The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1912-02-18

through which they 60. They are hay.
| ing tho samo erect as the butioinpy of !
a new railroad In the United states.
Vihases are sprinsinS up along them. !,
/ new farms have bean laid out. anu
blacksmith SHOPS are put up at tho
! crossways to mako broad tired cart
| wheels.
| The Isntlrond Movement,
AZ to the railroads. tho government |
| mas been slow In granting concessions
| for thsn,. Inoeed. it is q question
whether It has not been too slow. wo !
| have now had tho i5lanos over twelve
years. and at the present writing we !
have not moro than l.oo9 miles or rail- !
| road This 10 true. Notwithstanding
| the populat ton numb srs SOeU, 900 and |
that tho country is about the richest
! OF the word.
] In this estimate include both cleo.
trio and eteam roads. There arc about |
400 miles of railroads beng operated !
| In Luzon There nrs seventy-tyyo mica
in Panay and hfty-ninc miles III Ceou. I
In auuition,. something like SOC mies |
moro are In projection and construc.
| ton. and these. when completed, will |
give lines covering the principal Islands. |
It wound sm that electric roads might |
do well In the Philippines The noun. |
tain streams should furnish electric |
power, and many parts Of the islands
arc SO thicklys populated that the roads !
wiz pay <ell.
| PresidaM Taft says the chief hope
for proht I'm tho railways is the pas
| eenger traffic, but when ono considers
tho enormous possibilities in tobacco,
| rice, sugar, ii5iHT and other heavy
crops, it !s hard to sec why the freight |
| traffic would not pay equally well.
| When we took possession Of the |
\ iBlands the only road was a line 10
miles long, running from Manila north |
| to Dagupan. through a valley covered |
With rice and sugar plantations. 1
rode through that region keeping my |
| head we'll away from tho windows. |
which were occasionally pcppered by |
| the shots of the bandits, who hid in !
the bamboo clumps here and tharc.
The road was poorly built and poorly |
managed, being owned by tho English.
SO extended that 1t opens up the north-
ern part of Luzon. 1t has O good trat-
| fc and is said TO pay well.
It is now sending out branches into |
Southern Luzon, Into Batangaa. Taya- |
bas and other provinces, The Yisayan
Philippine Railway Company. several
roads being under construction In Cebu |
and Panay. Roads have also been
| planned for tns island of Negroes
Improving the Ports,
A great deal OF work Is going on in |
J the philippines, and the shipping has
| greatly increased. There are now
moro than 154 steamers engaged IN |
the coDstinG trade; and there are four |
or five hundred sailing vessels and
boats which ply from island to island.
Modern methods of handling freight
| have been introduced, and scaSoins |
vessels can load and unload with
safety at moderate expense. Tac har-
| bore have been dcepened, and ships !
drawing thirty feet can now come
into Manila. y new custom house has
been built there. and Il great deal has
! been spent on the harbor.
Lighthouses have been erected along
most of the coasts throughout the
islands. When We took possession
tncre were only twcntyseycn lights in
operation. There are now l3s anl III
addition nfty-trcc bcacous and Us
buoys. The waterways of the interior
have also been dredgcd. and many OF
| the rivers and crooks which were IN
used in tho past arc now navigatcd
and carry considerable freight.
Postal Savings Banks.
| IS 10 the postal and telegraph ser
vices, they have been thoroughly re-
organized. All the chief cities 'aave a
free delivery, and there are now Ia
| operation in the ne.ighborhood of coo
| post -omces, connected with which are
banks were established before we be-
gan 10 havo them IN the United Sta:ca,
and their deposits are fast approach
ing "A million. They nave now 1900
separate accounts, and the number OF
depositors Is increasing. During the
past year forty-two new banks were
stablishcd
TcicBrapbs mud Telephones.
AS 10 the telegraph, Its lines are
everywhere There arc more than 4oU
stations with 5000 miles OF wire, and
the rates are lower than those of the
United States. The foreign cable SER
vice has been increased, and one can
now send messages over different lines
10 all parts OF the world. There arc
seven wireless stations on the islanda.
All of these public works are sup
ported by the people themselves, anu
not By the United states. AS far as !
can learn outside the army, tho islands
arc practically paying tneir own en-
penses, which Germany, England or
onics, would say Is mighty Soo1 work.
How business Blooms.
Much of my information regarding
from C. Is. Elliott, the secretary OF
commerce. He is also member of
the Philippine Commission at Manila.
He says that business jumped since tho
markets of the United States were
thrown open to the island products.
That was about two, years ago, ut u
which time our imports from these
ea