The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1938-01-28
TREND OF WORLD AFFAIRS
Prepared by
Lucy Meacham Thruston

How far Japan? Especially how
far into the Pacific? An article bear
ing as heading this first question was
recently published with map show
ing the progressive course from For
mosa down towards Hainan (off the
coast near Hongkong beneath which
stretched the Straits Settlements
pointing towards the Philippines. In
the map the Philippines seemed
starlingly close. This Japanese ex-
pansion brings into still stronger
spotlight the question of the Philip
pines which has been presented,
phase by phase, in the current press
until the relations of these 1400 ISL
ands with the rest of the world seem
to be matter of the last few years
alone. Yet they are as old as the dis
covery of the islands in 1859.
During the last half of the nine
teenth century an immense desire
for freedom manifested itself among
st the Filipinos and when the United
States broke into the triangle, Cuba,
Porto Rico and the Philippines being
ceded to it after the Spanish Ameri-
can war, the first two islands well
coined intervention but the Philip
pines demanded complete and i'm
mediate freedom.
Said Theodore Roosevelt in his
autobiography: "In my belief we
should train them for self govern
ment as rapidly as possible and then
leave them to decide their own fate.
l trust when we leave them, if we do
leave, it must be distinctly under
stood that we are absolutely quit of
all responsibility for them of any
kind or nature"
Two years ago. after many discus
sions, visits of Filipino leaders to the
United States, appeals to the public
by such Filipino leaders as Quezon,
the islanders decided their fate by
establishing through treaty with the
United States a commonwealth. To
Quezon was handed over by Frank
Murphy, the last American Governor
General, a balanced budget, an effic-
iently operating government and a
fine esprit de corps between all de-
partments. At the close Of these two
years come the questions: is Quezon
assuming too much authority and
what will be the future relations of
the island with the Asiatic main
land? China at present is impotent;
there is that heading to the magazine
article How Far Japan?
When the Panay was bombed and
sunk in the Yangstekiang, far up
in China, tankers conveying oil up
into the interior were also bombed.
These tankers were and are a link
in what has been termed one of the
greatest romances of trade. When
the Standard Oil Co., began to de-
velop markets it's scouts in China
found here lamentable condition.
Most of the people, especially those
back from the coast, had no light
available for their houses at night
except rag hanging over a saucer
of grease. This filled the place in
which they lighted with SCOT and
smell and was most unsanitary. The
first step of the scouts or agents was
to present the households which
would accept it with a small kero-
sene lamp, the second was to put the
cost of Kerosene as low as possible
the third to keep a line of tankers
crossing the Pacific. These tanks
were built so as to enable them to
go far up into the inland waters
interlacing China's coast and hinter-
land. When the tanker had made its
way as far inland as was possible it
was met by smaller boats which went
up the shallower waters and when
there was no longer a water road
the oil was discharged into large
tanks on the waterside and again
into smaller containers which took
the oil up to villages and towns.
The trade thus inaugurated and
successfully carried on is said to
have added much to the health
and comfort of the people and is
pointed to as one of the instances in
which trade can lift the level Of