The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1900-09-06

six months Of vigorous siege and Of total
abandonment ! understand how you can
prefer us to the others. The way to
! make this surrender Is to join us and
| proclaim the federation Of the Filipino re-
public with the Spanish republic, recog-
nizing the chieftainship of our honorable
| president, Senior Emilio Aguinaldo. A fra
| ternal embrace will take place between
! Filipinos, Visayans and Spaniards; there
will be hurrahs for Spain and the Philip
| pines united as a federal republic"
This letter demonstrates how base and
! treacherous Aguinaldo had been from the
| very beginning. 1t shows that as early
as June 9-before Manila was captured
he was in negotiation with Gen. Angus
! tin, the Spanish commander, for the pur-
| pose of combining with him against our
| forces. He was ready then, as he was
in the case of Gen. Rios, who proved
to some extent more plant, to make COM
mon cause with the Spaniards against
| our forces.
He was seeking independence for
his people, not from their old-time
| oppressOr, Spain, but from their de-
liverers, the United States.
/
| careful to interpolate, and that was that
"the Craftsmanship of our honorable presi-
dent, Senior Emilio Aguinaldo' should be
| recognized. He was all along willing to
negotiate and traffic with Spaniards as he
! had been In December, 1897, at Biac ma
| Bato. If he could in some way, be taken
care Of, he preferred the Spaniards to the
Americans. On the 9th day of July, 1898,
| he appointed Generals Garcia and Ri
| carte of his army to negotiate with the
| Spanish governor general for the sur
render Of Manila to his forces, in utter
| disregard of Dewey and his fleet and OF
our forces under Gen. Anderson.
On the 10th Of December, the treaty Of
peace was signed at Paris. Ever since
the capture of Manila, Aguinaldo and the
| insurgents had maintained their military
lines around the city on the plea Of being
| prepared to meet the Spaniards in case
| they returned. Up to that time they af-
| fected to fear that the United States
| would surrender the country to Spain,
| and claimed that all their military pre-
| parations and investments were intended
1 to protect themselves against the Span
| iards, not against our forces. But as
soon as the report of the treaty of peacs
reached Manila, they threw off the mask.
! The first open move was their occupation
| of Iloilo, to which have referred. This
| was followed, on the 5th Of January, 1899.
| by proclamation from Aguinaldo prac-
tically declaring war against the United
States. In this proclamation he states:
''Thus it is that my government is dis
posed to open hostilities If the American
| troops attempt to take forcible possess
sion of the Visaya islands. 49,. Upon
their heads be all the blood which may be
| she'd
In the early part of January, $780, Agui-
naldo, through friend and former COM
panion, organized a large number of clubs
| in Manila. with a total membership OF
| 10000, ostensibly for education and
! amusement, but really for hostile pur-
| poses against our forces. These clubs had
a military organization and were COM
| manded by Filipino officers, appointed by
sAguinaldo's government. At the same
/ time a large quantity OF arms
/ and bolos were secretly introduced,
stored and hidden away for future
| hostile use of these clubs. The
| purpose of all these arrangements was to
provide for a rising and attack of the
! Fflipinos within the city upon our forces
| at the same time the insurgents attacked
! therd from the outside.
| A general massacre of our forces
| and of all white people within the
city was contemplated.
| On the 7th of January, Aguinaldo wrote
from Nalolos to a friend in Manila
among Other things, as follows:
81 beg you to leave with your famil
and TO come acre to Maloios' put not o
| cause / W5sh TO frisbten you. merely
wish. - swarn you for your satisfaction,
although it is not yet the day or the
week" .s
| Gen. Otis, in his report, wildly de-
scribes, in the following terse language,
the critical events transpiring and the at
t.tude assumed by Aguinado and the in
surpents during the month preceding their
attack of Feb. 4: ~
cDuring THU period rapidly succeeding
significant events were fast approaching a
!, gate Of war, acd strongly indicated the
fixed determination Of the insurgent gov
eminent to drive the United States from
Luzon as soon as 1t could gather its
armed mer in sufficient numbers. It hcd
appropriated the raiiwaJ, every engine.
and most Of its rolling stock. It was
perfecting its intrenchments around Us,
planting its guns, concentrating its troops,
and bringing up its army supplies. though
still publicly asserting it's desire for peace.
With the cunning which it had always at
tempted to practice in IT'S amateur diA
plomacy it endeavored to force the Unit
ed States to commit the first physical act
of hostility in the way of musketry fire.
in order to appeal to the sympathies OF
the foreign public for a seeminglys op-
pressed people, which 1t falsely clafuEads
to represent. In this 1t signally faiN2.
The knitting and attempted shooting of our
picket sentries brought no hostile re-
Spouse except the killing, by the intended
victim of the assassin who had so dex-
terously used the knife upon him. The
excitement within the city was very
noticeable, and the cruelty of the Amer
icano was the theme. No one seemed to
be possessed of any fixed determination
but the Tagal. ALI others were watch
ing for new demonstrations and waiting
for developments. Manila is unparalleled
for diversity of race and babel of tongues:
also for its grade of enlightenment from
barbaric ignorance to the highest civil
lied stage. Rumors innumerable and Of
the most varied character filed the at
mosphere."
In a special report to the adjutant gen.
eral, Gen. Otis uses this language:
EassDpring the latter mart Of January tha