Curiously it has
never seemed possible to convey any adequate idea of its attractions
and advantages by word of mouth. Again and again I have urged sceptics
to come and see for themselves. When after the lapse of years they
finally did so, they have invariably asked me why I had not told them
about it before, forgetting that I had exhausted my vocabulary without
being able to make them understand. Practically without exception,
the persons who actually visit Baguio become "boosters."
It is fortunate in a way that the boom did not come quicker, for
the hard truth is that up to date the rapidity of the growth of the
summer capital has been determined absolutely by the local lumber
supply. The original Filipino hand-sawyers were ultimately replaced
by small portable mills, and these in turn by large modern mills
to which logs are brought by skidding engines or overhead cables,
yet it is true to-day, as it has always been true, that no sawmill
has ever been able to furnish dry lumber, for the simple reason that
the green output is purchased as fast as it can be sawed.
For a time the lumbermen took advantage of the necessities of the
public, but when timber on the government concessions first granted
them had been exhausted and they applied for new cutting areas,
my turn came.
Pages:
615
616
617
618
619
620
621
622
623
624
625
626
627
628
629
630
631
632
633
634
635
636
637
638
639