Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1900-03-24
DEsEREr EVENING NEWS, SATURDAY. MARCH "a, 1900.

fighting the fire files. II Is said that
Gen Andy Burt sent 70 the men orders
for them 20 forward him a list Of the
casualties.
THE ONLY RAILROAD IN THE
PHILIPPINES
The railroad which goes through this
valley ~ the only railway Of the Philip
pines. Il Is now In had condition. hav-
ing been torn up again and again BY
the Insurgents. Many OF toe stations
are Ia ruins. and there are eight Loco
motives lying near Banban IN one OF
the rivers, which cross the track. You
see the remains Of intrenchments at
every few miles. and IN some places
the fortihcatlous thrown UP by our sol
dlcrs behind which they lay and shot
at the enemy
The railroad belongs TO an English
syndicate which win undoubtedly at
tempt 10 make the Americans pay
heavily FOR their use OF the road. II IS
n question whether anything should be
paid. for the road, ! am told was opcr-
ated by Filipnos, and the Filipino em-
ployes OF the company were the men
who did the most damage to the rail-
road. It's depots and rolling stock
The railroad is l20 miles long. IL goes
through a country as fat as a floor ana
It's construction must have been COM
paratlvey easy and cheap. Ii has
ifty-six-pound rails. a gauge OF forty
inches and rolling stock from England.
The cars have been repalnted and la
beled with the brand Of the United
States government.
They are old boX-like affairs. uncom-
Portable to an extreme. There is first,
second and third class. the FIRST not be-
ing better than that OF our emigrant
cars The roadbed is ] should Judge
not over three feet above the surround
Ing country. and II seems TO be enough
to preserve II from the foods OF the
rainy season.
The railroad has been IN operation
for about eight years. II was origi-
nally built on a guarantee OF eight per
cent from the Spanish government. But
the first contractors failed and those
who followed claimed they had TO pay
so much TO the government in the way
Of bribery that they could make no
money The original capital was TO be
less than Sj,O0O.O00. but the road Is now
bonded W to the neck. and what will
be done with II when peace permanent
| " comes Is not known. IL should be
a very valuable property, for Il runs
through one OF the richest parts OF the
islands and must have In the neighbor-
hood Of 5000 square miles Of rice and
sugar lands along the track. II has al
so other territory which It taps, con-
Meeting the northern part Of the Island
with Manila.
OUR SOLDIERS RUN THE ROAD.
Al present the road is run entirely by
| the soldiers. They are the brakemen
and the engineers the mail clerks and
the station men. Every train has guards
| In uniform upon II, and at every sta
/ ton there is a company or so ready Ia
defend any attack Now and then some
one shoots at the cars as they go flying
along. We had one such shot on the
way to PaniQue, but no one was hurt
| Until recently none but soldiers were
allowed TO travel on the road without
a pass. but II will soon be open TO both
passenger and freight Of all kinds. and
II may be that II will be handed back
TO its owners in a short time.
PANIQUE.
Panlque is a typical country village
At least II IS typical OF this part OF
Luzon Nearly every section OF these
islands has peculiaritles Of It's own
The dialects are so different that 1t Is
said that the common people OF south.
] ern Luzon are unable TO make them.