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Show RAILROADS FOR THE PHILIPPINES. Congress is to bo asked to authorize the Philippine Government to guarantee 4 per cent on an issue of $10,000,000 bonds to build railroads In the archipelago. archi-pelago. Those who knoy the archi-"pelago archi-"pelago best, including Secretary Taft, are supporting the measure and are hopeful that It will bo enacted. Forty million dollars would not build many miles of ordinary steam railway. No doubt the transaction would be computed com-puted in gold, and at J4O.O0.O per mile, which is probably as low as roads could be constructed, the issue would mean a thousand miles of road. But probably electric trolley roads would be amplo for many years for the traffic in most parts of the archipelago, and four miles of trolley line could no doubt be built for what one mile of steam road would' cost. The bill should provide for cither system, as m'lght be found most advantageous In the different localities. The islands abound In mountains, streams and waterfalls. They are Ideally situated in this respect for the construction, of plantB for generating electricity, and the power from them need in no case be so far from tho place of regulation and use as to materially impair the efficiency of tho current. There can be no question of the main points relied upon for tho pressing of this legislation the urgent and1 universal uni-versal need of transportation facilities in the islands, and the wonderful development devel-opment that would follow the Inauguration Inaugu-ration o a good transportation system; sys-tem; agriculture, manufacture, and all forms of Industry, including mining, would receive a magical impulse. There is nothing like railroads for opening up a country, and giving tho people an opportunity to utilize its natural nat-ural resources. In the Philippines, these are practically untouched. The proposed railroad system, especially if tho trolley system is mainly rolled upon, will allow of a veryi general development develop-ment of tho archipelago. And the con fining pf tho construction to American or Filipino capital is one of tho best features of tho proposed legislation. |