Evening star., 1924-11-07
j. s. AND HOLLAND
| DISPUTE ISLAND
Las PaImas, Within Philip
pine Area, Claimed by Both
| Governments.
BY WALTER ROBB.
Correspondence of The Star and the Chicago

Daily News.)
MANILA, p. l.. September 20. -
Twelve miles off the mouth of Dayao
Gulf, Southern Mindanao, and 40
miles within the defined boundary of
the Philippine Islands as declared in
the treaty of Paris of 1899 closing the
Spanish american War, lies the little
isle of Las Palmas, over which dur
ing the entire period America has
owned the Philippines the Dutch flag
has flown and the Dutch have claimed
sovereignty, while repeated negotia-
tfons between the State Department
at Washington and the department Of
foreign affairs of the Dutch have
failed of effecting an agreement. A
visit of Gov. Wood to Batavia, Java,
Dutch East Indies. and a return visit
or Gov Foch to Manila both officials
having full authority from their re-
spective governments. equally failed
OF laying the basis for settlement,
so now Gov. Wood has, on an inspec-
tion trip aboard the yacht Apo, from
which he has just returned to Ma
Mia, paid a visit to the isle itself to
ascertain the physical characteristics
of the people and determine whether
thSJ are more like the folk of CeIebes
ana the MoluccaS or more like the
folk of Mindanao
Thus far the negotiations proceed
ed when Gov. Foch was in Manila
early this year: The decision and rec
ommendation of Gov. Wood would be
Influenced, it was agreed by the re-
port OF an ethnologist. DR.. H. Otley
Beyer, Harvard man. head Of the de-
partment of anthropology, University
OF the Philippines, accompanied Gov.
WOOD to Las PalmaS. where a popula-
tfon OF $40 persons was tailed up, 100
OF whom are Mandayans from Min
dano, 800 Minnahassas and Malayans
from the Celebes. and the remainder,
24o, natives of the isle speaking the
Talaut dialect. which the immigrants,
too, have adopted.
Point Of Strategy.
But a greater point is the strategic
position of Las Palmas in relation to
Dayao gulf. There is believed to be
considerable hazard in changing the
boundary and placing Las Palmas
outside the Philippines, thus creating
the possibility OF its becoming a for
eign fortified point or not. OF course,
under the Dutch. but when, aa the
game progresses in the Far East, the
Dutch may no longer be the power
with which to reckon.
Las Palmas produces cocoanuts,
which. dried, are made into copra.
from which comes cocoanut oil for a
uses.
1t was away back in 1906 that Gov
Wood, then in the Army and depart
ment governor of Mindanao and Sulu.
Moroland, visited Las Palmas and
found the Dutch flag flying at the
landing. He promptly pulled this flag
down, hoisted the American flag and
told the petty native chief of the isle
to leave it up. News soon reached
The Hague via Batavia and query
came in due time from Washington as
to why Gen. Wood was lowering
Dutch flags flying over Dutch islands
whereupon the American Govern
ment learned from Woods report that
Las Palmas was not Dutch territory,
but it's own, as might be ascertained
from reference to the treaty OF Paris,
by which Spain had ceded it to the
United States.
Base OF Dutch Claim.
The Dutch came back with the
statement that, while Spain really
had ceded Las Palmas to the United
States, she could not legally cede
what she had never owned.
Then activities shifted to Madrid.
where search through the royal
archives showed that Las Palmas had
been visited by an early Spanish dis
coverer, named from its cocoanut