The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1899-04-22
THE WHITE MANS Burden
INFLUENCING THE SOLDIERS IN
MANILA.
The War in the Philippines. from the
Firing Line.
lSnecinl Correspondence of DC Star.

Especial Correspondence of the Starr
MANILA, March 26.-Things are
quiet now to what they have been,
but it only quiet in comparison. There
is hardly an hour passes that some
shooting is not heard, and now and
then Remington or Mauser bullet
will viciously hit the ground or some
object near you, reminding you that
there is still some fight left in the in
surgents. But the firing on this end
of the line is of desultory character.
and mostly done under the cover of
darkness, for the Filipino has learned
his lesson well and rarely sticks his
head above the intrenchments, know
| ing well that if he does he is liable to
have his light put out.
| As the builder of defensive works
the Filipino is past master. All the
| barricades and entertainments show
plenty of military engineering skill.
| This is especially noticeable imme-
diately in our front, and if the Fill
pinos were not such miserable marks
men, and if they had the stamina and
pluck to stand charge, our advance
would be very desperate one and
would be attended with great loss of
! life.
1t is simply amazing the amount of
confidence the American soldier has
i'm HIMSELF never for moment does
he doubt his ability to sweep every
thing before him. OF course this
confidence. which amounts almost to
conceit, is the birthright of every
| American: but in the present case it
has been strengthened by the unfail-
ing success that has fallen to our lot.
| cannot recall one case where the
enemy has made resistance worthy
of mention, no matter how great the
odds in his favor. In many cases our
men have routed them when they out
numbered us fifty to one.
The arrival of the regulars. the 4th,
18th, goth, and 22nd, has not been the
tower of strength generally supposed.
Eventually they will all become good
troops and an honor to the flag they
follow. But just now, being nearly all
recruits, they are poorly drilled, and,
not being accilmated, many are sick.
Say what you will. the volunteers are
the backbone of the army, and the
powers that be are not slow in recog-
nizing it,
| believe that no less than $4,000
troops will be needed to thoroughly
crush this insurrection. | do not be.
lieve it can be fought on purely theo-
retical, scientific principles. but more
dash and vim will have to be put into
it. The insurgents will have to be
pursued relentlessly until they are
willing to quit. | think | can sub
stantiate my views by quoting the
commanding officers, who say il
effect that with 10000 men they can
not extend their lines any further
The same is true of Iloilo, which i,
practically in a state of siege.
We are now at standstill. More
important still is the valuable time we
are losing. The weather has beer
fine, just suited to campaigning. Soor
= we must expect the rainy season anC
with it the strength we will lose
through the sick list, and | am in
clined to think the insurgents are bet
ter mud horses" than we.
, The Islands contain something like
; 10000 square miles of territory. W.
now occupy about 100 miles. Every
= foot of the difference will have to bt
fought for. | am amused at some o
the things | see i'm the American pa
pers about the "FilipinOs realize tina
, their cause is hopeless, etc. | can
see that they give any evidence tina
they think they are whipped. Thu
= knowledge that we occupy the mill
tary crest of hill, or that our ord
nance is of greater superiority and i
planted on a scientifically command
ing point, does not awe them in tn
least. When we advance they retrea
= and lead us a merry chase. When w
stop, they do, too, and again begil
vii
patience and cheerfulness that i
both admirable and aggravating.
. Kipling's THE White Mans Bun
den has made. a great impression
among the troops. | myself, in spit
e of all my previous ideas, am becom
ing slowly but surely won over to tn
Imperialistic idea. And the sam
n process is going on throughout tn
y regiments.
GEORGE w. WINTERBURN,
Quartermaster's Sergeant goth Kansa