A Filipino should never be appointed to public office merely because he is a Filipino, the clamour of politicians to the contrary notwithstanding. He should be appointed only if, and because, he is fit. Such a policy, unswervingly followed, will do more to promote the real interests of the civilized inhabitants than will all the concessions that could be made in a thousand years.
And what have we ever gained by concessions to Filipino politicians? Can any one point out a single instance in which they have aroused that feeling of gratitude, or even that sense of obligation, which may fully justify the adoption of measures that would otherwise be of doubtful utility? No!
This fact is well illustrated by the attitude of the politicians toward the Jones Bill providing for the establishment of the Philippine republic on July 4, 1913 and independence in 1920.
Hardly were its terms known in Manila when various politicians announced that the Filipinos did not want to wait until 1920, they wanted independence right then!
An editorial in the number of Speaker Osmeña’s paper, El Ideal, for March 19, 1913, contains the following significant sentence:—
“We accept the test to which the Jones Bill subjects us, because we have full confidence in ourselves. Afterward, we shall do what is most expedient for us.”[2]
Gratitude does not enter into the make-up of the average Filipino politician, and we must learn not to expect it. We must do what ought to be done because it ought to be done, and not look for appreciation to a small but very noisy body of men who curse us for standing between them and their prey, as we have stood from the day when Dewey first forbade Aguinaldo to steal cattle until now.
It is just as easy to win the gratitude and the affection of the common people of the lowlands as it has proved to be in the case of the wild men of the hills, but if we are to do this there must be a radical departure from the present policy, and we must deal with them directly.
In this connection it is instructive to study the career of James R. Fugate, Lieutenant-Governor, by appointment, of the sub-province of Siquijor. In spite of wretched health, he has done work of which he and his country have just cause to be proud. No one can fully appreciate it who does not know conditions as they were when he went there and as they are to-day. Siquijor has been converted into a checkerboard by good roads and trails where formerly there did not exist decent means of communication. Dysentery and typhoid fever ravaged the island during each recurring dry season when drinking water was almost unobtainable in many places, and what could be found was really unfit for human use. There are now fine public baths in the towns. Beautiful drinking fountains for men and animals are to be seen, not only in the larger centres of population, but along many of the principal highways.
Municipal officials have been taught their duties and perform them well. A complete telephone system connects the lieutenant-governor’s office with all parts of the island. Siquijor was formerly completely isolated from the outside world, but now has cable communication. Fine schools have been established, and swarm with children. The man who has brought about all this is beloved by the people whom he has helped and protected. They cannot bear the thought of his leaving them. What is the explanation of this phenomenon, when the inhabitants of many parts of the islands seem to remain unmoved by the many advantages which they now enjoy, and murmur against those to whom they are indebted for them? The answer is simple. Mr. Fugate speaks Visayan about as well as he does English, and there have been no intermediaries between him and his people, who consequently understand that they owe to him the benefits which they have received.