The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1901-05-23
Gen. Fred Grant, Who Has Just
Returned, Tells of Conditions
in the Philippines.
EVERYTHING IS NOW SETTLING DOWN.
Our Task is to Give Them Good Gov.
ernment in Their Municipalities
and Educate Them.
We Must Expect Much Robbery and
Brigandage and PillaRe and
Even Murder For Some
Time to Come.

San Francisco, May 20.--Brig. Gen.
Frederick D. Grant, who returned
from Manila on the Sheridan, speak
ing of the condition in the Philip
pines, said:
Everything is settling down and
we are getting at the real work of
governing and teaching the people.
Their peculiar national character
makes them hard subjects for the
present. You must remember that
they were originally pirates; that
their civilization is of the 14th, not
of the Goth century: and the tend
ency to brigandage is so bright
among them that it amounts to dis
ease. In many districts the paying of
tribute to robbers is considered the
regular thing, no more out of the
way than taxes. Our task now is to
give them good government in their
municipalities; to protect themselves
against themselves, unless they learn
taste Tor order, and then withdraw
gradually from active interference,
leaving the towns one at a time as
we see that they can be trusted, but
tance for some time. after we leave
any district, so as to insure against
q relapse We must expect much
robbery and brigandage and pillage
and even murder for long time.
1T is surprising to see the results
that we have obtained in getting law
and order into these people in the
few months of comparative peace.
My district included the provinces of
Buluoan, Pampango and Bataan, with
the population of 100000, all Tagalo
provinces, and considered the most
lawless in the islands. Now there is
not robber band in the whole dis
trict, condition unknown in the
whole history of the Filipino people.
We have in every town of the district
a local government under local ci-
william.
THE property-holding class in the
Islands is composed of persons who
are pretty ignorant and who could
not quite understand the situation.
They are naturally our friends, but
were under constant pressure to
throw their fortunes in with the in
surgent cause. when they heard that
party was coming into power in
the United States which was in favor
of withdrawing the troops and Civ
ing all the government to the insur-
gents they did not know what to do.
If they stood out against the insur-
rection they would be likely to lose
their lives and property as soon as
we turned our backs.
With that kind of people. timid,
ignorant, afraid to espouse a cause
that might lead to their destruction
and with the most unscrupulous ele-
tnent in the islands in charge of the
native forces, there was no use in 60
ing ahead. l stopped active opera
tions after the nominations and tried
only to protect my own men. The
cessation of activities had deplora-
bic result in the slaughter of inno-
cent people by the lawless element,
partly sanctioned by the insurgent
leaders.
After the elections, when the ma
tives learned that we were there to
stay, the real end of the insurrection
came.'
The surrender of Lieut.. Gen. Mari
Rno Trias had more effect on the Phil
fppine mind, Gen. Grant thinks, than
the manifesto issued by Aguinaldo.