Because the products of the Islands are usually exported to the countries where the imports come from, there have been established firms which deal in exports and imports of every variety, and have buying and selling organization both in the Islands and abroad. This double business, so to speak, besides being very profitable, lends itself to large scale enterprises and millions of capital have been brought together under one managing head.

SHIPPING.—The foreign, as well as the domestic trade of the Philippines, will always depend on an adequate supply of shipping. As fast as the agriculture and industries of the Islands develop, the supply of shipping must correspondingly increase, otherwise, the commercial development of the Islands will be retarded. Hemp, oil, and sugar are bulky and the surface they require when exported is large in proportion to their value. Practically, all Philippine goods are carried thousands of miles before they reach their destinations, either to New York or London and the continent—half way around the world. Because of this, reasonable wages and a regular supply of surface for cargo in the ships calling at the ports of the Islands are indispensable. Because of this, also, it is necessary for the Islands to have a merchant marine of its own in order that products therefrom can be easily transported to the markets of the world.

INTERISLAND TRANSPORTATION.—Water transportation is the key to the interisland trade of the Islands. For hundreds of years before the coming of the steamboat, the Philippine seas were dotted with small sailboats of every description, made out of a log, or of rough hewn planks surmounted by a sail made from abaca cloth. They were manned by sturdy, courageous voyagers inured to hardships, who dared to go forth even into strange oceans, through typhoon and tempest.

The following table shows the entrances and clearances of vessels in the Philippine Islands by nationalities during 1920–1923:

Aggregate value of merchandise carried by vessels engaged in foreign trade, by nationality

[Source: Bureau of Customs]

Nationality of vesselsVessels entered and cleared1921Vessels entered and cleared1922
ImportsExportsTotalImportsExportsTotal
PesosPesosPesos PesosPesosPesos
Philippine 170 3,379,522 484,817 3,864,339 194 2,811,668 1,344,485 4,156,153
American 336 74,809,502 64,206,170 139,015,672 367 48,873,151 83,313,550 132,186,701
British 740 109,387,341 60,335,999 169,723,340 704 79,488,095 56,090,093 135,578,188
Chinese 40 499,454 325,625 825,079 31 1,293,429 587,691 1,881,120
Danish 3 —— 1,750 1,750 2 —— —— ——
Dutch 94 6,314,435 13,203,844 19,517,779 111 6,792,919 14,244,306 21,037,225
French 8 482,434 —— 482,434 2 86,423 19,900 106,323
German —— —— —— —— 16 22,002 3,003,029 2,025,031
Spanish 13 1,304,940 5,011,874 6,316,814 12 1,272,832 1,993,246 4,266,078
Swedish 6 17 1,788,182 1,788,199 9 41 4,031,697 4,031,738
Norwegian 30 1,637,253 —— 1,637,253 38 296,657 2,295,116 2,591,773
Japanese 319 29,169,887 20,746,925 49,916,812 315 14,809,799 17,520,311 52,330,110
Mail —— 4,692,363 10,125,959 14,818,322 —— 4,648,273 6,725,172 11,371,445
Total 1,759 231,677,148 176,230,645 407,907,793 1,801 160,395,289 191,166,596 351,561,885

Not until the coming of the cargo steamer, however, could the bulky products of the Islands be gathered together in large quantities and become an important factor in the world’s commercial necessities. Every portion of the Islands is now covered by steamers, plying regular routes.

Interisland Lines To the north a route leads to Aparri, the outlet from the fertile Cagayan Valley, a tobacco country, where thousands of hectares of rich unoccupied prairies await only the touch of capital. To the southward are the main channels of trade. Cebu is the metropolis of the Southern Islands, and to this port come the hemp and copra of all the Visayas, there to be transferred to Manila. Some ocean liners load direct at Cebu for the homeward voyage, saving the haul to Manila. Cebu harbor accommodates vessels of 30-foot draft, which can anchor at the sea wall, close to the warehouses of the principal commercial houses. From Iloilo comes the sugar of Negros and Panay. Here, too, is a harbor of sufficient depth to allow ocean vessels of fair tonnage to load. Ships of the Spanish lines in particular are accustomed to procure their cargoes here and omit Manila. Commercial routes encircle Mindanao, drawing from it copra and hemp, and supplying in return cotton cloth, canned goods, rice, and other commercial staples. Smaller vessels ply between the Bicol provinces, Masbate, Leyte, and Manila, carrying hemp principally.