The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-12-03

der American control the fluctuation in the demand for money in different sea- sons of the year succeeded in widely fluctuating rates of exchange and in the continued flow of money either to or from the islands. A law which prevent ed importation of Mexican dollars of a date subsequent to 1877 proved a great hardship to the business interests and would have been a much greater evil had not the officials permitted smuggling.
 It was nat uncommon for the dollar to go at a premium of 10 or 12 ger cent. and this would immediately start the flow of silver toward the island which would be continued until the demand was met, The result of the law was to make money dear during the season when there was a big demand for cur rency and the producers and merchants and bankers have robbed from year to year through the effects of the law. Af- ter the occupation of Manila by the American troops permission was given the banks to import silver freely and the result has been to keep exchange rates on more stable basus.
 The amount of currency in circula- l ton in the islands, including Mexican and Spanish silver dollars, subsidiary coins and bank notes issued on a silver basis, is roughly estimated at from $40,- l 100000 to $45,000,0O0 or approximately $5 per capita for the total population. These figures are given on silver | basis and therefore in figuring on our own standard they must be cut in two. The question of the future currency of | the islands is one of vital importance 1 to all business men iI the islands The best informed men in Manila are unan- ! imous in the opinion that under the present condition the silver currency is l the only one suited to the islands A great deal of the trade of the Philip | pines is with China and Japan, the Strait settlements, India and Australia. In China and Japan and in India the whole trade is on silver basis, though | Japan has adopted the gold standard, 1 having, however, as the basis of it's currency a gold dollar, which is approx imately worth only fifty cents, and it's l currency therefore in effect is on sil- 1 yer basis. The natives of the Philip | pine islands are conservative to a de- i gree in the matter of their currency and it would be a long and tedious task | to educate them to a dollar which ! would be worth twice that now in cir | culation. Notwithstanding the Ameri-
 cans have a force of 15,000 soldiers in Manila who are paid in gold, the peo- ] pie of the islands wifi have nothing 1 but silver. All of the soldiers when
 they are paid in gold take their money
 to the banks and exchange it for local currency. The native will take the
 Mexican dollar worth less than fifty
 cents in gold in preference to the Unit
 ed States dollar worth ore hundred ! cents. If the United States retain the
 Philippine islands special coinage ot silver dollars might be mfnted for cir | culatfon in the archipelago. Tn tim5 the gold standard mght be put in force in the islands, but in the opinion of the ! business men generally it would have
 to be accomplished slowly.
 The report says that there is an is-
 sue of $40,000 GOO of per cent bonds
 which was put out by the Spanish gov
 ernment in July, 1897, and which serves
 as first lien upon the cutsoms re-
 ceipts of the port of Manila Practi-
 cally, it states, all the export and i'm port trade of the islands is in tht
 hands of foreigners. There are 8 few
 Spaniards engaged in trading, but the
 bulk of the business in coinmercia
 way is done by British, German, Bel gian and American citizens. The ex
 ports from the islands for the year
 1897 were valued at s41, ,342, ,9S0 The i'm.
 ports during 1897 were valued at ST.. l 342. .990.