Omaha daily bee., 1899-04-29
HAVE INTERVIEW WITH OTIS
A~guinaIdo's Officers shown Every
Courtesy and Promptly Trans
ported to Headquarters.

MANILA, April 2S, $50 p. m.-The Fill
pino officers walked down the railroad track
to the Kansas regiments outpost at 3
o'clock this morning. The Kansas captain
in command there escorted them to General
Wheaton's headquarters. where they were
provided with horses and sent to the head
quarters of General Macarthur. The lat
ter invited the Filipinos to cit down at
lunch with him, and conversed with them
some time. He refused, however, to speak
authoritatively on the subject of their err
rand, referring all inquiries to General
Otis.
The Filipinos were then escorted by Gen
eral Maloney of General MacArthur's staff to
Manila, reaching this place at 3 O'Clock p.
m. General Otis aide, Lieutenant Sladen.
was awaiting their arrival at the denet with
a carriage, in which they were driven to
the palace entrance. The Filipino officers
attracted much attention. They were
dressed in uniforms Of checked blue and
white cloth and wore straw hats.
They carried no side arms. They were
escorted directly to the office of
General Otis. Jacob G. Schurman, president
of the Philippine commission, and Hon.
Charles DENLY, a member of the commits
sion, soon joined the party there. The news
of the arrival of the Filipino officers under
a flag Of truce spread through the city rap
idly and many officers gravitated to the
corridors of the palace, while a crowd of
natives gathered in the square opposite the
palace.
At 8 o'clock the two Filipino officers, es-
corted by Lieutenant Sladen and Major
Moloney, left the palace. They did not
look at all elated as a result Of their talk
with General Otis and the members Of the
Philippine commission.
1850 p. m.-Aguinaldo is evidently select
ing the army as a cloak for his congress.
hoping by subterfuge to overcome General
OTIS consistent policy of Ignoring the
Filipino government. The Filipino argu-
ment is that it is impossible to arrange an
armlstice without the sanction OF the con-
gress. General Otis punctured this as
sumption by remarking that If Aguinaldo
could make war without the congress he
could stop it without reference to that body.
one OF the conferees afterward remarked
That they are shrewder than white men in
diplomacy, as the Malays are credited with
being.
While the insurgents are undoubtedly
tired OF war, the leaders are torn with
dissensions. There is a suspicion that it
was hoped by means of a conference 10 as
certain what they could expect. If they
saw that anything is to be gained by con-
tlnuing the war, an armistice would afford
them an opportunity for recuperating their
demoralized forces.
1t Is an interesting commentary upon
Aguinaldo's scheme that only sixty OF the
300 members of the Filipino congress have
taken the oath of allegiance which their
constitution requires.
A Filipino proclamation replying to the
proclamation of the A marfpon ,or,p,y,,Io,
ers has appeared. 1t Is signed by Madini
for the president and is dated at Caniasdro.
April 10. 1t is in the usual grandiose style
and declares that President Mckinley is
sued the proclamation in order to force the
American congress to ratify the cession of
the Islands under the treaty OF Paris.
This contract OF cession was made with
the Spaniards after Spanish domination had
been ended by the yalor Of our troops"
the proclamation asserts. The PROCLAMATION
complains that the Filipinos were not rep
resented at Paris during the negotiation of
the treaty and that they are without as
surances of the fulfllment of American
II dilates upon the alleged
hatred of blacks and asserts
a desire to enslaye them. Deploring a lack
of foreign aid in prosecuting the war. the
proclamation concludes; I'VE stand alone.
but we will fight to the death. Coming
generations will pray over our graves,
shedding tears of gratitude for their free