Strong Measures Wanted to put American Commerce on its feet:
A Chance for the Philippines Manila, July 4.
Strong measures to put American contmerce on its feet and the transformation of Manila into a trade base, were urged by Major-General Leonard Wood in a recent address here before the American Chamber of Commerce.
American shipping would have to be subsidized, he said, either through the sale of government vessels to private owners at a frac-i riginal cost, or by leases to private operators on terms which would make the use of these vessels profitable. He added that America had indulged in too much "verbal massage" after the war as a solution of her shipping problem.
General Wood further spoke as follows "Some 15 years ago Mr. Forbes and I were on a committee for the development of Philippine commerce, and we had dreams at that time of making Manila a great free port—a port which could compete successfully with any other in the Far East—for the distribution of American goods. There is no reason why that should not be done now, but before it can be "put over" we must have an _intelligent and consistent foreign policy.
"We want better means of communication, not only throughout the Philippines, but across the Pacific. We ought to have a direct cable. Your cable rates are very high, almost foo high for business unless the business is very profitable. We also want well equipped lines of American steamers.
A Dereticr FLEEr.
"We built about 15,000,000 deadweight tons of shipping during the war, at a cost of about $220 a ton, compared to $65 to $80 a ton before the war in America and the United Kingdom. Our ships are now rusting in American harbours. At San Francisco there are 100 that have never been to sea. We must get them into service, which will have to come through a subsidy of some sort.
"One thing is evident here; the Philippine coastwise communications are wretched. A great many planters have come to see us on our provincial trips. They complain of the lack of means of communication. There has also been a reversion to a vicious practice of Spanish times; unless the planters sell to cortaly buyers, often they cannot get their products carried.
"T- have already spoken about our Joss of world trade when we to be a keen struggle; success can be attained only by organized effort. Of course the uncertainty of American tenure in the Philippines is had it (after the war) practically within grasp. On the other hand, England, with an empty treasury, went quietly to work to regain her 2
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.