232 CHRISTIE, 



vincial capital. But San Vicente carpenters also go farther 

 afield. They are in the habit of going to many towns within 

 the province and even outside in prosecution of their work. 



There is nothing peculiar or noteworthy regarding San Vi- 

 cente carpenters. The tools they use and the skill they exhibit 

 are probably about the same as those of carpenters elsewhere 

 in the Philippine provinces. An intelligent Filipino priest who 

 has employed them on a church and convento states that he 

 has found them timid about undertaking any large work, but 

 teachable. 



San Vicente carpenters have no union, but nevertheless make 

 a very fair living. Master carpenters receive about twice as 

 much pay as a municipal teacher or the president of their town, 

 and, unlike the teachers, they can earn money all the year around. 

 It is a current saying in San Vicente that a carpenter eats better 

 than anyone else. 



Carpentering in San Vicente is in most cases a hereditary 

 occupation. A boy usually learns the. trade by assisting his 

 father. Occasionally, however, a boy whose father is not a 

 carpenter becomes an apprentice to a carpenter. In such cases 

 there does not seem to be any fixed term of service. The youth 

 works for small pay until he has acquired a fair degree of skill; 

 he then earns such wages as he can, which he keeps for himself. 



CARVED BOXES. 



The making of fancy boxes in this town off'ers an example of 

 a minor industry suddenly stimulated into life by the American 

 occupation. It is the consensus of testimony that before that 

 epoch the output amounted to practically nothing. It is said 

 that a few small carved boxes that were offered for sale to the 

 American troops M^ere sold so readily and at such good prices 

 that a number of men gave themselves entirely to making them. 

 At the present time the workers who give their whole time to 

 making boxes number about a dozen, without counting several 

 women who assist in the carving. Boxes, most of them small, 

 bring into San Vicente about 1,000 pesos a year. 



The work, like all other manufacturing industries of San 

 Vicente, is a household industry. There is no separate building 

 set aside for it. Most of the makers of boxes work at their own 

 homes, either inside the house or in the yard. A few hire an 

 assistant or two. 



As regards division of labor it may be said that some persons 

 make a box from beginning to end. Others only carry it through 



