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FUTURE
OF THE
PHILIPPINES
Interviews with Manuel Quezon, President of the
Philippine Senate; Sergio Osmena, Senator and
ex-Speaker of the Philippine Lower House,
and Maj.-Gen. Leonard Wood, Governor General of the Philippines.
EDWAR.E BELL


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FUTURE OF THE PHILIPPINES


I.
QUEZON ON FILIPINO SELF-RULE.
"You want complete and immediate
independence for the Philippines?" I
remarked  to  President Manuel L.
Quezon of the Philippine senate, perhaps the most influential Filipino leader at the present time.
"Yes," was the reply.
"You see no danger to the Philippines or the peace of the Pacific and
the world in a withdrawal of the
United States from the archipelago
and its waters?"
"None.  On the contrary, I think
untrammeled statehood for the Philippines would reinforce peace influences
in the Pacific and elsewhere."
"You should expect no aggression
against the islands from any source?"
"Not from any source. When people talk about warlike movements
against a free Philippines, they have
in mind just one nation. They do not
mean Russia or China or France or
England. They mean Japan. Let us.
therefore, consider the question of
what Japan might be expected to do
if the Philippines were liberated and
left to their own resources. I will say
at once, that Japan, in my opinion,
would not dream of any hostile act
toward us and I will explain why I
think so.
Japan's Peaceful Purposes.
"In the first place, I believe Japan
to be nonaggressive.  I believe both
her heart and her mind urge her to
international peace.  I am convinced
she sees no profit, only universal disaster, in war. Japan will fight, if I
understand her, only to preserve her
national security and to defend those
rights and interests which seem to her
indispensable to her liberty and life.
Such  rights and  interests do not
beckon her far afield; they lie within
the circumference of her natural and
legitimate position in the far east.
"But, for the sake of argument, let
us suppose that Japan is not peaceful,


but warlike. Even then the Philippines would be of very little use, if
any, to her unless she contemplated
hostile operations against the United
States or Australia, and every student
of Japanese feeling, thought and policy
knows she contemplates no such thing.
Were it otherwise-were her instincts
and ambitions really running in the
direction of expansion by conquesthow could she embark upon such a
course? Let us indulge in the fantastic conjecture that she desires to attack the peaceful country of the
United States.
If Japan Should Attack America.
"Let us forget the frightful devastation of the earthquake of 1923. Let
us forget Japan's financial, industrial
and social difficulties and the burdens
that closely contiguous foreign problems place upon her statesmanship.
Let us put all these things out of mind
and assume that the Asiatic island empire wants to go to war with the
American republic, the richest and
most powerful country in the world.
Japan could not strike from the Philippines; at the very least she would
need Hawaii, and who does not realize
that even so her enterprise would be
desperate?  The thought that Japan
may some day want to attack the
United States is to every sane mind
too preposterous for even hypothetical
discussion.
"As for Australia, Japan knows that
any war or attack upon that country
would raise against her-on the instant and with all their wealth, armament and indomitable fighting spiritthe combined nations of the AngloSaxon world.
If Japan Should Seize the Philippines.
"Very well, then. If Japan does not
want the Philippines as a stepping
stone to conquest, would she want
these islands as a defensive base? I
can conceive of no principle of strat3




LETTER AUTHORIZING QUEZON INTER.
VIEW.
SENADO DOE fLIPIN"A
OFICINA DEL PRESIDENTE
MANILA
July 3, 1925.
My dear Mr. Bell:
I have gone over the article which
you prepared for publication in the Chicago
Daily News, covering our interview on the
Philippine question and other problems of
the Pacific.  I find my views fairly portrayed therein and I am pleased to authorize
you to make such use of the article as you
may deem beat.
With every good wish for you and your
great newspaper, I am
Yours cordially,
^Qjuuuu^.l^^^.
tr. Edward Price Bell, 
Manila Hotel, Manila*




egy that would cause her to covet them
for such a purpose. It is obvious, indeed, that possession of the Philippines would be a source of weakness,
not of strength, to the Japanese, if
they were attacked. They have Formosa and Formosa is in the right line
for their defense and nearer home. It
Japan were attacked, she would not
scatter her forces; she would concentrate them. If she had naval craft in
Philippine waters, she quickly would
withdraw them to the support of her
main fleet.
"If the United States removed its
authority and its fighting forces from
the Philippines, neither Japan nor any
other power would molest us. If Japan moved against us, whether America did or did not call upon her to
halt, Britain would call upon her to
halt and compel her to halt.  Australia's cry easily would reach to
Downing street and it would be augmented by the cry of every British
possession in Asia.  Britain would
threaten Japan, not from British home
waters, but from Singapore and Hongkong, and if Japan had naval or military contingents here or on their way
hither she speedily would recall them
to her vital defensive lines. Surveying the whole horizon of possibilities,
I can discern no presage of an attempted seizure of this archipelago as
a result of an American withdrawal.
Japanese Dislike the Tropics.
"On the economic side also there is
* an utter absence of incentive to Japan
to incur the reprobation of the world
by interfering with the freedom of
the Philippines. Japan does not want
the Philippines for her people. The
Japanese are not a tropical people.
They are a people of the temperate
zones. Their whole organic and temperamental adaptation is to a climate
different from  that of our latitude.
If they do not like weather too cold
-as they do not-neither do they like
the meteorology of the tropics. Japanese die here in great numbers. We
once had some 15,000. They came to
work in the hemp fields.  Probably


not more than 5,000 are left. In all
the centuries of the past, before Spain
came, during her 330 years here and
since she went away, no considerable
body of Japanese ever availed itself of
its liberty to enter the Philippines at
its own will.
"Why, then, anticipate at this time
an emigratory flood of Japanese in this
direction? They will not come. Nor
has Japan anything to gain by seeking
a preferential industrial or commercial
position in the Philippines.  Efforts
of that kind would run directly counter
to her interests, and she knows it, for
Japan has an enlightened people and
leadership in these days.
Orientals Who Are "Possessed."
"What she wants in this group of
islands is what she wants on the mainland of Asia-the open door. It prom
ises her more than anything else.
'Open door' means equality of opportunity to all states, big and little, and
under the aegis of this principle Japan
not only keeps the good will of the
world, but enjoys all the material advantages appertaining to her geographical position relative to the Philippines and the entire far east."
"What would be the repercussion of
Philippine emancipation in British,
French and Dutch possessions in
Asia?"
Mr. Quezon smiled a somewhat wry
smile.
"Naturally," said he, "every vindication of the rights of man stimulates
all who are struggling for the rights
of man.   Peoples do not like to be
'possessed.'  They long to be free.
Freedom in this archipelago, I have
no doubt, would be welcomed by and
would give encouragement to all Asiatics and others tinder alien rule. I
should not be surprised if Britain,
France and Holland would be pleased
to see the American flag continue to
fly over these islands in perpetuity.
But to those nations I will say a word
in all friendship. It is this:  What
their subject peoples ultimately do will
not be determined by anything which
happens in the Philippines.
5




When Far Eastern Peoples Strike.
"What do I mean?    1 mean that
when the millions of the Indies, of
Java and Sumatra, and of China are
ripe for freedom they will take their
freedom regardless of what the muse
of history shall have meted out to the
Philippines. If America elects to hold
the Philippines she can hold them for
all time, so far as we can see, because
we Filipinos are numerically weak.
But look at India!   Four hundred
millions of people! Forty millions in
the Dutch islands-more than in unconquerable France! And China-her
people are countless!  When those
peoples become nationally self-conscious,when they are unified and organized, no power on earth will be able
to dominate them or retain so much as
a toehold on their territory against
their wills."
"How do you think Australasia
would feel over the hauling down of
the stars and stripes in the Philippines?"
"Very likely she would be alarmed.
But I do not think her alarm would be
justified in the smallest degree. White
men in the south Pacific fear Japan.
Their fear, I am sure, has no basis in
fact. It is purely fanciful. But, as I
have said, Japan would not dare,
whatever might be iher desire, to start
upon a career of militaristic imperialism.  She would not dare to trouble
the Philippines ana still!ess Australia
or New Zealand.
When Colored Races Achieve Power.
"If America is defensively of importance to white civilization in the
southern hemisphere-as she unquestionably is-it is not because she is in
the Philippines. It is because of her
tremendous, her almost measureless,
strength at home, with its unmistakable implications."
"What do you expect to see if and
when the Asiatic peoples shall have
power commensurate with their numbers?"
"I expect to see the states of the
world living together harmoniously on
the basis of universal respect for their


several political and territorial rights."
"You do not expect that the colored
races, by way of retaliation, will attempt to dominate white peoples?"
"I do not. International education
is advancing. We are wise to-day in
at least some things in which we were
foolish yesterday. Our wisdom will
increase with the years. Both practical
knowledge and the humanities, in my
judgment, are on the march against the
ignorance and the inhumanity of which
we have seen so much in history. It
will be a century, if not more, before
Asia can stand erect in the full majesty
of a strength now only potential. By
that time, let us hope, the moralities
of the world, not armies and navies,
will be the sheet anchor of its national
liberties."
Fruits of Colonial Possessions.
"You think colonial possessions are
mischievous?"
"I think they tend to breed war. It
is a historical fact that they have
bred war. They bred the world war.
Germany came upon the international
scene late. Earth's treasure grounds
had been parceled out to her rivals.
She wanted colonies. She felt that her 
greatness, actual and latent, demanded
colonies. She was willing to fight for
them. She fought and was crushed,
but the world was terribly crippled in
the process. Cclonies are still with us
and still a source of bitterness, unrest
and possible war. Nations must give
up the idea of seizure, of domination,
of obtaining raw materials and trade
anyhow, of force-nations must walk
in the ways of humanity and justiceif they want peace."
"What is your estimate of America's contribution to Philippine development?"
"It has been a great contribution.
America has been remarkable not only
for what she has done but also 'for
what she has not done affecting Filipino development. She had it in her
power to practice in these islands the
creed of the military despot, and she
did not do so. She co-operated with
us in our efforts to make the Philip6




pines a prosperous country. She promoted education, liberal and political.
She fostered applied science.  Economic and financial aid accompanied
the Americans into the Philippines.
All America did and all we did, as we
consistently have been led to suppose,
were predicated upon the theory that
one day the Philippines would be free.
We believe the day when they ought
to be- free has arrived."
Disadvantages of Alien Control.
"You think the Filipinos are able to
maintain order and administer justice
in the islands?"
"Decidedly so. What Filipino of
any class or type could wish to see
the American flag come down here,
if he were able to believe that our civilization would come down with itthat we should have a welter of
slaughter, villages on fire, people shelterless and hungry, a stricken country?"
"You do not believe in alien control, however benevolent?"
"No.   Alien  control and  native
progress to the maximum  of native
capacity are incompatible. For material and for moral reasons I am pleading for the independence of my ccuntry. It is arguable, and I consider it
true, that mutual benefit may accrue
for a time to a dominating country
and the country dominated.   There
has been this time of mutual benefit
as between America and the Philippines. But, in such a conjuncture, a
stage is certain to be reached at which
the dominating country begins to
stand in the way of the interests, material and moral, of the country dominated.
Hampering Philippine Progress.
"Let us call America the most generous, as she is the most powerful, nation in the world. She always, none
the less, must remain America. America must come first with Americans.
American sovereignty must be inviolate. There must be no fiscal arrangements, no fixing of channels of commerce, not concordant with American
interests, though such arrangements


or direction might promote Philippine
interests. We claim the right on behalf of the people of the Philippines
to consider their interests first, just
as America has the right to consider
American interests first. We want to
make our own tariff laws and our own
commercial treaties and do everything
else belonging to national sovereignty
exclusively with a view to what is best
for the Filipinos.
"That is the material side of the
matter. Now the moral side, in my
opinion, is still more vital from the
standpoint of the welfare of the Filipinos. As it is deadly to an individual
to lack liberty, reasonable liberty, the
liberty stopping only at the boundary
of the liberty of others, so it is deadly
for a nation to lack that liberty which
stops only at the boundary of the
liberty of other nations.
Learning Democracy by Its Practice.
"When we have our unfettered selfrule, I dare say we shall make mistakes, but in that respect we shall not
be original or monopolistic.  It is by
our mistakes that we shall learn.
America has aided us to learn much
of the art of government, but we can
master that art only by self-practice.
In politics, as in law or medicine or
music or painting, concrete achievement is not in the scholastic sphere,
but only in the sphere of scholasticism
applied. And, anyway, even in the
United States and in England, democracy is still on its trial."
"It is better for the Philippines to
be ill-governed by the Filipinos than
well-governed by the Americans?"
"By the Americans or any other
non-Filipinos."
"Have the diverse peoples of the
islands, with their varied dialects, a
recognizable psychic homogeneity-a
national soul?"
"Indisputably.  This national soul
already has crystallized in striking national decisions-for independence, for
joining America in the world war,
against huge landed estates, against
applying United States coastwise ship

7




ping laws to the Philippines.  Our
people are politically keen and peculiarly- democratic.
Filipinos' National Aspirations.
"There is not a barrio (city, town,
village or rural district) without its political vigilance, interest and discussion. Ten per cent, over 1,000,000,
of our people have the franchise and
between 80 and 90 per cent of the
registered electors go to the polls on
election day. You speak of dialects.
We have many. But our major dialects are only three-Tagalog, Bisaya
and Ilokano-and whoever commands
these can make himself understood in
every part of the Philippines.  All
of our people speak one of these languages, which have an extensive
printed literature.
"To regard the Filioino peoples as
sentimentally and mentally diversified
in proportion to their diversities of
ethnography or religion or dialect is to
misunderstand them completely. They
all are Filipinos. They all have nationalistic emotions and aspirations.
They are intelligent and proud and
ambitious.  Independence they know
would mean equality of opportunity
for Filipinos. Of a political or social
caste depriving them of their liberties
or otherwise wronging them they
have no fear. Such reports they dismiss as contrary to their experience
and knowledge. Have they not seen
their humblest neighbors rise to positions of dignity and influence in the
country?   Do they not know    that
nearly all their leaders have been and
are of the people?
Acceptance of Democratic Views.
"Take myself, for example. Holding the premier elective position in the
Philippines, I am a farmer's son, born
on the soil, born poor and without influential friends, reared in one of the
remotest villages in these islands, compelled to climb over trackless mountains to come to college in Manila."
"So it will be mettle that will count
in a free Philippines?"


"It will be mettle, just as it is met7
tle in the United States and in every
other country where men are free."
"You say you are peculiarly democratic."
"We are so because we are unincumbered by monarchic or oligarchic
traditions or institutional inheritances.
We have nothing of that sort to destroy.  Our ground upon which to
erect a pure republic is clear."
"It is alleged that freedom of speech
in the Philippines is suppressed-that
the people fear their leaders."
"That word 'fear' should be changed
to 'respect.' -If respect be fear, then
the Filipinos fear their leaders, as they
have shown on many occasions.
Political Alertness of Filipinos.
"My advice to any honest Inquirer
who wishes to know whether free
speech is or is not suppressed in these
islands is to go out among the people
and sound them on any of the burning
questions of the hour.  He will get
their opinion without any trouble.
And, if he be a Filipino politician, and
venture to speak or vote against independence, he will discover on election
day that while the Filipino people
have no reason to fear and do not fear
their leaders, their leaders have some
reason to fear them. Public opinion
in the Philippines is not only unsuppressed, but vocal and militant. We
have two parties and they must be
careful to learn what the people want.
Our electors do not vote by ethnographic group nor by language or dialect nor according to their religion;
they vote as their hearts and minds
tell them is right and for the good of
the country."
"One is told that an independent
Filipino government would solve the
Moro problem by stamping out the
Moros."
"We practically governed the Moros during the seven years of the last
administration and had no trouble
with them, whereas whenever they
have been governed by Americans
there has been continual trouble with
them.


8




Christian Filipinos and Moros.
"We naturally understand every element of our population better than
can foreigners. We never have been
guilty of persecuting the non-Christian
peoples of the Philippines. We have
been fair and generous to them in respect of education, roads, sanitation
and everything else. From this practice there would be no departure under
independence. We believe in educating all our people and promoting their
prosperity and happiness in order that
we may have a great and contented
nation. As for tne Filipino leaders,
it should be plain to all thinking persons, in my opinion. that the/ can
hope for a future only if their cuntry has a future. They cannot build
up fame, joy or even enduring material success upon the ruins of their
fatherland."
"What do you think of the Mayo
book on the Philippines?"
"Unilateral, extreme, grossly unfair,
passionately dedicated to a particular
obsession, destitute of validity as impartial criticism."
Material Side of the Question.
"Certain  advocates  of American
annexation of the Philippines, among
the points they make, state that 'we
need them in our business'."
"Alh," remarked Mr. Quezon dryly,
"that is not an ethical argument. That
is the argument of the sugar. That is
the argument of the sisal, the copra,
the coconut oil, the tobacco, the rattan, the lumber, the pulp, the dye, the
rubber. It is not the argument we
expect to prove conclusive with the
American people. But even this argu'
ment has no value because under an
independent Philippines you may have
our sugar, tobacco, copra, hemp and
the rest."
"Opponents of independence describe your argument-the argument
for independence-as 'doctrinaire'."
"Our argument is no more an argument of apriority than is that against
independence. It is true we base our
case, to some extent, up:-n principles,
upon philosophy; but we base it to a
9


larger extent upon the general history
of humanity and upon our own particular experience and knowledge.
Our argument is a posteriori."
'Validity of America's Title.
"It is argued that America's title to
the Philippines is of triple validity,
resting upon conquest, purchase and
formal cession."
"Our reply is, first, that conquest
is no moral justification for the seizure of a country and the deprivation
of its inhabitants of liberty; and, secondly, that purchase is not valid when
the seller has no right to sell, and
cession not valid when the power enacting it is ceding what belongs to
others."
"It is declared that no Malay people, of all the millions of Malays, ever
created a nation."
"That is not true. About the thirteenth century there existed a Malay
empire.  But, not troubling to question the sweeping dictum concerning
the political ineptitude of the Malay
race, I should not regard this point a;
worthy of serious notice. If no Malay people in all the centuries yet has
built up a free civilization of its own,
I think it high time one were given a
chance to try."
If Philippine Freedom Were Denied.
"What would happen in the islands
if the congress of the United States
declared the Philippines permanent
American territory?"
"Our people would be profoundly
disappointed and  depressed.  They
also would be unutterably surprised.
I do not think there would be an uprising, but the Philippine question
would not be settled. It would live
on as an embarrassment to Americans
and Filipinos alike. You have promised us freedom.  Our people are being educated for freedom. We Filipino leaders have assured the Filipino
people that, if they bore themselves
patiently and with dignity, if thev
strove to lift themselves up the United
States undoubtedly would set them
free. They believed us. Their faitl




is unshaken to-day. To destroy their
hopes would be immoral, illogical, inhuman and a blunder that history one
day inevitably would put right.
Insuring Peace in the Pacific.
"Your great newspaper," concluded
Mr. Quezon, placing emphasis on each
word, "is endeavoring to clarify the
problems of the Pacific. It is working
for the peace of the Pacific and of the
world. I should like to say through
The Chicago Daily News that, in my
judgment, the peace of the Pacific is
in the hands of the United States of
America.  Japan, I repeat, will not
fight America or any other nation except in self-defense. I believe American-Japanese relations would be improved by an American withdraw.l
from the Philippines-not that Japan
would lift a finger to get America out
and not that Japan fears American
aggression based on these islands, but
simply because her going would be
interpreted in Japan as a magnanimous act and a definite assurance
that the United States has no intention, now or forever, to use her unequaled power for purposes of material or moral domineering in the far
east."
II.
OSMENA ON FILIPINO ACHIEVEMENT.
Sergio Osmena, long of great, if not
decisive, weight in the public life of
the Philippines-he held the speakership of the popular chamber continuously for fifteen years-will be 47 on
Sept. 9, 1925. He is clean-cut in face
and figure, morally earnest, intellectually acute and powerful, unassuming
and charming in manner, and remarkably young looking. In his veins is a
generous dash of Chinese blood. His
appearance is strikingly Chinese and
his temperament and mind suggest
Chinese rather than Filipino genius.
But he is an ardent, if restrained, Filipipo patriot.
Only one other man in Filipino politics-if, indeed, there be one-can be
mentioned in the same breath with


Osmena, and that is Senate President
Manuel L. Quezon.   Quezon has a
large admixture of Spanish blood,
looks Spanish  and  shows Spanish
temperamental qualities, but he, too, is
an ardent Filipino patriot. There hardly could be a sharper contrast than
that between these two men. Quezon
is blunt, vigorous, affirmative, rather
scornful. Osmena is refined, considerate, moderate in words, sagacious,
fair in judgment, given to relatively
little utterance and much thought.
Leaders of the Nationalist Party.
Both  men, however-Quezon     is
slightly  the  younger-are  strong
featured,  have  graceful, well-knit
physiques, and esteem smartness of
dress.  There is latent political rivalry between them. At one time this
rivalry issued in a definite rift and
Quezon formed a new party to reduce the power of Osmena. Eventually Osmena and Quezon consolidated
their parties and now work together
at the head of the nacionalistas, the
majority party, with the democrata
party, a strong organization, in opposition. How long this teamwork will
survive  the  potentially  conflicting
personalities, views and methods of
the Chinese-Filipino and the SpanishFilipino is uncertain, but their mutual
passion for independence may keep
them in double harness a good while.
Educated in law, philosophy and
letters, and possessing a mind of flexibility and depth, Osmena has been
distinguished  in the upbuilding of
Philippine institutions and in the technical discussion of Philinnine constitutional questions from the first days of
the civil government following the defeat of the forces of Aguinaldo. Born
in the city of Cebu, province of Cebu,
among the southern islands, he was a
prime figure in local politics and in
1906, when the provincial governors
met in Manila to pave the way for the
Philippine assembly, they chose this
young statesman as their presiding officer.  His political star has been
steadily in the ascendent since.
10




Filipino Passion for Independence.
"You consider there is great moral
substance to the claim of the Filipinos
to independence?"
Senator Osmena and I were sitting
alone at a tea table in his charming
drawing room on a high point in Manila.
"Great moral substance," said he,
his expression something between a
smile and a reminiscent sadness, "inheres in any struggle that has cost a
people dearly,, that exemplifies an aim
more precious to them than life, and
that inspires them with ever-growing
deliberation and tenacity of purpose.
Hearing some comments upon the ambition of the Filipinos for a country
absolutely their own, one would be inclined to regard this ambition as a
new-born thing, as a frivolous thing,
as an insincere thing, as a shallow
and ephemeral sentiment.
"It is anything but that. Filipinos
have been in moral revolt against foreign domination for an indefinite time.
Out of this smoldering fire burst the
flames of war first against Spain and
then against the United States. Those
wars were fought with all that the
Filipinos could put into them.  Generalship among cur leaders attained a
high level and there never was any
question of the valor of our rank and
file. It was an uneven struggle. We
carried on as long as we could. Our
morale did not fail-not even when
our flag came down-but our physical resources did.
Filipino Depression in Defeat.
"Our national aspiration for freedom  survived our disasters in the
field. Upon those disasters, indeed,
it fed  and  from  them  it gained
strength. Our heroes, both the known
and the unknown, and all the memories of what we had gone through,
worked silently but powerfully in the
souls of our people.  Filipinos said,
'Heroic things have been done. Filipino women no less than Filipino men
have shown themselves great.   We
were defeated, not because we de

served to be, not because we were
stupid or cowardly or ii. any way unworthy, but because we were materially overwhelmed. A great price has
been paid. It cannot be, it shall not
be, that that price shall have been
paid in vain.' That is what our people said. Those were the mute musings of their hearts.
"Mute musings they were for only
a time. They were such only while
we were in the black shadow of our
defeat. American sovereignty spread
quickly throughout the islands. Filipinos prominent in the war stood aloof
from the partially autonomous provincial and municipal governments set
up by the Americans. An impression
was produced that every vestige of
the Philippine republic was gone-institutions, flag, the very soul of the
republic, our aspiration for independence. But that impression was delusive.  It was utterly false.  There
were those mute musings I have mentioned, and they were not long in
finding articulate and unmistakable
expression.
Working Toward Self-Government.
"We had fought for independence
in the field and had lost. What happened then? There was a limited and
fleeting surface sentiment for annexation to the United States-for federalism. This sentiment or suggestion
had nothing to do with the deep impulses of the people. It belonged to
the flotsam and jetsam of confused
political thought.  Filipinos, as to
leadership and as to the masses, almost immediately realized that the
aspiration to be free was irrepressible,
and that the struggles for independence begun in war must be continued
in peace."
"And how did the surviving political energy and purpose' of the people
reveal themselves?"
"They revealed themselves in widespread interest in public affairs and in
vigorous co-operation with the Americans in the development of a rudimentary Filipino state.  Our people
took hold of the problems of provin

11




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|~~~ I% C ' d1ij~
-    l lllM l -  -  l
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cial and local government with enthu~ siasm and intelligence, and the men
of outstanding gifts for leadership set
to work to construct a national government. We were given the Philippine assembly, with representation on
the legislative commission, and later
-Aug. 29, 1916, a luminous day in
Filipino history-the autonomous machinery of the Jones law, our Magna
Charta. Solemnly and unequivocally,
in that law, the American people,
through their constitutional representatives, pledged themselves to grant
our independence.
Tests of the Philippine Assembly.
"Through almost a full decade the
Philippine assembly, with extraordinary diligence and wisdom, progressively demonstrated the political capacity of the Filipinos. In this work
the leaders were guided and sustained
by public opinion throughout the
archipelago.  There was no political lethargy. All the people were as
keen as were their chosen representatives to show the world that doubts
and misgivings touching our experiment, the first to be tried among a
Malayan people subject to the sovereignty of another, were unwarranted.
Our electoral battles were contested
sharply in the midst of universal attention and the vast majority of our
voters went to the polls on election
day.
"Our parliamentarians, from the
opening hours of their opportunity,
displayed a consciousness of our national peculiarities, traditions and culture and also disclosed parliamentary
originality. We were not noncreative.
We were not blind copyists. We made
many departures from American parliamentary practice and should have
made more except for the dual- nature
of our form of government and the
desirability of adopting methods and
procedure with which the Americans
were familiar. In our assembly, for
example, we avoided two evils-excessive power in a few hands and parliamentary prostration. We preserved


the democratic principle in our organization of the house and yet secured
the prompt dispatch of public business. Our majority was made effective, but not tyrannical. Though the
minority at no time exceeded 20 per
cent of the membership, it was given
chairmanships of committees, contrary
to the practice in the American lower
house. We believed thoroughly in a
minority cohesive and efficient as a
vital part of a sound democratic legislature.
Enacting Beneficial Legislation.
"Concern for the good of the people has been conspicuous in the whole
of our parliamentary life. We knew
we were on trial.   Every member
loved his country, longed for its independence and consequently was actuated by a high sense of responsibility.
Dereliction wore the color of treason.
Expected fratricidal antagonisms did
not develop.  Debates were earnest
and sometimes fiery. We have had
our tumultuous sessions, as do all the
legislatures of the world, even the oldest and most dignified. But, the debates over, the conflicting standpoints
put with all the brilliance and force
their partisans could command, we all
were friends, and sincerely indulged
in the usual expressions of courtesy
and generosity. Our legislative halls
are not bear gardens, firmly though
some foreign observers believed they
would be."
"What is your record relative to
popular education?"
"Our first measure-the first measure of the assembly-was an act appropriating a million pesos ($500,000)
to build and equip schools in the barrios. Hard words are used about Filipino leaders or politicos.  They are
represented as disposed to intrench
themselves in power and exploit an
ignorant and helpless people. If they
were so disposed, why should they foster education? Why should they be
doing all in their power to produce an
educated citizenry? American schools
we want to preserve. Every means
13




NOTE APPROVING OSMENA INTERVIEW
SENADO DE FILIPINAS
MANILA
6J  / /R 5 /)2- 
vCe TC 4
P Z4_tJ 


4


e-.-,i~i^  ",^^^~^^  ^-^.
Ze~~~~~~~~~o B e  air


d2 


of elementary and of advanced education we want to promote.
Popular Passion for Independence.
"There is no spirit in the world
more democratic than is that of the
Filipino nation, and its abused leaders
hold positions of leadership only because of their representative character. If these men entertained wicked
designs of exploitation they would
not be found appropriating all the national exchequer will bear for primary


instruction, for higher special courses
for teachers and for the establishment
of an institution such as the University of the Philippines. Education, as
every one knows, is the relentless and
resistless foe of wrong and of tyranny."
"Is there any considerable body of
Filipino opinion against immediate and
complete independence?"
"No, sir. There may be a few-a
very few-men who do not want in

14




dependence. They are absolutely antitypical. They are men who think of
their money first and of their country
afterward. They have no public influence. There is not and never has
)een a Filipino national party opposed
to independence. No man against independence ever has been or can be
elected to a post of any kind in the.
Philippine islands. Our people's one
passion that never will cool and their
one vision that never will grow dim
are the passion for and the vision of
freedom. After all, love of liberty is
a universal and immemorial human
emotion."
Unity of the Filipino Peoples.
"Why should some of your rich men
be afraid of independence?"
"There is no just reason for them
to be afraid of independence. Most
of them are not. But there are a few
whose peculiar mentality and whose
special interests and connections turn
them away from the independence
movement.   Both life and property
would be perfectly safe under Filipino sovereignty.  We have proved
our capacity to govern."
"What is your attitude to Ameri'
can capital?"
"Our attitude to all foreign capital
is friendly, so long as its investment
'does not move in directions inimical
to the principle of the Philippines for
the Filipinos. Every nation has an inalienable right to safeguard its national patrimony."
"What is the actual position between the Filipinos and the non-Christian elements in the islands?"
"In the first place, we all-Christian and non-Christian-are Filipinos.
Religious and ethnologic differences
we have, as have other nations, but
we all are Filipinos.  Our national
psychic identity has been increasing
in definiteness and in vitality with
great rapidity for a quarter of a century.  This development grew naturally out of improved communications
of every kind, insular and interinsular, and out of the diffusion of edu

cation and cultural influences of all
descriptions.  Linked together as a
nation geographically and acquiring
therefrom a distinct national destiny,
our peoples long were kept spiritually
more or less apart by impassable distances and by a lack of a universal
tongue.
Christian and Non-Christian Filipinos.
"But good roads, the telegraph, the
telephone, the radio, safe and quick
interisland  ships and  a marvelous
awakening  of popular   intell.gence
have brought our spiritual and mental
unity into precise conformity with our
geographical unity. This outcome, of
course, was certain from the first. It
was only a question of time. We now
get national decisions on great public
matters as readily and as accurately
as they are obtained in the most advanced societies.
"Now, with reference to the Moros
and the pagans. Supposed irreconcilable hostility between them and the
Christian Filipinos is a myth. It is a
myth built up and assiduously propagated by two foreign dominations.
These dominations strengthened theniselves by weakening Filipinos through
division. Their theory was to rule by
dividing. During the seven years of
our greatest degree of autonomy1914 to 1921-when Filipinos were
given relatively a free hand in dealing
with the non-Christians, the wall of
prejudice deliberately constructed between them and their Christian Filipino brothers was torn down. We got
on with the non-Christians harmoniously. They shared with us the consciousness of nationhood.  Our language difficulty-the language difficulty of the Philippines as a wholehas been exaggerated to the point of
grotesqueness. Every one opposed to
independence descants upon our numerous dialects and their fancied segregating and nationally disintegrating
operation. In truth, three dialects are
a key to the entire Filipino mind, not
to mention the constant spread of
English."
15




Genuine Legislative Development.
"There has been continuity of purpose and practice in your legislative
development?"
"Absolutely.  We did not build
thoughtlessly.  Principles were our
guide. We had knowledge of history
and of the tried maxims of free government. Besides, we had our own
experience of civilized life-our long
contact with western ideas-and our
own separate and unique racial inspiration. There is no other way to constitute a national organism-no other
way than by consultation of racial
fundamentals in the light of the common culture of the world. We did
that.  If we had done otherwise-if
we had depended altogether upon foreign experience and thought-our title
to independence would not be what it
is. No great oak can rise from or
rest upon anything but its own farspreading roots. Any student of our
parliamentarism will have no trouble
in picking out its proofs of originality
and catholic eclecticism.  I may remark, in passing, that we adopted the
national budgetary system some years
before the United States adopted it
and that our secretaries of departments have the right to appear on the
floor of the   houses  of the legislature."
Interpreting the Jones Law.
"WVhat is the crux of the trouble
between the Philippine legislature and
the governor-general?"
"Antagonistic interpretations of our
organic law-the Jones law. It is a
constitutional controversy. We hold
that the intent of the law was to confer complete internal autonomy upon
the Filipino nation.  I say 'internal
autonomy.' I recognize without question the right and the duty of the
United States, having regard to its
responsibilities in the existing situation, to exercise sovereignty over our
external relations. I do not contend
that we legally can take away from
the United States the attributes and
functions of sovereignty.  But I do


contend that the Jones law gives us,
and was designed to give us, unrestricted freedom in the weaving of a
fabric of internal political and social
economy. It is, in my opinion, inconsistent with the purpose of the Jones
law for the governor-general to veto
any act of the legislature affecting exclusively our domestic affairs. At the
heart of the Jones law, as I understand it. is the intention to liberate
the Philippine legislature to act wisely
or foolishly, according to its own volition, in developing a democratic government in these islands. We say to
the United States, 'Let us hammer out
our own shape upon the anvil of experience.'"
The Constitution Does Not Apply.
"Do you not accept the American
constitutional principle of the separation of legislative, judicial and executive powers?"
"That principle does not apply to
the Philippines. Our basic law is not
derived from the American constitutio'n. Our government is not of the
presidential type.  Let me explain.
Parenthood of the Jones law is found
in the act of the American congress
of July 1, 1902, and the predecessor
of that act was McKinley's command
to the Philippine commission. Neither
the act nor the command, organically,
is based on the constitution of the
United  States.  Immediately, their
source is the American system of territorial  government-more   particularly the Jeffersonian plan for the
government of Louisiana-and, remotely, the system of colonial government existing in America before the
thirteen colonies obtained their independence.  In none of the organic
charters of the American colonies, nor
in any American territorial law, is
there identity with the type of government established by the constitution
of the United States. Obviously our
government is not of the presidential
type.  We have no president.   Our
supreme executive is not elected by
our people and is responsible to a for

16




eign government. Categorically, moreover, the Supreme court of the United
States has declared that 'the constitution did nct follow the flag into the
Philippines.' Like a golden thread,
through American law and through all
American utterances of high official
authority, runs the theory that the
American people and their statesmen
always have meant that the Philippines should develop according to
their own genius and should be free."
Peace for a Free Philippines.
"You have no doubt a free Philippines would be peaceful itself and
peace-conserving?"
"None. We are a peaceful people.
We are a law-respecting people. We


are a property-cherishing people. We
work  hard.   We ask    nothing  of
America and the world except to let
us follow unfettered our path of destiny. We shall cause no trouble. We
are not uninstructed in either the arts
or the proprieties of diplomacy. Nobody will bother us when America removes her sovereignty. National ambitions are not running in the direction of strife now. Governments and
peoples want peace.  Statesmen are
going into the international council
chamber instead of dispatching field
marshals at the head of troops. I feel
the world is on the threshold of that
peace for which it has paid so much
and for which it has waited so long."


17




NJRD  O  WHO SHOWS WH THE UNITED
a.,,.. _(.is.a_|ss AX nia X[E tpIgL




AMERICA'S DUTY


VIEWS OF GOVERNOR-GENERAL
WOOD.
Maj.-Gen. Leonard Wood, governor-general of the Philippine islands,
is probably without a rival, Caucasian
or non-Caucasian, in his knowledge of
the archipelago and the people for
which he has supreme immediate responsibility. Certainly Gen. Wood is
America's greatest authority on the
Philippine question-one of the most
peculiar, important and difficult questions that ever preoccupied American
statesmanship.
Gen. Wood has come to know the
Philippines as a result of prolonged
first-hand study. This study has been
unremittent for more than twenty
years. Arriving in the islands in 1903,
after his distinguished services in Cuba
as military governor of Santiago and
as governor-general, he was appointed
governor of the Moro province, comprising the southern islands and Mindanao, populated principally by Moros
and pagans-in all some eighteen
tribes. Gen. Wood was not only head
of the civil government, with a legislative council, responsible for five districts, but commanding general of the
troops in the department of Mindanao
and Sulu.
Intensive Study of the Philippines.
For three years, in the capacities
named, Gen. Wood was constantly
among the people, frequently visiting
every tribe and settlement. Then he
became military commander of the
Philippine division, with headquarters
in Manila, whence he continued his
diligent investigations. Following this
work, he studied the Philippines as
chairman of the special mission of investigation, together with W. Cameran Forbes and a staff of experts, in
1921. This investigation lasted four
months and covered forty-eight of the
forty-nine provinces into which the islands are divided. It was a systematic
and thorough investigation of all
phases of Philippine conditions, geo

graphic, climatic, natural, human and
governmental.
Out of these painstaking inquiries,
reaching into 449 cities and towns and
involving eleven weeks of travel by
sea, rail, motor car and horse, sprang
the great classic on the Philippinesthe Wood-Forbes report to the Harding adminstration.  In this report
are embodied the fundamentals of the
Philippine problem. It is full of illumination to the historical and philosophical mind. Its discoveries and conclusions were the priceless possession
of Gen. Wood when he came to the
Philippines as the chief officer of the
sovereign power, and his knowledge
of the islands and the islanders has
been ripened and extended by four
years of further traveling and by arduous administrative experience.
American Control Must Continue.
Gen. Wood, gray, ruddy, sturdy,
dignified, received me in the governorgeneral's private office, Malacanang
palace, Manila. He sat in a wide, tall,
dark lardwood chair, with bottom and
back of cane, and talked rapidly in a
low voice. His voice was so low that
now and again I had difficulty in catching every word. For the most part
the veteran soldier and administrator
wore a look of seriousness, if not
severity, but two or three times during the conversation his features relaxed, l:e smiled, and there was an
extremely pleasant look in his blue
eyes.  He has character.   He has
magnetism.  He has brains.   He is
not only a military man; he is a thinker and a statesman.
"What do all your inquiries, experience and thought tell you we ought to
do about the Philippines?" I asked the
governor-general.
"That we ought to see our great
enterprise through," he replied.
"That we ought to stay here indefinitely?"
"Indefinitely."
"Why?"


19




GEN. WOOD'S APPROVAL OF INTERVIEW
Offitt of tbe 4obernor Oeneral
lanila
July 14,19Z5.
kr. vTitor Fremont Lawson,
Editor-in-Chief of The Daily Hewr,
h i    a g o.
Dear Mr, lawsons
Your correspondent in the
Pamifie, ir. Edward Bell, in the aceoapaaYing interview, faithfuily reflects my
feelin8s and ocvietiona relative to the
khilippie problem.     It has been a pleagare to me to do what I codld to cooperate
with you in your great sork of spreadlui
light and sympathy among the nations.
~BLeerey,,
IEONARD WOOD.
Governor- General.


20




"Because the work we set out to
do is only begun. How long it will
take no one can say. If we withdrew
now, all we have done would be undone, our investment of blood and
treasure would be wasted, twenty-five
years of idealistic labor would be
thrown away, the Filipino people would
be heartlessly betrayed and we should
do a criminal disservice to the stability and the highest interest of the
world."
Education Must Come First.
"You believe the Filipinos to be potentially capable of self-government?"
"Potentially, yes. But to translate
this potentiality into an actuality will
take a long time-somewhere perhaps
between a quarter and a half century.
It is a matter of rearing and educating occidentally enough Filipinos to
govern the country.  There are far
from enough now. Young educated
people are still a small proportion of
the population. We need more schools
and teachers and a great extension of
the English language, which alone can
serve as a medium of psychological
consolidation among peoples dispersed
over thousands of islands and divided
by eighty-seven different dialects."
"What are some of the evidences
of latent Filipino capacity?"
"These people are property-loving
and law-abiding.  They are sympathetic, intelligent, hospitable and neighborly. Their keenness for education is
unsurpassed.  Parents are willing to
make almost any sacrifice to keep their
children in school. Filipino teachers
are zealous and hard-working. Intellectual activity is apparent in all directions.  Political affairs receive more
and more popular attention and there
is a growing interest in public health
and public works. Assimilability to
western ideals is marked. Aptitude
for politics and a desire to participate
in government are conspicuous Filipino
qualities.
Folly That Brought Retrogression.
"But all these things in the Phi!ippines are merely tokens of what can


be-not wl-at is-in the way oi capacity for self-government. Intellcctual
ism is not a sufficient qualification
for the tasks of statecraft and adininistration.  Intellectualism,  indeed,
may be an evil rather than a good.
It is an evil if, as in the Philippines,
it tends to run ahead of the more substantial virtues of character. Before
you have a government you must
have a country to govern; you must
have agriculture, industry, commerce
and finance. You must have credit.
Too many educated Filipino minds
are dazzled by political and professional ambition, too few attracted by
the harder and more important tasks
of maintaining a civilized society.
"That the Filipinos have undeveloped gifts for government has been
proved by American experience in the
islands. Our earlier efforts here were
well-conceived and skillfully executed.
They bore excellent fruit. We were
making splendid progress. Our Filipino pupils in the theory and practice
of democracy, responding eagerly to
the experience, ideals, methods and
authority of the Americans, acquired
discipline, efficiency, thoroughness, a
high sense of responsibility.  Then
injudicious idealism entered. A great
folly was committed. Excessive and
too rapid Filipinization from 1914 to
1921 eliminated American experience
and installed Filipino inexperience to
such an extent that there was an allaround retrogression, legislative, executive and judicial and in the Philippine constabulary.
Self-Rule Would Bring Disaster.
"We must return to our old slowbut-sure method; short cuts are alluring but perilous. I do not mean that
the system inaugurated by the Jones
law-the system of house and senate
and sovereign executive-must be
abandoned.   It probably should be
somewhat modified and it certainly
should be made to work. It did not
work during the period of our backsliding in the Philippines. There was
not a strict performance of the duties


21




of the governor-general under the
law. There was too much surrendering of executive authority, combined
with too much legislative usurpation,
interference of political leaders in the
general supervision and control of departments and bureaus and the infection of the civil service with politics.
Disastrous socialistic experiments were
made and the Philippine National
bank lost $35,000,000 gold-one of
the darkest pages in Philippine history. It has been my work, with the
unmistakable good will of the people
-of every one but a few leaders-to
restore the authority of the governorgeneral under the law."
"What do you think wvould be the
immediate results of our leaving?"
"Strife, disorder, bloodshed. They
might not come instantly but they
would come soon. Moros, whom we
have disarmed and who want us to
stay and protect them, and Christian
Filipinos would fight. Industry, trade.and credit would be ruined, with the
inevitable concomitants of idleness,
hunger and anarchy. We should look
back upon the plight of these 12,000,000 people, who never have known
what it means to defend or sustain
themselves, who never have known
any freedom except what our flag has
given them-we should look back
upon their plight with national sorrow, pity and shame. Japanese would
come in, not necessarily as an army,
but with their vigorous business methods, and Chinese would swarm hither
for all sorts of pursuits. As I have
said to Filipino friends, 'Chinese would
hold your valleys; vou fellows would
be sitting on the hilltops'."
Unsettling the Far East.
"Would that be all?"
"No; that would not be all. We
should unsettle the Pacific and the far
east. We should create a situation replete with sinister possibilities. Political impotence, social disorganization
and intertribal conflicts in the Philippines would not be allowed to continue
for a great while. Civilized strength,


from one quarter or another, would
move toward this vortex of trouble
and suffering and such a movement
might precipitate the worst consequences. In any event, the hope of
Philippine independence would be
dashed for ages if not for all time.
Filipino leaders should be able to see
these dangers, but they see only a
vision of personal powers. They are
insensate to encompassing realities.
They are bent upon gambling with
the fate of their own people and with
the peace of the Pacific.
"Conceivably, this peace might not
be broken, but the risk is there and
if there were no other consideration in
the matter, that risk should impose
upon America a sacred obligation to
hold the Philippines until it is reasonably sure that all such peril was past."
Benefits for Oriental Peoples.
"Our presence here, in existing conditions, is needed on the side of the
occident?"
"It is needed on the side of both occident and orient.  Equilibrium  between them   promises stability; disequilibrium threatens instabilty. Our
position in the Philippines does not
give   the   occident   overweening
strength in the Pacific. It in no sense
jeopardizes either the peace or the
peaceful trading rights of any power.
We are here with the loftiest ideals,
not only toward the Filipinos, but toward all our Asiatic neighbors. We
want to live on terms of amity and
equality with them all. We stand for
the open door. We stand for a solution of every industrial and commercial, as well as every political, question on a basis of reason and justice
and not of force. We have earned,
we have paid for our right to carry
our experiment in the Philippines to
full fruition, and meanwhile the possession of this archipelago re-enforces our
diplomacy touching all international
matters in the orient, among them the
principles o[ the Washington treaties
and the open door.


22




,  Advancing Christian Civilization.
"We cannot think of this Philippine question," said Gen. Wood, with
intensified  earnestness,  "without
thinking of civilization as a whole.
And civilization, to us, is Christian civilization. We are a stone, if not the
keystone, of the arch of Christian civilization in the Pacific. Filipinos, as
to all but a tenth of the population,
are Christians. Christianity's humanizing influence shows in their faces
and is recorded in their steady moral
advance.  Paganism   and non-Christianity can b,e broken down only by
the impact of spiritual and cultural influences and these will be projected
from the base of a higl-yl-developed
Christian Philippines as they cannot
be projected from the distant bases of
America and Europe.
"America in the Philippines, in
other words, insures the effective deployment of Christianity for the regeneration of the world.  These are
solemn obligations and great opportunities.  We can be false to them
only at the cost of treason to that
faith which we believe to be essential
to the highest human development.
Let us go out of the Philippines only
when we can leave the torch of that
faith in strong hands.  If we and
those who believe as we. believe can
Christianize the world, in the full psychic and ethical sense of that phrase,
we shall rid it of injustice, of human
degradation, of social cleavage and
conflict and of international slaughter.
I attach immense importance to developing the Philippines as Christianity's great peaceful outpost in the Pacfic."
Defects of a Childlike People.
"You have every respect for the
sentiment of nationality ".
"I have every respect for the sentiment of nationality. But the possession of sovereign national status can
be a blessing to a people only when it
means   national security, when   it
means sagacity and restraint in for

eign affairs, when it means political
and economic competence, when it
means- established law and order,
when it means sanitation, education,
social justice, personal and religious
liberty. National development of this
order can rest upon nothing but the
development of the individual citizen.
Every society stands or falls according to the presence or absence of ability, perseverance and self-command
in its individual members. No society
can be made or preserved by a group
of politicians or by a group of groups
of politicians, however notable their
intellectual dexterity.
"Our task in the Philippines is to
bring up the general level of education
and efficiency to a point where the
individual citizens of competence are
sufficiently numerous to support a
stable structure of government, of social relations and of industrial and
commercial prosperity. There is no
such general level of education and
efficiency  now.  Filipinos, despite
their human charm and their many
encouraging moral and mental endowments, are generally unoriginal, noninitiatory, nonconstructive and dilettante.  They are too childlike, too
feeble, for the heavy burdens of statehood."
Liberty Under the American Flag.
"What will you say of the claim
that Filipino progress to the highest
extent is impossible without liberty?"
"I will say that the Filipinos, in
their present backward condition, have
under our flag the only liberty they
can hope to enjoy. Their leaders are
ready to give up the substance of liberty in a wild grasp for its shadow;
they are ready to lead their people
into disaster.  Lord Northcliffe was
right when he told the Filipinos they
had more liberty than any other people in the world-shielded from external and internal molestation, were
lowly taxed, surrounded by the safeguards and ministrations of science,
blessed with churches and schools and
communications, left entirely free to


23




use their hands or brains as best they
can, launched on an even keel on the
main stream of modern progress.
"They talk about liberty.  Why,
America is the mother of liberty as
the term is understood in the world
to-day.  It is precisely because we
love liberty that we are disinclined to
leave these islands prematurely and
permit them to relapse into slavery.
We came into the Philippines not to
take away, but to give, liberty. We
cannot accomplish our task by scuttling. Filipinos can have liberty only
if they accept it from the Americans
in the form of that comprehensive
culture and discipline, those moral, intellectual and  civic  virtues  which
alone make liberty possible. I note
a Filipino leader's remark that while
his people are grateful to America for
what she has done here, they cannot
pay their debt of gratitude in the currency of independence. We are not
asking for gratitude.  We are not
working for gratitude. Our aims arc
not so low as that. Our aims are to
found a strong, free, Christian nation
in the west Pacific for the sake of that
nation, ourselves and our fellow men
in general."
Friends of American Rule Muzzled.
"If the Philippines were near our
shores, would your attitude be different?"
"In that case, I should say, 'Let
them try it.' We could take the risk
then.  But they are too far away.
Once we leave these islands, we are
gone for good. We shall not come
back. There are no more Perry or
Dewey opportunities contiguous to the
eastern coastline of Asia."
"Is it true that free speech is suppressed in the Philippines by fear of
the leaders of the independence movement?"
"To a very considerable extent that
undoubtedly is true. Nonpolitical Filipinos of education and understanding
must be courageous, indeed, if they
vorice the opinion they actually hold,
namely, that it is better for the coun

try as a whole that America should
remain as she is for an indefinite time.
Surely any thinking person can realize
that this naturally would be so. Persons against immediate independence
are denounced as traitors-not openly,
perhaps, but none the less effectually,
for most of the intelligence circulating
in the Philippines circulates by word
of mouth.   Ignorance is widespread
among the masses. They are for independence, when energetically stimulated on the subject by the leaders,
for they have not the slightest conception of its practical significance.
Can you believe it would be healthy
for a Filipino champion of deferred independence to fall among ignorant
compatriots to whom he had. been described as a traitor?
Ignorance Swayed by Politics.
"Get firmly in mind the fact that
there are three classes in this drama
of Philippine agitation respecting independence.  There is the small political class hungry for the loaves and
fishes, the enlightened class (larger
than the first, but not large enough
for prevalence) interested only in the
welfare of the people, and the uninstructed bulk of the population. Patriotic and useful public opinion belongs in the main to the second of
these classes. It is this public opinion
which is suppressed by fear of the
leaders-fear of them as instigators
of the ignorant majority against any
one who counsels prudence and delay
in the matter of independence.  Relief for this unfortunate situation can
be had, of course, only in widening
the circle of unselfish public opinion
-only in educating the majority.
When observers inquire why it is, if
the Filipinos do not want immediate
independence, that they   elect the
champions of immediate independence,
the reply is that the ignorant portion
of the electorate is misled by selfseeking politicians."
"And you do not think the Filipinos
should have what is bad for them,
even if the majority wants it?"
24




"I do' not. They are not entitled
to have what is bad for them, even
though they want it, for what is bad
for them is bad for a lot of other people who do not want it. It is intolerable that an uneducated electorate,
harangued by political aspirants to
power and emolument, should frustrate America's long, laborious and
expensive struggle to build a firmlybased Christian state in the Philippines and also should jar the delicate
interracial and international balance
in the Pacific inimically to the cause
of world peace."
Filipinos Happy and Satisfied.
"Would the masses be satisfied if
they were left alone by the leaders?"
"Perfectly. There is not a more
satisfied or happier people in the
world. I go among them continually
and everywhere am received with the
greatest courtesy and hospitality. I
have just returned from a voyage of
3,000 miles among the scattered islands. I visited fifty centers of life
and motored extensively in the rural
regions.  I carried no arms. Not a
weapon of any kind was needed in
my party. Cordial popular welcomes
greeted me at every turn.  Illiterate
though vast numbers of these people
are, they know enough to know they
never before were so well off in everv
moral and material way as they are
now."
*"What is the percentage of literacy
in the islands?"
"About 37 per cent would be a liberal estimate."
"Manuel Roxas, speaker of the
Philippine house, stated before a congressional committee in Washington
that it was over 60 per cent."
"Yes, he made that misstatement
and  others.   His statistics  were
wrong.   He compared dialectic differences in the Philippines to the
slight differences of this kind in the
'United States.  That is ridiculous.
There are here eighty-seven distinct
dialects, many of them as unlike as


are the modern Latin languages and
some of them differing as radically
as do English and German. English
is the only hope of a national medium
of communication in the Philippines.
Samples of Filipino Rule.
"Let me briefly illustrate further
how unreliable were the statements of
Roxas in Washington. He asserted
that during the administration of Gov.Gen. Harrison when that officer, according to Roxas, abdicated his military duties under the law and left the
constabulary in the Moro region to
unrestricted  Filipino  command - a
period of seven years-there was not
a single killing in that region. As a
fact, during that period, the records
show 124 conflicts between the constabulary and the Moros, 499 Moros
dead, twenty-two constabulary soldiers dead, one officer dead and many
wounded on both sides.
"Nor i's this the whole story of that
'peaceful' reign. In the same region
Bogobos killed fifty Japanese over
land troubles. It was (uring the time
in question that occurred the most
serious breach of public order since
the foundation of the civil government. That breach consisted in a fight
between the constabulary and the police of Manila. As a result of that
clash a number of both combatants
and innocent citizens were killed and
many of the constabulary were sentenced to death or to life imprisonment.
"Furthermore, the  assertions  of
Roxas in commendation of the health
service were untrustworthy.  During
the time under review cholera in the
Philippines  destroyed  17,000  and
smallpox 73,000 lives. We are now
free from all sorts of epidemics. In
their statistics and in their affirmations Filipino politicians want checking up."
Obstacles to Filipino Progress.
"What would be your concluding
word of counsel to Filipino politicians


25




and to the Filipino intelligentsia in
general?"
"I should counsel them at once and
without reservation to drop the idea
/ of immediate independence and dedicate themselves whole-heartedly to
co-operation with the Americans in
creating a Filipino citizenship capable
of orderly, just, progressive, prosperous  and   self-defensive  democratic
rule. For such co-operation the road
lies wide, smooth and o'pen.  Petty
Filipino politics should be cut out as
a cancerous growth. Deliberate annoyance of the representatives of the
sovereign power should cease. Abortive extralegalism-abortive, but per

nicious —should be abandoned. There
should be no pettifogging oppositions
to the clear authority of the governorgeneral, whoever he may be, under the
organic law. If the Philippine legislature and the governor-general disagree, and if their disagreement reach
a deadlock, then the president of the
United States should decide.
"My advice to the educated Filipinos would be frankly to accept all
these conditions and to change their
appeal to the people from a call to illusory independence to a call to that
moral and mental advance which is tlbe
sine qua non of real independence."


26




THE CELLAR ccOr SHOP
18090 WYOMING
DETROIT, MICH. 48221
U.S.A.




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UNIVERSITy OF MICHIGAN
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