Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1900-10-11

j paid him DIV Spaln. ne prOHereu Ms
sertices and assistance1o the United
States TO aid in fighting Spain and
was brought from Hong Kong to show
the officers where troops could be
| landed on the coast. His troops
we're placed in command and sta
toned over the Cavite prison, and on
account of the great promises he made
his men were armed with accOutre-
ments from the L. ). government ar
senal. aud held the Spanish prisoners
there until the following January
While in performance of this duty a
number Of Spanish prisoners were
taken from prison and never returned
presumably murdered and con
corning this and similar outrages the
trouble first started, Dewey Inform
inc them that they would be held to
strict account for such doings
In reference to the dissertation Of
churches. Mr.. Bremen says guards
were placed at ali churches TO see
that church property was not mOlest-
ed. At times the churches were used
as hospitals when no other available.
quarters could be found Invariably,
however, where insurgents had occu-
pied towr when L. ). troops had
driven them out the churches would
be found despoiled of everything
sacred or valuable.
Mr.. Brennan has no complaint OF
treatment accorded soldiers in ser
vice They are paid $3.50 per month
besides transportation, rations and
allowed SO per year for clothing.
He states that the hardships they en-
dure are not so severe as the tender
foots and kickers at home would have
one believe and is of the opinion that
Pettigrew and some of the other Agui-
naldo svmpathizers in this country
would be accorded rather severe
treatment at hands OF our soldier boys
in the Philippines if they were where
hands could be laid upon them.
Gen. Merritt arrived IN Philippines
on July %, 1898, and dispatch from
Admiral Dewey to the government at
Washington said:
Merritt arrived yesterday. Sit
uation is most critical at Manila.
The Spanish may surrender at any
moment. Merritt's most difficult
problem will be how to deal with the
insurgents under Aguinaldo. who
have become aggressive, and even
threatening toward our army"
Here is revealed the spirit of the in
surgents as early as July, 1898, be-
fore the protocol was signed, while
we were still in active war with Spain.
Even then the Insurgents were threat
ening our army.
On Aug. ID Manila was captured,
and of this and subsequent events the
Philippine commission says:
When the city of Manila was
taken, Aug. LIST, the Filipinos took no
part in the attack, but came follow
ing in with view to looting the city,
and were only prevented from doing
so by our forces preventing them
from entering
Aguinaldo claimed that he had the
right to occupy the city; demanded OF
Gen. Merritt the palace of Malacanan
for himself and the cession of all the
churches of Manila, also that part
of the money taken from the
Spaniards as spoils of war should be
given up, and above all that he should
be given the arms of the Spanish
prisoners. All these demands were
refused.
There has been no time since the
destruction of the enemy's fleet when
we could or should have left the Phil
ippine archipelago. After the treaty
OF peace was ratified no power but
congress could surrender our sover-
eighty or ALLEVIATE foot of the terri
tory thus acquired. The congress
has not seen tit to do the one or the
other, and the president had no au-
thority to do either if he had been so
inclined, which he was not. So long
as the sovereignty remains in US it is
tho duty of the executive, whoever he
may be, to uphold that sovereignty
and if it be attacked to suppress its
assailants. Would our political adj
versaries do less?
| 1t has been asserted that there
would have been no fighting in the
Philippines if congress had declared
its purpose to give independence to
! the Tagal insurgents. The insurgents
did not wait for the action of con-
greSs. They assumed the offensive.
Mr.. Brennan concluded the inter-
view with propounding some ques-
tons which we respectfully refer to
our Democratic opponents:
Would not our adversaries have
sent Dewey's fleet to Manila to cap
ture and destroy the Spanish sea
power there, or. dispatching it there.
would they have Withdrawn it after
the destruction Of the Spanish fleet;
and. if the latter. whittier would they
have directed it TO sail? Where could
it have gone? What port in the orient
was open to it2 Do our adversaries
condemn the expedition under the
command of Gen. Merritt to strength
en- Dewey in the distant ocean and
assist in our triumph over Spain, with
which nation we were at war. Was
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