The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-12-13

you ought to thank God that you
are not compelled TO spend your days
as a soldier at Manila" was the i'm
pressive admonition of Assistant En-
gineer A. L. Robinson of the coast de-
Tense monitor Monadnock to a Herald
reporter at the Kenyon last night. En-
gineer Robinson has just returned from
Manila and stopped over in Zion yes
terday on the way to his old home in
Louisville, Ky. He is emaciated in
form, as a. result of a violent attack of
fever and perhaps he therefore takes q
more gloomy view of the Philippine
outlook than man of health.
Engineer Robinson is gentleman
with charming conversational powers,
and in the lobby of the popular hostelry
he was the center of an interested
group as he related his experiences in
the Orient, told about the peculiarities
Of the people, the condition of our new
possessions, and finally about the
everyday life of the boys Of Uncle
Sam, who have to spend their day
patroling the dirty streets Of the Luzon
capital.
You cannot well imagine a more re-
voting place than the Philippines. The
streets of the towns are filthy, and the
people are worse. They seem to have
no conception of cleanliness. The island
produces tobacco, and l doubt not but
that money will be made. English cap
ital is already coming in and buying
up the big plantations, and it will only
be a short time until foreign capital
controls all the land that is worth
owning for tobacco-raising.
1.-The finest cigar in Manila costs $50
per 1000, and you get a very fine arti-
Gle for the money. 1 observed one thing
that serves to illustrate some charac-
teristics of the natives. An American
may walk up TO a shop and lay down
25 cents for cigars and the keeper will
hand him out four, whereas a native
would receive a dozen of exactly the
same grade and for the same amount
of money.
Dewey? Why he is simply wor-
would know him from the ordinary
sailor He is unassuming and carries
! his honorS with a modeSty that is
simply marvellous. He often came
aboard the Monadnock and he always
has the faculty of making himself
popular with everybody aboard from
the humblest sailor to the command
| ing officer. l tell you there is but one
| Dewey"
! officer Robinson then went on tc
| tell about the Ladrone islands. which
| he said We're the most marvelously
productive dots OF land in the world
! The chief island of the group now
under the stars and stripes comprises
an area of thirty to sixty miles AND
there is not an acre Of land under
cultivation on the whole island. Tropi-
cal fruits OF all kinds grow in great
abundance all the year around anC
the natives do not have to work. Fol
a change of diet they go out and catcf
fish.
There is now but one white man or
the island and he is a former hote
bell-boy of San Francisco. He con.
ducts a store and is doing well, getting
sions of these natives.
The dress worn by the Ladron'
bellies. Of whom so much has beer
written in the comic papers, has no
at all been exaggerated. A real swell
calling costume consists of belt will
few fish bones strung around. L
any american dressmakeTs ever haC
any idea of going to the Ladrones tt
make money they had better stay
away. At least the sewing machine
could be left at home.
With the United States in posses
sion Of the Philippines, the chief island
of the Ladrones and Hawaii, Mr.. Rob
inson thinks, that it is only a matte
Of short time before a steamship lin,
by way of Hawaii, Ladrones and t.
Manila will be established
Officer Robinson left last night TO
the east. He will return to his vesse
now at Manila in the course of abou
two months