The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-06-12
A FIRE ENGINE IN MANILA.
The Excitement an American Inven-
ton Created When First Used.

]. E. Stevens, in New York Post
Although some 100000 bales of hemp and
about $1,000 tons of sugar annually found
their way from the Philippines to the
United States at the time of my residence
there the balance of trade was never main
tanned by american goods coming the other
way, and the local business community in
Manila or in the smaller centers to the
south remain in comparative ignorance of
the existence of New York, Chicago, and
san francisco. It's members know London
what foreign people do not--and placidly
imagine that the few imported American
articles, such as flour and pieces of ma
cninery, which now and then creep into
Manila come from some suburb of the
great English capital. The old American
house WHICH long ago used to control the
business OF the islands and have long since
gone to the wall, seem to have been COM
pletely forgotten, and until the guns of our
heet broke the silence reigning in Manila
bay the name of the United States meant
nothing on the Pasig or in the E,scolta
One Of my most pleasant experiences in
the philippines, and certainly the most
amusing, was that which my American
chum and / had as a result OF our intro
qucing TO Manila society a piece of up-to-
date American maehnery,-a fire engine-by
way of lessening that balance of trade ex-
listing against the United States
Our wealthy friend Alvarez, who, in spite
OF the fact Of his being part Spanish, part
Chinese. and part Malay, owned steamers
and storehouses, saw some pictures of
American fire engines in one of the cata-
logues on our office table, and Immediately
determined to have one. So we got him
one of the biggest that thew make in Ro-
chester, that he might cancel the insurance
which he had placed to cover the goods
stored in his warehouses; and still go on
collecting premiums from people who left
their hemp sugar, and tobacco in his care
Four months after placing the order the
new engine arrived on the Esmeralda and
was all but dropped into the river through
the clumsy handling of the heavy cases. But
in due course it was hoisted out of lighters
and dumped on to the quay in front of the
office of our wealthy friend Alvarez
The Englishmen of the Manila colony in
passing laughed at the wheels of red and
gold and the nickel-plated boiler. The local
engineers made sarcastic comments. But
we didn't reply, and only wondered how to
put the parts together. For no one in the
capital had seen the like of fire engine
before. Assisted by drawings and descrip-
tons we set the boiler on its feet and adj
justed wheels, crank-pns, and valve con-
nections. 1t seemed like tempting Provi-
dence to fill the boiler by pouring water
down the whistle, but that was what we
did from an uncertain perch on a steplad-
der As the water gUrgled in all right and
did not run out of the bottom our method
seemed successful. In due course we start
ed the fire In the CRATE. and were pleased to
find that the engine got up steam
enough TO work her own pumps.
NV chum and | knew so little about the
anatomy of fire engines that we were much
surprised on finding that Americas biggest
variety did not blow up when the wheels
ran so speedily. Everything seemed fitted
to r. however, and our friend Alvarez was