Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-08-08
DR.. JOSEPH D. liMQUiCO
On -PhIlippine Education

Tn THE many improvements which have
come to the Philippine Islands under the
administration of the United States Gov
ernment there has been none which has
been greater in the results achieved than
in the matter of education, according to
DR.. Joseph d. Iimquico, n native Filipino
and resident physician of the Roosevelt
Hospital in this city.
Education In the Philippine, Islands,
said DR.. LimQuico. lis conducted upon tn"
American plan of teaching, and it is under
the direct supervision of the Department.
of Education of the Federal Government.
believe that the cost Of the system is met
from the taxes which nre collected in the
islands. and that system. like that Of the
education, is pretty much the same ms IN
this country. There is one exception to
this, however, and that is there is what
is called personal tax, by which each
adult male pays 50 year. a tax which does
not exist in this country.
Immense Progress Made
The progress which the Philippine Is
lands have made under the American
regime is simply wonderful. The people
are contcnted and they are protected in
their rights and are given privileges which
were not even dreamt of in III" days OF
Spanish rule.
Il have now been n resident OF Phil
adelpha for eight years. When I left the
Philippines the University Of II" Philip
pines consisted of fftern buildings. all
erected under the supervision Of IN" United
States Government. Now. understand
more than twenty. W hat the university
has done for the people can scarcely b"
told. it il so great.
"Solne idea of the progress made. how
ever. may be gained from til" fact that
under the American administration fully
a., l,.,.. H..
even in this country, would be c"ll"d we'll
educated and all Of this hnS been accom-
plishcd since the advent Of III" American
Government into the islands, bctor" that,
education was an unusual thing in the
people and perhaps, the greatest work of tho
United States Government has been 90 put
n good education within the reach Of every
resident Of the islands
English Universally Spoken
To-day it woulh be impossible to find
n child in the islands who cannot speak
English One Of the most striking Of the
many great changes which have been mad"
is the substitution Of Eugrlsn for the Span
ish witch was for many centuries the
tongue Of the islands.
$50 general has this chang" been hruught
about that today it is perfectly feasible for
an American to go anywhere in the is
lands and use nothing but his native tongue +:
he will have not the slightest difficulty not
only in making himself understood all over,
hut he will find nativ" Filipin"s who speak
the language tlu"ntly, This is III" cas-" not
only I'm the cities, but everywhere in tho
thp country, even in the most remote VIII
lagos.
1.-THE real Filipino language might al
most be called an aboriginal speech. It
has little Of grammar and was apparently
deyeloped directly from the soil 4 great
deal Of this is still spoken in the provinces,
inst MS there Is still good bit Of Spanish
spoken, especially by those persons who are
Of middle years and who had acquired tins
knowledge before the happy circumstances
occurred which led IN" United Stutcs to take
over the islands.
Were Many Dialects
"Each province for many years, indeed
for centuries had its own dalcrt bur thcv
were all based upon the original Tilipipo
language. 1t was unique in TINT there wuv
nothing like 1t In ia" world in spokcn ar
written language:
'Rut this Is all changed now. While ,ho
provinces retain to certain extern rho
language which was theirs for 70 many Lun.
| dreds of years, English is now the gom"rn,
| language Of the Filipino people The "ldor
generations there now speak the dIalrct and
| SImnish. although, even in their eases tho
| use of English is growing every year Nv
| this generation ! mean the people of FORTY
| years or more. The younger grnerntion
| speaks q little OF the native tongue and thn
| rest Is English. Many thousands Of ths
| people speak all three languages,
"But OF even greater Importance Ia the