“That there exist likewise in the Philippines all the conditions of stability and guarantees for law and order that Cuba had to establish to the satisfaction of America in order to obtain her independence, or to preserve it, during the military occupation of 1898–1902 and during the intervention of 1906–1909, respectively.
“That the ‘preparation for independence’ and the ‘stable government’ required by President Wilson and the Congress of the United States, respectively, contain no new requisite not included in any of the cases above cited.
“That these prerequisites for Philippine Independence are the same as those virtually or expressly established by the Republican administration that preceded President Wilson’s administration.
“That during the entire time that the Filipino people have been with America, they have been living in the confidence that the American occupation was only temporary and that its final aim was not aggrandizement or conquest, but the peace, welfare, and liberty of the Filipino people.
“That this faith in the promises of America was a cardinal factor not only in the coöperation between Americans and Filipinos during the years of peace, but also in the coöperation between Americans and Filipinos during the late war.
“That the condition of thorough development of the internal affairs of the country and the present international atmosphere of justice, liberty, and security for all peoples, are the most propitious for the fulfillment by America of her promises and for her redemption of the pledges she has made before the world.
“Therefore, so far as it is humanly possible to judge and say, we can see only one aim for the Commission of Independence—independence; and we can give only one instruction—to get it. * * *”
The Mission proceeded to Washington to confer with President Wilson and to make known their desires. It happened, however, that the President was in Paris, at the Peace Conference, and could not receive the mission in person. He delegated Secretary of War Baker to represent him and to read for him to the Mission a letter in which he expressed sentiments of sympathy and good will. In that letter, the President said in part:
“I am sorry that I cannot look into the faces of the gentlemen of this Mission from the Philippine Islands and tell them all that I have in mind and heart as I think of the patient labor, with the end almost in sight, undertaken by the American and Filipino people for their permanent benefit. I know, however, that your sentiments are mine in this regard and that you will translate truly to them my own feelings.”
And Secretary Baker, on his part, said:
“I know that I express the feeling of the President—I certainly express my own feeling; I think I express the prevailing feeling in the United States—when I say that we believe the time has substantially come, if not quite come, when the Philippine Islands can be allowed to sever the mere formal political tie remaining and become an independent people.”
Hearing Before Congressional Committee.—Because of the absence of President Wilson, the mission had to return to the Islands with its object unattained. The members, however, had visited many cities of the United States and delivered speeches pleading for independence. They also succeeded in getting a hearing before a joint-committee of Congress, presided over by the then Senator Harding. But the committee was adverse to any action being taken at the time on the issue of Philippine independence and so stated. The Mission then presented a memorial “to the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States,” wherein it submitted the case of the Filipinos in substance thus:
1. That as defined and established in the Act of Congress of August 29, 1916, the purpose of the Government of the United States is to withdraw its sovereignty over the Philippine Islands as soon as a stable government can be established therein.
2. That in accordance with the terms and provisions of said law, the people of the Philippines have organized a government that has been in operation for nearly three years and which has offered complete evidence that conditions are ripe for the establishment of an independent government that will be fully capable of maintaining law and order, administer justice, promote the welfare of all the inhabitants of the islands, and discharge as well its international obligations.
3. That the Filipino people desire their independence at this time, and along with that independence, they confidently hope to preserve the bonds of good understanding and friendship which bind them to the United States, and to foster the free development of commercial relations between the two countries.
The Second Mission.—The first Mission failing to get independence, a second one was dispatched in 1922, with identically the same purpose—to negotiate for independence. It was designated a Parliamentary Mission, presided over by the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate, and was composed of 14 members. Arriving at Washington, it presented a memorial to President Harding, which, in point of logic, force, earnestness, and diction, must stand unique in the annals of peoples aspiring to be free through peaceful methods. It is the case of the Filipinos in a nutshell. It recites in part:
MEMORIAL OF JUNE 16, 1922