Women Making Cigars in Manila

WOMEN MAKING CIGARS IN MANILA posits have been worked for centuries. .The total production of gold in 1925 was 2,928,003 fine grams, valued at $1,945,989.

Lateritic iron deposits in Mindanao are reported to run to 500,000,000 tons. This field is now a Government reservation. The most notable iron deposit (1,200,000 tons) is that of the Angat (Bulacan), which is of high grade hematite. In 1919, about 20,000 tons were mined, but in 1923 this had fallen to 269 tons, and in 1925 to 398 tons valued at $31,295—all coming from Angat. The decline was due to a wharfage duty of two pesos ($1) per ton. The Angat mines belong to and are worked by Filipinos : almost all the output is made into plough points which are esteemed more highly than imported ones. Unexploited manganese occurs in Ilocos Norte, Pangasinan, Bulacan, Tarlac and Masbate. Lead and zinc occur in many places, always asso ciated, and silver is usually found with them. Deposits in Cebu and Masbate are being exploited. There has been no production of molybdenite, but it occurs in Batangas and one or two other localities. Platinum occurs in very small quantities in Luzon and Mindanao. Some native silver is found in Baguio, but usually in conjunction with lead and zinc. Production in 1925 was 2,132,521 fine grams. Wolframite is reported from Antique, Panay.

Manufacturing

in 1918 was conducted in 8,354 establish ments. Of these 2,663 were sugar mills (capital about $31,204, 000; output $41,073,000) and 452 were rice mills (capital, about $1,698,000; output $21,731,500). In 1918, manufactures for ex port included alcoholic liquors, beer, candles, tree oil, coconut oil, coffee, copra and coco-nuts, embroideries, fruits and nuts, gum copal, hats, maguey, ilang-ilang oil, indigo, knotted hemp, lumber, abaci., metals, old copper, pearl buttons, pearls, raw rub ber, rope, dye-wood, shark fins, shells, sugar, trepang or balate and tobacco—the total value approximating $135,194,500.

Household industries are actively fostered by the Government. In 1913, 31 different classes of industry had 5oo or more establish ments, chief among which (in the order named) were: fibre textile industries (25,701 establishments) ; spinning (12,08o) ; hats (9975); spirits (8,315), cotton textiles (8,046) ; copra dry ing (5434) ; buri mats (5,207) ; tailoring (4,075) ; abaci. stripping

(3,470) ; cotton burlap ; and fish drying and smoking (2,107).

Fishing and Fisheries.

Of about 1,600 different species of fish only about zoo kinds are marketed, although the majority of them are edible. The most common are groupers, mackerels, snappers, sea basses, porgies, pampanos, mullets, anchovies, bar racudas, tunas, bonitos and eels. Fish ponds are of recent develop ment; the first was established in 1863 in Malabon near Manila. Now they exist everywhere about Manila bay and the Gulf of Lingayen. Fish exports amounted to 873,180 lb. in 1926 ($116, 750), consisting principally of beche-de-mer and shark fins. Other marine products include coral, pearls, shells and sponges; but comparatively few pearls are exported. In 1926, exported shells were valued at over $500,000. Among the shells and shell products are mother of pearl, trocha, tortoise, green snail shells, shell used for windows and pearl buttons.

Communications and Transportation.

Since U.S. occupa Lion, good roads and bridges have been built and maintained everywhere. In 1926 there were 3,630.8 m. of first class roads. In 1926, there were 791 m. of public railways (659 m., narrow gauge in Luzon, 72 m. in Panay, and 6o m. in Cebu).

The Manila Electric Co. operates about 55.9 m. of street rail ways in and near Manila. At the close of 1927 there were 579 mail routes, 943 Post offices, 557 money order offices, 916 postal savings banks, 444 telegraph stations (including radio stations), and 61 postal stations. There is free mail delivery. The average time for passenger vessels from Manila to Seattle is 24 days; to San Francisco, 28 days; to New York via the Panama or Suez Canal, 45 days; to London, via the Suez Canal, 35 days. The Radio Corporation of the Philippines inaugurated trans-Pacific radio service to San Francisco and direct communication with nearby oriental countries and with Berlin in 1926. Radio service with British North Borneo had been inaugurated on April 9, 020. Cable service is furnished by the Eastern Extension Aus tralia and China Telegraph Co. Ltd., and the Commercial Pacific Cable Company. There are docks at Cebu, Iloilo, Jolo and Zamboanga where ships can moor, but Manila is the only port with adequate facilities. There are in all about 200 ports of call for inter-island shipping.