Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1899-02-06

SENATORS LODGE, GORMAN,
PETTIGREW, ELKINS, MARTIN,
TELLER AND FRYE TALK.
Washington, D. c.. February s.
Leading members of the Senate were
interviewed tonight on the situation
in the Philippines, with the following
result
Senator Lodge, of Massachusetts,,
member of the Committee on Foreign
Relations, said:
'On the proposition presented, | am
in favor of standing by Dewey and
Otis as against Aguinaldo. Our status
in the Philippines is that under the
protocol we are in possession of the
atty, bay and harbor of Manila. We
are acting under a truce With Spain.
Those people who have attacked the
United States forces are in the eye of
International law still subjects of
Spain and would be until the treaty
is ratified. They have violated the
truce and are now public enemies and
should be treated as such. 1t was
known a week ago Agoncillo, the rep
resentative of Aguinaldo in Washing
away, giving UP everything, but the
action of those who have opposed the
treaty and the assurances he has re-
ceived from some one resulted in his
remaining and the encouragement
which the Filipinos have received from
the United States has no doubt led to
the attack upon the American forces"
Senator German, OF Maryland, who
is the leader and organizer of the OPP
position to the treaty in the Senate,
said as to the effect the conflict at
Manila would have upon the treaty:
1T will have
NO EFFECT WHATEVER.
What has occurred is the result of
what has been predicted by the oppo-
nents of the treaty all the time. The
opponents of the treaty said that trou-
BILE would come if we handled those
people without gloves and undertook
to force ourselves upon them without
their consent. This battle can have
no effect upon the opponents of the
treaty in any way"
Senator Pettigrew: 1--WE could have
had no possible difficulty with the peo-
pie of the Philippines if we had given
to them the honest assurance that we
did not propose to overthrow their
newly established liberties. Instead,
we made a treaty with Spain by which
the country was ceded to us and we
began at once to occupy it with troops
and send reinfOrcementS. which was
sufficient cause to arouse alarm. The
dispatch of several thousand more reg
ulars lately of course created appre-
hension on the part of the people OF
the Filipino republic. We should do
now what we should have done in the
first place, state to the people OF those
islands
OUR GOOD INTENTIONS
and say to them, establish your re-
public and we will not allow other
nations to interfere. Give us your
bonds to reimburse us for our expense
in securing you your liberty; we well
come you to the family of the republics
Of the world. The course of the adj
ministration on the contrary has been
one of criminal aggression, and appar-
ent bad faith. There can be no ques-
ton in the minds of any one who has
read the instructions to the peace
commissioners that the President
purpose always was to make perma-
nent claim to the island of LuZon. 10
turn upon an ally is certainly the
greatest international crime OF the cen
fury. | believe the treaty should be
amended at once so as to give asSur-
ance to those people of our good faith
and thus make them our friends, even
under these trying circumstances. we
should even now withdraw our mill
tary forces and allow them to establish
a military government OF their own:
Senator Pettigrew said that in his
opinion the fighting would not delay
a vote on the treaty. The opponents
of the treaty, he said, had counted
+hirtv-three votes as opposed to ratln-
cation. but had lost one of these, ana
he could not say whether the latest
news would cause any other changes.
SENATOR ELKINS
who has been very active in favor OF
the treaty, expressed the opinion to-
might that enough votes would be
found to ratify it. This morning, ne
said. he did not see where they were
TO come from, but he has had informa-
ton since, indicating that one or TWO
wayering Senators would find IN the
conflict which has occurred at Manila
an excuse to vote for the treaty. SEN
ator Elkins said that the position OF
Ae11inaldo was, perhaps, logical with
the treaty unratifed, as Spain had got
ten out and the United States did not
take possession, so Aguinaldo says: |
am here and win take possession.
The Senator added that the only
thing to do was to ratify the treaty 50
as to definitely fix the status or the
Philippine islands.
Senator Hale, one of the Republican
opponents of the treaty in the senate,
could not be seen.
Senator Martin, of Virginia, who is
one Of the opponents Of the treaty, said;
THE news from Manila will not
have any effect on the treaty. No
man will change his mind on account
of what has occurred there. It can
not affect the status in the Senate"
Senator Teller, who has, from the
first, been staunch supporter of the
treaty, said:
Our army is in Manila by
RIGHT OF CONQUEST
anr under the laws of war. We are
justified in maintaining our position
there against all who may attack US.
/ have been uneasy in regard to the sit
uation ever since | saw that Aguinaldo
had been authorized by his so-called
congress to declare war upon the Unit
ed States. There was never any dam
ger from the outset that they, not
knowing the conditions here, and la