Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1898-10-28

( the United States. 1t is also one of the
very few American newspapers which
are represented at Manila by special
CORES pondent. Its representative there
| is an accomplished journalist and he
writes very Interesting letters, though
they are evidently shaded somewhat to
support the positive opinions of his en-
ployers upon the annexation question.
In one Of his latest, after speaking of the
Spanish demand that our government
shall be responsible for the damage in
flcted upon Spaniards' property by the
insurgents since the surrender to Dewey,
he says:
Had it been possible the armistice or
protocol of peace should have included the
rebels, for as it Is, with the United States
holding their opponents, they have immense
and unfair advantage. Jaudenes was com
kpelled to surrender everything under his
CONTROL and 1t is not improbable the United
States NAV some day be called upon to
answer for its failure 10 protect that which
was solemnly given into its care in agree
ment for capituation. over at Santa Cruz
| on Laguna de Bay, two days ago, n division
of the insurgent army stormed and captured
| Spanish works, forthcations and city. They
| took between 600 and 500 prisoners, civil and
! IllllldINt chDluTeu l0UU IllltS anu lOONtu Tue
city. They are constantly dispatching troops
to other provinces and islands. and there will
be other cities sacked AVID looted.
| The revolutionary forces have been show
| ing surprising respect for life, but they have
no regard for property. Women and chill
dren have been stripped of their Jewels Il nd
| clothing. stores robbed of their stocks and
| f rniture, and fixtures of no use to them
! burned and destroyed for tn develish love
/ of that sort of thing.
The general situation is one of the most re-
maTkabe ever created by war, ana Its per-
| plexities and compile kites will be increased
| every day until there is a halt, and a settle
ment of all the questions that have arisen
! will consume much time and trouble. Every
thing hinges upon the policy of the United
States with respect to the archipelago, and
the subject has perhaps been more freely
canvassed here than at home.
Put to vote, nine out of ten men in the
American army ould be for the immediate
abandonment of the fruits of the victory of
| Dewey, but they are guided by their personal
+ feelings. They want TO go home, and against
personal inclination other considerations of
the question cut no figure.
From the experience of the army of inva
sion, the United States would assume an i'm.
mense task of anneXing and governing these
Islands 1t would be necessary to maintain
for n considerable time military force fully
rs large, if not larger than that now here,
and naval force equal to that at present
commanded by Dewey.
The country once controlled by the Span.
iards is in frghtful state OF disorder, and,
beyond that, there are thousands of people
who never bowed to the yoke of Spain, and
there are leagues of land that no white man
has ever seen. transportation by water is
very good, but by land practically none
/ exists,
1t would require an immense sum of money
to bring this country to that state of order
which the Americans would insist upon, and
there would probably be a heavy loss of life,
not only from climatic conditions, but from
, the subsection of wild tribes 1t looks like a
good investment.
We don't know about this. We are
coming to question more and more
whether it will be from any standpoint a
good investment to seize 1900 or 400 is
lands, 5000 miles from our shores, peOpled
with ten or twelve millions of semi-bar-
barians and Malays whose character Is
illustrated in the scenes which this
writer describes and who at the best are
pirates and brigands. We question
whether it would be a good bargain to
give millions upon millions of money and
thousands upon thousands of lives in ex-
change for anything we can get in the
"iiiPPiHSS' Ahc hotuial lcSOuICts VI
the Islands may be as they are described,
and the Malay portion of the inhabitants
may be willing to work for few cents a
day, making possible the profitable em-
ployment of American capital; but all
this may come too high, as we think it
Will If it requires an army of occupation
of 10000 or 10000 men, which will be
steady declmated by conflict with the
savages and climate diseases, and navy
as large as Dewey's.
To begin with, we do not want cheap
labor as gift, much less at great cost OF