Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1898-09-12

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| islands have population of 100000.
Some islands are only half an acre in
extent and have only few families
CT savages living on them
"The climatic conditions Of the
Philippines will astonish the troops
This tropical archipelago reaches with
in four degrees of the equator, and is
in the same latitude as Venezuela.
About 200 of the islands, varying in
size from so to eco square miles, have
never been explored, and May are in
habited by natives far more barbar-
Gus and intractable than our Dfoux
Indians Thirteen distinct and sepa-
rate tongues are spoken in the Philip
pines. Spain has never tried to gov
ern any Of the islands outside Of Min
doro, Luzon, Zebu, Samar and Negro5
This was for a good reason-she co Id
not. Think Of the task before our
American people, but think Of the daz-
zling p ssibilities. It will be another
case of England in India. In the is
lands are 100000 Chinese, 5000 Span
iards, 500 British and about $50 Amer
leans.
''The natives are of Malay or gin,
and have the face, color and manner
of the Malays. They are handsome,
brown, 1.-THE and graceful, with hair
as black as ravens wings, and with
flashing black eyes. In all there are
about 100000 of hem. In some Of
the islands they are absolutely wild
and eat human flesh. On the Pomolu
islands the natives have practiced hui
man sacrifice for 200 years. I was
there once With several indigo buyers
and we saw the skulls of a score of
the natives stuck en- bamboo posts as
a Precipitation to some spirit.
But enough Of thee narrowing de-
tails. I was telling you about the ful-
! ture chances for money-making. Aside
from sugar, hemp is the grl attest ar l.
Gle OF export in the Philippines, and
about 40 p2r cent of all grown is SO 1T
to this country. One firm in Boston
paid on an average of cents pound
in Manila for $4,000 tons of hemp in
the ten years previous to last January.
For the past twelve years the export
of hemp from the Philippines to this
country has been worth S2,400,0OO a
year. There are immense possible
ties fer hemp culture, now that the
Spaniards will be driven out.
"What the Americans have done in
the fertile valleys of Hawaii during
the last genera& n will be duplicated
in the Philippin in the next Indigo
| plants grow in incredible luxuriance
in the Philippines The soil is SO fer
tile that least labcr gives surprising
results. Indigo plants yield double
the capital used Think of that.
Many of the rich est families in Manila
people who live in Paris and Madrid
/ ABOUT one-third OF the time and keep
up royal establishments made
their princely fortunes in the indigo
trade. The Alvarado family owns an
and derives from it a revenue of fully
$4,000 a year. The least enterprising
American can see chances for limit
less improvements there and could
double the profits.
"Cocoanut trees are sources of i'm
mense revenue. The nuts are de-
manded in the marke is of the world as
much as oranges or lemons. Profits
of $3.50 an acre from cocoanut farms
/ are usual. Every part Of the tree is
! used. The juices make oil and wine,
the fiber of the leaves is woven into
cloth and the husks of the nut are
shipped to England by the boatload to
be manufactured into doormats. To
the native the cocoanut tree is the
saff Of life. It will furnish food,
raiment, drink, oil, vessels, vinegar,
brushes, fish lines, ropes, fuel and
water.
cit would take a whole page of the
GlObe-DemOcrat to tell it's readers all
about these wonderful islands Uncle
Sam has won. My earnest advice to
all enterprising, earnest and plucky
young st. Louisians is to go to the
Philippines after the war and get
rich..''