SAYS PHILIPPINES OFFER GOOD INVESTMENT FIELD

"The Philippine Islands present to American investors one of the most fertile fields for investment in the world today", said Mr. Pedro Guevara, Filipino commissioner in Washington, when asked recently to comment on economic conditions in the islands. He continued: "But a small portion of the 65,000,000 acres of land that can be cultivated is now producing. I would place the figure at about 12,000,000 acres. Small though this number may seem, it is nevertheless supporting a population of nearly 11,000,000 people. When one considers the ratio 12 to 65, one can see that the islands can support approximately 60,0000,000 people with little more congestion, when the islands as a whole are considered, than there is today.

Products Used for Home Consumption

"The chief output of the farms at present consists of hemp, sugar, tobacco, rice, and coconut. These products are largely absorbed in the islands, but some, especially hemp, is exported to the United States, Europe, and Australia. The soil of the Philippine farms is especially adapted to the culture of rubber trees, the refined product of which has been in little demand by Filipinos and consequently, the rubber trees have not been planted and grown.

No Large Landowners

"There are no large fan downers in the Philippines. The farms are small in size and nearly every man owns his plot of ground. The uncultivated area always gives the non-landowner the opportunity to become a squatter, and thus some day to own his won property. As a result of this condition, there are practically no poor in the agricultural districts of the islands. "We, indeed, have our rich, but they do not exist to the extent that they create the poor.

"The coal and iron mines are a second national resource which should attract American capital. Large deposits of the metals are known to exist, but, comparatively, they are un exploited. The Filipinos have been primarily an agricultural people and have been uninterested in the existence of these mineral deposits. Not until the acquisition of the islands by the United States in 1898, has our people realized the extent of these natural resources.

Industry Limited to Manila

"Machinery, factories, and industry as they are commonly thought of by Americans, scarcely exist, and what there is of them is centered in Manila. There we have factories for the manufacture of cigars and cigarettes, for the refining of a portion of our raw sugar, and for the manufacture of hemp into cloth. But large scale industry is little known there. The development of the country has not reached that stage which requires it.

"A moment ago I mentioned the manufacture of hemp. In the United States, hemp connotes rope, but in the Philippines much of our clothing is made of hemp cloth. In fact, the light hemp cloth is to our body what the straw hat is to our head. The weather there is very warm, rarely below 72 degrees, rarely above 86 degrees, which indicates that we have a small range of temperature throughout the year.

"The population of the country, according to the census of 1919 stood at approximately 10,5000,000. In 1903 the official census set the number of inhabitants at less than 8,000,000. The difference shows an excellent homogeneous growth.

Population Mostly Native

"This population is almost all of Filipino blood, although there are many Americans and there foreigners in manila and its environs. Many Americans have the idea that the Japanese are overflowing in to the Philippine Islands but this is not the cases. In 1921, they numbered about 7,000. The change in climate, however, was not suitable to their temperament, and after a six years stay, they commenced to migrate back to the Japanese islands. At present, they number about 3,000.

"The occidental world is particular the United States is usually surprised when it learns that the Filipinos are Christians and have been for a early four centuries. The Filipines were Christianized by the Spanish monks in the sixteenth century and the thoroughness of the work of these Spanish ecclesiastics is testified to by the fact that today 95 percent of the entire populace are devout Catholics. We are the only nation in Asia which professor Christianity as its chief religion.

"Our educational system is very similar to that in the United States. Our primary schools consist of seven grades, which correspond to the first eight grades in this country. Our high schools, or secondary schools, have four years for the full course, exactly as have the American schools. These two groups of education are open to both sexes. The diploma which is given at the end of the secondary education is acceptable by all American colleges and universities. Indeed, many of our high school graduates have taken the college entrance examinations and have come to Harvard.

"Manila is the center of higher education. There, nearly 13,000 students are pursuing the study of law, science, or medicine. The University of Santo Thomas was founded in 1611, 25 years before the founding of Harvard.

Political Situation Bars Capital

"The Philippines offer a great field to the American investors, but the American will not be really interested there until the political situation becomes more stable. The American business attitude is much the same toward the Philippines as it has been in certain past cars toward Mexico. Mexico has great fields of exploitation, but the instability of the government is largely responsible for the hesitation of Americans in making Mexican investments. The instability of the Filipine government is not because of internal quarrels, but because of the uncertainty as to just what will be the future for the local government.

"The Filipines desire their independence, and permanent political stability cannot come until they obtain at least absolute political freedom in domestic affairs. On the political situation depends the economic. Americans are more interested in the economic development of the country than they are in the political, and, therefore, in order to gain an excellent field for their investments. American should do the just thing, and that is, grant to the Filipinos domestic freedom of action at least, if not entire freedom. It is for the benefit of American industry that this be done".