Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1900-06-16
PERFIDY.


Following Is the full text OF the lettor
of Agu!naldo, brought out by Senator
Spooner during q recent debate in tn,
Senate to sustain his contention thar
the insurgents had no government al
the time OF the Paris treaty, and wert
even then plotting to betray the Amer
leans, who had delivered them from the
tyrannical grasp of SPAN. The letter
was written to a Spanish general IL
Manila during the tendency Of the
treaty and the translation reads as 70.
lows:
Respected General: | write to yoy
without any desire Of offending elthe
your dignity or your patriotism, or o.
interfering In your high duties in tho
present circumstances, go critical foi
all or us, FilipInos, Spaniards and
Americans. | write to you, general
actuated solely by the desire Of doinc
an act OF evident justice, compatible
with your honor and with tho:e high
duties which cite above, and with es.
pecially the hope OF yet saving fro n
shipwreck the sovereignty OF Spain and
these islands. | shall explain myself
general, to see IL you can under5tan
me, and to see whether IL will be e..
Bame as with General August'n, who
ala not care to pay any attention to the
frank warnings | gave him, with nob'e
Intentions, In my letter OF June 8 last
Time has, unfortunately, justified me,
n | am able to declare that OF all the
Spanish generals you alone have known
how to defend the Spanish flag in the G
islands. All, II the others had onl :
known how to defend the Spanish fac
as you have, how different would be TO
day the sad condition of the Spanish
empire and these islands. After fiy
months Of vigorous siege and Of fetal
abandonment, ! understand how you
prefer Us 10 the others.
THE way TO make this surrender Il
to join us aud proclaim the federation
OF the Filipino republic with Spanish
republic, reorganlzing the chiaftainship
OF u honorable president, Senior
Emilio Aguinaldo. A fraternal en-
brace will take place between Fi'iDino
Visayans and Splniards; there will be
hurrahs for Spain and the Philippines
united as a federal republic; your
troops will pass into the common army
and you Will be promoted to q lieuten-
ant general; the Spanish employees IN
the Visayan will be supported by us;
the government will pass to our pro-
vincial councils and local %juntas.
Those who wan to go back to Spin
will be sent back at our expense with
enough TO pay their way to Spain, and
the flags OF Spain and Cf the Phi'ip-
A nc ugi1l nnnN nlIa H., .tIo w.. I'LL
give an account Of this to Madrid end
especially to Pi Marital; and in the
meantime we shall fight the Americans
together. we shall conquer, and tn n
we shall walt adjust our future rell-
tions). My ideas are placed before you
In this confused manner becau7e | am
pressed for time, but the bearer a
give you fuller explanations, and | ask
you to see in this only my desire to stop
the shedding OF blood by Sp,niards and
Fllipinos and TO reconcile both OF then
by appealing to the chivalric feeling so
characteristic to the high and Lofty
point OF view o: Spain.
"The surrender Of the heroic column
you command Is the greatest outr
which can be inflicted on those valiant
men, since they have suffered the hu-
Mutations which their unfortunate
companions suffer here: and You. tho
able and upright and valiant general
ore you going to sign a treaty with the
Americans?
God preserve you from Il, sir. All
of us admire your valor and your self
restraint In battle and in misfortune.
For this reason we want to keep you
one of ours. for In this camp we cpn
appreciate a trave man, even If he is
an enemy.
"Your transfer to our side does not
really involve treason to Spain, s'Dce.
the moment sovereignty passes to Tho
Americans you are free to tran SER
allegiance. This Is In accordance
with the principles of national honor.
On the other hand, II you ion us you
can cause the following: First. liberty
for all the 5000 Spanish prisoners In
our hands, and then 1t would serve as
the first base of the new allegiance be-
tween Spain and the Philippines, and
from both will come the honor
and applause, for you have been the
one fortunate enough to effect 1t. This
all that I can say to you at present,
and | hope that you will tell me that
you agree with me, and then | shall lie
able to present this to my government
and obtain from 1t an agreement to
what | have written as n private ind
Your most respectful and az
The P~resident-has also sent u the
n letter from General Otis,
a translation Of n letter
by Aguinaldo to a friend in
warning him to leave that city.
Aguinaldo's letter Is dated Mal0los,
II. 1899, and Is addressed to
senior Bointo Legardo. In 1t ASuinaldo
says:
81 beg o to leave Manila with your
amily and come here to Malo|os, but
lot because ! wish to brighten you. ~
wish to warn o for your sat-
sfaction, although it Is not yet the day
" the week"
In his communication Of transmittal
General Otis says:
1.-THE letter is forwarded to meet still
the absurd charge that the
american authorities in Manila inau-
the war"
General Otis also states that this let
err Is one OF a number written by
\gulnaldo to his friends in Manila, |
Opinions of Three Great Men.
John w. Springer, president of the
I~ational livestock association. on