The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1899-01-15

der the Spanish regime. Their swarms
of laborers were paid 20 to 20 cents a
day, Mexican money, equal to 10 or IL
cents gold. The laborerS were Obliged
to board themselves. The plantation
system, however, is rapidly passing
through a renovation since the Amerl-
can occupation. The monks are dlspos-
ing of their lands as fast as they can.
and will probably succeed in selling al
their holdings to one or more Engllsh
syndicates. A Boston syndicate also is
represented here, negotiating for the
purchase Of hemp plantations
Employers of labor complain that the
American occupation has caused
doubling and trebling Of wages on
plantations and elsewhere. Admiral
Dewey began paying the natives 81 SO
a day for Government work imme-
diately after the destruction of Mon
tojos fleet and has kept up that scale.
Chinese and Filipino laborers, who for
merly worked for SIS TO SIS Mexican
per month, will not turn hand for
less than 81 a day Mexican. Plantation
laborers are being contracted for at 90
cents a day. The consequence will be
a rise in the price of raw hemp, sugar
and tobacco, unless more intelligent
management and improved machinery
serve to equaliZe the increased cost Of
labor.
Coal mines are being worked in the
southern part of LuZon Island and on
the island of Cebu, but the coal is soft
and far inferior to- the Australian and
Japanese varieties. Prior to the break
ing out of the war Cebu coal was deliv-
cred at the coast in large quantities at
SO so d ton Mexican, but was consumed
mainly by the interisland steamers
The price under new conditions is prob
lematical Surveys indicate that the
Al -a1 lNnD no
tween the eighth and thirteenth paral-
lels of latitude. An English syndicate,
with headquarters in Manila, owns
practically all the coal lands known on
the islands of Luzon and Cebu. For
that matter English capital controls
nine-tenths of all the industrial enter
prises in the group.
Good opportunities seem to be abun-
dant for dealing in hardwoods. The
islands are dense with the choicest of
mahogany, iron wood, camphor wood
and~many other varieties of hardwoods.
capable of taking a high polish.
This is not fruit or vegetable coun-
try. The climate is too hot and damp
for their cultivation. Bananas grow
well, but they are small and taste fat
and pasty. The Philippine orange is
two inches or so in diameter. The fiber
is coarse, the peeling thick and the
juice has a flavor much like spoiled
vinegar seeped through sawdust.
The coffee industry has never been
developed to any extent. Europeans
who have tried it declare that coffee
can be successfully cultivated only in a
few of the mountain regions particu-
larly favored by comparatively dry
currents of air.
But q supreme consideration to be
kept in mind by intending investors is
the enervating influence of the climate.
Here. in Luzon, the climatic conditions
are more favorable than in the south
ern islands. The thermometer is rarely
below so degrees, and generally above
80. The high humidity of the atmo-
sphere increases the Oppressiveness of
the heat, and ultimately brings on a
languor and Incidence that render men,
especially white men, incapable of per-
forming more than half the amount Of
work the do in the temperate zones.