"Maximo M. Kalaw was born at Lipa, Batangas Province, Philippine Islands, in 1891. He attended the public schools of his native town, and later came to Manila where he entered the University of the Philippines. He is distinctly a product of the American system of education established in the Islands. In his second year at the University of the Philippines, he became editor-in- chief of the " The College Folio "— the University magazine. His management of this journal exhibited such marked ability as to attract attention.
He came with the writer to Washington in 1911 as private secretary and manager of "The Filipino People" devoted to the cause of Philippine independence. He has, therefore, been connected with the Philippine independence movement in the United States for five years. He was graduated in law at Georgetown University in 1914.
In 1912 he addressed the annual session of the Lake Mohonk Conference of the Indian and Other Dependent Peoples, Mohonk Lake, New York, and his presentation of the cause of his people elicited such favorable attention as to call forth favorable comment even from the opposition newspapers.
The " Boston Transcript," one of the most persistent enemies of Philippine freedom, had this to say of Mr. Kalaw's speech:"
"This youth delivered an oration — it was not a speech — of such force and beauty of expression as has seldom fallen upon the ears of a Mohonk audience. He advocated independence for his people; he said they were all for it; he complimented our work and sacrifices, but he craved that boon of liberty. At the conclusion of his speech the applause was long continued. In contrast with the ' set speeches ' of many American travelers in the Islands this effort of the native orator carried refreshing frankness and force. Certainly, if the Islands can furnish such men to plead for them, the day of their liberty is not far distant."
- President Manuel L. Quezon, Introduction, The Case for the Filipinos, 1916
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To my comrades, the rising generation of Filipinos, who, though beneficiaries of an alien government, have nobly kept faith with their forefathers.-Maximo M. Kalaw, Author and Lawyer,
(Dedication page) The Case for the Filipinos, 1916
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