Evening star., 1935-12-10

people and the islands on whom they
had so generously bestowed the ex-
plosive gift of partial independence,
along with eventual withdrawal of
the free markets of the United States.
The newspaper men had been invited
to come and write about what they
found, with no strings attached to the
invitation. The other guests were
good friends or good friends of good
friends of the hospitable hosts, who
wanted them near In their hour of
triumph.
Congressmen Relax.
The voyage had been made across
the Pacific without incident or scan
dial. mutiny or visible piracy, the
members of Congress relaxing after
the toll of a long and arduous ses-
sion, casually learning so much from
some of their fellow passengers about
the sugar business that they looked
a bit embarrassed whenever the mess
boys asked whether they wanted one
or two Jumps in their coffee, and being
energetically and continually sung to
by the lyrical Representative Louis c.
Rabaut, a forceful interpreter of such
melodies as My Wild Irish Rose"
Let Me Call You Sweetheart and
anything else that the ships orchestra
could or would play.
There had been brief and hurried
days of official and non-oficial enter
tainment in Japan, Shanghai and
Hongkong. with the Vice President
and the Speaker and their ladies
dashing back from official calls to re-
ceive return calls and darting out to
make others. The members of the
party had laden themselves with jap
anese kimcnos, houri coats, bronze
buddhas, mandarin coats, silk lingerie,
embroidered linen, carved Chinese
chests of teak and camphor wood,
tropical helmets, sets of furniture,
walking sticks, carved ivory, jade,
Peiping jewelry and white clothing;
scsndalizing the residents and bring
ing new hope TO China by the prices
they paid, giving out statements on
the silver situation and, in fact, any
situation, and driving the ships purser
wild with questions about the rate of
exchange and the difference between
yen, dollars Mex, Hongkong dollars
and pesos.
Welcoming Inherent in Filipino.
And. finally, they reached the end
of their voyage and were given well
come at Manila that would have
warmed the heart of an old-fashioned
channel swimmer. For, while the art
of welcoming is an acquired gift with
most people, it is inherent in the blood
of Filipino, who has been Welcom-
ing voyagers from across the seas
since the Chinese pirates took over
the island of Corregidor in the year
1925 and even before that. Among
the most kindly and gracefully hos
pitable people in the world, they gave
Mr.. Garner and Mr.. Byrns and their
official guests a welcome of sirens,
whistles. bells, cannon, bands and
cheers that brought them to their airy
rooms and suites in the Government
owned Manila Hotel, with their
tongues hanging out and an anvil
chorus ringing in their ears.
They spent IL full days in Manila.
participated in the Inauguration of
Mr.. Quezon. made speeches felicitat-
ing the Filipinos and heard replies
felicitating them; were dined, ban
quoted, taken on sightseeing trips, del
uged by invitations and souvenirs and
drenched in typhoon of hospitality
such as mortal man never pictured
before in all his fondest dreams.
And If any of them left Manila with
tears In his eyes-which is doubtful,
as Congressman usually manage to
keep a stiff upper lip-it was because
most Of them were wiser men and
therefore sadder than when they ar
rived. The results of their trip, like
the fate of the PHILIPPINES, is in the lap
of the gods. 1t is useless to speculate
upon or to quote their individual views,
for these are relatively of small i'm
portance. The policy of the United
States henceforth toward the Philip
pines will be, as in the past, governed
by high party councils, by the pressure
of self-interested groups and blocs of
voters back home, by certain amount
of expediency, the strategy of national
defense, and-one may fervently hope
"a determination to fulfill a moral
obligation to the people, If not the
politicians, of the Philippines Islands,
assumed when the islands were bought
from Spain.
For most Of the members of the
party their visit was the first to the