The marsman interests

Media

Part of The American Chamber of Commerce Journal

Title: The marsman interests
Creator: MaGee, George L.
Language: English
Source: The American Chamber of Commerce Journal Volume XXIV (Issue No. 8) August 1948
Year: 1948
Rights
Fulltext: When immigrants come to America and make good and become prosperous and raise their children to become good American citizens, we are all happy about it. We have all gained and nobody has lost, except the vicious little demons of narrowness and intolerance which may continue to plague us. Bdt one slogan that has never gained currency in America is, “America for the Amer icans.” We who come from everywhere, are all Americans in America. It is our proudest boast. And the same thing could be true here, respectively. A great deal can be done through the enactment of laws,—much good, and much harm. It is fairly easy to enact a law, or what may pass for a law, but there are some objectives which can not be attained through legislation. And if we forced errors through by means of legislation, we would find in the end that we had succeeded only, for instance, in exchanging for capital, the total lack of it; •for aptitude, inaptitude; for experience, inexperience; for profits, losses; for prosperity, poverty; for progress, decline. Behind much of this so-called “nationalizing” lies the false belief that there is only so much business for all, and that the business done by one, is done only by taking it away from the others. Business is creative and is contin uously augmented as our civilization develops and the division of labor and the production of goods and services is enlarged and improved. The objective of new-comers in the business field should be to make a place for them selves, not merely to displace others. A growing national production and trade, total income, and total gain is what is important to the nation; not so much what particular individuals or groups show the largest private income. Genuine prosperity saturates the entire body politic,—as does a state of good health, a man. With respect to some aspects of the present Philip pine scene, the simple business phrase, “Bad management”, comes to mind, but I feel that it is more than that,—some thing more sinister and deadly. The Philippines, ten or twelve years ago, was set on so bright a course,—liberal, democratic, progressive. Now a hyper-nationalism holds far too great a sway. I can think only that some of our leaders have drunk too deeply of a poison brought here by those rabid nationalists, the Japanese,—a poison that Japan itself all but died from. As an old friend of this country and its people, I beg them to thrust that venomous cup away. Let the Manila Rotary Club set an example in exor cizing this spirit and in heeding what such able men and such good and wise counsellors as Governor McNutt and Commissioner Waring and Mr. Brawner of the San Fran cisco Chamber of Commerce have advised us to do in order to build a prosperous country. Let us all work to gether to bring capital into the country and to develop the country’s industry and trade. If we work together, the prospects are magnificent. Everything comes down to the simple injunction of that lowly man in Judea, two thousand years ago: “Love ye one another”. That would bring to realization the ideal of Rotary,—“peace through a world-fellowship of busi ness”. The friendly, cooperative, all-benefiting exchange of our goods and good services. The Marsman Interests By George L. MaGee Marsman &• Co., Inc. rl common with other enterprises, the Marsman com panies emerged from the war and the Japanese occupation of the Philippines with mines and lumber camps devas tated, buildings wrecked, warehouses empty, records lost, and other assets wiped out. As the, third year after liberation ends, Marsman management reports rapid progress toward recovery in many of its fields of endeavor, especially engineering work, merchandising, and lumbering. It hopes for a resumption at a not far distant date of its mining operations, first in the Paracale district and later in other areas. Indicative of confidence in Philippine business pros pects, as of. August 1st all Marsman entities have been concentrated in one headquarters in a new building con structed on the former site of the Ateneo in Intramuros. Here a commodious two-story structure, with 6400 square meters of ground space, houses the general offices ofc Mars man and Company, Inc., the trading division, the con struction company, and the warehouses. This will result in greater efficiency and economy of operation and make possible better service to patrons. A marker of the Philippine Historical Committee, at the corner of Anda and Arzobispo, on the building, tersely reveals the historic background of this location. It reads: “This was the site of ‘Escuela Pia’ taken over by the Jesuits in 1859 and renamed ‘Ateneo Municipal de Manila’ in 1865. Jose Rizal received from this school the degree of Bachelor of Arts on March 23, 1877. In 1901 the name was changed to ‘Ateneo de Manila’. On August 13, 1932, the building together with the school, museum, library, and equipment, was destroyed by fire and the classes had to be trans ferred to the ‘ Colegio de San Jose’ on Calle Padre Faura. The present building, to which the Ateneo grade school returned in June, 1940, was blessed on December 15, 1940. The later record of the building’s destruction in 1945 during the siege of the Walled City, remains to be added. Soon after hostilities ceased the Marsman executives had plans for reviving the business. In San Francisco, where he had laid valuable groundwork, J. H. Marsman was ready to make the first commercial shipments of foodstuffs to Manila in the later part of 1945. Pledging personal assets for preliminary financing, Mr. and Mrs. Marsman prepared for the vast work of rehabili tation. A large number of American firms lined up to assist. Their support was a great contribution to the effort to provide for the material needs of a war-weary people. Since Marsman businesses were originally founded on gold-mining, engineers concerned themselves as soon as possible with a survey of the conditions. Marsman mines, pre-war, had contributed P95,000,000 to world gold and silver production. In 1941 their output was at the rate of P2,000,000 per month. All were on a dividend-paying basis, and had already returned to stockholders some Pl 7,000,000. Each gave prospects of further substantial re turns to the country’s economy. Technicians found a dismal picture. Itogon, the first major mine of the Marsman group, was a shambles. Tunnels collapsed, mills destroyed, buildings gone, chances for a comeback seemed dim. At Suyoc, where Suyoc Consolidated 283 had been an important producer, devastation equalled that in the Baguio area. In the Paracale district, San Mauricio and United Paracale mines proved to be more or less intact, but many obstacles thwarted work resumption. The smelting plant was a complete wreck. One of the Coco Grove dredges had sunk, a total loss. The other, badly damaged, may yet be reconditioned. Inability to obtain supplies and equipment, high labor costs, financing problems, and other difficulties, have up to the present retarded rehabilitation. However, com plete plans are being made and operations will be resumed as soon as conditions warrant. Crews have been at work in the Paracale district since shortly after liberation. As soon as war-damage claims are acted upon, minipg activ ities will go forward with energy. The sawmill of the Marsman Development Company at Daet, repaired and functioning, now turns out a million board feet a month. In the near future, logs and lumber from this mill will be on their way into the export market. To retain services of skilled mining personnel, Mr. Marsman revived his construction and contracting organ ization. With war surplus equipment, work began on gov ernment and private contracts. Marscon, Inc., as the company is known, has completed the contract for widen ing the dam for the National Power Company at Caliraya. It will shortly complete the highway project for the Bureau of Public Works and the U.S. Public Roads Administra tion at Bifian, Laguna, and has in progress several irriga tion works in Nueva Ecija. Recently, it was awarded the earth-moving and grading job for the new Manila Polo Club. One of its construction contracts well under way is a building to house the Lincoln Agency of the Manila Trading and Supply Company, Port Area. Marscon engineers are also assisting in extensive harbor facility improvements at Hongkong for the Kowloon Wharf and Dock Company and the Taikoo Dock Company. They have also given supervision to extensive operations at Okinawa, the original contract for which went to Mars man Company of California, the American corporation, Marscon, Inc., is equipped for all kinds of heavy earth moving and road-paving undertakings as well as building construction. Special attention has been given in the last several years to the activities of the Marsman Trading Corpora tion, which has now been merged with the parent company. Organized in the years of mining expansion to care for the mines’ requirements, it grew to extensive proportions with branches in leading Philippine cities. In 1941 it acquired the inventories and certain representations of the Pacific Commercial Company’s food-products and drug depart ments. Since the war, merchandising efforts have been intensified with expanding business in groceries, drugs, building materials, paints, office equipment, and machin ery. Buying offices are maintained in New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, and branch offices in Cebu, Iloilo, and Davao serve these important trade areas. Prominent in the retail field, the American Hardware and Plumbing company, corner of T. Pinpin and M. del Banco Nacional, is another Marsman-owned establish ment. Here also is the sales and display room of the office equipment division. One factor which has contributed to the company’s prestige has been its policy on pre-war commitments. Arrangements were early made to pay off these obligations as proof of a determination to rebuild on a sound basis. Stat ing his case frankly to financial backers, Mr. Marsman proposed a plan of payment out of current profits. He volunteered monthly remittances which in a few years have substantially reduced the original total. In a statement recently to the company’s board of directors, Mr. Marsman said: “You will realize that the center of the company’s activities lies in the Philippines. As world conditions become normal, trade and in dustry will regain impetus, and our Company looks forward with con fidence in the role that it expects to play commercially and industrially. Favorable results already attained point to a prosperous future.” Manila as a Distribution Center By Hans M. Menzi President, Menzi S’ Company CAN Manila be made the main source of supply and distribution for American products for the Far East and neighboring countries? The answer is yes, pro vided that— a. Export controls are relaxed or lifted, and b. Manila be made in part a free zone. The Manila Bay, comprising an area of 770 square miles, is one of the finest ocean bays in the Orient and provides a fine anchorage haven. The Manila South Harbor comprises an area of ap proximately two square miles and is partly enclosed by a breakwater. Continuous dredging is required to provide for deep water anchorage and a channel to the piers. Prior to the last war, there were four piers, namely, Piers 1, 3, 5, and 7. Pier 1, with a length of 550 feet and a width of 60 feet, was and is today owned and operated by the United States Government and used chiefly for the berthing of United States Army and Navy vessels. Piers 3, 5, and 7 were and are owned and operated by the Phil’Address delivered at the .First Regional Trade Conference, Manila, July 8. ippine Government and have the following dimensions: Pier 3............. Length Width 680 feet 120 feet Pier 5................................. ............................... Length Width 730 feet 160 feet Pier 7............. Length 1,400 feet Width 240 feet All these three piers were piped for fresh water and bunke * fuel oil, and were equipped with complete and modern mechanical cargo-handling equipment. During the liberation all piers and the harbor as a whole suffered heavy damage. Estimated damage on docks and wharves alone (national and not provincial, municipal, or chartered city) is P9,392,350 against a value of P15,710,625. These figures represent .pre-war values. The amount of P36,000,000 of United States fehabilitation funds has been allocated for the repair and recon struction of ports and harbors. This amount, being in sufficient to provide for all national ports, the Philippine Port Commission has decided to rehabilitate only the Ports 284
pages: 283-284