The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-02-26
We Are Slow to Grasp
Situation There.
PHILIPPINE GROUP.
It's Great Importance Not
Understood.

Washington. Feb 25.-The officials Of
queinted with the situation in the Phils
ippines lay great stress on the fact thaS
the American public, including COM
gress, is slow to grasp the Importance
of the Philippine group and the very
powerful force that will be necessary
to command the situation completely
The mere statement that the erouu
comprises over 1890 separate Islands,
naval officers say. gives little idea OF
the Importance of the group because
on an ordinary map not a hundredth
part of them are shown, and the lar
gest islands look like mere specks in
waste Of ocean. The fact Is, how
ever that Luzon at the north and Min
danao at the south of the archipelago
are each Of them 300 miles long, or
longer than from Washington to New
York. and the whole archipelago from
north to south covers a stretch as long
as from Chicago TO New York with the
islands in plain sight Of each other all
the way
There are ten islands in the group
that are 30 miles or more in greatest
length, and 20 others that are 10 miles
or mere across
so tar from being uninhabited wastes,
there are large number of towns OF
10000 Inhabitants and upward. One Of
the first things that the war depart
lnent aims to do, is to secure control
of the cable and telegraph lines, oe
which there are roughly 10000 or 200,-
600 miles in the archipelago.
IL has been frequently stated that
there is no cable communication be-
tween Manila and Iloilo, but there is
q cable line the whole distance, the
property of British company. which
has been forced to abandon its prop
erty owing to the Instruction. The
cable from Manila runs south through
the maze of small islands till It lands
on the north shore of Panay at Capiz,
seaport of 1900. Thenee a land line
runs across Panay 70 Iloilo.
The land line, however, is entirely In
the hands OF the natives, and the Brit
ish company has been forced to ADAM
don its stations both IT Capiz and Iloi-
To- II is the wish " Admiral Dewey
and Gen. Otis to command Capiz as
soon as possible, since this would save
run Of nearly 300 miles, IN commu-
| nicatlng with Manila. from Iloilo. As
soon as the interior Of Panay is in the
hands of the United States forces there
will be direct wire communication be-
tween the two largest cities in the
archipelago, Manila and Iloilo.
The cable and telegraph system Of the
archipelago does not stop at Iloilo,
however, but jumps across a narrow
strait on the south to Dakalot a large
town on the north coast of the Island OF
Negroes, which has already hoisted
the American flag and announced its
allegiance to the United States. Ne
groes Is 140 miles long and has a teleg-
raph line running around the coast to
Escalante, a town of over 5000 inhabit-
ants ON the east side.
From Escalante the cable continues
south across another narrow strait to
Cebu, a fertile but narrow island, 100
miles long. There is q land line across
this island to Cebu City. the capital
town of $4,000 Inhabitants, and here
the telegraph system stops after cover
ing two-thirds the length Of the arch-
pelago north and south There are stu
Masbete. so miles long, Mindaneo,
which is 300 miles north and south by
200 miles east and west, and Palawan,
which is about 200 miles long. None IL
these islands, so far as known, have
airy railroad system except Luzon
In addition to it's railroads. Luzon
has three long land lines Of telegraph.
Samar a large island on the extreme
east of the archipelago, which has
never yet been mentioned in the press
dispatches, is 1856 miles long and has
40 towns, with a total population OF
200, 700 With all these important
points to occupy, it is pointed out that
Dewey's anxiety to get hold Of the
Oregon is entirely reasonable.