The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-03-26
CHANCES IN PHILIPPINES.
Few Openings for Men with but Little
Capital.
Manila Letter in New York Post.

Manila Letter in New York Post.
A railroad is by no means of vital inn
portance in the industrial development of
the Philippines, thought it might be a great
convenience and a desirable object-lesson
to the inhabitants. The fertile river val
leys and the rich lands of the coast line are
readily accessible by water, and water
routes are known to be economical trans
portation lines. One need not hesitate to
go into sugar, or hemp, or tobacco. or cof-
fee, or cattle, or anything else, except tim
Der, in the Philippines through trouble or
cost of getting his product to market. i
except timber. / realize that in doing so 1
touch upon one of the Philippine products
most lauded for it's golden promise. 1 have
heard farmers and lawyers, and politi-
clans and naturalists, and soldiers and beer
men, and tobacco and dry goods men, and
one or two newspaper men, tell all about
the timber resources of Luzon and other
islands. 1 am waiting to hear from some
old timber man who has made sawdust In
a mountain country. For several years 1
was in pretty close touch with some loggers
and saw mills in the Blue Ridge mountains.
1 saw there, as 1 see here, hills and noun
tains densely wooded to their SUBMITS. /
saw hundreds of thousands of dollars go
into that country. 1 saw logs and boards
go out. l have heard a good many mill
men use bad words over vanishing cap
ital. l shall be quite conservative over the
vast resources and mighty profits OF the
timber business here until I hear the tes-
timony of a few men whose business Ii Is
to ''see into a tree" and who can properly
estimate the cost of cutting, hauling and
a few other things that have TO be lone In
the timber business.
| believe 1t is Mr.. Philippine Authority
Barrett who advises young men not to
come to the Philippines for a livelihood
unless they have at least 5000 of capital. i
would like to ask Mr.. Barrett to publish a
list of all the names of the young men of
his acquaintance who have gone to Cey-
lon, to Java. to Siam, to Sumatra. to Bor-
neo, and other lands In this neighbOrhoOd
presenting similar conditions to those
found here. L would like to see that list
checked off to indicate the number of
$1,000 capitalists in this vicinity. who have
made enough to pay them for all that they
left behind. and the number OF those who
nave gone broke" unless they could draw
considerable additional sums from home.
My own minimum figure would be $4,000,
and L would advise second thoughts even
at that.
With conditions of equal IL not Of greater
promise In the West Indies, / do not think
that young men with 5000 are coming
out here in any great crowds. Those who
do contemplate such a course should keep
in mind two or three things which are
facts. Outside of government positions,
Salaried situations are harder TO find than
they are at home. Now and then some one
strikes a speculative snap, but these are
Exceedingly rare, especially those which are
strictly honest. General commercial bust
ness, particularly i'm retail lines, Is, like
that of the West Indies, in the hands OF
those who know their business, their Gus
toners, the language, and the wants OF
the people far better than any American
ne y-cnmar Those merchants can ana VIII
live In ways which no AMERICAN, with
5000 would accept. If a man gets stranded
here. he is a long way from home and In a
very deep hole.
The special opportunities here are In pro-
| duction. A few lines of petty manufacture
| may be open, but in such lines the young
American is handicapped by the native
| workman either at a trade or as proprietor
of a small shop. In lines OF agriculture, In
sugar. hemp. coffee, indigo, tobacco and
the like, il is to be membered that time Is
| 10 be taken into account. Beyond the nee
| essary capital for investment. there must
be resources upon which one can live for
| two. three, four or five years. Sugar is
wholly out of the question for all save the
capitalist with hundreds of thousands at his
command. In work on a small scale In
| hemp, tobacco. coffee. copra or any other
| local product 1t will be impossible for the
American to compete with the native.
The industrial development of the Philip
| pines is work for the capitalist, and the
| pertinent question follows: Will the capt.
talist improve his opportunities! The cheer
full enthusiast. who seldom has any money
for investment. asserts vociferously that.
under the benign shadow OF the starry
banner, the Philippines will at once begin
| to assume the aspect OF a modern financial
| garden of Eden; that Manila Is 20 become.
within a brief decade. the chief commer-
cial emporium of the East, and that the
Pacific ocean is to become a highway thtqkr
ly dotted with ships OF trade coming and
| returning from these blessed islands How
absurd this exaggeration looks when print