Friday
Gen. MacArthur talks about Scout officers trying to argue and gain the point that there was no such promise about the one and the two rank in promotion. He tried to argue that the position of PS officers as determined by Valdez-Garcia-Ord board was in case they quit the USA and that their position as offered them in the damned letter was lower because they were no longer to be forced to quit their US ranks. He also said something about the WD being opposed to Mex rank of USA officers and that the position in promotion list of these officers was more or less determined by the WD. This is contrary to what Col E previously told me. Col E. also cleared up his position by saying that there was such an understanding. Lim and Garcia also said that there was such an understanding.
On my turn I said the following:
(a) That the rank given these officers by the board which he Gen MacA was allowing was not sufficient to give them the same pay even with their US retired pay.
(b) That the officers did not participate and were not heard as to their opinions about this rank and therefore it was too optimistic to presume they would accept such ranks.
(c) That Col Ord sitting in the board was probably trying to carry the understanding of placing these officers at the top of Majors above Velasco, but that he had forgotten that the Constabulary officers had already received their promotion. It must be remembered that the promise of one rank was made in 1935 before the general promotions of Constabulary officers.
(d) That I was the author of the Act 150 which gave double retirement to Gen L & Capinpin in order to ease up retirement.
(e) That there was no distinction as to the reason why there were two positions offered them — that fixed by the V-D-G board above Velasco and the one offered in letter, that quitting or not quitting the US as a condition did not enter their minds as the ultimate end was to quit the USA and that any position offered was to be their final position if and when they quit the US.
I now understood where L got his argument with me on the 13th about the failure of Scouts to get assimilated rank as due to their own hindrance. He was just helping MacA perpetuate a great hoax. McA probably told him to help him straighten the situation.
We had a hot argument about redistributing. I opposed H and G. Re Negros and Mindanao –my arguments won. McA sided with me. V –remarked when I went to office in the afternoon that my ideas won.