OMAHA ILLUSTRATED BEE. October 22 , 1890.
American Farming
in the Tropics
( Copyright , 1890 , by Frank O. Carpenter. )
WASHINGTON , D. C. , Oct. 10 , 1890. ( Spe
cial Correspondence of The Dec. ) 1 had n
chat with tlio Kccrotary of agriculture this
morning an to hlB plans for tlio Investl-
Ballon anil dovolopmotit of Porto lllco , Culm
anil the I'liItlpplncA. Ho hns lieen engaged
for the pant few wceka lit preparing hlfi
csllmaUt ) for congress , and ho will Include
In thorn n considerable appropriation for
our now pruspssIoiiH , So fur Secretary Wil
son has been able to do but lltllo for want
of money , although agents of the department
of tlio property , as I understand It , on the
Islands boilings to the United Sluice. From
two-thirds to threo-fourths of the land 1
covered with woods. Those lands belonged
to the Spanish government and by the ces
sion of vho Philippines to the United Status
they became the property of Undo Sam.
Tlio forcslH are of great value. Ono of the
agents of the department who recently re
turned tolls mo ho saw a rosewood log
which was nine feet In diameter. There
uro moro than IHty kinds of hard wood ,
most beautiful fur-
sotno of which will make
ilturo. In Forman's book on the Philip
pines , just published , a mention IB made
, , r Rin nf the timber. Scorew of trees
are described , Ono Is BO hard that It Is
known ns the bullet tree. It can bo driven
Into softer woods llko a bolt and la used out
there for ax and tool handliu. It gives
lugs forty-live foot long and eighteen Inches
square. Another tree of about the name
size Is bettor than the famous teak wood of
Slam. U stands thu ravages of the sea
worms aud Is valuable for shipbuilding.
Then there are cedars , ebony , timber which
will do for ships , and the yncnl tree , from
which logs IHty foot long are cut and which
In so hard that It will withstand the at
tacks of the white ants. If tUo Philip
pines are kept by the United States these
timber lands will bo opened up In BOtne
way. Wo will send out sclontlHts from our
forestry department to Investigate thorn
from a practical standpoint and we hope to
do this JUKI as soon as the Insurrection has
been quelled. Wo want to send men to
Porto Hlco for the same purpose. "
"Mow about Cuba ? "
"I don't know what the president will say
about Cuba. I liavo Included no special
appropriation for the purpose of investi
gating that country , for , you know , It does
not belong to us. It may bo different later
on. "
Our Trojili'iil Bmiilrts
"Wo have now n tropical empire , " con
tinued the secretary , "and wo must make
11 practical study of the tropics. The crocs
and soil and everything connected with them
are new. The most of our islands are near
the 20th parallel of north latitude , although
BOIUO of the Philippines run much further
south. There has been much scientific In
vestigation of the lands along thla parallel ,
but not such investigations as wo make.
Our work Is In applied science. Wo want
to know what things will do for man. Wo
want to ascertain the economic value of
the plan la and soli. We are going to send
botanists to study the regions with this
view. It may be that wo can find some
plants In Porto Hlco which will grow well
In the Philippines and come In other islands
which will bo lilted for Porto Ulco and the
United States. Take the matter of coffee ,
for Instance. Wo will take the coffee tree
that make ! ) the best berries and cross breed
that with the tree that produces the most
berries at otio time. Wo will study coffee
WE WANT TO HELP THE NATIVES.
liavo visited the Islands anil inmlo a number
oi special reports. During my Uavols in
Poito lllco 1 met men who had been In Cuba
and thu Philippines looking up thu chances
for our products thuro. Thu weaihur bureau ,
which Is under the department , has Us niou
almost ovorywhoic , and leporta have been
given as to tliu eiopa of the West Indian Is
lands.
lly the plans of the secretary , which are
now to bo pushed , wo will acquire a prac
tical knowledge of what thu Islands arc ,
what thuy aru worth mid whut wo can dele
lo bullur Ihu conditions of Ihu people.
OUT AUW I'ONNeNNlOHN.
Said Suurulnry Wilson :
"Tho Islands acquired by Ihu United
Stales through Us war with Spain aiu prac
tically unexplored. Acuuiatu Blallsllcs uro
utialtulnuhlo us to any of them. Tlio llguua
of llio Spaniards aru not tu bu rolled upon
and ihulr condition , resources and possibil
ities aru unknown. They uio really a now
world , which Uuclo Sam has now to ux-
ploro. Take the Philippines , for liuHanco.
The island of Luzon Is us big as Ohio and
Mindanao is ab ul Ihu same sUe. Thuro are
olhor Islands , Homo of which are as largo
as our Hinailor stales. These Ulands have
Iho richest of soil and only a small part of
tlm available lands uib in use. Thu most
conditions and coffee soil and tell Iho people
ple what coffee they can raise beat and
most profitably. Wo have alremly begun
our Investlgallons as to tobacco. Wo are
not only studying how to grow the best
and most tobacco , but the conditions of its
niunutnuture. Wo expect lo Introduce new
varieties of pineapples Into Porto nico.
The country Is now growing vast quantities
of them , but wo believe that wo can give
thorn a boiler arllcle , which will grow qulle
as luxuriantly. It will bo the same with
tlu > banana , and , In fact , with everything.
"What wo are especially anxious to do , "
continued the secretary , "Is lo better the
condition of the people. If the Lord has
given us Ihcso Islands , Ho has done so for
a purpose , and that purpose Is to Improve
Iho condition of the people. Wo must show
Ilium how to raise crops and how to mar
ket ihem. Wo must Inspire them with n
desire of dropping Iho bruechclolhs and
pulling on pantaloons. I refer , of course ,
lo the wilder Islands of the Philippines , in
parts of which It is said thai the women
wear bark gowns. Thu moment the people
begin to better themselves they will ac
cumulate ) wants and in limo thcro will 1 > n u
big demand for American goods of all
kinds , eo that white wo benefit them wo
will bo helping ourselves. "
"IJul , Mr. Secrolary , do you think thai
goods a year. In ISO I they shipped ? 12,000.-
000 worth , and last year the exports Jumped
up to J73.000.000.
"Tho exports will soon bo $100,000,000 , and
the day may como when our markets in thu
far east will bo as great ns our market in
Europe. The far east is the thickly popu
lated part of the globe. Onc-lhlrd of Iho
human race lives in China. The western
Pacific is peppered with populous Islands.
Java alone has 24,000OOP people , ouo-third
as many ns wo have In all the United
Slates , and India runs up somewhere Into
a quarter of a billion. You know Colonel
Sullets said , when speaking at his eye
water , 'There are 500,000,000 Chinese and
every one of them has sore eyes. ' Thlfl
was facetious , of course , but In reality cverj
one of that vast population is a possible
customer for American goods. The people
dress chlclly In cottons , and nowhere can
cotton bo produced more cheaply or better
than In the United Stales. They want cheap
and good food , We can raise It to better
advantage almost than any other nation.
We laku millions of dollars worth of their
products every year and the chances for
profitable exchanges are enormous beyond
conception. As soon ns wo have faster
ships and closer connections the trade will
grow and wo will get our share of the enor
mous business which today chiefly belongs
to Europe. "
What Wo Shin to AHII. !
"At present our trade amounts lo very
llltle , Mr. Secretary , does It not ? "
"It is far moru important than you
think , " was the reply. "I was oul In Ihe
slate of Washington a few weeks ago , ami
while at Olympla I saw a ship about to
start out for Japan and China. 1 had a
curiosity lo see what M cargo was and
went on board. The cap'aln tonk me over
Iho vessel and I was amazed at the variety
of American goods. There were railroad
lies from the Pacific coast which were to
be used to build a railroad In China. There
were hundreds of barrels of flour billed for
Shanghai , and about one thousand barrels
of beer from Milwaukee. There were corned
beef and other meat products from Chicago ,
sugar machinery from Philadelphia , steel and
Iron goods from Alabama and bales of cot
ton cloth from North Carolina. In the i
cargo were twelve hundred tons of tobacco i
from Virginia and Kentucky , for Japan , na i
well as many boxes of cigarettes from our
southern slalcs. There were cases of '
bicycles and notions from New England ,
and altogether 3,500 ions of different kinds i
of American goods. This was only one ship
load , and the ships are going every week ;
or so from each of the different ports of Ihe
United States and from Vancouver.
The Conl of the IMillliiiilucH.
"Speaking of our trade on the Pacific , the
Philippines will become Important as soon
as conditions are settled , on account of their
enormous coal areas. I understand that
there arc largo coal beds on many of the
Islands. Some of the coal is so situated
that It can bo shoveled from the mines al
most directly Into the ships. Last year an
English company was formed with a capital
of $1,600,000 to develop some cf the mines ,
and if wo hold the Islands other companies
will probably be formed. The coal Is both
anthracite and bituminous , and It Is prob
ably of great value. At present the biggest
FARMERS CAHHYINO PRODUCTS TO MARKET
there Is a chance for any trade to speak
of between the United States and the Phil
ippines ? Asia , It seema to mo is very far
away. "
"Chance for irnde ! " said the secretary ,
with an exclamation point In his face ; " 1
should say there Is a chance for trade. The
day will eoon como when our Pacific stales
will fatten on Asia , They are beginning
to do so now. Ten years ago they were
shipping ] u t about { 26,000,000 worth of
Taking Biograpk
Photographs of Mile
a Minute Trains
Wllh 6,000 pounds in Uio lead and 4,000
in the trail wagon , the freighter made his
way across the plains In ' 49. Ho found the
streamy spanned by no structures of stone
and Iron and at a quicksand crossing he
could only throw the leather Into his eight
mules and go through at a gallop , knowing
that If a single animal fell his whole oulflt
would be swallowed up. Beset by untold
dangers the wagon trains followed an un
swerving trail to Ihe west , hoping nfler
many days to reach the golden shore of the
Pacific. The same direcl path troil by Ihe
eager gold seeker on his way lo Iho coast la
Htill the nation's thoroughfare to the wcst-
wnrd. "Tho Overland Limited , " the pride
of the Union Pacific railroad , traverses the
same old trail of the forty-niner , and like
him allows no enticement to turn the course
from the straight line. The model train ,
however , covers Ihe dlslance from Chicago lo
Iho coast In less ibnn three days , the quick
est time ever recorded , while the pioneer
could only look down upon the Pacific after
three months of dangerous and fatiguing ef
fort.
fort.A
A vivid Image of thu "Limited" rushing
inlo Iho west was shown on canvas at the
Orpheum theater last week by the American
Mulascopo and Dlcgraph company. It is n
thrilling vision of rapid transit that brings
a gasp to the throat of even the civilized
being who lives at the end of the century ,
As for the pioneer looking from beneath the
llap of a prairie schooner such a revelation
would have been testimony that ho was
THE APPROACH. IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA.
tleet on tbo eastern Pacific is the coal fleet.
Coal la brought to San Francisco from Aus
tralia. It is carried to the west coast of
South America from England , and It comes
from Australia and England to different
parts of Asia. When these mines are de
veloped vast quantities of coal will bo
brought to California and Oregon as ballast
and as return cargo. This will cheapen
( Continued on Seventh Page. )
"locoud. " The spectacle of Ihe fully
equipped iraln hurls llself inlo the audience
at the rate of eixly miles nn hour. It was
under the observalion of the camera for
forly-flvo seconds and each delall stands out
clearly from the moment it appears a tiny
object on the horizon until , a full grown
monster , it makes a sensational exit within
finger-touch of the lens.
The picture was secured three weeks ago
Just outside of Columbus , Neb. The machine
used is the only one In existence capable of
following a Irain at the pace set by the
"Overland Limited" without blurring. The
export obtained 1,800 impressions and in each
one the outlines of the train are as clearly
drawn as if the object were standing mo
tionless. The effect Is similar and fully
equal to that of the "Empire Stale Express , "
which Is Ihu moat widely shown picture over
projecled by a vlloscope.
As it passes over the canvas the "Over
land Limited" is disclosed as a symmetrical
train , made up of buffet , smoking and li
brary cars , reclining chair cars , dining and
baggage cars. It Is in all respects a palace
on wheels. The Intel lor fa lighled by the
Plntsch system and heated by steam and the
traveler may cross the continent and lack
none of the comforts of his own home. A
continuous dining car service from Chicago
cage to Ogdcn , Portland and San Franclhco
provides for his physical needs. In the
through double drawing room palace sleeping
cars he may recline upon couches as soft
aa any ho hat * left behind. In the buffet
smoking and library cars , with barber shop
attachment , he finds means of satisfying all
Iho other ordinary wants of a human being.
If his resources are limited ho has recourse
to Iho free reclining car service , which is
maintained between Chicago , Ogden and
Portland. The continent Is covered In a
space that scarcely caused a detention from
business and the traveler's comfort and
safety are provided for with a thorough
ness that called forth the following culoglum
from Lord Charles Heresford-
"Why , I never saw anything like It ( the
Union Pacific railroad ) , and then this dining
car system , it is grand. appointments
of this train 'The Overland Limited , ' are a
constant source of surprise to mo. "
Aside from the directness of the route the
minimum consumption of time Is duo to the
flawless roadbed , a long expanse of which
is discernible In the moving picture. The
onglno driver has no timidity in throwing
open the throttle when he remembers that
Bteel rails of the heaviest and latest Improved
pattern lie underneath , thai the "Overland
roulo" has more miles of track fully bal
lasted than any other road in Iho west ; and
that Improved Interlocking signals have
been erected at all grade crossings which are
a guaranty against accidents. Wllh Us per
fect equipment , No. 1 , "The Overland
Limited , " Is able to leave Chicago at G:30 :
p. m. . Omaha at 8:20 : a. m. , arriving at San
Francisco at 5:1G : p. in. , on the third day.
To effect the proper exposure and focus
in securing Ihe 1,800 liny pictures in the
series protraylng the Limited in Ite flight
through Columbus was a delicate task. The
operator placed his Inslrument beside the
track upon a solid platform ; the stretch of
roadbed was brought Into range of the lens ,
and at the moment the train came into sight
the current was turned on which unrolled
the film. By the time the last car had
flashed by nearly 200 feet of the film had
streamed past the lens , received nearly
2,000 Impressions and had been wound with
its precious record upon the receiving spool.
The portrait of a moving express train is
probably the most popular of all Ihe varied
speclacles which the biograph has attempted
to prcbont. Many excellent exposures have
been made by operators clinging in a dan
gerous and cramped position to the pilot of
nn engine. A realistic scene is at the
entrance of a tunnel , when the mouth ap
pears In the distance , grows larger , until it
finally looms up , a yawning , black chasm.
Total darkness follows for a moment. Then
In the distance appears a tiny speck of
light , which grows and grows until suddenly
a broad landscape bursts upon the view.
Photographers have given no heed to per
sonal safety in their effort to perpetuate a
striking scene at the critical moment. Op
erators have trained their cameras on Span
ish breastworks manned by excited artil
lerymen , the hostile American fleet appear
ing in the distance. The charge of the
Rough Riders at Snn Juan hill has also been
faithfully portrayed with Iho bursting of
shells and the falling of the stricken. On
one occasion , in showing a view of cross
country riding , the camera was placed at a
difficult barrier. One of the horses fell In
attempting the leap and crushed ite rider.
The whole accident was shown accurately
In the pictures , which make up a very
unique set.
The Text Struck Honj
This happened to the wife of a well-k'jil
merchant , who Is rather conspicuous foil
devotion to the church , reports the Clj
land Plain Denier. His spouse , dressing ]
recent Sunday morning , got Into a
waist that moro than put Reuben's cos |
the shade. She was conscious of the
scheme , but decided to ask her husbJ
and her father's opinion before wearing
garment to church. They agreed poorj
that fiho was delightfully dressed find ]
Iho waist could hardly bo Improved
So they went to church , thu wife with fcl
misgivings , which , ns Uio case turned !
were well enough founded , for they well
sooner seated In Grace Episcopal ch |
Ihan Rev. Dr. Worlhliiglon gave out
text , "Wo will read , " the reverend gor !
man said , "from the gospel of St. Mattj
the Hixteenth chapter and eighth verse :
what purpcee Is this waste ? ' " The
woman collapsed in her pew , and nt
raised her head during the remaining
tlon of the service * .