THE CENTURY BOOK OF FACTS. 



which buy and sell exchange, and to a limited 

 extent carry on the business which legitimate- 

 ly belongs to banking institutions. Of the 

 three banks, the two most important are 

 branch concerns, the third being a local insti- 

 tution controlled by Spaniards and natives. 



There are about 25,000 Europeans resi- 

 dent in the islands (the total population is 

 nearly 8,000,000), of course, not counting the 

 troops. Some 12,000 are established in the 

 capital, Manila, the center of the colonial gov- 

 ernment. English, Spanish, and German 

 houses are engaged in trade, advancing money 

 to the natives on their crops. Such business 

 methods involve risks and necessitate large 

 capital in the beginning, but the profits are 

 immense. The land is fertile and productive, 

 and lacks only intelligent cultivation. Abaca 

 (manila hemp) is one of the chief sources of 

 wealth of the country. Sugar cane does not 

 give as satisfactory returns, owing largely to 

 the ignorance of planters. The average 

 production is 178,000,000 kilograms (175,- 

 186.96 tons), while that of Cuba is equal to 

 720,000,000 kilograms. The sugar goes 

 almost entirely to Japan, England, and the 

 United States. It is of poor quality and very 

 cheap. The cultivation of tobacco is one of 

 the most important industries, although it is 

 capable of much greater development. The 

 native coffee, although not equal to the mocha 

 or bourbon varieties, has a fine aroma. It 

 goes chiefly to Spain. Cocoa trees grow in 

 abundance, and the oil is used for lighting 

 houses and streets. The indigo is famous for 

 its superior qualities. The inhabitants are 

 apathetic to a degree that is noticeable even in 

 these countries, where every one is averse to 

 exertion. The women have long and slender 

 fingers, remarkably fine and sensitive, and 

 well adapted to their work. The hats and 

 cigarette-holders they make and the articles 

 they embroider are models of delicacy. Cot- 

 ton spinning and work in bamboo are among 

 the chief industries. 



The fiber which gets its common name from 

 the city of Manila is perennial and requires 

 little cultivation ; in fact, it does very well 

 without any. It reaches the proportions of a 

 tree, but its soft stem is cut with a knife, 

 though several inches in diameter, and the 

 decortication of the fiber is rather a matter of 

 time and patience than of skill or hard work. 

 About a million bales are exported annually, 

 nearly all of it going to England or coming to 

 this country, and our importation of the fiber 

 has been increasing. 



The sugar culture has remained in its prime- 

 val condition because the supply of labor was 

 so great that there was no incentive to econo- 



mize labor, and there was no United States at 

 hand, as in the case of Cuba, to invest money 

 in plantations and develop the business in ac- 

 cordance with modern ideas. There is no 

 doubt that the culture of the cane can be im- 

 mensely extended, and the methods of produc- 

 tion would be modernized very rapidly if capital 

 were directed toward the islands and there 

 were a greater degree of confidence in their 

 future. 



The tobacco is as well known in Europe and 

 Asia as the tobacco of Cuba is in this country ; 

 it is extensively cultivated and its manufacture 

 is the staple business of the capital city. 



Commerce. In 1891 the Philippines' 

 exports to Spain amounted to $22,479,000 

 (018,095,595 in United States currency). In 

 1891 the Philippines' imports from Spain 

 amounted to $17,126,000 ($13,786,430). 



The total exports from the Philippines in 

 1802 consisted of 95,016 tons of hemp ; 3,951,- 

 060 piculs (553,148,400 pounds) of sugar; 

 21,223 piculs (2,971,220 pounds) of coffee; 

 61,459 piculs (8,604,260 pounds) of sampan- 

 wood ; 5,570 piculs (779,800 pounds) of indigo ; 

 254,428 quintals (56,091,197 pounds) of to- 

 bacco leaf; 137,059,000 cigars. The total 

 exports in 1892 were of the value of $33,479,- 

 000 ($23,803,569). Total value of imports, 

 in 1892, were of the value of $27,000,000 

 ($19,197,000). 



The imports into the Philippines from the 

 United States in 1897 were but $94,597, the 

 principal item being mineral oils. The exports 

 to the United States were $4,383,740, the 

 largest items being hemp, $2,701,651, and, 

 cane sugar, $1,199,202. 



Climate. Mr. Hilder, Assistant Secretary 

 of the National Geographical Society, who 

 spent nine months in the islands, says in the 

 Forum that there is considerable variety in 

 the climate, and that for the tropics it is not 

 excessively hot. On the western side of Luzon 

 the hot season is from March till June, May 

 being the hottest month, when the tempera- 

 ture ranges from 80 to 100. The mean tem- 

 perature for the month is 84, 2 above the 

 summer temperature of New Orleans and 9 

 above the hottest month in Washington. 

 From October to March is a cool, dry season. 

 The northern islands are subject to terrific 

 storms, which never pass south of 9 north' 

 latitude. 



Railways and Shipping. In a report 

 published in Special Consular Reports, High- 

 ways of Commerce, Consul Elliott, of Manila, 

 says that there is but one railway in the 

 islands from Manila to Dagupin a distance 

 of 123 miles. It is single track and well built, 

 steel rails being used its entire length, the 



