Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1899-10-05
Some Mysteries of the Cam
paign Cleared Up.
WHAT A HIGH NAVAL OFFICER SAYS
How Rebels Obtained Arms
and Ammunition.
why the Little Army Gunboats Were
Turned Over TO the Navy-Trouble Be-
tween Otis and Dewey-siGnificant News
From Republican Source.
spselal to New York Tribune, Rep.

seem to have been disclosed to officials
here in the last mail from Manila,
from authoritative army and navy
sources. These advices tend to
strengthen the adverse impressions as
TO Gen. Otis which it is now known
President Schurmau communicated to
the President, and which Admiral
Dewey is expected to corroborate in
the next few days. The general
character Of the information thus com
munioated may BIZ judged from the
following abstract of letter from one
of the most intelligent and well-known
naval officers of high rank now on the
Asiatic Station, which is given under
all reserves. 1t was written about
August 1st:
1.-THE state Of affairs in these islands
is obviously akin to the situation exist
ing at certain periods of our own Civil
War, when the rebels wanted cash,
and literally had cotton to burn which
they could not ship. The islands are
full Of hemp. sugar and tobacco ready
for the market. Any one able to get
these products out Of insurgent ports
can procure them at his own price.
The foreign houses Of the chief ports
own or control great fleet of small
cttdiloEo tDu bdtltuS NtoSbiS, anu All
that is requisite for highly lucrative
trading is clearance for the insurt emit
ports, where the merchandise is stacked
up awaiting sale. Getting safely out
of such ports with full cargo insures
enormous profits.
Before the navy secured control of
the ID purchased Spanish gunboats, no
clearance was needed. Commerce was
practically free. The little merchant
men simply ran stuff from the closed
insurgent PORTS to open islands, carted
it overland to nearby open ports, and
sold it, smuggling arms and ammunition
on the return trip. The naval cruisers
and gunboats guarding the open ports
were easily avoided. In few in
stances, at least, the small craft, owned
by supposedly friendly natives, OBJ
tanned clearance from United States
officers for three or four open ports,
and stopped at various forbidden har-
bors in the round voyage, some clerk
in the office of the captain of the port
doing a little convenient winking at
the disparity of elapsed time. When
the modifying fever was at its highest
Gen. Otis opened wide the closed ports,
and besides the resultant flow of
money, ammunition and food into the
besieged districts, the insurgents clear
ances showed that vessels actually paid
per cent tax at every place they
touched to the insurgent government.
DEwEY's DEGENERATION.
Admiral Dewey on May 10th ordered
his cruisers to disregard all clearanoes
and stop all trade with ports not
ACTUALLY in possession of our forces
This radical step was adyisedly taken
ON his own responsibility, after con
ference with his captains. Gen. Otis
dared not resist the order, when in.
formed of its issue, although he re.
sented it. If he had openly disagreed
to it, his protest would have had to &c
to Washington, and he would not ruI
lead, and decreed the closure of al
About that date occurred the remark
able scene in the meeting of the com
mission at Manila, marking the culmi
nation of the differences between thu
COMMUNICATIVE chief afloat and ashore,
which was soon followed by the ad
miral's decision to start for home. Il
was at the same meeting that Dewey
according to current belief, calmly usee
the expression your lying reports t,
the governor general.
THE SPANISH GUNBoATs.
SIN the discussion regarding th
effect on the supposedly 'friendl,
natives Of Admiral Dewey's order re
stricting trading, Gen. Otis brough
up his plans for utilizing the ID gun
boats he had purchased from tn
Spaniards in the southern islands
Dewey interrupted him and put an ent
to the army's control of any force afloa
by the emphatic declaration If thes
vessels come out of the Pasig Rive
manned as you propose. | will seiz
them as menace to public safety.
"Gen. Otis had evolved scheme t.
send them out to hunt smugglers
with Filipino tiremen and deck hands
native pilots, and Differed by arm
'non-coms. and privates. He had n
idea of the necessity of putting
single officer aboard who could run th
vessels mile without pilot, O
having force to handle them il tn
Filipinos deserted or showed treachery
Dewey told him the Filipinos woul
possess every one of them within
week after they left port, and then dc
clared that he would seize them.
'.About June LIST Capt. Barke
assumed control of the little gunboat
distributed throughout the fleet b
attaching them to the various ships O
blockade duty, and in less than
month all interisland traffic wa
stopped, and the insurgents were GU
off from guns, cartridges and money.
PHILIPPINE FINANCES
In another letter source of serior
danger is pointed out as follows:
Zone of the. most urgent needs in TIL
archipelago now is an adequate systel
of financial control. Anybody who ca
give clearance or procure one,
manage to slip in the name of a close
port-a mere clerical error, if di.
covered have any amount
money he chooses to ask. In one ca.
$4,000 was offered for clearance
APART 1.-THE northernmost port
Luzonl, simply to prevent the steam,
from summary destruction or seizui
in case of detection or capture by o,
cruisers. The cruisers will new,
honor the clearance and permit tt
steamer to enter forbidden port, bl
would simply order such a vessel of
and warn her against coming into Ii
vicinity again. Without papers, tn,
would put a prize crew aboard al
send her into Manila as prize: or,
she tried to escape, they would ha'
to destroy her. For this reason clea
ances are exceedingly valuable. II
temptations are, therefore, notoriou
The Spaniards kept very few por
open. and trade with others represent,
personal emoluments. 1t was not
question merely OF revenue to Il
State. Mon are mortal even il tn
are not Spaniards or friendly natives
and unless the matter is hand