The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1899-10-31

Chicago, October ?s-The Tribune
prints a summary or the situation in
the Philippine islands from it's special
correspondent there, Richard II. Lsttls.
The letter which is dated Manila, Sep
tember 18th says:
Here are some figures. made SEVEN
months and a half after our campaign
against the Philippines began. Say il
is five miles 10 Angeles-we hold pos
session OF she railroad up TO that point.
We can fairly claim possession Of the
land a half mile on each side OF the
track. We have possession Of tne wag-
on road, and, let us say, hall mile on
each side from San Fernando trough
Bacoloor TO Santa Rita, eight miles,
with four miles to Guaga. we have a
road from Mololos, - Baliauag, eleven
miles northeast. We can claim eleven
square miles here.
I'VE have Manila, out as far as the
water works, five miles away. That
gives us, say, twenty-five miles around
the city.
Then We have the road and a half
mile each side down eighteen miles 10
linus. Then we have Calamba and some
| other points on the lake that General
Lawton captured before he was order
| ed back. These towns are not approach
| ed by road, but by boat across the La
guna de Bay, and we only control the
land they stand on.
Adding up our total possessions We
| find we have III square miles. The
Island Of Luzon contains 1900 square
| miles.
Outside Of Luzon the insurrection
seems TO be growing. The insurgents
hold ports in Mindanao. the the largest
! island TO BuZon in the Philippines and
said TO be incidentally rich in gold and
SILVER mines, iron and copper ores, and
other minerals, besides possessing won-
derful forests OF hard wood. No Amer
| leans have dared venture there a yet,
as General Otis has sent no tros ps to
| the island. Englishmen and ss99swsars
| are proving about the island 5 citing
aW the concessions they can. Ii is said
! several prospecting parties are at work.
General Otis reports conflicts be-
tween the 'robber bands and Ameri-
can soldiers in Negros and Cebu. The
| Nineteenth, the Eighteenth and the
Sixth, and one battalion Of the Twenty
uhrd infantry are now in these islands
lighting the robber bands, who dig
trenches and occupy towns ana make
night attacks after the fashion OF The
Z
form Cebu is that some 1000 'r0bb 3
were menacing our forces and a co.
ion was imminent.
Next campaign is going to be G,ffere L
from the last. We will get out OF | 4,
fiat, open country into mountaino. 4
uhlckly wooded country. IL we d. nor
end the war here we viii have to car
ry 1t into the high, rocky-ribbeo noun
tainS Of Luzon.
1T wiz be no violation OF a state
4 GY.ct g.hf -. IL.
next campaign Will be to get the resi-
or the railroad from the hands OF the
insurgents The insurgents ought TO be
firmly convinced by this time tnat we
want the Manila and Dagupan railroad,
as we have fought along that line seven
monohS. They know we want Il. and
uhey also know that we are going TO
get 1t, Tor they are already tearing UP
the track, burning the ties. and buryinr
the rails north Of Angeles
| The country east Of the railroad
north Of Angeles TO Dagupan is much
IKE II Is south OF Manila, except higher
ana broken. West of the railroad are
high mountains that Will offer the in
surgents better opportunity TO retreat
and escape than they had in the low,
country. With the taking of rha rail-
road We Will have cut off the provinces
. or Zambales, Paggasnan. Tarlac And
, Panpanga, and Bataan from the main
part or the island and can lay claim to
good deal more country than the pre-
else amount of real estate on which ON r
. army Is now camping
, rom the railroad Aguinaldo's army
, can haTdly retreat anywhere but north
ward across the mountains to the fer
TIE valley OF the Rio Grande DE Caga-
vary.
The walled city cannot understand
why the army has 20 much trouble with
the railroad. When the officers IN the
held notify the walled city that the
ralls have been torn up from the Sec
ton OF track just comr,l,ted and that
the ties have been burned and The
grade destroyed they get an order to-
, Tx 1T SO, after few miles of rail
road are completed the soldiers have
to scatter up and down the track and
go mining for steel rails. The fnsur-
gents bury the rails five or six feet
deep. They observed that the Ameri-
cans located the rails by sounding with
a crow-bar, so they resorted TO the ex-
pedlent OF putting a layer OF ties over
the rais. To replace the burned ties
the quartermaster's department. was
FORCED 10 use planks, two boards each
TWO inches wide being nailed together
J Tor ties. The side track, wherever pos
sible. all the way back to Manila, was
2erked up carried north and put down
wnere the rails could not be found
The American army is badly In need
| OF railroad ties and steel rails
Another great need of the army fs
| Agnt draft steamboats for use on the
many rivers and lakes OF Luzon There
Is hardly place in the world where a n
army could use river steamers To a
greater advantage. The Rio Grande
the CHICO, the Rio Grande Parnranca
. the Agno. the Bicoi and the Pasip All
now through fertile and densely ponn !.
, lated valleys and offer a means n t,s
army OF bringing UP supplies and svvist.
~ transporting large bodies of zaldier,
: tnat would be Invaluable were It utIliz.