"Great Day"

Early one morning last week whistles began to blow, bells to ring in the city of Manila. In Washington a few minutes before (noon of the day before) President Roosevelt, beaming his best smile, exclaimed: "This is a great day for you and for me!'' The gentlemen he was addressing were two Filipinos, Senators Manuel Quezon and Elpidio Quirino, who had just watched him sign the McDuffie-Tydings bill offering to make the Philippines a Commonwealth for ten years, to grant them independence thereafter. Everybody beamed but no one was genuinely elated. The McDuffie-Tydings is the old Hawes-Cutting bill (which the Philippines rejected last year) except for the fact the U. S. agrees to give up its Army bases on the islands. The factions having fought themselves into a compromise, all had to accept it, though nearly everyone believed that the gradual rise of the U. S. tariff against Philippine sugar would eventually ruin the islands. However, with the President's cheery words still ringing in his ears, Senor Quezon left the White House saying, "I am very happy. . . ." In far off Manila Governor General Murphy (who may soon lose his authority and change his title to "High Commissioner") announced that he would call a special session of the island legislature May 1 to establish the Philippine Commonwealth.

P: The President signed a bill authorizing U. S. consular agents in countries where the U. S. has extraterritorial rights, to arrest and send home any U. S. citizen wanted on criminal charges at home. Thus by acting speedily the President and Congress won a race with the slow-moving freighter Maiotis, still maundering last week somewhere in the Mediterranean with its lone passenger. Henceforth Samuel Insull cannot safely land in such countries as China, Egypt, Morocco. P: To Chairman Robert L. Doughton of the House Ways & Means Committee, the President sent a letter last week advocating passage of a bill taxing employers 5% of the amount of their payrolls but remitting the tax to those who pay equivalent amounts into State unemployment insurance funds. Object: to induce all States to pass unemployment insurance laws, and make all large employers contribute.

P: Driving out through a sleet storm the President called at Washington's Naval Hospital, visited and cheered his youngest son. John, recovering from appendicitis. P: George S. Messersmith was U. S. Consul General in Berlin until the President named him Minister to Uruguay (TIME, Feb. 19). Last week, with Mr. Messersmith's appointment hardly more than confirmed by the Senate, the President changed his destination from Montevideo to Vienna. Reason: George H. Earle 3rd, Minister to Austria, had quit in order to run for Governor of Pennsylvania, rock-bound Republican State which Democrats once again hope they can carry next autumn. P: Hardest Presidential job during the week was getting a settlement of the threatened automobile strike. But other labor troubles gave him other jobs: 1) By wiring an appeal to San Francisco he secured postponement, pending a fact-finding study, of a strike by 12,000 stevedores belonging to the International Longshoremen's Union. 2) He got railroad managers and railroad Brotherhoods to accept Coordinator Joseph B. Eastman as mediator of their squabble over wages to be paid when the present temporary wage agreement terminates on June 30. Mr. Eastman offered-- but last week was unable to get the Brotherhoods to agree to--a continuation of the present wage scale until next January. P: At a press conference, the President answered criticisms of the Post Office's recent order forcing employes to take additional payless furloughs. His point: the Post Office has 15,000 more employes than it really needs, is merely keeping them on in order not to add them to the number of unemployed. P: In identical letters to Chairmen Fletcher of the Senate Banking & Currency Committee and Rayburn of the House Interstate Commerce Committee, the President came out flatly for their Stock Exchange Control bill, called for legislation with "teeth in it." P: Speeding up his work to get away for a short vacation in Florida, the President: 1) signed the Vinson bill authorizing a full treaty strength navy; 2) called Post Office officials to confer on a temporary return of the airmail to private lines, pending permanent legislation. P: As promised, the President swiftly vetoed the Independent Offices bill appropriating an extra $228,000,000 for veterans' pensions and Federal payrolls. A menace to Recovery, he called it. Immediately, before the President could entrain for Florida, the House overrode the veto, 310-to-72. Surprised and annoyed, the President boarded his train hoping against hope that the Senate might carry this body-blow.

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