Show economic highlights happenings that effect the he dianer pails dividend cli checks eclis and ta tas bills of every individual five or six years ago auy any 1111 eluo so politically blind as to campaign for office on a platform advocating vo the maintenance of the philippines ou on their then existing basis as au Ame american colony would have gone down to fco Ign ignominious ominous defeat today a candidate advocating absolute philippine freedom would have about as aa much chance of political survival as a snowball in july four years back when congress passed the ithe tydings me mc duffle act providing for complete independence for the islands in INO 1946 the islands put ou on the greatest celebration in their history the ambition of all filipino patriots had been realized leaU zed last kov ember a plebiscite was held and where filipinos voted in favor of maintaining the act in its present form more than voted ted to modify it there is plenty of reason for that rather astonishing shift of island sentiment the philippines are worried there are arc two prim ary worries ono one has to do with their economic life and the other with their security as a people and a nation As newsweek expresses it the average filipino fears that independence pen dence will mean poverty so long as the islands remain a US dependency philippine exports can enter this country without tax or duty and we of course provide their greatest single market under the terms of the tydings Me Duffle act as the day of freedom nears island goods are to be subjected progressively to our tariffs that would naturally mean higher lingher prices for island raised produce here more competition and declining sales it would be virtually essential for the islands to revolutionize their economy if they were vere to escape economic disaster that would be a difficult revolution indeed and so far apparently patently ly little progress toward that end cud has been made so far as philippine security is concerned the great fear is japan nippon paoa frankly wants tile the islands which are rela relatively v close to her glicr shores the japanese have already penetrated deeply into the economic life of the islands and tire are the dominant figures in a number of major industries the philippines have bave laws lawa designed to restrict japanese property holdings but according to reports the wily subjects of the son of heaven have found little difficulty in getting ar around aund them by the use of dummies dumar and similar stratagems theu theu S army it Is known Is not enthusiastic for the ha islands it regards them as being dangerously close to being indefensible against a major fleet such as that possessed by japan which has sources of supply within reach the navy while it too appreciates the difficulties of defense wants the bases basea in the F par ar east w which aich the islands provide so the admirals are generally in favor of modification of the tydings mc ale duffle act what happens to the islands la Is of considerable importance to this country we have invested scores of millions there and we sell great quantities of our goods to the islands annually some argue that he best out Is to enC encourage tile filipinos to change their type of farming produce for us ten tea pepper quinine and other commodities which today we must buy from foreign nations in the meantime sentiment in favor of modification fi of the act grows especially since it has become apparent that an overwhelming wh elming majority of favor faivor avor it ft too there is ia a good chance that congress will listen imd and act |