The record-union., 1898-09-27
Insurgents Want to Govern the
Islands Themselves,
But Would Favor United States Control
Rather Than Any Other.
Germany Did Make Offers to the
Filipinos After the Destruction
of the Spanish Fleet at Manila
to Assist in the Formation of
an Independent Government.

I
CHICAGO, Sept. 26. - The "Tri-
! bunes" staff correspondent on board
the overland limited telegraphs from
Carroll Ia, that Felipe Agoncello, the
first accredited emissary of Aguinaldo'S
revolutionary government to any for
! eign Power. with his Secretary and in
terpreter, will, upon reaching Chicago.
proceed to Washington over the Penn
sylvania line to lay before President
Mckinley the appeal of the Fflipinos
| for representation on the Peace Com
mission at Paris.
| If official representation on the COM
mission cannot be granted, he VIII urge
that the Administration at Washing
| ton in justice to the people OF the
| Philippines should secure for him the
right to be heard by the commission.
in order that any unjust charges or
| false accusations against the Fflipinos
which the Spanish members of the
commission may set forth shall not so
unanswered.
Following is Agonceno's formal state
ment to the American people OF his
mission and the grounds on which he
bases his appeal:
1T is to ask America to grant to the
Philippine people official representation
| in the course of the discussion of the
| Spanish American Commission in
| Paris, or that the provisional govern
ment or its official representative be
heard before the Spanish American
Commission shall reach any decision
regarding the Philippines.
1T is justice that the Philippine peo-
pie should not be undefended, for ii
might happen that the representatives
of Spain would make formidable
| charges against the Filipinos. and in
lack of representation from the Fill
pinOs, these charges might be credited.
Therefore, il is inadmissib!e. under
the most rudimentary beginnings of
natural or written and sound reason.
that the Filipinos should be without a
hearing"
! OF the conditions in the Philippine
! Islands and the hopes and wishes of the
Filipinos this is what Agoncello says:
IF the outcome of the peace negotia-
tions shall be that this Government is
given the control of the islands, 1 have
not the slightest doubt that, if left
| alone by foreign Powers, the islands
would be we'll and orderly governed.
! When l left Hongkong there were in
the Assembly $50 representatives. com
| ing from all the provinces in LUzon and
! from several of the islands, and / eX-
| pect to learn upon reaching Washing
! ton that still more have been chosen.
| These representatives are the most pop
ular men in their provinces, and the
people accordingly have confidence i'll
| their government.
"As to the power of the Filipino Gov
ernment to control the islands and
maintain order provided the Spanish
| forces are withdrawn, / have no mis-
givings. There are 10000 armed men
in its army. Some of its arms came
from captured Spaniards and some
| from foreign countries. L am not at
| liberty to say where.
NO they did not come from Ger
| many and the statements that have
| been made that the Filipinos are Sc
cretly conniving with the Germans are
false and unjust. 1t is true that a few
! days after the destruction of the Span
ish fleet in Manila Bay, representatives.
| of the German Empire made proposals
to the insurgents to aid them in form
| ing an Independent government This
offer was refused, the reply made to
the Germans being that, under an
agreement entered into between Agui-
naldo and Admiral Dewey, the insur-
| gents were in honor bound to refuse
| the offer"
| Agoncello was asked what would be
! the attitude of the F'ilipinos and the
provisional government if the outcome
| of the peace negotiations should be
that the islands should pass into the
hands of the United States, either for
| temporary or permanent control He
replied:
Whether or not the Filipinos would
| forcibly resist such a disposition Of the
islands 1 cannot state. The question
would go before the Assembly, and
Aguinaldo's attitude must, under the
| Constitution, be determined by the ac-
| ton of that body The form Of the
provisional government is thoroughly
republican. But / will say that the
feelings of the people of the Philippines
with regard to the question would de-
pend largely upon what form of gov
ernment the Americans should propose.
| If it meant simply the control of the
| islands by the United States, the Gov
ernment of this country assuming the
responsibility of maintaining good or
der and controlling the revenues Of the
! islands, I do not think the feeling
against such move would be strong.
though the Filipinos are anxious to
govern themselves: but if it should be
planned that the United States take the
| islands for the purpose of COLOMBIA ton.
which might eventually crowd out the
native population. in my opinion there
would be great difficulty in bringing
the people of the islands to submission.
Our appeal to the United States IS
for aid in securing what we most de-
sire and what we believe to be for the
best interests of the islands. If the
| Filipinos are not to govern themselves
there is no nation they would more pre-
/ fer to be governed and controlled by
than the United States. AS to the pos
sibility of maintaining an orderly and
harmonious government among the
people of the islands, if it is left to
them, many opposing arguments have
been urged, which are in large part
| proundleSS."