The evening times., 1899-08-09
THROUGH 4 BRL20N'S EYE
Views Of an English Naval Officer
on the Philippine War.
Lieutenant Commander johnson I'm
complimentary Toward General
Otis and Predicts Defeat Unless He
Is ReIieyed-COmmend ends the Ameri-
can Troops Fighting Prowess.

Victoria, Aug 9.-''General Otis is an
old woman, utterly incompetent to manage
the campaign which confronts him In the
Philippines and at least 5000 brave and
courageous fellows have been sacrificed
by his utter ineompeteney. The figures
are high, you say. They may appear SO
TO you on this side of the water. but new
ertheless they are correct. You think
them high because Of the reports you nave
been fed with over here, for the press
censor. whose duty it is to blue pencil the
matter of the correspondents at Manila.
never allows the newspaper men to tell
their papers the full count Of the dead
These were, the words of Lieutenant
Commander p S. ST. John, of the British
gunboat Peacock now at Manila, in an in
teryiew given by him on the steamship
Empress of Japan, on which vessel he had
just arrived from Manila via HOngkong
yesterday.
Lieutenant Commander ST. John left his
ship at Manila on July s, having been in
valided home, and took passage to Hong
kong on the steamer Esmerald and came
thence by the Empress of Japan. The Of
iicer says that unless some capable SOL
der relieves Otis the campaign can have
but one ending and that is defeat for the
United States troops. Not a sanguinary
defeat, you understand, but nevertheless
defeat he said. for the rebels will be
able to hold their own save within the
cities of Manila and Iloilo and perhaps
few square miles round about and do as
they please"
Watch my word Lieutenant Com
mander st. John continued, the outcome
will be that Great Britain will take over
the islands. 1t is a well-known facts that
petitions are now being circulated at Ma
Mia among the foreign merchants, Ameri
cans included, addressed to the British
Foreign Office, praying that body TO take
ever the islands, suggesting an exchange
for Jamaica. The American population
have sent two of their number-Dr. Done
| Ian, who has been in Manila for twenty
FIVE years, and K. d. Wood, who has lived
there thirty years-to Washington to lay
representations CT some kind before the
authorities there.
Thanks to the press censor, the Ameri-
can people do not know how heavy the
white mans burden is in the Philippines.
| The situation is pitiable. All the time the
American troops have been there they
have gained but forty miles from Manila,
where they are encamped. not attacking
but ever waiting 10 be attacked At Iioilc
the insurgents are entrenehed just across
the river at Juro. There are over 2,G0)
men there, but they are unable to keep
the rebels as far away from Iloilo as we're
the 500 Spaniards who were fighting them
back before the trouble between the United
States and Spain.
The hospitals at Manila are full all
crowded, and it seems pity that the Re-
| lief was sent away for she would have fur
nished accommodations for many of the vic
| tins OF General Otis incompetence.
,ta
| had been sent to all the regim to keep
| their sick under their own canvass until
| they needed surgical assistance What the
| situation will be when the rainy season,
| which is just about to bagin, is in full
| blast, is awful to contemplate. Malarial
| fever and dysentery will carry off the un-
! fortunate soldiers in punches. II is pitia-
! BILE for they are ON the whole fine body
| OF fighting men and individually as good
men as ever made UP an army, but they lack
discipline. Why il was laughable TO see the
| lack of discipline. When l was ashore ons
| time saw private step out of the ranks
to get light from en- officers cigar. Tims
| and again / heard privates consign officers
| to warm places when the command that did
not please them was given.
LAS for the proposition put forward by
some writers on this side TO starve Agui-
naldo out; that is absurd. The willy Fill
| piro leader cannot be starved out. He is
even getting supplies and ammunition from
| the outside Steamers are landing arms
and cartridges. and supplies often in close
proximity to the patroling warships. and
| am sorry to say the Americans themselves
are in many instances sending in the arms
| and ammunition with which their compa-
| triots are being slain. America and Japan
| seem to send out the greater number OF ths
| flibustering expeditions.