The times., 1899-11-03


known Of all men that Immediately after
the first shot the insurgents opened hre
all along their line and continued to fire
until about midnight; and about CLOCK
on the morning of February 9th the insur-
gents again opened fire all around the city,
and kept it up until the Americans charged
them and drove them with great slaughter
out of their trenches.
After the landing of cur troops Aguinaldo
made up his mind that it would be neces-
sary to fight the Americans. and after the
making CT the Treaty of Peace at Paris
this determination was strengthened. He
did not openly declare that he intended to
fight the Americans, but he excited every
body and especially the military men by
claiming independence, and it is doubtful
whether he had the power to check or con-
troll the army at the time hOstilitieS broke
out. DeplOrable as war is, the one In
which we are now engaged was unavoid-
able by us. We were attacked by bold,
adventurous, and enthusiastic army. No
alternative was left to US, except ignomi-
NOUS retreat. 1t is not to be conceived Of
that any American would have sanctioned
the surrender of Manila to the insurgents
Our obligations to other nations, and to the
friendly Fiipinos. and to ourselves and
our flag demanded that force should be
met by force. Whatever the future of the
Philippines may be there is no course open
10 Us row except the prosecution of the
war until the insurgents are reduced to
submission. The Commission is OF the opin-
ion that there has been no time since the
destruction of the Spanish squadron by
Admiral Dewey when it was possible to
withdraw our forces from the islands
either with honor to ourselves or with safe
ty to the Inhabitants.
Condition of the Country.
AS result of the fighting of February
and 5. the insurgents were everywhere
driven back, and the United States forces
soon occupied line extending from Pasai
on the south to Caloocan on the north,
and stretching out to the eastward far
enough to protect the water supply of
Manila.
On the night OF February % some 500
insurgents entered the district of the city
known as Tondo. where they started a
confiagration and fired on our guards. 1t
had been planned that the local militia
should join in this attack All the whites
were to have been massacred and certain
enthusiasts had even wished to include the
mestizos tpeopIe OF mixed descentl in the
list of the prescribed, but prompt and Wig
Crous action on the part Of Provost Marshal
General Hughes rendered the intended Up
Z
was ever made.
When the Commission reached Manila on
March 4, the situation in the city was bad
Incendiary fires occurred daily. The
streets were almost deserted, Half of the
/ native population had fled. and most OF
the remainder were shut in their houses.
Business was at a standstill Insurgent
troops everywhere faced our lines, and the
sound Of rife fire was frequently oudibIs
at our house. A reign of terror prevailed.
Filipino5 who had favored Americans
feared assassination and few had the cour-
age to come out openly for us. Fortunately
there were among this number some of
! the best men of the city.
As one result of issuing the proclama-
tion of the Commission which is more
particularly described hereinafter, the OBJ
lection was raised by the insurgents that
the Spaniards had promised them more
than did and had done nothing. They
asked for acts. The Commission was AK
iCus to meet this very justifiable demand,
and as a first step strongly urged the re-
establishment of the law courts, which had
been in suspension since the surrender of
the city. Early in June the Supreme Court
was reopened with FIVE Filipino and three
American justices. Courts of first instance
and justice courts were established later
when the difficult problem Of securing
suitable Filipino officials had been salts
factoriIy solved. This action greatly aided
in the restoration of public confidence.
The flow of population soon began to set
toward the city. Natives who had fed
( from their homes returned. while many OF
those outside of our lines began to clamor
for admission, regarding Manila as a place
Of refuge to be sought, rather than, as at
the time OF our arrival, danger centre to
be avoided. The native population nearly
doubled in two weeks, and it was neces-
sary to impose severe restrictions on i'm
migration in order to prevent dangerous
overcrowding- Among the refugees came
men of intelligence from all over Luzon,
and We soon gained from competent wit
nesses, an accurate idea of conditions
throughout the island We learned that
the strong anti-American feeling was con-
fined 20 the Tagalog provinces, namely:
Manila, Cavite, Laguna, Batangas Molong,
Bulacan, Nueya Ecija, Principe, Infanta,
and Zambales, 1t was strongest in the first
six named and hardly existed in the last
J four The population of these provinces is
estimated TO be about 1900, coo, but it
should not be supposed that even in the
six provinces Immediately adjacent to Ma
Mia the people were united in their opposi-
tion to US. Even here there was a strong
/ conservative element, consisting of people
of wealth and Intelligence, opposed to the
war.
The Rebellion Not National
In the remaining provinces of Luzon,
the Tagalog rebellion was viewed at first
! with indifference, and later with fear.
! Throughout the archipelago at large there
I was trouble only at those points to which
armed Tagalogs had been sent in cousid
! erable numbers. In general, such machin-
! cry of government" as existed, served
! only for plundering the people under the
I pretext OF leyyiug war contributions, -
/ while many OF the insuTgent officials were
rapidly acCumulating wealth. The admin
/ istration of justice was paralyZed, and
/ crime Of all sorts was rampant. Might
/ was the only Jaw. Never in the worst days
/ of Spanish misrule had the people baen so
/ overtaXed or so badly governed In many
provinces there was absolute anarchy, and
from all sides came petitions for protec-
/ ton and help which we were unable TO
give, as troops could not be spared. The
I feeling between the opposing armies was
! at this time very bitter.
When General Macarthur began the
! movement which ended in the taking Of
/ Malolos the natives, at the order OF Gen
/ eraI Luna fired their towns before his ad-
yancing columns Those who were unwill-
/ ing to leave their homes were driven cut
by the insurgent soldiers, who burned their
! houses. The object Of this inhuman pro-
! cedure was to compel the inhabitants to
| fee before US, and thus prevent their learn
| ing from experience that the fearful tales
concerning our soldiers, with which they
had been deceived, were myths. This meth
Cd Cf procedure. eminently successful at
first in the end recoiled on its authors,