The Hawaiian gazette., 1900-05-25
CHAT WITH
GEN, OTIS
He Talks About the
Philippines.
NATURE OF THE PEOPLE
Struggle Over But a Big Army Will
Be Needed for Two Years
to Come.

MANILA April 3d. spent last even
ing with General Otis at his palace in
Malacanan, one of the most fashionable
of the suburban streets of Manila. His
residence is the house erected for the
Spanish Governors General of the Phil
ippines, a great two-story structure, with
floors of Filipino mahogany, with pol
ish like the top of a new piano, windows
of opalescent oyster shells and the walls
and ceilings frescoed and painted with
flowers, cupids and heather gods The
ceilings are very high, the rooms and halls
large and airy, and at night, when the
tinsel and cheapness which characterize
parts of the building softened by the
rays of the electric light. the palace is
really imposing. 1t has extensive grounds
filled with tropical plants and trees, and
the air about it is saturated with the
sweet perfume of orange blossoms. There
are soldiers on guard at almost every
block of the streets that lead to it, My
carriage was stopped at the gate, and 1T
was only upon saying that l had a spe-
ciai appointment with the General that
| was permitted to pass in on foot
found more sentries walking up and
down under the porte cochere, and l
waited in the hall until an orderly took
up my card and returned with the answer
that the military Governor would see me.
L tOun0 General GUS In MS WORKSHOP
an office and bedroom combined. 1t had
evidently been used as a parlor or music
room in the days of the Spaniards, for its
decorations are Moorish and seem quite
out of place with its present practical
hard working surroundings. Large writ
ing desks have taken the place of the
piano, and a plain brass bedstead with a
mosquito netting attachment has ousted
the uivans. Last night the desks were
Uttered with manuscripts, documents and
blank books containing translations OF
In SEn m .h n N a
street car, telephones and electric lights
of Manila, which the General had brought
home to study. He pushed them aside
and for two hours chatted freely with me
about the situation and the conditions
now prevailing in the Philippines.
Pen Picture of General Otis.
Before 1 report our conversation let me
show you General Otis as he appears at
. first sight. His pictures in the newspa-
pers do not fairly present him. AS pho
tographed he seems to be tall, portly
man, with a big head and luxuriant side
whskers. The real General Otis does not
weigh more than $50 pounds. He stands
about five feet eight inches in his stock
ings and is slender in build. His head is
not at all large or imposing. The face
would be small were 1t not for the whis-
kers. which are of silver gray mixed with
black. well covering the hollows of the
cheeks and extending below the jaw a
half fingers length. He has an over
hanging gray mustache, iron gray hair
are small bright and black. He has
good forehead, a trife narrow, perhaps:
a straight nose and rather determined
mouth. He was dressed yesterday in a
plain business suit. lacking the vest and
he looked more like an ordinary business
man than a General in command of one
of the worlds greatest armies, and the
absolute ruler Of country 1000 miles
long, inhabited by 100000 as turbulent
people as now exist outside of South
Africa.
General Otis entire lack of military airs
is the more striking considering his
length of service. He has been in the
Civil War, when at p he left the practice
of the law to go to the field. He was
wounded in the head near the close of
the war. and mustered out, but the doc
tors told him his wound would not per-
init him to live in the East, and he ac-
copied an offer of service in the regular
army upon the frontier. There he grad
ually rose until 1898, when he became a
Brigadier General, and then Major Gen
eral here in May, 1898. During our con-
versation 1 asked him how he came to
be sent to the Philippines He replied
that he was pitchforked into them, with
out having any say In the matter, and
that he was only here because he had
been ordered to come.
General Otis on the Situation.
Later on 1 asked him II he were salts
fled with the results of his work. Cen
eral Otis replied:
Al can't say that am, for I am anx-
ious that the islands should be in a
much better state. and that state, think,
will soon come. 1 will say however, that
We have put down the Instruction as far
as any organized resistance is concerned,
and that the condition of the Philippines
Is now as good as 1t has been at any time
for ten years. In many places the coun-
try is as safe as IL has been during the
past generation. In Mindanao, the Span
iards did not dare to go outside the lin
it's of their army posts. They were al
ways in trouble with the natives, and In
many places had their dead lines over
which the Moros did not dare to step for
fear of being shot by their sentries. Now
our troops are moving about without
arms outside the posts, and many expedi-
tons have been taken In the mountains.
Here in LuZon there have always been |
rohber bands in the mountains which |
have preyed upon the people. The coun-
try has never been really safe
'Do you think you can make It so,
General?" 1 asked.
Eyes, in time; but we must keep on de-
stroying the bandits wherever we find
them. Many of the insurrectos have
joined such bands, and 1t will take some
months yet to clean up the country"
Will Need Soldiers for Years.
This will. / suppose. necessltate the
keeping of large force here on the ISL
ands. even after neace has been estab-
lished, will 1t not?'
Yes" was the reply, I'VE shall need
as many troops as we have now for at
least year. and perhaps longer. We
shall have to garrison the most of the
towns and show the people that we in
tend to protect them. After year or so,
when the conditions have become settled,
the forces can be greatly reduced"
How about Americans attempting to
travel alone throughout the Philippines?
DO you consider II safer ! asked.
mo, i do not" said General Otis. II
don't think Americans should go into the
interior without they are In parties or
are with the soldiers. There would be
less danger perhaps, for Englishmen, but
in the mountains no one Is safe. There
is no telling when you may be attacked
by band OF bandits or so-called insur-
rectos, who, II you are an American. will
claim the right TO rob or Kill you Under
the pretext of war"
Would Cut Prisons Throat o.
but, General" said !. 'if the organized
resistance has stopped. as you say, why