The Saint Paul globe., 1900-05-23
SIMPLY ROBBER BANDS
MAI. GEN. SCHWAN REITERATEs
THE SAME OLD
STORY
GEN. OTIS CAPABLE AND FIRM
Organized Resistance in the Phil
IDpines at an End, and AsuIn-
aIdo's Army a Thing of
the Past.

Mag. zen. Theodore SchWan who wa
chief OF staff to Gen Otis in the PhiIiD
pines, arrived in St Paul yesterday after
noon from the coast, on leave of absence
He joins Mrs Schwan, who has lived a.
the Aberdeen during her husbands alb
sence of a year. His stay in st. Paul il.
indefinite and gives him a chance tc
recuperate after the arduous duties of tn,
campaign.
The general is tall, spare man. witt
streaks of grey in his hair. HIS mus.
tache is iron grey, and his eyes are keer
and piercing. He has the appearance
Of campaigner and fighter. which Is
borne out in his record in the United
States army. His first commission az
lieutenant was won through bravery IN
the Civil war. Following the close OF
the rebellion he was made a captain
of the Tenth infantry. and for four
years, from 1865 to 1859 was stationed al
Fort Smelling.
At the outbreak of hostilities with
Spain he was assistant adjutant general
with the rank of colonel. stationed al
Washington. He was sent & = - igade
commander to Porto Rico and later. or
the application of Gen. Otis was ap-
pointed chief Of staff and transferred tc
Manila During the campaign in Luzon
he lead several brilliant expeditions into
the provinces south Of Manila. and Inn
mediately previous to his departure for
the United States was acting commands
Of the first division of the Eighth army
corps.
Gen. Schwan believes that the Philip,
QUESTION to the United States. He term
the fighting yet to be done merely the
determination of robber bands, and statet
that the organized resistance Of the Fill
pinos is at an end.
He spoke somewhat a length Of Gen
! Otis, as commander of the forces IL
the islands, and with reference TO the
sweeping censure which that officer has
received from the press at home. and
stated that he believed a full apprecia.
tion of the facts would relieve the gen
eral from all criticism.
"Organized resistance is at an end
| In the Philippines, said Maj. Gen.
| Schwan last night, when seen at the
! Aberdeen. There still remain a large
number of robber bands which have ter
rorized portions of the islands. and the
forces are wedding these out as fast as
possible AguinaldOs army is thing
of the past, and the members Of his
cabinet are under the surveillance Of our
army. Several are in prison; one, Ma
bini, his secretary Of state, at his own
request.
"There have always been robber bands
in the islands even during the Spanish
occupation. During the early cam
paign, when Aguinaldo was fresh, and
before our troops began to press them,
he carried on an organized attempt I'd
rid the districts which he tFaversed OF
| these bands Later the attempt was
| given ND. The inhabitants Of the ISL
| ands sympathize with them and ana
| them. more probably on account OF Ihe
! fact that they fear the American FORCES
win be withdrawn and they will again
he left at the mercy Of the freebOoter5
+ban for real sympathy. In many IN
stances. where the forces have been win
dra awnlt these bands have taken summary
vengeance on all who aided the troops
"Our forces hold all the principal points
Our military government mas DeeH eA-
tended over the island and IS "oThlis
satisfactorily. Luzon has been divided
into two departments, and these nave
beep districted on the lines often times
of The old provinces. Municipal alIali5
have been organized and adjusted ana
trade relations resumed. The government
is well established. l do not know now
long the fighting will continue. AT least
until the robber bands are eXteImlualeu
and the island pacified. This may take
some time Our forces are meeting almost
nothing resembling the Filipino army, ana
instances where we have been resisted
bv companies have been eXceedinly few
Of late.
'.Gen. Otis? Yes. I know something of
the criticism which he has received
though l heartily believe it is misplace.
Gen. Otis Is held In high estimation iu
L. ,fg-fr~ lion Of tIff
affairs Of the islands under him has been
capabIe and firm. He has directed the
camDafgn and at the same time organized
municipal affairs and attended 10 the au-
ties Of a civil governor. His accomplish
ments have been very great, and no man
in the army could have better filled h!5
position; few as well as he has done.
81 am of the decided opinion that Cen.
Otis was the man for the place. and the
best man available No one could have
worked harder. and his capacity for Worh
was amazing The duties which ne bore
were tremendous, and the accumulation
of work from various sources was entire
" beyond the comprehension or people
here at home.
y was chief Of staff for Gen. Otis dur
ing my service in the Philippines. ] lei
several expeditions into the territory
south Of Manila, and, for several weeks
prior TO my departure on April IA for
home, was commander of the First di-
vision of the Eighth army corps. S. Paul
Is not new to me. After the Civil war j
was four years at Fort Smelling. and 1
well remember one night. after an eXpedi-
ton, when we were oyertaken at night
fall and bivouacked on the ievee- The
city had popula ton then Of between SOD
and 10000, and there was only one hotel
the International l was a very young
captain, and, being a single man. was
obliged to quarter at the fort, while the
married officers were permitted to live at
the hotel President James J. Hin was
then clerk on a river boat and an ac-
quaintance Of mine. The garrison occu-
pied the old fort, and the new fort was
not yet built. To come back again after
seeing the city as it then was IS like view
ing a sudden change Of panorama.
my length of stay is indefinite. ] shall
be here possibly for two weeks. 1 have
not been advised Of my duties after that
time and am unable to say whether / shall
be returned to the Philippines.