The daily morning oasis., 1919-05-09

had drafted constitution at Malolos
which elected THE approval of distin-
guished republicans like the late Sen
ator George F. Hoar? That before
the coming of the Americans they
had produced national heroes like
the martyred Jose Rial, who has
been proclaimed by an Austrian writ
er, Ferdinand Blumentritt, as the
greatest man the Malayan race has
produced, and pronounced by a Re-
publican Congressman, Representa-
tive Cooper, as the noblest victim that
has ever fallen into The clutches Of
tyranny?
Possibly the geographical situation
OF the Philippines had something TO
do with the fanciful estimate the St.
Louis lady had. The Philippines are
just next door to Borneo, where scien-
lists have hunted in vain for OAR
wins missing link between the mon
key and the supemonkey. They are
close to Java, where the small coun-
try of Holland has ruled for hun
Idreds of years through system of
native princes and royal families
stepped in medieval ideas of govern
mentt. Farther east is India with
her teeming millions, divided up into
scores of native States and by almost
caste barriers. But do you
know that the Filipinos have not had
for hundreds of years any caste sys-
tenn, blood distinction, or royal fami-
lies, and that, unlike the Oriental
sisters, they are the only Christian
people in the Orient?
People have pictured an ignorant
mass of Filipinos, illiterate, poor, liv-
ing a life of servitude for a few
wealthy land owners and foreigners,
with no houses and farms or property
of their own. Do you know that sew
enty per cent of the people above ten
years of age can read and write, and
that this percentage of lteracy is al
most as high as some of the States
of the Union? That it is higher than
in any country of South America,
higher than the literacy of the Span
ish people, and unquestionably above
that of any of the new countries rec
ognized in Europe?
!! Do you know THAT there are a mil
lion and a half farms in the Philip
pines, and that ninetty-six per cent
of these farms are owned by Filipi-
nos? In other words, that out of the
ten million Christian Filipinos, eight
million of them at least live on their
own farms, with houses Of their own,
independent of any absentee landlord
or foreign master? That ninety-one
per cent of the urban propertyt cen.
sisting of houses and lands is own
ed by the natives Of the Philippines
and onlv nine per cent Is in the hands
of foreigners Ye. these are fa is
which have just been cabled by Act
ing Governor General Charles EN-
meUtt Yeater ito the War Department
from the recent census estimates.
The Philippine Legislature recently
sent a special mission to THE United
States to request tie fulillment OF
Americas promise to grant independ-
ence. 1t is their plea that the speci-
fed condition precedent to the grant
ing of autonomy-the establishment
of stable governmentt-is already
fulfilled. Their representations are in
dorsed in every particular by Fran
els Burton Harrison, who has been
the American Governor General in
the Philippines for six years, and is
in position to speak from actual OBJ
servaeion,
by temperament, by experience,
by financial ability" says Governor
Harrison, Gin every way the ten mil
lions of Filipinos are entitled to be
free from every government except
of their own choice. They are intel
ligent enough to decide for them
lselves."