The Daily Alaska empire., 1936-01-15

muggy heat of Manila ordered an investigation. The Kennon road, built by U s. Army engineers under Major Kennon, the result and David Burnham,
 Chicago architect called in to lay out the plans for the future city of Baguio In January 1905 the Kennon road was declared open The first motor up 1906 In Baguio they still tell the story how 300 pound Governor-General Taft after finish ing trip to Baguo cabled to Elihu Root then tary of War: Rode 30 miles today to Baguo Feeling fine" To which Secretary Root cabed back: "Hows the horse?"
 The city is managed by Americans the mayor being appointive officer of the Governor General usually engineer. One of the chief features of the town is the open general market, to which on Sunday mornings hundreds of mountain Igorotes to sell their carved woodwork their coorful homespun cloths and to buy tobacco and betel nuts For several days prior to Sunday may the roads leading into Baguio groups of natives coming in to the market the women carrying the loaded baskets on their heads with their big boo knives strapped to their sides All are barefooted, despite the rough, rocky roads which they must travel. These primitive people men in scarcely more than G-strng breech-cloth and with the multi-coored plaid cloths wrap ped about them are all under-sized in stature. The tribes that live in the vicinity of Baguio the Bon toes and Iugaos two of four separate tribes nhabit ing the mountain province, each with dialects not understandable to each other. They peaceful, despite their warlike appearance, and had most interesting time at the market place bargaining with them and trying to get them to pose for pictures.
 Most interesting to us, however, the gold mining activity in the vicinity of Baguio From production annually of less than $1O00OO in 1907 the value of gold mined has gradually year by year. until in 1881 the yearly production totaed $39O0OoO Since then however with the discovery of proper | he of Old Onee in he Raj district, the production has shot upwards rapidly until the Islands today up and coming among the worlds important gold producers. In 1884 the total gold production reached S120O0000 and should exceed $17,O000O in the current year of 1885.
 | Gold was first mined in the Philippines by the Igorotes in the third century, for Chinese chronicles tell of the exchange of dyestuffs and food for gold with the natives of northern Luzon Pieces of Chinese pottery found in the early excavations on gold veins that undergoing development. We visited mine the Balatoc perhaps the most inn portant in the Islands six miles from Baguio which in 1884 alone produced nearly S500O00O in gold and which, since its first mill in 1929 has produced over $200O0,Oo0. It is financed to great extent through British capital London capitalists always being less partial to gold mining investments in far-on places
 In going through the mill guided by Mill Superintendent Bagey who worked with the Alaska Treadwell at Douglas during the period around 1914 to 1916. He said there many former Alaskan engineers in the Islands
 The Balatoc has just completed expanding its mill production to 1900 tons daily, and should day be one of the three largest gold mines in the world Mining is accomplished through long hauage tunnel which gets depth of 500 to 2000 feet the veins traced on the surface Only of three systems is being mined, with values running to $l5 and $20 per ton. Veins from four to twelve feet wide and vein system 35 feet wide has been found not yet being mined with values running around Sl0 ton, told
 We went into the face of several drifts and saw the native labor working quite efficiently. The half pesos per day, equivalent to 75 cents daily wage, with ration of rice added worth perhaps 20 cents additional The natives quick learn dilgent and become efficient miners There is huge volume of water in the mine presenting problem of major proportions whenever planned to open up the ore horizons below the mine tunnel level And this program has been decided upon as result of excellent values found below the tunnel floor through diamond drilling
 I Gold mining is contributing valuable addition to Philippine exports. With total value of all exports 1884 running about hundred and million dol
 lars of which sugar constitutes about sixty mil lion alone annual addition to national wealth of some twenty million dollars is not to be sneezed at AS capital comes in and takes hand at the develop ment of new mining ventures there is strong like- hood of added millions being listed in the gold pro- duction totals of the Islands in the few years. In looking over pamphlet history of the place, I discovered that one of the engineers who worked the Baguo road back in 1912 to 1914 was our own Alaskan, the late Brig. Gen, Peter w. Davidson who was member of the Alaska Road Commission. He was at one time member of the city council of Baguo It may be that have forgotten to say that while seated in the inaugural stand at Manila on the morn