The Rotary Balita no. 744 (April 29, 1954)

Denying alleged "selfish interests" involved in the drawing up of the Bell Trade Act, former High Commissioner Paul V. McNutt told Rotarians at their weekly luncheon-meeting Thursday that it was the best which could be obtained under the circumstances. McNutt, who wrote the original text of the trade act when he was still high commissioner here, revealed that it called for a 20-year free trade period between the Philippines and the United States when he wrote it but that he was not responsible for the provisions calling for gradual increase in tariffs and duty-free quota. "Finality on the text rested on the U.S. Congress," he declared. McNutt said the Bell Trade Act "is a sincere effort" on the part of the United States to help the Filipinos achieve economic stability. McNutt. who is now chairman of the board of directors of the Philippine American Life Insurance Company, promised to do his best to expedite approval of the extension of the Bell Act in the U.S. Congress.