Omaha daily bee., 1899-08-15
ECHOES or THE WAR.

~ NpNsN VIZ "
The Helen Gould OF the volunteers at San
Francisco Is Mrs. \. s. Townsend. Like
the queen OF Lyndhurst-on-the Hudson, Mrs.
Townsend controls a large fortune and ccn-
tributes generously to every worthy cause.
At the recent auction Of Orpheum seats for
the benefit of the fund to welcome and en-
terrain returning volunteers at San Fran
cisco, Mrs. Townsend outbi1 all bidders at
the sale and paid a premium Of POPS for
the first two boxes. Mayor Phelan paid
$1,000 for third choice. Other bids ranged
from $3.50 down to S25.
Mrs, Townsend is a member of the local
Red Cross society and has spent fully
$4,000 in the soldiers cause. When the
volunteers began arriving in San Francisco,
bound for Manila, their sufferings in camp
touched her heart and her purse strings
were Embossed in their behalf. The Tennes-
see egiment suffered most. and to the
southern boys she proved a guardian angel.
She not only bought handkerchiefs to be
used as muflers by the men, but secured
baths for the entire command at Sutro's;
paid for their luncheons and car fare to and
from the Cliff house, and gave other signs
of her generosity to the boys in blue, Each
day she sent loads of fruit and vegetables
to the various regiments then stationed at
Camp Merritt, and besides d~evoting her
fortune to a good cause Mrs. Townsend
was among the troops each day, seeing to
their wants, giving kind words to the sick,
bringing them delicacles and personally
seeing that her donations were properly dis
tributed. For her goodness she became be-
loved by the soldiers, who actually wor-
SHIPPED her. Like generosity marks her eff
forts to provide for the comfort of the re-
turning volunteers.
Captain Mark l.. Jersey, quartermaster Of
the Twelfth United States infantry, a Maine
man and a West Pointer, in an interview in
the Boston Globe, adds some facts to the
supply of information about the Philip
pines and the natives. Captain Hersey par
ticipated in the Santiago campaign, was
later transferred to Manila with his regi-
ment and Is now at home on leave. He is
quoted as follows:
1.-The climate of Manila is much healthier
than that of Cuba. We have no yellow
fever there and the thermometer ranges
from rs degrees to 90 degrees.
II heard no kicking among the troops.
Their ~rations are good, dried fruits, such as
apples, prunes and peaches, have been added
to the rations. The beef we get there Is
excellent, the equal. i think, to our own
packing house beef. 1t comes in excellent
shape from Australia and is delivered
aboard our refrigerator ship in the bay at
S1k cents per pound"
rs Aguinaldo losing his grip on the peo-
pie there?"
That's hard to say. One can form an
opinion as we'll from what is printed here
as from what appears in the Manila jour-
nails"
us Manila a good place for Americana"
For the capitalist l should say yes.
For the laboring man no. Labor is too
cheap. Why, you can hire the best of male
servants for 81 American money a month.
There are vast coal fields there. American
capital, aided by native labor, could produce
coal at $3.50 per ton, whereas 1t costs about
$3.50 per ton. The country is fertile be-
yond any standard we have in this coun-
try
What about the people?"
They are far from being the ignorant
men that they have been represented to be.
They are not idol worshipers but belong to
the Catholic church and are well grounded
in the tenets of their belief. They are an
intelligent people, a large part of them being
able to read and write. In my army expert
ence l have come in contact with the MeXi-
can greaser and the Cubans. From what
l saw and heard while in Manila l have no
hesitation In saying that they are the
superior of either of these people. They
are men of education and refinement"
Are they competent to govern them
selves?"
well, the Mexicans have succeeded very
we'll in that direction and I see no reason
why the Filipinos shouldn't, inasmuch as 1
believe them far more intelligent than the
former"
what sort of field is it for the mission
"Well, they might just as well send them
to convert the people of Spain; there's just
as much chance to make converts" I
Are the people priest-ridden and do the
clergy exact exorbitant fees from the peo-
mot knowing, 1 cannot say. But the
priests l met at Manila-the Jesuits, those
who have control OF the observatory there
are a very scholarly, high-minded set Of
men, who do all in their power to restore
peace in the islands"