Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1902-02-03

there are wonderful improvements go
ing on all the time. Business is fast
increasing and this is certain to be-
come the great commercial city of the
east.
There are two classes of American
society here. They are the military
and the civil government people
Nearly everyone here amongst the
Americans is connected with one
branch or the other, and it is hard to
tell which is the leading one. The
civil government has the most money
to spend and draws the largest sal
aries (from the insular funds) but the
military has the most power They
came together in a grand clash not
long ago over deporting a man, and
the military won. 1t was the supreme
court of the islands on one side and
Gen Chaffee on the other. Gen. Chat
fee said a certain man had to leave
the islands and return to the United
States. The supreme court said he
could stay, and so they referred the
matter to the home government at
Washington, and they decided in favor
of Gen. Chaffee The civil government
people say, See what we have done!
We came here and started up whole
government And the army people
reply Your civil government would
not last over night if we were not here
to protect it, And such is the case.
1t is the army that keeps the insured
ton down here, not civil government
by any means.
Social life is confined mostly to the
principal Office holders here, who draw
salary enough to bring out and keep
their families here. There are hun
dreds of fine young men here who are
drawing salaries all the way from SIS
to $3.50 per month, who never get a
chance to speak to an American worr-
an. The reason is that there are not
American girls enough to go around
and there are about ten men here q
every woman. They are coming out
pretty fast now, and every steamer
brings quite q number Why man
here who has a speaking acquaintance
with an American girl is envied by his
fellow men, and one who is lucky
enough to be invited to dine with An
American family is looked up to in
reverence But lots of those young
fellows are commencing to send for
some girl they knew in the dim and
misty past, and as soon as she arrives
they are married at once There are
always several marriages the day an
American steamer arrives and then for
the next two weeks there is decided
lull in matrimonial circles Most all
those young fellows hold good cleri,
cal psitions here in the city and all
pay is good here for anything in that
line. The American woman does more
towards the civilization of these ISL
ands than anything else. Her refining
and good influence is felt in every
circle, and it is admitted by every one
that the more American homes are es-
tablished, the quicker will the islands
become Americanized.
''The school teachers were a bless
ing, and there are now $50 of them
here, and tn schools are crowded al
over tie islandg,x and there is strong
demand for more teachers. They are
going to increase this number to 1000
and then that will not be enough. Of
course amongst the lady teachers
there were a great number of them
got married after they had been here
a short time, but that must be expect
ed, and even so a good many of them
retained their schools One thing
about the teachers is they can go any
place, no matter how many insurgents
there may be there, and they are al
ways are treated with the greatest re
spect and never molested. A govern
ment (soldier) engineer who is over
seeing or constructing roads, can do
the same thing Those two classes
and none others. are safe at all times
and places in the islands. The insur
gents know that they. are both bless,
ing to the country