(1) To conserve the resources of the Islands for Filipinos; (2) to protect the people against exploitation; (3) to safeguard against profiteering; (4) to facilitate the extension of credit to private concerns. The Philippine National Bank.--The need for a national bank in the Islands has long been felt. Previous to its establishment, Filipino farmers and merchants had to go to foreign banks in order to secure the necessary capital. The Philippine government had also to deposit its money with foreign banking institutions which gave a very low rate of interest. All the foreign banks made very little investments in the Islands, preferring to deal almost exclusively with export and import trade. To remedy these conditions the Philippine National Bank was organized. From a modest beginning the bank grew by leaps and bounds, especially during the war. [Constructive Service] In spite of the many criticisms hurled against it, the constructive service that the bank has rendered to the community stands out in bold relief--the financing of the liberty loans, the handling of the sale of alien property, the financial assistance extended in time of dire need to two banks doing business in the islands, the financing of sugar centrals, the giving of loans to agriculturists, and the extension of banking facilities to merchants and manufacturers. The post-war depression caught the bank unprepared to meet the emergencies and it suffered heavy losses. The bank, however, is now in a fair way to sound footing. But as an institution, despite its reverses, it has come to be part and parcel of Philippine financial life. The Filipino people regard the bank as indispensable in the economic development of the islands. The Manila Railroad.--The Philippine railroads were taken over by the government in 1916. They were bought from an old English company. The principal motive that impelled the purchase of the lines from the English owners was the failure of the owners to operate the lines with profit. This failure resulted in the imposition of greater burden on the taxpayers in the way of payment for interest on railroad bonds guaranteed by the government from the early days of American administration. The secondary motive was of course to nationalize this most important medium of communication and to put it at government disposal in case of emergency. From 1914 to 1916 the aggregate net deficit of the company was about $600,000. Under government management the railroad has been gaining steadily. In 1917 the gain was $400,000; in 1918, $130,000; in 1920, $120,000; and in 1921 $148,000, with the added advantage that the government has not been called upon to pay any interest on the bonds.