Evening star., 1926-04-25

sovereignty. Besides, there are daily
newspapers printed in Tagalog and
Spanish and a weekly publication in
both English and Spanish. The Fill
pinos are not newspaper readers, the
entire circulation of all the dailies be-
ing around 100000. The literacy of
the islands is about 35 per cent, and
this after more than 20 years of free
public instruction.
National Prayer" Formulated.
The pro-independence newspapers
did their utmost to work up interest In
the day Of national prayer set by the
Supreme Council for Washington s
birthday. For days they published
the prayer in full. with ornate tales
of it as a movement expressive of the
unanimous national feeling; of how
its author, a professor in the Univer-
sity of the Philippines. struggled on
through the night in composing ii
until just at dawn the inspiration
came to him and it was written. ap-
proved by the Supreme Council" as
follows:
Almighty God. Father of all ma
tions. fountain of all strength and
mercy. we Thy people come unto
Thee in this hour of danger and dis
tress. Hide not Thy face from this
nation, we beseech Thee. Do Thou
pour out Thy holy comfort upon our
afflicted souls. We are weak peo-
pie. but Thou art our refuge and our
deliverer. OF Thy loving kindness
| there is no end.
1--WE entreat Thee. o most gracious
Father, stay Thou the hand that
would smite our liberties. Send forth
| Thy spirit unto our rulers across the
sea and so touch their hearts and
! quicken their sense of justice that
they may In honor keep their plighted
word to us. Let not the covetouS de-
signs of a few interests prevail in the
councils Of the sovereign nation nor
! sway It's noble purposes toward our
country.
I'VE pray Thee. Q Lord, grant us
grace to forgive those who seek to
| destroy our freedom.
| We thank thee. o Heavenly
! Father. that we can thus pray to
! Thee. We thank Thee that Thou
hast inspired us with renewed spirit
of national unity. Do Thou bless and
sanctify our aspirations as a people.
| Guide us in our endeavOrs for our
| emancipation, to the end that our
every thought and deed may he ac-
ceptable in Thy sight And to Thee
| he all honor and glory for ever and
ever. Amen"
Supreme Council an Innovation.
This Supreme Council is new thing
in Filipino politics. 1t is a coalition.
recently formed of the chief parties in
the islands. the NaCionaliStas and the
DemOCrataS. II proposes to lay aside
all party diviSion--in fact, there was
none except differences as to appoint
ments and appropriations-and unite
to work for full independence from
the United States. incidentally. there
Is to be $3.50 division of the pat.
ronage.
The gathering here of the governors
and treasurers of ali the provinces of
the islands-F'ilipinos, with two excep-
tionS-waS made the occasion for the
launching of the Supreme Council.
1t was engineered by Manuel Quezon
pronounced Kays-on), formerly dele
gate from the islands to the American
Congress, a smart, alert, debonair
man, who speaks English as fiuently
as Spanish or Tagalog, the son of
Spanish father and a mestizo mother.
who possesses outward evidence of
culture. Quezon, in whom the Span
ish predominates. Is the chief power,
along with Senator Osmena, part Chi
nese and part Visayan, who is in
charge of Filipino interests In Wash
ington
Appeals to the Emotions.
Quezon is deft in his appeal to the
Filipino emotions, and the Filipino.
mestizo or Malay. has in a high de-
gree the emotional qualities associated
with the Latin. In his address to the
provincial officials he said the time
had come to unite all Filipinos against
the "imperialists," the ''imperialists"
being the Americans who think the
Filipino is not yet fit to assume the
full and heavy responsibility of ma
tionality; to defeat the men (neaning
Americans) who were trying to sway
the Washington Government to per
NIT them to exploit the vast natural
resources of the islands, not for the
poor Filipino, but for their own bene-
fit. He emphasized the danger of
allowing things to go on as they are,
in view of the determination of the
enemies of Philippine freedom to use
every conceivable method to force the
American Government to repudiate it's
Solemn promise of independence to
the Filipino people," He said the cap
italists had been sending to the islands
| newspaper men and special writer's to
write for the American public such ar
ticles as they believe would influence
the Americans against the Filipinos.
They have even gone as far as en-
gaging the services of a Filipino to
tour the length and breadth of the
United States for the purpose of in
| forming the masses that what the
| Filipinos really want is not independ-
ence but a protectorate. And the
American residents of the islands,
who side with the imperialists in
America, have sent to the United
States an influential man who is now
writing articles claiming that the
Philippines is an American territory
and should be exploited, not for the
benefit of the Filipinos, but for the
advantages of American trade"
, Recognized as Quezon's Work.
Americans who have spent their
/ active wears here deny there is any
genuine demand for breaking away
| from the United States outside of Ma
! Mia; that the apparent demand from
! other parts Of the islands is worked
up by Quezon and his lieutenants
! through the patronage power con-
| ferred on them by the measure of self
government already granted by the
United States and that their real aim
is to get unrestricted, absolute con-
| troll Of the islands revenues, which
| they do not have now, that the poor
| tao, the man who does the hard work
of the land, who follows the carabao
through the rice paddles or tolls in
the cane fields, Is better off than he
ever was and has no wish to see the
i American depart; that QueZon, by the
use of his power, stiles expression of
real sentiment, and even by sugges-
ton of what he can do with his abso-
| lutte sway in the insular government
| intimidates Americans in business
| here.
However that may be. the fact re-