Excerpts of the President's News Conference

I don't know of any recent action that has been taken relative to the suggestion that came from France last spring about a treaty with that country to make our peace relations with them more certain and any warfare more improbable. That was to be taken up on the return of their Ambassador here and our Ambassador over there. Mr. Herrick, as you know, has been ill, and hasn't been able to go back. I think he will be expecting to return in about three weeks. Then the matter will be ripe, I should judge, for further discussion.

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Senator [Manuel] Quezon and Senator [Sergio] Osmena—he is a member of the Senate—called on me yesterday with the Secretary of War to pay their respects. I was pleased to learn that Senator Osmena's son, who is a student, I think, at Cornell, is very much improved. We talked rather generally about things in the Islands. They advised me that they had no particular person to recommend as Governor General and hoped that someone would be appointed who had a knowledge of affairs in the Islands, and someone with whom they could cooperate to carry on the government of the Islands. I suggested to them the desirability of having the legislature pass on the appropriations that have been recommended by the Governor General and also pass on the appointments that are pending, I believe, before their Senate. In that they agreed with me and said they were to be up here for perhaps a month or so. I told them I hoped I might be able to see them from time to time, as I was anxious to get all the information I could respecting the needs of the Islands and what we could do to better conditions there, that I was especially interested in good roads and a good system of education and in the agricultural development, that I thought it would be very helpful if they would confer with the Secretary of Agriculture to see what he might advise about sending an agricultural adviser who was familiar with tropical agriculture down to the Islands to help them in that respect. They agreed with me about that and I understand that is one of the things they are going to do. They reported that the economic conditions of the Islands were very good and they thought on the whole improving.