The Philippines Are Not Savage
According to Agoncillo, Aguinaldo's representative to this country, the Spanish found that Mohammedan civilization had preceded them in the Philippines through the Arabs by four centuries. When Spaniards reached there in 1521 they found the natives working the mines of both gold and iron, cultivating and weaving cotton, silk, pineapple fibre, and hemp. They were exporters of cotton goods and other manufactures. They had foundries for casting iron and brass, and were makers of brick and pottery. Among them were sculptors and molders. At the present it is said that 62 per cent. of the natives can read and write. There are 2 167 primary schools in the islands, besides a number of academies and colleges. Since 1872 about 200 students a year have gone abroad for education. Surely they are not all savages.