Undoubtedly the visit of our distinguished guests from the Pacific coast, in the latter part of May, will be productive of good results.

While every effort was made to entertain them while here, at the same time, business discussions were not overlooked, and most of the visitors went back to the United States with an entirely different feeling about the Philippines than when they came.

We are to be honored, in a few months, with a similar delegation from San Francisco. These visits cannot help but be of benefit, not only to the Philippine Islands, but also to the commissions making the visits, for at the present time a great deal of misunderstanding exists on the part of business interests of the United States toward the Philippines and of business interests in the Islands toward the United States. These visits tend to smooth out many little difficulties which arise.

While the Commercial Commission from the Pacific Northwest was in Manila, its

JUDGE WILLIAMS DOING
GOOD WORK

Excellent publicity and editorials in Cleveland, Chicago, New York and Washington papers resulted from Judge Williams' speech at the Cleveland Foreign Trade Convention on "Double Taxation on Our Foreign Trade".

The papers through the country have commented on the matter quite generally, and, without exception, favor exemption of American investments abroad from domestic taxation. The following editorial appeared in the New York Tribune of May tenth:

"HANDICAPPING OUR OWN TRADE Another interesting light upon the reason for the decline of American

trade as compared with European trade in the Philippines was thrown by Judge D. R. Williams, representative of the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippine Islands, speaking at the Cleveland Foreign Trade Convention.

Despite its urgent need for revenue and its long established income tax, the British government, it appears, imposes no tax upon the local income of British citizens resident abroad. British merchants established at Manila are thus exempt from income tax on the business which they conduct there. The same exemption is allowed by practically all the important trading nations.

But American citizens settled there are compelled to pay income taxes. "In our own dependency and under our own flag," says Judge Williams, "we penalize our own countrymen in favor of foreigners”. If the American adds this taxation to the selling price of his goods he is undersold by the foreigner. If he pays it out of his own pocket he will become bankrupt.

That certainly is an unsatisfactory state of affairs, the disastrous effects of which upon American commerce are quite obvious. The remedy is to exempt the American or to tax his foreign rival. The abolition of the detested excess profits tax will not afford sufficient relief, for this levy does not fall on the ordinary trader and its discontinuance will not benefit him. The American government's ability for handicapping business that the overwhelming majority of our people would encourage amounts almost to positive genius."

THE NEW BRANCH OF THE BUREAU OF FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC COMMERCE

One of the first steps Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover has taken is to widen the scope of the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, and he is establishing branches of this organization outside the territorial limits of the United States.

The first branch to be opened is to be located in Manila, and it is the wish of the American Chamber of Commerce that this branch be established at their headquarters, which is the logical center of American endeavor in the Philippine Islands. At the present time the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce has commercial attachés or trade commissioners in the Far East at Peking, Tokyo, Sydney, and Calcutta.

It is greatly to be hoped that this new branch will be able to stimulate more interest in American manufacturers and American business men in the possibilities of the Philippines.

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE COMMERCIAL AGENCIES OF THE BUREAU OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY IN THE UNITED STATES?

The results obtained by the commercial agencies of the Bureau of Commerce and Industry of the Philippine Islands, stationed in New York City and San Francisco, from the standpoint of interesting capital to come to the Philippines, has been negligible. Word has come to the American Chamber of Commerce to the effect that one of the reasons why these agencies are not accomplishing more to really help Philippine business is because of the fact that they are devoting too much of their time to political propaganda work.

This fact is proven by the publications compiled, published and distributed by the Publicity Department of the Philippine commercial agencies. Many of the alleged "facts" in the publications entitled "The Philippine Flag" and "Philippine Resources and Opportunities" give a false picture of the actual conditions in the Philippines, and are manifestly distorted to attempt to mislead the American people.

If these agencies had been conducted on a strictly business-like basis, with the intention of really interesting American capital in the Philippine Islands, and of disseminating information which would be of help to our commerce, it might not have been necessary for the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce of the United States to have to establish a branch of their own in Manila.

SUBSCRIPTIONS TO THE CHAMBER JOURNAL

The first issue of the American Chamber of Commerce Journal was in such demand that it was soon exhausted. Hundreds of copies were sent to the States by various members of the Chamber.

Undoubtedly you have a friend or friends in the States whom it would be worth while to try and interest in the Philippines. Why not make arrangements with the Secretary of the American Chamber of Commerce to have a copy of the Journal sent to them regularly? The subscription price in the United States is only $3.00 per year.

A GOOD PLACE TO CURTAIL
EXPENSES

Anyone visiting the Press Bureau in Washington, maintained by the million peso independence propaganda fund of the Philippine Government, could scarcely believe that the Filipino Government is practically bankrupt. This Bureau has expensive quarters in the Munsey Building, maintains a corps of clerks, has lecturers in the field (with all expenses paid) and is altogether liberal in its disbursements. The American Chamber of Commerce doubts if this is a legal charge against Insular Revenues, 85% of which are collected from non-filipinos.

With all the present talk on saving government money, it would seem advisable to curtail the lavish expenditures occasioned by the upkeep of this Press Bureau.

GENERAL WOOD UNANIMOUS CHOICE FOR NEXT GOV

ERNOR GENERAL

The members of the American Chamber of Commerce, at their meeting, July 2nd, were of the unanimous opinion that the seriousness of the present situation in the Philippines makes it imperative that General Wood come here as our next GovernorGeneral. This appointment would be welcomed by all classes in the Islands, and would do more toward stabilizing conditions here than any one step that could be taken. The present situation needs a strong man, and there is no American living who could fill the position better than Major General Leonard Wood. It is the hope of the American Chamber of Commerce that General Wood may be persuaded to honor the Philippine Islands by taking the GovernorGeneralship.

WANTED: A FIXED POLITICAL

STATUS UNDER THE
AMERICAN FLAG

When Capt. Heath introduced Colonel Henry B. McCoy at the Chamber Luncheon in honor of General Wood, he said that the American community will take hold and make the port, and do other needful thingsif there can be a fixed political status for the islands; and that without this fixed status

progress is impossible, as the experience of 23 years has proved. "Now," he said, "Is this crowd here willing to say, openly, publicly, and for the benefit of the mission, that the first thing the Americans here want is a fixed political status for the Philippine Islands under the American flag?" "Yes," roared everyone. "Absolutely."

AMERICAN CHAMBER CHAMBER MEMBERSHIP LIST

In the August number of the American Chamber of Commerce Journal the names of all the members in good standing of the American Chamber of Commerce will be published.

Section (c) of Article III, of the By-Laws of the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippine Islands, states:

"Monthly dues are payable in advance and same must be paid before the 15th of each month or the privileges of the Chamber are denied members failing in this respect. If dues remain unpaid for six months, the offending member will be dropped from the membership rolls.' It is hoped that those few Chamber memhers who have been negligent, and are in arrears, will pay their dues before July 15th, so that their names may be printed with the other members of the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippine Islands.

[Editor's NOTE:―This article has been written by the representative of the American Chamber in Washington to refute the arguments made by Mr. Manuel Earnshaw in his article in the May issue of the “Trans-Pacific" magazine entitled "Independence to Enlarge Investment Field."]

IN

N the May issue of The Trans-Pacific, Mr. Manuel Earnshaw argues that independence would enlarge the investment field in the Philippines. He bases his conclusion upon the operations of the Jones Bill and the advantages which would accrue from permitting the Filipinos to enact their own laws. With no purpose of questioning the sincerity of the article, attention is invited to certain statements and deductions which hardly square with the facts.

It is stated the Jones Bill became law in 1914. As a matter of fact it became law in August, 1916. This, however, may be a mere typographical error.

The considerable prosperity enjoyed by the Islands subsequent to August, 1916, is credited to the enlarged autonomy conferred by the Jones Bill. Persons on the ground, however, realize that this increase in business resulted from war conditions, and that the Jones Bill had nothing to do with it. It was due almost in its entirety to the phenomenal rise in prices secured for sugar, hemp, copra, coconut oil, and other staple products of the Islands. There was in fact but little increase in actual production, and but scant investment of new capital in Island enterprises. Investigation would disclose that the Jones Bill, with its portent of possible independence, and the inclination of the Philippine Legislature to discriminate against foreigners, has operated as a tremendous deterrent to the coming of capital to the Islands.

The Jones Bill is still in force and its merits unimpaired. With the passing of war conditions, however, and the financial crisis precipitated by the mishandling of government finances and the wrecking of the government-controlled National Bank, the economic situation in the Islands today is far worse than at any time since American occupation.

It is to be remembered also that the Jones Bill, and any government instituted thereunder, have back of them the power and prestige of the United States. It is this fact which has insured and still insures the Islands against internal strife and foreign aggression, and at the same time serves to extend and develop their commerce through reciprocal free trade relations. With independence this protection and guidance would be forfeited, while under the "most favored nation" clause of our treaties it is altogether probable our tariff wall would apply to and stifle the developing industries of the Islands.

The article states: "At present we exclude Chinese altogether, while the Gentleman's Agreement operates with regard to Japanese entering the Philippines just the same as it does in the United States.' The writer then implies that with independence the Philippine Legislature would remove or lower these barriers, with a consequent benefit to the Islands.

It is to be observed in the first place that the so-called "Gentleman's "Gentleman's Agreement, which became effective in 1908, does not apply to the Philippine Islands. Japanese laborers are free to enter the Philippines, and they have done so in very considerable numbers, as witness the thousands of Japanese now in Davao and other portions of the Archipelago. Memory reverts in this connection to the forcible and altogether illegal deportation to Davao of the women of the red light district, Manila. This was done under the auspices of the Philippine Bureau of Labor, for the ostensible purpose of overcoming the competition of Japanese at that point.

Equally unfounded is the statement that the Philippine Islands are now precluded by our laws from admitting Chinese laborers. Authority covering immigration is conferred by the Jones Bill upon the Philippine Legislature, the only proviso being that any such act must first receive the approval of the President. No further action or authority by the United States Congress is necessary in the premises.

Neither is the conclusion that such immigration would be authorized and encouraged by an independent Philippines supported by the present attitude of the Philippine Legislature. For years Filipino hacenderos have unanimously urged the admission of Chinese laborers, in which project they have been supported by most resident Americans. All measures looking to that end, however, have been effectually blocked by the political and labor elements of the population. The same is also true as respects Japanese. The Philippine Legislature has done everything possible to prevent and discourage their coming to the Islands, the latest instance being the Revised Public Land Act, directed specifically to that end, which precludes the purchase or lease of public lands by Japanese.

The writer of such article further argues that the wages now paid in the Islands are altogether too high, a situation which would be relieved through the admission of Chinese and Japanese. His optimism is indeed beautiful if he believes an argument of this sort would influence the masses of the Filipino people—and with them the “politicos” who depend upon their votes to open the gates to a flood of low-priced labor.

Ο'

F the three basic industries—mining, agriculture, and forestry-the tripod

directly supporting our material civilization and indirectly our whole physical, intellectual, and moral life-the first has been the most tardy in development in the Philippines. This is unfortunate, for, had it received greater encouragement and not, in some instances, discouragement by the imposition of restrictive laws and taxes, the industry might now be yielding a larger revenue to the government and be the cause of the circulation of more fluid capital in the Islands. Instead of this prosperous condition, we find a few struggling companies and a host of others which have died still-born. This backwardness in Philippine mineral development is due to several factors other than those named and the Government cannot be blamed for all of it. What those other factors are we shall come to in later paragraphs. In making what seems to be rather direct charges in the matter of the Government's failure to support the mining industry to the fullest extent, I wish to say that this cannot be attributed to a lack of desire to assist so much as to other claims upon the support of the Government and to the failure to realize the necessity of doing certain things which, to experienced mining men, appear to be selfevident. The Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources is showing that it has the welfare of the industry at heart by the recently proposed very liberal amendments to the petroleum regulations. As the writer is the main connecting link between the Government and the industry, it is his duty to report the true status of the situation without reservations. In any of these shortcomings of the Government, he does not wish to evade his share of responsibility.

Again let me say that it is not so much what the Government (I refer to both the American and Filipino governments) has done as it is what it has not done which counts. An example of what can be done is the recent bonus offered by the Government of Australia, of P100,000 to the persons who first produce a commercial supply of petroleum in that country.

Or let us take a specific case here. The gold mining industry of Benguet depends absolutely upon cheap power-water. The large power project on the Agno River contemplated by the Government should be pushed, to make possible the consolidation and successful working of a half dozen or more low grade properties now lying idle. Because this is not being done, the Government is losing a by no means inconsiderable direct revenue, and the country is losing indirectly by reason of the fact that this potential wealth is not being made available.

Courtesy Bureau of Science.

THE FIRST CHIEFS OF THE MINING BUREAU From left to right:-Standing: Mr. Charles Martin, former photographer, Bureau of Science; Mr. H. D. McCasky, the second chief of the Bureau of Mines; and Mr. Tipton. Sitting: Father Paguia and Lieutenant Charles Burritt, the first chief of the Bureau of Mines.

In 1902, Lieutenant Charles Burritt, of the Eleventh Cavalry, United States Volunteers, was detailed as the first Chief of the American Mining Bureau, in the Walled City, and his first work was to compile all the coal data, et cetera, from the Spanish records. Lieutenant Burritt is at the present time living in Arizona.

Mr. McCasky, an experienced mining engineer, the second chief of this division, who was appointed in 1906, was the son of General McCasky. Mr. McCasky has a ranch at the present time in the Rogue River Valley in Oregon. In 1907, this Bureau was put under the Bureau of Science and the present Chief, Warren D. Smith, was placed in charge.

pino prospectors coming in with finds is continually increasing. Although quite a number of them are engaged in coal, gold, and iron mining in a small crude way in a few localities, there is no private company of Filipinos engaged in the business on a large scale. It is true that the Philippine Government, the majority of whose responsible officials are Filipinos, is now sponsoring several national mining projects whose success cannot be predicted owing to very serious difficulties of a fundamental nature. These have not yet gotten beyond the development stage.

It has been said many times that mining in the Philippines is not a "poor man's game". This is quite true except in gold mining, in which it is possible to make "better than wages" with a very limited capital. In addition to the few Americans engaged in this sort of mining, hundreds of natives get a livelihood by panning the streams. Aside from the great inherent difficulties attending all large industrial enterprises in the Tropics, most of the metalliferous deposits are of low grade and refractory. There are exceptions, of course, such as the rich gold placers of the Paracale district, which are now almost exhausted, and the lode being worked by the Benguet Consolidated Mining Company.

We shall not take time or space here to delve into the history of mining in the Philippine Islands as interesting as this history is. "Let the dead Past bury its dead." We are concerned with the present and future.

The Philippine mineral products in the order of their money value production are: (1) gold; (2) salt; (3) stone; (4) coal; (5) sand and gravel; (6) lime; (7) clay (pottery); (8) clay (brick and tile); (9) iron ore; (10) mineral waters; (11) bituminous rock; (12) silver; (13) sulphur.

In the order of their importance in every day life, the list should read about like this: (1) salt; (2) coal; (3) iron; (4) gold; (5) clay; (6) stone; (7) sand and gravel; (8) lime; (9) sulphur; (10) bituminous rock; (11) mineral waters; (12) silver.

It will be noticed that gold, which comes first in the list of money-value production,

is placed fourth in the second list. The reason for this is that gold has little direct industrial use and only an arbitrary and artificial value as money.

Nevertheless, considering the use of gold as a basis for money practically throughout the world, and its universal appeal to mankind as treasure, it plays a tremendous rôle in our economic system, so that a country to-day finds it imperative to have a gold supply.

There is one other mineral product of the Philippines which gives some promise of proving to be of great commercial value, namely, petroleum. The importance of this will depend upon drilling operations now in progress on Bondoc peninsula, Tayabas Province, Luzon. Here the Richmond Petroleum Co., a subsidiary of the Standard Oil Co., of California, is drilling on the most favorable looking structure we have yet

Courtesy Bureau of Science

seen in the Archipelago. If their borings are successful on this structure there are many other localities where prospecting by boring would be justifiable. If they are not successful after three or four holes are put down it would make further boring in the Philippines a doubtful venture.

There are a number of seeps known in the Islands showing evidence of high grade oil so that the problem is to obtain it in commercial quantities.

Gold. The gold production is still the highest of all the mineral products and the industry remains almost entirely in the hands of Americans with some assistance from Australians and New Zealanders, who are first cousins to Americans in the mining business.

It is noteworthy that, inasmuch as in other countries the gold mining business has fallen off greatly, the Philippines have maintained a steady, though not large, output of the yellow metal, only a few ounces less in value than the banner year of 1916, when the purchasing power of gold was more than it is now.

The Aroroy district still leads the others in gold production owing to the continuous operation of its two mines, the Colorado and the Syndicate. Benguet, with its single large producer, alone almost equalling the combined production of the two abovenamed in the Aroroy district, is a close second. Paracale, whose rather remarkable, though small, dredging field once brought it forward into the limelight, is to-day a mere reminiscence of its former self-only one dredge and a small ten-stamp mill operating.

The Benguet Consolidated, in Antamok Valley, has, during the past few years when many gold mines in other parts of the world have had to close down owing to the low value of gold, steadily paid dividends of