The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-06-05

where Admiral Dewey and his forces
are now in possession, has been the
head center of the rebels this time. The
Intelligent people in Manila knew of
the blowing up Of the Maine in Havana
harbor, but paid no attention to it. I
don't believe the poDulace at Manila
had the least idea until about month
ago that a We ; between the United
States and Spain might begin at any
time, ard battle might take place at
the Philippines. 1 never heard such a
possibility discussed at Manila The
Spanish hcl the Islands in such COM
rlete thralldom and exercise such cen
sorShip over the press and Geographic
information that any enc in Manila not
in the diplomatic circle knows very lit
tie of what is happening in the out
side world Until the foreign newspapers
come. The four Manila newspapers are
Slow, cheap affairs, and have an aver
age of less than 100 lines OF foreign
news.
VALUABLE PROPERTY.
eff the United States should take the
Philippine islands as a possession they
would have a most valuable piece of
property. The possibilities of the
Philippines as wealth producers can
hardly be overestimated. The exports
in 1897 amounted to about $50 900, 600,
ard that in the face Of the blighting
oppression of the Spanish on every en-
terprise except tobacco and sugar.
United States Consul Williams at Ma
Mia and l have discussed many times
the agricultural possibilities of the
Philippines under American push and
with Yankee invention. 1 believe the
exports from the islands might be in
creased to $4,000, 600 annually in few
years, and to much higher figures in a
decade. For instance, the coffee produc-
ton has for some occult reason of the
government at Madrid been kept down
by system of extra licenses that one
must obtain to plant coffee beans, and
by heavy import duties on the ma
chinery nece ssary in preparing the pro-
duct fer market. I have been among
the famous coffee fincas of Central
America, ard / make the assertion that
there are nowhere in Central America
land and watSr facilities that approach
these of the island of Negros for grow
ing coffee. The export alton of coffee
in 1897 amount d to about $3.50, 600. 1t
ought to have been ten times that
amount.
Tobacco, sugar and hemp are the
chief products of the Philippines. The
government does foster these industries
so far as its avarice for taxes will per-
nit There are 5000 cigar and cheroot
makers in and about Manila. All the
tobacco plantations and cigar factories
are run by Spaniards Gen. Weyler's
two brothers have the largest factory
in Escolta-a suburb Of Manila. They
came over to the island about eight
years ago, when their pompous mill
tary brother was governor general Of
the Philippines at salary of $4,000 q
year, and they obtained concessions
then that yielded them immense annual
returns. Sugar is largely grown on the
islands of Negros and Samos. There
are large Malay towns on those islands.
The English sugar buyers over there
say that there is no cane so rich in
saccharine properties as that in the
Philippines. Notwithstanding the ri
diculously crude methods Of cultivating
i. the cane fields and expensive manner
Of crushing the stalks and extracting
the sugar, the profit in the sugar in
dustry is incredible. The extreme rich
ness of the cane makes this profit. 7
know of several Japanese sugar cane
companies on the island Of Samos that
have made as high as $3.50 for an acre
and a quarter every year for a long
time. Yankee invention could easily
reduce the expenses of sugar planta-
ton one-fourth. No people but the
japanese in the Philippines have the
least idea of how to make machinery
do the work of man. Think of havine-
sugar cane crushed by Veveral hundred
men with clubs. when simple machin-
cry would accomplish the same pur-
pose better, cheaper and a hundred
times quicker. The indigo industry is
run in the same way as two centuries
Ngo Wherever one goes into the rural
agions Of the Philippine islands, one is