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.

190 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS

for it as any other people in the world that at present aspire
for its independence. Ours is, in the first place, a homogenous
people, possessed of the same culture that has been the result
of Malayan, Hindu, Chinese, Spanish and American influences,
able to communicate with one another in English, and Spanish,
the overwhelming majority of us being Christians united by a
long history of sacrifices for liberty, and, thanks to the liberal
policy of America, enlightened in the principles of good government and democracy. An impartial observer will further notice
that the mind of our people is irrevocably made up on this
question, not because we are ungrateful to the United States,
but because we realize that on account of fundamental differences in race and history and of our geographical situation,
our people must work out their own destiny as a nation and
in that way contribute their share to human progress and
welfare.
Our thirty years of association with America has been beneficial not only because of the generous original policy of the
United States towards the Philippines as announced by President McKinley, but strange as it may seem, because some sincere
American friends of our people again and again doubted our
capacity for self-government. There were those who were
skeptical of our people's ability not only in government but
also in the different fields of endeavor, and this served as a
challenge and a stimulus to our people. In education, there
were those who doubted whether Filipinos could be trained to
teach in the high schools and in colleges and universities. However experience has shown that in education, as in every other
field, whenever the Filipinos were given the opportunity to
acquire the necessary training, they demonstrated beyond any
doubt their ability and proficiency. Now, even the most
skeptical no longer question the Filipinos' ability to maintain a
good government of their own and to perform all those other
obligations and duties essential for individual and social welfare.
After these many years of trials and struggles, the fundamental aspiration of our people is still unrealized and we are,
therefore, in a condition similar to that of a man whose one
great and fundamental desire has been suppressed. We are