Silliman Truth, Vol. XVII, No. 2

Published on January 15, 1918, this issue of Silliman Truth provides a remarkable window into how a localized missionary school in Dumaguete City navigated the intersections of early 20th-century Filipino secular patriotism, local Visayan culture, and global geopolitical movements during the climax of World War I. The text captures several major historical milestones. Locally, it chronicles a massive Rizal Day commemoration in Dumaguete and regional celebrations in nearby Tanjay directed by Silliman student-teachers, with proceeds explicitly raised for wartime relief efforts through the Red Cross and the Gota de Leche initiative. Globally and nationally, the paper documents the ongoing mobilization of the Philippine National Guard under Captain Vicente I. Barros, alongside a major federal legislative act signed by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson empowering the integration of the Philippine National Guard into full federal service. The text also preserves early academic metrics, placing Silliman first out of nineteen surveyed institutions in scholastic performance ratings at the University of the Philippines. Complete with details on early campus construction (such as the pouring of concrete for the historic Guy Hall dormitory funded by donors from St. Louis), this document stands as an invaluable record of institutional progress, public health initiatives, and early American colonial interactions in the Central Visayas.

The material is considered valuable. It is advised that researchers use digital copy rather than physical material for preservation purposes.

The Faculty and Students of Silliman Institute. (This specific issue was published under the auspices of the Junior Class and the Silliman Literary Society, with English section editors including Jose Estacion, Alfredo Garcia, Hospicio Fortich, and Luciano Galimpin). Sillimaniana Artchives Collection