News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1902-02-26
CEBU, ISLAND tF CUBA, 2. l.,
Jan. 4, 1902.

Jan. 4, 1902.
Ny Dear Governors
Your letter OF Oct. 26, after follow
ing me from Manila to Cebu, was re-
ceived a few days since, and has been
read with much interest. [ am al.
ways glad to hear from you, but
never more so than upon the receipt
of your last letter, which, by the way,
was one of the first letters | received
since my arrival here.
And now you may wonder how it is
that my address has so suddenly
changed. Well, on Dec. l, ult., all the
military divisions in the P. l. changed,
or rather ceased to exist, and new di.
visions went into effect. Prior to Dec.
L, 1901, there were four departments
in these Islands, viz, No. Luzon, So.
Luzon, The Visayas, Mindanao and
Jolo. The headquarters of the two
first mentioned were in Manila; of the
Vlsayas At lioilO; OF Mindanao and
Jolo at Zamboanga. Now there are
two departments, VIZ, the depart
ment of No. Philippines, and the de-
partment OF So. Philippines, with
headquarters at Manali and Cebu re-
specuyely. No. Philippines includes
ali that No. Luzon and So. Luzon
previously did; So. Philippines all
that The Visayas and Mindanao and
Jolo included.
Geographically, No. Philippines in
cludes all OF LuzOn and the small is
lands closely adjacent to it, such as
Ramblon, Mindoro, Martinique, etc;
So. Philippines all the south islands,
such as Samar, Leyte, Panay, cav
Bohol, Mindanao, Negroes, Jolo, ct al.
Maj Gen. Lloyd Wheaton commands
the department of the No. Philippines;
Brig. Gen. j. F. Wade commands the
department of So. Philippines. Gen.
Wade up to Dec. LIST, was in command
of the department OF So. Luzon, and
upon being assigned to the command
of this department nearly all the
clerks in the department asked to
come with him to Cebu. However.
only i've civilians were allowed to do
so, among whom | was one.
For over a year | had been in Ma
Mia and had been learning of the GUS
toms and conditions of the people in
Luzon, and had seen much of the
country on various trips around the
country, along the cost and upon
Lake Laguna. | wanted to learn
something of these south islands,
their people, customs, conditions and
the resources of their homes; and so
when learned that Cebu was nice
pleasant, healthy town of some 3d.
900 people asked to come here, and
finally succeeded in being allowed to
| do SO.
Since arriving here | have been
very, very well and enjoy living here
much. The headquarters are stu
ated close to the Bay and are much
cooler than those we had in Manila.
Then, too, strange to say, our living
here has been much better than it
was in Manila.
AS you know, conditions in these
South Islands are not such as we
Americans could wish them to be.
Forsome time there has been a spirit
of unrest, a smouldering instruction,
among the people. At Balingiga and
two or three other places it broke
from it's combining limits, and you
know what the results were. This is
one of the main reasons why a de.
partment has been created here,
which will enforce a strong and
vigorous policy, and try to deal
summarily with such duplicity and
treachery as manifested itself at
Balingiga. To-day there are more
troops of the regular army in the
limits of this department than ever
before; tho perhaps not so many as
when the regulars and volunteers
were here two years ago. And you
may rest assured that the insurgents
in this section will be dealt with fair
ly and Justly and yet by the customs
of war This island and the island of
Bohol are now pacitied that is the
insurgent leaders and forces of both
| islands have surrendered, those on
Bohol surrendering on Dec. %, ult.
have no doubt that the matri-
monial epidemic, which seems to have
found so many willing victims nyour
town of late, is a species of disease
that needs no quarantine. | cannot
say whether or not | was fortunate
in missing the Hyde Park variety.
However at the rate of present mar
riages l regard it as a lost oppor-
tunity.
Trusting that this finds youa all we'll
and enjoying agood Vermont winter,
and hoping to hear from you soon, |
remain, very respectfully,
MICHAEL +. HALPIN.