Arizona republican., 1900-11-04
Business Opportunities in the
 Philippines.
An Interesting Letter from Walter I. Gregory on Present Conditions and Future Possibilities-Natives Practically subjugated.

Bayombong, Sept. 24.-(Special core l spondence of The Republican )-Now
 that the islands of the Philippine archi-
 pelago are in a state of passive subjec- | ton, and assuming that the United
 States having gained the mastery, will not relinquish sovereignty over the ac-
 quired possessions. a. timely question I arises in the minds of all rcstl-ss
 Americans who nay desire to seek a
 home and possible wealth in the colo
 nies, as to what advantages the couu-
 try will afford home seekers.
 The question deserves an exhaustive
 answer and one only obtained by sta- | tlStlcal research, but I think without
 committing myself inextricably I can l say that for an earnest man with eau
 ton and ideas of progressiveness fairly
 well developed. many opportunities
 may be found in these islands. If he ] mas capital, so much the better, but if his stock in trade consists only of in-
 do1nitabie plrrk and perseverance he will undoubtedly succeed
 know. of many instances of success on the part of ex-voiunteer soldiers Who remained on the islands after their reglpents returned home. These young men were quick to see and to take ad-
 vantage of the. possibilities offered. de-
 spite the deterrent influences of the
 war then raging, and I am pleased 10
 note mat their far sightedness resulted
 In great pecuniary benefit to them | selves. These may be cited by some as
 exceptional cases and may bring up the
 incontrovertible statement that where I nS~
 Is undeniably true, but may it not also De said that failure or success depends
 largely upon the character of the in
 dlvlduals themselves and not alone
 through circumstances? The word
 iuck is frequently used in cases of inolVldual success but it does not al-
 ways follow that because a man is sue 1 cessful he did not strive hard by. his own eftorts to win the smile of that | tickle goddess-wealth. All people as rule seek the quick
 est road to wealth as the history of all
 great mining settlements testify. Some are successful beyond their widest
 dreams While the great mass is prone
 to skim over the surface seeking gilt
 'erulg nuggets and returning home empty handed. envious of those who fO1In1
 what they failed to find.
 The same rule will apply to tbis r,,h- i 1ect If a. man by his own will and lreless efforts apply himself towards | petterlng his condition financially he VIII probably do so, while those who seek snaps will undoubtedly return nome With less plethoric purse and
 an increased sock of experience. in
 of the many resources of the islands future profits through development of | these resources never occurred to these people The Spaniards themselves aware of the wealth locked up in na-
 lures store house. would not exer. themselves; they belonging to that class of people that skinned the sur
 lace. It now remains for the much | despised Yankees to avail themselves or what native ignorance and Spanish indifference overlooked
 will not attempt to enumerate the many natural resources that await the
 touch of enterprise to develop into
 wealth, but will cursorily mention a subject that quickens the pulse of all seekers of wealth-goId.
 That there is yellow metal in the | streams and mountains of the islands l is fact beyond dispute, but it is also true tha;t there has not been any sys- tematic method made to develop the l mineral industry. The natives have l little knowledge of gold mining, to be
 plain they know nothing whatever be- yond the fact that gold is valuable | metal. Gold bearing rock, unless it is scanned with yellow they will throw aside as worthless. In this section of Luzon (north centraD I know of but | one mine, and it has been imperfectly worked for the want of proper appli- ances necessary to work the ores. I know of many soldiers who have 1 banned streams with success, although . little opportunity was had of making | extensive examination. There can be | no doubt but that when the mountains i swarm with prospeetors likely results will follow It has been denied that i gold was ever found on the island of 1 Luzon, but from my own knowledge l know to the contrary. Natives from
 time to time bring in nuggets of gold though of low grade-nevertheless ft
 proved the existence of the metal.
 will also incidentally mention the wood industry-hardly an industry. for
 the extensive virgin forests of mahog- any, narro, and other valuable hard , woods have scarcely been touched In
 course of time Khis will be an industry
 that will closely follow hemp or to-
 bacco.
 These are but a few instances of i what awaits the shrewd investor in the
 next few years.
 l Of course, no sane person would
 think seriously of investing capital in 1 these islands at the present time The
 future state of the group is not yet | solved question, and until it is abso- 1 lutely settled that they will be held as
 possessions of the United States capi- | tai will be wary. The presidential | election, however. will tell the tale.
 Before closing this article I will add /! few words anent the popular theory 1 that white men cannot work in the
 tropics for hhe reason of inimical eli
 matic conditions under which Euro ! mic I, ;s fal