The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-12-07
WAR IN THE PHILIPPINES
49,
The Entire Babitable Portion
Must Be Occupied.
AN INTERVIEW WITH WELLS
The Instruction Will Be Kept Up
Until After the Next Presidential
Election - Endless Guer-
rilla Warfare.

Peace will never be established in
the Philippines until the military au-
thorities adopt the policy of occupying
the entire habitable portion Of the
country and maintaining local govern
ments, with native officials supported
by the military power" said Capt. Har-
ry L. Wells the well known Manila
war correspondent and soldier, who ar
rived in Butte yesterday and speaks
on the subject of the war in the Phil
ippines at the Grand tonight. Captain
Wells possesses two qualities rarely
seen together, those of dashing SOL
der and a brilliant correspondent.
This is what made his famous war let
tiers to the New York Evening Post so
extensively copied by other papers. In
person he is small of stature and modest
of demeanor, but he has an enviable
war record as captain of a company
in the celebrated I'd Oregon volunteers
and a reputation as a writer equaled
by lew who have undertaken to fol-
low the movements of armies in the
field.
'.Our army several times achieved
the brilliant feat of the French army in
r. ldIueTS IttSl SpIIiS, anu GdGH lllilt llle
insurrectlon was strengthened by it.
We have left the seaports open to the
insurrsctos, and have permitted them
to keep the greater portion of the pop
ulated districts and to gather revenue
for the Instruction from it. Every
time we have taken or invaded a dis
trct and then retired again, we have
more firmly convinced the Filipinos
that we are not strong enough to hold
the country, and that they have but
to hold out a little longer and we will
give the whole thing up as bad jon.
They are going to keep it up until af-
ter the next presidential election, in
the hope that party opposed to the
war will come into power, and nothing
but the most energetic and compre-
hensive policy and plan of campaign
can bring them to terms sooner. You
can scarcely conceive the difficult ma
lure of the task of stopping this bush
whacking warfare in a climate where
one can live out of doors constantly
and against an enemy who will only
fight at long range and can live on
handful of rice daily. Complete occu-
patton of the country is the only solu-
ton of the problem. In civilized war
fare if you defeat an army and capture
its wagon train you have practically
ended the war. Not so here, where
they have no supply train, will not
stand long enough to stand a crushing
ueleaC, anu scatter like lies DSIOie
wave of the hand, to come together
again when the hand has passed. So
long as they are left a district in which
to assemble we may expect little BUSH
whacking bands to keep up their mos
quito style Of warfare. Our army must
scatter out more, cover the entire
country and trusht to the fighting quail
tiles Of our 'troopslt Ito hold their ground
against any possible effort to dislodge
them. They can do it. The whole Fill
ipino army could not drive one Amer
lean regiment from any position it
might choose to occupy. In my lecture.
with the aid of pictures, ! bring out
this point much more clearly and give
clear understanding of the character
of the fighting that is being done over
there"