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The article presents the author's views on the Ford Foundation. The Ford Foundation does not open an office in the Philippines, or anywhere else, with a program in mind, on paper, or in the form of entries on the stubs of a check book. Rather, the office of the Representative exists to receive and occasionally seek proposals from private and public institutions and agencies, which have as their goal the execution of projects which happen to be in line with the Foundation's objectives. These objectives are subsumed under the phrase that introduces our annual reports, "To Advance Human Welfare." In practice, of course, operational definitions of the kinds of things which are eventually supported bee come a bit more refined and restrictive. The focus of our support abroad is on those research and educational activities which are in some way relevant to the development needs of the host countries. In his annual statement in 1963, the then President of the Foundation, Henry T. Heald, succinctly stated the reasons why a private American foundation works overseas.

The article presents information on the Fifth Visayas-Mindanao Convention of the Philippine Sociological Society which was held during May 1-2, 1967 at the Victorias Milling Co. Around fifty delegates from all over the Philippines attended. Each speaker was given thirty minutes to read his paper, after which a thirty minute open forum followed. Richard Stone's "Private Transitory Ownership of Public Property: A Key to Understanding Urban Behavior," elicited mixed comments and reactions toward the Filipino's conception of public property. Problems of integration or assimilation of cultural minorities especially that of the Chinese were also discussed at the conference. Other questions centered on the rigor of the methods, techniques and tools used in the gathering and analysis of data to support the findings presented in the different papers. The question pertaining to the site of the next convention was not decided upon. Among the places being considered are Iloilo City, Cebu City and Baguio City.

The article discusses the role of the American Federation of Labor (AFL) of the U.S. in advocating the independence of the Philippines. The 1920s can be described as the critical period of Philippine independence. The first recorded instance of AFL interest in the Philippines during the period in question was in 1923. According to the Reports of the Proceedings of the American Federation of Labor for 1923, the Executive Council authorized a survey of working and living conditions in the Philippines and publication of a committee report of the findings. At the 1924 conference, the Executive Council decided to petition the U.S. Congress to grant the earnest prayer and petitions of the Filipinos to give them the right to exercise in full liberty, freedom and self-government.

Presents news briefs on weed research as of August 1974. Background on a symposium in weed control in tropical crops organized by the Le Comité Français de Lutte Contre les Mauvaises Herbes from September 5 to 6, 1974 at Montpellier, France; Issuance of another list of publications on the various aspects of weed science emanating from the Weed Research Organization in the period January 1 to June 30, 1974; Publication of the "Philippine Weed Science Bulletin" subsidized by the Weed Science Society of the Philippines Inc.