The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-08-05
INTERVIEWS WITH THE VOLUN-
TEERS

TIERS.
The interviews with volunteers which
some Of the newspapers are publishing are
calculated to create the impression that
all of the volunteers are opposed 10 the
war against the Fnipinos. that all of
them think the islands are not worth what
they are costing in blood and treasure and
tnat Gen. OILS is wholly unfit for the very
important position which he fills. A ques-
ton which presents itself is, do the vol
unteers who have been interviewed speak
The sentiments Of about all of the volun
teer soldiers. both those who have returned
and those who yet remain in the Islands,
or were interviews sought only with those
who were known to be against the war
and Gen. Otis? This question is suggested
by the fact that pretty nearly. if not all
Of the papers publishing the interviews
are unfrendly to the war. II would seem.
however, that If there were volunteers
who held different sentiments the admins
tration papers would seek them out and
interview them.
But it Is worthy of notice that none of
the volunteers, either officers or privates,
suggest any way of getting out of the
Philippines with honor 10 the country.
None of them say that we ought to aban-
don the islands to their fate. Evidently
they see there is an obstacle in the way
of doing anything else than what we are
trying 10 do, namely, to pacify the Islands.
They have no suggestions as to how that
~, be
case, the only conclusion to be drawn
from what they say is that we have made
a bad bargain and that We must make the
best of It.
A day or two ago, IN New York, ex-
Senator John b. Henderson of Missouri.
said that in his opinion the way out of
the difficulty was to negotiate an agree
ment with the Filipinos, giving them their
independence provided they viii allow
us to retain Manila. Does Mr.. Henderson
know that the Fnipinos would enter into
an agreement of that kind? If he doesn't
what he says on that point doesn't carry
much weight. The probability Is that If
we should approach them with PROPOSE
tion of any sort they would interpret it a.
an indication of weakness on our part,
and refuse to entertain 1t. They would not
only reject the proposition, but they would
insist upon our leaving the islands at once
Nothing impresses them so much as a
show of power. Any exhibition of weak
ness would simply strengthen them in the
belief that by continuing the war a little
while longer they would be successful in
driving us out of the islands
Another thing that Mr.. Henderson said
shows that either he has forgotten some
of the principal events of the war in the
Philippines or else has chosen to ignore
them. He said that If he had been Pres
ident when the Spanish fleet at Manila
was destroyed he would have immedi-
ately ordered Admiral Dewey to Cuba
that he might assist In carrying out the
orders of Congress in declaring war ito
drive Spain from Cuba and Cuban wa
ters." AS a matter of fact, could Admiral
Dewey have left Manila If he had been
ordered to do SO? The officers of Admiral
Dewey's fleet who have spoken about the
matter have said that the fleet hadn'
coal sufficient to reach any port which
was then open to it. The only place to
which 1t could have gone was San Fran
cisco, and only one vessel of the fleet had
coal enough to steam that far. Appar-
entity therefore If Mr.. Henderson had been
President and understood his duty he
wouldn't have given any such order as
he said he would. He would have done
just what was done, namely, let the fleet
remain in Manila bay until a cargo of
coal could be sent it. There is a good
deal of talking done about the Philippine
war by those who fail to take into con-
sderatou all the facts