The record-union., 1899-04-07

long consisted OF a3U,puO men, one tulIu
of whom were armed. Most Of these
We're, of course, the Tagalos, who are
the mainstay of the rebellion. IT, as is
claimed, there are 100000 of these yet
to meet, under climatic and territorial
disadvanta ges, the problem which con-
fronted Kitchener atEK Khartoum was a
simple one compared with that which
Lawton has to face on his arrival
Of course, there are tribes, such as the
Ilocanos. whose hatred for the Tago-
los might render them useful allies;
but the question arises as to whether
it would be safe to trust them with
the arms necessary for the purpose.
The lesson taught by Aguinaldo is one
that is not likely to be forgotten In
hurry, and there is grave danger in such
experiments at this stage of the pro-
ceedings. There is an off chance that
in the event of serious setback Agul-
naldo's forces may show the Wnlte
feather in such numbers as to render
further resistance useless; but 1t must
be conceded that the rebels have not
shown any such disposition so far. They
bolted at the first sign of an advance
it is true, but partly because they We're
ignorant of the strength of their own
position, and partly because their first
instinct is to fly from covert to covert
when attacked. 81
In this connection it must be borne in
mind that their only education in the
art of warfare was received in the
| Spanish school, and the Spaniards, like
| themselves, always fought from covert
when possible, The few brushes which
our troops have had with the enemy to.
u o111Ci
latter will not stand flank attack, but
they are quick to learn, and once they
realize that boiling across the open IS
suicidal, under the circumstances, they
will probably adopt the wiser course OF
fighting it out.
| Another of the uncertainties is the
number of arms which the rebels pos
sess. That they are being supplied at
FREQUENT intervals from some unknown
source scarcely admits of a doubt; but
lin what quantities cannot even be con-
iectured. Until few days ago there
was every Indication that the rebels
along our whole front were using home
made ammunition, but now smokeless
powder is again being used, and judg-
ling from the enormous quantity of am
munition expended every twenty-four
hours. their supply must be unlimited.
At every village captured, so far, thou
sands of rounds of Mauser cartridges
have been seized, but still there is no
appreciate difference in the amount
expended from day to day.
| 1t must also be remembered that hith-
! erto the army has been acting in con-
| junction with the navy, and that
Dewey's ships have very materially as
sisted in routing the enemy along the
shores of Manila Bay. While there is
disposition on the part of many SOL
diers to belittle the work done by the
other branch Of the service, there can
be no question as to the effect OF the
Monadnock's and CharleSton'S shells
upon the rebel trenches both at Malate
and Caloocan. This factor can no
longer be counted upon once the army
advances from the coast, and the rebels
are fully alive to that fact.
! Unless all signs fail, then, the enemy
may be expected to make a better show
| ing from this time on, in which event
those who imagine that the campaign
will be a walkover for the invaders will
probably find that they underestimated
the native valor.
If their foolhardy and fanatical lead
ers would only see that there can be but
one outcome to struggle with such a
nations as the United States all would
be well, but, unfortunately for the Tag
alos they deliberately shut their eyes
to the truth and those who know them
say that nothing short of extermina-
! tion will insure peace in the Philippines.
In some respects, perhaps this would
be good thing for the other millions
who inhabit the archipelago, inhuman
! though the very suggestion may seem.
That they are the sole instigators of the
rebellion there can be no doubt, and
their methods show that the instinct of
| the savage still predominates. For IN
| stance. despite their boasted intelli-
gence and humanitarianism, the Taga-
los have frequently been seen to drive
their scared allies into half constructed
! earthworks at the points of their bayo-
nets, knowing full well that they would
be shelled out again by the America n
artillery Immediately.
Again, one of their favorite means Of
decoying their foes into the open is
that of showing white flag. Worse
still, they have been guilty repeatedly
of the barbarism of shooting volleys at
hospital ambuances, both in the open
and while returning from the front.
| Mutilation of the enemy's dead is an
other evidence of their boasted civiliza-
ton. If our troops retire for strategic
purposes, a glorious victory is heraldad
all over the country, and according to
the stories related by the natives, more
Americans are being killed every day
than have yet been landed on the
islands. In the matter of exaggerating
the enemy's loss, however, they are not
alone, for our own troops are very
prone to fall into the same error; in
fact, to hear the men relating the ex-
eeution they have done during the day,
at supper time, one might be led to be-
lieve the country was strewn with dead
F'ilipinos. Yet, with the exception of
the two big fights, the largest number
of killed in one day has been 113, most
of whom We're mewn down by the CAT
lings on the river gunboat Laguna de
Bay, near San Pedro Maceti. AS a mat
ter Of fact, in nine cases out of ten,
when brushes occur our own men have
no opportunity to hunt for the enemy's
dead, and the loss is purely a matter of
conjecture
No Interruption Permitted.
! The newly elected Justice of the
Peace faced the happy pair. In all his
/ legal pxnerianca ha had ,aupr faok1pI