The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-10-26

men he refers to were reported to General
| Otis by General Macarthur as consisting
of four armed Filipino soldiers, who en-
tered our territory at about $50 p. m
| and advanced to the little village of San
| tai. The American sentinel challenged
twice and then. as the insurgent patrol
| continued to advance he fired. whereupon
| the patrol retired to block house No. &
| whence fire was Immediately opened b..
| the insurgent advance at that point.
Thus the first blood shed was that of
| Filipino, one of body of four men. SO
far from this having been an attack
planned by the Filipinos. General Otis
says in his report. page %: 1t is not be-
lieved that the chief Insurgent leaders
/ wished to open hostilities at this time, as
they were not completely prepared to as
sumo the initiative. They desired two or
three days more to perfec; their arrange
ments. but the zeal of their army brought
on the crisis which anticipated their ac-
ticD.' The zeal of the sentinel who shot
the Filipino seems to have brought on the
crisis.
a reading of the report of General Otis
notwithstanding his efforts always to Iut
the Filipinos in the wrong. abounds in
evidence that he forced the war upon the
Filipincs and that the President refused
to make any answer whatever to their
appeal sent to him on the 18th of Janu
airy, twenty days before the battle of Feb
ruary T. in these words: Undersigned
Commissioners, commander-in-chief of
the revolutionary army in these islands,
state to the Commissioners of General
Otis that the aspiration of the Filipino
people is independence with restraints re-
sulting from conditions which their gov
eminent will agree upon with the Ameri-
can Government. when the latter agrees
a.-., no fn
"In transmitting this 10 Washington
General Otis added: Another conference
tomorrow evening. l understand the in
surgents wish qualified independence I'M
der United States protection
These facts from the record are wholly
omitted in Mr.. Roots argument for TIE de-
fence. They show that the Philippine war
was declared by President Mckinley with
out the authority of Congress, which alone
has the power to declare war, while the
Philippine Islands were still technically
under the sovereignty of Spain, against
which was arrayed an insurgea: govern
ment Of natives who were in possession
OF nearly the whole country. All the cor
respondence cited by Mr. Root as to the
hostile Intentions of the natives was dated
after this declaration of war against them.
The outbreak of hostilities YVES not caused
by the movements of the Filipino patrol
vi AOUi Dut ny Tue U. ONE OIL
them by our sentinel On The very day
following this. General Torres, CT the Fill
ipino army, came through our line under
flag of truce and had a personal inter
view with General Otis in which, speaking
for AguiEaldo, he declared that the fight
ing had begun accidently, and he was au-
thoriZed by Aguinaldo to say that he,
(Aguinaldo) wanted TO have it stopped,
and to bring about the conclusion of hos
tilities he proposed neutral zone of what
ever width was satisfactory to the Ameri-
can commanders, so that during the peace
negotiations there might be no further
danger of conflicts between the two forces
General Otis replied that the lighting hay
ing been once begun, it must go on to
the grim end
This statement has been made in pub
lished interview by General Rives, of Min
nesota, who was in charge of the city OF
Manila at the time the fighting COM
menced
No doubt the Democratic press and
speakers will do ample justice 10 the nu-
merous other equally weak points in Mr..
Roots address; We have only attempted
TO point out the utter insuftciency OF his
defence of the Presidents Philippine pol
icy. 1t has been a policy Of criminal ag-
gression;' policy Of blondshed for the
prevention of peace: policy TO make ZEN
millions of people our enemies SO that we
might have an excuse for denying them
any rights In their native land except to
be the slaves of those synjicates which
aim to be our own masters"