Proceedings of the first Independence congress : held in the city of Manila, Philippine islands, February 22-26, 1930 / Published under the direction of Dean maximo M. Kalaw, executive secretary, University of the Philippines.

200 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS

thaii in previous years. However, science must struggle on in
combating the different types of epidemic diseases which confront people living in the tropics. It will be the part of wisdom to closely keep abreast with the progress of sanitation and
hygiene in order that our population can grow normally and
with vigor and strength. The importance of this work is so
self-evident that its necessity need not be emphasized.
There looms a problem of giant magnitude which an independent Philippines must face and that is the proper development of instrumentalities for national defense. Modern war-
fare can only be carried out with a reasonable degree of success
tIy the intensive application of science. The modern instruments of warfare have reached such a high degree of perfection
and complexity that only a nation with advanced technical
knowledge can hope to employ them effectively.
It has been said that war, reduced to the simplest terms, is the
pitting of the resources of one nation or group of nations against
those of another. The side which has the greatest resources
or the side which uses its resources to the greatest possible advantage maintains the better position. Since science makes the
resources more available or enables their efficient use it becomes
a vital military factor. Just as science is useful in time of
peace so it is of paramount importance in time of war. The
manufacture of modern explosives is essentially a chemical industry founded upon careful research and supervised by trained
and experienced technical men. The explosives of today are
quite distinct from regular mixtures of charcoal, saltpeter and
sulphur of the old days. Picric acid is probably the first known
modern explosive. Later on this was followed by the discovery of gun cotton and nitroglycerine. These two substances
form the basis of modern smokeless powder and dynamite.
Trinitrotoluol and other nitrated bodies were extensively 4
used during the last world war. So the development of the
different kinds of explosive for national defense is of great
importance.
One of the greatest works developed in the last world war was
ih connection with poisonous gas. The research on the different chemical warfare gases used with a view to study their