Mr. UNDERHILL. If they are not ready at the present time, politically or economically, for independence, how long a period would you think should be determined before they receive complete independence?

Judge LINEBARGER. Well, I can only say, in the two or three minutes remaining, that the Philippine Islands constitute the hub of a wheel; the Spanish gave us an old, rotten hub and we built it up; the spokes of the wheel are half Chinese and half American. If you ask, When will the Philippines be able to develop economically; the answer is, When extraterritoriality is abolished in China. Now, when extraterritoriality is abolished in China there will be a different economic situation all over the Far East. The economic condition of China is bound up by what I call the unequal treaties, and when those treaties are abolished then the Philippine Islands will become one of the most important trading points in the world. Mr. UNDERHILL. Now, there has been considerable evidence presented to this committee with reference to the products of the Philippines and a market for them, and the statement has been made that without the United States market they could not exist from an economic standpoint.

Now, do you think that they could find a market in China if they had independence if our tariff wall was set against them, that they could find a market in China for their sugar, copra, tobacco, and other major products?

Judge LINEBARGER. As soon as extraterritoriality is abolished in China and the unequal treaties abolished, economic conditions in the Philippine Islands will be such that the Chinese may take all their products and make them a very prosperous country. Then they can become a government of their own and go forward beautifully.

The CHAIRMAN. If there are no further questions, we will hear from Representative Rankin, of Mississippi.

STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN E. RANKIN, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI

Mr. RANKIN. Mr. Chairman, I did not expect to appear this morning, but it is well known to the membership of the House that one of my colleagues, Hon. Percy E. Quin, passed away on yesterday, and I am going to have to leave this afternoon to accompany his remains home. Therefore I did not have time this morning to get my material together. However, I desire to say that my present attitude is not new with me. I have always been in favor of full and complete independence for the Philippine Islands. I assumed that attitude more than 30 years ago. I have never wavered from it.

I know that there are some people who honestly believe that the Filipinos are incapable of self-government. But as the years go by and we see the conduct of the other peoples of the earth, I have become more thoroughly convinced that the people of the Philippine Islands are more capable of self-government than are the people of some nations whose independence has long been recognized.

I introduced a resolution the first time I came to Congress, in the Sixty-seventh Congress, for full and complete independence. I intro

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duced one at this session of Congress, and I am going to ask to have it inserted at this point in the record.

The CHAIRMAN. If there is no objection, it will be inserted at this point.

Mr. BRUMM. What is that, Mr. Rankin, for full and immediate independence?

Mr. RANKIN. Yes, sir.

(The bill referred to is as follows:)

[H. J. Res. 100, Seventy-second Congress, first session]

JOINT RESOLUTION Authorizing the Filipino people to adopt a constitution and providing for the withdrawal of the United States from the Philippine Islands and for the recognition of their independence

Whereas the Philippine autonomy act, entitled "An act to declare the purpose of the people of the United States as to the future political status of the people of the Philippine Islands, and to provide a more autonomous government for those islands," approved August 29, 1916, declared that it was "the purpose of the people of the United States to withdraw their sovereignty over the Philippine Islands and to recognize their independence as soon as a stable government can be established therein"; and

Whereas the President of the United States in his message to Congress on December 7, 1920, certified "that the people of the Philippine Islands have succeeded in maintaining a stable government," and further stated that the condition set by the Congress as precedent to independence having been fulfilled, "It is now our liberty and our duty to keep our promise to the people of those islands by granting them the independence which they so honorably covet "; and

Whereas the independence of the Philippines was promised directly or indirectly by every President and by the Congress of the United States; and Whereas the Filipino people have repeatedly petitioned the people and Government of the United States to grant their freedom and independence: Therefore

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Philippine Legislature is hereby authorized to provide for the election of delegates to a constitutional convention to formulate a constitution for a free and independent government of the Philippine Islands. The Philippine Legislature shall provide for the necessary expenses of such convention.

SEC. 2. The constitution formulated shall provide

(a) That the property rights of citizens or corporations of the United States shall be respected and safeguarded in the same manner as property rights of citizens or corporations of the Philippine Islands.

(b) That the valid debts, liabilities, and obligations of the government of the Philippines, its Provinces, cities, and municipalities at the time of the approval of the constitution shall be assumed by the independent government and where bonds have been issued under authority of an act of Congress by the Philippine Islands or any Province, city, or municipality therein, the independent government will make provisions for the necessary funds for the payment of interest and principal, such obligations to be a first lien on the taxes collected by the said government.

SEC. 3. The constitution formulated shall be submitted to the people of the Philippine Islands for ratification or rejection at an election to be held within sixty days after the completion of the constitution, the exact date and manner of election to be prescribed by the Philippine Legislature. The Philippine Legislature shall provide for the canvassing of the returns of the election and shall, if a majority of the votes be for the constitution, certify the result to the Governor General of the Philippine Islands together with a statement of the votes cast thereon.

SEC. 4. Within thirty days after the receipt of such certification, the Governor General shall issue a proclamation for the election of the officials provided for in the constitution, such election to take place not earlier than ninety days nor later than one hundred and twenty days from the date of the proclamation. The Philippine Legislature shall prescribe the manner of the election of such officials.

SEC. 5. The returns of the election of the officials for the independent government of the Philippine Islands shall be immediately certified to the President of the United States, who shall, within sixty days after the receipt of such certification, issue a proclamation announcing the election results and fixing a time, not earlier than six months nor later than one year after the issuance of the proclamation, when the government of the Philippine Islands will be turned over to the officials duly elected, and such officials will begin to function under the Philippine Republic.

SEC. 6. Upon the inauguration of the officials of the Philippine Republic, the President of the United States shall withdraw all jurisdiction, control, and sovereignty over the territory and people of the Philippine Islands and recognize the Philippine Republic as a separate, self-governing nation, free and independent.

SEC. 7. Upon the proclamation and recognition of the Philippine Republic, the President of the United States shall notify the governments with which the United States is in diplomatic correspondence and invite said governments to recognize the independence of the Philippine Islands.

Mr. RANKIN. I am not going to take up the time of the committee, if I may be permitted to extend my remarks.

The CHAIRMAN. If there is no objection on the part of the committee, Mr. Rankin will be permitted to extend his remarks in the record, provided, of course, they are not too long.

Mr. UNDERHILL. Mr. Rankin, of course, I will not object to your request, if you will confine your remarks as far as possible to the subject of the bill, and not go into history.

Mr. RANKIN. I am not going into history, and I do not represent any other nation, except the people of the United States. I am not going into the byways and hedges, and if I do extend my remarks, Mr. Underhill, I will certainly confine them to the question before the committee.

I know you have had a great deal of conversation here, and I am sure you have been patient, as committees of the House usually are. My resolution speaks for itself.

Admiral Dewey said when we took the Philippines over that they were thoroughly capable of self-government. He knew more about them, in my opinion, than any other white man, or any other American, I will say, who had contact with those islands in his day. I attach more importance to Dewey's statement than to that of anybody else who has spoken on the subject, outside of the people who live there and who speak from the Filipinos' standpoint.

We owe it to the Filipino people to grant their independence. It was a solemn promise we made. We made a solemn promise in the beginning that we would turn them loose, give them their independence, and we have gone on for 30 years and have not done so. It has been promised by practically every President of the United States that we have had from the inception of American occupation to this day; it has been written into a majority of the party platforms. Yet we go on from time to time, dragging along and holding up indepedence, which, in my humble judgment, we owe them, and should have given them years ago.

And if you will stop the exploitation of the Philippines by private enterprises, private individuals, you will kill off most of the opposition to independence.

Mr. CARTWRIGHT. What do you mean?

Mr. RANKIN. There is an organization in the Philippines known as the American Chamber of Commerce that has constantly sent propaganda to Congressmen.

Mr. UNDERHILL. The chamber of commerce?

Mr. RANKIN. I believe it is the American Chamber of Commerce. Mr. BRUMM. It is the American Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines?

Mr. RANKIN. In the Philippine Islands; yes, sir. They are constantly sending propaganda, books and articles, some of which are very highly colored, to show the inadvisability of turning the Philippines loose.

But, in my opinion, they all fall flat. These people have shown themselves amply capable of taking care of their own affairs. We made them the solemn promise 30 years ago when we took them over that we would give them independence. We have promised it ever since, and now the time has come when we can safely step out and turn that government over to their own people, and forever cement the friendship of the Filipinos for the United States.

Now all this stuff about having a revolution after getting loose from this country is all nonsense. The greatest thing that we could do in the Philippines for the future of both countries and for the present and future friendship of both peoples would be to carry out our solemn promise and gracefully step aside, and say to the Filipinos that we, here and now, redeem that solemn promise and give them an opportunity to take their place among the nations of the earth.

Some people say they are afraid Japan will go over there and take them. Now, the Philippine Islands have been there and Japan has been there, the same distance apart, for all time, and Japan has never tried to take them heretofore.

Besides, the Filipinos are so much more thrifty than they are given credit for that I do not believe the Japanese would make much of an inroad there.

There are very few Japanese in the Philippine Islands.

Now, some people look on the Filipinos as being a people who have been recently brought into the pale of civilization. That is all a mistake. Did you know that when Magellan circumnavigated the globe in 1521 he found the Filipinos with a highly developed civilization, a little too high for him, because when he came in direct conflict with them he found to his surprise that they were using the same kind of weapons that he had, and Magellan was killed in one of those battles. They were not people of the stone age. Magellan was killed with a steel rapier.

The Filipinos had been in contact_with, and a part of, oriental civilization for thousands of years. It has always been an astounding fact to me that some people who even write history, much less read it, will try to make the American people believe that we went over there and picked up the Filipinos as a savage tribe. It is true there were some people in some localities of the Philippines, just as there are in practically all countries, that were more or less semicivilized, and that is possibly true to-day.

But the great bulk of the people of the Philippines are just as capable of self-government, I would say, as are the people of numbers of nations that I could mention to-day whose independence has never been questioned and whose ability to govern themselves has never been disputed.

I have been around this Capitol for 10 years, and I will say to you gentlemen that few nations, if any, have sent representatives here who have manifested any more ability than the representatives of the Philippine Islands who have come here, not only as Delegates in Congress but to appear before committees of the House to plead the cause of those people.

I say to you that I am in favor of redeeming that pledge that we made with them 30 years ago, and have been making ever since, and giving them their independence now, peacefully, thereby cementing for all time to come that undying friendship which those people will feel for the United States for what we have done for them and for what we would do for them by this magnanimous act, which I trust will transpire at this session of Congress.

I do not care to make any further statement at this time, but if you have any questions to ask, I shall be glad to attempt to answer any that I can; and if not, I want to thank the distinguished chairman and members of the committee for giving me this opportunity, and I hope you will report this bill out, or some independence bill, without delay.

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you.

Mr. Montet, a Representative from Louisiana, desires to make a short statement.

STATEMENT OF HON. NUMA F. MONTET, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF LOUISIANA

Mr. MONTET. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee, I do not make this appearance so much in the interest of H. R. 4626, which I introduced at this session of Congress, providing for independence of the Filipino people, and a like bill I also introduced at the last session of Congress, as I do in the interest of independence for the Filipino people.

I have never had the pleasure of visiting the Philippine Islands. For econome reasons the people I represent are directly interested in this question; therefore I have sought to familiarize myself as best I could with the situation, and I appear to-day advocating, as I say, not my bill but the independence of the Filipino people for three reasons in the main:

First. To maintain the honor and integrity of our country;

Second. Because the Filipino people are demanding their freedom in keeping with our promise to them; and

Third. In the interest of a fast crystallizing sentiment entertained by people who believe in the old philosophy that selfish enlightenment is the foundation of all civilization.

No one will gainsay but that we promised unconditional freedom to the Filipino people long ago.

The second reason is just as true as the first. In my opinion the Filipino people are justly demanding their independence, and from what I have been able to learn concerning their intellectual improvement since this country has exercised sovereignty there, they are able to govern themselves.

I believe I correctly recall that when we first extended our arm of protection to those people there were some 1,800 schools in the