From The Phillipines

Carl R. Miner Writes of Our New Islands

A Letter from Manila Which Was Seven Weeks on the Way, Advocates a Protectorate There

John R. Miner has just received i letter from his son, Cari R. Miller. who is a member of the Astor battery at Manila, which is dated Sept. 26, and postmarked Philippine Station, San Francisco, Cal. - a far off station it is, over 7,000 miles from the main office. The letter was seven weeks on the road. Among other things the writer says that he had been spending four days at Dr. Bourne's house, nursing a sick lieutenant. "Dysentery has been one of the chief ailments, although the hospital steward says we have not lost a case from this cause. The hospital ship started from here last Tuesday with 250 sick and wounded soldiers on board, of which the Astor battery sent six, among whom was the wounded Sergeant Silliman, formerly superintendent of Grace Hospital in Detroit.

"It would be a shame to give up so valuable a country when there is practically no one else to hold it. There are some disadvantages to be considered. If we attempt to annex the territory without giving the natives a trial it self government, we will have our hands full but, if there is a protectorate established, everything ought to work smoothly so far as American interests are concerned.

"A large majority of the men out here are very homesick and when the report carne a few days ago that 5,000 regulars were on the way to relieve the volunteers, there was great rejoicing. For my own part I want to see the country before I leave it. My faith in it increases the longer I stay. The mail service is very bad. We haven't had a letter in three weeks. Once in a while we get a Hong Kong paper and that is all we hear of the outside world excepting a 10 line cablegram in the Spanish paper every evening. Some of the men have started a soldiers' daily under the name of the American Soldier, but it contains nothing but barrack gossip. However when the mail does come there will be more of it for the waiting. "