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WIRING THE PHILIPPINES.
VU. THE IMPORTANT POINTS NOW
CONNECTED BY CABLE.
Elincnl<* M Of the Work—lt Was I)on
t'Tifler Orest Pressure of Haste.
The Hooker. First Table Ship to
Go Aerosa to the Philippines, Sank
Gfj Corregldor Island, bnt Most of
4 he Cable Was Saved—Claim of a
British Cable Company on This
Government on an Agreement* of
Forfeiture With the Spanish Got.
rrnment— Not Likely to Get the
Money Claimed, for Bensons Which
Admiral Dewey Appreciates.
Washington, May 17.—When Manila fell
there were practically no telegraph or ca
ble connection* anywhere in the Philip
pines. The system of land wires connect
ing the principal towns, and the cable be
iween Manila and Iloilo, and Iloilo and
Cebu, had been sealed and abandoned by
the owners, the Eastern Extension Aus
tralasia and China Cable Company, which
announced that It would not open until
the rnlted States could assure protec
tion for its employes and property.
Immediately upon the occupation of Ma
' -r t—v—rrsT—-. •••”' !' ■>— i ’ LAYING CABLE UP A PHILIPPINE RIVER.
Bila the question of wires assumed a se
rious phase. Indeed, the trouble began at
the capture of the place, and the destruc
tion of our wires was the first hostile
set of the insurgents. Upon Aguinaldo's
taking the war path it became useless to
stretch a line unless the army surround
ed it or unless it was defended by a patrol
close enough together to shout a mes
sage along. The system abandoned by
the Eastern Extension Company fell into
his hands. He opened, repaired, improved
and extended it with astonishing ability,
utilizing even fence wire and untwisted
wire rope, and always managing to de
stroy the portions in the territory he was
forced from time to time to yield. The
Insurgents knew the value of wires and at
every opportunity a few men would slip
ky our lines or between them and haul
NATIVES COILING THE CABLE.
•way m much as they could conveniently
fcrry.
Cable, though far more costly and re*
more time to lay, could be main
lined in the Philippines; for the Fili
pinos had no “picking-up gear," nor
grappling and cutting utensils. The War
department decided to establish a com
plete .’able system, with alternates, as
J? on 89 Possible. Contracts were placed,
e was rushed and the Hooker, the
Philippine cable ship, was dispatched
haste, taking on part of her equip-
Glbra]rl? ,Ch Was P rocured tn England, at
TU problem of securing a. satisfactory
, been no means an easy one,
e business of cable laying is anew
nf\t" *J? e t ' l,ite, l States. The services
FrenJs J?* 10 s,rube l. on engineer of the
,?; ,le Company, were, secured, and
of &,r - Henry Winter, an officer of
r ABLE BEING! TAKEN FROM TRANSPORT AND LOADED AT CABLE
YARDS.
a ‘ ''S ' l -American cable h!p Mints. But
, ! ‘ fl of the Hooker'll crew had had
£ /. "; '> --able work. An expert
It p , ”[ ru > bet cable was enlisted In
t ~ huf h* deserted the expedition
bkr. ;! V * t * u>r * R left. Care had been
to have two sergeants of
k. 1 cor ‘ > * Instructed by him in the
ce of such an emergency.
*’ T ' v;n at Manila the Hooker
ii ,0 Hon * Kong to coal, struck
■ !>, '' r * f*f-f of Corregldor Island, and
■ fc,. " • <lown went the cable to the bot-
I kitma. a **' 01 oourae. that was Its
I T r .' net 11 nation, but not In a lump.
Itb if Rr "" total loas. but most of
I *Ut ,nd - m,ohln * r > r . though some
“imaged, was recovered and taken
hack to Manila. Then the Romulus was
chartered and equipped with the recovered
paraphernalia.
For the work in rivers and other shal
low bodies of water, barges were equipped
aoo towed by small gunboats. The gun
boats could repel disturbers and the same
exposure was not necessary in reeling out
the cable from the barges as was requir
ed to stretch iand lines. About every five
miles, stops would be made to test what
had been laid. The small military force
that accompanied these expeditions when
in hostile country, was deployed as pick
ets when the electricians landed to make
the tests. For the actual work of estab
lishing the lines, it was necessary to em
ploy natives. It takes three natives to
do the work of one American workman,
but the native asks only 35 per month
salary, and his accustomed fare of rice,
dried fish, etc. He loves to squat wnen
reeling the cables and he work* with as
little effort as possible.
The first work was done by the army,
hut subsequently contracts were let for
the entire work, laying as well as furn
ishing the cable. The government furn
ishes the cable ship, the necessary mili
tary protection and an officer as director
and inspector. More than 2.000 miles have
now been laid, almost, enough to reach
from San Francteco to Honolulu. All the
principal cities and every island of any
size are connected. To be more explicit,
cables connect Manila and Cavite, Taguig
and Calamba. Taguig and Binang, Calam
ba and Los Banos, Los Banos and Santa
Cruz, Liloan and Ormoc, Cebu nd Ll
loan, Leyte and Tacloban and Samar,
Nalo and Corregidor. Gulnaysngan and
Pasaco, and other points from the islands
of Cebu to Bahol, Negros to Oebu, Cebu
to Mindanao, Jolo to Mindanao, and also
connecting points on the islands of Min
danao, where land wires can not yet :>*
maintained. Most of the work has been
accomplished in the past twelve months,
and little trouble is being experienced
from intentional interruption, a striking
evidence of American progress.
Very often ship* weighing anchor in
the harbors find the flukes entangled with
the cahies, and to save a few minutes’
time, out the cable Instead of disengag
ing it. Nine oul of ten of th breaks
are due to this.
A curious protest was offered when the
first military cable was laid—that from
Cavite to Manila. The Eastern Extension
Company l.ad acquired anew franchise
from Spain Jurt before the war, with the
sole right of cables in the Philippines.
Tills franchise lasts until 1940, and a clause
In the contract provides a payment of
£5.000 for each year before that date that
other cablet shell be used. The company
has now rut In e claim upon the United
States for the amount, but the claim will
be Ignored for reasons connected with the
disposition of the cable at the begin lii'g
of the war.
A few days prior to the opening of the
war, under an emergency contract with
the Spanish government, stimulated by
the approach of hostilities, the company
extended its Hong Kong cable, which
landed on Luzon, at Baiinao, to Manila.
Admiral Dewey endeavored in vain to ob
tain a neutralization of tihis cable; the
Spanish officials refused to permit him to
use It He, therefore, cut It. Five daye
after Manila fell he dlspatqfied a vessel
to the point of .rupture, about two miles
off Cavite, where the cable lay In shout
ten fathoms. The wave action had car
ried Che ends about KiO feet apart, to the
full length of a stout rope that had Joined
them to facilitate recovery. There was
no regular cable to be had. and the repair
v.us accomplished by splicing In a piece
of Insulated fleld wire with such an al
lowance of slack that t‘hr stay rope,
which was left on. should hearth* strain
Hong Kong wns called only to And that
to avoid complications, the company had
aealsd ths cable, and arrer all the grap
pling and Improvising th dispatch boat
THE MORNING NEWS: SUNDAY. MAY 19. 1901.
had to be continued. It was some time
after the protocol was signed that the
Spaniards and the company’s officers de
cided to break the seal. The use of a
cable for exchange, of messages in place
of the slow service of the dispatch boat
at this time would have been of inesti
mable value to this government, but the
British company took no note of that,
and now It will nrol>ahly cost them dear.
It is now just a matter of time be
fore an American cable will span from
the Philippines to some point on the
coast of China end Japan- The same
Eastern Extension Company now charges
75 cents per word for messages from
Manila to Hong Kong, about three times
the rate from the United States to Eu
rope.
This government is not in the Inter
national Telegraph Union, which prac
tically eliminates our voice from the
conduct of the great cables, and in case
of emergency gives other countries—those
in the union—prior right to the use of
them. The Philippine system is Ameri
ca's first step in cables. It is a good big
stride, and when the trans-Pacific cable
is a fact, this country will be abreast
of the others.
Mother Shipton Didn't Nay So.
From the New York Sun.
A correspondent writes to the Sun to
ask for Information concerning the so
called prophecy of Mother Shipton. What
ts commonly spoken of as Mother Ship-
ton’s prophecy is a piece of rhyme which
was first printeand
lows:
Carriages without horses shall go
And accidents nil the world with woe.
Around the earth thoughts shall fly
In the twinkling of an eye.
The world upside down shall be,
And gold be found at the root of a tree.
Through hills men shall ride.
And no horses be at his side.
Under water men shall walk,
Shall ride, shall sleep, shall talk.
In the air men shall be seen,
In black, in white, in green,
iron in the water shall float,
As easy as a wooden boat,
Gold shall be found and shown.
In a land that’s not now known.
Fire and water shall wonders def
England shall at last admit a foe.
The world to an end shall come
In eighteen hundred and eighty-one.
This rhyme was published in an alleged
reprint of a chap book version and was in
cluded with about ten others, according
to Notes and Queries, in a book issued
by Charles Hindley of Brighton, Eng
land. For a number of years it was sup
posed by many that it was what it pur
ported to be, namely, a prophecy uttered
by Mother Shipton In the first half of the
sixteenth century. Several persons, how
ever. oast doubts on Its authenticity, und
In April. 1573, Hindley wrote to Notes and
Queries and, to use the words of that pe
riodical, "ntsde a clean breast of having
fabricated the prophecy."
There is some doubt as to whether then,
ever was a Mother Shipton. The Century
Encyclopaedia says she was born near
Kr.aresborough. In Yorksnire, in July llsS.
and died about 1569. It also says in r< -
gurd o her that she was “a ha’i mythi
cal English prophetess, baptized Ursula
Southlel," who married Tony Shiptoi, a
builder, and according to tradition, “was
the child of Agatha Shipton and the
devil." Other authorities says she was
probably wholly mythical. Various other
prophecies of less Interest than the one
quoted are attributed to her.
—Portraiture.—Critic "You haven’t
caught Mrs. Rawkes du Byrnea’ expres
sion at all!" Portrait Painter —"No; but
I flatter myself I’ve caught her notion of
her expression.”—Detroit Journal.
SI LIPPI fit Cablc SNIP
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CABLE MAP OP THE PHILIPPINES.
ILLUSIONS OF THE RAIL
EXPERIENCES THAT TEND TO TURN
AN ENGINEER’S II AIR GRAY.
Case of a Pl* and a Red Shirt—Flag
men's Mistake* One Sonree of Sod
den Alarm—Harmless Objects That
Simulate Perils on the Track.
Jones, the Phantom Flagman, and
the Ax—How Schufeldt Made an
Open Switch Signal Oat of a Fla*
Stair and a Tallow Pot—F.ngdneers
Not Superstitious as a Rale,
Though They Have Enough to
Make Them So.
By Herbert B. Hamblen.
Author of "On Many Seas," Etc.
I wonder what was the first, instantane
ous sensation of that Canadian engineer
who ran down Jumbo in the fog. Prob
ably no engineer ever had a stranger
shock; but shock:', strange and otherwise,
are the portion of every man who stands
at a locomotive throttle. He must get
used to them and stand them as best be
can—or find tome occupation with less
nervous s:roin on it. Most of th-m in
the business get hardened to the unex
pected. which is always happening on the
veils.
Or.e of the worst starts I ever had was
due to a large, lazy pig who had got
on my mind. Nothing will slide a train
more easily and destructively from i .e
rail* than 11\e pork. This particular spec
imen had a habit of burrowing alongside
the track, and it was a fair presumption
that sooner or later he would find some
thing to Interest him between the rails,
and somebody would go “down the bank."
I was coming down the hill one day at
high speed, and craning my neck for a
cjinforting sight of piggy in his accus
tomed place, when, as I‘ popped around
ti c curve, a bright red flag assaulted my
anxious gaze The connection between
that flag am. the pig was only a bit of
mental aberration on my part, but it was
very vivid. I shut off and grabbed the
whistle cold, but before I could even
screech for brakes, I saw that the flag
was only & red flannel shirt, which the
good woman of 'the shanty to which the
pig belonged had hung on an improvised
clothesline between the telegraph poles.
That may not sound like much of a scare,
but it represents a type that turns the
railroad man's hair to a delicate ash color.
Railroad men have supplemented the
rules with additions of their own, for the
sake of convenience, and to expedite the
work. When a man is sent out to flag
he gets instructions. Perhaps he is told
to let all regular trains pass, but to hold
everything else; then he understand* that
ills conductor will have his train in the
siding when those trans arrive.
A freight train had occasion to cross to
the other track, but there wasn’t time to
cross ahead of the limited. A man was
sent ahead with orders to let the limited
by and hold everything else until he
should be called in. 1 was fireman on tne
limited that night, end the place I write
of was in the middle of a twenty mlie
run, where the engineer made a practice
of "ketchin’ up" any little time previous
ly lost.
I heard a sudden exclamation as George,
my engineer, shut off and snapped on the
air. I stepped to the gangway and
caught a glimpse of a fellow waving a
red light frantically as we flew by. In
another instant wo rounded the curve,
and there was a headlight, right in ou
face and eyes. George "horsed 'er over,"
and I thought he would surely pull the
sand lever out by the roots, but in spite
of all, that headlight came up on ns like
a comet. Of course, we thought the other
fellow was crossed over on our track, or
he wouldn’t have flagged us; it didn’t
make any difference that he had no rignt
to be there, there he was. George yelled
for me to “git off," but a single hasty
glance at the ground satisfied me with
my chances where I was.
A moment later we rolled past the en
gine and half the train—which was on
its own track. The freight conductor
climbed up on our engine and asked
George if that blanked fool had flagged
him. George muttered and stammered
with nervousness before he found his
tongue, but when he did that con
ductor heard, something that was
well worth listening to. Such a salvo of
verbal pyrotechnics—George expressing
himself about the conductor, and he about
the flagman—one hears but once in & life
time.
A newly located watchman's shanty
looking exactly like the end of a box
car—set my scalp to tingling one night.
There had never been anything there but
* the river before, and when the headlight
glared on that very substantial structure
I was sure my call had arrlvad. Another
time a tool box in a tunnel, partly cov
ered with overciothes and a coil of rope,
started me for the step, under the im
pression that it was a rock fallen 'rom
the roof. Hut these are mere, ha’mless
tWhen You
Feel that you’ve just got to “get THAT
CORSET off or die” it’s a sure sign
that you haven’t struck REAL COR
SET EASE.
We Fit Corsets Here,
and if you don’t get comfort from P. N.,
KABO, NEMO, C. 8., or WAR
NER’S R. P., quit wearing ’em.
Summer Skirts.
We received last week some exquisite i BBofral
selections in DRESS and WALKING
SKIRTS, in WOOLENS, WHITE and FAN
CY P-K’s and other wash goods—THAT
WASH—Elegantly made and finished, jgßjKlllm
and considering quality and workman
ship—the best values in Savannah. To ■
see th?m is to love them AND TO HAVE
y—— — "■ nap-i'i ‘is; ,'r'TL—mr .x'.'irsr-sr^T,"■av.a. —a ■ ■ -
- *TrS ?'.,Tr,v - —* 1 ■ ;,SrsS;.v” 1 -tt:t—t , -,-r jy
0 Our Attractive Waists
magnets—and not to the fair sex alone. In
SILKS and WASH GOODS the designers have
\Pr/ s P ar ed no efforts to convey beauty and character
• to every seam—Quantity and Variety are limitless—
Our MISSES’ WAISTS are “just too cute.”
“Sweat=Shop”
._- E :
UNDERWEAR
Is not to be mentioned on the same
day with our superior ELK BRAND
HOME-MADE MUSLIN GARMENTS.
Nice Silk*Lisle-Gauze and Knit, also.
Fans, Belt*
Girls’ Frocks.
White and Fancy Lawns,
Underwear, Stockings.
Ladies’ Wrappers.
Dressing Sacks and Kimonas.
Bathing Suits, Bath Robes, &c.
B. H. LEVY & BRO.
scares which help to keep one awake.
The engine gets by them before you get
ofT. and you are back In your seat again,
breathing ' anathema maranatha” against
the thoughtless Idiot who was the cause
of I* all. Then there are the other kind.
I was itokirig up a long hill one night,
when a red light suddenly showed up. fol
lowed at once by another. Indicating that
th* caboose of the preceding train wa
just ahead, and 1 was coming up to It
with astonishing rapidity. I yelled to my
fireman to Jump, and we had barely land
ed In the ditch, when six cars end the
caboose of the train ahead climbed all
over our engine. The train had broken In
two. and this was th* rear gectton that
had trundled dbwn th* hill on top of ua
Frequently I have been asked If rail
road men are superatitlou*. 1 think not.
though they might be pardoned If they
were.
One night, after the meeting, Fred
Jones asked, with fairly well assumed In
difference, tf "any o' you fellers” had
aean a mysterious flagman, at night,
near the old atone house, this aide of
"OHendorf'a Fill." Two or three of the
men looked around, quick and sharp, an
though the question reminded them of
something, but nobody admitted that he
had.
• Darn funny." said Fred, puffing away
at his cigar like a "mog” on a grade.
"I've seen lm twice, 'n dunged If I c'u
make It out."
In response to cartful pumping, Joneaey
told me that, on two occasions, on tha
night trip, a faHow had sprung out rrotn
behind the ruin* of the old atone house
and flagged him—not with a lamp, al
though It was night time, but with a nag.
He Stopped both times, but no man wan
to bn found, nor was there any on-nalon
for flagging. On the second occasion hta
conductor hinted with railroad frankness
that Joneaey was "dopey," so Jonesey
said ha would disregard the fellow’s sig
nal If he ever saw him again. Aa to de
tails, he remembered on.y that. both
nights were brilliantly moonlit and that
a good hreege was blowing.
About two months later, along In tha
foil, after a heavy rain, Joneaey ran Into
a bad rock-slide a quarter of a mile be
yond tha old stone house Hit fireman
was killed, but ho oacopod with a sprain
ed ankle. Ho came hobbling up to me a
day or two later, as I was oiling round
and said:
"Wal, I done it.”
"Done what?”
“Run by that atone house flagman I was
tellln' ye about; wonder if they'll think
I’m dopey now?"
Ho went on to (ell me that the same
fellow flagged him the niglt of the acci
dent; but, with Ills good name In mind,
ho dropped her down a notch, breathed
defiance ut the spook through his.teeth,
and went through tha cut "tall on end”
only to plJe up on the slide a moment
later.
One night, a long time after that, I waa
killing time on n clearance. The moon
waa about full, pretty well down In the
west, and them wna a stiff breeze from
the same quarter. I remembered Jone
sey'a flagman, and deckled he would never
have a better chance to get caught. I
shut off and let her roll, on approaching
the stone hotlse. Waving shadows on the
track, cast by trees and bushes on the
bank above, suggested possible solution
of the mystery. I kept my eyee fastened
religiously on tho spot Jonesey had de
scribed, and presently saw there was
something there. Orsdually the thing
took form, until, when within a trsln
length, I coukl have sworn that a man
wna In front of me waving a flag. I put
on brakes, slowed right down and gave an
answering "toot-toot.” hut he paid no at
tention. Then I crawled out on the run
board and looked at the moon, which waa
Just visible above the bank at my right.
Aa the moon, myself and the man came
Into line, he became blurred end Indistinct
and I observed that a small pine tree on
the bank was also coming Into line with
us. When ths line was complsta the
flagman spread out and lost form.
The next time 1 saw JoSesey I told him
about it. and he eaclalmed:
“Well, I'll he -lerned!"
On his next day off Jonesey deadheaded
to the station near th* atone house
and tramped four mile* with an ax. The
spook flagman never bothered him nor any
one els* thereafter.
A ludrlvoua case of misplaced confi
dence In the evidence of his own eyee
was that of Pete Bchufeldt. a crabbed,
contrary, "Lehigh Walley Dutchman."
Infants’ /fr
Caps and Bonnets, ||
of best materials,
well made, and in va
riety of finish. It’s
money to you to see
our kind before selecting. ' /
Boys’ Fixings.
Our unrivaled ability to supply fully
and completely every need of large
or small Boys, puts us easily in an
individual class—alone in our supe
riority-alone in our pre-eminence^
Wash Suits. < |ff >
Blouse Suits.
Blouse (Russian) Waists / J \
Mother’s Friend Wasits. \/> TVl\
Underwear, Neckwear. | / M
Half Hose, Stockings. \ , I \ j $
Straw Hats, Negligee %T/ J *
Shirts, Beits, Collars, &Lll
Cuffs, Etc.
QUANTITY AND PRICES.
Pete had enjoyed a ten days' Involuntary
vacation through being "outlied” by his
conductor and crew In regard to an open
switch, and he hungered and thirsted for
revenge.
Coming east shortly afterward In a
dense fog and carrying white flags they
crossed over at a water plug and left
some cars on a siding. They backed on
to the train again, and while the fireman
took water, Pete got down to oil. He
found a warm wedge on the front driv
ing box on his aide, and pulled It down
a bit. While he was under her. the con
ductor passed, and told him to call the
flag, when he waa ready to go. Pete
got hla tallow pot. gave the wedge a good
dose of cylinder oil. put the pot on th*
run-board, finished oiling, and climbed in
to the cab. lie was In (he very act of
reaching for the whistle cord to call the
flag when he saw what looked like the
target of an open switch right ahead of
the engine. It waa really the staff of
the white flag, helped out by the tallow
pot, aided end abetted by the simmer of
the safety vslve, #nd escaping steam from
the cylinder cocks, obscured hla vision
and distorted his perspective.
Here was a chance to get square with
that "schmard" conductor. A local was
following them pretty close, and a few
minutes' delay would "lay her out" and
necessitate an explanation from the con
ductor as to how he came to leave that
switch open. Pete sat down comfortably
In hie cab and awaited developments.
When the conductor came up fum
ing Pet# told him with flne sarcasm
that If he waa In a hurry he had bet
ter close that gate In front of the en
gine. During the interchange of cour
tesies which foMowed this shot the fire
man noted the sbecnce of the tallow pot
and asked Pete If he hod hed It. The
conductor referred In a scornful manner
to Pete's cranial density, and told Mr-,
he couldn't see the switch from there,
anyhow.
"lah dot so?" roared Pete, foaming
with righteous indignation. "Better ydu
git your eyes fixed. Vat you ctU dot,
hey?" Hnd ha pointed triumphantly ahead.
Just sk the fireman reached up and lifted
the tallow pot down from the riin-bixtrd.
Of cot Ase. the supposed often switch
target disappeared end Pete has been try
ing to explain ever ginc*.
7