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.

170 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS

sion of teaching English; in such a way that actually they
already have in their charge all the primary and intermediate
schools and the same is true with 95 % of the high schools and
even universities. And if with all this the very Secretary of
Public Instruction, the Honorable Eugene Gilmore, is now the
first to confess the non-existence of a general language among
the various regions of the Archipelago-this delay not being
attributable to the intellectual deficiency of the Filipinos as
the Monroe Commission in 1925, the scientific Hartendorp in
1922, and other wise investigators certify to the mental normality of the Filipino children-the defect must be found in
the system, as was noted by Mr. William S. Irey a few years
ago, and for such reason, if it is painful to recognize one's own
failure, he should proceed, at least, to think of honorable
rectification. We venture to say that if-not instead of
English but together with English-there was given opportunity and official facility for a vernacular language in order
to let it expand and be studied with stimulus and be recognized
in its indispensable work of cooperation, as has been done with
the Spanish up to the present, the thirty years that have passed
would have been more than sufficient for us not to lament now
the lack of a common language as for lack of one we shall
have three: English, Spanish and the properly Filipino.
The investigating Educational Commission which was presided over by Dr. Paul Monroe, being made up of teachers and
scientists, mostly Americans, could not help but realize, however, that the language question was one of the most serious
problems of instruction in the Philippines. On the suggestion that the dialects be utilized in the elemental teaching with
the tendency to prepare the Tagalog for the national language,
the Commission did not dare face the problem neither did it
venture to propose any solution; however, it has clearly-made
us known that sooner or later, and with the natural course
of things, the Philippines will have as a common language
one of its own. It has recognized also that the dialects were
indispensable in the teaching of good forms and of morals.
And in order to emphasize its belief that the question of language is really serious and important for the educational
system of the country it made a recommendation in order that