Proceedings of the first Independence congress : held in the city of Manila, Philippine islands, February 22-26, 1930 / Published under the direction of Dean maximo M. Kalaw, executive secretary, University of the Philippines.

EDUCATIONAL SECTION
First Session
The first session of the Educational Section of the
First Independence Congress was held on February 24,
1930, with Dean Francisco Benitez, of the College of
Education, University of the Philippines, as Chairman.
The meeting was opened by the Chairman at 9:30 in
the morning. There were three scheduled speakers.
The first speaker was the Hon. Lope K. Santos. He
read the following paper:
THE VERNACULAR AS A FACTOR IN NATIONAL
SOLIDARITY AND INDEPENDENCE
By the HON. LOPE K. SANTOS
Two notable sentences, products of the profound knowledge
of the history of the countries, inspire me in the present conference. One is that of our great Rizal, expressed in the mouth
of the prophetic Simoun in a conversation with the timid
Basilio:
"* * * Why come now with the teaching of Spanish,
a pretension which would be ridiculous if it would not
be of deplorable consequences? Would you wish-to add
one more language to the forty and more which are
spoken in the Islands in.order that you would be able
to understand less?
";* * * The Spanish language will rnever be the- com-\
mon language of the country, the people will never speak
it, because for the comprehension of their cerebrum and
the feelings of their heart this'language has no words: each
country has her own, as she.has her own way of feeling. /
What shall you profit by the Spanish language, the few
words which you would speak? Kill your originality,
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