ment in the new territory that had been committed to their control. For democracy as conceived and expressed in these great documents, and as the American people had received it from their fathers, was something more than a method of government. It was a passionate political faith. It was a faith in the natural capacities, and inherent possibilities of the common man, in his essential worth and dignity. In the scheme of democracy, as in the code of Christianity, all men were on a common level of dignity and importance. In this sense as stated by a great political philosopher of my own state, Christianity and democracy were twin born. They provide for the common men, without distinction of race or clime, a way of salvation from forces of oppression and greed and selfishness. Having found democracy good for herself, America believed it was good for the people of the Philippines. With a faith and passion like that which enabled their Spanish predecessors to establish throughout the land the practice of the Christian religion, the early American administrators and their devoted co-workers in the field of education undertook to educate and train the people of these Islands in the principles and technique of self-government, taking for their keynote and guide the memorable instructions issued by President McKinley in April, 1900. EDUCATION If with their simple and sincere faith in the principles by which they had won their own. independence and founded their governments, the American people failed to realize fully the nature and difficulty of the mission they were undertaking, they understood clearly that for its successful practice and permanent enjoyment, democratic government required an educated and informed citizenry. This understanding and conviction were as strong as they had been one hundred years earlier, when the framers of the great Ordinance of 1787 enacted for the government of the so-called northwest territory, stated that "religion, morality, and knowledge being essential to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged." In similar vein, President McKinley directed that the Commission "should regard as of first importance the extension of a system of primary education which shall be free to all, and which shall tend to fit the people for the duties of citizenship and for the ordinary avocations of a civilized community." In its first proclamation to the people of the Philippines in 1899, the First Philippine Commission declared the establishment of elementary schools and appropriate facilities for higher education to be of cardinal importance in the American program for the Islands. No people ever accepted the blessings of education with more enthusiasm than the Filipinos. Like the Americans, they saw that the road to self-government lies through the schoolhouse. The United States Army began the establishment of modern schools in 1898, and within a year more than 4,500 primary pupils were enrolled in Manila alone. The foundations for the permanent educational system of the country were laid by the Philippine Commission in January, 1901. One of its first acts provided for the appointment of more than 1,000 American teachers. Some of the members of this original group of educational pioneers are still in the Philippines. The splendid and devoted work of these and thousands of others who followed them has been a credit to their country and of immeasurable value to the Filipino people. Although a system of primary public schools. was provided for by Royal Spanish decree in 1863, few Filipino children were being educated at public expense at the end of the Spanish régime. To-day about two-thirds of all Filipino children of primary school age (seven to ten) are enrolled in the first four grades of the public schools. Total public school enrollment in March, 1935, was 1,204,485 pupils. They are taught in 7,680 schools, staffed by 27,120 teachers and administrators. In 1934 total expenditure for public education amounted to nearly twenty-three million pesos. This included (1) Governor-General Murphy Addressing the Joint Session of the Philippine Legislature; (2) and (3) Other Views of the Audience at 69 the Joint Session of the Philippine Legislature more than 20 per cent of the total expenditures of the central government for all purposes. Although the burden of popular education in the Philippines, as elsewhere, has been borne mainly by the state, 97,500 pupils are enrolled in private educational institutions recognized by the Philippine Government and operated under Government supervision. Those that meet certain definite standards are accredited by the state and are articulated with the public educational system. Among these are the oldest and some of the best institutions of learning in the Philippines. No agency of the state has been more effective than the public shools in the creation of a strong consciousness of Philippine nationality and the development of a sense of civic responsibility. The English language is now spoken in every barrio in the Archipelago by people of all ranks of life. The schools have been an important factor and effective instrument in the improvement of the health of the people. The offices of the Government and of private business have been almost completely staffed with competent Filipinos trained in the public schools. The standards of efficiency in agriculture, commerce, and industry have been raised, and the wealth of the country increased by the efforts of vocationally trained citizens. Professional and technical education has been placed upon a high plane, and our own institutions of higher learning are now supplying the country with specially trained men capable of meeting its technical and scientific needs. The Bureau of Science, the University of the Philippines, and some of the older private institutions, besides providing opportunities for general and specialized high education, are making distinguished contributions to the common fund of human knowledge. Through the National Research Council, founded and supported as an agency of the State, the direct aid of the Government has been placed behind scientific research. Further expansion of the school facilities of the Philippines is primarily a financial problem. Insular appropriations for school purposes probably cannot be greatly increased during the next few years, and in the present financial condition of the provinces and municipalities, no large increase in their school expenditures may be expected. Further substantial progress toward the goal of universal, free primary education apparently must depend upon and follow an increase in the taxable wealth of the country. Within the limited financial resources of the country, however, the educational system that has been developed in the Philippines is successfully serving the fundamental needs of the Nation. The schools, colleges, and universities of the country have become effective means for the intellectual development and self-expression of the people, in the extension of general culture, and in civic, vocational and professional education. The people of this country know that an educated citizenry is indispensable to the existence of a free, democratic, progressive state. I am confident that they will continue to press forward to the educational goals that were set a generation ago, and will not fail to support their schools to the limit of their resources, as an indispensable instrument in their national development. This determination has been written into the Constitution they have adopted as the supreme law of the future Philippine nation. PUBLIC WORKS Important as education is however in building the structure of strong national life, other elements were needed. Roads and transportation facilities and public works were required to develop trade and commerce, and to promote understanding and coöperation between communities and groups. The revenues of the state have been liberally and profitably employed in this direction, bringing to isolated communities the advantages of easy communication and the conveniences of modern civilization. When the Americans came nothing remained of the old Spanish road system but 990 miles of right of way, impassable in the rainy season and available for travel in the dry season only to a very limited extent. To-day the Philippines has 9,057.6 kilometers of first-class roads, 4,831.1 kilometers of second class, 2,009.4 kilometers of trails, or a total of 20,826 kilometers (12,912.12 miles) of roads and trails representing an investment of P240,000,000. There were 2,600 bridges and culverts in existence when Civil Government under American sovereignty was started. Five thousand five hundred others have been added at an expenditure of P25,000,000, including such notable bridges as the Gilbert Bridge at Laoag, the Quirino Bridge spanning the Abra, the Plaridel Bridge in Pangasinan, and the General Luna Bridge at Cabanatuan. of With the advent of the American régime, there was inaugurated the construction schools, hospitals, municipal buildings, and provincial capitols. In Manila we have the Legislative Building, Post Office, Executive Building, Philippine General Hospital, Bureau of Science, College of Medicine, Insular Psychopathic Hospital, Philippine Normal School and Dormitory, Pandacan Research Library, Ice Plant, and University of the Philippines. In the provinces the fine capitol buildings of Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Norte, Pangasinan, Batangas, Tayabas, Leyte, and Occidental Negros are worthy of special mention. From the beginning of the American régime το date P98,891,285 have been spent in the construction of public buildings. During the Spanish régime the only important water supply system was the Carriedo System, now part of the Manila Metropolitan. Water System. In the old days water for domestic use was secured by means of jars, buckets, and tin cans from shallow wells, springs, rivers, and lakes, and from impounded rainwater from roofs. Up to 1911 the American Army had completed 13 water systems, which later were improved and are now furnishing water to the towns where the systems are located. Excluding the Metropolitan water system of Manila, there have been completed up to December 31, 1934, 288 municipal and provincial watersupply systems, 19 extensions and 10 improvements, furnishing potable water to a population of 1,008,918, at a cost of P12,184,106.50. 2. The Vigan (Singson) Waterworks, Ilocos Sur. 6. Cebu Metropolitan Waterworks. 8. Lucena-Pagbilao Waterworks in Tayabas. Prior to 1898 and up to the early part of 1904, no artesian wells had been constructed in the Philippines. The first was drilled by the Bureau of Public Works at Engineer Island in December, 1904. From then until September 30, 1935, 2,390 successful artesian wells have been drilled in towns, barrios, and sitios throughout the Islands, at a total cost of P5,611,315.44, supplying approximately 3,000,000 people with pure water. Irrigation was known in the Philippines even. prior to 1521 as evidenced by the wonderful rice terraces of Northern Luzon. Under the initiative of Spanish priests 27,700 hectares of rice land were placed under irrigation at an estimated cost of P6,000,000. To this the American régime has added irrigating systems for 83,200 hectares at a cost of P18,647,000. To these must be added private systems built during the past 25 years irrigating 604,000 additional hectares, and bringing the grand total of irrigated land up to 715,000 hectares, a great advance over the Spanish régime. Of the port works in use to-day, only the old river walls and a very short part of the north breakwater at Manila were built prior to 1898. During the past thirty-five years P75,000,000 have been devoted to construction and improvement at nearly 100 ports throughout the Islands, ranging from the breakwater, sheltered harbor, and modern piers at Manila to simple landings for small coasters at isolated towns. There is reflected in all this an earnestness of purpose in the American stewardship, and a capacity on the part of the Filipino people to build and enjoy better things. The Filipino. people can continue to have them only if the |