Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1900-08-16
HON. JOHN ?. ALTGELD.
Speech Before Ohio Association
of Democratic Clubs.
AN ABLE HISTORICAL LECTURE
He Replies to Governor Theodore ROOse-
welt. We viii DO Our "PlniM Duty"
in the Philippines.
CONTINUED from last week.)

CONTINUED from last week.
Let us look at the attitude of the adj
ministration before the treaty was rati-
fed. The documents, the letters, the
dispatches on file in the departments at
Washington give us complete informa-
ton on all points. These dispatches and
papers show that after Dewey had sunk
the Spanish fleet at Manila the admins
tration thought of having him come
away. Then it considered the idea of
keeping the island as base for our ship
ping, and it asked Dewey's opinion as to
which was the best. He recommended
Luzon Then the British minister waited
on the president and urged him to keep
all the islands and to go into the colonial
business with England.
Meanwhile Dewey furnished Aguinaldo
arms, and on June %, 1898, wrote to the
department at Washington as follows :
~ have given Aguinaldo to understand
that consider the insurgents as friends,
being opposed to the common enemy.
He has gone to attend meeting of insur-
gent leaders for the purpose of forming
a civil government. His progress has
been wonderful. / have allowed him to
pass recruits, arms and ammunition and
to take such Spanish arms and ammuni-
ton from the arsenal as he needed. l
have advised him frequently to conduct
the war humanely, which he has done
invariably" Here the government at
Washington was advised that Admiral
Dewey was treating Aguinaldo and the
other insurgents as allies engaged in a
war against common enemy, and was
eminent. Mind you, not an American
government, but Philippine govern
ment. This government was modelled
after our constitution. 1t had an execu-
tive, legislative and judicial department
On July 4, 1898, General Anderson, who
then commanded our land forces al
Manila, wrote to Aguinaldo as follows:
"Dear General-I desire to have the
most amicable relations with you anc
have you and your people cooperate witt
3 us in the military operations against tn
t Spanish forces"
. Here was recognition from the gen
l eral in command of the American force
q to Apuinaldo and his government, treat
9 ing them as allies and asking for thei
r cooperation.
4 During the summer and fall OF lS9
l.. Aguinaldo's government applied repeat
- edly to President Mckinley for an eS
= preston as to the policy that he intende
It to pursue toward the Philippines, askin
whether the Philippine people were
70 be treated like the Cubans. This wa
ic all they wanted. They were already CO
operating with us against Spain. The
W had hailed us as friends and they simpl
70 wanted declaration as to our inter
tons. But the president, having alread
If secretly embarked upon policy OF III
to perialism, evaded an answer. He ga
them lofty platitudes about the BLESSING
y. of civilization and about our benevole
as purpose, but this was all. Had ne to
no them thew we're to be treated like II
nv Cubans not man would have be-
a killed in the Philippines.
lv In the meantime the Philippine arm
We which numbered about $4,000 men alt
yether. made itself master OF the wht
re Of the Philippine Islands, except
" Manila, which was held by us. RENEE
at Der, it was the Philippine army and !
'as the American army that did the fight
Ike in the Philippine Islands. They whipl
the Spaniards and took them prlsone
They made the escape OF the Span
army from Manila even impossible IL
coptured all OF the cities of the arc
nelago excepting Manila. We have n
the indisputable evidence OF men
we're on the ground, who travelled o
the country and saw the conditions "
their own eyes, that the Philippine G
eminent up to the time it was destro
nv our forces maintained order and
formed all the functions that could
expected of new government.
The treaty OF peace with Spain
stoned on December ~, 1898. At
time the Americans held Manila, wit
territory OF about fifteen miles SOU
and the Philippine government and
philippine army were in possession o
the remainder of the Philippine 1sla
with the exception of Iloilo, which
cantured week later. With the cap
of this city, the last vestige OF Spa