New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1899-09-13
WASHINGTON LETTER.
WASHINGTON, d. C..

4 that the people were not approving of
his policy IN the Philippines. With his
usual futility he concluded that if he
would make a speech in which there
would be lot of Greek fire and cons1d-
erable waving of the Stars and stripes,
all would be we'll and the people would
be at once converted to his peculiar
views of the situation.
Hehad lodged the Western regiments,
upon whom had been thrust the brunt
of the fighting in the Philippines and
who had returned decimated, sick, sore
and filled with wild resentment at their
outrageous treatment.
The Pennsylvania regiment was con-
sidered s'safe." They had had COM
/ paratively easy time IN the Philippines
and had reached home after so days of
arduous travel, filed with gratitude at
! being alive. Their wives and mothers
and sweethearts were hanging round
their necks, Mckinley was like an East
ern potentate Oh tiger hunt. He was
safely perched on the back Of the G. O.
P. elephant and the tiger had been tenn
porarily fed to surfeit. So Mckinley
fred his typewriter speech at the vol
unteers while they were helpless. De-
spite his resounding sentences the troops
failed to respond with applause. There
was AN omlnous silence. It is sufficient
to briefly poiut out the principle of Nc
Kinley's misstatements.
He tried to Aatter the regiment by
telling them that they haa willingly
fought for months after they were en-
titled to discharge. 1t is Of record that
they did not. Without depreciating
their bravery, no regiment kicked more
sturdily to be brought home anc mus
tered out according to the terms of their
enlistment, no regiment in the West was
stronger in its denunciation of Gen.
Ot1=' mismanagement and the general
worthlessness of the Philippines. No
regiment exerted so great political
pressure at Washington to bring about
their speedy return.
Mckinley deliberately falsifed the
record when he Gained that until the
Peace Treaty was ratified, the United
States had no authority beyond Manila
city, bay and harbor and that Spain was
still in possession of the remainder of
the archipelago. The record shows that
on Dec. 21, seven weeks before the treaty
was ratified, Mckinley issued procla-
nation claiming sovereignty over all the
Philippines. The fact is that the Fill
pinos were our allies fighting the Span
ish. The Spaniards in the Philippines,
. after a three years revolution, were in as
desperate fix as was Cornwallis ar
Yorktown when the French Admiral De
Grasse appeared in the offing with his
fleet. Had George I'll then and there
concluded a treaty of peace with France,
ceding the American colonies to that
government, the parallel with McKin-
ley's course would have been complete.
?. Had the United States not intereered
in the Philippines, the flag of the Inde-
pendent Philippine Republic would have
long since been floating over Manila.
The best thing about McKinley's speech
is that he accepted responsibility for
Otis. His strongest supporters arefcurs-
ing beneath their breath the fatuous fol-
ly of Mckinley is hopeless blunser.
SITUATION AT MANILA.
/ Despite the censorship unpleasant facts
/ continue to reach the United States.
Taxes are higher than under Spanish
rule, crime is on the increase, owing to
! the inefficiency of OTIS military rule.
81 The natives are being telrorized and
alienated by military harshness. Numer-
Gus towns and villages have been burned
by OTIS order aud serious charges ol
fraud in the management of the reyen-
ues, is made by responsible parties. Tile
hospitals are being emptied into the
transports only to be filled by hundreds
. of new inyalids as fast as emptled. Gen
Bates has been setting the savage Moros
s at each others throats. Outof this will
come a condition Of anarchy which il
took Spain 200 years to quen.
Rev. Peter Mcqueen, a Congregation.
al minister, who has spent six months IN
the islands, as Chaplain of the first Cali
fornia regiment, has returned home and
declares that Otis has created a hell on
earth. In great detail he condemns the
entire Philippine campaign as trightful-