The guest of honor, J. S. McCormick, chief of the economic division and recently appointed director of adult education in the Philippine Islands, discussed the economic independence of the Islands, in a rousing speech at the Commonwealth Day celebration held at the Sherman Hotel, Chicago, under the auspices of the Filipino Association of Chicago.

Progress and problems of the Commonwealth were also dealt with by Baldomero Olivera, Northwestern graduate, and the course of the Commonwealth's program. The diversified affair included musical selections by the Cebu String Ensemble and a presentation of the F.A.C. trophy to the Nueva Viscaya Association. Jose Albertson, F.A.C. chief executive, accepted the trophy on behalf of the Association.

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Mr. McCormick's address was received with such enthusiastic applause that it was deemed of enough value to reprint below for the benefit of those who were unable to attend.

Address of McCormick

"Fellow countrymen, a year ago Manila was crowded with thousands of people from the provinces there to attend the inauguration of the Philippine Commonwealth. Those of us who have been in Manila on days of special events were exceedingly impressed by the seriousness with which the country entered into this matter of adding a new nation into the family of nations. In Manila also were many distinguished guests from abroad; the Vice-President of the United States, John Garner; the Speaker of the House of Representatives, 3Joseph W. Byrnes and the late Secretary of War, George H. Dern, who was the official representative of the President of the United States. There were also many press representatives from the greatest periodicals in America. It was a rare event that was to be witnessed. Here was the birth of a new nation not torn out of the territory of another nation, not seceding from its Motherland, not protesting oppression and hate and distrust, but a nation having secured its adulthood by worthy achievements."

The Effect of Independence Upon the People

"What was the effect upon the Philippine people? Obviously they were grateful. Certainly they were pleased, but at the same time they realized the importance of the undertaking and tempered their exuberance with reason and good judgment.

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"What has been the effect on the country since that time? This is a question often asked by our friends abroad. When they reply that the Philippines are moving along much as it always did we cannot be certain that our questioners are not somewhat distrustful of our answers. But why should there have been an immediate upheaval of governmental affairs? Have the very men at the helm of this new ship of state not been for years under training to do the very tasks they are doing? For years Filipinos themselves have been in more or less complete control of their government. To be sure there were three very important positions held by appointees of the President of the United States, the Governor General, the Vice-Governor, and the Insular Auditor. At times these three men did step in and say that this or that could not be. But by and by the diplomatic Filipino leaders could win over even these three men by a new approach.

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"For years the Filipinos have been faced with the responsibility of financing their government without financial help from abroad except in the form of legitimate loans. No part of the recent millions poured into the C.C.C. camps, P.W.A. work and other alphabetical projects has been allotted to the Philippines.

"For years the Philippines has maintained internal peace without there being a need for the American army or navy to assist.

"Since 1521 the Philippines has had the guidance of Spain, England, and America, which ruled successively, in charting the destiny of this nation-to-be-in-the-future. In the meantime it became a Christian nation, the only one in the Far East, and if Christianity means what we so long preached 6it means in the development of the moral character of a nation, then the Philippines have had 415 years of preparation, only 30 years less than the age of America dated from the discovery by Columbus.

"Those who have lived in the Philippines know that Philippine Independence is possible. We have seen the country virtually independent before independence came."

Questions Commonly Asked Regarding the Philippines

"Since leaving the Philippines in June of this year, I have had the opportunity of attending two international conferences, one on education in Honolulu and the Institute of Pacific Relations Conference at Yosemite Park. Several 7questions were asked repeatedly at these conferences and they have been asked many times since. They are: 1. Have the Philippines not cost America vast sums? 2. Are Americans in the Philippine service not paid by the American government? 3. Do Filipinos wish Independence? 4. Do the great mass of people know that they have independence? 5. Can the Philippines maintain its independence? 6. Is the Philippines not afraid that Japan will take the Philippines? Now let us discuss these questions briefly.

"America has spent great sums of money in the Philippines, but not for development. She has kept an army there from the outset and has enlisted Filipinos in the American army. These Filipino soldiers, called Philippine Scouts, have been paid by America. Americans who have retired from the army and who have chosen to live in the Philippines and Filipino Scouts who 8have retired are paid or their widows are paid their pensions. America paid Spain for the Philippine and later paid heavily in subjugating the Filipinos after having purchased their territory from Spain. Certainly America has spent vast sums in the Philippines. This has been the price America has paid for a naval and military base in the Far East and for the protection of her hoped for trade in the entire Orient. In the meantime, the Philippines have become America's eighth best world market and America has profited otherwise through trade relations. But with all of this expenditure the Philippines have progressed only in so far as it has paid its own way.

"The second question has surprised me much more. This is, 'Are Americans in the Philippines service not paid by America?' Let it be known that they 9are not and never have been. Even the salary of each of the three appointees of the President of the United States mentioned awhile ago was paid by the Philippine government. The Bureau of Insular Affairs at Washington has served as an appointing agency for the Philippines and has sent hundreds of teachers to the Philippines giving them an order for railroad and steamship fares. But these expenditures have been paid ultimately by the Philippines. America has not paid the salary of Americans in the Philippine service except of course members of the United States service.

" 'Do Filipinos wish independence?' is the third question. The answer is, 'They do.'

"Some ask, 'Do the great mass of Filipinos know they have independence?'

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Again the answer is, 'They do.' I doubt if there are very many isolated communities even in the non-Christian regions which have not heard repeatedly that the Philippines has independence. The schools alone, of which there are over 7,800, touch closely the lives of many million souls and through the schools the matter of independence has been repeatedly presented.

"'Can the Philippines maintain independence?' They must. The income of this new nation must be stretched where it is most needed. Taxes must be increased, and, if necessary, expenditures for items formerly thought essential must be curtailed.

"And finally the question which so many anxiously ask, 'Will the Philippines be taken over by Japan?' Who can predict correctly the political future of 11any nation today? Who would have said five years ago that Ethiopia would have fallen into the hands of another nation? Who would have expected the present government of Spain to be so forcefully attacked? Is the U.S.S.R. strengthening or weakening? We have both points of view. Will India become free? What will happen to Java? Will China continue in its present far-reaching reconstruction? Will the results of the Mexican revolution be the success hoped for? Who knows the answers to these questions?

"Japan has repeatedly said that she does not desire the Philippines. That she desires Philippine trade is obvious. The Philippines has raw products of all types which Japan could use and is using. Naturally the Philippines will buy from those who buy from her just as Canada and the United States are closely linked commercially. If America loses its eighth best world 12market, she must remember the tariffs which she imposed on Philippine goods. The dairymen who are severe in their objection to the entry of Philippine coconut oil close their eyes selfishly to the fact that the Philippines are America's best foreign market for dairy products. Philippines can buy dairy products from Switzerland, from Australia, and from other places.

"Will Japan take the Philippines? Who knows? The Filipinos think not. Their reasons are as valid as are the reasons of those who think differently."

America and the Philippines

"America has been altruistic in its domination of the Philippines. It has constantly and very carefully refrained from exploiting the Philippines.

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What America has gained has been the mutual trade relations existing between the two countries and a Far East military and naval base. She must have considered these vital or she would not have gone to the expense and difficulty of wresting the Philippines from Spain and then subduing the Filipinos themselves who thought they had achieved independence by revolt from Spain back in 1896.

"The whole structure of the Philippines government has been one of the implantation of American ideals. This has been true in education, health and sanitation, civil service, land registration, the judiciary, internal police in the form of the constabulary, and financial administration. The Americans sent to the Philippines in the early period---Worcester, Carpenter, Heiser, Pershing and others--built well. The weaknesses of 14the American government were not copied; the values were copied. Chief executives sent to the Philippines have been personages, not just people. Here are Taft, Forbes, Harrison, Stimson, Wood, Davis, Roosevelt and Murphy with many other splendid men who have served as Vice Governors, such as Hayden and Gilmore, both prominent in American educational circles today. Men in America who have dominated Philippine affairs, as stated by Malcolm, are Elihu Root and William Howard Taft until 1913 and later Woodrow Wilson, Leonard Wood, Henry L. Stimson and more recently Franklin D. Roosevelt. Great men---all of them."

America's Knowledge of the Philippines

"Although a ward of America for 33 years and known to the world since 1521 15and known to China in records since 1300, still America knows relatively little about the Philippines. In the first place, many Americans place Manila in Cuba as often as they place it in its rightful place. Repeatedly American friends when talking of the Philippines expose their lack of knowledge of its location by asking about Honolulu in the next breath.

"Do the Americans know that the Philippines were first discovered when the first peoples went into that region over land bridges probably some 20,000 to 25,000 years ago? Later migrations went by sea perhaps some 6,000 to 8,000 years ago. Still later the Malays arrived. These various migrations carried into the Philippines the culture of India, Arabia, and China.

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"Do American people know how their wards live? Do they know of their culture or their philosophy? Do they know any of their songs, their folk lore, or their folk dances? Have they heard any Filipino compositions in music? Have they seen Filipino art? Do they know the status of the Filipino in education? Do they know that here is an Oriental group of which 80 per cent or more are Christians? One might also say that America is rather ignorant of the Orient in general.

"Recently the Pacific area awoke to the fact that the Pacific Coast and the Pacific area itself should know the Pacific basin better. As a result the Hawii branch of the Institute of Pacific Relations has had prepared a book on Russia entitled Russia by Miss Helen Pratt - from the Tsarist Empire to Socialism - and another on Japan, where ancient loyalties survive, for use in the public high schools. A book on Philippines for a similar use has 17also been prepared by Mr. and Mrs. Keesling of the University of Hawaii. The book on Japan must be authentic since, if any information is correct, a great newspaper syndicate in America has branded it as pro-Japanese and the Japanese co-author withdrew from authorship because it was anti-Japanese. What recommendation could be better?

"There are magazines published in Manila worthy of inclusion in American public and private libraries. Are they there? There are books published about the Philippines which could give Americans facts about the Philippines, Filipino life, literature, and government. Are they to be found in American libraries? Has America really set out to acquaint herself about this possession which was hers for 38 years?"

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Basis of America's Lack of Knowledge

"America has been so intent upon developing an American culture that it has not always been tolerant of the culture of others. We first began by killing off the savage Indian. Just now we are really beginning to realize what an ancient and important culture the man we call the Indian had.

"America, too,often criticizes the culture of others simply because it is different no matter how ancient. China must laugh at America and other nations of the earth who try to impose a so-called Western or Occidental culture, whatever these terms mean, on her culture far more ancient.

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"Again the American and the white race look with scorn and sometimes contempt upon all people whose skin is not fair. One may say in justice, however, that those who believe in the supremacy of the white man over the yellow or black or brown man are decreasing.

"Americans ask about the Filipino who comes to America, 'Why does he wear such brightly colored shirts? Why does he wear trousers with such high waists? Why does he do this and that in the way of dress?' Yet what could be more freakish than the American ladies' hat of 1936? And how could the shirts worn by the American men be any more deep-toned than they are?

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"Tolerance, too, often is a long-range matter. We preach tolerance, love of one's fellow men, international friendship and brotherly love. We even spend thousands of dollars annually to send missionaries to foreign lands, including the Philippines, to carry with them good will. Close-up tolerance becomes something very different. Why is it that the Negro in Columbus, Ohio, cannot eat in the ritzy downtown hotels? Why is it that the Negro students at Emporia, Kan., my Alma Mater, cannot eat in the campus cafeteria? Why is it that at Ohio State University that Negro students cannot go beyond the second year in the R. O. T. C. where he could achieve some rank, better than a sergeant? Why do we call our born citizens or children of foreign born citizens Wops, Dagoes, Chinks, Japs? One could mention innumerable illustrations of lack of brotherhood which we preach. When it comes to our own front yard our tolerance often disappears.

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"The Filipinos are not blameless, nor the Chinese, nor the Japanese, nor the Negro. They are intolerant, too, either because they think they are better than the rest of the world or because of self-defense. The Filipino has a name for that American which is 'Cano', an abbreviation of 'Americano.' It carries with it varying degrees of connotations from hate and fear to lighter ranges of gentle fun-making or of providing a nickname.

"One might mention that Hawaii, which is a more intimate part of the United States than the Philippines has ever been, has developed far more satisfactory race relations than has the mainland. Much remains to be accomplished even in Hawaii before the situation is as ideal as it is in Brazil 22where, I have been told, everyone is Brazilian whether white, yellow, red, brown, black, or mixture of all, yet the Hawaii situation is something worth examining. Perhaps we can find out what Hawaii and Brazil have done to eliminate intolerance which we have not done."

Philippine Social Life

"Every culture has its particular characteristics which are admired by other races in spite of differences generally. One trait of the Filipino which I wish to mention is the close family ties. Where in America the home is broken up into many homes, the parents being left behind to mourn the departure of the children one by one, the Filipino home remains more closely compact, and this is, in spite of an American system of education 23and a moral code, more or less transplanted to the Philippines. The care of the aged, the help given to brothers and sisters, cousins, nieces, and nephews, and even more distant relatives is an ancient and firmly established practice in the Filipino home life. No sacrifice is too great if it is to aid a member of the family to rise to higher places in a career.

"One other characteristic in Filipino society which must not be overlooked is the important place held by women, something unique in the Orient. Neither is this an implantation from Spain. Legaspi himself, the first Spanish Governor General, wrote that the Filipinos treated their women well and respected them."

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Philippine Achievement

"When one studies the achievements of the various dominated groups in the Pacific area one finds a vast gap in the Practices followed. A few contrasting achievements may be mentioned. 1. The Philippines believe in educating as many people as possible as contrasted with certain other Pacific areas which propose to give as little education as possible to as few as possible.

2. The Philippines have adopted a world language (English) as the medium of instruction where other Pacific regions have utilized the narrowing vernacular.

3. The Philippines have attempted to utilize the heritage of world culture as contrasted with the fostering of a narrow local culture only.

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4. The Philippines have pushed forward leaders as rapidly as possible and as many as possible and from any level as contrasted with other Pacific areas which carefully selected a choice few for leadership.

5. The Philippines represent an assimilation of cultures of many races and a blending of blood and culture as contrasted with a strict segregation of races as practiced in certain Pacific regions.

6. The Philippines have made education the problem of the state, strictly separated from the church, as contrasted with other Pacific regions which virtually turns education over to religious bodies.

7. The Philippines have allowed nationalism to develop to its utmost without 26any hampering restrictions as contrasted with certain Pacific regions which strive to prevent any nationalistic activity unless it be good nationalism. To be sure, good nationalism in this sense is nationalism which is good in the eyes of the dominant group.

"It may be stated that another educational achievement in which the Philippines take pride is the fact that the oldest University under the American flag is in the Philippines. This is the University of Santo Tornas organized in 1611, a quarter of a century before Harvard."

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Selling Philippine Culture

"America, not having acquainted itself fully with the Philippines and what the Philippines has to offer to world culture, it becomes the task of the Philippines as a new nation to sell itself to the world and to America. The Filipino in America is the best exponent which the Philippines has. Let us reveal to America somehow the art, music, folk lore, folk dances, costumes, literature, and other cultural phases of the Philippines. How can this be done? Let me suggest a few matters which will probably suggest others to you:

1. Bring to America, by gift if necessary, to art museums, representative copies of the paintings of the leading artists such as de la Rosa, Amorsolo, Lorenzo, Buenaventura, Ancheta, Ocampo, David and others.

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2. Bring to America some of the beautiful Madonnas and other figures carved so exquisitely by Nepomuceno, in the beautiful yellow molave hardwood.

3. Bring to America a representation of the sculpture of Tolentino.

4. Let the American people hear Philippine folk songs, either from phonograph records or played from sheet music.

5. Let Americans see Philippine folk dance, not just the "Carinosa" which is danced to death but also dances particularly the typically Philippine dances with the least of Spanish influence. One I might mention is the "Tinikling" from Samar which was the most popular of all the folk dances shown by the Philippine Boy Scout troop which came to America last year.

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6. Let America see more of the beautiful Philippine costumes, both men's and women's costumes. How many men tonight are wearing a Barong Tagalog or Camisa Chino? True it's rather chilly for such a costume in the late Chicago fall. America being subject to new styles, perhaps with the right sort of propaganda you may induce the young men of America during summer to wear the Camisa.

7. Let America hear the instrumental and vocal compositions of Abelardo, Santiago, Vallejo, Molina, Hernandez, Buenaventura, Estella, Buencamino, Tapales, Carnejo, and others. Christmas is near and schools, churches, and societies are planning Christmas Carols. Will any be singing Santiago's Christmas Carol? How many of this audience has heard the beautiful soprano solo "i Maya?"

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"We can begin by placing paintings on the walls of Filipino club houses in America, by gathering together a collection of Philippine phonograph records, and by acquiring a library of musical compositions for club houses. The next step is to make them into homes, public buildings, and art museums just as exquisite examples of Chinese and Japanese art are so found.

"List of the best books on the Philippines may be made up and sets acquired for club houses in Chicago, Stockton, Los Angeles, New York, or wherever there is a considerable number of Filipinos. The Filipino Association of Chicago could start such a movement. Who can tell how far reaching it might be? Many in America wish to know the Filipino and his culture; they are sincere in this desire but they do not know how to make the start.

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Let us all help first by informing ourselves of our own culture and then by relaying this information vigorously, persistently, and objectively to America. In other words sell the Philippines to America. More than ever before is this essential. As a ward of America the Americans should themselves have discovered the old Philippines. Since they did not do so let us discover the new Philippines for America."

The Place of the Philippines in the Far East

"The Philippine Commonwealth is now one year old. It has its future before it. It has had a tutelage, good or bad, of over 400 years behind it. It can start anew knowing the points of weakness and strength of the 400 years which have passed. Nine years from now, or on July 4, 1946, the 32Philippines will be truly a nation among nations, dependent entirely upon its resourcefulness and building on the foundations of the past for a more enviable future.

"The government is in the hands of men long trained in the art of diplomacy, finance, health, science, and political science. Hundreds have been educated in American colleges. The fitness of the Filipino people for self-government has been tested and has not been found wanting.

"The future of the Philippines is well filled with problems, the extent and nature of which no man can fully foresee. But all nations have solved its problems. Whether the Philippines will become a key nation in the peace 33of the Orient through neutralization treaties no man can say although this has been forecasted.

"Filipinos in America have just cause to be proud of their Motherland. I rejoice with you this evening in the past achievements of the Philippines and join with you in your faith in the future of the Philippine commonwealth."