The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-02-11
AGurNALDo a MAN OF THE HOUR.
Though But TVventy-Nine Years old,
His Friends Say He Ranks as Truly
From the BalLimore Sun.

From the Baltimore sun.
Emilio Aguinaldo, though only % years
old, is one of the leading figures in the
eyes of the world. His friends say he is
one of the great men of the age; his enc
mics, that he is at least wonderful man.
He comes of a good family in the prov
ince of Cavite, near Manila where he
was educated and where he entered the
bar. He Joined the Insurgents soon after
the outbreak of the rebellion in the latter
part of 1896, but it was not until after
the hanging of Dr. Rial, the Filipino pa
triot that he became one of the leaders
of the revolt.
The blockade maintained by the Span
ish squadron in Philippine waters against
The importation of arms fer The insurgents
gradually drove the Filpinos to the wall,
and in December, 1897 the celebrated pa
cifcaton" of the islands was negotiated,
the go-between being Senior Pedro Pater-
no, director of the Manila Museum, a Fiji
Pine who had remained a least passively
loyal to the Spaniards. The Filipino junta
at that time was composed of Emilio Ag-
u.naldo who exercised such executive
powers as were possible 10 so feeble an
organizations Senior Artaeho, home secre-
tary; Senior Montenegro, foreign secretary;
Vito Bilarmno, war secretary, and Bal
dOmero Aguinaldo cousin of Emilio, sec
rotary of the treasury.
The so-called "pacifcation" consisted in
a purchase of the msurgent leaders for
100000 in Mexican silver equal TO about
100000 in gold. Aguinaldo and his asso-
ciates agreed to surrender all the arms
in the possession of the natives and to quit
the archipelago, remaining away at the
pleasure of the Spanish government, and
to use their utmost influence to disband
and disarm all the insurgent forces.
Aguinaldo was TO go to Hong Kong to
receive the first installment of the Span
ish money amounting TO 100000. and he
was then to cable TO Artacho who had
surrendered to the Spanish captain gem
era as a hostage. On receiving Aguinal-
dos cable message that the money had
been paid, Artacho was TO dissolve the
insurgent organization, disband the troops
and give up their arms. This part of the
programme was carried out in December,
1897 and the early part of January, 1898.
The cash payment was divided among
the junta and Aguinaldo started for Paris
He had gone no farther than Singapore.
when the destruction of the Maine i'm
Havana harbor brought on an acute ten
SION of the relations between the, United
States and Spain, and he remained in Sing
apore to see whether the Filipinos might
not profit by Spain's difficulties.
1t was then that occurred the negotia-
tons with Consul Pratt, which, Aguinaldo
now says IN part justify his assertion
that the United States made an alliance
with him by which he was to assist ian
eXpelling the Spaniards from the Philip
pines, and in return the United States was
to recognize the undergraduates of the FIJI
plno republic.
He was taken to Manila from Hong
Kong on one of Dewey's auxiliary vessels
and soon armed and equipped large
force. This force, as is well known, CO
operated at first with the Americans. but
gradually grew diStruStful and hostile,