The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1899-03-03
~5 WASHINGTON LETTER, -
Washington, D. G. !
February %. 1890 {

quet or the Virginia democratic as
soclatlon last week, he said the
word which needs most to be said.
to check the mad rush toward i'm
perlallsm upon which the admins
trallon is helpIessly setting. The
country need some one to sound the
same warning %concernig the Philip
pines which Burke uttered in the
British parliament in behalf of the
struggling colonies of America.
They could not be conquered If
so it would be at such loss, as Frank
lin graphically pointed out, thai,
they would be of no value to the
British crown as they would lie desc
late and waste, their population
dead, dispersed OF paralyzed.
SO with the Philippines. They
can be conquered. They probably
will be-for the administration is
riding to destruction on a Landslide
OF its own inauguration-butat such
a cost of life and treasure. on tn,
part Of the United States and such
a destruction of life and pronerty in
the Philippines, that even the mer-
CHESS vigor of a Spanish COVER
nor-general could not extract from
their tropical jungles one-tenth the
revenues necessary to offset the
financial expenditure.
Already Aguinaldo and his circle
OF Malay chiefs have issued orders to
apply the torch. Manila lies one
fourth in ruins and the new war
fare has hardly begun.
Three years of Gomez policy Of
destruction in Cuba has afforded to
the Philippines the greatest posi-.
BILE object lesson as to the value of d
guerilla warfare Of destruction
against the set lines OF a regular
military campaign.
Gomez at no time had over $500
men IN his immediate command.
Actually within reach of his voice at
no time we're there over 800. The
rest were scattered in groups and
zones over a radius of 30 to 80 miles.
AS he put it, five men with flint and
steel would do more damage to
Spain than a brigade armed with
mausers. At no time did the in
surgents in Cuba have over Is, 900
men under arms. against $50, 600
Spanish troops. They operated
over some 5000 square miles OF
territory.
In the Philippines 5000, 900 ma
tives living in islands of more tnan
three times the area of Cuba, are
against American occupation. A
few towns like those on the islund OF
Negroes, may prefer American dom
nation, but the half civilized tribes
the fighting Malays-do not. They
want to be let alone. They will
burn, destroy and bushwhack for
years if they are not let alone.
They will divide into squads ano
harass the American lines from the
canebrakes and jungles; they will
rely on the pesliIence and fever oil
the rainy season to decimate the
American troops.
Can they 0be conquered? Yes,
eventually, by determination, but
at what cost of life and money?
Not II American boy in ten who
stays in the Philippines through d
rainy season under the hard line.> of
camp duty, behind earthworks, tren-
ches or in: open camp will come'oul
If alive-with as good health as
he took in. He will be an invalid
suffering from recurring malariaI
fever the rest of his life.
1t will take not less than so, 0OO
troops and 10 gun boats to hold an
area ten miles outside Of each con-
siderable coast town. The interior
towns will have to be practically
abandoned. 1t costs upward of $l5OU
per nan to MAINTAIN the standing
army ia the Ur,ited States. To
maintain them in the Philippines
will cost not less than 50, 1000 a yea,
for each soldier and sailor. This
does not cover the fact that as in
the case Of the civil war; the pension
bill to be footed will be in the enc
more than twice as heavy as the
actual cost of the war itself. Al
immediate expenditure of $3.50, 600,
600 a year is a forecast, for the