Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1899-07-07
Two Philippine Views.
The Official One IS Hopeful, but the
Unofficial Is Extremely PessImIstic.

Unofficial Is Extremely PessImIstic.
The New York Herald Saturday print
ed the following cable despatch from its
war correspondence Manila, the despatch
having been forwarded by mail to Hong
Kong to escape the censorship:
Two opposite views of the Philippine
situation are held by those persons who
have followed the American campaign
with close attention. First is the official
military view. According to this the stu
alton is now well in hand and the cam
paign has been as successful as possible
The natives are tired of the instruction
and are more friendly toward the Ameri-
cans than toward the insurgents. The in
surgent army is made up almost entirely of
brigands, who can no longer be held to-
gether by their leaders. The war will soon
be over, it is declared, If the wet season
holds off. The force of troops now on
hand is sufficient for the emergency. Bust
ness is picking up. The disorganized in
surrection, deprived of its resources, is
held together at present entirely by the
hope given the rebels through the
anti-anneXation movement in the United
States and the American papers which
reach here. The insurgent leaders are
actuated solely by selfish personal ambi-
tions.
The second view, which is held by mill
tary men in the field and leading thinkers,
issthat, as the ability of our troops to drive
the insurgents at will has been proved, the
suppression of the insurrection depends
upon the ability of the men in authority
to cope with the situation, and not upon
muzzling the American press. The out
look at present is more gloomy for speedy
ending of the war than ever before. The
method of making raids into the country
and then Withdrawing, leaving the friend
ly natives at the mercy of the returning
insurgents, has tended to ALLEVIATE the pop
ulation and not materially to weaken the
insurgents. The organization of the in
surgents is still good, and thsr resources
are not greatly impaired. .,ssA.
The failure this season to take the rail-
roads running through the valley of the
rice country above San Fernando leaves to
the enemy immense resources and fails to
protect the interests of foreign merchants.
With the present methods the war with the
Filipinos can continue indefinitely. Thee
ly true method to pacify the country is to
garrison all the important towns. To do this
more than twice the number of troops al
ready here, including the volunteers, are
necessary, with several regiments of
mounted cavalry. Four thousand men be-
ing in the hospital, 1900 in the southern
islands and 10000 in Manila, Cavite and
small garrisons, this leaves only 5000 men
for active campaigning. This number is
not sufficient, since the troops in the north
are in bad condition, many of the soldiers
having irritated hearts, by reason of over
exertion. On account of the small num-
Der of troops available, new advances are
constantly required and frequent changes
of the exhausted regiments. There is
great waste of time and energy of the men
by long marches to the front.
The non-combatants are more friendly
toward the insurgents than toward the
Americans, on account, mainly, of the pet
ty tyranny of the soldiers. The isolated
insurgent outrages are only a repetition of
similar isolated acts of our own men. A
pioneer and engineer corps is much need
ed for the building of good roads. Moth
ing on this line has been done, but it is in
dispensable for the pacification of the
country. A government free from the
vexations of Spanish taxation should long
ago have been established. The business
it is held, will continue until
all the important ports of Luzon are occu-
pied by small garrsons Local bankers
believe that currency is leaving the ISL
ands. The estimated reduction is from
S2S, 100000 to S15, 100000.