Stikeen River journal., 1899-05-20
THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
The Story of What They Are. What They Contain and Amer ica's Right Thereto Told
 By One Who knows.
Absolutely Pure
lContinued from last week. COM MI ERCE.

COMMERCE.
 The foreign commerce amounted. in 1894, last census, to RPS, 55S,552 in inn ports, and $33, l59, 9S4 in exports. so per cent of which goes through Manilla About SO per cent of the trade is car- ried in British vessels, 20 per cent in Spanish and 10 per cent in German.
 CURRENCY.
 The standard of value has always, until within a few years. been the Mex ican milled dollar. The Spanish dol lar contains little less silver and. in order to introduce it and profit by the coinage, the Spaniards prohibited the importation of Mexican dollors few years since. Large numbers of Mex ican dollars remained in the country, however, and others were smuggled in. The two circulate at equal value.
 All valuations of goods and labor are based on the silver dollar. and a change to the gold standard would result in great financial distress and many fail ures among banks and mercantile houses in Manila. Their argument is that while an American ten-dolar gold piece will bring twenty-one silver dol lars at the bank or house having for eign connections, yet it will not buy more labor or more hemp and sugar from the original producer than ten silver dollars. The products of the country are almost entirely d arricuIt- ural, and the agriculture class, whet- her it sells it's labor or its products. would refuse to accept any less tha n the accustomed wages or prices. on account of being paid in the more valuable coin.
 The result of the change would be that the merchant or employer would have to pay double for what he buys. and would receive no increase for what he sells. While trade would eventual ly adjust itself to the change, yet many merchants would be ruined in the pro- cess and would drag some banks down wth them.
 The Mexican dollar is the ',standard' also in HpngNong and China. and the whole trade of the far East has. for gen cratiOn,. been conducted on a silver ba- sis. Japan has la ely broirn away from this and established the gold stan dard. but in doin" so the relative valve of silver and gold was fixed at 32t to or about the commodity value.
 Such is part of the report made by Frank Y. Greene. stationed at Manila. If there be anything tn the report to indicate the worthlessness of the Phil lpplne Islands to Us. or a miasmal eli mate which would unfit them for occu- patton, 1 fail to find it. Nor will | cast away my personal experience for any mans theory. Years ago spent few weeks in the city of Manila. I then believed it to fully as healthy as Lima or Para, in South America.
 Our occupation of the Philippine Is- lands is not unreasonable American ex- panslon. It is in the right line of en- larglng the area of enligftment and stimulating the progress of civilization. The unexpected has happened but it is not illogical, it must have been written long ago on the scroll oi the boundless blue.
 The order of the President of the United States to Admiral Dewey was to destroy the Spanish fleet at Manila for the protection of our commerce.. Like d flash of lightning the deed was done. and We hold the golden key of splen- did Asiatic Archipelago, containing more than thousand beautiful islands. This was the most brilliant and start ling achievement in the annals of na- vies. There was glory and fame in it and immeasurable material for the making of history.
 Admirable Dewey's victory was not mere the capture of a magnificent hal- Dor, commandin reat cit ','h