Memoirs of Lloyd Moss: 1928
The Trenton steamed down the Whangpoo just before Christmas bound for Manila. On arrival we immediately tied up to a Marine Corps dock and went through a procedure that I never experienced before or since, to wit: the Medical Officer had decided, with good reason no doubt, that the whole ship had to be fuigated. So an office space on the dock was made the home for the ship's Officer of the Deck, three men from the sick bay, and one man from the brig. Everybody else, about 500, were given leave to go where they wanted. It was understood that any improvident ones would be allowed to come back and flop on the dock to sleep and would be allowed to join the Marine Guard at mess if they were hungry enough. Fortunately I had money enough so I thought I would go to a different hotel each night. I stayed at the Delmonico Hotel on Calle Gral Luna and the Oriente Hotel at #121 Calle Real, but the third night was different. I had gone by car around the bay to Cavite and got back to Manila very late to find that, due to the holidays, every room in the city seemed to be sold out. Finally after checking in I don't know how many places I landed down in a Chinese secton at a flop house, extremely tired and sleepy. It was upstairs over some little Chinese shops and in pretty awful shape. The whole second floor was divided into little cubicles with nothing but chicken wire and no doors. A cot of sorts was in each space with only an old blanket on it. I had to sleep, so I paid 30 centavos to the owner, put my billfold inside my undershirt, flattened my hat out to put my face on so it wouldn't be in contact with the dirty canvas, and lay down with all my clothes on. I think this was the nearest I ever came to sleeping with one eye open because I imagined all kinds of Oriental pirates sleeping nearby. I'm sure I was as vigilant as a seal on an ice floe until daylight then lost no time getting out of there. Believe me I arranged very early in the day to have a good place to sleep on the last night off the ship. And so that ended the year of 1928, and, like twelve months before, I celebrated the New Year in a combination restaurant-cabaret-dance-hall in a town called Maypajo in Caloocan, not far outside the Manila city limits.