Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1899-05-30
COURTS FOR F|L|P|NOS
Gen. Otis Begins Civil Recon.
struction in Our Islands in
the Orient.
LEGAL TRIBUNAL RE-EsTABLIsHED,
Majority OF the Judges, Including the
Chief, Being Native FiIipinos with Rec
ords for Legal Learning-New York spe-
cials in Trouble for Taking" an Inter
view-Killing of Captain Tilley-Savage
Mutilation OF Our Soldiers by the Rebels
Payday in Cuba Grows More Popular.

Payday in Cuba Grows More Popular.
Manila. May 3O.-The most important
action of a civil character taken by the
United States in these Islands up to this
time was the establishment of the
Philippine court, which occurred yes
terday, and makes no change in the sys-
TEN in vogue here during the Spanish
regime. The chief justice is Caytuna
ArralanO. The associates of the civil
branch are Manuel Araulla, Colonel
Crowder and Gresoria Aralita- The
justices of the criminal branch are
Raymundo Melliza, Ambrosio Rianzares
Julio Lorento, Major Young and Cap
tain Birkhimer. The attorney general is
Florenti Torres. This corresponds with
the American supreme court. The oath
prescribed begins: Il recognize and ac-
cept the supreme authority of the Unit
ed States of America" etc.
status of the Filipino Members.
The Filipino members are all promi-
nent lawyers. Arrellano is the leader
of his profession in the islands. In the
early stages of the Filipino movement
he was Aguinaldo's principal adviser.
Aralita was a member of Aguinaldo's
first cabinet. Meliza was president of
the insursent government at Iloilo.
Torres is the leader of the local COM
mittee working with the commission to
conciliate the insurrectionists. Spanish
will be the official language of the
courts. There has been agitation among
the local British and American business
men and American lawyers who came to
the Philippines to make fortunes to
have the English code and language
adopted. but Major General Otis con-
cluded that it would be unwise, even II
practicable, to upset long usage.
Cooked Up Talk with Lawton.
Two correspondents of a New York
newspaper have been disbarred for fab
ricating an interview with GeneralLaw-
ton dated Manila. May %, and for evad-
ing the censorship.
Killing OF Captain TiIIey.
The killing of Captain Tilley, of the
signal corps, was piece of foul treach-
cry by the Negros, who. it is alleged,
permitted the British and United States
officers ard men to go ashore-the ma
lives flying a white fag-and when they
got ashore firing upon them. The last
seen of Captain Tilley was when he was
in the water. swimming to the steam
launch in which he had come ashore.
Atrocities on the Dead.
New York, May 3O.-A letter received
in Peterson, n. J., from Alexander Gull
ross. now i'm the Fourth infantry. in the
Philippines, tells OF tortures inflicted
upon captured Americans by the Fill
pinos. Two of our men," says Culross,
''strayed from the camp yesterday and
did not return. Today we found them in
the woods. Their foreheads were sashed
in the form of cross, the skulls being
split. The tongues and hearts of the
men had been cut out and their legs
hacked to pieces. The boys of the
Fourth infantry have resolved to give
no quarter hereafter. for they have
reached the conclusion that every one
else will soon reach-that the only good
Filipino is a dead Filipino. They can
not fight in the open, but steal on US at
night and pick off our men. They seem
to be better shots at night than in the
daylight