The Japanese Occupation of the Philippines Volume 2

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The Japanese Occupation of the Philippines Volume II By A. V. H. Hartendorp

"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

Contents Page The Santo Tomas Internm ent Camp Chapter X II — The Camp Votes against R epatriation

1

X III — A New Com m andant — The November Typhoon ....................................................... Story 35 — The Los Banos Internees .........

22 39

XIV — The Red Cross Shipm ent — Appeal to the Treaty ...................................................

44

XV — End of the Second Year ....................... Story 36 — The Jesuit Priests ................... 37 — The New Internees from Mindanao .................................

61 73 79

The Enemy Rule of the Country (October, 1943, to February, 1944) IV — The “R epublic” ........................................

86

The Santo Tomas Internm ent Camp XVI — The Army Takes Over—The Executive Committee Abolished .............................. 135 XVII — The Camp Bedeviled .............................. 190 Story 38 — Silliman University .................. 248 The Enemy Rule of the Country V — The Puppet Dance ................................. 253 The Santo Tomas Internm ent Camp XVIII — The Agents Denied Recognition— Treaty Repudiated .................................... 278 Story 39 — The New Arrivals from Baguio 298

XIX — The Last Camp Food Reserves .......... 301 Story 40 — The Hospicio de San Jose . . . . 351 41 — The Remedios Hospital ........... 353 XX — The First American Bombing .............. 355 The Enemy Rule of the Country (Septem ber, 1944) VI — The Spurious “Declaration of W ar” . . 377 The Santo Tomas Internm ent Camp XXI — News of the Landing in L e y t e .............. 382 XX II — Food and Money Reserves Exhausted . . 411 X X III — End of the T hird Year ............................ 443 XXIV — The January, 1945, Chronicle ............... 470 Story 42 — Intestinal Diseases in Santo Tomas .......................... 515 The Liberation I — February, 1945 — Deliverance .............. 519 II — The Camp Shelled — M assacre in Manila—Los Banos Internees Rescued Story 43 — A Three-day Madness ............ 44 — Bennett, Stevens, and Sinclair in Fort Santiago ..................... 45 — Blair, Barnett, Ellis, and Hornbostel at Muntinlupa . . . . 46 — The Secret Radio Station in Apayao ................................ 47 — The Bataan Death March and the Prison-Camps ..................... 48 — The Cabanatuan “Underground”

542 566 575 578 581 584 589

III — D estruction of Manila — End of Santo Tomas ............................................. 596 Fugue I — Defeat of Japan — II United N ations— III Republic of the P h ilip p in e s ............. 627

VI

Postscript Indexes

..................................................................................

659

....................................................................................

661

Illustrations Frontispiece Inauguration of the Republic of the Philippines — Flag Ceremony Two Starved Santo Tomas Internees ................................................ Courtesy, Life Magazine

509

U.S. Army Tank units passing Manila City Hall, MacArthur Headquarters, Courtesy, Sunday Times Magazine 531 The Internee Flag-raising in the Santo Tomas Camp ..................... U.S. Army photograph

536

U.S. Army Howitzers Firing from Santo Tomas, February 5, . . . . U.S. Army photograph

543

View of the Jones Bridge, blown up by the Japanese and the heavily damaged Post Office Building ................................. 561 Courtesy, Sunday Times Magazine Some of the large buildings on the Escolta, blown up by the enemy 597 Photographer, Evaristo Nievera Courtesy, Sunday Times Magazine The Legislative Building, used by the Japanese as a "strong point” and all but destroyed by American artillery ......................... 606 Photographer, Evaristo Nievera Courtesy, Sunday Times Magazine President Manuel A. Roxas takes oath of office as the President of the Republic of the Philippines ......................... Courtesy, Sunday Times Magazine For an account of the reconstruction and rehabilita­ tion of the Philippines, the reader is referred to the author’s ‘‘History of Industry and Trade of the Philip­ pines", 762 pages, Chamber of Commerce of the Philip­ pines, 1958, which covers the Roxas and Quirino Adminis­ trations, and to the succeeding work, “History of Industry and Trade of the Philippines, — the Magsaysay Adminis­ tration", 544 pages, Philippine Education Company, 1961.

V ll

656

The Camp The Santo Tomas Internment Camp

Chapter XII The Camp Votes Against Repatriation The September, 1943, Repatriation — Questions relating to "exchange" or "repatriation" began plaguing the camp in July, 1943. Who were to be repatriat­ ed? the British and Dutch? the Ameri­ cans, too? women and children? only the sick and aged? only transients? should repatriation be petitioned for? was there a list? did it come from Washington or from Tokyo? was it a Japanese scheme, intended for its ef­ fect on the Filipinos? why repatriation after all this time? was deliverance of the country to be so much longer de­ layed? could the camp hold out? with­ out food? without medicine? duty to­ ward women and children? diabetics without insulin? people in urgent need of surgical operations which could not be performed in Manila? who was to go? how many? when? why they and not the others? why they and not we? why he and not I? pull? graft? friends of Kodaki? what had the Executive Committee done? had it done anything? These questions split Santo Tomas into embittered factions. When the ruction ended after three months with the departure, from among all the thousands in the camp, of a mere 127 persons (152 counting the consular officials who had been in­ terned elsewhere in Manila and one man from Baguio), most of these per­ sons transients in Manila at the time of the outbreak of war, most of them neither old nor ill nor in need of ope­ 1

rations, while others with actual and urgent claims to priority were left be­ hind, then there were bitter charges made against the Executive Committee, denials of responsibility, Japanese eva­ sions, the resignation of the internee relations committee, an election, — no one knew how the situation might yet end. Attitude of the British and Dutch In­ ternees — It all began with the appoint­ ment by Grinnell of a committee com­ posed of T. Harrington, one-time Bri­ tish Consul-General in the Philippines, and Masefield and Lloyd, British mem­ bers of the Executive Committee, charged with preparing a confidential list of the aged and sick British and Dutch internees, including their imme­ diate families. According to the min­ utes, this was done — "at the request of the Commandant. . . As yet no official information is available as to the purpose of this survey.” (Minutes, July 19.)

The committee, being given only two days and secrecy being insisted upon, submitted a list admittedly in­ complete as it could be based only on the hospital and release records and the personal knowledge of the three members. Kuroda took the list to other military authorities and re­ turned with it the same day saying that immediate information was also want­ ed as to who of these persons would wish to be repatriated if opportunity

2

arose. As this necessitated questioning, the point of secrecy was waived, but Kuroda forbade any public statement being made regarding possible re­ patriation. The committee appointed a number of persons to go around among the British in the camp and one mem­ ber of the committee and another man called on British families outside the camp. The original list contained some 440 names, and the investigators found that around one-fourth of these would not wish to go. However, others not on the original list brought the total on the second list to around 450 persons, the ill and aged in the British commu­ nity, with their families, who wished to go if that became possible. The Jap­ anese authorities next required that the ill be listed in the order of the urgency of their repatriation and this was done with the aid of three doctors in the camp, but a letter accompanying the list stated that its completeness and accuracy could not be vouched for be­ cause of the limited time at the dispo­ sal of the committee and the ban on giving the matter some publicity. Per­ mission was asked to submit a sup­ plementary list to be prepared with the aid bf room monitors. This request was granted and 100 more names were thus obtained. The Japanese then said that only 150 British would probably be allowed to go and asked for the names of that number of persons whose repatriation was most urgent. This gave the commit­ tee the opportunity to amalgamate the first list with the supplementary list and this was done, the new list totaling 168 names and a new supplementary list totaling 375. In a subsequent letter, the committee requested that the lists be left open to modification with a view to such further medical information as might come to hand.

THE CAMP

There was some criticism of the com­ mittee at one time, but this arose large­ ly from the fact that it had at first been instructed to work secretly. That the committee did its work well was indicated by the fact that as a result of the notice given through the room mo­ nitors, only some 10 additional names had to be included among the first 100 most urgent cases and most of these had changed their minds. About the same time, Grotenhuis, chairman of a Dutch committee, report­ ed that in the Dutch community, num­ bering some 70 persons, 16 were more or less seriously ill and wished to be repatriated if that became possible, these and the members of their imme­ diate families totaling 36. Grinnetl's Secret Poll — The British list was not yet completed when Grinnell informed the Executive Committee that Kuroda had shown him a list of names of American and Canadian inter­ nees which came, he said, from the De­ partment of External Affairs (Manila), these people to be asked whether they would desire to leave the Philippines on an official exchange ship "should there be an opportunity”. The list, Grinnell said, was "very limited” but included the American consular officials in Manila and, he believed, some mem­ bers of the High Commissioner’s staff. The Commandant, he said, was — “not interested in receiving locally prepared re­ patriation lists at this time. . . No information was available as to the number of persons who could be accommodated, the date of sailing, or other conditions." (Minutes, July 23.)

Various persons were asked by Grin­ nell personally whether they wanted to be repatriated if opportunity offered, but they were warned to say nothing about it to anyone else and the list was kept secret. On the 30th, Grinnell told the Executive Committee that he had

LISTING OF PERSONS WHOSE REPATRIATION WAS URGENT

discussed the matter with Kodaki, who had been absent for some time. Kodaki told him, he said, that no official lists had as yet been received from the Bri­ tish or Dutch governments, but that he expected to receive such lists before the date of the departure of the exchange ship, "failing which, locally prepared lists would be used”. Grinnell said that Kodaki did not know whether substi­ tutions on the American list would be permitted or not, but that “at the mo­ ment he was unwilling to accept any substitutions”. Indications pointed to a reasonably prompt date of sailing, Grinnell said, but he had no informa­ tion which would lead him to believe there were any large-scale exchange or repatriation plans. Holland of the release committee and Dr. Robinson of the camp hospital had submitted lists of between 30 and 40 people in and outside the camp whose repatriation was urgently necessary for medical and surgical reasons. The mat­ ter was again discussed in the Execu­ tive Committee meeting of August 6 and the question was raised whether the total evacuation of women and children and the sick and the aged was desirable. According to the minutes, “the Committee was strongly of the opinion that it is very important that our governments know the actual con­ ditions prevailing at this camp, after which, it believes, internees as a whole will cheerfully abide by whatever de­ cision is made as in the best interests of our respective countries”. Before, however, taking any definite steps, the Committee decided that the "general reaction of internees to the question of exchange or repatriation” should be obtained, and a committee was appoint­ ed, to study the matter and make such recommendations as it thought proper, composed of J. M. Crawford, C. A. DeWitt, L. G. Freeth (British), E. E. S.

3

Kephart, H. B. Pond, T. J. Pratt (Bri­ tish), H. R. Semmelink (Dutch), and H. F. Wilkins. DeWitt was elected chair­ man at the committee’s first meeting. The committee recommended a sur­ vey covering all internees in Santo To­ mas and Los Banos and those in hospi­ tals and on release in Manila. It also submitted a two-question question­ naire for the purpose, which was ap­ proved by the Executive Committee. (Minutes, August 14.) But when Grin­ nell asked Kodaki whether he had any objections to such a survey, Kodaki "suggested” that it be held up for the time being, as he believed that "more official information as to the policies of our respective governments will soon be available”. The Executive Committee asked Grinnell "to write a letter to the Commandant outlining his conversa­ tion and asking to be advised as soon as such a canvass may be considered timely”. (Minutes, August 16.) The let­ ter was written under date of August 18 and stated that "many internees de­ sired that inquiry be made relative to possible exchange or repatriation”. (Minutes, August 20.) The Tribune of August 27 published a Tokyo news dispatch, dated August 26, reporting that the Foreign Office had announced that — "the second exchange of Japanese and American nationals as well as officials of Chile will take place about the middle of October at Mormugao in Goa, Portuguese territory in India. The an­ nouncement said a total of about 1,500 nationals will be affected. It said that the Japanese ex­ change ship, Teia Maru, and the Swedish M.S. Gripsholm will carry out the exchange. It was added that with regard to the second exchange of Japanese and British subjects, the Japanese government is carrying on negotiations.”

That same day Grinnell told the Exe­ cutive Committee that Kodaki had in­ formed him that the Teia Marti, a ves­ sel of 17,000 tons, would leave Manila during the last week of September. It

4

was expected, he said, that "about 150 Americans and Canadians, including the consular staff, will sail by this ves­ sel, as well as about the same number of British, some 30 Dutch, and a few other nationals, making a total from the Philippines of approximately 350”. The "official American list”, he said, should be available within the next few days, but the "authorities are not yet certain when the other lists will be available or how they will be consti­ tuted”. Nearly two weeks later, however, Grinnell had to report that the lists had still not been issued. He added that Kuroda had indicated that negotiations of the Japanese government with the Bri­ tish and Dutch governments were still continuing, but that he believed it un­ likely that any British or Dutch natio­ nals would be repatriated from Manila on the Teia Marti. (Minutes, Septem­ ber 6.) The Executive Committee meeting on the 6th was attended by DeWitt and Pond, who stated that their committee was anxious to take some positive steps and inquired whether it would not be in order to make up lists of internees who should be sent home on definite medical grounds. According to the min­ utes, "there seemed to be no objection to such a survey within this camp, but it was felt that if a survey of those de­ sirous of being exchanged could be made first, it would cut down a good deal of work”. Kuroda joined the meet­ ing at this point, and, being “invited to take part in the discussion”, said that in his opinion such a survey in Santo Tomas and Los Banos would be "pure­ ly an internal matter provided it was clearly understood that such a survey had nothing to do with the exchange ship presently expected”. He suggested,

THE CAMP

however, that action be deferred for a day or two until he could consult further with Kodaki. The Executive Committee held a spe­ cial meeting on September 9, on which date Grinnell received a list of 151 Am­ ericans and Canadians in Manila who were to sail on the Teia Marti, Kodaki cautioning him, in connection with his issuing instructions for sailing to those concerned, to keep the list as a whole "strictly confidential”. According to Grinnell, those to be exchanged had been chosen "primarily from a list re­ ceived by Tokyo from Washington, with substitutions filled by the Bureau of External Affairs from cases within its own knowledge and entirely on its own responsibility”. At the request of the Committee, Grinnell addressed a letter to Kodaki the following day (Septem­ ber 10) explaining that the secrecy re­ quirement was "extremely difficult from practical angles as well as unde­ sirable generally”, and requesting per­ mission to make a full statement to the internees on the subject. Kodaki the next day consented to making the list "available to department heads and committee-men concerned, but express­ ly requested that no general list be posted and that every effort be made to localize all information within the camp”. (Minutes, September 13.) Grinnell reported to the Executive Committee on September 13 that all those who were to sail had been noti­ fied and that he was preparing a list of "additional questions” to present to Kodaki in the near future. In spite of the efforts at secrecy, the general constitution of the list and the fact that it included no names of any of those whose repatriation was urgent for medical or surgical reasons, arous­ ed much criticism in the camp. The

THE REPATRIATION QUESTIONNAIRE

minutes of the Executive Committee meeting of September 17 again repeat­ ed that —

5

verbal explanations of his memorandum. While the survey is not complete, the facts were sub­ stantially agreed upon, but the difference of opinion arose from the type of message which "it should be definitely brought out that this should be forwarded. One group (headed by Committee has no voice or responsibility for the DeWitt, the chairman) felt strongly that this selection of the internees involved. The Chair­ camp should assume no responsibility for send­ man stated that this point will be covered by ing any message abroad which might directly Mr. Kodaki when he addresses internees shortly or indirectly result in placing our government before the sailing". in an embarrassing position or be considered by Americans Raise the Point of Patrio­ our Filipino friends as a desire to abandon the tic Duty — On this same day the Com­ Philippines even in part. This group recommend­ mittee “noted" that the Japanese au­ ed a message giving the facts and requesting thorities had granted it permission to that in case of future transfers preference be to women and children, the aged and inconduct a survey of the camp on the given firm.i The other group (headed by Pond) felt question of exchange or repatriation, that the camp has a definite responsibility to and that night adult internees were giv­ make a formal request for the transfer of the en an opportunity to answer two ques­ above classifications as well as others desiring to leave provided this is not contrary to govern­ tions phrased as follows: ment policy. .. The British members [of the "1. If it is consonant with the policy of your government to arrange for the release and Executive Committee] advised the Committee transportation of yourself and your immediate that their problem being different, they de­ family, if any, to the continental United States sired to send a separate telegram from that or elsewhere as arranged by your government, by the Americans, and the Netherlands com­ munity submitted a letter in which they re­ would you wish to go? gistered their wish to be excluded from con­ "2. If your answer to Question No. 1 is YES, would you still wish to go if it means a sepa­ sideration in this particular matter, it being ration of your family by reason of only women their belief that their government is doing the and children, aged and sick being permitted best it can for them." (Minutes, September 20.)1 to go?” 1 In its memorandum, the DeWitt group stated, Voting at Los Banos and at various in part: outside institutions was arranged for "A primary consideration of the undersigned committee members had been to avoid embar­ later. rassment to our respective governments with a The DeWitt committee had almost presumptuous request for general repatriation when such a request may be (a) impossible of from the first split into two equal fulfillment, (b) contrary to existing policies with groups, with DeWitt and Wilkins (Am­ regard to nationals in the Far East, and (c) an weapon of propaganda placed in the erican), Freeth (British), and Semme- effective hands of the Japanese. link (Dutch) in the one group and "(a) We have absolutely no assurance that Pond, Crawford, and Kephart (Ameri­ our governments are even considering any fur­ ther repatriation. All we have to proceed upon cans) and Pratt (British) in the other, is the fact of one imminent limited repatriation which took opposite views on the fun­ and an intimation, presumably emanating from local Japanese sources, that a message might damental question involved. The min- be coursed through to our respective govern­ nutes of the Executive Committee meet­ ments explaining our position here. Military and diplomatic reasons against further repatriation ing of September 20 stated: may be numerous and prohibitive, (b) The mat­ “Messrs. DeWitt and Pond entered the meet­ ter of government policy has given rise to pro­ discussion in the committee. It is re­ ing at 8 p.m. by invitation, these two gentlemen longed cognized that the British, Dutch, and other na­ representing two distinct groups in the com­ tionals are in a somewhat different position mittee appointed to investigate the question of from Americans in the Philippines, although exchange or repatriation with radically different Americans here are in approximately the same re­ ideas. Each brought to the meeting a memoran­ lative position as the British in Singapore and the Dutch in Java. In 1940 and 1941 our Stale De­ dum and suggested cable to be forwarded from partment and Foreign Office officials urged Ame­ Goa to the home government, and each made rican and European civilians to leave China, Ja-

6

The Pond group objected that a pro­ posed telegram drafted by the DeWitt group merely requested "priority for serious medical and surgical cases and those who by staying risk prolong­ ed or permanent health impairment”, pan, and other Far Eastern countries not under the control of Western governments. The fact that they were not urged to leave the Philip­ pines argues strongly toward a very definite policy. Likewise the categories in the present repatriation list, including transients, missiona­ ries, consular representatives, newspapermen, and a very limited number of bonafide Philip­ pine residents, supports this same policy, which the undersigned members believe to be one of great reluctance to give any impression of mass abandonment of the Filipinos in their hour of trouble. . . (c) Considering that the most im­ portant objective of Japanese propaganda in the Philippines is to convince the Filipinos that the Americans are never coming back, the uses to which they might put an open request for general repatriation seem obvious. Sample headlines occur to anyone who reads the local papers: 'Arrival of Teia Maru Prompts Wire to Washington', etc., etc. The effect of this upon the Filipinos can be imagined. A more insidious and equally effective use of our request to the home governments is the underground grape­ vine method of spreading propaganda, which we have reason to believe has already been em­ ployed with reference to the repatriation sur­ vey. We are strongly against any step which would offer further opportunity for the Jap­ anese to say truthfully that a general repatria­ tion has been requested by us of our govern­ ments. . . “The undersigned members of the committee felt it unwise and dangerous to frame a mes­ sage with any outright request whatever con­ tained in it for transfer of internees to their homelands, or without taking into considera­ tion the likely incompatibility with policies of our governments. We felt that the absolute limit to the scope of our request should be to ask, on humanitarian grounds, priority consideration for urgent medical cases and those who risk life and health by staying here, — provided any repatriation at all is possible. . . We have tried to avoid any actual or implied exaggeration of our plight because if the message is made public through newspapers in America, it would cause worry and anguish to families and friends in direct proportion to the severity of conditions represented. . . "It has been stated with frequency in our committee meetings that responsibility demands of us and the Executive Committee that we urge our governments to furnish opportunity for transfer to the homelands of all internees ex­ pressing the wish to go. It is the belief of the undersigned members that if any responsibility rests upon us or upon the Executive Committee in this connection, it demands even more clearly that we realize the following: (a) that our situa­ tion is due to war conditions over which neither we nor our governments have full control; (b)

THE CAMP

while "no request was made whatever for women, children, and the aged, and for any other persons who may desire to leave". The Pond group "strongly recommended that if possible the res­ pective governments promptly arrange release and transportation to homeland for humanitarian reasons for those in­ ternees who are sick, women and chil­ dren and aged, all if practicable with their immediate families, giving sick preference and urgent cases always priority, and also if practicable those others desiring to leave".2 The Pond group recommended the following draft of a telegram to be sent to the home governments; "INTERNEE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE AT SANTO TOMAS INTERNMENT CAMP ALthat the sacrifices we are called upon to make are not greater nor as great as those of our countrymen who are daily risking not only their health but their lives to win this war; (c) that any timid supplication or importunity in our own behalf which may be contrary to the best interest and the policies of our governments places our self-interest above simple patriotism; and (d) that any ill-considered approach can easily result in a black mark resting forever against the dignity, courage, and self-respect of Western people in the Philippines.” 2 The Pond group stated in its memorandum: "This is a direct recommendation for prompt action. Action is necessary and the large major­ ity of internees desire action. We believe that the best way to get it is to recommend it. We further believe that a telegram which merely requests priority for those who are or may be sick will not, if any further transfers are pos­ sible, fulfill the obligation of the Executive Com­ mittee to the internees... As to the facts there are no important differences of opinion. The un­ dersigned are convinced that the Executive Com­ mittee, having knowledge of the facts and con­ cern for the future, would be derelict in its duty to the internees if it did not promptly acquaint the respective governments with the situation, both present and anticipated, and re­ commend that prompt arrangements be made for the release and transportation of those in temees who may desire to leave, and particu­ larly the sick, aged, and women and children. If the Executive Committee failed to do that, its members would assume responsibility for any disaster resulting from those conditions which might overwhelm the internees. The government concerned, for reasons of policy or otherwise, may decide that nothing can be or should be done. In that event the responsibility will be theirs, not that of the Executive Com­ mittee.”

MAJORITY VOTES AGAINST REPATRIATION THOUGH REALIZING THAT POLICY OR OTHER CONSIDERATIONS MAY PRECLUDE FURTHER RELEASE AND TRANSPORTATION PHILIPPINE INTERNEES NEVERTHELESS ITS RESPONSIBILITIES FOR WELFARE IN­ TERNEES REQUIRES THAT IT STRONGLY RECOMMEND THAT IF POSSIBLE YOU PROMPTLY ARRANGE RELEASE AND TRANS­ PORTATION TO HOMELAND FOR HUMANI­ TARIAN REASONS THOSE INTERNEES WHO ARE SICK WOMEN CHILDREN AND AGED ALL IF PRACTICABLE WITH THEIR IMME­ DIATE FAMILIES GIVING SICK PREFERENCE AND URGENT CASES ALWAYS PRIORITY AND ALSO IF PRACTICABLE THOSE OTHERS DESIRING TO LEAVE STOP MUCH CONCERN FOR FUTURE FOR FOLLOWING REASONS FOOD SITUATION INCREASINGLY DIFFICULT MANY ESSENTIALS UNOBTAINABLE QUAL­ ITY FOOD EXTREMELY POOR LACKING MEAT SUGAR AND FATS AND VITAMINS VERY LOW STOP INTERNEE MEDICAL DI­ RECTOR ADVISES HEALTH INTERNEES DE­ TERIORATING VITALITY DIMINISHING NERVOUS STRAIN DUE EXTREME CONGES­ TION AND DIFFICULT LIVING CONDITIONS AFFECTING HEALTH MANY INTERNEES MANY NECESSARY MEDICAL SUPPLIES IN­ CLUDING DYSENTERY ANEMIA DIABETIS VITAMINS EXHAUSTED AND UNOBTAIN­ ABLE AND ONLY LOCAL SUBSTITUTES FOR MINOR AILMENTS OBTAINABLE AT EXOR­ BITANT PRICES ANAESTHETICS ESPECIAL­ LY ETHER VERY SHORT STOP SICK IN MA­ NILA HOSPITALS ABOUT FOUR HUNDRED EIGHTYTHREE AND CASES TREATED DAILY SANTOTOMAS CLINICS ABOUT FOUR HUN­ DRED FIFTY STOP.. ."

7

adult Americans, or 34.5%, who are willing to go even if their families, if any, should be sepa­ rated."

Kodaki Objects to a Full Report on the Situation of the Camp — When the possibility of another exchange ship leaving the Philippines had first come up, Grinnell had expressed the opinion that a comprehensive factual report covering the situation of the camp should be forwarded to Washington and London, and he told the Executive Committee that Kuroda had "indicat­ ed” that such a report could be sent in charge of Nathaniel Davis, American consul-at-large, who was among the consular officials interned in Manila and scheduled to leave on the Teia Maru. (Minutes, August 16.) In the meet­ ing of September 6 the Committee dis­ cussed the projected report, Grinnell submitting an outline of the subjects to be treated and the other members contributing various suggestions. "The report will be a factual statement of conditions, past, and expected, in this and other camps, and will be designed to give our home governments a true picture of the situation. It was felt that the first draft of this report must be completed within a week.” (Minutes, Septem­ ber 6.)

The Vote on Repatriation — In the vote taken on the question of repatria­ tion, 1,128 men and 812 women an­ swered "yes” to the first question, and It was also decided, however, in the 248 men and 311 women answered "yes" to the second question. The total meeting of September 17, that from dependent minors in the first case num­ among those who were to leave on the bered 755 and in the second 263. The Teia Marti, — total number of people interned in San­ "a definite official committee should be appoint­ to Tomas and at Los Banos was 4,762. ed to proceed to Washington and represent the not only in outlining conditions as they The British vote for repatriation was, camp, exist, but in any possible moves toward further of course, heavier than the American exchanges or the furnishing of relief supplies vote, many of the British internees and other pertinent matters. Various names were for this committee, especially Messrs. being transients. The American vote suggested Selph, Steen, Vitally, Aurell, Dr. Robinson, Dr. was summarized by the DeWitt group Leach, and Mr. Davis of the consular corps, Mr. Selph being proposed as a logical chairman”. as follows: "Of the 2,736 adult Americans interned in At the meeting of the 20th, Grinnell Santo Tomas and Los Banos, 1,334, or 48.7%, expressed disappointment over the turn expressed a wish to leave for the homeland if consonant with their government’s policies of affairs with respect to the report. He and provided their immediate families accom­ said that he had drafted a "substantial panied them. Of the above-mentioned 1,334 adult report” which "had been gone over by Americans, 389 stated they did not wish to go if it meant a separation of family, leaving 945 a small appointed group” and which he

s had shown to Kodaki that afternoon, “prior to submitting it to the Executive Committee for final approval”, but that Kodaki had told him that it was "far too long and detailed to be allowed to go forward”. Kodaki had added that "the only report which may be forward­ ed with my sanction will be a short and concise statement dealing with the needs of the camp”. Grinnell said that the report, therefore, would have to be cut down to a few pages but that he thought that population data, vital sta­ tistics, and a copy of the camp census might still be included. Regarding the ultimate fate of the report, the minutes of the Executive Committee meeting held the day after the departure of the small group to be exchanged, stated:

THE CAMP port at Meeting No. 303 (September 20), the Committee was advised that efforts were made by the American and British representatives to forward separate cables to their respective gov­ ernments, same to be dispatched from Goa or as soon thereafter as possible, but that the Commandant would not allow such cables to be forwarded. Such being the case, the Commit­ tee had no recourse but to make sure that va­ rious individuals sailing on the Teia Mam had a clear and faithful picture of the facts and the feelings of the various groups of internees on the subject, with the expectation that this in­ formation will be passed on to the respective governments involved at the earliest possible opportunity.” (Minutes, September 27.)

The Secretly Memorized Report — Inasmuch therefore as the Japanese au­ thorities had refused to allow any of those leaving to take with them any telegram drafts, or any other papers for that matter, the following draft was secretly memorized by the members of the "official committee” mentioned in the minutes:

"In connection with the report which it was planned to forward to the United States govern­ ment through internees leaving on the Teia "Basis for Cable from Goa re Transfers Maru, the Chairman reported that Mr. Kodaki "Americans Executive Committee acting for had disapproved of this action on the grounds that the report was altogether too long and welfare internees consider duty to lay following detailed. He then condensed it to bare essentials facts before Government: "Camp faced with serious problems: (1) Food and again presented it to the Commandant who still felt that a report of this nature could not increasingly difficult, diet lacks meat, sugar, fats, properly be forwarded through departing inter­ vitamins. (2) Many medical supplies including nees with his official sanction. He did allow specifics and anaesthetics nearly exhausted, un­ medical relief shipments a copy of the camp census to be so forwarded. obtainable, no In order that there may be no distortion of received. (3) Medical staff advises inter­ facts and a relative unanimity of opinion upon nees health deteriorating, vitality diminishing, arrival at destination, the Committee approved physical nervous strain due congestion, difficult the appointment of the following to officially living conditions undermining general health. (4) represent the camp: Messrs: Selph, Steen, Leach, Over 400 persons outside hospitals, institutions, too sick for internment, our 100-bed hospital Aurell, Robinson, Vitally, Cronin. "In the same manner, the British members of constantly full, many out-patients, but no se­ the Committee appointed Mr. G. G. Waller assist­ rious epidemics yet. ed by Mr. R.M. Sanford, to represent them. These "In view of above and recent survey Santo gentlemen were thoroughly acquainted with all Tomas and Los Banos internment camps, strong­ pertinent facts available relating to civilian ene­ ly recommend for humanitarian reasons in case my aliens in the Philippines, and it is believed future transfers, priority be given serious medi­ ►hat upon their arrival home they will be able cal, surgical cases, aged and infirm, women and to draw a fair and comprehensive picture of the children wishing to leave, in order of merit. entire situation for the benefit of those in the Also if compatible government policy consider­ homelands who may be interested. Meanwhile, able number others anxious transfer special rea­ both the original and the condensed reports sons together with immediate families should be will be circulated in the Committee tomorrow. provided for circumstances permitting. While "In connection with the questions of exchange many unwilling to make direct request because transfers and repatriation regarding which a might be considered interference government po­ camp survey here and in Los Banos had been licy, others wish definite recommendation made recently made and the results referred to a requesting prompt attention. Present estimate subcommittee for summary and recommenda­ out of over 4,900 Americans registered Philip­ tions, which subcommittee made a divided re­ pines, about 2,600 desirous leave above condi-

BAGGAGE OF EVACUEES SEARCHED tions, subject 20-30% reduction if family separa­ tion involved.”

Around 66% of the British in the camp, many of whom, as stated, were transients, had voted for going regard­ less of family separation. The Poles and and the Free French asked the British to include information concerning them in the telegram the British in­ tended to send from Goa. This propos­ ed telegram (memorized) opened with the sentence, "If repatriation from Far East is being considered, British com­ munity in Manila submits case exists for repatriation from there. . .” The Dutch group in the camp decided they would not have a telegram of their own sent as they believed that general con­ ditions would be adequately described in the American message. On the Thursday and Friday before the Sunday of the departure, the Pack­ age-Line was closed by order of the Japanese. On Thursday all the baggage of those leaving was collected in the quadrangle before the main building and inspected by some 20 Japanese army officers and around 20 Japanese civilians. This was the first opportunity the internees as a whole had to see just who were going. Not even all the mem­ bers of the Executive Committee had seen the official list or knew just what substitutions had been made. Now the names could be read on trunks and suitcases. Inspection of the Baggage — Every­ thing had to be opend, unpacked, and unwrapped. Pockets and even the lin­ ings of garments were carefully search­ ed. Wrapping-paper was smoothed out and scanned for possible writing. No books, notebooks, or papers of any kind could be taken except passports. Framed pictures were taken apart to see whether anything was hidden in the backs. A bible or two got by, but a bi­ lingual English-Chinese bible was re­

9

jected. A valuable postage-stamp col­ lection was confiscated. Photographs of anything but people were banned, but one Englishwoman, whose husband was in Hongkong, if he were still alive, had two photographs of him in uni­ form, and the inspector confiscated them. When she began to cry, he hand­ ed her back one to take along with her. One newspaperman had used selected issues of the Tribune as wrapping-pa­ per, and of this the inspector concerned took no notice. For money, the eva­ cuees were allowed to take out only Japanese army notes up to PI,000. Bonds and securities, even checkbooks, had to be left behind. Only Few of the Seriously III In­ cluded — Evacuees who had been out on temporary release had been brought back during the preceding fews days, as were also those of them who had spent the last months at Los Banos. The 24 members of the American con­ sular staff, however, were not brought into the camp. Those about to depart from Santo Tomas were mainly people who had been transients in Manila at the outbreak of the war, comprising some missionaries and missionary doc­ tors from China, a number of Rocke­ feller Foundation doctors, two or three newspapermen,3 and many of the rest were businessmen and their families who had come from Shanghai and Hongkong. Among the local residents to leave was Selph, Vice-Chairman of the Executive Committee, and his wife. Of the 151 persons whose names were on the original list, 27 had either de­ clined the opportunity to leave or had been dropped allegedly because of some difference in initials or some spel­ ling error discovered by the Japanese. Substitutions had been made for these 3 Doctors Leach, Whitacre, and Robinson were among those exchanged; also Cronin of the As­ sociated Press.

10

27. Among them were only some five or six persons whose names had ap­ peared on the lists of urgent medical and surgical cases prepared by Holland and Dr. Robinson. Classified as to na­ tionality, the 151 persons evacuated comprised 131 Americans, 15 Cana­ dians, and 6 of other nationalities. One man who had lost an eye and was in serious danger of losing the other if he could not be returned to the United States immediately, was placed on the list on the last night, and this was man­ aged not by adding numerically to the list but by a tacit agreement not to count the one infant among the ex­ changees. Kodaki "Passes the Buck" — On Friday evening there was a gathering of almost the entire internee body in the quadrangle to hear the "good-bye” speech of Kodaki and, afterward, to witness a combined moving-picture and vaudeville show staged as a farewell performance. Kodaki’s speech was a rather remark­ able one in several respects. Grinnell had told the Executive Committee on September 13 that Kodaki had promis­ ed to cover the point, in a speech he would make shortly before the depar­ ture, that the Committee had "no voice or responsibility for the selection of the internees involved”. Kodaki actually said as to this: " . . . The repatriates were selected by your own governments. There was little room for us to make any arbitrary decision. . . I knew there would be long delay in the negotiations, lead­ ing, not improbably, to total cancellation of this project if we rejected certain names in the list submitted by the United States Government. So we accepted the list as it was in the belief that such an attitude of ours would be appreciated by all who were directly interested in the pro­ ject. If there is dissatisfaction among you con­ cerning the list and if you blame us for that, you are widely beside the mark. There were some who declined to go home. Investigations in such cases were handled by the Executive Committee with no interference from our side. The option to remain here was their own; there

THE CAMP was neither pressure nor influence exercised from outside. For these very few cases, we had to select substitutes to fill up the vacancies. You will have noticed that the vacancies were largely filled up with the sick and the aged according to the recommendation of the representative members of the Committee. But you must re­ member that the present repatriation was not intended by your government for the sick and aged. I claim, therefore, that we all acted in the fairest manner under the principles of the agreement."

The speech as a whole, — made, by the way, on the evening before the day of the election of Laurel as President of the projected "independent” Philip­ pine Republic, differed greatly in tone from the speech made by him early in February, and was ingratiating enough to be somewhat sickening. He said among other things that he had always declined to serve in a diplomatic capa­ city in the United States because the "Exclusion Act of 1924” had made him believe that the Americans were so ar­ rogant and would look upon him with such prejudice that he felt he would never be able to render any useful serv­ ice in such a country. But, he said, now that he had come to know Americans better he had "come to realize that it was not so much the people of the United States but largely the policy of their government that had aroused our feeling in 1924 and finally led the rela­ tions between the two countries into that complete deadlock in 1941. There­ fore”, he said, "I am now inclined to take up a post in the United States as soon as circumstances will permit." He asked that he be invited as a "spe­ cial member” to any future gathering or party of Santo Tomas people. He even tried to enlist the aid of his good friends in the "cause of lasting peace”. "I believe”, he said, "that at least these Americans who know East Asia better than the majority of the Americans should form a nucleus in their country for the future peace of the Pacific, —

♦

DEPARTURE OF THE 127

an enduring peace with fairness and justice. . ." He half apologized for the attack on Hawaii, quoting "an interest­ ing allegory made by an American jour­ nalist": " 'When you keep shaking your fist in a man's face, you had better be prepared to defend yourself against his fists, — and don’t expect him to tell you just when he is going to use them.’ ” In spite of this general tone, there was not lacking the usual Japanese menace. For instance, he said: "Those of you who are going will realize that your life here was not so awful as many of you had thought, and when you reach your homes you should be careful to take no action or say anything that might antagonize the in­ terests of those who remain behind.”

11 He called it Pacific. . . but oh-a. . . If he’d only see it today!"

The whole ballad, sung to the tune of "O Bring Back My Bonnie to Me”, was a good example of the fun, much of it at the expense of the "repatriots”. It ran: "Next week I’m sailing for Goa Cause Goa means freedom to me; But if Portugal gets in the woah, I’ll come back from Goa to thee. "Speaking of-a Goa, Here's one thing I know-a: Always here-to-fo'a No one went to Goa. "But this blasted woah Fixed it up so-ah We want nothing mo-ah Than to Goa. "So pick up your dough-a, Just one grand, no mo-ah; Check your baggage o’ah And prepare to Goa. "Here’s our last Aloha To the folks who Goa; See you all once mo-ah When the war is o’ah."

This was taken from a stenographic transcript of what he actually said. The threat was eliminated from the type­ written copy of the speech later sent to the Executive Committee. The follow­ Very early Sunday morning, Septem­ ing milder repetition of the threat, at ber 26, after the usual cracked-corn the close of the speech, was allowed breakfast (without sugar and without to stand: even coconut milk) served to the de­ "Let me assure you once again that the Jap­ parting internees at 4 o’clock, the 127 anese authorities will always uphold a fair at­ departed on buses for the railway sta­ titude toward you unless you give them any reason to reverse their present attitude either tion, accompanied by soldier-guards by untoward criticism on them or by your in­ and a member of the Commandant's considerate action, whether in this country or in staff, for the Teia Marti, it developed, your own. Please, those who are now leaving here will not forget the people staying behind. did not enter Manila Bay but lay off­ shore somewhere, it was said in LingaParting is a sweet sorrow!” yen Gulf. In spite of the early hour, Despite the undertones, the speech half the camp was up to see them off. was superficially so amicable that he The Executive Committee's Denial of received more than perfunctory ap­ the Responsibility — The minutes of plause from the nitwits in the audience. the Executive Committee meeting of One man was heard to groan to his the next day touched on Kodaki’s companion: "A month after the war is speech: over, we'll be fools enough to start "The Committee notes that in connection with setting Japan up again! See if we this departure, Mr. Kodaki, Commandant of don’t!” the camp, addressed all internees Friday evening, Dave Harvey a half hour later, in the September 24. During the course of the address, farewell vaudeville show, recalled some many internees received the impression from of those in the audience to the real­ the Commandant that substitutions in the ori­ ginal list of departing internees were filled ities, in a song: through the advise of the Executive Committee. "There was a young guy named Balboa, Who found a calm ocean one day;

The Committee wishes to go on record once more that it had no voice in the actual selection

12

THE CAMP

of such internees and that all substitutions were filled entirely on the responsibility of the Com­ mandant and the Department of External Affairs of the Japanese Military Administration.”

This Committee had sent the Execu­ tive Committee a letter, dated Septem­ ber 15, a week before the departure, As to the actual departure from the which read: "We submitted to you on August 30 a me­ Philippines, the minutes of the meeting morandum in which we listed a number of sub­ of October 1, said: "In reply to a question, the Chairman stated that the letters recently written by internees for the homelands definitely went forward by the Teia Maru, and in this connection made the following statement, approved by the Comman­ dant: " ‘The group of internees who left camp for the exchange ship arrived safely at the point of embarkation4 and were taken aboard the ship together with their baggage in the after­ noon of the same day. Members of the Com­ mandant’s staff who accompanied the party commented on the reception accorded the inter­ nees who were served refreshments, including an assortment of fresh fruits from Japan. This information has been given out by the Com­ mandant to relieve any concern or apprehension on the part of the relatives and friends remain­ ing at Santo Tomas’ "

News of Coming Red Cross Supplies — The minutes also contained the fol­ lowing concerning a shipment of sup­ plies from the United States, so long awaited: "The Chairman advised the Committee that Mr. Kodaki has had confirmation to the effect that supplies in considerable quantities consign­ ed direct to war and civilian prisoners in the Philippines may be expected by the return of the exchange ship. The question naturally arose as to how these supplies may be taken posses­ sion of and handled upon arrival, and various recommendations were made. The Chairman stated that this matter is still in the tentative stage and that he will report developments as they occur.”

The Holter Letter of Inquiry — The affair of this "limited exchange" might have ended on this cheering note had it not been for the action taken mean­ while by the Internee Relations Com­ mittee (now called a department) in suspending its activities pending cer­ tain explanations demanded from the Executive Committee in connection with the repatriation. 4 Note (1945) — Poro, port of San Fernando, La Union, on the Lingayen Gulf.

jects, the lack of information on which has seriously hampered the efforts of our depart­ ment to serve the internees in a satisfactory manner. Among the items listed is one relating to repatriation and/or exchange which, because of recent developments, has created a furor in this camp. In view of the many questions, complaints, and comments with which we have been deluged in this connection, we feel it incumbent upon us to call to your attention the reactions of the internees in this camp with regard to this current problem. "First, we should like to be informed as to the actions of your Committee during the past six months in the promotion of repatriation and/or exchange. We understand that this ques­ tion has been brought to your attention many times, particularly during the past few months, both by interested groups of internees and in­ dividual internees and we should appreciate in­ formation regarding the action taken by you on this matter. "Second, with respect to the group who are to leave Manila on the Teia Maru, the following questions are being asked by many internees in this camp: "1. How many people are to be allowed to go? "2. How and by whom was the original list made up? "3. How and by whom were the names on the substitute list selected? "4. Why did not the names submitted to you by the camp doctors and the release department as urgent medical cases form the basis of the substitute list? "5. Was this list of urgent medical cases sub­ mitted to the Japanese at the time it was known that the original list might possibly be amended, together with your recommendation that all substitutions be made from this list? "6. If this procedure was followed and the Japanese authorities did not follow your re­ commendations, have you protested in writing to them regarding the reported selection of sub­ stitutes who are neither aged nor urgent me­ dical cases? "7. Why is it not possible to post a list of those to be repatriated and/or exchanged on the Teia Maru? "Third, we should like to ask you what action you are taking to make it possible for the gov­ ernments concerned to be informed of the desire of many in this camp to be repatriated and/or

INTERNEE RELATIONS DEPARTMENT SUSPENDS ACTIVITIES

13

exchanged, in particular the sick, the aged, and appeared to some members of the Exe­ women and children? cutive Committee to be, the Committee "Fourth, we know that you concur in the opinion of the internees that we should avoid should have realized that it was indica­ a repetition of the confusion which has marked tive of a state of camp opinion that this first effort at repatriation and/or exchange. could not be ignored. Yet, two weeks May we suggest, therefore, that you immediately after the repatriates had left the camp, prepare plans to effectively and fairly cope with any further attempts by our respective govern­ this letter still remained unanswered. ments in this direction. We recommend to you The day after the departure on Sunday, that: September 26, at the Executive Com­ "1. You select a spokesman or a committee mittee meeting of the 27th, Day was from the group sailing on the Teia Marti who will be empowered to report to the United asked to reply, which he did under date States Department of State, giving the number of September 29, but it had not yet of internees in this camp, the number who been delivered when the Internee Re­ wish to be repatriated, and a picture of the general medical situation of the camp. This com­ lations Department delivered itself of mittee should urge that the recommendation of the following broadside, dated Septem­ the medical and release departments of this ber 30, against the Executive Commit­ camp should be sought by our respective gov­ tee. The communication was posted on ernments to serve as a basis in the prenaration of future lists of individuals to be repatriated the bulletin boards and set the whole and/or exchanged from the various internment camp agog. camps in the Philippines. Finally, this statement should also include as much pertinent informa­ "To the Executive Committee tion relating to food and medical supplies as "Subject: Suspension of the activities of the may be deemed important in assisting our re­ internee relations department "Exactly one month ago today, under the spective governments to reach a decision on the date of August 30, our department sent to you question of partial or total repatriation. "2. Each of the major groups of nations re­ a memorandum5 which had been unanimously presented in this camp should select from among approved at our regular meeting on August 29. those desiring to be repatriated and/or exchang­ As you know, this memorandum asked your Committee to clarify our status, by reviewing ed a committee the chairman of which should our past activities and advising us as to our cooperate with our medical staff in the prepa­ ration of lists of internees in order of the ur­ proper course of action in the future. On Sep­ gency of their respective medical needs. To us, tember 10, Mr. Selph met with our working it would seem wise to have these committees committee to discuss our memorandum but we work independently of the Executive Commit­ do not consider this an official action on your tee, so as to avoid any possibility of embarrass­ ment to your committee members should they 5 The memorandum of August 30, referred to, be selected to be repatriated and/or exchanged. follows: "The internee relations department has now "3. The individuals from this camp to be re­ been in existence for 2-1/2 months and we are patriated and/or exchanged in the future should desirous of frankly reviewing our work in the be firstly selected entirely from this list pre­ past and also seeking clarification from you as pared by the committees chosen for this purpose to the proper course of action we should pursue in the future. in cooperation with the medical staff. "In your official announcement to the inter­ "No doubt in your many discussions of this problem, you have considered most, if not all, nees, dated June 9, you stated in part: " ‘The Executive Committee and the members of the points mentioned above. Nevertheless, a of this department feel that, with your coopera­ statement from you relative to the above noted tion, this new venture can develop into an questions and comments will help to clear up effective and mutually helpful liaison agency a confused development which has the possibi­ between the internees and the Executive Com­ lity of affecting the internees of this camp in mittee. Your interests and welfare shall be the a more personal and vital manner than almost primary concern of this department. In keeping with this objective, the department will endeavor any other problem we are called on to face.” to obtain answers to any of your questions to The Internee Relations Department the end that you will have accurate information. This department also intends to get to you full Announces Suspension of its Activities explanation of the background of current Exe­ in Protest — Officious as the tenor and cutive Committee actions. From you, we hope to receive suggestions as to possible improve­ tone of this communication may have ments in camp life. And, finally, this de­

14 part. Other than that, we have had no reply. "During the past three months, we have sub­ mitted to you memoranda on the following subjects: Cash Relief for Women and Children; A Report on Clothing Issues by the Department of Relief and Welfare; Law and Order (three memoranda at different times); Request for a Copy of the Appeal to the Commandant in Regard to Further Tranfers to Los Banos; Se­ lection of Executive Committee Members (two memoranda); Planning for Housing; Dining Sheds; Shipment of Medical Supplies; Isolation Ward; Dogs in Camp; Camp Post Office; Report on Santo Tomas; and Repatriation and/or Ex­ change. "You have acknowledged the receipt of some of these memoranda but in practically no case have we been given a full and complete answer that we could pass on to the internees. May we cite two examples: "1. In regard to repatriation and/or exchange. More than two weeks ago, we felt the absolute necessity of voicing to you the many questions and complaints of the internees having to do with the vital questions of repatriation and/or exchange. As a result, we sent you under date of September 15 a memorandum, duly consi­

THE CAMP dered and unanimously approved, concerning this all-important matter. After more than two weeks, we still have had no answer. "2. In regard to the selection of Executive Committee members. In our two memoranda, of August 13 and September 15, we stated in part: 'It is our opinion that, almost without exception, the internees feel that such replace­ ments. . . should be selected by the internees themselves through the medium of a popular election. . . In addition, we urge that, at the time this matter is discussed with the Comman­ dant, he be requested to consider the desire of the internees to select by popular vote all of the members of the Executive Committee by means of a general election to be held as soon as possible’. Your reply stated in part: '. . . your point of view will be taken into consideration when the time comes for final action for filling the vacancy caused by the departure of Mr. Selph’. We have had no indication that our point of view in regard to the election of all of the members of the Executive Committee in a gen­ eral election or some alternative plan was pre­ sented to the Commandant or even discussed by your Committee. "Your complete ignoring of our memoranda makes it impossible for us to function until we have some clarification of our status. Con­ sequently, until we receive some word from you, all activities of this department will be suspend­ ed. In order to inform the internees of our action and the reason therefor, a copy of this memorandum and of the two mentioned above, which we have withheld up to this time, will be posted. "Don W. Holter, Chairman "The Internee Relations Department"

partment expects to ascertain, understand, and definitely express to the proper au­ thorities your general ideas, attitudes and de­ sires about camp affairs. In various ways, the department is planning to get accurate informa­ tion to you in the quickest way possible. We believe that knowledge will bring about under­ standing.’ "In analizing our activities to date, we must confess that we have failed to achieve the real objectives for which we have worked. The only accomplishments which can properly be credited to our department are: "1. We have served as a 'wailing wall’ for we are unable to fulfill our primary obligation internees, thus relieving Executive Committee to the internees on such matters, for it is no members of the burden of listening to an end­ exaggeration to say that information on these more important items is withheld from us, ap­ less number of petty complaints. "2. We have been able to clear up many mis­ parently by deliberate intent on your part, until understandings between internees and those in long after the information has become common authority by answering questions in writing knowledge through internees with 'good con­ nections’. In support of this statement, let us (some 400 to date). “3. We have been instrumental to some degree cite the following matters, information concern­ in explaining the difficult conditions under which ing which we feel should have been relayed the Executive Committee must work, in an ef­ as promptly as possible through our department fort to urge patience, trust, and understanding. to the internees: "1. Development at Los Banos, particularly "4. We have endeavored to convey to you through the medium of reports our concept of in the beginning. "2. Special funds (particularly Bessmer Fund internee opinion on camp problems. "This record does not in our opinion justify No. 1). "3. Neutral representative or protecting the efforts of our department which has failed to realize the most important objective, that of power. "4. Cash relief for those in need, particularly bridging the sea of misunderstanding between you and the internees as a whole. Our feeling of women and children. "5. Law and order. frustration in this respect arises from the fact ”6. Repatriation or exchange. that these meagre accomplishments are by and "In soliciting information on these vital ques­ large concerned with minor camp problems only. On all major questions we feel that we become tions, the details of which are in general being associated with you in their solutions only when handled by your Chairman, we have found it we force our opinions on you. Most certainly impossible to obtain adequate information to

THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE’S REPLY

The Executive Committee’s Tardy Reply — Day’s reply for the Executive Committee to the memorandum of the Internee Relations Department of Sep­ tember 15 in regard to the repatriation read as follows: "At our Executive Committee meeting held on September 27, I was requested to reply to your memorandum of September 15 and 16 which I endeavor to do herewith. “1. Report on Santo Tomas Internment Camp: As I have explained to you verbally and as the minutes of Meeting No. 304 show, no formal report was sent back to the United States by repatriates. It is true, however, that several persons who are making the trip spent give to the internees. Likewise, in the presenta­ tion of memoranda regarding these and other matters, we have felt that we are tolerated nuisances, rather than individuals honestly try­ ing to function as we should. "That you do not share the same concept of the proper function of our department is evidenced by the fact that you, as a committee, have never on any occasion approached us for our expression of opinion of the camp. “We, therefore, consider it timely and only fair to ask you the following questions: "1. Is it your policy to avoid disseminating information on camp problems to the inter­ nees through our department, particularly ma­ jor problems such as those listed above? "2. Is it your intention to pass on through us information on camp problems that does not lend itself to formal presentation by written notice or broadcast? "3. If our department is to be used for the purpose for which it was set up, how would you suggest we obtain information on major camp problems? Shall we drag it out of you as at present, or will you delegate your Chairman to survey these problems with us at regular frequent intervals? "4. Is it your intention to use our department to sound out camp opinion on problems of a controversial nature prior to your final decision on them? "5. Do you attach any importance to the unsolicited reports which we have sent you on camp problems? Do you not feel that we may rightfully expect a positive or negative response to such reports? In all reports submitted, we feel we have expressed the considered opinion of responsible internees. "6. In your frank opinion, is the personnel of the internee relations department of proper calibre to warrant sufficient confidence on your part to trust us with the dissemination of news to the internees and to solicit from us considered opinions, not from our department alone, but of a large cross-section of internees whom we consult as a matter of course? "7. In seeking information from your Chair­ man relative to camp problems, we were in­ formed by him that ‘he did not want any ad­ vice or opinions from internees’. Is this the

15 the last week of their time here in endeavoring to memorize assembled data regarding the camp and its problems, as well as those confronting enemy aliens elsewhere in the Philippines as we know them, with the expectation of making whatever presentation they can as a unit to the proper authorities when they reach destination. While it is undoubtedly true that every worth­ while point can not be covered, the Committee believes we can rely on these gentlemen to make a fair and adequate presentation. "Your recommendation with regard to ap­ pointing a committee of internees to represent us in Washington had already been in the minds of our Committee, who appointed 7 persons to comprise this committee, those named being Messrs. Selph, Steen, Leach, Aurell, Vitally, Ro­ binson, and Cronin. And it is to these gentlemen I referred in my remarks in the above parag­ raph. "2. Repatriation and/or Exchange: Your ques­ tions as to what the Committee has done during the past 6 months to promote repatriation and exchange are very natural and important. From my own knowledge as a member of the Com­ mittee and later as Secretary, I can state that this matter has been under discussion from time to time. Our report sent forward last February stressed the importance of the development of a policy in this regard as well as the actual need of certain classes of internees to be transferred from these surroundings. This matter was under active consideration by Mr. Kodaki while in Tokyo. Upon his return, he indicated, as you know, that the issue was a live one but a difficult one to arrange. Since that time, the Chairman has discussed this matter with Mr. Kodaki from time to time and particularly after a conference with Mr. Crawford and the writer some two months ago. At that time, Mr. Kodaki sentiment of your Committee as a whole? If so, how do you expect us to function? If it is not, what do you as a committee recommend be done to make it possible for our department to perform a most needed service to the in­ ternees in this camp? "When we as individual members of this de­ partment assumed this task, we did it with a serious feeling of obligation not only to the Executive Committee but with an even greater responsibility to the internees as a whole. In your formal announcement, they were told that their 'interests and welfare shall be the primary consideration of this department’. In their in­ terests and for their welfare now, we ask for your frank answers to our questions. This will enable us to clarify with the internees the am­ biguity and uncertainty of our relationship with you and with them. We feel that this is of suf­ ficient importance to you and to the internees to ask that you give immediate attention to it to the end that we may plan our proper course of action in the future.”

16 stated that he anticipated a statement of Govern­ ment policy within a month. Such policy has not yet been released but the current repatria­ tion ship has actually sailed. As pointed out by Mr. Kodaki, policy regarding exchange or re­ patriation is determined between Tokyo and Washington and not by the Commandant of this camp or the military authorities in Manila. Consequently, all we can do is to keep the is­ sue alive, try to get the facts to our Govern­ ment, and be prepared to make recommendaiions when we have any real opportunity to do >o. I think the Committee has been doing its best on this problem and it is hoped that the information going forward verbally on the Teia Maru may be of service in clarifying the situa­ tion and obtaining either action or at least a statement of policy. In this connection, I may add that had we a neutral representative in Manila, matters of this kind would be much simpler. All efforts in this direction have so far been unavailing, however, and unfortunately it is not in our province to force this issue which doubtless has been the subject of ne­ gotiation between Tokyo and Washington. "Secondly, to answer specifically the ques­ tions contained in your memorandum regarding those who left on the Teia Maru. "1) The number was 152. "2) Mr. Kodaki has stated that the original lists came from Washington. “3) Also according to Mr. Kodaki, substitu­ tions were made by the Department of External Affairs of the Japanese Military Administration from cases within its knowledge. "4) Mr. Kodaki stated in his speech that me­ dical cases did not necessarily form the basis for this evacuation, and consequently he used his own judgment in filling up vacancies. "5) I do not think any formal list of medi­ cal cases was presented to the Japanese recent­ ly, but the Japanese have from time to time received applications with medical certificates and knew pretty well what cases were urgent in this camp and in Manila. The Committee was never given an opportunity to submit any list of suggested names. "6) No protest has been filed with the Jap­ anese authorities. Such protest would be inef­ fective in view of Mr. Kodaki’s statement that he did not consider that this vessel should be filled exclusively with sick, aged, and those par­ ticularly needing to be exchanged. "7) It was impossible to post a list of those to be repatriated or exchanged on the Teia Maru because, by direct order, the Commandant pro­ hibited this. This order was protested and the prohibition reiterated. "3. The Committee drafted cables to the Gov­ ernments involved covering salient facts and the desires and needs of internees to be repatriated or exchanged which it hoped to send forward through Mr. Nathaniel Davis of the American

THE CAMP Consular Corps by the Teia Maru to be cabled from Goa. Mr. Kodaki refused to allow these messages to go forward, but the information is clearly in the minds of various internees who are on the ship and we shall be disappointed if a fair cable on this subject is not forwarded on their initiative from Goa or shortly there­ after. "4. Point 1 has been covered by action taken last week. Point 2 has been covered as far as the British are concerned, and probably will be covered from the American angle if the plans of the special committee named to look into a recommendation on this matter are worked out. As to Point 3, we agree that your suggestion is highly desirable, but although we can recom­ mend this procedure, we can not insist upon it because, as stated above, these matters are in the hands of Governments and not individuals. "We hope that the above will perhaps help clarify the situation and the writer will be glad to discuss any or all of these points with you at further length if you so desire.”

Day’s letter did not answer every question that had arisen in connection with the “limited exchange”, yet if the information it contained had been made available to the camp as a whole some weeks before, much bitterness might have been averted. It was true that some of the facts could not well have been made public through the broadcasting system, but the main facts could have been disseminated by the Internee Relations Department and passed from person to person, — which was exactly one of the functions for the performance of which it had been es­ tablished. The Executive Committee Angered — The minutes of the Executive Commit­ tee meeting of October 1 said: "The Secretary stated that a memorandum has been received today from the internee re­ lations department stating that they propose to suspend activities of their department until their status has been clarified by full replies to va­ rious written memoranda submitted from time to time in the past, and in their opinion in­ adequately answered. The Secretary stated that he was replying to this memorandum tomorrow explaining the situation.”

The minutes of the Executive Com­ mittee meeting of October 4, however, stated:

HOLTER ELECTED TO THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE “The Committee notes that the department of internal relations had posted last Saturday on the main camp bulletin boards several me­ moranda addressed to the Committee and had thereupon suspended activities pending satis­ factory clarification of their position. The Secre­ tary stated that these postings had been made without waiting for his detailed reply which he had promised to deliver to the chairman of the internee relations department not later than Sa­ turday, October 2. As a result of this action taken by the internee relations department, the Committee decided to withhold delivery of replies to the internee relations department memoranda and to defer further consideration of this matter until the existing vacancy on the Executive Commitee has been filled.”

To Holter himself, Day wrote, under date of October 2: “Yesterday morning you delivered to me a memorandum addressed to the Executive Com­ mittee dated September 30 advising the Commit­ tee that until such time as your status is clari­ fied you propose to suspend further activities. I stated to you at the time that a good deal of the difficulty was my own failure to realize that you expected detailed written replies to all of your memoranda, the subject-matters of which, however, have always been discussed with you at length. I promised you a letter on this subject within a day in explanation thereof, which I suggested should be taken into conside­ ration in connection with your plan to post various memoranda; this letter I drafted yester­ day afternoon and it is now ready. I supposed you would be courteous enough to withhold the posting of your memoranda until you had re­ ceived my letter and that good taste, as well as the interests of the camp in which you are deep­ ly concerned would have prevented you making public mention of personalities. “Now that you have posted the memoranda without waiting for any answer or written ex­ planation from us, I have been instructed by the Committee to hold up my letter as well as the memorandum drafted by Mr. Selph in reply to yours of August 30, until we have had an opportunity to confer with representatives of your group, which I advised you yesterday was the desire of the Committee expressed in Mr. Selph’s memorandum.”

“Done to Condemn Secrecy in the Management of Camp Affairs. . ."Hol­ ter. — Holter said later that Day must have misunderstood him for he had not agreed to "wait for an answer”. He said that both the suspension of the activities of his department and the posting of the memoranda had been

17

resorted to "in order to bring to the attention of the internees the actual situation in the camp. . . It was done to condemn secrecy in the management of camp affairs and to bring about a more democratic procedure”. Holter Elected to Executive Commit­ tee — At the meeting on October 1, Grinnell had informed the Executive Committee that the "Commandant had agreed that the vacancy created by the departure of Mr. Selph may be filled by the choice of the internee body”. According to the minutes: "Various suggestions were considered as to the plan to be followed in making this choice and it was finally agreed that the suggestions of the floor monitors, slightly modified, should form the basis for selection. At the same time it was decided that inasmuch as special prob­ lems involving special nationalities are bound to come up from time to time, the principle of proportional representation, followed in the pre­ sent Committee, should be maintained and that while a final camp choice is advisable, prelimi­ nary selection should be made in this case by the members of the American community. It was also agreed that any internee finally chosen to the Committee should be prepared to relin­ quish any other camp activity he may have at present. The Secretary was instructed to pro­ ceed with preparations for the selection which it is hoped may be completed not later than Thursday, October 7, and was authorized to invite Messrs. Groves and Stapler to make the official tabulation."

On Sunday evening, October 3, the Americans in the camp voted freely in a preliminary nomination. The fol­ lowing night the 25 persons who had received the highest number of votes had been listed, and the voters were asked to select 5 from among these 25. Those who had received the highest number of votes that night were noti­ fied of the fact, among them Carroll, Duggleby, Canon, Chittick, Evans, No­ ble, and Pond, all of whom declined for one reason or another to allow their names to be presented in the final elec­ tion. The final list of nominees was made up of Miss Mabel Carlson, DeWitt, Byron Ford, Holter, and the Rev.

18

Father Sheridan. The Commandant had approved the list, it was announc­ ed, “making no change in the list sub­ mitted to him”. In all the voting, Holter had received a vote several times higher than the next man, but he consented to have his name presented finally only after considerable pressure from his friends. He felt that his standing for election might be misinterpreted, es­ pecially as some people talked of the effective "timing” of his letter to the Executive Committee. As a matter of fact, the letter had been written before the announcement of an election had been made. The final voting on Thursday evening by all the voters in the camp, — Ameri­ can and British, resulted in Holter’s election. The voting was as follows: Holter 1,176, DeWitt 633, Sheridan 384, Carlson 295, Ford 280. The DeWitt vote was also to be taken as an opposition vote. The voting as a whole was to be taken not only as an expression of the disapproval of the manner in which the matter of the repatriation had been conducted, but as a condemnation of Grinnell’s general attitude. It was an­ other assertion of the democratic will in the camp. The Bessmer and American Red Cross Relief Funds — When, in Octo­ ber, another relief fund of around P47,000 (Relief Fund No. 4) was made available to the camp and Kodaki re­ marked in the usual indefinite Japan­ ese manner that he believed it likely that an equivalent sum might be made available monthly, the Executive Com­ mittee decided to spend a part of this in cash relief payments to the many internees who were practically penni­ less. "The continuance of cash relief distribution” was to be "contingent on regular receipt of the relief funds”. (Minutes, October 15.)

THE CAMP The per capita per diems allowed by the Japanese to the camp had never been adequate, and these relief funds which, of course, came ultimately from the United States were a god­ send. The first designated Relief Fund No. 1 (Bessmer), amounting to P50.000, was not re­ ceived until May 25, 1943, although, no doubt, the United States government had been trying to get money to the camp since the beginning. Fund No. 1 came just in time to make it pos­ sible to buy a considerable quantity of medical supplies which had then been uncovered and which would not have been in the market very long. The money reached the camp through J. O. Bessmer, a Swiss citizen and an executive of the Ed. A. Keller company in Manila, who, it was said, was a friend of the International Red Cross delegate in Tokyo. This official had wished to appoint Bessmer administrator of Red Cross funds to be sent to Manila, but the local Japanese authorities objected. Then the delegate had suggested to Bessmer that he make what loans he could from Keller company funds, these to be repaid out of Red Cross funds. The arrangement was irregular, but the Japan­ ese, who of course knew all about it, seemed to prefer it that way. How this first P50,000 was spent by the Executive Committee has al­ ready been told. What the Committee called Relief Fund No. 2 came to the camp on June 15 in the amount of 100,000 yen, this credit coming direct from the International Red Cross representative in Tokyo. Converted according to the rate of exchange fixed by the Japanese, it amounted to P46,994.08. With the "approval” of the Commandant, it was allotted as follows: Baguio Internment camp P3,700; Davao internment camp, PI,800; tem­ porary advance to the Santo Tomas textile department, P20.000 (it was necessary to make immediate purchases before stocks in Manila were completely exhausted); loan to the Los Banos internment camp to build up reserve sup­ plies, P16.404; hospital supplies, P5,000. The loan to the textile department, when repaid, was re-allotted as follows: family aid committee (re­ lief of the "non-internable” families of some of the Santo Tomas internees), for the month of August, P5,000; soap and toilet-paper to be is­ sued to internees who had no money of their own, P4,469; family aid for October, P6,000; loan to the Finance and Supplies Committee for the purchase of reserve food supplies, P4,373. Relief Fund No. 3 (Bessmer), as the desig­ nation indicated, again came from Bessmer, an­ other P50.000 made available on August 13. It was apportioned as follows: Baguio P5,000; Da­ vao, P5.000; religious groups outside the camp, Catholic and Protestant, P3.600; family aid for September, P7,500; institutions outside of Santo Tomas (hospitals, etc.), P3.050; medical and sur­ gical supplies, P10.000; camp hospital, P4,000; reserve food supplies, PI 1,850.

COLONEL GILHOUSER AND THE VISAC GIRLS Relief Fund No. 4, already mentioned, was, again, 100,000 yen (P46.994.08) from the Inter­ national Red Cross delegate, Tokyo. The Exe­ cutive Committee allotted it as follows: Baguio, P4,000; Davao, P4.000; Los Banos, P4.400; outside institutions, P2,950; religious groups, P2.600; per­ sons out of the camp on conditional release, P700; family aid for November, P6,994; food re­ serves for Santo Tomas, P6,050; cash relief to needy Santo Tomas internees, P16.000.

The First "Individual Cash Relief" — Early in November, soon after the Com­ mandant has approved the allotment proposed by the Committee, the inter­ nees were given an opportunity, through the monitors, to apply for cash relief. During the month, 247 such ap­ plications were received. Sifted by a special committee, 165 of these were approved, benefitting 266 persons. Men received P20, women P15, and children P10. The total for the month was P4,525. Because of the increase in prices, the Executive Committee in its meeting of November 29 approved increases in the per capita relief to P30, P25, and P20 for men, women, and children, res­ pectively, for the month of December. This was the first financial help of­ ficially extended to individual inter­ nees, — who had to wait until the 23rd month of internment for it! There were many internees and internee families, especially among those who had come from other parts of the Far East, wo­ men and children from Shanghai and Hongkong, sailors, etc., who had no friends or acquaintances in Manila to send them in anything through the Package-Line and who rarely had the money to buy a little extra food or such luxuries as toilet soap and cigarets: Many of these people, of course, were helped by friends whom they made in the camp, and the bare neces­ sities were provided them by the inter­ nee relief and welfare department, but on the whole they had a miserable time of it. Some of the men made a little money by doing various odd jobs and

19

the girls and women by taking care of other people’s children. Personal Loans From the Outside — Even those internees who had homes in Manila or elsewhere in the Philip­ pines, who had funds in the banks or whose credit was good, at first had great difficulty in obtaining money. The banks were not opened right away, Am­ erican and foreign banks not at all, and many of those who had money in the banks which finally were opened, had only small deposits to draw on. Dur­ ing the first five or six months of in­ ternment, as already recounted, a few persons who happened to have money available, were charging up to 50% in­ terest. As time went on, however, mo­ ney became easier to get, and with the growing inflation of the currency it be­ came possible, around the middle of the second year, to obtain clandestinely large loans from neutral nationals and others in Manila who were anxious to get rid of the Japanese war-notes, gen­ erally known as “Mickey-Mouse” mo­ ney, even without interest or any spe­ cial security. But this source of supply was not open to internees of small means who wanted to borrow only small sums. The situation was especially difficult for some of the old veterans of the Spanish-American War who were brought into the camp about the middle of 1943. Most of these men had Filipino families outside and, with the failure of their pension payments, cut off by the war, they had already sold practi­ cally all they owned to get a little mo­ ney to live on. Secret Santo Tomas Aid to War Pri­ soners and Their Families — Col. H. Gilhouser, a former U.S. Army and Phil­ ippine Constabulary officer, who was himself interned in March, 1943, found a way to help them. While still out on conditional release, he had been active

20

in obtaining funds for the relief of American and Filipino war prisoners in the Capas and O’Donnell camps, fortunately escaping the fate of F. H. Stevens whose activities along the same line had ended in his incarceration in Fort Santiago. Gilhouser was one of the officials of the Philippine Consolidated Oil Com­ pany (an oil exploration company), which had funds in the Bank of the Philippine Islands, and he arranged with Secretary Rafael Alunan, another official of the company, to draw out the maximum allowed by the Japanese regulations, P500 a month, which sum was turned over to a group of promi­ nent young Filipino women who had organized the "Volunteer Social Aid Committee” to assist war prisoners and their families. Among them, were Mrs. Josefa Escoda, Lourdes Alunan, He­ len and Emma Benitez, Pilar Campos, Julieta Ledesma, Nena Liboro, Betty Magalona, Trophy Ocampo, Lulu Reyes, Betty Wright, and many other young society girls who all called the Colonel "Uncle Henry”. In October, Alunan, who had to sign the checks, told Gil­ houser that this was becoming too dan­ gerous for him, the more so as his com­ pany was not carrying on any active operations. Gilhouser then turned else­ where for loans and donations, in ob­ taining which he was quite successful. People in Manila who wanted to help friends in Santo Tomas also sent mo­ ney through him, and early in 1943, Duggleby and Holland asked him whe­ ther he could not raise from P5,000 to PI0,000 a month to augment the camp allotments for family aid. There were persons ready to advance this money, but who did not dare to do so un­ less official permission was obtained from the Japanese, and the Japanese refused this.

THE CAMP

When Gilhouser was interned, he at once set about to see what he could do from within the camp, especially for the Spanish-American War veterans. At the time of the outbreak of the war he had been assistant chief of the Civi­ lian Emergency Administration of the Commonwealth, Teofilo Sison being the chief, and he now informed Grinnell that the American government had made PI0,000,000 available to General MacArthur for civilian relief purposes in the Philippines, which the General had turned over to the Emergency Ad­ ministration. Only a part of this money had been spent, and Gilhouser told Grinnell that he would not hesitate to assume the responsibility for signing for money for relief purposes against this fund. The money was, of course, not available to the Philippine Execu­ tive Commission, under the Japanese, and since the Commission could do very little for the war prisoners and for internees and their families, and since private individuals who tried to give assistance were persecuted by the Jap­ anese, he believed the American and Philippine authorities would not, later, question such drafts on the fund. Grin­ nell said that what Gilhouser had told him was good enough for him and went ahead to borrow around P5,000 a month which was signed for by Gil­ houser as chargeable to the Civilian Emergency Administration fund. The money was distributed through the fa­ mily aid committee not only to aug­ ment the monthly payments to the non-internable families of internees but to 30 or 40 families of men in the mi­ litary prison-camps, no family, how­ ever receiving more than P60 a month. The matter had, of course, to be con­ cealed from the Japanese, and the com­ mittee kept double accounts, one set for the camp funds being distributed

SANTO TOMAS AID TO PRISON-CAMPS

21

and another for this additional money. At this writing, the work was being quietly extended. Grinnell's and Other Loans — P2,000,000. — Grinnell had on his own responsibility and credit been obtain­ ing and lending sums of money which amounted to a surprisingly large total, lending chiefly to persons who after the war could be expected to repay him. He at first charged 6% interest, but later in consideration of the rapid depreciation of the "Mickey-Mouse” currency stipulated repayment at the rate of $1 for P2, — the normal ex­ change, without interest. Some indivi­ duals borrowed as much as PI5,000, and the total loans made by Grinnell aggregated around P500,000 by the end of October. The veterans, largely through the interest shown in their case by Gilhouser, obtained small loans of a few hundred pesos from Grinnell, signing the usual promissory note. Sev­ eral hundred of them took advantage of the opportunity thus to obtain small but badly needed sums of money. Carroll, Duggleby, and other internee officials who had frequent permission to leave the camp on camp business, also brought in large sums of money but did not loan it on their own ac­ count. During the latter half of 1943, up to the time of writing, — mid-Nov­ ember, the total money brought into the camp in the form of loans must have run well over P2,000,000. Under conditions as they existed in Santo Tomas, this extra-legal "bank­ ing” was of very great service not only to the many individuals served but to the camp as a whole and many outside the camp. Much of the money was bor­ rowed not merely for the personal needs of the borrowers but to enable them to send money to faithful serv­ ants and former employees outside. What only a few internees knew was

that considerable sums were sent from Santo Tomas to the prison-camps in devious ways. Aid to the Pasay “Punishment Camp” — Once a donation of P4,100 was col­ lected from the internees, through the monitors, for the American prisoners of war held at the Pasay Elementary School, which was a "punishment” camp. There were around 1,000 men there whom the Japanese reportedly treated with the greatest brutality. They were sent out to work at the Ni­ chols Air Field and other places, naked except for a breechclout and barefoot­ ed, and the sight of them aroused much pity among the people in the area who deposited small packages of food and hung paper bills up in the trees near the places where they were expected to work the next day. A group of Rus­ sian girls who practiced the ancient profession were said to have raised a fund of P2,000 for them. A committee of Manilans organized for the purpose, obtained permission from the Japanese to send them certain necessities, — clothes and shoes, underwear, mosqui­ to nets, food etc. It was to this com­ mittee the Santo Tomas donation was turned over. An American officer at the camp receipted for the goods received. Secret Aid to the Prisoners at Cabanatuan — On a previous occasion, the Santo Tomas camp sent several truckloads of clothing to the American war prisoners in Bilibid Prison. About these things, the camp knew. But much more important were the considerable sums of money and the medical supplies smuggled out of Santo Tomas and sent to the Cabanatuan prison-camp. One camp official said that of all the money brought into Santo Tomas, the war pri­ soners received a "generous share". Much of the money borrowed was spe­ cifically for them. The whole business was a very dangerous one, and few in­

22

THE CAMP

ternees except those directly concerned in it knew anything about it. There was a small organization, in which a num­ ber of Filipinos and others outside, in­ cluding several priests and doctors, had a part; also, it was said, a number of friendly Japanese. One young Lithua­ nian woman, who had been married to an American officer, was said to be ren­ dering especially valuable service.3 Upon the death of her husband she had pledged herself to do what she could for his comrades. It was said that a small house had been rented near the Cabanatuan camp, in an area visited by the prisoners to get firewood. There they picked up the money, medicines, and notes from Santo Tomas, — the 3 See "Story of Naomi Flores and the Cabana­ tuan prison-camp." It was apparently this traffic which brought about the arrest and subequent brutal execution of a number of prominent in­ ternees, including Grinnell and Duggleby.

notes chiefly from their wives in the Manila camp. It was believed that at this time (November), there still were around 6,000 American war prisoners at Cabanatuan. Of the original 18,000, 6,000 had died and another 6,000 had been sent to Formosa, Manchukuo, and Japan proper, it was said. The Japanese were probably not en­ tirely unaware of what was going on. Once, indeed, Kuroda said to Grinnell and Carroll, with regard to the money coming into the camp, "You needn’t think I don’t know what you are do­ ing!” Carroll said that at first the Jap­ anese had been very strict about money coming into Santo Tomas but that it seemed they were chiefly concerned about possible aid to the guerrillas and that when they had satisfied themselves on that score, they became more or less indifferent to the matter.

Chapter XIII A

New Commandant - The November Typhoon

Commandant Kato — The "indepen­ dence” of the Philippines, declared on October 14, 1943, brought no immediate repercussions in the camp, but a Jap­ anese by the name of Kato had appear­ ed a few days before that date in the Commandant’s office. According to the minutes of the Executive Committee meeting of October 18: "The Chairman stated that Mr. Kato is fami­ liarizing himself with the camp and that, al­ though no official statement is available, it is thought he may replace Mr. Kuroda. The Chair­ man further stated that since the inauguration of the Republic, the Japanese authorities in the camp are uncertain as to their exact status and under whose supervision they are operating, although it is very clear that we are now more directly under the control of the military than before.”

The Committee had been advised that on October 15, at Los Banos, Lt. Col. Naruzawa had been replaced by Lt. Col. Urabe as Commandant. In the Santo Tomas camp, it was not until the 27th that Kodaki called all the mem­ bers of the Committee to his office and informed them that he had been trans­ ferred to "another post” and that, ef­ fective at once, Kato was the acting Commandant. He said there was a pro­ bability that Kuroda would also be transferred in the near future. Kodaki thanked them, and through them the internee body, "for the assistance ren­ dered him in his duties in connection with the camp”. (Minutes, October 29.)

TIGHTENING RESTRICTIONS

On November 1, the Committee was introduced to the new Commandant, K. Kato, who informed the members that he was for the time being serving in a dual capacity, relieving both Kodaki and Kuroda. Kuroda dis­ appeared from the scene. It was always difficult to get any informa­ tion about the careers of Japanese officials. Kato was a man in his fifties and spoke fairly good English. He said that he had served in London, probably in the consular service, and he also revealed that early during the war he had been interned in Ken­ sington House. He said that the condi­ tions of internment there had been "very, very nice” and that he had al­ ways had two eggs for breakfast! There had been a Kato in the Japanese Bu­ reau of Internal Affairs in Manila, but it was not known whether the new Commandant was the same man. Tightening Restrictions — Things generally had tightened up in the camp for some weeks before the inaugura­ tion of the "Republic”, and it so continued up to the time of this writing (mid-November).1 Passes is­ sued to camp buyers were cut down to a minimum and none of the mem­ bers of the family aid committee were allowed to go out. Duggleby was per­ mitted to visit only the hospitals in his capacity as chairman of the outside hospital committee. As for the inter­ nees generally, only medical passes were issued; visits to homes, always few, were entirely discontinued. For a week or so before and after the "inauguration", soldiers of the guard and military police in plain clothes searched all parcels at the Package-Line. There was no other in-i i Note (1945) Landing operation at Nanumea (El­ lice Island), had begun on September 4, 1943; at Bougainville (New Guinea) on November 1; and at Makini and Tarawa (Gilberts) on Novem­ ber 21.

23

terference, but internees were re­ quired to fill out forms showing from whom they regularly received packages and what, if any, relationship existed. As a result, the number of people com­ ing to the Package-Line decreased for a time. The few so-called "gate-visits” were stopped almost entirely. The writing of notes even to relatives con­ tinued to be forbidden, as was also all communication with war prisoners which had formerly been allowed from time to time. The Executive Committee minutes of October 8 stated it had been "explain­ ed" to the Commandant that "the sit­ uation with regard to non-internable families grows worse daily and another plea was made for a solution”. How­ ever, “the Commandant could see no clear answer at the moment”. At a conference on October 9 be­ tween Grinnell and Carroll and Kodaki, Kuroda, Ohashi, and Hirosi, the two Americans were told that as soon as a projected transfer of around 200 wo­ men to Los Banos had been made, "the vacancies may be filled by the imme­ diate families of internees, not at pre­ sent internable”. According to the min­ utes (October 11): "Order of internment will be based on ur­ gency and facts submitted to the Commandant through the family aid committee and the spe­ cial committee representing men with non-intemable families. Family aid payments will prob­ ably be discontinued when opportunity is given to families now on the relief rolls to enter the camp, except in special cases. This problem will involve a considerable number of children, and preparation must be made not only for housing, but for feeding the new arrivals when they are admitted. Meanwhile the Commandant will give consideration to the possibility of reopening communication by censored notes between in­ ternees and their families outside the camp”

Internees working at the Gate and on the Package-Line did what they could to facilitate some communication, re­ laying verbal messages, arranging fur­ tive meetings for brief moments, even,

24

in some cases, allowing notes to slip through. But with the best will, all of this could benefit only a few indivi­ duals, and it required some knowledge on the part of the people outside as well as those inside for them to avail themselves of such informal means of communication. Men with Families Outside Grow Desperate and Break Regulations — No wonder that some men in the camp grew desperate. It was known that oc­ casionally internees climbed the wall to visit their families and then stole back in again. This was not difficult, as the Japanese guard never kept a real watch. They relied on intimidation: severe punishment of those caught. It would never have been difficult to escape from the camp; the trouble was that one would only have jumped from the fry­ ing pan into the fire. There was no pos­ sibility of escape to freedom. The whole country was a prison-camp. However, a few men from time to time went over the wall to visit their families, braving all risk. On the night of the 13th-14th a man got away, but he was caught in the city and then taken to Fort Santiago. At this writing, some internee officials said he was still there; others said they be­ lieved he had been sent to the Psycho­ pathic Hospital at Mandaluyong where he had previously spent some months, as members of the Committee inform­ ed the Commandant in the hope that this would lighten his punishment.2 The very next morning, — the morn­ ing of the day of the inauguration of the "Republic”, the Filipino wife of an internee was caught by Japanese sol­ diers of the guard in trying to commu­ nicate with her husband through the In reply to an inquiry, the Chairman stated that he has been unable to obtain any word whatsoever regarding Internee Herbert Ward, who is presumably in the custody of the Japan­ ese Military Police.” (Minutes, November 9.) 2

THE CAMP

iron fence that bounds the front of the University campus. The fence, was lin­ ed, as already described, with sawali mats to keep people from looking through. She was taken to the guard­ house at the main gate and made to stand there for a half hour or so, and was then allowed to go home, receiving no other punishment, although some in­ ternees said that she had been slapped when she was first seized. The husband heard about this, and, about noon, climbed over the wall near the gymna­ sium. A Filipino neighborhood associa­ tion guard saw the “escape” and report­ ed it to the Japanese guards at the main gate and they reported it to the mili­ tary authorities downtown. The Ame­ rican returned to the camp an hour or so later, after having visited his wife who lived not far away, coming over the wall at the same place. Upon orders of the Commandant, who had in the meantime been informed of the matter by military headquarters, he was ar­ rested. The next day the Committee on Order, on instructions from the Com­ mandant, gave him a heavy sentence. The Commandant said that he had been successful in keeping the man out of the hands of the military, but that he would have to be severely punished or they would not be satisfied. Accord­ ing to the minutes of the Executive Committee meeting of October 15: “The Committee noted today’s sentence by the committee on order o n ------------------ : For leav­ ing the camp without a pass, in violation of Article 1 of the Fundamental Rules, and for attempting to communicate with a person outside the camp, in violation of Article 2 of the Fun­ damental Rules, confinement in the camp jail for the duration of internment.”

For many people in the camp who heard the sentence announced over the loudspeaker that evening, this was only a case of another person whose misbe­ havior had endangered the "privileges” and "welfare" of the whole camp, and

DEATH OF AN “ UNINTERNABLE” CHILD

25

who had gotten only what he deserved. Others, more sympathetic, rightly guessed that the Committee on Order had believed that a sentence of a few months or even an "indeterminate” sen­ tence might have been considered in­ adequate by the Japanese and resulted in the culprit’s transfer to Fort San­ tiago. And everyone hoped that the "duration of internment” might be only a few months. But a day or two later, the man's wife was able to obtain an interview with the Commandant. She told him that the reason she had tried to com­ municate with her husband was that her little daughter was sick and that the child had now died. The Comman­ dant hereupon allowed the internee to visit his home for a few hours, accom­ panied by one of the Japanese inter­ preters, to make the funeral arrange­ ments. Then he returned and went back to jail. The details of this case did not be­ come generally known to the camp for some time. And even after the story of the death of the child came out, there were those who repeated the ru­ mor that the mother had not taken pro­ per care of the child, that she had placed it in another family, and that, in fact, it was not the man’s child at all, but an adopted child. Though it was too bad, of course. Furthermore, it was said that the man was a rough fellow, had always been suspected of being mixed up in the boot-legging in the camp, etc., etc. Thus the camp sought to justify its indifference. It was a fact that the little girl had been an adopted child, but she was not staying with “another family" but with the wife's mother because the wife was working. As for the man himself, there were no previous convictions against him. When these facts became better known, considerable general sympathy

for him developed and camp officials said that if he behaved himself proper­ ly, he would probably not be kept in jail very long. One member of the Com­ mittee on Order said that he would have received more sympathy from the beginning if he had explained his situa­ tion. But he had only said that any man would have done the same as he did, that he didn’t give a damn for the regulations, that he would do it again, nobody could stop him, etc. The Japanese, the Real Violators — Yet though this man had broken regu­ lations, it was the Japanese who were the real violators not only of law, — international law, but of every instinct of common humanity in cutting inter­ nees off from all communication with their families. There were humane men among the Japanese; the Commandant may have been among them, but it was an ape-regime which he represented. There was no appeal to anything legal or even human. The minutes of the Exe­ cutive Committee meeting of October 22 stated that the Chairman — "has so far been unable to conclude any satis­ factory arrangements by which internees with families on the outside may communicate with their relatives by censored notes. It is his opin­ ion that very possibly this may be ultimately arranged, and every effort will be made to follow the matter up”

This raised the old question: Was the Executive Committee, was the Chair­ man, making "every effort"? Negotia­ tion might be fruitless; appeal impos­ sible; there could still have been pro­ test. But in so far as the interneebody could make out, there had never been protest, on the part of the Exe­ cutive Committee. Holter, the new member, considering his election as a "camp protest against the Executive Committee" (Minutes, October 11), told the Committee that he believed that the major problem of the camp at that time concerned the

26

relationship between that organization and the internee-body. It was essential, he said, “to supplant the present lack of trust and esteem by a feeling of mu­ tual cooperation and confidence”. He suggested that closer relations be estab­ lished between the Committee and the monitors, and Lloyd then moved that Hoi ter take charge of camp relations and establish a closer liaison. Hoi ter met with the monitors and or­ ganized a number of special meetings which were attended also by members of the Executive Committee and va­ rious department heads with the aim of laying the “foundations for better relations in the future”. (Minutes, Octo­ ber 18.) In accordance with the understand­ ing that men elected to the Executive Committee should relinquish other camp positions, Holter resigned as chairman of the Internee Relations Department, and, as to this depart­ ment, — "inasmuch as a determined effort is being made to achieve the aims of the internees relations department by closer cooperation with the floor and room monitor system, the Committee unani­ mously agreed that there is no present object in maintaining the department which conse­ quently will not be revived at this time.” (Min­ utes, October 25.)

Kato Approves Elections to Execu­ tive Committee in "Rotation" — "with Exception of the Chairman” — There had been an important development in the Executive Committee meeting the night before, when it received and discussed a letter from Lloyd, dated the 22nd, in which he expressed his desire to resign —

THE CAMP

way to an elected member, and this started a discussion of a plan for grad­ ual elective changes in the Committee, a plan which had been suggested some months before at a meeting of the In­ ternee Relations Department. The Exe­ cutive Committee now agreed that such changes were desirable, and Grinnell was requested “to indicate the wish of the Committee for gradual changes in its membership to the Commandant, and to obtain his reaction before Fri­ day”. Lloyd’s resignation was tabled for the time being, and the Secretary was asked to take up a schedule of elections which might form the basis for the new plan. The new Commandant, Kato, approv­ ed the plan, — in part, according to Grinnell, who informed the Commit­ tee at its meeting on October 29 that — "the Commandant has approved in principle the plan for rotating membership on the Executive Committee by the selection by internees of a new member periodically with the exception for the time being, at least, of the Chairman, who is appointed by the Commandant.”

The minutes went on to say: "The present plan is that the term of office shall be 9 months, which will mean a selection every month and a half.. Selections are to be conducted in the manner recently employed. It was planned, therefore, to commence this procedure by accepting with regret the resignation of Mr. Lloyd, presented on October 22, same to be effective upon selection of his successor early in November. The next member to be re­ placed will be Mr. Fitzsimmons shortly after the middle of December, and further replace­ ments will take place at regular intervals during the next year. This procedure will commence as soon as a detailed plan has been presented to and approved by the Commandant.”

The word "selection” instead of "election" was used by Secretary Day "because he considers it highly desirable that the British community should have at least one because he thought it might go down elected member on the Committee, it being his easier with the Japanese. The more opinion that an elected member would be cap­ detailed plan referred to was approved able of obtaining better results in his service to the camp than an appointed one." (Minutes, by Kato. October 25.) Challenged by Holter for His Secrecy Masefield, the other British member, as to the Red Cross Supplies, Grinnell said that he, too, was ready to give Fights for His Place — It had been be-

GRINNELL VERSUS OTHER COMMITTEE MEMBERS

lieved by some members of the Execu­ tive Committee that the plan was likely to meet with readier approval by the Commandant than another proposal for a general election. But the camp asked why this proposal had not been made first, especially now that a new Commandant had taken over who might not have disapproved of it as Kodaki and Kuroda had done, or were alleged to have done. The camp had lost confidence in the Committee and wanted to elect a new one. It wanted to get rid of Grinnell. It was not sa­ tisfied with a gradual replacement of the members of the existing Committee, with Grinnell retaining his position as Chairman indefinitely. But Grinnell showed no disposition to resign. A significant discussion took place during the meeting of the Committee on November 8, although the minutes were silent with respect to it. Holter objected to the bareness of several an­ nouncements made regarding the arriv­ al of a large shipment of Red Cross supplies from the United States, — described in a following section, and particularly against an announcement made over the loudspeaker that evening which embodied a request that those internees (several hundred of them) who had assisted in the storing, “re­ frain from making any statements re­ garding the nature, quantities, and other information pertaining to these supplies”. This unwise statement aroused great indignation and excitement in the halfstarved camp, many internees imme­ diately jumping to the conclusion that the Japanese would try to "hold out on them”. The statement was issued in the name of the Committee, but it had been written by Grinnell without consulting the other members. Holter said that all that the Com­ mittee had done during the past month

27

in winning better understanding with the internee-body had been undone and demanded that no announcements be made in the name of the Committee which had not been approved by at least four members, — a majority. Grinnell answered that the announce­ ment had been made at the request of the Commandant and that in the case of these Red Cross supplies he was acting as an "adviser to the Comman­ dant” and not as Chairman of the Com­ mittee. Holter said that he did not know what this meant, and that Grinnell's only standing with the Committee was that of Chairman. Thomas stated that much misunder­ standing might be avoided if Grinnell was always accompanied by another member when interviewing the Com­ mandant. Holter said that alone would not suffice, and that the Commandant should be made to look upon the Com­ mittee as the responsible internee body. Masefield said that Grinnell could not bring the Commandant to accept this fact unless Grinnell himself accepted it. Before the discussion was over, every member except Lloyd, — who said no­ thing and looked as if he was glad that he was getting out, had indicated his disapproval of Grinnell’s general atti­ tude. Grinnell at first sought to divert the attack, then said something about “wasting time”, and finally said that the situation was such that he could not do otherwise than he was doing. Since the member to be replaced first under the new election schedule was British and the plan of proportional representation was to be preserved, the British in the camp nominated C. H. Davies, F. H. Leyshon, and T. J. Pratt. On the night of November 12 the camp elected Leyshon. The voting was as fol­ lows: Leyshon, 972: Davies, 778; Pratt, 741.

28

The Typhoon and Flood Emergency in November — The Red Cross "com­ fort kits” which had arrived in Manila from America a month before but were still undelivered, would have served their purpose especially well had they been available to the internees during the typhoon and flood which threw Santo Tomas entirely on its own re­ sources for a number of days and con­ fronted the camp with some very se­ rious problems. The barometer began to fall on Sa­ turday, November 13, and dipped to 742.5 mm. (severe hurricane) on Sun­ day. It was stormy all that day and around bedtime the wind, from the northwest, increasing in violence, drove the rain through the minutest cracks around the windows of even the main and education buildings, while in the annex, dormitory, and hospital, which were wooden structures, the beds, crowded so close together that they could not be moved, were soon soaked. Most of the 500 men and children sleep­ ing in the flimsily-constructed shanties had in the middle of the night to seek refuge in the halls of the main and education buildings. The electric cur­ rent was cut off a half hour after mid­ night, and the men of the safety de­ partment worked all night installing a hundred or so coconut-oil lamps and a few kerosene lanterns in the halls and lavatories. The wind, which had during the night reached a velocity of 60 miles an hour, shifted to the southwest in the morning as the center of the typhoon passed to the north of Manila, but the heavy rains continued. Thirty or 40 of the shanties had been blown down during the night and there had been some nar­ row escapes from falling trees. Monday evening it was still possible to get to the dining-sheds from the education building without wading, but the down­

THE CAMP

pour continued all that night, and the next day the whole campus lay from one to six feet under water. The flood came to within an inch of the floor of the education building and at one time started crawling over the floor of the gymnasium; it was eight inches deep on the lower floor of the hospital. The small children’s hospital behind the an­ nex had to be evacuated on Monday; fortunately, there were no severe cases of illness there. The water also reached to within an inch of the floor level of the food bodega, but it stopped there and there was no damage to the stocks. In the baggage bodega, however, the water rose a foot above the floor and did considerable damage. After a rain­ fall of over 27 inches the rain stopped. The flood began to recede on Wednes­ day morning and the campus was pret­ ty well clear of water by Thursday. The flood had created greater havoc than the wind. More than 50 of the 600 shan­ ties on the campus had to be complete­ ly rebuilt and half of them needed ex­ tensive repairs. Property damage in the shanties was heavy, chiefly to clothing and bedding, food supplies, and fuel. The loss of personal effects was serious as these represented much more to the owners than money could buy under the circumstances. Evacuation from the shanties on Monday was dangerous, es­ pecially in the area behind the Domini­ can Seminary because the sawdust-fill there rose to the surface in large blocks, forming deep holes. All path­ ways were destroyed; the five-hectare garden was almost completely destroy­ ed. Electric power was not restored un­ til Wednesday morning, nearly 60 hours after it had been cut off. In many other sections of Manila, current was not available until two or three days later. It was reported that several of the steel towers supporting the power-lines from

THE TYPHOON AND FLOOD EMERGENCY

Botocan had been blown down and that the Japanese had not kept the auxiliary and emergency steamplant in operation. The failure of electric power also affected the filtering plant of the Metropolitan Water District, and on Monday morning camp officials were informed that after 5 o’clock that after­ noon water would no longer be drink­ able. The water, therefore, was turned off in the camp and people had only such water to drink as they had been able to fill spare bottles and cans with, and no water at all for washing or bath­ ing. Fortunately, on Tuesday afternoon the camp was informed that officials of the Water District had been able, by employing large gangs of men ,to purify the water chemically and that it was again potable. The pressure, however, was low and little water was actually available. Toilets could for several days be flushed only by buckets of floodwater carried in from outside. The an­ nex and dormitory toilets suffered a complete breakdown and a pail system had to be improvised. Gas pressure began to diminish Tues­ day morning and was shut off entirely that afternoon, this creating a serious problem in the kitchens and resulting also in the loss of refrigeration and the spoilage of foods and vaccines and se­ rums. Tuesday night an emergency gang of volunteers went out to build ten emergency fireplaces of adobe stone in a corner of the dining-shed. With only the illumination from three pres­ sure-lamps, the stones were carried sev­ eral hundred yards through flood and rain and the fireplaces were construct­ ed without the aid of cement or any other binding material except a few strands of wire. The work was com­ pleted in time to cook cracked-corn mush and make coffee for breakfast the next morning. Charcoal was used for fuel. Luckily, however, the gas was

29

turned on later in the day and the kit­ chens could function normally again. On Tuesday, when the flood was at its height, food was transported and served to the older men in the gymna­ sium and the education building so they wouldn’t have to get out into the water. Breakfast consisted of a ladleful of the usual mush, lunch of one small Iadleful of beans, and supper of one small ladleful of rice cooked with a lit­ tle canned corned beef from the reserve stores. No fresh supplies came into the camp during those few days, except some small quantities of vegetables and fruit brought in by the Filipino vendors in spite of the flood. They stood in their booths kneedeep in water. Some few devoted relatives and friends also came to the Package-Line. School classes and lectures were sus­ pended and the libraries remained clos­ ed to keep the books dry. As the loud­ speaker equipment had, of course, gone out of service with the failure of the electric current, there were no musical broadcasts. Rooms and halls, school­ rooms and offices were crowded with people from the shanties. Windows had for the most part to be kept closed. The few electric fans on the premises were useless. At night the atmosphere was further thickened with the smoke from the oil lamps. There was not enough light to read by. There was no place to sit down. Crowded, unwashed, hungry, thirsty, nothing to do, — so the three days passed. One old-timer who had gone through both the SpanishAmerican War and World War No. 1 and who had certainly known hardship enough, said that he had never lived through more miserable days. Yet the camp bore itself very well, taking the situation as it came. The emergency organization committee, the safety department, the department of patrols, the emergency squad had plen­

30

THE CAMP

ty to do and did good work. The safety department set up 241 emergency lamps (31 pressure-lamps, 20 Dietz lan­ terns, 40 glass coconut-oil lanterns, and 100 open coconut-oil lamps made from discarded tin cans). These lamps had all been prepared in advance but needed constant refilling and servicing. The de­ partment also set up all available kero­ sene stoves (27 burners) in the hospi­ tal, annex, and dormitory buildings. The figures show the poverty to which the camp had been reduced. The safety department also made preparations to turn on the emergency water supply in the roof tanks of the main building, but this proved unnecessary. No serious illness developed as a re­ sult of the experience, though there were some colds contracted. No doubt, the recent innoculations against cho­ lera, dysentery, and typhoid averted more serious consequences. Grinnell informed the Executive Committee in its meeting on November 17 that —

definite recommendations to the Japanese au­ thorities responsible for the welfare of this camp to enable us to secure at least the minimum facilities and supplies required to meet future emergencies which might present graver dangers and difficulties more serious than those experi­ enced during the past few days."

this emergency as well as it did was largely good fortune, and had the storm been a little more severe and had the flood lasted a day or two longer, the seriousness of the situation would have increased immeasurably. From fac­ ing a crisis of this nature we have learned many lessons and have been able to assess our de­ ficiencies not only in preparation and organiza­ tion but also in reserve-supplies which, up to now, we have not been able to acquire but which we must have ready for the future.The lessons we have learned may well provide the basis for

"We appeal for your assistance in intervening with the proper authorities to prevent the evic­ tion of internees’ families for non-payment of rental and for the release of furniture and other possessions which have been sealed. . . Pending admission of ‘non-internable’ families to this camp, it is our earnest desire to afford every possible assistance to those families who are in need, and we shall greatly appreciate any assistance which you may be able to render in connection with this important and serious problem.”

Increased. Anxiety About the “NonInternable” Families — Following the typhoon and flood of November 14 to 17 inclusive, anxiety among men in the camp who had families outside was acute, and on the 15th Grinnell called R. Y. Robb, who was informally repre­ senting these men, to a conference which was also attended by Holter and Duggleby. It was decided that Grinnell would address a formal letter to the Commandant requesting that passes be granted authorizing such men to visit their homes to ascertain the actual con­ dition of their families, that opport­ unity be provided them to talk with members of their families at the Pack­ age-Line during certain hours every day for one week, that the “privilege" (the letter had it finally) of sending and re­ "the Commandant and his staff expressed them­ ceiving censored notes between the men selves as highly pleased with the way the emer­ and their families be restored, and that gency was handled without outside assistance, permission be granted to the family aid and requested a factual report for his records committee to send out two or more to be presented at the earliest possible moment. The secretary was requested to obtain the neces­ of its members to visit the homes. sary information and draft a preliminary re­ "Contrary to our previous under­ port. . standing" (Minutes, November 22), the This report, signed by Day and C. V. Japanese enemy property custodian's Schelke, ended with the following pa­ office was continuing to assess and col­ ragraph : lect back and current rentals from the "The emergency faced during the recent storm non-interned families, and this matter was of sufficient duration and intensity to pre­ was also referred to in Grinnell’s let­ cipitate serious problems and cause real ap­ ter: prehension. The fact that the camp came through

AT LAST, SHORT FAMILY VISITS

Grinnell reported the results of his discussion of the letter with the Com­ mandant on the 17th in a memoran­ dum which stated that he had approv­ ed the following: "1. Restoration of the privilege of sending and receiving censored notes to and from outside families on matters of family welfare, for the time being; "2. Permission for 2 or more members of the family aid committee to visit the homes of those internees who have no other means of ascertain­ ing the condition of their families; "3. A plan to be worked out and submitted for the Commandant’s approval to provide for visits at the main gate under the supervision of the Commandant’s staff between the hours 10:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., and 2 and 3 p.m. for the duration of the emergency or approxi­ mately one week.”

Under another heading, the memo­ randum stated: “Wholesale granting of passes can not be au­ thorized; however, extreme cases brought to the attention of the Commandant through the family aid committee will be given consideration.”

In the minutes of the Committee meeting of November 17, Day stated that these measures did not take into consideration — "the urgent problem of admission of 'non-internable’ families to camp, which must be taken up in connection with the housing report about to be submitted and which is becoming daily of increasing urgency. It was felt that to assist in solving this problem, internees in this cate­ gory should duly elect a committee of three to represent them and that arrangements should be made that this committee may be elected at a special meeting tomorrow night to be held in the library.”

The minutes also stated: "In further consideration of this problem, it was felt that the cash relief now being allowed ’non-intemable' families is entirely inadequate and that if this could be increased to a subsis­ tence level a great deal of good could be ac­ complished. It was thought that now is an op­ portune time to renew our request that all ’noninternable’ families be placed on our roll call and entitled to the same per capita allowance as accorded to internees, thus giving these families the choice of coming into camp or re­ ceiving the same assistance outside.”

As to the collection of rentals from the non- interned families living in their own homes, the minutes of November

31 22 stated that Grinnell had requested that such persons be allowed to conti­ nue to occupy their houses without rental, "past, present, or future”, and that the sale of their household goods in case of necessity be not interfered with. "The Commandant”, said the min­ utes, "recognized the serious implica­ tions of this situation and promised to try to straighten the matter out, which may take a little time”. At Last, an Hour-and-a Half of Visit­ ing Daily for Five Days — Visits in the inclosure between the main and inner gate began on Thursday morning (the 18th) and continued until the follow­ ing Tuesday for around 1-1/2 hours each day except on Sunday, on which day, for some Japanese whim, visiting was not allowed, although it would have been the best visiting day. How­ ever, during the five visiting days over 600 separate "visits” took place, these being, in compliance with Japanese in­ structions, duly recorded. Visits were permitted only between immediate fa­ mily members. Despite the restrictions, the opportunity to meet and talk with their loved ones after many long months of separation was a precious thing to the men concerned. Some of them had not spoken to or seen their wives or children since Christmas of 1942, and the visits did much to raise the general spirits of the camp, which had been greatly depressed since the storm. Appeal of the New Committee for Internees with Families Outside — On the night of the first day of this fiveday visiting period, some 300 of the men held the meeting referred to in the minutes already quoted and elected Robb chairman with instructions that he himself appoint a committee to aid him. Barker Brown, who was the first to represent the group, had resigned because of pressure of work in con­

32

nection with his assignment to the fam­ ily aid committee. Robb appointed M. L. Chitry as secretary, W. Murphin as sergeant-at-arms, and B. V. Ball, L. E. Koontz, W. A. Lewis, T. O’Brien, and C. T. Waters as members. DeWitt ac­ cepted appointment as adviser. The meeting was attended by Grinnell, Holter, and Duggleby. The group met again on the 24th, Robb on this occasion reading the drafts of three letters, one to the Com­ mandant and two to the Executive Committee, which were unanimously approved by those present. The letter to the Commandant thank­ ed him in the name of the internees with non-interned families for the visit­ ing which had been permitted and ask­ ed him that he allow them in the future "to communicate with their wives and children by means of mass visits at the front gate on scheduled days each week and by the sending of censored notes at frequent intervals”. The first letter to the Executive Com­ mittee stated that of the 1,500 adult males in Santo Tomas, 541 had noninterned families, these men and their families totalling 2,075 persons who looked to the Committee “to act in their behalf whenever necessary”. Of these families, 170 now desired intern­ ment and 50 of them, comprising some 200 persons, were described as “need­ iest” and as requiring immediate in­ ternment. The letter stated that the U.S. High Commissioner’s Office had "a re­ cord of American residents of the Phil­ ippines married to Filipinas or foreign­ ers” and that the writers were "con­ fident” that “the relief supplies from America, — kits, clothing, shoes, medi­ cines, etc., are intended for the families of the Americans married to Filipinas or foreigners as well as for internees”. The letter also requested that the Jap­ anese authorities be asked to grant all

THE CAMP

non-interned families the same per ca­ pita allowance given to internees and that, if this were refused, the financial aid extended to them by the family re­ lief committee be increased. The letter finally asked that a clinic be provided for the non-interned families, either within or outside the camp, and that the medicines recently received from the United States be made available to them. “In the Name of Humanity and Christian Charity” — The other letter to the Executive Committee urged that Kuroda having stated on October 11 that the non-interned families which desired it might be interned, that as many as could be found space for be permitted to enter immediately, with­ out waiting for the projected transfer of a group of Santo Tomas internees to Los Banos or for the arrival in the camp of the internees expected from Davao. The situation of the 50 neediest families was "growing more desperate each day. . . they are suffering acutely, and we ask in the name of humanity and Christian charity that they be in­ terned at once despite all obstacles”. "There must be no delay, and there is no excuse for it in view of the available space in our buildings, shanties, and as yet unoccupied shanty areas”. The let­ ter suggested a number of ways of uti­ lizing this space: (1) making use of the 303 individual spaces claimed to be still available in the various rooms; (2) taking advantage of the offer of 250 men who had expressed their will­ ingness to sleep in "double-deck” beds to make room for others; (3) request­ ing the Commandant to permit intern­ ed families to live in their own shan­ ties instead of in the rooms, there being 499 women and children who had ex­ pressed a desire to do so; (4) if the authorities refused this, asking the men who owned shanties to invite one or

NON-INTERNED FAMILY “ DISINTEGRATION"

more of their men friends to move into their shanties, relinquishing their space in the rooms; (5) building 200 new shanties for occupancy by the incoming families, these shanties to be paid for out of funds now used to help them outside; (6) building two dormitories for men to accommodate 100 men each who could then vacate the main-build­ ing rooms; (7) asking the University authorities to vacate rooms now used for storage of University property; (8) removing food stores from some of the lower rooms in the main building to the fourth floor, making the former available for living quarters; (9) se­ curing the release by the Japanese au­ thorities of aged and ailing internees financially able to live outside; and (10) transferring men now in the main building to space available in other rooms, making space for 296 more wo­ men and children there. Robb and DeWitt met with the Exe­ cutive Committee on the 26th with Carroll also present; Robb had a confer­ ence with Grinnell on the 28th; and Robb and DeWitt met again with the Committee on the 29th. According to the minutes of the meeting of the 29th, —

33

“A Process of Family Disintegration is Going on" — The urgency of the si­ tuation was emphasized by a report from the family aid committee dated November 29, which stated curtly: “The families which rely entirely on family aid assistance can no longer escape permanent damage. . . A process of family disintegration is going on.”

The report revealed that during the month of November 280 families had been assisted with total payments amounting to P10.595, or an average of only P37.82 a family. Of this total

mittee representing internees with non-interned families. The situation of many of these families is so desperate that we urge that every possible effort be made to alleviate their condition. "To this end we offer the following sugges­ tions: "1. Admission of families — There are at least 50 cases totalling 200 women and children in such circumstances that we feel they should be admitted to this camp without delay. There are approximately 120 additional families whose in­ ternment should be effected as soon as space can be made available. “In view of the expected arrival of 274 in­ ternees from Davao, 224 of whom are scheduled to remain indefinitely in the Manila camp, the balance to be accommodated temporarily until they can be transferred to the Los Banos camp, it is necessary to provide additional housing and other essential facilities. We therefore recom­ mend: "(a) That families now interned be permit­ ted to live permanently in their shanties; this would release space in buildings now occupied by approximately 400 women and children; "(b) Permit the construction of additional “a proposed letter to the Commandant, drafted shanties in existing shanty areas; by the Chairman as a result of a conference "(c) Permit the construction of approximate­ between him and Mr. Robb, making specific re­ ly 200 shanties in the area in front of the Semina­ quests on behalf of the non-intemed families ry, preference being given to non-interned fami­ and presenting practical plans by which many lies; Permit the construction of toilet, bath­ of their problems might be solved, was read ing,“(d) and washing facilities for use of the area and discussed. With slight amendments the let­ in front of the Seminary; “(e) Permit the construction and equipping ter was approved by all present, and it was agreed that after consulting Mr. Alcuaz tomor­ of a new kitchen to serve the area in front of the Seminary and present occupants of the row with regard to the use of University pro­ Gymnasium; perty, Messrs. Grinnell, Robb, and DeWitt will "(f) Provide necessary construction mate­ deliver this letter personally to the Comman­ rials and equipment, the labor to be done by the internees. dant, requesting that he study the same and "2. Per capita subsistence allowance — Pend­ grant an appoinment for further discussion”.* ing admission of non-interned families, we urge that the members of such families be given a * The Executive Committee’s letter, dated Decem­ monthly subsistence allowance per capita, equi­ ber 1, follows in full: valent to that accorded to the internees in this “We submit herewith and recommend for camp. The payment of this allowance could your serious consideration copy of letter dated easily be handled on behalf of the Japanese Mili­ November 24 addressed to the Executive Com­ tary Authorities through the family aid commit­ mittee by Mr. R. Y. Robb, chairman of the com- tee.

34

amount, P6,504 came from "regular funds", the balance from funds private­ ly and secretly obtained. In the Executive Committee meeting of December 3, Grinnell reported that, accompanied by Robb and DeWitt, he had the day before presented the letter to the Commandant and that after ask­ ing "a few pertinent questions”, the Commandant had said that "he wish­ ed time to study the letter before dis­ cussing it further”. The minutes of the meeting also stated that in reply to a question voiced by Robb, the Comman­ dant had stated that it would be "im­ possible to send any comfort-kits out of the camp for distribution among the non-interned families”, but that neither Grinnell nor Robb had "accepted this statements as final". Robb had reason to be satisfied in at least having brought about the taking of definite action by Grinnell and the Executive Committee. The problems presented by the non-interned families of internees had been temporized with “3. Other relief measures — In view of the shortage and high prices of essential commodi­ ties in the Manila market, it is strongly recom­ mended that the non-interned families be given the benefit of the Red Cross relief supplies from the United States and allotted to this camp in the form of: "(a) Foodstuffs such as powdered milk, can­ ned goods, etc., from the food-kits; "(b) Clothing and shoes; "(c) Medicines. "It is suggested that a clinic be established for non-interned families either in this camp, or at the Remedios Hospital, or at the Hospicio de San Jose, this clinic to be under the super­ vision of a competent physician and necessary nurses, the medicines and other medical sup­ plies to be drawn from the Red Cross ship­ ment to be delivered to this camp in the near future. "We believe that you fully appreciate the se­ riousness of the situation of these non-interned families who have been separated from their husbands and fathers for nearly 23 months and whose predicament can only be alleviated by eventual admission to this camp. We hope, there­ fore, that every effort will be exerted by the proper authorities to facilitate their admission, and pending their admission to permit us to assist these families in the manner suggested above."

THE CAMP

for many months. As a matter of fact, so long as conditions outside the camp were still fairly tolerable for their fa­ milies the men concerned had no de­ sire to bring them into the camp, be­ lieving that a semi-freedom outside was preferable to internment even if Santo Tomas had been the best of internment camps, which it certainly was not. The majority of the families concerned, practically all of those of means, had still no desire to come into Santo To­ mas. It was those who were dependent on their interned husbands and fathers who suffered so much from the intern­ ment of the breadwinner of the family. But again a period of delay set in. The Commandant was busy, Grinnell was busy. There was the matter of the transfer of the 200 internees to Los Banos, which took up a great deal more time than seemed necessary. There was the matter of the delay in the delivery and distribution of the Red Cross sup­ plies. There was the very important ap­ peal to Geneva Convention of 1929 which came up at this time for deci­ sion and action. Grinnell at last told Robb, however, that the Commandant would attend the Executive Committee meeting of December 13 and that the first item on the agenda was what was to be done about the non-interned families. He invited Robb and DeWitt to attend this meeting, but he did not speak encour­ agingly and both Robb and DeWitt on that day viewed the probable outcome pessimistically, and, it proved, with good reason. What transpired at this meeting is best described in the words of Mr. Robb at a meeting of his group on the 15th, — the evening of the day when six or seven Japanese officers had come to the camp to begin the opening and "inspecting” of the Red Cross foodpackages. They opened every one of

COMMANDANT: “THE MILITARY HAS NO SYMPATHY FOR THESE FAMILIES” 35

over 3,000 of them and pawed through the contents, as will be described later. The camp was perhaps never more irate than that night when the men with families outside met more or less secretly on the fourth floor of the main building to hear Robb’s report of the Executive Committee session which he had attended. The meeting was not publicly announced because it was not desired that any Japanese should wand­ er in. Robb’s Report of Kato's Rejection of the Plea — Robb said that the Com­ mandant had said with respect to the letter of December 1 addressed to him: "These are not realistic proposals. . . T always told the higher authorities that there is no more space in the camp. And frankly, I find little sympa­ thy among the higher authorities for the non-interned families." As for allowing women and children to move out of the rooms to sleep in their shanties, that, the Commandant had said, would be to discriminate in favor of those families in the camp who had shanties, and he didn’t like discrimination! "The camp is already crowded”, he had said, "and it is hard enough to feed the present population of the camp". Here, Robb said, Carroll had interpos­ ed that he believed the food problem would not be greatly complicated by the admittance of all of those who wanted to come in, but the Comman­ dant had ignored this remark. He had gone on to say that Kuroda's statement that some of these people might be interned after the transfers to Los Ba­ nos must be considered as cancelled by the plan to bring in the Davao in­ ternees. In March, he said, some 700 persons would be transferred to Los Banos — 270 from Santo Tomas. "At that time", he said, "perhaps we might be able to send some of the non-in­

terned families there, too.” Robb had said that Los Banos was not a suitable place for small children. The Comman­ dant answered with an attempt at hu­ mor that he understood the authorities would permit marriages there, that in any case there would "surely be a lot of babies there next year”, and so the small children of the non-interned fami­ lies might be accommodated, too. Grin­ ned had hereupon urged the serious plight of some of the families concern­ ed, and the Commandant said that it might be possible to squeeze in some of the neediest, but certainly not more than 50 or 60 individuals, and he evad­ ed a specific reply when he was asked to say when this might be done. Ap­ parently as an afterthought he then said that a "close friend who had con­ nections with the highest authorities” had suggested that "now that we are living under the Philippine Republic, the Philippine Red Cross might be ask­ ed to aid the families in question.” Ev­ eryone, however, knew that the Philip­ pine Red Cross had practically no re­ sources. The Commandant being unwil­ ling to discuss any further the matter of making space in the camp, the matter of allowing the families to share in the per capita allowance had been brought up. "This is a very difficult question,” the Commandant had said, "very diffi­ cult. For example, if this was done, then a neighboring Filipino family, not re­ ceiving such aid, would be worse off than the non-interned family." DeWitt had pointed out that the situation of such families was entirely different in­ asmuch as the breadwinner of the Fi­ lipino family was not interned. The Commandant after a few moments said: "I will ask the Red Cross to help.” No Red Cross Supplies for the Out­ side Families — Other possible relief measures had then been discussed, said

36

Robb, but the Commandant said em­ phatically that none of the Red Cross supplies, “absolutely none”, might be sent out of the camp, "none of the American food, the American clothes, the American shoes. I strictly prohibit it!" His reason was that the appear­ ance of the goods outside would “re­ flect” on the Japanese Imperial Army! Robb had proposed that men who wanted to send their powdered milk to their children be allowed to do so if they removed it from the original cans and sent it out in jars. The Com­ mandant said he would not discuss it. Grinnell had then suggested that milk be considered a medicine. "I could per­ haps consider milk as medicine for children,” said the Commandant, “but only for children under five.” Then he told about how milk was rationed in England and only to small children and said that in Japan no child over one year old was given milk. “My own baby, three years old, can’t have pow­ dered-milk in Japan.” "Very, very sorry, but it can’t be done.” As to medicines generally for the non-interned families, the Commandant said that he might consider this if a clinic could be es­ tablished for them in an outside hos­ pital. Fitzsimmons in a last effort, said Robb, had suggested that the Comman­ dant ask the Japanese Embassy in Ma­ nila to send out its own investigators to call on the non-interned families. “Very sorry," the Commandant had said. "Em­ bassy staff very small. There is no one to spare for such work. The Military has no sympathy for such families.” As to home-owners paying rent to the Military for living in their own homes, the Commandant had said that he would call on the enemy property cus­ todian “to see what could be done”. No Christmas Visits — Then came another blow as to the hoped-for

THE CAMP

Christmas visits of family members, — allowed the year before. “The visits are not necessary since the men saw their families after the flood in Novem­ ber.” Would not even the children be allowed to come in for a little while?” "No. Small children should not be se­ parated from their mothers!" Robb reported all this with a long face as the men listened grimly, and then called on Grinnell to speak. Grinnell Holds Out Some Hope — Grinnell said that he regretted that the matter had been pushed to an issue, implying that he might have handled the matter differently had he not been pressed by the group to get a decision. He said it was always easy in dealing with the Japanese to get a decision, — an unfavorable one. He added, "How­ ever, we will not accept ‘No’ for an answer. We will keep at it. If we can’t get the Japanese to reconsider the mat­ ter, we may find some other way to help the non- interned families. We may be able to raise funds for additional cash aid.” He assured the men that he and the entire Executive Committee were impressed with the desirability of bringing in at least the neediest fami­ lies. He urged the men to maintain their organization and to stand by. He received a good hand of applause. Robb then called on DeWitt, asking him to repeat what he had told the Commandant at the meeting as to the help the families of interned Japanese in the United States had received from the American people. DeWitt said that he had told the Commandant that on at least one occasion the American peo­ ple had raised a fund of $200,000 to help the non-interned families of in­ terned Japanese. “Where did you get that information?” the Commandant asked. "From the Japanese diplomat who made a speech in the Fathers’ Garden here last year." "He was not

KATO’S BITTERNESS AGAINST THE RELIGIOUS

authorized to make any such state­ ment,” said the Commandant. "Is it not true?” asked DeWitt. "He had no of­ ficial capacity,” the Commandant in­ sisted. DeWitt then told the men that he was certain that Grinnell and the other members of the Executive Committee were doing everything in their power. He said that Robb had been so disap­ pointed and felt so badly about the results of the conference that he had said immediately after the meeting that he would resign and that the group might just as well dissolve, but that he (DeWitt) had urged that the organi­ zation should be retained. He advised, however, that the group do nothing to aggravate the situation. DeWitt’s remarks were also well re­ ceived, and when Robb got up again, said that he was ready to resign, and asked that those who wanted him to do so, raise their hands, adding that he would not take this personally at all or take offense, not a hand was raised. The meeting was adjourned, subject to call if occasion should arise. The men trooped off, worried, bitter, yet satisfied that a strong and honest effort had been made. Kato’s Bitter Reference to the Reli­ gious Groups to be Interned — Neither Day in his minutes of the meeting nor Robb could mention one of the most significant revelations made by the Commandant, both by manner and speech; what he had said was “strictly confidential”, he had warned. In speaking of the lack of space in the camp, he had said that there was “pressure from higher authorities to in­ tern the religious groups comprising around 500 persons”. His manner was extraordinarily bitter when he said: “Those people are not civilians; they are soldiers; out to fight this war to the end with their preaching on every cor­

37

ner. But I don’t want them in this camp. They would cause dissention here, too.” A little later he came back to the same subject. “Los Banos is the place where the religious groups should be interned, in a camp of their own, entirely separate from other internees.” Those present were surprised by the malignancy in his voice. His remarks obviously applied both to the Catholic and Protestant groups and clearly in­ dicated that the Japanese were not only getting no "cooperation” from them but were meeting with their active, if not overt, opposition. Two Hundred Women sent to Los Banos — At 5 o’clock Friday morning, December 10, a group of 207 internees, comprising 177 women and 30 men, were crowded into a number of Japa­ nese army trucks which were to take them to the railway station where they would board a train for Los Banos. Among them, 196 were volunteers. The other 11, all men, by order of the Com­ mandant had been chosen by lot to complete the group; 3 of the men had unsuccessfully appealed against the transfer. Among the women were 79 who were the wives of men already at Los Banos; the rest, mostly girls, were sweethearts of men there. One of the women volunteers had in the end pleaded to be allowed to re­ main behind because she had learned that her affianced in Los Banos was ill and would be sent back to Santo Tomas the following week, but the Commandant told her that "no change could be made”. Though husbands and wives were not allowed to live together in Santo To­ mas, or at Baguio or other of the small­ er internment camps, the Japanese whim was to permit this at Los Banos, where two barracks had now been made ready. They were divided into cu­ bicles of 8 by 12 feet for married cou-

38

pies. This was a consequence, apparent­ ly, of a half-promise made to the mar­ ried men among the 800 who had been transferred in May that their wives would after some time be permitted to join them. Despite the earlier desperate protests against the Japanese decision to trans­ fer many hundreds of Santo Tomas in­ ternees to Los Banos, because the new camp was known to be unfit to accom­ modate them, a more favorable impres­ sion of conditions there had gradual­ ly been created in the minds of many people in Santo Tomas. This was be­ cause the Los Banos men, eager to have their wives and sweethearts join them, had been writing notes which pictured the situation there as better than the facts warranted. That conditions were not so favorable as they were thus represented to be, became known to the camp from the reports of a group of 27 Los Banos men who had been sent back to Santo Tomas on Decem­ ber 3, just a week before the women left. But despite this adverse informa­ tion, the women remained as eager to join their men as the men were to have them do so, both the men and the women saying that whatever the situation might be, it would be better for them to be together than separate. Both sexes talked of the mutual sharing of hardships in the early American pio­ neering days. And so reveille was sounded over the loudspeaker at 3 o’clock that Friday morning, “breakfast’’ was served at 4, and at 5, although it was still dark, half of the camp was up to see the women off. They were each allowed to take only two small pieces of handbaggage with them. Their heavier baggage had left the camp the day before, limited to 25 cubic feet, which provided for lit­ tle more than their beds and bedding.

THE CAMP

The 27 men who had returned to San­ to Tomas the week before comprised a number of elderly men who were ill or ailing, husbands whose children in Santo Tomas were too young to permit of their going to Los Banos, and a few younger men whose return had been approved so that they might rejoin their classes in the collegiate branch of the Santo Tomas educational depart­ ment. It was reported that there were 16 others in Los Banos whose applica­ tions for permission to return had been rejected, and there were many more, of course, who would have liked to come back to Manila. On the morning the new group of 207 men and women left Santo Tomas, Commandant Kato made them a little farewell speech over the loudspeaker. He referred to the salubrious climate of Los Banos, the fresh air, the hot-springs (several miles away from the Los Ba­ nos camp and inaccessible), etc., and said he hoped that they would all be very happy there. He also expressed the hope that they would soon receive their Red Cross food-kits and the let­ ters and packages which had arrived for them on the Teia Maru. — more than a month before, but still undistri­ buted. One of the first notes smuggled into Santo Tomas from one of the English girls sent to Los Banos, reported on the trip of the 207 and the reception ac­ corded them. It was written in pencil on both sides of a sheet of poor paper and read: "Thursday "We are almost settled down by now and so the first thing I’m doing is sitting down to thank you ever, ever so much for being so grand to us. You don’t know how much we appreciate all your helpfulness and kindness. "Our trip was a nightmare. We had to wait an hour at the station and were pushed around like cattle from one spot to another. The 2nd

A YOUNG WOMAN’S LETTER FROM LOS BANOS and 3rd class coaches weren’t bad, but the trip seemed endless. Made three long stops. At each stop (soon as the train stopped) the Japs es­ corting us hopped off and lined up on the platform to prevent the poor natives from com­ ing close to the coaches. Everywhere the Fili­ pinos seemed like scared rabbits, — they wouldn’t look at us. That seemed funny after the way they’d wave and yell 'Hello Joe’ once upon a time, years ago. We reached L. B. sta­ tion just before 11. Lined up on the platform were more Nips and behind them some of our boys, — all standing at attention with poker faces (what a sight!). Here we were waving and yelling at them from the train. They didn't respond, — not even blinked an eye-lash. That was the first slap in the face. We were made to disembark, — not on the proper platform where our boys were, but on the other side where we wallowed in mud. Then we were told to line up again, stand at attention, and while the Capt. of the Guards made a little welcoming speech and told us we’d have to walk the two miles to camp and to be sure not to communicate with anyone at all. Well, we walked thru the town and finally up thru the camp, before everyone staring at us. Even in the camp the men weren’t permitted to greet us as we walked past them with our escort. Finally, after some more standing at attention and more speeches from the Commandant and Calhoun, we could greet the boys and go to our quarters. The men were terribly indignant at the Japs for making us walk, — that was the biggest slap in the face of all. See, — our men weren’t made to walk when they came, but as in Jap eyes women are so inferior to men, we walked. "Our quarters are wonderful!! This seems like another world. The wide open spaces and all that. It’s just like Baguio and we're sur­ rounded by mountains and the terrain is hilly. The bungalows are higher up. No one seems to have a care in the world up here. They are all so relieved and happy. The women were al­ lowed a week’s rest, so next week they’ll start giving out details. The oldest group of men clean the vegetables and they don’t want to give their detail u p.---------- and I have already been asked to do clerical work. The men were astonished to hear that 400 more are coming soon (?) Al­ though there are enough barracks to go around, there isn’t any tubing for water in them and not enough electric power. The two barracks

39

only have four small lights in each and they can’t use elec, appliances as yet. Possibly later if they can get another generator for them. "Can’t buy as much fruit as we anticipated. So far w e’ve been rationed to two bananas a piece and you’re lucky if you can get them. The one big disappointment is that w e’ve been forbidden from sending anything down to S.T.I.C., — in order to keep the market under control. "Please tell Mrs. K. ---------- that Bill is look­ ing like a million and seems happy. In the eve­ ning he and the rest of the younger crowd get together and dance on the concrete basketball court. I danced too, last night, and it was more fun than I thought. But the Nips have already passed a very strict rule against displaying signs of affection. If a couple is recognized by a sentry while ’showing signs of affection’, the woman will be sent back to S.T.I.C. and the man transferred to another place, and they mean just that, too! "Any news of the Davao people? Gee, Gee, I wish they'd get here for Christmas. Inciden­ tally w e’ve already paid our contribution toward the special meal on Christmas Day and we are going to have a super-show N Y’s Eve. "As there won’t be time before the bus leaves to write more epistles, will you please pass this on to Room — when you’re thru and they pass it on to S ------- and P -------- I hate do this, but just this once, please. Best regards. ------- ”

It took more than a Japanese con­ centration camp to keep this young wo­ man down.

35

Story of The Los Banos Internees The 27 men who returned from Los Banos had many stories to tell their friends. The trip to Los Banos, six months before, had been a hard one. The baggage and the persons of about half of them had been searched at the station. Their pocketbooks had been inspected, but no money was taken. Two typewriters had been confiscated but were afterward returned for camp use. The 800 or so had been put aboard the train in the small boxcars of the

40

Manila Railroad Company, about 60 men to a car, which gave them no more than standing-room. One man said that his car had been a steel one, painted black, the floor filthy with a sticky mixture of oil and brown sugar. With the tropical midsummer sun beating down on the metal car, it was as hot as an oven, and the Japanese soldier, who with a Filipino railway employee, stood in the open side door, would not permit the door on the other side of the car to be opened until the train was about halfway to Los Banos. The men had taken turns at standing close to the door, but by that time they were all half-suffocated, drenched in sweat, and some of them were on the verge of collapse. A number of men in other cars did collapse before the journey was over. The train was a slow one and stopped at every little barrio, but once only were the men allowed to get off the train for a breathing spell. They arrived at the station of the Los Banos College of Agriculture at 12:30. After standing in the hot noon­ day sun for over a half hour, some of them were taken to the camp in army trucks, but others stayed behind to un­ load the baggage, working in two hour relays, the last group not reaching the camp until around 6 o’clock. Some of the heavy baggage could not be found. Apparently there had been an error in coupling and several of the freight cars were missing. They were found in another town on the railway line sev­ eral days later. Men told off as cooks at the camp served a cup of hot chocolate and some tinned soda-crackers at around 2 o’clock, although there was no kitchen. They had brought with them several big, iron cauldrons and iron stands to set them on, but they had to chop wood before they could start their fires. They served a meal of rice and canned corn­ ed beef just before 6. Drinking water had to be boiled and was drunk half­ warm. The majority of the men were put up in the college gymnasium, which held: around 600 men, and the remainder in a number of vacated cottages be­ longing to the College. There had not been time enough to set up many beds.

STORY

and most of the men slept on the floor the first night. Some of them slept outside on the grass until it began to rain. There were only two toilets in the gymnasium and six primitive privies which had been used by the Filipino workers on the barracks which were going up. The two toilets were soon unusable, and it took more than a week to install six more flush-toilets because of difficulties in obtaining the neces­ sary materials. The overflow from the greatly overloaded septic tank, only 40 feet away from the gymnasium, fouled the air for two months before the Jap­ anese would permit the internees to dig a 150-yard ditch to lead it off into a gully which lay outside the boundary fence. There were only four water spigots in the gymnasium and it was almost impossible for more than a few men to get a shower. As many as 200 men would stand in line awaiting their turn to wash their plates and cups. Even now, the men from Los Banos said, there were only seven faucets for dish­ washing. The Japanese nevertheless charged the internees with using too much water, saying that the people of Los Banos town were complaining. The Japanese dug a well and built a con­ crete water tank, but as the soil is a volcanic fill of broken stratification and all groundwater rapidly seeps away, there was never enough water to fill the tank. There was still not enough water for more than 1,400 peo­ ple, the men from Los Banos reported. They had learned that U.S. Army au­ thorities had years ago condemned the locality as a military camp site because of the lack of water. There is a considerable rainfall at Los Banos, however, and the place was always muddy. And the Japanese would not allow the internees to buy suffi­ cient gravel or stone to fill in around the toilets and laundering and dish­ washing troughs. Having to wade through the mud to get to the toilets was especially disagreeable at night. The internees were now housed, the men from Los Banos said, in the gym­ nasium and the Y.M.C.A. building, and in three small cottages holding around

THE LOS BANOS CAMP

30 men each and nine small guest cot­ tages accommodating 10 men.The nurses and doctors were lodged in the college hospital. The internees found that the Japanese had removed all the beds and the equipment from this hospital. La­ ter they furnished some cots, but not even the operating table was returned and surgical operations were still being performed on a modified kitchen table. A place was dug out under the ad­ ministration building floor to provide space for several school rooms. Here the usual high school courses were con­ ducted for the younger internees. As there were no children in the camp, there was no grade school. Every internee had to do two hours of heavy work, — wood chopping, dig­ ging, gardening, grass-cutting, or three hours of lighter work every day. The Japanese always wanted a larger gar­ den, though there were few tools and rains interfered. They also insisted on the grass-cutting even after they had taken away the two college lawn mo­ wers and the internees had only a few sickles to fall back on. Soon after the men arrived, the Jap­ anese demanded that they build a sixstrand barbed-wire fence all around the camp. Cement fence posts set elsewhere on the extensive college grounds had to be dug up and carried to where they were needed, holes had to be dug, the wire stretched, — all very hard labor. There was some question as to whe­ ther this type of work could lawfully be demanded of them, but in the end the internees decided to “volunteer” for it as the Japanese made the admi­ nistrative committee understand that if they refused to do the work, they would be compelled to do it. The Jap­ anese themselves built another eightstrand wire fence outside the fence built by the internees. These fences were built less to confine the internees than to serve as protection for the Jap­ anese against guerrilla attacks. There was considerable firing close to the camp on two or three nights in July. At first there were only eight Japa­ nese soldiers stationed at the camp, but the garrison was later increased to 80 men, and a month or so before, the men from Los Banos reported, an

41

anti-aviation unit of some 450 men had been stationed at the College, directly adjoining the camp, this leading Caihoun to request information from the Santo Tomas Executive Committee as to whether such stationing of troops near an internment camp was not in violation of international law. Because of the hilly topography, the college buildings proper were out of sight of the internee camp, but it was believed that the College had been closed at the end of the first semester of 1943. There was never any contact between the internees and the college faculty or the students, nor with the people of the town. No visits were allowed, but one man was once permitted to talk with his wife, who was a Filipina. There was a “buying shed” near the gate where the farmers of the region brought their produce. Only two inter­ nee buyers were permitted to go there to buy such vegetables and fruit, meat, eggs, etc. as were offered for sale. Prices were high but not so high as in Manila. Chicken eggs were selling at 36 centavos and duck eggs 50 centavos at the time the 27 men returned to Manila. At this time, a chicken egg cost 80 centavos in Santo Tomas. The truck from the Santo Tomas camp came to Los Banos twice a month, bringing camp supplies and in­ dividual packages and notes. There was a 5-pound limit on packages, but even so there was frequently no room for all the packages people in Santo Tomas wanted to send. A regular schedule could not be observed and there often were delays which resulted in food sent by wives in Santo Tomas arriving in Los Banos spoiled. The arrival of the truck from Manila was always an event, and while it might be several hours be­ fore the truck was unloaded in Santo Tomas after its arrival from Los Banos, the truck was unloaded at the Los Ba­ nos end and by a special crew within 15 minutes. Three regular meals were served at Los Banos as against two in Santo To­ mas; there was somewhat more meat in the diet, and the cooking was better over the slow wood-fires, but otherwise the meals were not much better than in Manila.

42

The morale and the discipline were always good. The jail was a small nipa hut surrounded with barbed wire, but only two men were ever in it, — one for stealing and the other for fighting. There were no liquor cases. There was never much sickness. No malaria developed, — an illness every­ one had been afraid of. There were some intestinal troubles. There were many cases, however, of minor wounds, suffered by the wood choppers mostly. The good health record was due in part to the fact that most of the men in the camp were in their prime, as regards age, but the strenuous work along lines of camp sanitation in the face of many handicaps, also played a part. Garbage was satisfactorily dis­ posed of in a pit, 8 by 14 feet in area and 12 feet deep, which was kept cov­ ered by a wooden frame fitted with four doors. The garbage proved to be self-liquifying and disappeared in the porous soil without a bad odor. The Japanese allowed no athletic games until after 5 o’clock in the after­ noon, — 3 o’clock on Sundays. Card games were forbidden, but this order was generally disregarded. Governmentally, the camp was well organized, with a monitor to every 40 men. The administrative committee ne­ ver made any important decisions with­ out consulting the internee-body. Roll call was held twice a day by the moni­ tors. The Japanese threatened on sev­ eral occasions to take over this func­ tion, but never did. Latterly, some dis­ satisfaction had developed in the camp and there was talk of holding an elec­ tion if the Japanese would permit it. The dissatisfaction was chiefly attribu­ table, it was said, to the men’s disap­ pointment over the delay in the coming of their wives, though the committee could not be blamed for this. At first, the Japanese guards were all over the place, coming into the sleep­ ing-quarters at all hours of the night and always marching through the camp to their posts. Later they confined themselves for the most part to the gate area and the fences around the camp. Internees were supposed to bow to the officers, bowing from the waist, but this was generally avoided by not

STORY

looking at them when they passed. The men in the office, however, were said to have acquired pretty limber backs. When the 800 first got to Los Banos, there were eight nipa and sawali, wooden-framed barracks, measuring 100 feet long and 30 feet wide, already set up. The construction was so defec­ tive, however, that two of them collaps­ ed during the first week. Later, Filipi­ no workers under Japanese supervision built 24 more in the so-called upper camp, and five of these tumbled down of themselves.The typhoon in mid-No­ vember was responsible for the wreck­ ing of four of the 30 barracks which had in the meantime been built in the lower camp and on the other side of the creek which runs through the col­ lege grounds. From all this building activity, rick­ ety as it was, it was clear that the Japanese intended to transfer large numbers of people from Santo To­ mas to Los Banos, despite the lack of water and many other impossible con­ ditions, and this aroused even greater anxiety among the internees there than in Santo Tomas, where many people were uninformed as to how bad the situation really was. The administra­ tive committee took a very firm stand against the transfer, and at one time Calhoun formally asked the internees whether the committee had the sup­ port of the internee body in maintain­ ing a protest that amounted to resis­ tance. A paper affirming this sup­ port was sent around to all the sec­ tions and was signed by all but three of the more than 800 internees, who all knew that the Japanese were quite ca­ pable of retaliating to any extreme of punishment. The people in Santo To­ mas never knew how much they owed to the Los Banos men for the brave stand which they took on this occasion. When a Japanese general came to in­ spect the camp and the new barracks, internee officials were not allowed to accompany him to point out this or that but evidently he saw for himself, and the wholesale transfer was not insisted upon. Now, according to the men from Los Banos, there were, among all the bar­ racks which had been built, only two

LOS BANOS NOT READY FOR MORE INTERNEES

which were actually ready for occupan­ cy. The nearest one stood some 120 yards from the gymnasium, the others continuing from there in four rows for nearly a mile. The men themselves, mostly the longing husbands and their friends, had done much of the work in making these barracks ready, put­ ting in the time between 1 and 3 o’clock in the afternoon when they were free from camp duty. The Filipino working gang had built toilets between the two barracks consisting of nothing more than two wooden planks over a row of removable wooden boxes, but the inter­ nees replaced these by seven flush-toi­ lets, using pipe taken from the college tennis courts. There had been iron pipe on the grounds when the internees first arrived, but the Japanese had hauled this away again for their own use. The men also built a place to wash clothes, hammering out some old galvanizediron roofing for the troughs and the floor. The kitchen stoves built by the Japanese contractor would not draw and the internees completely rebuilt them, and fashioned the necessary grills from some old boiler-plate they found. In each of the two barracks there were only four 60-watt electric lights, so nobody could expect to do much reading there at night. It had been the same in the gymnasium during the first months. The electric plant was in general so inadequate that the hospi­ tal still had trouble with its sterilizers and with the refrigerator. The men said that the Japanese had indicated that 13 more barracks were to be prepared for additional transfers from Santo Tomas, but actually, not

43

more than the two barracks already mentioned were ready. There was only old pipe and galvanized-iron roofing enough for four more barracks. No preparations whatever had been made for receiving the 400 internees who, the Santo Tomas Commandant had said, would be transferred soon after the first of the new year. One of the still uninhabitable bar­ racks had recently been assigned for use as a school room and chapel, and internees were at work leveling the surrounding area, clearing away the rubbish and making a garden. The internees had at first used the col­ lege chapel, but as this was very small, a number of internees had laid out a garden around it with the plan to use this as a meeting place. The work had just been com­ pleted when, one day, the Japanese cap­ tain of the guard came up with a squad of soldiers and ordered the internees to destroy the garden because, he said, the hedge at one end was too close to the barbed-wire boundary fence. The internees wanted to dig up the shrubs and flowers so that they could be plant­ ed elsewhere, but the captain compel­ led them not only to cut them all down but to chop them up in small pieces. Early in November, the Japanese set up a machine gun about 140 yards from the gymnasium, where the gun com­ manded all three of the gymnasium doors and all the windows on that side. The gun was still there when the 27 left. The Japanese offered no explana­ tion for this act.

The Camp Chapter XIV The Red Cross Shipment - Appeal to the Treaty On October 1, Grinnell had had con­ firmation from Kodaki that “supplies in considerable quantities, consigned direct to war and civilian prisoners in the Philippines, might be expected on the return of the exchange ship, Teia Maru, from Goa.” During the following weeks Kodaki made efforts to obtain details as to the size of the shipment so that preparations could be made in advance for storage, and he was report­ ed by Grinnell to “think well” of the suggestion that Messrs. Bessmer and H. A. Janson (the Swedish Consul) re­ present the camp on the outside to take delivery of and store in outside ware­ houses the supplies not destined for the camp. But on November 1 there was still no further news about the ship­ ment and Grinnell told the Committee that Kodaki was trying to get informa­ tion from the vessel by radio. Accord­ ing to the minutes (November 1), it was "understood that all supplies on this ship are under the custody of a Swiss delegate on board who is mak­ ing the round trip”. The Teia Maru arrived in Manila on November 6. According to the Tribune, there were 1,350 Japanese nationals aboard, and — "when the ship was passing Corregidor, a naval officer who had boarded the ship climbed the bridge and began explaining the details of the former American stronghold through a mega­ phone. The returning Japanese saw the battle­ ground where the American forces were crushed and forever swept out of East Asia. Slowly the ship proceeded toward Pier 5, Manila.”

The Japanese repatriates on the ship were quoted as saying that the people

of the United States were suffering from a food shortage, that they were at the mercy of "food gangsters", that there was a breakdown in American morale and morality ("Although the American girls were never credited to be chaste, they now have completely shorn themselves of modesty and shame. . . Abortion is a commonplace practice and social diseases are ram­ pant”), that the people were "sick and tired” of the war, etc. On the 8th, Grinnell transmitted to the Executive Committee certain details concerning the supplies which had ar­ rived. The minutes said: "The Chairman stated that although we have not been allowed any official representative to look after these supplies for us, arrangements have been made by the Commandant by which Mr. Bessmer has been acting as an unofficial representative, and the Military have agreed that the supplies shall be stored in Swiss bodegas rather than in military warehouses. The work of transfer is now going on and will be pushed as rapidly as possible. Although exact details are lacking, the shipment includes comfort-kits, medical supplies, clothing and shoes, tobacco, recreation equipment, etc., but no bulk food­ stuffs. There is also American mail and parcelspost. "Prince Simazu, Vice-President of the Japa­ nese Red Cross, passed through on the Teia Maru and visited this camp on Sunday, Novem­ ber 7, for a short time. He expressed his agree­ ment with the plans for storing the supplies in neutral warehouses pending final distribution. At the same time, the procedure is not in ac­ cordance with previous custom, and every pre­ caution must be taken to prevent criticism of the way in which the supplies are handled. For this reason, the Commandant himself has been very active in supervising shipment from the

44

RED CROSS SUPPLIES AT THE PIERS piers and storage in warehouses, the former be­ ing accomplished by military prisoners of war and the latter by internees. "The Chairman stated that after the supplies are once stored, the distribution plan must be agreed upon by those in charge of war-prisoners camps and those in charge of civilian camps. In this connection he asked the opinion of the Committee as to whether persons on release in institutions and in private homes, such as the religious groups, should be considered in the same category as internees. The Committee was entirely agreed that any enemy alien who is under restraint and liable to internment should be so classified. The Chairman then asked the Committee’s opinion regarding the non-internable families of internees. After considerable discussion it was decided that in view of the fact that families of military prisoners are not similarly considered, and that consequently, if we should claim these non-internables as eligible, the amount available for military prisoners would be curtailed thereby, the Committee must stand on the record which does not include noninternable families. It is definitely understood, however, that when our share of the supplies reaches Santo Tomas, a proportional amount shall be made available if permitted by the Com­ mandant to these non-internable families. "The Committee then discussed at length cir­ cumstances surrounding this relief shipment which have made it impossible for the Chair­ man to release full information to the internees by order of the Commandant. . . ”

45

a sum of money amounting to P2,000 was handed to the Bilibid men as a gift from Santo Tomas. The story was told in the camp a night later that two men met at the piers and managed a short conversa­ tion though under the eyes of the Jap­ anese guards. One whispered to the other, "How are things with you?" "All right. How are they with you?” “Good enough. Where are you from?" "Santo Tomas. And you?” The other opened his eyes wide, grinned, and whispered: "Santo Tomas!" Some of the men came back from the warehouses with copies they had surreptitiously made of the manifests, and soon the whole camp knew pretty well of what the shipment consisted. All asked how soon a distribution would be made and what the individual internee would be entitled to. There was talk that the Executive Committee intended to make only a partial dis­ tribution and to store the rest for a reserve in case of emergency. This did not meet the general approval and con­ siderable resentment was caused by an At the Piers — As the minutes stated, announcement over the loudspeaker the transfer of the supplies from the on the evening of the 8th, to which pier to the warehouses had begun the reference was made in a preceeding day before, Sunday, and continued for section. As already recounted, it had several days, around 100 internees be­ been prepared on instructions of the ing sent out for this work mornings and Commandant by Grinnell, without con­ afternoons. Most of the men were kept sultation with the Committee. It read: unloading the trucks at the two bode­ "The following statement has been released gas of Menzi & Company on Azcarraga by the Commandant regarding the relief sup­ and Juan Luna streets, but a few of plies and mail which arrived on the Teia Maru. them got to the piers where they talked It is appreciated that all internees are anxious learn the nature of the supplies, when the to some of the prisoners of war from to Santo Tomas portion will be brought to the Bilibid who told them that the men camp, and the approximate date when mail will there were worried about the people be ready for distribution. "The relief supplies, which are from the in Santo Tomas. For themselves, they American Red Cross and marked for war-priso­ said, conditions had bettered some­ ners and civilian internees, are now being trans­ what, and they looked as if they were ferred from the pier to outside warehouses. The in good health. The next day contact shipment consists of food-kits, medical supplies, was again made at the Port Area and shoes, clothing, and other miscellaneous items.

46 Until the supplies have been transferred from the piers, inventoried, and a plan of distribution among all the camps has been approved by the proper authorities, no details as to quantities and method of distribution can be announced. "The mail has been turned over to the proper authorities,, and distribution will be made as soon as circumstances permit. "While there may be unavoidable delays, in­ ternees may rest assured that every effort is being made to expedite delivery. Pending com­ pletion and approval of final plans, internees, who have assisted in storing the supplies are requested to refrain from making any statements regarding the nature, quantities, and other in­ formation pertaining to these supplies."

Japanese "Withdrawals" from the Supplies — It was the last sentence in this announcement which made the trouble, as it marked an attempt at applying an in fact impossible gag. It led to the heated discussion in the Ex­ ecutive Committee already mentioned. What Grinnell had been up against, however, was indicated by the minutes of a special meeting of the Committee held two days later, on the 10th, which minutes were kept strictly secret.1 They read:

THE CAMP stated that he is frankly worried regarding this situation, and indicated that Mr. Kato is like­ wise disturbed. "He asked the Committee’s opinion as to what best can be done to make sure that the supplies are properly divided, and to straighten out a situation which now appeared to be very badly mixed up. After some discussion, the Com­ mittee agreed that written protest at this time would be useless, and that our only avenue of approach at the moment is through Mr. Kato who has shown himself genuinely interested in obtaining a fair division of these supplies. It was suggested that the Chairman approach Mr. Kato tomorrow and make the request that, if he has any misgivings as to the proper ulti­ mate distribution of these supplies, he appeal in person to General Kuroda, Commanding Gen­ eral of the Japanese Forces in the Philippines. It was felt that only through such a channel can action be hoped for.”

Kato's Explanation of the Enormous Shortages — The minutes of the reg­ ular meeting on the 12th stated that “the chances of a fair distribution” of the supplies "seemed better than they did a few days ago”, yet the fact was that enormous shortages and some overages had been discovered. The fol­ lowing was kept secret at the time: Of the American Red Cross supplies as manifested, there were received at the two Swiss bodegas —

"The Chairman explained that this meeting was called by him to report regarding the re­ lief supplies which have recently arrived in Ma­ nila. These supplies have now been removed from the docks and many of them have been 321 95-lb. cases of drugs (6 cases over) stored in the two Swiss warehouses obtained 485 85-lb. cases of drugs (170 cases over) for that purpose. Three truckloads of 'bad-order 817 68-lb. cases of medical supplies (27 cases over) cargo’ were brought into camp this morning 150 78-lb. cases of medical supplies and are now stored in the tower to be inven­ 32 77-lb. cases of surgical instruments (8 toried tomorrow by Messrs. Noble and New­ cases short) man. 37 84-lb. cases of surgical dressings (3 cases "Contrary to the original understanding which short) contemplated the concentration of all relief sup­ 30 64-Ib. cases of surgical dressings (10 plies and division thereafter, the Japanese Mili­ cases short) tary have been withdrawing considerable quan­ 35 51-lb. cases of surgical dressings (5 cases tities of these supplies both direct from the piers short) and also from the warehouses, with the stated 19 41-lb. first-aid kits (12 kits short) intention of storing same in Bilibid for distri­ 5 86-lb. cases of medical supplies (100 bution among war-prisoners. In particular, the cases short) indications are that a large proportion of the 19,500 47-lb. food parcels 123 108-lb. cases of tropical clothing (2 cases medical and surgical supplies and shoes have short) been so withdrawn, together with a little less 15 119-lb. cases of women’s toiletries and than half of the comfort-kits. The Chairman* apparel (150 cases short) 73 55-lb. cases of men’s shoes (127 cases >In this, as in other cases, not to the writer, as short) the historian of the camp.

EXPLANATION OF THE SHORTAGES 396

55-lb. cases of men’s shoes (504 cases short) 327 assorted shoe-repair kits, total weight, 27,140 lbs. 207 cases of cigarets, smoking tobacco, and pipes, total weight, 7,620 lbs. (3 cases short) 47 bales of bed-sheets, 10,428 lbs. 63 117-lb. cases of recreational equipment (45 cases short) 11 100-lb. cases of Catholic books and Mass-kits (12 cases short) Total weight of supplies actually received, 1,217,310 lbs.

47 buted, although no definite plans can be made until we know what supplies we are to receive, when they will arrive, and what regulations re­ garding distribution may be imposed by the Commandant.”

43 Tons of Mail — Twenty-seven sacks of mail and 1,890 sacks, or 40 tons, of parcel-post matter had arrived on the Teia Maru, according to the manifests, a total of 43 tons of mail, and as none of this had reached the camp, a plan was suggested to the In "explanation” of these shortages, Commandant by which the inspection, the Commandant was authoritatively particularly of the parcels, might be said to have told Grinnell that some of expedited, services of "picked” inter­ the supplies had been taken off the nees being offered to assist in this work. ship at Singapore for distribution to According to the minutes of the Exec­ prisoners and internees in Malaya, and utive Committee meeting of November he was also said to have shown Grin­ 22, the Commandant was "impressed” nell a letter from the Portuguese ship­ by this proposal and "promised it se­ ping agent at Goa stating that due to rious consideration”. the lack of facilities and hasty loading, As to the distribution of the relief he was sure that errors had been made. supplies, when received, the minutes Grinnell himself would give out no of this date revealed that Grinnell had information. submitted to the Commandant — It was reported that the Red Cross "certain population data and requested that the representative on board the Teia Maru 135 internees on conditional release for medical had at first not been allowed to land reasons, together with the 467 internees in the and that later his movements had been Catholic and Protestant groups on permanent release, be considered entitled to share in the re­ greatly restricted. He was, however, lief supplies on the same basis as internees said to have visited the Swiss Club. actually in the camp and those confined in out­ Certainly, nobody in or from Santo side hospitals and institutions. In case non-inTomas saw him. A Spanish diplomat ternable families can not be considered as part on the ship and on the way to Tokyo of this camp because not on our roll call, it is was also not allowed to move around hoped that favorable consideration can be given to a plan by which this group may benefit out freely while in Manila. The minutes of the Executive Com­ of the share allotted to Santo Tomas and Los mittee meeting of the 12th stated that Banos. The Commandant stated that he will stu­ it was "probable” that the relief sup­ dy this proposal, but that he must do all he can plies would begin to come into camp to prevent misuse or sale of these supplies.” What came of this latter suggestion "within a few days” and that a comhas been described in a foregoing sec­ mitttee consisting of S. D. Lennox, W. tion. Douglas, C. Fossum, and J. Kibbee had Four days later, the Executive Com­ been appointed to make arrangements for receiving, storing, and issuing them. mittee held a special meeting at which it was informed that the Japanese "Meanwhile”, said the minutes, — authorities "had agreed upon a final "the Committee, in consultation with the Fi­ distribution between the camps”. Ac­ nance and Supplies Committee, will give thought as to how the supplies may equitably be distri­ cording to the minutes:

48 "It is hoped that medical supplies and foodkits may commence to come into camp on Tuesday. . . Kits for the Los Banos transferees will be forwarded to Los Banos and await them there, and in all probability no kits will be dis­ tributed until after the Los Banos transfer.”

The Supplies Reach Camp — The Tuesday referred to was the 30th of November, and indeed on that day the long-awaited relief supplies began to come into the camp on big Japanese army trucks which had once belonged to the USAFFE. According to the min­ utes of the Executive Committee meet­ ing of December 3, — "the Committee was advised that last Tuesday all food-kits and medical supplies from the re­ lief shipment were brought into camp, together with a number of miscellaneous cases, and that the only supplies outside the camp still to be brought in are clothes and a few miscellaneous items. The items brought in were those desig­ nated by the Japanese authorities, we having no voice in their selection. The Commandant has orders that all these supplies shall be held in­ tact until released by him to the internees, and no instructions are yet available as to what restriction shall be placed upon the distribution.”

The food-kit cartons brought into camp numbered 4,511, which did not include those to be sent to Los Banos and Baguio; 598 other cases, mostly medical supplies, were also brought in on this day. The relief supplies, — the first to arrive from the United States after nearly two years of internment, had reached Manila on November 6. The share of the supplies allotted by the Japanese to Santo Tomas had not begun to come into the camp until nearly a month later, and though the camp was half starved and va­ rious medicines and drugs were bad­ ly needed in the hospital, the supplies lay intact in a wing of the library of the University on December 10, the Executive Committee and the internees still awaiting the Commandant's gra­ cious word of release. It had been said

THE CAMP

that the supplies would not be released until after the transfer of the 200 or so internees to Los Banos, and that had been delayed. They had left on the morning of this day, the 10th. How much longer would the camp have to wait? It had been announced at the begin­ ning of the month that there would be no sugar, no lard, and no soap rations for the month, and that coffee at the line would be reduced by one-third. There were three or more “vegetablestew” suppers each week. These stews were not what the name would indi­ cate, and contained no cabbage, pota­ toes, turnips, onions, and other such hearty vegetables. The Santo Tomas vegetable-stews were made of various kinds of innutritious gourds and other poor and tasteless and half-wild trop­ ical vegetables. There weren’t any more meat meals at all, even of carabao meat. On some nights during the week there was a “meat gravy", a small spoonful on a plate of rice. The best meal of the week was "peanut loaf”, rice baked in large, flat pans, the rice covered with a thin layer of boiled peanuts. Paunches Long Gone, Buttocks Go­ ing — How thin everybody was get­ ting could be seen in the bathrooms. Paunches, of course, had long since disappeared, but now men were losing their buttocks, strange as it may seem, — as it did! In eight men out of ten, these finely rounded features had flat­ tened out in a most unsightly way, and in some of the older men the skin sagged down in flaps. One was im­ pressed, for perhaps the first time in life, with what a handsome part of the human body the normally rounded posterior is. Distribution Still Delayed; Mail Un­ delivered — With tons of delicious food from America now in camp, the

49

THE MALICIOUS INSPECTION

poor starvelings were kept waiting. The minutes of the Executive Committee meeting of the 10th said: "The Chairman stated that the Commandant had indicated that release may be expected early next week of the comfort-kits and medical sup­ plies now in camp, after which the balance of the cases to be delivered to Santo Tomas will be brought in. Final allotment of supplies to this camp has been definitely determined by the Japanese, but the question of inspection is still to be clarified. In this connection, the Chairman stated that Mr. Bessmer has been requested by cable from the Swiss Minister and the Red Cross representative in Tokyo to advice them as to the amount of supplies actual­ ly received in Manila and their distribution. Fi­ gures relating to the supplies at present in camp and checked in warehouses have been furnished to Mr. Bessmer, but further details are not available to us.”

With respect to the still undelivered mail and parcel-post, the minutes stated that the Commandant had ad­ vised the Chairman that morning that the mail was in the General Post Office (Manila) and that the Commandant was "doing his best to expedite deliv­ ery thereof.” The matter was again referred to, and this time in more definite terms, in the minutes of the meeting of the 13th, the same meeting which Robb and DeWitt had attended during the earlier part. "The Commandant gave it as his opinion that the distribution [of supplies] will probably be confined to those under the direct control of this camp, that is, those internees appearing on our roll call either'in the camp or in outside insti­ tutions and possibly Class A releases.2 The Com­ mittee was strongly of the opinion that the Com­ mandant should issue definite instructions for the distribution of these supplies inasmuch as the Japanese military authorities are acting as the agents for the International Red Cross in this matter [sic]. The Commandant stated in strict confidence that it has been decided that each individual package of relief supplies must be opened and inspected and that this inspection by Military Police will commence tomorrow, the 2 Blind, lame, the chronically ill, confined in their homes.

reason for this being that it has been reported that in some of the comfort-kits, opened outside the camp, recent newspapers have been found. In view of the difficulties of such an inspection, the Committee believed that it may be advisable to distribute the comfort-kits piecemeal as soon as inspected rather than waiting for all the kits to be inspected before distribution.”,

As to the mail and parcel-post, the minutes stated that the Commandant had said that he — "had discovered that the mail was very badly mixed up. . . and that some of it has been con­ fused with the mail for North China ports. He states that the work of censorship is very slow, but that eventually the mail should commence to reach the camp. The Chairman offered the services of trusted internees to help sort the mail, to which the Commandant replied that he had also offered the services of his staff but without result. He promised to approach the authorities again, realizing the importance of this mail to internees."

Then another promise: "The Commandant wished it definitely under­ stood that internees will be afforded an oppor­ tunity to file letters regularly on the basis of one every month per internee."

The Malicious “Inspection” — For the camp as a whole, the matter oi the inspection was "clarified” the fol­ lowing Wednesday, the 15th, when 15 military inspectors came into the camp in a truck and began the process after a group of over 100 of the more husky among the internees had volunteered, according to instructions, to bring the food-kits out of the library and lay them out in long rows alongside the main building. The food-kits were packed by fours in larger cartons measuring 20 by 12-1/2 inches and 12 inches deep. They weigh­ ed around 47 pounds and were each bound with a metal strap. By order of the Japanese officers, internees ripped of the straps with screwdrivers or whatever was handy. The Japanese tore open the parcels with knives and chissels and dumped out the kits. Then they opened these in the same way. They be­

THE CAMP

50

gan by thrusting the chissels into cans of meat and salmon. They tore of the labels of cans, — to see whether any­ thing was written on the backs of the labels, they said. They tossed out all the packets of cigarets, of which each kit contained from 8 to 10 used as pack­ ing. It was said that it had been found out at Bilibid that the "Old Gold” brand had "propaganda” printed on the label and that they would all be con­ fiscated. Internees later found out that the "Old Gold” packets bore the fol­ lowing : "Our We can "Our itage, if

"FREEDOM heritage has always been freedom. not afford to relinquish it. armed forces will safeguard that her­ we do our share to preserve it.”

News of what the Japanese were do­ ing to the food-kits ran like wildfire through the camp and people quit their work to see what was going on with their own eyes. The place had been roped off, but a crowd gathered at the ropes, cursing under their breath as they watched the Japanese, in their khaki caps and top boots, and on their haunches, pawing like apes through the contents of the boxes of food from Am­ erica. "Give them to them!” exclaimed a man. "They can have mine, the bas­ tards!” “Oh! look!” moaned a woman. "They are spoiling all the food!” But the stabbing of cans did not last long. The behavior of the Japanese had produced an exaggerated impression, for a check-up later showed that the contents of only two of the parcels had been so treated. But the tearing off of labels continued for a long time, and every one of the big cartons and all of the four kits inside each of them were opened, dumped out, and the ci­ garets removed. The internee crew put the rest of the stuff back again as well as they could, but all day the open­ ed parcels stood in the hot sun and ants were beginning to get into the

wonderful prunes and the raisins and the sugar which were packed in only paper containers. The camp was angered as it had ne­ ver been before. The Commandant and the second-in-command had left the camp in the morning, and when they returned, Grinnell put in a vigorous oral protest. The Commandant expres­ sed his regret but said that he was powerless under the circumstances. La­ ter the Commandant also spoke to Carroll and said that he was sorry about the way the inspection was handled. No newspapers were found in the kits. Before the Commandant had left the camp that morning, he had handed Grinnell a letter containing full instruc­ tions as to the distribution of the foodkits to the internees, together with a statement that none of the kits nor any of the contents would be per­ mitted to be sent out of the camp. The letter said that instructions relating to the distribution to outside internee in­ stitutions would be issued later. In the afternoon there came a request from the Commandant for a formal acknowl­ edgement of the receipt of this letter. The Distribution — Later in the day, an announcement over the loudspeaker informed the camp that internees hold­ ing annex food-tickets, mostly children and young people, and workers in the central kitchen, could collect their kits beginning around 3:30. The boys and girls and their parents formed long queues, the children excited and laugh­ ing and telling each other what they were going to eat first, and, human na­ ture being what it is, the state of mind of the whole camp seemed quickly to have changed and the anger of the morning was forgotten. Each one receivone of the big cartons, containing four kits full of all sorts of good things. That evening the usual tasteless linesupper was largely neglected by those

THE DISTRIBUTION

who had received their kits. One little 3-year-old girl strolled about contented­ ly munching at a piece of cheese in her hand; in the other hand she carried a paper bag full of prunes. She proud­ ly told everyone she met that she had lots and lots more in her shanty. At least one boy ate a whole cake of "emergency ration” chocolate, a square of which is supposed to be sufficient to support life for one day. His attention was called to the label which stated that not more than one square should be eaten at a time, but he said he wasn’t paying any attention to that. He went to the hospital that night. There were many cases of stomach-ache dur­ ing the next few days. The "inspection” continued all day Thursday and all day Friday, every box and every kit being opened as on the first day. Soon every internee had his four kits and everyone was hard put to find ant-proof containers for the food that was not packed in tins. A lot of it was eaten and the Executive Com­ mittee broadcast a number of warnings about the growing scarcity of food in Manila. The Committee reminded the camp that no staples or bulk foodstuffs had been received and that though the kits contained mainly supplementary food items, these should be kept as a reserve for possible emergency. It was suggested that only the paper-packed foods be eaten and that the rest be stored away. Only a part of the camp population took this advise seriously. It irked the most of them, whose starved bodies craved the food now at hand. They said, "The emergency is now”. Contents of the Kits — Many inter­ nees listed what they had received. Such a list follows: 14 cans 8 cans 6 cans 4 cans 4 cans

of of of of of

preserved butterspread corned beef corned pork-loaf "Spam” chopped ham-and-eggs

51 4 cans of pate 1 can of "Party” loaf 1 can of "Prem” pork 4 cans of salmon 16 small envelops of (vegetable) bouillon powder 4 cans of powdered milk 4 packages of processed cheese 4 packages of dried prunes 4 cans of jam 8 cans of soluble coffee 8 cakes of chocolate 4 packages of cube sugar 24 Vitamin C. tablets 8 cakes of soap

Most of the cans, packages, cakes, etc., were small, but the whole made a very tempting spread to be laid be­ fore people who had been half-starved for so long. Only the men with families outside were unhappy because they were not allowed to send any of these rich foods, not even the milk, to their hungry children. An ugly thing was that speculators and some of the rich and greedy made offers to buy the kits for sums that were said to run as high as PI,500. Some of the men with needy families outside sold their kits, denying themselves the food so they could send out the money to their wives and chil­ dren. The executive Committee, by di­ rection of the Commandant, issued an order prohibiting camp vendors from buying or selling the supplies, but this went on nevertheless. On Saturday, the 18th, the drugs, me­ dical supplies, and other miscellaneous goods sent into the camp were inspect­ ed by the Japanese. It was the same as with the food-parcels. The boxes, wood­ en in this case, were pried open by in­ ternee helpers, and the Japanese went through the contents. At first they opened every carton. They took out bot­ tles, tore off the celophane wrapping, unscrewed the cap, pulled out the cot­ ton filler, shook the bottle, peered in­ side. Several bottles of blood-plasma were thus opened, and spoiled of course, but the Commandant came to the scene and stopped that. After a

52

time, the Japanese got tired of this, and from then on contented themselves with groping through the packing-cases without opening all the separate car­ tons. They seemed to be looking chief­ ly for newspapers and did find what looked like one complete newspaper. The headline was about an allied ad­ vance in Sicily.3 Kibbee rushed his men and had all of the several hundred box­ es brought out of doors and opened, and this had the effect as was intended, to make the Japanese hurry somewhat. The cartons would be immediately put back into the boxes which would then be nailed up again. The Japanese threw away the packing lists, but these were carefully gathered up by the internee men. The whole job was finished that day. The Japanese found around a bas­ ketful of scraps of newspapers and ma­ gazines used as packing, and carefully took them away. There seemed to be a medical officer or chemist among them, and he took with him a number of bot­ tles, including some bottles of bloodplasma. On Saturday, too, all internees over 18 years of age and boys over 16 who had regular work assignments were issued, through the monitors, 30 pack­ ages of the American cigarets each, but there were no "Old Gold” among them. The Executive Committee Protests to the “Protective Power” — Meanwhile, on the 16th, the Executive Committee had filed a formal protest against the delay in the delivery of the Red Cross supplies and the manner of the inspec­ tion, and against the non-delivery of the mail and parcel-post, addressed to the Swiss Minister in Tokyo as the "Repre­ sentative of the Protective Power”. The communication was handed to the Commandant with the request that he transmit it immediately, as provided in 3 Note (1945) — July, 1943

THE CAMP

Article 42 of the Geneva Convention of 1929. This was the first appeal to the Convention, the first formal protest, an act under the circumstances not with­ out a heroic quality. The facts in con­ nection with this move are reviewed in the following section. On Monday, the 20th, the remainder of the relief supplies apportioned to Santo Tomas by the Japanese was brought into camp, 559 packing cases full of shoes, clothing, toilet articles, athletic equipment, etc. Some of the same army trucks which were used for making the transfer from the Swiss bo­ degas also took 1,540 of the Red Cross comfort-kits to the railway station for shipment to Los Banos and Baguio. The miscellaneous supplies which had reached the camp on Monday, were inspected on Tuesday, much as the drugs and medical supplies had been, without special incident. Twelve more packets of American ci­ garets were distributed through the monitors on December 31, these com­ ing from the cases received in camp on the 20th. The third distribution was made on January 5 and 6, every inter­ nee receiving one bath towel and a bottel labelled, "Multiple Vitamins", con­ taining 100 capsules, chiefly Vitamins A and D. They were handed out with­ out physicians’ prescriptions. Every one needed them. Camp Prices of the Red Cross Food Items — The prohibition of the selling and buying of relief supplies was lifted after a week in so far as all but camp vendors were concerned. Some inter­ nees sold their food-kits or a part of the contents for money for their own use or for their families outside; in many cases the buying and selling re­ presented only an exchange of items, some people preferring coffee, for in­ stance, to cigarets, would make an ex-

WHAT WAS RECEIVED

53

change accordingly. A sort of official camp "exchange” was set up in the camp, opening on the 4th, with a black­ board showing the prices, which were very high. At around noon of January 6 the following figures were to be seen: Buyers P72.50 Klim 11.00 Milko 11.00 Corned beef Corned beef (small) 5.50 11.50 Spam 7.00 Salmon 5.00 Corned pork Butter 22.00 8.00 Butter spread 17.00 Cheese Bouillon 35.00 Cocoa 10.00 Chocolate (bar) Coffee 7.50 Prunes 8.15 Raisins 10.00 Cigarets (Others) 3.50 Cigarets (Camels) Whole (4 kits) 75.00

Last Sale 70.00 10.00 10.00 6.00 15.00 P15.00

Sellers

2.50

5.00 4.20

4.00 22.00 8.00 17.00 2.75 35.00 10.00 7.50 8.10 5.00 4.00

A few days later, restrictions were relaxed to the extent of permitting in­ ternees to send out their Red Cross supplies to their families outside, but only in small quantities and not in the original containers. The articles had to be listed and special permission obtain­ ed the day before. Corned beef, for instance, could not be sent out in the original can. The can had to be opened and the meat could then be sent out in a jar. Of course, it would not keep very long. In the case of the powdered milk, however, the milk could be taken out of the original can and put in a fruit-jar or something of the kind, with­ out danger of immediate spoiling. The Actual Santo Tomas, Los Banos, and Baguio Distribution — According Totals Food parcels Drugs Drugs Medical supplies Medical supplies Surgical instruments

Total Cases 7,533 6,051 101 135 276 53 14

to a memorandum from Lennox, chief of the relief supplies committee, the following supplies had been received as of November 30 and were stored in the bodega and in the main building tower: I Food kits (4 cartons, each) II-A Drugs II-B Drugs III Medical supplies III-A Medical supplies IV Surgical instruments V-A Surgical dressings V-B Surgical dressings V-C Surgical dressings VI First-aid kits Unit cases, medical supplies XV 43792 Tobacco and cigarets XV-A 43792 Tobacco and cigarets

4,511 86 113 234 45 11 12 12 10 14 48 4 8 5,109

On December 20, Lennox reported that the following had been received that day and stored under the diningshed and in the relief supplies bodega: VII VIII IX X XII XIII-A XIII-B XIII-C XIV XV XV-A P.I. P.I.

Men’s apparel and sundries Men’s apparel and sundries Women’s toiletries and apparel Women’s apparel and sundries Men’s shoes Shoe-repair kits Shoe-repair stands Rubber cement Men’s toiletries Cigarets Tobacco 1629 cotton sheets, 108 per case 1629 cotton sheets, 32 per case

59 41 15 220 85 30 8 16 24 20 15 25 1 559

Grinnell made a mystery of exactly what had been received, as against the amounts declared in the manifest, per­ haps because of a Japanese demand that he iron out discrepancies. A re­ port of his dated February 19, 1944, contained the following summary of distribution to the Santo Tomas, Los Banos, and Baguio camps: Manila Camp 5,680 4,511 86 113 234 45 11

Los Banos camp 1,222 1,020 10 15 28 5 2

Baguio camp 631 520 5 7 14 3 1

54

THE CAMP Surgical dressings Surgical dressings Surgical dressings First-aid kits Men’s apparel and sundries Men’s apparel and blankets Women’s toiletries and apparel Toiletries, sundries, miscellaneous apparel Men’s shoes Shoe-repair kits Shoe-repair stands Rubber cement, liq. 1 gal. Men’s toiletries Cigarets Tobacco Sheets, cotton, 108 per case Sheets, cotton, 32 per case Heavy clothing, men’s Unit cases, medical (to be shared with Los Banos and Baguio) Recreational equipment (to be shared with Los Banos and Baguio)

These figures did not check with ei­ ther the manifest or the Lennox memo­ randa, and the discrepancies were es­ pecially irreconcilable in the shoe and clothing items, but Grinnell would make no explanation when asked. Dis­ regarding overages and shortages on the manifest, and the weights of the boxes, the three civilian camps appear­ ed to have gotten approximately 29% of the drugs, 34% of the medical sup­ plies, 44% of the surgical instruments, 43% of the surgical dressings, 31% of the food kits, 33% of the cigarets and tobacco, 28% of the shoes, and 100% (or more!) of the clothing for men and women and for toiletries and sundries. The Japanese claimed that the rest went to the prisoner-of-war camps. Santo Tomas hoped so. The clothing and shoes allotted to Santo Tomas were inadequate; men's shoes were enough for only about half the male popula­ tion. Injectable calcium, liver-extract, and other badly needed items asked for in the telegrams to the Rockefeller Foundation were not included. But the most serious lack was the complete ab­ sence of bulk food supplies in the ship­ ment. The “Old Gold” and "Raleigh" ciga­ rets removed by the Japanese were

13 16 13 17 86 59 123 275 132 40 11 22 35 35 34 36 1 4

12 13 10 14 61 41 15 221 93 30 8 16 24 24 23 25 1 —

—

4

48

48

—

—

1

1

—

—

2 2 2 2 17 12 4 27 32 8 2 4 7 7 7 7

1 1 1 1 8 6 4 27 7 2 1 2 4 4 4 4

—

—

later returned to the camp in bulk, mi­ nus the offending wrappers. General distributions of shoes, clothing, toilet­ ries, and sundries were made during January and February, 1944, on a pointbasis for those items of which there were not enough to go around. There were some knotty problems to solve, but on the whole the work was well and fairly handled, though internees complained about the slowness. The new personal acquisitions made some sprucing up possible in the ragged camp and the general morale was stif­ fened for the difficult times which loomed ahead. The Appeal to the Treaty — Japanese disregard of treaty obligations was so notorious even before the outbreak of the war, treaty rights of Americans and other anti-Axis nationals in Manila were so deliberately violated from the beginning, the conditions of their intern­ ment were, especially at first, so con­ trary even to ordinary principles of hu­ manity, that any appeal to international law was judged useless by the first Executive Committee. The consuls of neutral nations in Manila were not "recognized” by the Japanese, so they said at the time, "because none of them were consuls of career”. Even the Ame­

APPEAL TO THE TREATY

rican and Philippine Red Cross officials were not recognized. Officials of the High Commissioner’s Office were in­ terned in a house by themselves; antiAxis consular officials were interned in another house; all were held incommu­ nicado. There were individuals in Santo To­ mas who had at least a general know­ ledge of the treaties and conventions which applied to the situation. But be­ fore the University Library was private­ ly onened to a small number of inter­ nees, there was only one book on in­ ternational law available to camp of­ ficials — “Handbook ot International Law” by G. F. Wilson, 1927. It contain­ ed the Hague Convention of 1907, and also (despite the date on the title-page) the Geneva Convention of 1929 "for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick Armies in the Field”, but not the other more impor­ tant convention of the same year con­ cerning the treatment of prisoners of war. Red Cross officials in the camp had a copy of the "Project of Conven­ tion” recommended for adoption at the XVth International Conference of the Red Cross held in Tokyo in 1934, but complete information as to ratifica­ tions was lacking. The attitude of the Japanese officials and conditions in the camp were such that even when the Committee was informed by the Commandant on Sa­ turday night, February 14, 1942, that the three men who had attempted to escape had been sentenced to death, it was, after a long discussion, con­ sidered wise to address an appeal for clemency to the authorities rather than a protest base on international law be­ cause it was feared that the latter course might only provoke the enemy further. The appeal proved futile, and the men were executed, or rather mur­

55

dered, the following morning, Sunday, February 15. The “Mutual Agreement” to Observe Treaty Rights — Yet the Tribune of February 14, 1942, had published a dispatch from Tokyo, dated February 12, which stated that Japan and the United States had "mutually agreed” to treat war-prisoners in accordance with the "international treaty govern­ ing war-prisoners. . . although Japan was not a signatory to this agreement”. And the Tribune of February 17 pub­ lished a Geneva dispatch dated Februa­ ry 14, which said that Japan had in­ formed the International Red Cross that it would "abide by the provisions of the Geneva Convention regarding the treatment of war-prisoners al­ though Japan is not bound by the Con­ vention”. The references were not pre­ cise, neither were other references to the treaty which appeared in the Ma­ nila press. Inquiry was discouraged by the various Commandants of the camp. As late as August, 1943, accord­ ing to Executive Committee minutes: "An inquiry was made of the Chairman as to reports circulated in camp that a neutral representative has been appointed in Manila to represent enemy civilians in the Philippines [meaning civilian anti-Axis nationals]. The Chair­ man stated that there is no official information on this subject and that he believes nothing de­ finite has as yet been arranged.” (Minutes, Au­ gust 6, 1943.)

Later that same month, the minutes said: "The Chairman stated that there is nothing further with regard to the appointment of a neutral representative in Manila, but that it is essential that such a representative be appoint­ ed to look after the interests of the camp, par­ ticularly in case shipments of relief supplies should reach Manila destined in part for Santo Tomas.”

Question of the Legality of the Gar­ rison at the Los Banos Camp—So mat­ ters rested until the end of October, 1943, when Calhoun came to Manila on

56

one of his occasional trips from Los Ba­ nos and informed the Executive Com­ mittee among other things that a per­ manent Japanese garrison had been sta­ tioned near the Los Banos camp and that it "may be necessary to protest against this action”. (Minutes, October 29). Calhoun asked whether there were no provisions in international law which applied to this situation, inasmuch as the proximity of the soldiers would manifestly endanger the camp in the event of air-attack. The question was referred to Shouse. How a Copy of the Geneva Conven­ tion “became Available" — The min­ utes of the meeting of November 5 stated that the Committee had “noted” that a copy of the 1929 Geneva Con­ vention ("Relating to the Treatment of Prisoners of war") had "recently be­ come available” and that it was thought it should be "subjected to close study," — "the vital provisions to be outlined and com­ parisons made with the present conditions as applied to this camp. Whether the results can be made use of at present is questionable, but the Committee felt that it should have a non­ technical summarized statement of this docu­ ment. For the purpose it was decided to ap­ point Mr. H. B. Pond as a committee of one to consult in confidence whatever legal or non­ technical advise he may find useful in his work, and report to the Committee.”

The source of the typewritten copy of the treaty which became "available”, and the manner of this, is of interest. DeWitt had for months tried to get a copy, unsuccessfully, but Shouse did not know this and spoke to Alcuaz, and that afternoon the copy was in the camp, with a note attached to it from a prominent Filipino lawyer in Ma­ nila,4 addressed to DeWitt. It was understood that the lawyer got it from someone in Malacanan. To cover 4 Postwar note — Francisco Ortigas, who ob­ tained it from Laurel himself.

THE CAMP

this up, those concerned agreed among themselves to tell the Japanese, if they made inquiries, that the copy had been found in Selph’s desk. Selph, who was on his way back to the United States on the exchange ship, could not be asked to make any explanations. Pond’s Report on the Applicability of the Convention—Pond prepared his re­ port in consultation with DeWitt and Shouse, and submitted it to the Com­ mittee under date of November 11.5*I He was invited to sit with the Commit­ tee in its meeting of November 17. 5 In accordance with your request, I have exa­ mined and considered the international agree­ ments relating to civilian enemy nationals. Law­ yers, and particularly Judge DeWitt and Mr. Shouse, have been consulted and they agree with the conclusions herein. "Three important international conventions apply to civilian enemy nationals, as follows: "I. The Hague Convention, No. IV, of 1907, respecting the laws and customs of war on land; "II. The Geneva Convention of 1929 relating to the treatment of prisoners of war; and "III. The Project of Convention of 1929 re­ commended for adoption at the XVth Interna­ tional Conference of the Red Cross held in Tok­ yo in 1934 relating to the condition and pro­ tection of civilians of enemy nationality. "These three Conventions will be separately considered. "I. Hague Convention of 1907. This Conven­ tion has been ratified by both Japan and the United States and still is in force. Provisions of this Convention which are applicable to civi­ lians in the Philippines are in 'Section II — On Military Authority over Hostile Territory’, Arti­ cles 48 to 56 inclusive; a copy is attached. It should be noted that private property must be respected and cannot be confiscated, that pillage is formally prohibited, and that requisitions in kind shall be paid for in ready money, and if not, a receipt shall be given and payment of the amount due shall be made as soon as pos­ sible. It may be argued that during World War I the United States confiscated enemy property in the United States and the Philippines. That argument, however, is not valid, for the action of the United States generally was condemned by noted international lawyers, while Congress, in partial mitigation, authorized the payment of compensation up to 110,000 to each individual affected, and applied the balance realized from the property confiscated to the settlement of war claims. Further, the property confiscated was in territory of the United States and not in occupied territory. There is a distinction in international law between the territory of a belligerent and territory occupied by a bellige­ rent. The Hague Convention of 1907 makes this distinction, for although it prohibits the con-

POND’S RECOMMENDATIONS

57

Pond had found that although Japan protests on these grounds. But he made had not signed this 1929 Convention, one shrewd suggestion, referred to in it had bound itself to abide by its the minutes as follows: terms, and that both the United States "One of the provisions of this Convention is and Japan had filed protests, one that the terms thereof shall be made public to against the other, on this basis. He all internees, and Mr. Pond suggests that the Commandant be requested to have copies stated in his report that in the absence of the Convention posted, thus bringing the ques­ of any specific information as to pro­ tion of recognition of the Convention by Japan, tests by the American government with as applied to the Philippines, definitely to a respect to Japanese confiscations and head.” pillage and in consideration of the time The minutes also emphasized that which had elapsed, he recommended no Pond had pointed out that the Con­ vention — fiscation of the property in occupied terri­ tory, it does not prohibit the confiscation of the property of enemy nationals in the ter­ ritory of a belligerent. This distinction also applies in the Tokyo Project of Convention of 1934, for by its terms, as will be noted later, the condition and treatment of civilian enemy nationals in the territory of a belligerent is quite different from their treatment in territory occupied by a belligerent. The reason for the distinction is that in occupied territory mass confiscation or internment not only would be impracticable but the hardships on the popula­ tion would be excessive. "The conclusion must, therefore, be reached that Japan has violated Section III of the Hague Convention of 1907 at least in the following respects: "(a) Art. 46 — Private property has not been respected and has been confiscated; "(b) Art. 47 — Property had been pillaged; "(c) Art. 52 — Requisitions in kind of the property of civilian enemy nationals have not been receipted or paid for; "(d) Art. 56 — Property of charitable institu­ tions, such as the American Red Cross, was not treated as private property, but was confiscated or pillaged. "In the absence of any information as to pro­ tests by home governments, and considering the time that has elapsed, no action is recommended now. "II. Geneva Convention of 1929 relating to the treatment of war-prisoners. This Convention was ratified and proclaimed by the United States in 1932; evidently it has not been ratified by Japan. Japan has, however, announced in the following manner that she will abide by it: ‘ "Tokyo, Feb. 12, 1942 (Domei). Haruhiko Nishi, vice foreign minister, revealed before the session of the lower house that Japan and the United States agreed mutually through a third nation to treat their respective nationals placed in concentration camps in accordance with the international treaty governing war-prisoners. ' "Although Japan was not a signatory to this agreement, it was said that Tokyo sent a mes­ sage to the United States that the treatment of war-prisoners would be according to internation­ al law. ' "It was added that the United States replied that she would treat the Japanese similarly.

"provides for representation of internees by elected agents acceptable to the Japanese, these agents to make requests of the Japanese author­ ities and complaints if necessary through the [representative of the] Protecting Power whom he believes to be, very definitely, the Swiss Min­ ister in Tokyo. He is doubtful whether the Exe­ cutive Committee can be considered the agents ‘ "The reciprocal nature of the agreement, it was pointed out, insures fair treatment for Japanese placed in American concentration camps.’ (Manila Tribune, Feb. 14, 1942.) ‘ "Geneva, Feb. 14, 1942 (Domei). The Japanese government informed the International Red Cross that Japan will abide by the provisions of the Geneva Convention regarding the treat­ ment of war-prisoners, although Japan is not bound by the convention. The Japanese govern­ ment said that it will treat prisoners of war on a reciprocal basis.’ (Manila Tribune, Feb. 17, 1942.) "The Geneva Convention of 1929 applies to 'persons belonging to the armed forces of bel­ ligerent parties captured by the enemy in the course of military operations'. It does not, there­ fore, apply to civilian internees. At the Geneva Conference of 1929 it was recognized that the condition and protection of civilian enemy na­ tionals also should be defined by an interna­ tional convention, and the International Red Cross was requested to study the question and to submit recommendations. From this came — "III. The Project of Convention recommended for adoption at XVth International Conference of the Red Cross held in Tokyo in 1934 relating to the condition and protection of civilians of enemy nationality. "Title I of this Project of Convention defines civilians of enemy nationality as (a) those per­ sons who do not belong, to the armed forces of the belligerents and (b) who are citizens of an enemy country (1) in the territory of a bel­ ligerent or (2) in territory occupied by a bel­ ligerent. Title II applies to those who are in the territory of a belligerent; it covers such 'General Dispositions' as authorization to leave, evacua­ tion, retention, detention, the treatment, assis­ tance, and protection of civilian enemy nationals,

58 of the internees and feels that probably direct agents will have to be elected and approved.”

The minutes continued: "The Committee discussed this matter at length and felt that there are broad implica­ tions involved which may result in an improve­ ment of conditions for internees but may also have serious repercussions against them, and that we should not go ahead until we are prepared to go all the way through and are assured of having the full support of the camp in our efforts. This problem has come up now because of the discovery in camp of a copy of the 1929 Convention which was heretofore un­ available, and in view of our knowledge of the facts, it is doubtless our duty to go ahead. The best method of accomplishing this was consi­ dered and it was felt that the first step may be an exploratory conference with the Comman­ dant. Before taking even this step, however, it was decided that the facts of the case should be talked over in confidence with the Monitors Council at a special meeting tomorrow night and if this reaction is favorable, with the room mo­ nitors at a general meeting next Tuesday, this to make sure of the attitude of the camp. Mr.

THE CAMP Pond agreed to meet with the Monitors Council and the Chairman tomorrow evening. It was brought out that possibly a good many of the points at issue may be cleared up through the new regulations governing all internment camps which, we are given to understand, are to be promulgated in the near future, but under any conditions, our stand should be made clear in the interests not only of ourselves but of others who are in the hands of the Japanese.”

The meeting of the Monitors Council was held as scheduled, attended by Grinnell, Holter, and Pond, Grinnell emphasizing the need of caution in the matter. According to the minutes of the Executive Committee meeting of Nov­ ember 19, the monitors asked for "time

treaty concerning war-prisoners’, and on a re­ ciprocal basis. "2nd: Japan has invoked this Convention in protest against the treatment of civilian Japa­ nese nationals interned in the United States, Ca­ nada, and India. In the protest to the United States the following statement is made; ' "The United States Government have . . . violated their solemn declaration to apply, as far as possible, to interned non- combatants the provisions of the Convention relating to the interdicts, reprisals, and hostages, and provides Treatment of Prisoners of War signed at Geneva for the reclusion or internment of such civilians in July, 1929.’ (Contemporary Japan, November, and the condition under which they may be 1942.) interned. To them it makes applicable the Gene­ "3rd: The United States has invoked this va Convention of 1929, with the proviso that in Convention in protest relating both to war-pri­ no case shall the treatment of civilian internees soners and civilian internees, as is shown by be of a lower standard than that set forth in the following: the Geneva Convention. Title III applies to ‘ "Tokyo, Sept. 11, 1942 (Domei). The Foreign those who are in the territory occupied by a Office released the text of the communication belligerent, and as to them pledges the observ­ which Premier Hideki Tozyo in his capacity ance of Section III of the Hague Convention as foreign minister dispatched on September 9 of 1907, referred to in paragraph I above. No to the United States government through the provision is made for internment. intermediary of Camille George, Swiss minister "Title II would, therefore, apply to Japanese to Tokyo, concerning acceptance of Red Cross nationals in the United States, while Title III relief for American prisoners of war and civilian would apply to American, British, and other internees held by Japan. enemy nationals in the Philippines. Their treat­ ‘ "Premier Tozyo's note was sent in response ment would not, therefore, be reciprocal. to the United States message received late in "No available information indicates that this August through Swiss auhorities charging the Project of Convention has been ratified by the Japanese of violating the 1929 Geneva Convention United States. Whether ratified or not by the concerning prisoners of war. United States is unimportant, for Japanese of­ ' "Premier Tozyo’s reply, firstly, calls the at­ ficial statements make it evident that this Con­ tention of the United States government to the vention has not been ratified by Japan. It does fact that immediately after the outbreak of war not apply, therefore, to civilian enemy nationals the Japanese government informed the United in the Philippines, and does not determine their States that although Japan has never ratified condition or protection. the 1929 Geneva Convention concerning prisoners "Conclusion. I conclude, therefore, from all of war and therefore is in no way obligated by of the available evidence, that the Geneva Con­ the treaty, it is nevertheless prepared to apply vention of 1929 concerning the treatment of war- with necessary changes the provisions of the prisoners is applicable similarly to civilian in­ convention. ternees for the following reasons: ' "Secondly, the Japanese government has ne­ "1st: 'Japan and the United States’ have ver refused since the outbreak of the war the ‘agreed mutually’, as indicated above, ‘to treat acceptance of parcels containing clothing and their respective nationals placed in concentration food and their delivery to the prisoners which camps in accordance with the international come under Article 37 of the convention, nor

POSTING OF THE TREATY REQUESTED

to consider this serious question before committing themselves definitely.” The Council held another meeting on November 24 and concluded its consi­ deration of the matter by recommend­ ing that the Executive Committee sub­ mit a written request to the Comman­ dant that he post copies of the Con­ vention in the camp. One of the mo­ nitors questioned that the Council could represent the views of the in­ ternee-body on the subject as the in­ ternees were not consulted, but the Executive Committee accepted the re­ commendation as expressing the views of an important body, which views "ap­ peared sound and coincided with its own views”. Though the minutes of the Executive Committee meeting of November 29 stated that before taking any further action it appeared that it would be "highly advisable to consult with the internee-body direct”, it was later de­ cided that this would almost certain­ ly come to the ears of the Commandant and that it would be wiser not to risk* does it intend in the future to do so.’ (Manila Tribune, September 13, 1942.) "4th: It is a recognized principle of interna­ tional law that the treatment of civilian inter­ nees in no case shall be of a lower standard than the treatment of war-prisoners. "Recommendations. I therefore recommend that a written communication be sent to the Commandant of this camp in which, after quot­ ing Article 84 of the Geneva Convention of 1929, and stating that Japan has agreed to abide by that Convention as to all persons placed in concentration camps, authority be requested, as provided in Article 84, to post for the informa­ tion of internees a copy of the Convention. Ar­ ticle 84 reads as follows: *"Article 84. The text of the present Conven­ tion. . . shall be posted, wherever possible in the native languages of the prisoners of war, in places where it may be consulted by all the prisoners. ' "The text of these conventions shall be com­ municated to prisoners who find it impossible to get the information from the posted text upon their request.’ This applies to all camps both of war-pri­ soners and civilian internees. "Other recommendations, after further study, will be submitted.”

59

his thus obtaining advance information of the proposed move. It was agreed that Grinnell and Pond would draw up an appropriate letter addressed to the Commandant and call on him together to present it. However, business relating to the ar­ rival of the Red Cross supplies, the petition for the internment of the noninterned Filipino families of some of the internees, and the transfer of the 200 internees to Los Banos drove the matter of the treaty into the back­ ground for some weeks. During this period it happened that La Vanguardia and the Tribune (of December 11 and 12 respectively) published a Buenos Aires report stating that United States Attorney-General Biddle had told a committee of Congress that Japan had "more than lived up to the provisions of the Geneva conference” in its war­ time treatment of enemy aliens in Ja­ pan! The appearance of this news item provided for a more or less casual open­ ing of the subject in Santo Tomas. The Commandant himself happened also to refer to the treaty when he said to Grinnell on that same Sunday, the 12th, during a routine discussion of a peti­ tion that internees with relatives among the war-prisoners at Cabanatuan be permitted to exchange Christ­ mas letters, that he believed this might be arranged, — inasmuch "as the Ge­ neva Convention provided for letter privileges”. Request to Kato that He Allow the Convention to be Posted — Pond hear­ ing of this and seeing the opportunity, immediately drafted a brief letter for Grinnell’s approval. Addressed to the Commandant, it read: "Article 84 of the Geneva Convention of 1929 provides that 'the text of the present Convention . . . shall be posted wherever possible in the na­ tive language of the prisoners of war in places where it may be consulted by all the prisoners’.

60 "That all internees may be informed not only of their rights but also of their obligations un­ der the Convention, your authority to post it as required by Article 84 above quoted, is respect­ fully requested.”

Grinnell approved the letter as writ­ ten and took it to the Commandant on Monday, Secretary Day instead of Pond accompanying him to suggest the air of casualness which was believed to be desirable. Kato immediately realized, however, that the presentation of the letter was not so incidental as Grinnell and Day tactfully pretended, and he was visibly taken aback. His first question was, “What is the object of this?” His sec­ ond: "How did you get a copy of the treaty?” “How Did You Get a Copy of the Treaty?" — In reply to the first ques­ tion, Grinnell repeated the statement in the letter, adding that since the treaty had again been in the news recently, internees were asking about it and would like to know what its terms were. As to the second question, he said that a copy of the treaty had been found among the papers in the desk of one of the internees who had left on the Teia Maru. The Commandant then said that the treaty concerned prisoners of war, im­ plying that it did not apply to civilian internees, and Grinnell answered that the question of its applicability had been studied by an internee in the camp, at the request of the Executive Committee, and that he had concluded that it did apply to civilian internees for certain reasons. He said he would be glad to bring this man to him if he wanted to discuss the matter with him. The Commandant said evasively, “I am not a lawyer”. Grinnell said that the internee in question was not a lawyer but a Manila businessman. The Com­ mandant said he would take the matter under advisement.

THE CAMP

The minutes of the Executive Com­ mittee meeting held that evening (the 13th) stated: "The Chairman advised the Committee that he and the secretary had this afternoon, upon instructions of the Committee, presented the Commandant with a letter requesting permission to post copies of the Geneva Convention of 1929 in this camp for the information of inter­ nees. The Commandant indicated his desire to study the matter and it is hoped that he will afford the Committee an opportunity to expand its views at a later conference.”

Manner of “Inspection” of Food-Kits and Non-Delivery of Mail, Grounds for Immediate Appeal — Two days later, on the 15th, the Military began the in­ spection of the Red Cross food-kits in the manner described in a foregoing section and on the evening of that day the Executive Committee held a special meeting to consider the matter, the Committee being "strongly of the opin­ ion that every effort should be made to avert as stringent an inspection of the medical supplies as had been re­ quired in the case of food, principally for the reason that such inspection might result in irreparable damage”. (Minutes, December 15.) Holter moved that a formal protest be addressed to the representative of the Protecting Power through the Commandant, — a protest not only against the manner of the inspection of the food-kits, but against the delay in the delivery of the relief supplies and the non-delivery of the mail and parcel-post. Masefield, one of the British members, seconded the motion. Though the Committee was indignant, there was considerable hesitation about taking the action pro­ posed, but in the end the motion was unanimously adopted. A subcommittee, c o m p o s e d of Messrs. Masefield, Holter, Pond, and Wolff, drafted the appropriate letters the next morning, and at another spe­ cial meeting, attended by Pond and

THE WRITTEN PROTEST

61

Wolff by invitation, the drafts were ap­ proved after a slight revision. The two letters were handed to the Comman­ dant by Grinnell that afternoon. When the Commandant had read them, he said: "This is an important matter. I must study it carefully.” He indicated that he planned to make a formal ac­ knowledgement to the Committee. (Minutes, December 17.) The letters follow: "MANILA INTERNMENT CAMP (Santo Tomas University) December 16, 1943 "To the Commandant Manila Internment Camp "Sir: "As provided in Article 42 of the Geneva Con­ vention of 1929, we respectfully request that the attached communication addressed to His Ex­ cellency, the Swiss Minister, in Tokyo, be trans­ mitted immediately. "Yours respectfully, "C.C. Grinnell "Chairman "Executive Committee” "MANILA INTERNMENT CAMP (Santo Tomas University) Manila, Philippines "December 16, 1943 "His Excellency The Swiss Minister Representative of Protective Power Tokyo, Japan "Sir: "The mv. Teia Marti with a large shipment of relief supplies, parcel-post and mail for WarPrisoners and Civilian Internees arrived in Ma­ nila on or about November 6, 1943. Part of the allotment of such supplies for the internees un­ der the control of the Manila Internment Camp

were deposited by the Japanese Military Au­ thorities in that Camp, under their direction and control, on November 30, 1943. Some of the supplies have not yet been delivered but are expected. "Despite repeated requests by the Agents of Internees for the early release and delivery of all the above supplies, no action was taken by the Japanese Military Authorities until Decem­ ber 15, 1943. On that date the Military Authori­ ties commenced inspection of comfort-kits con­ taining food supplies. During that inspection all packages were torn open, the contents removed and subjected to inspection. Cans and other containers of foodstuffs from two kits were opened. This was done in the presence of many internees. After inspection, the contents of the kits were replaced in their cartons, with the exception of cigarets, and released for delivery to internees. The inspection and release to in­ ternees of comfort-kits is now continuing. "None of the other relief supplies has yet been inspected and released for delivery to in­ ternees. Medical supplies, many of which are unobtainable locally, are urgently needed and have been for many months past. "None of the mail or parcel-post which ar­ rived on the Teia Maru has yet been released and distributed; despite repeated requests no definite information can be obtained as to when they will be released and distributed. "In view of the above, we respectfully sub­ mit the following complaints: "(a) The release and delivery of relief sup­ plies has been unnecessarily delayed. "(b) The manner of inspection of comfortkits has been harsh. "(c) The mail and parcel-post for internees have not yet been released and distributed and no definite information has been given as to when they will be released. "We respectfully request your Excellency to take the necessary action to mitigate these con­ ditions. “Yours respectfully, "The Executive Committee of Manila Internment Camp "C. C. Grinnell, Chairman.”

Chapter XV End of the Second Year With the change in Commandants, Grinnell had had once again the diffi­ culty of dealing with a new Japanese functionary. It was soon evident that Kato was more officious than Kuroda and disposed to take a greater part in the direct management of the camp. He carried out a thorough inspection at the beginning and continued to prowl

around as none of his predecessors had done. Early in December, he informed the Executive Committee that the offi­ cial name of the Santo Tomas camp would be "Manila Internment Camp (Santo Tomas University)". Approach to the Commandant Broad­ ened; Grinnell's Loss of Ground — Friction within the Committee had

62

diminished as Grinnell adopted a more responsive attitude toward the other members. Apparently prompted by lit­ tle more than impatience in the delay over getting a Filipino dentist into the camp, which required the Comman­ dant’s permission, Thomas suggested a plan by which, according to the min­ utes, "he felt that a better contact could be maintained with the Commandant and at the same time the work of the Chairman could be made lighter and more effective”. The minutes (meeting, December 10) described the plan as fol­ lows: “This plan in short envisioned the address­ ing of memoranda to the Commandant by mem­ bers of the Committee with matters to discuss, same to be approved by the Chairman, and then to be discussed by the writer with the Comman­ dant, accompanied by the Chairman or, in his absence, by one other member of the Committee. All such matters would be reviewed at subse­ quent Committee meetings. The same system could be used in connection with the Univer­ sity authorities.”

The plan, to which Grinnell made no objection, "appeared to have many points of merit”, and Thomas was re­ quested to work it out in detail, Holter asking whether it might not be possible to have a general discussion with the Commandant as to his relationship with the Committee and to ascertain whether he would favor such a plan. Thomas also brought up the desirabili­ ty of designating a vice-chairman, but no conclusion was reached on this sub­ ject. Thomas immediately prepared a me­ morandum outlining the plan in greater detail, and this was among the matters taken up, although only incidentally, three days later at the important meet­ ing of December 13 attended by the Commandant. According to the minutes of this meeting: "Before leaving, the Commandant stated that he would always be glad to discuss important camp problems either with the Committee as a

THE CAMP whole, with the Chairman, or with individual members.”

In view of this attitude of the Com­ mandant, the plan was formally adopt­ ed by the Committee in its meeting on the 17th; consideration of another sug­ gestion from Thomas for the "rotation of the vice-chairmanship of the Com­ mittee in line with seniority”, was held over. Thus, within a few days, Grinnell seemed to have been devested of much of his "power", as this was based on his relationship to the Commandant, practically exclusive of all the other members of the Committee. Perhaps, in view of the change in the Comman­ dant’s Office and the several important matters at issue, such as the protest to the Swiss Minister in Tokyo, Grin­ nell was more disposed to have the others share in the responsibility en­ tailed. Grinnell Recovers by the Election of Chittick — However, the election of a successor to Fitzsimmons on the 27th, in line with the schedule of rotation established two months before, was generally considered, after it was all over, to have strengthened Grinnell’s position, as it was Chittick who proved to be his successor. After the preliminary nominations, DeWitt, Pond, Crawford, Rockwell, and Canon, all of whom received numerous votes, declined to have their nomina­ tions presented, the voting, finally, was on Fitzsimmons, who agreed to run for re-election, and Schelke and Chittick. There were several confusing complications. Schelke, like Grinnell, was connected with the General Elec­ tric Company, and many voters felt that one General Electric man on the Committee was enough. The fact that Schelke had taken a leading part in the activities of the now dissolved In­ ternee Relations Department in opposi­ tion to Grinnell, was not generally

ELECTION OF CHITTICK

known. The fact that he had come to Manila only a few months before the outbreak of the war, was also against him. Chittick, as the general manager of the Western Equipment and Supply Company, agents for Westinghouse, was by many considered to be or to have been a business competitor of Grinnell, which led them to suppose that he was therefore less likely to be influenced in favor of Grinnell if he were elected to the Committee. Others thought that two men in the electric­ al equipment business on the Commit­ tee, even if they were competitors, would still be too many. Moreover, though Chittick had many friends, he had also and inevitably made enemies as head of the gate liaison in charge of gate visits. Fitzsimmons was personally well liked, but probably many voted for him because they were confused by the connections and supposed in­ terests of the two others. An Election Protest Dismissed — The voting was close: Fitzsimmons, 870; Schelke, 892; and Chittick, 902. How­ ever, it developed the next morning that not all of the votes had been count­ ed. The voters in Schelke’s own shanty section had not gotten their votes in on time. The vote there was 17 for Schelke, 7 for Fitzsimmons, and only 3 for Chit­ tick. Had these votes been counted, Schelke would have been elected. The action of the two election commission­ ers, Grove and Stapler, looked bad but was honest enough, though legalistic. The section supervisor had received his voting-report form at 6:50 on the night of the election after he had already completed or nearly completed his roll call, and he considered it too late to get the votes, believing he could leave the matter until the next morning and not knowing that the voting would be very close. At 9:20 he was advised that the vote counting would be closed at

63

10:30 that evening, and he then made a belated effort to collect the votes, it being necessary for him to get some men out of bed and to search for others who were out on various night-work details. He did not get his list comple­ ted until around 1 o’clock, when the tellers had long since gone to bed. On presentation of the votes the next morn­ ing, they were rejected, the election commissioners dismissing two protests which were filed. The Executive Com­ mittee itself took no action. Secretary Day waited for some hours before an­ nouncing the results of the election, thinking that one or both of the two men concerned might make some perti­ nent statement or proposal, but neither of them did. Some of his personal friends advised Chittick not to accept under the circumstances, but that even­ ing his election was announced. "The secretary reported that as a result of Friday night’s election, Mr. W. A. Chittick was chosen to replace Mr. R. T. Fitzsimmons, re­ signed, as member of the Executive Committee. Two protests were filed Saturday morning against the non-inclusion of the vote in Shanty Area 12 which was not completed until after midnight. These protests were considered by the election commissioners at a hearing Saturday afternoon and were denied for various reasons as per their memoranda to the Committee dated December 18 and 20, and consequently the bal­ lots in question were disregarded. The commis­ sioners therefore reconfirmed the election of Mr. Chittick which now stands, and the Comman­ dant has been so advised.”

Chittick as Grinnell’s Possible Succes­ sor — The close three fractional vote probably indicated both the division of mind in the camp, in the Executive Committee itself, and within the inter­ nee government "machine”, if the latter still existed. There had been a conflict for some months between the depart­ ment of patrols and the gate liaison. It was generally believed that Chittick was Grinnell’s personal choice, but both Day and Thomas stated that Grinnell

64

had taken no active part in the election although there had been considerable electioneering on the part of both Schelke's and Chittick's friends. It was believed that a group of the more con­ servative businessmen among the inter­ nees had gotten behind Chittick’s can­ didacy. Schelke was an assistant to Holter, and Holter was frankly disappoint­ ed in the failure to elect him. It was only after the election that rumors circulated that if for any rea­ son Grinnell should step out as Chair­ man, he would probably be replaced by Chittick. It was said that an “un­ derstanding” had already been arrived at between the Commandant and Chittick, and also between Grinnell and Chittick in this matter. Certain private remarks made by Chittick gave the ru­ mors color, and it was true that in his capacity as head of the gate liaison, in which the Commandant had taken con­ siderable interest, Chittick had come in­ to closer contact with him than pro­ bably any other internee officials ex­ cept Grinnell and Carroll. The Shanty-Area Elections — An elec­ tion of shanty area and section super­ visors was held on December 19. The positions of the area and section super­ visors corresponded to those of the floor and building monitors, but were appointive. However, according to the minutes of the Executive Committee meeting of December 17, — "in view of the added responsibility placed on section and area supervisors, it was again urged that these supervisors should be elected rather than appointed and that such election should not be deferred. The Committee agreed to author­ ize Mr. Crosby to conduct such elections imme­ diately with the reservation that the final choice should be confirmed by the Executive Commit­ tee before the taking of office. This reservation results from the responsibility of these supervi­ sors to carry out certain orders from the Com­ mandant, which, if not enforced, might result in the penalizing of the entire camp.”

THE CAMP

The responsibilities referred to con­ cerned unlawful entry, smuggling in of liquor, special Japanese shanty regula­ tions, etc. The elections were held as stated, and in its meeting of December 20, the Executive Committee confirmed them all. Of the 3 incumbent area su­ pervisors, 1 was elected; of the 21 in­ cumbent section supervisors, 15 were elected; the rest were new men. Renewed Interference with the Pack­ age-Line — Renewed Japanese interfer­ ence with the Package-Line was only a part of the move which finally resulted both in the elimination of the Filipino vegetable market and in the suppres­ sion of internee vendors and most of the individual internee enterprises. Carroll warned the Executive Commit­ tee late in November (as stated in the minutes, — not the extracts from the minutes posted on the bulletin boards): “The elimination of the vegetable vendors and restriction of camp private vendors is only a part of a determined effort to restrict commu­ nication between the camp and the outside, which will possibly result in decrease in passes for camp business and in other restrictions aim­ ed at cutting down outside communication with this camp.”

Early in December the Commandant ordered a survey of the Package-Line, similar to that made in February, to obtain particulars, so it was stated, "as to who is using the line for incoming business and why”. A member of his staff also “asked for the first time, to see a list of outgoing money through the censor’s desk, covering the month of November”. (Minutes, December 3.) A week later, the Commandant hand­ ed Grinnell a "form of pledge” which he asked be signed by all internees working on the Package-Line and at the gate and by the camp buyers as well. This pledge, to be signed by the men and also in each case by Grinnell as witness, read:

EJECTION OF OUTSIDE VENDORS "I, the undersigned, in the course of my camp duties on the Package-Line / Gate Liaison / Out­ side Camp Service, solemnly swear not to vio­ late the following rules: "1. I will not commit any hostile act against the Imperial Japanese Army and will not say or do anything anti-Japanese; "2. I will not do anything that will benefit Japan’s enemies; "3. I will not do anything which tends to disturb public sentiment, normal economic con­ ditions, or public order; "4. I will not employ or persuade others to do any acts stated in the preceding paragraphs.”

Some of the men queried the Exe­ cutive Committee as to the propriety of signing this pledge, which was made a prerequisite to their continuing the particular camp service in which they were engaged”, and the Committee declared that "while this is a matter for personal decision, the individuals concerned will be fully justified in sign­ ing this pledge under the circumstanc­ es”. (Minutes, December 15,) The men all signed. The "pledge”, indeed, requir­ ed nothing that might not legitimately be required of men on a sort of parole. Kato's Ejection of Outside Vendors; Establishment of a Camp Vegetable Market — One of Kato’s first moves as Commandant was to advice the Exe­ cutive Committee, through Masefield who was called in by him and who pre­ sented a memorandum to the Commit­ tee on the subject, dated November 24, that it would be "necessary to eliminate the Filipino fruit and vegetable vendors and the Japanese stores from the camp at the earliest possible moment, and, eventually, to discontinue all private internee vendor enterprises”. If the camp desired to continue such enter­ prises, camp entities would have to be organized for the purpose. The Com­ mittee "greatly regretted the necessity of eliminating the vegetable vendors, particularly in view of all they had done for the internees and especially during

65

the recent storm”. (Minutes, November 26.) A few days later the Committee was informed that the Commandant had "decided to notify the vegetable vend­ ors on December 1 that they will no longer be permitted to enter camp, ef­ fective immediately thereafter”. It was very abrupt, but internees had been able to give them warning some days ahead. The Committee asked Masefield to organize a vegetable market under camp auspices and this was done with­ out the loss of a day. Lloyd was put in general charge, A. B. Schwartz in charge of sales, and I. G. Spering in charge of bodegas. The working capital was p5,000. The Committee compensa­ ted the Filipino vendors for their stalls and some equipment in the amount of p700 and also employed them for some days as buying agents until it was pos­ sible to organize an internee buying service. Nagashima and Maeda closed their establishments in the camp on the 2nd. The former had carried on his business, mostly in soft-drinks and cakes, in a pavilion belonging to the University, but the latter, who had done a small business in cigars, cigarets, and candy, had built a small shed with a galvanized-iron roof which the camp took over for PI,500; he had asked P5,000. Both of these places were used to en­ large the vegetable and fruit market, but the Nagashima site was vacated again some weeks later upon order of the Commandant who said that he wanted a "camp restaurant" there. After the first few days and with va­ rious improvements effected, the mar­ ket was a far more convenient place at which to do one’s buying than it had been before and prices were lower than those charged by the Filipino vendors formerly.

66

The Importance of the Package-Line — The Commandant is “very insistent that wholesale quantities of black-mar­ ket merchandise must not come con­ signed to private vendors", stated the minutes of the Executive Committee meeting of December 3, and the min­ utes of the next meeting of December 6 stated that the Committee lengthily discussed the "Package-Line situation which has recently become precarious for a number of reasons”. The Com­ mandant demanding that goods com­ ing in for internee vendors be segre­ gated from packages for other indi­ viduals, the Committee established a separate line for vendors’ goods. Sev­ eral consignments of sugar were con­ fiscated at the gate, and sugar, which had still been obtainable in the camp at from P3.50 to P5 a kilo, was no longer to be had at any price. “If the Package-Line is to be retain­ ed", the minutes of December 6 stated, "the Commandant’s Office has empha­ sized that it must be kept under con­ trol and all abuses eliminated”. This sounded reasonable enough but, as was pointed out in the minutes, "solution of the problem appears diffi­ cult in view of the impossibility of obtaining supplies through legitimate channels”. (Minutes. December 6.) This was unemphatic, but the plain truth. The Japanese authorities, in applying the principle of legitimacy, when it was observed nowhere else, were simply further tightening the screws. The support of the camp was a Jap­ anese responsibility, but with the funds provided never adequate, and the meals served completely unbalanced, deficient in vitamins, and providing only half the needed calories, it is not too much to say that a large percentage of the camp population would have been dead long before this had it not been for the food which had been coming

THE CAMP

into the camp through the PackageLine to individuals and to the camp vendors from what were ultimately black-market sources. The Japanese were well aware of this. Kato's Fiat Outlawing "Private En­ terprises” — The Commandant issued another "idealistic” order. According to the minutes of the Executive Com­ mittee meeting of December 13, the meeting already so often referred to: "The Commandant advised the Committee that it must make plans to take over individual enterprises in this camp, such as vendors, res­ taurants, coffee-shops, etc. He stated that he strongly objects to individual enterprises in this camp, which must be universally cooperative in nature. Mr. Masefield advanced the idea that restaurants and food merchants, at least, should remain if possible, because of their ability to bring food into camp which could not other­ wise be secured. The Commandant, however, felt that plans must be made gradually to absorb these enterprises and requested Mr. Masefield to work out plans to this end at the earliest possible moment. The Committee, while agreeing in principle with the non-profit theory, concur­ red with Mr. Masefield’s feeling that all pos­ sible food should be brought into camp under present circumstances."

There were various meetings of in­ ternee officials with representatives of the camp vendors, plans were proposed and discussed, but the fiat came in the end, as reported in the minutes of December 27: "Mr. Masefield reported the results of a con­ versation with the Commandant held December 22, attended by him, the Chairman, and Mr. Pearce. As a result of this conversation, the Com­ mandant has laid down the following regulations covering internee vending: "1. All 'buy and sell’ vendors must cease do­ ing business January 31, 1944; "2. All ‘service’ vendors (barbers, boot-blacks, etc.) may continue as at present: "3. All ‘manufacturers’ (candy-makers, bakers, etc.) may continue to operate, but must sell their products through the camp organizations; “4. Restaurants, coffee-shops, and hot-cake es­ tablishments may continue as at present but no new licenses may be granted.

CAMP CANTEEN PRICES

67

“The Commandant has allowed a very limited number of special exceptions to the above rules in cases where camp interests are involved. "The Commandant has insisted that the camp install a ‘restaurant’ to be located in the (form­ er) Nagashima premises. Mr. Masefield is making plans for starting this enterprise.”

Camp Canteen Sales — That the internee government had favored co­ operative enterprise in the camp had long before been shown by the estab­ lishment of the canteen and personal service departments. From the first, however, these had had to contend with great difficulties in buying, and the commodities available for sale con­ tinuously decreased in variety and quantity while they increased in price. At the close of the year, a small loaf of bread (cassava-flour) sold at PI.40. Eggs cost 80 centavos each. Carabao-meat cost P8 a kilo; pork, P9.60; pork-sausage meat, P10; salami, P12. Cassava-flour cost P3.20 a kilo. Kidney beans cost P8.90 a kilo. A small cup of peanuts cost PI. Coffee cost P36 a kilo. A pint of "coco-honey” cost P8.80. In December, the working funds of the canteen and personal service de­ partments were increased by P5,000 each to a total of P15,000 each, "this increase being absolutely necessary for the maintenance of minimum inven­ tories”. (Minutes, December 27.) The total sales during the year had been: Canteen Personal Service Ice Department Fruit and Vegetable Department (December only)

P 771,765.44 365,984.13 12,474.52 55,796.59 PI,206,020.68

The December sales alone ran to: Canteen Personal Services Ice Fruit and Vegetable

P162,019.70 52,504.12 812.81 55,796.59 P271,133.22

These figures did not, of course, re­ present normal values and should be divided by from 10 to 15 to more

nearly show the actual consumption and use of the commodities and arti­ cles brought into the camp through these various camp services. The fig­ ures all represented sales to individual internees, purchases they made with their own money, and showed how far short of actual needs was the per cap­ ita allowance furnished the camp by the Japanese. Christmas, 1943; New Year, 1944 — Christmas, 1943, the second Christmas Day spent in Santo Tomas, was a day of disappointment for the camp be­ cause the family visiting, allowed on Christmas morning of 1942, and looked forward to for a whole year by thou­ sands of people in the camp and their relatives and friends outside, was ruled not to be “practical” by Commandant Kato. The Executive Committee and Robb, for the internees with non-interned families, worked for a change in the Commandant’s decision until Christ­ mas morning, and hundreds of wives and children outside, although they had already learned the bad news ear­ lier in the week from the men work­ ing at the Package-Line, came anyway in the hope of a last-minute conces­ sion, but they were turned away, many of them weeping bitterly. Yet "special visits” were "granted” between the hours from 9 to 3 on both December 26 and January 2 to “civil prisoners” in the New Bilibid Prison at Muntinlupa and the Correc­ tional Institute for Women, at Mandaluyong; according to a news item in the Tribune (of December 23), the visitors were "allowed to bring cooked foods and to lunch with the prisoners”. The Santo Tomas internees and their wives and children outside were not thus favored. There were some small holes in the inner sawali fence through which internees sometimes sneaked a

68

look at their loved ones as they came in to deliver their packages, but on Christmas morning the people from the outside were not even allowed to enter the main gate and had to stop there and hand their packages over. The inner gate was now and again opened to let through some official or a carromata loaded with camp sup­ plies, and then the internees within and the people at the front gate and across the street would stand on their toes and crane their necks in the hope of getting a fleeting glimpse of their loved ones, but it was hard to pick out even a familiar face and figure at such a distance. The older men in the camp would try to get to the front of the group of men standing at the inner gate in the hope that though their own sight was too dim to see them, their children and grandchildren might per­ haps see and recognize them. That, at least, would be something, they said. More Packages from the Outside than the Year Before, But Not so Large — People in the camp, knowing the scarcity everywhere and the impos­ sible prices, had sent out word in one way or another asking their rela­ tives and friends not to send them anything for Christmas. The number of people who came to the gate on Christmas morning was 2,142 many more than on Christmas of 1942! They brought over 5,000 packages, baskets, bags, etc., presents of all sorts, includ­ ing much food. There were not so many roast pigs and turkeys as the year be­ fore, but more fried chickens. Home­ made preserves were much more in evidence. So Chittick noted. There were more packages than last year, he said, though they were smaller. At prices of everything from 10 to 20 times the normal, no one would ever know the self-denial entailed in this generous giving. And what made this thought

THE CAMP

the more poignant was that with the distribution of the Red Cross foodkits, the people in the camp were for a while at least far better off for de­ licacies of various sorts, canned meats, chocolate, coffee, etc., than the people outside. And these they were forbidden to share. At the Executive Committee meet­ ing on the 13th, attended by the Com­ mandant, a memorandum had been taken up on the proposed Christmas activities in the camp, and the Com­ mandant, according to the minutes, had made the following decisions: "1. He believes it will be in order for the children of internees at the Holy Ghost College to visit the camp on Christmas Day. (2) He will see if he can arrange for a Japanese pho­ tographer to take photographs of children for the benefit of their parents. (3) He has no objection to movies provided that we can make arrangements to obtain the necessary pro­ jectors. (4) He has no objection to the two religious lectures planned, provided that scripts thereof are handed to him for censorship be­ forehand. (5) No midnight masses will be al­ lowed, but there is a possibility that internees will be allowed to attend a special day-time mass at the Seminary. (6) No community dances will be pern tted. (7) He is investigating the possibility of the writing of letters to war-pri­ soners, but doubts if it will be possible to send gifts. (8) With reference to allowing visits of non-interned families with their husbands in camp on Christmas, such as took place last year, he stated that he believed this is not practical, but that he will give his final answer tomorrow.”

The final answer under item 8 was “no”. The only children from outside the camp allowed to come in were the 60 or 70 interned with their mothers in the Holy Ghost College; the mothers were allowed to accompany them. Some scores of parents had their chil­ dren photographed in the Fathers Gar­ den by a Japanese photographer who came into the camp for the purpose on several successive days. The price was P5 for four prints, passport size,

CHRISTMAS, 1943; NEW YEAR, 1944

unmounted. A moving-picture project­ or was borrowed and a second-rate feature film, a travelogue, and a comic cartoon were shown one night, Christ­ mas week. Neither notes nor gifts were allowed to be sent to men in the pri­ son camps, but relatives in Santo To­ mas were allowed to file mimeograph­ ed check-forms in lieu of notes on which a bare minimum of personal in­ formation could be indicated. No notes were received from the men. The midnight mass on Christmas Eve, a traditionally important service in the Philippines, could not be held, but a special daytime mass was cele­ brated on Christmas morning in the Dominican Seminary which internees were allowed to attend. All outsiders were first shooed out. Masses were also held in the hospital chapel and other religious services in the Fathers Garden. As for the censorship of the two "religious lectures”, the department of religion had made a tactical error in including them in the Christmas program which had been drawn up, instead of merely listing them in the program of religious services presented to the Commandant in advance each week as a matter of routine. The cen­ sorship of sermons, ordered by the first Commandant, had lapsed. As it was, the speakers concerned submitted merely the outlines of what they want­ ed to say, and these were approved by Kato. The Camp Does It Best for the Child­ ren—The camp did it best. There was a Christmas pageant on Monday night, staged by the camp's Sunday school children. On Tuesday night an internee chorus sang Handel’s "Messiah” with the accompaniment of a Hammond organ,1 a piano, and a small pick-up 1A Hammond electric organ had been brought in by Chittick some time before; his company was the agent of the manufacturers of this instrument.

69

orchestra. The conductor was Father T. H. Visser of Iloilo. The movie show came on Wednesday night. On Christ­ mas Eve there was a program of Christmas carols. On Christmas Day there were various parties for the younger children and those of ‘teen age. The young children had been told that Santa Claus would come through the camp gate at 3 o’clock in the after­ noon. Little boys and girls expressed the fear that Santa might not be al­ lowed to come into camp. But at 3:10, ten minutes late, he did come in, with a white beard and dressed all in red. One or two curious Japanese soldiers of the gate-guard looked on as a crowd of little children shrieked a welcome. Some of them were so excited that, running, they fell down flat on their faces but forgot to cry. A small, decorated Baguio pine set on a table on the lawn served as a Christmas tree. There were several long tables piled with toys for the children 10 years and younger. Most of the toys had been made by hand by men and women in the camp and the men in Los Banos had also sent many handmade toys. Some had been donat­ ed by people outside. The children fil­ ed past the tables, according to their age, and were handed three toys each, stuffed animals and dolls, little wood­ en wagons, etc. It was a sort of whole­ sale or cafeteria Christmas, but a joy­ ful enough occasion for the little ones, and older people also could not help but be affected by the pleasure of the children. The men with families out­ side, however, thought of their own children whom they had not been al­ lowed to see or help with the food from their Red Cross kits. The family aid committee had handed out kilopackages of rice which they had been allowed to send out to their families and also some toys and bags of candy,

70 but only about half of the men con­ cerned had done so; the rest, in pro­ test, and grieved at being able to do so little, gave up doing anything other than sending out what money they could. That night there was an organ re­ cital and some special piano, violin, and vocal numbers by internees, and three hours later Christmas, 1943, pas­ sed into limbo. New Year’s Eve — On New Year's Eve, Harvey staged "Cinderella”, the camp’s most ambitious effort of the kind so far, with a cast of around 150 people, mostly young girls. The cos­ tuming was quite remarkable under the circumstances, but the singing was poor. A slight drizzle early in the even­ ing caused a belated start, the long waits between acts were tiring, and by 10 o’clock the audience was glad the show was over. Most of the camp then went to bed. But a few score of men at the education building and at the gymnasium stayed out on the lawn to see the New Year in. At midnight it was clear that there was no celebra­ tion in the city. Not a ship's whistle blew; not a bell rang from any of the numerous churches in Manila. Not a searchlight illuminated the dark sky. The streets around Santo Tomas were entirely quiet. What little noise was to be heard, came from the main building in the camp where there were several small parties under way. Ten minutes after midnight, the people still sitting on the campus heard some noise from the direction of Plaza Goiti and the Escolta, the center of the city, and that was all. It was evident that the people of the Philippines were not in a cele­ brating mood. "Society" in Santo Tomas — The Ma­ nila dailies, before the war, had al­ ways had their "Society” pages, in the American newspaper tradition, though

THE CAMP

Society, in this sense of the word the semi-public life of a recognized wealthy leisure class, could hardly be said to exist in Manila. The Spaniards during their 400 years had largely broken up the old Malay aristocracy, and with the end of Spanish sovereignty in the coun­ try, the position of the Spaniards, in turn, suffered heavily. America never actually "colonized” the Philippines, and American officialdom had hardly had time to establish itself when the policy of "Filipinization” of the govern­ ment brought the brief glories of "the days of the Empire” to a close. A new Filipino official class came into being and naturally assumed social promi­ nence. There also appeared a newlyrich class of planters and businessmen chiefly of Spanish-Filipino blood. The Americans and British and other Euro­ peans belonged mostly to the business class, although, among the Americans, there remained a small number of men of official position, the High Commis­ sioner being the ranking official, the personnel of the U.S. Army and Navy establishments in the country, and a larger group of old-timers, veterans of the Spanish-American War and re­ tired civil government officials and employees, many of whom, among the latter, had married into the country. Position and wealth, therefore, was for the most part newly established, and a true leisure class had not come into existence. "Society” in the Manila newspaper sense, was divided into ra­ cial and national groups, — Filipino, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, American, British, German, French, Dutch, Swiss, etc., and social activities centered around the various clubs, — the Army and Navy Club, the University Club, the Elks Club, the old Polo Club, the Club Filipino, the Casino Espanol, the Manila Club (British), the Oriental Club (Chinese), the Japanese Club, the

“SOCIETY” IN SANTO TOMAS

German Club, and the Swiss Club. The Tamarao Polo Club and the WackWack Golf Club were more or less international. The Manila Hotel and latterly the Jai-Alai also were centers of social life in Manila. Cosmopolitan Manila gathered only at the large official and semi-official functions held at the High Commis­ sioner’s residence, Malacanan Palace, and the Manila Hotel, but on various foreign holidays the respective foreign clubs often played host to cosmopoli­ tan groups. The Manila Symphony So­ ciety was one of the most successful of cosmopolitan organizations and its concerts were of late years attended by large audiences drawn from every section of society. Otherwise, for the most part, the different social groups remained pretty well apart, — by com­ mon and natural choice and without any sense of hostile exclusiveness. The cosmopolitan-minded always found rich opportunity in Manila to vary and broaden their contacts, interests, and friendships. The Santo Tomas population includ­ ed practically the whole of the Ameri­ can and British communities of Manila and the provinces, though the Army and Navy element was, of course, not at all represented and high civil of­ ficials had either left Manila before the Japanese occupation or were later exchanged. A considerable proportion of the wives and children of the more prominent Americans and British, warned in time by the growing tension in the Far East, Jhad also left the coun­ try before the outbreak of the war. What remained of American and Bri­ tish society was composed mostly of those prominent men of business and their families who had been trapped in Manila together with those of lesser social standing who could not so easily have gotten away. The rest of the camp

71

population consisted mainly of busi­ nessmen who had occupied less im­ portant positions, professional and technical men, men retired from the government service and other oldtimers, officers and men from mer­ chant ships, etc. The “Shanty Aristocracy" — At first the Santo Tomas population had been just a mass of captives, with very lit­ tle to distinguish them in so far as appearance, manners, and ways of life were concerned. But it was not long before individual prestige, in most cases associated with personal ability, had begun to show itself in the selec­ tion for positions of responsibility in the internee government, former busi­ ness executives falling naturally into executive positions in the camp and men with technical training and experi­ ence taking positions for which they were fitted. The possession of money or credit also soon divided the camp into the rich, or comparatively rich, and the poor. The former could afford to build shanties, the cost of which soon rose from a hundred pesos or so to several thousand; they could buy extra food; they were better dressed; they looked more fit. Shanties at first had been built of anything that was at hand, but after a few months the low­ ly bamboo and nipa construction of the native hut was found to be most suitable and became standard. Their owners, some 600, became the "shanty aristocracy”. Though these shanties, under the Japanese regulations, were small, open, and closely crowded together, they af­ forded their inhabitants some opportu­ nity for retirement and a degree of pri­ vacy not available to those who lived in the crowded rooms. Not until Feb­ ruary, 1944, were husbands and wives allowed to occupy their shanties at night, yet from the beginning they

72

made some sort of family life possible during the daytime. A measure of ex­ clusiveness could be maintained and was maintained. In fact, gregarious and public as was the life in the camp, even those who did not live in shanties gradually learned to build a defensive shell around themselves, an intangible aura which was at need impenetrable enough. In the crowded rooms and hallways, amid the throngs on the cam­ pus, people often walked about by themselves in complete abstraction, looking at no one, speaking to no one. In the dining sheds, sitting side by side at the long, narrow deal tables, with the faces of people across from them only a foot or so away, they often neither spoke nor even looked at each other. But Little “Entertaining” — There was but little visiting between people in the various rooms or between peo­ ple in the shanties. They felt that they had "company” enough not to wish to incur any more. The effort was always to withdraw rather than to meet or mingle. Everyone was jealous of what little aloneness he could manage. There was noticeable a certain indif­ ference, a lack of welcome and intima­ cy, even a selfishness. There was so lit­ tle of everything, even among those who were better off than the rest, that "entertaining” was rare. There was very little of asking friends to tea or to supper even among the shanty owners. On holidays, when more food was sent in by friends from the outside than could be eaten, there would be some sharing; most times there was very little of this, except on some such oc­ casion as a birthday or a wedding an­ niversary when people sometimes in­ vited friends to come for a cup of tea and a piece of cake. (Price of a cake early in 1944, P70.) During the Christ­ mas, 1943, season, there was a time

THE CAMP

of some little feasting, made possible by the distribution of the Red Cross relief funds. Though dancing among the young people in the 'teen ages was permitted by the Japanese on a few occasions, dancing generally was prohibited. Not more than two or three young people's parties were allowed during the entire period of internment. With a few ex­ ceptions, no marriages were allowed. There were only a few births. All this definitely ruled out those activities and occasions which go to make up the "society” life. Without receptions, balls, dances, parties, din­ ners, teas on this or that occasion, public or private, what sort of “socie­ ty” activities could there be? There were, of course, bridge and mahjong playing, the ball games, a few rare movie shows, the entertainments put on by Harvey and his assistants, which included a few plays, and the concerts broadcast over the loudspeak­ er system during the evenings and the special classical concerts on Sunday mornings and Thursday afternoons. There were also the various religious services and public lectures and read­ ings in the Fathers Garden, but these activities hardly fell under the "So­ ciety” heading. The conclusion was that "Society” in Santo Tomas was in a state of sus­ pense, — as so much else. The Arrival of the Internees from the Davao Camp — On Sunday, the second day of 1944, a large group of internees from Davao, 279 persons, arrived in Santo Tomas. Dirty, tired, starved-looking they were, like all of the groups that had come in from the provinces. The minutes of the Executive Com­ mittee meeting of January 3, contained the following reference to their arrival and past experience: "The Chairman introduced Father F. J. Ewing, Chairman, and Mr. Norris Wadsworth, vice-

THE JESUIT PRIESTS chairman, of the Davao committee, who had been invited to attend the meeting accompa­ nied by Mr. J. M. Crawford. These gentlemen had arrived in charge of the Davao group on January 2, the group numbering 279. After welcoming the new internees, whose safe arrival in camp was a great relief to all, the Chairman asked Father Ewing to outline briefly the story of the Davao camp, which he did. "This camp commenced to operate on De­ cember 20, 1941, with a nucleus of 13 persons and expanded to a high of 280 at sailing time, which was Christmas morning. The camp was located in a dance hall on the outskirts of Da­ vao. No allowances were granted by the Jap­ anese authorities until September, 1942, after which date per diems of 25 centavos per inter­ nee were provided, payments being generally 3 to 4 months delayed. During the two years’ internment, the camp found it very difficult to get along because of insufficient funds, over­ crowding, shortage of supplies, and lack of pro­ per medical attention. The relief funds forward­ ed from this camp were diverted to food, and were of inestimable value to the camp. Fortu­ nately there were no serious epidemics, the deaths in camp numbering 6 of which 1 occured on the trip up. The camp was administered by a 5-mar committee of internees under Japa­ nese supervision. There were no internees on release, no comfort-kits, no letters from home. Father Ewing expressed the happiness of the Davao group in reaching Santo Tomas after so many months. He would like the assistance of our Committee in collecting back allowances, if this is possible. After further informal discus­ sion, Father Ewing, Mr. Wadsworth, and Mr. Crawford left the meeting at 8:30 p.m.”

The Davao group had missed the Christmas celebration, but largely through the efforts of Mrs. Kathleen Friedevichsen a special celebration was held for the Davao children on January 14.

3 6 Story of The Jesuit Priests Five Jesuits from the Ateneo de Ma­ nila Observatory, — Fathers Doucette, Keane, and Kennally, and two lay bro­ thers, Abrams and Bauerlein, were brought into Santo Tomas on Decem­

73

ber 7 (1943). Some months before they had been arrested in connection with the discovery by the Japanese of a case of bayonets which had been overlooked when the R.O.T.C. equipment of the Ateneo had been turned over, and they had been incarcerated in Fort Santiago for more than three months. They were all in a pitiable condition and were immediately taken to the camp hos­ pital. Father Kennally was seriously ill and had to be sent to the Philippine General Hospital. While the membership of the old ecclesiastical orders in the Philippines was still largely Spanish, American Jesuits had begun to take the place of the Spanish Jesuits in 1921, and in 1927 the Jesuit Mission in the Philippines had formally been turned over to the American Jesuits. It was largely be­ cause of their nationality that the Je­ suit Fathers met with greater difficul­ ties than the others in their relations with the Japanese. Although some 70 or 80 American Jesuit priests and scho­ lastics were permitted to remain out­ side the camp, Father John F. Hurley, Superior of the Jesuit Mission, was brought into Santo Tomas in January, 1944, a month or so after the other five. The Japanese refused to give a reason for his internment in the camp, and it was only indirectly that he learn­ ed there had been “complaints” against him. The boys’ school, the Ateneo de Ma­ nila, was closed shortly after the out­ break of the war, and most of the Je­ suit communities around Manila had' been concentrated in the Ateneo build­ ing by the end of December, 1941. After the first bombing of Manila, Father Hurley offered a part of the building to the Philippine Red Cross, and re­ fugees, mostly women and children, be­ gan to come in as early as the 9th of December. Some of the survivors of the S.S. Corregidor, sunk by a mine in Ma­ nila Bay, were taken care of at the Ateneo for a time, and the Red Cross established its hospital No. 4 there. After the enemy occupation of the city, the Ateneo became a place of refuge for many others, including Americans who for reasons of health were not im­ mediately interned in Santo Tomas.

74

These people inhabited six large classrooms in the east wing of the building and were fed from the house kitchen. Father Keane was in general charge, but would not accept any police functions with respect to those regis­ tered in Santo Tomas, who varied in number, as time went on, between 30 and 50. According to the terms of the passes issued to them by the Japanese, they were not strictly confined to the Ateneo premises but might attend church, go to market, visit their doctor, and take short walks in the vicinity. The regulations were similar to those applied to Americans interned in their homes, of which at first there were several hundred. The Ateneo became known as one of the most desirable places to stay among those designated in Santo Tomas as “outside institu­ tions”. Other of these institutions im­ mediately shared in the 70 centavo per capita per diem allowed by the Japa­ nese to Santo Tomas internees begin­ ning July, 1942, but the Ateneo was not included in this list until Novem­ ber, when the available funds of the Order were running low. The famous Manila Observatory, es­ tablished by the Jesuits in 1865, had become the Philippine Weather Bureau, maintained in part by the Government but still largely operated by the Jesuits. As a government entity, the Bureau, which was housed in the Ateneo build­ ing, was visited by the Japanese during the first night of the occupation. They wished to seize the building then, but contented themselves with posting guards after it had been explained to them that the property was ecclesias­ tical. The Japanese did take over two other important Jesuit edifices, — the Sacred Heart Novitiate at Novaliches and the San Jose Seminary at Caloocan, despite the fact that these were ecclesiastical properties too, but Father Hurley was able to hold them off in Manila for over a year and a half, mainly on the plea that the Jesuits had no other place to go. On the night of January 10, 1942, there was an incident which very near­ ly ended in tragedy. The Japanese guards attempted to take one of the young Filipino nurses in the Red Cross

STORY

hospital out with them, and Father Hurley came to the defense of the frigh­ tened girl and called the city police. When the police arrived they called for the Japanese military police. The latter took the part of the guards and an of­ ficer among them rushed at Father Hurley with his sword. Father Hurley stood his ground as the officer twice made a thrust at him. Then glaring, he began to make cuts in the air, as if to cut off his head; Father Hurley glared back at him. While this was going on one of the other Fathers had gotten Colonel Naruzawa, of the reli­ gious section of the Japanese army, on the telephone, and he issued orders which ended that particular episode. But there was always trouble, if not over the building, then over a radio statement the Japanese wanted Father Hurley to make, which he refused, or over suspected contacts with the guer­ rillas. A complicating factor was that guerrillas were coming into Manila dis­ guised in priests’ robes. Ateneo alumni and servants of the house were ques­ tioned as to the activities of the Fa­ thers, who their friends were, etc., and attempts were made to introduce spies into the place. Then came the trouble over the finding of the case of bayonets and the arrest of the five Jesuits. In the end, at 5:30 p.m. of July 1, 1943,1an order came from the Jaoanese Army, sent through the Apostolic Delegate, to vacate the building by noon the next day. Permission was given for the Jesuits to remove their belongings, and it was promised that a number of army trucks would be sent to help in the removing. The Japanese probably thought that there was not time enough for the Fathers to take out very much, and the trucks never showed up. Nevertheless, with the aid of hundreds of prominent alumni and other friends, and more than a hundred pushcarts, all the Jesuits’ personal be­ longings and furniture, school and of­ fice equipment, textbooks, kitchen in­ stallations, etc., were moved out in time to other church institutions and to homes of Filipino friends. The Japan­ ese walked into an empty building, which made them very angry. 1 See note end of Story

JAPANESE OCCUPATION OF ECCLESIASTICAL BUILDINGS

The Japanese had established their own weather bureau in the engineering building of the University of the Philip­ pines, and at the Ateneo only a skele­ ton staff of Filipino employees of the Weather Bureau were continuing the weather observations for Manila. No weather maps were made up and no forecasts were issued. The Jesuits con­ nected with the Observatory had, how­ ever, been permitted to carry on their private studies and researches in their own offices. An arrangement was now made with the Filipino Weather Bureau men to look after the Jesuit instru­ ments and library. The auditorium and the science building to the rear of the main Ateneo building, were left for Jesuit use. Fa­ ther Hurley protested against the sei­ zure of the building once again in a memorandum addressed to the Com­ manding General. It proved of no avail. The taking over of the Ateneo build­ ing was the only case of a large eccle­ siastical establishments thus seized, al­ though the Japanese also seized and occupied, in whole or part, the fol­ lowing institutions: La Salle College, St. Scholastica College, St. Theresa's College, Beaterio College (operated by Filipino Sisters), San Beda College, Good Shepherd Convent, St. Paul's Hospital (operated by Maryknoll Sis­ ters, later turned over by the Japanese to Santo Tomas University for the hos­ pital needs of the Walled City), San Juan de Letran College, St. Joseph’s College, St. Paul’s Novitiate, San Marcelino Seminary, San Jose Seminary, Ateneo Grade School (Walled City), etc. Almost all the large Catholic institu­ tions became places of shelter to ter­ ror-stricken people of all nationalities during the early days of the enemy oc­ cupation, especially in the outlying dis­ tricts. In Manila besides the Ateneo, those especially notable for their hospi­ tality were St. Paul’s Novitiate (French and Filipino Sisters), Christ the King Seminary (Fathers of the Society of the Divine Word, many of them Ger­ mans), Beaterio College (Filipino Sis­ ters), Carmelite Convent, St. Theresa’s College (Belgian Sisters), Holy Ghost

75

College (mainly German Sisters), the Belgian Fathers in New Manila, etc. A group of eight Jesuit priests and scholastics from various missions in Mindanao, including Father F.J. Ewing, the anthropologist, arrived in Santo Tomas with the Davao internees in Jan­ uary, 1944. Among these arrivals from Davao there were also a number of Ob­ late Fathers and several Dutch priests. Bishop James Hayes, S.J. had been in­ terned in Santo Tomas for a few days in September, 1942, but had then been allowed to join the Fathers at the Ate­ neo, with whom he still remained. The total number of Catholic priests in Santo Tomas was now over 60. They were very careful in their conversation with others, but what they did say fully confirmed the impression in Santo To­ mas that the Church was passing through a period of great trial. The early conferences between the Japanese and the Church authorities on the matter of "cooperation” have already been described. The time came when the Japanese expressed “frank disappointment” over the degree of co­ operation thev were receiving from the Archbishop. Although Irish by nation­ ality, he was still a virtual pri­ soner in his palace, and the Apostolic Delegate, an Italian, was little better off. But though there were spies in every congregation, the priests, both Filipino and foreign, did nothing more than to try to keep the people quiet. Attendance in all the churches through­ out the country was reported to be large, — a rather touching fact. In some Manila churches it was said that the attendance had quadrupled. There was only one prominent churchman, Bishop Guerrero, a Filipino, who was cooperating with the Japanese, osten­ sibly at least, and strong disapproval of this was to be sensed among the Catholic clergy in Santo Tomas. An anecdote told by one of the priests in the camp was revealing. The Japanese permitted only a few chosen individuals other than themselves to use gasoline for fuel for their automo­ biles; the few others allowed cars had to use alcohol. The Archbishop’s car (before it was finally taken away from

76

him) had stopped in a little town not far from Manila. Some Filipinos came up and unscrewed the cap of the fuel tank. The Archbishop’s chauffeur asked them what they were doing. They smell­ ed the cap, then said: “It’s all right, but if this had been gasoline, we would have made you drink it!” Churchmen in the Philippines could not have brought the people to cooperate with the Japanese even if they had tried to do this. The Church suffered great material damage throughout the Philippines not only from the destruction of churches and schools and other buildings by fire, but through losses entailed in the oc­ cupation of its buildings by the invad­ ing army. The Japanese used the Caga­ yan Cathedral as a garage. In some places churches were turned into dance halls by the soldiers. Losses in precious altar utensils and vestments were large and could not be estimated in money. The Murder of Father Consunji, S. J. — The murder of Bishop Finnemann, in Mindoro, has already been described, and mention has also been made of the killing of a number of priests in Panay. There were other such murders. Father Agustin Consunji, S.J., of Iligan, a man of middle age, aroused the anger of the Japanese for performing marriages and baptisms outside the town, and was arrested and beaten and taken from Iligan to Dansalan and back to Iligan, then to Misamis, then to Cagayan, where some other Catholic priests ask­ ed to be allowed to visit him but were not permitted to do so. Next he was seen in Cebu. Later he was thrown in­ to Bilibid with 28 other prisoners from Cebu. One day, he and seven others were taken out of the cell the 28 oc­ cupied jointly, and the eight did not come back. It was believed that they had been executed. That was in August, 1943, and his friends in the prison said of poor Father Consunji that it was a good thing he was dead, for he had been made to suffer so terribly. The Murder of Father Douglas — There was a Father Douglas, a Columban priest, who had a parish on Laguna de Bay. The Japanese said that among those whose confessions he had heard there were a number of guerrillas and

STORY

demanded information from him as to them. Either he refused to give the desired information or he had none to impart, but he was beaten with bayo­ nets in his church, behind the altar. The people of the town said that one of his eyes had been put out and that the floor was covered with blood. Fa­ ther Douglas was then taken to Santa Cruz, and the Archbishop and the Apos­ tolic Delegate asked permission to in­ vestigate the case. This was refused. Later came reports from Lipa that Fa­ ther Douglas had died in Santa Cruz and that his body had been thrown in the river there. Father Ronan, who had organized the chaplain corps of the Philippine Army, was arrested in Mindanao. It was said that the Japanese had learned about him and his record when the work he had done was praised in an American radio broadcast. He was held incom­ municado in Bilibid for several months and was then taken to Japan despite the protests of the Church au­ thorities in Manila. Fort Santiago and the Cementerio del Norte — The word “investigation” was synonymous with “torture" in Fort Santiago, but the five Ateneo Fathers were not tortured, a fact which they ascribed to the influence of Colonel Naruzawa. The other prisoners were surprised at this. Fort Santiago stands on the left-hand bank of the Pasig Ri­ ver, and one way of inducing a prisoner to speak was to tie him to a pole which was swung over the river, leaving the man suspended, face-down, over the muddy water. He would be lowered inch by inch. . . Secret murders and executions con­ tinued. Relatives of prisoners watched the cemetaries. When an execution squad had left a cemetary, usually the Cementerio del Norte, they rushed to the shallow graves and hastily dug up the bodies not only to identify them but in the hope of being able to revive them. The Japanese did not generally wait until their victims were dead be­ fore covering them up, and it was some­ times possible to bring them back to consciousness. It was said, indeed, that a number of persons, supposed to have been executed, were actually still alive.

KILLINGS IN FORT SANTIAGO

At the beginning of the occupation, many of the executions took place in a court in Fort Santiago itself. Chinese were generally decapitated, but others were shot, one bullet a man, — in the back of the head, with a pistol. The bodies were destroyed in a specially constructed furnace. Prisoners in some of the cells could hear the shooting and smell the burning. In February, 1944, it was learned in Santo Tomas that Father Rufino San­ tos, Secretary to the Archbishop, three Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, including the Superioress, and two Maryknoll Sisters, one of them also the Superioress, had been arrested and im­ prisoned in Fort Santiago. The Sisters were all either American or Canadian women. The Maryknoll Sisters were reportedly charged with having en­ gaged in extending illegal assistance to the prisoners of war at Cabanatuan. The other arrests had probably been made in the same connection as the arrests of a number of Protestant wo­ men, including the wives of Rev. Bomm and Dr. Brush, which was believed to be the rumored return to the Philip­ pines of Charles ("Chick") Parsons; Parsons, as Consul for Panama, had been repatriated in 1942, but was now said to be back in Manila as an Ame­ rican naval intelligence officer. The Christian Church in Japan — So went the "cooperation” between the Church and the Japanese in the estab­ lishment of peace and happiness in the Co-Prosperity Sphere of Greater East Asia. In truth, there was no possibility of conciliation between Christianity and the state religion of Japan, which was simply a system of political propagan­ da, artificially created in the latter half of the 19th century with primitive Shin­ toism as a nucleus. Christianity from the first derived much of its strength from its direct and indirect assertion of the unique worth of the individual man, not only in his relations to God, but in his relations with his fellow men and the body politic. On the other hand, Christianity could not place a human being beside God, or recognize the childish superstition that any human being is the direct descendant of divini­

77

ty. Christianity could not accept the new totalitarian despotisms any more than it could accept the more ancient tyrannies. Christianity and humanism are at one in that they both consider the state as made for man and not man for the state. Christianity, of course, holds additionally that God is above both man and the state, but so long as the principle of the se­ paration of church and state is ad­ hered to, there can be toleration be­ tween Christianity and the democratic state. Christianity could live in a scien­ tific, even in an agnostic or atheistic society. But Christianity must be for­ ever at war in a state which would compel the worship of a local human god, under a hysterical ideology of blood and soil, impressing in its service religion as well as education and every medium of information and communi­ cation. From the days of St. Francis Xavier, who reached Japan in 1549, Christianity has always met with opposition and hos­ tility in Japan which frequently broke out in spasms of unparalleled cruelty, as, in 1579, when 26 Franciscans were crucified at Nagasaki, and in 1622, when, in the same city, 52 Christians were martyred on the same day, 27 of them being decapitated and the rest burned alive. During the next two cen­ turies, each year every Japanese was called upon ito trample the cross un­ derfoot. Not until 1859 were missiona­ ries again allowed to reside in some of the ports and to open churches for foreigners there. Even at that late date it was considered dangerous to live in Japan, and persecutions recommenced in 1867 and continued for six years. In 1889 came the new Constitution which pretended to establish religious liberty, but the number of converts to Chris­ tianity never rose above a few hundred thousand. Japanese and foreign apolo­ gists explained that the rites demanded in worship of the Emperor were merely formal expressions of respect and lo­ yalty, and under this fiction the Chris­ tian missions in Japan held on in the hope that time would be on their side, but in 1940, a year before the outbreak of the war in the Pacific, the Japanese government adopted a number of mea­

STORY

78

sures designed to convert the Christian churches to its use, including a forced amalgamation of the various Protestant denominations into the "National Christian Church”. The new laws in­ sisted that the Christian movement in Japan conform to the Japanese political1 1

"The Philippine Mission of the Society of Jesus "June 17, 1943 "Superior’s Office Ateneo de Manila Manila, Philippines "Memorandum to the proper Imperial Japanese Authorities regarding: Proposal of the Imperial Japanese Army, to take over the Ateneo de Ma­ nila buildings. "Our objections to the seizure of the Ateneo are, we sincerely believe, very reasonable; and we believe also that, as soon as the Japanese Military Authorities understand the situation, they will agree with the reasonableness of our objections. "1. Two of our large institutions are already occupied by the Army. "a. San Jose Seminary in Balintawak — a large building on a 5-hectare plot. The Fathers residing there were forced to come to the Ateneo. "b. Ateneo Grade School in Intramuros — a large building on Arzobispo and Anda Streets on a 1-hectare plot. The Fathers residing there were forced to come to the Ateneo. ”2. At present in the Ateneo are: — "Filipino Fathers and those preparing for Priesthood — 205 "American, Spanish, Irish, Canadian, Chinese — 86; Total — 291 "3. Where will they go, where they can pro­ perly fulfill their obligations and function as a Religious Community? These men cannot be scattered in various places. Why not? Because they are RELIGIOUS men. That means that they live not as individual but as RELIGIOUS men in ‘a permanent manner of COMMUNITY LIFE by which they observe ‘. .. the evangelical counsels of Obedience, Chastity, and Poverty.’ (From "Codex Juris Canonici” Pars Secunda, De Religiosis, ex Canonibus 487 et seg.; The "Codex” is the organic law of the Catholic Church.) "4. The Japanese Military Authorities may be under the impression that the Ateneo is an American institution. However, let us explain that: "a. The personnel of the Ateneo is predo­ minantly Filipino, as the above figures show (205 Filipinos; 86 Americans and others). These figures do not include 56 Filipino servants. "b. The property of the Ateneo is not Ame­ rican; it is not Filipino; it pertains to no indi­ vidual nation. It is ECCLESIASTICAL PROPER­ TY of the Catholic Church of Rome. "Note: When the Americans occupied the Philippines they never seized nor occupied the Ateneo but allowed the Spanish Fathers to con-

structure and ideology. The Japanese took the same step in the Philippines in 1942 and 1943. Had Japan remained master of the Philippines, the Church would in time have been either tortur­ ed to death or so twisted and contorted as to be unrecognizable. tinue their Religious life in Community unmo­ lested; because it was ecclesiastical property. "The officials of the Bank of the Philippine Islands are familiar with Ecclesiastical property and can explain to you that the American gov­ ernment ruled that the 'freezing order’ did not apply to the Religious Orders whose Superiors were German or Spanish, for the reason that the deposits of the said Religious Orders were not German or Spanish but Ecclesiastical pro­ perty. "5. Since the Ateneo is ecclesiastical proper­ ty the Father Superior is Administrator of the property and in no sense its owner. He is de­ signated and authorized by Rome and holds office until his successor is appointed by Rome. As Administrator he is bound by the laws of the Catholic Church. He cannot lawfully and legitimately act in this matter without what is called in the Canon Law the ‘beneplacitum’, i. e. the approval of His Holiness, Pope Pius XII. "6. As delicate and serious as is this ques­ tion of ecclesiastical property, nevertheless far more serious is the injury that will be done to Religious Worship by a blow that will disrupt the training for the Priesthood and that will destroy a 'religiosa familia’, as it is called in the Canon Law of the Church. "7. The 205 Filipino members of this ‘reli­ giosa familia’, this ‘persona juridica’, are not the only ones affected. Their families, relatives, and friends will feel this keenly. Nearly all the Pro­ vinces are represented in the 'religiosa familia’ that is at the Ateneo. The news of the seizure of the Ateneo and the consequent disruption of its religious life and the training for the Sacred Priesthood will sadden many Filipino hearts in many Provinces. "8. Very particularly, the families and friends of the 53 young Filipinos whose elevation this year to the Sacred Priesthood of Jesus Christ will be interfered with by this order, will be deeply wounded. "9. Finally we feel sure that it has not been explained to the Army Authorities that by oc­ cupying the Ateneo de Manila building, they will be occupying a Holy Place, a Temple of God in whose 17 chapels every morning 70 Ordained Priests offer to the Heavenly Father the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, which in the central and all important act of Religious Worship in the Catholic Church. "10. We are more than sure that this whole situation and its ramifications have not been clearly explained to the Imperial Japanese Army which has repeatedly published its praiseworthy desire not to interfere with Religious Worship. "11. We are most confident, however, that, once in possession of these facts, they will see the reasonableness of our explanations.

THE LITTLE RED HEADS

37

Story of The New Internees From Mindanao Santo Tomas had a number of times been alarmed by the rumor that the internees from Davao, so long expect­ ed, had on their way to Manila all been lost at sea. But on Sunday, the second day of 1944, it was reported that they had at last arrived in Manila and would be brought into camp that day. Not until dusk that evening did the first contingent arrive, a large group of dir­ ty, tired, and starved-looking men, women, and children, crowded into five buses and army trucks which one after another drove into a roped-off space in front of the Commandant's office. All Santo Tomas was there to see them come in, but no greetings were permitted until the new arrivals had passed through one door of the of­ fice, registered, answered various ques­ tions, — an exasperatingly slow busi­ ness, and had come out through an­ other door. As a man and three young children appeared at the latter, a Santo Tomas woman pushed through the crowd, and, her red hair flying, streaked across the roped-off area and threw herself at them. Kneeling on the ground, she em­ braced the oldest, a little girl of five "12. If, despite all this, the Army should in­ sist on seizing this ecclesiastical property and disrupting our religious family, we feel sure that they will understand the limitation of our power in this matter and will make arrangements with Our Holy Father Pope Pius XII, to communi­ cate to the Jesuit Superior in the Philippines: "a. The necessary authorization to surrender the ecclesiastical property and "b. the further orders of His Holiness about the disposition of the Religious of the Society of Jesus. "In closing we wish to assure the Army Au­ thorities of our sympathetic understanding of their housing problem. "We feel confident that the Army Officials will appreciate that in giving over two of our buildings, we have done all that is possible for us without completely destroying our reli­ gious life. "We feel full confidence in the consideration and justice of the Imperial Japanese Army Au­ thorities. “John F. Hurley, S.J. "Superior”

79

or six, and then a little boy, several years younger. They both had red hair. Then she turned to the youngest, a lit­ tle boy of two and a half, looked at him intently, impatiently snatched off a big cap he wore, and ran her fingers through his hair. It was red, too. Then she embraced the man with the chil­ dren, who was her husband, and the little reunited family made off, prob­ ably to the dining-shed, the wife with her arms around the two older chil­ dren; for a moment, it seemed, she had forgotten the smallest, but then she turned quickly and gathered him up in her arms. This young mother had come from Davao to Manila two years before to do some Christmas shopping. Her baby was then six months old. She seemed to have kept vivid images in her mind of the two older children, but the baby had grown almost out of all recogni­ tion. It was 9 o'clock before all of the 279 internees from Davao and their bag­ gage were in the camp. Ravenously eating the crude Santo Tomas supper of that date, — "peanut-loaf”, and drinking the thin tea, they told their friends of their trip. They had boarded the Shinsei Maru No. 1, a ship of around 7,000 tons, early in the after­ noon of December 24 and had sailed at 5 o’clock in the afternoon on Christ­ mas day. The ship had laid to at Zam­ boanga for two days, had coaled at Cebu, — an all-night job on the 30th31st, and had arrived at Pier 7 in Ma­ nila at 3 o’clock that Sunday afternoon. They had been told that the ship had taken troops to New Guinea and the cargo carried when they boarded her was composed mainly of green hides and copra, a combination that stank to high heaven. The internee group of nearly 300 people was "accom­ modated” in one of the holds, but from time to time they were allowed out on deck. The latrine, used by men and women alike, was only a trough which when flushed with salt water was dis­ charged along the scuppers on the deck and down the ship’s sides. Water for washing, salt water, was available only for half an hour after meals. The tea served them was so salty that the

80

people believed it was made with sea water. One old man of around 80 among the internees, who had for some time been ailing, died when the ship was passing Dumaguete. The Ja­ panese sewed him up in a piece of can­ vas and he was buried at sea a few hours later, one of the missionaries conducting a short religious service. The ship was infested with rats which ran around all over the ship even in the daytime, and among all the other smells, there was also the smell of dead rats. Several of the internees complained of fleabites and there was a general fear of typhus, and bubonic plague as a consequence. The fear with respect to typhus was well-founded, for shortly after the arrival of the group in Santo Tomas five of them fell ill of it. Thanks to the recent shipments of drugs received in the camp from America, their lives were saved and no epidemic followed. The 45 American and British civi­ lians in Davao who gave themselves up at the Davao Club on December 20,1 were at first kept apart from those brought later from other parts of Min­ danao, except for a small group of four brought in early from Jolo. The Davao group was confined in the Davao Club and iater in various other buildings in the city, and joined the larger group only when both were transferred to the "Happy Life Blues Cabaret” on Septem­ ber 22, 1942. The original Davao group was treated very severely for several months, in retaliation, the Japanese said, for the treatment accorded their interned nationals before the occupa­ tion. Not all the women and children were interned with the men at first, and no communication between them was al­ lowed. As long as the reserve food sup­ 1 Note: Boyce, Captain Stevens, some years earlier in the Constabulary, and John Burgers, walked out of Davao on the day of invasion and were apprehended two days later by Jap­ anese soldiers in the foothills south of Davao. Progress in attempted escape had been slow due to illness of Boyce who could not travel on foot except with great difficulty. The Ja­ panese machine-gunned the house in which they were lying flat on the floor, firing several hun­ dred rounds. After the firing ceased Boyce was found dead. Stevens and Burgers were taken to Davao and interned.

STORY

ply at the Davao Club lasted, they ate fairly well, but after that they fared badly. For a number of weeks hard labor on the public roads was required of them, and when the Japanese guards thought that they were not working hard enough, they were clubbed. Even so, however, the civilian Ame­ rican and British internees were treat­ ed better than either the Filipino mili­ tary or civilian prisoners. These un­ fortunates were frequently assaulted by crazed brutes with two-handed sab­ ers and clubs, and the jails ran with blood. The Chinese in Davao, whe­ ther in or outside prison, were often the victims of attacks made in sheer blood-lust. Jolo — The attack on and the fight­ ing around Davao have already been described. In Sulu a landing was made some 8 kilometers north of Jolo on the night of December 24. There were only some 450 constabularymen on the is­ land, and as at Davao, the enemy at­ tacked by land, sea, and air, and also, as at Davao, local forces had neither ships nor planes, nor even light artil­ lery. Major Suarez of the USAFFE had arrived a few days before to take com­ mand and saw the futility of resistance. After a brief fight he disbanded his men, and he himself, discarding his uniform, mingled with crowds of Joloanos under the eyes of the Japanese and subsequently escaped to Zamboan­ ga, joining the USAFFE there. Three Americans in Jolo were mur­ dered, — J. S. McCormick, superinten­ dent of schools,2 an elderly man in the Customs service, P. L. Machlan, and F. Young, a lawyer. It was said that they had been encountered by the Jap­ anese outside their houses. There was a similar case in Zamboanga, of an Am­ erican who was shot or cut down in the street. The occupation forces con­ sisted of very inferior troops, some of them not Japanese but under Japanese 2 Note (1945) — The well-known John Scott McCormick, Superintendent of Schools of Sulu, was shot and bayoneted to death in his house in Jolo by the Japanese on the morning of the 25th. It was believed that he was. mistaken for an American Army officer because of the Scout leader’s uniform which he was wearing. He was buried by a Moro teacher a few days later.

JOLO AND ZAMBOANGA

officers and sergeants. These men prac­ ticed unbelievable cruelties on persons who fell into their hands. After the internment of the few Am­ erican civilians in Sulu, the criminal element among the Moros got the up­ per hand and the law-abiding Moros found it impossible to shelter and pro­ tect the Christian Filipinos among them. Their houses were looted and burned and many of them were killed. The Japanese were content to hold the town and made no effort to enforce order outside of it. Many Christian families attempted to \escape in small sailing boats to Zamboanga, 90 miles to the north, but they had to pass among numerous small islands on the way inhabited by hostile Moros and many of them never reached their goal. Hundreds of Christian Filipinos were killed; how many will probably never be know. Zamboanga — Zamboanga and its environs were machine-gunned by ene­ my planes on January 1, but only one Filipino was reported killed. Most of the USAFFE units there had already left the Pettit Barracks and had moved to San Roque and from there to. Pasananca, some 7 kilometers north of the town. This is where they were when the Japanese attack began at 2 o’clock in the morning of March 2. Japanese ships shelled the city, using incendiary as well as ordinary shells, and as soon as it was light Japanese planes also took part. Spies must have furnished the enemy with specific information because the USAFFE headquarters building suffered a direct hit: no one was killed in the building, however, as it was just breakfast time. The church, the school, and in fact all the larger buildings with galvanized-iron roofs at Pasananca were b o m b e d . Small USAFFE units on the beach offered a brief resistance and then slowly with­ drew, after setting fire to some of the buildings of the Pettit Barracks. Zam­ boanga as a whole was in flames, and later in the day Japanese platoons set fire to various individual buildings in strategic locations, such as at sharp turns along the highway to Tetuan. When the fires died down, nearly nine-

81

tenths of the most beautiful small city in the Philippines was razed. Aside from the air-bombing and an attempt to shell Pasananca from the sea, the Japanese were content with having taken the city of Zamboanga. Colonel Wilson, the USAFFE com­ manding officer, decided nevertheless to transfer his headquarters to the bar­ rio of Bongiao, about 4 kilometers from Kilometer-Post 33 on the Zamboanga-Curuan-Vitali highway, that night. All food supplies which could not be loaded on the available trucks were given away to the civilian popu­ lation. Though a headquarters was maintained at Bongiao until the order to surrender came from General Sharp in May, the sitio of Dabuy, in the wes­ tern foothills of the Vitali valley, was selected as the logical center for pro­ tracted defense, and work was begun on a number of new trails to this point, several of which were completed. Quan­ tities of equipment and supplies were hauled up there on carabao sleds or carried up by cargadores. Wilson had had under him a force of around 1,000 men, but Sharp had kept ordering va­ rious units away until Wilson had only some 300 men left, among them only 16 Philippine Scouts; the rest were ail USAFFE trainees. A civilian refugee camp was under construction at Ticpangi, some 3 kilometers from the bar­ rio of Vitali. The enemy in occupation of the city made no attempt to bother the USAF­ FE, and the USAFFE did not go out of its way to disturb the Japanese. Land-mines, however, were laid to deter Japanese forays along the highways. For the USAFFE it was mainly a busi­ ness of watchful waiting. Then, on May 9, the order came from General Sharp to surrender. The order was received by radio and was not in code, and most of Wilson's officers believed it to be a Japanese ruse. But the next day an­ other order to the same effect was re­ ceived, and Wilson decided to accept it at face-value. Wilson sent Dr. Tre­ maine, a medical officer, and several Filipino officers to Zamboanga to as­ certain the preliminary terms, and Tre­ maine returned alone the same day re­

82

porting that the demand was for un­ conditional surrender and that, though he and the Filipino officers had gone to the Japanese under a flag of truce, the latter had been seized by the enemy as hostages. Wilson hereupon remarked to his officers that he supposed he would have to go himself "to negotiate With those fellows” and this he did the fol­ lowing day. When he arrived at the Japanese headquarters he was told that the commanding officer was aboard a ship at the pier. He went aboard and was taken prisoner, and there issued an order directing his subordinates to arrange for an unconditional surren­ der. Colonel Wilson was later seen at the window of a small house near Ja­ panese headquarters in Zamboanga, his face a shaggy mass of white beard; apparently he was not allowed a razor. Later still he was seen by others as an inmate of the provincial jail. A radiogram was also received from General Sharp advising all civilian Am­ ericans to present themselves to the Japanese command, which five of them did on May 19. For a time they were confined to the upper floor in a private house near Japanese headquarters. All their necessities had to be supplied by themselves. After a few weeks, the Ja­ panese provided them with rice and tea from the headquarters kitchen, with occasionally a little fish boiled in with the rice. This continued for several weeks and was the only time the Japanese assumed any responsibi­ lity for the feeding of the people they had interned. The food was very inade­ quate, and friendly Filipinos helped out by sometimes throwing a few coconuts over the barbed-wire fence when the guards were not looking. Additional civilians either gave themselves up or were brought in from time to time un­ til there were 15 of them, most of them being stripped by the guards of what­ ever they had brought along with them. One old American, who own­ ed a plantation on the west coast of the Zamboanga peninsula, was taken by a squad of soldiers. They kept their guns pointed at him while he was saying goodbye to his old Filipino wife and would not allow him to take any­

STORY

thing with him, not even a change of clothes or a mosquito net. They refus­ ed him permission, also, to take his glasses and his set of false teeth. On June 6 the internees were trans­ ferred to another building near the Pettit Barracks, a Japanese civilian be­ ing assigned to look after their wants. Everything he supplied had to be paid for, but after several days he found it easier to yield to, than to continue to resist their demands that they be allowed to receive food from relatives and friends outside and to send out a marketing detail to buy vegetables and fruit. By August there were 39 persons in the camp and on the 18th of that month, after only a few hours’ warning that they were to be transferred to some other, undesignated, place, they were taken to the pier and crowded into the unlighted hold of a small ship. For several days they were fed on rice and seaweed soup. An old man in his dotage, who went on deck and urinat­ ed in the scuppers, was beaten like a dog with a piece of hose. They arrived at the Davao pier on the evening of the 20th, but were not taken off the ship until the next day. Cotabato — On April 29, according to the new arrivals in Santo Tomas, two Japanese launches each towing four barges full of troops, came up the Cotabato river. The USAFFE force of around 100 constabularymen at the town of Cotabato, situated 4 kilometers from the mouth of the river, set fire to the town at this approach, but the launches and barges did not stop at the town and continued upstream. The USAFFE in the province numbered around 2,500 men under Colonel Nel­ son. The Japanese were executing a pincer movement in collaboration with columns advancing from the east and the north. There was considerable fighting at Parang and the Japanese were held back for some days. Then a part of the USAFFE in Cotabato re­ treated to Lumbatan, Lanao, and took part in the fighting there. The Japanese civilians interned at Fort Pikit, Cota­ bato, were liberated by the enemy forc­ es on or about May 3. Lanao — The southern invasion of Lanao was started from near Malabang

THE ILIGAN DEATH MARCH

on April 30. Along the highway between Malabang and Dansalan, especially in the vicinity of Lake Dapao, USAFFE units put up a gallant fight and were all but wiped out by the superiorly equipped Japanese. In the north, the Japanese landed troops at Iligan on May 2, aiming at making contact with the force coming up from the south. Resistance in Lanao continued for sev­ eral weeks after Sharp's surrender. General Fort, the commanding officer, did not surrender until May 27, at Dan­ salan, and because the criminals among the Moros were running wild, looting and murdering, as in Sulu, he urged civilian residents and refugees in the province to present themselves to the Japanese on that same day, which the most of them did. The horrible bayoneting to death of Colonel Veasy, Major Price, and Lieu­ tenant Chandler, — the Japanese hold­ ing them responsible for the escape of four military prisoners from the pri­ son-camp at Camp Keithley, has al­ ready been described. A few days later, on July 4, the military prisoners who had given themselves up at Dansalan were lined up, the sick and the well, and after they had stood in the hot sun for several hours, were wired to­ gether in pairs and in platoons of five pairs. Then, at 10 o’clock, they were given the order to march, and the long ordeal of the 36-kilometer forced march to Iligan began. They were not allowed any water to drink along the route and only a few of them were provided with canteens. The aged General Fort, after hiking a few kilometers, was al­ lowed to ride, but the rest were treated with a savagery which no one who took part in this march wanted to describe in detail. Major Nevins, a private, Kildrilch, and four Filipino prisoners, un­ able to keep up, were murdered by the Japanese military escort, their bodies being left by the side of the road. Kildritch, who was bayoneted to death, was just recovering from serious wounds incurred early in May when he had accompanied Commander Tis­ dale of the U.S. Marines in reconnoitering the Lake Dapao area. They had been attacked by Moros and Tisdale had been killed. Kildritch had been

83

picked up by some friendly Moros, nursed for some time by them, and taken to USAFFE headquarters at Dansalan. Still weak from his wounds, he was unable to keep up in the march to Iligan, and was murdered in cold blood, as were Major Nevins and the others. The prisoners reached Iligan at around 4 o’clock in the afternoon. A final touch of cruelty was that they were still not allowed any water to drink, — not until 10 o’clock the next morning. Captain Pratt died that day from the effects of this unspeakable experience. The civilian prisoners were transferred to Iligan by truck. Bukidnon — Several days later, both the military prisoners who numbered 44 Americans and around 700 Filipinos, and civilians who numbered 34, were put aboard a small ship and taken to Cagayan de Oro, Oriental Misamis, again suffering terribly from heat and thirst on the trip. From there they were taken by trucks to Malaybalay, where the military prisoners were be­ ing concentrated. On July 10 the civi­ lians were taken to the civilian camp at Impalutao, 20 kilometers from Ma­ laybalay, where they found civilians from Oriental Misamis as well as Bu­ kidnon already there. The civilians in Bukidnon had given themselves up at Impalutao, the day General Sharp sur­ rendered. General Sharp had surrendered on May 10, having assembled his forces, those of them who had not scattered, numbering some 9,000 Filipinos and 1,200 Americans at Malaybalay. Most of the Americans were from the Fifth Air Base, transferred to Del Monte, Bukidnon, from Clark and Nichols Fields.3 The few civilians at Butuan, 3 The General Headquarters for the VisayanMindanao forces was at Del Monte, Bukidnon, under command of Brigadier General Sharp, who after General Wainwright’s surrender at Corregidor, was for two or three days actually Commanding General of all forces in the Philip­ pines still offering resistance. Bugo and Caga­ yan de Oro, were invaded by Japanese forces May 3, 1942. The Japanese force which landed at Bugo reached Del Monte 3 days later and pushed farther inland where General Sharp's personal emissary, Colonel Morse, surrendered May 10, 1942. Wainwright had surrendered on May 6. General Sharp then sent out orders to

84

Agusan, were for a time interned in a private house there, then, on July 5, transferred with the military to Malaybalay, and some days later to Impalutao. The Davao Camp — Thirty-nine in­ ternees from Zamboanga were disem­ barked at Davao on August 21. They were taken to the Immaculate Con­ cepcion Institute, formerly a Catholic girls’ school, which had been occupied by Japanese troops. The building was so filthy that it took the Zamboanga people ten full days to clean up and bury the last of the dirt. This was the general experience wherever prisoners were put into buildings previously in­ habited by Japanese troops; reports of their high sanitary standards were untrue. On August 24, the civilians who had been interned at Impalutao, 112 of of them, arrived at the Institute, after a five-day boat-trip from Cagayan de Oro, and a month later the Japanese decided to combine the original Davao group together with the four internees from Jolo with the large group now at the Institute, transferring them all on September 22 to the so-called “Happy Life Blues Cabaret", 4 kilometers south of the city. The number was further increased on December 25, Christmas day, 1942, by a group of 15 civilians, mostly min­ ing men and their families from Surigao, and on the 31st by 42 more peo­ ple from Cotabato. In Surigao the Ja­ panese had not bothered to round them up until then, and the same thing had happened in Cotabato. On February 28, 37 more civilians were brought in from Zamboanga, most of them Pro­ testant missionaries and their wives and children. They had built a refugee camp of their own on the west coast of Zamboanga near Malayal and had been left unmolested there. But then, General Fort in Lanao, General Vachon in Co­ tabato, and the commanding officers in Zam­ boanga, Surigao, and Butuan, Agusan, all in Mindanao, and the commanding officers in the islands of Cebu, Negros, and Panay, to surrender. USAFFE officers were sent in Japanese planes to the last three islands to personally transmit the surrender order. The total number of troops in Mindanao was estimated at 35,000 Fil­ ipinos and 1,200 Americans.

STORY

without previous notice, a body of Jap­ anese soldiers crept up on them, gave them a half hour to pack what they could carry, and after setting fire to the camp, took them by launch to Zamboanga from where they had been transported to Davao. In January most of the Catholic priests were taken out of the camp and confined in the Convento in Davao City, and on December 24, 1943, a year later, the 279 civilian internees, including the priests, were put on the ship to Manila. In the case of all these various groups, the expense of maintenance was borne by the interned people them­ selves from the time of their being taken, to early in 1943. During the latter part of 1942, the Japanese in­ formed the executive committee of the Davao camp that a per capita cash allowance of 25 centavos a day would be made by the Japanese effective September 1, but not until the middle of January, 1943, was the committee informed that a deposit of funds had been made in the Davao branch of the Bank of Taiwan. Even after that, pay­ ments were always from two to four months in arrears. Out of the niggard­ ly 25-centavo allowance, the camp was required to pay not only for food, but for firewood, electric current, medical fees, and medicines. The allowance was obviously insufficient to maintain life, so individuals who could do so provid­ ed additional funds for food. Private funds were raised by a committee of businessmen. The Santo Tomas Executive Commit­ tee sent the Davao camp a total of P12,750 from the American Red Cross funds, the camp’s pro-rata share. All of this was used for the purchase ot food. No Red Cross supplies were ever received, though such supplies were actually seen by an internee detail which was sent to the Japanese bode­ gas to get the monthly rations of rice and corn. Filipino friends informed them that American cigarets were be­ ing sold by the Japanese which could only have come from Red Cross ship­ ments, as all such cigarets had long since disappeared from the market. Considering the long semi-starvation suffered by the Davao internees, the

DAVAO AS AN ENEMY COMBAT CENTER

general health was fairly well maintain­ ed, and there were only seven deaths, all of elderly people. The camp was under the command of a Japanese non-commissioned of­ ficer who had a guard of 7 men under him. Orders from the military were written out on a blotter at the guard­ house, but the sergeant and his men usually interpreted them loosely in fa­ vor of the internees. The camp was situated in a farming community, and special details of internees were allow­ ed to roam about in the vicinity of the camp to make such supply purchases as they could. Communication with family members outside was always fairly easily managed. There was always an elective com­ mittee to conduct the affairs of the camp, which varied in size from 5 to 12 members, the term of office vary­ ing from 2 to 4 months, with some reelections. As compared to Santo Tomas, the camp was small and the functions of the committee were kept down as far as possible. Even an attempt to draw up a general code of rules was voted down, the majority of the inter­ nees feeling, according to one of them, that the committee “did not have the wisdom to be entrusted with enforc­ ing any code".4 Three of the five members of the last committee were clergymen, this be­ ing chiefly accounted for by the fact that the internees had learned from 4 A lay member of the committee said as to this: "This observation concerning the governing com­ mittee is inaccurate, misleading, and biased. Early in the history of the camp the executive committee consisted of representatives from the geographical groups in the camp. This com­ mittee became unwieldy, so an election was called to elect a new executive board at large of 5 members. This committee had broad powers and was supported fully by a majority of the camp. . . . The fact of the matter is that the internees did not want the executive board restricted by a set code but wanted them to feel free to act without anything to hinder them as conditions changed. The code was proposed in order to test the sentiment, but met with the opposition of both the executive committee and voters. The committee members were men of ability and did an excellent job of running the camp.”

85

experience that the only entity the Jap­ anese appeared to have some respect for was the Church. After the Impalutao group arrived in Davao and was combined with the Davao group, J.M. Crawford was chairman, assisted by N. Wadsworth, Father Ewing, Rev. Downs and E.M. Smoyer. Crawford and Downs left shortly thereafter for Manila. Fa­ ther Ewing, Wadsworth, and Walter Tong, served at various times as chair­ men of the consolidated group. The Japanese were in general indif­ ferent to the disorders and the crimi­ nality rampant especially in Sulu and in Lanao. They were content to hold a few strategic places and dug in there. Later they permitted the organization of constabulary units and these in co­ operation with leading men in the dif­ ferent areas brought about some re­ turn to more orderly conditions. In many large areas the guerrillas were more or less in control. Guerrilla ac­ tivity in Davao province dwindled as many of them returned to their own provinces. The Japanese commanding officer in Davao was at one time quoted in the local "newspapers" as saying that Da­ vao would be developed into a "com­ bat" as well as a supply center. There was from the first a good deal of Jap­ anese activity in the area, and late in 1943 the Japanese began to advertise openly for labor; they wanted thou­ sands of men. The internees heard that they planned to set aside 10 square kilo­ meters around Davao City as a military area and would close all civilian estab­ lishments within this area. Within a half kilometer of the internee camp the Japanese were building a large airfield with 14 separate runways, but smaller airfields were being built in numerous other places, evidently to avoid too much concentration anywhere. Ware­ houses and barracks were also scatter­ ed over a wide area. Blasting opera­ tions were going on on Samal island, op­ posite Davao City, and in the hills back of the city, evidently in the construc­ tion of gun emplacements. The work went on night and day. It was very evident to the people in the internment camp that early attack was expected.

The Country The Enemy Rule of the Country

Chapter IV October, 1943 to February, 1944 I THE "REPUBLIC” The "Confidential Agreements" — In February, 1944, reports of a determined American naval and air attack on the Gilbert and Marshall Islands, the an­ nouncement that blackout practice would shortly be undertaken in Manila, and similar hopeful indications,1 made it seem desirable to bring the record of the enemy rule of the country up to date. Political and economic developments ever tending further downward had been intensely interesting during the three or four months following the establishment of the "independent and sovereign” Republic of the Philippines. As they were quoted in the still ex­ clusively Japanese-owned press, Filipi­ no officials emphasized the alleged "reality of independence” on every oc­ casion. At a dinner at Malacanan in honor of Ambassador Vargas, Laurel pointed out that "for the first time in its history the Philippines now has the honor of being able to send diplomatic missions abroad, which is certainly proof of her sovereignty, statehood, and independence”. But everyone knew better. The actual status of the govern­ 1 Note (1945) — The Americans landed at Kwajalein (Marshalls) on January 31, 1944, and invaded the Admiralty Islands beginning February 29. Leningrad was freed from the Germans on Jan­ uary 27.

ment of the Republic was delicately revealed in the Tribune on one occa­ sion when S. Takaishi, chairman of the board of the Mainichi publishing house, on a visit to Manila, was re ported to have made his official cour­ tesy calls first at the headquarters of the Imperial Japanese Army, second at the headquarters of the Imperial Jap­ anese Navy, third at the Japanese Em­ bassy, fourth at Malacanan, and fifth at the Japanese Consulate. ( Tribune, January 28.) The hollowness of Philippine inde­ pendence was so apparent from the first to every eye that copies of two mimeographed memoranda w h i c h reached individuals in the Santo Tomas camp, caused no surprise. These me­ moranda were designated as confiden­ tial and were seemingly intended only for the perusal of the higher Filipino officials. The first memorandum was headed "Basic Principles and Policies” and the second, which entered into greater particulars, was entitled "Memoran­ dum on Questions between Japan and the Philippines arising from the Philip­ pine Independence”. The latter alluded to "the undersigned”, but bore no names and neither document was dat­ ed. The text however, referred to the establishment of the Republic and the Pact of Amity and Alliance. The memo­ randa outlined the "understanding" ar­ rived at for Japanese control of cer86

THE JAPANESE RETAIN ALL

tain major industries and industrial es­ tablishments, including mines, sugar mills, machinery, manufacturing, and repair plants, shipyards, and munition factories, also of the principal sawmills and electric enterprises, of the distribu­ tion of liquid fuels; of enterprises con­ nected with the production and dis­ tribution of raw cotton, Manila hemp, coconuts; of means of transportation and communication, including the con­ trol of harbors; of the country’s financ­ es and currency; of all trade in "im­ portant commodities", etc. Ostensibly this control was to be exercised only during the prosecution of the war of Greater East Asia, but the phraseology was so ambiguous, obviously intention­ al, that textual criticism here would only be a waste of space. The two me­ moranda quite offset the correspond­ ing provisions in the "Constitution”.2 The memoranda follow in full, unedited: "CONFIDENTIAL "Basic Principles and Policies "The independence of the Philippines having been proclaimed and the Republic of the Philip­ pines duly established and a Pact of Amnity [sic] and Alliance having been concluded between Japan and the Philippines based principally on the recognition by Japan of the Philippines as an independent state and on the mutual res­ pect of sovereignty and territories, the follow­ ing understanding has been reached by the two Governments: "I. Title to all State and Public Property belonging or appertaining to the Filipino people and to the former government of the Philip­ pines, its political subdivisions and instrumen­ talities, at the inception of the Greater East Asia War, including all military and other re­ servations, shall be considered as vested in the people and the Republic of the Philippines as of the date of the establishment of the Re­ public. “II. Pursuant to the Pact of Amnity and Al­ liance above-mentioned, the two Governments shall enter into agreements regarding the oc­ cupation during the Greater East Asia War of military establishments and other public Note (1945) — The author, as adviser to Pres­ ident Osmena after the liberation found these documents in the Malacanan records section. Later, Senator Recto informed the author that he had been unaware of even the existence of these agreements, though he was then "Minister of Foreign Affairs.” 2

87 properties required by the Imperial Japanese Forces for military operations. "III. Pursuant to the same Pact, the Phil­ ippine Government shall make the necessary adjustments in the management, operation, and utilization of certain properties and enterprises required to facilitate military operations to be undertaken by Japan, in accordance with the following conditions: "(1) All corporations, associations, and other entities organized and/or entrusted with governmental or semi-governmental functions shall be owned and managed exclusively by the Philippine Government, and all such corpora­ tions, associations, and entities as may have been heretofore organized, controlled, or ad­ ministered by the Japanese authorities shall be forthwith turned over to the Philippine Government; provided, however, that the Phil­ ippine government and the Japanese Govern­ ment may agree upon the utilization, manage­ ment, or operation by the latter for the du­ ration of the Greater East Asia War, of the following entities and properties: "(a) Manila Railroad Co., including the main motor car transportation lines now un­ der the Rikuun Kanri Kyuku (Bureau of Land Transportation Management): "(b) The main marine transportation lines with [in] the territory of the Philippines, now under the management of the Hito Unko Bu (Philippine Marine Transportation Company); "(c) Cebu Portland Cement Company; "(d) All electrical enterprises, including the National Power Corporation and the electrical plant belonging to the City of Baguio; (e) Principal machinery, manufacturing and repairing factories; "(f) Principal shipyards, and "(g) Munition factories. "(2) Should the Philippine Government con­ sider that any of the corporations and en­ tities referred to in Paragraph (1) have already achieved their governmental purposes, and should decide to organize new entities to un­ dertake the same activities exclusively for pro­ fit, the Philippine Government may organize new enterprises to take over such activities wherein Japanese interests may subscribe to not more than 40% of their capitalization. In all of these ventures, the cooperation of the Japanese government may be sought in regard to technical assistance and proper financial facilities. In enterprises established for purely private ends, Filipino citizens and Japanese subjects will be free to share in their organ­ ization and capitalization, in any proportion they may decide, subject only to the limita­ tions of the Constitution. "(3) All mines essential for the production of war materials such as copper, manganese, and chromium, which are owned and/or con­ trolled by the Philippine Government shall re­ main with the Japanese Government for exploi­ tation and utilization for the duration of the Greater East Asia War. This condition shall extend to the exploitation and utilization of lumber and other natural resources required for military operations.

88 "(4) Air transportation, main overseas ma­ rine transportation, overseas electric commu­ nication, and radio broadcasting shall be ope­ rated by the Japanese authorities exclusively during the prosecution of the Greater East Asia War. However, the above-mentioned enterprises, except overseas air transportation, may be transferred to the Philippine Government even in the course of the prosecution of the Greater East Asia War, if circumstances permit. "(5) Harbors of military importance shall be under the control of the Japanese authorities when required for military operations in the course of Greater East Asia War. "IV. During the prosecution of the Greater East Asia War, the two governments shall hold consultations on all matters affecting trade be­ tween the Philippines and Japan and other regions, foreign exchange and other financial measures related to foreign countries. With re­ gard to tariff and trade on important commo­ dities, the following conditions shall be taken into consideration: "(1) In prescribing tariff rates, considera­ tion shall be given to the mode of wartime trade between the Philippines and Japan and other regions, and the collection of duties in principal ports of the Philippines shall be ef­ fected to conform to the exigencies of the control of harbors by the Japanese authorities. For the time being, until more convenient arrangements can be made, the collection of such duties shall be effected by Japanese au­ thorities on behalf of the Philippine govern­ ment. "(2) Trade in important commodities be­ tween the Philippines and Japan and other regions shall be under the supervision and con­ trol of the Japanese Government during the prosecution of the Greater East Asia War, pro­ vided, that due consideration shall be given to Filipino citizens who desire to engage in such trade or business. Trade in other commo­ dities shall be placed at the disposal of the Philippine government. "V. The control of the nationals] of the countries that are in a state of war or have severed relations with Japan, who at present reside in the Philippines, shall be effected by Japanese authorities and the Philippine Govern­ ment shall extend to the former such coopera­ tion as may be needed. Nationals of other countries and persons without nationality or owing no allegiance to any country shall be under the control and supervision of the Philip­ pine Government, and the Japanese authorities shall extend to the former such assistance as may be needed. "VI. Enemy properties not required by the Japanese Government for prosecution of the Greater East Asia War shall be transferred to the Philippine Government and their ownership and management shall be subjected to future negotiations between the two governments. "VII. Subject to the limitations provided in the Constitution, the Philippine Government shall accord to Japanese subjects equal treat­ ment as that accorded to Filipino citizens by the Japanese Government.”

THE COUNTRY "CONFIDENTIAL "Memorandum on Questions between Japan and the Philippines Arising from the Philip­ pine Independence. "The undersigned, having reached the follow­ ing understanding on questions between Japan and the Philippines arising from the latter’s independence, have made out the present me­ morandum. "(A) Industries “I. In view of the necessity of meeting the demands of the Japanese forces during the prosecution of the Greater East Asia War, the Japanese forces shall exclusively manage the mines, factories, and workshops listed below, for which the Philippine Government shall pro­ vide appropriate exceptions in respect of the exercise of its administrative power. "The control associations and similar organ­ izations connected with such mines, factories, or workshops shall be directly subject to the guidance and supervision of the Japanese forces. Measures to protect the shares on non­ enemy character of such mines, factories, or workshops shall be devised by the Japanese Forces. (1) Mines: (a) Copper mines (including gold mines containing copper); (b) Manganese mines; (c) Chromium mines; (d) Other mines needed by Japan for the Greater East Asia War; (2) Butanol factories and sugar mills in­ tended for the production of butanol; (3) Principal machinery manufacturing and repairing factories; (4) Principal shipyards; (5) Munition factories. "The enterprises other than those listed above shall be transferred to the Philippine Government. "The Philippine Government shall pay atten­ tion not to hamper the economic activities of Japanese subjects and Japanese enterprises. With regard to the under-mentioned enterprises in particular, which are closely connected with the prosecution of the Greater East Asia War, the Philippine Government shall especially en­ sure the improvement of efficiency and the increase of production by way of capital par­ ticipation and financial and technical assistance of Japan. "Pending the completion of the procedure of transference, the status quo shall be main­ tained in respect of the enterprises to be trans­ ferred and the guidance and supervision of the control associations and similar organiza­ tions connected with these enterprises. (1) Mines other than listed in Item 1; (2) Shipyards and manufacturing and re­ pairing factories other than mentioned in Item 1; (3) Workshops for motor-car repair and as­ sembly; (4) Principal saw-mills; (5) Electric enterprises; (6) Distribution of fluid fuels; (7) Enterprises connected with the planta­ tion and the collection of raw cotton;

EVERYTHING “AS HERETOFORE"

89

(8) Enterprises connected with the pur­trade stipulated in (D), while the collection of chase, collection, and processing of Manila duties in principal ports shall be effected for hemp and other similar fibers and coconuts, the time being by the Japanese authorities on "(B) Transportation and Communication behalf of the Philippine Authorities. "I. Air transportation, main overseas marine "IV. Pending the completion of a new note­ transportation, overseas electric communication, issuing system of the Philippines, the present and radio broadcasting shall be operated by the issuance of the military notes by the Southern Japanese forces exclusively during the prose­ Development Bank shall be continued. cution of the Greater East Asia War, while the "V. With regard to foreign exchange and Philippine authorities shall provide the Japan­ financial and currency measures related to ese forces with all facilities in this regard. How­ foreign countries, the Philippine Government ever, the above-mentioned enterprises, except shall consult previously with the Japanese Gov­ overseas air transportation, may be transferred ernment. to the Philippine Government even in the course "(D) Trade of the prosecution of the Greater East Asia "I. The trade of the Philippines in impor­ War, if circumstances permit. tant commodities with Japan and with other "II. The harbors that are of military im­ regions shall be conducted directly by the Jap­ portance shall be managed and operated by the anese Government during the prosecution of Japanese forces for the time being. the Greater East Asia War, provided that due - "III. With regard to main marine transpor­ consideration be given to the interest to be tation lines within the territory of the Philip­ shared by Philippine firms in the actual hand­ pines, the Hi to Unko Bu (The Philippine Marine ling of such commodities. The control associa­ Transportation Company) shall be reorganized tions and similar organizations connected with as soon as possible into a corporation of Phil­ trade shall be directly subject to the guidance ippine nationality, jointly owned and managed and the supervision of the Japanese forces by Japanese and Filipinos, which shall be charg­ "II. The trade other than mentioned in the ed to conduct the unified management of the preceding paragraph shall be assigned as far said lines. Procedures to realize the above ef­ as possible to the disposal of the Philippine fect shall be decided upon by consultation. Government. “However, the Japanese shipping enterprises "(E) Enemy Property may operate on these lines for the time being. "I. The enemy property that was owned by "IV. The railroad (including the main mo­ the former Philippine Government of [or?] lo­ tor-car transportation lines now under the man­ cal governments shall be transferred without agement of the Rikuun Kanri Kyoku (The Bu­ compensation to the new Government. reau of the Management of Land Transporta­ "II. The enemy property falling under item tion), and the internal electric communication I of (A) or item I of (B) shall be managed shall be transferred to the Philippine Govern­ by the Japanese forces as heretofore. ment as soon as possible. "III. The Philippine Government shall adopt "The two Governments shall in mutual co­ measures for the prohibition of the transference operation adopt necessary measures to main­ of enemy property, and cooperate with the tain the existing unified management of each Japanese forces in the administration of enemy of the said enterprises even after their trans­ property. ference. The Philippine Government shall there­ "(F) Enemy Nationals after obtain capital participation, and financial "The control of the nationals of the coun­ and technical assistance from Japan. tries that are in a state of war or have severed "In operating these enterprises, the Philip­ relations with Japan, who at present reside in pine Government shall give priority to the mili­ the Philippines, shall be effected by the Japan­ tary requirements of the Japanese forces. ese authorities stationed in the Philippines, and "Procedure to realize the effect mentioned the Philippine authorities shall extend to the in the preceding three paragraphs, shall be former such cooperation as may be needed. decided by consultation, except the cases falling "In order to effect perfect and smooth ope­ under Item III of (E). ration, particularly, in the economic field, be­ "(C) Finance and Currency tween Japan and the Philippines, the Philippine "I. The deficit of the revenue of the Philip­ Government shall, in respect of the enjoyment pine Government, which will inevitably occur of civil rights, etc., accord Japanese subjects immediately after her independence, shall be such treatment not unfavorable compared with partly made up by bond issues of the new that of the Philippine nationals.” Government and the remainder by the Japanese Government by way of loans from the Southern Development Bank; however, the Philippine Gov­ The Tokyo "Congress" — That Lau­ ernment shall exert adequate efforts to ensure rel, Recto, Paredes, and Assemblyman as soon as possible its financial independence. "II. The Philippine Government shall, in Jose B. Laurel Jr., Secretary to the making up the budget appropriate the expen­ diture necessary for her cooperation with Japan President, had flown from Manila to in the prosecution of the Greater East Asia War. Tokyo on October 30, to attend the "HI. During the prosecution of the Greater East Asia War, the Philippine Government shall "Greater East Asia Congress”, was not consult previously with the Japanese Govern­ known to newspaper readers until al­ ment in prescribing the tariff rates, as they are related to the mde [mode?] of war-time most a week later, November 5, when

90

the Tribune published a Tokyo dis­ patch of the 4th stating that Laurel and the heads of the delegations from China, Thailand, Manchukuo, Burma, and Free India had been received in audience by the Emperor. The Free India delegation was to attend the Con­ gress only as observers. The aim of the Congress was said to be "to discuss ways and means of attaining the pur­ pose of the Greater East Asia Co-Pros­ perity Sphere on the basis of good neighborliness, amity, and friendly co­ operation”. It was held on the 5th and 6th, and Laurel was quoted as having said in a speech on the first day that it was "the duty of every nation in the Co-Prosperity Sphere to extend full material support to Nippon to enable her to attain the final victory without which an independent Philippines or a free Burma can not exist". He was re­ ported to have ’’pledged unreserved ef­ forts in extending spiritual and mate­ rial cooperation” and that "to make public this sentiment was the main object of his attending the Congress”. Concluding, he said that "since this is a holy war, God will be with the Asians to enable them to overcome every hard­ ship and thereby realize the emancipa­ tion of Greater East Asia”. (November 6.)3 A reproduction of a photograph of the Congress filled the whole upper half of the front page of the Tribune of November 13, showing a small room and tables arranged in the shape of a "U” as in the photographs of sessions of the League of Nations at Geneva. There was not wanting even a diagram of the seating arrangements of the six (count them) delegates. At the head of the table sat Tojo with Shimada, Navy Minister, Aoki, Greater East Asia Min­ ister, and Shigemitsu, Foreign Minister, 3 Dates in parentheses indicate issues of the Tribune of that date, unless otherwise stated.

THE COUNTRY

ranged behind him. On the side of the table to Tojo’s right sat Wang ChingWei of the Chinese "National" Govern­ ment, Chang Ching-hui of Manchukuo, and Ba Maw of Burma, in that order. To Tojo's left sat Wan Waithayakon of Thailand, Laurel, and Bose. Three Jap­ anese women stenographers, in kimo­ nos, sat at a small table in the fore­ ground opposite Tojo. Crowded behind the main figures on both sides of the room were several rows of people, members of the various delegations and others. On the morning of the second and last day of the Congress, a Japanese representative "submitted a Joint Dec­ laration”, the representatives of all the participating nation "commented brief­ ly” on the draft, and that afternoon they all "voted as one man for its adoption”, so said Laurel on his return to the Philippines. Tojo in closing the Congress made a speech in which he "stressed that the current war is not Japan’s war but the war of all nations in this region”. The next day, the 7th, a mass rally was held in Tokyo in honor of the "leaders” of the East Asia nations and a resolu­ tion was adopted which stated: "Whereas our common enemy, Britain and the United States, are repeating their persistent counter-attacks for the wanton purpose of wrest­ ling Greater East Asia from peoples of Greater East Asia, let it be hereby resolved that the en­ tire Greater East Asia should unite in the full realization of its common mission, call forth its total fighting strength. . . ”

Laurel was worked hard. He made or was made to issue a press statement saying that through the Joint Declara­ tion — "the members of the Asiatic bloc are pledged to a solemn act of self-defense. With malice toward none, we the peoples of Greater East Asia are determined to preserved intact and inviolate our national heritage, to live our own life free from outside interference, and to secure for ourselves and our posterity our rightful place under the

THE TOKYO “JOINT DECLARATION" sun. The Filipino people ... are ready and willing to endure greater hardships and make further sacrifices to enable Japan to fulfill her sacred mission”. (November 9.)

The next day Laurel spoke over the Tokyo radio, appealing to the people of Greater East Asia to "indissolubly band together that they may with ef­ ficacy fight Western imperialism and emancipate themselves from its poli­ tical domination and economic exploi­ tation and live a life that is their own”. He said he was "privileged to speak to the whole world from Tokyo” and argued that — "outside powers. . . have no reason to differ with us on the maintenance and enforcement in our own hemisphere of the ideals and principles which we entertain and which we consider vital to our very existences and well being; in the same way, perhaps, we will have no quarrel with any of them with reference to the manner in which they solve their problems involving solely their internal security and domestic economy.” (November 10.)

Laurel and the others returned to Manila on the 13th and the Tribune of the next day printed a photograph showing him, diplomatic top hat in hand, being welcomed back by Ambas­ sador Murata. He told the reporters that he had "already been feeling a little ill” when he left Manila and that on the trip to Japan he had caught cold and developed a fever; Tojo kindly sent a doctor to attend to him. Laurel said that the Philippine delegation to the Congress had been the smallest. He also said that he had had no "ready­ made speeches” and that the "transla­ tions into Japanese and Chinese had to be made after he finished”. Was this a hint that he was not responsible for what he was reported to have said? He sent Tojo a courtesy message, and the latter telegraphed back, thanking him for his message "on return home for the sake of the successful prosecu­ tion of the present war. . . I surely

91

hope your Excellency will redouble your efforts at this most' important time.” (November 28.) The Tokyo "Joint Declaration' — Murata had called the Tokyo Declara­ tion "The Greater East Asia Charter”. The Cabinet spokesman in Tokyo had stated that the five principles it em­ bodied "are eternal and applicable to all mankind regardless of time and space”. (November 12.) Confused and repetitious, the Decla­ ration, in fact, defied summarization, although attempts at this were made. Murata said that the Charter was (stealing from Churchill) "born out of the blood, sweat, tears, and endurance” of the "one billion people of Greater East Asia”, that it “crystalized and manifested” the "solidarity” of the peo­ ple of Greater East Asia, and that it was a "bolt that shocked the very foun­ dations of the enemy camp”. The five basic principles enumerated were, he said: (1) common prosperity, (2) in­ dependence and fraternity, (3) ex­ change of culture, (4) economic pros­ perity, and (5) abolition of racial dis­ crimination, promotion of cultural in­ tercourse, and opening up of resources, thereby to contribute to the progress of mankind. (December 8.)4 4 The full text follows: “It is a basic principle for the establish­ ment of world peace that the nations of the world have each its proper place and enjoy prosperity in common through mutual aid and assistance. “The United States of America and the British Empire have, in seeking their own prosperity, oppressed other nations and peoples. Especially in East Asia, they indulged in insatiable aggres­ sion and exploitation, sought to satisfy their incredible ambition of enslaving the entire re­ gion, and finally came to menace seriously the stability of East Asia. Herein lies the cause of the present war. “The countries of Greater East Asia, with a view to contributing to the cause of world peace, undertake to cooperate toward prosecuting the War of Greater East Asia to a successful conclu­ sion, liberating their region from the yoke of British-American domination, ensuring their self­ existence and self-defense and constructing a

92

No wonder that Ba Maw, the Bur­ mese, when he was asked in Tokyo what he believed to be the most im­ portant article of the Declaration, an­ swered cannily: "All the articles in the Declaration are equally important . (November 9.) And as for “incredible ambition”, — Ambassador Murata gave a tea-party to third power nationals at which he said: "The supreme ideal of Japan is to bring about perfect harmony and balance between any and everything that exists in the universe. In order to attain this idea, every animate and inanimate being in the universe must be given its due place .. . We are endeavoring to realize the peace of the world in pursuance of our supreme ideal, and we are confident of its realization.” (Nov­ ember 7.)

Recognition of "Free India”—Among other of the "acts of sovereignty” of the Philippine Republic was the recog­ nition on October 29 of the "Provision­ al Government of Free India” at Singa­ pore, headed by Subhas Chandra Bose, as reported in the Tribune the next day. Indians in Manila were reported to hail the recognition. The "Colossus” Greater East Asia in accordance with the follow­ ing principles: "1. The countries of Greater East Asia, through mutual cooperation, will ensure the stability of their region and construct an order of common prosperity and well-being based upon justice. "2. The countries of Greater East Asia will ensure the fraternity of the nations in their region by respecting one another's sovereignty and independence and practicing mutual assis­ tance and amity. "3. The countries of Greater East Asia, by respecting one another’s traditions and develop­ ing the faculties of each race, will enhance the culture and civilization of Greater East Asia. "4. The countries of Greater East Asia will endeavor to accelerate their economic develop­ ment through close cooperation upon a basis of reciprocity and promote thereby the general prosperity of their region. "5. The countries of Greater East Asia will cultivate friendly relations with all the countries of the world and work for the abolition of racial discrimination, the promotion of cultural inter­ course, and the opening up of the resources throughout the world and contribute thereby to the progress of mankind.”

THE COUNTRY

Bose, dressed in a military uniform, visited Manila during the latter part of November, arriving on the 22nd. He stayed at Malacanan and kept a "tem­ porary office” there. A "rally” of the Indians in Manila was held the next day, and he stated in a press interview that the "New Order has proved the altruistic aims of Japan”. "Mr. Bose emphasized that there is one read­ justment which the Filipinos will have to make and this is to cease thinking of America. The attitude toward America in the past must be eradicated. While, like the Filipinos, India has looked up to America as the land of liberty, we have come to realize that the United States has been unmasked as an imperialist nation seeking to succeed the crumbling British Empire and seeking, under the cloak of liberalism, the economic domination of the world”. (Novem­ ber 24.)

Bose left for Saigon on the 24th, after "donating P125,000 to the Philip­ pines to be expended at the discretion of the President". (November 26.) The money, no doubt, was in Japanese warnotes handed to him. Ambassador Vargas — The appoint­ ment of Vargas as Ambassador to Ja­ pan was announced on October 23, and he was invested at a brief ceremony at Malacanan on the 25th. He did not ac­ tually go to Tokyo until more than three months later. On December 17, Laurel appointed Justice F. Lavides as counsellor, F. Sy-Changco and L. M. Guerrero as second secretaries, and J. Carmona as third secretary and finance officer. On January 20, 1944, Laurel recommended a bill to the Assembly authorizing the purchase of the "neces­ sary edifice” at Tokyo, which, with "the equipment and furnishings” would cost P1,000,000.5 The bill was passed the 5 Note (Postwar) — This purchase of a 3-story building in Tokyo involved the telegraphic trans­ fer of the funds as the building was paid for in Tokyo in yen (Y 1,000,000). It was only slightly damaged during the war and is today still the property of the Philippine Government, at this

THE AMNESTY PROCLAMATION

next day. On February 5, Laurel gave a dinner in honor of Vargas and in the course of a speech made the remark already referred to as to the “honor of being able to send diplomatic missions abroad" being "proof" of the "sovere­ ignty, statehood, and independence” of the Philippines. He also said that Var­ gas was "greatly responsible for bring­ ing about the present happy state of affairs in the Philippines". Vargas, in reply, "stressed the imperative need of maintaining the utmost cordiality and harmony between Japan and the Philip­ pines”. “He said that Nippon-Philippine relations can not be based on the traditional diplomacy of intrigue, suspicion, and distrust, but on the diplomacy of an open mind and an open heart, with each side willing to see the other side without prejudices or disbeliefs and willing to help the other without secret reservations or breaches of trust”.

This report of the speech must have been written by a suspicious Japanese. (February 6.) The Tribune of the 11th reported that Vargas had left for Tok­ yo on the 9th, accompanied by his staff and two of his children, Gregorio, 19, and Teresita, 15, "who will study in Japan”. He was seen off by prominent Japanese and Filipino officials and there was the usual photograph. Laurel’s Amnesty Proclamation — On November 25, within two weeks after his return from Tokyo, Laurel issued his Amnesty Proclamation, granting not only amnesty to "all citizens of the Philippines responsible for the crimes and offenses of sedition, illicit associa­ writing housing the Philippine Mission headed by Ambassador Melencio. It was purchased in March, 1944, the deed being made out in the name of Jorge B. Vargas as Philippine Ambas­ sador as the Japanese claimed it could not be held in the name of the "Philippine Republic”. After the American occupation of Japan, the Am­ erican authorities wished to take the building over as alien property, but Vargas prevented this by pointing out that, having been paid for by money raised by taxation in the Philippines, it was Philippine property.

93

tion, engaging in guerrilla activities or aiding and abetting those so engaged, or spreading false rumors and for all crimes and offenses political in nature, committed against the laws of the Phil­ ippines”, but a "full and complete par­ don to all those citizens finally convict­ ed by the civil tsid courts and now undergoing punishment for crimes and offenses of the same category". The be­ nefits of this Amnesty might be avail­ ed of for 60 days after its promulga­ tion, except in the Visayas and Minda­ nao and Sulu, where the proclamation would be deemed promulgated as of the date on which copies were received by the various cities, municipalities, and municipal districts. Every person who availed himself of the benefits of the Amnesty was to subscribe to an oath before any officer authorized to administer oaths, swearing that he re­ cognized and accepted the supreme au­ thority of the Republic of the Philip­ pines and that he would support and defend the Constitution of the Repu­ blic, and would obey the laws, legal or­ ders, and decrees promulgated by the duly constituted authorities. Laurel also appointed an Amnesty Board, composed of Gen. J. de los Re­ yes, Gen. J. Cailles, and Gen. M. Capinpin, the duty of which was to con­ tact and confer with guerrilla heads for the purpose of arranging their surren­ der, and to compile a roster of those who availed themselves of the benefits of the Amnesty. Two months later. Minister of Jus­ tice Sison was reported to have "re­ vealed that President Laurel had as­ sumed direct responsibility for the complete restoration of peace and or­ der in the Philippines”. (January 26.) A week after that, Colonel Nagahama, chief of the Japanese Military Police, was quoted as saying that the Military Police had “suspended all punitive

94

operations against the guerrillas dur­ ing the 60-day period covered by the Amnesty Proclamation in order to give guerrillas ample opportunity to avail themselves of the benefits offered them by the Government." (February 1.) It is to be noted that the provisions of the Proclamation applied only to political crimes and offenses commit­ ted against "the laws of the Philip­ pines” and that the promised pardon applied only in the case of those con­ victed by the "civil courts". Nothing was said about crimes and offenses in violation of Japanese military orders and convictions in "military courts”. Even before the promulgation of the Amnesty Proclamation, the October 26 Tribune ran a front-page banner head­ line: “Army Frees 79 Prisoners". The paper reported that the military had reduced the sentences of 52 others, con­ victed of "violating military laws", and confined at Muntinlupa. This "amnes­ ty” was said to be "Japan's gift to the Republic”. A representative of the Highest Commander was quoted as having said to those released: “It is our great desire that you people will understand the spirit of Japan and will not dis­ appoint her expectations. You people should never again repeat your past blunders. You peo­ ple once refused to accept the loving hands of Nippon. Now you have reformed and repented for your mistakes. For this reason the Imperial Army has pardoned you.”

According to the November 14 Tri­ bune 33 members of "ROTC guerrilla units", confined at Fort Santiago, in­ cluding "a woman caught some time ago”, had been released the day before by the Japanese Military Police after they had "undergone spiritual rejuve­ nation”. And the issue of December 10 reported that “through the inter­ cession of President Laurel”, 18 guer­ rillas had been released from Fort Santiago, these being "the only remain­

THE COUNTRY

ing political prisoners who had still been confined there”. However, early in February, 1944, it became known in the Santo Tomas camp that some 40 prominent Spa­ niards and Filipinos and a Jewish busi­ nessman of European nationality had been taken to Fort Santiago accused of aiding guerrillas. Among them were Juan and Manuel Elizalde, brothers of the Philippine Resident Commissioner in Washington. As to the results of the "Amnesty Drive” instituted by Laurel, more will be said later. Session of the Assembly — The na­ tional Assembly opened its first regu­ lar session on November 25, the period of session being 60 days, exclusive of Sundays, According to a Tribune edi­ torial of that date, "a more auspicious occasion is hard to find these days of nation-building”. Laurel in his message, which he delivered in person, called on the members to do their duty as Fili­ pinos and to help the Executive and our government to “tide the people over to better times”. He spoke of the significance and achievements of the Greater East Asia Congress, calling this the "greatest event in the history of the peoples of East Asia”. He asked that the Assembly take prompt measures to remedy the existing food shortage and the disruption of transportation, and in speaking of the gravity of the economic problems that faced the country he said, "Only the spirit can save us. We must live. We can not let the Filipino nation die”. Evidently, he was not thinking of the "auspicious­ ness” of the occasion. "My problems are difficult, even dangerous. As long as I am needed by my people and have the strength, I am determined to go ahead. We can not abandon the peo­ ple”. Speaking of the men in the gov­ ernment, he said that they were not

THE BUDGET

in the service “for wealth, glory, or glamour, for there are no such things in the government in these crucial days. We are simply following in the foot­ steps of our heroes and martyrs. If we can not say that we have died for our country, at least we have endeavored to serve her with all our hearts and our souls.” Was this a confession and an apology? Was it the simple truth? Forty-one bills were given first reading on the 26th and a number of committees were formed, and •more of them during the next few days. On December 2 the As­ sembly approved the first bill, a measure creating the Office of Food Administrator, under which all food control agencies, such as Naric and Primco were to be grouped. The Chief administrator was to be appointed by the President and would have the rank and salary of a minister of state. The bill had been introduced by a special committee which had "investigated the foodstuff situation and the causes of high prices and uneven distribution”. The Budget — On the 7th, Laurel submitted the budget, asking the As­ sembly "to approve it as submitted”, and he asked the finance committee to "act promptly and report as soon as possible so that the whole legislative body could deliberate and act on the measure within this month”. (Decem­ ber 8.) The budget as submitted estimated the or­ dinary revenues of the government at P54,052,560, which, plus the "unencumbered surplus of 1943", P590,367.97, and "extraordinary income” of P62,000,000, made a total of PI 16,642,927.97. The extraordinary income was expected to consist of P60,000,000 to be raised through a bond issue and P2,000,000 in "contributions from the Jap­ anese Imperial Army". Ordinary expenditures recommended amount­ ed to F54,227,470, and the extraordinary to P60,564,140, or a total of PI 14,841,610, which promised a surplus at the end of the year of PI,801,317.97.

95 The ordinary and extraordinary expenditures together were submitted in accordance with va­ rious ministries, as follows: Office of the Presi­ dent, P5,630,140; Foreign Affairs, PI,250,500; In­ terior, P53,182,160; Finance, P6,575,700; Justice, P2,700,590; Agriculture and Commerce, P8,992,500; Education, Health and Public Welfare, P19,569,470; Public Works and Communications, P9,092,860; National Assembly, PI,126,060; Supreme Court, P141.350; General, P6,580,280.

The appropriations recommended for Education, Health and Public Welfare, and for Public Works and Communica­ tions, were but shadows of the normal appropriations for the corresponding departments, but the appropriation for the Ministry of the Interior was away out of proportion. The Constabulary was under this Ministry and Laurel "proposed that expenditures anent the expansion of the Constabulary be borne from the proceeds of bond issues that the government proposes to issue.” (December 9.) This was apparently not in accordance with the "confidential agreement” with the Japanese, this stating that "the deficit of the revenue of the Philippine Government, which will inevitably occur immediately after independence, shall be partly made up by bond issues of the new Govern­ ment and the remainder by the Japannese Government by way of loans from the Southern Development Bank”. The whole amount needed by the Japanese for the "expansion of the Constabu­ lary” was to be squeezed out of the people of the country, and more, too, as will be seen. A bill authorizing a bond issue of PI00,000,000 was passed by the Assem­ bly on December 20. The bonds were to be tax-free and acceptable at par as security in any transaction in which security was required. (December 21.) On December 31 it was announced that Laurel had signed the bill and the Tri­ bune stated that bonds for the amount authorized might be issued in one or

96

more series, for a term not to exceed 30 years and bearing interest at a rate not to exceed 4%. The President might authorize the sale in installments pro­ vided the payments were not extended beyond a period of six months. It was also stated that a permanent annual appropriation would provide the sink­ ing fund for the payment of the bonds. The proceeds of the sale were to be used “for the restoration and mainte­ nance of peace, including the expenses for the expansion of the Constabulary, and for covering unavoidable deficien­ cies in the ordinary expenditures of the government that can not be covered by the ordinary income". In its issue of January 12, the Tribune reported that the sale of the P100,000,000 worth of bonds would be "easy" as indicated by the — "enthusiasm shown by banking institutions, insurance and surety firms, and other business entities, as well as private individuals. . . many of them signifying readiness to get millions worth of the issue. . . The willingness to buy the bonds expressed even while the bill was under consideration, was partly responsible for the upward revision of the total amount of issue from P60,000,000 to P100,000,000.”

The Assembly passed the budget bill on the 21st just before recessing for the holidays. As passed, the budget to­ talled P121,843,407, or P7,001,797 more than the total of the budget as first proposed, which did not include ap­ propriations for the Kalibapi and the newly created Food Administration of­ fice. The figures as published in the Tribune De­ cember 22, were not comparable to the figures of the proposed budget because the latter in­ cluded the ordinary and extraordinary figures together for each ministry, while the new figures by ministries gave only the ordinary expenditures, as follows: Office of the President, P2,260,750; Foreign Affairs, PI ,099,460; Interior, P10,398,360; Finance, P6,586,080; Justice, P2,796,210; Agriculture and Commerce, P5,635,670; Education, Health and Public Welfare, P20,570,130; Public Works and Communications, F8,049,140; Assembly, Pl,-

THE COUNTRY 396,260; Supreme Court, P141.350. These figures did not include "the aid to the Kalibapi, the extraordinary expenditures amounting to P56,325,885, and the special fund amounting to P5,464,112.

Laurel approved the budget bill on January 3, according to a report in the Tribune of January 8, which also stat­ ed, incidentally, that the measure rais­ ed the minimum monthly pay of gov­ ernment employees to P60 and the mi­ nimum daily wage of government la­ borers to P2.40, "affecting favorably some 30,000 government workers be­ sides several other thousand laborers on the government payroll”. The Assembly reconvened on the 10th, immediately approving the two new ministries created by Laurel,—the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Ministry of Education, announced on January 3. The remainder of the ses­ sion was spent principally in the con­ sideration and passage of numerous (15) tax bills which it was hoped, would increase the government reven­ ues by an estimated P 10,000,000. “The Harmonious, Scientific, and Lo­ gical System of Taxation" — One mea­ sure revived the cumulative feature of the sales tax, and raised it to 2%. Another measure raised the franchise taxes to a uniform 5%, from the former 1-1/2 to 2-1/2%, except to sales of small merchants and peddlers. Another taxed professionals, — doc­ tors, engineers, surveyors, architects, public ac­ countants, insurance agents, etc., including also priests and ministers, a fixed privilege tax of P24 a year. Taxes of from 10 to 30% of the gross receipts were levied on hotels, lodging houses, restaurants, night clubs, bars, grills, refreshment parlors, theatres, concert halls, circusses, boxing and wrestling exhibitions, race tracks, cock-pits, jai-alai, etc. The government’s share in the gross receipts of the total of bets at horse races and jai-alai was increased to 8% and 10% respective­ ly, in addition to the amusement tax of 20%. Stamp taxes were newly imposed or raised on mortgages, pledges, conveyances, and deeds. The inheritance taxes were increased. The registra­ tion fee of large cattle was increased and the

THE ASSEMBLY IN LOCK-STEP charges for the cutting of timber. The school and residence tax was increased from PI to P2, etc., etc.

This was described as constituting a "harmonious, scientific, and logical system of taxation” (February 5), but actually it demonstrated once more the vicious downward spiral followed by a wrecked economy. The January 19 Tribune reported that the Assembly was considering a bill im­ posing the death penalty or life impri­ sonment on those who violated the laws and ordinances governing the con­ trol and distribution of foodstuffs, this measure having especial reference to government officials guilty of pecula­ tion. The legislative "pork barrel” was hardly even larded. Each province was to receive P50.000, the Minister of Pub­ lic Works and Communications to ap­ portion the outlays "to the most ur­ gent and important public works pro­ jects”. (January 27.) On December 20 the Assembly passed a bill fixing the following legal holi­ days: January 1, New Year and Thanks­ giving; Holy Thursday; Holy Friday; first Saturday in May, Labor Day; October 14, Independence Day; Novem­ ber 1, Memorial Day; November 30, Na­ tional Heroes Day; December 4, Kalibapi Day; December 8, Greater East Asia Day; December 25, Christmas; De­ cember 30, Rizal Day; and all Sundays. On the closing day of the session, the Assembly "working with characteristic precision”, passed the last of its 60 bills, including one creating the Central Bank of the Philippines,6 and another a land and water transportation com­ pany with powers to acquire or con­ struct and to operate “trucks, buses, automobiles, jeepneys, animal-drawn vehicles, and other means of land trans­ portation” and "sailboats, barges, mo­ 6 Note (1945) — Authorized, but not established.

97

torboats, steamships, and other water craft” (railroads not included). There was also another measure setting aside P3,000,000 for the “purpose of pacifica­ tion, including the purchase of fire­ arms, weapons, and military equip­ ment; this in addition to the amount already appropriated in the budget.” Finally, the Assembly passed a mea­ sure "authorizing the President to pro­ mulgate rules and regulations to safe­ guard the health and tranquility of the Philippines in this state of emergency”. This was "regarded as a manifestation of the confidence of the people in the wisdom and leadership of President Jose P. Laurel whom they have invest­ ed with broad and strong powers ne­ cessary during wartime”. (February 3.) According to the Tribune, the ses­ sion, which ended promptly at noon, was — “generally regarded as having no precedent in the annals of the Philippine Legislature for the enormity of the task tackled, for the breadth and scope of its enactments, and for the har­ mony pervading the entire body throughout the proceedings which enabled the assemblymen to carry out a far-reaching legislative program with utmost dispatch. It was a legislature character­ ized by less talk and mere action. Debates were scarce and caucuses were brief, showing that any little differences among members were easily threshed out”.

At a banquet given by the Highest Commander of the Japanese Imperial Army at his residence on the night of February 1, the night before the closing day, to which all the members of the Assembly were invited, this official "paid a tribute" to the assemblymen, "the leaders, not only of their respec­ tive communities, but of the Repu­ blic”. "With their assistance”, he said, "the Japanese Army has succeeded in its mission, and for this he expressed the Army's gratitude". The effrontery of the invitation, the time of the occa­ sion, the occasion itself, and the insult

93

of his "tribute”, were somewhat mask­ ed by a significant paragraph that pre­ ceded the foregoing in the Tribune’s report: "In his speech, the Highest Commander ex­ pressed an apology to the Filipino people, through their legislators, for incidents caused by misunderstanding between the Japanese Army and Filipinos. Without doubt, he said, these in­ cidents arose from lack of understanding of Filipino customs and from the difference of language. He also expressed the hope that incidents of this nature will never occur again.”

Laurel entertained the assemblymen at tea at Malacanan on the day after the closing of the session. He also praised them and expressed his grati­ tude for their support and cooperation. "In his talk to the legislators the President declared that while a minority of the Filipino people do not as yet believe in the reality of independence, he is of the belief that the Presi­ dent of the Philippines and the members of the Legislature will do all they can so that the Philippines will continue to enjoy real indepen­ dence." (February 4.)

The Japanese Military Currency — It was the Japanese policy not only to draw on the food resources of the coun­ try for the needs of the occupation forces and for their troops in transit, pretending to pay for these acquisitions in worthless paper, but deliberately to depress the living standards to near and in fact below the starvation level. Unexpected and definite Japanese con­ firmation of this reached the author in Santo Tomas in the form of a typewrit­ ten copy of an article, "War notes Secure Confidence of People in South­ ern Area”, taken from the Boeki Tosei-kai Kaiho (Trade Control Associa­ tion Journal), undated. This article was written in a selfcongratulatory strain and read in part: "In the Japanese occupied regions in the South, war notes have been in use ever since the commencement of military operations. They were issued by the Japanese Government under the Extraordinary Military Expenditure Special

THE COUNTRY Account Law promulgated on September 10, 1937, and were to be disbursed within the limits of the Extraordinary Military Expenditure Fund. This law authorized the Government to raise temporary loans or issue negotiable notes where necessary for the purpose of meeting military expenditures. "The Special War Fund Bill involving Y27,000,000,000, which was submitted to the 81st session of the Imperial Diet on February 8 this year (1942), included a loan of Y 3,300,000,000 as one source of revenue. This loan has been sec­ ured from the Southern Development Treasury and is to finance military expenditures on the front. This loan is not a bond burden at home. All future war notes in the South will be hand­ led as Southern Development Treasury notes, independent of the Extraordinary MilitaryExpenditure Account. "Japanese war notes in the South are issued in, and are at par with, the currencies of the countries under occupation, i.e. in Straits dol­ lars in Malai and North Borneo, in rupees in Burma, in guilders in the East Indies, in pesos in the Philippines, in Australian pounds in New Guinea. This arrangement, which is unpreceden­ ted in the history of Japanese war notes, has had an immense appeal to the native inhabitants. It is merely an expedient to avert chaos, for, obviously, these former enemy currencies are now entirely without backing as the influence of the respective enemy countries has been com­ pletely driven away from the domain of East Asia. ‘'There is no exchange rate between yen and war notes or among the regional war notes. This is because Japan pursues the policy of not re­ cognizing, for the time being at least, free ex­ change of funds between Japan and the South or among the various zones in the South. "After having served their usefulness for ope­ rational purposes, war notes are now playing a productive role as the monetary medium for the acquisition of materials and for reconstruction and development work. With the native inhabi­ tants reposing implicit confidence in them, war notes are in satisfactory circulation everywhere. While quick digestion of war notes is hardly to be expected, as the indigenous inhabitants of the South have a low standard of living and indus­ trial and other facilities remain in a damaged condition, there is every reason to anticipate that war notes in addition to being a medium for productive expansion, will gain increased pop­ ular confidence as a common monetary unit.”

JAPANESE GLEE OVER THE WAR-NOTE CURRENCY

The writer of this article then turn­ ing to the currency measures in China, revealed a policy there which was fol­ lowed with equal ruthlessness in the Philippines. "With the expansion of the war front, the consequent mounting of military expenditures and the rise in demands on funds for economic reconstruction work in Central China, the issue of war notes swelled of necessity. To cope with this situation, yen funds in the field were put under rigid control, while at home restrictions on trade and exchange transactions with Central China were strengthened. Eventually, the ex­ clusive use of war notes was decided upon. . . War notes quickly supplanted yen and became the sole monetary standard of Central China. The stage was reached where their value had to be maintained on a stable basis. Various measures were taken to that end. In order that commodity supplies as the economic backing of war notes might be effectuated, restrictions were put on imports from Japan. In order to reduce the outflow of war notes, control over loans to Japanese entrepreneurs was strengthened. Com­ modity traffic was kept down to the extent of the minimum needs in the occupied areas. Re­ mittances and travelers from Japan were put under restriction. . ."

In the Philippines, the military notes, as fiat currency, were accepted, — they had to be, and many people believed, moreover, that after the expulsion of the Japanese, the American Govern­ ment would provide for some sort of redemption. After the first panic inci­ dent to the invasion had passed, there­ fore, prices remained fairly stable and the military notes did not greatly de­ teriorate in value until commodities began to run short; then prices shot up, and the military notes dropped even more rapidly. Around the begin­ ning of 1944, 5 pesos in military notes were being offered for one of the out­ lawed old Philippine pesos, and 14 pe­ sos in military notes were being offer­ ed for one U.S. dollar. The introduction of new issues of military notes has already been men­ tioned, and in this connection, it was

99

announced in October that the Metro­ politan Constabulary had received "in­ structions to arrest those who refuse to accept the new notes”. "All military notes, including the new ones with let­ ter P over letters AB in red, and others, are good money and should be accept­ ed by all.” (October 27.) The "Home Front”, a woman's co­ lumn in the Tribune, contained the sug­ gestion to mothers that they provide their children with coconut “savingsbanks”: "They are needed to keep bills of the two smaller denominations in because the children have found out that they can not buy anything with them. It is reported that for this reason the youngsters in a certain grade school are in the habit of tearing up the 1-centavo and 5centavo bills that come their way. If they see a centavo bill on the ground, they will not even bother to pick it up because there is nothing to buy with it. . . They acquire a premature disregard of small change. A little bank helps teach them respect for the centavos that piled up, eventually make the peso." (February 2.)

Such advertisements as the following were common on the "Want-Ad” page under the heading, "Money on Real Estate”: "P500,000 up anywhere, any time. Telephone 21698.” (December 5.)

One of the reasons why government corporations such as Naric had trou­ ble in buying rice and other produce in the provinces was that the people couldn’t any longer buy anything with the "money” after they got it. People generally were turning to the barter system. The town of Tanay in Rizal province, for instance, situated on La­ guna de Bay, traded its surplus fish for the surplus rice in the neighboring town of Teresa. "The people here find this method very handy and feasible”. (February 4.) It was announced on January 12 that Laurel had authorized the Agricultural and Industrial Bank to resume ordina­

100

ry banking operations; since the Japa­ nese occupation its functions had been limited to the collection of loans due. It was reported on February 5 that Minister of Finance de las Alas had issued instructions for the redemption of the prewar currency notes of the Bank of the Philippine Islands which remained in circulation. They were to be "redeemed at full value”, — that is, in Japanese military notes! Holders were given until March 2 to surrender their notes to the Bank; those in the provinces had up to May 31. The Mercantile Bank of China, "in liquidation”, was reported to have be­ gun "paying its depositors and credittors a 16% liquidation dividend on February 14, pursuant to an order of the Court of First Instance of Manila, dated January 29, 1944”. (February 16.) It was announced in February that beginning April 1, the fortnightly quota of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes would be increased from PI00,000 to P125.000, with the price of tickets in­ creased from P2 to P4. Laurel “Streamlines" the Govern­ ment — Shortly after the opening of the new year Laurel reorganized the Cabinet, creating nine ministries, but retaining, for the time being, three of the portfolios himself, — Home Affairs, Economic Affairs, and Education. Rec­ to remained Foreign Minister; de las Alas, Finance Minister; Sison, Minister of Justice; Alunan, Minister of Agricul­ ture and Natural Resources; and Pare­ des, Minister of Public Works and Com­ munications. Tirana was appointed Minister of Health, Labor, and Public Welfare, this Ministry being split off from the former Ministry of Education, Health and Public Welfare. The Minis­ try of Economics was a new depart­ ment. He also appointed a number of vice-ministers. (January 4.)

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The following week he established district courts of appeal, — for North­ ern Luzon, Central Luzon, Manila, Southern Luzon, the Visayas, and Min­ danao and Sulu; each court was to con­ sist of a presiding justice and two as­ sociate-justices. The move was made, of course, because of the great difficul­ ty of transportation. (January 9.) Later in the month he created the Board of Information, the chairman of which was to be the "representative and spokesman of the President in his relations with the people and the press”. He was to have the rank and emoluments of a minister of state. (January 19.) The Tribune of January 26 reported that appointment of Arsenio Luz to the position had been an­ nounced. Laurel also appointed five Fi­ lipino newspapermen to the Board, all with the rank and salary of an assis­ tant bureau director. The following month, Laurel created two important new positions, — those of Commissioner for the Visayas and Commisioner for Mindanao and Sulu, appointing Paulino Gullas to the first and Gen. Paulino Santos to the second. These positions were created because of the "urgent necessity of immediately exercising closer supervision and admi­ nistrative control over all the govern­ ment offices and instrumentalities throughout the Philippines.” (February 5.) In a Davao news dispatch, Santos was quoted as having said: "I am determined to forge ahead toward the attainment of self-sufficiency in vital commodi­ ties. The Koronadal Valley Settlement, with which I have been connected, has almost at­ tained complete self-sufficiency. Peace and order is being maintained by the Settlement authori­ ties in cooperation with the Japanese forces. For the further development of Mindanao it is necessary to obtain the technical assistance of Japan. In other words, we must proceed in the spirit of Nippon-Philippine co-existence and co­ prosperity.” (February 8.)

f

“STREAMLINING" THE GOVERNMENT

That "all officers and employees of the government in Manila whose ap­ pointments are not vested by the Con­ stitution in the President”, should va­ cate their respective positions next Fe­ bruary 11 unless reappointed by the authorities concerned, was the meat of an executive order issued by Laurel on January 11. It was issued "for the purpose of reorganization”. The order stated that those officers and emplo­ yees who were not reappointed would be "entitled to gratuity” and that they would not lose their civil-service eligi­ bility for a period of ten years; also that in case an office needed additional personnel, they would receive prefer­ ence in selection. A few days later, Lau­ rel was reported to have taken up with his Cabinet the matter of maintaining the “minimum personnel without pre­ judice to efficiency in the service" in all departments and bureaus. Thus, while the demands on the government were overwhelming, personnel had to be reduced, but the Tribune called it "streamlining”. (January 15.) On the 10th of February, however, the Tribune carried the following head­ line: “Streamlined Gov’t begins Work Saturday, No Employees Laid Off, Part of Personnel to be sent to Provinces." The report read:

l

"The new structure of the government of the Republic as streamlined by President Jose P. Laurel will go into effect on Saturday, February 12, 1944. As reorganized, the national government is molded in accordance with the plan of the Chief Executive to put into effect a simple, eco­ nomical, and efficient government. Malacanan stated that no officer or employee of the gov­ ernment will be separated from the service ex­ cepting for cause. However, since the President believes that the national government in Manila is top-heavy, many employees who have ex­ pressed their preference to go home to their respective provinces will be furnished transpor­ tation expense by the government. They will con­ tinue to receive their salaries and bonuses and other privileges to which government employees are usually entitled until December 31, 1944.

101 They will not lose their civil service eligibility for a period of ten years. They will be assigned by the President to such work as he may deem proper, particularly in helping the government in its efforts to produce more food and main­ tain public peace and order. Under this plan, therefore, the President has been able not only to effect a simple, economical, and efficient govenrment, but also to depopulate Manila”.

That was the "national government”, kept going somehow in the capital; what proportion of the personnel had to be sent to rusticate, was not divulg­ ed. And what was happening to gov­ ernment employees in the provinces? The following was a news-item from Naga, Camarines: "Local government employees have petitioned the government through Acting-Governor Deveras for an increase in their salaries and regular rice rations. Many employees who could no longer make both ends meet have already re­ signed to devote themselves to other pursuits." (February 13.)

The Kalibapi and the Neighborhood Associations — Not much was to be read, during the months under review, about the Kalibapi. On December 8, however, which marked the first an­ niversary of the organization, it was reported that the members then num­ bered 791,891, of whom 108,100 were women. As for the district and neighborhood associations, the Ministry of Home Af­ fairs on February 8 disclosed that there were then throughout the country 13,496 district and 124,754 neighbor­ hood associations, embracing 1,483,837 families. This same month, the Prime Com­ modities Distribution Control Associa­ tion asked Mayor Guinto to revoke the authority given to district presi­ dents to withhold prime commodity rations from "recalcitrant neighbor­ hood association members” and to substitute some other form of pun­ ishment as this power had been "abused and misused by neighbor­

102

hood association leaders”. This author­ ity had been “granted last June at a round-table conference held between City Hall officials and representatives of the former Military Administra­ tion.” (February 16.) The Rice Shortage — Manila was so famished by the end of October, 1943, that the control restrictions on the entry of vegetables and fruit were lift­ ed, Mayor Guinto announcing that fol­ lowing arrangements made with the Foodstuff Control Association, vegeta­ bles and fruit might be brought into the city, except from several towns which were under contract with the FCA, “without fear of confiscation”. Chickens and eggs might also be brought in freely. (October 27.) On the 29th, the Tribune reported that "due to unavoidable circumstan­ ces”, the distribution by the Prime Com­ modities Control Association (of sugar, vegetable lard, soap, matches in small monthly quantities) through the Fede­ ration of Filipino Retailers, to some of the neighborhood associations and scheduled for October 30 and Novem­ ber 1 would be "delayed for a few days”. On the 30th, the paper reported that "just before the establishment of the Republic”, Vargas had issued an exe­ cutive order forming a Food Adminis­ tration under the then Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce, which Laurel would carry into execution un­ der the corresponding Minister. Naric (the National Rice and Corn Corporation) announced on the 2nd of November that it would buy all of the last season’s and next season’s corn crop in Central Luzon at P .ll a kilo, almost three times the price it had paid earlier in the year, though this was far below the black-market price. It was said in explanation that the government was considering a plan

THE COUNTRY

of "supplementing” the rice ration with corn, either in grain or in milled form. "Big Rice Shipment from the South Regions Arrives in Manila; Filipinos Assured of Rice Stock until Harvest”, was a headline in the November 13 Tribune. It reported in the usual inde­ finite terms that — “a big consignment of rice has been imported in the Philippines from the southern regions through the efforts of the Imperial Japanese Army. This new shipment will supplement the local supply and thus assure the people here of an ample quantity of the cereal. Thousands of bags of the newly-imported rice have been unloaded at the Manila waterfront since yes­ terday. . . It is recalled that the Japanese Army imported an enormous bulk of rice from Thai­ land and French Indo-China last August to help the Filipinos. Then again, in the following month of September, another big shipment came to this country through the courtesy of the Ar­ my . . . ”

A shipment of foreign rice may have reached Manila, but it was known in Santo Tomas that the Japanese had on other occasions brought rice from northern Luzon to Manila in old Sai­ gon sacks. The impression this story sought to create that the Japanese Ar­ my was assisting the country in the matter of rice instead of continuously drawing on its rice supplies, was utter­ ly false. A Santo Tomas internee of­ ficial was told by a high Filipino of­ ficial of the Naric about this time, that a Japanese navy officer had come into his office and demanded 20,000 sacks of rice. The Filipino answered that the corporation had only 15,000 sacks in its bodegas. The Japanese answered, "I did not ask you how much rice you had in your bodegas. I told you the Imperial Navy wants 20,000 sacks of rice”. The rice demanded was gotten together by drawing on some privately owned stocks in Manila, but Naric was for the time being cleaned out. "Enough Rice Here; No Shortage Seen", was the headline in the Tribune,

THE ACUTE RICE SHORTAGE

November 24, and it was stated that this was “according to information gathered at the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce". The same issue of the paper reported that a group of district and neighborhood association officials had called on Mayor Guinto to suggest that the distribution of rice to the people be transferred from the Naric neighborhood associations to the re­ gular neighborhood associations, and that the Mayor had said that he had already endorsed such a plan to the Minister of Agriculture and Commerce. It was announced the next day that the Mayor had ordered the Metropoli­ tan Constabulary to allow persons bringing small quantities of rice from the provinces for their own consump­ tion to enter the city. A few days later the Minister of Agriculture and Com­ merce limited the amount that might thus be brought in to 6 gantas a per­ son to be used exclusively for personal consumption. On the 25th, Laurel issued an or­ dinance which obliged all producers to turn their harvest of rice and corn over to the government after deducting 8 cavans per capita for the landowner and the tenants and their families, and 1 cavan per hectare for seed. The Di­ rector of the Bureau of Plant Industry was instructed to organize cooperative associations of landowners, tenants, and millers, membership in which was to be obligatory. The rice and corn was to be sold to these associations, for resale to the control organization. Prices were to be fixed by the Minister of Agriculture and Commerce for each harvest-year at such rates as to allow producers a reasonable profit. Viola­ tions of the ordinance were punishable by a fine of P10,000 or 10 years’ im­ prisonment. "In an effort to remedy as soon as possible the shortage of rice and com,”

103

said the Tribune of December 1, rules were being drafted to put the ordi­ nance commandeering rice and corn into effect. A letter in the "Public Pulse” column of the same issue com­ plained that people went to the pro­ vinces to buy rice at P20 to P40 a ca­ van, hired men to bring it to Manila in small quantities, and then resold it at P6 a ganta. "Rations Due Soon”, was a hopeful headline in the December 3 Tribune, and it was added that they would be distributed "as soon as possible”. Primco officials were quoted as saying that the delay was due to the "recent flood” which had "disrupted transportation facilities and damaged both the stocks and the machines used in the manufac­ ture of soap and lard". The bill creating the Food Adminis­ tration was signed by Laurel on Decem­ ber 3 and Sanvictores was appointed to the post of Food Administrator on the same day. A few days later he was quoted as saying that the Japanese Army had "assured him of its support and aid in the task which his office is called upon to perform”. (Decem­ ber 5.) On the 4th it was reported that goverment agents at the Tutuban Railway Station had seized a "large amount of rice” which was being offered for sale there at exorbitant rates; it was stated, however, that people would continue to be allowed to bring in 6 gantas each for their own use. However, on the 11th, the paper reported that the Food Administration had ordered the police to suspend the granting of per­ mits to bring rice into Manila in small quantities for personal consumption. The report stated that the Tutuban Station had been converted into a riceexchange crowded by profiteers and speculators and that, anyway, the "emergency was over”, rice and corn

104

control now being enforced in the prov­ inces. The Food Administration was reported to be determined to "end the black market swiftly”. (December 11 and 12.) That Primco rations for two months, November and December, were expect­ ed to be distributed by December 20, was the report in the Tribune, Decem­ ber 7. The two months’ allotment for each person would be 600 grams of refined sugar, 35 centavos, 300 grams of vegetables lard, 22 centavos, 1 cake of laundry soap, 10 centavos, 3 boxes of matches, 6 centavos; total to each person, 73 centavos. This was the allotted two months’ supply, — and not distributed yet. However, distri­ bution began in the Bagumpanahon district on the 16th. Whether and, if so, when it was completed through­ out the city was not reported. As an emergency measure, Sanvictores authorized provincial governors and municipal mayors to buy rice and resell it to the people untill the Naric could supply a given municipality. The price the farmers of Central Luzon would get for their rice was fixed at P8 a cavan, retroactive to December 1. In Manila, Guinto announced that be­ ginning January, rice rations would be distributed through the district and neighborhood associations. (December 14.) The day before Christmas there was another banner headline on the front page of the Tribune: "Army Loans Rice to P.I.” It was reported that 20,000 sacks would be released from import­ ed stock”. This was claimed to be in addition to the "44,000 sacks of rice which it had already advanced to the government to bolster the existing rice supply". This act of generosity was said to be the result of an agreement be­ tween the Army and the President and "allayed all fears of a rice shortage in

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Manila and scouted all ill-founded ru­ mors.” On the day after Christmas the paper reported a Malacanan announce­ ment that the penalty of death or life imprisonment would be imposed on all officials and employees of the gov­ ernment found guilty of violating the control laws. Malacanan was reported to have observed that “the people have been groaning under the rampant bri­ bery by the very persons called upon to protect the interests of the people”. A special tribunal would be created to try such cases, but sentences of capi­ tal punishment imposed would be sub­ ject to review by the Supreme Court. Reorganization of "Naric”; "Biba” — In spite of the fact that "all fears of a rice shortage” had just been "allay­ ed”, the Tribune of the 28th announced that following a special meeting of the Cabinet, Malacanan had announced that community kitchens to serve the poor would be immediately establish­ ed. Beginning that day, the Bureau of Public Welfare would serve free food at eight places in the city, mostly at the hospitals and convalescent homes in its charge, and the City of Manila would serve free food at the Meisic Health Center and the Children’s Hos­ pital. Additional community kitchens would be opened as fast as they could be made ready. Laurel also increased the amount of rice which people com­ ing into the city from the provinces might bring in with them from 6 gantas to 1 cavan. A letter in the "Public Pulse” column that day asked for a ban on horse racing to save feed. "Presently, not less than 800 racing horses are being stabled and fed with not less than 1,000 sacks of mixed palay, corn, tapilan, and mongo each month. Above the interests of a few who are directly benefitted by horse racing, there is the supreme right to life."

The Filipino columnist wrote:

“BIBA” REPLACES "NARIC” "We are not against officially raising the price of rice on the spot to, say, three times the present levels fixed by the government if doing this can help solve the situation. . . This would be a whole lot better than tempting the farmers to hide their produce from the official pur­ chasers and to dispose of it to profiteers." (De­ cember 30.)

On the 30th the Tribune reported that Sanvictores had announced that rice would be made “a national mono­ poly of the government” and that the Naric would be reorganized. On Janua­ ry 1 the paper announced that Laurel had the day before ordered the disso­ lution of Naric and that at the same time he had issued an order — "establishing another instrumentality of the na­ tional government for the purpose of meeting promptly, efficiently, and effectively the require­ ments with regard to the food problem, inde­ pendent of the requirements of the Imperial Jap­ anese Army in the Philippines. It is understood that the newly created organization will be an exclusive instrumentality of the Philippine Gov­ ernment and that the Imperial Japanese Army will take care of its own requirements in food supplies independently of the new government organization."

This step had been taken "after a series of conferences with those in au­ thority”. The name of the new agency had not yet been announced. Again the Tribune was quick to de­ clare: "Rice Supply Assured". "A long step forward in the solution of the rice problem in Manila was taken last night when the big rice producers in Central Luzon pledged their cooperation to President Jose P. Laurel to sell their palay to the government at P8 a cavan. The pledge was made at a con­ ference. . . According to the Chief Executive, the problems involving transportation, which is the concern of the government, will be met by the government commandeering all means of available transportation to bring rice to Manila. He further said that the government will meet the question of peace and order by the concentra­ tion of a large force of Constabulary in the riceproducing provinces of Central Luzon. . . He stressed the point that this is not a menacing attitude.” (January 1.)

105

The formation of the Bigasang Bayan ("Biba”), which replaced the Na­ ric, was announced on the 6th; also that Sanvictores, with the approval of Laurel, had appointed Rafael Garcia, general manager. La Vanguardia on the 5th contained a report stating that Lau­ rel, speaking at the City Hall at a con­ ference of district and neighborhood association leaders, had declared that the principal causes for the shortage of rice in Manila were the opposition of the guerrillas, the rapacity of the ban­ dits, the terrorism of the communists in Central Luzon, and irregularities committed within the Naric organiza­ tion. He said the Naric had been abo­ lished because it had lost the confi­ dence of the people. He also said that "representations” had been made to the Japanese Army "to turn over the control and management of the coun­ try’s transportation facilities to the Re­ public". "There is plenty of rice in Cen­ tral Luzon", he said. Laurel also an­ nounced that 6,000 cavans of rice for the poor would be distributed through the community kitchens, the number of which would be increased. Commenting on Laurel’s reference to the Naric, the Tribune stated editorial­ ly that he had "courageously ventilat­ ed the corruption of some of its per­ sonnel. . . It is something to revive our moribund faith in our leaders.” (January 6.) Though it was probable that the charge of corruption was well founded, it also seemed very clear that the Naric personnel, headed by Dr. Buencamino, had been made the scape­ goats for a situation created primarily by Japanese Army and Navy extortions and Japanese army control of all the principal transportation facilities of the country. Since the enemy occupa­ tion, in fact, the Naric had carried, printed on all its letter-heads and forms, the line, "Under the Control of

106

the Japanese Imperial Army”, no doubt Buencamino’s way of disavowing at least the full responsibility. A few days later the government authorized the release to Biba of P2,400,000 for the purchase of rice through the Municipal Rice Grow­ ers Cooperative Assoc i a t i o n s of which there were 27 in Nueva Ecija, 5 in Pangasinan, 5 in Tarlac, and 3 in Pampanga. The price was set at P8 for a sack of 44 kilos. A commission of 27 centavos was to go to the local asso­ ciation for its operating expenses and an additional 8 centavos was to be divided as follows: 1 centavo to the provincial government for road and bridge maintenance and repair, 1 cen­ tavo to the municipality for the same purpose and for the enforcement of control measures, 3 centavos to the lo­ cal cooperative, and 3 centavos to the national association. Furthermore, the farmer would have the privilege of buying PI worth of prime commodities under control for every cavan of rice he sold, but the maximum to any in­ dividual was P100 worth. (January 7.) In his “manifesto” of January 9, mentioned elsewhere. Laurel revealed another difficulty the administration had to contend with in purchasing rice in the provinces, when he referred to those "who are threatening our rice planters with death if they turn their rice over to the government”.7 He de­ clared: "We are particularly and uncompromisingly determined to prevent starvation by insuring the supply of rice and other foodstuffs and will mobilize all the means at our disposal and all the power at our command to attain this end. If drastic remedies must be resorted to, we will resort to them to protect the people and pre­ serve the nation." (January 9.) 7It was understood in Santo Tomas that guer­ rilla organizations were interfering with the sale of rice to the "government” because they claim­ ed that Naric and Biba were in effect only collecting it for the Japanese Army and Navy.

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The Tribune reported on February 11 that rice distribution in Manila would start the next day through new­ ly named neighborhood retailers, 120 grams a day to each person. The price to the retailer was P.37 and to the heads of families assigned to each re­ tailer, P.40 a kilo, equivalent to P.96 a ganta. It was also announced that the community kitchens would be closed the next day. Free entry of rice brought in for their own use by individuals would be stopped on the 15th. It was reported on the 12th that the rice dis­ tribution had started following the pur­ chase by the government of about 20,000 sacks. The 120-gram ration was only half the original quota, but "it was said that each person may be giv­ en his entire quota soon”. Food Administrator Sanvictores was quoted as having said, following his re­ turn from an inspection trip, that Nue­ va Ecija would have 2,500,000 cavans of rice available for purchase, Panga­ sinan 600,000, Tarlac 500,000, Pampanga 200,000, and Bulacan 200,000, but that whether the government could buy all that "depends upon the restoration of peace and order and other factors in that area”. "The government, how­ ever,” he said, "now has full confidence in the effective execution of its task.” (January 15.) Biba also began to distribute 120 grams of camotes with each 120 grams of rice, the cost to the retailer being P.59 and to the consumer P.65. (Jan­ uary 15.) Before the month was over, how­ ever, letters of complaint were appear­ ing in the "Public Pulse" column. One stated that of the camotes sold, about a third was "not fit even for hog-feed”, and "we can not get our rice ration if we refuse to buy the rotten camotes”. (January 21.) Another letter writer ask­ ed, "Why does Biba have to owe us

CAT-MEAT IN THE RESTAURANTS

107

The Japanese columnist, whose re­ always two to four days' ration of marks frequently foreshadowed com­ rice?” (January 25.) The Japanese Blame the ''Govern­ ing events, said in his column on the ment” — The Tribune news columns 10th: again began a campaign of innuendo "The Biba is still young as an organization reflecting on the Filipino officials. A and may still be experiencing some difficulties news story published February 3 stat­ to function smoothly. Yet if Biba does not show efficiency very soon, it will be missing the best ed: "Displaying greater efforts to insure a suffi­ cient supply of rice in Manila, Food Administra­ tor Jose G. Sanvictores left Monday noon for the Central Luzon provinces to supervise the procuring of the cereal for the Bigasang-Bayan. More rice is beginning to come to Manila for rationing through Biba. Trucks have been sent to the provinces to bring rice into the city. .

As to the distribution of the small rations of prime commodities by Primco, these were again behind. “Next ra­ tions due next week", said the Tribune, February 6, "will cover the rations for January and the current month”. “Each individual will receive 1 cake of laundry soap at 10 centavos, 200 grams of lard at 15 centavos, and 2 boxes of matches at 3 centavos. . . Be­ cause the inclusion of sugar in the forthcoming ration is still under study, nothing definite about the amount of the individual ration in this commo­ dity can be made at present." This 31 centavos’ worth of "prime commodi­ ties” was the ration for two months. On the 8th, the Tribune again told its readers: "Manilans Assured of Rice Supply; Arrangements made to Bring Rice Stock from the Provinces; Prob­ lem Solved for Time Being.” The re­ port said: "Through the cooperation of the Imperial Japanese Army under which the railroad service in the Philippines is now operating, the Bigasang Bayan can now bring to Manila the rice which it has purchased from the provinces to the city, according to Malacanan. . . so far the lack of cooperation on the part of certain rice producers and private speculators has consider­ ably aggravated the situation which, although temporarily improved, can not be considered as satisfactorily settled."

months of the year to be of good service to the people. The longer the Biba has to wait to show efficiency, the more difficult it will become for the Biba to satisfy the people. . . It may be true that transportation is a big problem. Yet before the Biba worries about transportation, it has to bring under its control sufficient stock of rice to be distributed. The first duty of the Biba is to come into possession of the rice to be distributed. Is this primary duty taken care of properly?"

The Tribune of the 15th reported a radio speech by Laurel the night before in which he appealed to the farmers to produce more and defended the gov­ ernment as doing its best. He "admit­ ted", said the Tribune writer, — "that many are blaming the government for the rice shortage as the Biba has been unable to supply all the rice needed by the people. How­ ever, he asserted that the government is doing everything in its power to remedy the situation.”

Cat-Meat in the Restaurants — Little was reported in the press during these months about meat, poultry, and fish. Meat dealers were heard in November by the Assembly committee which was investigating prices, and one man said that he had been buying cattle at Calamba, Laguna, at P650 a head (live weight 340 kilos, dressed 160), and that what with fees and other expenses it cost him P35 a head to get them to Manila. In addition to that, if he start­ ed out with 10 or 11 head, 4 or 5 were taken away from him, "confiscated”, before he got to the city; he was not quoted as saying by whom. A fish ven­ dor "also told of confiscations along the way from the provinces to Manila". A banana dealer said that truck ope­ rators charged him P450 for a trip

108

from Batangas to Manila. These trucks, he said, were "charcoal-fed” and were often delayed for a day or two on the journey as a result of which over a third of the 70,000 bananas carried were spoiled. That was why, he said, bananas sold at 10 centavos each. (No­ vember 12.) Beef was selling at PI 7 a kilo, cara­ bao meat at P8.50, and pork at F9, ac­ cording to a letter printed in the "Pub­ lic Pulse” column, January 23. A chic­ ken cost PI 8, according to "Mang Kiko” in the Tribune of January 16. The scarcity of chickens was due to the shortage in chickenfeed, according to a chicken raiser of Santa Maria, Bulacan. (October 31.) The writer of the "Home Front” col­ umn spoke of the difficulty of keep­ ing a pig—when there were no “scraps from the table" and suggested that householders give their pig the dish­ water. (November 30.) A letter in the "Public Pulse” column expressed the opinion that the eating of cats in the city restaurants was threatening the city with a plague of rats. (November 19.) The Bureau of Health thereupon issued a statement: "While there is no harm in eating cat’s meat, restaurant operators should let their customers know that they are be­ ing served such meat and not try to pass it for other meats". (November 21.) A letter writer in the December 1 issue described a collision between a truck and a carretela; the carretela was overturned, spilling out a load of slaughtered cats. The December 11 Tribune quoted the City Health Office as stating that inspectors during the. preceding four days had "encountered no dog or cat’s meat in the restau­ rants". In January, a survey by the city health authorities showed that 14 out of 130 restaurants were "serving dis­

THE COUNTRY

eased or spoiled meat”. Less than half of them purchased their meat from "legal sources”. (January 26.) Beef was sold in the Manila markets on February 16 and 17, one-half kilo each to the heads of families belonging to the various neighborhood associa­ tions in the city. The price was P6 a kilo, including bone. A family head had to have a "monpai" signed by his association leader and had to present this to a representative of the Food Administration at the public market nearest his home who then issued him a meat ticket. The Tribune ex­ plained. "Several [sic] head of cattle have been brought to Manila by Gutierrez Hermanos from the island of Burias. The cattle will be slaugh­ tered in the city slaughter-house and sold in the markets above-mentioned under strict gov­ ernment supervision. . . the price having been agreed upon between the office of the Food Administration and Gutierrez Hermanos. This is the first shipment of cattle. . . The next shipment. . . will be announced in due time.” (February 16.)

The price of fish had become as pro­ hibitive in the Manila markets as was the price of meat. (December 11.) At the end of January, the Food Admi­ nistrator ordered that bangus (a fish raised in artificial fishponds), could be sold only through the Fish Cul­ ture Federation at government-con­ trolled prices. He also ordered the stocking of idle ponds and swimmingpools with fresh-water fish. The next day he fixed the price of fish, according to seven separate classes at from F2 to P8 a kilo. He also ordered the registration of all fishing boats and fishing equipment and supplies, preli­ minary to their sale being taken over at controlled prices by the Fish Cul­ ture Federation. (January 30.) "Bread, Small Loaf, P2; Coffee P33.50 a Kilo” — Even less was said in the papers about other foods and farm products than was said about

LOAF OF BREAD, P2; 100 VITAMIN TABLETS, P1500.

meat. So-called bread, made of rice and cassava and other substitute flours, sold for around P2 and more for a small loaf. In January (1944) it was reported that the Philippine Flour and Starch Manufacturers Association had "recently” been organized under the auspices of the Bureau of Commerce and Industry and that this Association was to be given exclusive control over all raw materials and finished flours and starches. Only members of the As­ sociation would have the right to trans­ port these materials and products. Initially, the body was composed of 11 members, “representing different fac­ tories in Manila”. (January 16.) In January, too, copra production in the Visayas and Mindanao was report­ ed to be increasing, “indicating the widespread benefit of the expanding copra-buying program of the Japanese Army. . . The revival of the copra in­ dustry has likewise kept 8 different oil factories in the Philippines working in full blast. Of these, 3 are in Manila, 2 in Laguna, 2 in Cebu, and 1 in Davao”. (January 16.) Despite this alleged ac­ tivity, coconut oil and coconut-oil pro­ ducts were practically unobtainable. The Foodstuff Control Association fixed the price of coconuts to be dis­ tributed to the neighborhood associa­ tions in Manila at 5 centavos in Decem­ ber, but they continued to sell for as high as 40 centavos for one small nut. By order of the Minister of Agriculture and Commerce, coconuts were allow­ ed free entry into Manila in February and the price was reported to have fallen from 40 centavos to 20 centavos each. (February 19.) In November Naric had been given control over the distribution of mongo beans and peanuts. The price fixed by the Director of the Bureau of Commerce and Industry for a kilo of native coffee was P33.50

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a kilo. The Director said that the price was found warranted after a "verifi­ cation of costs”. (January 13.) In November it was reported that the Ministry of Agriculture and Com­ merce had fixed the official government buying price of sugarcane, delivered at the usual loading stations, at P20 a metric ton. (November 5.) Vitamin Tablets, PI,500 for 100 — Many of the most urgently necessary drugs and medicines were unobtain­ able, and the newspapers published ar­ ticles about various native herb sub­ stitutes. The October 31 Tribune pub­ lished a report, headed, "Japanese Drugs Arrive, Prove Popular Here”, which alleged that “the first shipment of Japanese-made drugs to the Philip­ pine Republic recently arrived in order to be distributed at low prices among the Filipino people”. The shipment was said to "comprise 48 categories of me­ dicine and other medical goods". Another belated Vargas order was announced at Malacanan after the in­ auguration of the Republic. Vargas had authorized the Commissioner of Edu­ cation, Health and Public Welfare to fix the maximum wholesale and retail prices of medicines, drugs, and surgi­ cal and laboratory supplies. "Whenever any official prices shall conflict with the maximum price prescribed at any time by the Director-General of the Mi­ litary Administration, the military fixed price shall control . . . This order shall not apply to transactions con­ ducted by the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy”. (November 3.) The Tri­ bune issues of November 12 and 13 contained lists of the prices fixed for various preparations in alphabetical order, but though the list published in the issue of the 13th was marked "to be continued”, nothing further appear­ ed, and the uncompleted list was left hanging in the air. It was a work of

110

supererogation anyway, because if the medicines were to be obtained at all, it was not at the prices indicated. What prices were being paid for me­ dicinal and pharmaceutical prepara­ tions in Manila, was better indicated by the fact that some of the small bot­ tles containing 100 capsules of "Multi­ ple Vitamins", included in the American Red Cross shipment of supplies to the Santo Tomas internees, some of which reached relatives of internees outside the camp, were said to have brought as much as PI,500 a bottle. Inside the camp, among the internees themselves, they changed hands at P500. A Cheap Shirt, P40 — Among the gifts made to the "Republic” by Japan at the time of the inauguration was a gift of cloth. This was reported to have arrived in Manila from Japan on Christmas Eve, — "1,000,000 square yards of cotton textiles contained in 877 bales”. (December 26.) Editorially, the Tribune said: “We as a people are moved to the depth [sic] by these acts of thoughtfulness, and hope that we may all somehow succeed in coming to a proper appreciation of them to a point where we may show ourselves deserving of the genero­ sity and equally eager to reciprocate in things more germaine than lip-service.”

The cloth was to be distributed chief­ ly in the provinces, yet even 1,000,000 square yards, — if that was the quan­ tity,8 did not begin to fill the need.9 "Mang Kiko” said in his weekly article, "My Nipa Hut”, that a cotton under­ shirt, worth 40 centavos, was now sel­ ling for P40. He said also that he had an old pair of denim pants, which had cost him PI.90 originally, and that he 8 Note (1945) — Officers of several Chinese tex­ tile dealers’ associations stated positively that there were no imports of textiles from Japan for civilian use during the Japanese occupa­ tion. 9 Note (1945) — This was only a drop in the bucket. The normal Philippine textile consump­ tion was 15,000 bales.

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had refused to part with them even when a friend tempted him by "dang­ ling five crisp P10 bills" before his eyes. (January 16.) A pair of cheap, locally-made rubber shoes, which usually went to pieces after a few weeks of wear, cost from PI5 to P20. Although the cloth-ration tickets which had been issued to the public were not to expire until May 20, the city authorities in January called upon the people to surrender them "for the purpose of making an inventory and to separate good tickets from bad". Primco officials were quoted as saying that they would find means "to assist the good citizens by making it easier for them to make purchases of clothing materials at controlled prices." (Jan­ uary 19.) The Tribune of January 27 announc­ ed that the Mayor had given second­ hand clothing peddlers three days “to liquidate their business", after which, if they were still found on the streets, they would be rounded up by the po­ lice whether they had licences or not. This drastic order was the result of a strange incident. The relatives of a man who had recently been buried re­ cognized the suit of clothes he had been buried in being worn by a "welldressed individual” on the street. The matter was investigated and it was learned that the grave had been rob­ bed and that the man had indeed been wearing the dead man’s grave-clothes. A few days after his order, the Mayor announced that licensed peddlers would be permitted to remain in busi­ ness if they established themselves in a fixed place. At the end of January the Food Ad­ ministrator ordered all dealers in cot­ ton and rayon textiles and ready-made clothes to stop trading in these com­ modities until further orders and to submit inventories through their res-

CITY STREETS PUBLIC MIDDENS

pective retailers associations, not later than February 5. (January 30.) A few days later Primco officials urged the dealers to make "honest inventories’’ so that they would "constitute a true basis upon which Primco could base its future cloth-rationing program”. An­ swering complaints about the long clos­ ing of their stores, the dealers were told that, anyway, "no legal transac­ tions can take place until after Feb­ ruary 19, the last day for examining used and unused cloth-ration tickets". (February 2.) A week or so later, the Food Admi­ nistrator issued an order authorizing Primco to buy all cotton and rayon textile stocks in the hands of dealers “with a view to effecting an equitable redistribution of cotton and rayon for the benefit of law-abiding Manilans".

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Sanitation Conditions “D e p l o rable" — Sanitary conditions in Manila, once the cleanest city in the Far East, were indescribable. In January there was a complaint that the garbage on certain streets in the Quiapo district had remained uncollected "since the flood”, — in November. (January 6.) There were other complaints that the street-lights had not been restored. (January 13.) The writer of a letter in the "Public Pulse” column, January 25, stated that the streets around the Tutuban Railway Station had become a "public midden”, with piles of gar­ bage and "human excreta scattered over the sidewalks". Another letter writer complained about the stench around one of Manila's finest bridges, Quezon Bridge, renamed "Mulawen Bridge”, for the same reason. (Februa­ ‘‘Hitherto, it was explained, only a very few ry 12.) The January 19 Tribune report­ legal owners of cloth-ration tickets, compara­ ed that the Director of Health had or­ tively speaking, have been benefitted by the dered that the city authorities take cloth-rationing system, mainly on account of immediate steps to correct “the dep­ unscrupulous people who have obstructed the proper operation of the system through the lorable sanitary conditions of some of black market. As a result, those who have Manila’s public markets”, and had gained anything at all from the ration-system, stated that the authorities had decided it was added, have been for the most part of "to increase the number of pushcarts the bad elements of the community at the in all districts of the city to be used in expense of the good . .. The economic police of the Metropolitan Constabulary, in close co­ the collection of garbage”; more mar­ operation with the investigations department ket-sweepers would also be employed. of Primco, have begun to seal all cloth stores (January 19.) and bodegas throughout Manila.” (February 11.) The Japanese columnist said super­ A few days later it was announced iorly, in commenting on these condi­ that Primco would "buy only the ne­ tions as if they were normal to Manila: cessary stocks of such commodities”, "We are under no obligation to keep Manila — whatever that meant. Dealers were in the state the Spaniards and Americans had instructed to submit samples of all it in the past. Think this over.” Hundreds of ill people were turned the cloth in their possession, with la­ bels indicating quantities held, sizes, away from the hospitals. In January, etc. (February 13.) the large Philippine General Hospital A week latter it was reported that had only 400 patients, but of these a local dealer, had been fined P9,500 only 60 were pay patients. There was in two cases involving charges of a daily average of around 700 dispen­ hoarding and profiteering; cloth to the sary cases; "about 200 were rejected value of P24,321.70 had been confiscat­ daily for lack of facilities”. (January ed. (February 17.) 22.) Minister Tirona, during an inspec­

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tion of the San Lazaro Hospital, "talk­ ed and ministered comforting words to the tuberculosis patients, many of whom he found suffering from under­ nourishment.” (January 18.) Even among the more well-to-do, a one-family dwelling might house from 30 to 40 persons. Such "want-ads” as the following were frequent: "Wanted furnished chalet or apartment; willing to pay six months in advance”; "Apart­ ment wanted; willing to pay a year in advance”; "Two 3-room beautiful bun­ galows, located on F.B. Harrison St.; one year advance rental required”. (December 30, January 18.) Hi-Jacking on the Trains—The state of transportation in Manila was indi­ cated by "want-ads” such as the follow­ ing: "Bicycle for sale, P2,000”; Selling dokar with horse and harness, P4,500.” (January 12 and 15.) As for truck transportation to the provinces: "Ba­ guio trip, January 2, four seats avail­ able in private car”; "Truck for Isabela leaving within this week; admit cargoes and limited passengers; for further in­ formation see. . .” (December 30, Fe­ bruary 3.) The Tribune made a big thing out of the completion of the short railway spur between San Fernando, La Union, and Sudipen, Ilocos Sur.10 A test-run was made toward the end of November and it was announced that the line would be "inaugurated early next year”. (November 30.) In January, Laurel issued a statement expressing his gratitude on the occasion of the opening of the "new line, which was made possible mainly through the Army’s initiative and cooperation”. He described it as "enormously import­ ant”. "This makes another rich land of the archipelago accessible not only i«A 42-kilometer extension, built from materials taken from other branch lines, to bring the rail­ road nearer to the Mankayan, Benguet, mining district where there is manganese and iron.

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to commerce and industry, but also to the more lasting influence of civil­ ization itself”. (January 16.) The public had another opinion about the railway and its Japanese management. There was only one train daily between Manila and Lucena, Tayabas, where travelers boarded sail­ boats to take them farther south; "the train is always overloaded, not to men­ tion the rampant racketeering in train tickets". People stood in line for from 10 to 12 hours to get a ticket. (January 25.) "I have stood in line for several days, mis­ sing meals and sleep, but never got a ticket. I have been offered by profiteers, but they charge ten times the face value, which is beyond my paying ability. I heard a profiteer boast that he makes at least P50 a day from the racket.” (December 16.)

Once a traveler had a ticket, his troubles were not over. He could not keep his personal baggage by him, but had to turn it over to the railway em­ ployees who put it inside a freight car, where the baggage was regularly rifled. (November 30, December 2, January 13, etc.) “Last Thursday a friend and his wife arrived from the north taking with them a home-town girl friend. They all had a story to tell. The first lost his three pairs of linen and woolen pants and his wife’s anniversary wedding-dress in the north-bound train. This they discovered when they stopped in La Union. Their girl friend was taken aback when she found out that her ‘tampipi’ containing 300 chicken eggs had been emptied of its contents. Also her loaves of 'bocayo’ has been stolen.” (December 2.)

The writer of a letter, January 1, complained: "We who buy prime commodities in the pro­ vinces to be sold in Manila are unwilling vic­ tims of government employees at every station who require each one of us to give to them either a part of our goods or a certain sum. . . of from P10 to P20. So a sack of rice costing P80 will cost about P170 when it reaches Manila. This is also very true in the case of those bringing eggs, panocha, poultry, and other prime commodities from the provinces.”

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ORGANIZED RAILWAY ROBBERY

Only a few weeks later, 17 persons Another letter in the January 13 were killed and 39 others injured in a issue: train accident at Masaya, 30 kilometers "I rode in a box car and witnessed a sample of the most incredible hijacking. . . At Santo south of San Pablo. This time it was a Tomas, Tarlac, scores of kaings of eggs and head-on collision between a passenger onions were unloaded from ‘locked’ baggage cars and a freight train. "The freight train, whose locks could not say no to crow bars in which was overloaded with cargo and the hands of bogus brakemen; at Apalit and Guagua, bales of tobacco leaf and eggplant; at passengers who had illegally boarded Calumpit, more tobacco leaves and poultry; at the cars, was derailed.” (January 26.) Malolos, ditto; at Polo, vegetables, tobacco, and The first "casco (flat-boat) line be­ chickens; and finally, as the train neared Tu- tween Pampanga and Manila” was inau­ tuban, screaming pigs and croaking chickens gurated toward the end of January were hurled out of the cars into the hands of waiting confederates all along the tracks, just (1944). According to a news-story from like passing the ball in a basketball game. Most Guagua, — striking was the efficient, smooth manner the hijacking was conducted, leaving the impression that someone with brains, guts, and money was behind this organized railway robbery. What will the government do about the problem?"

Apparently, the “government” nothing. What could it do, with Japanese Army in control? Another ter published in the Tribune of bruary 4 read:

"loaded with a big number of passengers and goods free to enter Pampanga, a big casco, pulled by motor boats, successfully made its maiden voyage between Manila and Guagua, negotiating the distance in 8 hours. The casco returned last Sunday loaded with passengers and surplus ve­ getables from Pampanga." (January 26.)

did the All this was looked upon very philo­ let­ sophically by the Japanese. Writing on Fe­ the subject of the transportation of degenerates rice to Manila, the Tribune’s Japanese particularly columnist said:

"Take the case of those moral who wait along the railroad tracks, near Tayuman street during the night. Passen­ gers, fearing the confiscation or detention of their commodities at the Tutuban Station, fling them outside moving trains and soon leap after them without any thought of impending death. Then their commodities fall into the clutches of contemptible men, — of beasts in ambush that literally hold up the passengers. The worst part of it is that many young children begin to learn the ABC of crime by sharing and dispo­ sing of the spoils."

Pushcarts—Train accidents were fre­ quent. On January 2 a Manila-bound freight train was derailed on the other side of Malolos, wrecking ten cars and killing 7 persons and injuring 10. “It is believed that baggage on the freight cars that was loosened by the passengers riding on them in violation of railway regulations fell on the tracks and caused the derailment of the last seven cars. Overloading was also a contri­ butory factor. . . Rikuun Kanrikyoku authori­ ties yesterday reiterated with greater emphasis the warning to passengers against riding on or on top of freight cars and on top of passenger coaches.” (January 5.)

"Even if we have to utilize pushcarts and carabao-drawn vehicles, we would be doing no­ thing more than what our ancestors used to do. What is the use of having a veneer of modernity if we can not overcome a little thing like transportation difficulties?” (November 26.)

In February, "convoys of 15 to 20 pushcarts, manned by strong men working in relays”, were said to be bringing fire-wood to Manila from sources as distant as Pangasinan and La Union. "The pushcart is a common sight. . . A considerable portion of our hard-working citizenry depends on it for a living.” A good carabao-cart at this time cost no less than F2,000. "The value of a cart chiefly depends on the kind of wheels, not so much on the style and strength of the body-frame.” (January 16.) Before the war, in Luzon alone, there had been over 26,000 automobiles and 14,000 trucks in operation. (February 20. )

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The Tribune, editorially, rallied the public: "Everyone must realize the gravity of the situation. . . If railway service can not be fully utilized, resort to highway transportation by means of trucks. If the operation of trucks is hampered by lack of numbers and dearth of fuel, use carabao-carts. If carabao-carts can not be assembled due to the small number of that beast of burden, take steps to operate relays of man-propelled hand-carts. If carts can not be prepared due to lack of materials, have relays of carriers transport rice on their backs. . . What did our ancestors do in ages past? Did they sit twirling their thumbs because there were no freight cars and trucks for the trans­ portation of rice? Did they grumble, protest, demand that something be done by someone else?” (December 29.)

THE COUNTRY

Country Divided Into "Labor Dis­ tricts" — That the country had been divided into “labor districts under la­ bor administrators”, was revealed in an article on the “systemization” of welfare activities: "The country has been divided into labor districts under labor administrators, and with the cooperation of governors and other provin­ cial authorities, it is expected that the adminis­ tration will be in a better position to look after the welfare of the laboring classes”. (Jan­ uary 28.)

Advertisement for labor appeared in the press from time to time, always inserted by Japanese firms. The K.K. Taiwan Tekko Sho Sibul Kojo adver­ tized for 1,000 laborers "to open a new road” at Sibul Springs, Bulacan, an iron-ore area. Free lodgings were of­ fered and it was stated that rations of rice and other prime commodities would be obtainable at control prices. Nothing was said about wages, but "good conditions" were promised. (November 27.) In February an adver­ tisement stated that 1,200 workers were needed in Davao "to work on Army projects”. (February 2.) A few days la­ ter, the following advertisement ap­ peared, bidding, also, for the labor of "the workers’ wives and children be­ tween 15 and 50 years of age":

This was the attitude of the Japanese who were in control of all the country's principal means of transportation. However, there was a big to-do in the papers on the presentation by the Chief-of-staff of the Army of a 12 pas­ senger airplane to Laurel, as a gift from Japan. It was to be “for the of­ ficial use of the President and other high officials of the Republic”. Communication facilities were little better. In a letter published in the Tri­ bune of December 7, a man complained that his telephone had been out of or­ der since November 3. He stated that he had paid for his telephone in ad­ "Excellent Opportunity for vance for the months of September to Carpenters, iron workers, laborers December. He called up for service "To work in a Davao building project for several times without result. The last approximately 6 months. Free transportation, time he did so, "the Company official free meals, free housing facilities, and daily ne­ said I was indeed fortunate to have a cessities of reasonable cost assured. and children of laborers between 15 telephone while hundreds of others had and"Wives 50 years of age and capable of labor will none. My point is, of what good is one’s also be employed as laborers and paid daily telephone that can not be used?” wages up to PI .80. "Wages for carpenters, P3.30 to P3.95 daily; Late in November the Director of Communications announced that ef­ for iron-workers P3.05 to P4.60 daily; for ordi­ fective December, communication in nary laborers, P2.50 daily. "For information or application, see: Ilocano, Bicol, and any Visayan dia­ “Employment Section, Bureau of Labor.” lect would be permitted in the mails The Bureau of Labor of the “Repu­ “in addition to Japanese, Tagalog, Eng­ blic” was recruiting labor for the Army. lish, and Spanish”. (November 28.)

ARMY AND NAVY SERVICE IN GUISE OF TECHNICAL TRAINING

The bidding for boys and young men by the Japanese Army and Navy con­ tinued under guise of education and special training. In October the Com­ mander of the Air Force of the Impe­ rial Japanese Army was reported to have spoken at the "opening ceremo­ nies” which marked the beginning of the "training period of 164 young men selected to undergo training as mecha­ nics." (October 28.) A few days later the paper published a photograph of the "first graduating class of the Naval Technical Training School at the Cavite Navy Yard”, a group of 59 boys, from 14 to 17 years of age. They were shown in uniform, saluting the Japanese flag. (Octo­ ber 31.) An advertisement of the "Naval Air Corps Technical Training School” for boys between 14 and 19 years old, pro­ mised free training, free board, a free uniform, cap, and shoes, and F10 monthly as pocket money. Another ad­ vertisement, of the Philippines Sea­ men’s Training Institute, also promis­ ed everything free plus P12 a month pocket money. (December 8.) An advertisement in February offer­ ed “an opportunity for Filipino boys to complete their high school course and at the same time to acquire a thorough knowledge of aeronautical engineering”. “Applicants should be graduates of elementary schools and should be between 14 and 19 years old. The course will last 2-1/2 years, during which all material necessities and poc­ ket money will be supplied by the school.” "Apply to the Liaison and Pu­ blic Assistance Office, Metropolitan Theater Building." (February 10.) Hopeless Efforts at Relief — In spite of all these employment and educa­ tional opportunities, conditions, espe­ cially in Manila, became ever less en­ durable. Even the ordinarily well-to-do

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suffered. Laurel was reported on Octo­ ber 31 to have ordered that thenceforth only one-course dinners would be serv­ ed at Malacanan even on state occa­ sions. Public relief activities after the typhoon and flood in November were slow in getting under way, but some­ thing was done! Between November 22 and December 22, the Kalibapi and the Manila Sinbun-sya conducted a year-end drive the goal of which was the collection of P100,000. Osias, acting Director-General of the Kalibapi, was quoted as saying, "The widespread existence of suffering and misery in the City of Manila and elsewhere is well-known. The recent flood has ag­ gravated the situation of the poor and needy.” (November 21.) Laurel, speak­ ing on National Heroes Day, Novem­ ber 30, "drew a lesson from the spirit of self-sacrifice of the nation’s heroes”. He told his listeners "to love their neighbors, to suffer when they suffer, to feed them when they go hungry, and to help them when they need suc­ cor”. (December 1.) Organized relief work still amounted to very little. "Three thousand kilos of camote were distributed free to the poor through Welfareville and the Memorial Hospi­ tal. . . The Welfare Bureau expects to distribute several hundred kilos more of camote and cassava to the Manila poor in due time.” (December 4.) A week or so later Mayor Guinto an­ nounced that the Metropolitan Consta­ bulary would — "round up all stray boys found on the streets at night and those begging for alms in restau­ rants and similar public places. The drive is part of a similar campaign launched about two months ago by the city authorities which re­ sulted in the establishment of the Mendicants Home in the Meisic Police Station. . . All home­ less children will now be rounded up by the police and will be housed in the Home. . . Thus far 200 beggars have been admitted to the insti­ tution." (December 14.)

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On December 15 Laurel was reported to have created a Relief Committee headed by the Minister of Public Works and Communications, Paredes — "to ascertain the nature and extent of the damages suffered by the people from the ef­ fects of the war, particularly the pressing needs and requirements of war invalids, widows, and orphans, and other persons left indigent as a result of the war in the different provinces, cities, and municipalities; (2) to determine the nature and amount of relief and rehabilitation that should be given, the number of persons that should be given the benefits of Act No. 2. . . (3) to devise and carry out such mea­ sures; (4) to study the advisability of and to recommend plans for the creation of a perma­ nent relief fund from sources other than a di­ rect appropriation by the government as well as ways and means of integrating all relief work and eventually absorbing all public and private relief organizations into one single agency”.

The Committee was a purely govern­ mental one, the other members being Manalac, acting Minister of Education, Health and Public Welfare; Zulueta, Floor Leader of the Assembly; and S.V. Estrada, chairman of the committee on relief of the Assembly. The Paredes committee on the 18th was reported to have recommended that the P2,000,000 relief fund be allot­ ted as follows: PI00,000 for the relief of widows and orphans of deceased soldiers and PI00,000 for the relief of invalids; P300,000 to be set aside to start the work of four special commit­ tees: a committee to take a census of persons affected by the war and to study their needs; a committee to gath­ er information regarding government and private charity organizations; a committee for the rehabilitation of ci­ ties and towns; and a security commit­ tee which would have charge of cala­ mities "such as fires, flood, typhoons, etc.” The remainder of the fund was not to be allotted until these various committees had made their reports. At the request of Laurel, the Relief Com­ mittee also took up the question of the

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disposal of the gift of the Japanese Army of P100,000 and 10,000 baby dresses. It recommended that P20.000 be allotted to the City of Manila and the remainder to the provinces,—50% to be apportioned equally among the organized towns, 25% to the popula­ tion, and 25% to be used in the paci­ fication campaign. It recommended that the baby dresses be distributed in the provinces. (December 18.) On the 16th Mayor Guinto said that "the government would eventually have to do something to decrease the population of Manila. It is altogether too big from the standpoint of hygiene, intra-city transportation, and food dis­ tribution. . . The basic cause of Ma­ nila’s high prices and shortage of food­ stuffs is the reality that the city has some half million more human beings than it can take care of”. The Mayor warned that "in the event of any food shortage in Manila [sic] only bonafide residents of the city will be given pre­ ference in the distribution of prime commodities.” The Mayor was reported to be conferring with district and neigh­ borhood association chiefs on the mat­ ter of sending people without visible means of support back to the pro­ vinces. The Charity Kitchens — And so came the happy Christmas season, with pho­ tographs of the Japanese "Army Chief" handing Laurel the FI00,000 in cash as the Army’s gift to the needy, etc. It was reported, too, that the "Highest Commander would give P70,000 worth of Nippon-made toys and sundry arti­ cles through the Ministry of Education, Health and Public Welfare, and an­ other P70,000 worth through the Ma­ yor of Manila". (December 16.) Some P150,000 in cash and goods, raised in the Kalibapi and Sinbun-sya drive, was distributed to around 60,000 of Mani­ la’s needy in the Normal School grounds on the afternoon of the 22nd.

THE COMMUNITY KITCHENS

On the afternoon of the 23rd the "Pres­ ident and the First Lady” gave a fete to "6,000 indigent folk” on the Malacanan lawn, distributing food, medicines, toys, and cash. Additional gifts were distributed to some 3,000 more families through the 17 Public Welfare stations in Manila. On the 26th the Y.M.C.A. distributed gifts to war widows and or­ phans in Makati and Guadalupe. On the 28th, the same day that the ban on the entry of rice in Manila was lifted, Laurel announced that "until the distribution of rice can be resumed, stations for the distribution of cooked food will be established where the poor and the needy may be served”, — free. The Tribune reported the next day: "Hundreds of indigent people yester­ day ate their free rations of cooked rice at the community kitchens install­ ed in the various districts in Manila by the Bureau of Public Welfare in colla­ boration with the Food Administra­ tion” — 8 of them operated by the Bu­ reau and 2 more by the City. "To cope with the ever increasing number of de­ pendents, more community kitchens will be installed until the termination of the emergency.” The Tribune of the 30th reported: "More community kit­ chens were opened as the hundreds of indigent people accounted for the other day at the kitchens have increased to thousands. . . Beginning yesterday, fresh grated coconut and also salt were added to the cooked rice ration.” The next day it was reported that the rice ration would be "varied” with camotes. "About 6,000 people were recorded yesterday. . . the number is expected to increase every day as the existence of these kitchens becomes more wide­ ly known.” Seventy-five free kitchens were operating on the first of the year, “ready to serve more than 20,000 de­ pendents”. The Bureau of Public Wel­ fare was operating 11, the City of Ma­

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nila 25, the National Federation of Wo­ men’s Clubs 3, the Philippine Red Cross 8. "Around 40 sacks of rice are being doled out by the government daily, not to mention tons of camotes, hundreds of coconuts, and salt”. "It is estimated that toward the end of next week there will be 40,000 taking their daily meals at the community kitchens”. The Tribune made a paean of it: "A New Year fraught with hope will dawn upon the thousands of Ma­ nila’s poor as more community kit­ chens are installed”! (January 1.) On the 9th Laurel issued a "Manifes­ to” urging every Filipino to do his part in the crisis and giving assurance that everything was being done to remedy the situation and to avert "the possi­ bility of any man, woman, or child dy­ ing of hunger”. The community kitchens were closed on the 11th as the Bigasang Bayan re­ sumed the distribution and sale of a reduced rice-ration on the 12th. During their period of operation from Decem­ ber 28 to January 11, the community kitchens were reported to have "benefitted” 587,601 indigent persons. Yet the total consumption amounted to only 1,141 cavans of rice, 5,650 kilos of camote and 405 kilos of salt! Some 12,028 bundles of wood-fuel were used in cooking the rations. (January 16.) The Philippine Red Cross was report­ ed to have extended relief to around 70,000 persons or to an average of around 5,000 a week, during the period from the second week of October to the second week of January. (January 18.) But, as the Tribune said lightly in an editorial paragraph: "Most of us who are complaining are forget­ ting how they [sic] felt at this time two years ago." (February 4.)

Attempt to “Depopulate" Manila — The "depopulation" of Manila was pro­

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ceeding apace. Said the Tribune edito­ ment is in line with the general mea­ sure to depopulate Manila to relieve rially on February 10: "The much-needed ekodus of provincial tran­ the food situation”. sients back to their home towns and barrios On the 20th, the Tribune reported is definitely on with accelerated speed and bulk that Laurel had "recently” signed the as the days go by. Manila's population is roughly estimated to be barely a million as salary and bonus bill, the act to be compared to nearly a million-and-a-half at the effective as of January 1, providing for time the Amnesty Drive started.” a minimum salary of P70 a month and A new section had been organized a minimum wage for government la­ in the office of the Mayor which listed borers of P2.40 a day, and providing, those who wanted to go home, and "the further, for a monthly bonus ranging moment a sufficient number is grouped from 10% of salaries over P400 a according to their destination,” the Ma­ month to 75% of salaries of P40 a yor "will make recommendations with month. Ministers, however, with the ap­ the military authorities so that they proval of the President, were to have may be accommodated in the train at authority to reduce bonuses in the least twice a week”. (Tribune, Februa­ provinces if the cost of living war­ ry 3.) A few weeks later it was report­ ranted it, and the President might ed that 432 families, comprising 1,080 reduce them or suspend the ef­ persons, had been sent home thus, fect of the law altogether "when with 226 more families, comprising the prices of prime commodities 1,112 persons, awaiting transportation. have so decreased as to justify such action, or in case the condition of the (February 17.) In the meantime, P850,000 which had finances of the government should so been set aside from the P2,000,000 re­ require”. In connection with the ap­ lief fund, was allotted as follows: proval of this bill, Laurel issued an P200,000 for housing purposes, P300,- executive order requiring government 000 for food production, and P350,000 officials and employees to contribute for outright relief. These allotments all or a part of their January bonuses were divided between the 46 provinces to the Philippine Red Cross; those who and 9 cities of the country according received above P6,000 a year were to to their populations and needs. Among contribute all of their first month's the provinces, Cebu received the larg­ bonus, those from P4,800 to P6,000 a est allotment, P48.914, with Leyte, Oc­ year, 50%, down to those receiving cidental Negros, Pangasinan, and Iloilo, from P540 to P720 a year, 5%. "Filipinizing" the Church — There following in that order. Among the ci­ ties, Manila received the largest was very little actual church news, amount, P33.100. (February 12.) The and when the seven American Je­ P2,000,000 could not go far in meeting suits were taken to Fort Santiago, the needs of the miserable population. where they were kept imprisoned for With "the food problem growing several months, nothing appeared in more serious daily”, reported the Tri­ the newspapers about it, though there bune of February 19, "government of­ was an item about the Army's dona­ fices will be reduced to only essential tion of 147 sacks of wheat flour, personnel”. Cabinet members were through the Director of the Bureau of holding gatherings of the personnel in Religious Affairs, to the churches for their departments to explain that "the the celebration of masses. (November measure to depopulate the govern­ 21.)

DIVERSIONARY JAPANESE ATTACKS ON THE CHURCH

There was a continuous harping on the theme of the "Filipinization” of es­ pecially the Roman Catholic Church. "Letters” calling for this appeared in the "Public Pulse” column. One of these asked not only for a "100% Fili­ pinization” but for the "final liquida­ tion of the vast estates of the Church”, for government control of the curricula followed and the textbooks used in pri­ vate schools, and for the exclusion of "non-Filipinos or non-Orientals” from the faculties of these schools. (Nov­ ember 4.) This propaganda appeared to be on the increase in February. The Tribune’s Japanese columnist, said at one time: "The fact that we [sic] are a Catholic na­ tion is a historical accident. Of course, there is nothing wrong in being Catholics. . . We are a very religious nation, but can we say that we have digested and assimilated our imported Catholicism sufficiently to make it harmonize with our general attitude toward our daily life? Is not the faith in most of us too passive, do­ cile, and ceremonial? After all, we are what we are due to historical accident. Yet we have reached a stage in our national progress in which a more activating and envigorating reli­ gious guidance is imperative. Along with the Filipinization of politics and economics, we re­ quire Filipinization in our spiritual ideal.” (February 5.)

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a decree issued by the Archbishop of Manila threatening to excommunicate or suspend priests participating in this movement to free the Fil­ ipino priests from injustice and oppression and their parishioners from notions which in the past kept our people from unity and national­ ism ... but this present movement for Filipinism will [only be] enhanced by all the threats and punishments made under the Archbishop's de­ cree.”

Catholic priests who had recently been interned in Santo Tomas said that the Archbishop had issued no such "decree”, but had warned parish priests against engaging in political activities. As for the writer of the article, they said he had been suspended and was "not in good standing". A few days later, the Japanese co­ lumnist returned to the assault: "Our Catholic leaders are a bit tardy in keep­ ing abreast with the nationalistic trend of the modem age. By reasoning to the people that the church does not meddle in politics, our church is even refraining from being active in its patriotic duties toward our newly acquired independence... If the Catholics of other inde­ pendent countries are encouraged by their church to be patriotic, we are entitled to receive the encouragement. Any factors within our church prejudicial to our patriotism should be elim­ inated." (February 8.)

For several days during the follow­ ing week, the Tribune gave prominent The next day he continued: display to the "72nd anniversary” of "Those who are advocating the Filipinization the execution, on February 17, 1872, of movement are just as faithful to Catholicism as the three Filipino priests, Fathers Bur­ those who are trying to preserve the status quo in the present church hierarchy in the Philip­ gos, Gomez, and Zamora, who in their pines. And after all, they are asking no more day advocated the secularization of the than what the Catholics of other nations have clergy and were executed on the false sought and gained.” charge of complicity in the Cavite re­ In an article entiled "Remember Fa­ volt. The Archbishop of that day, how­ ther Burgos”, in the magazine section ever, had upheld their innocence and of that same Sunday issue of the Tri­ refused to defrock them and they were bune, by a Rev. C. Maria Quiambao, garroted in their priestly robes. appeared the following paragraph: A requiem mass was celebrated in "The Filipino clergy has launched the same the Manila Cathedral, Guerrero, auxi­ cry for justice and national unity and true Fil- liary bishop of Manila, officiating. Lau­ ipinism, favored as we are today by many rel "led the congregation” and the circumstances created by the War of East Asia. Our present movement, however, was, on Oc­ Chief-of-staff of the Japanese Army and tober 23, 1943, given the coup d’etat [sic] by many other high Japanese officers as

120

well as Filipino officials were among those present. It was reported that si­ milar rites were to be held in "all other Catholic churches throughout the Philippines”. Laurel issued a statement in connection with the affair in which he was quoted as saying: "The three priests blazed the way for respon­ sible nationalism and racial self-respect. They set a tradition and a standard of moral leader­ ship for Filipino leaders of the cloth to go by in sharing the responsibilities of nation-building under the young Republic." (February 17.)

There was another broadside of pro­ paganda in the Tribune of that day. An editorial paragraph stated: "Four hundred years should be long enough for any nation to remain under foreign missionaries”. The Japanese columnist said: "Yes, the Church must not med­ dle in politics. This means that the Church must not interfere even pas­ sively by staying too aloof from the political trend of the time. Our Church and our State must work in harmony for the good of the nation. There can be no national unity unless we have politico-religious harmony". The Fili­ pino columnist, “Maharajah” capped it: "The claim may have some truth that we do not have a sufficient number of Filipino priests to replace all the foreigners in the parishes. But it is equally true that we do have several Filipino bishops fully prepared to head the Catholic Church in our Republic and do so with honor and dignity. And no one should resent the fact that our legitimate aspirations as a nation demand that one of our own peo­ ple should head the Church here.”

The Catholic bishops of Luzon had held a two-day conference in Manila, on the 14th and 15th, at the Archbish­ op’s Palace. The bishops were enter­ tained at luncheon by Laurel on the first day, and the second day, headed by Bishop Guerrero, they called on the Highest Commander. The Highest Com­ mander and the bishops "exchanged

THE COUNTRY

views on affairs of state with deep understanding and cordiality”. The Highest Commander "urged them to work harder for Philippine indepen­ dence”, and Guerrero responded saying that "the Catholic elements will be more active in the building of the new home of the Filipinos”. (February 16.) The "representatives” of 14 Protes­ tant religious organizations, too, met at the Bureau of Religious Affairs in February and “pledged to dedicate themselves to the task of aiding the government in restoring complete peace and order throughout the coun­ try and in increasing food production”. The delegation was headed by Sobrepena. (February 19.) An interesting minor development at this time was the announced "early departure” of the "group of Japanese nuns and Catholic lady teachers” who had come to the Philippines early in 1943 "to teach Nippongo and to pro­ mote goodwill through contact with Filipino women”. They had since been teaching in various Catholic girl schools in Manila. "They were given a farewell reception by Detachment Commander Utunomiya at his official residence." (February 13.) Misleading School Statistics — The underlying Japanese idea of education was well expressed in a line in an editorial: "School children are, more or less, putty in the hands of their teachers, and if the training is given in the right spirit and the right direction, — so much good could come of the effort.” (November 6.)

There was very little school news to be read in the columns of the Tribune. In the issue of October 26, Laurel was reported to have created the National Board of Education, composed of Bocobo, Francisco Benitez, and M. V. de los Santos, to make a study of and to recommend reforms in the existing system of education.

THE SCHOOLS

AND THE UNIVERSITY

On November 30 Laurel issued an executive order requiring that, effective the next school year, the majority of the members of the governing boards of all private schools, colleges, and universities must be Filipino citizens, and increasing the authority of the Minister of Education, Health and Pu­ blic Welfare over such institutions. The order also required the compulsory teaching of Tagalog as the national language in all public and private schools. (December 3.) In January he ordered that the Bu­ reau of Oriental Culture, a new unit in the Ministry of Education, should have charge of the preparation, ap­ proval, and adoption of textbooks for use in all schools. (January 5.) Later it was announced that Dr. de los San­ tos had been appointed Director of the Bureau and that in its studies of and researches into other East Asian cultures, "special emphasis would be laid on the culture of Japan”. (Feb­ ruary 3.) About all that was to be read about the once so flourishing and progressive University of the Philippines was that "in view of the limited facilities of the University of the Philippines, student admission will be limited. The second semester begins November 24”. (Octo­ ber 29). It was announced in the Tri­ bune, January 12, however, that Dr. A. G. Sison, President of the University, had said that courses in "diplomacy” would be offered. "Next academic year will see a full-pledged [sic] college of liberal arts functioning”. In the occasional items on the "prog­ ress of the new education”, the num­ bers of classes and not of schools were usually referred to and the figures were so confusing that nothing could be made of them. On February 17 the Tri­ bune reported that there were 1,370 pu­ blic elementary and secondary schools

121

in operation with an enrolment of around 500,000 pupils. Though the lat­ ter figure was only a fourth of normal, it was, under the circumstances a rather surprising number. But the report went on to say that in the 1,285 elementary schools there were 100 head-teachers and 10,320 elementary class-room teach­ ers. Now there might be, and in fact there should be more teachers than there are schools, because there would always be a number of teachers teach­ ing in one of the larger schools; but could there be more schools "in opera­ tion” than there were teachers? How­ ever, there were also 384 secondary teachers. Perhaps they taught in some of the elementary schools. The figures on private schools were probably more dependable. In January it was reported that there were then "over 200” of them, enrolling around 48,000 pupils. Of these schools, 94 were kindergartens, 142 primary, 118 intermediate, 70 secondary, and 44 vo­ cational schools, it was said, — but that made 468! Perhaps some of the schools were both kindergarten and primary, or secondary and vocational. Anyway, those were the published fi­ gures. (January 16.) On January 13, Vice-Minister of Edu­ cation Manalac was reported to have instructed all schools to devote their Saturdays exclusively to food-produc­ tion activities; all vocational periods in secondary schools were to be devot­ ed to food production. On February 17 he went further and ordered all pu­ blic and private elementary and sec­ ondary schools to confine their regular school work to the mornings and to devote afternoons to food production. Laurel addressed the teachers in a radio broadcast on February 17 and appealed to them to assist the govern­ ment in its efforts to establish peace and order and to bring about self-suf­

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122

ficiency in food production. Notably there was in this whole speech no re­ ference to the Co-Prosperity Sphere, the Imperial Japanese Empire, or the “New Order”. Indeed, at one place he said that it was the duty of the teach­ ers "to prevent the overthrow of tra­ ditional and time-honored institutions . . . to preserve the political indepen­ dence and freedom of the Philip­ pines. . . ” A few days later it was reported that Laurel had “recently” approved the bill which imposed new taxes for the sup­ port of the schools. The law establish­ ed a basic annual school and residence tax of P2 for male and PI for female inhabitants over 18 years of age, plus PI on every P2,500 worth of real pro­ perty they owned, plus PI on every PI,000 of gross income (February 20.) "Newspapers published Solely for the Benefit of the State" — Jose P. Bautista, titular “editor” of the Tri­ bune, and F. B. Icasiano, titular ditto of the magazine section of the Sunday Tribune, were the Philippine delegates to the East Asia Press Conference in November. A Tokyo dispatch reported that Icasiano had said that "in this critical period of East Asia history, journalism has become an apostolate, a martyrdom if you wish.” (November 19.) In an article written after his re­ turn, he said about his brief stay in Japan: "We worshipped at the shrines, lived as the Japanese live, and absorbed as much as possible of their magnificent inner life outwardly ex pressed in mass discipline, national unity, loyal­ ty to the Throne, unwavering faith in the sanc­ tity and ultimate triumph of the East Asian cause, industry intelligently directed, and an almost illimitable self-abnegation.”

Icasiano found his strengthened. He said:

own

faith

"I do not pretend to any semblance of in­ fallibility of observation and foresight. I merely draw the courage and confidence from a know­

ledge that my intuition has yet to fail me or mislead whoever may have been pleased to consider himself my reader.” (December 17.)

It did not make his Manila readers any happier, however, when Icasiano told them that — "Tokyo is an example of a metropolis whose officials and citizenry collaborate to provide every mouth with nutritive foods, every skin with warm clothing in cold weather, with shel­ ter from the elements. Controlled economy operates effectively. . . Coffee costs 10 sen, a meal at ordinary restaurants may be had at no more than a yen (PI)." (December 14.)

This kind of propaganda was as un­ wise in starving Manila as was the long, cheerful Tokyo dispatch which was headed: "Nippon’s Savings Show In­ crease”. (February 2.) H. Kaneku, "Executive Editor of the Manila Sinbun-sya”, wrote a toughminded article on "wartime journal­ ism” which, somewhat unwisely, boast­ ed of what the Tribune was, or, at least, of what he thought it was. He said in part: "Newspapermen’s duties and work are no longer different from those of the armed forces. The only distinction lies in the weapon. . . The papers published are intended solely for the benefit of the state. . . In the past, the papers were interested to serve the reading public, whereas they are serving the state today. . . Newspapers are no more the mirror reflecting society. The form of the national aim is defi­ nitely fixed without respect to the inclination of society. The paper’s mission is to uplift the society to the level of that national aim. . . It is no longer right for a newspaper to act cold­ ly as a third-party observer. . . The newspaper has become a machinery for the nation’s total warfare. A newspaper is no different from a machine gun or an airplane. . . The wartime newspaper does not take any interest in per­ sonal or private affairs, no matter how interest­ ing the news or how sensational the scoop. . . Whether or not the news arouses interest or affords entertainment to the public makes no difference. . . However, if the paper is uninte­ resting it will not find a reading public. In such cases, the paper must make use of some technical methods to make its columns appear interesting. . . In modern warfare everyone's

WARTIME JOURNALISM” private life is naturally accompanied by priva­ tions . . . At such times the newspapers should always give encouragement and proper advice to the people in their efforts to lower the standard of living. Should there be any cause for complaint or dissatisfaction which could be eliminated through government policy, the paper should so inform the proper authorities .. . The newspaper must boost up the morale of the people to encourage them . . . Many Filipino newspapermen collaborate in guiding their countrymen to uphold the honor of in­ dependence.” (January 1.)

The Screen and Stage Association of the Philippines was inaugurated late in October, "with Col. Ziro Saito, Direc­ tor of the Department of Information, Imperial Japanese Army, and acting Minister of Education Gabriel Manalac among the speakers.” (October 27.) "Bribery, Theft, Robbery in the Po­ lice and Constabulary" — The enforce­ ment of law and order showed little improvement in Manila. At the end of October the Mayor, "pending final ap­ proval of higher authorities", closed the hundreds of "shooting galleries” which had sprung up in Manila and had become centers of wild gambling. (October 31.) In November he ordered the "closing of all bawdy houses”. (Nov­ ember 2.) Later in the month it was reported that the Mayor had designated a “Red Light zone”, which was the "unanimous choice not only of the civilian officials but also of the author­ ities of the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy in the Philippines.” (Novem­ ber 11.) A "branch of the Military Police Sta­ tion” was reported to have been opened at 48 Aviles Street (near Malacanan), "for the protection of honest and lawabiding citizens on the north side of the Pasig. The newly opened office is called the Manila Kita Kenpei Buntai.” (December 15.) This was two months after the inauguration of the "Repub­ lic”.

123

In January, the Mayor ordered the Metropolitan Constabulary to conduct a search for concealed firearms and other deadly weapons in the “outskirts of Manila". (January 11.) Speaking some weeks later at a meeting of neigh­ borhood association leaders, the Mayor suggested plans for a "more rigid pat­ rol by district and neighborhood asso­ ciation guards so as to better ensure public peace and security in Manila”. "It appears that there has been a ten­ dency lately for patrol guards to be lax with their duties, resulting in the commission of crimes in many places.” The matter of granting compensation to guards and their families in case of injury and death was also taken up. "At present, patrol guards hurt or killed on duty are not amply compen­ sated.” (February 5.) Though it was here admitted that crimes were being committed "in many places”, the Tribune had reported only one of such incidents. On December 22, a few days before Christmas, it report­ ed that a dozen gangsters had exchang­ ed gunfire with the Constabulary at 8:30 in the evening of the 19th, on the corner of Rizal Avenue and Azcarraga (an important intersection of two of the main streets of Manila), two pas­ sers-by having been "killed or injured”. "The report of the guns caused unusual tension at the scene of the clash”. The band, which had been holding a "clan­ destine meeting”, was "completely brought under control. . . The effi­ ciency of the Constabulary force was again manifested.” They were "gang­ sters and not with any guerrilleros or political offenders”. City Hall authorities announced on February 6 that a supplementary bud­ get provided for 500 additional posi­ tions in the Metropolitan Constabulary and that this would bring the total “nearer to the authorized strength of 2,500”.

124

THE COUNTRY

If law and order was bad in Manila, it was evidently bad within the Consta­ bulary organization itself, for in Nov­ ember, Director G. B. Francisco, Chief of Constabulary, was quoted as asking the public to help in an “honesty cam­ paign” by reporting “alleged misde­ meanors committed by constabularymen. . . It was regrettable that a few months ago bribery and corruption was reported rampant among members of the Constabulary”. (November 4.) A number of such cases were report­ ed on in the papers during the follow­ ing months and in January the Mayor created a "Board of Probers” "to in­ quire into numerous complaints ag­ ainst officers and men in the Metro­ politan Constabulary. . . ranging from petty derelictions of duty to serious abuses of authority, bribery, theft, and robbery. .. The situation has now come to such a pass that the people are losing faith in the organization.” (January 14.) The foregoing concerned only Mani­ la. As for the Constabulary organiza­ tions as a whole, the Tribune of Nov­ ember 4 ran a headline: "Constabulary Force will be Increased to 40,000 Men.” This was about eight times the former peacetime strength of that organiza­ tion. The report stated that the admi­ nistration would seek to carry out the expansion program before March, 1944, "in order to carry out its major policy of maintaining public peace and or­ der”. Seventeen "regional training schools” were to be established in the provinces in addition to the existing constabulary "academies”, five of which were in Manila and one each in Baguio, Cebu, and Davao. The Tribune report went on to say that though the cost of this organization, approximate­ ly PI,000 a year per man, —

considering the limited income of the govern­ ment, is willing to keep the other activities of the government within the minimum level pos­ sible in a desire to attain its goal for the Con­ stabulary.” (November 4)

"will constitute a major portion of the annual budget of the government, the administration,

The Amnesty and the Guerrillas — For several months the Tribune was

"Laurel Accelerates Constabulary Force Expansion Program”, was the headline in the Tribune issue of Janua­ ry 2. The paper reported on the issu­ ance of an executive order for the "di­ rect appointment or free enlistment of qualified persons into the commisioned and non-commissioned service”. "In order to facilitate the prompt organiza­ tion of the Philippine Constabulary into the required strength and thus effectively accelerate the pacification campaign now being undertaken by the government. . . commissioned officers may be appointed from among the graduates of academies of the former Philippine Constabulary or Philippine Army. . . and of non-commissioned personnel that have had substantial training or experience under the former Philippine Constab­ ulary or Philippine Army. The order created boards of selection, the members of which were to be appointed by the President, which were to pass on the qualifications of all applicants. The boards of selection. . . and the recruiting officers shall accept for commission and enlist­ ment [those] who, in addition to their training and experience, are loyal to the Republic of the Philippines." (January 2.)

A photograph reproduced on the front page of the Tribune of February 15 showed the Malacanan Palace Guards, a Constabulary unit, being in­ spected by Japanese officers. A letter from a reader in Pampanga was published in the "Public Pulse” column, January 20. The writer spoke of numerous and constant Constabula­ ry abuses, especially in Bataan, the Bicol provinces, Nueva Ecija, and Pam­ panga. "If the President of the Republic will only make a personal public hearing in the abovenamed provinces, he will no doubt know the true reason why the so-called bad elements are increasing in number.”

THE AMNESTY AND THE GUERRILLAS

125

full of stories about guerrillas surren­ dering to the authorities and taking the oath under the Amnesty Proclama­ tion. On November 5 the "leader” of the Cavite guerrillas was reported to have surrendered and to have asked Laurel in a letter to give him "a chance to serve my fatherland by putting me in the Constabulary in order to help maintain peace and order as well as to defend my country”. On December 11, 154 Cavite guerrillas were reported to have surrendered at Kawit. The men were addressed by General de los Reyes of the Amnesty Board, by Assemblyman Tirona, and by the "Unit Com­ mander of the Navy in Cavite”. When the Assembly recessed for the Christmas and New Year holidays it was announced that the members would help in the “amnesty drive" in their respective provinces. "Have faith in the government”, said Laurel in a radiocast.

On December 19, the Tribune report­ ed that 98 more Cavite guerrillas had surrendered, and on December 22, an additional 300 were reported to have done so. On January 8, it was reported that 1,355 guerrillas had surrendered in Bo­ hol. On January 12 it was claimed that 158 guerrillas had surrendered in Nueva Ecija, some 5,000 people witnessing the oath-taking ceremony, also that 77 guerrillas had recently surrendered in Mindoro. On January 14 it was stated that 420 “guerrilleros” had taken oath at Amadeo, Cavite. That issue of the Tribune also reported that General de los Reyes had —

"Many are those who walk forlorn in the shadow of a fatal delusion. . . I feel myself one with our people in their deep anxiety and brooding concern for our countrymen who are estranged from us. . . I appeal to all mothers, fathers, children, wives, husbands, sweethearts, brothers, and friends of these last remaining dissenters to use their reason, their love, and patriotism to persuade them to take full ad­ vantage of this offer within the prescribed period."

The speech was published in the Tri­ bune of December 16 which also con­ tained a statement from "authoritative sources” that those who surrendered would be immediately released after taking the oath to uphold the Consti­ tution. General de los Reyes "revealed that the provincial governors have discret­ ionary funds to be used in the rehabili­ tation of surrendered guerrillas, most of whom are furnished with food and clothing as well as transportation mo­ ney to their homes.” (December 18.)

"denied the rumor being circulated by some irresponsible people that those who have sur­ rendered and will surrender will be forcibly recruited by the Japanese Army and Navy to serve under the Japanese flag in this war. He pointed out that the paper containing the oath of surrender will be respected by the Japanese authorities so that all the former guerrilleros who hold such papers are assured of their per­ sonal security."

The Tribune, January 16, reported that 1,000 guerrillas had been expected to take the oath at Mendes, Cavite, and that General de los Reyes and other of­ ficials had gone there but that the guerrillas had failed to show up, "due to inclement weather”. The ceremonies had been indefinitely postponed. The 60-day period set in the Amnesty proclamation was to expire on the 25th, and on January 18 Laurel proclaimed an "Amnesty Week”, January 19 to 25, ordering an intensification of the drive during this last week. Vice-Minister of Education Manalac instructed all superintendents of schools in the provinces to join in the drive and to order their school prin­ cipals also to take part. The Tribune, January 21, reported that Foreign Min­ ister Recto was "head of a pacification tour”, the party also including two

126

other Ministers, de las Alas and Tirona, Assemblyman Laurel, Vice-Minister Bonifacio, Counsellor F. Lavides, and General Cailles. They were to visit Batangas, Laguna, and Tayabas. Two other Ministers, Paredes and Sison, visited other provinces. Later Sison was quoted as saying that “agricul­ tural problems seem to be behind some unrest in the province of Rizal, while in Nueva Ecija the situation calls for further efforts for the complete return of normalcy”. Paredes reported that the “general conditions, particularly peace and order in the northern pro­ vinces of Luzon, are fairly satisfac­ tory”. Due to transportation difficul­ ties, "he was able to reach only as far as Claveria, Cagayan, omitting Isabela”. (January 28.) During the week Laurel made a num­ ber of passionate, almost hysterical ap­ peals to the guerrillas. In one radio broadcast he appealed to his listeners "not to doubt the patriotism of those who are helping in the running of the government, in the way that the latter are not doubting the patriotism of those elements still in hiding”. He said that if the guerrillas did not surrender, then the government would have to send the Constabulary after them.12

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lumn went so far as to suggest that the government — "induce the honest and truly patriotic guerrillas to organize themselves into a vigilance guard who may keep an eye on bandits, dishonest officials, and unscrupulous economic police of­ ficers, opportunists, and profiteers, both alien and native.” (January 23.)

A mass “amnesty rally” was held in Manila on the night of the 22nd. Ma­ yor Guinto begged all guerrillas to sur­ render, expressing the fear that unless the people cooperated in full in the restoration of peace and order in the city, "zonification” might still be car­ ried out. The Tribune of the 20th reported that 1,500 ex-guerrillas in Nueva Eci­ ja had taken the oath before the governor of the province and that the local Japanese garrison com­ mander at Cuyapo, where the ceremo­ nies were held, had "pointed out that the Japanese Imperial Army is here in order to help the government restore peace and order”. On the 22nd, it was reported that 3,500 guerrillas had given up in Occidental Negros; on the 25th that the Iloilo guerrillas had given up (a big headline), including a number "who went into hiding with former Governor Tomas Confesor, guerrilla leader of the province. . . Many pro­ "In such a case, either the guerrillas will minent people were granted amnesty get killed, or the constabularymen will be the . . . All the towns of Iloilo are now ones killed. In either case, the victims would under control." be Filipinos, the sufferers would be Filipinos. . . When all Filipinos shall have succeeded in es­ On the 27th Laurel was quoted as tablishing a strong and respected nation. . . having said that the Luzon pacification then we could defend our nation against any drive had been successful, more than nation that might attempt to snatch away our 18,000 guerrillas having received the freedom." (January 20.) For Laurel to say that the Filipinos benefits of the amnesty. "It is to be regretted that some of our in the government did not question the patriotism of the guerrillas was a long countrymen, however few, have turned a deaf ear to the appeal. Nothing would have been way from calling them bandits and more beautiful, exemplary, and inspiring than to criminals, and "Maharajah” in his co­ have achieved complete unanimity of purpose 12 Note (1945) — Laurel probably did not realize that the Japanese would, — as they did, betray him in this matter. Numbers of guerrillas who gave themselves up were murdered by them.

in the midst of these most trying difficulties. . . The period of amnesty having expired, the only course open to the government is to reserve unto itself such measures as may become neces-

THE APPEAL OF COL. NAGAHAMA sary for the preservation of the Republic. . . May God illumine the government of the Re­ public in the steps that it may be compelled to take, with malice toward none and with the only purpose of serving the Filipino people."

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der the Tydings-McDuffie Act?’. . . Referring to the action of the Imperial Japanese Army in con­ nection with the amnesty, the Chief of the Jap­ anese Military Police said that it had suspended all punitive operations against the guerrillas This sounded ominous, but lo! a Tri­ during the 60-day period covered by the Amnesty Proclamation in order to give the guerrillas am­ bune editorial: ple opportunity to avail themselves of the bene­ "The period of amnesty has expired in Lu­ fits offered them by the government... ‘In zon, but somehow we are hoping that the few her solemn mission to establish the Greater remnant guerrillas left in isolated spots would East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere and to assist in yet find a way by which they might share with the development of a free and independent their brothers the joy and distinction of build­ Philippines as a member of this Oriental family ing the nation we all love and in offering what of free and sovereign nations, Japan has made we may thus achieve to the future generations great sacrifices. She will correspondingly never of free Filipinos whose pride shall be justly allow any foreign power to return to any part reposed in all of us forever more.” (January 28.) of Greater East Asia to exploit and dominate A few days later, Colonel Nagahama, Oriental peoples again. Anyone, whether Fili­ Chief of the Japanese Military Police, pino or of any other nationality, who commits issued a long and persuasive statement, acts to help American or any other enemy po­ “baring the policy of leniency”. It re­ wer against the interests of the Philippines or of Japan or of Greater East Asia will be con­ vealed the serious menace the guerril­ sidered an enemy and shall be dealt with ac­ las constituted for the Japanese. cordingly’, the Colonel emphatically stated. ‘All " 'The Japanese do not insist that they [the guerrillas who fail to give up their futile guerrillas] become pro-Japanese, but on the struggle will eventually fall under this status. other hand they obviously should not be pro- They will become outlaws and enemies of the American. Our sole concern is that they be pro- state. The Imperial Japanese Army stands ready Filipino and loyal to their motherland’. . . He to defend the Philippines as an integral part expressed satisfaction over the fact that about of Greater East Asia and will safeguard her 35,000 guerrillas and other political offenders independence from external as well as internal have availed themselves of the benefits of the enemies at any cost.. In the future world order amnesty proclamation. ‘Unfortunately, there are which is certain to be established with the vic­ still some who have failed to take advantage tory of Japan, there will be no place for Angloof the generosity of the Philippine government Americans in the Orient’, Colonel Nagahama as well as of the Japanese Imperial Forces. They concluded. ‘East Asia is for East Asians and the have not only failed to heed the amnesty offer Philippines must be maintained for the Filipi­ but are actually continuing to engage in acti­ nos'.” vities which are detrimental to the best in­ This being the attitude still assumed terests of the country. . . There can be only by the Japanese military toward the one reason why these Filipinos persist in such foolish activities. This reason is that they ex­ guerrillas the Tribune that day carried pect the Americans to return, which, in turn, the banner headline: "President Will if analyzed and dissected, has as its ultimate ba­ Pardon Guerrillas Who Give Up, Indi­ sis, considerations which are entirely self-cen­ vidual Cases will be given Due Consi­ tered, base, and unpatriotic. They expect Ame­ deration; Laurel tells Amnesty Board rican dollars, luxuries, material wealth, and re­ Members he will Exercise Pardon Po­ ward for their loyalty to America, even at the wer and Free Guerrillas who take Lo­ expense of loyalty to their own country and yalty Oath After Amnesty Period.” of selling out their own kin and countrymen. One of their arguments is that they want free­ However, most of the surrenders and dom and independence. Can they expect greater oath-takings reported after this had to political independence than that enjoyed by the do with the Visayas and Mindanao, al­ present sovereign Republic of the Philippines, though on February 4 the Tribune re­ which enjoys more freedom and independence than was possible under American rule or any ported that General de los Reyes had independence that could have been attained un­ "recently sent a letter to some of the

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guerrilla leaders in Cavite and in Pampanga urging them to consider the pro­ position that they return to a peaceful life and cooperate with the government . . . The General is confident that the leaders will react favorably.” It was thus admitted that in spite of all the stories about guerrilla surrenders in Cavite, there still were large numbers of them who had not surrendered. Another significant report came from Leyte, where 50,0C0 were said to have yielded. "The province has run out of amnesty forms . . . In order to take care of the housing pro­ blem caused by the return of the guerrilleros to the towns, Governor Torres also requested Malacanan for additional funds with which to buy nipa and rattan for distribution to the re­ turned guerrilleros who have found their homes destroyed.” (February 4.)

The Governor of Occidental Negros was also reported to have asked for more funds “to carry on relief pro­ jects” in connection with surrender of over 8,000 guerrillas. (February 10.) This use of funds throws a light on the figures published. The Tribune of February 11 reported that Malacanan had announced that a total 102,977 guer­ rillas throughout the country had tak­ en advantage of the Amnesty.13 The story went around in Santo To­ mas that an American woman in the camp had had an opportunity to talk with one of her servants. She asked him whether it was true that there were so many guerrillas even in the city of Manila. He said, "Oh, yes, ma’am! I am one of them.” "And is it true that so many of them are surrendering?” “Oh, yes, ma’am,” said the boy. "I my­ self have surrendered four times al­ ready.” It was said in Manila that provincial and municipal officials were taking the oaths of a lot of boys, merely to make 13Note (1945) — There were around a million guerrillas who never surrendered.

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impressive lists, and that if there were any real guerrillas surrendering, they were only doing so to "take a rest at home” for a while. Alibis — With conditions being what they were, with realities so contrary to the propaganda, what was the alibi? For the most part, none was offered. Unhappy facts were ignored. The general attitude maintained was that everything was fine. A three-day fes­ tival was announced to celebrate the first month of the Republic, but this affair had to be cancelled because of the typhoon and flood. Beginning De­ cember 8, the second anniversary of the day of the outbreak of the war, "Liberation Week” was celebrated. It was stated that “the significance of the sacred war will be introspected” [sic] and "the determination to annihi­ late the Anglo-Americans will be re­ doubled”. (December 2.) Laurel issued a perfervid statement, published on the 8th (Vargas used to have to do this; now it was Laurel): "The 18,000,000 Filipinos are today joining hands with the 1,000,000,000 East Asians. This year, December 8 assumes a double signific­ ance: the death-knell of Anglo-American im­ perialism in the Far East and the magnificent unity of all East Asians to preserve their com­ mon heritage. During the past two years, the Philippines has been a witness to the subtle and profound changes brought about by the care­ fully architected plans of Japan. These plans are but the logical continuation of the historical pattern laid out by that country as far back as 1895 when she saw the relentless shadow of the Anglo-American exploitation, with terror as its attendant, darken slowly the landscape of Asia. . . For decades she had seen East Asia labor under malignant measures which revel­ led in misery and bitterness . . . December 8, 1941, saw the sudden end of her patient forbearance of Anglo-American domination. Out of that forbearance emerged the swift unsheathing of the sword by the Japanese nation, drawn in defense of her rights and of all East Asian nations, backed by the will, the manifold re­ sources, and the arduous preparations of her enlightened statesmen and people. No nation in

THE ALIBIS Asia, worthy of the heritage of her past, her sacred traditions, and the right to live in the sun can henceforth countenance the return of Anglo-American rule or influence. . . For this the Philippines has given thanks and an in­ violable promise to contribute the total of her efforts to the ultimate building up of a hemis­ pheric bloc in the East, impenetrable against the designs and intents of greed and appetite, within which all Asians, including Filipinos, can shape their respective destinies, secure, pros­ perous, and unhampered".

129

troduced into the Assembly which pro­ vided for the "internment” of such peo­ ple, the Tribune’s Filipino columnist wrote: "We trust our Assemblymen will waste little precious time in saving the poor public, now grown pale and emaciated, from the alien leech­ es that fatten on honest Filipino blood.” (Jan­ uary 20.)

Some weeks later, he said: "The Jews, the Chinese, the Indians have

The next day Laurel told a crowd on all the best dokars, the best horses, the best the Luneta that "independence is real”. women, the best residences, the best of every­ thing which the few Filipinos who happen to "Our flag now stands alone.” “We are have some of them gloat in having as a rarety. the masters in our own land.” (Decem­ And what do most Filipinos here in the provinc­ ber 9.) es do about it? They try to kill one another The Assembly had legislated that in the name of patriotism." (February 6.) New Year’s Day would also be Thanks­ Signs readings, "No service whatever giving Day, so on December 31 the Tri­ shall be rendered to Jewish people at bune reported: this hotel”, were referred to as posted "The Filipino people will observe their first in the Manila Hotel in a letter which Thanksgiving holiday tomorrow. . . The whole appeared in the Tribune of December nation will dedicate its thought to and feel 17. thankful for the blessings of the year about to The Japanese, however, appeared to pass, including the blessings of independence, realize that hostility aroused against the ample benefits of a normal life in wartime, and the rapid restoration of peace and order foreigners might be hard to control, in the country." and once in a while, "E.M.”, the Tri­ Another writer in that issue began bune’s Japanese columnist would say something like the following: his article: "Conscious of unhappy events transpiring in other parts of the world today, the people of the Philippines will welcome the New Year . . . ”

"We, as human beings, are apt to generalize too much and draw hasty conclusions in judg­ ing others. When we have a few undesirable foreigners among us, we are liable to classify all foreigners as bad. We must guard against such mentality. . . All will be well if Indians, Chinese, and all of us realize that we are des­ tined to live as neighbors.” (February 18.)

Laurel, of course, issued a New Year’s message in which he spoke of "when we were first drawn into the It will be noted that he did not refer benevolent circle of the New Order by specifically to the Japanese. They were the solicitude of the great Japanese a people apart from Chinese and In­ Empire”. He went on, — and was it dians. irony? — The Japanese did not hesitate to turn "Events have transpired so swiftly and so their propaganda against their own happily since then, that before two years had tools,—the Filipino officials. "It may run their course, we were enabled to form a government of our own, invested with all the be true that we are having a rice shor­ rights and prerogatives of sovereignty.” tage, but," said "E.M.”, after referring If difficulties were admitted, then, to the black market, "there is still usually, "profiteers” were blamed for enough worth the government effort in everything, especially, "third-party na­ making it flow into the right channels.” tionals" and Jews. When a bill was in­ (December 29.)

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At the demise of the Naric organiza­ tion, the Filipino columnist said: "Profiteering is at the bottom of our rice crisis. The profiteers in the provinces connived with the profiteers in the Naric, slowly invali­ dating Naric service until the organization collapsed and now lies happily dead.” (Janua­ ry 6.)

The Japanese writer, commenting on the "hijacking” of produce, much of it done by the Japanese themselves, said: "The scribe can not understand why a truckload of foodstuffs being brought into Manila should become one half of its original quantity when it reaches destination after passing through all the 'extortion gates’ on the way." (Decem­ ber 30.)

Making himself a champion of the people, he wrote: "Is it not about time that the people are satisfied more? Public servants must realize the all-important role entrusted to those who wield authority. . . Nothing which should be done should be left undone.” (February 12.)

When the propaganda about there being plenty of rice could no longer be kept up, "Maharajah”, the Filipino co­ lumnist, said: "Creating false hopes about rice that is forth­ coming before the rice supply is acquired in the provinces, may soothe the hungry and the long-suffering temporarily, but the practice, es­ pecially when repeated, kills all hopes, destroys faith in both the agency making the announce­ ment and the organization that publishes it. Talk of distributing an abundance of commodi­ ties on a specified date may be heartening for a time, but repeated failures to show any of the commodities may not only demoralize the public, but tend to the injury of district and neighborhood association leaders authorized to make the distribution. Even the newspapers lose their prestige as a result, and accurate reports of greater import and significance are put to question and doubt." (February 12.)

THE COUNTRY ever they could spare, and some are even wait­ ing for the Naric to feed them. The common consumers have been waiting for rice rations in vain. True, some rice has reached the con­ sumers at black-market prices, but where is the rest of the rice harvest? Certain people are hoarding them and are maneuvering at the same time for higher prices. These people na­ turally have to pin the blame on somebody and are circulating sinister rumors through hired agents."

This was, of course, a reference to the fact that the Japanese were seizing the bulk of the rice as well as of all other products. Laurel was made to counter such reports by saying on one occasion, “We can not always rely on Japan for food as we have been accus­ tomed to do in the past”! (December 7.) Only a few days before, the opinion had been expressed that "Things would have been just as bad if Japan had merely blockaded the Philippines and not occupied it.” (December 5.) The People Continuously Berated — The former American "exploiters” were, naturally, constantly blamed for the fact that the Philippines were al­ legedly not self-supporting in food pro­ duction, yet, often in the same breath, would come some such statement as the following (by the Japanese column­ ist): "It is evident that there are still some among us demented by the parasitic easy life we man­ aged to live through sponging on America. Are we justified in blaming Nippon for our unpre­ paredness and inability to adjust ourselves to the needs of an independent nation?" (Decem­ ber 5.)

And so the exploited, suffering, hun­ ger-exhausted people were berated. "A nation backward in production has no But the people were not so easily right to imitate advanced nations", so fooled. "Where is the rice going?” ask­ ran an editorial apothegm on Decem­ ed the writer of a letter published in ber 4. Osias was quoted as having said the "Public Pulse” column of Decem­ in a radio address: ber 30. "A great many of our people seem to be chro­ "The Philippines enjoyed a very bountiful crop of rice this year! Most farmers have sold what­

nic kickers, habitual complainers and grumblers . . . Even without the war we would be suffer-

THE PEOPLE CONSTANTLY BERATED

131

made the women dominant”. "They think that when they are in a fix they can always depend on their relatives and friends. In fact, these people are always helping each other. The spirit of mutual aid is well developed here . . . But the people seem to place no confidence even in the neighborhood associations or in the Red Cross. They Adressing himself to the youth, the do not want to trust government of­ ficials.” "They always try to take ad­ Japanese columnist said: vantage of your kindness. That is a "The shouts and complaints of 'dear living’, 'rising prices’, ’floods’, 'insurgents’, — how mean- Western idea . . . Even when Japan is spirited they sound! Aren’t these difficulties the giving them extra considerations they best touch-stones [sic] for you to overcome as a think that Japan is forced to do so.” test for an independent nation? You would need (December 2, 3, 4.) to be ashamed if you should ever be daunted.” Light was thrown on the Japanese (December 26.) kindness and consideration by a letter There was one series of articles, en­ in the Tribune: titled, "Know the Filipinos", conversa­ "The Nippon-Filipino children’s athletic ex­ tional in form, in which a number of hibitions at the Rizal Memorial Stadium on Japanese, designated as “Mr. A”, “Mr. Kigen-setsu [anniversary of the foundation of the Empire, February 11] was an interest­ B’V'Mr. C", and so on, exchanged their Japanese ing picture of the Philippines. . . Tattered, pale, impressions of the Filipinos and told and weak, the Filipino children uncomplainingly each other how they ought to be treat­ and almost eagerly exerted themselves to make ed. “Look upon them as younger bro­ a good showing. They were far from impressive, thers who are a bit spoiled”, said one. — they seemed to stagger when they made vio­ lent movements. . . It is hoped that the athletic “They are too easy-going and slow in exhibition awakened the personages who could their work”. “One thousand Filipinos have prevented the present-day conditions, as will do less work than 100 Japanese un­ well as the responsible authorities who could less they are watched by a good fore­ still remedy the situation, to the reality that man”. “They do not seem to show the hope of ‘the Philippines for the Filipinos’ is being sacrificed.” much gratitude". "It is hard to know One of the most callous of Japanese when they are really happy”. "Though the Filipinos have many short-comings, pronouncements came in the form of they are not intrinsically perverse or an article by one S. Matsukawa. He cross-grained.” "I believe they can im­ contrasted the alleged low prices of bibe the real Nippon spirit and thought. rice, peanuts, eggs, etc., in the Cagayan Therefore, I am not at all discouraged. Valley of Northern Luzon with the I have great expectations. It was Ame­ high prices in Manila, and declared rica that made them conceited.” "Fili­ that this — pinos find it difficult to understand "should repudiate the near mythical story that the parental consideration of the Ja­ the root-cause of the general food situation is panese, the heart of a father.” "Domi­ directly associated with an aggravation due to nance of women over men is glaring the traffic of Japanese troops. . . The hypochon­ driac obsession assailing the popular mind ap­ in this country, don’t you think? Ja­ pears to be that there is no use producing pan is a country where things are just more if a large bulk of the produce is to be the opposite.” "When the Spaniards taken up by the Japanese armed forces. The and Americans came, their influence implication is clear that the country is being ing now. Why? Because under the provisions of the Tydings-McDuffie Act, the export taxes would have been put in operation and the people would now be feeling the pinch. . . We should welcome these hard times, these difficulties, and even consider them as being heaven-sent and ordained by God because they will instill in us individually and collectively as a people, a new sense of value and a greater desire to work, to create, to produce.” (December 5.) ,

132 reduced to poverty by the demands of military consumption, as if to say that the land had become exhausted, when in reality the poverty is in the determination to till the soil. It has been the classic explanation in any discussion of the potentialities of the Philippines that it is capable of insuring the sustenance of a po­ pulation double or treble what it is today; some say as many as 100,000,000. The pity of it all is that such a widely accepted truth is overlooked in the haste to shift the responsibility for the current difficulties. Much of this attitude may be an indication of the natural trait of the peo­ ple, but much of it also may be traced to the insiduous infuences of the whispering Americanminded saboteurs. This is apart from the reveal­ ing statement made some time ago by President Laurel in which he mentioned certain groups of selfish citizens who have gone to the extent of threatening the rice planters if they complied with the law and sold the crop to the govern­ ment. In so far as the acquisition of commodi­ ties by the military is concerned, they are Whole­ sale purchases paid for at more than reasonable prices. . . There is nothing sillier than that there should be complaints brought against active demands for native agricultural products and manufacturers. .. It seems about time that in sleuthing for the basic cause of the popular problem, the bloodhounds should be led to the doorstep of the people's strange mentality and not to the Japanese forces for creating a market for the country’s produce. We do not ignore other factors contributing to the complications, such as the oppressive friar system of agrarian economy, the nefarious activities of the profi­ teers, and the matter of transportation, but we will not discuss them here. Over and above the whole issue stands the bold and naked fact that the supply is not adequate to meet the demands. This holds true with almost every­ thing and is not confined to rice or to sugar or to the products of the sea. It is the fashion to lament the stoppage of pre-war imports rather than to awaken to the g o ld en opportu­ nities made available by the tremendous de­ mands for substitutes that the suspension of foreign trade has created. The solution is to produce and produce. . . But the people of Manila, for instance, prefer to 'buy and sell' or cleverly skulk in inactivity, day-dreaming of the triumphant return of the Americans, unashamed­ ly unmindful of their forefathers’ 400-year strug­ gle to become independent”. (February 13.)

This writer admitted everything as to the tremendous demands of the mi­

THE COUNTRY

litary despite the shortages. He insisted on production, but refused to discuss the factor of transportation and did not even mention such other factors as the lack of work-animals, the lack of agricultural machinery and imple­ ments. “Maharajah”, on commenting on vegetable gardening in Manila, spoke facetiously of the use of "table-forks” for the purpose. "Why", he asked, "the shortage of trowels, garden-forks, shov­ els, hoes, etc?" The answer was, though it was not given, that the mili­ tary had from the first either seized or bought at "control prices”, every tool, implement, and scrap of metal in the country. Hopeful of American Bombing — The people, who had so long been pray­ ing for deliverance, in January and Fe­ bruary, 1944, looked hopefully forward to bombing. Despite the enemy control of press and radio, they knew that the American forces were approaching from the south and east. There were rumors of nearby bombings on the China coast and of Formosa, of the naval and air attack on the Marshalls and Carolines. And at long last, the Japanese co­ lumnist said in his article on Sunday, January 23: "There is not a spot on the globe which is absolutely safe from air raids. If our psychology is normalized, it should give us enough commonsense not to let anything we must do for our safety left undone. What we need are calmness and confidence which will enable us to prepare against any possibilty without be­ coming jittery about it.”

In the next issue, that of Tuesday, January 25, he wrote: "When the scribe wrote in the Sunday issue that we should prepare and train ourselves to behave properly in case we have an airraid, he knew that some people who can not think straight will twist the meaning of his warning and infer that he is hinting the danger of be­ ing bombed. [!] The scribe wants to stress today that he wrote his Sunday column in

PRACTICE BLACKOUT PLANS CANCELLED spite of the danger of being misunderstood . . . Only those who are naively ignorant can be unwarrantedly optimistic about being ab­ solutely safe from air attacks. The designs and construction of warplanes are being im­ proved monthly. We may be too far away from anti-Axis air bases today, but who can deny the possibility tomorrow of building a type of planes which can fly across the Pacific and back?”

It will be noted that the "scribe” was not admitting that the Philippines might be bombed from bases that were nearer than on the other side of the Pacific! The next day there was an article on what "these devils”, the Americans, might do in "hit-and-run” air raids on the Philippines. The day after that there was an edi­ torial on the subject; "We have been living too serenely in contrast to other peoples of East Asia and also of Europe during these months in the midst of terrorraids elsewhere. How long shall we remain un­ scathed? The Philippines has been a safety-zone so far, but that fact alone gives us no assurance that the present state of affairs will continue tomorrow.”

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hood association leaders and family heads to prepare candles and oil-lamps in case of blackout practice. "This or­ der should be no cause for alarm. . . as it is intended to gear the people to any emergency, such as a failure of our electric plant or a blackout practice.” The order was not a cause of alarm. It resulted in scarcely concealed cele­ bration in most of the houses in Ma­ nila. "City to Hold Practice Blackout”, was a headline on February 1. “With the approval of President Laurel, prac­ tice blackouts will be held within the City of Manila at dates to be announc­ ed later, Mayor L. G. Guinto an­ nounced last night. This measure is taken as a purely precautionary step.” "Maharajah” followed this announcment with the sage comment: "And as regards blackout practices, we see no harm in them, unless some people carry the exercise too far and blackout their mind and reason also." (February 3.)

The Japanese were obviously irked by the way the public and Filipino of­ ficialdom were taking the situation which seemed to be so fast developing. And the Japanese were worried about possible complications, too. The Japanese columnist, said seve­ rely,

Public spirits were so obviously ris­ ing with all this, that the Tribune on the 28th published a story headed, "Two Craft Downed by Rice-Cakes”. It was a Domei dispatch, dated January 24, from a Japanese base in the South "Suppose we do have a blackout drill or Pacific. The "fast-thinking crewmen” two as a trial. Is the police department ready of a Japanese plane which had run out to preserve peace and order in the darkness? of ammunition and was pursued by two Are the neighborhood associations and various sections of the city properly instructed to ef­ enemy fighters, had thrown some Jap­ ficiently carry out the drill? We have failed to anese rice-cakes at them at the "psy­ produce sufficient results in too many things chological moment". The enemy in the we tried in the past. The main reason is our first plane, mistaking the rice-cakes for bad habit of seeking the glamor of execution hand-grenades, had swerved sharply on the stage, without properly attending to the and, as he was flying low, the plane functions behind the stage. We need prepared­ ness in civic matters as well as in defense. . . plunged into "a watery grave”. The sec­ Before we talk of practicing blackouts, we must ond enemy plane, flying close behind, dig deeper into the basic requirements which in trying to avoid a collision, also alone can lead us to systematic civil prepared­ ness.” (February 3.) plunged into the sea. (January 28.) As so frequently happened when this The Tribune of the 29th reported that man spoke, there were developments Mayor Guinto had instructed neighbor­

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the next day. Announced the Tribune: "Blackout Practice Off Indefinitely”. “The projected blackout practice sched­ uled to be held some time this week in the City of Manila has been postponed until further notice, it was learned at the City Hall yesterday.” But if the blackout practice could be held up, apparently the American at­ tack could not. The Tribune of the 6th published a guarded Tokyo dispatch of the 5th which reported attacks on various islands in the Marshalls by "enemy forces comprising task forces centering around aircraft-carriers and battleships and land-based air forces”. Of course, these attacks were "repulsed with heavy enemy losses”. On the 10th the Tribune contained an article on air-raid precautions which was entitled, “When the Bombs Begin to Fall”. On the 15th, Laurel was re­ ported to have created a Civilian Pro­ tective Service. His executive order be­ gan with the blessed words: "Whereas it is necessary that precautionary mea­ sures be taken immediately with a view to preparing the civilian population for, and protecting them from, possible air raids. . . ” The Service was to be admi­ nistered by a board of three, the Civi­ lian Protection Administration, com­ posed of a chief protection administra­ tor, a chief of the medical and firstaid service, and a chief air-raid warden. Several days later he appointed Jose Paez, Dr. E. Aguilar, and Alfredo Eu­ genio, respectively, to these positions.

THE COUNTRY

The Service was to have provincial and municipal committees consisting of the principal provincial and municipal of­ ficials. "In view of the immediate need of taking the necessary precautions against air raids, it was understood that the CPS will immediately be organized by Mr. Paez.” (February 19.) The Tribune of Sunday, February 20, contained a paragraph in the “News Digest of the Week” which had not ap­ peared in any issue of that week. It was a continuation of the report about the various Cabinet Ministers holding gatherings of government employees and urging them to leave Manila. The paragraph in question had evidently been deleted in the proof when it came to the editor’s or censor’s desk, but had been left standing in type, and somehow got into the Sunday paper. It ran: "The employees have been warned of the dif­ ficulties that face them today, and the hard­ ships that await them, especially in May aiul the succeeding months. In the provinces, they were assured, they would find living conditions much easier and at the same time would be afforded an opportunity to serve the country in its most essential need.”

Why May? Was that the month in which the Japanese expected the Ame­ rican forces to attack them in the Phil­ ippines?14 14 Note (1945) — June, 1944, saw the beginning of the Marianas campaign, fighting in Saipan being concluded on July 9 and the reconquest of Guam on August 10. MacArthur, in May, had his headquarters at Hollandia, New Guinea.

The Camp The Santo Tomas Internment Camp

Chapter XVI The Army Takes Over- The Executive Committee Abolished Mass Resignation in the Department of Patrols — A considerable stir was caused in the camp on January 12 (1944) when it became known that MacKay and Phillips, chief and assis­ tant chief, respectively, of the depart­ ment of patrols, together with nine other men of the department, had re­ signed the night before, en masse. The resignation had been precipita­ ted by their receiving a notification from the Executive Committee that in the meeting of the 7th it had “confirm­ ed” the appointment of Chittick as head of camp order and had at his request adopted certain amendments to the Camp Rules which transferred from the department of patrols to the Executive Committeeman in charge of camp order (Chittick), or to anyone he might deputize, the authority to make preliminary investigations in cases of violations of the Rules and to institute searches of rooms, shanties, and the personal belongings of internees sus­ pected of having stolen or contraband articles in their possession. The amendments had been made without consultation with the men of the department of patrols, and Mac­ Kay and Phillips, in their letter of re­ signation, stated that they interpreted this action, which they characterized as a "basic alteration” in procedure, as an "expression of dissatisfaction with our recent operations and a desire

to alter our policy". Expressing the opinion, further, that the changes were not in the interests of the camp, they declared they could not agree with them and therefore presented their re­ signations, effective immediately. MacKay, when he had made his usual report to Holter on the 8th, had been informed by him that Chittick had taken over the supervision of the de­ partment of patrols as well as the gateliaison and the Package-Line, but Hol­ ter had said nothing about the change in administrative procedure, and Day's note of the 11th had come as a com­ plete surprise. The note consisted mere­ ly of an extract from the minutes and read: “As a preliminary move in a general reassign­ ment of duties of Executive Committee mem­ bers, the Committee confirmed the appointment of Mr. Chittick as head of camp order. At the request of Mr. Chittick, articles 86 (b) and 89 (b) of the General Rules of the camp were amended as follows: "Note: Deletions are indicated by parentheses, the new text being underlined. "'Art. 86 (b) — Procedure shall be as fol­ lows: (1) Upon presentation of a charge, a pre­ liminary investigation of the facts shall be con­ ducted by the (department of patrols) Execu­ tive Committeeman in charge of camp order, or anyone he may deputize. (2) If such preli­ minary investigation discloses reasonable ground for complaint, the (department of patrols) Exe­ cutive Committeeman in charge of camp order, or anyone he may deputize, shall request the committee on order to fix a time for the ap­ pearance of the accused.’

135

136

THE CAMP

" ‘Art. 89 (b) — Any camp order officer may, when expressly authorized by the (chief or as­ sistant chief of patrols) Executive Committee­ man in charge of camp order, or anyone he may deputize, search the room, shanty, lockers, baggage, or other personal effects of any in­ ternee suspected of having in his or her pos­ session any stolen or contraband article; pro­ vided that such search shall be conducted in the presence of such internee or a responsible third party’.”

cord against the changes made. . . as we con­ sider these changes detrimental rather than be­ neficial.”

the change in the Rules. . . until the matter can be referred to the internees as represented by the Monitors Council for an opinion".

"Art. 88 — The department of patrols shall be composed of a chief and one or more as­ sistant chiefs of patrols, who shall be appointed by the Executive Committee upon recommenda­ tion of the committeeman in charge of camp order to serve during its pleasure, and such number of deputies and patrolmen as the chief of patrols may from time to time select. Such chief and assistant chiefs and deputies shall be known collectively as camp order officers. "Art. 89 (a) — The department of patrols is responsible for the enforcement of all Camp Rules and Regulations, and its chief, and such other persons as he may from time to time de­ signate, are empowered to arrest any person who violates any of the same. Any camp order officer may call upon the warden to confine any person, pending appearance before the com­ mittee on order, if, in the opinion of the camp

The Executive Committee met that evening, and, seemingly undaunted, ac­ cepted the resignations of MacKay, Phillips, and the nine others "with regret”. Upon Chittick’s recommenda­ tion, it confirmed Col. C. E. Livingston, a retired and elderly officer of the MacKay was generally respected, and Philippine Constabulary, as acting chief the wholesale resignations in the de­ of patrols. partment of patrols, — of, in fact, all The Committee discussed the action the men who had previously held taken by the Monitors Council and also the authority to make arrests, were the communication received from the followed by protests both from the Committee on Order. According to the Monitors Council and the Committee minutes, Chittick expressed the opinion on Order (the camp "court”). that these entities had not "correctly Council Protest Against Arbitrary interpreted the policy aimed at" and Amendment of the Regulations by the his willingness to discuss the matter Committee — The Monitors Council with the Council at its next meeting. held a meeting on the evening of the He explained, also, that his plans in­ 12th and after a heated discussion de­ cluded the appointing of a number of cided to "make inquiry”, through the deputies who would be authorized to Council’s chairman, Holter, — make arrests and that cases would be "as to whether or not it is the intention of the investigated and prosecuted, "with the Executive Committee to change the Rules, spe­ assistance of the department of patrols, cifically those which govern the conduct of in­ by an office composed of internees to ternees, without first referring such changes to the internees as they are represented in the be appointed as soon as selected”. To permit all this, the Committee Monitors Council". The Council decided, further, to — then amended articles 88 and 89 (a) of the Camp Rules to read as follows: "request the Executive Committee to suspend

Rumbles of opposition had also come from the Committee on Order, and on the 14th, Shouse, at Chittick’s request, made an effort to explain the action to its members, but they were not con­ vinced and that same afternoon sent the following letter to the Executive Committee: "We refer to the discussion this afternoon with Mr. Shouse regarding the changes in ar­ ticles 86 and 89 of the Camp Rules. This com­ mittee has reviewed the matter thoroughly in the light of its practical experience in handling camp order problems, and wishes to go on re­

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE TAKES ARBITRARY STAND order officer, the disposition of such person is of a nature which might tend to disturb peace and order, and in such event the warden is empowered so to confine such person."

Explanations by Grinnell and Chittick — After thus again amending the Camp Rules freely, a lengthy discussion developed, according to the minutes, regarding the relationship between the Executive Committee and the Moni­ tors Council and their proper functions. The opinion was expressed that there seemed to be no clear understanding on this point and that it was in the interests of "camp harmony" to clarify the situation. Said the minutes: "Failure to reach such an understanding in­ evitably results in action by the Executive Com­ mittee without consulting the Monitors Council in matters in which often the Council feels it should be consulted and in subsequent criticism of the Executive Committee actions taken under such circumstances. It further results in the initiation of certain activities on the part of the Monitors Council which in the opinion of the Executive Committee, do not clearly fall within its sphere. It was unanimously agreed that everything possible should be done to improve this situation.”

The next night, the 15th, the Moni­ tors Council met in a special meeting "called for the purpose of having Mr. Chittick explain the reasons for making the changes in the Rules. . .” Grinnell explained that Chittick had been asked to accept the supervision of the depart­ ment of patrols because of the desir­ ability of linking this department with the gate liaison and that the changes in the Rules which Chittick had recom­ mended upon his acceptance of this responsibility had seemed reasonable to the Committee. Grinnell — "emphasized that he had not anticipated the reaction of the department of patrols and other groups and he assured the Council that had time permitted, the approach would have been different. Nevertheless, he saw no course open but to follow through along the lines proposed, feeling that if the internees understand the en­ tire situation, they will appreciate that the new

137

plan of organization should give a real impetus to law enforcement".

Chittick then outlined his plan of re­ organization, which involved the crea­ tion of various divisions in the depart­ ment, — headquarters, grounds and wall, general service, and others for each of the buildings, each division to be headed by a deputy with powers of arrest. Search-warrants, he said, could be issued only by the Committeeman in charge (himself) or some duly au­ thorized member of his staff; the in­ stigation of charges and their presenta­ tion would be handled by this same staff with the assistance of the depart­ ment of patrols. In a discussion of the role of the Council in amending the Camp Rules, Grinnell agreed that the Council’s at­ titude was reasonable, but he stated that — “since many decisions reached by the Executive Committee are precipitated by orders emanat­ ing from the Japanese authorities, which fre­ quently involve immediate action [there is] difficulty in soliciting internee opinion through the Council in all cases. Nevertheless he felt that this objective should be constantly kept in mind. . . He hoped that a formula could be devised to make such consultation possible and workable in the future.”

In discussing the right of search, Grinnell agreed that the procedure should require the presence of the sus­ pected person involved, if he were avail­ able, and his monitor or district super­ visor, but as the discussions started late and it was then nearly midnight, the meeting adjourned. Some of the members of the Council stated later that the Council had not wanted to decide on what action to take until after Grinnell and Chittick had left the meeting, but that they stayed on until the last. Objections to the New Rules Regard­ ing Searches and Arrests — The Coun­ cil therefore resumed its meeting the

138

next evening, four members of the Committee on Order attending by in­ vitation of some of the monitors. The meeting was held in the general office, and Grinnell, who was working at his desk when the meeting opened, remain­ ed throughout. Although he made no effort to take part, he put away his work and listened to the proceedings, which irked some of the members of the Council and stiffened their attitude rather than having the opposite effect. Questions addressed to members of the Committee on Order present brought out their view that the pro­ posed elaboration of the procedure in the investigation and presentation of cases would cause delays and difficul­ ties, this conclusion being based on the Committee’s experience with a similar system followed during the earlier days of its existence. The members of the Committee on Order did not think that the authority the department of patrols had had to make arrests and present cases, was objectionable and declared that the system had worked well. In fact, they said, under the late proce­ dure any internee could present a case to the Committee for investigation. Asked whether it would be too burden­ some for the Committee to take charge of the issuance of search-warrants, they answered in the negative. The members of the Committee on Order then left the meeting and various monitors reported on the state of opi­ nion among the internees. The three area supervisors said that the super­ visors in their respective areas had voted against acceptance of the posts as deputies which had been offered them under the Chittick plan. The Council then adopted the following re­ solution : "The Monitors Council, having heard Mr. Grinnell and Mr. Chittick and the members of the Committee on Order, request that the

THE CAMP Executive Committee reconsider and rescind its action with respect to the changes in the Rules as reported in Executive Committee minutes No. 331."

The motion was passed by 18 votes, one member abstaining on the ground that he was not sure what the opi­ nion of the internees under his juris­ diction was. Deadlock — The Executive Commit­ tee being faced with this flat opposi­ tion, the camp speculated as to what the Committee would do. It met on the 17th, and, according to the minutes, concluded, after a discussion, that it “had not acted beyond its proper sphere in making the changes (in the Rules) without consulting the Monitors Council”. "At the same time”, the min­ utes went on to say, — "in the interests of all concerned and with the hope of clearing up any misunderstandings, the Committee proposed that a subcommittee of three meet with a similar subcommittee from the Monitors Council to formulate a policy of what matters could well be referred to the Monitors Council before action, and what not."

As for the new procedure which had been adopted in the matter of arrests and searches and the presentation of cases, the Committee decided that it had “sufficient merit to warrant a trial”. "If in the light of actual experience the new procedure proves less effective than the old, or if some third or better way can be found, the Committee will, of course, govern itself accordingly. Meanwhile, the secretary was instructed to convey the Committee’s views to the Monitors Council and request that they cooperate in giving the new regulations fair and unprejudiced trial.”

In compliance with these instruc­ tions, Day wrote a letter to the Council, dated January 18, in which he reported the attitude taken and the decisions made by the Committee and the propo­ sal to appoint the two subcommittees. He closed with an assurance of sincere regret over the “apparent misunder-

MONITORS COUNCIL OPPOSITION

standing”, stating that it was the Com­ mittee’s "constant aim to operate in harmony with your Council to the joint end of best serving the camp”. This letter was considered at a Coun­ cil meeting on the 18th. The Council remained unmoved. A letter of reply, dated January 20 and signed by Schelke as secretary, read as follows: “I have been requested by the Monitors Coun­ cil to acknowledge with thanks your letter dated January 18 in which you record the action taken by the Executive Committee with respect to the resolutions passed by the Monitors Council . . . "I am further directed to report to the Exe­ cutive Committee that the Monitors Council has gone on record in regard to this action as follows: "1. The Monitors Council acknowledges the right of the Executive Committee to make and change the rules of this camp, even such basic rules as those under discussion. "2. While recognizing this principle, never­ theless, the Monitors Council reiterates its pro­ test against the exercise of this right by the Executive Committee in changing the basic rules of the camp without the prior consultation and advice of the internees as represented through the Monitors Council. "3. The Monitors Council reiterates that the recent action of the Executive Committee in changing the rules is not in the best interests of the camp as evidenced by the continued pro­ tests against it. "4. In response to this attitude on the part of responsible internees, the Monitors Council again requests that the Executive Committee reconsider and rescind the changes in the rules to which exception has been taken. "The Monitors Council feels that this attitude is entirely proper and consistent with the de­ mocratic principle that the authority for making rules regulating the conduct of people and the power for the enforcement of such rules must stem from the people whose interests should be the paramount consideration. The Monitors Council recognizes this principle is not appli­ cable to such fundamental regulations as are laid down by the Japanese authorities. However, within the framework of self-government which the Japanese authorities permit in this camp, it is the conviction of the Monitors Council that all regulations which affect the internees should, of necessity, be considered in the light

139 of the understanding, acceptance, and approval of the internees themselves. In this connection, the Monitors Council wishes to point out that the obligation for gauging and reporting such internee opinions has been imposed by the Executive Committee on the monitors as their primary liaison function. "The Monitors Council infers from your memorandum dated January 18 that the Exe­ cutive Committee does not hold to this view­ point, hence to provide an acceptable procedure for the future, the Monitors Council welcomes an opportunity to reconcile these conflicting opinions by having three of its members confer in committee with a similar number of members from the Executive Committee. Because of the forthcoming election of monitors, the selection of the three spokesmen from the Monitors will be deferred until after the election."

The Executive Committee accepted the proposal that the appointment of the two subcommittees be postponed until after the election of monitors. As to rescinding its action, the Commit­ tee — "requested the secretary to advise the Monitors Council that it still regrets the inability to rescind its recent action pending a fair and equitable trial of what is considered a construc­ tive move.” (Minutes, January 24.)

The Underlying Conflict — All the foregoing was as far as the record went, — an interesting story enough of internee objection to arbitrary action on the part of the Executive Committee. But the minutes of the Committee and of the Monitors Council and the various resolutions and letters recorded only the surface and gave little intimation of the underlying con­ flicts which constituted the real issue and the real story. This story was more difficult to get into focus and to tell because it involved motives and pur­ poses, — which are rarely if ever clear­ ly revealed. MacKay and Phillips alluded to this underlying conflict in their letter of resignation when they said that they interpreted the changes effected in the procedure by the Committee as an "ex­

140

pression of dissatisfaction with our recent operations". This referred to the arrest and pro­ secution of an internee whose sentence, imposed by the Committee on Order, was mentioned as follows in the Exe­ cutive Committee minutes of the 7th: "The Committee noted several communica­ tions from the committee on order together with two sentences imposed as follows: " 'January 5. Mr................................. , for bring­ ing intoxicating liquor into camp in violation of article 8 of the Fundamental Camp Rules, — confined to the camp jail for # period of 30 days from January 6.’ "(In connection with the above, the Com­ mittee noted that Mr...................................... has appealed his case to the Commandant’s Office and that so far the Commandant has not reach­ ed a decision).”

A few days later the Commandant rejected the appeal and allowed the sentence to be carried out. It was said that the Commandant also severely re­ primanded the member of his staff who had interfered in the case. The internee concerned was a friend of this Japanese official and held a pass directly from the Commandant's office. He left the camp regularly twice a week, ostensi­ bly for medical treatment, and was suspected of frequently bringing liquor back with him. The department of pa­ trols had never previously been able to catch him, as its jurisdiction did not extend to the gate where, it appeared, he enjoyed protection from one or an­ other source and was never searched. On the day of his arrest, a search of a shanty visited by him shortly after he had come back into camp resulted in the finding of the contraband and he was charged and sentenced before any influence could be brought to bear on his behalf. Independent Attitude of the Internee Police and Court — MacKay was con­ vinced that this incident lay back of the action of the Executive Committee,

THE CAMP

though Chittick denied it. However, the general belief was that this case, in­ volving trouble with an important of­ ficial in the Commandant’s office, had very probably decided Grinnell and Chittick to secure firmer control of the camp police and the camp court. While the chief and assistant chief of the department of patrols and also the members of the Committee on Or­ der were appointed by the Chairman of the Executive Committee with the concurrence of the other members, the Court, under the influence of ideas of the proper independence of the judi­ ciary, exercised its functions in a very independent manner, and the police, too, working closely with the Court as they had to do, had come to adopt a similar attitude. The police heads, hav­ ing accepted public responsibility for the enforcement of Camp Rules, — the role of enforcing the law never being a very popular one at best, were dis­ posed to enforce them equally and without favor. In instances where they failed to do so, they soon learned that both friend and foe were prone quickly to make them feel such lapses. "Expediency" and “Favoritism" — A certain tension had therefore always developed in time between the Execu­ tive Committee and the police after every new reorganization, and a similar tension had arisen between the Com­ mittee and the Court. Members of the Executive Committee said that this re­ sulted from the fact that the Commit­ tee had sometimes to advance consi­ derations of "policy” or "expediency” in the pushing of certain cases involv­ ing, for instance, Japanese in the Com­ mandant’s office or at the gate. Mem­ bers of the police force and the Court, however, maintained that this they un­ derstood and would always make al­ lowance for; what they objected to was interference based on pure favoritism.

"EXPEDIENCY” AND "FAVORITISM"

The members of the Executive Com­ mittee, as the highest internee author­ ities, were naturally always subject to pressure from persons of influence who wanted special privileges for them­ selves and their friends, and there were those among the members of the Com­ mittee who were not above securing special privileges for themselves. Even if it were not a natural human quality to favor self and friends, the evil of favoritism seems to be one no govern­ ment entity anywhere can entirely get away from. In Santo Tomas it showed itself in various ways. Instances were usually unobtrusive and rarely aroused serious protest. To secure special fa­ vors was mostly a matter of knowing the "right persons” and of making a diplomatic approach. It was chiefly in the procurement and drinking of alco­ holic liquor, forbidden by the Japanese, that special privileges led to trouble. There had always been men in the camp, including members of the Exe­ cutive Committee, who, though they insisted that the prohibition should be enforced for the rank and file, con­ ceded that a few "important” people, who could "hold their liquor”, mean­ ing themselves and their friends, should be considered as excepted from the general. Drinking in the Camp — MacKay did not agree with this view, but in spite of all the department of patrols could do, there had always been some drink­ ing in the camp. And the situation had become more dangerous of late because native rum (the only drink left) had gone up to F50 a small bottle and raw alcohol was being smuggled into the camp which might at any time result in cases of acute alcoholic poisoning with the attendant suffering and scan­ dal. On New Year’s Eve, the depart­ ment of patrols put no less than 21

141

drunk internees to bed, without after­ ward preferring charges against them. The camp jail would not have held so many, and there was no desire on MacKay’s part to bring such cases to the notice of the camp generally or to the Japanese. He and his men did work diligently, however, to keep liquor from coming into the camp. But in this the department of patrols was handicapped because it had no juris­ diction over the gate-liaison and the Package-Line. MacKay was allowed, on sufferance, to post two inspectors and later one at the Package-Line dur­ ing the regular hours in the morn­ ing, and this did some good, but liquor came in during other parts of the day. MacKay used to go himself, but some three weeks before he and the others resigned, Grinnell told him that he did not think there was any more need for him to go on duty at the PackageLine. Not only was liquor being brought in by apparently protected internees who went out on pass, but by such person­ ages as the Filipino chauffeur of the Commandant, who was said to bring in from four to five bottles a day. Con­ siderable friction had for a long time existed between the department of pa­ trols and the gate-liaison over the li­ quor question. "Too Much Power? — This was the background when Chittick, head of the gate-liaison, became a member of the Executive Committee. And it was said on good authority that there was a pre­ vious understanding between Grinnell and Chittick that if he were elected to the Committee he would be allowed to retain his position as head of the gate-liaison. It was the established pol­ icy that when an internee was elect­ ed to the Committee he dropped any other camp duties in which he was

142

engaged, but in Chittick’s case an ex­ ception was in fact made. According to the minutes of the Executive Com­ mittee meeting of December 20, — "it was suggested that Mr. Chittick take over the department [of patrols] which had been previously handled by Mr. Fitzsimmons, but in view of the value of his services as gateliaison and at the Package-Line, it was thought he should also continue his supervision of these departments”.

The minutes stated further that Holter had objected — "on the basis that the gate-liaison and the Package-Line should be consolidated with the department of patrols for the sake of efficiency and should therefore be handled by the same Executive Committee member. A short discus­ sion followed but no definite decision was reach­ ed. It was agreed therefore that for the time being, Mr. Chittick will handle the departments as enumerated [Fitzsimmons’ and his own] and the whole subject reopened at a later date."

Holter had emphasized that, while he had the supervision of the department of patrols, his belief that the patrol, gate, and Package-Line departments should be consolidated did not mean that he necessarily wanted to take charge of them himself. He was, in fact, anxious to give up his supervi­ sion of the department of patrols which he had inherited from his pre­ decessor. At a later meeting, on the 27th, Holter suggested a general reassign­ ment of duties among the members of the Committee, “based on a logical plan worked out by him”. "Considerable discussion followed, and the Com­ mittee, while in accord with the general scheme suggested, was not prepared to make the defi­ nite changes proposed. The question therefore was held over for consideration at a subsequent meeting.”

In view of these discussions, Grinnell’s appointment of Chittick as head of camp order, this to comprise the patrol, gate-liaison, and Package-Line departments, caused no surprise to the Committee and was confirmed al­

THE CAMP

most without discussion in the meet­ ing of January 7. Holter had himself, unintentionally, provided the opening for such a move. His own position being concerned, he refrained from making any comment. Chittick, how­ ever, said that if he were to have the responsibility, he must have control, and it was with this idea in mind that the Committee approved the amend­ ments to the rules which Chittick then asked for. Masefield, indeed, ques­ tioned the wisdom of vesting so much authority in one man, Thomas and Day supporting him, but after some discus­ sion the amendments were agreed to. Several of the members stated after­ ward that they had no idea that the men in the department of patrols had not been consulted, and no one thought of asking whether they had been. Under the camp-wide discussion which followed, both sides in the con­ troversy claimed that they had the best interests of the camp in mind, but one side said that under the new or­ ganization the situation with respect to liquor smuggling would improve, while the other side said it would grow worse. The general objection to the new set-up was that it gave one man, Chittick, too much power. Contemptuous as some of the mem­ bers of the Executive Committee might be of the opposition of the Council and the Committee on Order as entities in the camp government, they were less disposed to ignore the fact that these bodies contained such men as L. L. Rocke, general manager of the Stand­ ard-Vacuum Oil Company in the Phil­ ippines, and J. C. Rockwell, general manager of the Manila Electric Com­ pany. The opposition and general criticism had its effect and the ori­ ginal Grinnell-Chittick plan was mo­ dified to something less autocratic than was first contemplated.

THE REAL “WHY" — SMUGGLING IN OF NECESSARY FUNDS

Committee Concessions—Shouse was named chief assistant or adviser to Chittick. The men deputized to present cases to the Committee on Order were A. E. Price, F. Derbyshire, and the Rev. W. B. Foley. J. D. Birrell was appointed deputy in charge of the headquarters division of the department of patrols, — second to Livingston. It was noted that Birrell was a Westinghouse man. In spite of these modifications, and though Shouse pointed out that the other members of the Executive Comfnittee would serve as a check to Chittick, Chittick was actually not only in sole personal control (apart from the Japanese) of whatever internee busi­ ness was done at the Package-Line or at the gate or which passed through the gate, outward and inward, enabling him to interfere with various open and secret camp matters, but was empower­ ed to order the search of any person and his room or shanty, as well as to order his arrest, his temporary incar­ ceration, and his prosecution; he could also relax or lift his control at any time, and he could stop such a search, or arrest, or prosecution, in any case, at least temporarily, all at his own op­ tion. He had been given these powers and in the face of general opposition and criticism he grimly held on to them. It was not to be wondered at that people asked, Why?1 In the meeting of January 21 the Exe­ cutive Committee made a bow to the Monitors Council. According to the minutes, the Committee, on recommen­ dation of the Monitors Council further amended article 89 (b) of the Camp Rules to read:* iNote (1945) — The importance of the gateliaison with respect to smuggling in of sums of money for supplementary food purchases, could not be even hinted at in this section in view of the continuing risk that the manuscript of this book might fall into the hands of the enemy.

143

"Any camp order officer may, when express­ ly authorized by the Executive Committeeman in charge of camp order, or anyone he may deputize, search the room, shanty, lockers, bag­ gage, or other personal effects of any internee suspected of having in his or her possession any stolen or contraband article; provided thal such search shall be conducted in the presence of such internee if he or she is able to be pre­ sent (or a responsible third party) and his or her room or section monitor or section super­ visor."

The Committee had also deferred to the Council in the matter of the com­ ing elections. According to the minutes of the meeting of January 18: "The Committee then considered the election of new members. It was the general consensus that selections every 6 weeks are undesirable and that it will be far better if selections of two members can be made every 3 months. At present, however, there are three members who were appointed on the same date, and to straighten out this situation it was decided to hold a selection the latter part of February of three members to take office on the 1st of March. Of these three, 2 selections will be made from candidates proposed by the American internees and 1 from those of other nationalities. Of the two selected on the Ame­ rican ballot, the highest will serve 9 months and the second 6 months. He who is selected on the special nationalities ballot will serve 9 months. It was thought this proposal will merit the support of the Monitors Council, but Dr. Holter was requested to discuss the plan at tomorrow evening's meeting and obtain the Mo­ nitors’ reaction thereto.”

The minutes of the next meeting re­ ported (January 21): "The Monitors Council having indicated that the proposed plan for the selection of three new members to the Executive Committee to take office March 1 as suggested by the Exe­ cutive Committee, is in their opinion logical and satisfactory, the secretary was requested to work up such rules and regulations as may be required for the purpose of making the selection.”

The Monitors Election — The elec­ tion of monitors was held during the first week of February and resulted in the re-election of all but 30 of the

144

165 incumbents. Fifteen of the 20 mem­ bers of the Monitors Council were re­ elected. These changes were chiefly due to resignations. In its meeting of February 16, the Executive Committee approved the plans for holding an election to fill the vacancies expected to result from the expiration of the terms of office of Crosby, Masefield, and Thomas. Grinnel, however, informed the Committee that "indications from the Comman­ dant's Office pointed to a reorganiza­ tion of the Executive and the Finance and Supplies committees by Japanese order in the near future”. The minutes of the Executive Com­ mittee meeting of the 18th held shortly after the Commandant had ordered a sweeping reorganization in the camp administration, after recording this fact, stated laconically, "The above action automatically nullifies plans for elections next week.” It nullified much else besides! Rising Prices and Diet Deficiencies — Hunger walked the streets of Manila on silent feet, and could not be kept out of Santo Tomas. That internees were getting "only half the number of calories needed to sustain them, with practically no fat, which is having a very bad effect on the physical and mental health of many internees as well as their capacity to work”, was noted in the minutes of the Executive Committee meeting of December 13, 1943. This had been true for months. The required minimum is 3,000 calo­ ries, and, according to a report of the Finance and Supplies Commit­ tee, the daily average in June was 1,563, in August 1,605, in November 1,407. Besides the shortage, there was unba­ lance. While 70 grams of protein are the daily minimum requirement, the actual average protein consumption in August was 56 grams; while 450 grams

THE CAMP

of carbohydrates are the required mini­ mum, the actual consumption was 258 grams; while 70 grams of fats are re­ quired, the consumption was only 38 grams. These were the latest figures available at this writing. The declines in the consumption of meat and sugar were the most dras­ tic, due chiefly to the inability of the Finance and Supplies Committee to purchase the quantities required. In January, 1943, 65% of the daily per capita appropriation of P.70 granted the camp by the Japanese authorities at that time was allocated to the pur­ chase of food supplies, leaving 35% for sanitation, hospital and medical supplies, and operating and mainte­ nance expenses. During October, the amount allocated to food reached 85 %, leaving only 15% for other expenses. Assigning an index of 100 to the prices of 12 major food items in the month of May, 1943, the indices, for the following months were: June, 108; July, 134; August, 170; September, 182; and October, 220. There was a further still greater upward leap in prices after the typhoon and flood in November. Finance and Supplies Committee asks for PI.50 Allowance — Following a number of conference with the Com­ mandant, and after pressing in Octo­ ber for an increase in the per capita appropriation to FI.25, the Finance and Supplies Committee in a letter dated November 21, formally request­ ed the Japanese authorities for an in­ crease from FI to PI.50, retroactive to November 1, and the letter stated that — "if prices do not recede appreciably from their present high levels, we shall find it most dif­ ficult to operate in succeeding months even on the requested allowance of PI.50. In this event, we shall wish to take this matter up with you again.”

ALLOWANCE INCREASE ASKED

Another letter to the Commandant, dated December 3, informed him that "there had been no significant reces­ sion in prices since the typhoon, and, in some cases, the rising tendency has continued”. Said the letter also: "The month of November ended with a substantial deficit. With the continued high level of prices being paid for foodstuffs, we are now operating at a deficit for the month of December. Due to non-availability of sup­ plies as well as lack of funds, we have al­ ready made reductions in the quantity and quality of the food served. We shall be forced into more drastic reductions in our menus if the requested increase in our appropriations is not granted. This will most seriously affect the children’s and hospital kitchens, since the adults lines have already been reduced to maintain the menus for children and hospital patients.”

145

taken up at this meeting. On Novem­ ber 25, Grinnell had referred to the Committee a letter from the Swiss Minister in Tokyo, dated September 6, according to which the United States Government, acting on behalf of the American Red Cross, planned to remit monthly the equivalent of 100,000 yen to the camp for the relief of internees and their dependents under certain definite conditions and restrictions. "It was evident to the Committee’’ (minutes, November 26) — "that these remittance correspond to Relief Funds Nos. 2 and 4 already received, amount­ ing in each case to just under P47,000. It was also evident that in general the disbursements made by the Executive Committee are in line with the wishes and desires of the American Red Cross.”

According to the minutes of the Grinnell at this meeting (November Executive Committee meeting of De­ 26) had said that he was making ef­ cember 6, attended by Carroll and forts to get possession of the fund Wolff: corresponding to November, but in "Recent major price increases have unbalanc­ the meeting of December 6 he had to ed the budget by PI,100 daily. At present the report that no definite progress had central kitchen costs are running about PI been made to this end. The Comman­ and the annex and hospital about PI.90, an over-all average of about PI .20. The central dant had told him the day before kitchen food is by no means too plentiful or that — too nutritious [sic], and while some economies are possible [?], any attempt to bring expenses in line with present income will result in a substantially inadequate diet. Various expe­ dients for economizing were discussed, but it was the unanimous opinion that in the inte­ rests of camp health, there must be no ma­ terial cut in present diets as long as food can be bought. Though annex and hospital costs are unproportionally higher than those of the central kitchen, these kitchens should not be curtailed as long as it is possible to keep central kitchen food at present levels. The Commandant has not yet acted on the Finance and Supplies Committee’s request sub­ mitted three weeks ago for an increase in allowance from PI to PI .50, but has promised to take up and recommend the increase to­ morrow.”

Additional Red Cross Funds An­ xiously Awaited — The question of what to do about the deficit was also

"the original letter, which was translated into Japanese, was somewhat ambiguous and might be interpreted to the effect that the entire fund will be available for Santo Tomas only, with additional funds to be allotted to other internment camps in accordance with their needs.”

Grinnell now stated that he believed the fund would be available the fol­ lowing week, and the Committee de­ cided that if this proved, to be the case, at least P15,000 could be allotted to the food budget. It was agreed — "to continue providing food on the present basis, with the hope that (a) our allowance will soon be increased, (b) Relief Fund No. 52 2"At the suggestion of the Treasurer and Auditor, in order to simplify accounting prac­ tice, the Committee approved the following changes in the designation of relief funds; Re­ lief Funds Nos. 1 and 3 will in future be known

146 will be available to cover deficits for the first half of the month, and (c), failing (a) and (b), other means can be found to obtain the necessary funds.’

“It was felt by all”, the minutes of December 6 concluded, "that the out­ look is serious and the future grim, and that therefore we must exert eve­ ry effort to keep our internees as well fed as we can for as long as it is possible to buy supplies, and main­ tain our slender reserves against the time when food can no longer be pro­ cured regardless of cost”. At the important meeting of Decem­ ber 13, attended by the'Commandant, a meeting already referred to in so many connections, the "desperate need for additional food allowances and the question of obtaining supplies if the allowances are made available”, were again discussed with the Com­ mandant who stated that the applica­ tion for an increase in the per diem "had been filed with his recommen­ dation”. The Commandant promised to do what he could in assisting the camp to obtain coconut oil, coal tar, resin, garbage drums, and cement, "none of which articles can be pur­ chased in the open market in quan­ tity". American Relief Fund No. 3 had not yet come to hand, and Grinnell inform­ ed the Committee that arrangements had been made with Bessmer for a loan of P46,994.08 the next day, pend­ ing receipt of the fund. The Commit­ tee approved the loan and an allot­ ment of PI5,000 of the money to the Finance and Supplies Committee to cover the deficits in food costs for the first half of December. The allotment was to be repaid out of the expected increase in the Japanese allowance, as Bessmer Relief Funds Nos. 1 and 2. Relief funds Nos. 2 and 4 will be known as American Relief Funds Nos. 1 and 2." — Minutes, De­ cember 10.

THE CAMP

provided this was retroactive to De­ cember 1. New Threat to the Package-Line — There was, however, not only more delay in the materialization of an in­ crease in the per capita allowance, but a new threat to the continuation of the Package-Line entered into the proceedings. A meeting held on the 17th and attended by leading mem­ bers of both the Executive and the Finance and Supplies committees, was reported on in the minutes of the Exe­ cutive Committee held later that day as follows: "At this meeting, Mr. Carroll advised the group that the Commandant had stated that although our first application for an increase in per diems to PI .50 had been denied and a compromise offer of PI.25 suggested, it now appears probable that the PI.50 can be ob­ tained provided the camp will agree to offer three meals a day to all internees and that the Package-Line be restricted to laundry and for food for the aged, sick, diet cases, and children. It was further indicated that the Japanese authorities will provide materials to equip the emergency kitchen so that it may be used to augment our present kitchen facili­ ties. After a considerable discussion it was decided to renew our request for FI.50, offer­ ing to serve three meals a day as soon as equipment has been made available and is in­ stalled, it being understood that the PackageLine will not yet be discontinued. Mr. Carroll agreed to draft a letter to this effect to be filed with the Commandant as soon as possi­ ble.”

Carroll the next day gave the Com­ mandant an oral report on the attitude of the Committee after the Comman­ dant had stated that a letter was "not necessary”. The requested increase in the per capita allowance was still pending ten days later and the Finance and Sup­ plies Committee was running out of cash on hand, though it had not yet drawn on the PI5,000 which had been made over to it out of the loan ob­ tained from Bessmer. American Relief

THE CAMP RUNS OUT OF CASH

Fund No. 3 had not yet come to hand. Under date of December 27, Carroll therefore wrote the Commandant as follows: "In connection with our request for an in­ crease in appropriation for the maintenance and operation of the camp from PI to PI.50 per capita daily, we wish to inform you that we have issued to our disbursing officer this morning the last of our cash on hand, which will be sufficient to meet our daily require­ ments for today and tomorrow. We shall then be out of cash for payments made on a daily basis and for the accumulated bills which are paid on a monthly basis. "We trust that favorable action will be taken on our requests for an increase and that it will be made effective as of December 1, so that a deficit will be prevented for this month. "Thanking you again for your interest in this malter of vital concern, I am, "Yours truly, etc.”

The thanks offered pro forma at the close of this letter had a somewhat sarcastic ring. Another week passed without ac­ tion, and Carroll again wrote the Com­ mandant a letter under date of Jan­ uary 2, 1944: "With further reference to our requested in­ crease in the per capita daily appropriation for the camp from PI to PI.50, we wish to advise you that preliminary calculations of our expenses for the month of December indicate that we shall have a deficit of approximately P40,000. As you know, we have borrowed from the Red Cross Relief Funds, handled by the Executive Committee, an amount of P15.000 to be refunded from the increased appropriation if made retroactive to December 1. "We are greatly concerned about the deficit for December, as well as the policy to be fol­ lowed in building a budget for the month of January. With the prevailing high prices paid for all supplies purchased for the camp, we can not operate on the present allowance of PI daily without a drastic reduction in the quantity of food served. Rather than make such reductions and anticipating an increased appropriation, we operated at a deficit for De­ cember, but we hesitate to continue on that basis for January.”

147

For several days longer, the Finance and Supplies Committee operated on the basis of the P15.000 loan and also on loans obtained from private indi­ viduals in the camp. A complication was that although the Swiss Minister in Tokyo had telegraphed Bessmer that one fund of 100,000 yen was al­ ready on the way to the Philippines and that a second fund would be for­ warded as soon as permission could be obtained from the Japanese Foreign Office (Minutes, December 27), and a loan against this expected remittance had been obtained from Bessmer, Grin­ ned had to inform the Committee in its meeting on January 3 that there had been received that day the sum of P30.546.17, "this being the equiva­ lent of 65,000 yen...which presuma­ bly comprised American Relief Fund No. 3. No reason was given as to why the amount had been reduced from 100,000 yen, but an effort was being made to obtain clarification.” "Mean­ while", stated the minutes, "the camp is in need of funds and a conference will be held with Mr. Bessmer tomor­ row to try to find a solution”. The Committee was unable to allocate any funds for January cash relief (PI 1,000 was needed for cash relief within the camp and P3,000 additional for relief to internees in outside institutions). A few days later, the Commandant gave his consent to an increase in Bessmer's loan from something under P47.000 to P50.000, and the Committee decided to appropriate the money as follows: family aid for December and January (this replaced the former grant of P5,000), PI 1,500; cash relief for Jan­ uary (to individual internees), P14.000; loan to Finance and Supplies Commit­ tee to cover the deficit for the first half of December (this replaced a si­ milar loan made in December from American Relief Fund No. 3), P15.000.

148

Disposition of the balance was to be held in abeyance until the needs of the Finance and Supplies Committee in connection with feeding the camp were ascertained. In the meantime the Commandant had telegraphed to Tokyo as to the "scope” of the last re­ mittance of 65,000 yen. (Minutes, Jan­ uary 7.) Two days before this meeting the Japanese authorites had made P66.684 available to the Finance and Supplies Committee, — on the basis of the es­ tablished PI per capita per diem. Santo Tomas Placed under the WarPrisoners Department, Japanese Army — In the midst of these efforts to ob­ tain a larger per capita daily allow­ ance and to find out how far conti­ nued American relief funds could be counted upon, Grinnell communicated an important item of information to the Executive Committee on January 10. According to the minutes, he stated that — "he had been advised that, effective January 6, [1944], this camp was placed under the direct supervision of the War-Prisoners Depart­ ment, the head of which is General Morimoto. The Commandant has stated that this is not official information as yet, but the Chairman will endeavor to obtain a statement from the Commandant tomorrow which can be broad­ cast to internees.”

Grinnell also informed the Committee that, effective the next day, every camp buyer or any other internee sent out on camp service would be accompa­ nied by a Japanese escort. The Japan­ ese guards at the gate had already been increased to 14 on the 6th or 7th. On the 12th, the Commandant told Carroll that the Army intended to fur­ nish the camp with supplies instead of cash and that the change would probably be made "on or about” Feb­ ruary 1. That the military might de­ cide to do this had first been intimat­ ed in October by Kodaki, when the

THE CAMP

Finance and Supplies Committee was asking for an increase in the per diem to PI.25. Kodaki had said, “That would be bad for you". Late in December too, the Commandant had told Carroll that plans were developing for "placing all camps on the same basis”, and this intimation had been the subject of dis­ cussion in both the Executive and the Finance and Supplies committees. (Minutes, January 3.) Permission to make the broadcast to the internees was obtained on the 14th. The minutes of the Executive Committee on that day referred to the "eventual intention of the [War-Prison­ ers] Department to substitute the issu­ ing of foodstuffs and other supplies ins­ tead of cash per diems, without, how­ ever, modifying further the functions of the Finance and Supplies Commit­ tee.” The minutes also stated that — "the Swiss Minister in Tokyo, having express­ ed full satisfaction with our expending and accounting for the relief funds received from him, has indicated that no further difficulty is anticipated with regard to the transmittal of monthly funds of the equivalent of 100,000 yen.”

The announcement over the camp loudspeaker system that evening was as follows: "Pending an official announcement by the Commandant, the Executive Committee has been permitted to make the following informal statement: ‘ "All civilian internment camps have now been placed under the jurisdiction of the Head­ quarters of the War-Prisoners Camps. In other words, all war-prisoners camps and all civilian internment camps are now under the same general supervision under the Highest Com­ mander of the Imperial Japanese Army in the Philippines. ‘ "In principle, there will be no radical chang­ es in the operation of this camp, nor that of the Los Banos and Baguio camps. As for this camp, the present Commandant will remain with a somewhat increased staff. Further, there will be no change in the present inter­ nee organization set-up, that is both the

ARMY TO SUPPLY FOOD INSTEAD OF CASH Executive Committee and the Finance and Sup­ plies Committee will continue as heretofore. Even though it is anticipated that at some future date the military authorities will under­ take to furnish supplies instead of cash to the camp, the work of the Finance and Sup­ plies Committee in requisitioning, receiving, ac­ counting for, and distributing supplies will con­ tinue as at present. Also a small monthly cash allowance will probably be provided for mis­ cellaneous necessities which may not be avail­ able through military channels. It is quite likely that the proposed new arrangement for maintaining the camp will be advantageous, particularly in view of the present difficulty in obtaining necessary food and other supplies in the local market through camp-buyers. ‘ "Also it is expected that communication with war-prisoners camps as well as the out­ side world may soon be placed on a regular basis. ' "We wish to take advantage of this oppor­ tunity to announce that the prospects of regu­ lar monthly remittances of relief funds from abroad are very encouraging. Therefore we are hopeful that the various relief plans now in effect, such as individual cash relief, payments to needy non-interned families, and other forms of general welfare, may be continued. ' "In closing we wish to reiterate that the foregoing information is not to be construed as a formal statement, but rather as an indica­ tion of the trend of plans for the future main­ tenance of this camp." ’

That night, too, the Japanese soldiers of the guard, carrying rifles with fixed bayonets, began to patrol the grounds, something which had not been done since the first months of internment. The Commandant had for some time been talking about the advisability of allowing individual internees to raise chickens and ducks as a source of food, which had not previously been permitted for sanitary reasons, and the camp medical board was asked to study the matter. The Commandant also insisted that more gardening be done, and as the whole northeastern corner of the campus was now under cultivation, he wanted this activity ex­ tended to the southwestern corner. The Dominican priests in the Seminary

149

had turned this area into a corn-plot the year before, but the corn proved so scrubby that they abandoned the effort. The site was swampy in the wet season and the soil was very poor, but the Executive Committee decided to try bananas there. The work had been begun and, following this, ac­ cording to the minutes of the meeting of the Executive Committee on Jan­ uary 17, the Commandant — "approved and ordered broadcast a plan (sub­ mitted by the vegetable garden committee) for the establishment of small private gardens in the banana groves now being planted in the southwest comer of the property. These plots are to be 5 meters square and are to be operated under a private garden association."

General Morimoto, head of the WarPrisoners Department, and his staff made an extensive inspection of the camp on the 19th, coming in the morn­ ing and again in the afternoon. He issu­ ed a number of orders, one that a space, 10 feet wide, be cleared all along the inside of the walls, around the cam­ pus. This necessitated the moving of a number of shanties. More satisfac­ tory to the camp was that he noted the inadequate toilet facilities, espe­ cially in the main building (11 toilets for 750 women on the second floor, for instance), and ordered additional installations, stating the Army would furnish the needed equipment and ma­ terials, it being understood that the work entailed would be done by the internees. (Minutes, January 21.) No­ thing, however, came of this. The General gave other orders of which the camp, however, did not hear un­ til a few days later. Kato Questions Ownership of Camp Food Reserve— On the morning of the General’s visit, Kato said that he wanted to meet Grinnell, Carroll, Bridgeford, and Bailey in Carroll’s of­ fice "to go over the books” with them.

150

He walked in about noon and, in an ob­ vious state of excitement and anger, charged the Committee with having used the P70,000 cash working fund to buy "reserve food supplies” and de­ manded immediate restitution. It hap­ pened that Carroll had just signed the application for the regular appro­ priation covering the first 15 days of the month, together with a receipt, signed, as was customary, in advance. Carroll handed him these, involving an amount of P66,415 and told him that if the Japanese authorities would pay over this amount, plus the additional amount due the camp from the 16th through the 19th, the Committee would be able to refund the P70,000 and have something over. Carroll said that the purpose of the P70,000 cash fund was precisely to cover purchases pending the receipt of the regular ap­ propriations. Kato appeared some­ what taken aback at this and made se­ veral entries in a notebook he had with him. Then he said: "All right! How did you get your reserve food?” Carroll answered that the food re­ serve had been built up in four dif­ ferent ways. First, he said, when the Japanese authorities took over the fi­ nancing of the camp on June 1, 1942, the Philippine Red Cross still had cer­ tain stocks on hand which were then donated to the camp and so taken up on the books. Kato expressed surprise at the date mentioned and asked how the camp had been financed and sup­ plied up to that time. Carroll answered that the camp had been financed and supplied entirely by its own efforts with the assistance of the Philippine Red Cross and that up to June 1, 1942, no money and no food whatever was received from the Japanese. Kato asked whether he was "sure” of this and could "prove” it, and Carroll told him the records were available. Kato

THE CAMP

asked whether the funds used had not been furnished by the Japanese author­ ities. Carroll replied that the money spent by the camp during those first five months were amounts released from the Red Cross checking accounts in the Philippine National Bank or sums borrowed for the purpose by the Red Cross, and that efforts at that time to borrow P10,000 from the Yo­ kohama Specie Bank had failed. Carroll then mentioned the other ways in which the camp’s reserve food stocks had been built up, — from Red Cross relief supplies received from abroad in December, 1942, which in­ cluded bulk shipments of sugar, dried fruit, powdered milk, canned corned beef, etc.; by purchases, approved by Kodaki, made from Red Cross relief funds received from abroad; and by purchases made from surplus funds in June and September, 1943, when in­ creases in the Japanese appropriation for the camp had been made retroac­ tive to the first of the month in both cases. Kato had entered the office like a lion and he left like a mouse, one of the members of the Committee said. He was completely “flabbergasted”, said another. The question of the camp’s reserve food stocks was not brought up again.4 The Army Promises to Supply Food Instead of Cash— On the morning of the 22nd, the Commandant informed Carroll that the Army authorities had approved an increase in the per capita daily allowance from PI to PI.50, ef­ fective retroactively to December 1, but he added that this was to continue only up to the end of the month, from which time on the Army would fur­ nish supplies instead of cash. Carroll asked for an interview with him on 3 Not for a time and not by Kato.

THE NEW OFFICIAL FOOD RATION

the subject that afternoon to discuss this important matter in greater de­ tail, and the Commandant, after some persuasion, reluctantly consented to this. In the afternoon, when Carroll and Bridgeford called on him, his first re­ mark was that he did not see why they should want to discuss the food ques­ tion with him as he was no expert and knew very little about the details any­ way, but on being pressed for further information, he finally brought out a folder which contained documents giving the full particulars. The Com­ mandant's air was one of embarrass­ ment and very slowly the two men ex­ tracted the information which they later embodied in memoranda sepa­ rately written by them. The Official Daily Ration— Briefly, the Japanese plan provided for the fol­ lowing per capita daily food allowance for adults: 100 grams of fish; 400 grams of cereal (rice, corn, beans, camotes); 200 grams of vegetables (if and when available and, at that, only for a time and until the camp would become self-supporting in vegetable production); 20 grams of sugar; 25 grams of salt; 20 grams of cooking-oil; 1 gram of tea. Meat, eggs, milk, and vegetables like tomatoes and onions, and also coffee, would not be furnished as they were all ''luxuries”. Children 10 years of age and under would be allowed only half of the adult allow­ ance. No special allowance was made for the aged, for those who needed special diets, and for the ill. The Com­ mandant, further, warned them against "optimism as to quality" of the food to be supplied, as the internees were "by no means considered first-class customers”. The Commandant described the fish the camp would get as from a finger to a hand in size. Fish and vegetables,

151

he said, would be delivered to the camp twice a week, and in this con­ nection he asked that plans be made for the construction of an ice-bodega for their storage. The Army, he said, would furnish the ice. The Army would also furnish other essential supplies for the hospital, sanitation, construc­ tion, and maintenance requirements of the camp on requisition of the Finance and Supplies Committee, subject, of course, to the approval of the military authorities. In addition to this, there would be a monthly cash allowance of P4.50 for adults and P2.25 for children for "per­ sonal toiletries” and "repair of cloth­ ing”, but there would be no objection if this money, which would come to approximately P19,000 a month, were spent for supplementary food. The camp canteen, the cold stores, the vegetable market, and the camp restaurant when established, and the personal service (purchasing) depart­ ment, would be allowed to continue, and there would be no interference with the Package-Line "for the time being”. The Commandant said that he would do his best toward seeing that the camp received the Red Cross funds regularly. He expressed regret over the fact that the recent Red Cross shipment was of such an individual nature, and, with reference to the re­ cent inquiry from the Swiss Minister in Tokyo, he advised against asking for bulk supplies such as crackedwheat (which he considered a luxury because of the availability of rice and corn), and recommended canned meats as the most necessary item to ask for in view of the shortage of animal proteins. During the discussion, the Comman­ dant referred a number of times to the depreciation of the currency and

152

said that he believed that "in the long run we would probably be better off under the new arrangement than if we had to find and buy the food our­ selves,” so said Bridgeford in his me­ morandum of the conference. The members of the Finance and Supplies Committee and of the Exe­ cutive Committee took a serious view of the plan as thus revealed and later confirmed in a letter from the Com­ mandant, dated January 24, which was the basis of a broadcast to the camp that night. Disregarded Needs of Children, Aged, and Sick— The worst feature of the Japanese plan was the complete dis­ regard of the special needs of children, the aged, and the sick. The 100 grams of fish (which was gross weight and would reduce to about 60 or 70 grams of edible fish) actually amounted to a little more than what the meat ra­ tion had been for several months, — 50 grams in November, 39 grams in December, and 35 grams in January, but this ration was far too low and had been a basis of complaint. And no one knew just what this "rice and fish” diet would be and what its effect would be on people unaccustomed to it. According to the minutes of the Executive Committee meeting held on the 24th: "The implications of the new ruling were discussed thoroughly, and it was felt that a general protest against the arrangement should be entered immediately, particularly as it ap­ plies to women, children, sick, aged, and hos­ pital cases, with a more specific protest to follow at a later date in the light of actual experience. In order to formulate the general protest, a subcommittee consisting of Messrs. Masefield, Holter, and the secretary, was de­ legated to work up a joint letter with a similar committee from the Finance and Supplies Com­ mittee, Mr. Pond to be invited to advise."

The minutes went on to say:

THE CAMP "It is hoped that diet deficiencies may in a way be compensated by the regular arrival of relief funds, but this is not certain enough to warrant complete reliance. Meanwhile, the additional per diems from December 1 to Feb­ ruary 1 will enable the Finance and Supplies Committee to pile up a surplus which would be available for extra food in February if it is permitted to retain the same. If, however, our surplus has to be turned over to the Japanese authorities on February 1, it will be to our advantage to lay in supplies meanwhile as far as possible, or take other appropriate action, and with this in mind, Messrs. Grinnell and Day were invited to meet with the Finance and Supplies Committee tomorrow evening to explore this situation further.”

The situation was discussed at va­ rious meeting of the two ranking com­ mittees, by the subcommittees, and also at a meeting of the Monitors Council and a subsequent meeting of room monitors and shanty supervisors during the week. Carroll, speaking at the latter meeting said, among other things: “Our reserve stocks are intact and, with the exception of canned foods, will be used to supplement the ration provided by the Mili­ tary. It has been decided by the Finance and Supplies Committee that our reserves stocks of corned beef, meat-and-vegetable ration, etc., should be held intact until an even greater emergency than we now face is encountered. “In closing, I wish to add a personal com­ ment about the general food situation outside the camp. Last week, at NARIC, we were al­ lowed 16 sacks of rice (1/2 our ration for the period) and were told that there would be no rice for the next ration. We did not get any corn at all. On the previous trip, there was no com in the Naric bodega but we found 16 sacks in a remote bodega near the Tutuban Station, although it was old and full of weevils. "During the past two weeks prices have been rising constantly. This is due, of course, to shortage of supplies. The shortage of supplies is due mainly to two things: (1) lack of trans­ portation, and (2) guerrilla activities. From the columns of the Tribune we have read much recently about the efforts of Mr. Laurel to get the guerrillas to surrender, and his state­ ments that they are interfering with the flow

EXECUTIVE AND FINANCE COMMITTEES LODGE PROTEST Of foodstuffs into Manila. We are mostly de­ pendent on suburban gardens. "We can not expect anything other than con­ tinued diminishing supplies. The rice harvest was in November. It is now February and a real rice-shortage exists. This is now the peak of the fruit season in Batangas, and very limited amounts are coming through. With the approaching dry season, we can expect less and less vegetables. It behooves us to produce everything we can within our com­ pound. . . ”

153

ly, unless otherwise provided for, such items as milk, eggs, meat, fruit, and the like must be bought for children, special diets, and hos­ pital cases as long as they are obtainable. "5. The plan makes no provision whatsoever for the furnishing of clothes and shoes in ac­ cordance with general world-wide practice and treaty provisions. "6. In accordance with your written and verbal instructions, we are now converting all available space within the campus into vege­ table and fruit gardens. We feel that we must point out, however, that the space available is The Committees’ Protest— The gen­ totally inadequate to produce enough even to supply this camp and that the pro­ eral letter of protest mentioned in the partially duce from these gardens should be used solely minutes of the 24th, as finally drafted, for supplementing the rations provided by the read, under date of January 29 and Japanese military authorities as outlined in your letter. addressed to the Commandant: "We recognize the practical difficulties in­ "Sir:— We acknowledge receipt of your let­ volved in feeding and supplying this camp and ter of January 24 addressed to the Chairman we acknowledge your personal concern and of our Finance and Supplies Committee ad­ efforts to see that the camp is adequately fed vising us that, effective February 1, the Ja­ and supplied. panese military authorities will discontinue the "Nevertheless, we strongly feel that the above per capita daily appropriation and furnish us, points merit your consideration and analysis, in lieu of cash, supplies for feeding and main­ first, in the light of what is practical, second, taining the camp, with a small monthly allow­ in relation to the responsibility of the Japanese ance in cash to cover supplementary needs. military authorities, and finally, on broad hu­ "In view of the market situation, wherein manitarian lines. supplies are diminishing and costs are advanc­ "We realize that actual experience will make ing daily, we agree that in the long run we possible more detailed and authoritative con­ shall probably be better off under the new clusions, but we trust that the basic principles plan. involved will be reviewed at this time and "However, we feel that it is our duty to that remedial action will be taken. take exception to certain features of the plan "We feel that we would be derelict to our which appear to us to be entirely inadequate, responsibility if we failed to register our ap­ not in accordance with the general accepted prehension over those features of the plan world-wide practice, and likely to lead to se­ which, if unmodified will contribute to a most rious complications in the health of this camp: dangerous prospect. Respectfully, etc.” "1. As expressed verbally to you, we con­ sider the policy of limiting children under 11 The letter was signed jointly by years of age to 1/2 rations as unfair and al­ Grinnell for the Executive Committee most certain to result in lasting impairment and Carroll for the Finance and Sup­ to their future health. "2. We must take exception to the fact that plies Committee. no special provision has been made for hos­ The New Garden Plot; Women and pital cases, invalids, special diet cases, the aged, mothers as well as children, and women Old Men Workers—Around 100 inter­ in general. nees had applied for private garden "3. While recognizing the serious food prob­ plots in the "Southwest Territory", lem, we still feel that we must take exception grass cutting had begun, and a collec­ to the inadequacy of the proposed diet which is unbalanced, low in calories, and deficient tion had been taken up for the pur­ in proteins and fats. chase of a few extra tools, when the "4. The monthly cash allowance of P4.50 for Commandant informed the Executive adult persons and P2.25 for children under 11 years of age is hardly adequate even for its Committee that — primary aim of providing toiletries and repair of clothing. If, as suggested by you, these "the military authorities had instructed the funds are used for purchasing supplementary Commandant to order that the southwest area foods to offset the unbalanced diet, the small of this camp, allotted to private gardens, be amount becomes totally inadequate. Obvious­ changed to a 100% camp project and that the

154 total output from the area be at the disposal of the camp to supplement food supplies re­ ceived from the military authorities. There­ fore allotments to internees for private gar­ den plots have been cancelled.. .A problem facing the camp will be how to obtain suf­ ficient labor to develop the new camp gardens ...as ordered by the Commandant. This must be handled as an extra work detail, and the Commandant is of the opinion that certain perquisites may be granted to those work­ ing on this property. Here is a problem in which the Monitors Council can be of definite help.” (Minutes, January 24.)

Camp work on the project started on Saturday, January 29, on a pre­ sumably “voluntary” mass-work basis, camp officials fearing that if the work were not undertaken in that manner, it might come down to compulsion. Carroll had said at the monitors and supervisors meeting that he intended to put in at least an hour’s work a day in the garden and the Command­ ant, on Saturday, also appeared on the field with a sickle. That Saturday practically all the men in the gymna­ sium turned to, in relays which work­ ed an hour each. During the follow­ ing days the men in the other build­ ings took their turn, and after that a regular system was adopted under which all the men in the camp ex­ cept the most unfit, organized accord­ ing to the building and floor they lived on, worked in rotation for one hour, once or twice a week, or were expected to do so. Brief as the period was, this heavy work in the hot sun proved too exhausting for many of the older men. It was decided to plant camotes between the rows of banana trees, and at a suggestion from the Commandant’s Office the young wo­ men in the camp were asked to help in the planting (of cuttings of the stem and leaves). They worked only late in the afternoon, beginning short­ ly before sun-down; there never was a turn-out of more than 20 or 30.

THE CAMP

All week long the soldiers had been much in evidence in the camp. They not only patrolled the grounds at night, but every truck or carretela which came into camp bringing sup­ plies, hauling away garbage, etc., was accompanied while within the camp by a soldier armed with a rifle. Peo­ ple entering the camp to visit the Com­ mandant's office were also escorted from and back to the main gate by a soldier. At the Package-Line, in­ coming and outgoing packages were carefully searched. A Heavy Blow: The Package-Line Abolished — Despite the fact that the Commandant had said only a few days before that the Package-Line would not be closed, at least "for the time being”, an alarming rumor spread on Sunday, the 30th. During the day it was stated over the loudspeaker that an important special announcement would be made that evening. The news-cast was usually made during an intermission in the Sunday evening concert, but on this occasion it was held back until just after the close of the concert, which was prob­ ably done not to break the "mood” but only increased the general appre­ hension. Then, at 8:45, the announce­ ment: "Ladies and Gentlemen: — Your attention please. We have a very important notice com­ ing from the Executive Committee, which will be read in its entirety: "‘Yesterday and today the Commandant has issued various instructions which have a very important bearing on the life of this camp and which we shall outline briefly tonight as there has not been sufficient time to prepare a complete statement with details. The sa­ lient points are as follows: "T. The employment of outside Filipino doc­ tors and nurses is to be terminated tomorrow, January 31. In other words, we must rely entirely on our own resources for medical and nursing service for the camp from February 1. The Commandant has again emphasized that internees may be sent outside of the camp for medical, surgical, dental, and optical

THE PACKAGE-LINE ABOLISHED treatments only in case of extreme emergency which can not be handled in the camp, and has stated that, effective February 1, all appli­ cations of this character must have the ap­ proval of the head of the medical division of the War-Prisoners Headquarters Department. '“2. Drastic changes are to be made in the status of outside institutions, these changes be­ coming effective as soon as possible after Feb­ ruary 1. The outside institutions which will still be available to internees who are now outside of camp and who may be approved to remain outside, as well as those who may be released from this camp, are the Philippine General Hospital, Philippine Tuberculosis Hospital, San Lazaro Hospital, National Psychopathic Hospi­ tal, and the Hospicio de San Jose. The Mary Chiles Hospital, Doctors Hospital, St. Joseph’s Hospital, and Emmanuel Hospital will no long­ er be available to internee patients, and in­ ternees now quartered in these four institu­ tions must be transferred either to this camp or to one of the five approved institutions. The Holy Ghost Children's Home, the Sulphur Springs Camp, and the Remedios Hospital are to be closed entirely and the internees now quartered in these three institutions are to be transferred to this camp, or if passed by the Japanese medical authorities, to one of the five approved institutions. Incidentally the Japanese authorities have applied for additio­ nal space at the Philippine General Hospital, which institution will, however, be available for special surgical cases which can not be handled in camp, and not for chronic invalids. ‘"3. All this adds up to an influx of men, women, and children, and most of the men and women will require special consideration because of their physical condition. In other words, we have a serious housing problem which the Commandant has recognized to the extent that he has granted permission for families who are desirous of living as family units, to live in their shanties, provided, of course, that they have suitable shanties. Further details will be announced as soon as possible, — we hope by tomorrow evening. "‘4. Now we come to another order which is bad news to a large number of people in this camp, namely, the Package-Line is to be closed effective February 1, or, in other words, tomorrow is the last day of normal operations at the Package-Line. However, the Commandant has permitted the Package-Line to remain open through Monday, February 8, only for the purpose of sending out empty containers and for receiving laundry which is now out of camp. As just stated, this an­ nouncement will come as a severe blow to many of us, and many will ask when a noon meal can be served from the central kitchen to all who desire it. Inasmuch as we are not

155 yet equipped to serve three meals a day to everyone, we hope that tomorrow we may be able to obtain an extension of the PackageLine closing date for a few days, when neces­ sary extensions in central kitchen equipment should be completed. However, we should not count too heavily on this possibility and should, therefore, make whatever arrangements we can on the basis of having the Line closed on February 1, except for the sending out of empty containers and receiving laundry which is now out of camp. "‘5. Camp services such as the canteen, cold stores, fruit and vegetable market will con­ tinue and the camp restaurant will soon open. The private restaurants will cease to function as such shortly after the opening of the camp restaurant. ' "As will be evident from the foregoing, this camp will be isolated from February 1. How­ ever, communications with non-interned fami­ lies and others through censored notes will be permitted. Also, family aid payments will be continued as at present. ' "This about covers the situation with which we are confronted and we know that you will be asking many questions. As previously stat­ ed, we shall do our best to announce further details tomorrow evening so that all may know just how we, as a camp, and we as individuals, will be affected. Please rest assured that every possible effort is being extended to mi­ nimize hardships and to handle to the best advantage a situation which most of us have realized must eventually come.’ — Signed by the Executive Committee.”

Outside Doctors Excluded — The order closing the Package-Line was the heaviest blow; the order terminat­ ing the services of the Filipino doctors, dentists, and nurses employed in the camp was probably the next most se­ vere, especially when it was coinci­ dental with the expected influx of se­ veral hundred more people, many of them chronic invalids. The doctors whose services were thus ended, — some of them former Red Cross doc­ tors and others specialists, were Drs. Abad, Alberto, Borja, Fernando, Wil­ liam Fletcher, Jaime, and Tanchanco, and Dr. Lerma, a dentist. The inter­ nee doctors remaining were few for a community which would number over 4,000 people, with a disproportion­ ate number of the aged and ill, —

156

Drs. L. Z. Fletcher, Chambers, Cullen, Smith, Ream Allen, Witthoff, and Waters, Dr. Stevenson, who lived out­ side the camp, and Dr. McAnlis, dent­ ist, who also lived outside the camp. Dr. Fanton, dentist, was ill and was not practicing. The camp was fortu­ nate, however, in the fact that Pro­ fessor F. G. Haughwout, noted proto­ zoologist and parasitologist and an authority on the dysenteries, who had come to Santo Tomas from the Baguio internment camp in August, had been enabled, after some delay, to set up a clinic in connection with Dr. Ream Allen’s children’s hospital at the an­ nex and the new isolation hospital in the old hospital building or dormito­ ry. Among the Filipinos no longer al­ lowed to come into the camp was F. N. Gonzales, a well-known Manila "bone-setter” and chiropractor, who had many patients among the Ameri­ can and foreign communities in the city and who had been permitted to come in three mornings a week to administer treatments. A number of public health nurses from the Philip­ pine Bureau of Health, who had been in charge of innoculation and vacci­ nation work, were also excluded. The announcement that communi­ cation with non-interned families and others would be permitted through a resumption of the censored note sys­ tem promised to some extent to re­ duce the severity of the blow of the closing of the Package-Line, but as this order came without notice and was effective practically immediately, internees worried about how they could prepare their families for the change. Fortunately, it was announc­ ed the next day that the Commandant had agreed to allow the Line to ope­ rate as usual for one more week, up to and including February 8. This made it possible to get in touch with

THE CAMP

the people outside who regularly came to the Line only once or twice a week. The laundry problem was also a serious one as there were no facili­ ties in the camp for 4,000 people to do their own washing. It was announc­ ed that a camp system would be or­ ganized which would provide for the sending out of laundry on a commu­ nity basis. Families Allowed to Live in the Shanties because of the Crowding — The general gloom which prevailed in the camp was lightened only by those who were now to be allowed to live together as families in their shanties. On February 1 some 200 women and children were permitted to take ad­ vantage of the new arrangement and during the following week or two some 150 or more did so. On the first night the music committee included Mendelssohn’s Wedding March on that evening’s program. It had been announced that the "visibility” rules which applied to shanties could not be relaxed, but the minutes of the Executive Committee meeting of Feb­ ruary 7 stated with regard to this: "The Committee was advised that the Com­ mandant has agreed on representations of the Chairman that the visibility rules applying to shanties be relaxed sufficienty to permit pri­ vacy while dressing. The appearance of visi­ bility [sic], however, must be maintained, and screens and partitions must be removable.”

The Tense Last Package-Line Day— Despite the announcement that the Package-Line would be allowed to operate normally up to and including Tuesday, February 8, it was announc­ ed on Saturday, the 5th, that that would be the last day and that for the next two days only empty containers would be allowed to go out and only laundry would be allowed to come in. During the previous few days, and be­ ginning as soon as the people outside

TENSE LAST DAY OF THE PACKAGE-LINE

had learned that the Line would shortly be entirely closed, enormous quantities of all sorts of food and oth­ er supplies had been coming in daily, the volume far exceeding that even of Christmas week. The opening up of the shanties to family life also result­ ed in many bulky articles such as kit­ chen-cabinets and even double-beds and mattresses being brought in. All this irked the Japanese exceedingly, and they had apparently chosen Sun­ day, always a big day at the Line, to bring it to a stop. Many outside peo­ ple had planned to make their final deliveries on that day, and the street in front of the camp was jammed with people, heavily laden with bags and baskets which many of them had car­ ried afoot for miles because of the lack of transportation facilities in the city. There was almost as big a crowd of worried internees on the other side of the sawali fence, who feared that their wives and children and friends outside, resentful of the unexpected order closing the Line on this day, would start some sort of demonstra­ tion which might lead to shooting. Tense and silent, the people outside showed no disposition to return home. When the gate opened from time to time the internees could see them, across the street and in the street, rows of them only a few feet from the armed Japanese sentries. Chittick went to the Commandant’s office and pled with him to allow the people to leave their packages at the Line, pointing out that they had not had an opportunity to learn of the change in orders, and presenting various ar­ guments on both humane and prac­ tical grounds, but Kato said that it was an order and that he could do nothing. Chittick returned hopelessly to the gate. The crowd outside was growing but remained orderly. Many

157

of the people were now sitting down on the curbs and even in the middle of the street, sullen-faced but patient, waiting as people in the Orient know how to wait. Then, suddenly, the Ja­ panese sergeant of the guard, an hour after the usual opening time, waved his arm and said to Chittick: “I will let them come in. My gift to the camp!” Apparently, the sergeant, as a soldier, did not have to follow the ins­ tructions of the civilian Commandant unless he felt like it. The people poured in through the Gate and for an hour all discipline was relaxed. The internees inside came to the sawali fence which surrounded the package-shed compound, and through old peeping holes and other holes which they made with their poc­ ket-knives, talked freely and excited­ ly with the outside people in the en­ closure, the Japanese sentries appear­ ing to pay no attention to this whatso­ ever. The next and last day, Monday, something similar happened, but the crowd was not so large and, again an hour later than the usual time, the people were allowed to come in, but this time to leave only laundry. What food and other things they brought they had to take back home again. That was the end of one of the camp’s most striking features, — in fact, one of the most touching, daily demonstrations the country afforded of where its loyalty lay. Many inter­ nees were almost glad that the Line had been ended, convinced that rela­ tives and friends had for these past two years and more, but especially of late, been sending quantities of food into the camp only at great personal sacrifice. Army Fails to Supply the Promised Ration; the New Diet — During the week the Army had been bringing in

158

supplies on big trucks, — which once belonged to the USAFFE. They brought in rice for 11 days; corn for 2 weeks; lard for 2 weeks; sugar, salt, and tea for a month. On the 31st of January, a small quantity of camotes, pechay, and white radish, enough for one day, were brought into the camp; also one day’s supply of frozen fish, varying in size up to a hand-length. One hundred grams of fish daily had been promised, but on the 30th, Komatsu, the supply officer attached to the Commandant’s staff, had told the men of the Finance and Supplies Committee that the ration had been reduced to 50 grams, plus from 20 to 50 grams of carabao-meat and pork "if and when available”. He pointed out that the fish, though small, had to be eaten and told of how the pri­ soners of war in Bilibid had been "severely punished” when on one oc­ casion they had "buried” instead of cooked their fish. He also said that the vegetable ration would be supplied only during February, after which the camp garden production would be deducted from the ration. During the first weeks more than the required rice and corn was brought in, but the fish supply was underweight even on the 50-gram ba­ sis. On the day before the feeding on the new plan was to begin, — Feb­ ruary 1, and just before the arrival of a small quantity of fish and vege­ tables, a member of the Commandant’s staff said to Carroll, "Nothing will come into camp today for use tomor­ row”, and then he added, “You'll just have to fall back on your reserves.” At the time of this writing, fish was being served three times a week, us­ ually fried, and it was only a lucky individual who got a piece of a goodsized fish. Most of them were so small that it was hard to clean them pro­

THE CAMP

perly. On one occasion they were serv­ ed as a kind of rice-fish hash and se­ veral times fish-camote cakes were served, bones and all included. These experiments were abandoned, as was also, after a time, the "fish-gravy” which no one could swallow. Among the men who were told off to clean the fish were a number of sportsmen who recognized the kinds of fish brought in. They said that they were reef rather than deep-water fish and that their condition usually in­ dicated that they had been dynamited. Among the varieties present was the silver perch, from 3 to 5 inches long, of little food value at any time, and various grunts, prisoner-fish, angel­ fish, black perch, and other small reefdwellers. There was, however, also the fry of hasa-hasa, pampano, lapu-lapu, and the gray and red snapper, all va­ luable food and game varieties, but caught much too young. Obviously the Japanese were looting Philippine wa­ ters as they looted the land. The fish-cleaners one day found, in three baskets of fish, six toad-fish, a poiso­ nous variety of puffer. The tea furnished by the Japanese was of the lowest grade and the fluid served on the line hardly tasted of tea. Every other day coffee was serv­ ed in the morning from the camp's own stores, also very weak. A small banana was served in the way of fruit, morning and evening, bought with camp funds. One spoonful of sugar was served at breakfast time every other day. The morning meal was al­ ways cracked corn. Coconut milk could no longer be served for lack of coconuts to make it from. The evening meal usually consisted of red rice, and either boiled whole corn or boiled ra­ dish, sometimes both. Once in a while the radish was served as a kind of pickle, cut up in vinegar. Both the

THE CAMP DIET

corn and the radish were very hard to digest and eating more than a lit­ tle of either gave one a bellyache. The minutes of a special joint meet­ ing of the Executive and the Finance and Supplies committees held before the broadcast on January 30 already given, read:

159 and of entertainment grams presented.’’

and

educational pro­

The Executive Committee Discusses the Situation — As to the letter of protest against the rations to be fur­ nished to the camp and other matters, the minutes stated:

Musical Programs Cut Down — On February 2, during the regular mu­ sical program of the evening, the mu­ sic committee, possibly hoping to cheer the camp, played one of Sousa’s marches, "The Stars and Stripes For­ ever”. There were immediate Japanese repercussions, resulting in the cutting down of the music period. The mi­ nutes of the Executive Committee meeting of February 4 stated:

"The Chairman stated . . . that the letter of protest against the new method of supply­ ing the camp, written under date of January 29, was presented to and discussed with the Commandant on the evening of February 3, and that the Commandant was asked for a frank statement of our exact position and what we might expect. The Commandant was un­ able to give any assurances whatever. The Committee was advised that up to date we have received a month's supply of sugar, tea, and salt, substantial deliveries of corn and rice, approximately 20% of our vegetable ra­ tion, and 30% of our reduced fish ration, — which has been cut from 100 to 50 grams daily. At the present there seems to be no chance of obtaining from the Japanese autho­ rities any supplementary food whatsoever, and the outlook is not very hopeful. Recently the Japanese authorities have decided that as soon as they are familiar with the requirements they will do all camp purchasing for us, in­ cluding that for the canteen, personal serv­ ice, vegetable market, restaurant, and other camp enterprises. While it may be possible for our regular camp-buyers to make one or two more trips in the camp bus, properly guarded, it is inconsistent with the announc­ ed policy of isolation that any permanent ar­ rangement may be expected. There is also a strong possibility that the camp may lose the services of Mrs. Intengan and her assistant.

"In reply to an inquiry regarding the cut­ ting down of the musical program, the Chair­ man stated that the playing of Sousa’s march, 'The Stars and Stripes Forever’, on Wednes­ day evening, had resulted in repercussions from Billbid, the Far Eastern University [which housed Japanese army offices] and elsewhere the next day on the basis that this march savored of a patriotic air and should not [have been] permitted. He therefore requested that from now on the musical period shall be con­ fined to between 7 and 8 o’clock and that the sound volume shall be reduced. It was stress­ ed that at the present time special care must be taken in the selection of musical numbers

"Mr. Carroll stated that a group of substan­ tial men in camp have expressed their willing­ ness to underwrite sufficient sums of money to meet our food deficits for the coming months, but in view of recent developments are doubtful as to how far they should go in arranging for funds because of the possi­ bility that in the near future it may become impossible to spend money. The Committee in considering this problem was unanimous in its opinion that it is far safer to have even with this possibility, to buy supplies if they can be obtained, than to be without m oney... "The Commandant’s staff has recently been augmented by Lieutenant Konishi, who is ac­

"The Commandant scheduled 10 special monthly reports which must be filed not later than the 5th of the subsequent month. State­ ments of accounts with Los Banos as of Jan­ uary 31 are to be made up at once, as are financial reports of this camp covering Japa­ nese funds in the hands of the Finance and Supplies Committee, and relief funds in the hands of the Executive Committee, together with a brief statement of the financial situa­ tion of the camp. A report of stocks of sup­ plies on hand as of January 31 is requested, divided into two parts and covering, first, sup­ plies purchased out of our per diem allowance, and, second, supplies purchased locally from relief funds and received in Red Cross ship­ ments”.

160 ting as chief of the supplies section. From re­ cent conversations with the Commandant, both Chairmen have gained the impression that his decisions are very largely modified by the judgment of two or three of his assistants. It is hoped that this situation will clarify itself before long, but in the meantime it has be­ come most difficult to reach satisfactory un­ derstandings with the Commandant's Office. In this connection it was decided that although the recent orders have been a continuous source of verbal protest, the two Committee Chairmen shall, not later than Monday, deliver a formal protest to the Commandant covering the closing of the Package-Line, which in con­ junction with our reduced food allowances and the contemplated changes in supplying the camp enterprises with supplemental require­ ments, has seriously aggravated the entire sit­ uation. This is all the more true because of our expected influx of aged, invalids, conva­ lescents, and children prior to the end of this month."

The formal protest against the clos­ ing of the Package-Line was not made, and the reason for this was given in the minutes of the meeting of February 7 which stated: "The Chairman and Mr. Carroll made a ge­ neral statement covering developments in the status of the relationship with the Comman­ dant’s Office. On the whole, there are signs that a somewhat better understanding is be­ ing achieved, and the outlook is somewhat brighter than a few days ago. The PackageLine closed finally today, and in accordance with the decision of the Committee last Fri­ day, a protest should have been filed with the Commandant by the Chairmen of the two Committees. In view of the various develop­ ments during the past two or three days, however, both Chairmen, while still prepared to go ahead, were of the opinion that a for­ mal protest at this time could do no good and might conceivably do harm. They were united therefore in recommending that no protest be filed for the time being until we have had an opportunity to watch developments. The majority of the Committee, while still of the opinion that some formal record of the feel­ ing of the camp should be on file, realized that the two Chairmen, who have had cons­ tant contact with the Commandant’s Office, must be considered the best judges of what is best for the camp, and consequently agreed

THE CAMP that the protest shall be withheld for the time being. At the same time, Mr. Carroll was requested to draw up a letter to the Com­ mandant indicating the apprehension of the Committee over the prospects and urging that everything possible be done to protect the health and welfare of the internees, this let­ ter to be ready for discussion Friday morn­ ing.”

Lieutenant Konishi and New Repres­ sive Regulations — Lieutenant Koni­ shi, who was now running the camp despite the continued presence of Commandant Kato, was a former pri­ son official in Japan, around 35 years old, with the usual, but unevenly, close-cropped hair, slovenly and dirty in dress and personal habits, hard and suspicious, and determined to conduct Santo Tomas as a prison. He pretend­ ed not to know any English, but could understand the simpler type of sen­ tence. He gave the orders and would sometimes add, “You will get the con­ firmation from the Commandant lat­ er”. Because of the increase in the Japa­ nese personnel and their augmented activities, the Commandant’s staff took over the large library rooms in the front of the east end of the main building, and on the 12th (February) the Japanese took over the living quar­ ters in the Finance and Supplies Com­ mittee bodega which had been occu­ pied by internees connected with the work there. They were given a half­ day to find other quarters and to get their beds and belongings out. This move, incidentally, gave the Japanese physical control of a large part of the camp’s reserve food supplies. On the 14th, a whole series of or­ ders was issued to Grinnell and Carroll, summarized in the minutes of the Executive Committee meeting of that day as follows: “(1) Camp projects behind the Finance and Supplies Committee bodega and in the area

NEW JAPANESE REGULATIONS between the bodega, drive-way, and back wall, must be cleared away as soon as possible. This includes the removing of the sanitation and health compound, the plumbing shop, and the sheet-metal and blacksmith shops. “(2) The 10-foot space around the camp wall must be immediately cleared by internee labor and suitably protected bridges at least 3 feet wide must be built over the ditches. "(3) The internee guardhouse now outside the sawali gate must be moved inside. "(4) The fourth floor or roof of the main building is to be entirely cleared of internees between the hours of 5 p.m. and 9 a.m. This involves a shift of all persons quartered in this area, as well as strict regulations for those working on or occupying the fourth floor. "(5) The camp laundry, hospital laundry, shoe-repair, and mattress-repair services must be handled henceforth entirely at the gate, utilizing the former package-shed, no vehicle being allowed to enter the camp even though driven in by internees. "(6) The city garbage truck will not be al­ lowed to enter camp henceforth, but may pick up garbage at a point just outside the west sawali gate. It was suggested that if sufficient drums are not available in camp, garbage tnay be used as fertilizer in the camp garden and will (later) certainly be needed in the camp duck and pig project. "(7) All construction for camp projects must be approved by the Commandant's Office be­ fore work is begun, and all structures now un­ der way must be held up until such approval has been obtained. All private construction, particularly additions to shanties, re-building of old shanties, and building of new shanties must be stopped immediately pending approval of applications by the Commandant’s Office. Ordinary legitimate maintenance and repair work may be carried out subject to certain stipulations. "All of these orders are to go into effect tomorrow morning.

Japanese Take Over Camp Buying: Run on the Canteen — The individual buying of ice, mostly by people who did some cooking in their shanties, had been stopped on the 7th. The Ja­ panese considered this individual cooking "undesirable” and spoke of organizing some form of "communal

161

cooking” instead, but Grinnell report­ ed to the Committee that he felt that "some progress had been made to­ ward impressing on the authorities the great need for individual cooking and the entire feasibility of making such cooking safe,” according to the minutes of the Executive Committee meeting of February 7. It was stated in these same minutes that the "brilliant illumination” in the rooms was to be reduced, and the following week it was ordered that lights be turned out at 10 p.m. instead of the former 10:30 or 11. After the closing of the PackageLine, the crowd at the vegetable and fruit market every morning greatly increased and the queues at the breadcounter and the canteen lines grew longer and longer. Learning of the dif­ ficulties the Japanese were putting in the way of buying for the camp, there was for several days what amounted to almost a panic and there was a "run” on the canteen and on the per­ sonal-service booth which resulted in the cleaning out of practically all their stocks. The situation was worsened when the Japanese took over the buy­ ing of produce for the camp at the gate and immediately cut down the quantities of bread, eggs, milk, and vegetables and fruit allowed to come in. Internee vendors had been obliged to go out of business at the end of Jan­ uary, according to the previous orders of Kato, but the inauguration of the "camp restaurant" had had to be post­ poned because it had not been possi­ ble to obtain the necessary gas con­ nections. The restaurant shed, how­ ever, was opened to the sale of cakes, cookies, candy, peanuts, etc., on Feb­ ruary 1. These products were still made by the camp "manufacturers”

162

THE CAMP

but could be sold only through the losis specialist, an eye-ear-nose-throat camp canteen and restaurant. A small specialist, and two dentists. (Min­ slice of cake, containing not more utes January 31.) The Executive Com­ than three cubic inches, cost P.80, a mittee also considered requesting the cup-cake, P.50, a peanut-bar, P.80, a Japanese and the University authorities small sack of peanuts, a few spoons­ to allow the setting aside of a part of the Dominican Seminary for hospital ful Pl. use. "The cases involving hospital care Closing of the “Restaurants" — By special permission of the Comman­ will overtax all present accommoda­ dant, the two small internee "restau­ tions". (Minutes, February 4.) As in­ rants" and several “coffee-shops" were ternee officials were no longer allow­ to be allowed to remain in business ed to deal directly with the Universi­ until the camp restaurant was open­ ty authorities, Grinnell asked the Com­ ed, but on the 7th, he ordered the ins­ mandant to take up the question of tant closing of the McGrath-Elie-Can- securing additional space with them, son "restaurant” when he learned that which he promised to do. (Minutes, the manager had attempted to bring February 7.) The New Isolation Hospital — Drs. in ice for individual use. The Com­ mandant then also ordered the Com­ F. C. Smith and H. S. Waters of the mittee to take over the Hunter res­ camp medical board met with the taurant the following morning as a Committee on the 11th. According to camp project. This was done, but the minutes, only nominally. Not long after, how­ "Dr. Smith stated that this camp is over­ ever, the restaurant had to close down crowded, undernourished, and there are flies galore [attracted by the fish which had to be for lack of charcoal for the stoves. 1,000 Internees in Shanties — All cleaned outside in the open], a situation un­ likely to improve. There are three contagious this time between 200 and 300 more diseases in camp [measles, chicken pox, and people were being brought into the whooping cough] which already overtax our fa­ camp, mostly invalids who had been cilities. Fortunately these diseases form no staying in various hospitals and other great source of danger, but we must be ready outside institutions, such as the Sul­ to meet the possibility of more serious epide­ phur Springs camp. The 100 or so mics, such as cholera. Consequently, the tnedical board has unanimously requested that mothers and children who had been the entire dormitory be made available as an living at the Holy Ghost College were isolation center, working as an auxiliary to brought in during the week. This re­ Santa Catalina [camp hospital], after which sulted in great crowding in the rooms, the problem will have to be met of equip­ despite the fact that by the middle ping and staffing it. Once ready, the dormitory be used for active tubercular and gastro­ of February there were around 1,000 can intestinal cases now in the hospital and else­ internees, including some 500 children, where. In case this or similar space is not living in the shanties. made available, the medical board must re­ The internee medical board recom­ fuse to accept responsibility for the conse­ mended that in view of the order quences.” against the Filipino doctors, the mi­ On this presentation, the Commit­ litary authorities be asked to trans­ tee decided that in spite of the gene­ fer a number of American doctors ral overcrowding, the dormitory (the from the prisoner-of-war camps to old hospital, later the nurses quarters, Santo Tomas, including, if possible, had been turned into a dormitory) three general practitioners, a tubercu­ would have to be cleared for the pur-

CAMP LABOR DIFFICULTIES

pose. A few days later, in spite of the fact that the medical staff was all too small for a camp of over 4,000 people, especially after the Filipino doctors had been refused further en­ try, the Japanese now informed Grinnell that Drs. T. D. Stevenson, W. W. McAnlis, and J. A. McAnlis, medical missionaries who were living outside the camp on permanent release but who had been devoting a part of their time to the camp, would no longer be permitted to come in. The Japanese, through the medical section of the War-Prisoners Department, also order­ ed that the medical and sanitary or­ ganization be altered and that a camp health council be set up, the chairman of which was Lo be a doctor, this council to coordinate the work of the medical board and the hygiene board, the latter body to be responsible for sanitation. The order came on the 14th and the personnel of the council had to be named by the following day. In a special meeting on the 15th, therefore, the Committee confirmed the following appointments:

163 was understood that Dr. Nogi’s conclusion was to the effect that the camp is sufficiently staffed with doctors, and no assistance may be anticipated. Under these conditions, Mr. Thomas was requested to look into the per­ sonnel problems of some of the doctors, who are at present greatly overworked, and to see if something could not be done to help them out.”

Camp Labor Difficulties— The dis­ proportionate number of women and children, the elderly, the ailing, and the sick in the camp, made the labor problem a difficult one, and the un­ loading of Japanese supply trucks, the fish-cleaning, the hauling of gar­ bage to the gate on pushcarts, the ad­ ditional "gardening”, etc. added to the difficulties. For several days the Japanese amused themselves by dump­ ing heavy sacks of rice and corn near the Commandant’s office, about half­ way to the bodega from the Igate, instead of driving the trucks all the way. This made it necessary for the internee workers to take the supplies the rest of the way on pushcarts or carry the heavy sacks on their backs. According to the minutes of the "Dr. F. C- Smith, chairman, Dr. L. Z. Flet­ Executive Committee meeting of Feb­ cher, and Dr. H. S. Waters, members, and Mr. J. A. Thomas ex-officio member (executive com­ ruary 7, "the urgency of the present mitteeman). Dr. Fletcher and Dr. Waters re­ situation requires a new conception of main as chairman and vice-chairman of the labor needs on the part of the inter­ medical board, with Mr. L. L. Gardner as exe­ nees which can only be instilled cutive secretary. Dr. Smith remains chairman through education”. Some 20 emer­ of the hygiene board, with Mr. J. A. Hearngency squads were organized ready for don, head of the sanitation and health depart­ ment, and a member of the Monitors Council, the unloading of supply trucks at any as members.” time they might come in, and a num­ The Japanese refused to transfer ber of fish-cleaning details were also arty American doctors from the prison- set up which comprised hundreds of camps to Santo Tomas. According to men in the camp, regardless of their the minutes of the Executive Commit­ other work-assignments and age. They tee meeting of the 16th: were called to work over the loud­ "The Committee was advised that Dr. Nogi, speaker system in rotation. On the chief of the medical division of the War-Pri­ 16th, the Executive Committee de­ soner Department, came into camp today and cided "to close all unnecessary ser­ conferred with Drs. Smith and Fletcher regard­ ing camp needs and our application for the vices during the morning hours”, so that these wouldn’t interfere with the transfer of additional doctors to this camp. It

THE CAMP

164

general camp work-details. According to the minutes.

and Supplies ruary 5.”

"Canteen, personal service, and the bazar will operate in the afternoons only, as will the food exchanges, and the camp contractors’ sales-rooms.. .Libraries will be closed during the mornings and all adult morning education classes will cease. No athletic events will be held during the morning hours for other than children."

The Japanese funds were received in due time and the minutes of the Exe­ cutive Committee meeting of February 7 stated, "The Treasurer advised the Committee that he had today received payment from the Finance and Sup­ plies Committee of the P80,000 tem­ porarily loaned from relief funds to cover food deficits." On the 11th, the Executive Committee decided on the following distribution of American Re­ lief Fund No. 3 (P30,546.17) and of the Special Relief Fund (P70,554.34), which was approved dant:

New Red Cross Relief Funds Re­ ceived— In addition to all these prob­ lems faced by the camp, there were the financial difficulties, but the mi­ nutes of the Executive Committee meeting of February 4 noted that a d of 150,-

American Relief Fund 3 "1. Baguio Internment Camp "2. Family Aid Appropriations (Feb. Mar.) "3. Los Banos Internment Camp "4. Manila Group (a) Manila Internment Camp (b) Religious Groups (c) Outside Institutions (d) Conditional Release

Committee

Special Relief Fund

on or

about

Feb­

Total

P 2,350.00

P 5,430.00

P 7,780.00

7,196.17 5,360.00

10,124.34 8,800.00

17,320.51 12,160.00

13,775.00 1,640.00 1,750.00 475.00

36,025.00 4,315.00 4,565.00 1,295.00

49,800.00 5.955.00 6.315.00 1.770.00

30,546.17

70,554 34

101,100.51

134.40 yen, had been received on January 29 for the "January relief pur­ poses of all civilian Americans, allied nationals, and their dependents in the Philippines." Additional loans had in the meantime to be made to the Finance and Supplies Committee to finance food deficits. Stated the mi­ nutes: "The Treasurer advised the Committee that in addition to the P15.000 approved as a loan to the Finance and Supplies Committee on January 7, additional sums to the amount of P65.000 have been loaned to it out of available relief funds from time to time on a temporary basis to finance current food deficits. It is expected that all these loans, together with the P15.000 authorized January 7, a total of P80.000, will be repaid from funds to be turned over by the Japanese authorities to the Finance

"Final allocation of funds appropriated for this camp were deferred pending analysis of primary camp needs, especially supplementary food.”

A revised schedule of family aid payments, ranging from P25 to P60 a month was approved by the Com­ mandant on February 12, but the Exe­ cutive Committee in its meeting on February 16 decided to make no ap­ propriations for relief funds until a more definite statement was available of the primary camp requirements, the Treasurer having reported that the Finance and Supplies Committee had indicated that camp requirements for supplementary feeding, construc­ tion, and miscellaneous items would absorb practically all available funds.

THE JAPANESE ABOLISH THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Internees Seek Glimpses of their Outside Families Going to the Semi­ nary Chapel— While as early as the 7th, the minutes had stated that with respect to the promised exchange of notes between internees and their fa­ milies outside, "considerable progress has been made and definite plans may possibly be available tomorrow”, noth­ ing had as yet come of this. The minutes of the 11th stated: “The Committee’s attention was drawn to the fact that since the closing of the gate, the fa­ milies and friends of internees have been pa­ tronizing the Seminary church services to a greater extent than usual and that interested internees are lining the driveway in a noticeable manner. The suggestion was made that as a preventive measure, a section flanking the road between the gymnasium and the Seminary be considered out of bounds during the hours of church services. Before taking this action, how­ ever, the Committee requested Mr. Chittick and Mr. Johns, accompanied by Mr. Robb, to check the situation next Sunday. The Committee felt that until arrangements have been made for censored notes, the practice in question is most natural."

Chittick reported at the next meet­ ing, on the 16th. According to the mi­ nutes: “Mr. Chittick stated that last Sunday he watched the lines of internees paralleling the road to the Seminary in the hope of seeing some of their families. The situation is a de­ licate one, but will undoubtedly be relieved when a routine has been established for cen­ sored communications with relatives. Mean­ while, Mr. Chittick wishes to handle this mat­ ter by persuasion, with which the Committee agreed."

165

promising to comply strictly with or­ ders of the Japanese military authori­ ties and not to escape under any cir­ cumstances.” "The Commandant has been requested”, the minutes went on to say, "to clarify the reason for and the meaning of this pledge. Mean­ while, it is indicated that the Com­ mandant will issue a definite order in respect to the matter.” The Japanese Abolish the Executive Committee: The New Appointive In­ ternee Administrative Committee of Grinnell, Carroll, and Lloyd— But worse was to come. On the evening of February 18 the camp listened to the following announcement over the loudspeakers: "The Commandant this afternoon ordered a reorganization of the camp administration in accordance with instructions received from the War-Prisoners Headquarters. Under this order the Commandant is instructed to appoint an Internee Administration Committee of three men and he has today appointed Mr. C. C. Grinnell, Chairman, Mr. Earl Carroll, Vice-Chairman, and Mr. S. L. Lloyd, Vice-Chair­ man, as members of this Committee, with ins­ tructions to reorganize the various activities in the camp under four major departments, namely, Finance and Supplies, Labor, Health, and Internal Affairs. The written order and rules and regulations relating thereto are now being drafted by the Commandant to be de­ livered as soon as completed. Meanwhile, In order to make the plan effective as soon as possible, the Commandant has instructed the new Internee Administration Committee to pro­ ceed with the organization outline received from the War-Prisoners Headquarters. While the Executive Committee and the Finance and Supplies Committee will cease to exist, the present members will be requested for the time being to take positions of responsibility in the new organization similar to the positions now held by them. Further details regarding the reorganization plans will be announced as soon as the written order and the instructions are received from the Commandant.”

Grinnell told the members during this meeting of the many problems which had arisen, "some of which pre­ sent serious difficulties”. "He believes that we face a difficult situation in the near future and that the outlook is far from happy,” said the minutes. The Last Session of the Committee— Among the matters brought up by Grinnell was "a form of pledge which While this announcement was being it is expected all internees will sign, read, a special joint session of the

166

Executive and the Finance and Sup­ plies committees was being held for the last time. The meeting had opened at 7:40 and the Chairman had read the broadcast which was to be put on the air a little later and had explained that the Commandant’s order was "mandatory”. The Committee had ap­ proved the form in which the an­ nouncement had been drawn up and had then unanimously adopted the following resolution: "In accordance with the orders of the Com­ mandant, the Executive Committee and the Fi­ nance and Supplies Committee consider them­ selves automatically dissolved, but wish to re­ cord their joint desire to place themselves Un­ reservedly at the disposal of the new Commit­ tee, at least over the transition period.”

The minutes of this last meeting of the Executive Committee, — the 343rd, were interesting. Immediately follow­ ing the resolution came the entry: "The above action automatically null­ ifies plans for elections next week”. Then followed: "In discussing the problems which face the new Committee, the Chairman stressed the language difficulty which can only be overcome by camp interpreters, of which there are but five at present. "As a preliminary step, the Chairman sug­ gested the following tentative groupings under the four major departments: 1. Finance and Supplies Finance Foodstuffs Relief supplies Family aid Canteens and similar camp enterprises 2. Internal Affairs Housing Shanty administration Monitors Morale division Camp order Relief and welfare Census and roll call 3. Labor Food production (gardens and livestock) Construction and maintenance Work assignment Grounds (except shanty areas)

THE CAMP 4. Health Preventive • (Hygiene Board) Curative (Medical Board) Sanitation (buildings and grounds) Outside institutions and releases "The members of the Internee Administra­ tive Committee accepted the following designa­ tions: Mr. Carroll will look after the Finance and Supplies and the labor departments, Mr. Lloyd the Department of Internal Affairs, and Mr. Grinnell the Health Department. "It was emphasized that the internee-body must realize that the new arrangements result from an order in which we have had no part, that the immediate prospects promise many serious and vital problems to be solved, and that it is imperative that the internees as a whole get behind the new organization and give it maximum cooperation. In order to make the situation clear to the internees it is pro­ posed to hold a meeting of all monitors, su­ pervisors, and department heads in the chil­ dren’s playhouse at an early date and as soon as possible, and after final instructions have been received from the Commandant. "The problem of finance being exceedingly urgent, due to our compliance with the un­ expected order that we reimburse Mr. Bessmer his F50,000 loan today, Messrs. Carroll and Bailey and Day were designated to analyze the present financial position of the camp and re­ port to the new Committee. "The Committees were advised that the Japa­ nese authorities have requested all keys lead­ ing to the outside and to restricted areas, and that it is essential that no work shall be done in any prescribed area wihout permission. "As yet, shanty construction and repairs are held up, but an effort will be made to have the prohibition released at the earliest mo­ ment. "In closing the meeting, Mr. Carroll stated that in his opinion the camp is facing its most serious crisis since January, 1942, and that this crisis can be successfully met only by a unit­ ed front. The meeting was adjourned at 9:40 p.m. "Immediately thereafter the regular Execu­ tive Committee meeting was called, the clock having been put back to 6:30 p.m. "The Chairman advised the Committee that effective today, Mr. Onozaki has been appoint­ ed Commandant of this camp, replacing Mr. Kato, who, however, will remain in camp foi about a week.

POND’S MEMORANDUM ON THE “AGENTS" “The Chairman stated that the Treasurer has been ordered by the Japanese military authori­ ties to refund the Bessmer loan received in January and consisting of P50,000 to Mr. Bess­ mer, which refund was accomplished this morn­ ing. Inasmuch as part of this loan had already been utilized for cash relief, the Committee authorized a change in the appropriation of the sum of F14,000 from the Bessmer Loan to the Special American Relief Fund. "The Treasurer stated that the Finance and Supplies Committee has requested the Execu­ tive Committee to furnish the sum of P75.000 in February from relief funds to finance camp needs, of which amount F30,000 has already been turned over as a temporary loan. The temporary loan was converted into an out­ right grant to the Finance and Supplies Com­ mittee to be applied against the costs of the February supplementary feeding, P10,000 to be allocated from American Relief Fund No. 3 and F20,000 from the Special American Relief Fund. This project is now entirely impractical be­ cause the balances of relief funds on hand as of today total P34,115.20, of which amount the sum of F7,570 is available for this camp, the remainder having been appropriated for family aid, outside institutions, and religious groups The present financial situation precludes any cash relief for February and for the future, until substantial finance has been made avail­ able for this camp through the medium of ad­ ditional relief funds which it is hoped may be eventually received . . . "The Chairman stated that after protracted negotiations, the Japanese authorities have agreed that the Remedios Hospital may be con­ tinued as an approved institution. This will re­ lieve the housing problem to some extent, par­ ticularly because of the difficult cases which had been expected from Remedios. The Chair­ man stated that medical service for the Reme­ dios Hospital will be under the supervision of doctors on medical release, and at the same time wished to record the willingness of Dr. Stevenson and the Dr. McAnlis to be re-interned in this camp if requested by us to do so. AH of these doctors have volunteered to be in­ terned and work for the camp whenever re­ quested.”

The Veiled Allusion in the Minutes to an Election of Agents under the Treaty — Before closing its final ses­ sion, the Executive Committee made

167

an important recommendation, referred to in the minutes as follows: "Under the new set-up, the Committee felt that inasmuch as the three members of the Internee Administration Committee have been appointed by the Commandant, it is essential in their protection as well as that of the in­ ternees that a committee of three, consisting of two Americans and one non-American, be elect­ ed by the internees to represent them in what­ ever may be necessary and effective. This pro­ posal was endorsed to the Internee Adminis­ tration Committee for its consideration."

This was a veiled allusion to the “agents" which the camp had a right to elect under the provisions of the Geneva Convention.5 "The Executive Committee adjourned for the last time at 11:40 p.m. (Official time, 7:40 p.m.).”

The Behind-the-Scenes Story — Be­ hind the scenes, the following is what happened. Five days before the an­ nouncement of the abolishment of the Executive and the Finance and Sup­ 5 Pond’s Memorandum on the "Agents” — Pond, in a memorandum dated January 6, 1944, had recommended such a step to the Executive Committee. The Committee’s letter of Decem­ ber 13 requesting the Commandant’s permission to post copies of the text of the Geneva Con­ vention of 1929, as provided in the Convention, and the Committee’s letter of the 16th, addres­ sed to the Swiss Minister in Tokyo, through the Commandant, protesting against the delay in the delivery of and the nature of the inspec­ tion of the Red Cross relief supplies and against the non-delivery of the mail and par­ cel -post, had, — neither of them, been either replied to or officially acknowledged. On Jan­ uary 28, Grinnell told the Executive Committee that the Commandant "was still unable to give us any answer to our first communication re­ garding the application of the Geneva Conven­ tion to this camp” Pond’s memorandum of January 6, recommending that the internees elect three agents to represent them "without further delay, and whether or not the Com­ mandant authorizes the posting of the treaty”, read as follows: "Article 18 of the Geneva Convention of 1929 provides that: " 'Every camp of prisoners of war shall be placed under the command of a responsible officer’.

168

plies committees, Kato told Grinnell that War-Prisoners Headquarters had issued an order establishing a "simpler organization" for the camp with a committee of three men to head it. He said that Grinnell and Carroll should be two of these and asked that they recommend the third member. Grin­ nell went to Carroll with this, saying "The Japanese Military Authorities have plac­ ed the Manila Internment Camp under the command of an officer known as the Com­ mandant. The administration of the camp is under his command. He prescribes the rules and regulations for the administration of the camp. He has delegated authority, subject to the rules and regulations prescribed by him, to two committees of internees as follows: “1. Executive Committee for the general ad­ ministration of the camp. "2. Finance and Supplies Committee for the disbursement of funds provided by the Japa­ nese authorities for the maintenance and ope­ ration of the camp. “These two committees cooperate but func­ tion independently. Their authority is derived from the Commandant and their members serve during his pleasure. The members of the Fin­ ance and Supplies Committee and the Chair­ man of the Executive Committee are appoint­ ed by the Commandant. The Commandant has permitted the election of persons satisfactory to him to serve as members of the Executive Committee; although Committee members, by their election, have the obligation to the in­ ternees to administer the camp for their be­ nefit, such members may do so only as per­ mitted by the Commandant. "The authority of the Commandant and hence of both Committees, is limited by the provi­ sions of the Convention. All acts and orders of the Commandant and hence of the Commit­ tees should be in conformity with such pro­ visions; if they are not, any action required should be taken only after formal protest to the Commandant. "Article 42 of the Convention provides that the internees ‘shall have the right': "(a) ‘To inform the military authorities in whose power they are of their requests with regard to the conditions of captivity to which they are subjected’; and “(b) ‘To address themselves to representa­ tives of the protecting Powers to indicate to them the points on which they have complaints to formulate with regard to the conditions of captivity'. "Article 42 provides that 'these requests and complaints must be transmitted immediately'

THE CAMP

that he had suggested an election of the committee of three but that the Commandant had not wanted to lis­ ten to this. Grinnell and Carroll agreed that the third member should be Bri­ tish, and that as Lloyd was popular among the British in the camp and had had experience on the Executive Committee, being furthermore favor­ ably known to the Commandant, he was the logical choice. Grinnell had brought with him a rough pencil out­ line of the organization the military and that 'even if they are recognized to be unfounded, they may not occasion any punish­ ment’. "Article 43 of the Convention provides that 'in every place where there are prisoners of war they shall be allowed to appoint agents entrusted with: "1. 'Representing them directly with military authorities and protecting Powers’; "2. 'The receipt and distribution of collec­ tive shipments’; "3. The operation of ‘a mutual assistance system among themselves’ in case they ‘should decide to organize' one; and "4. Such agents 'may lend their offices to prisoners to facilitate their relations with the aid societies mentioned in Article 78’. "This appointment ‘shall be subject to the approval of the military authorities’. "(Article 78 provides that ‘Relief societies for prisoners of war which are properly cons­ tituted in accordance with the laws of their country and with the object of serving as the channel for charitable effort, shall receive from the belligerents for themselves and their duly accredited agents every facility for the effi­ cient performance of their humane task with­ in the bounds imposed by military necessities. Agents of these societies may be admitted to the camps for the purpose of distributing re­ lie f... if furnished with a personal permit by the military authorities and on giving an un­ dertaking in writing to comply with all mea­ sures of order and police which the latter may issue’. It is understood that a committee of ‘third-party nntionals', representative of the International Commmittee of the Y.M.C.A., has been organized for relief work among warprisoners and civilian internees and that such committee has been recognized by the Japanese military authorities. The agents appointed by the internees under the provisions of Article 43 thus might facilitate the relations between the internees and such committee for neces-

THE JAPANESE APPOINTED INTERNEE ADMINISTRATIVE

wanted, the$ having apparently stud­ ied the chart of the existing internee organization and found it too elabo­ rate. Grinnell and Carroll, following this outline tentatively developed it somewhat and took it back to the Com­ mandant, and also spoke to him of Lloyd. During the interview, the telephone-bell rang, and while Kato was speaking over the telephone he reach­ ed for a pad, wrote something on it, and pushed it over to the two internee sary relief and particularly for the relief of non-intemed families of internees.) "The internees have not appointed the Exe­ cutive Committee as such, or even the elected members thereof, as their agent or agents for the purpose set forth in Article 43. To assume that members of the Committee were elected to represent the internees on all matters is unwarranted, for few if any of the internees knew of their rights under the Convention, or even of its existence, when they voted for Committee members. "This question on the authority of the Com­ mittee might be determined if, by vote of a majority of the internees the Committee were to be appointed their agent for the purposes set forth in Article 43. I do not recommend, however, that the internees be requested to appoint the Committee as their agent for those purposes. The Commandant is the master of the Committee, and he may require it to act contrary to the provisions of the Convention. In such case, the Committee might as agent of the internees be required to formulate complaints to the Protecting Power against its own (the Committee’s) acts as agent of the Commandant. Furthermore, the Commandant may at any time remove any or all of the members of the Committee and himself ap­ point new members; in that case the inter­ nees might be deprived of any agents to re­ present them under the Convention or be re­ quired to depend upon a Committee if none of the members of which the internees, by vote, had imposed their confidence. Persons appointed by the internees as their agents may not, however, be removed by the the Com­ mandant, for only the appointment is subject to his approval. "I therefore, recommend that the internees be requested to appoint agents entrusted with representing them for the purposes set forth in Article 43 of the Convention by means of an election. I suggest that three agents be appoint­ ed by the internees and that to maintain the principle of proportional representation, two

COMMITTEE

169

officials. He had written: “I am reliev­ ed of this post”. On the morning of the 18th, Kato sent for the three men. Grinnell and Carroll had not been in a position to say anything about the developments to anyone, but just before entering the Commandant’s office they gave Lloyd5 a hint as to what might be up. Never­ theless, all three were surprised when, finding Onozaki with Kato, the later introduced them to him, saying, "These men are the Internee Commit­ such agents be citizens of the United States and one a person of other nationality. "I further recommend that the agents be appointed without further delay, and whether or not the Commandant authorizes the post­ ing of the treaty as required by the Conven­ tion. "Among the powers of the agents is the operation of a 'mutual assistance system among’ the internees in case they ‘should de­ cide to organize’ one. No such system has been organized. Camp canteens and other commer­ cial enterprises are not in that category for Article 12 of the Convention provides that 'canteens shall be installed in all camps where prisoners may obtain, at the local market pri­ ces, food products and ordinary objects', and that 'profits made by the canteens for camp administrations shall be used for the benefit of the prisoners’. The Canteen would, there­ fore, continue to be administered and the pro­ fits therefrom used for the benefit of the in­ ternees by the Executive Committee. "The ‘agents’ of the internees thus would have no administrative duties except possibly in connection with ‘the receipt and distribution of collective shipments’ and even those duties the agents might with propriety, if they chose to do so, delegate to the Executive Commit­ tee. They thus would be free to devote their time and attention to problems relating to the mitigation of the conditions of captivity of the internees by making appropriate requests of the military authorities and, if necessary, complaints to the Protecting Power. Obvious­ ly, there should be close cooperation between the agents and the Executive Committee." 5 Samuel Lewis Lloyd, born in Wolverhamp­ ton, England, April 21, 1902; Cambridge grad­ uate; resided in Hongkong as assistant gene­ ral manager in South China and the Philip­ pines of the Asiatic Petroleum Company; came to Manila on December 7, 1941, to meet his wife.

170

tee”. Grinnell and Carroll had been informed that Onozaki would be the new Commandant, but had not pre­ viously met him. About noon that day, Kato came over the Executive Com­ mittee office to tell Grinnell and Carroll that the announcement of the abolition of the two existing commit­ tees and the appointment of the new committee should be made over the loudspeaker that evening. Attitude of the Internees to the New Committee — The camp reaction to this sudden and arbitrary abolition of the Executive Committee by the Ja­ panese was not so great as might have been expected. The repressive mea­ sures of the preceding weeks had brought about an apathy and lack of resilience which was noticeable. Such resentment as was felt was unexpress­ ed. It had long been generally felt, too, that the Executive Committee was not truly, or at least not fully repre­ sentative, and the new set-up, under which the Internee Administrative Com­ mittee was to carry out the orders of the Japanese, without regard to what the camp population might think of them, served to clarify the situation. That the Japanese had selected three men rather than one, and such expe­ rienced men as Grinnell, Carroll, and Lloyd, was a matter of satisfaction, and it was generally recognized that these men had been moved by a sense of responsibility and duty in accepting their appointments. Their position was not to be envied. During the following few days, all three received many pledges of support. This was the end of an even par­ tially representative government in Santo Tomas, in so far as the top Com­ mittee was concerned. The internee organization which had been develop­

THE CAMP

ed more or less autonomously was largely to remain, but it was strictly under the orders of the Japanese, in the main and in detail. It was no longer possible to think of the camp as a little, isolated America, operating independently, though subject to ene­ my interference. Santo Tomas was an internment camp administered by the Japanese, actually a camp of prisoners at the mercy of the enemy who had taken them. Under international law, the Japanese had the right to admi­ nister the camp, yet not just as they might, in their quite extraordinary ha­ tred, desire to administer it. There were limitations under the internation­ al law. It was up to the population of the camp to make the effort to keep the enemy within these limita­ tions, — by appeal, by protest, by bringing up considerations of huma­ nity, of responsibility, and of ultimate if not immediate accountability. Ac­ tually, as from the beginning, there was no possible appeal to superior authority, there was no protecting po­ wer. There was no escape, no help, no recourse. Appeals and representations of whatever kind could only be made to the enemy against the enemy’s own acts, and the enemy himself heard, considered, and judged, and, of course, ever felt his every act, however illegal, unjust and brutal, fully justified. Supposedly, as has been stated, the new Internee Administrative Commit­ tee had been created by the Japanese authorities to carry out their orders, without regard to the opinion or inte­ rests of the camp population. Theirs was to obey and not to reason why. Actually, as it turned out, the three men fought for the camp every step of the way, and more effectively, — as being on the "inside”, than the In-

MORE ARDUOUS REGULATIONS

171

could afford to buy it at PI.50 a pint. And the milk would not keep for 24 hours, even under refrigeration. As already stated, bread, egg, and meat deliveries (for sale to individuals who had the money) had been cut down, and it was announced that meat sold in the canteen would be "rationed”. After a few days there was no more meat to be bought at all. On the 21st, some 20 men who slept on the west balcony in the gymnasium were shift­ ed to other quarters and the balcony was closed because it overlooked the street. On that same day it was order­ ed that all camp- and individuallyowned "unfabricated" bamboo, sawali, and nipa be turned in; receipts were issued and it was promised that "prevailing military prices” would be paid for the supplies. The repairing of shanties had already been stopped in mid-progress, leaving many a shanty open to sun and rain. All loose barb­ ed wire was also ordered to be col­ lected and deposited behind the Com­ mandant’s office. On the 22nd delivery of the Tribune in the camp was stopped, — "for an "the new policy and regulations were with indefinite period and on orders of the the intention of completely isolating the camp military authorities”, according to the from any contact with the outside, and that Commandant. That day a group of as a result of this new policy we would have people from the outside, including to expect more arduous regulations than have been in force in the past, but that once the women and children, were brought in­ primary object has been achieved, he would to the old package-shed on the other see what could be done to improve internal side of the sawali fence and kept there conditions." (Minutes.) until afternoon, when they were tak­ "Arduous” regulations continued to en away again. No contact with them be issued, one after the other. On the was permitted, but it was said that 18th it was ordered that produce and they numbered around 20, were antiother supplies could be brought in Mussolini Italians, and would be sent through the Gate only between the to Los Banos. This was later confirm­ hours of 9 and 10 in the morning. ed. On that day, too, all privatelyThis resulted in a very late opening owned gas and electric appliances of the vegetable market and also were ordered turned in. New orders were bawled out over brought the carabao milk in too late for use for breakfast in the hospital the loudspeaker system twenty times and annex kitchens and for those who a day, until people hated the little

ternee Agents who shortly were elect­ ed to represent the interests of the internees. Commandant Onozaki and more Restrictions — On the same day that the announcement was made of the abolition of the Executive Committee and the appointment of the new In­ ternee Administrative Committee, Feb­ ruary 18, it was rumored that the camp had a new Commandant, Ono­ zaki, and on the 24th he told the Com­ mittee that it could be announced that he had taken charge. It was under­ stood that Kato was now attached to the Japanese Embassy, where he would be in charge of relief funds. It was said that the new Commandant was a Colonel in the reserves and that he was a lawyer, prominent in Tokyo. It was hoped that as he thus appear­ ed to rank Lieutenant Konishi, he would be able to keep that individual in his place. It was hoped, also, that, as a lawyer, he might be more inclin­ ed than his predecessors to give some consideration to provisions of interna­ tional law. On the 21st he told the Committee that —

172

trumpet-flourish (on a record) which always preceeded the "Your atten­ tion please”. "What next?” people asked. Pond, DeWitt, and Harrington Elect­ ed "Camp Representatives" through the Monitors Council— It was under these conditions that the recommenda­ tion of the outgoing Executive Commit­ tee for the election of internee agents was taken up by the Monitors Council in a special meeting held on the evening of February 20. As Holter held the chair­ manship of the Council by appoint­ ment of the now defunct Executive Committee, he submitted his resigna­ tion at this meeting. It was accepted and Stevens was elected acting chair­ man, after which Holter was elected advisory member. Rocke then took the floor, and, according to the minutes —

THE CAMP "Resolved that inasmuch as the three mem­ bers of the Internee Administrative Commit­ tee have been appointed by the Commandant, that the intemee-body immediately proceed to the election of three representatives (two Americans and one of other nationality) to represent the internees in their various af­ fairs and relationships: it being understood that these representatives would serve not only in a liaison capacity with the Internee Administrative Committee but also as agents of the internees with the Japanese Military Administration in accordance with the provi­ sions of the Geneva Convention.”

The Monitors Council then elected a subcommittee composed of Rocke, Evans, and Percival "to investigate methods of appointing agents to the Japanese authorities and to the Inter­ nee Administrative Committtee or any other administrative departments which the Japanese authorities may create in the future”. "explained that the reason several of the moni­ The subcommittee reported at ano­ tors had requested this special meetings was that ther special meeting of the Council they felt that the members of the remaining the following evening, but in the mean­ elective body in the camp should face imme­ diately the problem of providing representa­ time, Grinnell, Carroll, and Lloyd had tion for the internees through duly elected called on the Commandant that mor­ agents as considered by the provisions of the ning and obtained his consent to the 1929 Geneva Convention. It was his feeling election of three "internee represen­ that immediate action should be taken to tatives”. They had been so convinced, provide such representation and that the Mo­ however, that any reference to the nitors Council is the only organized elected body at present functioning which can pro­ Geneva Convention would result in a vide for such appointment or election of agents. flat rejection of the plan, that no men­ He further indicated that in his opinion im­ tion of it was made. They felt that mediate action was dictated since the abolish­ the matter of first importance was an ment of the Executive Committee with no election of recognized representatives, warning by the Japanese authorities might serve as the forerunner of the abolishment of and that if this could be achieved, the matter of their exact status could other camp management groups.” be worked out later. The minutes also included a reso­ The subcommittee’s report had lution which Holter said he had in­ just been read when Grinnell entered troduced in the final meeting of the Executive Committee. The resolution the meeting. According to the mi­ had been adopted but did not appear nutes, — "Mr. Grinnell stated that in a meeting with in full in the Executive Committee mi­ nutes, a reference to the Geneva Con­ the Commandant that morning, he had agreed to the election of three such representatives. vention having been eliminated for Mr. Grinnell emphasized the necessity of con­ reasons of caution. Holter’s resolu­ ducting the selection in as simple a manner tion, however, appeared in full in the as possible, as requested by the Commandant. He went on to say that speaking on behalf of minutes of the Council and read:

ELECTION OF “ CAMP REPRESENTATIVES” the Internee [Administrative] Committee he welcomed the formation of such a committee, which he hoped would cooperate fully with his Committee to further the interests of the internees.”

The Council thereupon formed an election committee composed of Johns, Rocke, and Ellis to take charge of the election, and on the 22nd the following election notice was sent out through the room monitors and shanty super­ visors. "As you are aware, the Japanese authorities on Friday, February 18, abolished the Execu­ tive Committee and named three internees to serve on a committee to conduct the affairs of this camp under the direction of the Japanese authorities. The Monitors Council recognizes the right of the Japanese authorities to form such a committee and further recognizes the propriety of internees accepting membership on such a committee, feeling that those in­ dividuals who have accepted such appointment merit the support and cooperation of all in­ ternees in the performance of a difficult and onerous task. "However, it should be appreciated that this change in administration makes no provision for an internee organization which will have among its functions the making of certain re­ presentations from time to time to the Ja­ panese authorities and to the Protecting Power, the receipt and distribution of relief ship­ ments, and the organizing of mutual assistance agencies in the camp. "In view of the foregoing, the Monitors Council has favored the immediate selection of three 'Camp Representatives' to be chosen by the internees. The Commandant has given his approval to an election for this purpose, which he has specified shall be carried out in as simple a manner as possible. "The representatives referred to above will be chosen by the internees, by popular vote, on Wednesday night, February 23, at roll-call time. Each internee will select two American representatives and one representative of ano­ ther nationality. The three internees receiving the largest number of votes in their respective categories shall be considered as appointed as representatives or agents of the entire body of internees in this camp. The term of office shall regularly be 9 months, except in the case of the first three representatives selected, who will draw lots for terms of 3 months, 6

173

months, and 9 months respectively, each to hold office until his successor has been ap­ pointed and approved. "Election Procedure "1. One ballot for each internee will be sup­ plied through his or her room and section. "2. Each internee over 18 and those 16 to 18 years old carrying full work assignments are entitled to cast a total of 3 votes, 2 of which shall be for American representatives and 1 for a non-American representative. "3. The election shall be through rooms or sections by secret ballot, the room monitors and section supervisors to turn in the ballots to their respective floor monitors and area supervisors, who will in turn present these ballots at the roll-call desk, main building, not later than 10 p.m., Wednesday, February 23, to the Election Board. "Monitors Council.”

The following day, the day of the election, a confusing and rather un­ happy factor was introduced into the situation by some of the friends of the three members of the Internee Ad­ ministrative Committee. Typewritten leaflets appeared on all the bulletin boards which read: "Vote for "Americans: 1. C. C. Grinnell 2. Earl Carroll "British: 1. S. L. Lloyd "All three have proven beyond a question of a doubt their ability to administer the af­ fairs of this camp. "Give them a vote of confidence.”

The friends of the three men argued that their position with the Japanese would be greatly strengthened if they received such a "vote of confidence”, and would not admit that their func­ tions as appointees of the Japanese and as representatives of the inter­ nees would conflict. The three men themselves, when advised by other friends to withdraw their names, re­ fused to do so even though they agreed that one and the same group of men could not well function in both capa­ cities. Carroll said that he felt that

174

his position on the Internee Adminis­ trative Committee did not make him ineligible as a candidate for the posi­ tion of internee representative, — that his having accepted a position on the Committee did not put him "beyond the pale”. If he were elected represen­ tative, he said, he would consider re­ signing from the Administrative Com­ mittee. Thoughtful people in the camp were worried about this complication of a situation which was confused enough. There had been very little time to acquaint the camp with the real facts; most of the internees were under the impression that they were electing agents under the provisions of the Geneva Convention, and the announce­ ment of the Monitors Council had been so worded as to strengthen this belief, though few people in the camp had had an opportunity to read the Con­ vention and knew just what the func­ tions of such agents were. Grinnell, Carroll, and Lloyd were thought to be in a position where they could be of greatest service to the community, but the general opinion seemed to be that other men should be elected as agents; it was not a question of confidence or lack of confidence in them. The election was held that night and the following morning it was- an­ nounced that Pond, DeWitt, and Har­ rington had been elected. Pond re­ ceived 1,743 votes, DeWitt 1,241, and Harrington, British representative, 555. The election spoke well for the pro­ cesses of democracy. Despite the con­ fusion that had appeared to exist, an enlightened autocrat could not have appointed better men. The camp had not allowed itself to become confused by the question of confidence in the members of the Administrative Com­ mittee. Grinnell received only 109 votes, Carroll 115, and Lloyd 97. Yet

THE CAMP

if the vote had been purely one of confidence, it is fairly certain that they would have received a large majority vote. The next day, Pond, DeWitt, and Harrington received notification of their election as "camp representa­ tives” from the election board of the Monitors Council — Rocke, Johns, and Ellis. The letters of notification ended with the paragraph, "You understand, of course, that prior to any public an­ nouncement of the election results, it is necessary to obtain the Comman­ dant’s approval of those chosen by the electors”. Delivery of the Tribune Stopped — Meanwhile various additional orders had been issued by the Japanese. On the 22nd, as stated, 800 copies of the Tribune delivered as usual for distri­ bution in the camp to the various rooms and a number of private sub­ scribers, were held up in the Comman­ dant's office and sent back to the newspaper office the next day. Inter­ nees wondered whether something had appeared in that issue which the Ja­ panese did not want them to see, or whether the order merely marked the beginning of the application of ano­ ther isolation measure. It was pro­ bably both. Copies of the Tribune were thereafter occasionally smuggled in, and it was learned that the issue of the 22nd had contained some very re­ vealing dispatches: The main headline was, "ENEMY ATTACK FORCE RE­ PULSED OFF TRUK”, and a dispatch from Tokyo, dated the 21st, read: “Repulsing the American raiders on the Truk atoll in the Pacific after severe fighting, the intrepid officers and men of the Japanese Army and Navy detachment in the area have main­ tained the point intact, according to an annoucement of the Imperial General Headquar­ ters at 4 p.m. today...In the hostilities the Japanese forces sank 2 cruisers (1 of which may have been a battleship) and heavily da-

GOOD WAR NEWS — TRIBUNE DELIVERY STOPPED maged 1 aircraft-carrier and 1 unidentified warship besides shooting down more than 54 planes. On our side, 2 cruisers, 3 destroyers, 13 transports, and 120 planes were lost, besides some damage on the ground.”

This was good news and the first time that the Japanese had admitted the larger losses in any engagement. There was also a report that MarshallGeneral Sugiyama, chief of the general staff, had been “relieved of his post” and that Tojo, Premier and concur­ rently War Minister, had been "addi­ tionally appointed chief of the general staff”; also that Fleet Admiral Nagano, chief of the naval general staff, had been "relieved of the post” and that Navy Minister Shimada had been con­ currently appointed chief of the naval general staff. Further important changes were announced under the headline, “Cabinet Changes Strengthen the Government”: "It is the consensus here [Tokyo] that the reshuffle of the Tojo Ministry announced yes­ terday has further strengthened the govern­ ment, particularly in relation to the recent in­ tensification of the war. It is recalled that the Tojo Ministry has undergone several reorgani­ zations since its formation and that at present there remain only four of the original members of the Ministry. This fact also alone shows that adequate steps have been taken in order to bolster the government line-up.”

175

to consider an air-raid precaution program. The people in Santo Tomas now understood why this issue of the Tribune had not been allowed to be distributed in the camp, and they ac­ cepted the subsequent total stoppage as a very hopeful sign of the times. Gas and Electrical Appliances Taken Up— On the 22nd, too, the order had come to surrender all privately-owned electrical and gas appliances in the camp, including electric fans, irons, hot-plates, etc., and a few days later even cords and plugs. Some weeks be­ fore, an "inventory” of such appliances had been taken. Now surrender was demanded, — as an "economy” move, said the Commandant. The order was coupled — "with a strict warning that all such appliances must be surrendered and that any cases of failure to comply will result in punishment of the internee in whose possession such ap­ pliances may later be found... The Comman­ dant has indicated that certain of these items, particularly electric irons, may be reissued la­ ter upon application and demonstration of need...All appliances will be carefully packed and stored.. .Receipts will be issued.”

It was estimated that over F25,000 worth of electrical appliances were turned in. With the hot season coming on, the loss of electric fans, particular­ ly, was a serious one. The Tribune of that day also car­ Names of Welders, Lathemen, etc., ried the news that a number of Italian Demanded— On the 23rd an order was residents of Manila were being "de­ issued calling for the registration of tained”: names of internees experienced in cer­ "Some of the Italian residents of Manila were tain engineering and other technical detained as enemy nationals by the Japanese work. The notice, signed by the Inter­ military authorities yesterday in view of the nee Committee, read: fact that they had perpetrated acts prejudicial to the New Republic of Italy headed by Chiefof-State Benito Mussolini. Those arrested are charged especially with having supported the Badoglio regime which betrayed Italy, allymember of the Axis."

There was furthermore a report that the Manila unit of the CPS had met at the City Hall the day before

"The Commandant has requested that we sub­ mit names, former employers, and positions held by internees who have had at least 10 years experience in the following occupations: (1) Can-making expert, (2) Welding expert, (3) Blacksmith expert, (4) Rolling-mill operator, (5) Lathe-man, (6) Wood worker, (7) Electrical Engineer, (8) Plumbing expert, (9) Gas Engi­ neer.

176 "In view of the nature of this request, the Committee asked the Commandant for further particulars and received the following explana­ tion: This is a military order from Headquar­ ters. It is his opinion that the purpose is to ascertain the number of internees who are ex­ pert in the above-named occupations and whether certain essential functions within the camp can be performed without outside assis­ tance. In other words, it is not intended that the information submitted will be construed as an indication of willingness to do any work of this character outside the camp. Our letter of transmittal will state that this information is submitted with the understanding that no internees will be ordered to do work in the above categories outside of this camp. Will all men's room monitors and section super­ visors make this point clear in obtaining the information requested above and turn in the particulars indicated with their roll-call reports not later than 9 p.m., Thursday, February 24?"

The Commandant’s explanation of this order was, of course, absurd. The "essential f u n c t i o n s within the Camp” certainly did not include rolling-mill, lathe, and welding opera­ tions. The monitors and supervisors made their reports on the night of the 24th. Grinnell and Pond Speak — On the night of the 25th, a meeting of internee officials, the newly elected "internee representatives”, and other interested persons was held, with the permission of the Commandant who had asked that in future at least one day’s no­ tice of any projected meeting be given to him "with a brief outline of the subjects to be discussed”. (Minutes.) The purpose of the meeting was chief­ ly to introduce the three representa­ tives. Grinnell, who was one of the speakers, said that formal approval of their elections had not yet been re­ ceived, but that there was no doubt in his mind that all three men would be considered acceptable. Grinnell took advantage of the op­ portunity to make several general statements regarding the current situa­

THE CAMP

tion of the camp. With respect to the order to surrender gas and electric apliances he said that it was apparently an economy measure, that an "aston­ ishing amount" of these appliances had been turned in, and that he hop­ ed that at least some of them might be returned "on demonstrated need”. He said that he hoped there would not be "too many of such orders affecting the life of the camp”. Of the new Com­ mandant, Grinnell said that though he "assumed” he held a high military rank, he was a lawyer by profession and was a man "who could be ap­ proached”. The Commandant, how­ ever, had made it clear to him that the "basic idea” of the military autho­ rities was to isolate the camp, but that he would personally do his best to alleviate those conditions which were working hardship. Grinnell said that the financial situation of the camp was a matter of great concern, but that if the funds believed to be due the camp under the policy esta­ blished were allowed to come through, the necessary supplementary feeding could be maintained. He said he be­ lieved that the Commandant was do­ ing everything possible to see to it that these funds were transmitted. Grinnell next said that the Internee Committee should not be called the "Administration” Committee as this implied too much authority. He said that it was necessary that the camp should understand the position of the Committee. It had to transmit the orders received from the Comman­ dant, but was cognizant of its responsi­ bilities to the internees and did what could be done in their interests. He asked the monitors to interpret the situation as it might develop from time to time to the internees, stating that "we can not use the broadcasting sys­ tem too much”. "If ever there was

INTERNEE REPRESENTATIVES INTRODUCED TO COMMANDANT

need of a close-knit internee-body, cer­ tainly now is the time", he said. Grinnell then introduced Pond, who began by expressing the appreciation of his colleagues and himself for the confidence reposed in them and pro­ mising that they would do everything that lay in their power to justify this. He said that the internee representa­ tives were under no delusion as to their position as prisoners, that they would not concern themselves with minor grievances administrative in character, but that they did hope to take up certain matters involving such things as they believed "we have a right to ask for under international agreements and usage.” The exact functions of the representatives could be determined only by experience. He said that his colleagues and himself had confidence in and would coope­ rate with the members of the Inter­ nee Committee, "who are internees, like ourselves, and are working for the benefit of the camp.” At the same time,” Pond said, "We are not under the control of the Committee, nor are we under the control of the monitors or the Monitors Council, which is an administrative body under the Inter­ nee Committee. We feel that we are under the control of the internees themselves. We hope that this meets with your approval. We hope that we can perhaps do something to mitigate the conditions of our captivity.” In closing the meeting Grinnell pro­ mised to do everything possible to keep the internee representatives in­ formed of the happenings from day to day in the interests of the interneebody as a whole. The Agents Call on Onozaki — The Internee Committee had submitted short biographies of the three inter­ nee representatives to the Command­ ant, and their election was approv­

177

ed by him on the 26th. On the 29th, Grinnell and Carroll introduced them in person. The Commandant receiv­ ed them courteously, and when shak­ ing hands with DeWitt, said, "Lawyer, hah?” He questioned Harrington as to his 24 years in the British consular service in Japan and inquired as to his health. According to the Internee Committee minutes, the Commandant said to the representatives that "he would be prepared to meet them and discuss problems with them from time to time”. The representatives had prepared a memorandum on the matter of the still undelivered parcelpost which had arrived in Manila in November, but when Pond pulled it out of his pocket, Grinnell, on a cue from the Commandant, intervened and said that the present interview had been granted only for the purpose of the introduction. The minutes of the Internee Com­ mittee, which few saw until some time after this, stated with reference to the Commandant’s approval of the plan to hold an election of internee representatives on February 21: "He approved the election, quietly, through the monitors, of a committee to represent the internees to work with the Internee Committee in an advisory capacity and, on occasion, to interview the Commandant in company with the Internee Committee. He stated, however, that he would not recognize the committee [of representatives] officially."

This was a typically Japanese reser­ vation, and had not been communicat­ ed by Grinnell either to the Monitor’s Council or to the representatives themselves. Letters from Internees Wanted Ac­ knowledging Receipt of Relief Supplies — On February 24 the Commandant asked for 50 letters from leading Ame­ rican internees in the camp "acknow­ ledging receipt of relief supplies”. Ac­

178

THE CAMP

cording to the minutes of the Inter­ to people who had already been repa­ triated. It was somewhat disappoint­ nee Committee: ing that but few of the parcels came "He stated that these were required to dis­ from relatives; most of them were pell the idea broadcast in the United States that relief supplies had not been received standard Red Cross packages valued at and that advice from individuals that they had $4.30 according to the customs-decla­ received supplies would be of more use in ration tag. Each contained a polodispelling this doubt than a signed statement shirt or light sweater, socks, handker­ by the Committee.” chiefs, towels, a washcloth, soap, shav­ On the 29th, 22 such letters were ing cream and brush, tooth brush and handed to the Commandant, but he tooth powder, safety-pins, playing later returned them "for certain al­ cards, a pocket chess and checker terations", according to the minutes. board, cheese, prunes, raisins, and References to the non-delivery of vitamin tablets. Unfortunately, the United States mail had deliberately parcels had lain in the Manila post been inserted, and the Commandant office so long that most of the cheese insisted that these be eliminated inas­ was moldy and in some cases the much as the letters concerned the de­ raisins had exuded a liquid which had livery of Red Cross supplies and not stained the rest of the contents. How­ ever, this was easily washed out. About mail. The Parcel-Post at last Delivered half the people in the camp received — The memorandum of the internee packages, some more than one; the representatives on the non-delivery of other half was not so lucky and enter­ the parcel-post was never delivered, tained the hope for some time that for, on the morning of March 3, six more of the mail was still to be army trucks rolled into camp with the brought in, — which proved not to be long-awaited packages from America. the case. This delivery of the parcel-post The news ran through the camp and and the delivery also during the month soon a large crowd gathered. The of letters (3 bags) from America to post office of the military wanted the mail bags back right away, and the several hundred people in the camp, Commandant ordered that the parcels served to relieve the tension in the be distributed immediately. They greatly harried camp. Most of the were not even taken inside the store­ letters, by the way, had been written room in the main building, but were during the latter part of 1942! One piled up alphabetically along the letter, dated December 9, stated, "We sidewalk, the names were called out, just heard a few months ago where and many were made happy. Of the you are [after nearly a year of intern­ 40 tons of parcel-post listed on the ment], and only recently have learned Teia Marti manifest, probably some that we might write to you.” This 10 tons reached the camp in 341 bags, was now over a year ago. Belated Red Cross Relief Payments — 2,667 parcels. The manifest had listed 731 bags. Some of the parcels — Toward the end of February and received were for people in Los Banos during March there were also a num­ and Baguio, and for persons on re­ ber of belated payments of relief lease, and there were also some for funds. According to the minutes of men who were in the prisoner-of-war the Internee Committee, the Comman­ camps. There were a few addressed dant on February 29 —

SURVEYS OF TECHNICAL MEN IN CAMP DEMANDED "advised that 1*70,000 in relief funds had al­ ready arrived at Headquarters and that he thought division between the different camps would be made by the Embassy. If we wished to submit any recommendations regarding their division, this should be done at once.”

The recommendations were made, and on March 9 Carroll was allowed to call at the War-Prisoners Division Headquarters at the Far Eastern Uni­ versity, accompanied by a member of the Commandant’s staff. He was hand­ ed P44,260.99, as the "Santo Tomas share of a remittance from the Ame­ rican Red Cross which is reported to be the balance of the 1943 remittances” (Minutes). The wilfull vagueness of the Japanese procedure in such mat­ ters was again demonstrated, how­ ever, when, on March 14, Carroll was again called to the Headquarters and received the amount of PI5,000, "re­ presenting an additional payment of Red Cross relief funds for the year 1943" (Minutes). More Names Wanted by the Japa­ nese — In the meantime, on the 27th of February, another notice was sent out by the Internee Committee with reference to names wanted by the Ja­ panese of men with certain special technical qualifications. It read: "The response to the notice dated February 23 requesting information regarding internees who have had at least 10 years experience in certain occupations having been practically nil, the Commandant’s Office has ordered that another survey be conducted immediately and that a list be submitted by noon on Monday, February 28, of all the internees who have had any experience in the following occupa­ tions: [Here followed the list given in the first notice.] In addition to names, former com­ pany connections, and positions held, inter­ nees must state the number of years of ex­ perience. "The Committee has reiterated its position that it can not agree to submit such a list of names if it involves requiring men to work outside the camp, and the covering letter sub­ mitting these names will again emphasize this

179

position. The Commandant’s Office has stated again that it is not intended to order any in­ ternees to do Work outside the camp but at the same time has indicated that there may be serious consequences if the information requested is not forthcoming. In view of the urgency of the order from the Commandant, we have no alternative other than to re­ quest that a complete list of the persons hav­ ing experience in the above classifications be submitted... ”

This time the "survey” brought out some 35 names. On March 8, the mo­ nitors and supervisors were required to send in lists of all the men in the rooms and shanty areas who were “prior to the war engaged in the mer­ chant marine, including officers and seamen, cooks, stewards, etc.” Some 50 names were submitted on this oc­ casion, mostly the names of men whose mode of livelihood had already been indicated on the camp roster. Many of the seamen among the ori­ ginal Santo Tomas population had been transferred to Los Banos. Grin­ ned said that he was of the opinion that this report had been requested by Tokyo not with the intention of making any occupational drafts but for information "in case of a further exchange of prisoners”, but the in­ ternees were worried by the demands for this type of information. New Muster Roll Call by the Japa­ nese Twice a Day — On February 28 a new roll-call system was inaugurated which called for an actual muster of internees twice a day, at 8 in the morn­ ing and at 7 in the evening. Thereto­ fore, roll call had been taken in the rooms and shanty areas by the moni­ tors and supervisors only at 9 o’clock in the evening, with no special cere­ mony. Now internees lodged in the rooms had to line up in the halls, and shanty residents, including women and children, had to line up in various places on the campus, and Japanese

180

officers made an actual physical check which took from 10 to 20 minutes each time, sometimes longer. The new roll call was not only burden­ some, but necessitated early rising of old and young as breakfast was now served only until 7:30, and this threw a heavy strain on the limited wash­ room and toilet facilities which every­ one now wanted to use at about the same time. No practical object was served by all this. It was just another nuisance inflicted on the population. Three American Army Medical Men Brought in — The serious situation with respect to the small number of doctors in the camp was somewhat alleviated on the 29th when two Army medical men, Captains S. M. Bloom and L. T. Noell, and Captain G. P. Francis, dentist, were transferred to Santo Tomas from Bilibid Prison. The wife of one of these officers, interned in the camp, caused some excitement when, on suddenly and unexpectingly catching sight of her husband as he and the others were brought into camp, she collapsed in a dead faint. Dr. Stevenson returned to Santo To­ mas on March 11 and Dr. MacAnlis, dentist, on March 16, both having re­ linquished their "permanent releases” as missionaries to serve the camp. Difficulties in Bringing in Supple­ mentary Food — Difficulties about bringing in supplementary food con­ tinued. An average of 1,400 small loaves of bread (cassava) had been brought in every morning before the military took over the camp, and Konishi first cut this down to 1,000 loaves and on March 1 to 500, for use only by the aged and the sick, on the ground that the bread was made of blackmarket flour. Following a protest of the Internee Committee, the quota was after a few days raised to 1,000 loaves again, but few people believed

THE CAMP

that this would last. Beginning Feb­ ruary 20, bread and eggs were distri­ buted through the monitors and su­ pervisors, a good move as this elimi­ nated much standing in line. Sup­ posedly every internee was allowed to buy a half loaf of bread every other day and an egg every day, but one day's egg supply was held out to in­ crease the hospital and annex eggration. The half-loaf of bread (mak­ ing about 6 small slices) cost P.90 and the egg P.70. However, it often happened that there was no bread available at all. Rice and sometimes boiled whole corn or some mongo beans had now for some time been served at the main-kitchen food-line at noon, and the Japanese apparently wanted to force practically everyone in camp to an exclusive line-diet. Breakfast was still ground corn-mush, with a small spoonful of sugar every other day, and sometimes a small cup of coconut milk, and coffee and a banana, the last three items being paid for out of internee funds. Available coffee ran out around the middle of March, but there was a consignment of coffee from a local distributor in the bodega who, however, secretly asked for pay­ ment in dollar credit, a request which the internee officials could not meet. Internee E. M. Van Voorhees, VicePresident of the General Motors Over­ seas Corporation, hereupon made ar­ rangements which assured the camp of an additional two months coffee supply, a virtual donation of approxi­ mately $10,000. During the month fol­ lowing, over $90,000 in private corpora­ tion drafts were converted into cash used for the purchase of supplementary food for the camp, chiefly vegetables and fruit. The almost invariable sup­ per was rice (of the lowest class, some­ times it looked like sweepings), boiled

PRIVATE COOKING ORDERED STOPPED

whole corn, and boiled radish, with fish two or three times a week, fried if the fish were large enough, which happened rarely, and otherwise boiled or made into cakes with mashed yams. This diet was indigestible to most people and was bringing about a gen­ eral state of semi-starvation and much sickness. Camp Prices— At the fruit and vegetable market, now open for only two hours in the afternoon, a small cabbage cost F5, a papaya from P2.50 to P3, mangos PI .50 each, tomatoes P.60, coconuts from P.30 to P.60, small bananas from P.10 to P.20 each. At the camp exchange, cans of salmon, remains of the Red Cross supply, were selling at P28 each, corned beef at P50, "Spam” at P52, powdered milk (one-pound can) at P155, a package of "Kraft” cheese at P40, and a small can of soluble coffee at P23. At the canteen, peanuts were selling at P5 a half ganta, peanut-butter at P6.50 a kilo and peanut-oil (other fats and oils were unobtainable), at P3.30 a pint. There was never enough of anything to meet the demand, and enormously long lines formed in the afternoon, in which people stood for hours only to be turned away at the end with empty plates, cans, and baskets. There would have been enough if the Japanese would have permitted the supplies to come in, but everything beyond the constantly changing and arbitrarily de­ clared quotas were turned away at the main gate. Order Prohibiting Private Cooking Averted— The situation came to a head on Saturday morning, March 4, when Konishi ordered, subject to the approval of the Commandant, "cessa­ tion of all private cooking”, and, ac­ cording to the Internee Committee minutes, —

181 "further stated that the quantity of food­ stuffs to be purchased by Mr. Yemura [the camp’s Japanese buyer] in the future would be greatly curtailed and that bread, milk, and eggs would be allowed only to those who had medical permits. He also discussed the ques­ tion of one or more camp restaurants and indicated that sales in these restaurants would be limited to coffee, hot-cakes, and salads."

Private cooking had already been made very difficult by the refusal of the Japanese to permit charcoal fuel to come into the camp, though some 800 bags lay just outside the gate. Hunter’s private restaurant had been compelled to shut down for lack of fuel on March 2, and the sale of in­ ternee-made cakes and candies through the camp restaurant had stopped a week before that. The "camp restau­ rant” still had no gas connection and served only as the place where the limited quantity of carabao milk brought in was sold and locally bot­ tled sarsaparilla which the children liked. The Konishi statement decided the Internee Committee on immediate ac­ tion. That afternoon the three mem­ bers of the Committee, the three in­ ternee representatives, and Drs. Flet­ cher and Smith called on the Com­ mandant in a body. They told him that the order prohibiting private cooking would be a catastrophe to the camp and asked that they be given time to present a written memorandum on the subject. They were somewhat taken aback when the Commandant said that this was the first time he had heard of any such order! Given the requested permission to submit a memorandum, this was composed the following day under date of March 5, and on March 6, Monday morning, it was handed to Stanley, chief internee interpreter, to lay on the Commandant’s desk.6 6 The memorandum, signed both by the mem­ bers of the Internee Committee and the inter­

182

The Commandant called in Grinnell and Carroll the following day (Lloyd was ill), and told them that it was not his intention to stop private cooking but that the Japanese authorities were concerned about the “fire-hazard" and would like to see more "community cooking". He asked the Committee to submit a plan for establishing a num­ nee representatives who now were designated Agents, was a strong one, and read: "The undersigned, members of the Internee Committee and Agents of the Internees, view with the gravest concern the proposal to pro­ hibit private cooking in this camp. "Such a prohibition would be contrary to the provisions of the Geneva Convention of 1929, Article 11, which reads in a part as fol­ lows: " 'Prisoners shall receive facilities for pre­ paring, themselves, additional food which they might have’. "(A memorandum is attached which shows that Japan and the United States mutually agreed to apply the provisions of that conven­ tion.) We are not requesting that the Japanese Military Authorities provide the facilities re­ quired by the above-quoted Article 11, but mere­ ly that private cooking be not prohibited and that, therefore, the internees be permitted to continue to use the private cooking facilities which they, themselves, found it necessary to provide. "Other provisions of the Geneva Convention indicate the necessity for private cooking. Thus Article 12 provides that canteens shall be ins­ talled in all camps where prisoners may ob­ tain, 'at the local market prices, food pro­ ducts and ordinary objects'. Article 37 provides that prisoners shall be allowed individually to receive parcels containing foods and other ar­ ticles intended to supply them with food and clothing. The very use of the word 'themselves' in Article 11 clearly shows that the convention specifically provides for private cooking, for that is necessary for the preparation of the foods which they might have or acquire indi­ vidually from canteens or in parcels. "Humanitarian reasons also are against any prohibition of private cooking, for that would adversely and vitally affect the health of many of the internees of this camp. This is not a camp of prisoners of war — soldiers, men in the prime of life and health, but of civilian internees, — noncombatants, men, women, and children, the aged, the sick and infirm, and even babies of the tenderest years. Many of them require special foods in order to live;

THE CAMP

ber of cooking places where group cooking could be done. He promised to see what he could do to permit the bringing in of charcoal. He returned to them a typewritten copy of the Ge­ neva Convention which had been handed to him on the 3rd, and said that he had a copy in Japanese. The Committee felt that Lieutenant Konishi had at last met with a definite setback. those foods, as well as the facilities to prepare them, the internees have provided themselves during the two years or more of their intern­ ment and with the knowledge and consent of the Japanese officials in command of this camp. Many of the internees can not live on the food furnished by the Imperial Japanese Army. That food does not accord with the food standards essential to the health, and even the life, of most of the internees. The food furnished has been inadequate, and even less than the announced daily ration, while some of it, and particularly much of this fish, has been inedible. No special foods suitable for young children, the sick and aged, and for those re­ quiring special diets have been provided. These deficiencies, with great difficulty, have been partly met by other means; during February, 1944, not only were substantial quantities of reserve and donated (Red Cross) supplies used in the camp kitchens, but about P64.000 of donated relief funds were spent for essential foods. We estimate that at least two-thirds of the internees, for their subsistence, at least in part, are dependent on the foods they, them ­ selves, prepare. If they may not do that, the demands on the camp kitchens for essential foods not furnished by the Imperial Japanese Army will be enormously increased, and those demands can not, as we are sure you under­ stand, be met either by present reserve stocks or available, or even prospective, relief funds. "Most of the internees, for their existence, have, therefore, found it absolutely necessary to provide themselves with and to prepare ad­ ditional food. To secure and prepare addi­ tional food has become during the past month increasingly more difficult. Much food was re­ ceived individually from outside of the camp. About one month ago the package line was closed and the internees denied the receipt of packages containing food or clothing. Recently the meat canteen has been denied supplies, eggs and bread have been restricted, and the other canteens (except for fruits and vegeta­ bles) have been denied many supplies. All of these measures have cumulatively increased the

PROTEST STOPPING PRIVATE COOKING AND AGAINST INVOLUNTARY LABOR

Protest against Involuntary Labor in the Camp— Another conflict of several week's standing was coming into the open. For over a month internees had been called upon to undertake various camp construction jobs ordered by the Japanese, including the building of a circumferential path along the inside of the walls, with bridges and fences, etc., pens and sheds for some 400 ducks brought in by the Japanese on February 22 and for a cow and two calves brought in on March 1, all of which had also to be taken care of by the internees, and various other pro­ jects of little or no usefulness to the camp. The work was practically com­ pulsory and was carried out under the direct supervision of Japanese officers who issued contradictory orders and frequently resorted to rough and abu­ sive language. food problem of the internees. A prohibition of private cooking would be disastrous to them and cause a real crisis in this camp. The vegetable canteen would be forced to close, for vegetables could not be used if private cook ing were prohibited; furthermore, it would be impossible for the internees, themselves, to prepare the food sent through the Interna­ tional Red Cross and delivered to them indi­ vidually (and which they have been urged to conserve for a possible emergency), nor the foods contained in the parcel-post packages which have just been delivered. "A prohibition of private cooking in effect would result in a denial to the internees of essential additional food, and thus bring to them disaster, suffering, and even death (the Medical Board of this camp confirms this statement). "We submit the foregoing statement in the firm belief that the Imperial Japanese Military Authorities have not yet fully understood the complex character of the population of this camp, as compared with war-prisoners’ camps, and the difficulties involved in caring for the aged, the infirm of all ages, women, and chil­ dren. We are confident that recognition of the facts stated above will avoid, on humanitarian grounds alone, (apart from the provisions of the Geneva Convention) the issuance of an order to abolish private cooking by internees. "Yours respectfully, etc.”

183

On March 1 Konishi again re­ jected a request that permits be issued to finish the repair work which had been suspended on a large number of shanties, saying that he had several more "camp building pro­ jects” he wanted to put through and did not want the camp stock of bam­ boo and other supplies used for in­ dividual work. He rejected a sugges­ tion that the internees who wanted to buy additional materials for them­ selves be allowed to do so. The same day he ordered the construction of a bamboo fence all around the grounds 2 meters from the wall, and demanded two details of 50 men each, one to work from 9 to 12 in the morning and the other from 2 to 5 in the afternoon. The Internee Committee decided to take a stand and addressed a letter to the Commandant on May 2, at the same time inviting the Internee Agents also to address a memorandum to him on the same subject.7 The Committee's communication read: 7 The letter of the Internee Agents, dated March 3, was headed, "Involuntary Labor”, and read: "The purpose of this letter is to call your attention to the fact that civilian internees of this camp have been ordered to work upon the construction of a bamboo fence in front of the gymnasium, as well as other similar construction work having nothing whatever to do with their subsistence and comfort, and that this is contrary to established usage and law as applied to interned civilians, as well as to the provisions of the Geneva Convention, which the United States Government, the Bri­ tish Government, and the Imperial Japanese Government have agreed to follow in the treat­ ment of civilian prisoners during this war. "If any authority on this question is wanted, we can do no better than to invite your atten­ tion to the text of the protest of the Imperial Japanese Government to the Governments of the United States and Canada, published in Volume XI, No. 11, Contemporary Japan for November, 1942. We quote therefrom: " 'The Geneva Convention contains provisions, stipulating labor for the purpose of the ad­ ministration, management, and maintenance of

184 "We respectfully submit for your early con­ sideration the necessity for clarification of the fundamental principles which should form the guiding policy for this Committee in carrying out work in this camp in accordance with instruction which may be received from you. “In this regard we recommend the approval and immediate adoption of the following prin­ ciples: "1st — that the work shall be done by the camp on a strictly voluntary basis; "2nd — that the work involved shall be in the interests of the internees; "3rd — that the work shall be under the di­ rection of internee supervisors; "4th — that the work shall be within the scope of our ability and capacity; "5th — that the requests shall be accepted only from the Commandant and that detailed specifications of the job shall be given by him or his authorized representative. "Please be assured that we are fully aware of the responsibilities which have been placed upon us as members of the Internee Commit­ tee, but we consider that our position re­ quires clarification as set forth above to enable us to carry out our responsibilities to the best interests of all concerned.”

THE CAMP

and was approved without modifica­ tion on the same date”. No reference was made to the letter of the Agents. According to the minutes of the Committee: "Messrs. Grinnell and Carroll met with the Commandant and after a discussion their let­ ter of March 2 was approved. The attitude of certain members of the staff of the Com­ mandant in dealing with the Internee Com­ mittee was also discussed. The Commandant was told that the Internee Committee would not continue to function unless certain mem­ bers of his staff accorded the Committee the respect due it as representatives of 4,000 Ame­ rican, British, and other citizens, to which he replied that we be patient until he could cor­ rect the situation."

The Bamboo Fence Incident— The high bamboo fence which the Internee Committee undertook to build along the boardwalk to the gymnasium was a very unpopular project because it was obviously intended by the Ja­ panese to cut off the view to the Semi­ A few days later the Committee’s nary. Many outside families of inter­ letter appeared on the camp bulletin nees attended chapel there on Sunday boards with the introductory note: mornings and the fathers and hus­ "The following letter was submitted bands inside would stand on the to the Commandant on March 2, 1944, boardwalk and thus they would get a view of each other at a distance of internment camps but there are no provisions 70 to 100 yards. All they could do concerning the supply of labor for building would be to look at each other, for new camps. Moreover, it is needless to say that the Japanese were on the watch for labor supplied by the internees should be such any signaling. One Sunday a Japanese as is directly related to their subsistence and comfort.’ soldier of the guard sat at a window “And again: in the gymnasium with a straw hat on " ‘It is an established international usage to disguise him, apparently to catch generally observed among civilized nations that enemy civilians should not be put to any com­ any unfortunate who might try some pulsory labor of any kind in any circumstances form of communication. Both the peo­ . . . It is to be mentioned that the Japanese ple inside and outside the camp, how­ Government have not imposed on any Cana­ dians, whether interned or not, any compul­ ever, were careful to avoid even a sory labor of any kind.’ wave of the hand. "It is therefore respectfully requested that In March, family aid payments be­ the policy toward internee labor in this camp gan to be made at the Japanese Em­ be modified in such a way as to accord with bassy by former Commandant Kato the foregoing principles and specifically, that no involuntary internee labor be called instead of in the camp Dackage-shed for at least unless it is 'directly related’ to by internee officials, and remittances their subsistence and comfort.” to their dependents outside by men in

THE BAMBOO FENCE INCIDENT

the camp who were not on the family aid rolls were handled in the same way. Hiroshi took the money to the Embassy every Monday. Thus there was not even any more contact be­ tween the outside families and inter­ nees by proxy. The promised censored note system had still not been insti­ tuted despite repeated requests, and the brief Sunday morning exchange of glances at 100 yards was the last thing that remained to internees and their families outside the camp. As if the Commandant had never approved the Internee Committee’s letter of March 2 at all, Japanese lieu­ tenants and interpreters, backed by armed guards, continued to supervise the work on the new fence and showed a natural impatience with the slowness with which this work, equally natural­ ly, was being carried out. They con­ tinued to be abusive in manner and on several occasions refused to allow the men to quit when the time of their shift was over. On Tuesday, March 7, of some 35 men who had been asked to work that morning, 25 reported, and Lieu­ tenant Takeda, after lining them up and counting and recounting them de­ manded 5 more men. Carroll and Chittick appeared on the scene and told him that the work was voluntary, that those who had not come presumably had good excuses, and that they would not compel more men to join the gang. Takeda then stalked off to the main building, leaving the men standing there, and after a while Grinnell came down and told the men that the Com­ mittee was making a stand for a prin­ ciple but that they might as well go to work. But hereupon, the Japanese interpreter, who had remained, said that the Lieutenant did not want the work started until there were 30 men. Grinnell then went back to consult

185

Takeda again and shortly returned and dismissed the gang. There was therefore no work done on the fence that morning, and later, when the af­ ternoon gang reported, they were dis­ missed, too. Grinnell and Carroll met with the Commandant at 2 o’clock, referred to the letter of March 2, and pointed out that the provisions agreed upon had not been observed by Takeda. The Commandant listened and then asked them to return at 3:30. At the time stated, they found Lieutenant Abiko there from Headquarters who took over the meeting, presented the plan of the work the authorities wanted done, and asked whether it could be completed in three days. The internee officials said, "Yes, if we are let alone.” A rumor had started meanwhile that the bamboo fence gang had “struck” and considerable tension developed, the general uneasiness being some­ what reduced when it was announced late in the afternoon that there would be a moving-picture show that evening. The usual announcements before the show included the following statement which was listened to with great at­ tention: "At 9 o'clock tomorrow morning, work will be resumed on the bamboo fence leading from the gymnasium along the boardwalk. Detailed plans of the job to be done were handed to the Internee Committee and the Labor Control­ ler this afternoon with the full understanding that the work will be done under the sole di­ rection of internee supervisors. A guard and an interpreter will be on the scene, but only in accordance with military regulations for the purpose of permitting internee workers to go out of bounds over the barbed-wire fence. A call is therefore going to those selected for the work tomorrow, and all other internees are requested to give their moral support to a job that is now being done under the di­ rection and supervision of internees. Will the morning squad please report at 9 a.m. and the afternoon squad at 2 p.m. They are to report to Mr. Weekly in each case.”

186

It was another victory for the In­ ternee Committee and there was a good round of applause. There were a number of other announcements of interest. "This afternoon two sums of money were received from the Commandant’s Office. The first sum totaled P19.242, representing the monthly cash allowance for February provided by the Japanese military authorities for mis­ cellaneous daily necessities in addition to the food ration furnished by the Japanese. The second sum amounted to F598.95, and was handed to the Committee as an expression of appreciation for the extra work done by in­ ternees during the month of February, espe­ cially in the camp gardens and for other work which has required more hours than are re­ quired in the labor code, such as cooking, me­ dical services, bodega workers, and other spe­ cial assignments. The Commandant informed the Internee Committee that such extra pay­ ments would be made monthly in recognition of special work done in the camp by inter­ nees. .. "Tomorrow afternoon, work will begin again on the fourth floor, main building, in essen­ tial camp projects, such as the caustic plant and its related activities, the soap-making pro­ ject, the wood-workers’ shop, and the electric shop. . . ”

The camp did not like the fence any more than it had before, but in res­ ponse to an appeal through the moni­ tors to back up the Internee Commit­ tee, over 100 volunteers turned out in three shifts the next day to work on the job besides the special bamboo fence squad and the regular carpenter and construction gangs, and in two days the fence was finished, a day ahead of schedule. The Japanese had specified a diagonal lattice and the in­ terstices measured some 10 inches across so that it was still possible for the internees to see through it, though it was a little more difficult for the people outside to look in. However, the following S’ n Jay proved that it was still possible to recognize each other through it.

THE CAMP

Two Thieves from Outside Turned over to the Japanese— Before the fence was finished, an unfortunate in­ cident occurred, — on the night of the 8th. During the preceding few months, sneak thieves had repeatedly come over the wall during the night hours to grab what they could in the shanties, and an internee night patrol had been organized for guard duty. Though some of these thieves had been caught, the guards, not wishing to turn them over to the tender mercies of the Ja­ panese, only gave them a talking-to and then let them get back over the wall. As a result of this, the intruders became bolder and on the night in question a number of them entered the grounds and were caught. A fright­ ened women in a shanty raised such a cry of alarm that although it was 2 o’clock in the morning, a crowd of around 200 people were almost imme­ diately on the spot. The guards ma­ naged to let some of the thieves es­ cape, but two had to be held, were lodged in the camp-jail over night, and turned over to the Japanese guard in the morning. There was then nothing else to do. They were two Filipinos, who both gave their ages as 19; one of them had been caught on the grounds once before and had been turned loose. The Japanese marched them from the jail (the room off the lobby of the main building) to the front gate with straw market-bags over their heads and tied them up near the guardhouse, out of sight of the camp behind the sawali wall. Internee guards at the inner gate, however, saw that they were beaten and kicked intermit­ tently during the entire day until they were both unconscious; it was said that one of them was then given the "water cure”. In the evening they were taken away.

SHANTIES SEARCHED, MURDEROUS BRUTALITY

Murderous Brutality. Blair, Barnett, and Ellis taken out of the Camp— This was not the worst of the brutalities that had taken place in the camp since the army samurai had taken over. On February 23, J. H. Blair, S. R. Barnett, and E. F. Ellis, former camp buyers, were "questioned” in the packageshed by military police from Fort San­ tiago. Barnett and Ellis were later in the day taken out of the camp; Blair had been too seriously injured for this and was taken to the camp hos­ pital. It was said that he had been murderously beaten over the kidneys with a piece of rubber hose in the Nazi manner of bringing about a de­ layed death. In the hospital, blood ap­ peared in his urine. No official infor­ mation could, of course, be obtained, even by internee officials, but it was believed that the three men had been questioned in regard to typewritten radio-news "transcripts" which had been circulating in the camp for many months. Certain Filipinos outside, en­ gaged in the preparation of these tran­ scripts, had been caught, it was said, and had, no doubt under torture, given the names of these camp-buyers as the men who had brought them into Santo Tomas. Shanties Searched. Harris and Hornhostel Taken Out of Camp— On Feb­ ruary 28, a number of shanties were searched by military police, and E. B. Harris, father of one of the young men outside who was believed to have been arrested, a former Manila radio an­ nouncer, and Earl Hornbostel, a young internee radio-expert, were taken out of the camp. Nothing had been found in the latter’s shanty, though it was practically turned upside-down, but he was told by the men who conducted the search that they “wanted him to see their chief”. The military police re­ fused to say for how long they might

187

be out of camp and refused to allow them to take anything along with them. Internees had been taken out of camp before and most of them had come back again after a longer or shorter period of imprisonment in Fort Santiago showing evidence of having undergone brutal treatment, but none of them would ever speak of the experience, even to their closest friends, obviously having been warned that if anything at all came out they would get "more of the same”. In the case of Blair, however, what he had undergone was patent without his speaking. The Internee Agents, never­ theless hesitated about making a di­ rect complaint even in his case, for fear that the Japanese would think he had "talked”. The Agents Appeal— As over a a week passed, and the men who had been taken away did not return and no information about them was obtain­ able from the Commandant, the Inter­ nee Agents decided upon submitting a written appeal for information about the fate of these men, with the re­ quest that if the Commandant believed that this letter should be placed be­ fore other military authorities in or­ der to achieve its purpose, that he do so. The case of Blair was mentioned only indirectly. It was to such an unspeakable condition, where men could not even protest, that a com­ munity of 4,000 Americans and British had been reduced, — not at this time, but, in fact, from the very beginning. Nevertheless, the letter of the Agents, quoting many provisions of the Ge­ neva Convention, so grossly violated from the first, was a strong statement a least by implicaion.8* * Dated March 9, it read: "This letter is addressed to you by the un­ dersigned as the Agents of the Internees of this

188

The First Blackout Practice— Then, at noon, on Saturday, March 11, it was suddenly announced over the loud­ speaker system that a "practice alert” had been ordered, effective immediate­ ly, which might last until noon the next day and with a practice black­ out during the night. Internees were directed to remain in the vicinity of their quarters except in going to meals, and ball games scheduled for the afcamp, for the purpose of appealing to you to give us such help and information as you can in the cases of S. R. Barnett, Earl H. Hornbostel, E. B, Harris, and E. F. Ellis, and also the case of J. H. Blair, all of them non-com­ batants and internees of this camp since its beginning. “As you no doubt know, Mr. Barnett has a wife and two small children in this camp; Mr. Hornbostel has a mother and two sisters, one of the latter in this camp and the other in Los Banos; Mr. Ellis and Mr. Blair have wives in this camp; and Mr. Harris is a man of advanced years. "On February 27th of this year, Barnett, Har­ ris, and Ellis were taken from this camp by the Japanese Military Authorities, and a day or so later Hornbostel was also taken away. Blair had been questioned a day or so before, and the next day was taken to the camp hospital where he still lies seriously ill. The men who were taken away were not allowed any changes of clothing, and their families and friends have never been informed as to the reasons for their removal, their destination, when they could be expected to return, or anything about them. As the days go by, and nothing is heard of them, you will understand the terrible and increasing anxiety their families and friends, and indeed, the whole camp, are feeling in this matter. "May we therefore ask you, on humanitarian grounds, to ascertain what has become of these men, why they have been taken away, what their present status is, when they can be expected to return, and to arrange that they may correspond with their families, and that changes of clothing may be sent them as well as such other articles as they may need for their comfort, health, and cleanliness. "While we are making this appeal to you on purely humanitarian grounds, we can not re­ frain from indicating certain provisions of the Geneva Convention of 1929 relating to the questions involved in the treatment of these men and other similar cases if they arise. " ‘Art. 2 ...They (prisoners of war) must at all

THE CAMP

ternoon, the evening concert, and the religious services the next morning in the Fathers Garden were ordered can­ celled. Later it was announced that people might go to the vegetable mar­ ket that afternoon. In the evening, no lights were to be turned on except in the halls and toilet-rooms, and no smoking was allowed. The order was, in effect, almost a confinement to quarters. The Japanese evidently in­ tended to take all the fun out of an times be humanely treated, and protected, par­ ticularly against acts of violence, insults, and public curiosity. " 'Art 3. Prisoners of war have the right to have their persons and their honor respected... "'Art. 5 ... Prisoners who refuse to answer may not be threatened, insulted, or exposed to unpleasant or disadvantageous treatment of any kind... Art. 45. Prisoners of war shall be subject to the laws, regulations, and orders in force in the armies of the detaining power. An act of insubordination shall justify the adoption toward them of the measures provided by such laws, regulations and orders. The provi­ sions of the present chapter, however, are re­ served. " ‘Art. 4 6 ...Any corporal punishment, any imprisonment in quarters without daylight, and, in general, any form of cruelty is for­ bidden. " 'Art. 52. Belligerents shall see that the com­ petent authorities exercise the greatest leniency in deciding the question of whether an infrac­ tion committed by a prisoner of war should be punished by disciplinary or judicial measures. " ‘Art. 54. Arrest is the most severe disci­ plinary punishment which may be imposed on a prisoner of war. The duration of a single im­ prisonment may not exceed 30 days. " 'Art. 56. In no case may prisoners of war be transferred to penitentiary establishments, (prisons, penitentiaries, convict prisons, etc.) there to undergo disciplinary punishment. The quarters in which they undergo disciplinary punishment shall conform to sanitary require­ ments. Prisoners punished shall be enabled to keep themselves in a state of cleanliness. These prisoners shall every day be allowed to exer­ cise or stay in the open air at least 2 hours. " 'Art 57. Prisoners of war given disciplinary punishment shall be allowed to read and write, as well as to send and receive le tte rs... " 'Art. 59. Excepting the competence of courts and higher military authorities, disciplinary pu­ nishment may be ordered only by an officer

FIRST BLACKOUT PRACTICE

occasion which filled the camp, and indeed the whole city, with hope. A copy of the Tribune smuggled into the camp a few days later quoted city of­ ficials as being displeased with the failure of the people of Manila "to take the blackout seriously.” At approxi­ mately 8:40 sirens wailed in various parts of the city and internees who had been sitting out on the lawns near their buildings were required to go to their rooms, and instructed not to look out of the windows. All lights were turned out and internee first-aid and various other emergency crews took their appointed places in accord­ provided with disciplinary powers in his capa­ city as commander of a camp or attachment, or by the responsible officer replacing him. "Arts. 60-67 cover judicial proceedings in­ volving prisoners of war. They deal with the requirements as to the intervention of the pro­ tecting power, the right of the prisoner to de­ fend himself, to have counsel and a competent interpreter, the right of appeal, and reserve the right to such prisoners to communicate with military authorities and with the protecting power regarding the conditions of their capti­ vity, as provided in Art. 42. As such communi­ cations may be transmitted through the agents, we feel that the Convention affords direct auhority for the requests we are making in this letter. "It is obvious that the basic purpose of the Convention is the alleviation of the conditions of captivity of war-prisoners; and that the fore­ going articles are addressed especially to those undergoing disciplinary, or judicial punishment. Its provisions should be accorded even more generous interpretation in dealing with noncombatants than with prisoners of war. "However, we prefer to make our appeal to you on humanitarian rather than legalistic grounds. We, as representatives of the men and their families and friends as well as of all the internees of this camp, would be deep­ ly grateful to you and to the Imperial Japanese Army if something is done along the lines of this letter and along the lines of the Conven­ tion to help them and also to allay the anxiety of their families and friends and that of the entire camp. "If you think that this letter should be placed before other military authorities in order to achieve its purpose, may we ask you to do so? "Very respectfully, etc."

189

ance with plans prepared long, long before by a number of camp depart­ ments. At around 9:30 the all-clear sig­ nal was given by the sirens, and ma­ ny people went outside again. But at 9:45 the air-raid alarm was repeated and most people went to bed, fervent­ ly wishing it were a real alarm. A little after 10 o’clock the all-clear sig­ nal was again sounded and it was then announced that the state of alert had also been declared ended. The next morning, therefore, the camp return­ ed to its normal routine and the re­ ligious services were held after all. Lieutenant Konishi visited the In­ ternee Committee office during the blackout and informed Grinnell and Carroll that there would be an inspec­ tion of the finance and supplies de­ partment by his "superior” on the 14th. According to the minutes, he asked — "that kitchens, bodegas, canteens, gardens, cow and duck pens, etc., be put in good order and especially requested that ‘very little garbage’ be placed in the garbage-cans during the morn­ ing of the inspection.”

Reorganization of the Internee Set­ up — The appointment of the threeman Internee Committee by the Japa­ nese necessitated a reorganization, re­ ferred to in a broadcast late in Feb­ ruary which began: “The Internee Committee wishes to take the opportunity to express its appreciation to the large number of internees who have voluntarily offered their services to the Committee in the important and difficult task of administering the camp. To successfully meet the problems which now face the camp and which will arise from time to time in the future, the united efforts of the entire internee-body will be need­ ed and it is reassuring to have had such a large number of internees offering their serv­ ices. At the same time, the Committee wishes to announce that the reorganization of the ac­ tivities and functions of the campus under four major departments as ordered by the military authorities is rapidly being completed. Super­

THE CAMP

190

equipment and supplies division, A. F. Duggleby, chief. Under the labor de­ partment, Carroll also had charge of the labor control division, W. A. Chittick, chief; the food production divi­ Grinnell, according to an organiza­ sion, M. A. Pollock, chief; and the con­ tion chart completed on March 5 had struction, maintenance, and grounds under him the camp health council, Dr. division, R. W. Crosby, chief. F. O. Smith, chairman; the medical The Author Warned that the Japanese Knew board, Dr. L. Z. Fletcher, chairman; and the hygiene department, Dr. F. O. about his being at Work on a Book — While this chapter was being written, the author Smith, chairman. Lloyd had under was told by Carroll that Alcuaz had contacted him the housing division, F. H. Ley- him and informed him that he had learned shon, chief; the emergency and safety that the Japanese in the information (propa­ ganda) section of the Army knew that a num­ division, R. L. Lile, chief; the social ber of people were writing in Santo Tomas, service division (including monitors), that two of them were known by name, in­ C. V. Schelke, chief; the shanty divi­ cluding the author, and that he especially should be careful. The author, hereupon, put sion, R. W. Crosby, chief; and the his work away for a number of weeks, but camp order division, J. H. Forrest, as nothing happened, he decided to go on with this story again. While working at his chief. friends were always ready to warn Under the Finance and Supplies De­ typewriter, him of the approach of any Japanese, and he partment, Carroll had charge of the never kept many notes or papers with him. finance division, F. C. Bailey, chief; the Such as he had were carried in the double canvas seat of a small folding chair which he the audits division, Vernon Thomp­ could have unobtrusively gotten rid of. The son, chief; the food procurement and sheets of the manuscript were not numbered distribution division, C. M. Bridgeford, and were put out of sight immediately. After the completion of a chapter it would be put chief; the food preparation and serv­ away in one of two tin boxes which were care­ ice division, A. H. Evans, chief; the fully hidden in a place known only to the author relief and welfare division, J. P. Stric- and Messrs. Carroll, Duggleby, and Bridgeford. kler, chief; the canteen division, V. H. There was an agreement that if the author were ever taken out of the camp, the manus­ Masefield, chief; the family aid divi­ cript boxes would be transferred by Carroll sion, A. F. Duggleby, chief; and the to some other place unknown to the author. vision of the four departments has been un­ dertaken by the Committee members as fol­ lows: C. C. Grinnell, Health; S. L. Lloyd, in­ ternal Affairs; Earl Carroll, Finance and Sup­ plies, and Labor... ”

Chapter XVII The Camp Bedeviled New Repressive Orders — The practice air-raid alert ordered at noon on Saturday, March 11 was continued, with a blackout, until noon the next day. Internees hoped that it was not just "practice” when the sirens in the city wailed twice during the night, but nothing happened. On Monday morn­

ing, General Ko, successor to General Morimoto as Chief of War-Prisoners Headquarters, visited the camp with his staff. He was a big man and was said to be a Korean. On his chest, and improperly under the circumstances, he wore a British General Service de­ coration of the days of the first World

MORE FOOD SLASHES

War. Internees who hoped that these facts pointed to a relaxation of the severity of the camp administration were disappointed during the follow­ ing weeks. In the afternoon, appa­ rently because another inspection by officers of the finance and supplies department of the Japanese Army was expected the next day, Lieutenant Konishi ordered that the "camp restau­ rant” be opened to serve coffee only, no other supplies being available. He also ordered that all sales activities in the camp be confined to just three canteens, the vegetable and fruit mar­ ket to be designated as Canteen No. 1, the restaurant as Canteen No. 2, and the general supplies canteen in the main building as Canteen No. 3, and that the personnel in these canteens be reduced. He ordered painted wood­ en signs, bearing the appropriate Ja­ panese characters, be placed on these canteens and all other camp buildings and offices. Not a day passed but some new re­ pressive order was issued. On the 14th the Japanese demanded the key to the camp jail until such time as three elderly Americans from the provinces, who had been brought into camp by the Japanese and confined there since February 29, "were released”. These, one of them a negro, were said to have been brought in from San Fer­ nando, Pampanga, where they had been in prison for many months. The internee jail warden now having to ask the Japanese for the key when­ ever he needed to open the door, the Committee on Order decided to re­ lease the three other men, — Santo Tomas internees who happened to be lodged in the jail at that time, and confined them to their rooms instead. Two weeks later, on April 3, the three prisoners of the Japanese were taken out of the camp and the key to the

191 jail was returned. No official inform­ ation could be obtained about these unfortunate old fellows, but they were said to have been implicated in Fili­ pino guerrilla activities. Their names and ages were C. B. Bowker, 62, J. W. Carter, 70, and J. J. Gordon, 70. They had been very happy when they were brought into Santo Tomas, even when they were put in the camp jail, and they looked very unhappy when they were taken out of camp again probably to be confined in some mi­ litary prison. Cutting Down of Supplementary Food Purchases — On March 15, Konishi slashed the daily purchase orders for canteen supplies, reducing bana­ nas to from 30,000 to 20,000 daily, eggs from 4,800 to 2,500, and complete­ ly eliminating bread. He also reduced the already limited milk purchases from 130 to 95 gallons. These supplies included those purchased by the camp for kitchen and line use. On March 16, Takeda of the Com­ mandant’s Office suddenly sealed the camp loudspeaker broadcasting room and made an inventory of all equip­ ment and supplies. After the inventory was completed, unused material was sent to the electric shop and the room was reopened. However, the use of portable loudspeakers in the Fathers Garden was forbidden and their use anywhere else without the prior con­ sent of the Commandant's Office was also prohibited. It was ordered that all broadcasts had to be approved by the Commandant’s Office and that an­ nouncements must be confined to on­ ly the most necessary items. However, on the 17th, the Comman­ dant approved the purchase of a rice and corn-flour mill at a cost of $3,000 to be paid after the war, Grinnell is­ suing a promissory note of the Inter­ national General Electric Company

192

for this purpose. The mill made - it possible to issue a small piece of cornbread at the line once a day, measur­ ing about 4 inches square and an inch thick. The bread was not very good, especially when the bakers had no more sugar to put into it and the ba­ nana content had to be reduced; ne­ vertheless, it helped. Agent’s Appeal re Mail and Family Communication — On the 17th, too, the Internee Committee received 4,000 correspondence-card forms, Hiroshi stating that internees over 15 years of age would be permitted to send out one card every two months. Husbands and fathers in the camp with non-interned families would be allowed to send out one card a month. The agents had in the meantime been at work on a letter on the subject of correspondence and this was now sent to the Commandant under date of March 18. Although the camp had so far had the opportunity to send out letters on only two or three occasions during the entire term of the intern­ ment, the letter pointed out that per­ mission to send out one letter every two months still did not meet the re­ quirement embodied in the Geneva Convention of 1929.1i i "The purpose of this letter is to request your good offices to expedite the delivery of correspondence addressed to the internees of this camp, as well as letters addressed by the internees to their families in the Phil­ ippines who are not interned, and to their families abroad. We also ask that the ques­ tion whether there is any further parcel post in the post office for the internees of this camp be investigated and if so, that its de­ livery be expedited. "Incoming Mail from Abroad. — As to in­ coming mail from abroad, we understand that the M. V. Teia Marti arrived in Manila, Nov­ ember 4, 1943, with 27 sacks of mail and 80,000 pounds of parcel post. Up to the present, — more than four months, very few of those letters have been distributed to this camp. "We feel that there must have been prior arrivals, and that a great amount of mail for

THE CAMP

Renewed Trouble over Japanese De­ mands on Camp Labor — It was thought in the camp that a satisfactory agreement had been arrived at with respect to the kind of projects inter­ nee labor could be called upon to do, but at 11 o’clock in the morning of Sunday, March 19, there was a call over the loudspeaker for the construc­ tion gang. Konishi wanted three sent­ ry boxes built and Abiko ordered that a new floor be laid in the guardhouse at the gate, the lumber and nails to us must have accumulated somewhere. Many of us have been entirely without mail from our families and friends abroad since the war be­ gan. Among the few letters that have been delivered, many were written more than 18 months ago. We are sure that you will under­ stand our anxiety after more than two years of internment, regarding our families and friends from whom we have been so long separated. "Apart from the parcel post arriving on the Teia Maru, there must have been a large amount sent by prior ships, almost none of which has ever been distributed. In this cli­ mate, food and clothing contained in parcel post deteriorate rapidly, and may even be­ come useless. "Local Incoming Mail — As to local incoming mail, you no doubt know that there are many internees whose families are in the Philip­ pines and have not been interned. The plight of some, if not many, of these families, is serious under prevailing conditions. The in­ ternee is usually the head of such families and so is anxious as to how they are living and getting along. On humanitarian grounds alone, no unnecessary restrictions should be placed upon the prompt delivery of all cor­ respondence from such sources. "Outgoing Mail Abroad. — As to outgoing mail abroad, we understand that now, after more than two years of internment, we are to be allowed for each internee, one letter of 25 words every two months. This is not enough. We have been advised by a member of the Japanese foreign office that Japanese inter­ nees in the United States, from the very be­ ginning of the war, were allowed one letter of 50 words each month, which comes to four times the amount we are only now being al­ lowed. We think the minimum for us should be the same. "Local Outgoing Correspondence. — As to outgoing letters to families of internees in

MORE JAPANESE LABOR DEMANDS

be taken out of the now unused pack­ age-shed which had been built in June, 1942, from materials paid for by sub­ scription among the internees. The orders were issued direct to Bradfield, head of the construction gang. The men of the gang considered defy­ ing the order but after a discussion agreed to undertake the work. Some of them were sent with pushcarts to Military Prisoners Headquarters at the Far Eastern University to get a the Philippines who have not been interned, the same principles apply as to incoming mail from them. Humane considerations require that they have information as to the health, and the guidance of the internees, in the solv­ ing of their problems. No unnecessary restric­ tions should be put on such correspondence. "Geneva Convention of 1929. — The Geneva Convention of 1929 contains many provisions applicable to this situation, among them the following: ‘"Art. 36. Each of the belligerents shall periodically determine the number of letters and postal cards per month which prisoners of war of the various classes shall be allowed to send and shall inform the other belligerent of this number. These letters and cards shall be transmitted by post by the shortest route. They may not be delayed or retained for dis­ ciplinary reasons.’ "(The phrase 'per month’ shows that at least one letter per month is to be allowed. One letter every two months does not satisfy this requirement.) " 'Art. 37. Prisoners of war shall be allowed individually to receive parcels by mail con­ taining foods and other articles intended to supply them with food and clothing. Packages shall be delivered to the addressees and a re­ ceipt given.’ " 'Art. 38. Letters and consignments of mo­ ney, or valuables as well as parcels as by post intended for prisoners of war or dispatched by them... shall be exempt from all postal du­ ties. . . ’ " ‘Art. 40. Censorship of correspondence shall be effected in the shortest possible time. Fur­ thermore, inspection of parcel post must be effected under proper conditions to guarantee the preservation of the products they may contain, and, if possible, in the presence of the addressee or an agent recognized by him.’ ‘"Prohibitions of correspondence promulgat­ ed by the belligerents for military or political reasons must be transient in character and as short as possible.’

193

supply of lumber, and were roughly ordered about while there. No great amount of material was taken out of the package-shed. By 6 o’clock that evening, the floor of the guard­ house was completed. Interference with Religious Services and with the Camp School — The next day there was an order from Abiko and Takeda closing the Fathers Garden to religious services and other meetings, these to be held thenceforth in one of the two large nipa sheds which had been built a month before in front of the main building and which was also being used for school classes. The other shed was occupied by var­ ious shops which had had to be moved when the Japanese occupied the bodega in the rear of the campus. Konishi also advised the Internee Committee on that day that the cook­ ing-oil ration would be reduced from 20 grams per head per day to 10 grams. These various developments result­ ed in a meeting of the Internee Com“Tokyo Convention of 1934. — The Tokyo Convention of 1934 also contains a provision showing the thought of the civilized world along this line. That provision is Art. 19 (a) and applies directly to our situation here. It reads: " * Art. 19 (a) News and Assistance. Enemy civilians [occupied territory] will have the possibility to give to and to receive from mem­ bers of their families living in occupied terri­ tory news of a strictly private character. The same facility will be granted them for corres­ pondence abroad, with reservation of the mea­ sures to be applied to the population in its en­ tirety. With the same reservation enemy civilians will be able to receive assistance.’ "In an article in the Manila Tribune of September 13, 1942, it was stated that Pre­ mier Tojo had announced that Japan pro­ posed to follow the Geneva Convention of 1929 in this war and that Japan had never refused to accept and deliver parcels contain­ ing food and clothing for prisoners. "The internees of this camp will greatly appreciate any help that you may give them along the lines indicated in this letter."

194

mittee with the Agents that evening. The two bodies decided to draft a number of letters protesting against the restrictions imposed on the camp, the quantity and quality of the food supplied, and, inasmuch as private funds in the camp were now running low, another letter on the subject of obtaining money from outside. The Internee Committee’s first let­ ter was dated the 23rd, but before this could be delivered there were still more orders of a restrictive na­ ture, among them one prohibiting the broadcasting of any references to spe­ cial sales of food or other articles in the camp canteens, and another that no lectures were to be given and no adult classes organized without the approval of the Commandant and that summaries would have to be supplied "showing exactly what is to take place at such lectures or in such classes". On the 24th, Takeda — “advised Mr. Grinnell that adult education was now to be in Mr. Ohashi’s hands and wished it to be clearly understood that there should be no discussions of the present war or any history of the 20th century, and, of course, no reference whatever to the Imperial Family.”

Vegetable and Fruit Market Pur­ chases cut Down— By whim and order of the Japanese, the fruit and vegetable market had been closed in the mor­ nings and was open only in the after­ noons. On the 17th permission was ob­ tained to return to the morning hours and on the 22nd, the "group sales” system was started in an effort to re­ duce the crowds of buyers to manage­ able proportions. The supply of ve­ getables and fruits was always so in­ sufficient that people stood in line for hours in the hope of getting to the market before everything had been sold. Cards were now issued to people in groups of four or more, one of whom did the buying for them all,

THE CAMP

once every other day. Limits were placed on the amount any one might buy. Bananas were limited to 5 per person, every other day, and cost from 10 to 20 centavos each according to the variety. A papaya cost from P2.50 up to F3.50 and had to serve from 5 to 8 persons, according to size. One tomato had to serve 2 persons and one coconut 4 persons, but a whole mango per person could be bought, — but only every other day. One green pep­ per had to serve 2 persons; one small bunch of mustard greens or lettuce had to serve 4 persons, — every other day. Camotes could be bought to the amount of 1/2 kilo per person every other day. As the Japanese buyers, however, continued to cut down the camp purchasing orders, there was still not enough produce to meet the demand even with these limitations, as a result of which people still formed long queues. The market hours from 2 to 4 were then divided into 10minute periods during which only those holding cards bearing certain numbers were admitted into the mar­ ket. This gave every buyer a certain 10 minutes in which to do the buying for his group, and made standing in a long line unnecessary. On the 23rd, the Commandant in­ structed the Internee Committee to make immediate plans for the selection of 500 internees to be transferred to Los Banos at a date to be announced later. A broadcast that night asked for volunteers. The same day, the two young chil­ dren of Dr. Brush, one of the Protes­ tant missionaries who had refused in 1942 to take the pledge to "cooperate” with the Japanese, were brought into camp. A few days before he had learned from a missionary doctor who had come into camp that his wife and a number of other women missionaries

i

THE INTERNEE COMMITTEE’S WRITTEN APPEAL

%

who were out on release had been taken to Fort Santiago where they were, of course, being held incommu­ nicado. Friends were taking care of the children, but Brush appealed to Ohashi, asking that they be al­ lowed to join him in the camp. Ohashi was chiefly interested in how Brush had learned of the arrest of his wife,2

195

but promised to do what he could to have the children brought in. The Internee Committee’s letter of March 23 dealt with the general si­ tuation of the harassed camp. It was addressed to the Commandant but

”4. Continue to obtain such additional equip­ ment, materials, tools, and supplies as may be deemed necessary and are not furnished by the Japanese Military Authorities. 2 The Internee Committee's Written Appeal— "II. We offer the following suggestions as prac­ "We, the Internee Committee, desire to submit ticable means of relieving certain hardships this communication to you, and through you, which affect adversely the welfare of inter­ to other high Authorities in Manila and in nees generally and particularly those who are less fortunate in health and resources: Tokyo. "A. The supply of foodstuffs, including meat, "The fundamental purpose of this memo­ randum is to convey to all parties interested in by the Japanese Military Administration which the broader aspects of our situation our con­ will permit the serving of a more adequate viction that whatever success we, as a com­ diet than is now possible to — "1. All internees, with mittee, may achieve in our work will depend "2. Special provisions for the aged, the sick, to a great extent on the degree of recognition by all authorities of the complex nature of our and the children; "B. Facilities for purchasing supplementary problems. It is our most earnest hope that such recognition may be reflected in allevia­ foodstuffs, including milk, eggs, fruits and tion of our difficulties insofar as circumstances vegetables, and other necessities available in the local market, including — permit. "1. Procurement in adequate quantities of "I. We submit that enforcement of regula­ the foregoing and of tions designed to apply to prisoners of war is "2. Charcoal or other fuel for preparation working extreme hardship which may be and cooking by internees, themselves, to suit avoided without sacrificing basic military po­ individual or family requirements; licy if— "C. An arrangement whereby the Internee "A. Allowances are permitted to provide for Committee may — conditions which do not exist in war-prisoners’ "1. Obtain additional funds in the form of camps, such as — loans to be negotiated with third-party nationals "1. All internees are of non-combatant status, or groups representing recognized relief or­ unaccustomed to and unskilled in manual labor; ganizations, such loans to be secured by pro­ "2. General health and strength of all inter­ missory notes signed by representatives of nees have been impaired by long confinement large corporations and negotiable only after and comparative inactivity; cessation of present hostilities; “3. 33-1/3% of internees are women (18 years "2. Administer itself such funds, under an and over); equitable 'mutual-aid plan’ intended to assist: "4. 19% of internees are children under 15 "a. Internees in camp, years of age; "b. Internees released to outside institutions, "5. 8% of internees are above 60 years of age; and "6. Only 40% of internees (both sexes) are "c. Non-interned immediate families of in­ able to carry the burden of active work essen­ ternees. "In submitting this memorandum, we wish tial to the maintenance of the camp as well as the care of the aged, the infirm, and the to express our opinion that the treatment of this camp and other civilian camps during the smaller children; "B. The Internee Committe is permitted to — years of 1942 and 1943 did indicate recognition "1. Receive all official instructions through of the problems peculiar to these camps and to reiterate our hope and belief that the pre­ the Commandant, himself; "2. Have full supervision over internees as­ sent period of difficult readjustment soon may resolve itself in such a way that this Com­ signed to carry out such instructions; "3. Retain custody of and use only for the mittee may be able to discharge the respon­ the benefit of all internees such equipment, sibilities vested in it to the satisfaction of all materials, tools, and supplies which have been concerned, not only for the duration of hostili­ acquired by the Committee through purchase, ties, but also when the record is reviewed after hostilities have ceased." loan, or donation; and

196

with the hope that it might reach higher authorities in Tokyo. It was tactfully worded, signed by all three of the members, and was an appeal ra­ ther than a protest.2 Request that Internees be Allowed to Contract Private Loans. Internee Private Funds— On the question of ob­ taining private loans, the Committee addressed a separate letter to the Com­ mandant under the same date. The letter led the Commandant to insist on answers to a number of questions as to the monetary resources of the in­ ternees which were more or less fully answered in two subsequent letters dated March 28 and March 29.3*6 3 The letters follow: "In accordance with your verbal request, made to Mr. Grinnell, for information regard­ ing private cash resources in the camp, and for a suggested plan enabling internees to se­ cure additional funds, we wish to respectfully submit the following: “1. While the exact amount of cash in the camp is not known, it is our opinion, based on inquiries made throughout the camp, that there are now in the possession of internees private funds sufficient, on the average, to enable them to purchase supplementary food­ stuffs and other articles for a period of from 6 to 8 weeks, based on present daily expen­ ditures and commodity prices. "2. That the committee of neutrals in the Philippines representing the International Y.M.C.A. be permitted to act as an Agency through which internees, who can offer ac­ ceptable guarantees, be allowed to borrow funds for their use in the camp. "3. That a 'mutual-aid system’ be organized among the internees for the purpose of giving financial aid to those who are unable to bor­ row funds under the plan mentioned under No. 2 above; the funds for this ‘mutual-aid system’ to be provided by donations from in­ ternees who are able to negotiate loans as provided above. "4. That internees, who are financially able to do so, be permitted to negotiate loans as provided in No. 2 above, for the purpose of donating such funds to the camp for the pur­ chase of supplemental foodstuffs to be served on the food lines at the central, children’s, and hospital kitchens. "5. That the kitchens and the camp canteens be permitted to purchase in reasonably ade-

THE CAMP

Nothing came of this until a month later, when the plan was disapproved. The 23rd was also the day when the correspondence cards were handed out to the internees by the monitors. They might be addressed either to per­ sons abroad or in the country, but mes­ sages were limited to 25 words. One internee decided to address his card to his children outside and wrote: "Write me where you all are. Enough mo­ ney? Enough to eat? Any sickness? What is your best address? Love." quate quantities those items which are re­ quired by internees for their supplemental food and daily necessities, especially milk, eggs, fruits, vegetables, meats, charcoal, and mis­ cellaneous personal necessities. "It is obvious that any plan which provides internees with an opportunity to furnish them­ selves with cash for purchasing foodstuffs and other articles should also be accompanied by adequate provisions for supplies to enter camp for sale or for use by the kitchens. "In conclusion, we wish to express our ap­ preciation to you for your interest in this mat­ ter and, at the same time, to assure you of our willingness to work with you in executing this plan, if approved, for the benefit of the entire camp.” "With further reference to our letter of March 23, giving information regarding the private cash resources of the camp and a suggested plan for enabling internees to secure additional funds, we wish to respectfully report that a quiet survey made in the camp has revealed that there is a total of approximately one mil­ lion pesos (PI,000,000) now in the possession of internees. "As stated in our letter of March 23, these funds are sufficient, on the average, to en­ able private purchases of supplementary food­ stuffs and other articles for a period of from 6 to 8 weeks, based on present daily expendi­ tures and commodity prices. "It should be pointed out that there are in­ dividuals and groups whose cash resources are below the average and who will not be able to make purchases for the estimated period of 8 weeks. It is hoped, therefore, that some plan may be arranged at an early date, whereby those in need of funds may have an oppor­ tunity to negotiate loans. "We again express our sincere appreciation for your interest in the above matter.”

AGENTS REQUEST APPOINTMENT OF PROTECTING

This card was returned to him by the censors with the information that he could not say anything on his card which called for an answer! The re­ sult of this ruling was that some per­ sons in the camp decided that mes­ sages so limited were useless and bit­ terly gave up the idea of writing. On the 26th, after many appeals on the part of the Internee Committee, the Commandant’s Office at last con­ sented to allowing internees to repair their shanties where this was neces­ sary, but the next day the Comman­ dant ordered the removal of twelve shanties in the northeast corner of the campus which stood within 20 meters from the wall. It was feared that this was the first step toward an order which would require the removal of all shanties even that far from the walls. On the morning of the 25th, a wo­ man, Mrs. J. L. Myers, formerly pro­ minent in the social life of Manila and much beloved, who had long been making a brave fight against cancer, died in the shanty in which she had spent the last months of her life. A "With further reference to our communica­ tions of March 23 and 28 regarding the private cash resources in the camp and a plan to enable internees to negotiate loans, and in accordance with your request, we wish to ad­ vise you as follows: “That there are approximately 750 adults in the camp who have P100 or less in personal funds, 400 of whom are heads of families; “That there are at least 350 persons who are now urgently in need of funds for the purchase of supplementary foodstuffs and other per­ sonal necessities; "That another 500 persons will need to obtain additional funds within a period of 6 to 8 weeks; and "That the remaining persons in camp will need funds from time to time over a period of 2 to 4 months. "We again , express our appreciation for your very kind interest in this matter of vital im­ portance to this camp.”

POWER DELEGATE

197

funeral service was held on the cam­ pus the next day, by permission, but her husband was not allowed to ac­ company the body when it was re­ moved from the camp for cremation. Agents' Request to the “Protecting Power” to Appoint a Delegate in the Philippines— The camp did not take all these developments lying down, and the Internee Agents, though they had no information as to the identity of the Protecting Power presumably acting for the United States Govern­ ment under the Geneva Convention, addressed a letter to the representative of that Power in Tokyo,4 requesting that it appoint a delegate for the Phil­ ippines.4 4The letter read: MANILA INTERNMENT CAMP (Santo Tomas University) "March 26, 1944 "To the Representative of the Protecting Power of the United States Tokyo, Japan “Sir: "The undersigned Agents of the Internees of the Manila Internment Camp, at Manila, Philippine Islands, on behalf of the Internees of the Camp, respectfully request that a delegate be appointed by the Protecting Power for the United States, under the provisions of Art. 86 of the Geneva Convention of 1929, for the purpose of function­ ing in its behalf as such, under the terms of that Convention, and other applicable treaties, conventions, and law, in the Philippine Islands. "Very respectfully, "AGENTS OF THE INTERNEES "C. A. DeWitt "H. B. Pond "T. J. Harrington” The covering letter to the Commandant, of the same date, read: "There are several provisions in the Geneva Convention relating to the appointment and functioning of a Protecting Power. Among them are the following: " 'Art. 86. The High Contracting Parties re­ cognize that the regular application of the present convention will find a guaranty in the possibility of collaboration of the Protecting Powers charged with safeguarding the interests of belligerents; in this respect, the Protecting Powers may, besides their diplomatic personnel, appoint delegates from among their own na­ tionals or from among the nationals of other

198

Midnight Search of the Main Build­ ing— On March 30, Konishi, who had been responsible for most of the op­ pressive orders issued during the past few months, told Grinnell and Carroll that he would shortly be leaving the camp, and this becoming known there was a general sigh of relief, and every­ one got the point when at reveille the next morning, the march played over the loudspeaker was "There is a ta-*• neutral powers. These delegates must be sub­ ject to the approval of the belligerent near which they exercise their mission. " 'Representatives of the Protecting Power or its accepted delegates shall be permitted to go to any place, without exception, where pri­ soners of war are interned. They shall have access to all places occupied by prisoners and may interview them, as a general rule, without witnessess, personally or through interpreters. " 'Belligerents shall so far as possible faci­ litate the task of representatives or accepted delegates of the Protecting Power. The military auhorities shall be informed of their visit. " 'Belligerents may come to an agreement to allow persons of the same nationality as the prisoners to take part in the inspection trips. •• ‘Art. 87. In case of disagreement between the belligerents as to the application of the provisions of the present Convention, the Pro­ tecting Powers must, insofar as possible, lend their good offices for the purpose of settling the differences. " ‘For this purpose, each of the Protecting Powers may, in particular, suggest to the in­ terested beliigerents a meeting of representatives thereof, possibly upon a neutral territory suit­ ably chosen. Belligerents shall be bound to ac­ cede to proposals in this sense which are made to them. The Protecting Power may if occa­ sion arises, submit for the approval of the Powers concerned a person belonging to a neutral power or a person delegated by the In­ ternational Committee of the Red Cross who shall be summoned to take part in this meeting. ‘"Art. 42. Prisoners of w ar...shall also have the right to address themselves to represen­ tatives of the Protecting Powers to indicate to them the points on which they have com­ plaints to formulate with regard to the condi­ tions of captivity. These requests must be transmitted immediately. Even if they are re­ cognized to be unfounded, they may not oc­ casion any punishment.’ “ ‘Art. 4 4 ...All facilities shall be accorded the agents for their intercourse with the Protecting Power. This intercourse shall not be lim ite d ...

THE CAMP

vern in the town” which contains the refrain, "Fare thee well, now I must leave you, do not let this parting grieve y o u .. The mockery was a little premature, for the man stayed on for another week or two. The reason for his leav­ ing was that he had for some time been ill of a stubborn sore throat. Many supposed that one of Konishi’s parting gestures was the dramatic raid on the main building by some 50 Ja­ panese soldiers at 12:20 in the morning of March 31, but he had nothing to do with this, internee officials saying that " ‘Art. 60. At the opening of a judicial pro­ ceeding directed against a prisoner of war, the detaining Power shall advise the representative of the Protecting Power thereof as soon as possible, and always before the date set for the opening of the tr ia l...’ " ‘Art. 62... In default of a choice (of counsel) by the prisoner, the Protecting Power may ob­ tain counsel for him. The Detaining Power shall deliver to the Protecting Power, on its request, a list of persons qualified to present the de­ fense. Representatives of the Protecting Power shall be entitled to attend the trial of the case. The only exception to this rule is the case where the trial of the case must be secret in the interest of the safety of the State. The De­ taining Power shall so advise the Protecting Power.’ "‘ Art. 66. If the death penalty is pronounced against a prisoner of war, a communication set­ ting forth in detail the nature and circums­ tances of the offense shall be sent as soon as possible to the representative of the Protecting Power, for transmission to the Power in whose armies the prisoner served. The sentence shall not be executed before the expiration of a period of at least 3 months after this communication.’ "Other Articles dealing with the Protecting Power and its functions are Articles 31, 39, 43, and 77. "In the protests of the Imperial Japanese Government to the Governments of the United States and Canada, made in the latter part of October, 1942, a statement of which, by the Japanese Foreign Office, was published in Con­ temporary Japan of November, 1942, it is made clear that the Imperial Japanese Govern­ ment has had the benefit of and had made use of those provisions of the Geneva Con­ vention of 1929 relating to the Protecting Powers. Thus the following appears in the statement:

MIDNIGHT SEARCH OF THE MAIN BUILDING

the Japanese in the camp were as sur­ prised as everybody else. The soldiers came from downtown. Many internees were still lying awake in the swelter­ ing rooms of the main and other build­ ings in the camp when the loudspeaker suddenly blared that by order of the Commandant all internees were to re­ main in their respective rooms and shanties exactly as they were until fur­ ther orders. In the buildings other than the main building people won­ dered what was up, but since there were no further orders, most of them finally dropped off to sleep again. In the main building, however, the lights were turned on nearly all night. The soldiers had surrounded the building and had entered the front and rear " 'The Japanese Government, therefore, made in the latter part of. October further protests to the Governments of these two countries (U.S.A. and Canada) through their Protecting Power vigorously demanding that they recon­ sider their treatment and take necessary steps to remedy it.’ "We are advised that Spain is the duly ac­ cepted Protecting Power for Japanese interests in the United States, and that her representa­ tives have been permitted to function in their behalf, as such, since the early days of the war. "We are certain that the United States re­ ciprocally must have designated a Protecting Power to safeguard her interests, and those of her nationals, whether war prisoners or civi­ lian internees, or others, in Japan, and in all territory occupied or controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army. However, so far as we know, no representative of such Protecting Power has ever been designated for such nationals in the Philippines. "In accordance with Article 44 of the Ge­ neva Convention, supra, we therefore respect­ fully request that the enclosed letter be for­ warded by you through the proper channels to the representative of the Protecting Power of the United States in Japan, wherein we ask that a representative of that Power be ap­ pointed to function for the Philippine Islands in order to protect the interests of the United States and its nationals, whether war-prisoners or civilian internees, or others, in the Philip­ pines.”

199

entrances simultaneously, ordered on the lights in the rooms and corridors, and begun a complete physical check­ up of all the occupants, routing them out of their beds and lining them up half-dressed, the women included, many of whom were badly frightened. Two men, one from the education building and one from the gymnasium, were found in the building out of bounds and were detained by the Ja­ panese until morning. Members of the Internee Committee were instructed to accompany the officers who con­ ducted the check-up, which was car­ ried out by the Commandant’s staff. At 4 o’clock the keys to the tower were demanded, which were in the of­ fice of the University property custodian, and a search was con­ ducted there which lasted until 11 o'clock in the morning. No infor­ mation was vouchsaved as to what the searchers were looking for, but it seemed that the Japanese suspected that there was a radio broadcasting ap­ paratus in the building. Nothing of the kind was found. During the night a shot was fired in the street at the rear of the campus and it was reported that this had been fired at a passing auto­ mobile, but that the driver had not stopped and had gotten away. It was said later that the Japanese at Head­ quarters in the Far Eastern University Building had seen lights in the tower of the main building in Santo Tomas and had taken this for suspicious ac­ tivity there, but what they had seen was ofily the reflection of the moon­ light from the windows. Cooking in Shanties Ordered Stopped — On April 1, two more drastic or­ ders were issued to the bedeviled camp. Konishi flatly ordered that all private cooking in shanties and the shanty areas must be stopped by Mon­

200

day, the 3rd. Abiko ordered that all shanties in the southwest corner of the campus within 20 meters of the wall be moved and further ordered that the Internee Committee prepare plans to relocate all shanties elsewhere on the campus which stood within 20 meters of any wall. Abiko ordered also that the Committee submit a report indicating that it was technically pos­ sible to move the loudspeaker broad­ casting apparatus to a room in the Commandant’s office, the Committee previously having declared this was technically not feasible. At 4 o’clock that afternoon, the camp was again ordered to a state of air-raid alert. During the day the Internee Com­ mittee submitted a list of 531 persons to be transferred to Los Banos, in­ cluding, according to the Japanese or­ der, 192 family units, 192 unattached men, and 147 unattached women. Be­ cause conditions in Santo Tomas had now become so bad, and conditions in Los Banos were reported, in con­ trast, as somewhat less so, especially with respect to the food, the majority of these people were volunteers. Agents' Letter and Memorandum on the Food Situation— The Agents in the meantime, had prepared another letter together with a lengthy and im­ portant memorandum on the situation with respect to the inadequacy of the food served on the line — "which does not provide for the internees' mainte­ nance’’, and related subjects.5 5It read: "The undersigned, Agents of the Internees, are greatly concerned over the food situation in this camp. They respectfully urge that you, and through you the higher Military Authori­ ties, carefully and promptly consider the si­ tuation and grant the requests made below. "A memorandum which outlines in detail the food situation in this camp is attached hereto for your information.

THE CAMP

Protest Against the No-Cooking Or­ der—The order of April against cook­ ing in shanties and shanty areas arous­ ed camp-wide protest. The meaning of the order was not fully understood. Did it mean the prohibition of all pri­ vate cooking or was cooking to be al"The official food ration provided for the internees since February 1, 1944, does not pro­ vide for their maintenance. This situation, to­ gether with the restrictive and repressive mea­ sures affecting food recently imposed, if long continued, will result in the starvation, or the permanent impairment of the health, and even the death, of many internees. "The official ration is inadequate. Sixty-five per cent of the fish provided during February, 1944, was in such condition or so small in size as to be inedible. Sixty-five per cent of the vegetables were white radishes, — very low in food value and for most internees unpalatable and indigestible; 30% in weight consisted of inedible tops. About 50% of the green vegetables were so wilted or decayed that they were thrown away. But about 30% of the announced lard ration was provided and the small an­ nounced ration has now been reduced 50%. The ration provides only about 1,200 calories for each internee; it was very low in protein and lacked carbohydrates in a form assimilable by most internees, who are unaccustomed to, and cannot digest, a ration consisting mostly of rice and corn. “The official ration also is unsuitable. This is not a camp of war-prisoners (men in the prime of life and health), but of civilians taken into 'protective custody’; about 30% of those here interned are men and women over 60 and children under 10 years of age, and a large percentage of other internees are in ill health. For the subsistence of more than 1/2 of the internees the official ration is completely un­ suitable; for practically none is it completely suitable. That a uniform ration is impossible for all internees has been recognized ever since the establishment of this camp; special foods have always been provided for children and medical cases. Thus during January, 1944, meals served from hospital and children’s kitchens (nearly 30% of all meals served) cost per meal twice as much as did the meals served from the central kitchen. In February, 1944, when the official ration was provided, it was necessary to expend from relief funds for additional foods served from hospital and children's kit­ chens P49.008, or nearly 80% of the total cost of all food served by those kitchens in January 1944, when no official ration in kind was pro­ vided.

AGENTS LETTER ON THE FOOD RATION

lowed in the "community" cooking places which had been a subject of discussion between the Japanese and the Internee Committee for some weeks. A loudspeaker announcement on the 2nd clarified the matter some­ what. It was: "The Commandant’s Office has this after­ noon ordered that there be no cooking in shanty areas effective tomorrow morning, and at the same time has indicated that private cooking will be permitted only in four pre­ scribed areas:(l) in front of the dormitory, (2) across the road in front of the education

201 building, (3) at the southwest corner of the camp garden adjoining Area D, and (4) near the gymnasium. In issuing this order, the Commandant’s Office stated that their guards will patrol the shanty areas to enforce the order. The Internee Committee in passing this order along to interested internees wishes to make it quite clear that every effort has been made to obtain postponement of this order pending negotiations for a plan for private cooking. It has not been possible to obtain a postponement of this order but nego-

nees adequate food of the types and qualities which they require. "The Geneva Convention of 1929 also indi­ cates, if it is to be observed, not only other “The provision made by the Imperial Ja­ and adequate provisions for the maintenance panese Government for the maintenance of the of the internees, but the removal of many of internees has at no time been adequate. The the recently imposed restrictive and repressive internees themselves have always found it ne­ measures affecting food. "Art. 4 of the Convention reads: 'The Power cessary to depend largely on their own resources or on donations or loans by friends and rela­ detaining prisoners of war is bound to pro­ tives. For more than two years much additional vide for their maintenance’. When an official food was received and delivered through the food ration at cost provides less than 20% package-line. The internees also were able to of the cost of the food consumed by the inter­ buy from canteens and private vendors and nees, and practically no food at all for many restaurants such fruits and vegetables, meat, of the internees, obviously the detaining Power bread, eggs, and other foods as were available has not provided for their maintenance. "The minimum maintenance requirements for and they required. "During the past two months the package-line prisoners of war are, — (a) the food ration has been closed, private vendors and restau­ ‘shall be equal in quantity and quality to that rants have been banned, and canteens have been of troops at base camps’ (Art. 11); and, (b) denied meat, bread, and other foodstuffs and 'Clothing, linen, and footwear shall be fur­ adequate supplies of fruits and vegetables and nished’; 'replacement and repairing of these eggs. Internees have also been denied ice for effects must be assured regularly’; and ‘in ad­ the preservation of their food and even char­ dition, laborers must receive work clothes coal and other fuels with which to cook it. wherever the nature of the work requires it' The effects of these measures, together with the (Art. 12). Officers and 'persons of equivalent inadequacy and unsuitability of the official ra­ status’ are allowed pay, with which they se­ tion, have been cumulative. To subsist, the cure their own food and clothing; ’administra­ internees have found it necessary to consume tion of the mess-fund by the officers themselves more of their reserve and donated (Red Cross must be facilitated in every way’ (Art. 22). and other) food supplies, and to spend for "There are other provisions relating to food, additional available food about P500,000 monthly. interrelated and interdependent provisions, the The official ration at cost now provides less purpose of which is to make available to in­ than 20% of the cost of all of the food con­ ternees such additional food as they may de­ sumed by the internees. sire or require. "The present situation can not long continue. "Art. 37. provides that 'prisoners of war shall Food reserves are being rapidly depleted and be allowed individually to receive parcels by cash reserves fast exhausted. Most internees mail, containing foods and other articles in­ can not for long provide themselves with the tended to provide them with food and clothing’. additional food which they require. When they From the establishment of this camp until are compelled to depend only on the inade­ early in February, 1944, or for more than two quate and unsuitable official ration, the con­ years, the provisions of this Article were in sequences will be disastrous. effect observed by the operation of the package­ "Humanitarian grounds thus indicate the ne­ line. Parcels were not sent by mail, but were cessity for a careful reconsideration of the delivered to the camp, for no parcel post fa­ food situation in this camp, and the adoption cilities were available or needed, especially for of such measures as will assure to the inter­ perishable food requiring speedy delivery.

202 tiations will be continued with the Command­ ant tomorrow morning. Meanwhile, the Com­ mandant's order stands until such time as negotiations result in postponement or modi­ fication.’'

In one area, shanty owners voted to defy the order the next morning, but at a meeting of shanty-area supervisors that evening it was decided to obey under protest as it would be easy for the Japanese soldiers to collect or "Art. 12 provides that 'canteens shall be ins­ talled in all camps where prisoners of war may obtain, at the local market price, food pro­ ducts and ordinary objects'. Prior to February, 1944, this provision of the Convention was ob­ served, for at the canteens internees were able to buy additional food and other articles ne­ cessary for their subsistence. "Art. 43 provides that Agents of the internees ‘may lend their offices to prisoners to facilitate their relations with the aid societies mentioned in Art. 78’. The isolation of the camp has made it impossible for the internees to secure funds for the purchase of food necessary for their subsistence. "The undersigned, Agents of the Internees, for and on their behalf, accordingly respect­ fully request that— "1st. To provide for the maintenance of the internees, the Imperial Japanese Army make available an adequate daily ration of such staples as rice, lard, sugar, and meat, and, for other necessities, an adequate per capita daily allowance, internee committees to deter­ mine the articles and the quantities thereof to be purchased with the cash allowance. Ja­ pan and the United States, through a third nation, mutually agreed after the beginning of hostilities, not only to treat all persons placed in concentration camps in accordance with the provisions of the Geneva Convention of 1929, but also on a reciprocal basis. The civilians interned in this camp respectfully request, therefore, that they be made a daily allowance for their subsistence equal in purchasing power to that made by the United States for the subsistence of Japanese nationals interned in the United States. "2nd. For the continued observance of Art. 37 of the Convention, the package-line be re­ opened for the receipt of parcels containing food and clothing for the internees. "3rd. Internee committees alone determine the articles and the quantities thereof to be sold by the canteens; and "(a) The Meat Canteen be permitted to ac­ quire and sell such meats and allied products as may be available;

THE CAMP

smash all the privately owned stoves in the camp, most of them clay (pot­ tery) charcoal-stoves. "Community Cooking Shelters” — On the 3rd, Monday, the members of the Internee Committee and the three Internee Agents were to confer with the Commandant on the subject at 9 o’clock, but when the time came, only the members of the Internee Commit­ tee were admitted. The Agents stood outside the office for over an hour, but were not called in. According to the minutes of the Internee Committee of that date: "The Internee Committee and t^ie Agents of Internees waited on the Commandant at 9 a.m., but the Commandant wished to confer with the Internee Committee alone; the Agents of Internees withdrew. The Committee pointed out to the Commandant the reasons which, in their opinion, made it essential that the continued use of shanties for private cook­ ing should be permitted and stressed the opi­ nion of the Medical Board that the enforce­ ment of the order was bound to result in additional sickness and hospitalization and might have much more far-reaching results. The Commandant pointed out that the order from higher authorities was very definite that cooking in this camp must be done in fixed locations, approved by the Commandant’s Office, on a communal basis. The Committee pointed out the additional expense that would be in"(b) The Ice Canteen be reopened and per­ mitted to sell ice for private use; "(c) Charcoal and other fuels be made available; "(d) The Main Canteen be permitted to ac­ quire and sell such sugar, bread, eggs, and other foodstuffs as the internees may desire, and articles other than foodstuffs which the internees may require; "(e) The Fruit and Vegetable Canteen be permitted to acquire such fresh fruits and vegetables and in such quantities as may be available and as the internees may desire; "4th. Arrangements be made for securing funds with which the internees may themselves continue to buy additional food and clothing which they require. If this request is granted, a ‘mutual assistance system’ among the inter­ nees, as contemplated by Article 43 of the Convention, could be organized.”

203

THE AGENTS ACCOMPANYING MEMORANDUM volved in putting up community cooking shel­ ters for the whole camp, but the Commandant stated that there was no possibility of getting this general principle amended. He would, however, refer to the higher authorities the possibility of allowing cooking in shanties to continue temporarily provided the Internee Committee promised to submit promptly a plan for the location of cooking shelters on the sites already designated by the Commandant's Office and also at certain other points within shanty areas, such shelters to be of a port­ able nature so that they can be worked in with the general proposed plan for reorganiza­ tion of shanty areas. The meeting was broken off at this point owing to the arrival of a mi­ litary officer from outside, and was not re­ sumed.”

Possibly as a mark of their satisfac­ tion, possibly in irony, the Japanese on that day at last allowed some bad­ ly needed charcoal to come into camp, — 80 sacks of it. While temporary cooking shelters of bamboo and nipa were being constructed in the four places designated, the shanty people had to set up their stoves in the open in the hot sun. An item of lesser interest, the next day (the 4th), was the statement by Takeda that he was "of the opinion that educational classes were unneces­ sary for internees above high school standard".

"MEMORANDUM” "Since the formation of the camp in January, 1942, the source of food ‘maintenance” has been as follows: "Source of M a i n t e n a n c e At expense of internees, families, friends, or — Red Cross and later Japanese 'Official' Payments

Date

From January 1942 to February 1944 (including food Japanese originally 'official' payments for brought in by internees) all camp maintenance continuously to per day per February person — 1944. — Red Cross provided all ‘official’ food.

Jan. 1942 to June 1942

July 1942 June 1943 Sept. 1943 Dec. 1943 to Jan. 1944

PackageLine

— 70 centavos — 80 centavos — PI .00

_

PI.50

Canteens Meat, eggs, milk, bread. sugar, tea, salt, flour, lard, sauces, etc.

Fruit and vegetables

Restaurants

Partial supply by Japanese vendors from January 1942 to December 1943.

Continuous supply by Filipino vendors from January 1942 to December 1943.

From early days of camp to February 1944.

Camp Cold Stores and Canteens from November 1942 and February 1943 to February 1944.

Camp Canteen from December 1943 to present time.

204

The "alert” was still on, and the camp prayed for American bombs. It was a bitter disappointment when at roll call that night it was announced that the lights might be turned on again. During the next few days the Inter­ nee Committee held further conferences with the Commandant in regard to the cooking order and also with the shanty-area supervisors who would not accept the responsibility for its "The package-line at present is completely closed and the main canteen practically closed The fruit and vegetable canteen is restricted, some items are prohibited. The internee res­ taurants are completely closed. Funds or ra­ tions not paid for by internees, their families or friends, i.e. those supplied by the American Red Cross or the Japanese military authorities, are included as 'official' sources. Other sources of food supply have been two Red Cross and some individual postal packages from abroad, but these, though welcome and useful, were occasional and do not affect the general situa­ tion. "The funds supplied after July 1, 1942, by the Japanese authorities were for all camp expenses. Funds available for food were never adequate and, as price advanced, there was al­ ways difficulty in making ends meet. By De­ cember, 1943, the Japanese contribution had grown to PI .50 per person per day, an advance to a little over double. But prices the camp had to pay for food increased far more than this, probably to three or four times, at least; so that the camp had continually to provide additional food from charitable funds, reserves of food, and especially to maintain a suitable ration for children and sick. "It is clear from the above table that in­ ternees also regularly supplemented their ‘of­ ficial’ rations from the beginning by additional food from outside the camp, paid for by them­ selves, families, or friends, and also by pur­ chases from the various canteens which quickly established themselves in camp. This was ne­ cessary because though the camp tried hard to arrange a balanced 'official' diet, and even special diets for the sick and the children, internees had to secure additional food to suit the needs of their families and themselves, and to avoid stomach disorders which have always been prevalent in the camp. “It should be noted that the large quanti­ ties of food brought over the package-line and bought from the canteens reduced (wholly or

THE CAMP

enforcement. 13th stated:

The

minutes

of

the

"The Committee met the Commandant at 5:15 p.m. and submitted to him plans show­ ing the locations for group cooking, which were approved. Four applications for permission to cook in shanties on special grounds were sub­ mitted and approved. The Commandant wish­ ed the Committee to submit only such cases to him as they considered emergency cases. The Committee pointed out the hardships of cook­ ing under the hot sun, the danger of sunstroke, collapse, and damage to health, and suggested that materials should be provided as soon as possible for the erection of [additional] shelin part) the number of internees dependent on the 'official' ration for their food, which en­ abled the camp to improve both the quantity and quality of the ‘official’ food and thus to benefit all internees. "It should also be noted that in making spe­ cial diets for children and hospital patients the camp had to pay approximately twice as much per head for the former as for the rest of the camp. The food for the latter would have been quite insufficient for the former, and the internees could not allow special suffering among the young and the sick from an unnatural uniformity and unsuit­ ability in diet. "From February 1, 1944, the cost contribu­ tions from the Japanese army ceased (except for P4.50 per month for adults and P2.25 for children for special purposes), and became a contribution in kind as follows: Grams Rice 200 Corn 200 Vegetables 200 Fish 100 — reduced to 50 grams Sugar 20 Salt 25 Lard 20 — reduced to 10 grams Tea 1 766 — reduced to 706 grams “Average daily ration per adult, and 1/2 these amounts for children. "Much of this food has been of very poor quality. Fish has generally been too small and quite unsuitable for bulk cooking. Vegetables are often of hardly edible types, and show much waste; and have sometimes been rotten and unfit for human consumption. Apart from the quality, moreover, the ration has been un­ suitable and inadequate. Some healthy adults can occasionally not assimilate the unaccustom­ ed vegetables in the camp diet, and rice at best is not a good food for continuous use of Occidentals. And the aged, the invalids and

ARMY SUPPLYING ONLY 20% OF CAMP FOOD COST ters and that in the meantime consideration should be given to letting internees cook in their shanties.”

205

ponsibility for deciding whom to recommend for exemption. The Committee also left with him the death certificate of Mr. J. Bent whose death may, or may not, have been aggravated or brought on by cooking in the sun. The Commandant stated he would take up the matter again with Headquarters.

That same day, J. Bent, an elderly internee, died of heart failure, having been taken to the hospital the night before. On the 14th, according to the But Headquarters refused to permit minutes: cooking in shanties even temporarily. "The Committee interviewed the Command­ According to the minutes of April 17:

ant at 11:15 a.m. and at his request left with him a draft letter regarding private cooking in which the Committee pointed out the me­ nace to health and our inability to accept res-

children frequently have digestive trouble, often serious, from such food. The health of the in­ ternees generally had deteriorated during the past two years, and a further decline through the present inadequate food is an unwelcome outlook for the camp. "It is certain that 'official' rations alone would be quite insufficient for internees, and much illness and suffering would result. But the worst consequences could have been avoid­ ed had it remained possible to secure additional food elsewhere. However, about the same time all packages of food were prohibited from entry, and many canteen items were either excluded from entry or greatly reduced. Meat is now unpurchasable at the canteen, also ricebread, sugar, and ice. Eggs have been limited to 2-1/2 per person per week. Bananas are also severely restricted, and so is milk. Many other canteen items, including condiments to make the rations palatable have largely ceased or been reduced. Most of the above items are available outside the camp to some extent. Meat, a major essential, can be obtained there occasionally at least. Rice-bread is also ob­ tainable and is greatly desired, in addition to the usual rice ration. Eggs and bananas are available outside the camp and are food es­ sentials of the greatest value to internees. Ice is available outside and is essential for the preservation of food and avoidance of infec­ tion. "In January, 1944, when the camp still re­ ceived cash to buy food, the actual cost of all ‘official’ food was over P140.000. In Feb­ ruary, when the ‘official’ ration was in kind, it was necessary for the camp to spend an additional P83,000 to buy more food. Obvious­ ly the ‘official’ ration did not constitute ade­ quate food maintenance by the Japanese of the internees. It is estimated that the Feb­ ruary ration provided only 1,200 calories (40% of the normal), and on March 5, 1944, the Chairmen of the camp health council and of the Internee Committee reported to the Com-

"The Commandant approved four more ap­ plications to cook in shanties. He advised Mr. Lloyd that he had discussed with Head­ quarters our request to allow general cooking in shanties until shelters were provided, but that Headquarters did not approve. He sug­ gested that [additional] shelters be erected as soon as possible and said that in the meanmandant: ’The diet made possible from sup­ plies furnished to the camp during February is dangerously low in important elements. A large part of our people of the class of aged, infirm, and ill, can not subsist on the provid­ ed diets without grave menace to health and in some cases to life itself’. "The position has brought the camp to a crisis, and the internees can not long subsist on the present basis. To make up deficiencies in the ‘official’ ration, internees are spending between P400,000 and F500.000 of their own or relief funds per month. That is, they are pay­ ing more than 80% of the cost of their food maintenance for which, under the Geneva Con­ vention (Article 4), Japan is bound to provide. The figures above show how inadequate is the 'official' ration, for while a small fraction of the internees’ outlay could be considered as due to personal wishes, so large an expen­ diture can only be due to forced purchase of necessary additional diet. "The nature and quantity of the food pro­ vided suggests that the camp is being treated as a war-prisoners camp. But this is neither humane nor logical, for war-prisoners (un­ less wounded or ill) are men in the prime of life, whereas in this camp about 30% of the internees are over 60 or children under 10 years of age, while some of the adult men are in poor health. It is impossible to consider the same restricted diet as suitable for each of two groups so differently constituted. It is respectfully submitted that mere transfer of the camp to the War-Prisoners Division of the Army should not operate to change its civilian con­ stitution nor to deprive the aged, the sick, the women, and children of food suitable to their condition and health."

206 time the Committee should make arrangements for the strong to do the cooking for the weak."

During the following weeks a total of 79 special exemptions from the or­ der were issued and the Commandant (Onozaki) held out the hope that with the beginning of the rainy season, cooking in shanties might perhaps be again allowed. The fire-hazard, al­ ways alleged by the Japanese, was a wholly minor risk. If applied outside the camp, the order would have pro­ hibited cooking in practically the whole of the Philippines as most of the houses are built of nipa. The or­ der against private cooking was simply another plague order. Private cook­ ing was now done very inconveniently in 139 different authorized places, one place for every 5 or 6 shanties; most of these places were in the open. The departure of the transferees to Los Banos had been fixed for Friday, April 7, and on the 5th the heavy bag­ gage had been taken to the Tutuban railway station, when it was announc­ ed over the loudspeaker that the de­ parture would be ‘‘slightly delayed”. There was a lot of swearing among those concerned, most of whom had already sent to the station everything except what they had on, including their beds and bedding. An ''emer­ gency” roll call was called that night at 6:30 instead of 7 and a physical check-up was made in all the build­ ings. After an hour of standing, the internees lined up in the halls of the education building were marched out on to the lawns, one floor after an­ other, and many thought the rooms would be searched, but this proved not to be so. The roll call was not completed until 8 o’clock. Komatsu, in charge of the roll call that night, was two men short. It turned out that he had made a mistake, putting down a "7” instead of a "9”.

THE CAMP

Another Mail. Letters tell of good Treatment of Japanese in America — On the 6th, the distribution of some 5,000 letters from the United States, brought from Military Headquarters, was begun. During the following weeks several thousand more were dis­ tributed. Some of the letters dated back two years, and most of the writers stated that they had received no word as yet from the people in the camp. Many of the letters contained com­ ment on the good treatment being ac­ corded Japanese in America. One let­ ter from a restaurant owner in Chica­ go stated that she was employing "some very fine Japanese”. She said, "I am treating them nicely, so that I hope that God will see that the Japanese over there are as good to you.” A letter from San Antonio, Texas, stated with reference to the food in an internment camp of Ja­ panese there: "They eat exactly what civilians eat and that is plenty, — as much as ever". A letter from San Francisco said that the Japanese in­ terned there had "so much to eat that they gave away large quantities of coffee and meat and other foods or traded these for other things they needed." Another San Francisco letter said that the Japanese internees were "receiving the best of everything” and that they were permitted to "leave their camps and work on ranches and farms and receive regular pay besides receiving $50 for expenses when they leave their camp”. Carroll took ex­ tracts from some of these letters and showed them to the Commandant and members of his staff. They had an answer ready: "Ah, yes, but America is a rich country and there is plenty of food there!” 500 More to Los Banos, Including Children Sick of Dysentery and Meas­ les — For some reason, the Japanese

THE TOBACCO "RATION”

decided to send the transferees to Los Banos and their baggage as well, by truck instead of by train, and this led to the supposition that there might be large troop movements under way. Thirty-two men went on ahead with the baggage on the 6th and early the next morning 360 men, women, and children left the camp. The rest were to go the next day, but during the morning the order came that they were to leave too, that same day. There often were such abrupt changes in orders. The remaining 138 there­ fore, left at 2 o’clock, including eight children ill of dysentery and measles. The kind Japanese did not make their transfer compulsory; they gave the pa­ rents the choice between taking them along or leaving them behind! Konishi finally left camp the same day, the 7th, and Santo Tomas hoped for some relief for his going. The Tobacco "Ration ’— Before the departure for Los Banos, on the 6th, a Prime Commodities Distribution Agency ration of tobacco and matches was released. There had for weeks been almost nothing to smoke in the camp. Cheap 2-centavos cigars changed hands at PI each. Cigarets cost P10 a package. Now internees were given one package of cigarets at 40 centavos, and could choose in ad­ dition between 5 very rank cigars at 85 centavos and 1/2 a package of stale pipe-tobacco at 75 centavos. One package of matches was free. Matches had been selling at P4 or P5 a box. A week later another package of ciga­ rets and a smaller quantity of to­ bacco were distributed, this complet­ ing the ration which, theoretically, was a monthly one. Konishi Leaves: Lieutenant Komatsu — Komatsu of the Commandant’s staff was appointed successor to Konishi in

207

charge of finance and supply. The sale of charcoal, 6 kilos at P4.80 per in­ ternee who could show a slip of paper proving him a shanty-owner, began on Easter Sunday, April 9. Komatsu also released 15 electric-irons for use by the hospitals and the women in the an­ nex. The release of at least some of the fans for the rooms, urged over and over again by the Internee Com­ mittee, still hung fire. (The people had prayed that they would not have to spend another hot season in Santo Tomas.) Abiko said that in his opinion not more than 110 fans should be re­ leased, but that the matter was in the hands of Komatsu. Komatsu pointed out that there was need of the great­ est economy in the use of electricity and said that he might approve the re­ lease of 60 fans if a plan were sub­ mitted to him showing their location and recommended hours of operation. Sixty fans for some 200 over-crowded rooms in a tropical hot season! On the 12th, 30 fans were released; a few days later, 30 more. Onozaki Himself Sentences Inter­ nees to Jail — On the evening of April 7, the non-interned wife of an inter­ nee, R. Kubilus, was caught by the Ja­ panese guards in an attempt to pass a package of clothing and foodstuffs over the fence, and on the Comman­ dant’s order Kubilus was arrested the following evening and put in the camp jail. On the 10th, again by order, the Internee Committee appointed a spe­ cial investigating committee consisting of the Committee on Order, the chief of camp order, and Lloyd (ex officio), to investigate the case and report their findings to the Commandant. On the 13th, the Commandant sent for Kubi­ lus and in the presence of Abiko and the Internee Committee, sentenced him to 30 days confinement in the camp jail.

208

Midnight Shanty Raids— About 1 o’clock on the morning of the 14th, military police from outside the camp raided a number of shanties in the northeast corner of the campus and arrested and took three men out of the camp, — W. H. King, J. Roullven, and P. Chickese. The Japanese appeared to make a point of conducting such raids in the middle of the night to augment the surprise and alarm; the camp was to be given no rest or peace, day or night. King was badly beaten up. The three men were brought back and lodged in the camp jail the next day, the Commandant stating to the Internee Committee that reports re­ ceived from the outside indicated that "there had been extensive trading of cigarets on a commercial scale with the outside, and that it extended be­ yond the three men in jail; he wished the camp to realize fully the serious­ ness of this offense”. According to the minutes of the Internee Committee of April 22: "The Commandant sentenced the three men, in the presence of the Internee Committee, to 30 days imprisonment in the camp jail, the 4 days already spent in custody being included in the sentence. This was considered a major offense, and food would not be served to them the same as to other internees. In the case of Chickese and King, their shanties were to be confiscated and neither they nor their fa­ milies were to be permitted to live in shanties henceforth. The shanties were to be used by the Internee Committee for the benefit of those whose shanties might fall down during the present removal.”

The following day, Takeda ordered that Kubilus should be served the or­ dinary main line food and that the three others should be given only mush and rice (with salt) and tea and water for the first two days. They were to have no exercise. Card and other games were not to be permitted to them but they would be allowed "one

THE CAMP

book, to be approved by him, of an instructive type, the idea of punish­ ment being not merely for punish­ ment’s sake, but in order to reform the character”. Agents’ Letter to the Protecting Po­ wer re Blair, Barnett, Hornbostel, Harris, and Ellis— Anxiety continued over the fate of Blair and the other four men who had been taken out of the camp in February and about whom nothing had been heard, and under date of April 14 the Agents courageous­ ly addressed an outspoken letter on the subject to the Protecting Power.6 6 "To the Representative of the Protecting Power of the United States Tokyo, Japan. "Sir: "We, the undersigned Agents of the Internees of the Manila Internment Camp; do hereby complain to you of the treatment accorded five non-combatant internees of this camp by the Japanese Military Authorities from Feb­ ruary 25th of this year to the present time, this complaint being transmitted to you under the provisions of Art. 42 of the Geneva Con­ vention of 1929. The five internees referred to are J. H. Blair, S. R. Barnett, Earl H. Hornbostel, E. B. Harris, and E. F. Ellis. "A. H. Blair. "On the morning of February 25th of this year, certain representatives of the Japanese Authorities, not connected with the Office of the Commandant of this camp and said to be members of the Japanese Military Police, came into the camp and took Mr. Blair to the guard­ house at the gateway to the camp, where they sought to elicit from him an admission that he had brought certain typewritten transcripts into camp containing war-news. Mr. Blair de­ nied this. In the course of the questioning Mr. Blair was severely beaten about the head and over the kidneys with a rubber hose and was then tied up and held so tied for most of the remainder of the day. About 5:30 he was re­ leased. He was then in such a state that he was hardly able to reach his quarters in the camp. He spent the night in great pain, passing quantities of blood in his urine, and the next morning was taken to the camp hospital where he remained until April 1st. On one occasion during this time he was taken to the Com­ mandant’s office in a wheel-chair for further questioning along the same lines by the same authorities, but was not mistreated. On the

AGENTS PROTEST TREATMENT OF BLAIR, HORNBOSTEL, ET AL

The Commandant Advises that it would be Better not to Refer to any Treaty or Convention— The Comman­ dant had told Stanley to make it known to the Internee Committee, and, by implication, to the Agents, that he believed it would be better if, in making their representations, they morning of April 1st he was called again from the hospital to the Commandant's office, going again in a wheel-chair. He was then taken out of camp by the same authorities, but was not allowed the further use of the wheel-chair, being forced to walk from the Commandant’s office to the guardhouse gate. He has not been heard from since. "S. R. Barnett, Earl H. Hornbostel, E. B. Harris, and E. F. Ellis. "Barnett, Harris, and Ellis were questioned at the same time as the first questioning of Mr. Blair but were not mistreated at that time. On February 27th they were taken out of the camp by the Japanese Military Authorities, re­ portedly the Japanese Military Police, and have not been heard from since. Hornbostel was taken out in the same way a day or so later and likewise has not been heard from since. "None of these four men were allowed to take anything with them on leaving the camp. However, the Commandant’s Office has ac­ cepted a few packages of medicine, vitamins, and clothing for transmittal to them since they were taken out. "Neither the families or friends, nor the undersigned Agents, nor any of the internees of this camp have been informed as to the reason for their removal; their destination; when they may be expected to return, if at all, or anything about them. In view of Mr. Blair's mistreatment while being examined in the camp, the fear is general that the others have been subjected to at least equally severe mistreatment, especially in view of the fact that there have been several other instances of such mistreatment of internees, when taken out of this camp for questioning, since the beginning of the camp. “The mistreatment of internees of this camp above recited constitutes a violation of the pro­ visions of the Geneva Convention of 1929, re­ lating to the treatment of prisoners of war, by which both the United States and Japan agreed to be bound in the treatment of both prisoners of war and civilian prisoners, shortly after the outbreak of the present hostilities, especially those of Art. 2, under which such prisoners are to be humanely treated and protected against acts of violence and insults; of Art. 3,

209

did not refer to any treaty or conven­ tion but based their arguments on general "humanitarian” considerations. Later he told the Internee Committee that communications from the Agents should be endorsed by and transmitted to him through the Committee. The Committee members, however, pointed out that the Agents as the elected re­ presentatives of the internees did not exercise their functions under them. under which prisoners are accorded the right to have their persons and honor respected; and of Art. S, under which prisoners who refuse to answer may not be threatened, insulted, or exposed to unpleasant or disadvantageous treatment of any kind whatever. "Also there has been a disregard of those procedural provisions of the Convention aimed at the protection of such prisoners in the treat­ ment of these internees. Thus the charges against them are either disciplinary or judicial in character. The Convention admits of no other type of proceeding. "Disciplinary "(a) If disciplinary, the duration of the pu­ nishment can not exceed 30 days (Art. 54), and the duration of the preventive imprison­ ment should be deducted (Art. 47). Barnett, Ellis, Harris, and Hornbostel have now been held outside this camp for a period consider­ ably exceeding the 30-day maximum. “(b) Prisoners undergoing such punishment must be allowed to send and receive letters (Art. 57). No such correspondence has been allowed. "Judicial "(a) If a judicial proceeding, Arts. 60-67 guarantee the defendant in such a proceeding the intervention of the Protecting Power. Such Power must be advised before the trial (Art. 60). The accused must have an opportunity to defend himself and may not be obliged to ad­ mit guilt (Art. 61). "At least in the case of Blair, an effort was made by the use of violence to oblige him to admit himself guilty, in violation of Art. 61 of the Convention. "No arrangements were made for the pre­ sence of representatives of the Protecting Power at the trial, nor are we advised that any of the other requirements of Art. 62 of the Con­ vention were observed. "In view of the foregoing, it is requested that such steps be taken by the Protecting Power as it may deem advisable to protect the internees of this camp from any further mis-

210

being, as they were, Japanese-ap­ pointed, and the Commandant then said that he would be satisfied if the Committee indicated on the face of communications from the Agents that these had been "noted" or "read by" the Committee. In practice, of course, the Committee and the Agents worked together closely, the Agents always giv­ ing the Committee an opportunity to make suggestions in regard to their communications. Agents’ Letter re the Applicability of the Geneva Convention— The Agents, in so far as they were concerned, dedecided to disregard the Comman­ dant’s suggestion that they refrain from citing the Geneva Convention, and in respect to a remark made by the Commandant to Stanley that Ja­ pan had never ratified the Convention, treatment along the lines disclosed by this complaint. "Very respectfully, etc. (Covering letter) "To His Excellency the Commandant Manila Internment Camp Manila, P. I. "Sir: "As Agents of the Internees of this camp, we are enclosing herewith a complaint to the Protecting Power of the United States with re­ gard to the treatment of J. H. Blair, S. R. Barnett, Earl H. Horntiostel, E. B. Harris, and E. F. Ellis, all of them non-combatants and internees of this camp since its beginning, who are now held outside this camp by the Military Authorities 'for investigation’, and about whom we wrote you under date of the 9th ult. The complaint also refers generally to other cases, which can easily be substantiated when the opportunity presents itself. "You are hereby formally requested to trans­ mit this complaint to the Protecting Power of the United States at Tokyo, in accordance with the provisions of Art. 42 of the Geneva Con­ vention of 1929, reading in part: '“ Art. 4 2 ...They (prisoners of war) shall also have the right to address themselves to re­ presentatives of the Protecting Powers to in­ dicate to them the points on which they have complaints to formulate with regard to the conditions of captivity. These requests and complaints must be transmitted immediatelly'. “Very respectfully, etc."

THE CAMP

wrote him another letter, also dated April 14, covering this point.7 As in former instances, in so far as the camp knew, no formal notice was taken of the Agents’ appeal to the Pro­ tecting Power on behalf of the five men removed from the camp. The mo­ ther of young Hornbostel, and the 7 "As Agents of the Internees of this camp, we have addressed several letters to you embody­ ing requests relating to the disciplinary treat­ ment of internees; food; private cooking; mail; involuntary labor; the appointment in the Phil­ ippines of a delegate of our Protecting Power, and other matters wherein we have quoted and relied upon the provisions of the Geneva Con­ vention of 1929 relating to the treatment of pri­ soners of war. In these letters we have assumed the applicability of that Convention to our si­ tuation and that the Japanese Military Authori­ ties in the Philippines are aware of and re­ cognize that applicability. Indeed, in our joint letter with the Internee Committee of the 5th of March relating to private cooking we en­ closed a memorandum on that point. "However we have been informed that some question has been raised as to whether we are correct in thus invoking the provisions of that Convention in our various requests to you, because Japan is not a signatory thereto. The purpose of this letter is to demonstrate that, although Japan did not become a party to that Convention, nonetheless, very shortly after the outbreak of the present hostilities, both Japan and the United States through a third nation agreed to treat all prisoners placed in con­ centration camps, whether civilian or military, in accordance with the provisions of that Con­ vention. "The issue of the Manila Tribune of Feb­ ruary 12, 1942, contains a Domei dispatch of February 12, 1942, reading as follows: " ‘Tokyo, Feb. 12, 1942 (Domei). Karukitso Mishi, Vice Foreign Minister, revealed before the session of the lower house that Japan and the Untied States agreed mutually through a third nation to treat their respective nationals placed in concentration camps in accordance with the international treaty governing warprisoners. " 'Although Japan was not a signatory to this agreement, it was said that Tokyo sent a mes­ sage to the United States that the treatment of war-prisoners would be according to interna­ tional law. " 'It was added that the United States re­ plied that she would treat the Japanese simi­ larly.

AGENTS ON APPLICABILITY OF THE GENEVA CONVENTION

wives of some of the other men had made up packages of such things as extra clothing, razors, tooth brushes, mosquito nets, vitamin tablets, etc., which the Commandant had promised he would try to get to them. On the 22nd however, these packages were

211

returned to the camp, together with some of the other belongings of the men. The minutes stated with respect to this and to what was happening: "The Military Police returned to this camp yesterday clothing and personal effects, watches, glasses, money, etc., belonging to the five men taken out of camp for investigation. The Mi­ litary Police have apparently completed their investigations and the five men have been transferred to a military court for court mar­ tial.”

" 'The reciprocal nature of this agreement, it was pointed out, insures fair treatment for Ja­ panese placed in American concentration camps.’ "The issue of the same paper of February 17, Relatives and friends in the camp, 1942, contains another Domei dispatch from Geneva of February 14, 1942, reading as follows: frightened by the return of the per­ "'Geneva Feb. 14, 1942 (Domei). The Japanese Government informed the International Red sonal effects of the men and at first Cross that Japan will abide by the provisions fearing that they had been executed, of the Geneva Convention regarding the treat­ had to be satisfied with this meager ment of war-prisoners, although Japan is not bound by the Convention. The Japanese Gov­ information. The Internee Committee Writes ernment said that it will treat prisoners of war on a reciprocal basis.' Commandant it is "Unable to Comply” "If more conclusive evidence is wanted, we With Order to Construct Rifle-Rack can do no more than to call your attention to the fact that both Japan and the United States for Guard— Again, despite all the prehave invoked the Geneva Convention of 1929 " 'Premier Tozyo’s reply, firstly, calls the in official protests relating to the treatment of interned civilians. Thus in the protests of attention of the United States Government to the Japanese Government to the United States the fact that immediately after the outbreak of Government published in the issue of Contem­ war the Japanese Government informed the porary Japan for November, 1942, we find the United States that although Japan had never ratified the 1929 Geneva Convention concerning following language: " ‘The United States Government have violated prisoners of war and therefore is in no way their solemn declaration to apply as far as obligated by the treaty, it is nevertheless pre­ possible, to interned non-combatants, the pro­ pared to apply with necessary changes the visions of the Convention relating to the treat­ provisions of the Convention. " 'Secondly, the Japanese Government has ment of prisoners of war signed at Geneva in never refused since the outbreak of war the July, 1929.’ "Thus we have the solemn statement of the acceptance of parcels containing clothing and Japanese Government that the Government of food and their delivery to the prisoners which the United States has entered into an agree­ comes under Article 37 of the Convention, nor ment upon which we rely. And surely no one does it intend in the future to do so.’ "In view of the foregoing, and in the abwill contend that that Government would have entered into such an agreement without a sense of any other information relating to the reciprocal agreement on the part of Japan. subject, we think you will agree that we, as That such is the case is shown by the fact that Agents of the Internees of this camp, are en­ in the Manila Tribune of September 13, 1942, tirely within our rights in invoking the provi­ there is a Domei dispatch from Tokyo of Sep­ sions of the Geneva Convention of 1929 in tember 9 to the United States Government support of the various requests we have ad­ through the intermediary of Camille George, dressed to you. Of course, under the circum­ Swiss Minister to Tokyo, concerning the ac­ stances, our sources of information are meager. ceptance of Red Cross relief for American pri­ If anything has transpired modifying the fore­ soners of war and civilian internees held by going in any way of which you are aware, will you kindly advise us, as we do not intend to Tapan. " 'Premier Tozyo’s note was sent in response base our requests upon anything other than a to the United States message received late Convention which both Japan and the United in August through Swiss authorities charging States have agreed to observe; upon the general the Japanese of violating the 1929 Geneva Con­ principles of international law; and upon hu­ manitarian grounds. Unless you do so advise vention concerning prisoners of war.

212

vious "agreements", there was trouble about work the Japanese wanted done for themselves and the materials to be used for this. On April 3 Konishi had ordered Poole, the camp electrician, (not through the Internee Committee) to immediately install a refrigerator in the soldiers’ kitchen behind the Commandant’s office. Af­ ter some argument, this was done, a refrigerator being removed from the central kitchen for the purpose. After the trouble about the building of a new floor in the guardhouse, the In­ ternee Committee had obtained per­ mission to take down the packageshed and to store the materials, and this was done but on April 14, Lieu­ tenant Abiko informed Lloyd that these materials were not to be used without prior consultation with Ko­ matsu and that some of the material would be required by the Military for building or repairing soldiers’ quar­ ters. On the 18th, Abiko, through Ohashi, asked for ten men to construct a building to be used as a soldiers’ hut and a rifle-rack near the rear gate of the campus. The Internee Committee, under the same date, wrote a letter to the Commandant stating flatly that it was "unable to comply” with this or­ der. The letter, signed by all three of the members, read: "We acknowledge receipt late yesterday after­ noon of a request to have 10 men construct a •building to be used as a 'soldiers hut’ and a rifle-rack near the rear gate to the campus, beginning work on April 20 and continuing through April 25, using materials taken from the package-line shed for this purpose. "We feel that we must respectfully take ex­ ception to this request for the following rea­ sons: us, we shall continue to assume that the Gene­ va Convention of 1929 is applicable to our si­ tuation in this camp and shall continue to rely thereon in our various requests to you. "Very respectfully, etc.”

THE CAMP "First: The work to be done is not for the subsistence and comfort of internees. "In our letter of March 2, approved by the Commandant, it was stated ‘that the work in­ volved should be in the interest of the inter­ nees'. "The Imperial Japanese Government in its protest to the governments of the United States and Canada, published in Volume XI, Number 11, Contemporary Japan, for November, 1942, stated, 'It is needless to say that labor supplied by the internees should be such as is directly related to their subsistence and comfort’. "Second: The materials taken from the pack­ age-line shed should not be used for this job. "This shed was built during June, 1942, with funds donated by internees, approximately 500 persons contributing P2 each for this purpose. We consider that these materials are the pro­ perty of internees and that we have no right to use them for purposes other than those which would be in the interest of the inter­ nees. "For these reasons, we regret to inform you that we shall be unable to comply with your request that work be started on this job on the morning of April 20."

On the 21st, Abiko summoned the Internee Committee to his office. With him was another lieutenant from Head­ quarters. The two officers, according to the minutes, "ordered that the package-shed materials should be considered to be in the possession of the Army and should not be used except without their express instructions. The Internee Com­ mittee asked for this to be put in writing so that the internee body could be advised. It was clearly understood that this material had been originally purchased from contributions raised by internees.”

According to the minutes of the 23rd: "Mr. Grinnell took up with Mr. Ohashi fur­ ther discussion regarding our protests against internee labor and materials belonging to inter­ nees being used for purposes not for the com­ fort or wellbeing of internees. Mr. Grinnell asked Mr. Ohashi to take up the matter again with Mr. Onozaki and to advice him that the Internee Committee was getting tired of putting in protests of this nature.”

Nothing came in writing and noth­ ing more was said about the matter.

MORE CUTS IN SUPPLEMENTARY FOOD PURCHASES

..O ver 100 Shanties Ordered Moved— April the 19th was a bad day for the camp for on that date, too, came the final, definite order that of the 199 shanties standing in whole or in part within 20 meters of the walls around the campus, 114 had to be moved, the work to start the following day and to be completed by the 30th. Further­ more, during the discussion of the or­ der with Abiko, the Committee was told that the authorities considered the living in shanties in the camp only a temporary expedient and that “plans were being worked out so that shan­ ties would not have to be used for housing purposes”. The removal order had been dreaded almost as much as the order against cooking. It involved the transfer of some of the most at­ tractive shanties on the campus to much less desirable sites, the tearing down of vines, the destruction of little flower and vegetable gardens, great inconvenience, and much heavy labor. All this was needless, although the Ja­ panese, as usual, had a "reason”, which they alleged to be "illegal traffic with the outside”. The Committee had of­ fered to build a bamboo fence all around the inside of the walls as an alternative, but this offer was rejected. Every objection had been over-ridden, including that of the lack of material necessary for rebuilding and repair­ ing. The Japanese answer was that the necessary materials could be obtained by making the shanties in the new lo­ cations somewhat smaller. Another Cut in Supplementary Food Purchases— There was other bad news to be communicated to the camp. On the 15th, the Commandant had ad­ vised the Committee that "Headquar­ ters was worried”. What Headquar­ ters was worried about was "the amount of money that was being spent

213

in canteen purchases”. According to the minutes: "He suggested that some of the luxury items [sic] should be cut out and the money be concentrated on the cheaper items of good food-value and said that, if possible, expendi­ tures should be limited for supplementary food, both through the kitchens and through the canteens, to about P3 a day per head. He stated that the advice of Headquarters was that about one-fifth of the total number of eggs coming into Manila were finding their way to Santo Tomas and that there was an unfavorable reaction on the outside to what appeared like preferential treatment in our favor."

The facts as to eggs were that since the system of distribution of eggs through the monitors had begun, 14 had been thus sold to such internees who wanted to buy them during the month of February, 13 during the month of March, and 13 during the month of April, — approximately an egg every other day. They had ranged in price from 80 to 90 centavos each. (In May they went up to PI.05 each.) It was very doubtful that Santo Tomas was buying one-fifth of all the eggs available in Manila, although it may have been true that they constituted one-fifth of the eggs which were of­ fered for sale to the Japanese. But even so, it happened more than once that Filipinos who appeared with eggs for sale at the main Santo Tomas gate were turned away by the Japanese who were doing the buying for the camp: Total purchases of supplemen­ tary foodstuffs by March, for use in the kitchens and for sale in the can­ teens, including the vegetable and fruit market, had amounted to around P500.000 a month during the past months, but the amounts were dwin­ dling as the people in the camp were running out of money. Around P4,000 a day was being spent for supplemen­ tary food in the kitchens alone, —

214

that is, food in excess of that supplied by the Japanese. This money came from Red Cross funds, canteen profits, and donations from public-spirited in­ dividuals. Application of the P3 per capita limit would reduce the monthly purchases for the kitchens and the canteens to around P360,000. The amount cited must be considered, of course, in the light of the prevailing currency inflation and the prices which were from 10 to 20 times the normal. Meeting of Internee Officials and Monitors at the Playhouse— The va­ rious developments, orders, etc., were communicated to the camp in general at a meeting in the children’s play­ house, near the annex, on the evening of the 20th, attended by all monitors and shanty-area supervisors, division chiefs, and heads of departments. The meeting was opened by Grinnell, who, as there had been another inspection of the camp the previous day by an officer of the Tokyo War Office, "ap­ parently here on a special mission in connection with war-prisoners camps’’, emphasized the need of showing "due respect” to visiting Japanese officers as well as to the Japanese officers in the camp. He stated that the Japanese had brought up this point repeatedly during the past few months and added, "If we don’t comply we can expect still more serious restrictions”. He said that the Japanese had now ordered that the internees at roll call stand at attention and make a slight bow when the inspectors passed and also that they bow when meeting an of­ ficer wearing a sword. Internees were required to bow when passing a sentry on post-duty, but need not bow to the soldiers going about the camp. There had been no response to the request of the Agents that copies of the Ge­ neva Convention be allowed to be posted in the camp, but the following

THE CAMP

day a jokes ter in the Monitors Coun­ cil now unofficially posted the follow­ ing notice: "Article 18 of the Geneva Convention of 1929, the provisions of which apply to internees here, provides in part as follows: " ‘Besides the external marks of respect, pro­ vided by the regulations in force in their ar­ mies with regard to their nationals, prisoners of war must salute all officers of the detain­ ing power.’ "

At the meeting, Grinnell went on to say that this bowing was not "accord­ ing to our customs”, but that "inas­ much as the Commandant and his staff have made such an issue of the matter we must conform”. He ended by say­ ing, "The situation is growing increas­ ingly difficult and there are, I am sure, still harder times ahead of us.” Lloyd, the next speaker, spoke about the order for the transfer of the shan­ ties and asked that the able-bodied men in the camp help the shanty owners, since all this work had to be completed by the end of the month. Carroll spoke of the cut which had been ordered in the daily purchases for the camp and explained that al­ though the purchase-order forms were made out by his office, these had to be approved by the Japanese and that it was a daily battle to get this ap­ proval for the various necessary items. In reply to a question why meat was not at least occasionally served in the camp, he said that only a few days ago one of the members of the Com­ mandant’s staff had said bluntly that the internees were "not entitled to any meat”. He said that the Japanese had disallowed further purchasing of either panocha (raw-sugar cake) and of bocay o (a cheap kind of coconut-and-sugar candy), which the internees had been buying at the canteens in small limited quantities to sweeten their mush in the morning; the Japanese al-

FURTHER CUTS IN RATIONS

leged, he said, that these were illegiti­ mate, blackmarket, products. He said, however, that it was hoped that it would be possibly to obtain the Prime Commodities Agency sugar ration in addition to the Japanese ration. He said that he was expecting also a ration of cigarets, cigars, and pipe to­ bacco from the Prime Commodities Agency and the Philippine Tobacco Association. He said also that it was very difficult to get the 400 or 500 coconuts needed daily for the coconut milk served at the breakfast lines and that they cost 60 centavos each. As to the “camp restaurant", he said the Japanese had insisted that it be open­ ed and the private ventures of this nature closed, but that they were not now insisting that the camp restaurant continue to operate. "We are up ag­ ainst the worst situation since the camp opened, and I do not see that it is going to get any better. Of course, we all know that the worse conditions become, the more optimistic we can be!” Hundreds of men worked daily on the shanty moving and the work was completed on the 30th, although re­ erections in the new locations were not complete. The work afforded evi­ dence of how weak even the younger and stronger men in the camp had become. As to the matter of obtaining Japa­ nese consent to contract private loans, the Internee Committee on April 27 handed Onozaki, at his request, a list of 47 important American firms whose local representatives were willing to guarantee such loans. According to the minutes: "We indicated to Mr. Onozaki that for Manila, Los Banos, and Baguio camps a rough es­ timate of monthly requirements would be P450.000, and suggested that the International Y.M.C.A. might be prepared to handle the

215 negotiations on the outside, if approved. We confirmed that if money was obtained on this basis, it would be used for the benefit of every­ one in the camp who needed it, either by loans or a system of mutual aid. Mr. Onozaki said that he would take up the matter with the Commandant and Headquarters.”

Further Cuts in Both Rations and Supplementary Food — The situation as to food steadily worsened. Especial­ ly after the instituting of the rice-andfish diet, the people of the camp had consumed large quantities of peanuts in the form of peanut-butter, of which they bought around 150 kilos a day from the canteen. There were many who ate as much as a kilo a week (price P6.50) because, unable to eat the fish, it was the only available source of protein. On the 23rd, Ko­ matsu suddenly told the Internee Com­ mittee that peanuts were "no longer available in the open market” and had been placed under "control”. The camp knew what that meant. After that only small quantities came in for kitchen use. On the 26th, he informed the Committee that owing to “increas­ ing transportation difficulties" there would be a "decreasing quantity of mongo beans, squash, and eggs com­ ing into camp”. On the 30th he an­ nounced that the military ration of sugar, 20 grams per capita a day, would be cut in half as of May 1. A few days later he informed the Committee, fur­ ther, that army rations of sugar, lea, and oil "would not be available for the month of May”. On the 10th, it was announced that coffee could no longer be served at the line in the mornings and tea would be substituted. The Fly Plague— Two fine big fish, six feet long, came in with the usual mess of small fish on April 15 and in­ ternees who saw them already thought of some nice "fish-steaks”. But very little examination proved that they

216

were already rotten, and the Japanese at the bodega themselves ordered them buried. The rest of the fish was judged unfit for consumption the next day. The Japanese were asked whether this supply would be replaced and they answered that that could not be! There was no suitable place to clean fish and this work was done on three or four long tables in one section of the dining-shed. The clean-up squad always did the best it could, sweeping and scrubbing, but the floor was only a fill of soft adobe stone ( tuffa) and could not be properly cleaned. There now was always a stench of fish about the place and the flies became a plague. Efforts on the part of the In­ ternee Committee to bring in cement for a concrete floor were fruitless. The Japanese were supposed to fur­ nish sanitary supplies, disinfectants, etc., but only small and entirely in­ adequate quantities reached the camp. Soon after some members of the Ja­ panese personnel had moved to the bodega in the rear of the campus, they discovered that F. Casera, the inter­ nee in charge of rodent control, had a supply of poison there. They ap­ peared greatly shocked, confiscated the poison, and sealed the shop. They said that poison was never allowed in a military camp. After a few weeks, during which all anti-rat work was suspended, they ordered the removal of the shop to another place on the campus and allowed the work to be resumed, but with traps only. Dysentery, Measles, and WhoopingCough— In April and May there arose the threat of an epidemic of bacillary dysentery. There were over 100 cases, mostly among the children. The Ja­ panese met this situation by ordering another compulsory general camp innoculation against dysentery, cholera,

THE CAMP

and "plague”, though there had been an innoculation for dysentery, cholera, and typhoid only four or five months before. The health of the camp steadily de­ teriorated. The three hospitals, Santa Catalina, 150 beds, the isolation hos­ pital, 80 beds, and the children’s hos­ pital, 20 beds, were always filled to capacity and patients had to be dis­ charged before complete recovery to make room for others. In addition to the three hospitals there were six cli­ nics in the camp where treatments ad­ ministered for minor ailments and injuries now ran to over 5,000 a week. Camp Hospital Statistics— The hos­ pital figures did not provide a true index of the situation which existed in the camp since there was much ill­ ness which was never reported. Hos­ pital diagnoses were also of a routine nature, made by an overworked and hurried medical staff. Such as they were, the official figures were the fol­ lowing: For the 13 weeks beginning with the week ending February 6 to the week ending April 30, 1944, the following numbers of new hos­ pital cases of communicable diseases were diagnosed weekly: 69, 46, 70, 43, 37, 74, 50, 80, 76, 73, 69, 48, 56, respectively. New diagnoses of diet deficiency (including anemia, beriberi, spru, pellagra, vitamin B deficiency, and malnutri­ tion) during the same weeks numbered: 81, 121, 71, 100, 57, 105, 132, 155, 119, 121, 148, 127, 104, respectively. During the months of February, March, and April, the patients admitted to the three hos­ pitals for dysentery numbered 8, 29, and 11, respectively: for intestinal disorders, 30, 50, and 20; for diseases of the digestive system, 38, 9, and 3. These figures were especially in­ adequate as an index to the state of the Santo Tomas stomach, bowels, and digestion. Patients admitted during these 3 months for respira­ tory diseases numbered 62, 38, and 39, res­ pectively; for circulatory diseases, 45, 8, and 8. The measles epidemic among children re­ gistered 83 cases in February, 125 in March, and 137 in April. An outbreak of whooping-cough

HOSPITAL STATISTICS — A VISITING DAY added to their misery and that of the mothers, but such cases were not hospitalized. New cases of pulmonary tuberculosis during the 3 months numbered 17. In March there were 4 cases of pneumonia and in April 5. The mental and nervous condition of the camp had gen­ erally been good, but during the same 3 months there were 11 persons hospitalized as suffer­ ing from some sort of psychosis and 26 as suffering from diseases of the nervous system. These figures did not include those of pa­ tients sent to outside hospitals who com­ prised both those needing special treatment and those expected to die. The Japanese au­ thorities were making it more and more dif­ ficult to send out patients who were in need of special treatment. Even in the case of persons suffering from skin cancers and re­ quiring immediate treatment by radium, avail­ able only at the Philippine General Hospital, it often was many weeks before the neces­ sary permission was obtained to send them there. During the 3-month period, 5 internees died in the camp and 12 more in the outside insti­ tutions to which they had been sent.

217

coming occasion, but the committee for non-interned families, headed by Robb, was dissatisfied with the res­ trictions to be imposed and made an effort to have these lightened, recall­ ing the Christmas day visiting in 1942 when non-interned families were per­ mitted to spend most of the morning on the campus. Meeting with no suc­ cess in this effort, the committee re­ signed, Robb addressing the following brief letter to the Internee Committee, under date of April 21: “Unable to serve the non-interned families in any way, the committee for non-interned families herewith tenders its resignation."

The visits took place as scheduled, under the eyes of a score of Japanese officers and camp officials. There were sentries at the gates to the in­ closure and internees had to empty their pockets before-hand. Some of them were searched both on leaving Another Visiting Day, April 29— It as well as on entering the inclosure. had been announced on the 16th that Many of the visiting people had "in honor of the birthday of His Ma­ brought packages, but these had to be jesty, the Emperor of Japan, April 29 left outside. In spite of all this, it was has been designated as visiting day”. a happy occasion for those who had Only husbands or wives and children so long hungered to see and speak of internees were to be admitted, and with each other. According to the mi­ the visits were to be limited to 30 nutes of the Internee Committee: minutes. They would not be allowed “In honor of the Emperor’s birthday, nonto bring in or take out any packages. interned wives and children were permitted to The visiting was to take place within visit their husbands in the package-shed in­ the old package-shed inclosure, under closure. The organization worked well, and the Director-General (of the War-Prisoners the supervision of Japanese officers. Headquarters) visited the enclosure for a Internees expecting visits were divided short time during the morning. The Comman­ into small groups, and to each was dant and his staff spent a large portion of the assigned a half-hour during the day day there and were very satisfied with the when their visitors would be ad­ general conduct of internees.” mitted. The family aid committee was The day was made otherwise not­ to send out the notices. This was the able by a donation of food received, third visiting day set in more than by Japanese permission, from the Neu­ two years and the first since the visit­ tral Welfare Committee of the Inter­ ing permitted after the typhoon and national Y.M.C.A., which consisted of flood in November of the preceding 505 kilos of beef, 111 kilos of pork, year. Internees with relatives outside 273 kilos of bacon and ham, 103 were pathetically happy about the dressed chickens, and 202 live ducks.

218

Over 2,000 eggs and 100 quarts of milk were donated for the children. Al­ though this gift was made “in honor of the Emperor’s birthday”, members of the Internee Committee expressed the hope that the camp might be al­ lowed to receive similar consignments monthly. On the occasion of the 29th, the Military also supplied the camp with 200 kilos of beef. Colonel Yoshi, New Commandant— The Commandant referred to in the minutes of April 29 was not Onozaki, for there had again been a change meanwhile. On the 25th, the Internee Committee had been advised that — "a new Commandant has been appointed to this camp and that he would inspect the camp this morning. Colonel Yoshi arrived in camp at 9 a.m. and inspected the camp later in the morning. In the afternoon, Mr. Onozaki ad­ vised the Internee Committee that Colonel Yoshi had taken charge as Commandant, and that he would, for the time being, remain to assist the new Commandant in an advisory capacity. He said that the new Commandant wished to meet the Internee Committee to­ morrow or the next day and that he would discuss with him the desirability of his later meeting either the monitor group or all in­ ternees, in order to make himself known. The new Commandant speaks English, having learned the language during his recent stay in the Philippines. Mr. Onozaki requested that, for the time being, all matters be routed through him, as previously. He indicated that most decisions, except on very important mat­ ters, would be made by the Commandant in­ stead of reference being made to Headquar­ ters."

There were two points of special in­ terest in this entry. One was that the new Commandant would make his own decisions "except on very impor­ tant matters”, — which appeared to be a distinct gain because much of the trouble in the camp had seemed to be the result of interference by offi­ cers from Headquarters. The other was that the new Commandant wanted to make himself known to the inter­

THE CAMP

nees, — which was something new. It developed later that he was even particular that the internees should know how his name was spelled. The Japanese Demand an “Oath” from all Internees— On the 22nd, the Internee Committee had received printed forms of an oath which the Japanese now demanded should be signed by all internees, this oath being a revision of the form first laid before the former Executive Committee some months before and to which the Com­ mittee had objected. The Internee Committee asked that the Comman­ dant give his order in writing and on the 25th he signed a letter prepared for him at his direction by the Com­ mittee. The letter was included in an announcement placed on the camp bulletin boards by the Internee Com­ mittee on the 26th and read as follows: "The Commandant, in writing, has ordered that all internees sign an oath before April 30 on forms which will be submitted to you by your room monitor or section supervisor. The following instructions shall be complied with: (1) The oath is to be signed by all internees. Parents are required to sign on behalf of children under 16 years of age. (2) The forms are to be signed in ink and the name is to be printed in block letters directly under the signature. (3) Each internee is to fill in the date and nationality. Americans for example, should indicate their nationality as 'U.S.A.”, Britishers as 'British', etc. (4) All completed forms are to be delivered to your room mo­ nitor or section supervisor not later than Thursday evening, April 27. "The Commandant’s letter is as follows: " 'The Japanese Military Authorities have or­ dered that all internees sign an oath, a copy of which is attached. A supply of these forms has been delivered to you for this purpose. " 'The forms should be completed and re­ turned to my office not later than the end of this month. The forms are to be signed in ink, with name in block letters directly un­ derneath the signature. For children under 16 years of age, a parent or guardian is required to sign.

COMMANDANT YOSHI — THE REQUIRED OATH " ‘Internees should be informed that the signing of this oath is not to be construed as a modification of present regulations govern­ ing their conduct nor of penalties for infrac­ tions thereof, nor will it affect the applicability of any international agreement which may be in force’. "Internee Committee.”

The forms distributed to the inter­ nees were printed on two sides, in English and Japanese, one side bear­ ing the original form. This read: "I, the undersigned, hereby solemnly pledge myself that I will strictly comply with orders of the Japanese Military Authorities and will not, under any circumstances, attempt to es­ cape.”

The Agents’ Protest— The former Executive Committee had objected to this pledge chiefly because to promise to comply with all Japanese orders might conceivably involve disloyal acts. The new form of oath was quite different, and was quoted in a letter of protest addressed to the Comman­ dant by the Internee Agents, which, dated the 25th, crossed the Comman­ dant's letter and the Internee Com­ mittee’s announcement. The Agent's letter read: “We have been advised that an order is being issued requiring all the internees of this camp to sign an oath reading as follows: " ‘To His Excellency " ‘The Commandant of the " ‘Military Internment Camps of P. I. " ‘I, the undersigned hereby solemnly pledge myself that I will not under any circumstances attempt to escape or conspire directly or in­ directly against the Japanese Military Author­ ities, as long as I am in their custody .’ "The purpose of this letter is to request you not to issue such an order, or, if it has been issued when you receive this letter, to recall it. "Our reasons are: "1. The wording of the oath, especially the portion reading ‘conspire directly or indirect­ ly against the Japanese Military Authorities’ is so vague and general that it might include an obligation involving disloyal acts or con­ duct toward our own countries. "2. We are not advised as to the meaning

219

which would be attributed to the conspiracy phrase by the Japanese Military Authorities. Would any conduct involving disobedience of any military order by two or more persons constitute the conspiracy referred to, even though the order itself were illegal? Would any breach of the military regulations, how­ ever trivial, on the part of two or more in­ ternees, acting in concert, constitute such a conspiracy? "3. Would the breach of the oath entail some penalty, over and above that incident to the offense itself? If so, what? For example, an attempted escape involves a maximum dis­ ciplinary penalty of 30 days confinement under the Geneva Convention. Would the breach of the oath involved in such escape entail an ad­ ditional or other penalty, perhaps far more severe than the escape itself? "4. Does the signing of this oath change our status to something worse than or inferior to that of civilian internees in protective custody? "5. To compel the internees to take such an oath, involving, as it may, the possibility of requiring conduct on his part disloyal to his own country, is an indignity affecting his ho­ nor, and, as such, prohibited under Art. 3 of the Geneva Convention of 1929. "6. In any case, the compulsory taking of oaths involving commitments as to future con­ duct, is a procedure that is unknown to us. As we look at it, such an oath is not binding because of the duress involved. It is a humi­ liation without legal consequence, and hence entirely unnecessary. "Very respectfully, etc.”

The Agent's letter was blunt, and Ohashi, who had secured the consent of higher Japanese authorities to the "revision”, was so angered by it that he exclaimed that the three men who had signed that letter had better sign the oath "or take the consequence". “Los Banos and Baguio signed it 100%", he said- "Why shouldn’t this camp?” Onozaki took a milder stand and said that the word, "conspiracy” was not to be construed in its broad­ est sense, but as "incitement to revolt or to military action against the Ja­ panese military authorities”. (Minutes April 27.) Considerable feeling de­ veloped in the camp over the matter

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and many internees said that they would not sign the oath. The Internee Committee and the Agents held several conferences and the Monitors Council a number of meetings on the matter. Many internees asked that either the Internee Committee or the Agents make a definite recommendation to the internee-body whether to sign or not sign, while others held that it was not fair to expect either group to assume such a responsibility. The Monitors Council finally decided by a vote of 10 to 6, with 2 members ab­ staining and 2 absent, to recommend that the internees sign the oath to­ gether with a "letter of reservations” addressed to the Internee Committee which would read as follows: "To the Internee Committee Manila Internment Camp "Each of the undersigned has signed the oath or pledge attached hereto reading as fol­ lows: " ‘I, the undersigned, hereby solemnly pledge myself that I will not under any circumstances attempt to escape or conspire directly or in­ directly against the Japanese Military Authori­ ties, as long as I am in their custody,’— "and through channels transmits it to you subject to the condition that in transmitting it to the Commandant of this camp you ad­ vise him in writing as follows: “1. That the oath or pledge has not been signed by the free will of the persons signing it but because ordered to do so by the Com­ mandant in his letter dated April 24, 1944; "2. That the oath or pledge has been signed with the following understanding and reser­ vations; “a. That the said oath or pledge does not require any conduct on the part of the un­ undersigned involving disloyalty to their res­ pective countries; “b. That the undertaking not to conspire di­ rectly against the Japanese Military Authorities contained in said oath and pledge is con­ fined to conduct of a military character against the Japanese Army and does not include mere failure to obey orders or regulations; “c. That the signing of said oath or pledge does not render the undersigned subject to

THE CAMP any penalties in addition to or in excess of those incidental to the offense itself; "d. That the status o f the undersigned as a civilian internee in protective custody is not affected by said oath or pledge; “e. That in signing said oath or pledge, the undersigned do not waive any rights they may have under International Law, or any ap­ plicable treaty, convention, or agreement; “3. That the above be comm unicated to the Japanese Military Authorities concerned. "Signatures” “Signatures”

Threats— During the next few days the majority of the internees signed both the oath and the letter, some of them noting across the face of the printed oath that it was taken subject to the provisions of the letter. There were still several hundred who had not signed when on the night of May 2 it was announced over the loud­ speaker that the Commandant had stated that the "signing must be com­ pleted tonight” and that he wanted "the names of those refusing to sign to be submitted to him at 9 o'clock tomorrow morning”. Following this threat, all but 30 adults in the camp signed either the oath alone or both the oath and the letter, but, told that the Commandant had said that those who refused to sign would lose their status as civilian internees, in the end all but two men and two women signed. As a result of a subsequent in­ terview with the Commandant, the two women gave in, but the two men, one of whom was a Chinese from San Francisco, held out and were lodged in the camp jail by order of the Com­ mandant on May 6. The Committee's minutes of the 8th stated: "The Commandant [Yoshi] interviewed Charley Butler and Lee Tun Yem, and after a patient hearing of Mr. Butler's grievances regarding his non-interned family, released him from jail on the understanding that Mr. Butler would sign the oath. With regard to Lee Tun Yem, the Commandant finally de-

MARRIAGES IN SANTO TOMAS AND LOS BANOS tided that the Internee Committee should subm it a blank oath form together with a statem ent certifying to the pecularities of Lee Tun Yem and to their opinion that he is not com petent to sign the oath."

In the meantime, Ohashi had ob­ jected to the "covering letter” sub­ mitted with the oaths to the Comman­ dant’s Office on the 3rd. Said the mi­ nutes: "The Committee was advised that this letter was not com pletely acceptable and would have to be revised if w e wished It to be accepted. At the same time the Committee was informed that any internee who refused to sign the 'oath' would lose his status as a civilian in­ ternee.”

221

under duress. Some went so far as to say that no word of any kind is mo­ rally binding if given to an enemy. As to what the Japanese might make of the "oath", the internees were in their power and they would do what they liked anyway. Marriages in Santo Tomas and Los Banos— During all these months of harassment, when the Japanese brought pressure first here, then there, always keeping the population of the camp on edge, there was what looked like one concession. Marriages had not been allowed to be contracted in the camp with the exception of one per­ formed during one of the first months of internment. Petitions made from time to time for a marriage to be allow­ ed had been rejected, and, as a conse­ quence, there had been a number of clandestine weddings, though, on the whole, the camp was never in much of marrying mood. Even husbands and wives had been kept apart for nearly two years until, a few months before this time, they had been al­ lowed to live together in the shanties because of the crowding in the build­ ings. With the establishment of the Los Baftos camp, to which, ultimate­ ly, many of the young people of both sexes were transferred, the matter of marrying and taking in marriage be­ came of greater importance there, and it was at Los Baflos that the initiative was taken in bringing about a lifting of the inhuman Japanese restriction.

He objected to the statement that the "oath or pledge had not been signed by the free will of the persons signing"; to the implication that the Japanese might conceivably require conduct from the internees which would be disloyal to their own coun­ tries; and to the provision that the violation of the oath should not bring additional penalty in case of offense. With reference to his third objection, Ohashi said that he had no authority to anticipate future "court decisions", and he thus ignored the statement in the Commandant’s order of the 25th which stated that the oath was "not to be construed as a modification of present regulations governing their [the internees’] conduct nor of penal­ ties for infractions thereof". After consultation with the Agents, the Internee Committee submitted the "Advice from the Commandant’s Office was draft of the revised letter, regarding which up to the time of this writing recorded that marriages may now be legal­ (May 15) nothing had been heard as ised in the camp. Requests must be made to the Internee Committee which will publish yet. notices for objections for a period of at least In the end, many internees felt that one week, after which if no objection is raised, there had probably been too much to- application w ill be made to the Commandant. do about the so-called "oath". They Approved marriages will be properly registered said it was not an oath, since it was with the local authorities." The first application was submitted not duly attested, and that it was not even a pledge because it was taken by H. E. Bennett and Mary C. Connor

222

and the banns were posted on the camp bulletin boards on April 13, a Catholic priest certifying that he knew of no obstacles to the proposed mar­ riage. No objections reached the In­ ternee Committee, and application was then duly made to the Comman­ dant. At the time of this writing, May 15, however, the young people were still waiting and no priest or minister in the camp had as yet been author­ ized by the Japanese to perform mar­ riages, although it was reported that in Los Banos some four or five wed­ dings had already been celebrated. A state of air-raid alert was again declared at 5:50 p.m. on the 27th of April which continued even through the 29th, the Emperor’s birthday, the 30th, and May 1 to 6:45 p.m. The fact was cause for comment during the family visiting on the 29th and some of the outsiders were said to have whispered that the reason for the alert and the nightly blackouts was that American planes, flying very high, had been taking photographs of the city. Yoshi's Baseball Game— Comman­ dant Yoshi made it known that he was a lover of sports, and on the Empe­ ror’s Birthday he went so far as to "order” a baseball game to be played the next day, Sunday, beginning at 10 o’clock, at which, he said, the Direc­ tor-General of Prison Camps would be his guest. There was quite a crowd of internees to watch the all-star game, and, while the two teams were warming up in the field, awaiting the arrival of the Director-General, Yoshi walked out on a sideline and began pitching balls to one of the internee players. The internees watched cu­ riously as he stood close for the first few throws and then gradually in­ creased the distance by stepping back a pace at each throw. The Director-

THE CAMP

General failing to put in an appear­ ance, Yoshi called off the scheduled game and, to the general surprise, or­ ganized a Japanese scratch-team on the spot, composed of members of his staff and soldiers of the guard. With Yoshi as captain and pitcher, the team walked into the field, an oppos­ ing internee team being hastily chosen from among the internee players. The Commandant’s pitching was poor and he ignored the (soft-ball) rule which requires underhand throwing. The in­ ternee players tried not to hit his balls too often or too hard, without making this fact too obvious. The Japanese naturally played raggedly and Yoshi showed temper when his strained teammates muffed the ball or made other errors. Several times, when one of his basemen or an infielder missed, he interrupted the game to throw five or six swift balls at him in a me­ nacing manner. “This game is going to end in a tragedy yet”, said an on­ looker. "Somebody is likely to get shot!” As Yoshi tired, he went to the sideline between innings and would fall into a chair, complaining of the heat. He would fan himself and take off his top boots, showing naked feet. Nevertheless, the old man forced him­ self to go the full seven innings of a game that was a strain to the specta­ tors as well as the players on both sides. It ended with the very respect­ able score of 5 to 3 in favor of the in­ ternee team, although it could have been 50 to 0, and everybody heaved a sigh of relief when it was over. A few days later the Commandant participated in another game, al­ though he was still pretty stiff from the first game. After the game he dis­ tributed bananas to the players. Al­ though he frequently watched the re­ gular internee games after this, he did not himself play again. People won-

YOSHI’S BASEBALL GAME. HIS SPEECH

223

dered what these gestures toward fra­ necessary that each one work for the common ternization meant if they were not good. If some individuals violate a regulation, merely instances of the exhibitionism many innocent people will suffer as a conse­ quence. of which he was very soon suspected. "I realize the difficulties and inconveniences Time would show whether he was of such a camp. But they can not be avoided really disposed to goodwill. in time of war. Many of my fellow countrymen His Speech— The first Commandant also have been interned...My fourth brother to do so, he addressed all the inter­ was in America and when this war broke nees in English or in an attempt at out he surrendered as a prisoner and for a English on the morning of May 2. Ac­ long time has been in an American intern­ camp. You understand, I think... [un­ cording to the announcement over ment intelligible]. It is my policy to do as much the loudspeakers, the address would for you under the present circumstances as I be short so that internees need not would want others to do for my own coun­ bring their chairs but should remain trymen. standing; they should bow when the "I can assure you that as long as you obey Commandant appeared to address the rules of this camp you will be treated them and bow again when he had fairly. I will do all in my power to make con­ ended. As the internee-body stood ditions as pleasant as possible for you. My waiting, two Japanese soldiers with line of action will depend upon your response to my appeal. their rifles goose-stepped past the "Before finishing my address I want to tell stage and back again. Some little boys you that you are not the only ones suffering thought this funny, and imitated them. from the lack of materials, clothing, food, and After a few minutes, Yoshi appeared other commodities, but the whole world is with the members of his staff, who suffering also. Some suffer even more than ranked themselves to one side; Grin­ you. "I thank you for your kind attention under ned mounted the stage behind him this big sunshine and I ask for the cooperation and introduced him. The audience had I expect from each one of you.” difficulty in making out what the Com­ Promise or menace? the camp won­ mandant said, but a transcript of the dered. He had not said anything new speech read as follows: "Ladies and Gentlemen: Before starting my and nothing he had said seemed signi­ brief address, I will beg you to forgive my ficant. Perhaps he had only wanted to pronunciation because it was only two years appear before the internee body. He ago that I started to talk English. On the day had gestured awkwardly. He had laid I arrived in the Philippine Islands I could not his hand on his heart when he had said talk even one word of English, but I believe it can be very hard by an interpreter to ex­ that he spoke from the bottom of his press myself in English. So I ask that you heart, — which he pronounced "hurt” excuse my very bad English. Those who can Yoshi Postpones Receiving the not understand my pronunciation please look Agents— The Internee Agents had met at the expression of my eyes and mouth. I with the Internee Committee on the want you all to understand my speech, which previous evening and had agreed on the comes from the bottom of my heart. "A state of war existing between our gov­ draft of a letter from the Agents to ernments has brought us together here in this the new Commandant requesting per­ internment camp. Upon assuming my duties mission to pay their respects to him. as head of this camp, I will ask you to follow It had also been agreed that the letter out faithfully all the regulations we request. should be presented to the Comman­ If this is done, many misunderstandings and the Internee Committee unpleasant incidents will be avoided. In such dant by Commandant, a large gathering as we have here, it is very through the former

224

Onozaki, who himself had suggested this course. The letter read: "To His Excellency The Commandant Manila Internment Camp "Sir: "The undersigned are the Agents of the In­ ternees of this camp, appointed under the pro­ visions of the Geneva Convention o f 1929. "May we call upon you at your convenience to pay our respects? "Very respectfully, H. B. Pond T. Harrington C. A. DeWltt "Agents o f the Internees "Manila Internment Camp"

It was a step in the effort to obtain formal recognition, and the Japanese understood it as such. At the time of this writing (June 6) a reply had still not been received. On May 20, howver, Onozaki informed the Internee Committee that "after investigation they had found that it was necessary for this matter to be referred through the Director-General [of Prison Camps] to the Commander-in-chief, and that no decision had yet been an­ nounced". Re-election of Pond as Agent— In the meantime, on May 18, Pond had called the attention of the Internee Committee to the fact that his term of office expired on the 26th, as the Agents, shortly after their election, had determined by lot that Pond was to serve 3 months, Harrington 6, and DeWitt 9, each to hold office, however, until his successor had been elected. The Internee Committee asked Lloyd to make the necessary arrangements through the Monitors Council for the election of a new agent or the re-elec­ tion of Pond, who signified his willing­ ness to stand for re-election. In the elec­ tion held on the evening of the 24th, Pond received 2,496 votes as against a scattered vote of 103 for a number of

THE CAMP

other persons. Well-deserved as was this almost unanimous re-election, the vote was to be interpreted as express­ ing camp-wide approval of the work of the Agents during the difficult months through which the camp had passed. On the 30th, the Internee Com­ mittee submitted a letter to the Com­ mandant informing him of the "reelection of Mr. H. B. Pond as Agent of Internees under the Geneva Con­ vention of 1929." The Strike in the Kitchen and the Reorganization— An incident in con­ nection with the donation to the camp of meat, ham, bacon, etc., by the Neu­ tral Welfare Committee of the Inter­ national Y.M.C.A. on the occasion of the Emperor’s birthday, had impor­ tant consequences. The ham was to be served as pork in "pork and beans" for supper on the 1st, and an inspec­ tion the day before having revealed that some of the meat of that day had been put in special dishes for some of the kitchen crew, Carroll sent two internee guards into the kitchen with the ham, these men being charged with seeing to it that none of the ham (there was little enough of it) was im­ properly used. Despite the fact that the irregularity had been discovered the previous day and the fact that one of the kitchen workers was then up before the Committee on Order for having stolen a good-sized piece of ba­ con, the crew took umbrage at the appearance of the guards, and John Ball, the kitchen supervisor, protested to Carroll and told him that if he did not withdraw the guards the men would walk out. It was a fact that the men in the kitchen were called upon to do very hard work, much of it disagreeable, at all hours of the day and night, and, taking this into consideration the

FOOD THEFTS IN THE KITCHEN. THE REORGANIZATION

camp authorities had condoned prac­ tices which had finally included the preparation of special dishes for kit­ chen workers. Even this was tolerated, no doubt partly, at least, because the workers, most of them men from ships, had formed a sort of "closed shop" organization which it was dif­ ficult to discipline and which was al­ ways ready to threaten a strike when disciplining was attempted. The mat­ ter of special dishes for the kitchen workers, or for some of them, was not one of great importance so long as there was enough of food of a sort available, but this was no longer the case and it was high time that a stop was put to these men taking the best of everything for themselves and pre­ paring it in special ways, while the food as served on the line became poorer. At this time, the Internee Committee had already decided that certain changes were necessary in the organi­ zation of the kitchen, leaving it to Carroll to work out the details, and the appointments of Howard Hick as general supervisor of the kitchen and of three other men as assistant super­ visors, — R. Wabraushek (food pre­ paration), T.J. Pratt (personnel), and W. Weinzheimer (sanitation) had just been approved though not yet announced. Carroll was determined that all the ham would go into the beans, and when Ball made his de­ mand that the guards be withdrawn, he refused to do so. As a consequence, one of the two kitchen crews walked out at once, — about 10 o’clock in the morning; the other crew, not on duty at the time, was decent enough to give a week’s notice of its inten­ tion to join the strike. One remaining kitchen worker was chiefly respon­ sible for keeping the many large ket­ tles of the noon rice and corn from

225

burning. It was an emergency, for the newly appointed supervisors had not had time to make any preparations for taking over the work, but Hick called on his friends and any others he could think of to help out tem­ porarily, and some of these men for several days put in 12 or more hours a day. During the following weeks three crews were organized, some 60 men taking the place of the 40 who had quit. The total number of main kitchen workers was increased during the month from 234 to nearly 300 be­ cause, among other difficulties, the gas practically gave out and resort had to be taken on the 17th to the emergency wood- and charcoal-stoves built during the typhoon of Novem­ ber of the previous year under the dining-shed. The Tribune of the 17th carried an announcement stating that the Gas Company, "with the approval of the authorities" had forbidden the use of gas water-heaters because of the "ever-increasing difficulties in obtain­ ing sufficient raw materials for the production of fuel-gas". Additional strain was put on the kitchen by the heavy falling off of vegetables and fruits made available for sale in the camp market, which drove many per­ sons to the food-lines who had up to that time been doing some cooking of their own in their shanties. In April the average daily number of meals served at the main kitchen was 7,618; in May the figure was 8,256. In spite of the difficulties, the qua­ lity of the cooking improved notice­ ably. With much less to "do" with, the kitchen experimented and began putting out such dishes as curried fish-sauce, fried rice, camote-salad, etc., which were as tasty as the available ingredients allowed. Internees spoke of what might have been done in times past when there was meat avail­

226

able and oil and peanuts and sugar, and lamented that the reorganization in the kitchen had been so long post­ poned. Higher Prices, New Cuts in the Ra­ tions— Bananas had always been one of the mainstays of the camp. For the past two years, when the linefood was poor, the people had always been able to fill up on bananas, (peo­ ple used to say, "Thank God for ba­ nanas”), but the Japanese had now for some time limiting purchasers to four or five every other day, and on May 5 and again on May 6 there were no bananas for sale in the camp market at all, and very little of anything else. Camp and individual purchases of supplemental food, mostly fruit and vegetables, amounted at this time to around PI2,000 a day, camp purchases for the kitchens amounting to around P5,000 of this. Komatsu suddenly de­ cided this was an extravagance and decreed that the total daily purchases should be reduced to P5,000. Accord­ ing to the minutes of May 5: "Mr. Komatsu advised Mr. Earl Carroll that this camp was reported to have the highest standard of living of any internment camp in the Far East; that internees were living extravagantly, and that the present basis of P90 per month (per capita) for supplementary expenses was far out of proportion to what it ought to be. Mr. Komatsu was utterly op­ posed to our proposals for the borrowing of funds, and stated that expenditure on supple­ mentary foodstuffs should be limited to P5.000 daily. Mr. Carroll stressed the need for meat, eggs, fruits, and peanuts, and the only reply he got was that we were being supplied with fish. In regard to the letters recently received from persons in the United States referring to the decent treatment that was being given to Japanese internees, jMr. Komatsu stated that he was not interested in personal obser­ vations made by individual Americans in the United States. He thinks that the only solu­ tion to our problem is to close all canteens and to put everything into the kitchens.”

THE CAMP

The minutes did not say so, but Carroll had concluded the conference with Komatsu with the statement, "This is persecution”. Only a few days before, May 3, Komatsu had informed him that the army rations of sugar, tea, and oil, small as they were, "would not be available for the month of May”. On May 1 the "camp restau­ rant”, which had been serving only coffee, stopped that. It is probable that the Commandant over-ruled Komatsu in his attempt to limit camp purchases of supplemen­ tary food to P5,000 a day, for the Com­ mittee continued to submit the usual purchase orders and these were ap­ proved. Komatsu only said, "When their money is all gone, we'll see how they like it." The supplies brought in by the Ja­ panese continued to rise in price, the volume decreasing correspondingly. Ba­ nanas were available at the market only once or twice a week and sold at P.30 each. By the end of the month, a poor avocado (nothing but culls were brought in), cost PI, a stringy mango, PI.60, a medium-sized papaya, P10. Sugar in the camp was changing hands at P180 a kilo. A can of Klim (one pound) now cost P200; corned beef, P75; soluble coffee (small can) P45; native cigarets, P22; picadura tobac­ co, P65; a small cake of soap, PI8. These prices were not an index of luxury, but of want and semi-starva­ tion. Few people, of course, could meet such prices. Plan for Private Borrowing turned Down— The Internee Committee re­ turned to the question of funds the next day in an interview with Onozaki. He told the Committee that its plan for private borrowing had been turned down. The minutes of May 6, covering this meeting, stated:

PLANS FOR PRIVATE BORROWING TURNED DOWN "The Committee met Mr. Onozaki in the morning and in connection with the proposal to obtain additional private finance, Mr. Ono­ zaki stated that he had explained the proposal in detail to the Commandant who, in turn, had taken it up strongly with the Director-Gen­ eral. The Director-General had discussed it, in view of its importance, with other entities, but although they were sympathetic toward us, he regretted that the proposal had been turned down. The Committee asked Mr. Onozaki to do his best to arrange for a telegram to be sent asking for our relief funds from abroad to be increased sufficiently to take care of our full requirements. "Failing this, the Committee stressed the ab­ solute need for supplementary diet over and above that at present supplied by the Japa­ nese, and particularly stressed the need for peanuts, eggs, and fruit, especially bananas. We stated that in more or less degree every­ one in camp needed these as supplementary to the rice, corn, and fish provided, and we sug­ gested that we might possibly cut down the rice ration somewhat and substitute these other essential foodstuffs. Mr. Onozaki asked us to estimate the quantities that we would require based on bare minimum necessities. We promised to supply him with this informa­ tion. "The Committee also asked Mr. Onozaki to inquire from Mr. Kato why the promised sup­ ply of eggs and milk from the Neutral Wel­ fare Committee of the International Y.M.C.A. did not arrive this week. "Later in the day, Mr. Onozaki asked Mr. Earl Carroll to provide him with an estimate of cash still available in the camp both in the hands of private individuals and in the camp’s possession. After investigation and consultation, Mr. Carroll gave him the figures as — Private funds, P700,000 Camp funds P350,000 Mr. Carroll pointed out that included in the latter item were donations from private indi­ viduals to general camp funds.”

The Dangerous Camp “Moat" Bur­ lesque— The Japanese officials in the camp showed little interest in the mat­ ter of adequately feeding the camp or in the matter of enabling the inter­ nees to obtain some badly-needed mo­ ney, but were fertile of ideas involv­

227

ing the forcing of more hard labor on the half-starved and exhausted camp. One of Komatsu’s projects, that of the Santo Tomas "moat”, can be described only as the burlesque it was. He first called it a "drainage ditch” in his interview with Grinnell and Carroll on May 3. It was to run along the entire length of the new garden in the southwest corner of the cam­ pus and turn at right angles at a point just short of the main gate and run from there past the main building and the annex to the old bodega in the rear of the campus. This ditch was to be 3 meters wide and 2 meters deep! He held several subsequent con­ ferences on the matter with members of the Committee during which he let it be known that, though he was no engineer, he had at one time written a prize-winning "paper” on irrigation systems, — probably it was a school boy’s theme. Members of the Committee first told him cautiously that there were ex­ perienced irrigation engineers among the internees and that they would ask them to study the plan. The engineers, of course, immediately pointed out that to dig a canal of the dimensions envisaged by Komatsu was not only unnecessary, but impossible in filled ground, consisting in many places largely of rotting sawdust, and that a depth of 2 meters was away below the level of the storm sewers outside the camp. They suggested a smaller drainage ditch along the street-side of the garden with laterals running into it from the garden (as the garden officials had already planned). Ko­ matsu approved, and the work was started with picks and shovels he bor­ rowed from the army.3 The camp had had from the first a hard­ working ditch-digging and ditch-maintenance

3

228

When a few days later, Komatsu went to inspect the work, however, he was greatly angered to see that the ditch under construction was only a mere 3 feet wide and 2 feet deep. He summoned the Committee and said that what the men were doing was not at all what he had in mind. He wanted a real canal, — a river, "the Santo Tomas River", and spoke jokingly of how nice it would be for the children to see the camp ducks swimming in the water. The Commit­ tee also jokingly expressed the fear that the children might fall into the "river", especially as it would "flow" past the annex. Komatsu then said that Lieutenant Takeda had had a plan to put up an electrically charged fence all around Santo Tomas, but that he, Komatsu, believed that inasmuch as there were women and children in the camp, such a dangerous fence would not be pro­ per and that therefore he wanted a "moat" which would be wide enough so that internees could not easily get across it. This, of course, was non­ sense, too, because what he now called a "moat" would not run all around the campus, but would only cut it in two with most of the camp popula­ tion on the outer side of it. There was more talk, and finally, Carroll, as Committee member in charge of camp labor, said shortly: "We are working only on a drainage ditch". This broke up the meeting, but that evening Komatsu called an­ other conference. He had worked himself up into such a state that in stamping about the room his long erew o f 5 or 6 men headed by G. R. Law and S. J. Willimont. Over 3 kilometers of ditches, some of them quite large and deep, had to be dug to drain the shanty areas. They were kept clean largely by the action o f the tide. This crew also dug the garbage pits and later the emergency surface wells.

THE CAMP

sword hit a chair and almost tripped him. He said he was ordering the work on the Committee’s ditch stop­ ped, that an electrically charged fence would be put up, and that if any one was electrocuted the Committe would be responsible. He added that if the in­ ternees did not want to drain the gar­ den, they could starve The following morning, May 12, Ko­ matsu came to the Internee Commit­ tee’s office and told the members that they must go with him to the Commandant’s office. T h e r e they found Yoshi and his entire staff, in­ cluding the sergeant of the guard, so­ lemnly lined up in two rows on one side of the room. Yoshi was stand­ ing behind his desk. The members of the Committee were lined up on the left. Yoshi asked whether it was true that the Committee had refused to dig a certain ditch. Grinnell ans­ wered that the Committee had not refused to dig'the ditch but that there was a disagreement over the dimen­ sions. He said that the Committee was willing to dig a ditch to drain the garden, according to plans provided by internee engineers, and that the work had in fact already been started. Yoshi was apparently not informed as to the whole situation and said, "Well, then, let’s go to the spot and look at it." The Commandant and most of his staff, including Onozaki, Ohashi, Komatsu, and Takeda, walked to the garden, accompanied by the members of the Committee, Grinnell sending, too, for two of the internee engineers. Yoshi looked over the ground, glanced at a pencilled plan of the ditch, and said that the work was well-planned and that he would leave the whole thing to the Committee. "It would have been very serious", he said, "if you had refused to obey a military order."

229

BRUTAL BEATING OF TWO INTERNEES

He seemed to know nothing of Ko­ matsu’s plan for a 3-meter-wide canal, and Komatsu himself, apparently, did not deem it advisable to bring it up, — nor did the Committee. Komatsu looked as if he had “lost face’’ enough, especially after Yoshi, who was carrying a little fan, had walked over to him and tapped him over the head with it, saying something in Ja­ panese. According to an internee in­ terpreter present, he said: “Now, young man, I have shown you how to handle such a situation!” The incident was not quite over; the next day the Com­ mandant, working himself into a rage in charging Komatsu with having put him in an embarrassing position, slap­ ped his face. But he seemed to have missed the point. If the camp, in the middle of the hot season, had been put to the toil of digging such an enor­ mous and absolutely useless ditch, it would for many men have been their grave. Komatsu's idea had not been so playful as it might seem. The Brutal Beating of Wells and Peters — The farce of the Santo To­ mas "river” or "moat” had not yet been played out when there occurred a grim episode which entirely lacked the comic element. First, a little af­ ter 9 o’clock in the evening of May 6, the men in the gymnasium were sud­ denly marched out on the tennis court and counted, though the regu­ lar roll call had been taken at 7 o’clock. Then, in the early hours of the morn­ ing of the 7th, three men living in shanties near the gymnasium were arrested, — C. Boyd, E. W. Bradley, and F. Peters, and, later in the day, A. S. Wells, who live in the education building was also arrested. Peters was put in the camp jail, Boyd and Bradley were kept in the Japanese bodega compound in the rear of the campus, and Wells was tied up at

the front gate, behind the sawali wall. All four of the men were re­ peatedly "investigated” during the the day by members of the Command­ ant’s staff in connection with "con­ tacts” they had allegedly maintained with persons on the outside, and Pe­ ters and Wells were badly beaten up. After evening roll call on the 7th, camp officials requested the officer of the day, Komatsu, for permission for a doctor to visit Peters, but he re­ fused this on the grounds that he was a prisoner of the Japanese and would be looked after by them. On the 9th, the Commandant sentenced Peters and Wells to a month's imprisonment each in the camp jail, reduced one week in view of the fact that they "confessed"; Boyd was sentenced to three weeks, reduced one week be­ cause he "confessed”; and Bradley was "released with a warning that a severe penalty would be inflicted for a similar offense in the future”. The men had been convicted of smuggling in cigarets and pipe tobacco and it was significant that the man known by the internee officials to be the most active in this smuggling had gotten off with a warning. Not so with the others and, as for Wells, according to the cau­ tious language of the minutes of the Internee Committee, he, "after exam­ ination by two camp doctors, was per­ mitted to enter the camp hospital on the understanding that his period of sentence would begin as soon as he recovered from injuries received”. As for Peters, it was found he could not walk, and he was taken from the jail to the hospital the next day. The hospital report on their condi­ tion, signed by Dr. T. D. Stevenson, and dated May 11, read: "Wells, A. "Admitted "Physical sented the

S. American, age 47 to Hospital May 9, 1944 examination upon admission following findings:

pre­

230 "Head: Depression of the malar bone, left side; the edge felt at the infraorbital notch; anteriorly and about 2 cm. posteriorly; marked ecchymosis involving the orbit. There is an anesthesia of the entire left side of the face and marked sweating. Patient is unable to open his mouth to the fullest extent due to the involvement of the left tempero mandibular joint. "Eyes: Examination by Dr. Bloom. Left: subconjuctival hemorrhage about outer and lower 2/3. Cornea slightly edematous. Fundus, some engorgement of vessels and edema of the retina above and in macular area. Vision, left eye, 20/80. Transillumina­ tion of sinuses: Left frontal dark; left an­ trum dark. Fluoroscopic examination shows double fracture through the malar bone, with depression. "Diagnosis: Depressed fracture, malar bone, left, involving orbit and zygomatic arch and maxillary and ethmoidal sinuses, left. Contusion, eye-ball, left, with edema of the retina. "Note: An operation for elevation of the left malar bone has been scheduled for May 1 at the camp hospital." "Peters, F., American, age 43 "Physical examination May 10, 1944 "Both legs show lacerations over the anterior aspect. There is marked edema of the legs and ankles and severe contusions over the tibiae. The thighs present wide areas of contusions, especially the right. Over the lower back there is an area of extreme tenderness in the region of the right sacro­ iliac joint. There is pain and limitation of the movement of the right thigh. "Diagnosis: Lacerations, both legs, contu­ sions, both legs and thighs; subperiostal hemorrhages, both tibiae; sacroiliac strain, right.”

The Committee and the Agents Lodge Formal Protests— Internees had been brutally abused before, but by milita­ ry police and outside the camp, ex­ cept in one case, that of Blair. It had never been possible to obtain the full evidence. In the cases of Peters and Wells, however, the main facts were known, and both the Internee Com­ mittee and the Agents decided to en­ ter formal protests. According to the minutes of the joint meeting held on the evening of the 11th: "The Internee Committee met with the Agents at 8 p.m. and approved the Agents’ draft letter

THE CAMP to the Commandant protesting against the maltreatment of internees under investigation. The Agents were shown the Committee’s let­ ter on the same subject."

The two letters were submitted on the 13th.4 The next day the Commandant lined up the members of his staff in his office and, after rating them for their handling of the two men, asked who had been responsible. When none of them spoke, he walked over to Ko­ matsu, the officer of the day, and ag­ ain slapped his face, in the approved Japanese army fashion. That was all 4 The Committee’s letter, signed by all three members, read: "Sir: Re: Abe Skerratt Wells, American, Aged 47 Frank Peters, American, Age 43 "We wish to report that the above two in­ ternees have received serious physical injuries in the course of their investigation by your Office for violations of regulations. These two internees were given a jail sentence by you on May 9. "Prior to their confinement, they were exa­ mined by two of the camp doctors. Shortly thereafter Mr. Wells was transferred to the camp hospital for further examination and treatment. On the following day, Mr. Peters, was given further medical attention in the camp jail. "We attach copies of medical statements on both cases. "It is our opinion that both these internees have been maltreated during the investigation of their cases and we respectfully request that steps be taken to prevent a recurrence of such treatment.” The Agent’s letter was couched in strong language and cited pertinent provisions of the Geneva Convention: "Sir: "Recently, on several occasions, internees of this camp have been beaten, slapped, and otherwise maltreated by certain members of your staff and by other Japanese Military au­ thorities in the course of certain searches and investigations. There is no need to refer to in­ dividual instances. Nor is there any need of discussing the circumstances attending each case, or the question whether any of the per­ sons who have been so abused have been guilty of any offense whatever. The point is that such abuse is never lawful, under any

THE COMMITTEE AND THE AGENTS PROTEST

that happened, except that the Com­ mandant later told Grinnell that he had issued an order to the members of his staff to refrain from resorting to phy­ sical measures in their investigations of internees. The necessary surgical operation on Well’s eye was successful and on the 27th both Peters and Wells were re­ turned to the camp jail. The Commitcircumstances. No civilized nation ever coun­ tenances such treatment of unarmed and de­ fenseless men and women who are its prison­ ers, especially where they are held merely in 'protective custody’. That this is the view of your Government is shown by the fact, as we wrote your predecessor on the 14th of April, 1944, that it agreed with the Government of the United States very shortly after the out­ break of the present war, to treat prisoners and civilian internees falling into its hands in ac­ cordance with the provisions of the Geneva Convention of July, 1929. That Convention ab­ solutely forbids such acts of violence and in­ human treatment as is the subject of pro­ test in this letter, as the following Articles thereof show: " 'Art. 2 — Prisoners of war are in the power of the hostile power, but not of the individuals or corps who have captured them. They must at all times be humanely treated, and protect­ ed, particularly against acts of violence, insults, and public curiosity. Measures of re­ prisal against them are prohibited. " 'Art. 3 — Prisoners of war have the right to have their person and honor respected. Wo­ men shall be treated with all the regard due their sex. Prisoners retain their full civil sta­ tus. “ ‘Art. 5 — Prisoners who refuse to answer may not be threatened, insulted, or exposed to unpleasant or disadvantageous treatment of any kind whatever.' “It is therefore obvious that your Govern­ ment does not countenance such acts of vio­ lence upon the prisoners it may hold, whether civilian or military, during this war, as have been committed upon internees in this camp, and that any officer or soldier of the Japa­ nese Army, or any other Japanese official, who has authorized, or participated in, such acts of violence has thereby placed upon his Gov­ ernment the stigma of violating its own solemn engagements. "Moreover, we earnestly invite your attention to a statement of the Japanese Foreign Office appearing in the volpme of a Japanese maga­ zine called Contemporary Japan for November,

231

tee asked that the time spent by the men in the hospital be taken into con­ sideration, but Takeda stated that no reduction would be made. Though Wells was not certain, he believed it was Takeda who had struck the blow which had injured his eye; he thought Takeda has used his sword. 1942, wherein the text of a protest by the Ja­ panese Government to the Government of the United States with regard to treatment alleged to have been accorded Japanese civilian in­ ternees by the authorities of that country dur­ ing the early days of the war is set out ver­ batim. In that protest it is allged that certain Japanese civilian internees had suffered at the hands of the American authorities in the same way that some of the internees of this camp have suffered at the hands of Japanese mili­ tary authorities, and your Government charac­ terized such mistreatment as ‘most inhuman cruelty and insult’ and as a violation of the Geneva Convention of 1929. Under the head­ ing, ‘Torture in Internment Camps’, beating, kicking, and other abuses of Japanese internees are alleged, similar to those which have been suffered by internees in this camp; and your Government characterized them as ‘brutal mis­ treatment’ and as constituting ‘inhuman acts of violence’. "Without admitting that the statements of fact in said protest are true, we can not re­ frain from pointing out that if beatings, slappings, and other maltreatment constitute ‘most inhuman cruelty and insult’, 'brutal maltreat­ ment’, ‘inhuman acts of violence’, and a viola­ tion of the agreement to apply the provisions of the Geneva Convention of 1929 to noncombatant internees, when committed by American authorities at Fort Missoula or Fort Lincoln, as your Government alleges in such protest, such acts- of violence must be cha­ racterized in the same terms when committed by Japanese military authorities in the Manila Internment Camp. "In view of the foregoing, the undersigned, as the appointed Agents of the Internees of this camp, do hereby enter our most vigorous protest against any acts of violence hereto­ fore committed on any of the internees of this camp, under any circumstances whatsoever, and do formally request that you take imme­ diate steps to prevent their recurrence, either directly or through such higher military au­ thorities as may have effective control of the situation. "Very respectfully, etc.”

232

Camp Doctors Urge Necessity of a More Adequate Diet — On the 15th, Komatsu had informed the Internee Committee that he had received ins­ tructions from Headquarters to cut the camp cereal ration from 400 grams per head to 300 grams, "effective pro­ bably tomorrow”. Three days later, however, he informed the Committee, — from all that the Committee could tell, on his own responsibility, that the reduction was "postponed indefi­ nitely”. But at the request of the Com­ mittee the medical and health depart­ ment of the camp had meanwhile pre­ pared a letter on the subject of the urgent necessity of additional food, and this letter was handed to Onozaki, for the attention of the Commandant, on the 20th. The Commandant summoned the Committee and Drs. Smith and Flet­ cher a few days later. He was or pre­ tended to be greatly provoked by the letter, and in the presence of several members of his staff and speaking in a loud voice challenged some of the statements which the doctors had made. On the point of the general loss of weight by internees he asked what the doctors had based their statement on and whether everybody had been periodically weighed. Since this, of course, had not been done, he asked why the doctors had made a statement they could not prove. He said that the correspondence cards proved that the general health was very good, as only a few internees on their cards sent out to relatives had underlined the word "poor” in the line indicating their state of health. According to the mi­ nutes (May 25): "The Commandant did not agree with the doctors that there was a widespread loss of weight throughout the entire camp, or that the present food supply was inadequate. In his opinion the mental effect of prolonged in­

THE CAMP ternment, separation of families, lack of regu­ lar communication, etc., had a considerable effect on the physical condition of the inter­ nees. With regard to the hospital being over­ crowded, the Commandant stated that com­ pared with military hospitals, where overcrowd­ ing is a real problem, our present hospital has plenty of space. In case of a serious epi­ demic, prompt steps would be taken to make additional space available; if necessary, the whole of the Commandant's staff would move out of their office. In existing circumstances, however, the hospital space provided was, in his opinion, adequate. The Commandant also pointed out that out of 970 communication cards, only 25 stated that the writers were weak or in poor health and by far the greatest ma­ jority stated they were in good health. It was explained to the Commandant that this was quite natural as internees did not wish to distress their relatives unduly by reporting that they were in poor health. "With regard to the doctors’ specific request for eggs, milk, bananas, peanuts, and sugar, the Commandant stated that these commodi­ ties were simply not available in the market in the quantities needed by us. He also ad­ vised that the calories of the rations supplied by the Japanese military authorities are check­ ed carefully to ensure a proper maintenance of health in the camp. "The Commandant wished the doctors and the Internee Committee to understand that he did not look upon them as enemies and that he was doing his best to provide as much as possible for them. He stated that the finance section of his staff is making every effort to get in pigs and carabaos to provide milk for the children and supplementary food, and that it is essential that everyone should cooperate to achieve the best results.”

The Japanese simply lied when they said that the foodstuffs so badly need­ ed by the camp were not available. It was true that there was great scarcity in Manila and that the poor were suf­ fering, but there was still a great va­ riety of food obtainable in the mar­ kets, — at a price. Had internee buy­ ers been allowed to go out to buy, as formerly, all the most necessary de­ mands of the camp could have been satisfied. The reason for the scarcity

A SLIGHT IMPROVEMENT IN FOOD DELIVERIES

in Manila was only in part due to the production and transportation factors which the Japanese always stressed. It was due to the ruthless and heavy mi­ litary levies on all the produce of the country. Japanese troops and Japa­ nese civilians alike all were, and look­ ed, exceedingly well fed. The next morning, at his request, the Internee Committee again met with the Commandant and several mem­ bers of his staff. On this occasion the Commandant said that he had not rea­ lized when he spoke to the doctors that the Committee agreed with them. Now he knew that, he said, he was disposed to give their communication greater weight! But it proved that by this he meant only that he would ar­ gue the matter with the Committee, too. He said, however, that he would send Komatsu to the "provinces”, "to look for food”. A few days later a Japanese from Headquarters came in­ to the camp to figure calories, but the work was only perfunctory. The Slight Improvement. — Despite the Commandant’s attitude, it appear­ ed that the pressure being brought to bear on the Japanese in the matter of supplying the camp more adequately was producing some results, though slight enough. On May 20, 400 kilos of meat were brought into camp (instead of the usual fish) as part of the mili­ tary ration, and an equal amount was brought in on the 22nd. On the 26th Komatsu informed the Committee that the military authorities would "as soon as possible” start providing free milk for children under 3, and on the 29th, 2 gallons of cows’ milk began to come in daily for children under 1, and 8 gallons of carabao milk for children under 2-1/2. On the 26th, six cows were brought into camp. A boar was brought in a few days later and, by the Commandant’s order, was placed in

233

the pen with the sows. Before he could be separated from them, the passion­ ate pig killed one and injured three more, two of which had to be butcher­ ed during the following week. The Commandant was greatly upset, but the slaughtered pigs helped to flavor the camp stew. On the 29th, Komatsu quite unexpectedly informed the Com­ mittee that "effective immediately, the rice ration would be increased by about 50% and that 1,050 kilos of camotes would be supplied daily.” The next day, however, he said that this arrangement would continue only to the 15th of June, after which the 400 gram cereal ration would be adjusted to include coconut milk (sic) as well as rice, corn, and camotes. There had been no ration of tea for May and the camp had had to fall back on its own reserves for this. Toward the end of the month, Komatsu said that for June, coffee instead of tea would be suplied, but only about 125 kilos. Four bags of coffee were brought down for the camp from Los Banos. This was just enough to give the internees one cup of coffee on three Sunday morn­ ings during the following month. The Japanese Plan to “Raise Fish” in the Swimming Pool — Of a piece with the Japanese talk of "raising cows and pigs” to increase the camp "pro­ duction", was the scheme, put forward by Komatsu, to raise bangus fish in the swimming pool. According to the mi­ nutes of May 28: "The Committee pointed out that camp of­ ficials had tried for 2-1/2 years to keep this swimming pool as reserve storage of drink­ ing water in case of an emergency. Mr. Komat­ su agreed that this was very desirable, but stated that in his opinion the introduction of these fish into the pool would not be detri­ mental to the water except that it would have to be filtered and that the live fish would eat any germs collecting in the water.”

The minutes of the 31st stated:

234 "Two Japanese fish experts came into camp to study the possibility of introducing fish into the swimming pool. They reported that bangus would not be suitable, but that some other types of fish might survive.”

On the 3rd of June, Komatsu order­ ed that the pool be drained immediate­ ly in preparation for making it over into a fish pond, but the Internee Com­ mittee insisted that it would have to consult the University authorities first. This was done, and Alcuaz, represent­ ing the University, saw the Comman­ dant and informed him that the Me­ tropolitan Water District authorities had requested that the water in the pool be held as a reserve not only for the camp but for the seminary and the neighboring residential district. The fish-stocking scheme was then drop­ ped. More Gardening Demanded — The Japanese continued to stress the need of more gardening, and Abiko, on the 11th ordered that 20 men should start work immediately on cleaning the 20meter zone along the walls with this in view. A few days later he expressed dissatisfaction with the progress made and said that "everyone in the camp should be made to realize the necessity of producing more food ourselves and that if we did not make a strenuous ef­ fort we would be the sufferrers”. (Mi­ nutes, May 16.) Onozaki also said that the ground should be cleared so that gardening could begin as soon as pos­ sible. The Committee pointed out the need of additional implements and al­ so of fertilizer if anything was to come of the effort. (Minutes, May 20.) On Sunday, May 21, it was announc­ ed that the Commandant would again personally address the internees that evening on an "important subject”. He said: “Ladies and Gentlemen: May I have your at­ tention for a while. At present, as you all know

THE CAMP almost all the nations of the world are fight­ ing not only on the battlefields but at the rear of the cannons, that is, in their own coun­ tries, to produce more and more of the articles necessary to be used directly destroying their respective enemies and bringing peace to the world as soon as possible, and on the other hand to produce those articles necessary to secure their living, clothing, and especially provisions. While this is so, you who are interned here in this camp are living comparatively easy lives. This in my opinion is not permissible. "At the present time the shortage of food is pressing hard even upon you in this camp with increasing severity. You have to try, by the sweat on your brows, to earn your own food; for instance, by growing potatoes, vegetables, and so on, tilling the soil, sowing the seeds. The food thus produced will be a welcome addition to your rations, and the money saved by your own labor can then be used to pro­ vide you with other essential commodities. "I heartily hope you, men and women, young and old, especially those who are healthy enough, will gladly engage in the holy work of producing your own provision and securing your own livelihood. I thank you. End.”

The next day the Japanese agreed to supply shovels, hoes, and sickles, and also fertilizer and seed, but they want­ ed a "progress” report from the Com­ mittee every ten days. Onozaki advised the Committee that he was chairman of the food production project and that Komatsu would be in charge of fertilizers, tools, and daily reports and Ohashi in charge of labor and broad­ casts; Kinoshita would be planting in­ spector. On the 24th Abiko expressed dissatisfaction with the progress of the ditch-digging and also with the dig­ ging of five wells at different points on the campus which the Committee itself had proposed in April to pro­ vide water in case of shortage, and de­ manded special progress reports on this work. On the 25 th members of the inter­ nee "garden council” were called to the Commandant’s office in connec­ tion with the “new food production

COMPULSORY, PUNITIVE LABOR

drive”, and a few days later the Com­ mandant agreed with the suggestion that garden workers be exempted from the morning roll call so that they could take advantage of the cooler hours. Even a portion of the hospital lawn had to be dug up, the junior high school pupils agreeing at a class meet­ ing to take over the responsibility for gardening this spot. Other sections were opened up for "private gardens”. Compulsory, and in Fact, Punitive Labor — All this was hardly veiled compulsion. The most intensive gar­ dening on the limited space available on the University grounds and taking into consideration the very poor soil, would bring only the most insignifi­ cant results comparative to the food requirements of the camp, but the Japanese saw in this hard labor, — as in that of making elaborate pens and runs for a cow and two calves, four or five pigs, and a few hundred ducks, a means of exacting practically puni­ tive work which it could be pretended was for the "maintenance” and good of the camp. Yoshi's Enlarged "Athletic" Pro­ gram — The Japanese maintained that the camp was adequately fed, that the general health was good, and that the internees could do hard physical work. But that was not enough. The "sportsloving” Commandant now said that the camp was not playing hard enough; that there was plenty of surplus ener­ gy for an enlarged program of athle­ tics. He broached this latter subject at a meeting with the Internee Committee which he called to his office on the afternoon of June 1. Internees who passed Yoshi’s office shortly after, heard his shrill voice raised in anger, and at 4 o’clock came the announce­ ment over the loudspeaker that by or­ der of the Commandant all athletic

235 activities had to be discontinued imme­ diately. The camp knew that some­ thing was up. The conference had opened peace­ fully enough with a statement from the Commandant that "he had been think­ ing of means of bringing more money into the camp and that the idea had occurred to him that internees with talent could manufacture things in the camp for sale outside!” He instanced a pipe which had been made for him by a Mr. Thomson. "Such things would find a ready sale outside”, he said. Ac­ cording to the minutes. "The Commandant would do his best to ar­ range for them to be sold and also for mate­ rials to be brought into camp to be made up. Ladies’ skill could also be used in sewing, in making shirts, etc., pictures could be made, baskets, cushions, and similar articles. It was not his idea that this should be done on a big commercial basis, but as a hobby in spare time, and the Committee might consider tak­ ing a percentage of the profit to help those who have no such talent. He wished it to be clearly understood that there was no thought of the Japanese Government taking any profit on such transactions, but that everything would be for the benefit of internees.”

All this staggered the Committee somewhat as a serious proposal to bring money into the camp in lieu of the Committee’s disapproved plans for obtaining private loans. The Com­ mandant seemed to have in mind the handicraft departments maintained by some penitentiaries. However, they thanked him and said that his sugges­ tion would be given full consideration. Yoshi's Rage. The Minutes did not Tell the Whole Story— Then the Com­ mandant began to speak of athletics. As to baseball, he said that when the present "big league” series was fi­ nished,"baseball should be made avail­ able to a larger number of players and that the more skilled players should stand down for a time to let "amateurs

236

have a chance". He wanted the various buildings and shanty-areas to organize teams. According to the minutes: "He suggested that inter-section matches should be arranged and that the younger mem­ bers of the community should be given an opportunity to play. The Committee tried to explain to the Commandant that opportunity was provided for all of those who wished to play baseball, and that, in addition, basketball would be starting shortly, soccer had just com­ menced, and that boxing tournaments were being arranged. "In the course of the discussion which fol­ lowed, we mentioned that some of the younger and 'teen-age boys, who were doing a long and hard camp detail, found it a great strain on their energy to take strenuous exercise. The Commandant was very annoyed with this state­ ment, and after citing the case of some young girls who spent two or three hours every day practicing dancing, he dismissed the meeting. "Later the Commandant ordered that all athletic activities of every description should be suspended immediately.”

Yoshi had been angered because he saw in the Committee’s reference to the strain on energy an attempt to get back to the food question. And the thought that a committee of prisoners dared to oppose him, a Colonel of the Imperial Army, suddenly drove him to fury. He stamped on the ground, screamed, and rushed out of the room. Onozaki and Ohashi were filled with consternation and advised the Com­ mittee to come back a little later and explain to the Commandant that he had misunderstood them. They acted on this suggestion but word was sent out that the Commandant would not see them again. He left the camp shortly after. Yoshi in a Speech Charges Inter­ nee Committee with Opposing all His Plans — The next day Yoshi called a meeting of monitors, shanty supervi­ sors, and the members of the recrea­ tion committee, which the Internee Committee was told by a member of

THE CAMP

his staff it was not permitted to at­ tend. In the broadcast announcement of the meeting, to be held at 11 o’clock, it was stated that only those who had been named should come to the meet­ ing, but when the time came a large number of children and curious older persons were admitted to the play­ house where the meeting was held. Yoshi probably believed that those he had invited to the meeting would favor his plan for more athletics, but when, in the course of his speech, he asked whether it was true that in­ creased exercise would be too great a drain on the camp energies, persons in the back of the house shouted, "Yes, it is true”. He then addressed himself principally to the children in the au­ dience and asked them whether they would not like to play more games and whether they did not wish to dance. He assumed various dancing poses and tried to do the "split”, which the children thought was very funny, and they all cried, "Yes, Yes!” Probably realizing in the end that in issuing his order stopping all games he had acted unwisely, he ended by say­ ing to the children that they need not stop their play. "You may play. You may play this afternoon.” It was a remarkable performance, and convinced the camp that Yoshi personally was childish rather than malicious. But the Internee Commit­ tee, Japanese-appointed, gained the dis­ tinction of being publicly charged by the Commandant himself of “opposing all my plans”. The speech, given partly in almost unintelligible English and in part in Japanese, through an interpreter, was wild and disjointed, but stenographers present made the following of it: "The other day committee of health depart­ ment called and told me something about your health, and now about that I am going to

YOSHI’S SPEECH ON MORE PLAY

237

speak. In spite of the decrease of the num­ such things. We are trying to increase your ber of internees because of transfer to other health. camp, — in spite of that, the number of pa­ “We are giving you some foodstuffs to keep tients does not decrease. Internees we sent to your health and to make your young boys other camp were strong men, healthy men, not and girls stronger than now, more healthful. invalids, so it is of course other remaining in­ We give some sports for your boys, baseball ternees included as patients as before so the maybe for young people and boxing and so number of patients does not decrease. We on. We are trying to increase your health. For intended to send strong and healthy internees amusement, I hope heartily you wait until the to other camp because they have not any fa­ end of the war. We heartily hope you enjoy cilities for sick people. your life until the end of the war. "I intended to give you some baseball after "When the committee of health department asked us to give strong man one egg every the end of the championship baseball match day, — for the patients two eggs every day, for the young boys and so on and give other it is impossible. We are now fighting, so if internees a chance. Why some of the Com­ you go to market at Manila you can hardly mittee opposed by the reason of, — I can’t find any eggs. If we can possibly get eggs, I understand why the Committee opposed. One myself want to give you many eggs, not only of the Committee said one reason is you like one or two, —. many eggs we are going to give to see baseball much but not like to play you, but we can scarcely get any eggs. Even much themselves. He means young boys. Is I myself can’t get any eggs. This I told the it true? Don’t you like to play basketball much? committee of health department the other day. He said that to play baseball and such exer­ "We have knowledge that foodstuffs we are cises decreased their energy. They will become giving you are not enough. We understand the sick, he said. Is it true? "If Committee said true, all of you, especially food you want is not like Japanese, — the European foodstuffs you want, and in Manila young girls dancing, or baseball matches will we can hardly get foodstuffs for Europeans so die day after day, is it true? No, I don’t you Americans and Englishmen we can not think it is true. satisfy your appetite and your taste. “As the Committee opposed all my plans, so "There are many Japanese who are interned I stopped baseball match and any amuse­ like you in America. They can’t h ave... [three ments to the Committee. If you want to prac­ Japanese dishes]. They want to eat such food­ tice any baseball matches, or dancing, and stuffs, but it is quite impossible. Like that, if so on, you must propose to the Committee. you ask for foodstuffs which you like best, it You had better speak to the Committee. "You, great pitcher [addressing a player], is quite impossible, as well as for the Japanese who are interned in America. The foodstuffs you want to continue, you want to play, play, we are giving you perhaps are not enough, play. You can play. This evening. I have many but we are giving you sufficient calories to children and many grandsons, but some of keep you healthy, to make you be strong. The them are weak, so I do not allow them to statistics of your health, — about 4,000 inter­ practice much, but you boys and girls, you nees, it is quite good. Out of about 1,000 inter­ babies, are quite strong, quite healthy, so you nees there are only 25 patients. That is quite need not stop your play. You may try your baseball practice from this evening, afternoon, good. We are proud of that in the world. "You are, some of you, separated from your and any amusement, and so on. You may prac­ wives, children, or parents, and have been in tice from this afternoon.” Mr.Stanley: this camp for two or three years, and have no amusements like billiards and dancing halls, "The Commandant wishes to add that he is or any such amusements. We heartily sympa­ very interested in sports and wishes all of you thize with you. Wre are now in the midst of a who wish to do so to engage in sports and great war, so you must be patient for a while. carry on as we have carried on in the past. "Now I am thinking of your health from Unless you are opposed to sports and don’t morning till night, always I am thinking of wish to play, or want to stand behind the your health, and to give milk for your children Committee. He wishes to inquire if you un­ and babies we are going to keep some cows derstand his feelings. He is very interested in and pigs, cocks or hens, and vegetables. We sports himself and wishes you to decide for are trying to satisfy your appetite and your yourselves what you wish to do.” [Mr. Silen asked if three persons represent­ taste, as far as possible as we can we are ing the sports section of the camp might ap­ trying to get such things soon. "I am sorry to hear that some of you say proach the Commandant to present their side. that you are not pig-keepers. Some say there The answer was that they might.] "The Commandant before closing this meet­ are many invalids, many patients, and it is quite a misstatement. We are sorry you think ing says he wishes to be the friend of all and

238 that he has gathered you here to give you knowledge of what is in his mind. He wishes to give children sports and young people sports in order that they may keep their health and possibly improve it, and at least improve their minds, and he hopes you fully understand what he has tried to tell you and that you will not feel hurt at anything he has said and that you will believe he is trying to do everything for the good of all. "He wants to know whether you wish to play baseball or not. He is not ordering every­ body to engage in sports. He only wishes to encourage those to play who wish to do so. He only want to assist, and all those who wish to engage in sports may do so with his sup­ port. The weak ones may lie in bed all day if they wish. He encourages the strong ones to go ahead.”

Yoshi Tells Internee Committee There is no Need to Resign— That af­ ternoon, Takeda called the Committee to his office, but only Grinnell and Lloyd went, as Carroll was ill in bed. Takeda discussed the situation with the two and told them that in his opi­ nion the only thing the Committee could do was to resign. Carroll later joined Grinnell and Lloyd in the In­ ternee Committee office for a discus­ sion of the situation, and while Carroll and Lloyd felt that the Commit­ tee should resign, Grinnell said that to do so would be, according to Japanese ideas, an acknowledgment of error. However, Grinnell was drafting a letter of resignation when the three were summoned to the Commandant’s of­ fice. It appeared from what followed that Takeda had spoken only for himself in advising the Committee to resign, and that Onozaki and Ohashi having heard of this, and being disturbed by it, had urged the Commandant to stage a meeting that would save faces all around. According to the minutes: “In the presence of Mr. Ohashi, Mr. Kinoshita, and Mr. Takeda, the Commandant asked them [the members of the Committee] whether they had anything they wished to talk about. The Chairman brought up the subject of last Thursday’s meeting and expressed his regret

THE CAMP for the way in which it had been terminated and that what the Committee had said had resulted in a misunderstanding. He went on to say that it was apparent that the Commit­ tee had lost the confidence of the Comman­ dant, and as such confidence was essential for the smooth working of the camp, the Com­ mittee offered their resignation. The Com­ mandant replied that as the Committee had expressed their regret, there was no need for them to resign. After the Chairman had em­ phasized that the Committee must feel that confidence in them had been restored, the Commandant confirmed this and terminated the conference.”

The night before a boxing tourna­ ment had been staged after roll call. There were a number of matches be­ tween young boys and older youths. They were all three-round bouts with rounds of only a minute instead of the usual three minutes. Even so, in every case the contestants, though full of spunk, were played out by the end of the second round. The lack of stamina was pitiful to see. The Commandant was there and passed out bottles of imitation coca-cola to the boys. Another Meeting of Internee Offi­ cials— On the evening of June 4 another meeting was held in the play­ house arranged by the Monitors Coun­ cil and attended by all monitors, su­ pervisors, division chiefs, etc. Schelke presided and the speakers were Grin­ nell, Pond, Dr. Smith, and Hick. Grin­ nell told of the "misunderstanding” that had arisen between the Comman­ dant and the Committee, of the Com­ mittee’s offer of resignation, and of the Commandant’s refusal to accept it. He said he was not able to report any progress with respect to obtain­ ing camp and private loans. As to food, he said, he "wished to stress that the Commandant and his staff had made it very clear that we must be satis­ fied with what we are getting, that eggs, peanuts, etc., are not available, and that further discussion is not ac-

DR. SMITH ON THE RATIONS; CARROLL ON FOOD RESERVES

ceptable to the Commandant and his staff”. He said that the Committee would continue to do what it could, nevertheless, but that great effort would have to be put on “increasing production” in the camp. Dr. Smith, who had during the month been appointed head of the combined medical and health depart­ ments, stated that the camp would have to adapt itself to a rice diet and that with the vitamin tablets which had been issued "we may be able to get by”. He said that the Japanese ra­ tions provided only 1,400 calories and that some 300 more were provided by supplemental foods purchased by the camp. He said this was still below the 2,100 calories needed for bodily main­ tenance and far below the 3,000 needed by those doing hard work. He said that now was the time people should fall back pn their Red Cross kits, and suggested that best use of the contents could be made in groups of at least four. The food in the kits (four cartons) he said was valued at around 75,000 calories, and he expressed the opinion that careful use might be spread over six or seven months, bringing up the total calory intake to 2,100. Asked what those who had already used up most of their kits (the majority in the camp) or those who had had to sell them should do, he said, "Well, perhaps they have friends.” Pond, the next speaker, said that des­ pite what Mr. Grinnell had said, the Commandant was going to hear more about food from the Agents. The statement drew applause. He went on to say that the Agents had no inten­ tion of asking for the unreasonable or the impossible and that they had only made requests which they believed proper under the Geneva Convention, though the "reaction had not been

239

particularly satisfactory”. He said that three months before, when the Agents had first been appointed, in­ ternees were able to buy an egg a day, now they were lucky if they got one egg every ten days; there were plenty of bananas, now there were practical­ ly none; there were camotes, now these were no longer obtainable in the market. He said that Santo Tomas could not subsist on the rations sup­ plied by the Army, and that the camp management was spending PI50,000 a month for supplementary food, most­ ly donated money, that this could not be continued if the funds ran out. He said that the Internee Committee and the Agents were cooperating closely. The Agents had not yet been received by the new Commandant. The ques­ tion of their recognition was now be­ fore the Highest Commander. As to this recognition, Pond said, he could hardly believe that the Japanese would repudiate their own agreement. Hick spoke of the new regime in the main kitchen, of the effort being put forth to make the food more pala­ table, of the trouble with the gas and of the need of outside cooking, and, especially of the need for more workers. Carroll was the last speaker. The meeting had originally been projected to allay in so far as was possible the acute fears which were developing in the camp regarding the food supply and the food reserves. There had been suggestions that the emergency supplies be distributed to individual internees as a precautionary measure. Carroll again explained how the re­ serves of food had been built up, also mentioning cash reserves, and how some of the reserve supplies were bought when it was possible to buy them, such as rice, corn, beans, su­ gar, coffee, tea and pepper. If the camp

240

had not had these stocks to draw on, he said, the camp diet since the mi­ litary took over would have been even more meager than it was. The Red Cross stocks, he said, the Committee had held and would continue to hold for an emergency. The most impor­ tant canned goods thus still Held, he said, consisted of 37,000 pounds of canned meats and 2,200 pounds of powdered milk. He defined an emer­ gency as the situation which would arise when there would be no food coming into the camp from the out­ side at all; this might happen, for instance, when Manila came under siege. Carroll quoted from a report which gave the following as the daily purchases for kitchen use: 9,000 ba­ nanas (when available), PI,800; 50 gallons of fresh milk, P800; 500 coco­ nuts (for coconut milk), P400; 800 eggs, P900; and tomatoes and onions, P800. Finally Carroll spoke of the need of labor for the gardening work. He said the camp should develop the gardens "for our own good and because the Japanese demand it". "We must make some showing”, he said, "or we will not have a leg to stand on in our ne­ gotiations with the Japanese”. He said that there was difficulty in getting labor especially for the hard kitchen work. He believed it was not alto­ gether a problem of work assign­ ment, but of attitude. The time has come when everything will have to be subordinated to three services, — food preparation, food production, and camp sanitation. "Labor must come first”, he added, "and strenuous athle­ tics second." With the Commandant’s consent, Carroll and Hick repeated their speeches at a general meeting of all internees on the main plaza the fol­ lowing evening.

THE CAMP

Delivery of the Tribune Resumed— Other happenings during the month of May included the restoration of the delivery of the Tribune, \vhich had been suddenly suspended in Feb­ ruary beginning with the issue which reported the first attack on Truk Is­ land. On April 24 the Commandant advised the Internee Committee, in answer to the Committee’s previous representations on the subject, that delivery would be started on May 1 on a monthly camp subscription basis, one or two copies to a room, but that the papers would first each day be "checked over in the Commandant’s office”. Though the news as published in the Tribune was always twisted, it was not possible to twist geography and it was a great satisfaction to the people of Santo Tomas to read the names of places where action was taking place, though the Japanese allegedly always were victorious. The restoration of the delivery of the Tri­ bune, however, was a disappointment because it seemed to indicate that the Japanese considered the end not so near as the camp had hoped when the paper was suspended over two months before. Canadian Canvass for Repatriation Causes Excitement— Considerable ex­ citement was created on the evening of May 6 when the Canadians in the camp were canvassed to find out whe­ ther they would accept repatriation if opportunity offered. Lists of Cana­ dians and persons with Canadian con­ nections had been received by the Commandant from Tokyo and the Com­ mandant had directed that these lists be checked. It was found that the lists contained names of persons not in the camp and some not even known. The hope of the camp was that if the Ca­ nadians were to be repatriated, there would be a ship which would bring

IMPRISONED WOMEN BROUGHT INTO CAMP

much needed supplies. There were some 70 persons in the camp whose names appeared in the lists; prac­ tically without exception they declared themselves willing to accept repatria­ tion. According to the minutes, how­ ever, "The Commandant’s office con­ firmed that these lists were to be re­ turned to Tokyo and that there is no indication whatever of any imminent repatriation plans.” Two more Red Cross Relief Funds Received —On May 19, American Relief Fund No. 7 (American Red Cross), amounting to P31,994.08, which had been received a few days before, was appropriated as follows: P16,994.08 for the purchase of food and essential supplies; PI2,000 for family aid; and P3,000 for individual cash relief. There was no news concerning any fur­ ther relief funds. Shortly after the end of May, however, on June 4, the amount of P54,190.56 was brought into the camp and was designated American Relief Fund No. 8. Of the total amount, PI 1,500 was immediately appropriated to family aid.

It was reported on the 20th that during the previous night at around 3 o'clock some Filipino thieves had got in over the wall and that the Japanese guards had shot and killed one of them and captured another. The latter was tied up at the main gate for the greater part of the day, but managed to free himself and escape during the afternoon. Another Occupational Questionnaire — A new and very elaborate question­ naire, prepared by the Japanese, was sent to the rooms on the 23rd. It called for the numbers of men in the camp who had been engaged in various occupations and trades. Ac­ cording to the notice sent out by the Internee Committee, “No reason is given why this information is re­ quired, but it is clearly stipulated that only numbers and not names are asked for”. However, everyone under­ stood that after the Japanese had ob­

241

tained the numbers, they would pro­ bably demand the names. The ques­ tionnaire was four pages long, mimeo­ graphed, and called for the numbers of engineers, mechanics, repairers, and unskilled laborers under various head­ ings and whether they were in good health or not. The main headings were: A. Industry — (1) Aviation, (2) Automobile, (3) General Machines, (4) Finishing Work, (5) Ship-building, (6) Weav­ ing; B. Transportation — (1) Railway, (2) Ship­ ping, (3) Communications, (4) Electric, (5) Mining, (6) Civil Engineering, (7) Agriculture, (8) Others (Shoe-maker, Tailor, Medical equip­ ment, Watches and Clocks, Photographer, Printer); C. Other — All men not included in any of the above classifications.

Wives of the Rev. Brush and the Rev. Bomm Brought into Camp from Prison— On May 25, the wives of Dr. Brush and the Rev. Bomm, together with the Misses Clara Darby and He­ len Moore and a 16-year-old boy, Samboyd Stagg, were brought into camp, to the great relief and joy of the hus­ bands of the first two and the friends of the others. They were members of the religious group which had been re­ leased early in 1942, but had been ar­ rested on March 15, 1943, charged with having assisted in the printing and distribution of anti-Japanese pro­ paganda. Miss Darby and young Stagg were after long investigation pro­ nounced innocent, but the other three were judged guilty of "slight crime” and sentenced to 90 days imprison­ ment which was shortened to 72. A Filipino had brought them some news sheets which they had read and al­ most immediately burned, but the man had been arrested and forced to give their names. The two held to be innocent, had been forgotten by the Japanese and remained in prison with the others. The five were immediately taken to the hospital for treatment and rest.

242

They all looked ill and worn and Mrs. Bomm was covered with skin-sores. They would, however, say little about their experiences, and the next day, in fact, the Commandant instructed the Internee Committee to warn the wo­ men and the boy “not to discuss the war Isicl in any shape or form during their stay in the camp".5 News about Blair and the Others— On the 24th, Grinnell told the other members of the Committee that "it 5 They later informed friends that there had been five other American women in the prison (Fort Santiago) who had been removed to some other place for further punishment. They were Mrs. Mary B. Stagg, Dr. Hawthorne Dar­ by, Miss Helen Wilke, Mrs. Sylvia Carrero, and Mrs. Stephen Jurika. As for Mrs. Bomm and Mrs. Brush and the other two women, they had been crowded with seven other women into a cell which measured about 6 by 9 feet but was provided with the unusual luxury of a toilet and a water-spigot. They slept on the bare wooden floor. They were required to sit erect on the floor from 7 o’clock in the morning until 7 o’clock at night, and from then on until it was again 7 in the morning they had to lie flat on the floor. No conversation was permitted. They were, however, given the privilege of a bath every day, though without soap, and to walk about outside for an hour. They said they were personally not "mistreated", but that what they saw of other prisoners and the sounds they heard horrified them. Note (1946) — These woman, — Dr. Darby, Mrs. Stagg, Mrs. Jurika, Mrs. Carrero, and Miss Wilke, were, according to later investiga­ tion, all executed, presumably on August 30, when they were removed from their cells in Bilibid and never seen again until their remains were discovered in the Chinese cemetery after the’ liberation. With them were executed many other prominent persons, all accused of having been concerned in the resistance movement. They included Sen. Jose Ozamis, Juan Elizalde, Enrico Pirovano. Cirilo Perez, Manuel Arguilla, Rafael Roces, Jr., Col. Manuel Atanasio, Col. Manuel Enriquez, Col. Manuel Reyes, Cap. Jose Manosa, Cap. Vicente L. Reyes, Cap. Alejandro de Ver, Lt. Vicente Gepte, Lt. Rodolfo R. Yap, Banales, another USAFFE officer, Tomas Acop, Henry and Jose Alvarez, William Arthur, Emilio Grupe, Henry Lara, Virgilio Lobregat, Francisco de Leon, Gregorio Magat, Tom Myers, Antonio Montalvan, Luis Pulido, Nestor Reynoso, and Gregorio Ortis Soriano.

THE CAMP

was still impossible to obtain official­ ly any news of the five men taken out for investigation some time ago, but that permision had been granted for small packages of clothing and me­ dicines to be sent to them”. Relatives were told at the Commandant’s office that the men were in the New Bilibid Prison at Muntinlupa. On May 25 the Committee was informed that Harris, the most elderly among the five had "died of pneumonia in San Lazaro Hospital” on May 9. All typewriters in the hands of pri­ vate individuals in the camp had been ordered registered (for the second time) by Ohashi on April 24. On May 29 Ohashi ordered that all typewriters not used for camp purposes be col­ lected and stored under "Committee control”. Sixty-five of such typewriters had been registered, but some 20 of them were allowed to remain in the hands of their owners after they had signed a statement that they would be used for camp purposes.6 The Bennett-Connor Wedding—After many weeks of waiting, the Comman­ dant informed the Internee Committee on May 26 that arrangements might be scheduled for the marriage of Bennett and Mary Connor, Father Koelman having been authorized to conduct the ceremony, his authority being limited to this case. The wed­ ding was performed in the office of Father Koelman with the Comman­ dant present. This was the first cere­ mony of the kind in the camp per­ formed with Japanese permission since the wedding held in Carroll's office in February, 1942. An Undated Message from the Ame­ rican Red Cross— On the 26th, also, Grinnell was handed a letter from the 6 The author had been authorized to state that he served as "Secretary” to the Internee Agents, one of whom, Mr. Harrington, was a roommate.

MEMORIAL D A Y -O V ER 200 INTERNEE DEATHS

American Red Cross acknowledging receipt of a report on the camp sent with the repatriation ship in Septem­ ber, 1943, through Kodaki's offices. This, — a Japanese to English transla­ tion, made by the Commandant’s Of­ fice, of the English to a Japanese trans­ lation, made in Tokyo, and without a dateline, read: "We have received your communication of September 24, 1943. The American Red Cross Society well understand and are doing their best for the needs of internees. The letters sent by the exchange ship were received inDecember and all families are grateful and encouraged. We are doing everything possible to improve communications and families are permitted to send letters once a week. The American Government is always looking after the interests of families in the States and is giving financial support. There is no need for anxiety regarding these families. We are now applying for permission for you to send a 100-word telegram every month at the expense of the American Red Cross Society.”

Four Hours of Roll Call — Sunday, May 28, will go down into Santo To­ mas history as “Roll-Call Day’’. The usual roll call had been held at 8 o'clock that morning, but a few mi­ nutes before noon the Commandant, disregarding the lunch-hour, ordered a camp-wide roll call and physical check­ up which lasted until a little after 2 o’clock. For two hours the camp stood lined up, the people who lived in rooms being lined up in the hallways and the shanty people, including men, women, and small children, on the campus in the noontime heat. At 4:30, just before supper time, another roll call order was issued, as the men in the Commandant’s office had not been able to balance their figures. This time the people were not released un­ til a little after 6. The regular 8 o’clock roll call on this beautiful Sunday was kindly dispensed with. What had caused the furore in the Japanese mind was the discovery that some bamboos

243

in the bamboo-lattice fence behind the hospital had been pushed apart. In the end, no one was found missing. Memorial Day. Deaths— Memorial Day, May 30, was to have been ob­ served with a special service in the middle roadway, but a rain caused postponement until the next evening. The Rev. Bomm and Dr. Holter con­ ducted the services which were at­ tended by some 700 people. A solemn feature of the service was the reading of the names of over 200 persons who had died during the period of intern­ ment either in the camp hospital or in outside institutions or in their homes while on temporary release. The great majority of them were men, most of them Americans who had re­ sided in the Philippines for many years. The designated causes of death were chiefly heart affections, anemia, pneumonia, and old age. The lists showed, however, that as time passed, death had taken men and women of fewer years, among the principal causes of death being digestive and intestinal ills and various forms of cancer- Tuberculosis took over a score of still younger people. Religion in Santo Tomas— Had such a camp as Santo Tomas come into existence 150 years ago, it is likely that the ministers of religion, deacons and elders, would have ruled the commu­ nity and that practically the entire camp would have attended stated re­ ligious services. As it was, internal affairs were administered mainly by businessmen and on no occasion was there conducted a religious service at­ tended by more than a few hundred people. Mass meetings of any kind were, in fact, forbidden by the Japa­ nese. The nearest approach to a gen­ eral religious service was the memo­ rial mass celebrated in the chapel of the Dominican Seminary, which was

244

then still open to internees, after the execution, in February, 1942, of the three British internees who had at­ tempted to escape. The Protestant Easter service in 1943 was attended by 500 or 600 people. The 1944 Easter observances suffered because of the state of alert and the blackout orders in effect at the time. A Christmas pa­ geant staged by the Sunday school children a few days before Christmas, 1943, on the Harvey stage in the square in front of the main building, was, however, attended by most of the camp, possibly because it fell into the classification of a "show”. The month­ ly Harvey variety shows and the oc­ casional plays staged always drew some 2,000 people, and the rare mo­ vie shows brought out almost the whole camp. The daily baseball game drew some 600 spectators regularly. As, principally, an Anglo-American community, the camp was predomi­ nantly Protestant. One of the Cath­ olic leaders, however, said that though outward appearance might favor this impression because Protestants were in charge of the religious committee, because their activities were published on the bulletin boards, and because their meetings were held in the open air, he doubted that the camp was predominantly Protestant, and thought, rather, that it was "predominantly non-religious”. Religious services, whether Catholic or Protestant were generally attended by no more than between 100 and 200 people, and it was admitted by the Protestants that the Catholic services, first -held in the laboratory rooms on the fourth floor of the main building, and, later, when this was forbidden by the Japanese, in the chapel of the Santa Catalina Hospital, were some­ what better attended than the Protes­ tant services. The latter were held,

THE CAMP

until March, 1944, in the Fathers Gar­ den, and after that, when the Garden was closed for this purpose by the Japanese authorities as being too close to the fence, in the middle, and unused, roadway between the gate and the main building. Protestant re­ ligious workers numbered over a 100, and, by early 1944, there were no less than 60 Catholic priests in the camp. A Catholic census showed that there were 738 Catholics, iricluding the priests. In the laboratory, three masses were celebrated daily, and in the Santa Catalina chapel, two on weekdays and four on Sundays. Be­ tween 350 and 400 attended the masses on Sundays and feast days, on which days this is obligatory among Catho­ lics. There was a much larger number of Protestants among the camp popula­ tion who habitually attended church services in Manila in normal times, but on Sunday mornings, a commu­ nion service, non-denominational but Anglican in form, was held at 7:30, with an average attendance of only around 50. Sunday school followed at 9:10 with between 150 and 200 present. The regular morning service, non-denominational, ministers of the various congregations represented in the camp taking charge- by turn, opened at 10:30 and was attended by around 70 or 80 persons. The vesper service was held at 6:50 and drew the largest number of Protestant wor­ shippers of the day, — around 150. A non-denominational Youth Guild, numbering around 25 members, met at 7:30. A mid-week devotional service was held at 6:30 on Wednesday eve­ nings and was attended by some 40 or 50 people. Once a month a special Protestant communion service was held in one of the rooms of the main

RELIGION IN SANTO TOMAS

building which was attended by around 70 persons. The Jews in the camp numbered around 200 including some Polish re­ fugees. Among the latter there were a small number of extremely orthodox Jews who, because the camp food was ritually unclean, had a difficult time of it. They were among the first group to go to Los Banos, where they set up a mess of their own. A small group of Jews, some 20 of them, ob­ served the usual Sabbath services in one of the shanties. Through a special arrangement with the Japanese author­ ities, around 50 Jews had been per­ mitted to leave the camp in a truck twice in 1942, — on Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement, the most sacred Jewish holiday) and on Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year), to attend services in the Manila synagogue. In 1943 they were allowed to go out only on Yom Kippur. Christian Scientists, n u m b e r i n g around 20 persons, held a service every Sunday afternoon. The Seventh Day Adventists in the camp were few and met on Saturday mornings, less than 10 of them. The Theosophists, numbering around 20, met on Sunday afternoons. The department of religion had been organized during the first month of internment with the Rev. Foley as chairman. He was succeeded in Jan­ uary, 1943, by the Rev. Darley Downs, who, when he was transferred to Los Banos, was in turn succeeded by the Rev. Bomm in September. A com­ mittee under this department was the Christian Workers Fellowship which included all religious workers in the camp, around 100 persons to begin with, who met once a month. In prin­ ciple, this organization included Cath­ olic as well as Protestant workers, but the former set up an organization of

245

their own in June, 1943, the Catholic religious department, under the Rev. Fr. Koelman, who had been appointed episcopal delegate and parish priest in Santo Tomas by the Archbishop. This was after Father Kelley, parish priest of the English-speaking Cath­ olic population of Manila who lived outside the camp, was no longer per­ mitted to come in. The department of special activities, organized in 1943, grew out of the department of religion. The Rev. E. Nolting was the first chairman and was succeeded in March, 1944, by A. E. Holland, This organization engaged chiefly in the arrangement of special lectures, play-readings, etc. The Mon­ day evening lectures, however, defi­ nitely religious in character, continued to be given under the auspices of the department of religion- They were gen­ erally historical and biographical in character and were attended by from a 100 to a 150 people. The department of religion also inaugurated the series of meetings known as "Town Meetings”, which, very successful until they were ordered discontinued, drew audiences up to as high as 600 or 700. Arranged by the department of special activi­ ties, lectures on literary subjects were given on Tuesday evenings, and lec­ tures on historical and other educa­ tional topics, travel, art, etc., on Fri­ day evenings, the attendance varying between 100 and 300 according to the interest in the subject and the popu­ larity of the speaker. Still other lec­ tures given in the camp, but not un­ der the auspices of any particular de­ partment, were those on various en­ gineering and mining subjects which were held from time to time in the school rooms on the fourth floor of the main building and were attended by small groups of technical men.

246

These attendance figures are given as a check on the attendance at the religious services. Another check was supplied by the attendance at the broadcasts in the Fathers Garden and later in the central roadway of re­ corded classical music on Thursday afternoons and Sunday mornings made by the music department with a view to meeting the taste of the more dis­ criminating. They were generally at­ tended by 100 or so people. Many hundreds more listened appreciative­ ly to the Wednesday and Sunday eve­ ning concerts which were broadcast to the whole camp and which were also classical, though of a somewhat lighter nature. The attendance at religious services was definitely lower than it was in normal times in Manila among the same group of people. The Union Church alone drew a larger group of churchgoers than ever gathered in the Fathers Garden. Protestant religious workers in the camp offered a num­ ber of explanations, the principal one arising from the lack of an indoor place of worship for the Protestants. The Fathers Garden was an attractive place, but people who had no folding­ chairs of their own had to sit on un­ comfortable benches and services could not be held at all in rainy weather. There was no proper pulpit or altar and the organ was only a small portable one. The place in the central roadway was even less suitable. Some of the ministers charged the Executive Committtee with lack of in­ terest for not securing a sheltered place for Protestant services, but the general lack of space in the camp had, of course, to be admitted. The rotation of officiating ministers made it impossible for any of them to build up stable congregations. Mi­ nisters differed in ability and drawing

THE CAMP

power and often people who might have come to a service failed to do so because they were not aware that their favorite minister would preach that day. Doctrinal differences among the Protestant groups also interfered with full cooperation and affected the gen­ eral attitude. While some of the Protestant reli­ gious workers showed discouragement with the situation, Father Koelman still believed that the Catholic atten­ dance was "very good” — *if we take into consideration that it seems as if the very devil is working against us. The laboratory, which was very convenient for those living in the main building, was closed. The annex and dormitory inhabitants could go to church in the playhouse until some­ one objected to our use of it, and it was closed. Formerly, the [food] lines played ha­ voc with our churchgoing; at present, the roll call throws a monkey wrench in our machine, not to mention the blackout difficulties which turn up every now and then. Finally, if we consider that those who are looking after the sick, parents who can not get away from their children, and those who are on essentia] camp duty are excused from hearing mass, I have every reason to be satisfied.”

The general indifference toward re­ ligious observances, however, was marked. Nevertheless, it can be said that the camp would have been much the poorer for a lack of what the de­ partment of religion and, later, also the Catholic religious department, pro­ vided. Besides the public services and gatherings, considerable pastoral work of an individual nature was carried on through hospital and personal visiting. The religious workers played an im­ portant, probably the leading part in the intellectual life of the camp, such as it was. Many of the ministers and priests conducted classes in the camp school, high school, and college, and others worked in the several camp lib­ raries. Some of them were members of important committees of the inter-

MUSIC IN SANTO TOMAS

nee government, other than the depart­ ment of religion, and some, especially the Jesuits, with admirable spirit, ac­ cepted menial work in the hospitals. There had been criticism of the mis­ sionaries who were released from the camp in 1942 after signing the "pledge” required of them by the Japanese au­ thorities, but as time passed and more priests and missionaries were brought into the camp to share the common lot, and it became known that num­ bers of them, including some of the women, — wives of missionaries in the camp, had suffered and were suf­ fering imprisonment in Fort Santiago, the clergy and the laiety were brought closer together than perhaps ever be­ fore in Manila. This brief review covers only the main outward aspects of "religion in Santo Tomas". What religion meant in the hearts of the individual inter­ nees, to what extent their religious convictions, faith and trust in God, upheld them under the strains of the stresses of war and the life in Santo Tomas, no one can say; nor to what degree the internees were ruled in their behavior by the ethics of Chris­ tianity. As stated elsewhere, a general selfishness was evident, yet considera­ tion for others was never lacking. In­ dividuals did make sacrifices for the good of the whole community. Inter­ nees did generally pull at least their weight in getting the work of the camp done, and many of them severely over­ taxed their strength. They did refrain from conduct which, harmless to the individual, would have been damaging to the general interest, — as in the matter of refraining from smuggling in or drinking intoxicating liquor. With but a few exceptions, men who had previously never foregone their scotch or bourbon, abided by the re­

247

gulations against drinking. Women and children, the aged and the sick, from the first until the end were heavily favored in the apportionment of food. But action on such principles is only human and as much pagan as Chris­ tian. That the general disposition was peaceful and quiet and kindly and that there was very little quarreling in the crowded rooms and shanty areas, may have been only the fruit of civilized courtesy. And there was one eminently Chris­ tian virtue, — if it is a virtue, which was most obviously lacking, and that was love for the enemy. Music in the Camp — From the community point of view, the conclu­ sion seemed inescapable that music was a more important stay than was religion- It probably did more to keep up the general morale than anything else. Virtually the entire camp listen­ ed to the evening musical broadcasts, although no doubt a large proportion of the people on the lawns in the evening went there principally to en­ joy the air and a chat with their friends. However, the classical and semi-classical programs were general­ ly listened to with attention and in comparative silence. So were the brief organ recitals given by Melvin Toyne, organist at the Episcopal Cathedral, and Father R. J. McMullen on the Hammond electric organ which had been brought into the camp by Chittick early in 1943. The male chorus, organized by Karl Kreutz, gave con­ certs every two months or so which were attended by the whole camp. The women’s chorus, organized later by Paul Osbon, was able to give only one or two performances. The reveille mu­ sic, of which A. C. Brunner was in charge, usually got people up in a good mood.

248

There was, however, little sponta­ neous singing in Santo Tomas; no humming, no whistling. There was no "Tipperary” and no "Mademoiselle of Armentiers” for the people of Santo Tomas There wasn’t even anything as simple, — and as suitable as that song of the American soldiers in France during the first world war, "We're here because we’re here be­ cause we’re here,” to the tune of “Auld Lang Syne". Harvey and his associates wrote a number of songs with the hope that they might become popular, — "It’s Rumored", "Cheer up. Everything is gonna be Lousy”, "Behind the Sawali”, "Everything Happens to Me”, and the “Internee Song” (music by Mario Bakerini). These songs were mimeo­ graphed and sold to raise money for needed stage equipment, etc., and though several hundred of each were sold, not one of them was really tak­ en up by the camp and sung.

38

Story of Silliman University

A group of faculty members of the Silliman University was brought into Santo Tomas on January 20, 1944. They were Dr. J. W. Chapman, profes­ sor of zoology, and his wife, professor of English; Prof. A. Scaff, of the Col­ lege of Theology, and his wife and twoyear old child; and Prof. C. A Glunz, head of the industrial department of the College of Education, and his wife. With them were Mrs. Jean F. Lowry, wife of the superintendent of the man­ ganese mine at Siquijor, and her sixyear old son. They had come from Bacolod, Occidental Negros, where they spent 28 days in jail, and had made the trip in a 75-foot fishing launch in only two days. They slept on the deck the first night, but the second night it rained and a Japanese

STORY

officer aboard, said to be a superin­ tendent of military prison-camps in the Philippines, had made a place for them where he himself slept, on a temporary wooden platform over the engine. The officer had been an ento­ mologist on the faculty of a university in Formqsa and had some friendly talk with Dr. Chapman when he learn­ ed that he was an entomologist. Af­ ter their experience in the Bacolod jail, the Silliman group was glad to be aboard any kind of ship and bound for Manila. On shipboard, too, the wives could talk with their husbands, which they had not been allowed to do in the jail- They had been given a half sack of rice, 12 cans of corned beef, and some dried fish when they left Bacolod, and an old Filipino on the launch cooked the rice for them. They all said that this trip was little short of delightful. Silliman University was founded as Silliman College in 1901 by Dr. D. H. Hibbard and was named after the late New York philanthropist, Horace B. Silliman, who endowed the school. It is a Presbyterian institution and one of the main enterprises of the Presbyterian Church outside of the United States. With colleges of libe­ ral arts, science, engineering, theolo­ gy, law, education, and business ad­ ministration, with an elementary and high school as training institutions, and with a graduate school authorized to give the M. A. degree in education, the University had become the lead­ ing private educational institution of the South. The student body number­ ed nearly 2,000, including the training schools, with girls and young women slightly in the majority. The faculty numbered some 130 of whom 25 were American^. There were some 15 per­ manent 'buildings, including a num­ ber of large dormitories, and nume­ rous other buildings of bamboo and nipa set in attractive, wooded grounds covering 30 hectares. After the outbreak of the war, classes were almost immediately sus­ pended and the University R. 6. T. C was incorporated into the USAFFE;

SILLIMAN UNIVERSITY

many of the cadets, however, were dis­ charged after a short time because of their youth. The USAFFE took over many of the offices and buildings and established a motor pool in the grounds. Most of the students not taken into the USAFFE who could make their way home did so, and in compliance with USAFFE instructions, most of the faculty moved away to various camps in the hills. Other faculty members re­ mained to work with the USAFFE officers and to look after the routine work of the institution. The Univer­ sity weekly, the Silliman, was con­ verted into a daily which, publishing authentic transcripts of radio broad­ casts from the United States, was sold at 1 centavo the copy all up and down the Negros coast. The University press also printed the emergency currency used in the province and many differ­ ent forms for the USAFFE. This work was done by Mr- and Mrs. R. B. Silli­ man and Miss A. Jacobs of the faculty. Dr. Chapman became food administra­ tor for Oriental Negros. A number of American and Filipino professors and instructors took some 20 Siamese students and also the Fi­ lipino girl students who couldn’t get to their homes, to a place called Ma­ riposa in the Bagtic region, some 70 kilometers from Dumaguete, with the intention of establishing a branch where classes could be continued. A number of rude temporary buildings were put up and books and equipment were transported to the place, but classes were never actually opened. The gardens which were started, how­ ever, flourished, and, according to Dr. Chapman, some of the original group were probably still there. Part of the University hospital was moved up to Malabo, 16 kilometers from Duma­ guete, where Dr. A. L- Carson, the head of the University, and his family, and also Prof, and Mrs. R. H. Bell were staying. Most of the hospital equipment and personnel, however, was moved in January to the Pamplo­ na Plantation, near Bais, to serve the population there. The Chapman and Glunz families went to a place in the

249 hills behind Luzuriaga, 15 kilometers from Dumaguete, where the Chap­ mans had a summer home called "Lookout Camp”. Still another group from Silliman went later to stay with W. C Bryant and his wife at Pamplo­ na. They were the first to be taken prisoner by the Japanese. Enemy planes flew over Dumaguete from time to time and the pilots would attempt to scare the inhabitants by flying low and spurting their motors, but they dropped no bombs. The Silli­ man and Dumaguete people were still of good heart and full of hope of time­ ly help, even when, after the fall of Bataan and the occupation of Cebu, the USAFFE had withdrawn to Tanjay, in the interior. As late as April 11 a USAFFE order was received, brought down by Dr. Carson, instruct­ ing the district engineer to get the fly­ ing field, 2 kilometers from the town, "ready for 40 bombers”. Much of the shop work entailed was done at Silli­ man and the netting to camouflage the planes (when they arrived) was made in the University shop; the planes never arrived. Instead, some weeks later, came the Wainwright order to surrender. The USAFFE had planned to make a stand at Canlauon and sur­ rendered very unwillingly. Many of the officers and men, in fact, never did surrenderOn the 25th of May, Chapman clean­ ed out his desk, then went to join his wife at "Lookout". The following day the Japanese, some 300 of them, came to Dumaguete by boat from somewhere to the north. Certain "questionable characters” in the town, said Chapman, met them and showed them around. A new church had been under construction at Silliman, and valuable library books, laboratory equipment such as microscopes and chemical balances, various paintings, etc., had been hidden in a vault un­ der the church. But this hiding place was revealed to the Japanese. The office, too, was turned upside down, and records littered the floor three feet deep. Residences on the campus were looted and the house of Dr. Car­

250

son was burned. The Japanese moved into a number of the buildings. The Silliman people at Lookout Camp remained there until June and then moved farther into the hills to a place on the north ridge of the so-called "Horns of Negros", altitude 4,000 feet, where they built their hou­ ses of bamboo and with abaca-leaf sheaths for roofs and walls, the com­ mon construction there- Chapman had picked the place out years before as a kind of Baguio for Negros, but it was. situated in an area which it was planned to reserve as a watershed for a Dumaguete waterworks The Chap­ man house stood highest. The Glunz house was some distance down the mountain and Mrs. Lowry’s house was still lower down. The three families lived there comfortably enough for nearly a year and a half without being molested. Supplies were brought up to them by friendly Filipinos several times a week, and they had gardens of their own. The reason they were left alone, probably, was that the guerrillas kept the Japanese busy. In May, 1943, it was rumored that an American sub­ marine had landed supplies somewhere in the south of Negros and, in proof, copies or portions of copies of issues of the Saturday Evening Post, Life, Esquire, and other American maga­ zines were secretly circulated. It was said that some sort of "contact sta­ tion” had been set up in the same place and that there were American as well as Filipino officers there. Cour­ iers from the station distributed tran­ scripts of American radio-broadcasts. The Japanese organized mobile units of from 50 to 200 men to cope with the renewed guerrilla activity, all sea­ soned troops from China. Tha units would impress as many as a 100 Fili­ pino cargadores at a time and make sorties into the interior, returning to their bases again in from four to six days. The soldiers always came back exhausted, with raw and infected feet. If they had not been able to force the Filipino carriers to accompany them, they could not have gone anywhere

STORY

into the dense jungle- They bombed Malabo and later shelled it with mor­ tars and then raided the place, but the Silliman people there got away and moved deeper into the hills. In June, 1943, the Japanese bombed Lookout Camp and a number of other house there. Toward the end of October, 1943, it was reported that the USAFFE sta­ tion in the south had been closed and that the American officer in command had left, stating, however, that he would be back after 100 days. Then, early in the morning of Nov­ ember 27, Chapman saw that the Low­ ry house and the Glunz house down below were both on fire and shortly a Filipino ran up to warn him that the Japanese were there. He went to warn his wife and was just rounding the corner of his house when he sud­ denly heard the command to stop. With great presence of mind he turned and calmly said "Good morning” to a Ja­ panese officer who was covering him with a pistol. The cool greeting seem­ ed to take the officer aback. He was a captain and was accompanied by 40 men equipped with a machine gun as well as rifles and pistols. A Filipino with a rope around his middle was their guide. Chapman and his wife were given a few minutes to pack their blankets, a pan or two, and a little coffee, and then the house was set afire. A soldier tied a rope around Chapman’s waist. The Japanese and their two elderly prisoners clambered down to the Lowry house where the Japanese stopped for breakfast. MrsLowry and her small son were prison­ ers, too, but the Glunzes had gotten away; they voluntarily surrendered two days later at Dumaguete. It was a hard four hours' hike down to Luzuriaga and the captain showed some solicitude for Mrs. Chapman and or­ dered the soldiers to take the rope off Dr. Chapman. From Luzuriaga they were taken to Dumaguete in a truck. The Scaffs had been taken a few days before and had been forced to reveal the hideout of the Chapmans and the others. The Silliman group was kept for nine days at the Univer-

A KINDLY JAPANESE OFFICER

sity, the women separated from the men. All of them were questioned re­ peatedly concerning the whereabouts of the Carsons and Bells. The Japa­ nese were eager to take Carson as the head of the institution which had co­ operated so effectively with the USAFFE, and Bell, a professor of physics, was known to have been operating a radio transmitting apparatus with the USAFFE, in which he had received a commission as .major. The Japanese compelled Chapman and the others to address dictated letters to the two men, telling how well they were being treated and urging them to surrender. They wrote these letters more readily than they might otherwise have done because it had previously been agreed among the Silliman faculty that if any of them should be taken prisoner and be forced to write letters to the oth­ ers., the recipients should ignore them. After nine days at Dumaguete, the party was taken by launch to the San Carlos sugar central- There they were again questioned about Carson and Bell, and Professor Scaff, a younger man than the others, was tied with iiis hands behind him and then strung up by the wrists and “put to the question". In his agony, he told all he knew, but he could not tell much. Dr. Chapman said that in so far as he knew, the Carsons and Bells had still not been captured. Perhaps they and some other Americans had been taken away by a submarine. The Silliman group was taken to Bacolod, capital of Negros, on Decem­ ber 21. The men and women were in­ carcerated separately in two small rooms on the ground floor of a private hospital which was being used as a jail. The doors had been nailed shut and the prisoners had to crawl in and out through a small trap door in the wainscoting. As in Fort Santiago, in Manila, the prisoners were allowed no bedding or mosquito nets and were furnished only with some sacking with which to cover themselves at night. They had to sleep on the concrete floor. After the first night, however,

251 the women were allowed nets because they informed the Japanese that one of them had had malaria, — and the Japanese were afraid of malaria. Their shoes and belts and all extra clothing were taken away from them and they were not allowed to have any razors, combs, toothbrushes, or even spoons. Gobs of rice were served to them in an old X-ray developing tank shoved through the trap door. Once a day they were allowed out in a court­ yard for a half hour, one of the sol­ diers putting the men through a series of calisthenic exercises. The soldiers were kind to the two children, giving them cookies and candy. Fortunately, there were wash basins with running water in the rooms so the prisoner's could sponge themselves. Several times Filipino prisoners were put in the room with the men; at one time there were nine persons crowded in there. On the 26th, the Silliman prisoners were taken out to call on the of­ ficer in command who wanted to talk with them. All of them except Mrs. Lowry, who had an infected wound on her leg, went and were served cof­ fee with milk and sugar. The men were even given a little whisky. "You have had a hard time", said the of­ ficer. He questioned them as to their opinions on the war. He sought to justify the Japanese course, saying that the United States, in making impossible demands on Japan, had forced Japan to go to war. He said that Japan would certainly win be­ cause it was determined to win. He said that there could be no compro­ mise and that it was his opinion that it would be a war of extermination. Then he asked what they thought. The Americans said that they did not think the war would end in the exter­ mination of either one side or the other. There was more talk and then the officer asked whether they would be so kind as to write down their im­ pressions of the situation in the Phil­ ippines before the Japanese occupation and after. Before dismissing them he asked whether he could do anything

252

for them, and they said yes, he could order that they be given back some of their clothing, and blankets, razors and combs, and spoons. This was done, but the razors and combs and eating utensils had to be pushed out through the trap door immediately af­ ter they had been used. The officer sent them paper and pencils so they could write down their impressions, as he had asked, and they did so, quite frankly. Dr- Chap­ man said that the reason behind the request was the puzzlement of many Japanese over the general Philippine loyalty to the United States. He said they would always ask about this, over and. over again. They should not have been so puzzled; perhaps they were not so puzzled as they pretended to be. When the Silliman party passed through the streets of Bacolod they saw new business signs on all of the buildings everywhere, and all of them bore Japanese names. When they boarded the fishing launch for Manila there was a considerable crowd of Fi­ lipino officials on the pier to see off the Japanese superintendent of prison camps. A number of the Filipinos, on catching sight of the Americans, sur­ reptitiously shook their two hands at them, Chinese fashion, and some of

STORY

them waved quite openly. Dr. Chapman was much concerned about a collection of ant specimens which it had taken him 26 years to build up. When he came to the Philip­ pines, he said, there were only 70 known species of ants in the country. Now, he said, there were 500, and 150 of them were new to science. He had found 15 new species during the past year One of them was a very minute thing with a head blackish on top and pinkish white beneath, a dark brown thorax, and a white abdomen. The legs and antennae were also white. All one could see as the ant scurried over the ground was the dark thorax about the size of a small pinhead. He said he had called it the Fantasia. The ant collection, packed in metal boxes, had been placed in a large pressurecooker and this was hidden in the hollow trunk of a tree near his house in the mountains. He said also that he had seen in that high rain forest what Wallace had written about as having seen elsewhere, — earthworms the thickness of a fountain pen and from 2-1/2 to 3 feet long. There still were people interested in earthworms and anxious about ants. It was a re­ lief in Santo Tomas to talk with such a man as the old naturalist.

The Country The Enemy Rule of the Country

Chapter V The Puppet Dance “Just National Pride” — After sus­ pension of deliveries of the Tribune in February, copies were smuggled into the Santo Tomas camp or were thrown over the wall by friendly Filipinos al­ most every day and were surreptitious­ ly passed from hand to hand, but as it was dangerous to keep them, they were usually soon destroyed. No complete collection could be made of them for the purpose of this book; only the is­ sues of April 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 13, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, and 25 could be gathered up. As already recounted, the paper was again delivered during the period from May 1 to June 11, and a file of these issues was available at the time of this writing, — resumed to bring the record as far forward as pos­ sible before the day for which Santo Tomas and the whole country was pray­ ing. Once again this day did not appear to be far off.1 The Tribune propaganda could not conceal the continuing cruelty and ra­ pacity of the invaders, the impotence of the puppet government set up, the spreading chaos, the ever-mounting mi­ sery of the people. The completion of the first half year* ■Note (1945) — Rome fell on June 4, 1943. The Allies landed in Normandy on June 6, — D-Day. On June 14-15 the U.S. marines landed on Saipan and they were in complete possession of the island on July 8, having killed 25,000 Japanese and themselves losing 2,359 men. Landings on Guam began on July 20 and the island was com­ pletely liberated on August 10. The Tojo Cabinet fell on July 19.

of the "Republic” was commented upon by the Tribune of April 15; "The Republic has made a good start. . . With more faith on the part of the people and with greater zeal on the part of those charged with the administration of state affairs, the Re­ public should see many long years of fruitful life, from which our people [sic] may look back to the present with just national pride.”

Disappearance of Government Pro­ perty — This was a typical Japanese jape in its falsehood and effrontery. The commendation was false, the qua­ lifications were false and the conclu­ sion was false. The people had no faith at all in the puppet government, and many at least its minor functiona­ ries, displayed no zeal except in walk­ ing off with what remained of govern­ ment property. Laurel was compelled to send a memorandum to the AuditorGeneral (Tribune, April 11), prohibit­ ing the "purchase" of government pro­ perty, national, provincial, and muni­ cipal, by government officers and em­ ployees, and ordering the return to the government of "properties acquir­ ed after the occupation of Manila at their book value, whether for senti­ mental or other reasons”. "Unless the sale [sic] is checked, the govern­ ment will eventually be deprived of many of its valuable properties which belong to the people and which should be kept, safeguarded, and protected for those who may later enter public service and thus maintain the personality of the government and existing institutions. The purchase of public property is considered by the President as not only prejudicial to public

253

254

THE COUNTRY

Bureau of Information was reported on May 20 to have "revealed” that the Philippine National Bank had subscrib­ ed for the full amount, but that Min­ The New P100 Military Notes — In ister of Finance de las Alas had recom­ May, Laurel announced that a new PI00 military note would be placed in mended to the President that “to ac­ circulation by the Japanese Army “to commodate other bidders and subscrib­ facilitate financial transactions”. The ers for the full amount subscribed by current P10 and P50 notes had become them, the bid of the National Bank be small change. Laurel stated that the reduced to only P6,546,500”. This re­ introduction of the new note “would commendation was approved and in­ not mean the increase of the money terim certificates had already been is­ now in circulation as the authorities sued to 22 “entities and individuals” are exerting all efforts to limit the mo­ (unnamed) who had paid in full; 15 netary circulation as much as possi­ others had subscribed to the bonds on ble”. According to the proclamation, the basis of instalment payments which were required to be completed in six published May 2; " . . . Whereas the Highest Commander of the months. The proceeds of the sale were Imperial Japanese Army in the Philippines had to be used for the — interests but also immoral and reprehensible, considering that these properties could no long­ er be acquired and their prices have increased at least 10-fold.”

informed the Republic of the Philippines that these P100 military notes will be of the same character and are placed in circulation under the same conditions as the military notes au­ thorized under the Military Proclamation of January 3, 1942, Now, therefore, I, J. P. Laurel, President of the Republic of the Philippines, here­ by announce that P100 military notes will be in circulation beginning this day and request the people of the Republic of the Philippines to accept such notes in the same manner as the military notes issued under the Military Procla­ mation of January 3, 1942, now in circulation as legal tender”.

All Laurel could do was to "an­ nounce”.2 The “Bond" Issue — Bids for the purchase of bonds of the "Republic” were opened by the, National Treasury early in April. The amount was for P20,000,000, the first of a series of pro­ jected issues which would total P100,000,000. The bonds were to be issued in P50 denominations, and "accepted subscriptions will be payable within five days after award”, in cash or in instalments; no bids would be accept­ ed at less than par. (April 6.)3 The - Later P500-noles were placed in circulation. 3 All quotations are from the Tribune of the given dale unless otherwise stated.

"restoration and maintenance of peace and or­ der, including the expenses for the expansion of the Philippine Constabulary, and for cover­ ing unavoidable deficiencies in the ordinary expenditures of the government that can not be covered by its ordinary income."

A side-light on the exchange value of the military notes was thrown by the news-item about a soldier of the Metropolitan Constabulary who was charged with a robbery in which his share of the loot was P587 in Philip­ pine currency, which he later "conver­ ted into war notes totalling P2,910.” (May 31.) Renewed Pressure for a Declaration of War on the United States — That another "Filipino gratitude mission” was "now in Tokyo”, was suddenly an­ nounced in the Tribune of April 18, — Aquino, Yulo, Alas, Alunan, and Osias. They had left the Philippines on the 16th by the “Presidential airplane, Kalayaan". That Aquino had been granted the "First Order of Merit with the Grand Cordon of the Rising Sun”, was reported a few days later. That the mission had been received by the Em­ peror and had even been granted a

AQUINO IN MANCHUKUO

255

luncheon at the Palace "followed by "the gratitude of the Filipinos has passed on tea and cakes in another hall”, was into a conviction, beyond the expression of faith, into a firm determination to achieve an all-out reported the next day. (April 22.) alliance and common faith with Japan”. (May The pay-off was reported on April 25. 9.) Aquino had made a radio-speech in The Tribune again came in: Tokyo in which he was quoted as say­ "Since we are grateful to Nippon, we must ing that the Anglo-Americans were suf­ act in such a way as to make Nippon appre­ fering from "spiritual anemia”, that ciate the fact that we are grateful.” their military and naval resources were Under the headline, "Japanese Res­ “rotten to the core”, that their military pect Philippines as Independent Na­ operations were "impossible enterpris­ tion,” (May 11), Aquino was quoted as es", and that they "could not win the saying: war”. "An indication of the attitude of Nippon to­ “He concluded that the dawn of a new day is breaking over the Orient with the Filipinos united with the Japanese and other East Asians for the quick realization of final victory.”

While the mission went on to Manchukuo and was received at Hsinking by the "Emperor" there, the Tribune chimed in editorially with the state­ ment: “For any East Asian to sit in the grandstand, is just as bad as sitting on the fence. We can not live and fight for our ideal unless we are ready to die for it.”

ward the Philippines as an independent nation was demonstrated by the honor accorded not only to the Philippine Gratitude Mission in Ja­ pan but also the Filipino flag which was dis­ played in important public places in Nippon on the occasion of the Mission's visit, as befits the emblem of a sovereign state”.

Coming nearer to the point, and re­ ferring to Manchukuo, he said: “I have seen how the Japanese authorities make an effort in organizing a great Manchukuo army with all the war equipment and materials necessary for a modern army. This activity and conduct of Japan is what has inspired me to believe in the sincerity of her intentions, be­ cause if she did not consider Manchukuo as a sister nation, she would not prepare her in the way she has been doing.”

That same day, May 6, the Tribune reported that Admiral Koga, Command­ er-in-chief of the Grand Fleet, had been decorated post-humously, having "died Said the Tribune editor, darkly: at his post on the front last March. . . "There is something radically wrong with while directing general operations from the minds which wait for poachers and intruders aboard a plane”. to come back”. (May 17.) The mission returned to Manila on A week later, editorializing on May 8, with the exception of Alas who "Strength and Collaboration”, he had remained in Japan "to confer with wrote: leaders of the Ministries of Finance “In this matter of consolidating the fighting and of Greater East Asian Affairs re­ garding monetary and other financial strength of the Nippon Empire, we can not problems confronting the Philippines”. ignore the part played by the people and re­ sources of the Southern Regions. Realizing that Laurel expressed "great satisfaction” the victory of Nippon means the triumph of all over the success of the mission in “pro­ Asia, the various Asian races have collaborated moting better understanding”. (May both spiritually and materially with Nippon. Our Philippines had not been idle in this. . . As the 10.) Vargas, the "Ambassador” in Tokyo, war grows more intense, still greater collabo­ was quoted as having said in a radio­ ration will be required.” (May 23.) Vargas and Alas both returned to speech on the anniversary of the fall the Philippines on May 15. According of Corregidor that —

256

to friends of Vargas in Santo Tomas, he had said just before leaving for Tok­ yo the last time that when he thought that the Americans would soon be com­ ing back to the Philippines, he would find some excuse for returning. Meanwhile, Laurel’s troubles had not been unrelieved. In April, the Highest Commander had presented him with a "beautiful one-story Japanese house, surrounded by a picturesque garden with miniature rivulets, streams, hills, and bridges”. The house was built in a corner of the Malacanan grounds and was "received by the President amidst impressive ceremonies”. He stated that it was a "token of friendship and es­ teem from the Japanese Empire” and that he would "treasure the gift and that it would be preserved in Malaca­ nan as long as it lasts.” (April 18.) It was not clear whether he meant Mala­ canan or the house and its "miniature rivulets, streams, hills, and bridges”, tendered in exchange for a country. Head of a mock "state”, Laurel up­ held "State’s Above Private Rights” ac­ cording to a headline (April 20), in advising the committee charged with preparing a new code of laws as to its duties. “He advocated a philosophy of law based on the tenets of the New Order, strengthening the family’s position as a vital unit of the state and subordinating individual rights to the com­ munity. He recommended doing away with pro­ visions borrowed from foreign codes which do not fit in with the Filipino way of life. . . With regard to property rights he stressed the importance of the subordination of private pro­ perty rights to the collective interests of the nation, even to the extent of deprivation of pro­ perty without compensation if and when neces­ sary to uphold the far greater interests of the community.”

Former Chief Justice Avancena was Chairman, and Justice Bocobo, ViceChairman of the committee. Like Vargas in Tokyo, Laurel in Ma­ nila also issued a statement on the an­

THE COUNTRY

niversary of the fall of Corregidor, quoted as follows: "The fall of Corregidor on May 7, 1942, wrote a dramatic finis to a bold adventure in ‘Mani­ fest Destiny’ in the Pacific. The failure of Cor­ regidor to sustain its reputation as that Destiny’s impregnable bulwark was, in a manner of speak­ ing, the just measure of the civilization and the way of life that the island fortress was sup­ posed to uphold and defend. How valuable that civilization was and how reliable that way of life, this war has enabled us to judge. We have found that they have failed to measure up to expectations. Our duty in the face of this tragic discovery is obvious; it is to set our face re­ solutely toward the future and develop ourselves a firm and lasting foundation more in keeping with the heritage and spirit of our race as dwellers in this part of the world; it is to ex­ plore ourselves and our resources as Filipinos and as Asians and to develop durable loyalties as such.”

The Kalibapi Converted into a "Par­ ty" — A few days before, Laurel had granted the Kalibapi a new charter (Or­ dinance No. 17), which converted that organization from a "non-political serv­ ice association into a non-partisan po­ litical entity, — the sole political or­ ganization in the country to back the government. . . the main purpose of which was to uphold, maintain, defend, and protect the Republic of the Philip­ pines at all times”. (May 6.) Member­ ship was limited to adult males, and the provision in the former charter declaring membership a prerequisite to admission to the government service, was abrogated. The President of the Republic continued to be ex-officio pre­ sident of the organization and other of­ ficers were the vice-president and di­ rector-general, the assistant directorgeneral, the directors-at-large for Lu­ zon, Visayas, and Mindanao, and the chiefs of the Bureau of General Af­ fairs, the Bureau of Publicity, and the Bureau of Local Branches. The charter also provided for an Advisory Board composed of members of the Cabinet

THE KALIBAPI CONVERTED INTO THE SOLE POLITICAL PARTY

together with the officers of the Kalibapi. As formerly, provincial governors and city and municipal mayors were ex-officio heads of the local chapters. A general assembly, meeting once a year on the second Monday of January, was to be composed of two duly ac­ credited representatives from each pro­ vincial or city chapter, but the "exe­ cutive staff may, subject to the ap­ proval of the President of the Associa­ tion, postpone or dispense with any meeting of the general assembly of members”. "One of the principal objectives of the or­ ganization is to enlighten the people toward full comprehension of the basic principles of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere and the Pacific Charter, so that the Philippines may properly fulfill her obligations and enjoy her rights as a worthy member of the Sphere and thus contribute to the establishment of a world order based on peace, liberty, and moral jus­ tice.”

In another Ordinance, No. 18, Lau­ rel abolished the Junior Kalibapi and established in its place a “national bro­ therhood composed of Filipino youths, the Kaparis (Kabataang Pangarap ni Rizal), to insure a stable foundation for the Republic by inculcating in the youth of the land the virtues Rizal exemplified and preached”. All pupils and students under 21 in public and private schools were to be members, and youths not in school might join "by application”. The Director of Pu­ blic Instruction (S.M. Infantado, in­ cumbent) was to be the ex-officio na­ tional chairman. Women, as was natural under the new tennets, took a secondary place. The same Ordinance established the Maria Clara Sisterhood for them, the counterpart of the Melchora Aquino Sisterhood under the old Kalibapi. Laurel appointed Aquino vice-presi­ dent and director-general of the new Kalibapi on May 15. Osias, who had

257

headed the first organization after Aquino became Speaker in September, was appointed Minister of State for Education, a portfolio which had been held by Laurel himself concurrently with those of Home Affairs and of Eco­ nomic Affairs. A few days later, Aquino was quoted as saying, defensively, in an address to Kalibapi officials: "I am doing everything to serve my country and no other. . . Whether our independence is real or not depends on us. We have seen the motherland flower into the Republic of the Philippines. We see her exercise the prerogatives of sovereignty at home and abroad. Yet there are many among us who see and yet do not believe. . . "Explaining why the Imperial Japanese Forc­ es are still in the Philippines, he pointed out that the Philippines is still too weak to guaran­ tee that the Americans would not take back these islands, and as Japan has made great sacrifices to drive the Americans away, she na­ turally feels that she must defend the Philip­ pines at all costs and thus perpetuate the Re­ public implanted here". (May 20.)

In June, the Kalibapi membership was claimed to be “close to 1,500,000, more than the number of voters at any single political election in the Philip­ pines in the past.”4 The quotation is from an article by Ernesto del Rosario in the June 7 Tribune. Aquino was fur­ ther quoted: "A political ideology, a one-party government system (not altogether new in the Philippines since its adoption was seriously considered shortly before the outbreak of the war) [not true], will find practical application in this country with the transformation of the Kalibapi from a non-political service association into a non-partisan political entity. With this reorgan­ ization of the Kalibapi, the Republic of the Philippines may be said to be a one-party gov­ ernment instead of a partyless government. One of the first steps to be taken by the new Kalibapi is to propose an electoral census with a view to assuring greater and more effective power for the people in the exercise of the ♦ In 1940 there were registered electors.

approximately 2,700,000

258 right to vote. An electoral system planned to assure increased and effective popular partici­ pation in the government without the dissen­ sions and factional divisions of the past, is ex­ pected to draw into the fold of the sole political party backing up the government, all elements of the country and thus realize the unification of the people and the perpetuation of the Re­ public."

Had an election ever been held un­ der this marvelous system, everyone would have had the opportunity to vote, a nondissenting, unified, effective, "Yes"! What, in the meantime, had happen­ ed to General Aguinaldo’s Veterans of the Philippine Revolution? There was only one reference made to the organ­ ization, — in the May 4 Tribune: "The grand old men of the Philippine Revo­ lution, war veterans all under the dynamic leadership of Gen. Artemio Ricarte, Saturday noon pledged their determination to serve the country during the present emergency.”

This happened at a "reunion” held in the New Banahaw restaurant on the occasion of the 41st anniversary of the death of Mabini. General Aguinaldo was not mentioned in the press account. The ‘‘Purge’’ of the Constabulary — But things were obviously not going as swimmingly as Aquino and others were trying to make out. Laurel, in a talk before neighborhood association offi­ cials at the City Hall on May 17, said that corrupt government officials were the worst enemies of the Republic and declared that government and semi­ government entities would be "purged of such pernicious elements within three days”. Nothing, however, hap­ pened within three days that was men­ tioned in the press. In the Tribune, of the 23rd, the writ­ er of a letter which appeared in the "Public Pulse” column, complained: “Some government officials have the habit of leaving their posts and placing their subor­ dinates in charge for days or even weeks. . . After this 'French leave’ they come back with

THE COUNTRY time records marked 'Full service rendered’. . . and draw full pay from the disbursing officer.”

That this was no mere scandal mongering was indicated by an order is­ sued by Laurel a week later declaring that government officials and employ­ ees who absented themselves for a total of ten days in a month without prior permission, except in case of ill­ ness, would be "automatically separat­ ed from the service for abandonment of duty". (May 30.) The promised "purge”, or what look­ ed like it, came during the second week in June. “117 Ousted from Government, President Purges Undesirable Men from Public Service; 42 of first batch from Food Administration; 75 from Manila Constabulary; Laurel orders ex­ tension of probe to other offices, bu­ reaus”, — so read the headlines (June 10). The Bureau of Information was re­ ported to have annouced that these men had been separated from the serv­ ice "following several weeks of inves­ tigation”. As to the Constabulary, the Tribune reported: "Of the 71 enlisted men who have not been reappointed, 54 were found to be of doubtful character, while 37 were guilty of misconduct. Another group of 54 enlisted men will be dis­ charged due to physical disabilities. President Laurel has reappointed Col. Antonio C. Torres who was simultaneously designated District Com­ mander of Manila.”

Constabulary Pay Increased — It was not to be doubted that there were ras­ cals in the Constabulary as well as in the Food Administration. However, it was thought in Santo Tomas that there was very probably another reason for the reorganization of the Constabulary of which this purge was a part. A few days before, Laurel had ordered the retirement of 26 officers in the Metro­ politan Constabulary who were 60 or more years of age, though the retire­ ment age was 65. Among them, were a number of able officers whose real lo-

CONTABULARY REORGANIZATION AND PAY INCREASE

yalty was above suspicion, according to men in Santo Tomas who knew them. Laurel has also issued Executive Order No. 58 which provided that pro­ vincial governors and city mayors should — "not interfere in matters pertaining to internal discipline or with the military operations of the forces of the Constabulary, or contravene any rules or regulations promulgated by the Chief of Constabulary with the approval of the President of the Republic of the Philippines.”

The order furthermore provided that both the officers and men of the Cons­ tabulary in Manila should — "vacate their respective offices 24 hours after this Order takes effect unless reappointed with­ in said period in accordance with the provisions hereof.”

259

of Luzon where, during the Philippine Insurrection, the young Filipino gen­ eral, Gregorio del Pilar, had made a last heroic stand, his bravery being cited in the American dispatches of that time. Tirad Pass was a sacred symbol of Philippine history. Now this was degraded to the purposes of the Japanese, "as recognition of military service [to them] involving the highest courage and gallantry in action, making patent the will of the people to keep alive this heroic tradition for the inspi­ ration of the living generation and of all pos­ terity.”

Laurel also bestowed the Order post­ humously on General del Pilar, prob­ ably to salve his conscience, as this car­ ried with it a PlOO-a-month life an­ nuity to the sister of the hero, his closest surviving relative. (Tribune, May 4.) On the lawn of Malacanan the next afternoon, Laurel and his wife and the wives of other high officials distributed clothing materials to the families of married enlisted men in the Consta­ bulary units stationed in Manila. “About 1,800 bundles were distributed, each enough for a dress." A letter had appeared in the “Public Pulse” column a few days previously complaining of the cost of uniforms and shoes and stating that most of the men had only one uniform and one pair of shoes. Laurel announced on this occasion that the base pay of the non-commis­ sioned personnel had been raised by an executive order effective May 1, from P40 to P50 a month, which, to­ gether with the bonus of P36, brought the total pay to "P96 cash, plus free clothing, lodging, and sustenance”. He said:

The date of this sweeping order was June 8. ( Tribune, June 9.) Whether in all this the Japanese, through Laurel, were trying to render the Constabulary a safer weapon for them to use against the approaching American forces, was a question which, for the time, could not be answered. The “Military Order of Tirad Pass’’ — In the preceding month, May, on the first observance of “Constabulary Day”, Laurel had awarded the decoration of a new order, the "Military Order of Tirad Pass", to 15 non-commissioned officers of the Constabulary. All the medals except one were posthumously bestowed “for meritorious service in the maintenance of peace and order under the Republic". The one man who was personally decorated had lost a leg in "operations against bandits in Oriental Misamis”. At the cost of his injury, he had "succeeded in rescuing the Japanese soldiers who were mem­ bers of the expedition amidst a rain "The Constabulary, the right hand of the of enemy bullets”. This had happened government, is the hope of the nation in its in February, 1943, which, by the way, struggle for its existence as an independent na­ was months before the "Republic” had tion”. (May 5.) "The Bureau of Investigation” — been inaugurated. The Order was named after a pass in the mountains Close upon the reorganization of the

260

Constabulary, came the establishment of the "Bureau of Investigation” by an­ other executive order "to carry on the purge of undesirable elements in the government and to centralize the detec­ tion and investigation of violations of laws”. The Bureau replaced (1) the Division of Investigation of the Bureau of Public Prosecution, (2) the Division of Information of the Philippine Cons­ tabulary, and (3) the Secret Service Division and the Technical Section of the Metropolitan Constabulary. Brig.Gen. Alberto Ramos, second assistantchief of Constabulary, was named head of the new Bureau. (June II.) Whether this was to mean a let-up or a stepping-up of terror in Manila was another question that could not be an­ swered in Santo Tomas. The Filipino columnist, "Maharajah”, had said some time before, (April 13): "Our authorities need to be careful in picking agents and other minions whom they entrust with weapons and clothe with power. . . Un­ scrupulous and unschooled characters of the past may, by looking friendly and reformed, in­ gratiate themselves into the police organizations . . . The blame for the sins of such men will accumulate in the public mind and will be secretly heaped upon a young government striv­ ing to be just and winsome [sic].”

"Stimulating the Sense of Pain” — That savage "third-degree measures" were resorted to "by some members of the Constabulary” was charged in a letter in the "Public Pulse” column April 21: "This assertion is supported by the fact that in a decision rendered just recently, the Supreme Court strongly reprimanded a constabulary in­ spector who had maltreated the accused under his charge by torturing them in order to obtain admissions of guilt.”

The same columnist who had warned the authorities to be careful in picking its police agents, came out with the following justification of a brutal "ju­ risprudence” : "The courts, under abnormal circumstances, assume a man guilty until the contrary could

THE COUNTRY be conclusively proven. The court expression, 'dropped for lack of evidence to convict’, is obsolete in war times. It is often justifiable to kill ten innocent men to get one criminal. At a time when so many innocents die anyway, by accident and other means, many of those who could be made an example of, to put an end to corruptions that might make the difference between success for the Republic and bloody failure, are allowed to go scot free for lack of evidence!" (May 12.)

The writer of another letter in the “Public Pulse” column even proposed "capital punishment without trial”. (June 4.) A grisly suggestion from a presuma­ bly more responsible source was em­ bodied in an editorial paragraph in the Tribune of May 20: "It is useless to appeal to the conscience of those who have lost it. We must stimulate their sense of pain."

Railroad Robberies: Piracy in Mani­ la Bay — With such barbarities openly advocated in the public press, it was frightful to consider what horrors were being perpetrated in secret upon a de­ fenseless population. A criminal gov­ ernment, — by which is meant the Jap­ anese, which was the real government, evokes crime. Lawlessness rose to heights previously unimaginable. The news columns never or rarely reported such matters directly, but much was to be gathered from indirect references in the comment of the co­ lumnists and letter writers. Thus, "Ma­ harajah” on one occasion referred to — "the well-organized Texas [sic] gangs operating on railway trains and freight cars north and south of Manila. The few law officers on board are ineffectual. Some of them are suspects. When the Texas gangsters, fashioned after the gang­ ster civilization of the past [sic], beat up or kill their victims or mash women or rob the passengers and the government food purchas­ ing agencies in broad daylight, the peace officers seem to remain conveniently at peace. We call upon the whole Philippine Constabulary organ­ ization to prove their loyalty to the Filipino people and the Republic that they serve. Sur­ prise raids at strategic stations, say at Paniqui,

STREET KILLINGS OF JAPANESE AND COLLABORATORS Tarlac, and a summary machine-gunning of the public enemies, will be eloquent in language easily understood by all”. (April 20.)

Open piracy in Manila Bay was the the subject of a letter in the “Public Pulse” column: “This is to inform the proper authorities of what is happening outside the break-water. Mer­ chants going to and from Bataan across Manila Bay have been victimized lately by small-time pirates. Riding in speed vintas, armed to the teeth, they will approach merchant boats with drawn revolvers. Money, valuables, clothings, and important cargoes are taken by force, and failure to surrender anything on demand will mean your untimely death. It is time these un­ desirable elements were completely eradicated”. (June 1.)

Another writer-letter declared, "Shootings, hold-ups, assaults are in­ creasing every day”. (April 16.) Later in that month a headline announced, "Public Subject to Search for Guns’’, and reported: "Because most of the shootings, assaults, and other illegal acts being committed in Ma­ nila are due mainly to the fact that many people carry with them unlicensed firearms, the Philip­ pine Constabulary, in cooperation with the Metropolitan Constabulary, will from now on exert a more rigid and strict vigilance by search­ ing people in public places. In connection with this order, the public is warned that anybody who is ordered to stop or to hold up his arms by Constabulary soldiers or members of the Metropolitan Constabulary, must immediately obey, otherwise he may be arrested for not complying with the order and in some cases he may even be shot by the agents or peace officer giving the order. The public is again reminded that illegal possession of firearms is heavily penalized by imprisonment for life, or death”. (April 22.)

261

ing of their localities, but the Mayor of Manila in April was reported to have "deplored their apparent negli­ gence” in this respect. He declared that the neighborhood associations were duty-bound to comply with the regula­ tions and that those which had neglec­ ted doing so, should reorganize the patrols, “very necessary at this time when the lighting service in the streets has been suspended”. This was during a "practice" blackout period. (April 13.) Neighborhood Association "Statistics” — In­ effective as were the neighborhood associations, Malacanan announced in June that the Ministry of Home Affairs had reported that there were then organized 13,709 district and 126,716 neigh­ borhood associations throughout the Philippines, comprising 1,519,697 families. Five cities (Ma­ nila, Baguio, Cavite, Cebu, and San Pablo), 716 municipalities, and 65 municipal districts had completed the organization. Manila had 1,269 district and 14,038 neighborhood associations, including 185,911 families. "Completely organiz­ ed” were Batangas, Bulacan, Camarines Norte, Cavite, Laguna, La Union, Nueva Vizcaya, Pampanga, Pangasinan, Tarlac, and Zambales; "al­ most complete”, Abra, Albay, Bataan, Cagayan, Camarines Sur, Cebu, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Isabela, Mindoro, Mountain Province, Nueva Ecija, Rizal, Sorsogon, and Tayabas. It is cer­ tain that most of this so-called organization existed only on paper.

Street-Killings of Japanese and of Collaborators — Rumor in Santo To­ mas had it that at every practice black­ out in Manila some 50 Japanese and Japanese "sympathisers” were assassi­ nated in the streets; hence, it was said, the practice of holding these blackouts only on moonlit nights. One killing, A week or so later, a letter appeared near Manila, got into the papers. The in the Tribune complaining that the Tribune of May 27 reported that on search of pedestrians and vehicle pas­ May 22, at 6:30 p.m., on the Manilasengers at the point of a gun, had be­ Tagaytay highway between Silang and come a "nightmare”. The writer begged Imus, "Cavite bandits” had killed three that officers show “more consideration prominent Japanese on their way to Manila in a car. They were Capt. S. for law-abiding citizens". (May 2.) T h e "neighborhood associations” Motizuki, chief instructor at the new were supposed to look after the patrol- Philippine Cultural Institute at Tagay-

262

THE COUNTRY

tay, M. Sugano, instructor in Nippongo killed in a train collision at Tarlac, Tarat the Institute, and T. Nakamura, a lac. They were riding on the front of Japanese newspaperman. The paper the locomotive of a train from Manila, especially lamented the death of the "violating regulations prohibiting rid­ first, whose "all-embracing love and ing an engine”. (Tribune, May 10.) firm convictions have inspired hun­ Bus fare in Manila was increased to dreds of Filipino youths”. The follow­ 40 centavos for the first zone and 20 ing is a reference to what he taught: centavos for every succeeding zone, " 'Stern love based on justice is needed in double the previous fares and more this country’, he told the students. 'Appeasement than five times the prewar fares. The of the wicked and the selfish is not love. Often­ increase "was prompted by the increas­ times the undesirable few must be eliminated for the sake of the whole. Thus to kill is some­ ing cost of materials and replacements; rather than abolish the bus service, the times to love’.” Continued Guerrilla Resistance — authorities decided on the new rates”. Little was said in the Tribune during (May 5.) There were complaints about this period about the guerrillas except the bus fare of PI.40 from Manila to that on June 1, at Malolos, Bulacan, Malabon; the prewar fare was 9 cen­ 2,000 of them "including a number of tavos. (May 24.) Laurel was reported to have restrict­ women, surrendered and took the oath of allegiance” before the provincial gov­ ed general motor-vehicle operation in ernor. The "ceremony” was held in the May "to conserve the limited supply of town market. "Complete restoration of liquid fuel”. Any person operating a peace and order throughout the pro­ motor vehicle without a permit was vince is expected following the sur­ liable to a fine of from P500 to P2,000. render of this misguided element". (Tribune, May 21.) Despite the great decrease in motor vehicles on the (June 2.) streets, there were frequent accidents The same "peace and order” was due to reckless driving. Following the probably to come about there as exist­ collision on April 10 between a street­ ed in most of the other provinces, — car and a truck, which injured 10 la­ as suggested by a message which the borers, the Metropolitan Constabulary Governor of Rizal sent to Malacanan: issued the following warning: “Rizal is one of the most peaceful and tran­ quil provinces in the Philippines. . . The guer­ rillas of Rizal are not guerrillas because they are less devoted to the Philippines; they are so because they are not yet sure of what the pre­ sent administration and the Japanese, who gave the Philippines its independence, would do. How­ ever, I am doing everything possible to con­ vince them that the present administration is their own, a government 100% Filipino”. (May 11. )

"Filipino drivers [sic] of Army, Navy, and Japanese company trucks should not run wild on city streets. Streets used by electric trams of the Tepco [the old Meralco, now a Japanese company] have the right of way. In crossing such streets, drivers of motor vehicles of any kind should slow down and watch for traffic from either direction, following the same prin­ ciple applied in going over railroad crossings”. (April 16.)

Rizal is most peaceful and tranquil; however (in the same breath), there are guerrillas. Cost of a Horse and Carromata, P7,500 — The increasing difficulty of obtaining any form of transportation was evident. In May more persons were

An advertisement in the Tribune of May 18 offered a "dokar” [a horsedrawn vehicle] for sale at P2,500. Hors­ es were advertised at from PI,200 to P5,000. Racketeering in the Telephone, Gas, and Water Companies — The Densei

DETERIORATION OF PUBLIC UTILITIES

Kyoku (Office of Electrical Communi­ cations) urged the public to restrict telephone calls "in view of the fact (!) that both urban and interurban tele­ phone calls in Manila have greatly in­ creased in number for some time, caus­ ing a hitch in the service”. "A proper amount of money will be paid to persons who offer unused telephone appa­ ratus and accessories by June 10. Unless re­ cognized as absolutely necessary, applications for installation of telephones, henceforth [sic], will not be accepted even if applicants present the apparatus". (May 24.)

The next day the Densei Kyoku an­ nounced an increase in the rates, ef­ fective June 1. The rates were P30 a month for a monophone on an indivi­ dual line, P25 for the ordinary tele­ phone; and P22 and P20, respectively, for a party line. Later in the month the military au­ thorities issued a warning that they had — “noted with regret, that recently there have been frequent cases of theft involving lines, insulators, and other electrical materials. . . It is clear that the hotbed of the growing violation lies among unscrupulous elements who deal in prohibited articles. The authorities regard these malicious traders as disturbers of public utili­ ty enterprises and above all as obstructors in military operations. Severe punishment will be meted out”. (May 27.)

Trade in electrical supplies was the monopoly of a Japanese company. Ac­ cording to an announcement: "This, is to inform the public that the Syowa Tusyo K.K. is the exclusive authorized agent by the Imperial Army in dealing with materials for communications and electrical power such as electrical wirings, cables, insulators, trans­ formers, etc. This Company must, therefore, be consulted in all business transactions covering materials or articles of this kind. The Syowa Tusyo K.K. again entreats the kind cooperation of all dealers in such materials as mentioned above." (June 4.)

The Taiwan Gas Kaisya (formerly the Manila Gas Company) issued a notice:

263 "With the approval of the Authorities we wish to inform the gas-consuming public that effec­ tive tomorrow all gas-operated waterheaters may not be used anymore and will subsequently be sealed by this Company. The monthly gas quota will be reduced accordingly. Ever increasing dif­ ficulties in obtaining sufficient raw materials for the production of fuel gas as well as our desire not to deprive our patrons of their more urgently needed cooking facilities compel us to discontinue the supply of gas for the opera­ tion of waterheaters for the time being”. (May 17.)

Even Manila’s great water system, the finest in the Far East and capable of supplying a city several times its size, was not kept properly functioning. In April a water-shortage was reported in some sections of Manila, — Sangandaan, Balintawak, Mandaluyong, "as a result of excessive use by city resi­ dents”. (April 11.) It was always the people who were at fault. But a writer in the "Public Pulse” column, May 9, called attention to the fact that leak­ ing hydrants in the streets were "caus­ ing an enormous waste of water”. An­ other letter writer complained that when his meter was stolen, he was told that he should provide himself with another meter, otherwise his water would be cut off. Employees at the Water Works office then "offered me different kinds of secondhand meters the prices of which range from PI80 to P250 each”. He continued: "It seems that certain employees of the water company have in possession quite a num­ ber of secondhand meters of questionable origin . . . It is high time for the authorities to look into this”. (May 23.)

The Japanese did not approve of Manila as a city: "As long as we are primarily an agricultural nation, there is no economic justification for big cities. . . No independent nation should permit any nonproductive and heavily consum­ ing concentration of population". (May 11.)

"P4 for a Teaspoonful of Purgative" — In April the Bureau of Health warn­

264

THE COUNTRY

ed that cases of amoebic dysentery sical training”, Saito, chief of the Army were increasing”. (Tribune, April 19.) information department, said that the One possible explanation of the in­ Institute was the "nursery of leader­ crease was furnished by a letter which ship of the New Philippines” and told appeared in the paper a week later. the “trainees” that one of the “mani­ The writer called attention to the fold ills” they would have to help to "business of salvaging paper out of gar­ eradicate was "disloyalty in the police bage cans which is afterward sold as force”. He emphasized that — wrapper for foodstuffs". (April 25.) "although the Cultural Institute is an educa­ tional organ attached to the Imperial Japanese Still another letter was graphic: "The attention of the authorities concerned is called to the fact that, for the last few months, most of the gutters located at the street corners of Intramuros have been with­ out filters [grating]. Just how these filters dis­ appeared, nobody seems to know. The open holes, besides presenting a hazard to pedestrians and vehicles especially at night, contain stagnant water, rubbish, and all sorts of drainage ob­ structions and have become breeding places for mosquitoes and flies, thus endangering the health of the people living near them”. (May 7.)

Army in the Philippines, its sole aim is the training of young Filipinos who will some day become part of the nucleus of the Philippine Republic and not for the necessary personnel to be employed in the service of the Japanese Army”. (April 20.)

The 6th Nippongo Teachers Institute graduated a class which brought the total of public and private school teach­ ers who had taken the course to 1,156. (May 21.) The Primary School as the only As for the price of medicines: A "University" of the Masses — Laurel headline read, "Tirona Extols Drug gave a tea at Malacanan to a group Distribution". The minister of Health, of educators on April 17 at which he Labor, and Public Welfare “stressed "explained his educational policies”. the services being rendered” in the dis­ He said, in part, as reported; tribution and sale of medicines and "The existing system of education in the drugs by the Philippine Drug and Me­ country has failed to meet the most urgent and dicine Distribution Association. (May pressing needs of national life and has failed 11.) But a letter in the “Public Pulse” to organize and direct its forces and tendencies into proper channels. Today, when quick and column the very next day said: "Where are our drug inspectors! You will think of murder when the drug stores charge you P4 for a teaspoonful of purgative.”

The "Nurseries of Leaders" — Twen­ ty-five more young men from promi­ nent families, "pensionados of the Re­ public” were sent to Japan, where they arrived on June 8. ( Tribune, May 3 and 11.) A second group of students, 57 in number, started their studies at the New Philippines Cultural Institute conducted by the Japanese Army at Tagaytay; 61 had completed the course in September and were "now holding responsible positions”. (April 18.) In opening the scheduled course of five months of "spiritual, mental, and phy­

far-reaching changes are reshaping both national and international life and making new demands on the citizens, it continues to function listlessly' and apart from the real currents of life, unable to adapt itself to the changed circumstances. It has no conception of the new cooperative so­ cial order which education must help bring into existence to replace the competitive and inhu­ man regime based on exploitation. . . "The primary course should be made as rich and as complete as possible so as to make the primary or elementary school a real univer­ sity for the masses. This should be the case be­ cause the masses have no opportunity to pursue higher education for many reasons. . . "In the political field we have to adopt as a guiding principle that the welfare of the people is the fundamental law, but the methods and processes adopted must be such as to insure discipline, coordination, and perhaps regimenta­ tion." (April 18.)

REGIMENTATION THROUGH EDUCATION

265

The system of education which had leading to the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and brought the Philippines so far during Bachelor of Science is incomplete. For the pro­ of the national language and of the the past 40 years was to be scrapped. pagation culture of Asia, University authorities believe “For many reasons” — which Laurel that a College of Liberal Arts is the best me­ did not dare to give, the primary school dium.” (June 8.) was to be the only "university" open That the permits granted private to the “masses”. The people were to be schools, colleges, and universities to regimented. The "perhaps” was only hold classes, would automatically ex­ a weasel word. pire on July 24, according to an order “According to the records of the Bureau of the Director of Private Education, [of Public Instruction], there are about 400 pub­ approved by the Minister of Education, lic elementary schools in the Visayas and Min­ was reported June 4. danao, an indication that education in those regions, despite the emergency, is going on smoothly.” (May 4.)

A few weeks later it was announced that some 2,400 public schools, repre­ senting an enrolment of more than 500,000 children, had closed their class­ es with the end of the current school year, and that they would reopen on July 24. Of the total number of schools, 52 were high schools and 9 were agri­ cultural schools. In Manila there were 48 schools with an enrolment of around 27,000. ( Tribune, May 20.) Twenty-se­ ven thousand c h i l d r e n in school in a city with a population of around 500,000! The figure of a half million children in schools throughout the country, even if correct, which was im­ possible, was only a fourth of the num­ ber of children in school when the war opened. How exaggerated these official fi­ gures were was indicated by the fact that the number of high school grad­ uates in Manila in May was only 93, — 43 boys and 50 girls. ( Tribune, May 20.) It was announced that the University of the Philippines would open its class­ es on June 19, and that the College of Liberal Arts would be "restored”. "To have a truly adequate university system. University authorities have decided to restore the College of Liberal Arts, as it has long been felt that a system of higher education without the broad foundation of the cultural courses

“This step will give the Education Ministry an opportunity for a thorough checkup of all private schools and institutions with regard to their compliance with the various educational reforms.”

By an order of Laurel in May, all activities of the Kalibapi and the form­ er Junior Kalibapi “concerned with education” were transferred to the Ministry of Education. This involved the transfer of "around 100 officials and employees.” (May 24.) "Unification" of the Churches — There were but few references to the Church in the newspapers during the period under review. On April 25 it was reported that the “unification of Protestant denominations under the Evangelical Church of the Philippines" had been completed, and that 124 church "commissioners”, representing 700 churches, would gather in Manila on April 28 to institute the first general assembly. On May 2 the Tribune report­ ed that Sobrepena had been "consecra­ ted as Presiding Bishop of the Evan­ gelical Church” the preceding Sunday, April 30, on which day also the unifi­ cation had been proclaimed. The roundup and internment, early in July, of Protestant ministers and missionaries and their families and Catholic priests and nuns, numbering in all 500 Americans and British and some others, has already been describ­ ed.

266

THE COUNTRY

The Tribune editorially described the "Hoarding” as a "Hostile Act to the Army" — For convenience and speed case as "a milestone in Philippine ju­ in writing and to rid the author of a risprudence.” (April 6.) The following month, the Tribune dangerous accumulation of notes, — published a letter in the "Public Pulse” this was always a distinct relief, the column which stated: economic section of this chapter was "An ex-service man was shot to death in left almost to the last, though it was Guimba, Nueva Ecija, for hesitating to hand more important than much that went over his rice to a policeman who was confis­ before. cating it in violation of the new rice policy. “Hoarding”, especially of rice, was The dead soldier was bringing rice to Manila the great crime. Said the Tribune edi­ by the license method.” (May 7.) "Maharajah”, the Filipino columnist, tor: advocated three courses in connection "Hoarding is not only a hostile act to the with the general famine [being brought Nippon Army, but a traitorous act to our own about largely by the Japanese rice le­ country. . . It should be obvious that this is no time to be showing legal mercy to those vies]: (1) further steps against hoard­ guilty of treason.” (May 18.) ing, (2) further efforts to increase pro­ For buying 72 sacks of rice without duction, and (3) — authority from the Food Administra­ tion, six persons were sentenced in the first food-profiteering case brought be­ fore the “Manila Court of Special and Exclusive Criminal Jurisdiction”, to 10 years’ imprisonment and a P10,000 fine each. The Judge, P. M. Endencia, him­ self was quoted as saying that he be­ lieved the “penalty provided by law was excessive under the circumstances" and included in his sentence a recom­ mendation for the pardon or commuta­ tion of the prison terms, the decisions of the court "being by law final and not appealable”. A motion for a new trial was nevertheless filed, the accus­ ed, through counsel, arguing that the law was unconstitutional and that the “Supreme Court could not be deprived of its right to revise judgments of in­ ferior courts”. The appeal was denied, the ruling being based on the provi­ sion that — "the decision of the Court of Special and Ex­ clusive Criminal Jurisdiction shall be final ex­ cept when the penalty imposed is death, in which case the records shall be submitted to the Supreme Court for consultation.” (Tribune, April 6, 16, and 20.)

"cultivating food-saving habits,such as thorough­ ly masticating the food we eat. . . It has been scientifically proven that chewing food more thoroughly enables a person to nourish him­ self more on less food.” (May 18.)

Under the heading "BABY SOLD”, was the following brief news item: "The police are checking up on reports that a woman, probably crazy, was seen near the Pasay Market on Calle Libertad selling a baby. The woman and the baby were placed in a carretela by a man, according to the reports." (April 12.)

Tirona told the people in a speech at Pasig, Rizal, that Laurel had their in­ terests at heart and wished to improve the condition of the masses. He told them also that they were fortunate to be living in the Philippines “where food plants grow the year around”. “If they should feel the pangs of hung­ er”, the Tribune further reported him to have said, “it would be because they failed to work; God would punish them for being lazy." (May 11.) Traveling Theatrical "Cheer Parties” — "Maharajah” said in his column: "The present drive for self-sufficiency foodstuffs and other prime needs should be resented by anyone, whether Filipino alien. . . A much more salutary attitude,

in not or we

ROXAS APPOINTED HEAD OF PLANNING BOARD think, is for all of us to take the prospect of tilling the soil not as a punishment or as castor oil is to children, but as a great practical ad­ venture undertaken in a cheerful spirit.” (April 18.)

The Japanese Army took some pains in the matter of promoting a cheerful spirit. According to a news dispatch from Meycauayan, Bulacan: "A cheer party composed of ‘Ginger’, ‘Dely’ [popular vaudeville stars], and other members of the Information Department of the Imperial Japanese Army and sponsored by the Philip­ pine Publications, today gave a gala program before the people here. The party brought with them 'The Fury of the Furnace’, a newly re­ leased movie, which deeply impressed the spec­ tators. The cheer party held similar programs at San Miguel and Sibul yesterday and at Malolos on May 17.” (May 21.)

Further cheerful news came from Tokyo: "Tokyo, May 17 (Domei). Japan’s postal sav­ ings at the end of the year totalled 20,000,000,000 yen, a new high.”

Manuel Roxas Accepts the Chairman­ ship of the “Economic Planning Board” — Laurel in April created a new agen­ cy, the Economic Planning Board, by Executive Order No. 46, replacing the National Planning Board, and on April 9 it was reported that Manuel A. Roxas had accepted the chairmanship. Other members were Yulo, de las Alas, Alunan, Paredes, Unson, Paez, Corpus, Encarnacion, Quirino, and Rodriguez. Fo V Administrator Sanvictores was to serve as executive officer. Much was made of the appointment of Roxas. Said the Tribune, April 9: "The naming of Manuel A. Roxas as the Chairman of the new Board, together with a group of outstanding experts in their line, strengthens our confidence in the future of our country.”

The Board held its first meeting on the 11th, and the following day Roxas was quoted as saying, "in his first public statement under the new re­ gime" :

267

"Perhaps the most pressing problem that confronts the country at this time is the food problem. When I was asked to assist the gov­ ernment in the solution of this problem, I heeded the call because I believe that no Fili­ pino can decline, under the circumstances now obtaining, to do what lies in his power to ame­ liorate the sufferings of thousands of people due to insufficiency or maldistribution of food supplies. The food problem is the problem of the people. The government alone, however lofty its purposes, can not solve it. It requires the unstinted cooperation of the people them­ selves and a reawakening of social functions. I ask that cooperation in behalf of our own countrymen. I have accepted the chairmanship of the Economic Planning Board despite my poor health, in the hope that I may assist in supplying the food requirements of the people, particularly all those who are incapable of buy­ ing food at the prohibitive prices actually pre­ vailing. I am glad to have the collaboration of such eminent Filipinos as those who have been appointed members of the Planning Board..

The Board at its first meeting "ap­ proved certain measures dealing with the rice situation. Its recommendations will be submitted to the President for approval and, if approved by him, will be put into effect within the next few days." (April 12.) Laurel at this time also created the Council of Scientists and a Research Advisory Board, the Ordinance setting aside F500,000 for research purposes. (Tribune, April 11.) At a luncheon giv­ en to a group of scientists a few days later, Laurel stated that the govern­ ment was "disposed to give full sup­ port to any scientific plan of solving the primordial problem of nutrition, medicines, and other essential needs in these times of emergency". He said that "some P500,000 is already available for the Council for whatever scientific dis­ covery or plan it may map out to ame­ liorate present conditions arising from the need of medicines and other pro­ ducts.” (April 15.) Meanwhile the Army-controlled and equivocally-named "Philippine Food­

268

stuff Control Association” has been "reorganized”. According to an adver­ tisement in the Tribune of April 6: "It is hereby announced that the Philippine Foodstuff Control Association has been dis­ solved on the 31st day of March, 1944, upon order of the Military Authority and same has been reorganized into Gunkanri Syokuryo Kaisha (Army Administered Foodstuff Company) on April 1, 1944. All business transactions (past and future) of the former Philippine Foodstuff Control Association have been absorbed by this new organization effective on the same date, April 1, 1944.”

Roxas Appointed to Biba — The rice situation was so bad at the time of the creation of the new Planning Board that according to a letter in the "Pu­ blic Pulse” column, — "even Biba employees are forced to buy rice in the black market owing to insufficient ra­ tion.” (April 15.)

The ration now was supposed to be 120 grams per person a day, but even this small amount could not be regular­ ly supplied. Roxas was appointed Chairman of the board of directors of the Biba (Bigasang-Bayan) on the 14th, and Encarnacion, Alunan, Paez, and Sanvictores were simultaneously appointed mem­ bers. Said the Tribune: "With his new appointment as Biba board chairman, Mr. Roxas is in the government serv­ ice not only in an advisory capacity but also in an active administrative position, the Board of Information announced."

On April 21 the headlines stated: "Government Adopts New Rice Policy; President moves to make control more effective; Entry of cereal into Manila allowed under license; City assured of adequate supply as restrictions on movement are lifted”. "The President has approved recommenda­ tions of the Economic Planning Board regard­ ing the free entry of rice into the city under a licensing system and the lifting of restric­ tions on the free movement, sale, and distribu­ tion of rice and com throughout the Philip­ pines. . . The President in line with this policy

THE COUNTRY has issued Executive Order No. 49 suspending the provisions of Ordinance No. 1, effective April 20, 1944. Under the new order, restrictions on the free movement, sale, and distribution of rice are temporarily suspended except in the Army-controlled areas comprising the provinces of Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, and Cotabato."

The latter is the principal rice-pro­ ducing province of Mindanao. It was announced the next day that the Biba would continue to ration rice under the existing system through the neighborhood associations. The Manila Railroad would continue to maintain the prohibition against the shipment of rice by rail by private parties, but rice might be shipped by any other means of transportation. That the entry of rice into Manila was by no means to be free, however, was evident from the regulations laid down by the Food Administration. Rice, either for personal consumption or for sale, might be brought into Ma­ nila in three ways: (1) Palay (unhusked rice) might be delivered to Biba in the provinces, 60% of which would be bought by Biba and the remainder in rice delivered to the owner in Manila free of charge. The palay retained by Biba would be paid for at the official price of P25 a sack of 44 kilos. (2) Rice might be delivered to Biba in the provinces, of which 50% would be bought by Biba and the remainder delivered to the owner in Manila free of charge. The rice retained by Biba would be paid for at P70 per cavan of 56 kilos. (3) Consumers or dealers after obtaining a license might bring rice to Manila but had to sell 20% of it to Biba at the rate of P80 a cavan of 56 kilos.

The regulations stated further: “The above-mentioned policy will be effec­ tive for a limited period of time. It is there­ fore necessary for everyone who desires to take advantage of this opportunity to bring rice to Manila to act quickly. This new rice policy has been adopted with the idea of giving the people of Manila and other localities where there is an acute shortage of rice and com an opportunity to supply themselves with such

SOARING RICE PRICES “ JAPANESE EXACTIONS commodities in sufficient amount to fill their requirements until the next harvest. The stor­ ing of rice in excess of these requirements will be considered illegal hoarding. Any person is prohibited to store more than one cavan of rice of 56 kilos for each member of his family and their dependents. This amount will be considered reduced correspondingly at the rate of 240 grams per day starting May 1, 1944. If any person stores rice or corn in excess of this amount, he will be liable to prosecution as a hoarder and his stock of rice or corn will be subject to confiscation. Beginning at 2 o ’clock, Friday afternoon, April 21, 1944, the sale and other transactions concerning rice in Manila and other provinces except those within the Army-controlled areas, will be considered legal. It shall, however, be prohibited to trans­ port rice from Manila without a special permit from the Food Administration.”

269

It is regrettable that. . . many have taken ad­ vantage of the absence of control to manipulate the rice market and create a situation that is unbearable to the masses of our population."

According to an editorial that day: "The upward leap of the price of rice during the week has been extraordinary. Much rice has flowed into Manila since the new rice policy was instituted by the government. . . We can safely presume that the present price level is both abnormal and unwarranted”.

A few days later, Laurel approved Order No. 34 of the Food Administrator fixing the price of rice in Manila at P200 the cavan, or at P10 a ganta. The order did not affect the Biba ration price which remained PI.20 a kilo. Prices of rice in the provinces ranged The new regulations may have from P135 to P250 a sack. The price brought some relief, but less than three of palay was fixed at P80 a sack in weeks later, on May 11, the Tribune Manila and ranged in the provinces reported that the price of rice was from P55 to P100. At this time also, still rising, "government efforts to the every family head in Manila was or­ contrary notwithstanding’’. Laurel ap­ dered to report the quantity of rice pealed to city residents who had rice in his possession. of their own or who were in a position Furthermore, a new Executive Order, to buy rice in the open market to with­ No. 55, directed the Food Administra­ draw their names from the Biba ration tor to take possession immediately of list "to help remedy the acute shortage all stocks of palay and rice "except in Manila.” (May 14.) According to a the amounts thereof as may be needed letter in the "Public Pulse” column: for consumption by families and their "The intention of the government to help the dependents”.

people secure cheaper rice by allowing its free entry into Manila, has worked in the opposite direction. For since the decree was issued, the price of rice has soared from P250 to P350 per sack of 56 kilos”. (May 12.)

On the 13th, a headline read: "Rice Profiteers Warned”. The Cabinet and the Economic Planning Board had held a joint meeting the day before, pre­ sided over by Laurel, and had decided "to fix a selling price for rice in Ma­ nila and the provinces”. The Bureau of Information was quoted: "Unless all concerned come to reason, the government will be constrained to use force not only to control but to confiscate all the available supply to save the suffering masses of our population from hunger and starvation. . .

"Every family head must sell to Biba on or before May 20 at the government price any quantity of rice that he holds in excess of one cavan of 56 kilos for each member of his family and dependents and abstain thereafter from acquiring additional stock. . . Informers furnish­ ing information of violations shall be entitled to receive 25% of the rice confiscated and his identity shall be kept confidential.” (May 18.)

By the next day, Biba officials had "located and sealed about 100 store­ houses in the city. . . The government expects thus to take hold of the greater part of the rice still in the hands of speculators.” (May 17.) That same day the Food Administrator authorized the Governor of Rizal to confiscate all rice found in the possession of residents

270

in excess of the quantity permitted. (May 18.) The Army Betrays its Interest — The Japanese Army had always kept very much in the background in so far as the rice situation was concerned, but at this point it betrayed its "interest”, though with the usual hypocrisy: Head­ lines on the 18th read: "Rice Hoarding Made Hostile Act; Rice speculators will be punished under military law; Army fully behind Philippine govern­ ment in new policy in present crisis”. The Tribune reported further: "Determined to give full support to the gov­ ernment in the execution of its new rice policy, the Imperial Japanese Army in the Philippines will consider any attempt to speculate in rice as a hostile act punishable under military law. This stand was announced by the Army in a statement issued on Wednesday (yesterday) afternoon. . . 'The Army’s policy is to deal rigorously with these activities in accordance with military law, considering them to be hostile acts which adversely affect, directly or indi­ rectly, the military operations of the Army, thus to liquidate the sinister groups which disturb national peace and order. . . As reason for the soaring of the rice price, a section of the public is reported to mention that Japanese firms are buying the cereal at high prices in the pro­ vinces. We take this opportunity to state that the purchase has been made in accordance with the recognition by Filipino authorities and that rice thus purchased is to be supplied to Filipino employees of the firms. Needless to say, the companies have bought at a justifiable price. Hence we regret to hear the report that the chiefs of some municipalities and barrios in the provinces are taking advantage of the pur­ chase by Japanese firms to induce sellers to offer exorbitant prices to the purchasers. . . At the same time, any Japanese firms engaged in unjustifiable purchase without permission by military authorities will be punished strictly. . . As a fundamental measure to bring down the rice price, military authorities plan to import rice in large quantities from abroad. We earn­ estly desire that, trusting the policy of the Philippine government, the Filipino people will collaborate with it without being utilized by speculators for their selfish purposes.” (Italics are the writer’s.)

THE COUNTRY

The Japanese Army was going to help out the “Court of Special and Exclusive Criminal Jurisdiction”, which must have confounded those who talked of the Republic's "sovereignty”. The ad­ missions in the Army statement were significant. "The purchase” was men­ tioned in the singular, but "Japanese firms” was in the plural, and these firms purchased with the "permission of the military authorities”. And if it was true that the Army planned to im­ port “large quantities” of rice from abroad, then the Army must have been obtaining large quantities of rice in the Philippines if the replacement was to bring down the price. A few days later, a man was report­ ed to have been charged with selling a sack of rice for P515. (May 23.) That the Food Administration was formulat­ ing a plan to stop the serving of rice, fish, and meat, and certain classes of vegetables in first-class restaurants in Manila, was reported in the Tribune of June 1. They might be permitted to remain open if they served only "sub­ stitute foodstuffs and other non-vital foodstuffs and drinks." A total of 122,401 cavans of rice and palay, held in excess of the amount per­ mitted, was reported to have been con­ fiscated since May 16, the Tribune of June 6 reported. The figure was based on "incomplete reports from police and other agencies in the provinces and in Manila”, and in Manila only, 1,729 ca­ vans of rice and 52 cavans of palay were said to have been seized. Neighborhood association leaders were reported on the 7th of June to have protested against the action of the Biba in cancelling the rice rations of association members who had more than a 25-day supply in their posses­ sion. On the 8th, Biba officials an­ nounced that the rice-ration distribu­ tion would gradually be transferred

GOVERNMENT ADMITS IMPOTENCE

from the rice retailers to consumers' cooperative association which were be­ ing organized under the Bureau of Commerce and Industry. Each con­ sumers’ cooperative represented at least 8 district neighborhood associa­ tions. A training institute for the ma­ nagers of 164 of these associations in Manila had been opened on April 12 for a two weeks' course. ( Tribune, April 9 and 16.) The "Government" Admits its Im­ potence — What appeared to be a last, hopeless effort, was another turn in policy which was "decreed” by the government on the 10th of June. Said the Tribune the following day: “The unrestricted entry of rice into Manila was decreed Saturday by the government which promises all possible assistance to buyers of rice or its substitutes in the provinces to transport their purchases to Manila, the Bureau of Information announced. Due to many dif­ ficulties, including scarcity of the commodity, inadequate transportation facilities, and the re­ luctance of producers or hoarders of this es­ sential commodity to cooperate with the gov­ ernment very serious fears are entertained as to whether the government will be able to continue rationing rice to residents of the city . . . ”

It was explained that the Biba would provide for the transportation of rice to Manila and that only 20% would have to be sold to that organization, which would pay for it at the rate of P200 a cavan. "The deduction of 20% was necessary for the maintenance of the community kitchens”. (Community kitchens had again been opened, begin­ ning May 17, as will be noted later.) Among the government's difficulties, the levies of the Japanese Army on the rice supply of the country were not mentioned, but this cruel drain was the principal difficulty. The abject con­ fession by the Malacanan Bureau of Information of the government's impo­ tence in the situation, must conclude the present account, for at this point

271

(June) further delivery of the Tribune to the Santo Tomas camp was again stopped.5 It remains to review other points of economic interest. “Sweating, Pushing, Brawling, Fight­ ing in the Ration Lines" — A special news item was made of the rationing of a supply of beef at nine markets in Manila by the Food Administration on April 9. Each family was entitled to Vi kilo for P3. Meat was not again mentioned in the Tribune, but on May 10 it was reported that the Economic Planning Board would meet with re­ presentatives of "fish producers and associations” to "discuss the problems of procurement and distribution”. The next day, the Tribune, resorting to its favorite form of headline, announced, "Salted Fish Supply Assured”. The paper reported:*1 5 Note (1945) — With Roxas as Chairman of the Board of BIBA, the Japanese met with diffi­ culty in getting rice from this organization, and as early as October 3, the Japanese "sug­ gested" the merging of the Biba and the Beikokubu into a single organization, — the Rice and Corn Administration (Ricoa), under the pretext to obtain and distribute rice without the "help” of the Japanese Army. On October 11, a joint committee was formed to "study" this matter, and on November 18 (MacArthur had landed on Leyte October 20 and the fight­ ing still continued there a month later). Laurel abolished Biba and created Ricoa. Pedro Sabido was appointed chairman of the board and Co­ lonel Utunomiya vice-chairman. Arturo V. Tanco was appointed managing director, but it was a Japanese “alternate managing director” who, according to Tanco in a statement to the author, countermanded his every order. All the new departments of Ricoa, — administrative, pro­ curement, distribution, and transportation, were headed by Japanese, and Tanco said that while the Japanese had gotten only a part of the Naric rice, now they got it all. Even the wealthier families in Manila now could get no more rice in the city. What was done by many was for the men in a family to go singly up the Pasig river by banca, taking along a few articles for barter with the country people, stealing back into the city at night with perhaps half a sack of rice. The river was not so well patrolled as were the roads, but even so, the reason why men went singly was to reduce the chance of being caught or of more than one man in a family suffering the conse­ quences if caught.

272

THE COUNTRY

"A steady supply of salted fish at controlled prices is assured by the Manila Fish Preser­ vation Association for distribution among hos­ pitals, charitable institutions, government and private offices, and cooperative consumers as­ sociations, according to R. A. Cosio, the presi­ dent and general manager of the Association.”

It was the same with every other product of the country. On May 26, coffee was reported selling at P23 a kilo and panocha (raw sugarcake) at P ll a kilo. The monthly Primco ra­ tions were frequently postponed or A few days later, on the 13th, it was omitted altogether. In May the ration reported that the Food Administrator amounted to 50 centavos’ worth, 200 had issued an order lifting the price- grams of lard at 30 centavos, 1 box control over "dried, preserved, smoked, matches at 3 centavos, and 1 cake of soap at 17 centavos. (Tribune, May 3.) and cured fish”. Mayor Guinto announced on May 11 A distribution at one of the Manila that transients in Manila were not enmarkets of the edible-oil ration, 900 entitled to rations of rice and other grams per family head and 400 grams prime commodities and called atten­ to a single person, was described in a tion to an ordinance recently approv­ letter as follows: ed — “If the food control authorities had seen the thousands of people sweating, pushing, pull­ ing, brawling, and fighting while waiting in the Sampaloc market today from 7 a.m. to 4. p.m . to obtain edible-oil rations, I am sure they would have seen the advisability of rationing this commodity through the neighborhood associa­ tion . . . Profiteers were once more monopoliz­ ing the distribution in connivance with unscru­ pulous market employees who resorted to fa­ voritism and discrimination in issuing the ra­ tion tickets. Such a state of things can no longer be tolerated. Experience has shown how impractical and disorderly the pila [queue] sys­ tem is where only profiteers manage to get the commodity." (May 16.)

“holding district presidents, neighborhood as­ sociation leaders, and family heads responsible for failure to register with the police, transients within 48 hours of their arrival in Manila; the obligation also falls on owners and managers of hotels and lodging boarding houses”.

It was reported in May that the long awaited Primco distribution of textile rations would be announced "shortly”. Twenty stores in the city were to be designated for the purpose. In June a reference was made in the "Home Front” column of the Tribune to the fact that housewives who still had win­ Another Tribune correspondent re­ dow curtains and had not used them ported that while the price of edible for making dresses and mosquito nets oil had been fixed by the government were taking them down because at 95 centavos a kilo, it was being sold thieves, "armed with hooked poles were on the premises of the National Coco­ removing them through the open win­ nut Corporation itself at P10 a kilo. dows”. (June 3.) “On May 19, after Order No. 36 had been Charity Kitchens Again Opened — published, the Company erased the word ‘Edible’ On May 15 the government decided and wrote instead ‘Salad Oil’, and still sells it again to open community kitchens "to at P10.” (May 26.) help the poor during the current acute In this land of the coconut, coco­ rice crisis”. Twenty-one were opened nuts were almost impossible to get. on the 17th, — by the Bureau of Public According to one news item: Welfare, the National Federation of ‘‘Coconuts will be sold in the Pasay market Women's Clubs, and the Philippine Red for residents of Pasay and Paranaque beginning Cross. Each comer was served with 120 at 1 p.m. and only that day. Price 20 cts.; 3 nuts per family, 4 nuts for families of 10 or grams of cooked rice and grated co­ conut. By the 19th, the number of these more members.” (April 25.)

AGAIN “CHARITY KITCHENS’’-THE “TIMBULANS”

kitchens had increased\ to 49. On the 20th, Mayor Guinto appealed to "af­ fluent citizens" to contribute to their support. On the 31st it was announced that "to better coordinate and systema­ tize their activities”, the kitchens would be immediately taken over by the Min­ istry of Health, Labor, and Public Wel­ fare. "Sixty are now being managed by the Food Administration Office, the Bureau of Public Welfare, the Red Cross, the City Health Depart­ ment, the Federation of Women’s Clubs, the Y.M.C.A., and the V .S.A .C ., not including those being established by the timbulans which will also be encouraged and supervised by the Ministry.”

The Tribune reported on June 8: "To cope with the ever increasing number of indigent families that daily flock to the com­ munity kitchens, the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Public Welfare will establish more such units to reach the total of 200 to be distributed among all districts of the city. . . Vice-Minister R. Macasaet yesterday afternoon conferred with Vice-Mayor J. Figueras with whom he took up plans regarding the establishment of more kit­ chens with the aid of the district and neigh­ borhood associations. It is believed that more kitchens could be established for the benefit of the poor without necessarily burdening the gov­ ernment further if the neighborhood associations through their well-to-do members and families would be willing to cooperate and give contri­ butions for the maintenance of these kitchens . . . As a step to facilitate the distributions of rice, fuel, and other necessities, the Ministry has been able to get a larger truck for the pur­ pose."

273

The Tribune, May 27, reported that the Bagumbayan timbulan had voted to raise PI,000,000 for aid to the poor, and that it would start a community kitchen to be subsidized at the rate of P250,000 a month. Contributions by Madrigal, Carlos Palanca, and Jose Barredo were reported to amount to P10.000 each; a number of others were reported to have given as much as P5,000. There was something suspicious about such large schemes and such heavy contributions, even in “Mickey Mouse “money, and, in fact," Mahara­ jah”, the columnist wrote a week or so later that — "persons soliciting subscriptions for the timbu­ lans should give charitable donors every op­ portunity to give of their own free will the amount they can easily give. Writing letters specifying the amount and adding you better give this sum as your voluntary contribution or e lse . . . , robs the act of charity of all its fine points and reduces a virtue into a black­ mail, a holdup.”

The meaning of the foregoing was clear at least in part. But on June 6 the Tribune reported that Vice-Minister Macasaet had met with representatives of the timbulan associations the day before and had issued a statement to the effect that the establishment of more community kitchens by these or­ ganizations would be encouraged and aided by the government itself. The “Labor Recruitment Agency" Apparently there had been only one Lastly, Labor. truck! The only advertisements for labor to The "timbulans” mentioned in the be found in the Tribune were adver­ next to the last news item were des­ tisements of Japanese companies and cribed as follows: Japanese army entities.

"Responding to Mayor Guinto’s appeal, wellto-do residents are organizing themselves into associations called ‘timbulans’, or ‘life-savers’ for the relief of the needy. The first one was organized in Pasay and others have been or­ ganized in Bagumbayan, Bagumpanahon, and Bagumbuhay. The Pasay timbulan will raise PIOO.OOO for community kitchens sponsored by the society. Individual subcriptions ranged from P400 to P1000." (May 23.)

"Wanted immediately, 200 auto mechanics, 200 drivers for Mankayan Mines. Apply Mitsui Mining Company." (April 6.)

Often such items were published as "news”, as were the following: "Laborers Wanted — "An entity [unnamed] requires 50 chauffeurs, 70 cooks, and from 200 to 500 helpers for miscel­

274 laneous jobs. Japanese and Filipinos may apply alike for their jobs. If accepted these employees will be given free meals. Applications are to be filed at the Kanmin Renraku Sho (Liaison and Public Assistance Service) where further details are available. Good pay is promised.” (April 9.) "Seven hundred students are wanted to train. Another opportunity is being offered to ambi­ tious young men by the Manila Naval Aeronau­ tical Training School. Free board, free clothing during the period of training lasting 6 months, in addition to PI.00 pocket money daily.” (April 18.) "Easter Sunday was celebrated. . . by more than 1,500 Filipinos and Japanese employees of Army-controlled factories at Alabang . . . A pro­ gram was offered by the Army Department of Information and troops of actors and actress­ es.” (April 12.)

THE COUNTRY

in addition to wages ranging from P3.30 for unskilled labor to P4.80 for car­ penters, blacksmiths, mechanics, etc. “Vast construction projects” in the municipalities of Las Pinas and Paranaque (the location of a number of air­ fields) were referred to in the follow­ ing report: “Las Pinas, Rizal, May 12. A labor agency was recently opened here to recruit laborers for work in the vast construction projects in the municipalities of Las Pinas and Paranaque.” (May 13.)

Pablo Manlapit, a Manila labor lead­ er, was named field executive officer of the Labor Recruitment Agency by Laurel on May 16. "Labor Gets Fine Treatment”, said a But Japanese advertising for labor headline: and the promise of "good pay”, free "A total of 25,789 Filipino laborers have been board, free lodging, uniforms, pocket by the Labor Recruitment Agency from money, etc., apparently failed in ap­ drafted 13 provinces including Manila for the Imperial peal, for on April 12 Laurel issued Exe­ Japanese Army and Navy and Japanese firms, cutive Order No. 47, creating the Labor according to reports obtained yesterday. . . Recruitment Agency, "which will co­ Pablo Manlapit, head of the Agency, said that operate with Japanese circles in meet­ Rizal, with 7,029 laborers recruited, tops the ing the need for labor and relieve un­ rest of the provinces. . . Batangas, with 4,400, is second, and Davao, with 4,000 is third. In employment in the country.” (April 13.) Manila alone there were 1,796 laborers drafted. A few days later the Mayor of Manila This successful recruitment of laborers has been created a unit of this Agency for the due to help being rendered by the provincial city, with Assistant Mayor Figueras as governors and other provincial officers to the chairman and the presidents of district labor agents in the provinces. To recruit more laborers in Manila, a campaign has been in­ neighborhood associations as members. augurated by the Labor Recruitment Office in Each district was required to organize cooperation with city officials, according to subcommittees "to help secure the ne­ Manlapit.” (May 26.) cessary laborers.” (April 15.) The difficulty Manila officials were The Kalibapi had been utilized for meeting with in drafting labor for the labor organization purposes from Japanese was indicated by the follow­ the beginning. On the 19th of April the ing: Kalibapi Labor Institute opened its "In response to the call issued by Mayor sixth "class”, composed of 160 workers Guinto and Assistant Mayor Figueras in his from different "district labor establish­ capacity as managing director of the labor re­ cruiting agency in the city, 300 employees of the ments”. City Hall Wednesday (yesterday) reported for Within a week after the establish­ work on the various army and navy projects. ment of the new Labor Recruitment These city employees are voluntarily offering Agency, the Tribune reported that their services in order to help bolster the sup­ "thousands of laborers are now apply­ ply of laborers now working for the Japanese ing for work”. It was stated that they armed services. . . In order that the district would receive 600 grams of rice daily associations may cooperate with the city au-

COMPULSORY LABOR ON ARMY PROJECTS thorities in recruiting laborers for army and navy projects, Assistant Mayor Figueras yester­ day spoke before the Filipino and Chinese lead­ ers of the district associations of Bagumbuhay. The Chinese agreed to start their labor service on Monday, June 5, with 250 working daily for 30 days. The rotation system also will be fol­ lowed. The Filipino neighborhood associations of Bagumbuhay will begin working next week, it was decided at the meeting. The daily quota will be set this week." (June 1.)

It will be noted that the number of men drafted in Manila up to that time was comparatively small and that city officials felt it necessary to send city employees to make a showing. This in spite of all the hunger and the offer of free food! “Voluntary” Labor for Food Produc­ tion — In the meantime, the "volun­ tary” labor movement in connection with the food production campaign in Manila, described in a preceding chap­ ter, was also getting under way but slowly, although the Tribune frequent­ ly referred to it in glowing terms. "Reflecting the ever-increasing enthusiasm to bolster the war capacity, the local Indian com­ munity has decided to render labor service from April 16 on. . . Most of the East Asia nationals in Manila will contribute their share in the war efforts in the food production cam­ paign.” (April 12.) "The Chinese community started the month’s voluntary labor service with 500 men a day. . . To vitalize their collaboration they were led by President Go Colay of the Chinese Association and assembled at the former Far Eastern Uni­ versity. On trucks offered by the Army, the men motored to the scene of work. . . where they were addressed by a representative of the Imperial Japanese Army.” (April 11.) "Filipino members of companies administer­ ed by the Army will join the voluntary labor service from this morning on, it was decided at a meeting of the directors of the associa­ tion of these companies held recently in answer to the ever-growing enthusiasm of the employees to offer their labor.” (April 20.)

Apparently there was a hitch in the volunteer effort of the Indian commu­ nity which was to have begun on April

275

16, but the Tribune of the 25th report­ ed: "Members of the local Indian community began volunteer labor yesterday, working from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and amazing the Japanese with their efficiency. The group included women.”

With reference to a Tribune editorial calling upon third-party nationals to “put their shoulders to the wheel”, Rabbi Josef Schwartz sent a letter stat­ ing that in the Jewish community, eve­ ry able-bodied man is already working once a week.” (May 2.) The Whole of Manila Put to Compul­ sory Work — A proclamation by Lau­ rel, calling upon all inhabitants, “in­ cluding all those who share with the Filipinos the blessings that they enjoy today under the Republic of the Philip­ pines”, to perform actual manual work on Labor Day, May 6, was published on the 3rd. The Tribune reported later that the Day had been observed accord­ ingly. "Instead of the parades and festivities which characterized former Labor Day celebrations, 1944’s was featured by actual engagement of the people in some gainful occupation. . ."

"Only One Class of Filipinos Re­ mains" — The editor was inspired to say: "Yesterday the nation observed its first Labor Day under the Republic. And a different, almost strange Labor Day it proved to be. Far different from past observations of a similar nature, the New Order has achieved a miracle which would otherwise have been impossible to achieve in the spirit in which labor and capital were set at loggerheads in the past. . . How different from that ’democratic’ system is the present, which restores true equality, which fosters true unity,- and generates the necessary national strength capable of fortifying and elevating the Republic through the instrumen­ tality of concerted labor by all elements in a classless society! When we place labor on the level in which it is truly glorified, as at pre­ sent, as a legitimate and necessary source of national salvation and continued life, all the artificial social classes bred in the past by artificial restraints and artificial privileges per­

276

THE COUNTRY

groups, the first group to go to work on Sunday, the 14th. “Women will be assigned only to light tasks and will not be sent to places so far away Only one class of Filipinos remain­ from the immediate neighborhoods.” ed; slaves. (Tribune, May 10.) Neighborhood as­ The Labor Day “observance” was sociation officials were instructed to used to publicize the conversion of the "report immediately any recalcitrants "voluntary” into an openly compulsory for proper disciplinary action in ac­ labor system. On the 3rd it had been cordance with law.” (May 11.) reported that Mayor Guinto had an­ The day before Sunday, the 14th, nounced "a plan for a greater food- Guinto announced that — production campaign based on a sys­ "in accordance with law, those who desire to tem of compulsory labor service to be be exempted may appoint substitutes to do their work, or pay the fine of P5 for every day of definitely carried out beginning May work. . . Families which have constructed their 14” for persons between the ages of 16 own air-raid shelters in their lot, sufficient to and 60, including third-party nationals. accommodate and protect the family members, They would have to furnish their own may also be exempted from labor service for 4 tools and bring their own food. On the consecutive weeks, but the construction will have to be certified to by the city engineer and 5th, the governing regulations had been architect.” issued and exemptions were announced The Tribune that Sunday reported for the following classes: that “420,000 were expected to report (1) the physically unfit, as duly certified by for work in Manila today.” They were a government physician, (2) pregnant women first, at 8:30, to gather at the offices or those nursing babies, as duly certified by of their respective district chiefs, to a government physician, (3) persons who were already cultivating garden plots measuring at "participate in inaugural ceremonies” least 4 by 10 meters, (4) members of the and to hear final and last-minute in­ armed forces and trainees enrolled in training structions regarding the nature of the institutions, (5) members of the diplomatic and work they are to perform”. They would consular corps and their staffs, (6) officials and then march to their places of work employees of the government actually engaged under their respective district pres­ in food-production work, (7) farmers engaged in planting food crops, and (8) district presi­ idents and neighborhood association dents and neighborhood association leaders and leaders. petuated for the benefit of an oligarchy. . . vanish in thin air, and only one class of Filipi­ nos remains, with a right to dignity and honor; those in all fields of creative endeavor.”

their secretaries "who comply with the duties imposed on them”. All such exemptions had to be approved by the Mayor.

"Although the service is compulsory, it is in fact voluntary inasmuch as it is addressed to our civic consciousness, one that is both essen­ tial and highly patriotic, the wisdom and ur­ gency of which, in the light of present-day con­ ditions, are beyond question."

A special census showed that there were 418,638 able-bodied men and wo­ men in Manila who were supposed to The foregoing was a statement is­ render forced labor service, — one 8sued by Guinto. hour shift once a week. Gardening The Tribune reported subsequently sites were selected in each of the 12 that some 300,000 persons had turned districts of Manila, and in addition to out. working in these gardens, workers "Maharajah” said in his column would be used to clean up the city — canals, construct air-raid shelters, that "the first day was long on public response, but etc. Due to the great number of work­ short on pre-arranged details. . . The shortage ers, they were to be divided into two of garden implements was never so apparent,

“ANYTHING COMPULSORY BECOMES VOLUNTARY" perhaps because people did not have anything at home stronger than a tablefork.”

One special incident was reported: In Bagundiwa, the people “caught sight of Food Administrator Sanvictores and started clamoring for rice”, upon which he blamed speculators and hoarders and corrupt members of the law-en­ forcement agencies for “the present situation”. As a result of the experience gained that day, it was reported that the work in the different districts would be so arranged that "three shifts would work even during week days”. A few letters of protest were allowed to appear in the “Public Pulse” column during the following weeks. One read: "While the well-to-do can pay P5 and be exempted, the poor, low-salaried employees and workers will lose a day’s salary and some will also lose their day’s ration due from their em­ ployers. When their turn to work comes on Sunday, they will lose a much needed day of rest.” (May 19.)

277

expressed the Navy’s “most sincere gra­ titude for a certain undescribed — ‘display of cooperation and goodwill. The vo­ luntary labor service rendered by said persons constitute an incalculable aid to the war efforts of the Imperial Japanese Navy in the Philip­ pines. The spirit which made possible the ren­ dition of such services proves that there exists a complete understanding and harmony between the Japanese authorities and the city officials. It is the right spirit, worthy of emulation by all the people of the Philippines.”

The letter was written in recognition of work performed by “employees and laborers of the City Hall as well as by members of various district and neigh­ borhood associations.” As the editor of the Tribune explain­ ed at one time: "Anything compulsory becomes voluntary to those who are willing to make the necessary contribution.”

This, for the Santo Tomas camp, completed the record, as made avail­ able in the Tribune and other publica­ But the Tribune of May 21 reported: tions. After June 11, 1944, copies of the pa­ "Enthusiasm runs high as the city labor serv­ per did from time to time reach inter­ ice enters the second week. . . The service is now carried on even during week days, arrange­ nees and fairly accurate reports as to ments having been made for continuous work.” what was going on outside the camp “Navy Grateful for Voluntary Aid”, continued to circulate, but information said a headline on June 9. A “Navy of­ thus gained was inadequate to the pur­ ficer” had written Guinto a letter which pose of the writer at this time.

The Camp The Santo Tomas Internment Gamp

Chapter XVIII The Agents Denied Recognition Treaty Repudiated -

News of the Opening of the "Second Front’ in Europe and of the Evacua­ tion of Rome — Nervous tension in the camp, high during the hot months of April and May, relaxed during June, until, toward the end of the month, trouble again developed over the ques­ tion of involuntary labor Another im­ portant stage in the life of the camp was reached during the month when the Commandant informed the Inter­ nee Committee that the Japanese au­ thorities did not recognize the Geneva Convention of 1929. Early in the month, a few days af­ ter the open break between the Com­ mandant and the Internee Committee had been patched up, the camp morale was given a mighty fillip when the Tribune of the 6th confirmed rumors that Rome had been taken and the paper the next day reported that the allies had opened the long-awaited "second front" in France.1 The Rome report was published on an inside page under the heading, "Hitler Spares City of Rome”. The dis­ patch read: "Berlin, June 5 (Domei). The evacuation of Rome has been ordered by Reichsfuehrer Adolf Hitler to spare the Eternal City from the ra­ vages of war.”

Editorially, the Tribune next day:*

said

the

'N ote (1945) Rome fell on June 4. Landings in Normandy began June 6, — D-Day.

“The whole civilized world, particularly the Catholics, has rejoiced in the decision of the Axis command to evacuate Rome rather than defend it and bring about the destruction of Christianity’s priceless heritage. This gesture of profound respect for the treasures of Christen­ dom and the sanctity of grounds hallowed by St. Peter and his many saintly successors, is in great contrast to the vandalism and sacrilege already committed by the Anglo-American air forces in Italy and elsewhere.. .Rather than make a cheap show of bravado by defending Rome and embarrassing the enemy by a stra­ tegy of little more than political value, the Axis forces have evacuated the Eternal City in a man­ ner to win the admiration of the entire world. So that what may appear like an Axis defeat, is in truth a great victory for humanity and the world, including the Axis.”

That day the Tribune editor had had no time to prepare his comment on the allied landing in France, an ac­ count of which appeared under a small head, though on the front page. The heading was "Foe Air Troops Wip­ ed Out in Normandy; Reich Naval Units Attacking Enemy Landing Units". The dispatches read in part: "Berlin, June 6 (Domei). Anti-Axis troops launched landing operations in the Seine es­ tuary and in Normandy at dawn on June 6.” "Berlin, June 6 (Domei). British paratroops who had landed at the northern end of Nor­ mandy peninsula were wiped out by German troops, according to an announcement by Ger­ man military authorities today." "Berlin, June 6 (Domei). Official German quarters on Tuesday noon issued the first spe­ cial report on the opening phases of the BritishAmerican invasion attempt, disclosing that the

278

ALLIED LANDING IN NORMANDY-FIGHTING AT BIAK enemy attacks began past midnight on Monday. The enemy forces were immediately counter­ attacked by the German defense forces that are now decimating paratroops and shelling enemy surface cr a ft...”

The headlines during the next few days read: “Germans Wiping Out In­ vasion Forces; Enemy Landing Troops Annihilated after Twelve Hours of Fighting; Foe Now Holding Only Nar­ row Beachhead at Caen”, "Germans Smash Enemy Bridgeheads in North­ ern France; Foil Anti-Axis Attempt to Make Concentrated Attack on Cher­ bourg”, "Anti-Axis Loses Six Divisions in France", "Invasion Hitches Blamed on Weather by Eisenhower”. News of the Fighting at Biak — Al­ most simultaneously the Tribune had been carrying reports of war activities much nearer the Philippines, which were filling Santo Tomas with even more hope. On June 1 the Tribune's main headline read: "Japanese Sink Cruiser, Transport; Damage 3 Vessels; Nippon Air Unit Attacks Enemy Land­ ing Force off Biak Island”. On June 3: “Japanese Inflict 1,000 Casualties on Foe in Biak Island; Enemy Landing Force being Squeezed along Narrow Beachhead; Nippon Air Unit Sinks 2 Transports". June 4: “Enemy Stunned by Losses, Seeks Retreat from Biak”. June 6: "Japanese Wipe Out Bulk of Foe Landing Force in New Guinea". June 7: "Nippon Wild Eagles Sink Foe Cruiser, Destroyer off Biak”. On June 8 the Tribune reported: "The enemy’s imminent defeat on Biak Is­ land, — weakest base in Japan's inner defense line, will inevitably bring about a radical change in the enemy’s strategy hereafter.”

Tribune Delivery Again Stopped — Santo Tomas had learned how to ga­ ther the approximate truth from such propaganda, and the truth was too good for the camp- On the 11th, the Japanese informed the Internee Com­

279

mittee that the delivery of the Tribune in Santo Tomas would again be dis­ continued at the end of the week. The issue of Sunday, the 11th, was the last.2 At reveille on the 8th, the record played over the loudspeakers was the First World-War song, "Over there, over there, Send the word. . . The Yanks are coming”. And one morning, some time later, following rumors of allied successes in Burma which reach­ ed the camp despite the suspended Tri­ bune delivery, everyone was put in a good humor by a record of John Mc­ Cormack singing, "Come ye back, ye British soldier, come ye back to Man­ dalay”. The Japanese in the camp did not notice these musical pranks. On the 21st there was a big fire,— obviously an oil-fire, somewhere in the Port Area or in the Bay, which lasted from early morning until around noon. There were four or five other smaller fires in the city visible from Santo Tomas that day. It was almost certain that they were of incen­ diary origin and indicated to the iso­ lated camp that the Japanese were having trouble. That same day, while the internees were at supper, another air-alert and blackout was announced, which added to the excitement. But nothing hap­ pened then or during the night and at 3 o’clock the next afternoon it was an­ nounced that the "practice” had been "completed". But for the rest of the month there was much more than the usual flying of Japanese planes over the city. Teia Maru Mail Delivered After Half a Year— On the 7th, changes in the regulations covering the exchange of notes were announced. Internees 2 Note (1945) — First Battle of the Philippine Sea, west of the Marianas, June 20.

280

might still send out 25-word messages once a month to family members abroad and/or in the Philippines, though internees with families in the country were still not allowed to re­ ceive any notes from them; but the exchange of notes with the Los Banos and Baguio internment camps was stopped, as were also the exchange of special communication cards sent to and received from prisoners in the military campsSome 6,000 letters from abroad were received on the 13th and distributed during the next few days. These proved to be letters which had come to Ma­ nila on the Teia Marti and which could have been delivered a half year before. Sawali Mats Cut off view of outside Families going to the Seminary Chapel — On Sunday, the 18th, the men in the camp with families in the city, who had gathered as usual on the boardwalk near the gymnasium to get a glimpse of their loved ones as they came to attend services in the semi­ nary chapel, were driven away by the Japanese sentry. During the following week, in connection with the renewed fence-building, of which more will be said later, the bamboo-lattice fence was covered with sheets of sawali, cutting off the view except that still possible through a gap of 100 feet or so which was left uncompleted and through which internees had one more chance to look the next Sunday Then this was covered up. Only those who had been able thus to see their wives or children once a week, though at a distance, and poor comfort though it was, could understand what the loss of this weekly opportunity meant. The men looked forward to those few mi­ nutes the whole week, and Sunday was a day apart for them on that ac­ count. Now there was nothing any­

THE CAMP

more, except that they could send out a stereotyped card once a month and that former Commandant Kato, who had joined the Japanese Embassy staff, had for the past two months been accepting packages and money from family members to send into the camp once a month. Only small pack­ ages were accepted and P50 was the monetary limit. Several hundred small packages, containing a few cigars, a package of cigarets, a box or two of matches, or a cake of soap, came into the camp in this way during the months of May and June, and sums of money totaling around PI 1,000 in May and P30.000 in June. Then, to­ ward the end of the month, the Com­ mandant's Office announced that after June 30 no more packages or money would be received at the Embassy for internees. The Japanese probably found it too much trouble and tired of even this small well-doing. The Camp School Opens, — for the Fourth Time— Classes in the camp school were resumed on June 5, — for the fourth time Despite previous indidications that further college and adult classes might not be permitted to open, approval for these was granted by the Japanese on June 13 "for the period from June to Octo­ ber”. Dr. Engel, who had done splen­ did work as head of the educational department since the first month of internment, having expressed a wish to resign for reasons of health, the Inter­ nee Committee had asked the educa­ tional committee for nominations for the position, and on May 27, Dr. Holter had been appointed. He had pre­ viously been approached by Engel himself, and was the only one among those nominated who was not a mem­ ber of the committee. Engel remained as a member of the committee and as head of the adult classes.

THE CAMP SCHOOLS OPEN FOR THE FOURTH TIME

The June enrolment in the primary, — under Mrs. Blue, was 185; in the intermediate department, — under R. Lautzenhiser and Mrs. L. Croft, 167; in the high school department, also under the same direction, 118; in the collegiate department, — under Dr. L. Bewley, 61. The initial enrolment in the adult classes was 26. Men teachers numbered 46 and women teachers 44. Secretarial workers, librarians, and other workers numbered 31 moreNearly all of these persons now had other work assignments also. Speaking of these teachers and the others in a letter to the Internee Com­ mittee, Holter wrote, during the month: "We are determined if at all possible that the school life of these children shall not be wrecked during internment but that their minds shall grow and be kept alert. When the final picture of this camp is drawn and when we look back on our life here, one of the creative accomplishments will be that of education. That is, I think, the reason why these men and women are willing to give of their time in addition to other assignments.”

The Gymnasium Cleared of In­ ternees— On June 11, the Comman­ dant's Office ordered that the gymna­ sium be cleared of its occupants and also all shanties in the area by the 15th. No reason was given. The 300 men living there were transferred to the main and education buildings, crowding them again as before the last transfer to Los Banos. On the 16th, Ohashi gave permission for the removal of the additional toilets which had been installed at the gymnasium, these being badly needed elsewhere, but a few hours after this had been done, Takeda ordered that they be put back- The limited number of toilets in the camp being valuable property, the Internee Committee objected and it was finally agreed that the toilets should be placed in stock in the plumb­

281

ing office whence, however, they were not to be taken except with Japanese permission. On the 29th, Takeda or­ dered them reinstalled at the gymna­ sium, but as he would not state that the gymnasium was again to be used for camp purposes, the Committee de­ clined to carry out the order. On the 6th of July, Abiko, according to the minutes, — "instructed the Committee, through an inter­ preter, to replace the toilets removed from the gymnasium by tomorrow at the latest. Further inquiry on this subject was made from Mr. Ohashi who gave his solemn assurance that the gymnasium is going to be used again for internees, and that if this were not so we could remove our toilets again. Details of gym­ nasium use by internees could not yet be dis­ closed, but they would be made public very shortly."

Takeda said childishly to Lloyd, “When you learn what we are going to use the gymnasium for, you’ll be sur­ prised". This mystification caused consider­ able discussion in the camp, and all sorts of rumors circulated. Some said that the missionary group, which had been allowed to remain outside after a vague pledge of "cooperation” had been exacted early in 1942, was soon to be brought in. Others said that the Baguio internees were to be trans­ ferred to Santo Tomas. It was also rumored that over 1,000 white pri­ soners had recently been brought to Manila from the South, either Ameri­ can prisoners of war who had been taken to Davao to work and had now been sent back, or British and Dutch from New Guinea and other places, and it was thought that these might be brought into the camp. Still ano­ ther story was that Japanese women and children were to be housed in the gymnasium for their greater safe­ ty in the event of an American land­ ing.

282

500 Missionaries and Priests Brought into Camp— To carry the story some­ what beyond the month of June at this point, — early Saturday morning, July 8, additional soldiers marched into the camp and internees were or­ dered over the loudspeakers to stay away from the roadways and the areas around the gymnasium. Then, around 9 o’clock, army trucks began to come in, covered and with the flaps down at the back. Evidently, the Japanese had not wanted the Filipinos outside to see whom they were transporting. The people seen to get out of the trucks at the boardwalk to the gym­ nasium were immediately recognized as the missionary group from the at­ tire worn by the priests and nuns among them. Calls were issued for the emergency crews and for volunteers to assist in unloading the baggage, mostly rolls of bedding, but they were strictly warned not to speak to the newcomers, who were escorted straight to the gymnasium. The kit­ chen was instructed to prepare lunch for 430 people, but at the close of the day, a check-up by the Japanese, communicated to the Internee Com­ mittee, showed that the total num­ ber brought in was 407, around half of them women. There were among them 20 children under 10 years old and half of these were babies under two. Internees sent to help them with their baggage and others who brought them food during the day, managed to exchange some words with them. About half of the group were Protes­ tant ministers and missionaries and their families and the rest were Cath­ olic priests and nuns. Some of them had been notified the previous after­ noon that they would be taken away; others not until that morning. None of them were told where they would be

THE CAMP

taken. In most cases their houses and belongings had been searched the day before, the Japanese showing especial interest in diaries, ledgers, and photo­ graphs, which they confiscated. The search of the residence of Bishop Binsted of the Protestant Episcopal Church lasted until midnight. The Archbishop’s palace was also search­ ed for five hours. The Archbishop was not brought in, although a number of Irish priests were. Bishop Binsted was brought to Santo Tomas with the others. They were allowed to bring their bedding and two bags, light enough to carry. They were not permitted to bring their bedding into the gymnasium, — it remained piled up along the roadway, although rain threatened all day. It became known that they would be taken to Los Ba­ nos the next day, and breakfast w a s. ordered for them for 2 o’clock in the morning. Some of them were the wives and children of Santo Tomas inter­ nees, but they were not allowed to see each other. Appeals that these fami­ lies be allowed to remain in the camp or that the husbands and fathers be allowed to accompany them to Los Banos, were rejected. However, by joining those handling the baggage or bringing food, these men managed to exchange a few words with their loved ones. What sleeping the group did that night until 2 o’clock was on some sheets of sawali spread on the con­ crete floor. The Santo Tomas welfare department was able to get together a number of mosquito nets for the children; the rest had to do without. It was expected that volunteers would again be called at 2 o’clock to help with the baggage at the departure. When the call came over the loud­ speakers during the night, it was for 50 men (the Japanese had asked for

SOME 500 RELIGIOUS INTERNED AND TAKEN TO LOS BANOS

30), but over 75 turned out, mostly friends and the relatives, who thus hoped to get a last chance to speak to the people in the group. But it was then 3:30 in the morning, and there was only the baggage to be loaded. The trucks carrying the people away had already left. Only Japanese could have arranged the matter so malicious­ lyOn Monday, July 10, a group of 20 Catholic and Protestant priests and nuns and missionaries, most of them elderly and ailing, were brought in from Baguio. Because of their age or state of health, they had not been in­ terned there with the others of the missionary group. They passed the night in the gymnasium, as had the others, and, the next day, were also taken to Los Banos. On Wednesday, a group of 19 priests and nuns from the Cagayan Valley were brought in and taken to Los Banos the following day. The group had been on the way for four days and looked travel-stained and weary. Bishop Jurgen of Tuguegarao was among them. Charged with having "Abused the Generosity” of the Japanese— It was said in the camp that an issue of the Tribune that week had stated that the missionary group had been re­ interned because many among them had abused the generosity of the Ja­ panese and had extended aid to the guerrillas and engaged in other antiJapanese activities. This was probably true in some cases, but the Japanese had long been convinced that they could get no "cooperation” from the priests and missionaries, and the sud­ den move to intern them was due, — so everyone thought, to a Japanese realization that the American relief forces would reach the Philippines very soon. The Japanese, no doubt

283

wanted to get all enemy nationals, in­ cluding the religious, out of the way. The missionaries generally were in good spirits and very hopeful of the future. In view of the reported taking of Saipan3, north of Guam, and the presence of the MacArthur forces in Halmaheira, just south of the Philip­ pines, they doubted that their intern­ ment would last even two months. Or­ ganized USAFFE guerrilla units were said to be already making much trou­ ble for the Japanese, especially in Northern Luzon and in Mindanao. Shanty Cooking again Allowed— To go back to the month of June, — on the 19th, the Commandant authorized a return to cooking in the shanties, lifting the order which had created so much trouble a few months be­ fore. Light rains had set in, and the Japanese explained that there no longer was so much danger from fire, but this was only another attempt to justify an order for which there never was an excuse. The lifting of the or­ der was announced to the camp on the the 21st, but there had been no sale of charcoal for three or four weeks and none was made available until early in July when it was sold on a ration basis of 3 kilos to a person at PI.60 a kilo, about double the last price. Practically all the shanties were dark at night as it had been impossible during the past six months to buy even only crude coconut oil for a little smudge light. Kerosene, of course, was not even to be thought of. Matches sold for P5 a box. So at night, the fa­ milies in the shanties stumbled about in the dark. The Scarcity of Brooms— The dif­ ficulties of housekeeping may be illus­ trated by the fact that one broom 3 Note (1945) — June 14—July 8

284

THE CAMP

had to do for ten or twelve shanties. These brooms were made of nothing but palm-leaf stalks and grass and could easily have been brought in from the outside if the Japanese had permitted it. They refused permis­ sion, no doubt, to make cleaning more laborious. Late in June the camp was allowed to buy 100 brooms; 50 of these were taken by the sanitation de­ partment for the rooms in the main building; the other 50 were allotted to the 1,500 shanty people. The price was P2.40 as against the normal price of 40 centavos. Rainy Season Shanty Repairs Will­ fully Delayed— The shanties were all in a very bad state of repair, with open sides and leaky roofs, — and the rainy season was coming on. In spite of repeated requests by the Internee Committee for permission to bring in nipa and bamboo, nothing was done about this. The minutes of June 6 re­ corded that — "the plied juco duck

Japanese military authorities have sup­ 2,500 nipa shingles and 5 bales of befor wet-weather shelter extension to the farm”.

Early in July, however the Japanese allowed 60,000 nipa shingles, 500 sheets of sawali, and 90 bundles of bejuco to come in for shanty repairs. The sawali (6 by 4-foot sheets of plaited bamboo-strips, used for sid­ ing and partitions) sold at P18 a sheet, as against P5.50 some six months be­ fore The nipa shingles sold at 20 centavos each as against the former price of 4 centavos. The quantities brought in were not half enough. Everything else furnished by the Ja­ panese, whether directly for camp use or for sale to the internees, was sup­ plied on an equally inadequate scale. Five sacks of lime were brought in for the sanitation department on June 6; four small cases of disinfec­

tant and one sack of cement were brought in on the 21st. Four cases of textiles, paid for out of camp funds, were brought into camp on June 15 for sale to the in­ ternees. The cases contained 1,150 yards of blue denim, 5,000 yards of dress materials, 20 cones of thread, and 250 dozen undershirts (all of very poor grade). These limited supplies were to be apportioned among the internees in the Santo Tomas, Los Ba­ nos, and Baguio, camps, — almost 7,000 people. Vegetables Supplied "Resembled Manure"— The only staples delivered by the Japanese during the month were 150 sacks (100 kilos each) of rice and 11 piculs (63-1/4 kilos each) of sugar. Of fresh fish, 3,239 kilos were delivered; of salt beef carcass, 331 ki­ los; of pork carcass, 411 kilos; and of vegetables, 22,268 kilos. This amounted to a daily per capita ration of meat of only 38 grams, though 50 grams' had been promised. But of the 22,268 kilos of "vegetables” 8,045 were camotes, while only 106 kilos of cabbage and 55 kilos of tomatoes were supplied. The bulk of the rest of the vegetables consis­ ted of squash, eggplant, and pechay and condol (two greens). According to Bridgeford’s report for the month, "much of the pechay had to be dis­ carded as it more resembled manure than food”. In addition to the camo­ tes delivered as vegetables, 39,604 ki­ los were delivered as "cereal” in lieu of rice. Corn was not a part of the official ration and none at all was de­ livered during the month. Camotes Supplied in Place of Rice— About the middle of the June, the In­ ternee Committee was informed that the rice ration would be 200 grams per day per person and that 600 grams of camote would be supplied in lieu of the other 200 grams of rice which

SUPPLEMENTARY FOOD PURCHASES-PRICES

should have been supplied according to the official ration. Camotes were often served, thereafter, both for lunch and supper, though camotes are not suitable for a staple article of diet and are eaten in the Philippines even by the most backward mountain tribes only during what they call the "hun­ gry season” when there is no rice. 'They not only pall on the taste, but are gas-forming and hard to digest, and the abundant fiber plays havoc with the linings of the intestines, escially of persons who have suffered from dysentery as most people in the tropics have. Rice, which many inter­ nees at first had not liked, now came to be looked on as almost a delicacy. However, when the corn gave out, soft-boiled rice had to be served as mush for breakfast and was much less filling. And the small piece of "corn bread” supplied once every other day had to be replaced by the even less tasty "rice bread”. The camp was compelled to draw further on certain unused rations which had accumulated and on its reserves, the total consumption amounting, in addition to all the camotes (128 grams per capita), to 29,150 kilos of rice (282 grams), 17,450 kilos of com (169 grams), 1,190 kilos of cooking oil (11.5 grams), 2,970 kilos kilos of sugar (6.6 grams), 134 kilos of coffee (1.3 grams), and 2,970 kilos of salt (28.7 grams).

To make the food served a little more palatable, 661 pounds of canned meats were consumed on nine oc­ casions during the month, mostly corned beef, beef-and-vegetables, and pork. This was of no dietary impor­ tance, but did improve the taste of some of the vegetable "stews” and "gravies”. The fish never amounted to more than enough to give every man a spoonful of "fish-sauce”. Committee Expenditures for Supplementary Food— Bridgeford’s report showed that since February 1, 1944, when the Japanese military took over the camp, the Internee Committee

285

spend around P195,715 for supplementary food, — F70,600 for bananas, P29,891 for tomatoes, onions, and peppers, P26.822 for eggs, P23,920 for fresh carabao milk, F9,726 for coconuts, and P32.674 for other food. The milk and eggs, of course, went mostly to the hospitals and the annex kitchen for the children. The amounts spent must be considered in relation to the high and ever rising prices. During the period from February 1 to June 30, the price of carabao milk rose from P8.20 a gallon to P16; of eggs from P.64 each to PI.95 each; of duck eggs from P.65 to PI .95; of bananas (lacatan) from P.15 to P.30, (latondan) from P.08 to P.24; of coconuts from p.30 to p.75. The Committee by the end of the month was spending P9.000 daily for these purchases. Prices outside the camp were reported to be much lower and it was certain that the Ja­ panese were heavily overcharging the camp. Twelve sacks of sugar were brought into camp, but the Commandant’s office took one. The 11 sacks were distributed among the in­ ternees in the amount of 200 grams to each,— less than an ordinary sugar-bowl full. But this small quantity was salable among inter­ nees at P40. Many of the smokers in the camp exchanged their ration of sugar for a half-package of pipe tobacco which was sell­ ing at P80 a package (of 250 grams). Eggs during the month of June were issued for sale somewhat more frequently, so that internees were able to get an egg every four or five days instead of once every ten days, as during the previous months. Some of the Japanese in the camp got the idea that there was money to be made from this sale of eggs, and the price rose from PI .60 to P2 each, although it was reported that they were selling for less than half that outside. But people who had money were glad to buy them even at such prices as there was practically no other form of protein available. While ham outside sold at P20 a kilo, ham in the camp changed hands at P225 a kilo. There was one case of a whole ham being sold for PI,400. Two 1-pound cans of margarine sold for P500. A 32-pound can of "purico" (vegetable lard) was exchanged for a PI ,000 gold draft.

Camp Prices. Sugar, Tobacco, and Rum Smuggling — On June 3, 725 car­ tons of cigarets were brought in, — the Philippine government "Primco” rations, at a cost of P7.250. These

286

had to be divided among the Santo Tomas, Los Banos, and Baguio camps, and each internee received four pack­ ages at P.40 a package. That was all the tobacco the camp received during the month. Komatsu, the supply of­ ficer, was "making the camp pay”. He blamed the internees in charge of the pigs for the incident, the previous month, with the boar, from which the camp had benefitted to the extent of some unscheduled pork-gravy, and he had said angrily that he would see to it that the camp got nothing but the regular rations of everything. Hence the tobacco famine. Tobacco, however, continued to be smuggled into the camp in small quan­ tities by certain internees in conni­ vance with a number of Japanese in the Commandant’s office and the sol­ diers at the gate. Black-market to­ bacco was bought at P10 a package outside, sold to the internees smug­ glers at P40, and peddled by them to the internees at P80. A 2-centavo ci­ gar sold for P2. Similar smuggling was going on in sugar, which was bought outside ^t P18 a kilo, sold to the camp smugglers at P40, and sold to the internees who could buy it at P200! The internee smugglers in this ring made a large profit, but pointed out that they were risking their hides, which the past experience of some of those engaged in this trade proved was true enough. Native rum could be bought in the camp, if one knew the "ropes”, at P350 a bottle. There wasn't anything the Internee Commit­ tee could do about this traffic, as Ja­ panese were involved. The Japanese Deprive the Camp of the Last Comfort — Tobacco — There were many men in the camp who would rather skimp still more on food than do without tobacco, regardless of price. Smokers saved their cigar

THE CAMP

and cigaret butts, washed and dried them, and smoked them in their pipes. T h o s e entirely out of tobacco would beg for a part of a cigar or cigaret to chew, or, rather, to place between their upper lip and the gum, where the plug would last a long time and give some relief to the tobacco craving. In normal times, smokers do not generally find it very difficult to quit smoking for a time or to give it up altogether. When a desire to smoke comes to them, they can drink a cup of tea or coffee, or something stronger, or they can eat a piece of candy or get a meal. None of this was possible now in Santo Tomas. Many internees, of course, quit smok­ ing, but mostly these were only light smokers. Heavy smokers, especially the more elderly, made every sacrifice in an attempt to maintain a supply. Deprivation brought on nervousness, and a general state of depression that seemed bottomless. The smoker de­ prived of the weed was unable to con­ centrate on anything; he moved in a kind of daze and felt only half alive. The feeling of debility increased; his mouth and throat were always dry; he suffered from constipation; he couldn’t sleep at night; he contracted colds. He lost all companionability and felt a virulent hatred for any luck­ ier individual he saw still smoking. To such a man a few cigarets a day were only titbits. He wanted cigars, many of them; thick and black. He wanted plenty of strong filler for his pipe. Quality did not so much mat­ ter as quantity. A prison camp is the last place in the world where one could voluntarily give up smoking. The confinement and the tedium, the inadequate and unappetizing food, the discomforts and irritations, the anxie­ ty and worry and fear, the lack of in­ terest in work, — all these were re-

287

HYMN TO TOBACCO

lieved by tobacco. Tobacco is indeed the herba panacea which it was called in past centuries. It calms the mind, soothes the nerves, allays the pangs of hunger, renders everything more tolerable. It stimulates, then relaxes the brain and nerve centers and gent­ ly affects probably every bodily func­ tion; it affects especially the circula­ tory and digestive organs and certain secretions; it slightly raises the blood pressure and stimulates the adrenal glands, overcoming local congestion and increasing the blood sugar. Small wonder that the grateful use of Nicotiniana tabacum, angelic member of the otherwise deadly nightshade fami­ ly, has spread around the world and that the consumption of tobacco in its various fragrant forms still in­ creases every year. Small wonder that a cigaret is the last request of a man who is about to be shot, and that his executioner grants it, and lights a cigaret himself. It was only the magnanimous Japanese who could deprive a whole miserable camp, — a camp on starvation rations, without meat, without bread, without milk, without sugar, without coffee, of its last comfort, when there was a sup­ ply enough available just outside the gates in a country famous the world over for the product. Red Cross Relief Funds 8 and 9 and the Y.M.C.A. Gift — American Relief Fund No. 8, P54,190.56, reached the camp on June 4, and Fund No. 9, P35,693.51, on June 11. Of Fund No. 8, PI 1,500 was alloted to family aid, and of Fund No. 9, P10,000 was allotted to cash re­ lief of individual internees. The rest was al­ lotted to the purchase of food and essential supplies. During the month, 399 individual in­ ternees were assisted at a cost of PI 1,065. According to the minutes of a meeting of the Internee Committee on June 29, attended also by the Agents and by Wolff of the Philippine Red Cross: "Present allowances were considered inade­ quate to enable those drawing cash relief to

purchase a reasonable share of the supplemen­ tal food available at the vegetable market and in the form of eggs, and after discussion it was decided to increase the allowance for the month of July by P20 per head, i.e., adults holding central kitchen meal-tickets, P50; those holding ‘teen-age meal-tickets, P40; those hold­ ing annex meal-tickets, P30. The estimated cost of cash relief for July is P25,000." On June 7 another delivery of supplies was received from the Neutral Welfare Committee of the Y.M.C.A. in Manila, "through the cour­ tesy of the Commandant”. It included 700 4000 3000 200 119 50

kilos peanuts 25 pounds margarine coconuts 1 gallon fish oil eggs 15 gallons jam quarts milk 1 sack salt kilos cooking oil 300 cakes laundry soap kilos ham children’s toys

Most of this went to the hospitals and to the annex, but the peanuts were distributed at large, each internee receiving a small cupfull.

Camp work Classifications — There were the usual Japanese “surveys” during June. On the 9th, Ohashi, ask­ ed for a list of all males in the camp between the ages of 15 and 50; on the 14th, he asked for the number of men in the camp under each workassignment classification. On July 5 he asked for the names of all persons over 65 in the camp and its affiliated institutions. In no case was any in­ formation given as to why these lists were wanted. As to the assignment to work classifications, these were based on age. Class A was com­ posed of men between 17 and 40, of whom there were 626; Class B, men 41 to 50, 432; Class C, men over 50, 477; Class D, boys be­ tween 12 and 17, 23. The total numbered 1,558 men (and boys), all considered fit to do some work. Of these men, 182 were now per­ forming "extra duty” in addition to their regular assignments. The total number of men and boys over 12 in the camp was 1,745. Of the 187 not assigned to any duty, 46 were boys between 12 and 16; 34 were men over 60; 24 were "permanently not available" for health reasons; 25 were temporarily unavailable for health reasons; 43 were available; and 15 had their status pending. This was as of June 30.

288

Deaths — Actually very few men if any, even in Class A, were in robust health. As the people stood in the food-lines, one could not have picked five out of 100 men who looked really well- Many of the older men looked more like wraiths than men. The women looked little better. But even the few camp cats Were now very scrawny-looking creatures. Five internees died in the camp hos­ pital during the month of June, among them R. T. Fitzsimmons, 53 years of age, head of the Atlantic, Gulf & Paci­ fic Company of Manila, and one time member of the Executive Committee of the camp. On the 12th, a new set of printed "personal inquiry forms” were handed to the Internee Committee for all in­ ternees between the ages of 15 and 50, the forms to be completed by July 30. The questions came under the headings: name, nationality, place of birth, date of birth, state of health, address before internment, position held, family relations, assets (cash on hand and in the bank), schools attendded, summary of career, tastes and special abilities, and names and ad­ dresses of acquaintances in the Phil­ ippines. The last question aroused anxiety in the camp and most inter­ nees answered by stating that all their acquaintances were in the camp, as they did not want any of their friends outside to get into trouble on their account. On the 15th, there was a follow-up on the use of typewriters in the camp, most of those privately-owned having been taken up in May. According to the minutes: "Mr. Takeda asked the Committee to con­ sider plans for limiting the use of typewriters to a certain designated area. He realizes that they could not be confined to one room (which would be the ideal set-up), but he

THE CAMP asked for our recommendations to be put be­ fore him as soon as possible.”

Agents and the Committee Protest Against Renewed Labor Demands — Work for the Japanese during the month began with the “request” of Abiko on June 4 that the internees build two watchtowers against the out­ er wall, one in the northeast corner and one in the southwest corner of the campus- The materials were sup­ plied by the Japanese. On June 8, Ohashi informed the Committee that it was necessary to string barbed wire along the top of the walls to keep out intruders and he “asked” that while the necessary materials were being collected, enough men be obtained "to do this work in a reasonable time”. The Committee and the Agents discus­ sed the matter at a meeting held that evening. On the 10th, further details were furnished by the Japanese not only as to the erection on top of the walls, but as to two other fences de­ sired, — an inside barbed-wire fence running all the way around the cam­ pus, 10 feet inside the walls, and an­ other inside barbed-wire fence to se­ parate the gymnasium grounds from the rest of the campus. On the 12th, the Committee and the Agents discus­ sed the matter again. In the mean­ time, work on stringing three strands of wire on posts along the top of the walls had begun, as the Committee concluded this might be considered for the benefit of the internees, but Abiko expressed dissatisfaction with the progress being made and “asked” that at least 30 men be turned out morning and afternoon for the work. On the 14th, Takeda said that the work on this erection should be given precedence over all other work in the camp except food preparation. On the 17th, Takeda gave advance notice that as soon as the wiring over the walls

JAPANESE REPUDIATION OF THE GENEVA CONVENTION

was finished, work was to be started on the gymnasium fence; furthermore, he said that the bamboo-lattice fence along the boardwalk to the gymna­ sium was to be covered with sheets of sawali. The minutes of that same day stat­ ed that the Committee "understood’ that Colonel Yoshi was no longer Commandant, and had left Manila. "Although not officially advised, the Commit­ tee understands that the Commandant, Colo­ nel Yoshi, has left Manila and is no longer Commandant of this camp.”

Yoshi had said good-bye to nobody and had simply left the camp one af­ ternoon and had not come back. Nevertheless, the Committee add­ ressed a letter, dated June 18, to the Commandant, whoever he might be, submitting it through Ohashi on the 19th, declining to undertake the work on the inside fence all around the camp walls, the gymnasium fence, and the sawali addition to the bam­ boo fence on the ground that these projects were "not in the interests of the internees”. On the 20th, at Takeda’s request, a meeting was held in the Commandant s office which was attended by the In­ ternee Committee, the Agents, Schelke, chairman of the Monitors Council, Chittick, labor controller, Lennox, chief of the construction division, and Bradfield, head of the carpenters sec­ tion. According to the minutes: "Lieut. Abiko and Mr. Kinoshita were pre­ sent for a part of the time and Sergeant To yama throughout the discussion. Mr. Takeda wanted a definite answer from the group as to whether we were prepared to do the work requested, i.e. the building of a wire fence to separate the gymnasium from the rest of the camp, and the putting on of sawali on the bamboo fence by the seminary. He stated that this sawali was required to cover the fence in order to prevent communication between the internees and the variety of peo­

289

ple who come to visit the seminary grounds. The wire fence was to keep internees away from the gymnasium area. The members of the Commandant’s staff tried to make out that this proposed work was in the interests of the internees, and pressed for a definite answer, before the meeting broke up, as to whether we were prepared to do the work or not. All the internees present held the same view, that such work did not come within the scope of labor for the comfort and subsistence of internees and that we should not be asked to do such work. Toward the end of the dis­ cussion, Sergeant Toyama admitted that in­ ternees should not be asked to do such work, but that owing to present regulations they could not bring Filipinos into the camp to do it, the soldiers were unable to do it, and the Commandant's Office was unable to do it, therefore they asked us as a special favor to help them out. It was finally decided that the meeting should be adjourned and that we would let Mr. Takeda have a definite answer as soon as possible after roll call tomorrow morning. The meeting adjourned at 6:40 p.m. "The same group of internees met at 8 p.m. and after further discussion decided to offer to carry out the project of fixing sawali on the bamboo fence on the understanding that in principle this work was outside the scope of internee labor, that all materials would be supplied by the Japanese, and that we should not be asked to do any work either on the inside fence to go around the camp or on the wire fence to segregate the gymnasium."

A letter to this effect, dated June 21, was writtenThe letter was handed to Takeda that morning, but he asked that the same group which had taken part in the meeting the day before meet him again to present it. This meeting was not held because of other important developments. Onozaki Tells Grinnell that the Agents are not Recognized and that the Camp is Operated not Under the Terms of the Geneva Convention but According to Rules Laid Down by To­ kyo: Copy of the Rules can not be Furnished — First, that same morn­ ing, the Acting Commandant, Onozaki,

290

returned, through Stanley, both the letter from the Agents, dated May 2, which asked permission to pay their respects to the then Commandant, and the letter from the Committee, dated May 30, informing him of the re-elect­ ion of Pond as Agent. Stanley report­ ed, according to the minutes, that — "the Acting Commandant had stated that the highest military authorities in the Philippines did not recognize the Geneva Convention of 1929 or its application to the internment camps in the Philippines, and that he was therefore unable to recognize the Agents of Internees under the terms of that Convention."

THE CAMP to Headquarters, and he could not be respon­ sible for the consequences. "The Chairman stated that the matter had been discussed at great length yesterday and our attitude was clear. We could not agree to all these three jobs unless we received a written order to that effect. "The Acting Commandant asked the Chair­ man to explain his attitude to the group and to report back at 8:30 tomorrow.”

Camp Actually run by a Few Ignor­ ant, Stupid, Vindictive Third Lieute­ nants — That the camp was being “operated . . . under a set of rules and regulations for the conduct of intern­ ment camps laid down by Tokyo" and Second, in the afternoon, Onozaki that a set of these rules and regula­ summoned Grinnell, informed him of­ tions was withheld from internee of­ ficially that Yoshi had been recalled ficials, was characteristic. But it was to Japan, and that he, Onozaki, was certain that if such a code existed, it the Acting Commandant. Then he re­ was not being carried out. Orders peated, with important additions, what came to the Internee Committee from Stanley had reported that morning, the Commandant and from every and insisted that the work on the member of his staff, which in some fence would have to be undertaken. cases were alleged to originate from F. Cary acted as interpreter. Accord­ Tokyo, the Highest Commander, the ing to the minutes, Grinnell reported Prison-Camps Headquarters, or the the following to the Committee as to Military Police. Much of the govern­ ment of the camp was in the hands what transpired at this conference: "The Acting Commandant, in the presence of five or six ignorant, stupid, and of Mr. Ohashi and Kinoshita, advised him vindictive third lieutenants who fought that Colonel Yoshi had been recalled to Ja­ among themselves and gave contra­ pan, and that he, Onozaki, was now Acting dictory orders often without even the Commandant. knowledge of the Commandant and "He went on to discuss the subject of labor who seemed to be able to communi­ by internees. He stated that he was aware of cate over his head with the Comman­ the discussion which took place yesterday, and pointed out that this camp was being dant's superiors. Orders were issued, operated not under the terms of the Geneva revised, changed; they were counter­ Convention, but under a set of rules and re­ manded or silently allowed to lapse, gulations for the conduct of internment camps then suddenly revived- The only con­ as laid down by Tokyo. These regulations had sistency to be found was that of a been brought into force in this camp start­ perpetual malice. ing on the 1st of February, 1944. The repudiation of the Geneva Con­ "The Chairman asked for a copy of these rules and regulations, but was advised that a vention made no real difference to copy could not be supplied to us. the Santo Tomas camp, at least for "The Commandant went on to say that the time being. The Japanese had these three items of work have to be done, from the first contemptuously ignor­ either at their request or on a written order from him. If this were not considered suffi­ ed it, and various appeals and pro­ cient, the matter would have to be referred tests based on it had proved futile

AGENTS’ PROTEST AGAINST NON-RECOGNITION

and were not even acknowledged. They were of value, however, for the record. The internees believed that in some future time Japan would be called to account not only for its vio­ lations of the Convention and of all international law, but for its callous disregard of the first principles of or­ dinary humanity. The Committee and Agents Decide to Insist on Written Labor Orders and to have Work Done by Drafted Work­ ers Rather than Volunteers — That evening the Internee Committee, the Agents, Schelke, Chittick, and the others met again to discuss the situa­ tion with respect to the work de­ manded. It was decided, according to the minutes —

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able at the department concerned. All mate­ rials will be furnished by this Office. Your Committee is responsible for carrying out this work as quickly as possible.”

The second order read: "You are now ordered to proceed imme­ diately to fix sawali on the bamboo fence around the seminary grounds in accordance with detailed instructions already given by this Office. Your Committee is responsible for carrying out this work as quickly as possi­ ble.”

Grinnell Explains the Situation to the Camp — That afternoon a mass meeting of all the men in the camp was called to be held in front of the main building and to open at 6:30. Grinnell was the speaker and told of what had occurred during the past few days and explained the reasons "to insist on a written order from the Com­ for the decision which had been made mandant before we proceed with any of the in the matter of building the fences three items of work; that when such order by the "eleven of us who w ere... is received, the Agents of Internees would forced to make a decision in this protest the order; and that the Internee Com­ mittee would have no alternative but to pass matter”. The speech was better receiv­ on the order and see that it is carried out by ed than some had feared that it might drafted and not 'voluntary' labor.” be. If the Acting Commandant issued a Onozaki's Written Repudiation of written order, it was thought that it the Geneva Convention — Later in the would be inconsistent with the situa- evening, the Committee and the ion if the labor department issued a Agents met again and it was agreed call for volunteers to work on these that the Acting Commandant's state­ projects, and that the work should be ments with respect to the Geneva Con­ regularly assigned to picked men. vention should be obtained in writing, The next morning (the 22nd), Grin- if possible. The Agents were — nell and Lloyd called on Onozaki and "to draft the form in which they would like told him, according to the minutes— a letter from the Commandant to the Internee "that after discussing with the group the state­ ments made by the Commandant yesterday afternoon, the Committee was not prepared to undertake the work without a written order from the Commandant."

Later in the day, Onozaki issued two separate orders, dated June 22. The first read: "You are hereby ordered to undertake the work of constructing a barbed-wire fence around the wall and near the gymnasium and swimming pool. Detailed instructions are avail­

Committee advising them that the Geneva Con­ vention is not recognized and that therefore the Agents of Internees could not be recog­ nized as elected under that Convention.”

A draft, dated June 23, was handed to Onozaki the next day. It was writ­ ten in such a way as to make the re­ pudiation by the Military of the com­ mitments of the Japanese government with respect to the Convention very clear and definite. Onozaki held this

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for several weeks. Then, according to the minutes of July 12: "The Commandant under date of June 23, signed a letter to the Internee Committee con­ firming the verbal intimation given to us on June 22, that the Geneva Convention of 1929 is not recognized in the Philippines and that the Agents of Internees can not be officially recognized.”

The letter, which was not signed but bore Onozaki’s stamp, read: “Gentlemen: "With reference ter your letter of May 30th advising me of the re-election of Mr. H. B. Pond as one of the Agents of Internees as provided in the Geneva Convention of 1929, and to the letter of May 2nd, from those Agents, asking for an appointment to call on the then Commandant of the Camp to pay their respects (which letters I have on June 21st returned to you), I must inform you that the Geneva Convention of 1929 is not recognized by the Imperial Japanese Military Headquar­ ters in the Philippines and that therefore the Agents of Internees, appointed under the pro­ visions of the said Convention, can not be officially recognized in that capacity. (His seal) “The Commandant'

The Agent’s Formal Protest — It was not until a month later that the Agents registered their formal protest and asked for a reconsideration in a letter dated July 28.4* * "Your letter of June 23, 1944, addressed to the Internee Committee of this camp, wherein you recite the return to that Committee on June 21, 1944, of the two letters, one of May 30, 1944, from that Committee advising you of the re-election of Mr. H. B. Pond as Agent of Internees, as provided in the Geneva Conven­ tion of 1929, and the other of May 2, 1944, from the Agents of the Internees, asking for an appointment to call upon the then Comman­ dant of this camp, to pay their respects, and you advise that the said Convention is not re­ cognized by the Imperial Japanese Military Headquarters in the Philippines and that there­ fore the Agents of Internees of this camp, appointed under the provisions of that Con­ vention, can not be officially recognized in that capacity, has been handed to us by the Internee Committee. "The purpose of this letter is to protest formally the position thus taken by the Im-

THE CAMP

The Agents also addressed a letter of the same date to the "Representa­ tive of the Protecting Power of the United States” in Tokyo, which read: "We are enclosing a copy of a letter dated June 23, 1944, addressed to the Commandant of this camp through the Internee Committee thereof, reciting the return to that Committee, on June 21, 1944, of two letters, one of May 30, 1944, from that Committee advising the Commandant of the reelection of Mr. H. B. Pond as one of the Agents of the Internees, as provided in the Geneva Convention of 1929, and the other of May 2, 1944, from these Agents, asking for an appointment to call upon the then Commandant to pay their respects. The Commandant also advises the Internee Com­ mittee in the enclosed letter that the Geneva Convention of 1929 is not recognized by the Imperial Japanese Military Headquarters in the Philippines and that, therefore, the Agents of the Internees, appointed under the provisions of that Convention, can not be officially recog­ nized in that capacity. "Needless to say, we are protesting and are requesting the reconsideration of the refusal of the Imperial Japanese Military Headquar­ ters in the Philippines to recognize the Geneva Convention of 1929, or the Agents of the In­ ternees of this camp, who have been appoint­ ed in accordance with the terms o f , that Convention. However, will you kindly transmit the .contents of the enclosed letter to the Government of the United States for its in­ formation.” The covering letter to the Commandant, of the same date, read: "We are handing you herewith our letter addressed to the Representative of the Pro­ tecting Power of the United States in Tokyo, with reference to your letter of June 23, 1944, wherein you advise us that the Imperial Japa­ nese Military Headquarters in the Philippines do not recognize the Geneva Convention of 1929, and that, therefore, the Agents of Inter­ nees, appointed under the provisions of said Convention, can not be officially recognized in that capacity. perial Japanese Military Headquarters in the Philippines, and to ask that it be reconsidered... "We, therefore, respectfully request you to transmit this letter to the Imperial Japanese Military Headquarters in the Philippines and that those Headquarters reconsider and with­ draw their refusal to recognize the Geneva Convention of 1929, as well as to recognize the undersigned Agents of the Internees of this camp, who have been appointed pursuant to the provisions of that Convention.”

MONITORS COUNCIL QUESTIONS COMMITTEE’S "WEAK-KNEED” ATTITUDE “Will you kindly forward the attached letter together with its enclosure, to the Represen­ tative of the Protecting Power of the United States in Tokyo so that, through that repre­ sentative, the Government of the United States may be advised of the position taken by the Imperial Japanese Military Headquarters in the Philippines with regard to the said Convention and with regard to the Agents of the Internees of this camp, appointed thereunder?”

The work of covering the bamboo fence with sawali was begun on the 23rd of June, and on the gymnasium fence the next day. The Agents Still Remain the Only Elected Representatives of the Inter­ nee Body — The Agents had lodged a formal protest, as had been agreed. Even if they were not recognized as having been elected "under the terms of the Geneva Convention”, they re­ mained the only elected representa­ tives which the camp had. Their let­ ter of protest against the new labor orders, dated June 25, was handed to Onozaki, and he retained it, though he probably did not transmit it to Head­ quarters. The Monitors Council Dissatisfied with the Committee’s “Weak-Kneed Attitude” — Though the camp appear­ ed quietly to have accepted the situa­ tion, there were those in the Monitors Council who took issue with the In­ ternee Committee, and, particularly with Schelke. In the meeting of the Council of the 25th, Schelke’s author­ ity to commit the Council was chal­ lenged and he replied that he had indicated throughout all the past con­ ferences that he was unable to express anything but a personal opinion. How­ ever, he added that he believed that— "the record of the Internee Committee and of the larger group which acted in this matter was one of consistent refusal to do work which was not in the interest of internees and that this attitude was maintained until the receipt of the Commandant's written order, which the group was unanimous in viewing as military pressure.”

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A discussion followed in which only the male members of the Council took part and disapproval was expressed which was summarized in the minutes as follows: "The complaint was that the eleven indivi­ duals who had acted upon a question of policy involving the whole camp ultimately showed the same weak-kneed and conciliatory attitude in dealing with the Japanese authori­ ties that had consistently marked the efforts of the Internee Committee; that the commen­ dable record of continued refusal to do work which should not be done by internees had been marred by the agreement within the group to carry out the Commandant’s written order, when and if received; that such an or­ der was eventually received is little or no different in form or weight than was the ori­ ginal ‘request’; that a written order from a civilian head of this camp does not have the force of an order emanating from the military; that the group should not have been stamp­ eded by a mere statement relayed to them through one of their number [Grinnell] into an action which adversely affects the whole camp; that the group should have retained their previous firm attitude of refusal despite the signed order of the Commandant and should have more seriously considered taking a chance on the possibility of this camp be­ ing placed under direct military control in­ volving forced labor, failure to perform which would invoke military punishment; that the implication was made in the report to the internees [Grinnell’s speech] that the Moni­ tors Council concurred in the action taken by the group because of the fact that the chair­ man of the Council [Schelke] was included in the group of eleven internees selected to set­ tle the issue.”

In reply to a further question, Schelke stated that in his opinion the signed orders received from the Com­ mandant were not written by the In­ ternee Committee, but it was then moved and carried to inquire into this. At the next meeting of the Coun­ cil, on June 30, Schelke reported that Lloyd had verified that the orders had not been written by any member of the Committee; Schelke said that he himself had seen both the original

294

orders and that he was convinced that they had been written by the Ja­ panese authorities. The Council’s Charge Unjust. DeWitt on the Legal Aspects — The charge that the Internee Committee had con­ sistently shown a "weak-kneed and conciliatory attitude” in its dealings with the Japanese, was not borne out by the facts. Members of the Commit­ tee had on various occasions taken grave personal risks in protesting and opposing acts and orders of the mili­ tary officers in the camp. Had the in­ ternee-body come to know of these discussions in the Council, it is certain that they would not have backed any proposal to defy the military and "take a chance” on the camp being placed under direct military control. In fact, even the Council studiously avoided making this proposal; the Council, ac­ cording to the minutes, held only that the eleven men who made the deci­ sion "should have more seriously con­ sidered” taking such a chance. This was mere captiousness. DeWitt happening to review the le­ gal aspects of the matter a few days later in the office of the Internee Com­ mittee, Carroll suggested to Schelke that this view might be presented to the Council, and Schelke hereupon in­ vited both the Internee Committee and the Agents to attend the next meeting on July 7. DeWitt, speaking for the Agents, made it clear that he had not come to justify the action taken, but only to pass on certain facts which lie believed the Council had not tak­ en into consideration. According to the minutes, he emphasized the follow­ ing: (1) That the Detaining Power, under the Geneva Convention, may utilize the labor of able prisoners of war except in direct war work. However, if in violation of the Conven­ tion, direct war work is ordered, the Con­

THE CAMP vention itself provides that the prisoners after executing or beginning to execute the work, shall be free to protest, either through the Agents or the Protecting Power. (2) That in­ ternational usage and various statements of intention made by the United States, Canada, and Japan, after the outbreak of this war are against the exaction of compulsory labor from civilian internees, but no procedure is suggested in case such labor is exacted. (3). Therefore, by analogy, the procedure outlined in the Geneva Convention should be followed in such cases, that is, executing or beginning to execute the work and then protesting through the Agents or the Protecting Power. (4) No authority can be found anywhere for refusal to carry out definite military orders of the Detaining Power.”

A general discussion again follow­ ed, but, according to the minutes, the Council’s own: "No conclusions were reached or suggestions made with respect to a recommended course of action to be followed by the Agents, the Internee Committee, or any other group in authority in the event that we are faced with similar problems relating to forced labor in the future.”

Kurz, Head of Emergency Labor Squad, Attacked by a Soldier —It was in connection with the work on the fences that there occurred another "incident”. On June 27, when the emergency labor squad was at work in the old package-shed inclosure, moving lumber for the fence, the head of the squad, Charles Kurz, was sud­ denly attacked by a Japanese soldier, slapped repeatedly, and struck across the legs with his rifle because he had addressed a few words in connection with the work being done to a Fili­ pino interpreter. The Internee Com­ mittee immediately lodged a protest at the Commandant’s office, and in the afternoon Lloyd had an interview with Onozaki which was reported as follows in the minutes: "Interview with the Commandant at 4:40 p.m., June 27. Present: the Commandant, Mr. Kinoshita, Mr. Cary, Mr. Lloyd.

A SOLDIER’S ATTACK ON KURZ "Lloyd: You have, I understand, heard about the incident that occurred in the package-shed this morning. Will you please tell me what action has been taken? "Commandant-. I held immediate investiga­ tion, but should like to hear your side of the story first. "Lloyd: Mr. Kurz and his squad were mov­ ing lumber out of the package-shed in ac­ cordance with Japanese orders. Earlier in the morning, Mr. Kurz had through a Filipino in­ terpreter and a Japanese contractor who spoke Tagalog, arranged that the guard should have a panel taken out of the package-shed fence in order to move the lumber more easily. Later he wanted to discuss another matter with the guard regarding the taking of some firewood, and he went over to the guardhouse to see if the interpreter or the sergeant was there. Finding them absent, he returned, and on his way back met the Filipino interpreter. He asked him if he spoke Japanese, but got a negative reply. He then asked him to get the Japanese contractor to explain to the guard what he wanted. At this, the guard, who was standing some distance away, made some strange noises which Mr. Kurz did not under­ stand. The Filipino said, ‘You are not allowed to talk to me’, and he walked away. The guard followed Mr. Kurz and he slapped him across the legs with his rifle, he then turned him around by his belt and slapped him on both cheeks. He pushed him in the back with his rifle and took him to the guardhouse. The sergeant and interpreter appeared from inside, and after a few minutes questioning Mr. Kurz was allowed to proceed back to the main building. "Commandant: The guard’s story was that Mr. Kurz' action in going toward the guard­ house looked very suspicious, and when he started to talk to the Filipino on his return, it looked as though he had been to see if there was anybody watching him. The guard says that he two or three times warned Mr. Kurz’ to stop talking, but that when he did not stop, he lost his temper and slapped him. The fundamental cause of the trouble is the language difficulty, and though the soldier was in the wrong in losing his temper, he had some grounds for suspicion of Mr. Kurz’ action. I have severely reprimanded the soldier and have already issued orders that no such thing must happen in the future. I very much regret the unfortunate incident and trust that you will accept the action taken by me, and

295 consider the incident closed on this under­ standing that every effort will be made that it does not occur again. "Lloyd: I feel that the soldier should have been punished and that the fundamental cause of the trouble is the soldier striking an in­ ternee, which should not be permitted at any time or for any reason. "Commandant: You must remember that it is the custom in Japan and throughout the Japanese army for persons who see anything suspicious or wrong to strike first and in­ vestigate afterward. In this respect, the sol­ dier was only following out his training. Mr. Kurz’ action seemed suspicious to the sol­ dier because it seemingly had no connection with the actual work in hand of moving the lumber. No definite order had been issued before this that soldiers should not strike internees in this camp, and I therefore did not feel justified in punishing the soldier other than with a strong reprimand for fol­ lowing out what he considered to be his duty. I have explained to the soldier and will see that it is emphasized by Lieutenant Abiko and Sergeant Toyama that this sort of thing is not to occur again and that if it does, the offender will be punished. Please accept my assurances on this point. "Lloyd: I will report to the other members of the Committee and discuss the matter with them before giving you my reply. I consider, however, that in order to prevent any pos­ sible repetition of this incident we should not be asked to send any labor into the packageshed to remove the lumber, but that arrange­ ments should be made to put it outside the package-shed inclosure. We can deal with the lumber once it is outside. "Commandant: I agree and will make arrange­ ments accordingly. "Lloyd: I wish to emphasize the difficulty we are having in persuading men to do the work on these fences which we do not consider is work which we should be made to do, par­ ticularly as the incident has happened to Mr. Kurz who is one of the hardest workers and one of the most popular men in the camp. It is going to be difficult for us to get men to do this work in future if there is any possibility of similar instances occurring. "Commandant: I can only assure you what I have said before, and I also very much regret that the incident happened and that it hap­ pened to Mr. Kurz in particular. Please let everybody know what I have done and endeavor

296 to persuade them that such a thing will not happen again. "Lloyd: I regret that a call to Headquarters prevented me from making an earlier state­ ment to you on this subject.”

That evening the Agents met with the Committee and it was decided that in view of the results of Lloyd's inter­ view with Onozaki, no further action on the part of Agents was necessary and that the work on the two fences could continue. The following day, the Committee informed the Comman­ dant that in view of the action taken by him the day before and the orders given to the soldiers regarding their future conduct, the Committee consi­ dered the incident closed However, the Committee also informed him that it was disinclined to do any more work in the vicinity of the guardhouse. The Inspection on July 4 — On the 21st, Onozaki informed the Commit­ tee that another "important inspec­ tion” was slated for early the next month and he asked that the Com­ mittee "work up among internees a greater measure of respect and recog­ nition for visiting and inspecting of­ ficers”. On the 26th, he told the Com­ mittee that — "a preliminary inspection of the camp would be made, probably on the 29th, preparatory to the big inspection planned for the beginning of next m onth...H e wished the attention of all internees drawn to the necessity of paying proper respect to visiting officers by bowing, and, asked that the camp be cleaned up as much as possible for the inspection” .

On the 28th it was announced that the preliminary inspection would be held on the 30th. Between 11:15 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. that day, this ins­ pection was made by General Ko, Di­ rector-General of War-P r i s o n e r s Camps and Onozaki then informed the Committee that the "big inspection” would take place on Tuesday, July 4 (American Independence Day), be­

THE CAMP

tween the hours of 10:20 and 11:40 a.m., and that it would be made by General Ko’s immediate superior, who would visit the camp for the first time. Further instructions were issued on the 3rd, the Japanese seeming to be in a considerable sweat over the coming event. The occasion passed without incident, and in the afternoon of the 4th, Onozaki called the Com­ mittee to his office and over tea and cakes, expressed great satisfaction with the results of the inspection. That eveing, over the loudspeakers, the Com­ mandant thanked the whole camp for its “cooperation”. Japanese take Objection to a Har­ vey Show; All Entertainments Can­ celled— On Saturday night, July 1, the versatile Harvey staged a very lively minstrel show which was comprised of all the traditional components. It started somewhat late because of a rain earlier in the evening. The open­ ing song was "Old Man River", which was followed by "Roll on, you Missis­ sippi”. Among the first "gags” was an interchange between two black-face co­ medians on the topic of a "hot time in the old town tonight”. "What tow n?... San Francisco? St. Louis? New Orleans? Memphis”. . ."No, no! Paris!” Among more songs there was one, written by a woman internee, which, though because of its topical nature it drew a good deal of ap­ plause, would not have been men­ tioned here if it were not for what followed. The words, sung by a quar­ tet, ran: "The day I left my happy home to sail across the sea; I never thought I'd end up as a broken-down internee; Behind the walls of wire and stone we live with a hustle and boom, I’d rather live like a tinned sardine 'cause a sardine has more room. "Roll call, hear that wail; Chow-line, just fill my pail;

THE JAPANESE ANGERED OVER A HARVEY- SHOW SONG Lights out, like any jail; Until a friend turns up to go my bail. "A baked potato is delight, or fresh peas in the pod. But when it comes to eating corn, I’ll take mine on the cob; Baked fish, fried fish, just plain fish I’ll trade for sticks and stones; With me it’s been a losing fight; I can’t get past the bones. “Mush, oh, glory be! Talinum, deliver me! Corn-bread, deliver me! Oh, how I wish that I were free! "Behind the bars at Alcatraz are big-shot men of crime, But they don’t have a thing on us, — we’re all just doing time. The rumors give us lots of hope, it’s amazing what you hear; According to> the latest dope, we were all set free last year! "0 say, can you see Any help for me From the brave and free? I’ll be lucky if I’m out in '53, "You’ll just be here for three short days, don’t bring along too much. Some extra chow and a week-end bag, — you surely can’t go wrong; Some came early, some came late; we all came here to stay; And stay we will with time to kill until some future day. "'42... temporary; '43... wait and see; 44... we’ll all be free; But I’m from Missouri And you gotta show me.”

The show ended with the locomo­ tive song, “Alabama Bound'’, the an­ nouncer calling: “All aboard for the South.. .Train leaving on Track 3. . . Newark, Trenton, Philadelphia, Balti­ more, Washington, Richmond, Raleigh, Atlanta, Birmingham, and Mobile. . . All aboard!” Thoughts of hom e... those rich­ sounding names. . . There were Japanese in the au­ dience from the Commandant's office. They couldn’t understand that peo­ ple could laugh at themselves. They thought the internees were laughing at the Japanese. The next morning,

297

Takeda had Harvey on the carpet. He had to bring the script of the whole show. The Japanese went over it care­ fully. Was that all that had been said? He was a liar. Finally, they fixed on the song sung by the quartet. About the camp food: how ungrateful! The rumors the song spoke of: where did they come from? who circulated them? '53: why did the internees think they would be free in 1953? This went on for nearly two hours. In the after­ noon Harvey was called again; also Lloyd and the four men who had sung the song. The thing ended with the signing of an apology both by the Committee and Harvey and his sing­ ers, and with an order cancelling all theatrical entertainments "for the time being” and another order strengthening the general censorship. According to the Internee Committee minutes: "The Commandant’s Office complained re­ garding the entertainment held on the main plaza last night that (a) it ran an hour longer than the time permitted, and (b) it contained a song the words of which were contrary to the policy laid down regarding reference to the war or the conduct of the camp in meet­ ings, entertainments, etc. As a result of this complaint, the Internee Committee, the head of the entertainment department, and the four responsible for the song, were asked to apo­ logize in writing to the Commandant, which they did. Further, orders were issued that in future all manuscripts of lectures, plays, or play-readings, and outlines or manuscripts of sermons must be submitted to the Comman­ dant’s Office for approval at least 36 hours before presentation, and after approval, no interpolations are to be made. Further, all theatrical entertainments were cancelled for the time being, but request might be made later for them to be resumed”.

“Old Glory"— No celebration or en­ tertainment, — other than the “big inspection”, was allowed on July 4, but there was a children’s costume party in the evening. Just after the close of the usual musical broadcast

298

of the evening, the children marched from the playhouse where the party had been held, to the plaza in columns of twos. They were dressed as cow­ boys, sailors, soldiers, American In­ dians, etc. A little girl at the head of the column was suddenly seen to be carrying a small hand-painted pa­ per flag, about 12 inches long. All the people in the plaza rose to their feet. Small as it was, hardly to be seen in the dim light on the plaza, its appear­ ance marked the first public display in the camp of "Old Glory".

39

Story of The New Arrivals from Baguio On June 9, 1944, a number of per­ sons transferred from the Baguio camp arrived in Santo Tomas. They included Dr. R. F. Barton, ethnolo­ gist, and "Nick" Kaminski, caretaker of Malacanan Palace since the time of Governor-General Taft, who had been looking after Mansion House at Ba­ guio when the war broke out. The other arrivals were the Rev. H Burke, an Anglican missionary, Miss Elvie Fraser of the Los Banos Agricultural College faculty, and Miss Esther Ruth Yerger, missionary. About one-third of the Baguio camp was composed of missionaries, and since the transfer of Dr. D. W. Nance, a missionary, Karl Eschbach, had been head of the executive committee. On the truck with the five internees came three prisoners of war, — one a young American soldier and the other two probably Philippine Scouts. They were not only handcuffed,—their elbows were tied behind them, and all three were tied together with a longer rope always held by one of the several Japanese guards who accom­ panied the party. The three prisoners were forced to stand up in the truck during the entire trip, which lasted from 7 in the morning until 5 that afternoon- The others were not al­ lowed to speak to them and a request

STORY

that they be allowed to give them some bananas was also refused. How­ ever, they were allowed to give the three soldiers some old cloth caps to cover their heads with, since they were bareheaded. And the American ma­ naged to whisper to one of the civi­ lians that he was James Beeby from Syracuse, New York. They did not know where Beeby and the two others were taken because the truck stopped at Santo Tomas University to let the civilians off, first. Conditions in the Baguio camp at this time were no better than they were in Manila. The Baguio camp had come under the military at the same time as Santo Tomas, was supposed to re­ ceive the same rations in grams, and delivery of the Tribune' had been stopped on the same day, and, in their case, had not been resumed. The new arrivals had not heard of the fall of Rome or the opening of the "second front." The Baguio camp received but little corn and the internees there ate rice for breakfast; and, as coco­ nuts were scarce and expensive (P2 50 each), they had no coconut milk. The Baguio camp was a little better off for vegetables and did get cabbage occa­ sionally and sometimes real potatoes. They got almost no meat, and only a little fish, brought up from the low­ lands. As there was better kitchen equipment and there were fewer people. — under 500, the cooking was better. The calorific value of the meals served at Baguio was estimated to be consi­ derably lower even than in Manila at this time. Supplies were brought up to Baguio from the lowlands mainly by push­ carts. These were built like small trucks, with wooden wheels 10 to 12 inches in diameter, and were capable of carrying some 300 or 400 pounds of produce. They were laboriously pushed up the steep Benguet and Naguilian roads. They could be steered from the front by means of a steeringwheel, however, and went down these same roads by force of gravity. The bowing and the answering in Japanese at roll call, which was at first a unique feature of the

TORTURE OF INTERNEES

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internment in Baguio, gradually lapsed after one and a half years of it, to­ gether with the roll call itself. The same thing was true about the order against men and women "comming­ ling", as it was called, although this continued in force long after the camp had been moved from Camp John Hay to Camp Holmes. A fence separated the men from the women and child­ ren, and they were allowed to speak to each other through the fence only for an hour a day, — sometimes only one day a week. Men and women were slapped by the guards if they were caught violating this order. However, there was a gradual relaxation, and since the summer of 1943 men and wo­ men were ‘“commingling” freely and were even allowed to roam about in couples or by families on the hillslopes outside the camp. This required a pass, however, and was called "picnicking”. Men and women still slept in separate buildings. In 1944, after the military had taken over, a movement developed among the married people for the re­ sumption of family life, the plan be­ ing to allow the curtaining off of "cu­ bicles” in one of the women’s build­ ings for them. There were around 100 married couples in the camp and not much more than half of them were in favor of the scheme, while the rest of the camp almost unanimously opposed it on the ground principally that under the conditions of intern­ ment nothing likely to promote the incidence of pregnancy should be en­ couraged. Very strong feeling de­ veloped on both sides and, despite the camp majority opinion, the executive committee, holding that the question did not concern the unmarried, ap­ proved the plan. The Japanese author­ ities offered no objection and a num­ ber of small cottages on the camp grounds were cleared for the mar­ ried and a part of one of the women’s buildings was also set aside for them. The escape in March, 1944, of two mining men, G. Herbert Swick and Richard R. Green, led to the mal1E. J. Kneebone, W. Moule, and J.J. Halsema.

)

299 treatment of three of their friends1 in the camp who were believed to have been pointed out to the Japanese by an internee who was suspected of being a spy. They were taken out of the camp one after another by the military police of Baguio, where they were kept for from four to ten days. All three came back to the camp with their thumbs cut to the bone and had to be hospitalized. They had all been hung up by the thumbs, even one of them who was still crippled from an attack of infantile paralysis which he had suffered while a prisoner at Bayombong- One of the three said that while undergoing this torture he had been in a position where he could look out of a window and had noticed that some passing Filipinos had turned around and were looking at him. Then he realized for the first time that he was screaming. So far as was known, Swick and Green were never recap­ tured.2 On a previous occasion, in Decem­ ber, 1942, the whole camp had been made to witness the punish­ ment of an internee3 who was ac­ cused of smuggling in liquor. He was not tied in any way, but knew that if he tried to run away he would be shot. He was beaten with heavy sticks by two soldiers, one on each side of him, then slapped and cuffed and pushed and beaten again, for 15 minutes, after which, with a cry, he fell unconscious to the ground. A weaker man would have died under the punishment. Big and well-muscled as this man was, he lay in the hospital for two weeks. The men who had un­ dergone such abuse never seemed quite the same afterward, even after apparently complete recovery. They looked older and never recovered their previous spirits. The 500 Chinese in­ ternees were released late in May, around a month after the camp had been moved to Camp Holmes. The Balatoc mine had been stripped of most of its machinery, and several 2 Note (1945)— They joined the guerrillas. 3 Clarence Mount.

300

big diesel engines had been removed from the Benguet Consolidated mines. Machine-shop tools, lathes, etc., were everywhere removed. Some of the ma­ chinery was taken to the Lepanto cop­ per mine, but most of it was pro­ bably taken to Japan. A crew of 60 Japanese and 200 Filipino miners was reported “high-grading" the Benguet Consolidated mine; the force was in­ adequate to look after the mainte­ nance of the scores of miles of tun­ nels. A still smaller crew, apparently a maintenance crew, was employed at Balatoc. The Heald Lumber Compa­ ny was looted of many tens of miles of expensive overhead cable by local thieves who cut it up into lengths which one or two men could carry and sold it to "cooperating" politicians in Baguio. The Japanese in the Mountain Pro­ vince— At the beginning of the war, Colonel Horan, after abandoning Camp John Hay, had started eastward headed for Pangasinan, but part of this force, led by himself, split off from the rest and moved through Nueva Vizcaya, Bontoc, and Ifugao, into Kalinga, making camp in the vi­ cinity of Lubuagan. In February, a Ja­ panese force moved through Bontoc and Ifugao, spreading destruction, but they met with considerable resistance and did not remain. Among their en­ counters was one with a force of some 200 Baguio Chinese who put up a stiff fight at Kilometer 52. In May, after the Bataan surrender, larger Ja­ panese forces marched into the Moun­ tain Province from the Ilocos coast and from the Cagayan Valley as well as from Baguio. The force from the coast, passed through Cervantes, driv­ ing ahead of them a large number of prisoners of war, taken in Bataan, including many Americans, whom they used as carriers. When they weakened, they were shot and their bodies were pushed off the trail. Over 100 of the prisoners reached Bontoc from where, during the next few months, many escaped. Horan surren­ dered at Lubuagan shortly after Wain-

STORY

wright had issued his general surren­ der order. A Belgian Catholic lay brother made a trip through the Mountain Province during the months of February and April, 1943, to determine the damage to missionary property. He reported that the Japanese force which had come in through Cervantes from the Cagayan Valley had met with resis­ tance at the Bulaw river and had burned everything along the trail from Bagabac, Nueva Vizcaya, through Ligauwe (Burnai) and Kiangan, to Banaue, a distance of 50 kilometers. Li­ gauwe and Banaue had also been bombed from the air. In Banaue, the historical commandancia, the church, the resthouse, the large native village, — everything had been destroyed with the exception only of the nunnery. In Bontoc the whole business district had been burned down in February, with the exception of the Adachi Japanese store. The Japanese force which moved up from Baguio in May, 1942, met with strong opposition on Mount Da­ ta, but finally overcame it. They brought their dead and wounded to Bontoc, and after knocking the serious­ ly wounded on the head, put their bodies along with the other dead into a native house and set fire to it. Some of these heitai-san (soldiers) proved, however, to be still alive and died screaming in the flames. The out­ rage horrified the head-hunting Bontocs who could not understand how the Japanese could kill their own peo­ ple, in callous contempt of the first principle of the most primitive ethics. The Japanese killed 87 men, women, and children, practically the entire po­ pulation, of a barrio in Abra (a few of them got away), because the people had extended their hospitality to a number of soldiers and guerrillas and American mining men. After this, the people in the region were reluctant to shelter such refugees. "We should like to help you”, they would say, "but think of our women and children!” This drove many Americans to give themselves up.

301

GOOD WAR NEWS

One of the most picturesque native figures in the Mountain Province, Dangwa, the Bontoc who had built up the famous Dangwa Transportation Company which, at the outbreak of

the war, was most efficiently operat­ ing several hundred trucks and buses, refused to "cooperate” with the Japa­ nese and had up to this time success­ fully evaded capture.

Chapter XIX The Last Camp Food Reserves The Dreary Rainy Season — It rained almost continuously after the first week of July, definitely mark­ ing the end of the trying hot season which had had to be endured once again without the relief available in normal times,—trips to Baguio, deep verandahs, air-cooled sleeping apart­ ments, salads, ices, and drinks. All of the fans available,—only some 70 of them could be got to running again, had however been released by the Ja­ panese and placed in the rooms of the women and children. Now the rains again converted the low-lying campus into a swamp and confined the inter­ nees, outside of working hours, to their rooms and shanties. The eve­ nings on rainy nights were especially dreary because broken electric-light bulbs could not be replaced and in many of the rooms and halls the light was too dim to read by. Spirits were greatly lightened, however, by conti­ nuing good news which reached the camp despite the Japanese efforts at enforcing the strictest isolation,— news which included the fall of the Tojo Cabinet, the taking of Guam, the serious injuries sustained by Hitler in a bomb explosion. Early Sunday morning, July 16, an explosion, followed a few minutes la­ ter by another one which shook the Santo Tomas buildings, led everyone to think for a moment that the Ame­ rican attack had come. One woman

leaped out of her bed with a shout, "Oh, boy! They are here!” But there were no further detonations and the the camp concluded from the heavy column of smoke that rose in the sky over Manila Bay that a tanker had by some accident blown up. The fire lasted the whole day. It was learned later that it was a tanker and that the explosion blew in the sides of another ship close by; it was believed to have been an act of sabotage. During the next few days a consi­ derable movement of troops was ob­ served and several mobile searchlightunits and 10 or 12 army trucks were drawn up along the side of the street near the camp hospital, remaining there until the time of this writing. Japanese troops were also camped at the San Lazaro race track, a few blocks north. The whole place was lighted up every night, with all the track flood­ lights turned on. On the night of the 25th-26th, a "practice” blackout was ordered and a rumor got about that President Roosevelt or some other American spokesman had said that an attack on the Philippines would begin "with­ in the next few days”. "Some day he’ll come back to me", a song from "Ma­ dame Butterfly”, was inserted in the evening concert program, and at re­ veille the next morning the camp lis­ tened appreciatively to an A1 Johnson record of "Just around the corner".

302

Despite all their mounting troubles and hardships, the internees were in a state of eager hope and expectancy. They took satisfaction in the fact, communicated by some of the inter­ nees in contact with the Japanese in the camp, that they were all in ill-humor. On July 9 members of the internee release department and the translators, who had their desks in the Commandant's general office, were ordered transferred to other quarters, "effective immediately”. The supposition was that the Japanese wanted no enemy eyes and ears about. Later in the month the Japanese no­ ticed an axe kept in a case in the hos­ pital for use in event of fire or some other emergency, and ordered that it be brought to the Commandant’s of­ fice and kept there, "to be available on call in case of emergency”. (Mi­ nutes, July 20). On June 24, the Internee Commit­ tee had again lodged a petition for another visiting day for the non-interned families of internees, and on the 11th of July the Commandant’s Office advised the Committee that "the next official visiting day was November 3rd and that nothing could be arranged earlier”. The last visiting day had been April 29. One old-timer was informed during the month, through Duggleby’s office which had obtained its report following a special request addressed to the Philippine Red Cross outside, that his wife was very ill of tuberculosis and that the lungs of three of his four small child­ ren were also affected by the same disease. The man called personally on the Commandant and begged for per­ mission to go to see his family for a few hours. The Commandant told him that he was sorry that this could not be allowed but that he might write his wife a letter which he would see to it would be delivered. The man wrote a letter in which he urged his

THE CAMP

wife, though with a broken heart (his own expression), to place the child­ ren in some institution, which course the Red Cross had advised and to which the dying mother had objected. Clothes Washing without Soap—A great additional burden was thrown onto the camp with the order, issued on July 5, ending the sending of laun­ dry outside. The Committee protested, but the only concession obtained was that the laundry office might be kept open until July 10 for outgoing laun­ dry and for a sufficient time thereaf­ ter for the clean laundry to be re­ turned. Plans were then made to es­ tablish a camp laundry to wash at least the larger pieces. Some equip­ ment was brought in and P12,200 was appropriated for the purchase of soap, but in the end the plan was dropped for lack of equipment, space, and la­ bor, and also as many internees, be­ cause of the scarcity of soap, objected that the available soap would prac­ tically all go to the camp laundry which could be patronized only by those who had money to pay for the service. The soap purchased was then resold to the internees, two balls each (about the size of a baseball) for P5.60. As the regular soap issue for the month had amounted to only 100 grams, the opportunity to buy a little more was welcome. Laundry soap had been selling for as much as P50 a cake; toilet soap for P80. The scarcity of soap was not the only difficulty the internees had to contend with in doing their own washing, other faci­ lities being wholly inadequate. There were not enough washing-troughs, nor was there material available to con­ struct more of them. And though the Japanese now released all the electricirons that had been taken up, the num­ ber was insufficient. In spite of these difficulties, however, needy internees went into the business of "taking in washing”. They charged from P2.40

LAUNDRY SOAP, P50 A CAKE

to P3 for washing a sheet, the patrons furnishing the soap. Apparently in a further effort to cut off all possible contact with the out­ side, the Japanese during the last week of the month prohibited the city garbage truck from coming into the camp. However, it was also stated that the city could not obtain any more alcohol fuel to operate the truck. The minutes of August 1 read:

303

ter, the Commandant’s Office agreed that the family need no longer occu­ py special quarters. Another man brought into camp during the month (July 28) was J. J. Gordon of Olongapo. He was one of the three men who had previously been brought in from San Fernando on February 29, lodged in the camp jail, and taken out of camp again on April 23. He had served a sentence "No city collection of garbage from the camp in Bilibid and at Muntinlupa. has been made for five days and we were Internees Over 65 Given Hope of Re­ advised this afternoon that it is unlikely that lease—A number of new "surveys” had the city garbage disposal service will continue. to be made on Japanese orders. On the Arrangements will therefore have to be made 5 th Ohashi "requested within five to dispose of the garbage in the camp, though days’ time a survey of all people 65 there is a possibility of our being permitted years of age and over (1) in camp, to remove it in pushcarts.’’ (2) in camp hospitals, and (3) in This possibility did not materialize, outside hospitals and institutions”. and such garbage as could not be fed to the ducks and the few pigs in the On the 30th, he "required by noon particulars of guarantors for anyone camp again had to be buried in pits, wishing to be released who is at pre­ as early during the internment. sent (1) in a camp hospital, or (2) The Cushings—What was a mystery in an outside hospital or institution”. for some time was the advise from According to the minutes of July 31: Ohashi on July 13 that an order had "The Committee noted instructions from been received from Headquarters to the Commandant’s Office to provide a list of prepare "special quarters” for a "fa­ those internees aged 65 and over, in the camp mily consisting of a husband, wife, hospitals, the Philippine General Hospital, the and two children who are expected to Remedios Hospital, and the Hospicio de San be interned shortly”. On the 21st, he Jose, who are desirous of permanent release, said that the family would arrive on together with the name, age, nationality, occu­ Sunday, July 23. It turned out to be pation, address, and relationship of a guaran­ that of Major Charles Cushing, a mi­ tor. The Committee understands that the Com­ ning man who had joined the USAFFE mandant's Office will submit to Headquarters at the beginning of the war and who an application in principle for the permanent had later become a guerrilla leader. release of certain internees aged 65 and over Mrs. Cushing who had been interned whose guarantors are found satisfactory." There was a total of 181 of such in Santo Tomas at the beginning had been taken out of the camp by the Ja­ men in outside hospitals and insti­ panese, and had probably been used tutions and 24 of them in the camp by them to "induce” her husband to hospitals. Eighty-eight expressed a de­ surrender. Now the family was tem­ sire to be released, but 18 of them on­ porarily accommodated in the former ly on various conditions, — if they barbershop in the main building. Mrs. were allowed to return to their homes Cushing did not want any such special in the provinces, if other members privilege, but the Major thought it of their families were released at the better to accept it as it was extended same time, after they had had an ope­ A canvass of the older by Japanese order. A few weeks la­ ration, etc.

304

men in the camp not in the hospital had not yet been made at the time of this writing. More Lists Wanted — Apparently in connection with the internment of the large missionary group at that time, Ohashi asked for a list of all missiona­ ries already interned in Santo Tomas. The next day he asked for a list of those who had previously been trans­ ferred to Los Banos. It was believed that this inquiry pointed to a possible segregation of all members of reli­ gious groups at Los Banos because it had been learned that the 400 who had passed through a few days before were kept apart from the other in­ ternees there. The number in Santo Tomas was found to include 156 Pro­ testants and 71 Catholics, and in Los Banos (not counting the 400 or so recent arrivals) 56 Protestants and 12 Catholics. Two missionaries whom the Japanese said they had been look­ ing for were found among those al­ ready in Santo Tomas. Hiroshi on the 24th "asked that a statement be submitted every ten days, starting with the period begin­ ning July 21, showing the total work hours in the camp, split up into all the different labor classifications with­ in the camp". On the 26th, Takeda “asked that plans showing room ca­ pacities, etc., be revised and brought up to date by July 31”. On the 31st, Ta­ keda "asked for the number of peo­ ple doing office work in the camp, by divisions; those doing other details in addition to office work should be shown separately”. All these queries gave some indication of the direction in which the Japanese minds in the camp were laboring. Camp officials believed that Takeda was working on some enlarged gardening scheme. On­ ly some 60 internees were engaged in general administrative and office work, — a small enough number.

THE CAMP

All Internees Individually Photo­ graphed — Capping all these surveys was the taking of photographs of all internees over 10 years of age. Ac­ cording to the minutes of the 16th: "The Commandant's Office (Mr. Ohashi) ad­ vised that they had received instructions from Headquarters for all internees over 10 years of age to have their individual photo­ graphs taken and that two photographers would come into camp tomorrow to start on this work. Internees would be required to report in groups of five as far as possible in alphabetical order.”

The work began the next day, the pictures being taken outdoors near the southwest corner of the main building. Men and women were tak­ en separately, in groups of five. Each internee was given a serial number to hold on his chest, like a convict. The camera was a small, pocket “Contax”, the photographers using a box instead of a tripod. The work proceeded fair­ ly rapidly, but the rains interfered and it was not completed until the near the end of the month. Sewing Work Demanded from the Women — As some of the surveys in­ dicated, labor questions continued to take up considerable attention. An entirely unexpected Japanese move in the labor field was referred to in the minutes of July 5 as follows: “The Commandant’s Office (Mr. Ohashi) asked for the number of sewing machines in camp and also requested that a quiet investi­ gation be made of people who would be will­ ing against payment to make shirts for an outside factory.”

There were now 56 sewing-machines in the camp in various states of re­ pair and 14 of these were used for general camp purposes. Women en­ gaged in sewing were already over­ burdened, and the Committee so re­ ported. Nevertheless, the minutes of the 10th stated:

ANOTHER PROTEST AGAINST INVOLUNTARY LABOR "The Chairman advised that he had received information frtom the Commandant’s Office that 5,000 pairs of trousers were urgently re­ quired for war-prisoners camps and that in­ vestigation should be made to see whether these could be fabricated in this camp, and, if so, at what rate. Materials would be sup­ plied from the outside.”

The minutes of the 13th stated in further reference to this matter: "The Commandant’s Office (Mr. Ohashi) pro­ duced a sample of men’s underpants and ask­ ed whether we could make 800 of these in camp for war prisoners, the materials to be supplied by them. This is in substitution for the 5,000 pairs of trousers referred to in the minutes of the 10th."

Again, the minutes of the 15th said: "The Commandant’s Office (Mr. Ohashi) de­ livered 1,000 meters of cloth and two cones of thread for the fabrication of underpants for war prisoners.”

The work was accomplished during the next week or so by the regular wo­ men's sewing unit. New Internee Labor Code — During the latter part of June and the first part of July, the Japanese erected two barrack-like structures of bam­ boo and nipa just inside the main gate, the work being done by a Fili­ pino contractor and Filipino laborers. The camp laundry-shed was ordered removed and, according to the min­ utes of July 11 — "indications were given of the extent of the area required near the main gate for the new construction by the Japanese which encroaches considerably on the ‘present bluseball field. The Committee was advised that part at least of the new buildings is intended for office space.”

Despite the presence of their own hired workers, an order came from Abiko on the 12th — "to build a media-agua [a wooden structure built over a window to shed rain] at the guardhouse at the main gate. We advised Mr. Ohashi that this was not work that we should be asked to do, and particularly in view of the recent incident at the front gate we did not wish any internee to work there. Mr. Ohashi promised to take up this matter with the Commandant.”

It was a small job, but mittee was standing for a However, the matter ended According to the minutes of

305 the Com­ principle. as usual. the 25th:

“The Commandant ordered us to make a media-agua for the guardhouse at the main gate, detailed instruction to be given by Lt. Abiko. A copy of this order was passed to the Agents of Internees for protest and the car­ pentry section was asked to comply with the order."

The Agents put in a formal protest, dated August l.1 The situation was repeated in con­ nection with the placing of electric lights along the campus walls. The minutes of July 12 stated: 1 “We have been handed a copy of your order of the 25th of July addressed to the Internee Committee of this camp, reading as follows: "‘You are hereby ordered to make mediaagua for the guardhouse at the main gate. Detailed instructions will be given you by Lt. Abiko. "‘The Commandant.’ "We, as Agents of the Internees of this camp, respectfully protest said order on the ground that it compels the internees of this camp to do work that m ay not be lawfully re­ quired of them. The basis of this protest is set out in our letter to you of June 23, 1944. “We call your attention especially to para­ graph 3 of that letter, wherein we referred to the fact that your Government protested to the Government of the United States against the drafting of Japanese internee labor in the United States for the building of barracks for their own shelter, in October, 1942, and took the position that no involuntary labor could be required of civilian internees. Surely if such labor could not be required for the building of barracks for the shelter of the internees themselves, it could not be required for the building of any part of the guard­ house used for the convenience of the guard over those internees. "Furthermore, we respectfully refer you to a letter from the Internee Committee of March 2, 1944. wherein certain principles as to camp labor were suggested which were ap­ proved by you among them: (1) that the work shall be done by the camp on a strict­ ly voluntary basis; (2) that the work involved shall be in the interests of the internees. "It is clear that your order of the 25th of July, to which this letter is a protest, does not accord with these principles, which you have approved. "Accordingly, on behalf of the internees of this camp, may we ask you to reconsider and to withdraw said order?”

306 "The Commandant's Office (Lt. Abiko) ad­ vised us that they proposed to install electric lights at about 20 places on the camp peri­ meter, that the electric company would string the wires, but that internees would be ex­ pected to erect the necessary posts, etc. Lt. Abiko also inspected the electrical-supplies bo­ dega to see what materials would be available for this work. We advised Mr. Ohashi that work of this nature was not such as should be demanded of internees and that we could not agree to do it unless we received a mili­ tary order from the Commandant.”

This order was, of course, forthcom­ ing, and, furthermore, on the 20th, Abiko "requested” that 18 reflectors for the lights should be made out of a number of tin boxes previously pro­ vided by Komatsu. The lights along the walls were first turned on on the night of August 15, and made the grounds look like those of a prison indeed. Driven by the growing labor re­ quirements, the Labor Council, com­ posed of Chittick, Johns, Perkins, Rocke, Stevens, and Mrs. Grace Pe­ terson, drew up a new "Labor Code for Men” which was submitted to the Internee Committee and referred by the Committee "to interested parties for their careful consideration”. The new code required in the case of (1) heavy labor (ditch-digging, grass-cutting, car­ rying water, handling baskets of vegetables or other food, milk, and other heavy packages, garbage collecting, breaking up of new ground in the garden, and the work done by the camp carpenters, plumbers, blacksmiths, and wood-choppers, the workers in the caustic-soda plant and in the coconut-oil plant, and the emergency squad) 14 hours per week for men of 17 and over but under 41; in the case of (2) sustained moderate labor (work of cooks in the central kitchen, most of the men on the sanitary details, the coconut details, of the electricians, the shoe and cot repairers, the charcoal handlers, the men operating the pushcarts, the men in the camp hospital kit­ chen and laundry), a minimum of 21 hours for men of the same age; (3) sustained mo­ derate physical activity (work of the patrols, in the vegetable market, in rodent control, the work of hospital orderlies), for men 41 years and over and those under 41 who had

THE CAMP a medical board certificate exempting them from heavier work, a minimum of 21 hours; (4) sustained light activities (fish-cleaning, work in the canteen, publicity, radio, enter­ tainment, patrol work not involving much walk­ ing, sweeping and mopping, light gardening), a minimum of 21 hours for men of the same class as the former; (5) light duty (some patrol work, some work in the alcohol-manu­ facturing and caustic-soda plants, work in the relief and welfare office and the safety department office, typewriter-repair work, the work of teachers and librarians, and of mo­ nitors and section supervisors), a minimum of 21 hours for men of the same class as the former; (6) sedentary work, (office and desk work), a minimum of 28 hours a week for men 41 years of age and over and those un­ der 41 who had a medical board certificate exempting them from Class I labor. These classifications of labor assignments were "separate from labor pools and the like”, to a call for which all men were required to respond in addition to their regular as­ signments. The code also provided that "as the needs of the camp may require, any in­ ternee may be assigned to two or more jobs, either temporarily or permanently”. In general, exemptions were based only on: "(1) Incapacity, as certified by the medical board, for so long as the medical board ap­ proves; and (2) family duties in the case of a father (a) with motherless children or (b) a husband with a sick wife and/or children to care for; provided, however, that in all such cases the reason for exemption be determined to the satisfaction of the labor council.”

The camp had gone a long way since the early days in its work require­ ments. Work was still, in theory, vo­ luntary, and an internee had some choice as to the work he would per­ form, but he had to do work of one kind or another, and this requirement was generally backed up by camp opinion.2 However, the new code, which increased the minimum hours 2One internee, 43 years old, who had no doc­ tor's certificate of incapacity yet refused to accept a work assignment, telling the camp officers “to go to hell”, and refusing also to appear before the Committee on Order, was given 48 hours on August 28 to get a job or go to jail for 30 days. The time set having ex­ pired, he was jailed on August 30. He served something over half of the sentence and de­ cided to accept a job, being then released.

NEW CAMP LABOR CODES FOR MEN AND WOMEN

required, was “referred back to the labor council by the Internee Com­ mittee for reconsideration in the light of comments received from division chiefs and the changed food situation in the camp”. (Minutes, July 30.) The “changed food situation" will be des­ cribed hereafter. A new labor code for women had gone into effect on May 15. This code provided that all women, 16 years of age and over, should do their share of the light labor of the camp, a minimum of 2 hours daily being required. Exemptions were based only on physical incapacity, certified to by the medical board; family duties, as in the case of women with children under 6 years old, and women with children from 6 to 12, in which latter case 1 hour daily of light work might be required; and conflict with school work (teaching, etc.) as certified to by the education department. Classified as non-sedentary were such jobs for women from 16 to 40 as nursing, laundry work, messenger service, recreation work, selling food and other goods, teaching, and clinic work. Light­ er work under this classification, for women over 40,.and those of limited capacity, included bathroom-cleaning, book-mending, dish-wash­ ing, play-ground work, and light-gardening. Classified as sedentary, for women from 16 to 40, were such jobs as bandage-making, ste­ nographic work, cashiering, clerical work, lib­ rary work, poster-making, rice-and vegetable­ cleaning, and research work. Lighter duties under this classification, for older women, in­ cluded lighter vegetable-cleaning, book-mend­ ing, etc. Under the heading of "special serv­ ices" came work on which there was no limit as to age or time for those especially equipped or selected for publicity and entertainment work, care of children, and monitorial work. Every woman was considered as automatically assigned to the vegetable-cleaning detail (com­ posed of several hundred women) until such time as a permanent detail was given her. Sometimes, when the vegetable cleaning was especially heavy, as when a large quantity of camotes came into camp, even the office workers were called upon to help out. Another Red Cross Relief Fund — In June, payment, (made on July 18) received from the Japanese and amounting to P18,082.35, covered the monthly per capita allowance of F3 for adults and PI .50 for children, "for daily ne­ cessities" and the monthly per capita allow­ ance of FI.50 (children, P.75) for "repairs to

307

clothing”, and there was also an amount of P865.35 "for special work (by doctors, nurses, electricians, etc.) perhaps in an attempt at justifying the forced labor. American Red Cross relief received during the month amounted to a sum of P98,381.16 made available on the 13th and designated by the Committee as Relief Fund No. 10. It was allocated as follows: to family aid pay­ ments, P22.000; to cash relief, F25.000; and to the purchase of supplementary food and es­ sential supplies, F51,381.16. The Committee was given no idea by the Japanese as to what the total amount in the enormously depre­ ciated military pesos represented in American dollars or Japanese yen.

Camp Vegetable Market and Can­ teen Figures — Supplies available for purchase in the vegetable and fruit market and at the canteen continued to fall off. Eggs were offered for sale only twice dur­ ing the month, once at P2 each and the other time at F2.60, — one egg to an internee, of course. Some internees immediately resold their eggs to others at P5 each, believing that they could get more food value by buying avocados with this money. Total values in the vegetable and fruit market fell off from P266.102 for the month of June to P219.650, but these figures do not indicate the much larger shrinkage in produce actually for sale as prices continued to rise. The market had been taken over from Filipino vendors on December 2, 1943, and the total value of fruit and vegetables sold that month had amounted to oply P55,796 in money value though quan­ tities were larger. During the succeeding months the values had run as follows: January P72,368; February (when the military took over the camp) P149.753; March, F206.254; April, F165.131; and May, PI 83,249. In spite of these increases, bananas once such a mainstay, had disappeared entirely, all available being bought by the camp administration for serving in the food-lines, but on many days during the month there were not even enough for that. The prices of avocados, mangoes, and papayas had remained fairly stable of late at around FI, FI.30, and P8.00, respectively, but papayas were limited to one for each group of 6 per­ sons holding a joint marketing ticket, and when they bought a papaya, they could not buy mangoes. Mangoes and avocados were restricted to one per person, or, more often, to one for two persons. Dried onions (small) were rarely available and sold at F18 a kilo. At the canteen cassava flour, offered on only

308 a few days during the month, sold at P20 a kilo, — one kilo for 6 persons. On other days, several times a month, there were of­ fered for sale such things as imitation currypowder, imitation Worcestershire sauce, very thin and inferior toyo sauce, vinegar, baking powder (P12 for 1/4 kilo, for 6 people), and gogo bark used in place of soap. The canteen also sold a number of straw rain-capes at P14, native palm-leaf rain-hats at P16, and bakias (wooden-soled clogs) at P6.50 a pair, these prices being more than 10 times the normal.

THE CAMP

for all through the month no tobacco had been allowed to come into camp. Canned Food Reserve Figures — On July 20, the camp auditors submitted a report to the Internee Committee showing the foodstuffs received from the Philippine Red Cross on July 1, 1942, from the South African Red Cross and the Canadian Red Cross later that year, and from the American Red Cross in 1943, and also the stocks remaining on hand as of June 15, 1944. What is of interest here was what remained on hand. The principal items were: 2,090 pounds of powdered milk; 13,346 14-oz. cans and 448 8-oz. cans of corned beef; 19,814 1-lb. cans of meat-and-vegetable ration; 2,629 4-oz. cans of Vienna sausage; and 2,469 1-lb. cans of pork-and-beans.

Scavenging in the Camp; the Com­ mittee Draws on the Rice Reserves — Japanese rice deliveries fell off so badly that the Committee decided on the 13th to draw on the small reserve Carroll’s Address to the Camp on stocks in order to maintain the serv­ the Food Situation — This was little ings on the line, already pitifully as a food reserve for nearly 4,000 peo­ small. On the 18th, the Japanese in­ ple, but with the wholly inadequate formed the Committee that — meals now served from the central "the present cereal ration was officially con­ firmed at 200 grams of rice, 300 grams ot kitchen a demand began to be voiced camotes, and 100 grams of coconut-milk; that that the Committee draw more libe­ the 12,000 coconuts recently brought in were rally on these stocks. Toward the end equivalent to 19-1/2 days’ supply; and that the of the month, a rumor started that Army had a contract with ’Nacoco’ for a sup­ meals would again be reduced to two ply of 6,000 coconuts for this camp every 10 days. They also agreed that if camotes or co­ a day. A movie show having been an­ conuts were not available in the quantities nounced for the evening of 26th, Carspecified, additional rice could be drawn to roll gave a short address to the inter­ make up the proper ration. They also confirm­ nees before the program. He spoke ed that our underwithdrawals of rice in ear­ very frankly of the situation, said that lier months should be considered as present it had been decided to draw on the credits and withdrawn as requested from pre­ stocks of canned meats "from time to sent army stocks.” The substitution of 100 grams of time”, and denied that there was any coconut milk for 300 grams of camo­ plan to reduce the number of meals. Medical Survey of Health of Child­ tes meant another loss of approximate­ ly 300 calories from the official ration, ren Proves Alarming — That the ge­ which now averaged a total of 1,180 neral physical condition of the child­ daily, only half of the amount neces­ ren and young people in the camp was sary for adults doing light work. Chil­ "most unsatisfactory and even alarm­ dren had for a long time been picking ing", was brought out in a report of over the fruit and vegetable remnants the camp medical staff after a physi­ after market hours, but now it be­ cal examination, during June and Ju­ came a common sight to see men and ly, of 800 children and young people womeri scavenging through the cans under 19 years old. More than 1/2 of them were more than of vegetable refuse in the hope of be­ ing able to find something still good 5% underweight; almost 1/3 of them were more than 10% underweight; 1/8 were serious­ enough to put into the pot. Men could ly underweight. The children between 7 and also be seen picking up other people’s 10 and between 11 and 15 years old were es­ cigaret butts to smoke in their pipes, pecially underweight. An earlier examination,

“JAPANESE FOOD POLICY MEANS STARVATION” in May, had shown that 53% of the children had defective teeth and that over 15% urgent­ ly required dental attention. Excluding the younger children, and taking only those be­ tween 6 and 18 years old, 63% had defective teeth and almost 20% urgently required at­ tention. Other "possible defects” were shown in the following table furnished by Holland, chairman of the parents association which had initially requested the health council to undertake the medical survey. Possible Heart Defects Number Percent

Whole, Number Age Group 6— 6 7—10 11—15 16—18

133 177 192 98

i

33 10 11 6 6 3 none

|

309

selves, for their subsistence, the necessary food to supplement the official ration. The effect, and the seeming purpose, of the policy as applied, is to force the internees to depend solely on the deficient official ration. This treatment of nearly 4,000 helpless internees of this camp makes meaningless the often re­ peated pronouncements of the Imperial Jap­ anese Government regarding the kindness, be­ nevolence, and magnanimity to be shown to those who may be prisoners in its power...

Possible Lung Defects Number Percent

| |

10 15 6 9

Vision Defects Number Percent 1 1 ! | |

3 8 4 9

(Other 25 5 9 9

9 18 9

Eye, ear, nose throat defects Number Percent Defects) 7.5 | 23 | 28 | 8

13 5 8

The principal illnesses suffered were shown as follows: Number Percent 0 — 6 Measles Whooping-Cough Bacilliary dysentary Other sick nesses

| |

Number Percent | Number Percent | 7 — 10 1 11 - 15 |

Number Percent 16 -- 18

223 203

68 61

] |

107 66

63 38

| |

88 30

9 6

| |

16 2

(6 2

116

35

|

23

13

I

20

10

|

6

6

83

25

|

54

30

1

36

9

|

16

16

Camp Doctors State that “Japanese Food Policy Means Starvation” — Under date of August 1, the Agents and Drs. Smith, Allen, Stevenson, and Waters, of the health council, handed the Internee Committee a letter cover­ ing this health survey. And, pointing out that the cost of food served from the annex kitchen before February 1, 1944, was more than double that served to adults, and that the cost of supplementary food served from the annex kitchen in June, 1944, was near­ ly three times that served to adults, they minced no words, declaring that the Japanese "food policy” meant "starvation”. "The official ration is grossly deficient. En­ try into the camp of adequate food supplies for sale to the internees is refused. The oppor­ tunity to secure funds with which to pur­ chase additional food is denied. Thus the in­ ternees are not permitted to provide for them-

We most strongly urge that, to avoid a grave disaster overwhelming the internees, you promptly communicate to the Commandant the contents of this le tte r ...”

Detailed figures followed showing that the official ration, plus other food available for servings from the central kitchen, provided a daily average of only 1180 calories, little more than half of the requirement for an adult doing light or no work. The Committee’s Letter to the Com­ mandant — The Internee Committee sent a copy of this letter to the Com­ mandant, with a covering letter, strong­ ly endorsing it, dated August 4, and ending as follows: "While the assistance on the part of your staff will relieve our problem to some extent, we consider it most important that the rations provided by the Military Authorities be in­ creased appreciably and immediately. The Internee Committee can not longer assume the burden of responsibilities placed upon it by

310 the authorities unless adequate provision for feeding the internees is forthcoming without delay.”

A few days later Ohashi came into the Internee Committee office about another matter, and Grinnell and Carroll asked him what action had been taken by the Commandant's Office on the letter from the camp doctors and the Agents. Ohashi answered that a full discussion on the food situation would be held as soon as the new Commandant was able to take up his duties. Deaths and a 3-1/2 Pound Baby — Deaths of internees during the month numbered 8, 2 occurring in the camp hospital and 6 in outside hospitals. There was one birth in the camp hos­ pital, the baby, arriving six weeks ahead of time, weighing only 3-1/2 pounds. Order to Deposit both Camp and In­ dividual Funds in the Bank of Taiwan; Individuals Limited to P50 a Month— News of a Japanese order requiring the deposit of camp and individual funds in the Bank of Taiwan, which had been referred to in the Internee Committee's letter of August 4 cover­ ing the communication of the Agents and the camp doctors, was broken to the camp population in a broadcast on the evening of August 1. By seizing the camp and individual internee funds, and by controlling and greatly limiting the camp and individual ex­ penditures, it seemed obvious that the Japanese were bent on making the camp still more dependent on their scant mercy. "Ladies and Gentlemen”, said an­ nouncer Beliel: "Tonight we have the most difficult an­ nouncement we have yet made in Santo To­ m as... a real shock. This evening, we were called in to the Internee Committee office and handed the copy of a set of minutes concern­ ing discussions which have been going on since 11 o'clock this morning between the Comman­ dant and his staff and the Internee Commit­

THE CAMP tee. There is no use to pull any punches. We’ll give it to you straight. The Commandant informed the Committee that he had received an army order, dated August 1 — that’s today, that all money held by individuals or by the Committee or in pooled funds is to be depo­ sited in the Bank of Taiwan. The Comman­ dant pointed out that the object is, accord­ ing to Army Headquarters: "First, protection against robbery [laughter]. "Second, that the money may be increased by gathering interest [laughter], "Third, that money may not be used need­ lessly or wastefully [laughter], "Fourth, to curb gambling [laughter], and "Fifth, to steady the economic position ot the camp by making the money last as long as possible [bursts of laughter all over the campus and in the buildings where the an­ nouncer’s voice could be heard], "Please understand that those five reasons we have just quoted were given by the Com­ mandant as the reasons claimed by the Jap­ anese army authorities. "The Commandant then completed the order that each adult will be allowed to withhold P50 which he will be allowed to spend dur­ ing the month. In case of children under 10, the amount is P25. No one is permitted to withhold more than this amount. According to this order, subsequent amounts of P50, or F25 each, may be withdrawn on the 1st of each following month, — that is, unless some of your previous P50 is left over, in which case you will be allowed to withdraw enough to bring your cash balance up to P50 as of the 1st of each month. "According to this order, a report of all money held by every individual in camp must be turned in before 12 noon day after tomor­ row. "There are some details to the order, but we'll not mention them now. As we said be­ fore, the Internee Committee has been nego­ tiating since 11 o’clock. The Commandant has arranged a further interview tomorrow. We think you will be interested in knowing that the reaction of the individual members of the Internee Committee, as quoted in the minutes of the meetings, was just as strong as your reaction is at this moment, — except that the Committee could not use profanity, it being a formal meeting. "Nothing further need be said at this time. We do not know how the negotiations are going to come out, we can only hope, and we’ll keep you informed as quickly and as fully as is within our power.

ALL CAMP MONEY ORDERED TURNED OVER TO TAIWAN BANK "One further word; tonight the Internee Agents were called in and given a full report on the situation, and the Agents are now working with the Internee Committee in an endeavor to find some reasonable solution. That is all. Good-night”

The Interview in the Commandant’s Office — The meeting that morning, referred to by the announcer, had been held in the Commandant's office and lasted from 11 to 12:10. Besides the Commandant, all three members of the Internee Committee, and Ohashi, Abiko, Kawazu, and Kinoshita were present, also Cary who acted as in­ terpreter. The stenographic notes are suffi­ ciently dramatic for the imagination to paint the scene. "Commandant: (through the interpreter) You are called here that 1 may transmit an army order dated August 1 that all money held by individuals or by the Committee (or in pooled funds) is to be deposited in the Taiwan Ginko (Bank of Formosa). The object is (1) protection against robbery; (2) that it may be increased through gathering interest; (3) that it not be used needlessly, wastefully; (4) to curb gambling; (5) to steady the econo­ mic position of the camp by making it last as long as possible. "Each person (adult) will be allowed to hold up to P50 a month (children to 10, 1/2 the amount). No one is permitted to hold over this sum. Committee will deposit in the bank all such money as the Commandant considers unnecessary to operation of the camp. What the Commandant approves can be held. Mr. Kawazu will be the officer in charge of this. The details of the plan are to be given later by Mr. Ohashi and Mr. Kawazu. As the Com­ mandant, he requests the Internee Committee to carry out this order. Please get the expla­ nation before the internees so that they will understand and cooperate. The Com­ mittee will find its heavy duties further bur­ dened by this, for which they have his sym­ pathy, for it is a plan involving much work. It is desired that the internees do not murmur or complain, so please do best. “In regard to (1) individuals, gather reports before noon of the 3rd showing (a) amount, (b) name (or names), (c) if a family, num­ ber of adults and children. (Get paper at once from Mr. Kawazu for these reports.) If families, then clearly indicate. Some business

311

firms may prefer to have a manager repre­ sent the employees, — that too, is permitted. Make clear the family-head, or the grouphead. (2) When collecting money, observe fol­ lowing conditions: (a) all money except the permitted P50 must be turned in; (b) if in future unreasonable expenditure, showing the sum is exceeded, is made, punishment will be meted out. "This completes the announcement. Further details will be had from Mr. Ohashi and Mr. Kawazu this afternoon. The Committee are busy men, but this is an order from the Army and must be carried out. "The outline has been presented, — that is the fundamental policy. Now the carrying out will be through Mr. Kawazu as head of that department, but he must be assisted by the Internee Committee. A safe for holding camp funds is to be prepared and put in the guard­ house for protection, — just as is the safe holding the Japanese staff money. When the money is to be deposited or withdrawn, the Chairman [Grinnell] as holder of the key, Mr. Kawazu, and a soldier will together take res­ ponsibility for opening the safe. “Bank deposits will be made in the names of individuals (families or groups represented by their heads). In August it will be deter­ mined how much shall be deposited or with­ drawn for September. Any new incoming funds to be treated as under the general po­ licy limits. Sums received for 'repair of cloth­ ing’ from Army, or like sums, are not in­ cluded but may be held additionally to the P50, making thus F54.50 a month. Mr. Ohashi and Mr. Kawazu will give details. If special needs arise, it is always in order to consult Mr. Ohashi who, if he approves, can seek the Commandant’s approval for special considera­ tion in holding additional sums. "Grinnell: It may be premature to comment at length, but a few expressions of immediate reaction seem wise. This is the worst blow we have received in this camp. It means starva­ tion. Fifty pesos a month is insufficient to give us the supplementary food needed. Our army ration is inadequate. The Higher Autho­ rities can not possibly know the real situation or they wouldn’t have issued this order. It is impossible for us to carry out such a pro­ gram. "Carroll: This is an outrage. It simply means starvation, especially of the children. It is persecution. It is an insult to the Committee to place the safe in the guardhouse... "Commandant: It is not at all intended as an insult. The placing of the key in Mr. Grinnell’s hands could then be called an insult

312 to Mr. Kawazu. It is simply a matter of pro­ tection. Faith in the Committee is not involv­ ed. Lt. Abiko: It is simply universal army prac­ tice. "Commandant: All the Japanese office staff money is held at the gate guardhouse. No in­ sult is involved. "Carroll: The children would suffer the most. They are now underweight and our surveys show ailments as a result of undernourish­ ment. “Kinoshita: How much money is needed? "Carroll: It isn’t possible to name a sum. The new price of eggs is P3 each. The real trouble is with the present army ration and our supplements. We have to purchase more. On P50 we can not. "Grinnell: We need to supplement the army rations. It is impossible to do that for the sum suggested. The plan will not work. "Lt. Abiko: It is not impossible. It is a matter of the will to succeed. If we will, we can. "Grinnell: The matter needs further study. We cannot go much further without consulta­ tion. I must make this clear. We musn’t misun­ derstand each other. Unless we have a more adequate food supply than is granted by the Army at present, we need more money for supplementary purchases. Without that we are in a hopeless position. "Commandant: The Committee has been us­ ing funds for such supplementary food, hasn't it? "Grinnell: Yes, for the hospitals and the cen­ tral kitchen, — all the food-lines. But not suf­ ficient for the real needs of the internees. "Commandant: Now all countries are suf­ fering from food shortage. No country has enough. It is impossible to get an even distri­ bution. It would be unfair to give a high standard in camp at the expense of low one elsewhere. We have inside gardening, there­ fore. We feel that very important. We also, the Japanese staff, are short on our living stan­ dard. Please remember this and alter your viewpoint. "Lt. Abiko: Opposition is wrong. "Kinoshita: My own opinion is that you try to cooperate in carrying out this plan.”

That afternoon the Commmittee had met again with Ohashi and Kawazu. Ohashi presented a "suggested” set of regulations, among them that — "applications for committee work and relief funds are to be made to the Commandant through Mr. Kawazu.”

THE CAMP

Also: "Funds in the custody or under the jurisdic­ tion of the Committee are to be held in the internee safe at the guardhouse. When the safe is to be opened, it shall be in the pre­ sence of Lt. Abiko. Without a voucher stamp­ ed by the Commandant, no funds may be de­ posited or withdrawn from the safe. The vou­ chers must explain the purpose, the amount, the state of the fund involved, and the ba­ lance.”

The next day the Committee con­ ferred on the matter again with Oha­ shi and Abiko. As a result of the dis­ cussion the Committee was given an extension of time until noon of August 5 to turn in a report of the funds on hand and to set up the machinery for receiving the deposits, which was to begin on the afternoon of the 5th. The Committee was — "given an assurance that the Commandant and his staff will do their best to enable the Com­ mittee to spend camp funds for supplementary food and other essential purposes for the good of the camp as a whole.”

It was again emphasized that "any violations of this order would involve the individual and the camp as a whole in punishment”. The Committee Appeals for Contritributions to the Camp Funds — These and other points discussed in the con­ ference were reviewed in another broadcast made to the camp that eve­ ning (August 2). The Committee was trying to get the monthly withdrawal limit raised, but there was little hope for a change in this respect "as the figure P50 had already been printed in the official regulations". While the Commandant had given assurance that the Committee would be allowed to continue to spend camp funds for the needs of the camp, there was no as­ surance that individual internees would be enabled to spend even their P50, since “the Commandant will not give any assurance that there will be anything in camp on which he can spend that P50”.

THE “PANIC-BOOM” IN FOOD PURCHASES

313

"Therefore, camp funds will be all-impor­ tant. As indicated by Mr. Carroll, donations to camp funds are receipted for by the Internee Committee but with an underwriting agree­ ment with officials of the American Red Cross.”

showing the money held by each in­ ternee, the amount he had to deposit in the bank, and the amount, if any, which he wished to turn over to the Committee. Grinnell made it clear As to funds for non-interned fami­ that the Committee had assumed that lies, — the Japanese order pertained only to "the Commandant had agreed to a plan where­ Japanese military notes. by an internee with a non-interned family may On the 5th, the minutes of the In­ deposit what funds he now has on hand for the purpose of assisting his family, with the ternee Committee stated that it had— Committee, and the payments will be sent out in accordance with a schedule approved by the Commandant. Maximum permissible amounts were not stated but it is assumed that amounts equivalent to those which have been sent out as family aid payments in the past may be sent in the future”.

Returning to the matter of camp funds, the announcer stated: “For those internees who have funds in amount s greater than they wish to tie up in the Bank of Taiwan, individual internees to whom we have spoken seem to feel that the Internee Committee’s idea is by far the best one, particularly from the viewpoint of the interests of the camp as a whole...W e should like to mention something said by Mr. Carroll this evening. This is his statement: ‘Camp funds now on hand are sufficient to continue pur­ chases of supplies for general camp use for a period of not more than 6 weeks, after which time no purchase of supplemental foods can be made unless additional funds are received in substantial amounts in accordance with the plan agreed upon today in the Comman­ dant’s office.’ “Here is the plan: decide for yourself the amount of money which you wish to deposit for your personal or group account, then turn over the surplus to the Internee Committee which will issue a receipt which will no doubt eventually be honored by the Red Cross au­ thorities.”

On the afternoon of the 3rd, the Internee Committee held a meeting with the monitors and supervisors in which Grinnell made an appeal for turning over surplus funds to the Committee for camp use. He also ex­ plained the Japanese order in detail and commented on the forms the mo­ nitors and supervisors would have to fill in before 3 o’clock the next day

“insisted on receiving from the Commandant a signed English translation of the verbal or­ der given to them... to turn in all monies in the camp. A further extension of time was granted for the start of collections of monies because this written order had not been re­ ceived and because considerable checking was necessary of the reports on individual hold­ ings before actual collection took place.”

The Committee also, on that day, handed Ohashi a letter for the Com­ mandant, dated August 2, appealing for an increase in the monthly indivi­ dual withdrawal allowance to P100 for both children and adults as the cost of supplementary food for child­ ren was actually greater than it was for adults. The signed order, dated August 2, was received and collections from in­ dividuals started in the afternoon of the 6th. The written order admitted that — “there may be special cases where larger am­ ounts (than F50 or P25 a month) are neces­ sary. Special application should" be made to me through Mr. Ohashi in such cases.”

The amount expendable by the Com­ mittee was left undetermined. The order stated with respect to this: “The Committee will deposit, in the Bank, camp funds in excess of the amounts consi­ dered by me as necessary for the operation of the camp. No fixed amount is stated but in­ stead the amounts held may be expended by the Committee subject to my discretion.”

No mention was made in the written order of punishing the whole camp in case of violation. The order stated only: “If any internee is found possessing money without special authorization in excess of the

)

314 amount permitted, such internee will be pu­ nished.”

The "Panic-Boom"—Immediately fol­ lowing the initial announcement of the banking order, on Tuesday eve­ ning, August 1, in fact, several hours before that, for, apparently there was some leakage, a food-buying movement had set in which rose to almost a frenzy during the next two or three days and did not come to an end until noon of Friday when the camp, according to a broadcast on that day, changed over from a "capi­ talistic to a controlled economy”, and every internee was held down in his monthly purchases to a mere P50. A sack of charcoal alone cost P50, and that was hardly enough to last a month. The cost of a child’s milk for a month was P20. But before the new order went into effect and while the internees still had their money, price did not matter. Everyone bought what food he could get, at any price if he had it. It was difficult to say what the situation resembled the more, — a boom or a panic. There were the elements of both. Food items on sale in the exchange kiosk were sold out early Wednesday morning, and people who had left cans of this or that for sale there and hurried to get them back, found they had come too late. During the next few days, corned beef sold for P200 a can, "Spam” for P240, "Klim” and "Milko” for P500. One can of "Klim” sold for P750, a package of native tobacco, 250 grams, sold for P350. Native cigarets (30 in a package) sold for P75. Cigars sold at from P7 to P10 each. There was also a rush to buy charcoal and everything available at the camp canteen. This wild buying and selling came to an abrupt end Friday noon, for although the internees had not yet had to deposit their money, they had had to make out forms showing

THE CAMP

how much they had in their posses­ sion, how much they intended to de­ posit, and how much, if any, they wished to turn over to the Committee for camp use. In spite of the threat of punishment, it was probable that many internees were withholding more than the P50 allowed; neverthe­ less, having made out these forms they hesitated to spend any such money for the time being. Report of the Death of President Quezon—It was during this period of general anxiety and excitement in the camp, on the morning of the 3rd, that a shocking rumor ran about. President Quezon was dead. Early in 1942, the Tribune had reported his death, but the report had happily proved false. Alas! this time it was soon beyond doubt that the President had died in a New York sanitarium on August 1, succumbing at last to the disease which he had fought so long and so stubbornly,—tuberculosis. There were many in the camp, peo­ ple who had not made their homes in the Philippines, who knew little about him. Others, even residents of the Philippines, knew him only as the President of the country. Among the residents were those who had never understood his problems and who were critical of his acts and policies. Businessmen held that Quezon’s atti­ tude toward large capital investment had retarded economic development. A few believed him to have been "too friendly with Japan”, at least before the war! It could not, therefore, be said that the camp as a whole deeply mourned his passing, although all realized that his death was peculiarly tragic at this time. But there was a large number of Americans in the camp, some of them close personal friends, who did sin­ cerely mourn his death, and many who grieved over it bitterly. There

DEATH OF QUEZON - OSMENA

were many who understood what a shattering loss this was to his coun­ try and his people,—who idolized him. They realized also the loss to America of this great friend of America in the Philippines. They knew that America and America in the Philippines, after the expulsion of the enemy from the archipelago, would face many serious and complicated problems, in the so­ lution of which Quezon’s leadership and high ability had been heavily counted upon. They asked anxiously who there was who could take his place; who there was who could con­ trol the passions which would be loosed, reunite the people, bring them back to the ways of peace. Quezon had time and again been seriously ill and near death, but his vitality and almost miraculous recu­ perative powers had always brought him back. The flame of life burned so high in him that it was almost im­ possible to think of him as dead. He was truly one of the world’s great, — a political genius. Impulsive, impatient, irrascible, imperious, he was intensely human and always love­ able. With his frank love of pleasure, or, better perhaps, of life, as if he were driven to make every moment count; with his taste for luxury and fine raiment, his streak of vanity (overcome in his later years), he was the complete man, and therefore had something for every man, whatever his age, status, or degree of cultiva­ tion. Generous, openhearted, out­ spoken, he himself read men at a glance and attracted them like a magnet, won them over often in spite of themselves with the glow of his personality, the charm of his manner, his quick logic, his golden words. En­ lightened, tolerant, progressive, li­ beral, democratic, his leadership was as vital and electric as himself. Vola­ tile and mercurial as he was often

315

called by those who did not under­ stand his many-sidedness, he was will­ ful and tenacious in achieving his aims. He was fearless and audacious and never fought better than when at a disadvantage. With his idealism, his love of country, his intuitively wise statesmanship, his astounding ca­ pacity for work, he was (from the Filipino side, and since he had as­ sumed the leadership) largely the creator of the modern Philippines. Osmeha and Quezon—Of course, he had not worked alone, and especially Osmena had with patriotic self-abne­ gation, stood loyally at his side as Vice-President of the Philippine Com­ monwealth. Now that Quezon was gone, the Filipinos, and America, too, could be thankful that Osmena re­ mained, for he, too, is a great leader. It was always remarkable that two such men should have lived in the same small country at the same time, — two men, so alike in some of their characteristics, so unlike in others. Both of nearly the same age, it seemed as if one had magically evoked the other. Whether in friendship or rival­ ry, in conflict, in truce, or in collabo­ ration, they were each other's counter­ part, bearing within them the mingled qualities of the Filipino, Quezon de­ veloping to superior heights the more Occidental, Osmena the more Oriental characteristics of the race. Osmena, quiet and self-controlled, cautious, wise even in his youth, and rising early to power, a man of elevated principles, statesman rather than po­ litician, had won all the earlier poli­ tical victories for the Philippines. Now, universally respected, loved by his followers, it seemed he had only to rally them. Roxas and Others—There was also Roxas, onetime Speaker, who despite his comparative youth, had in time past been counted as one of the

316

Philippine triumvirate. There was the elder Rodriguez who, like his son, had suffered imprisonment by the Japa­ nese. Yulo appeared to have kept out of the dirt. The true loyalty of Alunan and most of the others in the Laurel "Cabinet” could not be questioned. Paredes and Osias might survive po­ litically; perhaps Recto. Laurel might make a desperate fight for it. Vargas had always been an administrator ra­ ther than a politician. Some of the younger men, like Confesor, who had distinguished himself as a guerrilla, what would he and others like him do politically? What ambitions would arise, what new combinations would be formed? The situation following the relief of the Philippines would call for all of Osmena’s great powers, and not only in the field of political maneuver. The purely administrative problems and the work of reconstruction awaiting him would be overwhelming to a less able man. Then there would be the problems, political, financial, and eco­ nomic, involved in the establishment of the Philippine Republic, though America, no doubt, stood ready to help. Plans and arrangements had probably been worked out already, but what these were, of course, in­ terested internees in Santo Tomas could not know. Friends of Quezon in Santo Tomas could comfort themselves with the thought that he did not die in exile and among strangers. He died in what was, in more than just the political sense, his own country. He had spent many years there, early in his life, as a member of Congress (Philippine Re­ sident Commissioner), and went to America many times on various poli­ tical missions. Quezon was at home in America and had countless friends there.

THE CAMP

When President Quezon and VicePresident Osmena left the Philippines early in 1942, the Japanese charged them with "deserting” their people. Indeed, the Japanese would have liked to lay hands on them! They were no more deserters than was General MacArthur. They left the country for rea­ sons of state, unwillingly enough, as did the heads of countries in Europe which were invaded by the Germans. It was one thing for an official like Vargas to remain behind in Manila. He was under instructions to receive the enemy, to follow their orders (no doubt, within certain limits), and to do what he could to save the popula­ tion during the enemy occupation. It would have been a different thing if the acknowledged leader of the country and the recognized head of the government had fallen into the hands of the enemy. Quezon would never have submitted to their de­ mands. He would have defied them and would have been held a close pri­ soner. They would have been at him night and day. They would have issued false statements in his name. And if they would not have finally murdered him, he would have died of the tor­ ture. This he was spared. This his country was spared. He drew his last breath in freedom, the honored guest of the American nation. With him were Mrs. Quezon and his children. With him, too, were Osmena, General Valdes (if he were not with the armed forces in the field at the time), Colonel Nieto, his aide, his private physicians, and Carlos P. Romulo, Andres Soriano, J. H. Marsman, and other friends and associates who had gone to America with him or had joined him later. He must have suffered deeply over the catastrophe which had over­ whelmed the Philippines; he must

CAMP CASH COLLECTIONS, P1,500,000

317

frequently have been racked by impa­ tience, anxiety, grief; he must have longed passionately that he would live to see the deliverance of his country; yet he could never have despaired of the ultimate outcome. He must have known, and it must have been in his mind at the last, that before long, in the land which he had loved and served so well, freedom would ring again. The Collections for the Bank of Tai­ wan—FI ,500,000 — Collections started on the afternoon of August 6 and con­ tinued for several days. The internees, room by room, came with their mo­ ney to one of the nipa sheds in front of the main building (called fanciful­ ly, “The West Pavilion"), and handed it over to Bailey, Wolff, and others who had been assigned to the work. Temporary receipts were signed by Bailey. The final report submitted as to these collections, etc., dated August 7, showed the following:

The Commandant had approved ihe holding out of funds by some of the internees for their non-interned fami­ lies. According to tile minutes of the 14th:

Paid Paid Paid Paid Paid Paid

“The Commandant approved the sending out of the money deposited as extra payments for non-interned families as per lists dated August 7 and August 14; he requested that these amounts be omitted from the reports to be submitted showing the total amounts of cash in the camp, but that the balance of such money deposited for non-interned families be shown in the report. In addition, the regular family aid payments for the 2 weeks in ques­ tion were sent out”.

On the 17th, the money (various ad­ justments had brought the amount to be turned over down to FI,489,924.20) was put into three Red Cross packing cases, taken to the guardhouse in a pushcart, and put into the safe there; Charley Kurz pushed the cart. Those present on behalf of the camp were Grinnell, Carroll, Bailey, Grant, and Duggleby, and, for the Japanese, Kawazu. They couldn’t get all the money

in as individual bank deposits P 548,738 84,896 in for transfer to dependents outside the camp 17,475 in for transfer to internees in Baguio 83,317 in for transfer to internees in Los Banos 3.910 m for transfer to internees in outside hospitals in to Internee Committee for supplementary food and essential supplies 250,366 Total cash received from individuals P 988,702

As to camp funds, the report as of August 5. showed: General funds Funds held by food and supplies section Funds held by canteens • Funds held for family aid payments Funds held tor cash relief Total cash held by Internee Committee

In addition, the Committee was holding P3,651.16 for the Los Banos camp and F2,722.64 for the estates of deceased internees pending the find­ ing of their heirs outside the camp. Included in the general funds held by the Committee was the amount of P107,168.16, Relief Fund No. 11, which had come to hand on August 14, less P25,000 which had been allotted to family aid.

P 347.792.07 70,295.11 62,400.11 32,606.00 29,414.00 P 542,507.29

into the safe and notes to the value of P89,406 (the fund for outside fami­ lies) were taken back to the Internee Committee office. The Committee was allowed to hold only P27,000 as a working fund for the canteens. The Japanese appeared to be well pleased with the approximate FI,500,000 turned over. It was belived by one internee official, how­ ever, that there was at least another

318

P250.000 which had not beer declared, while others estimated the amount held back ran to P2,000,000 or even more.1 The Japanese Gradually Choke off the Supplementary Food Purchases— On the day of the beginning of the collections, the Internee Committee decided that the fruit and vegetablemarket and the canteen would be ope­ rated on a nonprofit basis, effective immediately, as theretofore a 10% sur­ charge for the benefit of the camp treasury had been made on all goods sold. The Committee decided also that the market and canteen manage­ ments should order and endeavor to* >Note (1945)—These large figures surprised the camp as a whole, as few internees knew about the dangerous risks the chief internee officials and a selected group of trusted help­ ers were taking in bringing needed funds into the camp. Few realized the fact that very large sums were needed to buy supplementary food for the 4,000 people in the camp at the ever-rising prices which had to be met. Money at first was brought in by some of the campbuyers and otherwise smuggled in through the main gate. Later, the Dominican fathers, Ahern and McMann, brought in considerable sums through the Seminary gate. When the Domi­ nicans were no longer permitted to come into the camp, money, and some food, too, was smuggled in through the rear gate in to the swimming-pool compound, where it was re­ ceived by the caretaker, V. H. Lingenbrink, who had his quarters there, and then handled by G. H. Newman and D. E. Axe, but this ac­ tivity was broken up when the Japanese be­ came suspicious and Lingenbrink had to move. In March, Grinned, Carroll, and Duggleby met with Alcuaz in his private office in the main building, and, with the agreement of Wolff, of the Red Cross, worked out a plan to raise P250,000 (then considered enough for the next 6 months) in P5.000 and P10.000 pro­ missory notes drawn by the representatives in the camp of such big firms as General Motors, International Harvester, Standard Oil, Good­ rich, Firestone, etc. Alcuaz took the notes out and raised the money downtown, chiefly among the rich Chinese merchants, and it was smuggled in through the Sisters' quarters in the rear of the Santa Catalina hospital. The money generally came in buri-palm handbags and in Red Cross food cartons; a carton would hold from P80,000 to P90.000 in Pit) war notes. Alcuaz delivered the money in these containers, which would be slipped over the par­ tition of the office of Thorson, the camp opto-

THE CAMP

obtain sufficient produce and supplies to enable all internees to spend their allotted amounts for August. An effort to make as equitable a distribution as possible to all ration groups was also determined upon. In a meeting of the Committee with the Agents the following evening it was agreed to limit expenditures for supplementary food for the camp, not including the purchases made for the fruit and vegetable market and the canteen, to around P300,000 a month, an increase of about 20%. According to the minutes: metrist, and was carried through the hospital gate to the main building by one or more members of a group composed of Newman, Axe, Fred Simonson, and Leroy Lang. When the Japanese began to post sentries at the hospital gate, Dr. Fletcher, took the risk of issuing passes to these internees. The money was delivered to Carroll, who turned it over to Bailey, who put it in the safe. The smuggling overlapped the period during which camp and individual funds were required to be depo­ sited in the Taiwan Bank, and as conditions grew more difficult, the total in promisory notes was raised from F250.000 to P400,000 (about PI,750,000 in “Mickey-Mouse” money) at exchange-rates running from 4 to 1 up to 6 to 1. Most of the money came in during April, May, June, and July, one day a week, in lots of from 1*50,000 to P100,000, and was included in Bailey's figures under the head of "dona­ tions". After this, the smuggling in of money was stopped both because it was so dangerous and because it seemed that the war notes could not be used much longer anyway be­ cause of the fantastic prices being charged. Then, in September, the food-smuggling through the gymnasium began, through Alcuaz’s office there, in which Father Timothy Daly, Johns, the gymnasium monitor, and internee Ruiz were the principal agents. The goods were temporarily hidden among the University furniture in the storeroom and un­ der the stage at the other end of the building, and would be transported from there to the kitchen in an innocent-looking pushcart by Charley Kurz, head of the emergency labor gang, and C. A. Fossum. The foregoing information concerned such a vital secret activity of the camp that it was not included in the typescript of this section of this book in view of the ever present risk that it might be discovered by the enemy. This note was not inserted until after the li­ beration.

JAPANESE CUTS IN CAMP FOOD PURCHASES "It was agreed that for the time being, un­ til we ascertain the Commandant’s reaction to our food letter, expenditure on supplementary food for the camp (excluding canteens) should be limited to about P300.000 a month, i.e., an increase of about 20% on expenditure on this account during the latter part of July and the first part of August.”

On the basis that individual inter­ nees had F152,000 to spend during the month of August, food and other supplies made available for sale in the market and the canteen should have run to over P6,000 daily. What, how­ ever, was happening, was quickly made apparent. On July 1, the day’s sales in the vegetable and fruit market had amounted to T9,423.65; on July 10, to P14,045.90; and on July 31, to P5,178.20. The canteen figures on these same dates were P4,317.10, PI ,271.75, and P3,860.29, respectively. The totals for July in the mar­ ket were P219,650.48, and for the canteen, P57,704.77. The figures for the first 15 days in August were, for the market P51,235.40, and for the canteen P19,963.00.

319

P7,000 to P8,000 a day. Up to the 15th, the total expenditure ran just under P140,000; up to and including the 18th, the total expenditure was P162,874.40. On the 3rd, Komatsu had told Grinnell and Carroll that “no sugar was available”, but that an "army ration of panocha may be expected of 5 to 10 grams, rather than the standard 20 grams; date of delivery, however, unknown”. On the 8th, 204 kilos of panocha came in, this being equiva­ lent to only three days' ration on the 20-gram basis. Komatsu had also said, on the 3rd, that from 1,000 to 2,000 packages of picadura tobacco might be “expected at some future date”, to sell for P4 plus a tax of P.80, but on the 8th it was 8,700 packages of cigarets which came in, for which the camp had to pay (at PI.30 each) PI 1,310. Brought in also for purchase by the camp on that day were 320 ki­ los of soap at 90 centavos a kilo and 1,140 boxes of matches at 11 centavos each. Among the army rations sent in that day, besides the panocha, was a supply of 323 kilos of cooking oil. The Committee decided to distribute the cigarets to the tobacco-starved camp immediately, but to hold the panocha until the arrival of addition­ al amounts. Each adult internee re­ ceived 2 packages of cigarets (30 to the package) and 25 loose cigarets. The cigarets were very poor and one was consumed in about 6 puffs. On the 9th, the Committee minutes stated:

These figures showed the choking off. The canteen figures for the first four days of the month were indica­ tive of the eagerness with which peo­ ple bought before the “controlled eco­ nomy” went into effect. The suggestion made in the first broadcast about the new "controlled economy” that some of the P50 month­ ly allowance might be left over at the end of the month, which had been taken as a sort of joke by the inter­ nees, did not look so unrealistic any more, and internees remembered, too, that the Commandant had refused to give any assurance that there would be anything made available in the "As a matter of record, the army supplies camp for which the internees could of fish and vegetables brought into camp to­ spend this allowance. day, being 3 days’ rations, were as follows: Pechay, kangkong 147 kilos Condition fair The Internee Committee wanted to Fish 600 kilos Condition poor spend some P300,000 for the purchase Garlic greens 130 kilos Condition poor of supplementary food for the camp, “This is a record low in deliveries so far.” but through cancellation of its orders, The promised deliveries of coconuts the daily expenditures of from around PI 1,000 to P12,000 a day during the for making coconut milk did not ma­ first few days, were cut down to from terialize, and during the first week of

320

the month people had their ricemush for breakfast with only salt to go with it. However, on the 8th, 400 nuts were brought in and internees had a small cupfull of coconut milk again. On the 12th, 3,000 coconuts were brought in. The Committee Decides on a Slight Increase in Servings at the Kitchen Lines — On the 9th, the Internee Committee made the important deci­ sion to increase the serving of rice­ mush in the morning from 3 to 4 (small) ladlefulls and the servings of rice at the noon and evening meals from 1 (larger) level ladlefull each to a "heaping” ladlefull. The Committee also decided to increase the canned beef-and-vegetable ration issued to the kitchen from around 100 to 250 pounds a day when there was no fish or meat brought in by the Japanese. As to the rice, the minutes stated that — "despite the increased rice withdrawals from the army rations, owing to their not supplying camotes or coconut milk, the camp should continue to issue from reserve stocks the equi­ valent of a minimum of 100 grams per per­ son per day plus the amount required for ricebread."

The camp physicians had strongly urged the advisability of an increase in servings because of the growing evidence of actual starvation in the camp; the encouraging rumors and re­ ports as to the progress of the war in the Pacific no doubt had also some effect on the Committee’s decision. The cans of meat-and-vegetable ration were to be used first, — ahead of the canned corned beef, because experts in the camp had expressed the opinion that the former would not last much longer without spoiling. It was esti­ mated the withdrawals at this rate would supply the camp until the mid­ dle of October, leaving the corned beef for later use if necessary. The general expression of satisfaction over this meager increase in the food servings was pathetic, and the increase did

THE CAMP

make a real difference. It was now possible to get at least a bellyful ag­ ain, although the rice did not "stay with" one very long. Agents’ Protest Against Deposit of Funds in the Bank of Taiwan — The Agents’ letter of protest addressed to the Commandant against the order requiring the deposit of individual and camp funds in the Bank of Taiwan, was dated August 14. The Agents de­ clared this to be a "drastic and unne­ cessary” order which, under the cir­ cumstances, amounted to “confisca­ tion”. They pointed out that the pur­ chasing power of P50 in military notes allowed to be withdrawn monthly did not represent more than from PI to PI.50 at the prewar prices. The letter stripped the reasons alleged for the measure by the Japanese of all pre­ tense, and the whole was a scathing denunciation of this wholly inexcus­ able imposition.3 3"This letter is for the purpose of protest­ ing the order of your office of August 2, 1944, addressed to the Internee Committee, requir­ ing 'all money held by individuals, by the Com­ mittee, or in pooled funds’ to be deposited in the Bank of Taiwan for the following stated reasons: ‘(1) Protection against robbery; (2) that the money may be increased through the gathering of interest; (3) that the money may be not used needlessly or wastefully; (4) to curb gambling; (5) to steady the economic po­ sition of the camp, by making the money last as long as possible ...' "The reasons assigned for this drastic ac­ tion are utterly inadequate. The internees have not asked for and do not need protection ag­ ainst robbery. They have no desire to place their money at interest in the Bank of Tai­ wan. They could not and have not been using their money needlessly or wastefully but al­ most entirely for the purchasing of such limited supplementary food as was made avail­ able by the Japanese Army itself and which was and is necessary because of the utter inadequacy of the official ration now being furnished by that Army. There is little or no gambling and its mention, as well as the mention of robbery and wasteful expenditure would seem to have been for the purpose of unjustly putting the camp in the wrong in order to pretend to justify this drastic and unnecessry order and in order to get the funds of the internees into Japanese hands. Finally,

4

THE AGENTS’ SHARP PROTEST

321

The Parents Association Appeals to ren in the camp held a meeting on the Commander-in-Chief — While August 14, in the children’s playhouse, everyone in the camp suffered, pa­ at which they listened to a summary rents with children in the camp wor­ ried greatly about them, — although by the internees themselves, thus taking upon themselves the burden the Japanese Army should these parents were still in a happier have carried. position than those in the camp who "Since February 1, 1944, the position has had children outside from whom they steadily worsened. The food furnished by the as the official ration has diminished never even heard. Parents with child- Army in quantity and deteriorated in quality until the proposed 'steadying of the economic posi­ tion of the camp by making the money last as long as possible’, ignores two things, (1) the rapidly diminishing purchasing power of the currency now in circulation, and (2) that there would be no need of making their ex­ isting funds last if the Japanese Army itself had not denied the internees access to fur­ ther funds. "The effect of the order is, under present circumstances, confiscation. As we have already said and as you well know, the purchasing power of the paper money now in circulation is rapidly declining. By freezing these funds with which the internees have provided them­ selves in order to avoid starvation and by per­ mitting their withdrawal only in fixed dribblebits, the internee is deprived of his present limited purchasing power and is compelled to accept in lieu thereof, if, when, and as it is made available to him, currency nominally equivalent but with a purchasing power that will be greatly reduced and may be almost, if not quite, zero. "We ask you to bear in mind that the in­ ternees of this camp have provided themselves with these funds you are now taking from them in order to purchase themselves that which it is the duty of the Government of Japan to provide for them. That duty includes the furnishing of adequate food, both in quan­ tity and quality, medicines, tobacco, clothing, linen, footwear, and facilities for the repair thereof. For the first 6 months of the exist­ ence of this camp, your Government made no provision whatever for the feeding thereof or for anything else, the internees being left en­ tirely to their own resources. From July 1, 1942, to February 1, 1944, a cash allowance was made which was always entirely inade­ quate and so internees themselves had to fin­ ance the supplementary purchases of food and other things they required and were entitled to. Since February 1, 1944, the Japanese Army has undertaken the furnishing of food in kind by a rationing system, and how inadequate that ration is and has been is shown in our letter to you of August 4. The Japanese Army has never furnished tnis camp with any to­ bacco, clothing, linen, footwear, or facilities for the repair thereof, nor, prior to February 1, 1944, any medicine. All these things have been paid for, to the extent of their resources

it is not half sufficient. The food made avail­ able for supplemental purchase by the inter­ nees has likewise diminished in quantity, dete­ riorated in quality, and increased fantastically in price. The camp was refused permission to finance for itself the purchase of the additional food required. The camp was isolated so that the individual internees could not arrange for food or funds to come in to them, and now comes this order, in which they are threaten­ ed with punishment if they keep the funds with which they had provided themselves at the time the camp was isolated in order to finance themselves the purchase of those things the Japanese Army is obligated to provide, and yet has systematically failed and refused to do. “We call your attention in passing to the pitiful inadequacy of the monthly allowance of P50 in the case of adults, P25 in the case of children. These are not prewar pesos. To­ day, due to the unbelievable advance in pri­ ces, they do not have l/20th the purchasing power of the prewar peso. With regard to ma­ ny necessary commodities, they do not have l/80th the purchasing power of the prewar peso. Thus eggs, at prewar prices, were around 5 centavos each. Now they are P4.20 each. Bananas were 3 for 10 centavos before the war. Now they are 40 centavos each or P1.20 for 3. The price of many other necessities has advanced in like proportion. Thus the P50 in military notes allowed us each month under the order has undoubtedly not more than PI to P'1.50 purchasing power at prewar prices. "In any case, as we have said, the order is unnecessary and the reasons assigned therefore are utterly without foundation. "It is therefore respectfully requested that the said order be recalled and that the money heretofore surrendered thereunder be returned to the respective internees to whom it belongs. In this connection, if the Japanese Army is un­ able or unwilling to carry out its obligations to provide this camp with adequate food and other necessities, then, at the least, it should permit the internees to do this for them, and to that end, it should authorize and facilitate the securing of additional funds both for the camp and for individual internees and, at the same time, make available to them for pur­ chases such supplemental food and other ne­ cessities as they require."

322

of the dental and medical reports pre­ sented by Holland, chairman of the parents association, and approved the draft of a letter, addressed to the Com­ mander-in-chief of the Japanese forces in the Philippines (through the Com­ mandant), appealing for more food for their children. Holland began his talk with the words: "This camp is confronted today with the most serious situation it has had to face since January, 1942. In the last 6 months the Japan­ ese authorities have reduced the official ration from a bare maintenance to a starvation level.”

Holland told his anxious listeners that all the children who had been found to have possible heart and lung defects had been referred to their fa­ mily doctors for more thorough exam­ inations. The majority of the 50 heart cases revealed only slight functional heart murmurs and the parents of children with heart ailments which required special care had already been notified. The 48 children who might have some lung defect were fluoroscoped and no important lung lesions had been found, but 5 or 6 were to be examined again after a few months. About a third of the 114 children with defective vision were to be further examined and some of these might have to discontinue their school work until after internment when they could be fitted with the proper glass­ es. Some 40 children were found to have more or less seriously diseased tonsils and adenoids. Normally, the doctors would have recommended im­ mediate removal, but due to the limit­ ed supply of anaesthetics in camp, which had to be reserved for emer­ gency use, such operations had to be deferred; the operations would have been inadvisable anyway because recu­ peration would require an unduly long time under the existing diet condi­ tions. Operations in a few cases of

THE CAMP

hernia found among the boys also had to be deferred. The dentists had already treated the most urgent cases of bad teeth, but all work done was only temporary because of lack of sup­ plies for permanent work, especially amalgam for filling. Holland expressed appreciation of the sacrifice the rest of the camp was making in trying to keep the chilren’s diet on as high a level as possible and told the parents that they should not take this for granted or ask for fur­ ther sacrifice unless absolutely neces­ sary. He made an acknowledgment of the camp internee administration in this regard, quoting from Bridgeford’s report of May, 1944; "The policy has been maintained throughout of seeing that the children of the camp should be as adequately fed as circumstances permit. Hospital meals have also been maintained on as high a standard as possible. Any other po­ licy, particularly as regards children, would in my opinion have been unworthy of decent civilized people.”

The Internee Committee had already agreed, said Holland, to make some­ what larger servings of food to the children who were seriously under­ weight. Holland stated that Dr. Smith of the health council had advised that parents themselves supply their child­ ren with food from their own stocks up to around 200 calories per day, and he urged that such reserves be con­ sumed as carefully and wisely as pos­ sible. "While we may be optimistic as to the length of our stay in this camp, we can not afford to let this optimism influence the consumption of our re­ serves”. Many parents in the camp, however, had little of such reserves left. Finally, Holland urged that the pa­ rents see to it that their children ob­ tained more rest, that they take a nap during the middle of the day and go to bed early. He recommended

CAMP PARENTS’ PLEA TO THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF

that the participation of children in sports activities be reduced to a mi­ nimum and that parents limit their children to the organized sports acti­ vities which were approved by the camp doctors. He also expressed the opinion that it might be advisable in some cases for children who went to school both morning and afternoon to drop their afternoon school work. The letter of the parents committee addressed to the Commander-in-chief, dated August 14, said that it was known from a Japanese source that Japanese children in the United States were being well cared for and request­ ed that — "steps be immediately taken to provide reci­ procal treatment for our children. We can not reconcile the traditional Japanese love for children with the treatment being accorded to the children of this camp.”

The parents asked for an egg per day per child, for a pint of milk per day, and for 1/2 kilo of peanuts or peanut-butter a week, in addition to "sufficient quantities of corn, vegeta­ bles, fruit, and meat”. Reasonable as were these requests, embodying as they did but bare mini­ mum requirements, there was very little hope that the letter would be given any consideraion by the Com­ mander-in-chief, even if it reached him, which was doubtful. The Committee Informs the Com­ mandant that Internees are no Longer Able to do Heavy Work — On the 4th, the Japanese sent the Committee an­ other of their nagging work orders. It was in writing: "You are hereby ordered to fix sawali on the barb-wire fence around the seminary. De­ tailed instructions will be given by Lt. Abiko. Your committee is responsible for carrying out this order and work must begin on August 4."

323

on the food they were receiving at present.” On the 8th — “The Commandant's Office (Lt. Abiko and Mr. Ohashi) again handed to the Committee the Commandant’s order to fix sawali on the back fence of the seminary and stated that this work had to be done by internees. The Commandant’s Office indicated that the only other fence jobs to be done were (1) at the back of the hospital, and (2) along the front wall between the main gate and the printing press building. The latter was to be a picket fence.”

The work was undertaken under protest, and to make this of record the Committee sent the Commandant another strong letter, dated August 9 and signed by all three of the mem­ bers. The Agents, to o , addressed a sharp letter of protest to the Comman­ dant under date of August 13. It also stressed the inadequate diet and the growing weakness and illness in the camp in relation to the continued Ja­ panese labor requirements, as well as, once again, the illegality of these de­ mands. Blair, Hornbostel, et al Sentenced— The torment of the camp for the month was by no means over, but before continuing with the story of still more ruthless demands on the labor capacity of the sick and weak­ ened camp population, some of the the minor happenings of interest were to be reviewed. Information as to the fate of Blair, Hornbostel, Barnett, and Ellis, who were severally taken out of the camp late in February and early in April (1944), was furnished to the Internee Committee by the Commandant on August 3. "Sentence had been passed on them for violation of military re­ gulations”, the first two men having received sentences of 3 years' impri­ sonment and the other two of 4 years. The sentences "dated from July 1,

The Committee returned the order, advising the Commandant, according to the minutes, that “it was not rea­ sonable to ask men to do this work 1944” .

324

On the 3rd, also two internees were seized and held at the guardhouse for several hours and then grilled in the Commandant’s office "for signalling to their families across Espana", the street running along the frontage of the campus. "They were eventually re­ leased after signing pledges that they would not repeat the offense". The area along the front fence was de­ clared out of bounds. Another internee, S. A. Vicroy, an elderly internee patrolman, fell afoul of the Japanese guards on the night of the 6th-7th, when he was on duty in the hospital grounds. He was ar­ rested with a bag of food in his pos­ session which, he claimed, had been thrown over the fence and which he was holding to turn over to the inter­ nee chief of patrols when his period of duty was over. He was kept at the guardhouse all day and the next day and the head of the internee patrol and another patrolman were also questioned there. On the 9th. "he was brought back into camp and after examination by a doctor was permitted by the Commandant’s Office to enter the hospital until 10 o’clock tomorrow for treatment as recommended by the examining doctor.

The next day the "Commandant’s Office" sentenced him — "to 14 days ‘heavy’ sentence, with a remission of 4 days for the period he was kept under investigation. The Commandant advised the Committee that unofficially, on account of Mr. Vicroy’s age and health condition, his sentence is to be treated as Tight’. Mr. Vicroy’s health is to be carefully watched while he is under­ going sentence.”

His age and state of health were not given much consideration during the four days of the "investigation”. More Priests and Nuns Brought In— A sister of one of the Catholic orders, who was to be sent to Los Banos, was brought into camp on July 31 and placed in the isolation hospital. A Chinese of British nationality was brought in on August 3 and lodged

THE CAMP

in the camp jail. On the 4th, he and the sister were taken to Los Banos in a truck. On the 7th, the Superior of the Oblate Fathers was brought into camp and lodged in the jail like a criminal. He was from Davao and had been 15 days on the way. On the 10th, two missionaries from the Culion Leper Colony were brought in during the night; one of them was 79 years old; both were put in the camp jail. On the 12th, two "lady missionary doctors” were brought into camp and placed in the isolation hospital. Ac­ cording to the minutes that day, the Committee was advised that — "one of the men brought into camp from Culion ought not to be interned on nationality grounds (being a Dane), and that the military police would probably take him out of camp today. This was not done, but he was trans­ ferred to the camp hospital pending their ar­ rival.”

On the 17th, 21 Dutch Catholic fa­ thers from Surigao were brought into camp and lodged in the gymnasium. They told friends that in January (1944) an American submarine had taken away some 14 American women from the town of Surigao; they were mostly wives of mining men. On the 19th, 7 more religious were brought into camp, including two Catholic sis­ ters, who were also put ;n the gymna­ sium. On the 22nd, at 5 o’clock in the morning, all of these people were taken out of camp in a truck, headed for Los Banos, with the exception of Mr. F. P. Jensen, the Dane, who was "released from the camp hospital and handed over to the care of the Rev. Frei". (Minutes, August 22.) Frei was a Presbyterian minister in Manila of Swiss nationality. News from the Culion Leper Colo­ ny—Jensen, a Presbyterian missionary, 79 years old, had spent some 20 years in the Culion leper colony. He and the Catholic father who was brought to Manila with him were given only

NEWS ABOUT THE CULION LEPER COLONY

20 minutes to get ready by the Ja­ panese. They were taken from Culion to Coron, a distance of some 15 miles, in a small launch, arriving at about 10 o’clock in the evening. Though it rained hard on the way, the two men were not allowed to take shelter un­ der the launch awning. Of the 6,000 lepers in the well-known colony, only some 2,000 were still alive. Apart from some 1,200 less seriously affected le­ pers who had been allowed to make their way to their homes if they could, many of whom were drowned at sea or killed by the Japanese, the rest, or nearly 4,000, died of hunger or sick­ ness, mostly malaria. The Japanese twice sent an armed unit to the colony to question certain people who had fled there from Co­ ron during or after the guerrilla trou­ bles, but the Japanese made no ef­ fort to find out what the conditions in the leper colony were or what was needed. The Japanese never sent any supplies and what little was received after the early shipments already mentioned in an earlier story, came from the Bureau of Health. Dr. Nolasco, director of the colony, went to Manila after the guerrilla trouble, and did not return. Assistant Director De Vera carried on as best he could. The island is too rocky for much farming or gardening. The Japanese had taken the best of the motor launches as well as other machinery in the colony, and refused the gasoline needed to operate the rest, in fact, they forbade their use. The colony ration toward the end was one kilo of camotes per week. The people were eating dogs, cats, rats, and lizards. There was no medicine of any kind. Drs. Wade and his wife, and Dr. Hanks and his wife and three children, were still holding out. Japanese in Camp begin Work on Air-Raid Shelters for Themselves—On August 2, Santo Tomas was warned

325

that the city water was no longer safe and that it should be boiled before drinking . The camp “restaurant” re­ opened to supply boiled water to those who had no facilities of their own for this. Not until the 13th was the water declared safe, and on the 15th it was again declared unsafe. Since the restau­ rant had meanwhile taken over the feeding of a part of the persons re­ quiring special soft-cooked diet who had been eating at the hospital, the central kitchen took over the service of providing boiled water for drinking purposes. Such a failure of the city water supply had not happened for many years. On the 3rd, Komatsu spoke to Grin­ ned and Carroll of the “danger of a general failure of the public utilities”. Stressing that the camp might sud­ denly find itself without water, gas, and electricity, "because of storms”, he said further steps should be taken for providing for emergency cooking and he also suggested that a day’s supply of ricebread be kept on hand at all times. When Carroll remarked that the camp had successfully passed through storm and flood in the past, Komatsu said that he did not refer only to the weather but to an Ameri­ can attack. He said that the bombing of Manila was "inevitable". The Japanese soldiers began work on an air-raid shelter for the Com­ mandant a nd his staff, across the roadway from the Commandant’s of­ fice, on the 10th. They could not make the trench more than 8 or 10 inches deep because of the muddy ground, but built up walls with bamboo, stones, and earth. Several more of such shelters were built near the guardhouse and the Japanese bodega, and in various other places the Ja­ panese dug foxholes, — all of this giving the camp population quite a thrill. For several weeks before that time searchlights, some 10 or 12 of

326

THE CAMP

them in various parts of the city, for the liaison between the Comman­ played in the sky of evenings, and on dant’s Office and these three units. the 14th, about 4 o’clock in the The water in the swimming pool morning, the street lights were turned was to be kept clean for drinking in off and the searchlights swept the an emergency and “in addition, the sky until daylight. On that same day wells recently dug are to be tested the Committee was advised to get the to see whether by treatment, by fil­ market fruit and vegetables in as tering or boiling, the water can be early as possible as all vehicles had made potable”. Drums were to be kept been ordered to be off the streets by filled with water on all of the floors 8 o’clock the next morning. This was of the various buildings for use in part of a general drill and the all- case of fire. clear siren sounded at around 9 "The camp must be ready at any time to go on to the basis of an air-raid alert...T he Com­ o'clock. The Committee minutes of the 14th mandant’s Office will issue all orders regard­ ing alerts and blackouts, and signals will be stated: "In reply to a specific question, the Com­ mandant’s Office (Mr. Takeda) advised that in the case of air raids everyone would be ex­ pedited to take cover as quickly as possible in or near their own living quarters (except, of course, those on duty), and that it was not their intention to force people from the shan­ ty areas into the buildings, but rather to encourage them to stay in their shanties, thus spreading the risk.”

given to the internees over the loudspeaker system or by messenger.”

As a matter of fact, the internee ad­ ministration had organized long be­ fore for fire-fighting, repair, and firstaid work. As for the emergency cooking which the Japanese talked about, meals at this very time were frequently served only half-cooked for lack of sufficient Organization of the Camp for Emer­ supplies of firewood and charcoal, gencies—The internees generally did orders for which the Japanese failed not belive there would be any danger to honor. The Commandant’s Office of an American bombing of the city, informed the Committee on the 14th except of the harbor area and the air that — fields in the city environs. Some said “owing to a dispute between the Japanese Army that if there were any bombs dropped and the Firewood Dealers Association [sic], on the camp, they would be Japanese there would be delay possibly amounting to two or three weeks in securing firewood for bombs. On the 15th, Abiko issued details as the camp. The Committee decided to purchase an additional 2.4 tons of charcoal as camp re­ to the procedure to be followed in serve, which amount was left over from the case of an “emergency”. One hundred sale to individuals. The approximate cost of thirty men were to be detailed to the this purchase is P6.000. In addition, the grounds various buildings as fire-fighters un­ division is being instructed to trim trees in der Ohashi. About the same number camp to provide firewood.” of men and women internees were to Lloyd Tenders Resignation in Dis­ comprise the first-aid teams for the pute over Storage-Room—On the 10th, various buildings, with Ohashi in gen­ Grinnell and Komatsu, at the latter’s eral charge of them also. An emergen­ request, had inspected the second cy-repairs team of 30 men, — electri­ floors of the main and education cians, plumbers, carpenters, and buildings — other mechanics, was to be under "looking for suitable storage space for rice charge of Onozaki (in practice, Ko­ and other commodities which Mr. Komatsu matsu). Lloyd was to be responsible wishes to store in a place fireproof and theft-

NEW JAPANESE LABOR DEMANDS proof, well removed from the risk of flood and military contingencies".

327 mined to enforce their order, Mr. Lloyd ten­ dered his resignation.”

This led to another conflict. Accord­ Lloyd's letter to the Commandant ing to the minutes of the 15th: on the subject, sent through Takeda “The Commandant’s Office instructed us to who had taken over the matter from empty room 29 by Friday, August 18, in order Komatsu, was dated the 16th, and that it might be used for the storage of rice ended:

and other roodstuffs. It was stated that fail­ ing this, the 'model home’ in toto would be taken for this purpose. As a result of repre­ sentation, an opportunity was given to the Committee to offer alternative recommenda­ tions without delay.”

Room 29 was a women's room on the second floor of the main building, on which floor there already was great overcrowding. Vacating this room would add to this, and the Com­ mittee objected, especially Lloyd, who was in charge of "housing”. The Com­ mittee said also that it was not safe to store a heavy weight of rice on the second floor and pointed out there was plenty of space available on the first floor in the rooms used for the storage of Red Cross supplies, in the tower, in the library, and in other places. The ‘model home’ (a prewar university installation) which the Ja­ panese (Komatsu) threatened to take over as an alternative, was a suite of rooms on the ground floor now used for school purposes and for various religious services. The minutes of the 17th recorded that the alternative recommendations offered by the Committee had not been accepted and that — "Mr. Lloyd, as Vice-Chairman responsible for Internal Affairs, declined to accept respon­ sibility for aggravating the overcrowding in the buildings by emptying room 29 on the grounds that (a) rooms on the second floor are most unsuitable for the storage of com­ modities such as rice, and (b) if the Com­ mandant’s Office would advise the Commit­ tee of the approximate quantities of each com­ modity to be stored, the Committee could arrange the necessary storage in various parts of the main building on the ground floor, safe from interference or from risk of flood. "If the Commandant’s Office were deter­

"If you insist on enforcing your order, I regret that I can not undertake the respon­ sibility of putting it into effect, and I res­ pectfully request you to appoint another ViceChairman in charge of Internal Affairs.”

Internees Charged with "Idleness". New Enlarged Japanese Work Pro­ gram—While Lloyd thus flung a chal­ lenge, another more serious imposi­ tion was threatening the entire camp. On the afternoon of the 15th, the In­ ternee Committee, M. Pollock, head of the gardening detail, and Cary, the interpreter, were summoned by Onozaki to his office. The acting Com­ mandant told them that the war was being "intensified" and that it was expected that the Manila area would be bombed, in which case, he said, it would be impossible to bring food­ stuffs into the camp. The internees would have to meet this situation, he said, by placing all available land in the camp under cultivation and in­ creasing the number of garden work­ ers and the hours of labor. The pre­ sent gardening was "ineffective", he claimed. The labor situation general­ ly was unsatisfactory and a new labor policy would have to be adopted. Of­ ficial visitors to the camp had carried away the impression that the inter­ nees were not doing enough work. The Japanese authorities in direct charge of the camp had been criti­ cized. Explanations of the Comman­ dant and his staff that the able-bodied internees performed a minimum of two hours’ work a day had not been "well received”. The internees had too much time for “amusements and di­ versions”. This had caused the Higher

328

Authorities to form the opinion that as long as the internees did not dis­ play greater efforts to help them­ selves, the Authorities need not exert themselves in "assisting the camp”. Under present conditions the Higher Authorities considered it "untenable” that internees should "continue to live in comparative idleness”. "All women and children over 15 and men over 60 should be required to do 3 hours’ work a day; children from 15 to 17 and men from 50 to 59 should do 4 hours' work; men of from 18 to 49 should do 5 hours' work. “The holi­ days would be Sundays, Japanese ho­ lidays, and Christmas and Easter”. Internees with extra time on their hands should, in addition, work at "spinning hemp”, making shirts, making envelopes, etc. Some kinds of light work could be done even by the elderly and the sick. Compensation for such work would be in the form of sugar, tobacco, cloth, etc., which would be made available to them "for sale at very low prices”. Onozaki said that the internees should be advised of this plan and that he wanted a report by the 18th of the number of the internees who would be "prepared to do this kind of work”. "This plan”, he said, "is not exactly compulsory, but is offered as a means of keeping people busy and to avoid the appearance of idleness in the camp”. "In any event”, he said, "garden work and other essential camp work must come first” The meeting lasted from 3 o’clock to 5:15, but Onozaki did almost all of the talking. Pollock asked him if he thought that the men could work in the garden 5 hours a day on the food they were getting, but Onozaki ig­ nored the question. He did say that a plan of his own would have been different, but that this came from Headquarters and he had no choice

THE CAMP

but to present it. When the others wished to speak, Grinnell asked that they reserve their comment. Finally Grinnell said that the Commandant had made a statement very frankly and that the Committee would con­ sider the proposals made and make an equally frank reply. Komatsu Charges the Camp with "Greed"—Indignation ran high in the camp as soon as the general purport of the conference became known. In the Committee, Carroll and Lloyd were so angry that Grinnell, probably wisely, postponed a discussion for two days. The antagonism between the Committee and the Commandant’s Office was heightened the next day when Komatsu cancelled the orders for vegetables for the vegetable and fruit market saying to Carroll that the internees were "selfish and greedy” in wanting to "buy heavily" in the open market, thereby "depriving the starv­ ing Filipinos of much-needed food”. He denied that his attitude was one of persecution and stated that it was his duty to "stand between the inter­ nees’ greed and the Filipino need.” After further discussion and after a consultation with Ohashi it was de­ cided that vegetables might be allow­ ed to come in "for workers, mothers, children, and the sick”. There were practically no vegetables for sale in the market that day or the days fol­ lowing. Komatsu’s attitude, of course, was grotesque. All the vegetables and fruit the camp might be able to buy for a group of 4,000 people could represent only the smallest fraction of the food­ stuffs the Japanese Army was robbing the country of. Both Komatsu’s remarks and the work plan, and the reasons therefor advanced by Onozaki, evidenced an almost unbelievable imbecility as well as malignity. On the evening of the

THE COMMITTEE’S LETTER ON CAMP LABOR

17th the Internee Committee discuss­ ed the new work proposals with the Agents and the form of reply was de­ cided upon. The Reply of the Committee — The reply, signed by all three members of the Committee and dated August 18, was a calm, clear, and dignified one, and copies were posted that day on all the camp bulletin boards. It met with general approval: "Sir: "The statement made to the Internee Com­ mittee on August 15 deals with the following points: "(A) Expectation of military activities in Manila Area with probable resultant disruption of food deliveries to the camp and necessity for maximum gardening activity in the camp. "(B) Camp labor situation considered gen­ erally unsatisfactory and in need of new po­ licy, particularly as regards gardening. "(C) Impression created in high military circles by reports of official visitors that in­ ternees do not perform sufficient work and some plan is considered necessary to prevent idleness. "In connection with the foregoing, the In­ ternee Committee respectfully submits the following statement: "(A) It is agreed that internees should do everything possible to raise garden produce within the camp but increased gardening ac­ tivity on the part of the internees in no way releases the Japanese military authorities from their responsibility of feeding this camp, and it is expected that every possible effort will be exerted by the Japanese military authori­ ties to provide food rations in spite of diffi­ culties imposed by military activities. As is generally acknowledged, weather and soil con­ ditions are now extremely unfavorable, but in spite of these handicaps a renewed garden effort will be made. "(B) The Internee Committee can not ac­ knowledge that the labor situation in general is unsatisfactory from the standpoint of per­ formance of work which is essential to the daily operation of the camp. In spite of the relatively small number of able-bodied men and women, the burden of maintaining the camp has been carried successfully. "However, the lack of proper food has caused an unsatisfactory labor situation. No longer are internets able to maintain the standard of work which has heretofore been considered reasonable and the Committee is now faced with the problem of reducing ra­ ther than increasing the number of hours per person devoted to camp work. "The basis of work assignments suggested is impracticable under existing conditions, More­

329

over, the Internee Committee feels that it is its responsibility to distribute the work of the camp in accordance with the ability, health, and strength of the internees. In any case, as a general policy, we do not expect children under 15 years nor adults over 60 to carry regular work assignments. "Internees do not expect extra money al­ lowance for labor performed by them for the maintenance of the camp within the scope considered reasonable under international agreements and usages. "It is the opinion of the Internee Committee that the camp labor situation can well be improved if — "1. Adequate food is provided by the mili­ tary authorities; "2. The internees are not called upon to per­ form work which is not in their interests; and "3. The internee labor policy and direction of work by internees are left entirely in the hands of the Internee Committee. "(C) The Internee Committee feels that the criticisms of the higher military authorities are unjustified and without basis of fact and are due to lack of understanding of condi­ tions under which this camp was opened in January, 1942, and has been carried on since that time. "The following facts are therefore stated: "1. The work of making the Santo Tomas University reasonably suitable as an intern­ ment camp was done entirely by the internees: “2. The work of maintaining the camp has been performed entirely by the internees. "3. The materials and supplies with which new construction and maintenance have been done were, with but few execeptions, fur­ nished by the internees. "4. This camp is not to be compared with a war-prisoners camp. We have been told re­ peatedly by Japanese officials in the past that we are civilians under protective custody, — not prisoners of war. Here we have men, wo­ men, and children of all ages and in various conditions of health, and the burden of camp work falls on the shoulders of approximately 40% of the internees, as will be evident from the following figures: Male Female Age Under 15 335 332 15-17 56 54 124 280 18-30 350 402 31-40 385 41-50 296 320 215 51-60 465 84 Over 60 2,035 Totals 1,663 "Of the 474 men between 18 and 40, on whose shoulders must fall the heavy work of the camp, many are physically unfit. At the time of the first transfer to Los Banos camp in May, 1943, 800 of the fittest men in this camp, the majority being between 18 and 40, were selected for transfer.

330 "5. In addition to camp work, several hours daily are needed by internees for their per­ sonal requirements such as laundry, prepara­ tion of supplementary food, care of children, cleaning of rooms, repair of clothing, etc. Also, the care of the children and the aged (1/3 of the camp population), being unable to work, represent a definite burden on the remainder. "Such conditions do not exist in war-prisoners camps where the population is composed es­ sentially of young, able-bodied men and there are only 2 classifications, namely, well and sick. "6. Since February, 1944, the supply of food­ stuffs to this camp both in the form of mili­ tary rations and as supplementary food per­ mitted to be purchased has been adequate to maintain a reasonable minimum standard of health and strength. During the last 2 months, conditions have worsened consider­ ably; and food supplied by the Japanese mili­ tary authorities, — now barely sufficient to maintain life, is totally inadequate to replace energy spent in work. We are drawing heavily on our reserve stocks of food in an effort to maintain the health of the internees. How­ ever, unless this condition is corrected soon, our reserve stocks will be exhausted, the gen­ eral health and strength of the internees will still further decline, and in any case the hours of work performed by internees both for the camp and for themselves must necessarily be decreased. "There are other facts which might well be included in this statement by way of explana­ tion. However, the foregoing should be suf­ ficient to indicate our reasons for a feeling of disappointment and resentment that the high­ er authorities should consider this camp gen­ erally idle and therefore in need of some plan to occupy the leisure hours of internees. "Conclusion. The position of the Internee Committee and the internees generally may be summed up as follows: “1. It is realized that a state of war, such as now exists, necessitates sacrifices and ex­ treme efforts on the part of all. "2. The most vital camp problem today is food. If adequate food is provided by army rations and by purchase, other important problems such as labor, health, and morale will be alleviated. "3. We desire that the internal affairs of the camp including labor) be left to the admin­ istration of the Internee Committee. "4. We do not wish Jo perform work in ad­ dition to that required for the maintenance of the camp, even though compensation for such extra work in the form of cash or special discounts on commodities such as sugar, tex­ tiles, and tobacco may be offered, over and above that necessary for camp work and in­ dividual needs. "5. If, as your Office indicates, sugar and tobacco are available, then in accordance with

THE CAMP international agreements as well as civilized customs and usages, internees should be al­ lowed to purchase them without being ob­ liged to perform extra work. "Lastly, please be assured that this state­ ment is submitted in a sincerie effort to achieve better understanding of our problems on the part of all interested authorities in the hope that definite improvements along the lines suggested may be expedited.”

Change in the Chairmanship of the Monitors Council—The Internee Com­ mittee was no doubt strengthened in its attitude by general camp opinion; it had been influenced little, or not at all, by the criticism of the Monitors Council for its alleged too compliant spirit. Schelke, appointed head of the social services division under which the monitor system operated, and elected chairman of the Council, was not in entire sympathy with the Coun­ cil in this, and his second term of office as chairman expiring after the last quarterly election of room mo­ nitors in July, he expressed a desire not to stand again. Although Holter, Schelke’s predecessor, had been a member of the old Executive Commit­ tee and Schelke was not a member of the new Internee Committee, the Council membership felt that Schelke had moved ,rtoo close” to the Commit­ tee, and George H. Evans, a shantyarea supervisor, was elected in his place- Schelke had also resigned as head of the social services division, and the Committee appointed Evans to this position. The Council’s feeling about Schelke was extended also to the Internee Agents, some members of the Coun­ cil stating that the Agents had be­ come a mere advisory body to the Internee Committee. The Council again Charges the Committee as “Too Compliant’—At the first meeting of the Council with Evans as chairman, August 18, two mo­ tions were carried which evinced the critical attitude that body had taken to both the Internee Committee and

THE INTERNEE COMMITTEE AND THE MONITORS COUNCIL

the Agents. One motion directed the chairman to address — “a written request to the Internee Commit­ tee for a written explanation of the exact mean­ ing they intended to convey to the Comman­ dant by the last sentence of their letter of August 4, transmitting the joint letter of August 1 of the camp health council and the internee agents. This sentence is as follows: ‘The Inter­ nee Committee can not longer assume the burden of responsibility placed upon it by the authorities unless adequate provision for the feeding of the internees is forthcoming without delay’.”

The second motion directed the chairman to ask the Agents, also in writing, the following questions: "(1) Were you shown the Internee Commit­ tee’s above-mentioned letter before its trans­ mittal to the Commandant? (2) After reading the ... letter, did your committee make any protest, oral or written, to the Internee Com­ mittee because of its dimunition of forceful­ ness or because of its conciliatory tone, com­ pared to the forcefulness and directness of your joint letter? (3) If you made no protest at the tone of the Internee Committee’s letter, would it be correct to assume that it met with the approval of your committee?”

The Council at this meeting adopted another motion providing for the posting of its minutes on the camp bulletin boards. The letters were written the next day. Holter’s Letter of Advice to the Council —A few weeks before, Holter, who had always shown a great interest in the Council as a connecting link between the old Executive Com­ mittee and the internee-body, had written the Council a letter which, as Schelke said later, had to his regret, been tabled, and which he had had no opportunity before his term of of­ fice expired, to bring up again. Short­ ly after Evans was elected chairman, Evans said that the letter "contained some good points” and that he ex­ pected that the Council would take it up for consideration before long. The letter, dated July 27, read:

331

“Five months have elapsed since the camp and your Council started functioning under a new regime. During that period you have made real contributions along certain lines, but is there not a question concerning the performance of one of your basic tasks, — that of being a connecting link or liaison agency between the internees and the adminis­ tration? Obviously, you are in a paradoxical position, for you are a democratic organiza­ tion in an undemocratic set-up. For you to do a thorough job is therefore admittedly often impossible; nevertheless, a constant en­ deavour is necessary. "The following questions are submitted with the hope that they may renew or bring about a discussion, the result of which may be bene­ ficial in clarifying the Council's position and thereby be helpful to all internees in the fu­ ture: "1. Is vigilant effort being made to make the monitor system serve first as a channel through which internee opinion may reach the administration, and, second, as an inter­ preter of the administration’s policies and acts? Are the general meetings of all moni­ tors and management no longer possible? “2. Is the Council’s connection with the Inter­ nee Committee close enough to make the pro­ cedure in Par. 1 both natural and desired by all parties? ”3. To bring about a more complete under­ standing between the Council and the Internee Committee, would it be wise for the Council to suggest that its chairman be included in all sessions of the Internee Committee to which the Agents are invited? Thereby the trends of thinking of the internees voiced in the Coun­ cil meetings could be brought directly to the Internee Committee and to the Agents; the chairman of the Council could better explain to the Council the policies and acts of the Internee Committee. "4. Is the Council’s relation to the Agents regularly maintained? Inasmuch as the Coun­ cil and the Agents are the only two groups representing the internees, the need for their close cooperation is axiomatic. This is par­ ticularly true because the Monitors Council was so closely related to the initial steps that led up to the creation and election of the Agents. "5. In light of the above, would it be wise for one of the Agents to be elected as an ex-officio member of the Council and invited to attend the Council’s regular meetings for a short period each time for such questions and discussion involving problems which come under the jurisdiction of the Agents?

332 "6. On what projects for bettering the gen­ eral welfare of the internees are your Council and the Agents jointly working? "7. Have the Council and Agents, as the two bodies representing the internees, worked out a definite plan for the administration of this camp in the future when the Internee Committee’s source of power no longer exists? If such a plan, giving due thought not only to efficiency but to democratic procedure, has been thought through and agreed upon by these two representative bodies, then it would follow that the new administration would be able to make full use of the Internee Committee members as capable and necessary advisers and at the same time to avoid pos­ sible embarrassment to all concerned. "The questions are asked of the Council be­ cause of my sincere confidence in the poten­ tial effectiveness of the monitor system as an important liaison agency in the adminis­ tration of the camp. In considering these questions, forgive those that manifest ignor­ ance, forget those that seem of no moment, and give serious thought only to those that have real point. Definite answers to the above are not expected by the writer. I am interested in provoking thought (in this matter) not among internees in general but within your Council alone.”

The Council and the Committee Compared—As a matter of fact, the Internee Committee had invited Schelke to a number of its joint meet­ ings with the Agents; members of the Committee had met with the Council on several occasions, by invitation; and the Committee had also held meetings with the monitors and the department heads on several impor­ tant occasions. One reason for there not having been more of such con­ tacts was the general attitude dis­ played by the Council, although, pos­ sibly, the Internee Committee might have gone somewhat further in efforts to effect a rapprochement. The Inter­ nee Committee held the view that the Internee Agents, as directly elected by all of the internees, were more truly representative of the internee body than was the Monitors Council. The room monitors were elected by their respective rooms, theoretically,

THE CAMP

it is true, to represent the internees in the rooms, but, in practice, chiefly to handle the roll call and similar business. It was the rule rather than the exception for persons proposed for a monitorship to decline rather than to accept the nomination. The position was looked upon rather as a chore than as one of any importance from the representative point of view. Moreover, the Council was made up chiefly of floor monitors who were not elected popularly by their floors, but by the room monitors on their floors. Several efforts to change this mode of election had failed. The Council was therefore not as democra­ tic or as representative an organiza­ tion as was sometimes pretended. The Internee Committee, on the other hand, was not the pliant tool which the Japanese had hoped it would be when they had said that all the Committee had to do was to transmit orders. The Committee had soon demonstrated to both the camp and the Japanese that it looked upon itself as, in fact, representative of the internees whatever the "source of its power" might be. Not long since, the Commandant of the camp, in a rage, had publicly charged the Com­ mittee with “opposing everything" he wanted to do. It was clear that the Council might play an important part as a liaison agency between the Internee Commit­ tee and the internee-body. A better un­ derstanding and greater cooperation between them was obviously desirable. It was not the time for playing politics or for merely carping criticism. In view of the general tone of the mi­ nutes of the Council, the plan to post them, if carried out, was bound to promote division. The Internee Com­ mittee was now fighting the Japanese authorities for the very life of the camp population, — literally for the

A NEW COMMANDANT, COLONEL HAYASHI

lives of many hundreds, at least, and unity in the camp and support of the Committee was imperative. As to paragraph 7 of Holter’s letter, with reference to a plan for the ad­ ministration of the camp immediately after the long-delayed but neverthe­ less inevitable and probably abrupt cessation of Japanese control, certain plans had already been considered which provided for a smooth conti­ nuation of the necessary functions and which, in due time, would be laid before the internee-body. It was judg­ ed wise, at this time, not to bring the question up for general and open dis­ cussion. Individual members of the Commit­ tee and the Council agreed that Hol­ ter’s letter contained suggestions that might well be followed up, and there was some hope at the time of this writing that something constructive might come of it. Chittick Seriously III is Succeeded by Johns as Labor Controller — An­ other change in the higher ranks of in­ ternee officials was effected in the ap­ pointment by the Internee Committee of E. J. Johns as acting labor control­ ler because of the serious illness of Chittick from some fever of a still un­ determined nature. (Minutes, August 14.) Later, the illness proved to be ty­ phoid. Commandant Hayashi — On the 5th of August the Committee had been informed by the Commandant's Office that "a new Commandant was expect­ ed to arrive in the camp, but that his arrival had been delayed owing to dengue." He first appeared in the camp on the 12th, as the Japanese staff and the 20 soldiers of the guard were drawn up in formal array to re­ ceive him. He was a short, thick-set individual, a lieutenant-colonel, and the Committee was informed that his name was Hayashi. Apparently still

333

ill, however, he visited the camp but a few times during the month and took no personal part in what has so far been reviewed here. On the 18th, an issue was made of 1-1/2 kilos of panocha, approximately 5 cakes, for every 6 internees. The taste of sugar after so long a depri­ vation was delicious. Delirious Red Cross-Supply Rumors —A delirious rumor got about that a shipment of American Red Cross sup­ plies had reached Manila. The supplies had been seen on the piers. The in­ voices were already in camp. Grinnell had them on his desk. Ohashi had them. Inquiries were made of the members of the Internee Committee. They denied the rumor. Finally the Committee had to take official notice of the matter and, on the 18th, made a formal announcement over the loud­ speaker system that there was no known foundation for the rumor. Even then the rumor would not die. The people wanted to believe the story and they said that possibly the Com­ mittee had not been informed, but that the food, — the cracked-wheat, the flour, the sugar, the butter, the milk, the canned goods of all sorts of delicious things must be there! There were other rumors which were perhaps more substantial, — rumors of the bombing of Davao,4 the sinking of five Japanese ships in the Verde Island Passage, of 28 more on the east coast of Tayabas. Scores of Japanese planes were seen flying high and going south; on the 19th over 100 were said to have been seen. Former Commandant Kato's Letter about the Lamp — The Japanese in the camp could not conceal their ha­ tred, but that was taken as a sign of the times. Another such sign, ■•Admiral Halsey’s planes did not attack Minda­ nao until the following month, — September 9.

334

though a contrasting one, was a letter from former Commandant Kato, now a member of the Japanese Embassy staff. It appeared that Grinnell had sent him one of the small coconut-oil lamps used in the camp made of the small tin cans in which the Red Cross soluble coffee had been packed. So Kato, who had been in the consular service in England and spoke English, had seated himself before his type­ writer and had written Hiroshi as fol­ lows under date of August 16:

THE CAMP

of the 22nd, some high-flying planes were heard at around half past one, and six or seven anti-aircraft shots followed, but nothing was to be seen except the disappearing puffs of smoke. Then, from around 3 to 5, there was more of such firing, but all of it over the Bay. It looked like range­ finding practice. At supper later in the afternoon the camp, however, showed unusual animation, and when a "practice air-alert” and a blackout were ordered at 6:40, excitement ran "Dear Mr. Hiroshi: It was very good of high, — which fell again when it was you to have brought me an A. R. [‘air-raid’?] observed that the blackout did not lamp from the camp on Monday last. In writ­ extend to the city. Anti-aircraft firing ing this note, I want to ask you to convey my practice continued however for seve­ sincere thanks for the kind spirit in which ral days and on the 24th it was re­ the Chairman of the Internee Committee gene­ rously decided to spare me of his most essen­ ported that three days of intensive defense maneuvers had been ordered tial equipments in the camp. "This lamp has now found its place in a in the Manila area. Non-military vehi­ corner of my desk with a match-box besides cles were ordered off the streets and it and I am conscious that I am fully prepared for any emergency. It is very original and the blackout at night was enforced unique in its design and purpose. Remarkable all over the city. From the night of indeed that Americans who are supposed to be the 23rd on, the floodlights over the the world’s most wasteful people, — in a good San Lazaro race track encampment sense in the age of abundance, can ever con­ were, since about the middle of July, ceive of such devices. It may be due to their in­ for the first time turned off. No fruit born resourcefulness and their possession of or vegetables came into Santo Tomas good tools and materials after all that such a for several days. After the maneuvers piece of workmanship has come to see the were over, it was announced that the light in the midst of their camp life. Ingenuity and efficiency are both embodied in this lamp, "alert” and the blackout would be so much so that I would like to preserve it continued indefinitely. as long as ever possible as a precious souvenir Camp Ordered to Construct Air-raid of my sojourn in the wartime Philippines. Shelters without Materials — On the "Yours faithfully, 23rd, the Commandant’s Office (Abi"K. Kato.” ko) informed the Internee Committee Mr. Kato was seeing the light! He that "the war in this area had become was already thinking of his stay in intensified" and advised that — the Philippines as a "sojourn". Soon, "for our own protection, we should immediate­ no doubt, there would be more of this ly commence a systematic erection of air-raid fawning, and some people would be shelters to take care primarily of the women, taken in by it and the Japanese would children, and sick. They regretted that owing to the shortage of materials and the impossi­ be thought of again as, after all, a bility of bringing in any more from the out­ really charming people, — but not by side, they could not spare us much material those who had done time in Santo for this work, but that for the shelters to be erected at the hospital, at any rate, they Tomas. provide a certain amount of bamboo. Japanese Defense Maneuvers and the would For the most part, shelters would have to be Blackout — Hope ballooned during the constructed of sod and by using such mate­ last third of August. On the afternoon rials as we could collect in the camp...Work

INTERNEES JAILED FOR DISCUSSING THE WAR should begin immediately and should be com­ pleted by September 15. The labor for this is to be voluntary, not compulsory.”

The next day Abiko admitted that the material available, even sod, was inadequate and that the Comman­ dant's staff had mainly trenches in mind. Permission was given to paint red crosses on the hospital roof. The Japanese funk was again indicated by another inspection of the camp bode­ ga of electrical supplies on the 22nd, some of which were transferred by them to the Japanese bodega. Said the minutes: "The underlying idea of this removal appears to be to put under control of the Comman­ dant’s Office any materials which might pos­ sibly be used in radio work.”

Internees Arrested for "Spreading Rumors" (Discussing the War) and for not Turning all their Money Over to the Bank — On the night of the 19th, J. F. Benedict, internee in charge of the charcoal sales department, was arrested by the Japanese, taken to the guardhouse, and then put in the camp jail. On the 22nd the Commandant gave him a 20 days’ "heavy” sentence for "communication with the outside and bringing in supplies from the out­ side". Certain supplies found in his shanty were confiscated and turned over to the Internee Committee for camp use. In possible connection with this case was the sudden search, beginning at 1 o'clock on Sunday afternoon, the 20th, by members of the Comman­ dant’s staff, of room 55A on the third floor of the main building. The be­ longings of the men in the room were ransacked and all papers were remov­ ed and examined, but were later re­ turned. A pair of binoculars and a map were confiscated. The wiring for the electric lights, and even the wir­ ing for the mosquito nets in the room was carefully traced. During the course of the search, P3,195 in Jap­

335

anese military notes and P55 in Phil­ ippine currency was found in the pos­ session of T. N. McKinney, a colored American, and P210 in Philippine cur­ rency belonging to H. J. G. Winkler, and this money was seized. When they entered the room, the Japanese had a list of three of the occupants in the room, — E. Cook, W. A. Ellison, and F. Graziani, who were taken to the Commandant’s office and investigated on the charge of "spreading rumors”. Cook and Graziani were released la­ ter in the day, but Ellison was put in the camp jail. With reference to all this, the fol­ lowing announcement was made over the loudspeaker on the evening of the 22nd: “As many of you already know, there have been recent occasions of violations of military regulations by internees. In view of the ad­ verse effect on the camp as a whole of con­ tinued violations, the Internee Committee feels that all internees will be interested in the following facts: "Violations of the rule prohibiting unauthor­ ized communications with the outside and bringing in of commodities over the wall, still continue. One internee has just completed a sentence in the camp jail for being involved in such traffic, and another internee has just been sentenced today by the Commandant’s Office for the same offense. "And here is another situation which hap­ pened two days ago and involves violation of the rule regarding discussions of the war and the circulation of rumors. By some unknown means, the Commandant’s Office received a report that three internees whose names were stated, were overheard in the vicinity of the central kitchen food-lines discussing late deve­ lopments of the war. This led to a search of room 55A where these three men are quar­ tered, by several members of the Comman­ dant’s staff. No doubt, the object of the search was to find any evidence of the source of the late war news which these internees were al­ leged to have been discussing. In the course of the search, appreciable sums of money, both Japanese military notes and Philippine curren­ cy, were found in the possession of internees. Out of the three men questioned under sus­ picion of discussing war news, two have been discharged, and the third is still in the camp

336 jail. However, the currency picked up on Sun­ day was turned over to the Internee Committee and the Commandant ordered that all cur­ rency in addition to Japanese military notes be turned in within three days except the ba­ lance of the P50 or P25 per capita authorized allowance for August expenditures. A further announcement in connection with this order will be made. "The men in whose possession this money was found, have not been detained as their explanation left room for some doubt as to their intention to violate the Commandant’s order of August 1."

Collection of Old Philippine Cur­ rency — Despite the last statement, McKinney was, on the 23rd, sentenced to three days in the camp jail for "violation of the order to turn in all monies in his possession”. He got off lightly because he claimed that the money was not his but was held by him for the estate of a colored Ameri­ can who had died the previous year. Both this money and that taken from Winkler was turned over to the Inter­ nee Committee “for the time being”. On the 24th the Commandant issued a written, order (dated the 23rd) which read in part: "There may be other internees who have more money than is allowed this month, and also in currencies other than Japanese mili­ tary notes. Internees are ordered to turn in to your Committee any money still in their possession, except of course the amounts which they are permitted to retain for the month of August. Your Committee is to give a re­ ceipt to each internee for the money so hand­ ed over. A report with detailed description is to be submitted to this office within three days. "At the present time it is not possible to state whether currency other than Japanese military notes will be held in safe-keeping in the camp or whether it will be necessary to deposit it in the Bank of Taiwan for credit in Japanese military pesos”.

The money collected under this or­ der amounted to but little, some in­ ternees stating that if they had any "real” money, they would destroy it rather than turn it over. The collect­ ions totalled PI,277 in Philippine cur­

THE CAMP

rency, P407 in Philippine war emer­ gency notes, P5,894 in Japanese mili­ tary notes (mostly from McKinney), and P201 in Chinese dollars. By order of the Commandant’s Of­ fice, camp funds amounting to P433,988.20 and private funds amounting to P396,738.00, a total of P832,726.20, were transferred to the Bank of Tai­ wan on the 29th. The amount of FI 50,000 in private funds was held for the payment of September allowances. Funds for transfer to Los Banos and Baguio were also held in the camp. Spies and Informers — As for the reiteration of the order against dis­ cussion of the war, this order was daily and almost hourly violated by everyone in the camp. The two chief topics of conversation were, of course, food and the war, and it was typical of the Japanese military mind to suppose that discussion of the war, in which the people of the camp were so vitally interested, could be suppressed. There was not a man or a woman in the camp who could not have been brought before the Com­ mandant on the charge of violating this order, and although it was ob­ vious that there were spies and in­ formers, their ear-cocking was entirely supererogatory. The charge was a me­ nace which hung over one and all, evidence or no evidence. The Committee and Agents’ Reply to the Council—The quarrel of the Mo­ nitors Council with the Internee Com­ mittee and the Agents was discussed by the Committee and the Agents on the 21st and led to a decision to in­ vite the working committee of the Council to meet with them the follow­ ing evening, the Council in the mean­ time to be requested to "hold up the publication of their minutes". At the meeting, the Council was represented by Evans, Rocke, and Canon, and there was a long and "in part heated”

THE COMMITTEE AND AGENTS REPLY TO THE MONITORS COUNCIL

discussion. At one point, Carroll of­ fered to resign and to recommend that Canon be appointed in his place. Canon answered that he wouldn’t ac­ cept the position unless he were elected to it. This, of course, was an evasion, and begged the question. Both the Internee Committee and the Agents replied formally to the questions addressed to them by the Council. Secretary Day, under date of August 23, wrote: "The Internee Committee has received and considered your letter of August 19, transmit­ ting the motion passed by the Monitors Coun­ cil asking for clarification of the meaning of the last sentence of our letter to the Comman­ dant dated August 4. I have been instructed by the Committee to reply as follows: "The sentence referred to means exactly what it says. If our efforts to secure more adequate food for this camp are unsuccessful, we are not prepared to continue in office and shall tender our resignation to the Commandant with a request that he permit an election for the selection of our successors. "Shortly after submission of our letter of August 4, we were advised by the Comman­ dant’s Office that when the new Comman­ dant had taken up his duties, a full discus­ sion would be held on the food situation. Be­ cause of the continued illness of the new Commandant, this discussion has not yet taken place. We prefer to hear what the new Com­ mandant has to say before making a definite decision regarding our own position, and we hope that the promised discussion will take place in the very near future. "Your Council, and everyone else in camp, may rest assured that we are fully aware of our responsibilities in connection with the feeding of the camp, and that we have been making, and shall continue to make, every effort to secure as much food as possible for the camp.”

The Agents replied to the Council under date of August 24, as follows: "This is with reference to your letter of the 19th instant. The minutes of your meeting of the 18th instant, at which the resolution was adopted which led to the writing of that letter, contain the following statement: " ‘It was recalled by members of the Coun­ cil that, at a mass meeting when the Agents first accepted office, they expressed their re­

337

solve to assume an attitude of mild reserve or aloofness from both the Internee Commit­ tee and the Monitors Council.’ "You failed to communicate this statement to us before the minutes of this meeting were posted. It is both inaccurate and misleading. Mr. Pond, who acted as spokesman for the Agents at the mass meeting referred to, stated in language that could not have been more clear that our function is primarily to repre­ sent the camp as a whole in its relations with the Japanese authorities but not to interfere with camp management and that, in the dis­ charge of that function, we felt that we should act independently of both the Internee Com­ mittee and the Monitors Council, but in close cooperation with each. "Predicating yourselves upon the erroneous premise involved in the statement from your minutes quoted above, you proceed to criti­ cize us for having cooperated with the Inter­ nee Committee, or, as the minutes say, for having 'closely associated ourselves with the Internee Committee’ to such an extent ’as to make it awkward if not difficult for the for­ mer to offer criticism of action on current problems of camp policy that might be taken by the latter’. This statement overlooks the fundamental principle that it is no part of our function to interfere with the administra­ tion of the camp, or to criticize the Internee Committee in its handling of current problems of camp policy, within the scope permitted them by the Japanese authorities. We are in no sense the overseers, either of the Internee Committee or of the Monitors Council, nor are they overseers of the Agents. In any case, our cooperation with the Internee Committee has never interfered, in any way, nor will it, with our independence of action. "Concluding, on this phase of the question, our relationship with the Internee Committee is in exact accord with the policy announced by Mr. Pond as our spokesman, at the mass meeting referred to in your minutes of the 18th instant, i.e. one of independence of ac­ tion but close cooperation in all problems involving the camp as a whole in its relation­ ship with the Japanese authorities. Our policy is exactly the same, in our relationship with the Monitors Council, to the extent that the Monitors Council will accept such cooperation, our right of independence of action always being reserved. "For the reason that the questions posed in your letter of the 19th instant are predi­ cated upon an erroneous conception of our relations with the Internee Committee, and with yourselves, and for the further reason

338 that such questions will tend to promote dis­ cord in the camp at a time when we can ill afford such discord, we have decided to make no reply thereto.”

The Council's Quarrel with the Broadcasting Department — The mi­ nutes of the meeting of the Council held on the 25th stated that "the frankness of the Internee Committee’s reply, which clearly sets forth their position, was appreciated. The letter was made a part of the minutes and was quoted in full. Of the Agents’ letter, however, only the last para­ graph was quoted, with the statement that it was noted that the Agents had refused to reply to the questions put to them. Criticism was raised in the meeting of the "publicity” (broadcast­ ing) department for its failure to post the previous minutes of the Council, as requested, and the chairman was instructed "to request information from the department as to their right to deliberately withhold or delay the posting of any camp material sub­ mitted by any duly recognized camp organization". The minutes referred to other cases of "arbitrary action” on the part of the department "in sup­ pressing healthy criticism”. Evans did request the desired in­ formation and drew a reply, dated August 30, signed by Beliel, Wilkins, and Miss Hacket.5 5 "This department has received a communi­ cation from the Monitors Council dated August 25, 1944, which we presume to be an extract from the minutes of the meeting of that date. The question is raised as to why the minutes of the Council meeting of August 18 were not posted by this department on the main bulletin boards, and also whether this department has 'the right to deliberately with­ hold or delay in posting any camp material submitted by any duly recognized camp or­ ganization.’ "We are glad of this opportunity to state our position and possibly clarify any misun­ derstanding as to the functions and respon­ sibilities of the broadcasting department. "We received copies on August 22 of the minutes of the August 18 meeting with the request that they be posted immediately. It

THE CAMP

A few days later, the Council asked that the duties of the broadcasting office be clarified by the Internee Committee. Lloyd replied on Septem­ ber 5 as follows: "With reference to your memorandum of September 4, the Internee Committee has instructed me to advise you that the duties of the communication division are as given below. This division is now called the commucations division instead of the broadcasting is true that the posting on the three main bulletin boards was delayed. As you are aware, the minutes in question contained an attack on the Internee Committtee and the Internee Agents which, to us, was, to say the least puzzling. The Committee was peremptorily called upon for an expiation of a certain letter which had been made public. The Agents were taken to task for cooperating too closely with the Committee, to the detriment, allegedly, of their beneficial influence. "This department had no direct knowledge of what took place in the Council meeting of which the minutes were a necessarily incom­ plete record, so was unacquainted with the controversial merits of the Council’s attack on the two other duly constituted internee bodies. The internees, for whose benefit the minutes were to be posted, were likewise un­ acquainted with the reasons behind the attack. We judged they would be equally at a loss to account for such an outburst, and would be confused by it, as we were. "It also seemed unnecessarily defiant and provocative to submit the issue in question to the internees one-sidedly, without allowing opportunity for those attacked to defend them­ selves against public charges of a defamatory nature. Elementary fairness and decency in public controversy requires such a procedure. "With these considerations in mind, this de­ partment delayed posting the minutes in ques­ tion until the situation should become clarified. (Meanwhile, the minutes in question were posted, not by this department, but presum­ ably by monitors, on several official boards, in­ cluding the education-building-lobby board.) After two or three days the Internee Commit­ tee and the Internee Agents drafted replies to the Council’s accusations, which we then posted along with the Council minutes, giving what we considered a fair representation of a confused and still unclear issue. "This department acted as it did in order to prevent, if possible, any additional confusion and any unnecessary appearance of disunity in camp, because in our opinion such things should be avoided whenever possible, and es­ pecially at this time. "As to the propriety of the action and its ‘arbitrary’ character as affecting the Monitors

DOCTORS URGE ISSUE OF LAST OF RICE AND CORNED BEEF RESERVES department. (1) To circulate to the whole camp by loudspeaker, talk-backs, messengers, or bulletin boards, orders, instructions, and information ordered or approved by the Com­ mandant’s Office or the Internee Committee. (2) To assist the camp administration (a) by preparing matters for circulation in coopera­ tion with divisions, departments, or other parts of the camp administration, (b) by use of the talk-back equipment and loudspeakers for accelarating camp business, (c) by keeping the camp regularly and promptly advised of camp administrative and social activities, in particular of canteen sales and distributions and other similar notices, (d) by maintaining a complete messenger service for communica­ tion with all parts of the camp in case of emergency.” Council, it was not our intention to be un­ necessarily arbitrary but to discharge the res­ ponsibility attached to this office according to our conception of it. “The broadcasting department has charge of the official bulletin boards by assignment of the Internee Committee. We are responsible for their maintenance and for what appears on them. It goes without saying that some agency must be responsible for preventing ma­ terials of an irresponsible, irrelevant, subver­ sive, or otherwise detrimental or dangerous na­ ture coming before the public under official sanction. This department seems the logical one to accept and discharge such responsibility. Obviously, we can not do so without the ne­ cessary authority to reject material which we consider unsuitable, regardless of its origin. "We do not mean to imply that the Monitors Council is irresponsible. But it did appear to us that the portion of the minutes referred to was agreed upon in an irresponsible mood, did not represent thoughtful deliberation, and would be misunderstood by the public. “The Council asserts (August 25) that the broadcasting department 'had no right to as­ sume the position of a censorship board’. The department has no wish to assume any such role, and has not been accused of it previous­ ly. Control over the bulletin boards is limited to matters explained above, and we are as much against the suppression of 'healthy cri­ ticism’ as the Council could possibly be. "Regarding 'several complaints of the mem­ bers’ of the Council about 'similar past ex­ periences’, presumably referring to alleged sup­ pression, we would appreciate having the com­ plaints specified. Either they have not been brought to our attention (the injured parties supposedly suffering in silence), or else the matters were purely routine; decided, as in the present controversy, on the merits of the particular case and forgotten, by this depart­ ment at least.

339

The minutes of the Council and the various questions and replies having been posted, they did serve to clear the air somewhat, and members of the Council said that they were "satis­ fied”. Harrington s Re-election as Agent— An indication of camp opinion was provided by the vote re-electing Har­ rington, one of the Agents, whose term was about to expire. The Inter­ nee Committee having requested the Monitors Council "to hold an election quietly and in the usual manner”, the election was held on the 24th, Harring­ ton receiving 2,080 votes. The number of eligible voters was 2,961. The internees were far more interested in whether they would be able to stave off absolute starvation than in camp politics. They worried over the rapidly declining vitality of their women and children, as they themselves felt more feeble day by day. Camp Doctors Recommend Issue of Last Reserves of Canned Beef— At a meeting of the camp medical staff held on August 23, a committee com­ posed of Drs. Smith and Baldwin and Mr. Gardner recommended that in view of the alarming results of a me­ dical survey of the camp just com­ pleted, a minimum of 350 grams of rice be served each internee each day and that the reserve stock of canned corned beef be issued direct to each internee at the rate of one can to every 4 persons twice a week, — a total of "One further point has a direct bearing on the posting of Council minutes. It has never been the practice to post either the Council minutes or the Internee Committee minutes on the main, or official, bulletin, boards. The posting has always been done by monitors, on monitors’ boards. Consequently, the request of the Monitors Council that their minutes be posted on the main boards, where Internee Committee minutes do not appear, seems somewhat irregular. Has the Council any sug­ gestions to offer on this?”

340

THE CAMP

In a statement signed by Drs. Ste­ 6 ounces each a week. The stock on hand permitted the issue of just 4 venson, Bloom, and Noell, the conclu­ cans of meat to each internee over a sions of the survey were given as fol­ period of only 8 weeks, after which lows: there would be nothing left. "1. Of 2,859 adults in camp, over the ages ot The memorandum of the committee 19 years, a total of 2,734 were examined. "2. Evidence of nutritional deficiency was read: "The Committee appointed by the medical staff last meeting, consisting of Dr. Smith, Dr. Baldwin, and Mr. Gardner, met to study the food situation. The following is recom­ mended: "1. That a minimum of 350 grams of rice be served to each internee each day. The camp stock of rice, exclusive of that of the Japanese, amounts to approximately 45,000 kilos. "2. That the meat-and-vegetable ration con­ sisting of about 17,000 cans, be increased. How­ ever, this has already been done at the rate of 250 cans a day, which is satisfactory. "3. There are a total number of cans of meat amounting to 10,470 pounds, and in addition there are 2,468 pounds of pork-and-beans; con­ verting this into cans, it amounts to 4 cans per person. "It is recommended that this be issued over a period of 60 days on the following basis: “One can be issued directly to the individuals for every 4 persons twice each week, by which each internee would receive 3 ounces of meat twice a week, or a total of 6 ounces. This meat is all cooked and therefore presents no cook­ ing problem. Cans to be opened at time of issue.”

The report of the committee was “accepted in full” and endorsed to the Internee Committee, all of the doc­ tors present with the exception of Drs. Smith, Waters, and Witthoff, fa­ voring the proposals made. Doctors "Report Marked Malnutri­ tion" with many Death to be Expected in Near Future — The camp doctors also adopted the report of Drs. Ste­ venson, Bloom, and Noell who had made the "medical survey for nutri­ tional deficiency” and agreed that it should be forwarded to the Japanese medical authorities through the Inter­ nee Committee. A letter outlining the summary and findings was to be drafted by Drs. Allen, Noell, and Bald­ win.

found to a marked extent. "3. There was found high incidence of neuritic pain, paresthesias, ocular pains and fail­ ing vision, indicative of deficiency in the vita­ min B complex. "4. The high incidence of urinary frequency, while open to question as to its reliability, is suggestive of protein deficiency. "5. The weight loss, which is supported by objective findings of emaciation, is most marked in the older age groups. "6. Edema is an objective sign of disturbed water metabolism, which is probably due to a combination of protein deficiency and vi­ tamin B deficiency. The elderly group showed this to the extent of 58%, while the young adults were affected as high as 10%. "7. The changes noted in the skin, though variable, represent developed clinical pellagra. "8. The mouth changes are significant in that they are found in the course of pellagra and ariboflavinosis. "9. Pallor is indicative of anemia due to deficiencies of bloodforming elements in the diet. "10. Summary: Sufficient evidence has been found to indicate marked nutritional deficien­ cy which can be controlled only by an imme­ diate increase in diet, particularly as regards animal protein and fats. Unless the deficien­ cy is remedied, serious consequences will re­ sult in the health of the camp, and deaths due to malnutrition may be expected in the near future.”

The table on the next page was ap­ pended, "X” signifying moderate and “XX” severe cases. The Internee Committee's Difficult Decision — Drs. Smith, Stevenson, Wa­ ters, and Noell met with the Internee Committee and the Agents on the evening of the 28th, with T. J. Wolff and Bridgeford also present by invita­ tion. According to the minutes: "The subject under discussion was a recom­ mendation submitted by a majority of the medical staff to issue additional meat sup­ plies ex our reserve stocks direct to inter-

SURVEY OF INTERNEE NUTRITIONAL DEFICIENCY 19 to 39 No. exam. 1065 X % XX % Urinary frequency Diarrhea Parasthesia Neuritis pains Ocular pains Failing vision Emaciation Edema — Face Ankle Skin — Pellagra Infectious Mouth — Lips Tongue Pallor

650 99 205 175 210 291 74

61 9 19 16 20 27 7

24 — 6 — — 2 2

2 — — — — — —

40 to 60 No. exam. 1153 X °/o XX °/o 855 90 283 258 261 571 212

74 42 3 8 1 — 24 1 — 22 3 — 22 3 — 50 6 — 18 11 1

341 Over 60 No. exam. 516 X °/o XX % 360 39 157 126 98 244 242

70 7 31 24 19 48 48

83 — — 1 — 4 43

16 — — — — — 8

30 2 — — 119 10 — —

71 6 — — 324 28 10 1

87 17 — — 268 53 27 5

5 — — — 56 5 — —

29 2.5 — — 49 4 1 —

66 13 — — 9 1.7 — —

82 7 — — 182 17 4 — 300 27 11 1

200 17 2 — 287 24 3 — 453 40 11 1

176 35 1 — 216 43 8 1 259 50 29 5

nees (1 can for 4 persons twice a week), with a view to increasing the amount of pro­ teins in the diet and thereby to stave off as far possible the spread of nutritional diseases among internees, evidence of which has been clearly shown by the recent medical survey. "Owing to the limited amount of meat stocks available, the point at issue was which course of action would be the better to follow in the interests of the camp as a whole; whe­ ther (a) to increase the meat ration in ac­ cordance with the recommendation, and ex­ haust our reserve meat stocks within two months, or (b) to continue on the present basis which would insure the provision of foods containing meat for a period of ap­ proximately four months. "The majority viewpoint of the medical staff was presented by Drs. Noell and Stevenson, while the minority viewpoint was presented by Drs. Smith and Waters. After a discussion lasting over two hours, the meeting was ad­ journed without a definite decision but with the understanding that the Agents and the Committee would meet again within two days for further consideration and action. "If as a result of representations already made and of further efforts to be made by the Internee Committee, the Japanese Mili­ tary authorities provide us with additional meat or fish supplies or other proteins, such as mongo beans, then it was agreed that the question of continuing an issue of reserve stocks (if decided upon) should be reconsi­ dered."

Total No. exam. 2734 X °/o XX °/o 1865 227 645 559 569 1106 528

69 149 5 8 — — 24 7 — 4 — 20 21 3 — 41 12 — 20 56 2

188 6 711 26

— — 37 1

100 114

3 4

— — 1 —

458 17 685 25 1012 37

3 — 15 — 51 2

was complicated by the lack of unani­ mity among the doctors. The doctors of course agreed that the situation was bad and that an increase in meat rations was desirable, but those in the minority believed that the pro­ posed issue of 6 ounces of meat a week would help but little, although they admitted it might have a good psychological effect. Noell, however, expressed the opinion that even a small increase in the ration would be of physiological value and that, if this were not provided, there would, very soon, be a sharp and sudden increase in the camp deathrate, as he had seen just this happen in the Cabanatuan prison-camp. Was the camp to use up its last food reserves and find itself, after two months, without anything to fall back on if the rations supplied by the Ja­ panese were still further decreased or the supplies were stopped entire­ ly? There was, of course, the hope that the Philippines, — and the camp, would be liberated by the Am­ erican forces and their allies be­ fore two or more months passed. There were rumors enough to sup­ The internee authorities were bur­ port such a hope. Some firmly be­ dened with heavy responsibility in lieved that the Philippines would making a decision in the matter, which be delivered from the enemy before

THE CAMP

342

the expiration of two months. But such beliefs had so often in the past proved illusory. At the beginning, the people in the camp believed that the internment would not last longer than a few months. After the fall of Corregidor, they thought it might last a year. After the first year and a half, they were sure that relief would surely come by fall of the second year. When the fighting in the Solomons started they thought it would be only a few months more. When Saipan was taken, they thought it would be only a few weeks more. But long months had passed. There now were the ru­ mors of the imminent collapse of Ger­ many, certainly—. But such predic­ tions had been made many times be­ fore. There had been many stories recently of landings in the Philippines, but all these had proved false. It might be true that Davao had recent­ ly been bombed,6 and this might in­ dicate imminent action in the Philip­ pine area, but what assurance was there of that? The East Indies might first have to be taken. Perhaps the Philippines would be by-passed and the attack made on Japan proper. Should the camp take the risk of con­ tinuing as it had for another four months, which would no doubt mean many deaths, or should it take the risk of using up all its reserves in two months, getting along somewhat better during this period, but ending up still worse then? The difficulty of the decision was made evident in the minutes of a spe­ cial meeting of the Internee Commit­ tee on August 30 which was attended also by the Agents. However, a con­ clusion was reached. The minutes read:

28, i.e., the recommendation submitted by a majority of the medical staff to issue addi­ tional meat supplies ex our reserve stocks direct to internees. Mr. Carroll proposed that details of the recommendation, together with a statement of our reserve stock and finan­ cial position, should be submitted to the intemee-body for their information, and for a vote indicating their wishes, before any de­ finite decision was made. The rest of the meeting felt, however, that such a referen­ dum was not necessary since the camp would most likely vote in favor of the plea and since such a vote would make it difficult to suspend the plan once it was put in operation. The stock position was reviewed and is brief­ ly as follows: "The (canned) beef-and-vegetable ration at the present rate of consumption will be ex­ hausted on October 5, after which time the kitchens will be entirely dependent on Japa­ nese rations and purchases from outside the camp. "The corned beef and other meats, if issued on the basis recommended by the majority of the medical staff, would be completely ex­ hausted by the end of October. "Existing rice stocks in the camp, includ­ ing camp reserves, are sufficient to last un­ til October 13 at the present rate of consump­ tion, provided no further deliveries are made by the Japanese. However, should the Japanese fur­ nish both rice and coconuts in accordance with the ration, camp reserve stocks would last until October 31. If no coconuts are furnished by the Japanese, and the full ration is provided in rice, camp reserves would last through the first week of December. "The Committee and the Agents were reluc­ tant to make a decision which would exhaust all our meat stocks by the end of October, but they did not feel justified in rejecting a re­ commendation by the majortiy of the medical staff. It was therefore decided to commence the issue of corned beef in accordance with the recommendation, i.e., one can for 4 per­ sons twice each week. The option should be given to internees of choosing whether to re­ ceive the corned beef direct or to have it cooked and supplied by the kitchens. This plan of issue will be subject to withdrawal at any time if a change in circumstances war­ rants such action.”

"The matter under discussion was the busi­ ness deferred from Meeting No. 26 of August

Two ciation mittee ported

6 Not true. Davao was not bombed until Sep­ tember 9.

members of the parents asso­ met with the Internee Com­ the following evening and re­ that since their last meeting

MANY ROOMS CLEARED FOR THE JAPANESE

with the Committee additional heart and teeth cases had developed among the children. They said also that, through no fault of the food division of the internee organization, the actual food supplied to the annex had de­ teriorated instead of improved. Said the minutes, — "They wished to know what the Committee could do to improve matters and what the parents could do to assist the Committee in its efforts. After discussion it was shown that apart from continued pressure on the Japa­ nese to provide adequate food supplies, the only tangible form in which assistance could be given would be the distribution of corned beef, which had already been decided upon for all internees. In the case, however, of those children who are badly underweight and whose parents have no means of supplementing their diet, it was agreed that such cases should be referred to the medical staff sub­ committee with details of the quantity of such additional milk that would be available for this purpose."

Internees over 65 again Given Hope of Release — In compliance with a request from the Commandant that the Internee Committee submit a list of persons in the camp 65 years old or over who were not confined in the camp hospital and who wished release if opportunity offered, the Committee on the 20th reported that of the 261 eligible (including 18 who were not yet 65 but soon would be), only 85 had expressed the desire for release under the circumstances while 176 had said they wished to remain in the camp. Many of the latter had their homes in the provinces, to which they would not be permitted to return, and would have no way of supporting themselves in Manila. Many others who had completely lost touch with their families and knew nothing of their circumstances, did not wish to burden them further. Requests of some of the old internees that they be allowed to try to communicate with their fa­ milies before making a decision, were refused. It was generally only the

343

oldest and the weakest who elected to go home if they could, no doubt fearing that the time left them was short and that if they took no advan­ tage of this possible opportunity, they might not see their loved ones again. Lloyd’s Letter of Resignation Taken as an "Insult" — Takeda told Grinnell that he took Lloyd’s letter of the 16th, tendering his resignation in the event the evacuation of room 29 was insisted upon, as an "insult”, and de­ manded an "apology”. Lloyd declared no insult was intended and refused to apologize. The question of stor­ age was taken up with Ohashi and Onozaki and it developed that army regulations required that supplies be stored in scattered places and that if the Internee Committee persisted in its refusal to make not only room 29 but possibly other rooms also avail­ able for such a purpose, the Japanese would have an excuse for not con­ tinuing deliveries. With the approval of the housing committee, therefore, the Committee withdrew its objections and it was agreed that room 29 be used for the storage of supplies other than rice. Nothing more was said about Lloyd’s resignation. On the 26th, the Internee Committee was in­ structed to vacate, for storage by the evening of the next day not only room 29 in the main building, but also rooms in the education building, the annex, and the camp hospital, this, of course, adding to the crowding in the other rooms. Third Floor of Education Building Ordered Cleared for Commandant and Staff — But that was not all. The next evening, Sunday, August 27, an announcement was made over the loudspeakers that the entire third floor of the education building would have to be cleared by September 10, this space to be occupied by the "Com­ mandant and his staff". There were 14 rooms on this floor, occupied by

344

THE CAMP

Japanese embassy staff was moving in! The order had been communicat­ ed to Grinnell by Takeda in just the order followed in the broadcast, and "The Commandant’s Office today announced in a curt, matter-of-fact, and unembar­ that the Hospicio de San Jose and the Reme- rassed manner, without suggestion of dios Hospital are to be closed to internees. any explanation. The Japanese occu­ With but few exceptions, the internees now pied many of the principal govern­ quartered in these institutions will be brought ment and private buildings in Manila, into camp on August 30 and 31 and Septem­ including large school and office build­ ber 1. A few may be transferred to the Phil­ ippine General Hospital, and also some of the ings and convents and churches as internees now at the Philippine General Hos­ well. Why should perhaps several pital will be re-interned. In any event, it is hundred of them move into Santo To­ expected that there will be a total of about mas? Was it for protection? Were 200 people, 30 of whom are women. There has been no indication that internees on release the samurai going to take shelter be­ to private homes are to be re-interned. The hind the women and children in the gymnasium, ground floor only, is to be re­ camp? opened for housing. According to the Com­ Oldsters from the Hospicio and the mandant's instructions, elderly men who have Remedios Hospital Re-Interned — difficulty in climbing stairs, are to be given preference. The gymnasium balconies can not The Japanese had only a few weeks be used for housing, but the north and west before been talking of the possible re­ balconies are to be used for the storage of lease of the people in the camp who baggage. were 65 years old or over. On the "The Internee Committee has also been or­ 30th,7 64 internees from the Remedios dered to vacate the entire third floor of the hospital were brought into camp in education building by September 10 and in­ army trucks, guarded by soldiers with formed that this space will be occupied by the Commandant and his staff. bayonets on their rifles. They all had "All of this means several changes in hous­ to be helped down from the trucks ing arrangements, and the Commandant’s Of­ fice has ordered that room 64 in the annex, and many of them had to be carried now used as the baggage bodega, be vacated to the camp hospital on stretchers. and used again for housing, the baggage to On the whole, however, they looked be stored in the gymnasium. Further, that better fed than the people in the camp. the relief and welfare office in the education The next day, three more internees building be removed to the relief and sup­ plies bodega in the main building, the space from Remedios and the remainder of thus released to be used for housing. Also it the baggage was brought in, and also is expected that both the Santa Catalina (camp) 94 internees, with their belongings, hospital and the isolation hospital will be fill­ from the Hospicio de San Jose. The ed to capacity, since many of the people com­ internee staff at the Hospicio and the ing from the outside institutions are in need of hospitalization. The housing operating com­ last of the equipment came in on mittee is now studying the situation ... Fur­ September 1, and on September 2, 15 ther information about the transfers will be internees who had been undergoing announced as soon as possible." treatment in the Philippine General Hospital were re-interned. All these The order to clear the entire third floor of the education building ''for people brought in with them such the Commandant and his staff’ was a food and other supplies as they had sensational one, and as there were been able to buy, including rice, sugar, not more than 50 Japanese in the tobacco, and cigarets. Most of this camp, including the 20 or so soldiers 7 Note (1945) — The camp did not know it, of the guard, the rumor ran that the but Paris had been liberated on the 25th. some 200 internees. The order was sandwiched in between several other communications of importance in the broadcast, which was as follows:

FOOD STUFFS SMUGGLED IN BY THE COMMITTEE

was confiscated on arrival by the Ja­ panese but was then turned over to the Internee Committee for camp use. However, many items were "lost”. One man thus lost 500 packages of cigarets. During the next few days, the Committee quietly returned to their right owners, the supplies it had re­ ceived. Foodstuffs Smuggled in by the Com­ mittee — As soon as the Committee had learned that the Remedios and Hospicio people were to be re-intern­ ed, it had arranged for camp supplies to be bought outside and to be sent in as stocks belonging to the return­ ing groups. Thus, on the 31st, from the Hospicio, there were brought in 26 sacks of mongo beans, 10 cases of corned beef, 10 sacks of rice, 4 sacks of sugar, 2 sacks of red beans, 1 sack of peanuts, 3 boxes of tea, 1 tin (200 rolls) of chocolate, 1 can of cooking oil, 1 demijohn of kerosene, 200 boxes of matches, and nearly 800 cans of beef, pork, adobo, etc., canned by the cannery of the Philippine Department of Agriculture. There was also a de­ mijohn of sacramental wine brought in. The smaller items were donations, but the 10 cases of corned beef cost P34.650, 20 sacks of the mongo beans cost P28,150 (6 sacks were donated), and the canned beef, pork, adobo, etc., cost P26,405. It would not have been possible to make these purchases from camp funds, because of the Japanese control, and so the money was bor­ rowed outside, payment being guaran­ teed by wealthy internees in the camp but with the expectation that the Red Cross would underwrite the loans lat­ er. After the 31st, the Japanese be­ came suspicious and no more of such badly needed supplies could be brought in in this manner. In fact, Takeda re­ fused to allow certain supplies owned by some of the Hospicio people to be sent to the camp, including a large crateful of live chickens,—really hard

345

luck for the owner. One old lady at­ tracted some amused attention in the camp when she was seen jealously guarding a large, gilt-framed mirror among her possessions. It was proba­ bly some prized wedding gift or heir­ loom, and all she had left. The Internee Committee had made careful plans for bringing these people, most of them elderly and ill, into camp and assigning them to the camp hos­ pitals or other quarters with as little discomfort and agitation for them as moving allowed. Those in the most weakened state of health were to be brought to the camp last and by themselves. But the two Japanese lieutenants, Abiko outside and Takeda in the camp, managed to upset all the arrangements with their officious and stupid interference and the result was that many of the old people were in an over-excited condition on the night of their arrival. One old colored man, R. H. Washington, a Spanish War ve­ teran, brought into camp from the Hospicio on the 31st, suffered a cere­ bral hemorrhage during the night, fell and fractured his skull, and died in the camp hospital at 5:40 the next morning. A week later, another of the men from the Hospicio, aged 73, fell and broke his hip. On the 3rd of September, Dr. Waters notified the Internee Committee that the hospital subcommittee would re­ commend to the medical staff the tak­ ing over of the entire first floor of the education building for hospital purposes as the Santa Catalina (camp) hospital was "overcrowded and unable to cope with admissions”. A Few More Letters — On the 17th of the month, 4,000 letters were re­ ceived in camp, a good part of them, notes from other camps in the Phil­ ippines and the rest brief, 25-word letters from abroad, some of them of as recent a date of writing as April, 1944. The regulations governing com­

346

munication cards were modified, ef­ fective September 1, to again permit them to be addressed to close rela­ tives in other war-prisoners or civilian internment camps. Japanese Food Deliveries — The meat and fish supplied by the Japanese during the month of August amcunted only to the fol­ lowing: 1,854 kilos of fresh fish, 187 kilos of dried fish, 535 kilos of fresh beef carcass, 190 kilos of salt beef carcass, and 187 kilos of fresh pork carcass, — this for some 4,000 people for one month, amounted to an ave­ rage of only 27.4 grams per capita daily, or would have done so had it not been for the fact that "the whole consignment of fish (179 kilos) received as army rations” on the 19th, was "condemned as unfit for human consump­ tion”. (Minutes.) According to Bridgeford’s re­ port for the month, it was "bad on arrival, condemned, and sent to .the duck farm". "Otherwise the fish has been in good condi­ tion, though hopelessly inadequate in quan­ tity”, added Bridgeford. “About 40% of the fish delivered was 'sapsap' which could only be used in sou p s...It was next to impossible to do anything useful with it in the central kitchen, although fish soups were prepared on the noon line on three occasions”. The salted dried fish served twice du- mg the month stank to heaven and was passed up by all but a small fraction of the people, hungry though they were. The vegetables delivered amounted to 14,731 kilos and the fruit, mostly bananas and po­ melos (the latter served only at the annex), to 4,041 kilos, making an average of 174.5 grams per day per person as against the 200 grams of the promised ration. Reported Bridegford, — "The amount of useful vegetables delivered became very sparse, particularly toward the second half of the month, but the quantity of fruit increased. However, the net amount of edible fruit was small compared with the gross weight, especially in the case of pome­ los, and only the bananas and calamansi were delivered in quantities of any use to the cen­ tral kitchen. The quality of kangkong and pechay was poor and 600 kilos of kangkong delivered on the 21st was condemned in toto. The green tops of white radishes are now salvaged wherever possible and used.” Staples brought into camp by the Army dur­ ing the month amounted to only 38-1/2 tons of rice, 55 bags of salt, and 1,871 kilos of panocha and pilon sugar. It was the Japa­

THE CAMP nese "intention” to bring in 150 tons of rice, but this did not materialize. Later the Japa­ nese said they would bring in 88 days’ sup­ ply, but this did not materialize either. Only 3,000 coconuts were brought in by the Army. Two-thirds of the camp’s coconut con­ sumption was purchased. No tea was delivered by the Army; all of it used was drawn from the camp’s own stocks. A total of 131 gallons of fresh carabao milk was brought into camp during August for the consumption of children under 2-1/2 years old; the deliveries were, however, very irregu­ lar and were made on only 14 days. On four days, during the month, a total of 27-1/2 gal­ lons was distributed at the annex and 12-1/2 gallons were provided for the medical lines, but after the 16th no extra milk came in al­ though it was ordered daily. Because of the change in the money economy of the camp, it had been decided to discontinue the sale of supplementary milk at the annex and ins­ tead to provide it free to all children between 2-1/2 and 6 years, but due to the non-arrival of the milk, this could not be done.

15% Short-Weight Deliveries — Miserable as the Japanese deliveries of supplies were, they were increas­ ingly short-weight, too. Reported Bridgeford: "The increased short-weights are even more disquieting when the trend is examined. For the first few days of August, the Army deli­ vered 40-kilo sacks (of rice) with an average short-weight of 5.02%. Then followed 100-kilo sacks showing 6.88% shortage, and at the end of the month the 50-kilo sacks then being delivered showed an average shortage of 9%. Another batch of 100-kilo sacks delivered dur­ ing the first 4 days of September showed the appalling average shortage of 15.8%. I have already drawn your attention to these figures which, if they continue, will have a drastic effect on our rice position. We are charged with full nominal weight against our ration (ag­ ainst which practice you have several times protested unsuccessfully to the Japanese), and to maintain steady weights of actual rice for serving at the kitchens we are forced to draw much more heavily on our own stock than we rightly should. I recognize that our chances of redress are rendered very slim by the fact that the Japanese camp authorities are forced to accept the sacks as delivered to them by the army quartermaster. The mat-

SUPPLEMENTARY FOOD PURCHASES AND PRICES ter is very serious to us, however, and, even if it yields no concrete results, a strong re­ quest for redress should be put on record.”

The Dwindling Rice Reserves — The decision of the Internee Committee to increase the rice consumption in the camp from its own reserves and ac­ cumulated surplusses was carried out during the month of August, the ave­ rage daily per capita consumption be­ ing 432 grams as compared with 358 grams for July. Bridgeford warned: "If we had to rely entirely on stocks of rice (Army and camp) at present in Santo Tomas, our present program would exhaust that stock in about 39 days from September 1, assuming the continuance of coconut sup­ plies, either army-supplied or bought”.

The Internee Committee spent P272,143.65 in camp money for supplemen­ tary food during the month, the prin­ cipal items being: bananas, P75.885; tomatoes, onions, peppers, P27,354; bean-sprouts, P15.531; eggs, P54,023; fresh milk, P31,568; coconuts, P6,960; other food items, P80,821. Said Bridgeford: "In spite of increased expenditures, the amount of supplementary foodstuffs we have been allowed to buy has seriously diminished, particularly in the case of eggs and fruit. The shortage of bananas has affected the number of times we have been able to serve them on the line, while it is no longer possible to provide the hospitals and the annex With an adequate number of eggs...N o success has attended our efforts to buy other required com­ modities such as mongo beans, peanuts, and peanut press-cake.”

The price of fresh carabao milk at the end of August was P26.40 a gallon; Leghorn eggs cost P4.60 each, duck eggs, P4.50; lacatan bananas, P.35, and latondan bananas, P.47 each; spring onions cost P9.20 a kilo, green pep­ pers, P14 a kilo, bean-sprouts P4.70 a kilo. Coconuts cost PI.30 each. The total canned meats consumed in the camp during the month, taken from the reserve stocks, amounted to 7,473 pounds, reducing the stocks to 23,650 pounds.

347

Cooking in the kitchens continued to be complicated by low gas-pressure and inadequate supplies of charcoal and firewood for the outside stoves. On the 21st, three loads of firewood were brought into camp, but were not released by the Japanese, and despite a special request they would not even permit it to be chopped and made ready for use. On the 25th, the Commandant’s Of­ fice "advised” the Internee Commit­ tee on various points, and, with res­ pect to firewood brought into camp, that this should be used only when the supply of gas was interrupted dur­ ing the emergency, and that for less pressing needs the wood obtained from trimming the campus trees could be used. Other points were that "renewed ef­ forts were being made to obtain 'cawas’ (a type of cauldron) for the cen­ tral and hospital kitchens” (among the difficulties was the lack of enough pots to cook in), and that it would be "impossible to obtain new electriclight bulbs for the camp”. Applications for Tobacco Rejected— As for tobacco, the Committee was in­ formed that "application” (of the fin­ ance and supplies’ section of the Com­ mandant’s Office) "to the Tobacco Association for picadura smoking tobacco for the camp had been re­ jected, and that no reason could be given to the Committee because 'it would be embar­ rassing to both the Commandant’s Office and the internees’.”

It was impossible to suppose that any Japanese "application" to any Japanese-organized "association” could be "rejected”. It was also impossible to suppose that any explanation the Japanese could give would be "embar­ rassing” to the Committee, although it was possible that in spite of Japa­ nese shamelessness, the true explana­ tion might be embarrassing to the Commandant's Office. The true expla­

348

nation was that, first, the Japanese found satisfaction in depriving the camp of tobacco as of other supplies, and, second, that certain Japanese in and outside of the camp were profit­ ing from the tobacco being smuggled into the camp and sold at extortionate prices. Toward the close of the month only a few baskets of avocados, calamancis, lansones, and garlic were avail­ able for sale in the fruit and vegeta­ ble market. The last avocados sold at P7 each. Lansones sold at P12 a kilo. Total sales, even at such prices, am­ ounted to only P97,939.35 for the month. Total sales at the canteen amounted to only P39,151.20, — not including the charcoal, soap, and cigaret issues. Fears that the Japanese would put an end to the fruit and vegetable market had virtually come true. According to Bridgeford's report: "The attitude of the Japanese authorities to­ wards our supplementary purchases is that the camp is not justified in taking more than what they consider its fair share of market supplies, and it was in line with this policy that they have cancelled all orders of vegetables for Canteen No. 1 [the fruit and vegetable market].”

Growth of Thievery in the Camp — A mark of the times was the increas­ ing number of thefts, referred to in the Internee Committee minutes of August 20. Thefts from the shanties by intruders from outside the camp had come to an end with the patrol of the walls by Japanese guards, — and the barbed wire, the raised sentry boxes, and the lights on the walls. But from the beginning of July on, when blackouts became frequent, there had been five or six reported cases of theft and burglary, cupboards and lockers in the halls and in the patio lean-to's being broken open and rif­ led of foodstuffs, mostly Red Cross canned goods. In no case were the

THE CAMP

thieves recognized or any arrests made. The department of patrols, acting on "information” received, conducted searches on several occasions, but no stolen goods were found. In fact, the type of goods stolen was almost im­ possible to identify. About all the de­ partment could do was to notify the camp exchanges and the vendors, but some of the vendors especially were themselves suspect, and nothing ever came of this routine. Internee Vendors Still in Business —There still were internee vendors, though, as recounted, the Japanese had ordered them out of business and the license board had been abolished as of July 1. The role of the vendors was, however, important enough in the camp to lead the Internee Commit­ tee to allow their continued existence. The Committee could not have done otherwise, anyway, in view of the con­ nections of some of these vendors with Japanese officials in the camp. In a communication to the head of the de­ partment of patrols the Internee Com­ mittee stated that with the abolition of the license board on July 1, — “from said date, private enterprise operating for profit shall be free from any restriction except such prohibition or regulation as you as chief of your division may, in your discre­ tion but in the interest of the peace and good order of the camp, from time to time im­ pose."

Forrest, in turn, issued an order dat­ ed July 22, which stated that until further notice any person might en­ gage in any lawful occupation free of any license fee or tax, subject to the following exceptions and restrictions. "(1) Any business in competition with any camp enterprise is prohibited; (2) no stand or public display of goods may be set up or offered anywhere in camp and all transac­ tions shall be conducted in an inconspicuous manner; (3) after 5 p.m. each day no goods may be collected, delivered, or exchanged in the main building; (4) prices shall be main­ tained at as fair and reasonable a level as

FOOD THEFT IN CAMP — HUNGER AND MORALITY conditions may warrant; (5) each vendor shall keep a record of all transactions, except those involving Red Cross items only, and such re­ cord shall be presented to the office of camp order for checking once a week; (6) all ven­ dors shall keep themselves informed of stolen articles as posted in the office of camp or­ der; any vendor buying, selling, or dealing in any way with any such articles shall be de­ prived of vending privileges and answer ap­ propriate charges before the Committee on order."

The provisions relating to the week­ ly presentation of records of sales could not, of course, be enforced, since no checking was possible. The provision that prices were to be main­ tained at a fair and reasonable level, was also a dead letter. There were those who charged internee officials with sharing in the "graft" from the sale of such products as tobacco and sugar by the smugglers in the camp, largely because it was believed this traffic was "protected", but what pro­ tection there was came from conniv­ ing Japanese and not from the inter­ nee authorities. Pilfering in the Kitchens — Besides the outright thieving in the camp, of which probably only a small number of individuals were guilty, there was a much more general pilfering in the kitchens, the kitchen food-lines, the fish-cleaning and vegetable prepara­ tion details, the fruit and vegetable market, in the camp gardens, and even in the food bodegas. Those guilty could rarely be brought to account because of the generally petty nature of this thieving and the diffi­ culty of obtaining proof. Practically the only thing that could be done was to dismiss persons suspected of such acts from the jobs they held which gave them their opportunity. One kit­ chen worker was caught carrying away cooked rice in his pockets. Another illustration of the difficulty of dealing with this sort of misbehavior was pro­ vided by some of the women who

349

peeled squash. They carried off the peelings to cook in their shanties, and it was noticed that the peelings were getting thicker and thicker. So it was ordered that the peelings would have to be sent to the kitchens. But this did not solve the problem, for after that it was seen that while the peel­ ings were thinner, the women were taking the pulp and that good portions of squash were scraped off with that. Hunger and Morality — People were hungry, hungry all the time, and the great majority of those having any­ thing to do with food stocks, food preparation, and food serving simply could not keep themselves from taking what advantage they could of what­ ever opportunities they had to get a little more food for themselves. It was becoming very apparent to what de­ gree plain honesty, ordinary decency, self-respect, community feeling, and all the higher moral values are depen­ dent on the maintenance of that nar­ row margin between having enough to eat and not having enough to eat. Man is first an animal, and an animal is mostly stomach. What we like to think of as human qualities are based more on the economic development of society than on individual moral deve­ lopment. Special "Court of Inquiry” to Inves­ tigate Thefts of Hospital Supplies — In the meantime, a more serious case involving the disappearance of certain valuable medical supplies from the camp hospital had been gone into by a "special court of inquiry” the pro­ ceedings of which were kept quiet. It was referred to only in the Internee Committee minutes of June 5, as fol­ lows: "A special court of inquiry was set up con­ sisting of Justice J. V. Vickers as Chairman, C. A. DeWitt, Carlos Young, J. H. Forrest, and S. L. Lloyd (ex officio) to investigate the pending case against----- .”

350

------- , the internee, connected with a local drugstore before the war, who was charged with the theft, admitted that he had taken the drugs, but for a good purpose.8 The ramifications of the case, involving persons outside the camp, were such that the court of in­ quiry decided to suspend its investi­ gations until after the war.9 Lieutenant Shiraji Takes the Place of Komatsu — A change in the finance and supply section of the Comman­ dant’s Office was indicated by the ap­ pearance in the camp of a Lieutenant Shiraji, and older man than Komat­ su, who, after a few days informed the Committee that "he was taking charge" of that section. He also said, according to the minutes of the 27th, that "he had heard of dissatisfaction and conflicts of opinion existing be­ tween the internees and the Japanese, and that he desires to go into all pro­ blems and do what he can to improve the situation”. Although it was ru­ mored that Komatsu was to "return to the line”, — which gave the camp great satisfaction, he was still in camp at the time of this writing. The Kangkong Planting — Some­ what more than a gesture of com­ pliance with the Japanese demand that gardening activities be increased, was the work begun on a kangkong plant­ ing project on the 23rd. Kangkong can be cooked as greens, and as it is a weed that grows in wet places, along ditches and canals, it was thought that it would do well in a strip of land running along the east wall from the hospital gate down to the front fence of the campus. The soil was soft and it was only required to cut the grass and hoe the ground before planting. The work was done by the "emergen­ cy labor details” which had been or­ ganized some weeks before. There 8 Note (1945): To assist war-prisoners. 9 Note (1945): The investigation was never re­ sumed.

THE CAMP

were 36 of these details, numbered from 1-A, 1-B, 1-C, 2-A, B-B, etc., up to 12-C, each composed of 25 inter­ nees. The details included all men un­ der 60 years of age regardless of their other assignments, not excepting (to set an example) prominent camp of­ ficials. Three of these details (75) men were called at 7:30 to work one hour, and another three to work from 8:30 to 9:30. In the afternoon, three other details were called to work from 3 to 4 o’clock. The work was supposed­ ly "voluntary” and, in fact, usually on­ ly from half to a third of the men called showed up. Nevertheless, the project was completed in around a week. Internee Refuse to Load Two Junked Automobiles — What might have led to more trouble than it did, was the "request” of Takeda on August 26 for 10 men to load two stripped and bad­ ly weathered automobiles in the camp on to army trucks. The Committee declined to order any one to do this work but did broadcast a call for vo­ lunteers, — to which there was no response. Takeda raved. That after­ noon Grinnell was called to the Com­ mandant’s office and his memorandum of the discussion which there took place, follows: "Lieutenant Abiko (Mr. Cary acting as inter­ preter), referring to the request of this morn­ ing for assistance in loading junked automo­ biles to take out of camp, asked whether the internees will cooperate with the soldiers in doing various jobs in the camp or whether the attitude displayed this morning may be taken as an indication of general non-cooperation. "The Chairman attempted to reply to the effect that the attitude of the internees toward work is quite clear, — namely that if the nature of the work is within the scope of work to be done by internees, the work will be carried out; on the other hand, if the nature of the work is such as to be outside the scope of work that should be done by internees, the Internee Committee will not or­ der internees to do this work, but, if the Commandant's Office insists, will issue a call for volunteers.

351

THE HOSPICIO DE SAN JOSE "Mr. Cary was not able to complete his in­ terpretation of the Chairman’s reply, as Lt. Abiko interrupted, stating that he could not understand why internees would not help the soldiers on such a minor job when the sol­ diers are here in the interests of the inter­ nees. "Mr. Cary again attempted to explain the fundamental principle without success as Mr. Takeda broke into the discussion and express­ ed extreme dissatisfaction with the failure to trust his judgment upon what work was fitted for internees. "Messrs. Onozaki, Ohashi, and Kinoshita were present, but made no comment. "In further discussion, Mr. Takeda made clear that he had accepted Mr. Carroll's of­ fer to call for volunteers rather than to make this a compulsory task. After Mr. Takeda had subsided, Mr. Kinoshita said that internees should rest assured that they would not be asked to do any work directly against their own countries and that the Japanese staff was often required to do things which on analysis were perhaps disadvantageous to the Army, but that they did them in the line of their duty. Internees could rest assured that the junked automobiles were not to be sent to Japan to be used as war material and that it was simply a matter of clearing up the front yard. He urged that as far as possible inter­ nees cooperate in tasks requested by the of­ fice in the interests of harmony. "Subsequently the Chairman talked to Mr. Onozaki and Mr. Ohashi, pointing out the ob­ vious lack of understanding of the basic prin­ ciple governing internee labor on the part of Lt. Abiko and Mr. Takeda. It was agreed that a memorandum should be presented reiterat­ ing the Committee’s position as regards labor by internees.”

The usual menaces, the usual crook­ ed explanations, the usual hypocriti­ cal moralizing. No wonder that the members of the Internee Committee often looked very, very tired. Deaths in August, in the camp, in outside institutions affiliated with the camp, and among the few internees still on release in their homes, num­ bered 6, all of men, ranging in age from 63 to 78, and including I. Beck, prominent Manila merchant, who was reported to Have died in his home of heart-failure.

40

Story of The Hospicio de San Jose The Hospicio de San Jose intern­ ment camp, established with a view to providing special care for some of the older men in Santo Tomas, was opened early in January, 1943. The men, numbering around 130, occupied the second floor of the main building of the institution which for over a century has been conducted by the Sisters of Charity, a Spanish order, as an asylum for foundlings and or­ phans, with some accommodations available also for aged people and a few psychopathic cases. The institu­ tion is a picturesque one, taking up the whole of a small island in the mid­ dle of the Pasig river, just above Aya­ la bridge, to which it is connected by a causeway. Mrs. J. D. Mencarini, a prominent Spanish lady in Manila, had, at the request of the Santo Tomas Executive Committee, looked around for a place for a branch-camp for the old men, and had found the Hospicio. So far as the Committee knew, no rental was paid for the accommodations fur­ nished by the Sisters. Mrs. Mencarini agreed to act nominally as directress, and came almost daily. At the begin­ ning, the branch-camp was looked upon principally as a hospital, and Miss E. Earle, a Protestant mis­ sionary nurse, was put in charge by the Committee, with Gilbert Perez as monitor. In June, 1943, she was trans­ ferred to the children’s home at the Holy Ghost College, and Mrs. M. Sherk took her place. Mrs. Sherk, in her turn, together with an internee order­ ly, M. R. Keaton, got into difficulties with the Japanese about an inter­ cepted letter from Mrs. Sherk’s hus­ band, who was a war-prisoner at Cabanatuan, and both she and the or­ derly were summarily sent back to Santo Tomas one morning. She was replaced in May, 1944, by an army nurse, Miss M. Breese. who was as­ sisted by another army nurse, Miss M. J. Oberst. Younger men sent to the camp as orderlies had in the mean­ time taken over the monitorship which

352

became the most responsible position, R. Hawkins serving as monitor from June to November, 1943, and A.C. Hall serving from then on until the return of the whole group to Santo Tomas. Father T. J. Daley, a Maryknoll priest, rendered the services of his calling and was also the "sanitary orderly”. Most of the men in the camp were Spanish War veterans, but there were also some younger men, suffering from tuberculosis, two elderly women who had developed psychopathic symptoms, and an idiot boy. There was one old man from a Visayan pro­ vince who had been interned by the Japanese despite the fact that he was a paralytic and had lost all control of his bodily functions. The oldest was 84 years of age, but he was in excellent health. At the instance of Mrs. Mencarini, Dr. R. M. Moreta agreed to act as me­ dical officer of the camp without com­ pensation, but most of the work was actually done by Drs. R. Richards, J. Cordoba, and E. Reyes. A Filipino den­ tist, Dr. I. Carlos, looked after the dental work until June 1, 1944, when for some reason, the Japanese became suspicious of him, searched his home, and banned him from the Hospicio premises. Drs. McAnlis and Doyle also did dental work at the Hospicio. Up to February, 1944, the Hospicio branch-camp shared the Santo Tomas daily per capita allowance of from P.70 to PI .50, the money being turned over to the Mother Superior by the Executive Committee, and the Com­ mittee also helped out from time to time with supplies. From February on, the Japanese Army allowed a P2 per diem which was paid direct to the Mother Superior. After this, Santo Tomas was no longer permitted to send supplies, except small quanti­ ties of medicines. However, as prices rose to unheard-of heights, an appeal for assistance was sent to Grinnell, and he, through Carroll and Alcuaz, sent the Mother Superior a sum of P30.000 raised privately on General Electric Company drafts, which it was believed would be underwritten by the Red Cross later, and subsequently additional sums totalling another

STORY

P30,000. Mrs. Mencarini and others also raised donations in cash and kind which ran up to PI,000 and PI,500 a month in value, the expenditures of such sums being handled by Hall. There was a little meat or fish every day, an egg every week or so, and the Vienna Bakery, though the price of bread rose to P2 for a small loaf, con­ tinued to supply the Hospicio inter­ nees at 80 centavos a loaf. A Spanish friend provided a big basketfull of tobacco and cigarets every month until the Japanese stopped this. A small store was set up in the Hospicio for the benefit of internees, operated on a non-profit basis by Keaton, the orderly already mentioned. His re­ turn to Santo Tomas ended this en­ terprise. Subsequently the daily buy­ ing of necessities was done by the Fi­ lipino music teacher of the Hospicio. There was a daily package-line open from 10 to 12 o’clock, which continued to operate until the last, relatives and friends of the internees bringing in food, clean clothing, etc., as in Santo Tomas up to the time the Japanese closed the line there. Visiting was not supposed to be allowed, but as there were always visitors to the Sisters and other inmates, it was not difficult, with the exercise of a little discretion, for the internees to receive visitors of their own in the many out-of-the-way hiding places in the old Hospicio. Most of the veterans were able to bor­ row funds on their pensions, now over two years in arrears, to assist their families outside. The internees continue.d to receive the Tribune and La Vanguardia up to to June 19, when Ohashi, on an inspection, chanc­ ing to see a newspaper in one of the wards, expressed his surprise, and issued an order that they were no longer to have the newspapers. How­ ever, the papers continued to be re­ ceived by others on the island and could always be seen by anyone in­ terested. Order and discipline was good and the men were generally fairly con­ tent. When they learned that the pack­ age-line in Santo Tomas had been closed, they realized they were lucky and took pains to see that nothing

THE REMEDIOS HOSPITAL

happened which might endanger their own package-line. The Japanese them­ selves never maintained any sort of guard at the Hospicio. The general health was good, but as the average age was around 70, some 30 deaths occurred among them during the Hospicio internment period. The Japanese allowed a local undertaking company PI00 for a funeral, but often the coffin was only a rough deal box and the hearse a carromata. On one occasion, a coffin was sent which was still stained with the fresh blood of some other corps it had contained. Thus a number of America’s old war-heroes were taken to their final resting place. Hall spoke highly of Mrs. Mencarini and of her husband, saying that no­ thing seemed too much for them to do for the internees. He also spoke in grateful terms of the wise old Mother Superior, Sister Cristina Nicolao, and of big-hearted Sister Monica who was in charge of the second floor. The internees found life on the island so near the big bridge exciting at times. One morning they saw a murder committed on the bridge in broad daylight, — about 7 o'clock in the morning, a man shooting another with a revolver at point-blank range as he passed him. Other people on the bridge screamed and started to run, but the murderer calmly walked on, passing the Japanese police post near the east end of the bridge as if no­ thing had happened. Often they saw corpses floating down the river, some of them decapitated and with the arms tied. The body of an unknown white man, with the head almost se­ vered, was washed ashore on the is­ land and was removed by the police. Every morning they saw bancas loaded with coconuts coming down the river, and during the time the city was eva­ cuated of a large part of its popula­ tion they saw launches towing up flatboats loaded with people and their meager household goods. The transfer back to Santo Tomas was not a happy one for the old men. They needed special care just as much as they had done before, and although the Internee Committee was doing the

353

best it could to arrange matters so that they could receive some attention in the gymnasium to which they were assigned, a special food-line being set up for them there so that they would not have to walk so far and stand in the main food-line, there was not much that could be done for them un­ der the circumstances. The food was very much poorer than they had been getting at the Hospicio. They also worried about their families from whom they were now completely cut off. And instead of the view of the river, the bridge, and the city, they now sat around the gymnasium, sur­ rounded by the sawali fence. Only a few weeks before the Ja­ panese had ostensibly been making arrangements for the release of all men of 65 and over. Many of them had already obtained "guarantors" and had happily anticipated an early re­ turn to their families. Now these poor fellows, many of them between 70 and 85, were back in Santo Tomas again under the infamous "protective custody” as practiced in that institu­ tion.

4 1 Story of The Remedios Hospital The Remedios Hospital in the Malate Catholic School, on the corner of Mabini and San Andres, was Red Cross Hospital No. 4 early in the war and was taken over in May, 1942, by the Cathojic Women’s League of which Miss Manuela Gay was President. When after a number of months the League was meeting with difficulties in finan­ cing the enterprise, Mrs. Natividad de Leon, a wealthy Filipino lady and 3 member of the League, assumed the responsibility of raising donations among her friends, herself contribut­ ing large amounts. The Catholic Wo­ men’s League girls and the "Vsac” girls (Volunteer Social Aid Committee) also did outstanding work for the Hospital. Mrs. Mencarini, a member of the League, transferred her main in­ terest to the Hospicio, as already recounted.

354

Holland, Duggleby, and Dr. Leach, who had constituted the Santo Tomas committee on outside hospitals, agreed after the establishment of the old men’s home at the Hospicio that an effort should be made to retain a connec­ tion with the Remedios Hospital as a suitable place for sending convales­ cents, while continuing to send acute cases to the Philippine General Hos­ pital. The committee therefore left three old men at Remedios to "hold the fort” as it were, when the others there were transferred to the Hospi­ cio. The committee in time succeeded in obtaining Japanese consent to the sending of more internees there. They came to number around 80 or 90, most of them elderly and around onethird of them women. The school building in which the hospital was housed was a part of the Malate Convent of the St. Columban order. Father Henaghan, the head, Father Kelly, the parish priest, and Father Lalor, in charge of buildings, did everything they could for the in­ ternees, often at a risk to themselves. The medical director was Dr. Gabriel, and other physcians on the staff were Drs. S. Orosa and J. Tan. Dr. McAnlis looked after the dental needs of the patients until he was interned in San­ to Tomas. As at the Hospicio, there was an in­ ternee monitor, George Snow, who was appointed in April, 1943, by the Santo Tomas committee on outside hospitals, and who did good work, serving principally as a liaison officer between Santo Tomas and the hospital and between the internees and the hospital administration. The monitor was also in charge of "order". In Feb­ ruary, 1944, Mrs. de Leon asked inter­ nee C. S. Hynes to take over the monitorship, which he did. The internees at first occupied only the second floor, there being two wards in the building for other pa­ tients as well as a maternity ward. The Japanese military, in February, 1944, objected to these other patients being in the same building, and they were therefore transferred the following month to an annex on Plaza Malate. For additional accommodations for the

STORY

internees, meanwhile, five or six small temporary buildings had been erected in the grounds, some with two or three rooms, and the largest with six. The per capita allowances for the internee patients were the same as for those at the Hospicio, the money be­ ing made payable to the hospital ad­ ministration in the persons of Miss Gay or Mrs. de Leon. In 1944, during the rice crisis, Mrs. de Leon received a donation of P30,000 from Santo To­ mas, the money having been raised in the same way as for the Hospicio. As at the Hospicio, the internees at Remedios had meat or fish every day, and eggs quite frequently. Internee Heeg, former Manila Hotel chef, su­ pervised the cooking. Bread was not served but was bought individually by some of the patients, the price, to­ ward the end, rising to P10 a loaf. There were persons of means among the Remedios internees who did not eat the hospital food but did their own cooking. In some respects Reme­ dios was run more like a hotel or rest-house than as a hospital. There was what amounted to an all­ day package-line, and there was con­ siderable talking over the fence. Af­ ter the military took charge in Santo Tomas in February, 1944, Kato made an inspection of the Hospital and said that the internees would have to abide by the regulations. When, however, he was asked about the package-line, he answered only that this was "receiv­ ing consideration from the higher au­ thorities”. The internees took the hint and thereafter confined the delivery of packages to one hour a day. There was no more talking to outsiders, but mes­ sages could always be gotten through. As at the Hospicio, there were no Japanese guards. The general ease and freedom at Remedios existed Qnly because the Japanese did not bother themselves much about the place. The real Japa­ nese attitude was displayed when one day in July, an internee, ill of pneu­ monia, lay at the point of death. His wife, a Spanish mestiza, came to see him just at that time, and the Com­ mandant at Santo Tomas was peti­ tioned by telephone to allow the wife

THE FIRST

355

AMERICAN BOMBING

to see her dying husband. This was peremptorily refused. The dying man was comatose and beyond caring, pro­ bably, but the poor women, who was about 50 years old, sat in the hospital office downstairs for an hour-and-ahalf. No one dared to admit her to her husband because there were informers about and it was believed that the Japanese were only waiting for some infraction of an order to close the whole place up. At the end of the hourand-a-half of waiting, the lifeless body of her husband was carried downstairs where she could see it. After these facts became known, there Was much criticism among the internees and

others of those in authority at the Hospital for not having allowed the wife to see her husband, regardless of Japanese orders. Around noon on Monday, August 28, the internees were notified that they must be ready by 8 o’clock Wednes­ day morning for transfer to Santo To­ mas. The Japanese warned that though they could take such supplies as they had, they were not permitted to buy any additional supplies to take with them! The people at Remedios had been living well, — at least comparatively. Santo Tomas was a bad change, and a shock to them.

Chapter XX The First American Bombing Events pursued the tenor of their way during the first two-thirds of the month of September, with the Inter­ nee Committee and the Agents battling with the Commandant’s Office on is­ sues old and new. It w.as the last third of the month, — and the last day of summer, the 21st, which made the month memorable for every inmate of Santo Tomas and every Manila re­ sident. Commandant Hay as hi States He Wishes to Make Internees’ Life “Brighter and Happier Than Ever” — The Committee first met the new Com­ mandant, Lieut. Colonel Hayashi, on the 9th, when, in the presence of Onozaki, Abiko, Ohashi, and Kinoshita, the three members were formally in­ troduced to him. After the introduc­ tions, he read a formal statement in Japanese which was translated by Ca­ ry. He said that the Committee’s "main object” was to convey his poli­ cies and orders, which were to be "adequately carried on under his su­ perintendence”, and to forward to

him the "reouests” of the internees. The Commandant and the Committee were "not to be pitted against each other”. The Committee was to "assist the Commandant” and to "maintain strict control over the internees”. He perfunctorily thanked the Committee for its past efforts and said that he expected that in further recognition of its duty, it would "strive to make the internees’ living here brighter and happier than ever”! He said that as the war lengthened, there could be no exemption anywhere from a shortage of commodities, es­ pecially foodstuffs. People everywhere, he said, were exerting themselves in production, and the internees of San­ to Tomas "ought not to be allowed to stand with their arms folded, aloof from the current of the world". There­ fore, "all the men and women, young and old, here, in spite of their age, if healthy enough", were "requested” to do "any work in their power”, not only in gardening but in "other pro­ ducing labors" about which the Com-

356

mittee had already been informed. The Commandant closed by saying: "I heartily expect you will fulfill your duty as the Commandant’s reliable and helpful assistants”. All Must Work "In Spite of Their Ages" — The statement was negative, evasive, and false. It met none of the protests which had been made, pro­ mised no relief whatsoever, emphasiz­ ed the demand that the internees do still more work, and was, in substance insulting. Camp Called Upon to do “PieceWork" — "Other producing labors wanted for public welfare”, to which Hayashi referred, had been taken up with the Committee by Onozaki, on September 4 in connection with his earlier statement of August 15 and the Committee’s reply thereto of Au­ gust 19. Present at this meeting on the 4th, besides Onozaki, were Ohashi and Takeda. Onozaki said that it was the "Philippine government” which was "trying to stimulate production” and was paying for it “by making con­ trolled goods available”. The Army was anxious to cooperate and would act as intermediary. He admitted that army rations have "not furnished sufficient quantities of some articles and sometimes none at all”. He also referred to the "embarrassing situa­ tions” which had arisen through "ille­ gal operations by internees” in con­ nection with the sale in camp of blackmarket goods and "over-the-wall activities”. (He said nothing about the part of the Japanese in these activi­ ties.) An "honorable method” for ob­ taining such articles at "reasonable prices”, was desirable, he said. The "piece work” would "help society”. It was "work for the Filipinos” which would bring a return in "goods pro­ duced by the Filipinos and under their control”. He therefore requested the Committee to undertake the program. It involved only "light work, — sitting-

THE CAMP

down work”. Adoption of the pro­ gram would relieve the Commandant's Office of the criticism of the "seeming idleness" in the camp. He guaranteed payment in goods. Details could be worked out after the Committee had "reported its decision to cooperate”. The Committee Stalls for Time — The reference to the "Philippine gov­ ernment” and the talk about "work­ ing for the Filipinos” was absurd. The Committee got the impression that Onozaki was aware of the petty na­ ture of the "program”, but wanted to force it through to "save face” with the Army. Stalling for time, the Com­ mittee on the 11th submitted a letter to him asking for further information as to the exact nature of the "piece work” and the payment for it. But even before a reply was re­ ceived, the Committee, in its meeting on the 18th, decided on recommending to the labor controller and the labor council that "they should make a careful study of individual work as­ signments with a view to eliminating unnecessary work and sharing the es­ sential work as evenly as possible throughout the camp”. This was judg­ ed imperative because “the labor pro­ blem has become more difficult owing to the shortage of food and the de­ clining energy among internees”. The situation of the camp as to food supplies was moving from bad to worse. There was even a shortage of salt, which was no longer obtainable at the food lines. On the 1st, however, it was distributed in the amount of 1,500 grams for every group of six in­ ternees. Those internees who had, by order of the Japanese, deposited suf­ ficient funds in the Bank of Taiwan, were permitted on the 1st and for a few days following to witdraw P50, their allowance for the month, but if they had more than PI left of the pre­ vious August allowance, they had eith­ er to declare this and draw so much

THE FOOD SITUATION TURNS FROM BAD TO WORSE

less, or turn their balance over to camp funds. At the fruit and vegetable market, there were daily only a few baskets of avocados, calamancis, lanzones, and garlic for sale. Avocados sold at from P4 to P7 each and lanzones cost P12 a kilo. The limit was 1/2 kilo for every group of four persons. On the 3rd, the Army brought in 3,000 coconuts for the manufacture of coco­ nut milk and 12 bags of sugar, but, according to the minutes, "the sugar is not to be touched for the time be­ ing”, although everybody had been doing without sugar for weeks. The Committee on this date, the 3rd, approved a memorandum to Shiraji, as he had suggested, regarding the immediate camp food requirements. The minutes stated. "Emphasis is to be placed on the need pri­ marily for proteins, either animal or vegeta­ ble, i.e. meat, beans, peanuts, or peanut-cake. In addition we need bananas and other local fruits, vegetables (such as eggplant, camotes, and gabi), tobacco and cigarets, cooking oil, gulaman [a seaweed from which agar-agar and a local type of pudding is made], and eggs for the children and the sick.”

The memorandum was presented on the 10th. The minutes stated that Carroll had — "presented to Lt. Shiraji a memorandum on the subject of food and other urgent require­ ments and asked permission to discuss these matters at greater length after the memoran­ dum had been studied. Lt. Shiraji insisted on going into the memorandum immediately and stated he would give his answer in a few days. With reference to the request for vegeta­ bles for sale through the canteen, Lt. Shiraji stressed the need for further gardening pro­ duction, and he also referred to the waste [sic] that is now going on in connection with garbage disposal”.

Hopes in the Committee that Shiraji might be able to accomplish something in the way of obtaining the muchneeded supplies, even that he was willing to attempt to do so, were fad­ ing. The camp as a whole was feeling somewhat better because the bi-week­

357

ly distribution of the 12-ounce can of corned beef to every group of four internees had begun on the 6th and the 9th, — the last of the camp’s Red Cross reserves. A few spoonfuls of mongo beans were served with the rice on the 6th, and this made a fine meal with the corned beef that day! The mongo beans were a part of the small supply which had reached the camp when the old men from the Hospicio were brought in. The 9th was another good day not only be­ cause of the second issue of corned beef, but because on that day each internee got 1/2 kilo of muscovado (raw) sugar. It was dirtv and had to be boiled into a syrup before it could be used, but the internees were not so particular anymore. Some Textiles Brought in for Sale — On the 6th, the Japanese brought in some textiles, costing P7,233.96, not for free distribution, but for resale to the internees. The delivery con­ sisted of only 1,071 yards of cotton cloth at F2.70 a yard, 196 yards of cotton cloth at P4.8U a yard, 390 yards of cotton prints at P3.75 a yard, 16 dozen men’s undershirts at P41.40 a dozen, 16 dozen smaller undershirts at P75.6U a dozen, and 72 spools of thread at 93 cen­ tavos a spool. The Japanese had never made even a pretense of providing internees with clothing and shoes, as required by the Geneva Convention.

Tobacco Smuggling by the Soldiers —Such prices for almost worthless stuff were nothing to what tobacco was now selling for. In fact, it could no longer be bought for military pe­ sos at all. The internee peddlers were asking and getting as much as from P25 to P55 in old Philippine pesos. The soldiers at the gate were now converting their pay into tobacco and turning it over to peddlers for sale. The soldiers were reported to be ex­ changing all of the Philippine pesos they thus received into military pesos outside at a still higher exchange rate than was paid in the camp, which was

358

8 military pesos for 1 old Philippine peso. In view of the camp-wide protest against such prices, the Internee Com­ mittee and the Agents met on the 14th with the working committee of the Monitors Council to consider the "problem of the sale of tobacco and foodstuffs by internee peddlers at fan­ tastic prices”. Those present at the meeting feared that a protest to the Commandant would call formal at­ tention to the fact that many inter­ nees still held Philippine pesos, which they had been ordered, under threat of punishment, to turn over to the Bank of Taiwan, and that this might result in a general search of the camp for this money. It was also realized that it was all too easy for members of the Commandant’s staff to take vengeance on the camp if their con­ nection with the smuggling was brought into the open. Furthermore, no action, that could be taken by the Committee would bring tobacco into the camp legitimately. Despite what Hayashi had said, the Japanese were not at all concerned about making the life of the internees "brighter and happier”. They cared less about that than the old slave traders who despite their bad name and the known cruelty of the trade, cared for the negroes they carried in their holds. The slaves, according to the narrative of one of these traders, Captain Theodore Canot, ("Adventures of an African Slaver”, Albert and Charles Boni, 1928) were fed — "either rice, farina, yams, or beans, accord­ ing to the tribal habit of the negroes. Pipes and tobacco are circulated economically among both sexes... On regular days, probably three times a week, their mouth are carefully rinsed with vinegar, while nearly every morning a dram is given as an antidote to scurvy".

Tobacco and rum! was the mental exclamation of every internee who read this book, which happened to be

THE CAMP

in the library. And the slaves were fed according to their "tribal habit”; in Santo Tomas the American and Europeans were forced to subsist prac­ tically exclusively on rice, which few of them liked and many could not di­ gest properly. Rice Ration Cut 25% — Yet the camp got a shock on the 13th when it was announced over the loudspeak­ ers that night that the Army rice ra­ tion had been reduced from 400 to 300 grams. The announcer stated: "Here's some bad news. In response to a written request made by the Internee Com­ mittee for information regarding the quantity and time of the next delivery of rice, the Ja­ panese food bodega office advised the Commit­ tee today that because of the air-raid precau­ tions now in effect, deliveries of rice to the city have been delayed, and that it will be im­ possible to make any deliveries of the Sep­ tember rice ration at present. At the same time the Committee was advised that our present rice ration has been reduced from 400 to 300 grams per capita daily, effective immediately. This order was received late this afternoon from the Japanese food bodega office and will go into effect tomorrow morning. How­ ever, the matter will be taken up with the Commandant tomorrow and, of course, the delayed deliveries and the reduction in ration will be strongly pnotes ted. Meanwhile, we must go on the new reduced ration, which means, in effect, on the morning mush serving, a maximum of 3 (small) ladles Of mush will be served, and only one (larger) level ladle of rice can be served for lunch and dinner. Rice-bread will be served tomorrow morning, but irregularly thereafter, as conditions per­ mit. Fresh coconut-meat remaining from the manufacture of the coconut milk will be served tomorrow morning and each morning there­ after until further notice. That’s all this evening. Goodnight."

The Ration Cut Again The mi­ nutes of the 13th' read that "after 10 or 11 days it is expected that cargoes will start moving again and that addi­ tional rice shipments will be brought in", this being based on a statement by Komatsu; but two days later the finance and supplies section of the Commandant’s Office, according to the

CUT IN THE RICE RATION; THEN ANOTHER CUT

minutes, "advised that the rice ration would be further cut to 250 grams per head daily, and that the position might become even more serious! The announcement during the camp news period that evening was:

359

the hospitals more than made up for the difference. One thing the people on the main lines did suffer from was from the food-pilfering by some of the employees in the kitchen, the run­ ners, line serving girls, etc., which was again becoming scandalous and caused "Speaking of food, here’s some more informa­ much bitter comment. tion concerning our rice situation. Today the Commandant informed the Internee Commit­ Camp Ration Compared to the old tee that our rice ration has been further re­ Constabulary Ration. The “Starving” duced to 250 grams. He stated that the future Jean Jacques Rousseau — Just what position with reference to rice may become 280 grams of rice a day meant to live even more serious. However, it is the policy of on, — for that was now practically all the Committee to continue serving rice on that the internees got to eat during the same basis as yesterday and today, making up the difference from camp reserve the whole day, may be seen from the stock, pending further discussion with the fact that American contractors in the Commandant. For your information we might camp said that they had always sup­ add that, based on the servings made yester­ plied their Filipino laborers with a day and today, the total rice now in the camp, chupa (about 300 grams) of rice per both Army and camp stocks, should last until meal and three times per day. Some October 20”. contractors supplied two chupas of Since the nominal per capita con­ rice and corn mixed, and something sumption was 340 grams during the less than one chupa of mongo beans two days referred to, the Committee a day. In addition they supplied either would now have to draw 90 grams a two fairly large smoked fishes, or four day per head from the slender camp small ones, vegetables, and bananas. reserves, yet it seemed unthinkable to The contractors said that if the men cut the food ration still further. The did not get that, they claimed they nominal consumption of 340 grams could not work and quit the job.3 was actually reduced to an over-all When a friend of Jean Rousseau average consumption of only 280 called on him one day, he found him grams because of Japanese short­ in the "sourest humor”. "Monsieur”, weighing, which reduced it by around said Jean Jacques, with flaming eyes, 10%, and the fact that the Japanese “I know why you come here. You allowed only 1/2 ration for children come to see what a poor life I lead; under 10, which cut off another 7% how little is in my poor pot that is because the Committee had decided boiling there. Well, look into the pot! that children between 6 and 10 should There is a half pound of meat, one have a full ration. Complaints that the carrot, and three onions; that is all; servings of rice on the central kitchen go and tell the whole world that, if lines were smaller than on other lines, you like, monsieur!” That is a para­ were not borne out by the figures; it graph from Carlyle’s "Heroes and was only the patients at the isolation hospital who suffered from tubercu­ 3 The old Philippine Constabulary rice ration was 2-1/2 chupas at the station and 3 chupas losis and internees in the "heavy in the field. It also included meat, fresh or workers” line who got somewhat more canned, fish, dried or canned (1 can of salmon rice than the people on the central to 5 men), bread, coffee, and fruit. The mo­ allowance was 21 centavos a day and with kitchen lines; at the other hospitals ney the rations as stated, a saving could usually and the annex the rice servings were be made. The rations of the ordinary private smaller, though other foods served at would have been a feast in Santo Tomas.

360

Hero Worship”. Such passages were at first read in Santo Tomas with ap­ petite; now they were read in hunger. That poor pot of Rousseau's would have meant a banquet in Santo To­ mas. .. Shiraji Says: “Trust the Japanese Army" — At a meeting on the 18th, Grinnell and Carroll again discussed the food situation with Shiraji. Ac­ cording to the minutes: "In response to questions regarding the shortage of rice in camp and the two cuts in the cereal ration, Lt. Shiraji advised that it was 'nonsense' for internees to worry about rice supplies as the Japanese Army was ob­ ligated to feed this camp and they had no intention of failing to keep their obligations. Owing to illnesses among the staff [sic] and use of transportation facilities for the move­ ment of troops, there might be a temporary shortage, but this was no reason for alarm. The meeting was interrupted by a visitor be­ fore the subject could be discussed in greater detail, and it is expected to be resumed to­ morrow.”

Shiraji was quoted that evening in the camp news broadcast as having chided the internees for worrying about food and as having said that they should “trust the Japanese Army”! That got a laugh. Japanese Limit Withdrawals from Camp's Own Reserve Stock — The meeting was continued the next day, the 19th, in three separate sessions. The Japanese agreed to raise the army ration again to 300 grams, but ordered that the camp’s own reserve rice be "frozen”. This would haVe had the effect of reducing the then average consumption by 40 grams more. The Japanese were apparently under the impression that the camp reserve stock had been "saved” out of Army-sup­ plied rice, so Carroll explained once more how this stock had been ac­ quired and stated that this was the first time the Japanese authorities had questioned the right of the internees to dispose of this, their own stock, as they thought necessary. "Agree­

THE CAMP

ment” was finally reached on a plan under which the Committee would li­ mit its withdrawals to 40 grams per head daily. This left the internee con­ sumer no better off than before in his immediate consumption , which is the only way to satisfy hunger. Bridgeford Charged with "Trying to Discredit the Japanese Army” — The last of the three sessions that day was a stormy one. A statement showing the total rice stocks in the camp, Army and camp-owned, and where these were stored, had been requested by the Japanese, and upon presentation of the report, they ordered that the figures be checked with the Japanese records. Later during the afternoon it was found that the Japanese records showed their stocks at 14,000 kilos, whereas the camp figure of the Army stocks amounted to only 7,665 ki­ los. Bridgeford, who was then called in by the Japanese to ex­ plain the camp figures, said that a dif­ ference in the figures was not surpris­ ing in view of his inability to obtain the Japanese figures regularly, but Shiraji and Komatsu appeared to jump to the conclusion that the en­ tries in the camp books had been made deliberately to "discredit the Army”. They began to pound the desk, yell, and throw books around, and called Bridgeford names which Cary would only translate as meaning "quite an undesirable person”. They also said that it had been reported to them that Bridgeford never bowed to the Ja­ panese sentries. When things quieted down somewhat and Bridgeford picked up the books and records he had brought, the Japanese insisted on keeping them. After the meeting, Bridgeford told the Committee mem­ bers that he would resign, but they asked him not to, saying that he had only had a sample of what they were up against all the time.

AIR-RAID ALERTS AND ALARMS

On the 20th, the Japanese informed the Committee that 50 tons of rice were expected to be brought into camp on Friday, September 22, and on the announcement of this information over the loudspeakers that evening of the 20th, Beliel said: “We have been informed that 50 tons of rice will be brought into camp beginning Friday; which, at the present rationing figure, means just about 50 days more of rice for the camp. That should be enough.. .fo r .. .well, so far as the news is concerned this evening... Good­ night.”

That was on the eve of the ever-memorable Thursday, September 21. The First Air-Raid Alarm — In ex­ planation of Beliel’s intimation that 50 tons of rice should be enough various developments were to be cited. One was that the camp alert and blackout, ordered on the 22nd of August, was followed the next day by a partial blackout in the city. Three days of "intensified" defensive maneu­ vers were staged by the Japanese to­ ward the end of that month, and there was much flying of Japanese “wild eagles” over the city and also anti­ aircraft shooting practice. On the 30th it was announced that the black­ out would be continued indefinitely. From then on, too, there was search­ light practice nearly every night, 10 or 12 searchlights, spaced around the city in a great circle broken only by the Bay, making spectacular displays.4 A camp practice air-raid alert, and air-raid- and fire-drills were held on the afternoon of the 9th under S. J. Jarrett, head of the camp’s emergency and safety division. The Japanese were insistent on the strictest enforcement of all light regulations and said that infractions would be "punished by the military police and that the Comman­ dant’s Office would be just as much 4 Note (1945) Recapture of Guam was completed on August 10.

361

involved as the internees responsible.” (September 11). On the 14th, at 7:52 in the morning, came the first air-raid alarm, — as distinguished from the air-alert. The camp was immediately all excitement, but the all-clear sounded at 9:08. How­ ever, another raid-alarm sounded be­ fore the hour was over, at 9:55, and the all-clear was not sounded again until 11:10. No American planes came over the city, but the camp was full of rumors about attacks elsewhere on Luzon. On this day the Commandant ordered that all air-raid shelters under construction be completed as soon as possible. Camp Air-Raid Shelters— The kangkong-planting project having been completed, labor details had been called out, on September 5, to start work on an air-raid shelter, or rather trench, in the grounds of the camp hospital, as ordered by the Comman­ dant's Office. The work had gone on daily in three 1-hour shifts, but the internees considered the shallow trenches practically useless as shelters and the task as merely a make-work one, and only an average 12% of the men called out presented themselves for work. A number of shelters were being built by individual internees in the shanty areas, too, but it was im­ possible to make them deep enough in the wet soil of the camp. The In­ ternee Committee discussed the mat­ ter with the Commandant's Office, and later with the Monitors Council on September 15. According to the mi­ nutes: "The Commandant’s Office (Lt. Abiko) dis­ cussed the Committee’s reply with the Chair­ man [Grinnell], Mr. Lloyd, and Mr. Jarrett, and advised that the Commandant’s recent order was issued because of their recognition of the gravity of the war situation and the need for protection. It was stated that recent bombings have resulted in several hun­ dred casualties in a similar camp. The Com­ mandant's Office outlined the possible dan­

362 gers to be expected from heavy bombing, and stated that in their opinion their suggested plan for trenches offered the best protection possible to internees in the circumstances. If, however, the Committee held other views, then they should submit their plans and take the responsibility therefor, as it is not the inten­ tion of the Commandant or his staff to force the construction of these air-raid trenches upon internees. This subject was discussed by Mr. Lloyd and Mr. Jarrett at the meeting of the Monitors Council at night, and the Council went on record as supporting the Committee and the safety and emergency division in their attitude that such air-raid trenches without proper roof-covering were a waste of labor, and should not be constructed”.

THE CAMP

mandant protesting against this or­ der on the same basis of past protests of a like nature. The letter ended with the sentence: "Accordingly, on behalf of the internees of this camp, we ask you to reconsider and with­ draw said order of September 12, and that no further orders be issued from your Office re­ quiring involuntary labor of any kind from the internees of this camp.”

The men living in the lobby having been evacuated, most of them to the gymnasium, the less seriously ill pa­ tients in the camp hospital were brought in on the 17th and within the next few days there were some 40 of them being cared for by nurses and orderlies. On the 20th, Shiraji or­ dered that the corner room on the first floor of the west wing be cleared of its occupants and that a partition be erected closing the entrance as well as the staircase there to internees. Agents Protest against use of Main Building Tower for Army Signaling— During the army maneuvers, the air­ raid alarm, and at other times it had been noticed that Japanese officers and soldiers were using the tower of the main building for signaling pur­ poses, and on the 18th, according to the minutes:

Members of the Committee believed that the Abiko's reference to a "simi­ lar camp” which had suffered “several hundred casualties”, was a camp in Burma. On the 4th, Takeda informed the Internee Committee that the Japanese would not require the whole of the third floor of the education building, which they had at first ordered cleared for themselves, but only the rooms on that floor in the west wing and center; if, however, they said, the Commandant decided to move into camp, then the whole floor would be required. The Committee was in­ structed to partition off the part of the building wanted together with the "The Agents approved the proposed letter west stairway. That evening the of the Internee Committee to the Commandant Agents met with the Committee to regarding the use of the tower during the last consider making a protest against the air-raid alarm for signalling purpose”. This letter, signed by all three mem­ order to evacuate such a large part of the building, the entire lobby of bers, and dated September 18, read: which the camp doctors were asking “During the recent air-raid periods, the for to take care of the overflow from tower of the main building of this camp was the other camp hospitals. On the 11th, used by the Japanese military forces as a the Committee and the Agents met signaling station. "This has prompted the following questions again and decided not to protest the from many internees: evacuation, as the opening of the gym­ “1. Is not this practice a violation of one nasium made up for the loss in space, of the fundamental principles of the laws of but also not to erect the partitions war which provides that prisoners of war except on written order. This the Com­ may not be utilized to give protection from bombardment or gun-fire to certain points or mandant issued the next day, and the certain regions by their presence? Agents, under date of September 18, "2. Is not this practice a potential menace addressed another letter to the Com­ to the safety of this camp and particularly

PROTEST ARMY SIGNALING FROM MAIN BUILDING TOWER to the nearly 2,000 inhabitants of the main building? "Under the circumstances, the questions which have been raised seem quite logical and we feel tnat the internees as a whole should be given a clear explanation. "We shall therefore appreciate a statement which will permit us to answer the questions enumerated above."

Other happenings of some interest before Thursday, September 21, were the resignations of Forrest as chief of the camp order division, and of Holland as chairman of the special activities division, both on the 6th, and for reasons of ill health, though Forrest was also in disagreement with the camp internee authorities in their decision to take no action in the mat­ ter of the smuggling in of tobacco and the profiteering therein. Chittick’s resignation as labor controller, due to ill health, was accepted on the 13th, and N. Wadsworth was appointed as his successor on the same day. On the 7th, the Internee Committee received word that W. H. Fonger had resigned as chairman of the adminis­ trative committee in the Los Banos camp, following the death of his son on August 14 of pernicious malaria. The Japanese had said that there was no malaria at Los Banos. Fonger’s successor was M. B. Heichert. Red Cross Relief Fund No. 11—As to the allocation of American Relief Fund No. 11, received on August 14, the Internee Commit­ tee on September 18 decided to appropriate P22,000 to family aid, PI5,000 to cash relief, and the balance of P70.168.16 to the purchase of food and essential supplies.

More Abused Prisoners Brought In —Four people (a man and three wo­ men, one of the latter British), were brought into camp from Cebu by the military police on the 7th and quar­ tered temporarily in the main build­ ing’s “model home”. They were held incommunicado, and not until the 13th was permission given by Abiko

363

for their taking some exercise outside twice a day "provided that they do it under supervision and are kept incom­ municado”. However, they were re­ leased from the "model home” and assigned to ordinary quarters on the 27th. The man, M. C. Cleland, of Bo­ hol, 76 years old, had been captured by the Japanese in June and had spent several months in jail in Bohol and Cebu. Once he was hung up by the thumbs for 60 hours, and on another occasion he was told that he would be executed and faced a firing squad for ten minutes, after which he was returned to his cell. He was suspected of having connection with the guer­ rillas. A. Haimovitch was brought into camp in a carromata by military po­ lice during the evening of the 13th and taken by them to the camp hospital. He was only half-conscious, and was unshaven and covered with dirt. He had left camp in January, 1942, and had failed to comply with the release department instructions for him to re­ port for re-internment in May, 1943. He had apparently been a long time in prison. On the 6th, Ohashi advised the Com­ mittee that the Japanese authorities had approved the marriage of F. R. La Sage and Ruth E. Atwell, and the marriage took place in the "model home” on the 14th. Social dancing by the young people in the camp, which the athletically inclined Yoshi had permitted to be resumed when he was Commandant, was ordered stopped by Ohashi on the 17th. That all pathological and bacterio­ logical cultures were henceforth to be made by the medical department la­ boratories at military headquarters instead of by the Institute of Hygiene of the University of the Philippines, was Ohashi’s advise to the Committee on the 18th. This represented another

364

effort to shut off every avenue of con­ tact with the Filipinos.5 Japanese Charge "Racial Discrimina­ tion" — A big to-do was made by the Japanese on the 15th about the alleged “discrimination” in the camp against "minority groups” by the Americans and British. "The Commandant’s Office (Lt. Abiko) re­ ferred to certain criticisms by minority groups of individuals in the camp of discrimination against them by Americans and British. They urged that all persons should be treated alike and that there should be no discrimination of this nature. The Chairman pointed out that throughout the whole life of this camp the policy had been followed of no discrimination and no racial distinction, and he asked that any such complaints brought to the attention of the Japanese should be immediately re­ ported to the Committee so that proper in­ vestigation could be made and any justified complaints dealt with. Lt. Abiko stated that it was difficult to investigate such cases open­ ly as, if the complainant were confronted with the Committee, he would fear retaliation and would not speak the truth. The Chairman asked that such information should be passed on to the Committee confidentially so that any misunderstandings or reasonable com­ plaints could be immediately corrected."

Onozaki himself returned to the subject on the morning of the 21st. The complainants, it appeared, were chiefly internee servants of the Ja­ panese, some of whom were involved in the rampant smuggling and pro­ fiteering and may well have overheard threats made against them. The con­ ference with Onozaki was interrupted by the air raid, as the minutes briefly stated: "The Commandant’s Office (Mr. Onozaki) stated that they were very perturbed over cer­ tain remarks which had been passed on to them by certain internees, including some who had been working for them, to the effect that threats had been issued by other internees against colored people, mestizos, and lower members of the Commandant’s staff as to what 5 Note (1945)— The Americans had effected landings on Pelileu (Palau) and on Morotal (Moluccas) on September 15, and on Yap (Ca­ rolines) on September 20.

THE CAMP would happen to them 'when the Americans come’. If such statements were intended as jokes, such joking was very much out of place at times like these, and the Commandant's staff are very concerned. The staff and the guards are only here to do their duty of protecting the internees and not to cause us any harm. They are very anxious that such threats, if continued, may cause unfortunate incidents. At this juncture the conversation was interrupted by the first air raid.”

The First American Bombers—That Thursday, September 21, the Japan­ ese had again begun their anti-air­ craft firing practice very early in the morning, around 5 o’clock, and during and after breakfast there were eight or ten Japanese planes cruising about and maneuvering in the air, the camp paying very little attention to this. One wife said to her husband, "You’d laugh if they were our planes, wouldn’t you? At 9:30 one plane was flying around drawing a target behind it, and in the direction of Nichols Field five or six planes were engaged in a "dog-fight". Puffs of smoke near them showed that they were firing or being fired at. "That’s rather dangerous practice, I would say”, said an internee to a friend. A few moments later, the latter exclaimed, "That's a real fight! That plane is on fire!” Simultaneously, people in other parts of the camp suddenly saw a large number of planes, estimated at around 70, coming out of a cloud bank to the northeast in a beautiful formation, some of them already over­ head and flying quite low, and others in tiers above them, in groups of threes, with numbers of smaller planes darting from side to side above and below. To the northwest another large group appeared over the Bay. Almost immediately, the planes over­ head broke up into smaller groups, some heading to the north for the Grace Park airfield, the larger number to the east and southwest for the

THE FIRST AIR RAIDS, SEPTEMBER 21

Zablan, Nielson, and Nichols fields. Heavy anti-aircraft fire now broke out, but as if entirely indifferent to it, the planes began diving among the smokerings and through the more deadly but invisible shrapnel, apparently both strafing and bombing. As the groundfire started and the bombs began to fall, people in the camp ran for shel­ ter. Not until then did the air-raid sirens sound; the Japanese had been taken completely by surprise. The Ja­ panese planes in the air were either shot down or were seen to make their escape by flying away low over the roofs of the houses. A Japanese trans­ port plane which at the time ran into the battle unawares was also seen to have been shot down. For 15 minutes the air was full of the sound of ma­ chine-gunning and the distant thudding of bombs, the puffing of the pompom guns, and the sharp whine of shells from anti-aircraft cannon. Columns of smoke shot up over the various air­ fields and over the Port Area and the Bay. “They Are Here!"—An excited crowd of internees jammed the lobby of the main building. “They are here!” There were smiles on every face or tears of joy. Women embraced each other. The internee guards had a hard time in getting people who wanted to see the battle to stand away from the doorway, but when a ma­ chine-gun bullet (later found to be Ja­ panese) dug a 6-inch hole in the as­ phalt near the door, their task became somewhat easier. Shortly after the attack began, three Japanese soldiers came into the build­ ing to go up in the tower. They car­ ried their rifles and red and white signaling flags. The people caught in their shanties took refuge under beds and mattresses and behind chests and pieces of furniture. It was said that one plane, before anything had started, flew low over Santo Tomas and

365

dipped its wings in salute, rolling over from side to side several times. An Englishman said that the British called this maneuver the "victory roll”. The blessed emblem of the white star on a blue field was plainly visible. It was reported later that guards on the walls fired their rifles at the plane. It was also said that the first wave of planes had been seen to drop leaf­ lets over Manila, probably advising Manila citizens to stay away from mi­ litary objectives. At around 10 o’clock, another wave of planes came over, and there was very heavy firing right overhead. A little later the room and building mo­ nitors were asked over the loudspeak­ ers to report the names of children who had taken refuge in buildings and rooms to which they did not be­ long, and from time to time after that the names and whereabouts of the children were given so that their parents would be assured of their safety. At 10:30 there was consider­ able firing and around 11 there was again heavy bombing and firing. From somewhere nearby, a sharp cannon explosion came at 11:24, and this proved to be the last. The raid had lasted nearly two hours. At 12:10 it was announced over the loudspeakers that though the all-clear had not yet been sounded, people might return by the most direct routes to their own buildings and shanties, and at 12:30 a lunch consist­ ing only of a little fish gravy and a toasted piece of rice-bread like a hard­ tack biscuit was served, not at the regular food-lines, but in the different buildings. It had been possible to do only very little cooking, as the gas had been turned off in the city and the cooking had to be done over the emer­ gency wood stoves under the dining shed. Electric current was also off for several hours. Water pressure was so low that water had to be obtained

366

from a few outside hydrants and the emergency squad and volunteers were called to connect up the water in the swimming pool and to run hoses from the roof tanks to the outside kitchen, the Commandant having grant­ ed permission for this. Although considerable shrapnel had fallen over the camp, no serious ca­ sualties were reported. Dr. Fletcher was just completing an emergency ab­ dominal operation in the camp hos­ pital when the bombs began to fall. The patient, a woman, had always said that on the day of the first bombing she would open a can of meat to cele­ brate the event with her family, but as it happened, she was under ether through the whole of it. Was this, internees asked each oth­ er, only an isolated raid of planes from a cruising group of aircraft carriers somewhere off the coast? Was this sudden attack to be followed by more days and weeks, months, perhaps, of waiting, now, suddenly made so much more unbearable? At 2:50 in the afternoon, planes were again heard, and a few minutes later they appeared, in two groups of 60 or more each, one approaching from the northeast and the other from the north­ west. The cloud ceiling was high and the planes were flying higher than that morning, possibly at 20,000 feet. The downtown sirens again sounded late, and over the camp loudspeakers peo­ ple were warned to take cover imme­ diately just before the shooting and bombing started once more. Despite the anti-aircraft fire, the squadrons appeared to move very deliberately, though swiftly, and they were seen to dive headlong over the Manila North Harbor and the Pandacan oil district. The planes went into their dives, one after the other, like a cascade of steel and death, climbing up again rapidly and making giant "V's” against the

THE CAMP

horizon to the south. Another group of planes, — around 30 could be counted, came into sight a little after 3 o'clock and worked their havoc. Some 60 more came over from a nor­ therly direction at 3:30. Two Ameri­ can planes apparently coming from the waterfront area were seen darting northward just over the housetops as the anti-aircraft fire went over them. There was a loud explosion from the Bay a 4:15; probably some ship, pre­ viously set afire, had blown up. What proved to be the last attack came from some 60 or more planes which appear­ ed around 4:30 and split up, some flying in the direction of the Bay and others toward Quezon City and Camp Murphy to the east. At 4:40 large clouds of smoke were rising once more from the Bay and then from the North Harbor area. One plane was seen apparently diving into a column of smoke. When it came up again, it was on fire, lost speed and altitude, and disappeared from sight. This was the first apparent American casualty seen in the camp. Supper was again served in the buildings, the internees this time get­ ting a double portion of rice and some vegetable-meat gravy (very little meat). There was no tea, but boiled water was served after supper and until roll-call time at 7. Pressure in the watermains had in the meantime been restored. Despite the all-clear signal, which was sounded at 6, eve­ ryone except those on emergency duty were ordered by the Commandant’s Office to remain indoors after roll call. This made for an uncomfortable evening in the dark, crowded halls and rooms, but the camp was deliriously happy. Although there had been no serious casualties, there were some narrow escapes. Two anti-aircraft shells had fallen on the campus, one exploding near a shanty. A 5-inch piece of shrap-

REVEILLE: “ PENNIES FROM HEAVEN FOR YOU AND FOR ME’’

nel went through a window in the an­ nex and hit a mattress, slightly scratching the leg of a man lying un­ derneath. Another man in a room on the ground floor of the main building, west side, also received a scratch on the leg from a piece of shrapnel. A man under his bed in a shanty was scratched on the arm. Not only had the American planes carefully avoided Santo Tomas, but the bombs had ap­ parently fallen only in military areas, so that the men in the camp with fa­ milies outside were not too greatly worried. At 8:20 the whole western half of the sky was suddenly as bright as dur­ ing a full moon, an awful sight, for there was no sound or apparent ex­ planation for it. Then, after 15 or 16 seconds of suspense, came the heav­ iest explosion of the day, which shook the Santo Tomas buildings. It was probably some war or ammunition ship that had gone up. It was announced over the loud­ speakers during the camp news pe­ riod that night that Gordon MacKay had been appointed chief of the camp order division, in place of Forrest, who had resigned some weeks pre­ viously. Beliel ended the announce­ ments by saying, instead of the usual “Goodnight”, “This is a good night!” Onozaki and Abiko had been in con­ ference with Grinnell and Lloyd that morning on the subject of the protests from the "minority” in the camp when the attack began, and Onozaki had continued talking, apparently unaware that there was something more than aerial practice going on. Abiko, how­ ever, began to pace the floor, and af­ ter a while impatiently waved the in­ ternee officials out of the room. At the bodega, Komatsu rushed out se­ veral times to see the fighting, and about the middle of the morning de­ cided to play the sportsman, for when he came back into the office he said:

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“Good bombing. Very daring. Excel­ lent!” A Scotsman going to bed that night sighed audibly and then said in a low voice, as if to himself, "Goodnight, boys. It’s been nice seeing you!” A gem of understatement! Brunner se­ lected for his song at reveille the next morning, “Pennies from heaven for you and for me”. The camp wondered, on the 22nd, whether the attack was a prelude to landings in Luzon, or landing had not already been made simultaneously.6 Some argued that inasmuch as Manila had not been bombed until now when it might long since have been bombed from time to time, that the plan pro­ bably was not to attack Manila until just before or at the same time with the main attack, as it was certainly not desirable to encourage any prema­ ture uprisings among the people ag­ ainst the Japanese. Internees also ask­ ed each other whether the carriers and other ships to which the planes must belong were nearing Luzon or were now moving away. The camp went to breakfast at the usual time, — 6:30, discussing these questions, and the meal was not yet over when at 7:17 the city sirens ag­ ain gave the alarm. The American air­ force did not this time take the Ja­ panese by surprise, for the planes were 6Note (1945) — There had as yet been no Am­ erican landings in the Philippines. The inva­ sion of Leyte began a month later on October 20. However, a week (September 13) earlier, landings had been made at Morotai, one of the islands of the Moluccas, an essential pre­ lude to MacArthur’s Leyte landings a month later. The Navy’s campaign in the Ma­ rianas began in June, the First Battle of the Philippine Sea being fought June 19-20. Land­ ings in Saipan began on June 15 and the fight­ ing there was concluded on July 9. Two weeks later Tinian was overrun. Reconquest of Guam was completed by August 10. Southern Palau was taken in mid-September. Admiral Halsey’s carrier planes first attacked Mindanao on Sep­ tember 9. None of all this was known in Santo Tomas at the time.

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not sighted until 7:45, some 50 or 60 of them. This was nearly two hours earlier than the day before, — if that meant anything. The Second Day of Bombing — They again came from the north, fly­ ing high, and started diving through the ground-fire barrage. One of the planes in the lead was caught by the fire, a wing was shot off and it burst into flames as it fell. This was the second American casualty the camp witnessed. Heavy bombing started immediately afterward. At 8 o'clock another group of 40 or so planes came over, and within a few minutes heavy columns of smoke were again rising over the Bay, the Port Area, and Ni­ chols field. A Japanese machine-gun bullet went through the roof of the rear extension of the lobby of the education building and through an unoccupied bed in the hospital ward there. It seemed that the bombs our forces were using were bigger than those of the day before, and that the anti-aircraft fire, though still consider­ able, was not so heavy. At 8:45 a third wave of some 50 planes appeared, dropping very large bombs, especially in the Port Area. At 9 the shooting seemed to be right overhead, and one plane again flew low over the camp and dipped its wings in salute. There were by now several large fires in the Port Area, and the whole sky was murky with smoke. At 10:30 came what proved to be the last wave of planes, which again pounded the Port Area and, apparently, ships in the Bay. The thuds sounded like heavy pack­ ing cases being rolled around, or bumping down the cellar steps. The air was so full of smoke that it was hard to see the planes, and ashes and soot and bits of charred paper were settling down all over the campus. A perfect smoke-ring was observed over the Port Area. It was very black,

THE CAMP

perhaps a hundred yards or more in diameter, and persisted, undulating, for several minutes. There was no more bombing after this but at 11:35 there came a tremendous explosion, like the one of the night before, in the port district or in the Bay, and a great cloud of smoke again reared itself up into the sky. At 11:45 there was a second explosion in the same area. It was thought they might have been caused by the blowing up of am­ munition supplies.7 There was still no cooking-gas, and lunch, consisting of a small dipperful of vegetable "soup” and a hard-tack biscuit, was served within the build­ ings. At 2 o'clock there were several se­ ries of small explosions from the di­ rection of the Port Area which were at first hopefully taken for distant cannon shots but were later judged to be exploding drums of gasoline. This lasted for half an hour. Later in the afternoon some 2,000 Japanese sol­ diers marched past the camp, going east, the first contingents in heavy marching order, but many of the later ones not even carrying rifles. There were only a few trucks and officers' cars. At 3 o'clock the all-clear was sounded in the city and at 3:20 in the camp, but internees were warned that they could not leave the buildings ex­ cept on essential business. Two Japa7Note (1947) The following is from "Admiral Halsey’s Sto­ ry", McGraw Hill Book Co., Inc., 1947: "We hit them four times on the 21st and expected to hit them four times the, next day, but the approach of foul weather and the dearth of suitable targets influenced Pete (Vice-Admiral Marc A.) Mitscher to recommend that I cancel the last two strikes. I did. His score for the six was 405 planes destroyed or damaged, 103 ships sunk or damaged, both airfields gutted, and the harbor littered with wrecks. Our losses were 15 planes and about a dozen men. None of our ships were touched, although we had launched from only 40 miles off the east coast of Luzon, less than 150 miles from Manila its e lf...”

BACK TO TWO “MEALS” A DAY — VEGETABLE MARKET CLOSED

nese planes flew over the camp a .lit­ tle later, keeping down low. The Japanese outside were jittery, for at 4:45. just when most of the camp was at supper (supper consist­ ing only of two ladlefuls of ‘‘fried” rice and two lanzones and a calamanci), the air-raid alarm again sounded. The food-serving was discon­ tinued and people were ordered back to their quarters. After a wait of half an hour, during which no planes ap­ peared, it was announced over the loudspeakers that with the Comman­ dant’s permission those who had not eaten might return to the lines but that as soon as planes did appear they would have to return to shelter immediately. But the alarm had been a false one, for at 5:45 the all-clear was spunded downtown. After this se­ veral other Japanese "wild eagles” were seen in the air. The Vegetable Market Ordered Closed. Back to Two “Meals” a Day — The camp had again been fortu­ nate in escaping casualties, but there were other losses. As was announced during the news period that evening, the Commandant’s Office had during the day ordered that the vegetable and fruit market must be closed perma­ nently and that any vegetables and fruits that came into camp be served through the kitchens. More than that, it was announced that the camp would henceforth get only two meals a day. As explained over the loudspeakers: "Now we have a very important announce­ ment from the central kitchen, — an announce­ ment of importance to everyone because it represents a major change in our eating ha­ bits. Because of many reasons, chief among them lack of equipment, complete absence of gas in the central kitchen, lack of fresh vege­ tables, lack of fuel and the necessity of con­ serving the fuel which we have, in order to eliminate congestion of a large number of peo­ ple over a long period of time during the middle of the day, and finally because of the Commandant’s order this afternoon, it has become necessary that the central kitchen stop

369

the serving of the noon meal beginning to­ morrow. For the time being, this means that the 'teen-age line must also be eliminated. Since the noon meal is being eliminated be­ ginning tomorrow, the central kitchen will serve at breakfast and dinner the foodstuffs which have heretofore been distributed over three meals. For example, the rice: 7 sacks will be used for the morning mush instead of 5-1/2 as have been used previously; and for the evening meal, 8 sacks will be used instead of the 4-3/4 which were previously served. Any mush left over will be used in the dinner gravy, and any left-over dinner rice will be used for the morning mush the following day. As no noon meal will be served, many will doubtlessly want to hold over part of the morning mush for noon use.”

According to the minutes of that day: "The Commandant’s Office (Lt. Shiraji) ad­ vised Mr. Earl Carroll and all the kitchen supervisors that fuel was going to be one of the major camp problems and that every pos­ sible effort should be made to conserve fuel stocks. The gas pressure would probably not be restored to anything like normal, and elec­ tricity may fail. Therefore we should do eve­ rything possible to cut out our fuel waste. Mr. Carroll was asked to examine this subject from the following viewpoints, and to report back by Sunday afternoon: (1) the stopping of private cooking; (2) the serving of two meals a day instead of three from the kitchens. The Commandant’s Office also advised that canteen No. 1 should be closed and that fruits and vegetables that come into camp should be served through the kitchens!”

This day, too, the end room on the first floor of the education building was evacuated by the internees living there, and the west entrance to the building was cut off by a partition. On Saturday, the 23rd, the air-raid siren sounded at 8:25 but no planes appeared, and at 10:35 the all-clear was sounded in the city and in the camp five minutes later. Internees sought to explain the nonappearance of the hoped-for planes by the weather, which had turned rather blustery dur­ ing the previous night. Abiko stated to the Internee Committee, however, according to the minutes, that —

370

THE CAMP

were heard. However, at 10 o’clock clouds of smoke were seen rising over the Bay and in the direction of Cavite, and later another column of smoke was seen over the Bay area closer in­ shore. "Perhaps our planes are drop­ ping incendiary bombs”, said inter­ nees.8 Several persons claimed to have seen a large group of planes passing The two meals served during the to the north from east to west in the day were helped out by the fact that direction of Mariveles and Corregidor it was one of the bi-weekly distribu­ at around 10 o’clock. The all-clear was tion days of corned beef. One man, sounded in the city at 1:20 and in the when he was asked whether he would camp a few minutes later. Internees eat all of his quarter-can of it for were again confined to their blackedlunch, answered, "Yes, and I’d eat the out quarters that evening, and by or­ der of the Commandant, the nightly can, too, if I could!” There was another food announce­ concerts were suspended. The Camp Frantic with Hope— As ment that evening: "Concerning the annex kitchen, for child­ during all of the nights following the ren up 'to 10, it is felt that from a first bombing on Thursday, only one dietary point of view it is preferable for small searchlight, — that in the direction of children to get the available food divided into Nichols Field, played very halfhearted­ three meals as long as facilities are available ly in the sky. A few Japanese transport to cook them, rather than to concentrate the planes which had stolen in from time same amount of food divided into two meals. However, the amount and variety of food avail­ to time appeared to have difficulty in able is diminishing, and a midday meal at the finding a landing place. The camp annex, starting tomorrow, will consist of a now believed that the air-raid alarms small portion of rice and the daily ration of milk. Fruit will be added if it is available. sounded on Saturday and Sunday had This meal will be served at 11 a.m. It is not been false ones and that American explained that serving three meals at the an­ planes had been over Luzon but had nex does not mean there will be an increase attacked elsewhere.9 Internees were in the amount of mush served in the morn­ ing, nor of rice for the evening meal. The almost frantic with hope of early li­ children will get exactly the same as if they beration, and did not allow the ap­ were on a two-meal basis, but will continue parent cessation of the attack on Ma­ to have the food spread over three meals. nila to affect them too deeply. The "The Santa Catalina and isolation hospitals two-day attack had been a magnifi­ will go on a two-meal-a-day basis as at the cent one, and what had most im­ central kitchen, commencing tomorrow. The only exceptions will be made in serious cases pressed the camp was the weakness of where more frequent feeding is prescribed by the defense and the inaccuracy of the a doctor. anti-aircraft fire. Knowing ones in "The restaurant diet line: the same 2-meal-a-

"the bombing we have received during the past two days was not to be taken as a sample of what must be expected in the way of bombing here; that much heavier bombing of a promiscuous nature and the dropping of incendiaries were to be anticipated .which might involve the camp in considerable da­ mage. Therefore we must go ahead with our defense plans, including shelters, particularly in shanty a re a s...”

day schedule as the central kitchen, but the food will be soft-cooked as before.”

On Sunday, the 24th, the air-raid si­ rens wailed at 8:20 and the hum of distant planes was heard about an hour later. At 9:40 eight planes, pro­ bably American, passed to the east of the camp, but no bomb explosions

8 Note (1945)— There was actual bombing of ships in the Bay that day. 9 Note (1945)— On the 22nd the internees in the Baguio camp heard heavy bombing in the direction of San Fernando, La Union, on Lingayen Gulf. The fire-wood crew actually saw the American planes over Poro, the port of San Fernando, from which the Japanese shipped the copper concentrates from the Lepanto mine.

THE BOMBING ENDED?

the camp said that the attacking force had consisted of Vought-Corsair dive-bombers and Grumman fighters. The American planes had not, like the Japanese planes in December, 1941, kept out of range, and while the Ja­ panese had dropped their bombs in level flight above the shells and bul­ lets of the ground-fire, the American planes had dived through the barrage to whatever was their objective in what looked like complete disregard of the enemy fire. The approaches and the maneuvering of the planes, so swift, yet apparently so wellplanned, the unerring markmanship, the daring, had filled the camp with pride. No Japanese fighters had gone up to meet the attackers. The invin­ cible Japanese "wild eagles” had been invisible. The Japanese must have realized that they were hopelessly out­ classed as well as outnumbered. If their land defense were no better than their air defense, the major parts of Luzon, including the city of Manila, could be taken in short order, so thought the camp. In the Santo Tomas camp, the state of alert continued throughout Monday and Tuesday morning (September 24 and 25), but no American planes ap­ peared, and a few Japanese planes again were over the city. At 1:24 p.m. on Tuesday the siren sounded, but it was with a feeling little short of anguish that the people in the camp recognized that it was the end of the alert signal. Had the attack, then, en­ tirely ended, and had the carriers and their convoy sailed away? The big attack, then, had not come. Some argued that the Japanese were only trying to get the Filipinos in the city back to work- Others said that the withdrawal of the attack must mean that a landing had been ef­ fected in Mindanao, the air attack on Manila serving as a diversion. On Wednesday morning, at 10:45, how­

371

ever, the alert was again sounded, and hearts once more went up in prayerful hope. The all-clear came at 3:10 that after­ noon. It was the last time the siren was heard in Manila for the remainder of the month, and the camp had with difficulty to resign itself to more wait­ ing. The nightly blackouts continued, though on the 27th the Commandant gave permission for internees to sit outside the buildings until 8 o'clock. The nightly concerts were also re­ sumed by permission, but only be­ tween 5:45 and 6:30 "in the center of the camp, on the understanding that the volume would be kept down to a minimum”. On the 25th, 210 50-kilo sacks of rice, being the “balance of the cereals” due, were brought into camp, and also one load of firewood. The next day Nadisco rations of 6,325 packages of cigarets, 1,200 boxes of matches, and 546 kilos of soap were brought in, for which the Com­ mittee paid P8,845.90. The cigarets were dis­ tributed to the internees, 2 packages to each adult at PI.60 a package, on the 28th, and brought some comfort.

By order of the Commandant’s Of­ fice on the 26th, Cleland and the three women brought into camp on the 7th and held incommunicado in the "mo­ del home”, were "to be taken onto our roll call as from September 23 and treated as ordinary internees as from that date”. On the 28th B. G. Bowker and J. H. Carter, two of the three men brought into camp from San Fernando on February 29 and taken out again on April 3, were brought back from the Muntinlupa prison where they had served four months’ sentences. On the 29th, se­ veral more Manilans were interned, including Dr. H. Otley Beyer, head of the department of anthropology of the University of the Philippines and noted Philippine ethnologist, archeolo­ gist, and historian, who had up to that time been unofficially connected with the "Philippine Research Insti­

372

tute for Oriental Pre-History” (with­ out salary), a position he took to pro­ tect, in so far as he could and as long as he could, the very valuable collec­ tions and library which he had ac­ cumulated during nearly 40 years and which had in large part been turned over to the custody of the Philippine Government. Because of the shortage of firewood for the kitchens, a schedule for cut­ ting down some of the trees in the campus was worked out and approved by Abiko on the 26th. The sergeant of the guard stopped the cutting the next day and was upheld by Ohashi, who was officer of the day. Later the Commandant’s Office, through Abiko, permitted the work to be re­ sumed in a restricted area. On the 28th, Takeda issued orders for the construction of three air-raid shelters to house the camp bus, the camp truck, and the Commandant’s car, the Japanese to supply the ma­ terials. On the 30th it was ordered that shelters be provided only for the camp bus and truck, and be built up merely of earth to protect the front and sides of the vehicles. There was much protest in the camp against the serving of only two instead of three “meals” a day, the discon­ tinuance of the regular serving of rice-bread, small as this had been, and of some hot drink, either tea or gin­ ger-tea, and the almost total absence of even a banana or a calamanci a day. For some days there was not even coconut milk to put on the morning rice-mush because the grind­ er had broken down, and people got absolutely nothing for breakfast ex­ cept a few ladlefuls of rice-mush which also had to do for lunch. The camp doctors protested that they had not been consulted “before making this important alteration in the food arrangements of the camp”.

THE CAMP

The Internee Committee met on the 27th with Drs. Stevenson, Waters, and Noell, and also Bridgeford and the central kitchen supervisors pre­ sent by invitation. According to the minutes: "The Kitchen explained how much rice we are now getting, why two meals a day are being served in order to conserve fuel, etc. The doctors suggested that they should have been consulted before making this important alteration in the food arrangements of the camp, or at any rate, have been advised of the reasons therefor. The doctors recommended that we should revert to a three-meal-a-day basis unless the fuel situation made such a course absolutely impracticable. A long dis­ cussion ensued on this subject. It was finally decided that the Internee Committee would see the Commandant’s Office (Lt. Shiraji) as soon as possible and endeavor to get definite information from him on the fuel situation and also on whether corn is to be treated as additional to rice in the cereal ration, i.e., a total of 400 grams per day instead of 300, or whether it is to be counted as a substitute for rice. If the latter is the case, then the Committee is to endeavor to obtain permission to draw on our reserve stocks to an extent of at least 100 grams per capita per day. Final decision on this matter would be made after the Committee has discussed it with the Com­ mandant’s office.”

The First Written Japanese Camp Regulations—A particularly important set of regulations governing internees, and the first written regulations ever issued to the camp by the Japanese, was handed to the Committee by Kinoshita on September 27. The regula­ tions were severe in many respects, and it was difficult to foresee just how some of them might affect the camp in the future, for instance, whe­ ther the regulations regarding fires would affect private cooking in shan­ ties The regulations follow: A. Matters which are prohibited: 1. The following are prohibited: a. To run away or to plan to run away from the camp b. All acts to communicate with outsiders secretly c. All acts to bring in or take out articles without permission

FIRST JAPANESE WRITTEN CAMP REGULATIONS 2. Possession or use without permission of any of the following articles: a. Communication apparatus of any kind b. Electrical appliances, electric batteries, and materials for making or repairing c. Chemicals d. Intoxicating liquors e. Printing apparatus, and materials f. Optical instruments, and materials g. Implements of war (swords, rifles, large knives, etc.) h. Documents or pictures, printed or writ­ ten, of anti-Japanese or anti-Axis nature i. Maps, atlases, or pictures which are de­ trimental to military operations 3. The following acts, without permission: a. To print or publish any documents or pictures b. To assemble in groups or hold meetings c. To change or partly change any build­ ings or to construct any new buildings (including shanties) d. To plan or execute any new undertaking 4. To use fire at any place, except as follows: a. Public kitchens and individual hot-water stoves b. Places for burning of rubbish 5. - To smoke anywhere in the camp unless suitable ash-trays or receptacles are pro­ vided 6. To enter Commandant’s offices 7. To enter the following prohibited places without permission: a. Roof of the main building b. Within 2 meters of outer walls and fences, and where there are inner fences, only internees doing gardening may go outside of inner fences during specified hours c. The swimming pool area d. Any specially prohibited places B. General 1. Designation of buildings: a. Main building to be known as No. 1 b. Education building known as No. 2 c. Gymnasium known as No. 3 d. Annex known as Children’s dormitory e. Isolation hospital known as Isolation hos­ pital f. Santa Catalina hospital known as At­ tached hospital g. Shanty areas A,B,C,D known as same as heretofore C. Rewards and Punishments Rewards or punishments of internees are to be administered by the Commandant, ex­ cept that the Internee Committee is also au­ thorized to administer punishment or reward good conduct, but a report of all such cases handled by the Internee Committee is to be rendered to the Commandant. D. Public Health 1. Sanitation — Once weekly all rooms must be cleaned by the internees, beds to be aired and disinfected 2. Garbage disposal — Fixed places are to

373

be provided for garbage receptacles and special efforts exerted against the breeding of flies 3. Mosquito control ---- All wet places and ditches are to be drained to prevent growth of mosquitoes E. Education 1. Children — School activities may be per­ mitted at the discretion of the Comman­ dant. Teachers and students must refrain from any lectures and discussions on: a. Criticism of camp administration b. Subjects unfavorable to the Imperial Ja­ panese Empire 2. Adults — The Internee Committee may arrange for lectures to internees on science, religion, and literature, provided that per­ mission is obtained from the Commandant, application to show the time, the place, and number of hours of duration.

Deaths in the camp numbered only four during the month, — perhaps because of the general revival of hope of early release. One death was that of a little girl, 8 years old, of tuber­ cular meningitis; the other three were of men ranging in age from 69 to 77. Hope Sobered. Japanese Strength in the Philippines — Before the month was out, new and dependable infor­ mation reached the camp which sad­ ly sobered the extravagant hopes raised by the two-day bombing of Ma­ nila. That information included the facts that the rumors of landings in Mindanao were baseless, that heavy fighting was still going on at Palau, and that Japanese troops in the Philip­ pines numbered around 1,300,000, some 900,000 of these stationed in Lu­ zon.10 The figure was said to be a Phi­ lippine Constabulary estimate. The io Note (1945) — The Philippines was reportedly taken by some 300,000 Japanese troops, plus re-enforcements. General MacArthur’s forces probably did not exceed 40,000 American troops and 70,000 Filipino, the latter scattered, and he had no planes to speak of, while the Ja­ panese had. Japanese losses in Bataan alone were estimated at between 70,000 and 100,000. After the fall of Bataan, the number of Ja­ panese troops in the country was gradually reduced to around 150,000, but when, later, the Japanese decided to make the Philippines one of their principal defensive points, — which fact was communicated to Filipino leaders by Premier Tojo on his second visit to Ma­

374

Japanese, furthermore, had over 100 airfields in the Philippines and all likely landing points had been fortified. There were also some 200,000 Japanese civilians; they had swarmed over the country like ants; in comparison, the number of American civilians had never exceeded 7.000 or 8,000. Despite their reverses, the Japanese were by no means con­ vinced that they had already lost the war; they were worried, but still had great confidence in their Army. They had over 10,000,000 men under arms, an estimated 3,500,000 of which were in the Philippines and other “south­ ern regions”. Those in Santo Tomas who came to know these facts — if they were facts, consoled themselves with the thought that with loss of air-control and cut off by sea, such large numbers were a handicap rather than an advantage, yet such man power had to be viewed as formidable. It seemed evident that the Philippines could not be retaken in the few weeks many of the interness in Santo Tomas had calculated upon after an initial air-attack. Outside Report of the Two-Day Air Raids— It was admitted by the Ja­ panese that the air-raids on Manila had been highly successful and that numerous airfields and other military objectives in Mindanao and the Visayas and elsewhere in Luzon had also nila, the number of troops was increased to around 500,000. The still greater influx of Japanese troops began toward the end of May, 1943, when Count Terauchi, Commander-tn-chief of all the Japanese forces in Southeastern Asia, moved his headquarters from Singapore to Manila. It was said that the Japanese forces had plenty of trucks, but that they were not otherwise well mechanized and that their tanks were poor and many of their guns obsolete. Note (1945)— According to General Marshall’s Annual Report, Marshall Count Terauchi from his headquarters in Manila in April, 1944, con­ trolled 17 Japanese armies totalling about 925.000 men in the Philippines, Netherlands Indies, Malaya, Borneo, French Indo-China, the Moluccas, and New Guinea.

THE CAMP

been heavily bombed. The planes which raided Manila belonged to the Third U.S. Pacific Fleet, under com­ mand of Admiral Halsey which during the bombing was cruising about just north of the island of Polillo, off the east coast. The Japanese claimed that they had sent 200 planes from For­ mosa to attack this fleet and - that they had sunk two of the American carriers, but reports circulated in Santo Tomas that, according to a San Francisco broadcast, the fleet had been attacked by only 60 planes, all of which had been either shot down or driven so far out to sea that they could not return to their base with the fuel they had. In the raids on Manila and other points of Luzon, the Japanese ad­ mitted the loss of some 60 planes, while San Francisco claimed around 250. The Japanese claimed that they had shot down 30 of our planes; San Francisco admitted the loss of 17. However, during some 10 days of bombing of Mindanao and the Visayas, the Japanese had lost over 500 planes, and as a result of these losses, the Japanese had withdrawn most of their planes on Luzon to Formosa two days before the American raid of the 21st. Had the raid on Manila come three days earlier, many more enemy planes would have been destroyed. All the Japanese ships in Manila Bay were sunk, including an ammunition ship and a destroyer, but not includ­ ing, as rumor first had it, a battleship and a cruiser. Sixteen more Japanese ships were also sunk, including a war­ ship in one of the dry docks. One of the dry docks was the Dewey which, sunk at Mariveles by the Americans, had been refloated by the Japanese and towed to Cavite. One side of Ma­ nila’s beautiful P20,000,000 Pier 7 was blown up. Considerable quantities of oil, ammunition, and other supplies were destroyed. The Japanese claimed

POST-BOMBING CONDITIONS IN THE CITY

that 400 American planes had taken part in the Thursday morning attack, 120 in the afternoon, and 280 on Fri­ day morning. Bombing of the Constabulary Build­ ing, the Manila Hotel, and the High Commissioner’s Mansion — The Ame­ rican airmen showed great daring, coming down low enough in many instances to wave to the people in their houses and seeming indifferent to the fire from probably as many as 3,000 anti-aircraft and machine-gun batteries. The raiders confined them­ selves strictly to military objectives, chiefly the airfields, ships in the Bay, and at the waterfront, but in several instances they came back to attack anti-aircraft and machine guns on city buildings. This was the reason for the bombing of the Oriente building, head­ quarters of the Constabulary. A ma­ chine gun on the roof there brought down the first of two planes that came over it, and the pilot of the second plane, close behind the first, seeing this, swooped around and returned, raked the roof with his machine gun. and bombed the building. The build­ ing and several blocks around it in­ cluding a part of the Binondo Church, were burned down in the fire which followed. Machine-gun fire from the top of the Manila Hotel resulted in the dropping of a bomb on the Bay side wing. Fire from an anti-aircraft gun on the grounds of the U.S. High Commissioner’s residence on Dewey Boulevard, now occupied by the Ja­ panese Ambassador, brought a bomb which wrecked a part of the north wing and killed one and wounded four of the staff. Fire from a machine gun on the roof of the engineering building of the Universitv of the Phi­ lippines (most of the buildings of the University were occupied by the Army) ended in the machine-gunning and clearing of that roof. Japanese

375

Army headquarters in the big Agricul­ tural building, near the Legislative building, was not bombed, and neither was Fort Santiago, former headquar­ ters of the U.S. Army, and now head­ quarters of the Japanese military po­ lice. It was fortunate that Fort Santia­ go was not bombed, for there were never less than 1,000 Filipino and other prisoners in the dungeons there. Only 12 civilians were reported killed and some 300 wounded, most of them by shrapnel which fell like hail in some parts of the city. The people general­ ly received the bombing joyfully but made no demonstrations, as the story had gone around that the Japanese had turned their machine guns on the people of Davao when they demons­ trated their true feelings during the bombing there. All City Churches Occupied or Used as Warehouses — After the first day’s bombing, the thousands of Japanese who lived in residences and apart­ ment houses along Dewey Boulevard moved, most of them to Quezon City, several miles from the Bay front. The Japanese had already seized all of the cinema houses and most of the churches some weeks before, convert­ ing them into barracks and ware­ houses, and now occupied the last two of the churches, the Santa Cruz Church and the Quiapo Church, the latter the shrine of the Holy Nazarene image, held to be one of the most sa­ cred places in Manila. Machine guns were set up in and around many of the churches. The desecration shocked the Catholic people of Manila, but they and the church authorities were helpless. All private telephones were cut off after the bombing, and service was later restored in only a few areas. Prices Become Impossible — The black-market price of rice, which had still been P500 in May and had then gone up to 1*3,000 a sack before the

376

bombing, jumped to P5,000 immediate­ ly after the bombing. Sugar, which had been selling at P30 a kilo, jumped to P70. It took P30 in military notes to buy one old Philippine peso, and an American dollar note was worth P70 in military notes. A breakfast at a middle-class restaurant cost P20 be­ fore the bombing and P32 after. One got an egg for that, two small pieces of substitute-bread toast, a cup of weak coffee, and a banana. A meal at the well known restaurant, Tom’s Dixie Kitchen, cost P75, and the food served amounted to only around one-fourth of a normal prewar serving. A small loaf of bread (cassava) cost P40. A carromata trip in the city cost from P20 to P30. The minimum wage for those fortunate enough to be able to obtain work was around P200 a month, but the important part of the total remu­ neration was the food also furnished by the employer, little though this might be. Over 200,000 people in Ma­ nila were on relief, the government struggling to take care of around half of them and private charity of the rest. But the help was inadequate and people were dying of hunger and mal­ nutrition, especially small children. One man, known to an internee in San­ to Tomas, had lost five small grand­ children one after another. Something appeared to go wrong with their breathing, they wouldn’t eat, and died.

THE CAMP

People collapsed and died in the streets. And while the population was eating leaves, the annual “quota” of rice levied on the Philippines by the Japanese Army was 100,000 sacks and they were actually taking much more. A War Declaration?— It was this country, a country in such pitiable straights, which was alleged by the Japanese to have declared war on the United States, and on Great Britain for good measure. It was now said that Laurel had from the first, and especially during the past six months, fought desperately to avert the move, but had had to give in at last. The Committee's Food Smuggling Operations for the Month — Bridgeford, in his food report for Septem­ ber made only a concealed reference to 1,137 cans of locally canned meat (500-gram cans) purchased at P33 a can with funds not included in the P247,736 reportedly spent by the Com­ mittee for supplementary food. In­ cluding the 783 cans brought in at the time the Hospicio was closed, this made 1,920 cans for the month, of which 1,873 were used in the camp kitchens, taking the place of the cans of beef-and-vegetable ration and ex­ tending the period when the camps would run out of those supplies by around a week. Immediate use of the smuggled-in local supplies was consi­ dered advisable.

The Country The Enemy Rule of the Country (September, 1944)

Chapter VI The Spurious “Declaration of War” In view of the obvious Japanese de­ bacle in and around Manila, rumors that Laurel had declared war on the United States and Great Britain be­ cause of the “attack”, the violation of the country's “territorial integrity”, and the pact of "alliance” with Japan, were at first taken skeptically, des­ pite the fact that the Japanese had plainly worked toward such an issue from the beginning. But copies of the Tribune of that day, Sunday, Septem­ ber 24, smuggled into Santo Tomas, partly substantiated these rumors. Laurel had, or was reported to have proclaimed a "state of war” to exist between the "Republic of the Philip­ pines” and the United States and Great Britain. The two-bank headline read: "PHI­ LIPPINES IN STATE OF WAR WITH UNITED STATES, BRITAIN: Presi­ dent Urges All to Unite in Defense of P.I. Independence”. Other headlines in the two-page sheet read: "Nippon Gov’t Hails War Declaration”, "Japan Offers Every Possible Cooperation, says Ambassador", "Japanese Army, Navy Chiefs in P.I. Urge Faith in Japa­ nese Forces", "Amusement Places Or­ dered Closed”, "Manilans Urged to be Home by 7 in Evening”. The names of five civilians who had been killed and of 131 who had been taken to hospitals were also published; among the latter, 53 had already been sent home after

treatment. Among the wounded, unfor­ tunately, were Joaquin Mencarini, hus­ band of the Mrs. Mencarini who had done so much for internees at the Hospicio, and two of the Mencarini children. The day’s editorial was headed, “A Manly Decision”. In the introductory paragraph to Laurel’s proclamation, Laurel was quoted as having stated "over the ra­ dio” that "he had submitted it to the Cabinet and the Council of State, which bodies had unanimously ap­ proved it. The proclamation, he added, "is independent of any action that may be taken by the Legislature in due time”. There had been a story in the camp more than a week before, when a rumor of a war declaration had been afloat, that it had been im­ possible to obtain a quorum in the Le­ gislature for this purpose. The Tribune reported: "President Jose P. Laurel issued Proclama­ tion No. 30, dated September 22, 1944, declaring that 'a state of war exists between the Re­ public of the Philippines and the United States and Great Britain, effective September 23, 1944, at 10 o’clock in the morning’. "The proclamation was read by the Presi­ dent over the radio Saturday morning, on the day it went into effect. The President said that he had submitted it to the Cabinet and the Council of State, which unanimously ap­ proved it. The proclamation, he added, is in­ dependent of any action that may be taken by the Legislature in due time.

377

378 " ‘Proclamation No. 30 " 'Proclaiming the existence of a state of war in the Philippines’ " 'Whereas, the Filipino people, during the whole period of their subjection to alien rule, have unremittingly labored for their freedom and independence and to this end fought two wars and countless revolutions; " ‘Whereas, upon the attainment by the Phi­ lippines of this cherished goal of freedom and independence and on the occasion of the inau­ guration of the Republic of the Philippines on October 14, 1943, the President appealed to all nations and peoples of the world for amity and goodwill and, to the United States of America especially, pleaded that the Philip­ pines be spared the suffering and destruction incident to the resumption of military opera­ tions on our soil; " ‘Whereas, notwithstanding this appeal, the United States of America and Great Britain have attacked from the air certain parts of the Philippines thereby violating the territorial integrity of the Republic, and causing death, injury to its citizens, and destruction or da­ mage to their property; " ‘Whereas, the Philippines must safeguard its independence and territorial integrity as every self-respecting sovereign state is in ho­ nor bound to do; and " ‘Whereas, the Republic of the Philippines has entered into a Pact of Alliance with Japan, based on mutual respect of sovereignty and territories, to safeguard the territorial integri­ ty and independence of the Philippines, " ‘Now, therefore, I, Jose P. Laurel, Presi­ dent of the Republic of the Philippines, do hereby proclaim that a state of war exists between the Republic of the Philippines and the United States and Great Britain effective September 23, 1944, at 10 o ’clock in the mor­ ning. " ‘Face to face with the grim realities of war, I earnestly call upon every Filipino at this momentous hour to show his unswerving loyalty and to give his support to the Govern­ ment, so that, regardless of the trials and tribulations we are undergoing and those we shall have to suffer in the near future, we may closely and firmly unite to safeguard the free and independent existence of the Philip­ pines. “ 'In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the Republic of the Philippines to be affixed. “ ‘Done in the city of Manila this 22nd day of September, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen

THE COUNTRY hundred and forty-four, and of the Republic of the Philippines, the first. " 'Jose P. Laurel " 'President of the Republic of the Philippines’ ”

Editorially, the Tribune admitted that "Under the circumstances, co­ wards and appeasers would beg for mercy and keep on accepting insults that are increasingly being heaped upon the nation”. But, continued the editorial: ‘‘All self-respecting Filipinos are neither one nor the other, as our long tradition of revolts and wars has fully shown. This is not the first time the Philippines will fight a war in defense of her territorial integrity and freedom. Nor is it the first time the Filipinos will fight back American invaders. "Our second war with America is a mere repetition of history. In 1898, the U.S. fleet un­ der Admiral Dewey appeared in Philippine wa­ ters, ostensibly to 'help the Filipinos', to res­ cue a people fighting a successful war of in­ dependence against Spain. Our war heroes then accepted that proffer to help and rescue, fought and bled by the side of the Americans, and won the war, — for America, who was at that time beginning her imperialistic drive westward across the Pacific into Asia. "Today, the Philippines, this time a free and independent nation [sic] peacefully and honorably trying to rise over the ruins of war, involvement in which has been wholly due to American ambitions, is invaded anew by the same American nation, ostensibly again to ‘rescue’ the Philippines from the very Em­ pire that has truly rescued the Filipinos and has set the nation well on her feet for a dig­ nified and independent existence. "We are tired of being 'rescued'. All we have, through our President, asked America was to let us work out our destiny unencumbered by her bloody thoughtfulness. But America would not respect our wishes and ideals. The move is ours. We have made our solemn decision in the manly way, the only way. War is our answer. May the God of Justice protect our nation and grant our people that which He hath given us, to cherish and to defend: With Japan on our side, we have all hopes of vic­ tory.’’

A more infantile justification than that contained in this Japanese edi-

NOT A “ DECLARATION OF WAR"; PROCLAMATION OF "A STATE OF WAR” 379

tonal pretending to be Filipino, could hardly have been written. Taking the situation as alleged, no national leader ever precipitated his country into a more hopeless war than Laurel was said to have done, throwing his country’s lot in with the fate of a nation which had already suffered shattering reverses and was faced with imminent defeat. It would have been to join in a suicide pact. It was un­ thinkable that any group of Filipinos could have been brought together se­ riously to decide on such a war. Even if war would have been morally justi­ fied, even if this would have been in consonance with the will of the peo­ ple, an actual declaration of war would have been indefensible from any ra­ tional point of view. Issuance of the proclamation was only to be under­ stood as a forced gesture, indicating no intention whatsoever of actually engaging or participating in any hos­ tile activity. If the members of the Cabinet and the Council of State had approved the proclamation, it could only be because everything possible had been done to avoid its issuance and because they could not allow Lau­ rel alone to accept the responsibility.1 The Last Outrage — After inflicting on the Filipinos every injury a power can inflict on a weaker people and imposing on them every humiliation save one, Japan at last sought to force this also, — an unnatural "declaration of war” on the mother nation to which they owed and gave their allegiance >Note (1945) — According to a Malacanan se­ cretary, Laurel told the Cabinet that he had been under intense pressure from General Yamashita himself. He also said that Roxas, who was not present, had seen the original draft of the declaration of a "state of war”, but this had made no direct reference to the United States or Britain. The Japanese High Com­ mand had then "suggested” that they be spe­ cified. Laurel said that he assumed "full res­ ponsibility”.

and of whose protection they had for a time been deprived. It was an attempt to rob the Fili­ pinos of what the Japanese thought would be the last shreds of their selfrespect. But this spurious "declaration of war” was no act of the Filipino peo­ ple and therefore did not touch their self-respect, though it shamed them. They were confident that America and the world would understand their helplessness. They were not at war against the United States; they were still at war on the side of the United States, as they had been from the be­ ginning. America would not be Deceived— It was indeed certain that the United States would take no cognizance of this proclamation of “a state of war”, that it would not in the least affect the status of the Filipino people with respect to America. They were and remained both loyal Filipinos and lo­ yal nationals of the United States. The alleged "war declaration” was probably of some practical value to the Japanese, although it was certain that they would not dare to arm the Filipinos. Mass desertions from the "Constabulary” had already been re­ ported,2 and it was rumored in the 2 Note (1945) — After the "release” of the Fi­ lipino USAFFE war-prisoners during the lat­ ter half of 1942, around 100 of the officers were assigned to the new Japanese-organized Constabulary, together with the "stronger" enlisted men. The organization then consist­ ed of some 5,000 men, mostly raw recruits, already enlisted by the Japanese. Though, later, a goal of 40,000 was set for the total strength, the number never exceeded 15,000. Even before the American landing in Leyte, a number of whole companies in Luzon had deserted, and after the landing in Leyte, the first bombing of Manila, and the proclamation of a "state of war”, many thousands of men deserted; by the end of 1944, from 75 to 80% had abandoned service without leave. The Ja­ panese began systematically to disarm the Constabulary shortly after Laurel’s declaration, and between October and December a num­ ber of ranking officers were arrested and ex­ ecuted, among them Colonel Natividad, first

380

camp that the Constabulary was in fact being disarmed.3 The Japanese probably believed that the "declara­ tion" would give them temporarily a stronger grip on the country and perhaps make it easier for them to im­ press labor battalions. Truth and Falsehood — The Japa­ nese militarists must also have thought that a supposed "declaration of war on America” by the Filipinos would be of value to them in helping to de­ ceive their own people and perhaps others, then and in the future. Events occur in limited regions and in pass­ ing moments, and are known at first hand by only a few persons. Millions learn only the reports of such events. Evil points out a seeming opportunity. The nature of the Japanese and the German systems of violence and ex­ ploitation is especially made evident by the pains taken to raise over the scenes of their unspeakable crimes, splendid temples of justice, but which are wholly phantasmal. It is conceived in these systems that truth is like a tender plant, easily choked down in a jungle of falsehood. But truth is hardier than evil men suppose. It is a vine, deep-rooted, which finds its way through the alien growth, and comes to the light and flowers for all men to see. Truth is established by such

THE COUNTRY

accumulations of integrating facts, that lies, however adroitly presented and brazenly reiterated, can not force conviction and are rejected with scorn. Primarily an Act of the Japanese Military's Hatred of the Filipinos — But forcing a "declaration of war” upon the Philippines was primarily an act of hatred, — hatred of the United States and hatred of the Filipinos. It was an attempt to becloud the truth, to embarrass the United States, and to shame the Filipinos, bring down punishment upon them, and involve them in Japan's own ruin.4 The organizational ability and the political science of the world must find a solution to the problem of the small nation, of those people who by virtue of geographical position, race, and history constitute an autochtho­ nous unit and have the natural right

4 Postwar note; Senator Recto wrote the au­ thor as follows: "The orginal draft of the 'Declaration’, as prepared by the Japanese specifically named the United States and Great Britain. I pro­ posed the elimination of specified nations, and the substitution of the general phrase, ‘allied powers'. I suggested also that, instead of declaring war, which was on the face of it absurd, Dr. Laurel should merely proclaim the existence of a state of war, which was the factual situation. Our thought was that, the Constitution of the Occupation Government be­ ing closely patterned on the Commonwealth Constitution and thereby on that of the United States, at least as far as governmental pro­ cedure was concerned, the people and the Americans would understand that there was assistant director. Colonels Fidel Cruz, Domaoal, Monsod, and Luna, Major Villafria, no declaration of war, there being no con­ and many others charged with underground currence of the Assembly, while to the Ja­ panese we would explain that it was unneces­ anti-Japanese activities. sary to secure the concurrence of the Assem­ 3 With regard to the disarming of the Consta­ bly because it was not Required under the bulary, the author, after liberation, saw a Constitution, this being merely a declaration letter, dated November 23, 1944, from Aquino of a state of war. This amended draft was to Laurel, stating, "It is necessary to confess shown to Roxas. Roxas advised Laurel that it, we have advanced but little in gaining the it would be folly not to give in to the Ja­ people’s confidence; and the worst of it is panese, who, exasperated, might destroy the that the little we have been able to achieve fiction of independence completely, restore we have lost because of others’ mistakes [he military government, and massacre the people. meant the "mistakes” of the Japanese]. We Subsequently, the Japanese, while allowing the have arrived at a situation so precarious as change in phraseology either through igno­ to have compelled us to tolerate the disarming rance or misunderstanding, insisted on naming of our Constabulary." One wonders what the United States and Great Britain specifi­ Aquino could have expected! cally.”

FILIPINOS AND THE “V”-FOR VICTORY SALUTE

381

mittee give the matter further conside­ ration "from this point of view”, but he reiterated that it was not the in­ tention of his office "to force us to do this". The "V”-Sign — On Saturday, 12 tons of rice had been brought into Santo Tomas and on Sunday and Mon­ day 6 tons more of rice and 18 tons of corn, the first of the latter the camp had received in many months. Carroll said that the Japanese appear­ ed to be anxious to get these supplies brought in as soon as possible. A number of internees accompanied the trucks to the Rizal Stadium where the "conditions had now changed owing to the supplies were stored to help load and decision of the Philippines to fight to the unload. They saw Filipino workers death with Japan, [sic], and that promiscuous at the Stadium tottering under as ma­ bombing and machine-gunning from the air ny as three sacks of rice at a time, could be expected throughout the city." a weight of around 300 pounds, but The Commandant thought that Ame­ these "enemies” all had a grin for rica would take just this "revenge". the Americans from Santo Tomas, and It was what the Japanese wanted. surreptitiously held up two fingers in The Commandant asked that the Com­ the ‘"V’-for-Victory” salute. to preserve and develop their indivi­ duality free from menace. Until this problem is solved, what happened in the Philippines, — as in many an­ other small unhappy country must not be forgotten. What the Japanese Wanted — What the Japanese in Manila thought on that Sunday, September 24, was be­ trayed by the Santo Tomas Comman­ dant who was "very much concerned” at the Internee Committee’s decision not to continue the general digging of trenches for protection from air-raids. He said, according to the minutes that —

The Camp The Santo Tomas Internment Gamp

Chapter XXI News of the Landing in Leyte Ration changed to 150 Grams Rice and 150 Grams Corn — In an inter­ view with Shiraji on October 1, Grinnell and Carroll raised the question of returning to three meals a day and asked for a clarification as to the camp cereal ration, stating that, as to the latter, the Committee had been acting on the assumption that the ration was 400 grams of which 300 was rice and 100 corn. Shiraji re­ plied that was a false assumption as the Army had decided that the ration was 300 grams, half rice and half corn. This created new difficulties as it took nearly one-third more corn than rice to get the same bulk of breakfast mush. As to the number of meals, Carroll stated that following Shiraji’s request that the two-meal schedule be "stu­ died", this had been adopted experi­ mentally in the central kitchen and the hospital, but that the doctors had urged that the camp return to three meals a day. Carroll said that the ar­ rangement was being studied from the diet and fuel-conservation points of view, but that as to the fuel fac­ tor, gas was now again at least tem­ porarily available. Grinnell said that the doctors were urging the matter from the viewpoint of health. Shiraji observed: "Of course, three meals are far better than two; for 3,000 years the Japanese have proved that; but these are special times.” More Trouble about Cooking in the Shanties — He went on to stress the

fuel difficulty, said that the prospect for obtaining fuel in adequate quan­ tities in the future was poor, and con­ cluded by "requesting" that the "stu­ dy” of the two-meal system go on. Carroll then asked if there were any objections to the cooking being done twice a day, or with no more fuel than was being used, but with serv­ ings three times a day. After some discussion, this met with Shiraji’s ap­ proval, but in the course of the con­ versation he referred again to the matter of private cooking in the shan­ ties, which, he said, was also "funda­ mentally a fuel problem”. (It had once been fundamentally a "fire-risk problem".) Carroll pointed out that it helped the kitchens to have 800 or 900 people doing much of their own cooking, and that the fuel they were using was mainly charcoal of poor quality, the last sales of which were made by the camp canteen in August, and such twigs and odds and ends of wood as could be picked up, this kind of fuel being of little practical use in the camp kitchens. Shiraji then said that private cooking might con­ tinue as long as individual supplies of fuel were available, but that there would be no sale of fuel to individuals in the future and that the day would come when individual cooking would be absolutely prohibited. He asked the Committee to organize a fuel-ga­ thering detail to collect all twigs and other burnable substances for camp use exclusively.

382

THE INSTRUCTIONS FROM TOKYO

383

cord” as something separate from and not necessarily determined by the con­ "In general, these things which have been ditions and events ostensibly recorded, discussed seem like hardships upon the in­ was proved in many ways during the ternees. To look upon it in that way is month. grave mistake. Really the objective is to Aid to Outside Families Increased bring as much advantage out of the present — For instance, on the 8th Ohashi difficult circumstances as can be brought to the internees. This is no program to ease the informed the Committee that "in all burden of the Army. It is a program to help probability” the visiting day long sche­ the internees through a difficult time, so full duled for November 3 would have to cooperation on thg part of the Committee is be "postponed" because of "disturb­ desired ... The responsibility rested on him, ed conditions”. There had not been he accepted it, biit he did wish the full coope­ ration of the Committee in creating the best a "visiting day” since April 29, six months back! However, the Com­ impression possible on the internees/' The "Instructions from Tokyo" — mandant’s Office agreed, said the min­ A few days later, the 6th, during an­ utes, that — other conference with Carroll and "something would have to be done on behalf of internees with non-intemed families and Lloyd, Shiraji in a quite incidental has suggested that some plans could be work­ manner referred to certain "instruc­ ed out whereby Mr. Kato’s office and the tions from the Government of Japan Philippine Red Cross undertake to investigate in Tokyo" with reference to the treat­ the actual conditions of those families still ment of internees in the Philippines. remaining in Manila. The Commandant’s Of­ advised that no families could be admit­ According to a memorandum of the fice ted to this camp. An up-to-date list is to be meeting: prepared showing the families believed to be In terminating the conference, Shiraji delivered himself of the following:

"Lt. Shiraji went on to say that since he had come into camp he had had to make se­ veral decisions some of which might appear to internees to be harsh. He wanted it clearly understood that the Government of Japan In Tokyo had instructed the Japanese Army in the Philippines to see that, despite the pre­ sent situation and the difficulty of obtaining supplies as well as the phenomenal increase in prices on the outside, internees continue to receive food and are made as comfortable as possible in the circumstances. He was not able to contact all the 4,000 internees, and stated that he expected the Committee, for the members of which he had respect, to ex­ plain the situation to the general body of internees so that when the war was over, a favorable report would be given that the per­ sons in charge of this camp had done all in their power to ensure the comfort of inter­ nees."

The interpreter obtained the impres­ sion that the Tokyo instructions were of recent date. It was somewhat late for the Japanese to begin thinking of the record, though the camp believed it was a significant sign of the times. That the Japanese thought of the "re­

in Manila, and the wishes of the internees in­ volved are to be ascertained as to the plan to be followed by their families as the next best alternative to admission to the camp.”

During the next week, Duggleby’s office interviewed over 400 men in the camp with families outside and took notes on what they wanted con­ veyed to them in the nature of direc­ tions, advise, and requests, which, when compiled, were turned over to the Commandant’s Office to transmit either to the Red Cross or to Kato in the Japanese Embassy. A few days later the whole compilation had to be done over again because the Japanese objected to requests for tobacco in­ cluded in many of the messages; all these had to be eliminated. Two weeks after the compilation had been returned to the Commandant’s office, it was still lying there. The Commandant’s Office on the 7th approved the Committee’s deci­ sion to increase family aid payments

384

by 100%, this doubling the total ex­ pended from around PI2,000 to P24.000 a month. The maximum for an indi­ vidual was now P50 and for a family PI 20.

Cancer Patients at Last Scheduled to be sent to an Outside Hospital for Treatment — Another concession fol­ lowed the arrival in camp of a Japa­ nese military doctor who, on the 13th, approved the transfer of ten persons from the camp to the Philippine General Hospital for treatment "as soon as transportation facilities can be arranged". Most of them were suffering from skin cancers and should have been sent to the Hospital many months before. The doctor disapprov­ ed of the transfer of four others and kept two more cases pending. Two "Meals’’ but three "Servings” — The day following the interview with Shiraji on the 1st, at a meeting of Carroll with the kitchen supervi­ sors, the decision was reached to serve meals three times daily, effective Wed­ nesday, October 4. Certain reorgani­ zation plans were also taken up with the aim of reducing the kitchen per­ sonnel and of effecting a more rigid control of food issues. The news that the camp would re­ turn to three meals a day was broad­ cast on the evening of the 3rd, which had been a rainy and dismal day. The efforts to secure permission to use more of the camp reserves, had not met with any success during the day. Komatsu said that withdrawals from the Japanese-controlled bodegas in the camp must be strictly limited to 300 grams per capita and that withdrawals from camp reserves, as permitted by Shiraji, must be taken from stocks held in the main building bodega. The amount of camp reserve stocks held in the custody of the Ja­ panese was "secret" and "could not be revealed at this time”. This how­ ever referred, presumably, to the

THE CAMP

checking of their own and the camp records in which the Japanese had been engaged since the Bridgeford in­ cident. It rained all day on the 4th, too, but the return to three servings helped, as did also the distribution of the 3 ounces of corned beef that morning and a surprise issue of 125 grams of good vegetable lard. Internees with­ out cooking facilities put a spoonful of this in their rice. That evening there was another serving of a spoon­ ful of dilis (small, minnow-size fish, salted, dried, and baked whole) which the camp had liked the week before, but there was not enough this time for all, and the rest were served sapsap, a somewhat larger and bonier fish, prepared in the same way. Much of this sap-sap, however, could not be eaten, and people had to throw it away. An internee from Cavite, where this kind of fish is prepared, said that the trouble with it was that it had rotted before it had been dried. The "seconds" line that evening reached clear around three sides of the main building, and, because of a consider­ able overage due to a miscalculation in the original serving, several hun­ dred internees did get a second help­ ing. This resulted in much criticism from the majority who had only the very skimpy first serving. The Internee Committee and the Agents on the 5th discussed the ques­ tion of whether to continue the distri­ bution of the remainder of the reserve stock of canned corned beef, pork-andbeans, and Vienna sausage, and it was agreed that it should continue as long as the supply lasted. There could be only three or four more issues of the corned beef, two of pork-and-beans, and one of pork-and-beans or Vienna sausage; October 28 would be the day of the last issue, after which the ba­ lance remaining would be too small to make a distribution.

THE CAMP FOOD GUARD ORGANIZED

385

corn 14.1%. These losses did not in­ clude the tare weight (weight of the containers, — sacks and baskets) which approximated 1%, nor the cleaning losses which ran to from zero in the case of some of the corn to 1.05% for some of the rice during those four days. Shiraji was asked to make up these losses, or, at least, to allow the Committee to make addi­ tional withdrawals from camp-owned reserve stocks to compensate for them. Shiraji said he would consider the matter, and four days later advised that the Committee might withdraw enough rice and corn from the camp reserves to make up for the deficien­ cy; the permission, he warned, was not retroactive and was of effect only as of that day, the 14th. This generous settlement had been facilitated by the appointment of I. G. Spering, on the 10th, who took Bridgeford’s place in his contacts with the Japanese, Bridgeford having become persona non “Two hundred ducks, — 293 lbs. gross, 190 grata. lbs. net; the ducks were starving, too.” Camp Food Guard Organized — In Komatsu released the “October sup­ the meantime, the kitchen had again ply” of sugar on the 10th, or rather been reorganized, Schelke had been began to do so. Of the 12 bags brought named an additional supervisor, and in, two were taken by the Japanese headed by P. Holdsworth, a new sec­ in the camp, and the rest were issued tion had been set up in the depart­ at the rate of one bag every two days ment of patrols especially to guard for distribution to the 4,000 internees. food supplies and patrol all food ope­ It was several weeks before everyone rations. And the "seconds” line was in the camp had received his 250 eliminated! The camp was told about this in a grams, but it was good brown sugar this time which did not have to be broadcast on the evening of the 11th: boiled down into a syrup before it was “At the request of the central kitchen we may now tell you that, effective immediately, safe to use. Weight Shortages of Japanese Deli­ the central kitchen seconds line is discontinu­ All foodstuffs which may be left over veries Increase — Weight shortages ed. will in the future be conserved and used in continued to be considerable. On the the preparation of subsequent meals. The po­ 10th, Shiraji was told that on the licy, therefore, in the future, will be — no issues of rice and com during the pre­ seconds.. "For several days now a new plan of or­ ceding few days shortages had run ganization has been developing; new schedules as follows: October 6 — rice 3.9%, of work have had to be worked out and the com 21.8%; October 7 — rice 10.7%, men found who are willing to work according corn 13.2%, October 8 — rice 10.0%, to the new schedule. Now it can be told. The corn 14.9%, October 9 — rice 16.5%, new central kitchen organization plan pro­ A Taste of Duck — Word got around that the camp was to have duck for supper soon. The ducks at the camp farm were not doing well. The camp had 200 of them there, a donation of the neutral committee of the Inter­ national Y.M.C.A., and the Japanese had also brought in some 700, which they said were for the camp though they had never been officially turned over. They were fed mostly on camp garbage, and many of them were dy­ ing. The Committee took the view that the ducks which died were the Japa­ nese-owned, and butchered all 200 of the camp-owned ducks at one time. People who expected actually to see duck on their supper plates on Sun­ day, October 8, were disappointed. It had been ground up and mixed into the fried rice. There was just a slight taste of duck. Chalked on the black­ board which bore the bill-of-fare for the day was the following explana­ tion:

386 vides for an 8-hour shift for all cooks and sanitation men working inside the kitchen. Only the patrolmen and the kitchen bodega men will continue to work 3-hour shifts. The cooks and sanitation men will work 8 hours for 1 day out of every 3, will take their meals in the kitchen only when actually on duty during meal time, and their meal will consist of the same basic ration of food as that served to other internees, and they will be allowed inside the kitchen only on 1 day out of 3 when they are actually on duty. This means that from now on there will be a limited number of people in the central kit­ chen at all times, — 16 men not counting supervisors. Of course, the runners and servers will be in the kitchen during times that meals are being served, but runners and servers will receive their food from the lines outside the kitchen, the same as other internees. So much for the new schedule of the central kitchen. "Now an announcement concerning a new organization to be known as the food section of the division of camp order. This organiza­ tion has been created for the purpose of guarding camp foodstuffs. It will assume res­ ponsibility for the patrolling of all food ope­ rations in camp, including the main building food bodega, all kitchens, food processing such as corn grinding, rice cleaning, coconut shelling, vegetable cleaning, delivery service between the various points in camp, as well as to the gymnasium, etc. This new food sec­ tion of the division of camp order has been promised the full support of the camp admi­ nistration. The Internee Committee in a letter to Gordon Mackay, chief camp order officer, gave unqualified support and backing ‘to the determined effort to eliminate the theft of camp food supplies'. The committee on order has expressed its intention of backing up fully the new food patrol, and we are sure that every honest internee will back this new organization to the limit. "Now, that’s two phases of the food pro­ blem; food preparation and food handling. At the present time there is one other very im­ portant phase of the food problem, — food growing. The vegetable gardens have become a very important part of the feeding of the camp. We have become increasingly dependent on camp gardens for vegetables and greenstuffs and, sooner or later, we may become entirely dependent upon the camp gardens for these items. Therefore, we must come to the reali­ zation that it is just as much an offense ag­ ainst the camp to take fruits, vegetables, and greenstuffs from the camp gardens as it is to take rice, corn, or vegetables from the

THE CAMP cleaning tables. And from now on the taking of fruits, vegetables, and greens from the camp garden will be considered a camp of­ fense and the parties involved will be referred to the division of camp order.

The New Camp Exchange — Further affecting the camp food situation was the questioning by the Japanese of H. B. Parfet and the search of his shanty on the 4th. Shiraji said after the in­ vestigation in the Commandant’s of­ fice that there were still certain per­ sons in the camp who were engaged in private trading for profit, and that this must stop. Parfet might be per­ mitted to continue his exchange busi­ ness until further orders, but the Committee should set up a camp ex­ change booth, first preparing a plan for his approval. It was explained that the Committee had had two ex­ change booths in operation, as autho­ rized by the Commandant’s Office, that one of these, in the main build­ ing lobby, had been closed to afford more space for shelter in case of fur­ ther air-raids and that the other booth was still operating. Shiraji said that nevertheless a definite order would be issued in the matter and that the Committee should go ahead with the "preparations”. The next day Carroll and Lloyd were asked by Shiraji to find out where the rice Parfet had been deal­ ing in came from, and later in the day they informed him that the rice was old stock belonging to internees who had acquired it before the clos­ ing of the Package-Line in February. Shiraji then returned to the subject of a new camp exchange, stating that no trading, sale, or purchase of any foodstuffs, tobacco, or other mer­ chandise would be permitted except through this exchange. The Commit­ tee was to take the responsibility for the proper supervision of the enter­ prise and "for eliminating other priv­ ate trading”. Orders were issued which

FURTHER INTERNEE CONTRIBUTIONS TO CAMP FOOD FUND

were broadcast to the camp that eve­ ning: "The Commandant today ordered that, ef­ fective immediately, all buying, selling, trad­ ing, bartering, or dealing in any way with foodstuffs, wearing apparel, tobacco in any form, jewelry, or any other merchandise, is prohibited except when transacted at a camp exchange to be set up and operated under the supervision of the Internee Committee. Such an exchange is now being organized and it will shortly provide facilities for legitimate interchange, purchase, or sale of articles at reasonable prices. In the meantime, internees are requested to refrain from aiding and abet­ ting any agent, broker, or other intermediary, by dealing with him. The foregoing order has the effect of rescinding all existing camp re­ gulations governing private enterprise. From this date, the following rule is substituted therefor: ‘Buying, selling, trading, bartering, or dealing in any way as an intermediary in foodstuffs, wearing apparel, tobacco in any form, jewelry, or any other merchandise, is prohibited!."

An impossible task had been impos­ ed on the Committee. It could not have eliminated "other private trading” without eliminating those members of the Commandant’s staff and many of the soldiers of the guard who conniv­ ed at the internee smuggling or trad­ ed direct with the internees. The Committee again Appeals to the Internee Body for Contributions — Camp funds running low at the end of September, the Committee request­ ed in connection with the October withdrawals from the Bank of Tai­ wan, that internees who wished to do so be allowed to withdraw and turn over to the Committee any part or all of their balances in the Bank. Permis­ sion for this was granted, and the camp was notified of the fact in the evening camp news broadcast of Oc­ tober 3: “ ...W ith reference to October withdrawals from the internee bank, the application for permit to withdraw funds from the Bank of Taiwan were approved last week by the Com­ mandant’s Office, and we have been informed that the funds will be brought into camp tomorrow morning. ...I n view of the fact that

387

there are limited purchases which can be made by internees at the present time, per­ mission has been solicited and received from the Commandant’s Office for any internee who wishes to do so to turn over to the camp all or any part of his balance now on deposit in the Bank of Taiwan. The Internee Com­ mittee is prepared to issue the same type of receipt now as was issued in August to those who then turned in money to the camp fund at that time. It is hoped that the camp will be able to continue purchasing supplies for camp use, and all funds turned in will be used for this purpose."

A stronger appeal was made over the loudspeakers on the 8th. The an­ nouncer asked whether it would not be better to use the money in the in­ terest of all the people of the camp than allowing it to "continue to draw interest in the Bank of Taiwan”. He also pointed out that future banking operations were "uncertain", to say the least! "...T he bank will be open for a further and more important reason. Circumstances being what they are, future banking operations are, to say the least uncertain; and there may be some of you who, after further consideration, feel that your bank balance could be put to better use by turning it over to the camp for the purchase of foodstuffs for the kitchen now, rather than letting it continue to draw inte­ rest in the Bank of Taiwan. The camp receipt promises no interest other than that the mo­ ney received will be used in the best interest of all the people in camp. If you feel that it would be better for your money to be used for the general good of the camp, it is not too late to make the transfer tomorrow mor­ ning.”

The response was good. While, in September, internees had turned over to the Committee only PI4,176.90, they now authorized the transfer of P82.296 from their bank accounts to the camp funds. About one-third of the accounts with the Bank of Tai­ wan were eliminated on this occa­ sion, either because of the transfer of the balances or because of the ex­ haustion of the deposits. Internees this month also contributed P12,295 in cash to the camp funds, the sum

388

being composed mostly of left-overs from the P50 withdrawal allowances for September. Japanese Payment for ‘‘Special Work" Increased from 15 to 25 Cen­ tavos a Day — The Japanese made their September payments on the 10th of October, — expenses for "daily necessities", PI 1,097.00; for "repairs to clothing”, P5,548.50; and for "special work", PI,996.00; total P18.641.50. A "secret” as to the basis of the Japa­ nese calculations of the amount paid over for "special work" was cleared up. It was learned that the daily pay had originally been 15 centavos but had been increased recently to 25 cen­ tavos, and that it was paid for the services of 32 internees engaged in general camp affairs, 12 doctors, 59 nurses, 37 cooks, 10 civil engineers, 5 electricians, 3 chemists, 10 carpen­ ters, 7 plumbers and blacksmiths, 11 gardeners, and some others who were all working more than 4 hours a day. While Shiraji was pushing down the camp food-intake, other members of the Commandant’s staff continued to demand that more work be done, especially gardening. Takeda declared that the gardening should be pushed ahead even at the expense of the build­ ing of air-raid shelters, this running counter to orders from Abiko. Carroll again emphasized that heavy garden­ ing work was impossible on a daily food allowance of 1,015 calories (less than an invalid’s diet). He also point­ ed out that the gardening was still seriously handicapped by lack of tools, Takeda replying that the Command­ ant's Office was not in a position to supply any more- Again asked about fertilizer, Takeda said it would be im­ possible to furnish that. He finally agreed to a suggestion that the area planted to kangkong the previous month, which had failed to grow be­ cause of lack of rain, might be turned into a private gardens area.

THE CAMP

The New Occupation Questionnaire — On the 9th the Commandant’s Of­ fice, through Takeda, asked for an­ other list of "skilled persons, heavy workers, etc., broken down into clas­ sifications, with the age, nationality, health, and other details as to each person". On the same day, Shiraji called the camp labor controller, Wads­ worth, and — "after going into details of the labor organiza­ tion, asked what the procedure of selection would be if the Japanese Army required as­ sistance from internee labor. The labor con­ troller explained how we had dealt with Japa­ nese labor projects in the past. He was then asked to provide by 8 a.m tomorrow details of the population broken down into sex, age groups, etc., the number of heavy and light workers by departments and a sub-division into particular jobs in those departments."

Wadsworth submitted the 10-day labor report regularly submitted to the Commandant’s Office, and Shiraji found this acceptable. He also told him that there were only 9 wood­ cutters and 8 well-diggers and pathbuilders, their occupations being con­ sidered among the hardest work. The monitors were circularized on the 14th in connection with the report Takeda had asked for: “The Commandant’s Office has ordered that lists be submitted im mediately.. .of electri­ cians, carpenters, plumbers, automobile work­ ers, drivers, body-makers, etc., doctors, den­ tists, and nurses, farmers, shoemakers and repairers, communication technicians, operators, and mechanics, blacksmiths, safety engineers ...There is no indication from the Comman­ dant’s Office that this information is desired for any purpose other than for their records."

List were compiled from the moni­ tors’ returns giving the names, ages, state of health, etc., of 19 electricians, 11 carpenters, 5 plumbers. 10 automo­ bile "workers”, 11 doctors and den­ tists, 99 nurses, 100 farmers, 10 shoe­ makers, 3 communications men, 4 blacksmiths, and 17 safety engineers. This was about the minimum of names that could be furnished, as they

*

SOLDIERS AND ARMY SUPPLIES BROUGHT IN

were all of record. The condition of health of the great majority of these internees was given as fair or poor. The Campus becomes an Army Sup­ ply Dump — The requests for these lists created uneasiness, especially be­ cause of other developments that were taking place simultaneously, in­ cluding the dumping on the front campus of Japanese army equipment and supplies which began on Monday, October 9. That the Commandant’s Office had earlier notice of this was indicated by Abiko’s order on Sunday for the immediate removal of the athletic shed on the baseball field. On Saturday, the 7th, the camp had been electrified by the sounding of the air-alert signal at 12:25 and of the air-raid alarm a few minutes later. The latter proved to have been a mis­ take made by the operator of the siren at the Far Eastern University, and the city went back to the alert, which was lifted at 3:08. But the alert was a welcome thing nevertheless, for the sirens had not been heard in Ma­ nila either for alerts or alarms, since September 27. After the never-to-beforgotten raids on Manila of the 21st and 22nd of September, there had been no further bombing, although, as already recounted, there had been alarms on the 23rd and 24th and alerts had continued for three more days. On Monday morning (the 9th) over 100 Japanese soldiers came into the camp and set up an "A” frame with block-and-tackle on the campus direct­ ly in front of and across the road from the education building. They also erected several rows of tents near the central roadway. Internees were warned over the loudspeakers that the whole front campus area was out of bounds. A little later it was ordered that the hospital road be kept clear because, according to Abiko, "trucks from the

389

outside would be operating along the road for the next four or five days”. The Committee Protest — On the 10th some 500 more Japanese came in the camp, some in uniform and others in civilian clothes, and it was surmis­ ed that they made up a labor batta­ lion. Whether they were all quartered in the barracks at the main gate and in the tents which had been put up, or many had been marched out again, or why they had been brought in at all, no internee knew. On the 11th, Abiko ordered the removal of the camp firewood from one of the "pa­ vilions” so that the place could be used "for dormitory purposes for the Japa­ nese soldiers who had been brought into camp”. The presence of these soldiers immediately created difficul­ ties, sanitary and otherwise, and, ac­ cording to the minutes: "As a result of the activities by the military authorities in the front grounds, no explana­ tion for which was given, the Committee de­ cided to write the Commandant protesting against the use of the internment camp for such purposes.”

Earlier in the day, at 2:48, an airalert had again been ordered which continued without interruption for several days until 12:20 on the 13th, when, to the great disappointment of the camp, the all-clear was sounded. On the 12th, great numbers of cases of what looked like supplies and crat­ ed pieces of machinery were brought in on army trucks and built up into great piles in various places on the front campus. The "A” frame with block-and-tackle and others like it were used in unloading the heavier crates. Internees were warned over the loudspeakers: "No one is permitted to enter the out-ofbounds area at any time except persons on legitimate business authorized by the Com­ mandant's Office. No one is to look at or attempt to handle anything stored in that area. Offenders will be severely punished. As

390 a matter of fact, the Japanese officer of the day says they’re in danger of being sh o t...so keep out.”

The Internee Committee presented its letter of protest to the Comman­ dant that morning and for once, such a letter received a quick response. The letter, dated as of the 12th and signed by all three members, ran as follows: "Subject: Military activities in front grounds. "On October 9 the Internee Committee was informed that the area in front of the main building, including the east and west road­ ways, the center path, and the entire field in front of the education building (except the basketball court) would be closed tempo­ rarily to internees, except for those on essential camp duties and for the use of the two pavilions in front of the main building. Later in the day, instructions were issued to keep the hospital road clear of internees as far as the east end of the education building in order to permit free movement of trucks. "On October 10 we were informed that that portion of the west pavilion used as class­ rooms during the day would be utilized at night by the soldiers for sleeping purposes. On October 11 we were requested to remove the firewood from the west pavilion so that portion of the latter may be used for sleeping pur­ poses also. "It has been reported that the soldiers quar­ tered in the front grounds area have taken certain camp-owned materials such as adobe stone and iron drums from the storage area of the sanitation department and baskets from the camp garden, and further, that the bridge leading from the west roadway to the south­ west garden has been removed. Also, it has been noted that the soldiers have not remain­ ed within the area set aside for their use. Certain sanitary problems have arisen, but these have already been called to the atten­ tion of the medical department of your Of­ fice. "Generally, internees have gained the impres­ sion that the front area is now being utilized for purposes of a purely military nature in no way connected with the maintenance of this internment camp. On behalf of the internees of this camp, we respectfully submit that: "(1) The use of any portion of this camp and its facilities for military purposes is ob­ jectionable on the grounds that it may be con­ sidered that the presence of interned noncombatants is being utilized to give protection from bombardment. In any event, it is con­

THE CAMP sidered that such usage constitutes a potential menace to the safety of this camp. "(2) The use or appropriation of camp-owned materials by the soldiers occupying the front grounds has not been authorized in so far as we know, and we ask for your assistance in taking necessary steps to preserve and protect our camp property. "We shall greatly appreciate your prompt consideration of the foregoing and hope to receive a statement which will permit the Committee to clarify the situation to the in­ ternees.”

In this letter no specific reference was made to the Geneva Convention of 1929 which states in this connection only that — "no prisoner may, at any time, be sent into a region where he might be exposed to the fire of the combat zone, nor used to give protection from bombardment to certain points or certain regions by his presence.” (Article 9, in part.)

The framers of that Convention had obviously not thought of a whole in­ ternment camp being used for the pur­ pose of giving protection to army equipment and supplies. "Insult" to the A rm y..."the Army does not use Internees as a Shield"— The Committee was summoned by the Commandant that same afternoon to receive his reply. Hayashi promised to take certain steps to meet the minor objections, but as to the major and fundamental objection, that might be "construed”, he said, "as an insult to the Imperial Japanese Army”. The Army "does not use internees as a shield". With the Commandant's consent, the reply was put in writing for post­ ing on the bulletin boards. Written by Cary, the interpreter, it was read by Kinoshita, Onozaki, Ohashi, and Takeda, and was "chopped” by Kino­ shita "as correct”. It read: "The Chairman of the Internee Committee was summoned by the Commandant to receive his reply to the Internee Committee’s letter of October 12 on the subject of military ac­ tivities on the front grounds:

COMMANDANT’S REPLY TO COMMITTEE’S PROTEST "The Commandant replied to the specific points raised in the Internee Committee’s let­ ter as follows: "(1) No classrooms in the west pavilion are to be used by the soldiers. "(2) The woodshed portion of the west pa­ vilion will be used at night as sleeping quar­ ters for the soldiers. "(3) Strict orders are being issued against the use of camp-owned property by the sol­ diers. "(4) The paragraph numbered T expresses a feeling on the part of the internees which is most unexpected and which may be cons­ trued as an insult to the Imperial Japanese Army. The Japanese Army does not use inter­ nees as a shield. It should be remembered that all of Manila and the Philippines is actually an objective in this war. The Goverment of the United States has not been officially in­ formed that the Santo Tomas University was to be used or is being used as an internment camp. Therefore, officially it has no special protection status. However, everything possible will be done to protect the internees of this camp to the fullest extent. "The Commandant requested that the Chair­ man of the Internee Committee act quickly in order to relieve anxiety on the part of internees, and it was agreed that copies of the Commandant’s statement would be posted on the bulletin boards.”

The statement that ‘‘all of Manila and the Philippines is actually an ob­ jective in this war”, was not true in the sense intended. That the United States Government had not been "of­ ficially informed” that Santo Tomas University was being used as in intern­ ment camp, was, if true, an extraor­ dinary admission, but the conclusion that "therefore, officially, it had no special protection status”, was false. It was well known in America that Santo Tomas was an internment camp; the letters received by internees during the past two years were all addressed to Santo Tomas. The assurance that "everything possible” would be done to "protect” the internees, was wholly gratuitous. The entire "reply” was a moronic perversion of the facts of the situation. Continued Encroachments on Inter­ nee Housing Space — While the Ar­

391

my was thus converting the campus into a supply dump, the Japanese in the camp continued their encroach­ ments on internee buildings, finally taking over the entire ground floor of the education building. At the begin­ ning of the month, the Japanese were already in occupation of over half of the third floor and on the 7th the Committee was informed through an interpreter that the Commandant’s Of­ fice intended to take over the rest of the floor. This was confirmed the next day by Ohashi who said that the Com­ mandant and all his staff were com­ ing in from the outside to live in the camp. The water pressure on the third floor had always been rather low, and although some 200 internees had got­ ten along with it, the 20 or so Japa­ nese now there had other ideas. Takeda issued an order prohibiting the 500 internees quartered in the other parts of the building from bathing and doing any laundry work or even dish-washing until after roll call at 8 o’clock. This meant no morning bath and much inconvenience for many as they had to leave the building for breakfast before roll call and go to work immediately after roll call. On the 1st of the month Shiraji "re­ quested” a “loan” of two electric re­ frigerators, "the bigger the better”, and he was told that it would be dif­ ficult to meet the request; there were but a few electric refrigerators in the camp and these were all in use in the hospitals and kitchens, as the gas refri­ gerators could not be depended upon. On the 7th Shiraji "ordered that one electric refrigerator be turned over to the Commandant’s Office immediate­ ly”. The Internee Committee Office Moved — On the 12th, the same day that the Commandant had said that everything possible would be done to protect the internees, the Comman­ dant’s Office, through Ohashi, ordered

392

that the whole ground floor of the education building be evacuated to make room for the Commandant’s of­ fice in the lobby and for residential quarters for him and his staff in the wings. The Internee Committee of­ fice was ordered transferred to the small restaurant building which had been the Japanese general office since it had moved out of the main build­ ing. The third floor of the education building would be returned by the Ja­ panese for internee housing and the east balcony in the gymnasium would also be used again for this purpose but sawali screens would have to be put up outside the windows to "prevent signaling". The 50 or so old and bedridden men in the education lobby hospital would have to be provided for elsewhere, too. Internees asked themselves the why for all this. The Japanese did not say. But the education building was of light hollow-tile construction, with only a galvanized iron roof. The ground floor was certainly safer than the third floor, and safer, too, than the little detached office building which was of the same construction. Agent DeWitt’s Banishment to Los Banos — During that first half of the month, the Japanese made still ano­ ther revealing gesture. Seven interternees with relatives in the Los Ba­ nos camp had requested to be trans­ ferred there, and this, being recom­ mended by the Internee Committee, the Commandant had sent a list of these persons to War-Prisoners Headquarters downtown for approval. The list came back on the 7th, ap­ proved, but an eighth name had been added, that of Clyde A. DeWitt, one of the three Internee Agents. Accord­ ing to the Internee Committee’s mi­ nutes of the day, "No explanation was offered for this particular transfer”. DeWitt saw Ohashi about the matter but could find out nothing more than

THE CAMP

that it was an order. Ohashi said quizically, "You will find plenty to do at Los Banos”, and DeWitt could only won­ der what he meant by the remark. The Committee and the Agents met on the evening of the 9th to discuss the matter and — "decided that the Internee Committee would write to the Commandant expressing disap­ pointment at the order received and asking for reconsideration on the grounds of services ren­ dered by Mr. DeWitt since the start of the camp to internees as a whole and the Internee Committee in particular.”

The Monitors Council held a special meeting on the morning of the 10th and later informed the Committee that — "the order transferring Mr. C. A. DeWitt to Los Banos against his wishes was discussed and it was moved and unanimously carried that a protest be made to the Internee Com­ mittee to be forwarded to the Japanese author­ ities against the transfer of an elected Agent of the internee body.”

The Other Agents, the Committee, and the Council Protest — The Com­ mittee’s letter, signed by all three members, and dated the 10th, read: "Subject: Transfer to the Los Banos camp of Clyde A. DeWitt, American, aged 64. "The name of the above internee is included in the list of internees to be transferred by Headquarters’ order from this camp to the Los Banos camp on or about October 13. “On behalf of the internees of this camp, we respectfully appeal for reconsideration of the order to transfer Mr. DeWitt, and submit the following expression of the sentiment of the internees as reflected through the Moni­ tors Council and numerous individual state­ ments, and heartily endorsed by the Internee Committee. “(1) The transfer is not voluntary in the case of Mr. DeWitt, whereas all other trans­ fers listed in your order of October 7 were re­ quested by the internees themselves. (2) Al­ though no reason has been stated, considering the fact that the transfer has not been re­ quested by Mr. DeWitt, it may be assumed that this order is in the nature of a punitive measure. Such being the case, neither the In­ ternee Committee nor the internees are aware of any act on the part of Mr. DeWitt which may have been construed as a violation of any

DEWITT’S FORCED TRANSFER TO LOS BANOS camp regulations not in any other way an offense against the Japanese military authori­ ties. (3) The services rendered by Mr. DeWitt since the opening of this camp in an advisory capacity not only to the Internee Committee but to internees individually and collectively have been invaluable and he is held in the highest esteem by all. (4) The Internee Com­ mittee is most reluctant to lose the services of Mr. DeWitt who has been of particular as­ sistance to the Committee in his capacity as an elected Agent of the internees in handling difficult camp problems. The loss of Mr. DeWitt’s services would greatly handicap the Com­ mittee in the discharge of its duties. "Under the circumstances, your assistance in placing before the proper authorities for favorable reconsideration the case of Mr. De­ Witt as viewed by the internees of this camp, is urgently requested."

The other Agents, Pond and Har­ rington, also addressed a letter to the Commandant on the subject under same date: "The transfer to the Los Banos internment camp of Mr. C. A. DeWitt, an internee of this camp, has been ordered. "No reason has been given for that order; he has not to our knowledge committed any offense which warrants any punitive action against him. He has been continuously in­ terned in this camp since its establishment. He was appointed on February 24, 1944, by the internees as one of the Agents to represent them, and that appointment was approved on February 26, 1944, by the then Commandant of the camp. He has represented the inter­ nees well; not only has he rendered important assistance in the administration of the camp, but also, under most difficult conditions, he has sought and secured the cooperation of the internees in the effective operation of the camp. The internees strongly desire that Mr. DeWitt remain in this camp. "On behalf of the internees, therefore, we respectfully request that you use your good offices to secure a reconsideration of the order of transfer.”

DeWitt’s Departure Speeded— Grinnell said the next day that Onozaki and Ohashi appeared to have been im­ pressed by the protests made and that he believed that DeWitt’s "chances for remaining in the camp were pretty good”, but the Committee was in­ formed on the 12th that its applica­

393

tion for reconsideration of the order had been "turned down” by Headquar­ ters (Minutes, October 12). Indeed, DeWitt was now ordered fo get ready to leave the next day by train if the camp truck was not ready to go. All that the Geneva Convention pro­ vides relative to the transfer of an agent or other representative of pri­ soners is the following (Article 43): " ... No representative of the prisoners may be transferred without the necessary time being allowed him to inform his successors about af­ fairs under consideration."

The Japanese probably considered DeWitt as the principal Agent among the three because he was a lawyer. Militarists do not like the law and do not like to have it quoted to them. The Japanese at Headquarters no doubt knew that there would be much occasion for lawful protests in the im­ mediate future and thought they might save themselves trouble getting De­ Witt out of the way as well as by this possibly intimidating the others. In­ ternees who had lived there said that in Japan proper the legal profession was not highly regarded and that, in fact, lawyers were "looked down upon”. DeWitt and the others left Santo Tomas on the 14th at 5:15 in the morning, a truck taking them from the camp to the railway station. As no one was allowed outside the build­ ings without a pass before 6 o’clock, no friends could see them off. They missed the event of October 15th, — the beginning of the renewed bombing of Manila, by just one day! Pond and Harrington met with the Internee Committee on the evening of the 16th and it was agreed that the Committee "would ask the Comman­ dant to approve the election of a suc­ cessor to Mr. DeWitt”. Grinnell saw Onozaki and Ohashi about the matter and they gave him to understand that while the Commandant's Office would

394

THE CAMP

not object to an election of another on that situation, the Council’s mi­ representative or to such representa­ nutes stated: tives submitting statements, requests, "The chairman recalled that at the last meet­ etc., the Commandant's Office did ob­ ing of the Council ‘it was felt strongly that issue of whether or not we have complete ject to the title of “Agent”! At a sub­ the control over the use of our reserve stocks of sequent discussion between the Com­ rice should be forced with the Japanese’. He mittee and the Agents it was decided also brought up the Internee Committee’s let­ that since DeWitt’s term would not ter of August 23 to the Council which stated expire until the latter part of Novem­ that 'if our efforts to secure more adequate food for this camp are unsuccessful, we are ber, and an agent served anyway un­ not prepared to continue in office and shall til his successor had been elected, and tender our resignation to the Commandant in view also of the fact that the Ja­ with a request that he permit an election for panese did not officially recognize the the selection of our successors’. Since then our ration has been reduced, the vegetable Agents, it would be better to allow market has been closed, and we have suf­ matters to stand as they were and to fered further restrictions. The Monitors Coun­ continue to consider DeWitt as an cil feels that we are now in a condition of absent member of the group of Inter­ slow starvation and that firmer action should be taken to secure additional food for the nee Agents. camp. It was felt that, in order to determine The Committee Considers Resigning if the internees are prepared to take the if it can not Secure Improvement in consequences of the resignation of the Inter­ the Food Situation— The minutes of nee Committee, a poll of the camp should be the Internee Committee meeting of taken. The chairman stated that he under­ October 9 stated among other things — stood from the Internee Committee letter "The Committee decided to make one final effort with the Commandant’s Office to se­ cure an improvement in the present food si­ tuation in the camp, and if this effort proves unsuccessful to advice the Commandant that their position has become untenable and that they can no longer continue to shoulder the responsibilities laid upon them as members of the Internee Committee.”

This decision was in part attri­ butable to the continued criticism of the Committee, especially in the Mo­ nitors Council. That same day the Council held a special meeting "called at the request of several members for the purpose of discussing the food problem and the DeWitt’s transfer. As to the latter, according to the mi­ nutes, though the Council was of the opinion that DeWitt was being trans­ ferred "because of his activities as Agent”, it was decided to take no ac­ tion until further information could be obtained. As to the food situation, however, described as "slow starva­ tion”, and the bearing of a possible resignation of the Internee Committee

mentioned above that they hoped their resig­ nation would very strongly emphasize the need for more food for the camp and that it might result in some improvement. It was brought up that at previous meetings the question had been raised as to whether or not the Mo­ nitors Council always correctly interpreted camp opinion, and, therefore, the seriousness of the camp’s feeling with regard to the food situation should be determined by a poll in this instance. Moved that the Monitors Coun­ cil take a poll of all internees 18 years and over on the subject of any drastic action to be recommended by the Monitors Council in an effort to secure more food for the camp. Passed unanimously. It was felt that results of the poll might strengthen the hand of the Internee Committee in dealing with the Ja­ panese authorities.. . ”

The Council Schedules a Camp Poll on the Committee's Resignation— The next day, at another special meeting (at which the resolution protesting against the transfer of DeWitt was also adopted), Evans reported — "the decisions reached at last night’s meeting between the Internee Committee and the In­ ternee Agents. The Internee Committee de­ cided that, in view of their failure to secure more food for the camp, they will make one

CAMP POLL: SHOULD THE COMMITTEE RESIGN?

395

more trial and, if they fail, they will tender their resignation to the Commandant. The In­ ternee Committee had concluded that this was the only alternative left to them..."

have stopped the holding of the poll, but would have placed itself in a false position in so doing. The whole camp was discussing the matter when a let­ Evans then read the draft of the ter signed by all three of the Agents two questions upon which the Coun­ and dated the 13th appeared on the cil wanted to take a poll and “both bulletin boards. It read: were accepted as read”. "Your Agents believe that it is their duty to The questions were: give you their views regarding the two ques­ “(1) Do you wish the Monitors Council to present the strongest possible representation to the Japanese military authorities, through the Internee Committee demanding that addi­ tional food be made available immediately for this camp, such as rice, corn, beans, peanuts, bananas, coconuts, etc.? In making your an­ swer you should bear in mind the possibility of suffering the consequences of receiving less food than at present. “(21 In view of the seriousness of the cur­ rent food situation, do you wish the Internee Committee to resign as a protest and request an election of their successors in line with their letter dated August 4 to the Comman­ dant which stated: 'The Internee Committee can not longer assume the burden of respon­ sibilities placed upon it by the authorities unless adequate provisions for feeding the internees is forthcoming without delay.’ ”

The Agents' Advice against taking a Poll Disregarded — Neither at this time, nor in August, was the Internee Committee wise in stating in advance that it would tender its resignation if its efforts to secure more adequate food for the camp proved unsuccessfull. The statement was indicative of the earnestness of the Committee, but what was to be gained from a resigna­ tion? However, the Committee was still in a position in which it could carry out the decision in its own time, delaying it if this should appear ad­ visable, or reversing it altogether. The Council, however, was obviously try­ ing to force the Committee into a cor­ ner. Many persons in the camp con­ sidered the Council’s move a dan­ gerous one under the existing condi­ tions, and the Agents tried unsuccess­ fully to persuade the Council steering committee to abandon the plan. The Internee Committee, of course, could

tions which the Monitors Council has re­ quested you to answer. “In the first question, the risks of drastic ac­ tions are mentioned. That every internee wants more food is obvious; that every possi­ ble effort should be made to get more food is equally obvious. Opinions differ however as to what should be done. The question is vague; we make no suggestion as to your answer. "The second question makes no mention of the risks involved should a substantial ma­ jority of the internees answer it in the affirm­ ative. The question assumes that a request to elect the successors of the present Internee Committee would be granted, Your Agents do not believe that the election of a new Committee would be permitted, or if permitted that such new Committee would be more ef­ fective than the present Committee. Your Agents do believe, however, if by vote of the internees the resignation of the present Com­ mittee were to be forced, that the Japanese military authorities would appoint a new Committee satisfactory to them, or would abolish it and then administer the camp themselves, department heads and others functioning under the direct orders and su­ pervision of army officers. Are you prepared to take that risk? "Your Agents are of the opinion that at this late date, when the long-expected emer­ gency is with us, the 'boat should not be rocked’; that no change in the administration of the camp should be forced; and that, therefore, the answer to the second question should be 'NO’. That answer will not be in­ terpreted in any way as a mandate to lessen efforts to secure adequate food.”

The Camp Backs the Committee 5 to 1 — The poll was held on the even­ ing of the 16th by the monitors. The results, compiled, showed that on the first question, as to whether the camp wished the Monitors Council to make "the strongest possible representa­ tion” to the Japanese authorities, 1,291

396

voted yes and a hundred or so more, 1,429, voted no. On the second question, whether the camp wanted the Internee Committee to resign, the vote was much more emphatic, only 444 voting yes and 2,262 voting no. Criticism and Authority under a Democracy — It was another demons­ tration of the good common sense of the camp. It seems to be characteris­ tic of a democratic people that there is always considerable criticism of those in authority, but that in an emergency, authority is supported. The criticism of the Internee Commit­ tee had been so bitter in some quar­ ters that the Committee itself was gratefully surprised by the results of the poll. The Council Discomfited — The Council was now generally blamed for playing politics in dangerous times, and a group of internees sent the Coun­ cil a letter, dated October 17, which read: "In order to bring the camp in'o that im­ mediate unity which is so essential at the present time, we, the undersigned, hereby re­ commend that the Monitors Council in its present form be discontinued, and that it be replaced by a Committee of three internees to be chosen by Mr. S. L. Lloyd from among the duly elected building and floor monitors and shanty area supervisors, or others. It would be understood that the functioning of such committee would be limited to the fol­ lowing activities: (1) Canvassing camp senti­ ment for counsel in case of difficult decisions; (2) disseminating official information; (3) as­ sisting in the conduct of elections, taking of polls, and the like; (4) distributing camp issues of food, tobacco, and the like; (5) com­ piling statistics for questionnaires, or for any other official duties as assigned by the admi­ nistration. "We are firmly of the opinion that with the exception of the foregoing, all monitors and supervisors should confine themselves strictly to the functions laid down for them in Ar­ ticles 19 to 21 inclusive of the Camp Code of Regulations as elaborated by the Internee Com­ mittee’s order concerning emergencies of Au­ gust 21, 1944.

THE CAMP

This letter was signed by C. A. Fossum, J. W. McCall, S. D. Lennox, W. A. Chittick, H. P. Strickler, E. A. Per­ kins, and E. J. Johns. The Council itself was surprised and discomfited by the results of the poll probably more than by this letter. It held no regular meetings the rest of the month, except on the 31st, at which, according to the minutes: "The chairman asked the Council to lay down a policy to follow with regard to calling future meetings. No regular meetings have been held during the last few weeks due to unsettled conditions, and it was his opinion that meetings should be called at the request of the members when important subjects arose, or when the Internee Committee had matters to bring to the attention of the Coun­ cil or to the internees through the monitor system, or at the discretion of the chairman. The following motion was presented. ‘That in lieu of regular meetings, meetings be call­ ed in future at the request of three or more members, at the discretion of the chairman, or at the request of the Internee Committee or the Agents’. Passed unanimously.”

The Air Battle of October 15 — The poll had been taken on the even­ ing of the 16th, just the day after Sunday, the 15th, which was made a dividing point for the two parts of this chapter because it was the day of the first bombing of Manila since the initial bombings on September 21 and 22 three weeks before, the long­ est three weeks in the history of the camp, — so it seemed to many inter­ nees. The Wednesday alert, sounded at 2:48 p.m., had continued through­ out Thursday and up to 12:20 Friday, when the all-clear sounded, bitterly disappointing the whole camp. Sa­ turday was quiet all day. Sunday morning was bright, but cloudy. The sirens sounded the alert at 8:37 and the air-raid alarm, in long wailing cries, sounded a few minutes later, at 8:44. Then, for a long time, nothing happened. After an hour or so 8 planes were seen through a gap in the clouds flying high overhead, but

ANOTHER AIR BATTLE, OCTOBER 15

they appeared to be Japanese. Then suddenly, at 10:10 there broke lose the din of an air battle which was being fought above the clouds to the eastward over Camp Murphy and Zablan Field. The heavy firing went on for 10 or 15 minutes out of sight of earth, and during this fighting one burning plane was seen falling out of the cloud bank, and a few moments later a parachute was seen gliding slowly down. The man dangling be­ low was swinging the 'chute as if he wanted to land on or near the Ni­ chols field, and so was believed to be a Japanese. Then scores of our planes were seen coming out of the clouds and in swift, smooth, graceful dives bombing and strafing Nichols field. Another group strafed the Grace Park airfield to the north. One other plane was seen shot down over Nichols, and three planes went down in dogfights north of the' camp, but the watchers could not tell whether they were Japanese or American. Two fires burned for an hour on Nichols Field and there also was some smoke in the direction of Grace Park. By 10:45 a few Japanese planes were seen in the air again. It seemed that the attackers had left. The raid-ended signal sounded at 1:37. An internee said at lunch that day: “The service was short, but it was good preachmg! Ohashi that day told Grinnell that the Commandant had disapproved the Committee’s plan to use the small res­ taurant building for a hospital and in­ sisted that it be used for the inter­ nee administration offices. Grinnell wanted to appeal personally to the Commandant, but was refused an in­ terview. Shiraji told him that the move from the ground floor of the education building would have to be completed by noon the next day or he would call in the soldiers to evict the internee occupants. (Minutes, Octo­

397

ber 15.) That evening the housing committee and the doctors met and agreed to transfer the 50 old men in the lobby branch hospital to the se­ cond floor of the east wing. It was unsuitable, but there was no better place to put them. The Japanese Move to the Ground Floor — The alert was still on the next morning, and at reveille the song was, “Come up, Josephine, in my fly­ ing machine . .. -Up we go . . . Up we go.” The all-clear did not sound un­ til 2:15, and, as it was also raining, the Japanese agreed to a postpone­ ment for one day of the evacuation from the education building. Never­ theless a number of men were able to transfer their bedding and other be­ longings between showers. Though on Tuesday there were both alert and air-raid alarms which lasted from 7:21 in the morning to 5:31 in the afternoon, there were no American planes seen over the city. Some in­ ternees believed that they heard dis­ tant bombing. The education build­ ing ground floor was vacated by the internees and the Japanese moved in before noon. Abiko immediately is­ sued an order declaring that the lawn in front of the building, where inter­ nees had been wont to sit in the even­ ings, was now out of bounds; the in­ ternees could sit in the narrow road­ ways along the east and west sides of the building and in the narrow area back of it. He also ordered that no clothing or laundry was to be hung in the front windows or balconies on the second and third floors, but the Ja­ panese themselves put up an unsight­ ly clothesline in front of the building. ; Military supplies were still being brought in, night and day, the noise of the trucks and the shouts of the men keeping many awake. Some of the boxes broke open and were seen to contain foodstuffs such as fish and

398

bean-cake, meal, dried fruits, and even candy. The Imperial Japanese Army, appeared to be doing itself pretty well. The soldiers who had occupied one of the pavilions moved out, but Abiko said that the place could not be used again for food storage for the pre­ sent. The Committee decided to discon­ tinue the issue of chlorinated water from the roof tanks for drinking pur­ poses, following the receipt of infor­ mation from the city that the city water was again potable. However, the internees were advised to boil the water “if facilities were available”. Manila was again bombed on Wed­ nesday and Thursday, the 18th and 19th, these being the fourth and the fifth days of bombing since the first on September 21. On Wednesday the air-raid alarm sounded without a previous alert at 7:47 but there was no bombing until 10 o’clock, when, for 10 minutes, there was a heavy attack, mostly on Nichols and the Bay area. There was an­ other sudden, sharp, 10-minute attack at noon. Three planes were seen shot down, but in two cases the pilots bailed out in parachutes. It began to rain at 3 o’clock, and no one ex­ pected the third attack, a little after 4, in which some 40 planes were seen bombing the Bay area chiefly, and possibly also Cavite. Four anti-air­ craft shells landed and exploded in the shanty areas during the day, but no one was hurt. Three internees from the gymnasium were caught be­ tween buildings and taken by a Ja­ panese sentry to the gate "for not obey­ ing his orders”. That was because they could not understand the usual yells and grunts. Abiko instructed the Committee to inform all internees that there was a Japanese word, tomare, which meant "halt" or "stop”. Beliel started his broadcast that evening with —

THE CAMP "Good evening, everyone. 7:30 and time to complete the news of the day, — although lit­ tle remains to be said. Today's 9 hours and 36 minutes of continuous air-raid period quite effectively prevented the typhoid innoculations which were scheduled, so tomorrow, conditions permitting.. . ”

Conditions did not permit . . . Bombs started falling at 7:22; before the si­ rens sounded their warning, some 12 planes could be seen diving over Ni­ chols Field. The camp loudspeakers warned: "These are heavy bombs. Stay away from windows”. A little later what looked like at least 100 planes, coming in from the north, dropped hundreds of bombs on Ni­ chols, great clouds of dust and smoke rising in the air. At 8 o'clock came another very heavy attack, this time over the Bay and waterfront. People in the camp could feel the pulsations in the air-pressure. The author, tak­ ing some notes with a fountain pen, saw that the pen was suddenly writ­ ing much blacker. Another wave of planes went over the city at 10 o’clock, but the bombing was more distant, possibly over Cavite and Corregidor. There were two more attacks one before and one a little after 2 o'clock which lasted only a few mi­ nutes the objectives again being Ni­ chols and the Bay. Some of the inter­ nees explained these attacks were brief because the planes were carrying heavier, and therefore fewer, bombs. The raid-ended signal sounded at 5:45, when the condition went back to alert. Many shell fragments fell in the camp during the day, including a piece which weighed 6-1/2 pounds and buried itself 15 inches deep into the ground. Abiko again objected to internees watching the raids and not keeping away from the windows, and threatened that he would put guards in all the rooms and "take offenders down to the main gate for question­ ing and possible punishment.”

THE LIGHT IN THE WINDOW! LEYTE!

Beliel said that evening: "Yesterday’s 9 hours and 36 minutes was bettered by today’s air-raid period of 10 hours and 22 minutes. Consequently, very few typhoid innoculations were given today. We’ll try again. Tomorrow, conditions perm itting...”

A considerable quantity of the army stores stacked up in the grounds were taken out of camp during these two days, though the truck drivers and soldiers spent much time under shel­ ter and seemed glad of the protection offered by the camp. It was intimated at the Commandant's office that the remainder would be cleared out with­ in the following 48 hours. It was known to the Committee that the Fa­ ther Provincial of the Dominican Or­ der had formally objected to convert­ ing the neutral, Spanish-owned Univer­ sity into a possible military objective by storing army supplies in the grounds, but this was probably not the reason why the supplies were be­ ing moved out again. Internees who had entered the camp recently said that the Japanese, lacking storage space in spite of the many buildings they had seized, including churches, schools, and theaters, were using open spaces everywhere for temporary sto­ rage places. The supplies were remov­ ed as they were distributed. The Light in the Window — Signal of an American Landing — On Friday there was a two-hour alert in the morning and another alert was called for about an hour, early in the after­ noon, but nothing further happened. It was an uneventful day otherwise, too. But a fact of the first and most shining importance became known that evening. One man in the camp had made a prearrangement with friends outside. A light was to appear in a room in a house standing near the University campus on the receipt of the first cer­ tain news that the American forces

399

had effected a landing in the Philip­ pines. Up to that time, the room was always to remain dark. For many weeks the internee had watched that room, hoping for the light to appear. On this night, Friday, October 20, he saw the light suddenly turned on at 10 minutes after 7! Subsequent re­ ports smuggled into the camp con­ firmed the fact that the Americans had landed in force in Leyte, and there were soon rumors that the “Voice of Freedom" was on the air again and that it had been said in one broadcast that the American Army was feeding the people beans, bacon, and bread! The landing was confirm­ ed for the camp as a whole when Beliel slipped in the phrase in a broad­ cast the next day, “Better Leyte [la’te] than never".1 The Japanese Morose; Charge Lack of Respect — The alert was sounded on Saturday at 7:48 and a raid-alarm at 8:30, but no planes appeared and the raid-ended signal came 45 mi­ nutes later. The alert continued until 3:37 when the all-clear was sounded. The Japanese in the camp were ner­ vous and morose. Shiraji summoned the education building monitors and stated that “as the first floor was occupied by the Japanese Army it was essential that quiet be maintained in the building”. He warned that "unless the men on the second and third floors kept quiet, he would order that they go without shoes, bakias [clogs used in bathing to keep free of foot1 Note (1945) — The landing was begun at dawn on October 20, 1944. The Second Battle of the Philippine Sea was fought October 23, to 25, the Japanese fleet being decisively beat­ en. Six hundred vessels brought the Sixth Army to Leyte. Some 225,000 troops swept ashore, more men than landed in Normandy on D-Day. Within two days, Tacloban, the pro­ vincial capital, was taken, and though the Japanese pushed in reenforcements from neigh­ boring islands, the battle for Leyte was prac­ tically over after two months of heavy fight­ ing. Japanese casualties were estimated at 90,000.

400

infections], or any other footwear.” It this were not successful, "then oth­ er steps would be taken”. Leyte, MacArthur, Osmehal — Sun­ day was a quiet day, without even an alert. Abiko complained of the man­ ner in which people lined up for roll call and "of the lack of respect paid to him during his inspections”. He ordered that all persons should stand up except the sick and the small chil­ dren. That there was any open show of lack of respect was, of course, purely imaginary. Monday, the 23rd, was again free from alerts and alarms. Over 200 planes were seen however, but they were Japanese, headed south. It was rumored that the American forces had taken Tacloban, Leyte, and that both President Osmena and General MacArthur were on Philippine soil! On this day the Internee Committee had to go through the three-servings argument again with Shiraji. He said that it was “extremely probable” that no more wood-fuel would be brought into camp and that the camp had to conserve its supplies and return to two meals a day on Wednesday. He also said again that private cooking should be discontinued, but after it had once more been explained to him that this would mean an additional drain on the camp’s kitchen fuel re­ sources, he again agreed that private cooking might be permitted to con­ tinue for the time being. At another meeting of kitchen supervisors with Carroll it was —

THE CAMP

sauce to flavor, if even a little, the plain rice served. The next day, Tuesday, the 24th, there was another bombing which many hungry people in the camp were ready to believe was a sort of judgment. An inspection of the camp by "the General in charge of all warprisoners camps” was schedule for that day, and instructions had been issued regarding the showing of res­ pect, etc. The General did come and was entertained at lunch by the Com­ mandant, but the inspection was sketchy and the internees did not see him; not even the Internee Commit­ tee caught a glimpse of him. Since the Army had taken over, internee of­ ficials were no longer introduced to such dignitaries. The “Oaths” Again — During the day, Ohashi handed back to the Com­ mittee some 300 of the "oath” forms (signed by most of the camp some months before), on which the signers had made various notations, such as “signed by order”, etc. The principal point about these "oaths” was that the signers pledged themselves not to try to escape "under any circumstan­ ces”. The Commandant's Office want­ ed the persons who had added quali­ fications to sign new forms without any additions. The air-alert had sounded early, — a few minutes before 6, and the raidsignal came at 7:18, after bombs had already begun to fall over Zablan and Nichols fields. The attack though in­ tense, was short, and at 9:11 the raidended signal was sounded. Around "decided that in view of the order of the Commandant’s Office, only two meals a day an hour later the sirens again sound­ should be cooked, but three meals served as ed the alarm, but no bombing follow­ from Wednesday, October 25, provided that ed, and the raid-ended signal was the Commandant's Office agrees.” once again sounded just before 11. This had been the previous decision, The Japanese seemed impatient about earlier in the month, but some extra these raids. A real raid broke over cooking had been done in the prepara­ Manila at 12:34, which was again of tion of small quantities of vegetable short duration, however. The air-raid

CHEATING ON MEAL-TICKETS

past was sounded at 1:27 and the allclear at 3:56. All Peelings and Parings to be used in the Kitchen. No Twigs or Bark to be Picked up for Firewood — Belying what Shiraji had said, 5 loads of fire­ wood were brought into camp during the day, but it was retained under Ja­ panese control and the Commandant’s Office informed the Committee that this fuel would not be issued as long as there was any gas to cook with. The Commandant’s Office, however, fortunately gave its approval to the continuation of three servings of food a day, as recommended by the Com­ mittee. A broadcast over the loudspeakers in the evening explained the situation to the camp and also referred to the new ruling that no vegetable refuse might be taken away by the vegetable cleaners, as every scrap would be used in the kitchens. There was also an appeal to internees generally to re­ port such cases of cheating in the food lines as they might observe. The kitchen was still serving a greater number of meals than could be legiti­ mately accounted for. The meal-card punches were so worn that they could not be sharpened anymore and often failed to punch through the cards; the marks made would be smoothed out with a hot iron and the cards pres­ ented a second time for extra (and stolen) meals. On the 25th the alert was sounded shortly after 7 and a raid alarm at 11, which was sounded as past at a little after noon. The all-clear signal was given at 2:59, but the alert again came 10 minutes later when a long line of planes, glittering in the afternoon sun like a long silver ribbon, passed to the east of the camp, flying straight on and very high. Whether American or Japanese, internees could not tell, though the guess was that they were

401

American. However, the beautiful aer­ ial armada paid no attention to Ma­ nila and the all-clear was given after 10 minutes. No “Privileges”; More Work — Ohashi that morning informed the In­ ternee Committee that Headquarters would not permit the questionnaire form to be sent out which had been prepared for the men with families outside the camp, — the suggested substitute for the postponed or can­ celled visiting day! Ohashi now asked for a list giving the names and add­ resses of families to be contacted; he “would see what could be done in this connection". Adequate food, No; needed fuel No; communication with loved ones, No. More work, Yes. Shiraji inspecting the camp gar­ dens in the afternoon with some of the internees in charge of the garden­ ing work, said that the "policy in the future is, 'not a wasted inch'." He pointed out various places, behind the (now long unused) movie screen and elsewhere, and ordered that they be put under cultivation immediately. He even ordered some clotheslines to be taken down so that that plot could be cultivated. An area which had been allocated for private gardens, he or­ dered taken back for planting by the camp. According to the minutes: "He emphasized the necessity of produc­ ing everything possible in the camp in view of the inability of the Army to continue supplying vegetables from the outside in sufficient quantities”. After the inspection he released 12 spades and 28 hoes for the work. The next day Shiraji called Carroll to a conference and ordered that at least 30 additional men be assigned to gar­ den work immediately. He said that the Army "would be unable to conti­ nue supplying fresh vegetables in any quantity and that it would be neces­ sary for production in the camp to

402

be increased. He also said that "unless the internees showed more interest in producing foodstuffs in the camp, Ar­ my authorities could not take too se­ riously our repeated requests for more food”. Carroll told him again that 1,100 calory ration was so insuf­ ficient that internees could not con­ tinue working on such a basis; to which remark Shiraji replied that if the internees wanted more calories they would have to produce them. Carroll said that calories came from rice and meat which could not be pro­ duced in the camp, and not from talinum and camote-tops. Shiraji closed the discussion by saying that "the ‘lo­ gic’ of the Army position was that if we wanted more food we must pro­ duce it”. (Minutes, October 26.) Komatsu made a still more crazy demand on the already sorely over­ taxed labor power of the camp. He told the Committee that five men were needed "to cut grass to make hay to feed the three cows and two carabaos now in camp during the months of March and April, [six months into fu­ ture], when grass would not be avail­ able"! On this day (the 26th) 8 of the 10 persons whose transfer to the Philip­ pine General Hospital had been ap­ proved by the Japanese army doctor on the 13th left the camp; "transporta­ tion" had at last been found! Garbage Crew Smugglers Arrested— On Friday, the 27th, there was only an alert from 8 o’clock to nearly 5. Of chief importance was the stopping of the garbage collection pushcart and the discovery of a quantity of bacon, beans, and cigarets which had been taken off the garbage truck outside and was being smuggled into the camp. A. Crenshaw and H. B. Laney were taken to the front gate for ques­ tioning and, later, with their hands tied behind them and a rope around their necks, marched to the camp jail

THE CAMP

where they were held pending further investigation. Two Filipinos from the truck were also bound and put in the camp jail until late afternoon when they were taken away. The shanty of R. P. Brooks was searched and he was taken to jail by an officer carry­ ing a drawn revolver. The shanties of three other internees were also search­ ed. Camp Officials go to Work in the Gardens — In compliance with Shiraji’s demands, another effort was made to get more workers for the camp gardens. Members of the Inter­ nee Committee and other internee of­ ficials headed a list of volunteers. In connection with the arrests, the Japanese the next day searched the effects of two women internees and confiscated several cartons of cigarets and 2 cans of coffee. Brooks was ag­ ain questioned and returned to jail. What the Internee Committee and the Agents had feared, now happened. The Committee was informed by the Commandant’s Office that — "one result of these investigations had been the discovery of more money in the possession of internees than they were permitted to hold. The Committee must therefore take steps to see that all excess money is turned in and that at the end of this month internees are only allowed to draw sufficient money to make up, together with the amount already held, the sum of F50 per month allowed to each individual. The supplies and money taken from the individuals concerned both yesterday and today were confiscated by the Commandant’s Office."

The Camp School — The camp school had carried on under difficul­ ties the past semester especially since the bombing had started, and that night a tribute was paid in the camp news broadcast to the teachers: "The first half of this last school year has just been completed and report cards issued... Conditions permitting, school work will con­ tinue and the second half of the school year will begin on Monday, October 3 0 ...We have

THE GARBAGE-CREW SMUGGLING RING a memorandum from the Internee Committee which seems apropos and we think you'll want to hear it. ‘The Internee Committee wishes to take this opportunity, on behalf of the camp administration, of thanking the education committee and all the teachers for the hard work that they have put in, not only during the past semester but also, in many cases, since school opened in this camp early in 1942. Particularly during the last few months they have had to work under very difficult conditions, and the thanks of the whole camp are due to them for the high standard of edu­ cation that they have succeeded in maintaining despite all drawbacks’... That’s signed by the Internee Committee under today’s date."

Another Sunday Bombing — That ended the week, and internees wonder­ ed whether the morrow would bring another Sunday air raid. There had been no alerts since Friday and no raid alarm since Wednesday. There had been rumors, however, of a large naval battle somewhere off the north­ ern Philippines in which the Japanese were said to have suffered heavy loss­ es. Everybody hoped that this was true. Reveille at 6:30 on Sunday morning, and the song, “Charlie was a sailor”. Then, at 7:44, the sudden sound of bombing and the warning over the camp loudspeakers: "Bombing! Take shelter immediately. Stay away from windows!” before the sirens in the ci­ ty had given the alarm. The first at­ tack was a heavy one and lasted over 20 minutes mostly over Nichols and the Bay area, and with several briefer attacks after that. Then, after a quiet of over an hour, the raid-end­ ed signal was given downtown. At a few minutes to 1, however, another alarm was sounded and at 1:07 our planes were again attacking the Bay and, it seemed, Cavite, the bombing lasting some 10 minutes. There was also some distant bombing to the north. At 2:13 the Japanese sounded the raid-ended sirens, but they were wrong again, for at 3:13 they had to sound the raid-alarm a third time as

403 heavy bombing broke out again over the Bay and Cavite. The raid-ended signal came at 4:40 and the all-clear at 5:38. Internees believed that the Japanese were cutting the raid-alarm periods down as much as possible be­ cause country produce could not come into the city during such times, and Sunday was a good market day, com­ paratively, even now. The Garbage Crew Smuggling-ring Sentenced — It rained and blowed most of Monday, the 30th, and there were no alerts or alarms. The Com­ mandant sentenced Crenshaw to 30 days "heavy” imprisonment in the camp jail and six others of the gar­ bage-disposal crew to 3 days each. According to the minutes, — "except for the investigation of Mr. Laney, none of the others sentenced to 3 days im­ prisonment was given any trial whatsoever. They happened to be the men on duty on that particular detail at the time. Mr. Cren­ shaw was sentenced for illegally bringing goods into the camp, 'cheating' the Japanese sentries, and spending money over and above permitted amounts. The remainder were sentenced for obviously having been aware of what was go­ ing on and not reporting same.”

Brooks was let off with a warning, but his goods were confiscated. The garbage-crew smuggling ring had been operating since February, 1944, was well organized, and had been bringing in bacon, coffee, sugar, pipe tobacco, cigarets, regularly and almost daily. It employed several outside Fi­ lipinos at salaries of P500 or P600 a month and Parfet had been the chief sales agent in the camp. The stuff was usually brought in through the front gate in the second pushcart, loaded with apparently empty garbage cans provided with false bottoms. The first pushcart gang went past the guard to feel out the situation and if the guards made any kind of search or appeared suspicious, no attempt to bring in anything would be made that day. The total turnover during the

404

eight or nine months the ring operat­ ed was estimated at having approach­ ed P250.000 (in military notes), al­ though during the last month or two military notes were no longer accept­ ed and goods had to be paid for in old Philippine pesos. The turnover was large, in monetary terms, but the ac­ tual volume of goods was small. Prices toward the end ran to PI20 (Philip­ pine) for a kilo of kidney beans, P100 for a kilo of bacon, P85 for a kilo of sugar, P85 for a kilo of mongo beans, P55 for 1/4 kilo of smoking tobacco, and P12 for a package of cigarets. The ring claimed it was “helping the camp’’ and sometimes made small donations to the hospitals and to the old men in the gymnasium. Contrary to the setup of the former Benedict ring, which operated only irregularly through the charcoal crew and “over the wall’’, the garbage-crew ring func­ tioned independently of the Japanese and without their connivance. It was believed there had been a “tip-off’’ by an internee who had a disagreement with Crenshaw. Abiko, as the officer in charge of the guard, was very an­ gry at the discovery that this traffic had been going on so long under the very noses of his soldiers. The New Camp Exchange — The new camp exchange was opened on this day in the former vegetable mar­ ket under the management of S. N. Schechter “to allow internees to ex­ change articles which they have for other articles which they require”. Nothing new could be bought there, one could only exchange a can of this or that for a can of something else. It was open only 2 hours, 5 days a week, and the turnover was small. It did not at all meet the camp’s despeperate need for more food. Aid to Outside Families again Dou­ bled — The Internee Committee met with the Agents that evening. The Committee had been advised by the

THE CAMP

Commandant’s Office that another American Red Cross relief fund had been received at Headquarters, though the amount was not yet known. In view of the reported suffering outside the camp, another doubling of the payments to non-interned families was considered. The Agents also suggested that — “the receipt of additional relief funds would be a suitable opportunity for the Internee Committee to address the Commandant regard­ ing the failure of the Japanese authorities to provide us with adequate supplies of food and suggest that we be permitted to establish our own contacts for the purpose of spending these relief funds on essential foodstuffs”.

Abiko during the day ordered the dismantling of the “talk-back” system of inter-building communication which had been installed for some months, all equipment to be turned over to the Commandant’s office. He also or­ dered the installation of a loudspeak­ er outlet in the Commandant's office. New Bowing Orders — Stringent new roll-call and bowing orders were also issued by him. Residents of the principal shanty areas were to line up in double rows in the main-building plaza, no chairs were to be allowed, every one had to stand, the inspecting officer was to “receive the courtesy of attention”, and men, women, and children were to bow to the officer in unison at the command of the moni­ tors. "The reason for this", said the written instructions issued, was that the roll call, morning and evening, "is a ceremony from the Japanese point of view". Not only that, however: “All internees, men, women, and children, shall bow to (not salute) Japanese officers, soldiers, clerks, and to all Japanese attached to the Japanese administration of this camp, and also to Japanese visitors in uniform. Bow­ ing should be from the waist. When bowed to in the proper manner, the Japanese officers will acknowledge with a salute or bow.”

Ohashi warned Grinnell that all per­ sons who had not signed the oath

THE WHOLE CAMP ONE BIG HOSPITAL

405

form properly before noon of the next day would be put in jail. It has been a crowded day and it ended with the broadcasting at 8:30 of a typhoon alarm following a warn­ ing by the camp metereologist, inter­ nee L. H. Fennell, weather forecaster of Pan American Airways. People who lived in the buildings but owned shan­ ties were allowed to go out to make things as secure as possible. It blew pretty hard until around midnight and then let up, the storm having passed well to the south of Manila. After the delivery of the 18 tons of rice and 18 tons of corn in September, there had been no further deliveries of cereal to the camp, — none at all during the whole month of October, and, taking into account all stocks, issued, reserved, and Japanese-held, there was less than a two week’s sup­ ply left. Shiraji, however, considered every reference to this situation on the part of the Committee as "inter­ ference”. On the 31st, he said that no more fuel was available for the Army truck used by the camp, and ordered that two pushcarts be provided with shafts and converted into bullcarts “for the transportation of cereal”. Chinese Internee Jailed for Refusing to Sign the "Oath" — All the required oath forms were delivered to the Com­ mandant’s office during the day with the exception of one, that of Lee Tun Yen, who still refused to sign. Ohashi ordered him put in the camp jail "pending investigation”. Growing Thievery, "Chisseling” in the Food-lines a Problem — During the latter part of the month, the num­ ber of food-theft cases considered by the Committee on Order (or camp court) increased considerably and 10 or 12 persons were convicted and sen­ tenced to from 1 to 4 weeks in the camp jail. Their names were now ag­ ain broadcast as a result of a decision of the Internee Committee in the hope

that this would serve as a further de­ terrent. A collecting of all meal tickets as they were presented at supper time on October 31, resulted in cutting down the illegal excess meals served from around 150 to 25 that evening. Twenty-five unidentified "chisselers” in the camp were able to get more than the one meal they were entitled to. During the week one conniving ticket-puncher had been caught. He would punch, say, four tickets for a man, and would then call out "six” to the girls at the counter who served him the rations. One kitchen worker, convicted of stealing breakfast mush and sentenc­ ed to a week in jail, started a hunger strike! He said he was doing it to further punish himself, but jail officials suspected him of preferring the hospital to the jail. It was a fact that many of those convicted were not thieves so much as they were hungry human beings. The Camp becomes One Big Hospi­ tal — The whole camp had practically become one big hospital. From a 100 to 150 cases of diet deficiency were registered each week in the hospitals. "The hospital and clinic records for the month showed 73 cases of beri-beri brought forward from September and 55 new cases, also 12 cases of pellagra, and 4 of scurvy. Five more internees developed symptoms of pul­ monary tuberculosis. There were 30 new cases of urinary diseases. Cases of diseases of the circulatory system carried over from Septem­ ber numbered 142 and new cases 44. There were 135 cases of various diseases of the res­ piratory system. There were 68 new cases of dysentery, 119 new cases of various intestinal disorders, and 11 cases of gastritis. An epi­ demic of influenza threatened with 126 cases during the month.

These were cases of record, and there was much sickness in the camp which was not reported. There were now lines of strain on every face. One was shocked by the present appear­ ance of men in their prime who had

406

until a few weeks before still looked fairly robust. The general weakness was evident in the very tones of peo­ ple’s voices. Many of the women in the annex weighed under 100 pounds. There were frequent faintings among them. One mother with four children to take care of, weighed 83 pounds. Her husband was not with her in the camp and she had to look after the children herself, do the family washing, etc. Single and childless women were now often called upon to look after the children of mothers who had to be sent to the hospital. How Men Died in the Wards — Nine of the old men who had been brought in from the Hospicio a few months before, after having been told that they would be released to their homes, had died in the camp before the end of October. Probably all of them would have lived for years yet had not the hardships of the internment, the starvation diet, and the lack of the loving care they would have re­ ceived at home, aggravated whatever organic and functional weaknesses which now resulted in their deaths. Formerly those patients in the camp hospitals who were expected to die were sent out of the camp to one of the city hospitals. This the Japanese no longer permitted, and as there were no private rooms, they died in the wards in the midst of the other pa­ tients. When a man was nearing his end, the nurses would put up a screen of white sheeting around his bed. This came to be recognized as a sign of approaching death and had a very depressing effect on the other pa­ tients. Sometimes, if the dying man has a family in the city which could be reached, the wife or it might be a daughter and a grandchild, would be allowed to come into the camp for one last visit, — of around 20 minutes. Visitors would be escorted by one of

THE CAMP

the Japanese interpreters and a sol­ dier with a rifle, who would stand by the bed during the visit. After a while, they would leave, trying to con­ ceal their tears. The sick man would lie quiet, his hands folded, with a happy expression on his face. Then that look compounded of longing, des­ pair, and resignation would come back again. For such men Santo Tomas had become a death-trap. Often a man died so quietly that it was not imme­ diately noticed; a nurse would go to look at him, and he would be dead. Others moaned and cursed, tore their bandages off (there were usually skin infections in addition to the more fa­ tal complaints), went out of their heads at times, made repeated efforts to get up as if they thought of only one thing, — to go home, to escape. Such a man would keep the whole ward awake and everybody would feel a sense of relief when he died. The Burials — The internee camp administration had a contract with the Funeraria Nacional governing bu­ rials. The charge was P150, of which the Japanese, early in 1944, announc­ ed they would pay P30. This could not be refused. Through a special ar­ rangement with the Spanish-American Veterans Association, nearly all of those who died in the camp were bu­ ried in the Association’s plot in the Cementerio del Norte, whether they were veterans or not. No one, even a close relative, was permitted anymore to leave the camp to accompany a bo­ dy or attend a funeral. The Camp Doctors' Grim Decision to Try to Save the Babies Rather than the Elderly — One day, a friend of an elderly patient in the hospital who had been failing for some months, asked one of the doctors whether it would not be possible to give him a little more food, some milk every day and a biscuit or two. The doctors screwed-up his face and said:

HOW MEN DIED IN THE WARDS

"If there were any milk, I’d prefer to give it to the children.” He added: "We can’t be sentimental about this.” The patient in question was a for­ mer U. S. Army medical officer, a ve­ teran of the Spanish-American War and the Philippine Insurrection, who had later joined the Philippine Cons­ tabulary and played an important though unpublicized part in the build­ ing of the modem Philippines. As depu­ ty-governor of the non-Christian section of a large province, he had been chiefly responsible for the pacification of that area. He was a distinguished man on other counts, but the doctor did not know this. To him, the Major was only another failing old man among many. And, of course, in a sense, he was. Imprisonment, privation, illness, are great levellers, — and greatest of all is approaching death. The Major indeed had never thought of asking anything for himself. There were, however, still small quantities of canned milk and soup, biscuits, margarine, and also, occa­ sionally, fresh eggs, for hospital pa­ tients who needed them most, but it took a doctor's order to get them. A little of such strenghtening food might mean the difference between life and death. Had the situation in the camp al­ ready come to the point where the doctors had to make the terrible de­ cision as to whom to let die first, — the old people or the children? In view of the doctor’s remark, had that decision already been made? So in­ ternees asked who came to hear of this matter. Surveys had indicated that many of the children were underweight and that there were serious cases of mal­ nutrition among them. These were be­ ing dealt with. The children were well

407 looked after by the doctors assigned to them. They had the watchful care of their own parents. A strong pa­ rents association represented their interests. And there were not so many children anyway, — some 350 from one to 6 years old and some 200 from 7 to 10. But there were many hun­ dreds of old and elderly people, most­ ly men, and there was no one to take much interest in them. And it was the old men who were dying, — not the children. The doctor’s sworn duty is to save life, if he can. And it would seem to follow that the life first in danger he must attempt to save first, though this can be argued. But where the om­ niscience to measure the value of one life above another? The lives of the old men were valuable to themselves. None of them wanted to die, away from home and their families, as many of them were. They all prayed that they might be free once more. Their lives were valuable not only to themselves, but to those outside who loved them and who, after the trials of the war, would be in greater need than ever of their counsel. Their lives were of value to their communities. These men were, many of them, the Americanos of the provincial towns. Many were well off financially; were respected and looked up to. Some of them had held important positions; were on familiar terms with leading officials; their advice was often sought. In the difficult period of the recon­ struction, they could still play a pos­ sibly important role. Did the young U. S. Army doctors in the camp and the missionary doctors from China understand this? The Old Major — The Major was failing, although friends had suc­ ceeded in getting him a can of pow­ dered milk and a few other things which he would not accept until he

408

was assured that he would be allowed "to fix it up afterward”.2 He was entirely rational, but would sometimes have brief lapses of me­ mory, during which he was unaware of where he was. “Where are we?" The first time he suddenly asked this, it shocked the friend who was visiting him. “What do you mean, Major?" he countered. "Are we at sea or still on the land?” “On land, of course, Major." "I thought we were moving." "Oh, no. We are still here." “Are there any soldiers around?" “Ugh-ugh.” The friend did not want to say there were only enemy soldiers. (This was before the news of the American landings in Leyte.) ‘.‘Well, just where are we?” The friend, giving in: “We're still at Santo Tomas, Major.” The old man looked around him, then at the window. “Oh, yes, of course. You know, half the time I am non compos mentis. I wish I weren’t so goofy! “Oh, you are all right, Major! You were napping and just had a dream. That might happen to anybody.” November 1, All Saints’ Day, and November 2, All Souls’ Day, are tra­ ditionally important feast days in the Philippines. The people decorate the graves of their dead with lights and flowers and spend the whole night of November 1 in the cemeteries. The Japanese prohibited the full obser­ vance of the festival, and not only because of traffic difficulties and the curfew. Manila people, in fact, now had difficulty in entering the city’s 2 A can of powdered milk at this time could generally be obtained only in trade for some other foodstuff, such as canned corned beef. This 1-pound can cost P105 in old Philippine pesos, supposedly equivalent in the camp at this time to from 8 to 10 times the amount in Japanese military notes, which, however, were in most cases no longer accepted for any­ thing.

THE CAMP

principal graveplace, the Cementerio del Norte, at all times. It took days to get a burial permit and there were many instances of relatives and friends who came to bury their dead and had to go away again with the body and return a second or a third time be­ fore they gained admittance. There were now many soldiers camped in the cemetery, which adjoins the Grace Paik Air Field, and the Japanese had put up anti-aircraft guns among the acres of gravestones and ornamental tombs, where they were more easily hidden and camouflaged. After lunch on November 1, the old Major had left his bed and was sitting at the window. He spoke pleasantly to a passing nurse, made a little joke, and then collapsed in his chair. He was heard to say, “O Lord, I am not ready yet!” He was carried to his bed, unconscious, and died a few min­ utes later, at 1:30. He was an Englishman by birth, son of a bishop of the Church of England, and had some months before re­ ceived a telegram stating that his el­ der brother had died and that he and two remaining brothers, one in Eng­ land and the other in South Africa, had been named co-trustees of the estate and equal heirs. The telegram had been sent in September, 1942, and was not received until August, 1943. It stated also that the other brothers need the Major’s authority to settle the estate. The Major wanted to give his brother in England power-of-attorney, but found that such a docu­ ment could not be properly attested and recorded in Santo Tomas, so he sent a telegram merely stating that he would do so as soon as he could. A difficulty arose even about this tele­ gram because the Japanese did not ac­ cept for transmission telegrams be­ tween brothers or brothers and sis­ ters, but only and rarely between married couples and parents and sons

HOSPITAL STATISTICS

409

or daughters. So the Major addressed the telegram to his brother as if he were his son. After the Major's death, a friend in the camp drafted a tele­ gram to the brother in England no­ tifying him of the Major’s death. Lloyd took it to the Commandant’s office, where he was told that no telegrams at all were then being accepted for transmittal. The old Major was buried in the Spanish-American war veterans’ plot in Cementerio del Norte, where he had a right to lie. Having no relatives in Manila, and no one in the camp being allowed to attend his funeral, there was probably no one who had known him to witness his interment or to shed a tear for him, one of the country's "oldtimers”, — an intimate friend of Mrs. Quezon, a man, a per­ sonality, and a gentleman.3 Deaths in the camp during October numbered 9, all .Americans and all men ranging in age from 60 to 70, ex­

cept one man, R. B. North, who was only 49. North died on October 19 of a heart-attack following exertions in­ cident to moving out of the education building. He was an official of the U .S. Treasury, attached to the High Commissioner's Office. Apparently in good health, his sudden death was a shock to all of his friends. In Los Ba­ nos there was one death during the month, that of Irving Posner, who had been a prisoner in Fort Santiago. Chronologically belonging to the November chapter, the following ex­ tract from the minutes of the Inter­ nee Committee meeting of November 1 properly belongs here: "The food subcommittee of the medical staff met with the Internee Committee at night regarding the disposal of the remaining ba­ lances of canned meats to the best advantage of the camp. They recommended that the remaining stocks should be used for making gravies for all kitchens on the same basis as the beef-and-vegetable ration had been used

3 Major Wilfrid Turnbull. See "Story of a Small Town under the Japanese.”

of these stocks should be reserved specially for hospital cases or for the children.'

Hospitals

Out-Patients (In the camp, but not hospitalized) Brought forward New cases

Brought forward from September 35 11 1 1

Dysentery Intestinal disorders Gastritis Urinary diseases Influenza Disorders of the the respiratory system Disorders of the circulatory system Pulmonary tuberculosis Beri-beri Pellagra Scurvy

6 31 33 5

—

42 57 1 1 47 22 13 1 2 —

—

26 62 10 29 79 113 31 4 55 12

8 86 10 9 4 28 101 17 73 4

5

—

221 carried over from September

Total all diseases Diet Deficiency Week ending October 8 15 22 29

New cases

Ma l e 14 and under 15-50 40 2 — 33 22 2 25 -

Over 50 14 and under 79 2 89 1 — 55 — 65

The internees in. outside hospitals on October 31 numbered 62, distributed as follows: Philippine General Hospital, 43; San Juan de Dios

Female 15-50 19 22 .3 14

655 new cases

Over 50 6 4 —

2

Total 148 149 82 106

Hospital, 5; Hospicio de San Jose, 5; San Lazaro Hospital, 2; National Psychopathic Hospital, 7.

THE CAMP

410

Hospital Data for October— The hospital and out-patient reports for the month showed the general de­ terioration in health. Bridgeford's October Report— According to Bridgeford’s report for the month (of October), no rice, no corn, no sugar, no tea, and no coffee were brought in by the Army. No coco­ nuts were supplied by the Army. No fresh milk was delivered for the children. All that came in in the nature of staples was 2,400 kilos of cooking-oil and 55 bags of salt. Perishables delivered amounted to Quantity Salted meat (carcass) Fresh carabao (carcass) Dried fish Vegetables and fruit (gross)

598 kilos 1056 ” 476 ” 8243 "

The vegetables were chiefly chayote, camote, gabi, kangkong, pechay, and cassava-root. The fruit consisted of only 805 kilos of bananas and 90 kilos of ripe papayas. The quantities of vegetables and fruit declined drastically to less than 50% of the September total, which itself was the lowest up to that time. As to cereals: "There has been no change in the cereal ration, which has remained at 300 grams per capita throughout the month. We have been permitted to continue the arrangement where­ by 40 grams per capita to supplement this ration could be withdrawn from our own stocks, although it was specified that this with­ drawal must be made from stock in the f i ­ nance and Supplies Committee bodega and not taken from our stock in Army custody. After their attention had been drawn several times to the short weights of Army rice and corn, the Japanese administration agreed on Octo­ ber 14 to permit us to use a sufficient addi­ tional quantity of our own rice to make up their weight deficiencies, effective after that date . . . ” Bridgeford calculated that camp stock in Army custody at the end of October amounted to 16,804 kilos, but stated: "I am afraid that, from a practical point of view, we shall be forced to ignore the owner­ ship ... By the end of October, total Army stocks had fallen so low that less than this amount remained in their bodega and the balance therein was being issued to us as the regular daily Army ration. There is no

doubt in my mind, therefore, that our interest in this rice is no longer recognized." Bridgeford reported, too, that total stocks of cereals in the camp at the end of the month amounted to only around 20,000 kilos, or about a two weeks' supply. "It is ob­ viously vitally important that further Cereal supplies comes into camp at an early date.” The stock of emergency biscuits on hand, he reported, was 22,350. He reported the camp expenditure for sup­ plementary food during the month as having amounted to P279,012.50, adding that "prices Per capita daily

Official ration

18.9 gr.

50 gr.

72.9 ”

200 ”

of all commodities continued to rise and al­ though our expenditure for the month was a record high figure, the quantities we were able to purchase were again greatly reduced". The purchases were itemized _as follows: Vegetables ..................................P137,614.90 Fruit ........................................... 29,178.00 Fresh milk ............................. 24,080.00 Eggs ............................................ 33,440.00 Coconuts .......................... 32,460.00 Other foodstuffs .................... 22,239.60 P279,012.50 Prices ran as follows as of October 31: cara­ bao milk, P88 a gallon; duck eggs; P10 each bananas, P4 each; spring onions, P20 a kilo; green peppers, P28 a kilo; bean-sprouts,, P19 a kilo; camotes, P29 a kilo; chayotes, P25 a kilo; squash, P30 a kilo; calamancis, P280 a basket (20 kilos); coconuts, P5.75 each. The camp gardens delivered 24,504 lbs, of fresh vegetables to the kitchens during the month, in addition to 9,130 pounds to indi­ viduals for private cooking. Bridgeford called attention to the fact that since the body of his report had been written, there had been delivered (November 7 and 8) to camp 22-1/2 tons of rice and 20 tons of corn, or about 38 days’ supply on the basis of the Army ration of 300 grams nominal. "Owing to the depletion of supplies in the F. & S. bodega, it will shortly be necessary to reduce our daily rice and corn usage to this basis. There will have to be a change in the comparative usage of rice and com in view of the fact that stocks in camp of these two cereals are now about equal. Ob-

RELIEF FORCES TO ARRIVE ‘‘BEFORE THE BUZZARDS"? viously, corn consumption must now be raised to equality with rice and this matter is being studied at the time of closing this report. "As anticipated, our canned goods stocks were practically exhausted during October but by very sparinguse I calculate we can still provide a little flavor for the kitchen gravies well on intoNovember. The food sub-committee of the camp medical staff was consulted as to the advisability of holding back any of those meats for special uses, such as for children and aged patients in the camp hospitals. Its recommendation, — not to withhold any, but to distributethe ba­ lance sparingly through each kitchen with as strict equality as possible, is being carried out. The only exception is that, with the sub­ committee’s approval, about 5 cans daily will be used in soups for liquid diet cases. “No meat of fresh fish is now being receiv­ ed from the Army, and vegetables from this source or from our purchases are far too small to do much good to the camp as a whole. However, with rice and com in sight till the middle of December and a certain amount of canned food still in stock, the food situation is not so bleak as might have

411

been feared. We also have a few sacks of beans which will be used economically to spin out our meagre supplies of canned meats.” "The following is the October position in regard to locally canned (smuggled-in) food­ stuffs", stated a secret addendum to the re­ port, giving an itemization which is condensed here as follows: initial stock, 47 cans; re­ ceipts, 2,739 cans; issues, 2,156 cans; final stock, 630 cans. Camp Canteen Figures — Total sales at the camp canteen dropped to P57.721 dur­ ing October, though prices went up as fol­ lows from the 1st to the 31st of the month: cassava flour, P69.20 to P95.00 a kilo; corn starch from P26.30 to P30.60 for 1/4 kilo; vine­ gar from P3.80 to P13.60 a quart; curry powder from p4.20 to P7.50 for 90 grams; pepper from P4 to P5.60 for 90 grams; cinnamon from P5.20 to P6.95 for 90 grams; "mustard" from P4.60 to P10 a bottle; gogo bark (used in place of soap) P7.20 for 24 strips. The pre­ ceding were the main items offered for sale and the quantity indicated in each case was the ration for 6 persons. There was little else the canteen had to offer.

Chapter XXII Food and Money Reserves Exhausted Will the Relief Forces Arrive "Be­ fore the Buzzards"?— There had been two air raids on Manila in September, — on the 21st and 22nd, and five in October, — on the 15th, 18th, 19th, 24th, and 29th. The six bombings dur­ ing November were more evenly spac­ ed on the 5th, 6th, 13th, 14th, 19th, and 25th. In the September section of this book the raids toward the end of the month formed the climax, and in the October section the events of the first half of the month which was free from raids, was treated separate­ ly from the latter half which almost necessarily became a from day to day narrative between the bombings, the camp hoping that each one of them

might be the immediate precurser to an invasion of Luzon. In November the internees had had to give up the hope that any bombing might indicate any immediate landings. In view of the American presidential election on November 6, the Tribune referred slightingly to the earlier bombings as "political", and there were many dis­ appointed people in the camp who al­ so used this term, although the ma­ jority realized that a period of conso­ lidation was necessary in Leyte and Samar before our forces could make the next advance. When that would come, no one knew, or whether it was still a question of days, weeks, or even months. Conditions in the camp and

412

in Manila, too, were becoming so se­ rious that some internees said that it was now a question whether the re­ lief forces would arrive “before the buzzards”. In writing this November section, therefore, there was no pos­ sibility of shaping the narrative other­ wise than to bring out the increasing gravity of the situation, especially in regard to the steadily decreasing food rations, the increasing illness, and the mounting number of deaths. Army Gasoline Stored along the Camp Walls — Following the heavy air raid of Sunday, October 29, the Japanese started the month of Novem­ ber out "right” in a manner referred to in the minutes as follows: "A new detail of the Japanese labor corps was brought into camp and established in the west pavilion and in the tents along the west road. Work was resumed in bringing stores into camp for storage in the front area pre­ viously declared out of bounds to internees. "In addition, it was observed that a large number of drums, lumber, etc., were being stacked against the outside of the boundary walls at the rear of the camp."

The minutes did not say so, but the drums contained gasoline and oil, as the smell plainly indicated. The dan­ ger of fire in the camp shanty areas was thereby greatly increased, and the internees were outraged. Among the stores brought in during the next few days, much of this work being done at night, were several thousand large rolls of steel matting used in surfacing airfields. They were stacked up all along the other side of the road running past the education building to the hospital. Other army stores, including large crates of machinery, were dumped along the roads from the main gate. There were no alerts or alarms dur­ ing the whole week, but there having been two Sunday raids already, many people in the camp fixed their hopes on Sunday, November 5. It was be­

THE CAMP

lieved that perhaps our high com­ mand favored Sundays because there were then smaller numbers of Filipi­ nos at work around the various Japa­ nese airfields and other objectives. All night long of November 4-5, ene­ my troops were heard passing Santo Tomas and there was also consider­ able enemy flying over the city. The distant drone of many planes was heard early Sunday morning while most of the camp was still at break­ fast, and as people wondered whe­ ther they were American or Japanese, the sirens downtown sounded the alert. Only two minutes later, at 7:29 came the air-raid alarm, and five mi­ nutes later far-away detonations were heard again from the direction of the Marikina Valley, which lasted for se­ veral minutes. The sky was overcast and showed but small patches of blue, and the planes could be seen only occasionally. The bombing started at 7:35 and continued almost without in­ terruption until nearly 8, lasting fully 20 minutes as against the 10-minute periods in earlier raids. It was direct­ ed mainly at Nichols and Zablan af­ ter the initial attack in the Marikina Valley, probably made on troop con­ centrations there. One of our planes was shot down by anti-aircraft fire over Nichols, and two other planes which could have been either Ameri­ can or Japanese were shot down in dogfights over Zablan. Some of the bombing was so heavy that it again shook the Santo Tomas buildings. Clouds of smoke rose in two columns over Nichols and one over Zablan. There were many large planes which sometimes looked white and at other times glittered like silver in the early sun, and other smaller, darker, planes. A very striking and beautiful maneu­ ver was observed around 7:50 over the Zablan field in a narrow rent in the clouds, a swarm of some 30 sil­ very planes, like fish, one below the

INTERNEES FORBIDDEN TO WATCH THE BOMBING

other describing small circles and spiraling downward as they dived to ward the objective. The whirling planes in this cone-like formation looked as if they had been caught in some powerful aerial eddy. Another fine sight was a line of planes flying one behind the other just above the edge of a thick white cloudbank which stretched from the Bay ‘to Nichols field. In plain sight of Santo Tomas, the planes were hidden from the anti­ aircraft batteries along the waterfront and were over Nichols field before the Japanese spotted them. A second wave of planes came over between 9:30 and 9:35 and there was more bombing, mainly over the Bay. One of the American planes was struck by a shell and went down in a breath-catching tailspin. The raid-end­ ed signal came at 10:41, but at 12:10 there was what sounded like distant thunder and at 12:15 the sirens wailed another alarm. There were two brief bombings and strafings of the Grace Park field at around 12:16 and 12:35, and at 12:50 the North Harbor area was bombed. For the next hour, long far-way rumbles were heard from the direction of Cavite and Corregidor and from what could have been points all along the shore' of Manila Bay. At 2:30 a number of planes returned to the harbor area. Only 8 of them could be seen, slipping through the clouds and diving and rising again in long swoops. There was considerable anti­ aircraft fire from the ground and probably from warships in the Bay. After five or six minutes of heavy ac­ tion, the sounds of battle died down, but distant rumbles were heard con­ tinuing until after 3 from the direc­ tion of Cavite and Bataan. Although not many planes had actually been seen during the day, people in the camp believe that there must have been several hundred over the city both morning and afternoon. The raid-

413

ended signal came at 4:20 and the end of the alert was sounded at 6:45. Internees Forced to Stand in the Open during Bombing as Punishment for "Looking”— Early that morning, 7:45, three internees watching the first attack back of the main build­ ing were arrested by a Japanese sen­ try and taken to the front gate where, throughout all the day’s bombing and shooting, they were made to stand in the open for eight hours, — until 3:45. Abiko said that in future persons who violated the order against watching the raids in the open and near the windows would be punished “more drastically”. Twice before there had been air raids on two consecutive days and Santo Tomas hoped that it might hap­ pen again. In this it was not disap­ pointed. Many persons were awakened by the sound of distant explosions at around 4 o'clock but the air-raid si­ rens did not sound the alarm until 4:25, though this was the earliest Ma­ nila had as yet experienced. Over the loudspeakers the men in the various emergency services were ordered to take their posts and all others were warned to remain where they were. All lights were ordered out, even the shaded ones in the halls and toilets. The moon rode high overhead, but there were thin clouds in the sky and a light mist covered the ground. Some shanty people said later that at 4 o’clock Nichols had been bombed and some searchlight batteries there had been machine-gunned. Others told of having seen flares dropped over Zablan, but it was said also that these were not flares, but "sun-burst” bombs. As the hushed camp waited, a sudden anti-aircraft cannonshot, or, perhaps it was a single bomb explo­ sion, at 4:55, set all the dogs in the neighborhood to barking. In the far distance, sirens could again be heard. A train chug-chugged out of the Tu-

414

tuban Station at 5:20. At 6:14 it was announced over the loudspeakers that the hospital workers might join a "convoy” which would leave the main building for the hospital in a few minutes. At 6:25 came the raidended signal and a few minutes later the internees were allowed to leave their buildings and proceed to the breakfast lines. Was this to be all for the day? At 7:29 a fresh alarm sent internees hurrying to their quarters. Planes could be heard but not seen. At around 7:43 there was bombing over the Bay, with a heavy anti-air­ craft fire, and there were several more minutes of it in the same area ten minutes later. Then again ten minutes later, between 8:03 and 8:07 there was very heavy action, with apparent­ ly numerous rather small bombs being dropped and a frantic barrage going up from what probably were warships in the Bay as well as from batteries on the land. Though few planes could be descried, it was thought that at least 100 planes took part in this at­ tack. The raid-ended signal, the second that day, came at 11 o'clock, but again, as the day before, a new attack came at lunchtime, bombs dropping over Fort McKinley before the sirens sounded. A little later planes were diving over Nichols and Zablan, and there again seemed to be action in the Marikina Valley also. There was little anti-aircraft fire anywhere that day except around the harbor and Bay shore. The sound of planes and of distant bombing was heard for an hour afterward in the directions of McKinley, Nichols, and Zablan, and one or two American planes seemed to be idling over the city, possibly taking photographs, with only an oc­ casional shot being fired at them. One |of these planes suddenly dropped a bomb on a battery which had thus annoyed the pilot, after which it non­ chalantly flew off. The complete con­

THE CAMP

trol of the air obtained by oui forces was evident. Things remained quiet and at 3:35 came the raid-ended sig­ nal; the alert-ended signal came at 6 : 10. Japanese Trucks take Shelter in the Camp— Both on Sunday and Monday many Japanese army trucks were driven into the Santo Tomas grounds obviously for shelter, officers and sol­ diers sometimes showing excitement and a great haste to get under cover even in the comparatively safe camp area. On Monday afternoon compa­ nies of soldiers marched past the camp, singing. Japanese soldiers, it was said, were usually made to sing when things were not going too well for them. It was on this day that the new orders about bowing to the Ja­ panese were issued and that all the ground floor rooms of the main build­ ing were searched, about which more will be said later. Children's Hospital Moved to a Safer Place— There was a brief alert, between 8 and 10 o’clock on Tuesday, but no alerts on either Wednesday or Thursday. On Tuesday, because pa­ rents were always removing their sick children from the children’s hospital during air raids, knowing the building to be unsafe, the Internee Committee transferred the hospital to the "model home” rooms in the main building. Actually, the former location was no more unsafe than the annex itself, of which it was a part, or any of the other wooden buildings, such as the Santa Catalina hospital and the isolation hospital, and the gym­ nasium and the third floor of the edu­ cation building and the numerous nipa and bamboo shanties. The edu­ cation and religious committees took over the former children’s hospital space for their purposes. On Thursday, the 9th, there were rumors of American landings in Southern Luzon, but these could not

THE DESTRUCTIVE AIR RAID OF NOVEMBER 13

be taken very seriously. A typhoon warning was issued at noon. The ba­ rometer had fallen to 749 mm., and strong winds were expected from the west and south. It was stormy during all of the following night but the ty­ phoon had passed to the north of Ma­ nila and the weather quietened by morning. The camp gardens suffered some damage in the blowing down of papaya and banana trees, and there was also some minor damage to a number of shanties. Abiko ordered 20 men to report for duty to repair the sawali which had been torn from the fences. As it was still blowing and raining in­ termittently, the camp was surprised at 12:35 to hear the air-alert siren. Talk started of American planes having been heard overhead during the morning, some internees claiming they could distinguish between our own and enemy planes by the sound of the motors. However, 11 Japanese planes flew over the camp at around 1 o’clock, from a northerly direction, and at 1:17 came the end-of-the-alert. Perhaps the Japanese had mistaken their own approaching planes for American. There were no alerts on Saturday, but the Japanese evident­ ly feared another Sunday raid for their planes were up early Sunday morning. It proved, however, to be another quiet day. The Destructive Raid of the 13th— Not so, Monday the 13th! People in the camp heard a distant siren at 7:40 and a few minutes later there was the sound of distant bombing. At 7:44 the city sirens sounded the the air-raid alarm. There had been no previous alert; the Japanese had again been taken by surprise. Five minutes later there was heavy bomb­ ing over the Bay with also very heavy anti-aircraft fire. The smokepuffs from the bursting shells made the sky look like a checkerboard. There was an almost continuous thunder­

415

like roar which lasted until 8:10; to­ tal quiet came at 8:17, making a strange contrast. A big fire was burn­ ing in the Pandacan oil district, the flames leaping high into the air. At 9:05 the drone of our planes was again heard, then the whining of diving planes, and again the groundfire and the bomb-bursts. Fires started along the Bay front at Tondo and there were clouds of smoke over Camp Murphy and Zablan field. At 9:02 the roar was again a continuous, thunderous roll, through which din several still bigger explosions were heard at around 9:14. Large columns of smoke were rising over the Port Area and the Bay; enemy ships must have been hit. In the east patio of the main building in Santo Tomas, a 4-inch-long machine-gun shell went through a coffee pot, tray, and table. Most spectacular for the people in the camp who could see it, was the sudden downward swoop of some 20 American planes which bombed and strafed some of the nearby streets where the Japanese had parked long rows of tanks and trucks. After ano­ ther short bombing around 10:25 and a heavy explosion in the Bay area at 10:45, things remained quiet. There were three fires in the Port Area, one, with a great cloud of black smoke, apparently from a Japanese tanker. There were also fires at Grace Park, McKinley, and Nichols. The Japanese were to have little rest that day. Planes were heard at 1:19 and heavy action followed a mi­ nute later. The main attack was again made over the Bay area where the Japanese had concentrated most of their anti-aircraft guns, and the upward barrage sounded like a des­ perate one. In the morning it had been cloudy and large numbers of planes could not be seen at any one time, but in the afternoon the wea­ ther cleared and in one big flight

416

over 100 planes were counted with smaller squadrons elsewhere in the sky. At 1:20 there was an initial at­ tack which lasted only a minute or so; the second and heaviest attack came at 1:30 and lasted some ten minutes; the third attack followed at around 1:48 and lasted only four or five minutes. After this there was only distant bombing, around 3:30, except for a few heavy explosions in the Port Area and the Bay between 4 and 5 o’clock, some of which shook the camp buildings. The whole wa­ terfront seemed to be afire and the smoke-smell was strong even in the camp. This, the tenth air-raid on Ma­ nila, was unquestionably the most widespread and destructive so far carried out. A number of dogfights had been observed during the day but none of our planes had been seen shot down in air duels. However, two planes were seen destroyed; one over the Bay, in the morning, received a direct hit from an anti-aircraft gun, and the other was shot down over Nichols in the afternoon. Of course, there may have been and unfortunate­ ly probably were more, but they were not seen from Santo Tomas. The raidended signal came at 7:10, but the alert continued and not even shaded lights were allowed in the camp buildings. During the earlier part of the evening four or five J f mese planes flew about for several hours apparently trying to find some safe landing place, finally settling on the Grace Park field. In the afternoon considerable numbers of tanks and trucks were seen moving along the the streets and apparently leaving the city. All night long there were sounds of Japanese activity at Grace Park. Other Raids During the Month— Three times now there had been air­ raids on two consecutive days. Would there be another raid tomorrow? in­ ternees asked themselves that Mon­

THE CAMP

day night. The sirens wailed the alarm at 7:27 the next morning, — November 14, and bombing started over the Bay at 7:57 after two of some 16 Japanese planes which were in the air at the time had been seen shot down and the rest were driven out of sight. There were only some small clouds in the sky but the Ame­ rican raiders made good use of them and also of the sun in diving at their objectives. The first attack lasted some five minutes. Then, at 8:10, over 100 of our planes came over the Bay and the waterfront, droning like a great swarm of giant bees, and for ten minutes the thudding of bombs was almost continuous. The anti-air­ craft fire was noticeably lighter than the day before, but one of our planes was seen shot down. There was ano­ ther but lighter attack between 8:44 and 8:54. Things remained quiet for approximately an hour and then 10 to 12:30; a small number of planes, — no more than three or four were seen at any one time, desultorily bombed the Bay from time to time. Either these or a few other planes also strafed the Grace Park field, ap­ parently at will. Several small fires were started there and there was also a fire somewhere in Tondo. A more distant fire was seen in what was thought to be in the vicinity of the town of Pasig. What looked like a possible strafing of enemy troops on the north road was also observed. During the morning, one of two planes flying by themselves was seen '‘sky-writing”, tracing out, it was said by those who had seen it, "N O V”, — “November” (?). The plane seemed to be provided with the regular sky­ writing equipment and some inter­ nees came to the conclusion that the only aim on this occasion was to let it be known that this form of com­ munication was available to the Ame­ rican forces. At 1 o’clock there was

THE LONG RAID OF NOVEMBER 19

a heavy ten-minutes attack on Ni­ chols. At 2:20 came a brief attack, again by only a few planes, in the Bay area, possibly to sink such ships as still remained afloat there. Very distant bombing was heard at 3 o’clock. The raid-ended signal sounde/i at 5. There were no sounds of any great activity heard during the night, either in the air or at the airfields or in the Port Area. Only one or two trains were heard leaving Manila during the night or early the next morning. At 5:45, preceded by a bright glare, there came the sound of a heavy explosion from the direc­ tion of Nichols airfield. A little after 6 o’clock there were several more from the same quarter. The all-clear was not sounded until 1:32 on the 15th, — which was the anniversary day of the inauguration of the Philip­ pine Commonwealth. The next period of alert was not called until Friday, the 17th, and lasted only from 10:55 to 11:35. That night a fire in the Bay, started during the Monday bombing, was still burn­ ing, and there were several heavy ex­ plosions heard from the same direc­ tion. Saturday was quiet. During this past week the camp's stocks of rice had been exhausted and the Japanese refused to make up the difference of the daily 40 grams per capita which had come out of these reserves, and despite this further cut in the ration only a small plate of lugao, or soft-boiled rice, now being served at noon, more gardening work had had to be undertaken on Japanese insis­ tence. There had also been a con­ tinuation of the searches in the camp, as will be recounted in greater de­ tail later in this section. Internees noted, however, a considerable toning down of the shouting and loud talk the Japanese had at first indulged in in their ground-floor quarters in the

417

education building; they were a good deal quieter now. Then came Sunday, the 19th, and the longest, though not the most se­ vere air raid yet experienced. The si­ rens sounded at 6 o’clock, after two loud detonations had been heard from the direction of Nichols field. Nothing however happened for a time, and at 7:30, 10 or 11 Japanese planes were flying over the city. At 7:50 and again at 8:20, series of tremors, as of some mild earthquake, were felt, but no explosions could be heard. If they were caused by bombs, they must have been heavy as well as dropped at distant points. At 8:25 two Ame­ rican planes were seen diving over and bombing the Bay area, getting safely away, and at 8:33, three other planes were there, bombing. It did not seem as if there were more, though the sky was cloudy and there might have been. The defensive fire was light and seemed to be entirely disregarded by the American flyers. At 8:38, to the north of the camp, 7 or 8 planes were seen in a dogfight. Internees with sharp eyes said that only one of them appeared to be American, and the rest Japanese. It was this plane which was suddenly seen afire. It continued on a horizon­ tal course, straight on over the roofs and seemed to be making for the waters of the Bay, the entire fuselage a bright orange and red from the flames, with a flaring tail streaming out behind. The plane was like a blazing comet and present a brief but spectacular and terrible sight. It dis­ appeared behind the roofs and as no smoke was observed, watchers con­ cluded that the burning plane must have plunged into the Bay. A little la­ ter some 18 planes were seen in the north, but whether they were Ame­ rican or Japanese could not be made out. After a lull of around two hours

418

there was some rather heavy bomb­ ing of Nichols and again the Bay, but the attack was short. A fire broke out at Nichols. An hour later, between 11:12 and 11:18, the Bay and waterfront were again bombed by around 12 planes. It was evident that they were intent on some specific objectives there, — probably ships. Manila seemed not to be the main objective that day, for early that morning internees had seen a large flight of at least 40 planes, strung out like wild geese, flying east­ ward of the camp at a considerable distance and going south. The longest and heaviest attack of the day came at 1:15, again chiefly in the Bay and waterfront area, continuing for ten minutes. Several fires were started and after a time there was a distinct smell of burning oil in the air. There was distant bombing at 2:10, and as late as 6:02, 3 American planes sud­ denly appeared, just before dark, and machine-gunned the waterfront. The raid-ended signal was sounded at 7:10. The all-clear was not given until 9:25 the following morning. The General’s Car— On Tuesday, the 21st, the air-raid alarm rang out very early, at 4:30 in the morning. Some internees said they had heard heavy bombing for several minutes in the direction of Zablan field before the raid-signal, — at around 3:15 in the morning, and people in the camp wondered whether this early activity meant that the long-hoped for inva­ sion of Luzon had begun. No plane appeared over the city that day, and the raid-ended signal sounded at 12:20, but in the evening, there were rumors that the American •forces had made a landing in Sorsogon, southern Luzon. During the day, Japanese soldiers had been burying drums of gasoline in the hospital grounds, and other sol­ diers were engaged apparently in building machine-gun emplacements at adjoining street corners. Internees

THE CAMP

were asked over the loudspeakers to keep their children from playing in a Cadillac car which had been brought into the camp that day. According to the announcement this car was “the present possession of the highest ranking general in Manila”. The car was apparently to remain garaged in the camp, for Abiko ordered a spe­ cial shelter built for it. The General wanted his car in a safe place! The breakfast-mush cooks said that all of Tuesday-Wednesday night they had seen what they took for gunflashes in the direction of Corregidor, and internees quartered on the third floor of the main building said they had seen fires on the island. The all-clear was not sounded until 2:37. Thursday was Thanksgiving Day and a special service had been an­ nounced to begin at 9 o'clock in the morning, but as the Japanese, a few minutes before the hour, staged a search of the second and third floors of the education building which lasted until 11, many were un­ able to attend. For breakfast that day the camp had the usual cornand-rice mush and for lunch nothing but the soft-boiled rice, but for sup­ per there was besides the usual la­ dleful of rice a cup of vegetable “stew” and a small spoonful of camote-tops. The "stew” had some camote and cassava in it. Friday was quiet in so far as any aerial activity around Manila was concerned. Saturday, the 25th, was another day! Many internees were awakened by a tremor which shook the Santo To­ mas buildings at 3:40 in the morning. In the education building, a Japanese downstairs shouted an alarm, but nothing further happened and most people went to sleep again after a while. Just after breakfast, at 7:36, heavy thuds were heard from the di­ rection of the Marikina Valley and a

419

DAYS, WEEKS, OR MONTHS?

few minutes later the sirens sounded. There was more distant bombing and a few bombs were dropped over Ni­ chols; there seemed also to be some strafing at Grace Park. Action seemed to have been more intense at a dis­ tance from Manila however, for low hanging smoke clouds were noted a little later stretching along the hori­ zon from the west to the northeast. At 7:46 there was a dogfight to the north of the camp between what seemed to be six American and two Japanese planes. One of the latter was hit and went down, turning in the air like a leaf. It burst into flames and the pilot leaped out but his parachute failed to open and the doomed man and his machine dis­ appeared together behind the roofs of Tcmdo. A little later the second Japanese plane was seen shot down. A brief but heavy bombing of the Bay by some seven planes followed around 8 o’clock. The planes were large ones, flying high, the anti-air­ craft shells bursting below them. They did not dive when dropping their bombs, which were heavy ones. Fifteen minutes later a small group of dive-bombers appeared and bombed and machine-gunned objectives in the same area for five minutes, set­ ting the camp buildings shaking once more. Shortly after, a dogfight was observed almost directly overhead, the gyrating planes flashing in the sun and then disappearing in the high haze. One plane was said to have been hit, but was not seen actually falling. There was no further bomb­ ing and around 9 o'clock eight Ja­ panese planes were cruising about over the city. A little after 11, how­ ever, two American planes suddenly descended over the Bay, dropped their bombs, and were off to the north­ ward before the anti-aircraft batteries began to bark. All remained quiet, then, for several hours, when at 2 i

o’clock what proved to be the big bu­ siness of the day started. Twelve of our planes came up from the north and circled about leisurely, so it seemed, over Grace Park airfield at no very great height, though some anti-aircraft fire which appeared to come from the Cementerio del Norte failed to reach them. Then for some 15 minutes they bombed the field, diving and bombing and rising and circling and diving and bombing again and also machine-gunning with a deliberate and most deadly air. The Grace Park field was nearest of all the airfields to Santo Tomas and the camp buildings shook more violently than ever before. Five fires broke out in various parts of the field, se­ veral of them obviously oil fires. This was the first time during the past two and a half months that the Grace Park field had been at all hea­ vily attacked. Internees guessed that the other fields had all been heavily bombed, but not Grace Park until now when the Japanese had probably concentrated most of their aviation activities at this point. And a very thorough job had been done. The raid-ended signal sounded at 6:35 but the alert continued until 2:10 the next day. Periods of alert were called on Monday, the 27th, between 10:10 and 4:25, and on Thursday, the 30th, be­ tween 8:13 and 4:10, but there were no more raids that month after the raid of Saturday, the 25th. This was the thirteenth of the raids on Manila since the first on September 21, now nearly two and a half months before. Another whole month had passed, and no one in the camp could know whe­ ther the relief of Manila was still a matter of days, weeks, or even months. And alas, there was no cer­ tainty either that there as yet had been any landings on Luzon at all!

420

More Gasoline and Oil Stored along the Walls— Fortunately, in view of all the bombing and the many shells and shell-fragments that had flown about the camp and the drums of ga­ soline stored along the walls, no fires had broken out. With reference to this gasoline, the minutes were more specific under date of Novem­ ber 22 than they had been on the 1st: "On November 20 the authorities respon­ sible for bringing in stores, etc. for storage in the front grounds of the camp, took into the hospital compound a number of drums, some of which were stacked against the hos­ pital side of the wall separating Santa Cata­ lina from the camp and others buried in the ground. No smoking was permitted in the hospital compound near the hospital gate, i.e. near these drums, and internees were for­ bidden to walk down the concrete path near the hospital wall. It can only be assumed that these drums contain gasoline or some other inflammable material.”

Subsequently drums of gasoline were buried between the sidewalk and all along the east wall in holes only a few feet deep. In some cases they were merely hidden under plants or bushes. The Japanese thus deliberate­ ly increased the fire-danger.1 Abiko on the 21st warned that "more intense bombing was to be anticipated” and that, "particularly in the shanty areas, there was always the possibility of fire breaking out”; he ordered that shanty area supervisors and all fire­ fighters stand by during air raids. The Loudspeaker Moved to the Commandant’s Office — An obviously precautionary measure was the trans­ fer of the loudspeaker equipment from a room in the main building to a place under one of the stairs on the* ■Note (1945)— Outsiders, eye-witnesses, stated after the liberation that the Japanese had bu­ ried not only drums of gasoline along the San­ to Tomas walls, but also many cases of T. N. T. which they later hauled away again to mine the big buildings on the Escolta and elsewhere.

THE CAMP

Japanese-occupied ground floor of the education building, ordered by Abiko on the 1st. The last broadcast from the old location was made on the 16th, and the first from the new on the 17th. Thenceforth all announce­ ments and all music was broadcast under the immediate surveillance of the Japanese. Members of the Com­ mandant’s staff were at first very curious about the equipment, opera­ tion, etc., but this quickly wore off. Communications Completely Cut Off — The exchange of messages be­ tween the internee committees of the Santo Tomas and Los Banos and Bag­ uio camps had been ordered stopped by Ohashi on October 9. "In future,” he said, "the Santo Tomas Committee should submit a memorandum ad­ dressed to the Commandant listing the various messages to be conveyed to the committees in other camps". The Internee Committee had been notified by the Commandant's Office on the 6th that "no more telegrams would be accepted for dispatch abroad through the Philippine Red Cross”. According to the minutes of the 18th — "In response to a request from the Com­ mittee forwarded through the Commandant’s Office, War Prisoners Headquarters turned down applications for permission to notify by telegram employers or relatives abroad of deaths of internees.”

Slight relaxations in Japanese sev­ erity occurred during November in the distributions of small numbers of parcels sent to some internees through the Japanese Embassy by their noninterned relatives. It was noted that those so benefitted were chiefly in­ ternees with Spanish connections in Manila. On November 2, some 90 individuals received small packages of foodstuffs, toilet articles, tobacco, etc. According to the minutes, this was a "special privilege" . .. owing to the Japanese holiday on the 3rd

LESSONS IN BOWING

i

* •

421 "For the purpose ~bf receiving instructions direct from the Commandant’s staff, all floor and building monitors, all area supervisors, all room monitors, and all section supervisors are to assemble in front of the Commandant’s office at 5:00 p.m. Monday, November 6. "During these three days, November 7, 8. and 9, the Commandant and his staff will pay special attention to the manner in which internees bow, will give criticisms and warn­ ings, and otherwise take steps to insure that internees learn the proper method of bow­ ing as quickly as possible.”

. . . The Commandant’s Office permit­ ted their distribution but stated that no further individual packages could be allowed to enter camp . . . The packages were examined at the front gate and some items were found to be missing from a few of the pack­ ages”. Twenty-three more small pack­ ages were allowed to come in on the 16th and six more on the 24th. One bag of foreign mail was brought in about the middle of the month, — comprising some 1,500 letters from America and Europe, some of them dated as late as June of the year. Ten or 15 telegrams were also receiv­ ed and distributed. Ohashi Tells The Committee that President Roosevelt was Re-elected — On the 12th, Ohashi went so far as to inform the Internee Committee, when it has asked for information as to the American presidential election, that President Roosevelt had been re­ elected. He said he did not know who had been elected Vice-President. Abiko’s Lessons in Bowing — Bow­ ing deeply to every Japanese in the camp was demanded in an order is­ sued on the 5th, the Sunday of the first bombing of the month, and the next day, when the city was under alarm from 4:23 to 6:10 and there were heavy, nerve-shattering attacks throughout the day, Abiko that even­ ing summoned all monitors and su­ pervisors for "lessons” in bowing! The instructions given to Grinnell on the 5th by Onozaki and Ohashi on behalf of the Commandant, as posted on the bulletin boards, read as fol­ lows:

"The monitors and section leaders were in­ structed this afternoon in the correct me­ thod of bowing and during the next three days they will give you instructions and prac­ tice. To some of you, bowing may seem funny or even ridiculous. The only thing ridi­ culous about it is that after being wards of the Imperial Japanese Army for two years and ten months, receiving its protection, you have not learned to show your gratitude by bowing to its representatives. I want to tell you that now you have received your instruc­ tions in the correct way to bow, if you should fail to do so, you will be punished. You may be given public practice in bowing, or you may be committed to the camp jail."

"November 7, 8, and 9 have been designated as days on which special attention Is to be devoted to the custom of bowing. On these days at both morning and evening roll call, room monitors and section supervisors are to demonstrate the correct method of bowing and have the internees in their respective rooms and sections practice.

After this, internees lined up morn­ ing and evening for roll call bowed in unison, from the waist, at the com­ mand of the monitors when the Ja­ panese officers passed, the bows be­ ing acknowledged by a salute. On the grounds the order was less gen­

The "lesson” was given to some 300 monitors and supervisors the next day at 5 o’clock in the hospital grounds instead of in front of the education building. According to the Internee Committee’s minutes, Abiko — "explained that under international agree­ ments internees were being protected by the Imperial Japanese Army, and that our bow­ ing to representatives of the Imperial Japa­ nese Army was an expression of thanks for the protection accorded to us.”

Shiraji, addressing the internees from the shanty areas lined up for roll call at 6:30 in front of the main building, said that same day, through interpreter Cary:

422

erally observed except at face to face encounters. Sentries on post bowed back instead of saluting and got so tired of it that they often stepped away and turned their backs to pass­ ing internees. Roll call was advanced an hour, from 6:30 to 5:30, on the 9th, after the Commandant’s Office had reject­ ed a request from the Internee Com­ mittee that it be set for 4:30. The Committee had wanted to hold roll call before because of the early dark­ ness. "All objections to 5:30 on the grounds of inconvenience in the serv­ ing meal, etc., were overruled by the Commandant’s Office." Curfew was still at 8, except during raid-alarms when it was at 7 and sometimes even 6:30, and no lights at all were al­ lowed. At all other times only a few small shaded lights were allowed in some of the halls under which only a few could sit to read or play cards. In­ ternees could no longer enjoy the quiet hours of sitting under the stars and noting the slow revolution of the constellations. The Camp Libraries — A new effort to control the reading done in the camp was initiated by the Command­ ant’s Office through Kinoshita who, on the 15th, instructed the Internee Committee to submit to him a catalog of the books held by the various li­ braries in the camp. According to the minutes, "after study of the ca­ talog, it is the intention of the Com­ mandant’s Office to 'chop' all approv­ ed books”. There had been a consi­ derable increase in the books avail­ able to internees since the early days of the camp, though many were say­ ing that it was difficult to find any­ thing they wanted to read. The "Free Library” in the lobby of the main building, of which the nucleus was around 1,000 books brought over from the Y.M.C.A., augmented by do­ nations from the Episcopal Cathedral

THE CAMP

and the Union Church, the Girls Friendly Society, the Rev. H. Bausman, and others, had ?ome 3,600 books on its lists, but of these well over 500 had been completely worn out des­ pite constant patching and rebinding. Some 600 more had been sent to the Los Banos camp and 50 to Baguio, leaving around 2,500 in circulation. The "Cooperative Library”, also in the main building lobby, was organ­ ized by a group of internees each of whom contributed a book or books or paid a fee of P5 every three months; the library contained about 700 volumes either donated or pur­ chased. The “Shanty-Town Library”, just off the main building lobby, was a pay library conducted by L. B. Brambles and J. B. Turner, and con­ tained about 1,500 books. This libra­ ry charged a fee of PI .50 a month, but in August offered a membership for the "duration” at P10 in Philippine pesos which was hopefully reduced to P7.50 in October. "The Booklover’s Library", in the education build­ ing lobby, with around 1,000 books on its shelves, charged first a P2 and then a P3 monthly fee, and later also offered duration memberships for P7. Most of the books belonged to M. L. Francisco. The total number of library books in circulation in the camp was therefore still under 6,000. The educational division maintained a mainly reference library of around 1,300 books in a room off the west patio of the main building, and a children’s "supplementary reading” library of around 1,000 books in an east patio room. Textbooks in use in grades I to VI numbered only around 950, with at least two pupils to a book, the books therefore being kept in the study hall where they passed from hand to hand. A schedule of the educational acti­ vities in the camp, including grade school, high school, and college and

CAMP LIBRARIES

adult courses, was submitted to Ohashi on the 22nd, by order. Search of the Main Building—Sud­ den searches were staged at intervals throughout November. A little after 9 o’clock in the morning of November 6 (the day of the second air-raid of the month) the following order was issued over the loudspeakers: "Attention, main building residents! Those living on the ground floor, by order of the Commandant’s Office, are to proceed imme­ diately to their bed-spaces, and either sit or lie down there until further instructions. There is to be an inspection, so have your personal belongings where they will be readily avail­ able.’^

New Rules Concerning Typewriters — According to the minutes of the Committee that day: "The Commandant’s Office instituted at 9 a.m. a complete search of all rooms, offices, etc. on the ground floor of the main building. Most of the members of the Commandant’s staff were engaged in the search while sen­ tries from the gate kept guard in the corri­ dors. In the case of a certain number of in­ dividuals, money in excess of the amount per­ mitted was taken up, and also one or two maps and a book in Japanese referring to the present war. Later in the day Lt. Abiko advised the Committee that the maps and the books would be confiscated and that the Com­ mittee would be given three days in which to warn all internees that (1) a similar search might be made anywhere in camp at any time, and that (2) all internees should understand2 2 Destruction of part of the Manuscript of this Book — Carroll at this time had the entire October section of this book in his possession for checking as to accuracy. The Internee Committee had just recently moved into its new quarters and the place was almost bare, and when Carroll was warned that the Japa­ nese were coming to search his office, too, he could not think of a place to hide the dan­ gerous manuscript. He went into the lavatory, tore it into small pieces, and threw these down the drain. As the author had in the meantime destroyed his notes, the whole section had to be done over again, in part from memorv. The writer had up to this time preserved a fair degree of strength, but the burden of this extra work overtaxed it and a rapid physical decline ensued, though he continued his reportorial labors as well as he was able.

423 that they are permitted to hold only a cer­ tain amount of money in accordance with the regulations and that any excess holdings should be turned in to the Committee within the threeday period. "Japanese military notes so turned in should be used by the Committee for the purchase of camp supplies, and a list of names and the amounts collected should be supplied to the Commandant’s Office specifying at the same time the use to which the money would be put. In the case of Philippine currency, the money should be handed over to Lt. Shiraji for holding until a decision is made as to its disposal, and a list of names and amounts turned in should be supplied to the Comman­ dant's Office. "In connection with typewriters, Lt. Abiko stated that it is against the rules for any in­ dividual to keep a typewriter in his or her individual possession either in the buildings or in shanties. AH typewriters must be kept in the offices in which they are used, or else handed over to the Committee for custody and for issue for use in approved places on­ ly."

Five internees were found with Phil­ ippine currency in their possession and six with military notes in excess of the permitted amount, but were sentenced by the Commandant’s Of­ fice on the 8th only to 5 days con­ finement to their quarters. The Com­ mittee was warned, however, that persons found possessing money ille­ gally in future would be “severely dealt with". Instructions as to the de­ posit of excess money and the sub­ mission of lists of names and amounts weCe changed. The Committee had only to report the number of persons turning in money, and not their names and the total amounts of each type of currency. Military notes were still to be turned over to the Committee for camp use, but other currencies were not to be held by Shiraji but by the Internee Committee "for safe­ keeping". These changes in the ins­ tructions had been obtained at a con­ ference between the Committee and Abiko.

424

Search of the Santa Catalina Hospi­ tal — Before the promised three days were up, however, the Santa Catalina hospital was searched,—on the morn­ ing of the 9th. Soldiers were placed in and outside the hospital and members of the Commandant’s staff again did the searching. Hospital staff members who had to be sent for keys to open various cabinets and contain­ ers were not allowed to get them by themselves but were escorted back and forth by guards. Patients as well as hospital personnel were searched and persons were found to hold small amounts of Philippine money and one other had some excess in military notes. Said the Committee minutes: “In this connection, the Committee had ar­ ranged for a, representative of the internee bank to collect excess money and Philippine currency from hospital residents this morn­ ing, but the search prevented this from be­ ing done. No consideration was given to the statement made yesterday that two days’ time would be granted for the turning in of illegal holdings. "Two typewriters and one or two other small articles were confiscated. One internee who had P17.17 in 10-centavo, 5-centavo, and 1-cen­ tavo notes, crumpled up together in a card­ board box, was lectured on the care of mo­ ney. "Later the Commandant's Office (Lt. Abiko) advised the Committee that the patients who had illegal holdings would be sentenced to 5 days’ confinement to quarters on the same terms as -the main building internees had been sentenced, and that the one hospital at­ tendant found to have Philippine currency should be given additional work duties ins­ tead of confinement to quarters.”

THE CAMP

the day, however, Shiraji told Carroll that the Committee "should hold the amounts for the time being”. The statement showed that around 100 internees had turned over some PI 1,000 in military notes to the camp funds, and that around 100 others had handed over some P5,000 in old Philippine currency and some $400 in United States currency for safe­ keeping. Small amounts of miscella­ neous money, — Philippine emer­ gency notes, Chinese bank notes, coins, etc., had also been turned in. Subsequently several hundred more pesos were handed over to the Com­ mittee. No one believed, however, that the internees had now surren­ dered all their money, although the majority, especially those who did not have much and therefore did not want to take any unnecessary risks, probably had done so. The Education Building and the Shanties Searched— Two of the shan­ ty areas were searched on the 15th, a number of electrical appliances and some maps being confiscated; a type­ writer was ordered to be turned over to the Committee for storage. The first and second floors of the educa­ tion building were searched on the 23rd.3 According to the Committee's minutes: " ... two Philippine pesos were confiscated in addition to an atlas, some road maps (includ­ ing road maps of the U.S.A.), some maga­ zines, an electric light cord, three electric-light bulbs, an aluminum cup and plate (which the Japanese stated belonged to the U.S. Army and were therefore contraband), and one electrical and a number of miscellaneous fitings.”

More Money Taken Up — On the 10th, the Committee submitted a statement showing the total amounts deposited in Philippine, military, and The man found with two Philippine other currencies, and the Comman­ pesos in his possession, an elderly dant’s Office (Abiko) then said that room monitor, was sentenced by the all monies other than military notes 3 The writer's “Remington” typewrtier, "por­ would have to be turned over to table, noiseless," kept in his room in the edu­ Shiraji "for holding pending final de­ cation building, escaped detection by a series cision as to their disposal’’. Later in of swift manuevers.

MORE SEARCHES AND ARRESTS

Commandant's Office (Onozaki) to 2 days “heavy imprisonment" (rice, salt, and water). According to the minutes: "The Committee appealed against this sen­ tence on the grounds that Mr. Nelson was given no opportunity to explain the reason for his having this two-peso bill and because it was obviously left in his baggage through oversight. However, the Commandant's Of­ fice (Lt. Abiko) advised the Committee that this had been taken into consideration when fixing the sentence and that if the retention of the Philippine currency had been inten­ tional, the sentence would have been more severe.”

Another shanty area was searched on the 30th, the only articles confiscated being a small strip of old movie-film and a few books. The searching had become little more than perfunctory. No one knew just what the Japanese were looking for. The search for mo­ ney was not at all thorough and was believed to be chiefly a pretext. It was thought that they were probably looking for radio apparatus they be­ lieved might possibly be hidden in the camp and in anything, — parts, materials, and tools, which could be used in radio construction; they also seemed to be on the look-out for notes and so-called "news-transcripts”. What individual food supplies internees still had left also seemed to interest them. The searches were probably conducted in compliance with an or­ der from Headquarters and therefore, in the end, at least, in a more or less routinary manner. However, they also gave opportunity for further harry­ ing of the internees which was what some of the members of the Com­ mandant’s staff took obvious satis­ faction in. Several Arrest— The Japanese were generally active in making arrests during the month. On the evening of the 3rd, Abiko sent a woman to the front gate "for refusing to obey his

425 order to move out of the short stretch of road leading to the seminary gate”. Actually she had moved several times, but not far enough to satisfy Abiko. She was kept at the gate until 9 o'clock and then ordered confined to her quarters after evening roll call until she apologized, which, at first she refused to do, but later didThe short road was declared out of bounds for all internees after roll call. Two 17-year-old boys were arrested by a sentry on the 5th, just after roll call, for being out of bounds and were taken to the front gate and kept there without food or water until 2:30 the next afternoon. On the 8th an elder­ ly internee caught stealing a papaya from the garden was arrested by a sentry and later sentenced to 5 days’ imprisonment in the camp jail. On the 16th three men were arrested at the Japanese bodega by a sentry on the charge of stealing rice, but Shiraji later dismissed them when they explained they had "merely been taking out rice sweeping and grains of rice adhering to the seams of bags returned to the bodega in accordance with permission granted by Mr. Ko­ matsu”. On the 18th, Stanley, the interpreter, was arrested by a Japa­ nese guard and taken to the front gate for questioning about a supply of cigarets he had in his possession, and in connection therewith R. Kubilus was also questioned. Their effects were searched and the next day P3,370 in military notes, taken from Kubilus, was turned over by the Commandant’s Office to the Internee Committee for camp use. He himself was sentenced to 5 days in the camp jail. Another elderly internee was arrested by a sentry on the 19th for stealing two papayas and some talinum from the garden. He attempted to bribe the sentry with a P100 note and was found to have P300 military pesos

426

in his possession over and above the permitted amount, plus some Philip­ pine and other money and was there­ upon sentenced by the Commandant's Office to 15 days in the camp jail. The P300 was turned over to the Committee for camp use, but the other currency was retained by the Commandant's Office with the expla­ nation that further information as to the disposal of his money would be given to the Committee later. Red Cross Relief Fund No. 12— Despite the fact that the sum of P178,336.32 had been re­ ceived through the Commandant's Office from the American Red Cross on November 1 (Re­ lief Fund No. 12), the camp funds were prac­ tically exhausted by the 19th, this adding to the seriousness of the food shortage which became more and more acute during the month. War Prisoners Headquarters had sti­ pulated that P48,000 of the amount turned over was to be allotted to family aid, and with the exception of an appropriation of P3,000 for individual internee cash relief, the entire balance was applied to the purchase of supplemental food and other essential supplies. At a meeting on the 18th of the Internee Committee with the members of the labor coun­ cil, division chiefs, and a number of work supervisors, at which the labor problem and particularly gardening was again taken up for consideration, Carroll said that the Committee would make efforts to obtain additional Red Cross remittances and would ask internees for further individual contributions to camp funds, but on the 20th, according to the mi­ nutes, the Commandant’s Office "advised that it had no news of any further American Red Cross relief funds likely to be available in the near future”. The canteen October surplus of P2,940.55 was turned over to the purchase of supple­ mental food on November 4. On November 6, in view of the appropriations from American Relief Fund No. 12, the allotments of P17,000 for family aid and F3,000 for individual cash relief made on October 28 were reappropriated for the purchase of food. (The total amount paid out for family aid in October was P23.804.) The Japanese special payments for October, on November 8, consisting of F18,691.25 (for "daily necessities” Pll,100, "repairs to clothing” F5,550, and “special work” P2,041.25)

THE CAMP was also appropriated for the purchase of food, except the item for "special work” which was customarily placed in a sundries fund of which C. V. Grant had charge. On the 30th, how­ ever, PI 0,000 of the latter (sundries) fund (composed chiefly of remaining funds of the old Executive Committee as distinguished from the funds of the Finance and Supplies Com­ mittee, — such as canteen profits, the Ja­ panese "special work” payments, certain con­ fiscations, etc.,) was also appropriated for food purchasing. Another item of P3,670, "mo­ ney confiscated by the Commandant’s Office from Mr. Kubilus and Mr......... and turned over to the Committee for camp use", was similarly appropriated. All such small trans­ fers, however, were but drops fn the bucket.

Camp Funds Exhausted— Another appeal for funds addressed to the in­ ternee body was broadcast over the loudspeakers in the evening of the 19th, following earlier announcements of a new reduction in the cereal ra­ tions which meant the serving of only a thin rice and water lugao at noon, as will be set forth in greater detail later in this section. The plea was as follows: "You’ll notice that the central kitchen men­ tions nothing but the schedule for cereals. As a matter of fact, the kitchen is not at all sure that there is going to be much besides cereals to worry about. The reason for this statement: the camp funds are finally and completely exhausted. Right now we are in a position where the funds at the disposal of the camp for the purchase of supplemental foods are just sufficient to cover the orders already placed. So we find ourselves unable to place further orders for foodstuffs and shall therefore be forced to suspend entirely the purchase of foodstuffs unless individual internees can and will come to the rescue of the camp. The camp would like to be able to continue purchasing coconuts at least, but even this seems impossible in the future. The Internee Committee today approached the Commandant’s Office and attempted to secure information concerning any Red Cross relief fund which might be expected some time in the future, but no information was obtained. "So, to put it bluntly, insofar as money to purchase food is concerned, the camp is broke and if we are to eat anything besides rice,

CAMP FUNDS EXHAUSTED — LOAN EXCHANGE RATES com, the few reserves on hand, and what we can produce in our own camp gardens, then money must be borrowed from individuals within the camp who have balances in the Bank of Taiwan and who are willing to let the camp borrow that money so that we can all continue to eat something besides cereal. It doesn’t matter how little the donation may be, but those who are in a position to make large donations are particularly urged to come to the aid of the camp while we are still able to buy supplemental foods, — given the mo­ ney with which to buy them. The internee bank will be open tomorrow morning and tomorrow afternoon, and we mean it, folks, the camp is broke, and the camp does want to keep on eating as well as possible and as long as possible."

A special fund for the purchase of coconuts was started, coconuts being used to make the coconut milk which when available was served with the morning mush to everybody, while much of the so-called supplemental food went not to the camp as a whole but to the hospitals and the annex line. According to an announcement over the loudspeakers on the 2nd: "Incidentally, since our announcement of two nights ago, at which time we mentioned coconuts particularly as one of the food items we might soon be saying goodbye to, there has been considerable talk about a special coconut fund. We understand that some rooms have already started filling the hat with money earmarked for the purchase of coconuts. Such donations will be very happily received. A memorandum receipt will be issued and all such money will be specifically earmarked for the purchase of coconuts. Monitors and su­ pervisors have been authorized and requested to facilitate the collection of such cash dona­ tions from anyone who may find it inconve­ nient or difficult to report directly to the finance and supplies office... “For those funds which are withdrawn from the Bank of Taiwan or turned over to the camp for general supplemental food purchas­ ing, that is money not earmarked for any specific purchase, a receipt signed by Mr. F. C. Bailey and Mr. T. J. Wolff will be given, as in the past;4 and this money will be used for the general purchase of foodstuffs on a pro rata basis throughout the camp, insofar as

427

purchasing conditions and available quanti­ ties of foodstuffs permit. Please turn in such funds or make the necessary transfers as soon as possible because the camp needs the mo­ ney to buy food while food is still available for purchase." 4Note (1945):— The Red Cross began reim­ bursement of these and other loans in Manila in July, 1945, according to a varied rate of exchange recommended by I. G. Aik, U.S. Treasury representative, in the following letter, dated July 20, and addressed to F. R. J. Ge­ rard, special representative of the American National Red Cross in Manila: "In the course of the administration of the freezing regulations in the Philippines, this office has had occasion to examine a large number of transactions involving the furnish­ ing of funds to internees in the Philippines during the Japanese occupation. We found that the rates of exchange varied greatly from those applied in normal business transactions. In part this was due to the uncertainty as to eventual collection. The rates were also af­ fected by the discounts and interest charged and the personal relationships of the parties. "In our opinion, the prevailing rates of ex­ change during the Japanese occupation, where no discounts were taken and 6% per annum interest or less was charged, are set forth in the attached schedule. As indicated above, there were many variations from these rates, but the reputable business concerns in the Philippines which furnished funds to inter­ nees uniformly did so at rates approximately those specified. "Prevailing rate of exchange for Japanese pesos furnished to internees: "1942 January to December $ 1.00 to T 2.00 1042 T o r i n o t / x V T m rO m K o r 1 1.00 RH ^ ft 72.00 HO 1943 January to November 3.00 December 1.00 lt 3.00 1.00 99 1944 January 5.00 1.00 99 February 5.00 March 1.00 99 April 5.00 1.00 ft ft 5.00 1.00 May 6.00 1.00 99 June 10.00 1.00 ft July 1.00 99 10.00 August September 1.00 99 15.00 35.00 1.00 ft October 1.00 99 50.00 November December 1.00 " 50.00 1945 January 1.00 ft 100.00 February 1.00 99 100.00 Mr. Gerard stated in August (1945) that the total claims in connection with loans to the three civilian internee camps in the Philip­ pines (Santo Tomas, Los Banos, and Baguio) then amounted to approximately (1,500,000, of which he had already paid some $ 260,000.

428

By the end of the month, donations to the general fund amounted to around PI 1,000 and to the coconut fund P13,000. However, on the 27th, the Japanese buyer for the finance and supplies section of the Comman­ dant’s Office “advised that it was now impossible for him to buy coco­ nuts”. The matter was referred to Shiraji "who promised to make his best endeavors to secure supplies of coconuts through Nacoco." These "best endeavors" were unsuccessful, and the 28th was the last day coconut milk was served with the mush.

THE CAMP

kilos of cooking-oil daily from Japa­ nese stores. No coconuts were sup­ plied by the Army. No tea or coffee was brought in. No fresh milk was delivered. The average daily calorific value of the army ration was well be­ low 1,000 for the month! The age-limit of children served what remained of the camp stocks of "Lactogen” was drastically reduced from 10 to 3 years and the use of Lac­ togen in the hospitals was cut in half. Extra food items at the hospitals and the annex were practically entirely eliminated during the month (See Red Cross Relief Fund No. 13— The indivi­ Bridgeford’s report at the end of this dual donations, generous as they were, did section). not mean much in the quantities of supplies The Bill for Unwanted Textiles— An that could be bought for the money, and to unwanted supply of textiles, for which the great relief of the Committee and the the camp was required to pay no camp generally, the Commandant’s Office, on less than P56.000, had to be sent for the next to the last day of the month, the on the 6th. At a meeting of the Inter­ 29th, "handed over P117.168.16, being relief nee Committee with the Agents that funds received from the American Red Cross... evening, Pond raised a question as to set up as Relief Fund No. 13”, Small Japanese Deliveries and Fur­ this. According to the minutes: "The use of camp funds, which were either ther Reductions in the Rations—Twen­ donated funds or Red Cross relief funds for ty-two and a half tons of rice were the purchase of textiles, when they should brought into camp by truck on the have been used for the purchase of food: 7th and about the same quantity of "Mr. Earl Carroll explained to Mr. Pond that corn the next day. Fifty-six bags of the transaction re textiles covered only a salt were brought in on the 23rd, the period of one hour. We were first advised Commandant’s Office indicating that that the amount would be P40.000, and then, day that it was "unlikely that we upon protest, that it would be P20.000, but that the materials had already been obtained and would receive any more sugar”. Headquarters' was waiting for us to send for No fresh meat or fish was delivered them. Shortly thereafter we were ordered to during the month, but 1,762 kilos of send out a detail of men to bring them in. small dried fish, served several times The bill for P56.000 was submitted after the a week during the earlier part of the goods arrived. The Commandant's Office month, provided a daily average per indicated that we had received monthly head of 16 grams as against the 50- amounts for repairs to clothing averaging gram meat-or-fish ration promised. P5.500, which would cover this purchase The vegetables delivered amounted to of textiles. The Committee feels exactly as only 3,693 kilos and fruit (bananas) the Agents feel, but it had no means of avoid­ to 413 kilos, providing an average of ing payment for this purchase.” 37.7 grams per capita daily as against The Committee had long previously the 200 of the "official ration”. No received permission to spend the Ja­ sugar was either brought in or issued. panese payments for repairs to cloth­ No cooking fats were brought in, but ing for the purchase of food. With the camp was allowed to draw 34 the receipt of the textiles, which con-

C A M P F O R C E D TO PAY FOR UNW ANTED TEX TILES

sisted chiefly of dress goods, shirts, and sewing thread,5 an mically odd situation resulted was referred to in a broadcast camp on the 22nd as follows:

under­ econo­ which to the

"The textiles recently received in camp, which go on sale beginning tomorrow, were paid for out of camp funds by order of the Commandant. When these textiles ate resold, the money will be returned to the food pur­ chasing fund. Therefore, the purchase of tex­ tiles actually amounts to an indirect dona­ tion to the camp food fund. So even if you don't need any new clothes, in this particular case new clothes mean also more food. So dress up, folks, and we'll all eat a little bet­ ter."

On the same day the textiles were brought into camp, there also arrived a quantity of soap and matches, but, according to the minutes of the 6th, the details of cost were not yet avail­ able... These are reported to be for internees but have not yet been re­ leased by the Commandant’s Office”. Some 200 cartons of cigarets and 3 bags of sugar were brought in on the 27th but — “were taken into the Commandant’s Office and not released to internees... Lt. Shiraji advised that the cigarets would be sold to workers and that the plans for the sale would be announced later. In the meantime he asked the Committee to advance F7,000 to cover the purchase cost pending sale to in­ ternees.”

The unfair manner in which these cigarets and some additional pipe to­ bacco as well as the soap and matches were distributed by the Japanese, or, rather, sold, will be recounted letter. Because of a failure of the gas sup5 The textiles were sold at cost. The cloth at from F6.17 to P12.70 a yard; the undershirts at P8.05 each. According to the minutes of the 6th, "The Commandant’s Office stated that this would probably be the last supply of textiles brought in for internees and were disappointed at our lack of appreciation of the efforts made to obtain this supply”.

429

ply on the 2nd,6*oil Shiraji finally re­ leased two loads of firewood but sup­ per could not be served that day un­ til after 6 o’clock. On the 28th, by order of the Commandant's Office, 18 men were sent out with two cara­ bao carts and four pushcarts to make two trips out of the camp to bring in firewood, bringing in the equiva­ lent of about 3 truck-loads. Fuel was 6 "I just finished reading the chapter, ‘Period of Japanese Occupation’ of your very interest­ ing ’Short History of Industry and Trade in the Philippines’ in the December issue of the American Chamber of Commerce Journal. "Allow me to congratulate you on the su­ perb presentation of conditions and tribula­ tions during times all of those who managed to survive will hardly ever forget. "As a former official of the Manila Gas Cor­ poration which, during the occupation, was ‘operated’ by the Japanese Military Adminis­ tration, I was particularly interested in your paragraph on 'Public Utilities’. "Considering the sacrifices and humiliations suffered by a handfull of Swiss key-men and scores of loyal Filipino employees, in order to maintain — under Japanese 'supervision’ — a vital public service to the population of Manila — and incidentally also to the inter­ nees in Sto. Tomas — during three black years under often almost unbearable circum­ stances, I don’t think that your short refe­ rence to the M. G. C. does justice to the ser­ vice which this utility managed to render, in spite of the Japanese, for almost the duration. “For posterity’s sake (I am convinced that your History will become an important source of reference regarding what happened in this part of the world during the occupation) I would like to correct a statement of fact in your article which is not quite accurate. "Gas-service in Manila was maintained un­ interrupted from January 2, 1942, to Novem­ ber 7, 1944, when the plant had to be shut down for lack of fuel. (The latter had con­ sisted for many months already of coconut oil in ever decreasing quantities, with coco­ nut-shells and firewood as boiler-fuel. In Nov­ ember, 1944, the fuel-starved Japanese Navy also demanded the comparatively small allot­ ment which had kept the Gas Company going until then). "In other words, gas for cooking was avail­ able for almost the entire trying period. True, new connections were prohibited, ration­ ing had to be resorted to on August 12, 1943, and again on March 1, 1944, the gas-price was increased several times, calories decreased in proportion to the inferiority of available raw-

430

THE CAMP

so short all the month that no tea or coffee could be served at break­ fast time after the 8th. As for the greater part of the month there was no coconut milk either, all that inter­ nees had for breakfast was one small dipperful of mush which the great majority could only flavor with a pinch of salt. Extra Food Servings for Men Do­ ing Heavy Labor Eliminated — For some months, the evening "heavy workers line”, at the central kitchen, which opened later than the other lines, had been serving slightly larger supper portions to the men who did the woodchopping and other heavy duty, any small surplus there might be being used for this purpose; often they got no more than the rest of the internees. On the 2nd, Carroll met with the heads of the various heavy labor sections and after a discussion it was agreed unanimously that serv­ ing such larger portions was not fair to the main body of internees and that there should be an even distri­ bution to all. However, the section chiefs insisted that the same policy be adopted in regard to the hospital and kitchens workers except for those on actual night duty. Exper­ ience in the kitchens had demonstrat­ ed that it was a practical impossibili­ ty to prevent hungry men preparing food all night to help themselves to some of it. The attempt had led to

the assignment, and then the firing and jailing of men in one crew af­ ter another, with constant disruptions in the kitchen organization. Keeping the number of workers down and serving them a meal was found to be the only solution. As for the other heavy workers, they said they would work as long and as well as they could on what food they got, and that that was all that could be ex­ pected of them. Japanese Demand “Large” Garden Crews — The Commandant’s Office still was dissatisfied with the garden­ ing work done in the camp and Shiraji on the 13th ordered that all gar­ den workers report in future outside the Commandant’s office every day at 7:30 before going on duty. Abiko the next day demanded that "highgrowing crops and papaya trees” which had been planted in private gardens in the 20-meter stretch be­ tween the barbed-wire fence and the wall "be removed before they have to be destroyed”. Onozaki summoned the Internee Committee to his office on the 16th and made specific de­ mands not only as to the number of internees to be assigned to garden work but as to the number to be taken off from other work details for this purpose. These new demands did not deter Takeda that same day from ordering that a "general clean­ up campaign” —

materials, but gas was manufactured and sent through the mains for public use until Novem­ ber 7, 1944. "I thought that, if ever you should revise your article, some of this information might be sufficiently important to warrant incor­ poration. If I can be of further help concern­ ing one or the other phase of the Manila Gas Corporations's operation during the per­ iod under review, please do hot hesitate to call on me. "Sincerely, F. Hoernlimann ("Former Assistant-Treasurer M.G.C.) c/o F. E. Zuellig, Inc., 5 Rosario”

"be started in camp, with particular reference to tidying up shanty areas, cutting of grass near the gymnasium and under the board­ walk, and cleaning up of the rear grounds between the main building and the rear gate.”

There had been heavy air raids on the 13th and 14th! A memorandum of the meeting with Onozaki ran as follows: "Mr. Onozaki stated that air raids are liable to be more frequent, and this interferes with work done in camp and supplies brought in

M ORE LABOR D EM AN D ED — RATION S DOWN TO 1,000 C A L O R IE S from the outside. Yesterday the Command­ ant's staff had a meeting with the Command­ ant, when it was decided that as gardening in this camp is of paramount importance ad­ ditional labor must be provided for this pur­ pose. According to the garden chiefs, 150 men are needed to keep the present garden area in tip-top condition, and extra men would be needed to break up new ground and bring extra land into garden production. At present, 65 men and 10 women are turning out regularly, therefore an additional 75 are needed to keep the present garden areas in condition. Their plan for the provision of this labor is to take men from other camp details as follows: "(1) Office workers, — at present 69 men, 49 women; release to gardens 18 men; "(2) Food preparation and serving, — at present 390 men, 355 women, total 745, of whom 108 men, 256 women, total 364, are en­ gaged in vegetable preparation; from the lat­ ter category 90 should be released for garden work, mostly men; "(3) Hospital orderlies and other staff, ex­ cluding nurses, — at present 80 men, 23 wo­ men; release to gardens 50; "(4) Well diggers, etc. — turn all 8 men over to gardens; “Total to be turned over to gardens from all sources, 166; total garden staff, 241. “Any special jobs requiring to be done at any time could be carried out by the men newly allocated to this garden detail. In ad­ dition, arrangements should be made for high school children and their teachers to go out twice a week in school periods to work at gardening as part of their curriculum. De­ tails of morning and afternoon shifts in order to make the best use of the available tools should be worked out with Lt. Shiraji. The Committee should study this plan and submit their ideas as quickly as possible, as the Commandant is anxious for this new plan to commence next week. "The Committee pointed out that in the case of item No. 2 almost all of the 108 men engaged in vegetable preparation and a lot of the women were quite incapable for doing any other work, being over 60 years of age and infirm; in connection with item No. 4, the 8 men were required for ditch-digging, gar­ bage pits, and other heavy details. "The Committee also explained to Mr. Onozaki that the vital factor in all camp work is food, and, in particular, calories to re­

431

place energy spent in labor. Garden produce pro­ duces no calories and the cereal position is so serious that our reserve stocks would be fi­ nished at the end of this week. These re­ serve stocks of cereal have been up to the present used to balance up weight losses on cereal received from the Japanese and the 1/2 ration allowed by the Japanese to child­ ren. If we are permitted to receive from the Japanese additional cereal ration sufficient to replace energy used, then we are only too willing to promote this additional gardening program and to see that it is properly carried out. Mr. Earl Carroll explained that the Ja­ panese ration is 300 grams gross per adult daily, children under 10 receiving only 1/2 ra­ tion. Most of the children eat as much ns adults on this reduced ration basis, and we have therefore issued full rations to children which reduces the overall gross per capita daily to 279 grams. In addition, weight losses of about 10% are experienced, which means that the actual net weight which individuals receive is only approximately 256 grams daily, which is equivalent to 1,000 calories only. The minimum number of calories required, accord­ ing to all medical authorities, is 2,000 for per­ sons doing little or no work and much more than this for persons who are actually work­ ing. Almost everyone in camp has lost ap­ preciable weight since the Japanese cereal ration was reduced in September, which means that they are using up their own flesh in car­ rying out camp work. The minimum that the Committee considers essential for the con­ tinuance of camp labor is putting children on an equal ration with adults and in making up of weight losses so that individuals receive the 300 grams which their full ration pres­ cribes. “Mr. Onozaki replied that he would take up these points with other members of the Com­ mandant’s staff, but that now they had to depend entirely upon Philippine sources for all supplies, the position is extremely diffi­ cult and he is doubtful whether any addi­ tional ration can be provided.”

All pretense that labor in the camp was voluntary had been dropped by the Japanese. Shiraji on the Supply Weight-short­ ages — Shiraji put in his oar the next day, the 17th, summoning the Committee for another discussion on the subject of food — and labor. He

432

said that instead of an increase in the ration it might "possibly have to be reduced further" and also that the canteen might have to be closed entirely. As for the heavy weightshortages in rice, he said sarcastical­ ly that "rice and com were not hand­ led normally by the gram, as valuable medicines are handled, but by the bag”, that the Army worked on "standard bag weights" and that this procedure could not be changed. He said also that "he had seen a lot of people sitting about doing little or no work, and that on the present food basis it would be better if they were put to bed and given less food so that extra food could be given to the workers”. Camp -Rice Reserve Exhausted — An immediate reduction in the food available for consumption was alrea­ dy to be faced by the camp, though the Army ration had not yet been fur­ ther cut. The camp rice reserve was exhausted. According to the minutes of that same day: “As a result of advices received from the Commandant’s Office and the virtual exhaustoin of camp reserve stocks of cereal, the Committee advised the camp that, effective tomorrow, the amount of food supplied through the kitchens would have to be fur­ ther reduced. Breakfast and evening meal will remain more or less the same as at present, but the noon meal will consist of lugao instead of boiled rice. The actual re­ duction in cereal apart from the cutting out of all breadmaking will be from about 290 grams to about 250 grams per capita daily.”

The Committee Decides on Limit­ ing Camp Activity to Only the Most Essential Work—The Committee met with internee labor officials that even­ ing, and the next day with them and also all division chiefs and a number of work supervisors. Grinnell and Carroll explained the seriousness of the situation both as regarded labor and food, bringing out the fact that

THE CAMP

the camp from now on would have "to depend mainly on the army ce­ real rations and what vegetables could be raised in camp”. Dr. Stevenson, who was present, confirmed that the Japanese medical officer on the Com­ mandant’s staff, while he recognized the inadequacy of the food supplied, offered no hope of any improvement. Carroll therefore — “ asked each division chief and work su­ pervisor to analyze his staff and the work they were doing in order to eliminate or curtail all non-essential or less essential work with a view to equalizing the burden of labor among all the persons in camp who were cap­ able of doing work; secondly, that as far as possible afternoon work details be eliminated and everyone encouraged to take as much rest as possible in the afternoons."

Carroll also asked that 75 addition­ al men be permanently assigned to the garden and that another 50 to 75 men be encouraged to do garden work in addition to their other work assignment. He said that the Com­ mittee was prepared to include men in category "b” on the list for re­ commendation for "any rewards" which the Commandant’s Office might allot to garden workers provided they put in a minimum of 20 hours gar­ dening work a week. All those pre­ sent agreed to cooperate. It was de­ cided later that all room monitors and shanty section supervisors should also carry camp work assignments in addition to their regular duties. On the 24th, the Committee held a meet­ ing with all monitors and supervisors to discuss the provision of additional labor for developing quickly still an­ other new garden project in the area behind the movie-screen west of the main plaza, and it was agreed to start the next day with a group of volun­ teers from among the camp office workers, with groups from the va­ rious buildings and shanty areas to follow.

CA M P FO O D R ESER V E EX H A U STED

Shiraji Advices the Camp to Eat the Dogs — Shiraji addressed the moni­ tors and supervisors at morning roll call on the 26th. His remarks shouted at the top of his voice were translat­ ed and broadcast that evening as follows: "On all sides complaints are heard over food shortage. The Imperial Japanese Army knows that food is short and for many weeks has urged the Internee Committee to get the garden to producing at full capacity. The only hope of more food is in the efforts of the internees to raise more. The Army may even have to cut the ration further. Hence gar­ dening is essential. If the internees do their best at gardening, then the Army will take seriously the expressions of a food shortage existing and may be able to help further. Sal­ vation lies in the hands of the internees. For two weeks the Army has urged the Internee Committee to turn out 340 regular gardeners every day. The number is as yet far short. Take the word back to every room and get all men, women, and children who are able to work to come out. Have them start to­ morrow. Give the gardens and the new cul­ tivation your best, and the Army will do its best for you. Salvation lies in your hands. Take this word to every internee.”

The contradictions in Shiraji's statement were obvious. He said that the Army knew that "food is short”, yet could not “take seriously” expres­ sions of this shortage. He said that the Army might have to cut the ra­ tions still further, yet might be able “to help further” if more gardening were done! The real temper of this man was shown in his remark on the 19 th (there was an air raid that day), when, seen in connection with a re­ commendation from the camp doc­ tors that the Commandant’s Office assist in getting rid of dogs in the camp, he "advised the Committee to collect all the dogs and kill and eat them, giving preference to the chil­ dren in the serving”. As a matter of fact, certain internees had already experimented in the preparation of

433 curried stews made from cat and dog meat; they said it did not "taste bad”, and that cat meat was more "tender” than dog meat. Even if such a course had been adopted, however, there were not enough dogs and cats in the camp for even one general serv­ ing of gravy. The Japanese in Camp Still Feast Daily — On the same day that Shira­ ji advised the internees to eat dog, one cow and five young calves were brought into camp. Shiraji said that "these were not for the internees”. There were now two carabaos, two cows, a two-year old heifer, and seven yearlings in camp, — "supposedly”, according to the minutes, "all for the Japanese except that we have been notified that the camp may use the carabaos for plowing and hauling sup­ plies”. With all the hunger in the camp, the Commandant’s Office, according to the minutes of the 5th, "continued to take ducks from the duck farm to be killed and eaten for their own food. The ducks are being taken at an average of ten per day for the use of the Commandant’s staff only”. The Unfair Distribution of a Limit­ ed Amount of Tobacco by the Japan­ ese — In the matter of the "awards” referred to, one distribution had tak­ en place on the 13th which caused much dissatisfaction. The whole camp had been crying for tobacco, especial­ ly, but what little came into camp was distributed by the Japanese to only a relatively small group, — 8 men who worked in the Japanese food bodega, 2 in the Japanese kitchen, 2 in the Japanese dining room, the man who took care of the carabaos and another who took care of the ducks, 4 grass cutters, "Ace” Steel and his group of workers numbering 10 who did special work for the Japa­ nese, 19 men in the carpentry shop.

434

the chief electrician, the chief plumb­ er, the University custodian, Grinnell’s stenographer, 66 garden workers who has worked regularly during October, and one other individual, a sort of general factotum noted for his friend­ liness to the Japanese. Each of these persons was permitted to buy 1 package of picadura tobacco, 1 piece of soap, 2 boxes of matches, and 8 bananas for P5.90. Smuggled-in to­ bacco was selling at this time at PI 20 (old Philippine pesos) and could no longer be bought at any price for mi­ litary notes. The Committee mi­ nutes of that day noted that the Com­ mittee had “not been consulted or ad­ vised in any way of this distribution’’. "It was decided to write to the Comman­ dant pointing out that owing to shortage of supplies, the majority of internees were in need of tobacco, soap, matches, and bananas, and expressing the hope that arrangements could be made for a general distribution of these commodities, and that, failing this, the selected list of workers should be extended to include many others who are doing long hours of heavy work on camp details.”

On the 14th, Shiraji permitted 19 more workers to buy the special sup­ plies. He turned over 2,200 bananas to the camp for distribution to the children and the sick in the hospital. The unfair distribution of especial­ ly the tobacco and matches was inter­ preted by many in the camp as a Ja­ panese effort to promote division among the workers and ill-feeling be­ tween other internees and a group of colored men who had become cooks, waiters, etc. to the Japanese. A case of interest in connection with the labor problems of the camp was that of one internee and his two sons whose arrest had been ordered on November 27 by the Committee on Order for failure to appear before it to answer charges of refusing to accept work assignments and who thereupon insisted on being taken be­

THE CAMP

fore the Japanese. The elder internee charged the Internee Committee with persecuting him, and Takeda, who heard the case, said that the man and his sons were definitely in the wrong for not having accepted the work as­ signments to the camp garden, made on the 14th, but he asked that since they had now “developed such an at­ titude with reference to working for the camp as to make it undesirable for them to accept a camp assign­ ment", whether they "wished to work for the Japanese”. They answered that they would work for the Japanese within the limits of their physical abi­ lities, and were then told to report to Komatsu the following morning for work. They were put to work in the Japanese garden. Regular and voluntary workers showed a good spirit, turning up in excess numbers during the next few days, although many of them were too weak actually to do very much. On the days the carabaos were used to haul in firewood, many of the volun­ teers had to be turned away, and this may have given Shiraji a new idea on the 29th when he ordered the preparation of plans for the construc­ tion of emergency latrines, to accom­ modate 50 men, near the pavilion in which Japanese soldiers were quar­ tered. He indicated also that he was thinking of similar latrines in the shanty areas. According to the mi­ nutes, "in response to a question from Mr. Earl Carroll, Lt. Shiraji stated that the emergency latrine near the pavilion was for the use of internees”! Another Draft for Los Banos—What was after all a climactic ending came near the close of the month with the order of another transfer to Los Ba­ nos. This came on the 28th. "The Commandant’s Office (Mr. Ohashi) ad­ vised the Committee that a further transfer to Los Banos was contemplated and that it

W ARNING A G A IN ST EATIN G G A R B A G E AND PO ISO N O U S PLAN TS should submit a list by Friday (the 1st of December) of between 150 and 200 names of potential transferees for consideration by Headquarters. Persons to be transferred should not be too sick but those least able to assist in the maintenance of the camp on account of their age or physical condition. The trans­ fer, if made, would be by truck and not pecessarily at one time, but spread over several trips. In response to a question from the Committee, Mr. Ohashi stated that there was no intention on their part to take any more of the education building for their own re­ quirements."

The Committee first called for vo­ lunteers to go to Los Banos, and 110 volunteered, most of them in the be­ lief that conditions, especially with respect to food, were probably better at Los Banos than in Santo Tomas. This left at least 40 more to be draft­ ed, and the Committee decided to in­ clude in the draw unattached men and women, and married couples without children, 50 years of age and over, whose retention was not considered essential to the maintenance of the camp and whose health did not pre­ clude their making the journey to Los Banos. The list was completed and posted on the 1st, but was then dis­ approved by the Commandant’s Of­ fice on the ground that no man un­ der 18 or over 50 could be permitted to go. Consequently a new list had to be made up. Changes in the Internee Organiza­ tion—Changes in the internee organi­ zation were few. The trimonthly elec­ tion for monitors held during the first week of the month resulted in a change in three floor monitorships and in 26 room monitorships, most of the latter occurring in the women’s rooms in the main building and an­ nex. The term of office of G. H. Evans as chairman of the Monitors Council having expired, he also re­ signed as chief of the social services division, the Internee Committee hereupon appointing H. G. Lyman

435

chief of this division, he continuing to serve also as chief of the housing division. The Monitors Council elect­ ed L. L. Rocke, chairman, and W. J. Percival, secretary. On November 6 the Committee ap­ pointed A. S. Schwartz chief of the food processing division in place of T. J. Pratt who had resigned. On the 30th, the Committee appointed C. V. Schelke as head of kitchens (chief of the division of food preparation and service), to coordinate the work of all kitchens, — central, annex, hospital, isolation hospital, and soft diet kit­ chens. The Internee Committee also decided that no person dismissed for cause from any camp detail involving the handling, processing, and serving of food should be reassigned to such a position. Warning against Eating Garbage and Poisonous Plants—A characteris­ tic broadcast of the month was that of the 30th which warned internees against the use for food of various strange plants on the campus, some of which were poisonous. The broad­ cast also "emphasized and repeated” that the use of "condemned vegetables and garbage” must be discontinued. It ended with a warning against the smoking of papaya leaves because this was said to affect the vision. "First we have a report about strange plants and vegetables which people are eating these days. The sub-committee on public health in­ forms us that, along with the recent increase in dysentery, both amoebic and bacillary, there have been a number of cases of food poisoning in which the cause could be traced to the use of strange plants for food. Consul­ tations with a number of horticultural ex­ perts have been held to determine which plants should be proscribed and, as a result, the following announcement: "The following are definitely harmful: "1. Hibiscus leaves. These leaves are irritant to the intestinal tract. When taken in large quantities, they act as a purgative. They have no food value, are definitely harmful, and should not be taken as a laxative.

436

THE CAMP

leaves. This may be due to improper curing "2. Canna-lily bulbs and roots. The variety of canna-lily which is present in camp has and ageing, but, in any case, it is better to stop smoking than risk permanent damage to no food value and is irritant to the intestinal tract. The small canna-lily which has some the eyesight." starch in the root unfortunately is not pre­ Dreams about Food—As one man sent in camp, and the type which we do have put it: "I have never been hungry is definitely harmful. "3. There are several varieties of little-used before; I just thought I was”. There was much dreaming about food am­ plants, one of which is the Cannabis subtilis ...I t is a relative of Indian hemp and is re­ ong internees. One man said he lated to Cannabis indica, which is definitely dreamed of food every night. Often poisonous. Therefore, Cannabis subtilis should one would awaken oneself by his not be eaten. teeth snapping. This sometimes hap­ "There is another group of native plants pened involuntarily even when awake. which necessitates extreme care in prepara­ Most of the dreams, if not all of them, tion. First, the core of the banana tree. While it is of little food value, it may be used for ended in some sort of frustration even its fibrous content to provide bulk or rough- in the dream itself. For instance, a age. The heart of the root is also edible. Both man dreamed that he was in a large should be soaked in salt water, washed, tho­ restaurant. He called a waiter and roughly boiled, and the water discarded. ordered a fine dinner, a nice, thick "Second, the taro root, commonly called onion soup, beefsteak fried in butter, gabi. Gabi should be soaked overnight in salt boiled potatoes, cauliflower with water and boiled. It should not be confused with the plant called elephant-ears, which is sauce sprinkled with nutmeg, etc. He poisonous. The gabi cortex contains a con­ But the waiter did not return. siderable amount of oxalic acid and should called another waiter and repeated his not be used. In other words, don’t use the order, but this man did not return peeling because it is poisonous. either. Then he got up from his table "Third, cassava-root, or kamoteng kahoy. and started looking for the manager. This root contains prussic acid in its cortex. When he found him at last he asked Consequently the peelings are definitely poison­ what the matter was. Wasn’t his mo­ ous. After peeling carefully, cassava-root should be cut into small pieces and washed ney good enough? The manager apo­ in three or four waters, then boiled, and the logized and called another waiter who water discarded. took his order and who finally ap­ Fourth, pigweed and wild kolitis are edible peared with a large platter of steam­ and should give no trouble... ing and savory food, but then the "In this same connection, it must again be dreamer got an uncomfortable feeling emphasized and repeated that the use of con­ demned vegetables and garbage must be dis­ that after all he was only dreaming continued. Parents are urged to warn their and then he woke up, without even children not to pick up discarded food. While getting a dream-taste! Many men as it is realized that everyone is hungry, we well as women spent hours in read­ must not become panicky. It would not do ing cookbooks and in discussing me­ to be permanently crippled, insofar as our nus and special dishes. Others obtain­ intestinal tracts are concerned, for the sake ed recipes from their friends for va­ of a few morsels of food. Children and even rious delicacies they promised them­ adults have been scooping spilled mush from selves they would try their hand at the serving counters and from the ground and preparing when and if, — they now eating such refuse... began to say, they ever got away "Now a few words about smoking. While papaya leaves are not generally considered as from Santo Tomas. Rumors of a New Shipment of Red poisonous when smoked, there have been n number of instances where damage to the Cross Supplies—Strong rumors about vision has followed the smoking of papaya Red Cross supplies having reached

DREAM S A BO U T FOO D

Manila began circulating during the month. Months before there had been talk of such supplies having reached Vladivostok, and in August a woman internee was said to have been inform­ ed by her husband, — an uninterned foreigner, that he had seen Canadian comfort kits in a bodega in the city which had arrived in April. After nearly three years, the Santo Tomas camp was still held practically incom­ municado, and there still was no dele­ gate of the International Red Cross in Manila. According to the "Prisoners of War Bulletin” of November, 1943, published in Washington, D. C. by the American Red Cross, a copy of which was received by a Catholic priest in the camp in a private letter which somehow got past the censor,—

437 soners held by Japan have so far been un­ successful."

A copy of the Manila Tribune of October 28, smuggled into Santo To­ mas, was said to be have contained a brief item to the effect that a Japanese ship was leaving Vladi­ vostok on the 27th with 1,500 tons of Red Cross supplies on board for American prisoners of war and in­ terned civilians in the Far East. That such an item had actually appeared in the paper was fairly generally be­ lieved, although no one could be found who claimed to have seen it himself. The story was soon all around the camp and was the princi­ pal subject of conversation. Before long the rumors were that the sup­ plies had reached Manila and the bill "The reports received and summarized from of lading had been seen on the Com­ time to time in this Bulletin on camps in mandant’s desk, and that the Inter­ Japan, Formosa, and occupied China, have nee Committee had been informed of been based on visits by delegates of the In­ this but had been ordered to say no­ ternational Red Cross Committee and other responsible authorities who had access to the thing about it. So much excitement camps reported on. Thus far, however, the was created that Grinnell unofficially Japanese Government has not permitted the approached Ohashi and Hiroshi on appointment of I. R. C. C. delegates in the the subject but they said- that they Philippines, nor visits to the camps by any had no information. other neutral authorities. Efforts have been An announcement to this effect was continuously made to secure the appointment made over the loudspeakers at the of I. R. C. C. delegates to the Philippines.1' end of the regular camp news broad­ Another item in this Bulletin, un­ cast on the evening of the 15th: der the heading, "Questions and An­ "...Finally, the Internee Committee wishes swers", ran as follows: “Q. My son is a prisoner of war in the Philip­ pines and we have heard nothing from him since his capture. Do you have a full list of the names of prisoners there, and why don’t you publish reports on Philippines camps, the same as you have on camps in Formosa and Tokyo? "A. Many prisoners known to have been cap­ tured in the Philippines have still to be re­ ported by the Japanese Government to the Central Agency at Geneva. Capture-cards have recently been received in considerable numbers from prisoners of war held by Japan, some of whom had not been previously reported to the Central Agency. All the efforts made by the I. R. C. C. to obtain complete lists of pri­

to make a statement. Because of the delete­ rious effect which certain stories may have on private stocks of food, the Internee Com­ mittee wishes to state that it has received no information, official or otherwise, indivi­ dually or collectively, regarding any comfortkits or other relief supplies, — stories, rumors, or reports to the contrary notwithstanding. And with that, we say goodnight.”

That should have settled the mat­ ter, at least for the time being, but the hungry camp would not admit a defeat of its hope. One internee was heard to say immediately after the broadcast, "Now I know it is true!"

THE CAMP

438

A copy of La Vanguardia of No­ vember 28 was said to have reached an internee and to have carried a brief item stating that the Red Cross supplies had reached Manila. This report appeared to be substantiated, though unofficially, during the next few days, and was accepted as fact. The question remained as to whether and when the supplies would be brought into camp and distributed. The Internee Committee hesitated about inquiring about the matter of­ ficially on the basis of information it was not supposed to have, fearing that this might result in a “punishment” of the whole camp, possibly a post­ ponement of an already scheduled distribution so desperately needed. Vitamin Tablet Supply Exhausted — The number of new hospital cases, 243, was about the same as for October, 258, but the total number, including cases carried forward, was slightly larger, 459 as against 434. New cases of dysentery decreased from 42 in October to 9 in November, but new cases diagnosed "intestinal disorders” numbered 105 as against 57 in October. The number of diagnoses of diet deficiency increased sharply from 485 in October to 653 in November. Little could be done for such cases either of a dietary or medical nature. The supply of even the Vita­ min tablets, which, received in the 1943 Red Cross shipment, proved of great value during the whole past year, ran out during the month.

November Deaths—Deaths of inter­ nees in the camp numbered 12 for the month; deaths of internees in outside hospitals and released to their homes numbered 5 more. The 12 who died in camp were all men and all Ameri­ cans, ranging in age from 54 to 77. Besides Major Wilfrid Turnbull, whose death was ascribed to myocarditis. Dried fish Vegetable and fruit

1762.4 kilos 4106.8 kilos (gross) —

they included G. B. Obear, 65, former head of the physics department of the University of the Philippines (myocarditis and beriberi); W. W. Harris, 72, well known lumber and mining magnate (dysentery and heart); John Gordon, 72, prominent contrac­ tor (coronary thrombosis); H. V. Umstad, 58, of the International Har­ vester Company; and E. A. Heise, 72, another well known mining man; E. G. Hoffman, 58, manager of the Tide­ water & Associated Oil Company, Ma­ nila. Those who died outside the camp included 4 men aged from 74 to 79, and a woman aged 35. But hope springs eternal. . . The meal tickets issued on the last day of November for the following month did not read "DECEMBER, 1944". They read; “THE LAST MONTH OF 1944”. Some internees grinned, some sighed as they noticed this. Bridgeford's Report — Bridgeford’s November report was of unusual in­ terest.6 6"The only staples brought into camp during November amounted to 22.6 tons of rice. 20.05 tons of corn, and 54 bags of salt. Of this quantity, the Army has withdrawn 2.01 tons of rice, leaving a total amount of 40.64 tons of the two cereals available, as far as we are aware, for the camp. “No sugar, cooking-fats, tea or coffee were brought in and no accounts were supplied by the Army. Sufficient salt and cooking oil re­ mained in stock to cover the ration for the month, but no sugar and only a little coffee was available for us. "No fresh fish or meat was delivered dur­ ing the month. We were allowed to draw 73 kilos of dried fish daily while supplies lasted, but stocks in the Japanese bodega were ex­ hausted on the 23rd of November and no further supplies have been brought in. "Deliveries of perishables (including the above-mentioned dried fish) have been made as follows: 16.2 grams daily per capita against 50 grams official ration 37.7 grams daily per capita against 200 grams official ration

BRIDGEFORD'S NOVEMBER FOOD REPORT

439

"The following special deliveries were made, not included in the above figures: Nov. 14, 2,202 saba bananas .............................. delivered by the Japanese office for the use of children and the sick. Nov. 21, 2,022 kilos camoteng cahoy ................made available for use by the Japanese on condition that a further quantity of some 1,100 kilos was processed by us into cassava flour for their account. "No fresh milk was delivered by the Army during November.” "The regular vegetables and fruit deliveries amounted to only 3,693 kilos of vegetables and 413 kilos of bananas, a total of 4,106 kilos. The vegetables comprised chayotes and white radishes chiefly, and some camotes, kangkong, and pechay, and 19 kilos of spring onions and 1.4 kilos of garlic greens! The quality was about the same as in previous months, but the quantity again showed a 50% decline, thus bearing out the warning given us by the Army during October . "Although there was no change in the army ration of 300 grams per capita, rice consump­ tion by the camp had to be reduced at the middle of the month owing to the depletion of the bodega reserves which had previously been used to supplement the official ration... Effective November 18, therefore, we ceased supplementing the army ration. This ration of 300 grams per capita nominal is equivalent to 281.4 grams after allowance for the child­ ren’s 1/2 rations. Short-weights and process­ ing losses had been running a minimum of 9%, thus reducing the effective daily per ca­ pita issue of cereals by actual weight to about 255 grams, against 316 last m onth...The greater part of the reduction was taken on the noon meal, which was reduced to lugao.. However, no leeway was now available for baking at the central kitchen and a further saving was made in this quarter, although difficulties with the oven would have eliminated baking anyway. The amount of flour used for thick­ ening was reduced to' a minimum.. .Fortunate­ ly, immediately after this drastic reduction, it became evident that the weights of the new army rice and corn, delivered in November and now being used for the first time, were vastly more satisfactory than any we had previously experienced.. .As a result of this unexpected good fortune, it was possible to amend the estimated weight discount figure almost immediately from 9% to 4% and later 3%, thus increasing the net amount of cereal available for use first to 269 grams and then to 273 grams... "As of November 30, total stocks in the custody of the Army amounted to 10,930 kilos rice and 8,550 kilos corn, total 19,480 kilos. At the rate of 300 grams per capita daily... this stock would last till the issue of Decem­ ber 19. “Our stock of emergency biscuits at the end of November had declined to about 17,000, owing to our inability to replace them. We have

ceased issuing them on the line for the time being and hope to keep these biscuits in good condition by occasionally rebaking. It is hoped that a sufficient oven temperature can be de­ veloped for at least this purpose. "No sugar was either brought into camp or issued to us during the month; there are no stocks in the Japanese bodega. "Salt withdrawals were approximately equal to the ration. Two issues, each 167 grams, were made to all internees during the month. The last issue exhausted our stock and it is doubtful if present usage by the kitchens will permit the (accumulation of sufficient stocks to make any further general distribu­ tion. "We have been allowed to withdraw 34 kilos of cooking oil daily; however, the Japanese have just advised (December 6) that the ra­ tion will be reduced by 50%, effective Decem­ ber 8. "We took delivery of the last sack of green coffee in the Japanese bodega. This was our only withdrawal, amounting to 60% only of the official ration for the m onth... "According to my records, the record sum of P312,802 was spent on supplementary food purchases during November. This figure, as well as the corresponding figures of previous months was net after deduction of amounts recoverable by resale to the camp canteen, which totalled F5,562 in November. The prin­ cipal items of expenditure were the following: — vegetables, P184.197; fruit, P8.840; fresh milk, P27,280; eggs, P38.880; coconuts, P53,160; other foodstuffs P6.087; total, P318.364; resale to can­ teen, F5,562, total, P312.802. "Prices rose rapidly until the middle of the month when some degree of stabilization ap­ peared to set in and there were slight re­ cessions in some instances, notably in cassavaflour. Fresh supplies, however, are reported very scarce indeed and naturally the quanti­ ties we were able to buy even with the in­ creased expenditures were more limited than ever. "Carabao milk, P88 a gallon on November 15; duck eggs, P10 each on October 1. P15.00 on November 15, P17 on November 30; bana­ nas, P4 each on October 31, unobtainable during November; spring onions, P20 a kilo on October 31, P42 on November 31, P42 on November 15, unobtainable on November 30; green peppers, P28 a kilo on October 31, P40 on November 15, unobtainable on November 30; bean-sprouts, P19 a kilo on October 31, P30 a kilo on November 15, still P30 on November

440

THE CAMP

30; chayotes, P25 a kilo on October 31, P43 on November 15, P45 on November 30; squash, P30 a kilo on October 31, P49 on November 15, P45 on November 30; sitao string beans, P28 a kilo on October 31, P52 on November 15, P72 on November 30; calamancis, P280 a basket on October 31, price varied between P262 and F460 during November; coconuts, P5.75 each on October 31, price varied between P7.80 and P7.20 during November. "Owing to rapid depletion of funds available for supplementary purchases, orders given to the Japanese buyer had to be reduced dras­ tically during the second half of the month. We could not in any circumstances spend more than F7,000 daily and had only a very limited number of days' supply of funds at this level, so only the extreme minimum of items most needed by the camp could be afforded. The basic list was decided upon as follows:

"No further coffee has been bought. Fuel difficulties have prevented the serving of hot beverages, with the result that accumulated stocks of coffee are sufficient to make alter­ nate day servings for 1 month ... "The camp vegetable garden delivered 24,932 lbs. of fresh vegetables to the kitchen during the month, in addition to 2,800 lbs. supplied to individuals. The latter issue (camote-tops through the old vegetable market) had to be discontinued owing to the necessity of giving all available food to the kitchens. The total crop of peanuts was divided pro rata among the various kitchens and sufficed in the case of the central kitchen to make up a peanut gravy which was very acceptable. With the supply of food from outside sources dwindling so rapidly, the garden is acquiring great im­ portance in our food supply. “As food scarcity has become more acute, it has been more and more necessary to cur-

Aprox.Cost P2250 1500 1600 1700 1300 1500 P9850.

Purpose Milk for entire camp Entire camp pro rata Entire camp pro rata Babies and hospital cases of most need Babies and hospital soft diets Babies and hospital soft diets

"Fresh carabao milk was eliminated from our orders as it was felt that its quality was so low that the limited amount of money avail­ able would be better spent on other items. A drastic readjustment of the children’s milk allowance had to be made which will be re­ ferred to later. "In actual practice, coconuts have not been available since these final economies became necessary and the Japanese buyer indicates that he is unable to procure any more for the camp. Calamancis have been supplied only very rarely, so that expenses have fallen be­ low the above figure. Funds have therefore lasted rather longer than estimated, helped also by the timely receipt of a Red Cross re­ mittance from the United States. Additional cash has been subscribed by internees, both for general purposes and for the specific pur­ chase of coconuts, and we therefore enter De­ cember still able to buy on a strictly limited scale and to take advantage to some extent of any opportunity that may arise to purchase coconuts through official army channels. "It was possible to serve coconut milk daily up to November 28, when our stock of nuts became exhausted. All nuts used during the month were purchased, none having been sup­ plied by the Army. "Renewed efforts have been made by your Committee to secure peanuts, although with no success as yet. As a matter of interest, 1 am informed that the price of mongo beans is currently P7,500 a sack.

tail the extra foods it has been our policy to give the children and the sick. There has had to be a steady tendency in this direction for many months past, due to the worsening food situation, and by November we had reached a point where such extras were practically neg­ ligible. I think it fitting in this report to out­ line the present distribution policy to the mi­ nority groups as compared to the central kit­ chen: "Annex — Children over 2 years old received food on the same basis as if they were on the central kitchen lines. The use of rice and corn is slightly lower per capita although more flour is used against less cereal in the mush. Dried-fish and canned meat are on the same basis as the central kitchen. Vegetables to this group are on the whole lower than the central kitchen. "The serving of milk to children over 3 had to be discontinued on November 22, which ac­ tion at the same time drastically reduced the sugar consumption at the annex. "The only extras which at times it may be possible to provide children over 2 are the following: (1) very occasionally there may be a few eggs available; (2) if the camp has a small number of bananas, insufficient for the central kitchen but sufficient for this group, children over 2 may receive a banana; (3) cake or ricebread may occasionally be baked for them, a small quantity of sugar being used for this purpose. "Children under 2 years old and those on a

Item Coconuts Bean-sprouts Calamancis Duck eggs Chayotes Squash

Amount 300 50 kilos 4 baskets 100

30 kilos 30 kilos

BRIDGEFORD’S REVEALING NOVEMBER REPORT CONCLUDED

441

special diet list by doctors’ certificate are still through February next year”. getting the following items: (1) milk accord­ Under the heading, "General”, Bridgeford ing to age up to 3 years; the amount used is stated the following (in part); limited to 2-1/2 cans Lactogen daily); (2) an "There was a further serious deterioration egg-dish whenever possible, at present about in camp food supply conditions during No­ 2 or 3 times weekly; (3) bananas when only vember and about the only comfort which very small numbers are available; (4) puree could be extracted from the situation vegetables such as squash and chayotes and was that we had always realized we vegetable soups. On the other hand, children would have to go through such a period be­ in this group naturally receive substantially fore the end of our internment, so that the less rice and corn than the elder groups. The sooner it came the better. Incidentally, peo­ number of children involved is usually about ple are beginning to appreciate how compara­ 60 or 70. tively fortunate they were during the first "Santa Catalina Hospital— All regular pa­ 2-1/2 years of this camp’s existence in spite tients and staff receive cereals, meat or fish, of what they may have thought at the time. canned goods, and vegetables on exactly the While practically everyone in camp has lost same basis as internees receiving food from weight to a considerable extent over the en­ the central kitchen lines. If fruit is available tire period, November saw the most obvious in quantities insufficient for the central kit­ change in their general appearance. Faces chen but sufficient for hospital patients, it acquired a drawn aspect, chronic physical ex­ may occasionally be served to the latter. A haustion became general, the symptoms of little jam is also occasionally made available deficiency diseases became wider spread and to regular patients. A very small amount of more obvious to the layman, and actual mor­ milk (1/2 can Lactogen daily), a few egos tality increased sharply among the weaker and whenever possible, bananas, and calamancis older groups. The shortage of food has re­ when small numbers are available, puree cha­ sulted in a number of features symptomatic yotes and squash, a few cans meat-and-vege- of semi-starvation. Domestic animals have been table-ration daily for soups, and a small is­ killed and eaten in some cases, the leaves and sue of biscuits and jam constitute the extra roots of unaccustomed plants have been cooked items provided for patients in special need. for food, while inability and disinclination to A little amount of pudding making is done withstand, even at this stage, a comparatively in which rice-flour saved from the straight empty stomach has led to the highly dangerous cereal ration is used; a small quantity of sugar and disgusting practice of salvaging condemned vegetables and decaying matter from the camp is used for this purpose. "Isolation hospital— The procedure is simi­ garbage. "Dr. Smith has provided me with the fol­ lar to that of Santa Catalina, with the ex­ ception that tuberculosis patients receive about lowing figures calculated by the department 16% more rice and corn than the average for of camp hygiene in regard to calorific values the camp; this permits more baking to be in the central kitchen food supplied by the done. The milk consumption at this hospital Army and by our own efforts since February 1. These figures are very illuminating, par­ is limited to 1/4 can Lactogen daily. "Soft-diet line— Quantities and items used ticularly when it is borne in mind that for are in exact proportion to the central kitchen the first 4 or 5 months of this period many usage, the only difference being in the pre­ internees were still using their own stocks of food and not living fully on the line, with the paration of the food. "A drastic change in issue policy in regard result that those who did rely on the line to Lactogen was effected during the month. received at that time substantially more than Up to November 22, milk was provided for all the average caloric value here indicated: Month children up to 10 together with a group of Army Camp Total some 80 underweight 'teen age children, the February 1452 333 1785 fresh carabao milk purchased being supple­ March 1668 408 2076 mented by the use of Lactogen and sugar. At April 1380 340 1720 the rate the Lactogen was being used, how­ 1502 May 450 1952 ever, stocks would have been exhausted before June 1740 372 2112 the end of the year, even apart from the stop­ July 1320 401 1721 page of the fresh milk supply, and the in­ August 1362 502 1864 creased demand from pregnancies and newly September 1229 496 1725 born children. Largely to protect the latter October 1021 381 1402 group (we could hardly do otherwise), it was The November figures. which have not yet agreed with the camp doctors to make the drastic cut to an age limit of 3 on the issue been evaluated, will unquestionably disclose of milk to children and to reduce hospital a further drastic decline in the energy value usage by about half. As a result of this the of the food. The army contribution was well life of the Lactogen stock can be extended below 1,000 calories and the camp supplement

THE CAMP

442

very sharply lowered due both the reduced and will become the more so, for since the purchases and to the exhaustion of available main part of this report was written, we rice reserves. Just as important is the grave have again encountered extremely low weight lack of protein in the diet. Unfortunately, fail­ in the rice delivered by the army. There is ing the arrival of substantial relief supplies, no doubt that the cereal usage will have to there is no prospect of any improvement in be further reduced, probably as low as 240 the future and every indication points to the grams. I have already referred to the ex­ reverse. Of the army rations, no fresh meat haustion of camp funds and the extremely or fish has been received for the past 6 weeks, small quantities of food which can be bought and we are informed that even dried-fish is at present high prices. Chances of our get­ no longer available for us. Deliveries of army ting coconuts appear poor. Our canned goods vegetables and fruit have declined to almost are all but exhausted after having been eked out by one means and another beyond all nothing and our own garden production can estimates. In short, the situation, bad as it not replace them to any very appreciable ex­ is, will almost certainly become worse be­ tent where as many as 4,000 people have to fore it improves unless substantial relief sup­ be fed. The army is giving us no sugar, and plies are received." of course, no tea or coffee. The cooking-oil SUMMARY OF THE JAPANESE RATIONS ration has just been cut in half. The diet, SINCE FEBRUARY — Bridgeford appended a to all practical purposes, consists of rice and section on "Usage of Army Supplies since corn, of which there is sufficient in camp February, 1” which ran as follows: to last some 3 weeks. Since no more of our "The following tables show the declining old reserve stock is recognized, however, the quantities of army supplies provided for the amount we are able to use is very inadequate camp since February 1: Official ration (nominal weight per capita, Japanese basis). 400 grams rice and com 400 grams rice, camotes, coconuts, etc. on basis of camotes (gross weight) equalling 1/3 the value of an equivalent weight of rice. The use of supplementary camp rice was un­ restricted. 300 grams rice and com. We were restrict­ ed to the use of 40 grams camp rice to sup­ plement this ration up to October 14. After October 14, we were also allowed to make up short-weight with camp rice. After Nov­ ember 18, camp rice was no longer available to supplement the ration.

"(1) Rice, com, and cereal substitutes February 1 to May 29 May 30 to September 13

September 14 to November 30

"During February. March, and April, we were unable to consume the full army ration. The resulting accumulated overage was con­ sumed, however, in May and June over and above army rations for these months. There­

after, up to the end of November, camp re­ serve rice stocks have been used to a total of 28,106 kilos to supplement army rations. Since February 1, 2,950 kilos of camp reserve corn have also been consumed.

The position of Finance and Supplies Committee cereals is as follows: Original stock of rice and com .................................................................................. 52,878 kilos Consumed in addition to army ration .................................................. 31,056 kilos Unreconciled with the Army .................................................................. 16,684 " 47,740 Current stock and unconsumed issues Nov. 3 0 .................................................................. 5,138 " (This meant that the Japanese had confiscated some 16 tons out of the camps’ 53 tons of reserve rice and corn, around 1/3 of it.) "(2) Other Army rationed supplies amounts withdrawn or issued to the camp (grams per capita, Japanese basis) Salt Coffee- Milk (gals. Cooking Sugar Veg./ Meat/ fats Fruit tea Fish February March April May

59.9 77.2 67.0 55.1

188.6 209.6 239.1 240.7

6.6 4.5 8.4 7.7

20.4 20.0 26.4 4.1

19.9 15.6 24.2 25.8

1.0 1.0

— —

1.4 0.3

—

MORE INTERNEES SENT TO LOS BANOS June July August September October November Original ration

38.5 27.1 27.4 28.0 18.8 16.2 50.0

443

6.6 0.6

215.4(a) 235.3 174.5 161.0 72.9(b) 37.7(c)

11.5 10.3 10.3 9.0 9.1 9.4

17.4 18.0 5.4 —

200.0

20.0

20.0

# Exclusive of special deliveries as follows: The Smuggled Supplies — Bridgeford cally canned foodstuffs smuggled in and These were: Locally canned foodstuffs Receipts September 1920 cans October 2739 " November 1041 ” December 1-21 616 "

28.7 25.5 24.9

1.3 1.0

0.6

22.2

1.3

1.1 0.6

20.7 19.8 25.0

1.0

7.4 7.1 4.2 — —

—

10.0

(a) 10.6 gins., (b) 6.6 gms., (c) 18.6gms.

did not include in his report the supplies of lo­ secretly added to the kitchen preparations.

Issues 1671 cans 1873 ” 2156 ” 478 ”

Red kidney beans Receipts 80 kilos 185 " 117 ” 37 "

Chapter XXIII End of the Third Year Departure of 150 More Internees for Los Banos —The 150 internees trans­ ferred to Los Banos left the camp at 2:45 on the morning of the 5th of De­ cember, going by train instead of truck. The list had had to be revised several times, and the Internee Com­ mittee submitted its list of the 3rd with a letter — "stating the circumstances under which this list has been prepared by order of the Com­ mandant’s Office and advising that, owing to the inadequate time given for medical exam­ ination of the transferees, the Committee could accept no responsibility for their physical con­ dition.”

Four men from Los Banos returned to Santo Tomas about 6 o’clock that same day, having left Los Banos after the Manila group had arrived there at around 11. Three of them came to rejoin their families in Santo Tomas and one required medical treatment. As to conditions at Los Banos, J. L. Manning, a member of the adminis­ trative committee there, who was one of the four, was asked by the Santo

Tomas Internee Committee to write a brief report, which he did. The re­ port indicated that in regard to food, the conditions there were somewhat better than in Santo Tomas. The Manning Report on Conditions in Los Banos—Food Basic ration, 400 grams daily; 200 grams per child under 10. Breakdown: 100 grams raw corn,—10% to 16% short in sacks at issue; 150 grams raw rice, — 5% short-weight; ba­ lance 150 grams, — coconuts (bulk weight in shell), greens, vegetables, camotes, meat. (Camotes are figured at 150 grams raw for subs­ titution of 50 grams grain issue); 24 kilos salt daily for camp. Our own garden produce grown in camp is not additional as the Japanese authorities de­ duct our daily harvest in kilos from their issue... we must sign receipt for our own gar­ den produce as if it were supplied from the outside by the Japanese and no notation is permitted on said receipt indicating origin of the produce. Wood supplies as gathered in the Makiling forest, logged by our men, and hauled into camp by manpower and bullsleds, cons­ titute our only fuel. We must also sign for this fuel on a receipt at an arbitrary number of kilos of wood per internee per day and no notation is permitted on said receipt indi­ cating the source of supply. Meals are served at 9 a.m. (breakfast) and

444

The New Hospital at the Gymnasium —In order to accommodate the in­ creasing number of persons who need­ ed a certain degree of hospitalization, the Internee Committee early in the month met with members of the me­ dical staff and some others to discuss a proposal to move the old men’s hospital, on the second floor of the education building, — which had had already to be shifted once from the

THE CAMP

ground floor, to the gymnasium. Though the distance of the gymnasium from the other buildings presented difficulties, it was decided that the move was nevertheless desirable. The gymnasium would remain under Johns’ monitorship, but the hospital section would otherwise be under the control

approximately 2 dozen cloves of garlic a month at 90 centavos each; approximately 1/4 liter of cooking-oil a month at P110 a liter. No other supplies of any kind have been avail­ at 4:30 p.m. (supper) daily. Breakfast consists able in the canteen for some time. Finances of mush — 70% corn meal, 30% rice; ration permitting, all soap, cigarets, matches re­ approximately the same as at Santo Tomas, ceived are issued at no charge to internees. but generally somewhat thicker. Supper con­ Hsalth. In the opinion of the medical direc­ sists of 1/2 pint stew containing various am­ tor, Dr. D. W. Nance, the diet has resulted in ounts of green papayas, camote-tops, cinca- diet deficiencies in varying degrees in practi­ mas, garlic, onions, and salt. The Japanese cally 100% of the camp population. Hospital have been supplying 60 to 80 kilos carabao records show over 1/2 of the population cli­ meat 2 or 3 times a week which goes into the nically diagnosed for various deficiencies from stew. Also, the camp has been killing 5 of its avitaminosis to acute beriberi and pellagra, own pigs each week, said pigs having been though pellagra is quite rare at present. Dr. purchased with relief funds and fed from camp Nance points out that it is difficult to form produce and garbage. In addition to the stew, a line of demarcation between the various diet there is also served at supper 1 dipper of deficiency affections. However, there is no lugao or rice, and 1 dipper of camote boiled question but that a continuation of the pre­ with skins. Approximately 3 times weekly a sent diet will result in: (1) premature death spoonful of mixed greens is served. Alterna­ of many individuals having at present organic tively, camotes only were served, 800 to 900 diseases; (2) permanent harm to many indivi­ kilos for the camp of 2,000 and on alternate duals having organic diseases which will wor­ days rice or lugao only, 2 dippers. sen due to diet deficiencies; (3) eventual ge­ Coconuts have been supplied approximately neral debility and sickness of the entire popu­ one week of each month and the camp admi­ lation, placing them in acute danger of epi­ nistration committee has discouraged same as demics due to low resistance. it is felt that the camote substitute due to Hospital facilities for general purposes are its bulk is advantageous. quite adequate and medical supplies, except Private cooking is permitted throughout the vitamins, are for the present satisfactory. The camp under certain fire regulations such as main hospital can handle approximately 30 stoves and cooking shacks 30 feet from the in-patients and an additional 30 could be hous­ barrack walls; said cooking is limited to sav­ ed in the annex hospital which consists of ing and warming over portions of the 2 meals 1/2 section of a barrack which is reserved as issued, together with addition of produce from an isolation ward. The medical and nursing private gardens which are highly developed staff appear to be adequate. Hospitalization and quite universal. Private stocks of food is discouraged in the camp when patients can continue under treatment as out-patients. are extremely limited. Housing. Twenty-one barracks are equipped Canteen supplies are extremely limited, cash individual in camp being permitted to pur­ with toilet facilities, showers, and flooring... chase not more than P50 worth per month; The population of 2,000 was housed in 20-1/2 the administration has adopted a policy of barracks, 96 individuals to a barrack. The issuing P50 to every adult internee and P25 150 new arrivals were housed in 1-1/2 bar­ to every child under 10 who does not already racks without floors and without toilet faci­ have such a deposit in the Bank of Taiwan, lities as the Japanese authorities had not sup­ thereby equalizing potential expenditure plied materials to complete them and there was no room available elsewhere. The approx­ throughout the camp. Canteen supplies arrive once a week and imately 25 women and children among the are divided into 3 equal portions and 1/3 of new arrivals will find accommodations in some the camp are allocated their share at a time. of the other. barracks. Choice permits the purchase generally as fol­ There are in all, standing within the camp lows: 2 to 3 coconuts a month at P6 each; area known as the 'Upper Camp’, 28 barracks,

THE MANNING REPORT ON LOS BANOS

of the medical department. The cen­ tral kitchen would supply the ordina­ ry food required by the patients and the Santa Catalina hospital the "spe­ cial diets”. The Japanese take Half of the Se­ cond Floor of the Education Building —Before this transfer could be ef­ fected, however, the Commandant’s Office, through Ohashi, on the 7th of the month ordered that all of the cen2 of which are occupied by the Japanese for garrison and staff housing and office, and 5 of which have never been completed, possess­ ing only roofs and sawali walls, no floors and no toilets. Of the 5 barracks, 1 is used as an administration building, another for the construction department, 1 as a Catholic church, 1/2 of another as a Protestant cha­ pel, and 1-1/2, as mentioned, was allocated to house the new-comers from Santo Tomas. In general the barracks are judged both unsafe by the engineers and unfit for human habita­ tion by the health department. The nipa roofs leak and need constant repair, the sawali walls are rotting, and wall-supports and other wood­ work in the ground is becoming more and more anay-eaten and rotting. The two great dangers, fire and storm, are constant, and practically no precautions against thejn are available. Sanitation facilities are crude, but if kept in repair are adequate, 6 toilets, 6 showers, 6 water-taps to each approximately 100 of the population. Septic tanks flow out to open ditches throughout the camp and should be sewered, but there is no material. The water supply is barely adequate for the present population during the rainy season and will probably have to be strictly rationed during the dry season. There is no prospect for im­ provement. A new 2-1/2-inch pipe-line was installed by the camp with camp labor direct from the 10-inch tile-line running from the source on Mt. Makiling and was completed on December 1 of this year. This will be of considerable assistance as this system is in­ dependent of the reservoir from which Los Banos and the Japanese secure their supply. Drinking water from the deep well in the camp is both safe and adequate; however, as an additional precaution it is chlorinated un­ der health department supervision. The deep well pump is electric and has recently been connected to use either the University power circuit or the Taiwan power circuit as an emergency precaution. A hand-pump has been designed and installed on the drinking-water pump as an emergency precaution so that,

445

tral part and the whole west wing of tjie second floor of the education building be evacuated not later than by December 10. This involved the removal from the building not only failing all other sources, a minimum supply could be secured. Labor. Due to restrictions of diet, all nonessential camp activities have been abandon­ ed and heavy work on essential details has been overstaffed to relieve the burden. Haul­ ing wood from the forest and special heavy work requiring hard labor is handled in the following manner: The camp voted to have universal conscription of every male in the camp between the ages of 18 and 40, rotating throughout barracks in lots of 50 per day or more if required for such work, with no exemptions except written special wood-haul­ ing exemptions from the director of health. This universal conscription includes adminis­ trative committee members, cooks, doctors, hospital and office help, etc., and appears to be the most satisfactory arrangement under the conditions. The Japanese authorities supply 100 grams of raw rice to any internee working 5 hours daily in the camp garden, and 50 grams for each internee working 2-1/2 hours daily in the camp garden, which issue is made direct to the internee in question through the gar­ den department. In addition, the Japanese authorities issue to the camp 100 grams of rice for 5 man-hours of work accomplished in various departments such as road-building, gardening in the camp garden (if only 1 hour a day per individual), and certain other cate­ gories, this additional ration being added to the general pot. General. No formal roll calls are required. Monitors’ reports at 9:30 in the evening and 7 in the morning suffice. The camp is placed under a partial blackout. However, we are permitted adequate lighting in the barracks up to 10 p.m. for reading, writing, and playing cards, with toilet lights during the night. Although an air-raid alarm system was ins­ talled and in operation for 3 weeks, for the last 1-1/2 months the camp has had no alarms in spite of the fact that a number of air raids have been observed in the near vici­ nity and American planes have actually flown overhead in numbers. The administration has received no explanations for this from the Japanese. The Japanese have continuously demanded the courtesy of bowing from all internees, which demand has been passed on to the in­ ternee body by the administration. However, at the time of the departure of the under­ signed, practically no one complied.

446

of the hospital and its 41 patients but 85 other internees for whom room had to be found elsewhere. No explanation was made by Ohashi and neither did the written order, received later .in the day, give any indication of what the Japanese wanted this additional space for. New partitions were or­ dered constructed in the halls and around the two central stairways, which were closed. The transfer of the hospital to the gymnasium and the removal of the other men from the rooms which the Japanese were taking over was completed on the 11th. On the 13th, the Internee Com­ mittee appointed Father T. J. Daley as submanager of the gymnasium hospital under Gardner, the business manager of the camp medical depart­ ment. All Lights out at Eight — A few closely shaded lights had been allow­ ed to remain on in some of the halls of the buildings, which made still possible a little reading by the few people who could get directly under The monitors council is elected each 6 months, taking office on February 1 and Aug­ ust 1, and each monitor is removable by a 2/3 vote of his barrack. It is a very active group, taking a real interest in camp affairs, and members serve on various operating com­ mittees such as food, canteen, etc. A monitor is responsible for the discipline, sanitation, health, welfare, and feeding of the men in his barrack. Food is distributed to the bar­ racks and serving is in lots of 200 internees, consisting of approximately 1/10 of the total food cooked each meal for each line, there being no food left in the kitchen or returned to the kitchen after each meal. The barracks work out their own system of distribution as equitably as possible, returning the empty pots to the kitchen. Internee administration is handled by an elected groups of 7 men and the chief moni­ tor who is a member of the administrative committee, ex-officio. The said elected com­ mittee elects its own chairman, vice-chairman, and secretary, presenting the names to the Commandant for pro forma approval on Feb­ ruary 1 and August 1.

THE CAMP

them, but on the 4th an order was suddenly issued over the loudspeak­ ers at 9:45 to turn out all lights and Carroll was summoned to the Com­ mandant’s office where he was told that there had been one or two lights about which sentries had complain­ ed. The next day, however, it was learned from Ohashi that Headquar­ ters downtown had ordered all lights out. On the 6th, the Commandant’s Office, through Abiko, ordered that all internees must henceforth be in their buildings by 7 o'clock and that lights must be turned off at 8, Takeda that evening making an inspection and issuing various instructions about small pilot lights to be allowed on stairways and in the toilets. But the next day, Abiko arbitrarily changed all the arrangements thus made. The Japanese in the Commandant’s office spoke of the danger of night air raids, saying that as night bomb­ ing could never be very accurate, the camp must be ready for all emergen­ cies. They directed that the Internee Committee should maintain night headquarters in the first-aid clinic in the main building, with a responsible official and an interpreter on duty in the event of such raids. Continued Searches — In continua­ tion of the surprise searches in the camp, the third floor of the main building was searched on the 6th, and several electric-light bulbs and cords, electric razors, two bolos and a paperknife, and one or two books and old magazines were confiscated. One of the shanty areas was searched on the 13th and a number of atlases and magazines were seized. On the 16th, Kinoshita directed that 50 lib­ rary books a day be turned in to the Commandant’s Office for censoring. Lee Tun Yen was still in the camp jail for refusing to sign the "oath” which all other internees had signed.

447

RAMPANT STEALING IN THE CAMP

Lee had been in jail, without a sen­ tence, since November 1, but the In­ ternee Committee, which again ap­ proached Ohashi in this matter, was told that unless Lee signed the form “he would have to be retained under military custody in the camp jail in­ definitely’’. (Minutes, December 6.) Abiko on the 7th issued instructions that all sentences to imprisonment in the camp jail by the Committee on Order be reported to the Comman­ dant’s Office with details as to the nature of the offense. The minutes states that "the reason given by the Japanese for these instructions” was —

any canned goods they may have. It was also suggested that an appeal be made to a number of reliable internees to accept day­ time patrol work assignments in connection with food processing and preparation."

"The patrols are finding it very difficult to function at night owing to the limited am­ ount of light permitted, but efforts are being made tc tighten up the patrol system. It was suggested that in order to assist in the iden­ tification of stolen property, internees should be encouraged to put identifying marks on

tary currency."

Individual Cash Relief Payments Suspended — In the allocation of the American Red Cross Relief Fund No. 13, the Committee on the 5th ap­ propriated P69,168.16 to the purchase of food and essential supplies and P48.000 to aid the families of internees outside, the latter again in compliance with an order from the Comman­ dant's Office. The Committee decided that the funds available would not permit the payment of cash-relief to individual internees during the month "so that they may know more about the in­ of December. On the 11th, the Com­ ternal problems of the camp and may have an opportunity of sentencing men who are mandant’s Office turned over to the Committee the usual Japanese month­ found to be breaking Japanese regulations”. More Thefts of Food Supplies — ly payment for "daily necessities, re­ Four or five new cases of theft in the pairs to clothing, special and work” camp, ranging from the taking of two for November, totalling P17,627.25. The sale to internees of the textiles or three to as many as 40 cans of foodstuffs, resulted in a number of which the camp had been required searches, but no arrests. The Internee to buy was disappointingly slow. By the 8th the Committee could appro­ Committee on the 6th — priate only P23.000 from this source "considered the suggestion that in view of the number of recent thefts in camp, a reward to the purchase of food, as against be offered to anyone who gave information the P56.000 which had had to be paid leading to the arrest and conviction of the for these unwanted goods. However, thieves. In the case of thefts from individuals, the Japanese in the camp had also the Committee saw no objection to the indivi­ bought some of them, reducing the duals concerned offering a reward if they camp expenditure by P2.900. wished to do so, and in the case of thefts On the 9th, the Commandant’s Of­ of camp property each case will be considered fice turned over to the Committee on its merits". The Committee also discussed "the P2.707 which, according to the mi­ epidemic of stealing which is now nutes — rampant in the camp" with Internee "represented the amount realized from the exchange of Philippine pesos taken from in­ Agents Pond and Harrington on the dividuals in the camp during searches by 18th. The minutes stated: the Commandant’s Office, for Japanese mili­ The amount was to be "credited to the general funds of the camp". The Committee did not accept any respon­ sibility toward the persons from whom such funds had been taken by

448

the Japanese but would, if requested, furnish them with a written state­ ment that the sums in question were used in purchasing foodstuffs for the camp. Shiraji on the same day, the 9th, said again that internees who were still holding Philippine currency "should turn it over to the Commit­ tee to be exchanged for Japanese mi­ litary notes at the rate of PI for PI”, —this in spite of the fact that the exchange outside the camp was now at least 40 to 1. In the camp, exchange was still from 8 to 10 pesos in mili­ tary notes for one old Philippine peso, due partly to the fact that internees with families outside wanted military notes to send out to them and the de­ mand therefore exceeded the supply and partly also to the efforts of the camp smugglers and racketeers to keep up the 8 to 1 exchange. Children Ordered not to Loiter Around the Japanese Kitchen — A revealing sidelight was cast on the food situation in the camp by a re­ quest from the Commandant’s Office on the 3rd that — "a broadcast be made to all parents to res­ train their children from entering the Com­ mandant’s office and from loitering in the vicinity of the Commandant’s kitchen. This request was prompted by the recent increase in the number of children asking for candy, sugar, tobacco, and other articles from the Commandant’s staff”.

More Fuel Trouble — Shiraji in­ formed Carroll on the 1st that the Army was “finding it extremely diffi­ cult to obtain sufficient fuel” and that the camp would therefore have to "economize to the maximum extent”. "Our consumption must be limited to two carloads of fuel a day instead of three as at present”, stated the mi­ nutes. As a consequence, after the 2nd, internees were permitted to take only one cup of hot water each from the

THE CAMP

boiler behind the central kitchen for drinking at breakfast; coffee or tea was no longer served. On the 6th Shiraji ordered that firewood in the future be used only in the cooking at the central kitchen and that the an­ nex and hospital kitchens use electri­ city. The Committee had, however, already made arrangements for the cooking of the cereal required at the annex to be done in the central kit­ chen. The air raids later in the month, which resulted in a ban on night cook­ ing, made it impossible to carry out this plan and the annex resumed its electrical cooking, with some more or less surreptitious use of woodfire also when necessary. Before this, however, on the 12th, it was announc­ ed over the loudspeakers that because of the acute fuel shortage it would not be possible to serve even hot wa­ ter at the central kitchen. The next morning there was no fire in the boil­ er and even the two outside faucets had been removed to make it clear that there was not even a cup of hot water for any internee unless he had the facilities to boil water himself. Conditions Outside the Camp — On the 13th, 18 men were sent out by the Japanese with the camp’s one carabao-cart and several pushcarts to get firewood outside the camp. Escort­ ed by soldiers, they brought in 11 loads during the day from a woodyard in Tondo. Pushing the carts over the uneven streets was hard work and at the close of the day the Comman­ dant’s Office gave the men a small is­ sue of raw rice and corn meal, less than a cupful of each. The men spoke of the emaciated and haggard people they saw shuffling along the filthy streets, shabbily dressed and sullen­ faced. They said that a pan de sal (a small bread-bun) cost P14, a duckegg P27, and a small candybar P40.

A VALUABLE NEW FOOD ITEM — SOYBEAN REFUSE

They saw a sign in front of a barbei'shop showing that the price of a shave was F6 and a haircut P25. Weight-shortage in Army deliveries continued to plague the camp. On the 2nd, 6 bags of rice supposed to weigh 50 kilos each averaged only 39.67 kilos, and on December 5, 12 bags of rice were received which averaged 41.75. Shiraji again agreed to consider the matter and promised to give his re­ ply as soon as possible. On the 12th, withdrawals showed weight-losses of 9% in the corn and 19.7% in the rice, the total withdrawal amounting to only 895 kilos of cereal as against the book figure of 1,050 kilos. Soybean Refuse an Addition to the Diet— Such a loss in the weight of the daily rations had ceased, however, to be as serious a matter as before, for in the meantime a new food item had been added to the camp diet. Shiraji had said on the 6th that the Commandant’s Office “could not make up the shortages” but "expected in­ stead to furnish the camp daily with 150 to 200 kilos of fresh-pressed soy­ bean meal”.2 According to the mi­ nutes of the 6th: "The first delivery was made today. It was explained that as this soybean meal comes from a long distance and is still wet when it arrives, variations in weight are to be ex­ pected.”

The Japanese in the Commandant’s office referred to this product them­ selves as soybean refuse. It was a thick, whitish paste and probably a by-product of the manufacture of soy­ bean curds or to-fu, and was about 90% water. By gross weight, the pro­ tein content ran to around 4% and 2Soybean flour is of the following composi­ tion: protein, 37.3%; carbohydrates, 9.5%; fats, 20.2%; crude fiber, 2.5%; ash, 4.7%; calcium, .2%; phosphorous, .4594; also some iron and copper. The calorific value is 379 calories per 100 grams. It contains a fair amount of vita­ mins A, B, and Br

449

the fats to 1/2 of 1c/ but because the soybean is one of the rare vegetables which contain "animal protein”, — the same animo-acids as are contained in meat, the product was a valuable addition to the diet of the meatstarved camp, although it is common­ ly used only as cattlefeed. The Internee Committee had for months been asking for pressed peanutcake, which would have been bet­ ter, but had failed in obtaining it. The soybean refuse was brought in daily in a carretela somewhat in excess of the maximum quantity indicated, and was made into "gravies” and "soups”. Served in small cupfuls, it was, — to the starving internees, a tasty ad­ dition to the limited camp menu and was well liked. This slight augmen­ tation of the diet was, however, again in part offset the next day, the 7th, when the Japanese informed the Com­ mittee that the cooking-oil ration would again be cut from 10 to 5 grams per capita daily, effective on the 9th. That coconuts "might again became available in the near future” was Shiraji’s advise to the Committee on the 12th and was broadcast to the camp as good news that evening. However, nothing came of this, except that on the 19th coconut milk was served with the breakfast mush made from 265 nuts furnished by the Army as a part of the vegetable and fruit deli­ veries. Four hundred nuts a day were needed to make a good milk and, as it was, some 60 of the nuts supplied on this one occasion were half-spoiled and rancid. The Workers can not keep up the Heavy Work— On the 5th the Com­ mittee again considered the matter of extra food for men on heavy-work de­ tails and decided once more to ap­ proach the Commandant’s Office with a request for an additional cereal ad­

450

vance for a specific list of men doing the heavy work of the camp. The men had expressed themselves as willing enough to work as well as they could on the common ration, but it was evident that they could not keep it up. Carroll again took the question to Shiraji. He "expressed his appre­ ciation” for what the heavy work­ ers were doing, but stated that there were no supplies available for such extra rations; however, he agreed "to study the matter to see if any so­ lution could be found”. (Minutes, December 9.) Another Unjust Distribution of To­ bacco and Soap— Takeda said on the 3rd that the Commandant’s Office was "very pleased with the turn-out of internees to work in the gardens during the past week", and Shiraji that same day again distributed pipetobacco, cigarets, soap, and matches to certain groups of workers divided into three categories according to the number of hours they had worked during November, these men paying, according to the supplies "awarded” to them, P8.75, P6.15, and P3.07 res­ pectively. This partial distribution to what was still chiefly the gardening group again caused general resent­ ment. The Internee Committee was not consulted in any way regarding this distribution. According to the minutes of the 5th: "In connection with the stocks of soap, cigarets, etc., held by the Commandant’s Of­ fice, from which the finance and supplies section of the Commandant’s Office has re­ cently made a distribution to a certain num­ ber of internees selected by them, and as after this distribution had been made there must still be a considerable balance of ciga­ rets and soap left over, for which the Com­ mittee has already advanced the funds, it was decided to ask again to turn this balance over to the camp for general distribution as the Committee saw fit.”

THE CAMP

According to the minutes of the 12th, Shiraji "at last agreed, in res­ ponse to repeated requests, that soap and cigarets should be provided for general camp distribution and pro­ mised to do what he could to make supplies available.” The next day, Shi­ raji told Carroll that "in regard to soap, no supplies were available at the moment, but as soon as additional supplies were received, he would turn them over to the camp on the basis of need”. The Japanese “Clean-up Campaign’’ — All through the month, the Com­ mandant’s Office put stress on the "clean-up campaign” which had been ordered in addition to the increased gardening effort. Lieutenant Yamagi, a new-comer on the staff, told the Committee on the 7th that an inspec­ tion of the camp would be made on the 9th and that a general clean-up should be started immediately. The scheduled inspection was postponed because of rain on that day and also because "the Commandant’s Office had noted that the grass had not been properly cut in the shanty areas”. The actual inspection covered a num­ ber of days and was not held, for va­ rious reasons, until the end of the month. More Questionnaires— The Japan­ ese demanded but few special reports during the first part of the month. The Japanese doctor on the Comman­ dant’s staff, Yoshimura, asked on the 8th for the number of American Ne­ groes in the camp as of November 30, — there were 56 of them, a number of others having been transferred to Los Banos; and on the 11th he asked the Committee to obtain for him data concerning the race and nationality of internees, going back to their pa­ rents and grandparents, paternal and maternal, "which will be used for

SYMPTOMS OF STARVATION

private research work only”. The in­ formation was obtained through mi­ meographed forms through the mo­ nitors and supervisors. On the 12th, around 1,000 letters from abroad were received in camp for censoring and distribution, of which some 800 were for Santo To­ mas and the rest for internees at Los Banos and Baguio. They were distri­ buted during the next few days. Burials— During the month appli­ cation was made through the Com­ mandant’s Office to the superinten­ dent of the Cementerio del Norte to honor requests signed by Grinnell as Chairman of the Internee Committee, and if approved by the Commandant, to provide for the burial of deceased internees for whom no other arrange­ ments were available. The cemetery officials, however, instead suggested interment in the special plot section of the Veteran Army of the Philip­ pines. The V.A.P. was the original ve­ terans’ organization (pertaining to the Philippines only) which later be­ came a part of the Spanish-American Veterans Association. Preparations for the Third Christ­ mas under Captivity— The camp was forced to the heart-breaking realiza­ tion that still another Christmas sea­ son would almost certainly have to be spent in Japanese captivity. On the 7th, the Internee Committee met with Agents Pond and Harrington to con­ sider various matters and in connec­ tion with the camp’s projected Christ­ mas activities, Grinnell reported that— “in an informal discussion with the civilian members of the Commandant's staff, he had been advised that Mr. Janson, of the Neutral Welfare Committee of the International Y.M. C.A., could not do anything to help without special written permission from Tokyo in each case, and it was therefore unlikely that this Committee would be able to do anything for Christmas. It was agreed that we should ap­

451 proach the head of the finance and supplies section of the Commandant's Office [Shiraji] to see what assistance this section could give us, and at least to request its help in getting candy or fruit or something special for the children.”

Shiraji "promised” Carroll on the 13th, in response to his request for "special consideration for Christmas”, "to see what he could do and to ad­ vise the Committee in the course of the next few days”. On the 5th a considerable number of empty army trucks drove into the camp grounds around noon and many people got the idea they had come for volunteer workers to help bring in the hoped-for Red Cross kits, the be­ lief having become general that the supplies had reached Manila. A little crowd of internees gathered in front of the main building to watch them, but no volunteers were called and after an hour or so the trucks were driven away, leaving a lot of disap­ pointed people standing there. Physical Signs of Starvation— The Red Cross supplies were looked for­ ward to so hopefully because the last distribution had been timed shortly before the previous Christmas, as well as because they would make a world of difference to the starving camp. Hundreds of even the younger men and women now suffered from swol­ len ankles and legs, one of the symp­ toms of beriberi. Some said their legs felt as if they were "asleep”. They fre­ quently stumbled. Climbing the stairs to the upper floors of the main and education buildings was becoming more and more difficult for everybo­ dy. People said that they felt "weak in the knees”. This was the literal truth for the feeling seemed lodged in the back of the knees. In their baths peo­ ple noticed deep hollows on the in­ side of their thighs near the groin as

452

the muscles there wasted away. Men shaving cut themselves at the angles of their jaws and on the cheekbones as their faces became thinner. Fillings in teeth were dropping out and fin­ gernails were brittle. Hair was com­ ing out in tufts. Many people com­ plained of a growing hardness of hear­ ing. Others were suffering from blindspots on the retina. A small object might be right on the table in front of such a man, and he wouldn't see it. One man, on the other hand, an expert rifleman, happening to see Abiko at 50 yards distance, said that he saw two Abiko's, — which was one, if not two too many. It was a grisly thing to note such symptoms develop­ ing in one’s own body. People com­ plained of loss of memory and of in­ ability to concentrate. The chess and bridge games which formerly took up so much leisure time disappeared al­ most entirely during the day, and the lack of lights during the blackouts made such games impossible in the evenings. Lecturing and lecture-going were also given up, — and not entire­ ly because of the air raid conditions in the camp. People had lost interest. Renewed American Air Raids— By the 6th, nearly three weeks had passed without an air-raid in Manila. But that night, 15 minutes after the lights had been ordered out at 9:45, there came the sound of some 10 or 12 bombs dropping in the direction of Nichols field and flares were also dropped. At around 2 o’clock there was some more bombing from the di­ rection of Manila Bay. The next day there were renewed rumors of land­ ings in Batangas but they failed of any confirmation. There was the sound of heavy troop movements all night long on the night of December 9-10 and at around 2:50 the sound of a very heavy explosion in the Mari-

THE CAMP

kina Valley; strafing was also audible. On the night of the ll-12th there were Japanese planes in the air most of the time and several distant explosions were heard. "There is more going on than we know", people said stoutly. The Camp Agog with Red Cross Sup­ ply Rumors— Renewed rumors of a Red Cross distribution started on Sun­ day, the 10th, and some internees stated positively that the kits were already in the Dominican seminary, on another part of the campus, and that they would be distributed "on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday”. They said that this information came from some of the priests in the camp and many believed the rumor for this reason. Some persons on the top floor of the main building even claimed that they had seen packages which looked like kits being unloaded at the seminary. Soon the whole camp was agog, and the statement over the loudspeakers that evening, after the usual announcements, that "There is no other information”, — a general one, but spoken with unmistakable emphasis, produced very little effect on the again hopeful camp. However, Wednesday, then Thursday, and fi­ nally Friday passed, and the camp settled back into hungry listlessness. There were a number of distant ex­ plosions throughout the day on Wed­ nesday, the 13th, but it was not pos­ sible to tell whether they were bomb explosions or ordinary blasting ope­ rations, although at around 3 o'clock quite a large oil-fire was observed at the Grace Park airfield. There were rumors of continued Japanese attacks on the American positions in Leyte, and counter-rumors about bombings of Japan proper which had destroyed a great dam and brought about a flood that had killed hundreds of thou­ sands. Another rumor was that ano-

THREE DAYS OF AMERICAN BOMBING

453

ther earthquake had occurred in Ja­ pan which was even more disastrous than the great earthquake of 1923. At 7:58 Thursday morning bombs were heard falling on Nichols, and the camp was warned of an air raid through the loudspeakers before the sirens sounded the alarm downtown at 8:01. Only eight of our planes were seen in the bright morning haze over Nichols, but eight more were seen coming out of the east with the sun behind them. A few minutes later there was a heavy strafing of Grace Park field by four or five more planes. There was a fairly heavy anti-aircraft fire, the Japanese shooting up violet and yellow trace shells. From then on there was an almost continuous bombing and strafing throughout the day, the operations lasting until after 7 o'clock that evening, when, just af­ ter dark, Grace Park was strafed by a single plane from which the trace bullets streamed like a cataract of fire. No large numbers of planes were seen together, but they seemed to be all over the various objectives at the same time; often they flew very low, probably strafing Japanese troops on the roads, and several times they came near enough to the camp so that peo­ ple could see the star emblem on their wings. Numerous fires were started in all quarters. In the afternoon, the Japanese again shot up trace shells, — white, black, yellow, pink, red, dark-green, and violet which probably came from different batteries. The sky looked liked a great flowergarden and the humming planes like bees. The groundfire, however, greafly di­ minished during the day as did also the bombing, strafing taking its place. Many of the batteries must have been put out of commission. No raidended signal \^as sounded even that night, and no lights at all were allowed

in the camp, even dimmed hall and toilet lights. Even lights in the win­ dow-shuttered clinics were forbidden. Only Red Cross "Greetings”— That night, during the evening broadcast, the camp at last heard from the Red Cross, though not about any Red Cross supplies. They were messages, — two of them, of greetings which had been turned over to the Internee Committee by the Japanese on the 12th. One read: "From the International Red Cross, Geneva, to prisoners of war and internees: To you pri­ soners, disseminated in a world war, the In­ ternational Red Cross Committee brings af­ fectionate greetings of comfort on this last day of 1944. It does not ignore your grief and your anxieties. It also knows how in­ creasingly painful the separation is the longer the days of your captivity drag on. It is with this knowledge at heart that the International Red Cross Committee and its 3,000 collabora­ tors in Switzerland are doing everything in their power to bring you help and relief. To all of you and to all those who are dear to you, they send their sincerest wishes.”

The other read: "From the Canadian Red Cross: To all Ca­ nadian prisoners of war and internees the Ca­ nadian Red Cross sends warmest good wishes and transmits from all your next of kin af­ fectionate greetings for Christmas and the New Year.”

No cooking was allowed that night, and all the camp had for breakfast the next morning was a small ricebread biscuit. About 5:45 there had been what sounded like a few sticks of bombs dropped over Nichols, and a full attack began at 7:50 on Nichols and the Bay area. Very heavy detona­ tions were heard an hour later from the distant Marikina Valley and peo­ ple in the camp said that these must have been “block-busters”. Like the day before, the bombing and strafing was almost continuous over a wide area, the enemy being given no rest. There was little anti-aircraft fire and

454

it seemed obvious that most of the batteries around Manila had been des­ troyed. Numerous fires blazed in all military areas. The last heavy bomb­ ing was over the Bay at around 4 o’clock, but the bombing didn’t really stop then. There was a heavy explo­ sion at 7:30 and at almost hourly in­ tervals during the rest of the night. About 3 o’clock in the morning there was a bright glare in the sky followed by a terrific detonation apparently with the Cementerio del Norte as its source; an ammunition dump there must have gone up. The Three-Day Air-Raid Gives Hope — On Saturday, the 16th, seven or eight planes were again bombing Ni­ chols at 7:40. Twenty minutes later Grace Park was hit with very heavy bombs, raising clouds of debris, dust, and smoke. The Bay area was sub­ mitted to a heavy attack at 8. Again, every ten minutes or so after that, some military objective was being either bombed or strafed, often in se­ veral areas at the same time. The usual mush breakfast could not be served until after 9 o’clock. There was bombing and strafing all through the noon hour, in long rolls which sounded like thunder. After this it remained quiet for some time and a number of camouflaged trucks full of Japanese troops drove into Calle For­ bes, bounding the camp on the east, where they went into several houses on both sides of the camp hospital which had for some weeks already served as barracks for hundreds of them. In addition to the planes ope­ rating over Manila, a flight of some 200 planes was seen around 3 o’clock flying high over the city in a north­ easterly direction. Later in the af­ ternoon oil-fires were started in both Pandacan and at Grace Park.

THE CAMP

Rumors of Mindoro and Luzon Land­ ings — Rumors were rife that the long-continued attack on Manila was to cover landings on Polillo island, off Mauban, on the east coast of Luzon, and it was said that our troops, in fact, were already on the mainland and had reached Luisiana, about 80 or 90 kilometers by road from Mani­ la!1 Other rumors were that Ameri­ can forces had landed at San Jose, Mindoro, the large island immediate­ ly west of Luzon. There was no bombing during the night of Saturday-Sunday, which was dark and cloudy, and though there was no bombing of Manila Sunday, the state of air-raid alarm was not lifted, distant bombing being occa­ sionally heard. At Grace Park a con­ siderable fire broke out again at 6:45 on this morning, and some said that three American planes had been seen over the field just previously which had perhaps dropped incendiary bombs. The raid-ended signal sounded on Monday, December 18, at 10:20 a.m., after an air-raid-alarm period of 98 hours, 17 minutes, the city then go­ ing back to the alert state. There was a camp casualty at the isolation hospital on the 14th, when a machine-gun bullet exploded after coming through the roof, a fragment grazing the face of one of the patients. And that night an elderly woman on the second floor of the main building, mistaking, in the total blackout, the head of the staircase for the entrance to a toilet, fell down the stairs, injur­ ing her knees and lacerating her face and chest, and breaking her glasses; she had to be taken to the hospital.* 3 This was false; the American forces landed on Mindoro, December 16. There were no land­ ings on Luzon until January 9, 1945.

SALT, P50 A KILO

Internees Punished for being Out­ side their Shanties during a Raid — On that same day, ten internees were picked up during the day by Japanese sentries and taken to the front gate for alleged violation of the air-raid regulations. One of these men dur­ ing a lull in the attack had gone to the back of his shanty to get a few sticks of firewood and had stopped for a moment to look at some flow­ ers under his window, when two rov­ ing sentries seized him. Another sen­ try on post nearby had paid him no attention. He was taken to the front gate despite his remonstrances and made to stand awkwardly on a nar­ row concrete curb in the open near the guardhouse from 10 o'clock in the morning until 5 that afternoon, two soldiers of the guard being told off, in two-hour shifts, to see that he did not move from the place. They sat down near him in chairs, and whenever he tried to shift his feet or bend his knees, they would reach over and slap his legs. The internee, D. G. Gunnell, head of the Philippine Education Company, was over 60 years of age, but the soldiers showed a complete lack of consideration, sim­ ply and indifferently carrying out an order. Another internee was arrest­ ed and made to stand beside him a half hour later. At various times dur­ ing the afternoon, the other eight men were made to line up with the first two, among them Day, who had been taken when, during another lull in the bombing, he had gone to a hy­ drant near his shanty to refill a wa­ ter bucket which the regulations re­ quired to be kept full during an air raid. During the latter part of the afternoon, the soldiers became a lit­ tle careless and the ten men managed to obtain relief from time to time by a change in position. By the

455

end of this torture, Gunnell was bent almost double and feared that he might faint. At 5 o'clock, and after this punishment, the men were taken to the Commandant's office and ques­ tioned by one of the staff, he insist­ ing that in spite of explanations some of them made, that they had been taken outside of their shanties, though the regulations provided only that shanty-inhabitants must be in their shanties only while aerial activity was actually going on. After the be­ lated “hearing" they were all released. It took Gunnell and some of the others, in their already seriously weak­ ened condition, several days to re­ cover from the experience. Some Supplies Brought in, includ­ ing Salt — During the 3-day raid, Ma­ nila presented the aspect of an en­ tirely paralized city, both night and day, and there were hardly any signs of activity, military or otherwise. Ac­ tivities in Santo Tomas also largely ceased. However, on the evening of the 15th, three truck-loads of rice were brought in, — 114 56-kilo bags; on the evening of the 16th, some vege­ tables and 265 coconuts; and on the evening of the 17th, 55 45-kilo bags of salt. Salt was distributed on the 21st, — 750 grams to every 6 persons on a canteen ration-card. This stop­ ped the profiteering in salt which racketeers in the camp had been sell­ ing at P50 (Philippine currency) a kilo. The Committee Decides to give the Heavy-Duty Workers a Little More Food — The work on finding a solu­ tion for one of the most pressing problems was continued, — obtaining a little extra food for the men re­ quired to do the really heavy work of the camp. The Internee Commit­ tee met with various labor, health, and kitchen officials on the 17th. The

456

group had met some time before, but, stated the minutes, — "since that date, owing to the worsening of the food situation, it had been realized that heavy workers could not be expected to car­ ry on their camp work on the present ration, and it was therefore proposed to appoint a special committee which would authorize cer­ tain camp workers to receive their extra al­ lowance of food for certain prescribed work. Estimates by the department heads showed the necessity for a maximum of 600 extra portions daily under this scheme, and for the purpose of discussion it was suggested that the amount of extra portion should be 80 grams. This would mean taking from all other internees approximately 8 grams daily. The meeting felt that if internees are to be fed, the sick looked after, and other essential camp work performed, then something of this nature must be done immediately and the proposed principles were accepted subject to the working out of details to be confirmed at another meeting to be held tomorrow.”

More Japanese "Make - Work" •— Meanwhile, the doughty and well-fed lieutenants on the Commandant’s staff were still finding more work for the camp to do. On the 18th, Takeda pointed out that as the boardwalk to the gymnasium was falling into a state of disrepair, it would be advisable to build up the road leading to the gym­ nasium. Takeda also spoke about getting the high school students and their teachers to work regularly in the garden. Carroll explained that all high school students already had work assignments, the most of them being runners and servers at the cen­ tral kitchen and were doing their fair share of the camp work. In the end Carroll had to “agree”, according to the minutes, "to use the high school students now working in the garden as a nucleus around which a high school gardening group may be built”. Fi­ nally, the Committee was asked "to consider and prepare a plan for the carrying on of garden work during ex­ tended air-raid periods”.

THE CAMP

The Heavy-Duty Workers Food Con­ trol Committee — The meeting of the 17th was continued on the 18th, the Internee Agents also attending, and it was decided to serve a maximum of 600 extra portions of cereal daily to a selected group of heavy-duty and long-hour workers. For a period of one week, each portion was not to exceed 80 grams, (.17 lbs.) subject to reduction at any time by the Internee Committee in consultation with a new committee of three to be appointed whose duties would be to carefully examine the lists of workers submit­ ted by the various division chiefs, to review the lists at least once week­ ly, and to make such additions and eliminations as might be considered desirable within the limits given. The decision of the committee was to be final on details, but changes in the general policy laid down could not be made unless approved by the Inter­ nee Committee. During the next few days, various persons besides Day were asked to serve on what came to be called the workers’ food control committee, who declined to accept such responsibility, and it was not until a week later that Ralph Crosby and Byron Ford agreed to assume with Day a task that was bound to be a thankless one. The "sanitary inspection” was still hanging over the camp and on the 19th, the Commandant’s Office an­ nounced that^ it would be a four-day affair, — to be held in various sec­ tions of the camp on the 20th, 21st, 23rd, and 24th, with especial atten­ tion to be paid to public paths, long grass, shallow wells, etc. Camp Depression and Apathy — In so far as aerial activity was concern­ ed, the 19th was uneventful, but on the 20th a number of American planes were seen flying high over the city in

CAMP DEPRESSION AND APATHY

a southerly direction. A heavy moral depression was however settling over the camp because of the disappoint­ ment of the high hopes entertained that the three-day attack on Manila meant immediate local developments, and, further, because, while the Christ­ mas season was so near, nothing was to be heard about distribution of Red Cross supplies. But worse was to come. 187 Grams of Rice a Day4 — That evening the broadcast ended with the following announcement: "Now, hang on to your belts, folks. You won’t like this one. The finance and supplies section of the Commandant's Office informed the Internee Committee this afternoon that effective tomorrow, deliveries of rice will be limited to 700 kilos daily, guaranteed weight, or, in other words, without weight-losses. We have been receiving 1,050 kilos daily. There­ fore, this means a cut of 350 kilos daily. In grams, this means a reduction from 300 grams gross weight to 200 grams net or guaranteed weight. At the time this information was giv­ en this afternoon, it was stated that the re­ duction would be confirmed tomorrow, at which time the Committee would be informed of substitutions which might be made to compensate for the reduction in rice. Tomor­ row night we will give you more information on the subject. Incidentally, approximately 500 coconuts arrived in camp today, supplied by the Japanese Army. While no detailed in­ formation is available, it is presumed that coconuts may be one of the substitutes to com­ pensate for the loss in rice. We’ve said about enough for this evening and we'll complete the story tomorrow, when more definite in­ formation is available. Good night.”

457 however, it was necessary to make a cut in the cereal ration, and it was hoped to pro­ vide sufficient substitutes in the form of camotes, coconuts, and additional soya-meal to balance this cut. It was realized that in­ ternees were hungry and not getting suffi­ cient food, but the situation on the outside was so serious that it was impossible to make an appreciable improvement in the food situation. Mr. Carroll pointed out the serious labor situation in the camp and visualized a complete breakdown in the labor program unless extra food could be provided for the heavy-duty and long-hour workers. An addi­ tional 40 to 50 kilos of cereal per day would take care of this. Lt. Shiraji regretted that he was not in a position to supply this additional amount, but asked Mr. Carroll to wait and see what substitutes could be provided in order to take care of the heavy workers.”

Fears of an absolute famine in the camp were somewhat allayed by the arrival on the same day of around 10 tons of rice and 400 kilos of camotes, and the broadcast that evening stated that the adjustments necessary be­ cause of the reduction in rations would not become effective at the kitchens until Saturday, the 23rd. "It was hoped”, said the announcer, "that with the substitutions, the si­ tuation would not be worse than it was prior to the reduction”. About 9:20 that night there was an explosion at Nichols and around 10 o’clock some bombing was heard in the direction of Malabon, on the Bay. A low rumble of planes was heard and Japanese searchlights cut the sky, and the population of Santo Tomas The next day, the 21st, Shiraji in­ knew that at least they were not formed Carroll, according to the min­ wholly forgotten. The minutes of the 22nd stated: utes, that —

“Headquarters had not yet made its final decision regarding the reduction in the cereal ration and the provision of substitutes, but that an official statement would be made to­ morrow or the next day. Owing to the dif­ ficulty of securing adequate supplies of rice,

"Owing to the cut in the cereal ration, the Committee decided to go to a two-meal a day basis as from tomorrow morning and to serve breakfast as an experiment at 8:30 a.m., after morning roll call.”

4187 grams on the basis of the true populatoin; equivalent to .41 lbs.

"Every effort will be made to serve the best possible breakfast and dinner consistent

The broadcast that night stated:

458 with the supplies available. Much thought has been put into the question of the hour for the serving of breakfast, — which hour would be most convenient to the greatest number of people, and at the same time conserve the maximum amount of energy, based on medi­ cal advise received from the chairman of the medical staff sub-committee on food . .

The “Flying Fortresses"— In spite of these developments, and the fact that there was not even lugao for lunch, the internees were cheered the next day by the appearance at around 10 o’clock of 19 great flying-fortresses sailing high directly over the camp, wB-29’s”, some said, so big that they seemed to be flying much lower and much slower than they were, as they swept majestically through the sky, shining like newly burnished silver. Above them, and difficult to see be­ cause of the thin clouds, there flew perhaps as many as 40 "P-38's”. All the planes were so beyond range that the Japanese did not even try to fire at them. They appeared to be com­ ing from the east and to fly west in the general direction of Corregidor. They had dropped probably several hundred small bombs to the north of the camp, some at Grace Park, and later smoke clouds were observed in the direction of Malabon and Navotas, on the Bay shore. The air-raid ended signal was given a little after noon. That night it was rumored that the Tribune had admitted that American forces had landed at Calapan, Mindo­ ro, and other rumors stated that Cor­ regidor and Mariveles had been hea­ vily bombed. Japanese Food Confiscations — But the Japanese could still win "victories" in Santo Tomas. During the morning, members of the Commandant’s staff made a surprise search of one of the shanty areas and arrested three inter­ nees in the possession of one of whom they had found a small jar of sugar,

THE CAMP

of another a large tin of sugar, and of the third a small dish of beans in soak. They were taken to the Com­ mandant’s office for questioning, and the man with the beans said he had received them from another internee who had bought them from the Japa­ nese guards. This internee was then also questioned, after which all four were released. The sugar was "retain­ ed for the time being", according to the minutes. It was never returned. Chairman Grinnell, Duggleby, John­ son, and Larsen Jailed — In the after­ noon (of the 23rd) there were far more serious developments, — the arrest of Grinnell, Chairman of the Internee Committee and therefore the ranking internee in the camp, and of Duggleby, head of the family-aid committee and chief of the division of equipment and supplies, and per­ sonally one of the most prominent and most highly respected Manilans in Santo Tomas. E. E. Johnson, of the U.S. Maritime Commission (Wash­ ington), and another internee, C. L. Larsen, were also arrested. Grinnell’s shanty was searched from floor to roof and Duggleby’s office and his sleeping quarters in a recess in that office were ransacked for several hours, lasting from about 4 o'clock to 6. Other parts of the main build­ ing and the camp hospital were also searched. The Japanese were appa­ rently looking not only for papers but again tor any possible radio or other communication equipment. The minutes noted this affair in the briefest possible language as follows: "In the afternoon, a number of military po­ lice came into camp and a platoon of soldiers was also brought in from the gate. The hos­ pital and the hospital compound was closed and also thoroughly searched. Guards were posted at doors and inside the main building and most of the main building was also searched. Mr. E. E. Johnson was arrested at about 3

GRINNELL, DUGGLEBY, JOHNSON. AND LARSEN ARRESTED

459

p.m. and presumably taken out of camp for investigation. Mr. C. C. Grinnell, Mr. A. F. Duggleby, and Mr. C. L. Larsen were arrested later and held in the Commandant’s office until after 7 p.m., when they were lodged in the camp jail. (Mr. Lee Tun Yen who was in the camp jail was transferred to Jail No. 2.) The shanties of these four internees were very thoroughly searched by the military po­ lice and soldiers, and also Mr. Duggleby’s sleeping quarters in the finance and supplies office. No indication was given as to the reason for these arrests.”

the Japanese had been angered by this and believed that the camp in some way was .maintaining contact with the outside and that possibly Grinnell and Duggleby were held sus­ pect or responsible in that connec­ tion. No explanation of any kind was made to the other two members of the Internee Committee, — Carroll and Lloyd, and they refused, no doubt wisely, to make any spoken guesses. The news broadcast that evening Nothing was removed by the Japa­ dealt chiefly with the plans for the nese searchers from the Grinnell Christmas observance and with — shanty, but several armfulls of papers and documents were taken away from "a new order which affects the vegetable­ cleaning work. Effective tomorrow and there­ Duggleby's quarters.5 after, no peelings or any other portions of As people in the main building any vegetables of any description may be ta­ were not allowed to leave it at roll- ken from the vegetable-cleaning tables or call time, roll call was ordered dis­ area. This means, in other words, that abso­ pensed with, and a special Christmas lutely nothing may be taken away...Any per­ song and story program was also can­ son apprehended in the act of taking or at­ celled. Many besides those arrested tempting to take anything from this area Will and their families and friends were be subject to investigation by the division of worried and anxious, wondering what camp order”. the arrests portended. It was general­ The broadcast ended abruptly with ly believed that Larsen’s arrest was the statement: "That’s all the inform­ possibly a matter of mistaken identity ation we have for this evening. Good as he was a young man whose role night.” The three in jail were supposedly in the camp was a minor one. John­ son, a onetime ship-captain, was held incommunicado, but it was found known as a man who was frank and possible to send them in some food somewhat careless of speech. What and their own bedding. One of the was there against Grinnell and Dug­ other Internee Committee members6 gleby? Rumors circulated that there was able to contact them briefly and had been a San Francisco broadcast he stated that they had said that the about Santo Tomas which indicated questioning that afternoon had been that the authorities in the United very general but that it seemed pos­ States were fairly well informed about sible that they might be suspected of conditions in the camp, — the cuts having had communications with in the rations, the semi-starvation, the guerrillas. Rumors of the Arrest of the Menmounting deaths, and it was said that carinis — Some persons in the camp 577ie Manuscript of this Book Closely Escapes who had heard rumors some time Discovery — The entire manuscript of this book up to this chapter was in Duggleby’s previously of the arrest of Mr. and office. It was contained in two large tin boxes concealed in a hole in the wall beside an old filing-case. In their very thorough search, the Japanese came within a few inches of touch­ ing the boxes with their hands.

^Carroll. Duggleby was so kind as to tell Carroll to tell the writer of this book that his manuscript had not been included among the papers and documents seized.

460

Mrs. Mencarini in the city, connected this up with the happening in the camp. The Mencarinis had not only been very active on behalf of the Santo Tomas internees and the old men at the Hospicio de San Jose, but had also taken part in helping the men in the Cabanatuan war-prisoners’ camp, and it was thought that some suspicion of communication between Santo Tomas and Cabanatuan might have been formed by the Japanese authorities. At 9:40 that night there suddenly broke out the sounds of heavy bomb­ ing from the direction of Cavite and, later, from McKinley and Zablan fields; probably some 40 or 50 bombs were dropped. At around 10:50 there was a bombing of the Bay area and some anti-aircraft fire, and during the next ten minutes there were several more attacks in the same region. There was a half-moon, still high up in the sky. No air-raid alarm was sounded, despite this considerable ac­ tivity which was heard with deep satisfaction as the Santo Tomas popu­ lation dropped off to uneasy sleep. Sunday, the 24th, the air-raid alarm sounded at 10:30, which necessitated the cancellation of the morning wor­ ship service. The title of the sermon which was to have been preached by the Rev. Brush was, "The Star Still Shines”. No planes appeared over the city, however, and the air-raid-ended signal sounded at 12:11. The "sanitary inspections” were completed on this day. Conditions were "in the main, found satisfacto­ ry”. Several days before, on the 21st, certain shanty areas had been found to be "in very poor condition" by the Commandant’s staff, and orders had been given to clean them more thoroughly, which had been done. During the morning, a number of the

THE CAMP

drums of gasoline which had been buried in the hospital grounds were dug up by soldiers and taken out of the camp. Their gasoline must be run­ ning low, said the internees. The Y.M.C.A. Christmas Donation Admitted to the Camp only in Part— Christmas preparations had not been nearly as extensive as in 1942 and 1943. People had looked forward to spending another Christmas in the camp with heavy hearts, and there was little that could be done for the children because there was very little of anything in the camp and nothing could be brought in, despite the ap­ peals of the Internee Committee to the Commandant's Office. However, on the 22nd, a small amount of sup­ plies, donated by the Neutral Welfare Committee of the International Y.M.­ C.A. was permitted to enter the camp “through the courtesy of the Com­ mandant’s Office". Rumor had it that only a fifth of what this commit­ tee had wanted to send in had been admitted by the Japanese, but accord­ ing to Carroll there was no way of confirming this. The supplies consist­ ed of the following items: Mongo beans, 8 sacks (401 kilos) Brown beans, 2 sacks (92 kilos) Sugar, 4 sacks (114 kilos) Coffee, 1 sack (34 kilos) Chocolate, 1, box (98 cakes, small Tea, 10 pounds Pepper, 14 jars, small Salt, 5 sacks (227 kilos) Calamancis, 9 sacks Cigars — 19,993 "Chicks” 3,600 "Alhambras” 445 “Vice-Presidentes” Cigarets, 439 packages Pipe tobacco, 104 packages Chewing tobacco, 66 pieces Women and children’s clothing, 1 sack Shoes, 1 case Sandals, 2 bags; Soles and heels, 1 sack Socks, 2 bundles Men’s clothing, 2 boxes Sewing thread Knitting yam

THE THIRD CHRISTMAS IN CAMP Mosquito nets, 2 bundles Toilet articles, 3 packages Phonograph records, 25 packages Medicines and drugs, 9 packages (1/3 of these supplies were set aside for Los Banos and were sent there by an army truck on the 31st.)

That evening the camp had a serv­ ing of a hot calamanci drink at sup­ per time because the fruit had arriv­ ed in a badly bruised and crushed condition and could not be given out, one or two each, to individuals. The next evening there was another serv­ ing, somewhat more watery. Beliel said in the evening broadcast on the 22nd, speaking of the Christ­ mas program: " ...Y ou can readily understand that the Christmas program this year is necessarily limited,-but for what we lack in material ad­ vantages or festive possibilities we can make up in hope, mutual helpfulness, and a true Christmas spirit.”

A Christmas morning party to be given in the children’s playhouse un­ der the auspices of the parents association, was scheduled for child­ ren up to and including those 15 years of age, they being required to register their meal tickets on the 23rd in or­ der to obtain admission. The registra­ tion had to be cancelled that day be­ cause of the air raid and was held the next day. Special permission to give a program of Christmas music on the evening of the 24th, Sunday, between 6:00 and 6:45 had also been granted by the Commandant’s Office, but the air raid on that day forced its postponement also. There was, how­ ever, a general distribution of one 2pound tin of jam and nine 30-gram pieces of native chocolate, remainders of camp stock, to every group of 18 people presenting three (6-people) canteen ration cards, this giving eve­ ryone in camp around two spoonfuls of jam and half of a small disk of

461

chocolate. A general distribution of 5 cigars (green and of a poor brand) and 4 cigarets were handed out through the monitors to all persons 16 years of age and over. These “smokes” came from the neutral wel­ fare committee donation. Some men gulped down the jam and the choco­ late without even waiting for supper time, but most internees made the jam do for several days, eating a little of it on the end of a spoon as a des­ sert. Supper that night consisted on­ ly of the usual serving of one level ladleful of rice and a little larger than usual serving of soy-refuse sauce, but it was pathetic how the camp spirit had risen with the minute distribution of that afternoon. A solemn high mass, conducted by Father Koelman, was held in the hos­ pital chapel that evening, taking the place of the traditional midnight mass by special dispensation. Grinnell, Duggleby, Larsen, and Lee were still in the camp jail, despite efforts by Carroll and Lloyd to secure their release if only temporarily. Ac­ cording to the minutes: "In response to a request from the Commit­ tee for the temporary release from the camp jail on account of Christmas of the 4 inter­ nees held in the custody of the Japanese au­ thorities, the Commandant’s Office (Abiko) stated that Lee should be kept where he was. With regard to the others, the question of their temporary release was beyond the con­ trol of the Commandant’s Office as they were being held on instructions from the Japanese authorities outside. It was very doubtful whe­ ther they could be released, but the Comman­ dant’s Office would advise the Committee if arrangements could be made.”

The Joyful Surprise of the U.S. Ar­ my Christmas Leaflets Dropped by Plane during the Night — Three or four bombs were dropped in the direc­ tion of Nichols field a little after 8 o'clock, and the mutter of planes was heard overhead a number of

462

times during the night. In the morn­ ing came excitement, joy! Early risers in the shanty areas had found a num­ ber of leaflets on the campus which had been dropped during the night from some American plane, — Christ­ mas greetings from the Army, which they hastened to show to their friends. The Japanese soldiers went about looking for groups of people reading them to confiscate them, but many copies had already been made in pencil. The greetings read: "The Commander-in-chief, the officers, and the men of the American Forces of Liberation in the Pacific wish their gallant allies, the People of the Philippines, all the blessings of Christmas, and the realization of their fervent hopes for the New Year — Christmas. 1944."

The leaflets were neatly printed on good paper and bore a small religious picture of the scene of the Birth at Bethlehem. Iriternees said that was wisely done in a largely Catholic coun­ try, — much better than if the leaf­ let had carried some less religious Christmas emblem or decoration. They also called attention to the fact that the people of the Philippines were referred to as “gallant allies”, show­ ing that the Americans were giving no importance whatever to the proclama­ tion of a “state of war", by the pup­ pet "government”. The reference to the people’s "fervent hopes" indicat­ ed that the Americans were well aware of their real state of mind. The music at reveille was a rousing instrumental transcription of “On­ ward, Christian Soldiers”! Another solemn high mass was cele­ brated in the hospital chapel by Fa­ ther Landwehr, with special music written for the occasion by Mario Bakerini-Booth, an internee from Shanghai. The Protestant service was

THE CAMP

held at 10 o'clock, the Rev. F. Cham­ bers preaching the Christmas sermon. The Samurai Steal some of the Children’s Candy — The children’s party was held at the playhouse be­ tween 9:30 and 11:30, with Harvey as the master of ceremonies. As a special treat the children all received two pieces of native bocayo, candy (coco­ nut and muscovado sugar) each about the size of a stick of chewing gum, but a little thicker. Parents had club­ bed together and paid F5 for each of their children ‘for this delicacy. It was bought through the Japanese at PI70 a kilo. The candy was in the Commandant’s office for about two hours after delivery and before being turned over to the parents associa­ tion, and during that brief time seve­ ral packages of it had disappeared,— the Samurai not scrupling at steal­ ing this poor candy from the children. It was all the children received at the party, but a few parents were able to give their children privately some homemade toys and dolls. One little boy received a printing press made from an old hand cigaret-machine. At noon, at the annex, the children got a thin chocolate drink in addition to the usual cup of soy-refuse soup. The Camp’s Christmas “Dinner"— The older people also got something extra in the way of food, though no­ thing additional was furnished by the Japanese. In the morning there was mush and coconut milk slightly sweet­ ened with chocolate cake, and a cup of coffee. For lunch there was a really thick soybean soup. And that night! A double serving of fried rice and camotes and other vegetables, mixed with some canned meats and five times the regular daily ration of cook­ ing oil, including some lard still in the slender camp reserves. What a meal that was! Under the circum-

THE KNIFING IN THE GYMNASIUM

stances it was a culinary triumph, and the camp was grateful to the whole kitchen staff, from chief supervisor Hick, Hunter, the chief cook, and Gildow, his chief adviser and assist­ ant, down to the pot-stirrers and firestokers. D. D. Gildow, who was prin­ cipally responsible for the supper, had joined the kitchen staff a few months previously. He was an Iowan and was for 20 years in the U.S. Navy, retiring in 1935 as chief commissary steward. From 1937 on he was senior food ins­ pector for the Sixteenth Naval (Ca­ vite) District. Hunter was an account­ ant with the Hume Pipe Works, but had gained valuable buying and res­ taurant experience in conducting his own small restaurant in the camp durthe first two years of the internment. Hick was in peacetime factory super­ intendent of the Philippine branch of the Franklin-Baker Desiccated Co­ conut Company. As a matter of fact, despite the re­ ductions in the camp cereal rations, the meals had actually improved as to tastiness with the availability of the soybean refuse, and the addition of the camotes to the diet added a variable which made a somewhat greater range of meals possible than rice and rice and corn alone. If only there had been enough even only to fill the stomach! In the evening the postponed music and story-reading program was held on the plaza, under the auspices of the department of special activities, with the cooperation of the music de­ partment, and under the direction of the Rev. Nolting. Dr. Holter read H. C. Booth’s "Song of the Angels”,— a story of sacrifice with the early Neronic persecutions as a background. The Commandant's Office had given "special permission” for curfew to be extended until 8 p.m., with lights al­ lowed until 8:15!

463 No Visiting. No Packages Allowed to Come in — In spite of official dis­ couragement, hundreds of relatives and friends had been at the Santo Tomas gate that morning in the hope of being able to send packages in to their kin or friends in the camp, but they were all turned away, still carry­ ing gifts prepared with love and care and who knows what sacrifice. The Knifing in the Gymnasium— Crime and tragedy of another kind had shown itself in the camp that Christmas morning. According to the minutes: "The chief patrolman of the gymnasium (M. M. Cochran) was slashed with a knife by C. W. Staples at 8 a.m while in the performance of his duties. The slash just pierced the jugu­ lar vein and also cut his chest, but owing to prompt attention on the part of the medical staff it is hoped he will recover. His assailant was taken to the hospital with a cut on the back of his hand."

There was a connection between this incident and the food situation. Some of the hungry men in the gym­ nasium who still obtained their break­ fast at the central kitchen line had gotten into the habit of rushing off before the dismissal from roll call was given, and that morning Staples had reached the door when Cochran laid his hand on his shoulder and asked him politely to return to his place. Staples refused and as Cochran tried to take him back, Staples shouted, "Keep your hands off me! My heart! My heart!” A struggle ensued during which Staples fell between two beds. He lay there for a moment, fumbling at his pocket, and Cochran walked back to the door, Staples then getting up with a drawn knife which he held behind his back. Others warned Coch­ ran. "He’s got a knife!" and Cochran stepped outside and picked up a pole as Staples reached the doorway. Coch­ ran, came back to the stoop and Sta-

464

pies knifed him in the neck, after which Cochran before collapsing, knocked him down with the pole. Sta­ ples sustained a cut on his hand and also a bleeding head which he might have obtained either in falling against the bed or against the edge of the stoop- Cochran was taken to the hos­ pital seriously wounded, and Staples also went to the hospital to have his head and hand bound up. This was the first serious incident of the kind in the camp in three years and evid­ enced the nervous strain which existed. The Disappearance of the Persian Cat— An incident which pointed to a lesser crime, was the disappearance on Christmas Day of the most beauti­ ful cat, a Persian, most persons in Santo Tomas had ever seen. Very large, with long sleek mauve-gray fur and a thick bushy tail, he attracted attention at all times. He had been raised from kittenhood by Mr. and Mrs. T. A. Roberts and had shared the major part of the family’s intern­ ment. It had been no easy thing to feed him properly, and this had re­ quired sacrifice. The poor splendid beast had gone ihto the pot, like ma­ ny more common member of his ge­ nus, of some one without either con­ science or an appreciation of the ra­ rest of feline beauty. Distant bombing had been heard in the mcrning and it was said that the Tribune of the day before had stated that the Japanese high command had announced that Corregidor was "no longer considered to be of military value". Earlier rumors were to the effect that both Corregidor and Mariveles had been heavily bombed as well as Lucena and Batangas. "And so”, as the announcer had said at the end of the broadcast of the Christmas program the night be­ fore —

THE CAMP "in so far as the camp is concerned, that finishes Christmas Day of 1944. Not what we could have wished for, not enough food, not the material things which we would have liked to give to our friends and loved ones, not much health, — but have hopes ever been higher? Have wishes ever been stronger? And so, with high hopes and strong wishes may we, on behalf of the camp administration, wish you one and all a courageous Christmas and a gloriously happy New Year?"

The New Census — One thing more happened that Christmas evening, which created much comment the next day. According to the minutes: “The Commandant's Office (Mr. Ohashi) advised the Committee at 8 p.m. that by 6 p.m. Wednesday, the 27th, they required five copies of a new census list for all three camps separately. Particulars requiifcd are serial number, name, age, married state, and occu­ pation. Those in outside institutions are to be included with proper remarks.”

Later, details as to nationality were also required, — the British having to be characterized as British-Australian, British-Canadian, etc. Was this a turnover list? Was the Japanese Em­ bassy to take over the camp, as had been rumored for some days? The day after Christmas the air-raid siren sounded at 10 o'clock as five American pursuit planes flew over the city in a southeasterly direction and there was a drone in the air as of more planes. Though some distant bombing was heard during the day, there was no bombing of the city, but the raid-ended signal did not come until 6:10. The Army Commandeers all Vehi­ cles in the City — There were rumors that the Japanese Army had confis­ cated all privately owned automobiles, trucks, carromatas, and even bicycles and that the forces were preparing to evacuate the city and take positions in a ring-formation of 15-kilometer radius from the post office.

RICE RATION CUT TO 161 GRAMS PER CAPITA

Some 1,800 kilos of camotes were brought into camp, but there was on­ ly enough rice to last until the 4th or 5th of January. People still hoped that Christmas packages from the out­ side might be allowed to come in, but this hope perished during the day. Some were still clinging to the hope of a distribution of Red Cross kits, saying that the Japanese never made much of Christmas and that their most important holidays fall on the 1st and 2nd of January, when they are accustomed to distribute gifts. The camp might get its kits then! 290 Workers Receiving Extra Food —The Internee Committee again took up the matter of extra food for the heavy workers. On the 23rd, a tempo­ rary program had been put into ef­ fect, pending the formation of the new extra food control committee, under which some 290 persons were receiving extra food simply on the re­ commendation of their division chiefs, —a program too open to abuse to be followed for long. On the 26th, at a meeting of the new control commit­ tee with Carroll and others, Carroll reported that Shiraji had stated that the Army was "unable to supply the 50 kilos of rice” the Committee had asked for to provide the extra food needed and also that he could not guarantee any substitute. However, Carroll said: "It appeared, however, that we should get from time to time quantities of camotes, soy­ bean meal, and coconuts to supplement the reduced rice ration. Mr. Schelke said that at present 321 day-meals and 52 night-meals were being served over and above the standard rations. Mr. Pond referred to the desirability of spreading labor as far as possible in order to cut down the amount of additional food which had to be served in order to keep the heavy-labor nnd long-hour workers in a fit state to carry on. Mr. Rocke said that the Monitors Council supported the scheme in principle and looked to the control committee to see that it was

465

not abused, pointing out also the desirability of publishing the list of names approved for the additional meals. If was agreed to put the plan approved on the 18th into effect as soon as possible.”

161 Grams of Rice per Capita—Only a short time before, when the Japa­ nese had cut the daily cereal delive­ ries from 1,050 kilos invoiced weight, to 700 kilos net "guaranteed weight", they had said that the difference would be made up for in camotes and other substitutes, but on the 27th, on the ground that they had brought in "large quantities of camotes” (1,450 kilos), they cut the day’s issue from 700 to 600 kilos.7 As the corn supply had been exhausted, this was also the day on which the last serving of cornmeal for breakfast was made, and the camp had to go back to soft-boiled rice. The Japanese Persist in the Discri­ minatory Distribution of Tobacco— Despite all protests, the Comman­ dant’s Office on the 27th again "re­ warded” only the garden workers with the opportunity to buy pipe-to­ bacco and cigarets. Those who had worked from 10 to 19 hours during the month and up to Christmas Day were allowed to buy 3 packages of cigarets; those who had worked from 20 to 29 hours, 1 package of picadura; 30 to 39 hours, 1 package of picadura and 3 packages of, cigarets; 40 to 49 hours, 2 packages of picadura; and those who had worked 50 hours or more, 2 packages of picadura and 3 packages of cigarets. The price of the picadura was P5 and of the cigarets PI.30 a package, military notes. To­ bacco was selling in the camp at P40 Philippine currency. The second floor of the main build­ ing which had not yet been given this attention by the men of the Com7161 grams per capita on the basis of the true population; .35 lb.

THE CAMP

466

These figures were as of December mandant’s staff, was searched on the 27th, and several typed copies of the 25, 1944, and included 66 persons in American Army’s Christmas-greeting outside hospitals and institutions. According to the minutes, the Com­ leaflets were found in a woman’s pos­ mandant's Office adv*ised the Com­ session. According to the minutes: 'During the search, typed copies of a leaf­ mittee that — let dropped from an airplane on Christmas morning were found in possession of an in­ ternee (Mrs. V. Thompson), and later in the day, after investigation, the Commandant’s Office advised the Internee Committee that all internees should be warned that if any leaflets are dropped from airplanes in the fu­ ture, they must be turned in immediately to the Commandant’s Office and no publicity given them. Any person found typing copies or giving them publicity in any way will be severely dealt with. In addition, if any typed copies of such prohibited documents are found in the future, all typewriters in the camp will be impounded.”

The next day Mrs. Thompson was sen­ tenced by the Commandant’s Office to 7 days’ confinement to her room. The New Census Figures—Later on the 27th, the Committee was required to submit a written report on the slashing affray at the gymnasium. In the evening, the new census by natio­ nalities of all three camps, ordered by the Commandant’s Office on Christ­ mas evening, was submitted. A sum­ mary follows: Americans British (miscellaneous) British-Australian British-Canadian Dutch Polish Norwegian Italian Nicaraguan Chinese Mexican French Egyptian Spanish German Swiss Slovakian

"all transfers to outside institutions had been indefinitely postponed owing to trouble with outside institutions. Even Mrs............................. who is a serious mental case at present, could not be transferred to Mandaluyong [National Psychopathic Institute], but, by order of the Commandant’s Office, was moved from the upstairs ward of the camp hospital to a sepa­ rate room on the ground floor so that she could not be observed or heard by persons outside the camp”.

The trouble referred to outside the camp was the reported arrest of Dr. Antonio Sison, chief of the Philip­ pine General Hospital and President of the University of the Philippines (he had succeeded Dr. B. A. Gonzalez in the latter position), and his remov­ al to Fort Santiago. The Apparent Army Evacuation of Manila — That night there was the noise of heavy traffic in all sections of the city, giving point to the rumors that the Japanese troops were evacuat­ ing. There were further rumors of American landings at Mariveles and Olongapo!

Manila

Los Banos

Baguio

2780 745 100 61 50 25 10

1589 329 33 56 89

394 63 9

22 10

7 2 2 1 1 1

1

3,785

2146

4763 1137 133 126 139 47

20

16

1

Total

16

1 1

468

1 1 1 8 2 2 1 1 1

6399

HUNGRY INTERNEES RUSH THE POT

On the 28th, the issue of rice was again only 600 kilos instead of 700, but the Commandant’s Office at last handed over 1,000 packages of picadura tobacco at a cost of P5,000 for general distribution. But according to the minutes, the Commandant's Office — "was not prepared to supply the Committee with a list of those who had already received tobacco from the Commandant’s Office direct, as such issues were intended as rewards for work done by internees for the Imperial Ja­ panese Army. The Committee decided to make a general distribution through the monitors to persons 18 and over and those of 15 to 17 who are carrying full work assignment and to suggest to the Monitors Council that those who had already received tobacco as a reward direct from the Commandant’s Office be ap­ proached to forego any further share in the general distribution so as to ensure at least 1/3 package (83.3 grams) to all other internees entitled to tobacco under the general distri­ bution”.

467 A war-rumor was that Fortune Is­ land, a small island close to the Batangas coast, had been occupied by the American forces, possibly for use as an artillery position. A heavy bomb was dropped somewhere at a distance by a high-flying American plane at 5:37 p.m. During the afternoon there had been five or six Japanese bomb­ ers in the air and a few more fight­ ing planes, and there was flying all night long in the bright moonshine, the Japanese evidently fearing an at­ tack. Practically all of this aerial ac­ tivity was based on the Grace Park airfield, the other fields about the city appearing to be entirely inactive. A flurry was created in the camp on Saturday, the 29th, when at around 11:30 six American dive-bombers flew over Manila from the Marikina Valley and were fired on by anti-aircraft bat­ teries at Quezon City. The camp air­ raid alarm was sounded, but the city sirens did not sound, and at 12:30 the camp returned to a state of alert. The Camp Labor Council Cuts Down the Hours of Work — In the morn­ ing a search by the Commandant’s staff of the last remaining shanty area was made, but only a few old maga­ zines were confiscated. Shortage of funds led to another appropriation by the Internee Committee of P7,500 from the funds held by Grant for the purchase of food. The Committee also approved a recommendation of the labor council to cut down the hours of work in the camp. According to the minutes:

Hungry Internees Rush the Pot— That evening, after supper, when a pot of leftovers was being taken from the gymnasium to be returned to the central kitchen on a pushcart, a group of men and boys rushed the pot and emptied it. This gave rise to a rumor that “seconds” were being served, and in a few minutes there was a line of still hungry people which ran around three sides of the main building. An announcement had to be made over the loudspeakers that there would be no second helpings before the line would disperse. Other hopeful rumors ran rife: that Red Cross kits would surely be dis­ tributed before the end of the year, "The Committee approved a recommenda­ probably on Sunday, the 30th, and tion of the labor council that owing to the. that the Catholic Women’s League present food situation in camp the general would also send in individual pack­ scale of hours to be put in by internees should ages, one kind for men, another for be reduced as follows: (1) moderate labor to women, and still another for children. 1-1/2 hours, (2) light labor to 2 hours, (3) The packages for adults would in­ sedentary and office work to 3 hours." Everybody Gets a Little Tobacco— clude 1/2 pound each of beans, rice, In the afternoon every adult internee sugar, and tobacco.

468

was gladdened with 1/3 package of smoking tobacco despite the fact that only a little more than half of the 300 or so garden workers had indicated their readiness to forego their share in the general distribution and that therefore the Committee had decided not to accept this sacrifice on the part of only some of these men. As a matter of fact, many of the garden workers, on receiving their "rewards”, had shared the tobacco with friends. An all-camote meal of mashed camote was served in the evening with mongo-bean gravy, — the beans being a part of those received as a gift of the Y.M.C.A. neutral welfare commit­ tee. It was a good meal, as the meal of the night before had also been when the usual rice had been served with a mongo-and-soybean gravy and some garden greens on the side. A Little Meat, the First Since Octo­ ber — On Saturday, the 30th, it look­ ed as if the expectations of some in­ ternees in the camp as to New Year might be fulfilled, for the Japanese sent in not only a large quantity of camotes, but also pechay, and, rumor had it, the carcasses of three carabaos. According to the record, however, the meat received scaled down to 300 ki­ los, (the first fresh meat received since October 21), the camotes to 2,000 ki­ los, and the pechay to 700 kilos, the latter in such poor condition that it had to be sent to the duck farm. Among the last business taken up by the Internee Committee for the year was the acceptance of the resig­ nation of Colonel Livingston as chief of the department of patrols and the approval of the recommendation of the chief of camp order to appoint J. D. Birrell as his successor. That night, around 8:30, a flare and a few bombs were dropped on the Ni­ chols airfield, and the next morning, the 31st, a few distant bomb-explo­

THE CAMP

sions were heard at breakfast time. At around 3:30 p.m. four American planes seen over Quezon City were fired on by ground batteries, but there was no bombing. However, a little later a small oil-fire broke out at Pandacan. The Japanese New Year Celebration — After a few internees had seen an army truck late that afternoon at the relief department door of the main building, the rumor immediately spread that the individual packages from the Catholic Women’s League were being delivered, but actually it was only the truck which was to take the one-third share of the Y.M.C.A. donations of the week before to Los Banos. An hour or so later several more army trucks drove up to the Internee Committee office and dropped off sacks of rice, camotes, radishes, and other supplies and the emergency squad was called to transport them to the Japanese bodega. It turned out that most of the supplies were for the Japanese who had been preparing all day long for their New Year Day ce­ lebration. Soldiers had been baking Japanese bread-buns and cakes all day, mixing the dough in the open, outside the Commandant’s kitchen, as camp children watched them at a dis­ tance. The sight made the mouths water of all internees who passed by and who had not tasted a piece of bread for many, many months. The last day of the year was Sun­ day. Grinnell, Duggleby, and Larsen were still in the camp jail. Johnson had not been returned to the camp and nothing was known as to his fate. The Internee Committee again ap­ proached the Commandant's Office on behalf of the first three, but was told by Ohashi that he "regretted that no concessions could be made”. He pointed out that they were prisoners

MOUNTING DEATHS-HOSPITAL STATISTICS

of the military police and that if they were released from the jail even for a short time, and the military police found out about it, they might be taken to Fort Santiago instead of be­ ing left in the camp. As a special concession on New Year's Eve, curfew was extended to 8 o'clock, with the light allowed on for 15 minutes longer! There were re­ newed rumors about landings in Batangas and other stories about Ame­ rican task forces and convoys ap­ proaching Luzon from the south, east, and north. Very few people sat up to see the New Year in and there was no sign of any celebration in the city. The day had been uneventful in the camp. The evening broadcast had been brief: "We have only one announcement at this time: A happy New Year to every­ one. Goodnight.” Hospital Data — While the number of deaths during the month was the highest during the internment so far, the number of new diet deficiency diagnoses during the latter half of the month decreased sharply from 363 during the 10-day period ending December 7, and 567 during the 10-day period ending December 17, to only 84 for the week ending December 24 and 65 for the week ending December 31. In this connection it was to be noted that the soybean refuse was added to the diet on the 6th and camotes on the 21st. Taking the hospital and outpatients toge­ ther, the number of influenza cases during the month dropped to 38, and the dysentery cases totalled only 18, but cases of "intesti­ nal disorders” numbered, 281, gastritis 8, and diseases of the digestive system 34. Cases of beriberi increased by 66 to a total of 242 of whom 15 were hospitalized; there were 6 new cases of scurvy, bringing the total to 15; the 18 cases of pellagra registered were all carried over from the previous month. Four new cases of pulmonary tuberculosis were hospitalized, making a total of 38, with 24 more outside the hospital. Non-infectious diseases of the eye increased by 9 to a total of 35; diseases of the car increased by 10 to a total of 27. Cases of ner­ vous diseases increased by 8 to a total of

469

28, of whom 14 were hospitalized. Cases of psychosis increased by 3 to a total of 17, of whom 3 were hospitalized. The total number of cases hospitalized dur­ ing the month was 442, of whom 262 were men, 141 women, and 39 children. Outpatients treated numbered 729 men, 547 women, and 123 children. These figures did not include treat­ ments of a minor nature in the several camp clinics.

17 Deaths— Deaths during the month numbered 17, the highest on record. Thirteen of them were men, ranging in age from 45 to 75, 3 wo­ men, from 48 to 64, and one infant. Among the dead were D. Kretzer, 72, well known government veterina­ rian, E. E. Baker, 72, a former teacher and editor of a civil service monthly, Louis Ohl, 68, a French journalist, and T. Nimrod McKinney, 66, a colored American at one time of prominence in fraternity work. The total number of deaths among internees from the beginning of in­ ternment to the end of 1944 was 247, among whom only 37 were females; 55 of the 247 died in the camp, most of the rest rest in outside hospitals. The total number of children born to internees during this same period was 73, — male 35 and female 38. Only 14 of these, however, were ac­ tually born in the camp. Bridgeford’s report for December said, in part: "While the food supply continued extremely inadequate during December, there was a distinct improvement toward the end of the month. The substitutes delivered in lieu of the reduced rice ration, in my opinion, fully compensated for the reduction and were cer­ tainly more appreciated by the camp in the greater variety thereby made possible in the meals. There was also a marked improvement in vegetable deliveries from the Army after the middle of the month. As a result of all these factors, I estimate the average caloric value of the food in December must have been considerably in excess of the November figure. There is still some question as to the latter; the total supplied was less than in October, but a reduced meal-count at the central kit­ chen left the per capita consumption practic­

THE CAMP

470 ally unchanged. This reduction in the meals served may have been due in part to more accurate line-counting but was also evidence of greater control of chiseling. In spite of the contrasts with the relative plenty of previous years, Christmas Day was celebrated in camp with general cheerfulness and high mora'e. Not much could be done in the way of special food, but there is no doubt that what was done was appreciated. All kitchens served cof­ fee and sweetened chocolate milk with the breakfast mush, a thick soymeal soup at lunch, and fried rice w ith canned meats at night, built up to a double-normal serving by camotes and a release from current bodega stock of a 25% increase in the normal rice issue.

With the addition of 60 kilos of lard, 5 times the daily army ration of cooking-fat was used in this meal. A delivery o f fresh carabao meat from the Army on New Year’s Eve made it possible to plan a fried rice and meat-gravy meal for New Year’s Day and at the same time to con­ serve the remaining remnants of canned meats (which we were going to use that day) for 2 further meals early in January. This w ill be the end of our canned meats, but we have a few sacks of beans which will be used to build up gravies for a few more January meals. Beyond this, we are dependent on the Army, but all indications are that our intern­ ment phase is rapidly nearing the end."

Chapter XXIV The January 1945, Chronicle ,

War developments in the Philip­ pines and their consequences within the camp came so rapidly and so dra­ matically during January, 1945, that a simple daily chronicle of events within and of events or rumors of events without, seemed to the writer the most natural form for the follow­ ing section of this narrative. What the camp now got to eat from day to day, and even from meal to meal, was a matter of the preserva­ tion of life itself for every man, wo­ man, and child in the camp, so that no apology needed to be made for starting with the breakfast on New Year’s Day, when there was mush and coffee, though no coconut milk, of which, during the whole month of December, too, there had been but four servings. Coffee was always used several times over, but lately an im­ proved method of making a number of brews from the same coffee had been worked out which consisted of drying the grounds and regrinding them into almost a powder. However, there was but very little coffee left in the camp. At noon there was a

cup of good soybean-refuse "soup”, and for supper the internees received two ladlefuls of fried rice and camotes mixed with the 300 kilos cara­ bao meat which the Japanese had sup­ plied. The dish also contained the last of the bean sprouts obtainable. 'It was another excellent meal, though the chronically hungry people wished for three times as much of it and would have eaten every grain and shred. Food, food; the camp could think of little else. Before their imprisonment by the Japanese, most of the people in the camp had never had to think of food except in terms of choice or prepara­ tion, — of taste and preference, of fine discrimination in flavor and sa­ vor. Now the poorest, most taste­ less stuff was good if it were only digestible, but there was never enough! People were generaly rinsing their dishes and drinking the water to get the last bit of sustenance out of each "meal”. Some 30 of the great 4-motored American planes flew over Manila northward at around 10:30 and the

NEW Y E A R — JA P A N ES E IN CA M P G ET DRUNK

air-raid alarm was sounded. Some said that they had seen at least 70 of these planes during the day, but there was no bombing and the raidended signal came at 1:20. Since Christmas the spirits of the camp had risen surprisingly in spite of hardships and disappointments, and on New Year’s Day one heard on every hand and all day long the greet­ ing, "Happy New Year”, spoken much more than perfunctorily. Many peo­ ple made New Year calls on their friends, some of them not without hope of getting a cup of coffee from those who still had some private stock. The Commandant permitted the broadcast of a special musical pro­ gram between 6 and 6:45, and ex­ tended curfew to 7:30, with lights out at 8. The latter order of course ne­ ver applied to the Japanese in their own quarters, where lights were turned on and off at will. Neither was the city always blacked out when the camp for some months always was dark. The camp news broadcast that eve­ ning stated that there would be no coffee the next morning, but did say that coconuts might again become available, at least for a while. The Japanese in the Commandant’s office celebrated during the entire morning, carrying out their obser­ vances toward the Imperial Palace and the Ise Shrine, and were all roaring drunk by noon. They made some noise during the early evening, too, but all was quiet by 10 o’clock. The city was entirely silent. T u e sd a y , the 2nd, was another Ja­ panese holiday and the third anniver­ sary of the fall of Manila. Some Ame­ rican planes were seen through the clouds at around 10:30 and at noon 15 more, but this seemed to have be­ come so common an appearance that

471

the alarm was not sounded by the Ja­ panese. Seven hundred coconuts were brought in which cost the camp P9.20 each, as against the prewar price of 1 or 2 centavos. These nuts and 1,500 more brought in during the next few days, supplied the camp for a week or so with coconut milk for the first time since November. On the 3rd some two tons of camotes were also brought into camp but not re­ leased. The Internee Committee ap­ proved the appointment of J. B. Har­ rison as assistant chief of the depart­ ment of patrols in place of Birrell who was appointed chief as sucessor to Colonel Livingston. The Gymnasium Stabbing Affray to be Referred to Constituted Authorities at the Proper Time — The Comman­ dant had considered a report on the stabbing affray at the gymnasium on Christmas morning, and "in view of the directions received from the Com­ mandant’s Office that this affair was to be handled by the Internee Com­ mittee”, the Committee, — "after taking legal advice, resolved to instruct the chief of camp order to take written, signed, and witnessed depositions from all parties concerned in the affair, including ns many eye-witnesses as are prepared to testify to the true happenings, and to turn over such depositions to the Internee Committee for pre­ sentation by the Committee at the proper time to the duly constituted authorities. It was also resolved that the chief of the camp order divi­ sion be empowered to appoint a special de­ puty trained in the law to handle the case and to receive the depositions referred to.”

The deputy appointed was J. R. Me­ rle.' The Tribune was reported that eve­ ning to have admitted an "infiltration of enemy communication units” in southern Luzon. That night there was 'Killed in the Japanese shelling of the camp on February 7. Nothing was done about this and a few similar cases after the Liberation. All was forgotten.

472

a lot of noise in the Japanese quar­ ters in the education building and it sounded at first as if someone was being tortured, but it was soon evi­ dent that the staff was just drunk again. More Red Cross Greetings But no Supplies — The 3rd was just as un­ eventful, although there had been considerable aerial activity over the Marikina Valley during the night. At 5:40 in the morning, 4 or 5 of our planes were seen over Grace Park airfield, where they were fired on, but there was no retaliation. A few minutes later, the air-raid alarm was sounded in the camp, but not down­ town. The state of alarm in the camp was continued all day by the Com­ mandant’s Office and the reversion to the alert was not sounded until 6:45. Hopes that the Japanese might deli­ ver "the Red Cross kits" on the 1st or 2nd had again been disappointed, but the camp did get a number of addi­ tional Red Cross messages which were placed on the bulletin boards. They were Christmas messages from va­ rious Red Cross societies and the New Zealand government, and ran as fol­ lows: "The American Red Cross sends you Chi .stmas greetings and sincere wishes for continued strength and courage in the New Year. Signed Basil O'Conner, Chairman." "The Australian Red Cross sends you Very cordial Christmas greetings and best wishes for the coming year on behalf of its member supporters and your own homefolk." "The South African Red Cross sends warmest greetings to all. Tot siens [Au revoir]." "The Indian Red Cross sends Christmas greetings and best w ishes for early reunion and Happy New Year.” "The Chairman and Committee of the Joint Council of the Order o f St. John, the New Zealand Red Cross Society, and the War Pur­ poses Committee wish to convey to New Zea­ land prisoners of war and internees cordial greetings and best w ishes for their early re­ lease."

THE CAMP

A message from the Prime Minister of New Zealand read: "At this season of Christmas, you are in the thoughts of all of us, and on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand I extend to you our warmest greetings. We look forward eagerly to the day of your re­ turn and your reunion with your loved ones. Good health and good fortune. Signed, Prime Minister."

On the 4th, four of our planes seen over the Grace Park airfield were fired on a little before 8 in the mor­ ning and about noon there was some anti-aircraft fire over Nichols and McKinley, but no alarm was sounded during the day. Rice Ration cut to 145 Grams— In the morning, Shiraji informed the Committee that yet another cut had been made in the cereal ration from 600 to 550 kilos a day. This brought the per capita daily ration down to 145 grams (.32 lb.). Shiraji stated that rice was "very hard to obtain but that camotes and gabi were now plentiful” and that he expected to be able to fur­ nish the latter vegetables as a substi­ tute. The Japanese buyer stated he had orders from Shiraji to buy one ton of camotes daily for the camp and some 1,400 kilos came in. He said also that the price of mongo beans was now P200 a kilo, and that panocha (raw sugar-cake) had gone down from P300 to P220 a kilo. School Closed — Teachers and Pu­ pils too Weak to Climb the Stairs— One man at about this time offered his one-third package of tobacco for anyone’s breakfast mush, the next morning. Of some twenty men who heard him, only one would take him up. Camp school officials and teach­ ers, meeting that afternoon, decided to extend the holiday vacation for ano­ ther two weeks chiefly because it was felt that teachers and pupils could not continue to climb the stairs to the classrooms on the roof of the main building several times a day. The

GRINNELL, D U G G L E B Y , AND LA RSEN TAKEN OUT O F C A M P

children’s library and the reference library were to remain open. Ohashi, during the day, ordered that the nipa hut in a corner of the Fathers Garden, used by the depart­ ment of religion, be moved to a new location near the seminary gate, the exact location to be fixed by Abiko. Abiko the next day issued written ins­ tructions to the Committee stating that the hut was to be moved and would be used by the Japanese guards. However, that part of the west nipa pavilion which had had to be turned over to the military for the quartering of soldiers some months before was returned for internee use. Internee Refuses to Mend Japanese Cooking Pot—Another order for in­ ternee labor on the 4th resulted in some unpleasantness. According to the minutes:

been informed Ohashi that —

473

that

afternoon

by

'in the future all family-aid payments and all other contacts in connection with non-interned fam ilies would have to be made through the Commandant’s Office and War-Prisoners Headquarters as Mr. Kato was no longer con­ nected w ith the Embassy for this purpose."

This information regarding Kato created some speculation in connec­ tion with rumors that various mem­ bers of the staff of the Embassy had been recalled to Tokyo. Other rumors that went about that evening con­ cerned American landings at Nasugbu, Batangas, under cover of artillery es­ tablished on Fortune island as well as of action on sea and in the air by ships and planes.2 Grinnell, Duggleby, and Larsen Taken out of the Camp by Military Po­ lice— The principal occurrence on the "Lt. Shiraji asked the Committee to arrange 5th was that Grinnell, Duggleby, and for internees to repair the Commandant’s of­ Larsen were taken out of camp around fice kitchen cawas [large cooking pots], Mr. 3 o’clock in the afternoon, after hav­ J. L. Kibbee, who does this work for the ing been held incommunicado in the camp kitchens, was unwilling to do the work camp jail for 14 days. They were for the Commandant’s Office and advised Lt. taken away in an automobile by two Shiraji accordingly. Lt. Shiraji stated that if military police officers who first called that was the way internees treated the Ja­ at the Commandant’s office and came panese, he would see that internees were treated accordingly. He then ordered Mr. Kib­ out with Abiko who opened the jail bee to do the work, starting this afternoon." door. None of the internee officials In the evening, the Internee Com­ were told anything, the three priso­ mittee met with the Agents to consi­ ners were given no advance notice der various camp matters, especially whatever, and they were not allowed the need for more funds. According to speak to any one or take anything with them, even their toothbrushes. to the minutes: "In connection with the possibility o f ob­ Carroll was standing in the lobby. taining another Red Cross relief fund, it was Asked whether he had been informed agreed that the Committee should again ap­ that the men would be taken out of proach Lt. Shiraji asking for information on camp, he said no and that he had only this subject and pointing out the urgent heed happened to be passing. Asked whe­ for additional funds to keep the camp going. ther they had been allowed to speak In this connection Mr. Carroll stated that there were indications of relief funds having already to anyone or to take anything with arrived at Headquarters, but that they were them, he said no. Asked where they being held up pending a decision on the would be taken, he said he did not amount to be spent for family aid. know but that it was presumably Fort As to contact between the family aid committee and the non-interned 2 Note (1945)— False; the American forces families, the Internee Committee had landed in Marinduque on the 3rd.

474

Santiago. "That’s the way they do things,” Carroll said. "It's enough to make one sick”. Carroll and Lloyd had managed to see the three men the night before, and despite the fact that they had been allowed no exercise, they looked well and said that they felt well; that, in fact, they had had an opportunity for the first time in three years to get a good rest. It is a part of the regular procedure of the Japanese military po­ lice (possibly copied from the Nazis) to hold persons prisoner without in­ forming them of any definite charges for a length of time, this being called by them the period of "meditation”. It adds to the anxiety and apprehen­ sion natural under such circumstances even in the innocent and is supposed to, and in most cases doubtless does, help to break down their spirit. The general uncommunicativeness and silly mystery-mongering of the the Japanese was shown by a minor communication imparted that day, re­ ferred to in the minutes as follows: "The chairman of the medical staff was advised by the Japanese doctor to prepare ac­ commodations for 11 patients to be brought in from the outside. No details were given as to the age, sex, or condition of the per­ sons to be brought in, nor as to the place or institution from which they are to com e.”

No Soap even for the Hospital — How the camp and the camp hospi­ tals stood as for supplies was evidenc­ ed by the following incident of the day: “The chief of the finance and supplies sec­ tion of the Commandant’s Office [Shiraji] jn reply to an urgent request for at least 25 kilos of soap for use in the hospitals stated that he would make every effort to provide the camp with some soap but was very doubtful whe­ ther he could supply the quantiy asked for.”

Ja n u a ry 6, S a tu rd a y , marked the beginning, or the day after the be­ ginning, of a new phase in the war­ fare in the Philippines and the history

THE CAMP

of Santo Tomas, but the camp was not immediately aware of it. The Big Air Raid which began on the 6th — While waiting impatiently for roll call, so they could go to break­ fast, which that morning was to con­ sist of mush, coconut milk, and cof­ fee (the 300 coconuts delivered that day were the last to be supplied), hea­ vy bombing broke out over the Ni­ chols airfield about 7:30 and the sirens sounded the alarm. There seemed to be at least 30 or 40 planes, but they were coming to attack in fours and fives. The bombing lasted only five or six minutes and at 8:13 the raidended sirens sounded and the camp went to breakfast. Bombing began again at 9:36 over all the airfields in the environs of the city, and continued almost without cessation until after 11 o’clock. Again at around 1:30 some 25 planes were seen diving over Grace Park, and one big bomb, the explo­ sion of which rocked even the main building in Santo Tomas, blew up what looked like an entire hangar as the debris settled down. Just before 3 there was another attack on the Grace Park and Nichols fields by some 30 planes which caused the lights in the Santo Tomas offices to flicker and at 4 o’clock there was yet more of it. Numerous fires were started during the day and that night the sky was aglow with conflagrations in the direction of Pasig and along the horizon north of the camp in Bulacan, perhaps in the neighborhood of Polo. Just before dark, at 7:30, 4 dive-bombers attacked Grace Park once more, and at 9:30 there was somewhere a heavy detonation as of some ammunition supply going up. No raid-ended signal was sounded. Japanese Demand Camp Records for "Inspection" — The Japanese in the camp were obviously disturbed during the day and one order issued

JAPANESE DEMAND ALL CAMP RECORDS; ALSO GARDEN TOOLS

by them was of especial significance. According to the minutes: "The Commandant’s Office (Ohashi) gave orders that the censor, Mr. Kinoshita, would start immediatedly inspecting camp records from the commencement of the camp, and said that the records of each department < would be taken, starting with the records of the Internee Committee and the finance and supply division. A number of the chairman’s files, as per copy attached, were handed over for censoring."

The files handed over included the general camp code tmd regulations, orders from the Commandant’s Of­ fice, matter relating to the confisca­ tion of internee effects, control of in­ ternee funds, exchange, communication with prisoners of war, camp orders, evacuation and repatriation, labor, housing and shanties, camp vendors, the Baguio and Los Banos internment camps, etc.3 All Garden Tools Demanded for "Inventory” — Another order, signi­ ficant in view of the developments that evening and the next day, was issued by Shiraji at 3 o'clock: he “ask­ ed for all garden tools to be laid out for inspection in front of the Com­ mandant’s office at 9 tomorrow morn­ ing to enable inventory to be taken.” That night during the camp news broadcast the announcer included a reference to this: “An inventory of garden tools has been or­ dered for tomorrow noon. All garden tools and those borrowed from the garden depart­ ment must be returned at the earliest possible moment, which means before roll call, con­ ditions permitting.”

Despite the heavy bombing during the day, 890 kilos of camotes were brought in against the "cereal” ration and 1,400 kilos more as "vegeta­ bles”; also some 200 kilos of pechay, nearly all of which was in such a con­ dition that it had to be condemned. 3 The writer’s record could not be confiscated. Ha! ha!

475

Feverish Night Activity in the Ja­ panese Quarters — Internees lodged on the second floor of the education building, over the Japanese quarters, were made aware of a considerable moving about there during the early part of the evening which broke out into feverish activity after the tele­ phone had rung several times and an automobile from downtown had driv­ en up obviously to deliver some mes­ sage. Soldiers of the guard came in and were heard opening boxes which the Japanese had stored in the shut­ off staircases, many of these being marked with the Red Cross emblem and containing medical supplies, this at first facilitating a misinterpreta­ tion of what was happening. But the Japanese also brought many sacks of rice from the Japanese bodega that night into the education building and their whole supply of dried fish, plain­ ly detectable by internee noses on the second and third floors. They start­ ed a fire in front of the building, car­ rying out papers to burn, and when they also brought more papers to the outside stoves of the Japanese kit­ chen it was seen that they were Ja­ panese office records. The yelling and the tramping about kept many internees awake. The Japanese Begin Slaughtering of the Camp Livestock — "Roll out the Barrel” was the reveille song of Sun­ day, the 7th. There was another pa­ per-fire burning at the barracks near the front gate, and the Japanese con­ tinued to bring supplies from their bodega to the education building, in­ cluding 50 or more sacks of rice which had been brought into camp for the Japanese account on New Year’s Eve. They also had the 2 carabaos in the camp, the 2 horses, and the 4 head of young cattle tied up near their quarters, ordering two of the latter slaughtered by the camp butchers for their consumption. The 8 pigs

476

in the camp were ordered tied up and left near the door, and as well, all the ducks from the duck-farm (fed from camp refuse but owned by the Japanese) in six big baskets. Japanese Remove Food Supplies from the Camp; Also Strip the Gar­ dens — In the morning some of the younger members of the Japanese personnel were seen leaving on bi­ cycles, with their belongings in chests on their shoulders. Drums of gasoline buried near the hos­ pital were taken out in army trucks. In the afternoon, 4 army trucks came in and hauled away over 100 sacks of supplies, mostly rice, and many boxes of other foodstuffs, drums of cooking oil, rolls of wire, and even quantities of rattan and of sawali matting. The camp bus was pressed into service, and the General's Cadillac, which had been kept in the camp, made a number of trips back and forth. Among the material taken out were all of the good gardening tools which had been duly laid out for "inventory” as ordered the day be­ fore, around 400 of some 500 imple­ ments on which all the camp’s garden­ ing activities depended; only some old and broken tools were left behind. The Japanese not only stripped their own garden, taking even the unripe tomatoes, but also took quantities of papayas and bananas out of the camp gardens. The Commandant’s kitchen was dismantled in the afternoon and some leftovers were handed out by the soldiers to the children. Intense Air Attack during the Day — Vieing for the attention of the excited camp, was the intensified and indeed tremendous aerial attack dur­ ing the day which had begun on Sa­ turday. Bombing started at 8:30 in the morning and at 9 some 15 divebombers were seen over Grace Park. At the same time several groups of the great 4-motored bombers, at

THE CAMP

least 25 in all, were seen in various parts of the sky, with many smaller pursuit planes above them. There was some bombing of the Bay area and then at 9:50 a very heavy "pat­ tern bombing" started,—a furious at­ tack which began over Grace Park and swept almost the full circle through McKinley, Nichols, Zablan, and Que­ zon City. The bombs seemed to come as fast as machine-gun bullets, but the detonations were awful. Inter­ nees on the upper floors said they could see the glistening bombs fall and that at first they thought they were leaflets. The big main build­ ing, of heavy concrete construction, shook so that people were afraid the plaster might come off the ceilings, and the gymnasium trembled like a ship when Grace Park was bombed. A mining man said that he had never seen any blasting operations like it, — the whole country along a stretch a mile or two long seemed to go up! Lighter attacks followed at 10:30, 10:45, and around 12:30, and at 1:10. The Japanese paid no attention to the movement of internees through the grounds. "Only a Few Hours Now" — The supper was an especially good one that night and was eaten with gusto by the buzzing camp, which was sur­ prised rather than seriously disap­ pointed by the fact that after all the exciting and indeed momentous de­ velopments of the day, the Comman­ dant and his staff had not departed, —at least, internees said, not yet! In the "soup” line at noon internees had said to each other, "It will be only a few hours now!” Many had expected the American forces in the city al­ most on the heels of the Japanese. Even souvenir-hunting seemingly had already begun. A broadcast at 3 o’clock requested that a cap belong­ ing to a Japanese soldier, which had been taken from the Commandant’s

JAPANESE ANNOUNCE THAT CONTROL OF THE CAMP REMAINS

kitchen, be returned! But food was as important as almost anything that could happen, and that supper! It had originally been scheduled for New Year’s, but had been postponed for a week because of the meat supplied by the Army on that day which had necessitated a change in the mertu. It consisted this night of mixed rice and camotes, plus a few cans of bacon to give it a flavor, and there were two level ladlefuls of it for everyone, not quite a plateful. Announcement that the Control of the Camp Remained Unchanged — The only official announcement that morning had been made, in so far as the camp knew, by the officer of day, Shiraji, who at the conclusion of roll call had made a short address to the floor monitors and shanty area supervisors. He said, according to the minutes, that — "orders had been received for a department or unit of the Commandant’s staff to be moved out of camp, and that orders had also been given for sending certain supplies be­ longing to the Japanese out of camp. As a result of these orders, the Japanese offices are in a state of confusion this morning. He emphasized, however, that this does not in any way change the status or obligations of the internees and that we are to adhere strict­ ly to the existing rules and regulations.”

This had had a somewhat moderat­ ing effect on the spirits of the camp during the day, especially when it be­ came known that only the Japanese doctor on the staff had actually left. And that evening, at roll call, the floor monitors and area supervisors read another announcement from the Internee Committee which stated: "The situation with reference to the con­ trol of the camp has not been changed. The Japanese state that any disorder or infraction of existing rules will be dealt with seriously by them. It is strongly urged that all in­ ternees proceed with their usual duties and movements and do nothing that will jeopardize

477

any indiviual, group of individuals, or the camp as a whole.”

There was, however, a rather strange-sounding message given over the loudspeakers that evening during the camp news broadcast from Hiro­ shi, the best-liked, or least disliked, member of the Commandant’s staff. The announcer said: "There is a message for the camp from Mr. Hiroshi of the Commandant's staff. Mr. Hiroshi is ill and asked one of the interpre­ ters to extend to all internees his best wishes for their good health.”

Carroll and Lloyd Called to the Com­ mandant's Office. What had Happen­ ed? — What did all this mean? It was known that Carroll and Lloyd had been called to the Com­ mandant’s office that morning and kept there until late in the afternoon. What had happened? When ques­ tioned, their manner indicated that they had been warned not to speak. The "log” of the day, was not yet available to the camp, but it stated only: "The two members of the Internee Commit­ tee and two interpreters, Cary and Stanley, were summoned to the Commandant’s office and kept there until 4. During the day they were given certain information by the Com­ mandant in person and by members of his staff which they were instructed to keep confidential after they were released. The Commandant’s Office moved out of camp the major portion of its supplies and personal equipment, and ordered 2 cows slaughtered.”

Rumors of Luzon Landings — But the camp was full of rumors and the rumor of rumors, among them that American landings had been made in Tayabas and Batangas, and also in the north. A big oil-fire started at Grace Park just before roll call and many internees were saying that the Japanese must have set fire to the oil themselves. Only some 287 kilos of soybeanrefuse had been brought into camp

478

during the day, and there were only some 17,200 kilos of rice in the Ja­ panese bodega probably for camp use, though not released. M onday, the 8th, Brunner repeated the rollicking "Roll out the Barrel” song at reveille because Honda had ordered it cut short the previous morning as he was in a hurry to get the routine morning announcements out of the way. An American Bomber Shot Down— The raid-alarm had not been lifted, and bombing started at 9:40 with con­ tinuous heavy rumbles from Nichols that sounded like the bombing of Grace Park the day before but did not shake the camp buildings so vio­ lently because the field was farther away. Another attack on Zablan fol­ lowed a little after 10 which was car­ ried out by some 20 planes, most of them the big 4-motored bombers which were seen to be flying lower than usual. One of them suddenly was seen to be trailing a cloud of smoke and to leave the formation, and then appeared to break into several large burning pieces. It seemed that none of the airmen could possibly es­ cape the flames, but at least three, and some observers said as many as 5, and even 7, parachutes were seen one after the other dropping be­ low the broken wing and tail frag­ ments. The second of the first 3 pa­ rachutes burst into flames and was seen to be falling too rapidly. Some internees who said they had seen 7 parachutes stated that 3 of them had burned in mid-air The para­ chutes came down somewhere in San­ ta Mesa, a Manila city district, and many people in the camp distinctly heard rifle fire in that area obviously directed at the descending men. Shortly after, Abiko ordered an an­ nouncement broadcast stating that there was too great a laxity about the observance of the order prohibiting

THE CAMP

passage through the grounds and that internees were reminded that no permission had been granted for free traffic. The Japanese continued to move supplies and equipment out of camp and ordered another cow slaughtered for their consumption. Shiraji told Carroll that he was not in a position to hand back to the Committee an amount of P8.000 advanced on No­ vember 27 for the purchase of cigarets and pipe tobacco, but instead he turned over to him a quantity of to­ bacco and soap which the Committee decided to distribute free to the in­ ternees. The tobacco was distributed the next day, each adult internee re­ ceiving one-fifth of a package (50 grams), and the soap a few days la­ ter, every 6 persons receiving 3/4 kilo (125 grams each,). Only about the usual supply of soybean refuse and 543 kilos of camotes were brought into camp that day (the 8th). Rumors that night ran that American forces had landed at Lingayen and that Ma­ nila would be declared an open city by the Japanese.4 On the night of January 8-9, Ja­ panese planes were flying about over the city most of the night, appearing still to be using the Grace Park air­ field to a limited extent. On T u e sd ay, the 9th, the bombing started at 8:00 and continued throughout the mor­ ning, the American planes numbering from 25 to 40 at different times. Quezon City, Murphy, Zablan, — the general area where the American bomber had met destruction the day before, bore the brunt of the attack, but there was also considerable bomb­ ing back toward the Marikina Valley. Shortly after 11, violent detonations were heard in the direction of the Bay and the mouth of the Pasig, 4 The landings at Lingayen actually began on the morning of the 9th.

THE LINGAYEN LANDING

and people in Santo Tomas wondered whether the Japanese were blowing up the piers or perhaps the bridges. Many more such explosions followed during the afternoon. Announced that the Commandant has decided to remain in the Camp— At 11 o'clock a statement from the Commandant was read over the camp loudspeakers: "This morning, immediately after the roll call, the Commandant summoned the Internee Committee and instructed them to make the following announcement: "So that this camp may not become the scene of bloodshed endangering the lives of internees, the Commandant and his staff had planned to remove to another place. Since such a condition has not yet arisen, the Com­ mandant and his staff are remaining. His an­ xiety for the welfare of the internees leads him to make public the following: "(1) The Commandant’s immediate concern is primarily in connection with food. It is almost impossible to find any food in the city of Manila, but the Commandant and his staff will make every effort to secure any food which can be found. "(2) It is essential that we should have the fullest use of the facilities within the camp, and every effort must be made to keep the garden going at full capacity.”

600 Kilos of Rice for 4,000 People— How concerned the Commandant had really been about the camp gardening had been shown by the taking away of practically all the gardening tools a few days before, and out of the more than 400 tools taken, only 21 sickles, 18 hoes, and 6 rakes were subsequently returned. As for the feeding of the camp, only 275 kilos of soybean refuse was brought in during the day and the issue of rice at the bodega was only 600 kilos, which, though it had been 550 kilos for some days, was an increase of only 50 kilos, against no camotes at all. Six hun­ dred kilos of rice for 4,000 people! The Japanese in the camp were now slaughtering the pigs for their din­ ners. The camp did have a serving of

479 coffee that morning, and that was the last of the coffee. Another Internee Quarrel over Food Ends Fatally— As the Stapler-Cochran fray had been connected with the food situation in the camp, so was an en­ counter between two internees that af­ ternoon which this time ended fatally. At one of the community cooking sheds, near the gymnasium, an argu­ ment over the quantity and the price of a plate of soup which W. Huff, an elderly colored American, had pre­ pared for O. R. Owen, a China-coast captain, also elderly and suffering from heart trouble, resulted in Huff knocking Owen down with a fistblow. The captain got up and walked away, getting as far as the gymna­ sium door, where he collapsed. He died on the stretcher on the way to the hospital. Huff was taken to the camp jail. Rumor stated that night that the Americans had landed at various points on the Luzon coast, — and that the forces could be expected in Manila in two or three days! In the evening, at around 10 o’clock, two bombs were dropped on the Grace Park airfield, and there was also some strafing. The MacArthur Leaflet—Early Wed­ nesday Morning, January 10, shanty people picked up several copies of a 4-page leaflet dropped by an American plane during the night. Illustrated with a number of pictures of General MacArthur and obviously addressed to the Filipinos, it stated: "MacArthur has returned. General MacAr­ thur keeps his pledges. "When MacArthur left Corregidor under or­ ders from President Roosevelt to proceed to Australia and assume the offensive against Japan, his last words were, 'I shall return’. From that moment his one driving ambition has been to get back to the Philippines to drive out the Japanese and to restore the le­ gitimate government to the Philippines. To­ day General MacArthur is back in the Philip­

480 pines. He has returned as he has promised. His great task is now entering its final phase. The forces under his command are assailing the Japanese invaders throughout the Philip­ pine Islands. With this force General MacArthur will accomplish the liberation of the Filipino people, but that liberation can be accomplished more quickly and at smaller cost in American and Filipino lives with your help and cooperation. MacArthur will tell you over the radio, in proclamations, and by leaf­ let exactly how and when you can help. Watch closely for these instructions.”

Creator’s "American Army March” was played at reveille, unrecognized by the Japanese. Some 25 planes, most of them again the big 4-motored bombers, made three flights over Grace Park at around 9:45, 10 planes at 10:25, again subjecting the field to heavy "pattern” bombing. Other at­ tacks on various objectives occurred at 11:30 and 11:45. In the afternoon there were only some heavy explo­ sions in various areas, which were probably a part of Japanese demoli­ tion activities. At breakfast the camp had drunk the last of the tea, — coffee was al­ ready gone, and also had the last of the coconut milk made from the nuts purchased by the camp. During the morning about the usual quantity of soybean refuse was brought in and also 1,756 kilos of camotes of good quality. In the afternoon the Japanese brought in 89 50-kilo sacks of corn. Firewood was again running very short, despite the tree-cutting activities on the campus, and the Committee asked for permission to tear up the boardwalk to the gymnasium for use as fuel, but this was refused "for the present” by Shiraji. Rice and Corn Cut to 500 Kilos— The camp rations were cut once again. According to the minutes: "Based on information received at the Ja­ panese food bodega, it appears that our daily ration of basic foodstuffs will be 250 kilos of rice, 250 kilos of corn, and 1,000 kilos of ca­

THE CAMP motes. It also appears that Mr. Oyemura, who has been the buyer of foodstuffs and other supplies purchased by the camp and the canteen, has been attached to the Com­ mandant’s staff for the purpose of providing foodstuffs to be supplied by the Japanese Army. He has been instructed by the Com­ mandant’s Office to concentrate his efforts on securing rice, corn, camotes, and, when his time permits and supplies are available, to purchase coconuts for the camp’s account."

In response to an inquiry by Carroll concerning the possibility of receiving another American Red Cross relief fund, Shiraji stated that he had "no knowledge of another fund at this time”. The Camp Exchange Closed. Ex­ change Prices— The camp and the kiosk exchanges were opened during the luncheon recess for the purpose of returning articles deposited for ex­ change and, stated the minutes, “they will be closed when all articles have been returned”. The Committee also decided — "to ask the chief of the relief and welfare division to prepare a list of miscellaneous ar­ ticles in possession of that division with n view to the distribution of these items on a unit basis through the monitor system".

Under S. N. Schechter (in private life a partner in the P.M. Davis & Company), as manager, the camp ex­ change had proved a most useful ins­ titution. Schechter was opposed to the high price system which prevailed and insisted that articles, principally foodstuffs, be exchanged on a basis proportional to prewar values, de­ claring that those few persons who had money and would pay any price for whatever they wanted were with­ out conscience. At the exchange, a pound can of "Klim” or "Milko”, nor­ mal price about PI.50, was exchanged for three cans of corned beef, normal price P.35. Though prices went up, the proportional values were more or less preserved. As, for instance, corned beef went up from P40 to P50

THE CAMP “LABORATORY INDUSTRIES”

a can, salmon went up from P25 to P35. The prices paid during the last week or so before the closing of the exchange were ap­ proximately as follows: "Milko’’ or "Klim”, F200 for a pound can; "Spam”, P60; corned beef, P50; rice, P75 a kilo (with the first cuts in the rations, rice went up to PI20), cookmg and peanut oils, P175 a quart; coconut oil, P150 a quart; margarine, P80 a pound (local brand); sugar, P145 a kilo; coffee (small can of the soluble product which had come in the Red Cross kits), P40; Brazilian and [3atangas coffee, P100 a kilo; American coffee, in cans, P125 a pound; tea (Lipton’s), P25 for 1/4 of a pound; kerosene, P30 a quart; local pipe-tobacco P80 for a 250-gram package (the price went down to P30 with the camp dis­ tributions); native cigarets, from P15 to P20 a package, the price falling to P12 with the distributions; American cigarets, P25 for Ches­ terfields” and P30 for "Luckies”.

Camp Laboratory Industries Closed. The Work of the Laboratory— The Committee decided, too, to close what was called the camp laboratory in­ dustries, carried on in the laborato­ ries on the main building roof. At the suggestion of Alcuaz, who, besides being secretary to the Father Rector, was also an instructor in physical che­ mistry in the University, the Execu­ tive Committee, troubled by the short­ age of soap, had, in March, 1943, au­ thorized, as has been related, the es­ tablishment of a caustic-soda plant, appointing T. A. DeVore, a chemist formerly with the Philippine Smelt­ ing Company, to head the project. The production of caustic soda, used in soap making, was begun immediately. M. E. Macintosh, of General Electric, constructed the required experimen­ tal electrolytic cell from practically nothing, and V. E. Lednicky, general manager of the E. J. Nell Company, constructed the flues, pipes, fans, etc. for control of the dangerous chlorine gas which is also produced by the elec­ trolysis of salt solutions. Further dif­ ficulties were encountered in securing

481

suitable salt for the electrolysis, but J. Haigh, dye-works manager of the National Development Company, helped there. The first experimental cell was working by April and the first batch of soap was turned over to the sanita­ tion and health department shortly thereafter. Oil for the soap-making was obtained both by direct purchase and by recovery from the coconutmilk residues from the kitchen. The 16,790 pounds of soap made by the laboratory represented a very consi­ derable contribution to the well-being of the camp. A valuable by-product of the caustic soda was calcium hy­ pochlorite which was obtained by ex­ posing slaked lime to the chlorine gas. Large quantities of this disinfectant were manufactured for purifying drinking water, cleaning rooms and toilets, etc. This phase of the work was conducted by E. E. S. Kephart, of the United States Steel Company. Cal­ cium hypochlorite was supplied to the Los Banos camp and a shipment was also made to the Baguio camp. Later laboratory products included alcohol, used in the camp hospitals for the making of tinctures, extracts, etc. The alcohol was made from ricescreenings and other waste products formerly thrown away. The method used was adapted from an old native process of producing rice wine in which the screenings are allowed to mold in air and then fermented in water, the product being afterward distilled to recover the alcohol. Ep­ som salt was recovered from the re­ fining of salt; hydrochloric acid was made from chlorine and city gas, and creolin from caustic, coal tar, and rosin. To control the various operations in all departments of the laboratory with the primitive aparatus available, was always an exacting and tedious job. Besides its manufacturing acti­ vities, the laboratory rendered many

THE CAMP

482

other services to the camp. Water in the 680,000-gallon reserve supply in the swimming pool was frequently tested, distilled water was made for the camp hospitals, and solutions made up for the clinics. Experiments were also conducted to determine the best way of making eornbread from the materials available and how to prepare hominy. Long arduous hours were put in, particularly by the chief, DeVore; A. P. Mustard, superintendent and assis­ tant manager of the Cebu Sugar Cen­ tral, who handled all the mechanical and repair work; H. J. Marx, vice pre­ sident of the Philippine Manufactur­ ing Company, and E. J. Jones of Mead, Johnson & Company, who did yeoman work in pressing coconut oil by hand; and G. H. Newman, chief geologist of Marsman & Company, who collected much of the equipment and made the necessary arrangements with the Uni­ versity authorities for space and many materials. The amounts of the various pro­ ducts manufactured during the two years of operation were: Caustic soda Calcium hypochlorite Alcohol Coconut oil (for camp kitchen) Soap

1943 2015 lbs. 3243 ” 1118 ”

At prewar prices these products would have been valued at only around P5,000, but if the camp had had to buy them at the prices which prevailed in Manila, the cost could have run into several millions of pe­ sos! Landing at Lingayen Admitted. The Japanese Announce Manila will not be made a “Seat of W arfare’ and that there will be no Destruction— It was rumored that night that the Tribune of the day before had published a proclamation to the effect that an agreement had been reached under

which Manila was not to become a “seat of warfare”, that there would be no destruction within the city, that lives and property would be protected, and that the people should remain quietly in their homes. The internees hoped this was true, especially those with families in the city. It was also said that the paper had admitted landing at Lingayen and in Batangas and Tayabas. The electric power supply all over the city was cut off or failed at 6:20 in the evening and at 7 the water pressure had dropped to zero. The latter returned to normal around 8:15, and the electric current was restored at 9 o'clock. During this period va­ rious heavy explosions were heard in­ cluding one terrific detonation at Grace Park at 8:15, a heavy column of black smoke rising there which was visible even against the night sky. A little later there was another big explosion somewhere in Quezon City. It was noted by the floor monitors who had gone to the Commandant’s office to make their roll-call reports that the Japanese seemed to have 1944 1033 lbs. 1714 ” 175 pints 72%) 2377 lbs.

Totals 3048 lbs. 4958 " 175 pints 3495 lbs. 16790 ”

their personal belongings all packed and that the usual mosquito nets were not over their beds. The win­ dow shutters had also been drawn. Later in the evening an automobile came into camp three times and drove out again. Some internees said that when the camp woke up in the mor­ ning it would probably find that the Japanese were gone! The reveille music the next morning, T h u rs d a y , J a n u a ry 11, gave people a start. It was the Annapolis song, "Anchors Aweigh!” Many thought it signalled the fact that the Japanese

RADIOS NEAR CAMP BLARE OUT THE NEWS

had decamped, but this belief proved premature. Radios Outside the Camp Blare News of Landings— While people were standing in the breakfast lines that morning, internees who had been working in the gardens ran up saying that the local radio-broadcast, which they had been able to hear over the wall because some of the radios in the vicinity were turned on full blast, had definitely admitted that there had been American landings at the Lingayen Gulf and that there was fighting at Damortis, 215 kilometers north of Manila. The Japanese claimed that they had sunk a number of the Ame­ rican transports and that the forces landed were being annihilated. The broadcast mentioned also an air bat­ tle over Sorsogon. There was also a reference to bombings of Formosa and of Japan proper. Important Anti-Aircraft Battery Des­ troyed— American bombers, most of them Navy planes, were over the city all day bombing and strafing Quezon City, and, apparently Quezon Boule­ vard and the circumferential road, as well as the north road. Of particular interest, however, was the meticulous bombing and strafing most of the morning and afternoon of the Tondo foreshore area. Internees had for weeks heard heavy anti-aircraft can­ non fire which seemed to have its source in this nearby area. A few possessed of military training believed there was a battery of 9-inch guns there, probably four of them, and that it was one of those guns which had shot down the big American bomber on Monday, the 8th. They were now convinced that the battery had been located and destroyed, and, as a matter of fact, the camp did not after this hear its vicious bark. Many in the camp also said that they had heard heavy shelling from the direc­ tion of the mouth of the Bay early

483

in the morning and again in the after­ noon. The breakfast line had been enli­ vened by the news brought by the gar­ deners .The "soup" line at noon was happily surprised by two planes, fly­ ing very low over the camp, which they at first thought to be Japanese. But, roaring swiftly over the camp roofs, they saw the red, white, and blue, saw the pilots wave, and broke the lines and cheered. It seemed sig­ nificant that they were not fired on. Some soybean refuse came in dur­ ing the day, but nothing else, and the issue at the Japanese bodega for the next day consisted of only 250 kilos of rice, 250 kilos of corn, and 767 ki­ los of camotes. The cooking-oil tank in the Japanese bodega also got its last scraping. The Japanese buyer came back empty-handed, but said that he was hopeful of obtaining some coconuts within the next few days. The breakfast mush was reduced to 80 grams of rice flour, but supper that night still consisted of a good plate of camote "stew” mixed with some kidney beans (from the Y.M.C.A. do­ nation), and enough canned bacon to give it a taste. Excitement was taking hold more and more, and people were begining to eat the remainder of the small individual food reserves. The Japanese had little to say that day and the Internee Committee tran­ sacted no important business. Abiko drew attention to the "laxity shown by internees in paying courtesies and in bowing to members of the Com­ mandant’s staff, pointing out that for some time bowing was very good and that it was expected that the standard would be maintained”. He also or­ dered that the four internees who had been taking care of the duck farm and were living in shanties nearby, be quartered in the gymnasium or one of the other buildings.

484

Japanese Civilians Evacuated from the City— That evening, two big oilfires in the neighborhood of Caloocan wer