The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1901-02-09
garding the literacy of the people as

garding the literacy of the people as
follows:
'"The petition of the citizens of Ma
Mia says that so per cent Of the popula-
ton can read and write, referring, l
am told by Senior Fontela, president of
the Manila Bar association, to the civil
lied communities, which, according to
Professor Blumentrill, the celebrated
cthnologist, comprise fully eight-tenths
of the entire population Of the islands.
If this estimate of literacy seems some
what high, 1 remind you that General
Charles n. King ventures an opinion,
as the result of his experience, that the
true proportion is 80 per cent. Senior
Fontela says that it is practically i'm
possible to find in ordinary life Fill
Pine who cannot read and write either
Spanish or Tagalo, or both"
General King, who is referred to by
Mr.. Towne, is decidedly better au-
thority on everything in the Philip
pines than is General Otis. He is a
trained observer and writer Of abil-
ity, who fought with the American
army in the Philippines until he be-
came disabled by sickness and re-
turned home. An Englishman named
Bray, who spent many years in the
iS1ondS
about the percentage of literacy, and
many of the soldiers in their letters
have spoken of the evidences of edu-
cation and culture among the people.
According to the Compendium of
the Eleventh Census issued at Wash
ington in 1897, which lies on our desk,
we find that the illiteracy in several
parts of the United States, but par
ticularly in Alabama, Mississippi and
Louisiana, is greater by far than in
the Philippine Islands, save and except
among the Sulu Islanders and the Ma
cabebes, who are savages and polyga-
mists. And strange to say, Mckinley
AAst' AAAoAS Gil slAlllllSS Will liz lOlllltl
and wants 10000 of the latter for his
army to slaughter his Christian
wards" as he calls the Filipinos.
In the census reports for 1890 we find
that there We're 6,324, 7O2 illiterates in
the United States. Native white illite-
rates of native parentage constituted
~ 81 cant. Of NOT yx-1,; 1r
native white illiterates of foreign par
rentage constituted only 2.76 per cent
of the whole number of illiterates.
The illiterate cOlored population was
1927 per cent of all the illterates in
1890. The percentage of illiteracy in
Alabama was 3S per cent among the
males over 10 years of age and 43 per
cent among the females In NIissis-
sippi it was 81 and ~ per cent, respect
lively, and in Louisiana 43 and Al per
cent. And yet they enjoy self-govern-
ment in these states and nothing is
said of their ignorance because the
great majority of them happen to be
Methodists, Baptists and Presbyteri-
ans
The Filipinos We're taught all they
know by the Spanish priests and fri
ars. In Gods name why don't the
Protestant ministers take hold of their
own ignorant countrymen in the South
and teach them the English alphabet?
They prefer to go to the Philippines,
not to Christianize the Mohammedans
and civilize the Sulus and NIacabebes,
but to proselyte the Catholic Tilipinos
and save them from papal jurisdiction.
Perhaps they will find it more prorit.
able than to begin their work of edu-
cation at home.