Captain dollar greatly pleased with Manila visit

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Part of The American Chamber of Commerce Journal

Title: Captain dollar greatly pleased with Manila visit
Language: English
Source: The American Chamber of Commerce Journal Volume 8 (Issue No. 6) June 1928
Year: 1928
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Fulltext: June, 1928 THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL 7 though this incident has decided me to get one. . As the snake disappeared in the bushes, I realized that I ought to do something, try to kill it if possible. The lives of other calves were at stake. I dismounted, pulled out my bolo, and made my way carefully to the bushes where the snake had disappeared. Only its tail was in view, and I slashed at it with the bolo. My bolo was sharp, I struck with all my might, hit ting the tail about two feet from the end and nearly cutting it off. With a furious thrashing, the snake freed itself from the bushes and started toward me with open mouth. That was too much for my courage, and I made for my pony and leaped Captain Dollar Greatly Pleased With Manila Visit A confident mercantile community rejoicing in more settled conditions than seemed to prevail formerly is what most impressed Captain Robert Dollar on his May visit to Manila, on his fiftieth world voyage on behalf of his shipping and mer cantile interests, which circle the globe. Cap tain Dollar and his party arrived in Manila May 13, the party being made up of Mrs. Dollar, who shares excellent health with her famous husband and always travels with him, Miss Helen Rennie, their cousin, Miss Jane and Miss Grace Dickson, their grand daughters, Mr. and Mrs. T. J. Cokely, Mr. Cokely being the general manager for the Orient of the Dollar company, with headquarters in Shanghai. S. C. Sarson, secretary to Captain Dollar, was also in the party. Mr. and Mrs. Cokely continued with the party as far as Singapore, then returned to Shanghai, and they are soon going on a fur lough to the United States. Mr. and Mrs. H. M. Cavender, Mr. Cavender being the general agent in the Philippines for the Dollar company, left Manila Saturday, May 26, for a furlough in the United States, having re mained in Manila to welcome Captain and Mrs. Dollar and their party, Mr. Cavender gathering the company’s.representatives in the Philippines in Manila and arranging many conferences. On Wednesday, May 16, Captain Dollar addressed a luncheon at the chamber of commerce presided over by Mr. A. B. Cresap, who stressed the grow ing intercommunity cordiality in the islands, particularly in Manila, and reviewed briefly the work of the chamber of commerce. Captain Dollar had already noted the trend toward harmonious relations and mutual understandings, and commended it in his speeches at the chamber of commerce and at the Rotary club luncheon, the latter on Thursday, May 17. Standing before his audiences, a slightly bent but venerable figure, the fire of derring do still light in his eyes, Captain Dollar eulogized simple friendship as man’s greatest earthly blessing— “among ourselves individually, among ourselves nationally, and between our nation and other nations internationally.” Before his departure he made good his words, declaring unfair the decision preventing the Philippine vessel Con suelo from loading freight and passengers at Honolulu, where she had gone with laborers, for Manila, on the ground that while she flew the American flag, she was not manned by American officers and sailors. Her officers and sailors are FilipinosHand Captain Dollar told the Herald that the Philippine government was a competent agency under the sovereignty of the United States and that its certificates of seamen and officers should be given the recognition that its other official documents are given. The significance of this is that Dollar ships too engage in traffic between Manila and Hono lulu, and that the decision which Captain Dollar censures tends in his favor but, if the Herald reports him correctly, he feels the decision to be unjust and has said so. Captain Dollar conferred with more than a hundred leading business men while in Manila. Generally they reported business fair, with the outlook favorable, and conditions relative to government the best ever known, by which they felt greatly encouraged. He too feels encour aged, and if successful in obtaining a lease on the port area he will erect a substantial office buildinto the saddle as quickly as I could. The snake kept coming, bent on continuing the scrap which I had started. I turned the pony towards it, afraid as I was, and as it approached it raised its head about two feet from the ground, evidently with the intention of striking. When it was close enough, I struck it with the bolo squarely on the head and knocked it senseless; and then I dismounted and severed the head from the body. By actual measurement this snake was 18 feet long from tip to tip. I walk ed over to the calf and felt of it. The spine and legs were crushed to pieces, the body covered with a slimy white fluid. The snake had killed its banquet and prepared it well. 'ng there for the use of the Dollar interests in the islands. ECONOMY FIRESTONE Gum-Dipped Tires hold the longest mileage records. You get more for the money because FIRESTONE builds in extra miles with special processes, including Gum-Dipping—saturating every fibre of the tire carcass to eliminate friction—and because, no matter where you travel, a FIRESTONE service station is not far away. Tirestone Gum-Dipped Balloons Save you Money And Serve you Better Pacific Commercial Company Distributor It will be the first, if built, ever built by Cap tain Dollar on land he doesn’t own in fee simple; but titles remain in the government on the port area, the logical site for a Dollar building, and he is ready to break his rule to conform to the law. He has felt it an anomaly, he told the Journal, to have seven buildings in China, on foreign soil, and none in the Philippines, on Amer ican soil. But he added that heretofore condi tions caused him to doubt the wisdom of build ing here, and hence to postpone the project. These doubts have passed. Captain Dollar eulogized Governor Wood and Governor Stimson in his public addresses, speaking of Wood as “a great man, the greatest you have ever had or will have,” both in his addresses and in his inter view with the Journal. In his address at the chamber of commerce he referred to the situation in northern China briefly, but without animosity, and predicted that now that Japan is back in Shangtung again she will remain there. In Japan he found business con ditions improving. (Mr. Cokely reported to the Journal specifically on business in China, IN RESPONDING TO ADVERTISEMNETS PLEASE MENTION THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL June, 1928 saying that traffic in and out on the Yangtse was rapidly tending toward normal when he left Shanghai, and that business was consequently improving. He was pleased with the many signs of progress in Manila, where he opened the Dollar offices originally and remained until 1912.) Captain Dollar has not wavered in his opinion that the Pacific is the future theater of the world’s greatest commerce. Of Congress Captain Dollar has ceased to expect encouragement or even fair treatment for the American merchant marine; he would wel come it if it came, but he would welcome it with surprise. “The trouble is,” he said, “there isn’t a shipping man in Congress.” Contrary bills are pending, one to reestablish the govern ment in shipping on a big scale and one to en courage private enterprise; and the latest news at hand when Captain Dollar left was that effort was being made to reconcile these two widely opposed bills. The compromise has been effected now; and President Coolidge has signed the law. “Out here you have a different viewpoint,” said Captain Dollar, “you would encourage private enterprise in ocean shipping by every means. But in America they don’t have this viewpoint, that is the majority don’t, and they say ‘there’s that big fellow, let’s soak him!’ Why, I don’t know. Nothing is more important to America than a prosperous merchant marine, in the hands of men who know how to conduct such business. Yet what did the Congress do in its last session? It compelled us to pay 50% Cruising on Roy Barcal’s Yacht “Intrepid” Roy Barcal, with all his Lake Michigan fame behind him, would of course be the first man in the Manila Yacht Club to go beyond the racing boat and build himself a cruising yacht on which to enjoy the exhilarating sailing the Philippine interisland seas afford. This was entirely natural, and Barcal built the Intrepid, shown on the front cover tips month, and went sailing. Barcal knows Lake Michigan, Long Island waters and the New England coast, and all have their attractions; but he tells the Journal he has never enjoyed yachting so much as he does in the Philippines, where the thrills of cruising and the natural beauty of the coasts are beyond describing. The sunrises, sunsets, the tranquil opalescent waters of the anchorages—these are all special compensations proffered by the Phil ippines; and liberty to step ashore anywhere, of course, and fishing and hunting as one wants them. As others may be feeling the tang of the sea, space is taken to describe the Intrepid, built to Barcal’s designs by Leung Yee and Company. She is 47 feet overall, beam 13 feet, draft 6 feet, waterline 40 feet, mainsail 1090 square feet, spinnaker 500 square feet, and jib. Mast above deck, 45 feet; boom, 34 feet, 6 inches; gaff, 21 feet. Her dinghy, 11 feet long, weigh ing 103 pounds, accommodates six passengers in smooth water and is either towed or stowed aboard while cruising. Her standing rigging is all of galvanized cast steel. She has two cabins midships, fully appointed. The four berths in the cabins are equipped with heavy hair mattresses, and two wide seats, convertible into berths, boast the same comfort. There is a pipe berth forward for the boy, An selmo, able seaman and general utility man, indeed the entire crew. Galley equipment includes a large icebox, a three-burner alcohol stove swung on gimbals, and a six-foot table swung on gimbals. There are tanks for 300 gallons of fresh water, to be had today at the same old stand, Mariveles, where the galleons got it on leaving Manila bay during 300 years. The auxiliary engine is 10-horsepower, the oil tanks hold 95 gallons of fuel. Two anchors, one of 100 pounds and another of 130 pounds, are provided with 750 feet of line and 120 feet of 1/2-inch chain. Spares and a complete outfit of tools are carried, necessary repairs could be made any where. The Intrepid is adequately ballasted and rides on a very even keel; the weather must duty on all repairs made abroad unless they should be absolutely essential to the running of the ship. As a consequence we have claims in the amount of $180,000 pending adjustment, aside from the duties we have paid. The repairs were essential, unless you were to hear some day that a Dollar ship had stopped in midocean, broken down; but the authorities argue with us, asking if we couldn’t somehow have got the ships back to American ports without the repairs! “We painted a ship in Hongkong, using Amer ican paint bought in Seattle, and had to pay 50% duty on the bill for labor and 50% duty on the paint bill. We paid it, but I wrote a note to Mellon saying I couldn’t understand why we should pay duty on American paint bought and used on an American ship. He wrote back an opinion of the law which was stronger than mine, and returned our money for the paint Captain Dollar permits nothing to handicap him in the keeping up of his ships, of course; and so, with improvements and additional con veniences and comforts all the time, they run on schedule around the world and back and forth across the Pacific with the regularity of express trains. His final remark was, “Some thought we couldn’t do it, on the world trips, but we do.” (For the most extended opinion on the American merchant marine and its problems ever formu lated by Captain Dollar, readers are referred to his Trinity College address, reprinted from the Atlantic Monthly in the Journal of last month.) SCENES IN A YACHTSMAN’S PARADISE Left column: Just to before the cock fight; Anchored at Puerto Galera; Sandy beach, and coconut grove background, Puerto Galera; North passage, Puerto Galera.—Center column: Anselmo, the crew; “Intrepid” at anchor, Manila bay; Overlooking Varadero bay, Mindoro.— Right column; Mission church, Romblon; Native visitors returning to shore, Puerto Galera; Steering into Romblon, Romblon island; Sunset, Puerto Galera. be dangerously bad to make her take water. She has waterproof awnings from mast to stern. She is described here somewhat in detail because she was expertly designed and has been tried and proved to be an excellent type of yacht for Philippine waters. In February, Barcal cruised on her to Romblon, stopping at Puerto Galera, Mindoro, and Gasan, Marinduque, on the way down, and at Maestre de Campo and Puerto Galera on the way back. Besides the crew, Anselmo, he had with him his sister, Mrs. Laura Arctander, and T. Anderson, a friend who went for the fishing and hunting aside from the yachting. “Without even a speaking acquaintance with the engine,” says Mrs. Arctander’s notes, “but particularly intimate with the canvas, the Skipper lifted anchor shortly after daybreak, February 2. At last we were off.” And, beyond Corregidor, “a lovely sea roll from the China sea, a beautiful day and wonderful sailing.” On and on, past Point Santiago to Pagapas bay, anchoring at midafternoon where “we could see coral, colored fish and rocks in a depth of 20 feet,” and they row ashore for a swim whilst Anselmo prepares dinner. Quite early next day they make Puerto Galera, “the Skipper’s almost unerring sense of direction took us fairly to the entrance of the north channel before we realized where we were; once inside, we turned to our .left and dropped anchor. ... All about us the hills, running right down to the water’s edge, covered with coconuts, dotted here and there with a nipa house, and occasionally a group of houses: corn on the sunny slopes, cattle grazing in small clearings, and trails which invite you to discover where they lead one over the horizon.” Before the trip is over, they explore some of these trails. Some of the country people make