The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1898-10-27
. III. pA,Il,p,.. o...,.s..

There are .oms Arguments 10 favor Of
rsi.ining The Philippe lslssds % sell -
Arguments sgsinsi permanent occupation.
Pahsps The ttfoases, 10 based 90 h1mspi
tartan sronbds II lie quite evident thai
Spain hss iost IT, bold Of lie i.lsnds snd
csnno, rsgsin them except by much
hloodshed "a apenai,nrs, nor 10 it De
sirsble from any point Of view.
% the other hand IL 10 extremely
doubtful whether the natives are snfiicien.
iy Intelligent msintsip successful pefms
cent governnent Of their o~p, Thus II 81
moe, becomes our daiy 10 take care OF
the isisnds, Of least until the people bsse
advanced i.r enough 10 take care Of them
selves
The Argument sssinsi such occupation
lie bssei upon the expense and the nscessi
~ OF . large increase OF our army and
usvy and possible complications With 9th
er nations. 10 elise. this there is no
doubt ihst . large revenue might be OBJ
tsined with decrease OF trade. 10 regard
the resources OF the islands. We copy the
following from recent letter written by
one who has very good means for knowing
shat he lie writing about:
The PHILIPPINE i,lsnds form 40 empire
whose possibilities are hey ond the bounds
Of com puistion. The surface has not even
been scratched and slresdy their com
merce amounts TO hundreds OF millions.
The coil is fertile beyond anything Amer
lea knows, and II is snted 10 almost every
crop. The manager OF the Manila branch
OF the Chartered Bank q Indis. Austria
and Cbius said to me the other day that
in eli bis experience 10 these islands be
bad never seen q failure OF any crop.
What ever was sown, that was resped.
0aly the fsinlest suggestion OF develop
ment OF the islands resources has been
made. 1. has been the policy OF the Span
ish 10 prevent development. Robbery and
personal gain we're the only objects Of the
Spanish officials. Take the single instance
Of the building Of the break water and
the pier Of The N outh VI the Pssig river.
Work has been going on at 1t for two
score years or more. There we're several
pecisi taxes devoted ostensibly to the COD
structioD OF the pier, and the fund was
increased by percentage Of the import
duties, Wharfage dues IN the river, light
house taxes and other imposts. Yet the
pier is hardly begun.
When Gen. Whittier took over the pub
lie treasury aud examined the books. the
drst thing he found was proof thst Weyler
lined bis pockets well when be was cap
tain general Of the PHILIPPINES. When be
left the islands he stole 2 500. 900 pesos
from the treasury. He gave loo. 900 pesos
to the Judge who had Jurisdiction Of sucb
cssss and 400, 900 TO the treasurer and
other officials who we're in position TO
make trouble for him. That shows one
limit OF Spanish theft,
No wonder the RESOURCES Of the islands
are not fully known. What il known OF
them. hover. is enough to smsz, ne.
Hemp. sugar. coffee almost nothing
done with them now. Thousands OF sofes
Of the finest coffee land under the sun y
ing untouched. Fertile valleys, wooded
and shaded, protected against winds.
shere the rainfall is tremendous and even,
= paradise for coffee growers and the op
portunity for no one to say what fortunes.
10 the islands to the south there are for
ests OF teak. ebony sud mshogony that
have never beer tcuchsd.