President Quirino’s American visit

Title

Language

English

Year

1949

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Fulltext

Editorials " .. . to promote the general welfare” President Quirino’s American Visit President Quirino left Manila for the United States on August 6 and returned on the afternoon of August 18, — the trip thus cover ing a period of twelve busily crowded days which, many will agree, could not have been better spent. The President was received in America not only with distinguished official courtesies, but with the utmost cordiality everywhere he went. He was wel comed at the airport by the President of the United States, who also, personally, bid him farewell there a few days later. He addressed both the House and the Senate in separate sessions, his speech in the Senate being an especially masterful one. He was also able to find time and energy to address a number of important financial and business groups in New York. In connection with the dinner given in his honor by the Philippine-American Chamber of Commerce there and the National Foreign Trade Council, the former asked the Manila American Chamber of Com merce to send a message of greeting to be read at the dinner. President Frederic H. Stevens dispatched the following radiogram: "American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines is glad that President Quirino has been able to accept the dinner in his honor given by PACC and NFTC. We are sure the meeting will be to the mutual benefit of the Philippines and the United States. We are immensely pleased with the reports carried in the newspapers of the President’s outstanding success in reinvigorating Philippine-American friendship. Our greetings, respects, and best wishes to him and you all." That was a sincere expression of our sentiments. Other than his brief speech at the airfield on his return here, the President has not as yet at this writing, released an official statement regarding his possible achievements. But no man could say what practical results will follow from the President’s visit to America, though there are bound to be such effects, ramifying in many directions, political and economic, national and international. We believe that these will be of decided benefit to both coun tries. In reading a magazine article recently, we came across a paragraph which suggested to us certain side-reflections, a train of The Real and the thought, which had nothing to False Conservation of do with the article we were Natural Resources reading, but which is of inte rest here in connection with the frequent agitation concerning the so-called “protection on the national patrimony”. The paragraph read as follows: "Protection of natural resources: The richly endowed United States has been peculiarly vulnerable because of torrential rains and the succeptibility of our soils to sheet erosion. Conservation of the soil and of the moisture content by contour and strip farming, by improved rotation, and especially geater concentration on grass culture, is thus an indispensable requirement. The preservation and reproduc tion of timber resources is closely related to soil protection. Systematic conservation of minerals is not less important. We are obliged to think not in terms of centuries merely but of millenniums.” Note that here is no word about mere land owner ship or about preventing lands or other natural re sources from being acquired or developed by “aliens”. Such questions are of the most temporary and indeed trifling importance compared to the conservation and wise utilization of the resources. Here we enter the clear realm of science, of man agement, of constructive statesmanship. Here we re gard realities, meet Nature’s challenges, solve difficult problems, formulate sound policies, carry out wise programs, develop, advance, construct, establish. Here the air is fresh and clean and full of the hope of achievement. Here we are away from the emotive, the narrow, the invidious, the stagnating, the retrogressive, the unutilized and wasted, the lost. Are we in the Philippines to continue to waste time arguing about restrictive laws and unjust and unwise court decisions while the land itself is allowed to waste away through such torrential rains and such frightful erosion as few Americans can have any con367

Media