The Bureau of Posts conducts a C. O. D. (Collect-onDelivery) service which provides means for a person to order articles of merchandise from a firm without advanc

ing any money therefor. The firm sends the goods through the Bureau of Posts and the person ordering same pays the charges to the postmaster at the time the goods are delivered.

88. Telegraphs, Cables, Wireless, and Telephones. -Telegraph lines, ocean cables, wireless systems, and telephones are of great use in transmitting intelligence.

Telegraph lines connect many important towns of the Philippines. The telegraph lines and stations are under the control of the Bureau of Posts.

Ocean cables connect our ports with each other, and the Philippines with other countries. This is of great benefit to all. For example, it takes about a month for a letter to reach the United States; a message can be delivered by cable in a few hours.

A few years ago an Italian inventor named Marconi made a great discovery, namely, that messages can be sent through the air. This method of communication is called wireless telegraphy. Wireless connects many ports of the Philippines with one another and likewise joins the islands. with Japan, China, and the United States.

The United States Army and Navy have several wireless stations in the Philippines, and the Bureau of Posts has over twenty in operation. Some of these wireless stations are found in isolated places, which are seldom visited by steamers, like the Batanes Islands, and Bongao

in the Sulu Archipelago. Wireless apparatus is also found on many steamers.

Another method of communication is the telephone. Many provinces have their own telephone systems. The telephones in the City of Manila are owned and managed by a private company. By using a telephone, a person can talk with another person even at a great distance.

BEACON OF SHORE END, SOUTH BREAKWATER, MANILA

89. Waterways.-The roads and railways provide for travel on land. Telegraph lines, the wireless, and the telephone permit messages to be sent through the air. Cables serve the same purpose in the water. Steamships plying on the water are another means of connection.

In the Philippines we have what is known as the coastwise trade. Small steamers travel between the different ports carrying passengers, mail, and freight. Larger steamers also make trips between the Philippines and other countries. The principal steamship lines come to Manila,

bringing many things which the Philippines needs and does not produce. These steamers, on their return trips, carry back the Philippine products such as hemp, tobacco, sugar, coconut oil, and copra.

To develop and assist transportation by water, the Government maintains good harbors. Then, to protect ships there are lighthouses which keep lights burning at night to warn ships of danger. The Weather Bureau, through its weather signals, warns ships of typhoons.

90. Responsibility.-You can easily see how necessary it is to have means of communication and travel. Without them no enterprise could succeed. Especially is this true of agriculture and the development of natural resources and commerce, which would all be useless and impossible without good communications. The principal responsibility for transportation rests with the Government and its agencies. Private persons can also help in

many ways.

Test Questions

1. Why are communications necessary? Name five different means of communication used in the Philippines.

2. Why are good roads necessary? What effect do good roads have upon the communities through which they pass? What branches of the Government make roads?

3. What must be done after a road is made? From what vehicles and trucks should roads be protected? Why should automobiles not run at a high rate of speed?

4. Where are railroads found in the Philippines? Where is the Manila Railroad?

5. Why are railroads beneficial to the Philippines?

6. In what city are street cars found?

7. Name five ways in which news is transmitted. What bureau of the Government controls the mail and the telegraphs?

8. Describe the post office in your municipality.

9. Name the three classes of mail matter. Describe each.

10. Is mail delivered at the homes of the people in your municipality? What are special delivery stamps?

II. What rules should be followed in addressing envelopes? Illustrate.

12. What is registered mail?

System?

13. What are money orders?

transfer system?

What is the Indemnity

What is the telegraphic

14. What is meant by the letters C. O. D.?

15. What are telegraph lines? Who has control of the telegraph lines?

16. What are ocean cables?

17. What is wireless telegraphy? Where are wireless stations found?

18. What is the telephone? Is there a telephone system in your municipality? If so, what is it used for?

19. What is the coastwise trade? How are products carried from the Philippines to other countries and from other countries to the Philippines?

20. Why are good harbors necessary? What are lighthouses? Why are they necessary? What are typhoons? What bureau of the Government warns ships of approaching typhoons?

21. Who is responsible for good transportation?

CHAPTER XI

FINANCE

91. Importance.-When a person buys a piece of cloth or some other article, he may not realize that he is paying a tax. Yet often he is. When one hears of a municipal council appropriating money to build a market, or of the Philippine Legislature appropriating four or five million pesos for public works, he hardly realizes that it is his money that is being spent. Yet usually it is. All of these and many other similar matters are included in what we call Public Finance-a most complicated subject. We should understand the elementary principles of finance so that we can insist on economy and efficiency in financial matters.

92. Taxes.-The money which a person pays to support the Government is called a tax. Taxes, therefore, may be defined as contributions or charges imposed by the Government upon persons or property in order to raise money for public purposes. Do not forget the one word "public," for it is most important. It is thus entirely proper to spend the money of the Government for a school or a road, for these are public purposes, but it would not be proper to spend the same money for the personal benefit of an individual.

But here you may ask, "Why should I pay a tax?"