The record-union., 1899-12-09
THE CAMPAIGN IN LUzoN.

new life, and that the war of suppress
sion is not near it's end as yet. Any
jubilation over the news of the possible
escape of Aguinaldo from the tolls that
were thrown about him in the
north, will the more emphasize the dis
loyalty Of the copperheads. The man
who can rejoice over the defeat of
American arms is not a. true American
and ought to be expelled from among
Americans
But as a matter Of fact we have not
suffered reverse, but have made splen-
did advances and won every fight.
Whether the person of Aguinaldo re-
mains in the north or the south makes
very little difference. The north coun-
try had to be secured. Regardless of
insurrectos in Cavite the valleys of the
Rio Grande had to be cleared as it has
been, and the entire line of the railroad
from Manila to Lingayen Bay had to
be brought under our control. This has
been accomplished More than that, as
will be seen by this mornings advices,
we have cornered Aguinaldo's guard in
the north, have taken the stronghold
and center of dense population, Ban
gued, by the sharp work of Colonel
Hare. We hold vigan and all the ap-
proaches to Lingayen Bay. Batcheller
has made a dash for APART, the ex-
treme northern port, to close that ave-
nue. of retreat. Young has defeated
General Limo with a superior force, and
the insurgents on all sides in the north
are beaten back and Fastening to
mountain Businesses. In short the
AguinaIdoites' outlook in North Luzon
is exceedingly gloomy and ours is
correspondingly bright. Our officers re-
port that everywhere in the north the
people receive them with sincere and
joyous greetings. They are glad to be
freed from the burden of Aguinaldo's
exactions, and the quartering Of troops
upon them.
1t was very necessary that the peo-
pie of the north into which section we
have penetrated for 200 miles, and
where there are districts as populous
as in the south, should see for them
selves that Americans are not tyrants,
that we do not murder prisoners. that
our soldiers do not feed upon babies,
and that we are not the fends the
Aguinaldoites have represented US to be.
eminent has dwelt upon this point, and
in SO many words has said that even
though the rebels closed in behind our
advancing columns, and reoccupied
towns as we left them, the effect of
the comparison made in presence of the
people, has been and will continue to
be extremely beneficial to our cause,
and is worth the cost it entails.
The simple fact is that the news that
the instruction has not collapsed with
the advance of General Young to the
north and with the sweep of Lawton
up and down the Rio Grande Valley
was to have been expected. The Taga-
los have for several years, with brief
are doing now, and which consists
mainly In firing from shelter and then
fleeing; conducting a campaign of MUIR
der: executing those who refuse to join
with them; piliaging and footing at
will.
It was not to be expected that they
would quit because we have driven
them here and there like sheep. These
Tagalos are really an undisciplined lot
and wholly unused to warfare sucn as
we prosecute. They nave certain kind
of courage, not that Of the higher or
der for they are dominated by the in
fuence of ambitious leaders. They are
likewise actuated by the opportunity
given them to handle guns and pose as
patriots, though they have very slight
idea of what liberty is. and what con-
stitutes true patriotism
Their reduction, however, to our au-
thority is assured, though the time re-
ouired cannot now be definitely meas
ured. No one who has been intelligent
upon the subject has expected that
these resisting natives would be paci-
fled in a. few weeks or months, or that
the resistance Of the Filipinos in arms
would cease all at once. UnquesSion-
ably we would be much more advanced
in our work at this time, but for the
material assistance the enemy has re-
ceived from the American Tagalos, the
copperheads among us, who give aid
and comfort to the foe and counsel
them to hold out in hope that the sem
timent Of the American people will be
reversed and our authority in the
archipelago withdrawn.
The vigor of the campaign now be-
ing prosecuted is much more marked
than it could possibly have been when
we had the volunteers in the islands.
While they are brave, heroic and I'M
uuestionably splendid fighters and noble
defenders of the flag, they cannot be
used as effectively against the guer-
rilla system of the Tagalos, as can the
men of the regular army and the tenn
porary supplement to the regular force.
The army we now have in the field
. not one in which INSTRUMENTATION will