The Washington herald., 1912-07-21
BY L. sTAGG.

The heart center Of the Philippines is
not In that beautiful tropical country.
but in a modest suite In the House once
Building on the Capitol Grounds, where
Manuel L. Quezon. the general OF ma
tional hope and the good angel OF the
Fflipinos, is working out his plans to
make our far Western possession free
and Independent nation.
The American people love liberty,
therefore their heart ts should be warm Tor
this leader Of peoples ideals. His is
the voice that interprets his people to
us, he seeks. redress for their grievances,
and ! makes us understand them. In
short, he is medium through which
the United States may pay full Justice
and tribute to the virtues and rights Of
his countrymen. His one thought Is the
good of his people. In their interests he
works untiringly, and they repay him
with an unfagging loyalty and loving
gratitude that any man might envy him.
A Dominant Force.
The yearly pilgrimages of Mr.. Quezon
to the Philippines are triumphal process
sions The papers there constantly TEEN
with illusions to his great works here.
while his achievements are the topic Of
rich and poor alike He is the most
dominant force in the Philippines. and is
made so by the unanimous vote OF eight
millions of people who have made OF
him their leader and idol
He is on the watch constantly to serve
those who sent him hither, and at any
moment is ready to take the floor of the
House to answer any charges which
picture his people as mere conglomera-
ton of tribes without any bond Of ma
tionality. His natural powers Of oratory
can sway the somewhat unsympathetic
American audience until 1t. too. feels
the warmth and intensity of the desire
of the Philippines for the same inde-
pendence for which their forebears
the hour of the far-away Mands has
only been in this country two years and
a half, and at the time Of his arrival
could not speak a word of English. he
has so studied and applied himself to
learning this language that he now
speaks it f1uently, with only slight ac-
cent, and with the utmost discernment
and understanding. A noticeable feature
of his use of English is found in the
fact that he does not use idiom or pro-
vincialism.
Freedom His Keynote.
Like every man who really achieves or
would achieve great things. Mr.. Quezon
has as keynote the thought Of freedom
and self-government for the people of
the Philippine Islands. 1t shines out in
his every word and action, this burn
ing and irrepressible desire to gain
immediate recognition of and independ-
ence for the Filipinos. He is their apos-
tie of freedom, and, like st. Paul, his
words havc weight. They have touched
many heart in America, for Mr.. Quezon
has not hesitated to go in the highways
and byways to arouse the sympathy and
enthusiasm of the American people.
He knows the ancestors of the Ameri-
cans were revolutionary patriots. who
suffered privation. condemnation. and the
scorn of the world, starved and fought
to the bitter end until the Stars and
Stripes were unfurled to float unchal-
Ienged to the sky.
This is the gospel Mr. Quezon is preach
ing with the rare qualities of the true
orator, true sympathy with his subject.
forceful logic and personal magnetism in
his travels throughout America He has
spoken in many places, in clubs with au-
diences of thinking men and women, in
churches where true religion gives JUS
tice and freedom to all regions, at public
meetings to working people, ever quick
to catch the plea of equality for all, and
ip the dre rewinp-roorns of social leaders.