The Butler County press. [volume] (Hamilton, Ohio) 1900-1946, 1920-02-27

"N0, am not
/ am a Filipino" he replied.
"Hows thatf asked the lady. "
thought they Wsvs al ssVegss living Ia
tia woods"
"Weil. III tell you how came here
hs said. "a mOnth before left the
Philippines was living In the woods,
but the American Governor decided to
catch as many wild men 40 ppssihls,
train thsm and send them over here,
So here am, just as yOu see" And
the ST. Louis lady actually believed
him.
That is what you would call fAncies
about tbs Philippines Tho fact iH,
however, that the 1900, 600 FlliplnOs
and thsir ancestors have been civilized
and Christians for 800 years: Ihag tRe
non-Chriatian population, according ts
the census OF 1918, is only SOC, 600, ana
even these are not all unciyiliKed.
Another fancy is that net until ths
coming Of the Americans were school
buildings seen in the Islands, roads
built, Os substantial houses erected.
DO ysu knew that for hundreds o9
years the Bilipinos have had colleges
and schools and that the University Of
Santo Tomas is only twenty-five years
older than HRrvard7 That Ra early as
1855, out OF q population OF 4.0O0. 600
people. thesU were 8A1 schools for boys
and s9s for girlsi That in 1892. eight
years before the coming sf the Ameri.
cans, there we're 2.137 schools9
ITO grant self -govsrnment to Luxsn
under Aguinaldo would be like grant.
Ing self government 70 an Apache res
sgyadon under some local chief" Thus
spoke q former President of ths Uaits6
States during the Fliplno-AmsElcan
wax. Evaporation could be an excuse
at a tirns when the dignity Of the Am
ericRn people demanded the extinction
OF Filipino opposition, but do you know
that the Philippine Republic, before the
American occupation Of the IslaRds.
had the approval OF prominent Ameri.
cans who were on the Bp0t-llke John
Barrett, Director OF the Pan-American
Union. who compared IL fAvorRblY With
the japanese govsrnmsnt1 That A6-
mfral Dewey considered the Btllplpoa
better attsd for Belf-gcvernment than
the Cubansf That they had drafted =
constitution at Malaloe which ELECTED
ths approval of distinguished Repub.
llcans like the late Senator George r.
Hoarf That before the coming OF tbs
Americans they had produced national
heroes like the martyred Jose Rizal,
pronounced by Republican congress
man, Representative Cooper, as the
noblest victim that has ever gRllen into
the clutches of tyranny
And do you know that ths Filipinos
have not had for hundreds OF years any
casts system, blood distinction or royal
families, and that, unlike their oriental
sisters. they Nre the only Christian peo-
pie in the orient2
People have pictured an ignorant
mass of Filipinos, iliterste, poor, liv-
ing 4 life of Bervltude for a few
wealthy hand owners and foreigners,
with no houses or farms sr property
OF their own. DO yeu know that 70
per cent. OF the pe0ple above ten years
OF age can read and write and that this
percentage of literacy Ia almost as high
as some OF the states Of the Union 7
That It Ia higher than In any country
OF South America, higher than the lit
eracy os ths Spanish people, and un-
queEdonRbly gbeve that eg any OF the
new countries recognized Ia Europe 7
Do you know that theFs aSa a million
and q half farms In thR Philippines
and that 90 per cent Of these farms
ara owned by Ftlipinos. In other words,
that oUt Of the IL 900, 600 Christian
F1lIpinos, 5000, 600 Of them AZ least live
oo theiR own farms, with houses OF
their own, independent Of any absentee
landlord or foreign mAsters That 81
per can't OF tins urban property con.
sisting Of housss and lands Ia owned
by the natives Of ths Philippines, and
only Q paF cent. In in the hands Of for
sLgueEns Yet thass ara SAeta cabled by
AsttAg Governor Charles Emmett Yea.
tes to tAe War Department troeU ths
reG@ae census estlmAtaA
Having solsmnly promised the Ftlh
| plnos tAeiS independence and having
gene before the world as the champion
OF self-determinRtion, the Filipino peo
pie cannot understand how Americs
can consistently Nfuss te make COED
thsss promises.