THE WASHINGTON CONFERENCE.

Wholesome relationship has especially been established in the Pacific area. The recent Washington conference has cleared away many doubts and misgivings.

Surely, after that conference has been hailed the world over as a solid foundation for international peace, the United States can not, without showing lack of faith in her own work, now say that she will not grant independence to the Philippines for fear of foreign hostile designs.

In the words of the President of the United States, that conference was called

to provide some means whereby just, thoughtful, righteous peoples, who are not seeking to seize something which does not belong to them, can live peaceably together and eliminate cause of conflict.

While the Filipino people realize that the international situation is not a necessary part of the condition prescribed in the Jones law as a prerequisite to independence, they crave the distinction of becoming the first nation to take advantage of the new order of things brought about by the Washington conference.

IRELAND, EGYPT, AND INDIA.

To the favorable international atmosphere may be added the fact that the first of colonial powers is already reversing her former policies. She has granted recognition of freedom and equality to peoples hitherto held as subjects and vassals. Egypt has regained her independence. The Irish people have been asked to enter into an agreement with England, looking to the establishment of a free State. Liberal institutions are now being established in India.

TRIUMPH OF AMERICAN IDEALS.

We see in all these events the gradual triumph of American ideals, especially of that fundamental American principle that declared that governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed.

Hence we come to America in the full expectation that the United States can do no less than other nations have done to their dependencies; that she can not now refrain from practicing those principles which were initiated by her and followed by her sister nations; that she can not now refuse specific realization of those purposes and ideals, which found eloquent expression in her spokesmen both in times of war and in times of peaceful reconstruction; and that she will make the Filipino people a determining factor in the relationship that should exist between the United States and the only unincorporated and subject country now under the American flag.

MISSION HAS FULL POWERS.

We therefore submit our case with faith and confidence, frankly and without evasion. It is the case of the Filipino people whom in fact and in law we represent, for certainly under the present circumstances no other agency can speak or act with as much authority on

what the Filipino people want or on Philippine conditions in general as their duly accredited representatives. That is the very essence of representative government.

THE TIME FOR INDEPENDENCE IS THE PRESENT.

We reiterate that the present is the time for the United States completely to discharge its obligations to the Philippines. The Filipino people have fulfilled their part in the covenant with America. Their relations with the United States are of the most cordial and friendly nature. If the independence of the Philippines could now be secured as an amicable agreement between the two peoples, nay, even as an act of magnanimity on the part of a sovereign power, how much would that mean for the peace of the world! How much more would that add to the prestige of the United States when she again appears before the world as a champion of democracy and human liberty!

Very respectfully,

Manuel L. Quezon, chairman on the part of the senate; Senators Pedro Guevara, Antero Soriano, Ceferino de Leon, Santiago Fonacier, Teodoro Sandiko.

Sergio Osmeña, chairman on the part of the house of representatives; Representatives José G. Generoso, Guillermo F. Pablo, Celestino Gallares, Vicente Llanes, Juan Nolasco, Emilio P. Virata, Proceso Sebastian, Pedro Abad Santos.

Teodoro M. Kalaw, honorary member; Jorge B. Vargas, secretary of the mission.

Maximo M. Kalaw, technical adviser; Wenceslao Trinidad, technical adviser; Jorge Bocobo, technical adviser; Antonio G. Sison, technical adviser; Arsenio N. Luz, technical adviser; Justo Lukban, technical adviser.

ACTUAL CONDITIONS IN THE PHILIPPINES.

I. GENERAL DATA AND PROGRESS OF THE PHILIPPINES (1914-1921).

AREA.

There are 7,083 islands, ranging in size from the islet inhabited only by tropical birds to Luzon, with its million of people. The total land area of the Philippine Archipelago is 114,400 square miles. This is in excess of the combined areas of the States of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. It is 7,000 square miles less than the area of Great Britain. Luzon has 40,814 square miles; Mindanao has 36,906 square miles. Next in order are Samar, Negros, Palawan, Panay, Mindoro, Leyte, Cebu, Bohol, and Masbate.

CLIMATE.

The Philippine Islands have a mildly tropical climate. The nights are cool, and sunstrokes are unknown. The temperature record for the past 30 years shows an average of 80°. In April, May, and June, the hot months, the mean average is between 83° and 84°. In November, December, January, and February, the cool months,

the mean average is between 77° and 79°. Baguio City, a summer resort, has a mean average maximum of 80° and a minimum of 53°. The recorded death rate per 1,000 whites in Manila for 1917 was 8.8 as compared with 16.5 for New York, 15 for San Francisco, 14 for Chicago, 18 for Glasgow, and 22 for Belfast.

POPULATION.

The total population of the Philippines, according to the census of 1918, is 10,314,310, of which 10,250,273 are Filipinos. Out of this 9,381,357 are Christians and 932,953 are non-Christians of all varieties-Mohammedans, 372,464; Buddhists, 740; Pagans, 402,790; and the rest belonging to other religions.

The following is the classification according to citizenship:

The Philippine Islands are divided into 1,289 municipalities and municipal districts, which compose 48 Provinces, 11 special Provinces, and 2 chartered cities.

LITERACY.

Literacy in the Philippine Islands in 1918 was 49.2 per cent of population over 10 years of age; in Spain in 1910, 40.7 per cent; in Porto Rico in 1910, 35.5 per cent; in Siam in 1915, 11.7 per cent; and in British India in 1911, 5.9 per cent. Persons with academic degrees in the Philippine Islands, 9,428, or 2.9 per thousand. Male population of voting age, 2,061,753. Of this 53.3 per cent are qualified to vote according to the organic law.

GOVERNMENTAL REFORMS SINCE 1913.

(a) Abolishment of the appointive commissioners or upper house of the Philippine Legislature.

(b) Reorganization of the executive departments, providing for appearance of cabinet members in legislature, regrouping bureaus and offices along scientific lines, and unifying their responsibilities.

(c) Establishment of a budget system ahead of the United States. (d) More autonomy granted Provinces and municipalities.

PRESENT GOVERNMENT.

All expenses of the Philippine Government are borne by the Filipino people.

The passage of the Jones Act by Congress in August, 1916, gave the Filipinos a very large share in their own government. With the

exception of the offices of Governor General, vice governor, and insular auditor, all of the important executive and administrative offices in the islands are in the hands of native Filipinos. All members of both branches of the legislature are Filipinos, as are also the provincial and municipal officials. There has been established in the Philippines a stable government of, by, and for the Filipinos, a condition precedent to the granting of their independence. The time for America to fulfill its pledge has already come, and that time is now.

JUDICIARY.

The official records of the Supreme Court of the Philippines demonstrate that during the last two years preceding Filipino autonomy 25.1 per cent of the appealed decisions of the lower courts were reversed by the Supreme Court of the Philippines, while during the last two years of Filípino control of the government the reversals were only 20.8 per cent, or nearly one-fourth less, erroneous decisions under Filipino self-government than before that time.

In 1913 there were 12,000 pending cases disposed of, while in 1921 the number rose to 16,000, or an increase of one-third. From 1907 to 1913, for a period of seven years before Filipino autonomy, the average yearly number of decrees of titles to land issued by the Philippine courts was only 1,935, while from 1914 to 1920, seven years of Filipino self-government, the average yearly number was 12,396, or an increase of six times.

EDUCATION.

Education in the Philippines under Spanish system began with the early Spanish settlers. The University of Santo Tomas, in Manila, having to-day an attendance of over 700 students, is a quarter of a century older than Harvard.

During the seven years preceding the appointment of a majority of Filipinos on the commission (1907-1913) 45,859,000 were spent for public education; in 1914-1920, P78,094,000 were spent. In 1913 there were only 2,934 public schools; in 1920 there were 5,944. In 1913 there were only 440,050 pupils; in 1921 there were nearly 1,000,000.

SOCIAL WELFARE.

(a) The appropriation for medical aid to the poor in 1913 was P1,548,317; in 1921 the sum was P3,053,828.

(6) In 1913 there were no dispensaries where the poor could be given medical treatment; in 1921 there were over 800.

(c) In 1913 there were hardly 12 women's clubs; in 1921 there were 342.

ROADS.

In 1913 there were only 2,171.6 kilometers of first-class roads, 2,034.3 kilometers of second-class roads, and 3,118.3 of third-class roads in operation; in 1921 there were 5,066.2 kilometers of first-class roads, 2,044.8 kilometers of second-class roads, and 3,036.6 of thirdclass roads. (1 kilometer equals five-eighths of a mile.)

AGRICULTURE.

The total number of farms is 1,925,276, and 96 per cent of them are owned by the Filipinos. Ninety-one per cent of the urban property (consisting of houses and lands) is owned by Filipinos.

The cultivated area in 1920 was 3,276,942 hectares, as compared with 2,361,483 in 1913, or 38.7 per cent increase.

In 1913 the total 1920 the sum was United States were

COMMERCE.

foreign commerce was only P202,171,484; in 601,124,278. In 1913 the imports from the about 50 per cent of the total imports of the Philippine Islands. Since that time gradual increase was recorded to the extent that in 1920 our imports from the United States represent 70 per cent of the total imports.

REAL PROPERTY.

Since 1913 the number of parcels of taxable property in the regular provinces has an increase of 1,700,000, or more than 100 per cent increase. The volume of real properties subject to taxation has also an increase of over 800,000,000, or about 280 per cent increase.

II. BRIEF HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION.

PRE-SPANISH PHILIPPINES.

It is difficult to know the actual conditions of the Philippines without some reference to her past. The pre-Spanish history of the Philippines is still shrouded in mystery. However, there are several outstanding facts which prove that while the islands might have been a part at some time or other of some Indian or Malayan empires, their connections were slight. Ty retained a great deal of the qualities of independent communies. One American investigator, Prof. Austin Craig, of the University of the Philippines, claims that a veritable native imperial family reigned in the islands before their discovery by Magellan in 1521, and that the first Spanish colonizers simply destroyed all records of such Philippine dynasty so as to facilitate the conquest of the archipelago.

THE PHILIPPINE REPUBLIC.

Filipino dissatisfaction with Spanish misrule was shown by more than a hundred revolutions which, according to the same American professor, occurred in the Philippines during the Spanish régime. We may mention the most important of them, the revolt of 1896-1898. The last part of that revolution was held under the very eyes and with the help of American officials. It extended throughout the entire Philippines, having wrested from Spanish hands practically every foot of Philippine territory except Manila, which was in the hands of the Americans. It set up the first republic in the Far East based on a constitutional government. The Philippine republic has merited the commendation of such prominent Republicans as the late Senator Hoar and John Barrett, ex-director of the Pan American Union.