The "let your hair down" column

Media

Part of The American Chamber of Commerce Journal

Title: The "let your hair down" column
Language: English
Source: The American Chamber of Commerce Journal Volume XXV (No. 4) April 1949
Year: 1949
Rights
Fulltext: 176 AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL April, 1949 THE BEST IN OFFICE TYPEWRITERS [SMITH-CORONA LATEST MODELS/ STANDARD OR SILENT? THEY HAVE EVERY THING........ AUTOMATIC MARGIN SET, INTERCHANGEABLE PLATENS, TABULATOR, TOUCH SE LECTOR, EVERYTHING! HERE’S YOUR CHANCE TO REPLACE OLD WAR WORN MACHINES WITH THE FINEST OF MODERN TYPEWRITERS ..... TIIE FAMOUS S M I T H-CORONAS! See us for demonstration Erlanger & Galinger, Inc. 123 T. Pinprn Between Escolta and Dasmarinas The _ = "LET YOUR HAIR DOWN” Somebody sent us a copy of a let ter written by an American oldtimer here who had been away, to friends in the United States, from which we select the following parts: “Among the Filipinos I find a rather frightening optimism, self-satisfaction, and rampant nationalism that are more founded on the present situation than upon awareness of how much their new found independence and prosperity are based on American help and protection (economic and military), and who have not the precaution to provide for their own future or even to think of the me nacing conditions in China and other neighboring countries (over-populated and in the throes of violent revolution ary changes) which can so quickly an nihilate the momentary improvements in the Philippines. “The Filipinos are actually quixotic and fanciful in their idealistic atti tudes, and neglect taking the practical steps that would use the present pros perity for permanent improvement of their own most urgent necessities, agri cultural ‘know-how’, technical educa tion, sanitation, and an economic and political integrity in their public ser vices, which could help to withstand the pressure of another catastrophe they might have to face without any cer tainty of American help and libera tion. However, many individuals are doing fine work... “The American professional and ‘small business’ people, who are the few who have not as yet been in any way indemnified for war-losses by the United States or Philippine Govern ments, or had any pre-war obligations ‘written off,’ have now, as they had before the War. a disproportionately great part of the tax burden. Under these circumstances I have the fixed de termination to get out from under a sit uation that shows no signs of giving me any personal advantage without fur ther prolonged expenditures and efforts. I am in no way disposed to risk preca rious health and a minimum of financial security (from all-American assests) so hardly won... “These are just impressions. It has been a crowded, interesting, and happy time for me here, in spite of the noise and expense that Manila living demands. Prices are fabolous and service unbe lievably bad, but those are frontier con ditions and rehabilitation necessities, — everywhere the terrible effects of war devastation are being felt...” This letter shows evidence of having been somewhat hastily written and might have been bet ter rounded, but is interesting as a spontaneous expression of the state of mind of many of the oldtime Americans here, — we might say a very mixed state of mind compounded of a love of the coun try and its people, irritation, con---------■ - Column cern, and more thought than for merly in many cases, to their own personal interests, — now that they are getting old and the coun try is independent and they feel less responsible. The editor had a letter from Major Mrs. H. G. Hornbostel dur ing the month who, both, are still living at Carville, Louisiana. The Major, who for some years was the advertising manager of the editor’s still suspended Philippine Magazine, referred to this column as follows: “Both Gertrude [wife] and I enjoy reading the Journal, particularly the ‘Let Your Hair Down’ Column, which is more YOU than the rest of it.” “There we go again,” said the editor when he read this line. “What’s the matter with the rest of the Journal, or didn’t he mean it that way? But it was a plea sant letter otherwise. I don’t think he meant that this column is no good. He must have meant that the editorials, which, gen erally, it is both my duty and my pleasure to write, do not sound so much like me as he used to know me. You know, that hurts. Granted that one should develop and perhaps change, one is proud to maintain a certain integration of character, not to say one’s in tegrity. “Naturally, the Journal being an organ of the Chamber, the editorials express or try to ex press what may be taken as a sort of average of the opinions of the members on any subject, but I must insist that I share those opinions. I can say that during the whole of my writing career I have never written a single line that I did not believe to be true. I would not start lying for the Chamber, and I was never asked to or expected to. “To those of my old friends who are thinking that I am developing a second personality, if not a dual one, I can say that the truth is really very simple. Most of them know me from the Philippine Ma gazine and that was a politicalliterary monthly, naturally devot ed to all sorts of broad, cultural matters. That was my life and thought in those days, — you might say somewhat high-brow! April, 1949 AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL 177 “Now I am engaged in a very different sort of journalism, al though the Philippine Magazine never wholly neglected business and economics and the country’s trade relations as a part of the general Philippine-American cul ture. The Journal, however, is devoted practically exclusively to business, so that naturally my pre sent field is narrower. No dif ference has arisen in me. I am just looking more closely and more intently at once particular element of culture. “And while I miss the broader and perhaps more flowery fields which are the pasture of a gen eral monthly magazine, I am not sorry that I am now able to con centrate my interest on what I think is at present the most im portant sector. “Literature, music, the other arts, — those were important in the happy, piping days before the War; there was money and leisure for them. Now, after all the des truction, material and moral, we have had to go back to the econ omic and political fundamentals. That is where now, as a voice if nothing else, I hope, at least, that I can be most useful. “I insist that I am always me.” We had a letter from the edi tor Oils and Oilseeds Journal of Bombay, a new publication which we mentioned in this column some months ago. He wrote: “We are in receipt of a copy of the December issue of your esteemed Jour nal and are pleased to find on perusal a pointed reference has been prominent ly made to our letter in the ‘Let Your Hair Down’ column at page 468 in in troducing this Journal to the vast num ber of your readers. “This column has a fascination of its own and always makes a very interest ing and lively reading. Please accept our warmest thanks for having intro duced our Journal through the medium of this lively column. "With best regards, Yours faithfully, “R. C. Sheth." We don’t always receive such a courteous .acknowledgement of anything, — and the praise (we hope it is not just flattery) is overwhelming. Could it be that this column is not so bad after all? Look at those words again: “interesting”, “lively” (twice), a “fascination all its own”. Now what can we put in this month to live up to such praise? Some of the most lively mat ters that came to our attention, as well as the more funereal, have already been dealt with in the editorial column. Of course, there are always the editor’s grand children, but he grimly swore some months ago he never wanted to see them mentioned here again. The trouble is so little except hard work goes on in this office. Peo ple rarely come in with a joke. Usually they just come in to make some protest and demand we have a row with the Government over this thing or the other. Or they ask for information that is often impossible to obtain. Well, we’ve moved to our new quarters in El Hogar Filipino Building, fourth floor, two large communicating rooms, — one our offices and the other a rest and reading room where one may al so obtain coffee, sandwiches, etc. There was some question for a while whether Meralco could sup ply the power for the elevator in the newly reconstructed building, but it is running, thank goodness. The house-warming, to which a good many people have been in vited, will be held a few days after this issue of the Journal will have come off the press. Since the Liberation, the Cham ber has moved no less than six times, — showing how difficult the housing situation in Manila has been. On February 21, 1945, just a few weeks after the Santo Tomas internees were freed, and long before the fighting in Manila was over, a number of the direc tors of the Chamber who had been interned, including the late S. F. Gaches, the then President, opened temporary offices in a private house on Espana Street, just across from the University of Santo Tomas where a good many of the liberated internees were still living in nipa shacks. Some three months later, the Chamber moved to the People’s Bank Build ing on Dasmarinas Street (now Heacock’s), sharing the ground floor, one large room, with five or six other business entities while the streets were still being cleared of the debris of war and the building was just beginning to be repaired. This work forced a move to the Gibbs Building, nextdoor, and from there, in May, 1946, the Chamber moved to the eight floor of the Trade and Com merce Building on Juan Luna Street, shortly after that building had been vacated by the U. S. Army. In July, 1947, the Cham ber moved to a larger room on the TRADE AND COMMERCE BLDG, MANILA EVERETT STEAMSHIP CORPORATION GENERAL AGENTS AMERICAN MAIL LINE To and From Portland Seattle Vancouver Tacoma PACIFIC TRANSPORT LINES To and From California Philippines BARBER-FERN LINE Service to U. S. Atlantic Via Straits, Suez, Mediterranean FERN LINE To and From North Atlantic Ports Gulf Ports — Philippines EVERETT ORIENT LINE Serving the Orient Philippines to China, Japan, Korea, Straits and India Ports PHILIPPINE STEAM NAVIGATION CO. Serving the Philippine Islands 223 Dasmarinas St., Manila Tel. 2-98-46 ' (Priv. Exch. All Lines) 178 AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL_____________April, 1949 C. F. SHARP & COMPANY, INC. STEAMSHIP OPERATORS — AGENTS SHIP BROKERS GENERAL ORIENTAL AGENTS: WATERMAN STEAMSHIP CORPORATION Mobile, Alabama THE IVARAN LINES — FAR EAST SERVICE (Holter-Sorensen — Oslo, Norway) PACIFIC ORIENT EXPRESS LINE (DITLE V-SIMONSEN LINES) Norway (TRANSATLANTIC STEAMSHIP CO., LTD.) GENERAL STEAMSHIP CORPORATION San Francisco SIMPSON, SPENCE & YOUNG New York V. MUELLER Kobenhatn, Denmark Head Office: 5TH FL., INSULAR LIFE BLDG. MANILA, PHILIPPINES TEL. 2-S7-29 2-96-17 Branch Offices: SAN FRANCISCO—SHANGHAI SINGAPORE—PENANO TOKYO—YOKOHAMA—KOBE NAGOYA—OSAKA SHIMIZU—FUSAN (KOREA) Cable Address: "SUGARCRAFT” all officers fifth floor of the Insular Life Building, two blocks away, and now, from there, we have moved to our new and still more com modious quarters. El Hogar Filipino Building (li terally, the Filipino Home Build ing, from a building and loan as sociation of that name), also on Juan Luna Street, stands on the right-hand bank of the Pasig River, across the street from the Ayala Building which houses the National City Bank of New York and the offices of numerous other firms. Between the two buildings runs the ramp of the temporary Juan Luna Bridge. A h undred yards upstream, the Puyat Com pany is cleaning up the wreckage of the Jones Bridge, blown up and destroyed by the Japanese, pre paratory to building a new one in the same place. Power-drills are making a terrific racket and several times a day all the build ings in the area are shaken by the dynamite explosions. Across the river lies what is left standing of the old Walled City of Manila (Intramuros), and right opposite stands the recons tructed building of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce. Most cons picuous from our windows over looking the river are the Manila Postoffice Building to the left, which looks allright from the out side now, and to the right the Intendencia Building, soon to be the home of the new Central Bank also being reconstructed. The large City Hall, with its tower, rises in the center distance. The Metro politan Theater is still largely un reconstructed. The largest ruins in sight are those of the old Santo Tomas Convent and the Santo Domingo Church and the greater part of the famous San Augustin Church and Convent, the oldest buildings in Manila. Farther off on the horizon are the Army and Navy Club and the Elks and Uni versity Club Buildings, the Manila Hotel, of which only the upper parts can be seen, and still far ther, the American Embassy. We can not see much of the Bay, but we can see the broken arch at the entrance of the old Pier Seven now Pier 13, and the superstruc tures of a number of large ocean going ships. Though, from this view, Manila is still largely a city of ruins, the sight is no longer dreary. There is too much movement and too much noise for that. Automobiles and trucks and buses rush across the field of vision in unending streams. In the acoustical scale far below the occasional dynamite ex plosions and the intermittent rac ket of the drills, but" all-pervad ing, is the deeper rumble of the traffic in the streets and over the temporary bridge with its sharp horn-blowing, and in counterpoint one hears the chugging and putputting of the tugs and launches in the river. From nearer by, in arpeggios, comes the sound of stone-chissels, saws, and hammers, and everywhere one hears the voices of men. It is all in very great contrast with the days of the enemy oc cupation, especially during the months toward the end, when the whole great city was as silent as a country town, when the grass grew in the dirty streets, and only an occasional push-cart was to be seen and the ragged, famishedlooking people slinked along and never raised their voices. Automatic Calculators To all who need accurate figures in a hurry... PHONE OR WRITE US FOR DEMONSTRATION ON YOUR OWN WORK r Mivtiu filttiiurotl ih fSt iiuuHutft SMITH,BELL^CO..LTD. TRADE AND COMHERCE BLOG, HANILA Republic of the Philippines Depurtment of Public Works and Communi cations BUREAU OF POSTS Manila SWORN STATEMENT (Required by Act No. 2580) The undersigned, A. V. H. Hartendorp, editor and manager of the American Chamber of Commerce Journal, published monthly in English at the Office of the American Cham ber of Commerce of the Philippines, Manila, after having been duly sworn in accordance with Jaw, hereby submits the following state ment of ownership, management, circulation, etc., which is required by Act No. 2580, as amended by Commonwealth Act No. 201: Editor, A. V. H. Hartendorp, 404 El Hogar Filipir.o Building, Manila Business Manager. A. V. H. Hartendorp 404 El Hogar Filipino Building, Manila Owner, American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines 404 El Hogar Filipino Building, Manila Publisher, American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines 404 El Hogar Filipino Building, Manila Printer, Carmelo & Bauermann, Inc. 2057 Azcarraga, Manila Stockholders owning one per cent or more of the total amount of stocks: None. Bondholders, mortgagees, or other security holders owning one per cent or more of the total amount of security. None. Total number of copies printed and circu lated of the last issue, dated March, 1949: Sent to paid subscribers .................. 800 Sent to other than paid subscribers . 1200 Total .......................... 2000 (Sgd.) A. V. H. Hartendorp Editor and Manager Subscribed and sworn to before me this 18th day of March, 1949, at Manila, the af fiant exhibiting his Residence Certificate No. A-49130. issued at Manila on January 17, 1949. Emilio V. Salas Notary Public Until December 31, 1949 Doc. No. 60: page 95; Book No. II : series of 1949.