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if PINE INDEPENDENCE
I
5HEARING
( h.  C., a:.. /, i,-"-. BEFORE THE
COMMITTEE ON INSULAR AFFAIRS
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SIXTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
ON
H. J. Res. 131
JOINT RESOLUTION TO ENABLE THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINE
ISLANDS TO FORM A CONSTITUTION AND NATIONAL GOVERNMENT AND TO PROVIDE FOR THE RECOGNITION
OF THEIR INDEPENDENCE
H. R. 3924
A BILL PROVIDING FOR THE WITHDRAWAL OF THE UNITED
STATES FROM THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS
H. J. Res. 127
JOINT RESOLUTION TO GRANT COMPLETE INDEPENDENCE
TO THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS AND TO EFFECT A
TREATY OF RECOGNITION THEREWITH
H. R. 2817
A BILL TO PROVIDE FOR THE INDEPENDENCE OF THE
PHILIPPINE ISLANDS
FEBRUARY 17 AND 25, 1924
WASHINGTON
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
89048                 1924




np




PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.
COMMITTEE ON INSULAR ZAFFAIRS,
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
February 17, 1924.
The committee this d(ay met, lIon. Louis W. Fairfield (chairman)
presiding.
The CHAIRMIAN. Gentlemen of the committee, the meeting this
morning is called to consider the several resolutions introduced relative to Philippine independence.
The resolutions that have been introduced are House Joint Resolution 131, by Mr. Cooper of Wisconsin; House bill 3924, by Mr.
Sabath of Illinois: House Joint Resolution 127, by Mr. Rankin; and
House bill 2817, by Mr. King.
(The bills and resolutions are as follows:)
[HI. J. Res. 131, Sixty-eighth Congress, First; Session.]
J OINT RESOLUTION To enable the people of the Philippine Islands to form a constitution and national
government and1 to provide for the recognition of their inldependence.
Whlereas, as a formial expression of America's unselfish purposes in the Philippines, the Congress of the United States of America, in 1916, passed the Jones
Act declaring that it is the purpose of the people of the Ullited States to withdraw their sovereignty over the Philippine Islands and to recognize their independence as soon as a stable government can be establishedd therein; and
Whereas the Filipino people have succeeded in establishing and maintaining
a stable government in the Philippine Islands, as was formally and officially
acknowledged by the President of the United States in his message to the Congress of December 2, 1920; and
Whereas the Filipino people have insistently petitioned the Congress of tPhe
United States that the pledge contained in the Jones Act be fulfilled; and
Whereas the Legislature of the Philippine Islands, in a concurrent resolution.
duly adopted on November 21, 1922, has requested the Congress of the United
States for authority to call a constitutional convention which shall form a constitution for an independent Philippine Republic, and to provide for the election
of the officials of the government established by the constitution and to whichb
government American sovereignty over the Philippine Islands shall be tra1nsferred: Therefore be it
Resolved by the Senate and House of IRepresentatives of the United States of
Amrerica in Congress assembled, That the people of the Philippine Islands be,
and are hereby, authorized to vote for and choose delegates to form a constitutiolal con.vention for the purpose of framing a constitution for the Republic of
the Philippine Islands, said convention to consist of the same number of delegates as now constitute the House of Representatives of the Philippine Islands,
and who shall be elected by the qualified electors of each district in the same
malnner as the members of the said House of Representatives are now elected:
Provided, That the-delegates for the people residing in the specially organized
provinces shall be elected by the presidents, vice presidents, and members of
the councils of the municipal subdivisions comprised within each representative
district as now constituted by law.
The Governor-General of the Philippine Islands shall, within thirty days after
the approval of this resolution, by proclamiation, order an election of the delegates aforesaid on a day designated by him in the said proclamation, not earlier
than sixty day\s Inot later than ninety days after the approval of this resolution..
1




2


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.


Such election of delegates shall be held and conducted, the returns made, and
the certificates of persons elected to such convention issued, as nearly as may
be, in the same manner as is now prescribed by the laws of the Philippine Islands
regulating elections therein of members of the House of Representatives; and
the provisions of said laws, in all respects, including the qualifications of electors
and registration of voters, are hereby made applicable to the election herein
provided for. Said convention shall be the judge of the elections, returns, and
qualifications of its members.
SEC. 2. That the delegates to the convention thus elected shall meet in the Hall
of the House of Representatives in the capital of the Philippine Islands at twelve
o'clock noon on the fourth Monday after their election, and they shall receive
such compensation as may be provided for by the Philippine Legislature. The
constitution shall be republican in form and shall not be repugnant to the principles of liberty and of constitutional government embodied in the Constitution
of the United States of America and the American Declaration of Independence.
It shall also provide for religious freedom and for the maintenace of a system of
public schools conducted in English.
SEC. 3. That when said constitution shall have been duly adopted by a majority of all of the delegates to the convention, a certified copy of the same shall
be submitted to the President of the United States of America, who shall forthwith approve the same if the provisions of this resolution have been complied
with; and, in that event, the President shall certify said fact to the Governor
General of the Philippine Islands, who shall, within thirty days after the receipt
of the said notification from the President of the United States, issue a proclamation for the election of the officials provided for in said constitution; said election
to take place not earlier than sixty days nor later than ninety days from the date
of the proclamation of the Governor General of the Philippine Islands ordering
the same. The election of said officials shall be held in such manner as may be
prescribed by the present legislature of the Philippine Islands.
SEC. 4. That after said election of the officials of the national government of
the Philippine Islands, the returns thereof shall be certified by the Governor
General of the Philippine Islands to the President of the United States of America,
who thereupon shall immediately issue a proclamation announcing the result of
said election so ascertained, and in said proclamation shall declare the withdrawal
of American sovereignty over the Philippine Islands and shall officially recognize
the Republic of the Philippine Islands.
[H. R. 3924, Sixty-eighth Congress, first session.]
A. BILL Providing for the withdrawal of the United States from the Philippine Islands.
Be in enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of
America in Congress assembled, That in conformity with the act entitled " An
act to declare the purpose of the people of the United States as to the future
political status of the people of the Philippine Islands and to provide a more
autonomous government for those islands," approved August 29, 1916, the
Philippine Legislature is hereby authorized to provide for a general election of
delegates to a constitutional convention which shall prepare and formulate a
constitution for an independent republican government for the Philippine
Islands, and that upon the ratification and promulgation of said constitution
and the election of the officers therein provided for, and upon satisfactory proof
that the government provided for under said constitution is organized and ready
to function, the President of the United States shall recognize and proclaim the
independence of the Philippine government under said constitution and shall
notify the governments with which the United States is in diplomatic correspondence thereof, and shall invite said governments to recognize the independence of
the Philippine Islands; and that the President is directed to withdraw the military forces of the United States from said islands within six months after said
proclamation recognizing the independence of said Philippine government.




PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.


3


[H. J. Res. 127, Sixty-eighth Congress, first session.]
JOINT RESOLUTION Expressing the intention of the United States to grant complete and absolute
independence to the Philippine Islands and requesting the President to consider the expediency of
effecting a treaty of recognition for said republic.
Whereas the Philippine Islands now comprise a population of more than
eleven million people, most of whom are members of Christian churches and conform to the principles of our Christian civilization; and
Whereas those people are now asking at our hands their political independence
which they are attempting to secure by those peaceful and orderly methods
which should characterize all negotiations among the civilized nations of the
earth; and
Whereas Admiral Dewey, who possibly knew the Filipinos better than any
other American of his day, said in an official cable to the Secretary of the Navy,
on June 27, 1898, "In my opinion these people (the Filipinos) are far superior in
their intelligence and more capable of self-government than the natives of Cuba,
and I am familiar with both races"'; and
Whereas, while testifying before the Senate Committee on Naval Affairs later,
Admiral Dewey, referring to the above cable, added, "I am more convinced of the
accuracy of my estimation of the Filipino people now than I was when I made it";
and
Whereas we not only made them the promise at the time we took them over
but the Congress of the United States in the Jones Law proclaimed its intention
to withdraw sovereignty from the Philippine Islands and to recognize their
independence, "as soon as a stable government can be established therein"; and
Whereas the last previous American governor general of the Islands, who
served in that capacity for more than seven years, officially reported to Congress
and to the President of the United States that the Filipino people had established
the specified stable government, and were, therefore, entitled to independence;
and
Whereas the President of the United States subsequently reported, in his
message to Congress, the same facts as to the existence of a stable government in
the Philippines, recommending that Congress grant their independence; and
Whereas the report of the Wood-Forbes special Philippine mission does not
show the absence of a stable government in the Philippines, thereby failing to
justify longer American sovereignty therein; and
Whereas the recognition of Philippine independence would save the American
taxpayers millions, if not hundreds of millions, of dollars annually in the maintenance of unnecessarily large naval and military establishments; and
Whereas failure on our part to do justice to the Filipino people will seriously
embarrass the United States before the people of the world, especially in view of
the fact that we subscribe to the wholesome doctrine, that "governments derive
their just powers from the consent of the governed"; and
Whereas the adoption of the various treaties growing out of the Disarmament
Conference has dispelled the supposed menaces which it was formerly contended
would have threatened the freedom and safety of the Philippines in case they
were granted their independence; and
Whereas Japan has expressed her willingness to enter into a treaty recognizing
the independence and guaranteeing the neutrality of the Philippines, and other
nations would no doubt gladly follow their example, rendering the Filipino people
safe and secure in the enjoyment of those blessings which would come to them as
a result of being permitted to work out their own destiny among the nations of
the earth: Therefore be it
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America
in Congress assembled, That on and after July 4, 1925, the United States cease
exercising sovereignty over the Philippine Islands and establish an independent
government in said islands; that in pursuance of such purpose the President is
respectfully requested to consider the expediency of opening negotiations with
the Governments of Great Britain, France, Japan, Italy, Spain, China, and other
powers, for the purpose of effecting a joint treaty with such Governments by
which such independent Philippine Government shall be recognized; and that
the Philippine Government thus established shall agree that it will maintain
equality of trade relations with all the signatory powers.




4.PH LI PPI N INI)EPE NDE N' CE.


[H. R. 2817, Sixty-eighth Congress, first session.]
A BILL To provide for the independence of the Philippine Islands.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States
of America in Congress assembled, That within one year after the passage of this
act the President of the United States is authorized and directed to issue a proclamation to the effect that, on a day to be designated by him, the government of
the Philippine Islands may convene a constitutional convention which shall be
elected by the qualified electors of the islands for the purpose of drafting and
approving a political constitution for the Filipino people; and when said constitution is ratified by the qualified electors and approved by the Governor
General of the Philippine Islands, it shall go into effect immediately or on the
date therein fixed.
SEC. 2. That as soon as the constitution provided by this act goes into effect
and the Philippine government is constituted in accordance with the provisions
thereof, the Governor General shall so certify to the President of the United
States, who, if in his judgment the condition of the internal and external affairs
of said Philippines in respect to the stability and efficiency of the aforesaid
Philippine government so warrant, is hereby authorized and directed, by proclamation duly made and published, to withdraw and surrender all right of
possession, supervision, jurisdiction, control, or sovereignty now existing and
exercised by the United States in and over the territory and people of the Philippine Islands, and he shall on behalf of the United States fully recognize the
independence of the said Philippine Islands as a separate and self-governing
nation and acknowledge the authority and control over the same of the government instituted by the people thereof in accordance with the provisions of their
constitution. The transfer of possession, sovereignty, and governmental control
shall be completed and become absolute within one year after the establishment
of the said government.
SEc. 3. That, for the purpose of a complete compliance with this direction, the
President is hereby invested with full power and authority to make such orders
and regulations and to enter into such negotiations with the authorities of said
Philippine Islands or others as may be necessary to finally settle and adjust all
property rights and other relations as between the United States and the said
Philippine Islands, and to cause to be acknowledged, respected, and safeguarded
all the personal and property rights of citizens or corporations of the United
States and of other countries resident in or engaged in business in said Philippine
Islands or having property rights therein. In any such settlement or adjustment
so made in respect to the rights and property of the United States Government
or its citizens as against the said Philippines the President may reserve or acquire
such lands and rights and privileges appurtenant thereto as may, in his judgment,
be required by the United States for naval bases and coaling stations within the
territory of said Philippine Islands.
SEc. 4. That this act shall take effect on its passage.
The CHAIRAAN. The meeting has been called this morning to consider these resolutions. Primarily the purpose is to hear these people
in their plea for independence. The several gentlemen who have
introduced the resolutions have been notified, and at the request of
Mr. Roxas, the Speaker of the Philippine House, we shall hear these
gentlemen upon their resolutions first. I have the pleasure of calling
upon Mr. Cooper at this time, who will present his position.
STATEMENT       OF   HON. HENRY       ALLEN     COOPER, A      REPRESENTATIVE      IN   CONGRESS      FROM    THE    STATE    OF   WISCONSIN.
Mr. CooPER. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee.
the great question you are this morning to consider is, shall we, a
Republic of 110,000,000 freemen, professing loyalty to the principles
embodied in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution
of the United States, continue longer to govern a people of an alien
race, living on islands thousands of miles away, over which we have


I
I
i




PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.


never extended and never intend to extend the Constitution?  In
other words, shall we longer continue in the Philippine Islands
to act the part of a monarchy?
I look upon this as the most momentous question before any committee of the House. It is presented in several resolutions now
before you, one of which the honorable chairman mentioned as having
been introduced by me, House Joint Resolution 131.
The preamble directs attention to facts justifying the introduction
and passage of the resolution, namely, the formal declaration by
Congress in 1916 in the Jones Act, that it is the purpose of the people
of the Unitedl States to withdraw their sovereignty over the Philippine
Islands and to recognize their independence as soon as a stable government can be established therein; the formal and official acknowledgement that the Filipino people have succeeded in establishing and
maintaining a stable government in the Philippine Islands, made by
the President of the United States in his message to the Congress on
December 2, 1920; the insistent petitioning of the Filipino people
that the pledge contained in the act of Congress of 1916 be fulfilled;
and the concurrent resolution that was adopted by the Legislature of
the Philippine Islands on November 22, 1922, requesting the Congress of the United States for authority to call a constitutional convention to form a constitution for an independent Philippine Republic,
and to provide for the election of the officials of the gcovernment
established by such constitution, to which government American
sovereignty over the Philippine Islands shall be transferred.
I shall not at this time enter into an extended discussion of the
facts. They are well known. The solemn promise made by Congress
and the solemn acknowledgemnt made by the President that the
conditions on which that promise was based have been fulfilled,
were published to the world and can not now, in honor, be either
denied or repudiated.
And how can we, as liberty-loving American citizens, repudiate the
principles involved, principles embodied in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States?
'Every people," said President Wilson, "should be left free to
determine its own policy, its own way of development, unhindered,
unthreatened, unafraid, the little along with the great and powerful."
House Joint Resolution 131 provides, as you will see, on page 3,
line 20 down to the period inline 24, that the constitution to be
adopted by the Filipino people " shall be republican in form and shall
not be repugnant to the principles of liberty and of constitutional
government embodied in the Constitution of the United States of
America, and the American Declaration of Independence."
The Declaration of Independence, the original bulwark of our
liberties, declares that " all men are created equal and endowed by
their Creator with certain inalienable rights"-not privileges, gentlemen, but "rights" —that " among these rights are life, liberty, and
the pursuit of happiness, and that to secure these rights governments
are instituted among men deriving their just powers from the consent
of the governed."
"All men are created equal"-not alone Anglo-Saxons, but all
men, Italians and Spaniards and Chinese and Japanese and Filipinos.
"Governments derive their just powers from the consent of the
governed"; and are we to claim the precious right of self-govern



6


PHIILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.


ment for ourselves and deny it to the people of the Philippines?
For us to refuse this right-not privilege, but "right"-to the
Filipinos, after the long years of our control of the islands, after
the pledge of Congress and after the President's acknowledgment
that theirs is a stable government, would be unrepublican, undemocratic, un-American, a plain repudiation of the principles we profess
to cherish. And, Mr. Chairman, most of all for us to fear is the
certainty that it would wound, seriously, perhaps dangerously, the
fame of this Nation as the world's great exemplar of self-government.
The question of the Philippine Islands is, I repeat, not one of
privileges, but of human rights; and as I say this, Mr. Chairman
and gentlemen of the committee, it occurs to me to digress and
remind you of something with which you are all familiar, that in
1821 the Holy Alliance issued a circular to their representatives in
foreign countries in which they declared that all legislation and
all changes in administration ought to come only from the free will
and well considered judgment of those "whom God has intrusted
with power." This was a declaration of the "divine right of kings,"
a theory of government meaning that you, Mr. Chairman, and you
honorable members of the committee, would have no "rights" but
only certain privileges which might or might not be given you in
the discretion of  some person "whom God has intrusted with
power."  But, Mr. Chairman, we went into the Philippines not to
perpetuate the divine right of kings, but to establish the inalienable
rights of man.
When we first took possession of the isalnds, we were, I think,
as a people, very provincial. I know this was true in my own case
when I was appointed the first chairman of the Committee on Insular
Affairs, and the question of what to do with our insular possessions
was, in this country, the great or, as it was called, the "paramount"
issue. We knew very little indeed about any country except our
own, and some of us did not know much about that, except the particular portion in which we lived. That is the truth. It is only
since the war with Spain that we have really learned the world and
become a leading member of the great family of nations; and we can
not now set a nobler, holier, example than to do in the Philippines
as we did in Cuba, say our mission is ended, a stable government is
established, let them govern themselves.
When it was first proposed in the resolution in which we declared
war against Spain, that Cuba should be free, any number of men said
that was wrong. "The Cubans will never be able to govern themselves. " But the history of the Cuban people has given the lie to
that prophecy. They have successfully governed themselves and are
vastly more happy than when under the regime of the Spanish
monarchy.
So it will be with the Filipinos when we are gone. We thought
that having a different complexion from ours they could not be
civilized. Now, I mean, Mr. Chairman, just what I say, because
after months of struggle in my committee to get through and report
a bill containing a provision for the election, by the Filipinos of the
lower house of their legislature, a very distinguished member of that
committee struck on the desk at my side, and walking up and down
the floor said-can I quote him literally
Mr. KIESS. Go ahead




PHIILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.


7


Mr. COOPER. "They are        -    barbarians, savages, incapable of
civilization." But these intelligent, civilized, cultured, Christian
Filipinos here before us show how greatly mistaken was this American statesman 22 years ago. Twenty-two years ago, during the taking of the testimony in those hearings, Governor General Taft, now
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, testified
before our committee that Arellano, a native Filipino, then the chief
justice of the supreme court of the islands, was one of the best lawyers
that he had ever known, and that the Philippine Supreme Court,
having then seven members, three of whom        were Filipinos, would
compare favorably with any State supreme court in the United
States.
Before we went to the islands they had furnished to the world
many distinguished characters-judges, lawyers, artists, scientists,
business men.   I will mention only one, a Filipino born near Manila,
one of the most rarely gifted men of fhe twentieth century in any
country, Jose Rizal.   When a mere youth he took the prizes at the
University of Manila and of Madrid, Spain, from both of which he
graduated. He traveled extensively in Europe, mastered several
languages, and became a brilliant author, all of the time writing protests against the tyranny of the Spanish Government in the Philippines and demanding reform in the civil administration. On returning to the islands he was arrested, tried, and condemned for treason,
although the witnesses who falsely swore away his innocent life have
admitted since we went there that their testimony was wrung from
them by torture. I, myself, met persons in Manila who saw Rizal
when he was being led out to be shot. He looked into the sky and
said, "What is death to me. I have sown; others will reap."       And
they killed him. After his execution his sister took from his cell to
her home a lamp, in the bottom      of which she found a manuscript
poem he had written the night before.
MY LAST THOUGHT.
Land I adore, farewell! thou land of the southern sun's choosing!
Pearl of the Orient seas, our forfeited Garden of Eden!
Joyous, I yield up for thee my sad life, and were it far brighter,
Young, rose-strewn, for thee and thy happiness still would I give it.
Far afield, in the din and rush of maddening battle,
Others have laid down their lives, nor wavered, nor paused in the giving.
What matters way or place-the cyprus, the lily, the laurel,
Gibbet or open field, the sword or inglorious tortureWhen 'tis the hearth and the country that call for the life's immolation?
Dawn's faint lights bar the East; she smiles through the cowl of the darkness,
Just as I die.
**8                 *         *         *         *        *
Vision I followed from far, desire that spurred on and consumed me!
Greeting! my parting soul cries, and greeting again! 0 my country!
Beautiful is it to fall, that the vision may rise to fulfillment,
Giving my life for thy life, and breathing thine air in the death throe;
Sweet to eternally sleep in thy lap, 0 land of enchantment!
If in the deep rich grass that covers my rest in thy bosom,
Some day thou seest upspring a lowly, tremulous blossom,
Lay there thy lips-'tis my soul.
*         *         *         *         *         *         *
And if at eventide a soul for my tranquil sleep prayeth,
Pray thou, too, 0 my fatherland! for my peaceful reposing;
Pray for those who go down to death through unspeakable torments;
Pray for those who remain to suffer torture in prison;
Pray for the bitter grief of our mothers, our widows, our orphans;
Oh, pray, too, for thyself, on the way to thy final redemption.




8


PHILIPPINE IN DEPENDENCE.


When our still dwelling place wraps nights dusky mantle about her,
Leaving the dead alone with the dead, to watch till the morning,
Break not our rest, and seek not to lay death's mystery open.
If now and then thou shouldst hear the string of a lute or a zithern,
Mine is the hand, dear country, and mine is the voice that is singing.
When my tomb, that all have forgot, no cross nor stone marketh,
There let the laborer guide his plow, there cleave the earth open,
So shall my ashes at last be one with thv hills and thy valleys.
Little 'twill matter, then, my country, that thou shouldst forget rue!
I shall be air in they streets, I shall be space in they meadows.
I shall be vibrant speech in thine ears, shall be fragrance and color,
Light and shout, and loved song, forever repeating my message.
Idolized fatherland, thou crown and deep of my sorrows,
Lovely Philippine isles, once again adieu! I am leaving
All with thee —my friends, my love. Where I go are no tyrants;
There one dies not for the cause of his faith, there God is the ruler.
Farewell, father and mother and brothers, dear friends of the fireside!
Thankful ve should be for me that I rest at the end of the long day.
FareweJll, sweet, from the stranger's land, my joy and my comrade!
Farewell, dear ones, farewell! To die is to rest from our labors.
Hear that, and reflect that a distinguished American statesman,
22 years ago, voiced the belief of thousands of the people of this
country when he said that the Filipinos were all "barbarians, savages,
incapable of civilization.."  And that utterance of his was six years
after Rizal had gone to his glorious death.
Search the long and bloody roll of the world's martyred dead, and
where, on what soil, under what sky, did tyranny ever claim a nobler
victim.
And now, Mr. Chairman, in conclusion I quote the words of a great
American, who had been a great President:
Personally, I think it is a fine and high thing for a nation to have done such
a deed with such a purpose. But we can not taint it with bad faith. If we act
so that the natives understand us to have made a definite promise, then we
should live up to that promise. The Philippines from a military standpoint are
a source of weakness to us. The present administration has promised explicity
to let them go, and by its actions has rendered it difficult to hold them against
any serious foreign foe. These being the circumstances, the islands should at
an early moment be given their independence without any guaranty whatever by
us and without our retaining any foothold in them. (Theodore Roosevelt, in
Everybodys Magazine for January, 1915.)
I thank you, gentlemen, for your attention.
Mr. WARD. Do you not think your bill should have in it a provision
reserving the right to establish a coaling station?
Mr. COOPER. That might be inserted by way of amendment.
We might do as we did in Cuba, if the Filipinos are perfectly agreeable. We have a coaling station in Cuba.
Mr. WARD. It would be a matter of treaty, but I think the right
might be reserved.
Mr. GARDNER. In Mr. King's bill, 2817, the last section calls for
giving the President certain authority and certain power. I wonder
if Mr. Cooper would have any objection to those things being embodied in his bill?
Mr. COOPER. I would not have any objection, but if we give liberty
to a people on the other side of the world, we ought to put in as few
restrictions as possible.
Mr. GARDNER. I am going on the theory that they would not be
objectionable.




PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.


9


Mr. CooPE. I:do not think they woluld o)bject, but I should want
to consult them specifically on that proposition. I advocate this.ou rrse not only as a matter of right hut because it puts this Republic
before the world as a real friend of liberty.
Mr. KIESS. Mr. Cooper, has there been any provision for any payment of the money spent by the United States for improving the
conditions there?
Mr. COOPER. The United States Government, as I understand, has
not paid anything except for its own military purposes; the people
of the islands, out of the revenues of the islands, raised by taxation,
have paid for everything else.
Mr. KIESS. It paid $20,000,000 to start with?
Mr. CooPER. Exactly. We did that rather than have any more
war and to make it easy as we could for Spain, and to secure the
good will of that country. Instead of ruthlessly conquering and
occupying the territory, we said to Spain, "Here, we have this now,
but we will pay you $20,000,000 if you will relinquish all claim to
it."  Spain was glad to accept, and since then our relations with
Spain have been harmonious. I think it was a stroke of statesmanship on the part of President McKinley.
Mr. KIESS. Is it not true that we took the islands for their good,
not for ours? The United States at the time felt that they would
be helping the Philippines by freeing them from Spanish rule.
Mr. CooPEn:. We took them because the fortunes of war made it
absolutely necessary for us to do it in justice to ourselves and to the
the Filipinos. If you will go back in memory to those days, you
will recall that more than one European monarchy had ships near
the Philippines at that time, and that the only way to save the
islands intact, to keep them together as an archipelago for subsequent
improvement and for government as a united country, was for us
to maintain control until a stable Filipino government could be
established.
Mr. KIESS. In 25 years we have done more for those islands than
the Spanish ever did in all the centuries.
Mr. COOPER. That is very true.
Mr. KIEss. Our record is a good record of achievement.
Mr. COOPER. Our record in the Philippine Islands surpasses the
record in foreign territory, of any other government in the history
of the world.
Mr. KIEss. That is what I would like to have brought out. I do
not want the impression to go further that they have been badly
treated.
Mr. COOPER. Oh, they have been splendidly treated by our Government. We gave them the bill of rights and all the priceless guaranties
of civil and religious liberty. We secured for them the manifold blessings that they had never dreamed of possessing.  But they have their
aspirations for freedom and are struggling to realize them.
Mr. ROBINSON. Referring to the statement you made as to the
unfortunate remarks of a member of a committee.
Mr. COOPER. Yes, sir.
Mr. ROBINSON. Is it not true that we have shown our absolute
disbelief in any such statement by our attitude ever since we came into
power?
Mr. COOPER. Yes, sir.




10


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.


Mr. ROBINSON. Have we not encouraged education, religious, business independence, prosperity in public schools?
Mr. COOPER. Yes, sir.
Mr. ROBINSON. Everything just the opposite of what that remark
would indicate?
Mr. COOPER. Precisely; that is true.
Mr. ROBINSON. By our actions, we have shown that we knew they
had the possibilities within them that we ourselves possess, so that
that remark utterly misrepresents America or any particular part of it.
Mr. COOPER. Yes, sir. Immediately we proceeded to fill that land
with schoolhouses and to establishe justice.
Mr. ROBINSON. You laid so much stress on that remark that I
thought the impression might get out that a large part of our people
would not assent to. You said that was held by millions. I disbelieve that. I do not think our people have any such conception of
the people of the Philippines but we regarded them as people kept
down, suppressed, but with the same possibilities that we ourselves
possess.
Mr. COOPER. I was only thinking of what took place before the
first Committee on Insular Affairs and the innumerable letters I
received declaring that the Filipino people could never govern
themselves.
Mr. GARDNER. You and I think alike, but I think you do not want
that impression to get out.
Mr. COOPER. Oh, no.
Mr. KIESS. You brought up the question of Cuba, and spoke of
how well Cuba was getting along. Is it not true that they have been
having troubles almost continually, and we have had to go down
there two or three or four times to straighten them out?
Mr. COOPER. There is a question in my mind as to whether we had
to or whether, for certain purposes, we wanted to.
Mr. KIESS. You compared Cuba with Porto Rico
Mr. COOPER. I do not believe there have been any more serious
shootings and killings in Cuba than at the Herrin riots in Illinois.
Mr. KIESS. I was not thinking of that, but the methods of doing
business.
Mr. KNUTSON. May I interject a remark? Mr. Kiess talks about
Cuba. I know something about Cuba. All the troubles in Cuba
have been brought about largely by the American sugar growers.
Mr. COOPER. I had that in mind when I said what I did.
Mr. KNUTSON. If we have a fair investigation of conditions in
Cuba that have existed for years and years back, it would cause a
great deal of discussion in this country.
Mr. SALMON. The scene you described, the wrongful conviction
and death of a man, whose poem you recited-what were the conditions that put that character of man to death? What influence
was it that did that?
Mr. COOPER. They put him to death because of the principles he
advocated. He demanded a reform in the civil administration and
suggested a great number of abuses. For example, the governor
general exercised most arbitrary power and was sometimes very
cruel.
Mr. KIEss. You mean the Spanish governor?
Mr. COOPER. Yes, sir.


I
q'




PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.


11


Mr. KIESS. That was before we had anything to do with it?
Mr. COOPER. That was before we had anything to do with it.
Mr. SALMON. Is there that element there now? That is what I
want to get.
Mr. COOPER. No, sir.
Mr. WILLIAMS. You called attention to that fact to show the
capabilities of those people?
Mr. COOPER. Yes, sir.
Mr. KIEss. I would like to ask a question: What in your judgment
is the advantage going to be to the Philippine Islands and their
inhabitants to have absolute independence, as contrasted with the
independence or the practical freedom of government they have now?
Mr. COOPER. The advantage is going to be that the people of the
Philippines will be free from the domination of any other government
than their own. It is the aspiration of every people to be free; and
freedom we have no right to deny them.
The gentleman here at my left said that all the people in this
country did not agree with the statement of the member of that first
Committee on Insular Affairs that the Filipinos were barbarians.
It may interest you to know who were on that committee-Sereno
Payne, the chairman of Ways and Means; Joseph G. Cannon, chairman
of Appropriations; Colonel Hepburn, chairman of Interstate and
Foreign Commerce; Mr. Moody, who later became Secretary of the
Navy and Attorney General, and died a Justice of the Supreme
Court of the United States; Robert R. Hitt, chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs; James A. Tawney, later the chairman of
Ways and Means; Loud of California, chairman of the Committee
on the Post Office and Post Roads; Jones, of Virginia, and other
prominent men whom I can not now stop to mention.
Mr. ROBINSON. The majority of the people did not believe as did
the member of the committee you quoted.
Mr. CooPER. No. When it came to a vote on the bitterly contested provision of my bill —the House bill-for an elective lower
house of the Philippine Legislature, I only carried it through the
committee by a majority of three votes. Members of the committee
said, "Why, the Filipinos can not do anything with a legislature;
they do not know enough."  I have cited this bit of experience
merely to show how greatly mistaken intelligent men sometimes are
in their opinions of people with whom they are not well acquainted.
Mr. ROBINSON. They did not all have your viewpoint, but there is
generally a wide difference of opinion among men, and we now appreciate the wisdom of yours.
Mr. KIESS. If these resolutions are passed there is no provision
that we could assume any protectorate if we allow them to go free.
As I understand, that is true.
Mr. COOPER. In the language of Roosevelt, 'with no responsibility
whatever for their future."
Mr. KIESS. That would be the only way, I should think.
The CHAIRMAN. Gentlemen of the committee, we will hear from
Mr. King.




12


PHILIPPIN',E INDEPE il-t NECE.


STATEMENT OF HON. EDWARD J. KING, A REPRESENTA-.
TIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF ILLINOIS.
Mr. KtNG. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee, I do
not expect to occupy much of your time and I know you will glad
I will be through in a few moments.
There is pending before this committee, among other resolutions
and bills, a bill I introduced in the early part of the session. Its
number is H. R. 2817. This is the same bill that I introduced in the
-ast session of Congress, which remained before this committee during
that entire Congress and no action was taken upon it, but manxy of
the Members now who were Members then are familiar with the provisions of this bill. I might say as a matter of information that this
bill was examined by the then Resident Commissioners of the Philippines in the last Congress and also by the present Resident Cominissioners here, and they approved it in aill particulars, as I understand it.
'This bill differs somewhat from Mr. Cooper's bill, in the latter part
of it, in regard to certain rights of the United States Government in
the Philippines, viz, that the President may make arrangements about
naval bases and coaling stations within the territory of the Philippine Islands. I understand that this feature is perfectly satisfactory
and will be carried out in good faith. They are all glad and anxious
and willing that that be done. This is to our positive interest and
to theirs.
Now, gentlemen, I want to bring this matter up a little nearer the
present date. In 1921, I think it was, the President of the United
States, Warren G. Harding, since deceased, appointed, or rather he
suggested the appointment to the Secretary of War, of Messrs. Wood
and Forbes to make an investigation of the situation in the Philippine
Islands and report to him. In pursuance of that letter, the Secretary
of War, Mr. Weeks, wrote a letter to Wood and Forbes, giving them
their instructions, containing a number of suggestions as to what
they should investigate in the Philippines, in order that the President
might have a fair and square report on the situation, for his information. In that report, or rather the letter of Mr. Weeks, are many
very complimentary things with reference to inhabitants of the
Philippine Islands, their intelligence and education and character,
everything that could be wished in that particular is admitted, and
their ability and their fidelity to the United States, and their patriotism, you might say, all of those things are admitted in this report.
It is not necessary to go back of this report; in fact, every solitary
reason for the independence of the Philippine Islands is set out ii
this report except in one or two of its conclusions, in the latter part
of the report, and that is the only part of it that applies to anything
indicating that they are not qualified for immediate independence.
I have read this report qurte    carefully, as I presume all
members of the committee have, and I find nothing in the report
derogatory to the question of granting independence whatever.
One can prove their case from   this so-called antagonistic report,
which when you come to read it, is a report in their favor.:
Now, going back just a moment as to some of our promises:
The question of ability is no longer an open question; that is practically admitted, because they have been governing the islands
themselves practically for the last 9 or 10 years under the Jones bill.




PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.


13


Dewey said, "In my opinion these people (Filipinos) are of superior
intelligence, and are capable of self-government, more so than the
natives of Cuba, and I am familiar with both."
It is nice to listen to an executive. Executives have great power
and we should listen to their advice, when good, but there is such a
thing in this country as the American Congress, consisting of the
House and Senate, and the independence of the Philippine Islands
rests subject to veto in Congress. the legislative body of the country.
It rests just now with you gentlemen; you have the power to give or
withhold this very much desired independence on their part, and
Congress never spoke but once on this thing positively, on the question of independence, and the Jones bill was passed on August 29,
1916, and the preamble of that Jones law; which is practically the
first constitution of the Philippines, says:
It has always been the purpose of the people of the United StatesAnd now, here, Congress, consisting of the representatives of the
people, the men who come here from the districts-from the people
direct --- and not as appointees of executives, and as m en who have
"gone down the corn rows" to secure their elections, the only direct
agents of the people of this country, declares in this Jones bill as
follows:
It has always been the purpose of the people of the United States to withdraw
their sovereignty over the Philippine Islands and recognize their independence
as soon as a stable government can be established therein.
A stable government. Now, that you see was eight or nine years
ago, in 1916. Now, Mr. Root, who was at one time Secretary of
State, and( a very able lawyer, and now the general counsel for the
international bankers, very fine clients, and he is able and well
informed, and there is no authority in the country better able to
define what a stable government is than Elihu Root. He says a
stable government is "A government elected by the suffrage of the
people which is supported by the people which is capable of maintaining order and fulfilling its international obligations."  That is
from Mr. Root. If the Philippines have made good on these propositions-they have been running their affairs —I see no reason why
we are entitled to say that they have not established a stable
government.
In reviewing the Woods-Forbes report, to which I will call your
attention in a moment, you will find that each one of those propositions laid down by Mr. Root is substantiated by the evidence in
said report contained, and that the Filipino people have made, and
are making an excellent showing in the business of governing themselves and the islands. Lately, however, due to the statements
of retentionists, President Harding, in order to remove any doubt,
and as he says, for the purpose of getting "a square report" appointed this new commission on Mvarch 20, 1921, in a letter to
Secretary of War Weeks. All he wanted was a "square report,"
and thereupon Weeks amplified the duties of these commissioners
in a letter to them of March 23, 1921, and among other suggestions
contained. in this letter of instructions, the Secretary of War, apparently on his own initiative said to the commissioners, "It should
be determined whether or not the Government is reasonably free
from  those underlying causes that result in the destruction of
government.",,




14


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.


In other words, after all the conditions laid down by President
Taft and President McKinley, and in the definition by Elihu Root,
and held under our tutelage, and after these people have accomplished these things and established a stable government as so
efined comes another hurdle for them to jump over. They must
show beyond doubt that they are free from underlying causes that
result in the destruction of government. He does not specify what
they are. There is nothing in the report to explain.
Mr. WARD. What page?
Mr. KING. I am reading from page 9. There is nothing in the
report to indicate that they should not be independent. What are
the "underlying causes?"  You can go through the book until
you come to the conclusion, and in the conclusion you can read the
words on page 45, "We find that the government is not reasonably
free from those underlying causes which result in the destruction
of government."  Weeks told him (Wood) to go and find those
instances or causes. He gives no evidence, and yet at the conclusion, without a scintilla of evidence to support him, he copies
the words of the Secretary of War, Mr. Weeks, "We find the government is not reasonably free from those underlying causes which
result in destruction of government." That is a new hurdle lately
put up for the islanders to jump over.
We can not say that we have a government in our own country
'which is absolutely free from the underlying causes that destroy
government.
The Grecians were not able to qualify. The Romans did not.
The French monarchy had its revolution. No absolute tyrant has
been able with the freest hand in all ages to construct such a government; but the Filipino people, after all our encouragement and
promises, must needs have their efforts gone over with a microscope
in an endeavor to detect the presence of that bacilli of future decease
and destruction which might injuriously affect that immortality of
government which lies so close to the heart of Secretary Weeks.
They have in a quarter of a century established their right, their
right of independence, and not at this late day should there be a new
qualification set up for them to meet. They have been under our
tutelage for a quarter of a century. We have taught them with our
teachers, taught them sanitary measures, military measures, and they
know what we do. They know politics as well as we do, and they
celebrate the elections in such a way that they are all right. Oocasionally there is some charge of fraud and all the familiar features that
are applicable to American elections, and so far as politics is concerned
they have demonstrated that they are good politicians. I say that
that is one of the requisites of the people, that they know how to
handle the political situation.
Mr. RAGON. May I ask you a question?
Mr. KING. Yes, sir.
Mr. RAGON. I have not read that report. Is that the only reason
they advance independence, the underlying causes?
Mr. KING. That is one of them. There are several others set out.
Mr. RAGON. Can you state them without reading them?
Mr. KING. Yes, sir.
Mr. WARD. There are 11 conclusions on page 45 of the report.
Mr. KING. The report speaks very highly of the Filipinos. There
is one thing that I want to bring out: Wood himself thinks so well




PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.


15


o)f the intelligence of the Philippine people that in his last message
to the Philippine people he recommended that the women be given
suffrage at once in the Philippine Islands, without further delay,
and I think that speaks well for the women, as well as for the men.
The men know that part of the game now.
Mr. KNUTSON. Are the women considered more intelligent over
there than the men?
Mr. KING. I do not know; they are very popular, judging from
those that we have seen here. The women are certainly remarkable
women, patriotic, intelligent, reasonable beings, and after all you
know when the women in this country did not have the right to vote
they ruled the situation, when we get right down to brass tacks.
Hbe says:
We find the people happy and prosperous, and calmly appreciative of the
benefits of American rule. We find the people happy, peaceful, and in the main
prosperous and calmly appreciative of the benefits of the American rule.
That is his first conclusion. Now, then, if you are going to consider in connection with the independence, and whether they have
a stable government, the interest of the ordinary man, the interests
of the workers, their liberty, their rights, their education, and all
those various things which some people believe governments are
constituted, in part, at least, to take care of, you have to admit
that first conclusion goes a long way toward proving that they have
established such a government that looks after the men and women
so that they are peaceful and happy and prosperous, that they have
established a stable government.
General Wood further says in his report, "We find everywhere:among Christian Filipinos a desire for immediate independence, and
generally under the protection of the United States."  There is no
question about that; everywhere that Woods and Forbes went in
this great archipelago they found great crowds assembled respectfully and earnestly asking for their independence. They have always
been a good and courteous people. It is their nature. For a quarter
of a century they have been under our tutelage, and no teacher ever
had more faithful and intelligent pupils. They have made the grades
in our self-government course, and they are now fairly entitled to a
diploma cum laude from our great University of Republics.
Mr. BRuMM. Do you think that most of the committee are adverse
to the idea that they are fit to govern themselves? I believe the
tcommittee believes that, but there are one or two things that affect
me and other members of the committee. I would like you, if you
have studied it, to give your opinion on it, in the first place, the attitude of Japan in the East toward the Philippines, and the probability
after their severance of being able to maintain their position. There
are two sides to that which can be argued pro and con, and I would
like to know your idea on that.
Mr. KING. I do not think that Japan is a menace any longer, if it
ever was. Under the four-power pact there is no danger for 10 years
at least, and the chances are that that pact will be renewed. It
runs automatically, unless some nation serves notice that it will be
ended. That is an absolute protection to the Philippines. Furthermore, the Japanese are a different people. They do not prosper in
89048-24 ---2




16


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.


the Tropical Zone. They can not live and prosper in that country.
They have tried it, and they have always gone back, and their experience in Formosa is unfortunate in that particular, although it is
not such a tropical region as the Philippines; and it is apparent that
after some centuries of contact with them, the Japanese have no desire to take the Philippines.
There was a scrap between Japan and Spain at one time, in which
the Japanese withdrew. I am not familiar with that. That can be
explained later, but Japan has got all she can take care of and there
is no reason in the world for any other country in that section of the
world interfering with this proposed republic. This is a republic,
virtually so anyway, if we do not give them independence, so far as
the people are concerned, and they are able to govern themselves individually, and look after themselves, and when we withdraw from
there we will leave a magnificent republic in that section of the world
which will be a fine example of the work of the United States before
the world.
Mr. BRUMM. Aside from any protection that we might give them,
what is your idea of the balance of power in the East as to other
nations? Do you think they would be protected by the jealousy of
any of the European powers from interfering, as, for instance, Switzerland has been for all ages?
Mr. KING. I really think because of the geographical conditions and
the difficulty in reaching them, only by water, that they will practically be in the situation that you say Switzerland is, and has been
for many years. It would be an unprofitable proposition to drag
them in to anything.
Mr. KNUTSON. Should it be decided to grant the Philippines independence, it would be a very simple matter, as a preliminary, to secure
an understanding on the part of the great powers to guarantee the
integrity and neutrality of the Philippines.
Mr. KING. Another thing that occurs to me on that situation: If
we do give them independence, we are not going to forget these little
fellows, and they will not forget us by reason of this long association
of 25 years, and I do not think the United States would permit any
nation in the world to take charge of the Philippines after they are
free.
Mr. WARD. What do you think of your language in lines 3, 4, and
5, on page 2 of your bill? What is the necessity of leaving this matter
in the judgment of the President as to the internal and external
affairs of the Philippines? Is it consistent with the general purport
of the bill?
Mr. KING. No; but this bill was drawn when Woodrow Wilson was
President, and we always had to consider Mr. Wilson.
Mr. RoBINSON. He has very good explanation.
Mr. WARD. He has now passed from the stage.
Mr. KING. I never was a political supporter of Mr. Wilson, but he
did some good things and one of the finest was when he gave his
message to Congress stating that they had set up a stable government
in the Philippine Islands when they were under the direction of
Governor General Harrison and asking their independence.
Mr. WARD. I wanted to call your attention to that.
Mr. KING. I would be in favor, if I was a member of the committee,
I would vote to give them their independence, and I would want to




PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.


17


cut out the provision of which you speak and give them their independence for good.
Mr. KNUTSON. Cut out what?
Mr. KING. That part which refers it to the President.
Mr. WARD. It seems to be a little out of touch with the general
purport of the bill.
Mr. KING. If I might call the committee's attention to one or two
things; I will not bother to read this report, but I will refer to it.
Mr. Root's first qualification was "elected by the suffrage of the people"; that is, this stable government must be "elected by the suffrage of the people." I will refer to what General Woods says in his
report upon the elections held there in the Philippines and the ready
acquiescense on the part of the minority to abide by the decision of
the majority in those matters. That is the pure American doctrine,
stability of government, as it is in this country. That is the trouble
with some South American Governments and in Mexico, that they
will not recognize that fact, that the majority in all the elections
should govern. That point is unequivocably proven in the Philippines, and General Wood has mentioned it. That is the first doctrine
of Elihu Root. His second one is that it must be "supported by the
eople."  There is no question that this Government is supported
by the people.
There are two large parties, and I think there is a sort of a wing,
or another party, which corresponds somewhat to the movement of
the progressives in this country in 1912, although not so violent, not
so swift, and probably not so destructive, but any way there is a great
Democratic Party aind a Nationalist Party. Those parties contend
like we do in this country, and they believe there should be two
parties. I am a party man myself. I never went out of my party.
I voted for Howarrd Taft when there were only 500 people in my town
that voted for him. I am a standpatter in organization if not in
legislative matters.
Supported by these party organizations, they abide by the decisions, and are in favor of this system. The only contest they have
on, is, as to which candidate is the stronger for independence, and
if there is something in the manner of the man, his demeanor or attitude, or anything of that kind, that indicates that he is more in favor
of independence than the other fellow, they will vote for him. That
is the only matter they have between them of difference. The
Government is supported by the people, and according to Mr. Root's
third requirement, "capable of maintaining order."  In support of
this you can read in General Wood's report here about the constabulary, what a magnificent army it is, not only good for peace, but is a
foundation of an army for war, and General McIntyre knows more
of that than I do. General Wood admits it, and I am trying to prove
my case here by General Wood's report, and I aml not gooing outside
of it.
Mr. SOHiAF R. Will you allow me a (question?
Mr. KING(. C(certainly.
Mr. SCHAErlt. Do you think Mr. Cooper's bill is a more reasonable
bill for this reason, that your bill practically leaves it up to the
President if he sees fit.
Mr. KING. Is it as btroad as that?
Mr. SCHAFER. if, in his judgment.




I


18                PIIILIPPINE INDEPENDE'NCE.
Mr. KING. Well, of course, he could not hold that off long.
Mr. SCHAFER. I do not know; it has been done in several cases.
Mr. KING. That is up to the committee.
Mr. SCHAFER. If you have a President in the White House hostile
to Philippine independence, I do not care if Congress unanimously
passes this resolution, they can not get very far with it.
Mr. KING. We will have to look at the practical side, and toward
the Members of Congress who are not at this time as well posted as the
members of this committee. They may think it is a wise feature
to leave this clause in the bill, and it is sanctioned by the Philippine
people themselves. They are satisfied, as it is; yet I have no doubt
they would be glad to cut that out, and so far as I am concerned,
I am willing we should do that, but I do not want to jeopardize the
legislation from this committee in any form.
Mr. WARD. You have no particular jealousy about your bill?
Mr. KING. No; I am willing that it should come out, as the Fairfield
bill, the Knutson bill, or committee bill, or anything. I introduced
it, being a Member of Congress, having a right to introduce a bill,
and put it in the basket. I am very much interested in their independence.
The next proposition of Root was "fulfilling international obligations" as one of the planks of stability. They have been paying their
debts, General Wood's salary and his son's salary, and paying for his
yacht, and the cables to this country, in which it is claimed he attacked
the Members of Congress for getting money out of the independence
commission. This charge exists in the minds of the people, and they
say to me, " How much did you get out of the speech you made for the
Philippines?"  Of course, joking.
Mr. KNUTSON. What steps will be taken if General Wood was
correctly quoted in the press-what steps will we take to make him
prove that Members of Congress are on the payroll of the Philippines?
Mr. WARD. Has he said it?
The CHAIRMAN. I will ask General Mcintyre to make a statement
regarding that.
General MCINTYRE. If I am permitted, with reference to that, I
will say before this matter was taken up with the United States at all,
General Wood categorically denied he made any such statement;
denied he was making any investigation, and denied that he ever heard
of any Member of Congress receiving money. That was before the
thought of any investigation being made here-it was first published
in the United States on May 7 by newspaper correspondents. There
was a follow-up story of May 8. It was published in Manila May 10,
Governor Wood having been the entire time absent from Manila;
but he was telegraphed, and a full denial published in a Manila
newspaper on May 12 by General Wood.
Mr. KING. Which newspaper published that first?
General MCINTYRE. The Philippine Herald.
Mr. KING. That published it first
General MCINTYRE. In the Philippine Herald, and in a Spanish
paper, and in all the papers. The denial was published two days after
the original publication.
Mr. KING. Are those papers controlled by Filipinos or Americans?
General MCINTYRE. Both of those are controlled by the Filipinos.


I
I
iI
 i


Ir




PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.


19


Mr. KING. 'Who owns the papers?
General MCINTYBE. The Filipinos own those two papers.
Mr. SCHIAFER. Is it some corporation?
General MCINTYRE. Yes; it is a corporation. They are independent
papers which are published. Later this same denial was passed out
by the independence commission in Washington.
Mr. KNUTSON. I have never seen any of them. Of course I was not
in the country last May, but where I happened to be I read about the
accusation that Members of Congress were on the pay roll of the
Philippine Independence Comnmission.
T. he C1AIXRAMAN. Just a word to the committee in answer to your
question ---
Mr. BIaMM. May I ask if you are in favor of independence of the
Philippines?
General MCI(T~.YERE. I am in favor of ultimate independence of the
Philippines.
Mr. Bu~4_Mi. I wanted to ask you that question.
The C-AIMANx. So far as this committee is concerned, the Frear
resolution was referredl to the Rules Committee to determine whether
an investigation could be made. I have gone to the leaders of the
House and also to the chairman of the Rules Committee, saying that
this c((mmnlittee expected jurisdiction over that investigation if the
Rules Committee report favorably for an investigation, and that was
assured by them- ti.hat when the Rules Committee considered it the
chairman would be notified so we would have a right to look into that
later and protec(t our own jurisdic(tion.
Mr. KNUTSON. If the charges have been denied there is no occasion
for an investigation.
Mr. SCHIAFER. Have they been denied over his signature?
Mr. KING. In addition to these various planks which go to make up
a stable government, Theodore Roosevelt added this proposition,
and the only one which is necessary. He was only going to postpone it until they became fit to decide for themselves whether they
desired independence. There is really the true test of the whole
thing, if they are fit. It would seem to me that all the evidence
produced before this committee will show that the Roosevelt qualification has been met. The only alleged qualification remaining is
the new one. Will you keep them another 25 years, training them
to see if there are any seeds of disorganization in this government
when it is first founded? It is true the Philippine government has
bought the Manila Railroad. There may be the offense of government ownership in this thing somewhere, but they purchased it and
are running it at a profit, when in the past it had been run at a loss.
Not only have they done that but they have combatted the profiteers,
a class of people in this country that we have not been able to compete with in any degree whatever, and who now have their hands at
the throats of every man, woman, and child in the United States, but
the Philippine people have accomplished wonderful things in that
regard. They set up a mercantile association for the purpose of
selling and delivering goods to the people at a right price, without
profiteering, and the government has resorted to the use of the mercantile establishment very seldom, its very existence being enough
to curb greed.
Mr. SC(:AFER. Was not that radical?




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20                PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.
Mr. KING. Of course, if that is one of the seeds of destruction
they are planting, I think that warrants them in getting their independence.
Mr. WARD. It is at least like the Progressives, is it not?
Mr. KING. Yes. I will say this in closing, gentlemen, it is a very
dangerous thing for a prosperous island nation, or any other nation,
to let it be known that they have great resources; that they have
valuable wood, thousands of acres, quantities of oil; that they have
great lands which can raise rubber, for when these things are discovered, it is not the American people who rise up and throw blocks in the
way of independence, but it is the old spirit of exploitation, the same
spirit that the Spaniards had in hunting for gold in the Philippines,
and to-day our exploiters in this country are looking for oil and
rubber; and I am not saying it, but it looks to me as though I see the
hands of those particular interests in this matter.
The CHAIRMAN. Thus far has there been any exploitation of the
Philippines in the interest of American business organizations?
Mr. KING. Actual exploitations?
The CHAIRMAN. Yes, sir.
Mr. KING. Well, I can not say that there has been.
The CHAIRMAN. Thus far our skirts are clean?
Mr. KING. I feel that they are clean up to date. We have not
done anything yet, knowingly. I do not think, though, that Congress would know it. We are not the only force, I find, in control in
the United States to-day.
I thank you.
The CHAIRMAN. We will now hear from Mr. Sabath.
STATEMENT OF HON. ADOLPH J. SABATH, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF ILLINOIS.
Mr. SABATH. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee,
I am of the opinion that the committee was indeed fortunate to have
before it the grand old gentleman from Wisconsin, Mr. Cooper, and
my colleague from Illinois, Mr. King, both of whom I have had the
pleasure to serve with for years and know for their courageous independence on matters of legislation. And on the other hand, I have
come to the conclusion that the Philippine people are most fortunate
that their case is before a committee composed, as it is, of some of
the most thoughtful and sincere men in Congress, and from what I
have observed this morning feel confident that the cause will receive
serious consideration.
I owe your committee, Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, an apology.
I have been rather busy the last two weeks on an important measure,
and had no knowledge that so early a hearing would be had on these
bills, and therefore was not in position to prepare an argument, but
in view of the splendid plea made by Mr. Cooper and the strong
argument by Mr. King,  really believe it is unnecessary for me to
say a great deal more.
Iam one of those who has introduced many resolutions and bills
for Philippine independence. Away back in the Sixtieth Congress,
about 16 years ago, I introduced a resolution providing for the neutralization of the Philippine Islands. I then believed that for the




PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.


21


safety of the Philippine Islands some international agreement should
be entered into that would guarantee to the Philippie people their
independence. However, lately I have come to the conclusion that
there is no danger now, therefore have, at this session of Congress,
introduced a bill (H. R. 3924) that provides giving the Philippine
people outright independence.
Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee, I wish to assure
you I have not any special pride in my bill. If you see fit to adopt
Mr. Cooper's or Mr. King's bill, or any other bill or resolution, or if
you after thorough investigation and examination find that it will
be better if you prepare your own bill, I shall be perfectly happy and
satisfied. So, as I say, I have not any special pride in my bill. I am
only interested in the cause, and I am interested not only from the
point of view of the Philippine people but I have advocated independence because I thought it was for the best interests of the
United States as well as for the Philippine Islands.
Before I forget, may I say, and may I have the privilege to embody
in the hearing an editorial from  a great Republican newspaper of
my city, a newspaper with whose policies I do not alwavs agree, and
which was strongly against recognition when I introduced my first
bill on this question, and which for years insisted that it was to the
interest of the United States and to the Philippine people that we
retain our control over the islands. It is an editorial of the Chicago
Tribune in which it has finally come to the conclusion that the time
has arrived to grant the Philippine people their independence.
Mr. WARD. Of what date?
Mr. SABATH. I have the editorial and ask unanimous consent
that I may embody it in my remarks at this point.     It is of recent
date.
[Chicago Daily Tribune, Monday, November 26, 1923.]
PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.
Senator King, Democrat, of Utah, says he will introduce a resolution for
Filipino independence. Possibly it would be better if it came from a Republican
and did not tend to be a party matter, but the debate produced by it ought to be
in the nature of a valuable examination of America's prospects.
The indecision of the United States in its policy in the Far East is a drift and
the waters may be dangerous. The Filipinos have a promise of independence
which is just enough to make trouble and the whole contact which America maintains with Asia by keeping the Philippines may be injurious to American welfare.
We can not see that the Philippines serve American interests. It might be
humanitarian to keep the islands as wards for their own well-being, but well-being
preserved against the aspirations and wishes of people who want to be free does
not square with American ideas of liberty.
We have no doubt the Filipinos will be worse off under their own government
than under the American, but they say that liberty is worth it. Their independence may bring war between Tagalogs and Moros. A disturbed condition
in the islands may bring in the Japanese. These are things for the Filipinos themselves to consider. If in view of threatened dangers they asked the United States
to remain it might be morally difficult to serve our own interests by getting out.
In spite of these dangers they ask the United States to get out and that is what
America should do.
The conditions of withdrawal can be thoroughly explored in Senate debate,
and certainly the Americans who are in the islands because they have American
Government should not be surrendered without protective agreements to the
mercies of a native government which might be destructive of their property and
rightful interests. There have been times when the American Government paid
little attention to American rights in other parts of the world, notably in Mexico;
but there should not be any betrayal of Americans in the Philippines and there
need not be.


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PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.


Responsibility for maintenance of Filipino liberty is another matter whichi
the United States, withdrawing from control, ought to renounce. The questionl
involves American future and it should be considered in the Senate and the policy
should not continue to be one of drift.
Mr. Chairman, another editorial appearing in the same newspaperappeals to me as presenting the erux of the Philippine question, and
I take leave to include it herewith:
[Chicago Daily Tribune, Saturday, December 1, 1923.]
ARE OUR BROWN BROTHERS READY?
It is the opinion in Washington that when the Filipino petitioners present
their request for independence they will be told that they may have it when
they have proved that they will not suffer from it. The United States, they
will be told, is not disposed to turn them adrift to their own hurt.
A whole generation of Filipinos have been raised under American tuition..
They have had advantages of American schools. They have had a supervision
which they no longer like. * * * American sanitation has been given them..
All the mechanical devices of modern mechanical civilization have been given
them. Their political institutions have been put on sound foundations. They
have everything which one people can give another.
The question in their future is one of temperament and of self-defense. They
have the machinery of self-government and they understand it. If they have
the temperament for self-government they can run the machinery now. If they
have not it is presumably a task of centuries to wait for the development of it.
Certainly another generation will not provide it. In self-defense we can not see
where they ever will be able to keep Japan out if Jaapn wants to come in.
Therefore, if they are not ready now for independence on these two accounts
they will not be in the one case for ages and in the other case at any time. If
the United States demands assured stability for the released people it might as
well say that it is in the Philippines indefinitely if not forever and take the
consequences of this step.
We have done our work in the islands. We have given our promises. The
time is ripe. Our interests are plain. Their demands are emphatic. They
should go and follow their own star.
Mr. Chairman, the gentleman, Mr. Cooper, as well as Mr. King,
have more or less touched upon: the provisions of the Jones bill which
declared* * * It was never the intention of the people of the United States in the
incipiency of the war with Spain to make it a war of conquest or for territorial
aggrandizement; and  * * * it is, as it has always been, the purpose of the
United States to withdraw her sovereignty over the Philippine Islands and to
recognize their independence as soon as a stable government can be established
therein.
And in view of the fact that we who advocated Philippine independence could not get any more at that time, we were pleased to
vote for that law.   Now, however, since eight years have elapsed
and the Filipino people having complied with every provision of the
act and having further demonstrated that they are capable of governing themselves, we feel that the fulfillemnt of these conditions
justify our plea for their independence.
I also desire to read to you part of the message of the late President Wilson, delivered to Congress, December 7, 1920:
Allow me to call your attention to the fact that the people of the Philippine
Islands have succeeded in maintaining a stable government since the last action
of Congress in their behalf, and have thus fulfilled the condition set by Congress
as precedent to a consideration of granting independence to the islands.
I respectfully submit that this condition precedent having been fulfilled, it is
now our liberty and our duty to keep our promise to the people of those islands
by granting them the independence which they so honorably covet


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Mr. Chairman, I have here in my handl a copy of a message delivered
by the Governor General of the Philippine Islands to the Sixth Philippine Legislature October 16, 19)23, land will read from it a few paragraphs which, to my mind, clearly    show the ability of the Philippine
people to govern themselves:
GENTLEMEN OF THE LEGISLATURE: I extend to you a cordial welcome to
Manila ard bespeak your cooperation and support in the solution of the many
problems which confront the government. The legislature at its last session
enacted mruch valuable constructive legislation, but a number of important bills
did not receive your approval, due largely to lack of time for full consideration.
These will again be presented, and I trust they may receive your approval.
I congratulate you, and through you the Filipino people, on the peaceful and
orderly conduct of the recent election in the fourth district, which, although the
struggle was a very keen oLne arid political passions ran high, was conducted
with a freedom fromn disturbances lwhich was very creditable to all concerned.
I have visited nearly a.l parts of the archipelago (luring the past years and
have found the condition of the people in most instances steadily improving
There is increasing interest in public affairs n   and a ever-growing desire to obtain
titles to their laind and secure better conditions for clultivation, especially improved irrigatiol.
Public order has been excellent througheot, the islainds during the year with
the exception of some disturbances in Lanao and Sulu * * *. The disturbances were principally due to religious fanaticism stirred up by Moslem pilgrims
recently returned fronm Mecca, which found expression mainly in opposition to
the attendance of Moro children in the public schools. This condition of Moslem
nurrest is but a local indication of a condition whicrh has been. evident to a greater
or less extent anmong Moslem peoples through.out the world. Order has been
restored, and it is trusted there will be no more serious distlrbabnes.  * * *
Mr. BrEDY.   What are you read(ing frotm?
Mr. SABAT. I an reading from        the message of the Governor
General of October 16, 1923, to the Legislature of the Philippine
Islands.
Provincial and municipal admninist ration has rmaintained a fair level of efficienecy, although there is still a tenldency to excessively lunmerous personnel.
Mr. BEEDY. Wha-   t wTas
Mr. SABATH. Hte finds there atre a few more people einployed by
the govert.nment than there sh-ou(l  be.  ien hel  goes on:
DEPARiTMENT OFX PUBLIC I NST'rU(C'TION.
PUBLIC HEALTH.
There has been a steady inmproveinentt in public health conditions and the
death rate materially reduced. A well thought-out plan for the maintenance of
systematic and thorough vaccination of the people has been put in operation.
PUBLIC EDUCATION.
There has been a steady growth of interest ii: public education, a constantly
increasing enrollment in the schools, and a growing demand for more and better
schools.
MILITARY TRAINING.
The imilitary training units established in the University of the Philippines
and the Ateneo are progressing satisfactorily. They are organized on the
general lines followed by Reserve Officers' Training Corps organizations in
colleges and ulniversities in the United States  * * *
DEPAR.TMEINT Ot THE INTRli,:IO..
The affairs of the department of the interior lhave been as a rule satisfactorily
conducted, and the relations between that office and the provincial and municipal
officers have:been generally harmonious and the spirit has been one of coopera



24


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.


tion. In this connection it may be observed that, while retaining the necessary
degree of control, it is important to give sufficient local autonomy to provinces
and municipalities to develop initiative and demonstrate capacity for selfgovernment.
CONSTABULARY.
The constabulary has maintained its past record for a high degree of efficiency.
I have inspected it in various portions of the islands and always found it in good
condition and ready for duty. It enjoys public confidence throughout the
islands. The enactment of legislation to provide revenue for the constabulary
pension and retirement fund will be again recommended to your favorable consideration.
DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE.
There has been a gratifying increase in the public revenues. Indications are
that the increase for 1924 over those of 1923 will be approximately P'2,600,000.
Rigid economy has been the practice in all departments and bureaus and must
continue to be, as the financial conditions of the government renders such
economy imperative.
The budget presented you to-day is within the limit of our prospective revenue,
with an estimated margin of something over 1 1,000,000 to meet unforeseen
contingencies.
Provision has been made by the legislature for the full rehabilitation of the
funds for public works, port works, and irrigation, and bonds for the carrying on
of approved projects are being sold as funds are needed.
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE.
The administration of justice has been steadily improving. More cases have
been disposed of than in previous years and more have been filed. The new
organization of the courts provided by the legislature promises to increase efficiency in the discharge of business of the department * * *.
The bureau of public works has been efficiently conducted and it has accomplished the maximum possible with the funds at its disposition.
Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, I shall not quote any more from this
report as you have here with you gentlemen who shortly arrived from
the Philippine Islands who are desirous to be heard, and who desire
to submit to you first-hand information as to conditions on the
islands and the wishes of its people. In conclusion permit me to
state that I realize there are still some who believe that the Filipinos
are not capable of self-government, but I ask, Mr. Chairman, were
we not charged and accused to incapableness of self-government when
we were pleading and demanding our independence?        I am   of the
firm opinion that the messag'e of the Governor General proves and the
evidence which has and will be presented will make it clear that the
Philippine people are cap able of self-government. Have we any
right, therefore, to withhold it from them for another 10 or 20 years?
I say no; and I know your answer will be no; and that you will give
favorable consideration to the bills and resolutions pending before
you and shortly agree that the promises made by our country shall
be now fulfilled.
Gentlemen, I thank you.
Mr. WARD. Mr. Chairman, at some proper stage of this hearing to
be determined by you, yourself, and General McIntyre, I want the
privilege of asking him some questions, whether now or hereafter.
I presume you will be present at all the hearings?
General MCINTYRE. I think so.
Mr. WARD. I will not do it now.
The CHAIRMAN. We are to hear Mr. Roxas this morning, speaker
of the Philippine Legislature, and I am just wondering how the committee wants to continue those sittings to-day?




PHILItPPINE INDEPENDENCE.


25


Mr. KNUTSON. I presume it is the intention of the chairman of the
committee to continue these hearings right along until they are
completed?
The CHAIRMAN. That was the idea. How would it do to adjourn
until to-morrow at 10 o'clock?
Mr. KNUTSON. The House is now engaged in general debate and
will be until Tuesday. Why not take a recess until 2 o'clock this
afternoon, because next week we will be required on the floor constantly.
Mr. WARD. I think that is a good suggestion. I want to ask
General McIntyre some questions later on, but that will not take over
5 or 10 minutes.
(Whereupon, at 1.1.45 o'clock a. m., a recess was taken until 2
o'clock p. m.)
AFTERNOON SESSION.
The committee reconvened, pursuant to the taking of the recess,
at 2 o'clock p. m.
The CHAIRMAN. We will hear from Mr. Gabaldon at this time.
STATEMENT OF MR. ISAURO GABALDON, RESIDENT COMMISSIONER FROM THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
Mr. GABALDON. Mir. Chairman and gentlemen of the. committee, I
deem it a distinct honor and privilege to appear before this committee
and be heard on a question which to us Filipinos is paramount, a
question which involves our happiness and our future. On previous
occasions 1 had the opportunity of speaking on the same question
on the floor of the Congress, and I am therefore more than glad to be
able to speak again on the same issue-the independence of my
country.
It is a well-known fact that the Filipino people aspire for absolute,
immediate independence. Their continuous struggles for freedom
since remote times bespeak their vehement desire. The wars they
waged upon Spain to accomplish this end, as well as their conflict
with the United States to bring about their political emancipation,
are well known.
When the United States occupied the Philippines, the Filipino
troops had taken possession of the whole territory which for four
centuries had been under Spanish sovereignty. Only the city of
Manila and the town of Baler were held by the Spaniards at that time.
Immediately thereafter the Filipinos set up a government of their
own under the leadership of General Aguinaldo. A constitution
which compares favorably with those of the most progressive nations
of the world was passed and promulgated. Pursuant to the principles set forth in that constitution, the different branches of government were organized; namely, the legislative, executive, and judicial.
The whole government machinery was running smoothly and peacefully when the Americans came.
Such was the situation in the Philippines when the treaty of Paris
was signed.
After the revolution against America, after the Filipino Army had
been defeated by the superior force of the Americans, the Philippines
entered upon a period of complete tranquility, all the laws, orders, and




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PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.


measures emanating from   the constituted authorities being fully
observed by the inhabitants of the archipelago.
Once the military government ceased, civil government was
established. Not long after, the Congress of the United States
approved the Cooper bill, which remained in force in the Philippines
until a new law was passed in 1916.
The Jones bill, as this law is generally called, and under which
the Philippines are governed at present, promised in its preamble,
in clear and explicit terns, to grant the independence of the islands
as soon as a stable government can be established therein."  This
promise spurred the Filipinos all the more in their longing to be free
and independent, not only because their freedom was promised them
but also because they believe that they are capable of governing
themselves without outside interference. The only condition imposed as precedent to what we have repeatedly petitioned from the
Congress of the United States is that it be possible to establish a stable
government. We maintain that a stable goverment now exists
in the Philippines since, according to the definition of the words
" stable government" by American           authorities, the Philippine
government is capable of fulfilling its international obligations, of
maintaining order, and protecting the life and property of all the
residents in the islands.
All the branches of the government have been running smoothly
and efficiently. Our judicial system  has been commended by
American statesmen and so has our educational system implanted
in the islands by the United States been considered as a model for
those established in the Orient, so much so that many commissions
have been sent from our neighboring countries to the Philippines
to study our educational system and introduce it into those countries.
We have an institution of learning in the Philippines older than
your oldest universities here.  We have schools in the remotest
parts of the archipelago where only English is taught. The majority
of the teachers and instructors in our schools and colleges, private
and public, are Filipinos. Almost all of our judges are also Filipinos.
We have an efficient insular police force, called the constabulary,
which m aintains public order and cooperates with provincial and
municipal authorities in any emergency, such as epidemics, floods,
and other public calamities. Each municipality has its own municipal police force charged with keeping order.
The following are only a few of the evidences of the stability of
the Philippine government.
1. With the exception of the Governor General, who is appointed
by the President of the United States, our government is elected
by the suffrages of the people and supported by the people, not a
cent having come from the United States Treasury for the running
of our government.
2. When the United States entered the World War and American
soldiers, except a Coast Artillery Corps, were withdrawn from the
islands for the front, not only did the Philippine government maintain peace and order but also performed the international obligations
of America in that country. During the war, the Philippine government took charge of the Germans in the islands and their ships in
Philippine waters, enforced all war measures of the Federal Government, and maintained itself without the least trouble.




PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.


27


3. The Philippine government successfully grappled with a rice
crisis (luring the war, the rice dictatorship established by the the Philippine Legislature proving itself effective. On the other hand, the
same crisis in Japan brought about the fall of a cabinet.
In other words. we now have the instrumentalities which go to
make up a stable government. If this is so, the time appears to have
come for the Congress of the United States to redeem its pledge to
the Filipinos.
Allow me, before I close this brief address, to express on behalf of
my people the profound gratitude, the respect, and the admiration
and devotion which we feel toward the people of the United States, as
through their wise counsel and unselfish guidance we have attained
the present state of progress which entitles us to submit to the
Congress, as we have repeatedly done, our petition for independence.
I wish also to inform the committee that a mission headed by
Speaker Manuel Roxas of the House of Representatives of the Philippines is now in Washington to present once more before the Congress
our demand for absolute, immediate, and complete independence.
I now take pleasure in introducing to you the Hon. Manuel Roxas,
who will furnish you with accurate facts and figures relating to present
conditions in the Philippines.
Mr. Chairman, if you will allow me, I have the pleasure to introduce
to the committee the speaker of the Philippine Legislatures, Mr.
Roxas.
STATEMENT OF ME. MANUEL ROXAS, SPEAKER               OF THE
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
Mr. RoxAS. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee, as we
appear before you to-day as the legal representatives of the Filipino
people, we can not but express to you the deep feelings of gratitude
that fill our hearts. This morning, in this same place, we listened
to the inspiring words uttered by three distinguished Members of
Congress, representing the three political parties, expressing their
firm belief in the righteousness of our cause and their confidence that
our people are fully capacitated to govern themselves. The sublime
American ideals which they invoked have confirmed our faith that
the glorious traditions of this great Republic and the principles which
have made that greatness possible, are still strong, ever-present,
living forces which guide your country in every emergency. Their
words have strengthened our conviction that we have not placed our
faith in your people in vain. When the news of what occurred here
this morning is flashed through the wires to our distant country,
informing our people with what elevated purpose you come to consider the problem of our independence, it will flood their hearts
with happiness and a renewed trust in the unselfishness of your
purposes, and I can imagine how, in grateful acknowledgement, they
will raise their eyes toward heaven and pray for the ever-growing
greatness of this Republic, and ask Him who guided you when you
fought for your freedom to forget not our people in this crisis of our
history.
The people of the Philippine Islands, Mr. Chairman, deeply concerned about the prompt and final solution of the Philippine problem,
have, for the third time, sent a special mission to the United States,




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PHILIPPINE INEPDEP ENCE.


charged with the duty of submitting to Congress the question of
Philippine independence.     The Legislature of the Philippines, in
answer to popular demand, passed a resolution last November, commissioning the speaker of the house of representatives to proceed to
Washington and present before the Congress of the United States, in
conjunction with the Resident Commissioners from       the Philippine
Islands, the question of Philippine independence.      This resolution
was passed by the Legislature of the Philippines without opposition.
I might remark in passing that the political parties of the Philippine Islands are absolutely unanimous in their advocacy of complete
and immediate independence.
This mission is composed of the two Resident Commissioners and
the speaker of the house of representatives, Mr. Manuel Roxas.
Attached to the mission as technical advisers are Prof. Jorge Bocobo,
dean of the college of law, University of the Philippines; Hon. Jayme
C. de Veyra, ex-Resident Commissioner from       the Philippines; and
Hon. Catalino Lavadia, formerly undersecretary of commerce and
communications in the government of the Philippine Islands.
Soon after our arrival, Mr. Chairman, and in conjunction with the
Resident Commissioners from       the Philippines, we presented      a
memorial to the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States, setting forth our plea for absolute independence. I ask permission to insert this petition in the record as part of my remarks.
The CHAIRMAN. It will be inserted in the record.
(The petition referred to is as follows:)
WASHINGTON, D. C., January 8, 1924.
To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States, Washington, D. C.:
On behalf of the Philippine Legislature and of the people of the Philippine
Islands, the undersigned, members of the special Philippine mission, once more
respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to condider the question of
Philippine independence. We submit that the solution of this question has
already been too long delayed despite the reiterated petitions of the Filipinos.
The people of the United States, with the enactment of the Jones law in 1916,
formally and officially promised to recognize the independence of the Philippine
Islands as soon as a stable government could be established therein. This requirement having been fully met, the Filipino people, through their legislature, in 1919,
sent the first Philippine mission here with instructions to request the fulfillment of
this promise. In 1922 a second mission was sent for the same purpose. Both
missions laid before the constitutional representatives of the people of this
country the facts that established the existence in the Philippines of a stable
government capable of insuring peace and tranquillity and the security of all,.
nationals and foreigners alike.
We are not unmindful of the fact that the American people and Government
have been in the last few years confronted with serious problems that absorbed
their attention and precluded the performance of the covenant that touches the
life, liberty, and happiness of the Filipinos. But we are constrained to give voice
to our people's deep regret and keen disappointment when the two independence
missions returned to the Philippines without having secured their principal
object. Although the future status of our country as an independent nation has
been determined, still the delay in the granting of the promised independence is
a matter of grave concern to the Filipino people. If we may speak with the
candor of assured friendship, may we not say that the lack of a definite and satisfactory statement as to why the pledge has not been redeemed is paralyzing the
progress and development of our country and is filling the hearts of our people
with those doubts and misgivings which existed upon the implantation of American
sovereignty and which required so many arduous efforts to dispel.
Twenty-five years have elapse since our country came under the benevolent
protection of your flag-an emblem of liberty and not of slavery, a symbol of
humanity and civilization and not of selfishment and exploitation. A quarter
of a century has passed, teeming with harmonious labors jointly undertaken by


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Americans and Filipinos for the welfare and freedom of our people. Permit us
to bring to your notice that period of seven years of this relationship, in which
the Filipino people enjoyed a large measure of autonomy. Outside of our country it was a period of upheaval and disorder; within, under a Filipino-controlled
government, it was a time of peace, of public tranquility, of security for all citizens. America was obliged to bend all her energies toward the prosecution of
the war and had to withdraw her troops from the Philippines. Without force
and solely in virtue of the mutual faith between your people and our people,
American sovereignty and international responsibilities in the Philippines were
made secure through the agency of a Filipino-controlled government, deriving
its powers from  the peaceful suffrages of the people. Under such government, our progress in all directions was so evident that President Harding
himself declared it unequaled by any other people under similar conditions and
within the same period of time.
No reason exists, if we read well into the history of our relationship, why there
should be further delay in the granting of that which the Filipinos rightfully
seek, that which in honor America has promised. Every passing day adds to
our impatience, which only our absolute faith in your plighted word can allay.
Strong is our confidence in you, but our country is so far away from yours,
Filipinos problems are so remote from your immediate interests, that our people
are ever and naturally apprehensive lest in the course of our realationship some
grave error might be committed not through the fault of your people or of our
people, but of persons called upon to carry out your liberal policies in the islands,
who mistakenly adopt an attitude at variance therewith. Such unfortunate
incidents hamper the constructive work of our government, retard our progress
and destroy the harmonious relations so painstakingly built up between Americans
and Filipinos. The present conflict with Governor General Wood is one of such
incidents. It constitutes a bitter object lesson for us and should ever be a warning to all.
In keeping with the broad and liberal program mapped out by the Jones law,
an autonomous regime was established in the Philippines. It was built up through
the Anglo-Saxon process of development, not only by the passage of laws but as
well through the establishment of constitutional practices and the adoption of
democratic principles, all of which gave our people an ample autonomy compatible
with the exercise of America's international responsibilities. It was a government established with the cooperation and approval of the American representative, faithfully interpreting the liberal spirit and provisions of the organic law
and the policies that brought about its enactment. It was not based on American
theories alone, but adapted to our needs, our environment, and our ideals, and
intended to transmute into actuality the avowed aim of the United States to
give the Filipinos opportunity to prepare themselves for complete and absolute
independence.
The development of the government thus founded has received the approval I
and encouragement of the American Republic. In 1919, when the first Philippine mission appeared before the Government of the United States, this was said:
"Gradually and without violence the functions of the government have been
taken over by the people of the islands themselves, leaving only the tenuous
connection of the Governor General."
The government so organized has successfully functioned. On December 7,
1920, the President of the United States in his message to Congress urged the
granting of independence without further delay on the ground that the Filipinos
had set up and satisfactorily maintained a stable government, and thus had
fulfilled the one condition required in the Jones law.
While awaiting the promised freedom, it has ever been unthinkable to our
people that some of the political powers already guaranteed to them could be
withdrawn, and withdrawn without giving any just and legitimate reason. On
the contrary, we have always believed that our government, established and
developed with the consent of the United States, would be changed only by the
installation of an independent Philippine Republic. We have been most loath
to think that such a structure could fall to pieces at the beck and command of
one man. The American Government has assured us time and again that such
a reversion could never happen. The late and well-beloved President Harding
on June 20, 1922, said to the second Philippine mission:
"No backward step is contemplated, no diminution of your domestic control
is to be sought."




30                   PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.
Yet, what we feared might occur due to the distance of our country from yours'
and the difference of American from Filipino interests and problems, has come to
pass. Governor General Wood has set at naught all understandings the Filipino
people have had with the American Government, and has ignored the assurance
given them by the late President. He has most decidely taken a backward step
by depriving our government of the key and the nerve center of the former
autonomous administration-the counsel of the Filipinos.  He has surrounded
himself with a secret cabinet composed of military and other extra-legal advisers,
which has encroached upon the legitimate functions of the Filipino officials in
the government.  He has broken asunder the bonds of concord that united
Americans and Filipinos after the bloody struggle of 1899, a concord that
reached its highest expression in the first years of autonomous government.
He has placed himself over and above the laws passed by the Philippine Legislature, laws that have bever been declared null and void by the courts or by the
Congress of the United States. He has claimed for himself an unlimited executive
responsibility that neither the existing laws nor the practices already established
have recognized. He has deviated from the policy of the American Government
to give the Filipino people an ever-increasing self-government, a policy announced
by every President, beginning with President McKinley, and ratified by the Congress of the United States in the Jones law. H:e has abused the veto power, exercising it on the slightest pretext on matters of purely local concern that did not affect
the sovereignty of the United States or its international obligations. Thus he has
attempted to control our legislature, a prerogative that has never been claimed by
the elected executives of America, by the President of the United States, or the
governors of the several States. He has disregarded the rights of the senate in
his exercise of the appointing power. He has destroyed/our budget system, the
greatest achievement in the financial administration of our government. He has
endeavored to defeat the economic policies duly laid down by the Philippine
Legislature for the protection of the rights and interests of the Filipino people in
the development of the resources of the islands.
The theories and principles underlying Governor Wood's actions are utterly
repugnant to the policies that go to make up the cornerstone of Philippine
autonomous government. To inject the autocracy of an irresponsible appointed
executive into a representative democracy such as the Congress of the United
States implanted in the Philippines sets at defiance every American tradition,
violates that good faith that has been the precious and untarnished heritage of
the American people, and is incompatible with any workable theory of free
government.
The freedom and the happiness of the Filipino people, to which the honor
of America and the patriotism of the Filipinos are equally committed, are too
sacred to be the plaything of one-man power. A reactionary and militaristic
rule is a flagrant violation of the time-honored policy of the American Government toward the Philippines. It calls back to life old misunderstandings that
are now fortunately buried, and subverts the moral foundations of the humanitarian work so nobly accomplished by America in the Philippines.
The recent incidents simply serve to bring home the compelling need that
the Philippine question be now settled once and for all. The liberal policies
adopted and observed for more than two decades, the program of independence
outlined after years of constant labor for the realization of which men of your
country have given their best years, must not stop. It must be carried on to its
logical conclusion. The time for Philippine independence has come. It can
be postponed no longer. Filipino welfare calls for it, Filipino ideals long for it,
and the good name and pledged faith of America require it. In deep gratitude
for all that America has done for the Filipinos, in appreciation of her gracious
treatment, in expectation of an even more friendly association in the future,
we respectfully and earnestly submit that the next step in the development of
our relationship is the fulfillment of the promise of the United States to our
people, the immediate establishment of a Philippine free republic, consecreted
to the ideals of liberty and justice which America has upheld throughout her
history.
Respectfully submitted.
MANUEL ROXAS,
Speaker House of Representatives of the
Philippine Islands, Special Commissioner.
ISAURO GABALDON,
PEDRO GUEVARA,
Resident Commissioners.




PHILIPPINE' INDEPENDENC]E.


31


Philippine independence is an old problem which has deserved the
consideration of Congress on several occasions in the past. All of the
facts that may be considered necessary to its proper understanding
or which may be required for its solution appear in the records of the
different hearings which have been held before the committees of the
House and of the Senate, particularly the hearings before the Senate
committee when the Jones bill was under consideration and the joint
hearings before the committees of the Senate and the House in 1919,
when the first Philippine mission visited this country. I earnestly
commend these records to the perusal of the members of this committee, for in my opinion they constitute the best source of information as to conditions in the Philippines. These records show that
we are a homogeneous people, belonging to the same race, with the
same customs and habits, and possessed with a strong sense of nationality and a unanimous desire to be free and independent. They
also show the remarkable progress that our people have made under
American sovereignty, not only along economic and industrial lines,
but more particularly in education, administration of justice, and in
the practical application of those principles which insure the permanence of democratic institutions. Most important of all, the evidence presented at said hearings proves the stability of our government and gives assurance that this stability will be maintained after
independence is achieved.
I also desire to call the attention of this committee to the memorials presented by the first two Philippine missions sent to the
United States, which memorials appear in the records of Congress,
especially to the last one, entitled "Filipino appeal for freedom."
The Congress of the United States has always looked with sympathetic interest upon the Filipinos' desire for independence, and
it is indeed a source of gratification for the Filipino people to realize
that this interest has not weakened, as is shown by the privilege
which is now being granted us to be heard by this committee, in
spite of other important problems which press upon its members.
This is a courtesy, you may be sure, which will be duly appreciated
by our people.
It is not my desire, Mr. Chairman, to take too much of the valuable
time of the members of this committee, and for this reason I will
simply state that in our opinion only two facts need be considered
to a correct understanding of the real issue involved in the Philippine
problem.
First. That in 1916 the Congress of the United States passed a
law entitled, "An act to declare the purpose of the people of the
United States as to the future political status of the people of the
Philippine Islands, etc.," which solemnly and officially declared such
purpose to be as follows:
It was never the intention of the people of the United States in the incipiency
of the war with Spain to make it a war of conquest or for territorial aggrandizement; and it is, as it has always been, the purpose of the people of the United
States to withdraw their sovereignty over the Philippine Islands and to recognize
their independence as soon as a stable government can be established therein.
Second. That acting on the solemn covenant enunciated in this
declaration of purpose, the Filipino people, through their constitutional representatives, immediately took steps to fulfill the only con89048-24-  3




F

32                 PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.
dition thus imposed upon them, and before long succeeded in establishing and maintaining to the present day a stable government in
our country, the existence of which was proven before Congress by
the first independent mission, and was formally and officially recognized and certified to by the President of the United States in his message to Congress of December 7, 1920, in the following words:
Allow me to call your attention to the fact that the people of the Philippine
Islands have succeeded in maintaining a stable government since the last action
of the Congress in their behalf, and have thus fulfilled the condition set by the
Congress as precedent to a consideration of granting independence to the islands.
I respectfully submit that this condition precedent having been fulfilled it is
now our liberty and our duty to keep our promise to the people of those islands
by granting them the independence which they so honorably covet.
These are the facts, Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, and the people
of the Philippine Islands hopefully expect that, in justice to them,
final and definite action granting them independence will soon be
taken, in accordance with the sacred promise of the American people
so to do.
To our mind, the real issue involved in this question is no longer
whether it is wise or expedient for the United States to grant the
Filipinos their independence but whether the people of this country
shall redeem  their sacred pledge. Every time we have come to
advocate independence we have always been apprehensive lest our
real sentiments may be misconstrued; that our attitude may be taken
as an indication of our failure to acknowledge our indebtedness to
America for what she has done for our country. Our desire for
separation, Mr. Chairman, is not prompted by any unworthy sentiment, but by the natural love of freedom, which you yourselves have
enhanced and made permanent, and because we feel that we have
reached the full stature of national manhood, and therefore it is our
hope and our desire that we may be given the necessary power and
opportunity to work out our own salvation.
The purpose of the mission having been made clear, Mr. Chairman,
I now propose to give the committee a brief summary of the facts and
figures of vital importance in relation to the Philippines, to aid you
to reach a proper and accurate understanding of this problem.
The Philippine Islands comprise a very large territory, about
114,400 square miles; an area a little bit larger than the combined
area of the States of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and
Delaware. It is only about 7,000 square miles less than the area of
Great Britain.
Our population in 1903, when the first census of the Philippines
was taken, was 7,635,426. The last census was taken in 1918, 15
years later, and this census reveals a population of 10,314,310.
Mr. WARD. Your first census must have been very incomplete.
Mr. RoxAs. I think, Mr. Ward, that possibly a number of our inhabitants were not properly taken in that census. The population
for 1924 is estimated at 11,541,831.
Our population divided as to nationalities, based on the official
figures of the census of 1918, is as follows: Filipinos, 9,429,857;
Americans, 5,574; Japanese, 7,806; Spaniards, 3,945; and other
foreigners, 46,512. Of this last number, about 43,000 are Chinese,
but they are old residents of the Philippine Islands. They are not
classified as Filipinos, because under our law they can not naturalize
as Filipino citizens.


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PHILIPPINE I]NDEPE NDENCE.


33


Mr. KNUTSON. Is that a Philippine law, that Chinese can not
naturalize? Does that apply to the Chinese alone?
Mr. ROXAS. To the Chinese and other Asiatics.
Mr. KNUTSON. To the Chinese.
Mr. RoxAs. That is in conformity with the immigration laws of
this country.
Mr. KNUTSON. That is in conformity with the Gerry Act, I assume?
Mr. RoxAS. Yes, sir. Next, I have the population classified as to
religion; and this is important, Mr. Chairman, because very much
has been said of late as to the fact that there are religious controversies in the Philippine Islands. Of Christians, belonging to the
Catholic and Protestant churches, there are 9,381,357.  This is
from the census of 1918. Of non-Christians, including all others,
especially Mohammedans, Buddhists, and those who have no religion, or pagans, there are 932,953, or less than 10 per cent of our
total population.
I desire now, Mr. Chairman, to say something about our system of
public instruction. Since the 'inception of American sovereignty
there was established in the Philippines a really remarkable system
of public schools. Our system, which places emphasis on vocational
training, has been commended by the highest authorities on the subject. We have opened as many schools in the Philippines as our
finances can support. At present we spend 2 pesos and 14 cents on
public instruction per capita, based on the total population of the
Philippine Islands.
We have 6,741 primary schools, 857 intermediate schools, 72 secondary schools, and a big State university, with an attendance of
about 5,000 students.
The school population of the Philippine Islands in 1922 was about
2,916,612. This comprises all the children of school age; that is to
say, between the ages of 6 and 17.
Compare this with the enrollment of our public schools. In 1922
we had 1,097,144 children actually attending our public schools.
In our private schools we had 64,834.
Altogether there was a tot-al enrollment of about 42.5 per cent of
the total school population of the Philippine Islands.
It may surprise the committee that only 42.5 per cent of our children of school age are in the schools, but that can be explained in
this way: We are a people inhabiting a very large country, and our
supply of laborers is very limited, so that very many of the children
who go to our public schools leave the schools after they have completed the primary or intermediate course and go back to work on
the farms. But I might say that I do not believe that any considerable number of children of school age in the Philippine Islands can
not find accommodation in the public schools of our country if they
applied for admission.
Whatever may be said on this subject, it is at least a fact that the
Filipino people are doing their utmost, their very best, to extend the
blessings of free instruction to all the inhabitants of the Philippines.
The records of the government show how much private persons
have helped in the extension of our public-school system by voluntary
contributions and by cooperative effort.




34


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDEN CE.


This educational system has resulted in increasing the literacy rate
of the population of the Philippine Islands. In 1918, according to
the census, there were 3,759,138 literates; and in taking these figures,
of course, children below 10 years of age were excluded. The per
centage of literacy in 1918 was, therefore, 54 per cent of the total
population Based on the average literacy increase between 1903
and 1918, we estimate that the present rate of literacy in the Philippines of all persons over 10 years of age, is 60 per cent.
Mr. RAGON. What do you class as literates?
Mr. ROXAS. People who are able to read and write either English,
Spanish, or any local dialect.
Mr. RAGON. What do you attempt now, in your schools-to teach
in the English language?
Mr. Roxas. We have adopted practically the same course of
instruction prevailing in this country. In fact, the majority of our
textbooks, especially during the first years of American occupation,
are very similar to the textbooks used in your public schools; and
instruction is conducted exclusively in English. No Spanish is
taught except in the high schools as a selective subject, as you would
teach Germyan, French, Latin, or Greek in your high schools in this
country.
Mr. KNUTSON. In what schools did you say English is taught-in
the primary schools?
Mr. RoxAs. In all the public schools.
Mr. KNUTSON. That is compulsory
Mr. RoxAS. Yes, sir; that is the prescribed course.
Mr. MAcLA:FFERTY. If you achieve your independence, is it your
intention to continue teaching the English language in that way?
Mr. RoXAS. I do not think that there exists any controversy as
to that question in the Philippine Islands now. In fact, the Legislature of the Philippine Islands long ago passed a law making English
the official language of the Philippines.
To show the sentiment of the people of the Philippine Islands in
relation to the English language, I might say here that soon after
Mr. Cooper introduced the resolution which is now before this committee, House Joint Resolution 131, I'sent a copy of the proposed
resolution to the Legislature of the Philippine Islands. The members
of the legislature considered the measure, and they approved a resolution indorsing it, and asking Congress its approval. In that
measure you will notice that there is a reservation in the power
granted our people to formulate our constitution, providing that it
should be republican in form, guaranteeing freedom of religious worship, and the maintenance of a system of public schools conducted
in English; and that was accepted by the legislature. I think that
is an index of our sentiment in relation to English as our adopted
language.
But, Mr. Chairman, may I say that our position on this question
is very justifiable? We have our own language. We have about
three important dialects in the Philippines, but the differences between these dialects are not so great as to prevent me, for example,
a Visayan, from understanding Mr. Guevara's dialect, which is
Tagalo. The principal difference lies in the idiomatic expressions
and in the accent. I do not think that the difference is any greater
than that which exists in the English spoken in the different States




PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.


35


of this Union. I have heard that the people of Louisiana have a
different accent, and that the Irish from New York and the Irish
from Boston have different dialects.
Mr. WARD. There is even a difference between North Carolina and
Virginia, and they border on each other.
Mr. ROXAS. Yes. We have adopted English because we want to
avail ourselves of the development and the growth that has already
been achieved by those who have cultivated the English language,
and because we believe that we can understand democratic and
republican institutions and America better if we use English as the
vehicle of expression. Moreover, English is so widely spoken in
the world that we want to avail ourselves of the universal use of
the English language to place us in closer contact with the rest of
the world.
Mr. SCHAFER. Have you people enacted compulsory education
laws?
Mr. RoxAs. No, sir; we have not found it necessary, because there
is a real strong desire on the part of our people to educate themselves.
In fact, as I have admitted, we have not as yet been able to open the
schools necessary to properly accommodate our great school population.
Mr. SCHAFER. I presume your greatest percentage of illiteracy
exists in the more remote islands, that are more or less isolated?
Mr. ROXAS. Yes; in the statistics that I have mentioned relating
to the literacy of our people, all our people, including the hill people,
the people inhabiting the mountains, and all the islands, have been
taken into consideration.
Mr. RAGON. You say they are 60 per cent literate. That means
60 per cent of those above the age of 10 years?
Mr. RoxAs. Yes; that is the way the standard of literacy is comnputed.
Mr. MACLAFLFERlTY. You spoke of the number of public schools
and the number of private schools. I presume the private schools
are mostly church schools, are they not?
Mr. RoxAS. No, sir; the majority of them have been opened by
Filipinos who formerly were connected with our public-school system,
and the system of instruction in these private schools has to be approved by the government.
Mr. MACLAFIFETY. Do the private schools receive any financial
assistance from the government?
Mr. RoxAS. Absolutely not. They are self-supporting; and to
show you gentlemen how strong the sentiment of our people is regarding the English language, even the Jesuit College in the city of Manila,
which was a Spanish institution, has changed its course of instruction
from Spanish to English, and is being conducted now in the English
language exclusively.
Mr. SCHAFER. Are there any parochial schools in the islands?
Mr. RoxAS. Very few. They are schools where catechism principally is taught.
Mr. SCHAFER. There is no policy to prohibit parochial schools, is,
there?
Mr. RoxAS. No, sir.
Mr. KNUTSON. I suggest that Mr. Roxas be permitted to finish his:
statement, and then we will ask him questions. You have not
finished, have you?




36


PHILIPPINE IN:DEPENDENCE.


Mr. ROXAS. I have not; but I have no objection to answering
questions as I go along.
Mr. WARD. I have some questions, but either way will suit me.
Mr. ROXAS. I will be very glad to answer your questions now, Mr.
Ward.
Mr. WARD. Well, I wanted to call your attention to General Wood's
and Mr. Forbes's second conclusion in which they say that the nonChristians and the Americans are for the continuance of American
control.
Mr. ROXAs. I was going to refer to that.
Mr. WARD. Just answer it in your own way.
Mr. RoxAs. I was going to answer that question before I finished.
If you think it is better, I will answer it right now.
Mr. WARD. Just as you please.
Mr. ROXAS. Governor Wood and Mr. Forbes, if I may say so, have
been very critical in their judgment of our people.
Mr. WARD. What
Mr. RoxAS. They have been veriy critical in their judgment of our
people. I grant that they acted in perfect good faith and sincerity;
but you will understand, gentlemen, that Governor Forbes was sent
to the Philippines to pass upon the administration of his immediate
successor, Governor Harrison.
Mr. WARD. The one who was there ahead of him?
Mr. ROXAS. The one who was his successor in the office. General
Wood and Governor Forbes were two men belonging to one party who
were sent to pass upon the administration of a governor general belonging to another party. Now, with that in mind, their judgment
could be anticipated, Mr. Chairman, and I do not think I offend anybody if I say so.
The CHAIRMAN. It is perfectly proper.
Mr. ROxAS. I am a nationalist in my country. If I were appointed
just after election, to pass upon the administration of the Democratic
Party in my country, what things could I say against them? This
is simply a question of practical politics. Now, suppose, Mr. Chatirman, after President Wilson was defeated in the last election, President
Harding had appointed a committee of Republicans to pass upon the
administration of President Wilson [laughter], what things could they
have said?
And suppose that after this electionMr. MACLAFFERTY. That is what we want to hear about.
Mr. ROXAS. I have no preference as to its result. Suppose that a
President was elected who did not belong to the Repbulican Party,
and that President should appoint a committee of the members of
his party to pass upon this Republican administration; what can they
say?
Mr. MACLAFFERTY. Nothing.
Mr. RoxAS. You could consider yourselves very fortunate. In
fact, I think we can be given great credit precisely because Governor
Wood and Mr. Forbes have not been able to say more than they have
said in criticism of us. About the opposition of the non-Christians
to independence, I am very sorry that I have to differ with Governor
Wood and Governor Forbes on that question. They are as much in
favor of independence as the Christians are, as expressed by their
representatives in the legislature. The men appointed by the Gover

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PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.


37


nor General of the Philippines to represent these 900,000 non-Christians in our legislature-and they are men selected by the Governor
General because he believes them to be truly representatives-when
they are in the legislature they vote for absolute and complete
independence as much as we do.
Mr. MACLAFFERTY. Maybe they are afraid not to.
Mr. ROXAS. They are responsible to the Governor General, and
may be removed by him. One of these representatives, before I
left the Philippine Islands, in an interview which he gave to the
press and which was widely published, said:
I am so sure that my own people are for independence, and that we are willing
to cast our lot with our brothers, the Christian Filipinos, that if this question
were submitted to a referendum of my people now, not less than 90 per cent of
them would vote for independence.
And that declaration was never contradicted.
Mr. MACLAFFERTY. Was he appointed by Governor Wood?
Mr. RoxAS. Yes, sir. But let us suppose that some of these
brothers of ours, many of whom have not yet enjoyed the blessings
of free instruction, are really against independence; I will yet ask,
should 8 per cent of our population have a right to speak for all our
people? Must the blessings of freedom and independence be denied
us because there is a small percentage of our population who are
against it? I am sure that you who have always maintained that the
majority of the people should rule and that the will of the majority
should be respected, will agree with me that we who constitute 92
per cent of our people can assume the privilege and the right to
speak for the whole country.
As regards the American residents, the majority of them really
are for continuance of American control.
Mr. WILLIAMS. They are all in business out there, are they not?
Mr. ROXAs. Those who are not in business are employees of the
Government. The reasons for their position are very obvious.
Those who are in business are engaged in agriculture or in the importation of American goods and the exportation of Philippine
goods to America; and they, of course, are afraid that their business
will suffer if we are granted independence.
I am going to give you a practical illustration. Take a man
engaged in sugar, for example. He raises his sugar, manufactures
it, and ships it to this country under the preferential tariff, or rather
no tariff at all, because we now enjoy free trade with the United
States. To that man independence of the Philippines means 6
pesos per picul. He believes that if we get independence, sugar from
the Philippines will be required to pay the same import duty as the
sugar from Java, for example, pays. It means to him $3 less profit
per picul of sugar. Of course, it is natural that he should not want it.
The same thing happens with the man engaged in the tobacco and
the coconut industries, or in exporting embroidery. It goes all
doing the line, for the same reason. They believe that they can make
more profits with continued American control of the country than
they could if the Philippines were independent.
The CHAIRMAN. How large a per cent of the export business is
done by the Americans?
Mr. RoxAS. I have the exact figures here, Mr. Chairman.
The CHAIRMAN. Make that a part of the record. It is not necessary to take the time to read the figures now.




38


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.


Mr. ROXAS. I can mention these figures and it will not take me
long to do so. Trade with the United States in 1899-that was about
the time when the United States went over to the Philippines-was
only about 10,576,682 pesos. In dollars that would be one-half that
figure, about $5,000,000. That was 16 per cent of the total trade of
the Philippine Islands-the total volume of trade.
In 1913 the trade with the United States was 86,220,558 pesos.
One-half of that is what it would be in dollars; or 42 per cent of the
total trade.
In 1923 this amount was increased to 301,120,200 pesos, or one-half
that number of dollars; or 65 per cent of the total trade of the Philippines.
The CHAIRMAN. On that export into this country you paid no
export duties?
Mr. RoxAs. Mr. Chairman, this includes both imports and exports.
The CHAIRMAN. It includes both?
Mr. RoxAS. Yes; it includes our exports to the United States and
our imports from the United States. It includes the total volume of
trade.
The CHAIRMAN. This was my point: I wanted to find out what import duties the Philippine trade pays.
Mr. ROXAS. It does not pay a cent.
The CHAIRMAN. You speak of the American firms being interested
because of their fear that an import duty will be put upon their
exports to this country?
Mr. RoxAs. Yes, sir.
The CHAIRMAN. What per cent of that which has got to be exported to the United States is in the hands of purely American firms?
Mr. ROXAS. I do not have the exact figures, Mr. Chairman, but I
think I am very close to the exact figure if I say that about 70 or 75
per cent of our exports from the PhiTippines to the United States are
in the hands of American business firms.
The CHAIRMAN. And do the Filipinos themselves as exclusive
merchants —I mean as merchants exclusively engaged in exportscontrol the other 25 per cent, or is it controlled by other foreigners?
Mr. ROXAS. By other foreigners and Filipinos. There are also
Filipinos engaged in the export trade.
But, gentlemen, when our preferential tariff and our present trade
relation with the United States is disrupted, the men who are going
to suffer, in the last analysis, are not the business men. These men
are not going to suffer, but it is the man who produces these goods,
the man who raises the tobacco and sugar, who are Filipinos; and
they are as willing as the rest of our people to sacrifice their private
interest in this great cause. The people of the island of Negros, who
raise sugar, 90 per cent of them, who know that this trade disruption
might happen with the coming of independence, they are yet for
independence as strong as we are, because they know that the people
must pay a price for their freedom, and they do not begrudge the
price, because peoples everywhere will pay any price for the sublime
blessing of being free.
Mr. MAcLAFFERTY. Have your people considered whether the
tendency in this country to exclude Asiatics would exclude them
also?




PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.


39i


Mr. ROXAS. We have never thought of that, Mr. Congressman;
although, once we are independent, if we are really absolutely independent, from the Filipino viewpoint America will'be as near and as
close to us and probably closer and nearer than she is to-day. Our
gratitude toward her will make us deny to no American citizen in our
country any right or privilege which we would be willing to give to
any one of our nationals.
If, on the other hand, America decides to keep the Filipinos away
and have nothing more to do with them, in the mistaken belief that
we have not appreciated what she has done for us in our country,
what can we do?
Mr. MACLAFFERTY. No; the reason why I ask that question is
because there are certain laws to-day relative to Asiatics, and I
presume the Filipino people would be classed as Asiatics. You call
yourselves such, do you not?
Mr. RoxAS. Yes, sir. We are Asiatics, in one sense.
Mr. MACLAFFERTY. Those things do not apply to you now in the
same sense as they apply to others, because you are a part of us;
but immediately upon your gaining your independence, I think they
would automatically and immediately apply.
Mr. ROXAS. Unless the United States Government makes special
provision for the Filipinos.
Mr. MACLAFFERTY. I do not see how they could do that.
Mr. RoxAs. You have not considered the Japanese as Asiatics
within the meaning of your immigration laws.
Mr. MACLAFFERTY. That is a gentleman's agreement. There may
be an immigration law enacted shortly.
Mr. KNUTSON. How many Filipinos have come to this country, say,
within the last 10 years, for the purpose of working here?
Mr. RoxAs. The majority of the Filipinos who have come to the
United States have come to study. They are taking postgraduate
courses in your universities. Some are making their way through
the schools here.
Mr. MACLAFFERTY. I think there are many more of them on the
Pacific coast than you ever come in contact with here.
Mr. ROXAS. I think there are about 15,000 Filipinos in the United
States.
The CHAIRMAN. Is not this true, that because of your undeveloped
natural resources, the necessity of your people leaving home will not
be so great, even for many years to come, as it is with those in more
thickly populated countries?
Mr. RoxAS. You are perfectly correct in that.
The CHAIRMAN. You are practically an undeveloped country.
Mr. RoxAs. Our country can support a population of forty or fifty
millions of people.
Mr. KNUTSON. What per cent of the Filipinos that come here come
here to work and not to study?
Mr. ROXAS. I have met very many Filipinos before they left the
Philippine Islands. Almost invariably the reason that prompts them
is the spirit of adventure and a desire to study in your schools. They
have heard of this wonderful country and of the vast opportunity
that is open to them, and they come here to work, but they come
principally to make their way through school. After they have




40


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.


earned an education, they always go -back. I do not think there are
many Filipinos here who have stayed more than 8 or 10 years.
Mr. MACLAFFERTY. I will say this for the Filipino, that he is a good
man to work. They have a great many of them on the Pacific coast.
They are good, faithful boys. There are many of them there.
Mr. KNUTSON. Has it been your observation that the great majority
of them go to school?
Mr. MACLAFFERTY. Yes; we have lots of Filipino boys in the
schools there; and also there are lots of them who work.
Mr. WILLIAMS. Some of them go back and others come in there.
Mr. MACLAFFERTY. We think a great deal of them.
Mr. KNUTSON. We would like to have them come here, because it
would make for pleasant relations, and extend our trade opportunities.
The CHAIRMAN. This is a very pleasant discussion between the
members of the committee, but perhaps we had better let the speaker
go on now. I am to blame for starting it by breaking in.
Mr. ROXAS. Now I am going to give you certain figures in relation
to landholding, and the area of cultivated land in the Philippine
Islands, which of course must be of interest to you, to show how
much we have developed economically.
The approximate area of the Philippine Islands is 65,285,120 acres.
This area is divided into private lands, owned by private individuals,
comprising 10,050,190 acres; public forests, 41,153,404 acres, belonging to the Government; public lands available for homestead-that
is to say, reserved for homestead by the Government, 13,985,239
acres; of the private lands there are under cultivation about 7,209,272
acres, divided into about 2,000,000 farms, of which fully 96 per cent
are owned by Filipinos.
Mr. MACLAFFERTY. What is the average size of a farm?
Mr. RoxAS. It varies, Mr. Congressman. I have the figures here,
from the census. It gives the average as 5 acres.
Mr. SCHAFER. Are there any great landholders there with practically thousands of acres?
Mr. ROxAS. The church corporations controlled a vast amount
of land in the Philippines, but the Philippine government purchased
those lands and is now allowing the people who have settled and have
their houses in those big farms, formerly owned by the church corporations, to purchase the land they occupy. We give them an
opportunity to purchase these lands in small parcels.
Mr. WARD. We have heard a great deal about friar land over
there.
Mr. ROxAS. That is what I am talking about. We issued bonds
in this country to buy these lands, and we are now selling these lands
in small parcels to those who actually live on them.
Mr. KNUTSON. You are following the English policy, which is that
of breaking up the big holdings.
Mr. RoxAs. Yes, sir; we have not in the Philippines to-day any
big holdings of land, with, possibly, the exception of the Mindoro
sugar estate, which controls about 30,000 hectares. That is the only
corporation that has that area.
Mr. SCHAFER. How did that corporation originally get hold of that
land; did they purchase it themselves?


l
I




PHIIIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.


41


Mr. ROXAS. It was by a special charter granted to that corporation
by the Philippine Legislature. That shows that there is no prejudice
against American capital or American business men.
Mr. WARD. I do not know that the witness has answered your
question.
Mr. KNUTSON. Yes; I wanted to know how that corporation got
hold of that land.
Mr. ROXAS. There was passed a special act leasing to this corporation that land. To show that there is no prejudice against American
farmers or American capital in the Philippines, that was done, and
it was done in order that this corporation might develop the sugar
industry in the Philippines. It was a pioneer work in the islands.
Mr. SCHAFER. How did the legislature decide the proposition of
granting that authority? Was it unanimous?
Mr. ROXAS. It was practically unanimous.
Mr. WILLIAMS. What is your improved land bought and sold at;
what does it average?
Mr. ROXAS. If it is rice land, the price is high and varies with the
locality.
Mr. WILLIAMS. I know that.
Mr. ROXAS. But, generally, rice land would sell for about 500 or 600
pesos per hectare. That is about 2-l acres. That would make it
about $100 per acre.
Mr. WILLIAMS. How about your unimproved land?
Mr. ROxAS. You can buy unimproved land-that is, Government
land, at 10 pesos per hectare. That would be $5 per hectare.
Your holding is limited. Our law prevents a corporation from holding
more than 1,024 hectares.
Mr. WARD. You are limited?
Mr. ROXAS. Yes; absolutely. And individuals are limited to 104
hectares.
The CHAIRMAN. It is interesting to know this, that by the census
of January 1, 1920, there were 5,603 Filipinos, all told, in the United
States.
Mr. ROXAs. In 1920?
The CHAIRMAN. In 1920.
Mr. ROXAS. I thank you for that information, Mr. Chairman.
Now, to show you what practical political problems we have in the
Philippines, this question about the Mindoro sugar estate is a good
example. This will show why we are urging, more than ever, the
final settlement of our political status. The development of our
country has been paralyzed. Progress is at a stalemate. We need,
for the economic development of our country, the investment of
foreign capital, especially American capital; but American capital
will not seek investment in the Philippines until the final status of the
Philippine Islands is determined, for the man who wants to engage
in the sugar industry must know what he has to pay for that sugar
when he imports it into the United States from  the Philippine
Islands. The man who wants to invest in the tobacco industry in
the Philippines will not go there now and invest, because, on the
one hand, the people are clamoring for independence, and he knows
that eventually the Philippines will be independent, and he does not
know how long money invested in this business will enjoy the preferential tariff.




42


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.


Mr. WARD. He is afraid that he is going to find himself buying in
a free-trade market and selling in a protective market.
Mr. ROXAS. Exactly. Now, that is the position of the American
capitalist.
On the other hand, how does the Filipino feel? He feels this way:
"We need American capital to develop our country, but our experience in the past has shown that every dollar of organized American
capital invested in the Philippines has increased the volume of
opposition to independence, as evidenced by the attitude of the
American business man in our country."
Now, for example, this gentleman who received this lease of 30,000
hectares in the Mindoro sugar estate, who was the friend of the
Filipinos when he first sought that privilege, is to-day the greatest
and strongest advocate of permanent American control of our
country; and you can see, Mr. Chairman, how natural it is for our
people to look with doubt and fear upon further investment of organized American capital. That is our greatest fight with General Wood.
He has been recommending to the Legislature of the Philippines to
liberalize our land laws and mining laws. He advocated a grant, for
example, to the Firestone Rubber Co. of a big lease of about 30,00
acres of land for a rubber plantation. We have objected to it, not
because we do not want the rubber industry to be developed in our
country, but because we want to eliminate one more influence which
will be used against our aspirations to be free. It is simply selfdefense.
Mr. SCHAFER. Have the native Filipinos corporations whereby
they could start cooperative business institutions?
Mr. RoxAs. We have, Mr. Schafer, and they are very successful.
Of course, we have started slowly and their capital is very small.
The CHAIRMAN. You spoke of your fear of investment of American
capital there.
Mr. RoxAS. Yes, sir.
The CHAIRMAN. In case you should become independent, you feel
that you would still need the investment of foreign capital there?
Mr. Roxas. Undoubtedly.
The CHAIRMAN. And you feel that this condition of uncertainty
makes foreign capital timid?
Mr. RoXAS. Exactly.
The CHAIRMAN. You would be afraid, then, of concentrated capital
for the development of large industries
Mr. ROXAS. That is a different proposition.
The CHAIRMAN. I mean, you are not afraid of that?  You are
simply afraid of their influence against independence'
Mr. RoxAs. That is a different proposition. In fact, we do not
believe in large holdings by absentee landlords. We prefer small
holdings, and to develop a population of farmers, everybody living
on his own land.
But after we are independent, after this question is settled, there
will occur in the Philippines a very radical readjustment of our economies. Our agriculture will be readjusted to meet the new situation.
For example, if we are going to lose our present free trade arrangement with the United States, the man who plants sugar cane in the
i   field will manage his farm in accordance with the circumstances imposed by the new situation. I mean, he must make an effort to re



PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.


43


duce his cost of production, because the price of his product will be
as much lower as the tariff will be. I think the people and the industries will be able to adapt themselves to the new conditions; and
after that is settled, we believe foreign capital, especially American
capital, will come in. They can furnish the Philippines with all the
capital that is needed there; but that can be done only when the
Philippines are independent.
Here is some interesting data about the Filipino farmers who live
on their farms, with houses of their own, absolute owners of the land;
about 8,000,000 people out of a total population of 10 or 11 millions.
Mr. RAGON. Eight million Filipino people live on their own farms?
Mr. RoxAs. In their own houses, on their own farms.
Mr. SCHAFER. How do they market their produce, through a big
corporation?
Mr. Roxas. No, sir. For example, the man who raises rice sells
his product in the same locality, in the market in his town.
Mr. WILLIAMS. In open' market?
Mr. ROXAS. In open market. The buyers are men engaged in the
business of milling rice and selling it in the big centers of distribution,
generally in the cities.
The man who raises sugar generally sells his crop to business men
who export direct from the Philippines to the United States. But
the people of Negros have adopted a system of cooperation whereby
the centrals now financed by the government export their products,
their sugar, from the Philippines to the United States directly without doing it through the exporters.
The CHAIRMAN. Is that central financed by the government successful economically; is it paying its way?
Mr. RoxAs. I want to say that it is successful, Mr. Chairman.
These sugar centrals were built during the war when the prices of
sugar were very high. These prices gave an extraordinary impetus
to sugar in the Philippines. We needed capital to build up sugar
mills. We did not have enough mills to grind the cane and produce
granulated sugar, then in great demand.
The Bank of the Philippines, our national bank, which was then
in a very prosperous condition, controlling resources amounting to
over 250,000,000 pesos, entered into an arrangement with the cane
growers in the Philippines to build these sugar centrals. The bank
advanced the money to build the centrals with the centrals themselves as security. The bank invested about $20,000,000 in these
centrals. They were built when the price of machinery was very high,
so that I think they are not worth now more than 65 or 70 per cent
of their original cost; but they have been making money in spite of
that. Last year, for example, the centrals paid during the year
$5,889,117.52 of their indebtedness to the bank. So that they are
slowly paying back the money that the bank advanced for their construction. It is very interesting, Mr. Chairman, to note the policy
that we have adopted in the Philippines in relation to these centrals.
The plan is to make the Filipino farmers themselves ultimately the
owners of the centrals. Their agreement with the national bank
compels every planter to invest 25 per cent of his net profits every
year in the purchase of stock of these centrals. That is the agreement, and it is being carried out; so that within 10 or 15 years the
government will have recovered every cent invested in these centrals,




44


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.


plus interest, and the sugar industry will have been greatly developed,
with the Filipino farmers themselves owning the mills.
Mr. SCHAFER. Who controls the management of the centrals? Do
those farmers who are investigating so much of the profits in them
have a share in the management?
Mr. ROXAS. They are running the centrals themselves, but the
management is supervised by what we call the Sugar Centrals
Agency, a committee of three or four men, I think, appointed by
the bank-by the board of directors of the bank. For example, it
makes purchases of machinery and supplies for the centrals, and
markets the output of the mills.
Mr. SCHAFER. IS that bank controlled by native capitalists or by
nonnative capitalists?
Mr. ROXAS. Ninety-two per cent of the capital stock of the bank
belongs to the government of the Philippine Islands. The majority
of the board of directors are Filipinos.
Mr. KNUTSON. What condition is that bank in now?
Mr. RoxAS. The bank has suffered a great setback with the slump
in business after the war. The bank loaned money to the sugar
centrals, taking the value of the centrals at that time as the basis
for the estimate of the value of the security for the credit which was
given; this was also done as to the oil mills. You will remember
that oil jumped to a very high price during the war, and our oil
mills in the Philippine Islands were worth probably 1,000 per cent
higher during the war than they are now.
The bank loaned about $14,000,000 on certain oil mills in the
Philippines. When the war was over the oil business was destroyed.
It was not profitable to produce oil with the machinery and process
which was adopted during the war, so that the securities for the
loanMr. SALMON. What kind of oil?
Mr. RoxAs. Coconut oil. The security for the amount advanced
by the government depreciated, and the government bank has lost
money in that way.
Mr. WILLIAMS. IS the government bank recovering
Mr. RoxAs. It is recovering.
Mr. WILLIAMS. The conditions are improving all the time now?
Mr. RoxAs. Yes; we believe, Mr. Congressman, that in two or
three years the bank will again be on its feet.
Mr. SCHAFER. Have you got oil fields in the island?
Mr. ROXAS. I have a clipping here which has a bearing on that.
This will indicate more than anything else what is the attitude of the
men engaged in oil in the Philippine Islands in relation to independence. This clipping is from the Los Angeles (Calif.) Times. Of
course, the paper is nbt responsible for this article. Here is a man
by the name of Lyon. This is published as soon as he comes to San
Francisco: "Mr. Lyon, back in civilization for the first time after 11
years of prospecting in Philippine wilds, is en route to Washington
as a personal emissary to President Coolidge of 500,000 residents of
the island of Mindanao."  He says he has been in the Philippine
Islands prospecting for certain companies.
The CHAIRMAN. What companies were they? They were not
Doheny's or Sinclair's, were they?




PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.


45


Mr. ROXAS. I will give you the names of the companies right now.
I quote from the article:
Mr. Lyon for the past 12 years has been in the employ of the Standard Oil
Co. During that time he surveyed the wild mountain district of Mindanao
and other islands.
He says the Moros are against independence because the Filipinos
have been killing them, and that is why they are protesting; and he
says he has a letter signed by four or five Moro priests addressed to
President Coolidge expressing themselves as against independence.
I am going to say that this exemplifies a great anomoly in the
present situation prevailing in the government of the Philippine
Islands. If what Lyon says is true, that the Moros have been killed
by the constabulary, why should the blame be cast on the Filipinos?
We have tried to assume responsibility for our government. We
were not allowed to do so. The Governor General of the Philippines
is the man who controls the constabulary. The constabulary is
exclusively and absolutely under the control of the Governor General.
If the constabulary committed these abuses, why should the blame
be cast on us?
Mr. WARD. Do you accept it as true?
Mr. ROXAS. I do not; but if it were true, this exemplifies the misrepresentation of our people that is circulated in this country, because
the people do not know actual conditions there.
Mr. MCLAFFERTY. Would not the Moros kill a few Filipinos if they
got a chance?
Mr. RoxAS. I do not think so. From 1913 to 1921, when we really
enjoyed practical autonomy in the Philippine Islands, under the
administration of Governor Harrison during whose years when we
were in actual control, running the affairs of our country, including
Mindanao, and when the officials of the government there were Filipinos, there was not a single killing in that region for seven years.
The CHAIRMAN. Well, I think, Mr. Roxas, you need have no
apprehension as to the American public being able to interpret
publicity-agent's work with regard to anything. I think the committee has had enough experience in politics and the general trend
of American affairs to understand those things.
Mr. ROXAS. I simply mention this, Mr. Chairman, to show what
kind of information is being circulated in the United States in relation
to the Philippine Islands. That is why we are maintaining a publication here in the United States which has no other purpose than
to educate the masses of the United States as to the actual and real
conditions prevailing in the Philippine Islands.
Mr. SCHAFER. Just a question. The Philippine Legislature has
not leased thousands of acres of oil lands in the Philippine Islands
like they have leased the thousands of acres of sugar-cane land.
Mr. ROXAS. No, sir. Our mining law is still a law which was
passed by the Congress of the United States, and it is being respected
and enforced.
Mr. SCHAFER. You do not think there is a possibility if you were
independent they would turn over thousands of acres of oil land if
oil was found?
Mr. ROXAS. You expect me to say there is not that possibility,
although no one can read into the future. I believe we will have




46


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.


patriotism enough to avoid selling the resources of our country to
mere exploiters. I have confidence in our people, and, in fact, I do
not think there has been an instance or any incident during all the
time in which we have been in control of our legislature that would
indicate that the legislature. passed any measure in obedience to the
dictates of big interests or as a personal favor to any individual.
Mr. WILSON. I do not care to interrupt you. You spoke there of a
time from 1913 to 1921 that there were no killings. Do you mean to
indicate that the constabulary was under the control of the Philippine Government instead of the governor general?
Mr. ROXAS. Yes, sir; because we had established in the Philippine
Islands during Governor Harrison's administration, a responsible
government, that is to say, the heads of the departments, the members of the cabinet, were considered responsible not only to the
governor general as they are being considered to-day by Governor
Wood, but also to the Philippine people through the legislature; so
that the secretary of the interior, for example, under whose department the constabulary is functioning, was at that time the man
who was really responsible for that police force, and the governor
general allowed him to exercise authority commensurate with that
responsibility.
Mr. WILLIAMS. And you never had any of this trouble during that
time?
Mr. ROXAS. No, sir.
Mr. WILLIAMS. Since then that authority has been taken from
him and is used by the Governor General.
Mr. RoxAs. Yes, sir; that is the fact.
Mr. MACLAFFERTY. I would like to ask a question: Are you Philippine people apprehensive in case of your independence of encroachments from the Japanese?
Mr. ROXAS. We are not. If we had any fear that Japan had any
ulterior motive in relation to our country I think we would not be
advocating independence as strongly as we are doing now. As
Governor Harrison himself has said, when he testified before the joint
hearing held by the Senate and House committees in 1919, what is
called as the Japanese menace does not loom as large to us in the
Philippine Islands as it does to the people who live in the United
States, for several reasons: A study of the history of the Japanese
people will reveal the fact that the Japanese people do not tend to
expand in the Tropical Zone. Japan is overpopulated, but her surplus population does not settle in or migrate to tropical countries.
They go to the United States, South America, and to Europe. Why
Because the Japanese can not live and do not thrive in tropical
countries.
Mr. MACLAFFERTY. How many Japanese did you say you have in
the Philippine Islands?
Mr. RoxAs. In 1918 we had about 7,000 Japanese, and now I do not
think there are more than 5,000.
Mr. MACLAFFERTY. You are familiar with the history of Japan in
Korea?
Mr. RoxAS. Yes, sir.
Mr. MACLAFFERTY. You have no fear at all?
Mr. RoXAs. No, sir.




PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.


47


Mr. MAcLAFFERTY. Under stress of some circumstances not now
foreseen, but for some reason or another, Japan might wish to possess
herself of the Philippine Archipelago. You have no fear of that?
Mr. ROXAS. We have no fear of that, Mr. MacLafferty; first,
because Japan has enough territory now —enough colonies now to
take care of her surplus population.
Mr. MACLAFFERTY. I do not agree with that, that Japan has
enough colonies now. I think that is Japan's great national problem
to-day. She has a population of something like 65,000,000, and she
has a birth-rate increase which is very large. I will not say what
it is.
Mr. RoxAs. You may be right.
Mr. MACLAFFERTY. And one-seventh of her territory-she is about
the size of California in arable land. I know this from talking
there with eminent Japanese, and I know it to be one of the great
national problems of Japan to-day-how to provide for her surplus
population-and in thinking about the question of Philippine independence I have had great apprehension on that score, thinking
wholly for the good of the Philippines.
Mr. ROXAS. Mr. MacLafferty, I had in mind Korea, Manchuria,
and Formosa, whose territory is twice the size of Japan.
Mr. MACLAFFERTY. But, Mr. Roxas, we have seen it demonstrated
that Korea does not supply a place for the Japanese population,
because the Korean coolie works cheaper than the Japanese coolie,
and the Chinese coolie works cheaper than the Japanese coolie. The
Japanese coolie can not live in China. While I agree with you that
Japan does not thrive at her best in tropical countries, yet knowing
the richness of your country, the unlimited resources, I can not but
have fear that the nation that believes she is born to rule the world, as
Japan does, may some day have designs on your country.
Mr. RoxAS. As to the possibility, of course, you may be right.
Mr. MACLAFFERTY. I believe I am right.
Mr. RoxAS. We have no restrictions as to Japanese immigration.
There are no laws against the holding of lands by Japanese in the
Philippines. We tried to do that years ago, and the legislature
wanted to restrict the ownership of land to Filipinos and Americans,
but that matter was taken up with the State Department of this
country and the legislation withdrawn, because we were made to
understand that it would produce international complication. But
in spite of that fact, out of eleven and a half million people inhabiting the Philippines, there are not more than 5,000 Japanese in that
country, and their land holdings are very small.
Mr. MACLAFFERTY. The reason why I am opposed to granting
independence-the one reason why I would be glad to let go of the
Philippine Islands-is because I believe if we were at war with Japan
to-morrow she would seize the Philippines, and while the Philippines
are of no use to us, we could never maintain our prestige in the world
unless we got Japan out of there.
Mr. RoxAS. President Roosevelt said they were a source of weakness to the United States.
I want to say something more on the Japanese menace, and why
we are not afraid of the Japanese. There is a country near ours
which has been independent for many years. It is near the colonies
89048-24 ----4




48


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.


of England and France and the territory of Japan-the country of
Siam. Siam is independent and is living unmolested. There are
many countries in Europe today that could not defend themselves,
but they are so situated that no country would dare grab them on
account of the jealousy of the other nations; and that is really a
guaranty of their independence. We are situated very near the
important English colony of Hongkong, which is the key to South
China. We are very near the British colony of Borneo on the south
and also Dutch Borneo and Java, very near the French colony of
Indo-China, and very near the Japanese colony of Formosa, and also
very near Australia. We consider our strategic position in the Far
East a valuable asset which will guarantee our independence. England would never allow Japan to seize the Philippines and be about
30 hours from Hongkong.
Mr. MAcLAFFERTY. If there are uncovered great oil deposits in
the Philippines, which there may be, it would be an awfully tempting
bait to Japan. There is no doubt about that in my mind.
Mr. ROXAS. Mr. MacLafferty, have you ever thought of the great
moral influence of this great Republic in the affairs of the world?
Mr. MACLAFFERTY. Many times.
Mr. RoxAS. The prestige of America alone, even if Amnerica did
not establish a legal protectorate over our country, will be enough
to defend the Philippine Islands from any unjust external aggression.
The world can not fail to realize the efforts which the United States
has exacted in our behalf, uplifting our people, training us in selfgovernment, educating us, completing our civilization, putting us
on our feet, making men out of us. Once we are emancipated from
American tutelage, any country who commits an injustice against
our people will surely meet the resentment of the people of the
United States. What country in the world to-day is willing to
hazard for itself the just condemnation of the great people of this
Republic.
Mr. MACLAFFERTY. Mr. Roxas, your anticipation is that even
though the Philippines are granted their independence, that in case
of an attack of that kind America would do harm to your aggressor,
and fly to your relief. I believe you are wrong.
Mr. RosXA. I did not say so. I said no country would expose
itself to the condemnation of their public opinions of this country.
Mr. MAcLAFFERTY. I only wish as an American, who lives on the
Pacific coast, that I could feel that American prestige was such that
we would never have a titanic struggle on the Pacific with Japan,
we as a Nation. I wish I could feel like you do but like many thousands of others, believe that day is coming.
Mr. ROXAS. You are viewing the question from a different angle.
I do not know what complications may exist now to justify your
view.
Mr. MACLAFFERTY. We have no complication with Japan just
now, but the Japanese exclusion law is coming up to-day, and we
see how their diplomatic agents are working to try to thwart these
bills, and I am anticipating those things.
Mr. RoxAS. Then, if there may exist danger or possibility of danger
for the Philippines from Japan, does not that danger exist now?
Mr. MACLAFFERTY. Not so much as it would if we were out of the
Philippines.




PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.


49


Mr. ROXAS. You are then in favor of Philippine independence?
Mr. MACLAFFERTY. Just a moment. If I come to the conclusion
that as a result of the hearing I am in favor of independence, I should
not vote to give them independence with a string. I should say,
"Take it; we are through."
Mr. ROXAS. That is what we are asking for.
The CHAIRMAN. I think the only problem before this committee
is as to whether the work which you have so highly commended, and
which the world recognizes as being unusual in its character,
indeed no parallel in all history, whether that work is done, and of
course to pass on that problem is no matter of childhood thought,
and I certainly appreciate your position, and I think the committee
does, and the committee never dreams but that ultimately, if not
now, or maybe now, but ultimately, you should be independent. I
have no doubt of that.
Mr. ROXAS. I thank you for your statement.
The CHAIRMAN. The question is: Is our work wholly done?
Mr. KNUTSON. Are the Philippines ready for independence is the
question. If they are I am going to vote for it.
Mr. ROXAS. The Congress of the United States set one condition
to the granting of this independence, and that is that we establish a
stable government. We have done that. What is a stable government? It is a government capable of maintaining order and performing its international obligations, elected by the suffrage of the
people, and supported and maintained by the people. That government exists in the islands to-day.
Mr. MACLAFFERTY. You    can undoubtedly  establish  a stable
government, but the question is, can you maintain one?
Mr. ROXAS. We are willing to take our chances, Mr. MacLafferty.
The CHAIRMAN. Was not the government stable at the time the
Jones bill was passed?
Mr. ROXAS. That is something which I think Congress itself can
answer, Mr. Chairman.
The CHAIRMAN. Is it any more stable now than it was then?
Mr. ROXAS. I think what Congress had in mind was this, whether
the Filipinos once placed in the control of their government, in accordance with the provisions of the Jones law, whether they could establish
and maintain a stable government. Before the Jones law was passed
autonomy was limited. After the Jones law was passed our automony
was enlarged, and we were practically in control of our government
and running our affairs. During the seven years that elapsed after
the approval of the Jones law, when we had been allowed the maximum participation in our country's affairs, we believe that through
our agency, through our instrumentality, we have shown that the
Filipinos themselves have established and maintained a stable
government: For example, the period during the war, when there
was not an American soldier in the Philippine Islands, when the
Regular Army of the United States was withdrawn from the Archipelago, we maintained perfect peace and order in our country, while
the world was undergoing so tremendous a crisis. We maintained
order in the Philippines, and not only did we do that, but we maintained the national obligations of the Government of the United
States affecting the Philippine Islands, as Mr. Gabaldon said to-day,




50


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.


handled the diplomatic questions which related to property of aliens:and Germans in the Philippine Islands. That was done through the
instrumentality of our government, and we protected the lives of our
citizens and all foreigners there during that time. So we believe,
Mr. Chairman, when Congress imposed that condition in the Jones
law it had in mind a situation which was going to be created by the
application of the provisions of the Jones law, when the Filipinos
would be in actual control of their government. Before the Jones
law was passed the government of the Philippines was in the hands
of the Americans, with the cooperation of the Filipinos; after the
Jones law was passed, it was placed in the hands of the Filipinos
with the help of a few Americans.
Mr. MACLAFFERTY. I do not want you to misunderstand my
question. I want to get a doubt out of my mind. You maintained
order there, and you are maintaining order there now, but is it not well
known that if anything were to start there in the way of rebellion
against the Philippine Government immediately America would
take some action and step in? You are proposing absolute independence, and you must be able to maintain that within yourself.
Mr. ROXAS. Yes, sir.
Mr. MACLAFFERTY. That is the difference. All this time you have
had the backgrounds and power of the United States Government
behind you.
Mr. RoxAS. That is true, Mr. MacLafferty, but if this view of the
question is going to be maintained, when shall we be able to show that
we can establish a stable government, since the American flag is
always waving over our country?  Accepting your viewpoint, we
would never have a chance to show our ability to maintain a stable
government until after American sovereignty is withdrawn. I do
not think Congress had that in mind.
The CrHAIMAN. Would it not be in the process of evolution, a
further step toward government independence, if another step in
autonomy should be taken
Mr. ROXAS. That same question was asked me in the Senate, Mr.
Chairman, and my reply was this: I do not know how my people
would look upon that step; that is to say, if the Congress now, for
example, instead of granting independence, would provide absolute
autonomy for the Philippine Islands, it would be considered an improvement to the present situation, but it would not satisfy my people.
We believe it is our right to be free and independent in accordance
with the promise of the United States to grant us that independence.
If an absolute autonomy is granted the Philippines, allowing us, for
example, as the people of Porto Rico have requested, to elect our
own governor, it would be an improvement to the situation, but it
would not satisfy us; and this would not mean that we are less
grateful to you or that we loved you less than the Porto Ricans;
it is simply because we believe that independence is the only solution
satisfactory to your people and ours.
Gentlemen, if we were where Porto Rico is, so close to your shores
and so intimately connected with your political and economic interests, probably our plea would be different; but we are 10,000 miles
away, with no opportunity for the people of this country to know
actual conditions prevailing in our land. The present arrangement
is unsatisfactory. Congress can never have the necessary information




PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.


51


to conduct the affairs of our government in the proper way. If we
were close to your shores we might not be asking for independence;
maybe we would ask for what the people of Porto Rico are asking.
Mr. KNUTSON. If we are going to wait to grant independence until
Japan ceases to be a menace, I do not expect to live to see the Philippine independence.
Mr. RAGON. I think that is the most serious thing I see, in a way.
The trouble now, as it as as it          is supposed tbe, is between the United
States and Japan; is that if anything should come, in case of a disruption, the Philippine Islands are the first thing that Japan would grab.
Mr. ROXAS. Undoubtedly, and I might say this I do not know if
I am mistaken, but I am speaking with frankness as soon as the
Philippines have been granted independence the chances for war with
Japan will disappear. Japan will never go to war with the United
States unless The can find a battlefield close to her shores.
Mr. SALMON. Would not the probability of Japanese interference
be greater if the United States were exercising control over the
Philippines than it would if the Philippines were independent?
Mr. RoxAS. The question is embarrassing, Mr. Chairman; but if I
may speak with frankness, I will say that the gentleman is right.
The first thing Japan would do, as soon as war is declared with the
United States, would be to seize our islands. If that is true and
there is really a danger of war with Japan, then I say we would be
safer if we were independent.
Mr. SALMON. They are less apt to do it if you are independent
than they are now, because it would incur the ill will of other nations.
Mr. ROXAS. Yes, sir. I think it is really unjust to our people to
postpone independence because of fear of Japan.
Mr. MACLAFFERTY. There is something that is in my mindMr. RoxAS. I am very sincere when I say that I did not understand
you.
Mr. MACLAFFERTY. This question is like this great big Nation,
with its great big resources, and you are like the young man and the
fine young man-I am speaking of your Nation-who comes to his
father and says, "Father, I have now reached the days of my maturity, and I want my patrimony," and there is some doubt in his
father's mind, loving that son, whether he should turn his patrimony
over to him at this moment. He intends to turn it over to him, and
that is the problem that is placed before us.
Mr. RoxAs. That is the situation.
Mr. MACLAFFERTY. I hope it will come clearly to my own mind,
and when these hearings are over I can say that "I am for Philippine
independence; get out."
Mr. RoxAs. May I inject a remark?
Mr. MACLAFFERTY. Yes.
Mr. RoxAs. The father told his son, "I am going to let you loose
and let you fight your own battles, as soon as you can find a job."
The son found a job and told his father, "I have fulfilled the condition and ask you to fulfill your promise."
Mr. MACLAFFERTY. The son I was referring to got to eating husks
with the swine and came back home. There is no invidious comparison, because I have the kindliest feeling toward the Philippines.
Mr. RoxAs. I will now say something about our political parties
and the great interest our people have been taking in government


I I: j
i




PHILIPPINE INDEPENDE NCE.


affairs. We have two major political parties in the Philippines, the
Nationalist Party and the Democratic Party. Both are for independence. The Nationalist Party controls about 65 per cent of
the membership of the lower house and about 75 per cent of the votes
in the upper house. The rest belongs to the minority party. The
majority party before last year's election was split into progressives
and conservatists, as happened in this country, but the two wings are
now working together again. As to the number of voters: The voting
population of our country includes the males of legal age-that is,
over 21 years of age.    We do not have woman suffrage in the
Philippine Islands.
Mr. SCHAFER. What are the qualifications of the voters?
Mr. RoxAS. I will come to that, Mr. Schafer.
I was going to say that the voting population, the people over 21
years of age in the Philippine Islands, according to the last census,
numbered 2,071,262. Of this total voting population 53 per cent
were qualified voters under our law, because we have property and
educational qualifications. In the general election of 1922, 812,611
actually voted; that is to say, 86 per cent of our qualified voters;
86 per cent of our qualified voters actually voted. Now I am going
to quote from the message of the Governor General of the Philippine
Islands to the legislature dated October, 1922, as to the manner in
which we conduct our elections. He says:
I congratulate you, and through you the Filipino people, on the orderly and
lawful conduct of the recent elections, which, notwithstanding the keenness of
the struggle and the appearance of a strong new party in the field, were conducted with due regard to the rights of the candidates and with the absence of
fraud and irregularity which would be a credit to any people.
The will of the people was given full and free expression and the election was
honest and fair.
Mr. SCHAFER. Could I ask a question along that election line?
Mr. RoxAs. Yes, sir; I will be glad to answer any questions.
Mr. SCHAFER. You have property and educational qualifications?
Mr. RoxAs. Yes, sir.
Mr. SCHAFER. If a man can meet with the educational qualifications, is he prohibited from voting because he does not own property?
Mr. RoxAs. No, sir.
Mr. KNUTSON. I dare say the witness is fatigued, and I would ask
that he be allowed to proceed without interruption, because it is
quite a strain. He has been talking for a couple of hours.
The CHAIRMAN. The committee will kindly desist from any further
questions until Mr. Roxas has finished.
Mr. ROXAS. Any man in the Philippine Islands, male, 21 years or
over, who is a citizen of the Philippine Islands, owing allegiance to
the United States and the government of the Philippine Islands, is
qualified to vote if he possesses any one of the following qualifications: First, if he is able to read and write either English, Spanish, or
any one of the native dialects; second, if he owns real estate assessed
at $250 or over; that is, 500 pesos. If he pays a tax of 30 pesos,
that is $15 or over; or if he occupied any one of the so-called municipal
positions during the Spanish regime.
In connection with elections in the Philippine Islands, every voter
must write the names of the candidates on his ballot if he has registered under the educational qualification. A voter who can not




PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.


53


write has the right to be accompanied by a friend or a man of his
confidence and in his presence the names are written on the ballot
for him in accordance with his desires.
Mr. WILLIAMS. Are the names there?
Mr. RoxAs. No. If a man qualifies himself because he knows how
to read and write, he must read and write pretty well to prepare that
ballot and not spoil it.
The CHAIRMAN. Please answer no questions. I think we should give
the witness a fair opportunity to be heard.
Mr. ROXAs. The constabulary in the Philippine Islands is a magnificent force which was commended by General Wood and Mr.
Forbes when they inspected conditions in the Philippines; the force
has 5,300 men, of whom 350 are officers, almost all of them Filipinos.
In relation to the subject of public order in the Philippines, the Governor General, in his report for 1922, has the following to say:
With a few minor exceptions, conditions of public order have been excellent
throughout the Archipelago. No disturbances have occurred which have been
beyond control of the local police and constabulary. There has been no
organized resistance to authority. Life and property have been reasonably
secure and travelers have gone unmolested without arms or escort wherever
they cared to go. Parties of women unescorted and unattended have traversed
most remote portions of the mountain province without suffering any discourtesy
or annoyance.
The CHAIRMAN. About how long will it take you to conclude?
Mr. RoxAS. I think in about half an hour.
The CHAIRMAN. Do you not think it would be a good idea for the
committee to meet to-morrow at 10?
Mr. RoxAs. If the committee will permit the suggestion or petition,
I prefer to ask the committee to sit half an hour longer, because we
have to appear before the Senate committee to-morrow at 10 o'clock,
and I think the committee is as anxious to finish with this as we are.
Of course, if you desire to adjourn, it will be satisfactory to us.
The CIAIRMAN. We will continue the hearing for a half an hour.
Mr. RoxAS. The governor said in his message to the legislature:
I also congratulate you on the excellent condition of public order throughout
the Archipelago. Life and property have been safe and the conduct of the people
characterized by respect for the law.
And he says as to the honesty and integrity of the Filipinos,
"there have been very few instances of loss of funds through dishonesty."   He says that in his report for 1922. As to the administration of justice, he says:
There has been progressive and steady improvement in the administration of
justice, accompanied by an increased confidence in the courts. The conditions
noted in the report of the special mission have materially improved. There is
much less criticism of the courts and fewer appeals to the Governor General for
protection. People are going to the courts more freely, and there is an increased
confidence on the part of the poor and those without influence.
This subject was elaborated upon by Mr. King this morning, and
I am simply going to mention what the Governor has said.      I have
quoted that, and will go no further.
To show you how many people speak English in the Philippines,
the Governor says:
The increase in the number of people who speak some English has been phenominal. There is not a town or a remote settlement in the islands where one
does not find children who speak English. It is safe to say that the English



54


PHIILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.


speaking population among the youth is from three to four times that of the
Spanish.
And this you have achieved in 25 years as against what Spain has
achieved in 400 years.
The Governor says further in his report:
Public health: Almost one-third of the total insular appropriations for public
health has been voted to the care of lepers. The year 1922 has been a particularly encouraging year from the standpoint of public health. There was an
almost total absence of epidemics, a notable decrease in general and infant mortality. Extensive vaccination campaigns for the prevention of cholera, typhoid,
and smallpox have been carried on, and an organized effort made to control
malaria and yaws.
This would show that we have not neglected public sanitation.
Now, I will say something about our civil service. Civil service
figures show that out of a total of 14,330 employees of the civil
government, including municipalities and Provinces, 13,726 are
Filipinos and 600 are Americans. Of these Americans 336 are school
teachers and the remainder are employed as engineers in the bureau
of public works and as officers of the constabulary. In other words,
the percentage of American employees in the Philippine service is 4.1,
and excluding school teachers this percentage is reduced to 1.8.
This would reveal the fact that the public administration is
practically in the hands of the Filipinos.
Now, just a few words in relation to our finances. We have never
found difficulty in balancing our expenditures with our income. The
budget for 1924, this year, shows an income of 67,941,942 pesos, and
the proposed expenditure is 66,739,428, and the budget reveals a
balance of 1,202,514 pesos.
As to the monetary circulation of the Philippines, the circulation
in 1900 was about 30,000,000 pesos, a per capita circulation of 3.67
pesos. In 1923, the circulation was increased to about 120,000,000
pesos. Our bonded indebtedness, as of December 31, 1923, is
76,560,000 pesos, of which 69,600,000 pesos belong to the direct
obligations of the insular government proper and 6,960,000 pesos to
the city of Manila and to other municipalities. There is, however, a
sinking fund amounting to about $12,000,000, leaving a net liability
of about 64,000,000 pesos. The argument has been advanced that
we should not be declared independent until the bondholders are
paid.
Mr. WARD. Where are the bondholders?
Mr. RoxAs. In the United States. The argument has been
advanced that the bondholders would suffer therefrom. I do not
think there should be any fear that that should happen. In the first
place, when these bonds were issued and purchased by these bondholders they had notice of our desire to be independent, and the
promise that Congress made to grant us independence in the near
future. In the second place, an arrangement can be made whereby
the payment of these bonds at maturity could be absolutely secured.
We are so sure that we will be able to pay these bonds, and we were
so desirous to comply with this obligation, that we would not object,
I believe, if the Congress should reserve the right to seize our revenues
and our customhouse collections in case of default in the payment of
these bonds. I do not think there should be any fear. You will see
that the per capita indebtedness of the Filipinos is only about $16.78,




PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.


55,


and if we take in consideration the fact that we have $12,000,000
sinking fund, that means that the per capita indebtedness would
really be only $5.67. This is very much lower than the per capita
indebtedness of any one of your States; it is lower than the per capita
indebtedness of Cuba or Porto Rico.
Mr. WARD. It is $69 in my State.
Mr. RoxAs. I think the average per capita indebtedness in the
several States is over $20.
Mr. WARD. It is much more.
Mr. ROXAS. And the per capita indebtedness of the United States.
is over $300.
Now, gentlemen, I desire to know if the committee wants to ask
some questions.
Mr. WILLIAMS. What rate of interest do those bonds bear?
Mr. ROXAS. An average of 47 per cent.
Mr. WILLIAMS. And they will be due when?
Mr. RoxAs. They will be due at several dates.
Mr. KNUTSON. The bonded indebtedness of this country is $270.
Mr. ROXAS. These bonds will mature from 1934 up to 1954.
Mr. KNUTSON. What are they worth now? Are they selling for
par?
Mr. ROXAS. About that.
Mr. SCHAFEPR. What kind of tax laws do you have? Do you have
income tax?
Mr. ROXAS. I will read the list of our taxes. The taxes for the
insular government are customs duties, which include import duties,,
wharfage dues, tonnage dues, and immigration dues; our internal
revenue taxes include the income tax, sales tax, business and occu —
pation privilege tax, documentary stamps, specific taxes on manufactured products, taxes on banks, insurance companies and corporations paying franchise taxes, inheritance tax, ad valorem tax on
mine product, firearm and explosives tax, and forest product charges..
Our local governments impose their own taxes.
Mr. SCHAFER. Are there a great number of corporations you can
not reach with the income tax on account of them not being corporations within your country?
Mr. ROXAS. I do not think so. All corporations doing business in
the Philippines pay the income tax.
Mr. SCHAFER. What kind of income tax do you have, a sliding
scale?
Mr. RoxAs. Yes; but our rates are not as high as yours, because
of the fact that we have not been compelled to meet the expenses
incident to the war.
Mr. SCHAFER. Do they slide up so that those best able to pay
do pay?
Mr. ROXAS. Exactly.
Mr. SCHAFER. Have you made any provisions to take care of the
working people's interests, such as laboring men?
Mr. RoXAS. Yes, sir.
Mr. SCHAFER. And vocational training?
Mr. ROXAS. Yes, sir. We have not had any labor problems in
the Philippine Islands. Our bureau of labor has been working very
satisfactorily. That is an agency of the government whose duty
it is to look after the interests of laborers. We have not had very




56


PHIILIPPINE INDEPEND)ENC:E.


many strikes, and those that we have had were settled satisfactorily
to all the parties concerned.
Mr. SCHAFER. DO the working men receive sufficient money for
their labors as they can properly take care of their families and give
their children the educational benefits of the schools?
Mr. RoxAs. I will answer that in this way: The wage earned by
the Philippine laborer is not as high compared to the wages you
pay in this country, but, of course, the cost of living is very much
lower. We give an average of 1 peso, or 50 cents per day, but you
must take into consideration that almost all our laborers have their
own land and live in their own houses, and they work in their neighborhood, so that they have a farm of their own, and go out to work,
when their farm does not require their attention; then they work
for wages on other farms, or for the government, and the wages
they receive is enough for their support.
Mr. KNUTSON. How much American capital is invested in the
Philippines at the present time?
Mr. ROXAS. That has never been determined.
Mr. KNUTSON. Can you give it within ten million or five million?
Mr. ROXAS. I think it is about $50,000,000, American capital.
Mr. WILLIAMS. Speaking of the bonds a while ago, have you any
railroad bonds of the government-owned railroad?
Mr. RoxAS. Yes, sir.
Mr. WILLIAMS. Did you include the railroad bonds in this?
Mr. RoxAs. Yes, we did; because the government is behind the
railroad bonds. The railroad which is government controlled, and
government owned, has been run by the government itself, and is
giving very good results. We have better service and the administration is more efficient, and we are making money on the road.
When it was being run.by the private corporation it did not make
profits.
Mr. WILLIAMS. Can you make enough money out of it to take
care of the interest on the bonds?
Mr. ROxAS. Yes, sir.
The CHAIRMAN. Your circulating medium is now at par, is it not
Mr. ROXAS. Yes, sir; we have a reserve to maintain the parity
between our currency and your gold dollar, to maintain the standard,
and we have a reserve behind our paper currency of a dollar for a
dollar.
The CHAIRMAN. That reserve and the reserve for your paper currency is a part of your bonded indebtedness, is it?
Mr. RoxAs. A part of the money which was obtained through the
sale of these bonds was applied to maintain this reserve.
The CHAIRMAN. To stabilize your currency?
Mr. ROXAS. Yes, sir.
Mr. KNUTSON. In case you were given complete independence, you
would expect to treat all foreigners on the same footing as yourself,
as far as taxes are concerned
Mr. RoxAs. I think so; we have been doing it in the past, and if we
have not made discriminations up to the present time I do not think
we will make any in the future.
Mr. KNUTSON. Yesterday some one wished to ask General Mcintyre
a few questions, and it will only take a few minutes, and I do not
think it is right to adjourn without getting this opportunity.






PHILIPPINE INDEPE NDENCE.


57


Mr. WARD. I wanted to ask him some questions.
General McIntyre I wish you would state what your opportunities
have been to inform yourself about conditions in the Philippine
Islands.
General MCINTYRE. I was in the Philippine Islands from 1899 to
1902, and in 1905 I was taken from the staff and placed in the Bureau
of Insular Affairs of the War Department; and with the exception of
one year and a half during the World War I have been connected
directly with the Philippine Islands since 1905.
Mr. WARD. Has that connection been of a character to enable you
to know about such conditions as you understand to be referred to
in the eleventh conclusion set out in the report of the special committee?
General MCINTYRE. I try to keep informed on everything connected
with the Philippines.
Mr. WARD. I want you or somebody, if you can do so now, to give
me your interpretation of this language in this report. For instance,
"we find a general failure to appreciate the fact that independence
under the protection of another nation is not true independence, when
it is taken in connection with a proposition that we find everywhere
among the Christian Filipino a desire for independence  * * *"
General MCINTYRE. Generally under the protection of the United
States, he adds, and then he adds, "We find independence under the
protection of another country is not real independence." Those two
must be taken together, and I think it makes it clear.
Mr. WARD. He says they do not appreciate the fact that independence under the protection of the United States is not true
independence.
General MCINTYRE (reading):
We find everywhere among the Christian Filipinos the desire for independence
generally under the protection of the United States.
Mr. WARD. I do not have any trouble understanding what he
means.
General MCINTYRE. He adds, as I said, "We find independence
under the protection of another country is not real independence."
He connects those two.
Mr. WARD. Then he mentions a falling off in the efficiency of the
Filipino.
General MCINTYRE. That is compared in the text.
Mr. WARD. What is your information as to the fact of any falling
off in the efficiency in the Philippines
General MCINTYRE. I think that is argumentative. That is their
conclusion. If you look through various bureaus of the Philippine
government you would come to the conclusion that some have improved and in others there has been a change in personnel, and maybe
there has been deterioration. That is the theory on which that
statement was made.
Mr. WARD. I do not want to create any complications, and you
do not have to answer unless you wish to. What is your opinion
on that question?
General MCINTYRE. That is my opinion; that in some bureaus
and departments you would find a sagging and in others you would
not find it. I would give credit for an improvement in some.




58


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.


Mr. WARD. Following  right on, "They    are  now  relatively
inefficient."
General MCINTYRE. That is the logic from the preceding thing.
Mr. WARD. "Due to lack of inspection and to too rapid control"if that has been done, do you know why?
General MCINTYRE. That refers to the Filipinoization of the service, the letting out and retirement of officials who had been for a
long time in the service and replacing them by new officials.
Mr. WARD. All that has been done with your approval, so far as
that has been done.
General MCINTYRE. Most of it was done over there, and it was
an arrangement-the Government had that authority, and that did
not call for anyone's approval, but it was a part of the general process, largely a result of the passage of the Jones, law which contemplated that.
Mr. WARD. The closing proposition of the next clause, "That
there is a marked deterioration due to the injection of politics."
What about that, if you know?  How has politics been injected to
the deterioration of the public service?
General MCINTYRE. That is a question of opinion, a question of
opinion of the men who made the report, due to the injection of
politics. "There has been some deterioration of the civil service
due to the fact that a greater number of men were appointed on the
recommendation of politicians, " to use the expression here, and not
in accordance with the results of the examinations of the civil service.
Mr. SCHAFER. Does not that apply in the United States also?
General MCINTYRE. I am not attempting to pass on the propriety
of this at all.
Mr. WARD. These appointments have been made with American
authority.
General MCINTYRE. Made by the Governor General usually, by
the advice of the Senate or by corresponding authority, authorizing
them to make the appointment, not all by the Americans; no.
Mr. WARD. This must refer to action before the administration
commenced.
General MCINTYRE. Oh, yes; they have an inspection of the
government before Governor Wood was appointed.
Mr. WARD. Go on down with me to the next, "We find there is
lack of confidence in the administration of justice, to an extent which
constitutes a menace to the stability of government." That is in
direct conflict to what Mr. Roxas has stated. What have you to
say on that? I understood you to say this morning that you are in
favor of this bill.
General MCINTYRE. I am   in favor of ultimate independence.
I am not in favor of your taking any action at this time. I am not.
saying I am opposed to it.
Mr. WARD. TIam glad of the opportunity to have heard you.
General MCINTYRE. That is a proposition about which there is
argument. You have in here the statement of General Wood and
General Forbes, and you have on the other side the statement of
Mr. Roxas.
Mr. RoxAs. I quoted General Wood's report to the President.
General MCINTYRE. He says since this report was made, due to
inspection, that this condition has improved.


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PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.


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Mr. ROXAS. This report is over two years old.
General MCINTYRE. Mr. Roxas read from his message, in which he
said the conditions had been very greatly improved.
Mr. WARD. On page 46 he says in regard to confirmation of appointment that questions might arise at any time that would make a deadlock between the Governor General and the Philippine Senate.
Has that been removed since this report was made?
General MCINTYRE. No, that is the law. The law provides that,
appointment of the Governor General shall be with the advice and
consent of the Philippine Senate.
Mr. WARD. He says that questions might arise which would make
a deadlock. I am trying to find out whether conditions that will
prevent that can be removed, or whether we are bound to maintain
those conditions.
General MCINTYRE. The proposition removing that is set forth.
Mr. WARD. I am obliged to you for calling my attention to that.
Mr. KNUTSON. The questions that Judge Ward is bringing out are
so important that they ought to be considered by the full committee.
Mr. WARD. If you want to take them up in executive session
I will discontinue now.
Mr. KNUTSON. I think we ought to hear General McIntyre at
length. It is not fair to call him at the tail of an afternoon when we
have work at the office to do.
I am sure we would like to hear the general for an hour or two,
because he has a fund of information that we should have, having
heard the general on several occasions before this committee.
Mr. WARD. To tell you the truth, Mr. Chairman, I made this suggestion because you called on the American citizens and concluded
with them, and I thought General McIntyre might not be called.
I would like to hear him at great length.
The CHAIRMAN. I think we ought, before we go into executive session, have the Secretary of War before us, who is thoroughly informed,
and General Mcintyre, so that further hearings for our full information, I think, are absolutely necessary.
Mr. WARD. How many troops have we in the Philippines now?
General MCINTYRE. About 12,000 troops, about 7,000 of which are
Filipinos.
Mr. WARD. Maintained by the United States Government?
General MCINTYRE. Yes; paid out of the United States Treasury;
about 5,000 out of the 12,000 are Americans.
Mr. MILLIGAN. How many officers and enlisted men?
General MCINTYRE. I can not tell you offhand, but I can put the
tables in; it is about 12,000 with the full complement of officers. I
will put that in.
Mr. RoxAs. I desire to say that I did not take up the time of the
committee to answer the Wood-Forbes report, but I will call the
attention of the committee to a memorial presented to the Congress
by the last Philippine mission, which answers every steatment and
conclusion made in that report. The memorial is this, which, if the
Wood-Forbes report is to be considered, I hope this pamphlet will
be, also.
The CHAIRMAN. Every member has a copy of the pamphlet.
Mr. RoxAs. Yes, sir; and answers the Wood-Forbes report.
The CHAIRMAN. Have you any other people that want to be heard?


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PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.


Mr. ROXAS. Well, we will be glad to answer any other questions
which the committee may ask.
The CHAIRMAN. Have any members of the committee any questions that they desire to ask? Do you have anything further to say,
Mr. Roxas?
Mr. ROXAS. I do not think so, Mr. Chairman; I have tried to present
the facts which may be of importance.
The CHAIRMAN. We want to give you a full opportunity. If you
feel that we conclude the hearings so far as you are concerned that
you have been given ample time.
Mr. RoxAs. Yes, sir; but we want to be able to present testimony
and further evidence after the testimony of any one who may coime
here and speak against Philippine independence.
The CHAIRMAN. The only thought I have in mind is that I think we
ought to go into executive session on the Porto Rican measures
which we have been considering, and which will not require so long
a deliberation as this bill, and I had in mind next week, beginning
Monday, to take up the consideration of that legislation-Porto Rico.
However, if you have further matters that you want to present now
or later, we will call Secretary Weeks and General McIntyre before
us next week.
Mr. KNUTSON. I am sure there are members of this committee
who want to ask questions, and we ought to have a morning with
General McIntyre and Secretary Weeks, have them up here next
week, and after the Secretary and General McIntyre have been heard
that will open up some questions that we may wish to ask the members of the commission. We have had very little opportunity to ask
questions.
Mr. SCHAFER. Do you not think we ought to have General Wood
here?
Mr. KNUTSON. It would take six weeks to bring General Wood
here. We could not keep the commission here that long. It would
not be fair.
(Whereupon, the committee adjourned sine die.)
COMMITTEE ON INSULAR AFFAIRS,
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
Monday, February 25, 1924.
The committee this day met, Hon. Louis W. Fairfield (chairman)
presiding.
The CHAIRMAN. Gentlemen of the committee, we have met this
"morning to continue the hearings upon the Cooper bill and other
bills that have been introduced, looking toward Philippine independence.
As requested by the members of the committee, we have with us
this morning the honorable Secretary of War, Mr. Weeks, who will
now address us upon that subject.
STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN W. WEEKS, SECRETARY OF WAR.
Secretary WEEKS. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, I think before
answering any questions which any member of the committee may
wish to ask me, it will be well for me to make some connected re



PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.


61


marks to show our stated purpose toward the Filipino people-what
it is, how it was construed when made, and that there has been no
desire of evading the meaning thereof or to delay the execution of
the purpose-and to show why precipitate action would be violative
of the purpose stated.
The dangers to an independent Philippine government would
arise from external aggression, internal dissension, the lack of Filipino
participation in the commerce and industry of the islands, and from
the financial condition of the government.
I shall touch briefly on each of these points.
Our justification before the world and to our own conscience for
entering the Philippine Islands was the good that we might do to the
people of those islands. This has been our justification likewise for
remaining. That our stay has been up to date immeasurably beneficial to the people of the islands is testified to unequivocably by all
the witnesses before the committee and is evidenced by many wellknown facts not here enumerated.
These benefits are not only those that come indirectly from association with a nation that protects alike citizens at home and abroad
and insures liberty to all under its flag, but there are direct advantages that can be rather precisely measured.
In the Philippine budget for 1924, 2,000,000 pesos-$1,000,000 -are anticipated, based on previous experience, from the United States
internal revenue on Philippine products consumed in the United
States. This is a direct contribution of United States revenue to the
treasury of the Philippine Islands.
The bonded debt of the Philippine government is $70,000,000.
These bonds have been sold in the United States and are exempted
from taxation by the United States and by our States and municipalities. The result of this is that the approximate interest rate is
about 4- per cent. This represents a minimum saving of not less
than 3 per cent, or $2,100,000 per annum, on this indebtedness. A
direct income of $3,800,000 per annum to a government whose total
income from taxation is slightly less than $24,000,000 per annum
can not be overlooked.
Not only is there this continuous saving but the sale of some of
these bonds when the Philippine government was in great financial
straits was practically unaffected thereby, the investor feeling that
the issue of the bonds by authority of the United States Government
and the fact that they were made tax exempt by that government in
the United States assured their safety. It is a great thing for a
government relatively financially weak to be able to sell its securities
when it is weakest without material depreciation.
The advantage to the agriculture and industries of the Philippine
Islands of the American market, where Philippine products enter
free of duty, is likewise direct and readily determined.
As stated, however, these benefits to the Philippine government
are not questioned. The question now is simply whether we could
withdraw, justifying such withdrawal before the world and our
conscience on the grounds that we had completed our task and that
we might now leave the Filipinos to their own resources with reasonable assurance that our mutual work would not be undone and that
the Filipino people would maintain a government satisfactory to
their people.




6 2                  PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.
The evidence on which we must rely for judgment is not convincing.
The proponents of immediate withdrawal reply to this that the
question is no longer an open one, because, first, by the preamble of
the organic law of 1916 we promised to withdraw from the Philippine
Islands as soon as a stable government could be established; and.
second, a stable government has been established.
Let us examine these two propositions:
The following are the words of the promise:
Whereas it is, as it has always been, the purpose of the people of the United
States to withdraw their sovereignty over the Philippine Islands and to recognize
their independence as soon as a stable government can be established therein.
This is a recitation of a continuing purpose.   If it recites an untruth it would be valueless. It does not allege a change of purpose.
It may therefore be said to be nothing new in our policy.   In fact, it
specifically says that the policy set forth is what it has always been.
That this was the contemporary understanding is borne out by the
following quotation from a statement of Mr. Garrison, Secretary of
War, before the Senate Committee on the Philippines, when the
present organic law was under consideration:
Much discussion has centered, and I suppose will continue to center, around
the preamble. Without determining whether or not the phrasing thereof is the
most apt which could be used for that purpose, I think it fair to say that it fairly
and properly sums up and states that which had been frequently stated on behalf
of the United States of America by those speaking for that Government, and if
it does it would hardly seem worth while to object to such a restatement.
What it meant to Mr. Quezon, the Resident Commissioner and
spokesman for the Filipino people at this time, was thus set forth
by him in the hearings on the organic act:
Senator, please remember that the fair and sensible interpretation of that
preamble, which is the interpretation that the Filipino people will give to it, is
this: That it is the purpose of the United States to grant to the Philippines
their independence, not when the Filipinos believe that they are ready for independence-because they have believed that all the time, and they have been
*saying it all the time, and if their opinion on the subject were to be the final
say this would not have been the bill before the committee at this time, it would
have been an immediate independence bill; but when in the opinion of the
Congress we have conducted the government that you provide in this bill in a
way that will justify the reasonable presumption that we shall establish and
maintain a fairly decent government, a government that would keep order and
offer protection to the rights of the people.
It will be recalled that this promise in the preamble was not satisfactory to those in Congress most urgent in their wish for the separation of the Philippine Islands from the United States, and that
Senator Clarke of Arkansas, proposed an amendment to the bill
which, after certain modifications, was adopted as a part of the bill
in substitution for, the preamble, which was stricken from the bill.
This bill passed the Senate but did not pass the House. This Clarke
amendment read as follows:
The President is hereby authorized and directed to withdraw and surrender
all right of possession, supervision, jurisdiction, control, or sovereignty now
existing and exercised by the United States in and over the territory and people
of the Philippines, and he shall on behalf of the United States fully recognize
the independence of the said Philippines as a separate and self-governing nation
and acknowledge the authority and control over the same of the government
instituted by the people thereof, and full power to take the several steps necessary to institute such government is hereby conferred upon the said Philippines
acting by and through governmental agencies created by this act. This transfer




PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.                        63
of possession, sovereignty, and governmental control shall be completed and
become absolute not less than two years nor more than four years from the
date of the approval of this act, under the terms and in the manner hereinafter
prescribed: Provided, That if the President, prior to the expiration of the said
period of four years, shall find that the condition of the internal or external affairs
of said Philippines in respect to the stability or efficiency of the proposed government thereof is such as to warrant him in so doing, he is hereby further authorized,
by proclamation duly made and published, to extend the said time to and including the date of the final adjournment of the session of Congress which shall convene next after the date of the expiration of the said period of four years, and thus
afford the Congress an opportunity in its discretion to further consider the situation in the said Philippines; but any such extension of time by the President shall
not otherwise suspend or nullify the operative force of this act, unless the
Congress shall hereafter so direct. For the purpose of a complete and prompt
compliance with this direction, the President is hereby invested with full power
and authority to make such orders and regulations and to enter into such negotiations with the authorities of said Philippines or others as may be necessary to
finally settle and adjust all property rights and other relations as between the
United States and the said Philippines, and to cause to be acknowledged,
respected, and safeguarded all of the personal and property rights of citizens or
corporations of the United States and of other countries resident or engaged in
business in said Philippines or having property interests therein. In any such
settlement or adjustment so made in respect to the rights and property of the
United States as against the said Philippines the President may reserve or acquire
such lands and rights and privileges appurtenant thereto as may, in his judgment,
be required by the United States for naval bases and coaling stations within the
territory of said Philippines.
As to the stable government, the proponents of immediate independence for the Philippines allege that a stable government has been
established.  They then define stable government in a highly technical
manner, basing their definition on the use of that term in international law when there is in question the recognition of a foreign government and to certain expressions used with reference to the government which we were establishing in Cuba.
Even though we had not before us a contemporary construction of
the wording of the preamble to the Jones law, it would be entirely unsatisfactory to accept the meaning of the word "stable" used with
reference to a proposed government in Cuba, or with reference to the
recognition of a foreign government, as a justification to leave the
Philippine people to their own resources. Even the Clarke amendment, which represented the views of those most urgent in their
desire to leave the Philippine Islands, used the language "the condition of the internal and external affairs of the Philippines in respect
to the stability or efficiency."
The fair interpretation of the statement of the purpose of the United
States with reference to the Philippines is, in view of the foregoing, not
easily misunderstood.    To those who are anxious for the independence of the islands it may well be taken as a promise; to those who are
anxious to get rid of the Philippine Islands and who construe this
wording as a threat so to do at the earliest possible moment, justifying
haste by a technical definition of the word "stable" there is not the
same justification.
No threat was, I am sure, intended. There was no purpose prior
to that time or then to get rid of the Philippine Islands unless the
people of the Philippine Islands should desire to leave the tutelage of
the United States and should in the opinion of the Congress of the
United States be prepared for this undertaking.
89048-24 —5




64


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.


As to the delay in granting independence, the United States is
entitled to a good name in respect of its action in the Philippine
Islands. It certainly would not be entitled to this had it made a
promise and refused to fulfill it or unreasonably delayed the fulfillment.
Now, what are the facts as to the alleged delay? A bill favorably
reported by the Committee on Insular Affairs at the second session
of the Sixty-second Congress fixed the date of independence as the
4th of July, 1921. This represented the views of those then most
anxious to withdraw from the Philippine Islands. This bill was defeated not because the date was fixed too late, but because it was felt
that it was too early, and that it should not be fixed at all in view of
obvious contingencies.
Similarly, the Clarke amendment was defeated for practically the
same reasons. To have seriously considered, therefore, the granting
of independence prior to the present would have been to adopt the
defeated views on this question rather than those which have been
embodied in legislation.
The several missions which have been coming to the United States,
beginning with that of 1919, have been courteously received, have
been given every opportunity to express their views, and have, by
the inaction of Congress and the direct reply of the Executives, been
advised that the time had not arrived for independence.
The present mission, presided over by the speaker of the lower
house of the legislature, has ably set forth its views and those of the
people whom it represents. It has exemplified the opportunities
given to the Philippine people under the American flag and the freedom which they enjoy under that flag.
Were our feelings alone to move us in a matter fraught with such
grave possibilities of evil to the Filipino people, we might gladly
say "Go," and would extend to the people our good wishes for success. We can not, however, thus lightly relieve ourselves of our
obligations to the Filipino people and to our own good name and
international credit. We must give the subject serious thought and
weigh well the known facts.
The Philippine Islands constitute a part of a great archipelago
extending from Australia to the Arctic and from India almost to the
mid-Pacific. In this archipelago Japan is the only independent
country. Close to the Philippine Islands are the following important
ports: Hongkong, British, 631 miles; Sandakan, British North
Borneo, 573 miles; Saigon, French China, 907 miles; Nagasaki,
1,307 miles; Batavia, Dutch, 1,559 miles; and Amoy, China, 675
miles. The distances given are nautical miles from Manila.
It has been suggested in the hearings that Great Britain, because
of its possession of Hongkoig, would not permit of the Philippine
Islands being occupied by a foreign country. Formosa is much
nearer Hongkong than the Philippine Islands.
It has been mentioned in the hearings that the little kingdom of
Siam has been independent and unmolested for immemorial time.
I would commend to those having the idea that Siam has been unmolested the comment on its territory in the Statesmens' Yearbook for 1913. The kingdom of Siam is a buffer state between
British Burma and French Indo-China and its integrity is guaranteed




PHEILIPPINTE T DEPE DEN CE.


65


by the' Anglo-French agreement:of April, 1904. It may be stated
that the F/'rench and British Governments, have extended their
spheres of influence into Siam as was mutually agreeable to them.
I may also say that the Siamese Government is under the present
tutelage of foreign advisors in number greater and in authority practically as great as is the American participation in the existing
Philippine Government. That the Philippine Islands would continue unmolested if unprotected is not based on the experience of any
of its neighbors.
In regard to Philippine unity, there is perhaps no subject connected with the Philippines about which there is so much controversy. It is not for the present necessary to enter into any of these
controversies. It is sufficient to examine a road map of the Philippine Islands with the progress in road building indicated thereon to
see how recent is the present interprovincial travel in the Philippine
Islands.
A great deal is being done to bring together the Filipinos whose
native languages are different and whose customs are somewhat
dissimilar and to mold them into a people who would perhaps forget
their provincial differences and prejudices. This is not an unessential
matter in the creation of a Philippine nation.
As to American business in the Philippine Islands, because of the
very large trade between the United States and the Philippine
Islands there is a disposition to attribute a great deal of the consideration given to Philippine matters to American investments in
the Islands.
The total of such investments in the Philippine Islands is not large.
The largest single investment is that of approximately $70,000,000
in bonds of the Philippine government. Next in importance would
be the investment in the bonds of the railroad companies in the
Philippine Islands. These bonds are not all held in the United States.
The total so held would probably be approximately $25,000,000.
Telephone and telegraph lines probably would amount to $1,500,000;
$15,000,000 would perhaps cover all other investments in the Philippine Islands by Americans.
There are, however, in the Philippine Islands large investments by
Spanish, British, and Chinese citizens. The business of the Philippines is largely in the hands of these foreigners, and this includes
business with the United States.
It has been suggested that the opposition to the independence
of the Philippine Islands is largely due to these American investors.
It would perhaps be more accurate to say that the Philippine expression of a desire for separation is due largely to the fact that the financial advantages of the connection with the United States to the
Philippine people are largely indirect, going directly to their government and the foreign business, and coming to the Filipinos only
through these intermediaries.
In other words, is it conceivable that if Filipinos were exporting
to the United States the sugar and manufactures of tobacco and
coconut oil and embroideries and minor products the very existence
of which depends on the American market, they would not be here
protesting against any suggestion of being deprived of those advantages?


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The petition for immediate independence is so manifestly against
the material interests of the Filipino people that with the known
protests of Filipinos against such action it brings up very seriously
the question as to whether the present request for independence
represents the mature view of the Filipino people advised as to the
results thereof.
The desire for independence on the part of the Filipinos is natural
and to be commended. To what extent the present demand is the
result of a study and understanding of the results which would follow
is a different question.
The spirit that inspires sacrifice in preference to oppression is
is commendable where a sacrifice is advisedly contemplated. The
same commendation would, however, not follow where there was no
oppression, but where the demand for independence was made
without an understanding of the conditions existing or those which
would reasonably follow the grant. The conclusion is unavoidable
that the present demand for immediate, complete, and absolute
independence is not the informed desire of the Filipino people.
The resources of the Philippine Islands, present and potential,
have been set forth in the address to the committee of Speaker
Roxas. The very small percentage of the available agricultural
land and of the available forests in beneficial use has been emphasized.
The vast holdings of public lands and forests by the Philippine
government have been called to your attention. The necessity of
capital to the proper development of this territory is obvious. It is
equally obvious that as much of this land as possible should be placed
in beneficial use prior to the granting of independence to the islands,
for no greater temptation to the neighboring overcrowded people
can be presented than the great tracts of rich lands and virgin forests
lying idle in the Philippines.
I want to express, Mr. Chairman, as my own personal opinion,
that the greatest need of the Philippine people is additional capital
to develop those resources.
As to government finances, the Philippine government, as a growing, progressive government, utilizes all of its present revenues.
It has not been made apparent in what way the greatly increased
expenditures of an independent government would be met by the
greatly reduced revenues which must follow from that independence.
The following brief statement with reference to the finances of
the Philippine government will sufficiently show why the department
supervising the affairs of the Philippine government in the United
States could not honestly recommend the approval of any of the
bills being considered by this committee.
In 1919 the first mission from the Philippines urging independence
came to the United States. On December 31, 1919, the shortage
in the currency reserve fund of the Philippine government was
$37,959,583. The amount of this reserve as fixed by law and deemed
essential to the security of its currency system was $64,600,000.
At the time of the passage of the present organic law, the public
indebtedness of the Philippine government was $12,000,000;
$5,000,000 representing public works bonds and $7,00,0000 the friar
land bonds. By the new act this limit of indebtedness was fixed at
$15,000,000, exclusive of the friar land bonds. To correct the situa





PHILIPPINE fINDEPENDENCE.


67


tion of the currency reserve as cited, on July 21, 1921, a bill was approved increasing the limit of indebtedness to $30,000,000, exclusive
of the friar land bonds, and authorizing the issue of $10,000,000 additional certificates of indebtedness. The assistance to the government
granted by this act not proving adequate, the Philippine Legislature
passed a concurrent resolution in February, 1922, urging the President and Congress immediately to increase the debt limit from
$30,000,000 to $75,000,000. This was promptly taken up with Congress, and on May 31, 1922, the President approved an act fixing the
lmirt of indebtedness of the Philippine government, exclusive of friar
land bonds, at 10 per cent of the aggregate tax valuation of its property, which was in effect a compliance with the urgent request of the
Philippine Legislature. On June 22, 1922, the President was called
on by a second Philippine mission to explain why the time was inopportune to grant Philippine independence.
Bonds practically to the limit authorized have been issued and sold
in the American market. As a result thereof the currency of the
Philippine Islands has been restored to parity. It should be understood that these bonds are tax exempt in the United States.
The pronmptness with which this serious difficulty of the Philippine
government-which would have been a calamity had it not been for
the assistance granted by Congress-was handled bears evidence of
the fact that the general affairs of the Philippine Islands have not
been neglected in the United States.
The independence mission of 1919 came at the time when the norrual rate of exchange of 1 per cent on telegraphic drafts on New York
had risen, due to the partial disappearance of the currency reserve
fund, to 4 per cent, which rate, as a result of the development of the
extent to which the reserve fund had been depleted, rose in March,,
1921, to 16 per cent-this notwithstanding the assistance of the
United States Treasury, which had been called on to advance to the
Philippine government, in   addition  to the normal deposits,
$7,750,000.
The second mission came in 1922, when the sale of exchange had
been suspended, and reached Washington just at the time when Congress had authorized the Philippine government to borrow approximately $45,000,000 additional in the United States.
Obviously, to have seriously considered the independence of the
Philippines at those two times would have been quite seriously to,
have ignored the difficulties of the Philippine government and its
people. Abandonment under existing conditions would naturally
have been regarded as a violation of trust.
The; changes in the Philippines since June, 1922, would not warrant
a change in the judgment then reached.
This is not a political question in the United States and should not
be. The preamble to the organic law announces the purpose of the,
United States. It is not believed that the purpose so announced
should be departed from unless; the departure be made at the, request
of the Filipino people. The statement of our purpose involved nothreat to those people and no denial in advance of a reasonable
request from them. There has been no delay in the execution of the,
stated purpose. Those who would have proceeded faster than the
several administrations of our Government have deemed wise to&
proceed were unsuccessful in having their views adopted by Congress..




68


-PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.


Few people at the time of the passage of the organic act believed
that our purpose would be completedly executed by this time, and
those few did not include the influential leaders of the Philippine
people. This, however, is not a bar to a request that we should
immediately execute our stated purpose, nor does it justify a failure to
reply to such a petition. The reply, I think, should be made after
considering the following points:
First, there should be on the part of the leaders of the Philippine
Islands an obvious disposition to obey the present law and to cooperate with the officials of the Philippine government appointed by the
President and confirmed by the Senate, and there should be no
effort on their part to deprive the governor general of the authority
conferred on him by law. This should be an essential condition to
a favorable response whatever might be the conditions in the Philippine Islands.
Second. The financial condition of the Philippine government
does not warrant the withdrawal from it of any aid now given it,
or the imposition on it of the additional burdens which would follow
our withdrawal. The indebtedness of the Philippine government is
not excessive for a government of the resources and population and
territory of the Philippines. This could be adjusted.  But we have
the example of a government which through speculation in a period of
four years lost outright more than the total revenues from taxation
for one year. We find that this relatively immense loss has been of
minor interest to the representatives of the Philippine people. There
has been no placing of blame or responsibility on any of them. This
does not indicate a quickened public opinion such as would be
necessary to protect the rights of the people when independent.
Third. The Philippines are making commendable progress in
creating a Filipino people which might be assumed to be reasonably
free from regional disturbances. This, however, is not a question
of a day.
Fourth. Little progress is being made in placing in beneficial use
the natural wealth of the islands.
Fifth. There is no disposition to depreciate the really remarkable
progress being made in the Philippine Islands in education, in public
affairs, and in other fields. The Filipino as yet is almost a negligible
quantity in the principal commercial and industrial fields. This is
being slowly overcome.
The best evidence of what is being done in the Philippine Islands
is presented in the person of the chief of the independence mission
and his associates. It would be criminal to discourage the aspirations of such people for the independence of their country under the
American flag or separated entirely from the United States. It
would, however, be a greater crime to sacrifice these people through
a mistaken emotionalism.
I am appending as a part of this statement the address of President
Harding to the Philippine mission in 1922. It announces the mature
views of the administration at that time, and it demonstrates the
kindly feeling and the consideration with which these gentlemen have
been received in the United States.
Youor attention has been called to the statement in the message of
President Wilson, of December 7, 1920, bearing on the stability of


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PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.


69


the government established in the Philippine Islands and the readiness of the people of the islands for their coveted independence.
It was known that the great work of that administration subsequent to the passage of the organic law of 1916 was the carrying on
of the World War and that subsequent to the conclusion of the armistice terminating hostilities every effort of the administration was
directed to the establishment of peace and to the great work of
demobilization of men and industries with the thousand important
details imposed by that condition. It was to be supposed, therefore,
that the attention of the administration had not been concentrated
on the Philippines.
Further than that, there was positive evidence that at the time
this message was written conditions in the Philippines were such
that immediate independence would have been peculiarly untimely.
This evidence was that the Philippine peso was at a discount of 10
per cent on the day on which this message was read to Congress.
The premium on a telegraphic transfer in Manila on December 3,
1920, was 10 per cent and on December 18, 1920, 11 per cent. Shortly
thereafter the sale of exchange by the government was suspended,
and in March, 1921, the commercial rate had increased to 16 per cent.
The cause of this was that the gold reserve of the Philippine government, which as a necessary part of its currency system must be kept
in the United States, had been used for other purposes than that
for which it was legally provided, so that the financial system of the
Philippines had completely fallen down for the time being.  In the
session of Congress to which this message was read, every effort
was made to secure authority to increase the limit of indebtedness of
the Philippine government, and no effort by anyone, so far as I
am  advised, was made to carry out the recommendation in the
President's message. Naturally, however, this message was received
joyously by those Filipinos most anxious for early independence,
many of whom were but indirectly affected by the depreciation of
their currency and its consequences.
Under this condition it was decided to send to the Philippine
Islands Gen. Leonard Wood and former Governor W. Cameron
Forbes to make there a study of the situation and to report thereon,
to quote from the President's letter announcing this actionin order that I may have a judgment on which I can base my action and my
recommendations with a consciousness that I am dealing justly with the Filipino
people and pursuing a policy which the American people will sanction and
support.
The selection of these two gentlemen for this mission was well
received by the entire country. Their experience in the Philippine
Islands had prepared them for the undertaking and their standing in
the United States was an assurance of fairness and of the fact that
their conclusions would receive consideration.
This report has now been available to the committee and to the
public. It was not favorable to the grant of immediate independence
and it gave specific reasons for this conclusion. The report was, on
the whole, favorable to the Filipino people, to their progress, and
would go a long way toward removing the doubt that existed in
many minds in America that we would ever accomplish what we
had started out to do in the islands. The report was distinctly a
hopeful one. Such disappointment as resulted from  it was dis



70                   PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.
appointment only to those who had been altogether too optimistic.
The general conclusion of the report was thus summarized:
We feel that with all their many excellent qualities, the experience of the past
eight years, during which they have had practical autonomy, has not been such as
to justify the people of the United States relinquishing supervision of the government of the Philippine Islands, withdrawing their Army and Navy, and leaving
the islands a prey to any powerful nation coveting their rich soil and potential
commercial advantages.
In conclusion, we are convinced that it would be a betrayal of the Philippine
people, a misfortune to the American people, a distinct step backward in the
path of progress, and a discreditable neglect of our national duty were we to withdraw from the islands and terminate our relationship there without giving the
Filipinos the best chance possible to have an orderly and permanently stable
government.
(The reply of the President to the Philippine Parliamentary
Mission, as of date June 22, 1922, is as follows:)
Gentlemen of the mission, I heard with deep interest and have read with full
deliberation the petition which you delivered to me through Mr. Quezon a few
days ago. I must express my full and grateful appreciation of your utterances
of loyalty, and your confidence in the American people. I hope the travels of
your mission and your contacts with both official and private life have persuaded
you that the people of the United States believe in that loyalty no less than you
avow it. And I trust this mutuality of confidence and esteem will abide for all
time, no matter what limitations of governments are attached to our relationship. The Philippine people and those of the United States ventured together
upon a great experiment in human progress. Since you yourselves, in your
petition, have so heartily and officially testified to its success, quite as we have
been glad to believe, I am well persuaded that our intimate experience has
established our cordial relations and our ties of friendship for all time to come.
No fixed intent, no thought of conquest, no individual or governmental design
to exploit, no desire to colonize, brought us together. It was the revolution of
the fates, wherein our assault against oppression at our very doors carried our
warfare to yours, far away, and your liberation attended.
No American statesman had preconceived expansion to the Orient, no American
industrial or commercial interests were urging the planting of the flag and
our responsibility in distant lands. The fortunes of war revealed us to one
another and held us as your sponsors before the world.
From the day that tranquility and stability were established in the islands
the question of the future of the Philippines has been a matter of political discussion in the United States as well as in the islands, though from a different
viewpoint. Here in the States the early opposition was against so-called
"militarism  and imperialism."  When the issue was made paramount, the
American people gave sanction to the Government policy inaugurated by
President McKinley, continued by President Roosevelt, and supported by
President Taft.
The question was not brought to the front in the general elections of 1912,
but the party called to power under President Wilson had adherred to its opposition to the then existing Philippine policy. In its platform it condemned
our friendly experiment as "an inexcusable blunder which has involved us in
enormous expense and brought us weakness instead of strength." I refer to
the declaration in order to have you better understand the later congressional
action, which resulted in the organic act of 1916, known as the Jones law.
It was my fortune to serve as a member of the Senate when this act was
under consideration, and I recall distinctly the varying constructions of the
preamble. The progress made toward self-government in that act is not to
be challenged, and I think there is no American authority, in Congress or out,
suggesting any backward course. The act is not under consideration. But,
since you refer freely to the express or implied pledge in that preabmle, and
call to my attention the passing of a year and a quarter of this administration
without a step toward the full bestowal of independence, I remind you that
at the time of passage of the act the then senior Senator from Arkansas proposed an amendment which provided for immediate independence. He had
been a witness to party declarations and had encountered the conflicting opinion.
With fine frankness his amendment provided that:




PH'ILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.                      71
"The President is hereby authorized and directed to withdraw and surrender
all right of possession, supervision, jurisdiction, control, or sovereignty now
existing and exercised by the United States in and over the Territory and people~
of the Philippines, and he shall on behalf of the United States fully recognize
the independence of the said Philippines as a separate and -self-governing nation
and acknowledge the authority and control over the same of the government
institgted by the people thereof. "
The moment was at hand for definite, decisive action, and the resulting grant
of complete and unconditional indcpendence. Manifestly the majority in
Congress did not believe in Philippine rcadiness, because the amendment was
rejected by the responsible majority, and no steps later were taken to hasten
the grant of independence until the closing, days of the same administration,,
when it was about -to lay aside its responsibility.
Without desire to invite contention I recall these th-ings to your mind because
independence has played a large part in the politics of your country and ours,
and in the appraisal of our relationship it is well for your people to know something of our politics, even as we ought fully to know yo urs.
I can only commend the Philippine aspirations to independence and complete
self-sovereignty. None in America would wish you to be without national
aspirations. You would be unfitted for the solemn duties of self-government
without them. It is fair to assume that our only difference of opinion relates.
to the time for independence. You crave it now, and I do not believe the time
has arrived for the final decision.
Manifestly, so far as expression has been made, the majority of Philippine:
citizenship prefers severence and self-sovereignty. There are, however, many
among you of differing opinion. There are petitions against independence.
Our missions of investigation pay instinted tribute to your progress and commend your institutions. Nothing npart from our achievement at home is morepleasing to the United States than the splendid advancement of the Philippine
people. 'Your progress is without parallel anywhere in the world. From a
people who began with little freedom and none of responsibility, in a little more
thanl half of one generation you have progressed notably toward self-reliance and
self-government. And you have done it in spite of that, lack of independence
concerning which you petition.
To the United States comes both gratification for your accomplishment and
justification for this Government's attitude, because you have made this record
under our sponsorship and in the very atmosphere of the highest freedom in the
world. I know of no parallel relationship'. We have given substantially everything we had to bestow, and have asked only mutuality and trust in return.
We have extended your control in government until little remains but the executive authority, without which we could not assume our responsibility. It is
not possible for me as Executive definitely to proclaim an American policy, for
the decision must ever be that of Congress, but I would be less than candid and
fair if I did not tell you we can assume no responsibility without that authority.
No other irstance of bestowing or recognizing independent government offers
comparison. There is. no other instance comparable to our relationship. Our
interests are mutual under existing conditions. There is no complaint of abridged
freedom, no suggestion of oppression, no outcry against government by force,.
We do not tax for our benefit. On the contrary, we aid your treasury out of'
which you expend at your own free will. In 1920 we collected in internal revenues
in the United States the sum of more than 3,000,000 pesos on Philippine products,
and turned the money into your treasury. We exempt your bonds from taxation
in the United States, andl afford you a, favoring market, and ask nothing in ex-.
change. We open our markets to your products, as you open yours to us, in the:
mutuality of trade under one flag. We have spared you every burden of national
defense and the cost of diplomatic representation throughout the world, yet you
have been secure in your peace and your representations have been befittingly
expressed. If we have been remiss, we do not know it. If mutuality has not
been perfect, we choose to make it so.
I note your appeal founded on changed conditions in the world. The world
situation has indeed changed, with a higher augury of peace than we haveever known before. But we are only entering the new order. It is not yet
fixed. Your international security is fixed under our present relationship, but
you would be without guaranty if complete independence were proclaimed.
It will little avail to recite what seems to us to be the obvious advantages of'
association with the American community. These things do not appeal to those
who are bent on the independent establishment. Moreover, accord and concord




72


PHIILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE..are essential to the furtherance of community relationship. Frankly I had
hoped, probably I express the hope of many of our people and likely some of
yours, that somehow we might develop a relationship which assured to you
complete self-control in your domestic affairs, and would enable you to rejoice
with us in the economic and political advantages which are the rightful possessions of a great and righteous nation,
It would ill become me to question your belief in readiness for the full obligations you seek to assume. There is no such thought in my mind. But I am
thinking of our larger responsibility. Fate cast our relationship, and we assumed
a responsibility not only to all the Philippine people, but to all the world as well.
We have a high respect for your majority, but no less obligation to your minority,
and we can not be unmindful of that world responsibility wherein your fortunes
are involved in ours.
No government is or can be perfect, from the viewpoint of everyone. We
know ours is not, after nearly a century and a half of experience, but it is not
unseemly to asume that our experience is of great value. Long training and
universal education are essential to the approach to perfection. We not only
provide education, but we compel it. You have made most commendable progress in education. Perhaps the judgment of your people to-day will be confirmed by your better-educated people on the morrow, but we ought to be very
sure of a highly preponderant and very intelligent public sentiment before
taking the step which can not be retraced.
Your allusion to a reversal of policy on the part of the "first of colonial powers"
rather argues for delay than commends immediate action. More than a century
of colonial relationship between Great Britain and her more notable colonies
has been marked by training for government and the approach to the measure
of autonomy which prevails to-day. In the main the longer training has strenghtened the cherishment of freedom under the larger relationship, and the great,
free dominions seem more rejoiced in the membership of British peoples than
would have been believable 50 or even 25 years ago. They reflect the colonial
benefits of larger association under one flag.
I do not invite the inference that we are working to that relationship. We
should not wish to unless it were equally your desire. Whether wisely or not
our disavowal of permanent retention was made in the very beginning, and a
reversal of that attitude will come, if ever, only at your request.
The indefinite expression has ever been as to time for launching you into
your own orbit in the world of nations. You have declared your own readiness.
No American authority, except as responsibility was passing, ever has been
sufficiently assured to give its stamp of approval.
That is all I care to say in my preliminary statement, Mr. Chairman.
The CHAIRMAN. Is there any member of the committee who
desires to ask the secretary a question?
Mr. SCHAFER. I would like to ask a few        questions relative to
Philippine bonds being tax-exempt, and being held in the United
States. Is it a fact that all of those bonds, or a greater percentage
of them, are wholly held in the United States?
Secretary WEEKS. I think they are all held in the United States.
Of course, you can not tell absolutely about that, but the fact that
"they are tax exempt here, and not tax exempt in other countries,
would make this the natural market for them.
Mr. SCHAFER. Were they made tax exempt by specific legislation?
Secretary WEEKS. Yes; by specific legislation.
Mr. SCHAFER. Later on in your remarks you made mention, if I
recall correctly, that the gold reserve was illegally handled?
Secretary WEEKS. I think so.
Mr. SCHAFER. That was handled by the Philippine Legislature, was
it not?
Secretary WEEKS. Naturally the Philippine Legislature legislates
for that.
Mr. SCHAFER. Did we not have our appointed governor down there,
who could have forestalled the mishandling of the gold reserve?




.PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.


73


Secretary WEEKS. I should have to look up the power of our
gore nor.
Mr. SCIAFER. What I want to find out is this, as long as that was
brought in in the argument, whether the responsibility wholly rested
with the Filpinos, and whether our appointed governor could
have stopped that illegal expenditure of the gold reserve, because he
had the veto power under the provisions of law-I assume the biggest
responsibility for the misuse of the gold reserve would not rest upon
the Filipino people, but would rest upon our governor, and upon our
people, indirectly, and consequently the point raised on this question
involved, according to my understanding, it would be immaterial;
in fact, instead of prejudicing the case of the Filipinos, it would
prejudice our control, and I would like to have that cleared up,
whether that was wholly the fault of the Filipino people, or whether
the governor could have assisted in stopping the illegal expenditure.
Secretary WEEKS. I am not here to charge the Filipino people, or
the Filipino part of the government with any responsibility which is
not theirs. I am here to state a fact, and the fact was the gold
reserve was depleted, and somebody was responsible.
Mr. SCiAFER. But here is the proposition: We have a question
involved here affecting these millions of Filipinos. Naturally the
statement of that fact brought out in a hearing on this proposition
would have a tendency to be used as evidence against the independence of the Filipino people, and consequently that is my assumption,
and I think that should be clarified to see whether that statement of
fact, the conditions which resulted in that statement of fact, were
the fault of the Filipino people, or whether they were the fault of
our governor.
Secretary WEEKS. I will put in the record my investigation of the
relative responsibility.
(See note at end of Secretary Week's testimony.)
Mr. SCHAFER. If I recall correctly, a mention was made about the
apparent neglect of the development of the national resources of the
Philippines.
Secretary WEEKS. I said relatively speaking only an inconsiderable
part of the public lands had been developed.
Mr. SCHAFER. I would imagine that would be in favor of the Filipino people to have this land to develop, rather than having it in the
control of big corporations, or say, for instance, such as the Doheny
company, or the Sinclair company, that that would be an asset to
them in making the way, if independence were granted, and I think
also that point without being questioned it might have a tendency in
such a manner to discredit Philippine independence.
Secretary WEEKS. I use that as an argument that possibly other
powerful countries might be tempted to go in there, because, relatively speaking, the adjoining countries are crowded. with population,
and if there were unused and undeveloped properties of that kind, it
would increase the temptation to attack, and perhaps take possession.
Mr. SCHAFER. Well, there is one more question. In your remarks
something was mentioned as to the cooperation of the Philippine
Legislature with the governor. Have they cooperated, or have they
not?
Secretary WEEKS. I think it is fair to say they are not cooperating
now, entirely.




74


PHILIPPINE; INDEPENDEJNTCE.


Mr. SCHAFER. A part of them are, are they not, a part of the
legislature, the Republican Party? What brought this to my
attention is the fact, if I recall correctly, a newspaper article a few
days ago; it contained the statement that the delegation of the
Philippine Republicans had gone on record in favor of supporting
the administration here, so I would assume that if that is a fact that
in part there is a willingness to cooperate with the present governor,
which is under the present administration.
Secretary WEEKS. There are three parties in the Philippines, and
I think it is fair to say that all three parties are in favor of independence. They vary in their ideas of internal matters. I have not seen
the statement whlich you refer to, but there has been a marked disinclination lately to cooperation with the governor.
Mr. SCHAFER. The question of Philippine independence, the
independence of the Philippine people, is up here for hearing, and
there may be a possibility that it is not wholly the fault of the Filipino people that they are not cooperating with the governor, if they
are not cooperating at the present time. Generally, there are two
sides to every question.
Secretary WEEKS. I have never seen a question that there was not
a basis for two sides.
Mr. ROBINSON. Mr. Secretary, did I understand in your statement
that you said the gold reserve was kept in the United States?
Secretary WEEKS. Yes; it is kept in large part in the United States.
Mr. ROBINSON. I did not clearly get in my mind in just what
manner it was depleted, by acts of appropriation?
Secretary WEEKS. Depleted by being spent for other purposes.
Mr. ROBINSON. But that was through what processes? Was it
through appropriations by the legislature?
Secretary WEEKS. Appropriation, undoubtedly.
(See note at end of Secretary Weeks's testimony.)
Mr. WARD. Were there no strings on it, so to speak, authority here'?
Secretary WEEKS. I do not think so. The gold reserve is kept in
the United States. Incidentally, I think they may say it is kept
here in cash; that is to say, it is deposited in the banks of the
United States.
Mr. WARD. With no reserved rights in this Government, no rights
reserved in the United States Government to control its depletion?
Secretary WEEKS. Absolutely none.
Mr. WARD. I figure up in my mind that the Government bonds,
telephone and railroad bonds, approximate $10,000,000. Some of
them run as long as 30 years, do they not?
Secretary WEEKS. Yes; the more recently sold bonds, I think, were
30-year bonds. They were sold last year.
Mr. WARD. Are we warranted in drawing any inference from your
remarks that those bonds ought to be secured, or anything of the
sort, before this condition can be presumed to have arisen upon which
independence could be granted?
Secretary WEEKS. You are justified in assuming that, from my
opinion, and what I have said. I think if independence were given
the Philippine Islands that some provision should be made that would
make those bonds as safe as they are now.
Mr. KNUTSON. Could they not be taken care of, Mr. Secretary,
through an understanding that in the event the Philippine govern



PHILIPPINE IND<EPENDENCE.


75


ment defaulted in interest or other conditions under which the bonds
were issued, that we could go in there, seize the customs, and administer them?
Secretary WEEKS. We could not do that, except as an act of hostility.
Mr. WILLIAMS. That is the only way it could be made secure.
Secretary WEEKS. I assume it is not the intention of anyone to
assume responsibility for the Philippine Islands and get out of the
Philippine Islands. If we are to have any responsibility, we should
remain in control of something.
Mr. KNUTSON. We have gone into Nicaragua, Haiti, San Domingo,
and administered their customs, and are now doing so.
Secretary WEEKS. Yes; but that was based on an arrangement
when the bonds were sold, that a certain part of their revenue should
be set aside.
Mr. KNUTSON. You could make that one of the conditions, if
Congress should decide to grant them their independence, that in the
event of default the American Government should have the right to
administer the customs.
Secretary WEEKS. I would be very loathe to have the possibility
of our going over there and taking possession of the customhouses
and revenues of the Philippine Government. I think it would be
assumed as an act of hostility, but I do think that some provision
should be made to make these bonds, in case independence is given,
as safe as they were assumed to be when they were sold. If we do not
do that, then we have imposed on the purchasers of the bonds.
Mr. WARD. In that case, Mr. Secretary, we have not, in fact,
underwritten the bonds, have we?
Secretary WEEKS. We have authorized the issue and sold the
bonds.
Mr. WARD. You deem it, as I understand it, a moral obligation?
Secretary WEEKS. I do.
Mr. WARD. It is not a legal one.
Secretary WEEKS. I doubt if it is.
The Attorney General passed on the legality of each issue of bonds
before they were issued, and it is held they are a moral obligation.
Mr. WATRD. The thought that suggested these questions to me,
Mr. Secretary, is, inasmuch as a large part of those bonds run as
long as 30 years, unless some now unthought of or unsuggested plan
for making them as bombproof as we can, and safe as they would be
with the United States Government behind them, unless that is
done, as much as 30 years would expire before the time arrived
when, according to your views, the Government of the United States
could release its hold upon them, and during that time the finances
must be practically run on a cash basis.
Secretary WEEKS. Whenever it is done, an adjustment should be
made to guarantee the security of those bonds.
The -CAIRMAN. That can not be done by the Filipinos themselves
undertaking to refund the bonds.
Secretary WEEKS. Yes; that would be one way of doing it.
Mr. WVILLIAMS. You spoke in your remarks of the fact that England
and France, and these other countries, were certain distances from
the Philippines. If the United States withdrew, it would leave them
exposed to the attack of some foreign country; that, in fact, will


I




76


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.


come up at any time that the independence of the Philippines comes
up. In other words, that condition will exist..
Secretary WEEKS. I think so, but the reason I stated that was
because the inference was made that Great Britain would not permit
any other country to come in.
Mr. WILLIAMS. It has been suggested by members of the committee
that that question will arise this year and any other year it comes up.
Secretary WEEKS. That question will have to be decided by the
Philippine people when they get their independence.
Mr1'. WILLIAMS. What I mean is this: That question will always
be an unanswered question until they have their independence.
Secretary WEEKS. Yes, sir.
Mr. WILLIAMS. The deferring of it will not answer the question.
Mr. HUDSON. As I understood it, Mr. Secretary, the greatest need
was capital to develop the undeveloped resources of the Philippines?
Secretary WEEKS. I am speaking my own personal opinion.
Perhaps I have no right to do that, because I am an official of the
Government, but this is not a matter I have considered with the
Bureau of Insular Affairs or with the President, and my own view
of the Philippine situation is, if a definite time could be determined,
25 years or 30 years, as a delay in their independence, and maintaining
the status quo, a great amount of American capital would go into the
Philippine Islands, and there would be a development over there
which would make that country what it really ought to be, one of
the richest and most prosperous countries in the world. Capital
does not go in there because of the uncertainty of the future, antl that
is the reason that the development is not going on.
Mr. HUDSON. If this development does occur, that capital must
come from somewhere, and it might come from some other country,
who would put their capital in, as they have done already, and thereby
annex the country, because of the capital invested.
Secretary WEEKS. There is capital invested now, as I stated,
Chinese capital, Spanish capital, as a result of old conditions, and
more or less British capital. There was some German capital, but
I can not imagine from the standpoint of the Filipino himself a
condition that would make it more advisable for him to put his
affairs in the hands of any other country than in the hands of the
United States.
(Informal discussion followed, which the reporter was directed
not to incorporate in the record.)
Mr. KNUTSON. I would like to have the Secretary here, when we
will be free to ask him any questions, as to the diplomatic aspect.
The CHAIRMAN. We will have him come when we go into executive
session.
Secretary WEEKS. I am at the disposal of the committee at any
time.
The CHAIRMAN. Are there any questions that any member of the
committee desires to ask of the Secretary?
Mr. SALMON. I would like to know just what prompted the improper use of the gold reserves at the time, whether or not it was a
result of the demand brought about by the World War, or the conditions brought about by the World War, that caused the improper use.
of this gold reserve.




PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.


77


Secretary WEEKS. I do not think that had anything to do with it.
My impression would be that it was used because of insufficient
revenues to meet the expenditures.
Mr. SALMON. Now just about that time is it not true that a great
many, if not all the governments, were having similar experiences.
Secretary WEEKS. All governments that were engaged in the war
certainly had.
Mr. SALMON. That is the point I was trying to get at, whether it
was inefficiency or lack of judgment on the part of the Philippine
Legislature, or was it a condition brought about over which they had
no control.
Secretary WEEKS. My impression would be that they did have
control, but I do not wish to be in a position of unduly criticizing
the Philippine people for anything that may have happened, or that
has not happened.
Mr. SALMON. I would like to ask one other question: With reference
to this unstable condition there, might it not be true that the
unsettled state of the minds of the investors, and with the Philippine
people with reference to their furture status of the government,
might that not affect, to some extent, the progress made, that is, to
make myself a little more clear, if it was known, as you have suggested
that, for instance, the Philippine government should have their
independence in two years or four years, would not that have a
tendency to stabilize conditions in the Islands, and further, if it was
known now that they should have their independence, for instance, in
this term of Congress, would not that tend to inspire confidence and
restore activity over there?
Secretary VEEKS. It would not restore confidence of capital.
Nothing in the world is as timid as capital, and you can not get capital
to go into a thing that is uncertain, except on very exorbitant terms.
Now, I suspect that new capital would not go into the Philippine
Islands if they had their independence, until it was demonstrated
that they were handling their affairs well. I am speaking now, as I
would feel myself, but if it were known that there was to be a definite
tenure of the United States in the Philippines —I think American
capital would go in there. That is, the capital that would naturally
o in. there. We have more capital to expend outside of the United
States, outside of our country, than any other nation, and I think
they would take capital into the Philippines, and their resources are
so enormous that the Philippine Islands ought to be the garden spot
of the world.
The CHAIRMAN. IS it within the province of Congress, do you think,
to determine a definite date? Twenty-five years has been suggested.
Secretary WEEKS. I do not think that could be done by an act of
Congress, without some other provisions, because a succeeding Congress might repeal what this Congress did.
The CHAIRMAN. That is, the effort of one Congress to anticipate or
bind the activity of another Congress on matters of this kind is questionable, at least.
Secretary WEEKS. I do not think you could do it, Mr. Chairman.
The CHAIRMAN. In other words, then it reduces itself to the necessity of Congress determining at the time whether the mnoment has
come to grant them independence or not?
Secretary WEEKS. I think so.




78


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.


The CHAIRMAN. It looks to me like that.
Secretary WEEKS. Understand, Mr. Chairman, I express that
opinion about a definite tenure as my own judgment, viewing it
from the best interests of the Filipino people, and that is all any of
us want.
Mr. KNUTSON. We can not bind any future Congress.
Secretary WEEKS. No, sir.
Mr. SCHAFER. Mr. Chairman, it appears that one of the troubles
with the Philippines is the lack of capital invested, and it is also
brought out, as I interpret it, at this hearing so far, that there is not
more capital invested in the islands at present for the reason of the
uncertainty, that the investor is hesitant in putting his investments
in an uncertain proposition. If that is true, when in the name of
goodness will things be certain there, without Congress making a
certainty, in so far as the policy to the Philippines is concerned;
when will capital ever go in there to bring about such a conditionso that the absence of capital invested in the islands is one of the
reasons against the independence of the Philippines.
Secretary WEEKS. Is that a question?
Mr. SCHAFER. That is my view, and I would like to have it clarified
by some one, if possible, and if you could clarify it, Mr. Secretary, I
would appreciate it.
Secretary WEEKS. Of course I can not answer that question.
Mr. SCHAFER. That is my observation from statements that have
been made here.
Secretary WEEKS. I think, myself, capital is not going in there
because of the uncertainty that exists. Whether it would go in after
independence were granted or not, before the Philippine nation had
demonstrated their capacity to run their own affairs, I think is in
grave doubt.
(Informal discussion followed, which the reporter was directed not
to incorporate in the record.)
Mr. SCHAFER. But, Mr. Chairman, is not this Government protecting the investments in foreign lands, for instance, in Germany? Is
not this Government using pressure to have the German Government
make good the losses suffered by American capital invested in Germany to-day?
The CHAIRMAN. Well, only such as was taken over by the Govern
ment during the exigencies of the war; but never, so far as I know,
and I think I am right, Mr. Secretary, has the American Government
in behalf of the men who owed foreign obligations made representations to the foreign government that they would ever even diplomatically go into the question of those bonds. Am I right?
Secretary WEEKS. You are not to the extent of such cases as have
been instanced here in Haiti and some other countries. In those
cases a specific agreement was made that a certain part of the revenue should be set aside; but we have always taken the position, Mr.
Chairman, that it was the duty of the United States to protect the
persons of our citizens wherever they were and, so far as practicable,
to protect their property. Of course, property is not safe while life
is not safe anywhere at any time.
Mr. KNUTSON. You stated there are about $75,000,000 worth of
bonds outstanding?




PHILIPPINE INDEPENTDECE.


79


Secretary WEEKS. $70,00,000,000
Mr. KNUTSON, And they run for a period of 30 years?
Secretary WEEKS. Twenty-nine years would be the longest period.
Mr. KNUTSON. Twenty-nine years
Secretary WEEKS. Yes, sir.
Mr. KNUTSON. And I rather gathered from what you said that
you did not think it would be fair to the individuals who have invested in the Philippine bonds to withdraw from the islands until
those bonds have been redeemed.
Secretary WEEKS. I did not say exactly that.
Mr. KNUTSON. That was the inference I got,
Secretary WEEKS. Until they have been protected.
Mr. KNUTSON. Until they had been protected. Of course, I do
not suppose there is any chance of 29 years elapsing before there will
be another bond issue over in the Philippine Islands, probably two
or three, for internal improvements, and probably to convert some
of the present outstanding bonds, but I presume as long as the
Philippine Islands or any other political subdivision exists there will
be necessity for bond issues. I do not think we have even reached
the end of our bond issues.
Secretary WEEKS. We have practically taken the position, that
is, Congress has, that they may issue bonds up to 10 per cent of the
value of their property. As values increase they will have the power
to issue more bonds. Of course, the real value of Philippine property
is not very definitely known, I assume.
Mr. WILSON. The only way that would be settled, if independence
were granted, would be to let that government bind itself to take
care of outstanding indebtedness. I mean by that that the Philippines will never get out of debt to this country.
Mr. KNUTSON. What would be necessary to absolutely safeguard
the bonds that have been issued?
Mr, WILLIAMS. Along with the suggestion you made a few minutes
ago, that if they fail to make payments, that this Government would
take charge of their customs.
Mr. KNUTSON. It was not considered an act of hostility when the
United States went into Haiti.
Mr. WILLIAMS. There would be no hostility if there was an agreement.
Mr. KNUTSON. We have gone into several Latin-American countries
without their invitation, and just simply taken over the customs, and
administered them. I do not see why we could not do it in the
Philippines without it being considered an act of hostility.
Mr. WILLIAMS. I am   sure the Philippine Government would
agree to it.
Mr. KNUTSON. When Mr. Roxas appeared before the committee
last week, he said it would be perfectly agreeable to the Philippines
that such a provision be made.
Mr. WILLIAMS. Why, certainly.
Mr. KNUTSON. For our going in and taking over the customs?
Mr. WILLIAMS. That would not be an act of hostility; it would be
an agreement.
89048-24 —  6


i




80


PHILIPPINE INDEPEXDENCE.


Secretary WEEKS. I am not quite clear on this point, but in these
cases which have been referred to, we have taken control of the customs at the invitation of the country itself.
Mr. WILLIAMS. Mr. Secretary, the only way that money could be
safeguardedMr. KNUTSON. Not in Haiti. When we went.into Haiti in 1915
Admiral Capperton went in and caused the French to withdraw.
They landed a few days before and took possession of the customs
in the face of their protest. I am positive about that.
Secretary WEEKS. There is some doubt about Haiti.
Mr. KNUTSON. We have had a subsequent agreement, but it is easy
to get a subsequent agreement with a country of 2,000,000, when we
have a fleet out in the harbor.
Mr. SCHAFER. We did not hesitate about going into Mexico, either.
Mr. KNUTSON. I think what we did in Haiti was perfectly proper.
The CHAIRMAN. Are there any other questions? We do not want
to detain the Secretary needlessly.
Secretary WEEKS. I think I ought to say that the President has
received from the delegation here a brief, to which he will reply
very shortly, and the opinions which I have expressed, which are
departmental opinions, necessarily, will vary from what the President
will probably say, and I want to leave this impression, as far as I am
concerned. I would like to do for the Philippine Islands the thing
which is for their best interests, without any regard to any interest
which the United States has; in other words, I feel that our purpose
should be to promote their best interests, and if it is their best interests, in the opinion of Congress, to give them their independence, why,
I would have to subscribe to that, of course. I do not think it is.
I think they should remain longer, to some degree, under the control
of the United States.
Mr. SCHAFER. If they were to remain under the control of the
United States for a greater length of time, do you think the privileges
of self-government should be extended to them, such as the election
of their governor?
Secretary WEEKS. That is the only way we have of retaining any
control. I do not think so myself, but if we are going to remain there,
with responsibility, we should have some power.
Mr. IKNUTSON. Absolutely.
Secretary WEEKS. I do not think the time has come for the
Philippine Nation to elect its governor, but practically speaking,
they control all their internal affairs, with the veto of the governor.
Mr. KNUTSON. As long as we are there, we have to have a check,
and the only check is through the appointment of the governor.
Mr. WILLIAMS. Mr. Secretary, when the time comes when they will
elect their governor, do you think they will be ready for independence?
Secretary WEEKS. Yes; I should think so. I think that will remove the possibility of our controlling what is being done in the
Philippine Islands.
Mr. KNUTSON. You think you might as well give them independence as give them their own governor?
Secretary WEEKS. I do not see how we will have control over what
they do without any power.




PH ILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.


81


Mr. WARD. The brief that they have laid before the President,
and the President's answer, will come out in time to go in our hearings? It will have a fitting place there, I presume.
The CHAIRMAN. I presume so.
Secretary WEEKS. I can not answer that, but I think it will be in
the very near future.
ADDITIONAL STATEMENT OF SECRETARY WEEKS.
In response to a question, I stated that I would put in the record my investigation of the relative responsibility of the Governor General and other officials
in dissipating the currency reserve fund.
The Governor General of the Philippine Islands is charged by law with the
general supervision and control of all of the departments and bureaus of the
government. The bureau of the treasury is under the secretary of finance of the
Philippine government, and the secretary of finance has general supervision of
that bureau. The currency reserve fund was withdrawn from the banks in the
United States legally designated as depositaries, where the funds were secured
amply, and placed indirectly in the Philippine National Bank. This action, it is
believed, was illegal. The responsibility for this change would, therefore, rest
on the Governor General of the Philippine Islands, the secretary of finance, and
the treasurer. Subsequently, the attorney general of the Philippines held that
this transfer was under an act of the Philippine Legislature.
This fund having been made available to the Philippine National Bank, its
subsequent misuse was due to the management of that institution. The board
of control of the Philippine National Bank consists of the Governor General, the
president of the senate, and the speaker of the house, and these three officials
must be deemed to be responsible for the supervision of the operation of the bank.
This board of control designates the board of directors of the bank, who were
more directly responsible for the operation of the bank.
The statement made by me, in response to a question that this currency
reserve fund was misused because of insufficient revenues and in response to
appropriation of the legislature, is not correct. The currency reserve fund was
misplaced in the Philippine National Bank while the revenues were still ample
to meet appropriations of the legislature. Later, when this fund had been by
the operation of the bank so invested as to make its recovery, as well as that of a
large part of the general funds of the government, largely impossible, funds that
were recovered were used to meet appropriations by the legislature and not used
to replenish the dissipated reserve. It was only to this indirect extent that it
may be said that the fund was used to meet appropriations by the legislature.
Mr. RoxAs. I have a very short statement to make, to express to
the Secretary of War our appreciation for his interest in this question
and the frankness and fairness with which he has submitted his
views.
I simply want to call to the attention of the committee certain
facts, as to which in our opinion the Secretary of War is laboring
under a misapprehension.    In the first place, he said that our reserve
was depleted by appropriation, by action of the legislature, in order
to supplement lack of revenues.
Secretary WEEKS. Will you pardon me if I go? I will read what
you say with great pleasure.
Mr. RoxAS. Certainly.     My information     is that our currency
reserve was not depleted in that way. As you have been informed by
the Secretary of War, our currency reserve is deposited in certain
banks in the United States.    A few years ago, part of these reserves
were transferred to the New York agency of the National Bank of
the Philippine Islands, a government institution, which was in a
flourishing condition. During the war the bank invested part of
this amount, without authority from the legislature, in certain loans
to private parties.


i




i;


82            PHILIPrFIXE IN-DEPE,-D8qEIO..


Mr. WARD. What bank was that.
Mr. RoXAxs. The National Batik of the Philippine Islands, financed
by the Government. For examrple, part of this amount was invested
in financing the construction of sugar centrals.
Mr. WARD. That was doe without legislative action?
Mr. RoxAs. Yes; without legislative action; and with the slump
in business occurring after the war, the security given for this investment consisting of the mills themselves suffered a depreciation in
value, and the bank was not able to collect the total amount invested
in these transactions, although we are expecting that the bank will
be able ultimately to recover it.
Mr. WARD. That does not seem to me to answer the proposition
which the Secretary laid down about you drawing on your reserve.
Did you draw on your reserve?
Mr. RoxAs. No, sir. I have said that the legislature did not
appropriate any part of that amount for any government activity.
We deposited the money in banks designated by the Governor
General; part of this money was deposited in the New York branch
of the National Bank of the Philippine Islands.
Mr. WILLIAMS. What percentage, if you remember?
Mr. RoxAs. I do not remember the correct figures, but it was
probably $37,000,000, the amount which appeared deposited in the
National Bank On December 31, 1919.
Mr. WILLIAMS. The balance was deposited in banks in the United
States?
Mr. RoXAS. Yes, sir.
Mr. WILLIAMS. Who designates your depositories?
Mr. RoxAs. The Governor General of the Philippine Islands.
Mr. WILLIAMS. The Governor General designates them?
Mr. ROXAS. Yes, sir; he designates the depositories.
Mr. RAGON. Who authorized the expenditure of this money?
Mr. ROXAS. The money was not appropriated for any expenditure.
Mr. RAGON. The Governor General or the legislature either one
had nothing to do with it?
Mr. RoxAS. The money was deposited in the bank in the same way
we have on deposit our currency reserve in the United States now.
Mr. RAGON. Who took the money out of the bank?
Mr. RoxAs. Nobody did; it was invested by the authorities of the
bank in private loans.
The CHAIRMAN. The mills obtained the support of the government
bank?
Mr. ROXAS. The sugar centrals incorporated themselves and obtained the support of the government bank.
The CHAIRMAN. Were these locals?
Mr. RoxAS. This money was principally invested in the sugar and
oil companies, with the security of the sugar mills and oil mills themselves, which was in themselves perfectly legitimate, and good transactions at the time.
Mr. KNUTSON. Is the committee to understand, Mr. Roxas, that
the money invested in the sugar and oil business over there has not
been lost, but it has been frozen up?
Mr. RoxAs. That is my honest opinion with respect to the sugar
centrals. With regard to the oil mills, the business is practically
paralyzed. We can not find a good market now for our oil; and be





PIILIPPINE IKDEJB3j]4NMNEN


sides the mills were built at a time when prices for machinery were at
their peak.
Mr. WILLIAMS. That would not be a frozen loan. That would be a
loan which is a loss.
Mr. RoXAs. Part of it probably will be lost.
Mr. KNUTSON. Our banks in the Northwest are loaded up with
farm mortgages, gilt-edge, but at present you can not realize on them.
Mr. VWILLIAMS. This was for machinery at high prices and the cost
of construction, and now the price is down, until the assets are not
there. In other words, it is a loss.
Mr. ROXAS. With regard to the sugar centrals, the sugar centrals
are paying interest each year on this loan and a certain amount
besides as part payment of the debt.
Mr. WILLIAMS. That does not happen in the oil industry?
Mr. ROXAS. They have suffered a great loss. The amount invested
in the oil business was about $12,000,000, and the present outstanding indebtedness is about $8,000,000.
Mr. WILLIAMS. This deflation in your banks, the reserve that was
there, was removed to the United States?
Mr. RoxAS. Yes, sir.
Mr. WILLIAMS. And there is no reserve that the Philippine Government kept in that bank?
Mr. ROXAS. No, sir; not now.
Mr. WILLIAMS. All of it is here?
Mr. ROXAS. Yes, sir.
Mr. WILLIAMS. Do you know what the average is that is kept here?
Mr. ROXAS. About $32,000,000 is on deposit in the United States
banks. Not all of that belongs to the reserve. We keep part of our
reserve in the vaults of the insular treasury in the Philippine Islands..
The CHAIRMAN. For what reason was that reserve removed to the
United States?
Mr. ROXAS. Removed to the United States?
The CHAIRMAN. Yes, sir.
Mr. ROXAS. Our law authorizes the Governor General to designate
the depositories in the United States of this reserve, and he has
determined that the money be deposited in certain banks, about 10
or 12 banks in the United States.
The CHAIRMAN. Is the Philippine Bank a creation of the Philippine,
Legislature?
Mr. ROXAS. Yes, Mr. Chairman.
The CHAIRMAN. The president and directors are appointed —
Mr. ROXAS. Are appointed by the board of control, consisting of
the Governor General and the chairman of the two houses of the:
legislature.
The CHAIRMAN. It is essentially a government institution?
Mr. RoxAs. Ninety-two per cent of its capital stock is owned by
the government.
The CHAIRMAN. And therefore as a government institution itf
loaned this money for the purpose of helping the industry?
Mr. ROXAS. Yes, sir.
The CHAIRMAN. And it was created by the legislature for that
purpose?
Mr. ROXAS. Exactly, to promote Philippine agriculture and industry; it had its own capital stock.






84


PHIILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.


The CHAIRMAN. So that the responsibility of having gone into
business by the government is with the legislature; is that fair to
say that?
Mr. ROXAS. May I understand, you want to ask me whether we
are willing to assume the responsibility for having created a national
bank for that purpose?
The CHAIRMAN. Certainly.
Mr. ROXAS. We are willing to assume the whole responsibility; we
needed a bank to help Filipino agricultural, commercial, and industrial enterprises.
Mr. SCHAFER. I would like to ask a couple of questions.
Mr. HuDsoN. Just a moment. There has been a reorganization
there?
Mr. RoxAs. Yes, sir.
Mr. HUDSON. You sent some of them to jail?
Mr. ROXAs. We sent the manager and few other officials to jail,
and they are still there.
Mr. BRUM:M. Who was governor at that time when the money was
appropriated for the sugar centrals?
Mr. ROXAS. It was not appropriated.
Mr. BRUMM. I mean invested.
Mr. ROXAS. Governor Harrison; but the bank made this investment of its own accord. We were not informed about it. I do not
know if the Governor General was informed, probably not.
Mr. SCHAFER. I would like to get a few answers to clear up the
exact situation. This bank was authorized by the legislature, was
it not. The formation of this was authorized by the legislature?
Mr, Roxas. Yes, sir.
Mr. SCHAFER. Before the bank was organized, necessarily our
appointed governor had to approve of it, which he necessarily did,
he did not veto it?
Mr. ROxAS. Yes, sir.
Mr. SCHAFER. He approved of it?
Mr. ROxAs. Yes, sir.
Mr. SCHAFER. The board of directors of this bank there, are they
elected by the stockholders of the bank? Does the Philippine
Legislature have anything to do with the election of the board of
directors of the bank?
Mr. RoxAs. As I have stated, the stock of the Government, which
comprises 92 per cent of the total, is represented in the meeting of
the stockholders by a board of control composed of the governor
general, and the chairman of the two houses of the legislature. They
vote the stocks of the government in the bank.
Mr. SCHAFER. To your recollection, did our appointed governor dissent from embarking on this policy which brought about these conditions as would deplete the gold reserve? Was our appointed governor on the same side as the representatives of the Philippine Legislature in embarking on this program?
Mr. ROXAS. If they had any information at all that the bank was
going to make this investment, I might say there was no difference of
opinion between the governor general and the Filipinos in the board,
because at that time the governor general had the full support and
cooperation of the Filipino members of the board. But I am not
aware that they had this information.




PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENClE.


85


Mr. SCHAFER. You do not require a bond for your depositors such
as they do in the States?
Mr. ROXAS. No, sir; not required by our laws.
Mr. SCHAFER. Here is another question I would like to clear up:
The American governor in the Philippines then was a party in bringing about conditions that exist relative to the depletion?
Mr. ROXAS. As I have said, I do not know if the governor had any
information when this investment was made, because the manager
and the board of directors had absolute control of the money deposited in the bank.
The CHAIRMAN. Your board of control represented the government?
Mr. ROXAS. Yes, sir.
The CHAIRMAN. You mean to say the bank was authorized to make
loans of any kind it pleased without it being passed on by the board
of control?
Mr. ROXAS. Yes, sir; although the board of directors must approve, the loans exceeding $25,000.
Mr. WILLIAMS. Did not the board of control represent the stockholders in electing directors?
Mr. RoxAs. Yes, sir.
Mr. WILLIAMS. Just like stockholders in a bank would elect the
directors of a bank?
Mr. RoxAS. Yes, sir.
Mr. WILLIAMS. And then the directors are the men who loan this
money, and the stockholders were no more to blame than the stockholders of a bank in this country where a bank loaned the money?
Mr. RoxAs. Yes, sir.
Mr. WILLIAMS. Who are the directors?
Mr. RoxAs. Some Americans and some Philipinos.
Mr. KNUTSON. Perhaps it would be better if these questions were
submitted to Mr. Lavadia, because he has been connected with the
financial end of it. I suggest that Mr. Roxas be permitted to conclude his statement, and we will call Mr. Lavadia later.
Mr. ROxAS. In regard to the depreciation of our currency, the fact
mentioned by the Secretary that several years ago our currency was at
a discount in this country; that was an inevitable consequence of the
slump in trade we suffered after the war. Our products decreased in
value. Besides, I do not think present conditions in the Philippine
Islands should be judged, taking into consideration conditions which
prevailed several years ago. If that were done, why it could be said
this country suffered greater embarrassments. I can remember what
I learned in my school days, when I heard this phrase referring to the
currency of this country, "It is not worth a continental."  Our
currency now is at par with your currency.
Mr. WARD. Better than England.
Mr. ROxAS. It is now at par, and sometimes it is at a premium in
relation to the gold dollar, so that even admitting that several years
ago our currency was at a discount, that is not the situation now.
We come now asking for independence, basing it on conditions now
prevailing in the Philippine Islands, and I have been advised by Mr.
Lavadia that our currency is at one-half of 1 per cent premium in
relation to the gold dollar to-day.


I




SB6


PHILI'PI1NTE, IXDEPMEiDENCE.


The CHAIRMAN. Will you inform the committee as to what you
think caused the change from being depressed until to-day it is at a
premium? There were several causes.
Mr. ROXAS. Yes; several causes, one of the most important being
this, that should our imports to this country decrease in value, in
dollars, our deposits in the banks of the United States would decrease
correspondingly, and if its amount is insufficient to cover sales of
exchange made in the Philippines by the ordinary rule of supply and
demand, the rate of exchange would naturally increase; but if we have
enough funds in the United States to take care of the exchange, there
will be no difficulty. After the war our reserves here in the United
States, due to the fact that our imports to this country decreased in
value, were diminished and not sufficient to take care of the demands
of exchange from the Philippine Islands, which naturally put our
currency at a discount.
Mr. HUDSON. Are your imports to the United States greater than
our exports to you?
Mr. RoxAs. Yes, sir; generally they are.
Mr. HUDSON. That is a normal condition?
Mr. ROxAS. Yes, sir.
Now, Mr. Chairman, one word with regard to what the Secretary
said in relation to the stability of our government. He refers to the
fact that we base our contention that we have established a stable
government in the Philippine Islands on the legal interpretation of
the word "stable7' and the interpretation that has been given to
stability of government in the international relations of this country,
and also in its relation to Cuba; because before the United States
granted Cuba its independence it made a condition that Cuba
establish a stable government; and we have interpreted the word
"stable" as used in the Jones law, as meaning the same thing, as
determined by the executive departments of this country, when it
applied it in its relation to Cuba; and there is nothing in the statement
of the Secretary of War to indicate, if this word is taken with that
meaning, that we have failed to establish a stable government; in
fact, there is an implication in his remarks that if the word "stable"
should mean as it is understood when a new government seeks
diplomatic recognition by this country, that probably we have
complied with the condition. We believe the word "stable" can not
mean anything else but what it means when the United States applies
it, when a government, a new government, seeks recognition from
this Government, and when it was applied in relation to Cuba, "a
government able to maintain peace and order, supported by the
people, and elected by the suffrages of the people."
Mr. WARD. And carrying on its international obligations?
Mr. ROXAS. Yes, sir.
Mr. HUDSON. What is your reply to the statement that there ought
to be opportunity for further development of your country?
Mr. ROXAS. I have stated that in my opinion we have reached the
maximum of economic development under the present status, and
therefore to argue we should not be given independence because our
country has not been sufficiently economically developed, will leave
us in a situation where we would not be able to ask for independence
at all.




PHILIPPINE INDEPENDE(NCE.


87"


The Secretary of War admitted that capital will not seek investment in the Philippine Islands now, because of the uncertainty as to
the future political status of the Philippine Islands, and that is true.
A man who wants to invest in sugar in the Philippines will not make
the investment now because he does not know if the present freetrade relations between the United States and the Philippine Islands
will continue, and he does not know if to-morrow or the day after tomorrow we will be independent, and he does not know what economic conditions will prevail in the Philippine Islands then.
Mr. KNUTSON. You mean politically?
Mr. ROxAs. And economically. He may not know how much
we will tax his business how much he will have to pay for tariff on
his product. We believe that our country can only be developed
economically to any large extent after our political status has been
finally determined, after we have been granted independence, after
we have been able to make a readjustment of our economic and
political conditions, and have settled every possible contingency
that must be taken into consideration by capital before it seeks investment in a foreign country, which we can not do under the present
situation.
The Secretary of War said we should be granted independence if
the Filipinos, after mature and intelligent deliberation, should decide
that this should be done. The Secretary of War doubted whether
the Filipinos had really considered every possible consequence, especially the economic and material consequences to our country after
independence is granted. I am going to say this, that a people who
have fought several wars for their freedom, a people who have fought
a war for independence against Spain, and three years of war, of
hopeless war, against the United States to maintain an independent
existence, must be a people who have thought deliberately on the
consequences. After t e revolutions, we applied ourselves to study
what was called by President McKinley the science of self-government; for seven years we have been practically in control of our
government in the islands under the Harrison administration.
We were then able to realize the added burdens of an independent
national existence. We were in actual control of our government.
The Governor General exercised his powers prompted by the desires
and wishes of the Filipino representatives in the government. We
know what we can expect when we are independent, and we know
what will happen in our country when we are independent. There is
no fear of the dissensions that the Secretary of War spoke of. Our
people are studying in the schools established by the Americans in
our country, and are learning the same things your children are
learning in this country. I believe sufficient guarantees of security
exist for the maintenance of our independence.
With regard to the $3,800,000 which the Secretary spoke of, which
he said is an aid given indirectly by the United States to the Philippine Islands, I have this to say: We acknowledge this indebtedness
to the United States and we are grateful for what the United States:
is doing, but precisely because we appreciate what the United States
is doing, and has been doing, the time has come when we feel we are
able to stand on our feet and support ourselves; we come to you
and say we do not want to tax your efforts any longer on our behalf.
You need not make any further monetary or economic sacrifices for




L88


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.


the Philippine people. We can support ourselves financially, we
believe. Our hope is that the people of this country, the Congress,
will realize this situation.
Mr. WILLIAMS. Speaking of those bonds, the Philippine government can take care of those in your country?
Mr. RoxAs. We are so willing to fulfill our obligation and so sure
we will be able to pay every cent of that indebtedness that we would
not object, I do not think the Filipino people would object, if Congress
should impose as a condition to independence to reserve to itself the
right to seize our customs revenue and apply it to the payment of
this indebtedness in case of our default.
Mr. WARD. Provided that was done in such manner as would enable
you to carry on your current expenses and would not be too heavy
a levy upon the current taxation?
Mr. RoxAs. Of course, that would depend on the conscience of the
people of this country. We are willing to leave that to you.
r. WARD. You would not want to unconditionally commit your
country to any arrangement whereby you might suffer
Mr. RoxAs. I think the arrangement would be fair.
Mr. SALMON. I think they are willing to place themselves in our
hands.
Mr. RoxAs. One other thing I am going to add, Mr. Chairman,
is this, that the Jones law has only imposed one condition precedent
to the withdrawal of American sovereignty, namely, that we establish
a stable government. There was no implication whatever that our
independence was going to be made dependent upon a certain
economic development of our country, or dependent upon our being
able to free ourselves of every indebtedness to this country, or conditioned that we be able to show that we are able to manage our affairs
to a degree of perfection never attained by any country on earth.
Why, if the fact that our currency was at a discount is to be urged
as an argument against our independence, and makes us incapable
of maintaining our independence, how many countries in the world
to-day could be independent? With the exception of the United
States and Great Britain, the currencies of other nations are at a
discount. The currency of France is at a very great discount to-day.
We simply want, Mr. Chairman, that our question be determined,
not on the standards prevailing in this country, but upon standards
which will reasonably insure the permanence of our institutions.
I am willing to answer any other questions.
Mr. SCHAFER. How was your legislature composed, the approximate members of the different parties?
Mr. RoxAs. There are 93 members in the house; 84 of these are
elected by popular suffrage, male suffrage, with property and educational qualifications. Nine are appointed by the Governor General.
The Senate is composed of 24 members. Twenty-two are elected
and two are appointed to represent the non-Christian people. The
majority party controls about two-thirds of the votes in both houses
and the minority one-third.
Mr. SCIsAFER. There was an inference, but not a direct statement,
in the Secretary's talk that perhaps there is not the cohesion between
the present governor and legislature.
Mr. RoxAS. Yes, sir.




PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.


89


Mr. SCIIAFER. Is that just like there is: sometimes a difference
between our Congress and our President and differences between the
Members of Congress?      I will tell you my opinion; it may be due
because somebody wants to run the whole thing.
Mr. RoxAS. We are not cooperating with the Governor General.
Now, Mr. Chairman, I only desire, before closing, to thank the committee for the courtesy shown to our delegation, and to ask to be
allowed to insert in the record our reply to the formal statement of
the Secretary of War.
(Informal discussion followed with reference to holding hearings
on the Philippine independence question in the future, which the
reporter was directed not to incorporate in the record.)
(Whereupon, at 11.50 o'clock, a. m., the committee adjourned
until tomorrow, Tuesday, February 26, 1924, at 10 o'clock a. m.
FEBRUARY 29, 1924.
STATEMENT OF THE PHILIPPINE SPECIAL MISSION IN REPLY TO THE TESTIMONY
OF THE SECRETARY OF WAR.
This statement is respectfully submitted to the consideration of the committee, by way of reply to the testimony of the Secretary of War given on the
23d instant. We wish, at the outset, to express our appreciation of his plain
sincerity and his solicitude for the material welfare of the Filipino people. However, certain assertions he has made call for comment on our part.
THE PROMISE.
The Secretary of War says that the promise in the preamble of the Jones law
of 1916 contains nothing new in the American policy toward the Philippines.
Thai is true in a sense. But the preamble is more specific than any representation that had ever been made by American statesmen. And it imports an earlier
advent of independence than that held out in previous pronouncements, as
witness the vigorous opposition of Mr. Taft to its adoption. Moreover, before
the passage of that law, only the executive department had made any expression of America's intentions regarding the Philippines. So that it was in the
Jones law where for the first time the Congress of the United States, the body
constitutionally authorized to determine the status of Territories and possessions
of the United States, solemnly laid down a clear and unequivocal declaration of
American policy toward the Filipino people. The will of the American people
was thereby formally and constitutionally manifested. In the words of the
author of the Philippine autonomy act, the late Representative William Atkinson
Jones, of Virginia, during the discussion of the Jones bill in Congress:
"It not only bestows upon the Philippine people a measure of self-government
such as they have never enjoyed under the sovereignty of this or any other nation,
but it establishes what to them is dearer than all else-the everlasting covenant
of a great and generous people, speaking through their accredited representatives,
that they shall in due time enjoy the incomparable blessings of liberty and
freedom. * * * This bill, as it has been finally agreed upon, confers the
fullest opportunity for the establishment of a stable government, and when, in
good time, that government shall have been established, the solemn assurance
is given that complete independence shall follow." (Congressional Record,
August 18, 1916.)
And when such pledge was accepted in good faith by the Filipino people, who
forthwith proceeded to perform the one condition precedent required, the promise
became a binding covenant between the two peoples.
We must say that we are at a loss to know what was in the mind of the Secretary
of War when he quoted Mr. Quezon's statement while a Resident Commissioner on
the meaning of the preamble of the Jones law. If the Secretary of War wished
to convey the impression that, according to Mr. Quezon himself, the preamble
implied no obligation on the part of Congress, then we submit that Mr. Quezon's
meaning has not been understood. What Mr. Quezon wanted to say can best be




90


PHILIPPINE 1NDEiPENDENCE.


grasped by making fuller quotations of the questions and answers in that hearing.
"Senator KENYON. But that declaration could mean independence now if
you were ready for it, and you say you are ready for it, so that declaration can
practically be construed for independence now.
"Mr. QUEZON. Yes; and I hope that that may be its construction; but I
know that my opinion will not go very far in shaping the policies of this Government. We have been contending for the last 14 years that we were ready to
establish an independent government. We have been urging immediate independence, and we expected that the Democratic Party would give us immediate
independence, because they have so promised in several platforms; yet we are
sensible enough to take this bill which does not grant immediate independence,
because we understand that to legislate is one thing and another to write a
political platform; that while political parties should carry out their platform
promises, they must carry them out taking into consideration the state of public
opinion.
"Senator KENYON. You do not understand that under the preamble you
would be entitled, from your viewpoint, to your independence to-morrow if it
was asked?
"Mr. QUEZON. From my viewpoint?
"Senator KENYON. Yes. Is that what you want?
"Mr. QUEZON. Senator, please remember that the fair and sensible interpretation of that preamble, which is the interpretation that the Filipino people will
give to it, is this: That it is the purpose of the United States to grant to the
Philippines their irndependence, not when the Filipinos believe that they are
ready for independence-because they have believed that all the time, and they
have been saying it all the time, and if their opinion on the subject were to be
the final say this would not have been the bill before the Congress at this time,
it would have been an immediate independence bill; but when in the opinion
of the Congress we have conducted the government that you provide in this
bill in a way that will justify the reasonable presumption that we shall establish
and maintain a fairly decent government, a government that would keep order
and offer protection to the rights of the people."  (Hearings before U. S. Senate
Committee on the Philippines, pp. 485-486.)
From which the conclusion is clear that Mr. Quezoni merely wished to say
that the preamble did not signify immediate independence. Speaking on the floor
of the House of Representatives on August 18, 1916, he said:
"Now, we have a legislative declaration that it is the purpose of the people
of the United States to grant the Philippines independence as soon as a stable
government can be established in the islands. To us these are no empty wordsthey are the solemn pledge of a great people."
At the time the Jones law was passed, Speaker Sergio Osmena, then the leader
of the Filipino people, said:
"Henceforward, we can look upon the American flag not as the symbol of an
imposed government but as the emblem of a nation whose temporary guidance
over the Filipino people will serve as an instrumentality for the most speedy
assumption of the responsibility of an independent life."
THE STABLE GOVERNMENT.
The Secretary of War objects to our definition of a "stable government" as
being "highly technical."  We have submitted as a test, for the stability of
government that which the United States has always applied in the recognition of new States and with reference to the government of Cuba, to wit, a
government "capable of maintaining order and observing its international
obligations, insuring peace and tranquillity and the security of all."  This,
substantially, has ever been the American idea of a "stable government."  Two
things are to be noted with respect to the remarks of the Secretary of War on
this point: First, that he does not deny, in fact, he seems impliedly to admit,
that the Filipinos have set up a stable government according to the definition
always adhered to by the United States; and, second, that he does not offer
a new definition, except as may be inferred from his arguments against immediate independence, and if the additional requisites he suggests were exacted
then the fulfillment of the promise would be precluded, as will be explained later.
Now, why should not the meaning of a "stable government" as well understood by the United States be followed? Is it reasonable to presume that the
Congress of the United States had any other idea in mind? In the absence of
positive demonstration to the contrary, it is fair to say that the Congress con



PHILIPPINRE IN'DEPENDENCE.                     91
templated that "stable government" which was at the time distinctly known
in the public law and in the international relations of the United States. Sutherland on Statutory Construction, section 247, says that words and phrases
"should be construed with reference to their generally accepted meaning at the
time of the passage of the act." The same principle is enunciated by that
author, thus:
"Where a statute uses a word, which is well known and has a definite sense
at common law or in the written law, without defining it, it will be restricted to
that sense, unless it appears that it was not so intended."  (Sec. 253.)
"The practical construction given to a doubtful statute by the public officers
of the State and acted upon by the people thereof is to be considered; it is, perhaps, decisive in case of doubt."  (Sec. 309.)
To adopt another standard would be not only at variance with the intention
of Congress, but also unfair to the Filipino people, who have always relied upon
the well-established definition. It is plainly unjust now to require of the Filipino
people further onerous conditions, not within the purview of the act nor in the
mind of the Filipinos. The freedom of the Filipino people may well be considered as an unattainable will-o'-the-wisp if each succeeding administration in
the United States should add other requirements.
DELAY IN GRANTING INDEPENDENCE.
The Secretary of War makes reference to two independence bills which failed
of passage and says that "to have seriously considered, therefore, the granting of
independence prior to the present would have been to adopt the defeated views
on this question rather than those which have been embodied in legislation."
We submit that the failure of independence bills before the passage of the Jones
law does not militate against the proposition that there has been delay in the
fulfillment of the promise of freedom made in the Jones law. The question of
promptness or delay in performance must be judged by events which occurred
after the promise had been made. That there has been such delav is evident
from the fact that, although a stable government has been established as officially certified to by the President of the United States since 1920, no action has
as yet been taken by the Congress of the United States to redeem the pledge
given.
Moreover, even admitting that those two bills should be considered, the
reasonable inference would seem to be that their failure was due to the feeling
then-and now-unquestionably prevailing that it was unwise to fix any date
for independence.
In the latter part of his testimony, the Secretary* of War adds that "few people
at the time of the passage of the organic act believed that our purpose would be
completely executed by this time."  This conclusion is not warranted by the
language of the preamble, which reads thus:
"Whereas it was never the intention of the people of the United States in
the incipiency of the War with Spain to make it a war of conquest or for territorial aggrandizement; and
"Whereas it is, as it has always been, the purpose of the people of the United
States to withdraw their sovereignty over the Philippine Islands and to recognize
their independence as soon as a stable government can be established therein;;and
"Whereas for the speedy accomplishment of such purpose it is desirable to
pla'ce in- the hands of the people of the Philippines as large a control of their
domestic affairs as can be given them without, in the meantime, impairing the
exercise of the rights of sovereignty by the people of the United States, in order
that, by the use and exercise of popular franchise and governmental powers,
they may be the better prepared to fully assume the responsibilities and enjoy
all the privileges of complete independence."
What the Congress meant must be ascertained primarily from the language
used. The words "as soon as a stable government can be established " without
any specification of the time before which the Filipino people should do nothing
toward setting up such kind of government, or of the time which must elapse in
order to complete the structure of a stable government, clearly point out to the
intention of the Congress that the Filipinos could and should immediately proceed to organize a stable government. This interpretation is strengthened by
the subsequent words, "for the speedy accomplishment of such purpose."  Now,
the word "speedy" is defined in the lexicon as "rapid in motion or performance;
quick; swift." In other words, the Jones law was passed in order to hasten the




92                   PHILIPPINE IN]DEPENDSLEN CE.
day of complete independence, which day would be earlier than if that law had
not been enacted.
THE LOCATION OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
The proximity of the Philippine Islands to colonizing powers is given in an
attempt to prove that the islands would be molested in case of independence.
Needless to say, such a reasoning, if adopted by the Congress, would eliminate
the possibility of Philippine independence for all time, because the Philippine
Archipelago will forever be situated where it is now. The location of the Philippines is, therefore, immaterial, if the solemn assurance of independence made in
the Jones law is not going to be-and we are sure it is not going to be-as sounding
brass or tinkling cymbal.
The very fact that Great Britain and France have had to agree to respect the
territorial integrity of Siam is proof positive that the independence of that little
kingdom is sustained, not by its military establishment, but by the mutual
jealousies between the two great powers mentioned. It is also stated by the
Secretary of War that "the Siamese Government is under the present tutelage
of foreign advisers in number greater and in authority practically as great as is
the American participation in the existing Philippine government."  On this
subject it is interesting to read what Mr. J. G. D. Campbell, formerly educational
adviser to the Siamese Government, has to say in his book, Siam in the Twentieth
Century. On pages 318 and 319 he states: "The Siamese employ a large number
of Europeans in different government departments, but they are clever enough to
keep the real power in their own hands * * *. In each separate department
it is the Siamese who retain the executive power. The European adviser is
literally the adviser and very little else. He is no doubt able to carry certain
minor reforms, but in the long run the power is not with him. That pleasing
fiction which prevails in so many lands we know, and which veils absolute ultimate authority under the specious guise of "advice," is too transparent for the
not unsophisticated Siamese. They are determined to be their own masters,
and the King in particular is quick enough to let any European who talks big
know his proper place."
PHILIPPINE UNITY.
Mention is made of the alleged "provincial differences and prejudices" of the
Filipino people, and their different native languages and their customs are said
to be "somewhat dissimilar."
Even Mr. Taft, who has always been opposed to immediate independence,
said before the United States Senate Committee on the Philippines at the hearings in 1914: " There is a racial solidarity among the Filipino people, undoubtedly.
They are homogeneous." And General Wood and Mr. Forbes, who have been
unduly critical in their judgment of Filipino fitness for instant freedom, say in
their report to the President: "Racially, the mass of the Filipino population is
of Malayan stock * * *. From a number of warring tribes, Spain succeeded
in welding the Philippine people into a fairly homogeneous group, sufficiently
allied in blood and physical characteristics to be capable of becoming a people
with distinctive and uniform characteristics."
The above is a vast deal more than can be said of many independent countries,
whose populations are racially divided: Spain, with her Basques, Catalans, and
Castilians; Switzerland, with her French, German, and Italian peoples; Belgium,
with her French and Flemish inhabitants; Czechoslovakia, which is peopled by
Slovaks, Magyars, and Germans; Hungary. with its Magyar, German, Slovak,
and other populations; Bulgaria, whose population is made up of Bulgarians,
Turks, Rumanians, Greeks, Jews, and other nationalities; Rumania, which has
large elements of Magyar, Saxon. Bulgarian, Turkish, and other foreign nationalities; and Cuba, with 74 per cent white and 26 per cent colored population; not
to mention the United States, whose Negro problem and the Americanization of
the European immigrants give the gravest concern to public men in America.
The Filipino people are deeply conscious of their common history and common
destiny. They hold dear a common attachment to their national heroes, such
as Rizal, Mabini, Luna, and Lopez Jaena. They have national leaders and
national institutions. There is a national literature, and there are Filipino
papers reaching all parts of the archipelago. Filipino traits and customs are
substantially similar. Ninety-two per cent of them belong to the same religion.
The Filipino people's unity has been cemented and intensified in their two wars
for their national independence, and during the last quarter of a century they have




PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.                     93
been peacefully struggling for their freedom as a nation. The danger of revolutions or civil war is remote, for as the Wood-Forbes mission reported, the Filipinos "are naturally an orderly and law-abiding people." With respect to a
common language, they have Spanish and English, especially the latter, about
which Governor General Wood has said in his annual report for 1922: "The
increase in the number of people who speak some English has been phenomenal.
There is not a town or remote settlement in the islands where one does not find
children who speak English. It is safe to say that the English-speaking population among the youth is from three to four times that of Spanish." As to the
Filipino languages, General McIntyre, Chief of the Bureau of Insular Affairs,
testifying at the Senate hearings in 1914, said: "People usually say there' are
about 17 dialects. Generally speaking, there are about five that are quite
distinct. But even in those cases, a Filipino-for instance a Tagalog from the
vicinity of Manila-could go to the Visayan Islands, where the language is quite
distinct from his own, and he could acquire the Visayan language in quite a
short time."  We might add that this is because the Philippine dialects come
from the same stock, the Malay language. But again, in this respect, we must
bear in mind the independent countries above mentioned whose inhabitants
speak different languages, in many cases much more diversified than the Philippine dialects. The possession of a common language can not be laid down as a
condition precedent to independence, without disqualifying many of the nations
now enjoying freedom. In any event, a common language is plainly not contemplated in the words "stable government" in the preamble of the Jones law,
first, because it has never been so expressed in the State documents of the United
States; and secondly, because there are many countries, including the United
States, with a stable government but whose inhabitants speak different languages.
THE INFORMED DESIRE OF THE FILIPINO PEOPLE.
It is also maintained by the Secretary of War that "the present demand for
immediate, complete, and absolute independence is not the informed desire of
the Filipino people," because it is manifestly against their material interests and
it is made "without an understanding of the conditions existing or those which
would reasonably follow the grant."
The subjection of other races against their will has always been alleged to
be for the welfare of the colonists. Every benevolent despot in history has advanced the pretext that his subjects are better off under his rule. This is an
age-old theory. It was offered by the English Government during the American Revolution, but it was repudiated by the founders of this Republic when they
declared that all governments derive their just powers from the consent of the
governed.
It is hardly conceivable that the Filipino people should not have deliberately
and thoughtfully weighed the consequences of national independence when they
have made such untold sacrifices of life and fortunes during the revolution
against Spain and in the resistance to the implantation of American rule, and
when independence has been the continual and unabated demand since the
defeat of Filipino arms. Nor is there any possibility, as the Secretary of War
seems to suggest, that "the mature view of the Filipino people advised as to the
results of independence" would ever be against that independence. On the
contrary, events in the Philippines during the last two decades unerringly indi-,
cate the fact that the desire for national freedom has grown with every passing
year, both with the older Filipinos who have faced the utmost danger in the battle
field for the sake of Philippine independence, and with the younger Filipinos
whose minds have been cast in molds of American love of liberty and freedom.
By how much the Filipinos have advanced in enlightenment, by so much has
the independence cause gained momentum. The mighty trend of Filipino history, all the forces of Filipino life bring about this national aspiration. Should
the Filipino people in the future abandon their longing for independence-an
unthinkable possibility-then it could be truly said that such change of attitude
is not born of their mature judgment, for, as the great Burke has said, "The
people never give up their liberties but under some delusion."
FINANCIAL CONDITIONS IN 1919 AND 1922.
Looking back over the events of the last five years we see that, with the
exception of those countries whose economic resources were exhausted during
the World War, the world reached the peak of prosperity in 1919 when the'


I



94


PEIIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.


prices of all commodities rose to a level theretofore unknown in history. The
Philippines had her full share of this prosperity; the volume of foreign trade
which in 1914 amounted only to 1'194,556,574 rose to 1'483,513,756 in 1919;
the money circulation went up from 152,575,117 in 1924 to 1P146,576,956 in
1919; while the revenues of the Insular Government from Taxation, which
amounted to T20,103,584 in 1914, rose to P45,229,969 in 1919.
It was at this period that the first Philippine Independence Mission came to
the United States to urge the independence of the islands. When the hearing
before the committees of Congress took place on June 2, 1919, nobody foresaw
the economic depression which began to be felt in May, 1920, and no period
of greater material prosperity for the Philippines could have been selected.
When the second independence mission came in 1922 it was a matter of
common knowledge that the falling off in the revenues of the insular government, which came as a result of the economic crisis, did not in any way endanger
the solidity of the public finances and the necessary steps had already been
taken to restore on a sound basis the monetary system of the country. That
the financial condition of the Philippine government was fast improving when
the second Philippine Independence Mission came to the United States may be
seen from the 1922 report of Governor Wood, who said:
"The spirit of the legislature has been one of cooperation. The great outstanding work of the fifth legislature was the enactment of measures necessary
to stabilize our currency and place government finances on a sound basis. * * *
The effect has been the establishment of confidence in the financial integrity
of the government, with resulting stabilization in exchange."
CURRENCY RESERVE FUND.
Under the provisions of Act No. 2776, in force in 1919, the currency reserve
fund should not at any time be less in amount than the nominal value of the
treasury certificates in circulation and available therefor, plus 15 per cent of
the money of the government of the Philippine Islands in circulation and available therefor, exclusive of the silver certificates in circulation protected by gold
reserve. The minimum of the fund on December 31, 1919, was therefore as
follows:


Nominal value of treasury certificates in circulation and available therefor ----   __     --
15 per cent of the money of the Philippine Islands in circulation and available therefor, exclusive of the treasury certificates in circulation protected by gold reserve_


P100, 536, 323. 00
5, 880, 654. 08


I
A
T


Total ----—. —.. --- —-—.. --- —-------------      106, 416, 977. 08
In United States currency --— $53, 208, 488. 54
The balances of the fund as of December 31, 1919, were as follows:
nvestments-                  ------------------------        -2, 566, 520. 00,ccounts receivable -------   -----—..-..   ----      -        380, 561. 18
'reasury and other depositories ------------------------    129, 269, 947. 94
Total assets -. ----     __, --- —-   -—. --- —---     132, 217, 029. 12


Less:
Certificates of indebtedness- _.
Accrued interest payable - - _.
Net balance of the fund -.
In United States currency —


- p20, 000, 000. 00
600, 000. 00
20, 600, 000. 00
111, 617,029. 12
-..-. ----.. —.. —  $55, 808, 514. 56


It is thus that in so far as the Philippine government, the legislature, and the
Filipino officials responsible for the direction of the government were concerned,
the currency reserve fund was not only maintained in the full amount of the minimum required by law, but there was an excess of P5,200,052.04, or $2,600,026.02
in United States currency.
The only hitch arose from the fact that of the $45,426,546.52 deposited with
the authorized depositories of the Philippine government in the United States,
$37,959,583 was deposited with the Philippine National Bank, New York City.
On this subject, it is well to quote the secretary of finance in his report for 1920, as
follows:       |




PIHI-L'PPINE INDEPENDENCE.                      95
"From Jun~e 22 1916, to August 16, 1918, when Act No. 2776 went into effect,
the deposits of the reserve fund in the agency of the Philippine National Bank in
New York amounted to $34,490,303. After that date the secretary of finance
on whom the new currency law conferred the power of intervening in the investment of the reserve funds, objected to the making of more deposits from the
said funds in the national bank. But the bank appealed from this decision  * * *
and in order to facilitate the transfer to Washington of the proceeds from the sale
of Liberty bonds, and to meet certain preemptory obligations of the bank, it
was found necessary to authorize other deposits until the sum total of $41,185,303
was reached on May 31, 1919.
"How all this gold was brought to Manila is shown by the following table
of drafts on New York sold by the Philippine National Bank, according to a
statement furnished by said bank on March 31, 1919:
Liberty loans ----------------— $15, 399, 500
Alien Property Custodian ---------------— 2, 808, 000
United States Shipping Board --- —-------                         729, 146
American Red Cross ----------------------------------            360, 721
United war campaign --------       -______         _____20, 600
Sold to local bank --- —--------------------------------------  9, 293, 500
Sold to others --- —------------------                         12, 573, 836
Total_ ----_ ----------        -- 41, 185, 303
1 $19,317,967 had been paid in the United States at a loss of more than $600,000 to the bank as an aid to
the Government of the United States during the war.
*         *         *         *         *         *          *
"These sums represented money sent to the United States, and, consequently,
it should have been withdrawn from circulation. But instead of returning them
to the insular treasury to be kept in its vaults, loans were hastily made to stimulate undertakings long cherished, such as sugar centrals and oil factories, which,
at the time, had not been established because of lack of capital. Thus an inflated circulation was the outcome, and with the good prices then prevailing for
Philippine products, it was thought that an era of real prosperity had been
reached and that the investments made were good. The result was a great demand for machinery and other foreign articles, while the sales of Liberty bonds
surpassed the limits fixed, and the sales of alien enemy property were easily
effected. In this manner the gold reserve in New York decreased rapidly while
the obligations against it were increasing. This condition escaped unnoticed
during the period of maddening prosperity when the exportation of hemp, sugar,.
and oil exceeded the imports. But close on the heels of prosperity came the
paralysis of the market * * * and the ebb of that extraordinary flow brought
'to light the naked truth of a false financial situation."
At the same time, and for two successive years, the exports from the islands
exceeded the imports by a considerable margin, and the demand for gold which in
1919 amounted to $11,810,799 rose to $32,477,708 in 1920 and to $19,418,290
in 1921. As the assets of the bank were not liquid, it was evident that the only
way out was to raise funds in the United States by means of a bond issue, which
was carried out successfully, thanks to the prompt aid rendered by the Congress
which authorized it and by the departments which placed the bonds in the
market. From that time on the bank has been paying back a big proportion of
the deposits, so that by December 31, 1922, only $20,116,119 was due, and it is,
believed that all the deposits will finally be paid back. With the improvement in
business which brought about greater demand for Philippine products, Philippine
exports exceeded the imports during the last two years of 1922 and 1923, in consequence of which the Philippine peso is now slightly above par.
The shortage in the currency reserve fund of the Philippine government, therefore, can be assigned to two causes: The investment by the Philippine National
Bank of the funds deposited in New York and the paralyzation of the market
for Philippine products. This latter cause was the natural consequence of the
slump in prices. The first cause given was not the result of any action of the
legislature, the money was not diverted to meet government expenditures, and the
investment was not the act, direct or indirect, of any Filipino government official.
Therefore the depletion of the currency reserve fund can not be laid at the door
of the Filipino officials in the government.
89048-24-7


p




96                   PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.
BONDED INDEBTEDNESS.
The bonded indebtedness of the Philippine government is $76,560,000, of
which $69,600,000 represents direct obligations of the insular government, and
the balance, $6,960,000, is made up of bonds issued by the city of Manila and
other municipal governments. Of the latter amount $2,750,000 is a direct
obligation of the city of Manila and $4,210,000 is for self-paying waterworks
and sewer systems.
The bonded debt of the insular government is classified, according to the
purposes for which they were used, as follows:
1. Friar lands -------------            -    -    -     _   $7, 000, 000
2. Public works_ ---  -----— ______        _ --- —____        5, 000, 000
3. Manila Railroad purchase__ ---  __   _________             4 000, 000
4. Manila port works and improvements -_ _____ ---___ 6, 000, 000
5. Irrigation systems and other public works-_ ------— ____ 10, 000, 000
6. Financial interest protection_ --- —----— ______           5, 000, 000
7. Sundry purposes ------— ________9, 600, 000
S. Gold standard funds -___                                 23, 000, 000
Total --- —-----------                               69, 600, 000
Items 1 and 3, amounting to $11,000,000, were invested in self-paying enterprises; $30,000,000, belonging to items 2, 4, 5, and 7, was invested or is to be
invested in irrigation, public works, and other improvements; the $23,000,000
belonging to item 8, which will eventually be recovered, is being used to maintain the parity of the currency; and only $5,000,000, item 6, is used to strengthen
the financial position of the government and has not been disbursed.
Considering the fact that the Philippines is really in the constructive stage,
and having in mind the progress and improvement which have been accomplished and the financial depression which the world has recently suffered, the
wonder is that the Philippine debt is not larger. From the year 1905 to 1922
the current revenues of the Philippine Government have been sufficient to meet its
ordinary expenditures. The necessity for incurring an indebtedness by the government has arisen not from a series of recurring budget deficits, but from the
needs for the construction and improvement of public works, such as roads,
bridges, and ports, and for the purchase, construction, and development of
economic undertakings, such as the railroad and the irrigation systems, for
which purposes all progressive governments have issued bonds.
The bonded debt of the Philippine government is well within its paying
ability. Annual interests are being paid as they fall due, and provisions for
sinking funds have been made, notwithstanding the financial difficulties of the
last three years.
In his statement before the Committee on Insular Affairs of the House of Representatives, the Secretary of War said:
"The indebtedness of the Philippine government is not excessive for a government of the resources and population and territory of the Philippines. This
could be adjusted."
GOVERNMENT FINANCES.
The best evidence of the solid financial condition of the Philippine insular
government is the following statement showing the current surplus of the general
funds at the end of every year, as shown in the annual budgets:
1917. Harrison budget for 1919 --------------           22, 612, 005. 54
1918. Harrison budget for 1920 ----   __ —   _-_-     _   32, 868, 312. 07
1919. Harrison budget for 1921 -----— _-_-_              24, 803, 881. 30
1920. Wood budget for 1922____________               _   27, 576, 552. 49
1921. Wood budget for 1923 - -----   -------             20, 827, 936. 18
1922. Wood.budget for 1924_ -,__ —_    — _    ___-_       6, 048, 343. 98
The revenue sfor 1921 amounted to 194,580,993.56, while in 1922 these
revenues dropped to P'59,755,036.15. The revenues for 1923 were much greater
than those for 1922, and those for 1924 are expected to be still greater than those
of 1923.
A government which, after passing through the crisis which the country has of
late experienced, has succeeded in immediately balancing its general funds, covering all deficits with its surplus, can not be in a precarious financial condition.






PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.                        97
The per capita tax in the islands is so low that in 1923 additional taxes were
levied without a single protest from the public, notwithstanding the fact that the
economic structure of the country was just beginning to recuperate from an
acute depression. Hence, it can be safely said that the islands in 1924 have
returned to normalcy and the revenues of the government will once more far
exceed its expenditures.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
The Philippines is essentially an agricultural country. It has not yet entered
upon an intensive industrial life.
In 1918 the population of the islands, in round numbers, was 10,300,000. That
same year the number of farms in the Philippines was 1,955,276, or one farm for
every 5.2 inhabitants. In 1903 the number of farms was only 815,453, which
gives an increase in 15 years of 140 per cent. The total area of the farms in 1903
was 7,069,260 acres as against 11,409,307 acres in 1918, or an increase of 70 per
cent; 96 per cent of all the farms in the Philippines are owned by Filipinos.
The quantity of hemp exported from the islands in 1913 was 119,821 long
tons; that of 1922 was 172,026 long tons, or an increase of 44 per cent; the quantity
of coconut oil exported rose from 5,010 long tons in 1913 to 107,208 long tons in
1922, showing an increase of 2,100 per cent. In 1913 the islands exported 82,219
long tons of copra, in 1922 they exported 173,051 long tons, or an increase of
60 per cent. The sugar exportation increased from 157,333 long tons in 1913 to
362,071 long tons in 1922, showing an increase of 130 per cent. Cigar exportation rose from 191,762,442 in 1913 to 300,484,824 in 1922, or an increase of 34
per cent.
The imports grew from 1'67,622,768 in 1903 to T175,000,000 in 1923, an
increase of 255 per cent; the exports grew from r64,793,492 in 1903 to TP241,504,000 in 1923, an increase of 370 per cent; the total foreign trade grew from
P 132,416,260 in 1903 to 1P417,108,000 in 1923, an increase of 315 per cent in
20 vears.
The circulation in 1907 was P'30,000,000; in 1923 it was r-120,000,000, or an
increase of 400 per cent.
The revenues from taxation grew from P35,190,053.74 in 1910 to?164,296,273.73 in 1922, an increase of 185 per cent.
Bearing in mind that from 1896 to 1903 the Filipino people sustained two armed
conflicts and that before that they had passed through a long period of subjection, aside from the lack of capital, the general poverty and the economic prostration at that time, it must be admitted that the Filipino people have attained
marvelous progress in recent years.
Our production has increased nearly threefold, but we lack the necessary
capital to carry out greater developments. This capital which we so very much
need will not come until our future political status has been clearly and finally
determined. This is what our experience in the last few years has taught us, and
this same fact is admitted by the Secretary of War. A greater degree of progress
is demanded of us on the ground that the vast undeveloped wealth of our country
constitutes too great a temptation to our neighbors, whose teeming populations
are seeking expansion, but at the same time we are forced to continue in the
present indefinite and uncertain status in which the needful capital sees no in-centive, and we find it impossible tQ develop our resources in the manner we
would desire.
Our record is open for scrutiny. We submit that no other people under similar
conditions have materially advanced as well and as fast as the Filipinos. Our
progress has not been limited to agriculture; in commerce and industry we have
equally advanced. For example, as a result of the recent development of the
sugar industry, the Filipinos own 17 of the 27 sugar centrals now operating in the
islands.
The economic advantages from free trade do not pass unnoticed by the Filipinos.
But these advantages are beneficial only as long as they last. They would be
of immense value if they were to continue indefinitely. But if we were to
encourage our economic development based on the free-trade privileges, the
dislocation in our commerce would be irreparable once we lose these privileges.
The greater the advantages we derive from them the bigger will be our problem
when the readjustment comes. For this reason we are urging the final settlement of our status.






98


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.


PHILIPPINE AUTONOMY.
It is earnestly urged by the Secretary of War that as "an essential condition
to a favorable response to the petition for independence, there should be on the
part of the leaders of the Philippine Islands an obvious disposition to obey the
present law and to cooperate with the officials of the Philippine government
appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate."
Inasmuch as the differences between the Chief Executive of the Philippines
and the Philippine Legislature are the subject of other resolutions, now in the
hands of other committees of the Congress, it is not the desire of the Philippine
special mission to discuss the matter at length before this committee. Suffice
it to say that the leaders of the Filipino people honestly believe that the tyesent
Governor General has nullified Philippine autonomy secured by the organic
act and has set at naught the laws passed thereunder by the Philippine Legislature, approved by the former Chief Executive and not annulled by the Congress
of the United States. Indeed, the Filipino people would be unworthy of the
independence which they seek if they, through their duly constituted representatives, failed to stand by what they believe to be their rights guarsanteed to them
by the Congress of the United States.
AMERICAN TRUSTS.
It is also contended by the Secretary of War that the natural wealth of the
islands should be placed in beneficial use prior to the granting of independence,
"for no greater temptation to the neighboring overcrowded people can be presented than the great tracts of rich lands and virgin forests lying idle in the
Philippines."  In answer to a question, the Secretary said: "If a definite time
could be determined, 25 or 30 years, as a delay in their indepIndence, and maintain the status quo, a great amount of American capital would go into the Philippine Islands, and there would be a development over there which would make
that country what it really ought to be, one of the richest and most prosperous
countries in the world."
Three thoughts instantly suggest themselves: (1) That the development of
the Philippines by American capital was not, even by a most far-fetched interpretation, one of the requisites of a stable government within the signification
of the preamble of the Jones law; (2) that from the very beginning of American
occupation of the Philippines there have consistently been public and emphatic
disavowals of any and all purpose to exploit the Philippines for the benefit of
American "big business"; and!3) that should the incalculable wealth of the
Philippines be turned over to American trusts, Philippine independence would
be impossible after 25 or 30 years for the simple reason that American capital
having enormous holdings and interests in the Philippines would strenuously
fight for the perpetuation of American sovereignty.
RECAPITULATION.
Summarizing our statement we will say: That the promise of independence
contained in the preamble of the Jones law contemplates an earlier date than
that suggested in previous pronouncements, and is the first statement of policy
toward the Philippines made by the Congress of the United States. It is a
solemn covenant between the American and the Filipino peoples. The words
"stable government" have a definite American meaning, and that well-known
sense should be followed. There has been delay in the fulfillment of the promise
because a stable government has been established as certified to by the President
of the United States since 1920.
The geographical location of the Philippines is immaterial if the pledge is
going to be redeemed at all. The kingdom of Siam enjoys real independence.
The Filipinos are a homogeneous people, more united than the inhabitants of
many independent countries, such as Spain, Switzerland, Belgium, Hungary,
and Cuba.
The demand for independence is the result of the mature judgment of the
Filipino people. When the first Philippine independence mission came, the
Philippines was at the height of material prosperity. At the time the second
mission was here in 1922, confidence in the financial integrity of the Philippine
Government had been restored, according to the 1922 report of Governor General
Wood.






PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.


99


So far as the Philippine Government was concerned, the currency reserve
fund was kept in excess of the legal requirement. The reasons for its depletion
were: The investment by the Philippine National Bank in frozen securities and
the paralyzation of the market for Philippine products.
The bonded indebtedness of the Philippines has been incurred not because of
a series of recurring budget deficits but for public improvements and for economic development. The amount of such debt is not excessive.
The government finances are in good condition, as shown by the fact that the
current surplus was sufficient to meet the falling off of the revenues resulting
from the post-war crisis.
The Filipinos own 96 per cent of all the farms. In agriculture they have
made tremendous strides. In commerce and industry their progress has also
been remarkable. Taking all circumstances into consideration, the material advance of the Filipinos has been substantial.
The advantages of free trade with the United States are duly appreciated.
But the longer such advantages are received, under the present political uncertainty, the greater will be the problem of readjustment when the time therefor
comes. Hence the imperative need of immediate settlement of the Philippine
status.
The Filipino leaders honestly believe that the present governor general is depriving the Filipino people of their autonomy, guaranteed in the act of Congress
of August 29, 1916.
The proposition of the Secretary of War that the status quo be continued for
25 years in order to allow American capital to develop the Philippines can not
be accepted by the Filipino people, because after such time American trusts
having enormous holdings and interests over there would strenuously work for
permanent retention of the archipelago.
Respectfully submitted.


II


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