New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-02-07
EFFECT on FILIPINO ARMY.
GENERAL MERRITT SAYS THIS DEFEAT
WILL PROBABLY BREAK IT Up.

MAJOR HALE. WHO SERVED WITH GENERAL
MERRITT LAST SUMNER. TALKS OF
THE CONDITIONS OF THE FIGHT
Major-General Wesley Merritt said yesterday that /
in his opinion the military organization Of the /
Filiplnos would scarcely survive the defeat just /
inflicted upon It.. especially n II followed up
with another hard. strong blow. Their organiza-
ton he added. had been good and there WAS .
only officer who had any respectable knowledge /
OF military science-Po de Pillar. the East Indian.
This man was extremely courageous and a natural .
fighter and had great influence among the Fiipnos /
General Merritt said that ne had no doubt Agui-
nado himself stood somewhat In OF this lead +
er. whose influence could be confidently expected
to be steadfastly hostile 10 this country
General Merritt went to say that II
sonabe 10 expect that the defeat OF the Fillpnos
would result disastrously upon the power Of Agui-
naldo. who had been able TO achieve his position
and influence because OF his ability TO defeat the /
Spanish so decisyely after the Spanish feet had
been destroyed by Dewey. His power having been I
weakened by defeat. however. Il likely that
his rivals would begin to make bold to dispute his
authority. This result could be only advantageous
to this country. and would be likely to lead to
making the Filpinos amenabe to American rule
The Ftipinos. he added. were not natural and per-
tnacous fighters. like the American Indians, but
were by nature docne and amiable
In General Merritts opinion General OTIS ought
have his disposal for the entire subjugation
OF the Philippine group less than 5000 soldiers
With that number he had doubt that within
reasonably short time the Philippines would be
completely subdued and quiet. General Merritt
had complimentary things 10 say about the
officers under General OTIS. General Macarthur.
General King. General Hale. General Reeve and
General Miller We're all thoroughly competent men.
and General Otis had a compact and trustworthy.
seasoned body Of troops that could bee relied upon
do excellent work General Merritt said the
probability that the attack by the FiAplnos
had been deliberately planned by Agunaldo. The
defeat administered ought 10 be Immediately fol-
lowed up by that would settle once and for all
the question a. 10 who master In the Philip
pines.
MAJOR HALES VIEWS.
Major Hale who acted as aid to General Mer
rift IN last summers campaign In the Philippines
and accompanied him on his return TO this coun-
try by way Of Paris. was by a Tribune re-
porter yesterday his home. Governors ISL
and in regard TO the lighting near Manila. He
could not give an exact idea Of where the battle
was fought although he said he had been over all
the ground about Manila.
y can give you a general idea, however" he said.
you see I came away in the middle Of August,
and the insurgents may have changed their position
since then. At thai time they were ranged in an
arc around the city They We're not IN Manila
proper. Manila is a walled town. bounded on one
side by the water and the others by a semi
circular wall which begins at the waters edge.
stretches back around the town. and comes down
10 the water again the other side. The city
proper is completely inclosed. and there were no
Insurgents IN that Enclosure. Outside OF the wall.
however. the greater part OF the city's population
lives and their homes stretch back toward the
country and form the bulk Of the city OF Manila.
When we took the city from the Spanards. the
Insurgents. no were encamped near US all along
the line. rushed in with US. We couldn't stop
then-there was too much else 10 do. But we
called halt al the wall The Spaniards mad
ceased TO be a factor In the argument by the tine
we got there. and our men turned square around
and beat back the insurgents. They were Wild TO
get inside the wall for piuuder and loot. but We
pushed them back and only few got IN. These
were easily handled. Since that fight the insur-
gents have been encamIed outside the wall. on
October TO- ! understand. General Otis ordered
them back into the country. They went back short
distance and then threw up strong entertainments.
so that occupied the same relation TO them that
the Span.ards did. except that they We're further
away from the city than before. should judge
from the accounts OF this last fight that Cen
eral OTIS had dislodged tnem from their new
trenches and driven them back further still The
towns spoken OF in the dispatches are little Fill
pino villages and il does good 70 think Of The
way our troops must have chased those fellows
through the village streets. think the retreat
OF the insurgents was a gradual spreading out
and backward. and that II did not move in any
one direction"
did you know that our forces had captured the
waterworks which controlled the water supply OF
Manila Major Hale was asked.
Yes and that means a great deal" ne replied
"Heretof0re the insurgents have held them. They
consist Of a large pumping station some distance
from Manila which has been IN the insurgent
lines until now. This station controls absolutely
the water supply OF Manila, and without IL the
city would be In bad way. indeed. The insur-
a1 pa I.f few ID
spect the station but although they continued 10
supply the city with water. they kept The station
I'm their own hands. IL was a strategic point II
they had once shut Of that water supply. though,
ii would have been considered hostile act. and
this recent trouble would have taken place a Attle
earlier know such step would have been the
signal for general attack by the American
forces The insurgents knew It. too. and they let
the cl,y have the water
"Was this trouble expected" was asked
well NOT imminenty when left. Most people
thought II had 20 come sooner or later. however.
and ! must say that our soldiers hoped 1t would
come The Finpiuos have irritated and disguised
our troops from the FIRST Their absurd demands
caused the irritation The American troops have
been itching to give them soQi lnrashihe rom ON
true that We lost forty or MY men, there must
have been tot fight The fliplnos can shoot
men rom a distance II The loss big as
that you can depend upon II our men sot rtni Il,
pr"habi fairly Aew az Tho throats OF the insur-
gents There was close fighting. SUCH loss Is
loo bad only twenty We're killed IN the
taking OF Manila ! am sure that the FIipinos
lost many times the number lost by us. which is
come Satisfaction You'u find that the slaughter
OF the insurgents was wholesale.
OTIS CAN HOLD HIS OWN.
"Do think General OTIS can hold his own
Major Hale said II don't doubt Il FOR minute.
our men are larger older. better drilled better
fighters and have better weapons than the m
sirgents Why ,he Flipnos couldn't lick even the
Standards and the Spanish soldiers In the Phil
,nnines are pretty poor lot. They mostly
Young boys and are no Of fighters. our people
mad no trouble at all in defeating them. while the
Fripinos would have been lying before the city
now n the Americans hadn't taken a hand In the