working men and thus assure their happiness and contentment.

Filipino laborers, compared to those of other oriental countries, receive higher wages and are much better protected in their rights by legislation. We have enacted many laws protecting labor. In all earnestness, however, I must say that we must go further in this direction. The experience of centuries shows that the one sure way to protect society against class war is to secure to wage-earners their due. I am a firm

I

I am against communism. believer in the institution of private property. contend, however, that whenever property rights come in conflict with human rights, the former should yield to the latter.

If we would preserve the institution of private property, we must hold fast to this principle, in the determination of conflicting rights between man and man. It is thus that we may draw the line between the rights of labor and capital and erect an economic structure based on the principle that human life is the measure of all other values, that considerations of possession and profit must give way to the supremacy of human existence.

CAPITAL

A change in the political status of a country always gives rise to fear and misgivings. Not only among Americans and foreigners, but even among a few Filipinos, the impending political changes have caused anxiety as to the future.

There is no justification for these fears. I give assurance that peace, order, law and justice will reign supreme under the Commonwealth, and that the rights of foreigners and nationals. alike will be safeguarded. Existing investments, whether foreign or national, will receive every inducement to stay, and outside capital will be welcomed. We especially desire that new American capital should come and help in the development of the country.

NATIONAL DEFENSE

I believe in the efficacy of the instrumentalities of peace, such as the League of Nations or treaties of neutrality. In due time we should apply for admission to the League and urge the nego

tiation of a multilateral treaty for the neutralization of the Philippines. However, we cannot ignore present-day realities. We cannot rely exclusively on these implements of peace for our national defense.

I favor preparedness for national defense. We cannot afford to have, nor do I approve of, a large standing army or costly military establishments, but we must have a regular army of sufficient size for our requirements and a trained citizenry ready to be drafted into service in any emergency. For the proper planning of our defenses and the organization and training of our regular and citizen army I shall secure the best expert advice.

OUR RELATIONS WITH AMERICA

It should be our constant endeavor to maintain the most friendly relations and closest collaboration with the United States. We owe much to America and we are grateful to her. Our present economy is tied up with the free American market. Many of our industries depend for their existence on our reciprocal free trade relations with the United States, and we should try to maintain these trade relations, if possible, even after independence. I shall spare no effort to obtain the elimination of the export tax provided in the Independence Law. I shall work for the repeal of the excise tax on coconut oil. I shall endeavor to take such action as may be required to place our trade relations with the United States on a truly reciprocal basis, so that they may be continued after independence for the mutual advantage of both countries.

FOREIGN RELATIONS

As already stated, our foreign relations will be under the control and supervision of the United States during the Commonwealth; but there is nothing in the Independence Act which prevents the Commonwealth from beginning to lay the foundations for our future relations with foreign nations. Indeed, the period of transition having been provided to give to the Filipino people time to prepare themselves for the responsibilities of an independent government, it can be rightly assumed that the United

States meant to give us the opportunity, under the Commonwealth, of initiating both political as well as trade relations with other countries, subject to its supervision and control.

We shall request the State Department at Washington to permit the Commonwealth to send men as attaches to American legations or embassies as well as to American consulates in order that these men may acquire the knowledge and experience in the diplomatic service and provide our government with needed information concerning foreign trade.

It will be necessary and to our advantage besides to win the good-will of, and maintain friendly relations with, other nations. But to accomplish this aim, mere protestations of good purposes are not enough. We must deal fairly with all nations and respect their rights. We must secure to every foreigner who lives with us full protection of our laws. His life, his property, must be as safe among us as they are in his own land.

During the transition period we shall endeavor to find new markets for our products so that if and when the market of the United States shall no longer be open to us, except on a competitive basis, we may not be left without outlet for our products.

PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE

The question of Philippine Independence has been settled. The Independence Law sets the day for independence and prescribes the process leading to its consummation. We accepted the Independence Law, we have approved a Constitution pursuant to its provisions, and the people by ratifying it with practical unanimity have agreed to the grant of independence under the terms and conditions prescribed by the Congress. Independence, therefore, is no longer an issue either in the United States or in the Philippines. Insofar as the terms and conditions of independence are concerned, we made it plain when we accepted the Independence Law that we reserved the right to petition Congress for their modification with a view to making them less burdensome for our people and more adapted to the attainment of the purpose for which Congress intended them.

We consider the economic provisions of the Independence Law not entirely fair to the Philippines. We regard legislation recently passed by Congress imposing greater restrictions on our free imports to the United States or authorizing the collection of exorbitant taxes on some of our products sold in that country, not only discriminatory, but a virtual violation of the solemn covenant between the two countries. We shall exert every effort to secure the repeal of those discriminatory measures and to obtain amendments to the Independence Law looking to a more equitable trade arrangement between the United States and the Philippines during the Commonwealth.

In relation to the transition period, the Congress of the United States fixed the term of ten years considering it necessary to allow the Philippines gradually to adjust their national economy to the conditions which will obtain when independence should eventuate and to permit the Filipinos to prepare themselves adequately for the responsibilities of independent nationhood. It was, therefore, chiefly for the benefit of the Philippines rather than of the United States that the intermediate period of ten years was fixed. While there may be differences of opinion as to whether this period is too long or too short, all must agree that, if our trade relations with the United States during the Commonwealth should prove more injurious to our country than they would under complete independence, the Philippines would then do well to hasten the date of separation from America. This fact will not be revealed to us until after the first years of the Commonwealth and we have known the result of the economic conference between representatives of the United States and the Philippines which, I trust, will be called by the President of the United States at an early date.

Meanwhile, I consider it a most disturbing influence which will retard our work of economic readjustment and reconstruction, for anyone to advocate now the shortening of the transition period. What the country direly needs to-day is a period of stability and business confidence so that we may proceed unhampered

in the task of erecting our new Government and building up the national economy to increase the wealth of the nation, promote commerce, agriculture, and industry; improve the condition of our wage-earners, and create economic opportunities for all our citizens. We need to give capital reasonable certainty as to those conditions which affect investment; we need to assure the industries that are dependent upon the free American market that no radical changes will take place which will bring about a sudden loss of the market on which they depend; we need above all to provide economic security for the masses of our people which can only be accomplished through the maintenance of stable business conditions.

I yield to no one in my fervent desire to see the Philippines independent as soon as possible, but I cannot close my eyes to the fact that a difference of a few years may mean a great deal to the well-being of our people and the permanence of our national liberty. Besides, we should not be deluded into believing that