American Development of the Philippines 



197 



the building of the electric railroad such 

 places will be accessible to every-one. 



The botanical gardens on the Paseo 

 •de Bagumbayan have been improved 

 and extended until they approach their 

 former state under Spanish manage- 

 ment. Originally this park had many 

 beautiful trees and plants and a splen- 

 did collection of orchids, but nearly all 

 of these, with the exception of the 

 larger trees, were destroyed during the 

 siege of the city and the insurrection. 

 During the last few months the deer 

 park has been completed, neatly fenced 

 with wire, and stocked with a number 

 of deer of different kinds from the 

 various islands of the archipelago. 

 There is also a monkey cage, and from 

 time to time the animals and buildings 

 are being added to. This is a very 



popular resort with all classes, espe- 

 cially the Filipinos. 



The department of public works in 

 Manila employs about 1,714 officers, 

 mechanics, and laborers. Laborers are 

 paid $1, 80 cents, and 60 cents per day, 

 while a few subordinate assistants re- 

 ceive 50 cents and 40 cents a day. 

 Wages are paid monthly. Ordinary 

 labor is plentiful, while skilled labor is 

 scarce. On the whole, Filipino labor 

 has been very successful, but its value 

 has been considerably hampered by the 

 numerous fiestas and the after effects, 

 such as laziness and extended absences. 

 No Chinese are employed. The day 

 consists of eight hours' work. The 

 labor costs about 25 percent more than 

 it does in the United States, and is of 

 an inferior quality. 



AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT OF THE 

 PHILIPPINES 



GOVERNOR TAFT, in his last 

 annual report, states that "the 

 wealth of these islands must 

 always be their agricultural products." 

 Formerly the Filipinos produced enough 

 from their fields and forests to be self- 

 supporting ; but as a result of long years 

 of internal disturbances, the loss of 90 

 per cent of the carabaos from the rind- 

 erpest, and the recent devastation by 

 cholera, most of the rice fields and farms 

 have become overgrown with rank vege- 

 tation, and lately there has been wide- 

 spread famine. Congress at its last ses- 

 sion appropriated $3,000,000 to relieve 

 the distress in the islands. Half of this 

 sum will be used immediately to import 

 thousands of carabaos from Ceylon and 

 India to be sold to the people at cost 

 price. 



Meanwhile experts of the insular gov- 

 ernment have been devising means to 

 help the farmers. A serum has recently 



been discovered which will protect the 

 carabao inoculated with it from the rind- 

 erpest, so that carabaos may now be 

 safely imported. Tubes of locust fun- 

 gus, obtained from Dr L- O. Howard, 

 of Washington, have been distributed 

 and have checked the plagues of locusts. 

 In one instance 64 bushels of dead lo- 

 custs were found in the vicinity of a 

 place where eight or ten locusts, in- 

 fected with the fungus, had been re- 

 leased, and the remainder of the swarm 

 had disappeared. A soil survey has been 

 organized and has begun to examine the 

 land in different sections of the islands 

 to see whether new varieties of plants 

 may not be introduced. Other experts 

 have been trying to improve the native 

 varieties by careful selection. Already 

 the government has received applica- 

 tions asking for information from more 

 than one thousand persons, mainly Fili- 

 pinos, distributed throughout the archi- 



