The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-02-15

ITARLY yesterday afternoon the navy
~ transport Solace, Captain Wins
- low. arrived from Manila, via Gu
| am and locked at Navy wharf
NO l. The Solace sailed from Manila
on the 24th of January and from Guam
on the End instant She experienced
| very diSagreeable weather almost all
the way to port.
She is on her way to San Francisco
with few sick and wounded, a large
number of discharged men and several
prisoners. Among the prisoners is
Frederick NJ Baker, who deserted his
comrades to fight as an officer in the
Filipino army against his own coun-
try. Baker is now under a life sentence
for desertion in the face of the enemy
Bakers story is that his heart was
moved to pity for the Filipinos at the
Isight of their desperate rebellion
against the American forces and that
he felt called upon to help them in
their troubles. He was offered a com
mission in the Filipino army and ac-
copied He led the rebels in many
charges against his own countrymen
and it is said that he not only was the
cause of the death of many of his form
Ter comrades but that he brought death
to several by his own hand
Once while he was leading a band Of
Filipinos in a charge against an An1eri-
can regiment he got too close to the
Americans and was captured. He was
in officers uniform when he was recog-
niZed.
The traitor was tried by court mar
tial and, although he escaped the usual
fate of being shot, he was sentenced to
life Imprisonment in military prison
and. for the rest of his life, will be com
PEELED to break rock on Alcatraz Island
San Francisco. The other prisoners
aboard the Solace will also go to AL
catraz Island to work out their various
sentences, received for offenses against
military law.
Several Filipino prisoners We're taken
from Manila to Guam by the SoIace
Eleven We're landed at Guam-men of
various rank, who were considered by
General Macarthur to be dangerous
and likely to stir up rebellion in the
Philippines. Prisoners heretofore
caught in the Philippines and then al
lowed to go free after swearing al
legiance to the United States have Of
ten ignored their oath and have again
taken up arms against the American
Government.
When the Solace was last in this port
there was some difficulty between the
officers of the navy transport and the
local customs department over the
Chinese crew aboard the vessel.
The collector of this port, Z. r.
Stackable, insisted upon mastering the
Chinese crew of the Solace twice every
day to see whether they were all on
board. This was the cause of all the
trouble. this and the evident uncertain
ty in the minds of the customs officials
as to whether the Solace was a trans
port or whether she ranked as a. man
of-war. It was learned aboard the Sol
ace yesterday that the vessel had re- |
ceived instructions from the NAVY De-
partment to the following effect: Upon |
the arrival of the vessel in port the |
ships officers must acquaint the COL
lector of the port with the number of |
Chinese in her crew Then, each day.
the officers of the ship. not the custom |
house officers, muster the Chinese crew
in order to ascertain whether any of |
the Orientals are missing If a Chi |
nese happens to be missing, then II he
comes the duty of the officers of the |
vessel to notify the collector of customs
and the customs department has to
bend its energies towards recovering
the missing Chinese and returning him
to the ship.
1T is the rule on all men of-war. when
Chinese is missing from the crew. TO
offer reward of twenty dollars for the
of the Chinese; this rule is
sui in force, so that in the event of
the running away of Chinese member
Of the crew, the reward of twenty dol
lars together with the efforts of the
customs department are likely to result
IN the capture and return of the RIM
away.
A Chinese cannot be taken aboard in
any foreign port. If, however, a Chi
nese. who has served in the navy be-
fore and who has been previously en-
listed. is found in foreign port he can
there be re-enlisted and taken aboard
the vessel
Both the cook and steward aboard /
the Solace are Chinese. One has been
IN the service twenty years. while the
other has served the Government if
teen years. Officers of men-of-war
nave found that the Chinese are the
pest servants procurable aboard ship.
Ihese two men are not allowed to
land here and there are custom house
ofhcers on the wharf all the time to 7
see that they do not do So
Not long ago it was reported In