The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-01-21
EDEN IN THE PHILIPPINES.
A o DIER's OBsERvATIONs IN THE
ISLAND or NEGkO>.
Tn, Soil the Richest IN the Worid-The
Rebels Only Bandits-One OF A~guinnido's
Allies Kind OF Americans Needed
Great Market for American wares
Ilinnte Henlthful-A SPnnish Epigrnm.

Rebels Only Bnndits-O One OF Aguihniuos
Allies = Kind OF Americans Needed
Crent Market for American Wares
climate Healthful-A spanish Epigram.
IsApELLA. Negroes, L, l., Dec This letter
IL mailed at n little puebloin the heart Of the richest
agricultural country In the world, considering
the soil only. this little island Of Ncgros Is worth
the States Of Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio com
hiped, II could own lve acres Of this land and
ocatei within 100 mies Of New YORK city would
not trade II for any Ave sections Of farming land
In Illinois, Negros Is a Garden OF Ecen' IL
awaits only the road builder to fulfil its destiny.
There may be gold in the mountains. There or
no, there. Negros does not need It. Every ounce
of her black soil is an ounce Of virgin gold TO the
man who knows how TO refine It in the smelter Of
industry. The agricultural possibilities Of the
island are simply boundless, The only thing that
the soil Of Negroes won'tgrowisa mortgage They
say in the States: "Oh, well. but a white man
can, labor in that climate" The answer is SIM
pie. A white man who owns land in Negros
doesn't have 10 labor. And there | am bang-up
against the subject Of climate.
The Sixth United States Infantry arrived on
this island last June, right in the middle of the
rainy season. Any antiimperalist who thinks
It is a regiment Of sick men had better steer clear
Of the invalids along about sunset, when the
natives tap the cocoanut trees for tuba. I've
got Ave months pay coming TO me that says there
isn't an athletic club in America that con match
them, man for man, for robust health and n good,
healthy desire 10 hammer thunder out OF somebody
atleast once every twenty -fon- hours.
When | Joined the regiment. on Oct. l last,
eight recruits. fresh from the States, came with
me. Every man Of them has put on flesh since
Joining the regiment. Tho good health of the
men is not due to the easy time they've been hav-
ing. The men Of tho 81 xth would shy at a dry
bed Just as a farm horSs does ut an electric car.
For five M onths they've slept In the mud aud rain.
and II there's n man Of them who isn't sore-footed
from marching day and night, the Sergeant Major
doesn't know his name. But they can average
eight pounds OF mountain beef a day and whip
their weight In catamounts. We don't know
what a sick man looks like.
A way back | proudly referred TO the fact that
I had Ave months pay due me. That is S7s
American | expect 10 get the money shortly.
I'd like to bet $50 of II on the following PROPOSE.
tons: Take a thousand picked men and let them
undergo five months Of the SANE exposure and
hardship in any State In the Union that the Sixth
Infantry has undergone here, and III bet that 10
PER cent. Of them will ba dead AMI 10 per cent, OF
them will b in the hospital. We've had practically
no sickness here. I'll pick 1000 men from this
regiment and bet that there isn't a community Of
800 BOO in the United States from which a physician
can pick 1000 equally healthy men.
Now, about the insurrection. There isn't any
on this island. ! cant find any evidence that
there ever was one There used 70 be a Jesse
James gang and a Ger nimo band back in the
States. They're got the same thing here. II
isn't something now that came In with American
rule, There have been Papiecio robhef bands
in the mountains Of Negr , s ever since God made
Bust n They live in IKE mountain a,tnesses
and levy tribute On the plantation owners. II
the planter fails 70 Tut w, lis sugar mill goes
up in flames. Incidentally they attack men
and Kill a few old men and babes. There is Just
one cure for them and that is the Old Testament
recipe: ENterminltian root and branch, We
are prescribing that Treatment, az present with
l~attering results, and the peaceable Inhabitants
Of the island are delighted 70 find how truly good
a thoroughly dead Papiecio can he.
II the present land holders On this island were
Americans If the type who settled the frontier
West, Uncle Sam could vitadra " every American
soldier from the island tomorrow with conf
dcnce that after a couple If squally years all would
be we'll. There would ensua q little preliminary
Winchester rule and lynch law and shortly people
would begin 10 ask, What has become II the
PapieciuS'" | suppose that "Lo, the Poor.In-
dian, Esq" Of Boston would make a great cut
cry, just as he does now about The lrutal soldiers.
II Mrs "Lo-the- Puurlndien' would only con
descend 10 rock the cradle aud de- the houssw rk.
so that Mr. LO could spend a couple Of months
over here with Us, we think We could convince
him that it is hardly fair 10 class Jesse James
and iguinaldo with & e0rco WaShin~t II
The Negr = Paplcci,s have been running their
tax collection agency and murlerng amigos
on the side for So long that tie Spanish land
owners here had come t. take IL a. a matter II
course, The Spanish soldiers appeared e. take
the same view of the situation The hist ny
Of Negr 3 tails 20 Show u single instance in which
the Spanish soldiers chased a Papiecio band
further tlau the foothills And they would as
soon have thought If embarking for 'he moon
as Of veutnrins int the mountains Now, 1t
is different \ corporal and four bluocuats go
into the mountains alter PapieCi,s, Just as they
would 20 into the woods alter rabbits. When
the SpaniarIs and amigos first saw these little
squads healing for the big hills. they held up
their hands in horror and TIA" air fairly buzzed
with warnings. NV they are getting So that
you con yell "papieci,'' at them a, midngli, and
they don't FAINT. For the bandit ore getting
fewer and rpust very high. Meanwhile. the
! Drltdl American SulllpfN SuDSltt N PaplpClD
beef, killed in the maintains, aud grow fat. II
our a%ppetlteS ,Iulu uuI for six months more there
will be n more cattle IN the mountains and the
Papiecip problem will have solved Its"lt.
With the PApieCiuS eN tcrminh ted, ~ II Boston
prefers she might pension them, Negros asks
bur ne boon good roads. Given 60, ruadg
anlNegr $ viii pay the national debt oi the States.
just tickle thelaui with heShatpend II Il crp, kel
stick and II bloSS ms dollars. You couldn't
stop her rom growing rice with anything short
of n special providence, II they hhd Tree rim.
the Papiecius couldn't burn the Can,iields asst
enough ~ keep her from producing a sugar crop.
Negrls gives greeting ana welcome a. the man
from LOUISIANA with the capital g. start She
will clOtlc linn IN purple and lue linen. II he
dislikcs water, she will build him a palace at
Nagasaki where he may spend the rainy sea-
son. And she will give him a monthly vacation
at Hong Kong AMI an allowance Of change that
will "nahle him 3 lose 81 ,0D lack pots smilinC.
The man who knows how to grow things isn't
the only one to whom Negroes extends greeting.
There are all sorts ~ opportunities here some
Of them ripening and some Of them ready IN pick
right now. Rock Island, Moline. South Bend.
in fact, all the plough towns in the States. need
wantsa light draught, turning plough. American
make. II" hasa vrry few now AMI likes them. and
wants thousands more. They can be made 10
meet his ryquirrncn's still better by making the
night handle detachable. During tie early ploW-
ing he wants both handles. As the care grows
tall he wants only on lie pays net gold. on tho
nall. lie also wants an American harrow, ana
knows it,
He wants American padlocks and hnste and
staples and bolts ard nuts and rails,
He'd by American boilers and engines for his