Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-10-24
AGUINALDO is A FRAUD
An Emphatic St ement From a Returned
Philippine Volunteer.
Says Ninety-Five Per Cent of All the
Soldiers in the Islands Are
ENpansiOnists.
Corresponding Of the St. louis Globe Democrat

| X, LIST Colorado Volunteers. He came back
| with his regiment, and was mustered out
| of the service a few weeks ago. The home
| of Mr.. Brady is with his parents in Leaven-
| worth county. Before enlisting volun-
! teer soldier Mr.. Brady was democrat, but
| since his service a soldier and return
| from the Philippines he has become a re-
| publican. The attitude of the democratic
party toward the soldiers and their opposi-
| ton to expansion caused Mr.. Brady to
| change his party utilization. Mr.. Brady is
| a young attorney and graduate of the class
| OF '96 of the Kansas State University. The
Glope-DemOCrat correspondent asked Mr..
| Brady what was the general sentiment
| among the volunteer soldiers regarding ex-
pansion. when he replied follows:
| of the 16,N0 volunteers, nearly all sol
| dters, or more than % per cent, are in IA
| vor of holding the islands. 1 never heard
| soldier speak against it. There are two
| reasons for this. The primary reason and
| the greatest is that after we went over
| there and drove the Spaniards out we tried
to convince those natives that We're not
there to make war on them. but we were
to plant a stable form of government to
give them justice and liberty, patterned
after our own government. We gave them
the block houses and Notifications around
the city of Manila. and permitted their
troops to occupy those the very next day
after the city of Manila surrendered to our
forces We offered them everything except
" N4tilui d" Until SUCH time as peace would
be established between the United States
ana Spain. Nothing short of withdrawing
the army of occupation would satisfy
Aguinaldo from the start.
Treacherous FfIipinos.
THE Filipinos proved treacherous from
the start. They fired on our company the
morning after the surrender, wounding
three soldiers. We did not fire shot at
them. For six months we put up with i'm
pudence and they treated our kindness as
sign of cowardiCe, and often dared US
to fight. We had to have a pass to get
through their lines, while they passed
through ours at all times, when not armed.
If any of our men went out with passes
and the Filipinos found they were tele-
graph operators or civil engineers they
were detained and forced to work 1t was
thought at first that these men deserted,
but the truth was found out when HOSTILE
ties commenced and the Americans had
chance to rejofn their companies.
The FfliDinOs never did fire a gun to
help our cause. nor did they give us any
aid in effecting the capture of the city of
Manila. My regiment served from the
opening of hostiities in February until the
9Th of July. We We're on the firing line 10
days continuously, and my company
In forty-three engagements and Skin
mishes.
We learned through cablegrams tha-
Governor Thomas. a ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS,
had asked that we be returned home I'M
nediately. and that he insisted the War
Department recalling us. The boys Of the
regiment were indignant, and they immc-
diately drafted resolutions protesting
against Governor Thomas action, and stat
ing that we We're ready and willing to
serve our country until relieved in the reg
ular way, and until the rebellion was end
ed. The LIST Colorado had the position of
honor on the left of the line in taking
Manila and it raised the first flag within
the city, and the boys felt that it was their
duty to protect the flag and see that no
country or people assaulted it. Our time
expired April II. but We remained three
months overtime cheerfully and left the
island July Is. The boys remembered
Governor Thomas action in demanding
that they be brought home, and when he
met US at San Francisco we did not cheer
him.
AguinaIdo's DeceftfuIness.
THE American soldiers look on Aguinal-
do as a fraud. The natives have super
stitious awe of Aguinaldo; they naturally
take to anything gaudy. He tries to make
them believe that he possesses supernatural
powers. He tells his followers that bullets
cannot kill him. There is a story that at
one time he had a battalion load guns with
blank cartridges and fire at him in the
presence of a large gathering of natives.
OF course, he was not hurt and he is now
able to make them believe that he can
catch cannon balls from one of Admiral
Dewey's warships. In my Judgment the
capture of AgIinalde and a few of the
leaders would end the trouble right there.
The Philippine Islands will be valuable to
the United States in many ways. There
are few swamps IN the Island of LuZon; |
only saw one while there. The valleys and
low lands are diked for the purpose of rails
ing rice and to hold water. To draw off
the bikes would help the country and make
much fertile land. The Islands rich
with hemp, tobacco and coCoanuts that
tif-4lI viii
abound in the mountains. There are gold,
silver copper and zinc. The islands would
prove great for stock raising. Grass grows
the year around. and there is plenty of wa
ter An experiment is now being made in
cattle raising Before we left a man
bl ought 800 head of cattle from Australia
and is pasturing them with every success.
There is valuable timber on the Islands.
In the mountains there is logwOOd, ebony,
mahogany and teaka wood, all easy of
access. because it can be RATED down the
rivers. The mountains are fine for pas
ture. The grass was higher than our heads
and there was plenty of water near the
highest point.
''The temperature Is hot, and 1t will aver
age 50 degrees the year around, but at
night it is so cool that blanket is com
fort. The average mans health is better
in Manila than it would be in Louisiana or
Mississippi All the cities need IS clean
ing up Many Americans will make the
Philippines their home If the islands re-
tain d. There were about seventy-five
members OF my regiment VINO renamed
there to enter into business, and other regi-
ments left as high as 100.
Better Class Like Americans.
THE better class of Filipinos want the
Americans TO stay with them. They prom
Use the Americans support, and are only
afraid that Aguinaldo will win out, and
then confscate their property. The demo-
Gratis, by lending their moral support to
AguinaldO help to keep up the rebellion.
It is the opinion among the Tagals that the
democrats will win, and then the American
soldiers will be withdrawn Aguinaldo
quotes Atkinson, Billy Mason and Bryan
to show that the democratic party is with
them. Aguinaldo's paper, the Indepentia,
published at Malolos. quotes expressions in
their favor, and states that Bryan will be
the next President. 1t says that he will be
elected this fall
IF the Americans withdrew their army
fighting would follow at once among the
natives There would be disorder, carnage
and murder all over that island. The Maca-
bebes and Viscayans would fight the Ia
gals. These are the two strongest tribes
outside of the Tagals. While we were
there Macabebes came in by swarms and
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