Living high
Media
Part of The American Chamber of Commerce Journal
- Title
- Living high
- Language
- English
- Source
- The American Chamber of Commerce Journal Volume XVIII (Issue No.3) March 1938
- Year
- 1938
- Rights
-
- Fulltext
- 10 THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL March. 1938 The American Chamber of Commerce OF THE Philippine Islands (Member Chamber of Commerce of the United States) DIRECTORS: P. A. Meyer. President H. M. Cavender. Vice-President John L. Headinsrton, Treasurer J. C. Rockwell E. M. Grimm Verne E. Miller S. F. Caches E. Schradieck H. M. Cavender ALTERNATE DIRECTORS: E. D. Gundelflnger L. K. Cotterman K. B. Day H. Dean Hellia SECRETARY: C. G. Clifford COMMITTEES EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE: P. A. Meyer. Chairman H. M. Cavender RELIEF COMMITTEE: C. G. Clifford, Chairman MANUFACTURING COMMITTEE: K. II. Day. Chairman A. W. Raison D. P. O’Brien H. P. Strickler LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE: E. E. Sei ph. Chairman Judge F. IL Ingersoll C. G. Clifford FINANCE COMMITTEE: Verne E. Miller. Chairman E. J. Deymek FOREIGN TRADE COMMITTEE: H. IL Pond. Chairman E. D. Gundelflnger PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE: P. A. Meyer. Chairman C. M. Hoskins Roy C. Bennett BANKING COMMITTEE: E. J. Lejeune, Chairman J. R. Lloyd RECEPTION & ENTERTAINMENT COMMITTEE: E. Schradieck, Chairman E. D. Gundelflnger INVESTMENT COMMITTEE: P. A. Meyer, Chairman J. C. Rockwell S. F. Caches SHIPPING COMMITTEE: H. M. Cavender, Chairman E. M. Grimm Chester F. Sharp LIVING HIGH J. Bartlet Richards’ January report as American trade commissioner opens with a number of interesting data: January sales of automobiles and trucks were excep tionally good.—Orders for cotton textiles were higher than for several years, the bulk of the business going to the United States.—Credit conditions were satisfac tory.—Gold production P4,720,438 set a new January record.—Banks reported increased loans, discounts, and overdrafts, also increased cash balances, meeting im porters’ demands for dollars by drawing on their New York balances.—Monetary circulation increased by P2,500,000 to an all-time high (but not, once more we re mind the reader, a per capita record by any means).— Tax collections ran far and away ahead of estimates.— Export cargoes continued in good supply.. Freight space -to Europe and the United States was well taken up. We know copra is low priced, also Ma nila hemp, and sugar no great shakes. But bulk of copra and hemp makes up in part for the low levels of prices and if war puts no hex on freight space 1938 will, as usual in the Commonwealth, be a good business year with overseas commerce topping P600.000.000. But as this is written, March 14, the situation for peace looked desperate in Europe. If peace is broken, shipping will be scarce and the Commonwealth will feel the pinch. Well, if it must come it must come. The Common"'oalth can face it out as well as the next one. War either in the East or the Wset ought never to involve the Commonwealth while the ties with the United States remain unbroken. Other interesting data come to hand in a pamphlet from the commerce bureau sent in by Acting Director A. de Castro. Commonwealth domestic trade runs to 13 billion pe sos a year.—Arable land is 18,594,260 hectares, and cultivated land less than a fourth of this, 3,943,300 hec tares.—In the following table from the pamphlet, note 1937’s imports and exports: STATISTICAL FACTS ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES Aproximate area (square miles) ................................ 144,398 Potential agricultural area (hectares) ......................... 18,594.260 Estimated area cultivated (hectares) ......................... 3,943,300 Population as of July 1937 ........................................... 13,700,000 School population (setimate) 1936 .............................. 3,419.200 Total enrollment—Public and Private Primary .................................... 994,173 Intermediate.............................. 204,978 Secondary .................................... 83.984 Assessed value of real estate ................................ P2.235.198.118 Total net bonded indebtedness .................................. 86,321.178 Currency in circulation ....................................... P161,489.425 Revenue from taxation ....................................... 70,437,700 Government (Commonwealth) Ordinary Income (1938) ...................................................................... P80.445.700 Government (Commonwealth) Ordinarv Expendit ures (1938) ........................... 76,296.207 Total foreign trade: Imports (1937) P218.051.490 Exports (1937) ............................................... 302,532.500 Rice mills .................................................................. 1.903 Sugar centrals output, long ton (1936-19371 ......... 970,459 Number of warehouses ............................................. 851 Transportation: Railroad mileage (miles) ................. 835 Number of motor trucks registered. 17.355 ” ” vessels—coastwise service 572 Motor vehicle registered ................... 46,293 Roads and bridges (km.) ................. 16,743.9 Shipping—Foreign (net tonnaerel— Entered ........................................................... 6,716.706 Cleared ............................................................. 6,222,960 Shipping—domestic— Entered ............................................................. 4,802,260 Cleared ............................................................. 4,789,341 P 51,000,000 P115.385.880 105.735,467 378,265,623 357,396,770 Gold production of 1937 ................................ Savings.deposits of all banks (1937) ........... Deposits of all cheque paying banks (1937) . Total bank assets (1937) .............................. Total value of agricultural production 1936) Aerrcultural Crops, as of June 30, 1936: Rice (palay) . 42.219600 cavans Corn ............... 6.370,690 Sugar ............. 14.954.450 piculs . Coconuts ....... . 3,146.961.200 nuts .. Abaca ........... 3 082,530 piculs . Tobacco ......... 70,067.000 kilos .. Maguey ......... 433,840 piculs . P118,837,150 15,713.850 111,593,490 61,975,550 19,641,290 3i,729,280 816,700 We are in total disagreement with this table respect ing population. It was nearly 13 million in 1918, and will have increased nearly 40% since; so we believe the figure we use is most conservative, 17 million; we find one American almanac says 20 million, and we doubt that this is far wrong. Last year’s imports were 1,798,500 tons of goods, Pl 21.24 per ton in value. Exports were 2,058,706 tons, P146.90 per ton in value. So the Commonwealth is primarily a staples market, yet a good one. May war pass us by. Mark the gateposts. HEMP IN BORNEO We have recent news about Manila hemp, the Com monwealth’s natural monopoly of which the world tries to destroy, quite naturally. Mitsui Bishi Kaisha are promoting Manila hemp plantations at Tawan, North Borneo. They got the seed in Davao, together with ex
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