When one comes to this portion of the amended emendment one marvels that with the grim pictures before them of what happened to Belgium and Luxemburg in 1914, the American Senate should still pin its in treaties of neutrality. When the great war is ended, European Powers will not feel inclined to assume the responsibility of guaranteeing the neutrality of a cluster of islands thousands of miles away in the Pacific; and so risk the possibility—if they are faithful to their pledge—of engag-in another war to defend a new republic for whom they do not care two straws; but with which they will still be able to carry on their trade no matter to whom the islands belong, nor what flag flies over them, This is plain logic and hard reasening; and it brings about th inevitable result that the United States according to this amended Bill, will stand alone the guarantor of Filipino sover reignty. So long as the American flag flies over the Philippine Islands, they are practically free om invasion; but once that flag is taken away, an entirely different condition of things is created. How does the United States propose to guarantee the safety of these peo-plot We take it there is only one way and that is by the force of rms. This being so, it might one day be necessary to send a perfectly equipped army of half a million men, convoyed by a great fleet of men-of-war, to these islands to recover them from a foreign foe. And even granted that when day came, the men were ready, is it certain that the people of America would stand for the outpouring of blood and treasure on behalf of a remote archipelago with which they were unconnected by any ties of blood or race?
Prohibition for the Islands, Not content with the independence amendment, the Senate has added a clause to the Bill, end adopted it, whereby prohibition for the Philippines is to be enforced. The exact wording of the clause is as follow hat no intoxicating drink, or drug, should be manufactured for sale or gift, or sold or offered for sale or gift, for use as a beverage; but this shall not clude or apply to native wines and beverages, commonly known as vino, tuba, basi, and tapuy.""
This piece of legislation has aroused the Manila Merchants' Association, causing them to send a telegram protest to Senor Manuel Quezon. The protest is justified. If the Filipino people had the unenviable record of being a race of drunkards, then it might be a different matter; but such is the ease. On the contrary, the
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.