The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1907-07-19
A HARD ore
ENGINEERS HAD WORK TO DO IN
LANDING CARGO.
American Enterprise in Opening UP
Philippines to Railroad Service
Is Under Handicap-Tough
Job to Land Locomotives.

handicaps encountered by American
enterprise in opening up the Philip
pines to railroads are related by the
chief officer of the steamer Wray
Castle, which arr ved here with a
cargo of hemp, japanese curios n
other commodities, says the Boston
Transcript. On her last voyage u
ward from New York the Wray Castle
carried, among other items OF a large
and valuable cargo, seven locomotives,
four of them for Iloilo, next 70 Manila
the most important point of the Phil
ippine archipelago. Also, she had
rails and other materials to be used
in the development of an industry
hitherto confined almost exclusively
to Manila and its immediate vicinity,
but which soon is to embrace a wide
stretch of inland territory.
When the Wray Castle arrived at
Iloilo she found in waiting a large
party of constructionists, with Ameri.
a mechanics and engineers al
bosses and overseers and coolies for
~drudgery, all ready to begin the work.
Most of them had been drawing pay
up to that time for nothing more
arduous than keeping themselves out
of the hot sun. But when the steamer
appeared all was hustle and excite
ment.
AS an initial problem there was the
question of ways and means of get
ting the heavy machinery and locomo.
tive parts ashore. There were pack
ages weighing ~variously from three to
fifteen tons and no shore apparatus
for handling them. Everything
handled between ship and shore is
done in lighters, and there were no
lighters in the port adequate for the
work except two old hulks which had
been towed out to the Philippines
from the Erie canal.
Though there was some hesitation
about i~ntrusting such weight to these
boats, it was the only thing DOS
sible; so package by package the
machinery was lowered over the
sides of the Wray Castle until
the old canal boats fairly groaned
with their unaccustomed burden.
With the apparatus of the steam
er to assist, this first part of the
discharging presented no great diff
culties. But when the lighters were
towed ashore the engineers were at
their wits end to know how to re-
the parts. They had nothing In
the line of machinery for heavy lift
ing az the waters edge, and did their
best to purchase part of the Wray
Castle outfit. In this they were un-
successful, They finally succeeded in
erecting a derrick, but the sand was
such an unstable support that when
one 15-ton section was being removed
from the lighters the apparatus came
tumbling down, killing an American
and injuring N or two of the
The task was accomplished
at last, however.
The three locomotives and railway
parts not discharged at Iloilo were for
Kobe, Japan, and there the landing
was attended with difficulties almost
equal to those encountered at the
Philippine port. One incident had a
ludicrous side to the officers of the
Wray Castle, though not so to the
Japanese engaged in the work of light
ering. One Of the lighters had re-
,eived two heavy parts and was ready
% make for shore when another came
along under sail to take her place by
side of the steamer. Through a
n~iscalculation or ~unfavorable slant of
wind the lighter under sail struck the
'ther fairly a%midships. This gave her
such a list that she began to take in
water, and there was only q brief in
.erval before she had turned turtle
the machinery was on the harbor
led. The Japanese in the overturned
lighter did a lively scramble to es-
,ape going down with her. Eventu.
lily the sunken machinery was re-
covered.