The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-07-16
them from detection, the Americans are

greatly handicapped.
The church has become a troublesome
factor in Young's territory. Aglipay. the
priest who has proclaimed himself as arch
bishop of the Philippines an ex-communi-
cant archbishop of Nosealeda. is in the
field as general. His forces attacked Cap
tain Dood, of the Third Cavalry. at Batoc,
where more than two hundred Filipinos
were slain. Aglipay commanded in person,
and there is an improved report that ne
was among the killed. His followers fought
with the recklessness of Mohammedan Ia
natics. They approached the Americans IN
three lines-an advance guard of women.
arranged with the expectation that the
Americans would not fire upon them: after
the women a line of bolomen and others,
armed only with wooden swords. no more
dangerous than policemens CLUBS ana
behind the bolomen the rif1emen. Happily
the women threw themselves fiat upon the
ground and sought shelter at the first fre,
so that few of them were injured The
soldiers thought they were men dressed In
women's clothes. The onslaught OF the
bolomen was like the descent of the Nah
dis fanatics upon Kitchener's squad at
Khartum. They kept coming on faster
than the soldiers could shoot them down,
until they were so close that our cavalry
men had not time TO fire and load, but went
through them with dubbed carbines.
General Young has evidence that the
priests of the region have been sendins
church contributions to Aglipay. Two
prominent priests are in jail charged with
aiding the insurrection, and will be tried
by military commission. Surveillance Is
exercised over the finances of some or the
larger parishes. Tinio and Aglipay are re-
ported to be enemies of the conditions
which will benefit the Americans. Some OF
the American generals think that the IN
surrectfon could be materially crippled by
the establishment of a st. Helena for the
Filipino leaders, banishing them to some
island where they could not give moral and
financial support to the rebellion.
Guam is advocated as a possible and ad-
vantageous residence for captured officers
and civil officials. Archbishop Chappelle is
a supporter of the idea. He believes the
policy of leniency is wasted upon Asiatics'
who fail to comprehend the motives for IT,
To the American officers with whom he
has talked the archbishop has said that the
heads of the leaders should be cut on.
There it little doubt that the paroled Of
ficers in Manila are in communication with
their brethren in the field
General Young shipped to Manila two or
three hundred of his prisoners, whom he
considered the most dangerous characters
General Otis reloaded them on the steamer
and sent them back north where they were
Gisembarked to follow their own wills.
Most of them soon drifted back into the in
surgent camps.
Archbishop Chappele has taken no un-
certain stand on the question of the friars,
which the Filipino people regard as the
key note of all their troubles. The arch
bishop has expressed his opinion freely %
many of us and to civilians with whom he
has talked, although he declines to give
any formal interviews for publication. His
conclusions summarized are these:
'"That the Filipinos owe to the monastic
brotherhood all the education and civili-
zation they possess. That it would be a
great injustice to the friars to expel them
from the field wherein they have worked
for centuries, or to reprive them of the es-
tates which they have acquired honestly
and have administered for the public good.
That it would be impossible to replace them
with other priests, because there is no
other clerical force acquainted with the
country and the languages of the people
and the Filipino priests are not competent
to hold any but subordinate positions in
the church. That the opposition to the
friars is an artificial propaganda, fostered
by the insurgents and by the Filipino
priests, who are themselves leaders in the
insurrection, and who are using it to OBJ
tain control of the church in the islands"