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.

68 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS

This fear should be abandoned, because the patrimony of our
soil is ours to unfold and unravel, with our own capital.
Besides, it is a patriotic enterprise to do so, because we conserve
for posterity the precious.legacy with which God has endowed
this fertile and fruitful land. Let us not forget the example
of other nations that are politically independent but economically enslaved!
In the impulse which we would give to our production, we
should not forget that as it is unstable to depend on only one
market for consumption so it is to depend largely on one harvest and that the diversification of production is absolutely
necessary for a well-balanced development. It is true that we
have not yet reached this danger of one-sided production, but
the government agencies should undertake a more aggressive
policy to orientate in this sense, emphasizing the importance
of second harvests which may have demands outside.
Independence cannot and should not obstruct the increase
of our productive wealth. But as our production depends for
its consumption greatly on the outside markets specially that
of the United States, the cessation of political relations would
provoke a disturbance in the commercial relations bordering on
economic chaos which may last five years or more until necessary adjustments are made to supply the absorbing demands of
the market in the States and other foreign markets which we
may favor with our products. We should not form the illusion that our economic structure will not be affected with the
transition of the actual state of dependence to a life without
a check.
Each object has its price and this retrocession, this hindrance,
this economic chaos is the price of our freedom!
Our domestic commerce will not substantially change in its
structure, because it is hoped that the merchants of other
nationalities that actually take part in the distribution of imported products in the sale of local manufactures and in the
collection of our products for exportation will remain in this
country. There will be, however, a notable increase in the
Filipino participation in trade so notable that after a lapse of
some years we shall no more be the insignificant minority that