The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1898-06-07
baasador Hay. who forwardet n d ,, tso

bassador Hay. who forwarded i. 70 the
suite department, "a
AT this time the information the bullo-
TIN contains 10 OF extraordinary interest.
since It describcs the conditions In the
Philippine .sianda and its wealth OF
minerals. In. tact, The new center OF
gold production referred to 10 IN the
Philippines, and II Ia shown that the
Urited States Is building a little better
than some people suppose In getting
control OF the islands. perhnps to dispose
of at great advantage.
Mr.. Karuth's parn1hletis too lengthy
for q newspaper reproduction, but In his
letter to Ambassador Hay he says that
while q complete absence OF roads In the
Philippines must at flrst confine mining
operations requiring heavy plants 10
points near harbon or nayigable rivers,
such points ore numerous enough TO
give rise to a prosperous industry. A
great deal of paying sold, he declares, is
found near tho eea coast. There are
also he says, extensive deposits 0, COP
per 60 gttuated. True coal 80 ecarce, but
there ore valuable gems discovered in
the Herras. ' ,}s
In his pamphlet Mr.. Knruth eays that
It 10 mot improbable that ere long I'VE
may have to reckon with theoc islands
In the far east as factors IN the worlds
gold production" That the precious
metal Is widely distributed in The, urc,h-
pelaso IS known TO all who know u little
more Of It than tts name. The number
Of ISLANDS OF the Philippine archipelago
Is said TO be about 1000, the fargest
ranging from $4,000 down to 5000 square
miles in size. After a lengthy desatp-
ton of the climate. the people. degrees
OF civilization, primitive methods! OF
mining. cost Of living. &c. about which
50 much has already been written, Mr..
Karuth says that there 10 no doubt that
gold mining was followed in the Philip
pines by the Chinese and Malayr before
they were known to Europeans. A Chi
nese book dated IN the third century OF
the Christian era proves It by mention
ing the trade in gold. The writer con-
dnues:
The question is often asked: How Is
It that so little Is known OF Philippine
gold?" Tho question is simple. There
Is no official control OF the output or tax
on II The miners live In isolated dis
tricts and villages, with rare communi-
cation between them. And the univer-
sal man OF business Is the omnipotent
Chinaman, now storekeeper with a fixed
abode, now perambulating peddler, who
penetrates the most distant settlements,
buys the gold with his wares and sends
1t out OF the country, over to Hong Kong
or Annoy, or elsewhere. II is not his
business 10 swagger over the volume Of
his trade; in fact, he keeps Il dark.
Those who know are aware that the gold
export Is considerable and very much
exceeds the official computation what
ever that may be.
Gold Is found In many islands Of the
group. Senior Abella found traces Of
nlluvia1 workings In Cebu. Mindoro,
which is but little known, Is said to be
rich In geld Panaon. a small island
north OF Mindanao itself is the center Of
considerable trade In alluvial gold.
From specimens brought from that is-
land, the occurrence Of rich quartz veins
can not be q matter Of mere conjecture.
Mining by modern methods will. In the
course OF time, make curlos of native
mining implements. at least wherever
the engineer can take his machinery
without breaking the back OF the capt.
talist.
All this IS Interesting sn view of the
concern in which the United States has
in the Philippines at this time, and, in
addition. as showing the value OF the
territory that Spain must almost ineyi-
tably lose as an outcome Of the war.
As future center Of gold production the
value Of the Philippines cannot DO esi-
mated. but this does not constitute its
sole value. Other minerals abound, par
dcularly copper, and the trade even un-
der the non-progressive policy OF Spain
Is OF considerable proportions as to
hemp. sugar, coffee. sampanwood, sndi-
go. tobacco leaf and cigars, the annual
exports Of the latter alone in 1892, two
years previous to the date of Karuth's
investigation, being 137,Ooo,oOO, while
the exports of sugar the same year were
50o.o0o.oOo pounds, TN spite Of the fact that
the manufacture OF sugar Is carried on
in a small way on small plantations and
with an1iauated machinery.
In closing his pamphlet Mr.. Karuth
says that well directed energy and judi
ciously applied capital win bear good
fruit in the Philippines. Mt. Keruth's
pamphlet was written four years ego,
before there was any idea that the
United States would ever De in the post
ton It Is to-day with reference to the
Philippines. ond It was. therefore, not
designed to influence the proposal con-
corning on alliance that now comforts
England and America, having bearing
on conditions there.
A Golden Birthday.