"The law creates a monopoly in favor of American bottoms."

[Filipino Americana]: Melencio, Jose P.:

Why Filipinos Oppose Coastwise Law Extension [caption title].

Washington, DC: Philippine Press Bureau, [1922]. Broadside, 15 x 10 inches. Old folds, minor wear. Very good plus. Item #12953

A well-reasoned argument against the 1922 coastwise law extension by José Melencio, a FIlipino lawyer, diplomat and politician who later represented Mindanao and Sulu in the House of Representatives of the Philippines from 1925 to 1931. One interesting note about Melencio is that he was married to Emilio Aguinaldo's daughter, Carmen. The 1922 coastwise law extension mandated that U.S. shipping laws apply to its island territories, including the Philippines, requiring transport between the U.S. and Philippines to occur on American-built, owned, and operated vessels from Feb 1, 1922. The purpose of the law was to restrict the carriage of goods and passengers between the United States and the Philippines (and other territories) to American-owned vessels, fostering a national merchant marine. While the law was meant to take effect on February 1, 1922, President Harding and subsequent administrations consistently suspended this extension for the Philippines (and other areas like the Virgin Islands) because of insufficient U.S. shipping capacity and fears of economic disruption. The application of these laws was largely seen as a move toward economic protectionism, and its full implementation was deferred repeatedly until Philippine independence made the issue moot.

In the present work, while serving as a diplomat in Washington, DC, Melencio provides a bit of background on the law and argues against it for four reasons. First, the law is unnecessary because American ships already charge the lowest rates, so Philippine shippers prefer them anyway. Second, the law is injurious to Philippine trade. Thirdly, the law is a "Jab Against Philippine Autonomy," having been passed "against the will and over the protest of the Philippine government," and lastly, if implemented, Filipino people may prefer cheaper European goods to American products made more expensive by the implementation of the law. Melencio then provides an "unavoidable" conclusion: "The Philippine clause of the Merchant Marine Law should be repealed. The interests of America's PROTEGES should be placed above those of the pocketbooks of the shipping adventurers. This is the only course consistent with her vaunted policy of altruism."

OCLC records just a single copy at the Western Reserve Historical Society Library.

Price: $650