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President Roosevelt tells Eugene A. Philbin to let him know if there is any more trouble in the “Arizona matter.” He also explains that Secretary of War Taft has sent a letter to Mr. Edwards telling Edwards he “must make amends for the improper reflection upon the Catholic colleges in the letter of his which was published.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-10-24
Chief of the Bureau of Insular Affairs Edwards refers to a chain of correspondence regarding the placement of Filipino boys into Catholic universities in the United States. He has been advised that it would be a mistake to remove the boys from Oberlin College, but the matter is closed. President Roosevelt has been advised of these actions.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-10-26
John J. O’Rourke pleads with President Roosevelt to expand the scope of the Catholic institutions that Filipino students are sent to beyond the University of Notre Dame. There are many other Catholic institutions that are worthy of receiving these students, and limiting them to only one Catholic university produces a negative public sentiment, shown in several editorials O’Rourke encloses. O’Rourke has been told by the president of a Catholic college that they do not have special faculties for teaching courses in agricultural topics, and he encourages Roosevelt to appoint a committee of laymen to help instruct the Filipino students in practical courses of agriculture and mechanics, in addition to the courses in Classics and metaphysics that they are receiving at universities and colleges.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-10-17
James Jeffrey Roche tells President Roosevelt of some investigations he has done regarding the distribution of Filipino pupils among secular colleges. He has collected information about the prices charged by Catholic colleges, which William A. Sutherland, of the Bureau of Insular Affairs, has said is too expensive. Roche thinks he may be mistaken about this, but will not create a controversy about the matter, as he does not wish to affect the current political campaign. He plans to raise the point when he speaks with George B. Cortelyou soon, and offers to come to Washington, D.C., to speak to Roosevelt about it.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-10-12
In the highlighted article on this page, The Catholic Standard and Times comments on the ongoing situation of Catholic Filipino students not being enrolled in Catholic Universities by the Bureau of Insular Affairs. An explanation had previously been given that the Bureau did not give any thought to religion when choosing universities for the students, but this is unsatisfactory to many Catholics.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-10-15
Filipino students brought to the United States to study were originally not placed in any Catholic universities or colleges, in spite of their Catholic faith. William A. Sutherland explained this in a letter to Joseph A. Weber by saying that while institutions like Notre Dame and Georgetown were considered as possible locations for the students, they were rejected due to their expense. The author of the article expresses their doubt that these institutions were going to charge students more than $500 each, which is their maximum annual expenditure. An addendum to the article states that after a conference between William A. Sutherland and Colonel Clarence Ransom Edwards has resulted that fifteen Filipino students will be sent to Notre Dame University and its associated schools.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-10-15