The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-12-03
NEWS AND COMMENT.

In the opinion of Correspondent Nc.
Cutcheon the currency problem will be
knotty one in our management of the
Philippines. Says he 1T would be
costly experiment to substitute for the
Mexican dollar a dollar such as is used
in America, which is kept at an artificial
value by its relation to gold. If American
do5lars, worth twice as much as Mexican
dollars, Were introduced the native would
want as many Of them for his wages as
he had formerly received MeXicanS. If
he gets three Mexican dollars a week
now, he would want three American dol
lars under the new system, Tor no argu-
ment could convince native that three
pieces of Mexican silver were worth only
half the amount in American silver. An
American dollar would never buy twice
the amount of stuff that a Mexican dol
lar does, no matter who says that it is
worth twice as much. 1t takes a broader
intelligence than the Filipino possesses to
comprehend that one piece of silver is
worth twice as much as another of the
same size"
If it were not for the omniprcscnt agi-
tator things i'm Luzon would be quite love-
ly, according to advices from there. The
natives says an American writer, "are
docile and peaceable, and 1t is doubtful
whether pictures Of more complete con-
tentment AMI happiness can he found
anywhere in the world than in the littlo
matched huts with their Canopics OF
waving palms and banana trees 1t is
only when agitatorS like Aguinaldo and
his ambitious retinue of adVenturerS tell
them that they ought to be discontinued
and unhappy that they realize that the
Americans are going Cypress them. The
attitude of the natives toward the Amer
leans is always very cordial, except where
81 inf, of h., q pitl hnG
felt"
For the eight months ending with Octo-
Der last our excess of exports over i'm
ports of merchandise reached the enor-
nous sum in round numbers of $3.50, ,OO9 :
900 In part payment of this We received
$3.50, 900, 900 in gold and drew upon the re-
maindcr to about the sum of $4,000 UOO
for freights, travelling expenses of Ameri-
cans, dividends and interest on our secur-
tiles held abroad and such matters. This
would leave apparently something like
$l55, 900, 900 cash balance held on deposit in
the banks abroad in favor of American
bankers and capitalists. Again we re-
mark that this has been an American
year.
one feature of the houses in Manila
which is rather hard to get accustomed
| to, writes a correspondent of the Chicago
| Record, is the presence Of the great num-
| ber of lizards which crawl around the
| ceilings and walls of the rooms at night.
| They are harmless, but the thought that
| they may occasionally lose their grip
and drop down in ones face is not calcu-
lated to make them welcome members
| of the household. There are many scor-
| pions about, but they keep exclusively IN
| the dark corners of the house and Yard
| and otherwise behave themselves well.
heavy and continued demand exists
| for cornmeal in South Africa, according tC
United States Consul General stowe al
Cape Town, who has made a special re-
| port to the state department on the SUBJ
| iect of American trade in that section OF
| the world The corn is quoted at 1882 pei
| hundred pounds in Cape Town and %.ii in
| johannesburg. and the supplies do not sat
isiy the demands. The cornmeal is quoted
at A.13 per one hundred and ninety-siN
pounds and large importatiOns have re-
, Gently arrived from America.