The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-05-13
Rn Earlier Yankee
Victory al Manila
From the New York Sun.

From the New York Sun.
CD WO YEARS ago, just before the
outbreak of the last insurrcCtlon
against Spanish rule in the Philip
III pines, the American consul at Ma
Mia, Isaac NJ Elliott, Of New
York. was recalled by the Cleveland ad-
ministratiOn, and a few months later he
was made consul at La Gauyra, the port
OF Caracas, NcneZuell. Elliotts aggres-
sive attitude on matters affecting Amer
lean commercial interests in the Philip
pines was responsible for his recall.
Spanish officials in the Philippine capital,
alarmed at the growth of American trade
| in the islands. and determined to stamp
it out, were anEcrcd by EliOtt's vigorous
defense of American rights. Spain asked
for Elliotts recall, trumpinE up the
charge that he was aiding the insur-
gents The Cleveland administration,
unwilling to offend the Madrid foreign Of
ice, transferred Consul Elliott from Ma
nila to La Guayra.
Two months after Consul Elliott set
sail from the Philippine capital the colon
ial officials had driven from the islands
the last of the American commercial
houses. This was the house of Warner,
Blodgett d CO. Earle w Blodgett is a
Williams college man. and his home is
Ill NEW 10TH. =. l. ibdlleS ana h. II.
Warner are British subjects, but Amer
leans at heart The company was formed
in 1883 by clerks Of the defunct house of
Peal, Hubbcll ~ CO., which had been
driven TO the wall by Spanish disCrimina-
tion. Despite the efforts Of the colonial
officials to force the new company out
of the islands, as they did the American
houses of Russell Sturgis and Peal. Hub
bell & Co, ana others, Warner Blodgett
IL Co. built up "a great business, the
profits of 1925 amounting to s234 900, and
the money handled in the cash depart
ment alone amounting to $i,OOO,OOO
o
Heavy taxes had TO be paid by the last
American company into the overlooking
private purses of the corrupt Spanish
officials and these taxes increased as
American sympathy with the Cuban in
surgents increased Spanish hatred of
Americans. Extraordinary fines were
levied. The collector of customs at Ma
Mia receives three-fourths of the fines
he collects for the government, and II is
a matter of record that the customs Of
cial who helped to drive Americans out
of the islands put away SS,9996O into his
own pockets in twenty-five months. The
law provides that an Importer must pay
n me of 500 for every article listed i'm an
| invoice and not found in the ships cargo.
and the same fine must be paid for every
article not listed in the invoice found in
the cargo. once the American company
paid fine because one cobbestone out
OF thousands was missing in 4 cargo.
o.
The most hgh-handed attempt at rob-
berry was made the summer before Con-
sui Elliott left the Philippines one Sat
| urday afternoon in June a customs Off
| clal called at the Companys office and
| handed bill for S23.3S5l5 to Blodgett
| saying that it must bo paid within
twenty-four hours Some smuggled goods
| had been found in the suburbs of Ma
| Mia and the customs collector concluded
! he could not make $4,000 in any easier
way than by charging the smuggled goods
against the American ship Esmeralda
| Even had the company been disposed TO
| pay this fine the money could not have
| been had within twenty-four hours, for
| the following day was Sunday The or
| der, which was from the Supreme court
gave notice that il the fine was not paid
| the company's property would be con-
hscated, Spanish colonial officials had
| used this method of destroying the busI-
ness OF foreigners on more than one oc-
caSdOn. Blodgett went at once to Consul
Elliotts residence ana when he had
briefly related the story of the new Span
| ish outrage the two went down 10 the
"aIblo office. Admiral Carpenter was
then at Yokohama with the Asiatic
| squadron. The consul wrote short mes
| sage to the admiral and handed 1t to the
| operator. The message was in cipher.
Send assistance" It read. american
| interests in peril. Elliott"
Send in English. Carpenter" was the
answer received by the consul a short
time afterward,
Elliott could not understand why Adj
miral Carpenter wished the message sent
| In English, for he knew that the ad-
miral must understand the cipher. But
the consul hastened back to the cable
| office and wrote out a second message
| in plain English. An hour later Gov
| ernor General Blanco's secretary called
at the consulate and said that Blanco
wished to see the consul at once. Elliott
went over to the governor-generaPs resi-
dence Blanco handed him the second
message he had left at the cable oflcss