Evening star., 1900-07-16
Call for More Troops.

Sail IOr more Troops.
More soldiers is the demand which is
coming to Gen. Macarthur from every de-
partment of the islands.
Recent events have worked to vindicate
Gen. Lawtons judgment that 100 600 troops
will be needed to establish American SOW
ereignty over the Philippines. Until they
attempted to hold provinces of 100000 or
two the American commanders hardly
realized the size Of the Philippine Islands.
The present force Is not large enough to
garrison more than half the important
towns, and in some of the most important
islands, among them Cebu Panay, Samar
Leyte and the great Mohammedan empire
of Mindanao, only the commercial ports are
occupied
The Moros are a cloud on the horizon.
Officers best acquainted with conditions
in Mindanao and the Sulu Islands tell the
Associated Press correspondent that they
consider serious fighting there inevitable.
If 1t comes the two regiments which are
scattered in small garriSonS, some of them
hundreds of miles apart along the coast of
Mlndanao, an island nearly as large as
Luzon. may have serious work. The Moros
are fighters by nature, do not fear death,
have many guns. though of antiquated
makes, but do the best execution by living
in the thick jungles and cutting down SOL
diers who pass through with terrible knives
and spears.
Gen. Young, who is holding seven of the
most mountainous provinces of Luzon with
four regiments, expects severe work during
the rainy season For some two months
after his bewildering invasion of the north
In December, the insurgents were paralyzed
With a few troops to keep an eve on the
villages and prevent recommendation the
paralysis, the general believes would have
been made permanent. Finding ample on
portun1ties to reorganize, the Insurgents
have availed themselves thereof. MANY
troops have worn themselves and horses
down to the limit of endurance in marching
about the mountain trails, striking the
filip:nos wherever they could get track of
an organized band. Hundreds have been
slain; but much of the work has been like
brushing away mosquitoes, which swarm
down upon new spot.
Gen. Tinio's GuerriIIas
Gen. Tino has a nomadic command whose
warriors can hide their guns and become
amigos If 1t suits their interests As
few of them wear uniforms and the people
combine to shield them from detection, the
Americans are greatly handicapped.
The church has become a troublesome
factor in Gen. Youngs territory. Aglipay
the priest who has proclaimed himself as
archbishop of the Philippines. is in the field
as general. His forces attacked Capt
Dodd of the Sd Cavalry, at Batoc. More
than 200 F'ilipinos We're slain. Aglipay
commanded in person, and there is an nm
confirmed report that he was among the
killed.
His followers fought with the reckless
ness of Mohammedan fanatics They an
preached the Americans in three lines with
an advance guard of women arranged with
the expectation that the Americans would
rot fire upon them. Behind the women
was line of bolo men and others armed
only with wooden swords, no more danger
Gus than policemen's clubs, and behind the
bolo men the riflemcn. Happily the women
threw themselves fat upon the ground and
sought shelter at the first fire. SO that few
of them were injured
The soldiers thought they were men
dressed in women's clothes. The on
slaugh. of the bolo men was like the de-
scent of the Mahdi fanatics upon Kitch-
eners squad at Khartoum. They kept
coming on faster than the soldiers could
shoot them down, until they were SO close
that our cavalrymen had no time to fire
and load, but went through them with
dubbed carbines.
Gen Young has evidence that the priests