1430
PHILIPPINE ISLANDS
the United States. The principal articles of embroideries made are lingerie, children's clothes, handkerchiefs, table cloths and underwear of various classes, which are for the most part prepared according to orders received from the United States. The work done is of a very good grade and brings good prices. The total value of embroi- deries exported in 1920 was P15,623,567, the greatest bulk thercof being sent to the United States. On account of the abundance of suitable local materials for hat- making and the excellent prices offered for Philippine hats, the manufacture of hats is a profitable industry. Philippine hats are made from native materials such as bamboo, buntal, buri, sabutan and pandan. In 1920, hats to the value of P1,539,596 were exported, chiefly to the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy and France.
The minor industries of the Islands include shipbuilding, foundries and machine shops, the making of shoes, soap, matches, salt and pots, besides the aerated water and mineral water factories. Among the potential industries are the cement, leather, button, glass, perfume, starch, caustic soda and coir mat industries.
TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNICATIONS
The bulk of overseas shipments are made from the port of Manila, although other smaller ports also have direct connections with foreign ports. The most important of these arc Cebu, Iloilo and Zamboanga. These and the other smaller ports now open to foreign trade are growing in importance. They possess good harbour facilities, are well protected from storms, and vessels drawing thirty feet or more can load and unload alongsids their wharves with perfect safety. During 1919, 740 foreign vessels with an aggregate net tonnage of 1,711,981 tons entered the Islands, while 719 vessels with an aggregate net tonnage of 1,705,869 were cleared for foreign ports. This is an increase over the previous year of 148 vessels, or 460,331 tons, in total entrances and clearances. Fifty inter island vessels are now operated in the coastwise trade of the Philippines.
Manila, the capital and chief port of the Islands, is on the largest and finest bay in the Orient. The harbour at the entrance of this bay is landlocked. The anchorage space for steamers is protected by a semicircular breakwater within which is a basin large enough to accommodate all vessels of the size of the "Empress" liners. To-day three piers project into the harbour, one is nearing completion, and still another is being projected. Regular steamship lines are maintained between Manila and Hongkong, Amoy, San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver and Cadiz.
There are at present 1,225 kilometres of railroad car-lines in the Philippines. They are owned by two companies-the Manila Railroad Company, which is owned by the Government; and the Philippine Railway Company, which will soon be purchased by the Government. About one hundred kilometres of railroad are under construction. In Manila and in the province of Rizal, electric car service is main- tained by the Manila Electric Railroad and Light Company, the total extent of its lines being 94.66 kilometres.
Next in importance to railways in the domestic transportation of the Islands are motor vehicles. Many private individuals and companies authorized by the Public Utility Commission are engaged in land transportation both for passengers and freight.
The construction of good roads open to all kinds of traffic in different parts of the Islands has been properly attended to by the Philippine Government during the past twenty years. Throughout nearly the last decade, the Philippine Government has spent on an average P5,000,000 a year for the construction of roads and bridges. In 1919, nearly P13,000,000 was appropriated for this purpose. The total extension of first-class, second class, and third-class roads in the Islands increased from nearly 6,000 kilometres in 1910 to nearly 10,000 kilometres in 1919. The mileage of roads rated as first-class is 2,920 miles.
There are at present two cable lines and one radio communication service in operation between the Philippines and foreign countries. The increased need for better and more extensive facilities for internal communication has been met by the rapid extension of telegraph and cable lines, telephone system, and mail service.
Experiments have been made recently with aviation as a factor in the mail and passenger service, both domestic and foreign.
COMMERCE
The growth of Philippine commerce during the last ten years is shown in the following table of comparison:-