The American Chamber of Commerce Journal Vol. 6, No.5 (May 1926)

Media

Part of The American Chamber of Commerce Journal

Title: The American Chamber of Commerce Journal Vol. 6, No.5 (May 1926)
Issue Date: Vol. 6, No.5 (May 1926)
Year: 1926
Rights
extracted text: o ■■ Aviation: Madrid-Manila Flight Americans Modernizing Islands’ Sugar Industry Friar Lands: In Politics—Hence the Soup Irrigating 63,000 Acres in Luzon Valley Resources of Liberia: Relation to America The Unpaid Irrigation Bond Levies Philippine-American Trade Mutually Profitable ■ Bank Resources of the Philippines Comment by the Secretary Editorials Current Business Reviews and Other Articles of Interest to Business Men and Students of Commerce SMOKE Sold Everywhere ATIONAL BANKING (owned by CAPITAL [paid in cash] - - - - - U. S. $5,000,000.00 SURPLUS -------- u. S. $5,000,000.00 Head Office - 60 Wall St., New York BRANCHES Barcelona Cebu Kobe Peking Singapore Batavia Dairen London Rangoon Tientsin Bombay Hankow Madrid San Francisco Calcutta Harbin Manila Sto. Domingo Tokyo Canton Hongkong Osaka Shanghai Yokohama Commercial Banking and Foreign Exchange Current accounts opened, savings and fixed deposits received in pesos and other currencies at favorable rates. Manila Office ------ Pacific Building »S. Williams, Manager /V RESPONDING TO ADVERTISEMENTS PLEASE MENTION THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL May, 192G THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL Congress Hotel A New Building New Furnishings New Management Near Bay, Clubs, Stores. Center of Residential District. Running Hot and Cold Water in All Rooms. Excellent Cuisine. Room and board P140.00 a month and up. 551 M. H. del Pilar Tel. 1094 Purest Mineral Water from Deep Hot Springs YOUR CLUB SERVES IT <$> Drink It For Your Health’s Sake KATUBUSAN Makers of Cigars and Cigarettes The foremost exponent of the industrial capa city of the Fili pino people. CD O z > a LU z oc □ o > q: b a> < a> ro O □ a> o a> o' a> w a> □ 3 O The products of this factory enjoy a wide popularity not only locally but in foreign coun tries. THE NEWEST EQUIPMENT IS ON THE NORTH COAST LIMITED SEATTLE TO CHICAGO (DIRECT CONNECTION TO THE EAST AND SOUTH) “NEWEST” means an Observation-Lounge Car surpassing all others heretofore designed. Barber, Valet, Ladies Maid, Bath, Library, Smoking and Card Rooms, Writing Desk, inviting lounge and wide observation platfoi m. “NEWEST” means Pullman sleeping cars different from any you have seen on any other train. Permanent head-boards divide the sec tions for greater privacy. Interior Decorations in soft, new colors. Here is luxury unlimited for sleeping car passengers. All Steel Construction Means Safety. In the Dining Car are those “famously good” Northern Pacific meals, served with deft courtesy and skill at low prices. Daily from Seattle to Chicago IN 70 HOURS. No change of cars. F»r rates and literature write R. J. TOZER GENERAL AGENT 609 Robert Dollar Bldg. Shanghai, China. Northern Pacific Railway “2000 MILES OF STARTLING BEAUTY” IN RESPONDING TO ADVERTISEMENTS PLEASE MENTION THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OE COMMERCE JOURNAL May, 1926 IN RESPONDING TO ADVERTISEMENTS PLEASE MENTION THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL We cAmerican Chamber of Commerce Journal PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS (Member, Chamber of Commerce of the United States.) ENTERED AS SECOND CLASS MATTER MAY 25. 1921, AT THE POST OFFICE AT MANILA. P. I. LOCAL SUBSCRIPTION—P4.00 PER YEAR. FOREIGN SUBSCRIPTION 93.00, U. S. CURRENCY, PER YEAR. SINGLB COPIES—35 CENTAVOS WALTER ROBB, Editor W. B. ALLEN, Advertising Manager BOARD OF DIRECTORS H. L. Heath. President C. M. Cotterman, Vice President J. W. Haussermann, Second Vice President (56 Broadway, N. Y.) B. A. Green. Treasurer II. M. Cavender P. A. Meyer E E. Selph, General Counsel S. F. Caches (absent) Robert E. Murphy George II. Fairchild, John R. Wilson, Secretary ALTERNATE DIRECTORS: Fred A. Leas John L. Headington W. L. Marshall John T. Pickett A. Schipull, Assistant Secretary EXECUTIVE: H. I.. Heath, Chairman C. M. Cotterman S. F. Gaches RELIEF: W. J. Odom. Chairman Carl Hees John Gordon MANUFACTURING: John Pickett, Chairman R. A. McGrath Fred A. Leas LEGISLATIVE: C. M. Cotterman, Chairman Frank B. Ingersoll COMMITTEES FINANCE AND AUDIT: B. A. Green, Chairman C. M. Cotterman George H. Fairchild FOREIGN TRADE: M. M. Saleeby, Chairman J. P. Heilbronn H. M. Cavender PUBLICATIONS: H. L. Heath, Chairman Walter Robb BANKING .AND CURRENCY: Stanley Williams, Chairman H. B. Pond RECEPTION AND ENTERTAINMENT: Charles N. Edwards, Chairman H. M. Cavender HOUSE: John L. Headington, Chairman Frank Butler LIBRARY: John Gordon. Chairman SHIPPING: H. M. Cavender. Chairman L. L. Spellman CHAMBER INVESTMENTS: C. M. Cotterman, Chairman B. A. Green CONTENTS FOR MAY, 1926 VOLUME 6 NUMBER 5 Page Checks, Balances and Possible Balderdash....................... 5 Flying Into the Orient Sunlight ...................................... 0 Ceylon Desiccated Coconut ................................................ '» Americans Modernizing Islands’ Sugar Industry.............. 7 Friar Lands: In Politics—Hence the Soup..................... 8 Bread-Eating Filipinos Off for Davis Matches............... 9 Editorials (By Walter Robb): Two-Fifths of Cotton Trade Gets Away................... 10 About Liberia ........... 10 Step Up, Please: Get Your Concessions! ................. 10 Paying Bunga Mas ...................................................... 10 Angat Irrigation Dam Brings Water to 62,500 Acres of Luzon Rice Lands ........................................................... 11 1000 New Cars Imported: A Trip to Atimonan............. 12 Resources of Liberia ........................................................... 14 Philippine-American Trade Mutually Profitable............. 15 Review of April Business: Hemp (By L. L. Spellman) ........................................ 16 Sugar (By George H. Fairchild) ........... 17 Copra and Its Products (By R. K. Zercher)............ 18 Page Tcbacco and Cigars (By P. A. Meyer) ................... 18 Lumber (By Francisco Tamesis) ............. ■■........... 19 Exchange (By Stanley Williams) ............................. 19 United States Overseas March Trade (By 0. M. Butler) ....................................................................... 20 Shipping (By H. M. Cavender) ............................... 21 Long Unpaid Irrigation Bond Levies .............................. 22 Taxation of Farm and Foreshore Leased Lands (By John R. Wilson) ....................................................................... 26 Change of Secretaries ....................................................... 26 Notes ................................................................ 28 Combined Bank Statement (By Ben. F. Wright).............. 29 Statistical Review of Commerce (By A. Schipull): Imports and Exports from and to Atlantic and Pacific Ports by Nationality of Carrying Vessels. 30 Principal Exports ....................................................... 31 Principal Imports ........................................................ 31 Port Statistics ............................................................. 31 Carrying Trade ........................................................... 31 Foreign Trade by Countries ...................................... 31 The American Chamber of Commerce is ready and villlng at all times to furnish detailed information to any American Manufacturer, Importer, Bzporter or other Americans who are interested in Philippine matters. Address all communications and requests for such information to the Secretary of the Chamber. No. 14 Calle Finpln, Manila, P. L The American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines Is a member of the UNITED STATES CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, and ie the largest and most adequately financed American Chamber of Commerce outside the continental boundaries of the United States. The organization has Twelve Hundred mem bers, all Americans, scattered over the Philippine Archipelago from Tawl Tawi to the Batanes. The organization of branches in all the American communities of tty Asiatic Coast is being stimulated. The AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS should not be confused with other organizations bearing similar names such as the Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce, the Philippine-American Chamber of Commerce and the Manila THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL May, 1926 WESTERN FOR SALE Second Hand Machinery One Alternator, 250 KW; 2200 volts; 60 cycle, 3 phase, direct con nected to cross compound Hamil ton-Corliss Engine 12-24 x 36; with generator panel and rheostat. Two 100 KW Alternators; 2200 volts; 60 cycle, 3 phase; belted, 18" pulley; direct connected exciters; with generator panels. Two Venn-Severin Crude Oil Eng ines, 60 HP each One Worthington surface conden ser, 400 HP. One Scotch Marine Boiler, 400 HP. 50-100 ko. Ice cans; new. (Knock ed down) 4 Galvanized steel brine tanks; 2500 ko. capacity each; ammonia fittings. Steam pipe and fittings up to 10”. Tube bender for sterling boiler tubes. Tube cleaner, Lagonda, water driven, for 4” tubes; with extra parts, new1. Steam and Oil separator. Steam Traps. Marine Engines: (1 Union, 50 HP., distilate) (1 Quayle, 25-35 HP, crude oil) . Meters, Electric, 100 to 110 volts, 5 to 50 amp. Transformers, 5 to 20 KW, 2200 to 110, 220 and 440 v. For Prices etc. Apply BRYAN, LANDON CO. Cebu or Iloilo AMMUNITION Hunters that use WESTERN CARTRIDGES bring back the game. All Big Game Hunters use WESTERN CARTRIDGES. SQUIRES BINGHAM COMPANY Sportsmen’s Headquarters Where all the good fellows meet 15 Plaza Goiti MANILA Phone 300 Half a Car-Load on two I] ale Blocks! Yale Chain Blocks were selected to unload and place these enor mous concrete slabs for the foundation of a California viaduct. The slabs were brought to the job on heavy railroad flat cars— two slabs to the car. Two Yale 5-ton Spur-Geared Chain Blocks, suspended from Yale I-Beam Trolleys on an overhead traveler, easily raised the slabs, transported and placed them in position. Speed and safety were the essentials—and speed and safety were secured in Yale. Wherever the unexpected overload must be handled by a chain block, there you will find Yale supreme. And the Yalechrome-vanadium Ball Bearing Load Sheave makes the Yale Spur-Geared Block the most efficient on the market. Yale as the pioneer manufacturer, has been the originator of every notable improvement in chain block construction for the past 50 years. The Yale & Towne Manufacturing Co. Stamford, Conn , U. S. A. l]ale Marked Is l]ale Made Hoistin^^< Conveying Systems The Edward J. Nell Co., Ltd. Manila Sole Aqents in the Philippines /.V RESPONDING TO ADVERTISEMENTS PLEASE MENT1 ON THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OK COMMERCE JOURNAL MAY, 1926 Checks, Balances and Possible Balderdash j Our Learned Justices At Stern Legal Grips The Journal has decided to include within its purview brief comment on the courts of the Philippines, and to inaugurate a department for which it hopes soon to an nounce a regular editor and contributor. Meanwhile it has in hand a brief that is given timely interest by several recent deci sions of the supreme court majority that provoked stern dissents from the minority, and by the remark accredited to Justice Charles A. Johns at the judges’ convention in Baguio, which was to the effect that nothing exists in law respecting the Phil ippines that may rightfully be construed as a constitution. In contrast to this, the public will of course recall the views of another erudite justice of the same court that find their way into many vital deci sions and are embodied in his textbook for Philippine law students, “Philippine Con stitutional Law.” The author-justice to whom reference is made is Hon. George A. Malcolm, who went to the supreme bench from the deanship of the college of law of the University. The public surely can be no longer un aware of the sharp difference of funda mental opinion between various of the jus tices on the question of Philippine constitu tional law; for this appears in an increas ing number of divided decisions of the court and is the spool about which the majority and minority opinions are wound—in con trary directions. The brief in hand reviews the period of American administration of the Philippines from the occupation of Manila in 1898 and recalls the fact that the first military com manders combined in their official persons the three functions of government, execu tive, legislative and judicial. Even when it reaches the Jones Law of 1916, which it defines in effect as a mere congressional act for the general administration of the territory, it does not find the three func tions entirely separated: the governor gen eral appoints by provision of this act two senators and nine representatives, without the advice or consent of the one house or the other, and these officials hold their ot7 fices and participate in legislative functions at the pleasure of the chief executive. It might conceivably come about that in a senate of 24 members, two who were ex ecutive appointees would be in the position of control, and in a house of ninety mem bers nine executive appointees might be come the controlling bloc. Here the writer of the brief smiles at the numerous and important rulings of the court founded upon the theory of checks and balances and formal constitutional pro cedure. He finds for example no check upon the court itself. The members are not appointed by the governor general, nor by and with the consent of the legis lature; they are appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Federal Senate. They cannot be impeached, but their tenure of office is at the pleasure of the President; they are not Federal officials and therefore the check of impeachment does not apply to them. Similarly, though the President may be impeached and Andrew Johnson only es caped that fate by the vote of one Ross, from Kansas, the governor general of the Philippines cannot be impeached and the constitutional check does not apply to him. The court itself however did recognize a grave check upon its powers in the some what notorious Alejandrino case. Senator Alejandrino, appointed by the governor general, was by resolution of the senate estopped (by suspension from office) from performing his public duties for a whole year, and likewise from drawing his salary. The author of the brief under review says: . “The senate are told by the court in ef fect, that they have done very wrong. Then the decision textually says, ‘The supreme court, out of respect for the upper house of a coordinate branch of the govern ment, takes no affirmative action.’ The decision then winds up with the declaration that ‘the court accordingly lacks jurisdic tion to consider the petition (of Alejan drino) and the demurrer must be sustain ed.’ ... (But) if a man has a right he can be protected in it. If a public functionary has a duty to perform he can be protected in the performance of it. The only dif ficulty in the case is to determine what punishment might be imposed on a member for disorderly behavior. It seems that there can be no question that a member of the senate cannot be prevented from the performance of his duties as a punishment. “The dissenting opinion by Johnson is quite as inconsistent as the opinion of the court. It deals in constitutional law as does the ruling opinion. There is no more need of checks and balances in an or ganic act for a territory than there is in the government for a chartered city. An, organic act is a statute of the United’ States and ‘a breath can make them as a breath hath made’.” This brings to mind another fact tending to cause the layman to doubt the coordinate and coequal status of the three natural branches of the government: Congress might repeal the whole organic act tomor row, create a new government or provide none at all, or it might suppress the court, leaving the executive and the legislature, or might combine the three functions in a single entity, as it was in the beginning and could be now and everlasting, or it might re-establish the commission govern ment wherein the executive was the chief law maker. In a whole series of decisions, the Journal correspondent observes their effect, that of weakening executive control. He begins with the Borromeo case, wherein the deci sion prevented transfer of a judge from bne district to another (although all the IN RESPONDING TO ADVERTISEMENTS PLEASE MENTION THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OE COMMERCE JOURNAL May, 1926 time the legislature together with the gov ernor general, or over his veto, could have created the entire archipelago into a single district) and he winds up with the Alejan drino case—now followed by a series of ac tions against the insular auditor, another Presidential appointee, in which the court has taken jurisdiction and a group of the justices have vigorously dissented from the majority. The United States supreme court has granted an appeal in one of these cases upon writ of certiorari, thus disclosing another quarter in which curio sity has at least been awakened as to the direction in which Philippine jurisprudence is tending. The Journal correspondent would have liked to have had Senator Alejandrino dis regard the senate resolution suspending him from an office to which under organic law the governor general had appointed him—a resolution that was not law. He Flying Into The Orient Sunlight i «« «« «« ** «« Making Manila From Madrid By Air I On April 5 Captain Rafael Martinez Este vez, Captain Joaquin Loriga and Captain Eduardo Gonzalez Gallarza of the Spanish military aviation ser vice began the MadridManila flight in planes named for the first cir cumnavigators, and the first royal governor of the Philippines and the founder of Manila; and what man could do to make such an undertaking successful was done, in that the most favorable inter national arrangements were effected by the diplomatic services of the various gov ernments concerned. It has however sub sequently been stipulated that the fliers avoid landing on Formosa in reaching the Philippines unless forced down, so that the longest jump, that across the China Sea from Macao t/> Aparri, approximately 900 miles, remain? ahead of the men who have reached Macao, Captains Gallarza and Lo riga—with lx>riga’s plane, the Legaspi, damaged by the forced landing he was compelled to make between Hannoi and Macao, and Gallarza’s, the Magallanes (Magellan), damaged slightly in landing at Macao itself. The planes are land planes, having no pontoons for .maneuvering on the water. To avoid fatality all must be in first rate condition before taking off at Macao for Aparri. British and Portuguese are co operating to this end. The pioneer flight does not fail of arousing the keenest inter national interest and appreciation of the risks the fliers undergo. All went well until April 12, when in flying from Benderabas to Karachi, 600 miles, Captain Estevez in the El Cano was forced to land in the Syrian desert, British aviators thereupon undertaking a search lasting five days, or until April 17, the day Captains Gallarza and Loriga reached Agra. Both aviator and mechanician were beset with hunger and thirst, and their would have liked to have seen the senator go on until he encountered some tangible obstruction, and to have applied for his salary and obtained a refusal to pay; and then he would have stood very firmly upon law that never saw the United States, but that is good law here just the same, since it has been several times successfully in voked; namely, the clause in the old Laws of the Indies preventing interference with “the authority and its agents.” By the same token, the insular auditor as the agent .of American sovereignty in this territory might contrive by aid of higher decision to retain for his office its wonted immunities from interference. The other horn of the dilemma is that the local territorial court may be sustained in Washington, and especially in a case which, even the dissenting justices seem to feel, is weak in the matter of equity. How ever it goes, the turning point seems near. feet were blistered by the trek over the desert, where for two days a severe sand storm was blowing. During this period a detachment of land forces aided the British air searchers; Hamed, famous desert track er, led them through the blinding storm. After convalescence in hospital at Amman, Estevez returned to Madrid and Gallarza and Loriga continued on from Agra to Macao, making safely the various interme diate stops, each flight being from 300 to 65U miles. A Phiippine delega tion including news paper men journeyed to Macao to extend greetings to the fliers and cover the story. The fliers express their appreciation of cour tesy and encourage ment. A larger delegation gathered in Aparri, to loriga greet the fliers when they first touch Philip pine soil. There are many Spaniards liv ing in the Cagayan valley, in Cagayan and Isabela provinces, so that they alone com prise a sizable delegation. Many motored from Manila, over the new insular inter provincial highway tapping the valley by land and making Aparri within 30 hours’ travel from the capital. At time of going to press, May 7, Ga llarza and Loriga were still in Macao, but expecting to take off not later than Sun day, May 9, for their flight to Aparri, both perhaps in Gallarza’s plane. The American Army aviation division in the islands stands by with welcome, and assistance if necessary. Expense has not been stinted to make this so. Two groups of skillful fliers have already made the round trip to Aparri, and have returned to Manila to await word of the Spaniards’ departure from Macao, after which there will be time to fly to Aparri from Manila and reach there in time to effect all ar rangements for the Spaniarls’ safe land ing. Those who made the first flight are Lieutenants Paul L. Williams, Stanley M. Umstead and Harry H. Mills—Williams and Umstead from Corregidor and Mills from Stotsenburg. Lieutenants Devereux M Myers, Julian B. Haddon and Hilvert M. Wittekop made the second flight. The cat tle industry interfered, to its disaster: Wittekop in landing struck a cow and calf, killing both and damaging his plane with no injury to himself. The planes were a strange sight in the valley, where few periodicals penetrate. The people knew nothing of the occasion for the visit of the planes, but their imaginations supplied many reasons. No less wonder was created in the Visayas 400 years ago, upon the arrival of Magellan’s fleet. When the fliers arrive in Manila the entertainment will of course be lavish. The flight from Aparri to Manila will be under the honorary escort of American mili tary planes. There will be international functions as well as all those arranged by the Spanish community. America will do the official and cordial thing. The flight from Madrid to Manila is almost directly eastward, constantly into the light of the orient sun. Magellan’s voyage, which the flight recalls, was, on the contrary, toward the setting sun: he sought and found the western route to the orient. Ocean travel has, since Magellan’s time, become the safest and most comfortable mode of travel known; and trans-continen tal aviation today encounters hardships similar to those besetting the voyage of the mariner in the 16th century. Estevez, wandered five days in the Syrian desert, Magellan’s fleet wandered 121 days on the Pacific before making the first landfall, at the Marianas. CEYLON DESICCATED COCONUT With rupee exchange ranging between sh. 1/6 and 1/4, equal approximately to 37 cents gold, desiccated coconut in Ceylon during January and February cost about seven cents gold per pound delivered at the wharf or buyer’s stores: quotations for the period as reported by the chamber of commerce were 18-1/2 to 19 rupee cents per pound for the usual Ceylon assortment of 50% fine and 50% medium. During the same period Philippine coconuts cost around P52 per 1000 delivered to the factory, ex clusive of buying overhead. This means that the raw material cost here some 20% more than the finished Ceylon product ready for export at the wharf in Colombo. The Ceylon freight rate to Boston and New York during the same period was 50 shil lings per ton of 50 cubic feet. This was the nominal rate. It is said, however, that by negotiating for a rate this could be shaded by probably 25 per cent. The rate from Manila is, and was during the period reviewed, $11 per ton of 40 cubic feet- The export duty at Ceylon remained unchanged at 84 rupee cents per cwt. of 112 pounds, equal to about 55-1/2 centavos per 100 pounds. Ceylon’s production remained on a par with that prevailing during the past three years. The exportation to the United States had declined considerably, but that to Europe had correspondingly increased. MUy, 1926 THE AMERICAl^ibAMHER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL Americans Modernizing Islands’ ^ugaK Industry Hawaiian Money and Experts Bring Yields Up In gross value, sugar, at normal prices is the leading raw export of the Philip pines- The annual production of centrifu gal sugar runs about 420,000 tons; it is sold in the United States and fills the American sugar-bowl for nearly two months. Twen ty-nine Centrals, or centrifugal sugarmills, are engaged in its manufacture, 17 on the island of Negros, nine on Luzon, two on Panay and one on Mindoro, or 19 in the Visayan region and ten in the Tagalo-Pampangan region. It was in the Visayan is.lands that the first modern development oi the sugar industry occurred, and there the industry has generally kept ahead of what it is elsewhere in the archipelago, notwith standing the fact that the banks are all in Manila, with only branches in the Visayas. Generally speaking it may be said that the industry is most advanced in communi ties were there is an influential Caucasian element among the planters—numerous Spanish and halfcaste planters, since the culture of cane and the manufacture of sugar is a very old farm industry among the Spaniards and Spanish colonials. The latest progress and the most remarkable advance in every branch of the industry are due to the abilities of a handful of Americans from Hawaii. Not at all numer ous, they are highly skilled in particular lines. They have entered every branch of the industry during the last decade, with the result that unit costs have lowered, unit production has enormously increased, trans portation has been better coordinated and effective cooperation between financier, miller and planter has been established through the creation of the Philippine Sugar Association. The standards of Ha waii are made the goal, which means of course that both Hawaii and California are heavily interested financially in the Philip pine Sugar industry. The season 1924-25 having been unusually favorable, the rains holding on until very late in the grinding season, the Philippines marketed almost a half million tons of centrifugal sugar in the United States—an achievement surpas sing the most sanguine expectation five years ago, when 200,000 tons was a big crop for all grades. It may be noted that only one centrifugal sugarmill in the Philippines is of the Cu ban type; the others are nearly all of the Hawaiian type; Honolulu has a big com merce with the Philippines in sugarmills and sugarmill appliances and machinery. The Hawaiian Americans who have come to the Philippines to engage in the sugar industry find that as yet the average pro duction of sugar per hectare or acre runs approximately 40 per cent below that of Hawaii, and ratooning is not so successful as in Hawaii. The explanation seems to be that field methods in Hawaii are more scientific: since the application of some of these methods in the Philippines, produc tion per hectare has risen steadily, and much remains still to be done in irrigation and flood control, seed selection and cultiva tion. Artificial fertilization of the soil is well advanced, so that artificial fertilizers figure among principal imports of the Phil ippines. Sixty-five piculs of sugar per hectare is quite above the average and is adjudged a satisfactory crop. Within a short time this will not be true, since the soil and climate lend themselves to science for much greater production. The soil varies. In Negros it is generally volcanic loam, and somewhat heavy. In Pampanga and Batangas, Luzon sugar regions, it is generally sandy. Fer tilization and liming will supply what is lacking or neutralize what is too abundant: the Philippines are everywhere well adapted to the growing of sugar cane where there Primitive Mill of Molave (hanlwood) Rollers—Still Used In Remote Regions is to be found a year of distinct rainy and dry seasons.- They therefore have, in Min danao and the Visayas, enough good land to supply America with every pound of sugar she must import. Being American territory, their sugar goes free of duty into the American mar ket, an advantage of more than $3.00 per picul over full-duty sugars and more than $2.00 per picul over Cubans. It is evident that withdrawal of American sovereignty from the Philippines would precipitate bad times in the islands’ sugar industry and cause tremendous losses. It is the Ameri can market that has made the centrifugal sugarmill possible; before the American period, the Philippines made only open kettle niuscorado sugars which they sold at low prices to China and Japan. While a good deal of this sugar is still produced by individual planters, the tendency is toward centrifugal milling. The first modern impulse affecting the Philippine sugar industry was the opening of the Suez Canal. This gave the Philip pines access to Europe, and Europe access to the Philippines. Nicholas Loney, an American in British employ, induced Ne gros planters to install what at that time was the most modern sugarmill equipment. He agreed that the planters might pay for tho machinery with the additional sugar they obtained from its utilization, over coming in this way Spanish conservatism. The advantage was immediately evident: Loney soon had more customers than he could supply, and when the revolution came in 1896 sugar was only second to abaca, Manila hemp, as a principal export of the islands. The current value of the crop approaches $40,000,000, excluding domestic consumption. The largest centrifugal mills produce 50,000 tons of sugar per season, the season opening about November 1 and continuing six months or more, depending upon the lateness of the rains. The smallest mills produce from 1,200 to 5,000 tons; more commonly the capacity is from 20,000 to 25,000 tons, metric measurement through out, the short town being the export unit only. . At the ruling market, workmen get 40 cents a day in the sugar fields—plowing, cultivating, cutting, loading, etc. Skilled labor is paid proportionately more accord ing to the gradation of skill required in the various activities of this very technical industry. As schools are everywhere, and sugar technology is a principal course at the College of Agriculture, Filipinos are to be found in all capacities, even in mill management and administration. Six Cen trals were built by Filipino planters’ as sociations with loans from the Philippine National Bank, depleting the gold reserve six years ago and leading, with similar operations, to the temporary bankruptcy of the government—until more bonds could be sold in the United States. There was an interim when the law land to be disregarded by the government and the free sale of exchange at the insular treasury (for main taining the gold parity of the peso with the dollar) temporarily suspended. But the planters got their Centrals. Since then these mills have been enlarged and the debt to the bank has increased. Negotiations are in progress for readjust THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL May, 1926 ment of the accounts and for bonding the properties if possible, for the earlier reim bursement of the bank and the public treas ury. This might easily be affected were it not for the uncertainty as to the future political relation of the islands to the United Staes—a matter upon which prosperity in the sugar industry so largely depends. Other Centrals were built by Hawaiian capital, others by San Francisco capital, while perhaps the wealthiest company of all is Spanish. Barcelona capital is quite heavily interested in the sugar industry of the Philippines. Recently Dutch capital from Java has been introduced, and this seems to be the small beginning of a liberal stream of money and expert experience from the Dutch East Indies. Sugar cane matures in 12 months in the Philippines, against 18 months in Hawaii. When plow ing commences, planters receive advances from the Centrals on the basis of an agreed sum per picul for the estimated crop. This sum, doled out from time to time during the season, reaches 3 to 3.50 pesos, which is the field production cost. The cane is loaded on railway cars at the planters’ ex pense, from which point the Centrals as sume the expense. The planters receive half of the sugar, the other half going to the Centrals for the job of milling. Some contracts provide 60 per cent of the crop for the planters, some fifty-five, but the usual one only fifty. The milling industry is profitable to the investors and a boon to the planters, who have much higher returns from their fields. They have interested with them in the in dustry, quite sizable aggrupations of capital anxious to help them through hard times and share the profits of good times. The best sugar lands have never been opened up. They are vast tracts of public domain in southern Mindanao and in southern Ne gros. Centrifugal sugar is handled in jute bags, an important import from India, though jute grows wild everywhere in the Philip pines and a jute industry will one day be developed. Muscovado sugars are handled either in clay jars or native .fiber bags. Chinese merchants finance their milling and marketing. It is a pleasant hours’ ride from Manila to the Central on the Calamba Sugar Estate at Canlubang, Laguna. Turning toward this estate at Calamba, from the main road, one sees sugar fields on every hand, on the rolling slopes of the volcanic foothill coun try. Some fields are being plowed, others have cane half-grown, others are being planted, others are lying fallow, while in others the young sprouts of ratoons are springing up. The grounds of the Central are finely laid out and parked; the Central itself is a very busy place night and day throughout the grinding season, trainloads of cane being fed into the great crushers, the juice making the rounds through cen trifugals, boiling plant and all, the fiber refuse feeding into the boiler fires or piling up beside the mill for the off season fuel supply; and, as regularly as the ticking of a clock, sacks of high-grade centrifugal sugar ccming from the chutes, moving across the scales and the sewing platform, and then on, either to train or warehouse, on endless chains. In such a mill there is hard work, but good pay. Ahead of him, every man sees a career. The contrast with the old days is sharp Several British firms are interested in the Philippine sugar industry, though only one, the Malabon Sugar Company, in milling. The others are variously engaged in mak ing crop loans and in handling the product. Warner, Barnes & Co., successors of an old American firm, are prominent in this business and have records of the sugar in dustry covering a century. The Malabon Sugar Company operates the only sugar re finery in the Islands, selling part of the product locally and exporting a part. The product is first class, being converted and refined muscovado sugar. The large quan tity of molasses, always an important by Friar Lands: In Politics—Hence the Soup d^A*A*A*ai*Jl*Jl*A*A*j!*Ji*Ji*A*J!*Jl*d!*A* 1*600 Yearly For Foreclosure Proceedings When the American regime began in the Philippines and the sovereignty of the people of the United States was established over the archipelago by the Treaty of Paris, some ten per cent of the cultivated lands of the islands was embraced in estates in the various provinces known as the friar estates because they were the properties either in fee simple or trust of the friar orders who had evangelized the islands and christianized the people, saving the pagans of the remote regions and the Moros of Palawan, Sulu and Mindanao. Dr. Dean C. Worcester limits the correct use of the word Pilipino to this christian ized element, but this element, the peasan try of which clothed the friar estates, in the later years of the Spanish regime grew more and more dissatisfied with the ad ministration of the estates and their dis satisfaction may be cited as the principal cause of the final rebellion against Spain. This by way of introduction. The American peace commissioners be came convinced that these lands would have to be purchased and sold to the occupants, the native tenants.’ To do so was author ized in the Civil Government Act of July 1, 1902. Taft went to Rome and laid the basis for the purchase, which as civil gov ernor he effected in Manila. The first bonds of the Philippine government were sold for this purpose, and this bond trans action too was authorized by the Civil Gov ernment Act. The following statement ap pears in the Philippine Commission’s re port for 1907: Friar-Lands Fund Sale of Bonds ............... P14,000,000.00 Premium on bonds ... . 1,060,780.00 Rents in 1906 ............... 98,661.30 Rents in 1907 ............... 226,781.25 Int. on Deposits ......... 26,100.36 By suspense, differences in prior fiscal years.. 147,351.16 Total .......................P15.559,677.07 Purchases, surveys, etc., 1905 .............................1’ 6,839,776.50 Same for 1906 ............ 7,055,230.68 Same for 1907 ............ 8.250.03 Int., 1906 ....................... 138.090.00 Same for 1907 ............ 806,428.33 Balance to 1908 ............ 711,991.53 Total .......................P15,559,677.07 It will be noted that at that time the credit of the government in the American money market was good. The bonds are non-taxable and bear four per cent interest annually. They sold at a substantial pre mium and will mature in 1935. The sum the government paid for the friar estates was $7,239,000. Taft gives the interest charge upon the government annually in round figures, $290,000. He also lists the lands: Dominican estates, 60,461.74 hec tares; Augustinian estates, 68,770.26 hec tares; Recoletos estates, 41,685.56 hectares; total, 170,917.56 hectares. But adjust ments occurred. The estates had generally been transferred to third parties. The government finally acquired 379,829.765 acres for its $7,239,000. The friar orders product of the sugar-making industry, in the Philippines is utilized almost entirely for the making of alcohol, a large portion of which is denatured and used as fuel for tractors on the plantations. The remainder is the basis of beverages for the native trade. received half of the money, the other half went to Rome to be expended in the Phil ippines for the improvement of the church. Properties of the Jesuits and of the Franciscan friars were not purchased. Mandaloyan, San Francisco del Monte and Muntinlupa were also excluded from the sale. San Pedro de Tunasan remains a Jesuit property; at San Rafael, Bulacan, is the estate held in trust for the San Juan de Dios hospital. Before the expulsion of the Jesuits in 1768, their properties had been very ex tensive; they were however seized by the crown and distributed among the friar or ders, the grosser details of the incident making by no means a pretty story. Among the Jesuit properties of old times might be mentioned Cuartel de Espana, Santa Cruz church and convent, Luneta police station; and if even these were restored their value is a fortune. The growth of the friar estates through three centuries was natural; and no less natural was the belief of the people that fabulous earnings went to the friars from the estates. Rentals seem to have been very low, and many of the estates were well improved, with extensive and per manent irrigation systems installed. Per haps instead of a violent revolution the Philippines really required a law such as England enjoys, making private trusts sub ject to official scrutiny by the courts, which might not be amiss even now. One means by which the estates accumulated was by outright purchase. During the long period of the galleon trade the Spanish commun ity was degraded by participation in it. The practice seems to have been the proto type of the modern dole legislation, such as is now so feared in England as possibly undermining her social structure. The crown had rewarded with land grants its faithful servants in the islands. First generations constructed and improved, sec ond ones enjoyed, perhaps preserved, and third ones, as everywhere else, squandered and neglected their patrimony. This fatal tendency of human nature was made more acute by the share every Spaniard had in the galleon trade; provincial families would leave their estates and remove to Manila to traffic with their boletus; and when they did, they sold their lands for what they would bring, the one possible purchaser usually being the friar who was the parish priest—who would have the funds from his order. Similarly lands were bequeathed to the friars, or given them in trust so that the usufruct might be devoted to some per manent charity such as San Lazaro and San Juan de Dios hospitals. As late as 1864, it is almost startling to recall, Spain had but 1000 soldiers in the Philippines and there were 200 towns where no other Caucasian lived but the friar who was the parish priest as well as the dependable agent of the government. Taft found most of these men devoted to their , work; the world advanced, but they remained with May, 1926 THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL Thomas Aquinas, Pope Clemente, and King Henry VIII at the time that hearty mon arch was battling for Rome and hurling Philippics against the apostate Martin Luther! It may be'conceded that being zealots and mere men, some of the friars were not disappointed when the wills of their parishioners turned over to them pro perties that from another and more prac tical viewpoint had best been left to their heirs. At any rate, in one way and another the estates came to be, and then came to be the primary cause of the revolution, and at last came to be the property of the gov ernment Congress established ovei* the Philippines until sold off to the people. In 23 years the government has sold off 10.5 per cent of the friar lands and issued private titles to the purchasers. It has also sold 75.9 per cent of the lands, upon which all of the installments have not been (paid. It reports 10.1 per cent of the lands still vacant, and 3.5 per . cent reserved for the bureau of agriculture and bureau of forestry. The task of selling off the lands is difficult because of politics; in a large country it would not be much of a problem, but in a small one it is; the aggregate vote of the purchasers, their tenants and others whom they may influence is a barrier to firm procedure. The income of the govern ment from the estates last year was P957,217.12, or $478,308.56, which is considerable and well above the annual interest on the bonds. Although the government will have friar lands on its hands long after th? bends mature, the hope expressed by Taft that the lands would liquidate the bonds may be realized. When a purchaser becomes delinquent, the bureau of lands, under the law, should institute foreclosure and sell him out; but it only has $300 a year for the expense of this, and the number of delinquent pur chasers is increasing with practical im punity. Where irrigated lands are sold, until they are fully paid for and title pas sed the government maintains the irriga tion systems, an incidental expense that passes to the purchaser with his title, so that he is naturally in no particular hurry to receive the title. His reluctance may be increased by the fact that the purchase price" is low and taxes upon titled lands are rising. His installments may be easy to meet, but the incentive is not great to meet them. The protection of a politician does better. To make the non-irrigated lands more salable, several irrigation systems have been installed. The expense is for the ac count of the purchaser and makes his pay ments much higher than those of his neigh bors fortunate enough to have bought lands the friars had provided with water. Such a system has been installed at Naic at a cost of $125,000 in round numbers. The payment is* now a matter of dispute be tween the bureau of lands and bureau of public works. The first says “Look to the purchasers.” The second replies, “You pay us, and look to the purchasers your selves.” It is at Naic that General Emilio Aguinaldo has an estate of some 1,000 hectares carved out of the friar lands. To improve it, he borrowed P18,000 from the San La zaro Estate real estate loan fund. He has, it seems, paid nothing on account of prin cipal or interest on either account, so that his indebtedness to the government runs in the neighborhood of $100,000. His case may not be typical; the attitude of Malacanang seems to have been in the past what it is now,—and not different under Harri son than under Forbes or Wood,—to let the account run on and the accumulating interest along with it. The situation is practically parallel in respect to lands held by Senator Antero Soriano, taken from the same estate. Se nator Soriano is a political opponent of General Aguinaldo, and it seems that he too has paid nothing or nearly nothing on his friar lands account with the govern ment. The bureau of lands has a revolving real estate loan fund from the friar lands bonds that in the beginning was P100,000 and is now about P300.000. With this fund it helps the purchasers equip their lands with tools and animals. The fund seems to be working very well. The bureau also builds roads to make the unsold lands more acces sible and desirable; it had P102,000 for this work last year. The San Lazaro estate fund is another, the origin of which is interesting. Early in the 17th century the owner of that estate—then a plantation, with forest lands from which timbers for many churches and other edifices still standing in Manila were cut, but now almost in the heart of the city, extending from Azcarraga to Cementerio del Norte—contracted leprosy and died of it. He gave the estate in trust to the Jesuits, to use the usufruct for the care of lepers: and when the Jesuits were ex pelled this trust went to the Franciscans. Of course the government and Church were mutually involved, being one. Under Amer ica the plan had to be abandoned. The Bread-Eating Filipinos Off for Davis Matches it* ** ** ** ** ** ** Loaf Supplements Rice Pot in Race Building Twenty-five years ago, Filipinos were unknown in the athletic world. To day they are known as several-times Far Eastern Olympic champions; not a few individual ath letes have made creditable records; the Aragon bro thers go to America r. aragon to the Davis Cup tennis matches, not expecting of course to win the meet but fully expecting to best a number of the teams and make a name for the Philippines in the tennis world. Twenty-five years ago Filipinos ate boiled rice, and hardly any bread. Today Fili pinos eat wheat bread; the middle class that is developing here, eats wheat bread regularly; wheat bread is now a part of its daily diet, as necessary as rice itself. The question arises, then, are 300,000 acres of American wheatlands, from which the crop is sold annually in the Philip pines in the form of flour, contributing to the physical evolution of the Filipino people? That this process is going on, is everywhere evident. Children are hardiefr, their simple breakfast perhaps a cup of chocolate and a bun; and it may be surmised in the absence of scientific data, Mr. and Mrs. S. F. Gaches left Manila Sunday, May 9, for a trip to the United States and Europe, during which it is hoped Mrs. Gaches’ health will improve. Mr. Ga ches is the proprietor of big business in terests in the Philippines, and the presid ent and manager of large mercantile cor porations mainly interested in the import government itself wished to care for the lepers. By compromise it got half of the estate and the Church the other, the por tion beyond the hospital. The Church is to follow the terms of the will and devote the proceeds of the land to leper work. So is the government, but it really uses much more. The government’s share of the estate has been sold and very largely paid for, in contrast to the rural estates, and the money derived from the sales is loaned upon real estate in Manila. The value of the government’s share is P3,649,636, from which must be deducted P954.187 for areas for streets and alleys, Bilibid and San La zaro hospital. Sixteen lots are leased, their value being P35.330. From sales completed the government has Pl,148,963, with P889,786 to come from sales upon which pay ments have not been completed. Payments are accelerated by the rising value of Ma nila property. In the provinces they may be retarded by exactly opposite causes, the same that have brought public-credit bonds to discount. At the close of last year the San Lazaro loan fund stood at Pl,629,504, with 11,400 applications for loans pending action. As the time approaches for the maturity of the friar lands bonds, sale of the re maining lands becomes more difficult. They are not the most desirable, and the install ments must be large enough to liquidate the account in 1933, two years before prior to the maturity of the bonds. Such is the story up to date. that adults average higher in stature and heavier in weight; they enjoy better muscular (force and ".n alert ness characterizes their movements that seems almost foreign to the tro pics and a so-called rice country. The conjecture that the eating of <>• aragon wheat has something to do with the physi cal improvement of the race seems at least an hypothesis that may be main tained until disproved. That Filipinos are eating per capita more wheat, and more rice too, than they ever did before, is a fact proved by the merest glance at the records. During the first quarter of this year importations of wheat flour were lower than they may be expected to average for the year, yet 36 million pounds were brought in, and 29 millions of these pounds were from the United States, being 81 per cent of all wheat flour imports for the quarter. On this basis, the islands will take the crop from 200,000 acres of American wheatlands this year, but the actual year’s consumption is likely to be higher than this by 50 per cent. trade. His plantation interests are in Da vao, where he grows hemp and coconuts. He is now developing a country place at Alabang, a half hour’s ride from Manila, being one of a few men realizing the na tural advantages1 of the environs of Manila for country estates. He is a Director of the Chamber of Commerce. 10 THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL May, 1926 EDITORIAL OFFICES American Chamber of Commerce 14 CALLE PINPIN P. O. Box 1638 Telephone 1156 TWO-FIFTHS OF COTTON TRADE GETS AWAY Unbleached, bleached, dyed and printed cotton textiles are leading cotton imports of the Philippines; after which come socks and stockings, underwear and thread, rounding out a list of seven main items of cotton imports that for the first quarter of the year were valued at $5,136,637, and the portion Tariff Is from the United States at $3,000,375. There Clearly Too Low seems t0 have been nothing abnormal per taining to the trade during the period reviewed; it was all the time just the usual steady movement of goods under existing con ditions; therefore it is evident that two-fifths of the cotton trade of the Philippines gets away from the United States and into foreign countries chiefly for the reason that the tariff duties per mit and even encourage this to occur. Unbleached muslins imported were 3,107,773 square yards, of which 920,003 came from China and 786,392 from Japan. This is more than the portion from the United States, 1,384,552 square yards. The value of the portion from the United States was $225,463; the value of the portion from Japan was $100,581; from China, $106,129; from all foreign sources, including Japan and China, $211,033. America is losing nearly 50 per cent of the unbleached muslin trade in the Philippines. Bleached goods imported were 9,228,903 square yards, of which 7,600,941 came from the United States, indicating that where something more than cheap labor and long hours is involved American goods are on a surer basis. Yet Japan distanced the United States in dyed cotton textiles by nearly 50 per cent: America’s sales were 2,055,649 square, yards and Japan’s 2,972,486. Great Britain sold half as much as the United States, 1,020,214 square yards. America did have 80 per cent of the cotton prints market, sending 4,200,952 square yards into the islands out of a total of 5,026,344, comparative values being $758,23G against $156,095. Japan and Great Britain weie the leading competitors, each sell ing about 50 per cent of all cotton prints not bought from the United States. Most socks and stockings came from the United States, the total value being $110,018, and the value of the ship ments from the* United States $96,360. Germany, Japan and China about equally divided the other $13,658. The value of underwear imports was $251,813, America’s share being $13,422 and Japan’s $193,885, with Germany, France and China sharing the remaining $44,506. The value of thread imports was $278,151, America’s share being $68,489 and Great Britain’s $192,964, witn Switzerland, France and Japan sharing the remaining $16,697. We have mentioned seven countries and seven items. Small balances in each item are variously shared by other countries but are of no consequence. The first four items total 24,038,243 square yards valued at $4,546,651. The value of America’s por tion of the trade in the seven items was $3,060,374, of Britain s $780,094, of Switzerland’s $136,903, of Japan’s $976,951 of China’s $185,676, of Germany’s $37,646, and of France’s $14,002. ABOUT LIBERIA As it seems that with the inauguration of the Firestone rubber-growing project in Liberia the interest of America in that country will be intensified, the Journal this month publishes else where a brief review of Liberia’s resources. Responding to public sympathy over territorial encroachments in British-Amer- 1909, Roosevelt sent a commission to look lean Protectorate .nto affairs, since which time the country has been practically a British-American protectorate, with our interest predominant. We administrate the customs, having loans at stake, and supervise military, agriculture and boundary questions. Liberia is about the size of Luzon; it lies on the west coast of Africa between Sierra Leone and the Ivory Coast; it has a coast line of 300 miles with numerous ports of entry. Its governing population comprises about 20,000 descend ants of American negro immigrants by whom the republic was established in 1847, and 40,000 or 50,000 civilized natives of the same blood. A dozen or more tribes are embraced in the general population of about two million. Until the grant of the Firestone concession, the rubber trade was controlled by the Liberian Rub ber Corporation, a British company. STEP UP, PLEASE: GET YOUR CONCESSIONS! By two news items in the public prints this month we confess ourselves astounded. One was an utterance of a representative not as yet high in authority, but hoping to be; the other by him who is there already—with boots on. The first would offer the Firestone rubber-land lease proposal with an amendment—“to take effect the day after independence >s granted.” The other said about the same thing, that when the Philippines were assured of their independence they would welcome capital from abroad, or perhaps he said they would welcome American capital. The ideal, then, is to turn the Philippines into a concessions grab bag. If anyone can make anything else out of it, if they can cite ar. instance that turned out differently, they are closer students than we are and they rate the public morality of a landed gentry higher than we do. We use the term landed (/entry in the generic sense—a remark we append for the benefit of Mr. Gannett and The Nation. What Our Statesmen Have to Offer PAYING BUNGA MAS Bunga Mas was formerly paid by one Malay state to another, also to China.. It was a triennial gift or tribute—the author ities are in doubt just which. “Bunga Mas did not invariably A Queer Position for America carry with it the legal obligation to obey the orders of the recipient. On the other hand, it did involve this if the receiver of the Bunga Mas were strong enough to enforce it.” In other words. Bunga Mas was bluff: if the bluff worked, the state it worked on came through. The question arises, did the custom die w.tii the Malay states? It seems to us that the United States has been paying Bunga Mas to the Philippines for low tlie-:e many years, and not triennially, but every year. And not two nr,»<>»»><-nfcl plants with. leaves and flowers of yold and silver, valued at about a thousand pounds, but dollars by the millions. When the Philip pine tariff remains unchanged for 17 years and no longer serves to protect American commerce in this territory, and Congress does nothing about it, America pays the Philippines Bunga Mas? In the old days Bunga Mas was supposed to promote amicable relations, and the supposition usually proved a delusion. Again we think conditions have not changed, that to stand for a bluff does not promote amicable relations but keeps one fellow arrogan as long as the other acquiesces. While Congress abdicates its authority over the public domain here, the United States pays Bunga Mas to the Philippines. May, 1926 THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL 11 Angat Irrigation Dam Brings Water to 62,500 Acres of Luzon Rice Lands The diversion dam of the Angat Irriga tion System designed when completed to water 62,500 acres of rice lands in the lower Luzon valley, was formally opened on Labor Day, May 1, and the water turn ed through the intake gates into the main canal for the southern portion of the pro ject, covering lands in Bustos, Quingua, Malolos, Bigaa, Bulacan, Guiguinto, Bocaoe and Paombong, all in the province from carrying away the sand and gravel underneath. Rows of collapsible gates at either end of the dam are held upright with metal pins that give way at known pressure, lowering the gates and relieving the flood pressure on the dam. Sluice gates, of structural steel, are in stalled at both intake weirs to accomodate the banca and balsa traffic on the river. Banqucros have acquired skill in guiding rlco Agcaoili; and the northern canal structures by Gordon and Haley. The bureau of public works estimates the crop increase annually will be 50 per cent of the cost of the project. During the dry season ten meters of water per second can be furnished for sugar, garden and orchard crops, corn, yams, legumes and tobacco, to gether with some rice. The city is tapping the same river 30 kilometers farther up stream, for its new water system; but it is reported this will not affect materially the irrigation system, as the city will require no more than a meter of water per second. The next thing is getting the money back, which the bureau plans to do in forty The Angat Irrigation System Diversion Dam and the Builder, J. B.. Findley. of Bulacan. In July some water will be furnished for the north portion of the project, for lands in San Rafael, Baliuag, Pulilan and adjacent towns in Pampanga. The area in the two portions of the pro ject is approximately 62,500 acres, all expected to be benefitting from the system before the end of October, this year. While the principal crop in the district is rice, considerable sugar cane is raised and this crop will not be jeopardized by another serious drouth such as has been expe rienced this year. The dam itself is a remarkable engineer ing achievement, the work of J. B. Findley, well known engineer and contractor. It is of reinforced concrete and is 563 meters wide, said to be the largest dam east of Suez. It was built during a period when work was interrupted six times by some of the heaviest floods ever known. On June 25, 1924, the flood was twenty feet over the dam, with no damage done. There is an island above the dam, divid ing the river. The diversion weirs have been so constructed as not to interfere with this natural flow of the water. The north current will provide water for the northern portion of the project, the south current provides for the southern portion. The project is the largest yet undertaken by the bureau of public works and was plan ned and carried out by the irrigation divi sion of that bureau, the cost being nearly P5,000,000, with the work more than 90 per cent now completed and exnenditures some thing more than P4,000,000 to date. An interesting feature of the dam is that it does not rest upon bedrock. It is of the so-called floating type, designed so that the water seeping through beneath it is re tarded so as not to carry away sand and gravel and undermine the structure. Be neath the concrete structure are two lines of sheet piling, one for upstream defense and one for protection against downstream percolation. A reinforced concrete apron has been laid below the dam, the outer blocks lying free, to prevent the eddies their heavily loaded balsas through these gates, a feat that is not uninteresting to observe. Incidentally, bathing at this giant swimming hole is excellent. The dam is .iust a good hour’s drive from Manila, 17 kilometers east of the junction at Quingua on the Manila-north road, on the road to Bustos, that in the dry season at least is in good condition. Three million pounds of steel reinforc ing, and 45,000 barrels of cement went into the building of this dam, which measures 25,000 cubic meters of rein forced concrete material. Several well known engineering and con tracting firms worked on the irrigation system as a whole. The canals for the Intake Gates, Southern Section of Angat System: Water Flowing Into Main Canal southern portion were built by the Atlan tic, Gulf and Pacific Company; and those for the northern portion by Carlos Barretto. The southern canal structures, bridges, gates, culverts, etc., were built by Romayears in equal annual installments at the interest rate of four per cent. The charge against each hectare will be in the neigh borhood of 15 pesos, two piculs of sugar or five cavans of rice. To collect such a low annual charge from lands benefitted by a permanent irrigation system kept in, condition and carefully administered by public authority would seem to be an easy matter, but it isn’t. There is a very large church estate in the project, that of San Juan de Dios hospital. There are some friar lands in the project, and many pieces of parish lands. Tenantry prevails over the entire district: to add 15 pesos per hec tare to the land taxes, and collect it, offers many difficulties. It is said that in India the charge against irrigated lands is about 20 pesos a year,, and perpetual; but India is not the Philippines. Anyway, Angat is nearing completion and increased yields of crops are things worthwhile in themselves. 12 THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL May, 1926 1000 New Cars Imported: A Trip to Atimonan Perhaps nothing better illustrates the prosperity the Philippines are enjoying than the increasing utilization of the motor car and motor truck, lines of business that never approached their present volume even in the most golden days of the post war boom. During the first quarter of the year nearly 1,000 American motor cars were imported into the islands. The exact number was 940 valued at Pl,200,758, to gether with 309 motor trucks valued at P308.774. It is a common sight to see from three to six of these trucks equipped for provincial passenger transportation, at the bureau of public works awaiting registra tion. As roads extend into quaint and little known corners of the islands, the Philip pines develop more and more into the motorist’s paradise to which the engineer’s skill adapts their natural beauty. Former ly, for example, who ever went to Taal, to climb its rugged sides and gaze down into its mysterious caldron? Few, because over the uncompleted roads the trip was too long and the pleasure of the outing too much detracted from by fatigue. But now the trip is easily made in a single day, motoring out early, and back after the noon heat has left the valleys and the sunset glow is on the hills. If few formerly went to Taal and wor shipped at the shrine of Our Lady of Casaysay, fewer still went to Lucena, Lukban and the other old Tagalog towns of Tayabas where the Franciscan friars built so many cathedrals that can be to the eye of the stranger today no less objects of ad miration than the pagan temples of other oriental countries. Each is a superb exZigzag on Atimonan Road and Beach Drive from Atimonan to Gumaca. ample of Roman architecture and few are so crumbled with time that a renewal of faith, if the modern world had it, would not preserve them still for severa! centu ries. Their rough-hewn rafters will still sus tain the weight of a tile roof; all but in vain the persistent vine gnaws at their walls of stone and rubble, too frail for the friars’ satisfaction if less than a meter thick. To each is attached the priest’s house or convcnto, its first floor given over to the parish school where the sum of knowledge was the alphabet, the tables and the catechism—all learned by rote and rod and recited in loud vocal chorus. In the old days, besides the churches and the con vent there was the ntunicipio, headquarters of the f/obernadorcillo to whom, with the priest, Spain looked for peace and order in his community and the regular collection of tribute. In these modern days there is another pretentious building, the new school house; and many of the towns are dignified by whole streets of substantial new resi dences. One may leave Manila after breakfast any morning this hot weather and within an hour be in the cooler heights of the foothills of Mount Banahaw. Passing San Pablo, he may keep on skirting the volca no’s slopes until well beyond Lukban and quite near Sampaloc and Mauban, where he may lunch at the edge of a wood where monkeys are chattering in the trees and kalaw birds are squawking off the hours. Then he may turn back to Lucena, and off to the Pacific coast over the Atimonan road, a mountain hazard more thrilling than the zigzag at Baguio. On this trip he will enjoy on all sides, at every moment, land scapes of supernal beauty. On the slopes none better! Where and “Quality” means QUALITY LA INSULAR Cigars every product means a good smoke! IN RESPONDING TO ADVERTISEMENTS PLEASE MENTION THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL May, 1926 THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL 13 of the mountains, the primal forests; hud dled among them, miniature valleys—some twenty acres, some a hundred or two— level, green and cultivated, the fecund rivu lets gurgling through ditches and sluice gates and the peasants smiling over pleas ant field tasks. In one valley they are har vesting, in another planting, in still an other stacking the g&iin or perhaps mak ing ready the threshing ground; so that within half an hour’s riding the cycle of an entire season has been run. Brakes must hold fast as the road des cends swiftly into Atimonan; hardly are the mountains behind when the shore is in front, and then the road is a seashore boulevard into Siain and Gumaca. By ar rangement with the El Dorado Oil com pany the night may be passed in their manager’s cottage at Siain, where there is a pier and good surf bathing. This trip may be made by rail as well as motor; if one hasn’t taken it he has not seen one of the most seductive regions of Luzon. The road to Lucena and Lukban follows quite closely the old Camino Real or King’s High way that was maintained through several centuries for the bringing of the galleon cargo, the silver subsidy from Mexico, from the Pacific to Manila. The galleon port was Mauban or some adjacent point, and the treasure was brought under heavy guard to the head of the lake, thence by barge across the lake and down the river. A particularly clear idea of what this old King’s Highway was may be gained by turning to the left at Km. 130 and driv ing to Lukban without passing through Lucena, which may be visited on the return trip. If rains have not been heavy, this detour may be risked with great advantage to the traveler—who otherwise will not see the old bridge back of the church at Tayabas, where, without the slightest doubt, witches and warlocks of the most mis chievous nature gather nightly in diabolical revels. They haunt the old water mill, too, at the right of the bridge. One may visit this mill or the one on the left of the road as he returns to Lucena, which he will find in operation just as if the gray old priest had just shown his people how to build and use it. However, the old mills are going out; they have served their day and the oil engine with its more efficient steel grist mill is taking its place. The new is to be observed as well as the old. Gumaca, one finds, is an important wholesale point with the usual well stocked Chinese general store. From up and down the coast people go to Gumaca by boat to trade, and when one stops there he is asked the Manila price of copra. The whole trip is made through coconut groves from Calauan on. The clustered fronds of these stately palms cover the lower mountain crests complete ly; in mighty phalanxes of green the trees assault th.e slopes of Banahaw, reaching surprising heights. It is coconuts, not rice, that explain the prosperity of the region. Yet no farmer’s son is studying the coconut industry. The peasants will carry that on, they always have; and the Chinese will buy, or nowadays, the Americans repre senting vegetal oil mills; so that the plant ers’ sons may come to Manila, live gaily and learn law and politics. As such they will make indifferent planters like their fathers, but as long as the peasants carry on it is of course all right—unless a pest should attack the groves, which would be an act of providence and quite unpreventable. Contentment impresses itself upon the traveler. The country basks in content ment, breathing the beauty and plenty of the tropics. Manila to New York via Suez and Europe See the Old World on your trip home. Stops of several days in many ports. You can travel through Europe and catch our boat for New York via Southampton, England, at Bremen. “The Most Interesting Trip In The World.” NORDDEUTSCHER LLOYD O. RANFT, Agent. Phone 247 368 Gandara (Corner Gandara and Pinpin.) GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY (U. S. A.) THE NEW JENTAL 1MITED cthe finest Train in all Jimerica A. G. HENDERSON CHACO BLDG., AGENT PHONE 120 Travel in matchless style and comfort. Arrange Now for a trip on the AVi’IK ORIENTAL LIMITED from Seattle. Vancouver to Spokane, Glacier National Park, St. Paul and Chicago and Eastern cities. The Train of Trains —with two bathrooms, barber shop, man icure, ladies’ maid, valet, women’s lounge and other unusual features. All new from locomotive to observation car. For booklet or reservations Jlpplq to American Express Co. GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY ROUTE OF THE NEW ORIENTAL LIMITED FINEST TRAIN IN ALL AMERICA IN RESPONDING TO ADVERTISEMENTS PLEASE MENTION THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL 14 THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL May, 1926 RESOURCES OF LIBERIA The principal articles of African produce exported from Liberia are coffee, palm kernels, and piassava, shipments for last year totalling 1,649 tons, 7,773 tons, and 3,741 tons, respectively. Practically the whole of Liberia is rich in oil palms. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the palm kernel and palm oil industry has been neglected in the Republic, and the same can be said in respect of other po tential sources of wealth. At present there is an enormous supply of palm products, the greater part of which goes to waste All that is required is proper conservation of labor and the provision of transport to ena ble the present trading organizations in Liberia to handle three times the amount of kernels now collected by them for export. As to what amount of kernels Liberia could be relied upon to supply annually from the trees ready to hand, it is hard to say, but an estimate of 50.000 tons, which was the quantity of kernels exported from Sierra Leone in 1912, cannot be regarded as anything but conservative. Palm oil ex ports from Liberia during 1923 were re turned at £20,300. There is no reason why in time to come, after Liberia has got fur ther up the ladder of success, the supplies from the natural trees should not be aug mented by planting operations. Piassava fibre, obtained from the pias sava palm, with which large areas of lowlying marsh lands in Piassava, Coffee, the Republic are well Coconuts stocked, is another im portant export pro duct. With regard to the practically non existent trade in copra, the total export in 1923 amounted to 8,275 lb., valued at £50. The coconut is essentially a plantation pro duct, and its potential source of wealth has already been recognized in Sierra Leone, where nurseries have been started to en courage its cultivation. Liberia has all the natural resources essential for the suc cessful planting of coconuts, in temperature, rainfall, soil and a long coast-line, and the day will undoubtedly arrive when this palm product, too, receives in Liberia the atten tion it deserves. As regards agriculture in general, traders who go to Liberia with the intention of buying and exporting Afri can produce would do well to remember that the cultivated products which are grown in the native farm clearings are not sufficient to feed the population. On the other hand, the trader, owing to this same shortage due to under-cultivation, is able to import and sell rice in considerable quantities. Prac tically only one cultivated product—coffee— is grown for export in any quantity, and one has only t<T compare the prices quoted for Liberian coffee on the European mar kets with, say, that of East African coffees, to realize that here again a great opportu nity provided for coffee planting by the adaptable soil and climate is being neglect ed. Ginger used to be grown in sufficient quantities before the war to warrant its figuring on the list of ex Sugar, Cotton, ports, but none was reCocoa turned in the figures for 1922, and only 1,795 lb. for 1923. The sugar cane grown is devoted almost entirely to the manufacture of rum, crude stills being found on most of the farms owned by prosperous Liberian far mers. Cotton is grown in small patches by the natives, the spinning being underta ken by the women, whilst the men do the weaving. The non-colored part of a coun try cloth, is usually woven from yarns made from native cotton, whilst the colored por tions are woven from imported yarns. Co coa is grown, but again in such small quan tities, and so badly prepared, unfermented, for European markets, that it is not to be compared with the systematized production of cocoa in other parts of West Africa. Rubber is grown and exported by an Ame rican company operating a large plantation between Monrovia and White Plains at Johnsonville, the figures for 1923 being returned as 10,564 pounds. Of the uncultivated products, palm ker nels and palm oil take a leading position, exceeding the value of coffee exported. There is litte doubt that the chief natural Hot? Thirsty? Tired? Nothing is quite so satisfying and re freshing as a drink of cold water. SNOW-WHITE Water Coolers Made of finest materials in our own shops by our own workmen. Sanitary—dur able—economical. Ideal for home, office, club, or restaurant. Three conven ient sizes at most attractive prices. American Hardware & Plumbing Co. 101-107 Echague, Manila wealth of Liberia available for immediate exploitation is to be found in the oil palm, common to all parts of the Republic; but here again this agricultural asset will only become of material value to the revenue of the country when the government is able to get the interior opened up and to provide proper means of communication between the interior and the coast. rf, as is confidently anticipated, the road building and transport development sche mes now being undertaken in the country achieve the desired result, the day will un doubtedly arrive when road transport for goods and passengers will have to be sup plemented by railway traffic, since volume and numbers, as well as the distances then to be covered, would be too great to allow them adequately and economically to be ca tered for by any form of road transport alone- Preparations are now being made to transport by road produce from upcountry district in rhe Republic. IN RESPONDING TO ADVERTISEMENTS PLEASE MENTION THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL May, 1926 THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL 15 Philippine-American Trade Mutually Profitable A* A* A* A* A* A* A*A*A*A»A*A*A*A*A*A* Flour, Cotton Goods, Machinery and Silk Go Big The economic importance of the Philip pines to the United States has reached such a volume that it impresses every American visiting Manila with a more serious pur pose than to revel at Santa Ana Cabaret,;— the world’s biggest dance hall,—or enjoy the nonvolsteadian hospitality of the city itself. Anxiety about rubber supplies has led to inquiry as to the sources of other essential raw products, bringing out the fact that Manila hemp is necessary to the cordage industry of America and grows nowhere else but in the Philippines, and that the Philippines produce one third of the surplus coconut crop of the tropical world and the United States takes nearly the entire supply. As a buyer from the United States the territory looms no less important. The chamber of commerce has tabulated the ten chief imports during a period of ten years. The results show the high position of Ame rica in the import trade of the islands. Even silk goods are included; in the last ten years the islands bought silk goods to the sum of $21,000,000, of which $9,000,000 was from the United States. Al though the islands are so near Japan and China, American silks, having free entry into American territory, have 43 per cent of the silk market here as a consequence. In the same period the Philippines bill for automobiles was $20,000,000, and ex cepting about $100,000 it all went to the United States. Cotton cloths are 17 per cent of all Phil ippine imports, averaging them over ten years. In this period ended in 1925, the islands spent $162,000,000 for cotton cloths, $116,000,000 of it with the United States. In other words, America enjoys 71-’/2 per cent of the cotton cloth market of the Phil ippines. Japan probably ranks second and Manchester third. Japan has no little advantage in other cotton manufac tures, because she makes cheap towels, un derwear and socks to comply with the de mand for cheap materials in a country where the earnings of able bodied men do not average higher than 20 cents per work ing day throughout the year. Of cotton manufactures except cloth the islands bought during ten years to the sum of $72,000,000, of which they bought $31,000,000 from the United States. In the same period the Philippines paid $79,000,000 for iron and steel products, and paid $65,000,000 for machinery, and $43,000.000 of it to the United States. They paid $31,000,000 for wheat flour, and $19,000.000 of it to the United States. They paid $22,000,000, for dairy products, and £16,500,000 to the United States. They paid $22,000,000 for gasoline, and $16,000,000 of it to the United States. They would have bought much more of American flour, if it might have been supplied them during the European War. This is shown by the fact that they now buy 85 per cent of their flour from the United States, that they gave $10,000,000 for flour last year. Among their ten chief imports, rice is the only one they do not buy principally from the United States. Rice comes from the great granary of the orient, Indochina. E:<-Ambassador Henry Morgenthau when here during February observed the retard ed economic condition of the people and advised the political leaders to abandon thought of political independence and adopt a new slogan, "Prosperity for the Masses.” His statement created a deep impression, although it was meant quite as much for the ear of official Washington as for offi cial Manila. On the basis of area, if Phil ippine trade equalled that of Hawaii, with the United States it would be more than three billion dollars annually; and if it equalled that of Hawaii on the basis of population it would be seven and a half billion dollars annually with the United States. The figures are authoritatively given out by Captain II. L. Heath, president of the Chamber of Commerce. They serve to put vividly before the American people the re THE TRADE MARK THAT GUARANTEES QUALITY oA Shape for Every Taste and Every One A Source of Perfect Joy Five La Minerva Cigars with World-Wide Reputations Czars Monte Carlo Fancy Tales Excelentes Monarcas Sold Everywhere La Minerva Cigar Factory, Inc. 2219 Azcarraga Tel. 12-69 Makers of the Choicest Cigars Since 1883 markable value of the islands when the public domain of the United States here has been put into cultivation. Harvey Firestone, Jr., winding up his investigations here, finds vast areas suitable for rubber. Arthur F. Fischer, Director of forestry, adds that not only the rubber supply for America but quinine too, can be produced here. The college of agriculture adds cof fee and jute. The latter product, now a monopoly of India, is, in the Philippines, despised as a noxious weed and every means taken to stamp it out—fortunately without much success. Coffee succumbed to the insurrections. The bureau of forestry has classified the lands: commercial forests, 62,240 sq. miles; non-commercial forests, 12,801 sq. miles; mangrove swamps yielding dyewoods and tanning barks, 1,0-15 sq. miles; grass lands, 22,756 sq. miles; lands under cultivation, 9,607 sq. miles; unexplor ed lands, 5,951 sq. miles. The Trade-Mark That Has Identified The Choicest cTManila Cigars Since 1883 IN RESPONDING TO ADVERTISEMENTS PLEASE MENTION THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL 16 THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL May, 192 Review of Business Condition for April REVIEW OF THE HEMP MARKET By L L. Spellman Maclcod & Company The last report on Abaca covered the month of March with statistics up to and including Mar. 29th. The present report covers the month of April with statistics up to and including May 3. U. S. GRADES. On the 1st of the month the New York market was dull with sellers offering on the basis of JI at lOftd, I 12%^ and F 13’/2<. The buyers were showing very little interest and were confining their purchases to housemarks and special grades. By the 10th of the month the market was some what steadier due to a fair amount of buy ing and prices advanced about Vt? per lb. Buying became more general and by the 20th prices advanced to a basis of J 1114^, I ISViC and F 1394d. There was a fair amount of buying throughout the remain der of the month, and the market on the 30th was firm with sellers offering on the basis of J llI/2<‘, I 13%< and F 141/2<‘. The buyers were showing no disposition to fol low the advance in price and it was gen erally believed enough hemp had been pur chased for their immediate requirements. On the 1st of the month the shipping house were buying sparingly on the basis of E P34.—, F 32.—, G 24.—, H 17.—, I 31.—, JI 25.—, SI 31.—, S2 30.— and S3 25.— with the usual difference for special lots. By the middle of the month prices had declined about Pl.— per picul on the better grades but in sympathy with the slight advance in the U. S. market, buyers were offering the following prices by the 20th of the month E P34.50, F 32.50, G 24.50, H 17.50, I 31.—, JI 25.50, SI 31.5U, S2 29.50 and S3 25.50. These prices were maintained through out the balance of the month. The dealers continued to hold out for better prices and it is reported that a fair amount of U. S. hemp went into store. The dealers also claimed they were unable to buy in the provinces at the prices offered by the ship pers. U. K. GRADES. The U. K. market was in the hands of‘the speculators on the 1st of the month, the shipping houses being unable to meet competition owing to the fact that the prices in Manila were con siderably higher than what they could get for the hemp on the London market. No minal quotations were J2 £38.10, K £30.10 and L £32.—. There was a slight recovery and by the middle of the month the ship ping houses were selling on the basis of J2 £41.— to £41.10, K £32.— to £32.10 and L £33.10 to £34.—, with the usual premium for housemarks. The market remained fairly steady at these prices until about the 25th of the month when it became ap parent that the buyers were getting ex ceedingly nervous over the possibility of a coal strike. The month closed with the market dull and lifeless with sellers asking £41.— for J2, £31.— for K and £32.10 for L. The Manila market for U. K. grades was unsettled on the 1st of the month. Buyers’ ideas seemed to be on the basis of J2 P19.—, K 14.50, L 15.50 and M 13.— with sellers asking from 4 reals to Pl.— more. This condition continued until about the 20th of the month when there was a slightly better feeling and shippers were willing to pay from 4 reals to Pl.— over these prices for good lots. Some sales were made at even higher prices. By the end of the month the buyers were inclined to reduce prices but the dealers refused to make any concessions and a number of parcels went into store. The shippers were certain that if the threatened general strike occurred in the U. K. it would have a disastrous effect on the hemp market there and perhaps on the Continent also. On the other hand the dealers seemed pretty INSURANCE Atlas Assurance Co., Ltd. London Fire and Marine Insurance The Continental Insurance Co. New York Fire and Marine Insurance Fire Insurance E. E. ELSER Suite 400 to 407 Kneedler Building P. O. Box 598 Cable Address—“EDMIL,” Manila Phones 129 & 22429 |’ Luzon Stevedoring Co., Inc. ® Lightering, Marine Contractors, Towboats, Launches, Waterboats, Shipbuilders and Provisions. SIMMIE C& GRILK Phone 302 Port Area confident that prices for the lower gradmust advance. FREIGHT RATES. The rates on M nila hemp to all consuming markets rema unchanged. STATISTICS. We give below the figur for the period extending from March 1 to May 3, 1926. Stocks on January 1 .... 153,181 131,22Receipts to May 3.. .... 442,387 437,82' Stocks on May -3... .... 182,137 190,91 ■ Shipments. To To May 3,1926. May 4,192' To the Bales Bales United Kingdom... 97,894 128,84'. Continent of Europe 56,707 40,42: Atlantic U. S......... 125,588 102,78-i U. S. via Pacific... 47,178 46,251 Japan ..................... 57,776 33,60i Elsewhere and Local 28,288 26,173 TOTAL ........... 414,431 378,077 The Employer’s Liability Assurance Corporation, Ltd. London Fire, Plate Glass, Automo bile and Accident Insurance Orient Insurance Company of Hartford IN RESPONDING TO ADVERTISEMENTS PLEASE MENTION THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAi May, 1926 THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL 11 APRIL SUGAR REVIEW By George H. Fairchild NEW YORK MARKET: For the first half of the month, the market was weak and dull, prices declining from last month’s latest quotations of from 2y4(? to 2-9/32<* )for Cubas as re ported in our pre vious review, to 2-3/16<*, due to pres sure to sell for lack of storage in Cuba. The report received to the effect that the Cuban government contemplated restricting production had a stimulating effect upon the exchange mar ket, improving prices for the last half of the month, which ranged from 2%<* to 2 */£<?. Latest quotations, however, showed a slight decline in prices from 21/2<‘ to 2-13/32C and 2-7/16<?, giving the impression of lack of confidence due apparently to accumulation of stocks. Stocks in tht U. S., U. K„ Cuba, and the five principal European continental countries at the end of the month were 4,475,000 tons as against 3,210,000 tons for 1925 and 2,770,000 tons for 1924, or 1,265,000 tons for 1924, or 1,265,000 tons and 1,705,000 tons more for the same periods in 1925 and 1924, respectively. The market for futures was firm and steady. Quotations follow: High Low Latest July 2.59 2.40 2.56 Sept. 2.70 2.53 2.68 Dec. 2.80 2.76 2.78 Considerable sales of Philippine centrifugals afloat and for future shipment were reported at prices ranging from 4.14<? to 4.35(?, landed terms. The market for refined showed a marked improvement over that of the previous month. Sales were made at prices ranging from 5.25<? to 5.40(\ as compared with those for the previous month at prices ranging from 4.90c? to 5.15c*. LOCAL MARKET: The market report ed active and strong. Considerable trading was done on the basis of P9.75 to P10.50 per picul ex-godown, Iloilo. There has been much interest shown in the reports received in Manila regarding the attempt on the part of the Cuban gov ernment to request officially a reduction in the present sugar tariff. Prominent local sugar men were of the opinion that Cuba’s request would not find favor in the Wash ington administration. Domestic producers have never been more in need of protection than at present with the current low prices of sugar, and it is believed a reduction in tariff on the Cuban sugar would ruin the domestic sugar industries. With the pres ent tariff, they are barely able to compete with Cuban sugar. The milling season is practically over. With the exception of Bais, Victorias and Manapla in Negros, and Del Carmen in Luzon, all of the Centrals have finished milling their 1925-26 crop. Latest produc tion figures of the various districts indicate that the 1925-26 crop will be about 20,000 tons less than the latest official estimates, or over 257 less than the previous crop, these being as follows: (Metric Tons of 2204 lbs.) 1925-26 1924-25 Negros ............... 253,644 370,714 Luzon ................. 107,232 111,893 Panay ................. 8,174 11,188 Mindoro .............. 4,044 5,496 373,094 499,291 Unofficial reports from the various dis tricts show prospects that 1926-27 crop will be larger than the present crop. Philippine sugar shipments to various countries from the beginning of the year to April 24, 1926 are as follows: MISCELLANEOUS: A report from a reliable source stated that the latest esti mate of the sugar crop of Mauritius was 20,000 tons less than former estimates. This would bring the production of that country down to 186,000 tons. THE YOKOHAMA SPECIE BANK, LTD. (ESTABLISHED 188 0) HEAD OFFICE: YOKOHAMA, JAPAN YEN CAPITAL (PAID UP)................... 100,000,000 RESERVE FUND_____________ 86,500,000 UNDIVIDED PROFITS............ 5,805,990 MANILA BRANCH 34 PLAZA CERVANTES, MANILA K. YABUKI MANAGER PHONE 1759—MANAGER PHONE 1758—GENERAL OFFIOE An authority estimated the Australian crop at 519,000 tons as against 435,680 tons for 1925 and 280,859 tons for 1924. Rumors were current that France would increase the duty on American and foreign sugars. This will have a restrictive effect upon the exportation of sugar from the Americas to that country. (Metric Tons of 2204 lbs.) .S. Pacific U.S. Atlantic China & Kinds of Sugar Centrifugals ........................... Muscovados ............................ Refined .................................... Total ................................ Coast 43,748 Coast 155,567 Japan 30,322 549 44,297 155,567 30,322 Total 199,315 30,322 549 230,186 The Java market is reported strong and steady. Sales for superiors were made on the basis of spot Gs. 11 (P9.46 f.o.b.); May Gs. 1072 (P9.03 f.o.b.); June Gs. 10 (P8.61 l'.o.b.). It has been rumored that Rus sia is interested in distant purchases of Javas, which may affect the Java market. IN RESPONDING TO ADVERTISEMENTS PLEASE MENTION THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL 18 THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL May, 1926 COPRA AND ITS PRODUCTS . Copra milling Corporation COPRA Until Mr. Seidenspinner re turns, this re view will b e written by R. K. Zercher. The April arrivals of copra in Manila were about 175,000 bags, which is 35% more than the average for the ,past three years. The excess is due almost entirely to the copra received from the Cebu dis trict, which nor mally does not come to Manila. April prices opened up above the equi valent of the United States oil market at P15.00 to P15.25 per picul resecada and by the middle of the month had declined to P14.75, as production increased, with no particular demand from buyers. The Lon don market strengthened somewhat and by the 20th had reached the peak of L-28/10/0 F.M.M. The latter half of the month registered a general decline, due to heavier production, light demand and fal ling prices of coconut oil in the United States. Prices declined swiftly to P13.625 resecada during the closing days of the month and the month closed with a fair supply and an active demand at Pl 3.625 to P13.75 resecada. The Laguna-Tayabas district maintained prices throughout the month at a level above Manila prices of from P.75 to Pl.00 per picul and closed at an equivalent of P14.50 for resecada copra delivered in Ma nila. With low prices of oil reported from the United States and Europe, the closing level of prices, or lower still, will most pro bably prevail, being gradually reduced dur ing May as production increases. Closing quotations are: London—f.m.m. San Francisco Manila—Resecada —L-28/2/G — 5-1/2C — P13.75 COCOANUT OIL The cocoanut oil market was very quiet during the first 20 days of April and active during the remaining 10 days. Apparently the buyers got the upper hand for as soon as activity in sales opened up they began beating down prices, with considerable suc cess. While the market was stagnant dur ing the first half of April, some small sales were put thru at 9’A(^ f.o.b. tank cars, April. The London quotation was L-43/5/0 equivalent to about 9£ c.i.f. West coast. Activity in the. market commenced about the 20th with sales at 9’A^ f.o.b. tank cars for Ap'ril/May and 914£ f.o.b. tank cars June and forward. Competing oils and fats were shewing strength at this time. Sellers became anxious and the market declined to 9 ’Af.o.b. tank cars for nearby positions and to 9£ f.o.b. tank cars from June forward and eventually 9(J f.o.b. tank cars for nearby position. Buyers were of fering 8% f.o.b. tank cars and but few sales were reported at this figure. New York sales were made at 9% f.o.b. tank cars and buyers reduced their ideas. Buy ers’ ideas at the close of the month were reported as low as 8% c.i.f. West coast. U. S. crushers are holding large stocks and Manila mills have only moderate stocks, with a single exception. Oil prices have apparently reached the bottom, tem porarily, but large stocks and the expected heavier production will probably force prices down still more. However, compet ing fats and oils were showing some strength during the closing days of April which may maintain prices at the 9 cent level for a time. Closing quotations are: —No quotation —9(t f.o.b. tank cars —P.41’A per kilo London San Francisco Manila COPRA CAKE The market was inactive during the early days of the month with European bids at L-7/0/0 and local prices P40.00 ex bodega. The market began a gradual upward move ment and quotations were received during the month of L-7/5/0, L-7/8/3 and L-7/15/0 at which price the month closed. Local buyers were active, during th? month, and secured a few parcels ranging up to P50.00 ex bodega. Local stocks are still low and are being sold as fast as pro duced. Forward demand is good and higher prices may be reasonably expected. Clos ing quotations are: Europe —L-7/15/0 U. S. —No quotation Manila —P50.00 ex warehouse TOBACCO REVIEW By P. A. Meyer Alhambra Cigar and Cigarette Manufacturing Co. RAW LEAF: Of the total leaf export during April, Spain took about 83%, while the balance, consisting mostly of scraps, was consign ed to the other coun tries. Locally no im portant transactions are reported. As to the 1926 crop in the Ysabela, it is ex pected to be of bet ter quality than last year’s, the weather having been more favorable to the plants. Shipments to the different countries dur ing April are as follows: Australia ............................ 1,154 Belgium and Holland .... 29,270 China ................................... 1,083 Hongkong ........................... 21,566 Where everybody goes, and the doors never close Cfom’s Dixie Kitchen Spain .................................. 684,342 Straits Settlements ........... 5,748 United States ........................ 35,272 Uruguay ................................ 45,1G3 823,598 CIGARS: Comparative figures for the trade with the United States are as fol lows : April 1926 .............. 17,154,776 March 1926 .............. 17,699,008 April 1925 ................ 12,762,921 Philippine Guaranty Company, Inc. (Accepted by all the Bureaus of the Insular Government) Executes bonds of all kinds for Customs, Immigration and Internal Revenue. DOCUMENTS SURETYSHIPS For Executors, Administrators, Receivers, Guardians, etc. We also write Fire and Marine Insurance Liberal conditions ocal investments oans on real estate repayable by monthly or quarterly instalments at ow interest Call or write for particular! Room 403, Filipinas Bldg. P. O. Box 128 Manila, P. I. Manager's Tel. 22110 Main Office Tel. 441 GORDON’S FIFTY-FIFTY Dry Gin COCKTAIL In special Shaker-Bottle A cocktail properly mixed by the manufacturers ASK FOR IT Kuenzle & Streiff, Inc. Sole Agents IN RESPONDING TO ADVERTISEMENTS PLEASE MENTION THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL .May, 1926 THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL 19 LUMBER REVIEW FOR MARCH As predicted in the previous lumber reviews, the lumbe? market had shown decided increase act ivities, particularly the export trade. During the month of March, there were exported 6,556,312 board feet valued at P48-1,611.00 as com pared with 3,892,741 board feet valued at 1*361,177.00 for the month of February of this year. This is an increase of nearly 100f/f. For the first time, Japan holds the first place as an exporter of Philippine lumber as indicated in the following table: Timber and Lumber Export Destination Japan ....................... United States .......... China ....................... Australia ............... Great Britain .......... Canada .................... Other British ......... East Indies Italy ........................ Guam ....................... Total ....................... March, 1926 Board Feet Value 2,345,568 Pl 16,420 2,164,944 180,507 1,189,744 113,728 577,912 49,548 150,520 11,283 72,928 7,309 31,376 3,126 22,472 2,320 848 370 6,556,312 P-184,611 The productions of 17 mills where re ports are regularly received amounted to 11,181,962 as compared with a little over ten million feet the preceding month. The lumber shipment and lumber inventory for the same number of mills were practically the same for March of this year and March of last year, but with a slight increase for the preceding month of February. The new tariff rate of Japan with re gards to logs and timber will materially in crease the export of Philippine lumber to that port as has been indicated by active buying for future deliveries. During the early part of April, shipments of consider able amount of logs and lumber had.been made to Japan to take advantage of the new tariff rate which took effect April 1. REVIEW OF THE EXCHANGE MARKET By Stanley Williams Manager, International Banking U. S. Dollar tt was quoted at lVs'/o premium on March 31 and remained out the month of unchanged -through out the month of April at that level. Several banks were reported to have bought exchange from the the Insu lar Treasurer, and some round lots of export exchange were placed but on the whole the market had a quiet and steady appearance. Sterling cables were quoted at 2/0 3/8 throughout the month with buyers at 2/0 1/2 and very little doing. Three months sight credit bills were quoted at 2/1 1/16 and 3 m/s D/P bills at 2/1 3/1G throughout the month. The New York London cross rate closed at -ISGVi on March 31 and fluctuated be tween 485-15/16 on April 1-1 and 486% on the 29th. It closed easy at 486% on the 30th. London bar silver closed at 30% spot 30-3/16 forward on March 31, and gradual ly dropped away to 29-3/16, 29% on April 22. It then reacted and closed at 29-15/16, 29% on the 30th. New York silver closed at 65% on March 31 and after touching 65% on April 5 and 8, it fell away to 63 on April 22. React ing, it closed at 64% on the 30th. Telegraphic transfers on other points were quoted nominally at the close as fol lows : Paris ................................. 14.20 Madrid ............................... 147% Singapore .......................... 115% Japan ................................. 96% Hongkong .......................... 110% Shanghai ........................... 69% India ................................... 135% Java ........................... 122 The governor general has named some Moros to the Constabulary Cadet School in Baguio. Provincial governors returning from Mindanao advocate Christian migra tion to that island. Desk Room For Rent P30 Per Month With Use of Desk-Typewriter Etc. Inquire of John R. Wilson, Secretary American Chamber of Commerce 14 T. Pinpin Phone 1156 We Have The Largest and Most Complete Stock of Drygoods in the Philippines. If you need silks, linens, cottons, or notions you can serve yourself best by choosing from our large Stocks. We also carry haberdashery, and make men's suits and shirts. The Manila Shirt Factory 44 Escolta Phone 106 Philippine National Bank The annual meeting of the Philippine National Bank was held Friday, March 6, after delay permitting the Board of Con trol (the Senate President, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Gov ernor General) to come to an agreement dictating elections, etc. Directors H. L. Heath and Arthur F. Fischer resigned; A. Gideon and R. Renton Hind were chosen to succeed them; the directors are Rafael Corpus, Salvador Laguda, Miguel Cuaderno, ' Gregorio Agoncillo, Serapion Valle Cruz, J. P. Heilbronn, C. M. Cotterman, R. Renton Hind and A. Gideon, all con tinuing by reelection save the last two. New Sugar Centrals Policy Talked Of Various tales have been told about the future policy respecting the six sugar cen trals understood to be owing the bank ap proximately P50,000,000, with which is in volved a considerable portion of the bank’s Information For Investors Expert, confidential reports made on Philippine projects ENGINEERING, MINING, AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY, LUMBER, ETC. Hydroelectric projects OTHER COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL ENTERPRISES BRYAN, LANDON Co. Cebu, P. I. Cable address “YP1L,” Cebu IN RESPONDING TO ADVERTISEMENTS PLEASE MENTION THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL May, 1926 business; Judge Corpus continues as pre sident of the bank and Wenceslao Trinidad as manager. The annual report is confined to a list of the officers and officials and the consolidated statement for 1925, as follows: Foreign Trade of the United States During March 1926 By C. M. Butler, American Trade Commissioner. Exchange Bought and Sold (Contra) Letters G-f Credit —Vnused (Contra) Bills Reeeived for Collection (ConCustom 'rs' Items for Safekeeping 2.014,909.36 S, 421,559.89 2,273,401.35 TOTAL 1,493,069.5 1 Figures covering the foreign trade of the United States during March, which have just been cabled to this office by the Bureau of Foreign and Domest i c Commerce in Washington, show an increase of $2,501,000 in the value of exports and of $51,598,000 in the value of import.-; during the month. The unfavorable balance of trade registered during February was, however, further in creased during March by $33,000,000 and ; mounted to 1’68,677.000 in the latter month as will be noted in the following summary: Total Trade $817,519,000 Total Imports ............... $443,098,000 Total Exports ............... $374,421,000 Unfavorable Balance. $ 68,677,000 Exportations of automotive vehicles dur ing the first quarter of 1926 were as follow: A utomobiles Trucks Nmber Value Number Value United States ‘................... ..................... 65,804 $46,777,000 16,692 $11,925,000 ..................... 17.729 $ 8,215,000 6,726 $ 2,211,000 Machinery exports during the month amounted to a total of $313,000. Of this total the more important items were Elec trical machinery valued at $102,000, Power generating machinery valued at $44,000, Agricultural machinery valued at $24,000. Construction machinery valued at $11,000, and Mining machinery valued at $4,000. A total of 1269 automobiles and trucks were exported to the Philippines during the first quarter of 1926 of which 1,012 valued at $695,000 were passenger cars and 257 valued at $182,000 were trucks. The total trade between the United and the Philippine Islands during March amounted to $13,703,000. The Philippines still maintained the balance of trade as will be seen in the following amounts: BATTERIES ALEMITE Lubricating Systems M & H Piston Rings STAYBESTOS Brake Lining WONDERMIST Polish WILKINSON Axle Shafts DUTCH BRAND Tape, Cement, etc. These are a few of the truly high grade articles which we have for auto mobile owners, and oper ators. A big store in a convenient location makes it a pleasure to buy here. Drive up. Just a minute from Plaza Goiti. ACME MOTOR CO., INC. In front of the Quiapo Church Tel. 355 P. O. Box 1853 Manila FUJI SILK WORLD’S Finest silk in all weights, colors and designs di rect from Japan. DUTY into the Philippines is 15$ less than the American duty —which you save by buying frorfi us. W E carry at all times the larg est stocks of fine silks in the Philippines. For the use of Ladies and Gentlemen OSAKA BAZAR “The Japanese Department Store” 332-346 Echague Phone 216 IN RESPONDING TO ADVERTISEMENTS PLEASE MENTION THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL May, 1926 THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL 21 United States Imports from the Philippines United States Exports to the Philippines $8,394,000 $5,309,000 Balance in favor of the Philippines $3,085,000 The following tables show in detail the principal commodities and amounts exchang ed between the United States and the Philippines during March: PRINCIPAL EXPORTS TO THE PHILIPPINESs A Commodity Unit March, 192G Quantity February, 1926 Quantity Atomobiles Number 412 227 Trucks 103 81 Solid Tires 361 255 Casings 4,274 5,199 Tubes 1,486 2,355 Canned Milk Pounds 867,000 1,565,000 Canned Fish 2,933,000 2,000,000 Canned Fruit 67,000 51,000 Flour Barrels 23,000 40,000 Cigarettes Number 14,715,000 18,135,000 Cotton Cloth Yards 7,582,000 24,743,000 Hosiery Doz. Pairs 5,000 7,000 Men’s Shoes Pairs 9,000 6,000 Canvas Shoes Pairs ™;p00 29,000 Sole leather Pounds 179,000 148,000 Printing Paper Pounds 154,000 491,000 Iron and Steel Tons 4,000 3,000 Value ($384,000) ($280,000) Fuel Oil Gallons 5,344,000 (Not cabled) Lubricating Oil 137,000 1,038,000 Gasoline 110,000 500,000 Kerosene 1,020,000 55,000 B. PRINCIPAL IMPORTS FRMO THE PHILIPPINES: With the development of motoring in the Philippines the grade-crossing problem presents itself. In a collision of a train with a passenger truck at San Antonio, Los Banos, the truck was dragged down the track and three persons were killed. Fifty-one Americans resigned from the Philippine civil service during March and April, 44 being teachers and four division superintendents of schools. Frank Goulctte of Goulette’s, Inc. is visit ing in Manila but will return to the United States soon and book vaudeville talent for a vaudeville circuit he plans to establish in tie islands. RIU HERMANOS -151 ESCOLTA Commodity Unit Prepared Coconut Coconut Oil Pounds Copra Copra Cake Cigars Hemp Tons Sugar Pounds Hats Number Embroideries Dollars Cordage Pounds March, 1926 February, 192G Quantity Quantity 1,195,000 2,080,000 11,700,000 21,644,000 14,615,000 15,183,000 4.577,000 4,900,000 425,000 300,000 7,000 6,000 66,398,000 57,035,000 111,000 41,000 17,000 73,000 1,217,000 (Not cabled) Myers-Buck Co., Inc. Surveying and Mapping. PRIVATE MINERAL AND PUBLIC LAND 230 Kneedler Bld. Tel. 161 Judge James €. Hixon who came to the islands as a volunteer officer from Union Springs, Alabama, in 1899, died in Manila Tuesday, May 4, of apoplexy. He had been consul at Foochow and served in the Boxer campaigns. Judge P. J. Moore of Zamboanga who is ill in Sternberg General Hospital, where he has suffered the amputation of a leg, appeared to be safely convalescent at the time of going to press. Windows of the Soul” You wouldn’t think so the way some people neglect them. Trivial eye defects will undermine the best of health if not corrected by proper glasses. Let preservation be the first law of eye care. Have our Optometrists examine your eyes now. TO BUILD POSTOFFICE Important public works including the Manila postoffice building to cost P3,000,000 will be recommended by Governor General Leonard Wood to the legislature in his an nual message. Governor Wood will also recommend the construction of a permanent bridge across the mouth of the Pasig river, the expense to be shared by the city and the railway. Such a bridge would give the railway access to the south harbor from its Tondo and terminal system. Another project which it is reported will be urged unon the legislature is the estab lishment of radio broadcasting stations. The governor general, relying upon the sales tax of l’/j per cent, expects to extend the public works program while reducing the bonded debt. __________________ ---------------------------------------------------------- p a cr ’tfi'MTT'N THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL IN RESPONDING TO ADVERTISEMENTS PLEASE MENTI & Co. MANILA 90-94 ESCOLTA PL MASOH/C TEMPLE Always the best in quality but never higher in price. 22 THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL May, 1926 Long Unpaid Irrigation Bond Levies Insular Auditor Ben F. Wright has an annoying way of taking the tax paying public into his confidence and letting them know the actual condition of the public burse, how the money is coming in and how it is going out. This is disturbing to the theorists who argue that the proper bus iness of the public is to be silent and pay, and the proper business of law makers is to levy' the payments, collect, and reward the faithful. Mr. Wright fails to win the good opinion of the theorists, but he pro bably pleases the public generally, who would, no doubt, willingly enough be in on the various and substantial doles from the burse, but none the less, not being in on them, envy those who are. Mr. Wright has recently had the public by the ears over the irrigation-project situation. The irrigation systems, one af ter another, are being undertaken and completed with the proceeds of bonds sold in the United States for this specific pur pose and such other public works of a per manent character as the legislature may from time to time authorize. There is some question as to the precise interpreta tion of the wording of the law. It may b? that the irrigation projects require pre vious authorization by the legislature too, or it may be that this only applies to “other public works of a permanent character.” Whatever the learned in the law may finally decide on -this point, procedure up to date has been under the irrigation law and by executive approval. This law assesses the cost of the projects against the lands benefiting from them, and upon an annual amortization basis. The charges of course vary with the cost of each project. They may be as low as ten pesos per hectare, or as high as 2! pesos; and this, whatever it be. is in ad dition to the regular taxes, that themselves are increased when the lands are revalued as irrigated properties. The lands are rice lands for the most part; many are feudal estates where tenant families receive a share of the crops they grow. Irrigation charges have heretofore not been taken into account in the arrangements between land lords and tenants; who shall bear the charges or how they shall be shared is a ratural point of discussion between them, and a fruitful cause of delayed payments. The earlier completed projects are those of Santa Barbara and Aganao in Iloilo. Emilio Quisumbing, chief of the irrigation division of the bureau of public works, has been down there investigating the causes of non-payment of the water charges. He found that these had accumulated in a large number of cases since 1922, one reason being that no bills had been render ed. This has now been done. Mr. Qui sumbing reports that large numbers of small holders are anxious to make their payments prior to May 31, or before they become delinquent and subject to fine, and that municipal treasury offices have to be opened very early in the morning to ac comodate farmers ready to make their pay ments. He says: “Farmers should know early in the year what the charges against them are. These should be included with the regular land taxes. The treasurers tell me that it will be no more trouble for them to collect both charges than the one alone; and for pay ments become delinquent, produce could be seized to cover them, so that we should not wait until crops are disposed of before try ing to collect. “Much ignorance still prevails about the use of water among our farmers who have never employed irrigation in producing crops. We have been holding meetings among the people, explaining how the money for the systems was obtained, how it must be paid, etc., and how to utilize the INSULAR LUMBER COMPANY MANUFACTURERS AND EXPORTERS PHILIPPINE CABINET WOODS ANNUAL CAPACITY 50,000,000 FEET TANGUILI RED LAUAN ALMON and APITONG LUMBER Kiln Dried Flooring and interior finish Box shooks and packing cases. cTMANILA, P. I. FABRICA, P I. water effectively. Even now there is no doubt but that the increased yield more than offsets the expense. The first year the water was available in Santa Barbara, a man’s crop was 110 cavans of rice; ex perience has taught him some lessons and he harvested 210 cavans last season from the same land. From zacate fields under irrigation owners receive as much as P100 a month income. From my several visits among the people I am convinced that if a firm policy is pursued which is at the same time helpful and appreciative of the farmers’ problems, the larger owners will fall into line with the smaller and we shall encounter less and less opposition in col lecting the accounts. “The farmers are not wholly to blame. Many details of administration are to be worked out which require cooperation on our part with the farmers, but at the same time promptitude in rendering accounts and collecting.” LV RESPONDING TC ADVERTISEMENTS PLEASE MENTION THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL May, 1926 THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL 23 IN RESPONDING TO ADVERTISEMENTS PLEASE MENTION THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL 24 THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL May, 1926 SHIPPING REVIEW By H. M. CAVENDER General Agent, Dollar Steamship Line The condition of the freight market remains about the same as reported in the last issue. Su gar interests are winding up an early milling season, very little stocks remain and space has long been engaged to ac commodate them. Other commodities continue without any noticeable tendency toward increase or decrease. The freight market reports from abroad indicate a situation very similar to ours and one which in general is consi dered unhealthy. Even in face of these conditions some owners continue to increase tonnage. What they are going to do with their boats in regard to obtaining homeward business to a\oid tremendous losses being made is the general question at present, for there doesn't seem to be any means of avoiding disaster. Contrary to expectations and in conflict with our remarks under passenger traffi'* last issue, the movement took a stimulated turn and the real peak was reached the middle of April. Even at this writing pas senger traffic in all directions from the Philippines is greater than could have been estimated a month or more ago. This con dition is largely if not most entirely due to Filinino emigration to Honolulu and the United States. This year’s immigration pro portionately exceeds any of the immediate past few years. Indications favor a con tinued and increasing movement. It is not difficult to appreciate why the Filipino takes to immigration into the Uni ted States when we stop to realize that other nationals are now nearly completely ex cluded under immigration laws while the Filipino en;oys the same freedom as does a citizen of the United States. For the next monthly report we are trying to work up comparative figures on this subject. First class travel is still heavy, and while accommodations can be procured for im mediate travel, there is not much choice and steamship people continue to warn the traveler to book as far in advance as plans permit. “Above all nations is Humanity,” enun ciated that great scholar Goldwin Smith. If this aphorism had never before been proved, what greater testimony could be adduced than the thrilling rescues which AMERICAN ORIENTAL MAIL LINE MANILA SEATTLE VIA HONGKONG - SHANGHAI - KOBE - YOKOHAMA Manila PRESIDENT GRANT...................................... May 13 PRESIDENT MADISON i...............................May 25 PRESIDENT JACKSON.................................June 6 PRESIDENT McKINLEY.................................June 18 PRESIDENT JEFFERSON..............................Dune 30 Arrives Seattie June 5 June 17 June 29 July 11 July 23 ONLY TWO-DAY STOP AT HONGKONG TWENTY-THREE DAYS MANILA TO SEATTLE OPERATED FOR ACCOUNT OF U. S. SHIPPING BOARD B¥ ADMIRAL ORIENTAL LINE MANAGING AGENTS PHONE 22441 24 DAVID IN RESPONDING TO ADVERTISEMENTS PLEASE MENTION THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL May, 1926 THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL 25 have taken place within the past six months on the storm-tossed Atlantic? Never be fore in the annals of the sea have there been, in so short a time, so many gripping tales of rescues from imminent death by shipwreck. Those who bemoan, with gloomy imagination, the decadence of manly vir tues, and the lowering of the morale of the present generation, should read the details of those maritime epics and take heart for the world’s future. In our own midst are some who even have expressed the opinion that our long neglect of shipping had re sulted in the disappearance of good sea manship on the part of our merchant marine personnel. The outstanding fact of this series of rescues is that the majority of them were made by American ships manned by Amer icans, and that those rescued were repre sentatives of the merchant marines of Great Britain, Norway and Italy, which countries operated successful shipping ventures cen turies before America was even discovered. So far as our shipping is concerned there then need be no fear as to the efficiency, bravery, resourcefulness and humanitari anism of the officers and men who man our vessels. The statistics compiled by the Associat ed Steamship Lines., reported in the Feb ruary issue as covering February were in fact for January. From statistics compiled by the Associat ed Steamship Lines, there were exported from the Philippines during February, 1926: To China and Japan ports 9058 tons with a total of 25 sailings, of which 5703 tons were carried in American bottoms with 9 sailings; to the Pacific coast for local delivery, 20,742 tons with a total of 11 sailings, of which 13,184 tons were car ried in American bottoms with 10 sailings; to the Pacific coast thence overland or in ter-coastal 1216 tons with a total of six sailings, all of which, was carried in Amer ican bottoms; to Atlantic coast ports, 55,002 tons with a total of 17 sailings, of which 19,353 tons were carried in Amer ican bottoms with six sailings; to European Ports, 8114 tons with a total of 12 sail ings, of which 83 tons were carried in American bottoms with two sailings; to Australian ports, 730 tons with a total of four sailings, none of which was carried in American bottoms; or a grand total of 94,862 tons with 75 sailings, of which 39,539 tons were carried in American bottoms with a total of 33 sailings. From statistics compiled by the Associated Steamship Lines, there were ex ported from the Philippines during the month of March, 1926: To China and Japan ports, 22,257 tons with a total of 45 sailings, of which 12,847 tons were carried in American bottoms with 15 sailings; To the Pacific coast for local delivery, 32,063 tons with a total of 17 sailings, of which 19,952 tons were carried in American bot toms with 12 sailings; to the Pacific coast thence overland or inter-coastal, 3136 tons with a total of 12 sailings, of which 3038 tons were carried in American bottoms with 10 sailings; to the Atlantic coast, 75,371 tons with 15 sailings, of which 40,618 tons were carried in American bot toms with six sailings; to European ports, 9280 tons with 10 sailings, of which 144 tons were carried in American bottoms with one sailing; to Australian ports 1432 tons with four sailings, none of which was carried in American bottoms; or a grand total of 143,539 tons with 103 sailings, of which American bottoms carried 76,619 tons with 44 sailings. SHIPPING PERSONALS Mr. Brockway, formerly assistant man ager of the shipping department of Welch lairchild & Co., Ltd., and more recently with the Hawaiian-Philippine Sugar Co. at Silay, Negros, has joined the Dollar Steam ship Line staff, identified with the pas senger department. Mr. A. E. Clegg, President of the Kerr Steamship Line, was in Manila recently to look over the company’s property and in terests in the Philippines. It is reported that Mr. V. M. Smith, as sistant director for the United States Ship ping Board in the Orient, now in Wash ington D. C., will return to Manila aboard the Admiral Line’s crack Liner President •Jackson due in Manila June 3. Statement of Ownership, Management, Etc., of the American Chamber of Commerce Journal Editor: WALTER ROBB Advertising Manager: W. BRUCE ALLEN Publisher and Proprietor: THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COM MERCE of the Philippine Islands Signed: W. BRUCE ALLEN. Advertising Manager Subscribed and sworn to before me this 6th day of April, 1926 (Sgd.) N.QUILON, Acte. Superintendent, Inspection Division Manila Postoffice. DOLLAR STEAMSHIP LINE SERVES THE WORLD ROUND THE WORLD 24 Calle David SAILINGS EVERY 14 DAYS Telephone 22441 High-class Passenger and Freight Service The President Liners Offer SPEED - SERVICE- COURTESY-COMFORT Excellent Food, Comfortable Cabins, Broad Decks, ^American Orchestra, Dancing, Swimming Pool, Sports. SAILINGS EVERY 14 DAYS To SAN FRANCISCO via HONGKONG, SHANGHAI, KOBE, YOKOHAMA and HONOLULU NEXT SAILING PRESIDENT WILSON - - - May 19th PRESIDENT LINCOLN - - - June 2nd THROUGH RATES TO EUROPE Railway Tickets to all points in America. To BOSTON-NEW YORK via SINGAPORE, PENANG, COLOMBO, SUEZ, PORT SAID, ALEXANDRIA NAPLES, GENOA, MARSEILLES Round — the—World NEXT SAILING PRESIDENT ADAMS - - - May 28th PRESIDENT GARFIELD - - June 11th Stopovers will be granted which permit the making of interesting side trips at various points. IN RESPONDING TO ADVERTISEMENTS PLEASE MENTION THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL May, 1926 Taxation of Farm and Foreshore Leased Lands W ** ** It* ** It* Are You Illegally Taxed? This May Tell You. For some time there has been con siderable discussion relative to the liabi lity for taxation of lands leased from the government un der the provisions of Acts 926 and 1654. • Act 926 refers to agricultural public lands, and Act 1654 to foreshore lands under water and reclaimed land. Both the aforementioned laws have been repealed and substituted by Act 2874, but any leases granted under the provisions of Act 926 or Act 1654 are not affected by any subsequent amendment which in any way prejudices the rights of lessees. Several instances have been brought to the atten tion of the Chamber of Commerce showing that provincial treasurers have assessed and are still attempting to collect taxes on lands leased under Act 926, even though they have received explicit instructions to the contrary. The whole question seems to have arisen as a result of Provincial Circular No. 188, dated December 1, 1920, issued by the exe cutive bureau. This circular follows: "SUBJECT: "Section 113, Act 2874, making public lands sold or leased subject to real property tax. “For the information and guidance of all concerned, attention is invited to the provisions of section 113 of Act No. 2874, entitled ‘An Act To Amend and Compile the Laws Relative to Lands of the Public Domain and For Other Purposes,’ reading as follows: “Sec. 113,—All the lands granted by vir tue of this Act and the improvements thereon, except homesteads, shall, even though the title remains in the Govern ment, be subject to the ordinary taxes which shall be paid by the grantee begin ning with the year hext following the one in which the application or concession has been approved or the contract signed, as the case may be. “In view of the above provisions of law, Provincial Assessors are hereby instructed to declare for taxation purposes all real property of the public domain located in their respective provinces sold or leased by the Bureau qf Lands to any individual, company or corporation. Similarly, all privately owned improvements erected or established or public lands should be de clared for taxation purposes. (Sgd.) “Ped. J. Rich, Acting Chief, Executive Bureau. “To All Provincial Treasurers and Provincial Assessors of Provinces under the jurisdiction of the Executive Bureau.” It will be noted that there is nothing wrong with the law itself. The law pro vides for taxation on all lands granted un der this act (2874) and says nothing about taxation of lands granted under the ori ginal acts. A perusal of Provincial Cir cular No. 188 shows that same was writ ten without a previous careful reading of the law. Regardless of numerous protests the exe cutive bureau refused to change its ruling until forced by a decision of the supreme court. On June 25, 1925, the executive bureau issued Provincial Circular No. 210, read ing as follows: Mr. Wilson succeeded Walter Robb as secretary of the Chamber of Com merce April 15, Mr. Robb resigning to assume, under the publicity commit tee, management of the Journal as well as the editorship. Mr. Wilson came to the islands with the troops of occupation and afterward had a long career in the government ser vice. When Harrison came he had been for several years assistant direc tor of the bureau of lands, wfyere the Harrison axe found him, and whence, with characteristic frankness, he ad mitted he was fired. His familiarity with the land laws of the Philippines will be of great value to him in his new post. He was at one time chief of the land registration office; he also made the first assessment of Manila. After leaving, the bureau of lands, he managed for several years the Worcester properties in Bukidnon, Mindanao. After that he was in bus iness in Manila, representing the Los Angeles-Pacific Navigation Company and other California interests. More recently he managed the Mindoro Su gar Estate. "SU B.JECT: Taxes due on public lands sold, leased or given free patent under section 113 of Act 2874, as amended by Act 321 f). “For the information and guidance of all concerned, the provisions of section 113 of Act 2874, as amended by Act 3219, are hereunder quoted: “SEC. 113. All the lands granted by virtue of this Act except homestead upon which final proof has not been made and approved, shall, even though, and while the title remains in the Government, be subject to the or dinary taxes which shall be paid by the grantee beginning with the year next following the one in which the ap plication or concession has been ap proved or the contract signed, as the case may be, on the basis of the value fixed in such approval, concession or contract.” “In accordance with the foregoing pro visions of law, provincial assessors are hereby instructed to declare, for taxation, all public lands located in their respective provinces sold, leased or given free patent under Act 2874, as amended. This proviHilton Carson BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY FOR SALE-Old and well established merchandise and transportation business in Mindanao; practically exclusive control of best agencies in prosperous district with constantly increasing trade. Has paid to exceed 25% for years. Splendid oppor tunity for one or two men with some know ledge of transportation and trade. Owner must sacrifice owing to ill health and need to return to states. For information address "Z Y X”cfo Business Manager, American Chamber of Commerce Journal, Manila. Furniture Moved Contract Hauling Baggage Transferred Dump Trucks for Hire AUTO TRUCKING 1955 Azcarraga CO. Phone 22345 PHILIPPINE TRUST COMPANY Commercial Banking, both domestic and foreign in all its branches. Collections, Domestic and Foreign Exchange, Savings Accounts, Bond and Trust Facilities. ’cActS as administrator of estates, or as executor or trustee under wills, and as trustee under deeds; secures the issuance of corporate bonds, etc. M. H. O'MALLEY, President. MEMBER AMERICAN BANKERS ASSOCATION Chase National Bank—New York Correspondent . MONTE DE PIEDAD BLDG. TELEPHONE 1255 IN RESPONDING TO ADVERTISEMENTS PLEASE MENTION THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL May, 1926 THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL 27 sion of the Public Land Act should not be applied, however, to public lands leased under the provisions of Act 926 for accord ing to the decision of the Supreme Court of the Philippine Islands in the case G. R. No. 2J105, entitled Geo. H. Fairchild versus Marcelino Sarmiento, as Provincial Treas urer of Mindoro, such lands are exempt from taxation. “Provincial Circular No. 188 of this Of fice is hereby amended accordingly. (Sgd.) “HONORIO VENTURA, Chief, Executive Bureau. “To All Provincial Treasurers, ex-officio Assessors, and “Provincial Assessors of provinces under the jurisdiction of the Executive Bureau. “APPROVED: (Signed) “FELIPE AGONCILLO, Secretary of the Interior.” The decision of the supreme court reads as follows: “Where the government as the owner of certain land, leased it under the provisions of -Public Land Act 926, for a stipulated rental, and the lease does not contain any provisions for the payment of taxes by the lessee, such land is exempt from taxation.” It should be borne in mind that improve ments on lands leased under Act 926 are taxable. Lands leased under Act 1654: Para graph two, of sub-section “d” of section 2 of Act 1654 provides: “Every such lease shall also contain a provision for the payment of the tax or taxes on said land or improvements and providing that upon the failure of the les see to pay any such tax or taxes or any part thereof the lease shall forthwith cease and determine.” Section 4 of Act No. 1654 provides as follows: “All lands leased under the pro visions of the foregoing sections of this Act, and all improvements thereon, shall be subject to local taxation against the les sees, their heirs, executors, administrators, successors, or assigns, to the same extent as if such lessees, their heirs, executors, administrators, successors or assigns, were the owners of both land and improve ments.” It will be noted that the lands leased under Act 1654 are taxable. However, any assessments subsequent to the passage of Act 3219, Jan. 19, 1925, must be made in accordance with article 17 of said act reading as follows: “SEC. 17. Section one hundred and thirteen of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows: SEC. 113. All the lands granted by virtue of this Act except homestead upon which final proof has not been made and approved, shall, even though, and while the title remains in the Government, be subject to the ordinary taxes which shall be paid by the grantee beginning with the year next following the one in which the ap plication or concession has been approved or the contract signed, as the case may be, on the basis of the value fixed in such ap proval, concession or contract.” Under this law the assessment for taxa tion should not be greater than the ap praisement made by the bureau of lands for leasing purposes. It would be well for all lessees carefully to examine their documents and see first where they stand. Any questions regard ing this matter may be referred to this of fice for further explanation. J. R. Wilson, Secretary. Benito Siy Cong Bieng, Chinese mer chant and boat owner, died two weeks ago worth $10,000,000. He made no public endowments. Aldous Huxley, author of Chrome Yel low, was a visitor to Manila early in April. He is a grandson of Huxley the biologist. Skirmishing against Moros characterized the April situation in Lanao. There were casualties on both sides. The ss Atlanta City of the Isthmian line caught fire in moving from Iloilo to San Carlos April 8, was aided at San Carlos by U. S. destroyers from Cebu and finally enabled to reach Manila, damage being about $100,000 to copra and sugar fully insured. Nothing important occurred in politics during April affecting commerce one way or another. May 4 the labor congress re solved it would remain neutral if America became involved in an oriental war. ROSENSTOCK’S MANILA CITY DIRECTORY Business men know that City Directories are among the best advertising mediums. ROSENSTOCK’S MANILA CITY DIRECTORY is the Directory of your city. MAKE USE OF IT! Cooperation on your part will make the 1926-1927 edition the best ever published. We solicit your co operation, in order to eliminate inaccuracies. See that you are properly repretented. PHILIPPINE EDUCATION CO., Inc. PROPRIETORS Phone 2-21-31 101-103 Escolta, Manila IN RESPONDING TO ADVERTISEMENTS PLEASE MENTION THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL 28 THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL May, 1926 Girl of Twenty Becomes Clare Nun ** iti» «« nit «« nit nn nn Community Innocent of Modern Ways A few Manilans who managed to get up early enough tnrce weeks ago, were rewarded by their visit to Santa Clara convent on Calle Cabildo, where Natividad Garcia, 20 years old, was given the vows of a no vitiate. The Santa Clara nuns are per petually immured in their little convent in the walled city, the convent itself being shielded from the world by windowless walls 30 feet high. There are 31 nuns and nine girl servants in the community. The nuns never show their faces to the world after they have taken the veil, but may, while veiled, talk through the bars of a double iron grating to relatives cr friends at Christmas or Easter. The present mother superior is 76 years old and has been a nun for 56 years. She and many of her sisters have never seen a street car or an automobile; only in the vaguest way do they realize there has been a war in Europe. It is quite probable that the mother superior never even saw a steamboat. The nuns make reliquaries for saintly relics blessed at Rome intended for parish churches in the Philippines. They perform manual labor and incessant devotions. Theii* con vent was founded in 1621 and remains practically without change. When the British sacked Manila in 1762, the nuns were removed for safety to the sanctuary of Guadalupe. Students of the farm school at Munoz have petitioned that Sabani Estate in east ern Nueva Ecija be opened to them for homesteading. The estate of Mariano Limjap, father of Mrs. Osmenai is valued at two million pesos. Despite the fact that the government en joyed a 20 per cent revenue surplus last year, Governor General Leonard Wood has reiterated his opposition to reduction of the sales-tax rate, now fixed permanently at 1 ’,■> per cent. There had been some talk in legislative circles x)f reducing the rate, and the executive announcement is tantamount to notice of the purpose to veto a rate-re duction bill should one be passed. The attorney general has ruled that cer tain dividends recently paid by La Urbane., a corporation organized under the local building-and-loan company act, are illegal. The public prints tell c'f $50,000 of the voluntarily contributed “independence” fund having been invested in the stock of this company.. A Spanish troupe is putting on variety at the Palace, where some good dancing and singing is done. For the ear quick in the intracies of the Spanish tongue, the mono logues are also above the average Manila performance. Mary Pickford is at the Lyric in Rosita. The Lyric management has been surpassing itself recently in the number of first rate films it has been showing. When you have missed a good one at the Lyric, then watch the Savoy announcements. This picture vaudeville house takes the second run of the good ones. Up to time of going to press, May 7, the British general strike had affected only slightly the business of the islands. Hemp •prices were lower and the market dubious After going through most of the dry season liberally utilizing hydrant water for sprinkling the streets for which river wa ter would have dene as well, the city is a; last economizing by drawing water from the bay — an announcement which is a warning to motorists to keep the fenders well painted. The waste of the hydrant water during a time of scarcity is attri buted to the quarrel between the ity and the Metropolitan Water District. The case pending involves the insular auditor, the collector cf internal revenue and insular treasurer as defendants together with the water district, which duns the city for char ges claimed legally payable. It is on ap peal to the U. S. supreme court. NONE BETTER! Sold at American Chamber Bar Ynchausti Rope Factory Manufacturers of high grade Manila Ropes Contractors to the U. S. Army and Navy and the Philippine Islands Government (Complete stocks carried by Messrs. Guy T. Slaughter & Co., of 210 Cali fornia Street, San Francisco, Cal.) Prices and Samples Mailed on Request Ynchausti y Cia. 945 M. de la Industria ^Manila, P. I. IN RESPONDING TO ADVERTISEMENTS PLEASE MENTION THE AMERICAN CHAMHER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL May, 1926 THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL 29 Financial Summary for week ending April 17, BANK REPORT April 17 1. Total Loans, Discounts and Overdrafts ..................... P136,911,192 2. Total Investments ......................................................... 21,490,005 3. Total due from banks, agencies and branches in Phil ippine Islands ............................................................. 23,142,766 4. Total due from head office and branches which supply working capital to foreign banks doing business in the Philippine Islands ................................................ 5,387,676 5. Total due from other banks ........................................ 22,342,362 6. Total cash on hand: (a) Treasury Certificates ........................................ 20,183,822 (lr) Other cash available for reserve .................... 1,211,804 (<■) Bank Notes .......................................................... 1,244,048 (d) Other cash ......................................................... 379,065 Totai.............................................................. 23,018,739 7. Total resources (Not a total of above items) ............. 239,888,209 8. Total Time Deposits......................................................... 72,369,187 9. Total Time Deposits......................................................... 52,380,761 10. Total due to Head Office or other offices, represent ing working capital of foreign branch banks doing business in the Philippine Islands ........................... 15,871,362 11. Total due to banks, agencies and branches in the Phil ippine Islands ............................................................. 6,920,987 12. Total due to other banks ......................................... 3,240,678 13. Total exchange bought by banks since last report— spot ................................................................................ 2,564,856 14. Total exchange sold by banks since last report—spot. 3,334,684 15. Total exchange bought by banks since last report— future ........................................................................... 4,347,824 16. Total exchange sold by banks since last report—future 1,435,279 17. Total debits to individual accounts since last report.. 31,377,612 GOVERNMENT REPORT Exchange: 1. Total exchange sold by Treasurer on New York— demand ................................................................... 100,235.72 2. Total exchange sold by Treasurer on New York— telegraphic ............................................................. 1,500,000.00 3. Total exchange sold by Treasurer, New York on Manila—telegraphic ............................................. Circulation: 4. Government— (a) Philippine Coins............................................ 21,307,752.14 (t>) Treasury Certificates ................................... 93,726,388.00 5. Bank Notes ................................................................ 38,636,375.60 Total Circulation ................................... 153,670,515.74 Government Reserves : 6. Gold Standard Fund—Treasury, Manila .............. 7,559,711.95 7. Gold Standard Fund—New York........................... 11,285,669.22 8. Treasury Certificate Fund—Treasury, Manila ... 21,351,281.00 9. Treasury Certificate Fund—New York ............... 72,375,107.00 Total Reserves........................................ 112,571,769.17 (Signed) BEN F. WRIGHT, Insular Auditor. For More Than 27 Years Discriminating men have found that we do the best tailoring and have the largest selection of good suitings, d* New York-Paris-Manila 12 Eacolta Phone 706 1926 April 10 Pl.36,689,196 22,300,651 THE 24,341,759 COMEBACK 5,363,285 21,845,861 21,272.897 1,194,574 1,318,457 441,663 24,227,5)1 241,558,293 72,545,178 52,630,639 16,334,220 7,148,288 3,740,178 2,857,596 4,325,353 3,818,112 1,390,896 30,242,579 100.732.90 1,000,000.00 21,338,465.18 93,726,388.00 38,913.375.60 154,008,228.78 5,945,557.83 12,885,904.94 21,351,281.00 72,375,107.00 112,557,850.77 The comeback must be the right comeback. Your printed product must be the no comeback kind when the work is done and delivered there is no comeback except another job and a boost from you. The right comeback is the comeback we try to get from you the come back of a customer thorougly satisfied, of good opinion, of more orders. The job that has no come back but a comeback cust omer is the kind that builds our business. Hammering away every minute to get the right co meback puts the quality in ourwork, puts the prompt ness in our service. Ittakes workand pep butit’sworth it it wins your good opi nion,fend that’s the comecack we want. The Times Press Cosmopolitan Building Manila, P. I. CATTON-NEILL CHANGES HANDS •The Earnshaw Docks and Honolulu Iron Works have taken t,v?r the Catton-Ncill Engineering and Machiaery Co., Ltd., and in future the business cf the two compa nies will be conducted by the former, where A. M. Simpson remains as manager. TAYLOR VISITS CAGAYAN Carson Taylor, publisher cf the Manila Daily Bulletin, C. M. Butler, trade commis sioner, Representative Pedro de la Liana and others were among the Manilans who motored to Aparri to welcome the Spanish aviators and enjoy the trip over the Santa Fe road into the Cagayan valley. The Tay lor party also motored through the Ilocos IN RESPONDING TO ADVERTISEMENTS PLEASE MENTION THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL 30 THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL May, 1923 STATISTICAL REVIEW H 8 I IT IS A CAPITAL YOUR LOGGING PROBLEM can be solved readily by some type of WASHINGTON LOGGING ENGINE The Washington Simplex Yarder ^shown above leads Washington Iron Works, seattie, u. s. a. The Edward J. Nell Co., Ltd., - Manila. Connkij, Bros. O<>. IMPORTERS WASHINGTON ENGINES . Z.V RESPONDING TO ADVERTISEMENTS PLEASE MENTION THE AMERICAN CH AM HER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL May, 1926 THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL 31 PBI»CgAX.gXFOBTS CARB YING TR> IMPORTS. S 2Sf“.:::::->2.8 “1:057'9.30 >‘>4A Total .................. 31,196,009 100.0 31,362.399 100.0 21.232,055 100.0 % Value % Value % 32 THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL May, 1926 BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL DIRECTORY Phone 72 363 Raon J. P. Scanlan OFFICE SUPPLIES—ANTIQUE FURNITURE Beds, Dressers, Wardrobes, Tables, Chairs, etc. Philippines Cold Stores Wholesale and Retail Dealers in American and Australian Re frigerated Produce. STORES AND OFFICES CALLE ECHAGUE, MANILA, P. I. B. A. GREEN REAL ESTATE Improved and Unimproved City, Suburban and Provincial Properties Derham Building Phone 1819 Manila P. O. Box 2103 Morton &. Ericksen, Inc. Surveyors AMERICAN BUREAU OF SHIPPING MARINE AND CARGO SURVEYORS SWORN MEASURERS Expert valuation, appraisement and reports on real estate Telephone 507 Cable Address: “BAG* Manila 34 Escolta Manila Philippine Islands Macleod & Company. ManUa Cebu Vlgan Davao Iloilo Exporters of Hemp and Maguey Agents for International Harvester Co. Agricultural Machinery j RESPONSIBLE FIRMS write for the Agency “WHITE FROST" refrigerators THE HOME PRODUCTS CORP’N Jackson, Michigan U.S. A. CHUA YAP Phone 1891 718 Ave. Rizal Manufacturer of PLATE GLASS SHOW CASES end VENETIAN MIRRORS SILVERING & BEVELLING S. W. STRAUS & CO. BONDS for sale by J. A. STIVER P. O. Box 1394 Telephone 653 121 Real, Intramuros, MANILA Forty-four yarr without a dollar loss to any investor. P. O. Box 1394 Telephone 653 J. A. STIVER Attorney-atLaw Notary Public Certified Public Accountant Investments Collections Income Tax 121 Real, Intramuros Manila, P. I. HANSON & ORTH, Inc. MANILA, P. I. Buyers and Exporters of Hemp and Other Fibers 612-513 Pacific Bldg. Tel. 22418 BRANCHES: New York—London —Merida—Davao 8 HOUR BATTERY SERVICE Caro Electrical Service Automobile Electrical Work our Specialty-. 110 Padre F.urn Phones 65 and 56944 ---------------------------------------------------------1 Sanitary - Convenient - Satisfactory! FIVE EUROPEAN BARBERS LA MARINA BARBER SHOP 117 Plaza Goiti Jose Cortina, Prop. MADRIGAL & CO. 8 Muell^ del Banco Nacional, Manila COAL CONTRACTORS COCONUT OIL MANUFACTURERS MILL LOCATED AT CEBU FOR LATEST STYLES IN GENTS' CLOTHING. GO TO Mr: Manuel Valentine Formerly Chief Cutter for P. B. Florence & Co. 16 Years Experience on High Class Garments 244 Plaza Sta. Cruz Phone 5390 Manila M. J. B. The Quality Coffee F. E. Zuellig, Inc. Cebu, Manila, Iloilo X^4 a L L - s V JTABAfiK Repairing, Painting, Upholstering, Body Building, Electrical Work, etc. Cars stored at reasonable rates Phone 1912. 548 to 554 San Luis, Ermita. Quality ffi Shirts l TOYO SHIRT FACTORY 104-4 A KARR AG A. MANILA. Z.V RESPONDING TO ADVERTISEMENTS PLEASE MENTION THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL Travel By Railroad For Convenience, Comfort, Safety and Economy Interior View of Special Coach No. 6. This car is equipped with toilet, bath, kitchen and 3 fixed births with curtains to make compartments. In these days of travel the scenic beauties of this Pearl of the Orient can be enjoyed while travelling in most comfortable railway coaches. The Manila Railroad System traverses an extensive area of unsur passed tropical scenery which makes travelling by train a source of unbounded satisfaction. Special attention is given parties desiring to travel in observation cars on regular or special trains. Years of experience have shown us what the requirements of the travel ling public are, so that whether on business or pleasure trips, we are able to offer travelling facilities that will compare favorably with any other part of the world. For particulars write to M. D. ROYER, Traffic Manager. Manila Railroad Company 943 AZCARRAGA, MANILA, P. I. 'IN RESPONDING TO ADVERTISEMENTS PLEASE MENTION THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL ARMCO INGOT IRON World’s Purest Iron Commercially Made. Proven by its actual service record throughout the world to be the most durable when exposed to severe corrosive conditions; therefore the most economical to use. Look for the Blue Triangle Brand, the hallmark of sterling quality in Iron. Atlantic Gulf & Pacific Company, of Manila Sole Distributors in the Philippine Islands MARCHANT Master of Mathematics The Light-Running Quiet-Running Long-Running The busy business man’s calculator. Performs any mathematical problem that can be expressed in figures. ROYAL TYPEWRITER Buy no other Typewriter until you critically •‘COMPARE THE WORK’’ The SUNDSTRAND The simplest adding and calculating machine on the market. One-hand control. Only ten keys. Practicable and Portable PHONE FOR DEMONSTRATION IN YOUR OWN OFFICE Sold on Monthly Payments CAMERA SUPPLY COMPANY — IN RESPONDING TO ADVERTISEMENTS PLEASE MENTION THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL