561.35E1/145
The High Commissioner in the Philippine Islands (Murphy) to the Chief of the Bureau of Insular Affairs, War Department (Cox)13
No. 307. For the Department of State: The following from President Quezon: In reply to your 281, April 22nd.14
“My dear Mr. High Commissioner: I have carefully considered the communication from the State Department of the United States containing one from the British Foreign Office which you have transmitted to me with your letter of April 28th, and I am glad to inform you that the government of the Commonwealth will be pleased to take part in the International Sugar Conference which the British Foreign Office proposes to call under the auspices of the world monetary and economic conference. Should the International Sugar Conference actually take place, the government of the Commonwealth will appoint a small delegation composed of not more than three official representatives, and it has no objection—on the contrary it finds it proper and probably more beneficial also—to include the Philippine representatives in the American delegation. It also concurs in the suggestion that the Philippine representatives meet the other members of the American delegation for a discussion of their common problems in advance of the conference.
[Page 528]“It is unnecessary to state in this connection that the Philippine Government expects its delegation to have the right to vote on the questions that may be brought before the conference and upon which there may not be an agreement between the Philippine representatives and the other members of the American delegation, should such an unlikely event occur, and consequently it should not be bound by the vote of the other members of the American delegation on these questions. In other words, while the Philippine representatives will be instructed to cooperate and harmonize its views as much as possible with those of the other members of the American delegation, should there be conflicting interest between the Philippines and the other sugar producing units of the United States, the Philippine representatives will have to stand by the interest of the Philippines, and the subsequent action of the government of the Commonwealth will be naturally influenced by the demands of these interests.
“This government does not feel that any further suggestion is necessary at this time, hoping that all matters to be brought before the conference will first be discussed by the several members composing the American delegation, and then will be the time for them or their respective governments to consider in detail the advisability of any intended action. Very cordially yours, Signed Manuel L. Quezon, President of the Philippines.”