Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1901-12-12
Advises Against Reduction
of Military Force.
THE WORK OF THE ARMY
Will be Facilitated by the Con-
structiOn of Barracks.
TREACHERY OF FILIPINOS.
Ht rs Potent Factor In Continuing
Guerrilla Warfare-Our Soldiers are
Too Easily Imposed Upon by False
Professions of Friendship.

Too Easily Imposed Upon by False
Professions of Friendship.
Washington, Dec. THE war de-
partment has made public the first
annual report of Maj. Gen. Chatfee,
military governor of the Philippines.
Gen. Chatfee sums up the situation
in the Philippines from a military
point of view by stating that the
provinces of Batangas and Laguna, in
Luzon, and the islands OF Samar, Min
doro, Cebu and Bohol constitute the
area now disturbed by any embodied
force of insurgents. He says that to
the physical character of the cOun-
try; to the nature of the warfare of
the rebels, who are amigo and foe in
the same hour; to the humanity of
the troops, which is taken advantage
of by the rebels and the inhabitants
who sympathize with them, and to
the fear of assassination on the part
of the friendly disposed if they give
information to the American forces,
is due the prolongation of the guer-
rilla warfare.
Commenting upon the plan of grad
ually replacing military with civil
administration Gen. Chaffee says:
THE withdrawal of interference with
civil affairs does not contemplate
withdrawal of the troops from their
stations to any considerable extent;
on the contrary, this should not be
done hastily and when undertaken
should be gradual and more in the
nature of concentration than reduc-
ton of force or abandonment of any
l., ,I>l ,f
Therefore he recommends that no
further reduction of troops be made
before January, 1908. The civil gov
ernments which are being organized
provincial and municipal-Gen.
Chaffee says are both new and untried
and there is but one reliable method
of ascertaining the progress of the
Filipinos in self-government, namely,
observation by the army.
In anticipation of partial concen-
tration of the troops in the Philip
pines next year Gen. Chaffee submits
estimates of cost for the construction
of quarters and barracks. He recon-
mends that permanent post be con-
structed at once in the vicinity of Ma
Mia for a garrison of two squadrons
of cavalry. two batteries of artillery,
and two full regiments of infantry,
together with a hospital and store
houses, the whole to be under the
command of brigadier general. He
gives $500,OOO as a rough estimate of
cost for this project and says that
100000 should be available immedi-
ately in order to take full advantage
of the dry season. For the construc-
tion of permanent quarters at other
points which may be determined
upon during the fiscal year ended
June. 1908, he estimates $2,O00,O0O is
required.
Gen. Chaffee devotes a good part of
his report to the terrible disaster
which befell Company c, Ninth infan-
try. at Balangiga, Samar, and which
he says, was largely due to over con-
fidence in assumed pacified conditions
and in people who, to a great ex-
tent are strangers to, and unappreci-
ative of our humane beliefs and ac-
tions." American soldiers. he says,
fail to discriminate between real and
assumed friendship on the part of the
Filipinos.
A table is submitted showing that
since June 10, 1901, the date of the
last table submitted by Gen. Near
thur, up to September Is, 361 Filipino
officers and 3.63S men surrendered to
the American militia, and 26 officers
and 494 men were captured.