The San Francisco call., 1899-09-24
Of us
Banners
eapSLred
BY an
american
Srti11ergman
Proves
the
societg
SHY
ir Power

uncontrollably and welcomed death II,
dying, they might carry with them even
one of the enemies whose living presence
made the world seem accursed.
In 1896 they reached the zenith of their
power, although their leaders did not then
realize that fact. Had they struck then
their blow for which they had been so
long preparing the whole world would
have stood aghast at the horrid spectacle
of unsparing butchery. But they hesi-
tated too long and thus lost the oppor-
tunity that to them was golden.
Many arrests were made in the begin
ming of that fateful year, and on the 1st
of July, at Caloocan, occurred the first
open conflict between the K. K. K. S and
the Spanish military forces The
Spaniards triumphed easily for the
natives were armed only with bolos and
bamboo spears The prisoners taken by
the soldiers were confined in the citadel
of Saint Pago, where ffty-nine were suf-
focated in a single night because of the
crowded condition of the dungeons, and
the vice president of the society, who
was captured in Canadaba, was bound be-
tween two boards and dipped under water
until death released him from his agony,
in the vain attempt to extort from him
confession as to the plans of the Katipu-
nan.
1t was during this rebellion that Agu-
inaldo first came into prominence. He
was sub-governor of Cavite Viejo and
learning that he was to be arrested on
suspicion of knowing more than he should
bbout the native union aroused not only
sis own village but San Francisco de
kIalabon Naic, Noveleta, linus and Slang
u dispute Spanish power. All the officers
# the Civil Guard and all the priests in
this district were ruthlessly massacred at
this time, and Aguinaldo assumed the
leadership of the entire rebellion, making
his headquarters at linus
The great mistake which Aguinaldo
made, however, was in alternating from
himself a large majority Of the native
population by ordering Bonifacio, the
founder of the Katipunan, shot at Naic
soon after he himself came into authority.
1t was claimed by Agunaldo's friends
that he disapproved of Bonifacio's blood
thirsty methods, but the natives believed
that he feared him as a rival. However
this may be it is certain that after his
death of the K. K. ks lost heart and
power. The tremendous coup d'etat which
they had planned could not be accom-
plished without his direction and they felt
that the end of all their mighty and
bloody struggle was failure.
1t has been thought that the once ter
rible organization was no longer factor
in Filipino affars-that it was only fear
some memory and not threatening fact.
The recent capture of one of it's most
cherished banners by an American artil-
lery man at Palo a few weeks since
proves the fallacy of this idea, even if tho
Flaming SUM- of the society did not ap-
pear on the seal of the Filipino republic
and on all its insignia and official stamps.
The Kataastaasan Kagalanggalang
Katipunan is alive still and is directing its
forces now toward the conquering of
Americans, who are, in their estimation,
only little less to be abhorred than the
Spaniards were.
The problem presented is: Given peace,
would they settle on their rescued lands,
or would they, by blood and violence, try
to build up a government of their own,
wherein the educated, refined and law
abiding Filipinos would be relegated to a
subserVient position, and tyranny, of a
different, but no less hateful, kind than
clouded those fair islands in the past,
would again hold full sway?
E. ELLSWORTH CAREY.