Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1901-02-26
AGAINST THE
FEDERAL PARTY
PRIESTS AND CHURCHMEN IN
THE PHILIPPINES.
MUST CONClLlATE PADRES
EPIDEMIC OF RINDERPEST IN
vIsAYAS-ACTIvE MILITARY
OPERATIONS IN PLACES.


derpest exists in the Vizayans Islands.
The disease first appeared on Bureas
island and spread to TiceO and Masbate
and it is now appearing on the island
OF Panay. Twenty-Five have already
died at Masbatc island. The natives are
dependent on the carlboo for agricult-
ural operations and the disease has
minimized rice planting and restricted
the sugar crop and much suffering is
likely to ensue. Rigid quarantine meas
ures have been adopted.
A new party called Conservative is be-
ing organized. Col Banco, a Maca bebe
chief is the leader of the movement.
The church element is identified with
the conservative party.
Rev. Father Mckinnon. who was for
merly private secretary to Mgr. Chap
pelle, and who is now pastor of the Err
mita Catholic church. informs a rep
resentative of the Associated Press to-
dar that there were more than 500 ma
tive priests in the Philippines opposed
to the federal party and that these
would refuse to administer the sacra-
meat to federalists because they be-
lieVe the federal party to be merely a
cloak for protestant attempts to weaken
the power of the church of Rome. He
referred to the federal party as rest
ing on an insecure foundatiOn and des-
tined to crumble soon" and asserted
that the Methodist and Presbyterian
missionaries We're using unfair means to
induce Filipinos to leave the Catholic
faith.
He assailed the character of Senor
BuencaminO and other Evangelical lead
ers and contended that only by secur-
ing the cooperation and the good will
of padres could the Americans make
permanent progress in the Philippines.
| Senor Tavera, president of the federal
party, when the views of Father Nc
| kinnon We're brought to his attention,
| rer';ed
so much the better, it will bring
| the matter to an ISSUE"
| When asked whether the members of
the party would not leave it if they
| learned that membership involved their
church standing, Senor Tavera re-
piled:
They probably would if that We're
true, but ! believe only small portion
of the priests would exclude people from
their church privileges for such rea-
son. We Filipinos did not make an
! issue of separation Of the church and
| state. This was decreed by the United
| States constitution. Nothing else is
tolerated under American sovereignty
Whether federalists approve or not
/ they cannot be loyalists and yet oppose
that decree.
IF the Catholic authorities are not
willing to accept it, they are not patri-
OTIS. The federal party may disntegrate
after civil government is generally es-
tablished in the Philippines, but the
principles of peace under American SOW
ereignty will not disintegrate.'
! Senior Tavera asserts that the federal
lists who had relatives and friends
among the prominent ins1rgent leaders,
were endeavoring by correspondence to
| induce them to surrender, although thus
far without result.
Some employers of native labor allege
that the natives are gathered by the
fedcralists wholesale, without any eX-
planation of the principles to which they
are subscribing. Ordinarily the natives
are easily led by their accustomed lead
| er, but the movement for peace with the
| United States has authority and great
| moment, and 1t is now generally under
stood and approved by the natives.
Chaplain Fitzgerald administered the
| oath of allegiance to 200 Ilocanos at a
church in Viocan on February %, and
a parish priest at Santa Catalina ad-
| ministered a similar oath to 700 natives
| February "a.
| Lieut.. West, with detachment of the
| crew of the gunboat Laguna de Bay,
| attacked 200 insurgents under Caba los
| near Cavinta. province of Laguna. After
a hard fight of forty minutes the insur-
geTts We're dispersed, losing six killed
| and four captured.
a detachment of the Forty-seventh h
| volunteer infantry encountered a body
of insurgents in the province of Albay,
killing 49, and subsequently another
body, killing nine. The Americans had
| no casualties.
y squad of the Eighteenth United
| States infantry surprised band of
LadrOnes at Moosin, island Of fanay,
| killing six. The Americans captured
| five rifles.
The peace commission is negotiating
with the insurgents in northern Panay,
and there is prospect Of an early sur
/ render