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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 22, 1905)
- ..... .JL , 4 WlITOPffl 3& re Mm 35 mm MANILA, Sept. 15. (Special Corre spondence of the Sunday Oregonl an.) Will the Philippines ever pay Interest on the millions the American Government has invested In them? (side from any sentimental consideration, Is there any reason to believe that our enorT mous expenditure here will ever bring a commensurate return? The average authority assuros us that there Is none. The general opinion has been that the United States acquired a full-grown white elephant when It came into possession of these islands, situated 7000 miles from qur mainland. But. we are-not so certain that this is true. In raising the issue, to see If a favorable case can be made, let us dwell briefly upon the history of our other ex pansions, and allow our Imaginations a little play before wc arrive at conclusions. First, the United States has never made a territorial expansion that was not ably and earnestly opposed, yet we have never made one that did not eventually pay for itself. This does not argue that we cannot make a mistake, but it shows con clusively that great men occasionally get on the wrong side of a question; that the Philippines are not necessarily worthless tecause men of prominence and ability decry their commercial value. The rec ords of Congress teem with declarations against the advisability of purchasing Texas, California and Alaska, yet look at the millions now being derived from the cotton' and fruit and gold of these rich members of the Union. Pacts Worth Thinking About It seems that there are more visible signs of wealth" in the Philippines than there were in either of the above men tioned territories when their possession was attained. The exports, of these is lands are now millions in excess of what either of these territories produced for many years after we secured them. There was also more lawlessness and disorder in all of them for years after the Ameri can flag was raised over them than there are in the Philippines at this time. These are facts4 worth thinking about The great objection to the Philip pines has been their vast distance from the mainland, but their location is now coming to be regarded as the best point in their favor. This Is true for strategic reasons. which will bo discussed farther on, and because of their remote situation, which makes their products altogether -different from those of the temperate zone, thus adding to the variety and value of our resources. - The principal wealth of the Archi pelago lies in the richness of its soil. It has a monopoly of one of the world's great staples hemp. The great im portance of this product is shown by the fact that its sales for the year 1904 amounted to almost $22,000,000, and the output from the area now un der cultivation will be increased at least a third by the introduction of modern machinery, -which will do away with the wastefulness of old methods. Enormous areas of good hemp land are yet untouched. Considering that a market awaits every pound that can be produced, it is not too sanguinary to say that a hundred-mllllon-dollar hemp crop may one day. be produced here. The culture of cocoanuts is one of the Inviting Industries of the Philip pines. Science has discovered nearly THE MAKING OF A SUCCESSFUL I? Dear John: Your Inquiry reminds mo of old Tommy Tucker, who lives around the corner, and who used to bo a member of my favorite club. You remember him the fussy little man, who always wears a high hat and a sack coat, and walks with a strut that makes me think of a turkey gobbler of which I was the proud possessor in my boyhood days. Tommy is a gay old boy, very fond of the fair sex fn general, and the Tights of women used to be one of his favorite topics for discussion at the club. He would talk for hours about the poor downtrodden wives who aro little better than the slaves of their husbands, who must grovel on their knees for actual necessities, and who seldom have a dollar of their own from ono year's end to an other. Tommy's righteous Indignation was something fair to see. "Give your wives an allowance, boys," he would say. "Let 'em have money of their own to spend. My wifo has had an allowance ever since our marriage, and I tell you it pays." Well, after a while we were as tonished to hear one day that Tommy's jwife had sued him for -divorce on the ground of non-maintenance, and In the proceedings which fallowed it developed that his much-boasted allowance was the sum of 51 a week, "out of which Mrs. Tucker was required to clothe herself. He doesn't belong to our club now, hut his chest is as obtrusive and his tile sets at the same angle as of yore. This question of an allowance is a pretty serious one. and the disposition Of the woman in the case enters largely fhto Its consideration. Some women never get beyond childhood mentally, and prefer to be treated like, children all their lives. They know nothing about their hus hands' Incomes and care less) if they keep r8i 8f, 4 100 distinct uses to which the sub stance of this wonderful tree may be put, and its propagation has had such a boom that the farmers of the Islands are now deriving as much revenue from Jt as the combined total of the tobacco and sugar crops. The Philip pines undoubtedly contain one of the best cocoanut belts in the world. Al though the groves in existence here have been planted in a haphazard manner and allowed to shift for them selves, their profit averages with those of Ceylon, our only formidable compet itor. Only a small fraction of the cocoa nut region has been utilized. Thore are them liberally supplied with tho luxuries their childish natures demand. "With such women there is only ono course practicable and that is the ancient and time-honored -one which is based on the theory that all women are Irresponsible beings and are to be considered prop erty of a higher sort, to bo fed and clothed and perhaps regarded with a degree of affection but not to be treated as mental equals nor to ho given any jactive part in domestic administration except as an upper servant. The great trouble is that there are so many wives who are treated In this manner who do not deserve to be. The human dolls are. In fact, a mighty small minority of wo mankind. The supposed limitations of the jsex have been fixed in the" masculine mind by the customs' and prejudices of centuries, and it Is pretty hard to change Its attitude, but the change Is being made and made more rapidly in this country than in any other. We have learned that the average woman has Just about as much sense as the avorage man, and, given the same training and same conditions, she can accomplish equally as much. Thero seems to be a subtle difference in their mental equip ment which enables a woman to reach an Instant conclusion by means of some thing we call intuition, while man ar rives at the same point after a labor ious process of reasoning, but whether this difference Is actually physiological or a curious result of ages of mental repression we are unable to say. But I am wandering from the main Issue, and that reminds me of a preacher who used to ride a circuit down in Southern Illi nois, and who always preached from the same text "I like to start from a point with which I am familiar," he would say when asked tor an explanation, "but you notice that I never go over the same road and one text Is as good as another If you lose sight of It as soon as you get start i ed, asjrl and most other preachers do." All fhave said thus far Is hesido the Tfm,, mi "BIT1 - iWMUMil lull PWff THE SUNDAY 1 AO XT?. .St. JtT7yM7 CoceWYCr7"S hundreds of square miles In different portions of the archipelago where the soil and rainfall are exactly suited to IL An expert in the employ of the Government, after making a careful investigation of the extent of the co coanut lands, estimates that there is in .an area capable of producing annually enough nuts to make 250,000 tons of copra (dried meat of cocoanuts), which at the present market price, would bring nearly $19,000,000. Thus it will be seen that the cocoanut with its hun dred uses can easily bo made to payl part of the interest of the millions we have Invested. Another business of great wealth- mark, so far as you are concerned, for your wife is no child. As a matter of fact, really childish women are compara tively fow In number; the fault in a great majority of cases where they are treated as such as the husband's, who can't or won't see the wrong they are doing them selves and their wives by such treatment. It has always seemed to me that the proper , view of the ' marriage relation Is one of actual partnership. There should be, so far as practicable, an equal divi sion of labor, an equal division of re sponsibilities and an equal division of financial returns. The woman's labors and responsibilities should bo within the home, tho man's, for the greater part, outside of it Success In her realm is of as much. If not roore, importance to both than success In his. A business failure Is a. small affair when compared with a domestic failure. The one Is a mere matter of money, the othen affects body, mind and soul. The wife should be supremo within her sphere, but with that supremacy she should accept the respon sibilities that belong to it and be held ac countable for results. On tho other hand she should not Interfere in his province, but each should ask for and receive the advico and help and encouragement of the other. f 'But, you ask, how can this theory be put Into practical application. By apply ing ordinary business principles prin ciples which. I regret to say, are very sel dom applied to domestic affairs In the right way. The trouble is that the aver age business man runs his home as he would his store, considering his wife as a simple item of expense, an expense which ho pays In an irregular way as her needs, expressed or implied, seem to require; or in the form of a fixed allow ance. Tho first method places her . in the position of a mendicant or a pension er, the second improves her standing hut makes her relation to him something in the nature of a salaried employe. While the latter is far tho better plan of the QREGOOTAJS", PORTLAND, sztn T&2ftYC( producing possibility is the neglected sugar industry. The Philippines con tain vast areas of the richest sugar land in the world, that could be made profitable by American capital if there were a reduction in the tariff. The methods here are 30 years behind the times, and the planters are too pbor to develop the business. Spme of them are reduced to the point of borowlng funds from Chinese money lenders at Impairing the prospects of other re the rate of 10 per cent per month. The j Sions dependent upon our favor, it other sugar Interests under our flag look upon the development of the In dustry in. the Philippines as a menace to their prosperity, but our consump tion is so far In excess of our capacity HUSBAND two, giving the wife as It does a certain independence impossible with the former. It Is not. I believe, tho true relation, which should be one of equal partnership, as I have said. Play Square. If you were going Into business with another man as your partner; each hav ing the samo interest, it is probablo that you would divide the duties o'f manage ment so as to give each a certain definite responsibility. One of you, perhaps, would have charge of the finances and account ing, the other of tho buying and selling. Each In his respective sphere would ba supreme, but the profits would be yours Jointly, to be held In bulk, reinvested for your Joint interest of equally divided as you might elect. With, modification the same system may be applied to the domes tic partnership, the husband holding the position of senior, the wife that of Junior partner. Tho husband's department is his business, tho wife's Is the home. The one produces revenue, the other does not, analogous to tho selling and accounting departments of the commercial concern, but the home, like the accounting division. Is an essential factor, and, like It again, may bo tho means of saving or losing money as" It Is properly or improperly conducted. I don't want to tire you, but I am very anxious to get my ideas Into your noggin straight; then, If you don't like 'era you can do as you please about 'cm. You re member tho story about the white man and the Indian who went turkey hunting and divided the game in accordance with the white man's proposition. I won't re peat the story, but you will recollect that the "white man got all the turkeys. Some business partnerships and a great many domestic partnerships are managed in this way, and that sort of thing usually ends In a dissolution. If you aucceed In lire you've got to play square with your part ner, and particularly co to the ono with OCTOBER 22, 1905; of production that there seems to be no cause for alarm. Expert Figures on Sugar. . An expert has figured out the situa tion to show that a 'reduction In the tariff would stimulate the business here without Injury to any other American community of identical Interests. In the last 25 years Louisiana has multi plied her sugar yield by three, and during the last 15 years the beet sugar growers have attained a production of about a quarter of a million tons. In the meantime Hawaii and Porto Rico have been added to the Union with their production of about half a mil lion tons. In spite of all this, the United States has doubled its importa tion iu 25 years, because during that period its consumption has been multi plied by three. Let this rate of Increased production go on for another quarter of a century; let the present beet sugar crop bo mul tiplied by three; let the cane sugar crops of Louisiana, Hawaii and Porto Rico be multiplied by three; and thero -will still he room for the Philippines to multiply their present production by 60 to meet the total requirements of 6,000,000 tons necessary to supply the American dejnand. In other words, be- ; foru the Philippines could injure the f market for the other sugar-producing sections now under the American flag, 1 the3c islands would have to supply as I milch sugar as the remainder of the whole tropical world 13 now producing. Although their possibilities aro very great, they will probably never be able to reach such a state of development. At the present time the United States are spending a dollar for Cuban sugar for every three cents It spends for this same product from the Philippines. If we can encourage this Industry without seems there snouid do no nesuancy in doing so, especially when it means another big step toward supplying our needs and getting the interest on our money. whom you'vo made a life contract, sol emnly signed and sealed In the presence of the representative of tho Almighty. Give her control of tho homo and let her understand that she Is responsible for Its management. Responsibility makes character In a woman Just as It does In a man. Let her have a fixed sum every month to pay the household expenses as well as to provide for her personal re quirements, and allow her to expend the money without question or Interference. She'll come to you" for advice when Bhe needs it She'll como to" you for more money when she needs It, but If tho amount is rightly fixed sho will seldom have to do that. She will take a pride In keeping within her limit, and more than likely will save more money than you will. In the matter of small econ omics a woman can beat a man every time, but sho must have a personal In terest in the saving,must feel that It Is hers without restriction. Sho will prob ably spend most of It on you, or will sur prise you by .digging up a roll as big as your arm some time when you are In des perate need of it- A woman is always trustworthy if she i3 trusted. Tho man's point Is to make her feel that there is no string tied to the amount given her, that It is hers absolutely, but that she Is expected to meet certain expenses. Divide Your Salary. Suppose, for example, you figure up your fixed charges, as the railroad man would say. "Under this head will come your rent, your water license, taxes, in surance, servants' hire, etc Make a lib eral allowance for indefinite expenses, as provisions, clothing, carfare, doctor's bills, repairs and so on. Take upon your self the payment of all accounts .except the current fluctuating expenses of the household and the personal expenses of your wife. That would give to her the responsibility for the payment of all the jUls from the grocer, the butcher, the 1 iWVIMMK 1& 12 't -rf.tif-fy 1 'Coffee-growing offers one of the best chances to make money. It Is not sur prising that the Philippines, being neighbors of Java, should have a great coffee zone. It is claimed that in fully two-fifths of the entire area of the archipelago the facilities for coffee raising are ideal. What thi3 means may be better understood when It is remembered that the single state of Sao Paulo, Brazil, furnishes three fourths of the world's supply of coffee, and that this district Is only a fraction of the area In the Philippines which is capable of producing a better grade. Seeing that tho United States is the leading coffee-consuming nation, here is the chance to make ourselves inde pendent of Brazil, who sells us an In ferior quality, does not appreciate our patronago and begrudges every dollar she spends with us. Cacao Is a world's staple that can be 'grown In only a few places. Tho statistics show that 15 leading nations are rapidly Increasing their consump tion of It, yet the Philippines are the only tropical region capable of In creasing the supply to an appreciable extent. The samo amount of money that would buy five acres of orange land in Riverside, California, will se cure a hundred acres of good orange land in the Philippines and equip it. It is said that this climate and soil are capable of producing as good oranges as can. be raised In either California, Florida or Sicily. Fortunes In Timber. One of the great rosources of the Philip pines Is the vast wealth contained in the forests. Almost a thousand varieties. In cluding the most valuable commercial woods, have been found to exist In the archipelago. It is said there are not less than forty million acres of . valuable timber here. The" first military road built Into Mindanao by the American Army was cut through a forest of mahogany and 'ebony, and enough of these precious woods are now rotting along that road to make a millionaire of any one who could get them to market. . In other lo calities there are square miles studded with mammoth trees ten feet in diam eter and 125 feet to the first limb. In the states a forest showing 5000 feet to the acre is a fortune, so how valuable in proportion may be timber land which In some cases runs as high as 20), 000 feat to the acre. Tho rapid consumption- of lumber In America will soon exhaust our forests, and the great areas In the Philippines may be needed earlier than some authori ties' anticipate. "When wo do need It tho timber Is here. The absolute -lack of proper machinery and. appliances, as well as of transportation facilities, militate against profitable operation at present. Moreover, the lay of the land Is such that certain innovations will have to be devised before the Philippine forests can be worked to advantage, but there Js no doubt that ingenuity will contrive methods as the demand increases. The history of commercialism is a continuous record of difficulties overcome. Mineral Wealth of Philippines. Little Is known about the mineral wealth of the Philippine archipelago. Taut prospecting is now being done in almost every province. Many experts, after look ing over the ground, have spoken dis NO. IV THE "WIFE'S ALLOWANCE: MONEY IN YOUR POCKET AND milk and Ico dealers, and other table accounts as well a3 her own clothing, etc. Then divide your salary in proportion to the relative expenditures of each. If you assume one-half the expenditure dlvldo your salary equally. If your part of tho expenso is three-fifths or three-fourths, reserve that proportion of your income for. yourself. That is the plan I havo followed for many years, and It has worked well. Another plan which has Its advantages, and which Is based like the other on tho partnership Idea, Is to place your salary cach week or each month, as you may recelvo it. In a common receptacle at home. Each of you should have free and unquestioned access to this fund, and whatever Is left can be deposited In the bank, from time to time. A memorandum book should be kept with the money and all withdrawals should' be properly noted. The advantage of this system Is Its sim plicity. Its disadvantages arise from the dangers of loss by theft or otherwise, and from the fact that It lessens -tho Individual responsibility, and the stimulus to indi vidual saving when compared with the first-mentioned plan. But it's a good scheme, nevertheless, and vastly superior to the mendicant or allowance methods. Don't .Reverse Traditions. I never believed In the plan of giving all one's salary to one's wifo any more than I believe it right for the husband to keep all of It himself. In the first place, It throws upon her a. burden that prop erly belongs to him. In Dart at least, and, In the second place, it makes it necessary for him to ask her for what he needs, and too often he may be required to explain his needs In detail before he gets It. Some men are so weak that they need restraint of this kind, and for such this method is commendable, but for a man with average backbone It's humiliating to have toask his wife for money even If he has voluntarily placed himself In durance. 12$ pF -.mm paragingly of the Indications, yet It is significant that most of the companies back of these same experts are coming into the field one after another. Any one with experience in a mining country knows that men with real prospects dj not advertise their chances. Both quartz and placer properties are now being worked here. The argument that the Philippines are too far away to attract attention is not worth considering. The gold hunters swarmed to the South African Rand and they built Dawson under the shadow of the Arctic Circle. It's about time we had another rousing, old-fashioned rush some where. "Who can tell but that it may b to 'the Philippines? There Is a good deal of that "suspicious activity" here which surcharges the air and generally ends in a report of a strike that causes camps to be depopulated over night. Such an Invasion would be hard on the trail blaz ers, because this Is a poor country In which torough it, but It would wake up tho Philpplnes. There are a thousand and one minor industries of an inviting character that cannot be enumerated here, but the fore going Is sufficient to show .something of the inestimable riches of our far eastern possession. When the value and variety of their known resources aro taken Into account, it does not require a great stretch of Imagination to see that their accidental acquisition may yet be made a profitable investment. At this time no inventory of their wealth can be com pleted for the reason that they have not been fully explored. Every day's Inves tigation brings to light some new dis covery that enhances their value. The Final Considerations. Aside from the consideration of direct return, however, is their Importance from a strategic standpoint. Tho East is bris tling with commercial opportunities. Dur ing tho next few years it is going to bo the scene of a great struggle between leading nations for trade mastery. Amer ica will be In tho thick of the fight, and we must have a base nearer than Hawaii or the Pacific Coast. This does not mean a lonely rock somewhere, with a supply of coal on It, but a "zone of influence HKo all our competitors have. If we aro going after the Far Eastern trade, we must play every card In the game. As a final reflection In weighing the question whether our occupation of th Philippines will ever pay, our attitude here should not be overlooked.. Our scheme of development Includes the edu cation of the native. This experiment ha3 called down upon us the ridicule of for eigners, who claim that we are wasting our time. Inasmuch as we are the first power to attempt such a thing, the results may show that they are right- But sup pose the. experiment succeeds? And no one can authoritatively assert that it will not. "We have already taken first place a3 disease fighters, and .the entire world is now reaping the benefit of our innova tions in the science of sanitation. "Wo succeed in establishing an educational standard as well. Our critics should re member that it was tho Americans who sent Commodore Perry to Japan, and that the island empire acknowledges the debt It owes to the American school teacher. If we can prove that school books are more potent than cannon In. widening the zone of civilization, will there be any one to dispute that our Investment in tho Philippines has paid? FREDERIC J. HASKIN. PARTNERSHIP WILL PUT PEACE IN YOUR SOUL. It reverses the position of mendicancy and is harder on a man than a woman, be cause in her case it has the sanction of the ages. I believe in woman's Independ ence, but I don't believe in reversing the traditional relations of the sexes. It is possible to give your wife freedom with out enslaving yourself, and a certain amount of starch in your spinal column is Just as Important under the conditions I have suggested as in any other situa tion, domestic or otherwise. I know a man whose wife allows him barely enough for carfare, and when he wants more he has to make an Itemized requisition. She Is unquestionably his superior as a finan cial manager, and is saving money, a feat he never was able to accomplish. But he is unhappy. Her thrift should be a blessing to him. but blessings may be come curses if they are worked overtime. He might have taken advantage of her greater thrift and at the same time pre served hl3 self-respect if he had reserved to himself a sufficient amount for his necessary personal expenses, and a mar gin for the unexpected. Now. my boy. Just one more word beforo I toddle off to bed. Consider your wife as your equal In every respect. She may not he in some, but she Is entitled to the consideration. Consult her about your affairs, tell her your troubles tnat aro worth telling at all and take no liberties yourself you are not willing to grant her, and now, with love to your dear girl, much for yourself, I will bid you good night. Affectionately, JOHN SNEBD. (Copyright. 1S03. by C. S. Yost.) Brain of the Xatlon. London Opinion. Nothing is more genuinely representa tive of the brain of a nation than its army of writers. They come from every class, they represent even cult, every shade of thought and opinion, they go everywhere and do everything.