The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1899-04-21
MORE TROOPS NEEDED
General LawtOn Says One Hun
dred Thousand Will Be
Necessary
TO PACIFY PHILIPPINES
Situation Explained to Il World Cor
respondent-Head Of Filipino
Junta Speaks.

New York, April 1s.-A dispatch to
the World from Manila says: Major
General Lawton at Paile today author
lied the World correspondent to make
this statement:
The present prospect is that 100000
troops will be necessary to pacify the
Philippine islands," .
General Lawton's expedition has
been ordered back to Manila. All the
territory he captured will be evacuated
and the launches which he seized will
be restored to their original owners
that is to say. they will be given back
to the persons from whom Aguinaldo's
soldiers took them. After giving the
opinion that 1OO,O 900 men will be re.
quired to subdue these islands, General
Lawton explained the situation to the
World correspondent as follows:
The difficulties in the way are those
of fighting guerrillas in a tropical coun-
try. With my brigade I could force
my way from one end of the island to
the other if I did not have to hold the
territory I traversed. But leaving gar.
risons behind would soon eat the whole
of the force. -
General Lawton regretted exceeding
ly being compelled to evacuate the ter.
ritory he had captured.
A Hong Kong letter to the World
says: 1--WE are weak and you are
strong,' said DR.. Gallicano Apacible,
head Of the Filipino junta, ''but we
have an ally and you have none. We
have 10000 stand Of arms and 1000
troops in the field, and sufficient ma
terial to make cartridges to supply our
troops for four years to come. Our ally
is the climate of the Philippines. Your
bullets cannot kill one of our men
where disease will kill twenty of yours
once you begin your advance into the
interior. We will harrass your advance
at the same time that we will welcome
it, We cannot fight pitched battles
with you and we do not need to. We
shall be here today and there tomorrow.
attacking, then flying. You can no
more catch US or conquer us than you
can the wind"
Youth seems to be the invariable
first requirement of leadership among
the Filipinos. Only the younger gen.
GRAFTON Of half-breeds have had the ad-
vantage of education. DR.. Apacible
and DR.. Santos (after Apacible the
most prominent member of the Hong
Kong junta) are under 20, and both
have received the degrees Of doctors of
lawppin Spain. Between them and the
numerous young men who are their as
sociates and the mass of Filipinos.
there is about as much resemblance as
between an ootoroon and full -blooded
negro. They were led to organize
the rebellion by a priest; priests edu-
Gated them, and by the irony of fate
they now hold hundreds of friars as
prisoners.
Chicago, April 1S.-General Shafter
passed through Chicago today ell route
to his brother S home in Sycamore, III.
Discussing the Philippine war, he said:
# General Lawton states that 100,
900 men are needed in the Philippines
in order to effectually bring the natives
to terms, I should say that undoubtedly
an army of such proportions in re-
quired. We Of the army have supreme
confidence in Lawton's Judgment and
it is his practice to underestimate
rather than exaggerate when passing |
upon existing conditions -