W. C. FORBES DISCUSSES FILIPINO INDEPENDENCE

Mr. William Cameron Forbes '92 was closely associated with government in the Philippine Islands for ten years, acting as Governor-General from 1909 to 1913. He has been prominent in the University administration, serving as Overseer until Commencement, 1920.

The Philippine Islands are now operating under the so-called Jones Bill, passed in 1916, to which is attached a preamble, which has not the force of law, which contains the following words:

"It has always been the purpose of the people of the United States to withdraw their sovereignty over the Philippine Islands and recognize their independence as soon as a stable government can be established therein."

The platforms of the Democratic Party have repeatedly declared that it is the intention of the United States to grant the Philippines independence, but they always have the saving clause as to a stable government. The Republican Party has been more guarded, but both Messrs. Roosevelt and Taft in turn told the Filipinos in so many words that the object of the American Government was to train them in the art of self-government, with the idea of ultimately letting them guide their own destinies.

Independence Advocated

President Wilson has recently sent a message to Congress in which he says that the government is now stable and that condition having been fulfilled it would be an act of good faith on the part of the United States to give the people of the Philippine Islands full control of their own affairs.

The question now comes down to a question of fact. In the government which the Filipinos now enjoy, stable The present government is about 88 percent Filipino and 12 percent American. The Governor-General, Vice-Governor, Treasurer and Auditor are all Americans appointed by the President of the United States, and the judges of the Supreme Court, similarly appointed, have an American majority. There is a considerable American army out there and two questions which a fair-minded man must determine are (firstly) how stable the government is, and (secondly) how much of the stability is due to the fact that the United States still retains the responsibility and control?

Definition of Stable Government

As a starting off point, we ought to determine what we mean by stable. As I have pointed out, it might perfectly easily happen that one person might declare a government was stable which presented many elements of instability to the more trained eye of another. A fair definition of stable would be "founded on a broad and general suffrage by literate and well-informed peoule, in which the principles of freedom of thought, of speech, of worship and of work, and the right to hold and enjoy property are well protected". Stability also requires a sufficient accumulation of wealth on the part of the people and a sufficient earning power from the business conducted in the country to pay taxes to support nationality; in other words, the country should be able to pay its way and defend itself.

The problem before the United States is to determine how far the conditions making for stability have been established and how far that has been assisted by the work done by the Filipinos. It would probably be unsafe to accept President Wilson's declaration that these conditions have been complied with as final and it is hoped that President Harding will go slowly in the matter of deciding this very vital question, because if the United States should withdraw its control and cease to exercise its power of protection over the Islands prematurely it would very likely ensue that internal complications would follow and some other country might feel it incumbent upon them to step in and take up the burden which our country has just laid down.

Answering therefore the question of independence, it can be said that what the United States has promised is not independence but stability; that everybody--Filipino, American, or foreigner--who lives or has interests in the Philippine Islands, has a right to expect that whatever course the United States pursues stability is assured. He should believe that justice, freedom and good order will prevail in the Islands and that no step looking toward independence of the Islands will be taken until the Filipinos themselves are protected against the evils which would unquestionably follow a lack of stability in their governmental institutions.