Recollections of Full Years · Chapter
VI: A Strange Environment explained
Mrs.
What happens
Mrs. Taft describes the cultural challenges of adapting to life in the Philippines, including the pervasive 'custom of the country' and the 'mañana habit.' She recounts the difficulty of sending their children to school due to anti-Friar sentiment, the tragic story of Mr. LeRoy's illness and death, and the ongoing insurrection. The chapter culminates with the tense wait for the 1900 U.S. presidential election results and the cable confirming McKinley's victory.
Themes in this chapter
Cultural Encounter and Colonialism
Mrs. Taft's struggle with Filipino customs like 'el costumbre del pais' and the pariente system illustrates the clash between American expectations and local traditions.
Adaptation to Change
The Taft family's efforts to educate their children and manage a household in a foreign environment highlight the challenges of adapting to a new culture.
Politics and Governance
The chapter details the political maneuvering around the insurrection, the Friar lands decision, and the impact of the U.S. election on Philippine affairs.
Characters to notice
- William Howard Taft
Considered sending Robert to a Jesuit school but refrained due to political sensitivity; received the election result cable from General Corbin.
- Helen Herron Taft
Narrator; describes her first impressions of the stablemen's parientes and the challenges of managing a household in Manila.
- James A. LeRoy
Mr. Worcester's secretary who developed tuberculosis; wrote a history of the Philippines but died before completing it; his wife later worked in the Land Office.
- Archbishop Placide Chapelle
Cabled President McKinley criticizing the Commission's decision on Friar lands; also attempted to arrange a meeting between Aguinaldo and Taft.
- Emilio Aguinaldo
Planned a spectacular move before the U.S. election; considered surrendering but changed his mind after hearing Bryan's platform.
- General Arthur MacArthur
Praised by Archbishop Chapelle in a cable; agreed to allow Aguinaldo to enter Manila and offered him hospitality.
- William McKinley
Re-elected in 1900; the cable confirming his victory arrived in Manila.
- William Jennings Bryan
Anti-expansionist candidate whose platform influenced Aguinaldo's decision to continue the insurrection.
Key passages
“The decision satisfies everybody; it raises a question which threatened to drag itself over the hot sands we tread, cleanses it of all impurities, and makes it the beginning and the end of a most transcendental principle of sovereignty and law.”
The Diario de Manila praised the Commission's decision as a definitive resolution of a contentious issue, establishing a fundamental legal principle.
Filipino press reaction to the Commission's ruling on Friar lands.
“In the Philippines the phrase which must be met and which cannot be overcome by any system of reform is 'el costumbre del pais'—the custom of the country.”
The local saying 'the custom of the country' is an immovable obstacle to reform in the Philippines.
Mrs. Taft's observation on the resistance of local traditions to American reforms.
“He died before he was able to complete what Mr. Taft says is a very accurate, comprehensive and interesting history of the Archipelago from the beginning down to, and including, Dewey’s victory, the taking of Manila and the work of the first Commission.”
Mr. LeRoy passed away before finishing his detailed history of the Philippines, which Taft praised as thorough and engaging.
The tragic end of Mr. LeRoy's scholarly work on Philippine history.
