Arizona silver belt., 1900-10-11
acquiescence How does the testi mony of Gen. Anderson, the first con- rpapdar nf our army read.

! mdnueT O1 our hTIUNi Tcttu'
 "A few days thereafter he (Agui- naldo made an official call on me and asked if we, the North Amer jeans, as he called us, intended to hold the Philippines as dependencies, said I could not answer that, but that in 100 years we had established no colonies. He then made this re- markable statement: I have studied attentively the constitution Of the United States, and find in 1t no au- thority for colonies. and have no lear.' It may ss, m that my answer was evasive, but Nos at the tlme trying to contract with the Filipinos for horses, carts fuel and forage"
 For these considerations Gen. An derson felt justified in deceiving Agui- naldo, for his excuse is a confession. What he was doing on small scale this great civilized and Christian gov ernment was doing on large scale. By false assurances and by silence, when silence was fraud, if induced the Filipinos to aid us in getting pos session of the islands for ourselves, under the belief that they were winning their independence. In what court of law or morals can the presi- dent and his advisers be heard to deny the existence of an alliance thus sought and thus used? By familiar rule of law man is bound not only by what he says but by what he de- liberately causes another to under stand.
 Having won the confidence of the Filipinos and secured a footing in their country, We have betrayed them. They sent an ambassador to Wash ington and enyoys to Paris, but they were not allowed even hearing. The president, who was not afraid to make a treaty with the emperor of the Sulus, recognizing slavery and polygamy, would not even listen to the men whom he had been using. He did not dare to tell them that the independence which they had won was to be taken from them by their ally.
 On Dec. 10 a treaty was made by which we bought the title which we had in effect declared forfeited before the war. Our forces in the islands were steadily strengthened after the protocol, not to fight Spaniards, for these were prisoners, but to fight Fili- pinos.
 When the time was ripe, but before the treaty was ratified, and therefore before the president had a shadow of authority beyond the city, bay and harbor of Manila, by Q proclamation dated Dec. 2l, the president announced to the Filipinos that the military government heretofore maintained by the United States in the city, harbor and bay of Manila is to be extended with all possible dispatch to the whole Ot the ceded territory"
 Thus brutally and suddenly was our purpose of conquest announced. Thus e rudely were the Filipinos reused from their dream of independence. The proclamation was of such character and 80 certain ito incite that Gen. Otis did not dare to publish it, but
 prepared an amended draft in which he left out the assertion of sovereign ty and assured the Filipinos of his !, governments intention tO insure them
 "a government as free and independ enU as Is enjoyed by the most favored provinces of the world"
 Unhappily Gen. Miller published the presidents proclamation, and its effect , was what Gen. Otis anticipated. Int Filipinos, however, did not begin hos tilities, which broke out on Feb. 4
 when one of our soldiers fired upor
 and killed Filipino, and the, fire Wal returned. The battle which ensuee
 was thus described by Gen. Otis II
 his official report:
 The battle of Manila, which com s menced at S:3O o'clock on the evenInl . of Feb. 1, continued unUIl , the mex ? evening The engagement was one strictly defensive on the par Of the insurgents and of vigorous at tack by our Iorces."
 J In ms official report he says further F 'The chief insurgent leaders did no p wish to open hostilities at that time Gen. Reeve of Minnesota, makes th, ' following statement
 Gen. Torres of the insurgents cam, Il through the lines with flag of true e and had personal interview witt n Gen. Gus. in which, speaking for Agui
 naIdo, he declared that the fighting
 had begun accidentally, and was no 6 authorized by Aguinaido; that Agul D naldo wished to have it stopped, ant s that to bring about conclusion o
 hostihties he proposed the establish
 ment of a neutral zone between tn, l. two armies of any width that would r. be agreeable to Gen. Otis, so that dur |. ing the peace negotiations there nigh
 be no further danger of conflict De T. tween the two armies. To these rep e resentations of Gen. Torres Gen. Oti IT sUernly replied that the fighting, hay if ing once begun, must go on to tn = grim, end"
 And this was reported to the presi 70 dent by Gen. Otis on Feb. 9 in the fol v lowing telegram:
 = "Aguinaldo now applies for cessa l. Gion of hostiities and conference; hay Il declined to answer"
 Il II Fl.