The Story of the Philippines Part 43

(5 Ponce to Adjuntas, 32 kilometers.

(6) San German to Anasco, 33 kilometers; from San German to Mayaguez, 21 kilometers; Mayaguez to Anasco, 12; Mayaguez to Mormigueros, 11; Mayaguez to Cabo Eojo, 18; Mayaguez to Las Marias, 23; Mayaguez to Maricao, 35; Hor- migueras to San German, 14. Near Mayaguez the roads are best. There are good roads in all directions.

(7) Aguadilla to San Sebastian, 18.

(8) Arecibo to Utuado, 33.

Highways of first cla.s.s in the island, 335 kilometers.

Along these roads are, at a distance of 8 to 10 kilometers, a fort, stone, and brick barracks, or large buildings, where the Spanish troops stop and rest when on the march.

Railroads.--In 1878 a report was presented to the minister of the colonies on a study made by the engineer and head of public works of the island in view of constructing a railroad which should start from the capital and, pa.s.sing through all the chief towns and through the whole island, return to the point of departure.

Of this railroad the following parts have been completed: San Juan, along the coast through Rio Piedras, Bayamon, Dorado, Arecibo, and Hatillo, to Camuy; Aguadilla, through Aguado, Rincon, Anasco, and Mayaguez, to Hornigueros. A branch of this railroad from Anasco, through San Sebastian, to Lares. Ponce, through Guayanilla, to Yauco. This latter railroad follows the southern coast line and is followed by a wagon road throughout its course. In one place the railroad and road run within a few hundred yards of the coast line. According to the Statesman's Year Book for 1898 there are in operation 137 miles of railroad, besides over 170 miles under construction.

All the railroads are single track, and the gauge is 1 meter 20 centimeters, or 3 feet 11 1/4 inches.

The following are the railways of 1-meter gauge:

(1) San Juan to Rio Piedras, 11 kilometers. (2) Catano to Bayamon, 10 kilometers. (3) Anasco to San Sebastian and Lares, 35 kilometers.

Total of three lines, 56 kilometers.

The lines are all in good shape; have plenty of engines and cars; speed, 20 kilometers per hour; use coal for fuel imported from the United States; supply usually large, may be small now; hard coal; fine stations; plenty of water, and everything in shape for business.

Telegraphs.--The capital communicates with the princ.i.p.al towns of the coast and interior by means of a well-connected telegraph system. There are in all some 470 miles of telegraph.

Telephones.--The British Consular Report says that the telephone system of San Juan, Ponce, and Mayaguez have recently been contracted for by local syndicates. In Ponce a United States company obtained the contract for the material. There are 100 stations already connected, and it is expected that 200 more will be in operation shortly.

Administration.--From an administrative standpoint, Porto Rico is not considered as a colony, but as a province of Spain, a.s.similated to the remaining provinces. The Governor-General, representing the monarchy, is at the same time Captain-General of the armed forces. In each chief town resides a military commander, and each town has its alcalde, or mayor, appointed by the central power. The provincial deputation is elected by popular suffrage under the same conditions as in Spain. The regular peace garrison is composed of about 3,000 men, and the annual budget amounts to some 20,000,000 pesos.

Education.--In 1887 only one-seventh of the population could read and write, but of late years progress in public instruction has been rapid.

Agriculture, Industry, and Commerce.--In 1878 there arrived in the harbors of the island 1,591 vessels of different nationalities and 1,534 departed. The value of products imported was 14,787,551 pesos, and that of articles exported was 13,070,020 pesos. The following are the relative percentages of values:

Flags. Relation.

Per Cent.

Spanish 49.91 American 13.47 English 21.43 Various Nations 15.19 ======= Total 100.00

Navigation is very active, but the part the inhabitants take in the commercial fleet is small. The Porto Ricans are not seagoing people. The eastern part of the island offers less advantage to commerce than the western, being to the windward and affording less shelter to vessels.

Porto Rico has more than seventy towns and cities, of which Ponce is the most important. Ponce has 22,000 inhabitants, with a jurisdiction numbering 47,000. It is situated on the south coast of the island, on a plain, about 2 miles from the seaboard. It is the chief town of the judicial district of its name, and is 70 miles from San Juan. It is regularly built, the central part almost exclusively of brick houses, and the suburbs of wood. It is the residence of the military commander, and the seat of an official chamber of commerce. There is an appellate criminal court, besides other courts; 2 churches, one Protestant, said to be the only one in the Spanish West, Indies; 2 hospitals besides the military hospital, a home of refuge for old and poor, 2 cemeteries, 3 asylums, several casinos, 3 theaters, a market, a munic.i.p.al public library, 3 first-cla.s.s hotels, 3 barracks, a park, gas works, a perfectly equipped fire department, a bank, thermal and natural baths, etc. Commercially, Ponce is the second city of importance on the island. A fine road leads to the port (Playa), where all the import and export trade is transacted. Playa has about 5,000 inhabitants, and here are situated the custom house, the office of the captain of the port, and all the consular offices. The port is s.p.a.cious and will hold vessels of 25 feet draft. The climate, on account of the sea breezes during the day and land breezes at night, is not oppressive, but very hot and dry; and, as water for all purposes, including the fire department, is amply supplied by an aqueduct 4,442 yards long, it is said that the city of Ponce is perhaps the healthiest place in the whole island. There is a stage coach to San Juan, Mayaguez, Guayama, etc. There is a railroad to Yauco, a post office, and a telegraph station.

It is believed that Ponce was founded in 1600; it was given the t.i.tle of villa in 1848, and in 1877 that of city. Of its 34 streets the best are Mayor, Salud, Villa, Vives, Marina, and Comercio. The best squares are Princ.i.p.al and Las Delicias, which are separated by the church of Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe. The church, as old as the town itself, began to be reconstructed in 1838 and was finished in 1847. It is 86 yards long by 43 broad, and has two steeples, rich altars, and fine ornaments.

The theater is called the Pearl, and it deserves this name, for it is the finest on the island. It has a sculptured porch, on the Byzantine order, with very graceful columns. It is mostly built of iron and marble and cost over 70,000 pesos. It is 52 yards deep by 29 wide. The inside is beautiful, the boxes and seats roomy and nicely decorated. It may, by a mechanical arrangement, be converted into a dancing hall.

About 1 1/8 miles northeast of the town are the Quintana thermal baths, in a building surrounded by pretty gardens. They are visited by sufferers from rheumatism and various other diseases.

San Juan is a perfect specimen of a walled town, with portcullis, moat, gates, and battlements. The wall surrounding this town is defended by several batteries. Facing the harbor are those of San Fernando, Santa Catalina, and Santa Toribio. Looking toward the land side is Fort Abanico, and toward the ocean the batteries of San Antonio, San Jose, and Santa Teresa, and Fort Princesa. The land part has two ditches, or cuts, which are easy to inundate. The fort and bridge of San Antonio that of San Geronimo, and the Escambron battery situated on a tongue of land which enters the sea. Built over two hundred and fifty years ago, the city is still in good condition and repair. The walls are picturesque, and represent a stupendous work and cost in themselves. Inside the walls the city is laid off in regular squares, six parallel streets running in the direction of the length of the island and seven at right angles.

The peninsula on which San Juan is situated is connected with the mainland by three bridges. The oldest, that of San Antonio, carries the highway across the shallow San Antonio Channel. It is a stone-arched bridge about 350 yards long including the approaches. By the side of this bridge is one for the railroad and one for the tramway which follows the main military highway to Rio Piedras.

Among the buildings the following are notable: The palace of the Captain-General, the palace of the intendencia, the town hall, military hospital, jail, Ballaja barracks, theater, custom house, cathedral, Episcopal palace, and seminary. There is no university or provincial inst.i.tute of second grade instruction, and only one college, which is under the direction of Jesuit priests. The houses are closely and compactly built of brick, usually of two stories, stuccoed on the outside and painted in a variety of colors. The upper floors are occupied by the more respectable people, while the ground floors, almost without exception, are given up to the negroes and the poorer cla.s.s, who crowd one upon another in the most appalling manner.

The population within the walls is estimated at 20,000 and most of it lives on the ground floor. In one small room, with a flimsy part.i.tion, a whole family will reside. The ground floor of the whole town reeks with filth, and conditions are most unsanitary. In a tropical country, where disease readily prevails, the consequences of such herding may be easily inferred. There is no running water in the town. The entire population depend upon rain water, caught upon the flat roofs of the buildings and conducted to the cistern, which occupies the greater part of the inner court-yard that is an essential part of Spanish houses the world over, but that here, on account of the crowded conditions, is very small. There is no sewerage, except for surface water and sinks, while vaults are in every house and occupy whatever remaining s.p.a.ce there may be in the patios not taken up by the cisterns. The risk of contaminating the water is very great, and in dry seasons the supply is entirely exhausted. Epidemics are frequent, and the town is alive with vermin, fleas, c.o.c.kroaches, mosquitoes, and dogs.

The streets are wider than in the older part of Havana, and will admit two carriages abreast. The sidewalks are narrow, and in places will accommodate but one person. The pavements are of a composition manufactured in England from slag, pleasant and even, and durable when no heavy strain is brought to bear upon them, but easily broken, and unfit for heavy traffic. The streets are swept once a day by hand, and, strange to say, are kept very clean.

From its topographical situation the town should be healthy, but it is not. The soil under the city is clay mixed with lime, so hard as to be almost like rock. It is consequently impervious to water and furnishes a good natural drainage.

The trade wind blows strong and fresh, and through the harbor runs a stream of sea water at a speed of not less than three miles an hour. With these conditions no contagious diseases, if properly taken care of, could exist; without them the place would be a veritable plague spot.

Besides the town within the walls there are small portions just outside, called the Marina and Puerta de Tierra, containing two or three thousand inhabitants each. There are also two suburbs, one, San Turce, approached by the only road leading out of the city, and the other, Catano, across the bay, reached by ferry. The Marina and the two suburbs are situated on sandy points or spits, and the latter are surrounded by mangrove swamps.

The entire population of the city and suburbs, according to the census of 1887, was 27,000. It is now (1896) estimated at 30,000. One-half of the population consists of negroes and mixed races.

There is but little manufacturing, and it is of small importance. The Standard Oil Company has a small refinery across the bay, in which crude petroleum brought from the United States is refined. Matches are made, some brooms, a little soap, and a cheap cla.s.s of trunks. There are also ice, gas, and electric light works.

CHAPTER XXVI

The Ladrones.

The Island of Guam a Coaling Station of the United States--Discovery, Size and Products of the Islands.

When the Philippine expedition on its way to Manila incidentally ran up the Stars and Stripes over the Island of Guam, there was perhaps no thought of the island becoming a permanent part of our domain. However, the fortunes of war are such that the island is likely to become ours permanently as a coaling station in the Pacific.

Magellan named these islands the Ladrones from the Latin word "latro," meaning a robber, because of the thievish propensities of the natives. According to Magellan's reports, the native people of these islands had reduced stealing to a science of such exactness that the utmost vigilance could not prevail against their operations. The group was named the Mariana Islands by the Jesuits, who settled in them in 1667.

The Ladrone group consists of twenty islands, of which five are inhabited. The group extends forty-five miles from north to south, and is located between 13 deg. and 21 deg. north lat.i.tude, and between 144 deg. and 146 deg. east longitude. The princ.i.p.al islands are Guam, Rota and Linian. They were discovered by Magellan in 1521, and have belonged to Spain ever since. Their population is 11,000. The soil is fertile and densely wooded. The climate is temperate.

Guam, the southernly and princ.i.p.al island, is 100 miles in circ.u.mference, and has a population of 8,100, of which 1,400 are Europeans. Its central part is mountainous, and it has a small volcano. The products are guacas, bananas, cocoa, oranges and limes. The natives are noted as builders of the most rapidly sailing canoes in the world.

With Guam as a part of the territory of the United States, we have a direct line of possessions across the Pacific, in the order of Hawaii, Guam and the Philippines; while in a northwesterly direction from our Pacific coast we have the islands forming a part of Alaska. By holding all these islands we will be prepared to control practically the commerce of the Pacific, the future great commercial highway of the world.

CHAPTER XXVII

The Official t.i.tle to Our New Possessions in the Indies.

Full Text of the Treaty of Peace with Spain Handed the President of the United States as a Christmas Gift for the People, at the White House, 1898--The Gathered Fruit of a Glorious and Wonderful Victory.

On an August midnight the good s.h.i.+p Peru, Major-General Otis with his staff and General Hughes, and a thousand regular cavalry and "the historian of the Philippines" aboard, approached within a few miles, an immense ma.s.s of darkness. About where the mouth of Manila Bay should be there was, deep in the east and at a considerable elevation, a spark of white, and in a few seconds a red light, keener than stars, and in half a minute there were the sharp flashes again, and we knew that there were friends watching and waiting--that "our flag was still there," that Admiral Dewey and General Merritt of the Navy and Army of the United States had upheld the symbol of the sovereignty of the Great Republic of North America, that the lights glowed down from the ma.s.sive rock of Corregidor, that through the shadows that fell on these darksome waters the American squadron had entered into immortality less than four months before, and that with the morning light we should look upon the famous scene of triumphant Americanism. We had been fifteen days out of the world, for there were only the southern constellations to tell us, the southern cross so high and the north star so low, and the dazzling scorpion with diamond claws touching the central blue dome, to say how far down into the tropics we were, while the clouds of flame rested on the serenities of the matchless sea; and what had the great deep in its mysterious resplendence been whispering along the enchanting sh.o.r.es of the islands of Asia--the true Indies, Oriental or Occidental as might be--what had the wild waves that beat against the volcanic coasts made known in the boats wafted by the welcoming winds? We knew of the b.l.o.o.d.y days on the hills of Santiago, and the fate of the fleet of Admiral Cervera, and there must be news of other victories! Our s.h.i.+p turned away from the looming rock that sent forth flashes as if to say all is well, in the universe that we in our vast adventure had almost abandoned. And when the day dawned and the green hills and blue mountains and the silvery waters were revealed we turned to the left, where Dewey led his squadron to the right, and there was the bay hundred and twenty knots in circ.u.mference. Yonder were the white walls of Cavite, and further along domes and steeples, masts and heavy lines of buildings, a wide spread city crouching on a plain rising a few feet above the tides. It was Manila. Presently a boat swept near, and what was that, a dozen words repeated here and there--Merritt in possession of the city--of course, that was what he was there for,--but who said "there was a declaration of peace?" The strange statement was made. What--could it be that Spain had surrendered? Surely the President would not stop pus.h.i.+ng things until he had gathered the fruits of victory? No, there was a protocol, and that was a treaty in fact! France had been the medium of negotiation. Spain had sued for peace, and terms were granted. Cuba was surrendered. Porto Rico was ceded to us. The Spaniards claimed that they had given up Manila after peace was settled, and they must repossess it. But Merritt was ash.o.r.e was he not, and going to stay? Dewey had not given up anything, had he? Surely not! But there was to be a conference, a meeting of joint commissioners held at Paris to provide a treaty, that was to say the details--all the important points were fixed irrevocably except the fate of the Philippines! At this point the news of the morning gave out, all except the particulars of the seige, the high claims of the Spaniards, the dissatisfaction of the insurgents. It was some days before the realization of the situation was perfected. The full terms of the protocol were not made known at once. Spain gave up the West Indies and a Ladrone island, and the United States was to hold the city, bay and harbor of Manila pending the conclusion of a treaty of peace which should determine the control, disposition and government of the Philippines. Certainly this was the conclusive surrender of Spain! General Merritt was ordered to Paris, and there represented the army of the United States, and its faith and honor and glory. Our Peace Commissioners were Wm. R. Day, Cushman K. Davis, William P. Frye, George Gray and Whitelaw Reid, who started for Paris September 18. The Spanish Commissioners made a long struggle, and protracted their unhappy task for more than two months, using all arts of procrastination and persuasion, claiming that the United States should pay the Cuban debt, and striving for allowances of indemnity, yielding at last to the inevitable. The text of the treaty is in seventeen articles as follows: