The free lance. (Fredericksburg, Va.) 1885-1926, 1899-06-03
The Philippine Question

Capt PAtrick . Farrell \ strong Re
publican and supporter Of Mckinley
in loo6. publishes lhe following IN the
Washington, d @ Post:
In 1896 AguinAldo was al the head
of great rebellion in the Philippine
Islands, the majority of the people sup
porting him with the exception d
Manila and frN large cities on the
coast. hc controlled the two largest
islands luz0u and MudanAo These
two islands have an estimated p0pulh-
tiou Df about eight millions of people
llo had established thc nucleus Of "A
civil government Spain offered con-
ces~ious, proposed reform and auton-
omy. tho same as she offered To Cuba.
She also offered ~ oOo. 900 to pay the
Philippine troops. then IN rebellion.
provided that Aguinaldo would leave
the country He advised acceptance Of
these terms
The Spanlards. instead of faithfully
carrying ont their promises broke faith
with AgninAldo and his Philippine
compafriot- Instead Of autonomy,
they re-umcd oppression. m-tcad OF
advancing million dollars, they only
paid the first installment If $500, 600.
"Our modern tories stigmatize Agui-
naldu rs cur ana venal traitor.
who sold out and deserted his people.
The proper people to Judge Aguinaldo
are the Filipinos. not the Spanlard7
nor the Americans. lie is looked up e.
hy his own people as devoted and un-
selfish patriot. Admiral Dewey says
that most Of the laborers At our navy
yard in CAvite left their JOBS and vol
unfairly followed Agunaldo.
lie did not use the 500 600 for his
own private purposes. He deposited II
in the bank at Hongkong, to the credit
of the Philippine junta, and as soon
as he found that Spain had broken
faith with his people he proceeded to
invest the amount in the most improved
Mauser rifles
oar Consul General Wildman, ught
Aguinaldo at HoDgkong and introduced
him 20 Commodore Dewey, who brought
him back to the Philippines. furnish.
ing him with arms and ammunition.
For what purpose: To fight for free.
dom end independence, or for an ex-
change of masters,
SPANS difficulty -Filipinos oppor
tunity. Aguinaldo promptly seized the
opportunity He landed again on HE
own native shores. reorganized a gov
eminent. and with the arms furnished
by Dewey and the MAusers purchased
10y himself, he-armed his people, made
war on the enemy. and never stopped
until he had captured upward Of TO- coo
Spaniards. most Of whom he still holds
AS prisoners He organized a govern
ment which has yielded a substantial
revenue lie was then regarded as our
friend and ally, and we sounded his
praises in song and story
You are fighting all the while,
Aguinaldo.
really like your style,
Aguinaldo.
And whenever Uncle Sam.
Passes round the jam,
You'll find he is no clam,
Aguinaldo
New York Sun
The readers IF The Post can readily
conceive the feeling Of the Fihpinos
when Dewey and his feet appeared in
/ Manila Bay They can imagine them
singing their native songs on the hill.
tops, Just as the Irish peasants, in l7'io,
| sang the Shan Van Noght when the
French appeared in Bantry Bay, OF
like our own people, when Lafayette
| ROchambeau, and De Grasse, with the
French fleet, appeared in our own bays.
All but like dead Sea fruit that turns
to ashes on the lips, instead of a
friend, they find they have welcomed a
| foe
When some of the moro Thoughtful,
and perhaps more doubtful, of the FIJI
ipinos. asked, "What will be the out
Gomez" they were assured by our peo'
ple that it meant independence, for the
Constitution of the United States and
the principles Of the Monroe doctrine,
forbade us taking territory against the
will Of the people of said territory. The
Declaration of Independence, the con-
sent of the governed, yes, and our re-
cent declaration of war against Spair
where we solemnly pledged ourselves
against taking any new territory Yes
and still further, President Mckinley
own statement that forcible annexa
tion was not thought of, for that would
be criminal aggression. y. All these
statements and principles were staring
the Filipinos in the face, and Of course
they looked upon the Americans a
their friends and allies
After Gen. Merritt's arrival, with in
structions from Washington, Aguinald'
and his people were refused friendly
recognition. The Filipinos then became
suspicious, and this suspicion was con
firmed when our representatives at Pari'
offered Spain twenty million dollars FOL
"quit claim deed" of our interest IN
the Philippines OF course. AgninaldC
as we'll as lovers of liberty the world
over, was surprised to think that Shii
government, which had sacrificed hun
dreds of thousands of lives and billions
of money for the liberation Of the negro
slaves, should now think cfbuying ten
million Filipinos at 81 per head.
During the siege of Manila and for
some time after its capture our troops