Omaha daily bee., 1899-11-05

expression Of opinion as to the capabilities
OF the Filipnos 10 organize and maintain a
stable government. the above sketches OF the
leaders Of the insurrecton are well calculated
TO afford an intelligent answer to all in
qulries on that subject. He sought to ex
plain the intricacies OF the organization
known as the Katpunan by drawing a FIVE
pointed star. In the center OF 1t he made a
dot to represent the supreme head OF the
organization, who is supposed to be in Lon
don. Upon each of the Ave points he To-
Gated another dgnitary of the order only
three OF whom know who is represented by
the central dot, and only two of whom know
each other From the point at the bottom
he drew a number of radiating lines, lead
| ing to other dots which represented the pre-
siding officers Of popular or revolutionary
clubs The heads of these clubs knew only
the dignitary represented as being located
at the lower point of the star, and believed
him to be the head of the organization He
in turn knew only the man on the opposite
point whom he in turn believed to be the
supreme power, and so on up to the man rep
| resented by the central dot. The decrees
emanated from the man in the center of the
star This Is the organization for which
! Father Reaney thinks Aguinaldo the figure
head
| Americans Respected the Churches.
The chaplain paid a glowing tribute to
| the soldiers who had performed without
fiinching their arduous and dangerous duties
| away off there in the wide Pacific ocean,
many of whom gave UP their lives in the
cause Of thr country. Referring to the
charge that American soldiers had desc
| Grated the Catholic churches in the islands
he declared that whoever said that the
American volunteers looted churches and
warred against the Catholic church was
guilty OF base calumny. He had seen the
American soldiers quartered in churches but
there was no destruction, no desecration. 1t
was the Filipinos who desecrated the
churches. Who" he asked "desecrated
the church at Maloos on Good Friday, 1885,
by holding meat banquet there? Who in
1897 massacred a good Augustinan frlar?
Inc tllipnos. They took possession of the
| churches. They needed them in their busi-
ness. Once Captain Hedges of the Twenty
seventh infantry drove horde of them out
of church. locked the doors and forbade
| them to re-enter"
| Rather Reaney said that the occupation of
| churches by American soldiers was a mill
| tary necessity. In reference to the charge
that American soldiers had stolen vestments
ne said he knew men who had kept vest
| AA~''D W save luSu lTOm OBSTRUCTION, haV-
! ing bought them from Filpinos and China
men, whose god is money. He declared that
the friars, against whom the Filipinos COM
plain, are absolutely needed in the Philip
pines The Filipinos would be glad to drive
them out They have 300 or 400 priests as
prisoners and compel them to move with the
army, making long marches to keep them
| from being rescued by Americans He had
| tried IN every way to get priests free and
| through the influence of Admiral Dewey had
succeeded in three instances.
| Administrators Course Commended.
referring to the course Of the administra-
ton Father Reaney said: Eve are de-
termined to do what is right. That
starry flag of ours stands for right.
All that possibly could be done was carried
out by those in charge in the Philippines.
The dignity of the flag has been respected
and what it means or signifies in our coun
try has been emphasized in our new pos
sessions. General Otis has done everything
possible, Admiral Dewey's course is known
to all men, The Filipinos were never recog
nized as allies, as we understand the word
| They sought by every possible means to
secure recognition from U.S. Failing in that
they tried to get recognition from Spain.
They promised everything to General Rios
| II ne would permit them to haul down the
| spanish nag over lloilo and hoist their flag
instead ana give them due recognition. They
sought for recognition from the first gov
ernor general of the islands, Majo. General
Wesley Merritt, but without success They
| claimed by proclamation the right as an al
lied army to enter the city of Manila on
the 18th OF August, 1898. which some what
handicapped our peaceful occupation of that
IA low TO =,
constantly harped on what they are pleased
to call breach OF faith on the part of the
United States. There has never been any
trucking to Aguinaldo by our people. He
has never been regarded seriously except as
mountebank who has been clever enough
to use the instrument at his hands for the
furtherance Of his own ambitions. No ma
tion on earth would recognize the Filipinos.
They came to us as rebellious Spanish sub
tects, their only status being that of ban
dts and outlaws