New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1900-06-12
GEN. OTIS IN WASHINGTON
HE TALKS WITH THE PRESIDENT ON
PHILIPPINE AFFAIRS.
STATEMENT THAT NO ORGANIZED INsUR-
RECTTON EXISTS REPEATED-CONGRAT-
ULATED AND THANKED BY MR.
MkINLEY.

MkINLEY.
Washington. June 11.-Major-Genera E. s,
Otis accompanied by his aids Captain slayden
and Lieutenant Stanley. reached Washington
from his home, at Rochester. n. Y, where he
manned over TO visit Mrs. Otis and his children,
at I:4o o'clock this morning. He met al the
station by Acknowledgement Corbin and General
Schwan. and they driven directly to the
Arlington Hotel. After breakfast General Otis
went to the War Department where he reported
to MIR. Melklejohn. Acting Secretary. Then Gen
eral Corbin escorted him and his aids TO the
White House. The President was in his private
office, in conference with Senator Allison. Sena-
tor Cullorn and Justice Harlan, when the party
arrived. General Otis easily recognized
from his photographs by the throng of callers
who were waiting in the anterooms and al
though there was no actual demonstration In
his honor the keenest curiosity manifested,
and many of the White House visitors crowded
around to catch glimpse of him. General Otis
and General Corbin Immediately shown
into the Presidents library. where Mr.. Mckinley
greeted General Otis with the utmost cordially,
congratulating him his apparent good health
and thanking him several times for his signal
services TO the country
ONLY ROBBER BANDS REMAIN.
General Otis made report to the President
in detail, although the situation in the Philip
pines almost the only topic discussed.
After few minutes the President invited Gen
eral Otis into his office and presented him TO
Senators Allison and Culom and Justice Har-
Ian, and for half hour General Otis
manned talking the situation in the Philip
pines The President and his visitors
intensely interested in what the General had
to say and in his opinion of the situation in
the islands When General Otis left the White
House he retcent concerning the subject
of his interview with the President. but he did
not hesitate to reiterate his statement made
repeatedly since landing at San Francisco. that
the organized insurreCtion dead. He spoke
Of the insurgents who still retained their arms
as robbers and 'gueras." When his atten-
ton called 10 the views of Judge Taft the
president Of the Philippine Commission, in the
| Manila dispatches printed this morning he ex-
pressed the opinion that they were satisfactory
| He said that the United States would be com
PEELED TO maintain in the Philippines for a con-
siderable period as large an army there
| at present The army" said he will be
needed as a measure of repression until the
| robbers and guerillas are stamped out The
maintenance Of this large force is necessary
| owing to the vast extent of territory which we
must cover. We have established ourselves in
| NegTos Cebu. Samar and many of the other
! islands in addition to Luzon and are today
actually exercising effective authority over more
territory than Spain ever did"
General Otis said that practically all the
| leaders Of the instruction were either dea6
| captured or pacifed. The recent CAPTURE Of
| General Pillar del Rio, he thought had prob
| ably been effected with the consent of that
| General. So far Aguinaldo himself was CON-
| cerned, General Otis was not inclined to credit
the report of his death. In his opinion it mat
| tered little. however whether AguinaIdo was
! dead or alive, as his influence had been com
| pletely destroyed "AguinaIdo- 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 issue"
Asked whether in the event Of more
acute complications in China troops could bA
! spared from the Philippines for service there
| General Otis replied Possibly possibly"
NATIVES EAGER TO LEARN FROM AMER
ICANS
General Otis spent the afternoon at the War
Department in conference with the heads Of the
| staff bureau. Naturally, he Rad many ques-
tons to answer respecting present and future
! conditions in the Philippines and Of these he
| talked freely. He made one statement in par
| ticular which came surprise. in view of
the fact that he has spent year and half
| in fighting the insurgents, for he declared that
| the Filipinos were without question the best
| OF any or the ASlatlc races on the Pacific Coast
and islands. He said that young and old were
alike anxious to learn from the Americans and
| quick TO DO IL opportunity given TO
| them The demand for schools on the Amer
| lean plan was Unsuitable It had not been
! possible TO secure a sufficient supply Of Span
| ish-American text books. the market having
| been denuded of them. When this was told to
the book hungry Filipinos they begged for
American school books, and declared that their
| children could learn from them even without
| the Spanish text and translations. General
! Otis found TO his establishment that this was
! the case and says that in the course Of d few
| months the Filipino children pick up e fair
| knowledge Of English. Even the old natives
con the text books IN the effort to fix English
| phrases in their minds There was dearth
of teachers, also. General Otis often had
course 10 the soldiers in his ranks who knew a
little Spanish and so were suitable for detail as
| teachers General Otis said he regarded this
educational movement the only solution of
| the Philippine problem. and was confident that
the spread of American ideas through the ma
| tive schools would in the end make good
| citizens Of the Filipinos
| General Otis was positively Of the opinion that
| the American forces in the Philippines pres
| emf were sufficient for all needs. OF course, he
said General MacArthur's present army could
| not furnish a guard TO protect every Filipino
| household from the bandits; TO do that would
| raoI1ire a force Of 200 900 troops, and even then
| the task would occupy many years. AS matter
| of fact he said. Spain had spent several centu-
| ries in the effort TO stamp out the Ladrones in
the Philippine group, and there was reason TO
| believe that these brlsands are scarcely more
| numerous than they were under the span
ish occupation. when the islands were nOnlinally
/ q