Evening star., 1942-10-04

Those who know Filipino guerrillas
are not inclined to minimize their de-
structive power even against ingenious,
fanatically brave, well-disciplined SOL
diers, armed with rifles and machine
guns, as the Japanese doubtless are. 1t
took 126,468 comparatively well-armed,
Well-supplied American soldiers four
years to crush the Filipino guerrillas,
mostly armed with homemade guns and
bolos, during the Philippine American
War at the turn of the century, Guer-
rilla fighting probably would have never
ended if the overwhelming majority of
the Filipino people had not been con-
vinced that the purpose of the United
States in occupying the Philippines was
benevolent.
Presumably the Japanese are familiar
with the Filipino's long and bloody fight
for liberty, because in school they paid
considerable attention to their neigh
bors' histories. Before and after Pearl
Harbor they have shown greater respect
to the Filip,nos than to any other Far
Eastern people. The japanese confisca-
ton of all Filipino arms, including the
bolo, was doubtless military precau-
ton.
Banded Selves Into FFF.
When Bataan's fall became imminent,
Filipino civilians banded themselves into
the FF'F Fighters for Freedom, an or
ganization reminiscent of the dreaded
xxx (Kamahalmahala' Kataastaasang
Katipunan) of Spanish times. The new
insurrectionary body's alliterative name
is significantly in English, instead Of
Tagalog, hearing witness to the fact that
the American language is used today by
the Filipinos more than any other
tongue, native or foreign.
The Filipino guerrillas presumably are
fighting under the banner of the FFF.
If the FFF continues to fight as long as
the xxx did, as President Quezon ex-
poets, it will be worthy successor to the
xxx and will make the Japanese pay
still more dearly for their conquest Of
the Philippines.
The xxx made the Spaniards pay for
their misrule Of more than three CEN
turies. Nowhere in their worldwide en-
pire were Spaniards plagued more Sc
verely than in the Philippines by the
xxx, under the leadership of Gen.
Emilio Aguinaldo, now reported collab-
Grating with the Japanese.
The xxx was founded by Filipino
patriots to expel the Spanish friars and,
If possible, to end the Spanish regime.
Although the Spanish authorities i'm
posed capital punishment peremptolily
upon known members of this outlawed
organization, the xxx rapidly spread
all over the archipelago. BY May /, 1898,
when Commodore George Dewey scored
mis- victory over the Spanish fleet in
Manila Bay, nearly every spirited Fill
pino belonged to the XXX and was
fighting the Spaniards.
Carried on War on Spain.
During the three and one-haf months
that Dewey waited in Manila Bay for
the arrival of sufficient American LAND.
forces, the Filipinos alone in the xxx
carried on war against Spain in the
Philippines. When the American forces
finally resumed operations against the
Spaniards, the Filipipos had killed, cap
tured or driven out all the Spanish
forces throughout the archipelago except
Manila and few scattered garrisons.
Fighting between the one-time allies
eventually broke out when the Filipinos
came to realize that the Americans had
no intention of evacuating tho Philip
pines after the American-spanish treaty
cf peace had bean dgned. The fury Of