tCHAftoS^ ' Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016 https://archive.org/details/americasmodelforOOmeth SOUTH CHINA SEA PACIFIC OCEAN MINDOW MAR I PANAY \ I PALAWAN I NEGRO THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS The only foreign mission field under the American flag. The hub fr om which the influence of American democratic insti- tutions radiates throughout the Orient. MINDANAO! I B efore Uncle T O ANY foster- parent less far- seeing-, and broad-minded, and big- fisted than Uncle Sam, the adopted Philippine Islands would have looked like a “hopeless task.” S amTook Hold T here were 8,000,000 people, with various and sundry customs and religions and some thirty-two different dialects. At a murder trial involving seven defendants the complaint was read in four dialects. Brigandage flourished in the Islands, fostered by insurrection and by lack of administrative organization. Nine out of ten people could not read or write. There was one teacher to every 4,000 inhabitants. One school to every 12,000. Sewers and sanitation were unknown quantities. Cholera was like a smouldering fire that burst into flame periodically and sometimes consumed a thousand a day in the city of Manila. After Uncle T he Philippine Islands have been called America’s experi- ment in democracy. Nowhere m the world has a civilization pro- gram been so successfully carried out. During her regime, Spain sent over priests and tax collectors. America sends experts in adminis- tration, engineering and education. The United States believes in the “Philippines for the Filipinos.” In other words, show ’em how, then let ’em go to it. 1 ISamTookHold I U NCLE SAM’S en- trance into the islands was marked by the introduction of Clean-up Day. Experts have encouraged the natives to swat the fly and the mosquito, and have taught the people not to bathe the baby and the carabao in the same pool. Aguinaldo, the former in- surrecto president, is shown here with the Director of Education before a field of prize corn raised by Aguin- aldo’s son in a school garden contest. Thus has the in- fluence of Uncle Sam revolu- tionized the revolutionist. The Philippines Hon. John Barrett, after a year in Manila, said: “I believe the Philippine Islands perhaps the most interesting and the most fruitful opportunity for missionary work in any part of the world at present. On account of changes that are coming in, the people are looking out for what may be better along the line of religion.” President McKinley said: “The Filipinos are a race quick to learn and to profit by knowledge. He would be rash who, with the teachings of contemporaneous history in view, would fix a limit to the degree of culture and advancement yet within the reach of these people if our duty towards them be faithfully performed.” ■THOOrSTS jTrTunniST EFFOKT on a Chart The figures of 1916 indicate an export and import trade many times greater than the highest figures under Spain. In all these matters of commerce and industry the Filipino has responded admirably to the sug- gestions conveyed by the American. and the great majority of the people know nothing about their proper treatment. Our missionaries carry First-Aid kits, but there is no surgeon and no evangelical hospital in our territory, outside of Manila. Peoples of T he native of the Islands is either a Negrito — dark-skinned, ignorant, de- graded; or an Indonesian — light, tall, strong-limbed, aggressive; or a Malayan — small and brown; or one of the thousands of Filipinos of the cities and towns who have adopted the standards of modern, civilized living. Unless he has been converted since the American occupation, he is either a Roman Catholic, nominally at least; or a rabid Moham- medan Malay; or he is a barbarous pagan, who in his interior fastness was not affected by the Spanish regime. Fear of grasping Spanish magistrates, thiev- ing Spanish soldiers and unprincipled Romanist friars for generations stifled all the Filipino’s desire to acquire prosperity. But the example of American industry and the en- couragement of American leaders have inspired industrial enterprise which belies the Filipino’s old reputation for laziness. the Islands i I G ambling is common among women as well as men. Athletics and clean ■ recreation are planned by school au- thorities to combat the influence of the cockpit. Almost everybody smokes. Family cigars as big as your arm are lit by any member of a household who wants a puff. Children some- times learn to smoke before they toddle. For the rest, they are kindly, fond of music, restless, imitative, intelligent, capable of assim- ilating the lessons of civilization. And Methodism is responsible for two and a half million of these people. j In Dollars And Cents AS A BUSINESS INVE^STMENT the Philippine Islands paid their way almost Irom the start. And they have hardly begun to realize their own possibilities. A. Probably the principal industry is Manila hemp. The Islands sell nine million dollars’ worth of hemp a year. But experts estimate that one of the middle-sized islands, if intensively cultivated, could grow twice as much hemp as the whole group ol Islands now produce. The “jogaphy” books tell us all about the Philippine crop of sugar. Every year for the last fifty years sugar has been grown with almost no fertilizer. Which speaks well for the soil of the Islands. Next come tobacco and rice. And the cocoanut industry, which is capitalized at fifteen million dollars. On the Islands is a vast area of millions of acres ol primeval forest. And the builders import timber! Why? Because the railroads haven’t hacked fiat cars up into the woods yet to bring down the lumber wealth. A while ago we were tearing our hair for dyes. The Philippines have seventeen varieties of dve woods. The hat and emhroiderv industries yield large profits. The far-away archipelago looks like a paying proposition. Progress follows T he Philippine Islands don’t raise as much rice as they eat. Ignorant and thriftless farm methods make their annual crop far smaller than their annual consumption. The easy-going natives, content for years with their primi- tive agricultural methods, were awed by the big, fast machines the Americans introduced into the sleepy islands. the Modern Plow T he first new thresher g-ot so much more grain out of a stack that the amazed little brown men poked their heads inside the machine to see whether there was a hidden sup- ply of grain in its internal workings. Our proposed industrial farm school — like the government’s agricultural projects — aims to give the Filipino the benefit of America’s experience and experiments in modern agricultural methods. The School A LMOST before the echoes of the last shots rang out in the Philippine Islands, school bells began to ring. English has ^ ^ been made the official language. By 1904 many adults could use a few phrases. Now 50 per cent, of the people can read. A complete school system is going full swing. Elementary schools have been established in the remotest villages among Filipino children eager and quick to learn. Fifty industrial courses teach the boys and girls how to make everything from hats to horse-shoes. The im- portance attached to this Situation training, together with the example of the energetic American teachers, is doing much to remove the stigma hitherto attached to manual labor. But civilization itself brings new pitfalls. These young men and women, being educated, are hastily admitted to a new life and new environment. Few of their older friends and relatives can offer moral or spiritual support and advice, for they themselves grew up in wretched and immoral sur- roundings. Therein lies the work of the Church. I How the Mission I F you want good water it is not enough to paint the pump: you must clean out the well.” That’s how the Mission Church fits in. It aims to clean out the well. Much of the government work only “paints the pump.” The most salient lack in the Filipino, generally speaking, is character. Political, economic, sociological problems depend for their ultimate solution on the regeneration of the individual. Organization and education do not control personal character, do not regulate personal morals. Protestant Christianity does that. And for that reason Protestant Christianity is vital to the successful democratization of the Islands. For without character and morals no lasting results can be achieved by organization and education. The Filipinos are rapidly learning to read, and they want “something to read.” The Methodist Publishing House in Manila answers that growing demand. A Graduating Class, Harris Memori I Church Fits In Bible class in English, Malolos. Eble Training School, Manila. It was an army officer who admitted that Protestant missions do more than troops to inculcate the ideals of civilization in the Philippine Islands. I'he deaconess who visits the homes and takes the children to church. How the Mission W HY d o we need Mission schools in a field where the g-overnment program of education is so complete?” That question undoubtedly arises in your mind. The aim of our Misssion schools is not to compete with the government in a scheme of secular education. Far from it. But we do need to train up a goodly number of Native Christians. Experience shows that, in order to prepare them for lives of the fullest usefulness, their education — from the earliest, most im- pressionable period — should be influenced by Christianity. The spiritual background of a Mission dormitory does much to mould the character of the students. junior League Class under the direction of a native deaconess School Fits In AND so we maintain dormitories for students in Manila, Vigan and Tuguegarao. Six more are proposed in con- A m. nection with Provincial High Schools. The Church in the Philippines cannot exist indefinitely on the shoulders of American missionaries. It will not be permanent, it will not be self-reliant, until there is created an adequate and con- tinuous supply of native preachers, workers and teachers. And so we cooperate in the support of the Union Theological Seminary at Manila. That is the program of our Mission schools. Group of Students at the Union Theological Seminary, Manila Our Contribut of the Philippine rf\ ion to the Health Mission property at Aparri, where for a time hospital treatments were given. The medical work has been abandoned, however, because the missionary doctor was obliged to return to the United States. "Cast Thy Bread H as anything- returned unto us ? What have our missionary efforts in the Philippines accomplished ? Fifty thousand members in the eighteen years of our work. In seven capital cities missionaries are established to guide the work of over thirteen hundred Filipino preachers. This graduating class shows the type of capable, earnest men who go forth from the Theological Seminary in Manila to spread the truth among the tribes. M ore and more of the village churches become self-supporting. Little chapels like this unpretentious bamboo building spring up as evidence of the desire of the new converts for a place of worship. Tomas Altamero, pictured at the right, is an example of the strong, de- voted native Christians. After he be- came a minister he had the opportunity to come to America. But he refused to leave the Islands, because he rec- ognized the need for workers among his people. Our Ftesent Investment I T O prevent duplica- tion of effort the Philippine Islands are divided among several mis- sion societies. And Methodism is re- sponsible for two and a half million people. Medical mission work is shamefully neglected throughout the Philippines. Methodism has no medi- cal worker and no medical institution among two mil- lion people. Two small medical sta- tions of a sister mission are entirely inadequate to the need. Our proposed hospital at Aparri will minister to half a million people. The second site chosen for a hospital is Dagupan, the busiest city of Luzon outside of Manila. This medical station will bring aid to a million people. WHAT WE HAVE 1918 PROPERTY- No. Valuation Churches, chapels, parson- ages, homes 266 5176,528 Educational institutions and presses .... 2 68,750 Hospitals and Dispensaries Total property 5245,278 STAFF- 1 1 Missionaries and foreign workers 1351 Native preachers and workers 4 Teachers 1366 Total staff STUDENTS 5; MEMBERSHIP 50,00( SUNDAY SCHOOL SCHOLARS . 23,96: EPWORTH LEAGUES, MEMBERS 6,101 UNBAPTIZED ADHERENTS . . 13,94; Ourftoposals for theFuture WHAT WE NEED 1918-1922 property- 128 Churches and Chapels 5 Missionary residences Land for above 1 Christian University . 7 Dormitories — High School Students 1 Theological School 1 Industrial School . 1 Hill School . 2 Hospitals Total property and equipment $218,610 355,500 25,000 5599,110 STAFF AND MAINTENANCE 69 Native preachers . 9 Missionaries . $167,950 7 Native teachers 5,700 3 Doctors .... 27,000 Total staff . $200,650 Total requirements $799,760 From local receipts 132,370 From home base . 667,390 T he men who dedicate their lives to mission- ary work should not be required to sacrifice the wel- fare of their families. Our askings include a school for missionaries’ children. Students from the hill country are sometimes cor- rupted by the influences of the city in which they are going to school. Metho- dist dormitories are built to counteract those influences. The dormitory in Manila accommodates eighty uni- versity students. Six hun- dred applicants were turned away in one year. Christian education is an absolute necessity for a growing church. There are ten thousand students in Manila, either in government institutions, Roman Catholic schools or private schools. But Protestant Christianity is entirely without any insti- tution for higher education. Democracy and F rom August I, 1914, the Great War was fought for an Ideal. A rather visionary Ideal, but a very noble Ideal. When, however, America announced to the world her reasons for entering the war there crystallized in the minds of the Allies a concrete conception of Freedom and Democracy. As the combat progressed and drew to a close the Ideal took shape — was reduced to working plans. Men have died for Ideals before — centuries before. Men are learning now to live by Ideals. Merging from the smoke of battle is a great World Emancipation Plan to ensure freedom. The freedom of man everywhere to come and go and do as he pleases as long as he observes the com- mon laws of humanity. America pronounced this standard for civilization. The nations of the world have taken up the task of World Betterment. Weak peoples, little peoples, far away peoples and oppressed peoples are to have their day. the Centenary They are lofty principles which are involved. Big abstractions which cannot be taught in a day. Even to folks reared in a Republic, Democracy is a thing d 'Ecult to define and apply. To a people just bursting from the shackles of Ignorance and Paganism these principles are well- nigh incomprehensible. Mere education does not provide the necessary background of knowledge to enable a recent pagan to mould his own life and his relations to his fellow-men according to these new standards. But Christian education does. If, with his knowledge of the ways of men, the new citizen of the world imbibes a knowledge of the New Testament doctrines of living among men, there is less danger that the peace of the nations will ever be disrupted again. That is why, as we plan to extend our program in the Philippine Islands, we believe that this Cen- tenary Campaign is a part of the great World Movement — which began with the war, and will end when the world is safe for democracy — everywhere. T here is a generation of adopted Yank youngsters in the Philippine Islands who have learned to look eastward across the Pacific for all they have received. They hear tales of the landing of the army of white soldiers — who came not to vanquish and destroy, but to put a stop to the endless dissension that bled the tribes. Then followed the army of engineers, with their magic machines, to rid the narrow streets of the pools of black slime that bred disease and death. These children have seen the army of school teachers who came to show the Philippine Islands the ways of the rest of the world. To plant the seed that has inspired the Eilipino to exert his best effort, to make the most of his resources and possibilities. Now comes the army of Christian soldiers who carry the message of the New Eaith and the New Hope to these expectant little Eilipinos. The mightiest army of them all. But not large enough to accomplish the greatest good, unless it is re-enforced by your generous effort. 1 GENERAL SIR JULIAN BYNG To BISHOP McConnell “ THAT is concerning me is the task before the Church Y Y of God. That is what is concerning me. I trust that you will go back to your own country and go to your own people, and in every way that you can urge upon them that in the days, the terrible days ahead of usi the days after the war, the Church shall fail not.” V I I I I I V GRAPHIC SERIES T'repared by WORLD OUTLOOK for the CENTENARY COMMISSION OF THE BOARD OF FOREIGN MISSIONS OF THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH 111 Fifth Avenue New York City % The Graphic Series embraces books on the following countries NORTH AFRICA CHINA • JAPAN • KOREA CENTRAL AERICA MEXICO • MALAYSIA PHILIPPINES SOUTH AMERICA INDIA Copyright, 1919, by World Outlook