Washington, July 29.
A majority of Senators expressed the opinion that the United States should proceed with its Philippine programme along the lines already laid down. No Far Eastern Power, they contended, would attack the Philippines while the United States still exerted sovereignty. One Senator said "it is my belief that we should give the Philippines independence as soon as practicable, but do not think that jhe United States should pick up its hat and ryn at the frst sign of trouble."
Senator James P. Pope of Idaho believed the present crisis was only temporary, and hence should not have any influence on American policy. He said the present was not an appropriate time to attempt to negotiate a Philippine neutralization agreement, Senator Claude Pepper, Democrat of Florida, said the crisis "illustrates why the United States should not alter the present relationship of the Philippines. There would not be anything to prevent Japan from gobbling "up the Philippiness if we should set them free in the near future. I do not see any reason to swerve from the principles of the Tydings-McDuffe Act" He said he favoured the negotiation of a neutralization agreement as soon as possible, Mr. Fred L. Crawford, Republican of Michigan, issued a statement through the "Congressional Record," in which he urged an open and frank discussion of Philippine Independence in the light of current developments in the Far East, which he cribed as "a" seething volcano.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.