El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-03-02

W~T ASHINGTON. D. c.. March q
w The big hand Of Uncle sam
patriarch, grasps the world It
reaches from the Atlantic, where Porto
Rico lies under the thumb, to the far
away western Pacific. where the long
est fingers rest on the philippines and
she tip Of the little finger nail scratches
1heIsland Of Guam
Our Smallest Possession.
or all our new colonies Guam IS the
smallest 1t IS hardly a patch OF cOuf {
plaster on the face Of the PaclIlc ana
rs native population is less than T.
GEO. Nevertheless II lies right on the
line from the Panama canal TO the
Philippines and East Asia ana IL may
some day form coallnE SIaLlOn ana
naval base for us in the wars OF the
future We got the island as one or tlle
hy-products Of our war with spain
We have had Il for more than y years,
and IL is now time TO take account or
stock and see what wa have done Inc
island has been under the control Of the
secretary Of the navy and naval
officer. backed by a corps of ma
riues. has been its reOrganlZer, com
mander and governor Since We took
possession there have been mar coz
en- different men on the JOB ana out OF
their work has come the Guam Of today
What have they dOne2
They have taken one Of the most
backward little Islands Of the Paclric
and made il one Of the best Ihey
have given it justice and good goEern-
ment. and have made themselves Lhed
0V the people They have cleaned UP
The country. have built good roads
everywhere through II, and have prac-
ticalIy eliminated epidemic and conIa-
glous diseases Iney nave slaIleu ne
people TO thinking and have made every
man and every woman learn 10 write
his or her Dane. Iney nave eSLdp-
lished schools and hospitals. They nave
wiped out the vagrants and have given
the little country a period OF Pros
perity. All this in g nutshell Now
as TO particulars
But where is Guam2 You remember I
how judge Riley Of Virginia, when ap- I
pointed consul to Zanzibar came PACK 4
10 washington aIter SIX nonl-Ls a. 4
sence and said he had been cruising I
the oceans, but for the life OF him ne 4
couldn't find the darned place I knew /
Judge Riley he was a bird
Well. Guam is now almost as Wen j
known as lambda The only way 70 Z
get to IL Is by the United States trans {
pOrts which ply between san FRANCISCO Z
and Manila calling there on the way 4
The island is 1900 miles south OF ia I
nan. 1900 miles east from Honolulu and .
right on the line from the Panama ca /
nal to the PnlIppines- II IS Z, noun
famous island and is the TOP OF an al
most submerged volcano IN one or u1e
great earthquake lines and Volcanlc
lines of the world We have had an 2
earthquake there since we took pos
session. It occurred in 1902, when com
mander Shredder was governor u
writing about 1T to the secretary o.
the uaTv he SAYS that the earth opened
10 here and there, the whole islano Z
trembled, buildings rocked and s"ayeQ (
and the bells everywhere were ruh8
by the vibration
"The walls OF the governors palace
were marred, the barracks where the
marines were CHARTERED cracked open
and the ice plant was almost thrown
down. All the public buildings suffered
severely. The hospital became skel-
eton. many Of the bridges were de-
stroyed and a large number OF the
masonry houses thrown down"
On account OF that earthquake the
schools had TO be stopped, and all pub
lie work was for a time suspended
This was only one OF many earth
ouakes that the island has had, and no
one knows when another may come.
AS to volcanoes proper the island has
none. Its highest peak, Mt Jumullong
AIangIo, IS less than 1900 feet high, and
the greater part Of the island Is pla-
teau from 200 70 500 feet above the
sea The whole place is so small that
the scenery cannot have great variety.
The island IS only 80 miles long, and
Oh the bend OF the instep, lies the
width It is shaped Ike the sole Of a
shoe. and on the west side OF the sole,
Oh the bend Of the instep. likes the
chief port, known as Agana. on Agana
bay. This is the capital OF the island;
and Il IS there that our naval governor
ives.
A Look at Agana.
It is often said that Paris is France. /
n the same sense Agana is Guam. It