The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1900-06-12
EASTMAN BROS. & BANCROFT.

thorig over more territory than Spain
ever did"
General Otis said that practically all
the leaders OF the insurreotion were either
dead, captured or pacified. The recent
capture Of General Pho del Pillar he
thought had probably been effected with
the consent of that general. So far rs
Aguinaldo himself was concerned, Gen.
eral Otis was not inclined to credit the
report Of his death. In his opinion, It
mattered little, however, whether Agui-
naldo was dead or alive, as his influence
had been completely destroyed.
"Aguinaldo," said he, "is probably In
hiding somewhere in the mountains of
Northern Luzon, but he carries little
more influence than any other Individual
at large. He Is discredited and dead is
sue.'i
2General Otis spent the afternoon at the
war department In conference with the
heads of the various staff departments in
regard to the condition and needs of their
departments In the Philippines. He made
one statement In particular which came
as distinct surprise, In view of the fact
that he has spent year and half in
fighting the Filipinos, for he declared
that these same Filipinos were without
question the very best of any OF the
Asiatio races living on the Pacific coast
and islands. He paid a high tribute to
their acquisitiveness, saying that young
and old were alike anxious to learn from
the Americans and quick to do SO If given
any opportunity. The demand for schools
on the American plan was Unsuitable. 1t
had not been possible to secure a sufficient
supply of Standardization textbooks
the market having been denuded Of such.
When the book hungry Filipinos were
told this, they begged for American
school books, and declared that their
children could learn from them even
without the Spanish text and transla-
tions.
General Otis found to his establishment
that such was the case. He said that in
the course Of very few months, the Fill
Pine children picked up a fair knowledge
of English. Even the old natives studied
the text books In the effort to fix English
phrases In their minds. There was
dearth OF teachers, too General Otis Of
ten had recourse TO the soldiers In his
ranks who knew little Spanish. and so
were suitable for detail as teachers. Fl
General Otis said he looked upon this
feature as the only solution
Of the Philippine problem. and was conf
dent that the spread Of American ideas
through the Filipino schools would In the
sno, make good citizens of the Filipinos.
General Otis was positively of the opin-
ion that the American forces in the
at present We're sufficient for
all needs OF CO lrse, he said, General
present army could not fur
nish guard to protect every Filipino
from the ladrones; to do that
would require force OF no less than 200, 900 |
troops, and even then the task would oc-
,upy many years. As matter OF fact, he |
said, Spain had spent several centuries in !
she effort to stamp out the iadrones in the |
Philippine group and there was reason to |
believe that these brigands were scarcely |
more numerous now than they were dur |
ng the Spanish occupation, when the |
Stands were nominally at peace with
spain.
General Otis was confident. however.
hat conditions would steadily improve
md that little by little these robbers
bands would be:,driven away. He admitted
hat IL was often dangerous for Filipinos
II the better class, whose interests natur-
lily lay in American sovereignty, to ad-
nit their preferences, for they were sub
ect In that case to assassination; to the
loss Of property and TO persecution, in
stigated by various elements in the popu-
alton to whom American occupation was
obnoxious.