Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1899-08-04
A D|SCOURAG|NG IA[E
Correspondent in the Philippines
Says Americans Hold Only
Small Territory.
And That Only by the Most Con
slant Watchfulness and Hard
Fighting.
Otis Forces Too Small to Cope With
the Rebels-Abandoned
Territory.
Chicago, Aug. 4.-rhe Tribune prints
the following from Manila, dated June

%.
The rainy season has just begun in
earnest in the Philippines and the of
fensive operations of the American
forces against tile insurgents are about
ended. The next campaign can hardly
begin sooner than in November, al
though the country may dry up enough
towards the middle of October to per-
nit the American troops to take the
field then.
The concensus of opinion. both of
American officers who have been in the
Philippines over a year and of people /
who have resided here for many years, |
is that when the rainy season begins SO |
late as it does this year the conditions |
large bodies of troops with artillery and
wagon trains before the latter part of
November or the first of December.
The roads a present are in good or
der, the rains so far not having been
heavy enough TO reduce them to any
thing like the condition which they as
sumo in the rainy season, when they
|are turned into swamps and bottoulless
pits of sticky mud.
The American army during the rainy
season can hardly be expected TO do
anything more than hold what it has
gained and prepare for the next CAM
paign. The holding of what 1t has
gained will not be anything too easy for
1.-The army. while an insurgent army sit
ting calmly in rsront of every outpost
and making sallies and night attacks
whenever they feel the need of exer-
icise.
To be sure, the American army has
not great amount of ground to de-
fend Not near as much as is usually
Imagined in the states. Take the big
| five-foot map of the island of Luzon
ISSUED by the war department. at Wash
iington Place a child's hand on the
lmap so that the lower part of the palm
| will be over Manila. The hand Will en-
Itirely cover all of the territory now un-
| der the control of the Americans on
/ a map sold in the Philippines that is
lover two and half feet square mans
lforefinger could cover the territory
lpossessed by our forces. on the south
jof Manila we have linus, about fifteen
slrniles away where the Fourth and
4 Fourteenth Infantry with several guns
I.fron the sixth Artillery are stationed.
Il This territory WAS gained only within
Eth. last two weeks by the hardest
ainghting at Paranaque. at which even
1.-THE rattle of the rifles could be heard IN
Manila We hold the road that runs TO
linus through Paranaaue and Bacoor,
leve1y inch of which was only gained by
hard fighting and which has to be close
ily guarded all the way 10 linus ny
troops in trenches and n.assed IN TWO
Tor tliree copanies at the villages ana
Il bridges.
,rhe activity by the insurgents in that
g district is not only shown by the stub
lbornness with which they fohsht at
4 Paranaque but by the attack that they
d planned on linus last Monday. force
Iof 2 800 was marching against this place
when it was diverted by the reconnpis-
4 sanoe column Of the first battalion OF
the Fourth Infantry, which was on us
way towards DEE Marnas, that was
lexpeeted TO surrender with a strussie'
The insurgents permitted the recon
noisanee column TO shoulder ITS way y
IlaAtwesn thei,. columns as far as II
would 90 and then turned and drove tbs
battalion back 1--WE miles and seemed Y
have a splendid chance of defeating i
utterly but for the splendid way II
which Mai. Bulb handled his command
and the timely arrival of reinforce
ments from linus.
Dez Marinas was taken the next day
but as the place is in the midst OF grea
swamps and consists of nothing but
few nipa shacks grouped around
church. and has absolutely no strategy
value ii was abandoned and linus re
mains the most southern point of til
American line.
Northward the farthest point in IN
control of our soldiers is Fan Fernan
do. forty-one miles from Manila, on Tn
railroad. The railroad is l49 miles j
length in all but the insurgents cor
trol all the track between San Fernar
do and Dagupan. the northern terininS
B lof the road A gunboat was sent som
time ago to sieze Dagupan and it wa
published in some paper that the tow
mad been taken by the Americans. IL
Americans controlled only sucf pol
7ltions of Dagupan that they could cor
yeniently reach with six-inch Shell
- After the shell had exploded the Fill
pinos again occupied the disputed te
! ritory.
The insurrectionists not only contr
over two-thirds of the tracfage of Il
only railroad in the Philippine island
but they also could outvote the Amer
cans il directors meeting in the il
terests of the road was called, as tht
are in possession of three-fourths
the rolling stock. They have twent,
seven of the roads locomotives, viii
the Americans only have four. III
rest of the rolling stock is also distr
uted between the two parties in III
ratio.
= The Americans hold Candaba, east
! San Fernando ten miles. They hold {
the towns along the railroad of cours
to San Tornado and Baliuag, sew
miles east of Pulilan.
n Reports continually come from Ba
uag that the town is entirely surroun
ed by the enemy and is about to be ca
ried by assault. But Col. Page and t
- Third infantry have so far driven t
rebels back with disastrous loss eve
time they have assaulted the town, a
-, he declares he can hold it for an indie
mite time, although his position there
by no means an easy one. Supplies a
mail can only be carried over to Baliu
from the railroad under an escort of i
less than $50 men, who are invariaf
= attacked somewhere along the 70;
both going and coming.