Pensionado Profile: Santiago Artiaga

At the turn of the twentieth century, Santiago Artiaga traveled across the Pacific Ocean from the Philippines to Ann Arbor to attend the University of Michigan. For Artiaga, this would have been a significant change in his life. Born in San Juan, Manila, Artiaga attended the College of San Juan de Letran and the University of Santo Tomas until classes halted in 1898 due to the violent transition between two colonial regimes. Several years later, Artiaga was awarded a competitive scholarship for the sole purpose of continuing his studies in the United States through the Club Filipino, a social club (then known as the “International Club of Manila”). In doing so, Artiaga joined the first cohort of pensionados, technically preceding the official Pensionado Act of 1903. 

According to Artiaga’s personal correspondence and reports found at the U of M’s Bentley Historical Library, Dean Worcester and Dr. Paul Freer, a chemistry professor and colonial administrator, encouraged Artiaga to attend the University of Michigan after receiving his scholarship. Artiaga subsequently enrolled at the University’s College of Engineering in September 1900, studying civil engineering. Specific sources from Artiaga’s time as a pensionado at the University are sparse. Most information can be found in newspaper articles or letters written by an older Artiaga reflecting with his friends on his experience as a student in Ann Arbor. American reports on Artiaga simultaneously celebrated his achievements and highlighted his lack of initial knowledge, which in turn furthered ideas of U.S. imperialism. University of Michigan newspaper clippings describe him as green and naive, having first enrolled “without having any command of English whatsoever.”[1] In framing Artiaga in this way, these reports emphasize tutelage through a paternalistic lens, which in turn supports the colonial rhetoric of uplifting colonized populations via education. By contrast, Artiaga’s recollections focused on his emotions. In one letter, Artiaga referred to himself as initially being “a timid boy.”[2] In another, Artiaga recalled taking a course on differential equations: 

One of my happy reminiscences concerns the course in Differential Equations under the lte [sic] Prof. Ziwet. In the final exam it took me only 15 minutes to work correctly all problems and hand in my blue book. When I attended my class reunion in 1924 my classmates recounted the 15 minute exam in our banquet (to the satisfaction of my vanity) as an extraordinary feat not likely to be repeated. I was a boy as I come to think about it. I gloated much in beating my brilliant classmate McLean already deceased.[3] 

Through this description, Artiaga reveals a dimension of the possible social dynamics between a pensionado and their American classmates. In this instance, Artiaga makes it a point to elevate himself to the same level as his American counterparts in his cohort, if not higher. 

Regardless, Artiaga graduated from the University of Michigan’s College of Engineering in 1904 with a B.S. degree and returned to the Philippines, just as other pensionados did. Upon his return, he worked for the City of Manila’s railway, then eventually assumed the role of Manila’s City Engineer in 1920. He even occasionally stepped in as acting mayor for several months in 1923 and 1929. Nearly a decade later, Artiaga became the mayor of Davao from 1937 to 1939 and later the mayor of Zamboanga from 1936 to 1937. He served his last position in government from 1939 to 1941, ultimately retiring as the governor of Bukidnon (Mindanao). Alongside his career in politics, Artiaga involved himself in the world of academia: he taught mathematics and hydraulics as a professor at the Far Eastern University and the University of Santo Tomas, eventually becoming the Dean of UST’s College of Engineering.[4] Overall, Artiaga’s circulation through government positions and academia throughout different periods of Philippine history is remarkable. 

Despite his constant movement through academia and the government, Artiaga maintained the relationships he’d made while attending the University of Michigan, even fifty years after his enrollment. Artiaga’s repeated visits to Ann Arbor after graduation and clear desire to keep in touch with University officials and classmates helped him create an intellectual support network, which fostered opportunities for himself and his family. 

He wrote regularly to Mortimer Cooley, who had served as Dean of the University of Michigan’s College of Engineering while Artiaga was a student. Many of these letters offered life updates and holiday greetings. Cooley even informed Artiaga of the death of his wife — something that he clearly reserved for those close to him as he wrote in the notice, “I am writing a few of my friends - those whom I think would be particularly interested.”[5] 

However, many other letters seemed to be fueled by a desire to learn and exchange knowledge. Throughout several letters, Artiaga and Cooley both wrote appreciatively of articles and journals they received from the other. In one specific exchange in the summer of 1937, Cooley mulled over the state of world politics with Artiaga. Specifically, in a letter dated May 21, 1937, Cooley wrote, 

I have read with great interest your letter of April 6th written on board the SS. Basilan. Besides giving me an excellent idea of your environment, it suggested questions likely to be important in the future of the Islands. As, for instance, the Japanese question.[6]

In response, Artiaga sent Cooley a copy of the Mindanao Review, which provided Cooley with further context on the political situation in the Philippines.[7] In August 1937, Artiaga continued further on the subject of Japan, writing, 

The war at our next door is furiously raging. I also believe, and there is no one to contradict this, that the U.S. has kept the Philippines from entanglement and from Japanese occupation. The danger is not past. This country is surrounded by islands, large and small, under Japanese dominion. My oriental mind is a fatalist. It seems a natural course of future events that this country be taken by Japan. It may be delayed and postponed if Japan suffer temporary reverses in China. The Philippines is building up a national defense as per policy laid down by General McArthur, a former U.S. Chief of Staff. This is done earnestly with the vien of making difficult and very costly the invasion of this country by any foreign power. One reads between the lines that this means Japan.[8]

In his response, Cooley seemed both grateful and proud of Artiaga’s assessment, writing, “What particularly pleased me was your general attitude on world matters, especially as they concern the possible future of the Philippines. That you were standing squarely on your feet gave me a thrill of pride.”[9]
 

Along with this exchange of knowledge, Artiaga also attempted to obtain an honorary degree from the University of Michigan with the help of Cooley after Artiaga mentioned that an honorary degree would help him secure a teaching position at the University of Santo Tomas. After Artiaga sent multiple letters detailing his accomplishments in the Philippines, in January 1939, Cooley wrote to Dr. Alexander G. Ruthven — president of the University at the time — asking him to consider giving Artiaga an honorary degree. While Artiaga would not be granted an honorary degree until July 15th, 1950, one might assume that the records of Artiaga’s accomplishments collected by the two men in 1939 would have helped in the decision-making process down the line. 

Together, Artiaga and Cooley’s correspondence and relationship exemplify Artiaga’s desire to maintain his relationships related to his time as a pensionado. Outside of written correspondence, Artiaga returned to the University of Michigan for class reunions on multiple occasions and frequently communicated with people in his 1904 cohort. For example, in 1951, Artiaga exchanged letters in Spanish with Buenaventura Jimenez, a Puerto Rican allergist living in Ann Arbor who was one of Artiaga’s classmates at the U of M. In one exchange, Jimenez wrote that he had successfully bought a graduation cap and tassel for Artiaga, as well as subscribed to The Nation magazine for him, and mentioned that his daughter was grateful for the hat that Artiaga had gifted her.[10] Another exchange of letters between Artiaga and one of his classmates, Donald Smith, provides a similar story — Artiaga had seemingly written about the difficulties of acquiring American magazines in the Philippines, and Smith had replied that he would “compare with Gertrude what she may be sending” and “supplement her shipments with some magazines that [he] may find from time to time, and will surely try to if they really mean considerable to [Artiaga].”[11] Yet another instance can be found in a letter from Ivan Crawford, another dean of the College of Engineering. In this letter, Crawford writes to Herbert Watkins, assistant vice president of the University, asking him to grant Artiaga a replacement diploma after Artiaga had mentioned that his original diploma had been lost under Japanese occupation.[12]

Artiaga also frequently wrote to George Blackinton, who took charge of organizing the College of Engineering class of 1904 reunions. While many of these letters simply provided life updates and holiday well wishes, one letter sees Artiaga making  a specific request of Blackinton regarding his granddaughter, Rosario Artiaga Gaerlan, who enrolled at the University of Michigan’s School of Business in 1953. Artiaga wrote, 

Give my regards to Stine. Last Xmas she sent rice to my granddaughter who being a native Filipino loves rice. Next time you go to Ann Arbor, please, buy in Texas a small package of uncooked white rice and give it to her as a present. She will appreciate it very much.[13] 

Through these instances, it is clear that Artiaga’s sustained connections to individuals he met as a pensionado in Ann Arbor allowed him to create a support network that he could rely on for material goods and intellectual discussion. When Gaerlan attended the University of Michigan decades after him, Artiaga then used this network to provide support for her, too, ultimately creating a community that she could rely on in the United States. 
 

Citations 

[1]  Santiago Artiaga Necrology Files, University of Michigan Alumni Records, Artiaga, Santiago [d. Aug. 1, 1962 : B.S.C.E. 1904, S.P.A.(Hon.) 1950], Box 18 Suppl, Necrology Files, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan 

[2] Santiago Artiaga Necrology Files, University of Michigan Alumni Records, Artiaga, Santiago [d. Aug. 1, 1962 : B.S.C.E. 1904, S.P.A.(Hon.) 1950], Box 18 Suppl, Necrology Files, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan 

[3] Letter to Mortimer Cooley in April 1938, Correspondence with Mortimer E. Cooley, Box 1, Santiago Artiaga Papers 1914-1957, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan

[4] Governor Santiago Artiaga CV, Biological Material, Box 1, Santiago Artiaga Papers 1914-1957, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan

[5] Letter from Cooley to Artiaga on October 20, 1932, Correspondence with Mortimer E. Cooley, Box 1, Santiago Artiaga Papers 1914-1957, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan

[6] Letter from Cooley to Artiaga on May 21, 1937, Correspondence with Mortimer E. Cooley, Box 1, Santiago Artiaga Papers 1914-1957, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan

[7] Letter from Mortimer Cooley to Artiaga on July 16, 1937, Correspondence with Mortimer E. Cooley, Box 1, Santiago Artiaga Papers 1914-1957, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan 

[8] Letter from Artiaga to Cooley on Aug. 31, 1937, Correspondence with Mortimer E. Cooley, Box 1, Santiago Artiaga Papers 1914-1957, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan 

[9] Letter from Cooley to Artiaga on Oct. 11, 1937, Correspondence with Mortimer E. Cooley, Box 1, Santiago Artiaga Papers 1914-1957, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan 

[10] Letter from Jiminez to Artiaga on June 13, 1951, Artiaga, Santiago Papers, 1951, Box 1, Santiago Artiaga Papers 1914-1957, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan 

[11] Letter from Donald Smith to Artiaga on Aug. 28, 1951, Artiaga, Santiago Papers, 1951, Box 1, Santiago Artiaga Papers 1914-1957, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan

[12] Letter from Ivan Crawford to Herbert Watkins on June 11, 1947, Box 1, Santiago Papers Paper 1914-1957, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan 

[13] Letter from Artiaga to Blackinton on April 10, 1954, Artiaga, Santiago Papers, 1954, Box 1, Santiago Artiaga Papers 1914-1957, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan