Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-10-07
THE HEMP INDUSTRY
Gathering the Product is the Hardest Work
Native Can Do.
1t Now Brings in Manila the Highest
Price 1t Has Ever Conn
mRnded.
Manila Correspondence of the Chicago Record.

| Warehouses in the Islands of Leyte and
| Mindanao and in the interior Of Luzon are
| filing up with bales of hemp. This is be-
| cause the ports are closed during the war
| of insurrectilon. AS for Luzoi> II the pro-
! duct could be brought to Manila it would
| find a ready sale at the highest price 1t has
| ever commanded. And some of 1T gets in
! as it is-enough to keep three fffans sorting
out and baling up for shipment to America,
| where 90 per cent of the product soes. Re
| Gently the quotations were $3.50 to SIT a
| picul, which is an advance Of So over for
mer prices and double that of fi1e years
| ago. 1t must be understood, too, that this
| is in Mexican money, which is the standard
used by the natives, and is worth 80 cents
| on the dollar of American money, here
called gold
Hemp, rather the plant from WIFI n it
| is manufactured, is known in scientific cir
cles "MuSa teXtus' and by the natives
as abaca. 1t belongs to the plantain FAM
| lily, closely resembling the banana plart
The latter has a leaf similar in shape to
that of the abaca, but of a slightly darker
green. The difference in appearance must
| be told by the expert; the inexperienced
can tell the difference only by tasting the
| fruit The abaca tastes like a green per-
simmon. Many Of the natives engaged
in its growth and sale. 1t fourshes on
| billy ground, and like the banana plant.
| takes about three years to flower. When it
comes to the Towering age 1t Is cut down
and made ready for scrapng. The stalk
springs up again from the roots, and soon
begins aspiration to go to seed. 1t is not
permitted to do so, however, as the seeding
| process reduces the quality of the fiber.
The abaca grows to the height of eight
feet, but is not a tree In any sense except
| that it gives shade. Its leaves run from
its roots. enfolding the flower stem until
near the top, when they branch out into
| great waving fans. The manner of growth
can be compared to nothing in the United
States except young onion, which Is not
a fair illustration on account of the inSig
nificant size of the latter. But the leaf lay
| ers are wound in that way, though they are
| fully quarter of an inch thick and six
| inches wide.
| Most of the plantations are on billy
ground. and nearly all, for that reason. are
| in the mountain districts, although 1 saw
some along the shores Of the bay between
Pasay and Paranaque. In the mountains
the plantations are worked by the natives
but they are seldom owned by them. The
work is done on shares, usually, the labor
| ers receiving half the product. Two men
are required to do the work in a field, which
| is limited to about two acres. When the
stalk is ready it is cut and the leaf layers
are separated, making what is known as
''bast." These leaf stalks are about six
| inches wide and about six feet long. The
operator has a dull knife fastened to
hinged block, and an attachment which al
! lows him to work it with his feet. The pulp
| is deXterously scraped from the fiber and
then the fiber is hung out to dry being
later gathered into bales and marketed.
The planter seldom owns his own boats,
and is not often able to carry his hemp to
Manila, which is the market, and so does
his business with the nearest agent of the
Manila house. The hemp is packed in by
the natives, a bunch at either end of car
rying pole, which is a method of Transport
tation similar to that of the Chinese tea
carriers. The agent grades it and bargains
for low price, taking advantage of his
customer with the true Indian trader skill
tn he orc
er and taken a mortgage on the crop. The
native knows nothing of prevailing prices.
He takes what he can get, cheats as often
as he can, and wears his life away in the
husiness-for 1t is said to be the hardest
kind of work that native can do No one
yet has invented machinery that can do
satisfactory work In preparing the hemp.
The trader gathers up his hemp and sorts
it out to it's different grades, until ue has
enough for a boat load if he happens to be
on one of the islands, and then he charters
a vessel and sends it to his house in Ma Ma
Mia. If he is in Luzon he gets it to the
river and loads it into cascos, and then
floats 1t down to his house. which takes
care of it and ships it out. In America it
is made into binding Irvine or into ropes
The whlteness of the hemp designates its
grade, of which their are four. Binder
twine hemp Is classed current" fair
current" and brown" There are without
doubt many tricks In this trade and they
are worked all the way from the lazy Gull
E'ator to the exporting agent. and back
NSe~ASA
1T is the custom to put up an order with
just enough No. l on the outside of the
bale to make the thing appear all right; or
what is more common to grade down an
order by sending No. 1 on board at first
and following 1t up with the inferior
grades when the purchaser is tired of open
ing bales. For instance, the agent puts in
per cent Of No. !, 10 per cent Of No 2 and
the rest No and No. 4. calling it all good
current There is much diplomacy in the
classification Of his goods"
The pressing Of hemp costs 81 bale; the
landing and shipping charges at Manila
are 80 cents bale. The freight to Manila
averages about $1.25 bale. The jobbers
profit is enormous.
A great many things are made of hemp,
from floor mattings to binder Irvine. The
natives reject the very finest of the fiber
and weave delicate fabric, which is as ex-
pensive as the finest silk, and they make
their rough garments Of 1t as we'll Sail
cloth is made Of it, and cordage, too. Ma
Mia paper Is made of the rope ends; car
pets are manufactured Of it; 1T is used in
upholstery and to make hammocks. 1t is
asserted that Paris milliners use hemp in
making bonnets The time will come when
new uses will be found for 1t and it's waste,
which Is very large.