Gunnison news-champion., 1920-02-13

am a Filipino he replied
"Hows thAtT- asked the lady. y
thought they were all savages living In
the woods"
well. I'll tell you how i came here,
he said "A month before ! left the
Philippines / was living In the woods,
BIT the American Governor decided to
catch as many Wild men as possible.
train them and send them over mere.
So here am, Just as you see" And
the St Louis lady actually believed
him.
That is what you would call fancies
about the Philippines The fact is.
however that the II. 600 900 Filipinos
and their ancestors have been civilized
and Christians for 300 years; that the
non Christian population, according 10
the census Of 1918. is only 500, 900. and
even these are not all unclviiized.
Another fancy is that not until the
coming OF the Americans were school
buildings seen In the Islands, roads
built. or substantial houses erected.
DO you know that for hundreds Of
years the FilIplnos have had colleges
and schools and that the University Of
Santo Tomas Is only twenty .nve years
older than Harvardl That as early as
1896, out OF a population Of 100000
people. there were sil schools for boys
and s33 for girls, That In 1892, eight
years before the coming Of the Amsri-
cans. there were 2,i37 schoolsi
To grant self.government to Luzon
A I~ Ila .
Ing self government to an Apache res
ervation under some local chief" Thus
spoke former President Of the United
States during the FiiipIno-American
war EIaEgeration could be an excuse
At q time when the dignity of the Am
erican people demanded the extinction
Of Filipino opposition. but do you know
that the Philippine Republic, before the
American occupation of the Islanda
had the approval Of prominent Amer.
cans who wer on the spot--like John
Barrett, Director Of the Pan-Americnn
Union, who compared It favorably with
the japanese governmentl That Ad-
miral Dewey considered the Filipinos
better fitted for seif-government than
the Cubansi That they had drafted .
ceastitution at Aalalos which elected
the approval Of distinguished Repub-
lieans like the late Senator George =.
Hoar! That before the coming Of the
= Americans they had produced national
heroes like the mArtyred Jose Rial.
pronounced by q Republican congress
man, Representative Cooper. a. the
noblest victim that has ever fallen int
the clutches Of tyranny
And do you know that the FiiipInos
have not had for hundreds of years any
caste system, blood distinction or royal
families. and that. unlike their oriental
sisters, they are the only Christian peo-
pie in the orientf
mass Of Fflipinos, iliiterlts. poor. liv.
ing . life Of servituds for . few
wealthy land owners and foreigner.
With no houses or farms or property
st their own. Do you know that 70
per cent Of the people above ten years
Of age can read and write and that this
percentage Of literacy 10 almost ~ high
a. some Of the states Of The Unionf
That II il higher than in any country
of South America. higher than the lit
eracy Of the Spanish people, and un-
questionably above that Of any Of the
new countries recognized In Europef
DE- you know that there are Q million
and Q half farms In the Philippines
and that SO per cent Of these farms
are owned BY Ffliplnos. In other words,
| that cut Of the 11,o00. 900 Christian
Filipinos. 5000. 900 Of them at least live
oa their own farms with houses Of
their swn, independent Of any absentes
landlord or foreign masteri That 0l
per 3nt Of the urban property con-
sisting Of houses and lands 10 owned
By the natives Of the Philippines, ao4
only . per cent Ii in the hands of f>s-
eignefsf Yet thsse are facts cabled By
| Acting Governor Charles Emmett YS<
ter - the War Department from ~
| reoent census sstimateA
Having solemnly promised he Y1li-
pines thslf indspeadencs and having
| sone before The world a. the champiea
Of eli The Filipino peo-
pas cannst understand how Amsrica
can esnsisteaiy sfuss - make gss1
thaso psO0iDsaI
- aaaARR 09 YnR DhS1f aDDaM1n