The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1898-06-23

Manley r.. Sherman Of Los Angeles.
who told of his observations in the Phil
ippines in the New York Sun on May
30, believes that there are great posi-
bilities in the islands.
IL have been wondering, I" said Mr..
Sherman, show the United States will
set about to develop the natural re-
sources Of the Philippines when the war
is ended and General Merritt and his
troops have settled down to a steady &C.
cupation of the islands. The American
people, indeed but few Europeans. re-
alize the unsurpassed Of tho
Philippines.
1.-The natives Of the Philippines arc
different from any race the United
States government has ever governed.
A dozen tribes that / know about-and
there r many more / don't know
about - are more intractable than
Apaches or Sioux. and they occupy ter
ritory Astounding In very fertile areas
and regions where gold may be mined.
The Chinese in the islands number near
ly hah a million. The true Spanish,
outside Of the soldiers and sailors, who
come and go every few years,
number more than 1000. The British
are about 500 strong and the Americans
about 100. The genuine natives, the
a~borigines, are of Malay origin and have
the face, color and manner of the Ma
lays. The race is very conglomerate.
The best natives are handsome. brown,
1.-the and graceful, with hair as black
ms a ravens wing and small hands and
feet.
"Then there are what the Spanish
call the Negritos. They number 8, 000,-
900 Of the Philippine population, and
their origin is unknown. They are az
wild as Hottentots. ON some remote is
.lands and have been known to eat hu-
man flesh. Tho Negritos have woolly
heads and black skins. The brown
skinned or Malay aborgines who live in
the northern part Of the archipelago are
known as Itocans, and there are fully
10 tribes Of them, each speaking a diff
ferent dialect. The aborigines in the
central islands of the Philippines are
the Tagals. They are by far the most
intelligent and industrious people. Some
of Them are about as fine people as one
wishes to meet-a proud, generous,
hospitable, honest people. The abo-
rhymes in tho southern part of the archi.
pe]ago are Visaians, and they are far
removed from the Tagals in intelligence
and worth, but are mild, very dirty and
lazy. The natives ON Luzon and about
the coast of. Mindanao arc almost
wholly Tagals. Their servants and la
borers are tho Negritos.
Hemp is the greatest article of ex-
port in the Philippines. and the official
documents in Manila show that in the
last decade about 40 per cent~of all the
hemp grown on the islands has been
sent to the United States. One firm in
Boston paid an average Of 3 cents q
pound in Manila for 20, 600 tons Of
hemp in tho ten years previous to last
January. During the same period the
total quantity Of hemp exported from
tho Philippines amounted to exactly
Ola, 100 tons For adozen years the i'm
portations Of hemp into the United
States from the Philippines have aver
aged 80, 400, 900 a year. There are i'm
mense possibilities in hemp culture in
the Philippines, o that the grip Of
Spain on every legitimate industry has
been shaken of. AS sure as the sun rises
and sets there will be millionaire for
tunes made In hemp in the Philippines
in the next decade. What the Yankee
sugar planters have done in the fertile
valleys of Hawaii In the last generation
may be duplicated in hemp in Luzon,
Mindanao and Samar. There will be a
Claus Spreckels and a Colonel North in
Philippine hemp before we know it.
"Then there are some great possibili-
ties also in the line of fortune making
In the sugar industry in the Philip
pines. The annual imports of raw sugar
into the United States from the Philip
pines during tho last few years have
averaged 50, $50, 900. The total annual
exports of raw sugar from the Philip
pines have averaged 81, 500, 900 for
some time. Sugar a N grows like magic
in the we'll watered valleys Of the five
chief islands Of the group. The decom-
posed lava soil from the extinct volca-
noes that run north and south through
the larger Philippine islands. side by
side with the active earthquake making
volcanoes, has exactly the qualities for
growing sugar cane. The cane to
maturity from seed in ono year. The
plantations on Samar hold the worlds
record for high production Of rich canc
to the acre. / have known Spanish
planters on Samar and Luzon tn make n
clear profit of $500 an acre in one year.
The Negritos laborers get from 3 to 10
cents . day for cultivation. Nature does
the rest. With American invention and
energy many a man q become q mil