Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1899-12-05

lcally denied by the very witnesses who
were called to prove 1t, The most the In
70 %as the ne o me
Islands from the Spanish control, which
they had been laboring for years without
success to throw off.
AguinaIdo's Ambition.
The prompt accomplishment of this work
by. the American army and navy gave him
suggestions from various quarters pervert-
ed the purposes and intentions with which
he had taken up arms. No sooner had our
forces began to assume an attitude of sus-
picion and hostility which the utmost eff
forts OF our officers and troops were unable
forbaarance were taken as a proof Of
pinos continually Increased until finally,
the United States fo OF ao vote ns n sre the D
treaty, an attack, evidently prepared in
eedvance, was made all along the. Amer
lean lines, which resulted in terribly de-
.tructive and sanguinary repulse of the
insurgents.
Ten days later an order Of the insurgent
Who had remained in Manila. of which Gen
Otis Justly observes that "for barbarous In
tent It Is unequaled In modern times" It
Of the 18th Of February. the ~ :t err
OF San Pedro. armed with their bolos, with
that Filipino families only shall be. re-
spected; that all other Individuals, of what
ever race they may be. shall be. eXter-
ny sTmy 81
and adds: Brothers, we must avenge our
selves on the Americans and cxterminate
the infamies and treacherles Which, shfst they ley
have committed upon u.s., Have no COM
passion upon them; attack with
sass into iSSpy hs Of this Of fe BY s eaa Ss
they were able to take measures to- con-
troll the rising. which was actually at
eeRR .t on than ths night Of e
plated Considerable number of armed
Insurgents entered the city by waterways
and s sw,a a mp and in concert, with confed-
by fire. They were kept. in check during
the night. and the next day driven out OF
the city with heavy loss.
Conditions Dealt With.
This was the unhappy condition of affairs
their arrival in Manila. They had come
with the hope and intention of cooperating
With ADMIRAL Dewey and Maj; Gen. Otis
IN .s e;staihllshing peace and order in the
self-government compatible with the true
welfare Of the people. What they. actually
words:
Deplorable as war is the one In which
We are now engaged was unavoidable by
US. We ns were .S attacked by bold. adyentnr-
was left to us. except ignominious retreat.
ut is not to be conceived of that any
YOU'D have the
obligations to other nations and to the
friendly Filipinos and to ourselves and our
sy Force Whatever the future s Of the PHI Hi
lppines may be, there is no course open to
rs now except the prosecution Of the war
so thf Is IL a
there has been no time since the destruc-
ton Of the Spanish squadron by Admiral
our forces from the Islands. either with
honor to ourselves or with safety to the
Rebellion Must Be Put Down.
The course thus clearly indicated has
been unflinchingly pursued. The rebellion
not be thoroughly established until order is
restored. With devotion and gallantry
worthy Of Its most brilliant history, the
navy. has carried on this unwelcome, hut
most righteous, campaign. with richly de-
served success. The noble self-sacrifiee
with which our soldiers and sailors whose
terms of service had expired refused to
avail themselves of their right to return
home as long they were needed g. The
have been somewhat Interrupted and
and ~ nsns tey Of he gained
ground steadily in every direction, and
now look forward confidently to speedy
completion of their task.
Work of Reconstruction.
The unfavorable circumstances connect
Permitted 10 interfere With the equally i'm:
portant work of reconstruction. Again
Invite your attention to the report Of the
commissioners for the interesting and en-
lG0lrapinRf alreaQv
complfshed iB the establishment of peace
/ and order and the. Inauguration of self
pf the archipelago. A notable beginping
has been made in the establishment of q
government in. the island Of Negroes, which
was The ' first Island to accept American
sovereignty. Its people unreseryedly pro.
claimed allegiance to the United States and
tablishment Of a popular government. II
was impossible to guarantee to the people
Of Negroes that the constitution so adopted
should be the ultimate form of govern
ment. Such question, under the treaty
with Spain. and in accordance with our
own constitution and laws. came exclu-
Inhabitants of Negros eventually proved
unsatisfactory to the natives themselves
A. new system was put into force by order
bf the major general commanding the de-
partment, of which the following are thu
most important elements:
Government of Negros.
It was ordered that the government OF
the island of Negroes should consist of q
military governor appointed by the United
States military governor of the Philip
pines. and ciyil governor and an advisory
council elected by the people. The milf.
secretaries Of the treasury. interior. agri-
culture, public instruction, an attorney
general and an auditor. The seat of gov.
ernment was fixed at Bacolod. The mill.
tary governor exercises the supreme
4 executive power. He is to see that the
laws are executed, appoint to office and
ill all vacancies In. Office not otherwise
provided for, and may, with the approva
OF the military governor of the Philippines
remove any officer from office. The civil
governor advises the military governor or
all public civil questions and presides over
the advisory council. He, in general, per.
forms the duties which are performed by
secretaries OF state in our own system
The advisory council consists of eigh,
members, elected by the people within ter.
rttorial limits, which are defined In the
order of the commanding general.
The times and places of holding elections
are TO be fixed by the military governo,
Of the island of Negros. The qualifications
Of voters are as follows:
~ A voter must be male citizen of the
island of Negroes. (2) OF the age of q years
(3) He shall be able to speak, read and
write the English. Spanish or Visayar
Language, or he must own real property
worth $500, or pay a rental on real property
81 the value OF 81 900. ~ He must have