As we have already pointed out through the observations in 1908 of Education Director Mr. Barrows, the preponderance of Spanish continued to alarm the Americans since their agenda of imposing the English language on the Filipino people was in danger of failing. They had been quite certain that it would be possible to impose English in just ten more years after 1916, the year the alleged Jones Independence Law was passed. But Henry Ford himself, in 1916, was the second voice to sound the alarm. He did so in the following terms:

"In the meantime, the use of Spanish, instead of declining in the face of the propaganda promoting English, seems to spread by itself. This fact has merited the attention of the government. The Education Director’s report for 1908 says in page 9:

Spanish continues to be the most prominent and important one spoken in political, journalistic and commercial circles. English has active rivals as the language of trade and instruction. It is equally probable that the adult population has lost interest in learning English. I believe it is a fact that many more people now know the Spanish language than when the North Americans sailed for these islands and their occupation took place...The customary prerequisite for dispatchers is for them to know English and Spanish. Through the great upsurge in numbers and circulation of newspapers and publications, there is much more reading matter in Spanish than before...

"There is an uncontestable meaning behind that fact that in all these islands there is not one Filipino newspaper published in English. All the native newspapers are published in Spanish and in the vernacular. La Vanguardia, the Manila newspaper with the largest circulation, has its section in Spanish and in the vernacular, and the majority of the island newspapers follow this practice. The Philippine Free Press, the newspaper with the largest circulation under North American control, is printed in English and in Spanish, and all the rest of the North American newspapers use Spanish in conjunction with English. The only newspaper that is under total Filipino control that also uses English is the revolutionary organ, The Philippine Republic, which is published in Hong Kong. It is in English and in Spanish, its objective being to reach North American readers in the interest of promoting Filipino independence.

"The report of the Education Director in 1908 attributes the obstacle in the propagation of English to the action of the government in extending the time during which the use of Spanish in official documents would continue to be allowed. The Director says on page 30 of his report:

“...The date set for English to become the language of the courts was rolled back to January 1, 1911. This measure, though recommended by the fact that a larger number of judges and lawyers are insufficiently trained in English, has had an unfortunate effect on public confidence in the final adoption of English as the government’s official language.

"Nevertheless, the Education Director expresses the belief that the ascendancy of Spanish is only temporary. He said, The new generation, which will take over the affairs of these islands within the next ten years, will not use Spanish for its day to day purposes and its influence shall be decisive. Spanish will cease to be the language of the courts on January 1, 1911. It is quickly ceasing to be the vehicle for administrative correspondence. It is probable that its use as the language of the legislators will be delayed even further...

"This was said five years ago, but the events since then have not confirmed the forecast. The use of Spanish as the official language has been extended up to January 1, 1920. Its generalized use seems to be spreading even more.