New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1906-03-10
CONDITIONS IN JOLO.
Secretary Taft Tells of the Group
and It's People.

Washington. March 9.-Not because of the
casualties among the American forces engaged
though they were more numerous than In any
battle in the Philippines for several years. put
rather because of the extraordinarily large
number of natives killed. the news of the battle
of Mount Dato was received at the War and
NAVY departments with intense interests The
first authentic news Of the battle came through
The Associated Press reports, though at the
same time the cipher experts OF the War De-
partment were busily engaged in trying TO un-
rayel a long report which had come direct from
Manila by cable. This message was from Colo
mel Andrews military secretary at army head
quarters at Manila, who had received his data
by inter-island cable from Zamboango. wnere
the commander in chief of the Philippine d.
vision Major General Leonard Wood. happened
to be.
Secretary Taft at the Cabinet meeting
when the official cable dispatch was finally de-
ciphered A copy of It was sent at once to the
Executive Offices and the President and mem
bers of the Cabinet listened with keenest inter
est to its reading by Secretary Taft After his
return to the War Department Secretary Taft
commenting on the engagement. said:
General Wood appears to have been there by
accident. or rather, without any Idea of what
was going to happen. l had a cable dlspatch
from him saving there were some matters call
ing him into the southern islands, but he would
not be out of reach of the cable, and suppose
when he got there he found the trouble on
General Bliss. who as commander or the De-
partment of Mindanao exercised military JurlS-
diction over the Jolo group, was probably al
ready at Zamboango when General Wood ar
rived there on his trip of inspection Here is
Woods cable dispatch
"Manila. Feb 26-Leaving for Zamboango;
be absent eight days. Civil and military bust
ness preparatory to turning over duties as Gov
ernor of Moro Provinces. Shall be constantly IN
cable communication
This dispatch was produced by the Secretary
In response TO the suggestion that possibly Gen
eraI Wood may have gone 10 Jolo with the in
tention OF organizing punitive expedition
against the Moros in the mountain Businesses,
who had held out for the last two years against
the American forces. The Secretary said that
he had made two trips to Jolo. the last in the
course Of his visit to the Philippines last sum
mer Refreshing his recollection by some Of
the official figures at hand. he said:
The island of Jolo is 800 square miles in area,
with population of A rs people and density
of lS7 inhabitants square mile. In the whole
comandancia OF Jolo there were only l,2IO civil
lied as compared with 30 10 wild inha bitants.
Jolo is the most important or the archipelago
of that name, lying southwest of Zamboango in
q degrees north latitude The surface is COW
cred with hills which in a few cases. such as
Bahu 2S10 feet; Butpila, 2,I3b feet, and Tama-
languiS 2,S4O feet, rise 10 the dignity OF Ihouh-
tains.
Mount DaJo referred to in the dispatch. was
probably not mentioned in the same connection
with these mount MS because II was only LOO
feet high
The Jolo Arch. pelago is Inhabited by two races
of people the Jolo and the Sisma-the former
a Malay people long inhablting the Jolo Islands.
who had been converted 10 Mahometanism The
Jolo and Is the nominal head of all MOros there
and in Mindanao. The latter recognize him.