The improvement in the telegraph service has been quite as marked as that in the mail service. In 1897 there were only 65 telegraph offices in the islands, 49 of which were on the island of Luzón, 9 on Panay, 4 on Negros and 3 on Cebú. The total length of all telegraph lines was some 1750 miles. There were no cables or other means of telegraphic communication between the islands.
Practically all of the old lines were destroyed during the revolution which began in 1896, so that the lines now existing must be considered as having been built since the American occupation. There are 282 telegraph offices with 4781 miles of land line and in addition 1362 miles of marine cable and 7 wireless stations in operation. Every provincial capital, with the exception of Basco in the remote Batanes Islands, and Butuan in Agusan Province, now has telegraphic facilities as does almost every other place of commercial importance in the Philippines. The advantage of prompt telegraphic communication with such outlying points as Puerto Princesa, Joló, Zamboanga, Davao, Surigao and the east coast of Samar is enormous, while the extension of the cable service to Catanduanes has been a great boon to the hemp growers of that island. The latest available figures relative to the telegraphic business conducted by the Spaniards are for the year 1889, during the second six months of which there were handled 33,697 commercial telegrams. During the fiscal year 1912 our business of the same class reached a total of 496,643 telegrams. This class of business has been increasing from 25 to 30 per cent yearly for several years.
The expenditures of the Spanish government for all postal and telegraphic service for the fiscal year 1895 amounted to $484,960.50. Those of the Bureau of Posts for 1912 were $1,072,684.48. No statement of the Spanish revenues can be found. Our revenues for 1912 were $627,724.70. The personnel of the Spanish service for 1895 shows only 31 positions paying salaries of more than $500 per year, most of which were filled by Spaniards. There are now 96 positions paying salaries of more than $500 per year filled by Filipinos. Filipino post-office employees receive salaries 50 to 100 per cent larger than those of employees of similar rank during the Spanish régime. Think how much these figures mean in increased opportunity for employment of Filipinos, and in increased communication not only between the people in the islands but between them and the outside world.
In a number of instances the telegraph lines which are controlled by the Bureau of Posts are supplemented by provincial telephone systems, which are of great value in maintaining quick communication with towns not reached by telegraph wires. Such lines are especially useful in the Mountain Province, Mindoro, Palawan, Nueva Vizcaya, and the sub-province of Bukidnon, where messengers who travel by land have to go on horseback or on foot.
The following table shows the growth of the postal and telegraph business of the Islands:—
Post-Office and Telegraph Statistics
| Fiscal Year | Money Orders Sold | Postage Receipts | TelegraphReceipts | ||
| Amount | Increase (+) or decrease (-) | Amount | Increase (+) or decrease (-) | ||
| Per cent | Per cent | ||||
| 1900 | $1,526,310 | $117,848 | |||
| 1901 | 1,514,435 | - 1 | 122,833 | ||
| 1902 | 1,854,927 | +22 | 126,375 | ||
| 1903 | 2,842,587 | +53 | 132,445 | ||
| 1904 | 3,102,606 | + 9 | 121,714 | ||
| 1905 | 3,444,053 | +11 | 121,648 | ||
| 1906 | 3,687,127 | + 7 | 198,583 | [1]$56,351 | |
| 1907 | 3,229,446 | -12 | 198,546 | 118,360 | +110 |
| 1908 | 3,645,123 | +13 | 220,306 | 136,138 | + 15 |
| 1909 | 4,008,678 | +10 | 245,482 | 139,208 | + 2 |
| 1910[2] | 4,890,835 | +22 | 282,317 | 168,402 | + 21 |
| 1911 | 6,132,582 | +25 | 313,549 | 184,555 | + 9 |
| 1912 | 7,425,173 | +21 | 349,407 | 236,679 | + 28 |
| 1913[3] | 8,272,858 | + 6 | 380,942 | 283,305 | + 4 |
As I have elsewhere remarked, the Philippines have a coast line longer than that of the continental United States. A very large percentage of the municipalities are situated on, or close to, the sea and the maintenance of adequate marine transportation is therefore a matter of vital importance to the peace and commercial prosperity of the archipelago. In the early days of American occupation conditions were most unsatisfactory. Most of the boats in the coastwise trade were antiquated, foul and had no decent facilities for transporting passengers. As the number of vessels was too small to handle the business of the country, ship-owners occupied a very independent position. The freight rates on such things as lumber and currency were practically prohibitive. It was a common thing for vessels to refuse to receive hemp, sugar and perishable products that had been brought to the beach for shipment, giving as an excuse the fact that they were employed in the private business of Messrs. Smith, Bell & Co., Warner, Barnes & Co., or whoever happened to own them, and could not transport freight for the public as the volume of their private business would not permit it. However, if the owners of the freight were willing to sell it to the ships’ officers for a fraction of its value, they encountered no difficulty in transporting it!
Furthermore, there existed the danger of Moro raids, the necessity for checking the operations of smugglers, and that of preventing the ingress of firearms, which in the hands of irresponsible persons might cause great damage and expense to the government and the public.
In view of these facts it was decided to establish a fleet of twenty coast-guard vessels, which were not only to do police duty and to assist in the transportation of troops, but were to carry freight and passengers when opportunity offered. Fifteen such vessels were ordered from Messrs. Farnham, Boyd & Co., of Shanghai, and five from the Uraga Dock Company of Japan. The Japanese vessels proved unsatisfactory, and only two were accepted, making the total fleet seventeen. As the condition of public order improved the coast-guard boats became available to a constantly increasing extent for commercial service.