The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1909-02-19
Bi B &
E ID:
Z February1a.3

sf}s,sy Z, 9{g2J7 u III
.sySsB5 February Sfa. h "
s$Aguinaldo, the famed Filipino patri::
OF and would.be liberator whom the
troops Of Uncle Sam, more in sorrow:
than In anger. chased over the hills
and through the jungles Of his native
land, and at last captured, and benevo.
lently assimilated. is to-day celebrating
the 37th anniversary Of his birth.
The president of the shor:.liyed
provisional republic Of the Philip
pines was born In linus, a village near
CayIte. His mother was a .mestizo.
and his father Is; varlously said to
have been a Spanish general. a
wealthy planter, and a Jesuit priest.
Be that as 1t may, he was at an early
age virtually adopted by priest OF
the Society OF Jesus. who treated him
with affection and gave him an educa,
ton as good as the Islands could nj.
ford. He was precocious, and at TIE
age OF is entered the medical school
Of the Pontihcal University Of Manila,
with the object Of becoming a physi'
clan. SPY. a5t,
It was probably in, the company OF
! fellow saw.bones that he first. began
to doubt Christianity and government
| BY divine right. There is an old
Spanish proeerb to the effect that
! among any three physicians there
are at least two atheists, and this
was especially true at this time.
when revolt against Spanish misrule
In the Philippines was accompanied
| by fierce hatred Of the dominant
church.
Saturated with the antl.clertcal
ideas Of his fellow "intellectuals.'
AguInaldo one day went to SLANG.
and when the image Of Christ was
born through the streets. the young
atheist not only refrained from cross.
Ing himself. but remained erect, with
his hat on, and with a sneer OF cyni-
cal disgust on his face. Just for that,
and for refusing to kneel When COM
manded to do so by the officiating
priest. he was dragged of to gaol.
with other criminals. and after trial
for blasphemy, was banished from the
town.
This circumstance Is said to have
started Aguinaldo on the road Of revo.
luton. He went to Hong Kong. where
he continued his medical studies, gain
ed a considerable knowledge OF the
Latin, French. English and Chinese
languages, watched the maneuvers and
drills OF the smart British troops. as
ISOLATED with plotting Filipino rcroln'
tIonists, and dreamed Of himself as the
head OF a Filipino army that would
drive the Spaniards Into the sea and
make his beloved island a republic.
In 1896 he returned to the Philip:
pines and became mayor Of Cavlte.
although ardently but secretly sup
porting the rebels who were plotting
lnsurrection. Among his fellow.ln.
surrectionlsts was DR.. Jose Rial. a
brilliant son Of many parts. who was
executed Sby the Spanish authorities
upon conviction Of treason in Decem-
Der. 1896.
The death OF his friend did not
dampen the revolutionary ardor Of
Aguina1do. who headed a. revolution
airy army that for a time. in 1896 and
1897. caused tho Spanish generals
considerable trouble, stealing pigs
and cattle and carrying on other mill
tary operations. On Christmas day.
1897. a truce was declared and the
revolutlonlsts laid down their arms.
q .
In 1898. when war; broke out between
the United sttaes and Spain, Agulnal'
do raised another insurgent army.
This time he was more successful and
invested Manila, occupying all the
strong points about the city and cap
turing about 5000 Spanish prisoners.
On June u, the Philippines was lie.
clared an independent republic, and on
June % a provisional government was
established and Aguinaldo elected"
president. " i$E,;
However, it speedily came TO pass
that Uncle Sam had other ideas about
the necessities Of government impos.
ed by assuming the white mans bur
den, and that a. republic with Aglll.
naldo at Its head was NOT Of them.
Accordingly, President "Aggic." las
he had become famillarly known IN