New York Tines, ?eb. 86, 1940
9
SURE, SAYRE HOLDS
jans and Filiplnosi along: in its cur-
rent. They have been carried along
to a point from which it would be
difficult now to turn back.  I do
cally independent, but said that
this attitude would not necessarily
preclude some kind of a temporary
not believe the Filipinos would vol- "™"1T^S '*«;™Ment "drastic
SS^^SSS^ 01 H ~ tested money out
tonomy they now enjoy. | here a"nd  bum up vaflous >busl_
Americans Probably Would Be
Unwilling to Pay for Island
Defense After '46, He Says
;   -In fact I think they would be
i unwilling* to accept, following 1946,
1 any form of government or even
dominion which would restrict them
in what they now enjoy. Remember
President Quezon's statement be-
fore the Assembly last month. The I
only kind of arrangement he said |
ho would be willing to consider j
would be one giving the Filipinos
nesscs dependent on the selling of
Philippine products in the Amcrl-,
can markets," he said. "Much. In I
fact, Is American money.  It would
seem to be entirely unnecessary as
well as disastrous to reduce Philip-
pine-American    trade drastically
overnight.
"When we introduced the bill into
. Congress last Winter to effectuate
wireless to The n.a- York tiueh.
MANILA, Feb. 25-Four months
as High Commissioner of the
Philippines have convinced Francis
B. Sayre that the United States
will not remain permanently here,
and probably will carry out the
present act under which the islands
will receive their Independence in
1946, according to an interview pub-
lished hero today.
Mr. Sayre believes that neither
the fear of Japanese aggression nor
tho practical certainty of "grave
economic dislocation" to the Philip-
pines owing to the loss of the free
American market will result ln;s>
reversal of the present program.
Mr. Sayre's interview was given
on the occasion of the fortieth anni-
versary of the American-owned
Manila Daily Bulletin. His views
now more than ever appear to be
diametrically opposed to those of
his predecessor, Paul V. McNutt,
who advocated a re-examination of
tho Philippine problem leading
probably to outright permanent re-
tention of the Philippines as Amer-
ican territory.
One of Mr. Sayre's principal rea-
sons for believing in American de-
parture from the islands in 1946
is tho probable unwillingness of the
American taxpayers to support the
necessary Philippine defense force.
Says People Want to Be Free
"As naval and aerial warfare de-
velop In the future, additional mil-
lions must be poured into defenses
if they are to be kept abreast of
advancing technique," said Mr.
Sayre.
"If we do not learn to supplant
war by effective methods of inter-
national cooperation. I wonder
whether it is going to be practicable
for any nation to undertake to
maintain and defend the kind of
far-flung military empires which
developed during the eighteenth
and nineteenth centuries.
Viewing the local situation broad-
ly, Mr. Sayre said:
"It's unlikely that we will see the
Philippine Assembly or the Filipino
people denying the hopes and aspi-
rations to which they tenaciously
clung for over forty years. The
movement toward independence is
like the flow of a great river which
has carried both peoples [Ameri-
full control over immigration im- —^MmmendaUon. of the JoTni
f£Z£rj£&™^^?}*i?i\*Wr*to^   Committee,   the bill
financial subjects, as well as the
right to conclude commercial trea-
ties with other nations without be-
ing subjected to the supervision and
control of the United States.
Do:'bts Nc r Plan Is Possible
"In short, the tide has carried
both Americans and Filipinos to a
point where the only kind of domin-
ion status the Philippines would
probably be willing to accept would
be one which the United States
could not grant."
Asked if the fear of aggrcsssion
from Japan might not change the
views of the Filipinos, Mr. Sayre
said:
"Of course no one can foretell the
future. The world might be so dif-
ferent in 1946 that everything I
have k -en saying would have to be
thrown out the window. Unless
conditions change very materially
however, I would be much sur-
prised to see the Philippine Assem-
bly vote to reconsider the present
independence program."
was framed to provide a gradual
tapering off of preferences—5 per
cent yearly beginning in 1940 and
running down through the post-
independence period to 1960.
"Political independence need not
coincide exactly with economic in-
dependence. But some leaders In
Congress felt that it would be un-
wise as early as this to negotiate
for a period past 1946. It was
agreed to cut the bill in half. As to
the period beyond 1946, we will wait
and sec."
Calling to mind provisions for a
conference in 1944 as contained in
the latest revision of the Tydlngs
act, Mr. Sayre said that he hoped
a new bill would be introduced em-
bodying the recommendations of
the joint committee.
Asked if he thought the Filipinos
were. ready for independence, the
High Commissioner replied:
"There Is only one practical way
by which the question can ever be
truly answered. That is through
actual   experiment.     The United
Turning to the possibility that the    slaI(1R b_rt  tn ,„fl_n
Filipinos remain true
to our own teachings they never
will cease to aspire to indepen-
dence.   This I believe to be an ob-
the Tydings-McDuffie Law which
supposedly settled the independence
matter, Mr. Sayre went on:
"I feel sure that many members! jgjSJ J^JRBSffj; cannot
of   Congress   would   seriously   be afford |Q blinyk
swayed by the wishes of the Fill-1    -In vipw _f thp ,..„¦, r-,nnnel
pfno people. At the same time I do ; bilitv   we   assumed    n   iS? ?nd
not see any present leaning of ggg, ™ have canied eve, since
the strength of the various groups, ,he American
in Congress which pressed for pass-
age of the independence act. Some
of them are even stronger than in
1934. And dont forget that it takes
i an affirmative vote of both houses \
j) of Congress to make a change."
Using   the   oft   repeated argu-
ment against trade preferences in
line with Secretary Hull's trade
treaty   program,   Mr.   Sayre said
that he was dead against giving
the Philippines permanent prefej>^
ences after they had become ppliti-:
nation is under a
strong moral obligation If and
when we give them independence
to give it to them under con-1
ditions best suited to make the sue-'
cess of their great experiment prac-
tical and possible. I am for help-
ing them so far as we legitimately
can to succeed as we succeeded in
1776."
L-v>
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