Amador ledger., 1907-08-30
Philippine
Correspondence
By S. e. DeRackin.

IAOPAOo1 Ill., Ill AH0rlCd, We nave
four distinct seasons, whereas here il
is perpetual summer. DO not, how
ever, confound our summer with
yours, as the thermometer here rarely
registers above 80 on the warmest
days. The nights are always cool.
Neither should the Philippines be
classed with tropical America, where
the CauGasian's life is one endless
conflict: with animal, reptile and
insect pests, and when not so engaged
is battling with the various forms Of
lualarial poisoning. Here. we are
practically free from such drawbacks.
That Indefinable Something.
There is an indefinable something
about the land "where the snowy
blossoms never wither from the ever
lasting hills and autumn never braids
its scarlet fringes through the green
of eternal summers. ~ When once
thoroughly saturated with its in
fiuence, it is impossible to shake it
off. You hear ''the East a-caIllng''
in every twitter of the birds, in
every balmy breeze, in every field of
verdure. Americans who have lived
here any length OF time have been un-
able to stay away. 1t is really
pathetic to see the many Spanlards
who, out of patriotic favor, sacrificed
their interests here and returned to
Spain upon the occupation of the
Islands by an American government.
Some tired of their change in six
months, others in year, while a few
held out against the reckoning East
two years, but they are all back now
to see their places filled by strangers.
But. even so, they prefer these Is
lands to old CASTLE. In the case of
Americans. how much better pleased
are they to return to the Islands,
knowing that they still rest under the
folds of Old Glory, and that if reasons
why we should give them up we're
thicker than black berries, we would
never do so under complusion.
A Vital Need.
1t will be many, many years, il
ever, before the American laborer will
be able to do SO we'll here as at home.
This is pre-eminently a land for the
play of Individual effort. What this
country and its people vitality need is
class of thrifty young Americans to
employ and direct the labor of the
primitive Inha bitants.
None of the d-udgery of farm life
in America is met with here. 1t par
takes more of the plantation life of
the South before the civil war. The
simple people here become wonder
fully attached to their homes and
employers if treated fairly. And
kindly considerate treatment of help
will always be found to be the most
valuable asset in conducting planta-
ton in Moroland.
Character of the Country.
therefore has many valleys contain
Ing from ten thousand to several
hundred thousand acres each. The
level areas In these valleys are the
result of alluvIaI deposits from tbs
mountain ranges, being Inexhaustable
in fertility. And what is more to the
point, the soil is icing enriched each
year thorough the same processes
which caused the original deposits.
What paradise this Island would
be if each of these valleys claimed
its American settlement and their
prosperous estatesI
The Ideal Crop.
The ideal crop in these Islands is
occoaunts. While it requires at least
seven years to get return on this
crop, it requires less labor to handle
and gives the most certain return.
At the present price of copra (the
meat OF the cocoanut), an acre of full
bearing trees can be depended upon
to net you $3.50 per year for 50 years
the average life of a grove.
| Practically all American planters
here plant hemp first, which gives a
return in two years, and later plant
cocoanuts on the same ground. AS
hemp does not have to be replanted
except every seven or eight years, by
the time the cocoanuts are ready to
bear the hemp has disappeared, but
the returns from it have more than
paid all cost of operation of the
estate.
Flaming for Rush.
Arrangements are being perfected
by the engineer OF the Moro Province
to get reliable data as to the mum ber
of valleys in this Island, their area
and suitability tor various crops.
When this work is completed, exact
information can always be had by
those interested without the expendi
ture of unnecessary time or money.
A Unique Plan.
The plan adopted by the Americans
in this Province is to form an associ
alton, putting one of their nun Der in
charge of the plantation, the other;
contributing from their salaries ol
other incomes until the plantation i.
on a paying basis. Several hundred
plantations are today being developed
along these lines in this Province
Il alone