St Ignatius College - Ignatian Yearbook (San Francisco, CA)

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oi ,uh an. 'Om EBU. lllg PQI' Sul- S12 IRIS- per Tttll iduzr rl a wud SS I0 Jinos after lhey .up llllfli iberf 1 Lili 1 ht Q OI ds. l icans an I drug and from ARE THE FILIPINOS EDUCATED? 19 bottles labeled in Latin, when I see behind the counters of banks, having large capitals, natives acting as bookkeepers and receiving tellers, when I find them as merchants and clerks in almost all lines of business, as telegraph operators and ticket agents, conductors and engineers upon railroads, and as musicians rendering upon almost all instruments high-class music, when I am told that they alone make the observations and intricate calculations at the Manila Observa- tory, and that prior to the insurrection there were 2,100 schools in the Islands and 5,000 students at the universities of Manila, when I find the better class living in good, sub- stantial, and sometimes elegant houses, and many of them pursuing professional occupations, I can not but conclude that it is a base slander to compare these people to the Apaches or other American Indians. Even the civilizing test of Christianity is in their favor, as a greater proportion are members of the church than among our own people.' In my recent visit to the Islands, I found not only that the same conditions prevailed, but that there had been great advancement by the Filipinos, especially in occupations re- quiring technical knowledge. 'I'he Philippine people are capable of self-government be- cause they have a deep interest in their country and great love for her and possess a large, highly educated class, thoroughly identified with the best interest of the Islands, who under the educational qualifications now prescribed by law will be elected to legislate and administer the affairs of .gov- ernment. In the last election there, 235,786 voted out of a total registration of 248154. In no State in the Union does such large percentage of electors vote. In Colorado 83 per cent of the men and 80 per cent of the women vote. Among the great achievements of Uncle Sam in the Philip- pines, perhaps the greatest and the one which receives the unanimous approval, support, and enthusiasm of the Filipinos is the present system of education which is founded on the

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18 THE IGNATIAN the government they have adopted the standard plan of studies, and have taught English side by side with Spanish so that their graduates at least understand the English lan- guage, though they may not speak it fluently. According to the World Almanac of 1916, compiled from statistics furnished by the United States Census Bureau, illiteracy of all over 10 years of age prevails in the following countries in the appened percentage: Philippines, 55.5 per cent, Portugal, 68.9 per cent, Bolivia, 82.9 per cent, Bul- garia, 65.5 per cent, Argentina, 54.4 per cent, Brazil, 85.2 per centg Chile, 49.9 per centg Greece, 57.2 per cent: Guate- mala, 92.7 per cent, Russia, 69 per cent, Roumania, 60.6 per centg Serbia, 78.9 per cent. Today, after more than thirteen years of public education, more than 80 per cent of the adult population must be able to read and write. Dr. R. McDill, of Milwaukee, for thirteen years a resident of the Islands, first as an army officer and second as a university professor, on April 9, 1913, in an address to the Milwaukee Press Club, said: As a race, the Filipinos are conservativeg their decisions are arrived at only after a careful consideration of every phase of a question. They are clever lawyers, and their jurists are notably impartial, up- right, and profoundg the decisions reviewed by superior courts compare most favorably with those of the American members of the bench. Senator F. Shafroth, who has made two visits to the Islands, during the discussion of the Philippine Bill in the Senate, said: In a speech I delivered in the House of Representatives 14 years ago, after a visit to the Islands, I made this statement: 'The general impression exists among many Americans that the Philippine people are savages ...... When I iind behind the prescription desks of the numerous drug stores of the Islands. even when kept by Americans and Englishmen, Filipinos compounding medicines, taken from

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20 THE IGNATIAN principle that public schools exist for the purpose of giving to each and every citizen an education which will Ht him for the freest, happiest. and most efficient life possible in the sphere to which his activities will probably be confined. It shapes the bright future of the eight million Filipinos, and assures them of steady prosperity. Unlike the Spanish system, it gives everybody an opportunity of education whether he is rich or poor, whether he belongs to the 96 per cent civilized Christian population or to the 4 per cent half-civilized non-Christian tribes. VVith Manila as the center, it reaches the farthest isles of the group and the re- motest mountain settlements. The products of the Philippine schools and universities are as good as those of the schools and universities in the United States. And, most important of all, the rising generation, being educated upon American ideals of democracy and liberty, are stronger and more in- sistent in their desire to see the Philippine government the government of the Filipinos, by the Filipinos, and for the Filipinos. Did the American system federation in the Philip- pines take cognizance of the moral as well as the intellectual side of human nature, we would gladly give it our un- qualified approval. Now, with the above facts clear in their minds, do Amer- ican readers still hesitate to decide whether the Filipinos are educated enough to understand and perform the duties and responsibilities of a free people? The Writer, being a Fili- pino, of course, advocates Philippine independenceg but, when prominent men like Mr. Taft Cwho opposes the im- mediate Philippine independence on other groundsj, Admiral Dewey and General Merritt Qwho are the best, most compe- tent, and impartial judges to decide this questionj, Senator Shafroth Cwho twice went to the Islands and investigated . . ei conditions therej, and many other Americans who stayed long in the Philippines, have the same opinions, the policy of Philippine independence has almost irrefutable support.