Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1899-04-22
SNOW HILL. APRIL -, 1899


and the rice fields and low
lying lands will be covered
with water. Ii is possible,
therefore, that the return to
Manila of General LawtOn's
expedition to the Santa Cruz
district may terminate for a
season the active operations in
the field against the Filipino
insurgents. Our troops hold
the city of Manila, the railroad
to Dagupan Bay, the fortifica-
tions at Cavite and a few ada
cent outlying towns. Elsewhere
the Island of Luzon seems to be
under the control of irregular
bodies of guerrilas. who recog-
nize the authority of the Hong
kong Junta, live off the county
and take pot shots at American
troops whenever occasion offers
To reduce this territory to
American possession a force of
100, 900 men would be required
according TO General Lawton,
since it would be necessary To
leave i'm each town subdued "A
garrison strong enough to main
tain order and repel marauding
parties of guerrillas. This diff
cult task could not be under
taken during the rainy season,
no matter what the number of
troops, owing to adverse eli
matte conditions and the impos-
sibility of maintaining lines of
communication: but next fall
the country might easily be
overrun by an army of the
strength suggested by General
Lawton. Organized resistance
by large bodies of Filipino
troops will scarcely be attemp-
ted hereafter. The rebels will
probably fight our men just as
the forces OF Garcia, Mateo and
Gomez fought the Spaniards in
Cuba-with the difference that
Filipino chiefs will have a pop
ulation five or six times as large
from which TO draw recruits for
their motley crews of pillaging
bushwhackers.
This is scarcely a satisfactory
outlook; nor is il in accordance
with the glowing programme
of Philippine regeneration and
Improvement put forth recently
by the commission appointed
by President Mckinley to ar
range for the permanent paci-
fication of our new territorial
possessions. We have bought
our $50. 000. 900 pig in "A poke,
and instead of a well behaved,
staff-fed animal, it has turned
out To be as i'll conditioned "a
beast as any ugly. razor-backed
shoat TO be found i'm the lower
Blue Ridge region. We have
not conquered the Filipinos.
but have merely taken pos
session of a few of their chief
seaport towns. Their leaders
refuse To treat with American
military commanders or civil
Commissioners except on terms
inadmissible from a Federal
point of view. and thus a prac-
tical deadlock has been estab-
lished.
General Otis. with his pres
ent force of about 10000 troops
fit for duty. can do little more
than maintain his position AT
Manila. IL American authority
is To be enforced throughout
the archipelago "A threefold in
crease of our army will be
necessary, according to the
judgment of military experts
familiar with the situation
Even if the Administration
should determine. with or with
out public approval. to continue
warlike operations i'm the Phil
ippines, il would be extremely
difficult to make any consider
able additions To the force now
at the disposal Of General Otis.
President Mckinley has already
caused il To be announced that
no volunteers will be recruited
under the authorization granted
i'm the Army law of March =
last, and the regular army
strength would be insufficient
i'm its entirety for the require
ments of an aggressive Philip
pine campaign. There are now
about 10 800 volunteer troops
serving under General otis,
and if a considerable proportion
Of these men, now entitled to
discharge, should insist upon
returning to the United States
any further accessions to the
regular army would be ncces-
sarily utilized to fill the void
thus created.