Republican farmer., 1918-03-22
ALL BUSINESS
RECORDS BROKEN
IN PHILIPPINES

Manila, March 21.-(Corresponden
of The Associated Press.)-The Phil
ippine Islands have enjoyed during
the past II months the greatest pros
perity in them history. War condi-
tions, prices and demands are d.
rectly responsible. In the past two
years. the balance of trade in favor
of the islands has been $50, 000. 600, SIS
per cent. of which is to be accounted
for in the unprecedented prosperity of
1917.
Internal trade has leaped to I'M
heard of proportions. There is more
money in every part of the Philip
pines today than ever before. More
business is being done and the cur
rency reflects this condition. Despite
constant accretions to the currency,
through importatibns from United
States nints the Philippine Bank, the
government financial institution, has
had to issue paper ten, twenty and
fifty centavo bills, and one peso notes.
Internal revenue taxes, collected on
the same basis in 1917 as in 1915, went
up nearly SO 1-3 per cent. reaching
the highest figure in history.
With the exception of sugar, all de-
partments of insular trade profted by
the prosperity of the country. Freight
rates quintupled and sextupled for
sugar, and the Philippine producers
often faced a loss on their sales in the
United States.
When the price of sugar in the
United States was fixed by the food
I'll ~ .
under existing trans-Pacific rates
profitable transaction in Philippine
sugar were no longer possible. Samuel
Ferguson, president of the govern
ment bank made special trip to
Washington in the interests of the
sugar men and got pledge of addi-
tiona1 ships for the Philippines
Whether this pledge included provi-
sion for lower freight rates is not
known here. Unless the new ships
bring a substantial reduction in exist
ing freight rates, it is believed they
will not help out the sugar industry.
Hemp, with all the world demand
ing it for ships and war vessels, play
ed big role in the prosperity of the
islands. During 1917 it reached rec
ord prices and paid it's producers
handsomely. Hundreds of owners
plantations have become rich in the
past two years, Scores of Americans
who year sage picked out Mindanao
the land of the untamed Moro, as
ideally suited to hemp and then strug-
gled along for years on the verge OF
bankruptcy, suddenly found their OPP
| timism justified and their years OF
fni h aTIC oh in h1yt JETa xyoo &c
| of undrCamed of prosperity.
Likewise the cocoanut planters have
been carried along on the crest of the
wave of success. During the early
! part of the year, prices rose steadily
as American manufacturers demand
| ed the product at any cost. But
freights also rose. This led many bus
mess men to figure that if it were
possible to sell the raw copra-the
dried meat of the coocoanut-at 6
profit, it would be much more profit
able to extract the oil locally, save g
large part of the freight costs anC
count that saving as profit. During
the year, fully twenty cocoanut OF
mills. all of small capacity were start
ed in Manila alone and in the prov
inces as many more were inaugurated
The tobacco planters, manufactur
ers and dealers have also had a veal
of unparalleled business success. Thu
demand for Philippine tobacco and CT
gars from the United States has beer
such that Philippine growers ant
planters have been unable to meet it
The year saw the cigar production O:
the islands very largely increased
while the acreage planted to tobacco
was also largely increased. But thert
are no signs of abatement of the de-
mand.
A similar story can be told in ever!
line of Philippine business. The coun
try is literally rolling in money.