﻿154 ^^^ Philippine Journal of Science 1914 



paid 15 pesos for second-class board, but the great majority 

 was found to be living on the 10-peso fare, which is an absolutely 

 inadequate ration from either the viewpoint of caloric value 

 or that of hunger satisfaction. 



We need only to state the fact that the monthly wage of the 

 laborer amounts to 26 pesos (for twenty-six working days), to 

 make clear the reason why practically none of the men select 

 the first-class fare. The situation in the case of the families 

 providing and preparing their own food is less easily studied, 

 but with the supplies at hand and the high prices demanded 

 for necessities it cannot fail to be most unsatisfactory. 



The remedies for these conditions are obvious, and I am of 

 the opinion, as I have stated before, that the sugar companies 

 are disposed to remedy evils brought to their attention. There 

 must be provided for the people an abundant and constant supply 

 of good food at fair prices. There should be vegetables, meats, 

 and fish at all times. Excellent fish are obtainable close at hand, 

 and vegetables may be grown without difficulty. Pigs and cattle 

 should be raised and sold at prices within the reach of the popu- 

 lace, while chicken raising should be practiced and encouraged. 

 There is no insuperable difficulty in the way of providing 

 good food at living prices and in constant abundance, but some- 

 thing more than haphazard management and good intention is 

 necessary to remove this real and regrettable state of affairs. 



The relation of this nutrition question to health maintenance 

 is sufficiently clear, and demands no argument. Without ques- 

 tion, diminished resistance by reason of underfeeding is a factor 

 entering into the matter of recovery from most infections, even 

 if it cannot actually be shown to be a factor in the matter of 

 infection itself. The fact that we have at San Jose, to start 

 with, a class of workmen, underfed and deficient in stamina, only 

 emphasizes the obligation on the part of those who engaged them, 

 and in many cases imported them, to correct this underfeeding 

 and to care for them physically in every necessary way. Of 

 course, there is no reason why men should be retained in em- 

 plojntnent or maintained if they are intractable and if they resist 

 sanitary and medical measures. It is extremely likely that many 

 had malarial, hookworm, and tubercular infections when they 

 arrived and that their physical woes were not at all acquired 

 in Mindoro, but since they were accepted as workmen without 

 physical examination they must now be properly fed and cared 

 for or returned to their homes, regardless of the way they lived 

 before accepting employment and residence in Mindoro. 



