Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-09-25
HE DISAGREED WITH OTIS
Dewey Closed the Open Ports of the Fill
pinos.
Would Not Tolerate Trade That Bene-
hted the InsarGent-OppOrtun
ties for Corruption.

arms and ammunition. The letter, which
is dated August l. is in part as follows:
The state of affairs in these islands Is
curiously akin to the situation existing 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 to-
bacco 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 a great fleet of small steamers and
sailing vessels, and all that is requisite for
highly lucrative trading is clearance for the
insurgent ports where the merchandise is
stacked up awaiting sale. Getting safely
out of such ports with a full cargo insures
enormous profits.
How Arms Were Obtained.
Before the navy secured control of the
thirteen purchased Spanish gunboats no
clearance was needed. Commerce was prac-
tically free. The little merchantmen sim
ply ran stuff from the closed insurgent
ports % 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 d
few Instances, at least, the small craft,
owned by supposedly friendly natives, OBJ
taine,. clearance from United States officers
for three or four open ports, and stopped at
various forbidden harbors in the round voy-
age some clerk in the office of the captain
of the port doing little convenient wink
ing at the disparity of elapsed time. When
the modifying fever was at it's highest
General Otis opened wide the closed ports.
and besides the resultant flow of money,
ammunition and food into the beSieged dis
tr1cts. the insurgent clearances showed
that vessels actually paid a per cent tax
at every place they touched to the insur-
gent government
Dewey Interfered.
Admiral Dewey, on May 49, ordered his
cruisers to disregard all clearances and
stop all trade with ports not actually in
possession of our forces This radical step
was advisedly taken on his own RESPONSE
bility, after conference with his captains
General Otis dared not resist the order
when informed of it's issue, although he
resented 1t. If he had openly disagreed
to it his protest would have had to go to
Washington, and he would not run that
risk. So he followed Dewey's lead and
decreed the closure of all ports not under
his effective control. About that date oc-
CURED the remarkable scene in the meet
ing of the commission at Manila marking
the elimination of the differences between
the COMMUNICATIVE chief afioat and ashore,
which was soon followed by the admiral's
decision to start for home 1t was at the
same meeting that Dewey, according to
current belief, calmly used the expression
your lying reports to the governor gem
eral.
In the discussion regarding the effect
on the supposedly friendly natives of Ad-
miral Dewey's order restricting trading
General Otis brought up his plans for util-
izing the thirteen gunboats he had pur-
chased from the Spaniards in the southern
islands Dewey interrupted him and put
an end to the armyc control of any force
afoat by the emphatic declarations: If
these vessels come out Of the Pasig river
manned as you propose | will seize them
as a menace to public safety
General Otis had evolved a scheme to
send them out to hunt smugglers, with
Filipino tiremen and deckhands, native
pilots and differed by army non-cOms' and
privates. He had no idea of the necessity
of putting a single officer aboard who
could run the vessels a mile without a
pilot or having a force to handle them If
the Filipinos deserted or showed treach-
cry. Dewey told him the insurgents would
possess every one of them within a week
after they left port and then declared that
he would seize them
About June l Captain Barker assumed
command of the little gunboats distribute
ed throughout the fleet, by attaching them
to the various ships on blockade duty, and
in less than a month all interisland traffic
was stopped, and the insurgents We're cut
off from guns, cartridges and money
Opportunities for Corruption.
In another letter the writer says:
zone of the most urgent needs in the
archipelago now is an adequate system
of financial control Anybody who can
give clearance or procure one. or manage
to slip in the name of a closed port-a
mere clerical error, If discovered-can have
any amount of money he chooses to ask
In one case $4,000 was offered for clear
ance to Apart tthe nOrthernmoSt port of
LuZon). simply to prevent the steamer
from summary destruction seizure in
case of detection or capture by our cruis-
ers. The cruisers would never honor the
clearance and permit the steamer to en-
ter a forbidden port, but would simply
order such vessel off, and warn her
against coming into the vicinity again
Without papers. they would put prize
crew aboard and send her into Manila as
a prize. or If she tried to escape. they
would have to destroy her. For this rea-
son clearances are exceedingly valuable.
The temptations therefore notorious.
The Spanards kept very few ports open,
and trade with others represented personal
eTnOluments. 1t was not a question mere
ly of revenue to the state. Men are mortal
even if they are not Spaniards or friendly
natives and unless the matter is handled
quickly and sternly and an accounting
called for. there will be an administration
installed out here which in spots-and large
SpotS-Will be as scandalouS as anything
ever known to Spain
There are already ominous whispers Of
financial irregularities, but the censor sys-
TEN is allpervading. Washington should
act promptly TO prevent denorallZatlon
later.
Admiral Dewey. President Schurman,
DENLY and Worcester recognized the full
capabiity of the Filipino for self-govern-
ment in local affairs. Otis dissents. The
insurgent control of all the ordinary do
nestle administration is strong and perfect.
At out-of-the-way places the postman
makes his rounds as regularly as in Manila.
They even have distinctive postage stamps.
The clearanceS are rubber stamped, the in
surgent star replacing the Spanish crown.
This systematic control is due to the fact
that all the subordinate officials in Span
ish times were Fiipinos. and Aguinaldo
had working machine simply by promot-
ing the head clerks and deputies in all
branches of the government not wholly
in the hands Of natives
Bids for Sidewalks.