Washington sentinel., 1900-06-16
The Philippines as a MARKET.

The Philippines as a Market.
1t is argued, said Hon. l.. w.
.Carmack, OF Tennessee, in a speech
on Imperialism delivered in the
House Of Representatives, that in
some way the capacity OF the Phil
ippine market and its demand for
American products will be tire.
mendously enlarged under the in
fluence of American enterprise.
How is this to be Accomplished
II we are to build up any large and
permanent demand for our pro-
ducts in the Philippine Archipel-
ago, that demand must come not
from a lew millionaires who may
invest their capital there, but from
the great body OF its inhabitants.
The value of every market rests at
last upon the purchasing and con-
suming power Of the mass OF its
population.
Now, unless you can work an
almost miraculous transformation
in the character OF the average
Filipino, caunot understand how
Yola are to make him an enormous
consumer of American goods.
The great mass OF the people have
a low standard of living; are con-
tent with the bare necessities of
Lie, which they can procure with
litsIe effort, and, like all tropical
people, are exceedingly averse to
manual labor.
No sensible man believes that
there will be any migration of
people of our race either from this
country or elsewhere TO the Phil
ippines. People Of our race do
not thrive and will not live in trop.
ical countries. They surrey will
not seek a nome in the deathly and
enervating climate of the Philip
pine Islands. We must rely al
most entirely upon the native pop
ulation for the extension OF our
markets.
And as the hope of extending
our export trade with this country
depends upon people who do not
consume, so our hope OF develop
ing its resources depends upon a
population that will not work. II
we study the experience OF other
nations in dealing with tropical
colonies, we find that they have
been nowhere successful from an
industrial and commercial point OF
view, except where system Of
forced or indentured labor, or, in
other words, a modified form Of
human slavery, has been adopted.
This is true in the Dutch colony Of
Java, where every able bodied man
is compelled by the Government
to labor at such employment as
the Government shall name, and
for such time and such remunera-
ton as the Government shall pre-
scribe.
II we turn to Dutch Guiana,
where the natural advantages are
in every wlY equal to Java, but in
which no system OF forced labor
prevails, we find nothing but idle
ness, poverty, and decay. The
same is true of the British West
Indies, in which a moderate degree
OF prosperity has been attained
only in those islands where East
Indian industrial labor has been
imported, bound for a term OF FIVE
years, and practically the slaves Of
their employer tor that time. The
British Royal West Indian Com
mission, which reported on this
system few years ago, declared
that it was necessary to the carry
ing on OF the sugar estates. A like
system has prevailed in Hawaii,
and some of its bene6ciaries have
stoutly claimed that it was abso-
lutelY necessary.
In other words, if we expect to
make our tropical colonies yield
a prompt and ready profit we must
adopt a system OF slavery or OF in
voluntary servitude, which is for
hidden bv our Constitution. Per-
haps, however, our imperiallst
friends will be able to keep the
Constitution out OF our new pos
sessions. Such, at least, seems to