The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-02-05
RED BADGE OF COURAGE
ROSCOE CONKLIN TELLS HOW 1T
FEELS 40 BE IN BATTLE.
An Interesting Letter Describing At
fairs in the Philippine Islands
Another Soldiers Views.


to the army. He says: There is some
thing very fascinating about the army. and
can understand now better than before
brushed against it how men can spend
whole lifetimes in the services, although
even now L cannot understand how soldiers
can be so idle and unambitious for self-im-
provement as many of them are My ex-
perience under fire has not been very ex-
tensive, but at no time did L wish myself
elsewhere. While the fighting is going on
a man is exhilarated by the excitement
and danger so it is a pleasure OF the most
intense kind for him to mingle in the de-
struction that is going on. While he knows
that men are falling and dying, some way
or other il does not occur to him that he
is in personal danger-it is always the
other fellow he is worrying about.
Capiz being taken, as we'll as all the towns
from here down to Iloilo, and the island
being well garrisoned, the campaign is con-
sidered ended. General Hughes has left for
Cebu, another island in the Visayan mill
tary district, leaving General Carpenter
with the third battalion of the Eighteenth
and two companies of the First (nine) here
to hold this port. General Hughes has or
dered the Nineteenth Infantry to Cebu, as
we'll as the artillery, etc. My own COM
pany and another of the first battalion
have been sent to Romblon, up near Ma
Mia, and L have returned to headquarters.
We have no outposts here and the six COM
panies are having a very lazy life of it.
"Capiz was long the ultimate destination
for both columns. 1t is the capital of the
Of ha oh
midway east and west of the north coast
of the island Capiz province is separated
from Iloilo province by mountain chain
which General Hughes crossed under cir
cumstances similar to those we encoun-
tered. His column and ours were every
where welcomed by noncombatant natives,
who had sorry stories to tell of the wrongs
worked upon them by the 'insurrectos,"
who are in bad odor with very large ma
jority of the people, and who compose but
a small percentage of the population. Re-
ports that the main body of the ''insurrec-
tos'' are imported Tagalos from Luzon
island were verified by conversations with
the Bisayans. The leaders of the rebels
have not been killed nor captured and their
followers are still at large and may be ex-
pected to commit depredations and engage
in outlawry for some time to come, making
the maintenance of the garrison necessary,
but in my opinion by the establishment of
civil government by the people and the
operations CT a civil guard-a sort of rural
constabulary-made of natives and super
vised by United States army officials, the
outlaws will have short and bitter career.
Now that Colonel Carpenter is no
longer with us, it is quite likely that Col
Van Horne will order Headquarters to join
him at Jaro, as this port is remote from
postal and cable communications and it
mil he tv,a Iaf tnfx3 &c
tablished and the Capiz end of the English
cable that once did prosperous business
here is again in working order.
BUSINESS INTERESTS AT CAPIZ.
Nevertheless the reopening of the port
a week ago has already had most enliv-
ening effect. and there has been enough
traffic already to assure us a mail from
Iliolo every three or four days. Capiz has
been closed port for a number of years
and its large business interests have de-
cayed considerably, but there is abundant
evidence of the wealth and prosperity its
inhabitants once enjoyed. In many re-
spects this city is superior to Iliolo and
has not suffered from incendiary fires of
the rebels as the southern port did. We
have native life in all it's crudeness here;
the amount of intelligence large part Of
its population is gifted with and the sur
prising learning they display is something
of a revelation as to Bisayan possibilities,
when it is remembered how grudgingly the
Spanish doled out few crumbs of educa-
ton to them. They are delighted with the
idea of free English schools, and are as
quick to learn as any people have ever en-
countered In my estimation the sooner the
government sends teachers here with free
education, even of the most elementary
sort, .ne sooner the efforts of the selfish
and rascally agitators will be overcome.
You would be surprised how eager these
hospitaDle Bisayans are to learn of the
character of our "Republica," and how
intently they listen when they are being
told how we run things at home. But then
this country is full of surprises for us who
read about the Filipinos as races of crude
bar Librarians OF course my point or view Is
somewhat narrow, as my observations lave
been confined to the Bisayans, who are
the most intelligent and enlightened. The
great trouble is that the vast herds had
been ruled and robbed by small coterIes
of priest-bidden men, in all manners OF
tax grabbing bribery and malfeasance.
Here and there a particularly aggressive
Bisayan has been able to wrest from the
unwilling priest a fair education. 10 still
him, he has been silenced with place in
high Office, where the first lesson he
learned from his Spanish associates was
how best to rob and grow rich without
being found out, and he has been nimble
witted enough to out-Spanish the Spanish
Here in Capiz natives have informed me
that General Deocno skipped out with sew
erai thousand dollars DAY OF TWO DeIore
General Hughes took the town. OF course
there are some patriotic educated Fflipinos
who are in earnest in lettering the condi-
tons of their countrymen, but the trouble
is that the ring that gets into power in
such circumstances is made up OF the
boodlers who have received Their schooling
from a rotten regime. If American infiu-
ence were to be withdrawn the doings OF
this class of men would soon make the con-
dition of the people worse than it ever was
In SPANS most corrupt history. For this
reason / do not believe that the Bisayans
or any other tribe is capable of self-gov-
eminent. Nor will they be until the peo-
pie have been educated in the most pri-
mary principles in honesty IN office 1
doubt whether five years or dozen viii
accomplish this, and am inclined to think
the United States government should be
the guiding factor until the children now
in arms are grown TO manhood This may
be an extreme view. 1t would not be at all
surprising to me to see Aguinaldo or some
successor OF his crown himself king OF an
absolute monarchy more autocratic and
cruel than even Russia. were American in
fiuence to be withdrawn, thing that Is or
~0'r~ra 49, - +ho question, in spite of
Bryan and Atkinson and that school ol
politicians.
ANOTHER LETTER.