New-York tribune., 1901-10-12
A CHANGE IN STANDARDS
INCREASED COST OF LIVING IN TIE
PHILIPPINES AND SOME OF
ITS EFFECTS.

In my last letter drew attention 10 the ratbs.
startling increase in expenditures connected
with the administration OF the CITY OF Na,u
off1cial figures seemed 10 indicate that we have
more than quintupled the yearly expenses a,
the municipality. the item of the Police Depart
ment alone having risen from $4,000 in Spanish
days to over $50oOO0 at the present time II ia
but natural. then. that the question should nrs-
sent itself. us this typical of Manila onIy or
does this amazing increase extend through ALI
departments of the insular administrator
Unfortunately, il is impossible TO give cate
gorical answer to such question The mass or
reports accumulated within the last few years
from all sorts of sources. and possessing soma
OF them at least. considerable value, others per-
feet rubbish. significantly silent on this one
point. The tabulated returns furnished by Gus
tom houses and internal revenue agencies TO be
sure. show exceedingly gratifying results
achieved under American management The In
crease in receipts is uniform. almost. along the
whole line. The cost, too, OF collecting this
revenue is surprisingly small especially when
compared with the cost OF collection in the
United States. There is a large balance. more
over. in the hands OF the Insular Treasurer.
which is slowly and steadily increasing "On
the face of the returns il were. there would
SEEM therefore, to be little cause for anxi-
ETY. alarm 1t is only when examining the
they either do not contain only hint at that
| the seriousness of the problems confronting the
administration here impresses itself with ire
sistible force upon the mind of a candid and un-
preJudiced observer.
War is HE'LL General Sherman is credited
with saying memorable occasion. And so
it is. no doubt while 1t lasts. In some Of its
after effects. however. it is even worse than
hell" If that were possible. 1t is said that it
took Chicago nearly seven years to recover from
the debauch of the Worlds Fair. II may re-
quire generation. perhaps. for these islands to
regain anything like their normal condition or
to overcome the effects of the carnival OF ex-
travagance which has accompanied and followed
military operations. No in the past has
ever been conducted on lines different from those
this one has followed nor is there any reason for
believing that economy in the prosecution of hos
tlities in the future ever be anything except
the most costly of Iuxuries. Heroic efforts
the part of the civil and military authorities
may succeed In reducing many of the present
expenses of the government They will prove
| fruitless if directed toward bringing about
turn to prices and standards Of living existing
before Dewey sailed into Manila Bay. I am well
aware of course. that such return may not be
desirable at ALL even were II practicable; though
the subject is open TO discussion. All 1 desire
10 do is to draw attention to certain facts and
conditions as they exist here to-day. and to
draw some obvious deductions therefrom.
The cost OF living. not in Manila alone. but
wherever Americans have gone in the archi-
pelago has enormously increased Houses for
which owners were wont and even glad to re-
ceive in 1897 monthly rental of So. now COM
mand S1O0. Even at that figure they are diff
cult 10 secure. The house occupied by General
Chaffee to-day in which Judge Taft lived before
he became Governor. is owned by Chief Justice
ArellanO. Three years ago it's rent was 500 a
month: II is to-day S175 The rent of the Ma
Mia postofice is nearly double what il
year ago. and is to-day 5000 month. The
wages of servants, Chinese as well as natives.
have gone UP. Formerly 81 and 81 month
was paid to a muchacho who turns his nose up
at $40 to-day. And he renders additional or
even better service. On the contrary. the uni-
versal Judgment is that he is deterOrating in
every essential particular under the malignant
influence OF superior civilization. The prices
of all household supplies have risen enormously;
are in fact still rising. and there seems no end
TO the upward movement. But for the army
commissary, which is open to officers families.
and was until very recently 10 most civilian EN-
ployes OF the government, and which furnishes
supplies of every kind and description at cost.
1 do not see how the majority of American
|
both ends meet. The of ponies and of
carbonate to go about in is here almost essen
tiaI TO ones comfort and the preservation OF
health. Yet ponies which in Spanish times
would have been considered dear at SO a head
scarcely be obtained to-day for less than SI5
and 800; and the expense OF keeping horse
either in your own stable or. say at the Murray
Hill Stables" situated on the edge of a swamp
near the Pasig River. is scarcely less than II is
in New-York to-day. The Quartermaster's De-
partment employs thousands of Iaborers. and
certainly pays no extravagant wages. measured
by the American standard. These wages. new
ertheess, are from 30 to a. and even 100, per
cent higher than those paid by the Spaniards-
The contracts made with the owner of lighters.
barges and cascoes have enriched them beyond
their dreams of avarice. while those fortuuate
enough TO possess a caribou have frequently no
doubt. had occasion to blaspheme the parsimony
of providence which failed to make this pa
tient beast of burden multiparOus when the
Americans first set foot these shores
Much Of this increase in the cost OF living IS,
of course. due to military occupation. which
was accompanied by a steady outpOur Of treas
ure. being continued for more than three
years and of which the native who is not a
fool. was neither unwilling nor slow to reap ths
benefit. To this we may safely ascribe the ap-
parent loyalty of the natives in this city, and
the quiet and order prevailing everywhere with-
In its limits. The native repeat, was not born
yesterday" He recognizes a good thing when
he sees it. and he is not going 10 kick the cows
while she patiently yields milk Indeed. some
times wonder whether he doesn't think that
Americans the whole, are dead easy. We
are, you see, queerly constituted, and per-
haps so superior, that frugality and common
sense strike us. in the presence Of a native, as