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The Filipino community in Los Angeles
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The Filipino community in Los Angeles
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Content
THE FILIPINO COMMUNITY IN LOS ANGELES
A Thesis
Presented to
the Faculty of the Department of Sociology
The University of Southern California
In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
Master of Arts
by
Valentin R. Aquino
August 1952
:>D '5 A rt,57
This thesis, written by
Valentin a. Aquino
3 -
no .I
under the guidance of hi.s .... Faculty Committee,
and approved by all its members, has been
presented to and accepted by the Council on
Graduate Study and Research in partial fullfill
ment of the requirements for the degree of
Kaster ot Art•
J
I
·- -----------------·--------------·---- ·------------------------------------------
Date ..................................................... .
Faculty Committee
c. 'k 0 ~
....... ·········-····--·-·······-·-···-·
Chairman
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER
I. INTRODUCTION.
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
PAGE
1
1
Statement of the problem.
• • • • • • • • •
The group under observation • • • • • • • • 2
Importance or the study ••••••••••
Definitions of terms used.
Methods ••••••••••
• • • • • • • •
• • • • • • • •
4
4
Organization of the remainder of the thesis 7
II. SOCIAL BACKGROUND OF THE FILIPINOS. • • • • • 8
The name • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 8
The geographical location. • • • • • • • • 9
Origin of the i4'111p1no people • • • • • • • 11
What race are the Filipinos?
• • • • • • •
Social and economic division of the
population ••••••
The Cacique class •••
• • • • • • • • • •
• • • • • • • • • •
The Tao class •••
• • • • • • • • • • • •
Culture •
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
12
13
13
15
15
Language. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 16
Physical and social traits. • • • • • • • • 17
III. HISTORY OF\ FILIPINO IMMIGRATION TO THE UNITED
STATES. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 20
Motives of Filipinos for coming to America. 20
Filipino invasion of the .American shores. • 26
CHAPTER
iv
PAGE
IV. GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FILIPINOS
IN LOS ANGELES • • •
• • • • • • • • • • • •
Volume and trend.
• • • • • • • • • • • • •
39
39
· Spatial distribution of Filipinos • • • • • 45
Home ownership ••••
• • • • • • • • • • •
48
Crime and delinquency • • • • • • • • • • • 49
Occupation. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 55
Business enterprises. • • • • • • • • • • • 62
Pool halls ••••
• • • • • • • • • • • • •
The restaurants
• • • • • • • • • • • • • •
V. GENERAL C H ARACTERISTICS OF THE FILIPINOS
IN LOS ANGELES (COITINUED)
• • • • • • • • •
64
64
66
The family ••••••••••••••• e • 66
Mixed marriage family • • • • • • • • • • • 68
The pure Filipino family.
• • • • • • • • •
70
Religion. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 73
Group morale and cultural cohesion. • • • • 75
Organizations
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
The press
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Present composition of the Filipino popula-
tion of Los Angeles
• • • • • • • • • • •
The Social Spot Map
• • • • • • • • • • •
•
Findings of the study
• • • • • • • • • • •
Summary
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
78
82
83
86
87
95
•
CHAPTER
VI. SUMJ4ARY AND CONCillSIONS
• • • • • • • • • • •
V
PAGE
97
Summary • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 97
Concluaions
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
·BIBLIOGRAPHY. • •
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
GLOSSARY OF TERMS • •
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
APPENDIX. • • • • • •
• • • • • • • • • • • • •
• •
APPENDIX A. Los Angeles Community Sponsors Annual
100
103
111
113
July Fourth Popularity Contest ••• 114
APPENDIX B. Question11aire to Help Find Out the
G61i. \ .,.~l Conditions of Filipinos in
Lor, A..'1 ge les. • • • • • • • • • • • • 115
LIST OF TABl,ES
TABLE PAGE
I. Number of Male and Female Filipinos Admitted
into the State of California through the
Ports of San Francisco and Los Angeles:
1920-1929 ••
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
28
II. Number of Filipinos Admitted into California
through the Port of San Francisco •••••• 30
III. Number of Filipinos Admitted into the United
States through the Port of Seattle for
Periods Indicated.
• • • • • • • • • • • • •
IV. Marital Condition of Filipinos Admitted into
the State of California, through the Ports
of San Francisco and Los Angeles During
31
the Years 1925 to 1929 by Sexes ••••••• 34
v. Ports of Embarkation of All Filipinos Who
Were Admitted into the State of California,
through the Ports of San Francisco and
Los Angeles: 1920-1929
• • • • • • • • • • •
36
VI.
Filipino Population by Age and Sex for the
City of Los Angeles.
• • • • • • • • • • • •
40
VII. Filipino Population 15 years old and over by
Marital Status, Age and Sex, for the City
·or Los Angeles
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
44
VIII. Arrests by Charge and Nativity of Filipinos
for the Calendar Year 1949
• • • • • • • • •
51
v11
liB~ PME
IX. Juvenile Arrests of Filipinos for the
Calendar Year 1949 ••••
• • • • • • • •
x. Filipino Flnployed Persons 14 Years and over
by Major Occupation Group and Sex for the
54
City of Lo a Angeles. • • • • • • • • • • • 57
XI. Increase or Decrease of the Number of
Filipino Business mterprises in Existence
in Los Angeles from 1933-1952. • • • • • • 63
XII. Filipino Intermarriage Preferences in
California. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 71
XIII. Composition of the Filipino Community of Los
Angeles as to Population, Organization,
and Business and Trades, 1938 and 1952
• •
XIV.
Division of 200 Married Filipinos as to
Dialect, Legal Status and Religion
• • • •
XV. Nationalities of the Wives of 200 Filipinos
85
90
Studied ••• w • • • • • • • • • • • • • 91
XVI.
Home Ownership of 200 Filipino Families.
• •
93
LIST OF CHARTS AND MAPS
CHART PAGE
1. Comparative Ehtries of Male and Female
Filipinos through the Ports or Los Angeles
and San Francisco ••••••
• • • • • • • •
2. Comparative Number of Filipino Population in
Los Angeles, According to Sex and Age. • • • 42
MAP
1. Map of the City of Los Angeles Showing
Location of Filipino Owned Homes. • • • • • 88
•
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
For many years the Filipino's legal and social
status in the United States was very uncertain. He was
neither a citizen nor an alien. For this reason he was
regarded only as a transient. On July 4, 1946, the
Philippines became a republic. Therefore, the Filipino
in the United States is either a citizen of the United
States or an alien. It seems likely, therefore, that many
of the disabilities from which they have long suffered
might have been rEmoved, and their conditions improved.
It is this line of thought that the writer ainis to present.
I. · STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
It is the purpose of this study to present basic
social facts about the Fill-pino Community in Los Angeles.
It is not to verify nor to reject the findings of previous
studies made about the Filipinos 1n Los Angeles but to find
additional data as well as to study more fully the Filipino
population in this city. This study embraces the occupa
tional, religious, domestic, and social aspects of the
cultural life of the Filipino community in Los Angeles.
Of primary sociological significance 1s the attempt to
discover the form of culture pattern that the Filipinos
2
assume in Los Angeles, as well as the extent of assimila
tion which has taken place. Have they become Americanized?
What institutions, if any, have they kept intact? What are
the social phenomena peculiar to the Filipino group in
Loa Angeles? Is the present form of the Filipino nation
ality group a result of the ·1mpact of American culture or
diffusion from the Philippines? It is hoped also that
the study will be, in some measure, a social history of
the group.
II. THE GROUP UNDER OBSERVATION
The Filipinos to be studied are the first genera
t1on1 whose residence in continental United States began
prior to May 1, 1943,
2
or who were lawfully admitted
thereto for permanent residence after April 30, 1934, and
at the present time are residing in Los Angeles. The
Filipinos in Los Angeles, strictly speaking, are not a
community since they have little residential compactness,
1
By first generation Filipinos as used 1n this
study is meant those Filipinos 1n the United States who
were born 1n the Philippines.
2
An act approved March 24, 1934 (Public-No. 127,
73rd Congi~ess), was accepted by concurrent resolution of
the Philippine Legislature on May 1, 1934, and became
effective on that date. This is an act to provide for
the complete independence of the Philippines.
3
and are not congregated 1n one particular locality. They
are now .organized under the title Filipino Commu.~1ty an~
have elected officers to represent them officially as a
group.
III. IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY
Sociological 8tud1es3 have been made of many nation
alities 1n Los Angeles such as the Russian, Mexican,
French, Japanese and Koreans, but so far no study bas been
made of the Filipino Community 1n Loa Angeles. Stnclies
of immigrant groups have been made for the purpose of
determining the underlying causes of such problems as
crime, dependency, and social maladjustment in order that
from these studies a basis for possible preventive measures
can be derived. The study of the Filipino Community should
be complementary to the studies which have already been
made of other ethnic or nationality groups in Los Angeles.
3
See Pauline v. Young, "Social Heritage of the
Molokane 1n Los Angeles," (unpublished Master's thesis,
University of Southern California, 1926); Helen Douglas,
"The Conflict of Culture in First Generation Mexican 1n
Santa Ana," (unpublished Master's thesis, University or
Southem California, 1928); Mildred s. Rubin, "The French
1n Los Angeles," (unpublished Master's thesis, University
of Southern California, 1936); George Tuthill, "A Study of
the Japanese 1n Los Angeles," (unpublished Master's thesis,
University of Southern California, 1926); George K. Day,
"The Russian Colony in Hollywood," (unpublished Doctor's
d1ssert9t1on, The University or Southem California, 1930).
See also Pauline v. Young, Pilfrrims of Russian Town
(Chicago: The University of C cagoPress, m32).
4
IV. DEFINITIONS OF TERMS USED
The Philippines. At present the official name or
the group of islands formerly called the Philippine
Islands.
Filipino. The inhabitants of the Philippines are
collectively known as Filipinos. The expression F1i1pino
neither denotes any autochthonous race nor any nationality,
but simply one born 1n those islands named the Philippines.
Job adjustment. The degree of relatively harmoni
ous relationship existing between a person and an occupa
tional environment.
Filipino Community. The Filipinos in Los Angeles
are organized under the title "Filipino Community" with
their elected officers. The term "Filipino Community"
will be used throughout this study to designate this
Filipino group rather than their residential compactness.
V. METHODS
For a study of this kind it has been necessary to
use both primary and secondary sources. Library materials
offered sufficient information on the history of the
Filipinos. The Department of Industrial Relations ot the
State or California, and the work by Dr. Bruno Lasker
entitled Filipino Immigrat10n:a were the main sources or
information about Filipino immigration into California
5
and into continental United States. The Sixteenth Census
ot the United States was a ready reference conceming tbe
Filipino population of this country and 1n Los Angeles.
In order to obtain first hand information concerning the
Filipinos 1n Loa Agneles, it was necessary to use the
interview method to a large extent. Interviews ',r1 .th the
leaders of the different groups, as well as American
groups who have contacts with Filipinos, were made 1n an
~pretentious manner, thus eliminating as much as possible
the felling on the part of the interviewees of being
observed. This technique gives the writer a more direct
and free response from those interviewed. Perhpas the
most important single method employed was that described
by Lindeman as the part1c1pant-observer.4 According to
him, the "participant-observer" is one who:
1. Is a part of the group being studied.
2. Has vital interests involved in the grou~s
activities.
3. Provides the exterior or outside observer
with the facts of the group's activities.
4. Provides the outside observer with tacts
bearing upon the categories utilized 1n the study.
4
Eduard c. Lindeman, Social Discoverz (New York:
Republic Publishing Co., 1924), P• 191.
5. Presents criticism of the categories.
6. Discovers new categories as emergencies ot
the group's changing activities.
6
7. Corrects conclusions of the outside observer
trom the yiew point of one whose intereets are
at stake.5
Being a member of the group under study, the writer had
unusual opportunities in mingling with different Filipino
groups. Their meetings, parties, and their general social
activities have been rich fields for observation.
A social spot map6 has been prepared to show resi
dential locations of Filipinos concerned 1n the study.
This map depicts the community in its spatial aspects.
It baa grown 1n stature with the progress of the study,
and has become "alive" and intimate 1n proportion as the
locations which it records represent not just mere resi
dences but institutions such as churches,
7
business
enterprises, and community clubhouses.
In the early stages of the study, questionnaires
were used, particularly in connection with the study of
5
Ibid., P• 192.
6
7
See page 88 for map.
The churches indicated 1n the map are not,
strictly speaking, Filipino commtm1ty owned but are
patronized, supported and considered their own churches
by almost all Filipinos.
7
occupations and housing accommodation. The writer was
fully aware of some of the defects and limited value ot
the use of the questionnaire, but it was helpful in
securing objective data from widely scattered sources.
\
VI. ORGANIZATION OF THE REMAINDER OF THE THESIS
To help understand the present-day Filipino commun
ity in Los Angeles, it is essential to have a brief
historical account of the Philippines and the Filipinos.
Chapters II and III are, therefore, devoted to a brief
resume of the story of the migration of these people to
continental United States.
From a generalized description of the Filipinos in
the Philippines as a whole and their coming into thi~
country, the next point of discussion will be about the
Filipinos in Los Angeles. Chapters IV and V will attempt
to discuss the character or the Filipino population of
this city with reference to volun1 e and trend, spatial
distribution, home ownership, criLne and delinquency,
business enterprises, family, rel i gion, press, and to .
portray the Filipino community as it appears 1n associa
tions, both voluntary and involunta:' • The final chapter
will summarize the preceding chapters and indicate the
nature of social relations between t he group and the
community of which it is a part.
CHAPTER II
SOCIAL BACKGROUND OF THE FILIPINOS
The average American and people of other nations
have a very hazy conception about the Philippines and the
Filipinos. This chapter will present a brief account ot
the geography of the country, the racial and cultural
origins and characteristics of the people.
The name. Ferdinand Magellan called the land that
he discovered (March 16, 1521) "Saint Lazarus,"
1
but
afterwards the archipelago was christened "F111pinas"
(Philippines) in honor of Philip, then Prince of Asturias,
later King Philip II of Spain. The names Philippines or
Philippine Islands have both been accepted by every one
until July 4, 1946, when the Philippines became a
republic. The word "Islands" was dropped, making the
present title of the republic as The Philippines.
We have reason to drop the word "Islands'' from
the name of our country simply calling our home
land the Philippines. The new name now signifies
not only our spiritual unity but also our relations
with out neighbors and the rest of the worla.2
1
David P. Barrows, History of the Philippines
(Yonkers-on-Hudson, New York. orlOBook Company, 1911),
P• 79@
2
Elpidio Quirino, The New Philippine Ideology
(Manila: Bureau of Printing, 1949), p. 253.
,
9
Geographical location. According to the United
Coast and Geodetic Survey, the total number or islands
and islets 1a 7,083 of which 1,095 are large and fertile
enough to be inhabited. The two large islands are Luzon
in the extreme north and Mindanao 1n the extreme south
and in between these two islands is the group of smaller
islands called the Visayas. The Philippines is bounded
on the north by Japan, on the east by the• Pacific Ocean,
the nearest land in this direction being the Palau
Islands, on the south by Bomeo and the Celebes Islands,
and on the west by the China Sea, the British colony of
Hong Kong and French Indo-China. These boundaries are
those set forth in Article III of the Treaty of Peace con
cluded between the United States and Spain on December 10,
1898. Article I, Section 1 of the Constitution of the
Philippines adopted ~Y the Philippine Constitutional
Convention at the City of Manila on the eighth day of
•
February, Nineteen Hundred and Thirty Five, states pre
cisely the present National Territory:
Article I
Section 1. The Philippines comprises all the
territory ceded to the United States by the treaty
of Paris concluded by the United States and Spain
on the tenth day of December, eighteen hwidred and
ninety eight, tha limit of which ls set forth in
article III of said treaty, together with all the
islands embraced in the treaty concluded at
Washington, between the United States and Spain on
the seventh day of November, nineteen hundred, and
on the treaty concluded between the United States and
10
Great Britain on the second day ot January, nineteen
hundred and thirty, and all territory over which the
present government of the Philippine Islands exercises
jurisdiction. ·
The Philippines contains a land area of 115,707
square statut~ miles. Its salient characteristics are as
follows: (1) the rugged and irregular features of the
islands; (2) the fertility of the soil; (3) the great
extent of coast line which is twice as long as that of
continental United States; (4) the mountainous character
ot the country; (5) the relatively few large rivers; and
(6) the number of active and dormant volcanoes.
3
The Philippines is entirely within the tropic zone.
However, the climate in the lowlands is merely mildly
tropical and in the higher altitudes in the mountains the
air is cool and bracing. The temperature rarely passes
the 100°F mark or below the so°F mark. It is believed
that the climate of the Philippines is the most healthful
and comfortable of any portion of the tropics inhabited
by men, the average temperature being 79°F.
3
The two best known volcanoes are Taal volcano
located in Taal Lake about two hours ride by automobile
from Manila, and Mayon volcano, located on the southern end
of the island of Luzon. The first is said to be the lowest
volcano in the world, and the second 1s supposed to possess
the most symmetrically volcanic cone in the world. Hibok
Hibok volcano on Camiguin, a small island north of Mindanao
recently had an eruption.
11
The population ot the Philippines is a cosmopolitan
one including 15,000 Americana, 175,000 Chinese, and 3,000
Spaniards besides the indigenes. The present day estimate
of the population is 20 million people. The density is
approximately 166 per square m1le.4 Eighty per cent are
Catholics but there are some 700,000 Moslems (Moros in
Mindanao and Sulu); 625,000 pagans; 47,000 Buddhists;
13,000 Shintoists; 600,000 Protestants and more than
2,000,000 Filipinos of the Independent or Aglipayan
churches an off-shoot of Catholicism.5 From the agricul
tural standpoint the Philippines is capable of supporting
a population of fifty to eighty million people. The
former figure seems more reasonably 1n accord with proba
bilities in the near future.
Origin of the Filipino people. With regard to the
origin of the Filipino people, anthropologists and ethno
logista inform us that racially three varieties of man
occur 1n the Ph111pp1nes--tha Negritoes who came from
central Asia to the Philippines, the Indonesians from the
south who drove the Negritoes from the interior, and the
4
The abofe figures have
Malcolm, First Mala~an Republic
Publishing House, 1 51).
5
been gathered from George
{Boston: The Christopher
These figures were gathered from Time Magazine
November 26, 1951, p. 31.
,
12
Malays also from the south who pushed out of the way their
Negrito and Indonesian pred6cessors. The alays represent
the greater portion of the racial stock of the Philippines .
What race are the Filipinos? The primary stocks of
mankind as commonly classified are (1) Caucasian or hite
people; (2) Mongolian or yellow people; (3) Negroes or
black people. The color of the Filipino s is not hite,
yellow or black, but is brown. So t he question ls asked,
What race are the Filipinos?
The Filipinos are content to be included among the
:Malays.
6
The term "Malay" is now popularl y and properly
applied to all the inhabitants of t he Philippines excluding
the whites and the blacks. Dr. Bogardus in answering the
question says that the Filipino race is not one but many.
The Filipinos are daily becoming cult ur ally more like
Caucasians. They are a people "on t he move racially,"
from Mongoloid toward Caucasoid but still colored by an
ancient tinge of Negroid.
7
The inhabitants of the Philippines are collectively
6
Dr. E. s. Bogardus 1n hi s Et hnic Group Chart Bulle-
tin No. 7 in his Seminar class in Race Relations, Spring
Semester 1951. included the Filipinos in the Malay sub
division of the Mongoloid race.
7
E. s. Bogardus, "What Race are Filipinos,"
Sociology and Social Research, 16:274-79 , 1931-1932.
13
known as Filipinos. Theirs is a composite race--ninety
per cent Malays and ten per cent intrusive foreign ele
ments, among which the most important are the Chinese,
Europeans and Americans. The Filipinos are of fairly
uniform type so the word "tribe" is a misnomer in describ
ing Filipino groups, for the difference of the people in
various regions is not one physically but simply one of
dialect . Furthermore, the use of the term is not pleasing
to the Filipinos. Alien blood has been transfused to
Filipino veins, but the Filipinos have remained essential
ly Filipinos. They have withstood foreign assimilation.
They are one people just as much as the Americans. The
Filipinos are a nation.
Social and economic division of the population.
There have been two major classes in the Philippines-
chiefs and followers among the primitive peoples, datos
and their subjects among the Moros, caciques and taos among
the Christian Filipinoa .8
The Cacique class. When the Spaniards arrived in
the Philippines, they found the people living in groups
8
As the last group, the Christian Filipinos, com-
prises the largest part of the total population and is the
only class from which emigrants come, we shall therefore
confine our discussions to them.
14
related by blood. A group as ruled by a chief. Many of
these family groups lived in one village, under many
cbiets. Tbese chiefs made the laws, judged the people and
imposed penalties. The Spanish rule 1n the Philippines
imposed a central, political, and judicial organization on
top ot this native one but left local affairs in the hands
of the chiefs. The local organizations were destroyed but
the wealthy families held their place at the top and
formed what is called the native aristocracy. It was to
this class that the Spanish officials turned when they
needed local native leaders either for small political
positions or to gather the people about the church. It
was this same class that assumed political leadership when
the Americans came and attempted to democratize the
islands.
In speaking of the poli t:Lcal importance of the
cacique class, Benitez says:
What is today known as caciquism (boss rule in
the United States) may be regarded as a survival of
the recognition granted by Spaniards to the Filipino
chiefs, who were the leaders of their
9
people at the
time of the arrival of the Spaniards.
The caciques had the power of wealth and landed
9
Summarized from Conrado Benitez, History of the
Philippines (New York: Ginn and Company , 1926), Cliipter
VII.
15
ownership, of higher education and of tradition. The
control hich they exercised over their tenants or even
over peasant proprietors applies not only to agricultural
affairs but to everyday private and public matters. The
po er or this class has aned with the increase of educa
tion and the greater initiative and independence or the
peopl.
•
Th Tao class. This group comprises virtually all
the rest of the people in the Philippines 1th the excep
tion of foreigners and possibly those who have a little
capital and some small business. They are the mEn and
om n ho live 1n the thousands of small villages through
out the islands, ho gain a meager living from their own
small piece of land or from working for some one else.
From this class 1th but few exceptions come the ones who
emigrate in search of new and better opportunities.
Culture. When the Spaniards came, they found the
Filipinos 1th a culture of their o • They fused into
that culture a Latin civilization, especially commendable
of which as the giving to the people the Christian
religion. The Americans came and brought 1th them&~
entirely different culture hich is responsible for the
development of the islands in education, economic and
political ays. The progre s that the Philippines has made
16
under the American flag 1s summarized by Dean c. orcaster
when he says:
The English language has spread, American schools
have been introduced, American teachers have been
there, and the American education and culture have
been welcomed, and in other ways, many Fili inos have
become American 1n culture traita.10
The native, Spanish, and American civ1,11zat1on--1n other
words, Oriental and Occidental civilization--have combined
to make the present Filipino civilization. In brief e
can say that the Filipinos belong to the East geographi
cally but culturally they belong to the est, through the
influence of three and a half decades of Spanish Adminis
tration and about fifty years of contact 1th America.
The Philippines has been a melting pot of many civiliza
tions. In the social and cultural fields, three distinct
influences are apparent, Malayan, Spanish and American.
Language. History shows that the Filipinos
possessed a written language before the coming of the
Spaniards. Because of the lack of national unity numerous
dialect s were propagated. As many as eighty-seven dialects
•
are spoken 1n the islands, the most commonly used of these
10
Dean c. orcester, The Philippines Past and
Present (New York: The acmillan Company, 1930), PP• 665-
666.
17
dialects
11
are Tagalog, Visayan, Ilocano, Bicol, Pampango,
and Pangaainan. The Filipinos have a flair for languages.
Each person commonly needs and uses three languages-
Fnglish, Spanish and his own dialect. Because of lin
guistic or dialect difficulties, it has been necessary
for the people to make use of a foreign language as a
common medium of communication. The first is Spanish,
then English. On December 30, 1937, Executive Order
No. 134 as provided for in Act No. 184 of the Constitution
of the Commonwealth proclaimed Tagalog as the basis for
national language. Literacy 1n the Philippines now is
50 per cent, the highest in Southeast Asia. Others:
Malay, 32 per cent; Indo-China, 15 per cent; Indonesia,
6 per cent.12 As of December 1947 the number of daily
newspapers in various languages were: :English 2, Tagalog 5,
Spanish 1, Chinese 9, total daily circulation 431,641.
1
3
Physical and social traits. "Juan de la Cruz,"
11
The order 1n which these dialects are enumerated
doe s not by any means indicate the order of the number of
persons who speak them.
12
These figures were taken .from Time Magazine,
ovember 26, 1951, p. 31.
13
Ricardo Pascual, "Social and Cultural Development
of the Philippines," Council Institute or Paci.fie Council,
No. 3, Manila, 1949.
18
literally 1n English "John of the Cross," is the national
character that typifies the Filipino just as Uncle Sam
does the Americans and John Bull the Britishers. Juan is
small 1n stature, light and well muscled 1n figure, rich
brown in skin color, short and flat nose and with black,
straight and luxuriant hair. He dresses modestly, but on
occasions yields to a fondness for fine raiment. He is
temperate 1n most of his habits.14 The social life 1n
the Phil1pp1ne·s is warm, intimate and personal. The "we
feeling" 1s thus usually preseut. The Filipino is clan
nish, has a family system of Malayan character, a system
which fostered family cohesion and contributed to the
importance of the family in the social and cultural
solidarity of Philippine nationalism. Perhaps the most
commendable of all his traits is his attachment to his
home.
Just as "Juan de la Cruz" has typified the common
Filipino man, so has "Maria Clara," the heroine 1n
Dr. Jose Rizal•s Noli Me Tangere, been taken as personify
ing the best in Filipino womanhood. She has played
14
For a more elaborate discussion about Filipino
characteristics see: Charles w . Briggs, The Progressing
Ph111;e,121nes (Chicago: The Griffith and Rowland Press,
1913), Chapter II; George Malcolm, The Commonwealth of the
Philippines (New York: D. Appleton-Century Co., Inc.,
1936), pp. 28-37; Serafin Macaraig, Social Problems
(Manila: Educational Supply Company, 1929), p. 103; and
19
leading roles in the Philippine communitJ• She is the
mistreaa other home and safe keeper other husband's
income. General Leonard Wood, & former governor or the
Philippines, once said: "The Filipino woman is the best
citizen of the Philippines." Her position is rather of
the Occident than of the Orient. She is as highly honored
and well treated as the women of America. This was true
even before the arrival of the Spaniards.
This chapter has presented a brief account of the
social background of the Filipinos. In the following
chapter will be presented the immigration movement of the
Filipinos to the United States, why they came, when they
came, and their destination.
David P. Barrows, "Friendly Estimates of Filipinos,"
Asia, 21:946, February, 1928.
CHAPTER III
HISTORY OF FILIPINO IMMIGRATION TO THE UNITED STATES
The preceding chapter has given us a briet account
of the history of the Philippines and of the Filipinos.
This chapter presents data concerning the Filipino immi
gration movement to this country. Briefly will be dis
cussed the influences or attractions that led to, and the
extent of, Filipino Immigration to continental United
States.
I. MOTIVES OF FILIPINOS FOR CO ING TO AMERICA
Political oppression, religious intolerance, social
inequality, economic inadequacy, and the lack of opportun
ity for the full realization of an individual's wishesl
in the homeland serve as powerful drives to push people
out of a country. The hope for political liberty, reli
gious freedom and tolerance, social equality end frater
nity, economic advantage8 1n the United States was the
incentive for Europeans and other groups of immigrants to
migrate to this country. In the case of the Filipinos,·
however, their migration was one of voluntary movement for
1
The four basic wishes according tow. I. Thoma~
are for security, for new experience, for response, and
for recognition.
21
they were neither persecuted nor driven out of the
Philippines because or population pressure. Rather it
waa the desire tor adventure, and tor new experience in
excelling educationally and economically that cuased them
to migrate into this country.
Some of the stimulating forces and influences which
have been held responsible for the Filipino immigration
movement to Hawaii and into the United States, are briefly
discussed here.
Labor and traffic recruiting. The H awaiian Sugar
and Planter's Asaociation
2
is said to have started the
immigration movement to Hawaii. It advertised the glorious
adventure and beautiful opportunities that were offered.
Laborers recruited through the H. S.P.A. officers were
guaranteed a job on arrival in Hawaii. The big steamship
lines have been charged by some writers with deliberately
misrepresenting conditions in America. Their agents have
exaggerated their advertisements about advantages offered
by life in the U nited States chiefly to fill up their
steerage passages.
2
For a more elaborate discussion of the Labor
recruiting of the H.S.P.A., see Bruno Laaker, Filipino
Immif.ation (Chicago: The U niversity of Chicago Press,
1931, P• 386.
Influences of Americanization.
-
22
Influences brought
to the Philippines with the American participation 1n
government were 1mpreaa1ve. Many new inventions such as
mail, telegraph, raods, railroads, and boats that link the
Islands with each other and with other parts of the world,
.
have been created for the interchange of lmowledge and
ideas.
The social system has been the main channel of
Americanizing influences. The American teachers gave the
first impetus to emigration by the use of American History
textbooks with their insistence upon the greatness or the
United States, the land of opportunity, equality, and
liberty, the land of wealth and prosperity. It 1s, there-
fore, easy to imagine the extraordinary desire of the
Filipinos to get into closer touch with the great country
of which they were taught to consider thE111selves a part.
The public schools in a way have helped to elevate
the standards of living of the people. And while
socially the people have advanced, the country's
economics has not kept pace with social progress.
Thus we find here a disequilibrium social progress,
outweighing economic progress. And consequently, we
find a considerable portion of the people migrating
to other lands where better opportunities are offered
for them to live within the standards denied them by
the country's economic backwardness.3
It is further believed that, owing to the influence
3
Manila Hera.ld, November ~7, 1929.
23
of the schools, a shift in social standards baa already
begun. Emigration continues because the social desires
ot the Filipinos and the economic conditions of the
Philippines are in some way unrelated.
Press and motion pictures. The press and the
motion picture, two other Americanizing agents, also have
a bearing upon emigration. Their influences must be con
sidered here, since, although their predisposing effect
is unintentional, they have a peculiar strength. Many
newspapers have been very active in displaying the attrac-
tions in America and the successes and temptations of
Filipinos 1n America. Although these newspapers are not
the strongest stimuli, because they reach only a minority
of the population, they add some weight to the growing
desire or the Filipino people to migrate. American news
papers and magaz1nes--particularly the '
1
movie" magazines-
are said to have lured many of the Filipinos, for even if
many of them cannot read the printed words, at least they
can see the pictures. In addition to the newspapers and
magazines there are the motion pictures. The motion
pictures tend to exaggerate whatever they touch; but
scenes and conditions presented are accepted as repre
sentative of everyday life. For example, the films shown
by the Hawaiian Sugar and Planter's Association in many
towns in the Ph lippines were those films which depict
24
the Filipino laborers in Hawaii 1n action during pay day
and during holidays (town fiesta). Thus, these several
means or mass communications have helped the Filipinos to
form a very favorable opinion of the United States and a
desire to see it.
Economic pressure. The outstanding factors which
have stimulated the imagination and adventurous spirit of
the Filipinos have been briefly discussed. These alone
cannot be held responsible for the whole movement. Their
inducements owe whatever degree of effectiveness they
hav, e to the actual economic situation. One of the 1mmed1-
ate causes of Filipino immigration to the United States
is economic pressure. Many leave the Philippines in order
to find elsewhere opportunities they cannot find at home.
A report of the Philippine Bureau of Labor, on "The pro
blem of Filipino Emigration Abroad" summarizes as follows:
"The most important causes of the exodus of Filipino
labor."
.
l. The unevenness of the distribution of
population.
2. The un employrnen t 1n la1'ge urban centers, such
as Manila and other large cities.
3. The lack of opportunities--farm laborers can
only eke out a hand-to-mouth existence.
4. The waste of man power due to forced idleness
during off-season.
25
5. The small farmers and tenants barely earn
enough from their share of their products to support
and maintain their families.
6. The lack of incentives for agricultural workers
in the Philippines.
7. Letters to relatives at home relating the labor
conditions in Hawaii, such as high wages, good working
conditions, abundance of work, and the thousands of
pesos 1n money orders exchanged 1n the post-offices
of the Ilocos provinces serve as potent promoters of
the present exodus.4
The following report may also help reveal some of
the motives that prompted the Filipinos' decisions to
migrate to the United States.
Our school system in the Islands is causing a
growing number of Filipinos to be more or less
proficient in speaking English; hence as far as
language is concerned, they feel at home 1n the
United States. Also their Americtn textbooks and
teachers tell them about this cotmtry. This stimu
lates them to come here and find more about us.
Some of the Filipinos interviewed said that their
teachers had openly urged them to come to the United
States, and the desire for knowledge was given most
oftem by them for their emigration from the Islands.
Some wished to satisfy their curiosity and their
desire for travel, but the majority were interested
in learning our methods of production so that they
could apply them 1n the Philippines.
At present there does not seem to have enough
employment for the Filipinos at home. There are
certainly conditions which tend to restrict the
investment of American capital in the Islands. For
one thing,a foreign individual or company may not
own more than 2,500 acres of land •••• Thus, since
many Filipinos find themselves unable to remain 1n
4
Mimeographed report, December, 1929.
26
the Islands and at the same time take advantage of
our industrial technique, they solve their problems
by coming to the United States to acquire our
methods ot production .5
Another factor hich brought the Filipinos to the
United States is that represented by those brothers who
have graduated from American universities and ho served
1n the public school system. The possible honor of suc
cess as self-supporting students tended to awaken
Filipino youth to follo the examples of their instructors,
thus swelling the immigration tr k to the United States .
II. ILIPil-iO INVASION OF THE A IBRIC HORES
Migration is nothing ne in the life of the
Filipinos--eapecially the Ilocanos .
6
Their racial
history, their climate, the topography and the natur 1
resources of their archipelago and their culture tradi tions that arise from the conjunction of these major
influences have k pt the people mobile, courageous in the
5
onald Elliot Anthony, "Filipino Labor in Central
California," Sociology and Socia Re earch, 16:149- 50 ,
1931-193B.
6
H. Otley Beyer, rofessor of Anthropology at the
University of the h111pp1nes, in an intervie says the
Iloc ash ve been migre 1ng for a hundred years . The
Ilocanos are often referr d to as the Yankees of the
Philippines and ha ea deserved re ·tation for restless ness, ndustry and thrift. George A alcolm, The Common
wealth of the Pbili ines { e York: D. Appleton-Cent ry
Company-;-rnc., 936, p. 23.
27
face of danger and hardship always looking behind the
horizon of their 1mmed1.ate en vlronmen t tor fresh opportu
nities. 7
Some facts about Filipino immigration into the
United States. Filipino migration into the country can be
traced as far back as 1904 when they came as stowaways and
domestic helpers of soms- American passengers on steamships
running between the ports of the u·nited States and the
port of anila. Legal entries were first received 1n 1910
with Los Angeles and San Francisco as the main ports of
entry, and Hawaii and Manila as the places of embarkation.
The first group that came direct from the Philippines was
the student group ( government pensionados), the second was
the self-supporting students and the third and last group
was the laboring class. Those that came from Hawaii were
laborers. The following table and charts will indicate
the nature and volume, sex ratio, and trend of Filipino
immigration into the U nited States.
In Table I are shown the number of arrivals each
year since 1920. It shows that 31,092 Filipinos were
admitted at the ports of San Francisco and Los Angeles for
7
See Ellen Churchill Semple, Influence of Geo-
graphic Environments {New York: Henry Holt andCo., 1911),
Chapters IV and XIII.
Year
1920
1921 I}
~
1922
1923
1924
1925
1926
1927
1928
1929
Total
TABLE I
NUMBER OF MALE AND FEMALE FILIPINOS ADMI'rl'ED INTO THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
THROUGH THE PORTS OF SAN FRANCISCO AND LOS ANGELES, 1920 to 1929*
Both sexes
Number
625
685
545
2,426
2,688
2,491
5,274
5,221
5,042
5,795
31,092
1
Per cent
or Total
100.0
100.0
·' 100.0
100.0
100.0
100 .. 0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
r}
Number
614
~
590
469
2,122
2,451
~,245
4,8.37
5,243
4,832
5,610
29,013
Males
Per cent
of Total
98.2
86.1
86.1
87.5
91.2
90.1
91.7
95.o
95.8
96.8
93.3
Females
Number
ll
95
~
~
.
-
r1
76
.304
237
246
437
T
278
210
185
2,079
.
Per cent
ot Total
1.8
13.9
13.9
12.s
8.8
9.9
8.3
5.0
4.2
.3.2
6.7
* Louis Block, Facts About Filipino Immigration Into California (Industl.1.al Relation of California,
Special Bulletin No. 3; Calll'omia State Printing Press, l930).
N
0)
..
'
·29
a period of ten years, 1920-1929. It will be noted that
the migration or large numbers of Filipinos began in 1923.
During the ten years for which data are shown 1n Table I,
1923 and 1926 are the two years that show the greatest
increases in numbers when compared with t he preceding
years, and 1929 shows the greatest number of arrivals in
both ports. Table II shows the numbers of Filipinos
admitted at the port of San Francisco from 1929 to 1934--
10,033 in all. Table III presents the number admitted ·at
the entry port of Seattle during the years 1926 to 1930.
The above three tables do not indicate the exact volume
ot Filipino Immlgration to the United States for undoubt
edly many Filipinos were also admitted into the United
States from Canada and ~ome were admitted from Mexico.
Furthermore, these tables do not include the periods up
to 1934 when the Filipino Exclusion Law was passed which
put an end to the unrestricted immigration of Filipinos
to this country, drastically reducing it to a minimum
quota of fifty annually, one hundred after 1946 when the
Philippines became a republic. These statistics of
arrivals as shown in Tables I, II, and III, incomplete as
they are, may be considered conservative and dependable.
Preponderance of males. One of the most important
characteristics of the Filipino migration to the United
Year
1929
1930
1931
1932
1933
1934
Total
*
TABLE II
NUMBER OF FILIPINOS ADMITTED INTO CALIFORNIA
THROUGH THE PORT OF SAN FRANCISCO, 1929-1934*
Males Females
Number Per cent Nmnber Per cent
4,753 50.8 171 33.0
1,636 17.0
97
17.0
1,370 14.o 63 12.0
399 4.2 63 12.0
520 5.5 98 17.0
856 8.6 27 3.05
9,334 100.0 519
30
Total
4,928
1,713
1,433
462
618
883
Material for this table was furnished by the Office of the Commis-
sioner, Immigration and Naturalization Service, San Francisco,
California, File No. 122005/4.
TABLE III
NUMBER OF FILIPINOS ADMITTED INTO THE UNITED STATES
THROUGH THE PORT OF SEATTLE FOR PERIODS INDICATED*
Periods Filipinos admitted
January 1, 1926 to June 30, 1927 1,860
July 1, 1926 to June 30, 1927 4,438
July 1, 1927 to December 31, 1927 886
Jarmary 1, 1928 to December 31, 1928 2,192
January 1, 1929 to December 31, 1929
5,787
January 1, 1930 to February 28, 1930 1,198
*
31
Data furnished by the United States Canmissioner of Immigration at
Seattle, Washington.
32
States 1a the great preponderance of males. Table I indi
cates that of the 31,092 Filipinos admitted into the State
of California during the ten years 1~20-1929, 29,013 or
93.3 per cent, were males and only 2,079 or 6.7 per cent
were females. There were 1395 males to 100 Filipino
females admitted during these ten years, or putting it in
other words, the ratio of arriving Filipino males to
arriving ~•ilipino females is 14 to 1. Chart 1 shows the
comparative entries of male and female Filipinos through
the ports of San Francisco and Los Angeles during the
ten years 1920-1929. ~
Another important characteristic of the Filipino
migration to this country ls the preponderance of single
person. Table IV shows th~ marital condition of Filipinos
admitted into the State of California through the ports of
San Francisco and Los Angeles during the years 1925 to
1929. Of the total number of arrivals 77.3 per cent were
single, 22.5 per cent were married and 0.2 per cent were
widowed. There were none divorced. Upon closer examina
tion of the above table, we see that 4849 males were
married, but that only 588 marriad Filipino females reach-
ed California during this period. Assuming that these
married Filipino female arrivals are the wives of
Filipino male arrivals, it would appear that only 12.1
per cent of the married Filipino males bring their wi es
g
0
7
...
[l.
[l.
..J
V
u
Q'.
<
0
a
()
(fl
0
r
m
0
1/)
r
,_
I
u
"
0
[>'.
.
n.
it
-►--•·-
!
I
500
.-.. ----r · 0
! '
I
j
-·-~- -l600 -·- -·--· ·
............. +--...
!
- -•·
I
I
t -
I
I
- -·-·· . . -500
[_
I
I
...
I
... '20
I
I
I
. .
~---
-- ,I .. - .. . .,,, , .. . ...... -♦--•-·- .--1 ... ........_._,_
' I
l
Chart
..
I
1
26 '2.7.
I
!
I
_.,. _ _,...,..._.....,_
33
, _ __,_ ___ ...
I
Both sexes
Single
Married
Widowed
*
TABLE IV
MARITAL CONDITION OF FILIPINOS ADMITI'ED INTO THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA,
THROUGH THE PORTS OF SAN FRANCISCO AND LOS ANGELES DURING THE YEARS,
1925 to 1929, BYS~ •
Total admitted Males admitted Females admitted
Number
18,641
5,437
45
Per cent
77.3
22.s
.2
Number
17,884
4,849 ·
34
Per cent
78.6
21.3
.1
Number
757
588
11
Per cent
55.8
43.4
.8
Louis Bloch, Facts About Filipino Immig:r.:ation ,Into California (Industrial Relation ot California,
Special Bulletin No. 3; Calil'ornia State Printing Press, 1930).
~
35
with them. Kost or the married Fi lipinos, t herefore , come
.
here without their wives.
Another interesting phenomenon about Fi l i pino migra-
tion into the United States is t ha t all arrivals here did
not come directly from the Philippi n es . Table V sho s the
ports of embarkation of all Filipinos admitted into the
State of California during the ten years 1920 to 1929 . It
is seen that of the 31,092 arrivals 35 per cent embarked
at Manila, 56 per cent embarked at Honolul u , and 9 per
cent embarked at other forei gn por t s , such as Hong Kong,
Shanghai, 1n China, and Kobe and Yokahoma in Japan . During
the early years or the increased i nflux of Filipino immi gration, starting about 1923, mos t of them came from
Honolulu. Table V shows the i ncrease from year to year,
1n the number of Filipinos arriving from Manila, Honolulu,
or other foreign ports. I t s hows wide annua l fluctuations
in the numbers of newcomers fro m the various ports of
embarkation. The interesting part r evealed by the data
in this- table is the constant increas e i n the numbers and
proportions of Filipinos coming from anila . In 1923 only
9 per cent came from Manila, 84. 6 per cent came from
Honolulu, while in 1929 45 per cent came from anila, and
45.3 per cent came from Honolulu the difference in numbers
being only 13.
Filipino entries into con t inental United States as
Years
1920
1921
1922
1923
1924
1925
1926
1927
1928
1929
Total
*
TABLE V
PO R TS O F EMBARKATION OF ALL FILIPINOS WHO WERE ADMIT TED INTO THE ST ATE OF C ALIFO RNIA,
THROUGH PORTS O F SAN FRANCISCO AND L OS ANGEL ES : 1920 to 1929*
All ~rts
N umber
625
685
545
2,426
2,688
2,491
5,275
5,275
5,042
5,795
31,092
Manila
.
Number Per cent
total
82 13.1
59
8.6
118 21.7
218 9.0
4ll 15.3
850 34.1
2,023 38.4
1,640 29.7
2,872 57.0
2, ell)
45.o
10,882 35.0
&barked at the Port of -
H onolulu
Number Per cent
total
307 49.1
408 59.6
427 77.6
2,053 84.6
2,172 80.8
1,608 64.6
3,186 60.4
2,858 51.8
1,788 35.4
2,622
45.3
17,425 56.o
;
Other foreifP PQrts
Number Per cent
total
236 37.8
218 31.8
4 .7
155 6.4
105 3.9
33 1.3
65 1.2
1,023 18.5
382 7.6
5~ 9.7
2,785 9.0
Louis Bloch, Facts About Filipino Immigration Into California (Industrial Relation or California,
Special Bulletin No. 3; California State Printing Press, i9jQ).
vJ
°'
37
shown 1n Tables I, II, and III show an irregular trend.
Some ot the important factors responsible for the occasion
al decrease or abarp downward movement as noted in the
years 1925, 1930, 1931 and 1932 are the anti-Filipino
propaganda by the .American Federation of Labor together
with a number of patriotic organizations during those
yeara; and the depression and frequent Filipino disturb
ances and race riots. The MacDuffy-Tiding•s Law which was
passed by Congress on March 24, 1934 and which became
ettective on May 1, 1934 for immigration purposes put an
end to the unrestricted and undirected mass Filipino immi
gration to this country.
Summary. The above findings furnish facts about
the extent of Filipino immigration into the United States.
They also furnish data bearing upon the characteristics ot
this new wave of Malay immigration to this country. In
directly this chapter has answered such questions as:
1. How many Filipinos entered the United States
from 1920 to 1929?
2. Did they come directly from the Philippines?
3. What is the marital status of these immigrants?
In the following two chapters attention will be
centered upon the Filipinos now living in the city of
Los Angeles.
CHAPTER IV
GE ERAL CHARACTERISTICS O THE F
1
ILIPINO
IN LOS ANGELE
Perhaps it is necessary to restate here the subjec
of the thesis 1n order to establish more clearly t e fr e
of reference: · The Filipino Communit 1n Los Angele • A
presenta ion of the present basic social facts about the
Filipinos in Los Angeles. As has been indicated earlier
the Filipinos have or anized themselves under this titl.
This is their activity circle--"their communality."
1
The
characteristics of the Filipino population Los Angeles
1th reference to its volume and trend, spatial distribu
tion, home ownership, crime and delinquency, occupation,
and busin as enterprises, will be discussed in this chapter.
Volume and trend. Of the 45,563 Filipinos in the
United States, 34,203 are found in the Pacific co st~
31,408 live 1n the State of California, and 4,498 reside
in the City of Loa Angeles.2 There are other estimates
1
Communality is a concept developed by Dr. B. A.
cClenahsn. It is an outgrowth of the community. It is
an activity circle. For a more elaborate discussion of
this concept see: Dr •• A. cClenahan, The Changin~ ature
of an Urb eighborhood (University of Soutbe n C 1rornia,
E291", p . 08.
2
The above figures ere taken from the Sixteenth
Census of the Un ted State, 1940. Population Vol. IV.
39
runni gas high a 6 to IO thousand, but these figures
seem rather high, a one should recall he fact that many
transl nt laborers come here during 1ntert1me from nearby
camps. For the present discussion the figures from che
1940 census shall b consid red.
Filipino population by age and sex for the City of
Lo Angel a is sho in Table vr. In this table the age
group 30 to 34 years includes the greatest number of males.
By this tie ten years later the average age of Filipino
males in Los Angeles ould be 40 to 45 years. The same
table further indicate the greatest number of females are
in the age group under 5 years. One canno miss to see,
therefore, the very abnormal composition of the Filipino
population at the present time, the preponderance of old
mal sin the male population on one hand and the young
females in he femal popul tion on the other. From the
age group under 5 years up to the age group 20 to 24 the
sex ratio
3
is lo as compared to all groups above 25 years.
Thia is significant because in the near future the ax
ratio of the Filipino population of this city may compare
favorably 1th the sex ratio of other population groups.
3
By definition and gener l practice this is
deri ·ed and expressed as th number of mal s per 100 f -
males.
TABLE VI
FILIPINO POPULATION BY AGE AND SEX FOR
THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES--
Ages Total Males
Under 5 years 329 168
5 to 9 years 282
149
10 to 14 years 138 81
15 to 19 years
79 46
20 to 24 years 122 87
25 to 29 years
794 751
30 to 34 years 1,134 1,084
35 to 39 years 856 824
40 to 44 years 452 436
45 to 49 years 198 185
50 to 54 years ao
15
55 to 59 years 22 22
f::lJ to 64 years
9 9
65 and over 8 8
*
40
•
Fanal es
161
133
57
33
35
43
50
32
16
8
5
0
0
0
Source: Sixteenth Census United States , 1940, Population Vol . IV.
•
-41
The data presented in this table show two significant
aspects or population structure, namely, age composition
and the balance between the sexes.
There are over five times more persons in the age
groups 25 years and over than there are persons in the
age groups below 25 years. This is due to the fact that
the Filipinos only started coming in great number in 1923
and ceased 1n 1934 when the exclusion law became in
effect. As mentioned in the history of their immigration
they were mostly adult laborers and very few have their
families with them. This accounts for the clustering ot
the adult population 1n the adult age. The balance
between the sexes is another very important aspect of
population structure. Taking the population as a whole
the sex ratio is very high, 730.7 as compared to 100.7 for
the whole United States.4 Chart 2 shows very clearly the
age and sex profile of the Filipino population in Los
Angeles in 1940. One important difference is apparent in
the age distribution of males and females. During child
hood and early adolescence both males and females conform
rather closely to that of the entire population of the
United States. However, 1n the advance ages there is a
4
This ratio is of 1940.
n.
u.
r
.?
0
>
UI
0
0
--·•· __ ,..,._ ... ----r--
t
----....----.. ·-•·•----
'
1100.-----~--+--+~-+--+--+-------+----+----~---+-~--+---!'-+--.....
· 1000 ..
- ·--··- ........... . - --i--- .. ·-·
'
900
800
700 --
-+----······-· ... ,_,.,_,
; · 600
I
I
500 . ... ·--...
400
300
,. 2·00
I
. . .
I
l - • 1:00-
- ·••·•• ·• - • ---i--
l
I
.... . .... _ .. -..--
l
;
.....
L S
1s ; 20 25 ~o 3&
I
I . . __ i. ... Chart._
I ' I I
' .
!
. I : .
'o 1PAI1.ATIV N M ER OFf
l
'
F A E~
• •
40 j 45 :50
.
FIL P O ·p
'
ELES · CCOIµ)ING ; TO S
I '
ee T _ a:b.le. V .. , + • 40 ) ..
43
pronounced and significant difference between the sexes-
adult males on the whole being considerably overrepresent
ed and adult females considerably underrepresented. This
is significant because if a large number of them marry at
all, they must cross cultural and racial lines to find
mates. The principal reason for the unusually high sex
ratio is the preponderance of males to females in the
immigrant Filipinos.
A marital status is normal for the majority of
human beings who have reached the age of adulthood. This
statement is particularly true in the United States. In
this country in the age groups fro m 28 to 55 for females
and from 33 to 64 for males, more than three fourths of
all persons are included in the married category. This
is not so among the Filipino population in Los Angeles.
Table VII shows the marital status of the Filipino
population 15 years and over in the City of Los Angeles.
From the data presented it appears that of the total male
population in 1940, fifteen years old and over, numbering
3,527, exactly 2,439, or 69.17 per cent are reported
single, and only 998 or 28.3 per cent are married. Of the
222 female population fifteen years old and over, 50 or
22.5 per cent are sin gle, 166 or 74. 8 per cent are married.
If the 166 married females are the wives of Filipinos, then
832 of the married males have as mates women of other races
Marital status
Single
Married
W idowed
Divorced
Total
*
TABLE VII
FILIPINO POPULATION 15 YEARS OLD AND OVER BY MARITAL
STATUS, AGE AND SEX, FOR THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES*
MALES FEMALES
15 to 24 25 to 34 35 years 15 to 24 25 to 34 35 years
years old years old and over Total years old years old and over Total
117
15
1
-
133
1,387
'
416
9
23
1,835
985
567
7
,o
1,559
2,439
998
17
73
3,527
32
35
--
1
68
11
80
2
-
93
7
51
2
l
61
so
166
4
2
222
Source: Sixteenth Census, United States, 1940, Population, Vol. IV.
g:
45
unleaa these men lett their wives in their haneland.
Since the quota tor Filipinos is only 100 annually,
any substantial increase 1n the population should come
trom natural increase, that is, an excess of births over
deaths.
Spatial distribution. The Filipinos in Los Angeles
are scattered 1n almost every section of the c1ty.
5
There
is no Filipino quarter or colony wherein there is a strong
solidarity and national cohesion, such as are found in
the Mexican group, China Town, Italian or Russian
Ooloniea. They . are so scattered geographically that the
term "Filipino Community" seems inappropriate to use.
6
As indicated by the spot map there are a few areas
which showed marked concentration. Interviews? with a few
home-owners reveal some of the reasons for these concentra
tions.
I am an old timer in Los Angeles. I have seen
several residential districts and have always desired
5
The map on page 88shows the spatial distribution
of the Filipinos.
6
The justification of the use of the term "Filipino
Community" is the tact that the l4,111p1nos in Los Angeles
are organized into that which themselves call Filipino
Community. They have incorporated themselves as such.
7
Several interviews have been made and a few of
them are used 1n the study.
46
that some day I may live there. hen I as ready
to buy a home, I tried to buy one in one of thes
placea. But I as told that they do not sell houses
to Filipinos there. I tried another place and got
the same result. I had to buy one then where other
Filipino s have bought tbeirs.B
Group pressure exerts a strong control in the ecological
distributi on of F:t.lipino~. It is not al ays determined
by free choice. In his desperate need for a home one
buys a house here others have bought theirs, in other
words whore the pressure to ma1 ta!n restrictive covenants
is weak. Strong feeling of nationalism or provincialism
also plays an important role in the sel ction for the
location of one's home. As one says:
I bou ht a house here because I want to be near
my townmates. y ife feels happier to be 1th her
own kind (Filipino women) than with other nationality
groups. Further more many of our relatives live in
this neighborhood.9
This is especially true among intra-marriage
fam.lies. Gidding' s concept of "Consciousness of kind"
or preferential association ls operating here. This does
not mean, ho ever, that a pure Filipino neighborhood is
developing. Filipinos live here other minority groups
1
0
8
9
10
Intervie No. l.
Intervie No. 2.
1nor ty group is used here to mean a sub-group
within a larger group (ordinarily a society) bound to
gether by som~ special ties of its own, usually race or
nationality, but ometimes religion or other cultural
affiliations .
47
are found. The study of this concentration has an equal
import with that of other human concentrations of like
minded folks, who because or their racial, social, and
cultural backgrounds tend to segregate themselves as a
distinct unit 1n a given community. He likes to live
where other Filipinos live and where other minority groups
are welcome.
There are of course, quite a number of scattered
home owners throughout the city. Reasons for such
dispersions or scatter can be best understood by the
following statements: "I did not really care where I
could buy a house. Any place will suit me as long as it
suits my purse.nll Many Filipinos know that they cannot
always buy homes .whereever they want to live. Some of
them, therefore, rely on their real estate agents to look
and buy a house for them any place. In a few cases the
location, or possibility of buying property 1n some more
decent areas is through the influence of the person or
persons the Filipino works for or work w1 th. Tb, e boss
sometimes tries to secure the place for his Filipino
employee. Preferential association nd group pressure
seem to be the two important factors 1n the concentration
or dispersion of Filipino home owners.
11
Interview No. 3.
48
Hane ownership. It has been indicated earlier in
this study that probably the most commendable ot all
Filipino traits is his attachment to his home. It is a
fact that the Filipinos are a nation of home-owners.
They love nothing better than to settle down and enjoy
family relations. They want to have homes of their own,
but on account of the uncertainty of their legal status
here in the United States not so long ago, many of the
Filipinos have regarded their American residence as only
temporary. Such an attitude is responsible for the con
stant shifting and moving of the Filipinos and the lack
of incentive or desire 1n the past to own or look for a
good home.
Times have changed for the better, especially for
the Filipinos. They are becoming more and more aware of
the American scales of value 1n material comforts and
enjoyments. Their measure of prosperity is becoming more
real. It is gratifying to see many of them owning homes
now and many more desiring to buy homes. For the rela-
tively short period of time since they were legally
permitted to buy real estate property, the spot map shows
precisely more than the writer could put 1n writing the
story of home-ownership among Filipinos.
12
Some of them
See Spot ap page 88. Also see Table XIV.
49
have bought houses where not so long ago they were not
even permitted rental for even just a short tiem. There
bad been instances where opposition to the sale of a real
estate property to a Filipino citizen had been encowitered.
The American Legion has been very influential and instru
mental 1n suppressing some of these oppositions. The
Veterans Administration has to be credited also for the
increase of Filipino house owners or would-be house
owners. Perbpas "would-be home owners is e more appro
priate term to use since most of them are still paying
for their houses. Almost all the Filipino veterans of
World War II who have houses now obtained them through
the help of Veteran's Administration.
Crime and delinquency. The Filipinos are often
referred to as law-abiding people. This is true of
Filipinos 1n their homeland. However, in this country,
they have been endlessly tempted by the bright lights of
American life and some of them have become sadly demoral
ized. Their own native cultural values have been cast
aside and at the same time unfortunataly they have failed
to see American life at its best. The longer they have
resided here the more cynical and "hard boiled" some have
become. They have gradually settled into a life far
different from that which they had hoped to find. But
50
despite the numerous untavorable circumstances and experi
ences that they have encountered, the group taken as a
whole bas a low crime rate considering their age and sex
and their economic and social status. Statistics of
court convictions for national groups are, m:ifortunately,
unavailable. For causes of arrests of Filipinos in Los
Angeles and the number arrested for the calendar year
1949 see Table VIII. This is the latest record available
from the Police Department. The record has not indicated
the number of convictions. It merely shows the causes
for which they were arrested and the number that were
arrested. It is not surprising that the greatest number
of arrests is for gambling for they are really fond of
gambling. One significant fact about this report is the
absence of female arrests which is a high tribute to
Filipino women. Another interesting fact to note is the
very insignificant number of arrests made of American
born Filipinos, as compared to those of the two other
Oriental groups, the Chinese and the Japanese.
Statistics are also available on Filipino juvenile
~
arrests. Again there has been no way for the writer to
find out what became of the arrested children. It bas
been ascertained, however, that at the present time no
on, e is under probation.13 Table IX shows the Juvenile
13
This information was obtained by the writer fr•om
Mr. Pat Palace of the Juvenile Probation Department.
TABLE VIII
ARRESTS BY CHARGE AND NATIVITY OF FILIPINOS FOR
THE CALENDAR YEAR 1949*
Charge
Rape
Robbery
Assault to ·Murder
Assault W:,.th deadly weapon
Burglary
Grand Theft
Petty Theft
Battery
Forgery
Grand Thef't-Fraud
Deadly weapon Act
V/eapons Ordinance
House of Ill-Fame,Conducting
Pandering
Pros ti tu ti.on (Procuring)
Prostitution (Resorting)
Prostitution (Visiting)
Failure to Reg. Sex Crime
Sex Perversion
Vag. Lewd or Dissolute
Failure to provide
Wife Beating
State Narcotic
State Narcotic
Drinking in Street or Public Place
Vagrancy Roamer
Gambling Fonn Charts
Gambling Conducting
Gambling Craps or Dice
Gambling Miscellaneous
Gambling Lottery Possession
Gambling Lookout
Drunk Driving
Speeding
Traffic Ordinance
Vehicle Code
Charging Add. Fees in places
of Amusenent
Contributing to Delinquency
Felony
Felony
Felony
Felony
Felony
Felony
Misdemeanor
Misdemeanor
Fel8ny
Felony
Misdaneanor
Mun. Code
Misdemeanor
Felony
Mm. Code
Mun. Code
Mun. Code
Mun. Code
Felony
Misdsneanor
Misdsneanor
Felony
Felony
Misdeneanor
Mun. Code
Misdaneanor
Felony
MisdE111eanor
Mun. Code
Mun. Code
Mun. Code
Mm. Code
Misdemeanor
Misdemeanor
Mun. Code
Misdemeanor
Mun. Code
Misdemeanor
Native
born
M F
-
-
2
-
- -
- -
1
-
- -
- -
- -
l
-
- -
- -
-
-
-
-
- -
- -
- -
- -
-
-
- -
l
-
- -
-·
-
3
-
- -
- -
- -
1
-
- -
1
-
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
-
-
- -
- -
- -
Foreign
born
M F
1
-
9
-
2
-
7
-
1
-
7
-
2
-
l
-
l
-
5
-
l
-
6
-
2
-
l
-
1
-
13
-
4 -
1
-
1
-
7 -
1
-
1
-
1
-
2
-
3
-
1
-
67
-
4
-
18
-
142
-
1
-
3
-
6
-
3
-
1
-
8
-
l
-
1
-
TABLE VII (continued)
ARRES TS BY CHARGE AND NATIVITY OF FILIPI OS FOR
THE CALENDAR YEAR 1949➔~
Charge
Convict Registration run. Code
Fish and Game Laws Misdemeanor
Miss. Mun. Code O ffenses Mun. Code
Warrant Felony
Trespassing Private Property sdemeanor
Immigration Laws Federal
Non-Crim. Det-Insane Non. Crim.Det.
Grand Total
*
Native
bor
F
- -
-
-
- -
- -
l
-
- -
- -
17 -
52
Foreign
born
M F
l
-
1
-
2
-
1
-
- -
2
-
2
-
433
-
Annual Report of the Police Department, City of Los Angeles for
Calendar Year 1949 .
53
delinquency records ot the Filipinos. This i s the l atest
report available which indicates the racial descent of
children that are registered on police records. Seven ot
.
these cases are labeled "Non-criminal detenti on" or
"Dependant~" These children were brought t o the court
only for their protection . The charges were directed
against their parents.
Basically, delinquency is the result of per sona l
and social disorganization, growing out of complex of
conditions.
14
Fnvironmental maladjus tments, or the fail
ure of individuals to make adequate adjustment to social
situations provides the occasion of devian t behavior .
Social disorganization is correlated wi th certain social
processes, notably excessive mobility, social differenti
ation and other processes of social oppos i tion and dis integration. Delinquency can be expl ained by reference
to social contacts and environmental influences. Fili
pinos, especially 1n large cities, ar e often prevented by
t he prevailing prejudice from renting r ooms or apartments
in decant neighborhoods. They are conspicuous on the
streets. Unlike the Chinese and Japanese , ho have
f ami l ies, they ar obliged by the congestion of their
14
M artin H. Neumeyer, Juveni l e Delinquency in
M odern Society (New York: D. Van Nostrand Company,Inc.,
1949), Chapter X I .
54
TABLE IX
JUVENILE ARRESTS ON FILIPINOS FOR THE CALENDAR YEAR 1949*
Total
Charge Sex Age
Boys Girls
Burglary Felony Boy 10 1
-
Non Criminal Detention Dependent Girl 11
-
1
Petty Theft Misdemeanor Boy 12 1
-
Burglary Felony Boy 13 1
-
Petty Theft Misdemeanor Boy 13 1
-
Weapons Ordinance Mun. Code Boy 13 1
-
Incorrigibles Misdemeanor Boy 13 1
-
Dependent Non Crim. Det. Boy 13 1
-
Assault with deadly weapon Felony Boy
14
1
-
Petty Theft Misdemeanor Boy 15
2
-
Escape Felony Boy
15 1
-
Non Crim. Detention Non Criminal
Detention Girl
15
-
2
Rape Felony Boy 16 1
-
Grand Theft Auto ~ Felony Boy 16 1
-
Vag. Loitering on School
Premises Misdemeanor Boy 16 1
-
Curfew Ordinance Mun. Code Girl 16
-
1
Dependent Non Criminal
Detention Boy 16 l
-
Sex Delinquent Non Criminal
Detention Girl 16
-
1
Burglary Felony Boy
17 1
-
Dependent Non Criminal
D etention Boy
17 1
-
Dependent Non Criminal
Detention Girl
17
-
1
Total
17
6
*
Annual Report of the Police Department City of Los Angeles for the
Calendar Year 1949.
56
homes to spend most of their le!.sure time in public
places. Due to their association with "bad characters"
1n the cheap pool rooms.,· 1n the de.nee halls (when they are
permitted to attend them) and in restaurants of low
reputation, the Filipinos come in contact with the under~
world. Sutherland
15
maintains that criminal behavior is
learned through interaction with others 1n the process
ot communication, especially with intimate groups.
Occupation. Opportunity in this country has always
been by way of physical work. The Filipino has been dis
qualified for many occupations by his slight physique.
His economic prospects here are less promising than those
of other immigrant groups. He finds himself especially
in the Pacific Coaat, excluded from chances of employment
for which he lmows himself well prepared. In the East
because of their small number, some are given opportuni
ties 1n skilled technical, and clerical work. In the
Pacific Coast cities at the present time there are now
few who enjoy the same privileges as their brothers in the
East. Not many of them, to be sure, but enough to prevent
the growing feeling on the part of the local Filipinos
that they are denied all access to the more remunerative
15
:Edwin H. Sutherland, Principles of Criminology
(New York: J.B. Lippincott Company, 19471, p. 6.
56
rorms or employment.
Before going further into the discussion or occupa
tion with regard to the Filipinos, perhaps it is proper
to assess first or all their ability to adjust themselves
to the. requirements of American vocational 11£e. There
are two classes of Filipinos that came into the United
States, first the students comprising a very small group,
and ~econd the laborers comprising the greatest bulk of
the immigrant group. Almost none of them came to this
cowitry with special skill or trade experience. This
lack of previous training explains the reason why no
group ot Filipinos has won its way to success; and during
tbe past years they were willing to accept any Job, how
ever unpromising it might have been. The reasons for not
advancing to the better paying positions often have been
due, not to prejudice, but to their own limitations. The
preponderant majority of them are only qualified for
menial work.
The types of work that Filipinos are performing
are generally about the same type since they arrived in
tha United States. For further information about these
occupations we refer to the Sixteenth Census of the United
States, 1940. Table X shows the number of Filipino
employed persons 14 years old and over and the kind of
occupation fol:' which they are employed in Los Angeles.
57
TABLE X
FILIPINO EMPLOYED PERSONS 14 YEARS OLD AND OVER BY MAJOR OCCUPATI0N
GROUP AND SEX FOR THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES*
Occupation Total Male Female
Total employed exc. on emergency work 2,967 2,912
55
Professional workers
44 . 43 1
Sani-Professional workers 20 20
-
Farmers and farm managers
13 12 1
Proprietors, managers and officials exc.fann
L4
40 4
Clerical sales and kindred workers 61 58 3
Craftsman., foreman and kindred workers
57 51
-
Operatives and kindred workers 220 208 12
Domestic service workers
318 300 18
Service workers except domestics
1,905 1,894 11
Fann laborers, wage workers and fanners
74 74
--
Labor except fann
209 204 5
Occupation not reported
8 8
-
*
Source: Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940. Population,
Vol. IV.
58
The two occupational groups that absorb the greatest
number of employed persons are service workers excepting
domestic, and domestic service workers, t;he former occu
pational group being the larger. Almost all Filipinos
14 years old and over are gainfully employed according to
the above table.
Professor R. D. McKenz e,
16
in summarizing the
findings of the Oriental Survey on the Pacif c Coast,
distinguished bet een three ell-defined stages in the
Oriental's competition for jobs: first, a period of con
tract labor and camp life, 1th considerable mobility
within a zone close to the port of entry; second , a period
of occupational exploration, concentration 1n certain
occupations, segregation and establishment of a communal
life; third , a tendency to ard ider occupational and
territoria l distribution. The Filipinos 1n Los Angeles
are now in the second and third of the three stages 0£
this occupational history. First they took hatever ork
they could find in order to live. Then they concentrated
1n the domestic and service occupations. At the present
time they are on the third stage aspiring for wider occu
pational and territorial distribution. Chane of
16
R. D. cKenzie, "Oriental Survey on the Pacific
Coast," Survey Graphic, ay 1926, p. 151.
59
attitudes on the part ot the majority gr oups to ards the
Filipinos, which started after the second World ar , and
the change of legal status of Filipinos i n the United
States brought about by the granting of Independence to
the Philippines serve as motivations and driving forces
for the Filipinos toward their desir e for ider partici
pations.
There is no available data to sho the range of
wages that the Filipinos are now rec eiving. tis sa e
to say, however, that in all occupations they are in,
the wage they receive conforms gener ally to the age
level paid to the general population. The only bass for
the assertion that the Filipino orkers are no receiving
a decent wage is in terms of material things and comforts
t hat the majority now enjoy. U pon close observation and
scanning of the returned questionnaires , the Filipinos'
material belongings compare favorably with that of the
average American citizen which is an indication, if not
an actual proof, of their presen t well-being.
The Filipino worker now feels more secure 1n his
job than at any time 1n the past. This feeling of secu1
1ty arises because first, he is 1n the job that the hit
laborer does not want; second, 1n empl oyment such as in
the better class hotels, restaurants and clubs, he bolds
hi s position because of real superiority in the qualities
60
that count over other available helpers; third, he is now
allowed membership to some labor unions; fourth, be is now
a citizen or is eligible for citizenship which entitles
him for civil service examination privilege. Many ot
them have held the same jobs for a ~ng time which means
more than anything else, that they are well adapted and
suited for that job.
It bas been indicated in our discussion concerning
the Filipinos' preparation for jobs that many arrived
without any special skill and trade experience. They took
hatever work they could find and learned the trade.
From a study of quest1onnaireal7 returned, from interviews
of se l ected laborers, and from close observation by the
writer, he feels justified in observing that the Filipinos
have a fairly favorable attitude towards their jobs.
ost of these jobs have been determined by necessity, very
few by free choice. Asked what kind of job they would be
doing if they were free to make a choice brings almost
the unanimous answer-same. Very few have indicated a
second choice. These few are those who have made pre
parations for such work from which immigrants are almost
entir e l y barred and these few by the way, are those whose
17
See Appendix B for the form of questionnaire
sen t to Filipinos.
61
intention to stay here permanently is doubtful. Opportu
nity is circumscribed by the individual's ability to
learn. Inability of Filipinos to advance to the better
paying positions is not always due to prejudice, but to
their own limitations.
At present it is difficult to present a graphic
form or the Filipino occupational trend. Nevertheless,
it is important to indicate some changes. The great
change noticeable is, of course, the rapid and consistent
decrease 1n the number of farm laborers. The Filipino
immigrant is getting too old for farm work, especially
that which he was most adapted for, namely, stoop labor.
He, therefore, seeks employment other than farm labor.
Clerical jobs professional and semi-professional services
are the categories which Filipinos are entering. Domestic
and personal services retained about the same relative
importance as far as Filipinos are concerned. Many
Filipinos are now employed in Post Office jobs, in the
airplane factories as technicians and as machinists. In
other words, the number of Filipino skilled laborers has
increased a great deal. In restaurants, instead of being
merely dishwashers most of them now are cooks and some of
them now are chefs. So far there is only one practicing
lawyer and one practicing physician among the Filipinos
in IDs Angeles.
..
62
Business anterprises. The Filipinos seldom possess
the attitudes and values of the business man. Their typi
cal idea of business ls the small-shop plan. (This 1s
lmown as sari-sari store in the Philippines.) They may be
gamblers but have not thrown themselves and their fortunes
into commercial ventures. In the first place they were
lured by the prospect of good labor wage, and in the
second place those that came here "did not burn their
bridges" behind them. In other words, their stay here
was to be only temporary. Few of the Filipinos here in
Los Angeles engage in small business, such as restaurants
and cafes. But they are not like the French who in their
restaurants are specializing in French cooking; or the
Chinese with their chop suey; or the Mexicans with their
tamales and tacos, or the Italians with their spaghetti,
etc. Their business is mostly confined to their own
compatriots.
Table XI indicates the types and number of Filipino
businesses and trades in Loa Angeles as surveyed at three
different periods namely 1933, 1938, and 1952. In some
occupations represented there has been an increase, in
others, a decrease in number. Such increase or decrease
has social significance. To indicate this, pool halls and
restaurants will be examined in some detail.
63
TABLE XI
INCRFASE OR DEnREASE OF THE NUMBER OF FILIPINO IIJSINESS ENTERPRISES
IN EXISTENCE IN LOS ANGELES FROM 1933 TO 1952
NUMBER
Types of rosiness
Apartment house
3
l
3
Barber shops
1
12 20
Dry Cleaners and Laundry 2 l 2
:Embroidery shops
3 l 1
Garage 1
-
2
Grocery stores
1
3
6
Newspapers
11 8
3
Photographic studios
4
2
3
Pool halls
3 7 4
Restaurant and Cafes 12 16 12
Tailor shops
3 4
l
a. Source: B. T. Catapusan., "Filipino Vocational and Avocational
Activities in Los Angeles," (unpublished Mater•s thesis, The Uni
versity of Southern California, Los Angeles, 1934).
b. Source: B. T. Catapusan,"The Social Adjustment of Filipinos
in the United States," (unpublished Doctor
1
s Dissertation, The Uni
versity of Southern California, Los Angeles, 1940).
c. Figures for 1952 compiled by the writer.
64
Pool halls . The eat majo ity of the Filipinos
in Los Angeles are young and single. They are always on
the move, going from one region to another t,o find ork .
In 1ntertime, or bet een easonal ork, they flock to the
city, concentrating in places formerly occupied by
Asiatics and e leans or on adjacent places. Young as
they are, they ne d recreational activities. A ay from
their o families, they need social association. The
pool halls accommodate them. There ere three pool halls
in 1923, and they ere increased to seven in 1928. There
as a desperate need for places her Fil pinos could have
social contacts. Today there are only four pool halls in
existence. The decrease in the number of pool halls may
indicate a change in the Filipino attitudes to ard recrea
tional values. For example, playing pool has given ay
to playing t nnis. The Filipinos are no elcome in many
public parks and other places of amusement. Furthermore,
this population is getting older and some of its members
are seen tending their own hom premises or taking their
families out driving 1n their spare time.
The restaurants. Although the Filipino restaurant
as another place here Filipino groups met, the decreas
ing tendency in the number of restaurants has a sociologi
cal significance different from that of the pool hall.
Th very fe restaurants still in existence continue to
65
operate on a small basis, catering mostly to Filipinos.
So far they have not yet introduced special Filipino
dishes that would attract the general population. Their
importance as an accommodating agency for solving some
of the Filipinos' social problems has aned. The Filipino
churches and Filipino clubhouses have relieved the
restaurants of this function.
The Filipinos in Loa Angeles are not yet pros erous
enough to have developed business and professional oppor tunities in their own group, with the exception of one
clinical laboratory operated by a Filipino woman physi
cian.18 Her clientele is not limited to Filipinos b tis
serving the general public. This clinical laboratory is
located at 809 North Avalon Blvd., 'ilmington , California.
The general characteristics of the Filipinos in
Los Angeles will be dealt with further in the fol o ing
chapter.
18
Dr . Pr1mitiva Demandante Asprin is the first and
only Filipino woman physician who is practicing in Ios
Angeles area.
CHAPTER V
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FILIPINOS
IN LOS ANGELES -- CONTINUED
In the preceding chapter were discussed the charac
teristics of the Filipino population in u:,s Angeles,
covering such topics as volume and trend, spatial dis
tribution, home ownership, crime and delinquency, occupa
tion and business enterprises. A discussion about the
general characteristics of the Filipino population in
Los Angeles, centering around the family, religion, group
morality and cultural cohesion, organization, the press,
and the present composition of the community, is continued
in this chapter. Also included in this chapter will be
some social facts gathered from 200 questionnaires used
in connection with this study.
The family. Family life means for the mature indi
vidual a full life, mutual inspiration, incentive am
challenge to the achievement of personality, and to the
attainment of a place in the world. It is the primary
expression of citizenship. Burgess and Locke define a
family as:
A group of persons united by the ties of marriage,
blood, or adoption; constituting a single household;
interacting and communicating with each other in their
respective roles of husband and wife, mother and
father, son and daughter, brother and sister; and
creating and maintaining a common culture.l
67
Through the family individuals establish a social unit
and make its characteristics a reflection of their ideas,
aims, and ideals. It la in the family that the child has
the adventures, the experiences, the social opportunities,
the variety or contacts that make for wholesome life--a
full life in miniature.
Judging from the information presented in Chart 2
and Table VII, the Filipinos in Los Angeles are 1n a
large measure a "womanless end familyless group of
people," there is proportionately a small number of women
compared with the number of male population, and a pro
portionately large number of single men as compared with
the number of married Filipinos. The Filipino group has
been excessively mobile with very little family home life.
Why does not the Filipi110 create a satisfying home life
for himself? For much the same reasons that other young
foreigners who intend to return to their country make no
such effort. Very few get married h1le in the United
States, their marital choices having generally been so
limited.
It was indicated earlier in this study that only
1
Ernest w . Burgess and Harvey J. Locke, The Family
(New York: American Book Company, 1945), p. 8.
68
very tew (12.1%) or the married Filipinos brought their
families with them. The greater bulk of Filipino families
in this country, therefore, are families of racially
mixed parenthood. Because of the social aspects of inter
racial or intercultural combinations, we shall discuss
the mixed-married family and the pure Filipino family
separately.
Mixed marriage family. The large majority or
Filipino single immigrants look forward to eventual
marriage with Filipino women at home. This does not pre
vent them from seeking the companionship of American
women or women of other races or nationalities. With no
conscious objective at all except for the motive of his
entertainment, his education, or his comfort while abroad,
the single male seeks the acquaintance of women in the
soc~al environment in which he finds himself for the time
being. Few marriages of course, result from this contact.
Such marriages have usually been with immigrant women,
or daughters of immigrants. Marriages with Americans
accomplished through legal subterfuge have been with
girls usually found in taxi dance halls or girls con
sidered by some as somewhat low in social or intellectual
status.2 These interracial, intercultural, or
2
Possibly some exaggeration, since no study has
been made on this connection, up to date.
69
inter-religious combinations usually result one way or
another in some degree or social disapproval, the woman
marrying the Filipino being cut off from her own social
connections and even from her own family relationship.
These women often face adverse criticism, strong antlpath~
and even become in public places targets of passing
moments. Filipinos with white wives often have the experi
ence of being refused recognition in good neighborhoods.
According to close observation and interviews, it
seems apparent that the difference in the number of inter
marriages to a certain race or nationality is not due
just to chance but to preference.
Some of the most successful marriages are those
where the wives are Mexicans. Partly because of
similarity of cultural background and language,
often also of common membership in the Catholic
Church. Filipinos of desirable types are accepted
into the best Mexican families, and there is no
tradition of superiority on either side.3
Love is no respecter of race, color, creed, or status .
The Filipinos have intermarried with almost all races or
nationality groups. On the question of intermarriage
preferences among Filipinos, the Filipino-Mexican is
ranked first; then the Filipino-Mulatto, F111p1no
Hungar1an, Filipino- Spanish, Filipino- I talian, Filipino
English and Filipino- ranch fo llow in that order . A
3
Bruno Lasker, Filipino Immi~ration (Chicago:
The University of Chicago Press, 193 ), p. 119.
70
study in this connection has been made by Dr. Benicio T.
Catapusan. Results of this study are presented 1n Table
XII. Partial explanation on the preferences are: for
the Mexican, similarity 1n many ways--such as cultural
background, language, religion, color and standard of
living; for the Mulattos, color, identical socio-economic
status4 and similar occupational outlook; for the
Spaniards, common religious background (Catholicism} and
Filipino adaptability to the Spanish language. In all of
these intermlxtures color seems to have the strongest
influence in the preference of one group upon the other.
Conflicts in the home of Filipino intermarriage
arise from differences 1n socio-cultural backgrounds,
differences in the standard of living, and differences in
temperament.
The pure Filipino family. Prior to W orld W ar II
there were very few families where both husband and wife
were Filipinos, 166 out of approximately 1,088 families
in Los Angelea.5 During this last war, some Filipino
families came to this country and quite a number of them
now are in Loa Angeles. The writer cannot substantiate
4
This means t he socio-economic status they occupy
1n the United States.
5
These figures are taken from Table VII of this
study, page 44.
71
•
TABLE XII
FILIPINO INTERMARRIAGE PREFERENCES IN CALIFORNIA*
Interethnic canbinations Scores Rank
Filipino-Mexican 29.30 1
Filipino-Mulatto 20.30 2
Filipino-Hungarian 17.32 3
Filipino-Spanish 14.50
4
Filipino-Italian 14.40 5
Filipino-American
4.32 6
Filipino-English
- -
Filipino-French
-
-
*
Benicio T. Catapusan, "Social Adjustment of Filipinos in the United
States," (unpublished Doctor's dissertation, The University of Southern
California, 1940).
72
completely his statement with data , for ther are no
records available at the present time. After the ar many
of the Filipinos who served in the United States Army in
the Philippines brought back their famili s 1th them.
Many Filipino women who came to this country as tourists
or as students have .been married to Filipino boys in Los
Angeles. It is the writer's opinion that if a census
should be taken now, marriages between Filipinos ould
outnumber marriages between Filipino s and other national
or racial groups.
These young or rather new families no average
about two children to a family. They, like other immi grants who came to this country, naturally bring th 1r
culture with them and on the basis of it begin life in
this country (in this area ) . From the very beginning,
however, modifications were necessarily made, partic -
larly as to what might be call d the externals of life;
clothing, housing, domestic equipment, and the like . Due
to these changes, ways of thinking, attitud s , ideas,
values, famil life and parent-child relationships, are
likewise modified. They are daily becoming culturally
more like the Americans. One could go to a Filip1no home
in Los Angeles and find nothing of the Philippines in it
excepting , of course, the father and mother and one, tio,
or three little brown children playing 1th American-made
73
toys. Even their names, for many have American na es
ould not reveal their identity as Filipinos. They are
brown little Americans· . As to familial authority it is
of the democratic conception of mutuality in det rmining
family goal and decisions. The father is the brad-
inner, and the mother the safe-keeper of the family
income.
Religion. It is generally asserted that the modem
family and its members are intert 1ned 1n their activi
ties and interests 1th the community. Att ntion is
called to the institutions whose programs of service are
in part oriented to recognizing the family, so that it
111 be better adapted to conditions of better living.
One among the outstanding institutions of this sort is
the church. Just as there are two aspects of religion,
the subjective and the objective, so there are to aspects
of the church.
Realizing the problem of meeting the religious and
moral needs of the Filipino immigrants, a group of
American missionaries and Filipino leaders conceived the
idea of forming a Filipino center. At its early stages
this center as int rchangeably called Filipino Christian
Hom, or Filipino Catholic Cl b, or Filipino Christian
ello ship. By 1929 the Filipino Christian Fello ship
74
and the Filipino Catholic Club were actually in existence.
The names of these two religious clubs suggest the
division of the Filipino population in Los Angeles regard
ing their religious aff111at1ons--Protestant and Catholic.
These clubs were organized for the purpose of conducting
bible studies, prayer meetings and discussion groups for
their respective adherents. Through the help of many
&ympathetic Christian Americans coupled with the will to
succeed by the Filipino leaders, halls or rooms for these
clubs to meet were provided. The generous financial
support and guidance of these American friends are respon
sible not only for the survival or accomplishment of the
aims of the organization but also the realization of their
object1ve--a church of their own. These clubs starting
as places for wholesome amusements and religious stimula-
-
tion gradually developed into a church-like organization.
Today there are two Filipino churches in Los Angeles,
namely, the Filipino Christian Church (Union Avenue and
Court Street) and the Filipino Catholic Church (Belmont
and First Street). Both of these have a church building
and are supported and maintained by their own members.
They are both called Filipino churches, although there is
nothing Filipino in their rituals. Each church subscribes
to the standard order of worship as prescribed or con
ducted by the two divisions of religion--Catholic and
Protestant. A Filipino minister takes charge of the
Christian church. Up to the present time there is no
Filipino Catholic priest. Both of these institutions
have a calendar of church activities.
6
75
Group m .orale and cultural cohesion. Morale has
reference to the will and determination of the rou --and
closely related to this spirit and determination, and
almost a part of it, is the spirit of loyalty. Morale is
defined as:
The degree to which the members of a group
express positive attitudes toward a cause, toward
the immediate situation, toward one another and
toward a leader (or leaders).
7
Physical environment exerts a great influence upon the
practices and moral behavior of people . The Filipino group
is always faced with problems that interfere with the
attainment of a high degree of morale. Examples of these
are poor housing conditions, limitation of vocational
6
The following is the calendar of activities of
the First Christian Church . Sundays: Bible study - 10:00
A.M., orning Worship - 11:00 A. M.; Wednesdays: Prayer
meeting - nights; Fridays: Christian Fellowship, games ,
choir practice, etc. - nights; Saturdays: Cottage prayer
meetings, held at members' homes in rotation - ni ·bts.
7
Josephs . Roucek, and collaborators, Social
Control (New York: D. Van Nostrand Company, 1947),
P• 281.
76
.
opportunities, exposure to all kinds of vices, ignorance
or lack of legal rights and obligations, the general
neglect on the part of the community wherein they live to
say nothing of racial discrimination and prejudice.
Attitudes toward a group of immigrants invariably lead to
suspicion and to misinterpretations of observable facts
concerning their behavior. Prejudice, lack of proper
social stimulation and adequate opportunity to participate
in the finer cultural heritage of America--all these bring
increased negative attitudes which tend to lower the
Filipino group morale. But morale comes to the surface 1n
crisis.a A crisis has the tendency to make people think
more seriously about moral conduct. The forces that pro
mote moral values to the Filipinos are their churches and
various organizations. (Organization will be our next
subject of inquiry so that there is no need to discuss it
here.) In our discussion about religion we have presented
the influences of the churches towards preserving and
maintaining the morale of the Filipinos.
According to Park, there are three conditions in
which an immigraot group can remain culturally separate
8
Emory s. Bogardus, Fundamentals of Social
Psychology (New York: D. Appleton-CenturYCompany, 1942),
Chapter XX.XII.
for any length of time:
(1) The ability to perpetuate traditional
memories without loss.
(2) The ability to create values superior to
those of America and the maintenance of separa
tion 1n order not to sink to the cultural level
of America.
(3) An ineradicable prejudice on one or both
sides.9
As has been indicated before, the Filipinos are
daily becoming more like Americans. None, however, has
yet reached a high degree of assimilation into the
American community. It is even questionable to say that
the Filipinos in Los Angeles have become Americanized.
They have become so only to the extent that they can
dress like Americans, etc. They are trying to adapt
themselves to the American cormnunity, although at the
same time there is manifestation of their desire to make
felt the influence of some of their c ultural heritage.
The social situation in the Philippines is one of
primary group relationships. The "we feeling" attitude
towards life binds t he people culturally together. Their
community life in Los Angeles may be characterized as one
replete with all kinds of "get-togethers." W hether it is
a wedding, chr i stening, birthday, housewarming,
9
Robert Park and Herbert Miller, Old W orld Traits
Transplanted (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1921),
PP• 303-04.
IO
78
anniversary or the like, there is always a manifestation
of a high degree of mutual aid. Relatives and friends
give gifts and all unite to make the affair a success.
On these occasions, dances, songs and music, and even the
rood are in greater proportion reminiscent of the
Philippines.
July Fourth is doubly significant to the Filipinos.
It is the Independence Day of the country of his adoption
--the United States--and of the country of his birth-
the Philippines. The Filipinos in Los Angeles celebrate
it for two reasons: first, to renew or confirm their
allegiance to their adopted country, the United States;
second, to show their respect and love for their native
land. It is du1·1ng this celebration that some of the
cultural customs and costumes are revived. It is during
this time, too, that the Filipino women display their
unique dresses and present Filipino folk dances, both the
modern and the old. See the sample of the Filipino
Community's activity during the Fourth of July 1n
Appendix A.
Organization. In proportion to its size the
Filipino Community of Los Angeles has, perhaps, the great
est number of organizations of any nationality. There
is, first of all, the Filipino Community itself, of which
79
every Filipino in Los Angeles, consciously or unconscious
ly by virtue of the fact that he is a Filipino, is a
member. The organization is active and assumes and takes
the responsibilities appertaining to the welfare or the
whole Filipino group, such as representing the group
officially to the city when participation of its varied
activities need the cooperation of the different ethnic
or nationality groups. This organization is concerned
primarily with the promotion of the welfare of the
Filipinos in Los Angeles. It is also active in the cele
bration of Filipino holidays of national significance and
importance, such as Rizal Day
1
0 (December 30) and July
4th. The Filipinos regard themselves as a national unit
known as the Filipino Community . Apart from this all
inclusive organization, there are numerous other Filipino
societies varying in sizes and purposes--at this time
approximately 40 organizations in Los Angeles.
As social needs increase, social activities must
increase to meet them. As different kinds of needs arise,
new types of organizations must, therefore, be devised.
The Filipino strangers in this country found themselves
helpless and most of the time socially lost 1n the America:i
10
Dr. Jose Rizal is the Filipinos' National hero.
80
communities. In times of distress and adv rsity , sickness,
or unemployment, they real ized their insecurity. It is,
therefore, natural tha t t hey formed themselves into many
clubs and organizations . These clubs vary in their
organizational objectives, however the majority of their
aims are centered upon the "desire to aid one another."
These organizations may be grouped cat gorically into
fraternal, religious, patriotic, cultural, social, and
physical (athletic).
Organizat ions t hat are of fraternal and national
istic foundations are the Caballeros d Dimas- Alang, Inc.;
and the Legionarios del Trabajo in America, Inc. These
two clubs or "Lodges" have branches catter d ov r the
Pacific Coast area. They aim to preserve unity among
Filipinos in general, emphasizing the spirit of coopera
tion and cultural value s . In other ords the main objec tive is to establish and preserve a larger unity of
Filipinos, not only i n Los Angeles, but also throughout
the United States and in the Ph111ppin s. A unique
service that thes e or ganizations render, hich deserves
praise, is the gi ving of welfare aid to their members.
Other organizati ons of this typ hie cov r narro er
field are those which ware established for the purpose of
developing regional unity . They are organizations com
prising the groups f rom towns, or provinces within th
81
boundary or a certain section of the Philippines.
(Examples: The PangasinJn Association, Visayan League,
Cagayan Valley Association, etc.) The Filipino Christian
Fellowship and the Filipino Catholic Clubs are the two
religious organizations in Los Angeles which are very
•
active and instrumental 1n the religious and cultural
education of the Filipinos. The Filipino Alumni Associa
tion is composed of Filipino college graduates who are
now residing in Los Angeles and vicinity. Its potenti-
ality for leadership in the community is great. Its
presence as an organization is well lmown by name but its
influence and service as an agent of social progress to
the Filipino community so far has not yet been felt. It
is hoped, however, that in the near future it will take
its place as one of the leading organizations and an
active participant in the deliberate and purposeful
improvement of the community by the conscious direction
of social processes toward their chosen goals. As. c. M.
Case says: "Progress is attained through societal self'
direction.011 For this same line of thought, Lester F.
War d used the caption "Social telesis." By the quality
of its members, the Filipino Alumni Association should
11
C. M. Case, Social Process and Human Pro~ress
(New York: Harcourt Brace ana Company, 1931), p ••
82
lead in opening the way for a conscious direction of the
Filipino Community's social life toward their chosen aims.
Of the patriotic type or organization, the Manila
Post, a branch of the American Legion whose membership is
composed of Filipinos is an example. It has a building
which is being sustained by this group and it is function
ing like any other unit of the American Legion.
In addition to these already mentioned organiza
tions are several smaller groups more or less local and
primary in nature and formed just as there are differences
in dialects or residential proximities of the Filipinos.
The community has no political organization yet, although
it would seem to be only a matter of time when such a
group will be organized. So far the Filipino women have
not organized themselves to the extent of having a leading
role 1n the Filipino commW1ity; however, the two churches
have their Filipino omen's clubs which render important
services in their respective churches.
The press. In the past there have been many
Filipino publications, generally in the form of newspapers
or periodicals, magazines, bulletins, and newspaper
magazine combinations. Some served as organs for Filipino
fraternal organizations; some for Filipino laborers; some
for Filipino students in America; and some were exclusive
ly devoted to the interests of Filipino residents in the
83
United States who were ithout social affiliation. ome
wer published monthly, some quart ly, some semi-annuall~
but the majority of them ere published sporadically. At
the present time in Los Angeles there are only three
periodical publish d but only one of these is published
with regul rity-- The Philippines Star Press . This is
published monthly more or less in the nature of a small town joumal concerned 1th daily happeni gs . The sub scribers and read rs, mostly Filipinos, derive a great
deal of pleasure and flattery from seeing their names in
print or from kno ing hat other Filipinos are doing in
matters of social affairs here or in nei hborhood cities
(also som n e from the Philippines). This journal is,
therefore, replete 1th personal items. This paper has
no characteristic that is ess ntially Philippines for,
although a column is sometimes used for an article ritten
in the Ilocano di lect, it does not in any sense represent
what is considered to be a represent tive character! tic
of the Philippines. The appearance of the other to
papers d p nd largely on the ability of the editor
publishers to finance the publication. They come out so
irregularly that thy may be considered almost non-
xistent.
Pr sent composition of th Filipino popul tion of
Los Ang s. Th Filipino Community has no definite
84
geographical location. But the Filipino population is
socially conscious and working together through social
organizations, churches, community clubs, fraternal and
patriotic organizations, etc., all as one body, to meet
and satisfy their common needs or ambition. The community
-
clubhouse,12 the two churches, the Manila Post building,
the Dimas-Alang clubhouse are centers for social, reli
gious, business and recreational activities of the commun
ity.
For an over-all composition of the Filipino popula
tion of Los Angeles at the present time see Table XIII.
The composition of the community in 1938 is included in
the same table with this purpose in mind by the writer to
show that as the Filipinos' social needs increase, social
activities increased to meet them and agencies multiplied
to perform the new activities. As different kinds of
needs az•ise, new types of organizations must therefore be
devised. Sociology used to call these agencies "social
organs." They are the hands and feet, the eyes and ears,
by means of which the Filipino Community performs its
functions .
12
Long Beach, ilm1ngton and San Pedro through
their joint efforts erected a building located at Wilming ton hicb is now known as the "Filipino Community House"
for the harbor area. Los Angeles proper is working hard
for the establishment of a similar building in the city.
TABLE XIII
COMPOSITION OF THE FILIPINO COMMUNITY OF LOS ANGELES
AS TO POPULATION., ORGANIZATION., AND BUSINESS AND
TRADES., 1938& AND 1952b
Los Angeles 1938
Popu~tion 6,000
Families: 315
Intermarriages 250
Intramarriages 65
Organizations 106
Recreation:
Dance halls
3
Clubhouses 2
Termis clubs 8
Mlsical clubs 6
Business:
Apartment houses 1
Barber shops 12
Dry goods stores 2
Embroidery shops l
Grocery stores
3
Real estate
-
Newspapers 8
Photographic studios 2
Pool halls
7
Radio stores l
Restauran1B and cafes 16
Tailor shops
4
Flower shops
-
Gas stations
-
Sweater knitting shop
-
Painters and decorators
-
Churches
-
Health clinic
-
85
1952
4,498
1,1&i
832
166
40
-
4
3
4
3
20
2
1
4
4
3
3
3
2
· 12
1
2
2
1
3
2
1
a. Canpiled by B. T. Catapusan, (unpublished Doctor's disserta
tion, The University of Southern California, 1940), P• 129.
b. Canpiled by the writer.
86
The Social Spot Map. To complete the discussion
about the composition of the Filipino Community of Los
Angeles, a Cartographic Map of the City of Los Angeles has
been prepared showing the areas where Filipino owned homes
are located. It has been the desire of the writer to indi
cate 1n this map the residences of all the Filipinos in
this city but he finds it impossible because of these
reasons:
1. They are scattered all over the city making it
difficult for the writer to make a complete survey of the
whole area.
2. Many decline to tell their addresses for
various reasons.
3. There is no available source of information
about where they are located.
4. Many of them move very frequently which makes
it hard to follow them.
Recognizing the above difficulties, the writer,
therefore, changed his original plan, and included only
Filipino home owners in the map. The writer feels justi~
fied in doing this because they compose a representative
sample of the permanent residents (Filipinos) of this
city. Also included in this map are the two Filipino
churches and the three Filipino clubhouses, all of which
are supported and maintained by the Filipinos in Los
Angeles. It was very hard to locate all the Filipino home
owners, but the writer fortunately knows several of them
87
personally and they in turn supplied the locations of
several more. The houses indicated 1n the map do not
represent all the house owners at the present time, but
enough are going to represent the trend of concentration
or dispersion or Filipino residences.
This map is the result of over a year's work. The
writer intends to continue this kind of study and he is
confident that in another year he will be able to present
a fuller and more comprehensive ecological map showing
the areas in which the Filipinos (Pinoys)
13
in Los Angeles
are residing.
Findings of the study. At the early stages of the
study, three hundred quest1onnaires
14
were distributed to
married Filipinos who are now residing in Los Angeles.
The recipients of the questionnaires were instructed what
to do. About 270 were ·returned, but only 200 of them
were used in this study because the rest were not answered
adequately. Some of the facts revealed by these question
naires are now presented.
The people of the Philippines are divided into
groups according to the dialect they speak. Table XIV
13
Filipinos residing in the United States are
colloquially called "Pinoys."
14
See Appendix B for a sample of the questionnaire
used 1n this study.
•
~
•
•
..
~
•
•
\
.
A
•
•
'
'') __ MULH __ o _L_ LA _ND __ H _ I _ GIDi _ v A _ Y .......
'
I
•
WEST
I
{
L O S ANGELES
·,
•
•
0
0
I
• • • • •
., .. ,
• • •
... , .. ..
•••:. • e I I
.
~
~..,,,.
ECOLOGICAL DI5'TRIBUTION
FILIPINO HOME OWNERS
Cit:, of Los Angeles
1952
LEGEND:
Churches
Clubhousees
Business Enterprise
•
Hane OWners
88
N
89
shows the groups the 200 subjects belong. It was found
that out of the 200 married men, 127 or 63.5 per cent are
.
Ilocanos; 37 or 18.5 per cent are Tagalogs; 36 or 18.0 per
cent are Visayans. It is observed that there are more
Ilocanos than any of the other groups. This is not
surprising for the Ilocanos have been considered the
Yankees of the Philippines and have a deserved reputation
for restlessness. T ey are the most frequent migrating
group of Filipinos. Concerning the legal status of these
men, it was found that 185 or 92.5 per cent are now citi
zens of the United States through naturalization. The
remaining 15 or 7.5 per cent although eligible for citizen
ship have not yet applied for it. A follow-up interview
disclosed that these 15 persons have a strong desire to
return to the Philippines in the near future. In regard
to the religious affiliations of the 200 families it was
found that 121 or 60 per cent are Catholics and 79 or
39.5 per cent are Protestants .
Prior to W orld W ar II the Filipinos in the United
States were frequently regarded as a womanleas or family
less group of people since in very few families were both
husband and wife Filipinos. At the present time, the
situation seems to have improved. Table XV presents data
showing the nationalities of the wives of the 200 men who
were studied. Of the 200 married Filipinos, 101 or 50.5
TABLE XIV
DIVISION OF 200 MARRIED FILIPINOS AS TO DIALECT,
LF.GAL STATUS, AND RELIGION
Ilocanos
Tagalogs
Visayans
Citizens
Non-citizens
Catholics
Protestants
Number
127
37
36
185
15
121
79
Per cent
63.5
18.5
18.0
90
..
91
TABLE XV
NATIONALTIIES OF THE WIVES OF THE 200 FILIPINOS STUDIED
Nationality Number Per cent Rank
Filipino 101 1
White
8
66 33.0 2
Mexican
25 3
Mestizob
5 4
Mulatto 2 1.0
Japanese
1 6
a. White includes American (white), French, Italian, Hungarian,
English, Canadian, and Swede.
b. One of the parents is a Filipino but the other belongs to
another nationality.
92
per cent hav as ives Filipino omen. These figures
strongly support the opinion expressed by the writer when
he stat d earlier in this thesis that sho ld a census be
taken now, intra-Filipino m rriages might e sily outnumber
inter-Filipino marriages . Th verage length of these
marriages as found to be six years it an average of
1 . 78 children to a family . There is a probability that
the average number of children will b increase tot o,
and possibly more, because of the fact that the aver ge
length of these m rri ges is on y six years .
The present study also discloses a marked change
coveri g the living conditions of the Filipi os in Los
Angeles, especia ly 1th regard to the matter of home
o nership. Immedi tely after the ar or rat er after the
Filipinos became eligible for citizenship, they started
buying real estate property. Table XVI presents data con cerning home o nership of Filipinos at the present time .
The ta le indicates that of the 200 families studied, 162
or 81 . 0 per cent no have hams of their own. Only about
28. 0 pr c nt of these home ho ever, have een fully paid
for . The other homes are still in the process of p yment.
But h ther fully paid for or not~ thfs high percenta e
of ho ownership indicates a marked improvement rega ding
the ho sing situation of the Filipinos .
The 200 subject ere asked tis q estion: Do you
TABLE XVI
· HOME OWNERSHIP OF 200 FILIPINO FAMILIES
H ane owners
Renters
Fully paid for
St ill making payments
Number
162
38
56
Per cent
81
19
28
72
93
intend to make the United States your permanent home?
The following was the result:
Yes
• • • • • • • •
132 or 66%
Undecided
• • • • •
43 or 21.5%
No .
• • • • • • • •
25 or 12.5%
Those who answered "Undecided" and "No" to the above
94
question were interviewed later and some interesting facts
were gathered. It was mentioned before that many of the
wives were recent arrivals from the Philippines. Being
new to this country they have not yet fully adjusted them
selves to the American ways of life. Some came here as
students or tourists, therefore, they were expected to
return to the Philippines . As one wife said:
I am not happy here. It ia true that there are
many good things that I can have here which other
wise I would not be able to have in the Philippines,
such as a good car, television set, and many other
new home appliances. But what good do they do me.
I am homesick. I want to be with my family, with
friends. I feel I am a stranger here. I am not at
home here. You know what I mean. There is no place
like home.15
There are few who have graduated from college who are
determined to return to the Philippines as soon as they
are financially able.
There is a wide ran _ e of occupations indicated by
the 200 returned questionnaires . Many of the subjects did
15
Intervia No. 4.
95
not indicate their occupations but some of the mentioned
occupations were: family service, cooks, kitchen helps,
factory work, machinists, army, postal office work, nurses,
bartenders and waiters. Very few indicated their incomes,
therefore, no tabulation could be made.
Summary. The social facts about the Filipinos in
Los Angeles, gathered from them through the use of
questionnaires and personal interviews together 1th close
_ observation by the writer are now presented.
The Ilocanos are the most migrating group of
Filipinos. It was found that of the 200 Filipinos studied,
63.5 per cent are Ilocanos, 18.5 per cent are Tagalogs
and 18.0 per cent are Visayans. A very high percentage
of the Filipinos in Los Angeles (92.5%) are now citizens
of the United States through naturalization. The number
of Filipino women has increased for the last few years and
so with Filipino-Intra marriages. It was found that out
of the 200 families studied, 101 or 50.5 per cent are
intra-marriages. From all indications, the Filipinos in
this city are making this country their permanent resi
dence. They are making favorable social adjustments
especially with regard to occupation and housing. bout
81 per cent are now home owners.
The general characteristics of the Filipinos in
this city have been discussed in the preceding to
96
chapters. An over-all composition of the Filipino Com
munity has also been presented . The following chapter
will be devoted to a summary of the hole thesis together
with some general conclu ions.
CHAPTER VI
SUMMARY AND CONC U IONS
I. u RY
The following generalizations are now presented as
a summary of the preceding chapters.
Social background of the Filipinos. "The
Philippines" is now the present name of the group of
islands formerly called t he Philippine Islancs. The
change was made when the Philippines became a republic
July 4
1
1946 . The Filipino people originated from three
racial varieties of man--the egritoes ho came from
central Asia, the Indonesian and the alays from the
South . The inhabitants of the Philippines are collec
tively known as Malays. Socially and economically the
Filipino Malays are divided into the "Cacique Class"
composing the native aristocracy and the "Tao Class" in
cluding all the working men owning small pieces of land.
The Filipinos speak many dialects but the three most
idely used of these are Tagalog, Ilocano and Visayan.
Tagalog is now the basis for national language. The
social life in the Philippines may be characterized s
warm and intimate.
F111p1nQ immigration to the United States . The
98
migration of Filipinos to this country is very recent. It
appears that in the main motivation of Filipino migration
is for the most part economic--a redirection of the exist
ing migration movement from intra-island and inter-island
to foreign destinations~ This, together with some desire
for adventure, has greatly influenced the immigration of
Filipinos to this country. Other stimuli are the role
played by the steamship companies, the success stories
of returning travelers, the diffusion of exaggerated
information of existing opportunities, the actual evidence
of money orders and savings brought back, press and motion
pictures, and the total impact of a generation of American
influences on the government of the Philippines.
Legal entries of Filipinos from Hawaii and Manila
wer e first received in the ports of Los Angeles and San
Francisco in 1910. The greatest number came during the
year s 1920 to 1934, during which time restrictions were
imposed upon Filipino immigration to the United States .
ost of these immigrants were young, single males and of
the laboring class.
General characteristics of the Filipinos in Los
Angeles. Generally speaking, the Filipino population in
Los Angeles at the present time is considered old; the
average age being 40 to 45 years. The sex ratio among
Filipinos ~ere is still very high--730.7 males to every
99
100 females. Many of them now are citizens of the United
States through naturalization. Some have bought homes
and they are found in almost every section of the city.
The group taken as a whole has a lo crime rate
considering their age and sex composition and their eco
nomic and social status. The types of ork that the
Filipinos are performing are generally about the same ever
since they arrived here with few additional jobs open to
them such as in skill, technical, semi-professional and
professional occupations. Being eligible for citizenship
many have entered into jobs requiring civil service
qualifications. Some are now employed in the Post Office
and in the Veterans Administration and in aircraft
factories as skilled laborers and technic ans.
The Filipinos in Los Angeles have not yet ventured
into the business field on a big scale. Their presen
business or trades are still of the small-shop type. The
Filipinos have very little family life. ixed marriages
families outnumber the pure Filipino marriage families.
Two Filipino churches, the Filipino Christian Church and
the Filipino Catholic Church are tae two institutions
that are endeavoring to provide the religious and moral
needs of the Filipinos in this city.
The various organizations whether social, fraterna~
patriotic or relJ~gious, are the organs by which the
100
Filipino Community performs its functions, and the o
churches, the Manila Post, the Dimas Al ng Clubhouse, and
the Wilmington Clubnouse are the centers for social,
religious, business, and recreational activities of the
Filipino community.
II . CONCLU IONS
This thesis has presented some of the feta about
the Filipinos in ws Angeles . In the light of the data
presented, the following conclusions may now be made.
Filipino migration to them inland of the United
States was chiefly for labor, therefore, a great portion
(nine-tenths) of those ho came are males. Their stay
here was expected to be only temporary, thus very fe of
the married men brought their lves with them. They
arrived at a time of great labor shortage, and since they
made their entrance upon a scene which but recently was
the battle ground of anti-Oriental agitation, the appear
ance of Filipino social problems as, therefore, inevita
ble .
Several difficulties of Filipinos in making adjust
ments to this country are to be noted. First, Filipino
immigration was disfavored by the previous experience of
the Pacific Coast with Oriental immigration . It inherited
the attitudes developed by to conflicting American
101
traditions ; dependence upon immigration for the least
pleasant and least remunerated labor tasks, and hostility
to the encroachment of alien peoples upon the ethnic and
social homo enity of the population. Second, a certain
state of feelin g has been aroused by Filipino immigration.
The Filipino immigrant was unaware (still is in some
degree) of the American tastes and customs, therefore, be
trans
0
ress ed the sense of native-born people of what is
fit and pr oper in his social conduct. Third, his ever
insistence on absolute equality with the native popula
tion. Putting all bi ological questions apart, the Filipino
im igrant is diff erent. Suddenly coming in large numbers
he upsets the social equilibrium by settling in a rela
tively limited area, b y competing within a limited choice
of occupations , and b y causing hostility throu gh his
unwillingness to admit his limitations.
merican attitudes towards the Filipinos have
changed in the last few years. This accounts for the
noticeable increas e in their wider occupational partici pation an their added social and economic enjoyments.
Filipinos' home ownership is increasing rapidly which
means more than t he ownership of other private property,
a symbolic expression of _ family solidarity.
The F:lipinos are becoming mor e and more aware of
the American scale of values in material comforts and
102
enjoyments, and their measure of value is becoming more
real. They must continue to do so if they expect to live
here permanently and become a part of this country. In
order to make proper social adjustment in America the
writer believes that the Filipinos, instead of assuming
themselves as social equals and demanding absolute
equality, they should admit that they are anything other
than a white man and should expect equitable rather than
absolute equality.
It is common knowledge that population tends to
become segregated on the basis of such factors as race,
language, income, and occupation. The Filj.pinos although
highly concentrated in the lower economic areas of the
cities in which they reside, they are at present less
concentrated geographically than a few years ago. This
tendency is apparent, that the longer this gro up of people
live here the wider their spat~al distribution become.
B I L I O G R A P H Y
________ ,_ ___ _
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anila:
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Benitez, Conrado, History of the Philippines; Economic,
Social, Political. Boston: Ginn and Company, 1940.
481 PP•
Beyer, Otley H., Popul tion of the Philippines in 1916.
Manil: Philippine. E uca ion Company, 19I7. 5 pp.
Bogardus, E. s., Fundamentals of Social Psychology. e
York and London: D. Appleton-Century Company, Inc.,
1942. 538 PP•
-----
, The Ne Social Research. Los Angeles: Jesse Ray
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--~-' Immigrat on nd Race Attitudes.
York: D. c. Heath and Company, 1928.
, Introduction to Social Research.
---s-u-ttonhouse, Ltd.,~936 237 pp.
Boston and New
268 PP•
Los Angeles:
Bohol, Ernesto D., Outline of fhilippine ocial Life and
Progress. Ne~ York: Lutz and Shinkman, 1946. 186 pp.
Briggs, Charles w., The Progressing Philippines.
Philadelphia: The Griff th and Ro land Press, 1913.
174 PP•
Brunner, E. des., Surveying Your Community. G. H. Doran
Company, 1925. 109 pp.
Buaken, anuel, 1 Have Lived __llh the American Peopl~.•
Cal ell, Idaho: The Caxton Printers, Ltd., 1948.
358 PP•
Burgess, Ernest 11\'., and Harvey J. Locke, The F ily. New
Yor: American Book Company, 1945. 800pp.
C se, c. ·., Social Process and Hum Progress.
Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1931. ~36 pp.
e York:
105
Cavan, Ruth onle, Criminolo , • Ne York. Thomas Y.
Cro ell Company, 48. 74/ PP •
Cooley, c. H., Social Organization . Ne York: Charles
Scribner's ons, 1922. 436 pp.
Creassey, P. G., The Taxi-Dance Halls . Chicago:
University of Chic go Press, 1932.
Davis, Kimpley , Human Society . New York: Te acmillan
Company, 1949. 655 PP•
Dow , S. G., Society and Its Problems. Fourth edition;
New York: Thomas nd Crowell Company, 1937.
Fernandez, Leandro H., ! Brief History of the Philippines.
Boston: Ginn and Company, 1932. 350 pp.
Foreman, John, The Phillfipine Island, • Third edition;
Great Britain: Shan ai, Kelly and ·alsh, 1906.
668 PP•
Giddings , F. H., The Principles of Sociology.
The acmillan Company, 1900. 476 pp.
New York:
, The Scientific Studz of Human Society. Chapel
--- H-l-11: The University of Nor"th Carolina Press; 1924.
247 PP •
Grove,s, Ern st R., The Family and its Social Functions .
Chicago: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1940. 631 pp.
Higdon, E. K., a11d I. r., From Cs.rabao to Clipper. Ne
York: Friendship Press, Inc., 1941:- 120 pp .
Keesing, Felix ., The Philippines: A Nation 1n the
.1'1:aking. S angha : Kelly and
1
lsh, Ltd., 1937.
13? PP •
Kroeber, A. L., People~ of the Philippines. New York:
Anthropologic I Handbook Fund, 1928. 245 pp.
Landis, Paul H., Po~ulation Problems.
Book Company, I 43 . 500 PP •
Ne York: American
Lasker, Bruno, FiliEino Immigration. Chicago: The
University of C icago Press, 1931. 445 pp.
Le Roy, J. A., Phil:1.ppine Life in Town and Councrz. Ne
York: G. P. Putnam's ons,-r9o5. 3ll pp.
106
Lindem n, Eduard c., Soci 1 Discovery. Ne York: Repub
lic Publishing Company, 1924.
acaraig, Serafin Egmidio, Communitz Pro lems. nila:
The Educ tional Supply Company, 1933. 212 pp .
, Soci 1 Problems.
---up-ply Company, 1929.
anil: The Educati nal
431 PP•
Malcolm, George A., The Common ealth 2_ the Philippines .
ew York: D. Appl ton Century Comp ny, Inc., 1936.
511 PP•
, Fir t 1 y ReEublic. Boston: Christopher
---p-~-lishln~ House, 1951. 460 PP•
cClenahan, B. A., The Ch nging Urban Neighborhood . Los
Angeles: University of Southern Californi, 1929.
140 pp .
c,illi~s, Carey, Bro hers Under th
Little Brown and Company, 1951.
Skin .
364 PP•
Boston:
iller, Hugo H., Econom c Conditions in the Philippines .
Boston: Ginn and Company, 1920. 476 pp .
Neumeyer, artin H., Juvenile Delinq ency in Mod rn
Societi. Toronto: D. Van Nostr d Company, Inc.,
1950. 325 PP •
Neumeyer, Martin H., and Esther s. Neumeyer, Leisure and
Recreation. Revised edition; Ne York: A. s. Barne
and Company, 1949 . 411 PP•
Osborn, David D., and artin H. Neumeye, The Communitz
and Society. New York: American Book Company, 1933.
468 PP•
Park, Robert E., and Herbert A. Miller, Old World Traits
Transplanted. New York: Harper and Brothers,-1921.
307 PP•
Portens, • D., and arjor e Babcock, Temperament and Rae~
Boston: R. G. Badges, 1926. 364 PP •
ueen, Alfreds., and Francis T. Le is, he City. Ne
York: cGra -Hill Book, Inc., 193 .500 PP•
uir no, Elpidio, The N~ fhilippine Ideology. anil:
Bureau of Printing, 1949. 312 pp.
107
Roucek, J •• editor, Soci l Control. Toronto: D. Van
ostrand Company, Tuc.y 1949. 584 pp.
leeby, • M., Origin of the an Filipi os.
1912.
anil:
Sempl, Ellen, c., Influence of Geogra£h1c Environment.
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Smith, Lynn, T., Popul tion Analysis. Ne York:
Hill Book Company, Inc., l948. 421 PP•
cGraw-
orok1n, • A., Social obilitz. New York: Harper and
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Summer, w. G., Folk ays.
1940. 692 PP•
ew York: Ginn and Company,
Sutherland, Fil in H., Principles of Criminology. Ne York:
J.B. Lippincott Company, 1947.
Thoms, • I., A Source Book for Social Origins. Chicago~
The UniversTty of Chicago Press, 1909. 93~ PP•
Thomas, • I., and Znani ck1, F., The Polish Peasant in
Euro!e and Amer1c. New York: A. and A. Knopf, 1927.
2 vo umes.
Tuck , Ruth D., Not Tith the Fist . New York: Harcourt,
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ard, Lester F., D~am1C Sociology.
and Company, 1 5.
New York: Appleton
Wissler , Clark, Man and Culture. Ne York: Thomas Y.
Crowell Company, 1923. 371 PP•
Worcester , Dean c., The Ph111Ep1no, Past and Present .
e edition: New York: Te Macmillan Company, 1930.
862 PP•
Young, Paul v., Scientific Social Survei and Researche
ew Yor: Prentice-Hall Inc., 1939. 619 PP•
, " oci 1 Heri t ge of th olo an , " Unpublished
----star's th s s, University of Southern California,
1928.
, Pilgrims of Russian Town. Chicago:
___ i_t_y of ChicagoPress, 1932. 296 PP•
The Univers-
108
Zaide, Gregorio F., Hi~torJ of the Ph111p~1nes. Manila:
Philippine Associated uti'Iishers, 193. 755 PP•
Zimmerman, Carle c., The Changin~ Community.
Harper and Brothers, 1938. 6l PP•
New York:
B. PERIODICALS
Anthony, Donald L., "Filipino Labor in Central California,"
Sociology and Social B~search, 16:149-150, 1931-1932.
Barrows, D. P., "Friendly Estimate of the Filipinos," Asia,
21:944-49, November, 1921.
Bogardus, E. s., "What Race are Filipinos?" Sociology
and Social Research, 16:274, 1931-1932.
____ , "Filipino Immigrant Problems," Sociology and
Social Research, 13:472-79, 1927-1928.
, "Filipino Immigrant Attitude," Sociolo~ and
---s-o-cial Research, 14:469-79, September, August, 1929-
1930.
, "American Attitudes Toward Filipinos," Sociology
---an-a Social Research, 14:56-59, 1929 .
, Anti-Filipino Race Riots. San Diego: Ingram
---I-n-stitute, 1930.
, "Filipino Repatris.tio"' Movement in the United
---g-t-ates," Sociology and Social Research, 21:67 ff,
1936.
____ , "Community Life Histories," Journal of Applied
Sociology. 9:370, M arch-April, 1927. -
Case, Claren ce lvl., "Vhat is a Social Problem?" Journal of
-----
Applied Sociology. 8:268, May-June, 1924.
Catapusan, B. T., "The Filipino Labor Cycle in the United
States,' Sociology and Social Research, 19:61-63,
eptember-October, !"934.
, "Filipino Intermarriages in the United States,"
---s-o-ciology and Social Research, 22:265-72.
109
Gonzalo, D. F., "Social A d j ustment of Filipinos in
America," Sociology and Social ]iesearch, 14 : 166- 74 ,
1929-1930.
Kirk, Grayson, "The Filipinos , " Annals of the American
Academy, September, 1942 , p. 48. -
McDonagh, Eduard C., "Ethnic Legislation in Revi , "
Sociology and Social Research, 33:373-78 , ay-June ,
1949.
McKenzie, R. D., "Ecolo gi cal Approach to the Study of'
Human Community," Ameri can Journal <>f Sociology,
November, 1924, pp . 287- 301.
McYlilliams, "Exit the Filipino," The Nation, 141:265,
September 4, 1935.
Park, R. E., "Experiences and Race Relation," Journal of
-----
Applied Sociology. 8 : 18- 24 .
Pascual, Ricardo, " Socia l and Cultural Development of the
Philippines," Counci l Institute of Pacific Council.,
Manila, Philippines, No . 3 .
Roucek, Josef s., "The Problem of Becoming Americanized , "
Sociology and Social Research., January-February, 1933 .
Young, E. F., "Social B a se ap,
0
Journal of Applied Socio logy, 9:206, January- February, 1g25.
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Executive Office: Los Angeles Police Department,
Board of Police Commissioners, 1949.
Bloch, Louis, Facts about Filipino Immigration into
California. St ate of California Department of Indus
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California State Printing Press, April, 1930.
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Vol. IV.
110
D. UNPlTBLISHED MATERIALS
Barbano, M. P., "The Social Status of the Filipinos in
Los Angeles." Unpublished Master's thesis, The
University of Southern California, Los Angeles, 1931.
Catapusan, B. T. "Filipino Vocational and Avocational
Activities in Los Angeles." Unpublished Master's
thesis, The University of Southern California, Los
Angeles, 1934.
, "The Social Adjustment of Filipinos 1n the
--u-n-fted States.'• Doctor's dissertation, The University
of Southern California , 1940.
Corpus, s., "Filipino Christian Fellowship 1n Los Angeles.
0
Unpublished Master's thesis, The University of
Southern California, Los Angeles, 1938.
Day, George M., "The Russian Colony in Hollywood."
Doctor's dissertation, The University of Southern
California , 1930.
Douglas, Helen , "The Conflict of Culture in First Gener
ation Mexican 1n Santa Ana." Unpublished Master's
thesis, The University of Southern California, 1928.
Rubin, ildred s., "The French in Los Angeles." Un published asterls thesis, The U niversity of Southern
California, 1936.
Tuthill, George A., "A Study of the Japanese in Los
Angeles." Unpublished Master's thesis, The University
of Southern California, 1926.
..
GLOSSARY
--------
•
112
GLOSSARY OF TERMS
The following terms are commonly a s sociated with
th6 Philippines and the Filipinos.
'rh~ Filipino People, not "The People of t he Philippines.''
This change was also made when the Philippines became
a republic.
Huk is the short term for Hukbalahap which in expanded
form is: Hukbo ng Bayan Laban aa Japon whi c h means
"Peoples' Army a gainst Japan." The presen t version
for Huk is: H ukbo ng Mapagpalaya sa Bayan hicb
means " Peoples' Liberation Army."
Juan de la Cruz. This i s the national character t hat
typifies tne Filipinos just as "Uncle Sam" does the
Americans and ''John Bull" the Britishers .
Mabuhay. Then a popular hero returns in triumph to the
Philippines, the people shout Mabuha~. hen an
orator reaches his frenzied climax,is l i steners
join 1n Mabuhay. W hen glasses are r a i se in salute
the toast ls Mabuhay. This long time honored
Fli:tl 1.pp1ne expression is a word of the Tagalog dialect
and is: "Hip, Hip, Hurrah." "Here• s Howl" "Aloha"
·and all the words of greeting, farewe l l, joy, love,
and luck rolled into one--"Mabuha.y."
aria Clara. Just as Juan de la Cruz has typifi ed the
common Filipino man, so has Maria Clara be en taken as
personifying the best in Filipino W omanhood .
The
Philiptines,
presen name
name started
a r ep blic.
not "The Philippine Islands" is the
of the Philippine Republi c . Thi s new
July 4, 1946 when t he Phi lippines became
Pino~s. Filipinos r esiding in the U nited States ar e
olloqui al l y c a l led "Pinoys."
A P P E N D I X
--------
APP~DIX A
LOS ANGEI,BS CO)O(lJNITY SPONSORS ANNUAL JULY FOURTH
POPULARITY CONTEST
114
The winner will reign as Queen of the Independence
Day, July 4th, Sixth Anniversary ot the Republic ot the
Philippines.
Following are the social activities planned by the
Community committee:
Official presentation and dance: Saturday, April
19, Manila Post, 510 Bunkerbill, Los Angeles.
First tabulation and dance: Saturday, May 17,
,
Manila Post, 510 Bunkerhill, Los Angeles.
Second tabulation and dance, Saturday, June 7,
Manila Post, 510 Bunkerhill, Los Angeles.
Final tabulation and dance, Saturday, June 21$
Aqueduct Post, 1312 West Third Street, Los Angeles.
Victory Ball, Saturday, June 28, Manila Post,
510 Bunkerh111, Los Angeles.
Coronation and Ball, Wednesday, July 2, Royal Palms
Hotel, 360 South Westlake Avenue, Los Angeles.
Annual Picnic, 11:00 A.M. Friday, July 4th. Hazard
Park, Los Angeles.
Grand Ball (public invited}, Friday, July 4, Royal
Palms Hotel, 360 South Westlake Ave., Los Angeles.
APPENDIX B
QUESTIONNAIRE TO HELP FIND OUT IBE GENERAL
CONDITIONS OF FILIPINOS IN LOS ANGELES
•
115
We are trying to learn more about the Filipino Canmuni.ty in
Los Angeles. To do this we need your cooperation. You can help us
a gN)&t deal by answering the following questions as promptzy- and as
accurately as possible. All infonnation received £ran you will be
strictly confidential.
I. 1. Please check if you are:
a. Tagalog ; Visaya_; Ilocano ; Pangasinan ;
Bicol ; Pampango_; Other -. -
b. Unitect'states citizen: Yes ; No ,· Veteran: Yes •
- - _,
No ____ •
2. Please indicate your:
Age_ Years; Religion _______ ; Occupation
; ApproDJD.ate monthly wage _____ -.----
3. ..Pl ... e_as_e_c--iiirc~--re the number of years completed in school~
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 - 9 10 11 12 - 13 14 15 16 - over -
4. Are you: Single ; Married ; Divorced ; Separated -;-
-. .. _
Widower~•
5. How many times have you been married: ___ times.
Length or present marriage :--~~pars .
6. If married how many c hilciren are there in the family:
Boys_Ages~~~~-; Girls Ages _ ___ •
Please indicate wife•s nationa!'fty or race _______ ;
Religion ..... --.... ..----; Occupation-...~-.------------..---.-;
Approximate monthly wage $. ___ ; Number of years completed
in school: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 - 9 lO 1112--3.3 14 15 16 -
over
•
II. 1. Are you liv.ing in a: House ..... _. ; Apa.r1ment __ ; Hotel Roan_;
Motel_; Trailer House_; 'Miere are you anployed_;
Other _ __., ________ •
2. How long have you lived in the United Statea: ___ y _ears;
in California __ -,ears; in Los Angeles __ years, at
present address ...... _years.
3. Do you own your bane : Yes-w_; No •
Is it fully paid for ..... ~; Are y-ou still making payments ;
4. Are yc,u satisfied with the neighborhood in which you now
live: Yes __ ; No __ ; Indifferent __ •
116
5. Do you associate with neighbors close by your hane:
Frequently ; Occasionally ; Rarely __ ; Never __ •
6. Have you effl been refused: -
a. Renting a hane Where
b. Buy-ing a house- niere _____________ _
-
III. 1. How do you like your present job: Very much ;Sanewhat ;
- --
A little ; Not at all •
2. Are you satisfied with yo'ur wage: Ver:, much ;Somewhat ;
-- --
A little ; Not at all~•
3. How oftenTiave you thought seriously of chaning your job:
Frequently __ ; Rarely __ ; Never.,___•
4. Do you like the people you work with: Vecy much __ ;
Sanewhat __ ; A little __ ; Not at all __ •
How did you get your job?
-----------------
6. List the principal jobs you have held in America
------
7. Do you think your present job gives you a chance to get
ahead: Yes __ ; May be __ ; No __ •
8. niat was your job before lll the Philippines:
9. What kind of work would you be doing if you -had--a-b_s_o_lu_t_e_l_y __
free choice:
IV. 1. List some of your favorite sports and recreational activities:
2. Name some organizations you are a member of:
--------
3. Name the newspapers and magazines your family read at bane:
4. Please check which of the following items you own:
Car ; Piano ; TV Set ; V ashing Machine ; Sewin_g_M __ a_c_bln_·_e_;
,-- - - - -
ovie Camera ; Sound Recorder ; Movie Projector ; Organ ;
Typewriter ;Refrigerator ; Radio • - -
- - -
V. 1. Do you intend to make the United States your permanent home:
Yes __ ; Undecided __ ; No __ •
2. Do you plan to return to the Philippines to live: Yes . ;
:May be __ ; No __ •
3. How many times have you visited the Philippines:
4. Ho often do you participate in Filipino activit-ie_s_in ____ _
Los Angeles: Often __ ; Rarely ; Almost never __ ; Never •
5. What are the things you miss most in .America --
117
VI. If you have a busine s of our own plea e indicate :
a. Kind or nature of business
ocation o us ss
-------=---------------
Race, nationality or gr ps served
-------------
d . Num
•
Note: Please give your residence address
Num er and Street Zone
I will appreciate your pranptnes in an erin arrl returning
this questi nnaire .
Thank you,
Valentin Re ~quino .
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Asset Metadata
Creator
Aquino, Valentin R.
(author)
Core Title
The Filipino community in Los Angeles
School
College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Degree
Master of Arts
Degree Program
Sociology
Degree Conferral Date
1952-08
Publication Date
08/01/1952
Defense Date
08/01/1952
Publisher
University of Southern California
(original),
University of Southern California. Libraries
(digital)
Tag
OAI-PMH Harvest
Format
theses
(aat)
Language
English
Contributor
Electronically uploaded by the author
(provenance)
Advisor
McDonogh, Edward C. (
committee chair
), Neumayer, Martin H. (
committee member
), Nordskog, John E. (
committee member
)
Permanent Link (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-oUC112724832
Unique identifier
UC112724832
Identifier
So '53 A657 (call number),etd-AquinoValentin-1952.pdf (filename)
Legacy Identifier
etd-AquinoValentin-1952
Document Type
Thesis
Format
theses (aat)
Rights
Aquino, Valentin R.
Internet Media Type
application/pdf
Type
texts
Source
20230207-usctheses-microfilm-box7
(batch),
University of Southern California
(contributing entity),
University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses
(collection)
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Repository Location
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Repository Email
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