igo The National Geographic Magazine 



pedient to do this, and they are employed 

 in the prison in petty manufactures, such 

 as making chairs, baskets, hats, rope, etc. 



THEY ARE PROVING THEMSELVES 

 GOOD WORKMEN 



A report made to Governor Taft No- 

 vember 4, 1902, by J. B. Aleshire, major 

 and quartermaster, United States Army, 

 in charge of army transport service at 

 Manila, clearly demonstrates the avail- 

 ability of native labor and strongly re- 

 futes the frequently expressed idea that 

 such labor cannot be profitably em- 

 ployed. His report shows that upward 

 of 1,800 Filipino laborers, skilled and 

 unskilled 4 were on the pay-rolls of the 

 Quartermaster's Department, a large 

 proportion of whom were given regular 

 and almost continuous employment. 

 About 450 of the employees were en- 

 gaged as launch and lighter officers and 

 crews and were rated as unskilled, hav- 

 ing been principally engaged in the 

 handling of coal, freight, baggage, 

 forage, etc. 



Major Aleshire says : 



"Chinese labor was formerly employed 

 for the handling of coal, but has been 

 abandoned and replaced by Filipino 

 labor, which by practical tests during 

 several months averaged more tons per 

 day per man and at a much lower rate 

 per ton. 



''The attendance of the Filipino la- 

 borer has been and is excellent. They 

 do not absent themselves after Sundays, 

 holidays, or fiestas, nor during such 

 days should the} 7 be notified in advance 

 they will be required to work. Their 

 physical strength is much improved, 

 and the} 7 are capable of doing as much 

 and as hard work as any laborer we 

 have in the orient." 



Governor Taft, in referring to the 

 labor question in an address at Manila, 

 said : 



"I know the disposition of most 

 Americans here is to open the doors and 

 let in the Chinese, so that we may have 



Chinese cheap labor in the islands, but 

 I am emphatically opposed to the gen- 

 eral policy of admitting the Chinese, 

 first, because the Filipinos have the 

 strongest opinion that it will be for their 

 detriment, and, second, because I believe 

 the history of the Straits Settlements 

 shows that it will not be for their pros- 

 perity as distinguished from the material 

 prosperity of the islands. I am opposed 

 to admitting any Chinese labor until it 

 shall be made to appear that the great 

 works of construction which are essen- 

 tial in the islands cannot be carried on 

 satisfactorily with Filipino labor." 



The rates of wages which have pre- 

 vailed since American occupation, while 

 low as compared with wages in the 

 United States, have been substantially 

 double those paid under Spanish do- 

 minion. 



THE FILIPINO IS A NATURAL-BORN 

 FISHERMAN 



Fish forms one of the principal items 

 of food of the Filipino people, and a 

 large proportion of the people are fisher- 

 men. 



Fish are caught by various devices. 

 In favorable situations the shores are 

 lined in the shallow waters with traps, 

 weirs, or corrals built of bamboo, and 

 in them a large part of the catch is 

 made. Nets and seines of various pat- 

 terns are also extensively used, as well 

 as the ordinary hook and line, and in 

 some localities the spear. 



The markets of Manila are always 

 bountifully supplied with fresh fish of 

 many varieties and of fine flavor, and the 

 fisheries in the vicinity which supply the 

 city are said to be highly remunerative. 

 The same is true at other centers of pop- 

 ulation throughout the Philippines. 



It appears from the statements of the 

 supervisors that about nine-tenths of 

 the people of the islands use fish as their 

 principal flesh diet. The average family 

 consumes in the neighborhood of 800 

 pounds of fish per annum. 



