Omaha daily bee., 1912-02-18

are put up at the crossways to max,
brosd-tired cart wheels.
The Railroad Movement.
As to the railroads. the government hs.
been slow in granting concessions fol
them. Indeed II Is a question whether 4
has not been too slow. We have now hat
the Islands over twelve years. and at the
present writing We have not more than
1000 miles OF railroad. This is true not.
withstandlng the population number,
100000 and that the country is about the
richest Of the world.
In this estimate include both electric
and steam roads. There are about tOC
miles Of railroads being operated In
Luzon. There are seventy-two miles in
Panay and fifty-nine miles In Cebu In
addition something like 500 miles more
are in projection and construction, and
these when completed will give lines
covering tho principal islands. 1t would
seem that electric roads might do well In
the Philippines. The mountain streams
should furnish electric power and many
parts Of the islands are SO thlckly popu-
lated that the roads will pay we'll.
President Taft says that the chief hone
for profit in the railways is the passenger
traffic, but when one considers the enor-
nous possibilities In tobacco. rice, sugar.
hemp and other heavy crops II is hard
to see why the freight traffic would not
pay equally well.
When We took possession Of the islands
the only road was a line 40 miles long
running from Manila north to Dagupan
through valley covered with rice and
sugar plantations. l rode through that
region Keeping my head well away from
the windows, which were occasionally
peppered by the shots OF the bandits VINO
hid I'm the bamboo elumps here and there
The road was poorly built and poorly
managed, being owned by the English
That read has been reconstructed and so
extended that 1t opens up the northern
part Of Luzon. 1t has a good traffic and
is said to pay we'll.
1t is now sending out branches into
southern Luzon. into Bstangas, Tayabas
and other provinces. The Visayan islands
are being opened up by the Philippine
Railway company. several roads being
under construction in Cebu and Panay.
Roads have also been planned for the
Island Of Negros.
Improving the Ports.
great deal of work is going on in
lettering the water transportation OF the
Philippines and the shipping has greatly
increased. There are now more than l5i
steamers engaged In the coasting trade,
and there are 800 or 900 sailing vessels
and boats which ply from island TO
island Modern methods Of handling
freight have been introduced and sea-
going vessels can load and unload with
safety at moderate expense. The har-
bors have been deepened, and ships
drawing thirty feet can now come into
Manila. A new custom house has been
built there and a great deal has been
spent on the harbor.
Lighthouses have been erected along
most Of the coasts throughout the island.
When We took possession there were only
twenty-seven lights in operation Thee
are now 100 and in addition fifty-three
beacons and 1875 buoys The waterways
OF the interior have also been dredged,
and many OF the rivers and creeks which
were unused in the past are now nayi-
gated and carry considerable freight
Postal Savings Banks.
As to the postal and telegraph services,
they have been thoroughly reorganized.
All the chief cities have a free delivery.
and there are now in operation in the
neighborhood Of 600 postoffices connected
with which are 2s3 postal savings banks.
These banks were established before we
began to have them in the United States,
and their deposits are fast approaching
100000. They have now 1900 separate
accounts and the number of depositors
is increasing. During the last year
forty-two new banks were established.
TeleEraphs and Telephones.
Az to the telegraph. its lines are every
where. There are more than 400 stations,
with 5000 miles of wire and the rates
are lower than those Of the United
states. The foreign cable service has
been increased. and one can now send
messages over different lines 10 all parts
OF the world. There are seven wireless
stations on the islands.
All Of these public works are supported
by the people themselves and not by the
United States. AS far as l can learn,
outside the army, the islands are prac-
ticaIly paying their own expenses, which
Germany. England or Holland. all Of
whom Try to run colonies, would say is
mighty good work.
How Business BOoms.
Much Of my Information regarding the
present business situation comes from
{. B. Elliot the secretary OF commerce
He is also e member OF the Philippine
comissIon at Manila. He says that bust
ness jumped since the markets Of the
United states were thrown open TO the
island products. That was about two
years ago at which time our imports