Antipodean Banking

In Washington was made public for the first time the report for 1922 of Governor General Wood of the Philippines. There were promising signs for the future in a satisfactory increase of the school population, more economy in Government, prosecution of those who all but wrecked the Philippine National Bank. The report dealt at length with how the Government was trying to climb out of the hole in which it had been led by the Bank fiasco (TIME, Aug. 27). The story in facts and figures: P: The Philippine National Bank, having invested recklessly and dishonestly, has lost in its six years of operation 75,000,000 pesos." Its operating loss is now about 600,000 pesos a year. P:To stabilize the currency and save the bank, large bond issues were necessary. The bonded indebtedness of the islands at the end of 1922 was 143,920,000 pesos, of which 135,500,000 pesos were obligations of the Insular Government (the rest provincial and municipal). P: The former President and three other officials of the National Bank are in jail. P: By stringent economies Government expenses have been reduced (figures in pesos) : Receipts Expenditures 1922 61,000,000 79,000,000 1923 66,302,560 /- 65,677,327/-. About 2,500,000 pesos of the Government expenditure in 1922 went into the enterprises (sugar, oil, coal, tobacco) which the Government was obliged to take over because of the Bank's poor investments.

P: General Wood added the moral: "This is but another convincing demonstration of the generally recognized fact that Governments cannot successfully conduct business enterprises."

* A peso Is worth $.50.

/- Estimated