The herald., 1898-09-12
.INSURGfNT HORDE
HOLDS ALL LUZON ISLAND EX-
CEPT MANILA
FIGHTING NOT STOPPED
BY ANY LITTLE THING LIKE AN
ARMISTICE
AGUINALD0 IN THE WRONG
nd Will Continuel to Be Until He
Provokes an Attack by United
States Forces s..
Associated Press Special Wire.

Associated Press Special Wire.
LONDON. Sept. 12.--The Manila CORE.
spondent of the Times, telegraphing Sep
iember 9th. says:
The dnsurgent conques; Of the island OF
Luzon is rapidly approaching completion.
Recent authentic reports announce the cap
:ure of Spanish positions, and at present
the rebels control every foot Of the island,
except Manila, Cavite and small portion
of the province Of Albay.
They hold over 5000 Spanish prisoners,
and have recently captured several thou
sand rifles, some cannon, large quantity
of ammunition and several armed stands.
The Spaniards held out valorously, but
were fighting against the inevitable.
1t Is undeniable that the action Of the
insurgents in pursuing the campaign after
an armis;i lice was declared has caused much
useless suffering and destruction of prop
erty, and has annihila;ed their every claim
20 be considered in any respect as the allisa
OF America. Their motive has been two
fold-first. an !mpacab,e hatred Of the
Spanish, with an innate racial thirst for
revenge; and, secondly, their wish 10 place
themselves on record before the world as q
complete masters of the Luzon provinces
and as many adjacent islands as they may
have to occupy before the Philippine ques-
lion has been settled by the Paris commits
sion. They are now free to withdraw their
troops to make an expedition against Pam
ava and to capture Iloilo.
Always in the Wrong
BY continuing the campaign now. re-
aardless of the armistice, they put them
selves in the wrong with everybody. just a.
by crowding into the suburbs of Manila
and refusing to vacate the same, unless
compelled to by superior force. they have
put themselves in the wrong with the
Americans.
Their action is doubtless due partly to 4
disordered organization Of their forces.
which, by their own confession, consist Of
an aggregation of Independent units, with
chiefs, each ambitious of power and dis
tinction, and all struggling, for positions
which will insure for everybody booty or
otherwise private fortune. This disorgan.
ization. which naturally affects the irre-
sponsible individuals, has been constantly
fomenting the irritation resulting from q
dual occupation Of the suburbs Of Manila.
The situation has been impossible from the
beginning. and conflicts have been avoided
only by great tact and the extraordinary
patience Of the American troops. who loy-
ally observe their duty Of preserving the
peace of the town.
The policy Of permitting the insurgents to
occupy the Spanish positions has been fruit
full of many difficulties, not the least Of
which is the stimulus given to the conceit
Of the natives, who consider themselves the
conquerors of Manila, although they cap
tured not single position when the town
was taken.
Otis Hard at Work
Gen. Otis has attacked the complicated
questions he incurred from Gen. Merritt.
his predecessor, with remarkable energy
and decision. and Is rapidly establishing
order in every department where compare.
tive chaos ruled before. He has been fully
occupied with matters more Intimately
concerning the military government Of
Manila and only recently has been abne to
study exhaustively the insurgent question
and to satisfy himself regarding the equity
of the insurgent claims so as to solve Q
problem practically unapproacha'be here's
tofore.
Aguinaldo has persistently demanded.
in terms not too polite. various impossible
concessions; for example. the occupation
of the governor generals palaces and oth-
er places, a written assurance that the
insurgents will be permitted to occupy per.
manently their military positions around
Manila and protection for the insurgent
vessels by the American fleet, with many
other claims, including an innocent de-
mand for a share of the booty captured By
the Americans at Manila.
After a careful review Of the situation,
Gen. Otis arrived at the general conclusion
that the insurgents have no right tc occu.
py the suburbs of Manila, and that Aguin.
aldo's claims have the support of neither
equity nor reason. He has therefore cate.
goricallv refused to consider Agunaldo'D
demands and today sent him n ultimatum
IN terms plainly comprehensive and au-
thoritative that he must withdraw his
troops from the suburbs before tomorrow
afternoon or suffer the consequences Of re-
fusaa.
Aguinaldo's Answer
The answer will probably be that Agui.
naldo himself is only too willing to obey
the order. but cannot explain to his troops
why they cannot remain at Manila. This
,emporzing excuse. although now stale
from too frequent use, conceals much
truth. 1t is an undoubted fact that Agui-
naldo has but feeble hold on the organiza.
tion. His power is fast waning and the
insurgents are threatened with disintegra.
tion into opposing factions unless some
leaders are soon discovered who are able
to harmonize these conflicting personal
interests.
It Is reported that the presidency Of the
revolutionary government will he offerea
to Catetano Arellanc at congress at Ma
lolos on September 15 Arellano Is a law
yer Of excellent reputation. the one man
among the Fylipinos who Is universally
respected. Hitherto he has consistently
avofdAd xaoliflssa nd In do1al,&katl szl1khan