An hour and one-half’s conversation with Quezon in Pasay —he is still in bed but is better. Had him to myself as the others were at the pier greeting the arrival at 9:30 a.m. of Secretary of War Dern. Quezon again expressed a thrill at my recent reception by the public here —said it was genuine and not manufactured— he had nothing to do with preparing it. He added that they would have “murdered me” with kindness if it had not been for the preparations for the inauguration. Described may incidents of the Wood and Stimson administrations —Said he might have— if he had not himself as Resident Commissioner learned to know the real sentiments of American people. He added that Stimson was rough and direct and pounded the table. Said he (Q) loved Stimson —he always kept his word and told the truth.
Stimson, said Quezon, offended the Americans here by refusing to consult their opinions —he told them that he represented the United States and what he wanted to learn was Filipino opinion. He described the successful fight Stimson made here to put the foreign banks under the bank examiner. He had told Jim Ross and the Manager of the National City Bank of New York that they were obstructing his Government. Had Manager of the National City Bank transferred out of this country and told them that if the bank did not remove him, it would not have the backing of the Department of State, when he took up his post of Secretary in Washington. Quezon remarked with a laugh that when Stimson left here, the local Americans would [have] elected me (the writer) President if Stimson had run against me. When I offered to leave “unless he had something more to say to me,” he hesitated then opened up as follows:
He told me that I was to be a guest of the Government for one month; and after the inauguration, he would make me one of his advisers —the work to be defined later—I was to fix my own salary—he wanted me with him, and thought it would make a favorable impression on the people but did not seem positive of that. (I suppose he feels that my welcome here is a sentiment which might be diminished if I took any work here.)
Then he talked of the Governor General and remarked that it was an outrage that Nick Kamisky, the old caretaker of the Palace, was being taken away from Malacañan but that he wanted my servant Ah King as his butler. The he talked again of plans he said were being made by Murphy for future work of the High Commissioner here.