Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-06-16

murderers were not to be executed for any
crimes committed against Americans and
that no charge of revengeful intent could
therefore, be laid at the doors of the lat
ter. battalion of our soldiers formed a
Gordon about the scaffold. which was re-
garded by the native spectators a great
curiosity.
Visited Aguinaldo's Wife.
Through the fundamentally of native
lawyer" said Col Hilder, II obtained an
interview with Sonora Aguinaldo-wife of
the insurgent chieftain. 1 found her living
with her mother-in-law and little son in a
comfortable native house in the Binondo
section Of Manila. I found her extremely
polite, courteous and self-possessed. but
non-committal on every subject which
preached. She appeared to be ordinary
woman of the middle class, between TWEEN
ty and thirty, fairly good looking and well
dressed. according to the native style Her
costume was that of well-to-do middle
class woman. She appeared to have pleas
ant surroundings far as her house was
concerned. l asked her If she had any COM
plant to make against her treatment by the
United States government, and she replied
that, on the contrary, she had been very
well treated. When 1 asked her If she had
heard from her husband lately she said
some time. Our conversation was in Span
ish. She is a Roman Catholic. During the
interview she was accompanied by a SER
want, who held her child, two or three years
old. Her Observation-Disclosures moth
er-WaS i'll and unable to see me.
Saw Agufnaldo's BrOther-in-Law.
I'm Manila I also saw Paua, who married
Aguinaldo's sister. He is a mestizo, half
Chinese and half Tagal. He has been in
command of section Of the Instruction
airy forces, and is a famous scoundrel, who
has murdered every one refusing to submit
to his extortions and plumber. He gave
vent to his cruelty upon Spanish prisoners
nn<1 ,r1n hi 111
man, insignificant in appearance, and when
saw him, In one of the Manila police sta
tons, he was dressed in the height of ma
tive fashion, and wore several large dia-
monds. He Is being kept under guard to
await orders from the provost marshal gen.
eral Were our soldiers to release him the
liberated Spanish prisoners would soon set
tie the question of his fate"
Col Hilder in his younger days was an
officer in the British army, where he earned
the Victoria cross. He has viewed opera
Indian and South African dependencies and
has circumnavigated the globe several
times. The Philippines are by no means
new to him. He Travelled extensively in the
he is proud to call himself a loyal Ameri-
can citizen of long residence, his former
military experience in colonies garrisoned
by Anglo-Saxon troops will add weight to
many comments quoted below.
In respect to future military operations
in the Philippines" said he, Il feel con-
WINGED that It will be to the interest Of our
there, under white officers.
Native Troops.
'In Luzon 1 saw one regiment of Maca-
bebes doing splendid work. Their white
officers spoke in the highest terms of them.
They were clad in our uniforms and armed
with our weapons. Their diet is so simple
that they can be fed at half the expense of
American soldiers. They eat rice, fish and
fruit, particularly rice. They can be paid
in Mexican currency the same amount as
given the American soldier in our currency,
the pay account being thus cut down one
half. Then, again, they so well ac-
climated that the small amount Of sickness
among them will reduce hospital expenses.
Their knowledge of the language and GUS
toms of the country increases their eff
cheney for maintenance of order and sup
preston of rioting The Macabebes have i'm
mense powers of endurance, although none
Of them is large. They are all loyal and
come from northern Luzon Most of them
speak Spanish. They are readily acquiring
English aid understand their commands.
They are Malays modified by centuries of
intermingling with aboriginal tribes. They
are brown-skinned, but better-looking than
the average Tagal. The Igorrotes who early
in the insurrection resisted our soldiers with
bows and arrows, can also be enlisted and
trained into excellent material So can the
Visayans and Tagals. The latter have been
ficient in preserving order. The Negritos
are out of the question. They are wretched
specimens of humanity understood, poorly
nourished and sicky. They q dying
race. to become extinct in few years.
They quite as low in the scale of civil
ization as the South African bushmen, CEN
trail African dwarfs or Australian aborigi-
mes. The Moros will make fine fighting ma
terial, but should not trust them among
Moros. They could be sent north, while
Tagals or some other northern tribe is sent
to the Moro country. thus pursuing the
English custom of employing one native
tribe in the territory Of another and never
against its own people. No nation has been
successful in holding tropical territory
without the enlistment Of native troops.
The Friars Must Go.
But the burning question in the Philip
pines is presented by the hostility Of the
natives to the friars. The Tagals are all
devout Catholics. more attached to church
observances than any other tropical con-
verts to Christianity. They wish to get rid
of the friars and have secular priests SUBJ
stituted for them. They do not care whether
these priests are Spaniards. Filipinos or
Americans. They claim that the friars
have been oppressive in many ways. l do
not think there Is any amount Of compro-
mise acceptable to the Tagals which does
not involve their removal. I think that
the best interests of the Catholic Church
will be served by the removal of these or
ders and the transference of their prop
erty to the Catholic Church in general
There is no doubt that the trouble between
the natives and friars was the origin of
the rebellion against Spain, and 1t has al
ways been stated by the Tagals that no
permanent peace can be concluded If the
Americans restore the friarS to the control
of the parishes"
JOHN ELFRETH WATKINS, JR.