Counter-Propaganda

Since the Japs took over the Philippines in December 1941, Franklin Roosevelt has repeatedly promised the Filipinos that “their freedom will be redeemed and their independence established and protected. The entire resources in men and material, of the United States, stand behind that pledge.” But Jap propaganda has continued to drum away on a shrewd line: why help or expect, help from an imperialistic, white U.S. Since last January, Premier Hideki Tojo has been purring that the Filipinos would get their independence as soon as they are “really cooperating” with Japan.

To implement the President’s promises and to counteract Jap propaganda, a bill was introduced in Congress last week by Maryland’s Senator Millard E. Tydings. It would give the Filipinos their independence not in 1946, but “completely and forthwith.”