication received from hallways and bathrooms shall be extinguished the Commandant today: at 11 p.m. '"7. No gambling shall be permitted at any '"October 2, 1942 ‘"Referring to conversations during the last time and all card-playing and other games days with the Chairman and other members must cease at 10:45 p.m. ‘"8 . Internees shall conduct themselves in of your Committee, I wish to emphasize that the conduct and actions of a certain number an orderly manner at all times, and each shall of the internees in this camp have not been perform his or her share of camp duties as satisfactory and I find it necessary to instruct assigned to them. ‘"9. Internees shall be responsible for main­ you to take whatever corrective steps may be necessary so that the internees will realize that taining and preserving proper order, as well they must conform to certain fundamental as sanitation and health conditions; also for the regulation of internal activities in strict conditions. '"In this regard, I wish to confirm the va­ accordance with all rules and regulations of rious rules and regulations which have been the camp. "‘Your Committee is hereby instructed to re­ issued from time to time by the Commandant of this camp, with certain changes necessary gulate the operation of this camp in accordance with the foregoing fundamental principles and to meet existing conditions, as follows: "'I. No internee shall leave the camp with­ it should be clearly understood by your Com­ out a written pass from the Commandant’s mittee and by all internees that if the adminis­ Office. While outside of the camp, internees tration of the affairs of this camp cannot be must confine their activities strictly to. the conducted in a manner satisfactory to the purpose for which their passes are granted, and authorities it will be necessary to take other refrain from circulating about the city un­ and more stringent action. necessarily and from visiting in public places. ‘"It is further ordered that all violations, Discussions of subjects pertaining to the war other than petty infractions, of the internal and the administration of the Japanese mili­ rules and regulations of this camp be reported tary forces are prohibited. to the Commandant’s Office, such reports to ‘"2. Unless properly authorized, no internee include a statement of the facts in each case. shall communicate or attempt to communicate, The form and degree of punishment will be with any person outside the camp or passing determined by the military authorities. through the Package-Line by writing, signal­ "‘Your Committee should bear in mind the ling, or in any manner, whatsoever. Any fact that even a very small number of viola­ authorized communications must be confined tions of the rules may be detrimental to the exclusively to personal matters. interests of the internee group as a whole. ‘"3. The possession of radios, cameras, flash­ ‘"A. KODAKI, lights, and weapons of any kind is prohibited: ‘"Chief, Department of External Affairs’ provided that patrols and monitors may use flashlights in line of duty. "From the Commandant’s letter we believe ‘"4. No intoxicating liquor shall be brought all internees will appreciate the gravity of the into camp, nor shall any internee produce, situation now confronting us. Unless we can possess, consume, sell, give away, or otherwise conduct this camp in a manner satisfactory to handle the same. '"5. All outside shanties and camp grounds the Japanese authorities, we will inevitably in­ must be vacated at 7:15 p.m. and from this vite drastic changes in the camp administra­ hour until curfew at 9 p.m. all internees shall tion. It therefore behooves every internee to be restricted to that certain designated area do his part in protecting the interests of the in front of the education, restaurant, and main camp as a whole.

THE “ KODAKI LETTER" “Package-Line “In connection with the Package-Line, a work­ ing agreement has been reached with the Com­ mandant which we hope will result in the re­ opening of the Line, subject to certain res­ trictions, early next week. "Executive Committee”

The camp had now suffered a blow that nullified much of what, over a long period of months, had been es­ tablished by the first Executive Com­ mittee. The next to the last paragraph of the Kodaki letter stated that all vio­ lations of camp rules other than petty infractions had not only to be report­ ed to the Commandant's Office; the form and degree of punishment would be determined by the military author­ ities! The success of the first Execu­ tive Committee in gaining Command­ ant Tsurumi’s consent to the adminis­ tration of punishment by the internee government itself, was now wiped out. The Kodaki letter required the Com­ mittee to turn over fellow nationals found guilty of the violation of enemy regulations to the enemy for punish­ ment. The Committee had in effect been transformed into a Japanese ins­ trument. The Executive Committee did not appear to realize this. For most amaz­ ing was the fact that there was basis for the belief that certain Committee members had themselves framed the letter during that busy afternoon. It was ordered mimeographed and post­ ed while Kodaki was out of the camp and before he had signed it. The Com­ mittee perhaps had instructions to compose a letter summarizing the more im portant rules of the camp. The gist of the fatal paragraph may have been stipulated, but the framing and phrasing of the letter was the Com­ mittee's own. There was evidence during the days following that the Committee was en­

267

tirely satisfied with the "Kodaki let­ ter.” Some of its members called it a “Constitution” and frequently quoted from it. The Committee used it to bolster its own authority, which, as an elective body, it should not have con­ sidered necessary. The real issue in­ volved in the Kodaki letter was never touched upon in the meetings of the Committee. The minutes of the Octo­ ber 3 meeting read: "The greater part of this meeting was taken up with a discussion of a communication just received from the Commandant... on the sub­ ject of 'camp order’. The communication set forth the dissatisfaction of the Commandant with the conduct and action of a certain num­ ber of internees in the camp and instructed the Executive Committee to take whatever cor­ rective steps may be necessary regulating the operation of the camp in accordance with fundamental rules enumerated by him, and ordering the Committee to report to him for determination of punishment all violations other than petty infractions of internal rules and regulations of the camp. The Chairman stated that the Commandant had indicated to Mr. Calhoun and to him that this camp should be considered an island without other than the most necessary access to the outside, that in his opinion the observance of rules laid down to this effect and for the internal government are not sincerely complied with, and that un­ less he can be convinced of the good faith of the internees and the effectiveness of their control over the camp, more drastic measures may be in order. The Committee considered this a most serious communication, and ar­ ranged that it be broadcast, read in the rooms, and posted in the rooms and hallways, after having added a few explanatory paragraphs. The Chairman stated that the plans for re­ opening the Package-Line as proposed by the Committee yesterday, had been approved by the Commandant effective as soon as arrange­ ments can be completed. To this end the Com­ mittee agreed to meet informally tomorrow to straighten out matters in connection with the Package-Line, with the hope of reopening the Line at the earliest possible moment. The Chairman and Mr. Calhoun emphasized the im­ pression they had received -from the Comman­ dant that in the case of the Package-Line he will expect strict compliance with the letter and spirit of the rules laid down.”

268

Obviously, the Committee did not understand what had hit it. All it could think of was to make another appeal for order and discipline. The Committee decided on another reor­ ganization of the department of pa­ trols, and made the following emo­ tional appeal over the loudspeaker on the evening of the 4th, posted on the bulletin boards the next day: "The following appeal was broadcast last evening. This afternoon the Executive Com­ mittee granted Mr. S. D. Lennox a 10-day leave of absence from his duties as secretary of the committee on order so that he may devote his full time during such period to strenghtening the department of patrols. As a fundamental step in such effort, Mr. Lennox wishes to have the names of all internees who consider them­ selves suitable timber for this organization for consideration' together with the patrol’s pre­ sent personnel with the view to resolving the department of patrols into a compact working unit. "He wants men who recognize the serious­ ness of the communication received from the Commandant yesterday afternoon. Men who believe that in the enforced internment of a large body of people there must be due re­ gard for the safety and health of all, and due respect for others and their possessions. Men who believe that there is no room for selfish­ ness, special privileges, or other discrimina­ tion. Men who believe that for the good of all of us there must be system and order based on reasonable rules and regulations even at the inconvenience of some individuals. He wants men who are interested in the safe­ ty and welfare of every man, woman and child interned in this camp. "If you believe these views are based on good, sound judgment and are willing to devote even a part of your time to back them up, please register your name and room num­ ber at the office of the department of patrols . .

The organization of this force of Sir Galahads will be referred to again, but at this point there should be in­ serted a quotation from still another "appeal” which showed that the Exe­ cutive Committee had not learned any­ thing from what had happened and in which it seemed the acme of stupidity

THE CAMP

was reached. It was dated October 8 and referring to rule 6 of the "fun­ damental regulations laid down by the Commandant in his letter of October 2”: "This is a fundamental rule and one which has been particularly stressed by the Com­ mandant. It has been repeatedly disregard­ ed in the past, and ever since the publication of the Commandant's letter, violations are being reported daily.”

Again the Executive Committee put the whip into the hands of the enemy; gave them a pretext if one were want­ ed, for further punishment. General indignation was aroused, for even if there were some disregard of the rule that internees should report in person to their monitors for roll call at 9 o’clock (many of the monitors did not require this to the m inute), a warning might have been quietly passed around instead of posting a statement openly declaring that "violations are being re­ ported daily”. The “Spite-Fence" — The PackageLine was reopened on October 6, but it was not what it had been. On the 4th (Sunday) and the 5th, a crew of internees had put up a sawali fence running clear around three sides of the package-shed, concealing it, toge­ ther with the campus gate, entirely from the view of the internees. This fence was put up by order of the Exe­ cutive Committee without consulting men like Carpenter, head of the Pack­ age-Line crew, and Chittick, head of the Gate liaison. Chittick and others like him long accustomed to dealing with the situation at the Gate and the Package-Line, expressed the opinion that the erection could have been avoided; their advice had not been asked. According to a member of the Executive Committee, the fence was put up “in the hope that when the Ja­ panese saw it, they would consent to the reopening of the Line".

THE "SPITE-FENCE”

The minutes of October 7 stated: "Mr. Pinkerton reported on the operation of the Package-Line based on two days ex­ perience, and it was felt that it is operating in a satisfactory manner barring two or three minor matters which are being straigthened out."

The STIC Gazette for October 11 reported dutifully: "Smiles of gratitude were Stic-ers’ reaction to Package-Line reopening. Sticcouncilor. Pin­ kerton expressed 'great success’. Three super­ visors, 31 crew (average age, 40 years) call attention to facts essential to continued suc­ cess and good service; (1) some Stic-ers send out dirty food-containers; ( 2 ) tags insecure and must put initials to surname; (3) turn shirt and trouser pockets inside-out to make inspection easier . .

To the internees in the mass there was little satisfaction as to the manner in which the Line now operated and no smiles were seen on the faces of the many hundreds of people whose only opportunity to catch a glimpse of their wives and children or friends had been when these had come to bring them laundry and food. They now went in and out unseen by the inter­ nees. The camp called the sawali erec­ tion a “spite-fence” and heartily cursed the man or men responsible for it. No one, indeed, claimed "credit” for the idea, and whoever first conceived it wisely kept the m atter to himself. The camp generally believed that it was a new Japanese cruelty. Though friends and relatives now filed into a kind of closed corral or pen from which they could see nothing of the people in the camp, they con­ tinued faithfully to come. But the hour or two at the "Line” or "Fence” ceased to be one daily camp occasion to which nearly every one looked forward. The daily gathering at the Line, the search­ ing for familiar and loved faces, the friendly talk among the internees at that time, — this was all a thing of the past. For a long time there was a sore void in the day

269

The strict searching of packages great­ ly increased the number of notes now filed at the censor's desk, and new rules were issued governing the writing of such notes. Putting the camp again in the wrong, it was announced over the loudspeaker that one woman had tried to send 13 notes on one day, most of them to the same person, and that the poor overworked Japanese censor had said, "But this is impossi­ ble.” The camp was warned that unless it learned how to use the note-send­ ing "privilege” wisely, it would cer­ tainly lose it. It was not explained that the 13 notes were written by a dressmaker in the camp who was trans­ mitting orders. If there was anything about a note or series of them con­ trary to the rules, it was the duty of the internee censors, who censored all notes before they went to the Japanese censor, to return such a note or notes. The querulous warning was simply of a piece with all the Executive Commit­ tee’s annoucements belaboring the ne­ cessity of "order and discipline”. Under the revised rules of the cen­ sor’s office, one might not say that one was well, as this, it was explained, could be taken for granted. One might inform one’s relatives or friends that one was ill, — which, of course, no one would do. A concession was made as to the prohibition against expres­ sions of thanks. One could not say, "Thank you” for this or that specific thing; one could only say, "Thanks for everything”, like a song. Selph's Talk on “Camp Order” — Late in October, Selph was asked to address the "Town Meeting”, an orga­ nization established under the auspi­ ces of the religious committee, of which more will be said hereafter. Selph talked about camp order, begin­ ning by quoting parts of the Kodaki letter, including the "fatal paragraph”.

270

He stressed the seriousness of the question of discipline, the danger of losing "privileges”, etc., according to the formula which the camp by this knew so well. He referred to the police and patrol department and the plan to cut down and "streamline” the patrol force which consisted of no less than 300 men but which, he said, would be cut down to around 150. He also em­ phasized the need of larger quarters for the Committee on Order, i.e., the "court”. A number of persons asked questions, "Selectman” Reimers asking him whe­ ther the “incidence of crime” was so high in the camp as to justify such a large number of patrolmen even if the present force were cut in half. Selph admitted that the actual num­ ber of violations committed was "not so large”, but insisted that 150 men, only a part of whom would be on duty at any time, were needed. He added that conditions might arise as the result of fire or earthquake or "other emergencies” under which the camp would be glad it had a group of compe­ tent men to act in such a situation. Other questioners asked him whether all those who violated the rules of the camp were to be reported to the Com­ mandant, and Selph opined perhaps not minor cases. When asked what classes of cases would be reported, he gave a vague answer. He was probably aware, although most of his audience was not, that, for the first time, this "town meeting” was attended by the Assistant Com­ mandant, Kuroda, accompanied by Stanley, the interpreter, — of which more hereafter. Many of his listeners felt that if the Executive Committee wanted to build up a force of men that might indeed perform very necessary services in the event of any "future emergency”,

THE CAMP

—such as could easily be imagined in connection with the disorders very likely to accompany imminent Japa­ nese defeat in Manila, which was, of course, confidently expected, the Com­ mittee should go about this without sounding any trumpets. Grinnell had discussed the reorganization of the patrol force with the Commandant, but no definite number of men to be employed on the force had been men­ tioned and neither had there been any reference to any "future emergency”. But some of the members of the Executive Committee were not so cautious, as the minutes for the meet­ ing of October 27, posted on the bul­ letin boards, showed: "Mr. Selph offered a revised organization setup of the police and patrol department . . • Mr. Calhoun stated the views of the Commit­ tee that while the work of the police and patrol department is routine in nature for the time being, he envisions that the real value of the force will come in the future when serious problems 9 re bound to arise in the way of emergencies which the department must be prepared to meet. Mr. Selph gave his assurance that the new force has this policy in mind and will draw up plans in due course to meet all emergencies.”

Internees reading the notice asked, "If that means what everybody thinks it means, why are they such damn fools as to advertise it?” The Secretary, Day, rather than Selph or Calhoun, was chiefly blamed for this. A week later there was a fight bet­ ween a white and a colored American. The former was standing behind the latter in a queue at the hospital and said, "I don’t see why I have to wait for a 'shine'.” Later in the day the men got into a tussle in which the white man got the colored man down, but, having his nose bitten, let go. This was potentially a dangerous case. The Japanese had from the first in their anti-American propaganda, played upon race prejudice from every

THE “ RELEASE” DEPARTMENT

conceivable angle with the aim of in­ flaming the Filipinos. This fight be­ tween a white and a colored American in the internment camp could be very effectively served up in the Manila press with the usual Japanese embel­ lishments. Friends immediately brought about a reconciliation between the two men who had been shipmates on the S.S. President Grant, and every one wanted as little as possible made of the inci­ dent,—except the disciplinary and ju­ diciary functionaries of the camp gov­ ernment. It was pointed out to them that the case had to be kept in the background, that it must not go to the Commandant, but their answer was that it was a "breach of the peace" which could not be overlooked. A trial was duly held and both men were given 60 days' probation, during which, if they did not conduct themselves peaceably they would have to do 10 days of grass-cutting. The decision was publicized over the cam­ pus loudspeaker. Very fortunately, the Japanese failed to see the opportunity as thus served up to them on a platter, and the m atter ended there. As the time of the trial, Grinnell told a number of colored Americans that there was no desire on the part of the camp government to discriminate against them in any way, and that if they liked they might organize a com­ mittee to represent them. The 50 or so colored men in the camp met the next day and wisely decided they did not want or need such a committee; "We do not wish to stand apart from the rest of the camp. We are all Ame­ ricans here,” they said. The Work of the Release Committee —Among the speakers at the "Town Meeting” in October was Holland. His prepared paper on the work of what was now called the release department

271

was well received and did much to moderate the criticism to which his or­ ganization had been subjected. He said that in the "hectic days of the first month of release work, we secured 791 'permanent' releases and 803 con­ ditional releases; in addition, about 1,000 persons went out on bus trips, the home for children (at the Holy Ghost College) was founded, gate vi­ sits were instituted. . . ” He explained that his department had two major policies: ( 1 ) to obtain as many re­ leases as possible and to see that applications are submitted to the Japanese authorities and scheduled according to urgency, and ( 2 ) to maintain family contact to the greatest ex­ tent possible. He said that the question of urgency was left mainly to the floor repre­ sentatives who could "usually tell which cases are urgent and which not so urgent", medical cases being given first consideration. The department also gave an urgent rating to the release applications of mothers and children and the aged. He revealed that almost 70% of temporary releases not based on medical grounds were allotted to men who had wives and children outside the camp, mostly Filipino families. "It is necessary to point out that these men are in a most difficult position. They are not allowed to go out and assist their fami­ lies and they are not allowed to bring their fami­ lies in. We have noticed that the increasing sense of futility resulting from this posi­ tion is leading to a degree of mental instabili­ ty in certain men . . . Their disturbed men­ tal attitude is having an effect on camp morale ... The stabilizing influence of the husband on the family health and welfare for certain per­ iods of time is important and their problem should be treated with understanding by all camp departments . . . The peculiar predica­ ment of these men, financially and domesti­ cally, necessarily brings about heavier release requirements than of almost any other group and justifies consideration in that light. . . In the last two months, almost every man on this list who has applied and whose home is in Greater Manila has been able to see his fa­ mily, either for one day or for a longer period of time in the more urgent cases." Summarizing the achievements of his de­ partment, Holland said: "We have secured approximately 3,000 day passes . . . There are today, including mis­ sionaries, some 2,200 persons out on release;

272 excluding missionaries, about 1,700 persons. Over 200 persons are in hospitals and insti­ tutions. There are 450 persons out on re­ lease over 60 years of age. There are another 220 persons under 60 years of age out on re­ lease at home because of ill health. There are 145 mothers and about 250 children out on release at home. There are 20 mothers and about 125 children at the Holy Ghost. There are over 200 persons out on release to care for the sick and aged. The department also secured the release of about 100 mestizos and third-party nationals. In addition to the per­ sons now out on release, approximately 700 internees have been out on conditional releases in the months from April to October and have returned to the camp. While no exact figures are available for the period between February 16 and April 15, about 200 internees went out on conditional releases during that period and returned to camp. Therefore, in addition to the 2,200 now on release, approxi­ mately another 800 internees (deducting 100 for duplications) have been out and have re­ turned. The department has handled approx­ imately 10,000 extensions. Even if we fig­ ured each extension to take only 3 minutes of our time, this would be almost 500 hours of work on extensions alone. We have arranged for over1 4,000 office visits, and we have handled approximately 1,000 other matters for internees and have made over 3,000 telephone calls on their behalf.” Speaking of the general camp morale, Hol­ land said: "It is only natural that the longer intern­ ment continues, the greater will be the mental strain on the internees. . . Up to the be­ ginning of September, this did not play a very great part in release work, but since September, we have noticed a steady increase in the number of cases requesting release be­ cause of 'nervousness', ‘hysteria’, 'mental strain’/ etc. Of course, the number affected to such a degree that they ask for release is very small in proportion to the number of internees. Nevertheless there is every indication that men­ tal strain caused by confinement is becoming more widespread. Nor is it confinement alone which causes mental strain in this camp. Other reasons are: lack of news, worry as to relatives and friends, financial worry, the rather monotonous diet, and the decreased physical resistance. You will understand that the release department can take care of only the acute cases . . . We must proceed cautiously and along the lines of suggestion. We are in no position to make demands.”

Holland’s talk did much to allay the criticism of his department, which was frequently charged with favoritism. In­ ternees would have understood the dif­

THE CAMP

ficulties the committee was up against even better if he had been able to speak of certain other facts that en­ tered into the situation. But he could not tell his audience that from 100 to 150 persons, mostly Americans, were “out on release” as a result of the in­ tervention of Japanese, Axis, and neu­ tral civilians, which intervention these persons were not too proud to accept. Some other internees were on release because their wives were Axis nationals. There were also some naturalized Ame­ ricans in Manila who at the time of the Japanese occupation pretended still to be of their former citizenship. Even more suspicious was the release of cer­ tain persons at the instance of the Japanese Military Police. With all these types of release, the internee release department had nothing to do. What did seriously affect the work of the department was the activity of a Japanese doctor who regularly re­ commended the release of many per­ sons as suffering from various ailments they did not have, while he refused to approve the release applications of people who were really ill, as certified to by the camp doctors. It was the belief of members of the release depart­ ment that payment was offered and accepted to obtain such releases, the sums in some cases running into thou­ sands of pesos, but that the Japanese camp administration was not impli­ cated in this. Late in November, the day passes and the temporary releases, which had both been reduced to 5 a day, were reduced to only 3 a day, and some days not even these few were granted. Internees who were allowed to go out were followed, and when they returned to camp they were searched and their movements questioned. Kodaki and also Ohashi and Kataoka said that the military authorities were displeased be­

THE “TOWN MEETINGS”

cause internees allowed to go outside on pass, and the people in the camp as well, did not show the Japanese enough "respect.” They said they wanted it emphasized that passes and temporary releases were a special pri­ vilege and not a right. The people in the camp interpreted this stiffening in the light of the continued reports and ru­ mors of serious Japanese reverses in the Solomons.2 “Town Meetings" — Organized and Abolished — In September, the reli­ gion department, still headed by Foley, in connection with the lectures given in the Fathers Garden, undertook to bring some of the members of the Executive Committee and other camp functionaries before the internees in what it decided to call the "Town Meeting". The Executive Committee’s minutes for September 16 read, noncommittingly: "The Committee noted that the department of religion proposes to devote a series of even­ ings to a discussion of camp activities and problems to be known as 'The Town Meeting’.”

At the organization meeting, attended by a hundred or so people who usually went to listen to the lectures, Eoley was elected "m oderator” and Griffiths, Holter, and Reimers, and Mesdames Agnew and Thomas were elected "se­ lectmen"; P. D. Carman was elected “town clerk”. At the first of the regular meetings, which were to be held every Thursday, Grinnell spoke on the general organi­ zation of the camp government, and because the rain interrupted the meetting, he concluded his talk the follow­ ing week. Holland as already noted, 2Note (1945) — On August 7, 1942, U. S. marines had landed at Guadalcanal and Tulagi in the first major allied offensive in the Pacific war. On September 25, the Japanese had been turned back from Port Moresby. The November 13 to 15 Battle of Guadalcanal gave the United States a decisive, though cost­ ly naval victory.

273

appeared at the next meeting, ex­ plaining the workings of the release department, and Selph followed him. After the speakers concluded their talks, questions were asked by the se­ lectmen or by members of the audience, and these were answered as well as might be. The camp as a whole was beginning to take an interest and each succeeding meeting was attended by a larger audience. Some 500 people heard Selph. It looked to some as if these gatherings might develop into real town meetings. They provided the first and only real contact ever established between the internee government and the people. "Use your right to be heard” was the slogan which the town meeting officials used in their announcements. As a challengingly democratic insti­ tution, it was too good to last in a prison camp. The first time that Grin­ nell apeared before the Town Meeting, he had said nothing about it to the Japanese authorities but after seeing the more than usually large gathering he felt that the Commandant should be told about the nature of these meet­ ings "to avoid embarrassment both to himself and the Japanese official”. Inasmuch as he had been asked to make a statement regarding the rela­ tionship existing between the inter­ nee government and the Japanese authorities, he thought also that he should discuss the presentation with the Commandant, so he said later. Kuroda said that he wanted to take the questions up with Kodaki, and did so. Then he said that Kodaki and he both thought that the meetings as such were all right but that the Command­ ant’s Office should be informed 24 hours in advance of what was proposed to be said, and have a representative present to note what actually was said. Kuroda told Grinnell that Kodaki had

274 "remembered’’ that it had already been laid down that representatives of the Commandant’s Office should fettend all public meetings held in the camp. No one had ever heard of this regu­ lation before. In fact, meetings of large groups of people had been forbidden from the first days of internment. The next development was that Foley was called to the Commandant’s office and questioned as to the nature of the town meetings. He was also asked about the other lectures given under the auspices of the religion department and about the religious services held, and the upshot of it all was that he was required to sub­ mit in advance the outlines not only of all lectures to be given but of all sermons to be preached! This, again, was a severe blow, and the clergy in the camp as well as those particularly interested in the town meetings were very critical of Grin­ ned for his having gone to the Com­ mandant about the meetings. Under date of November 2, Calhoun addressed a letter to the Executive Committee which read as follows: "You will recall that from the beginning I have questioned whether the ‘Town Meeting’ has an appropriate place in an internment camp. I have definite misgivings over the display of this type of psychology in our pre­ sent predicament. If the discussions can be kept on general subjects, probably no harm will be done and some benefit may result from a better understanding of the problems by the internees. What I fear is the intro­ duction of controversial issues, causing internal friction within the organization which would be very undesirable. As an illustration, sup­ pose we were to engage in a public debate on the problems of the kitchen and the work assignment department, it would be dynamite. Some weeks ago, I made the proposal, which was approved by the Committee, that the work assignment department plan a series of broad­ casts on the individual departments, with the object of acquainting the internees with our problems. These broadcasts have been made re­ gularly each week and, I believe, have been

THE CAMP valuable in disseminating accurate informa­ tion among the internees without the disad­ vantage of exposing ourselves to controversial discussions. If we are to proceed with the idea of the Town Meeting, I think we should at least obtain a schedule of the proposed topics for future meetings in an endeavor to plan the program to avoid possible embarrass­ ment.”

A conference on the m atter was held between the Executive Committee and the Town Meeting officials on Novem­ ber 14. The meeting was not a smooth one, and, according to some of the selectmen, the Committee seemed more concerned about protecting itself from criticism than about possible involve­ ment with the Japanese authorities. A member of the Committee made the point that under the circumtances there were limits to the carrying out of democratic processes, and Foley replied that it was at least to a par­ tial carrying out of these processes that the gentlemen on the Committee owed their positions. Here Grinnell in­ terposed an unfortunate remark: "Yes, the Commandant thought that was quite a joke!” The main point of difference was that the majority of the selectmen considered members of the Committee to be under obligation to appear at the Town Meeting when requested to do so, whereas some of them had already declined to speak. This was interpreted as a policy of "secretive­ ness". Another point of difference in­ volved the questioning. The selectmen wanted this to be spontaneous and free, while the Committee feared "snap questions” which it might be unwise to bring up. The selectmen formed the opinion that the Committee wanted the Town Meeting organization dissolved, but did not like to make this a definite request or demand. Instead of considering the m atter further in a spirit of compro-

THE TOWN MEETINGS ABOLISHED

275

mise, they decided to maintain their about the necessary activities of the stand and bring the m atter to an issue. internee goverment which demanded In a letter to the Committee dated Nov­ concealment — from the Japanese. On November 30, Grinnell wrote ember 27, Foley stated: Foley as follows: "At the close of the consultation between the elected officials of the Town Meeting and ‘Referring to recent discussions regarding the members of the Executive Committee on continuance of the activity known as the Saturday, November 14, we were informed that ‘Town Meeting’, it is the consensus of the the Committee would reach a decision in re­ Executive Committee that these meetings are gard to the future of the Town Meeting on not practicable as a means of achieving the or about November 16. The Board of Select­ original objectives, namely, dissemination of men last night authorized the undersigned information and development of public opinion to ask for your decision. The Board of Se­ of camp activities. Further, if it is felt that lectmen feels that consideration is due to existing channels of publicity regarding camp the several hundred internees who originally affairs are insufficient, some other should be decided to initiate the Town Meetings and who evolved to reach a larger percentage of the inelected the present Board. It feels that the temee-body with a presentation of complete various meetings to date have filled a real and correct information on pertinent subjects. need in the camp, and, with the cooperation We shall be glad to discuss any alternative suggestions which you and the Board of Se­ of the Executive Committee, would continue lectmen may wish to offer to achieve the to clear the atmosphere of misinformation and desired objectives." misunderstanding, and that such meetings Foley replied on December 1: could and would be of great service to our elected, democratic government which, at this "The Board of Selectmen, the Town Clerk, late date, can have very little information and the Moderator of the Town Meeting regret warranting concealment. We believe that it the decision of the Executive Committee to would be unfortunate to abandon this camp discontinue the Town Meetings. We find our­ activity after so favorable a reception by so selves in disagreement with your judgment many. We believe that some sort of Hyde Park that the meetings have been not of vital service safety-valve is desirable here without unneces­ to the camp community. All of us have done sary regulation and that the effectiveness of everything in our power to support the policies the meetings would be defeated by a selec­ laid down by your Committee and still feel tion of questions, which would be quickly taken that the Town Meetings would greatly strengthen as the throttling of legitimate inquiry. Such plans for camp action. Since, however, your inquiry, if untrammeled, is the best equivalent Committee has responsibility for the internal of the free speech and free press to which management of the camp, we accede to the the majority of our community has been ac­ order implied in your letter, calling attention customed, and which, we believe, is not only to the fact that the Commandant of the authorized as to our internal affairs, but has camp gave his approval of the Town Meetings been fostered continously. We trust that it and stated that he did not wish to interfere will be found possible by the Executive Com­ with them. In fairness to the 600 or 700 in­ mittee to approve at once the continuation of ternees interested in attending the meetings, what we believe to be a useful service to all we make the request that before Thursday vitally interested members of the camp com­ of this week the Executive Committee issue munity. Your vote of confidence in our ef­ a statement over the radio giving the decision forts to assist in the development of camp of the Committee, and absolving us from res­ ponsibility in the matter. Inasmuch as we life will be most helpful." have submitted previous radio announcements Foley was obviously asking too much. on the Town Meeting, we further request the "Untrammeled” inquiry, if pushed, privilege of seeing the statement before it is could be dangerous to the welfare of put on the air.”

the camp. It was certainly not true to say that the Japanese had "fostered continuously” anything like democratic processes. They had merely tolerated them up to a point. There was much

The requested announcement was made over the campus loudspeaker a night or so later. The Committee did not attem pt to "pass the buck”. The announcer said: "We wish to announce

276

that the Town Meetings have been dis­ continued at the request of the Execu­ tive Committee.” The original script had included the additional phrase, "in their present form ”, but this had been deleted at Foley’s request. The affair can not be said to have been well handled on either side. This came from the fact that neither the Committee nor the other individuals concerned had as yet correctly apprais­ ed the situation, formed any sound general concepts or drawn any defi­ nite lines of policy which could have been consistently followed. Anything like real town meetings were manifest­ ly impossible in the camp even under the best of circumstances. The Japa­ nese would have heard about them sooner or later and would either have stopped them or rendered them large­ ly ineffective by sending observers, as they did. In a strictly limited form, they might have been continued, but it should have been admitted that there were topics which should be avoided, questions that should not be asked— and questions about finance, especially financial reserves, about bodega stocks, and about the sources of food, med­ icines, and other supplies which had in some cases to be obtained in secret competition with the Japanese Army and which involved the safety of friends outside. Under the circumstan­ ces, there had always to be an assump­ tion on the part of the internee-body that the camp leaders were doing the best they could. There was too much ballyhoo. The slogan, "Use your right to be heard”, was a dangerous one. The phrase sup­ posedly applied only to the internee government, but it could easily be mis­ understood by the Japanese, who con­ ceded no rights whatever; everything was a m atter of Japanese benevolence, generosity, and magnanimity. Foley

THE CAMP

should have sat down with Grinnell and talked the whole m atter through before either party "went off the deep end”, as some one afterward said. The wisdom of the general policy of the first Executive Committee should have been remembered, — that of very quiet­ ly arriving at a position, as in the case of the religious services, of the lectures and of the grade and high school and college classes, which all started in a quiet way. But what happened had happened, and the Executive Committee, if it wanted to avoid criticism, had only brought down more criticism upon it­ self. Grinnell said to a friend, "No m atter what we do, we get it, coming and going”. There were, however, many people who believed that the Town Meetings had indeed constituted a dan­ ger to the camp, and among those who upheld the action of the Committee were some of the "selectmen” them­ selves. Arrivals from Mindanao — Consi­ derable excitement was caused in the camp by the arrival on September 9 of 24 people from Mindano. The group included several prominent persons and they had much to tell their friends. Members of the High Commissioner’s Staff Brought In — On October 31, 11 members of the U.S. High Commis­ sioner’s staff, some of those who had been interned in the Ynchausti house in Ermita, came into camp. They had much of interest to say of the last days before the entry of the Japanese into Manila, of the seizure of the mansion of the High Commissioner, of Dr. Buss, etc. The Committee’s Formal Statement of Conditions in November — In Nov­ ember, the Executive Committee was given an opportunity to have its say in writing as to conditions in the camp and the future outlook, of which it

FUTURE CAMP OUTLOOK

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"3. The adverse effect of prolonged intern­ ment of many of our group, especially on women and children, is already evident in the accelerating trend toward mental and phy­ "The Chairman brought before the Commit­ sical lassitude which must inevitably result, tee a letter which had been drafted in the in some cases, in permanent impairment of name of the Executive Committee at the request health. of the Commandant, comprising a ‘Statement of "4. An increasingly large number of indivi­ conditions and future outlook of the Santo To­ duals are already in pressing need of shoes, mas internment camp’. He stated the Comman­ clothing, toilet articles, and other necessities dant had requested this letter not later than and are without funds to provide these essen­ tials, the local supply of which is fast dwind­ tomorrow.” This statement as first drafted was ling. ”5. A revolving cash relief fund is urgently the work of Day. The key to the needed as the meagre resources which internees letter is to be found in the last para­ originally possessed have been exhausted in graph which stated in part that the providing for supplementary food, medicines, Committee hoped for the "continued and similar necessities, while internees under release because of age, health, or allied rea­ assistance" of the Commandant in sons are encountering acute difficulty in main­ "meeting our increasing problems as taining themselves outside the camp. “6. Another problem is the long separation well as conveying a true picture of our situation to interested authorities of families, some 300 husbands and fathers in­ terned have wives and children locally, who are abroad". not eligible for internment. Although a The communication, entitled, "State­ monthly contribution is made from our P0.70 ment of the Executive Committee, San­ daily allowance, the amount is insufficient to to Tomas Internment Camp, prepared properly provide for their care. "7. The anxiety in the absence of commu­ for Mr. A. Kodaki, chief, Department nication with relatives outside the Philippines of External Affairs, Japanese Military is adding to the mental depression of many Administration, Manila, Philippines, individuals. "We appreciate the courtesy of the Univer­ November 10, 1942,” was a long one, sity of Santo Tomas in affording us the use over 6 typewritten pages. It re­ of the only location in the Philippines capable viewed the history of the camp, as of accommodating so large a group. "We likewise recognize the responsibility already known to the reader, and delegated to the internee administrative body ended as follows: by the Commandant of this camp and hope “Internment under any circumstances taxes for his continued assistance in meeting our the adaptability, general health, and mentality increasing problems as well as conveying a of any national, and it is only natural to true picture of our situation to interested au­ feel the strain of prolonged confinement. Al­ thorities abroad.” though the record of the Santo Tomas camp to The Izzawa Speech on Internment date may be considered as reasonably satisfac­ tory, the outlook for the immediate future is of Japanese in the United States — a matter of urgent concern to this Committee. On Friday morning, December 11, a We feel that our picture is incomplete with­ out the inclusion of the following expression little before 11 o'clock, internees were surprised to hear the sudden ringing of our views: "1. Essentials such as drugs, vitamins, dis­ of the bell over the campus loudspeaker infectants, and hospital supplies are available system followed by the announcement in the Philippines in such limited quantities that continuation of any preventive and cura­ of a special meeting in the Fathers tive program is definitely measured by a short Garden to be held almost immediately. space of time. A "Japanese gentleman” who had re­ "2. Certain necessary imported food sup­ plies, essential to the diet of children, invalids, cently arrived from the United States was to speak. Everyone was invited. and the sick, are practically unobtainable.

took what advantage it could. The mi­ nutes of the Committee meeting of November 9 stated:

278

Around 100 of the more prominent in­ ternees were called to the meeting upon as short a notice by messengers, on the basis of a list prepared by the Executive Committee at Kodaki’s re­ quest. It was said later that the origi­ nal intention had been for the speaker to address only this smaller group. Over 1,500 people quickly gathered. This was the first time the Japanese had called such a mass meeting; it was the first time for any such large group to come together. Curiosity was on every face; apprehension on the faces of a few. At the adjoining con­ vent, the Dominican Fathers, surprised at the concourse, appeared at the win­ dows. After some 15 minutes of waiting, occupied in speculation as to the rea­ son for the meeting, Kodaki, Kuroda, and other Japanese, together with Grinnell, entered the inclosure. Grinnell stepped to the small platform used by Garden lecturers, and made a brief statement in introduction of Kodaki, who, he said, would introduce the speaker; he added that he himself had no idea of what he would have to say. Kodaki said it was a pleasure for him to have the opportunity to see so many of the internees. Though he had "since February looked after all affairs relating to the camp” he had, so to speak, remained "behind the cur­ tain”, but had always kept their wel­ fare in mind. "Some people might be quite sarcastic about what I have so far done for you, but I hope you will understand all the situation. The rea­ son why I appear here today is that I have the unique opportunity to intro­ duce one of my friends who was charge d ’ affaires in Panama and was interned in America, and I am sure all he will tell you will be very inte­ resting to you: Mr. Izzawa.” Izzawa, a tall, heavily-built man,

THE CAMP

now stepped somewhat self-conscious­ ly onto the platform. He said he had lived for many years in South America and might not be able to express him­ self in English as he wanted to. He spoke haltingly, and with much throat-scraping. After his first few sentences, it was apparent that his subject was the alleged mistreatment of Japanese in the United States. He said he was Consul at Panama and sec­ retary of the Japanese Legation there and had, with other Axis diplomats been interned in the Homestead Hotel at White Sulphur Springs, Virginia. He said this was one of the best hotels in the United States but that they were confined to their rooms and the corridors and not allowed to go into the lobby or the garden, — until later, when "after talking with the Spanish Ambassador and many fights” they were allowed to go into the lobby and a part of the garden. He said that the United States had guaranteed the good treatment of diplomats, but that as he had had to handle the affairs of other Japanese nationals interned in the Canal Zone and the United States, he had learned of the cruel treatment they had received. "We began im­ mediately to protest to the Government of the United States through the Spanish Em­ bassy”. In the Canal Zone, Japanese nationals were "captured” on the evening of the day of the outbreak of war and were taken to the police station where for 36 hours they received nei­ ther food nor water. After that they were lodged for a time in the quarantine station and fed on small quantities of rice and potatoes with sometimes a little coffee without sugar. Their money was taken away from them, on re­ ceipt, but later the receipts were taken also. They did not have a cent when they arrived in the United States and some of the in­ ternees from California and other states gave them a little money for tobacco. "Some of them returned with us on the exchange ship. They could take only two or three packages with them. Most of them had nothing. I can not describe the treatment they received in crossing [sic] the Atlantic.” Japanese internees in New York were first put in an immigration detention building. Nearly 200 of them were interned in one big room and were allowed to go out for only 40 minutes a day. The air was very bad. They could not receive visits from friends "for a long time”. Some Japanese were carried to

THE IZZAWA SPEECH the military camps where they had to live "in open fields in the middle of winter and windows exposed”. "Many times they were made naked and searched. All money was freezed. They could not draw money, not a cent. Later they could draw money, but they could not buy anything." He said he had heard many complaints from Japanese interned in the Montana and other camps, where they were "kept by sol­ diers with bayonets and forced to work”. They had to make roads in some places. "All of the Japanese living in the states of California and Washington were carried 40 miles inland. Some were taken into the moun­ tains of Nevada, where it was snowing. They had no huts and on the night of their arrival they had no fire to cook with. They were given 40 cents a day for their maintenance. They were forced to make a park near the camp.” "Many states refused to have Japanese, and for that reason they had to go to uninhabited zones in the mountain states, forced to pass every kind of hardship. The Japanese Govern­ ment protested several times of this treat­ ment of Japanese internees and evacuees.” "I was surprised that you can get food from the outside. You have a very wide gar­ den here and I see that you have freedom,— all the Japanese authorities can give you. I expect that you will cooperate to the end of the war for the maintenance of your communi­ ty, not complaining. The treatment here is very fair, and I think you can not complain against it.”

Having ended these sketchy remarks, which were received in silence, Izzawa asked for questions. Internees had read a Domei dispatch published in the Tribune some weeks previously to the effect that of the 200,000 Japanese in the United States, only some 5,000 had been interned. Izzawa was therefore asked what pro­ portion of the Japanese in the country had been interned. He answered that he thought "nearly 5,000” were in­ terned, but that all Japanese nationals, and Americans of Japanese parent­ age as well, had been evacuated from the coast. "And now they plan to carry to the mainland all the Japanese nationals in Hawaii. Japanese na­ tionals, and women and children are working for the construction of de­

279

fense and for the agriculture of the American Army in that island”. Questioned as to the treatm ent of Japanese nationals in the Mid-West, he said that there were not many Japanese living in this area. He re­ peated that it was the evacuations which were the worst. "They must stay in the camps. Thousands of acres have been assigned to the Japanese to make agriculture. They had no houses, furniture, and everything. Their money is all freezed. They can get some money through the canteen.” He was asked whether he was speak­ ing about conditions at the beginning of the war or at the present time, and he answered: "At the beginning near­ ly all the leading Japanese were in­ terned or imprisoned, some of them fettered. When I left the United States on June 18, the American Government was building a very big internment camp in Texas and were carrying Axis nationals to that camp. The most im­ portant question is the evacuation question. American authorities ig­ nored the rights given by your Consti­ tution even of the Americans of Ja­ panese parents. All these people were deprived of their means of life and have to begin again as laborers or farmers, cultivating barren land left without cultivation from the begin­ ning of history”. "Were women and children forcibly interned at the beginning of the war?” he was asked. "Some of them were interned”, he answered, "but many of them re­ mained in their houses. Naturally, the police came to see them and tell the women and the children not to go out from their houses, but the con­ dition was pitiful for them because they have no husbands to maintain them and there are many families dying from hunger. The American

280

missionaries formed an association for the relief of Japanese nationals who have no means of maintenance, and when I left they had more than $200,000 to give to the women and children because they can not live with their husbands and all money freezed. This is the real condition”. At this point, Mr. Kodaki interjected that it was true that the Japanese in­ terned all women and children "at the beginning” and old people, too, although in Japan proper only the men up to 45 years old were interned. The situation in the Philippines, as an oc­ cupied country, was different, he said, as "peace and order had been dis­ turbed”. Izzawa was asked whether Japanese internees in the United States were allowed to communicate with rela­ tives and friends in Japan, and he answered that they were allowed to write letters once a month, — ap­ parently not knowing that a limited number of the Santo Tomas internees had, after 10 months, been allowed on­ ly during the past week to write the first letters which the Japanese had promised to deliver. Kodaki hereupon again got up to say that the reason for the monthly letters in America was that the Japanese there were “far from home and friends” — as if the Americans and British in the Philip­ pines were not equally "far from their homes”, although certainly not so far away from friends in the country. Probably realizing that to have per­ mitted this questioning had been a tactical mistake, the faces of Kodaki and Kuroda expressed dissatisfaction with the way the meeting was going, for unconvincing as Izzawa's presen­ tation had been, his answers to the various questions only made the true picture the more obvious. But lastly came a question which

THE CAMP

afforded the Japanese some satisfac­ tion. A man in the audience asked what chances there were for a further exchange of internees. The question was followed by sudden applause from a part of those present, intended probably as a demonstration that it did not consider that the situation in Santo Tomas was as happy as the speaker had tried to make out. How­ ever, the interest shown was probably interpreted by the Japanese officials as indicating a lack of faith in deli­ verance from the camp by means other than repatriation. Izzawa’s reply to the question was that two exchanges had been carried out and that a third was under negotia­ tion but had been postponed by the United States Government, owing, he said, to "w ar battles in some parts of the South”. When asked whether any further repatriations would be volun­ tary or forced, he said that in the two cases he had alluded to, the Japanese and American governments had mu­ tually furnished lists of the names of persons it was desired to bring back. "I think the American Government will send us the names of the internees who shall be returned to the United States at the first opportunity”. In closing, Izzawa said: "I am a per­ sonal friend of Mr. Kodaki and know him very well. He is a very fair man and I don’t doubt that you will receive fair treatment. When I was interned in the United States, we had the same conditions there that you had here, and we had the same committees there for order, etc. I expect that you will cooperate with the Committee for the happiness and betterm ent of your life.” The gathering broke up a few mi­ nutes after 12, and was the topic of conversation for several days. Was there anything "behind” it? It was concluded that the meeting had simply

THE INTERNEES FROM CEBU

been of a piece with the usual Ja­ panese propaganda efforts. Izzawa had expressed himself with some restraint, and the audience, too, might have been less self-controlled. One man, indeed, had asked, "What of Villamor Hall?” But people around him warned him to "skip it”. Questions might have been asked about the executions of the three British internees in February, about the looting of homes and offices, about the first six months of the life of the Santo Tomas camp during which the Japanese furnished not one centavo to maintain i t . . . Izzawa had not made a single allegation, true or not, which could not have been coun­ tered by far worse facts within the personal experience of every one of his listeners. Arrival of the Internees from Cebu —Late Saturday afternoon, December 19, most of the camp gathered around the Commandant’s office to await the arrival of 146 people who had been interned in Cebu since the Japanese occupation of that city, — the second largest Philippine city, in April. Their prospective arrival had been an­ nounced a few days earlier and a list of their names had been posted on the bulletin board. First to come in were a few truckloads of baggage, — roped-up and soiled-looking m attres­ ses and rolls of bedding, bundles and bags, a few battered trunks and suitcases and wooden boxes, some blackened pots and pans, and two scratched and pathetic "kiddie-coops”. Around 5:30 the people began to arrive in trucks and the old red-and-yellowpainted camp bus. Tired, dirty, and bewildered, they got down from the vehicles, some of them stumbling with fatigue. There were shouts of recognition and greet­ ing. A wife fell half-fainting into the arms of her husband. A father and

281

mother got their 2 year-old child back; the baby had been left in Cebu for greater safety when the parents re­ turned to Manila the previous De­ cember. The people’s clothes had evi­ dently not been changed for days; this was very noticeable in the white or once-white robes of a number of American and Dutch priests. The children looked especially weary, with heavy circles under their eyes. By the time they had all register­ ed, it was growing dark, and they were ordered to line up in front of their baggage, which was still to be inspected. Some of them who had already gone to the quarters assigned to them or to the dining-sheds for something to eat, had to be found and called back. Finally they were all lined up in a double row, men women, and children, some of the more de­ licate ones ready to drop with wear­ iness. The half dozen Japanese from the office and some of the internee officers counted them as three soldiers of the Japanese guard stood by, leaning on their rifles. One Santo Tomas internee said, "By God. I ’ve seen pictures taken in France and in Poland of this sort of thing. I never expected it on American territory”. "Too bad we can’t take some photo­ graphs to send to members of Con­ gress”, said another. These people had spent nearly a week on a 4,000-ton Japanese freighter. They had boarded the ship on Monday night, and, calling at Bacolod and Ilo­ ilo, had been kept in a hold below deck most of the time until their ar­ rival in Manila that day, early in the afternoon. The hold had been shared with 150 Japanese soldiers, and there had been no room for them to lie down. Most of their poor belongings had been dumped in another hold, so that they could not change their clothing. They had had to feed them­

282

selves, and the cooking accommoda­ tions had been entirely inadequate; the toilet provisions were unspeak­ able, and there were no washing faci­ lities at all.

17 Story of

The First Internees from Mindanao Considerable excitement was caused in the camp by the arrival on Septem­ ber 9 of 24 people from far-away Min­ danao. The group included J. J. Heffington, form er Governor of Lanao, Bishop James Hayes, S.J., accompa­ nied by Father Joseph Reith, the Rev, Darley Downs, head of the Madras Mission at Dansalan, J. M. Crawford, M. S. Robie, and other prominent Americans. There were also Mrs. Seals, wife of Brig. Gen. Carl Seals, Adjutant-General of the Philippine De­ partment, and Mrs. Claire E. Plowman and infant baby, formerly with the American Consulate in Kobe. They had left Davao on September 5, on the Lima Maru, a 7,000-ton ship formerly in the South American trade, which, they said, had followed a zig­ zag course much of the way. Off the island of Mindoro, the passengers had been told to have their life belts ready because of the danger from American submarines. They were asked to stay below deck when the ship passed Corregidor. They said that they had ex­ pected that they would have to feed themselves, as they had had to do on another, smaller ship which had taken them from Cagayan de Oro to Davao City but they were told that they could have the regular ship’s fare, Ja­ panese, if they would pay 70 centavos a day, and they had done so. The Attack on Davao—The first in­ timation the people of Davao City had of the w ar w^s the bombing of the Davao (Sasa) airfield by some 12 Ja­ panese planes between the hours of 5 and 6 on the morning of December 8. The bombing damaged the main run­ way and the hangar and also the one airplane there, owned by the Elizalde

STORY

Company. Only one man was injured. That same morning, three Japanese planes bombed and destroyed two U.S. Navy bombers at Malalag, 65 kilo­ meters south of Davao City, where in September work had begun toward the establishment of a temporary na­ val station. One of the American pi­ lots, who had just been listening to a radio-account of the attack on Pearl Harbor, broadcast from Manila, was injured. About noon on the same day, four Japanese planes returned to Davao City and machine-gunned the petro­ leum installations near the airfield. This caused only a few leaks in the tanks, which were easily plugged. From that time on to the 20th of December, when the Japanese made a full-scale attack and took Davao City, not more than ten or twelve bombs were dropped, all on the airfield. Other enemy activity was limited to aerial reconnaissance. With the ex­ ception of the port area (Santa Ana), which the Japanese later shelled, the town itself was not bombed and no part of it was destroyed. The people, however, were in a high state of nervousness and appre­ hension. The only armed force in the locality consisted of two companies of Constabulary (about 200 men) under Major Firriol, who, upon orders from Manila, immediately started interning the thousands of Japanese in the pro­ vince. Although almost every Japanese male was armed with some weapon or other, their internment was carried out with little trouble. They were in­ terned in various school buildings in the town. On the 9th, Lt. F. Sharp (no relation to the General) and Corp. M. E. May arrived with a company of Filipino troops, and the next day Col. R. Hillsman arrived in army trucks with three more companies, all from Malaybalay, Bukidnon. Major Firriol already had some 12,000 of the Ja­ panese civilians interned; by the 20th, 16,000 had been interned. On such short notice, the task of guarding and sheltering and feeding so many people was no light one, and some abuses were reported. On the

FIRST INTERNEES FROM MINDANAO

11th, Hillsman met with the American civilians at the Davao Club and en­ listed their aid not only in caring for the Japanese internees but in the ma­ nagement of food procurement and tr-asportation activities for both the armed forces and the civilian popula­ tion. A civilian committee was or­ ganized which did effective work. That the treatm ent of the interned enemy aliens noticeably improved, was admitted by the Japanese them­ selves. To relieve the crowding, groups of them were spread around in other quarters, some being sent to the Da­ vao Penal Colony, 45 kilometers to the north. In so far as possible, sup­ plies taken from Japanese stores and bodegas were used to feed them, and every effort was made to give them proper medical attention. Between the 8th and the 20th of December, there were 15 births in the intern­ ment camps. On the 12th, another battalion of Filipino troops, under Mai. A. T. Wil­ son, arrived from Bohol, having come by shin to Cagayan de Oro and by truck from there, this bringing Hillsm an’s total strength to 1,200 men. Considerable quantities of supplies, such as gasoline, barbed wire, and nails, were sent to the interior. On the 14th or 15th plans had been received from Brig. Gen. J. P. Vachon, then in command of Mindanao with headquarters at Malaybalay, for the establishment of a central concen­ tration camp for the Japanese at Pikit, Cotabato, 200 kilometers from Da­ vao City, but orders from MacArthur’s headquarters in Manila countermanded this before many Japanese had been sent there. Most of the American women in Da­ vao City had in the meantime been evacuated either to Madaum, site of the International Harvester Company plantation at the head of Davao Gulf, or to Bukidnon. Many Filipino fami­ lies had moved to homesteads in the interior. The USAFFE in Davao had no planes, no anti-aircraft guns, not even any fieldpieces. And it had only some 12 machine guns. Hillsman did the

283

best he could by stationing one bat­ talion of troops between Daliao and Talomo, the sites of two large Ja­ panese plantations south of the city, also destroying the pier the Japanese had built at Daliao. To guard the ap­ proach from the north, he stationed another battalion between the site of the Philippine Army cadre buildings and the village of Sasa, 12 kilometers from the city in that direction. He kept the Constabulary units in the city. There had previously been numerous false reports of Japanese landings, but very early on the morning of the 20th, the Japanese landed at all the points named, — at Daliao and Ta­ lomo in the south and at Sasa, and also at Tibungko, a Japanese lumber port, 5 kilometers farther north. The landings were made under cover of darkness and fighting ensued all along the coast, but it was impossible to tell how strong the forces were which the defenders had to contend with. As it grew lighter it was seen that many of the Japanese were equipped with bicycles, Then, between 5 and 6 o’clock in the morning, some 20 Ja­ panese warships and transports were seen in the Gulf, between Samal Is­ land and the Santa Ana port district, and the ships started shelling this area. A half hour later the Japanese attempted to land troops at the main pier. A brave few of the USAFFE ma­ chine-gunners, under Corporal May, held off the enemy for more than an hour. May’s own machine gun was mounted on a truck which received a direct hit from a shell from one of the shins. Every man on the truck was killed except May, who limped back to get another machine gun with which he returned to the pier. There was an aircraft-carrier in the Gulf, and from daylight on there was a constant dive-bombing and machinegunning of the USAFFE forces. There were never less than 8 or 10 planes in the air. In addition to the bicycle troops, the Japanese now landed ca­ valry north and south of the city, and also a number of tanks,—only four, it was reported, but they had a bad psychological effect on the Filipino

284. _troops. They were more afraid of the tanks than of the planes. The planes swept overhead and were gone, for a lime; the tanks kept on coming. Colonel Hillsman realized that his position was untenable and withdrew to the hills, at the end of the short Tigatto road, 10 kilometers northwest of Da­ vao City, where he would have the tanks at a disadvantage. The USAFFE forces to the south were to blow up the bridge across the Davao river after they had crossed it and join Hillsman. The move was however de­ tected from the air by the Japanese and more than a fifth of the USAFFE supply trucks were blown up on the way to the rendezvous. Hillsman, un­ der heavy bombing from the air, set to work entrenching his force, but after an hour or so he realized that most of his men had disappeared. Around him stood only some 16 Ame­ ricans, 6 of them civilians, and 25 or 30 Filipinos. Hillsman decided that the best move was to gather the remnants of his force and proceed to Malaybalay by trail through territory still marked "un­ explored” on the maps. The party was composed of 10 Americans, and Filipi­ no soldiers and civilians whose num­ ber together varied from day to day between 30 and 100. It took them 14 days to make the grueling trip. They were not prepared for such a hike and were without food and blankets. They traveled through the pagan Bagobo and Manobo country and after the first week through the country of the Atas. All these people were friendly and furnished them guides from one place to the next. They gave the party what food they could and, as for the rest, the men ate the meat of monkeys they shot and heart of coconut-palm. When there was no water, they drank the sap of a species of rattan which stores considerable quantities of a sort of sugary water. The guides often led them along the beds of the streams as affording the easiest passage through the jungle and the shoes of many of them gave out. They passed many miserable nights in the open, in cold

STORY

rain, sheltered only bv palm-leaves. The last day and a half they traveled down the Pulangi river on bamboo rafts. There had been heavy rains, the stream was swift, and there were numerous smash-ups, but no lives were lost. A detachment of the strong­ er men, three Americans and some Filipinos, on the 7th day of the hike, had gone ahead of the rest to bring word of the party’s coming and to get food sent to them. Three days before they reached Mailag the main body was happy to be met with pro­ visions sent back by the advance par­ ty. From Mailag, some 23 kilometers from Malaybalay, army trucks brought them the rest of the way. This same route was later used by thousands of civilian men and women and children fleeing from Davao, and many of them died of exposure and hardship.1 The Hillsman party learned at Ma­ laybalay that on the 20th of December, the day of the Japanese attack on Davao City, reenforcements of around 1,000 men under Col. H. Frissell had been sent by truck over the Sayre high­ way and were now occupying posi­ tions 40 or 50 kilometers south of the city. They had had only sporadic en­ gagements with the Japanese. This was in the Digos area where the road from Davao., south, turns away from the coast, out of the reach of the naval gunfire. The Japanese were held back on this front until the last week in April, — until the Wainwright sur­ render order, although the force had slowly moved back along the Sayre highway, crossing the Cotabato river at Carmen ferry. The army men in the Hillsman party were assigned to various military com­ mands and the civilians accepted noncombative positions in the transporta­ tion and supply services. Japanese activities at this time were limited to air attacks, except at Digos. On January 8, there was a heavy bom­ bing of Malaybalay, some 180 bombs* Note (1945) — It was reported that 10,000 Filipino civilians started out on this trek. It took over a month and nearly half of them perished on the way.

USAFFE

285

DISPOSITIONS

being dropped on the post area, caus­ ing the loss of 20 Filipino soldiers. When General W. F. Sharp, comman­ der of the Visayan-Mindanao area, transferred his headquarters from Cebu to Del Monte, Bukidnon, about the middle of January, General Vachon became commander of the CotabatoDavao force; Gen. G. O. Fort was given command of Lanao; Colonel Morse, commander of the Cagayan brigade, took charge of the beach de­ fenses in Oriental Misamis; Colonel Chastaine continued in command of the Surigao-Agusan area, being engaged in establishing another front against the Japanese north of Davao; and Col­ onel Hillsman was given command of the so-called Communications Zone in Bukidnon, where the main airfields lay. In February, however, Hillsman was transferred to Negros and Frissell relieved him in the Zone of Com­ munications. During the first three months of the year, airfields were built or improved throughout Mindanao, the most im­ portant being situated at Del Monte (85 kilometers north of Malaybalay), Valencia and Maramag (Bukidnon), Malabang (Lanao), Buluan and Tampakan, the latter in the Koronadal Val­ ley of Cotabato province. The main Del Monte airfield for a time early in the war was the only field, except Clark Field, large enough to accommo­ date B-17's (“flying fortresses") and B-24’s, and its prom pt construction by local civilians just before hostilities began, was the means of saving from destruction half of the heavy-bomber strength when Clark Field was demo­ lished. During this time, too, consi­ derable supplies of gasoline and sugar were moved from Cebu and Negros and supplies were also moved from the coasts to the center of the great island, where large storehouses were built. To pay for all these stores purchas­ ed throughout the Visayas and Min­ danao, the funds available at the be­ ginning of the w ar were inadequate, and Philippine National Bank emer­ gency circulating notes had to be print­ ed in Cebu and also in Bacolod, Caga­

yan de Oro, and Dansalan. The Cebu notes bore on their face: "Issued by the Cebu Currency Committee by au­ thority of the President of the Phil­ ippines of December 29, 1941”. Other similar notes were printed in Dansa­ lan by the Emergency Reserve Board there headed by Teopisto Guingona, Commissioner for Mindanao and Sulu. This currency was outlawed later by the Japanese, but it would ultimately have to be redeemed because a large part of the USAFFE supplies were paid for in this paper.2 The USAFFE was criticized in some quarters for not undertaking the feeding and care of the thousands of Christian Filipino refugees who poured into Bukidnon and other northern provinces of Mindanao. The military did make some effort on their behalf but was under orders to leave this m atter to civilian officials, particular­ ly to the provincial governors, these orders originating in government quar­ ters. Many civilians were sent to the Managok Agricultural School (Bukid­ non) and set to work raising their own subsistence crops. During all this time excellent order was maintained throughout all Mindanao. In January a group of some hun­ dreds of Air Corps men arrived at Cagayan de Oro from Luzon, — with­ out planes. These were stationed in various parts of Mindanao. Late in March or the first week in April, two ships arrived at Anakan, Agusan, from Australia, bringing food supplies which were transshipped to Bataan. One of the ships also brought two crated P40 pursuit planes which were assembled at Butuan and used to take pilots to Australia. One or two other planes came to Mindanao from Bataan after the surrender of the USAFFE there. From the middle of March on, B-17's occasionally arrived at Del Monte from Australia bringing chiefly medical supplies, especially quinine, and am­ munition. The planes which bombed Manila, Cebu, and Davao in April (the internees at Santo Tomas had heard reports at that time of the bombing 2Note (1945) — It was.

286

of the Tamarao Polo Club, near Pasay, which was said to have killed over 100 Japanese airmen gathered there for a lecture and banquet), were based for this exploit at the Del Monte airfield. They were B-17's, B-24’s, and B-25's, 13 of them, under the personal com­ mand of General R. Royce. The planes arrived from Australia one night, bombed the following day, and re­ turned that night to Australia, — all but one B-17 which was caught on the field by Japanese planes and des­ troyed. Del Monte, because of the location of the several airfields there, received the heaviest and most persistent bomb­ ings of any area in Mindanao. In one attack 47 bombers were used. Smal­ ler flights down to 2 to 4 planes, worked on this area for almost five months. Cagayan de Oro and Bugo, as well as Malaybalay, also suffered numerous raids. The Del Monte fac­ tory at Bugo was severely shelled by a Japanese cruiser on one occasion. The town of Misamis, Occidental Misamis, was also shelled. Cotabato — At the beginning of Feb­ ruary, a Dutch submarine delivered some ammunition at Parang, Cotabato, and early in April an American sub­ marine unloaded a quantity of aviation gasoline at Malabang, also taking out some pilots for Australia. That re­ presented the sum total of outside help which the people from Mindanao knew anything about. On April 29 or thereabouts, the Japanese landed forces at Parang and at Cotabato tov/n. After a brief check at Parang by Filipino forces un­ der Colonel Duque, the Japanese pro­ ceeded by road to Malabang and from there to Ganassi and Dansalan, Lanao, as will be recounted later. The Japanese forces which took Cotabato found the town destroyed by the USAFFE. They proceeded eastward on the highway to the point opposite Banisilan, in the hills north of the road, where Colonel Nelson had his head­ quarters. They also moved up the Co­ tabato river in barges to Pikit, an old constabulary post, and liberated some 500 Japanese civilians interned there.

STORY

There was considerable fighting at the ferry near Pikit and also at the Car­ men ferry, farther up the river, to which General Vachon had moved some of his forces from Digos. The Japanese forces in Cotabato numbered probably around 3,000 and those which had landed at Parang an­ other 3,000. The USAFFE forces were much larger, — between 10,000 and 12,000 in Cotabato and Davao, but they were poorly equipped. The Japanese moved faster than had been anticipat­ ed because the Moros gave them less opposition than had been expected by the American officers. Around 20,000 Moros, some of them armed by the USAFFE, had sworn an oath on the Koran to fight the invaders to the last, but though they proved themselves of value, — especially around Digos in February and March as forest fight­ ers in wiping out enemy patrols, they would not engage in any pitched bat­ tles. Their leader was Datu Gumbay Piang, a captain in the Philippine Ar­ my. After the surrender, the Moros of Cotabato committed no such ex­ cesses as those in Lanao, although per­ haps a score of wealthy Chinese were killed in the area by outlaw Moros and probably also some American planters who were not seen again. Datu Piang himself demonstrated a high loyalty. He surrendered with the USAFFE forces but was released by the Japanese and sent to his home near Carmen ferry, presumably in the hope that his presence there would tend to re­ store order in the region. The USAFFE forces in Cotabato and southern Davao, though so poorly equipped, — even their rifles \vere 1919 Enfields, 60% of which soon had broken extractors, and the water-cool­ ing systems of the few machine guns they had were soon so damaged as to render the guns useless, were never in any imminent danger of defeat by the Japansese, and many of the units had not even come in contact with the enemy, when, on or about May 15, the order came from General Sharp at Malaybalay to surrender. The troops, especially the Philippine Scouts units, were very bitter about it and

MISAMIS AND BUKIDNON

so were many of the young Philippine Army soldiers. These had at first been afraid of the Japanese, seeming to consider them as almost invincible, one reason for this being that the Japaneses took pains to prevent their dead and wounded from falling into the hands of the USAFFE. But the Filipino troops learned that foxholes, quickly dug, protected them from any­ thing but direct hits from aerial bombs and artillery shells, and they also learned, when their ammunition ran low and they resorted to throwing their locally-made hand grenades, that the wounded Japanese "cried just like babies”! Misamis and Bukidnon — The ma­ jor fighting in Mindanao took place in Oriental Misamis and in Bukidnon, according to some of the men brought into Santo Tomas. The main enemy landing was at Bugo with a smaller landing at Cagayan de Oro on May 2, the total forces being variously esti­ mated as between 3,000 and 10,000. They had the advantage of the guns of their naval units, sufficient artille­ ry,' and control of the air. There was heavy fighting on the beaches, but the defenders were slowly pushed back. On the rolling, open terrain of Bukid­ non, the planes and the artillery made the fighting very tough for the USA­ FFE. The largest battles were fought at Maluko, although the USAFFE losses were light. Also in Bukidnon, the USAFFE was not actually defeated, and the cessation of the fighting was brought about by the Wainwright or­ der. When rumors of the surrender got about among the Filipino troops, battalion commanders with, say 500 men, would call the roll in the morn­ ing and find they had only 50 or 60 men left. Some 250 to 300 American officers, around 1,000 American men from the Air Corps, and only some 8,000 Filipino troops were finally in­ terned at Malaybalay. Probably some 25,000 of the 30,000 to 35,000 Filipino soldiers in Mindanao took off their uniforms and disap­ peared, making their way back to their homes, some in Mindanao itself, others in Samar, Bohol, Negros, and other Vi-

287 sayan provinces. Practically all of the USAFFE strength in Mindanao was made up of trainees. Their “disap­ pearance” showed a lack of discipline, but it may be said that they acted more wisely than they knew. Jolo and Zamboanga — There were no Americans from Zamboanga and from Jolo in the group which arrived at the Santo Tomas camp at this time and they did not have much informa­ tion regarding these places, although they spoke to some Americans in Da­ vao who had been brought there from both Zamboanga and Jolo. The Ja­ panese landed in Jolo during the night of December 24. An American Catholic priest accompanied by a Moro boy, the priest wearing a turban for disguise, escaped frorrj the island in a small boat. Before he left he saw a Dutch bombing plane sink at least one Japanese destroyer. It was believed that Zamboanga was taken early in March without much resistance, but a considerable part of that beautiful little city had been burned down by the USAFFE before withdrawing. It was said that there were still some 50 Americans, most­ ly missionaries, living in the hills near Zamboanga City with Japanese per­ mission. The Surrender in Cotabato and Davao — The USAFFE in Cotabato and Davao surrendered on the 19th or 20 th of May and were marched to Ma­ laybalay. Prisoners of war from Surigao and Agusan arrived there in June, and those from Lanao in July. The civilians were interned at the Impalutao hospital, 20 kilometers from Malaybalay. Impalutao was an old forestry station, and the USAFFE had built the wards between rows of Bag­ uio pine trees, planted three years be­ fore, which effectively concealed the buildings from the air. Dr. W. S. Da­ vis who was continued in charge by the Japanese, had been head of the Osorio hospital in Bacolod, Oc­ cidental Negros, and General Sharp had brought him and his whole staff of doctors, nurses, and attendants to Impalutao at the time he transferred his headquarters from Cebu to Malayba-

288

lay. Sharp commissioned him a ma­ jor. Both the military prisoners at Malaybalay and the civilian prisoners at Impalutao were fairly well treated by the Japanese. Sharp was in command of the Malaybalay camp under the Japanese commanding officer of the area. When the civilian internees at Im­ palutao had reached 125, they were taken by truck to Cagayan de Oro where they spent two days and nights in a school house, and were then put aboard a small 1200-ton China Coast steamer and taken to Davao City by way of Zamboanga City and Parang. They had to sleep either on deck or in the hold, it rained a good deal, and the crew was unfriendly. Some of the women in the party received insolent attentions from the sailors and the men had to keep guard over them at night. The party had to supply its own food and had difficulty in pre­ paring it because of the attitude of the galley-cook. The Davao Internm ent Camp — Arrived at Davao City the party was interned in the Convent of the Im­ maculate Conception together with some 40 internees who had arrived a few days before from Zamboanga. A Japanese civilian was in charge of the place and Japanese guards were con­ stantly on duty. Four or five of the internees were allowed to go to the market every day to buy supplies which the internees themselves had to pay for. The newcomers learned that the Davao internees, some 45 of them, were interned in a big house near the Japanese Consulate, six women Were interned in another house. These first internees had been told that they would have to subsist themselves as long as their money lasted and had had to pool their funds for that pur­ pose. The Japanese sold them rice, wa­ ter, fuel, light, etc., and the total came to around 30 centavos a day each. They were told that when their money ran out, the Japanese Army would feed them. The able-bodied among them had at first been put to hard

STORY

labor for from two to six weeks, work­ ing at the airports and on the roads, stevedoring, etc. American military personnel from Zamboanga, passing through Davao on the way to Malay­ balay, were also forced to do heavy labor in Davao City before being sent on. The Japanese charged that outrages had been committed against their na­ tionals in Davao before the Japanese forces arrived there. When General MacArthur came to Del Monte on his way to Australia, one of his first ques­ tions had to do with this matter. Gen­ eral Sharp answered he had no infor­ mation on the subject. According to one of the people from Mindanao, there was reason for believing that on the 12th or 13th of December, when Davao City was being bombed, some constabulary guards at a concentration camp went berserk and started shoot­ ing, killing several Japanese. Some­ thing similar happened on December 20, the day of the Japanese attack on and occupation of the city, when a Fi­ lipino constabulary captain started firing his machine gun into a group of Japanese internees. The number killed or injured was not known. The Ja­ panese also said that some 20 Japanese were interned separately in the rear of a Japanese bazaar which was used as a kitchen for one of the Japanese concentration camps, and that on that same day Filipinos rushed in and killed all of them with axes. The American civilian internees in Davao were treated worse than those at other places and the Japanese said that this was in retaliation for the treatm ent of their nationals there pre­ viously. The Davao Penal Colony—The Da­ vao Penal Colony, a model institution, situated some 40 kilometers north of the city, was one of the places where the Japanese were interned after the outbreak of the war. When the Ja­ panese forces occupied Davao, they of course immediately liberated their na­ tionals there and also some of the re­ gular prisoners who still remained. Most of the prisoners, several thou­ sands of them, had already escaped.

LANAO

V

i

A few hundred of these made their way to Butuan and surrendered to the USAFFE there, some volunteering for enlistment and others asking that they be sent to work in the Koronadal Valley settlement in Cotabato, an en­ terprise of the National Land Settle­ ment Administration. The colonists there were hard at work producing foodstuffs for the USAFFE. Late in February, the USAFFE sent over 200 of the escaped prisoners to the Koro­ nadal in army trucks. Lanao — Brig. Gen. Guy O. Fort, in command of the Lanao area, had two or three months to prepare for the enemy attack. About the first of the year, the interisland steamer, the Panay, was dispatched to Bugo, Misamis Oriental, main army depot on the north coast of Mindanao, with equip­ ment, including light artillery, and small arms and ammunition for distri­ bution through General Vachon to the forces in Mindanao, including those under the command of General Fort. But Japanese planes sighted the ship off Negros and sank her. Few lives were lost, but the entire shipment of arms and ammunition was sunk. Fort was in command of forces com­ prising the 81st Division of the Philip­ pine Army, together with various constabulary units. Colonels Veasy and Mitchell, both West Point men, were on his staff. Colonel Duque, a Philippine Scouts officer, was his chief of staff until he was relieved early in April by Major Forte, sent by General Sharp from Malaybalay, and Duque was transferred to command a small force at Parang, on the south coast. In all, Fort was said to have had from 8,000 to 10,000 Filipino troops in the area, and, in addition, he counted on the help of some 20,000 Moros. Captain Wyatt, who joined him in February, interested himself chiefly in organizing Moros to man a number of speedboats on Lake Lanao to deal with the flyingboats which it was expected the Ja­ panese would use. General Fort, who had nearly forty years of experience as a constabulary officer, most of these years in Minda­

289

nao, maintained his headquarters for some three months at the barrio of Abaga, near Momungan, on the IliganDansalan road. He built another head­ quarters in the mountains of Bubong, 10 or 12 kilometers from the barrio of Ramain, on the Lake shore, home of Sultan Alonto, the senator-elect from Lanao, there being an excellent road from Dansalan to Ramain. He had quantities of supplies hauled to Bu­ bong, and as the Moros of Lanao are good farmers he was able to store a large quantity of palay (rice). He transferred to Bubong at the begin­ ning of April and had a sizeable force there by the middle of the month. In January a large number of Aircorps men arrived at Dansalan from the north. They had come on the S.S. Mayon which had carried between 300 and 400 officers and technicians who were bombed out of Clark and Nichols fields early in the war. The ship ar­ rived at Bugo badly damaged by bombs and m a c h i n e-gun fire. Most of tftese men went to the nearby Del Monte airfields while some were sent to Dansalan and Malabang. Almost all of the pilots in this group were even­ tually ferried to Australia from Del Monte in flying-fortresses and B-24’s the last leaving near the end of April. President Quezon and his party ar­ rived at Dansalan toward the end of March and stayed for several days, after which the party left by automo­ bile for Del Monte. The President had left Corregidor in a submarine and had visited Iloilo and Cebu, and other places by ship, encouraging the peo­ ple and leaving instructions. He had come to Kolambugan by mosquito boat and had from there motored to Dan­ salan. He was in good spirits and talked to various officials. On April 29, two seaplanes alighted in the Lake with evacuees from Cor­ regidor bound for Australia. In taking off the next morning, one of the planes struck a submerged rock, splitting a pontoon. After emergency repairs, the plane still could not take off again with a load and therefore left, it was said, without notice to the passengers.

290

Those left behind included Brig. Gen. Carl Seals, the Adjutant-general, and his wife, Commander Bicknell, Father Ronan, chief training chaplain, and 10 army nurses. These people then left for Del Monte by automobile. In the meantime, General Fort held meetings all over Lanao enlisting Moro support for the USAFFE. He ex­ pressed himself as well pleased with the results. He organized the Moros into groups, some of which were used for patrol duty in the Malabang area. He promised them PI a day for every day of service but issued no rifles on the ground that the Army did not have them to spare. He authorized them, however, to manufacture paltiks, home­ made guns. He also told them that they would be allowed to keep any rifles they took from the enemy when they should appear. The Sultan of Ramain, who was recognized as the leader of the Moro auxiliaries, issued a state­ ment signed by 100 datus, which was broadcast from Corregidor and Cebu. It reaffirmed the loyalty of the Moros and avowed their determination to stand by the American-Philippine armed forces to the death. Never be­ fore, Fort told his friends, had there been such a spirit of cooperation be­ tween the Americans and the Moros. The first Japanese attack came on April 25 when they attempted a land­ ing at Parang but this was repulsed by a force under Colonel Duque. A larger force of from 2,000 to 3,000 Japanese effected a landing at Malabang the next day, the resistance there being overcome. There was an im portant bridge on the way from there to Ganassi, which had been mined, but the attem pt to blow it up failed. The Japanese column was supported by 6 small tanks and some planes, not many, but the USAF­ FE forces had none. The tortuous road had seemed easy to defend, but what could an outnumbered infantry do against planes and tanks? The Japanese simply marched up the road to the Dapao pass. On the other side of the pass, Colonel Mitchell was walking toward them, not realiz­

STORY

ing the enemy was so near; neither did he note that his men were not right behind him. He walked into the Ja­ panese and was struck over the head with a rifle-butt before he was recog­ nized as a regimental commander. Ah though he had been on his feet for the past 24 hours he was made to walk with the enemy troops all the way to Dansalan. General Fort having learned that the attack was coming from Malabang and not from Iligan, had sent Colonel Veasy with a part of his force toward Ganassi. With 800 men, Veasy made a stand along the road at Bacolod Grande, about 10 kilometers on the Dan­ salan side of Ganassi. This was on the 2nd of May. He had a few old fieldguns, relics of the Spanish-American war, and was able to destroy one or two of the Japanese tanks. Through some error the first three tanks were not fired on and got through. Sight of them again had a shattering effect on the Filipino troops, but they never­ theless took a heavy toll of the Ja­ panese, it being estimated that some 500 of them were killed. After several hours, however, Veasy’s force was routed. Major Forte in a last reckless charge against the oncoming Japanese was killed. Enemy planes had bombed Dansa­ lan and Momungan on May 1 and some Filipino officers had set fire to a num­ ber of buildings in the town which contained stores. This was like a sig­ nal to lawless Moro elements and they started looting, destroying what they could not carry away. The destruc­ tion extended even to the wrecking of three pianos in the Madrasa Mission buildings. Elderly J. J. Heffington, former governor of Lanao and a pa­ tient in the hospital, was the only American left in the place, as he wanted to stay where he was. The hospital personnel having fled, how­ ever, he was picked up by some Ame­ rican medical corps men and taken to Fort's headquarters at Bubong. The column of Japanese troops coming up from Iligan where they had landed on May 2, met with less resistance than

THE MADRASA MISSION, DANSALAN

291

those who pushed on from Malabang ees had moved to the hide-out farther to Ganassi. inland from the Lake during the pre­ ceding few days. At the distant sight of Dansalan in The Madrasa Mission People ■— Af­ ter the fall of Bataan, General Fort flames on the morning of May 1, the had called the Americans in Dansalan people in the mountain hide-out were together and had advised them that seized with panic and many of them, as he expected air-attacks, they should men, women, and children, started out go to the mountain hide-out which had on foot, some without even blankets been prepared by provincial and other or mosquito nets, thinking only of get­ officials for their families 14 kilome­ ting away and of reaching Bukidnon. ters inland from Tamparan, on the The first Bukidnon village, Wao, lay Lake shore. 30 kilometers from Dansa­ 50 kilometers away over a bad trail lan. Over 100 nipa houses had been through virgin wilderness. Guingona, built there including houses fo r Com­ Raval, and others did reach Bukidnon missioner Guingona and Governor Ra- after great hardship. Four or five per­ val. Fort had suggested that the Ame­ sons were known to have lost their ricans and other civilians build houses lives; many others disapoeared. Some for themselves there too. The Ameri­ of those who started out on the trip, cans thought the place too far and returned to the hide-out again. The moment some of the people at also that as a hide-out it was inef­ fective because after all the building the hide-out had gone, outlaw Moros materials and the possessions of the pounced, taking everything they had refugees had been hauled there, left behind them. It was said that the road was plain and would be easy P3,000,000 in government funds packed for the Japanese to follow. However, in a suitcase, fell into their hands. The they yielded to the General's wishes outlaws also broke into the houses and the Madrasa Mission did build a of those who had intended to remain, house there. By April 10, Fort was so seizing whatever they wanted. Worse anxious to get all the civilians out of would have happened if some Moro Dansalan that he urged them to go at friends had not arrived under Datu least as far as Tamparan and arrange Gata who drove the robbers off. The to live in some of the Moro houses in Datu advised the people to go back to the barrio of Salaman or to Tamparan, the place. The Reverend Downs, head of the and this they did, a trek of 10 kilome­ Madrasa Mission, temporarily taking ters which they had to make on foot the place of Dr. F. C. Laubach who was because the Moros had stripped and in America on leave, obtained, permis­ wrecked the government automo­ sion from Hadji Kakairan Kalungan biles parked some kilometers below to occupy a large native building at the hide-out. Salaman, 6 kilometers inland from Downs, at Salaman, had moved his Tamparan, which had been constructed girls to what he thought was a safer for the pandita association of the dis­ place in a betel-nut palm grove about trict. The Madrasa Mission at Dansa­ a kilometer from Salaman, but so lan consisted of a school, dormitories, many people from the hide-out now dispensary, printing plant, etc., fi­ came down on him there, that there nanced by the Congregational Ameri­ was no room for all, and the next day can Board, and Downs had under his the Hadji told Downs that he could charge a score of mestiza girls, most not protect them from "bad Moros” of them of American-Filipino parent­ unless they came back to the big age and also one boy and seven girls house at Salaman. As everybody by who were half-Japanese. They left Dan­ this time was more afraid of the Mo­ salan on the 12th. By the 29th there ros than of the Japanese, Downs' com­ were 48 people in the H adji’s build­ munity, now numbering some 67, did ing. Government officials and employ­ this.

292

STORY

On May 3, Major Prichard arrived Being a soldier. 1 obey orders. No stigma of at Salaman with seven men, saying blame rests upon us. I am required to march that everything was over and that he my force to Dansalan, May 27, and formally surrender the troops; this excepts details out was going to Bukidnon to join General on patrol unable to join me on that date Sharp. Bubong had not yet been taken who will be accorded until May 30 to come by the Japanese, but General Fort was in. nevertheless planning to move his "I have been much concerned respecting headquarters to the hide-out too. Cap­ your group as I realize there is element of tain Wyatt, with a number of Moro great danger to your group after our protec­ bands, continued harrassing activities tion is withdrawn as there are many fire­ and on one occasion entered Dansalan arms in the hands of irresponsible and out­ itself, now occupied by the Japanese. law groups, and unfortunately our loyal Moros largely without arms. I have sent urgent The Surrender in Lanao — The Mo­ are messages to Col. Hill and Capt. Lane that your ro Outlaws — The Mission people group must be evacuated from Tamparan by heard Wainwright’s surrender order boats for Dansalan during the night of May 27; over the radio, but thought that the each boat must carry a white flag; Capt. Lane broadcast was a ruse. Fort believed will be on the leading boat and some distance so, too; Sharp sent him radio messages ahead of the other boats in order to avoid to surrender, but he believed these being fired upon on approaching Dansalan. Bring with you all possible food supply; bring to be faked. On the night of May 24, what you can of bedding and clothing, and the people of the Mission were pack­ store the rest under the protection of Datu ing their belongings to go with Captain Hadji Makatanaw, Mayor of Tamparan, to be Lane to the hide-out where Fort had recovered a few days later. Immediately fol­ been sending more supplies prepara­ lowing your evacuation of personnel, Col. Hill tory to moving his headquarters there, with all PA. PC. will proceed by marching Bubong to Dansalan where he will be met when a runner arrived with a letter via Major Prichard, turn over a complete roster from Fort addressed to an old Moro by of officers and men, and be conducted to sergeant at Salaman informing him the point agreed upon by the commander of that written orders had come from the Japanese forces. General Sharp, delivered by Major "This is one of the misfortunes of war Prichard, and that he was to take his and a strict compliance with stipulations of detachment to Dansalan on the 27th surrender is imperative. "You may show this letter to Col. Hill and for surrender. The sergeant turned immediate action. the letter over to Lane. Major Hill, Capt. Lane. It requires "(sgd.) G. O. FORT who had already started for the hide­ "Brigadier General out with a force of 80 man, had to be "Commanding” sent after and recalled. General Fort believed, and others in Besides the letter addressed to the sergeant, there was a letter addressed Lanao agreed with him, that the to Downs, It was typewritten and USAFFE forces there could have been reorganized and, with the aid of loyal read: Moros, could have shown the Japanese "24 May 1942 a real fight at least. The Japanese "My dear Rev. Downs; "Your note of 24 May received 4:00 p.m. themselves probably never had more I answer at once, briefly. than 5,000 men in Lanao. "I have sent written instructions to Col. The news removed the last restraint Hill and to Capt. Lane. Major Prichard USA, on the criminal groups among the Mo­ liaison officer between me and commanding officer of Japanese forces in Camp Keithley, ros. The people at Salaman were un­ carried with him copies of my letter. I had der the protection of some 80 Filipino already taken up and had been assured the soldiers, Colonel Hill, Captains Lane American missionary group and persons at­ and Wyatt, and one other officer, and tached thereto would receive the same court­ there were also two American enlisted esies and treatment accorded the American Ar­ men, all well-armed, but their presence my officers of our force. "Lt. Gen. Wainwright ordered Major Gen. possibly increased rather than dimi­ Sharp to surrender all forces under his com­ nished their danger, for the Moros mand, and I have received the same order. wanted the guns. The next day hostile

THE LANAO SURRENDER

Moros began to gather about Salaman, 200 or 300 of them, variously armed. The tension grew as Captain Lane organized the cargadores (carriers), listing their names and cataloguing their loads. The Moros kept edging closer and one loyal Moro sprang for­ ward, threatening them with a rifle. There were four automobiles, but at the last moment Downs discovered that the battery of one of them had been removed, and he put in a radio battery. Half-way down to Tamparan, they found that the bridge there had been destroyed, and from there on everybody had to walk: the distance, fortunately, was only 6 kilometers. The cargadores opened the baggage they carried, taking everything of va­ lue. The Mission party spent the first night at Tamparan in Hadji Makatanaw’s house, but the Moros in the vil­ lage had become so unfriendly by the next night that Captain Lane put all the civilians aboard a number of mo­ tor boats tied up at the Lake shore. There they sat all night, crowded close together on top of what remained of their baggage. There were four or five small children, one a babe-in-arms. One of the American women was preg­ nant and very near her time. About 3 o'clock in the morning someone called out to Captain Lane and when he went to investigate he was stabbed in the heart. Captain Wyatt ran out and shot at the assas­ sin but he got away. A young Ameri­ can soldier then nervously loosed a burst from his machine gun, firing high, as he thought, but sending some bullets into a Moro house, killing a woman and wounding several children. The situation was uglier than ever because the dead woman was the sis­ ter of a notorious bandit leader re­ ported to be not far away. The Moro operators of the m otor boats were surly. There was not enough lubricat­ ing oil, and they could not get the motors to running, but it looked as if the boatmen might be stalling. Final­ ly the motors in two of the boats started up and these two boats took the other boats in tow and also five vintas loaded with the soldiers. Ar­

293

rived at Ramain, from where the sol­ diers were to march into Dansalan ac­ cording to orders, the Mission party waited for several hours for some oil which had been sent for but did not arrive. By this time the motor in only one of the boats would run, and Cap­ tain Wyatt agreed to take this boat ahead to Dansalan to report the dif­ ficulty to the Japanese and, if possible, to return with oil. After he had left they got the motor in the other boat going and set out, the motorboat now towing three other heavily loaded boats. They met Wyatt coming back with oil but they were then near enough to Dansalan to get along with­ out it. Wyatt reported that he had been well enough received by the Ja­ panese. The weary party arrived at Dansa­ lan at 4 o’clock in the afternoon (the 27th of May) many hours late, but were considerately treated by the Ja­ panese. The fact that Downs spoke Japanese helped. They were put in three small Moro houses near the building in which the American offi­ cers were quartered. Some 700 Fili­ pino soldiers, included in the surren­ der, occupied other Moro houses in the town. Thousands of other Filipino soldiers had disappeared in the wilds, throwing away their guns in the hope thus to escape being murdered for them by Moro outlaws, but it was es­ timated later that around 600 of them were killed by criminal Moros who in many cases turned also on their own people. The body of Commander Tis­ dale of the U. S. Navy was reported to have been found badly hacked. Most of the Filipino soldiers probably made their way to the Christian province of Occidental Misamis and from there returned to their homes in the various Visayan islands by small vintas (sail­ boats). The Japanese inspected the Mission people’s baggage but when it got dark they said that they would take their word for it that they had no arms. One officer took all their "emergency" Philippine notes and refused to issue receipts for the money. The pregnant woman had her baby three days after

294

her arrival at Dansalan. After ten days in the town, the pri­ soners, military and civilian, were all taken to nearby Camp Keithley. The latter, numbering 42, were put in the guardhouse. The young charges of the Madrasa Mission had been placed with Filipino and Japanese fa­ milies. The civilians and the American officers ran their own kitchens, were allowed to go to the river to bathe and wash, and a number of them were also allowed to go to the market every day to buy supplies. They subsisted them­ selves on their own funds. Executions — On July 2 four Ame­ rican enlisted men escaped from the camp but whether they were ever caught was not known to the men who brought the Lanao story to Santo To­ mas. The next day, several of the American officers were examined by the Japanese and later in the day the American military prisoners were lined up and told that Colonel Veasy, Major Price, and Lieutenant Chandler would be punished for having allowed the four soldiers to escape. At sunset the civilian prisoners in the guard­ house saw the three men being led out of sight by a squad of Japanese sol­ diers. A little later they heard the yell of a Japanese bayonet-charge. They heard no shots. Later, a Japanese of­ ficer admitted that the men had been executed. Filipinos told some of the people of the Mission that they had seen the hideous killing. The men had been blindfolded and bayoneted in the back. The next day, July 4, all the mili­ tary prisoners were marched down to Iligan, a distance of 36 kilometers. On the way, Major Nevins fell behind because of weakness. When the Japan­ ese saw that he could not keep up they shot him by the side of the road. Another American and 4 Filipino soldiers were shot for the same rea­ son. When, two days later, the ci­ vilians were taken to Iligan by truck they saw one of the bodies still lying beside the road. The civilians were quartered in the Iligan school house for a few days and then they were taken by boat to

STORY

Cagayan de Oro. From there they were taken by truck to Malaybalay, by er­ ror, as they were supposed to have been sent to Impalutao. No prepara­ tions had been made to receive them at Malaybalay and they spent an uncom­ fortable night in several native huts. The next day they were taken to Impulatao, where Major Davis was still in charge of the hospital. There they met the American civilian prisoners who had come from Del Monte, — Bishop Hayes and 17 other priests, mostly Jesuit missionaries. Near the end of July, 14 more arrived from the Malaybalay prison-camp. They now totalled over 100 people, including General Seals’ wife and the 10 army nurses. On August 17 they were all taken by truck to Cagayan de Oro and from there on a small steam­ er to Davao City, arriving there on the 24th. Thirty-nine Americans from Zamboanga had arrived three days ahead of them. In Davao the Japanese informed them that it would be possi­ ble to effect an exchange of diploma­ tic and consular officials, persons con­ nected with the Red Cross, and jour­ nalists, and a group of 24 people, most­ ly persons with Red Cross connec­ tions, left Davao on September 5 as already related. The Americans from Lanao had no information about the Filipino prison­ ers taken there except that the Japanese offered to release those of them who would join the new Constabulary; some 50 of them were said to have volunteered. The task of re-establish­ ing order in Lanao would be a diffi­ cult one. There were reports of Jap­ anese patrols being wiped out by Mo­ res, and there was one story of the Japanese massacring an entire More village between Dansalan and Iligan, some 80 men, women- and children, as an act of retaliation. An American resident in this village and his Spa­ nish wife and their child saved them­ selves by hiding in the top of a betelnut palm for half a day. Then they walked to Iligan and surrendered. Del Monte, Bukidnon — J. M. Crawford, president and general man­ ager of the 20,000-hectare pineapple

DEL MONTE, BUKIDNON

plantation of the Philippine Packing Corporation at Del Monte, heard the radio news of the attack on Pearl Har­ bor early in the morning of December 8 and immediately informed the offi­ cers of the USAFFE airfield there. At first they would hardly believe him, he said, but they got their planes out of the way. At that time there were 17 flying-fortresses there, which went into action in different parts of the Philippines during the early part of the war. A number of them were wrecked in various accidents but most of them later reached Australia. The airfield at Del Monte and other fields in Bukidnon were potentially the most valuable in the Philippines and the main USAFFE forces in Min­ danao were in time stationed there, — between 12,000 and 15,000 Filipino troops under mostly American officers. They were almost as badly equipped, however, as the troops in other parts of Mindanao, with practically no ar­ tillery and only a few airplanes. The first attack on Del Monte did not come until December 18, at which time 6 medium-sized bombers and fighting planes were destroyed on the ground. There was a heavier attack on the 21st, when a number of officers and men were killed. Del Monte Was bombed intermittently after that, ne­ ver much damage being done until after the bombing of Manila and other points in the Philippines on April 26 by the flying-fortresses from Australia, commanded by General Royce. Hopes that this form of attack might be continued were not to be re­ alized because of the lack of sufficient quantities of aviation gasoline in Bu­ kidnon, — among other reasons. Relieving General Vachon, General Sharp arrived at Del Monte from Cebu on January 1 or 2, and immediately constructed ten large camouflaged dugouts, electrically ventilated and light­ ed, for the headquarters offices, and there most of the staffwork was done for several months. Del Monte became the stopping point for army officers and high political officials who evacuated the Philippines for Australia. Generals Clagett and

295

Brereton and also Colonel Maitland, all of the Air Corps, came through in January; some 300 pilots likewise. The people who reached the Santo Tomas camp from Mindanao had thought it wise to destroy their diaries before the surrender, — those of them who had kept such records, and they were therefore somewhat hazy on various dates, but they said that it was around the middle of March that General MacArthur and his party ar­ rived at Bugo by speed-boat and mo­ tored from there to Del Monte. The General was accompanied by Mrs. Mac­ Arthur and their young son with his Chinese amah. In his party, too, there were a number of other generals, including Sutherland, George, and Ca­ sey; also Dr. Howard Smith of the Quarantine Service and Arthur Fischer and J. E. H. Stevenot, prominent Phil­ ippine residents who had joined the Army as reserve officers. Rear Ad­ miral Rockwell was also with the party and was quoted as having said that he could not see how any effective aid could be gotten to the Philippines short of a year and a half or two years. MacArthur was described as looking worn and ill. He was not known to have expressed himself on the general outlook. The party left Del Monte se­ veral days later in three planes. The Quezon party arrived a few days later from Dansalan and stayed at Del Monte for several days. The Presi­ dent “looked all right" but was des­ cribed as rather nervous and evident­ ly distressed by the course of events. He, too, was reported as not having had much to say. He was accom­ panied by Mrs. Quezon and the three Quezon children, all of whom were well. Also of the party were VicePresident Sergio Osmena, Gen. Basilio Valdes, Col. Andres Soriano, and Maj. Manuel Nieto; also two doctors, a pa­ dre, and Adong, the President's valet. During the President’s stay at Del Monte, Col. Manuel Roxas (former Speaker and, at the opening of the war, Secretary of Finance) arrived in a plane from Corregidor to consult with him. Roxas, made a general, re­ mained in Mindanao and was later

296

taken prisoner there. After the Ja­ panese separated the American from the Filipino prisoners of war at Malaybalay, they put Roxas in charge of the Filipino prison-camp. Carlos Romulo, publisher of the D-M-Ft-M newspapers in Manila, who as a reserve officer had been engaged in press and radio work, arrived at Del Monte from Iloilo a short time after the Quezon party had left. He had been in a plane smash at Iloilo and was badly shaken. High-Commissioner Sayre's party did not come to Mindanao, but was said to have left Corregidor on an American submarine straight for Aus­ tralia. His wife and son, Mr. and Mrs. W. Willoughby, C. Coville, E. D. Hes­ ter, and his secretary, Janet White, had accompanied him. The people at Del Monte had later heard Mrs. Sayre and Mrs. Willoughby speak over KGER, San Francisco. While the 13 B-17’s commanded by General Royce were bombing Manila and other Philippine points, the 6 or 7 P-40’s at Del Monte at that time went into the air to guard against a possi­ ble Japanese attack on the field, but when the big bombers returned about noon, the Mindanao people said, the pursuit-planes had to come down, too, because they had run out of gasoline. Five or six Japanese planes, because of this, were able to swoop down over the field at that moment, destroying one of the flying-fortresses. From that day on, the 26th of April, Del Monte and the other airfields in Mindanao were frequently bombed by squadrons of enemy planes ranging from 3 or 4 to as many as 17. Japanese troops in heavy force land­ ed at Cagayan de Oro and Bugo on May 2. As already recounted, the de­ fense forces were driven back from the coast and Sharp, as early as the 4th, removed his headquarters from Del Monte to Dalarig; a few days later he moved back to Maluko and then to Impusugong, always with the aim of keeping one of the canyons, which are a feature of the otherwise flat or rolling Bukidnon landscape, between

STORY

his forces and those of the enemy. Sharp could have retreated farther back into the mountains and could have kept up his resistance for a long time yet, if not indefinitely, but in com­ pliance with orders, he surrendered at Impusugong- 50 kilometers south of Del Monte, on May 10.

18 Story of

A Small Town Under the Japanese (Muntinlupa) Early in October (1942) there came into Santo Tomas an "old-timer”, a former U.S. Army and Philippine Cons­ tabulary officer, who had lived in the Philippines for more than forty yearsAll during the Japanese occupation up to that time, and for three years pre­ viously, he had made his home at Muntinlupa, Rizal. This is a small vil­ lage, inhabited mostly by tenant-far­ mers and fishermen, on the shore of Laguna de Bay. It lies 28 kilometers southeast of Manila on the railroad line to Los Banos. His description of the conditions in this little place not far from the capital during the first nine months of the enemy occupation, was informative and interesting. On Wednesday, December 10, 1941, the third day of the war, about lunch­ time, he was listening to the distant bombing of Cavite and Nichols Field on that day. Startled by machine-gun fir­ ing overhead, he ran out of his house and saw a U.S. Navy plane in close pursuit of two Japanese bombers, all three planes firing. Suddenly he noted that the American plane was out of control and a moment later he watched it hurtling into the waters of the lake as the Japanese planes disappeared in the distance. Divers were sent to the scene the next day and the plane and and the pilot were identified, but not at that time brought to the surface. It was the Japanese who did that seve­ ral months later. This was the last American plane seen over the municipality, but during 1 1 Note (1945) Major Wilfrid Turnbull, who died in the Santo Tomas hospital, November 1, 1944.

MUNTINLUPA

the rest of the month enemy planes often flew over the tree tops. Except for dropping a few bombs near the government serum laboratory, 3 kilo­ meters out of the town, they did no bombing or machine-gunning. On Christmas Day, however, they bombed the morning train from Manila while it was at the Los Banos station, killing and injuring many people. That was the last train seen on the line for several monthsVery soon after the war broke out, the population of the town was in­ creased by several thousand evacuees from Manila. The Philippine Red Cross issued rice and money to these people, many of whom were destitute. Sani­ tary arrangements in Muntinlupa are primitive, and the place was soon one big latrine. Complaint was made to the Red Cross doctor and the situation improved. It was said that the res­ ponsible sanitation official of the town had just m arried and had on this ac­ count somewhat neglected his duties. Considerable alarm was created dur­ ing Christmas week by an attempted prison-break at the new Bilibid Prison, situated some 2 kilometers from the town. The convicts set fire to the kitchen and warehouse and tried to escape during the confusion. Over 200 of them were reported killed by the machine-gunning of the guards before order was restored. A number of the prisoners managed to get away, among them one man who later revealed a hidden supply of gasoline to the Japa­ nese, for which he received a medal. The practice blackouts, occasionally held for some months before the ac­ tual outbreak of war, were not willing­ ly carried out nor properly enforced, but this quickly changed after the first bombing of Manila, the wardens in ge­ neral rendering faithful service. The "civil guards” did good work in controlling the heavy traffic of evacuees, refugees, and USAFFE units over the highway which runs through the town, though some of these guards were unnecessari­ ly brusque in dealing with the public. So far as Muntinlupa was concerned

297

the Civil Emergency Administration was of small value, and there was little or no supervision of the local organization. No information was given out as to the movements of the enemy, or any advice as to the safeguarding of property. The only man in the town who seemed to know what was coming was the manager of the local Chinese store, for he completed the moving of his stock into the house of a Filipino friend a few days before the Japanese entered the town. There was no govern­ ment inter-provincial telephone system, but the lines of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company and of the Manila Railroad Company might have been used by the CEA to commu­ nicate with the provincial capitals, and the provincial authorities could then have communicated with the various towns over the local lines. Nothing of the sort was done and people remained in complete ignorance of what was go­ ing on even in the next province. The Railroad Company rendered Muntin­ lupa very poor service, making no changes in the regular train schedule to meet the emergency. People eva­ cuating Manila were packed in like sardines, with scores more standing on the platforms and clinging to the steps. Arrived at their destination, passenger often could get out only through the windows. This caused long delays at the stations and greatly in­ creased the danger from bombing. When Manila was evacuated by the USAFFE and declared an open city, the evacuees at Muntinlupa began an or­ derly return to the city, but after a day or two, wild rumors about the advancing enemy troops and the atro­ cities committed by them, in the rural areas, converted this movement into a stampede. Streaming toward Manila, too, were thousands of refugees from towns farther south. Retreating USA­ FFE soldiers came through the town in speeding army trucks. They were mostly young boys who smiled and formed V's with their fingers as they went by. With many of the transients from Manila gone, life in the town went

298

back almost to normal for a few days around the end of the year, and traffic over the highway was light. The people were harvesting their rice. They showed but little uneasiness, expressing con­ fidence in the ability of the United States forces to protect them. What worrying they did was over the safety of their women-folk. There was considerable bitterness against the local minority group, the Ganaps who were accused of being anti-americanistas and fifth-colum­ nists. Many citizens expressed their intention to eliminate them upon the arrival of the American forces. It is true that there was some pro-Japanese and anti-American talk by these people, but the old-timer believed it was indulged in chiefly to irritate the majority group. He found that all specific cases of alleged Ganap misdeeds report­ ed were without foundation and he was convinced that no subversive acts were committed or even contemplated by them. The Ganaps (formerly called the Sakdals) constituted a loosely orga­ nized party of agrarian protest. They were not traitors; at least not in the region of Muntinlupa. After experien­ cing actual Japanese rule, no further pro-Japanese remarks were to be heard among the people except by Japaneseappointed functionaries on public oc­ casions. Muntinlupa was "taken” by one Japanese officer and four soldiers who drove up from the south in a taxi short­ ly after 5 o’clock on the afternoon of January 1. The officer posted his men at the bridge just north of the town and told the few people who came forward curiously that the Japanese were "very friendly to the Filipinos, but very angry with the Americans and with anyone else who wore khaki”. Just then a Bilibid Prison truck, car­ rying a few prisoners, came past and was ordered to stop. The driver dis­ regarding the order, the soldiers fired a vollev in the air, but he drove on. The soldiers’ attention was diverted by? the aproach of two more trucks filled with young Philippine Army sol­ diers. They were halted and the soldiers

STORY

were ordered to get down and were then made to discard their equipment and uniforms, reducing them to their underclothes, after which they were each given a cigaret and told to "go home”. The Japanese took the soldiers’ rifles out of the trucks and unloaded them, leaving the ejected ammunition in the road. They kept the rifles, but turned the bandoliers of ammunition and other equipment and the clothing over to one of the municipal councilmen who loaded it all into a carratela and drove off. A half hour later the advance guard of the Japanese arrived. It was met by the Mayor of the town, a Ganap coun­ cilman, and a former presidente (ma­ yor). They all shook hands with the seven Japanese officers who had come up. The officer commanding made a speech, telling the people .that the Jap­ anese Imperial Army was friendly to the Filipino people and had come to free them of the American yoke. He em­ phasized the fact that both the Japa­ nese and the Filipinos were Orientals and of like color, demonstrating the latter by a comparison of skins. The Mayor then invited the officers to sup­ per, which invitation was accepted. A piece of white cloth had been hung on the fence in front of his house in lieu of a flag. The soldiers made small purchases at the few tiendas in the town which were open, paying for everything with the army paper money which, they said, would replace the old currency. A detachment sent to the Prison liberated the Axis nationals who had been interned there, and also collected some of the firearms of the guards, especially automatic pistols. The Fili­ pino Superintendent was left in charge with a Japanese over him. The troops passed the night in the school house and the cockpit, and firewood not being immediately available, they chopped up the school furniture for fuel. The American flag of the school was picked up a few days later, torn and muddied. For the next two weeks there was an almost continuous passage, day and night, of Japanese troops accompanied

JAPANESE REQUISITIONS

by trucks loaded with valuable fur­ niture looted in the rich provinces to the south. Many of the soldiers were seen wearing bracelets and wrist watches. In Muntinlupa, however, the troops were under strict discipline and there was no abuse of the people. There was, in fact, very little to pillage there. Soldiers left on duty in the town took up what licensed firearms they could find, — 14 out of a total of around 50. They also commandeered a few horse-drawn vehicles and their drivers for the transportation of sup­ plies to Bataan. They looked into the ownership of local property, confis­ cating that belonging to Americans and other anti-Axis nationals. They placed small Japanese flags on the stacks of unthreshed palay in the fields, notifying the people that removal of the flags or of the grain would be punished by shooting. Some of this rice was fed by the soldiers to their horses. Later the flags were removed from the stacks still remaining and the owners allowed to dispose of them. The Japanese further requisitioned 3,000 sacks of rice, 50 ponies, and onehalf of all the vegetables grown in the municipality. However, the rice was never collected. When the price rose to 85 centavos a ganta, the National Rice and Corn Corporation (NARIC) was permitted to issue rice through the municipal authorities at the price of 35 centavos a ganta. Each man having a residence-tax certificate Was allowed to buy one ganta a day, irres­ pective of whether he was a single man or had a large family. Of the ponies brought in, the Japa­ nese took only 14, paying P45 a head, about half of what a horse was valued at normally. As to the vegetables, in­ stead of taking only half, the Japanese took practically all of the vegetables raised. Every few days Japanese civi­ lians came around to collect them, paying only around one fourth of the local prewar prices. Farmers were prohibited from selling in the Manila market. People on the road and, later, those travelling by train, were stopped and

299

searched and their belongings and produce examined by regularly sta­ tioned guards. All produce which it was attempted to bring into Manila was seized. It was either confiscated outright or paid for on some wholly inadequate scale of prices. Qne man tried to bring in some 30 chickens, worth at least PI each. He was stopped, the chickens were "weighed", and he was paid P7 for them. Muntinlupa store­ keepers, bringing merchandise from Manila, were robbed repeatedly by sol­ diers on the outskirts of the city, this resulting in the closing of some of the stores in the town. Prices of local products soon doubled and trippled, and prices of imported articles rose to ten times of normal, and then be­ came entirely unobtainable. The Japanese soldiers remaining at Muntinlupa were gradually reduced to those in charge of the telephone, and after a few months these, too, were withdrawn. The Filipino municipal of­ ficials were retained in office but were supervised by a Japanese civilian who had been appointed acting " judge” for Rizal and Cavite provinces by the Mi­ litary administration. He was actually a kind of inspector and was invested with minor appointive power. This man, a Mr. Moto (the Japanese equivalent for Smith) had lived in the Philippines for some thirty years and was married to a Muntinlupa women. He had previously been married to another Muntinlupa woman who had died. He had engaged unsuccessfully in a num­ ber of business enterprises and had finally become an itinerant photograp­ her- He was a most unprepossessing biped, who now, with a handsomelymounted 25-calibre revolver in his belt, tried hard to look as important as his four-foot stature would allow, said the old-timer. The Army did not attempt to po­ lice the town and the local police force did little but look on. Unlicensed cockfighting and other gaming went on in the open, with municipal officials themselves taking part. A few nights after the enemy occupation, a man who had won P9 in a cardgame was mur­

300

dered in the middle of the town. There was no arrest; in fact, the case was not even entered on the police-blotter. Strange men armed with rifles were seen prowling around the town at night. Cattle-rustling further impove­ rished the farmers. There were two modern houses in the town, one owned by a Manila Englishman and the other by a Chi­ nese mestizo who used to spend their week-ends there before the war. The house of the mestizo was literally taken apart and carried off by Ganaps from a nearby town, together with all its contents. The furniture in the house of the Englishman was taken by some non-Ganap residents of the town, but finding public opinion strongly against them, they turned the stolen goods over to the municipal authorities. Probably on Japanese "suggestion”, a salon de baile was opened in the town and a brothel just outside it. The dance hall was operated by a lo­ cal resident of some means; the bro­ thel by an out-of-town man. The wo­ men in both places came from neigh­ boring towns. The municipal officials visited the places, possibly in execu­ tion of their official duties, and some of the young bloods of the town also hung about these resorts, but the lo­ cal people generally would have not­ hing to do with them. The Army had closed the several railroad stations within the munici­ pality, but after a time a daily train was run up from Manila carrying work­ men and materials for the repair of blown-up bridges south of MuntinlupaThe metal in these bridges was replaced by wood, and the metal shipped to Japan. Military police were assigned to patrolling the track. They shot cattle that strayed onto the right-ofway and they also killed several men who were caught stealing telephone and telegraph wires; these, however, were not Muntinlupa men. After some months a passenger train was run over the line, and, as the Filipinos did not like to travel in the same car with Jap­ anese soldiers, an extra car was coupled on for the Filipinos.

STORY

Until after the fall of Bataan and Corregidor, troop movements through Muntinlupa were light and consisted chiefly of mechanized patrols, but there was a heavy traffic of trains of trucks, often as many as fifty at a time, car­ rying gasoline and canned foods from Manila to the south, and, in a reverse direction, carrying cattle and horses as well as pigs, rice, and furniture and other loot from the south to Ma­ nila. Later droves of carabaos of all ages came through the town; the loss of all these work-animals was a se­ rious m atter to the country as a whole as well as to the farmers. After the surrender, the trek of troops southward was heavy, the sol­ diery hauling with them captured armaments of various types. All this traffic merely passed through the town. Only cavalry units sometimes stopped to bathe their horses in the lake, the troops riding through the streets completely naked, much to the disgust of the townspeople. Occasionally a detachment on special duty such as the repairing of the telephone and telegraph lines, was stationed in the town for a few days. Some of the peo­ ple were on friendly terms with these men. The Mayor was once publicly slapped by a civilian Japanese because he was absent and there were no police on duty when he came to collect vege­ tables. Two Filipinos caught carrying sugar cane were beaten into insen­ sibility by Japanese soldiers who had concluded that the cane had been stolen. They were taken to Fort San­ tiago, but, found innocent, they were released. These were the only notable incidents of personal abuse in Mun­ tinlupa. There was not a single case of rape. The only case of looting by sol­ diers was the taking of a khaki shirt and a mosquito net from the house of an absent Philippine Scout soldier. There were a number of cases of non­ payment for small purchases at the tiendas. To give the devil his due, the treatm ent of the town and people by the Japanese Army at this time was no worse than that of any foreign

STORIES OF THE PRISON-CAMPS

army would have been. There were, however, well-confirmed accounts of numerous brutalities committed by the soldiers in other places, and it is pro­ bable that some agreement existed in Muntinlupa between the local Japa­ nese resident, the "Judge”, and the local officials under which the for­ mer protected the townspeople during the Japanese occupation, on the pro­ mise of similar protection for him if the situation came to be reversed. Shortly after the slapping of the Mayor, the Chief of Police resigned, and the "Judge” appointed two Ganaps to the police force, which then prom pt­ ly found and took up some twenty paltiks or homemade firearms. Gene­ ral order in the town somewhat im­ proved. Following the killing by guerrillas of a number of Filipino officials and others in the region because of their cooperation with the Japanese, the Army began a patrol of Laguna de Bay with armed launches. These sank all craft not flying a special flag issued to fishermen and others who had le­ gitimate business on the water. It was a little blue flag with a white stripe which the people said was hard to come by. One town in the next province was reported to have asked for a Japanese garrison. This was exceptional. Among the passes issued to persons whose business necessitated trips bet­ ween towns, was one in color showing a Japanese soldier on the right, shout­ ing "Banzai", and a Filipino soldier on the left shouting “Mabuhay”, and in the rear-center President Roosevelt, with his hands to his face, weeping. Up to the Bataan surrender, there was radio propaganda competition between the Filipinos and the Japanese. Much of the Filipino propaganda consisted of reports of horrible cases of rape, but those reported from the Muntinlupa region never stood the test of investi­ gation. Wild, and sometimes amusing rumors circulated. One was that the Japanese in Bataan loaded time-bombs on ponies and drove them toward the USAFFE lines; but General MacArthur

301

ordered his men to fire just ahead of the ponies, which turned tail and raced back to the Japanese lines, where the bombs went off and killed thou­ sands of the enemy. A number of Scout Constabulary, and Philippine Army soldiers returned to their families at Muntinlupa. These men escaped during the confusion of the surrender by discarding their uni­ forms and mixing with the civilian population. More of them came later from Camp O’Donnell, having with thousands of others been granted pro­ visional liberty, the mayors of their towns receiving them at the camp and assuming responsibility for their con­ duct and availability if wanted by the Japanese. They all had terrible stories to tell of the lack of food and medi­ cines at O’Donnell, also of being robbed by Japanese soldiers of their money, watches, and other possessions, at the points of their bayonets, of exhorbitant prices charged by Filipino vendors, —P5 for a package of cigarets, P10 for a can of salmon, etc. One medical of­ ficer who had been in charge of the death-records at O'Donnell told of 25,000 Filipinos having died there of malaria and dysentery. A Filipino Scout officer said that some of the me­ dical officers had made a business of selling medicine to their patients. He said a Filipino General had made a speech severely censuring the medical officers of the Philippine Army and exhorting them to render more faith­ ful service to their fellow-soldiers. In order to demonstrate the suppos­ ed goodwill existing between the Japa­ nese and the townspeople of all par­ ties, a meeting was jointly organized by the municipal officials and members of the Ganap party, to which a num­ ber of high Japanese officials and Benigno Ramos, head of the organi­ zation, were invited. A bamboo arch was erected decorated with the word, “ASIA”. The meeting was well attend­ ed. The only anti-American talk was by a Japanese captain who gave a boastful account of the ease with which the Americans had been de­ feated. The "Judge” spoke of his love

302

for the Filipinos and of his having married two Muntinlupa women. Re­ ferring to his first wife, he was appa­ rently much moved, and when his second wife arrived just at this point, the crowd was silently amused. The Mayor told the people that the Japa­ nese being in control of the land, sea, and air, the Americans could never return, and that it behooved them to be loyal to the new order. The speeches ended, the Japanese captain called on the band to play the Japanese na­ tional anthem and for banzais by the people, after which some Filipinos called for the Philippine national hymn, which, in the excitement of the moment, brought no remonstrance from the Japanese. • An old woman of Ganap persuasion one day asked the old-timer when the Americans were coming back. He told her they were already long overdue, but asked why she, a member of the Ganap, a reportedly anti-American or­ ganization, was interested in the return of the Americans. She denied being anti-American or pro-Japanese and ex­ plained that the "Judge" was trying to force her to turn over some of her land to other people, alleging that her title had been secured through fraud, which was not true. The old-timer was out on one of his customary walks, and as he was talk­ ing to the old woman, a bystander warned him that one of two men ap­ proaching was a Japanese and advised him to go into a nearby house until he had passed. But it was already too late for him to make a graceful re­ treat, so he remained where he was. The Japanese turned out to be the "Judge”, and he stopped to say to the old women that he wanted to speak to her about her land. Neither enemy national gave any sign of having seen or recognized the other. After a some­ what embarrassing moment, the oldtimer said, he bade adieu to his Ganap friend and moved on. A few days later, a local man came to his house and identified himself as a Japanese-appointed policeman by an arm band which he took out of his

STORY

pocket and then put back again. The man came to warn him and said that he had been ordered by the "Judge" to arrest him, but that he had asked that the arrest be made by the regular municipal police. The charges were failure to register with the authorities, as required of those above the agelimit for internment; advising people to disregard the orders of the "Judge”; and spreading "dangerous thoughts” and engaging in other anti-Japanese activities. The police did not put in an appea­ rance, and the old-timer learned that attem pts were being made through the Ganap party to induce the "Judge” to rescind his order of arrest. How­ ever, late that night, September 30, the old-timer was awakened by some­ one calling out that the Japanese wished to interview him. Invited to come upstairs, two officers, and a squad of soldiers entered, followed by the Mayor, a Ganap councilman, and a few other local people, and in the background the old-timer thought he saw the grinning countenance of his honor, the "Judge”. Though the hour was late, there was also quite a ga­ thering of townspeople in the yard. The Mayor in a low aside remarked that the ranking officer, a captain, was mabait (of a good disposition), and this proved to be so. He politely ques­ tioned the old-timer, as the other of­ ficer and the soldiers made a quick but thorough search of his effects by the light of a candle, the electricity in the house having been turned off since June. Among the questions he asked was how long he had lived in the town, and being told over three years, he asked the Mayor why this had not been reported to the authorities. The Mayor replied that he had not known that the American had resided, in the town since the Japanese occupation. In order not to implicate the Mayor, the old-timer supported this state­ ment. The officer decided that the old-timer would have to be taken to headquarters at Imus, Cavite. While awaiting transportation, the Captain remarked that the Japanese

IMUS HEADQUARTERS

Army had done more for the Philip­ pines and its people in a few months than the Americans had done in over 40 years, and that the Filipinos ap­ preciated this and enthusiastically sup­ ported Japanese rule. The old-timer said that the Filipinos told him a dif­ ferent story and that they complained that while the American Army years ago had brought its own supplies, the Japanese Army was living on the country, heavily taxing the peoples' livelihood. He also referred to the high prices even of absolute necessi­ ties and the low wages. Taken to Imus in an automobile by another officer and a soldier-chauffeur, the old-timer was exhibited to a hardlooking investigator to whom were handed some old service-ribbons which the soldiers had found among his pos­ sessions. He was then turned over to the guard and brought to the barrackporch, and when the lantern there sud­ denly went out just then, he felt the ba­ yonets of the two soldiers accompany­ ing him against his ribs. After the lan­ tern had been relighted, the old-timer’s wrists were tied together behind his back with a new, half-inch rope, the end being tied to a chair and then to a post. He was allowed to sit down in the chair and sat there for the rest of the night. In considering this treat­ ment, one should know that he was 76 years old. The next morning he was again taken before the investigator, his hands still tied behind him. There were se­ veral other officers sitting at the table. A civilian interpreter, a very uncouth and objectionable individual, who did most of the talking, questioned the veracity of every answer. He also made frequent allusions to Japanese pro­ wess. Among other things, he said that the Japanese Army was in posses­ sion of all of the northern half of the United States and asked what the prisoner thought of that. The old-timer smilingly replied that it was wonderful, if true. Asked on what side his sym­ pathies were, he said that he had al­ ready answered that question when he had named the country of his birth,

303

.— England and the country of his ci­ tizenship,—the United States. The in­ terpreter asked the names of his Muntinlupa friends, and he answered that he had none, this so that the people who had shown him kindness would not be molested. How then had he lived in the town for so many months without money? "Credit”, answered the old-timer. Becoming tired of baiting him, — for that was what the investigation amounted to, the interpreter said that the examiners had proof that all he was charged with was true and that he would be sent to the internment camp in Manila to prevent him from con­ tinuing his misconduct. The old-timer asked that he be sent to Manila via Muntinlupa so that he could get some of his clothing, but the only reply to this was a curt command to accom­ pany the guard. Back at the guardhouse, the oldtimer said he was well treated. The rope was changed from his wrists to his waist, and he was given an excel­ lent meal of chicken, pork, soybeans, greens, rice and bread, and the choice of American, Japanese- and Philippine cigarets was practically forced on him. That night a bed was made for him of sacks and blankets on the concrete floor, and some raincoats were thrown over him. Though he was given only bread and water after that first big meal, the sol­ diers were friendly and told him of their experiences in Bataan and Corregidor in a mixture of English, Spa­ nish, and Tagalog. They said jokingly that they had killed all the Americans. When the old-timer asked whether many Japanese had been killed, they answered, “Buhay lahat” (alive, all of them). He said they should wait until the thousands of American planes showed up: then they would have to dig in or run. The soldiers laughed. As a former army officer, the oldtimer was much interested in the mi­ litary activities he witnessed, especially in the Japanese manner of carrying on camp routine and guard duty. He was well impressed by these Japanese re­

304

gulars at the Imus headquarters. He said they were splendid specimens and by no means lacking in intelligence. They differed greatly, he said, from some of the Japanese soldiers he had seen at Muntinlupa earlier in the year, who, when ordered to Bataan or to Manila for embarkation to the South Seas, would weep when taking leave of their comrades and often told their Filipino acquaintances that they never expected to see Japan again. On October 5 the old-timer was taken to headquarters at Tagaytay where he was again questioned, but this time by a lieutenant who was a civilized man, like the officer, he said, who had arrested him at Muntinlupa. That afternoon he was brought to San­ to Tomas by two officers and a ci­ vilian, who turned him over to the Commandant. As it was supper-time, a friend took him from the Command­ ant’s office to the kitchen for his first full meal in several days and then to the camp hospital for a much needed rest. He had nothing with him except the clothing he wore. He spoke with appreciation of the kindness with which the people of Muntinlupa had treated him during all those past months. When it became known that he was out of funds, a local family 31 supplied him regularly with everything he needed, — food, cigarets, matches- soap, etc. Other people brought him food, fruit, and eggs, and offered money. He had not given himself up for internment because it was said that the people in the Santo Tomas camp were not provided with sufficient food by the Red Cross and were dependent on personal funds or on the help of friends, and he therefore believed that he would be as much of a burden on his friends inside the camp jas outside it. He did not feel like one hiding from the enemy, but rather like a guest of a friendly community. He was not confined to his house, but took long walks through the barrios every day, avoiding only the highway. 3 Note (1945) — The Borjas.

STORY

When out walking and a Japanese was likely to be encountered, he was in­ variably warned, sometimes by people he did not know even by sight. He had always been on friendly terms with the children, and they proved a great pro­ tection. Sometimes they would mis­ chievously tell him of the nearness of an enemy even if there were none, but just to watch what he would do.

19 Story of

The U.S. High Commissioner’s Staff On the 31st of October, 1942, eleven members of the U. S. High Commis­ sioner’s staff came into the Santo To­ mas camp. They and others of the staff had been living since January in the Ynchausti house, 941 M. H. del Pilar Street, and the Japanese had now allowed them to choose between go­ ing to Santo Tomas or to the Baldwin house, in Pasay, where the consular people were interned. Twelve of them had elected to go to the latter place; three were out on temporary pass. It was from some of these eleven who came to the camp that Santo Tomas internees for the first time learned of the happenings at the recently built residence of the representative of the President of the United States when the Japanese came into the city. High Commissioner Francis B. Sayre and his wife and son (the other son was in the United States), W. Willough­ by, financial adviser, and his wife, E. D. Hester, economic adviser, C. Coville, of the State Department, J. J. Saxon, R. Huffcut, and some others left Manila for Corregidor on the day before Christmas. Among those who remained in Manila were Sayre’s exe­ cutive assistant, Dr. C. A. Buss, C. A. DeWitt, acting legal adviser, G. O. Grey, asistant to the legal adviser, E. 1 Note (1945) — Commander Parker, naval aide, Major Marrow and Captain Priestly, Miss Newcomb, and Miss White. Marrow and Priest­ ly were later captured and died in the Cabanatuan prison camp, and Huffcut was shot and killed by a Japanese sentry there.

THE U.S. HIGH COMMISSIONER’S STAFF

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other parts of the Far East, all trying to make merry this New Year’s Eve. Everyone knew that the situation was serious but very few realized how im­ minent the Japanese occupation of the city was. President Roosevelt’s dec­ laration that "help was on the way” was still buoying up men’s hearts. At No. 1 Victoria, the three found only a few officers still there, waiting for a ship to take them to Bataan. Had they come a little later, everybody would have been gone. In the ante­ room they met a Manila businessman, a reserve officer, who was to accom­ pany the others to Bataan. He ap­ peared to be in great good humor, and slapping the three men on the back, jovially wished them a happy New Year. Under the circumstances and in the disordered and dismal of­ fice this was rather jarring. They found Marshall at his desk, his head in his hands. He looked ut­ terly exhausted. Some one had said that he had not slept for four nights. The General looked at them as if ashamed of the knowledge he had that the Army was abandoning the city and its people to the enemy. He had difficulty in understanding the ques­ tion Buss put to him. His thoughts were obviously elsewhere. But some­ how, out of his weariness and dis­ traction, came a well formulated ans­ wer. DeWitt later expressed his ad­ miration for the sound summing up. The General said: "I don’t think you should go. You, through the High Commissioner, are the represen­ tative of the President of the United States. If you should go . . . to meet the enemy . . . it might be given an interpretation involving the President. .. It might be given a political sig­ nificance that no one intends. . .” Buss said: "It is then the wish of the Army that I do not go?” "Yes”, said the General.3 The three went back to the Manila Hotel. The dancing and the drinking was still going on. DeWitt had left diesa small party of friends at his table.

C. Ross, passport agent, D. Cochran and W. L. Hebbard, U. S. Treasury of­ ficials, C. W. Franks, and others, num­ bering some thirty in all, men and women. Before leaving, Sayre gave Buss a letter which left him in charge of the office.2 During the first week of the war, many of the members of the staff had gone to live at the residence, which included living quarters as well as the offices. Some of the staff slept on mattresses put down in the halls. A few nights after Christmas, when things looked pretty dark, four army officers on their way to Bataan, stayed for dinner. One of them, a major, said: "If we can hold out until Jan­ uary 8, we’ll be all right”. During the three or four days pre­ ceding the Japanese entry into the city, there were extensive conferences be­ tween Buss and Vargas and the Ja­ panese Consul-General. The latter was permitted to leave his place of internment for these meetings, to which he was accompanied by a Con­ stabulary officer as an escort. On the 31st of December, Buss ac­ companied by Cochran, consulted with Vargas on the latter's plan to send a committee to meet the Japanese out­ side the city when the time came. Buss was of the opinion that he should be one of the committee, and Vargas said that if Buss felt he should go, he would be glad to have him do so. Coch­ ran discussed the m atter with DeWitt that evening. DeWitt was living at the Manila Hotel, and later in the even­ ing Buss joined DeWitt and Cochran there, and the question was again con­ sidered. The three decided to con­ sult Brig-Gen. Richard Marshall, chief of staff, who was still at No. 1 Vic­ toria, Intramuros, which was USAFFE headquarters, or, rather, had been. They left the hotel at around 10 o’clock in the evening. The hotel ball­ room and lobbies were crowded with people, including many strangers from

2 Note (1945) — Hester removed the from two machines in the office used for im­ pressing the Great Seal of the United States on official documents, and after filing them across, threw them into the Bay.

3 Note (1945) — The Japanese were met at Paranaque by Vargas, Guinto, and a number of newspapermen.

306

He said to them, "Let’s go to my apartment for a while. I want to talk to you”. In his rooms he told them what they had to expect. At sunrise on the morning of the 1st of January, Ross, who was in charge that day of the "watch” which had been established, — the Constabulary guard having disappeared, raised the flag for the last time. That evening, after the flag had been lowered, Grey, realizing that the Japanese would pro­ bably enter the city the next day, car­ ried it out to the broad lawn on the Bay side of the residence, and set fire to it lest it fall into enemy hands. No flag flew over the residence on the 2nd, and on the morning of the 3rd the Japanese raised the "sun-flag” to the top of the staff there. The redspot flag appeared that morning all over Manila. On the afternoon of the 2nd, the information came by telephone that the Japanese were in the city and were extending their forces over the Luneta, but it was not until around 8 o’clock in the evening that a num­ ber of Japanese junior officers and several squads of soldiers entered the iron gate on Dewey Boulevard giving entrance to the grounds. Hebbard met the Japanese at the gate, and Buss and Bishop Binsted received them on the steps. The Bishop had some days earlier been invited to join the High Commissioner’s group because of his long experience in Japan and his com­ mand of the language. After inspecting the offices, the Ja­ panese did not enter the residential section of the building, but word was passed around that everyone was to assemble in the reception room. The entire personnel, including Filipino chauffeurs, servants, etc., some 35 per­ sons in all, gathered in the rather small room, under the guns of the Ja­ panese soldiers, and were warned that they must keep out of the of­ fices; then they were instructed to go to their quarters and stay there un­ til the next morning. One of the Ame­ ricans said that he could think of no­ thing but the small calibre (25) of the

STORY

rifle of one of the Japanese soldiers, which was pointed at him. It look­ ed no bigger than the 22-rifle of his boyhood. At 3 o’clock that morning, a large group of Japanese officers and men came tramping in, with electric flash­ lights. They roughly awakened Heb­ bard, who was sleeping in a hallway, nearest the door, and told him to come with them and not talk. He was how­ ever, allowed to rouse Buss, who was sleeping near him, and Binsted was then also called. The Japanese went around to all the office rooms with the three men and sealed every door by pasting over it a large, printed poster stating in Japanese: "Sealed by order of the Japanese Imperial Ar­ my; entrance prohibited”. Two men who had slept in the basement inadvertently broke the seal on the door when they came out in the morn­ ing, and another party of Japanese came in and also opened some of the sealed doors to see what the rooms contained. When the officers who had sealed the rooms returned and saw this, they were furious. It took a long time for Binsted to explain how the seals had come to be broken. About 8 o’clock the Americans were told that they had 20 minutes to pack their luggage and that they should as­ semble at the side entrance to await transportation to some undisclosed place. They waited there, for the most part sitting on their suitcases for nearly 12 hours until 9 o’clock that night. Though there were provisions enough in the house for six months and the pantry was well supplied, they had nothing for lunch except some canned milk which they happen­ ed to have with them. During the day, around a hundred soldiers came into the grounds, and a fieldpiece and several machine guns were set up and communication lines were strung. There was a great deal of running around on motorcycles. Buss and Binsted were frequently cal­ led away for conferences with men from the Japanese Consulate. The keys to all the doors were turned over

THE YNCHAUSTI HOUSE

to them, the combinations to the safes, and a blueprint showing the electric wiring of the house. At 7 o’clock that evening, the Japa­ nese served the Americans, still gather­ ed at the side door, rice and Spanish cooking-sausage. This sausage is de­ licious when used to flavor meats or vegetables, but was never intended as the piece de resistance. Some of the Americans, not wishing to offend their hosts, surreptitiously got rid of it by way of the lavatory bowls. About 9 o’clock, the Japanese Colonel in charge, who had previously chatted for some time with Buss on the terrace, came over to the Americans and said through an interpreter from the Consulate: "Although in Davao Japanese civi­ lians were murdered by Americans, your persons and property will be res­ pected. You will be taken away from here shortly to another place. Your luggage will not be searched. Please take your luggage and go to the front entrance and wait there". The women in the party, one of them with a four-months-old baby, were taken away first in automobiles. They had been anxious and fearful all day, but the Colonel’s remarks, or rather, his manner, had done somethng to dispel this. The men loaded their luggage on two trucks and were then told to get in. There was some wait­ ing, and the Colonel asked, "Why the delay?” The interpreter answered that Buss had gone to his room to get a photograph of his wife and children, who were in the United States. The Colonel nodded. The Ynchausti House — When Buss had returned- the trucks drove down the Boulevard and turned into Del Pi­ lar Street. There was a traffic snarl, — all military trucks, which held them up for a while at Military Plaza. Fi­ nally they stopped at the Ynchausti house, a 16-room residence the owners of which were in the United States but which was being cared for by a staff of Filipino servants. The women were already there. The electric lights had been disconnected, as also the gas installations, and the women made

307

their way to the bedrooms bv candle­ light. The men slept on the floor that night. Here the Americans lived for nearly ten months, except Dr. Buss who was taken to Tokyo by the Japanese in June. The house was well furnished and comfortable and had a large gar­ den. They did their own cooking, dish­ washing, etc. The Japanese supplied them with P2,500 a month for sub­ sistence and other expenses after March 15. before which time they had paid their expenses out of what money they had in their pockets. Twice a week a pass was issued for two of them to go shopping. During the later months a guard always accompanied them. The servants of the house did the daily marketing. Commandant Tsurumi returned the radio of one of the Americans after having had the short-wave part of the apparatus re­ moved, this enabling them to listen to only the local programs. The house was guarded by two Japanese sentries day and night. Sometimes these sen­ tries allowed passing friends to talk to them through the fence, but they made no effort to get any information as to what was happening outside, and much less in the way of news and ru­ mor came to them than penetrated to the people in Santo Tomas. On the 16th of January, a group of officers and soldiers came to the house early in the afternoon and announced that a search would be made of their persons, luggage, and rooms. The first question was, "Has anyone here over P5,000?" There was only one man who had as much as PI,300. All the men except Buss were stripped to their un­ derclothing and whatever they had in their pockets was taken out, examined, and put in little paper bags with their names written on them. The women were not searched. In the rooms, all the luggage was gone through and even untouched cartons of cigarets were torn open. Diaries were taken for examination. After it was all over, a young officer speaking English, prompted by an old­ er officer, announced: "Your personal

308

possessions have been examined and will now be returned to you. Please count your money and if you find any difference in the amount that you had and the amount returned, please report that immediately". Then he added to everyone’s surprise: "Up to now, danc­ ing has been prohibited (the Ameri­ cans had not known this and had never had any desire to dance). You are permitted to dance, but it is suggested that you do not allow the people in the street to see you. That is a ll.' The counting of the money took some time, and there was no shortage. Grey, however, had kept a diary in shorthand and was called upon to read from it aloud. After reading a passage or two, an officer asked him, "How do we know that you are reading what you have written and are not making up something?” Grey said that Mrs. Lovell, the stenographer of Dr. Buss, could read the notes, and she was then called upon to do so. The Japanese after a while expressed themselves as satisfied and the diary was returned to Grey. They were all questioned as to their various official functions and some of them were asked what they remem­ bered about certain letters they had written. Mrs. Lovell was taken by the Japanese to the Army and Navy Club where she spent two days during which she was questioned on many different matters, probably to check answers made to questions by Buss. She re­ turned, none the worse for the exper­ ience; her husband had been allowed to accompany her. Buss himself was also taken away on this occasion and remained away for a week. He afterward said that he had been given a room in the Luneta Hotel. He had been warned not to attem pt to communicate with anyone and not to show himself at the win­ dows, but was otherwise courteously treated. He was questioned day after day, and what seemed to interest the Japanese most was what had become of the money in the country. Later he was shown letters to the banks, signed by himself, instructing them to trans­

STORY

fer their funds to Corregidor. After this episode, some of the American of­ ficials came to hold the opinion that the Japanese had learned what was being done with the currency and that they had intentionally bombed the Intendencia Building, which con­ tained the Mint and the Treasury, to halt the transfer to Corregidor. Dr. Claude A. Buss — In June, Buss was informed that he would be taken to Tokyo by way of Shanghai. Some of his friends said this worried him; others said they had not noticed this. He was allowed to take all his baggage and left the house on the 17th. The others did not know just when and how he actually left the country. On the morning of the previous day, the 16th, Commandant Tsurumi entered the picture. Tsurumi had been ill in his apart­ ment at the Bay View Hotel, and Dr. Leach, head of the Santo Tomas camp hospital, had been treating him, com­ ing to see him daily. That day Leach told him that he did not think it was necessary for him to call on him again, and the Commandant, agreeing, tried to hand him a P50 bill as a fee. Leach declined with thanks and Tsurumi then insisted that Leach wait until he was dressed and that he go down town with him. Tsurumi took him to the Brias-Roxas store on the Escolta and told him to pick out two of the best shirts in the place. Leach thank­ ed him but said that he had plenty of shirts, and Tsurumi then told a shopgirl to get two good shirts that would fit the doctor. He then took him to Aguinaldo's and saying that he had not spent half of the P50 yet, he bought a sweater for him. Leach tried to stop the shopping by suggesting that they lunch together and so the two went to the Arcade. After lunch, Tsurumi asked him to go with him to the Ynchausti house to see a sick soldier there. While Leach was attending to the soldier, Tsu­ rumi asked, "Do you know Dr. Buss?" When Leach said he did, Tsurumi said, "Please wait here for me; I'll be back in half an hour". Under pretense of

DR BUSS TAKEN TO TOKYO

going to wash his thermometer, Leach then went to talk with Buss. Buss look­ ed worried and drawn and asked Leach whether he had any idea as to why the Japanese were taking him to Tokyo. Leach said he had not. Buss said that he might be asked about the San­ to Tomas camp in Tokyo and asked what he might say, so Leach briefly outlined the needs of the camp, — medicines, better food for the ill, bet­ ter food for all the internees. He also brought up the m atter of financing the camp and the need of many in­ dividual internees of money. He sug­ gested that Buss try to come to an understanding with the Japanese in the m atter of bringing some represen­ tative of the International Red Cross to Manila. Buss agreed and hereupon showed Leach the draft of a letter he planned to send Tsurumi suggesting the transfer of the people in the Ynchausti house to the Santo Tomas camp. Tsurumi later told Leach he had taken Buss out to dinner that same night and had given him letters to Japanese officials in Shanghai request­ ing that Buss be allowed to see Am­ bassador Grew there to discuss the question of the repatriation of the Americans in the Philippines. Tsuru­ mi said that he had also advised Buss to take up this m atter with Tokyo officials. Carroll saw Buss twice, but only during the earlier months. During the second week of the life of the Santo Tomas camp, Commandant Tomayasu called Carroll to his office and told him that Buss had requested per­ mission to visit the camp, but that instead he would take him to visit Buss unofficially. Tomayasu took Carroll in his car and left him alone with Buss and Binsted for some twenty mi­ nutes. Then Tomayasu came back and they all had tea together. Carroll told of the needs of the camp, and of how the Central Committee hoped to obtain money and food and medical supplies from the Red Cross in the United States. They discussed this with To­ mayasu and he agreed to try to get

309

through a radio-message, to be signed by Buss, asking for such assistance. Buss asked that the Central Commit­ tee draft the message. The Committee did this within a few days, presenting the draft to the Commandant. That was the first of many subsequent ef­ forts of the internee government to get a message through to the United States. Tomayasu again took Carroll to see Buss on February 10, shortly before the execution of the three British na­ tionals and Tomayasu’s own retire­ ment. Tomayasu told Carroll that he wanted Buss to have first-hand infor­ mation about the camp and that his successor might not allow another vi­ sit. On this occasion, Carroll talked with Buss for half an hour, telling him about the camp and answering his questions. Grey confirmed that Buss had dined with Tsurumi before leaving Manila and said that Buss had remarked af­ ter the dinner that he had learned very little as to why he was being taken to Tokyo. He said his hope was, •— and this had been half-way promised, that he would be able to see Ambassa­ dor Grew in Shanghai and perhaps work out with him some arrangement for the support of the people interned in Santo Tomas. He said also that it had been implied that he would be taken back to Manila, thoueh not for some time. Tsurumi had said, "I hope to be in Japan in December and will probably see you then.” Buss left a letter with Grey, dated June 10, which read as follows: "When the office of the U. S. High Com­ missioner was transferred out of Manila, Mr. Sayre left with me instructions to perform any services possible for the American community and to do whatever I could for the protec­ tion of the property of the American Gov­ ernment here. As you are well aware, the responsibilities attached to these charges are extremely indefinite, but their intent is clear. "As I am obliged to leave Manila at this time, I am hereby transmitting to you, who as assistant to the Legal Adviser, are the ranking officer of the regular staff of the High Com­ missioner, any responsibilities, duties, and obli­ gations which have been implied in Mr. Say­ re's instructions to me. "I can not express to you and our other

310 colleagues adequately my appreciation of your cooperation and understanding during the ex­ periences through which we have just passed. "My every good wish for brightness in the immediate future is with you all”.

A copy of Sayre’s letter to Buss could not be obtained, — it was thought to have been destroyed by Buss. According to the men from the High Commissioner’s Office, Buss was great­ ly distressed by the executions of the British nationals from the Santo To­ mas camp in February, news of which was brought to him by Bishop Binsted, and by the continuing executions of Filipinos. Some Filipino friends kept him more or less informed of what was going on, though he never received any formal calls from any Filipino official. Japanese officials came to see him on a number of occasions, but al­ ways, in so far as known, only in con­ nection with the management of the Ynchausti establishment. After Grey in a manner had "taken over", he on several occasions asked Japanese officers questions about the Santo Tomas camp. These questions were either answered evasively or met with silence. Once Yamaguchi asked Grey to write a letter proposing or requesting that the Americans in the Philippines be "repatriated". Grey then wrote a let­ ter, dated August 7, addressed to the Commander-in-chief of the Japanese Army, which read in part as follows: "Mr. Yamaguchi has informed me that it is possible some time in the future that an arrangement regarding American citizens throughout the Philippine Islands may be en­ tered into by the Governments of the United States and Japan. "It would seem that any exchange of Amer­ ican citizens in the Philipine Islands could properly result only from negotiations between our Government and the Imperial Japanese Government. However, in the event that the Government of the United States should con­ sider it advisable to enter into negotiations which may result in an agreement with the Imperial Japanese Government regarding Amer­ ican citizens who are in the Philippine Islands, I am listing below the American citizens who are interned at 941 M. H. del Pilar in Ma­ nila. . .”

When Yamaguchi read this he indic­ ated displeasure and said that he had

STORY

wanted something different, but Grey said that was all it would be proper for him to say in the matter. In September the people at the Ynchausti house were permitted to send radiograms to the United States through the Philippine Red Cross. One day in October, four of them received letters from home. They were all ad­ dressed to "911" M. H, del Pilar, which was the wrong number. Apart from this, the people of the High Commis­ sioner's staff were held as “incom­ municado” as the people in Santo Tomas. One of the saddest days they spent was the day, May 25, when the prison­ ers taken on Corregidor were march­ ed over Dewey Boulevard to Bilibid Prison. The house stood too far away from the Boulevard for them to distin­ guish any of the prisoners' faces. It did not seem that they had marched very far. It was said that the men had been landed at the end of the Boule­ vard, some two kilometers away, and that the march through the city had been arranged as a demonstration of the Japanese victory. Guarded by Jap­ anese officers and men on horseback, the Americans marched four abreast in units of 500, and those in the Ynchausti house counted 14 of such units. It took from a little before noon to around 4 o’clock for all the prisoners to m arch past. The people in the house were struck by the abso­ lute silence which was preserved all this time in the neighborhood. Even the usual sound of children at play was stilled. The shuffle of the feet of the marching men was all that they could hear. They were told later that people along the route had carried drinking w ater and cigarets to the prisoners and that the Japanese had not interfered with this. They did , stoj) the people from giving them food and other gifts.5 5 Note (1945) — Buss was taken to Tokyo where he was permitted to live in a European hotel, more or less at liberty, while the Japan­ ese attempted to induce him to revise several chapters in his book "War and Diplomacy in Eastern Asia," 1941, and to write other ma­ terial with a Japanese twist. He was later repatriated and reached New York on the Gripsholm late in 1943.

THE MALACANAN POLICEMEN

2 0 Story of

The Malacanan Policemen While at the High Commissioner’s residence the flag was taken down on the night of the 1st of January and burned to prevent it falling into the hands of the enemy, both the Ame­ rican and Philippine flags flew at Ma­ lacanan, night and day, until the morn­ ing of the 4th, despite the fact that the Japanese had arrived on the pre­ mises between 9:30 and 10:00 p.m. on the night of the 2nd. Little was known at Santo Tomas of what occurred at Malacanan Palace, the official residence of the President of the Commonwealth (former home of the American governor-generals) or at the adjoining Executive Building, for the only internees from there were three Manila policemen, Ameri­ cans, whom President Quezon had re­ tained in service when he took office. The Japanese arrived in trucks, the soldiers singing and yelling, and took the house across the street, on the com er of Ayala and San Rafael streets, for their quarters. The posts of the American policemen were at the front and side entrances of the Palace, and none of them saw anything of what happened in the Executive Building. The policemen assumed that Vargas and Colonel Natividad, one of the Ma­ lacanan aides, were there to receive them, with perhaps the Japanese Con­ sul-General there, too.1 Major Turingan and his palace-guard 1 Note (1945) — The Japanese, — an army unit of some 18 men, together with a num­ ber of Japanese civilians, were received by Vargas in his office, in the presence of only some minor personnel. The Japanese civilians had just been released from internment and were resentful of the treatment they had re­ ceived. They used abusive and threatening lan­ guage and wanted to seal all the rooms and offices, but Vargas talked them out of seal­ ing his own and the Vice-President’s and the administrative division offices. The other rooms remained sealed for more than a week, and the Malacanan employees could not even get out their hats and coats. The Japanese immediately installed Vice-Consul J. Kihara at Malacanan, and this man in fact "ran the place", officials said, until the end of the "Executive Commission” regime.

311

company, after the President and his family had left for Corregidor, had volunteered for service at the front and the only military guards left on the premises were some inexperienced young trainees. The policeman at the lighted front entrance to the Palace heard the Japanese entering the grounds and marching around to the front of the Palace, halting some dis­ tance away, but he could still not see them in the dark. He said that he was sitting in a chair, reading a news­ paper which he was holding with both hands, and that he main­ tained this position, not moving his hands, for fear that to do so might bring bullets. However, the soldiers did not approach any nearer, and a few minutes later he heard a curt command and the soldiers marched away again to the other side of the building. On the day before the Japanese en­ tered Manila, the gasoline in the Ma­ lacanan garage was all dumped onto the ground and set afire, and confi­ dential records were thrown into the Pasig river which flows past the Ma­ lacanan grounds. This destruction of the record went on all that day and the next day, under the very noses of the Japanese soldiers, until on the 4th, a general officer arrived and seal­ ed the records, translation, and pro­ perty offices and also the office of Vice-President Osmena. The office of President Quezon was not touched at this time. That same morning, about 10:30, Lieutenant Peralta of the Manila Po­ lice, said to one of the American po­ licemen that the Japanese officer had noticed the two flags, still hanging from their short staffs over the front entrance of the Palace and had ex­ claimed that they were the only such flags still flying in Manila. The police­ man said that "by God” he wasn’t go­ ing to haul them down and that if anyone did, it would have to be done with the proper respect. The Lieute­ nant then called two Filipino police­ men who took the flags, seeing to it that they did not touch the ground; they were carefully folded and hand­ ed over to the Malacanan functionary

312

in charge of buildings and grounds. The Japanese then ordered the Pa­ lace vacated by 12:30 p.m. the next day, — a lady said to be the sister of Mrs. Quezon, Lieutenant Nieto, son of Colonel Nieto, and de Jesus, the President’s private secretary, were temporarily staying there. Colonel Natividad instructed the three Ameri­ can policemen to report to the Japan­ ese and turn in their pistols. They did so and were taken to Villamor Hall, and from there to Santo Tomas. The last known contact between Malacanan and the President at Corregidor was made on the night of the 2nd by Captain Jose Q. Molina, a nephew of Mr. Quezon, who, though the Japanese already had their sen­ tries on all the bridges and the river was lighted up by many fires along its banks, made a dash from the Palace in a speed-launch. He carried the last dispatches from Vargas and the last editions of the newspapers. Molina had had a few drinks, and de Jesus advised him not to risk the trip. Mo­ lina answered that he ought to shoot him and that he would make the run if it were the last thing he ever did. Starting at 8:15 p.m., with a crew of three men, Molina ran the gantlet at 45 miles an hour, successfully, it was learned later. The lobbies of the two-story Execu­ tive Building had been heavily timber­ ed and sandbagged to furnish some shelter against bombs, but no bombs were ever dropped near Malacanan. The President’s summerhouse at Marikina, a few miles from the city, was however, both bombed and machinegunned, the President being there at the time. Major Turingan, who was with him, narrowly escaped injury. The President maintained a great calm during that terrible month of December, said one of the policemen, but Mrs. Quezon was frequently seen to weep. This same man asked the President, who was always very ap­ proachable, whether he thought it would be a good thing if he sent his (the policeman’s) wife and children to Baler, where his wife had relatives, Baler a small town on the east coast

STORY

of Luzon, being famed principally as the President’s own birthplace. Mr. Quezon answered, "Baler is the safest place in the Philippines.” The police­ man sent his family to Baler and some of the President’s relatives also went there, but shortly after that the Ja­ panese dropped a score of bombs on the little place and machine-gunned the houses, killing one man. The only possible military objective was a small radio-station which the Army had built there some time before and which was not hit. For some weeks before Christmas, the President’s two daughters had been active in preparing gifts of cigarets, candy, etc., for the soldiers at the front. Great piles of packages were stacked up in the rooms of the ground floor of the Palace and these were still there after Christmas because the ex­ pected trucks from Bataan did not arrive. The girls asked a friend to take charge of the packages when they had to leave for Corregidor and the gifts were distributed among the sol­ diers some days later. The President and his family left the Palace in a number of cars late on the Saturday afternoon of the bombing of Intramuros, accompanied by General Val­ des, Colonel Nieto, Dr. Tripp, and Miss Labrador, a nurse. Mrs. Quezon was crying. During the preceding few days, the President had some of the relics and other valuables kept in the Ma­ lacanan museum room and in the library removed to his house at Marikina and to his other house in Pasay. This must have proved of little use. About this same time, one of the policemen accidentally overheard a telephone conversation between Secre­ tary Vargas and Colonel Sutherland of General MacArthur’s staff. Vargas was saying that he wanted all his children who were old enough, to join the Army even if only as nurses or hospi­ tal orderlies. The policemen from whom these various stories were obtained, were granted occasional day-passes during their internment and took advantage of these to visit Malacanan. They said

QUEZON:

“ KEEP THE BEST RECORD YOU CAN”

that in so far as they knew no Japan­ ese occupied the Palace. The small new library building, on the other side of the Executive Building, was at least for some time occupied by Consul Kihara and by the Japanese who had been assigned to "guard” Vargas. They were told by friends in Malacanan that Vargas was never for a moment left alone, "even when he went to the toilet." The Writer’s Call on Vargas on December 31, 1941 — The writer of this book, who held the position of adviser to President Quezon, called on Vargas late in the afternoon of the last day of 1941. Pandacan was .burning and heavy explosions continued during their conversation. The Secretary looked tired and worried but was noncommittal as to the immediate future. "Isn’t help on the way?" asked the writer, quoting President Roosvelt. "It had bettpr get here very soon, then", said Vargas. The call was ended by the arrival of the Japanese Consul-General, and Vargas excused himself, saying finally, "President Quezon wants you to keep a record. Keep the best record you can.” A clerk in the outer office said of the Consul-General, "That fellow has been here every night for the past three nights.” A young Constabulary lieutenant, who had escort­ ed the Consul-General to Malacanan, said he was worried about the Pandacan fire endangering a group of Japanese who were interned in a hcuse near the burning district. "We couldn’t let them burn to death”, he said. Some of the clerks were joking about learning the Ja­ panese language. None of them seemed to realize how desperate the situation was. As the writer was about to leave, Dr. Buss arrived. He, too, was noncommittal. The writer was convinced that both Buss and Var­ gas were under instructions not to say any­ thing about a possibly imminent enemy entry into the city. The idea probably was to pre­ vent panic among the people. The writer hesitated to use the word "surrender”,but said to Buss that if the worst came to the worst, he wanted to call his attention to what seemed to him the special case of writers, editors, radio-commentators, chiefs of the various pro­ paganda services, etc., whom the Japanese were likely to treat with particular brutality. The writer mentioned some names, Roy C. Bennett, editor of the Bulletin, R. McCulloch Dick, publisher of the Free Press, Lin Yu (brother of Lin Yu-tang, on the staff of the Philippine Ma­ gazine, A. Vespa, author of "Secret Agent of Japan", who was in Manila, several radiospeakers, "Don Bell” (C. A. Beliel), Leon Ma. Guerrero, etc. The writer mentioned his own

313

position and that of Camilo Osias. Osias, Be­ liel, and Guerrero had been especially out­ spoken against the Japanese over the radio dur­ ing the past month. Buss said that the situa- „ tion of such persons would be "considered". A few days later, when Buss was already in­ terned in the Ynchausti house, he sent the writer an oral message through a friend to the effect that very high Japanese functionaries had assured him that international law would be strictly observed in the treatment of civilians, and, as to the writer, advised him to report himself at Santo Tomas. The writer acted on this advice without great harm to himself, — up to the time of this writing. But Bennett and Mc-Culloch Dick, the latter a man 70 years old, were imprisoned and were still being held incommunicado in Fort Santiago; Vespa was also reported to have been taken there and to have been tortured and killed. Other news­ paper and radio-men were taken to Santiago tor longer or shorter periods, receiving very brutal treatment. The story was as yet in­ complete . . .

21 Story of

The Internees from Cebu The internees from Cebu arrived in Santo Tomas in December, 1942. The w ar first came to Cebu City at 10 o’clock in the morning of the Sun­ day following the Monday of the out­ break of war, when an enemy bomber attempted to blow up the fourteen or so oil tanks at Opon, on the small island of Mactan, opposite the city. This is the island on which Magellan lost his life four hundred years ago, and can be reached by ferry from Cebu City in ten minutes. The bomber miss­ ed the tanks, but the next morning three enemy planes appeared and re­ peated the bombing, this time setting fire to two of them. Later they set fire to tanks on Shell Island. The oil fires burned for a week and Cebu was covered with a pall of smoke just as Manila had been a week previously. The following Saturdav. four enemy planes raided the airfield near Cebu and destroyed six small service-planes on the ground. After that there were intermittent raids, usually by 8 or 10 planes, Sun­ day being a day that seemed to be favored for the purpose. The biggest

314

raid, carried out by 21 planes, came about the middle of January. The Japanese confined themselves to mi­ litary objectives, mostly the oil tanks and shipping in the harbor. They bombed at will because there were no planes of our own to meet them; there were not even any anti-aircraft guns. The Japanese aim, however, was poor, and when after repeated bomb­ ing most of the oil tanks still stood in­ tact, they resorted to flying very low and firing incendiary bullets and thus succeeded in blowing up all but two or three of them. In the meantime however, most of the gasoline and oil had been removed and stored in drums and cans in bodegas in and around the city. After the first few raids, the people began to leave and it was not long un­ til the old city was practically depo­ pulated, the stores boarded up, the streets empty. Many of them took re­ fuge in the mountains of the interior, others went to Leyte and Bohol and Mindanao. As early as Christmas night, the Americans and British in the city were advised over the radio to eva­ cuate. Most of them, some 50 or 60, went to the town of Bogo, some 80 kilometers north of Cebu City. Al­ though nearly all of the civil officials also left, law and order was preserv­ ed by the Army and the Constabulary, and there was plenty of food on the island. When General Sharp was transfer­ red to Mindanao, Colonel Scudder took over the command until General Cheynoweth arrived from Panay. Colonel J. S. Cooke was in charge of the large quartermaster stores in the city, most of which were shipped south. Most of the USAFFE troops in Cebu were also sent to Mindanao. Some 50 naval of­ ficers from Bataan came to Cebu and remained there until almost the day of the Japanese occupation, April 10. Two ships arrived from Australia during March with ammunition for the USAFFE and 130,000 cases of food supplies. The ammunition was taken to the hills and the food supplies were stored in caves throughout the island.

STORY

Early in March, Japanese warships be­ gan to appear in Cebu waters and oc­ casionally shelled ships in the harbor. The S.S. Luzon, had already been sunk by bombs. The Japanese claimed over the radio that month that prac­ tically all interisland shipping had been sunk. The enemy did not, however, have everything his own way. Early in March, Cebu military authorities re­ ceived word that the S.S. Anhui, from Australia, with three P-40’s aboard, had run onto a reef south of Leyte; they were asked to send a lighter and a towboat to get the planes off. This was done, the planes were safely loaded on the lighter which was being towed past the Bohol reefs on the way to Cebu, when a Japanese destroyer was sighted. Tug and lighter hid behind the reefs the rest of that day and the following night, but in the morning the destroyer was still around. The tug went back to Cebu that night to report and although hope to save the planes was almost given up, the order was issued to tow the lighter to Butuan, Mindanao, instead of Cebu. The planes reached Butuan and afterward were of some use, as will be recounted later. Five or six of the USAFFE torpedoboats, known as P-T boats, operated out of Cebu. On the night of April 8, a P-T boat fired a torpedo at an ene­ my destroyer south of Cebu, near Dumaguete, damaging the ship if not sinking her. The boat was sighted at daylight by Japanese planes, chased, and run ashore near Cebu City and then machine-gunned and set on fire. Several Americans on the boat were killed. The next day, another P-T boat slipped out of a port in Mindanao and wreaked revenge, sinking a Japanese troopship south of Negros. In speak­ ing to a prominent Filipino official later, the Japanese admitted they lost 4,000 men with this ship. Some of the internees from Cebu saw President Quezon when he pass­ ed through the city. He had been in Iloilo and on the Polo Plantation and at the Bais Sugar Central in Negros. At Bais he advised the people to plant

THE SUDLON REFUGEE CAMP

corn instead of sugar cane. Vice-Presi­ dent Osmena and other high officials were with him. All these months the people of Cebu had hoped against hope that relief would come to the Philippines in time, and that the island would be spared an enemy occupation. News of the sur­ render in Bataan, one man said, “knocked us cold.” On the night of April 9, word came that 14 Japanese warships and transports had been sighted off Dumaguete, probably head­ ed for Cebu City. Later in the evening it was reported they had landed at Argao, 60 kilometers to the south. One American said, "That was the worst night of my life. It looked like we were in for it the next day. I was at the motorpool that night, working on trucks for the Army, which was pulling out. We had two bottles of whisky but we felt too bad even to drink. We just sat up all night.” There had for many weeks been little life in the city, and those who had stayed in the blacked-out town went to bed at 8 o'clock, but this night probably few slept. The USAFFE set fire to the remaining gas tanks at Opon and to other fuel and supply depots throughout the city, the heaviest ex­ plosions coming about 4 o'clock in the morning. Enemy planes appeared, bombing and strafing, and troops were landed at various places near the city, meeting with practically no resistance. The small USAFFE forces withdrew into the mountains to the south and west. At 7 o'clock enemy planes dropped leaflets appealing to the people not to burn the city and offering rewards for “American and British” soldiers captured and turned over to them. Yet Japanese planes bombed the city and a cruiser shelled it. The Japanese landed at Talisay, 11 kilometers south of Cebu City, at Danao, 40 kilometers north, and at To­ ledo, on the other side of the island, and were in complete possession of Cebu City by nightfall. It was two weeks before all the fires were out. The whole business

315

district and many hundreds of resi­ dences in the once thriving port had been razed, an area of around 10 square miles. The customs house, the Shamrock Hotel, one block of bode­ gas near the water front, and the historic Santo Nino Church were about the only structures saved. On the 9th and 10th, most of the remaining American civilians in Cebu had gone to the Sudlon refugee camp, 20 kilometers northwest of the city. On the evening of the 11th, General Cheynoweth and his staff arrived there. A Japanese force moving across the island from Toledo toward Cebu City, a distance of around 45 kilometers, had surprised him at Camp X, about 15 kilometers from Toledo, and Chey­ noweth had had to run for it. The Sudlon camp lay about 8 kilometers north of the Toledo road. The General and his offi­ cers remained at Sudlon for seve­ ral davs and on the 14th moved on into the Balambang Forest, 8 kilo­ meters away. On the 16th, part of the USAFFE troops which had retreated from Cebu City, were overtaken by a Japanese force near Dita, about 20 kilometers away and 15 from Sudlon. There was a short fight and Colonel Grimes and Captain L. Smith were taken prisoners, the former having re­ ceived a bayonet-thrust in the hip. The Japanese returned to the city. As the Japanese forces were said to number around 12,000 and Cheynoweth's troops numbered only around 3,000, most of them virtually untrain­ ed except for some 800 Philippine Scouts troops, he disbanded all but the latter, subject to recall if advis­ able, and sent them to their homes in small groups. Many of them, however, hung around the Sudlon civilian camp and there were usually from 20 to 30 American and Filipino officers there, too, organizing a supply line to the Balambang Forest. The Japanese learned of this, and on April 30, about noon, planes bombed the camp for an hour. The camp was built on the side of a hill, in the woods, and although the Japanese dropped a score of

316 bombs and machine-gunned the area, not a building was hit and only one man was hurt. After this bombing, things went al­ ong uneventfully at Sudlon until on the 8th of May, immediately after the Wainwright surrender order, the Jap­ anese sent a captured American of­ ficer, Dr. Allen, to the camp with a letter to Cheynoweth demanding his surrender. The demand was refused and Allen returned the next day with a letter stating that if the General did not surrender, a force would be sent against him and he would be wiped out. Cheynoweth’s reply, it was said, was again unsatisfactory, and on the 11th Allen returned for a third time. On this occasion it was agreed that Cheynoweth would surrender on the 16th. On that day the General and ar­ ound a hundred of his officers met the Japanese at Camp 7 on the ToledoCebu road, and were taken from there in buses to Cebu. The civilians at Sudlon had given themselves up a few days before, for when they heard that the USAFFE officers intended to surrender, they sent two of their number to Cebu to arrange for their own surrender. The two men returned on the 11th with ins­ tructions for the civilians to report at Camp 7 before 3 in the afternoon the next day. They were there before 12 o'clock. The Japanese buses did not come until around 5. They were in jail in Cebu at 7 o'clock that night. In the meantime, upon the occupa­ tion of Cebu City more than a month previously, most of the British resi­ dents had sought refuge in the house of the Vice-Consul, Guy Walford. The Dutch priests from Mactan and some of the Norwegian sailors from the S.S. Ravnaas, which had been sunk by Japanese bombs on the first day of the war, also came to the Walford house. The Japanese found them late in the afternoon and an officer order­ ed them not to leave the premises. He said that the troops were well behav­ ed but that if any of them came to the house, they should not oppose any­ thing they wanted. No guards were

STORY

assigned to the house at first. It be­ came the temporary concentration point for other Americans, British, and Dutch, and on May 1 those Americans who had gone to Bogo were brought in and lodged in the Chartered Bank house adjoining. The people lived on what food there was in the house and on what friends brought in. Soldiers came in several times and took away some of their rice and canned goods. On May 2, the people in both these houses, numbering 62 men, women, and children, were taken to the prov­ incial jail, in retaliation, the Japanese said, for the two weeks’ incarceration in the same place of the Japanese na­ tionals in Cebu at the outbreak of the war. Some days previously, men from the Walford house had been taken to the jail to clean the premises, but they could do very little about the myriads of bedbugs that infested the slat-beds. The jail comprised a number of one­ storied cell-blocks, surrounded by a 14-foot concrete wall, inclosing a small yard. The people slept bed to bed, about 30 to a room, the women and children apart from the men. It was midsummer, the windows were small and barred, and the place was fiend­ ishly hot. There was no running wa­ ter, — only a broken-down old pump. The people who had taken refuge at Sudlon were now also brought in, 35 of them, and within a few days the total number of internees reached ar­ ound 120, among them 6 babes-inarms, and some twenty older chilldren. In the group were 4 American, and 6 Dutch priests. There were also 9 of the crew of the Ravnaas. The internees had been allowed to bring what provisions they had to the jail with them, as well as their bed­ ding. Two Filipino houseboys had been allowed to come with them, and these did the daily marketing. However, fresh fruit and vegetables were almost impossible to obtain. The cooking was done by the cook of the Ravnaas, chiefly canned food. Later they were able to get some newly-ground cornmeal.

£ I#

THE CEBU INTERNMENT CAMP

There was considerable illness am­ ong the women and children, and Dr. Hawk, one of the few military prison­ ers in the jail, was allowed to visit them. A Filipino physician in the city, Dr. Ramos, was also allowed to come in to attend the sick. There was no other contact with the outside except through this doctor and the two houseboys. The Japanese instructed the inter­ nees to choose an American and an Englishman among them as their re­ presentatives, and Father William Mc­ Carthy and Hector Maclean were elected. Japanese soldiers guarded the jail and roll call was taken at 8 in the morning and again at 6 at night. As if this were not enough, the guards every two hours, all through the night, would pass through all the cells, os­ tensibly "to count” the people. During the second week, a highranking Japanese officer visited the jail and assured the internees that they would be well treated and would soon be taken to a better place. On May 16, the 23 British internees were taken to the Lahug Primary School, a small building of four rooms, two of which were assigned to the men, and one to the women and small children; the other room was used for stores. The hundred or so Americans, Dutch, and Norwegians were taken to the Junior College, a branch of the University of the Philippines in Cebu City. The immediate reason for this was to make room in the jail for ar­ ound a hundred American Army of­ ficers and men who had surrendered and were brought there the next day. The Junior College was a goodsized building, in pleasant surroundings, but it had been occupied by Japanese troops and was very dirty. The city water system had not yet been repair­ ed, and w ater had to be brought in and paid for. The first month the in­ ternees spent some P I80 for water alone. After the city water was turned on, pressure was so low in the day­ time that the faucets were kept open all night to fill a few barrels. Four

317

Americans had been permitted to stay behind at Sudlon to bring in some 600 cases of canned goods there, but the Japanese took charge of these and is­ sued only small quantities at irregu­ lar intervals. The Japanese ordered that those of the internees who had money should share it with those who had not, and every five days P5 was collected from the former. The daily expenditure ran to around 80 centa­ vos a head. Some of the internees re­ ceived food and money from friends outside, and, after a time, the internees were also allowed to send out their laundry, washing being very difficult because of the scarcity of water. No communication was, however, allowed, and there was no such note system as was established at Santo Tomas. Since the internees constituted only a small group, no very elaborate organization was necessary, but cooking, cleaning, and other squads were organized to take charge of the work which had to be done. Of the 600 cases of canned goods, the internees got only 120. The Japanese kept what they liked, includ­ ing most of the milk and fruit, and doled out what they didn't like, such as spaghetti in tomato-sauce, and sau­ erkraut. The British, at the Lahug Primary School, lived even more scantily. There were 16 men and 6 women, of whom two were around 70 years old, and a four months-old baby. There was no water, which had to be brought in and paid for. Cooking facilities had to be improvised. There were only two toi­ lets, outside the building. Bathing had to be done in the open, in view of passers-by. They were allowed one Fi­ lipino houseboy, who did the market­ ing. They had to feed themselves and spent around a PI a day each. They divided themselves into six sections, each of which took charge of the cook­ ing for the day in rotation. One lady, who did not know much about cook­ ing deciding to serve beans, and, not knowing how they swell, cooked enough for several days, for breakfast, lunch, and supper, but the last meal of them was "accidentally" spilled in the ditch

318

between the cooking-place and the house. At first they had only a small kero­ sene lamp. Later the Japanese allowed them a few 10-watt electric-light bulbs. They were not allowed any read­ ing m atter and spent their spare time in playing bridge, rummy, and chess. After a month, however, one of them was allowed to go to his home to get a number of metal drums to store wa­ ter in, and he brought some thirty books back with him. These were read and reread. They found it difficult to get a doctor when anyone was ill, but Dr. Ramos was allowed to come in a few times It took about 48 hours to bring him in each time There were no guards at the house itself, but there was a sentry post a short distance away on the road and the guards there kept the place under surveillance. Sometimes they took toll of the market stuff brought in by the houseboy. The money ran out in September but the community was able to borrow an initial P250 from outside through the mediation of George Wood. Although Wood carried a British passport, he was born in Cork, Ireland, and the Japanese released him at the time the others were taken to the jail. He lived with five or six Redemptionist fathers who were also not interned, most of them being Irish. Wood was of great service to both the British and Ame­ rican internees. At the Junior College camp, the peo­ ple’s money began to run out earlier, in June. Realizing that they could not continue to feed themselves, a letter to that effect was sent to the military authorities through the Japanese civ­ ilian, a foim er storekeeper in the city, Muchozuki, who was in charge of the camp. Assistance was promised within a month, but nothing happened until October, when the internees were in­ formed that the Army would grant them 50 centavos a day per head. Fa­ ther McCarthy signed a receipt for PI,840, the amount for September, but the money was not forthcoming. In November he signed a receipt for the amount for October, but no money

STORY

came. In December, he signed for November, but it was the same story. During the entire period of internment, the Japanese did not furnish as much as a peso toward the support of the internees. The internees were com­ pelled to raise loans from friends in the city and to sign promissory notes for them. Each individual internee or head of a family, in turn, signed notes of indebtedness to the internee re­ presentatives. By the time they left for Manila, internees owed amounts rang­ ing from p50 to P500 each. Most of this money was raised by Wood who got a number of Filipinos, Spaniards, and Chinese in the city to contribute P20 a month to the funds needed. As in Manila, Filipino and other friends were generous in sending in gifts of food and other necessities, though there never was the daily “Line” which became such an institu­ tion at Santo Tomas. On Thanksgiving Day, so many people brought in food, including the traditional turkey, that indignation and anger overcame the Japanese. Everyone who had brought food on that day was questioned, some for as long as 8 hours, upbraided for being too friendly with the "enemies of the Japanese and the Filipinos” and ordered never to come to the camp again. In the meantime, the American and British groups had again been reunit­ ed and brought to a new place of in­ ternment nearer the center of the city, the Club Filipino. The move Was made on October 16, after guerrilla activity around the city had been no­ ticeable for some weeks. At the Club, the conditions were better for both parties, although the building was so crowded that some twenty of the in­ ternees had to set up their cots cross­ wise in the bowling-alley. The outside grounds allowed them were very small but there was running water and elec­ tric light; also a kitchen. Maclean join­ ed the committee the Americans had established, which also, at various times, included C. Padget, P. Sanders, M. Brink, C. Goebel, F. Hamlin, and N. B. Chapman. Father McCarthy re­

JAPANESE LOOTING

mained the head of the committee. During the five months of intern­ ment at the Junior College, the Ame­ rican group had been increased in number from time to time, and the to­ tal number of persons now interned in the Club Filipino was 148. Most of the newcomers were elderly men who had been picked up by the Japanese in the outlying districts and who came in destitute. There was always an extra bed and mosquito net kept ready for anyone who might be brought in. There was one birth among the peo­ ple confined at the College, but it did not occur at the camp as the mother was allowed to go to a hospital for a few weeks. One old-timer, British, 69 years old, was interned on April 10, released on October 28, and died among friends on November 15. Another old man, a former Protestant minister, who was ill, was allowed to return to his Filipino family. Except for the man allowed to go to his home to get the drums for wa­ ter storage, none of the internees were allowed to visit their homes again for any reason. The internees learned that all their houses had been cleaned out, with not a stick of furniture or any­ thing else left in them. Some of the internees had buried their tablesilver, but this later was recognized by friends who saw it offered for sale in the city. Internees would see Japanese wearing their clothes. It was reported that the Japanese had shipped at least 600 privately-owned automobiles out of the city, also hundreds of radios, refrigerators, and sets of fine furni­ ture. Even the iron roofing in the burned area was collected, baled, and shipped away. No personal indignities were inflict­ ed in so far as the Americans and British were concerned. Things they had on their person, — money, watch­ es, etc., were generally left to them. How the Filipinos fared, the internees did not know, but they saw Japanese soldiers with wrist-watches strapped on their arms from wrist to elbow. They were also told that numbers of Fili­ pinos had been stripped naked and

319

kept in the sun in front of the capitol building and then at night submerged in ice-cold water, which punishment generally brought on pneumonia. They also heard of the form of torture known as the "water-cure'' being in­ flicted, for what if any offenses, they did not know. Filipino doctors were reported to have had their instruments and medical supplies taken away from them. It was also said that the Japan­ ese liked to "visit” Filipino homes, ac­ cepting food and drink, and in return for this hospitality they took away with them, on leaving, whatever they fancied. The internees had seen a number of Japanese plane-crashes in the airfield near the Club Filipino. One day in October, a great swarm of locusts flew across the island of Cebu, probably from Negros. Millions of them cover­ ed the fields around the Club. At 9 o'clock in the morning they saw a Japanese transport plane take off in a cloud of locusts. Some of them may have gotten into the motors. At any rate, the plane lifted, then dropped, and crashed into a bamboo-clump at the edge of the field and burst into flames. The news filtered in that six of the ten occupants had been killed, but the internees could hardly believe that any of them had come out alive. Dr. Ramos asked a Japanese a day or so later how many had been killed in the accident. The Japanese said, "What accident? There was no acci­ dent. Nobody was killed”. The internees had hardly settled down in the Club Filipino when they were informed that they would soon be moved again, it being implied, though not definitely stated, that they would be taken to Manila. During the first week in December they were warned that the time was close at hand and there was considerable specula­ tion and anxiety as to where they would be taken. Some feared that it might be Formosa. Others thought that they might be exchanged. All this got onto the nerves of Ham­ lin, the camp accountant, a small but wiry man weighing only about 90

320

pounds. On the morning of the 11th, friends found the key to the cashbox, which Hamlin kept, under his type­ w riter with a statement of accounts brought up-to-date. They went to look for him and found that he had disap­ peared and that he must that night have crawled through the barbed-wire fence which inclosed the camp. The camp was guarded by six soldiers but only two of these were on duty at night and escape would at any time have been easy. The Japanese raised a great to-do about the disappearance but the people in the camp told them that Hamlin had been nervous and over-wrought, that he was ill, and in fact not responsible, hoping in this way to minimize any punishment which might be inflicted on him in case he were retaken. Hamlin's 71-year-old mother, who was in the camp, said she was sure that her son was all right and that she would not worry about him. On the 15th, the internees were in­ formed that they would be taken to Manila, and would leave the following day. They were told that they would be allowed to take only their personal effects and food for a week. There were others besides Hamlin who did not want to go to Manila be­ cause they hoped that they might be­ fore long be freed by the guerrillas. They knew that the Japanese had pot succeeded in subduing the island of Cebu. Very frequently the internees had heard rifle- and machine-gun fire very near the city and there were also constant rumors of the return of Ame­ rican forces. They knew that some of the Filipinos who went in and out of the city to buy and deliver country produce were required to have passes pot only from the Japanese military but from the guerrillas. The Filipino boys who got fresh foodstuff for the camp always asked for a receipt to show to the "guerrilla captain” be­ cause otherwise, they said, they would not be allowed to bring the produce in. It was said that there had been a large Japanese force in the island af­ ter the occupation, but that when

STORY

the fighting in the Solomons began, most of the these troops were with­ drawn. After the fall of Cebu, USAFFE of­ ficers had begun to organize guerrilla forces, but when Wainwright issued his surrender order in May, most if not all of the regular officers and some reserve officers and civilians, surren­ dered. The Japanese had threatened to consider all officers who did not surrender as deserters and all Ameri­ can civilians as outlaws. The USAFFE left arms, ammunition, supplies, etc., in the camps for the guerrillas to take. During the first months, the situation was complicated by the activities of bandits. Gangsters from the city, pri­ soners who escaped from the jails, and other such characters, roamed the island, robbing and looting. Generally, however, they avoided killing. Their tactics were to fire through the roof of a house and to rob it after the in­ mates had fled. Guerrillas were re­ ported to have killed a number of Spaniards and mestizos accused of as­ sisting the enemy. Governor Abellana and Mayor Del­ gado, who had both taken refuge in the mountains, were persuaded by the Japanese to come back in May to "co­ operate” with them. They told friends that they did so to do what they could to make things easier for their people. The Japanese treated them like muchachos. According to some sources, Jose Abad Santos, Secretary of Justice in the Quezon Cabinet, had been in Cebu City and it was rumored that he had been executed because he refused to accept an appointment un­ der the Japanese.1 Dr. Emilio Osmena, 1 Note (1945) — President Quezon and his family, Vice-President Osmena, General Valdez, Justice Abad Santos, Colonel Nieto, and others left Corregidor in a submarine on the night of February 20, 1942, for San Jose, Antique (Panay). During the next few weeks they visited Iloilo, where Colonel Soriano joined them, and various other places in the Visayas, traveling by motor and aboard the Prin­ cess of Negros, a former Iloilo-Bacolod ferry­ boat. A Japanese destroyer towed this ship off when it lay at anchor at San Carlos, Oc­ cidental Negros, the members of the party

QUEZON AND JOSE ABAD SANTOS

I

All quotations are from the Tribune of the given date, unless otherwise stated.

Anyway, it was all the Divine Will. Said the Director-General of the Mili­

"in this way and in this manner alone can the Yamato Race and the Filipinos in one body live in the Everlasting Glory”. ( Tribune, Octo­ ber 5.) 1

446

THE COUNTRY

tary Administration at a convivial gettogether at M alacanan:

of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, and the independence is for co-existence and co­ prosperity. . . ” (March 26.)

“The fact that the Philippines has been able to return to the fold of the Orient is attributed to His Majesty the Emperor and is a manifes­ tation of His Divine Will.” (January 24.)

Said the Director-General of the Mi­ litary Administration in addressing a convention of provincial governors and municipal mayors:

In an editorial on Palm Sunday, which the Japanese had declared "Lo­ yalty Day”, the Tribune editor deliver­ ed himself of the following blasphem y: "As, significantly, we observe Loyalty Day with Palm Sunday, let us ponder the meaning of that triumphal entry into the gates of Jeru­ salem, so that we may not fall into the same error which crucified an ideal.” (April 18.)

"Any attempt to establish an independent nation through the help of an Occidental race is counter to Divine Will. It is decreed by Heaven that the liberty of the Filipinos shall be the fruit, of the joint labors of neighboring Oriental peoples. The promise of independence in the shortest possible time was made through the August Virtues and Unbounded Benevolence of the Imperial Family of Japan.” (February 24.)

Independence Promised, — And De­ The Japanese Tribune columnist had fined — As early as January 21, 1942, said: Premier Tojo had been quoted as say­ "Independence should mean something more ing that Japan would “gladly grant the than a Christmas present. In marching forward to Our Tomorrow, let us forget about indepen­ Philippines its independence so long as dence.” (December 16.) it cooperates and recognizes Japan’s "After all, 'independence’ is an abstract term. program of establising the Greater East Its meaning also is very relative. . . We can not freedom at one jump. There are steppingAsia Co-Prosperity Sphere”. Speaking attain stones. . . If we help to attain regional free­ in the House of Peers, on January 28, dom, we ourselves at least will be saved from he reiterated this statement. During his being controlled from the other side of the ocean. . (December 20.) visit to Manila in May, 1943,2 he repeat­ The same w riter a few days later ed it again, but was more specific as commented on — to the conditions which the Filipinos "the foolishness of nations too small and weak would have to satisfy. continuing to chase the rainbow of illusory The Japanese Ambassador to Thai­ freedom. . . How can smaller nations hope to land explained what Japan meant by enjoy equality with those which have outgrown "independence”, According to a Domei the poltical concepts of a century or so back? Racial or national self-determination is a noble dispatch from Bangkok: ideal. Yet this noble ideal should not prevent "Independence in Greater East Asia has a different connotation from independence in its liberal sense. Independence in the Co-Pros­ perity Sphere must not be merely an unbridled one. In future international relations, no country will be able to exist as an independent state unless it forms a co-prosperity sphere where there is close unity in politics, economy, and thought. Independence in a co-prosperity sphere must be based on the mutual sharing of joys and sorrows and in assistance.” (November 29.)

races closely related or nations in geographical proximity from seeking community of interests." (December 24.)

Then he wrote learnedly: "We [sic] have dreamed of political freedom for decades. Why is it that we are so unpre­ pared for it? We are realizing how totally un­ prepared we were economically. Do we realize that we are equally unprepared ethnologically and philologically?” (January 7.)

Government Employees Training In­ Tojo endorsed this view in a state­ stitutes — To grasp it all the Filipinos ment on the independence of Burma: "The independence of Burma is not [to be] needed a lot of "re-orientation”, despite based on the traditional Anglo-American idea, the fact that, as Vargas said or was which is exclusive more than anything else. The principle underlying the new [projected] inde­ made to say, the Filipino people were pendence of Burma is that the nation is a unit cooperating "not by compulsion or for convenience”, but because they believ­ 2 See end of Chapter IV of the Camp section ed in Japan's “generous and sincere deof this book.

447

THE "LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLE”

sires”. Vargas was on a Japanese- con­ ducted "speaking tour” of Tayabas, La­ guna, and Batangas, delivering a set speech in which he also urged the peo­ ple "to have as much faith in the great Japanese Empire and the Imperial Jap­ anese Forces as they have in us”. This seemed to be one of his occasional and risky, double entendres. In October, Vargas, by an administra­ tive order, "approved by the Japanese Military Administration”, established the Government Employees Training Institute. "A select group of 200 officials, limited to those not over 45 years of age, must live in quarters provided for them for spiritual, moral, and physical rejuvenation, the development of a spirit of whole-hearted cooperation, training in efficient and economical administration, the in­ stillation of honesty, the practice of simple and frugal living, and the development of powers of endurance and hard work. . (October 18.)

The same wise man said on another day: "What we need is a new formula which will produce efficiency and at the same time give justice to the people. The old, ‘democratic’ no­ tion that government officials are servants of the people is fundamentally wrong. The officials must serve the people by guiding them. As long as human beings are what they are, the mass will always be led by the few.” (April 13.)

A Filipino columnist who wrote un­ der the pen-name "M aharajah”, F. B. Icasiano,3 wrote earnestly under the heading "I believe in cooperation with Japan": 'I believe in doing what is right for them [the Filipinos], not because they want it, but because they need it, even if in their limitations they may not have realized such a necessity. I believe in honest leadership, — for the gen­ eral interest and welfare of the many in the long run, even if the public may not at first see and like what is good for them and their progeny.” (January 24.)

This was as naive as another dis­ guised Japanese-authored e p i g r a m which throws some light on the Fili­ pino utterance just quoted: "One rea­ son why we fell into the habit of dis­ "You will taste the salutary effects of a agreeing is that we never had anyone simple and frugal life, devoid of the obstrepe­ rous trappings of Western civilization, but rich to encourage us to agree like Japan". in intimacy with all the pleasurable elements (April 16.) that make Eastern civilization by far the most The w riter includes the sources of perfect expression of the art of living.” (April 6 .) his quotations, for else readers might The “Leadership Principle’’ — It was not believe that such things were ever in this way that the Japanese hoped to actually printed. fashion the tools they needed. Com­ That a group of 19 government of­ ment in the daily press by Japanese writers themselves was often almost ficials, headed by Leon G. Guinto, Ma­ amusingly revealing. Said one Japanese yor of Manila, had been sent to Japan epigrammatist: "We need more public to "survey conditions and promote bet­ officials who are not afraid to lose their ter understanding”, was announced in the Sunday Tribune of June 13. They popularity.” (February 4.) went at the "expense of the Military For a time, the problem of leadership Administration", and were said to be— exercised these pundits. One wrote:

The Director-General of the Military Administration, speaking to a third group of government employees to en­ roll, told them:

"The so-called ‘democracies’ are becoming po­ litical bankrupts all over the world because they are failing to realize that their ideology is wrong. Instead of harmonizing authority with liberty, they are subordinating authority to li­ berty. How can there be wise government when those elected to govern have to satisfy the whims and caprices of those governed? Authority must be paternalistic in the best sense of the word." (February 3.)

"men of such calibre that it may be expected that they will contribute much toward the spir­ itual, ideological, administrative, industrial, and technical phases of the creation of the New Philippines on their return."

They included graduates of such uni­ versities as Harvard and Columbia, and 3 Note

1945.

(1945) — Reported missing after February,

448

the general composition of the delega­ tion was such as to make it obvious that most of its members could not have gone willingly. It was reported the next day that they paid their respects to the Throne by deep bows in front of the Imperial palace and were taken around to see various sights, dressed in black trousers and pina shirts.4 On several occasions they were called upon to sing the “Song for the Creation of the New Philippines”, which they had "rehearsed during the 8-day sea trip from Manila to Moji”. It was reported that they were deeply impressed by what they saw of "mighty Japan”. Dissolution of Political Parties — Shortly after the fall of Corregidor, the Director-General of the Military Admi­ nistration had said that "it is our policy not to recognize any associations or parties bearing political signific­ ance”. On December 5 the Tribune re­ ported that the Military Administration had announced that all existing Philip­ pine political parties had dissolved "on their own accord”. The Military Admi­ nistration expressed its "complete agreement to, and high commendation of, this decision and action”. 4 Note

(1945) — The Japanese objected to "West­ ern” clothes, and the Filipinos, at Guinto’s sug­ gestion, decided on the black dress trousers and the embroidered pina shirt, sometimes worn in Manila on formal occasions when a touch of the native was desired. None of the men had wanted to go to Japan, but excuses, even of illness, were not accepted. The party was given firstclass transportation to Japan, and the men were well treated there although they were not allow­ ed to see everything they wanted to see. They were sent back to the Philippines with little ceremony, on a small, 1,200-ton steamer, a form­ er ferry boat, with room for perhaps 150 passen­ gers, but no less than 700 were put aboard, in­ cluding some 70 "comfort girls”. The Filipinos were crowded into several small cabins, 8 men to a cabin. The food was poor and consisted almost exclusively of rice, pickled radish or pickled bamboo-shoots, and weak tea. There was a shortage of water. The return trip took 26 seemingly interminable days due to the protec­ tive measures adopted by the 10-ship convoy against American submarines.

THE COUNTRY "Unquestionably, the most urgent and para­ mount problem facing the people of the Philip­ pines today is the extirpation of all traces of the American brand of politics and misgovernment, the eradication of the ape-like mimicking of Anglo-Americanism. . . which in the past had been a curse and a blight to the Filipinos. . . Political parties have their origins and their very excuse for being only when there exist con­ scientious differences of opinion over fundamen­ tal principles and issues over government poli­ cies. .

A big headline stated: "VARGAS, PO­ LITICAL CHIEFS, HAIL DISSOLU­ TION OF P. I. PARTIES”. The evening before there had been a radio program in which Jose Yulo spoke for the Nacionalista Party, Alfonso Mendoza for the Democrata Party, Benigno Ramos for Ganap, Emelio Javier for the Popu­ lar Front, and A. P. Tolentino for Young Philippines. The Japanese knew how to obtain “unanimity.” The Japanese recognized no "con­ scientious differences of opinion”. There were no issues. This all flowed from Japanese political and moral phi­ losophy. As the learned Professor Kiyosi Miki pointed out in an article: "According to the original Chinese classics, the right to revolt was recognized. "The Mitogaku scholars eliminated these parts from the original teachings of Confucius and adjusted the teachings of the Japanese philoso­ phers to meet inherently Japanese conditions and thus evolved a new political and moral philosophy which subsequently reached a high state of development in Japan.” (November 15.)

In spite of the “hailing” by political chiefs, none of this went down well with the Filipinos. The Japanese colum­ nist, so frequently quoted, as always writing deceptively as if he were a Fi­ lipino, said irritatedly: "One of the bad qualities so many of us have acquired from our ‘democratic education’ is the habitual thinking that we are just as good as anyone else. Our perverted notion of equality has killed our modesty." (January 8 .)

The Kalibapi— By "modesty” here was meant meekness, submissiveness. To promote this and other "Oriental”

DISSOLUTION OF PARTIES.

THE KALIBAPI

virtues, the "Kalibapi” was instituted in December by a Vargas executive order "approved” by the Commander-in-chief, which constituted a special charter. The word Kalibapi stood for the Tagalog Kapisanan sa Paglilingkod sa Bagong Pilipinas (Association for Service to the New Philippines). Vargas was president ex officio and the other members of the Executive Commission were ex officio members. Aquino, who had shortly be­ fore relinquished the position of Com­ missioner of the Interior, was appoint­ ed vice-president and director-general. There were three directors-at-large for Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, and nu­ merous other officials. The aim was — “to unify the Filipinos, regardless of class, sex, rank, or creed, in order to extend positive co­ operation to the Japanese Military Administra­ tion in the reconstruction of the country. . . and 10 invigorate in the people such Oriental virtues as faith, self-reliance, loyalty, patriotism, brav­ ery, discipline, self-sacrifice, and hard work. . ." (December 7.)

449

months later, the Kalibapi inaugurated the Kalibapi Labor Institute in which 250 men, selected from the personnel of various business and manufacturing firms in Manila, would be given a m onth’s training in order — "to line up the labor element. . . to teach Tagalog and Nippongo [Japanese] and the du­ ties of labor toward the construction of the New Philippines.”

Before a gathering of these students, the director of general affairs of the Kalibapi urged them — "to be imbued with the Kalibapi spirit which is nothing more or less than the sublimation of the spirit of self-sacrifice and unselfish service. The role of labor is of paramount importance in the stupendous and heroic task of building up the new Philippines.” (May 3.)

The first Kalibapi meeting in the pro­ vinces was held at Malolos because, as Aquino reportedly said, "the short-lived Philippine Republic of 1898 was born there and the Constitution written there.” (January 13.) At the first "concert-meeting” of the The organization was to work through "the press, radio, cinema, stage, post­ Kalibapi at the Metropolitan Theater in ers, meetings, rallies, and other appro­ Manila, Vargas and Aquino rapped priate means”. Aquino was quoted as "fence-sitters”, according to the Tri­ saying that the Kalibapi was a "non­ bune of the following day (February political service association” but that 8 ): "As chairman, Jorge B. Vargas expressed "no person can be employed in the gov­ that all members of the Kalibapi as ernment and any of its institutions un­ confidence well as the vast majority of all Filipinos are less he is a member”. (December 12.) enthusiastic supporters of the New Philippines Later it was explained that the Kali­ and do not want to have anything to do with and time-servers, Director-General bapi was not a substitute for a political fence-sitters Benigno S. Aquino took the intellectual and wellparty, but far surpassed this in scope. to-do elements of the country to task for their All Filipinos of 18 years or older "could complacency. . ." Even before the organization of the join". On December 22 it was stated in Kalibapi, Aquino had been reported as the Tribune that "all civic bodies”, such as the National Federation of Wo­ attacking "fence-sitters” in speeches he men’s Clubs, the Young Men's Chris­ made in several provincial towns. On tian Association, the Young Women’s one occasion he criticized those in the Christian Association, the Philippine government service " who fail to take Association of Women Writers, the Fi­ an open and courageous stan d . . . full lipino Nurses Association, etc., were to of hesitation and indecision”, and he come under the Kalibapi. In February, characterized the Filipino guerrillas Filipino newsmen were "sworn" into still fighting as "more American than the organization. (February 11.) A few the Americans themselves in the de­

450

THE COUNTRY

fense of American sovereignty”. (Sep­ At the second Kalibapi rally in Ma­ tember 23.) nila he was again quoted as having Laurel in a speech in the City Hall, said this. reportedly declared, "America can not "Japan, when she gives the Philippines her will find an entire nation ready come back”, and urged cooperation. He independence, to fight side by side with her in the protection continued: of the rights of the Orient.” (March 10.) "Even if America should return here, which "When — ”, Aquino had said. That I believe she can not do, you would not be was a qualification. Pio Duran, a mem­ the ones to suffer by cooperating with the Japanese. We would be the ones to suffer, we ber of the Executive Commission and the members of the Executive Committee and of the Kalibapi, said in a speech at other outstanding leaders. They would pick us Legaspi, as if in answer to the "when” out and line us up before a firing-squad, per­ haps in a public plaza, and kill us. But we qualification: are ready for that sacrifice. We are ready to be traitors to America if by so doing we will be of service to you, to the Filipino people. That is not oratory. That is determination.” (Januarv 20. )

"The Japanese mind can not understand the so-called democratic political philosophy of re­ ciprocity. The Japanese will not understand us when we say ‘Give us independence and then we will cooperate’. When the Empire of Japan through Premier Tojo pledged the independence of the Philippines, the Filipinos should feel this as an act of grace that has fallen on them and they should try their very best to make them­ selves worthy of such a pledge. . .” (May 21.)

Aquino admitted in a speech made at San Fernando, La Union, that he had received "countless threatening letters” but that these meant nothing to him. None of all this verbiage correspond­ The Aquino appearance there was gra­ ed to reality. All of it was false and phically and revealingly described as all of it insincere. Much of it was follows: "He told his audience frankly that when he silly. Commissioner of Education Rec­ mounted the speaker’s stand, he saw sadness to, in a radio-talk as reported, once in the faces of the people, who seemed to be spoke of —

afraid to applaud. ‘It seems to me that you are dominated by fear. There is no reason for this. Our duty is to tell you the truth and to be frank. . . If you want to know the real spirit o f Kalibapi and desire to understand the real New Philippines, you only have to see your sons in the uniform of the Constabulary. .

Catholic priests in the parish were described as having been "deeply mov­ ed” by the unusually large church at­ tendance that day of the visit of the Ka­ libapi delegation, Sunday, February 13! This article (Tribune, February 15) seemed to be full of double entendres. A few days later, in the Tribune of February 26, Aquino was quoted as hav­ ing said at a Kalibapi rally in Manila the previous evening: "The entire Filipino people are ready to fight side by side with Japan because of her solemn pledge of independence in the shortest possible time. A passive people is a cowardly people. A cowardly people can not build a nation. Liberty is not a prize for cowards, but is only for the brave.”

"the Filipino bewilderment whenever they see measures being taken which are seemingly in conflict with the altruistic intentions of Japan toward the Philippines.”

But he advanced an explanation: "If in certain instances the pronounced inten­ tions of Japan do not seem to harmonize with actual facts, this is merely due to the unavoid­ able exigencies of this war. . ."

The Junior Kalibapi — The Japanese no doubt believed that it would be easier to pervert the young than to "re-orient" the mature.. Filipino youth was to be bent in the way in which it should go. The Tribune, March 30, announced that a Junior Kalibapi, the Kabataang Kalibapi, was to be formed, the Kaba­ taang Maghahanda for children from 7 to 15 years of age, and the Kabataang Katulong for young people from 16 to 18. Each of these was to be composed of separate units for boys and girls.

PHILIPPINE VETERANS ASSOCIATION SUPPRESSED

In April, a boys’ camp was establish­ ed at Balara, near Manila, for the young sons of several scores of prominent Filipino families, with a few Japanese boys added. For a week or two the papers publicized the daily occurrences there, and the Japanese editorialists and columnists did much philosophiz­ ing on the topic. One of them said: "The Japanese, mindful ever of the greatness of their land and the future of their people, have regimented even their children's games and feasts, so that some mighty purpose might be thus achieved. Recently, the first attempt to give Filipino boys a foretaste of that kind of regeneration was made at the New Life Camp at Balara and our [sic] boys responded ad­ mirably. . . (May 5.)

The visit of an official of the Japanese Military Administration was described. In addressing the boys — "he also referred to the difference in the Jap­ anese and Filipino way of cooking rice. In the Japanese way, he said, the grains stick together to form one whole ball, while in the Filipino way, the grains stay apart. The difference speaks of the secret behind the solidarity of the Japanese people.” (April 21.)

There are lessons in everything, aren't there, boys? The Junior Kalibapi was officially called into being on May 25. On that same day the Tribune informed its readers that "the sons of Filipino lead­ ers” were to study "zyuzita [jujitsu], the spirit of which is closely linked with that of Bushido”. Among them were sons of Vargas, Laurel, de las Alas, Alunan, Recto, Paredes, Marabut, Lavides, and Yulo. Later their pic­ tures appeared in the papers, admi­ nistering falls to each other. The Kalibapi (senior) did not grow very rapidly. It was reported in April that 550,000 had joined; 89,000 of them in Tarlac, Aquino’s home province; 87,000 in Manila. Only the Luzon pro­ vinces had so far reported, however; "reports from the governors of the Visayan provinces were delayed”. (April 13.)

451

The Filipinos sang a song, the first lines of which rang: "I’m a slap-happy Jappy, Since I joined the Kalibapi.”

Suppression of the Philippine Vete­ rans Association — One of the cruelest Japanese moves was the destruction of the Association of Veterans of the Phil­ ippine Revolution, of which General Aguinaldo was the head. Addressing the membership at the annual reunion held on June 12, (only around 400 members attended), Aguinaldo a n n o u n c e d "plans” for the dissolution of the Asso­ ciation and urged the members to join the Kalibapi. "This decision”, he said, "had been reached in accordance with the wise policy which aims at the es­ tablishment of absolute national unity through the abolition of political and semi-political organizations. In place of the Veterans Association will be a purely social club composed only of those who actually fought in the Revo­ lution.” The sad-eyed old men "unanimously approved” three cut-and-dried resolu­ tions : "(1) pledging to His Excellency, Lt. Gen. Shigenori Kuroda, Highest Commander of the Imperial Japanese Army in the Philippines, to total unconditional cooperation of the Veterans of the Revolution; (2) commending the Philip­ pine Executive Commission for its energetic and successful efforts in restoring the Philippines to normalcy; (3) pledging to the Kalibapi the faithful adherence and wholehearted support of the Veterans of the Revolution.”

Said the Tribune: "The veterans paid homage to the Imperial Household and offered a silent prayer for the Japanese and Filipino soldiers who died in the Greater East Asia War and for the ultimate victory of the Imperial Japanese forces. High­ light of the reunion was the annual roll call in which the members answered to their names according to their organization 45 years ago. Generals, colonels, captains, and privates in their historic ‘rayadillo.’ uniforms wore their servicebars and medals. . . In place of the veterans who are dead, the oldest son answered. . . Tears stood in the eyes of most of them. . .”

452

"The old book of our history,” Aguinaldo was quoted as saying, "has come to an end; we are beginning the first chapter of a new one. What is more fitting, therefore, than that we should bid farewell to the past and all its as­ sociations of frustration and futility . . (June 13.) Slow Organization of the "Neighbor­ hood Associations” — The system of neighborhood associations, created by executive order early in August, 1942, as described in the first part of this section, was also slow in getting under way. Though the neighborhood associa­ tion was falsely likened to the preSpanish barangay, — the early Malay settlements in the country named after the word for a boatload of people, a word enshrined in Philippine history, minor officials everywhere procrastina­ ted in carrying out the executive order. In October it was reported that the Military Administration had set aside P500,000 for forming the associations and that additional rules were being drafted. ( Triburie, October 13.) Not until November 28 was it report­ ed that the "people of Cavite” had or­ ganized the first neighborhood asso­ ciations, 367 of them, combined into 27 district associations. On January 22, the Tribune said that 6,116 neighbor­ hood associations and 675 district asso­ ciations had been organized in the ci­ ties of Manila, Cavite, and San Pablo (Laguna), and in the provinces of Batangas, Bulacan, and Pampanga. Laurel, in a radio address said that the neighborhood associations "would instill discipline, something which Fili­ pinos have lacked as a people, and teach them obedience to law.” (Decem­ ber 27.) Toward the end of January, the Cen­ tral Administrative Organization, with the approval of the Military Adminis­ tration, appropriated P400,000 for dis­

THE COUNTRY

tribution among 609 cities, municipal­ ities, and municipal districs where the organization of neighborhood organi­ zations was in progress. (January 28.) Commissioner of Finance de las Alas said at this time over the radio that neighborhood associations “should be regarded as an effort of every peaceful community to do away with undesir­ able elements”. (February 1.) It was explained a little later that all aliens, except enemy-nationals, were required to join the neighborhood associations, but that this did not apply to Japanese subjects as these had their own associa­ tions. (February 13.) The Japanese authorities were ob­ viously dissatisfied with the progress of the organization. An editorial in the Tribune, ‘February 26, sharply pointed out that there were only 2,411 neigh­ borhood associations in Manila, made up of 27,952 families or 158,085 indivi­ duals, in a population of around 900,000. "What are the officials in charge of the creation of the system doing? Have they been fully awake to their responsibility? Has the work been carried forward with sufficient zeal and enthusiasm? They must lead the masses in this work of organization.”

In the meantime the neighborhood associations were linked with the dis­ tribution of the monthly soap and lard rations (mainly in Manila). One store of the Filipino Retailers Federation was to serve at least four neighborhood as­ sociations. This system was reported in effect on March 23, but not until April 8 did the paper report that the rations would be distributed through the as­ sociations as follows: soap, 200 grams a month to each person, at 10 centa­ vos; lard, 200 grams, at 15 centavos; matches, one box, at 3 centavos. The rationing of sugar was begun in the same way in June, — 250 grams of washed sugar at 5 centavos and 250 grams of brown sugar at 3 centavos,

THE COURTS.

FORT SANTIAGO

once a month. One had to be a member of a neighborhood association to be eligible to buy these small quantities, and that was what forced the people into the associations though the sys­ tem had, as to its aim, nothing to do with the distribution of commodities. Vargas had said: "The neighborhood associations constitute a potent factor in insuring the safety of life of the people through self-protection on the basis of joint responsibility and through the mainte­ nance of peace and order by cooperative effort.” (March 1.)

There was considerable difficulty in the Carrying out of the rationing scheme. The "Letters” column in the Tribune gave evidence of friction be­ tween association leaders and presi­ dents and the owners of stores in their districts, protests about the stores selected in preference to others etc. There were also ma­ ny complaints of people who failed to receive the rations. The Tribune, May 14, revealed that the May soap, lard, sugar, and match ration, scheduled for distribution on the 25th, had been post­ poned to the 30th "pending investiga­ tion of discrepancies and anomalies committed by many neighborhood as­ sociation officials in connection with the April distribution”. The system required the patrolling of the neighborhood area at night by the heads of families, unarmed, and the reporting and apprehension of suspi­ cious characters or wrongdoers on pain of general fines and other punishments. In March, Vargas issued a series of amendments to his original order, in­ creasing the penalties for violations. The amending order was dated March 17 and was approved by the Comman­ der-in-chief on the same day, but did not appear in the Tribune until April 15 and 16. It read in part: "In case any resident within an area or areas under the jurisdiction of a district association establishes connection with, or follows or

453 tries to follow the directions of, or conceals or assists or tries to assist bandit or bandits, the said resident shall be punished in accordance with existing laws or orders; and the leader of the neighborhood association as well as the pres­ ident of the district association concerned shall be punished by a fine of not more than P50 or by imprisonment of not more than 1 month, or both, in the discretion of the court, if not­ withstanding knowledge of such fact, they fail­ ed or refused to take measures necessary for the apprehension of such criminal element. . . In case a resident. . . turns out to be a felonious criminal, the head of each family within the neighborhood association shall be punished by a fine of not more than P20, if notwithstanding knowledge of such fact he failed or refused to take the measures necessary for the apprehen­ sion of such criminal. . .”

In April, neighborhood associations were said to be functioning in 600 towns throughout the country. In Ma­ nila there were now 900,000 members in 1,789 district and 13,192 neighbor­ hood associations. ( Tribune, April 17.) An editorial in the April 16 issue said: "The Neighborhood Association is probably the greatest single contribution of Japan to Philippine community life.”

The Courts and Police — Judging from the newspapers, the courts were not very active; the only court story was about a long drawnout murder trial involving a foreign danseuse. The Director-General of the Military Admi­ nistration had in May, 1942, instructed then Commissioner of Justice Laurel and Chief Justice Yulo of the Supreme Court to postpone the trial and deter­ mination of all pending civil cases against "American, British, and other enemy subjects or hostile aliens” and to accept no new cases for filing. Lawyers in the camp said that the new Supreme Court and the new Court of Appeals were issuing decisions, but in greatly reduced numbers as compar­ ed to the number of decisions handed down by the Supreme and Appeals courts before the war. Though the Tri­ bune from time to time mentioned the

454

appointments of judges of courts of first instance by Vargas, these courts also were almost inactive. An American lawyer who was not interned until May, 1943, said that a general difficulty was that it was almost impossible to dis­ cover the whereabouts of required wit­ nesses. He said he believed that the justices of the peace heard and dispos­ ed of most of the cases that came up. The few judicial notices published in the Tribune concerned mainly the estates or intestate estates of deceased persons, summons of defendants whose addresses were unknown, and sheriff’s sales. Fort Santiago — However, the Jap­ anese Military Police in Manila and in the provinces disposed of thousands of cases in a summary and secret manner. This organization (the Japanese "gestapo” feared by the Japanese them­ selves almost as much as by everybody else) was established in Fort Santiago, former headquarters of first the Spa­ nish and then the United States armies. It now become such a place of dread to all Manila and the surrounding pro­ vinces, that the Japanese propagandists came to the conclusion that something should be said about it. One of them, describing the release of four "suspects” (including a per­ sonal friend of President Quezon, To­ mas B. Morato, former Mayor of Que­ zon City), said with great sweetness: "The four men, with tears in their eyes, solemnly pledged to collaborate with Nippon. They were overwhelmed by the benevolent act of the Japanese authorities. The members of their families shed tears of joy and gratitude. Thus Fort Santiago, which had been the symbol of the cruel and oppressive Spanish and Ame­ rican administrations in the past, came to have a new significance. It has now become the home of kindness and benevolence, the fountainhead of happiness and joy.” (December 24.)

Again, in connection with the release from Fort Santiago of former Secretary of Agriculture Eulogio Rodriguez Sr.

THE COUNTRY

and others including Miss Raymunda Guidote, "who after having been con­ fined for some time in the fort for hostile acts, were recently pardoned and released through the generosity of the Imperial Japanese Forces”. A Tri­ bune w riter said that this "belied the myth about Fort Santiago being a place of torture and inquisitorial investiga­ tions”. A Japanese officer said that "what was done by the Japanese in Fort Santiago was to win the hearts of the misguided Filipinos who were confined there.” (May 25.) Military Intervention in Court Pro­ ceedings — The order banning Spanish from the courts created such difficul­ ties that it was lifted in September. The September 26 Tribune published an executive order by Vargas, "with the approval of the Commander-inchief”, prohibiting the granting of bail in all cases "where the penalty pres­ cribed by' law for the offense charged is death or life imprisonment, where the accused is a habitual delinquent, and where the imprisonment pres­ cribed by law for the crime charged is more than 12 years”. “The effect of existing laws and rules which are in conflict or inconsistent herewith are suspended until further notice.” The order was dated September 14. Significant were Laurel’s instructions to court officers in the m atter of mili­ tary intervention. They were advised that — "in those cases where the Japanese Military Administration desires to intervene in proceed­ ings pending before the judicial courts or before the prosecuting attorneys, it will do so officially and in a formal manner through the appropriate officers of the Japanese Military Administration or through the Chief of the Military Police. Any intervention outside of the persons above referred to. . . is unauthorized and shall be reported immediately to this Department.” (October 28.)

The Tribune said that what had prompted this order was —

THE NEW DIVORCE LAW "the occurrence in the past of isolated cases where some parties, claiming that they had authority from the Japanese Military Administra­ tion or the Military Police, attempted to have cases in court dismissed or otherwise intervened in the proceedings.”

In other words, military intervention was recognized and accepted if it were "official”. The New Divorce “Law” — Executive Order No. 141 was published in the March 30 Tribune under the banner headline "DIVORCE LIBERALIZED — Commission Heeds Wish of People — Executive Order Issued by Vargas Sets 11 Grounds”. The order was made ef­ fective as of March 25, the date of its approval by the Commander-in-chief. The old law, indeed a backward one, recognized only one ground for divorce, adultery, requiring a criminal convic­ tion of the defendant in divorce pro­ ceedings. On a number of occasions the Legislature had passed divorce bills, but these had always been vetoed by the Chief Executive. Governor-Gen­ eral Leonard Wood, after having recom­ mended the passage of one such bill, vetoed it because of strong Catholic Church opposition. In announcing the approval of the new order, the Execu­ tive Commission issued a statement which ran in part as follows: "The new divorce law was drafted by the Philippine Executive Commission after consider­ ing the wishes of the greater majority of the people of the Philippines. Seeing that this law will be for the general benefit of the Filipino people, His Excellency, the Commander-in-chief of the Imperial Japanese Forces, has approved the law as recommended by the Commission.”

The Tribune said editorially: "To dissipate the doubt as to why after so much agitation for such a law in the past, the liberalization has been effected only now, it may be said that in contradistinction to the shams of the whitewashed past, the present regime can face all aspects of reality in its characteristic way, — frankly, honestly, manfully.”

The April 4 Tribune reported: "Announcement of the liberalization of divorce in the Philippines, which fell like a bombshell

455 in Manila and other centers of population early this week [last week], has stirred widespread discussion on the various aspects of the new law. As expected, Catholic elements took their traditional stand on the question, holding that divorce on any grounds is not recognized by the Church. . . The Catholic Women’s League, which has on its roll many social workers and pro­ minent ladies, immediately registered its opposi­ tion. . . Miss Manuela Gay, president of the League, told the Tribune: 'The Catholic woman, as in fact every true Catholic, is against di­ vorce’.”

Church officials themselves were not quoted. During the following weeks several scores of divorce suits were be­ gun in the courts. Lawyers in Santo Tomas expressed doubt that divorces thus secured would be recognized after the Japanese occupation. A number of men on the Executive Commission had long favored a liberalization of the Phil­ ippine divorce law, and it may be that they took advantage of the opportunity to effect a change. The law was a libe­ ral rather than a radical one. Reports were that it had been drafted by Recto after the divorce law of the defunct Spanish Republic. However that may be, there were renewed indications of the conflict between the Japanese and the Catholic Church, and it seemed cer­ tain that the new measure was a puni­ tive one in so far as the Church was concerned. Real Estate Transfers Blocked — An­ other important order at this time, but issued directly by the Director-General of the Military Administration, was that prohibiting natural and juridical persons other than Filipinos from pur­ chasing private lands and buildings not used for agricultural purposes or from acquiring leasehold rights on such lands and buildings without special permission from the Military Adminis­ tration. The order took effect on April 2, and contained a clause to the effect that deeds executed prior to the order but not yet registered, should not be

456 registered unless approved by the Di­ rector-General. ( Tribune, April 3.) The order itself declared that the aim was to "prevent speculation on real proper­ ties for the time being”, and an expla­ natory note stated in part: "It has come to our notice the tendency of some who are not Filipinos and who have ac­ cumulated money by taking advantage of the wartime situation to invest their cash by buying buildings and lots, apparently not for their re­ sidence or living quarters but as objects of in­ vestment which they expect to re-sell later at higher prices and make more profits”.

THE COUNTRY

a street intersection first and had be­ lieved that the driver of the army truck would let him pass. The Judge said that as a driver of long experience, he should have known better. (April 3.) Continuation of Mass Executions — Mass executions continued to be pub­ licized in the newspapers as apparent­ ly an integral part of the Japanese po­ licy in building up the New Philippines. The Tribune, October 10, printed an announcement by Army authorities to the effect that 14 persons were to be executed and 20 others were to serve long prison terms "for committing acts punishable by death or severe punish­ ment under the martial law”. Only some of those sentenced were named. Six were sentenced for having —

An aim of the order was no doubt to prevent lands and buildings from coming into the hands of non-Japanese aliens. Real estate men in Santo Tomas learned from the outside that BritishIndians had of late been buying up Manila real estate, possibly with funds furnished by the Chinese. "listened to a false propaganda broadcast from "Renouncement of Citizenship by the United States and put it down on type­ written sheets which they distributed among Mestizo Children — On March 16 the government officials, the personnel of companies, Bureau of the Census and Statistics, in and their private neighbors, thus creating bad calling upon "aliens released from in­ propaganda.” ternm ent” to register, drew attention Two others had — to an executive order which provided “joined an anti-Japanese group near their homes, listened to propaganda broadcasts from Ameamong other things that — ica, and printed and distributed propaganda mat­ “a child born in the Philippines of an alien father and a Filipino mother is exempt from re­ gistration and fingerprinting, provided that he renounces the citizenship of his father after reaching the age of 14.”

The announcement went on: “All persons falling under this category are therefore advised to report to the Bureau of the Census and Statistics in order that they may be given appropriate identification papers.” (March 16.)

Right-Of-Way of Army Vehicles—The Court of First Instance of Manila "re­ cognized” that trucks and other vehi­ cles of the Imperial Japanese Army have the right-of-way in a decision con­ victing the driver of a garbage truck of homicide through reckless impru­ dence because his vehicle, sideswiped by an army truck, skidded and caused the death of a woman standing on the sidewalk. The defendant had arrived at

ter among members of their group and to their neighbors, apart from committing other antiJapanese acts”.

Another "case” mentioned was that of John Carlyle Cowper, a well known Manilan. The announcement stated as to him: "Case No. 5. John Carlyle Cowper (64), Ame­ rican, of San Francisco del Monte, Rizal. Re­ leased from the internment camp by reason of illness and confined to his home for medical treatment, he abused the privilege by going to the city of Manila and spreading anti-Japanese propaganda among the people waiting at a bus station. He also frequented a certain club in5 5 The club referred to was the Pioneers' Club, an organization of Spanish-American War Vete­ rans and other "old-timers”. On September 5, a concert in the Santo Tomas camp was in­ terrupted to announce, on instructions from the Commandant, that Cowper had been sentenced by a military court to 15 years at hard labor. Camp officials were informed later that he had died in the Muntinlupa prison on October 12, allegedly from heart failure.

CONTINUED MASS EXECUTIONS Manila where Americans gathered and always commented adversely at and criticized the Jap­ anese Military Administration.”5

Vargas in a statement published in the same issue of the Tribune, warned: "Every citizen should help to maintain peace and order. The spreading of false rumors can not help in the upbuilding of the Philippines. In fact, it is a crime calling for severe penal­ ties because it seeks to deceive the public and to prejudice public interest. Avoid speaking about the war and do not be led into spreading any rumor or news which has anything to do with the war efforts of the combatants in the war”

A sardonic editorial published a few days after this announcement that 14 more unfortunates were to be executed, said in part that “the root cause" of the "futile guerrilla activities” was — "the dissemination of false rumors -and propa­ ganda about the miraculous reconquest of the country, followed by a deluge of dollars, good time, eternal bonanza, and other superficial and material advantages to which our [sic] people were subjected in the past at a terrible sac­ rifice in national character and worthy ideals. . . There are those who are easily misled and who, subjected continually to this kind of wishful thinking, develop into chronic cases from which many have been known to die. . .”

Seven "anti-Nippon terrorists” were executed on October 27, "after being tried by the Imperial Navy’s special court”. The men’s names were given and their ages ranged from 20 to 40. They had been convicted of — "forcing themselves into various establishments of the Imperial Navy, taking advantage of dark­ ness and stealing munitions, other materials, and money. Some of the more vicious ones stole au­ tomobiles bearing the insignias of the Imperial Navy. Because all of them possessed anti-Nippon characteristics, the execution was carried out on October 27." (October 28.)

The following month, 21 more paid the ultimate penalty. The Tribune, November 9, carried the following headline ”21 ARE EXECUTED — 50 Persons Tried and Found Guilty by Court-martial — Anti-Nippon Broad­ casters and Counterfeiters Get Heavy Penalty; Anti-Japanism Steadily Declin­ ing”. According to the announcement:

457 "The case regarding the anti-Japanese broad­ casts concerned Carlos S. Malonso and 19 other persons. They were beguiled by the absurd and false propaganda of the United States, and they eulogized the liberalism and epicureanistic ma­ terialism which were fostered by the sovereignty of the United States, and consequently they could not be awakened from the nightmare of dependence on Amercia. They evaded the pur­ suit and arrest of the Military Police of the Imperial Japanese Forces, and moving their broadcasting station from one place to another, propagated fabricated news or absurd anti-Jap­ anese rumors which were culled from broad­ casts from America. But they were at last ar­ rested en bloc.”

Thirteen men, all mentioned by name, were reported in the Tribune of December 3 as having been executed the day before for "robbery of muni­ tion materials from the naval arsenal and other properties and were given death sentences after being tried by the naval crime disposition court. . . The stolen munitions materials such as cop­ per plates, lead bars, and other mate­ rials were valued at several thousand pesos.” These were the last executions men­ tioned in the press up to the end of the period under review, but some Ameri­ cans re-interned in Santo Tomas in May after temporary release, reported that this did not mean that the Japanese were no longer imposing the death penalty, whether in Manila or in the provinces. One man who had lived on Rizal Avenue said that he had seen a truck carrying a group of condemned people, including two young Filipino women, to the Cementerio del Norte where many of the executions were carried out.6 He said the young women cried out to the people in the street, "Brother Filipinos! They are going to kill us! Help us!” He said that men on the sidewalk stopped, biting their lips 6 Note (1945) — A man who lived near the Cementerio del Norte said in March, 1945, that he estimated the number of people executed there at 4,000.

458

as the helpless tears sprang to their eyes. The Conference of Judges — Just be­ fore the writer closed this section of his manuscript, a two-day conference of judges of courts of first instance and of city and provincial prosecuting attorneys was held in Manila. The Di­ rector-General and other Japanese of­ ficials honored the occasion with their presence. A m inute’s silent prayer was observed for the speedy recovery of Commissioner Laurel, who had been seriously wounded in an assault which will be described later. Yulo and Var­ gas were among the speakers. Yulo, Chief Justice, was quoted as saying: "It is both expedient and axiomatic that in the administration of justice the foremost and highest regard should be given to the interest of the state or of the community, and therefore it is essential that you review thoroughly the existing judicial system and current processes of law with a view to eliminating all the evils of ‘individualism’.”

Vargas took the ball and carried it farther; it appeared, he said ,-------

THE COUNTRY ways in vie\V the common good of the nation and those fundamental, inviolable rights of the individual citizen which the State does not con­ fer but must recognize, which are God-given and for whose preservation we are responsible, gentlemen of the bench, to God.” (June 23.)

God-given rights? Natural rights? They meant as little to the Japanese as constitutional and legal rights. Coercion of the Churches — The im­ mediate Japanese coercion of the Cath­ olic and Protestant churches in the Philippines was described in several sections of this manuscript as the facts concerning this became known in the Santo Tomas camp. The columns of the Tribune gave frequent evidence of the continuation of the Japanese policy in this respect. Cesar Guerrero, Auxi­ liary Bishop of Manila, a Filipino, was quoted as having said in a radio ser­ mon: "Now almighty God has decreed that our country should pass into the hands of a sister Oriental nation. The Nipponese Empire has of­ fered us a chance to reform our national life. . . Let us pray the noble company of Nipponese saints to guide and fructify the relations between their nation and ours. . .”

The press continued to emphasize and exaggerate the importance of the role Christianity plays in Japan. Chris­ tian Japanese clerics were sent to the Philippines, and, in October, even a small group of Japanese nuns whose On the second day, Solicitor-General photographs frequently appeared in the S. de la Costa spoke, and answered a newspapers, though they never seemed question he himself posed: to have anything to say. For weeks "What should be our attitude toward acts there were almost daily stories about violative of martial law or of proclamations by a "Japanese Christian fuedal lord”, the Imperial authorities? The duty of the courts Justo Ukon Takayama, who, born in lies in promptly transferring such cases to the military authorities and extending the necessary 1553, was converted to Christianity at cooperation demanded in this transfer." the age of 11, suffered persecution in But in concluding his remarks, de la Japan, and came to the Philippines Costa struck a rather odd note under where he died, a few months later, on the circumstances: He said: February 3, 1615. A wooden monument "This then is the sovereign purpose which was now placed on his grave and a spe­ we should keep ever before our minds: to ad­ cial pontifical mass was said for him minister justice to all that hunger and thirst at the Paules Church on September 20, after justice, promptly, speedily, without sub­ terfuge, without respect of persons; having al­ at which Colonel Katuya, chief of the

"that the unmistakable trend of history exposes the blunder of believing the law to be mainly an instrument for the primacy of individual rights and liberties. In keeping with modern principles, we hold it to be a cardinal rule of government that personal interest must be sub ­ ordinated to the larger interests of the state.”

THE ALLEGED “ PAPAL BRIEF”

Department of Propaganda of the Ar­ my delivered an address. The Japanese Bishop Taguchi delivered the sermon in which he asked Filipino and Japan­ ese Christians to foster "a deeper and closer friendship and mutual under­ standing of the two nations through our common religion." Among those present were Monsignor Piani, Aposto­ lic Delegate to the Philippines, Bishop Guerrero, Marquis Y. Tokugawa, and Aquino. "The mass, which was broadcast over station KZRH, was sponsored by the religious section of the Imperial Japanese Forces for the beati­ fication of the Christian Lord." (September 21.)

A “Federation of Evangelical Church­ es" was organized in October at a twoday convention of all Protestant churches held in the United Church of Manila and attended by some 200 de­ legates. Aiura, head of the Protestant unit of the religious section of the pro­ paganda department, delivered an ad­ dress on the topic, "Unity in God". He said that “the divided condition of the Protestant churches until today was terrible and showed the ill effects of so-called liberalism and individualism". Other speakers were Colonel Naruzawa, chief of the religious section, Vargas, and Aquino.

459 Church and falls every year on December 8 . The fact that the day thus honored happens to fall on the Anniversary of the Declaration of the Greater East Asia War could not have been a mere coincidence. It bespeaks His Holiness’ Paternal thoughtfulness about the faith and wel­ fare of the Filipinos and implies his sympathy with the justice of Japan’s cause. "The very meaning of Immaculate Concep­ tion, — conceived without the blemish of original sin, can be read deep into the significance of the day. It is an inspiration to think of the New Philippines embarking upon a new life, 'conceived without blemish’, without the old pernicous prejudices, without the corruption of a previous regime, — to join other nations equal­ ly cleansed of error in the formation of a New Order conceived in the high ideals of universal peace and co-prosperity. . . ’’

There was nothing in the news co­ lumns of that or preceding issues of the Tribune which referred to any re­ cent "papal bull”. Catholic priests in Santo Tomas said that the Blessed Vir­ gin of the Immaculate Conception was the primary and principal patroness of the Philippines and that the princi­ pal feast of devotion to the Blessed Virgin was that of the Immaculate Con­ ception, this having been declared throughout the world as far back as 1854! All Saints Day, November 1, is one of the most important religious festi­ vals in the Philippines, traditionally ce­ "Following the unanimous approval and rati­ lebrated by the people in pilgrimages fication of the constitution and by-laws of the to the cemeteries to stand watch over Federation by the delegates, the election of of­ ficers and members of the Executive Committee the graves of their loved ones all night of the newly organized Federation was held. long and pray for their souls. A Manila Of the 25 members of the Executive Committee, 15 were elected and the rest appointed. Dr. En­ city ordinance prohibited the usual rique C. Sobrepeha was elected President of the feasting and sale or consumption of Federation. . (October 11.) foodstuffs and beverages in the ceme­ On December 12, the Tribune sud­ teries on that night, also the decora­ denly came out with an editorial enti­ tion of the graves with lights “because tled, "The Papal Brief”. This astound­ of the current shortage of electricity”, ing effusion read in p a rt: and ordered the people to be home by "The Papal brief proclaiming the Blessed Vir­ 7 o’clock in the evening. (Tribune, gin of the Immaculate Conception patroness and October 23.) Great publicity, however, protectress of the New Philippines, holds a deep spiritual significance which we of this Catholic was given to a memorial service for country should not miss. fallen Filipino soldiers at the O’Donnell "As we know, the feast of the Immaculate Conception is one of the fixed festivals of the prison-camp, at which the Chief-of-

460

staff of the Imperial Japanese Army made an address — "appealing to the living to carry on the burden which the dead bore so well, and, inspired with undying faith in the glorious future of the New Philippines, to strive to make the dreams for which they died come true.” (November 2.)

Thus the propagandists befouled even the memory of the young Filipino USAFFE dead, who had given their lives to repel the invader and whose dreams were not the conqueror's dreams. The Japanese Military Administra­ tion, making a concession, suspended the curfew from December 16 to De­ cember 25 to permit the people during this period to celebrate the traditional Misa de Gallo, the early morning mass which is an im portant feature of the Christmas celebration in Catholic coun­ tries. The announcement stated: "The Director of Religious Affairs expects that the faithful desiring to attend the masses will show their gratitude for the unpreceden­ ted generosity of the Military Administration by conducting themselves in the streets and public highways properly." (December 15.)

THE COUNTRY

flatly that the mission of the Church was to lead the people in cooperating with the new administration. The Tri­ bune reported the next day: "The Commander-in-chief stressed that the Japanese government has recognized and will continue to recognize freedom of worship of the Filipinos. The Japanese Army, he said, will do all it can to give protection to the Church and help spread the Catholic mission so long as the Cath­ olic Church does not run counter to the aims and policies of the Army. . . Touching parti­ cularly on that part of the Commander-in-chief’s statement in which he urged the Catholics to increase their efforts in order to attain the cherished ambition of the Filipinos, the Apostolic Delegate promised cooperation, saying: ‘Our Catholic Church will never fail in giving all her cooperation, according to her divine mission, for the prosperity and progress in these islands.’ The Apostolic Delegate concluded by expressing wishes for the prosperity of the Philippines and the success of the Commander-in-chief of the Imperial Japanese Army in the Philippines. . . During teatime, conversation flowed warmly. From the reception hall, the group again went out to the lawn, strolled about, and chatted in a congenial atmosphere. . ."

A picture on the front page showed the Commander-in-chief and the Apos­ tolic Delegate in seemingly friendly conversation. But apparently, not ev­ That the Director of Religious Affairs erything was lovely between Church assume authority over the charitable and State. The Tribune’s insolent Jap­ trusts held by the churches and reli­ anese columnist wrote on March 3: gious orders in the Philippines, was an "Most of us love our Church. It is most order issued by Vargas, published in likely that we shall continue to love our Church February. Fees to be charged for "each even after we take on many new ideas concern­ examination into the financial affairs ing Our Tomorrow. We love our Church so much that we expect it to play an important part in and conditions of trusts" ranged from building up Our Tomorrow. Yes, we must pro­ P1.00 for trusts whose gross assets tect our Church. We must see to it that it has were less than PI,000, to P200 for trusts ample funds to carry on its religious, charitable, and educational work. We must be charitable amounting to P200,000 or more. to our Church in order that it may continue to

"The authority vested in the Director of Re­ ligious Affairs will be exercised in the same manner and to the same extent as that pro­ vided in existing regulations relating to the supervision over mutual benefit, relief, and be­ nevolent societies and associations and other trusts for charitable purposes.”

At a meeting of prominent Catholic dignitaries, gathered at his official resi­ dence on the afternoon of February 20, General Tanaka "urged Catholics to work for independence” and stated

be a noble and uplifting factor. Some of our churches are rich and powerful. . . They became rich because our ancestors loved their Church. They are powerful because those who love the Church are anxious to free it from pecuniary worries. In the past, the churches were freed from taxation and received donations of lands and buildings. . . By all means, we must con­ tinue to do so in Our Tomorrow. The Church can rest assured that we shall continue to give it all necessary protection. However, with regard to the position the Church will occupy in Our Tomorrow, there is one thing both our Church and we, who love it, must not forget. History

COERCING OF THE CHURCHES shows that there have been churches in other lands which became too rich. If we are truly religious we must protect our Church from be­ coming too rich as well as too poor.”

461 monious collaboration, if not absolute oneness, is possible and necessary. While the State, par­ ticularly in periods of emergency like this, may act like a stem father and use the police sys­ tem in wiping out misguided elements, the Church can act like an affectionate mother ministering to the needs of her sick children, — for so the misguided elements are inwardly ill, poisoned as their minds are with false concepts and their faith being in bad need of restoration." (March 16.)

That was a plain enough threat and was followed by a circular, issued through the Bureau of Religious Af­ fairs, by Commissioner of the Interior Laurel “with the approval of Chairman Vargas. .. and upon the previous un­ Tarter comment came two days later derstanding with the military author­ from the Japanese columnist: ities", which (ending with a churchly "Several days ago, there was news that the tag in Latin!), requested church author­ Executive Commission has taken an important step in mobilizing all churchmen to activate ities — "to instruct all your priests and ministers that in every sermon that they preach and whenever and wherever the opportunity presents itself and by every means in their power, aside from the spiritual and moral principles, they should in­ culcate in the minds of their faithful or flock loyalty to the constituted authorities and the absolute necessity on the part of all Filipinos and residents of the Philippines of cooperating wholeheartedly with the present administration in the establishment of peace and order in every nook and corner of the Philippines. Your faithful or flock should also be informed every Sunday of the policies adopted by the govern­ ment and important occurrences which are pub­ lished in the newspapers which will be distri­ buted free of charge to priests or ministers in the provinces. . . Far from being political, the collaboration of all churches is, in the ultimate analysis, a religious enterprise demanded by conscience, as it concerns the avoidance of fur­ ther sufferings, atrocities, cold bloodshed, and wanton destruction of lives and properties. It is hoped that you will demonstrate actually and palpably your cooperation in the reestablishment and maintenance of peace and order throughout the land and in the dissemination of the neces­ sary information to this effect in the manner hereinabove suggested. May there be in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis!" (March 15.)

themselves in the task of attaining the longcherished aspiration for freedom in the shortest possible time. The scribe considers this big news. The news story continued with a tone of deference to the Church that it is not the in­ tention of the Executive Commission to involve the Church in political matters. The scribe thinks this reserving attitude is quite unneces­ sary. We believe in religious freedom. Yet the freedom to worship any creed does not mean forgetting our political duties to the land we love. We believe in freedom of the Church from politics. Yet that does not mean the Church should not obey the law and collaborate for the good of the whole. . . All of our ardent churchmen of normal mentality should love our country. They should have political ideas and aspirations pertaining to Our Tomorrow. And it should not be the Church but our political au­ thorities which should guide the people toward unity and freedom. To make our political au­ thorities function within their proper realm, the Church .must realize its proper place."

On Sunday, March 21, the Tribune published the picture of Piani on the front page together with a news story headed “Pacification Drive Gaining Mo­ mentum — Apostolic Delegate Pledges Cooperation of Catholic Church in Res­ toring Peace”. The article, however, did The next day there was an editorial not quote him direct, but merely which said in part with satanic hypo­ stated: crisy : "Though we are apt to distinguish the tem­ poral from the spiritual, the body from the soul, there is really no antagonism between the two in the exaggerated sense in which some sects would declare it. Indeed we only have to cite the example of perfect collaboration, nay, unity, in the case of Japan, to show how Church and State may collaborate to achieve the best and most balanced development by body and soul, of matter and divinity. In this particular work of complete pacification, a har­

"Elaborating on the projected drive, the Most Rev. Guillermo Piani, Apostolic Delegate to the Philippines, last Thursday issued a statement pointing out the perfect understanding that all Catholic priests should cooperate with the au­ thorities in the maintenance of peace and order.”

It was at this point that the Com­ mander-in-chief "approved” the Execu­ tive Commission's new "Divorce Law". (March 25.)

462

THE COUNTRY

The Tribune, March 23, published a to the people the importance of peace and order a common objective of both Church and news item to the effect that a resolu­ as State, to the former especially, since it is con­ tion of cooperation had been passed at cerned with the avoidance of further sufferings, a Conference of the United Evangelical privations, and destruction of life and property. Churches of the Philippines, "held the — S.S.” With all this enthusiastic coopera­ other day”. The resolution as quoted tion, as claimed in the press, readers read in part: wondered about the “Our Tomorrow” "If only to express appreciation for favors column in the May 2 Tribune, which received and to secure permanently to ourselves the boon of religious freedom, we should co­ evinced a decided dissatisfaction. It operate wholeheartedly with the authorities in read in part: their endeavor to bring peace and order within our shores. Therefore it becomes our bounded duty in the noble task of bringing about normal­ cy in the land and in the lives of the people now being earnestly undertaken by the Filipino participation in the present regime.”

According to the paper, the resolution was passed in response to a letter w rit­ ten by Dr. Enrique Sobrepena, acting in his capacity as president of the Fe­ deration of Evangelical Churches in the Philippines, "strongly endorsing the cir­ cular of Commissioner of the Interior Laurel.” This indorsement was for­ warded to all other ministers of Pro­ testant churches by the Rev. Matias Cuadra, executive secretary of the Fe­ deration. Archbishop O’Doherty’s name was used in the Tribune of April 20 which contained a news story headed, "Arch­ bishop Starts Drive for Peace”. "Special to the Tribune. Guagua, Pampanga, April 18. On the occasion of his pastoral visit to this province recently, Mgr. Michael J. O’Do­ herty, Archbishop of Manila, launched from the pulpit a campaign calling on all churchmen and laymen to take active part in the vital task of restoring complete peace and order in the coun­ try. "Archbishop O’Doherty’s sermon, delivered before 3,000 devotees, proved a timely and po­ sitive reply to the request made recently by the Executive Commission that all churchmen be mobilized in the task of inculcating in the minds of the people loyalty to the authorities and the necessity of restoring peace and order so that the long-cherished aspiration of the Filipinos for independence may be attained in the shortest possible time. "The Archbishop’s sermon had an immediate effect on the Catholic population here. The 'peace drive’ has spread out to all parts of this province. From the pulpits, priests propounded

"The people of Nippon enjoy religious free­ dom. Shintoism, Buddhism, Christianity, and other religions exist side by side with their respective believers enjoying freedom of faith unmolested. No religion in Nippon tries to do­ minate the others. We Filipinos [sic], too, are supposed to enjoy religious freedom. Yet we are predominantly Catholic in our faith. The influence of Catholicism is so strong in our islands, and our history as well as our daily life so inseparably linked with the Catholic Church, that even our political and economic ideas are often conditioned by the teachings and policies of the Church. One reason why there is harmony between the followers of different religions in Nippon is the strong Japanese trait of Nipponizing all foreign influences and making them parts of Nippon’s ideologies and aspira­ tions. Nippon’s power of assimilation is so strong that the once-imported religions, such as Buddhism and Christianity as now found there, are quite independent institutionally from outside control. If we are proud of the fact that we are the only East Asia nation predominantly Catholic, that pride is quite justified. . . If we want to become more Catholic than ever, we should be more active in controlling the Church. Why should we let our beloved Church remain under the control of so many foreigners? The days of foreign missionaries should have been over long ago considering the long history of 400 years since the introduction of Catholic­ ism in our islands. Judging from the histories of Catholicism in other lands, it is about time we made some effort toward Filipinizing the Church.”

The Japanese loved the Church! A missionary who entered Santo To­ mas about this time reported that pres­ sure on the Protestant churches had somewhat relaxed. A Mr. Nakada, a former Protestant pastor in Japan, seemed to be the only man left in the office of the religious section of the propaganda department and even he

THE BOOK STORES

devoted only a part of his time to the work. There were not so many circulars being sent around any more and the meetings with the various congrega­ tions had also been given up. After the refusal of Messrs. Holter, Brush, Bomm, and Fonger to put their signa­ tures to the pledge the Japanese de­ manded early in 1942, no more signa­ tures were asked for, although there were many ministers and missionaries who had not signed it. The Bible House, the Methodist Book Room, and the Adventist book estab­ lishment had been closed in February, 1942, together with all other book stores until all books had been examin­ ed or censored and licenses were is­ sued. They were allowed to re-open again upon the organization of the Phil­ ippine Booksellers Association in April, an organization of some 14 book stores, with a Japanese as president. Among the places allowed to re-open was the Bible House and the Methodist Book Room. The Bible House was closed again April, 1943, on the ground that it was an American organization, but it was re-opened once more in June by Nakada, who put a Japanese in charge. The Japanese insisted on the appoint­ ment of Filipino pastors in all church­ es, although American ministers were not forbidden to preach. This require­ ment could not be met by the Episco­ pal Church at the Cathedral of St. Mary and St. John, with a largely American and British congregation, as the only Filipino pastors in the Church were at the missions in the Mountain Province. However, a Filipino Methodist minister preached one sermon at the Cathedral in which he spoke of the newly organ­ ized Federation of Evangelical Church­ es, and the religious section of the Army appeared to be satisfied with that.

463

Bishop Binsted was head of a group which was very active in prison-camp relief work, and the Presbyterian Church, on Calle Wright, carried on re­ lief work among the families of men in the prison-camps and among other needy persons, but the Japanese looked with disfavor on activities which they supposed would "build up pro-Ameri­ can sentiment” and after a time what relief work continued was under Fili­ pino auspices. Until around August, it was possible for the Protestant churches to obtain loans from friends, especially from the Chinese, but the heavy Japanese exac­ tions imposed on the Chinese tended to dry up this source. The Episcopal Church was allowed to draw up to P500 a month from its account in the Philippine National Bank, as a "reli­ gious organization serving an interna­ tional community”, but in February, 1943, it was ruled that it was an Ame­ rican organization and could draw only enough to pay its water, gas, and elec­ tric-light bills. American missionaries were able to take advantage of the Naric rice ration, but were not allow­ ed to share in the rationing of lard, soap, sugar, etc., through the neighbor­ hood associations. Those who had per­ sonal funds in the local banks could draw up to P200 a month, but few had deposits in these banks. However, their Filipino and other friends did not allow them to suffer want. The offices of the Federation of Evan­ gelical Churches were at the Union Church, on Padre Faura street. The church itself was taken over by a Japa­ nese congregation. Most Americans and other nationals of countries at war with Japan attended services at the Episcopal Cathedral, even those who were not members of the Church, and the congregations were therefore larger

THE COUNTRY

464

than ordinary. One reason for the large attendance was that the Japanese re­ gulations permitted people otherwise confined to their homes to attend re­ ligious services on Sunday, and going to church was a way of getting out for a few hours. Going to funerals was another.

II RETROGRESSION Seizure of the Press — The churches in the Philippines, large and power­ fully organized, especially the Ca­ tholic Church, did not prove pliant, but the Japanese had the press and the radio under complete control. It is easier to take possession of a few newspaper plants and r a d i o broadcasting stations, and to control a few score of newspapermen and radio announcers and commentators, than thousands of churches and clergymen scattered throughout the country. In the Philippines all the im portant news­ papers and broadcasting companies were in Manila. It was said in Santo Tomas that there was some clandestine printing of anti-Japanese leaflets and also that there was still a peregrinating radio-broadcasting unit "somewhere in the mountains”, but the capture and summary executions of several groups of printers and radio men who had engaged in anti-Japanese activity has already been recounted. All the Ameri­ can job-printing plants were taken over by the Japanese, and the others, mostly small, were controlled through periodic checkups of their paper. In the case of the numerous small Chinese printing plants in Manila, the Japanese simply seized their paper, saying that the value would be "credited to their voluntary contribution", —the P20,000,000 levy.

Mimeograph machines and even type­ writers had had to be registered, the latter with a type-record. However, it had been discovered that typewriting could be somewhat disguised by slight­ ly depressing the shift-key with a small wooden wedge, and some anti-Japanese material circulated which had been typed in this manner. "Freedom of the Press" — At a press banquet in the Manila Hotel in October, 1942, Colonel Nakashima, head of the “Department of Inform ation” (at first the Japanese called it the "Department of Propaganda”, but they changed it), defining the Japanese idea of freedom of speech and of the press, told the newsmen present that — "irresponsible, licentious liberty of speech and press has no place in the New Order. . . The attainment of complete unity of thought and action among the people is necessary in order to bring the present war to a successful conclu­ sion. . . I wish to state very briefly the funda­ mental policy of the Imperial Japanese Army with regard to the control of speech and the press. Our policy is, very emphatically, not to stifle or curtail freedom of speech or of the press but, on the contrary, to encourage and give support to the formation and expression of a conscientious and constructive public opi­ nion in the Philippines. It is our desire to foster the dissemination of correct and truth­ ful news and information to the mass of the people. I wish to go on record as saying that the Imperial Japanese' Army is ready at all times to lend its ear to any sound opinion held by sincere and responsible parties. . . I refer to the sincere and conscientious opinions held by individuals who have dedicated them­ selves to the establishment of a new Philippines as an organic unit in the Co-Prosperity Sphere.” (October 23.)

It was announced on November 1, nearly three weeks after it happened, that "under the mandate and the guid­ ance of the Imperial Japanese Army, the Manila Sinbun-sya, operated by the Osaka Mainichi and the Tokyo Nichi Nichi, had been established through the amalgamation of all newspaper, magazine, book, and printing compa­ nies throughout the Philippine Is­ lands”.

SEIZURE OF THE PRESS

465

"The Manila Shinbun-sya will publish the Ma­ nila Sinbun (Japanese language), beginning to­ day, and will continue to issue the Tribune (English), the Taliba (Tagalog), and La Vanguardia (Spanish), — the former TVT newspapers, and the Liwayway (Tagalog weekly) and the Shinseiki (monthly pictorial). In addition, the Manila Shinbun-sya has taken under its manage­ ment the Davao Nichi Nichi at Davao, the Bicol Herald at Legaspi, and other publications. "The new company has been established for the purpose of further clarifying the invulnerable position of the Nippon Empire, now in the midst of the creation of the New Order in Greater East Asia, of making more thoroughly understood the purpose of the Military Adminisration in the Philippines, and of propelling with greater force the materialization of the New Philippines. "In order to achieve this gigantic task and to fulfill the great responsibility placed upon it, the company will utilize the world-wide news­ gathering network and the leadership of its experienced staff members. "Furthermore, a specially-edited Japanese ( kana) section will appear daily in the Tribune, the Taliba, and La Vanguardia, commencing to­ morrow. Beginning with elementary Japanese lessons, the Kana section is to be gradually ex­ panded. In this manner, the Manila Shinbun-sya hopes to fulfill its mission of guiding and en­ couraging the popularization of the Japanese language. "The military order for the amalgamation of all publications under the Manila Shinbun-sya was issued on October 12, and the change in the management took place that day, the former enterprises being continued without interruption and without the discharge of a single employee. The Filipino newspapermen, under the guidance of the new management, have thus embarked upon a new journalistic life of cooperation with the Japanese for the cause of the New Philip­ pines.” (November 1.)

them but are determined to liquidate evil and error, replacing them with what is in harmony with the mission of the creation of the CoProsperity Sphere."

to the Military Administration. . . to be made through the medium of the press and otherwise.” (November 1.)

"Today, that line which kept the two en­ tities apart has disappeared. The Japanese news­ papermen and the Filipino pressmen [sic] have merged into one, write as one, work as one.”

People in Santo Tomas learned later that the McCullough Printing Company and Carmelo-Bauermann had been tak­ en over and were being operated by the Shinbun-sya, but the the Sugar News press, the Manila Daily Bulletin plant, and several smaller printing p l a n t s such as Wightman's and Kriedt’s, had been stripped of all their machinery. The editorial office of the monthly Philippine Magazine was also stripped bare. The engraving plant of the Philippines Free Press was being operated, but the printing machinery had been removed. In the “Question Box” department of the Tribune there appeared a letter one day reading: "I intend to publish and edit a fortnightly magazine devoted to local entertainment such as screen, stage, and radio. Is it permissible under the present administration? If so, where can I secure a permit?"

The answer: “Under the present circumstances it is not deemed proper to publish the kind of magazine mentioned. (Answered by the publication sec­ tion, Department of Public Security, Military Administration).” (February 14.)

Intentional "Printers' Errors" — The feeling between Japanese and Fili­ pino newspapermen was claimed to be Premier Tojo sent the Shinbun-sya a excellent. Commenting on the alleged congratulatory message, and Nakashi"distinct grouping” among American ma issued a statement saying: and Filipino newspapermen formerly, "The Army expects the Philippine public to it was said: read carefully all the announcements pertaining

An editorial said, in part: " . . . War demands wartime living, wartime thinking. Our newspaper policy will be dictated by this principle and we urge the Filipinos themselves to impress this idea indelibly in their minds. We are prepared to offer news and in­ formation, leadership, guidance, and encourage­ ment to the Philippines through the publications that have come under our management. We are prepared to retain what is just and good in

That was the way the Japanese want­ ed it, but it was not true, as was in­ dicated occasionally in sly insinuations slipped into their stories by Filipino news writers, some of which have been quoted, and by such ’’printer’s errors” as the following, which occurred on no

466

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less auspicious a day than Japanese Navy Day, May 27, in the editorial co­ lumn itself, last paragraph:

(Sgd. in careful script) Manuel Re, Box 601.’ "We know one who is 'laying plenty of eggs', but no one shares Mr. Re’s optimism about their hatching, soon or late."

"The war against the enemy of the Asian peoples still continues and the part that the Filipinos play in accelerating the coming of the final triumph grows greater each day. On this auspicious Navy Day, we offer our felicitations and express our gratitude to the Nippon Navy, hoping that it will resign [sic] forever as the protector of Greater East Asia and the guardian of justice and peace.”

The daily column in which this ap­ peared, "Off and On", was "off” for several days after that. The Tribune published short stories in its Sunday magazine section and on March 8 announced that they were "paid for”. "Themes of current interest, such as hard work on the soil, national self-realization, desirable Oriental vir­ tues, the success of the neighborhood associations, etc., will be preferred.” One of the leading Filipino writers7 was pressed for a story, and after put­ ting the m atter off as long as he could, he at last submitted a tale, about a small town official who cooperated zealously with the Japanese but who, unfortunately, was shot by the guer­ rillas. The ending could always be ex­ plained as being tragic, — high art. The story was accepted but when it appear­ ed in print, it ended differently. The man was only wounded. He was well cared for by Japanese doctors in a fine hospital, recovered, and got a medal. In March the Shinbun-sya inaugura­ ted a small monthly, the Philippine Re­ view, Vicente Albano Pacis, former edi­ tor of the Graphic, appearing as editor. Pacis told an American friend who was later interned in Santo Tomas that he had not wanted the position but that it was forced on him and that he tried to resign several times but had not been permitted to do so. The contents con­ sisted largely of propaganda articles by Japanese dignitaries and Filipino pup­ pet officials and their reprinted speech­ es, stale stuff of former years on safe topics, and some contemporaneous writing in which the authors tried to avoid committing themselves any fur­ ther than they had to. In the second1

The editorial as a whole was such a beautiful one and had referred to the origin of the day, commemorating as it did the surprise attack of Admiral Togo on the Russian fleet, 38 years be­ fore, commented on the iniquitous Washington Conference, boasted of the signal triumphs at Pearl Harbor, off Malai, etc., and said that "we in the Philippines are privileged to share this joyous day, the second since the open­ ing of the Greater East Asia War.” It probably did not turn out to be such a joyous day for the editor, or for the compositor and proof-reader either. The next day there was a little para­ graph on the editorial page which read: "CORRECTION. In the editorials yesterday, a typographical error occurred in the tenth word in the third line from the end. The correct word should have been 'reign'.”

The general lack of response of Fili­ pino writers as a group created com­ ment. One of the Filipino columnists of the Tribune said in a November is­ sue that painters and sculptors had "met fraternally”, the musicians are "showing unusual activity”, the stagefolk are "doing their stuff”, the Philip­ pine Press Association has "made some faint noise”, "but the writers of endur­ ing literature, what are they doing with the vast wealth of literary raw material about them?” An answer came the next day: "Yesterday, Maharajah received his first fanmail: 'You ask what local writers are doing these days. Personally, I believe they are lay­ ing plently of eggs to be hatched soon —

1 Manuel Arguilla, later executed.

FILIPINO WRITERS

issue, the editor said apologetically that “after a long lay-off, the thinkers and writers have had to limber up.’’ Never­ theless, some of the impressed writers being who they were, some good things appeared in several of the issue of the Review. A daily, 4-page newspaper in Chinese was begun on Japanese Army Day, March 10, to which thousands of Chin­ ese were forced to subscribe. A new Areopagitica was outlined by the Japanese Tribune columnist. “What should be the proper relations between the press and public officials?” he ask­ ed. He answered himself as follows: "Since the primary duty of both the press and public officials in time of war is to give the people proper guidance, there should be no conflict of aim or interest between them. . . Now that the world is in the grip of an allout war, no individual or institution anywhere can claim freedom in the sense of doing any­ thing one pleases. The only freedom that is per­ missible today is freedom to be patriotic, — freedom to be a part of the totality mobilized to win the war. . . If both the press and of­ ficialdom are working under the same inspira­ tion, why should one feel the need of criticizing the other?. . . Whether in peacetime or in war, the press, due to the very nature of its work, is directly in touch with the daily life of the people. Officialdom, on the other hand, is apt to drift away from the people in time of emer­ gency due to the need of exercising super-normal authority. If officialdom can not help but drift away, due to the very nature of its duty, why not use the press as a liaison organ, instead of feeling offended at criticisms hurled against some alleged injustice to the people?" (April 16.)

The Japanese had little real faith in the "inspiration” this columnist wrote of. Filipino writers, forced to deliver short stories and articles to Japanese publishers, were fairly well paid for this work, but they were not trusted. Numbers of them had their homes searched repeatedly, every piece of pa­ per with writing on it being carefully examined. Mimicry of Democratic Freedom — A significant feature was the "Public Pulse” column in the Tribune, and si­

467

milar departments in the other papers, in which letters from readers were pub­ lished. According to the heading: "Statements appearing in this column do not necessarily express the views of the Tribune. While readers may comment on any topic of public interest, not all letters can be published in view of the present situation. Upon request of the writers, letters not suited for publication will be referred to the authorities concerned. All letters to the Public Pulse must bear the full names and addresses of the writers.”

The Tribune boasted that this co­ lumn "had become a vital institution in the life of the New Philippines.” "Daily in the letters published in this column, people from every walk of life have come for­ ward with a complaint or a suggestion, to point out an evil, to improve an existing service, or to call attention to a crying need. It has in­ deed become the pulse of the people which the authorities may feel with their sensitive fingers in order to diagnose the condition of the body politic at any given time. . . The people have found the Public Pulse to be an efficacious me­ dium of expressing their hopes, wishes, and grievances, and that in this column they are listened to with respect and prompt attention by the authorities concerned." (June 12.)

Occasionally, analyses of the letters which had appeared were published, tabulating the subjects of the sugges­ tions or complaints and pointing out, for instance, that so many letters af­ fecting a certain government service had appeared during a certain month, and so many more, or less, the next month, apparently indicating a worsen­ ing or an improvement of the service. Different government services were compared as to the number of com­ plaints published concerning them. By encouraging letters of complaint from the public, the Japanese improved their general surveillance, and since publica­ tion was easily manipulated through the selection of letters to be printed from among those received, it gave the authorities a means to reflect favor or disfavor on this or that service or the officials in charge. Letters of fundamen­ tal criticism, criticism of the regime it­ self, or course, never appeared.

468

The Public Pulse departments in the newspapers presented but another ex­ ample of the ghastly fascist mimicry of democratic freedom. Control of the Theater — The Japa­ nese naturally took cognizance of the numerous little vaudeville troupes which, because of the lack of new mov­ ing-picture films, were soon on the stages of all the downtown theaters. The programs consisted mainly of song and dance numbers and broadly indecent sketches, and scandalized many people. A newspaper critic said: "The root cause of all the trouble lies in the disordered, giddy, nervous mental state of both producer and audience”. (Philippine Review, April, 1943.) In Jan­ uary, officers of the Army Information Department met with theater owners, producers, and directors to "discuss better stage plays which would skilfully combine educational and entertainment values”. ( Tribune, January 28.) Another such conference was reported in March; stage people were called upon to "understand fully their part in the creation of the New Philippines”. (March 22.) A few days later they were told that they must be "more serious and responsible and help to guide the Filipinos in adjusting themselves to the new situation, which is no laugh­ ing m atter.” (March 26.) The internees in Santo Tomas heard of one play put on which was written by a Japanese. It purported to deal with the times of the Spanish-American War and the fighting between the Fili­ pinos and the Americans, in which, of course, the Japanese were helping the Filipinos. At a high point in the drama, one of the actors rushed in with a cry of alarm: "The Americans are coming!” The whole audience broke into wild and prolonged applause. The play was taken off. It also came to the ears of the internees that one vaudeville actor

THE COUNTRY

was taken to Fort Santiago following an incident in which he appeared on the stage and, rolling up his sleeves, revealed an arm covered from wrist to elbow with wristwatches. It brought down the house, but the Japanese took it as an insult to their soldiery. A Japanese, of course, enjoyed the monopoly of film importation. In the article in the Philippine Review for June, a Japanese w riter admitted as to Japanese films, all of which were pro­ paganda films: "In the Philippines, theater audiences are still somewhat apathetic, a proof that they still judge moving pictures on the basis of their recollection of American films which must be full-length, extravagant in settings and costumes, and thoroughly amusing."

A writer of a letter to the Tribune, January 6, said that in the theaters he had noted "to my surprise and shame” that, when audiences were asked to stand up and sing the "Song for the Creation of the New Philippines", there were "so few that I could count them.” On Japanese Army Day, four Chinese were arrested for having slashed with knives the seats in a downtown theater because they didn’t like the show. (Tri­ bune, March 10.) Many similar stories circulated within Santo Tomas at va­ rious times in connection with the showing of anti-American propaganda films. In one of the two moving-picture per­ formances permitted in Santo Tomas up to this time, a Japanese film, made in Manila, was run. It showed the New Philippines and how beautiful and suc­ cessful it was. It was a good piece of work photographically (mostly stolen sections), and as propaganda, but the desired effect was destroyed by the ti­ tle, which was "What Do You Think?” At both the beginning and the end of the picture, huge question-marks were thrown onto the screen, — probably an act of sabotage. The film was accom-

CONTROL OF THE RADIO

469

panied by a commentary. At one point, the commentator said that Manila was back to normal again but that there was one difference, "No more Ameri­ cans are seen on the streets. They have lost their place in the New Philip­ pines”. The picture had been viewed in silence by the Santo Tomas people, but at this point a spontaneous chuckle ran through the audience which must have made the Commandant and mem­ bers of his staff who were present somewhat uncomfortable. Camera .and sound experts in Santo Tomas said that some of the soundeffects in the Japanese propaganda films on Bataan and Corregidor were taken from the American film, "We Want Wings”. Radio Control and Propaganda — As already recounted, the Japanese for­ bade the use of radio antennae during the first days of February, 1942, and in July ordered the registration of all ra­ dios, at the same time forbidding the people to listen to any other overseas broadcasts than those from Japan and to any other local broadcasts than those of the army-controlled KZRH station. In January, 1943, an army order was published in the Tribune of the 7th, requiring all radio owners to have their sets "reconditioned” so that they could pick up only intermediate-wave broad­ casts. Thirteen "delivery stations’ were established in the city where the radios were to be turned over to the Densei-Kyoku (Office of Electrical Com­ munications) between January 8 and 31. Those who did not obey the order, it was stated, would be "punished seve­ rely in accordance with martial law.” An official statement accompanying the order said that —

reception of all broadcasts excepting those made by the Japanese Army and those originating in Japan, also restricting the use of outdoor aerials. However, it is regrettable that clandestine recep­ tion of enemy propaganda continued together with the spreading of unfounded rumors there­ by. . . Hitherto, the Army authorities. . . have been avoiding any measures such as the recon­ ditioning of radio receivers with the hope that the situation would be solved through reliance on the dictates of the conscience of each indivi­ dual. Yet illicit reception continued and rumors continued to be spread. Therefore the Army has decided to adopt the measure. . . The aim is to prevent the influx of sinister short-wave pro­ paganda of the enemy.”

"the Army authorities in order to safeguard the Philippine public from the influence of fabri­ cated enemy propaganda, had prohibited the

Commander Torres of the Metropoli­ tan Constabulary pointed out that it

An editorial the next day declared: "The pernicious influence of Anglo-American propaganda is well recognized by the enlightened Filipinos who form the overwhelming majority of the people. How venomous and detrimental was the sinister propaganda of America upon the Philippines requires no elaboration here. The American armed forces were swept out of the Philippines by the Imperial Japanese Forces, and vestiges of degenerate American cultural influence are now being rapidly decimated. A powerful torrent is accelerating toward the Phil­ ippines of Tomorrow. And yet, there still exists a minority, — a trifling minority, which will not break away completely from American dictation . . . In order to sever the last link between this minority and sinister Americanism, the Im­ perial Army authorities have embarked upon the reconditioning of radio-receivers. Short-wave re­ ception will be made impossible in order to safe­ guard the enlightened Filipinos from the dis­ turbing effects of fabricated enemy propaganda and rumors resulting therefrom.”

The Tribune, February 2, reported on a conference at the Manila Hotel be­ tween representatives of the Military Administration and members of the Philippine Executive Commission. An army officer said that only some 40,000 out of a possible 80,000 radios had been registered, and that "so indifferent a result would defeat the purpose of the reconditioning order”. "He emphasized the fact that in order to secure peace and order in the Philippines, it is essential that the minds of the people be puri­ fied by having their ears turn towards one di­ rection, — towards collaboration in the recon­ struction of the country."

470

would be hard to check up on un­ registered radios brought in before the war by U.S. Army officers, which did not pass through the Bureau of Cus­ toms and were not registered in the Bu­ reau of Internal Revenue. It was agreed to extend the period for the recondi­ tioning of radios to February 15, with­ out penalty. The Tribune of May 25 announced that the registration period had again been extended, this time to June 30 without penalty, "as another gesture of liberality toward the Filipinos”. An edi­ torial stated: "No action will be taken against those who violated the order. This is hard to believe, but it is so." The Tribune the next day unconscious­ ly paid tribute to American radio broadcasts. An editorial paragraph read: "If we still have 10,000 unregistered radio sets, that means we have at least 10,000 non-collabo­ rationists.”

The Tribune, June 4, stated that 31,500 radios had been reconditioned, and that after this the Bureau of Local Governments would handle the recon­ ditioning work. The number of radios in the Philippines at the outbreak of the war was estimated at between 70,000 and 80,000, two-thirds of which were in Manila. A large number of them, therefore, had not been turned in for reconditioning. In most cases, these must have been sets it was im­ possible to trace because of changes in ownership, removals, etc. People in­ terned or re-interned in May said that the reconditioning was done chiefly by Filipino technicians and that in some cases the radios were returned in better condition for picking up short-wave broadcasts than before. The recondi­ tioning was not done by removing any tubes, but by unwinding coils and re­ wiring. Cases were reported where the technician would later return to the

THE COUNTRY

house of an owner and offer to restore the machine to its original condition. Others sold converters to enable an owner to pick up short-wave broad­ casts. These converters could be remov­ ed and hidden. They were expensive, however, as the parts to make them of were scarce. But even with the recon­ ditioned radios, one could pick up Chunking, Kweitung, New Delhi, and Sydney and Brisbane, all of which sta­ tions re-broadcasted British and Ame­ rican news broadcasts. The prewar Manila stations, KZRH and KZRM were 10 kilowatt stations. The station patched up by the Japan­ ese and called KZRH was a 1-kilowatt station with a range of only some 200 kilometers. In March, 1943, it was re­ ported that the Japanese had reorgan­ ized the broadcasting system and were planning to build additional broadcast­ ing stations in Cebu and Davao, and seven relay stations, three of which to begin with were to be located in Ba­ guio, Legaspi, and Iloilo. The station in Baguio was said to be already in ope­ ration. The Legaspi relay station was inaugurated on May 25. (Tribune, June 5.) According to the March announce­ ment, the broadcasting section of the information department had been re­ named the Philippine Broadcasting Ma­ nagement Bureau and made "indepen­ dent” of the department. However, — "emphasis will be laid on the propagation of the purport of the Military Administration, en­ lightenment of the people, vitalization of the work of pacification in outlying areas, educa­ tional broadcasts in Japan to let the people there know more about the Philippines and its people.” (March 2)

The Japanese were apparently deter­ mined to use the radio extensively in the dissemination of their propaganda, but much of the radio-music was still American jazz. The program started each day with the time signal at 7 o’clock and then came the "radio Tai-

JAPANIZATION OF THE SCHOOLS

sho” or calisthenic exercises, which were repeated at 8:45. The workers in shops and factories and school children were required to go outdoors at that time and do the exercises. The time was marked by a series of high-pitched grunts which were very disagreeable to most ears and, once heard, could never be forgotten. The "news” was given three times a day in English, twice in Japanese, and once in Spanish and Tagalog. Instead of adjusting recorded classical music to the time schedule, the music was frequently cut off abruptly in the most beautiful pas­ sages. Filipino musicians, as soloists and in groups, appeared frequently on the programs, and were fairly well paid for this. One of the heroines of Manila radio was Yay Panlilio, a young woman with an Irish father and a Filipino mother, born in the United States, who married a Filipino there and had come to Ma­ nila some years before the war and had gone into newspaper and radiowork. She was drafted by the Japanese as a radio-announcer and as such regularly got material on the air that was of use to the USAFFE in Bataan and on Corregidor. She was betrayed by a false friend, but warned in time, escaped to the Tayabas mountains where she join­ ed a band of guerrillas. To prevent unendurable pressure being brought against her through her children, — a regular recourse of the Japanese, friends got her children out of the way. Public and Private Schools Japanized — On that Monday morning in Decem­ ber, 1941, when war was so cruelly brought to the Philippines, over 2,000,000 children were attending some 25,000 public primary and intermediate schools, and several scores of thou­ sands more the private schools support­ ed by the churches and religious orders. The Japanese were not interested in

471

reopening the schools. News items about the schools in the Tribune were confusing because when it would be stated that so many were to be opened, this same or a similar item was repeat­ ed several more times in subsequent is­ sues, and it was difficult to tell whether these items referred to the same or to additional schools. But the Tribune for April 11, in the second year of the Jap­ anese occupation, stated incidentally, in an article about the Japanese "recon­ struction work” that — "there are now about 500 public elementary schools, approximately 300 private elementary schools, and a number of high schools, colleges, and institutions of higher learning in operation. These figures are expected to be more than doubled when the schools reopen for another term.”

It was to be noted that while the pri­ vate schools, especially in the grades, had formerly played only a small part in the Philippine educational system, they now constituted a major part, doubtlessly because these schools did not have to be supported from public funds. Early Japanese measures in the edu­ cational field were reviewed in a pre­ ceding section. On September 1, 1942, 160 public and private school teachers began a course of special training in the Philippine Normal School, "prepa­ ratory to their assignment in their res­ pective schools.” "With a view to popularizing Japanese in all parts of the country, the institute has included as its most important subject in its curriculum the teaching of Nippongo. Japanese instructors have been assigned to teach this subject. . . which is to be so systematically presented and so simplified as to enable the teachers to know the fundamentals of the language after three months of study. The teachers will also take as a course the new basic principles of education and current events. In this subject they will be grounded on the principles pertaining to the place of the Philippines in the New Order of East Asia and the part that the Filipinos will play in the prosecution of the East Asia CoProsperity Sphere. Japanese and Tagalog songs are taught in connection with the music sub­

472 ject. To synchronize physical and mental dev­ elopment, physical education is also being of­ fered. A subject which is considered in keeping with the times is the household industries in which they are given instruction in the making and in the teaching of common household work." (September 2.)

The last few lines in this write-up were particularly galling to Philippine schoolmen who prided themselves in the pioneer work done in the Philip­ pines for many years in the fields of physical and domestic science educa­ tion. Co-education, a major feature of the educational system instituted by the Americans, breaking sharply away from the old Spanish tradition, was formally wiped out in September by a curt order from the Director-General of the Jap­ anese Military Administration to Recto, Commissioner of Education, Health, and Public Welfare: "Co-education in the secondary schools in the Philippines shall be prohibited from now on. In those schools which have already been open­ ed, classes shall be divided for boys and girls for the time being and proper arrangement shall gradually be taken in conformity with the spirit of this instruction.” (September 23.)

The Tribune, October 8, reported that the army had ‘‘unsealed” 19 city school buildings in Manila, including 11 form­ er high school buildings. The total number of pupils in school in Manila just before this was claimed to be 25,000. A few weeks later it was reported that a group of primary school teachers had taken part in a discussion of —

THE COUNTRY

dent of schools asked for bids from contractors “to remove and store school equipment’’. The summer vaca­ tion months in the Philippines are April and May. The second semester begins about the middle of October. The city school authorities had evidently given up hope of opening more schools and therefore intended to put the equip­ ment in storage. It was claimed that 29 city public elementary schools were open, — of the 50 or 60 in the city, but the enrolment in all 29 was only 21,187 and the teachers numbered only 242. With respect to school equipment, books, etc., Manila was more fortunate than other cities and towns. School benches and books were always the first materials which the Japanese sol­ diers in the provinces seized for fuel for their camp fires. In Manila, how­ ever thousands of condemned books and magazines were destroyed. On "War Anniversary Day”, Decem­ ber 8, 1942, the Tribune reported, un­ der the heading, "Many Schools Re­ opened at Instance of Military” :

"Since June, 400 public elementary schools, approximately 300 private elementary schools, several colleges and private higher institutions of learning have been opened. Following censor­ ship by a committee appointed by the chairman of the Executive Commission, of text books, 100 public elementary schools were ordered opened in June. Three hundred more resumed classes in September, and about 33 more will be opened this month and in January. . . There are 230 private elementary schools and 36 private special vocational schools so far opened. One private "Japanese philosophy and outlook on life and technical college, 4 private musical schools, 2 their views of the world, Japanese tea ceremony, private medical colleges have also been granted etiquette and education, life of Japanese wo­ permit to open. Two vocational agricultural high men.” (October 21.) schools, the Trinidad Agricultural School and The discussion was led by an officer the San Carlos Agricultural School in Pangasihave been also opened. Ten more agricul­ of the information department of the nan, tural schools will soon resume classes, it was Army. Similar gatherings would be held also announced. Among the colleges of the Uni­ versity of the Philippines which have resumed in the future. On October 30 there appeared in the classes are the college of medicine, the college of dentistry, the institute of hygiene, the junior Tribune a government advertisement college, the college of veterinary science, and in which the Manila city superinten­ the college of agriculture.”

THE JAPANIZED SCHOOLS SHUNNED

473

These figures were for the whole country. One hundred fifty more elementary schools were ordered opened effective December 1, according to the Tribune, December 15. On the 28th the paper reported that 132 of these, the most of them in Central Luzon, "have actual­ ly opened". On January 19 it was again reported that apparently the same schools, would open toward the end of January. On February 17, the Tribune mentioned another 150 schools author­ ized to open in Luzon and the Visayas for 100,000 children. "This will raise the number of public elementary schools opened in the country to 700.” An editorial in this issue of the paper read in part:

The May 26 Tribune reported that 139 teachers in private schools in Ma­ nila and near-by provinces had enrolled in an institute in the city —

"The present regime is fortunately, for the development of a productive and creative cul­ ture, as distinguished from the namby-pamby academic culture which bred the lounge-lizard type of social parasites. This is as it should always have been in an essentially agricultural country like the Philippines. Apart from this con­ sideration, we can not escape the fact that, in these times of valiant effort at spiritual reju­ venation, the unspoiled barrios and the farms could more speedily assume the stage of posi­ tive collaboration, while the so-called more ci­ vilized centers may have to go through a process of unlearning, to do away with the isms from the West which they had blindly assimilated. . . The schools should be rural in character. . . In this kind of education, there is no place for expensive textbooks and equipment of no prac­ tical value. It should make the child early in life realize that the best teacher, the best charac­ ter-builder, the best textbook, is plain hard work on the soil. Properly undertaken under compe­ tent guidance barrio education ought to build the stoutest bulwarks of the New Order in the New Philippine.”

Despite the talk about 700 public ele­ mentary schools to be opened through­ out the Philippines, the Tribune of March 26 reported that the Central Ad­ ministration Organization had, with the approval of the Military Administra­ tion, set aside an appropriation for only 600 of such schools "in the com­ ing year’s budget".

"to learn bamboo and coconutshell-craft, flower arrangement, and other activities useful to the Filipino home in order to place the private schools in a better position to teach newly re­ quired courses.”

Manila, alone, before the war, had four big public high schools, one with an enrolment of over 7,000. The Tri­ bune, October 9, reported that the Mi­ litary Administration had ordered the reopening of public high schools, with vocational curricula compulsory. On February 14, the paper said that public high schools would be opened in three cities, Manila, Baguio, and Davao. Only P30,000 had been set aside for two high schools in Manila, one for boys and the other for girls, but a tuition fee of PI monthly was also to be charged. On February 28 it was stated that private high schools were those of the Philip­ pine Women's University, Santa Tere­ sa's College, and De La Salle College. The two public high schools had not opened yet. On April 2 it was reported that the Centro Escolar University high school, the Santa Isabel high school, and the San Juan de Letran high school had been given permission to reopen; on April 9 that the Union College of Manila had been given permission to reopen its high school. On April 29 it was announced that the period of en­ rolment in the two public high schools in Manila, begun on April 26, had been extended; on May 1 that the period would be extended again. The enrol­ ment was limited to 600 boys but "only about half that number has been reach­ ed.” "The same is true in the case of the girls’ high school.” "It was indicated yesterday that to give a chance to other students to register in the high schools, the school authorities have decided to admit applicants whose averages in the last

474 February entrance tests were below the required grades.” (May 1.)

THE COUNTRY

i.e. peddling, or became carromata drivers.

At last, on May 19, the Tribune re­ The colleges and universities fared no better ported that the required enrolment of than the lower schools. On August 27, 1942, the 600 boys and 300 girls had been reach­ Tribune reported that the military authorities ed. In a country which was "school had informed Commissioner Recto that the Uni­ versity of Santo Tomas had been granted per­ conscious” above any other in the Far mission to open certain classes in the College East, where parents had for the past of Medicine in its Walled City building; the forty years made every sacrifice to send students were required to take a Japanese lan­ their children to school, where the guage course under Japanese professors. The paper said that classes in the College of Medi­ school enrolment normally ran into the cine and also in the College of Agriculture of millions, and the public high school the University of the Philippines had been “going enrolment in Manila alone close to on for some time with the proper authority from the Military Administration.” On Septem­ 20,000, only a bare 600 could be drag­ ber 8 the paper said that the College of Agricul­ ged into the two vitalized and Nippon- ture and the School of Forestry had been grant­ ed permission to reopen and that Japanese pro­ ized Manila high schools. Former schoolmen in the Santo To­ fessors and experts had joined the faculty; a knowledge of Japanese had been made a require­ mas camp learned that the teachers in ment for graduation. On September 14 the news the new schools, though apprently care­ was that 500 students had enrolled in the re­ fully selected and indoctrinated (no opened Santo Tomas medical courses and that two Japanese professors and four assistant pro­ doubt unsuccessfully), were p a i d fessors had joined the faculty. On October 4 around P40 a month, only a half it was announced that the Junior College of the or a third of their former salaries. University of the Philippines would reopen cours­ es in preparatory medicine and that registration The classes, they said, were noisy, would begin the next day; on October 30 that and there was much singing of Jap­ registration had opened in the College of Medi­ anese songs accompanied by ges­ cine, the College of Agriculture, the College of Veterinary Science, the School of Forestry, and tures in unison. The censored text­ the Rural High School, all branches of the Uni­ books had, in some cases, only slips of versity, the four latter at Los Banos. On Novem­ white paper pasted over the censored ber 27 it was stated that the Afable College of and the Mapua Institute of Techno­ parts. The story was told of a Japanese Medicine logy had “recently" been permitted to reopen. inspector who, visiting a primary The December 22 paper said that the College school, asked a little Filipino boy how of Engineering and the College of Pharmacy of the University of the Philippines would open in he liked his book. The boy said: “I January, 1943. On January 3 reportedly the Pre­ like it, and," he added, "I know what medical College of the University of Santo To­ is under this", pointing to one of the mas had been permitted to reopen. On February white paper slips. "Under this one, is 13 it was reported that 43 medical graduates had passed their examinations before the Board the Filipino flag.” Turning a few of Medical Examiners. It was stated in the same pages, he said: "Under this is Jose issue of the Tribune that the enrolment in the Rizal.” He turned another page. "Under University of the Philippines had reached 1,960, including 223 in the non-collegiate School of this is George Washington." Nursing and 146 in the Rural High School; the The thousands of unemployed teach­ normal enrolment in the University of the Philip­ was around 8,000. It was reported, May 10, ers were having a hard time. Most of pines that the University of the Philippines had grad­ them had been unable to cash their uated 76 new doctors, 10 mechanical engineers, Treasury checks for three months’ pay, 2 mining engineers, 2 geodetic engineers, and 1 handed them as an emergency measure electrical engineer. Two days later it was stated that the institution had also graduated 67 stu­ in December, 1941. Some of them earn­ dents in agriculture, veterinary science, dentistry, ed a little money by private tutoring; and pharmacy. It will be noted that the Japanese others went into "buying and selling”, permitted the opening of only those courses

INSTITUTES FOR “ FUTURE LEADERS” and colleges which would serve to train students who might be of some direct use to them. Of the "10 more agricultural schools" which were reported on December 8 as being sched­ uled to reopen, 4 were again referred to on January 26 as "ordered to reopen” and were named: Batac Rural School (Ilocos Norte), Baybay Agricultural School (Leyte), Catarman Agri­ cultural School (Samar), and the Bukidnon Agricultural school; agricultural schools report­ ed "already open” at this time were those in Abra, Camarines Sur, Cavite, Mountain Province, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, and Pangasinan.

475 pare them for departure to Tokyo, where they will study in universities and colleges for full 4 years. The boys are busy but happy. They are burning with aspiration to become the fu­ ture leaders of the New Philippines. In short, they are a lucky lot, and they know it.” (June 9.)

Still another Japanese training pro­ ject was announced in the Tribune of May 18. Sixty Filipino university grad­ uates were to be selected also as "fu­ ture leaders in the creation of a new Training of “Pensionados” Sent to Philippine culture”, but they would not, Japan — On May 1 the Tribune an­ like the others, be sent to Japan. "Following the completion of a short-period nounced that examinations were to be training, featuring courses on Japanese culture held that day for the selection of and the construction of the New Philippines, the “about 20 Filipino youths to be sent to trainees will be assigned to government and ci­ Japan in order to undergo training as vilian cultural enterprises and given a definite future leaders of various circles in the status." Philippines.” Before their departure It was explained that the "short-period they would undergo two months pre­ training” covered three m o n t h s . liminary training in a "training station” Trainees were to be "gathered at an to be established in Malacanan Park. appointed place to facilitate collective In Japan they would study “science, training” and were to be given P45 a engineering, medicine, agriculture, and month, "together with clothes, food, police administration in accordance school supplies, and other daily neces­ with their respective capacity and me­ sities.” Early in June it was announced rit." On May 10 it was stated that 200 that 117 candidates out of 400 had com­ young men had been selected, 10 from pleted the preliminary examinations the new Constabulary and 10 “from the for entrance into the New Philippines general public”; the next day that the Cultural Institute. “Technical Schools” for Employment training station had opened with 26 students. Later there was a description in the Army and Navy — The Japanese of the life at the preparatory institute. offered Filipino youth still other edu­ The youths ranged from 14 to 28 years cational opportunities. On March 25 it of age. The men from the Constabulary was announced that the Imperial Jap­ were all university graduates; some of anese Navy would open a "technical school” for 100 Filipino boys between the others were lawyers. 15 and 17 at the Naval Arsenal at Ca­ "As sturdy leaders of the New Philippines, they have cast off their smart and costly suits vite. High school students or graduates . . . They have been living a segregated life, were wanted and they would be given away from their loving parents, relatives, and pocket money and be allowed to visit close friends. Personal communication with the outside has been completely suspended. This step their parents on Sundays and holidays. was taken in order to enable the trainees to On April 17 it was reported that around concentrate on their studies and efforts for spir­ 70 boys were to enter the school for itual and physical rejuvenation. . . "Many say they have gained more than 3 kilos 6 monts of training during which they due to the regular life they lead. All say they would receive free board and lodging are surprised to find they could be built into and pocket money; on May 2 that 59 men of endurance and strong will-power in a boys had enrolled and that the head period of little more than 3 weeks. One more month of manly life at the institute will pre­ of the school had told them that “they

476

were now members of the Japanese Navy and had achieved a great honor”. The best of them would be sent to Ja­ pan later for "advanced studies”. On June 12 it was stated that 49 of the boys had passed the "navy examina­ tions for vocational training as mecha­ nics” and that they were to be “attach­ ed to the Manila Navy”. The Military Administration was re­ ported on May 1 as offering 50 "scholar­ ships” to boys between 15 and 20 "for training as mechanics attached to the Navy Air Corps”. This was a "rare op­ portunity” offered to high school stu­ dents or graduates. The following month the Army Mechanics Corps called for "more youths between 14 and 16, — "3 months training, free lunch and transport, and expenses”. By June 11, 50 boys were "ready as ci­ vilian mechanics in the Army.” The “Spiritual" Culture of Japan — The Japanese liked to talk about the “dominantly spiritual culture” of Ja­ pan, and the Filipinos were frequently called upon to share their "trepidation and awe” in contemplating the August Virtues of His Majesty the Emperor, to which, it appeared from a Tribune editorial on January 1, even the appear­ ance of the New Year was due. An article by an army lieutenant said that “the way of Tenno Heika [the Empe­ ror], the moral doctrine which rules the Nippon Race, must become the great internationalism of the New Age. "The embodiment of the Will of God by Ten­ no Heika is by birth. Its origin is in the An­ cestral Goddess Amaterasu Ohmikami. Our God­ dess bestowed Her Sacred Mirror to Her Grand­ son Ninigino Mikoto with the following divine precept: 'See this Mirror as though you would see Me.’ This divine precept is the origin of our Polity. What is reflected on the Mirror is not the faces of the successive Tenno Heika but it is the face of our Ancestral Goddess. In other words, our successive Tenno Heika is the direct descendant of the Amaterasu Ohmikami, our Ancestral Goddess. And He reigns over this world with the mind of Amaterasu Ohmikami

THE COUNTRY as His mind. Our Ancestral Goddess Amaterasu Ohmikami lives forever within the flesh of our Tenno Heika, the direct lineage of the Goddess. Our Tenno Heika is not an individual. He is the embodiment of the reality of everlasting worldwide paternal love: and as such He reigns over the world. . . The kingdom of god is not in the skies nor is it after death. It is to be created through pains and patience upon this globe. Indeed, the earth which is under our foot is predestined to be a beautiful wonderful celestial globe. The mission of our Yamato Race is in making the wonderful planet into a beau­ tiful celestial body.” (October 11.)

Another army lieutenant said in an article that “in order to understand the Nippon Spirit adequately, you must study Nippon history adequately. . . In learning the Nippon history, it is necessary for you to live under the 'liv­ ing manners of the Japanese’ (that is, to cast aside the individualism and act from the point of view of a component member of the country and live for the sake of the country), through the ‘phi­ losophical experiences’, meaning the unification of experiences, and at the same time by studying the history as a Japanese, you can deepen and strength­ en your recognition, enlarge that phi­ losophical experience further, and ele­ vate it to a higher and greater plane.” The Lieutenant explained that back of Japanese written history lay the history of "m ajor events committed to memory and transm itted to posterity by narra­ tion”. "The stories carried down by the narration covers the periods from the reign of Genmyo Tenno [1231 years ago] down to the enthrone­ ment of Zimmu Tenno, covering 1371 years, and thence up [down] to the age of our Ancestral Goddess Amaterasu Ohmikami, which covers, the stretch of 1,792,470 years, — and beyond that age of the Gods we do not know for how long. . ." (November 15.)

On the occasion of Empire Day, February 11, the Commander-in-chief issued a statement in which he recalled the fact that the Goddess Amaterasu Ohmikami had said to Her Imperial Grandson, the first Emperor, "Our Im­

JAPANESE MYTHOLOGY.

477

THE LANGUAGE

perial lineage shall continue unbroken and prosperous, coeternal with heaven and earth.” The Danger of Laughter — Such re­ ferences to the divine nature and un­ broken lineage of the Emperor, to His August Virtues, to the symbolism of the Sacred Relics, — the Mirror, the Sword, and the Beads or Necklace, to the greatness and strength and nobil­ ity of the chosen Yamato Race, were constantly in the newspapers. This in­ doctrination as well as the formal pa­ rading, bowing in the direction of the Imperial Palace, bowing to sentries, etc., was all a part of a calculated po­ licy, in the Philippines as in Japan it­ self. As the Tribune columnist said: "The wonder of ritual has entered our life with a new power and will be among the bles­ sings of the new regime to us. . . In the past we laughed. . . Today we know that there are things to laugh at and there are sacred things to die for. And the dying can make us happy.” (February 25.)

Character of the Japanese Language — That the Japanese language lends itself especially well to mysticism and exaltation, is recognized by the Japan­ ese themselves. Yuoziro Isizaka st id in an article entitled, "The Beauty of Nippongo” : "Generally speaking, intuitiveness is character­ istic of Nippongo, while on the other hand the European languages are chiefly rational. . . One of the important aspects of the beauty of Nip­ pongo lies in the abundant nuances and shades of meaning and its lack of precision. . . One point which I wish to emphasize to students of Nippongo is: Don’t think of it in connection with Western languages you have acquired in the past, and try to learn Nippongo with a naive frame of mind, just like a child's." (August 23.)

The italics were Isizaka’s own. "Our thought processes are not logical, analy­ tical, or rational, but being realistic, we pene­ trate the core of the matter without going through the long processes of logic. When try­ ing to know the hearts of others, we try to divine their true inner thoughts rather than take their spoken words literally. Our way is practical rather than abstract. . . In our speech we are subtle and imaginative. Our 'yes’ and ‘no’, unlike the decisive, 'yes’ and ’no’ of West­ erners, are not clearly discernible, not because we lack decision, but because definiteness often sounds rude and harsh. . ." (M. Osima: "Japan from Within”, quoted in the April Philippine Review.)

It was all not simply silly supersti­ tion or evidence of an insane national egoism. It was all part of a policy to enslave mind and body. The Japanese totalitarians realized the danger there Hai, "yes”, and Iiee, "no”, are never lay for them in laughter. Wrote the edi­ used alone in Nippongo, but are always tor of the Tribune, under the heading, qualified by a number of additional "The New Spirit” : words. The truth of a simple "yes” and "In the past, the brand of democracy nur­ "no” is not in the Japanese. The people tured by the Americans here deliberately or un­ of the Philippines had ample opportu­ wittingly encouraged a type of humour which scoffed at everything serious. There was nothing nity to learn that the Japanese used sacred or solemn but it was made a sporting words only to disguise their intentions, matter by 'free men’ who considered it a kind though these were always obvious of privilege to be free to laugh at national lead­ ers and national ideals and national movements. enough. How this devastating attitude put an end to all Propagation of Race Hatred — The worthy enthusiasms can be very readily observed gospel of "spiritualization” did not inhi­ in the many associations and movements which died an untimely death through being laughed bit deliberate propagation of racial hat­ at even by their own promoters. . . We have red. The propagandists had as little to realized in a manner which shallow democracy say about fraternity and the brother­ could never make us realize that the only way left for us is not the sneering, scoffing, cynical hood of men, as about liberty and equa­ democratic way, but the way of the New Order, lity. The natural differences between earnest, serious, and solemnly patriotic in all East and West were exaggerated and things we do, — whether in work, in play, or made to appear irreconcilable. No peoin worship.” (December 21.)

478

pie on earth are entirely free of nation­ al and racial prejudices, inevitable enough under world conditions of the past and present, but civilized people everywhere seek to control such feel­ ings as unworthy. The Japanese propagandists harped over and over again on the alleged acts of discrimination by the Americans against the Filipino soldiers in Bataan, on the general American attitude to­ ward the Filipinos as a "colored peo­ ple”, on the American attitude toward the Negro, on the general American immigration restrictions and the Japan­ ese Exclusion Act, as well as against government policies in India and Aus­ tralia. A Tokyo dispatch dated June 29 read: "The nationwide determination to wipe Ame­ rican hypocrisy off the face of the earth was reaf­ firmed on the eve of the 19th anniversary of the enforcement of the so-called Japanese Exclu­ sion Act of 1924. . . discriminatory and infamous legislation. . . the result of the vile machina­ tions of the superiority-complex of the mongrel race of Americans. . .” (June 30.)

The Pacific War clearly demonstrated how justified measures against Japan’s "peaceful penetration” had been, how, indeed, those measures had been far from adequate. Even nations with re­ latively sparsely populated regions can not wisely throw such areas open to alien settlers who will not allow them­ selves to be assimilated into the general population but will maintain their alien loyalties and ways of life and constitute nucleuses of subversion and advance units of hostile invasion forces. The Japanese are deeply prejudiced against non-Japanese, all those who are merely human and not members of the divine Yamato Race. Their treatment of the Ainus who make up a part of their own population, has been far from exemplary. Their prejudice ex­ tends even to those of half-Japanese

THE COUNTRY

and half-foreign blood in Japan itself. The Japanese wives and half-Japanese children of some Americans in the Phil­ ippines were in general badly treated by the invaders. The Japanese attitude toward mesti­ zos stood out in a statement made by Adviser Murata in Tokyo, quoted in the Tribune of October 16. He said that the Japanese authorities in the Philip­ pines had to give "careful attention” to the policies dealing (1) with the "large half-caste population”, (2) the religious question, and (3) the Chinese residents. "Murata pointed out that the Filipino racial character is complicated by the conspicuous pre­ sence of half-castes, adding that the situation is made more intricate owing to the fact that the majority of the leaders of the government and civilian circles are of mixed blood.”

It is true that the Filipinos are a mix­ ed people, — to which they owe much of their versatility. The Malay race it­ self is a pre-historic blend of the Mon­ golian and the Indonesian, and in the Philippines, there has in historic times been a considerable admixture of Chin­ ese, Indian, Arabian, Spanish, and, re­ cently, American blood. It is also true that the mestizo element is prominent in the social, business, and governmen­ tal life of the Philippines. This element, however, merges into the general po­ pulation. The mestizos do not think of themselves as distinct from the people as a whole, nor do the people consider them so. Observers in Santo Tomas believed that if the Japanese remained in the Philippines long enough, they would become more and more dissatisfied with the nature of the "cooperation” they received from Filipino leaders and would turn their propaganda against them in an attem pt to develop a rift between the people and some of their most able leaders.

THE CULTURAL PAST

The “Cultural Conference" — Mar­ quis Y. Tokugawa was perhaps the leading "missionary of culture” sent by Japan to the Philippines. At a "cultural conference” held at the Manila Hotel on September 11, he told his Filipino audience that —

479

dence of the former, and Recto was elected chairman. At this meeting, Bienvenido A. Gonzalez, President of the University of the Philippines, hazarded the opinion that for the Filipinos to return to their “ancient ways” might be to retrogress. A few days later To­ kugawa, in a speech at the Government Officials Training Institute, returning to his argument with President Gon­ zalez, said:

"this great and beautiful task of reviving your hidden qualities requires the permanent abolish­ ment of that blind dependence upon Anglo-Ame­ rican materialistic civilization out of which a false consciousness of inferiority was forced upon you. . . It is natural for peoples whose "But though there may be some who insist ideas have been Westernized to incline toward that previous to the Spanish occupation there the frivolous, theoretical, and materialistic life, existed no such thing as culture in the Philip­ but now is a time to awake in you a pride pines [Gonzalez did not say this], we today can that would spur and inspire you to realization easily refute them and point out that there was and rejoice in the discovery of the inherent undoubtedly a culture indigenous to the Islands cultural traditions of the Orient. . . Turn to the . . . Traces are yet to be found inborn in every new mode of thinking, respecting morals and Filipino. To revive and replenish the divine spark virtues, recognize the rightness and beauty of is the driving force in the establishment of the the family system which is the basis of the New Culture. . . The civilization introduced by Oriental social structure, the source of all our the Americans was a cult not of creation and morals. . . Anglo-American influence has brought production, but of spending and waste. It was about individualism, making a people conscious a drug which served to undermine and weaken of self and insensible of the nation. . . The the mental constitution of the Filipinos. . fascination for the materialistic culture of the (November 21.) West blended with the failings characteristic After some months in the Philip­ of the inhabitants of the tropics, have fashioned a people fond of fleeting pleasures which merely pines Tokugawa returned to Japan. He gratify the senses. . . Seeing these realities. . . was not pleased with the response he will bring to you the necessity of casting aside the failings of the South Sea character which had met with, for he was quoted by have been nourished by Anglo-American mate­ Domei as saying in Osaka: rialism, and you will rise to labor with joy "Flimsy Americanism is what Japan is trying and enthusiasm for the reconstruction of the to eradicate in the Philippines. In its cultural Philippine culture.” policy toward the Philippines, the United States On the same occasion, Colonel Ka- shrewdly exploited the weakness of the Filipinos tuya, chief of the information depart­ by misleading them with fickle moving pictures ment, was even less concerned to spare and American jazz.”

the feelings of his listeners. He said: "Philippine civilization of the past has been little more than an apelike mimicking of Occi­ dental civilization, and the natural results of this were superficiality, emphasis on trivialities, and a host of other racially and spiritually un­ healthy defects. . . The new culture which you are going to create must be the kind that cul­ tivates and promotes the virtues of simplicity and vigor in life, the kind that encourages and gives nourishment to the qualities of industry and love of work.” (September 12.)

The Japan-Philippine Cultural Rela­ tions Committee which reportedly was organized in July, 1943, with the sup­ port of Tokugawa and Murata, held a meeting on November 18 at the resi­

Tokugawa had found that what he had called "Americanism” was not as flimsy as the militarists had hoped it would be. Of course he believed Ame­ rica had a “cultural policy” in the Phil­ ippines. Actually, American policy was to let intelligence have its way in free­ dom. That was what now left the Fili­ pinos so unimpressed with the tempo­ rary enslavers of the country. Japans Indifference to its Own Cul­ tural Past — The Japanese “cultural missionaries” were not sincerely in­ terested in the encouragement of Phil­ ippine studies. They were camp-follow­

480

ers of an enslaving army, assigned to the task of assisting in the destruction of the spirit of modern progress in the country. It is true enough that the Spanish clergy, in their zeal for the faith, play­ ed a part in the stamping out of certain ancient ways and also destroyed "hea­ then” writings the loss of which now fills everyone with regret. But there is compensation in the numerous ethno­ logical, philological, and historical writings which they produced. American statesmen, scholars, and educators were from the first awake to the importance of the old autochtho­ nous culture, — not for the people to go back to, but to take cognizance of and to treasure in their history. An ethnological division was established in the Bureau of Science and ethnolo­ gical and historical museums were opened. Writers like Cole, Garvan, Jenks, Saleeby made im portant re­ searches. Barton's studies of the reli­ gion and mythology, the laws and the political forms of some of the pagan peoples of Northern Luzon are out­ standing. The original contributions of Beyer to Philippine ethnology, pre-his­ tory, and archeology have furnished a key to the solution of the entire prob­ lem of the peopling and culture of the Southeast Asia archipelagos and the Pa­ cific. Nor were Filipino scholars in these same and allied fields wanting, — T. H. Pardo de Tavera, Epifanio de los Santos, Rafael Palma, Teodoro M. Kalaw, and others now living. The Japanese propaganda agents were not the type of men who knew anything about these things. They prob­ ably did not know that the Japanese themselves were in the recent past no­ toriously indifferent to their own cul­ ture. For instance, it took such Ameri­ cans as Edward S. Morse to awaken the Japanese to the value of their own

THE COUNTRY

pottery, and Ernest Fenollosa to make the first great collection of paintings which the daimios were giving away to their servants or burning as rubbish. The first director of the Tokyo Aca­ demy and the Imperial Museum was this same American. Van Wyck Brooks, in his "New Eng­ land: Indian Summer”, had this to say in writing of the interest New Eng­ landers took in the art of Japan. "The feudal system had passed away, and the Japanese, who were adopting the European dress and customs, were disregarding their own tra­ ditions and methods. In the schools they were teaching American drawing and studying under Italian instructors. . . and the great Japanese works of art, rejected and despised, were dis­ appearing. . . Fenollosa found one of the great­ est paintings in the Osaka market and he picked out of an ash-barrel a great ceramic head of Buddha. . . Fenollosa’s moment in Japan was like James Jackson Jarves’s in Florence, when, 30 years before, Jarves collected the primitives that nobody wanted. The Japanese nobles and priests who had owned these works for cen­ turies seemed to have lost all feeling for their national past. "But the Yankee-Spanish Fenollosa was not a mere collector... He bitterly reproached the Japanese for throwing away their birthright. He established an artists’ club over which he pre­ sided, and he helped to form the 'Art Club of Nobles’ to interest the ruling class in this great cause. Largely as a result of his insistence, the Japanese methods of art-instruction were soon restored in the schools; and he was ap­ pointed, in 1886, Commissioner of Fine Arts for the empire. He was the first director of the Tokyo Academy and the Imperial Museum. He was asked to register all the art-treasures of the country and draw up laws regarding the restoration and exporting of works of art. . . In his later years, Fenollosa returned to Boston. The emperor said to him then: ‘You have taught my people to know their own art’.”

The least of any people in the world was it for the Japanese to throw stones at the Filipinos for their alleged indif­ ference to their early traditions and culture. But the Japanese exploiters cared nothing really for tradition and culture, their own or of any other race, except as these might serve their re­ actionary purposes. With an army that imitated the German, a navy that imi-

THE PLACE OF WOMEN

tated the British, and an air force that imitated the American, all materially as modern as they could make them, they wanted their victims primitive. And if they w e r e not primitive enough for them, — but, like the Fili­ pinos, imbued with the modern, prog­ ressive spirit, then the exploiters in­ tended to render them so. Back to bare feet and bare backs, and the anitos, and labor in Japanese mines and cot­ ton fields. The "New Woman” — In a radio talk in October, Mrs. Kihara, wife of the former Chancellor of the Japanese Con­ sulate in Manila, now liaison officer (boss) at Malacanan, urged Filipino women to patiently endure difficulties and privations, to control their emo­ tions, and to be, like the women of Japan, gentle and obedient, obeying their parents when young, their hus­ bands when married, and their children when old. Mrs. Vargas also spoke over the radio on this occasion but confined herself mainly to saying that Filipino women were learning to run their houses without the conveniences they were accustomed to. (October 10.) An unsigned article in the Sunday Tribune of January 10, contrasting the Filipino woman "of yesterday and to­ day”, said in part: "It is only when we compare our woman­ hood with that of Japan, that we realize how truly Occidentalized we have become. . . But it is not too late to follow feminine virtues, the qualities that make for a strong nation.”

And what were the womanly quali­ ties that the Japanese admired so, those qualities which make a strong nation? A Tribune columnist described them movingly as follows: "At a recent gathering of newspapermen, a Japanese girl was prevailed upon to sing a song. In the middle of her singing, she stopped and, quite embarrassed by the interruption, cov­ ered her blushing face with her ample sleeve and glided coyly back to her seat. It was charmingly childlike, the way she did it. A Fili­

481 pino maiden in a small provincial town would have reacted similarly. How Oriental!” (Decem­ ber 20.)

Two Japanese women writers from Tokyo were interviewed at the Manila Hotel by Betty Pablo Ronquillo, vicepresident of the Philippine Y.W.C.A., and Paz Marquez Benitez, a member of the faculty of the University of the Philippines and herself a writer. One of the questions Mrs. Ronquillo asked was: "Are there any women in Japan who are leaders of the people?" Mrs. Kawakami: “The standard of morality and intelligence among Nippon women is so high that it is impossible for anyone to list a particular woman as a leader, but I assure you that there are women who are leading figures in the religious and literary worlds and in other walks of life.” Mrs. Ronquillo: "About the position of the women of Nippon in politics, — I read a short time ago that you women have no voice in matters pertaining to the state. Do women ever take an active part in politics, — I don’t mean indirectly, assisting your husbands?" Mrs. Abe: "No, there has never been a wo­ man in our country who became a member of the House of Representatives. Women enjoy no political rights whatsoever. The women, how­ ever, have never entertained the idea that they should have a hand in the management of the state." (December 20.)

The Shinbun-sya instituted various prize-contests for the best "song for the creation of the New Philippines”, the best novels, the best plays, the best short stories, the best essays, the best slogans (dn "Horse Day” for example), all these works of art to be atuned to the New Spirit to be eligible. One of the prize-winning Horse Day slogans, written in the Japanese style, was "Horse, our companion in building New Asia". Excuses for Japanese "High Life" in Manila — The missionaries of the New Life of devotion to spirit, simplicity, and toil demonstrated in Manila a de­ cided taste for the materialistic. They ensconced themselves in the finest ho­ tels, apartments, and homes, availed

482

themselves of "Western” comforts and luxuries such as many of them had never before dreamed of. There was many a Japanese soldier who had never before seen a refrigerator. They would open and close the door over and over again, putting their faces in or their hands, and hissing with surprise and pleasure. The sybaritic lives the Japan­ ese were soon leading became some­ thing of a scandal on which the Tribune felt compelled to comment under the heading "Missing the Point” : "For some time now there has come to our attention a dubious propensity of some people, mostly of the intelligentsia, to point to certain laxities of a number of our new friends, the Japanese, as though these isolated lapses typi­ fied a general trait of the Japanese nation. These people cite an inordinate fondness of some Japanese for a high life, their penchant for luxurious things, and swear that it is precisely this passion for extravagance which we are cur­ rently trying to live down as an evil survival of the past hectic regime. They speak of their discovery as if it constituted a valid reason for fence-sitting or non-collaboration. . . This is to miss the point. . . There are individual Japanese who are as morally loose as the Filipino breed of irresponsible nationals. Those of this cate­ gory have been and are severely dealt with by the authorities. . . We Filipinos are not asked to take our pattern from isolated cases. . . What we are asked to emulate is the greatness of the mind and heart which is Japan’s, the Jap­ anese people’s capacity for sacrifice in the in­ terest of their ideals as demonstrated in the current war for liberation of all Asians. . . ” (February 8.)

It was clear enough to the Filipinos that the Japanese had not come to the Philippines to bother about reviving their ancient virtues or even to bring them the better elements in Japan’s culture. They had come to take their country. They came not build up but to break down. What was this Japanese culture they talked about? What was this emperor-wor­ ship but a device adopted by the leaders of Japan to keep their own people in subjection? The belief in a king-god was one once held by primi­ tive people in many parts of the world,

THE COUNTRY

who had put it behind them; it was held contemporaneously only by some Negro tribes in East Africa and a few cannibal peoples in the South Seas.8 And what had come of the dogma that the emperor was the father of his peo­ ple and his rule a benevolent one which could not be questioned? That pater­ nalistic government had for many years crushed the common people of Japan and drained them of their strength in field, factory, and sweatshop, institut­ ing a system of industrial exploitation at so low a standard of living as has no counterpart in any other industrial­ ized nation. That benevolent govern­ ment had sent the young men of the land to their deaths by the millions in enterprises of raw aggression in foreign lands. That divine government was now engaged in a still more desperate ad­ venture, certain to end in disaster. And as to the virtues of family, which the Japanese sought to make symbolic of their whole system, what government had done more to press down its wo­ men and more brutally dishonored them in shameless, state-managed pros­ titution? Manila saw this in replica, and sickened. The Japanese accused the Filipinos of mimicking and aping the West. But what country ever borrowed more extensively from abroad than did Japan? Much of its old culture came from Korea, China, and India, and the new came from the West. But instead of wisely adapting and incorporating what might have been great gifts, Ja­ pan’s imperialists and militarists and fascists perverted them all. 8 Similar divine kings were found among the Zapotecs of Central America, the Indians of Lower Guinea, and the natives of Togoland and the Congo in Africa. The infantile superstitions touching Hirohito were at one time shared, with respect to their own kings, by the Maories of New Zealand, the Fiji and Tahiti islanders, the aborigines of Australia, and some of the South American tribes.

ANTI-QUEZON PROPAGANDA

Filipinos Accused of “Insincerity" — The Japanese here had hoped to instill hatred for the Americans, but they real­ ized they were not getting anywhere in that respect. The Filipinos obeyed them in so far as they had to, and this the Japanese called "cooperation” But false as they themselves were, they ac­ cused the Filipinos of insincerity. The editor of the Tribune, pretending, as was his wont, that he Was a Filipino, wrote: "It can not be gainsaid that the Filipinos lack good faith and sincerity. We, who have been in close contact with the Japanese leaders know that they are sincere. We know that lipservice, how adroit it may be, does not convince.” (De­ cember 9.)

And, again, the Japanese columnist: "Great virtues and great genius can only thrive in natures equally great, never in souls bemeaned by doubledealing and two-timing and the deceptive acceptance of the benefits and con­ veniences offered by the regime, while harbor­ ing sympathy for another." (March 25.)

A month or two later, he wrote more plaintively:

483

of the hatred they felt. The Japanese were wiser in their references to Pres­ ident Quezon, who was mentioned only a few times after the stories, first, of his alleged death and, later, of his "flight” to the United States. Evidently, the Japanese had a better understand­ ing of the Filipinos' love for their great leader than of their love for America. On Commonwealth Day, November 15, 1942, (of course not celebrated this year) Domei sent out an article from Tokyo which was published the next day in the Tribune. Quoting a Tokyo daily, Domei said: "Tragedy exists in the fact that there are still sycophantic politicians who are held in hostage and are in exile in America, who have forgotten their Filipino blood and have gone as far as to act as puppets for Americans. Some of these traitors will be speaking today in Washington, pretending to represent the Philippines. A com­ parison of what they are saying with what is actually taking place in the Philippines, will reveal clearly how little these men represent the real Philippine nation.”

A long, hypocritical "open letter” from Shingoro Takaishi, president of "If some of us can’t see why they should hate America, they should at least stop liking the board of directors of the Osaka her after being fooled so much.” (May 5.) Mainichi and the Tokyo Nichi Nichi, There frequently appeared such edi­ addressed to Vargas, together with a torial paragraphs as the following: reply to this letter attributed to Vargas, "When we have so many beautiful stars over appeared in the Sunday Tribune of De­ us, why miss the 48 stars?" (December 14.) cember 13. Takaishi, a former "friend” In an editorial on "Asian Solidarity” of President Quezon, said that he felt an admission was made as to the Phil­ that he could divine what "former Pres­ ippines : ident Quezon, after fleeing from the "We in the Philippines, where the democra­ Philippines together with General Mactizing American influence was most widespread in comparison to other regions in East Asia, Arthur, thinks in his heart”. must direct most serious consideration to the question of realizing that we are Asians.” (Jan­ uary 25.)

Anti-Quezon Propaganda — The Jap­ anese would have been wiser to leave the subject of America and American­ ism alone in their propaganda, or should have limited themselves to pointing out such matters as the geog­ raphical distance between America and the Philippines, the difference in race, etc., all with as little show as possible

"The Philippines has now been reborn as the Philippines of the East Asia which Quezon had hoped for so long. He who was shuffled away to America against his free will must be watch­ ing the Philippines today with a deep sigh. . . Very likely the people will accuse me of being excessively sympathetic toward Quezon. How­ ever, unless I am greatly mistaken, I can infer from his statements what he strove for but failed to accomplish. . . Being a thorough be­ liever in collaboration with Nippon in view of geographical proximity and economic and cul­ tural relations, Quezon is known to have opened his heart to his close lieutenants. When the Philippine policy with regard to the Davao land

484 question ired Nippon, I cabled him, calling his attention to the matter. He replied that he told his Japanese agricultural adviser [sic] at the time: ‘Give me more time. American pressure is too great for us to do anything. If you will wait, I shall make a real settlement’. . . From the dark clouds, the New Philippines is being born. I had hoped that Manuel Quezon, holding the destiny of his country in the palm of his hand, would make use of this rare opportunity. Yet he was compelled to flee with MacArthur and others to Corregidor, to Australia, and thence, I hear, to the United States. I do not believe he did this of his own free will, — he must have been dragged away by the Americans . . . I have frequently been told that the Philip­ pine patriot, Jose Rizal, was executed because he revolted against Spanish oppression. . . As his friend, I regret that Quezon did not choose Rizal’s path. . . ”

Vargas in his reply, or what was pub­ lished as his reply, said: " . . . Your reminiscences of former President Quezon were particularly interesting and en­ lightening. . . They make the fact clear that in spite of the rigorous and unrelenting opposition of the United States and other hostile elements, the former (Philippine) Government saw plainly that the salvation of an independent Philippines lay in close political, economic, and cultural relations with the other nations of East Asia, particularly Japanese Empire, the natural leader and undisputed stabilizing power in the Orient . . . The United States could not look with approval or even with tolerance on any efforts to alienate the Philippines from the system of Western civilization and to restore the Filipino people to their proper place in the orbit of Oriental states. . . The Philippines was forced to pursue a course of increasing hostility to­ ward Japan. . . It was the personal tragedy of Mr. Quezon, which you and I, Mr. Takaishi, as his friends and admirers must now lament, that he was compelled by the American high authorities to leave the Philippines just when the way was opened for the realization of his fundamental policies of peace and friendship with the nations of Greater East Asia. I believe that if he had had his own way, he would have remained and entered into understanding with the Imperial Japanese Forces with respect to the safety and welfare of the Philippines. . . It was a great privilege for me to have remained at my post in Manila and to do what I could for the welfare of the Filipino people. One thing that gave me courage was my faith in the sense of justice and fairness of the Imperial Japanese Forces. Until this day I have never had occasion to regret the attitude I had taken."

THE COUNTRY

editor said that they were "very illu­ minating" — "illuminating to a point which gives the Fili­ pinos a sense of melancholy pride about Pres­ ident Quezon’s foresight and his failure to carry out what he thought was best for the people,— perhaps largely through no fault of his. . . And now that he could have done the right thing which he had long wanted to do, without fear or shame, he must suffer the pangs of forced banishment as a virtual prisoner in a place which differs from Napoleon’s St. Helena only in physical dimensions. . . We are moved by the pathos. . . But, as pointed out by Mr. Takaishi, unlike Rizal who would rather die for his ideal than surrender it, Mr. Quezon lacked the mar­ tyr’s firmness of character, a character strong enough in ordinary circumstances and equal to minor climaxes, but. tragically weakened by the subtle operations of the American way of life. . . The tragedy of Mr. Quezon is thus linked with the tragedy of American democracy and of Ame­ rican imperialistic adventure in this part of the globe.”

The propagandists appeared to be doubtful of their ability to remain on such noble heights in speaking of Pres­ ident Quezon, and after this never men­ tioned his name again. They judged it wiser to confine their efforts to dead heroes who couldn’t talk back. On Na­ tional Heroes Day (November 30) Jap­ anese officials joined the Filipinos in the ceremonies at the foot of the noble Balintawak Monument. On Rizal Day, December 30, Aquino made a speech in which he was quoted as saying that the Kalibapi oath, taken on that day en masse, was an oath "to practice the truths that Rizal preached and to bring into realization the visions which he dreamed”. (Tribune, December 31.) The Flag of the Rising Sun was dis­ played, and the assemblage paid the usual homage to the Imperial Palace and gave a minute to a silent prayer for the victory of Japan. One R. de Leon said that "If Rizal were alive to­ day, he would surely cooperate whole­ heartedly with the present regime.” General Ricarte offered the public an In an editorial following this ex­ opportunity to pay tribute to Rizal be­ change of "open letters”, the Tribune fore an altar set up in his residence

"RELEASE” OF FILIPINO WAR-PRISONERS

after the Japanese manner with a Jap­ anese flag, a picture of the hero, an urn, etc. "After pouring incense into the urn three times, one minute of silence in respect to the idol is ob­ served.” (December 30.) “Release” of War-Prisoners — On August 17, 1942, it had been announced that all Filipino war-prisoners would be released, but it was many months before the releases were completed. Be­ fore release, the prisoners were subject­ ed to a "training program”. However, Brig-Gen. M. Capinpin, who had been appointed Commandant of the Capas camp, managed to get himself quoted in the September 3 Tribune as saying that “the morale now is very high”, although the headline was: "Prisoners’ Loyalty to Japan is Assured”. That same month, the Director-Gen­ eral of the Military Administration is­ sued an order calling upon all officers and soldiers who had been separated from the USAFFE before its surrender and were not made prisoners of war, to report to the Chairman of the Execu­ tive Commission and "pledge their lo­ yalty to the Japanese Empire in the presence of representatives of the Im­ perial Japanese Forces”. Vargas was re­ quired to submit a list of these men, together with their rank, etc., the place and the manner of their separation from the USAFFE, and their finger­ prints. After this they would be con­ sidered as released prisoners. In an ac­ companying statement by the informa­ tion department of the Army, it was said that those among them who spied on the Japanese Army or engaged in fifth-column activities should fear ar­ rest and internment, but as for those who showed "repentance” and volun­ tarily cooperated with Japan, the Jap­ anese authorities were "always ready to magnanimously pardon them and to give them productive jobs”. Vargas is­

485

sued a statement urging all former USAFFE men in hiding or engaged in armed activities to take advantage of this magnanimous offer. ( Tribune, September 11.) Applicants for registra­ tion had to appear in person, either at Malacanan or at the offices of their respective provincial governors or city mayors, and the application was to be accompanied by a "prescribed form of statement to be signed by some repu­ table person in the community offering to be the guarantor and custodian of the registrant and to hold himself res­ ponsible for the good conduct and care of said registrant”. (September 13.) On September 18 a memorial was unveiled at Camp O’Donnell in memory of those Filipino prisoners of war who had died in the concentration camp, — “victims of the diseases contracted in the battlefields of Bataan and Corregidor”. This was a reference to the ap­ palling number of deaths in the camp. It was said that at one time men were dying there at the rate of 600 a day. Their bodies were thrown into trenches and covered up without ceremony. In the end, it was said, over 32,000 men had died at O’Donnell, chiefly from malaria and dysentery. Many of them contracted these infections after they reached the camp, and with proper care could have been saved. But the Tribune said: "Everything was done by their magnanimous captors to save their lives, but neither medicine nor nursing could do anything to change or retard the inevitable end.” (September 18.)

On this same occasion, Maj.-Gen. T. Wati, Chief-of-staff, told the graduates of the "third session of the educational and training program” in the prison camp: "In treating you, it would have sufficed only to follow the dictates of international law and practice, under which there is not the slightest necessity of either giving you training or guid­ ance, nor of granting you release prior to the cessation of hostilities and the return of peace.

486 Notwithstanding this, the Japanese High Com­ mand in the Philippines has striven to promote the physical and mental improvement of you prisoners ol' war with the ultimate view of im­ proving and advancing the Filipino people as a whole. . . No country in the history of the world has done such a thing as educating the prisoners of war and in addition taking the pains in finding them work. For the Commander of the Nippon Imperial Army to give such generous and merciful treatment is due only to the Im­ perial Will of His Majesty of the Great Empire of Nippon, Who has dispatched His Imperial Army to save the peoples of East Asia. . .”

THE COUNTRY

to hospitals outside the city in the capi­ tals of nearby provinces. Bascara’s radio-cast appealing for help for the prisoners appeared, in part, in the Tribune. He described their condition as follows: "We met them as they left the prison camps; we helped them as they boarded the trains and as they alighted at their different destinations. With cautious steps they marched in twos, from the wagons, holding and supporting one another, the weak leaning on the strong. Others had to be carried on stretchers to waiting ambulances. Their faces were dark and pale, their clothes worn out, their legs trembling, and their nerves shattered. They had come home. But what a difference! They are no longer the active agile men of nine months ago. They are the picture of withered bodies and broken souls, bowed down by the tragedies of war.” (September 24.)

Thus the Japanese sought to make a virtue of their disregard of interna­ tional law in the treatm ent of prison­ ers of war, using every device and shift to turn them into traitors to their own government and people. Various groups of prisoners, many of These were the men who had been them maimed, many others still ill, given the Japanese “rehabilitation" reached Manila during the latter part courses. of September from the provincial hos­ “After having been given spiritual rehabili­ pital in Pampanga and from the prison tation in the concentration camps, it was ob­ camps. Of a group of 890 sick prisoners served that the sick prisoners are either taken to Bureau of Health hospitals or the Welfare hos­ to be released, the Tribune said: pital for the crippled and infirm, where they "As practically all the prisoners are dysentery cases, precautions have been taken by the health authorities to forestall the spread of the dis­ ease. (September 26.)

Instead of 890, 1,200 arrived a few nights later by train accompanied by City Hall medical officers, nurses, and social workers who had gone to Tarlac to bring these men back. Speaking of them and other groups due shortly, the paper reported: "The Y.M.C.A., represented by Domingo C. Bascara, will take charge of the litter-bearers and helpers. The Manila department of health and welfare will take care of the medical and nurs­ ing care of the prisoners upon their arrival at the station prior to their transfer to the hospi­ tals. In order to prevent possible infection of the public, the prisoners arriving will have their feet and hands disinfected before going out of the Tutuban station. All the coaches and wagons used will also be disinfected.” (September 27.)

Although 14 different convalescent homes were established in Manila by the Bureau of Public Welfare in addi­ tion to all the city hospitals open to the sick prisoners, many had to be sent

are cured and, in the Welfare hospital also given occupational education. From the con­ valescent homes, where they are mainly taught some trades and given more time to recuperate, they are taken to the Los Banos and Alabang camps where occupational trades, including farming, poultry-raising, hog-raising, are taught them.” (September 29.)

Apparently, "release” didn’t mean re­ lease. Under the heading, "Jobs Given to Released War Prisoners”, was the paragraph: " . . . Many Japanese firms are cooperating in the rehabilitation of war prisoners by em­ ploying them in their service. Filipino concerns are also doing the same, following the example set by the Central Administrative Organization. Many of the released war prisoners have been absorbed into the Constabulary service; others in other branches of the Administrative Or­ ganization." (September 25.)

This employment referred, among other things, to labor on the Japanese cotton plantations. As for the "absorp­ tion" into the Constabulary, this was supposed to be voluntary, but it wasn’t. The Constabulary was used mostly in

THE REQUIRED “OATH OF LOYALTY"

hunting down guerrillas, but stories were told of constabulary units sent against the guerrillas which joined them. The March 23 Tribune reported that since the establishment in Manila of the “four branches of the Philippine Constabulary Academy, there were turned out more than 3,000 commis­ sioned and non-commissioned officers who are now in service helping in the vital task of restoring peace and order.” The training in these branches took 45 days. At the opening exercises of a new class in June, the Director-General of the Military Administration sent a message declaring that the "unruly elements which still labor under a gross misunderstanding of the true in­ tentions of Japan”, "should be consi­ dered as enemies and traitors to the cause of Philippine independence”. (June 11.) So many of the new Consta­ bulary lost their lives in the engage­ ments with the guerrillas that Vargas issued an executive order providing for 8 months’ pay as "condolence money” to the families of the men killed in line of duty. (June 18.) The Tribune revealed the fact offi­ cially that there were Filipinos not only in the new Constabulary but "employ­ ed by the Imperial Japanese Army or Navy”. The paper quoted an amend­ ment to the general order requiring all former members of the USAFFE who had not received "rehabilitation train­ ing” to undergo this, except — "those who are actually employed by the Im­ perial Japanese Army or Navy and have been given the necessary training thereunder and present a certificate to that effect issued by the Commandant concerned.” (June 11.)

The "Oath of Loyalty” — Several times groups of from a few hundred to over 1,000 ex-USAFFE men took the "oath” at Malacanan, each time with much publicity in the newspapers. Even the female USAFFE nurses had to register and take the oath. Among the

487

men were the "sons of prominent Fili­ pino leaders who were given special releases in consideration of the merito­ rious work rendered by their parents in behalf of the New Philippines.” (Tri­ bune, March 12). That was how the Japanese, in many cases, got "coope­ ration”. At one such oath-taking, the Director-General of the Military Admi­ nistration said: "You are obviously entitled only to the seve­ rest punishment sanctioned by principles and practices of modern international law of land warfare [sic]. In spite of the damaging evidence against you, however, the Imperial Japanese Forces do not consider the Filipinos enemies and are extending pardon in an unprecedented act of magnanimity and kindness. The Imperial Jap­ anese Forces expect your collaboration in bring­ ing to a successful conclusion the heroic and sublime task of the century, the establishment of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere." (October 7.)

Speaking of these bewildered young people, most of them little more than boys, the Tribune said: "These men have the courage of their con­ victions. They are the fighters, the courageous, the patriots, the enlightened. May men like these long propel and protect the Philippines.” (De­ cember 10.)

The "oath” which the released warprisoners and the ex-USAFFE men took was not published in the newspapers, but was referred to first for a few times as an oath of loyalty to Japan, but la­ ter as an oath of loyalty only to the Japanese Imperial Forces. An American who was re-interned in Santo Tomas in May, after being out of the camp for some months on a sick-pass, said that a member of the Executive Com­ mission had told him that the Japanese at first demanded an oath of allegiance to Japan, but that this had been stub­ bornly opposed by the Commission.9 9 A printed copy of the oath which later became available to the author read: "OATH "To His Excellency, the Commander-in-chief of the Imperial Japanese Forces: "I, the undersigned, hereby solemnly pledge

488

The “Re-Orientation" Courses — In April it was announced that all exUSAFFE men who had not undergone reorientation training at the "educa­ tional camps at Dau and O’Donnell” were required to undergo three weeks training in institutes to be opened in Manila. (April 20.) A graduate describ­ ed what he had learned in one of these institutes in the Sunday Tribune of June 13. He said that the enrolment for May reached 800, of whom half attend­ ed three hours in the morning and the other half three hours in the afternoon. On Tuesday and Fridays distinguished Japanese and Filipino officials addres­ sed them. "Now I know the tremendous potentialities of the Orient; the defects of the so-called libe­ ralism of America; and the reasons behind the exploitation of the Oriental peoples by the Wes­ tern powers. There are things I have never be­ fore known about the Japanese: their spiritual culture, their art and literature, their national characteristics, their government, and the secret of Japan’s industrial success, the spirit of Bus­ hido, etc. . . For only 3 hours a day, in 3 weeks, a derelict is milled out into a new man with a 'living consciousness of his role in the New order.’ ” myself that I will strictly comply with the fol­ lowing: “1. I shall never in future resort to any hos­ tile action against the Imperial Japanese Forces and I will in no way make any utterance or commit any hostile conduct against Japan; "2. I will submit to the Japanese Military Administration and do my best to serve for the realization of the objective of the said Adminis­ tration; "3. I will in no way make any utterance or commit any conduct which may benefit Japan’s enemies; "4. I will in no way make any utterance or commit any conduct which may be harmful to the tranquility, peace and order, and economic stability of the country; "5. I will in no way employ or instigate others for the execution of any act which I have pledged myself not to commit in the pre­ ceding paragraphs; "6. I will never fail to present myself at any appointed place when I shall be called up by the Japanese Army. “Applicant "Address .................................................. Signature ................................................ "Guarantor of the above person "Address .................................................. Signature ................................................ “Date:. . . ”

THE COUNTRY

Colonel Katuya, chief of the Japanese Army's "Inform ation Board”, speaking to war prisoners who were under­ going “training" at Camp Dau, Pampanga, declared: "Viewed from any angle, geographical, eco­ nomical, ethnological, or cultural, you Filipinos are closer to us Japanese than you were to your former dominators, the Americans, and the fact that you had been under their influence and acting in unison with them until very re­ cently, has been a tragic and fatal mistake for the Filipino people. Spiritually you are fully equipped with the basic qualities which go to make you an important and active member of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere and it is the great responsibility of every patriotic Filipino today to cleanse himself of the super­ ficiality and veneer of Occidental civilization and to resume in its stead the truly Oriental stan­ dards of morals and conduct. Be eager to correct your present physical and moral weaknesses and strive for your country’s progress and advance­ ment by constantly improving yourselves through strict discipline and by adopting the superior characteristics of other Oriental peoples. . ." (September 5.)

It will be seen that the Japanese "gospel" was becoming clearer and bet­ ter systematized, though departing ever farther from the truth. The fact was that Japan, controlled by its militarists, had for decades been engaged in carry­ ing out arrogant schemes of aggression, domination, and exploitation. The fact was that Japan had attacked and in­ vaded a peaceful, prosperous, and hap­ py country, spreading death and des­ truction everywhere. The fact was that the Filipinos were being treated as a conquered, subject people, and not as "friends”. The fact was that the Japan­ ese nation had forfeited every right to speak of any "truly Oriental standards of morals and conduct”.

Ill IMPOVERISHMENT While the Military had all the "mo­ ney” it cared to issue, — money which was a sight-draft on the coun­

ADMINISTRATIVE ORGANIZATION FINANCES

try, the Central Administrative Orga­ nization was given comparatively lit­ tle to dispose of. Just how much the Military Administration allowed the Executive Organization, to augment the revenue collections, was known to on­ ly a few officials. But with no nor­ mal foreign trade there could be little customs revenue, and with domestic commerce greatly reduced, there could be little internal revenue. After the period covered in the first part of this section, the Army repeatedly "donated” funds mainly for the repair of roads and bridges, work which was of military impor­ tance. The August 29, 1942, Tribune announced that P900,000 had been do­ nated for this purpose; the issue of January 6, 1943, said that the Army had donated another PI,000,000 for the upkeep of roads and bridges and would contribute P10,000 monthly thereafter, this money being "exclusive of the regular Public Works appro­ priation set aside by the Executive Commission”. On January 23 it was reported that the Army had donated PI,700,000 for roads and bridges as its "latest benevolent act”. On March 4 another sum of PI,470,000 was men­ tioned, and again, on March 28, Pl,060,000, the latter for "public works”. In October, Vargas issued an execu­ tive order increasing the share of the Central Administrative Organization in the proceeds of the residence tax­ es from 30%, as in 1940-41, to 55%; the share of the municipal govern­ ments was reduced from 40 to 25%, and of the provincial governments from 30 to 20%. (October 16.) Another indication of the straits in which the Administrative Organization found itself was the executive order reopening cockpits, racetracks, the Jai-Alai, the boxing and wrestling rings, dance halls, and night clubs. (October 2.) On March 30 it was an­ nounced that a 20% tax would be le­ vied on public eating and drinking

489

places and amusement centers, all of which had to register within the next 30 days. Places operated by the Army were exempt. (March 30.) It was later announced that the 20% tax would not apply to meals costing less than PI.50 "except where the ma­ nagement permits hostesses or wait­ resses to sit down at table with the customers”. (April 8.) As the night life of Manila grew more hectic and the gambling fever among the profiteering element rose to wild heights, it was stated that the share of the Administrative Organiza­ tion in the total wager funds in horse racing and at the Jai-Alai would be increased, for the former, from 2-Vi to 8%, and, for the latter, from 41/2 to 10%. (May 10.) The May 18 Tri­ bune reported that the tax on beer and other fermented liquors had been increased to 30 centavos a liter, effec­ tive May 1. The national charity lot­ tery sweepstakes resulted in the distri­ bution to charitable institutions, through the Bureau of Public Welfare, of a total of P450,000 for the fiscal year, the Tribune of June 11 reported. The facts given constitute the sum total of information to be garnered from the Tribune as to the income of the Central Administrative Organi­ zation. Of a different nature was the mili­ tary ordinance levying an export tax of from 10 to 20% ad valorem, publish­ ed months earlier, Tribune, Novem­ ber 20. This tax was to be collected from exporters and from the suppliers of export goods to the Army. The va­ lue of the goods delivered to the Army for export purposes was stipulated to be the value at delivery, and, regarding other goods, the value at the time of export. The Philippine Import and Ex­ port Control Association was to han­ dle these goods and report on them monthly to the Army. Goods to be ex­ empted were those which directly con­ tributed to the needs of the Army or which were designated as such by the

490

Army. A significant proviso in this or­ der was that household effects already used, “moved by individuals”, were ex­ empt; also “personal belongings, im­ plements, and instruments of travelers professionally necessary”. Evidently, though there was no overseas trade on any reciprocal basis, goods were be­ ing exported from the Philippines. The final proviso appeared to be in favor of the removers of loot. Government Employees — The Tri­ bune, September 19, reported that the minimum pay of employees of the Central Administrative Organization “who were the sole support of their families” was to be P30 a month. In November the “forced savings” of gov­ ernment employees were increased. The paper of December 25 reported that the employees of the Central Or­ ganization were to be given a Christ­ mas bonus of 25% of their monthly salaries. It was stated that there were "over 10,000” of them. A letter published in the “Public Pulse” column of the Tribune, June 8, stated that the employees at City Hall had had their salaries reduced twice in 1943. Another letter, published June 11, complained that City Hall laborers who had presented vouchers for their last m onth’s pay at the City Treasu­ re r’s Office had not been able to get their money. An official of this office replied to this (June 13) that the man who complained "must have been one among the many thousands of our close friends who were disappointed because we go over the vouchers slowly. . . to see to it that the people’s money is correctly and wisely spent”. As for the many thousands of em­ ployees of the Commonwealth Govern­ ment who lost their posts, there was a letter (February 8) from one of them asking whether the generous and kind Military Administration would not allow the employees of the "defunct” Commonwealth Government

THE COUNTRY

to cash the salary treasury warrants which they still held. Another letter (February 15) asked the authorities to do something about paying the cash-values of the government insu­ rance policies of these employees. The writer stated that large numbers of these people were destitute. On May 11 it was announced that the Philippine Red Cross drive for funds was in full swing and that P350,000 was the goal, of which the government employees were expected to cover one-third. The June 10 Tri­ bune reported that the quota of the Japanese community was P25.000, and that they might "top” it. All things considered, P25,000 was not a large quota under the circumstances, or was it? Extortions from the Chinese — The Central Administrative Organization had its financial difficulties. The Ar­ my, however, in addition to being able at any time to throw more script into circulation, could always raise a penny or two among the Chinese. In Novem­ ber, for instance, it was reported that the Chinese Association of the Philip­ pines had voluntarily donated P3,000,000 to the Army and that this was regarded as a sign of true coopera­ tion. The Association would raise an­ other P2,000,000 by the end of Novem­ ber and an additional PI,000,000 by the end of January. (Tribune, Novem­ ber 5.) The Tribune, February 16, car­ ried a picture showing a prominent Chinese merchant of Manila handing Colonel Utunomiya, Director of the Department of General Affairs of the Military Administration, a check tor P2,500,000. The picture showed the Chinese bowing and holding out the check with two hands, the Colonel accepting it with both hands extend­ ed, according to the best Japanese etiquette. On May 3, in accordance with the amnesty decree issued on Tentyo-setu, the Em peror’s birthday, April 29, 15

THE BANKS AND INSURANCE COMPANIES

imprisoned Chinese were freed. Director General said to them:

The

"Bear in mind that the authorities concern­ ed have placed faith in the apparent signs of repentance on your part, which was one of the important factors in giving you this un­ expected freedom, and do not deviate from the path of righteousness and from the promised cooperation toward the construction of the New Philippines and the Greater East Asia CoProsperity Sphere.” (May 4.)

On June 16, a buyer from the Santo Tomas camp saw a Chinese lying dead on the corner of Gandara and Nueva streets, surrounded by a crowd. He was a collector of the Chinese Associa­ tion, raising funds for the "donations” to the Japanese Army, and had been shot by some unknown assailant in broad daylight. A death that shocked all Manila was that of Dr. Tee Han Kee on June 23, following an attack on him and his son, the latter escap­ ing with a bullet in his arm. Dr. Tee Han Kee was president of the Chi­ nese Association. The men who killed him took him for a "cooperator” with the Japanese, but as the owner of a drug store in Manila, he had donated large quantities of drugs to the prisoncamps and he had also extended help to American friends in Santo Tomas. The Banks — After nearly a year of the occupation, it was reported that the Military Administration had announced that third-party nationals with deposits in any of the seven closed banks would be permitted, be­ ginning December 9, to withdraw the "first instalments of their deposits” in these banks at the office of the Bank of Taiwan. Withdrawals were limited, and the permission granted was in the nature of the free movies and free streetcar rides offered Manilans at this time in celebration of the first anniversary of the war. The banks were the National City Bank of New York, the China Banking Corporation, the Philippine Bank of Communications, the Chartered Bank of India, Australia, and China, the

491

Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Cor­ poration, the Peoples Bank and Trust Company, and the Nederlandsche-Indische Handelsbank. (Tribune, Decem­ ber 6.) The December 27 Tribune re­ ported that the Philippine Trust Com­ pany, the Monte de Piedad and Savings Bank (both owned by the Catholic Church), and the Bank of the Com­ monwealth would begin making par­ tial payments on deposits on the 29th; withdrawals were limited to P50 on each account. It was evident that the Bank of Taiwan was heavily favored by the Military Administration over the Phi­ lippine National Bank. In January, 1943, the former already had branches at Davao, Cebu, Bacolod, and Baguio, and another branch was opened at Legaspi early that month. In April the Bank of Taiwan opened a branch in Iloilo. On May 14, the Tribune re­ ported that the Philippine National Bank had been permitted to reopen its branches in Cebu, Iloilo, and Baco­ lod on April 30. The Tribune, April 29, said that in connection with the celebration of Tentyo-setu, the military authorities had "again bestowed a favor on the public” by allowing those who had deposits with "enemy banks under li­ quidation” to withdraw a "second instalment”. Reportedly to “encourage saving”, the Executive Commission raised bank interest on time deposits from 2 to 3%, and on current and call ac­ counts from 1 to 2%. The Commis­ sion also suspended the tax (normally 2/3 of 1%) on all bank deposits ex­ cept demand deposits. (May 2.) Not until June 1, 1943, was the Ma­ nila Bankers Clearing House opened, — hailed as "another indication of the country’s return to normalcy”. The member banks were reported to be the Bank of the Philippine Islands, the Bank of Taiwan, the Philippine Bank of Commerce, the Philippine Na­

492

tional Bank, and the Yokohama Spe­ cie Bank. The Nanpo Kaihatsu Kinko, the Treasury of the Philippines, and the Postal Savings Bank were spe­ cial members. The president of the clearing house was a Japanese, the vice-president was M. Cuaderno. The president of the former clearing house, Pedro Campos, of the Bank of the Philippine Islands, was not even a member of the board of the new clear­ ing house. As to the Postal Savings Bank, a letter appearing in the "Public Pulse" column (June 16) of a man who wanted to cancel his bond for a fire­ arm which he had been called upon to surrender to the military, was in­ formed that the Bank "has no availble funds at present to meet demands for withdrawal of such deposits". The difficulty of financing in Ma­ nila was indicated by an editorial pa­ ragraph which read: "Installment plans belong to the old order, — all-out war can't be carried on with easy payments." (April 21.)

With the Army throwing out script, however, money of this species be­ came easier to get as time went on, — too easy, and on June 23 the Mi­ litary Administration cancelled the or­ der that only "crossed” checks could be drawn for amounts in excess of the limits set (not specified in the Tri­ bune account). The paper explained: "The crossed-cheque system meant the mi­ nimizing of the use of cash in the bank vaults, out of which the USAFFE had taken away a considerable portion in cash, bullion, and cer­ tificates, when they ran away to Bataan and Corregidor, apparently to spend in their fu­ tile resistance and with the intention also of bringing about bankruptcy in Manila. Through the crossed-cheque system and the guidance of the present administration, the banking institutions in Manila were able to start their normal business early following the war and within a year the financial condition of the country was rehabilitated. Conditions have been rapidly changing for the better and the banks now operating have a strong cash posi­

THE COUNTRY tion. The Military Administration believes that the elimination of the crossed-cheque regulations now would do away with the many difficul­ ties occasioned by the said regulations and will greatly facilitate transactions of many depo­ sitors. It is also believed that the lifting of the regulations will not necessarily help infla­ tionary tendencies. This economic evil is now being curbed partly by the existing control over commodities and by other measures. It is hoped that with this change in the regula­ tions, the people would utilize the deposit fa­ cilities of the banks to a greater extent." (June 23.)

It was not true that conditions were "rapidly changing for the better”. They were becoming rapidly worse as the inflation of the currency added to the misery of the low commodity supply. Insurance Companies—Local life in­ surance companies were still not per­ mitted to pay out the insurance on the lives of those Filipino soldiers who had died in battle, "fighting the Japanese", but they were allowed to pay the insurance on the lives of the prisoners of w ar who died in the pri­ son-camps. Insurance company men, however, said that in most cases the beneficiaries decided not to apply for the payments because they feared confiscation. In May, 1943, the Philippine NonLife Insurance Association was inau­ gurated, the membership consisting of six Japanese and six Filipino com­ panies. The chairman was a Japanese, as were three of the five directors. (Tribune, May 24.) The Profiteers — At the time of this writing (June, 1943) profiteering was reportedly growing wilder despite seeming efforts at control. Fortunes were made by favored individuals, es­ pecially the purveyors to the Japanese armed forces. The proceeds of course came in the form of Japanese script. The Japanese were doing very little to restrict inflation, as instanced by the authoritative information which reached Santo Tomas that the Army

TRANSPORTATION:

RAILROAD. BUSES, SHIPS

was paying its soldiers in script pesos at the rate of P10 to the yen. A sol­ dier whose pay was 5 or 7 yen, would receive 50 or 70 pesos. These soldiers had more “money” than ever in their lives before. Profiteers with this money in their hands were offering a 20% premium for the old Philippine paper pesos, and $20 United States gold-pieces were selling in June at from P350 to P400 in the Japanese script. For gold bullion, which sold at from P2.50 to P3 a gram up to the time of the fall of Corregidor, P10 a gram was now offered, with no takers. According to jewelers in the camp, a diamond ring, with a slightly colored stone of from 1/4 to 1/2 carat, which sold for P150 before the war, now brought P500. A 1-carat diamond ring, of good qua­ lity, which sold for PI,000 before the war, now brought P3,500. Cheaper, made-up jewelry, which passed from hand to hand, was up 600 to 700%. Some of the profiteers invested their gains in real estate, but real es­ tate prices did not rise corresponding­ ly for various reasons. In January, Vargas issued an executive order fix­ ing house rents in the city at not less than 50 or more than 75% of the highest rental charged during the three months immediately preceding the outbreak of the war (Tribune, January 9), this holding down real estate earnings. There also appeared to be an effort on the part of Filipi­ no authorities to discourage real es­ tate transactions. A letter in the "Pu­ blic Pulse” column, (May 11) read: "Until a few months ago, those who had dealings with the register of deeds of Manila could get their certificate of title duly an­ notated 3 or 4 days after the filing of the documents. At present, the delay in the regis­ tration is almost scandalous. Transfer of pro­ perties or simple issuance of duplicates of lost titles takes as many as 40 days. Too much delay in the registration of documents is da­ maging to the real estate business and the Department of Justice should take immediate action to remedy this anomalous situation;

493

anomalous, because we are paying now higher registration fees and getting worse service.”

Under the circumstances, the worse the service, the better, of course. It was this situation which pro­ bably accounted largely for the “good business” done by the local Filipinoowned life insurance companies. One of these companies in a circular to its agents dated May 4 said that the April production “exceeded all our ex­ pectations”. "It can compare favorably with monthly productions of the past normal years. It is higher than that of November or that of De­ cember, 1940. It also beats our production re­ cords for January, May, July, and De­ cember of 1941. Compared with the re­ sults achieved during March, 1943, which was our best month since January, 1942, the fi­ gures for this month show further substan­ tial increase; 46.5% in paid-up business, 15% in applications submitted, and 25.5% in policies issued.”

It was generally believed at this time that the United States Govern­ ment would redeem the Japanese script, against reparations to be de­ manded from Japan, but that there would be certain limitations on the redemption of individual and corpo­ rate holdings. Treimportation—An American who was connected with the Manila Rail­ road and who was re-interned in May (1943) after several months’ release because of illness, said that he had been informed that the Railroad had re-employed around 4,000 of its 7,000 former employees. Service between Manila and Lucena, Tayabas, was res­ tored in December, 1942, with an in­ augural train on the 23rd. The ManilaLegaspi line was not re-opened until March 21, 1943. The April 6 Tribune reported that the Japanese had broken ground for a new railroad spur from San Fernando, La Union, to Sudipen, La Union, nearer the Mankayan, Benguet, iron and manganese area. Bus transportation remained very irregular: Notices in the newspapers

494

announced trips to provincial towns as "definitely leaving Saturday”, or "leaving without fail”, on some other day, and urged people to make their reservations as early as possible. (Sep­ tember 18.) Fares were supposed to be regulated, but a "Public Pulse” letter complained against the P30 charge for passage from Manila to Tuguegarao, which amounted, the w riter said, to 6 centavos a kilometer instead of the authorized 2 centavos, (Decem­ ber 11.) The road to Aparri was an­ nounced re-opened on December 12 (1942); traffic had been limited to Ca­ gayan, Isabela, up to that time. On May 30, (1943) the Rikuun Karikyoku (Land Transportation Management Bu­ reau) announced that bus lines to the Bicol would re-open on June 1. This was "hailed" as "further indication of the return of normal conditions”. On May 22 Vargas issued an executive or­ der requiring the registration not only of all motor vehicles, but of all "parts and accessories thereof" except of those vehicles fbr the permanent ope­ ration of which permits had already been issued. In June, truck and auto­ mobile tires were selling in Manila at from P800 to PI,200 each. Cars and trucks operated either on alcohol or charcoal and except for official or semi-official use had virtually disap­ peared from the streets and highways. Booty in Cars and Trucks — Before the war, more than 60,000 m otor cars and trucks were in operation in the Philippines, cars and trucks in about equal numbers. About a tenth of these vehicles were American - and Britishowned, and were, of course, imme­ diately seized by the Japanese. The USAFFE had taken over most of the trucks in the hands of dealers, so dealers’ losses in that respect were not great although there had not been enough time to set up all the trucks the Army had bought from them. The motorpools in Manila, established by the American Army, handled more

THE COUNTRY

than 4,000 army and other trucks it had purchased locally. Thousands of trucks in good condition, which there had been no time to destroy, were ta­ ken by the enemy. Reports which came to automobile men in Santo Tomas were that the Japanese had shipped over 16,000 trucks out of Manila, and parts and accessories of many thou­ sand more. Back to Horses and Sails — In Jan­ uary (1943) the Manila Horse-Owners Association, organized under the su­ pervision of the Mayor of the city in November, had 3,310 members who owned 11,777 horses. The Association which had a Filipino “honorary presi­ dent" but a Japanese manager, was supported by a 10-centavo surcharge on every sack of "darak” horsefeed (Tribune, January 6.) On February 21, a "pageant” was held on the Luneta, with "500 gaily decorated vehicles on show”. Said the Tribune: "Manila's former motor-conscious public woke up to realization that the native means of transportation could be both beautiful and practical.” (February22.)

April 7 was designated as the "Horse Day Festival”, on which occasion the Director-General of the Military Admi­ nistration pointed out that “these animals are rendering faithful and un­ complaining service in the creation of the New Philippines”. An article em­ phasized the "need of reestablishing and reorganizing the horse industry on a stable basis". The pun was appa­ rently unintentional. The w riter went on, seriously: "The horse is becoming an indispensable factor in Filipino life. One must no longer think that in the future, as in the old order, cars will be used for non-emergency purposes, such as going on picnics, to theaters, or to dinner parties. And even if that were possible, cars will always be at a disadvantage in the Philippines, for in the rainy season they can not cross deep pools while horse-drawn vehi­ cles can, as their wheels are bigger than those of cars, and automobile tires are damaged by unpaved roads while rig-wheels do not heed th e m ...” (April 8.)

POSTAL AND TELEGRAPH SERVICE

At this time, a carromata and two horses represented an investment of around P975, and the daily upkeep was estimated at P4.30, or more than three times the prewar figures. (Tri­ bune, March 10) The Philippine Shipping Association was officially organized under mili­ tary ordinance on October 18, (1942). It was to take charge of the registra­ tion of all types and classes of vessels, issue operating permits, determine routes, fix rates, etc. The board of directors could punish members who acted against the aims of the Associa­ tion, through the imposition of fines, suspension of supplies of fuels and materials, or suspension of operating permits, with the approval of the Mi­ litary Administration. The chairman of the Association was a Japanese, and the board of directors' was composed of two other Japanese and two Fili­ pinos. (October 20.) On March 27 (1943) the Military Ad­ ministration was reported to have created the Office of Maritime Affairs for the purpose of expanding the ac­ tivities of the Philippine Shipping As­ sociation, to include the supervision of harbor facilities, the construction of ships, and the training of seamen. The Tribune, November 17 (1942), had reported the claim that "regular” shipping service had been resumed soon after the fall of Corregidor with five lines now operating out of Manila, but an announcement made on February 4 (1943) stated that the Philippine Shipping Association would only the following day "inaugurate seven ship­ ping lines offering regular passenger and cargo service” between Manila and Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, Masbate, Bacolod, Cebu, and Iloilo. The next day it was revealed that these "seven shipping lines” operated only six small motor vessels. On Feb­ ruary 19 it was reported that the ves­ sels had departed: on March 10 a

495

headline stated, "Ships Return Safe­ ly”. In this account they were referred to as motor launches which had com­ pleted the "first regular round-trip” to the Visayas, — Bacolod, Iloilo, and Cebu. Meanwhile it had been reported (November 5) that the Siraki Salvage Company had refloated the last of the interisland ships sunk in the Pasig River during the last week in Decem­ ber, 1941. The Japanese Navy was re­ ported to have refloated and repaired the dry dock Dewey, in the Tribune of December 31, 1942. It had been flooded and sunk off Mariveles by the USAFFE. The June 9, 1943, Tribune ran a picture of the first war-time wooden ship built in Manila, said to have come off the slipways a week be­ fore. Shipping men in Santo Tomas estimated it to be slightly over 100 tons displacement. It appeared to have been built at the Earnshaw Docks. Postal and Telegraph Service — Commenting on the desirability of re­ ducing postal rates, the Tribune of March 4 (1943) incidentally revealed the fact that only 198 post offices were functioning at that time out of the more than 1,000 before the war; 105 post offices had been reported re­ opened in Luzon on October 7. This revealed that the Japanese, after more than a year of occupation, controlled little of the country outside the larg­ er towns. As late as May 1 (1943), it was reported that mail for Cebu prov­ ince was accepted only for Cebu City and the nearby town of Opon. The first-class postage rate of an ordinary letter had been increased in September from 2 to 5 centavos and the secondclass rate from 3 to 9 centavos a kilo. The Japanese got out a great many special stamp issues, — on the fall of Bataan, on the first anniversary of the war, on the food oroduction cam­ paign, etc. Most of these were merely over-printed, but on March 30, 1943,

496

new 2- and 5-centavo stamps were placed on sale bearing Japanese cha­ racters. Various other new stamps were issued thereafter, and stamp-collectors complained that there were too many of them and that they gave them a "headache.” (Tribune, May 29.) Up to June 7 there had been an average of two new issues a month. (June 7.) The reestablishment of the telegraph service was even slower than that of the postal service. Not until October 8 (1942), was it announced that the Army was to reopen the Philippine Telegraph Service on October 10 from Manila to Baguio and Mankayan in the north and to Batangas, Mambulao, Legaspi, Santa Cruz (Zambales), San Jose, and Iloilo. Most of these places were mining centers. The June 9 (1943) Tribune reported that Vargas had "re­ cently” received the first message sent over the “wire” from Aparri,—actual­ ly a radio-phone message. It was also announced at this time that the tele­ graph stations at Bontoc (Mountain Province) would be opened on June 10, at Dansalan (Lanao) on June 11, and at Bayombong (Nueva Vizcaya) on June 15. Telephone service would be resumed with Santa Cruz, (Zambales) and Laoag (Ilocos Norte) on June 15. Business and Trade — Normally, the Philippine production of rice, corn, sugar, hemp, coconuts, and tobacco was valued at around P350,000,000 a year, and the country’s overseas trade totalled around P500,000,000. "At pre­ sent”, said Commissioner of Agricul­ ture and Commerce Alunan, “all of that trade has been wiped out with the exception of a few tons of rice, corn, sugar, and copra sent to China in exchange for some paper, cigarets, and cotton cloth.” (Tribune, May 20, 1943). The great bulk of the overseas trade had been with the United States, and the Japanese in their propaganda made an effort to impress on the pu­

THE COUNTRY

blic mind that the cessation of imports and the consequent deprivation repre­ sented a saving! "The Philippines looks forward to savings of nearly P30,000,000 representing purchases of only three major import products from the United States, — tobacco products (P15,000,000), flour (P7,500,000), and dairy products (P5.500,000)" (November 13, 1942.)

The complete economic disruption and the shortage of food and other life-necessities were explained as only partly a "phenomenon common to all countries in the world due to the world w ar”, but mainly — “the plight of this country is due to the fact the the Philippines has been in the grip of the insatiable economic exploitation of the United States.” (April 19, 1943.)

The people naturally could not un­ derstand how the country could have been so prosperous under this system of insatiable exploitation, and so mi­ serable now that for the time being, it had ended. As a solution to the country’s economic problems, the Japanese harped constantly on two dissonant strings: on the one, they thrummed on "industrialization”, on the other, self-sufficiency in food pro­ duction. In the Tribune of November 15, 1942, was the headline: "Industrial­ ization Program Effective”, though, apparently, it had only just begun. "The Department of Agriculture and Com­ merce has been entrusted with a program of bringing about self-sufficiency in prime com­ modities and manufactures. The program aims to replace the imports of paper, chemicals, fertilizers, textiles, glass, leather, and agricul­ tural implements.”

On March 14, when the food-pinch was already grievous, the Tribune an­ nounced: “Army Adopts 5-Year Food Production Plan”. "Self-sufficiency in foodstuffs is the aim of the new pro­ gram ”. Such "5-year plans” were an­ nounced from time to time to show how sure the Japanese were of them­ selves.

RATIONING AND PRICE CONTROL

497

then on for many weeks there were items about these “heavy imports", but no actual effect on prices could be detected and it was doubtful that there was more than one ship’s cargo "The Philippines being essentially an agri­ cultural country, her industrial production will of these goods.12 be limited. She is destined to play the role of The Japanese did what they could a raw-material supplier to Japan, like other southern countries which are members of the to destroy any visible reminder of Co-Prosperity Sphere." (November 13.) much of the country’s former busi­ Though there were continuous sto­ ness by removing all signs of Ameri­ ries circulating in Santo Tomas of can and British firms and all bill­ Japanese ships loaded with supplies boards "not advertising any product leaving the Philippines, — sugar, coco­ or existing business". (Tribune, Jan­ nut oil, rice, vegetable lard, soap, (all uary 7.) The Japanese columnist had severely rationed items in the Philip­ a suggestion for school boys: "Removing old Anglo-American sign-boards pines),11 the first mention of any im­ ports did not occur until November is an example of a kind of service in which 5, 1942, when the Tribune reported students can have a bit of fun as well as exer­ cise.” (March 26.) that— Of course, the neon-signs on top "the Philippines will soon import cigarets, of the buildings which had made the tea, paper, and other products from Hongkong ...Current prices of cigarets, paper, chemical night view of the city so colorful, had products, and other articles of immediate ne­ long before disappeared. cessity here are in certain cases ten times Significant of the change which had more than their prewar quotations with a ten­ come over business was the following dency to go up further unless the present sup­ news item: ply is replenished.” It was almost always insisted upon, however, that the Philippines was “essentially" an agricultural country and should remain so.

Not until several months later was the subject again mentioned, — this time imports from Japan, not Hong­ kong: “Imported goods arrive from Japan... large quantity.. .Cotton textiles, rayon textiles, knit­ ted goods, towels, woolen blankets, cotton and rayon products, matches, tobacco, rice-paper for cigarets, drugs, chemical products, soda, toys, electric bulbs, bicycles, agricultural equip­ ment, machinery, etc...T h e benevolent concern of the Japanese military authorities for the welfare of the Filipino had made possible the importation of these commodities.” (April 9.)

"The Oriental counting-machine [abacus] has strengthened itself in local business circles and the Occidental adding-machine has been shoved into the background.” (November 15.)

Rationing and Price Control—"Be wise, Nipponize, Economize”, was one of the slogans published daily in black type along the bottom of the front page of the Tribune. Said the editor impatiently: "We ought to realize by this time that there is such a thing as a standard of living which is too high.” (February 18.)

On another occasion, he scolded:

The very next day the paper said that the newly imported goods had already “eased the m arket”, and from

"Luxury is craved only by a decaying em­ pire like the British Empire and by a tradi­ tionless and philosophy-less upstart like Ame­ rica.” (April 14.)

11 The only newspaper reference to such ex­ ports was a report from Hongkong stating that the first shipment of sugar, hemp, copra, and coconut oil from the Philippines “has already arrived". The Japanese no doubt considered it contrary to their interests to publicize such shipments when the people of the country were going short.

Prices had not risen very much at first. In fact, the appearance on the market of considerable quantities of looted goods resulted in bargain u Note (1945)—'This was firmed after liberation.

authoritatively con­

498

prices for many months. And the Ja­ panese script served well enough for a time as a medium of exchange in ordinary small, day-to-day transac­ tions. The first steps in rationing and price-control were taken in connec­ tion with the distribution of rice, as already recounted, through the estab­ lished National Rice and Corn Cor­ poration (Naric), and it was not until May, 1942, that it was reported that Commissioner Alunan was taking mea­ sures to check the increase in price. In September, 1942, however, it was reported that the price and distribu­ tion control system "failed to w ork”, especially with respect to soap, lard, cigarets, and matches. (Tribune, Sep­ tember 3.) At the end of the month the Prime Commodities Distribution Control Association was being reor­ ganized. (September 24.) An "antiprofiteering” campaign was launched and on November 22 it was reported that more than 200 arrests had been made during the first half of the month. It was announced that retail­ ers must sell at the prices set and that their sales would be checked by field men of the Control Association, whe­ ther or not they were members of the Federation of Retail Stores Associa­ tions. (November 23.) After this a drop in prices of foodstuffs was noted. (De­ cember 3.) On December 13 it was re­ ported that measures were being taken to control all commodity prices. A price control division was estab­ lished in the Bureau of Commerce and Industry (Tribune, January 5), and this proving inadequate, an economic police division was inaugurated in the Bureau of Constabulary. (May 22.) A new barbed-wire profiteers’ cage was installed near the looters’ cage at the City Hall. (January 9.) The goods of "speculators” were seized and confis­ cated. (January 26.) People coming

THE COUNTRY

into the city on the trains were "ri­ gorously searched" for "contraband” at the Tutuban Station. They protested against the "manner of the search". (February 3.) "Life in Manila is approaching nor­ malcy”, said the Japanese columnist, "but our problem of reorientation should never be regarded as taking us back to the 'good old days’.” (Jan­ uary 13.) In February it was reported that the Foodstuff Control Association had or­ ganized 27 municipal producers asso­ ciations,—in Cavite, Batangas, Nueva Ecija, Rizal, Bulacan, and Baguio, and buying stations at Cabanatuan, Silang, Tanauan, Tagaytay, Batangas, Lipa, Munoz, and Baguio, and that these were handling more than 3,000 tons of fresh foodstuffs monthly. (February 19 .) The Association was putting into effect, it was reported some weeks later, a "scientific" system for control­ ling the supply, distribution, and prices of fresh beef and pork, fruits, vegetables, fresh milk, and coconuts. (March 5.) Nevertheless shortages became more evident and prices continued to rise. On May 20 the Tribune reported that Vargas had issued an executive order instituting the control of all prime commodities through the Commis­ sioner of Agriculture and Commerce "to check the upward trend of com­ modity prices and to secure the live­ lihood of the people".; The Japanese columnist commented: "Controlled economy, as it is practiced to­ day by the various Powers, represents the most advanced system of economy so far tried by mankind. By its very nature, it must be taken for granted that the controlled economy func­ tions most successfully in a highly industrial­ ized country.” (May 22.)

The Philippines of course, was not a highly industrialized country. "Buying and Selling”—The Japanese pointed to the dislocations of w ar and

THE “BLACK MARKET

to the form er "exploitation” by the United States, as the main causes of the plight of the country. In January and February, 1943, they tentatively sought to direct the popular feeling against the Jews, but there were only a few hundred of them in Manila. They also blamed the Chinese merchants. "Chinese merchants are so adroit as to baf­ fle the most experienced inspectors and police. They are a social menace and must be dealt with with a firm hand.” ("Public Pulse” letter, June 13.)

499 the law. Following the Mayor’s talk of admo­ nition, Colonel Torres gave instructions to search those arrested for looted goods. Those found to be innocent were immediately re­ leased after a warning, while those found with stolen articles and those with previous police records were placed under formal arrest.” (April 4.)

The Filipino columnist of the Tri­ bune wrote the next day, blaming the “Filipino police authorities”: "Maharajah has just seen pictures taken of men, women, and children hogtied by Filipino police authorities, reportedly for selling se­ cond-hand goods on the assumption that such goods have been stolen. We are far from be­ ing the weeping-willow type, but the sight re­ volted us. We are reminded of the daily scenes we used to see in the early days when profit­ eering was rampant in Manila and sellers were rounded up daily and taken to the profiteers’ cage..."

And there were, of course, always the "profiteers”,—the little profiteers. Hundreds of unemployed people still engaged in what had come to be called "buying and selling”,—peddling a va­ riety of goods on the sidewalks, but the November 16 Tribune admitted The “Black Market”—That was what that the "buying and selling” business was done with the little people. The was no longer so profitable as it had big profiteers, the purveyors to the been. Three months later the paper Japanese Army and Navy, the manipu­ said: lators of the "Black Market”,13 got "The buying and selling business, transacted mostly on the sidewalks and in the restaurants, convivially drunk with their Japanese has slackened considerably since the begin­ pals and cached their earnings in the ning of the year as the supplies of the goods in­ form of gold, diamonds, real estate, volved in the trade are rapidly running low, most of them being imported goods,—toilet ar­ and paid-up insurance policies. About ticles, kitchenware, canned and bottled food­ them nothing was said in the news­ stuffs, hosiery, haberdashery, rubber goods, papers. automotive parts, etc.” (February 19.) Commodities of all kinds were still Yet it was on these poor people available for those who could com­ that the police pounced in April. A mand the prices. The inlets to Manila police force of some 130 men arrested were supposedly guarded against the over 500 "dealers in second-hand ar­ coming in of "contraband” commodi­ ticles of apparel” on Azcarraga Street, ties, but it was actually only the main highways which were thus watched. around noon, April 3. "Bound to one another and made to march Produce came in over the lesser roads, to the City Hall in 'chain-gang' fashion, were and the control authorities found it men, women, and children. Not until they were profitable to feign ignorance of this.

led into the inner court of the City Hall did the peddlers find out why they were being held. They were arrested not only for violat­ ing an -existing ordinance prohibiting peddling in the streets and on the sidewalks but also be­ cause they were largely dealing in stolen arti­ cles, Mayor Leon G. Guinto told them. Mayor Guinto declared that while the city government is ready to extend a helping hand to those willing and in need of work, it will deal harshly with those who prefer to go against

n The "Black Market” was first mentioned in the Tribune in connection with an announce­ ment that sugar would soon be rationed: "Not­ withstanding reports emanating mostly from sugar profiteers, hoarders, and speculators, who are out to make excessive profits by creating a 'black market’, or by cornering the market, there is no fear of any sugar short­ age in the Philippines." (May 18.) The paper’s prediction that there would be no sugar short­ age proved false.

500

People with money got along all right; they still got everything they needed. One affluent American latecomer into the Santo Tomas camp said that he had been able to buy everything he wanted in Manila all the time except Indian curry-powder. But rice cost P30 a sack. And it cost PI,000 pesos to buy a baby his "Klim” milk for a few weeks. As the editor of the Tribune put it in one of his epigrams: "Something ought to be done to make non­ collaborationists realize that their place is in the starvation-line."

And: "All those who are collaborating are enti­ tled to discriminate against those who do not.”

Both these gems were in the Tri­ bune of March 13. Prime Commodities—The foregoing describes the general situation and the the general conditions which existed. It was possible to fill in the picture with respect to various of the leading products and industries from refer­ ences to that valuable source of infor­ mation (if read aright), the Tribune. The Japanese thought of the Tribune merely as a medium for their day-today propaganda, not as the self-in­ criminating record which it was. They sent it to the Santo Tomas camp, thinking only of how it would irritate and perhaps discourage the internees. They sent the paper free, one to each room, until June, 1943, when they be­ gan to charge for it, PI.50 a month per room, because, it was explained, of the paper shortage. Hice—It was announced in October, 1942, that rice producers associations would be formed throughout central Luzon under the sponsor­ ship of the Military Administration, member­ ship in which was to be compulsory, "in or­ der to improve production and hasten rural improvement”. The civil administration and Naric officials were to cooperate in the work of organization. (Tribune, October 29.) These "municipal rice growers cooperative associa­ tions were incorporated” into the National

THE COUNTRY Rice Growers Cooperative Association at a two-day convention held in Manila, February 26 and 27, 1943, but from speeches made at the convention it appeared that the local asso­ ciations were still to be organized and that they were called "cooperatives” because the membership included landowners, operating owners, and tenants. The associations were to function as "subordinate agencies of the Naric and of the Foodstuff Control Association." (February 28.) In December it had been announced that Naric would buy rice in Central Luzon at P2.50 the cavan (55 killos), that is, farmers would be required to sell to Naric at this price. (Tri­ bune, December 8.) A few months later, there were reports of complaining ricegrowers who said that at the price fixed by Naric, their income was below subsistence level. (March 2.) In Manila, people complained against the Na­ ric rice ration of only one chupa (a con­ densed-milk canful) a day per person. As there are 8 chupas in a ganta and 25 gantas in a cavan, and the Naric selling price was P.35 a ganta, the organization sold rice at P8.75 a cavan, — as against the purchase price of P2.50. People in Manila who had farms in the provinces were not allowed to bring in their rice for their own use in Manila; it had to be sold at the provincial municipality to Naric, and bought from Naric in the city. There was some smuggling in of rice, however, which in May, 1943, was selling at between P22 and I‘30 a cavan. A prominent ricegrower who was interned in Santo Tomas late in May gave further details. He said that ricegrowers were allowed to keep 40% of their production for their own use; if that 40% was not enough for them, that was just too bad; 30% had to be sold to Naric or to municipal officials representing Naric at the fixed price; the other 30% had also to be sold to the municipal officials to be reserved for the Japanese Army, and it was later decided that what the Army did not buy could be sold to the general public (in the provinces) at varying prices which in some localities went up to as high as PI2 or P16 a cavan. The Army paid the local price, but in the past season had bought only about a fourth of the rice thus locally set aside because the people, knowing the rice would go to the Japanese, gave very little attention to the drying and much of it was in poor condition. The system otherwise offered opportunity for municipal officials friendly with the Japanese to get rich. And it cost the Army nothing but paper. The Japanese gave much publicity to their introduction of a Formosan variety of rice

PRIME COMMODITIES they called Horai. It was claimed that it would yield two or three times as much as any of the native varieties. (Tribune, November 17.) Three months later it was said that the Philip­ pines would become self-sufficient in rice that year, thanks to this new rice. (February 5.) The riceplanter already quoted said that it would take some years to acclimate Horai rice through seed selection, and that such special effort could be better applied to some native variety. He said he had tasted Horai rice and found it of very ordinary quality. Copra—The Tribune, November 2, reported that the Military Administration was buying copra at "about P5 per 100 kilos”. Several months later the price was increased to P7. (February 27.) In March, the Copra Purchasing Control Union appealed for increased produc­ tion. (March 5.) Coconut Oil— It was reported in December that all coconut oil consignments to Manila from the provinces would be "compulsorily pur­ chased” at examination stations established at the recognized entrances to the city with a view to maintaining the officially fixed price. The Manila Liquid Fuel Distribution Union, un­ der the control of the Military Administration, had been instructed to pay P135 a metric ton. Henceforth, coconut oil to be used as fuel was to be distributed to the public through re­ gional distributing agents of the Union at P.20 a kilogram ('F200 a ton). "Strict control is deemed necessary to cope with the increas­ ing tendency toward profiteering.” (Decem­ ber 25.) Another sidelight on the modernization of the New Philippines was given by the news item that the Department of Agriculture and Commerce was offering prizes amounting to P2.000 for the best coconut-oil lamp design. (March 26.) Vegetable Lard and Soap—How it happened that vegetable lard and soap ran short in the country which produces more coconut oil than any other in the world, has been told. The sale of soap and lard was put under con­ trol in January. (Tribune, January 30.) The price of soap was fixed at P.40 a kilo and lard at P.60. (February 4.) In April it was reported that soap smuggled into Manila from the pro­ vinces would be confiscated and the smug­ glers punished under martial law. (April 12.) Also 50,000 kilos of soap from the Bicol re­ gion were reportedly seized at Lucena by the agent of the Prime Commodities Distribution Control Association there. (April 12.) Soap was selling at P3 a bar at this time. The price con­ trol was of course ineffective, and in June the Philippine Fats and Oils Associaton was inau­

501 gurated at the Manila Hotel. It was composed of 17 firms in Manila and the neighboring provinces and affiliated with it were all copra and cotton producers and manufacturers of lard and soap. The majority of the 17 member firms were Japanese and all the directors of the new association were Japanese. (June 16.) The country was having its trouble frying and keeping washed, but, as the Tribune edi­ tor said in another epigram: "The soap and lard problem melts into in­ significance in the sunshine of independence.” (March 6.) Coconuts—In December the price of coco­ nuts sold in Manila was pegged at 3-1/2 cen­ tavos each, or 3 for 10 centavos (Tribune, De­ cember 19.) Two months later it was reported that the Foodstuff Control Association had taken over full supervision of the distribution of coconuts in Manila and that the National Coconut Corporation’s quota had been in­ creased from 1,200,000 to 2,000,000 a month; the Foodstuff Control Association would pay P10 per 1,000 nuts and sell them at P0.28 a nut. On April 19, the paper reported that the Phil­ ippine Coconut Shipper-Dealer Association had been inaugurated to supplement the work of the Foodstuff Control Association and the National Coconut Corporation in an "intensi­ fication of the drive against smuggling con­ traband coconuts into Manila”. A few days later it came out that this Association was "not official”, and how an unofficial associa­ tion could have been organized under the Japanese was something of a mystery. On May 24 it was reported that the monthly quota of coconuts for Manila had been raised from 2,000,000 to 3,500,000 and that the retail price had been fixed at 4 centavos a nut. Authorized dealers were to receive P3.10 per 100 nuts and the farmers P2.50. The price people in Manila actually had to pay was 20 centavos a nut. An advertisement of the Banno Bussan, Ltd. in the March 10 Tribune stated that this com­ pany was the "sole producer and distributor for coconut shell, coconut-shell charcoal, and al­ lied products, licensed by the Military Admi­ nistration.” "For prices, get in touch with the local agencies.” Sugar—-The sugar industry was covered quite extensively in an earlier section. It need only be mentioned that in May, 1943, the Military Administration fixed the price of centrifugal sugar at P7.50 a picul, washed sugar at P8.50, and alcohol at P.225 a liter. It also created the Sugar Regulation Association to purchase all sugar produced and to distribute it and re­ gulate the prices. The Association was capi­ talized at P2,000,000, held as follows: Mitsui

502 Bussan Kaisha, ¥700,000; Mitsubishi Shoji Kaisha, P300,000; Madrigal & Company, ¥300,000; Tabacalera, 1*100,000; and various sugar centrals, ¥600,000. It was to operate under the direction of the Military Administration and the Executive Commission in close collaboration with the Philippine Sugar Association, and was instructed to “finance increased production”. It was pointed out that in the production of alcohol from sugar, "it is necessary to fix a lower price lor sugar; whatever loss, may be occasioned there­ by is to be charged to a pooling account”. (Tribune, May 15.) The new Association was inaugurated a week or so later. Madrigal was elected chairman of the board of directors, but the executive-director was a Japanese and three of the four directors were Japanese. On the occasion the Director-General of the Military Administration made a speech in which he said: "The Philippine sugar industry is being re­ modelled so as to meet not only the local demand but also that of the other countries in the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. Despite decreased production, we have enough sugar for local consumption, but as there is a large demand for sugar for other purposes, the supply of sugar in the Philippines may not be altogether sufficient.” (May 21.) By this time, the sugar ration in Santo To­ mas had been reduced to one spoonful a day and internee candymakers in the camp had had to go out of business. Tobacco—The tobacco industry, too, was treated at some length elsewhere. The Philip­ pine Leaf-Tobacco Association was organized in February under the auspices of the Mili­ tary Administration, and was composed of "six leading tobacco merchants and industrialists”. The chairman of the board of directors was a Japanese. (Tribune, February 21.) On April 12 the paper reported that 12 local factories were operating at full capacity in making cigarets, following the arrival of cigaret-paper from Japan. The cigarets were being distributed through the Manila Nipponjin Shogyo Kumiai (Japan Commercial Asso­ ciation), the Federation of Filipino Retailers Association, and the Chinese Association of fhe Philippines. The manufacture and sale of home­ made cigarets had been forbidden. (February 22.) As late as June 5 it was reported that quantities of leaf-tobacco were scheduled soon to arrive in Manila from the warehouses in Isabela province of the National Tobacco Cor­ poration which had been granted a permit by the military authorities to move this tobacco, bought before the war. Abaca, Jute, and Ramie—The situation of the Manila hemp industry was also in part

THE COUNTRY covered elsewhere. The more important re­ ferences to abaca and other fibers in the colums of the Tribune follow: The Mitsui Bussan Kaisha was reported, on September 29, to have brought in a "big force of experts” to investigate, under the direction of the Military Administration, the possibili­ ties of growing jute and ramie in the Philip­ pines. On October 6, a 5-year plan was an­ nounced to encourage the growing of these fibers by "seven leading Japanese firms”. A Domei report stating that the Tokyo Ministry of Commerce and Industry had decided to take over the control of the distribution of abaca, jute, and ramie, was published in the Tribune of January 7. There was a shortage of bags in the coun­ try, and in January the Military Administration fixed the price of jute bags for rice at from 20 to 50 centavos and of bags for sugar at from 30 to 65 centavos each, "according to grade”. People in possession of bags and not using them were ordered to sell them, "with­ out any hesitation”, to the National Rice and Corn Corporation, the Philippine Copra Pur­ chasing Union, the Philippine Cotton Growers Association, and the Philippine Sugar Indus­ try Association (under organization). "Hoard­ ers” were threatened with punishment. (Jan­ uary 15.) Later it was reported that the Naional Abaca and Other Fibers Corporation and the Philippine Bag Manufacturing Corporation were making bags under contract with indi­ viduals who would be provided with looms. Of the 1,000 looms called for under contracts made, 50 had been delivered. (February 10.) On February 15, the paper said that the Na­ tional Abaca and Other Fibers Corporation was offering an opportunity to local spinners and weavers to earn 60 centavos a day, "pro­ vided they met the quota of work assigned”. They could work in their own homes, "enjoy­ ing similar benefits as those working in the factory”. Beginners would be trained free and would be given 15 centavos a day for trans­ portation. Cotton—Japan’s attempt to substitute the growing of cotton for the growing of sugar in the Philippines, was discussed earlier. Late­ comers into the Santo Tomas camp said that the experiment had proved disappointing to the Japanese, for all their propaganda to the contrary. The following news items were of special interest: The Philippine Cotton Growers Association was officially inaugurated at the Manila Hotel in February. The ceremonies were attended by the Director-General of the Military Adminis­ tration, and the "national etiquette" was ob-

INDUSTRIES served. (February 11.) The new Association was to cooperate with the local branch of the Japan Cotton Growing Association. (Feb­ ruary 4.) "Japan relies much on the Philip­ pines for the supply of materials for textiles." (February 1.) "Released” war-prisoners num­ bering 755 were reported to be working for the Japan Cotton Growing Association in Feb­ ruary, planting and harvesting "in groups un­ der their senior officers”. Parents were allowed to communicate with them through the va­ rious member-companies of the Association. (February 18.) Obviously to give the cotton companies a hold on the people, the two As­ sociations would cooperate "in the distribu­ tion of prime commodities in the cotton areas”. (March 4.) A conveniently elastic scale of pri­ ces was fixed, — P.40 a kilo for superior seedcotton, P.35 for the standard class, P30 for lower class, and P.20 for "poor class”. (March 9.) The April 14 Tribune reported that "near­ ly" 3,000,000 kilos of "seedcotton” had been harvested in Luzon from 9,368 hectares; an average yield of only 320 kilos a hectare. Far­ mers who had suffered crop failures were to be indemnified. The Tribune of June 5 again reported that "benefit indemnities" had been promised to these farmers, and on June 10 this promise was repeated. The farmers were quoted as being much relieved and inquiring as to how much they would get. Lumber — Little information could be ob­ tained on the lumber industry, which was especially subject to interference by the guer­ rillas. The Tribune, March 3, reported that lumber in Manila was selling at five times the prewar prices, and that the "use of bam­ boo was conspicuous in restaurants, bars, shops, retail establishments, and houses for walls and partitions." In April it was reported that the lumber output was increasing in the Bicol and in Tayabas. (April 29.) In June the Tribune said: "Steps toward the re-development of the in­ dustry have been taken by the Military Admi­ nistration and the Executive Commission. Logging operations have been actively going on in the vast timberlands of Tayabas, Nueva Ecija, Zambales, Bataan, and Laguna under the supervision of the Bureau of Forestry and Fisheries in close cooperation with the Japan­ ese Military Administration.” (June 8.) In another part of this issue of the Tribune, milling in the Mountain Province near Baguio was referred to in a literary article, though the province was not mentioned in the news item: "Along the trail are a number of sawmills in full operation under the competent ma­

503 nagement of the Ringgyobu (lumber section) of the Hukobu Luzon Nipponzinskai. At the mills the sailing is smooth, — or the sawing rather. Under the careful guidance of a tough looking mill capataz, the laboring crews har­ moniously work as one.” Cattle and Hogs — The Cattle Buyers Asso­ ciation and the Hog Buyers Association were inaugurated on March 5 under the auspices of the Foodstuff Control Association. Repre­ sentatives of the Military Administration were present. The importance of cooperation and control was emphasized by Mr. Sawamatsu, managing director of the Foodstuff Control As­ sociation. (March 6.) On March 28, the prevailing prices, reported­ ly F2.40 and PI .80 a kilo respectively for beef and pork in Manila, were fixed by the City Hall at PI.00 and P.80, but this led to a vir­ tual stoppage, and on March 31 the Foodstuffs Control Association was reported to have as­ sumed control of meat prices, establishing FI.60 for beef and PI.30 for pork. It also as­ sumed control of the slaughtering. An article in the May 9 Tribune stated that "the upward trend in price of meat had reached a level quite alarming" and gave figures showing that the number of animals slaughtered in 1942 was less than half the number the year be­ fore, — this in spite of the increase in the population of Manila and in spite of the fact that meat imports had entirely stopped, an important prewar item. On April 10 the Food­ stuff Control Association reportedly raised the price of pork to P1.60 a kilo, "including the bone”. Fish — On September 6 (1942) the Tribune reported that the Manila Fishermen’s Association would regulate the sale of fish and that the Army was to have priority. On June 11 (1943) the daily reported the inauguration of the Manila Fish and Shell Distribution Associa­ tion, —■ the names of the members and offi­ cers were not given, and printed a long list of prices "authorized by the Military Admi­ nistration”. At the Santo Tomas camp, after the canned fish had been consumed, no more fish ap­ peared on the menu. Minerals and Oil — Very little was known as to what the Japanese were doing in the mining field. Guerrilla activity was believed to be holding up mining activity in most of the mining districts in the country. The March 10 Tribune carried an advertisement ex­ tending the "Army Day greetings” of the Jap­ anese Mining Association of the Philippines; 11 Japanese mining companies were named,

504 but the names gave no clue to the mines possibly worked. A news item regarding a Japanese petroleumsurvey was contained in the Tribune of April 25, written by a Japanese correspondent. It referred to an oil-flow (an old and very small one), at Toledo, Cebu, reportedly ex­ amined by Japanese experts. The prospects, said the writer, "appear bright”. "The writer believes that this oil field was one of the victims of the American commer­ cial policy which sought so hard to sell mo­ torcars and gasoline to the Philippines. Could it not have been due to some ulterior motive that the Americans left the oil fields undeve­ loped? the writer asked himself.” Drugs — That druggists had "in some ins­ tances raised prices over 1,000%", was the complaint in a letter published in the Tribune of January 9. There were many cases of adul­ teration and falsification as well as misbrand­ ing reported; in one case red ink had been sold as "mercurochrome”. (December 13.) Se­ veral pharmacists were tried and convicted of supplying imitation quinine and other worth­ less substitutes. The Tribune of May 23 re­ ported the inauguration of the Manila Drug and Medicine Retailers Association. The presi­ dent was a Japanese. Member firms would make their purchases from the Philippine Drug and Medicine Distribution Association at controlled prices. The Association was capital­ ized at F50.000, in P50 shares. In the Santo Tomas camp, the hospital ran out of important drugs. It sometimes took weeks to cure some case of gastro-enteritis because the doctors did not wish to use the more effective remedies which were reserved for serious cases of dysentery. The Santo To­ mas personal service department in May was buying the last "Entero-vioform” tablets to be found at P30 a tube for internees who bad the money; regular price, PI .80. Liquors — The Philippine Wines and Liquors Association was inaugurated at the Manila Ho­ tel on September 27 (1943). Under the super­ vision of the Military Administration, the aim was "to attain self-sufficiency in the industry and at the same time to promote a wellstabilized market”. It "grouped together into one cooperative and protective union all the distillers, manufacturers, and compounders of alcoholic beverages, duly permitted by the Ad­ ministration to operate.” "In his speech, the president of the associa­ tion, S. C. Paleanca [Palanca] described how the organization of the association was started under the direction of Mr. K. Osawa, chief of the Manila Liquid Fuel Distributing Union,

THE COUNTRY and finally realized through the efforts of the advisers to the department of finance of the Military Administration, T. Takahashi and T. Tanabe. who found solutions to various problems confronting the alcoholic beverages in du stry...” (September 28.) Clothing — In March (1943) a cheap-grade 80-centavo "polo-shirt” was selling on Rizal Avenue at from P6 to F9. (Tribune, March 3.) On April 14, the paper announced that the Army would shortly take measures to control the sale of clothing. Prices, "now four times the prewar prices, were to be reduced to about two and a half times the prewar prices”. "Wicked and subtle merchants” were blamed for the state of affairs. On April 28 the Prime Commodities Control Association was reported to have stationed investigators at all entrances to Manila to— "frustrate any attempt by unscrupulous mer­ chants and dealers to smuggle into or out of the city goods of prime necessity, particu­ larly cotton textiles and other manufactures.” On May 16, under a big headline, “CLOTH RATIONING DUE" the Tribune said that the sale of cotton and rayon textiles and knitted articles was prohibited, beginning today and until May 20, during which time inventories were to be taken by all merchants. Guards had been posted at all the entrances to the city. Ration cards were to be issued, with detachable coupons totalling 100 points which a dealer, when sales were resumed, was to de­ tach as he sold his goods to any holder. Purchases were limited to the 100 points a year. Individuals were also limited to buying only 2 pairs of socks or stockings, 2 handker­ chiefs, 2 undershirts, and 500 yards of cotton sewing thread a year. The ration cards were to be distributed through the neighborhood associations. Tables were published showing that a man’s suit alone counted as 80 points; a coat, 45 points; long pants, 35 points, short pants, 25 points, a shirt, 25 points, and a shortsleeved polo-shirt, 25 points. A woman’s 2piece dress counted 50 points, and a 1-piece dress 40 points, a coat 30 points, and a skirt 20 points. A child’s 1-piece dress counted 30 points; a baby dress 20 points. A woman’s chemise counted 20 points; a suit of pajamas, a nightgown, or a bathrobe 50 points. A towel counted 30 points, a pair of socks 25 points, a handkerchief 5 points. A thin cotton blanket or bedsheet counted 50 points. A Tribune editorial stated: "One way to make our clothing profiteers look sick is for us to wear as little clothing as possible.. .We must bring to a complete halt the inertia of extravagant fashion and re-start on a new line of clothing simplicity.” (April 19.)

RETAIL STORES.

UTILITIES.

LABOR

The next day Commissioner ALunan was quoted as urging the people to cooperate. He pointed out that the Philippines had formerly imported more than 'P40.000.000 worth of tex­ tiles every year, that the importation "had been stopped during the whole of 1942 until the present time”, and that the remaining sup­ ply was naturally limited. This issue of the paper contained a lengthy price-list. Violators of the control regulations were threatened with 5 years imprisonment or a P50.000 fine, and "summary proceedings". The executive order instituting the system exempted "transactions conducted by the Imperial Japanese Army or N avy’. Said the Japanese columnist: "Y es...w e have been duped credulously into buying and wearing stylish clothes even by sacrificing our comfort for the sake of an Occidentalized appearance. Yes, as a market we were exploited to the limit.” Second-hand clothing was included in the rationing system (Tribune, May 17), and all pending orders with tailors and dressmakers and work subsequently done by them also fell under the system; pending orders had to be reported to the Department of Industries of the Military Administration! (May 18.) The rationing started on the 21st of May and stores were allowed to reopen. The public was cautioned not to rush as the tickets had to last a full year. The Tribune of the 24th reported complaints about the slowness of the distribution of the tickets; only a few down­ town stores had reopened "because the in­ ventories had not yet been completed”. Said the philosophical columnist: "After all, clothes do not make a man. It is what is inside what we wear,—character, no­ ble spirit, immortal soul, that counts. An over­ dressed hog may win a prize at a fair, but that does not make him a man.” (May 26.)

Retail Stores—The controls reached down to the smallest retail dealers. In November, it was reported that the Federation of Philippine Retailers As­ sociation was “weeding out erring members" and making up a new list of “qualified retailers”. Each had to display the Federation sign in his window. Individual instead of group buying among them was adopted. (Tribune, November 6.) That mem­ bership in the Federation was now closed, was announced in the Tribune of February 19.

505 On April 20, it was reported that Commis­ sioner Alunan had suspended the auditor and the administrative officer of the Federation for "serious irregularities". On April 27 the Tribune contained a news item to the effect that the Federation had declared a 6% cash dividend and an additional 24% stock divi­ dend and that the annual meeting would be held in the Metropolitan Theater on May 2. It was also reported that the Federation had handled approximately ¥7,000,000 worth of pro­ ducts. The day after the meeting the paper reported that some 300 retailers had attended, with Miguel Unson presiding, and that the approval of the annual report had been sus­ pended for lack of time. The issue of a 24% stock dividend instead of a larger cash divi­ dend raised a discussion and the members were told that the by-laws left this matter entirely to the board of directors. A resolution was adopted requesting an upward revision of the profit margin.

When the plan to distribute certain prime commodities through the neigh­ borhood associations was adopted, the leaders and district presidents of these associations were instructed to de­ signate from among the stores within their districts "the most reliable, the most financially secure, and the one with the best reputation” to take charge of the sales. (Tribune, April 8.) The opportunities thus provided for fa­ voritism are obvious, and many let­ ters of protest appeared in the press in regard to this matter. The Prime Commodities Control Association in June turned down the many proposals to establish cooperative stores capi­ talized by the neighborhood and dis­ trict associations, which would have been the only fair procedure. Public Utilities—Little appeared in the newspapers about the public uti­ lities. On October 1, (1942), however, it was reported that the Taiwan Gas Company, Ltd. had taken over the operation of the gas service from the military authorities. A few months later, the Army urged the public to reduce gas consumption by around a third. The statement was prompted, it was claimed, by the "great increase

506

in consumption in the second year of the Greater East Asia W ar” and by the "increasing tendency to wasteful consumption". The real reason, doubt­ less, was the shortage of coal. Officials of the Telephone Compa­ ny in Santo Tomas were privately in­ formed in May, 1943, that the Japan­ ese had crated some 5,000 telephones, together with central exchange equip­ ment, apparently for shipment over­ seas. The value was estimated at over

THE COUNTRY

January 8. The step was being consi­ dered— "with a view to having excess laborers in po­ pulated sectors of the country settle in less populous areas... It will result in the return of the bulk of the country’s workers to agri­ cultural labor.. .All labor unions have gone out of existence... Filipino labor, as well as all other elements of the country, is starting a 'new way of life' in accordance with the New Order.”

The worker was not to have a home. The Tribune said that "labor circles $ 1, 000 , 000 . hailed the new proposals”, and two There were frequent protests, more days later it was announced that Var­ or less indirect, in the "Public Pulse” gas had issued an executive order column against the service of the Tai­ creating the Bureau of Employment wan Denryoku Kabusiki Kaisha, the under the supervision of the Depart­ successor to Meralco,—the dirty street­ ment of the Interior. The purpose was cars it operated and the rudeness of "to promote the physical, material, the conductors. and spiritual improvement of the No Courts, No Laws for Labor— working class in the Philippines” and Small type served to announce the dis­ to take steps "for the systematic move­ missal by the Supreme Court of seven ment of labor to avoid over-crowding cases originating in the former Public in certain localities”. (January 10.) Service Commission and one in the Within little over a month, this Bu­ former Court of Industrial Relations, reau solved a great problem accord­ these "having become moot cases ing to the Tribune, simply by "re­ with the abolition of these courts". moving” it. (September 17.) In a case against three "In planning the activities of the new bu­ officials of a local firm accused of reau for the purpose of reducing at least the "intimidating a number of women em­ lack of labor, the question referring to the conflict between labor and employer has been ployees against joining the National removed. If the worker has any complaint to Labor Union, Inc., a letter addressed make against his employer, or vice versa, the to the Presiding Justice of the Court complaining party may apply at the Bureau of Appeals, signed by Commissioner of Employment for the peaceful solution of the conflict." (February 14.) of Justice Laurel, stated: This evidently meant that conflicts "As the agencies essential to the operation would not be recognized, but com­ of labor laws and the execution of their aims have not been reconstituted under the Philip­ plaints would be listened to and some pine Executive Commission, and as the en­ sort of solution found which would forcement of Commonwealth Act 213 may oc­ be satisfactory, presumably, at least casion or encourage labor disputes which are to the Bureau and very likely to the prejudicial to the speedy rehabilitation of pro­ employer. It was a beautifully simple duction and industry, a prime objective of the solution. administration, I am of the opinion that the Act is inconsistent with the policies of the Mi­ Somewhat later, a Labor Advisory litary Administration and that its enforce­ Board was created by Vargas “to as­ ment should be suspended.” (October 7.) sist and advise the Commissioner of No courts, no laws—for labor. the Interior in the formulation of po­ A plan to create a Bureau of Labor licies and plans that will facilitate the was announced in the Tribune of solution of labor problems”. (Tribune,

LANGUAGE LOSES MEANING

507

March 16.) The eight members of the lumn (note the emphasis on "Filiboard were not appointed until a pino ): month later; perhaps it was not "Sir: There are Filipino firms in Manila thought so very important. The ap­ where workers don't get more than 40 cen­ pointees included former govern­ tavos a d ay..." (March 12.) ment officials and members of the A similar letter (note emphasis on legislature, a women social worker, "Chinese” and "Filipino”): and three men described as “labor "Sir:.. .Consider the small carinderias and refreshment parlors which operate for from leaders”. (April 14.) Labor in its "Right Place"—"Labor 14 to 16 hours a day with their Chinese and Filipino managers paying the waitresses as in its Right Place”, was the title of a low as P5 to P8 a m onth..." (April 22.) Tribune editorial: The situation, however, suited the “In the past... efforts were exerted to make Japanese. The Tribune’s columnist labor a factor in political affairs. The present policy will invigorate the Filipino workingman, wrote: inculcate in him the dignity of manual work, and make the nation virile and strong...The resurgence of Philippine labor as a vital fac­ tor in the national economic scheme is fore­ seen as the eventual result of the constructive and sound policies adopted by the Japanese Military Administration with regard to labor affairs." (March 18.)

In May an administrative order was issued by the Bureau of Employment, requiring provincial governors and municipal mayors to submit lists of all employed and unemployed labor­ ers under their respective jurisdictions, and to report subsequent changes in these lists. "All unemployed laborers, including farmhands", were to be pro­ vided with registration cards "which must always be carried by the owner whenever he applies for employment". Such a card was to bear the owner’s name, age, sex, civil status, residence, and occupation, and the number, date, and place of issue of his residence certificate to which his signature and thumbmark had to be affixed. Only such registered laborers could be em­ ployed "by any person, firm, or cor­ poration, or any public works, relief project, or any other work under­ taken by the government.” (Tribune, May 16.) Labor was to have a number and a thumbprint. A letter in the "Public Pulse” co­

"Work on the farm now stands on a level with clerical jobs and professional calling. An expensive and well-tailored suit quite sets a person apart as a curiosity. Society debuttantes are proud to work. There is no ques­ tion about it; it is a new life, and we are all given a chance to help build it.” (March 14.)

To make them like all this, 250 workers, selected from among the em­ ployees in various Manila factories, were put through a month's training in the Institute for the Spiritual Re­ orientation of Filipino Laborers, or­ ganized by the Kalibapi. In a message sent to the first graduates of the Insti­ tute, Vargas said that they constituted “the new type of Filipino laborers destined to play an important role in the task of building a new nation.” His peroration was: "I want each of you as you go out of this Institute, to lead in the unification of all la­ boring elements, to set a good example of in­ dustry and perseverance, and to spread the gospel of the New Order that only hard work and frugal living can insure the future of the Philippines." (Tribune, June 13.)

Language Loses Meaning—The de­ terioration was material. The deterio­ ration was moral. Mind itself was breaking down. Language lost all meaning. The insincere and lying declarations put into the mouths of Filipino speak­ ers made one despair of words ever meaning anything again. That Japan's

508

THE COUNTRY

mad war of aggression was a “great nished. Perhaps after a time, if used and noble crusade”, that Japan's ra­ sparingly and in sincerity and truth, vaging of the country and its enslave­ they would regain their old luster and ment of the people was “inspired by significance. the high ideals of a union of all Orien­ The American and Japanese "Con­ tal peoples in a sphere of mutual help quests" Compared—There were those and common prosperity”.—these were in Santo Tomas who hostile as was phrases which one could eye with a their attitude to Japan, would not shrug when one came across them in join in any moral condemnation, say­ the newspapers. ing with a show of honest detach­ But when one saw such a statement ment that America itself had seized as this, attributed to Vargas in the the Philippines by force of arms in December 9, 1942, Tribune: 1898. They saw the differences, of "We pledge our heart and hand, in the name course, between the American and Ja­ of our sacred desire for freedom, in the name panese policies, but thus sought to of our heroic past and our glorious future, in rule out the moral factor because they the name of our Oriental blood and culture, wished to justify, not Japan, but Ame­ to the unyielding prosecution of the war of rica. But even the Japanese tried to Greater East Asia, which can and will end only with the triumph of Japan and the libera­ establish a moral justification for their tion of the Orient,”— aggressions by claiming that their aim then one wondered whether such was to end Western imperialism in splendid and moving words as East Asia and establish the "Co-Pros­ "pledge”, “sacred”, “freedom”, glo­ perity Sphere". The various peoples rious”, “blood”, “culture”, “unyield­ of East Asia were to be welded ing”, "liberation”, “trium ph”,—all so into a family of nations with Japan profaned in one sentence, could ever as the leader; independence was spe­ be used by honest men again. cifically promised to the Burmese and If a word were taken as meaning the Filipinos. However, the measures anything at all, it was as connoting the adopted by the Japanese militarists opposite of the real meaning. Men lis­ and fascists in the occupied areas did tened and read by contraries. Even not square with the propaganda nor the newsboys understood this and showed any promise that they ever yelled out, when they thought it safe would. Had the policy been what the to do so: “Read all about it! Turn Japanese propagandists claimed it to this around and you’ll have the truth!” be, evidence of this would have been Nevertheless, language seemed to discernable in those areas where Ja­ be losing all sense, and the most beau­ pan had been longer established, as tiful words and phrases aroused only in Korea and Manchuria. nausea. One feared the language The establishment of American so­ would never recover from this debase­ vereignty over the Philippines did not ment. How could men speak and write come as a result of bald, premeditated after this, and be believed as meaning aggression and conquest. Regardless what they said? It seemed that the of the motives of certain American only remedy, when the time came, empire-builders of that time, the Ame­ would be to speak only in the most rican people went to war to liberate commonplace terms, avoiding use of the nearby island of Cuba from a mis­ all those great and splendid words rule against which they had protested which had been so befouled and for many years. In the course of that which would long remain sadly tar­ war, the Spaniards in the Philippines

AMERICAN AND JAPANESE POLICY COMPARED

were attacked and defeated, and la­ ter the Filipinos were brought to sub­ mission. There was a strong feeling in America in those years that the in­ dependence of the Philippines should be recognized. But there was also the opinion that by occupying the Philip­ pines, America had assumed certain responsibilities which required that the country should pass some years under American protection and tutelage. There is not the least doubt that if America had not taken the lat­ ter course, the Philippines would have been seized by either Japan or Ger­ many. That the Philippines would be held temporarily and prepared for ul­ timate independence, was the policy adopted and this at a time when such a conception was a new one in state­ craft. Though it was attacked by the European colonial powers, the policy was never departed from. While con­ trary to isolationist traditions, it was nevertheless in line with American idealism. The only question that ever arose concerning it was that of the time required and this soon became merely a political question. The rela­ tions between America and the Philip­ pines were almost from the first the most amicable. There was good faith and confidence. From the beginning, America steadfastly did everything in its power to help the Philippines to­ ward its goal. It was a case of the tute­ lage of a small nation by a great one, and although some Americans pro­ fited, to America as a whole the guar­ dianship over the Philippines was only a responsibility, such advantages as were derived from it with respect to larger world-interests, being indirect. It was a collaboration in civilization. The progress made in the Philippines was phenomenal, in education, in health, in political development. Eco­ nomic development was, in fact, held as secondary. The American example

509

became a world-ferment. In 1935, the time when the Philippines was to en­ ter the family of nations as a so­ vereign entity was set for 1946. That was the American case. Ame­ rica could stand on it proudly. Japan stood in a very different case. The Japanese attack on America's po­ sition in the Pacific was "provoked" only by American efforts to bring about an end to Japan’s aggressions on the Asian mainland. Japan’s attack on the Philippines was an attack on and the subjugation of a people who stood on the threshhold of indepen­ dence. The Japanese claim that they were making war only on America in the Philippines and not on the Fili­ pinos was belied by every measure they adopted. The systematic terrori­ zation of the people, the destruction of all autonomous political institutions, the seizure of not only all economic control, but of lands, mines, and fac­ tories, the efforts at the Japanification of the schools and churches, the press, and the radio,—every development proved that the Japanese intended the measures they took to be of permanent force and effect. Here was not the displacement of a more backward culture by a highly developed one; here was the forcible substitution of a brutal military, fascistic regime for one culturally and ethically among the highest in the world. Here was destruction, tyranny, slavery, reactionary and degenerate. Here was a blight which, starting in the Nazi dens of Germany, had spread to the East and invaded even a region that was still under the protection of the American flag. Never would the overlords of Japan have dared to make this attack if they had not believed that Germany was on the point of overwhelming Europe, which, they conceived, would make it impossible for America to bring its forces to bear

510

in the western Pacific. Urged on by Germany, they miscalculated, struck treacherously, and while now glorying in their successes over small local forces, which they conceived of as great victories, that glory was certain to be brief. “Oriental” and “Occidental”—The Japanese propagandists stressed the idea that the Filipinos are an Oriental people, and Vargas was made to say in one speech which, accompanied by Japanese officers, he repeated word for word in several different provin­ cial capitals: "We should be proud that Japan considers us a potential member of the Co-Prosperity Sphere. It proves that Japan recognizes in the Filipinos not an inferior people, as do the Occidentals, but a brother and an equal.’’

Every step the Japanese took in the Philippines gave this the lie. There is no brotherhood or equality under to­ talitarianism other than a common slavery. The Japanese attempted to stamp out individualism and liberalism and democracy in the Philippines un­ der the pretense that these principles, which they so detested,—and feared, were American. They did not recog­ nize that they were, although original­ ly in a more simple form, also Filipino and had been since before those re­ mote times when the people now known as Filipinos populated the country from across the seas in their barangays, each a boatful of men and their families in pursuit of happiness and determined to be free. The Japanese wanted to stamp out these hated characteristics not because they were American, not because they were un-Oriental, but because they un­ fitted the Filipinos for the slavery the Japanese militarists planned for them. Compare the Japanese lucubrations quoted in this book to the Instruc­ tions of President McKinley to the Philippine Commission (April, 1900), already referred to. Though he said

THE COUNTRY

that the Commission should bear in mind that the government it was to establish was designed “not for our satisfaction or for the expression of our political views, but for the hap­ piness, peace, and prosperity of the people of the Philippine Islands”, and that the measures to be adopted "should be made to conform to their customs, their habits, and even their prejudices”, he went on to say: "At the same time, the Commission should bear in mind, and the people of the Islands should be made plainly to understand, that there are certain great principles of govern­ ment which have been made the basis of our governmental system which we deem essen­ tia l..."

The Japanese might have said that. America was after all going to insist on its own way in the Philippines! But what was that way? "...w hich we deem essential to the rule of the maintenance of individual freedom."

A strange way certainly for a "con­ queror” to talk! And did McKinley deny that the Filipinos knew anything about the freedom he wanted for them? No. He went on to say: " ...th e rule of law and the maintenance of individual freedom, of which they have been unfortunately denied the experience possessesd by u s..."

Was he planning to cram this ex­ perience down the throats of an un­ willing people? Again, No. He said: "It is evident that the most enlightened thought of the Philippine Islands fully ap­ preciates the importance of these principles and rules [of democratic government], and they will inevitably within a short time com­ mand universal assent.”

What in fact were the alleged "Wes­ tern impositions” laid on the Filipino people? McKinley listed them,—all drawn from the Constitution of the United States, which was to protect the Filipinos as it protected the Ameri­ cans themselves: McKinley said:

ORIENTALS AND OCCIDENTALS "Upon every division and branch of the gov­ ernment of the Philippines, therefore, must be imposed these inviolable rules: "That no persons shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law; that private property shall not be taken for public use without just compensation; that in all criminal prosecutions the accused shall enjoy the right to speedy and public trial, to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation, to be confronted with the wit­ nesses against him, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense; that excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines im­ posed nor cruel and unusual punishment in­ flicted; that no person shall be put twice in jeopardy for the same offense, or be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself; that the right to be secure against unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated; that neither slavery nor involun­ tary servitude shall exist except as a punisti ment for crime; that no bill of attainder, or ex-post-facto law shall be passed; that no law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech or of the press, or the rights of people to peaceably assemble and petition the Govern­ ment for a redress of grievances; that no law shall be made respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise there­ of, and that the free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship without discrimination or preference shall forever be allow ed.. . ”

511

tal to settle down forever in thatch huts, ride behind a carabao, and toil for inadequate wages? What was this "th rift” and "self-denial” they extolled? Is it Oriental to sacrifice oneself and one’s children to foreign or native masters? What was this "obedience" they demanded? Is it Oriental to sur­ render body and soul? What was this "spirituality” they preached? Is it Oriental to worship a ruler as a god, and to bend in submission as to de­ migods, to his entire race? What was this “cooperation”, in which they summed up all this, but collaboration in self-destruction? The differences between the Orient and the Occident and between Orien­ tals and Occidentals are largely ficti­ tious. Traveling philosophers and contrivers of romantic tales have con­ jured up mysteries and separating gulfs where none exist. As compared to the early stages of savagery of all men, there are only slight differences in the basic cultures of East and West. As compared to the average human type, there are only slight differences Of every one of these great guaran­ in physique and temperament which tees, certainly as desirable for Orien­ everywhere shade into each other. tals as for Occidentals, the Filipinos Men are everywhere moved by the were forthwith deprived by their "fel­ same instincts, appetites, and desires, low-orientals" under the pretext of they have in general the same aims the desirability of wiping out "Anglo- and purposes, hold much the same be­ Saxonism". Yet the Malolos Constitu­ liefs and opinions, and all cherish the tion of which Felipe A. Calderon is same dreams. Such differences as regarded as the principal author, and exist are more a m atter of class than which was adopted by the revolu­ of race, and of education more than tionary congress in January, 1899, con­ of class. Philippine Ties with the West— tained much the same provisions. What are the differences between What actually is the position of the Orientals and Occidentals? Do the Philippines, viewed from any angle,— Orientals love freedom less and op­ geographical, economical, ethnological, pression more? What was the "ma­ or cultural? Geographically, the Philippines lies terialism” which the Japanese propa­ gandists censured? Is it Oriental not as a great archipelago, farther from to want to hunger? What was this the Asiatic mainland than Japan; "simplicity" which they insisted the broadly speaking, it is a part of Ma­ Filipinos must return to? Is it Orien­ laysia and Southeast Asia.

512 Ethnologically, the Filipinos are af­ filiated with the Malayan-Indonesian races,—with the people of the great island groups which lie to the south and the people of Southeast Asia, in­ cluding Indo-China, Siam, and Bur­ ma; the Filipinos are far more closely related to even the people of Southern China than to the Japanese both by prehistoric ties of race and by more recent intermarriage. Culturally, the same relations hold good, except that the three centuries of Spanish rule in the Philippines re­ sulted in the development of a cul­ ture that is in some respects similar to that of Latin America. This is no “veneer”, but an incorporation chief­ ly evident in religion, morals and man­ ners. This complex was further en­ riched and modernized by the Ame­ rican contribution during the past half century chiefly with respect to the scientific, economic, and political fa­ cets of culture. Economically, Philippine ties with the West are far stronger than those with Japan and they will probably re­ main so under conditions of peaceful development. Due to the uneven dis­ tribution of the natural resources in the continents of the world, trade lines do not run north and south so much as east and west and diagonally across the world's oceans. It is an absurdity of the Japanese school of "geopolitik” that the northern and southern re­ gions of the hemispheres can be made complementary in any autarchic sense. The culture of the Philippines is a more or less balanced complex, of great richness and promise. The Fili­ pinos definitely belong to the free­ dom-loving, democratic, progressive portion of mankind. To the culture of this great group of peoples, the Fili­ pinos have, no doubt, their own con­ tribution to make.

THE COUNTRY

America’s coming to the Philippines was more than a m atter of passing “imperial strategy” but of great hu­ man and world trends, and the rela­ tions between the United States and the Philippines will not be determined by the temporary interests of shifting agricultural, industrial, and commer­ cial pressures. The deep interests of mankind can not be so subordinated. And apart from that, the great issue in History has always been the strug­ gle between despotism and freedom. Liberal civilization goes back 2,500 years to the time when the issue be­ tween despotism and freedom was first brought into the open and fought out between Sparta and Athens. Broadly speaking, however, freedom always was a condition of the existence of man,—the freedom which intelli­ gence gives over instinct. Man is na­ turally free, and despots would make of men creatures less than human. The totalitarian conception of society, —which is Japan’s and Germany's, is that of a nest of ants, living out their weary generations in a laborious and murderous struggle for they know not what. Man’s intelligence makes insectforms of society impossible.

IV THE GUERRILLA PROTEST Against this piratical, murderous, corrupt and corrupting rule not a pu­ blic voice was raised. All political par­ ties and labor organizations had been destroyed, the press and the radio had been seized, the Church was all but cowed, leading Filipinos were osten­ sibly "collaborating”. Who was there to speak? “18 Million Filipinos Pay Homage To Emperor”, claimed the Tribune on the birthday anniversary of Hirohito,

THE GUERRILLA PROTEST

April 29. The next day the banner headline was: "EAST ASIA HONORS EMPEROR, All Asians Pay Homage.” On his return to Japan from his vi­ sit to Manila, Premier Tojo said: "The entire Filipino people under the leader­ ship of Jorge B. Vargas and other leaders of the Philippines are positively cooperating with the Japanese Military Administration, under­ standing fully the true intentions of Japan... The United States maintained a policy solely designed to make the Philippines a perma­ nent colony... In this manner the Filipino people were unwittingly paralyzed by the Ame­ rican poison, but with the progress of the War of Greater East Asia, they have now awakened to their true mission. If the Filipino people continue in their present efforts, the formation of a new Philippine state will not be far dis­ tant.” (May 9.)

This was all false. There was only terror, cruelty, and suppression of all liberty of speech or action, half-con­ cealed in a fog of deceit and perfidy. The people’s spokesmen, men of mark, were murdered or imprisoned, otherwise silenced, or were dancing to the tune the enemy played. These men were few, lived in the cities and towns, and had been easily apprehended. Fur­ thermore, it was generally believed that a number of the leading political fig­ ures had been advised at the outset by the American Government and by Pre­ sident Quezon to recognize the Japan­ ese armed forces as occupying forces which were, for the time being to be obeyed, according to international law. But the Japanese had demanded much more than that. And the Filipino lead­ ers had, step by step, been pushed to­ ward the brink at which the declivity of compromise breaks into the abyss of treason. Yet there was protest, there was opposition, not from the great or the well-known, not from the leaders, or not many of them, not from the cities and larger towns. The protest and the opposition, after General Wainwright’s order of surrender to all USAFFE

513 forces, came from the people them­ selves, from the country and the bar­ rios, from USAFFE units which had refused to surrender, from the guer­ rillas. This opposition was not arti­ culate or vocal. It spoke with the crack of the rifle and the swish of the bolo. It wrote in blood. Guerrilla bands roamed the whole country. Their attacks were swift and deadly. In many areas, the Japanese were con­ fined to the larger towns and did not even dare to send out patrols. Every­ where these guerrilla bands could count on the people for food and informa­ tion. The "neighborhood associations", devised to make this impossible, did not bring about the desired results, for the guerrillas killed the Filipino petty officials who served the Japan­ ese too well, or were believed to be doing so. Undoubtedly, some men, in­ nocent of traitorous intent thus lost their lives as well as guilty men. The Japanese were in the dilemma created by their desire on the one hand to make it appear that 18,000,000 Filipinos had received them as sa­ viours, and on the other, the need of crushing this opposition. This led to many contradictory measures on their part and to queer twists in their pro­ paganda. For one thing, "USAFFE rem nants” and guerrillas were never heard of or read about on the radio and in the press until they had been "annihilat­ ed” in some locality or had "surren­ dered”. One was always learning about such annihilations and surrenders in areas where it had always been claim­ ed that perfect order reigned. And the people of Manila and the larger towns, under the heel of the enemy, shamed by the seeming subservience of their leaders, — though in the main they understood this well enough and cul­ tivated a derisive cynicism with res­ pect to it, took a pride in the exploits

514

of the guerrillas and tales of the bloo­ dy toll they exacted from the enemy were eagerly passed from one man to another. In one case only did the Japanese give any publicity to guerrilla activi­ ties, those in the provinces of Cebu and Negros, because they could not very well be hidden, but most of what was said was false. The Tribune "spread” the story under the following headline: "Ex-Usaffe Remnants Hold, Kill Catholics; Visaya Churches Burn­ ed; are Misled by Propaganda of U.S.; Two Priests Escape.” The report was allegedly based on the accounts of two priests, Fathers Benigno Cano and Jose Sastre, "who arrived recently in Cebu [city] after escaping from the clutches of the guerrillas”, and also incorporated an alleged letter from another priest, Father Alfredo Medina: "Fathers Cano and Sastre were taken priso­ ner by the ex-Usaffe remnants but managed to escape after six weeks in their custody and sought refuge in Cebu. These remnants which had resumed guerrilla action after the last rainy season, planned the wholesale mur­ der of the Catholic priests collaborating with the Japanese forces in the restoration of peace and order, the two clerics related. The ma­ rauders extended their sinister hand to Cebu and Negros islands and murdered or kidnap­ ped the following persons: Fathers Alfonzo Saldana, president of the theological seminary, Cebu (murdered), and Francisco Subinas, Fer­ nando del Camp, Julio Bones, and Luciano Deslio (kidnapped). The marauders also des­ troyed or burned churches and kidnapped scores of Spaniards in Negros island. At the same time, the remnants of the ex-Usaffe op­ pressed Catholic believers, killing several of them. "Father Alfredo Medina, priest of the Augustinian Church of Cebu City, has sent to the Nippon Army authorities the following letter addressed to Nippon and Spain regarding the depredations of the ex-Usaffe remnants in the Visayas: 'The sinister and fabricated propa­ ganda of the American forces against the Spaniards of the Philippines which was dis­ seminated previous to the occupation of the area by the Nippon Army, has poisoned the mind of the people of the Visayas. It has

THE COUNTRY brought dire consequences which are to be regretted. Numerous Spaniards have been kid­ napped or murdered or had their properties destroyed as the result of the wilful and fa­ bricated guerrilla propaganda warfare. Further­ more, the Catholic priests that have been spreading the gospel to the Filipinos as faith­ ful Christians, have been forced to abandon their churches. Already at least two missiona­ ries have been killed by the ex-Usaffe and many more kidnapped. This dreadful situation is the direct result of the sinister and fabri­ cated propaganda of the United States and the Usaffe. The Spanish people, who have al­ ways been living harmoniously with the Fili­ pinos as friends, nay as brothers and sisters, have come to be treated as enemies as the result of the sinister American propaganda. Furthermore, the spiritual and economic co­ operation and the benevolent projects which the Spaniards had offered to the Filipinos, are now being liquidated. Because they loved the Filipinos, the Spanish people, particularly the Spanish missionaries, have been offering their all for the peace and happiness of the Philippines, forgetting even their loved ones at home. It is nothing else but the sinister moves of the United States authorities and the leaders of the ex-Usaffe that have forced us into our present predicament. Those who should be branded as the enemy of the Ca­ tholic faith and the traitors of humanitarianism are none other than the leaders of the United States and the sinister Anglo-American propaganda broadcast by the Americans’.” (No­ vember 18.)

According to authoritative Catholic sources in the Santo Tomas camp, Fa­ ther Medina, alleged author of the let­ ter, when he arrived in Manila some time later, emphatically denied having written it or having any knowledge of it until the Tribune account was shown to him. The report of the killing of Father Alfonso Saldana by the guer­ rillas was also untrue; he was alive. So far as any of the clergy who visit­ ed Santo Tomas knew, no priests had been killed by the guerrillas anywhere. The Murder of Bishop Finnemann by the Japanese — It was significant that this propaganda story in the Tri­ bune followed rumors in the camp that Bishop Finnemann had been kill­ ed by the Japanese. Bishop Finnemann,

MURDER OF BISHOP FINNEMANN

German by birth but a Philippine citi­ zen, had been Auxiliary Bishop of Manila and had been sent to Mindoro some years before the war. According to authentic sources, inquiries having been made by the Apostolic Delegate as to rumors of his death, a letter was received from the Japanese authorities stating that Bishop Finnemann had "committed suicide”. Direct informa­ tion received by churchmen, however, was to the effect that Bishop Finne­ mann had gotten along fairly well with the Japanese at first, but that trouble has arisen over his refusal to turn over certain buildings to them, then over his possession of a radio, and finally over a proposed marriage of a Japanese officer and a Filipino girl. The Bishop, who was to perform the ceremony, asked the girl whether she wanted to marry the officer, and the girl said she did not, whereupon the Bishop refused to continue. The officer was a member of the Military Police. Some time later, the Bishop was beaten, dragged half-stripped in­ to a launch, taken out to sea and hit over the head and thrown overboard. This report came from one of the boatmen. The Japanese letter to the Apostolic Delegate mentioned the trou­ ble the Bishop had had over the build­ ings and the radio as possible reasons for his "suicide”.14 The story about the killing of Ca­ tholic priests in Cebu in the Tribune of November 18 was followed up by 14 Note (1947) — Confirmed in "Tragic Death of Bishop Finnemann”, by Msgr. Henry F. Ederle, S.V.D., 88 pp., Calapan, Mindoro. One of the buildings referred to was the Sisters’ Convent at Calapan, which the Japanese wanted to utilize as a house of prostitution. After months of threatening, the Japanese arrested the Bishop on October 19, abused and tortured him for a week, then put him aboard a launch "to be taken to Manila” on October 26. Instead, he was tied up and with weights affixed to his body he was thrown overboard, alive, at a point between Verde Island and Matoco, Batangas.

515

a "stream er” three days later: “Army Will Annihilate Guerrillas in Visayas”. It was stated that the authorities had decided to launch a "general and ex­ tensive operation as their patience had been exhausted”. It was empha­ sized, however, that those who sur­ rendered early would be treated with benevolence. A week or so later, the Tribune headlined another report: "Ar­ my, Navy War on Guerrillas, Marau­ ders in Visayas Pressed Hard, Puni­ tive Expedition Made to Save Folk from Depredations”. It was stated that the "pick of the Imperial Japanese troops, in cooperation with Navy units, opened the punitive expedition... about the middle of N ovem ber.. .and the troops are at present actively en­ gaged in the annihilative operation all over the region.” (December 1.) The next day, the headline ran: "Peace and Order Being Restored in the Visayas, Residents Welcome Protection of Nip­ pon Armed Forces.” It was admitted, however, that — "under the present circumstances the influence of military administration is still regionally limited, but its continued expansion is pro­ mised as a result of the mopping-up opera­ tions. Regarding the mechanism for military administration, the Visayan branch of the Of­ fice of Japanese Military Administration has been established at a certain place and its stations at three other points.”

A small-type headline, December 12, ran: "Order in the Visayas is Improv­ ing”, but the Santo Tomas camp learned from the internees who reach­ ed the camp from Cebu on the 19th that the guerrillas were still in control of most of the island. And, as already stated, even on May 1 only two post offices were open in Cebu, —• Cebu City and Opon. On May 29 the Tribune reported: "Cebu, May 28 (Domei), It was revealed that Lt. Col. Luis B. Jakosalem, highest commander of the remnant forces of the Fil-American ar­ my on Cebu Island, with 9 other officers, sur­ rendered on May 10 to the Japanese forces

516 ■which had been conducting mopping-up ope­ rations in the Visayan district since May 6 . . . ”

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still hiding in the mountain fastness­ es”. He pointed out that —

All the operations Manila newspa­ "these Filipinos are undergoing unnecessary per readers knew anything about in hardships in the mountains because they have Cebu was that "general and extensive" not been enlightened about the true aims of Japan...They must be treated humanely and one begun "about the middle of Nov­ guided along the path leading to the truth ember”. The Domei story contained about the New Order.” (April 27.) an alleged "note” from Colonel JakoA little later, the Director-General salem which read in part: of the Military Administration, add­ "I am leading a life of gratitude and inspi­ ressing the first convention of provin­ ration. From the time of my surrender until cial governors, town mayors, and my transfer to the hospital, everything was so constabulary inspectors of the Visaentirely contrary to my expectations that I yas in Cebu City, stated that leniency was astonished. Not only my life has been would be shown to form er members saved, but I am now receiving medical treat­ of the USAFFE "if they surrendered ment together with my son, Joel. Everything is like a dream to me. When I saw my son themselves without further delay”. being embraced by Japanese soldiers and "Contrary to American-inspired propa­ drinking cider [sic] given him by the Japanese ganda, lives will be spared and no troops on the way down from the mountains, torture will be inflicted.” I was overwhelmed by gratitude welling from In May, the following month, Var­ the bottom of my heart. Upon hearing of the gas once again urged the guerrillas to visit of Premier Tojo to the Philippines, I was surrender. He said that they would greatly inspired. I am mortified as I reflect upon my foolish past conduct of fighting ag­ be given "the same status as regularly ainst my own country and believing false Ame­ released prisoners of war. His Procla­ rican propaganda, while Japan was extending mation No. 16, "issued with the ap­ an active cooperative hand for the construction proval of the Military Administration,” of the New Philippines. . . ” said that they "may be subject to The Japanese propaganda address­ questioning for the purpose of obtain­ ed to the guerrillas ran the whole ga­ ing information, but their lives shall mut from the most ferocious threats be guaranteed and they shall not be to the sweetest blandishments. And subjected to torture.” always was emphasis laid on the kind­ "Officers and men who were former mem­ ness with which those who surrend­ bers of the Usaffe shall, after their surrender and oath-taking, be provisionally released, but ered would be treated. they shall be subject to call for education In January, Vargas issued a procla­ and training after which they shall be granted mation again calling upon those Fili­ the status of regularly released prisoners of pinos who were still in possession of war. However, such officers and men who firearms, ammunition, and explosives, are needed for pacification activities shall be to surrender them. They would not be placed for such service under the Philippine Commission during their provisional punished for not having obeyed the Executive release until their services are no longer need­ previous order, he said, as their sur­ ed, when they may be called for education render of them now "would be consi­ and training preparatory to their release as dered a gesture of sincere cooperation.” regularly released prisoners of war.” (Tribune, May 16.) (Tribune, January 28.) This paragraph seemed purposely Colonel Nagahama, chief of the Jap­ anese Military Police, in an address to confusing. Apparently, those provi­ the Constabulary in Baguio was quot­ sionally released were subject to call ed in big type as having issued "or­ for "education and training” and also ders not to kill misguided Filipinos to duty for "pacification activities”

CAPTURE OF COLONEL THORP

517

(against their former guerrilla bro­ surrender, but we still held on to our arms. thers), though in the latter case they I knew I was wrong, but I did not want to admit it. Some of my men thought otherwise, would be under the Executive Com­ so they surrendered one by one. Not until the mission, in the Constabulary, proba­ number of those who surrendered reached bly, and not in the Japanese Army. 2,000 by the beginning of the new year, did Summary of Announced Guerrilla Surrenders — A brief summary of news-reports concern­ ing guerrillas in various parts of the country follows: October 11 (1942) — Guerrilla bands being mopped-up in La Union and Camarines Sur, with provincial officials cooperating. December 9—Announcement of capture of Maj. Claude A. Thorp in Zambales mountains last October and the voluntary surrender of his next-in-command, Capt. Adriano Valdes with 500 men in Tarlac recently, and of their oath-taking in Tarlac yesterday. With pictures. December 15 — "Zambales Rid of ExUsaffe Men”. Surrender recently of 200 ex-Usaffe and 300 other misinformed people. January 16 (1943)—"1,117 Former Usaffe Men Surrender”, in Isabela, up to January 5, and have taken "oath of allegiance”. Capt. Valdes "urges guerrillas to stop futile resistance.” January 21—Col. Thorp "deplores acts of brigandage”, "blames U.S. Government’s heart­ lessness for desperate plight of Usaffe rem­ nants.” January 26—"1.070 Guerrillas Captured”, "re­ cently", "campaign in Pangasinan successful”. January 31—Story of surrender of Col. Thorp, his visit to San Mateo and Binangonan, Rizal, where he addressed the people, and his alleged letter to his command. [See page 518.] February 6—"Guerrillas Surrender”, "1,367 take loyalty oath in Pampanga”. "Misguided Elements Speedily Awakening to Their Folly”. February 12—"Ex-Usaffe Officer Advises Guer­ rilla Fighters to Give Up”. "Lt. Miguel R. Acos­ ta, commanding the Usaffe remnants in Agno, surrendered to the Imperial Japanese Forces last January 4, after having organized an army of 22,900 ex-Usaffe servicemen in Pangasinan". March 13—"Major Cushing Ends Hostile Ac­ tivity in Pangasinan, Usaffe Remnants in Ba­ taan Also Give Up." "Maj. C. J. Cushing, dis­ trict commander of the guerrilla forces in Pangasinan, has surrendered together with his men to the Imperial Japanese Army. Another guerrilla band, composed of 133 members, has also laid down arms in Bataan, according to reports received in Manila this week.” Cushing quoted as saying: "I have done wrong by keeping up armed resistance in Pangasinan ag­ ainst the superior arms of the Japanese Im­ perial Army. After the surrender of our im­ mediate chief, Lt. Col. Thorp, he asked us to

I became alarmed. I was lost then. I had done wrong, I knew, but I shall somehow make up for my losses.” "Maj. Cushing has offered his services to help build the New Philippines. His Filipino followers who surrendered with him also expressed their gratitude to the Jap­ anese Military Administration for the promise of independence in the shortest possible time.” April 26—"Guerrilla in North Ends, Rem­ nants of Usaffe Unit Surrender". "Surrounded by Japanese patrols in their hide-out in the mountains near Benguet last April 12, the big­ gest guerrilla band operating until lately in northern Luzon, formerly known as the 14th Infantry, surrendered peacefully led by their commander, Lt. Col. Manuel P. Enriquez, ac­ cording to an announcement of the Imperial Japanese Army...The surrender of the remain­ ing members of the former 14th Infantry is expected in Baguio this week. Col. Enriquez, states that the remnants of his band will ca­ pitulate peacefully because they all know in the mountains that no American reenforce­ ments are coming and that all further resistance is futile and only detrimental to the establish­ ment of the New Order.” May 26—Six hundred former guerrillas re­ ported to have "gotten jobs” on a Japanese cotton plantation in Pampanga. May 27—Reported that 360 guerrillas, who recently surrendered in Albay, were "promised jobs in the mines”. May 29—Forty-four former Usaffe members reported to have arrived in Manila from Pan­ gasinan where they had surrendered to the Governor, all sick with dysentery and mala­ ria. June 2—Seven Lanao and Cotabato sultans reported to have surrendered with 12,500 men. June 4—"North Luzon Guerrillas Head is Captured”. "Col. Noble, American commander of the Northern Luzon Guerrillas, was captur­ ed in the mountains near the Cagayan Valley last June 3 following the relentless search and pursuit of the Japanese garrison in northern Luzon. The guerrilla chieftain was captured to­ gether with his right-hand man, Lt. Col. Moses, and two other staff officers, all of whom were captured at a point 10 kilometers to the east of Lubuagan... With the capture of Col. Noble, the guerrillas of northern Luzon, now deprived of their leader, have been demoralized and consequently will have to disband themselves."

518

Colonel Thorp Captured— The fore­ going list of news stories in the Tri­ bune over a period of nine months served to give some idea of the scope and extent of guerrilla activities, but certainly fell short of indicating their full importance. The news article about Colonel Thorp, published in the Tribune of January 31, was of special interest. Japanese officers brought him to the Santo Tomas camp one morning, introduced him to internee officials, to whom he addressed a few words in a restrained manner, and took him away again, all in about 10 minutes. According to the Tribune ac­ count, he had addressed the people of San Mateo and Binangonan, Rizal, on the 29th, urging surrender of all the guerrillas who had been under his command and others and also urging civilian Americans still in hiding to give themselves up. He said he had visited Santo Tomas and talked with its inmates and that his personal ob­ servations had convinced him that it was "first class" and could "hardly be improved upon”. He said he was a prisoner, "but not under any duress". His alleged order, published in full, ran as follows: "January 26, 1943 "To ALL USAFFE Guerrillas operating under authority of Lt. Col. C. Thorp, USAFFE Guer­ rilla Representative for Luzon. All Americans in hiding, all other guerrilla groups and their supporters acting independently. 1. The USAFFE Guerrilla operations in Lu­ zon terminated with the surrender of the un­ dersigned on October 30, 1942. 2. Terms and conditions for surrender of all guerrilla forces have been agreed upon between the Japanese Army and the undersigned as follows: (a) Upon the surrender of the military per­ sonnel, the Japanese Army guarantees them fair, proper, and humane treatment with im­ mediate transfer to prison or concentration camps for the duration of the war or until such time as exchanges may be arranged. (b) Upon surrender of civilians, the Japanese Army guarantees humane treatment and im­

THE COUNTRY mediate transfer to civilian concentration camps. 3. It is therefore directed: (a) That all persons acting under authority from the undersigned, received directly or in­ directly through subordinates, present them­ selves with all arms and ammunitions in their possession, to the nearest Japanese Army head­ quarters for surrender. If this is impracticable, then the nearest civil municipality. (b) All persons included in (a) above will impart information of this arrangement for surrender and the terms thereof guaranteed by the Japanese Army, to all Americans known by them to be in hiding and to all other per­ sons known to be engaged in guerrilla acti­ vity. By order of: C. A. Thorp, Lt. Col. USA, USAFFE Guerrilla Representative for Luzon."

This letter indicated not only a for­ mal organization of guerrillas under American Army leadership, but their recognition as such by the Japanese. Rumor to the former effect had been current in Santo Tomas for months, and it was said that the guerrillas were well armed and well supplied, probably by American submarines stopping along the coast. It was said that the guerrillas had at times such delicacies as American apples and grapes as well as American cigarets, though they otherwise suffered great hardship. As for the agreement of the Japanese Army to the “immediate transfer” of those who surrendered to prison or concentration camps for the duration of the w ar or until exchang­ ed, news items continually appearing in the Tribune proved that this gua­ rantee was not observed. The men were employed in the cotton fields and mines and pressed into the Constabu­ lary, according to the Japanese them­ selves. Furthermore, the attem pt was made to make traitors of them. "In order to endow them with a new spirit under the New Order, thousands of ex-guerril­ las who have surrendered to the authorities will undergo spiritual training in their res­ pective provinces.” (April 28.)

ATTEMPT ON THE LIFE OF LAUREL

But all this propaganda about the annihilation or surrender of guerrilla units, and their spiritual training, did not mean that the Japanese were sig­ nally succeeding in what they called the "pacification” of the country. On Peace and Order Day on the first anniversary of the fall of Corregidor, May 7, Vargas was reported as having said in a speech: "The misguided elements who have fled to the mountains and create cruel and unneces­ sary depredations are delaying indefinitely the independence of our beloved homeland... We know our duty and we will do it. We will not allow a handful of blind and wilful men to stand in the way of the Filipino people who are today marching forward under the leadership of Japan to a New Order of free­ dom.”

And the Japanese Commander-inchief made a speech that day in which he said: "Taking advantage of this doubly significant day commemorating the fall of Corregidor and the institution of Peace and Order, I wish to call upon every member of the 18,000,000 Filipino people to draw deep inspiration in the solemn realization that the glorious day of the independence of the Philippines can be accele­ rated by that much sooner only if every one of you, without one single exception, come to realize for yourself the true intentions of Ja­ p an ... There can be no doubt that the existtence of disorder in outlying districts of this country perpetrated at the hands of misguided Filipinos, constitutes one of the, if not the greatest, obstacles to the early attainment of Philippine independence, so clearly and un­ mistakably proclaimed and reiterated by Ja­ pan.” (May 8.)

The areas of guerrilla activity were not so "outlying”. Continuous reports reached the Santo Tomas camp of Japanese officers and men killed by ones and twos and tens and twelves in Manila itself. In some districts in Manila, it was said, guerrillas had ta­ ken over the night-patrol duties of the neighborhood associations! On June 4 the Tribune announced in a banner headline: "PACIFICATION DRIVE DUE, Vargas Organizes Cen­

519

tral Committee to Restore Order; Lau­ rel Named Chairman of Pacification Body; P. I. is Divided into seven Dis­ tricts under the Charge of Ranking Officials". The Committee was com­ posed of seven members of the Exe­ cutive Commission, each being given jurisdiction over one of the districts. The Attem pt on the Life of Laurel — The reply was swift and dramatic. On the morning of June 5, Laurel, while playing -golf with three friends at the Wack-Wack Club, was shot and, it was believed at first, fatally wound­ ed, by an unknown assailant who es­ caped. He had been hit three times in the body by revolver shots said to have been fired from behind a bush. All the caddies working at the Club, it was said later, were brutally man­ handled by the police in the belief that some of them could give infor­ mation, but none was obtained. This was the first attempted assassination of a m ajor political figure in the Phil­ ippines in more than forty years. The Tribune the next day carried a very brief report of the attack together with a long appeal by the Executive Commission and the Director-General of the Kalibapi "to end the disgrace­ ful disorders”. The "manifesto” read in part: "Never before in our history has indepen­ dence been so honestly and generously offer­ ed us; never before has our independence been so near to glorious realization as n o w ...If in the past we were deluded into serving Ame­ rica with our blood, sweat, and treasure, we have infinitely more and greater reason now to render to the Great Japanese Empire our fullest measure of support and cooperation for the prosecution to a victorious end of the Greater East Asia War and for the final at­ tainment of our highest racial ideals.. .Let us put an end, once and for all, to the dis­ graceful disorders in our countrysides and to the futile disputes among brother Filipi­ n o s..." (June 6.)

The Japanese recognized the real nature of the disorders. Said the Tri­ bune’s Japanese columnist:

520 “If those who are responsible for the pre­ sent-day disorders were only irresponsible agitators of the ganster type, our problem of pacification would hot be so serious.” (June 8.)

On the 8th it was reported that the doctors believed Laurel would survive, on the 9th that his temperature and pulse were back to normal, and on the 10th that Tojo and Aoki has sent him telegrams expressing their sympa­ thy and their hope for his recovery. The Premier was reported a week later to have sent him a dwarfed pine tree as a gift. An editorial in the Tribune of June 12 amounted to what was an apology for the “cooperators" among the Fili­ pino leaders. It read in part: "Today marks the passage of one week since the unfortunate incident at Wack-Wack which endangered the life of a man who is a true representative of our race. Leaving aside the question of motive regarding which we are not interested at present, what advantageous reflections could we derive at this moment?... Suppose for the moment that after the uncon­ ditional surrender at Bataan and Corregidor, we Filipinos [sic] maintained a hostile attitude toward the Japanese forces. Suppose that we did not collaborate, shutting ourselves away from the realities and refusing to understand Japan and her noble ideals...W e sincerely be­ lieve that all the members of the Executive Commission are in their posts to mitigate the suffering of the masses, to give counsel to those who seek it, to lessen the difficulties and the misunderstandings that inevitably accom­ pany war, to bring the balm of help and com­ fort to the afflicted, and to harmonize the views of those below and the policies of those above in close coordination with the Military Administration. They are certainly not seek­ ing their own material gain or satisfaction. But the difficulty of their task lies in the fact that there still exist certain elements who re­ fuse to understand that when America’s strong­ hold in Asia fell, the Filipinos that fought side by side with America also fell. . . ”

Members of the faculty and student body of the Constabulary Academy branch in Manila listened to a mes­ sage of the Director-General of the Military Administration in which he

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"branded as traitors to the cause of Philippine independence those who still labor under a gross misunder­ standing of the true intentions of Ja­ pan", and reportedly adopted a reso­ lution — "unanimously and graciously offering to donate their blood to Commissioner Laurel as their contribution in hastening the complete re­ covery of their 'beloved leader and Depart­ ment head’. They condemned the ‘treacherous, nefarious, and disgraceful assault upon and attempt on the worthy life of the Honorable Commissioner.. .and praised in their resolution the soundness of his policies and the brilliance of his leadership as reflected from his signal achievements in the matter of restoration of complete peace and order in the Philippines ...”' (June 11.)

A special dispatch to the Tribune from Tokyo quoted E. Amau of the Board of Information as saying that— "Mr. Laurel is a statesman who is devoting himself to the independence of the Philippines at the risk of his life.” (June 11.)

The Highest Commander (recently introduced title of the dignitary for­ merly called the Commander-in-chief) designed Assistant Commissioner Arsenio Bonifacio as acting Commis­ sioner of the Interior during Laurel’s absence. (June 12.) The Philippines Still at War with Japan—Before closing this section one statement made by Vargas in a speech delivered on the Luneta on the first anniversary of the opening of the war, remained to be challenged. He was quoted as having said or been made to say: "If we fought on the side of the Americans and resisted the Imperial Japanese Forces, we did so only because at the start of the war we were subjects of the United States. The Fi­ lipino people did not want this war and they never consented to it...Japan rose in arms against the intolerable Anglo-Saxon interference in the Orient. There was no other recourse... Great and noble crusade...” (December 9.)

The Filipino people did not want the war. Neither did the Americans. It was the Japanese who so rashly

THE PHILIPPINES STILL AT WAR WITH JAPAN

521

precipitated it, and from that time on neither the Americans nor the Filipinos had any choice but to fight. And the Filipino people, through their lawfully elected representatives, did consent to the course that was taken. On December 12, 1941, the National Assembly adopted a resolution pledg­ ing the full support of the Philippines to the United States in the w ar against Japan, and on December 15 this reso­ lution was amended to include Ger­ many and Italy among the enemy na­ tions. On that same day, the National Assembly adopted another resolution declaring a state of total emergency as a result of the w ar against Japan and placed unlimited powers in the hands of President Quezon to meet the emergency. And President Quezon said:

American protests against Japanese aggression was the "intolerable inter­ ference”. The treacherous attack on Hawaii and the Philippines, while Japanese diplomats were still pretend­ ing to conduct peaceful negotiations in Washington, was dismissed as a "technical trifle" by T. Hori, spokes­ man of the Tokyo Cabinet Board of Information:

“The flag of the United States will be de­ fended by American and Filipino soldiers until the last round of ammunition. The Filipino people welcome the opportunity of testing their loyalty to America through blood and fire.”

"American leaders are still indulging in dis­ cussions of the technical trifles of the start of the war, but have never made a deeper investigation on the causes of the war...They did not heed the natural aspirations and growth of other people.”

As to the "intolerable interference” which Japan suffered,—of what did this consist? Colonel Saito said in a speech be­ fore the Government Employees Train­ ing Institute on April 26, 1943:

"Other people” meant Japanese. “Natural aspirations” meant the pantings after the lands and homes and possessions of neighboring peoples. “Growth” meant over-running and swallowing the whole of Eastern Asia.

"Roosevelt demanded: (1) that Japan aban­ don the Tri-Party Treaty with Germany and Italy; (2) that we evacuate Japanese soldiers from the Chinese mainland; (3) that we eva­ cuate our armed forces from the southern part of French Indo-China; and (4) that we make a promise not to advance southward. "Japan is a sovereign power and is not un­ der American rule. We therefore flatly refused such rude dictations from another country and pursued the only honorable policy left for us, even at the risk of our lives and the destiny of our Empire." (April 28.)

The Camp The Santo Tomas Internment Camp

Chapter X Struggle over Transfer to Los Banos 800 Internees Told To Be Ready in a Week— The first week in May, that of the Tojo visit, was one of growing tension in Santo Tomas. In­ ternee officials appeared to be wor­ ried but remained silent. Rumors that the entire camp would be moved away from Manila were again in the air. On Sunday, May 9, no notes were allowed to be sent out. Inter­ nee guards were ordered away from the main gate to the inner gate in the sawali wall. In the afternoon it was broadcast over the loudspeaker that an im portant announcement would be made that evening at 7 o’clock and internees were asked to be within range of the loudspeaker at that time. Later in the day, the military guards closed the two Japa­ nese stores on the campus and sent the personnel away. Filipino doc­ tors at the hospital were also sent out of camp. Patients in the hospital, who had a view of the outside from the upper windows, said that a military guard had been thrown around the camp. That evening, came the announce­ ment. Because of its importance, it was read twice. "This afternoon the Commandant of the camp issued the following statement to the Executive Committee: ‘"I am authorized by the Director-General of the Japanese Military Administration in the Philippines to make a statement regard­ ing the change of location of enemy civilian internment camps.

‘"As all of you are well aware, released enemy nationals in the city of Manila are more than 2,000. Most of them, being unem­ ployed, are in extreme difficulties in their living, and the number of applicants for in­ ternment is daily increasing. It is, however, to be pointed out that the present accommoda­ tion available in the Santo Tomas internment camp is not sufficient to have all of them interned here, and particularly so from sani­ tary point of view. "‘In consideration of these facts, the mili­ tary authorities here have come to a deci­ sion to change the location of the internment camp to a more spacious place where more permanent accommodations can be provided so that you will continue to live there until the time when you will repatriate to your res­ pective countries or peace will be restored. "‘The new site is in Los Banos, an ideaT health resort noted for its hot-springs, where new buildings will be erected for your hous­ ing and where you will enjoy fresh air and find an easy access to fresh meat and vege­ tables, part of which you may be able to cultivate yourselves. "‘In carrying out the above plan, the first group of 800 men to be selected from the pre­ sent internees, which will constitute the core for the new camp, will be dispatched to Los Banos by trains on the 14th of this month. For this first group, the premises of the Agricultural College including its large track field will be available. ‘"It is to be emphasized that this change of location is entirely based upon the hu­ manitarian consideration of your own welfare, and that fairness to the treatment to be ac­ corded to internees shall always be main­ tained. ‘"In this connection, you are warned not to make careless utterance which will dis­ tort the true intention of the Military Admi­ nistration regarding the present plan, as they

522

ISOLATION OF LOS BANOS are sure that the new camp will promise a better and healthier life to all the enemy civ­ ilians in this country. "‘Finally, the authorities hope that the Ex­ ecutive Committee and all internees will ren­ der a full cooperation in carrying out the above program.' "At the same time it was announced that the Commandant of the new camp will be Lt. Col. Naruzawa of the religious section of the Japanese Military Administration, who will have as his assistant Mr. G. Hayasaki. "A special committee consisting of Messrs. A. D. Calhoun, A. F. Duggleby, and J. Muckle, will accompany the new Commandant to­ morrow for the purpose of inspecting the proposed new site at Los Banos and to work out a program adapted to the needs of the internees, which will assure them of at least the same degree of comfort as now enjoyed. It is anticipated that adequate provision will be made for the transfer of the present beds, bedding, and personal effects of internees, as well as all essential equipment and camp sup­ plies. "The 800 men who will be transferred on May 14 will be selected Tuesday. Further transfers to the new camp will be effected from time to time as accommodations are avail­ able. In the meanwhile, this camp will be continued as at present. "Internees will be kept fully informed of particulars as plans develop. "By order of the Commandant, the Pack­ age-Line will be completely closed commen­ cing tomorrow and through Thursday, May 13. Fruit and vegetable vendors will not be permitted in camp during this period. "The Executive Committee.”

Later in the evening, the following mimeographed request for volunteers was sent to all the rooms: "Referring to the Commandant’s statement broadcast this evening, 800 men will be trans­ ferred from this camp to Los Banos by train on May 14, leaving here at 7 a.m. Bag­ gage, beds, and bedding will be sent on May 13 and must be ready for loading on Thursday at 8:30 a.m. "The Commandant has appointed Mr. A. D. Calhoun as Chairman of the Committee of the new camp during the transition period and while he desires that the first contingent be composed of able-bodied men to expedite the establishment and expansion of the faci­ lities of the new camp, at the same time he does not wish to unduly handicap the func­ tioning of the Santo Tomas camp.

523 "Men without families are preferred, and volunteers are requested to register with their room monitors, who should list the names on the reverse side of this sheet and return to the general office through their floor mo­ nitors not later than noon, Monday, May 10. "If the quota of 800 is not filled by volun­ teers, the shortage will be made up through selection by the Executive Committee.”

Some 280 stout fellows volunteered that night and the following morning. Most of them were young, unattached men who, after a year and a half in Santo Tomas, were aching for a change. One elderly British sea cap­ tain said, “It will give us a chance to see something of the bloody coun­ try ”. To the camp as a whole, the Japanese order was a heavy blow. Not that Santo Tomas was an ideal place to spend one’s life in, month after month, season after season; but much had been done to make living conditions at least tolerable. Tens of thousands of pesos had been spent by the Red Cross and later out of the 70-centavo per capita daily allow­ ance from the military to put in need­ ed kitchen, sanitary, dormitory, and hospital equipment. Many thou­ sands pesos more had been spent by individuals in building shanties for themselves and their families. Re­ moval from Manila would cut off completely hundreds of men in the camp from their non-interned fami­ lies in the city and everyone would be deprived of the supplies, laundry, etc., that came through the PackageLine. Internment at Los Banos, 68 kilometers away, would mean iso­ lation as never before. Criticism of the Executive Committee was open and bitter. It was asked whe­ ther the Committee had done all it could to oppose the move. It was said that Grinnell had known of the Japanese plans for some time, but had withheld this information from the other members of the Committee

524

THE CAMP

until it was informed of the decision of the military as an accomplished fact. Grinnell denied this, stating that he had no information himself until the 9th, though, he said, the Committee as a whole knew that something of the sort might be pend­ ing because the Commandant had for a number of weeks been postponing decisions on various camp projects until the "policy of the military with respect to the camp had been clari­ fied”. "Fresh Air, Beautiful Scenery”. . . —The Tribune Monday morning was not distributed to the various rooms as usual. The guards at the gate had sent back the bundles of the newspa­ per when delivered. But Kuroda in­ tervened and the paper was distri­ buted that afternoon. The following news story was carried on the front page.

coast ol Laguna de Bay, where the internees will enjoy fresh air, tranquil surroundings, and splendid scenery, and where there is ample space available for farm ing... " 'In this connection, it is worth mentioning that the treatment accorded the internees by the Imperial Japanese Army authorities has always been kind and impartial, in accordance with international law. This undeniable fact is readily admitted by the Anglo-Americans themselves. Compared to the inhuman treat­ ment accorded the unfortunate Japanese sub­ jects who are suffering a prisoner’s lot in the hostile countries where they are interned, es­ pecially in the United States of America, our treatment of enemy nationals here has been generous and benevolent, and deserves to be broadcast to all the comers of the world. " ‘The projected transfer of the Internment Camp is merely one more example of our just and human policy. Needless to say, the treat­ ment of the internees in the new camp in Los Banos will not be any different from that which they received in the past. Both phy­ sically and mentally, the internees may ex­ pect to derive many benefits from their lives in the new campsite on the tranquil shores of Laguna de Bay.’ "

"CAMP FOR INTERNEES WILL BE TRANSFERRED Santo Tomas Campus Found Inadequate — Army Picks New, Better Site in Los Banos” "The Imperial Japanese Army authorities announced that enemy nationals who are in­ terned in the University of Santo Tomas camp in Manila will be transferred to Los Banos on the coast of Laguna de Bay as soon as necessary arrangements, including the construction of camp buildings, are completed. "From the point of view of the health of internees, the transfer to Los Banos camp will he decidedly advantageous as they will enjoy there plenty of fresh air, tranquil sur­ roundings, and splendid scenery. "The Army’s statement to this effect fol­ lows: '"As is well known, the noncombatant ene­ my nationals have been interned in the camp situated in the campus of the University of Santo Tomas in Manila since the occupation of the city. The camp and campus, however, are somewhat too narrow to accommodate all the internees who are several thousand in number, and the capacity of the camp seems to have reached its limit. " 'The military authorities, therefore, who have been looking for a suitable location to which the Internment camp may be transfer­ red, recently decided on Los Banos on the

All that day and for several days following, groups of worried people, friends and relatives of the internees, gathered across the street from the main gate of Santo Tomas to watch the expected departure for Los Ba­ nos. The Package-Line remained clos­ ed. No notes could go in or out. No one outside knew who would go to Los Banos or when. The Calhoun Report: No Water — Calhoun, Duggleby, and Muckle visit­ ed Los Banos, with Naruzawa, on Monday, the 10th, but were able to spend only 2-1/2 hours there. They re­ ported to the Executive Committee that same night, the meeting being at­ tended also by Carroll and Cecil. Ac­ cording to the minutes of the meet­ ing, — the first reference there to the Los Banos move, — "this inspection trip resulted from a state­ ment of the Commandant to the Executive Committee on May 9, in which the Committee was advised that the camp will be trans­ ferred from Santo Tomas to Los Banos, an

THE CALHOUN, DUGGLEBY, AND MUCKLE REPORT initial contingent of 800 men to be selected and to proceed to Los Banos on May 14 to prepare the new camp for the balance of the internees who will follow as soon thereafter as arrangements can be made. Meanwhile all internees on release will probably be re-in­ terned at Santo Tomas on May 17, and it is expected that eventually all enemy aliens in the Philippines will be concentrated in the new camp."

The minutes concluded: "Mr. Calhoun and his associates recommend­ ed that all the facts relating to the camp as reported by them be laid before the Com­ mandant tomorrow morning with the hope of postponing the transfer of 800 internees to Los Banos. Should this be impossible, it was felt that a group of approximately 50 men should precede the 800 and try to get the camp in order. It was the unanimous opinion of the Committee that while the Los Banos site is a fine one and while a satisfactory camp for 800 internees may eventually be made out of it, any proposal looking toward intern­ ing 7,000 persons in the space provided is most impractical, and can only be accom­ plished by a very large expenditure of money and after a considerable period of time. A list of materials and supplies required to care for the 800 men is being prepared and will be submitted to the Commandant to­ morrow. The Committee felt that the autho­ rities should be definitely apprised of the si­ tuation and the entire responsibility for ma­ king any move should be placed on the shoul­ ders of the Military Administration and the Commandant.”

What had prompted the Committee to take this stand was the oral report of Calhoun, Duggleby, and Muckle, which, in written form, prepared un­ der date of May 11, was not released.1 1 The report was the following: "Through the kindness of Commandant Lt. Col. Naruzawa, the undersigned internees com­ mittee was enabled to visit the proposed new site for the internment camp in the grounds of the University of the Philippines College of Agriculture at Los Banos on May 10, 1943, and reports as follows: "This site is situated on the north flank of Mt. Makiling, 68 kms. from Manila and 2 kms. from railhead at an elevation of about 80 meters. It is a beautiful spot, ideal for an internment camp, and at first we were all enthusiastic over its choice. "Our observations may be summed up as follows —

525

"1. Climate and Surroundings: Excellent. "2. Space: about 1/2 of the area of the Santo Tomas campus, and unoccupied space, after building dormitories for 7,000 people, will be inadequate for outdoor activities and commu­ nity gardening, to say nothing of ‘shanties' which have become a necessity for neurotic cases. "3. Buildings: Present buildings are adequate to house 800, but some repair work must be done on them. We were not able to obtain any information on the design of the dormi­ tories to be constructed. "4. Sanitary Facilities: Present installations can take care of 800 individuals but are in urgent need of repair. We have no information on the system of sewage disposal contemplated for the camp of 7,000, but it will probably use septic tanks in which case an aggregate of about 150,000 cu. ft. of septic tank capa­ city will be needed. "5. Water Supply: According to the engineer in charge, water supply originates in a diver­ sion dam high up on Mt. Makiling. From this dam the water passes to a 10,000 gallon re­ servoir through an l l ”-diam. tile pipe and thence to the camp site through a 4”-pipe. There are about 2,400 regular users taking wa­ ter from this system, consuming probably 50,000 gallons per day, but the supply has been substantially less than this figure for the past 2 months during which water rationing has been in effect, and main valves have been closed at night. “The daily need of water after moving in 800 internees would be about 85,000 gallons, including 400 laborers who will be working there on construction: and about 300,000 gal­ lons per day for the camp of 7,000 including present consumers. "It is readily apparent that a water sup­ ply system now producing about 20,000 gal­ lons a day with a 10,000 gallon reservoir and a 4”-supply line is entirely inadequate for even the 85,000 gallons consumption of the proposed 800-man camp. "6. Food Supply: We believe that within a space of 3 months an ample supply of fresh fruit and vegetables can be obtained locally and that eventually beef, pork, and chicken could be raised by internees, but in the mean­ time they will have to be brought in from other areas at substantially higher prices than we are now paying. "7. Kitchen Facilities: None are available, but two small temporary-construction buildings could be pressed into service for the 800 group. AH cooking equipment must be installed. Fuel used would be wood obtained from the fo­ rest at some distance. This must either be purchased or internees must be permitted to leave the internment area for cutting it. Transportation facilities for bringing it to the camp must be obtained. "8. Health: Enquiry among the local resi­ dents revealed that formerly, although in the

526

A little after 11 o'clock the next mor­ ning, the Executive Committee held a meeting at which Grinnell reported — "that in spite of all the representations of the Committee, the Commandant states that mi­ litary orders will require the 800 men to leave for Los Banos Friday morning as scheduled, but that approximately 10 men can leave to­ morrow to try to get things in shape. It is so-called ‘malaria-belt’, this area had a per­ fect record of mosquito-control over many years but lately malaria convalescents have been admitted there from other areas and the malaria mosquito had again become in­ fected with the result that malaria of a ma­ lignant type is again endemic in the area. There are now 40 malaria patients there. "This fact makes the area unattractive as an internment camp for individuals whose re­ sistance has been lowered by 16 months of internment, particularly' for young children whose immunity is low. "9. Hospital Facilities: The present hospital is entirely suitable as a headquarters provided it is supplemented with a 100-bed men’s ward on one side and a 100-bed women’s ward on the other side and is stocked with surgical instruments, dressings, drugs, beds, and lin­ ens. "10. Conclusion: We are forced to call your attention to the fact that the many attrac­ tive featuras of the proposed site are at the present time entirely nullified by the in­ adequacy of water supply even for the pre­ sent population. It may be that during the rainy season starting about one month from now there will be plenty of water for 800 additional, but we must remember that there are still the limitations of the 10,000 gallon reservoir and 4”-supply line. A camp of 7,000 which is really a small city will certainly re­ quire installation of a substantial reservoir and a 6”-pipe line in addition to the 4”line. "The recent recurrence of malaria in the district must also be kept in mind as a factor vitally affecting the housing of large numbers of people in that district; with the onset of the rains, the breeding season of mosquitoes will come to an end, so here again conditions may be sufficiently improved to warrant the transfer of 800 internees into the area. "It is our studied recommendation that your Committee make an appeal to the Japanese for a postponement of the entire program for a month’s time during which water supply will be increased and malaria danger decreas­ ed. In the meantime, a small group of. say, 50 construction men should go there to make ready for the 800, thus avoiding the haste and confusion which usually leads to undesireable results.” ----------------------

THE CAMP believed that after the 800 are in Los Banos, if conditions appear impracticable for the balance of the camp, representations may be made to the military authorities. It was stated, however, that the military authorities are fixed in their determination that all internees shall be evacuated from Manila, and that in case Los Banos is unsatisfactory, there is a defi­ nite possibility that internees may be sent to Camp O’Donnell in Capas, Tarlac, which is not considered a desirable camp site. The question then came up as to how the 800 trans­ ferees shall be selected, volunteers having been obtained to the extent of 250 only. It was felt very strongly that the camp shall be moved only on direct orders of the military authorities and the Commandant, and that the choice should be made only in a man­ ner prescribed by the Commandant. It was felt that of the 800 persons to be transferred, 250 must be effective workers and the balance may be less effective, although all should be in good health. It was also felt that this list could best be filled by men without families or dependents, between the ages of 18 and 55, and men with wives only between the same ages, emphasis being on the former classification. It was emphasized that the pre­ sent camp will be refilled by less effective internees next week, and that, therefore, the functions of Santo Tomas must not be made any more difficult than necessary by the transfer. It was thought, therefore, that key men should be retained here. In making the above selection, the Committee was strongly convinced that same should be accomplished by lot in the presence of representatives of each building, and that subsequent adjustments must be by mutual consent. The Chairman was instructed to obtain definite orders from the Commandant as to his desires in this matter."

The meeting lasted only 30 minutes. The general nature of the Calhoun re­ port on Los Banos had, of course, be­ come known to the camp, and when it was learned that the Executive Com­ mittee had been able to do nothing in securing even only a reduction in the number of men to be sent, or a postponement, criticism of the Com­ mittee flared up again. Was it making any kind of fight at all? The DeWitt and Gray Protest; Un­ answered—It was with satisfaction that internees learned that DeWitt and

THE DEWITT AND GRAY PROTEST

Gray, as ranking members of the U.S. High Commissioner’s staff in the camp, had, drafted a letter to the Command­ ing General of the Japanese Army, through the Commandant, protesting against the transfer of the camp. They had shown the letter to Grinnell, Grinnell telling them to go ahead, and then delivered it in person to the Com­ mandant that afternoon.2 2 "The undersigned are the ranking members in the Philippine Islands of the Office of the United States High Commissioner, the repre­ sentative of the President of the United States in the Philippine Islands, and, as such, have a responsibility for the safety, health, and welfare of the American nationals in the Phil­ ippine Islands, including those interned at the Santo Tomas camp. "We have learned with dismay that it has been decided by the Japanese military autho­ rities to transfer the internees from the San­ to Tomas internment camp, as well as subs­ tantially all other civilian nationals of coun­ tries now at war with Japan to Los Banos. "We should like to call attention to some of the following factors involved in such a trans­ fer: "1. There is an utterly inadequate water sup­ ply at Los Banos, we are reliably informed, the daily supply not exceeding 10,000 gallons, whereas the daily consumption at the pre­ sent Santo Tomas camp where there are now only about 3,500 internees is many times that amount. It is understood that the new camp is to take care of approximately double that number of persons, whose daily water re­ quirements would thus be doubled. "2. Further, the country surrounding Los Banos, including the campus where it is un­ derstood the new camp is proposed to be located, is in the neighborhood of running streams where it is common knowledge that malarial mosquitoes breed. "3. The factor of sewage disposal is another problem presentng the greatest difficulty. "4. The wood supply, which we understand consists only of green wood, which will be al­ most useless with the advent of the rainy season, will also present difficulties. "5. The present food supply of the Santo Tomas internment camp would be insuffi­ cient were it not supplemented by purchases by individual internees from the local mar­ kets. There is no assurance that an equivalent supply can be found in the proposed location. "6. The present grounds and facilities at the Santo Tomas internment camp can be made adequate to accomodate all of the internees who are now temporarily released, in addition to the present population. However, the pros­ pect of interning all these persons in an area

527

Kuroda seemed loath to accept this letter on behalf of the Commanding General and tried to rebut some of the statements made. While speak­ ing to DeWitt and Gray, Kodaki tele­ phoned from downtown, and Kuroda read him the letter over the telephone. Dr. Leach’s Letter — Dr. Leach, who had been asked to accompany the 800 men and to act as the medical direc­ tor of the new camp, also wrote a letter that day to Grinnell, stating that he could not voluntarily accept such a responsibility and intimating that he would have to be served with a military order if he were to go.3 approximately 1/2 as large as that of the pre­ sent camp and without adequate buildings would lead to congestion which would create unsurmountable problems of health. "7. Many of the persons involved in the proposed transfer are women and children and persons of advanced age, many in ill health. The transfer would bring on much disease, such as intestinal disorders, malaria, dengue, and the supply of medicines to deal with these diseases is utterly inadequate. Per­ sons of advanced years, although in apparent fair health today will be particularly suscep­ tible to diseases resulting from any transfer because of their present state of diminished resistance. In short, there can not be the slightest doubt but that the proposed trans­ fer will cause widespread disease and scores, if not hundreds, of deaths. "This letter, then, is written for the pur­ pose of stressing the responsibility of the Ja­ panese military authorities for the safety, health, and welfare of the interned persons and urging the reconsideration of the decision to transfer the Santo Tomas camp. It is a well-established principle of international law that military necessity should govern the ac­ tion of an occupying army in dealing with the inhabitants of the occupied territory, and it is difficult to see how military necessity would require the transfer contemplated. "It is requested that the work already done in building up the present camp during the past 17 months not be swept aside and that the Japanese military authorities will not take action to transfer the Santo Tomas intern­ ment camp.”

3Dr.

Leach wrote: "After receiving the report of your com­ mittee following their visit to the proposed site for an internment camp at Los Banos, I have given much thought to the question of health hazards engendered by the concen-

528

Calhoun’s Address to the Camp — At 7 o'clock that night, Tuesday, the 11th, Calhoun personally addressed the camp over the loudspeaker sys­ tem. He said, in part:

THE CAMP

creased in the future. In this area are situated 4 dormitory buildings, 8 small bungalows, 1 2-story Y.M.C.A. building, and a large gym­ nasium. These accommodations are suitable for housing these 800 men. There is also a 20bed hospital. The site is several hundred feet above sea-level, on the mountain-side, in ". . . In all fairness to the men who will be attractive surroundings, and the temperature Is transferred, I should like to give you a brief several degrees lower than in Manila. report as to my observations during our short "The problems confronting these 800 men visit to Los Banos \yith the new Commandant are great. First, while the water supply at yesterday. We have been allotted a section of approximately 25 acres of the Los Banos Agri­ present is low, this condition should correct cultural College campus, which will be in-I* itself in the future with the beginning of the seasonal rains. Second, from all we could as­ certain, there is no prevalence of malaria or tration of 6,000 to 7,000 people in that area. It seems to me that the health of these indi­ other contagious diseases in the area, and it viduals should be a problem of great impor­ is hoped to complete arrangements for an tance to us. adequately-equipped hospital. "Specifically, the three most urgent questions "Every effort has been made by the Exe­ would appear to be: cutive Committee to postpone action in this (1) An inadequate and non-potable water supply. With a surface supply constantly con­ matter for further survey and preparations. taminated by animals and a reservoir capa­ These efforts have been without success. "It is the plan of the Japanese authorities city of only 10,000 gallons, it is obvious that a correction of this difficulty in supplying a to build 70 barracks, with a capacity of 100 congested population of 6,000 to 7,000 would be persons each, and ground has been broken a costly and time consuming one. If you and 400 Filipino laborers have started this can visualize 6,000 people boiling their drinking work yesterday. However, no information as water, you can realize the time, labor, and to the time for completion of these quarters expense involved. and the method of transfer of the rest of the "(2) Malaria — I participated in a malaria survey of this area 20 years ago and can as­ Santo Tomas internment camp is available at sure you there was an abundance of breed­ present... "In closing, may I again remind you of these ing of the anopheles mosquito at that time. pertinent points. Volunteers registration will I understand that streams on the college campus have been treated with paris-green begin immediately in the lobby of the main up to the out-break of the war which would building and will continue until 9 p.m. If indicate anopheles breeding, as paris-green is there are insufficient volunteers, then the quo­ not used in exterminating other species of ta will be completed by lot from a list of un­ mosquitoes. I am informed that 40 cases of attached men between 18 and 55, and if the malaria have been treated in the college dis­ quota is still incomplete, then attached men pensary recently. From the above, I think we beween 18 and 55, without children in camp can safely assume that there is a malaria or elsewhere in Manila, will be included in problem in the Los Banos area. the choice by lot." "(3) Hospital and dispensary care — Your committee was not certain that the college Some 230 internees, — 50 less than dispensary could be used by the internment before, volunteered that night, many camp. If we are permitted use of the dis­ pensary, they were not sure the instruments of them saying that if they did not and apparatus would be left for us. volunteer they knew they would be "Appreciating the risks involved and know­ drafted anyway. Certain members of ing the responsibility for any outbreaks of communicable disease would rest with the the Executive Committee and others physician in charge, I hope that you appreciate advised internees not to volunteer my reluctance to voluntarily assume such res­ but to wait until they were drafted ponsibility. If a military order is issued to me, I am left no choice. I can assure you in so as not to give the Japanese an op­ such an event I will do all in my power to portunity to say later that many men make the best of a very serious situation. went willingly. The next morning, the "P.S. Your information to the effect that 4 nurses would be permitted to report for duty list of the 800 men selected was post­ is reassuring, but an adequate nursing serv­ ed on the bulletin boards. A number ice, even at the start, would require at least applied for exemption, as it was ad­ 10 to 12.” --------------

THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE’S BELATED PROTEST

mitted that some mistakes might have been made by the committee which made up the list, but while only a few of those who thus applied were excused, this necessitated the select­ ion of others to take their places, and the final list was not completed un­ til around 9 o'clock that night. Most of the younger and unattached men had taken a fatalistic view of the si­ tuation and had gotten their belong­ ings together in some cases even be­ fore they saw their names on the list. Some of the men with wives in the camp also had to go. It seemed as if very nearly every able-bodied man was included among those having to leave. But a ball game was played late in the afternoon between two teams representing the Santo Tomas camp and the projected Los Banos camp, for the "internee championship of the Philippines", and the Santo Tomas team won by a score of 2 to 1 in a 9-inning game. The Los Banos men were perhaps tired from their packing activities that day. The camp was try­ ing to put a good face on the inevita­ ble. Many of those scheduled to leave looked forward to the change from the humdrum of life in Santo Tomas. They looked forward, indeed, with a lightness of heart hardly justified by the Calhoun report, but few if any of them had seen this and had heard only what he had said over the loud­ speaker. The next morning almost the whole plaza in front of the main building was covered with their baggage,— trunks, suitcases, boxes, bundles, some 4,000 pieces in all. Twelve army trucks drove into the grounds and in­ ternee crews loaded them and accom­ panied the trucks to the station to look after the unloading. The trucks made several trips. Internees feared that the Japanese might object to the

529

quantity of baggage, but nothing was said. The Executive Committee’s Belated. Protest—That day, Thursday, the 13th, the Executive Committee had another meeting. According to the minutes— "the Committee noted a formal report from Messrs. Calhoun, Duggleby, and Muckle co­ vering their inspection on May 10 cjf the proposed Los Banos internment camp site, supplementing their verbal report of May 10. It was the unanimous opinion of the Com­ mittee that this report should be forwarded to the Commandant with a covering letter of protest on the part of the Executive Commit­ tee against the use of the Los Banos site for a concentration camp for all internees. It was felt that while it may be possible to create a satisfactory camp for a limited number of persons who are in good physical condition, but that based on present information this site can never be made satisfactory for large num­ bers of internees and particularly for elderly and sick people or for small children. The Chairman was therefore instructed to draft the necessary covering letter of protest toge­ ther with a copy of the report to the Com­ mandant tomorrow. It was suggested that an additional copy should be forwarded to the new Commandant. Lt. Col. Naruzawa."

The "covering letter of protest” which the Chairman was instructed to draft and to present to the Comman­ dant with the Calhoun-Duggleby-Muckle report "tomorrow” (the 14th), was antedated the 11th, and, signed by Grinnell, read as follows: "Pursuant to the order of the DirectorGeneral of the Japanese Military Administra­ tion of the Philippines transmitted to us by you under date of May 11, covering the trans­ fer of 800 internees from this camp to Los Banos on May 14 and specifying the manner in which such transferees shall be chosen, we have now made arrangements to make this transfer and will furnish you with a list of the internees scheduled to leave this camp. "In this connection, however, we wish to call your attention to the accompanying me­ morandum presented to this Committee un­ der date of May 11 by Messrs. A. D. Calhoun, A. F. Duggleby, and J. Muckle, a special com­ mittee which inspected the site on May 10, reporting on the conditions and problems they found to exist with respect to the suit­

530 ability of the area for a large-scale intern­ ment camp. This report unqualifiedly indi­ cates that the camp site in question presents great difficulties which appear to be impos­ sible of prompt solution. Even for the 800 internees who will proceed to Los Banos on May, 14, serious problems are involved. "Furthermore, we wish to emphasize the fact that while the first 800 internees will be men who are in comparatively satisfactory physical condition, the major proportion of the balance of the- internees consists of wo­ men and children, the aged and infirm, and those less physically able to stand additional hardship. Such persons should be kept as closely as feasible in touch with the best hospital and medical facilities, should have access to proper and adequate diet, and should in general be treated in as humane and con­ siderate a manner as is possible under the cir­ cumstances. Frankly, on the basis of our pre­ sent information, we doubt whether Los Ba­ nos can ever be made adequate to meet this situation. "We wish, therefore, to confirm formally our verbal protest against any transfer of inter­ nees from this camp to any location which is not properly equipped to protect the lives and welfare of civilian internees to a degree at least equivalent to that afforded by Santo Tomas Internment camp. "We believe that this is a very serious mat­ ter which merits full and careful considera­ tion by all concerned, particularly in the light of the data which will soon be available through the actual experience of the 800 in­ ternees now to be transferred.”

Beside being at least several days too late, it could not be termed a very strong letter. According to his own statement, Day had drafted it. Kuroda’s reply, also antedated the 11th, was as follows: "Referring to the recent order of the Di­ rector-General of the Japanese Military Ad­ ministration of the Philippines that the loca­ tion of the enemy civilian internment camps be consolidated at Los Banos, Laguna, it is ordered that: "1. 800 men be transferred from the Santo Tomas Internment Camp to Los Banos on Friday, May 14. "2. These 800 men are to be selected with due regard for their ability to perform essen­ tial work in establishment and operation of the new camp and with the minimum of dis­ turbance to the operations of the Santo To­ mas Camp. You are ordered to make up this

THE CAMP number by drawing of all eligible men between the ages of 18 and 55 or even older men pro­ vided they are in good physical condition, subject to such subsequent exemptions as may be necessary. In selecting this group of 800 you should first draw on that group of men who do not have their families with them or in Manila. "3. It is absolutely necessary that all baggage be ready for loading on trucks at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, May 13, and that the men be assembled and ready to leave camp at 7 a.m. on Friday, May 14. "This morning you and other Committee members appealed for certain modifications of the foregoing plan based upon the inspec­ tion made by your three representatives yesterday. However, while the time available for establishing the essential services of the new camp is very limited, nevertheless it is impossible to make any alterations in the plans made by the Japanese Military Administration and announced to you by Mr. Kodaki on May 9."

Despite the plain facts of the situa­ tion and all sense and reason to the contrary, "it was impossible to make any alterations in the plans made by the Japanese Military Administration”. There were those who did not believe that this letter had been written by Kuroda; that it was written for him and he merely signed it. Dr. Leach got a reply to his letter from the Commandant, honestly dated May 13: "Referring to your letter of May 11 addressed to the Chairman of the Executive Committee, 1 wish to confirm that you are requested to proceed to Los Banos on Friday, May 14, to act as camp medical director and also as a member of the Los Banos Administration Com­ mittee. "This appointment will be further confirmed by a letter from Lt. Col. T. Naruzawa, Com­ mandant of the Los Banos Camp, which let­ ter will be handed to Mr. A. D. Calhoun, Chair­ man of the Los Banos Administration Com­ mittee today or tomorrow. "Please, therefore, make the necessary ar­ rangements for your departure for Los Banos with the main group leaving here at 7 a.m. tomorrow, Friday, May 14.”

Departure of the 800—Everybody was up before dawn on the day set

DEPARTURE OF THE 800

for the departure of the 800. Friday, May 14. After an early breakfast the men gathered in the area before the main building for roll call. The loud­ speaker was blaring a jazz-tune as the army trucks drove in, each with its two armed soldiers. Kodaki was in the camp and now made a brief statement over the loudspeaker, urging the men to take care of their health and wishing them good luck. Kuroda the previous night had made a simi­ lar statement, thanking the internees for the effective way in which the preparations for the transfer had been handled, and also advising the men to take good care of their health. The subject seemed to be on their minds. The men got into the trucks with their handbaggage and were driven off to the music of army and navy marches and the tune of "Onward, Christian Soldiers”, those remaining behind crowding the windows of the main building and the lawns and lin­ ing the drive all the way down to the gate. There were goodbyes and cheers, saddened looks on the faces of the young women, but no tears. The men were taken to the Tutuban sta­ tion and it was reported afterward that they had been cheered by the people along the streets and at the sta­ tion. The men and the baggage went by train,—the men crowded in boxcars. Ten days' emergency rations went by truck that same morning: rice, cornmeal, beans, canned corned beef, canned meat-and-vegetable ration (Red Cross), coffee, tea, and sugar; also hospital and medical supplies. There were also a number of truckloads of construction and plumbing supplies and tools. The Japanese au­ thorities had agreed on a PI daily al­ lowance for the men at Los Banos, and the cost of the food and medical supplies were charged against this al­

531

lotment. The construction material and tools belonging to the Santo To­ mas camp were considered as merely transferred from one camp to the other. The Japanese paid for some P6,000 worth of new kitchen equip­ ment which had to be purchased. Ten of the internees rode on these trucks to Los Banos. The total number of internees who left the camp for Los Banos that morning was 786 men and 12 women, the latter the U.S. Navy nurses who had volunteered to go. Among the men were three who were released from the camp jail to go. A few days later, at the suggestion of the Commandant, the only remaining prisoner in the jail, Dafiro, was released on probation. The Commandant said that the Santo Tomas camp now needed the services of all the ablebodied men who re­ mained. Calhoun was among the 800, as well as two other members of the Execu­ tive Committee, — McCandlish and Naismith. Cecil and other prominent internees were also included. The Tribune’s Glowing Story — The Sunday Tribune for May 16 contain­ ed an almost entirely false account of the transfer: "The first group of interned enemy na­ tionals were transferred on Monday morning [actually Friday morning] from the Santo Tomas University buildings to Los Banos, on the shore of Laguna de Bay where the scenery is superb. "The first group left the Santo Tomas Uni­ versity, sent off by friends early in the morn­ ing. Phonograph records were played to create a cheerful atmosphere. Motorcars and trucks belonging to the army were placed at the dis­ posal of the moving foe nationals. "Happy to move to one of the best known health centers in the Philippines, the men and women cheerfully loaded their belongings into the trucks. Besides foodstuffs, pots, kettles, table-sets, medicines, and medical supplies, they tugged along electric refrigerators and other bulky possessions [2 small refrigerators for the hospital.]

532 "The train carrying the party left Tutuban station at 8 a.m. [actually 8:30.] The men, wo­ men [only 12], and children [actually no children] gleefully looked out of the windows [no windows in boxcars] as if they had been starving for new surroundings. At noon the train pulled into the Los Banos station. From there again they drove in army cars to the site of the new camp. "The camp is situated on the shore of Laguna de Bay [actually several kilometers from the shore], commanding a fine scenery. In the spacious lawn of the camp [1/2 the size of Santo Tomas] are palm and mango trees. Through the rich verdant foliage, the white walls and red roofs of the bungalows can be seen. These are residences of the fa­ culty members of the college. " 'Say this is not bad at all’, some one was heard saying. The eyes of the adults focussed on the vegetable gardens. 'We’ll grow our own vegetables', they agreed unanimously. "A.D. Calhoun (banker and American citi­ zen), who is a member of the internee com­ mittee, told his impressions ot the transfer as follows: "‘The life that we were allowed to lead in Santo Tomas was not bad at all. In fact we were grateful of the considerate treatment we received from the Japanese authorities. How­ ever, we believe that we can all enjoy a hap­ pier and healthier life at the new camp here. " 'At Los Banos the surroundings are bet­ ter. The air is pure and camp grounds are spacious. There are hills, streams, play­ grounds, and gardens. The place is ideal from the point of view of health provided we in­ ternees lead a disciplined life. We are grate­ ful for what the Japanese authorities have done for us. “ ‘I would like to express my gratitude, on behalf of the internees here, for the help and consideration given us by the officers and men of the motor-corps who helped us in moving today.”

THE CAMP

an informal letter to Grinnell which, as he was unexpectedly able to come back to Manila the next day, he de­ livered in person.4 The minutes of the

66 or 67 other people with a little more than 4 square feet per person, including the bag­ gage. All of the men accepted the hardships good-naturedly, and the Navy nurses proved to be fine sports. "Baggage. Of the 16 cars carrying the lug­ gage 11 were attached to our train when it left Manila. The unloading of these and the delivery of the baggage to the camp was completed by 6 o’clock in the evening. Four cars were misrouted to San Pablo, Laguna, and arrived at Los Banos sometime after 8 p.m.; these were unloaded and the men were able to get bedded down for the night at about 11:30. One baggage car is still unaccounted for and we are making every effort to trace it as there are a number of men whose beds and bedding have not yet arrived. "Housing. The housing situation is most discouraging. Contrary to the original plan, we have been denied the use of 2 cottages housing a total of 22 men, and the Y.MJC.A. building with a capacity of 100, which are being occupied by Filipino laborers employed in the construction of barracks. As a conse­ quence of the shortage of- dormitory facilities, 100 of our men slept out-of-doors last night, which they might have enjoyed had it not been for a steady, heavy rain from 2 o’clock on. These men have since been crowded into or under other buildings, with the gymnasium filled to capacity with over 600 men. It is so congested that there are no regular aisles or passageways between cots. For these 600 men the gymnasium is equipped with only 4 toilets, so you will readily realize the seriousness of the situation. With the reduction in the avail­ able housing capacity of this camp, the quota should have obviously been reduced, but now that the 800 men are here, it is most impor­ tant from the point of view of health, that we should have additional buildings, as ori­ ginally promised. "Hospital. There has been considerable con­ flict over arrangements for the use of the Calhoun’s Confidential Account—In hospital. At first we were completely denied contrast to this, on Saturday, May access to the premises. After considerable we now have Dr. Leach installed 15, the day after the arrival of the negotiations there with Dr. Krzewinski. It is anticipated men at Los Banos, Calhoun wrote that the Filipino staff will vacate within the next 5 days, and then we hope to move the 4 Calhoun’s letter to Grinnell ran as follows: nurses there also. Our problem now is one "I am taking a few minutes off to report of securing necessary equipment. The Univer­ our safe arrival after a rather harrowing trip. sity had made representations to remove all Our train left Manila Station at 8:30 a.m. and the medical equipment, but it is hoped that arrived on schedule at 11:50 a.m. at Los Ba­ some compromise can be reached by which nos, College Station. I discovered that freight they will leave, at least temporarily, sufficient cars do not offer the most comfortable ac­ essential equipment for our minimum require­ commodations, particularly when shared with ments.

CALHOUN’S CONFIDENTIAL ACCOUNT

533

Executive Committee meeting held on May 18 said with respect to this: "The meeting was then turned over to Mr. Calhoun who came back from Los Banos on

May 16 and will return tomorrow. Mr. Calhoun submitted a letter to the Chairman under date of May 15 reporting on the trip of the internees to Los Banos, conditions as he found them there, and the methods by which the

"Water. While the volume so far has been sufficient, there appears to be no question that the presumptive test for B coli is po­ sitive, and the contamination has been in­ creased by the recent rain. Our limited equip­ ment makes it impossible for us to boil suf­ ficient water on wood fires for the camp of 800. I have placed the situation before Colonel Naruzawa and his associates, requesting that we be granted the use of a truck in order to haul water from the wells in town, but thus far efforts have proved fruitless. In trying to find a more permanent solution, I learned today that at the Marsman residence on Calle Roberts in Pasay there is a water-purifica­ tion plant with a capacity of 150 gallons per minute installed in their private swimming pool. If we could get this plant, it would solve at least our immediate problem. At present, the army authorities are giving some thought to the possibility of drilling a deep well which they hope would supply sufficient water to meet the requirements of the camp. Some of our engineers are skeptical about the re­ sult of the project. "Food. Our meal last evening consisted of 2 hard-tack biscuits, with a 12-oz. tin of corned beef divided between every 2 persons. During the afternoon cur working crews gathered sufficient wood to fire the new pots. The plumbers and electricians worked most of the night with the kitchen crews, so that we were fortunate to have a late breakfast of cracked-rice and coffee this morning. At midday today 2 truckloads of firewood ar­ rived, and our second meal consisted of boiled rice mixed with some of the tinned Red Cross rations of beef-and-vegetable stew. Had we been successful in obtaining the use of a truck, it was my intention to buy at least P100 worth of fruit at the market in Los Ba­ nos, which the canteen would have placed on sale to internees. "Transportation. At present the authorities do not appear to realize that our men must go to the market daily in order to purchase our daily supplies of foodstufs. It is impera­ tive that some arrangement on this point be made immediately. "Communication. While I have mentioned the importance of establishing some means of official and private communications between the two camps, I have not pressed this in view of the more urgent problems of the camp. The attitude appears to be one of indifference on the part of the Comman­ dant, and it looks as though I will require some help from your end if we are to be suc­ cessful in establishing some system. As soon as possible I feel that arrangements should be

made for the exchange of minutes of com­ mittee meetings between the two camps, so that we may both be kept advised of develop­ ments; it is obvious that this exchange should be made only when suitable opportunity pre­ sents itself. "Supplies. We find ourselves in need of much additional equipment that could only be determined upon our occupation of this camp. I am asking Dr. Leach and Jim Muckle to prepare comprehensive lists which will be forwarded to you at the first opportunity. "Policy of Isolation. The commanding of­ ficer of the guard (military police) has indidicated that he expects a policy of no com­ munication between internees and other na­ tionals to be strictly observed; this presents a real problem as there are several hundred laborers housed in the camp with free access of ingress and egress. To avoid possible dif­ ficulties on this score, I have made the sug­ gestion that temporary shelters be erected in the area where they are building new bar­ racks, and that such laborers be escorted in and out of the camp-grounds by the guards. "Interpreter. We have been extremely for­ tunate in securing the assistance of Mr. Aurell in dealing with the military authorities. His command of Japanese and his understanding of their psychology has been a real aid in in our negotiations. "New Barracks. Despite our efforts, we have still been unsuccessful in obtaining the plans and specifications of the new barracks. I feel that it is very important that you should press for copies of the plans in order to assure ourselves that they will offer suitable housing accommodation. If we procrastinate work will develop to a point where it might be difficult to effect any change. "Conclusion. On the whole, our men have shown an excellent attitude, and have been working hard to establish some order out ot the confusion at the new camp. Unless we can obtain the solution to some of the pro­ blems which I have mentioned within a rea­ sonable time, it is only natural to expect dis­ satisfaction to develop, which will present real difficulties, not only for ourselves but for the authorities. While I do not wish to appear impatient, there seems to be an attitude of indecision and inactivity on the part of the military administration here. I believe that you understand the situation, and that Mr. Okamoto, who has been most sympathetic and helpful, will be able to give you an exact picture of the problems as they presently exist.” "P.S. (May 16.). This morning I had another conference with Colonel Naruzawa and pre­

534 camp is being established and problems solved. Mr. Calhoun has been busy during the past two days in obtaining additional supplies and transportation for Los Banos, and on nu­ merous other problems which naturally could not have been anticipated until the camp was started. In amplification of his report, Mr. Calhoun touched on various points, and in particular reported favorably on the excellent spirits and high morale of the internees under the discomforts which they were forced to face. He stated that while the location of the camp is satisfactory, there are three major problems which must be solved before the camp is suitable even for the 800 internees now resident, these problems being water, malaria control, and food supplies. He stated that construction work of barracks has not yet been started but that ground has been broken. No plans are yet available as to the type of barracks projected. He ex­ pressed himself as feeling that matters are progressing in as satisfactory a manner as can be expected under the circumstances and pro­ mises that he and the internees in Los Banos, with the aid of the Commandant, will do everything they can to build up a suitable camp in as short a time as possible.”

Calhoun told the members of the Executive Committee that he had not made the statement attributed to him in the Tribune and that he had not even been approached by any news­ paperman. Kuroda, the following week, laid down the relationship that was to exist between the Santo Tomas and Los Banos camps as follows: "Each camp shall operate as a separate unit: each camp shall receive a per capita daily appropriation from the Japa­ nese military authorities; and each camp shall live within its respective appropriation without being depen­ dent on the other”. Los Banos requisi­ tions for purchases in Manila were sent to the Finance and Supplies Com­ mittee, the Los Banos camp maintain­ ing a cash balance in Santo Tomas to sent indications are that we can now expect some action. There is a possibility that I may be able to accompany Mr. Okamoto on his trip to Manila this afternoon.”

THE CAMP

avoid transfers of actual cash as much as possible. Internm ent of the Sick and Elderly— The departure of around 800 of the younger men and the Navy nurses was followed by the internment or re-in­ ternment, from the 17th to the end of the month, of 325 men over 50 years of age, 17 mothers and 198 children under 5 years old, and others bringing the total to 819. Among these there were 290 actually ill or disabled, including 26 persons suffering from tuberculosis. Nearly 1,000 people (947), who had up to that time been allowed to remain in their homes, were thus either compelled to come into Santo Tomas or were brought to other insti­ tutions, such as the Ateneo and the Hospicio de San Jose. Only 108 per­ sons were allowed to stay where they were,—of whom 70 were seriously ill, 21 caring for the ill, and 3 mothers with 14 small or ill children. The fol­ lowing month, June, when the Ateneo was taken over by the Japanese, it was claimed for hospital purposes, many of those interned there were brought into Santo Tomas and the others distributed among the other outside branches of the camp. The release committee was confronted with the task of securing, if at all pos­ sible, the release of at least 148 of the ill and disabled persons brought into the camp, and there were 115 more whose ability to stand camp life was questionable. The committee's efforts met with stiff resistance on the part of the Japanese authorities, and were only partly successful. Additional beds had to be put up in the camp hospital and the small children’s hospital at the annex had to be enlarged, the latter at a cost of around F3,000. Younger men and wo­ men on the lower floors of the main building and the younger men in the educational building were shifted to^

535

INTERNMENT OF THE ELDERLY

the upper floors or to the gymnasium to make room for older people with weak hearts who were not able to climb the stairs. To make additional room, the Commandant consented to the quartering of some 400 men and older children in their shanties, and shanty rules were revised to permit of the closing of window-shutters when it rained. A special committee took charge of making arrangements for "organized assistance to elderly persons recently interned who need help in carrying on their camp routine”. This referred chiefly to relieving them from standing in line for their food. The work-assignment committee had great difficulty in filling the vacancies created in the various departments and in securing able-bodied men to carry out the heavy labor in the camp. The ages for compulsory work were fixed at between 17 to 60 for the men and 16 to 50 for the women. There was difficulty in obtaining a sufficient number of teachers for the camp school, which resumed classes on June 14 with around 440 pupils. So many of the newcomers were in need of clothing, shoes, toilet articles, etc., that it was impossible to meet the need immediately, and the Executive Committee ordered that the issue of clothing by the relief and welfare com­ mittee be held up "until the real needs of these persons can be established”. A week or two later, after some cloth­ ing had been issued, issue was again suspended pending the clarification of the Japanese cloth-rationing measures being enforced throughout the coun­ try. The presence of so many elderly people, especially of the men, some in their 80’s, was more noticeable than the additional children, who were cared for by their mothers and were not about so much. The life and spi­

rit of the camp changed radically. The hundreds of “old-timers”, most of them veterans of the Spanish-American War, sitting around in the halls and about the doorways and in front of the buildings, suggested an old soldiers’ institution. The majority of these men had been married in the country, had children and grandchil­ dren outside, and were a disconsolate lot. Daily they formed a group just inside the inner gate, hoping to catch sight of members of their families if it chanced to open during package­ line hours. Reports came into the camp that their families were very bitter about the imprisonment of these harmless old men who needed their special care. The men, however, had been used to "roughing it”, at least in their younger days, and it did not take long for most of them to adjust themselves to their new cir­ cumstances. The family aid committee about this time had registered some 541 of the so-called "non-internable” families, to­ talling 1,534 persons. Of the men in the camp, questioned as to whether they wanted their families to come into Santo Tomas if this were to be permitted, 278 said no, 171 said yes, and 90 were undecided.5 sA

report of the family aid committee cover­ ing the period from January 1 to June 30, 1943, showed that P25.673 had been disbursed to the non-intemable families of internees, of which K,000 had come from funds of the Exe­ cutive Committee and the rest from funds of the Finance and Supplies Committee. Monthly disbursements had increased during the period from P3.540 to P6.619, and a monthly 1*7,500 was made available beginning June. Families aided had increased in number from 167 to 220. Due to the increasing cost of living, the allowances had been increased from FI 2 to P18 a month for one dependent, from P18 to P27 for 2, from P23 to P35 for 3, from P27 to P40 for 4, and from P30 to P45 for 5 or more dependents. There were at this time 539 of such families non-interned, totalling 1,528 dependents, and of these, 222 families, to­ talling 631 dependents, were receiving help

536

Definitely missed was what light­ heartedness and gaiety there had been in the camp, which had come, of course, chiefly from the young men and young women. The young women were still in the camp, but they looked lonely now and their minds were with the young men of their own age who had gone to Los Banos. Such rela­ tions of love and friendship as had existed between them had not been much in evidence, but now one felt the difference. Naturally, campus athletic activi­ ties decreased. The bridge-playing in the evenings also fell off. Chess held up pretty well, but games of checkers were more common. Reading and talking, and, for many, just sitting and wishing, took up most of the day. In general, there seemed to be more talk now of the Spanish-American War than of either World War One or Two. Grinnell’s Report on Los Banos — For the camp as a whole, however, what was of principal interest was from the committee. The average payments at the end of this period amounted to only 'P10.49 per individual dependent a month. Pay­ ments were made by the committee in the package-shed on Monday afternoons, at which time the internees concerned were sometimes permitted to talk with their families for a few minutes. The committee was composed of 6 members, 3 of whom were permitted to leave the camp on pass for the purpose of investi­ gating these family needs. In May the com­ mittee was able, through the office of the Mayor of Manila, to arrange for the issue to these families of the type of ration-cards issued to all the rest of the population of Manila and which had up to that time been denied them. The committee stated that it had been com­ pelled to deny aid to families which still had household goods that could be sold for sub­ sistence, and that at best, the help it could render was "woefully inadequate”. The com­ mittee pointed out that the reinternment of so many men who had been living with their families under conditional-release passes was seriously aggravating the relief problem as they had in many cases been able to support their families without the committee’s assis­ tance by obtaining personal loans from friends which they would be unable to do while con­ fined in the camp.

THE CAMP

Los Banos; the progress of the prepa­ rations there, how fast the barracks were going up; whether an adequate water supply was being provided for; what the waste-disposal facilities would be; whether the place was at all livable for 6,000 or 7,000, including old people and young children; whe­ ther the Japanese might not give up the plan, and, if not, when the next group would go and how large a group. Some censored notes were re­ ceived from friends at Los Banos, One of them read: "When traveling, threw the lucky number,— two sixes. Bring gum-boots. Send everything possible in advance.”

Dicers of course understood that two sixes are not lucky, but unlucky. Calhoun, having come to Santo To­ mas from Los Banos on a second brief visit, the Executive Committee— "was unanimous in its opinion that while he is here, as much information as possible should be obtained from him regarding progress and conditions at Los Banos for the benefit of the internees who are vitally interested in this pro­ ject, to counteract the many unauthorized sto­ ries which are pervading in the camp. The ViceChairman made a list of questions to be asked Mr. Calhoun, and Mr. Thomas stated that the publicity department is to interview him to­ morrow. It was realized that perhaps Mr. Cal­ houn can not be explicit in his statements, but it is hoped that he can probably supply suf­ ficient information to give internees a fair picture of the ‘situation.”

Internees who read this statement in the minutes of the meeting of May 31, when these appeared on the bulle­ tin boards, wondered why the Com­ mittee should have thought that Cal­ houn could perhaps not be expected to be "explicit” in speaking to his own countrymen in a m atter that was of serious importance to all. The mi­ nutes of the next meeting (June 4) read with respect to the matter: "In connection with the Committee’s efforts to obtain authoritative information from Mr. Calhoun regarding Los Banos for the benefit

THE GRINNELL REPORT of internees, the Chairman stated that the Commandant of Los Banos had definitely ins­ tructed Mr. Calhoun to give out no informa­ tion whatsoever regarding his camp while in Manila, although the general impression was conveyed that conditions in Los Banos are generally as good as can be anticipated at this early date.”

The orders given Calhoun by the Los Banos Commandant may have been the reason why Kodaki and Kuroda decided to visit the camp, taking Grinnell with them. The three left on the 10th and returned on the 12th, and on the 14th a statement prepared by Grinnell was read over the loud­ speaker. It was obviously aimed at allaying the growing uneasiness. Read .the announcer: "As is generally known, Mr. Grinnell was permitted to accompany Mr. Kodaki, Chief of the Department of External Affairs of the Japanese Military Administration, and Mr. Kuroda, Commandant of this camp, on an inspec­ tion trip to the Los Banos camp a few days ago. Realizing that the internees in the San­ to Tomas camp are keenly interested, not only in the welfare of the internees who are now at Los Banos, but also in the progress of the preparations for further transfers from this camp to Los Banos, the Commandant has authorized Mr. Grinnell to make the following statement: "The 801 internees, who included 788 men and 13 women, now on the Los Banos roll call, have long since become adjusted to their surroundings and the present camp is run­ ning very smoothly under an internee organiza­ tion which has been set up along lines very similar to those at Santo Tomas. "The internees are being housed temporarily in the gymnasium and several small structures, formerly used for the housing of students and faculty of the College of Agriculture. The for­ mer Y.M.C.A. building is now available, and will relieve the somewhat crowded condition in the gymnasium, so that all of the internees will be comfortably quartered pending com­ pletion of the new barracks. "The water situation is now quite adequate, and exhaustive studies are being undertaken to insure adequate supply of water, both as to quantity and quality as the camp popula­ tion is increased. As a precautionary measure, the water is boiled for drinking purposes. "The food supplies are obtained both lo­ cally and from Manila. While the menus seem

537 to be about the same as at Santo Tomas, the men all seem to have hearty appetites,—no doubt due to the change of climate. Three meals are served daily to all internees. Every effort is being made to improve the kitchen facilities to provide more variety in the me­ nus. Many internees at Los Banos venture the opinion that the cooking of the food over wood adds to the flavor. "The general health of the camp is excellent.. The hospital is located in the college infirmary, which is quite adequate to care for the 800 internees; and the few patients are principally cases of common colds and mild influenza. There have been no cases of malaria or other illnesses of an unusual nature. The medical director and his staff are now well organized and the internees are constantly being re­ minded to observe proper precautionary mea­ sures in order to maintain the present high standard of camp health. "The camp canteen and personal service de­ partment are already functioning, obtaining supplies both locally and from Manila. Plans are under way for the manufacture of peanutbutter, jams, soap, and coconut-milk as camp projects. "Distribution of work in the camp has been given careful consideration, and a plan worked out providing ample time for recreation and study. As a matter of fact, many of the men who have been accustomed to longer hours of work in Santo Tomas are finding the spare time which they have in Los Banos extremely valuable for study, reading, and athletics. "Plans are being made to provide an op­ portunity for internees to improve their minds as well as their bodies. The camp morale is very high, the men are solidly behind the Administrative Committee, and seem to be quite satisfied with their treatment in gen­ eral at the present time. "As for the construction work on the new barracks, of which there are to be 70, each housing % internees, work is proceeding ra­ pidly on all the structures. While exact de­ tails are not yet available, it is understood that the dormitory space per internee will be 60 square feet, including center aisle, or 48 square feet, excluding center aisle. Further, toilets will be provided at the ratio of 1 for every 15 internees; showers, 1 for every 17 internees; and washing facilities, 1 for every 20 internees. Also, each 10 barracks will consti­ tute 1 unit and each unit will have its kitchen, office, and bodega. "When the barracks are completed, the build­ ings now used for housing purposes will be available for general community uses, including

538 offices, stores, entertainment, and religious ac­ tivities. The present hospital will serve as the nucleus of an enlarged institution of at least