Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1898-07-30
is MANILA OURS?
WAR DEPARTMENT THINKS IT MAY
HAVE SURRENDERED.
MADRID NEWS Is GUEssWoRK
WASHINGTON WILL BE FIRST tn
HEAR OF CAPITULATION.
1t Ii Believed That General Merritt
Has Arrived, So There Need He
No Further Delay In TAX
ing Charge of Affairs
at Manila.

at Manila.
HONG KONG. July s0.-The British gun
boat Ployer has arrived here from Ma
Mia. She reports that when she left Ma
nila on Wednesday. July q. the situation
there was unchanged and the Americans
had not yet attacked the city.
WASHINGTON, June 29.-It ia believed
ritt has arrived at Manila. He sailed on
June %, just a month ago to-day. His
vessels were faster than some of the 9TH
ers, and ought to have reached their des-
tination by this time. II General Merritt
has arrived. he Is In command of the de-
partment Of the Pacific. tine designation
now given the Philippines and the military
territory in that part of the Pacific. Next
In command to General Merritt is General
Anderson. who was in command OF the first
expedition.
The war department would not be sur
prised to learn that by this time Manila
has surrendered to the combined American
military and naval force gathered on the
shores of Manila bay and off Cavite. How
ever, there Is no official confirmation of the
report that was printed this morning to
that effect.
sition, 1t is believed. to receive news OF
so important an event sooner than the
Spanish authorities at Madrid. Being
hemmed in on all sides, Captain General
August would not be able to communicate
with Hong Kong. the nearest cable sta
ton. without passing his message through
the United States lines. and securing per-
mission for its transmission by boat to
Hong Kong. And even II a boat bearing
such a message had arrived at Hong Kong
it is only a fair supposition that the news
of the fall of Manila would be communi
Gated at that point to the world at large
by means Of the cable instead of being
confined to the Madrid government
Consequently, it is believed that this an
nouncement Of the fall Of Manila is an
assumption. perhaps on the strongest basis
for 1t may be that the Spanish govern
ment. having sent permission to Augusti to
surrender, concludes that he has done so.
1t was known to be the disposition Of the
Spanish authorities at Manila to surren-
der to the American forces instead Of to
the insurgents when the town must fall.
1t Is tolerably certain that Admiral Dewey
might have received the surrender at any
time within the past six weeks had he
been disposed to exert the slightest press
ure In that direction. Indeed in one Of his
dispatches he made the blunt statement
that he could take Manila in twenty-four
! hours II he desired. The reason he did not
desire to do 30 probably was because of a
reluctance on his part to intrust the des-
TIMES of the great city to the insurgents
under Aguinaldo. who. at first tractable.
had begun to show signs of impatisncs un-
der restraint.
Dewey realized that he was being held
morally responsible by the civilized world
for the protection of the people Of Manila
against excesses at the hands Of the in
surgents. There was also the strongest rea-
son why he should not. by failure to care
! for the interests Of foreign residents In the
town, open the door to Intervention of any
! Of the neutral naval commanders who had
| been lying in the harhor jealously watching
| for their opportunity.
Therefore IL became necessary for the
! admiral to maintain the status quo until
f, a sufficient military force arrived to en-
able him to receive the surrender of the
town and to occupy and protect it. This
has been done with some difficulty. as vii!
be revealed in the end. when all of the
q
been almost impossible to keep the insur-
gents out OF the town. and their efforts
| to effect an entrance have redoubied
| they learned Of the approach Of the Amer
| lean forces and saw dawning upon them
| the possibility of an American occupation
OF the town that should exclude them from
Manila. precisely as Shafter excluded Gar
cia's Cubans from Santiago.
Now, however. Dewey undoubtedly has
with him q sufficient military force to war
rant him In accepting the surrender Of
Manila 1t In said at the war department
that at least three Of the six military
expeditions that have been dispatched to
the Philippines from San Francisco are
now at Manila, affordins an army of be-
tween 10000 and 16,000 men. backed up by
Dewey's ships and sailors.
Suspicious interest attaches to pub
lished statement in one Of the Spanish
scNli-OAiC1dA OtSdHS " tu0 chett tiioI hu-
gustl has been shorn of jurisdiction over
the Philippines beyond Manila and Its i'm
mediate environments, the captain gen.
eralcy Of the Philippine group being trans
ferred to the commander Of the Vizcayas
islands. 1t Is Just possible that there Is an
important connection between these two
items Of news, one the surrender Of Manila
and the other Augustus replacement. both
coming from Spanish sources. As to the
latter, 1t was frankly stated in the Span
ish dispatch that the purpose was to pre-
vent August from surrsndering the entire
Philippine group. 30 that IL Is conceivable
that, having now arranged the matter so
as TO protect their interests In the remain
Ing islands so far as possible. and having
placed themselves In . position to deny
that the United States government had
made the conquest Of tho Philippines. the
Spanish ministry may have directed Au-
gusti to surrender the small juris lict on
remaining TO him to the United States to
prevent it from falling into the hands of
the insurgents. As this matter would have
q decided bearing on any programme the
United States may outline respecting tho
acquisition Of a coaliny station In the Phil
ippines or the requirement of the entire
group Of islands, otficiai reports as to the
exact state of affairs are anxiou.ly await
ed.
Old Glory Made Abroad.
The Vienna correspondent of the Dry
Goods Economist Is responsible for the
statement that ADYne OF the large flag manu-