The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-01-10
HoAR REPLIES TO QUIGG
WRITES A LETTER DEFENDING AND
PRAIsING AGUINALDO.
Bases His Statements on Alleged Dis
patches from Admiral Dewey
and General Otis.

of the Journal, Advertiser, Herald and
Globe, of Boston. in answer to a speech
made by ex-Representative Quigg at the
Essex Club the last Saturday in Decem-
Der. In this speech Mr.. Quigg, referring
to Senator Hoar's attitude on the Phil
ippines question, declared that the sena-
tor wants us to skulk from our duty"
Senator Hoar takes the words quoted as
his text, and says. in part:
II wish TO put against this statement
my emphatic denial What I want the
American people to do is to do in the Phil
ippines exactly what we have done, are
doing, and expect to do in Cuba. We have
no thought-at least, have had no thought
of giving either back to Spain. should
as soon give back a redeemed soul to satan
as to give back the people of the Phil
ippine islands to the cruelty and tyranny
of Spain. Indeed, since they got arms, an
army and an organization, do not believe
1T would be in the power of Spain to sub
due them again. But the United States
never, in my judgment, should have al
lowed her to make the attempt Having
delivered them from Spain, we were bound
in all honor to protect their newly-acquired
liberty against the ambition of greed of
any other nation earth. and we were
equally bound to protect them against our
own. We were bound to stand by them, a
defender and protector, until their
governments were established in freedom
and in honor; until they had made treaties
with the powers of the earth and were
secure in their national independence as
Switzerland is secure, or as Santo Do
mingo or Venezuela is secure. Now, if
this be policy of skulking from duty,
fail TO see 1t.
Senator Hoar's letter asserts that the
dispatches of Admiral Dewey and General
Otis (some of latter read by him, he says,
having been withheld thus far from public
knowledge, establish beyond reasonable
doubt:
First, that Aguinaldo is an honest, pa
triotic and brave man. Indeed, that is the
expression in the testimony of Mr.. Schur-
manp, president of the Philippine commits
siOn.l
Second. that Aguinaldo was the chosen
leader of the people of the Philippine
islands.
Third, that the people have from the
beginning desired independence, and desire
it now.
Fourth. that this desire was commune
Gated to our commanders when they gave
them arms, accepted their aid, and brought
Aguinaldo from his exile, when he was put
in command of 10000 Filipino soldiers, who
were already in arms and organized.
Fifth, that the people of the Philip
pine islands. before we fired on their
troops, had delivered their own land from
Spain, with the single exception of the
town of Manila, and that they hemmed in
the Spanish troops on land by line ex-
tending from water to water.
Sixth, that we could not have captured
the Spanish garrisons, which was done by
an arrangement beforehand, upon a mere
show of resistance, but for the fact that
they were so hemmed in by Aguinaldos
forces and could not retreat beyond the
range and fire of the guns of our fleet.
Seventh, that during all this period,
from the beginning to the final conflict,
the Filpinos were repeatedly informing our
government that they desired their free
dom, and that they were never informed
Of any purpose on our part to subdue them.
Eighth, that they were fit for indie
pendence. They had churches, libraries,
works of art and education. They were bet
ter educated than many American COM
munities within the memory of some of
US. They were governing the entire island,
except Manila, in order and quiet, with
municipal governments, courts of justice,
schools and a complete constitution rest
ing upon the consent of the people. They
were better fitted for self-government than
any country on the American continent
south of us. from the Rio Grande to Cape
Horn, or than Santo Domingo or Haiti,
when these countries, respectively,
achleVed their independence, and are hitter
for self-government than some of them are
now. They are now as fit for self-govern-
ment as was Japan when she was well
coined into the family of nations
''Ninth-That the outbreak of hostilitfes
was not their fault but ours. A patrol,
not hostile military foe, appeared at a
small village between the lines OF the two
armies; a village on the American side of
the line of demarkation to which some of
our soldiers had been moved in disregard
to the rule applicable to all cases of the
truce. When the patrol appeared in this
town 1t challenged. How far the
Filipinos understood our language or how
far our pickets understood the reply that
they made in their own language does not
appear. We fired upon them first. The
fire was returned from their lines. There
upon IL was returned again from us and
several Filp,nos were killed. AS soon as
Aguinaldo heard of it, he sent messenger
to General Otis saying that the firing was
without his knowledge and against his
will; that he deplored it, and that he de-
sired hostilities to cease and would with
draw his troops TO any distance General
Otis should desire To which the American
general replied as the fighting had begun
Ii must go on.
"Tenth-That on the 10Th of December,
1898, the two sides being at peace, although
great uneasiness and irritation had al
ready manifested itself on the part of the
Filipinos, who were afraid we meant to
sub1ugate them, President Mckinley sent
to General Otis proclamation which he
commanding him to issue. General Otis, on
reading ito the language of his re-
pOrt-'cOnciuded that there were certain
words and expressions therein, such as
sovereignty right of cessions,' and those
which directed immediate occupation, etc,
though most admirably employed and
tersely expressive of actual conditions,
might be advantageously used by the
Tagalo war party to Incite widespread hos
tiIities among the natives, where
upon General Otis proceeded to amend the
Presidents proclamation by striking out
n foh nnpta frc
TO assume sovereignty or protection, and
which was significant of future political
domination. and instead thereof he issued
a proclamation in which he suppressed all
these utterances and assured them that 1t
is the purpose of the United States to
give them in every possible way the full
measure of individual rights and liberty
which is the heritage of a free people
THAT assurance which General Otis
gave the people of Manila is just what L
have always wanted, and all / have al
ways wanted TO give them. But, unhap-
PLY. General Otis's proclamation was frus-
copy of. the Presidents proclamation to
General Miller, who was. lying opposite
Iloilo burning for a fight, and who. much
to General Otis'S distress, as his dispatch
es show, published IL. So you had the
commanding general denying all purposes
of domination or of interfering with their
independence on one hand and the Pres
ident of the United States on the other,
asserting that purpose; and the Filipinos
were naturally alarmed and shocked
Now put yourselves, men of Essex, in
your fathers have done If General Gage
nd ord a ha anfn