THE PHILIPPINES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 3 June 1942, Page 4

THE PHILIPPINES

PROGRESS UNDER AMERICAN GUIDANCE S' SURVEY OF RECENT HISTORY. UP TO OUTBREAK OF WAR. An informative survey of the recent history of the Philippines up to the outbreak of the present war was made by Mr H. A. Burgers, in an address to the Commonwealth Club, San Francisco, reported in the “Christian Science Monitor.” The first world war, Mi’ Burgers said, brought prosperity to the Philippine Islands, which was evidenced in the construction of new and better roads, schools and Government buildings ’. . . War demand for sugar made for the establishment of large sugar mills on the islands of Negros and Luzon. The aftermath brought some sharp reverses in 1921, which gave a jolt to the unbounded optimism which is such a general trait of the Filipino character. But America was headed for a period of unparalleled prosperity and the Islands soon followed in her wake. New industries were being developed. Desire for higher education —always an outstanding ambition 'among the young people—was being satisfied. . . . By 1928 the Americans in the Government service had mostly been replaced by Filipinos, but the indelible imprint, of Americanism had become a part of the way of life in the Islands. American humour, love of sport, ideas of publicity, and blang, all were reflected in Filipino newspapers and magazines printed in English and, unbelievable as it may sound, there had been created in the short period of three decades the third largest group of English-speaking people in the world. Gone were the days when Filipinos thought of themselves as Visayans, Ilocanos, and other ethnological groups without a common language. . . . As a natural consequence the campaign foi’ political independence gained momentum. The independence question had two aspects —one sentimental and the other economic. . . .

And the Independence Bill, kicked around as it was before it became law —what a shining document it has turned out to be! Because of this document there is a trained conscript army of Filipino soldiers fighting shoulder to shoulder with our own forces, and there is not a single Filipino who need doubt that he is defending his own liberty, his own Bill of Rights, and his own way of life The expansion of the gold-mining industry during the last ten years was responsible for lessening to a very large degree the effects of our own depression

The Philippines were at peace with the world. In Italy and in Germany ships were being built to augment the Philippine merchant fleet. Over this happy land flew two flags ■—the Stars and Stripes above and the flag of the Commonwealth beneath. Uncle Sam was the strong protector. The island fortress of Corregidor guarding Manila Bay was impregnable. Childlike trust in our strength and invulnerability was everywhere openly acknowledged. Who but Uncle Sam could build Clipper ships that spanned the wide Pacific in five short days? And who 'but Uncle Sam owned the islets of Midway, Wake, and Guam which made the flights possible?

Few paid much attention to the rumblings of war across the China Sea Brave Filipinos! That bravery and calm composure which I have seen manifested when earthquakes shook their cities, or in the plant when dangerous tasks had to be fulfilled, will give them needed courage in this hour. . . . The Philippines are the front-line trenches in this battle for democracy. The trenches in the rear are right here, right where your factories are at work and your children at play. Do not be deluded for one moment into thinking that we are fighting merely to avenge America for the treachery we suffered on December 7. Japan . . . seeks domination over the vast resources of the entire Orient — not merely the Philippines or the Dutch East Indies or the Federated Malay States, but the whole vast territory of islands and peninsulas between the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean . . . Over the hundred million people engaged in the production of the enormous quantities of raw material on which our industries depend: rubber, tin chromium, manganese. Turn these resources and the rich oilfields of Borneo and Sumatra over to them and what may we expect? Would these resources be used as they have beon, for the manufacture of peaceful articles of commerce? Would Christian ideals of fair play among men remain the basis of world trade? You know the answers as well as I do. . . . Reverses may come, strongholds which stand four-square today may crumble, but the spirit of the freedomloving Filipino will live on. Without security to their way of life we cannot expect to maintain our own way of life.