Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1900-04-06
NO NEED OF THE WAR.
So Says George B. Johnston,
Who Has Served in Phil
ippines.
TRUTH NOT TOLD AMERICANS.

GENERAL VINO Runs IninSs Will -
High Hand In the IsIands-Natives
Only Fight When They Are Forced
to do So.
IF the American people were told
the truth about conditions in the Phil
ippine islands | fear we would have a
revolution right here at hOme.'
This is the declaration of George
b. Johnston, former Rock Islander
who before the strike of 1888 was an
engineer on the Burlington railway,
and who served as soldier for ID
months in the archipelago as a pri-
vate IN Company NJ, 1st Nebraska
volunteers. He dropped off in the
city yesterday to shake hands with
cid friends. He leaves tonight for St.
Paul, having an offer of a position
there.
Il was holding situation that was
paving me $50 per month when word
flashed over the wires that the Spanish
were turning their guns on the Ameri-
can soldiers in the Philippines, said
Johnson. Il had too much patriot
ism in my heart to pass an opPor-
tunity to do a good turn for my coun-
try and fellows. So l rendered
my resignation and enlisted in the
army. But l have been taught les
son that will last me the rest of my
life. / can consider myself lucky that
1 am here to tell the story, for many
of my comrades are sleeping beneath
the baking soil of the far away islands,
having either fallen before bullets or
died of disease and starvation. Like
any good American, l shall always
stand ready to defend my country
against other powers, but you don't
catch me going 10000 miles away
from home with a gun on my shoulder
again until l first learn that | am 60
ing to defend just cause.
Have No Right There.
I'm the first place, we have no bust
ness in the Philippines. When any
one tells you the Filipinos are not
capable of governing themselves they
tell you what is not so. Like all other
countries, in the Philippines, there
are the uneducated, ill-bred classes,
but on the other hand there are what
we call over here the four hundred
In Manila there are bright. substan-
tial business men-Filipinos-an
there are enough intelligent conserv-
ative natives there to carry on stable
government if only accorded the
| chance to do so.
Until the Spanish were driven
from the islands the Filipinos were
our friends. They supposed our
troops had gone there to remove the
Spanish yoke OF oppression that had
been hanging onto their necks for
hundreds of years. But they soon
found we had another purpose in
view-and as later events have de-
monstrated, that was to step into the
shoes of the SPaniards."
Otis SURPRISES the Truth.
Mr.. johnson declares that Gen. Otis
not only suPpresses the truth con-
corning the campaign in the islands,
but does not heed the orders of his
home government.
AS an instance of this, Mr.. johnson
says Gen. Otis received a cablegram
from President Mckinley to send the
1st Nebraska home. The general re-
piled he could not spare the Nebras-
kans, as they were on duty in the
field. johnson claims at that very
time his regiment was in camp, and
had been doing nothing but guard
duty. He says Gen. Otis runs affairs
to suit himself. All imports must
pass through the hands of the Ameri-
can Commercial company, so called.
Furthermore johnson says if a
private has a pull he can
secure a discharge and embark in the
saloon business in Manila if he agrees
to handle certain American beer,
which is given the glad hand by the
American Commercial company.
Mr.. Johnson says the conditions
in the American army in the Philip
pines are astonishing. He says there
is no need of a continuation of the
war. The Filipinos, he says, only
fight when they are forced to in order
to defend them selves. They want
peace, and they want their country,
which they love and are willing to die
for.
Mr.. Johnson brought back with him
a rare collection of coins. He parti- |
cipated in Is battles, and for a month |
was engineer on Manila railroad.
Acadamv