The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1930-02-17
UNCONDITIONAL.
/. Freedom OF The
PHILIPPINES
Workers and Peasants
Must Lead

organize" itself.
This fight is still going on. I'm
der the whip of Hoover, the tariff
was not raised ON Cuban sugar. But
is "Cuban" sugar in any real sense
actually "Cuban sugar?" Cuba, we
are told, is a "free and independent
nation" But those who tell us this,
the imperialists of the United States,
lie shamelessly when they say it.
The U. S. imperialists have over
$1,505, 100000 invested in Cuba, or
ninety per cent of all "Cuban" CAPT
tai; the infamous "Platt Amend
ment" to the treaty between the "two
nations" makes Cuba utterly SUBJ
ordinate to the United States gov
eminent; the personal representa-
tive" of the U. S. President, General
Crowder, or in his absence the U. S.
ambassador, Mr.. Guggenheim, whose
very name smells imperialistic, is
the real ruler of Cuba and not the
venal and murderous dummy
president" Machado. In effect,
Cuba is not even so "free and indie
pendent" as, let us say, the State Of
Arizona.
This being the case, do the work
er and peasant masses of the
Philippines have anything to hope
for in being presented with exactly
the same kind Of freedom" as is
suffered by the workers and peasants
of Cuba? whose peasants are driven
from their lands to starvation or
starvation wages, whose trade
unions are destroyed, their real
leaders murdered and thrown to the
sharks in Havana Bay, and a
regime of CHASTITY and bloody fas-
cism established under the rule of a
native agent of Wall Street.
Yet this is the most and the best
which the toiling masses of the
Philippines could possibly expect
from any Independence" such as
granted" by American imperialism.
Nor should the Filipino masses
for one moment forget that their
Quezons, Roxas and Osmenas are
more than willing to play the same
bloody and venal role as oppressors
of their own worker and peasant
masses as Machado plays in Cuba.
The Philippine bourgeosie, which
these gentlemen represent, clearly
gave up any genuine fight for real
independence since 1927, as Stimson
boosted when he left the Islands.
If they now come forward with
the old words about independence, it
is because the upsurge of the masses
has driven them to it; but now their
words mean nothing, since they have
already reached an understanding
with imperialism for the joint shar-
ing with it of the exploitation of the
Filipino workers and peasants.
Therefore, real separation will not
take place. The Filipino bourgeoisie
and landlords, with good reason, fear
the Filipino masses may revolt and
overthrow their fright" to rob the
masses. So the Filipino bourgeoisie
depends upon the aid of American
imperialism's armed forces to sup
press the masses. In exchange it
must yield the hogs share of the
plumber to imperialist investors.
Hence, no matter how formal the
separation may appear, the alliance
between American imperialism and
the Filipino bourgeosie will continue
unbroken, the consequent subjuga
ton of the toiling masses to i'm
perialism and the native bourgeoisie
will remain, and all the present
Struggle" for independence on the
part of the native bourgeoisie is
mere shadow boxing, and is so I'M
derstood by American imperialism.
Whom, then, is this shadow boxing
meant to deceive? Whom, if not the
Filipino masses! And the reason
lies in the fact that the Philippine
masses are beginning to turn away
from the bourgeoisie, are beginning
to understand that its flight" for
independence is a fake, and are
commencing to follow the revoiu-
tionary proletariat, the revolutionary
clements in the Proletarian Labor
Congress, and the Peasants Con-
federation. 1t is in an attempt to
retain their fading influence over
the masses that the spokesman of
the Philippine bourgeoisie are again
mouthing the words the old indie
pendence movement.
But the old independence move
ment has collapsed with it's bour-
geois leadership, and today there is
new independence movement, led
by the proletariat in alliance with
the poor peasantry, not whining like
whipped cur at the feet Of the
imperialist governor-general, but
rallying the masses to struggle; no
longer delegating its powers to self
seeking upperclass lawyers and oily
tongued traitors, such as Aguinaldo,