The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1900-02-09
TREATY WITH THE suLus.
President Sends All the Correspondence
to the Senate.

President Sends All the Correspondence
to the Senate.
Washington, Feb. 5.--In compliance
with resolution of inquiry, the presi'
dent has sent to the senate copy oi
the report and all accompanying papers
of Brigadier- General j. G. Bates, in
relation to the negotiation of treaty
of agreement made by him with the
sultan of Sulu, last August. In reply.
ing to the request the president says:
"The payments of money required by
the agreement will be made from the
revenues of the Philippine islands, un.
less congress shall direct otherwise.
Such payments are not for specific ser.
vices, but are part OF the considera.
tion going to the sultan, tribe or nation
under the agreement, and they are
stipulated as subject to the action ol
congress, in conformity with the prac'
tice of this government from the earliest
times in its agreements with the vari'
GUS Indian nations operating and gov
erning portions of territory subject to
the sovereignty of the United States" "
General Otis in transmitting the
treaty, August 81, says:
"The attitude of these people has
been a subject of apprehension for sew.
eral months, and by this agreement, !
believe, the apprehended pending diff.
ferences are happily adjusted"
Secretary Root, in a reply dated
October 27, tells General Otis that
''the agreemnet is confirmed and ap.
proved by the president, subject to the
action of congress, and with the under.
standing and reservation, which should
be distinctly communicated to the sui.
tan of Sulu, that this agreement is not
to be deemed in any way to authorize
or give consent of the United States to
the existence of slavery in the Sulu
archipelago. At the same time when
you communicate to the sultan the
above mentioned understanding, the
president desires that you should make
inquiry as to the number of persons
held in slavery in the archipelago, and
what arrangement it may be practicable
for their emancipation"
In his instructions to General Bates,
under this direction, General Otis says:
1T is believed that the market price
of slaves in the archipelago is insight
fcant, ranging from $50 to 500, Mexi-
can, and that in some instances own
ers will be pleased to grant freedom to
their slaves if they can escape the
burden of supporting them.
General Otis continues to the effect
that the character of the domestic slav-
cry existing in the archipelago differs
greatly from the former slavery institu.
tion of the United States, the slaves
becoming members of the owners
family.
General Bates, in his report, stated
that when he first asked to see the sui
tan, the latter sent his greetings, say
ing he could not come to the general, be-
cause he had boils ON his neck, and could
not put on his coat, but that he would
recognize the protection of the United
States, requesting as favor that he
might hoist his own flag alongside that
of the United States. The sultan'a
brother went to Jolo to meet General
Bates, and the sultan afterwards joined
him. General Bates states in this con.
nection that the Sulus are very jealous
of their institution of slavery.
In his original instructions to Gen.
eral Bates, General Otis instructed him
to push to the front the question of SOW
ereignty, and told him he could promise
for the United States not to interfere
with, but to protect, the Moros in the
free exercise of their religion and cus-
toms, social and domestic, and to re.
spect the rights and dignities of the
sultan. In return they must acknow.
ledge the sovereignty of the United
States. He also instructed General
Bates that it was important that the
United States should occupy the prin-
cipal distribution centers of trade, and
that Siassi, the capital, should be occu-
pied by our troops at no distant day.