Philippine-American Chronicle
Abstract:The Philippine-American Chronicle was a biweekly newspaper published in Seattle from 1935 – 1936. Although its motto was "For Truth Freedom and Justice We Champion the Cause of Labor," the paper covered labor as well as non-labor issues. Labor issues related mainly to the Cannery Workers and Farm Laborers’ Union Local No. 18257 and its attempts at securing higher wages and better working conditions for laborers. National labor news was mainly composed of American Federation of Labor news. General national and international news, local society news, poetry, wit and humor sections, and numerous advertisements were also a part of the paper. The paper provides information on the Filipino labor movement in the Pacific Northwest, but at the same time provides insight into the daily lives of Filipino laborers and their experiences in the Seattle area. Dates: January 1935 - March1936; published biweekly; four pages; $1.00 US for one year subscription Editors: Frank Alonzo – Editor-in-Chief, Vincente V. Rosal – Associate Editor, Tel I. Baylon – Feature Editor Political Affiliation: Cannery Workers and Farm Laborers’ Union Local No. 18257 as affiliated with the American Federation of Labor Business Address: 417 6th Ave South, Seattle, WA, PO Box 345, Station H (PO Box 54, Nippon Station after May 15, 1935) Location of Research Collection: University of Washington, Suzzallo Library, Microforms and Newspaper Collection, A6140 Status of collection: Incomplete; Volume II, No. 1-3 missing; Volume II, No. 6, pages 2-3 missing; Volume III, No. 8 and No. 11 missing; no volumes after March 11, 1936 available Summary The Philippine-American Chronicle billed
itself as the "largest Philippine news service along the Pacific
Coast" and covered not only labor issues, but also national news,
international news – especially that relating to the Republic of the
Philippines, and University of Washington news. The paper also included
society news, wit and humor sections, and articles published in Tagalog,
the main language of the Philippines. Labor news in the paper was mainly
focused on the Cannery Workers and the Farm Laborers’ Union, as those
were the two industries that the majority of Filipinos worked in. Many of
the articles focused on labor struggles in the Pacific Northwest, but
there were also quite a few articles from the American Federation of Labor
News Service that talked about national labor issues. The paper was not
only a way to inform Filipinos about the state of various labor movements,
but also a way to provide Filipinos with a sense of community. By printing
Filipino society news, news about "home" (the Philippine
Islands), and even articles in Tagalog, the paper provided its readers
with a proof that being a Filipino in the Pacific Northwest could be a
good thing and that Filipinos could become successful if they were hard
working and dedicated. Labor News "Wage earners must be organized
to have rights and promote their own welfare whether the method is
collective bargaining with employers or the administration of law. With
organization labor is all powerful: without organization it does not have
power, authority or rights."
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American Federation of Labor Much of the local labor news in the
paper focused on the plight of the cannery and farm workers who were
fighting for higher wages. In the February 15, 1935 issue it was announced
by Virgil S. Duyungan, the president of the Cannery Workers and Farm
Laborers’ Union (CWFLU), that over 1,000 farm workers were ready to
strike if the farm owners would not consent to collective bargaining. The
workers were protesting long working days of 10-14 hours, lack of overtime
pay, and low wages, and the paper supported them by printing short
speeches about how Filipinos must band together and support the workers if
they chose to strike. In this case the workers were able to get most of
what they were asking for and the paper heralded this as a great victory
for the CWFLU. There were many other articles printed about various groups
such as the local cannery workers and the Alaska salmon cannery workers
who were asking for higher wages. Every time there was a campaign for
higher wages the paper would print articles and speeches encouraging
Filipino solidarity and championing the cause of the CWFLU. During one of
these wage campaigns the vice president of the CWFLU printed a speech in
the paper which stated that "Selfishness, envy, and predatorines
invite chaos that can be prevented a thousand times cheaper than it costs
to cure it." This comment and several others like it were printed in
the paper showing that the CWFLU was determined to keep the workers
together and fight for better wages and working conditions for Filipino
laborers. Beginning in the May 1, 1935 issue of
the paper a feud between the CWLFU and the Filipino Protective Association
(FPA) came to light. There seemed to be general disagreements between the
two about how best to improve the lives of Filipinos in Seattle and this
led to the groups publicly criticizing one another and accusing each other
of working against the best interests of the people. An FPA officer, Leo
Roduta, even went as far as to file a lawsuit against Virgil Duyungan, the
CWFLU president, accusing him and two others, Cornelio Mislang and Antonio
Rodrigo, of embezzling $4,514 of union funds. At this time articles began
to appear in the paper about the now public feud. Some urged cooperation
between the two groups since they should both be working toward the
betterment of Filipino life, while other articles accused the Filipino
Protective Association of attacking the CWFLU and trying to steal its
members, while not doing anything to improve life for Filipinos. The
larceny charges were later dismissed due to lack of sufficient evidence
and nothing more about the FPA was printed except for a short paragraph
saying that the two groups would now try to work together when possible. In terms of national labor news, the
paper printed articles about the National Recovery Act hearings, changes
in labor laws such as the classification of professional employees’
wages, the varying pay rates found in women-employing industries, and the
congressional status of the proposed 30 hour work week among other things.
The April 10, 1935 issue printed an article based on information from the
Committee on Social and Industrial Relations of the Board of National
Missions of the Presbyterian Church in the USA which stated that the
church supported the right of the workers to bargain collectively, obtain
a living wage, and apply Christian principles to living. This was the only
article in the paper in which labor was tied in with religion. Overall,
about half of the national labor news came from the AFL News Service and
so had a decidedly pro-labor, pro-AFL stance. Repatriation "I feel that I express the
general opinion of the citizens of the Pacific Coast when I say that we
will be pleased when we see these Filipinos leave our shores."
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Anonymous Editorial, July 1, 1935 Discussion of the U.S. government’s
plan to pay for transporting Filipinos back to the Philippines was an
ongoing topic in the paper for some time. The paper regularly printed
updates on the status of the bill regarding repatriation and provided its
readers with contact information should they be interested in securing
transport back to the Philippines. It was estimated that 15,000 to 30,000
Filipinos were interested in returning to the Philippine Islands due to
trouble adjusting to American life or having difficulty in finding a good
job. The paper printed a variety of editorials and articles expressing
very different views on the repatriation bill. Some people, such as the
author of the above editorial, felt that many Filipinos had failed to take
advantage of the opportunities in America and were hurting those Filipinos
who were hardworking and industrious by remaining here. Others felt that
some people should return to the Philippines because the country was in
need of hardworking, highly skilled workers who could help support the
Philippines in its quest for independence. The repatriation bill was
passed by the House of Representatives on May 20, 1935 and printed in full
in the July 15 issue. The Republic of the Philippines "Animated solely by feelings of
cordiality, sympathy, and loyalty, the people of the United States and the
people of the Philippine islands have been conducting together a great
experiment, and during the period of the Commonwealth Government this
experiment will continue until the ultimate withdrawl of United States
sovereignty and the establishment of complete independence."
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Franklin D. Roosevelt At least two articles about the
Philippine Islands appeared in almost every issue of the paper. Many of
these articles were related to the relationship between the Philippines
and its neighbors China and Japan. Everything from China buying Filipino
mangoes to Japan respecting the sovereignty of the islands was discussed.
Three of the most pressing issues were the new constitution of the
Philippines, the defense of the Philippine Islands, and trade relations
between the Philippines and the U.S. The proposed constitution of the
Philippines and all the proposed amendments and bills were generally
printed in full in the paper, as well as a lengthy article about the
history of the Philippine government. In addition, commentary about the
proposed legislation and President Roosevelt’s reaction to it was
usually included. When Manuel L. Quezon was elected as the first president
of the Commonwealth Government this development also garnered heavy
coverage. The paper had a very pro-constitution stance and made much of
the fact that the Philippine Islands would now be stronger, better, and
wealthier. The threat of Japan and China and how
best to protect the Philippines from them was also a very thoroughly
covered topic. Whenever China or Japan signed treaties or pacts, or
renounced them, the paper covered these developments and tried to
determine the continuously shifting balance of power between the Asian
nations. In addition, several articles discussed the American military
presence in the Philippines and pointed out that American troops needed to
have a base in the Philippines in order to protect Hawaii since it would
most likely be the first target in an attack on the United States. The
stance of the paper seemed to be that the American presence in the
Philippines was not ideal, but it did provide protection from other Asian
nations and it was good for business, so it should be tolerated. When the
Philippines began to establish an army of its own, the paper covered all
the military developments. On the issue of trade relations, the
main topic was how the Philippines could increase trade with the United
States. America’s efforts to ban competing Japanese textile imports to
the Philippine Islands was the most heavily covered trade issue, followed
by discussions of what raw materials the Philippines could provide America
with. Marriage Law "Could all the people be
cosmopolitan, could the people be broadminded enough to mind their own
business and not be a peeping Tom, watching with long necks, telescoping
and gouging at Mary and John across the street simply because one happens
to be darker color than the other, yet it so happens that their blood is
the same "red color," possessing [an] even higher intelligent
quotient."
Several articles in this paper are
related to House Bill No. 301, introduced by Dorian Todd on February 6,
1935, which was a bill seeking to make interracial marriages illegal in
Washington State. The bill was published in the March 1, 1935 issue of the
paper and as written it made marriages between whites and "negroes,
Mongolians, or Oceanics" (as defined in the bill) illegal in
Washington State. The bill further proposed that marriage licenses must
show the identity of the parties, their real and full names and place of
residence, ages, and race as defined in the bill. This bill was met with
anger and distaste among the Filipino community and the paper printed
several articles and letters that denounced the bill as
"un-American" and a "violation of individual freedom."
The marriage law was especially distasteful to the Filipino community
because several prominent Filipino men, including the editor-in-chief of
the paper, were dating, or had dated, white women. Gambling It is really a pity for those who do
not seem to realize the demons of gambling. Besides robbing us of our
money, our physical fitness, dragging us to a very low level of living
condition, gambling has been the cause of various forms of disorderly
conduct, as stealing, fighting, and murdering."
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Anonymous, June 15, 1935 Beginning in the June 15, 1935 issue a
series of articles denouncing gambling dens and their detrimental affect
on the Filipino community began to appear. Anti-gambling sentiments
reached a peak when the August 2, 1935 issue screamed with the headline
"Vigorous Picket Against Gambling Resorts Launched by Union
Local." This issue of the paper contained not only two anti-gambling
articles, but also a plea to Filipinos to stop gambling to avoid being
caught up in the associated criminal activity. The paper estimated that
Filipinos lost over $500,000 a year in the Chinese run gambling houses
which were accused of paying off police to avoid being shut down. The
paper urged the Filipino community, church organizations, and the police
to support the anti-gambling movement and help preserve the welfare of the
Filipino community. Virgil Duyungan, the CWFLU president, sent a letter to
the police (later printed in the paper) giving the addresses of two
gambling houses and Frank Meners, an ordinary citizen, took it upon
himself to write letters to the police telling them he could provide them
with information on the gambling dens as part of his personal campaign to
do away with gambling in the Filipino community. Gambling was seen as a
parasitic drain on the health and wealth of the Filipino community and the
paper did what it could to try to curb its popularity. Conclusion The Philippine-American Chronicle is an
excellent source of information about the work and home lives of Filipinos
in the Pacific Northwest in the 1930’s. It provides detailed information
about various campaigns within the CWFLU and also about the state of labor
as a whole. In addition, the inclusion of general and society news gives
the reader a sense of the daily trials and tribulations of Filipino
workers in Seattle. This paper stands as a testament to the progress of
the Filipino community in coming together and fighting for the best
interests of the individual and the community. Appendix A People of Interest Rufo N. Coracha, President of the
National Labor League of the Philippines: August 2, 1935 Clarence Corpuz, Boxer: April 14, 1935,
August 2, 1935, September 24, 1935, October 24, 1935 William Green, President of the
American Federation of Labor: June 4, 1935, September 10, 1935, October
22, 1935 Chiang Kai-Shek, Chinese leader: April
15, 1936 Douglas McArthur, American General:
February 26, 1935 Victorio Velaasco, President of the
Filipino Press Club: December 10, 1935 Matthew Woll, Vice President of the
American Federation of Labor: September 10, 1935
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Labor News While the paper ran stories about news in the labor movement, the paper often focused on the Cannery Workers' Union and Farmers' Laborers' Union, where many Filipinos labored.
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