Albuquerque citizen. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1907-1909, 1908-10-23
NEED OF Phillip Mes
IS MORE CAPITAL
SAYS FORBES
ViCe-GOvern0r Of the Islands
Tells of Advancement
Made by the
Natives.
AVERAGE WAGE
HAS DOUBLED
Increased From Ten to Twenty
Cents d Day Since American OC-
CUpation-- Urge Removal of
Duty On the Island
Products.

PRODUCTS.
Lake Mohonk, oct. 23.-The Phil
ippines and the duty of the United
States to the islanders were topics OF
discussion for the conference Of
friends OF the Indians and other de-
pendent tribes here last night and to-
d9y. Various speakers reviewed the
changes in the islands under AM
crican occupation and the progress
of tlc Fili1inos.
Vice Governor NJ. Cameron Forbes
OF tho Philippines spoke on the gem
cral subject of what is best to be
done for the material advancement
of the Philippines. He described the
Filipinos as industrious but physi-
caHy not by any means robust"
Much of the prevalent intestinal di-
sease among the natives he attributed
10 unClcan drinking waters. and he
said further that the people must
learn to supply themselves with bet
ter and moro nourishng food"
GOV Forbes said tnat the average
wages of unskillod lanor had Increased
from ten cents a day under Spanish
rule TO twenty cents. He went on to
say:
"But IN spite of these biimmerings
of light, the fact remains that the
Philippine Islands are desperately
poor, that the two millions of labor
crs are In general wasting their cner-
gics i'm work that modern science
condemns as incconomical and inef-
ficient. and that the islands are pro-
ducing only a very small fraction Of
what they should produce were the
capital and knowledge necessary for
modern up-to-datc development
available
The first manifest duty Of the
United States Is to open her doors to
Philippine products. to remove the
tariff barriers 80 unjustly ana SO un-
kindly held up. The produce Of tho
Philippine islands Is not sufficiently
large to supply our home demand
ana make any apprcciablc effect on
the industries here and those intcr-
cetcd in the manufacture or produc-
ton of the articles likely to affect the
market would do a thousand times
better to welcome the addition of the
Philippines as new field for their
activities ana assist in development
which would ensure greatly TO their
advantage aud that Of the islands
"Rut these are matters in which
tho officers OF the Philippine govern
mant have no authority. merely the
power and Will to make recommends
tions. which il has many times done,
ANA I'm the effort to open the doors 10
QUA. markets has received the hearty
cooperation of the executive officers
I'm Washington ana of the lower
House of Congress. We await the ac-
tiou of the Senate
"Thcry is one other thing which is
out of the hands OF the Philippine
government and yet which would be
of the greatest importance TO the
islands. We need capital and capital
cannot be directed to 50 far a field
without some special inducements.
The amount of land which may be
taken up by my one individual or
corporation is SO small as to limit the
attraction of capital 20 very sma"
fraction of what it would be we're
larger tracts of land available under
the law Two thousand and five
hundred acres is the limit corpora
tiun can own. but that is not enough
To raise sufficient products to justify
tho construction of machinery on a
large and modern scale. Ii is o lt
pity that enough leeway cOu'd not pe
given t. enable us to attract CONF
pauy 90 com, and start big planta-
tions of hemp. cpcoanuts rubber
cocoa and other products which arc
consumed I'm great quantities I'm the