The globe-independent. (Hagerstown, Md.) 1943-19??, 1944-02-24

w WAldh Od1 COo1OC OAAdAi NC III ll1C
future world, hope we will be
wise enough to keep the facts l
have just related in mind.
Now, let us consider our nation
al policy in the Philippine Islands.
was the co-author of the bill which
granted to the Philippines indie
pendence. 1t passed after hard
fight and months of debate in Con-
gress. Many people were opposed
to Philippine independence. They
said it was a mistake. AS the au-
thor of the bill I pointed out that
we had tremendous responsibility
of protecting the American flag,
which was floating over these
islands, where lived fifteen million
people. l pointed our that these
islands were thousands of miles
from the United States and very
close to Japan, that our defenses
in the Philippines were old and OBJ
solete, that we were bound by trea-
ty with Japan not to build any new
defenses there, that the American
people were opposed to spending
the money anyhow necessary to put
the Philippines in a state where we
could defend them. Thus, l said,
the responsibility of protecting the
Philippines was ours, while our
Congress and the people were OPP
posed to appropriations which
would permit us to adequately dis
charge that responsibility.
"In 1884 after the bill had passed,
I went to the Philippine Islands
Army officers were kind enough to
put a small airplane at my disposal
and in it I flew over much of both
the developed and undeveloped part
of the islands. With Naval officers
/ made a search from the air to see
whether strong new naval base
could not be located in some of the
outlying islands. l returned with
all this data from Army and Navy
officers and put it at the disposal of
the War and Navy Departments.
On one occasion l visited Correg-
idor and there talked with one of
the highest ranking officers in our
Army. I asked him if we had made
mistake in granting independence
to the Philippines. He said, We
hemently: No. With the guns of
Corregidor, he said, we could hold
at bay the combined fleets of the
world. But, he said, look at the
sky. The Japanese could land on
either side of Corregidor establish
airfields, bomb us and starve us out.
THE American Congress and the
American people, he said, will not
appropriate $50 or 200 million dol
lars which is necessary to put the
Philippines in a state of adequate
defense. Thus, we have the respon-
sibility of defending them without
the means of making good, he said
By all means grant the Philippines
their independence. If you are not
successful in this endeavor, the
American people will pay in blood
and tears and treasure for our mis-
take.
Everything that high officer said
to me has come to pass. The Ma
ton would not fortify the Philip
pines. We could not get out of the
Philippines in time because the
forces in America opposing indie
pendence for, the Philippines
blocked quicker consideration of
this measure. We are paying for it
all now in rivers of blood.
Shortly after 1889, when Hitler
invaded Poland and while Japan
was waging her war against China,
high officers of the Navy came be-
fore Congress asking for apppropri-
atoms with which to fortify Guam
and other Pacific Islands belonging
to the United States. AS a member
of the Naval Affairs Committee of
the Senate, l asked them if Japan
had fortified her islands near ours
in the Mid-Pacific area. They said
they did not know for sure, that ia
apn had denied us permission to
visit her islands, while they were
free to visit ours They said they
believed that Japan had fortified
her islands in this vicinity.
Il then offered a motion in the
Naval Affairs Committee to appro-
pirate the money which would put
Guam and our other islands in a
state of adequate defense, with this
proviso that first we would appro-
pirate the money, then we would
ask Japan for the right to inspect
her mid-Pacific islands. If she al
lowed us to do this and her islands
were unfortifed, we would not for
tify ours. If Japan had fortified
her islands, we would fortify ours.