The San Francisco call., 1898-09-23
RascaIs Who Have Kidnapped Men and Women and Black
 mailed Spaniards'
BY SOL N. SHERIDAN.
Special Correspondence of The Call.


 MANILA, Aug. 28-The town Is in peaceful possession f the American army of occupation, policed by the troops and as orderly as any city in the United States would be under similar conditions-and yet there is, in all cir cles. an undercurrent of uneasiness which may. or may not, have basis in fact. So far as I have been able to gather, Aguinaldo is a man who, hold ing certain purchasable influence, holds also too wholesome a respect for American arms to put his price too high. He wants to be bought off. Pos sibly he realizes that the Americans, under certain conditions, would rather buy him off than go to the trouble of suppressing him even with the cer- tainty of success in the effort. It would be a fine thing, for example, if the Au1ericsl Commissioners, when they meet their Spau,sh conrrtres est Paris. could assert with truth the complete pacification of the Philippines-a con dition Spain has not been able to bring about for 300 years. All this Is probably perfectly well known to Aguinaldo. At the same time he hesitates to open the matter of the sale, lest he appear too eager and so be compelled to go cheap ly. You will observe that it is deli cate position for a statesman of price.
 The Americans are in surer posi- tion. although 1t is one of scarcely less difficulty General Merritt has the game in his hands, whether it be for war or purchase, and knows it. Never theless, it is no part of his policy to provoke the Tagallos. It is so little a part of his policy that the newspaper correspondents here for several weeks past have been allowed to send out nothing whatever that would reflect in any way upon the conduct of the black devils who are born disturbers of na- tional peace, nor upon the inharmon- ous relations we all know to subsist between the Dictator President of the Governor of the Philippines and the American military government. It has all been one of those anomalous situa- tions about which the least said soon est mended. Yet, despite the firm grasp of General Merritt upon affairs here, and it is a firm grasp; despite the con- dition precedent upon which the Span ish Governor General consented to give up his city with only a show of resist ance to the effect that rebels with arms should not be allowed to come into Manila; despite the admitted fact that all who have so tried to come in on the regular roads or by the river have been disarmed; Aguinaldo has not been pacified, rebels with arms have sneaked in through the by-ways, and there have been some ugly instances lately of the Tagallo disposition to go on making trouble for the Americans as they had made it for the Spaniards- not much trouble, possibly, but as much as they could. They have, for example, instituted the pleasant practice of ex- torting blackmail from residents of the city. Spanish residents, who can be caioIed or threatened into payment. For this purpose patrol parties, with out arms, are sent all through the resi- dence districts holding passes from rebel commanders in the field. Colonel Smith, as provost marshal has already taken several of these passes rom patrol parties arrested incidentally Tor other devilment The patrol, need less to say is difficult to catch. All na- tives look alike to Americans, and 1t is only luck that these passes have been found and the patrol system or the rebels discovered.
 It is believed that the city is as thoroughly policed almost by the rebels as by the Americaps-but the system is different If the fountain head IS ever found, however a way will be de- veloped to cut off this little source of annoyance. The black rascals have also developed an unpleasant habit of Kidnapping men, or the wives of men who are obnoxious to them. spiriting them away into the country and there subjectil.g them to murder or to name less treatment not so pleasant. The Lieutenant Governor of the district of Bamboras vanished from the sight of linen the other day and since then neither his friends nor the provost has been able to get track of him. On Friday a band of insurgents entered the house of Spanish resident of the dis trict of San Sebastian during his ab- sence and by force carried off the mans wife and a small child, leaving a bahv four months old in the place. The nos, sible fate of the woman is a thing one would rather not speculate upon. Yes terday there were brought before Col onel Smith seven black browed Tagal- los who had been caught In broad day on aL busy street in the district of San Sebastian dragging away Spaniard. bound with ropes and gagged, whom they openly asserted they intended to take out of the city and kill as spy. The men are in prison and will in all Likelihood be shot, and the Spaniard was sent into the walled city-1ntra-