The San Francisco call., 1899-04-13

IL III wheaton. started at udyt1SHl
IN with the Tenth Pennsylvania
Il and the Second oregon regi-
ments and two guns to drive
the rebels from the American right
flank between the railroad and the foot
hills He met with slight resistance
near Santa Maria and had one man
wounded, but the enemy bolted when
shelled by the artillery and burned and
abandoned the town of Santa Maria,
where a thousand rebels were reported
to have been concentrated.
During the rest of the day the enemy
was in full retreat toward the noun
tains, burning the villages behind the
retreating force. Occasionally few of
the rebels dropped to the rear and fired
at the advancing American troops from
the jungle, apparently with the idea
that this would check our advance and
cover the retreat of the Filipinos. But
finding these tactics Intellectual these
rebels scrambled after the main body.
The American guard along the rail
road has been materially strengthened
and it is not likely the rebels will sue
ceed in getting in the future to as close
quarters as they did yesterday even II
General Wheaton has telegraphed to
Major General Otis saying: They
would not wait to be killed"
General LaWton is securing the vicin-
ity Of Santa Cruz. He finds the rebels
have decamped. He has secured a
gunboat. six launches and two cascoes,
comprising the Filipino fleet. The YES
sells We're stuck in the mud of the river
and Major General Otis has sent a
dredge to the spot.
The United States Philippine Com
mission is hearing the leading residents
of various nationalities, priests and
Spaniards, numbers of them appearing
voluntarily, on the subject of the future
Of the islands. The questions put to
all are:
do you believe the Filipinos are cap
able of self-government in the town
''Do you believe the Filipinos are cap
able of self-government in the prov
DO you believe the Filfpinos are cap
able of self-government in the archipel-
ago?"
All those who have been interrogated,
including Filipinos who sympathize
theoretically with independence, have
replied to the third question with re-
markable unanimity, in the negative.
Independence, they say, would result
In chaos. endless tribal wars and Eu-
ropean intervention. A few of them
think that provincial self government
is practical, but most of them favor
self-g government in the townships with
a form of American supervision pro-
tecting the inhabitants against the
peculations and eXtortiOns which their
experience with the Spanish regime has
led to consider the natural requisites of
officialdom.
The commercial classes urge the
sending of attachments of American
troops, each numbering about 100 men,
to take possession of the towns in the
southern provinces and in the Viscaya
Islands, now held by small bands of
Tagallos. They declare the natives find
the Tagallo oppression worse than
Spanish oppression, and they will well
come the Americans. The case of the
inhabitants of Gubat, in the province
of Sorsogon, is cited as a typical in
stance. The Spanish taxes amounted
to $18,00Q but the rebel Tagallos eXtort
$112, 900 from the people of Gubat.
Aguinaldo's brother-in-law, the pro-
vincial Governor is said to be despoil-
ing the people unmercifully
General Luna, who retired from the
command of the Filipino forces and
who was editing a newspaper at San
Francisco del Monte, his retirement
being due to the fact that Fuchinos re-
belled at his rigid discipline. has been
recalled to the command. This is taken
as showing that the rebel army is only
kept together by harsh measures.