Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-01-09
NO ALARMING NEWS RECEIVED
Persuasion to Be Used With In-
surgents Before Powder.
P RE SIDE N L HOPEF L

StHt ollicldlS anu people lie Is 10 make
| public the purpose of the United States,
and pursue conciliatory policy. Not a
shot is to be fired by the forces of this
country unless they are attacked or until
further orders are given from here. No
orders to attack Iloilo will go from here
until all patience has been exhausted, and
it is absolutely necessary to teach tie re-
calcitrants a lesson.
No Alarming News Received.
This program was agreed upon between
President Mckinley and Secretary Alger
several days ago, and has not been changed
! by recent news. Secretary Alger was at
the White House good while this after
noon. He stated in the most emphatic
terms that TO alarming news has come
from Cen Otis. He went further by say
ing that he did not believe a shot had been
fired so far, OF that one would be fired at
any time. He is confident that Gen Miller
will be able to successfully handle the sit
uatlon and obtain control of IlOilo without
bloodshed. He is of the opinion that the
insurgents have been so long imposed upon
that they ara naturally suspicious and fear
the worst If they surrender their strong
holds into the hands of the United States.
Persuasion Before Powder.
The policy to be adopted now Is a gentle
one. Persuasion will be used before pow
der, which will be the last resort and Sec
retary Alger is optimistic in his views that
it will never be necessary. The President
also views the situation in a similarly hope
full manner He believes that the Filipinos
will become more cordial when they under
stand the intentions of this country. He
believes that careful work on the part of
prudent officials will convince the F'ilipinos
of the earnestness of the United States and
of the purpose Of this government to pro-
tect their lives and property.
That the President and Secretary of War
are so hopeful may have a quieting effect
upon the general belief that trouble is
brewing in the Pacific This belief was
widespread today and was shared by
number of prominent men who called on
the President One of the Presidents clos
est advisers said he was confident there
would be lighting, but he ADDED the bcnef
that 1t would not last long. He said that
not over 40 per cent of the Eilipinos would
oppose this country. He believed the other
90 per cent want annexation to the United
States
Reticence at the War Department.
A great deal of reticcnce is exhibited at
the War Department relative to the state
of affairs at Iloilo. 1t is admitted that
Gen. Otis has reported to the department
the facts that were reported to him in turn
by Gen. Miller, but all that can be gathered
as to the nature of the communication is
that 1t goes to confirm the press report as
to the attitude of thu insurgents. There
are excellent rea sons why the officials at
the War Departing mt should a. this stage
maintain secrecy as to the instructions
governing the movement of troops in the
Philippines. The situation is admitted to
be critical, but not hopeless by any means
ana 1t is extremely desirable that the dam
ger of a rupture shall not be increased by
infiammatory publications, which powerful
ly affect the excitable Filipinos. 1t is be-
lieved that Gen. Otis is framing a plan of
campaign which will result in the extension
OF his control over the Island of Panay at
least, without actual hostilities or if it
must come to warfare, then with the least
possible exposure of the American troops
The First Step.
Probably the first step in this campaign
has already been taken by this time in the
establishments of a camp on the Island of
Guiamaras, lying only a few miles from
Iloilo and easily accessible to the warships
This will probably be made the base of
operations if it should come to the pass
that hostilities actually ensue. The gov
ernment has, however, as already been
stated, not by any means abandoned hope
that peaceful solution can be reached
There are three United States warships
or 1lono to assist Gen. Miller in his opera
tions. These are the cruiser Baltimore and
the gunboats Concord and Petrol.
No Material Change.
1t was officially admitted this afternoon
that the latest advices from Gen. Otis show
that there has been no material change in
the situation at Ioilo. According to a
cabinet officer they contain nothing of a
character alarming, serious or exciting
There had been no collision with the in
suIgents, he added, and not a shot had
been fired. The news was of sufficient i'm
portance to call for conference between
dnnt l,r.,
Long and Adjutant General Corbin at the
White House during yesterday afternoon.
The Presidents proclamation to the Filipi-
nos had been published in Manila, but Gen.
Otis did not say to what extent it had been
made known to the inhabitants in the 9th
er parts of the group of islands, nor wheth-
er it had been published at Iloilo. At the
latter place Gen. Miller has been directed
to land the troops under his command now
on the transports there, but the dispatch
from Gen. Otis did not indicate whether
this had been done or not.
Departure of Expedition Postponed
The date of the departure of the next mil
itary expedition from San Francisco for
the Philippines has been postponed until
the 23th instant. On that date the 10th
Regular Infantry will take passage on the
transport Scandia and viii proceed to Ma
Mia without delay. The regiment is now at
Fort LeaVenTorth, Kansas, and is ordered
TO defer its departure from that post until
the 2lst Brig. Gen. Lloyd Wheaton. L. s.
", who Is colonel of the Goth Infantry will
accompany that regiment as its command
ing officer. He has recently been on duty
in Havana, and is now on his way to Leav-
enworth to join his regiment. He left Sa-
vannah for the west Saturday evening
Gunboats Ordered to Mnnfin,
Orders have been given for the gunboats
Princeton, at New York, and Yorktown. at
San Francisco, to proceed to Manila as soon
as possible for service under Admiral
Dewey. This action is in response to an
application by the admiral for additional
ships of light draught, capable of entering
the shallow waters of the Philippine IsI
andS.
The gunboats Machias and Marietta NAV
also be sent to the Asatic station to re-
place some of the vessels there that are
said to be in need of overhauling the
Machias Is at Mare Island and the Marietta
is cruising along the coast of Central
America The cruiser Buffalo and the gun
boats Castine, Helena and Bennington are
RI