Directory_and_Chronicle_1915 — Page 1522

THE PHILIPPINES

1509

and good success is reported to have attended the work of some prospectors. There are many hot springs of iron and sulphur waters, all of excellent medicinal properties. The famous "Holy Waters" of Tiwi and Sibul are visited every year in large numbers by the islanders seeking relief from their sufferings. The endemic complaints of the country are swamp fever, diarrhea, beri-beri, and a few others. Incurable leprosy is very limited among the natives. Cholera was very prevalent in 1908. The mortality is low considering the number of inhabitants.

Dr. Augustin de la Cavada, a Spanish historian,

historian, says of the natives, and he is generally confirmed by American writers, that they are of & mild, submissive, and respectful disposition, predisposed to religious observances, extremely superstitious, and very hospitable. Those of Batangas, Cagayan, and Southern Ilocos are better workers and more industrious than those of the other Provinces. During their youth they work with energy and a certain intellectual vigour, but on reaching a more advanced age they lose a large part of their disposition for work and lapse into an indolence that is one of their greatest defects. The women are averse to idleness and have a spirit of enterprise, and they often engage in various trades with success.

The rivers and streams of the Philippines are countless and traverse the islands in all directions, the natural result of mountain peaks and ranges that extend over a large area.

The most noteworthy volcanoes are Buheyan in Mindanao, Taal in Batangas, and Bulusan and Mayon in Albay. The last is in continual eruption and at times creates terror in the surrounding country on account of the quantity of boiling water, ashes, and lava it throws out. In 1872 an eruption of this volcano destroyed entirely the villages of Malinao, Camalig, Guinobatan, Ligao, Polangui, and Albay.

The United States has done magnificent work in the island in all departments of the administration and the record of American control is one of substantial progress in every direction. Though the trade of the islands has greatly increased during the past decade there are still many serious difficulties to contend with; lack of capital and labour, to a large extent, handicaps agricultural and commercial development, capital from the United States not being attracted and the admission of Chinese labour being prohibited. An enormous increase has been noticeable in the case of exports to the United States, while there is a decrease in the case of all other countries. This result was mainly due to the fact that by Act of Congress, March, 1902, all articles the growth and produce of the Philippines admitted into the United States free of duty were eligible for a return of the export duty imposed in the Philippines so long as shipped to the United States direct, and proof be submitted of their importation and consumption there.

The military force maintained in the Islands amounts to 13,030 white troops of all arms, 5,000 native scouts allied to the white garrison, and 3,000 constabulary, who act as a sort of semi-military police.

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The policy of the United States towards the Philippines was defined by President Roosevelt in his Message to Congress in December, 1904, in the following terms:

"At present, the Philippine people are utterly incapable of existing in independence at all, or of building up a civilisation of their own. I firmly believe we can help them to rise higher and higher in the scale of civilisation and of capacity for self-government, and most earnestly hope that in the end they will be able to stand, if not entirely alone, yet in some such relation to the United States as Cuba now stands."

The total trade of the islands for the fiscal year 1913 amounted to P.220,021,700 as against P.209,738,632 for 1912, or a gain of P.10,282,086. The exports amounted to P.107,366,652 for 1913 as against P.100,639,672 for 1912, an increase of P.6,726,980, while the imports for 1913 amounted to P.112,655,066 against P.109,099,960 for the previous year, an increase of P.3,555,106. The total trade of the Philippines with the United States for the fiscal year 1913 amounted to P.91,235,034 compared with P. 4,822,238 for the fiscal year 1912, a gain of P.6,412,796. Of the total of trade the importations from the United States for 1913 was P.51,293,750, compared with P.41,582,866, a gain of 1.9,710,884, or 45 per cent. of the total importation to the islands. The export to the United States fell off from P.43,239,372 in 1912 to P.39,941,284 in 1913 or P.3,228,388, so that the United States enjoys a trade balance against the islands of P.11,352,466 for the fiscal year.

From a proportion of slightly over 5 per cent. of the total trade in manufactures of cotton in 1904, the American product supplies 59 per cent. of the present local demand. This development has been fostered by the free entry provisions of the Philippine

Tariff Law of 1909.

In a speech delivered by Mr. Taft at Boston before his election to the Presidency he expressed the opinion that the Philippines would not be fit for self-government for